dakishimetai | denji

十一

Sometime in 1984 of November 10, back in Takaharu-cho, Miyazaki Prefecture, the season currently in the province is moderately cold and the days have started to become shorter - Ame, wearing a black kimono with large lotus blossom designs, a straw hat with a ribbon and her hair left untied to cascade down on her back, slowly squat down, the handle of a woven basket around her elbow.

"The strawberries are already good to pick, Kazuto." She happily stated to a little boy who stood on another side of the field. "The apples should be already good to pick too." Ame added, strawberry picking in her hands before placing them inside her basket.

"What can we do with apples and strawberries, older sister?" Kazuto asks, picking strawberries and then placing them inside the basket Ame brought with her.

The older girl hummed before speaking. "We can make apple strawberry pie! Or how about parfait?"

Kazuto smiled brightly while putting more strawberries into the basket. "Both sounds good!" He beams.

Before the two of them could resume fruit picking, the chime of the old computer rang inside their home, causing the two of them to turn their heads. Standing up and then straightening her legs, Ame handed the woven basket to Kazuto.

"You go on and continue, I'll be right back" She informed him. Walking out of the field to enter inside their house. As Ame made her way to sit in front of her computer, the numbers on the screen made her gasp. Above her, Shirohato flew inside the house and land himself on Ame's shoulder.

"Are...Is this correct?" Ame asks, not believing the numbers that the screen is showing her.

Shirohato made a twitting sounds before nodding it's head. "The numbers on your screen never lie." The white dove told her.

1,105 New Wishes

"This is going to require a lot of work" Ame commented, tilting her neck to the side as she rubs the other side of her neck with her hand. "What could have happened to cause a lot of deaths."

Shirohato kept quiet the whole time Ame was commenting, even when she placed the bird on the table of the computer to tell Kazuto that she is leaving urgently. It was only when Ame returned back to the house did the white dove break it's silence.

"A devil appeared and struck the whole country in just twenty six seconds." Shirohato announced, it's small eyes looking through Ame's. "In twenty six second, fifty seven thousand people were killed. But that's only in our country! If you go out of Japan, you'll be facing exactly one point two million dying people and granting...I dunno...about half a million wishes!"

Letting out an exhausted sigh, Ame removed the straw hat from her head and placed it back inside her cabinet, closing the cabinet door to tie her hair into a neat and tight bun. "Even if I fail to meet all one thousand one hundred five humans, I'll ask Kazuto to ask their wishes for me."

Shirohato makes a hooting sounds, flapping it's wings by it's side. "Are you really going to make him do that? It'll be his first time!" The bird commented.

Placing a lotus blossom hairpin on top of her bun, Ame flashed the white dove a gleaming smile. "He ferries their souls to the light, remember?" She voiced, looking back at her reflection to smooth her hair and kimono. "I think he'll do a good job on his first trial."

. . . . . . . . . . ♡

Going back to the present in 1997, Ame stood by the doorway, smiling while waving her hands to three public safety hunters. "I'll be home alone for a while, but I'll do my best to look after this place!" She declares to the three.

"Don't push yourself too hard." Aki spoke, twisting the door knob before pushing the front door open. "Only work yourself when needed." He adds. As he gets out of the apartment, a vein pops on his temple.

"Will you two detach yourselves from her?!"

On Ame's left leg was Denji clinging onto her while on her right leg was Power clinging herself onto the angel. Annoyed, Denji shouted at Power.

"Hey! Get off of her! Only I get to cling to her like this!" He shouted at Power. But the pink haired devilman stuck her tongue out to him.

"Really warm." Power commented, nuzzling her cheek on the skin of Ame's right leg. "Like it here." She purrs, closing her eyes. Irritated, Denji raised his foot to kick Power away. Angered by his actions, the two are now prying the other off.

Aki could do nothing but smack his palm on his forehead. "Give me a break."

In front of Hotel Morin, six people stood in front of the reported location where it stated that a devil resides in.

"Alright, I'll pitch in too!" A girl named Himeno with short black hair and an eye patch on her right eye announced happily. "I'll give whoever kills the devil this time a kiss on the cheek!"

Hearing her compromise, Denji didn't reacted strongly to it. Only another man named Hirokazu Arai did, saying that an unmarried woman shouldn't do such lewd things.

"What?" Himeno questions, back hugging Kobeni. "People work harder when there's a reward, right?" 

What she said made Denji agree to her words. People do work harder when a reward is being awaited in the end. Rewards motivate everyone's behavior. And inside his mind, as he recalled, he received a gentle head pat from Ame and was even able to get another wish from her. Therefore, as Denji concluded, he will get another wish from her. And that motivated him!

Scratching the back of his shoulder, Denji shook his head. "I don't need a kiss. It's fine, I already got my motivation already." He spoke, sticking his tongue out while holding a peace sign on his fingers. "She's even waiting at home for me."

"Oh?" Himeno quizzes.

Denji shrugs, his hands facing the sky in front of his shoulders. "I already got a kiss from the girl I like." He announced, "I'll gather these fragments and whatever else, and then I'll go straight back home to her. I don't even know your name. Your lips ain't nothing to get excited over."

Hearing his words just made Himeno probe into him more."You don't say" she whispered to him in his ear. "Then, if you kill the devil, I'll give you a French kiss."

Unswayed, Denji detaches himself from Himeno and goes to stand on the other side besides Power. "Not interested."