Past
Another morning at Kobeni's house with the lovely sight of the sun being blocked by layers of concrete from the other buildings, what you'd expect from a prison rather than an apartment.
Denji wakes up from the floor covered with a tattered towel.
"Woooow.... What a beautiful day." he says, stretching with reluctance and anger.
Looking to the side, the blond notices Kobeni leaving the room accompanied by her younger sister with a face that doesn't seem very happy with life.
"Soured by a lemon? What's with that face, girl?"
"Have you looked in the mirror?"
The adult simply puts two fingers on the tip of her nose, releasing a silent huff.
Denji watches the scene with a tired look, then starts stretching.
"What's this? Kamasutra?" Shizune asks with a mischievous smile.
"Yoga... wait, how do you know what Kamasutra is?!"
Shizune freezes for a moment, and Kobeni gives her a deadly look.
"Got something to say... sis?" The older one questions the child.
"Uh, I..." She then looks at Denji and points her finger - "Today you're gonna be my pig!"
Denji stops his stretches and looks at her bewildered, and also, obviously insulted.
"...Uh?" is the only thing that comes out of his mouth.
Without wasting another second, the child jumps on Denji and climbs onto his back, scratching his flesh and making him scream.
"Aaaaaaah! What's this for?!"
"Pigs don't talk like that, pigs say Oink Oink, so say Oink Oink!"
"Oink!" - Denji is surprised with himself, why did he do that? The answer breaks walls...
(Why did I do that?!) - Apparently, not even he knows.
"Alright! Now let's head to school! But don't you dare come in, you'll embarrass me with that perverted closet face!"
Kobeni just watched the scene with a dead look, also known as the supreme poker face.
And so it went, with Denji once again taking the brat to school and doing all sorts of things against his will.
Back to the present
"I still don't understand... Why bother with a human? He's just that, human, and nothing more!" - Power's voice can be heard in Aki's car, a lowered black Fiat Uno.
"Let me put it in simple terms for you, we don't know which demon he has a contract with. And besides, if he tarnishes the organization's image, you'll get less food."
"WE HAVE TO STOP THIS SON OF A BITCH!!" - Power shouted loudly, loud enough for one of Aki's ears to start ringing and the car windows to crack a little.
"KEEP IT DOWN!" - Aki shouts just as loudly, causing one window to shatter and Power's left ear to have a slight bleed.
"OWWW!" - Power screams in pain, with some tears, not from pain, but from tantrum.
"You deserved it." - The Japanese say coldly, without even looking back.
"Can you guys let me sleep...? I need a little nap." - Says Haruki, apparently tired.
Both just ignore the tree man, but decide to stay silent. Mostly because this mission was important.
Upon arriving in the neighboring city, they realized that the place was apparently ordinary and nothing very special. When they got out of the car, Aki decided to split the group. The plan was to bug the places with the highest probability for demon attacks and then, when one occurred, they would run there, because they knew they could run into the clandestine hunter.
That's exactly why they were separating, after all, if more than one Devil happened, one of them could go for an attack and so on.
The chances of catching the hunter were higher, and if one of them found the said individual, they were obliged to call the whole team. Taking risks as big as fighting alone was simply stupid, especially against an opponent whose abilities were unknown... although Power hated this part of the plan.
P.O.V Aki
Hayakawa was walking cautiously through the streets of the neighborhood (XX) while looking at the sky to remain discreet. This mission really was making him somewhat anxious.
He really didn't think he would have to deal with something like this, killing someone who was technically helping, so early in his career.
He understood why. He was a potential threat to society, and if things continued, probably a terrorist.
With a drag of his cigarette, whose ashes were starting to dirty the public security suit, he exhaled smoke out like a chimney.
{It's amazing how you humans are so complex to understand.} - A voice in his head said, thick, almost wild.
With a click of his tongue, he rolled his eyes discontentedly.
"Why do you say that?" - The boy asks.
{What makes killing a human, different from killing a demon? Both are rational.} - That voice said with a questioning tone.
Aki was a bit quiet for a moment, possibly trying to reason.
Until he came to a conclusion, and with his hands in his pockets, he replied.
"Perhaps... it's the fact that we're of the same race. And also, there's the fact that... he's one of us, hunters. He's on our side. I really hope it will only be necessary to apprehend him." - He closed his eyes in resignation. At least his response was decent.
{Hm... you have an interesting thought, kiddo.} - Said with an apparent smile on his face, and even though he couldn't see, this annoyed the young hunter a little, but he didn't say anything, just one last thing.
"I'm busy right now, Fox." - He said with apparent calmness.
{You have no sense of humor.} - And with that, the one who apparently was the fox demon cuts off his communications with Aki. How is that possible? Could the butterfly effect have caused so many changes?
Aki observed how people walked fearfully through the streets. And no wonder, demons always found a way to make humans' lives more miserable.
Life... such a precious commodity that was taken from his hands by that cruel gun. He was so young, and yet had to watch everyone die.
A tightness in his chest emerged, like a pain that appeared out of nowhere... but, before he could do anything to alleviate it, something happened.
The bug he planted began to squeal loudly, and suddenly, he heard an explosion. Both on the walkie-talkie he carried at his waist, and also in the real world.
However, apparently they were in 3 different places. They did well to separate, now they could go after the opponent more easily.
He noticed the smoke and the smell of burning spreading wherever he went, and could see people panicking.
This only reminded him of how this cycle repeated itself. People panicked, ran, the demon was defeated, and another one appeared. Then, the fear strengthened some existing demon, or created a new one.
He sighed, and when he was heading to that place... he felt the wind start to change and blow harder.
When he looked to his side, he could see a figure, in black clothes and blond hair, speeding in the same direction he was going.
It was ridiculously fast, he could barely keep up, but he managed to distinguish the blond hair of the figure... the same blond hair they were looking for.
Before he could do anything, the figure disappeared, as quickly as he had seen it. But he wasn't stupid... he knew exactly where it was going.
He started running while picking up his communicator and calling, then starting his speech.
"Attention all team members, I'm following the target, I repeat, I'm following the target!" - Aki says, with seriousness in his tone.
However... he would never expect the response that followed.
"What are you talking about, human?! I'm the one!" - Power shouted, indignant.
"Hello? He's right in front of me!" - Now it was Haruki's turn to shout.
"What? What are you guys talking about?!" - He questioned as he made a right turn, wanting to get to the scene as quickly as possible.
The communication was cut off when he noticed he had reached his target, and then he could see how he was battling a demon he couldn't identify at the moment.
He watched in surprise as the blond easily dodged all attacks, it was like watching an experienced hunter, at least in terms of agility. Not only that, but he seemed not only to be in the advantage, but dominating.
(This guy... demons of this level are nothing to him) - He thought to himself.
The demon, which was a kind of brown octopus with a giant eye in the center and 12 huge tentacles, tried to attack his opponent through crushing, but the man in black dodged in a somersault, and to Aki's surprise, a tornado appeared beneath him.
He jumped onto the tornado and used it as momentum, going up against the demon in a burst of speed impossible to identify with the naked eye. When Aki blinked, he saw that the clandestine hunter had crossed that demon in half, passing through its eye and crushing its internal organs.
(I'll need the others) - When he picked up his Walkie Talkie, he let his guard down a bit.
Thanks to that, the only thing he would remember when he woke up would be receiving a kick in the face.
The communicator fell into the hands of the clandestine hunter, who, yes, is our boy Denji.
With a squeeze of his hand, the device is destroyed. Thus, eliminating any chance of tracking.
"Now it's just to bail." - The blond says, and then, in an air bubble, he retreats from the scene.
Aki would only be found hours later, still alive and breathing, intentionally.
To be continued...