The Devil and The Plague

Chapter Three

Maou POV

Darkness surrounded me, my body numb and too weak to move. My heart pounded against my chest fearfully... what if I couldn't wake up? That thought bounced around my head for what felt like an eternity. What would Emi do? I passed out on her doorstep. I couldn't tell what was going on outside of my head. For all I knew she could be plotting to kill me while I was already down.

What in the world happened to me?

I could hear a stranger's distorted voice nearby.

"If I were to guess, he's overworked." Was the only thing I could make out from the conversation.

Overworked? Me? Never. I can't quit working. I need to get home!

It was hard to tell how much time had passed before a shrill, sharp, whistle woke me. My body was too heavy for my arms to hoist up but I got a look at where I ended up. Somehow, Emi got me to the couch, where my own body forced me to lay back down.

My eyes closed against my will as I drifted off once more trapped in my head.

I gained some feeling back in my body, which meant I could feel how heavy my whole body felt. My chest didn't want to rise for me to breathe easy. I felt someone pull me up and fluff something behind me. Pillows? After I laid back again it was a little easier to breathe.

"Thank you, Emi..." I muttered weakly unsure if she heard me. A soft blanket brushed over my arm before I felt it spread over me.

"Goodnight Maou. I'm going to sleep in the chair. Please don't try to get up without help. Please. I can't handle any more panic with you." She said.

Emi POV

I covered up in my reclined chair and slowly drifted off.

"Emi?" Maou asked.

"Maou? You're awake!" I smiled.

"I wanted to thank you for taking care of me." He grabbed my hand, gently pulling me toward him for a warm embrace. His lips were so close to my own. My heart raced inside my chest, so loudly that I thought surely he could hear it. I found myself leaning into him unable to stop myself.

"Emi?" He said. "Are you okay?"

My eyes fluttered open as Maou nudged me.

"Maou, you're awake!" I smiled, blood rushed to my cheeks when I thought about my dream.

"Emi, are you feeling okay?" He asked. "Do you have a fever?"

"I'm fine! I promise. Do you want something to eat? Let me make something!" I said quickly and rushed into the kitchen putting on the kettle for tea. I looked through the groceries Ashiya put away. "Chicken sound good?"

"Sounds great!" Maou smiled trying to stand. His smile faltered when he fell back onto the sofa with trembling legs.

"Maou! Don't try to stand yet, your body hasn't fully recovered." I scolded him.

"I have to get up though." He whined.

"Why?"

"I have to pee. Haven't gone since yesterday."

"Are you blushing?" I smirked slightly at his embarrassment.

"No! I'm not! The Devil does not blush!" He complained. "I just don't want you to have to help me go to the bathroom..." He turned a brighter shade of red.

"Maou. I don't want you to ruin my sofa. Let me help you, I won't look I promise. Trust me, I don't want to see." I told him.

"Fine." He couldn't look me in the eyes. "Since you promised not to look." The man had to pee so badly it took an entire two minutes to get it all out of his system! Two minutes!

"Just how big is your bladder, Maou? Goodness sake that took forever!" I complained.

"I'm sorry! Like I said the last time I went was yesterday!" He tried to walk without help and didn't do too bad for three or four steps until his legs went weak again. The next thing either of us knew he was on all fours catching his breath.

"Maou?" I asked. "You okay?"

"No..." His breathing was ragged again. "Something... something is wrong..." He had a sudden coughing fit, uncontrollable and bloody.

"Maou!" I cried. "Hang on I'm calling an ambulance!" About five minutes went by before the ambulance got there. All I could do was sit on the floor next to him rubbing circles into his back while he continued coughing up blood.

"Hello?" A hard knock on the door startled me. "Somebody call an ambulance?"

"Yes! In here! Please hurry!" I called out as loudly as I could manage with my scratchy throat.

"How long has this been going on?" The EMT asked.

"About five minutes. I called as soon as it started. My EMT neighbor checked him out last night because he passed out on my doorstep. He wasn't sick last night. He was exhausted because he worked way too much. Did I get him sick?" I explained.

"It's possible he was already sick with it when he passed out. This virus affects everyone differently. It's rare but there have been a few cases so far like this one. We'll get him taken care of."

"What has been the survival rate so far in these cases," I asked.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, it's not great."

"How many of these cases have there been?"

"Five confirmed, not including this one."

"How many have survived?" I asked. He just looked at Maou on the gurney.

"I can't say for sure but don't get your hopes up. It's not looking good for your friend here. Start preparing for the worst." They took him away.

"Hello?" Urushihara answered the phone.

"Urushihara... it's Maou..." I sniffed. "He's sick. I mean horribly sick. There's blood all over my floor type of sick. I had to call an ambulance. And the EMT told me to prepare for the worst." Hot tears stung my eyes. "He told me it's likely that he was sick before he came and passed out on my doorstep. Can you let Ashiya know?"

"Yeah... I'll let him know. Thanks for calling." His voice strained slightly.

Urishihara POV

Prepare for the worst, huh? Hot tears stung my human eyes. We're gonna lose him this time for good, aren't we? This sucks!

"Urushiahara, I'm home!" The door opened, and quickly I dried my eyes on my shirt hoping he didn't see anything.

"Ashiya..."

"What's wrong? Have you been crying?"

"Ashiya... it's Maou-"

"What happened?!"