Rain pounded on the concrete like a thousand needles as Tenshi and Kaito ran through the narrow riverside street. Water splashed up their ankles with every step, the sky dark and heavy above them. The whole city looked washed-out, gray and blurry.
The emergency radio clipped to Tenshi's belt crackled again:
"Unidentified devil spotted near Sumida lower docks.
Ranking unknown.
Hunters on-site injured.
Engage only if necessary."
Kaito smirked, even while running.
"Necessary? That sounds like it's calling for me."
Tenshi didn't answer.
He tightened his grip on his katana, sleeves sticking to his arms from the rain. His black tie flapped behind him as wind hit their faces.
They turned a corner—
—and froze.
Four hunters lay on the ground under a flickering streetlight, their uniforms torn, blood mixing with rainwater. None were dead, just badly injured… but all of them looked terrified.
Kaito knelt beside one.
"Tch… these guys are tough. Whatever did this isn't normal, Tenshi."
Tenshi's stomach tightened.
A shadow moved across the docks, slow and uneven.
Then it stepped into the light.
A Maw Devil — mid-to-high tier.
Its entire face was a giant vertical mouth lined with uneven teeth.
Body thin, arms long like dripping ropes, skin the color of wet stone. Rain slid off it like it was made of clay.
The mouth split wider when it saw them.
"Huuuungry…"
Tenshi's breath shook.
Kaito cracked his neck.
"Okay, ugly. Let's dance."
The Maw Devil moved first, fast—much faster than it looked. Its arm stretched like rubber and shot toward Tenshi.
"WATCH OUT!" Kaito shouted—
—but Tenshi already jumped backward, landing hard in a puddle.
The arm smashed into the concrete where he'd been, cracking the street.
Kaito charged, feet splashing loudly, pushing off the ground like a sprinting dog. He leapt upward and landed a punch right into the devil's torso.
The devil didn't move.
At all.
Kaito blinked. "Huh?"
The Maw Devil's mouth split wider, revealing a second row of deeper teeth. It bent its body unnaturally and slammed its head forward.
Kaito flew ten meters and crashed into a metal railing so hard the whole structure bent inward.
"Kaito!!"
Tenshi ran toward him, but the devil swung its extended arm again. Tenshi raised his katana and slashed.
The blade cut clean.
But the devil simply reformed the limb as if its body was made of mud.
"Huuungry… hungry… hungry…"
The voice echoed through Tenshi's bones.
Kaito stood back up, shaking rain from his hair. His breathing grew heavier. Smoother. Deeper.
Spino instincts kicking in.
"Alright, alright. Let's crank this up."
He sprinted back into the fight, faster than before. He ducked under the Maw Devil's arm, twisted left, and delivered a powerful upward elbow into its jaw-like face.
Crack.
Good hit.
The devil stumbled.
Kaito grinned.
"I GOT YOU—!!"
Then its jaw split open sideways, revealing a third hidden mouth.
It clamped onto Kaito's shoulder.
Kaito screamed in pain, blood spraying across the rain.
"Kaito—!!"
Tenshi dashed forward, katana slicing across the devil's face. It let go of Kaito, screeching loudly, black drool dripping onto the ground.
Kaito stumbled back, gripping his bloody shoulder. Rain washed the blood down his arm.
"Tenshi… this thing's too strong…"
The Maw Devil's body began to twist, limbs growing longer, mouth splitting further down its torso.
It was evolving.
Feeding on the fear in the air.
Tenshi swallowed hard.
If they didn't stop it now, it would kill everyone on the docks.
But Tenshi couldn't keep up.
His katana barely scratched it.
Kaito was losing blood fast.
He had no choice.
His heart pounded painfully in his chest.
Kaito looked at Tenshi with wide eyes.
"Don't you dare—
Don't—"
Tenshi didn't listen.
He whispered, barely audible under the rain:
"…I'm sorry."
He raised his hand to his own head.
Kaito lunged to stop him—
Too late.
BOOM—
Tenshi's head exploded in a burst of blood and shadow.
The rain froze in mid-air for the briefest moment, droplets suspended unnaturally. Kaito stumbled backward in shock, heart racing.
Darkness swirled from Tenshi's neck, forming a new shape.
A new skull.
Long.
Sharp.
Fanged.
Born from pure death.
Shadow-spikes shot out along Tenshi's spine.
Two massive reaper sickles grew from his arms with a metallic crack that echoed across the dock.
The Maw Devil shrieked, stepping back.
Even it could feel the pressure.
The rain around Tenshi slowed, falling like heavy beads of glass.
Tenshi's new voice cut through the air—
layered, cold, quiet, monstrous:
"…hungry too…"
He vanished.
He reappeared behind the devil, sickles already mid-swing.
Black cracks tore through the air, reality splitting for a heartbeat.
The Maw Devil's torso separated, but it regenerated instantly—
then the regeneration froze halfway.
The devil choked on its own breath.
Its movements turned slow, stiff, and get slashed again.
Kaito stared, wide-eyed and trembling, seeing this form up close for the first time.
The Maw Devil lunged desperately, mouth split to the chest.
Tenshi's silhouette blurred—
sickle carving clean through the air—
world shattering for a moment—
CRACK.
The Maw Devil's head rolled across the wet pavement.
Its body collapsed.
Silence.
Only rain.
Slowly, Tenshi's skull reshaped—
devil fading—
human form returning.
He dropped to his knees, drenched, shaking, exhausted.
Kaito rushed to his side, still bleeding from the shoulder.
"Tenshi—! You idiot—! You can't just blow your head off whenever you want—!"
Tenshi looked down, breathing hard.
"…We were losing."
Kaito didn't know what to say.
He just sat beside Tenshi, rain falling softly around them, blood mixing with water, the city quiet again.
They won.
The next morning came too early.
Tenshi sat at a desk deep inside headquarters, a mountain of paperwork stacked in front of him like a cursed tower. His right hand hurt already. His fingers cramped. His eyes were tired.
And Kaito sat beside him.
Leg bouncing.
Chewing gum loudly.
Talking more than breathing.
"This sucks," Kaito said for the tenth time. "Why do WE gotta do this?"
Tenshi didn't look up from his paper.
"Because we fought a devil without permission and caused property damage."
"Hey—HEY—most of that damage was the devil," Kaito argued loudly.
Tenshi flipped a page. "The report says you punched a vending machine."
"It was looking at me weird."
Tenshi sighed.
Across the room, clerks typed rapidly on computers. A fax machine printed continuously. Someone spilled coffee somewhere. The whole place smelled like exhaustion.
A supervisor walked by, dropped another file onto Tenshi's already horrifying pile, and left without a word.
Tenshi physically deflated.
Kaito slumped back in his chair, spinning a pen between his fingers.
"So Tenshiii," he started suddenly, "why are you so serious today? Yesterday was awesome!"
"I'm tired…"
"You look tired."
"I know."
"You REALLY look tired."
"Kaito—please…"
"I'm complimenting you!"
Tenshi didn't believe that at all.
⸻
After a few minutes, Kaito leaned close, whispering like he was sharing a secret.
"Hey Tenshi… what's your dream?"
"My dream?"
"Yeah! Like something huge you wanna do before dying."
Tenshi hesitated.
"…I want a girlfriend."
Kaito's grin exploded.
"YES! Good! And then?"
Tenshi stared at the paperwork, cheeks heating up.
"…I want to touch boobs."
Kaito screamed laughing—loud, uncontrollable, chaotic.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA— TENSHI YOU KING—!!"
Tenshi covered his face with both hands, mortified.
"Don't say it loud…"
Kaito slapped his back proudly.
"Bro, that's the most honest thing you've ever said. Beautiful. Inspirational."
Tenshi muttered, "…I just wanna know what it feels like."
"I KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE!"
Kaito puffed his chest.
"It's amazing. Changed my life. 10/10. Highly recommend."
Tenshi stared at him with disbelief and jealousy.
"You're so lucky…"
Kaito continued bragging:
"One time a hunter girl hugged me after training and my face went RIGHT THERE. I saw god."
It was a lie Kaito just want to annoy him to be fair Kaito doesn't even like women
Tenshi quietly banged his forehead on the table.
"I want to experience that toooooo…"
Three clerks turned to stare at them.
Kaito gave them a thumbs-up.
They looked away immediately.
"You'll get there," Kaito said, ruffling Tenshi's hair. "Cute, boys who bark for a girl like you get all the girls eventually."
"I don't get ANY girls…"
"Not yet! Just bark more!"
Tenshi sighed and returned to his papers.
⸻
Twenty minutes later, Tenshi's hand felt like it was dying.
Kaito leaned back with a sigh.
"My gum tastes boring now."
Tenshi kept signing.
Kaito suddenly froze, checking his vibrating phone.
"Oh—Himari wants me. Something about 'mandatory physical check'… probably because I broke that door."
Tenshi blinked. "You actually broke it?"
"Maybe."
Kaito hopped up, grabbed his gum pack, and waved.
"Don't die while I'm gone. And don't write your dreams on government documents."
"I won't…"
Kaito left, closing the door behind him.
Finally—
Silence.
Tenshi let out a long breath and went back to writing.
He had signed exactly three more forms when he felt someone standing at the door.
He turned.
And nearly jumped out of the chair.
Himari leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. Her red eyes were calm and sharp at once, her expression unreadable. Her white hair framed her face perfectly, as if she hadn't walked through the same rainy morning as everyone else.
Tenshi stiffened immediately.
"H-Himari…! I didn't know you were— um— I mean— hi—"
She raised a hand, silencing him effortlessly.
"Relax, Tenshi. I heard everything from outside."
Tenshi froze.
His soul escaped his body.
"…E-everything…?"
Himari walked inside, heels soft on the office floor.
"'I want a girlfriend… I want to touch boobs… I want to know what it feels like.' Yes. All of it."
Tenshi covered his face again.
"I'm gonna die…"
She tilted her head slightly, amused.
"Tenshi, you're sixteen. Wanting physical intimacy is normal."
He peeked through his fingers.
"I just… didn't want YOU to hear it…"
"You said it because you wanted to say it," she replied, voice smooth and calm. "Not because Kaito asked."
Tenshi flushed even redder.
Himari leaned on his desk, crossing her legs, looking down at him like she was studying something small and interesting.
"So," she asked softly,
"You want touch? Affection? Sexual experience?"
Tenshi's brain shut down.
"I—I mean— y-yeah… I guess…"
"Don't be embarrassed," she said. "It's natural."
Tenshi lowered his gaze.
"…even if I'm… like this?"
Himari's eyes softened for a second—just a second.
"Yes," she answered.
"You are still Tenshi. Devils don't erase desire."
Tenshi stayed quiet.
Himari gently tapped his forehead.
"Just be honest. Honesty makes you predictable."
Tenshi blinked. "…What?"
"Nothing."
She brushed the comment aside instantly.
Then she stood up and pointed to his stack of papers.
"Are you nearly done?"
"Um… halfway."
"Good. When you finish, I'll take you to a late lunch."
Tenshi's eyes shot open.
"W-we're eating together…?"
"Yes," Himari said casually.
"I want to hear more about your goals."
Tenshi nearly fainted.
Himari turned to leave, red eyes glancing over her shoulder once more.
"Don't keep me waiting."
The door closed behind her.
Tenshi sat frozen in his chair, face red, heart pounding, pen shaking in his hand.
He whispered:
"…She's scarier than every devil I've seen…"
Then he kept signing.