[1st POV]
Something was off.
She was forcing it too much.
A blind person could tell.
At this point, I was convinced that she came to the gym solely to get closer to me. She tried to do this by seduction, showing off her body, and touching me too much when we did sets.
She was acting like Makima. Only she was so much worse at it. It was like heaven and scrub daddy.
Where Makima was subtle, she isn't. Where Makima baits, she gives. Where Makima manipulates, even using truth, she lies.
Maybe it was because of my canon knowledge.
But Reze was a horrible spy.
Only Denji would fall for that.
I began thinking that she was more of a weapon of destruction, not really specialized to be a spy. She was young, too. If I remember correctly, she was still just a kid who couldn't possibly have that much experience or training.
"Maybe it was not such a good idea to come here. I'm absolutely beat," she said, her sweat glistening against the morning sun. It made her look almost ethereal.
To be completely honest, I didn't know why I wasn't falling for her traps.
I may know that she was lying, but there were so many ways I could exploit her. If I were to invite her to a hotel right now, she'd probably follow me.
But no, those were the furthest things from my intention.
Why?
..
Pity.
When I really thought about it, that was my feeling towards her that I hadn't really acknowledged. But after meeting Denji, I finally realized I felt the same way toward her as I did toward him.
Pity.
Poor girl.
Our relationship was completely different from the one she had with Denji in the movie. It was more like the players were stitched. While in the movie, she knew of Denji's situation and took pity on him, in this situation, I did for her.
It's like I am Reze, and she was Denji.
All these acts and all these attempts to manipulate stuff, I viewed it as the same as I would a child's antics.
It was amusing.
And the lie she fabricated was beautiful enough for me to buy into from time to time.
A cute high school waitress falling for a customer. A notorious Devil Hunter and a devil himself who had to see the worst things every day, falling for a bubbly and happy girl who was the complete opposite.
Straight out of a romance story.
"Although it was fun, I don't think I'll come again. The PE class is enough for me," she said, walking beside me. "That is, of course, unless you want me to come."
I smiled.
We were walking towards her cafe. I planned on eating a quick breakfast there before heading to work.
"Oh, let's get a drink," she said, running to the vending machine. There were three of them. One sold snacks, the other sold cakes, weirdly enough, and the vending machine she went up to sold drinks.
I stopped and waited for her to buy the drinks.
But in the meantime, my phone rang. When I looked at the name, it said, "Scum."
I knew immediately who that was.
"Hello?"
"Come to the headquarters immediately," said the man on the phone before immediately hanging up.
No please, no asking. Just barking out orders.
"Fucking scum," I said while putting away my phone.
Reze returned with two drinks in hand. She bought canned lemon iced tea for herself and a canned latte for me.
"Thank you," I said, taking the latte.
"I have to go. I don't think I can go to the cafe with you," I said.
"Was that a call from work? Is something happening?" she asked, slightly disappointed.
"....I don't know. The big boss just told me to come and meet him," I said.
"O-Oh. Okay," she looked like she wanted to ask more, but held herself back.
"Good luck with your work," she said with a half-baked smile.
"You too," I said before waving a cap.
I could see Reze standing still in her spot while she watched me leave in the taxi. The headquarters was not too far away, so after ten minutes of no traffic, I reached there.
I headed to the Operations Bureau floor, which was just below Makima's floor. I entered the office of the Operations Chief.
"What is that undignified attire?" he barked immediately when I entered the room. "Don't you know how to dress when meeting your superior?"
"Shut up," I said, walking in front of his table. He was a thin old man with balding white hair. And right now, he was fuming.
"Okay, you can talk now," I said after standing in front of him.
He looked like he wanted to spew some more bullshit, but when I towered over him in his own office, he wisely decided not to.
He threw a file on the table, his action speaking of resentment as he tossed it roughly.
"Take a look at that," he said.
I picked up the file and breezed through the contents.
A devil had taken over Hotel Morino in Shinjuku. Survivors reported multiple devil sightings, while the number of dead was unknown. The owners of the private hotel had tried hiring Private Devil Hunters and Civilian Devil Hunters, but all of them were killed or never returned from the hotel.
It had been confirmed that the Gun Devil pieces were reacting to whatever devil was inside the hotel. It was likely that the devil inside had ingested a piece of the Gun Devil.
A request to dispatch six Devil Hunters from Devil Extermination Special Division Four had been passed, waiting for the Captain's approval.
That was all the information.
There was absolutely no information about the devil itself because no one had returned alive.
"You want me to kill six of my members, is that it?" I asked while tossing the file back on the ground.
"I know you used to send me to the most dangerous missions because you didn't really care about losing me, and I was a hybrid. But I need to remind you that my team are not me. Most of them are humans, just like everyone else," I said.
"Are you denying a direct order from the higher-ups?" the man asked, still furious. But it was a deep frown and a stone face kind of furious.
"No, but I might," I said.
"We are doing you a favor. The only reason why this issue doesn't go straight to the First Division is that one of your senior members specifically requested missions regarding the Gun Devil," he said.
Huh. Sounds like something Aki would do.
"Why don't you start with that. I accept," I said, picking up the file.
"If that's all, I'm leaving," I said, turning around and leaving the office.
But before I could walk out the door, the Chief stopped me.
"One more thing," he said.
I turned my head, my body halfway out the door. He was the kind of person I liked the least, so I didn't really find it in me to be polite.
"I'd be careful if I were you, Captain. Your division is only an experimental one, meaning it can be broken down at any time," he said that like a threat.
I scoffed. That would mean I was demoted. But I wasn't like him, who thinks hierarchy and status are something precious and defining.
"As long as the division has me, it will exist," I said and finally left the office.
I re-read the file as I left the headquarters and walked towards my division building. And I couldn't help but get a sense of déjà vu.
Eventually, after rubbing all my two brain cells together, I remembered.
Hold on.
I remember this.
This was the mission shown in the anime where the squad got trapped inside the hotel by the Eternity Devil. Time was frozen inside the hotel and they couldn't contact the outside world at all. They couldn't even summon their contracted devils if I remembered correctly.
They were stuck there for days.
I smiled and closed the file.
You might think that I would be worried and maybe go to the mission myself to deal with the Eternity Devil.
After all, it had been proven that things could go differently from canon.
But I wasn't worried.
Not even one bit.
Because I'm sending Aki to this mission.
And after the contract we made, I don't think I have to worry about him anymore.
..
..
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[3rd POV]
(Makima's Office)
"Jin has accepted the mission, and you will undoubtedly be one of the Devil Hunters dispatched. But I want you to be careful this time, Aki," Makima said, even though it had barely been minutes since Jin left the Chief Operations office.
She had her ways of knowing everything.
"Yes, I will," Aki said, a bit of dried blood staining his face. He had come to report after killing the Tuna Devil.
The reason for his immediate report was that the Tuna Devil had ingested pieces of the Gun Devil. Hence, it was required of him to report and submit the Gun Devil piece immediately.
Makima narrowed her eyes at him. Her nose twitched. It was too subtle, but she could smell that Aki's scent had changed just a tiny bit.
She noticed this change a few days ago, but since it was so minor, she didn't do anything about it. Perhaps he had used the Curse Devil's power, and that caused his scent to change.
But on this day, as he stood in front of her, alone in the office, she couldn't help but notice other changes in him as well.
"Come here, Aki," she said, taking out her handkerchief.
When Aki leaned close to her, she gently grabbed his head and pulled him even closer. She licked her handkerchief, applying a bit of saliva before she wiped the blood stain on his face like a mother.
"There," she gave him a sweet smile, absolutely rare for her and enough to cause heart attacks in lesser men.
"Much better."
Aki pulled back slowly and Makima made sure to carefully analyze his expression.
Nothing.
There was nothing on his face.
"Thanks, I guess," Aki said, feeling a bit awkward.
Makima's smile faded ever so slowly.
Any other day, he would've been a blushing mess because of the love he felt towards her. His face wouldn't be awkward, it would be red and flustered.
What happened?
Coincidentally, Aki was thinking the same thing. He looked at Makima closely, waiting for his heart to skip a beat, which it never did. He thought maybe he was too tired. Perhaps the loud snoring of Jin next door had affected him too much.
But thinking more into it, he realized it had been some time since he thought about Makima or dreamt about her.
Maybe his love for her was slowly dissolving. He was still grateful that she saved his life and put him in his position, but other than that, there was no other emotion he felt towards her.
Strange.
"Aki," Makima called out, her voice lower and quieter than usual. At the same time, it held a palpable intensity.
"Sit down," she said, her eyes glowing, though it was hard to tell when she was bathed in the morning sunlight.
"???" He blinked once, then twice.
He looked at his surroundings, searching for a place to sit, but there were none. His gaze fell back on her.
"There's nowhere to sit though."
Silence.
Makima fell completely silent.
But she was not panicking. She merely reclined back in her chair, her eyes hidden by her bangs. She stayed like that for a while as Aki looked at her in confusion.
He was still standing.
"It's nothing," she said, her face no longer unseen. She had a cool smile on her face.
"Here, take this with you," she said, handing him a decaying bullet which he had just submitted.
Aki took it from her hands.
"That should help you with the mission. You can go," she said.
"Thank you," Aki gave her a respectful bow before he left the office.
The moment the door shut, her smile dropped into a straight line, almost a frown but not quite.
She had lost control of him.
How?
She didn't know.
But she could guess the reason.
Jin.
She joined her fingers together, elbows on the table as she rested her chin in her hands. She tilted her head in wonder. If she didn't know it came from Jin, she'd have been furious and immediately taken action to find out how and fix things.
But knowing him, it was almost fun.
It only increased her obsession.
Something she couldn't control. Something she couldn't understand or figure out just yet. It was chaos, the opposite of her concept.
...
"I don't think I can wait anymore," she said at last. Her words were unheard, but they would not go unnoticed.
..
..
[IMAGE]
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Author : That's three chapters tonight's.
Merry Christmas