'Ah… she snuck in again…'
Ever since she and Aki had been released from the hospital, Power had been clinging to whoever was closest. Usually, this meant him or Aki, and sometimes Reze if the fiend felt brave enough. And it became clear as Denji's eyes creaked open, that Power had plumped for both him and Reze for the second night in a row.
The fiend was curled up in Denji's bed, right between him and Reze, clutching Denji's arm as she shivered, her eyes squeezed shut as if she was having a nightmare.
"Hey, Reze… you awake…?", Denji whispered over the fiend, trying not to wake Power as he lightly tapped Reze's shoulder.
"Yeahhh…", Reze yawned in reply, rolling over to look at Denji, the dark bags under her eyes betraying her poor sleep, "I've been trying to get to sleep again for a couple of hours. No luck though…"
Reze had been sleeping poorly since the events of Hell, though it seemed to be limited to the odd nightmare, practically nothing in comparison to the effect it had on Power. The fiend had essentially been a shadow of her former self since then, her usual bravado and confidence being replaced by fear and hysteria. Denji was honestly surprised she hadn't woken them both up by screaming again…
Reze looks at Power with sympathetic eyes, absentmindedly brushing some of the fiend's loose hairs from her face, watching as she shuddered and flinched even in her sleep.
They were probably quite different from Reze's own dreams, doubtlessly a result of every devil's instinctual fear of those devils whom have never once been killed. Reze's on the other hand, were incredibly personal, the visions Darkness had shown her had been plaguing her night and day, but at least they weren't new fears.
It was just visions of the same dark room, the isolation and fear: fear that all she was just an empty shell, a blank slate with no real ego of her own. Old fears that she'd carried with her for a long time, but they were ones she thought she could finally move past, but now she wasn't so sure…
"Sooo… You fancy getting some grub?", Reze is snapped from her trance by Denji's question, the boy was looking at her, and she could see the mild concern in his eyes.
"Sure, but you're making it, deal?", Reze quickly plastered a smile on her face, one which Denji quickly reciprocated.
"Deal."
As it turns out, Denji didn't have to keep his end of the bargain.
As they left the bedroom, having gotten out of bed as quietly as possible, they were greeted by Aki: and a full breakfast spread: coffee, toast, boiled eggs and more!
"Guessed you two would be up soon", Aki smirked as he gestured for them to sit round the table.
"Awww… And here I was excited to see how far Denji's coffee-making skills have come…", Reze pouts as she strolls over to the table, closely followed by Denji.
"Next time I make it I'll wow you for sure, I've been practising you know!", Denji bantered as he sat down at the table next to Reze and grabbed a slice of toast, "Thanks for the grub, Aki!"
"Yes, thanks for all this. Must say your coffee's nearly as good as mine…", Reze adds, a small smirk on her face as she sips her coffee.
"I guess I'll take that as a complement…"
For a while the only sound at the table was from the trio scarfing their breakfast, everyone was still hungry from the night before when they had to skip dinner after Power had an episode. The relative silence was broken as Aki spoke; tidying up everyone's plates as he did.
"Kishibe filled me in on everyone else's conditions, by the way", Aki said, Denji and Reze perking up in interest, "You already know Kobeni had quit, and then out of all of the devils, only Beam, Angel and Power survive-"
Aki was interrupted mid-sentence as as if summoned by the mere mention of her name, Power began screaming from back in the bedroom. All three of them quickly shot to their feet and rushed towards the room, faces set in grimaces as they made their way into the room.
The fiend was thrashing about in the bed as they entered, her covers thrown off as her limbs thrashed around; Power's wails making them wince as they approached her.
"GRAHHHH! NOOOO! AWAY! GET AWAAAY!"
Denji and Reze quickly moved to hold down her arms and legs, Denji getting decked on the nose for his trouble.
"Gah! Goddammit Power you're lucky I heal easy…!", Denji grumbled, his nose bleeding even as he held on tight to the fiend's arms, he and Reze keeping her still as Aki tried shaking her awake.
"Power! Power! Wake up!", Aki shook her shoulder with his one hand, "It's not here! Calm down!"
Suddenly her eyes shot open and she quickly shot up into a sitting position, practically throwing off Denji and headbutting Aki, the man stumbling back clutching his nose as the fiend looked around in fear and confusion: totally unaware of her streak of assaults on the men of the Hayakawa household.
"W-why is everyone here? I-is it g-gone…?"
"Nah, you're good. Doesn't look like she broke anything."
After the trio had calmed down Power, they had taken her to have some breakfast, the food distracting her whilst Reze checked out the two men's noses.
"Thanks", Aki says before looking at Denji, "I'm surprised that you got the worst of it Denji. Must've been quite the punch."
"Tell me about it…", Denji's voice is nasally as he pinches his nose, before quickly checking to see if it had stopped bleeding and pulling a displeased face, "Sure, I'll just have a little bit of the emergency blood in the fridge in a bit…"
Reze giggled at his displeasure, "At least you can heal it Denji, Aki here is going to have a sore nose for the next few days."
"I really appreciate the sympathy", Aki rolled his eyes as he sat down next to Power at the table, quickly followed by the other two. However, despite his griping, he appeared to be in pretty good spirits.
"Anyway, how are you feeling now Power?", Aki asks, quickly followed by Denji, "Yeah, you alright Powy? That was a pretty bad one."
Usually, Power just woke up frightened, it wasn't often that she had full panic attacks in her sleep like that, and it showed too. She was clearly shaken and didn't even reply, instead moving to Denji's side; clinging to his arm as she sniffled.
She had even reverted to being unwilling to eat her vegetables, throwing them up on her plate despite her best efforts at keeping them down. It was after they had cleaned up the mess that Aki started questioning Denji.
"I heard Makima just went on holiday there, off to Enoshima like she said she would", he looks at Denji with a knowing smile on his face, "Heard she invited you. Why didn't you go?"
Denji froze at the question, his eyes notably flitting between Reze and Power as he sat open-mouthed for a moment, before he just shrugged: feigning nonchalance.
"Dunno… Just felt wrong to go after everything that happened, y'know…?", Denji's voice was unsure, "She offered that me an' Reze could come with her, but leaving Powy and, well… yeah…"
Power had been a main part of the reason he hadn't wanted to go, but the other that he left unsaid was that he was well aware that Reze was no fan of Makima: that much she had made clear when they'd first fought. And if Reze didn't want to go, well… He found the idea of just him and Makima going a lot less tempting than it was in the past…
"Boy, I'm glad you didn't…" Reze let out a long sigh as she scooted over to Denji's side, letting out a dramatic yawn as she draped herself over Denji, "It's been much nicer just chilling at home, especially the alone time…"
"Uhh… I mean it's not like we-", An embarrassed Denji said, trying to set the record straight, only to be interrupted by Aki, who held his arm up with a sigh as he interjected.
"I'm going to stop you both right there before I hear anything I really don't want to hear…", Aki didn't even want to think about what they'd been up to, yet he still found himself smiling again a moment later after all it was good to see that those two at least seemed to have gotten over what happened in Hell. He just hoped that Power would get back to her usual self soon.
A short while later and Aki was tidying up after breakfast. At first, he had some trouble doing his normal day-to-day chores, with things like laundry proving to be much more difficult with only one arm. Though it was true that Denji and Reze could help, and they had indeed already offered to do so, Aki still insisted that he did the same chores as before; his pride playing a not small part of his reasoning.
As he was stacking plates into the small dishwasher, he found himself cursing to himself under his breath every time he went to reach for something with his missing arm.
'Now I know why Himeno always complained about her blind spot…'
At the start of their partnership, Aki would often end up surprising Himeno by approaching her from her blind side, something he'd learnt to avoid over time. He'd never really appreciated how annoying it would be to have a weakness he could do nothing about until now.
As he cleaned, his mind drifted towards the other members of the Hayakawa household. After breakfast, everyone had gone their separate ways, whilst Aki had gone to clean up Power had scurried away with Meowy, holing up in her bedroom, with Denji and Reze opting to go to the convenience store to buy in some groceries: a good thing too since it would be a pretty difficult task for Aki now all things considered...
It'd also probably be his turn to have Power in his bedroom tonight, the fiend did seem to like alternating who she snuck in with on a night-by-night basis. Aki grimaced as he thought back to Hell, to Denji and Power being brutalised by Darkness with little effort, with Reze's valiant attempt to shield Denji also coming to nought. He'd been able to do nothing but watch.
It was the same back when Himeno sacrificed herself, all he'd been able to do was lie there whilst Himeno gave everything she had to try and save them. To save him…
He'll be joining Himeno soon, that much was decided on that same day when he'd fought Katana: his contract with curse probably meant he had mere months left at best.
'I'll be joining you soon Himeno, but I'll give everything I have to make sure that they're safe.'
"Over here Denji, we still have plenty of time before we need to get back. Sit with me for a while?"
"Yeah, sure", Denji shrugged as he sat down on the bench next to Reze, setting his shopping bags down next to hers on the ground, stretching and letting out a yawn as he relaxed, an annoyed pout coming to his face.
"I can't believe we had to go to three different places! Like, who needs such specific ingredients?!", Denji huffed as Reze smirked at him fondly. Aki had given them quite the exhaustive shopping list, clearly wanting to have a decent stockpile of food and other necessities in the house for when they started work again. The amount hadn't been the problem, however, that had been the fact they couldn't get all the ingredients in one place, instead having to trek across the neighbourhood to two other shops.
"Stop complaining Denji~", Reze flicked him on the cheek, her voice taking on a teasing lilt as he looked at her, unamused. Her face then softened into a contented smile as she shimmied closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder, "Besides, we got to cut through the park this way, much better than walking through some dull streets filled with identical buildings, no?"
"Ehh… I do like the hustle and bustle of the city, but you're right that it's pretty boring round here…", Denji was looking at the tree line, an unusually contemplative look on his face, "Y'know… this place kinda reminds me of when me and Pochita lived out in the boonies. It was pretty enough I guess, and peaceful but…"
Denji brightened up a bit as he looked at her, continuing his impromptu speech, "Well, I'll go to any damn shop Aki wants if it means I can keep living like this, especially if it means good grub!"
Reze smiled, pleased that the boy had cheered up a bit, though a keen observer would have noticed that complex emotions were stirring behind her smile. It was a bittersweet feeling for Reze, she felt simultaneously happy that Denji was enjoying his life in Public Safety, yet also somewhat… bitter…
"You know Denji… This has been the best my life has ever been as well, though I… Well, it feels kinda dumb to say but…", Reze's face was twisted in consternation as she spoke. Denji looked at her with a mix of confusion and worry.
"Hey, what's up?", Denji hesitated for a moment before putting his arm over her shoulders, bringing her in a little closer, "This… Is this about Hell again, or…?"
"No, no… it's just…", she let out a long, tired sigh as she relaxed, resting her head on his shoulder as she looked out at the treeline; a frown tugging at the corners of her lips, "I always just wanted to live in peace, maybe somewhere in the country… But now life's better, but I still feel like… I'm not satisfied or something…"
"Ah that's all?", Reze blinked in surprise at Denji's blasé reply, her frown deepening.
"What do you mean that's all?", Reze's eyes narrowed dangerously as she turned her gaze from the scenery to him, a fact that was not lost on Denji, who quickly realised his mistake.
"I didn't mean it like that! I didn't mean it like that!", he held his hands up placatingly, "It's just, when I first started livin' in the city, I thought it was the best thing ever, everything felt great but…"
"I'd always get something, achieve something and it'd feel… empty, like I always just want more", an almost wistful smile came to Denji's face as he continued, "Sometimes I'd wonder whether I'd have been just as content in that old shack with Pochita… But you, Aki, and Power, I'd never have met any of you if Miss Makima hadn't found me that day, so…"
Reze's face softened again as Denji trailed off, looking away from her, embarrassed by how sappy his impromptu speech had come out. As tempted as she was to tease him over this, Reze instead settled for giving him a quick peck on the cheek before snuggling into him, resting her head on his shoulder again.
"I get you Denji, I get you…", Reze hummed as she made herself comfortable, giving Denji a light nudge with her elbow. Denji for his part quickly took the hint and put his arm back over her shoulders, his face lit up like a beacon.
"Let's just stay here a while, 'kay?"
"Yeah, don't need to convince me…", Denji replies, his cheeks still dusted with red after Reze's blatant PDA, "Besides, Aki usually doesn't put on dinner till way later anyways."
And with that the two sat there, neither really saying much at all beyond commenting on passers-by, simply enjoying each other's company as people of all sorts trickled past. There were tired-looking businessmen trudging their way back from work, an elderly couple enjoying the pleasant weather, the odd cyclist and even a few groups of high school students cutting through the park on their way home.
"That's the kind of life I'd wish for…", Reze murmured just loudly enough for Denji to hear, her expression filled with melancholy as she watched the latest group of students pass.
"Well, all we need to do is kill the Gun Devil, then we should be able to!", Denji shot her a winning grin, clearly trying to keep her spirits up. However, this attempt proved less successful than the last.
"Hm, depends how much you trust the generosity of an organisation that conscripts children…", Reze grouses sourly, "Besides, it's not even like I know anything about school outside what I've read, maybe it's just crap at the end of the day?"
"Hey, even if it's crap at least we'll be going together. Definitely won't be boring anyways."
Reze didn't respond to that, instead simply getting herself comfortable and returning to watching passersby, an undiscernible expression on her face. Meanwhile, Denji's face was creased with worry, ever since their run-in with the assassins and their unplanned trip to Hell itself, it seemed as if problems were mounting up.
Aki was missing an arm, Power was an emotional wreck with whatever effect that the Darkness Devil had on demon kind clearly leaving its mark on the blood fiend, and then there was Reze; she was usually very adept at either keeping her emotions under wraps or faking a mask of normality, but it was all too obvious that the visions she had seen in Hell had shaken her even more than she had let on.
And then there was another thing bothering him: Why was he the only one who seemed unaffected by the whole ordeal? Did he just not care? Was he that heartless?
No, it wasn't that. The thought of Reze, Aki or Power dying made him wince at the very thought, he could only assume that he was lucky that the Devil had settled for twisting him into a human pretzel, rather than giving him one of those visions the others had…
After a while, they had both decided that it was about time that they left for home, lest they incur Aki's wrath. As they walked, Denji was still deep in thought, the question of how human he actually was gnawing at him once again. Reze too was lost in her own thoughts, her past and questions about her identity still plaguing her. However, something else was bothering her too, something that she wanted to tell Denji.
"Hey Denji…", they stopped as Denji turned to look at her, Reze looking surprised that the words had left her mouth.
"Yeah, what's up?", Denji looked pleasantly surprised that she'd spoken, glad to have something else to focus on that wasn't his own thoughts, "Something wrong?"
She desperately wanted to tell Denji about the other thing she had seen in Hell, the thing that scared her more than any vision Darkness could have thrown her way.
"It's about Makima…"
She'd seen Makima rise from the dead, she just couldn't wrap her head around how the woman had managed to survive and what contract could do such a thing.
Hyperbolic maybe, but she'd seen that creature's sword pierce right through her chest, her arm getting pulverised, and then only a short while later she was completely fine. She'd revived her on the roof and the only sign of any damage on her was her cut and bloodied clothes.
Denji watched as Reze opened her mouth to speak, only to snap it shut again with a frown. She wanted desperately to tell Denji about all of it, but she dared not speak it aloud, Kishibe's warning to Quanxi flashing through her mind; who knew if Makima could hear whatever she would say to him.
She briefly thought about just writing everything down for him when they got home, before letting out a sigh.
"Ahh… it's nothing, was just thinking about what Miss Makima's contracts were, doesn't really matter…", as she spoke Reze found her own words more convincing than she'd thought, after all, Miss Makima's contracts were kept secret for a reason, it only made sense they'd be ridiculously powerful. And there was no real reason to get herself or Denji into trouble by just blabbing about what she'd seen.
"Oh, that's all? Yeah, they're like, top secret, right? I wouldn't worry about them too much", Denji just shrugged nonchalantly, an easy-going smile on his face as they continued walking towards home, "C'mon, let's get a move on. I'm starving here, and Aki's sure to be makin' something good tonight!"
With that they made their way home, Denji's worries momentarily forgotten as thoughts of dinner pushed all else to the back of his head, at least for the time being. Reze tried to match her boyfriend's enthusiasm but was finding it hard to pull off, with doubts clawing at her. Something was off about Makima, but why would that matter? It was common knowledge that she had powerful secret contracts.
Yet Reze couldn't quite banish those thoughts, nor the sinking feeling in her gut…
"Your hair's actually in pretty good condition for a fiend. You must take pretty good care of it."
It had been only a short time after dinner when Aki had declared that Power was overdue for a bath. Despite the general improvement of her personal hygiene since she'd moved into Aki's flat, the encounter with the Darkness Devil had led to the fiend neglecting herself more and more.
And now Reze, as the only other female in the flat, had ended up being roped into helping Power bathe herself, much to her initial annoyance. Though her ire towards the fiend didn't last long, the poor thing had been shaking like a leaf when Aki had tried to order her to go in by herself. Honestly, if Aki hadn't asked (ordered) her to, she probably would have volunteered.
Out of the generosity of her heart of course, definitely not because Power had been asking for Denji to join her. Definitely not.
"T-thanks, I- GAHHH! COLD! C-COLD!", Power's response was interrupted as Reze unremorsefully began rinsing the shampoo out of her hair as the fiend writhed and squealed as the cold water bore down on her, Reze having to jerk her head back out of the way to avoid having her eye put out by one of Power's horns.
"Settle down and stop squirming! I need to get these knots out of your hair!", Reze snapped as she held her in place, deftly running the brush through the fiend's long locks, untangling any knots whilst Power groaned, though not as a result of the water this time…
"Darkness… he's here… in the corner! B-behind me!"
'Oh great, here we go again…', Reze let out a sigh as she set the hairbrush to the side, it was so odd to see Power in such a pitiful state, 'Guess we should call a wrap on this then. Unless…'
Reze left Power on the small stool she was perched on, quickly wrapping a towel around her chest and padding over to the bath and turning on the tap, even adding in some bath soak while she was at it, before heading back to the distraught fiend. Reze wrapped her arm around the fiend's shaking shoulders.
"There, there Power… It's okay…", Reze cooed soothingly into her ear, hoping to calm her, "Come on, I've run a bath for you, just take your time, relax and soak, okay?"
They sat that way for a time until Reze got up to turn off the bath tap, with Power not saying a word until Reze made to leave, her hand resting on the door handle as Power cried out.
"D-don't! Don't go!"
Reze was stopped in her tracks as Power lunged forward, wrapping her hands around her waist, tears pricking the corners of her eyes.
"He's here! He's there! D-don't leave!"
Reze stays frozen for a moment before letting out another sigh. She'd been planning to just go and curl up next to Denji, maybe watch some slop on TV to send her off to sleep. Now all those plans seemed to be disappearing down the drain. It's not like she could just leave Power alone in this state.
'Ohhh, I'm gonna kill Aki for this…'
Minutes later and Reze found herself sitting opposite Power in the bath, her internal cursing of Aki fading as she relaxed into the warm, soothing water, the scent of the lilac soak she'd added calming her.
It seemed to be doing a world of good for Power as well as, whilst she still looked nervous, she no longer looked like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and was even starting to relax down into the water.
And so they sat in a not-uncomfortable silence, the only part of the visible over the suds being their heads and knees.
'Might've overdone it a bit with the bubble bath…', Reze thought with chagrin, Aki would probably give her an earful for wasting it, the miser that he was, though he'd probably forgive her as long as it distracted Power.
The effects so far seemed… mixed…
Power was still looking around nervously, as if every shadowed corner, every nook and cranny could hold a threat. Finally, as Power began murmuring to herself again, Reze had had enough, quickly reaching out and grabbing the fiend's hand, causing her to flinch and try to pull her hand back.
But Reze held on, waiting for her to stop struggling, and she did, looking towards Reze with fear and confusion.
"I'ms-sorr-"
"It's okay Power."
"H-huh…?", Power blinked in surprise as she looked at Reze, only to find not anger or annoyance, but a soft smile.
"No one is going to hurt you here, I promise, okay?", Reze gave her hand a quick squeeze before reclining back into the back, closing her eyes and letting out a contented sigh, "It's safe… So just, rela- GaACK!?"
However, it was soon Reze's turn to feel dismayed as her relaxation was suddenly interrupted as Power practically launched herself towards Reze, latching onto her and even forcing Reze underwater for a moment before she managed to break back to the surface, coughing and spluttering.
"Chertov chert vozmi!", Reze barked out between coughs, "What was that for?! Last time I eve-"
Reze stopped mid-rant, as soft sobs reached her ears. Power was tightly hugging Reze, tears seeping down onto her shoulder. They stayed like that for a moment, the only sound in the room being Power's light sniffles.
After some time passed and Power's tears dried up, Reze was just rubbing a circle on the fiend's back, a fond smile on her face.
'This must be what it's like to have a sister…', Reze didn't know at all what it would be like. Hell, she could even have a sister somewhere out there for all she knew, but this sure made her feel like part of a family.
"You know Power, Hell frightened me as well…", Power's eyes widened as she separated from Reze, looking at the Russian girl with her mouth agape.
"R-really?!"
"Yup", Reze looked at Power, amusement twinkling in her eyes for a moment before her voice took on a dourer tone, "I can't speak for everyone else, but that… thing… It showed me things I'd rather have forgotten and dug them all right back up. I even seen Maki-"
Reze was suddenly cut off as Power's hand shot up and covered her mouth.
"Shhh!", Power brought a finger to her lips, motioning Reze to be quiet, her eyes shifting from side to side. Reze observed that whilst there was fear in her eyes, there was something else as well; a certain nervous, yet excited glint in her eyes that she hadn't seen since before the incident with the assassins.
"Say no more! We are allies, you and I, yes?!", Power said urgently, clearly quite excited at this point. Reze simply nodded, causing Power to take her hand away once again.
"Was that really necessary though?", Reze asked dryly, looking at the re-energised fiend in bemusement, with Power quickly grasping Reze's hand and shaking it rapidly.
"But of course! We need to keep things quiet if we're to kill that vile woman!"
'Oh for fuck sake…', Reze slapped her free hand on her forehead in exasperation as Power continued shaking her other hand, animatedly rattling off increasingly implausible plots to kill off their boss, 'What was the point of all that if she was just gonna blurt out that of all things…'
But she couldn't bring herself to be too annoyed at the fiend, who knew all it'd take to get the fiend out of her funk was to agree to a vaguely defined murder plot?
'Well… at least she's happy, I guess…', Reze leaned back into the bath, humming agreement to all of Power's plans and ideas as she did, 'Bratty little sister indeed… Suppose that means I should indulge her a little more…'
Forty minutes later and Reze was slipping on what could generously be called her pyjamas, but which could more accurately be called one of Denji's work shirts.
She was honestly quite surprised that she'd managed to fall asleep in the bathtub, especially with Power prattling on about her ludicrous plots against Makima's life. Though she supposed it wasn't all that shocking; the fiend may be annoying at times, but it was quite… soothing… to be around her.
'I guess this is what it's like to have family…', Reze smiled at the thought as she walked over to the mirror in her and Denji's shared bedroom, preening her hair a little before catching herself and rolling her eyes: dressed like this, it's not like Denji would be paying any attention to her hair when she was dressed like this if his prior reactions were any indication.
'Now that I think about it, I must've looked a bit like this that time on the beach…', and it was true as well, with her damp hair hanging down to just above her shoulders and dressed only in Denji's shirt and some underwear she was almost the spitting image of how she looked after Denji had revived her (minus the blood stains and tears on the shirt, of course).
She hadn't expected that day to be a turning point in her life, yet that's what it had turned out to be. Sure, she was still under the sway of Makima and, by extension, the Japanese government. However, that was outweighed by what she'd gained: a boyfriend who loved her, a cosy home, a bratty fiend who, despite her antics, seemed to bring a smile to her face more often than not.
Then there was Aki… yeah she knew he wasn't exactly her biggest fan, with her killing most of his friends and all…
She felt a familiar wave of melancholy descends on her, as oft seemed to happen recently. Every time she thought about how lucky she was to have this second chance, she was always reminded by something or someone that her hands were, well. Less than clean…
'Well, better see what the others are up to…'
"Denji… are you mad at me…?"
Denji turned to Power, the fiend had been shooting him odd, mournful looks ever since Aki had left on a walk, and they ill-suited the arrogant devil. And now, as she and Denji waited in the living room, it seemed the fiend had finally worked up the courage to ask her question.
"Whatcha mean Powy?", his face screwed up in confusion, "Why'd I be mad at you?"
Power shuffled in place awkwardly, eyes darting side to side, "Well, it's what Topknot said… you weren't able to go with… Makima… to Eno-Enishi-En…"
"Enoshima…?"
"Yes, that's what I said!", Power snapped before her face reverted to its previous bashful state, "Well, you missed out on going because of me… right…?"
A frown tugged at the edges of Denji's lips. Sure, Power being in the state she was in had made him not want to leave; the idea of running off to the beach whilst she suffered left a bad taste in his mouth. However, there were other reasons why he'd decided not to go.
Obviously, he'd felt that Aki would need some help around the place and it was clear that something was a bit off with Reze ever since Hell, she did her best to hide it from him, but she definitely seemed troubled.
And then there was Makima herself. He'd always be grateful to her for saving him back then, but… why exactly was she so interested in him? Was it just his powers? If that was the case, why go on a date with him?
His relationship with Reze felt like it was a pretty equal relationship all things considered, but during his date with Makima where she'd basically dictated what they'd do, he couldn't even recall learning anything about her that night. But then again, she'd told him he had a heart…
Either way, it just would've felt a bit… odd, to go with Miss Makima…
"Nah Power, wasn't your fault at all really" Denji replied, the question clearly uncomfortable for him, "Guess I just didn't feel like going, a lot goin' on in my head you know?"
"Are you sure?", Power knocked on Denji's head, head tilted curiously, "Usually there's not much going on up there"
"Oh, shut it!", Denji groused, swatting the offending hand away, "Besides what happened to your whole guilty schtick?! Weren't you gonna apologise or something?!"
"Well… I would", just like that Power retreated back into her shell, but then she did something unexpected.
"Denji… Drink my blood…" Power had suddenly leaned in close to him, pulling down one of the shoulder straps of her tank top, her cheeks red as she bashfully looked away.
"Wahh…?!", Denji pulled back, his face flicking from surprised to unimpressed in short order, "Why would I drink your blood?! How- what's that got to do with anything?!"
"WAHHH, DON'T HATE MEEE!"
As Denji backed away Power followed, flinging herself on him and pinning him down on the sofa.
"BITE MY SHOULDER! DRINK IT!"
"THE HELL, GET OFF! I AIN'T DRINKING YOUR BLOOD!", Denji strained as he tried holding the girl off, to the point where she had resorted to biting her hand to draw blood and trying to drip it into Denji's mouth, "STOP! YOU'RE GETTING BLOOD EVERYWHERE!"
Both of them had been so preoccupied that they hadn't noticed the bedroom door click open a couple of minutes earlier, and, if they had noticed they would have seen a deeply unamused Reze watching on as they grappled; blood splattering all over the sofa and floor.
"And just what is going on here?"
Denji jolted in surprise upon hearing Reze's voice, an opportunity Power decided to good use of by forcing her cut hand to Denji's mouth and pinching his nose. Denji flailed as the blood trickled down his throat, with Power only releasing him when she was sure he'd swallowed a good amount.
And it was to this scene that Aki was greeted as he arrived back from his evening run: a befuddled Reze standing with her arms crossed looking on as Denji knelt on the ground coughing, meanwhile, a woozy Power crowed in victory; wobbling on her feet as she looked upon her handiwork.
Aki could only drink in the scene in horror, his eye twitching rapidly upon seeing his sofa painted with uneven splotches of Power's blood, with the fiend herself only now sealing the cut on her hand that had still been dripping blood all over the floor.
"All of you… Bed. Now."
'Just outta the hospital, and they're already dragging me in here. Could never accuse them of having much heart…'
Michiko Tendo was in a positively rotten mood. She had only been discharged from hospital this morning, and a Public Safety car had been waiting to pick her up right outside. She couldn't even say she was surprised, it's not like she joined Public Safety for its great work-life balance…
Now, in isolation that wouldn't have been enough to put her in as bad a mood as this, but when paired with everything else, well let's just say she was nearing the end of her rope…
And so here she was, sitting in one of Public Safety's interrogation rooms, dressed in the uniform her mother had sent to the hospital, a pair of crutches leaning against the side of the table. Her mother had been ready to rush down to Tokyo as soon as she'd heard about the ambush, having only been calmed when Tendo had been lucid enough to talk to her on the phone.
Tendo's gaze drifted towards her crutches, her face twisted into something akin to a sneer. It was lucky that her mother had called when she did, catching her at the wrong time would have been… unfortunate.
Tendo was dragged from her thoughts as she heard heavy footsteps approaching from the other side of the door and, with a rattle and click the door swung open, revealing her interrogator.
"Good to see you're still with us Tendo", Kishibe strolled into the room, appearing pretty unperturbed with the whole situation, "Our numbers are thin enough as is."
"Sir, why am I here? Have I done something wrong?", Tendo's tone was sharp as she glared across at the elder devil hunter. Kishibe for his part just sighed before tipping his hipflask to his lips. They sat in silence as Kishibe screwed the top back on the flask, setting it down on the table in front of him.
"Well, officially you're here for a wellness check. After all, Public Safety puts a lot of importance on the mental health of its employees."
Tendo would have rolled her eyes had the man's sarcasm not been so evident, "And unofficially, sir?"
"Hmmm, well let's just say I've taken an… interest in your mental health as well", Kishibe's face gave away nothing as he continued on, "I know it's hard to lose a partner, I've seen too many of mine die in front of me. Seems to keep on happening, whatever I do..."
Tendo didn't speak, she just kept her eyes fixed on her lap, her hands gripping her knees tightly. When she looked up, Kishibe was holding out his hipflask across the table to her.
"Here, it helps", Kishibe sets it down in the middle of the table, only for Tendo to shake her head, a frown tugging at the corner of her lips.
"I would, but it wouldn't mix well with the painkillers. Thanks though…"
"Don't knock it till you try it kid", he reaches across and takes the flask back, pocketing it, "Always good to have something to keep your mind off things, loosen up the gears in your head a little. Though perhaps you don't need it…"
"What do you mean… sir?", Tendo's eyes narrowed at Kishibe's suggestion that she may not be in the right mind, "If you have something to say, say it."
"Calm yourself Tendo", Kishibe replied sternly, "All I want is for you to fill me in on everything that happened to you. The ambush, and how exactly you managed to survive it."
She eyed him distrustfully before sighing, "Am I free to go after?"
"Of course, once we have the details, you'll be free to go home."
"Well, if you want to know how I survived, it's all here", Tendo pointed at her scar. Instead of running across only half her face, it now stretched all the way across it, dividing her face in two, "Made a contract with the Punishment devil. Basically, I get to live; it gets to punish me."
Kishibe raised an eyebrow, "And how does it do that?"
"Tch… Gave me this scar for a start, almost like it wants me to always be reminded that he died and that I couldn't do shit", Tendo's gaze was filled with hate as she glared at the tabletop, "Second gift it left me was this damned shit leg!"
Tendo angrily points at her left leg, her accent slipping through as she continues on, "Hurts day in, day out. Painkillers don't do jack an' it feels like someone's stabbing me with every step!"
Tendo flinched, realising that her voice had gradually been rising in volume to the point that she had practically been shouting at her superior, "Sorry 'bout that…"
"It's alright, I've given enough of myself to contracts to know that it's not exactly pleasant, besides, that's told me all I need to know."
"Sir?", confusion flashed across her face, she'd been expecting to be chewed out, not, whatever this was…
Kishibe fished around in his coat pocket and pulled out a pair of keys, throwing them on the table in front of Tendo, who just looked between the keys and Kishibe before pointing at them hesitantly, "What are these for…?"
"You've been transferred to Tokyo Special Division 4, effective immediately, a hunter like you is wasted in Kyoto. Those are the keys to your new lodgings here, I'll be needing you at work as soon as you feel able, there's a lot to do", Kishibe stated as if he was telling her the weather, and walked towards the door as he spoke.
"But sir, I-!"
"I left the address there on the table. See you soon Tendo."
And just like that KIshibe left Tendo alone, staring at the keys in front of her. And on her face was something that hadn't been there since Kurose died: a smile. Because on the address slip, there was a message scrawled, clear as day.
'Want information on her? Meet me in my office at 12:30 tomorrow'
That her could be only one person. Tendo had had her suspicions of Makima ever since she exited the doors of the Shinkansen and blatantly lied straight to their faces. 'I wasn't shot' is what she'd said, as if. The woman's seat on the train had several bullet holes, all of which were stained with blood.
On top of that, it had been Makima who had sent herself, Kurose and Subaru on that odd route back to Kyoto, and she was sure that Makima knew exactly what she was doing. But she needed proof first.
As she slipped the keys into her pockets and moved to grab hold of her crutches, a thought crossed her mind: Aki! Surely he'd know something!
'I'll have to hassle him over drinks, oughta loosen his tongue a bit...'
"No fair! I want to sleep in hereeee!"
Power stomped her foot on the ground, whining as she stood at the door of Denji's bedroom, the boy in question standing in the doorway, blocking the fiend's way.
"No way Power, you already snuck in last night!", Denji stood firm, arms crossed as he stood firm even as Power tried squeezing her way around him, "No, you kept us up half the night! Besides, it's Aki's turn!"
"B-but she gets to stay!", Power angrily points towards Reze, who was standing behind Denji, grinning impishly as the fiend pouted.
"Sorry Power, girlfriend privileges!", Reze sticks out her tongue at Power, the fiend shooting her a nasty glare in response, practically snarling as she spun around and stropped off towards Aki's room.
"Aki, open! Open! I command you!"
Denji and Reze didn't stick around to see Power's scolding, instead quickly retreating into Denji's (now their) bedroom, with Denji even going to the lengths of dragging over the chair he used as a makeshift clothes horse over to block the door.
"There, that should keep her out", Denji said, only to freeze as he turned around. There Reze was, lying on her side on the bed, clad only in one of Denji's shirts that covered up, well, just enough.
And Reze knew it too, a devious grin on her face as she patted the space on the bed beside her as Denji felt his face heat up.
"So Denjiiii, since we're all alone now, wanna explore some other 'girlfriend privileges?'"
'Am I dead already? Thought I had a few months left at least…'
Last he knew Aki had been lying in bed, struggling to slip off into sleep as Power twisted and turned on the other side of the bed. And now, suddenly he was somewhere else entirely. The scenery around him was… odd, to say the least.
He was standing in a wide open space, there was nothing except a white void around him, the formless shadows swirling through it being the only colour breaking its uniformity. He quickly found that he couldn't speak, couldn't move and that all he could do was stare into this strange void as if in a dream he couldn't wake from.
'Ah, a dream. That's what this is'
Any concerns that Aki had been feeling quickly evaporated. He must have finally been able to get to sleep, though this was strangely more peaceful than most of his dreams had been recently.
"Aki…"
The silence of this odd dream world was broken by a voice calling out his name, it was warbled and distorted at first, as if it was coming from a bad phone line.
"Aki…?"
It was clearer now, clearly feminine yet sounding as if it was coming from far away.
"Akiiii!"
The voice shouted out from behind him and his eyes widened, not out of shock, no. It was because he knew that voice. Aki quickly spun around, suddenly unfrozen; eyes wide as saucers. And then the white void was gone and he found himself in a familiar place: a small Izakaya he'd visited many times.
And in front of him was the very person who had dragged him there day after day.
"Jeez Aki, close your mouth, you'll catch flies!"
Aki's mouth was agape as he stared at the woman in front of him, someone he thought he'd never see again. A ghost.
"HImeno?! H-how, wha-?"
His old buddy just threw her head back and laughed, tears of laughter in her eye: apparently resurrection didn't account for missing body parts.
"You're dreaming Aki! How else could this be happening?", Himeno's smiled fondly at Aki as she reached a hand across the table, resting it on Aki's own, "I'm dead after all."
"I-", Aki opens his mouth to speak before quickly snapping it shut again, looking off to the side teeth clenched before looking back at the woman, his pained eyes meeting her gaze again. In it, he saw no regret, sadness or anything of the sort, just… warmth.
"I… missed you, Himeno…", Aki's voice was choked up with emotion as he spoke. Himeno smiled softly as she squeezed his hand gently, a sad smile on her face.
"I miss you too Aki. But, I'm also glad…", her smile turned sly as she continued on, "You seem to be doing pretty well with some kids running about the place, it's a good thing you're doing for those kids you know."
"I didn't really do anything, I was just tasked with taking them in by Makima, that's all-"
Himeno just raised her hand, sighing in exasperation as she took a cigarette carton out of her jacket pocket, holding it between her fingers and jabbing it in Aki's direction.
"Stop talking shit Aki", Aki flinched at her harsh tone, though she didn't let up on him at just that, "You don't parent three teens because Makima ordered you to Aki, you do it because you're a big softie at heart."
"I'm not their mother…", Aki muttered irritably, cheeks reddening as Himeno chortled and lit up her cigarette.
"Now what did surprise me was you taking in Denji's little girlfriend. Hmmm…" Himeno hummed while taking a drag from her cigarette, "Glad my sis allowed her to take the family name, so exotic!"
"Himeno I… Everyone has just been dying around me. In Hell I couldn't do a thing but watch as everyone-!", Aki looked near panic as he ranted, only for him to realise himself, letting out a long almost defeated-sounding sigh, "I… don't want to lose anyone else…"
"Oh Aki…", Himeno stood up, flicking away her cigarette as she moved around to Aki's side of the table, shuffling in next to him and hugging him from the side like she used to do when she'd had a few too many. "There's nothing you can do for the dead, but those kids…You have them, and they have you."
Aki just let her hug him, not reacting much beyond a humourless laugh, "And when I die they'll be left to the whims of Public Safety. I don't want to see them locked up like some rabid devil, they've had it bad enough as is."
"Sometimes all you can do for the ones you love Aki, is give them all that you have. All that you are", Himeno raised her hand to Aki's cheek, gently turning his head to face her, "Some things matter more than revenge."
Tears were steadily rolling down Aki's face, the man wiping them away on his sleeve before speaking, "Himeno, I… I got you killed…"
"All that time you wanted to… and I…"
"Aki, what mattered most to me was just being with you. I… I didn't want to see another partner die in front of me, especially you…", tears were shining in her eye now as well, her hand tenderly stroking his cheek, wiping away his tears, "Having someone who cared enough to cry for me… That meant more to me than you'd ever know…"
"Aki, give all you can to those kids, and in the end, you'll have someone who can cry for you too."
Suddenly they were back in that blank void, the shadows writhing around them as they stood in a white bubble of sorts, their hands clasped together.
"Our time's almost up Aki…", a bittersweet smile came to Himeno's face, a harsh chuckle escaping her lips, "Thought we'd have a little more time…"
"Himeno… I never told yo-", Aki was cut off as Himeno closed the distance between them, planting a soft, nearly ethereal kiss on his lips. The feeling only lasted a moment before it was over, Himeno pulling away as the darkness began closing in on them.
"I'll see you again Aki, when this is all over…", the shadows were writhing around Himeno now, only her face and arms were visible now and even now, as she reached her arms out towards him, she had a serene smile on her face, "And then we can-"
Her words were cut off as she was consumed by the darkness, the darkness rapidly closing in on Aki, pain shooting through his head as it rushed towards him.
"HIMENO!"
"HIMENO!", Aki shot up in his bed, drenched in a cold sweat and a splitting pain shooting through his jaw.
'It was just a dream then'
Aki frowned, it had all felt so… real. But why did it feel like he'd been slugged in the jaw?
"Hnngh, gonna… get you Dennjii…"
Aki looked down at the other end of the bed where Power was sleeping, the culprit of his injury being made clear when she lashed out with one of her legs, kicking a pillow off of the bed. Aki just let out a deep sigh, though the smile on his face gave away his true thoughts as he lay back down in his bed.
'At least she's sleeping well now…'
It wasn't long until Aki felt himself drifting off once again. His thoughts returned to that dream once again as sleep closed in. He wasn't sure if it was real or not, more than likely it was just a dream created by pure wishful thinking, but…
'I'll do all I can Himeno… and then… I'll tell you, finally…'
Chapter notes
Well, I'm finally done this chapter (and also finally justifying the AkiHime tag :P), glad I divided this into two, because this half alone still ended up as the second longest chapter so far…
Thanks to everyone who has read! Also I'd always wanted to write a pretty bulky fic and kinda set the 100,000 word mark as a benchmark, though I didn't expect to only be finishing up the Int Assassins arc at this point lol.
Well as always, thanks to anyone who reads and leaves feedback, always appreciate it and hope to have the next chapter out as soon as possible!
Chertov chert vozmi – 'Fucking Hell!'