Chapter Text
It was a fine morning where you woke up with a cloudy day with light rain drizzling outside your window.
You liked the smell of rain. It usually brings a certain musk from the dry ground and lightly scented with flowers, and you’ll spent a good amount of time at the veranda watching the rain drop and enjoying the scenery and scent.
Perks of living at the hilltop.
Because the moment you step out of the veranda, you’re greeted by a field of flowers. You welcomed the light sweet fragrant scent that invaded your nose.
Then again, you smelled something else.
Something familiar. Probably 3 miles away. It smells like… alcohol and tobacco. Mixed with… iron and rust?
Interesting. A forager?
Cannot be, the current area are off limits for foraging. It has to be something else then.
Taking another whiff, there are a tinge of… wood? Some red wood. Too hard to pinpoint as the rain covered majority of the scents.
After a while you huffed a breath, perhaps there are visitors.
“It would be courteous to prepare tea.”
---xxx---
“Master, are you really sure this is the right place? We’ve been hiking for the past hour!” Denji panted and wiped his brow, the treacherous steps up the hike are definitely not his thing. It seems endless and no matter how many turns they took; the pathway looks the same.
And the rain, it’s soaked his shoe and making everything uncomfortable. Very, very uncomfortable.
“Keep walking. We’ll be there soon.” The old man ignored how his soaked suit is sticking to his body and continues to walk up the steps.
--xx--
“What pleasure do I owe for two Devil Hunters to be here?” You asked as you fill their cups with warm tea. The boy seems eager as he’s shivering and covering himself as much as he can under the Kotatsu. You did provide them towel and offered to dry their clothes while they could cover themselves with the blankets.
Old man Kishibe seems reluctant but accept it, nevertheless. On the other hand, Denji eagerly accepts all of it.
“I guess you can tell we are here the moment we step foot on the foot of the hill?” Old man Kishibe asked not touching his tea. One would take it as the person is not thirsty and not wanting to drink, but you felt it could mean more than that since this is a seasoned Devil Hunter in front of you.
Perhaps he’s cautious.
You nodded. “I can. There are rarely any visitors on these areas, those who venture near enough for me to smell them are surely intentional visitors.” You put on a practiced smile. “There are only a few handfuls of people knows the exact path to get here. And now that you are here, I can recognize this visit is not a regular devil’s house visitation.”
“Wait, you’re a devil?” The boy asked, dumbfounded.
You simply smiled at him before looking back at the old man. “For you both to come here all the way from Tokyo, it must be something important.” You shifted your eyes onto the box they carried with them, “Or something catastrophic happened.”
Kishibe maintained his neutral face. “I assume that you know who sent us then.”
You feign pondering, “I might have a clue or two, but it’s not important for now. I’m more interested about the box.” You rested your head on your palm and points at the box. “Mind telling me what’s inside?”
The wooden box is very well made, and by looking at the cord and the way it was wrapped, you recognized that it’s a traditional practice used for funeral ceremonies. Mostly for burials, where they put the deceased’s belonging in to be buried with them.
“Or maybe who’s inside.” You added.
Well, sometimes people do put deceased’s detached organs in too.
And you didn’t miss how Denji flinched. “How do you-”
“I see. So, it is real when they say Freedom Devil existed.” Kishibe said. And you chuckled from the statement. “Even Tomato Devil existed, I don’t see why not Freedom.”
“Wait, there are people afraid of freedom?” Denji asked.
“Unfortunately, there are.” You smiled sadly and refilled the boy’s tea. “In the current world that we live in, there is always a demand of order. Be it in the context of social norms, work ethnics, relationship or daily responsibilities. Humans by nature are bound to be afraid and worrisome – afraid of consequences when bad decisions were made; lack of securities when too much choices were given; discomfort of having freedom to be what they want when being judged as weird in social norm.”
You placed the teapot down and crossed your hands and rest your chin on it, “That’s when people yearn for control.” And you glanced at the box. “Yearn to be assured in getting their desired outcome; insistent in getting their hands on what they think they need. And those who has been hard-pressed by them begs for freedom.”
You smiled sadly at the box and looks back into Kishibe’s eyes,
“So, tell me, what do you want from me?”
Kishibe stares into your eyes as silence filled the room. Not even the boy dares to speak other than looking back and forth between you and Kishibe. Originally the old man didn’t expect much from this trip. He wouldn’t even had come this far out if it wasn’t the fact that she asked him to come here.
“The Japanese Government wants to make a contract with you.”
You hold your smirk, “All Devils are greedy and possessive, anyone who dares to makes contract with a devil should be ready to give everything away. I’m not excluded.”
The old man doesn’t change his poker face, “Well, it seems pointless to beat around the bushes anyway.” He leans down to take the box and place it on the table, slowly untying the box.
“The Prime Minister is trying to look for a way to keep this devil. In the same time, avoid any damage to the country.”
“I take it as this Devil is too dangerous to be kept in the Detainment Center?”
Kishibe simply nodded as he leaves the cover on the box untouched, he pushed it towards you and Denji frowned at it.
You stared at the box as Kishibe continues to speak.
“The Prime Minister of Japan still has an active contract with her. She needs to work for the Japanese government.”
“And in exchange of that?”
“Any harm befalls on her will be transferred to a random citizen.”
Then you laughed, loudly. You laughed so hard as your stomach starts to hurt. It’s been a while since you laughed that much and it’s the most entertaining thing you’ve heard in your whole life.
Denji’s face is so dumbfounded at your sudden outburst of laughter.
“What a greed.” You wheezed. “Or should I say coward.” You shook your head in disbelief.
You lifted the box up to eye level, give it a good look before putting near your nose and you took a deep whiff of it.
You hummed. Indeed, it is the very person you’ve guessed.
“Sandalwood.” A box made with sandalwood containing someone that smells like sandalwood.
How fitting. No wonder you couldn’t recognize her in the very beginning. Not until they wandered into your house area with formal uniforms. A ceremonial box no less and then you can confirm that this must have something to do with her.
“Sandalwood?” Denji asked.
“Sandalwood scent are unique. It was told that it could calm the mind and relieve anxiety. It helps promote calmness, control emotion, lowers stress level, fight anxiety and depression. Humans usually fall in love with it and yearns for it whenever they are stressed.” You lower the box and glance at Denji, “Sounds familiar?”
“I… uh…Do you know her?”
You chuckled, slowly lifting the box cover,
“Unfortunately, yes. This very scent belongs to no one other than,”
revealing a heart, still bumping inside
“The Control Devil.” You smiled sadly at it. Oh, why have you become like this.
You remember this bumping sound, you used to love it, used to yearn for it and listens to it daily. But that was decades ago, and you wonder if you should really peel the scabs that was hardened.
You put the box aside and smiled back at Kishibe.
“From your previous statement, I’ll say some blood related demon hindered her regeneration abilities?”
“A Blood Demon.”
“Hmm, she’s not happy about it I guess.”
“She definitely wasn’t.”
“Then why bring her back? You know the moment she’s back she’s going to rain hell on Japan again.”
“I questioned the same thing too, but apparently my boss disagrees with me. Mind if I smoke?” Kishibe pulled a box of cigarettes out from his pocket and tapped a joint out.
“Denji, would you mind open the door wide?” You asked and the boy obeyed, opening both paper sliding door behind him, leading to the veranda.
Your absent mindedly smiled as the fragrance of flower invaded your house.
“I have my suspicion when I started to live here. To keep such an order here in Japan without the aid of devil would be impossible. Given that Japan is densely packed with devils around, it’s bound to have Devils issues arise.” You smiled. “This confirms my suspicion. First the Gun Devil, now the Control Devil.”
“Gun Devil was never part of our possession.”
“But it came for her, isn’t? And that secured majority of its flesh. I can see why your boss demands her presence even though she could wipe out the whole nation.”
“Like you’ve said, humans by nature are fearful of uncertainties.”
“Cliché. Speak, what would the main contract be?”
“We want you to keep her on leash in Japan.”
“You mean her heart?”
“No. Her whole being. All you need to do is to kill her and she’ll pop right back in.”
You side glanced at him suspiciously. “The Government really wants her to be around whenever they want her huh.”
“From another angle, we’re all government’s dog. Just that this dog is more capable than the others.”
“But it bites the hand that feeds it.”
“Will you be her handler?”
“At what cost?”
“What’s your offer?”
You rested your cheek on your hand and frowned.
“Before that, why are you all so confident that I could contain her?”
“Let’s just say the person who brought me here knows you both very well.”
You rolled your eyes. Of course this has to do with that devil. After all the time you spent with him, he has to add a remark or two about you and her. Hearing him placing such confident on you, you’re not sure if he’s complimenting you for real or sarcastically.
You glanced at the heart for a moment. Seeing it brings lots of bittersweet memories. There are lots of unnecessary words were exchanged during then and you wonder if this heart felt anything. Bringing her back certainly brings more unwanted heartaches and reopening scabbed wounds that was sealed long ago.
What benefit would you get from this contract? You know she’s going to be a handful.
Then again, curiosity kills the cat and by nature you’re a very curious devil.
You stretch out your hand and Kishibe immediately dialed a phone call.
“She’s here.” He said into the phone before passing it to you.
“This is my offer, in exchange of me keeping the Control Devil bound to me and within Japan, I want you to terminate your contract with her. She will no longer be working for the Government.” You glanced at the box before continuing. “Given the harm that she has done, there are definitely parties that intended to harm her, or even me. In return of me taking the risk to keep her at bay, in any event that she or I was killed, random citizens of Japan would be replacing our deaths.”
“Do you accept the contract?” You asked. The other side of the line said something, and it wasn’t long before you smiled and hangs up and pass the phone back to Kishibe.
“So?”
You smiled, took the fruit knife from the table and stabbed the heart in the box.
It bumped a few more times before it stopped completely.
“Wait, holdup-” Denji gasped.
Then a dense smoke released, covered the whole house obscuring everyone’s vision. Kishibe and Denji gets away from the smoke and into the veranda. Kishibe got his hands on his weapon and Denji on his cord, ready to pull.
It was deadly quiet as they try to wait for the smoke to dissipate. Just then, a gentle wind blew and the view before them was clear.
A familiar red-haired woman straddles above you, one hand pinning your hand and another hand curved around your neck. And you’re on the ground smiling at her, with your other hand raised, calming down Denji and Kishibe.
“Calm down.” You smiled, halting them to do anything rash.
Despise your calm demeanor, Denji clenched his teeth hard, his hands still holding the cord, ready to pull. He’s still afraid, still afraid of that woman that she will-
“Denji, calm down.” You spoke to him and instantly his shoulder relaxed. His mind cleared, heart calmed, the ringing on his head were gone, his palm stops sweating as he felt… At peace?
“What… did you do?” Denji asked.
You didn’t answer him as you continue to stare at the woman above you.
“Control, are you back?” You asked, staring into the familiar yellow and red ringed eyes. This position used to bring warmth to your heart, it used to lead to something more exciting, but now it’s just a husk, and you felt numb about it.
They said scabs are made of dead cells; it has no neurons in it.
She gave no reaction and simply stared at you while maintaining a straight face.
“Control, The Japanese Government gave you a name, right?” You asked, lifting your hand to her face and caressed gently.
The hand on your neck tightens, it tells you something subtle, but it does not satisfy your curiosity.
“Makima was it?” You tuck a few strands of hair to her ear, and your neck feels tighter. “Do they call you like what I-”
“Why did you agree the contract?” She whispered.
You smiled, “So, you’ve heard everything just now? Good.” You smiled brightly at her.
Then swung a fist at her cheek, hard, sending her to the ground of the living room.
“That, is for disappearing on me for a few decades.”
Makima glares at you. Blood dripping from the corner of her mouth and her left cheek starts to bruise.
“Denji, what I did just now is releasing you from fear.” You stood up from the ground.
“Releasing me from fear?”
You smiled at him, “My abilities allow me to detach any particular emotion from a particular individual.” Then you look back at Makima, “You will no longer be afraid of her.” who is still glaring at you.
You smirked, what a rare sight to see. The composed and unfazed Control Devil is upset and irritated.
Suddenly you felt possessive. No one other than you should see this side of her.
“As I have mentioned, all devils are greedy and I’m not excluded, whatever you see here is more than what I’m willing to share. Your job is done, off you go.” You snapped your finger and a ring of blue flame circled Kishibe and Denji on the veranda, immediately they fell into the ring and the blue flame is gone, returning the veranda to its empty state.
You look back at Makima with a smile. “Tea?” You offered.