Now that he was out of trouble and no longer being pursued, Damien felt content and safe. They could settle down in Midoriumi. Dana was still out for their blood, but she wasn't actively trying to hunt and kill them. She was waiting for Damien to fight her again, and this time, he would be ready.
Damien went to pick up a few things from the corner shop, snacks for everyone and cola for himself. On the way back, he had a little explore of the town. It was more like an island, with a small population, hut-like houses, surrounded by a beautiful blue sea. He felt at peace here. The fact that the whole of Earth knew who he was weighed on his mind, but he felt no fear in such an obscure, gentle place. Everyone kept to themselves and barely spoke to their neighbours. He could hide in plain sight.
Despite his comfort, today he felt like he was being watched. They weren't being stealthy, though. He could hear their footsteps and their whispering. Strangely, even though they were following him, he felt no threat from them. If they were stupid enough to be so loud and obvious, they weren't dangerous.
It was when he was almost home that they made themselves properly known. Three figures in black cloaks leapt down in front of him from the shadows. Instead of panicking, he just watched them curiously. They were taller than him, two of them at least six foot. But they weren't scary at all. In fact, they looked a little soft. They weren't in a fighting position. Instead, they just stood there, watching him.
Damien raised an eyebrow. "Um, what's up?" He asked casually. "You need anything?"
The three strangers just stared, then started whispering to each other. Then one stood forward, waving.
"Hi!" The person said, in a high-pitched feminine voice. "We were just wondering, could you come with us a sec?"
"Why would I do that?" Damien asked. "What do you want? I'm a little busy."
The cloaked people started whispering again, but Damien could clearly hear them.
"He's not coming with us." Whined the female one. "What do we do?"
"I told you he wouldn't go with us!" One said with a nasally male voice. "We should just kidnap him!"
"That wouldn't be fair!" She said. "Maybe if we ask again nicely-"
"It'll get us nowhere! He's not gonna agree no matter how much we ask, so we should make him come!"
"We should break his legs." Answered a monotonous male with a lisp. "Then he can't run away."
"Good idea!"
"No!" The girl shrieked. "That's mean!"
By this point, Damien had enough. He huffed and shoved past them. He was tired of listening to them argue. The bags full of snacks were making his hands ache.
"Wait!" The girl yelled after him. "We seriously need you to come with-"
"Fight me." The lispy guy said.
Damien stopped. He looked over his shoulder, eyebrow raised. The man was a lot taller than him and, from what he could tell with the cloak in the way, was lean and broader-shouldered, though he was still slim. He could take him, but should he risk it? All he wanted was for them to go away and leave him alone.
"If I agree to fight you, will you fuck off?" Damien asked.
"I guarantee you, if you beat me, off I will fuck." The man said in the bored tone he'd used for the whole encounter. "So, what do you say?"
After a few seconds of considering his options, Damien grinned. "All right. Just don't cry when I kick your ass."
The cloaked man hummed. "Same to you, little man."
Little man? Is that what he said? Rage bubbled up in Damien. Though he wouldn't admit it, his height – a shameful 5 foot 4 at 21 years old – was a major trigger point. His father, Satan, was well over 6 foot. It wasn't Damien's fault he was short. He was born premature, so of course he was on the small, delicate side. Didn't mean he liked it being mentioned.
"The fuck did you call me?" Damien snapped, marching up to the annoyingly tall man.
Giant fucker gave him a dull whistle. "Look, midget's blown his top."
The other guy had the nerve to cackle. Damien gritted his teeth and threw a punch at the big bastard. He calmly swerved out of the way to avoid the hit, like he wasn't even trying. This pissed Damien off even more. The tall prick grabbed his arms tight, lifted him off the ground with ease and began to spin him around at top speed. It was humiliating, and made him dizzy.
He wasn't going to fucking take this.
The knobhead twirled him around like a ragdoll. Damien used all of his strength to launch himself at his neck and sank his teeth into his flesh, and the fabric of his cloak, like an angry vampire. The man hissed and swore. For the first time, his bored tone changed to one of pained annoyance.
The man shoved his fist into Damien's hair and yanked him off. Damien lifted his legs and booted him in the gut. Giant prick stumbled backwards and released him, clutching his stomach.
"Dude, why'd you give me a hickey? That's a little sick."
"It's not a fucking hickey, you twat!" Damien yelled, spitting the other's blood out. "I fucking bit you! Call a bite a bite!"
A tut was all he got from the dick. Damien ran at him, fist pulled back again. The man once more dodged his punch and grabbed his arm. But he didn't spin him around this time.
The cloak's hood was pulled back to reveal a fresh-faced young man with thick eyeliner and upside-down crosses drawn from his eyes to his jaw. But the thing that most shocked Damien were his eyes. They were slitted and azure blue. Was he some kind of snake man?
Damien felt his mind melting and his body going limp. He knew he was being hypnotised, but he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't fight back. He couldn't move.
Feeling like he was being enveloped in ice, Damien blacked out and collapsed into the man's arms.