100 days with Mr.Devil

Chapter 20: Secret Weapon

"Over here." Saki waved to Haru when he saw him entering the cafe.

"How was soul collecting today?" Haru asked as Saki sat down opposite of him.

"I'll get straight to the point." Saki said.

A waitress walked towards them and served both of them a cup of coffee, "Enjoy."

The waitress looked at Haru for a second and handed him a note.

Haru opened the note. It had a number on it.

Haru winked at her and smiled. The waitress blushed before walking off.

"Are you done flirting with girls to listen to me now?" Saki asked.

Haru put away the note, "Sure sure."

"Do you remember Akiko?" Saki asked.

"I remember. 100 days." Haru answered.

"Akiara Kuzo. Fiancé of Xieus, king of the heavens, am I wrong?" Saki said.

Haru's smile faded and he had a serious expression on his face, "What do you want?"

"Ayato is putting himself at risk. He's going against Xieus." Saki said.

"Help him." Saki said.

Haru remained silent.

"You work for Xieus directly! You know what's he's planning! You can help Ayato!" Saki said.

"I can't." Haru said.

"I signed a blood contract with Xieus. I'm bind to him to death. I can't disobey him or betray him, Saki." Haru said.

"I want to help Ayato too, I want to save him, but I don't have to power to." Haru said.

"Why is Xieus so obsessed with finding Akiara? To the point where it's been centuries!" Saki asked.

"I don't know." Haru said.

"Haru!" Saki shouted.

"Look, Saki. We three have been together for years. Maybe we got off on a wrong foot at first when we first met, but you guys were there when nobody was. You guys made this whole bloody soul collecting thing seem not so bad. I don't want to lose a friend either." Haru said.

"But Saki, I need you to understand! It is beyond my abilities. If it's Ayato's choice to go against Xieus, I'll have no choice but to go against him." Haru said.

"I don't want to lose a friend either, but I don't have a choice." Haru said.

Saki remained silent.

"Why is there so much bad blood between them? They're brothers after all." Haru sighed.

"Nobody knows." Saki said.

There was silence for a little while.

"Do you think Ayato has fallen for Akiko?" Haru asked.

Saki thought about it for a moment.

"He's been protecting her a lot recently. If he has, he's going to suffe-" Haru said.

Saki interrupted him, "No."

"I don't think Ayato has fallen for Akiko. I think he's using her. He probably already knows Akiko is Akiara. He knows Akiko is important to Xieus, so he's using her as his weakness." Saki said.

Haru sighed, "That's being quite unfair to Akiko, isn't it?"

"In this world, nothing is fair." Saki said.

"But, I don't think it's impossible for Ayato to win." Haru said.

Saki looked at Haru.

"He knows something we don't." Haru said.

Saki looked at Haru.

Meanwhile...

-Heaven realm-

Xieus walked around the crystal garden. It was filled with white plants and trees, like a Christmas Wonderland. There was a swing at the side.

Xieus walked towards it and touched the swing.

*Flashback*

"Higher!" A girl in white robes said. She was seated on the swing.

A man was pushing the swing from behind.

"Have you not eaten? You lack of strength! I want to go higher!" The girl said.

"Hey, you're too heavy. It's hard you know? It's not my fault you're fat." The man said s

"I dare you repeat that again!" The girl glared at the man.

The man chuckled and sat down beside her, "Alright, I was just kidding."

The man let her rest her head on his shoulder, "This garden, it's beautiful isn't it?"

The girl looked around, "Like a dream. It seems unreal."

"What seems unreal?" The man asked.

"You, this, everything. It all seems unreal...What if it's a dream?" The girl asked.

"If it's a dream, I don't ever want to wake up." The girl said.

The man hugged her tightly, "It's not a dream. Everything is real. This place, it belongs to us, it always will."

The girl smiled and hugged him back, "Yes, it belongs to us!"

*End of flashback*

"I miss you so much." Xieus closed his eyes and whispered.

There was sorrow in his eyes that couldn't be explained.

"Im sorry...Akiara..." A tear fell from his eye and fell to the ground. It immediately turned into a crystal flower.

He stepped away from the swing and walked off.

Back at the cafe..

"What do you mean?" Saki asked.

"Think about it for a minute Saki, why is Ayato so determined to find Xieus, knowing that he'll lose to him?" Haru said.

Saki remained silent.

"He knows something that we don't. I believe that is his weapon." Haru said.

"Ayato is a reaper. There are 12 stages of a grim reaper. Most reapers only manage to get to stage 5, which already makes them strong enough to take down an entire army of underlings. Ayato is now at stage 4, but yet a few years ago, if you recall, he took down a stage 6 reaper who disregarded him. What would happen if he got to stage 12?" Haru said.

"You mean-" Saki said.

"I've spoken too much. That's all I'll say. I'll take my leave first." Haru said before placing a $20 bill on the table.

Author : Actually no you haven't, Haru -___-

"See you around, Saki." Haru said.