Alright, I'm insane, its almost 6 in the morning and I'm still alive and kicking. And writing as well. orz
Anyway, story. Story ahead. I was obviously inspired by a certain game.
As the title gives it away...
Warning, character death again.
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Devil May Cry"Devils do not love!"
"Well, I love
me! It's the only kind of love that makes sense!"
The young one snapped back harshly, blue flame dancing around the tips of her claws as she slashed at the noxious fumes of their realm, leaving glowing trails to mark the passage. Eyes simmering like hot coals burned deeply within the sockets of that face, stripped of human guise in their own world. Blood red prints ran down that slim nakedness, vaguely humanoid in outline, but plated with natural horn-tough devil-hide under the steel-blue fur, impenetrable except to the sharpest of weapons. Raw gashes on that body revealed a sickly black ooze that came from within, evidence that even those natural defenses could be breached.
Blue flame flickered ominously as she slashed the air again to emphasize her point.
"You've grown weak, Ai! You're sympathizing with those human scum!"
Red eyes like distant stars burned dangerously in the bladed figure directly opposite her. The voice was of fury and flames as she replied.
"Not so weak that I can't still fend off the likes of you,
Reina." As if in emphasis, those distant eyes scanned the wide gashes across her vaguely furred counterpart. Reina scowled, showing off a full set of very pointy teeth in her true form.
"You were never the same after you returned! Perhaps you turned traitor..." She did not get to finish her words, arms snapping up instinctively to block the slashing strike from the coldly angry Ai. The blow staggered her, and she hopped a few more yards back to hide her weakness from her superior opponent.
"I am no traitor! I am a devil!" Ai declared, her voice going down to a low growl. Her entire form in her natural state was all angles and ends, a walking blade. Her flesh was harder than diamond, and sharp enough to open those selfsame gashes on Reina's chest. Hidden claws stayed retracted within her forearms; her wrist blades more than sufficient to deal with an insolent young lieutenant, newly promoted and too cocky for her own good.
"I know you, Ai!" Reina hissed lowly, arms still throbbing from blocking that last blow. "You no longer thirst for blood in battle! I can see it!" A triumphant sneer. "You will bring about your own fall, and I'll be the one who causes it!"
With that, Reina bent over, great leathery wings bursting from her back as she arched, and with a coiled leap she took to the air, circling mockingly over the bladed general.
"I will take your head and your place one day!" A flutter of wings, and the furred devil took to the skies, eager to escape before the other could finish her off.
Ai grunted, touching the sore spot on her right arm where Reina had managed to get a solid hit in earlier, turning her back on the departing younger devil. Once upon a time, she would have torn others apart for less than that, but she no longer saw the point for such mindless savagery, even in the face of such insolence.
It had not always been like this, not for her, not the Devil Axe, not the Left General of the Devil Lord's armies. She had slaughtered thousands, tens of thousands, waging war against the human cattle that polluted the earth. Torn apart women, children, and the old. Fed upon innocent young babes. Ripped apart screaming young men who thought they could challenge her. Her, one of the strongest in Sheol!
Strength was all that mattered to them, to the devils. The strongest survived, prospered, won pride and position by besting others. It was a brutal, direct way of deciding one's station in life. You either won and lived, or lost and died. Either way, you fought. From birth, from the den, fighting until something else stronger overtook you.
That was the devil way. Their way.
Her way. Until recently.
The war had gone on longer than expected. Humans, weak as they were, were annoyingly numerous and even more irritatingly resilient. Despite the obvious superiority of the devils in strength and intellect, humans continued to resist them, fighting to the death and never giving up their pathetic hope that they could overcome the invaders. How foolish they were, yet how fascinating in their mindless and obviously misguided hope and courage.
As a general and a warrior, Ai led the armies against the human warriors, spreading destruction and carnage wherever she went. She had enough blood and death to soak in for the next few decades, all in the space of 2 years. She stood proud, proud of her own strength, her capabilities. Reina had been right. The only love the devil race had was for themselves and their pride. All other emotions had been discarded in their race to create the perfect warrior.
But there was no loyalty among devils. Loyalty like those between one pathetic human insect and another, comrades who would fight and die to their last breath, unwilling to abandon each other in defense of their homeland. The only price of loyalty in Sheol was strength, and he (or she) who was the strongest ruled. Respect came only for power, and only lasted as long as until someone else stronger took over.
She had been challenged, nay, ambushed, by those wishing her position. Reina, at the very least, had the decency to issue a formal challenge as the old ways dictated. Others less honorable, spoiled by the time of war against weak humans, had conspired to turn on her in battle, seeking to remove the general so that they could contest for her place.
Granted, she should have known better than to leave her back open to anyone at all, even if they were her subordinates. Still, having poisonous claws rip into you from behind was never a pleasant experience, and even though she paid them back in full for that treachery (there wasn't enough of them left to bury), she had been severely weakened, instinctively fleeing from the rest of her army after felling those who had wounded her. After all, weakness was intolerable amongst their kind, and to stay where she was after being so badly injured would be to invite her own death from other ambitious underlings.
A devil in human lands would hardly have been welcome, and Ai had had the presence of mind to assume a human guise with the last of her magic, collapsing not too far from the ruined village she had sacked with her own hands not so very long ago. She had resigned herself to either healing and surviving to fight another day, or dying right there if her body could not ward off the toxins coursing through her bloodstream on its own. She had been taught to give no mercy, and expect none in return.
But it was mercy she encountered that day, mercy from an
enemy, of all things. From weak humans! The Ai of the past could not have thought of anything more humiliating, waking up to find that her wounds had been neatly dressed and herself lying on a cot. In the temple city, no less! Where the magical wards had kept the Right Vanguard from charging in to obliterate the place! She, the Left General of the devil armies, the one who gave the Field of Blood its name, in this place!
She could have transformed then, and tore the city apart from inside. But she didn't. She couldn't. The wards had allowed her in, showing that her injuries had been more extensive than she had first estimated, so much so that her demonic aura had not been detected and repulsed. She would have had to recover first before harboring any hopes of destroying the place on her own.
At least her human guise had held up, even though her body was so drained from trying to heal itself. However, as the much feared devil would learn in the following days, being human was far more than just looking the part. And the natural-born warrior, elite of the devil race, had no idea what it was like to be one of those she hunted.
She learned many things during that time. Learned that the soft human hands reaching for her wounds weren't trying to tear them open and leave her to bleed to death. Learned that even hardy devils could have fever, and that water-soaked towels helped bring the heat down, provided they were changed every half hour by a patient healer. Learned that a voice could be soft, gentle, soothing; not harsh, cruel and demanding. Learned that even devils could dream, of gentle hands and kind smiles, without malice.
Too many things. She realized, too late, that humans were not worthless cattle to be driven and herded into a corner, just because they did not possess the same fighting prowess as devils did. She discovered, for the first time, that there was strength beyond blades and blood and the dance of battle fierce.
She might have stayed. Stayed to learn from these puzzling humans, try to figure out that strange, hidden strength that they had, that she did not understand. But she could not, because her oath to her master remained, to be broken only in event of her death, and that blood-oath bound her still, her master aware that she still lived. She had made her choice then, when she felt the faint sizzle of the wards detecting her emerging aura as she gradually healed under the tender care of her savior, and crept away in the darkest part of night, without note or sign to explain her absence. She had not yet become human enough to do such a thing.
Yet she was had become human enough to tire of the endless conflict, no longer interested in the battle and the kill. Now, she slew with a swift, unhesitating blow that caused the least pain; whereas in the past she would have tested herself to see in just how many ways she could quarter a human with only a single blow. She took no more pleasure in that activity, only the faintest amount of satisfaction from a job well done, as instructed by her master.
She had left Sheol once as a conquering, bloodthirsty battle maniac; now she returned as a weary veteran tired of the mindless slaughter. What kind of a devil had she become?
A human-loving piece of scum. She growled and kicked at the red dirt beneath her clawed feet, suddenly hating her homeland and her kind violently for the lives they were forced to lead. Survival of the fittest, because the environment did not condone weakness. If the weather didn't get you, something else would. That was their way.
Sick to the stomach, Ai focused, drawing on the power invested within her to split the dimensions, opening a route to the portals established by their lord. She would go to the human world, take a breath of the cleaner, lighter air there, look at the greenery. Better than the endless red of Sheol, spotted with thick yellow fumes that belched purple at first from cracks in the ground.
The transition, as always, was abrupt and disorienting, but Ai had since learned to shake it off with a warrior's discipline. There was always a need for her to be alert to her surroundings, even more so after she had let her guard down once before for that near-fatal encounter. She did not wish to repeat it.
Briefly acknowledging the low-level sentries at the portal, Ai strode off, knowing that there was none here who could question her actions. And she knew she had been acting a little strangely of late, resulting in endless gossiping from the ranks that the previous attack on her must have rattled her even worse than she had let on.
She couldn't exactly tell them how close they were to being right, given the circumstances, but she did ignore them anyway. A rumor, once started, couldn't be stopped. It only grew, or died out on its own. Any attempts to extinguish it usually resulted in the opposite effect.
Once out of sight of her subordinates, Ai concentrated, drawing on her human visage to hide her demonic side from view. Sharp edges melted into softer features, soulless steel transmuting to tender pink flesh, so deceptively defenseless. Burning red eyes dimmed into soft brown orbs, and she blinked once, twice, getting used to appearing in a different form.
Where a tall, bladed devil that struck fear into the hearts of those that stood against it, now only a small, harmless-looking human female remained, walking barefoot across the green hills, not so far away from the city where she had once rested in, weak and helpless.
She wondered what madness drove her to come back so close to that place; she could no more return to that city than she could betray her kind. Yet her feet had brought her here, and so had her wings from before in her devil form. Unconsciously, she was still drawn to this place, where she had first learned the worth of humans.
Cresting a high hill, she looked down wistfully at that gleaming city. It still stood strong against the assault of the devil elite, though the walls looked a little more battered, the magic shields that protected the city a little less bright, but still holding up well enough despite everything.
It was not under siege in the same way humans understood a siege, for devils could come in force at almost any time, and they did not fight in the human way, relying more on individual power than the strength of the unit as the more fragile humans were forced to rely on in order to compensate for their weaknesses.
Thus, in this lull during the fighting, the city still looked beautiful, and alive. She gazed at it, lost in thought.
So much so that she did not notice the presence near her until a familiar gasp reached her ears. Whirling about sharply, the wind blowing her hair forward as she faced the absolute last person she wanted to see right now.
"You're alive! And you're here!" Before Ai could even get a word out, she was tackled by another girl, barely taller than her, but absolutely ecstatic at seeing her alive and well. Ai couldn't help the small smile that cracked her usually solemn face as she tentatively returned what humans called a hug. She had had to learn the first time round that no, she wasn't been attacked when someone else was trying to hug her.
"You left without a word! I was so worried..." The exuberant voice quieted into an almost soundless sob. Ai bit her lip, unsure about how to react, patting the back of the girl who held her in a death grip, as if afraid that she could vanish the moment she let go. Thankfully, Ai could hold her breath pretty well, so air wouldn't be a problem for a while.
"I'm sorry..." Ai was surprised to find herself saying, her voice rusty and ragged from disuse. Well, she didn't count yelling and snarling commands and threats a kind of talking anyway. Her vocal chords were definitely unfamiliar with tenderness, and it showed in the awkward silence that followed after her unexpected apology.
"I'm glad you came back, Ai-chan." The other girl whispered, after the moment had passed. She buried her face into the crook of Ai's neck, and the devil squirmed a little awkwardly, not knowing what to say and deciding that silence was golden in the absence of a proper code of conduct.
"Um..." Ai's throat constricted on itself, part of her horrified that her enforced silence wasn't as effect as it usually was. She struggled to find something coherent to say, but came up empty. "I..."
"Shh, I understand." Soft, smiling eyes met her own darker ones, a finger pressed to her slightly parted lips. "You don't have to say anything."
No, you don't understand anything! Ai thought desperately. This girl, this young neophyte, a priestess-in-training, did not know about her true identity. And she would sooner die than let her know about it. Ai could not bear the thought of hurting this person, who had become important to her in that short time they had spent together.
"I...I have to go." Ai managed to stammer out, her nervousness evident in her eyes. She could not stay here. It was still too close to camp, where raiding parties would still range out to kill any unwary human and generally cause havoc wherever they went. She could not risk letting her angel stay with her out here, away from the protection of the city. She could not be seen with a human either, it would ruin her standing for good.
"I had a feeling you would come today." The girl did not let go. Ai wanted to cry out in frustration, but could not find it in herself to push the other away.
"I wanted to see you." The voice dropped to almost inaudible levels, inaudible only to humans with poor hearing. Ai had no trouble, fortunately or not, since she was not human. "I missed you."
Please don't say any more. Don't make it any more difficult for me to leave. Ai begged mentally, trying to convey her desperation in her gaze.
If the girl caught it, it was duly ignored anyway, since she continued, almost shyly, yet hopefully at the same time.
"Can you please stay? Don't go back. Stay..." She murmured softly. "Stay with me."
"I..."
...want to... "...can't..." It was the most difficult thing Ai had ever said in her life.
Tears welled luminous in those large eyes, and Ai felt her heart, if she had a heart as a devil, crack within her chest. That unfamiliar pain seized at her innards, squeezing painfully and pulling at her with exquisite agony. She needed to say something,
do something, to take it away.
She surprised herself with what she did finally decide to do. Or rather, instinct decided for her, since her mind was still paralyzed in helpless indecision.
Her lips found the other, first tenderly, then with the characteristic rage of her devil blood; strongly, fiercely, possessively. She heard the startled gasp at her action, savored it, and took the opportunity to force her tongue through the gap. Tasting her, memorizing every inch of how her mouth felt like...
"Ai..." Her not-lover breathed when she managed to wrench herself away with a great effort. Ai found that her own breathing was ragged, her disguise slipping a little in the way her eyes glowed slightly with the characteristic quality of her true nature, but she held it together.
"Risa, I..." She never got to finish her sentence when Risa's body suddenly stiffened in her arms, bright eyes going wide with pain. She managed to choke out Ai's name before her breath caught and her head lolled forward, resting against Ai's shoulder.
Ai had been around far too long not to realize immediately what had happened. Slowly, with barely restrained anger, her own disbelief thrust aside in the wake of her overwhelming rage and pain, she looked up to stare at the pathetic creature that had ripped the one person she had learned to care for away from her.
Just a weak scout...just one.. The irony couldn't have been more appropriate. One of the weakest elements in the whole devil army had caused more pain to her than a full-blooded lieutenant like Reina could have.
The demon scout did not even have the chance to consider running away, since it was blown to pieces by raw power in the very next instant.
Ai didn't even realize she was screaming until she noticed that the gale that was ripping nearby bushes up by the roots was
not in fact, natural. Green grass burned into a crisp in a wide circle around her, testament to her overwhelming rage as her power spiked wildly, without control.
She sank to her knees, still holding Risa close to her, that pounding rage eating at her and setting her shoulders to shaking with repressed fury. She did not know what to do, how to react. Her mind a blank, she could only cradle the limp form of the one human who had taught her what it was like to smile and sleep without one eye open for danger.
So lost in her despair, Ai did not notice at first that Risa twitched in her arms, but a hacking cough from the girl in her arms alerted her. Supporting her carefully, Ai tried to get Risa into a comfortable position, caressing the younger's cheek and cursing herself for not knowing any healing spells that could close that horrid gash through her torso. She barely even noticed the fact that the same spear that had pierced Risa had also lodged inside her own stomach, but it was hardly life-threatening for her in this case.
"Ai...chan..." A weak, deathly pale smile. "It's ok..." One hand, struggling to touch Ai's face, but too weak to reach. Ai clasped that falling hand and pressed it against her own cheek, her eyes burning with a strange, unknown sensation.
"Don't...cry..." Ai blinked, confused. Was she crying? She had never done so before, so she never knew what it was. Was this...moisture...coming from her eyes known as crying?
"Devils...don't cry..." Risa's voice was barely audible now, but she still had a brave smile for her beloved. Ai stared at her.
"You knew..." The devil in disguise whispered, stunned. "You knew, but you still..."
"I saw....your wounds...black blood..." Risa's breathing grew labored. Ai shook her head, disbelievingly.
"Why did you save me? I am...your enemy." The devil did not understand. How could one show charity to a foe?
"All I saw...was...a dying person. I...had to help." A tired, groggy smile. "There is no evil in you."
"How can it be?" Ai whispered, more to herself than anything else. "I've killed so many, danced in their blood and celebrated their deaths." Her voice grew dark with self-loathing. "I was a murderer...a
butcher."
"There is no evil in you." Risa repeated more strongly, despite the effort it cost her. Another weak cough, and blood followed it. "You were a warrior. You had honor."
"What honor is there in slaughtering women and children?" Ai asked bitterly. "I've slain too many of the defenseless to have any honor left."
"You didn't...know. It was different for you." Even now, at the brink of death, Risa still defended her from her own guilt. More tears fell, and Ai blinked fiercely, struggling to keep her emotions in check, but largely failing to do so.
"I...I must bring you to the city. They can heal you there!" Ai suddenly burst out, remembering that Risa was not as hardy as her, and needed immediate medical treatment if she were to survive the wound. She prepared to lift her up, despite the awkwardness of the weapon joining their bodies together.
"N-no...it's...too late for me..." Risa coughed again, and a fresh gush of blood stained her lips. Ai trembled, knowing that it was true, but refusing to admit it anway.
"I don't want you to die..." Ai whispered, grunting as she stood up, supporting Risa's weight in her arms easily.
"Death...is natural.." Risa gazed serenely at the suffering devil. "Put me down. I want to see your true face."
"But..." Ai couldn't comprehend what this girl wanted. Her true face? She wanted to see the devil? Was the girl
mad?
"I want to see how you really look like, before...before I die..." Her voice grew fainter, and Ai had to swallow hard to force the lump in her throat down.
There was no way she could refuse her. Not this girl. Not this person who had taught her how to feel like a human. She dropped the spell, felt her disguise fall away like snow melting in spring. She had never hated herself more, hated how she looked, all sharp and angled and a
devil, than at this moment. She dropped her gaze, ashamed, not daring to look Risa in the eye.
"So...this is...your true face..." A soft caress of a thumb on the polished surface of her face made her look up, meeting Risa's tender gaze.
"You're still...beautiful." Weaker, fainter. "Not...evil..." Hot tears streaming between pale human fingers, clasped against devil skin.
"I...love..." The last word never made it out, her eyes glassing over with the gaze of the dead.
Ai stayed there, frozen, clutching that cold hand close to her, unable to respond. No thought, no emotion, no action.
Only tears remained, flowing from glowing red eyes.
See, you taught me so much. How to feel, how to care, how to love.
And the last thing you taught me, that given a good reason...
Even devils may cry.
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Please forgive any errors in spelling or grammar. Writing at ungodly hours messes with my ability to type properly. ;
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