Aki sipped his coffee and pulled the mug from his lips, staring down into the dark liquid. It seemed like a typical morning. Like the inhabitants of the home hadn't spent the past few days fighting for survival. Aki took another sip before lifting his steely gaze to see Power petting Nyaruko while Denji stared idly at the table completely out of it. Of course, there was one member of this household missing...

Aki: He took off again, huh?

Power: I don't get what is up with (Y/n)! He gets all mopey and depressed. It's gross!

Aki: Hah... He's in no shape to be out of bed let alone exploring the city. Shouldn't someone be watching him?

Power: Do you think the great Power concerns herself with the affairs of humans?! 

Nyaruko let out a mew that drew Power's attention as Aki sighed. A gentle purring drew his attention as he took note of Aspa carefully cuddling next to his leg as he sat at the table. Aki's hand lowered to the kitten for a moment, letting his finger graze the kitten's head while it found itself falling asleep.

Power: If (Y/n) is going to be my deputy prime minister then he needs to get all this sad and gross human stuff! He needs... a therapist! Right, Denji?!

Denji: ...

Aki couldn't help but pause glancing at Power as if she had just said the smartest and dumbest thing he had ever heard. His lips pursed open to speak but he decided it was better to leave Power alone to her delusions as he drank his coffee. Regardless, Aki could not understand why you were given so much leeway compared to Power and Denji. Sure you were not nearly as sporadic or dangerous to humans but the amount of time you were allowed to wander around Tokyo while Power and Denji were killed simply was mysterious. Aki turned his head and stared out at the sunlight beaming in through the glass. Just what could it be about you that made Makima so lenient... The question plagued Aki's mind as he took the last sip of his coffee and he rose from his seat to get more, careful not to wake the sleeping demon Aspa...

(E/c) eyes stared out into the vast crowd, simply watching them go about their daily tasks. Employees race down the street to reach stations or grab one last cup of coffee. Young mothers and fathers go shopping with their young ones. A breath escaped through your parted lips as you ran a hand through your (H/c) hair out of slight frustration. Your gaze lowered to see the bandaged nub that was your left arm sitting in a sling to keep it up. The loss of a limb was so beyond strange, at least having one missing for this length of time. As a devil, in theory, you should have healed with a little blood like the numerous other times before. But as the state you had entered into had morphed your body and DNA to suit its need versus the usual masks you bore. The sensation of crystals still crept under your skin like bugs while your body slowly healed itself. You still can't explain what happened but all you knew was that something nearly horrendous had occurred and the feeling of guilt in your chest was immense. The vivid memories of the crunch of Angel's nose against your knuckles and the sheer terror that filled you were still immeasurable in your stressed mind as the only feeling you recall afterward was a painful longing as you had seemingly been torn away from the controls of not only your body but your very self. Your right hand lowered and rests upon a metal table, still damp with morning condensation. Finally, you found the strength to lift yourself from the chair you sat in and you effortlessly joined in with the meandering crowd of people passing. The only thing that marked you openly as different was the crevice in your face that earned the confused sneers of a few but most were more concerned with work to care about your strangeness. 

A part of you began to hate the parts of you that you couldn't understand. As a devil, you were driven by simple pleasures and desires. Things you could map out and predict. But as you seemingly had the scent and mannerisms of a human it meant that these emotions you had learned about were completely unpredictable. The whiplash of laughing at something before finding yourself sorrowful and reflecting annoyed you to no end, much more than any stack of paperwork. A deep sigh escaped your lips as your mind formulated a route you could take to get back to the apartment hoping to meet up with the others before heading back to HQ for business as-

???: (Y-Y/n)?

A gentle voice pricked at your ears as the mumbles and whispers of the crowd seemed to flood away in the presence of this one dulcet tone. A peaceful and warming tone that seemed a mix of scared and beyond joyful. Gulping softly, you glanced over your shoulder before slowly turning to your left to see where the voice had arrived before you were tackled. The person who tackled you was a woman that reached your shoulder in height with short brown hair in a bob. Her arms coiled around your chest so tightly that you almost forgot about the arm of yours resting in a sling. You didn't know her. You yearned to know but nothing in your mind could tell you why this woman was currently hugging you in the middle of the street. Your right hand lifted but hung awkwardly in the air, unsure of what to do.

???: It's you... It's you! I-I... I tried to call but nobody would pick up a-and...

The woman's voice trailed off as her face finally lifted from your chest. You first took note of the brilliant sapphire eyes she held, so uncommon but so beautiful. Her face was red and those sapphire eyes of hers seemed on the verge of tears though of what emotion you couldn't decipher. Her pink lips were pulled into a straight line, further muddling your ideas of what was happening. The stranger took note of your sling after so long and simply recoiled back in pure shock rather than in fear she might have hurt you and her bewildered expression only seemed to grow as she took note of the crevice in your face, her admittedly gentle fingers lifting to caress the back of her fingers against your cheek.

???: What happened to you... (Y/n), you have to tell me what happened...

(Y/n): L-Look I think you might have me confused... 

???: What?

A look of sudden panic and hurt was quickly replaced by slight frustration in those eyes of hers as she took a step back from you, adjusting the bag on her shoulder.

???: You left so suddenly... I know you were going to speak with your mother but you have been gone for months! W-Why didn't you tell me anything?!

(Y/n): I don't... I... I'm sorry to ask this but... Who are you?

You regretted the question almost as soon as you asked it. Those big sapphire eyes trembled with the rush of pain as her mind raced with a million conclusions. You didn't know why this woman suddenly hugged you in the middle of the street but her discomfort made your already existing emotions unstable.

Yukari: Yukari Hidemitsu... Your wife? You remember your wife, right?! 

Her fingers carefully grasped your outstretched hand with a softness that you had never really encountered before. Your heart meanwhile was in free fall to your stomach as Mafayu's words entered your mind from your conversation weeks ago. This... This couldn't... A sense of panic filled your chest as you gulped and curled your fingers around her own. 

Yukari: Did you lose your memory? I-I'm sure we can get it checked out at a doctor's-

(Y/n): I'm not (Y/n).

Yukari: What?

(Y/n): W-Well I'm not him but I am him... I'm sorry...

Yukari: (Y/n) What are you talking about?

There was this scratching sensation in your chest. Your heart thumped against your chest loudly in your ears spawning a headache as you didn't know how to tell such a fragile-looking woman this information. That you were simply someone wearing her husband's face...

(Y/n): Can we go to a cafe? I... Please I just want to get this out right.

Yukari didn't know how to respond to your strange behavior. As far as she knew you were her husband. The man she had married out of love and even have a daughter with. Sure you were pretty beaten up but hunting devils can do that. How do you tell a woman that her husband is... 

Yukari nodded her head and you let a small smile spread across your face in relief. The two of you walked down the street back in the direction of the cafe you had been sitting at before. Yukari seemed to be handling her confusion much better than you but you could tell that her instincts were betraying her at this moment. She seemed desperate for contact with a husband that has been missing for months. The desire to hold hands or link arms but all the poor woman could do was just walk with you with her arm rigid at her side, the other holding onto the strap of her purse. It only took a moment to reach the cafe which you had been at before you took a seat at the table you were at once more, this time with Yukari taking a seat across from you. 

(Y/n): Thank you. The last thing I want is to create any confusion.

Yukari: Well... It's too late for that but I need to hear what you have to say. You're my husband regardless if you have lost your memories.

(Y/n): (Y/n) (L/n) was your husband and I am him just... Your husband died a couple of months ago.

You will never forget that flicker in her eyes, emotions coursing through her like a torrent as she of course didn't believe you but the emotions you sent crazy inside her must have been painful.

Yukari: S-So... My husband, who is sitting before me is... dead?

(Y/n): I'm so sorry.... so deeply sorry... But I have taken your husband's corpse as a vessel. I am... a devil.

Yukari: Wait... s-so my husband is...

Yukari of course was sceptical, who would blame her? To any reasonable person, this would just be a very convoluted excuse to leave her. 

Yukari: My husband has become a devil... One of those terrible creatures that slaughter innocents? T-That's why you have been gone? Why you left me and our daughter behind, some deluded fantasy?

(Y/n): No please it is not that. I'm truly not your husband. I... I took over his corpse when he died. I know this is hard to accept as an answer... It's incredibly hard to explain... Vessels don't usually get a choice. They are forgotten corpses with no one left and easy pickings for devils. I don't know why your husband died or why I took over his body and I'm just so sorry to put you through-

Yukari: Stop apologizing.

(Y/n): Huh?

Yukari: There is no reason for you to apologize.

(Y/n): But... You're mad, right? Enraged because of a husband trying to leave or the fact I'm using him as a mask? 

Yukari: Why do I have to be mad?

(Y/n): I'm wearing your husband's face! I-I'm not him, yet I'm looking you in the eye right now! T-This... this isn't normal. People don't react like this! Be mad! In the books, everyone is always mad! Yell at me or-

Yukari: (Y/n)... A-Ah... Whatever you are... People are not always like books. I just scream at the world or rip off that face of yours but it won't change the fact that he's gone.

(Y/n): But you don't know that... I-I could be-

Yukari: Did you kill him?

(Y/n): What... I... I don't know...

Yukari: Then I don't have time to waste being mad at you... Believe me, I have plenty of emotions to vent with rage being one of them. But it will do me no good to scream at you.

You couldn't wrap your head around this at all. She did not react to it. Everyone always reacts. That's just how humans are. It was then you finally took notice of it. Your eyes met Yukari's once more to see those bright eyes dulled to the point of almost looking lifeless, emotions swimming in those pools of blue but refusing to seep to the surface despite the watery edges of her vision.

Yukari: My husband and I... We got into a really big fight before we came here. He didn't need to come here but refused to listen to reason. I can guess why he wanted to come here... to speak with his mother but it made no sense for us to uproot our lives for a month to fulfill his ideals. I guess in some sick twisted way I was right in the end but... I wanted to know where my husband was but now I know. I don't have any more time to waste... I-I... I need to get back to our daughter.

(Y/n): T-That's... that's it? No blow-up? No tears? I don't understand how you can brush past my sins.

A chuckle left Yukari's lips as she stood up from her seat, slowly pushing it in with another chuckle as she looked down at your seated form.

(Y/n): You're laughing?

Yukari: Mr. Devil... Do you know what it's like? To have to explain to a young girl where her Dad is? To go to bed thinking your husband is out with some other woman because of a simple fight? Every breath you take reminds me of those sleepless nights. It even pains me to look at you. I hate that you sound just like him but that crevice in your face... That look in your eyes... I know it's not him. I just find it almost how cruelly funny it is to hear a devil worried about their sins. Well, Mr. Devil... If you truly want to atone help me pick up some groceries.

(Y/n): I... Sure.

You didn't want to fight it anymore. Nothing you say could change it. Perhaps it was the devil in your that had a sick desire for her to break down right there. You wanted to see her emotions flow out right there to justify the pangs of guilt in your chest. And Perhaps it was the human in your that was so worried about these sins you committed long ago in memories you didn't have... You slowly stood up from your chair, pushing it closed with your free hand before you and Yukari awkwardly set off into Tokyo...

Two figures trudged down the street, one feminine figure carrying two bags while the larger figure carried on with the arm, not in a sling. The two were in silence with no words being spoken. Only the occasional passing car of noise in the distance breaks the tension. It didn't take long for the woman to turn suddenly and begin walking up a path, the male figure slowly following.

Yukari: You can leave the bag there.

She referred to a table by the door, the small home no bigger than Aki's apartment.

(Y/n): You live here?

Yukari: Not for long. We were only supposed to be in Tokyo for a month... tops. After you... (Y/n) disappeared I had to find a way to provide for our daughter and keep up the search. Now that I know the truth, we can move back to Hokkaido with my parents until I find a job.

(Y/n): Ah yeah that's... Sounds like a good plan. 

Yukari set a bag down, pulled a key from a jacket pocket, and prepared to slide it into the keyhole only for the other side of the door to click and the door pull inward. There was a flash of colors before you let out a grunt, something clutching your legs tightly.

???: Daddy!

Your heart dropped into the pit of your stomach, your chest almost physically in pain as you froze up. Yukari's eyes now looked downright broken-hearted, her face trembling with unshed emotions as she carefully turned to you and the figure.

Yukari: Maya back inside!

The girl hugging your legs froze up softly, clearly unused to a voice so loud a booming especially considering how soft-spoken her mother seemed to be. Finally securing the strength, you glanced down into the smiling face of a young girl. She couldn't have been older than five or six and stared up at you as if you were her entire world. the look of admiration sent chills down your spine. Of course what caused you the most discomfort was that (E/c) eyes staring up at you, perfect reflections of yours. No... not yours but...

Maya: Daddy! Welcome home!

(Y/n): I-I... 

Yukari: Maya! Help Mommy with the groceries.

Maya: Ok!

And just like that, the girl had detached from you and carefully held onto the bag Yukari pressed into her hands. The young brown-haired girl wearing her pink pajamas shuffled inside while Yukari let out a deep sigh, picking up the bag from the table as she turned back to you.

Yukari: I can tell you're uncomfortable... S-so just give me the bag and you can go. I will explain it to her.

(Y/n): I can bring it inside if you like.

Yukari: No it's... fine. It will only make things more complicated. 

You did your best with the one arm you had to steady the bag to hand it to Yukari, understanding her tiredness of the situation. You would simply make your getaway now before-

Maya: Daddy! 

The little girl returned once more, sticking to your legs like glue as Yukari seemed too far gone to respond with her emotions beginning to bubble over.

(Y/n): M-Maya... I...

You didn't have any experience with children. Aspa was a cat and you had only ever been around adults. How do you even interact with a child? A sigh escaped your lips as you carefully pried the girl from your legs and knelt to her height, where she smiled at you once more.

Maya: Daddy why do you have a line in your face?

Her little hands lifted to touch your face but you carefully lifted your hand to capture her wiggly fingers in your palm.

(Y/n): Maya... Maya my beautiful cherry blossom... I missed you so much.

Maya: I missed you too!

Her fingers pulled from your grip and Maya threw her arms around your shoulders with such force it nearly forced you to fall onto your rear. You carefully lifted your hand and patted the girl on her back, not even glancing up at Yukari who had organized to sit in the doorway for... obvious reasons

(Y/n): Daddy um... Daddy has to go away again.

Maya: No! No, you can't leave! You just got back!

(Y/n): Daddy has a very important job, Cherry Blossom. 

Maya: N-No! No no no I don't want you to go again! Not again, Daddy!

(Y/n): Maya my darling...

You somehow found the strength to pry the girl away from you to see that look of total adoration replaced with sorrow. Children did wear their emotions on their sleeves huh...

Maya: Why do you have to leave Mommy and me?

(Y/n): Maya my darling, I... Your Daddy... I'm doing a very important job as a um... superhero!

Your calculated gamble paid off as Maya's sorrow turned to curiosity... and excitement.

Maya: You're a superhero?!

(Y/n): Mhmm! I haven't been around because I'm outstopping monsters from hurting people. It's a... very important job so I have to be gone for a while.

Maya: Oh... But you can come back, right?

(Y/n): My Cherry Blossom I would never in a million years forget about you and Mommy~! I just have to leave for now... So I want you to do me a favor... ok?

Maya: What do you need?!

(Y/n): Your Mommy is very sad that I have to be gone... So I want you to give her the tightest hugs you can and always listen to her, ok?

Maya: Mhmm!

(Y/n): That's my Cherry Blossom!

Maya slipped back in for a quick hug before pulling away from you to turn and run over to her crying mother.

Yukari: I... I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry...

Maya: Mommy... It will be ok! Daddy will come back!

Yukari choked out a sob as Maya threw her arms around the trembling woman. Your chest was at bursting point as you quickly turned from the sight.

(Y/n): Daddy loves you both... 

You began walking down the path back toward the street.

Maya: Bye Daddy! I love you!

The little voice nearly caused you to freeze up ad you waved over your shoulder.

(Y/n0: Daddy loves you too...

You managed to get away from the house and down the street, only pausing to turn back to see that Yukari and Maya had gone inside. A breath of relief washed over you as you stared up at the cloudy sky.

(Y/n): Human emotions... They are so strange... Still... Why did I call her Cherry Blossom...

You glanced down at your uninjured hand only to see a splatter of water on it. Glancing up once more you could see that it wasn't raining, but as you glanced down once more another splatter occurred... then another... and another. It was only then you realized you were crying. Your face pulled into a defiant frown, trying to hold it in before you let out a cry of anguish and slid to your knees right there in the street, sobs escaping from your battered and emotionally broken human body...