Being discharged the next day early in the morning, I headed back to my apartment. Reaching the complex, I took a brief glance at the place and grudgingly admired the tattered nature of its structure. Made of soulless box-like apartments, it was falling apart with rusting metal stairs connecting all three floors together and mossy walls that were chipped to the bricks in countless spaces.
"You couldn't have found anywhere better?" Walking up the creaking stairs, I asked Mizuki who was walking just behind me.
"I ran out of Malice, how many times do I have to say it?" Ticked off by the question, she grunted like a hound.
"What the hell is Malice anyway?" I asked, but just like plenty of questions before it, her answer remained the same.
"Want me to lie to you? I told you you'll know everything once you've proven worthy of that knowledge," still claiming that it was for the best that I knew little about the situation, she kept her cards nuzzled close to her heart.
"Whatever, I guess…" With plans to visit the school today, I didn't have time to fish for answers.
Arriving on the first floor, the very first thing I noticed was Saki, Sakura's mother standing outside her apartment with an unusually large stuffed handbag in her hands. Having loaded it up her shoulders she was struggling to move around, but leaning against the wall she kept herself balanced.
"Akira? You're back already?!" Astounded, she blinked her eyes in disbelief as she noticed me coming up the staircase.
"Can I help you with that bag?" Moving closer, I tried to offer her some help instead of explaining to her everything that had happened.
"No!" She yelped, and her sudden change in tone shocked me into stepping back.
Confused by her tense demeanor, I kept looking at her for a moment trying to figure out what I'd done wrong.
"Sorry, I-uhn…" Propping herself upright, she heaved a tired sigh. "I just don't want you to faint again, you know? You're just back from the hospital after all."
From her words alone it felt clear that she felt herself to be at least somewhat responsible for what had happened to me yesterday. At first, I thought of clearing things up, but then reminding myself that she was Sakura's mother, I decided against it since if needed I could use her guilt to gain something vital later on.
"Stare at her face…" Almost making me jump, Mizuki whispered down my ears.
'Why?' I asked while moving out of Saki's way.
"Just do it!" She commanded, and this time I just decided to follow.
"Anyways, talk to you later sweetie. Don't feel shy to join us for dinner from time to time, okay?" Putting a smile across her face, Saki waved at me before starting to walk towards the stairs.
As she made her way over, I stared at her face from the side while she struggled to balance the hefty handbag on her shoulder. Then, as I kept staring a sudden flash of light occurred before my eyes.
'What the-?!' A neon-lit heart appeared in front of my vision. Beating a few times it broke its own shape and turned into an empty line. 'What is this?'
"Just one of the benefits you're getting from signing that contract…" Mizuki replied while the empty shape began flashing a loading message.
Once filled up completely, a box of information with Saki's picture on top appeared in front of my eyes. Shooting a glance at the real Saki, I noticed that she was already out of my line of sight. Instead, I was left with a phantom leaflet in front of my vision with heaps of information about her listed in front. Reading through the list, I tried to understand more about her.
Subject Name: Saki Imai
Current mood: Tense
Love Meter Rating: +2 -(Above neutral)
Regular Stats: -
Age: 36
Relationship: Widow
Abilities: Unknown
Likes: Unknown
Dislikes: Unknown
Favorite Person: Sakura Imai -(Daughter)
Secrets: Unknown
Sexual Stats: **Locked** -(Required love meter rating +8)
Please increase your love meter rating with the subject to reveal more information!
"The love meter has a rating from minus ten to plus ten, minus ten meaning mortal enemy, plus ten meaning blind love willing to do anything," explaining the love meter briefly, Mizuki cleared at least some of the information visible before my eyes.
"This is…More gimmicky than I expected from a demonic power," I muttered, unsure how I felt about the whole thing.
"You can file a damned complaint and post it to Mount Oyama if you want," rolling her eyes Mizuki retorted.
"What?" I instinctively let out.
"Nothing, just be glad you have something useful, not many demons offer a power like that without an additional fee," every time she mentioned being a demon, I just couldn't help but wonder if any of this was really happening.
In my previous life, if someone had told me they'd seen a demon I would've laughed in their faces, but now? I would've felt somewhat sympathetic towards them, especially if the demon in question was as frustrating to deal with as Mizuki.
Heading for my apartment, I began changing into the pair of school clothes Mizuki had already purchased while I was comatose for a month. Putting it on, I stuffed my phone and an empty notebook in the bag and headed out to catch the morning train to Hayato High.
"Here…" On my way to the station, Mizuki handed me a MetroCard. "That's the last thing I had the money for, you should be good for a month or two, but after that we'll need real stacks, meaning we'll need either more Malice or human currency to survive."
Despite not knowing exactly what Malice was, I figured it was some kind of currency exclusive to demons. Now how was I supposed to earn it? She wouldn't answer and simply reminded me that I wasn't ready to know the entirety of her plans.
"Still hiding stuff from me even after our deal…" I let my frustration be known.
"Hiding's not the same as lying so live with it just as I'm living without tasting a broken heart for days," gulping her saliva as she said those words, she seemed hungry for broken hearts or whatever that meant.