"Penny for your thoughts Tendo?"
Kurose leaned over and lit Tendo's cigarette, before lighting up his own and taking a deep drag from it. Tendo took a puff before exhaling with a sigh, "Didn't think we'd be summoned back to Tokyo so soon… I really hate that place, all the hustle and bustle makes me feel claustrophobic, y'know?"
"Yeah, I know what you mean, my family always frets when I have to head up to the capital", Kurose agreed, with both him and Tendo having slipped back into their natural Kansai accents, "You'd think they'd be more concerned about my choice of career as a whole, but what would I know?"
The third member of their group, a surly-looking man called Subaru returned, walking out of the public toilets, and sitting himself down on the bonnet of the car, silently lighting up his own cigarette.
"How bout you Subaru?", Kurose turned his attention to their dishevelled companion, "You have anyone back home?"
"Mmm", he grunted in the affirmative as he puffed on his cigarette, "My Fiancé, we're getting married in a couple of months, so this might end up being my last big job. Heh, no point in me makin' her a widow after all"
"Congrats man! Though it'll be sad to see you go"
"Ah don't worry about that", Subaru waved away Kurose's platitudes, "I'll make sure to crash a work mixer every once and a while
Kurose gestured to Tendo, "You're being awfully quiet Tendo, you finally get a date or something?"
"Tch", Tendo flicked the stub of her cigarette away, rolling her eyes in annoyance, "You're starting to sound like my mother. I swear, every time I phone to check in with her it's always the same. 'You'll never settle down at this rate Michiko', 'When are you going to give me some grandkids?', It never ends, I swear…"
"Anyway, enough about my private life. There's something else that has been bothering me", Tendo's mouth sets into a small frown as she speaks, "That chainsaw kid… why the hell are we paradin' him around Tokyo? Shouldn't we just keep him locked up instead?"
"Hmm… Yeah, you have a point there…", Kurose's face scrunched up in thought before he let out a sigh and turned to Subaru, "Subaru, do you mind tellin' us why that is?"
"Cuz devils got keener noses than humans", Subaru replied from his position sitting hunched on the car bonnet, taking another puff of his cigarette before continuing, "It'd be tricky to hide 'im from folks with devil contracts"
"But surely that'd be preferable to lettin' him roam around town?", Tendo questioned, "I mean, the kid seemed alright… but he just tried escaping with a wanted criminal."
"And who could blame the kid…", Kurose muttered, the three devil hunters going quiet for a moment until he continued, "But what I don't get is why Makima would even take that risk…"
Tendo and Kurose share a knowing look, only for Tendo to shake her head ever so slightly, her eyes flicking to the car and then back to Kurose, who nodded lightly. Both of them threw the stubs of their cigarettes on the ground, stamping them out.
"Alright, smoke breaks over!", seeing the other two move, Subaru declared the end of their break, stretching as he walked round to the car's back door.
The trio drove in silence, with Kurose sitting next to Subaru in the back whilst Tendo drove down the backroad route back towards Tokyo. They'd driven a couple of miles down the road before Subaru broke the silence, something having been bothering him since their pit stop.
"Hey, Kurose, Tendo. You guys have met Makima, Right? What's she like?"
Tendo's face hardened, "Subaru, there's something we wanted to tell you about that", ever since Makima got off that train something had been rubbing Tendo the wrong way, concerns that Kurose shared.
Tendo's eyes remained fixed on the road, she could feel the gaze of Kurose on the back of her head. Ever since they worked under Makima in the wake of the yakuza attack on Public Safety, she'd had a bad feeling about the woman ever since seeing her walk off of that train, drenched in blood yet with not a single scratch on her, whilst all of her entourage died without a fight…
And her eyes… she'd never seen eyes like that before, at least, not on a human…
"Subaru, there's something we wanted to tell you about that."
"Huh?", Subaru sat up to attention in his seat, after all, it wasn't every day you hear gossip about the mysterious leader of the Special Division, "Well whatcha waitin' for?"
Just as Tendo was about to continue a loud bang sounded out, with the woman quickly losing control of the car, quickly careening towards the treeline.
"WHOA!"
Tendo only had time to shout in shock as the car crashed into a tree, her head smashing violently on the steering wheel on impact.
Subaru and Kurose groaned in pain, Kurose beginning to chastise Tendo, "How'dja crash the car, idiot?!"
Tendo meanwhile slowly raised her head from the steering wheel, her head ringing as she thought back to the day she got her driver's licence. Her Mom had fretted over her all day, nagging her to be safe on the roads.
'Urghh… guess I proved the old worry wart right…', Tendo groaned as she gathered herself, 'You've really gone and done it this time Michiko… How'd I eve-'
Before Tendo even had a chance to turn around and respond to her friend, the windows smashed in around them, showering them with glass as the sound of gunfire rang out, Tendo's world going dark.
"Damn, the woman was fine. Too bad we killed her", A long-haired man poked his head through the smashed car window, the smell of gun smoke and fresh blood filling not even making him flinch as he reached in, turning the head of the woman in the driver's seat towards him to get a better look.
"Let me get a look…", another of the attackers, the tallest of the group, leaned in to get a better look, "Ohhh… Not my type, I like shorter women."
With that, the first man lets go of Tendo's head, allowing it to drop back down on the headrest, her eyes staring blankly up at the car roof as the assassins open the doors and get to work.
A fox scarpered from the woods, trotting out into a snow-laden clearing, the sky was clear as the winter sun shone down, light reflecting off the snow. Then suddenly the snow was painted crimson, as an arrow pierced the fox's chest with a dull 'thunk'.
"Master. What's the point of this fox hunt?"
Two figures emerged from their hiding place in the tree line, one a tall man with a bow, the other a petite woman with raven hair so dark it appeared nearly purple. The man who had just spoken turned towards the woman, his master, with a questioning look, awaiting her answer.
"Tolka", the woman addressed her disciple with an intense stare, her pupils like circles of pure darkness in a sea of green, "Do you feel like you took a life?"
"Like I took a life… No. I only feel the vibration from the bowstring"
It wasn't the first time Santa had asked Tolka this question, and she was just as disappointed with his answer as always. 'I only feel the vibration from the bowstring', she considered his words, mulling over them in her mind, 'He still lacks some of the necessary ingredients… a shame, I'd hoped to have him prepared by now.'
'But with Makima on the move, I will just have to finish quickly. Either that or the contract will be void, and I have no desire to break a contract with a primal devil.'
As the pair walked back home, Santa repeated the same question again and again, with Tolka denying it each time, until as they were sat around the table for dinner Santa asked it once more.
"Tolka, do you feel like you took the fox's-"
"No"
He looked down at her with an impassive face, but Santa could have smiled. He had never cut her off like that before, that could only mean one thing: her words had taken root.
'Pity'
"I see", now it was time to share the details with him, "Tolka… this current job isn't a devil hunter job. It's to kill this 16-year-old boy."
Santa held up a picture, it showed a bare-chested teen with a missing hand and a… saw coming out of his head.
"Well… sure, I can do that."
"Tolka", the man brought his full attention to his master, her eyes now pools of darkness as she spoke, "We're about to do what we did to this fox to a 16-year-old boy."
It was silent for a minute as the two stared at each other, Tolka clearly taken aback by his master's words.
"Kill him"
"Carve out his heart"
"Make that our job, our livelihood"
He stared back for a moment, before his face steeled, "Master… I can kill."
'Guilt'
"The powers that be made a promise", Tolka looked Santa in the eyes, "Once this next job is over, you can stop being a devil hunter"
Tolka started eating, continuing to speak between bites, "You only have half a year left to live, I want you to live the rest of your life in peace"
'Adoration'
'Worship'
"Tolka…", Santa looked at the fair-haired man as he ate, her face uncharacteristically emotional, not because of Tolka's sentimentality, she had little time for that.
No. it was because she was finally getting a new member of her family, a new perfect doll…
"In all likelihood, her fiend companions will come with her. Now how shall we intercept them…?"
If Kishibe wasn't exactly thrilled to be walking down the hallway with Makima to begin with, then he was even less keen on discussing the topic of his old buddy with the woman.
"I'm none too keen to approach that one", Kishibe could have sighed as he replied, "If the whole of humanity came together and held a bare-knuckle fighting tournament, Quanxi would take first place."
"At any rate, she'll be tricky", now that was an understatement, he'd seen her tear through dozens of enemies unarmed and he was hardly the man he used to be in his prime…
Neither he nor Makima looked at each other as they walked, silence reigning for a moment before Makima continued, "I doubt she'll be the only big name paying us a visit either."
"It's no use taking precautions against Quanxi. The one we need to look out for is… Germany's Santa Claus"
"You think he'll come?", Kishibe didn't spare a glance at her as she continued on.
"I couldn't say, there are rumours that he died of old age, but…", Makima trailed off as they walked on down the corridor.
"If he uses devils on us, it's all over. Guess we should pray he's been called to the pearly gates…"
The odd pair continued on down the corridor for a while longer, not another word being spoken between them until Makima offered her apologies and took her leave to meet with some of the Public Safety higher-ups.
'Santa Claus, dead? Tch, she wouldn't have mentioned him at all if he was…', Kishibe reached into his jacket and pulled out his trusty hip flask, taking a swig.
'Hmmm…', the old hunter hums in contentment as the taste of the drink hits his tongue, 'A 12-year-old Macallan… Musta been feelin' sentimental when I filled this up…'
He hadn't had this particular whiskey since he and Quanxi were still partners, she'd left not too long after the mission where they had that rookie Minami tagging along with him. He took another swig, he was glad Minami ended up leaving Public Safety, he hadn't wanted the girl to get killed just because she was infatuated with him, he'd heard that she'd even gotten engaged a few years back.
"Master Kishibe!", Kishibe's trip down memory lane was interrupted as a new voice called out to him, with the grizzled devil hunter turning to face the newcomer.
"Ah Aki, I guess it is that time of week, what bar are we going to first?"
Aki blinked in confusion, "Umm… no. I just had some questions for you, about Re- about the Bomb."
Kishibe plucks a cigarette out of his pocket, lighting it and taking a drag before pointing at his former student's partner, "Sure, I'll answer your questions kid, but you're grabbing my tab tonight." Aki simply nodded with a sigh, "Sure, I'll take that deal…"
Kishibe watched as the younger man began walking out, his thoughts returning to the past once more, and in truth, it wasn't Minami the drink reminded him of. He idly wondered whether Quanxi's preferences may have changed a bit.
'Heh… No chance in hell…', Kishibe chuckled mirthlessly as he took another swig from his flask. No, after all these years she'd still be the same, just like his Macallan.
And there was a comfort in that, he supposed…
In the bustling streets of Beijing, deep in a shoddy apartment complex, the first devil hunter lay on her king-sized bed surrounded by, well, devils, or fiends rather.
Her fiends. Her women.
Cosmo, with her boundless enthusiasm and knowledge. Tsugihage, ever silent yet oh so caring. Long, with her strength, and bravery. And then there was sweet Pingsti, ever cheerful and sharing useless facts, arrogant to a fault and oh so eager. Each perfect in their own way, at least to her.
Quanxi lay on the bed, her fiends practically piled on top of her in a pile of naked limbs, all of them revelling in the afterglow. 'Hmmm… that was nice…', Quanxi lay back on the bed content, glancing around at her fiends quickly, 'Oh, Long's fallen asleep, better keep things quiet…'
"Ahhh… Oh, Quanxi… That was sooo good…", Pingsti purred in pleasure as she gazed up at Quanxi with adoration in her eyes, even her shade-like ponytail mirroring her pleasure.
"Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!"
Quanxi looked up to the door upon hearing Cosmo's shouts, alerting her to the presence of the CCP soldier darkening her doorway.
'Damn, I was hoping for a little more time before the next mission…'
The soldier marched up to the side of her bed, looking down at them with thinly veiled disdain, he looked high-ranking enough, she supposed, not the regular handler they had deal with her.
"You've got a job", the officer held up a picture: a teenager with a saw jutting out from his head, "Go to Japan and capture this saw man."
'Japan, huh… this one won't be easy', Quanxi mulled it over for a moment before deciding.
"What's my reward?"
"This will be your most dangerous job so far. The general says we'll grant you any request to the best of our ability.
Without missing a beat, Quanxi sat up, her fiends gazing up at her inquisitively as she spoke, "Ladies, tell me what you want."
"Awesome doughnuts! I want 100 doughnuts!"
"Blood"
"Halloween! Halloween!"
"…"
'Should've known, may as well play hardball then…'
"Give my girls human rights and a basic education", Quanxi watched closely as he turned to leave, reaching the door before looking over his shoulder to reply, "We'll look into it… if you succeed."
'Tch… typical, no manners with these people', she never had been a big fan of faceless bureaucrats, whether it be in Japan or here in China, but as long as they looked after her and the girls, she'd swallow all the crap they served her. Quanxi lay back down on the bed as the officer's footsteps retreated down the hall, her fiends settling back down around her, excitedly fawning over her.
She smiled down at her fiends, stroking Long's hair absentmindedly as her mind wandered. 'I wonder if Kishibe is still at Public Safety… he'd be an old man by now…'
Quanxi had left Public Safety a long time ago, not long after that woman had been put in charge of her division, but she almost wished that he'd left back then as well, if only to spare her old buddy whatever she had planned.
Quanxi chuckled pithily at that thought, 'Who am I kidding? Even if I'd asked, he would have said no. That man will be fighting devils till he drops dead.'
He may look older when she sees him again, and they may well meet as enemies, but in that sense at least, he'll never change, and there was some small comfort in that.
"This blows…"
Denji sat on the floor leaning on the table, his head propped up on his hand as he pouted. The dream of his beach holiday in Enoshima seeming more distant by the minute.
"Oh stop pouting Denji", the boy's strop was interrupted as Reze walked over from the kitchen, setting down the snacks and finger foods they had bought on the way home on the table, before plopping herself down right next to him, poking his cheek as she leant into him, "It's not like it's the end of the world."
Reze was honestly content that the trip had been cancelled, in fact, she'd been nearly as relieved as Power that she would have to spend any more time than what was necessary with Makima. However, seeing Denji so deflated, she couldn't find it in herself to be truly happy about how things had turned out.
"Besides, Makima only said it was postponed", she reached down and grabbed his hand, "We'll just have to sit our butts down in this room and watch movies until Public Safety deals with those assassins!"
She grins cheekily at him, "Watching movies all week with your girlfriend is a pretty good deal you know! So what'd'ya say?"
Denji lets out a long sigh before a small smile crept onto his face, "Yeah… I suppose you're right. I guess we'll just have to wait till Miss Makima deals with all this crap… I really was looking forward to the beach though…"
"Oh, I know you were Denji", Reze giggled, "Looking forward to seeing someone there perhaps…?"
"Hey, I won't deny it!", Denji laughs as he holds up his hands, "Though I was wondering… maybe we could go swimming, like last time?"
"Hmmm… very tempting, though I don't think it'd be a great idea to strip off at the beach. Enoshima is bound to be a tourist hotspot", she leaned up and kissed him lightly on the bottom of his chin before continuing, "Though we could do it somewhere… more private…"
Before Denji had a chance to reply, a crash sounded out from the other end of the flat, followed by the loud thudding of footsteps as Power dashed into the living room, carrying several DVD boxes in one hand and a reluctant Meowy in the other.
"Be grateful! Me and Meowy have lovingly picked out some of the greatest media of our time for us to-", Power's tirade trailed off as she froze, her eyes flitting from Denji and Reze to the spread of food laid out on the table, with everything from gyoza to meat skewers laid out on the table, all frozen of course, not that that mattered to the fiend.
Power looked about ready to pounce on the food, before noticing the disapproving gaze of Denji and Reze. She looked at them and then back to the food and then back to them once more, pointing at the food, "Can I…"
Reze and Denji turned from the fiend and looked at each other before bursting out into laughter at the unusually timid fiend. "Ahahaha! The look on your face Powy!"
Denji's hearty laugh was joined with Reze's, the girl trying and failing to hold in her own laughter as Power's face went red in embarrassment.
"What!? Stop laughing at me!", the two hybrids only laughed harder as the fiend stomped her foot in frustration as she glared at them, seemingly ready to pounce on them. Seeing Power's anger, Denji held up his hands placatingly, trying to calm her as he and Reze's laughter petered out, "We're just kidding Powy, it's just odd to see you bein' all polite like that."
"Hmmph! Well of course I'm polite, people are always telling me how polite I am! I can't even remember someone saying otherwise!"
"Uh-huh, whatever you say Powy", Denji looked at the fiend as she prattled on, a bored look on his face as he waited for her to finish, "So you want to watch a movie or not?"
"Yeah, come on and sit-down Power, we even have Yakitori skewers! See?", Reze waved one of the skewers tantalizingly at the meat-obsessed fiend, who started salivating as her eyes followed the food as it moved to and fro.
"F-fine, I shall forgive you both as thanks for the generous offering!", Power quickly stalked over to the TV and inserted the DVD, before quickly stalking back and plopping down on Denji's other side, ravenously grabbing fistfuls of every piece of food that's he was sure had no vegetables.
As the movie started playing, a smile unknowingly formed on Denji's face, with Power giving a lively commentary on the movie and Reze snuggling into his side, he found his disappointment over Enoshima fading. However, he did feel like something was still missing.
'Huh… wonder where Aki is…?'
Aki stumbled as he stepped out of the bar and into the street, unsteady on his feet as he began walking in the vague direction of home. He didn't know exactly what he expected when he went out drinking with Kishibe, but the older man had basically drunk him under the table and been left none the worse for wear.
Aki meanwhile was struggling to walk in a straight line, 'Urghh… well at least I found out some more about Reze…'
Aki could at least say he'd succeeded in his goal, even though remembering what he'd learnt might be up in the air… From what Kishibe told him, the girl's upbringing was even worse than he'd thought it'd be.
'To think they'd do something like that to a child…', Aki grimaced as he stopped and leaned against a lamppost, 'Not that we're much better…'
Sure, Public Safety may be a good sight better than the Soviets, but drawing the line at experimenting on children doesn't exactly excuse them press-ganging children to work for them. The more he thought about it, the more it bothered him.
'Those three are all just kids… why should they not have a chance at a normal life, why would Miss Makima…', Aki's thoughts trailed off as he continued walking, choosing to put off his concerns with Public Safety for the time being.
Speaking of Public Safety, Kishibe had also dropped the information that Tendo and Kurose had been recalled to Tokyo again. He was sure they probably wouldn't appreciate being called back to Tokyo so soon, both had seemed quite uncomfortable during their time in the capital after all, but Aki would honestly appreciate the company, it'd be nice to see some familiar faces around the place after the events of the last couple of months.
After about half an hour of Aki shuffling his way down the streets his apartment building came into view in the near distance, much to the man's relief. He had to remember in the future to not go drinking alone with Kishibe, another drinking session like that and he'd shorten his lifespan even more…
'Maybe I could rope Kurose and Tendo into coming with next time… could even try to get them to let something slip about Makima… Might even know something about why she seems so invested in Denji and Reze…'
As Aki walked the final stretch home, he knew one thing was certain either way: he was going to have one hell of a headache in the morning.