[3rd POV]
"A party?" Aki asked while rummaging through the remains of the devil he had just killed. He was searching for a piece of the Gun Devil, which they knew this devil had inside.
"Yup. The Captain said it's to celebrate the successful extermination of the Eternity Devil. And now that Hiro is discharged from the hospital, it's also to celebrate his recovery," Himeno said, smoking a cigarette and letting Aki do the dirty work.
She blew out the smoke and added, "And also, a welcoming party to the newbies."
"That's three celebrations in one party," Aki said, finally finding the piece and putting it in a plastic bag. "Jin is cutting corners again."
Himeno shrugged. "Can't really complain about a party."
"Of course you'd say that. He's your best friend now," Aki said, wiping his hand with a white handkerchief before throwing the dirty fabric on the devil remains.
Himeno could only grin sheepishly. She and Jin had been getting closer solely because he promised to help them get together. He said he was team Himeno, not team Makima.
And apparently, the new success she found in seducing Aki was because of his interference and influence.
How could that man not be her best friend?
"It's going to be the whole division?" Aki asked.
"No, just members of the Devil Extermination, so only Devil Hunters," she said. "He is going to be paying for the party, so of course he wouldn't want the celebration to be that big."
"Why does he care? He's rich," Aki said.
"Really?" Himeno blinked.
"The Public Safety Commission pays him well. Especially when he is on a solo mission. One of them is always enough for him to retire and live a comfortable life," Aki said.
Himeno grabbed her chin thoughtfully.
"Tall, handsome, and rich. Maybe I should have gone after him instead," she said.
Well, she didn't know the inside competition she would have if she decided to do that. She wouldn't survive for a month going after Jin.
"Really?" Aki deadpanned before quietly leaving her.
"Wait, are you jealous?" Himeno had the widest smile. She quickly went after him. "I was kidding, it was just a joke."
"Right," Aki still didn't look at her. He was acting like an upset girlfriend with his stoic face.
Himeno couldn't get enough of that because it showed how far their relationship had gone now.
Soon enough, she'd have his baby to trap him and her mission would be complete.
"I prefer you a lot more than Jin. I was just joking," she said.
"Ok."
"I'm serious."
"Ok."
"Hey!!"
"Ok."
..
..
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[3rd POV]
(Crossroads Cafe)
"So these idiots think putting laxatives in my food would be a great idea since the prank went well for them when they did the same to Aki," Jin said, while enjoying his black coffee and French toast.
His coffee was so bitter it could murder taste buds. For Jin, it was either absolutely filthy bitter or heart attack inducing sweet. He never settled for normal.
Reze sat beside him, her shoulder on the table, while she rested her chin in her palm. She had a soft smile while listening to him talk. She also had a coffee jug on the table, ready to fill his cup again in case he needed it.
"First of all, that wouldn't work since I can eat nails without blinking. And secondly, I don't even shit anymore since I became a hybrid. But such observations were rare in their deserted heads. I knew they had put something in my food when I ate breakfast. And I didn't finish it not because I couldn't but because I had a better idea," Jin said, drinking his coffee in between.
"That afternoon, I went to their home to have dinner. I made everything they liked. But I used the same ingredients that they messed with. So they spent the whole night in the toilet. Their plan backfired horribly," he said, a smile on his face as he recalled the memory.
"Aki had nothing to do with it so I let him sleep in my place. Meanwhile, Power and Denji fought all night because there was only one toilet in the apartment," Jin said, chuckling. "I could hear them fighting from my bedroom. It was great."
"It sounds messy to live with them," Reze commented.
Jin shook his head. "Messy but in a good way. There is never a boring day with them around. And I think Power is slowly coming around from being afraid of me. I guess her being brave enough to pull a prank on me is good development."
Reze had a genuine smile on her face. She really liked this new development between them, albeit it was a product of her trying to get information on the new hybrid Denji.
Her life was bleak compared to his. Her whole life was just a hollow lie.
So it felt like she was also living his life when he shared these stories. Like she was part of their family.
Aki, Denji, and Power. Although she didn't even have faces for these names, it felt like she had known them for a long time. Like they were friends too.
"What about you? Do you have anything interesting to share?" Jin asked, stabbing a piece of toast and bringing it up to her mouth.
She ate the food and chewed slowly while thinking up a lie. An interesting made up story that could sound as alive as the stories he would tell her.
..
..
"No," she said in the end, tired of lying. "Nothing interesting."
"Really? What about your school?"
"Same as always," she said.
"I thought as a high schooler, you'd have endless fun stories. Isn't there like a recent confession that you rejected?" he asked.
"At this point, everyone knows I have a boyfriend from outside school," she said.
"Oh, is that me?" he asked with a smirk.
"What do you think?" she matched his smile.
"So I'm probably hated by many boys who don't even know me. That's awesome," he said.
Reze could only shake her head with a smile.
"Here," Jin said, offering the last bite of his food near her mouth again.
She looked at that for a moment before taking a bite. But it wasn't a full bite and left some for him too.
He smiled seeing that and finished the bread on the fork.
"Well, I have to go now," he said, looking at the clock in the cafe. "I'm already late for my work."
"Hey Jin," Reze called while he was getting ready to leave.
"Hm?"
"Do you think you can let me meet your friends sometime? I'd love to meet Aki, Power and... even Denji," she said.
He paused, already standing.
"...Of course," he said in the end, ruffling her neatly kept purple hair.
"I will bring them for breakfast someday."
"That'll be great," she said with a smile.
"I'm off now," he said, leaving the cafe.
He looked back when he was at the door, giving a thumbs up. She waved at him.
And with that, he was gone.
And suddenly, Reze felt the silence in full.
Her smile faded, the world became a little bleaker when the lies were gone. Her mind, on the other hand, continued to stick with him.
She turned when she heard her boss chuckling from the counter.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing. I just feel like I just saw someone kick a puppy," he said while cleaning the coffee machine.
Reze gave a cute pout before going to the counter. She took the rag and cleaned the table where Jin had just eaten.
There were no other customers in the cafe. It was late in the morning now, and they wouldn't have many customers until the afternoon again. Lunch was slow because no one really went to a cafe for lunch.
She would leave after this.
But right when she thought that, someone walked into the cafe.
The bell on the door jingled.
"Welcome to the Crossroads Cafe," Reze said while bent over the table and cleaning.
"What can I get you?" she asked, straightening her posture.
But the fake smile she gave to every customer faded away when she saw who it was.
"I'll get a latte please," he said.
Reze recognized him immediately as a fellow spy from the USSR. And that alarmed her.
Secret agents were not supposed to meet like this. This rule was implemented so that in case one spy was found, they wouldn't be able to track down the others. Oftentimes, the spies did not even know who the others were.
The man took the furthest seat from the entrance.
Reze continued with her work. And when the order was done, she took the latte and went to the table to give it to him.
She placed the cup on the table before taking a seat opposite to him.
"You got new orders, and it's urgent," the man said. He was an average-looking man with dark circles under his eyes. He wore the Public Safety Commission uniform, and he was a staff member in one of the training facilities who was put there to observe the new talents of Japan.
"We couldn't wait until your next contact with the Spy Devil, hence why I came here to relay those orders," he said.
The Spy Devil made contact with the spies only once every three months to share information and give new orders. The Spy Devil required a sacrifice of good memories, usually childhood memories, from the user. So its powers could not be used meaninglessly.
And the sacrifice became greater and greater with each use on the same person contacted. Hence why every spy could only get information now and then.
But the new orders this time were urgent enough that they couldn't wait for Reze's next contact.
"Speak then," Reze said, not too fond of how things were going.
"We finally got information on the Pig Devil. And the case is more severe than anyone could have imagined," he said, and Reze immediately felt her gut tighten.
"Someone from the higher-ups of the Public Safety Commission gave us this information, so it should be trustworthy. Someone who wanted the Pig Devil gone, knowing the dangers it holds," he said.
"The Pig Devil has the ability to consume devils, sealing them permanently inside its stomach. And that's not all. The Pig Devil absorbs the power of all the devils it consumes, growing infinitely stronger with every foe it defeats," he said.
"What..?" Reze was dumbfounded at the broken ability.
"This information has been confirmed through many sources and means," he said. "The person who tipped us on this information also requested you personally to deal with the Pig Devil."
"What does that mean?"
"It means your cover is blown, and the person knows who you are and also your capabilities. That's why they specifically requested you," he said.
"The USSR had determined that, with the relationship you were able to cultivate with the hybrid Jin Nakahara, you should be capable of taking him down while he is not on guard. Otherwise, even you wouldn't be a match against him," he said.
"But what about the Chainsaw? W-What about Denji? I was going to meet him soon," Reze said, her breathing ragged from her emotions.
"The Chainsaw Devil is irrelevant when compared to the Pig Devil," he said coldly, "Your new orders are these," he said.
Reze felt her stomach clench. No, not her stomach. The thing right above that. The thing that wasn't even hers anymore.
Her heart.
"You must kill the Pig Devil, Jin Nakahara, as soon as possible and then return to the USSR immediately."
"We can't allow him to grow any stronger. He needs to be dealt with now, while he is at his weakest. If you can, do it tonight. If not, do it tomorrow."
The man finished his latte and left soon after.
Reze was left sitting there, her head lowered and her bangs hiding her eyes.
She trembled and then became still.
Liquid like emotions and then solid like object.
A weapon.
In the end, that's all she was.
A weapon.
..
..
[IMAGE]
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