Birds chirping in the background sweetly, Akira and Toru were seated on a heating mat with their legs under a warm kotatsu under the warm early morning sun in the cold winter wind.
"Some more tea, Master?" enquired Asuka as she poured more tea for Akira without waiting for his answer.
Toru was too pleasant to react disgracefully.
Akira felt he had become one with nature. This much peace felt so alien to his body, he began to wonder whether he is becoming the enlightened one.
" The poor demon. He has been screaming all night" Asuka said.
Akira's peace was broken. He was bought back down the earth and the reality that someone was dead, he was rich now and the demon in his head was real.
He nervously laughed, "Ah, haha... I'm sure Lilly is doing her best to make sure we are safe." he said in an effort to comfort Asuka.
" I am worried for the poor demon, not Lilly." Asuka said, with worry weighing on her eyebrows.
Blood curdling screams now came to the forefront of this unlikely morning and no one could here either the sparrows or the sweet cold wind anymore.
The screams were so terrifying, it made them imagine horrible things. A person being boiled alive, peeling off the gums of a living person, or maybe... sawing them alive.
Honestly, Akira or Toru did not dare go check. First of all, they were scared of the demon and second of all they were even more scared of Lilly.
"Open your eyes you half boiled bastard!" Lilly exploded her lungs.
" Please, just let me go I'll go back in his head I won't even speak I promise."
"OPEN YOUR DAMNED EYES" Lilly wasn't going to take no for an answer today.
Hot tears rolled down the demon's beautiful face. For a warm demon who had risen from a million years of damnation, he looked exotically handsome and enchanting. Lush eyelashes, porcelain skin, thin lips,a strong jaw line and well kept hair. He somehow had a great suit on which did not make sense to anybody, not even me.
"Okay! Okay! I'll watch it but please just let this be over after that" he said as he opened his eyes.
He looked at the screen. The one thing he was afraid of the most. In all the years of humanity he had only once felt such a revolting pain in his being. And that was when he first watched Dora the Explora.
And this was the 1,37,938th run of the same episode's tiny snippet of Dora asking, "Where is the mountain? Can you see it? Can you show me where the mountain is?"
The demon sobbed uncontrollably, "I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything"
"That's more like it. Good boy" Lilly replied.
" I used to be a grim reaper. Yes, demons can also be grim reapers." He said as Lilly was raising her eyebrows.
" My job was to lead the suffering to a least painful death but I misused my power for enjoyment. I was lost"
" I didn't ask for a sob story" Lilly intervened.
" You know I have been to hell and you are quite a rude person even for my taste Ms. Lilly."
Lilly did not respond.
"So long story short I was damned for eternity but then one of the angels pitied me and there's this whole 'justice for all, democracy and court" shit going on in heaven so they decided to give me a second chance."
"What second chance?" Lilly came closer to the Demon.
" Do you have to be so close to my face" The demon said rather shyly.
Lilly felt embarrassed and took a step back, " yeah I mean what second chance are you talking about?"
"Let me show you something" He said.
He then proceeded to look her in the eyes and he showed her one of his memories through telepathy.
Lilly saw her old Master, smiling and laughing as the demon held his hand and helped him walk up the stairs. There was unfounded kindness in the demons face, one that could make anyone cry. And the old man did cry tears of relief and gratitude. "I think if he ever remembers this he will hate himself, please take care of him" the old man said to the demon.
Lilly had tears on her face and once she came back to current reality she scurried to the corner of the room and wiped her face. "Who was that man. Why am I relieved to see he has passed over peacefully" she said to herself.
Somewhere inside, she knew that he was an integral part of her life.
"The gun is, after all, in Akira's hand. I am only the messenger who guides the soul to pass onto the higher realm." said the Demon, now getting up from the chair as Lilly untied him.
"You can walk now, but I will have my eyes on you every second of your life from now on. It'll be good for you to remember that." Lilly said as the demon stood at the foot of the stairs that lead to the outside world.
"My name is Akuma. You have earned my respect," He said as he turned around to look at her.
Looking at him now as he was standing in front of her, in his full human form, he was unavoidably attractive and haunting.
"No one, even in hell, is a match for you when it comes to torture." He said.
Two punishers looked at each other with admiration and fear, an unlikely friendship.
Meanwhile, Akira had set his mind straight.
"Toru, it's all because of you" He said.
"What? How is all this my fault, I literally busted my ass trying to help you out here" Toru revolted.
"Shut up! Toru you are the reason I got my head straight. I have something important to say to you, one cook to another" Akira said, now standing up from the kotatsu and taking a step ahead into the sunlit garden.
"but you're not a cook" Toru's reply fell on deaf ears.
Akira was far beyond the reach of reality at this point.
"I am going to fullfil that man's dying wish" Akira said, "I am going to open a ramen shop" He said as he knelt on the ground and stuck his head in the grass before Toru's feet, "Please be my partner and guide me"
This seemed like a moment between a Sensei and his student, the student asking for the wisdom and knowledge of years of training from his teacher.
But this teacher wasn't a complex one. He was easy going, and had the habit of saying yes to about everything the main character wants to do.
"Sure man, why do you have to act so weird about it" Toru said and Akira began crying.
Meanwhile Himawari and Asuka watched this whole ordeal from the second floor and were under the impression Akira was acting out a play with Toru. An odd thing to do for young men who are not artists by any means.
Akira announced his plans for the mansion and together, after much brainstorming, they all decided to turn the patio and the garden into a walk in Ramen Shop!
Himawari was drooling at the mouth over the opportunity to organise this new venture and rocket this business into a huge success and finally unleash her dormant business prowess.
Asuka couldn't wait to tend to the guests.
With Akira as the owner and junior cook and Toru as head cook, they had a complete team.
And I will handle the counter, a voice interrupted the warm cheer of new found friendships. " I'm Akuma, I'll handle the customers at the counter and lead them to the right food, you can count on me little Akira" said the demon.
Toru jumped into Akira's arms before Asuka could, Himawari weighed the prospectives of having that beautiful handsome face greet her new customers and Akira now realised that getting rid of an immortal being isn't his best suit.
The Ramen shop was to open soon, with unlikely friendships and romances building up. Can Akira trust Akuma? Is this another grand scheme by the demon?