summary: after being discovered by makima as the axe devil, you find yourself in the middle of tokyo as a member of public safety assigned to special division four.
tags: fem!reader, use of y/n, slow burn, fluff, filler, slight angst, hayakawa family, title is a beach house song, mostly canon compliant (?), but the timeline is a little off so don’t think too hard
a/n: yay chapter two! there may be spelling or grammar mistakes as well as ooc. keep in mind i’m making up these devils. i am not fujimoto. don’t come for me. okay i’m done bye have fun reading !
the golden rays of morning sunlight dance like honey across your skin. the scent of freshly made breakfast hangs in the air as you slowly open your eyes.
but it’s hard to appreciate any of that when the two banes of your existence are yelling at each other on the other side of the apartment.
“POWER, STOP TOUCHING ME!” denji is shouting at the top of his lungs. this has clearly been going on for a while. you’re surprised it didn’t wake you up sooner.
you sit up and rub your eyes, trying to make out the frantically moving figures seemingly so far from you. as your eyes focus, you see this: power and denji sitting by the door.
denji is attempting to put his shoes on, and power is practically on top of him. she’s just close enough to aggravate him, but technically isn't touching him at all.
“i am not doing anything, denji.” she has a devilish grin as the words tumble from her mouth. it seems like the fiend side of her is hyperactive today. well more than usual, anyways.
aki is in the kitchen, presumably finishing up some dishes from the recently prepared meal. “will the two of you cut it out? i’m tired of your incessant arguing.” you catch him shake his head in annoyance as he continues his task at hand.
the two goons start shouting again, but this time at aki. “WE AREN’T EVEN ARGUING. STOP NAGGING, AKI.”
“YEAH, WHAT THE CHAINSAW BOY SAID. STOP NAGGING, AKI.”
both power and denji give aki a death glare. he just rolls his eyes. “aren’t you two gonna be late?”
power looks down at her wrist. there’s no watch. “YES, WE ARE. DENJI, WE MUST LEAVE.”
denji is quick to believe her regardless. “ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, I’M COMING, POWY, GIMME A SEC.” he finally slips on his sneakers and he and power exit the apartment, practically sprinting out the door.
if you’re being honest, those two are really entertaining. you haven’t lived together long enough to be put off by the arguing just yet.
a smile you don’t realize is there has planted itself firmly on your face as a result of denji and power’s antics.
“are you just gonna keep grinning like an idiot or are you gonna come have breakfast?” aki asks from the kitchen. his tone is irritated, but you’re unsure if it’s because of you or the demon twins.
you yawn, eyes still puffy from sleep. “aren’t we gonna be late? you just sent denji and power out for patrol as if we don’t have to do the same thing today.”
“most of the time i send them out early so i don’t have to deal with them for as long. they always end up getting side tracked or lost and end up late if i dont, so it’s for the best. plus, patrol isn’t at a specific time. we just respond to reports as they come in.”
you didn’t know that. “oh. okay. well in that case, yes, i’d like some breakfast. thank you.” you stand up and head towards the kitchen to find out for yourself what’s waiting for you.
“i made-“ aki begins, but you cut him off without thinking.
“ooh, yum, rice and eggs! OOH, TOAST TOO?” everything is already neatly plated and arranged for you. “aki, you didn’t have to do all of this.”
he continues washing the dishes, not bothering to look at you as he speaks. “i just wanted to clean everything i could. don’t go feeling too special.”
you smirk. “or…you’re actually secretly a nice guy.”
he scoffs. “i don’t have time for this.” he quickly dries his hands off and leaves the kitchen.
“aren’t you gonna eat?”
“already did,” he calls, now halfway to his room. “clean up when you’re done.”
“…okay.” he’s such an odd guy.
***
“so…remind me again of the objective here.” a sheepish grin is plastered on your face. you weren’t paying attention the first time he explained.
he sighs. “how many times are you gonna forget? you know what, nevermind. it’s simple. we find the devil and we kill it.”
you look at up him, one eyebrow raised in suspicion. “simple?”
he raises an eyebrow back, mirroring your expression. “the plan is simple. i never said anything about the act itself. let’s worry about that when we find the damn thing.”
the call came in around lunch time. a civilian reported a ‘cute-looking’ devil lurking in the alley near their apartment. “why would a flower devil be in the city, anyways? seems like kind of a rural thing, no?”
aki doesn’t hesitate responding. “don’t ask me. all i know is it needs to die.”
you don’t respond. you’re sort of taken aback by his urge to kill all devils. it’s unfortunate, given your own circumstances, but it’s not like he can kill you.
not without consequence.
you’re entirely curious as to what his issue with devils really is. almost more so how he ended up living with three of them.
but you don’t, because you know what it feels like to be asked a question that has an answer you don’t want to give.
the two of you walk in silence for a little while, both on the lookout for this so-called flower devil.
your neck is sore from being constantly turned into every alley you walk past. “where is this thing?” you complain.
“if i knew the answer to that, don’t you think we’d be done by now?” his irritated voice carries through the sparsely populated streets. you’re on a less busy side of town, but there are still a few people walking around.
you look at him in slight disbelief and exasperation. is he serious? “it was a rhetorical question.”
he’s still not looking at you, too ‘busy’ with the search. he mutter something under his breath, just loud enough to make out. but you want to hear him say it.
“what was that?” your tone becomes more exasperated as the interaction continues. this one on top of all the others.
“i said, “yeah, sure.” do we have a problem?” his neck is turned in the opposite direction of yours, the backs of your heads facing each other.
this time, you do turn to face him. “yeah, actually, i think you’re the one with the problem. i tried to be civil, but your bad attitude is pissing me off. what could i have possibly done to you?”
he, like you, turns to see your face. his words are sarcastic, but laced with frustration. “oh, yeah, what could you have possibly done?”
you’re both stopped, standing near the edge of an apartment complex. “what the fuck, are you saying i actually did something?”
he scoffs. “what do you think?”
“stop with the stupid questions and tell me what you mean. i’m done trying to solve your riddles.” you cross your arms, awaiting a response.
“well let’s go down the list, shall we?” he keeps a tally on his hand as he speaks. “first, you barge into my home. then, you say you’re living with me. now, you’re a permanent fixture, eating my food and sleeping in my living room. to top it all off, you’re my new partner. a devil. are those enough reasons for you, or should i keep going?”
rage boils inside you. “everything you just said is completely unfair. none of the circumstances were my fault or my choice. do you actually, whole heartedly believe i want to sleep in your living room? or that i want to live in a home i’m clearly not welcome in? i can’t afford anything else. and also, it’s not like i asked to live with you. you’re blaming me for decisions that makima made. instead of being an asshole, why don’t you use your head and blame someone who’s actually guilty of making your life a living hell. it wasn’t me.”
before he says anything, you hear something coming from the alley to your right.
you look down to see vines crawl across the pavement, nearing yours and aki’s feet. they’re moving slowly, but you have a feeling they’re not coming to help you.
you quickly step back, but aki isn’t fortunate enough to notice what you did. he’s still reeling from what you said just moments ago.
his eyes widen as he feels the vines slowly wrap around his ankles, anchoring him to the ground.
you don’t know what to do. your mind is running a mile a minute as you try to find a solution. “aki, uh. don’t move. i think. or maybe do. i don’t know. this is a lot. i’ve never done this before.”
he calms his demeanor as the vines tighten their grip. he can see your stress. “hey, look, it’s alright. if i try to move, the devil is only gonna grab tighter. you’re gonna have to deal with this one, okay?”
this is your first mission. you can’t handle this alone. you need him there. “aki, i don’t know if i can do this. i’ve never done this before.”
“it doesn’t matter whether you think you can or not because you’re gonna have to. you can, though. makima put you on this division for a reason. you’re more than capable.” he’s…reassuring you? why’s it working?
you take a deep breath, trying to steady your excessively beating heart. “okay, yeah, no, you’re right. i can. i will. i got this. right? yeah, i do. right?” you don’t wait for a response. instead, you follow the vines into the alley, transforming as you do.
turning the corner, all you see is a white flower planted in the middle with the vines connected to it. it’s a small thing, one that could easily be crushed.
in theory.
this may be your first mission, but it’s not your first encounter with a devil.
though in the past you would just run away, so you guess it might as well be.
your first thought is to break aki free. with your axe in your dominant hand, you raise it behind your head to prepare a throw at the vines. if you can break those, hopefully aki can get loose and help you out.
your back is turned to the small flower as you aim, trying to find the best angle to cut through the thick trailing stems.
behind you is a sound that can only be described as a plant growing at a rapid speed. the sound gets higher and higher above you, causing you to whip around, forgetting your original objective.
the small flower you could’ve easily taken out moments ago has now turned into the devil you originally imagined.
it’s a few feet taller than you, and oddly cute. the person who called this in was right. it’s a flower, the same as before, but much taller. its eyes are a little lopsided, but in an endearing way. its pupils are dilated to the point that it looks like a cute puppy.
the only threatening thing about it is its height.
and maybe the fact that its strong enough to hold aki down.
you’re still stressed, but not about it killing you. about you killing it. it’s so cute and looks harmless. what’s the point of taking its life?
the answer to that question hit you in the head. literally.
the vines lifted aki by his feet and held him upside down. they pulled him closer to the devil, hitting you in the head as they did so.
your hands immediately reach for the back of your head, trying to suppress the pain. “fuck, ow. god, that really hurt.”
aki is struggling, trying to get away from his impending doom. his voice is strained as he calls out to you, trying to regain your attention. “can you do something about this? i’m really not trying to be killed by something that looks this benign.”
“YES, SORRY.” you yell back to him. the vines are holding aki right above the flower devil’s head. “OKAY, THIS MIGHT HURT.” you grab hold of another axe from your spine, both hands behind your head.
“WHAT?” aki shouts in concern.
“NOTHING, JUST BRACE YOURSELF.” with that, you throw the axe with full force. it hits the just near his ankles, breaking him free.
he falls straight to the ground. “OW. DAMN IT.”
“I TOLD YOU TO BRACE YOURSELF.”
he gets up quickly, using the axe you just threw to catch the devil from behind.
it works, and the flower devil is completely taken care of.
the adrenaline wears off, and so does your transformation. “thanks for that, aki.”
“uh huh, sure. maybe next time warn me if you’re gonna have me drop 10 feet to the ground though.” you notice the green devil goop that sprayed on his face after dealing with the flower devil.
