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[He doesn't expand upon that, because there's nothing to expand with. Angel doesn't remember much, if anything, about that place, aside from that he was there for long enough to start disliking humans enough to kill them. Even if it was so much warmer than the city, so much nicer. Even if he wants to go back there - but that doesn't really matter. It's not going to happen, so there's no use dreaming about it. For some reason it's very easy to put that whole place out of his mind.]
You're gonna go to Enoshima? [He looks at Aki for confirmation, since he assumes it's all his idea, being the mother and all.] I thought people said Aki Hayakawa doesn't take any vacations.
[Aki frowns, taking a card after looking at what he's been dealt, answering simply, "It was an idea Miss Makima came up with." Angel hums, long and drawn out, a sound that would be teasing or mocking if not for how flat the sound is and how neutral his expression remains.]
I heard it's a really busy place with a lot of people. Sounds like a nightmare. You should go relax in the countryside, instead.
[...Huh? He's hesitating because he doesn't want Aki to lose? Aki tilts his head over to the side, frowning at him before looking at the devil seated on the counter, licking his front paws.]
What - I have to do something you say? [Often enough that's their go-to. Power used to give them tickets to ask her to do things, like rubbing their backs or doing their chores, but she never actually did them when they would turn them in and instead would claim they expired. Verbal agreements became law after enough instances of that.] I don't care about that, it's your devil. I'm not going to be calling that name often.
[Well. He faces the devil again, staring it down, and the devil lowers his paws and looks at him warily.] You - Do you like the name Pochita? [He's still not really convinced the devil can understand human language, but after he says the name the thing barks, a throaty and scratchy sound like a pug with a smushed nose. Aki looks back to Denji, a sort of, Well? expression on his face. What more does he want out of this?]
But, oh, well. After wiping a few crumbs against Aki's bed, he adds another card to his hand. ]
You wouldn't say that if you'd ever been out in those parts.
[ The countryside, he means. ]
I mean, I sorta get it. Less folks bothering ya, maybe, but tell me why even small stuff you wouldn't notice becomes way louder out there! Like mice runnin' around or the rumblin' of your stomach. [ Then again, maybe that sort of quiet isn't so different from whatever Angel experiences every night in his holding cell. ] …At least in the city, there are warmer baths, fresher food, and hotter chicks. [ He ticks his fingers as he lists the apparent perks of living in the city, then shoots a glance Aki's way. ] Back me up here, dude. Nothing beats those top three things. Nothing!
The city is more dangerous. Though I suppose someone like you wouldn't understand that.
[Denji who has nearly touched him directly twice tonight, after all, probably doesn't get why Angel would be concerned with living a quiet life, even if it meant not having as many amenities.]
[Aki deals a card for Angel, since he isn't picking anything and didn't even look at his hand. Sometimes he has to force him to move his feet a few steps and then he'll start going. As for Denji's summation of the benefits of the city versus the countryside...]
I grew up in the countryside and I had hot water and fresh food. [No comment on the women. He isn't interested in discussing "hot chicks" with Denji and Angel, of all people.] There are benefits to both, but you're never fully safe, no matter where you go. Cities have more opporunities for individuals, the countryside is better if you've built a community.
[He draws his own card and raises a brow. Reaches behind himself to find the little thing of cheesecake he's been waiting to eat. Whether he's eating it out of celebration for a good hand or comfort for a bad hand, he doesn't show.]
[Angel tilts his head to the side and asks, "So, since you've built a community, would you go back to the countryside?" Aki looks at him with a confused stare on what he means by community and Angel motions to the room around them. "With your little family, here."]
...No. [Are they a family just because they live together...? Either way, he doubts Denji and Power would enjoy country living, and even moreso - ] I still have things I need to do here.
Pochita… Pochita!
[ He laughs, his hands sweeping the devil up by his sides as he hurls the name out again and again in a rush of giddiness. All at varying pitches: one questioning, another scolding. Like he's getting his practice in for the life ahead they'll share together. Each time he says Pochita's name, and Pochita answers or tilts his head in confusion, Denji looks at Aki and Power as if he were some kind of proud father. He's not sure actually sure what else he wants out of this when it feels like he's somehow got everything he wanted.
Still, he wouldn't be Denji if he didn't ask for more. ]
Well, since you're just gonna let me win, theeen… [ Squishing Pochita to his chest and rocking cheerily on the heels of his feet, Denji looks down at him in thought. ] The next time you go training, ya gotta take me along. [ A beat. ] Me and Pochita. If us two are gonna take care of each other, we gotta build up our endurance!
[Aki watches the way Denji twirls around with Pochita, the sight of a boy delighted with a new pet ruined by the shine of the metal sticking out of its head. He watches on without a word, his expression mixed. It's been awhile since he's seen Denji happy like this. He's an easy kid to please, but seeing him this overjoyed... It's rare.]
[So when he makes his eventual demand, Aki is a little taken off guard by the request. He wants to reject him immediately, both out of the desire to reject the devil being around and letting Denji physically exert himself too much. He hates the sound of his lungs heaving, hates when he coughs and Aki can hear the blood coating his throat from his racing heart. But his eyes travel to the devil, brow tightening. What does it mean, that he'll protect him? If only the thing could speak.]
...Fine.
[He's not pleased with the idea, but if he's around Aki, he should be okay. If worst comes to worst, he'll kill the devil. ...Or just, tell Denji to take a break before his body gets too weak. Maybe it will be good, he tells himself as he brings their after school snacks to the table where Power is waiting. Maybe it will help his endurance. Maybe he'll see how he fares.]
[What he hasn't told Denji and Power is that the Public Safety exam is less of an exam and more of a course. If he can last, he'll be kept. But it's not a day-long exam like he's been making it out to be. From what he's heard, it can last much longer. Depending on what kind of teacher he ends up with. Depending on how well he performs. And depending on how long he can stand to trust that these two will take care of themselves without him.]
Your make-up test is soon, right? Once you finish that, I'll take you to the field with me. ...You can come, too, Power. [But Power immediately rejects the offer, claiming she detests the feeling of sweat. He figured.]
He doesn't like this weird topic. This night was supposed to be fun, but at every turn, he keeps getting reminded of — Reze. He's over her, he's pretty sure, probably. Kinda sorta. He has Makima, and he doesn't feel as crummy anymore whenever Aki brews his coffee, actually likes watching the fold in his brow as he concentrates on blooming up the coffee grounds when he pours into the dripper. But now he keeps thinking back to what she said to him before, about the country and the city. Are food and fun all you care about, she'd said to him. He hadn't understood the odd glaze to her expression, still doesn't, not really. Yet, for a moment earlier, he thinks Angel was wearing the same look.
Aki says something about needing a community, and Denji's not so sure about that. Sometimes all you need is just one person to go there with you. He thinks a little bit about how he'd been ready to go anywhere, maybe back to the countryside with her, at the end. He doesn't know why. What was he thinking back then? ]
So when you're finished with what you need to do, that's when you'll be ready to go?
[ Denji doesn't reach for a card to add to his hand. Neither does he reach for more food or for the dealer's cards, either. ]
By yourself? Or would ya take — [ His mind scrambles, tries filling the next blank in his sentence with us, then moves on to me, and that's when he hears his stomach sickly gurgling, so he blurts out, without thinking: ] Angel? Since he wants to go so bad.
Angel?
[Aki looks at the devil with a surprised look. Obviously, it's something he's never once considered. Mostly because, well...] I couldn't take him somewhere like that. He works for Public Safety.
[Angel nods at this, then adds, "I hope I'm dead by then, anyway." As simply put as someone saying they'd prefer chocolate over vanilla. It's clear from his expression that Aki is both used to this and also hates it.]
...Either way, if I have time left after Gun is killed, I'll probably finish things here instead of moving back anywhere.
[What he doesn't say is If I survive or Should I manage to. The Gun Devil's death is a given to him, but his own future is more nebulous. Even with his right eye.]
So, you didn't like living in the countryside, then? Why not? [He doesn't really ask questions about where Denji was before Makima found him. Mostly because they come with depressing answers.]
Except when the resistance never comes, and all Aki does is agree, then mosey his way toward the dining table, Denji looks down just as the devil in his arms arches his glinting head up to peer at him. Oh, okay. Cool. That was easy. ]
Yes! [ The victorious cheer, nor the fist he pumps as he takes his spot at the table, is discreet. ] Y’hear that, Pochita? We’re gonna get super strong in no time! And then not even Powy'll be able to beat us at wrestling.
[ Power scoffs, dismissing his declaration with her own as she stuffs three slices of fruit into her mouth at once. "Hubris!" A mix of the juices from the fruit and her spit spray Denji's face. "You could gain double — no, triple your body mass, and I'd still be able to nelson you into ground. But no matter. The great and all-knowing Power turns away no challenger, regardless of how diminutive and stinky!"
Denji whines that he isn't stinky, that he took a bath just last night, same as she did, but he can't argue against that jab at his stature. As he is now, his body is only good for getting batted around in the hallway by some of his more ornery peers. It doesn't happen as much as it used when he looked more the part of the half-pint runt of the litter, and also after he started playing dirty back, but it's still not good, seeing as his primary concern is keeping his new companion out of trouble. Something out there injured him last night, a small and squishy guy like Pochita. He may have more coordination than a toddler who's just learned how to put one foot in front of the other, but Denji can't help but treat the devil like one. Like something to be protected, even if he can hardly protect himself.
So he's serious about the training.
That's why, sometime after all the fruit has vacated the plate they're sharing and the study books have been put away for the night, Denji's freshly re-bandaged feet can be heard stopping outside their bedroom. The door slides open a few centimeters, just enough for him to stick his nose through the gap, as well as for Pochita's metal saw to slide through from the bottom half. He looks like a certified weirdo like this, but, to be fair, he kinda is. ]
…Aki. [ He doesn't step in. He slept outside in the hallway last night, and while Pochita didn't seem to experience any issues adjusting to the new environment, he's not really sure yet if he'll be rejoining them tonight or sleeping wherever Pochita will be again. ] Whaddya do when you workout? Is it hard?
…All this is to say that Aki's answer isn't the one he wants to hear. It isn't a clear-cut yes or no, but, he guesses, that's precisely the kind of response he's come to expect from Aki. It's an answer suiting the adult offering it. ]
Didn't say I disliked it, [ mumbles out Denji, staring at his spread cards, like he's pondering whether to collect another from the deck. Sure, he toiled. He went hungry. He was dealt a hand, and he paid the premium price in full with added interest. That's all. Still, it wasn't so bad. He met his end in the countryside, but he also met Pochita there. ]
It's just not as good as it is here. Like I said, it's quiet, so when someone's beatin' the living shit outta your door at night, it's even more annoying! And, uh, the mosquitoes kinda suck. [ Spoken like he doesn't share a bed with one nearly every night. ] But they go away in the winter, so… [ The rest of his words trickle off, halfheartedly. As if he doesn't really expect anyone to hold anything but a polite interest in his experiences. He keeps talking, though, as more things come to mind. ] Ah, that's another thing, the colder months suck! You can't live off the land anymore 'cause all the food outside dies, so you gotta actually buy stuff to eat.
[ Finally, Denji flips his cards over first, a twenty in his hand, then shows the faces of the dealer's, a sixteen. Suspiciously, he doesn't look very surprised by this count. ]
— Alright, who lost this time?
[When everything is finished for the day, Power started complaining about feeling sick, so when Denji sticks his nose into the room Aki is on his side slowly rubbing her stomach. Power sleeps with her mouth open, drool rolling down her chin, but he's not really focused on her. He's tired. He's worried. He's thinking about how much more money this devil is going to cost them. He didn't find any signs of him scratching up the walls or leaving rips in the furniture, so at least there's that, but what does he eat? He gave him a small portion of Meowy's food, just to see what would happen, and he scarfed it up like it was nothing. (Though if Denji tried to give any food from his plate, Aki quickly put a stop to that. Denji can't eat less than he already does, especially if he wants to train with him.) He can't remember reading anything about what devils eat in his books. Only their ability to recover with blood.]
[He startles out of his thoughts, his hand stilling on Power when he hears Denji's voice. Aki sits up and Power rolls over, mumbling complaints in her sleep... So he reaches out to continue rubbing her stomach. Seriously, they're both so damn needy.]
It can be hard. [He won't lie to him, though he isn't saying this to scare him off.] I run some laps, then do some endurance work, some arm work... You know how to do push-ups and pull-ups still, right? It's that sort of stuff. [He's sort of stuck where he is due to the circular motion of his hand on Power, just looking at Denji peeking in through the small slit of the door... He looks even more like a kid than usual. He motions for him to come all the way in. With the devil or not.] If you can at least get to the point that you can run a couple kilometers without needing to stop, I think that would be good.
[When he thinks about the last time Denji must have run, he realizes it was last night. He got all the way to that playground and was there long enough to make a contract with a devil... Did he run the whole way?]
How were you, last night? Did you feel okay? [It's a little awkward to bring up, but with Power curled on her side as he rubs her tummy like she's a spoiled child, he may as well make sure Denji's internals are doing fine, as well.]
[Living off the land... Denji lived off the land? Was he growing his own food? Aki looks a little concerned by this (while also getting some of his questions about his diet answered accidentally - someone fine with eating scabs is probably used to eating what they can more than other people), but he's distracted before he can ask more about his gardening skills by him setting down the cards.]
[How the hell did he get a twenty?? Angel got a nineteen, and Aki only then realizes he wasn't really paying attention at all and got a twenty three. He drew because Angel drew - and Angel drew every time again. Aki groans and sets his beer down, looking at Denji targetedly.]
Are you cheating? Since when do you know how to play card games, anyway? You're too young to know how to gamble.
[Angel, accurately, mumbles something under his breath that Aki is trying to distract from his hand. Aki gives him a warning look that has no effect.]
[ And yet the way his gaze averts tells a different story.
He learned lots of things from living on his own. While kids his age were taught life lessons within safe and contained environments like school, Denji couldn't be picky about where, or whom, he learned how to differentiate edible berries and plants from… Although, being the undiscerning idiot he is, he'd still sometimes accidentally poison himself, anyway.
But mainly, he learned tricks such as: ] Keeping a running count — it's not cheating, it's just, y'know. Math.
[ Math he's been doing inside his head ever since he split the deck apart and delegated the cards, subtracting and adding and deviating values together every time someone shows their hand, or does and doesn't retrieve a card. He's not a mathematics whiz or anything, no way in hell, but when you're around folks like those yakuza pricks growing up, it's hard not to pick up a thing or two. Plus, it's no different from balancing a checkbook! ]
What, you dunno how to count cards? It's not hard. You just gotta use your brain.
Once beckoned, he pushes the door wide enough to allow himself and the chainsaw-dog to wiggle through. Pochita pochis over to an unoccupied pillow, sniffs at it, then flops over on his side. Denji, for his part, stops by Power's prone form to reach over and, well, be an annoying sibling. He pushes her bangs into her face, pink strands tickling her button nose, causing her expression to scrunch as she swats his fingers his away. When he loses interest in messing with her, he steps over her legs to lay himself down on Aki's other side. ]
I was alright… I didn't die. [ Casually lifting his shirt to expose the soft planes of his own stomach, he smooths his other hand over his belly button, skimming up his sides — Denji's clearly skinny enough that he can count his ribs — before coming back down again to feel up his organs. ] I mean, you saw it yourself. The only blood that came out was from my arm — and s'not, like, you saw me cough once when ya found me, right?
[ He just wheezed and nearly hacked up a lung on the way there. ]
Think I'll be okay. Anything you can do, I can do! Piece of cake. [ Denji turns over on his side, flashing a grin. ] Strawberry cake.
[ Hint… They should get some when he passes his exam. He he. ]
[He's counting cards...?! Since when does Denji know how to count cards?! He didn't even know you were supposed to wait three minutes until cup ramen was ready until he moved in here!!!]
You... That's definitely cheating. We're talking about stuff, how do you have the brain power to count cards at the same time?
[Not that Aki couldn't. But Denji is, well. You know. He's Denji. Since when can he multitask like that?]
I'm going to shuffle this time. [He reaches out to gather the cards from all the piles.] So you won't be able to cheat. Got it?
[He did look okay when he saw him... Aki turns so he can sit in a way that lets him settle in between them, his legs crossed. Denji lifts his shirt and after the way he started messing with Power, Aki misinterprets it as his jealousy and sets his other hand on his bare stomach, slowly rubbing in circles at the same speed.]
Like I said - So long as you pass your test. At least a 70.
[His eyes travel to the devil flopped over to the pillow. His pillow. He better not drool on it.]
The training I do isn't about pushing yourself to be uncomfortable. Like I said - it's to build up your endurance. So if you get to a point where something is hurting, you'd better tell me.
[This could be considered babying. Aki dismisses that. He's just being truthful. There's no point in doing something like this if Denji is going to end up getting hurt. It's not babying. Even as he thinks that while rubbing his stomach to pair the attention given to his adoptive sister.]
And... You need to be careful, with this devil. I don't think it's that strong, but you can get into trouble for keeping them. You shouldn't draw attention to yourself with him.
[ … ]
That I use during emergencies only.
[ And to distract from the fact that playing cards isn't at all an emergency worth using his finite supply of intellect for, he tosses his cards up like confetti for Aki to have to pick up since he's so insistent on reshuffling. Have fun, jerkwad. ]
I won kinda fair and square! So someone has to tell a story!! My vote goes to Sore Loser-senpai, here.
…Mm, fine. I won't push myself too hard and I won't let Pochita outta my backpack when I take him to school with me. Happy?
[ He's being so good, revealing his grand plans to give Aki a headache instead of springing them on him by surprise as he frequently does. Eyes drifting closed, his head turns to nudge his nose up against Aki's knee. Please rub his stomach more. ]
[Denji displays his apparent "oodles" of brain power by throwing the cards in the air and Aki watches with a glare as they slowly flutter to the ground. He grabs them as Angel watches them both openly. He catches them arguing a lot but this is like a private show.]
No, because you cheated. The round is nullified. Counting cards is cheating. It's a two-to-one vote. Right?
[He looks to Angel, who shrugs. Better to give no answer in this situation, especially when he doesn't actually understand what they mean by counting cards.]
See, two-to-one. If you're so good at it, then you can win this time and I'll tell you a story. Got it?
[But he's totally not going to. Aki shuffles the cards a few more times than is really necessary and begins dealing them out before flipping over the dealer's card - a seven. Perfectly in the middle.]
You better start thinking of something to tell.
[Denji almost gets away with it. He says it so casually and rolls over into his leg as Aki continues rubbing them both, but then he suddenly catches the entirely of what he said.]
You can't bring a devil to school.
[Absolutely non-negotiable. But he knows he has to frame this in a specific way, to show he's safer here at home.]
What would happen if a devil attacked and he got into trouble? That thing can't protect you, so he would just get in the way. Power can't bring Meowy to school and you can't bring that, either.
[He pats both of their stomachs and pulls their respective tops down. That's enough of that. Power has totally fallen asleep. The devil is starting to drool on his pillow, so he leans over to snatch it out from under him.]
You can sleep with him in here - But no bringing him to school. Not until you know more about him. Got it?
[Giving him a false victory sometimes helps.]
Yeah, yeah, got it, whatever! Already got something in mind to tell ya, anyway: Suck my d —
[ Denji snatches card from the deck to add to his hand, stopping his tirade mid-sentence. He pauses, his mouth puckering oddly, like he's trying to cheese a smile when he really wants to curse everyone in the room. ]
Oh, ho, ho! Not bad. Not bad at all!
[ The overenthusiastic reaction is a bluff and an extremely obvious one, at that. His hand isn't particularly good, but he's trying to provoke Aki into hitting to forcibly incite a win.
And if that doesn't work, he's got a Plan B. Collusion.
Tilting himself closer to Angel, the movements of his lips obscured behind his cards, he whispers: ] I know I told you to play seriously, but Hayakawa's really pissin' me off. How 'bout you throw this round and I give you the rest of my chips?
Watch it!
[ Do jerks get overtime pay or something? Geez… ]
Alright, I won't bring him to school yet. [ He's not sold on the idea that Pochita is fully useless in a devil attack. Like, what if he could communicate with the other devil and make it go away or something? Some test trials need to be run here. Plus, he's got a badass chainsaw thing coming out of his frontal lobe. His pet has to be way more useful to have at school than Meowy. ] I'll wait until we're both stronger and we can protect each other.
[ And then he won't need Aki to worry over him anymore. Won't have to feel bad about holding Aki back either. He can leave Denji, launching himself fast and far for wherever he wants to land.
Denji's chin tucks into his chest as he lays back down, arms circled around Pochita perhaps a bit too snugly. The devil-dog doesn't make a sound, though, only looks at him, then looks down at the gangly arms hugging his body tight with an expression he's never seen on an animal's face before. Something caught between surprise and an unspeakable warmth. Pochita snuggles in, drifting immediately to sleep.
He waits for the devil's breaths to even out to reach his hand over to Aki's bed, pinching at the edge of his shirt. He's not sure if he's still awake or not, but he murmurs: ] Hey. Until then… can you look after me a little while longer? I'll try to not be bad…
I thought you were trying to cheer him up.
[Wasn't that the whole purpose of this night? Now he's mad at Aki Hayakawa and wants him to have to tell an embarrassing story? Knowing him, it'll be something depressing and what if that ends up making him emotional again?]
[...Well. He draws a card, as does Aki, unfazed by Denji's attempts at grandstanding to make his hand seem so good. Even if Angel throws, Aki has no intention of being the lowest or the highest right now.]
[By the time Denji reaches out, Aki is mostly asleep, laid on his back and breathing slowly. Like always he hums when he feels something touch him, used to being woken in the middle of the night, his eyes still closed. Power is snoring quietly, but he can still make out what Denji mumbles.]
[He rolls onto his side to face him, eyes still closed as he reaches over blindly to where he imagines Denji's head must be to pat it carefully before letting his hand settle between them. He mostly just patted his face, though.]
Not going anywhere.
[He's probably said those exact words to him countless times, and he'll probably say them again in due time. They're easy to say because he believes them, as easily as he believes devils are meant to be destroyed and laundry dries better on a clothesline than in a dryer. He falls fully asleep after that repeated promise, not thinking about the devil that separates them.]
[He thinks he's done a good enough job getting him ready for the make-up test. Promising to let him go out and take the devil for a walk in between successful practice tests seems to help, as does the repeated promise to get him a reward if he passes beyond the promise to let him come with him when he trains. Anything to keep him actually studying. He sits through classes that day staring through the blackboard, barely taking note of anything happening and trying extremely hard to make it seem like he's not worried. He'll do fine. He'll remember the formulas and he knew pi up to six digits last night. His foot keeps tapping the floor to the point that he feels his seat neighbor look at him and forces it to stop. But then his pen is tapping next.]
[It's not that it's some hugely important exam. But if Denji can't even pass this, then how is he going to be able to trust him to keep up his habits next year...?]
[When the day is over he heads downstairs to wait at the first year shoe lockers, watching the departing students and waiting for him to show up. Tense and stone still, he can tell some of the other students look at him with trepidation. An over-bearingly over-protective sort.]
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