The air against my face is cool.
Goosebumps arise on my bare legs, uncovered since I'm still in my shorts.
I persuaded Mephisto to let me have a few moments to myself, since I haven't really gotten that chance ever since I came back to Assiah.
I'm sure he's home, pacing the floor.
But being out alone with my own thoughts is important for me.
Especially after all of the things I've learned today, experienced today.
The walk from the Academy to town is not too far by foot. I can see the distant light of the small convienence stores and boutiques, all woven together by festive lights that decorate the lamp posts.
Cars whiz past me, causing my hair to blow behind me as I walk alongside the road. Cars occasionally honk at each other, slurring profanities out of the window sometimes.
I laugh under my breath. Humans.
Although I am like them in more ways than one, there are some things they do that continue to entertain me to this day.
As soon as I step foot into town, I'm startled.
Although it looks generally the same, new buildings and shopping complexes fill what once was empty lots and abandoned buildings.
I remember one day I was walking to get something to eat when I saw a primary school getting demolished in place for a gas station.
The school had become substituted by another one farther on the outskirts, since that very school was being eaten alive by termites and other small bags with complicated names.
Although it was rundown and unsanitary, the students seemed to have loved it. I remember seeing weeping children clinging to their parents as they watched the wrecking ball smash into the cement walls.
I shake my head at the thought, walking farther down the street.
Small families shrouded by clouds of laughter pass by, as well as urbanized, single men and women. Children play in the streets until cars honk at them to move out of the way.
Some of the passerbyers give me small smiles when they look at me.
And I smile back.
Maybe out of courtesy, maybe out of pure instinct...
Or maybe because when they look at me, they see someone just like them.
Not a monster, not a demon, not a killer...
But someone just like them.
I continue to walk until the crowd begins to die out. The moon is out now, and the sky is dark.
I exhale deeply and sit myself down on a bench, the neighboring buildings now turning off their lights and locking the front doors.
I wasn't keeping track of time... I wonder how late it already was when I left.
Tch. I don't even remember the last time I kept track of what time it was. Or what day it was.
Everything has somehow become molded together. Almost as if a day is no longer a day, but just a small piece of one prolonged event.
And that event?
It's unclear.
Gosh. I could really go for a smoke right now.
I dig around in my pocket to see if I happened to have any lingering change, but all I roll between my fingers is string and lint.
I sigh and sit back against the bench.
Maybe I should just call Mephisto and ask him to pick me up.
Or maybe I should just stay here for a little longer.
Gosh. I don't even remember what it feels like to be without him.
I'm not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing, but it still makes me feel all the more uncertain.
It's not wrong to lean on the one you love, but it's a completely different concept if you constantly find yourself becoming dependent on them.
I'm not a child. I've told myself that countless times.
I sigh and wrap my arms around my legs, burying my face into my knees.
It's nice to have time alone, but being alone also means coming face to face with things you would otherwise try your best to avoid.
Yup. A smoke really would help right now.
I don't smoke all the time. In fact, I haven't smoked in a while. Sometimes I'll smoke a cigarette, but I usually prefer blunts or rolls.
I suddenly feel someone sit down on the bench next to me.
I don't look immediately, mainly because I assume it's just a dark faced man with a 5 o'clock shadow staring me down like I'm a washed up hooker.
I slowly bring my head up, not looking straight at them.
I see long legs, covered in leather leggings. I see ringlets of red hair falling onto the seat effortlessly. I see long, stiletto black nails rested on her thighs.
I don't even have to look at the eyes. The face.
Because I know.
I try to move off of the bench, but some reason I feel frozen.
"You're not going to run away, right?" Her voice laughs contently. "Or call Mephisto?"
I gulp and slowly face her, my heart seeming to drop into my stomach once my eyes meet her blood red ones.
Bella.
I don't know how I feel.
Scared, shocked, nervous... or nothing at all.
"Bella..." My voice is cautious.
"I hope my arrival isn't too much of a surprise for you. I didn't intend for it to be, after all. If anything, you should've been expecting me."
"I wasn't, actually." I retort, moving closer to the end of the bench. "Because... I don't think you have any business here on Assiah after all. Or with Mephisto and I."
"I wish I didn't, Judi."
My throat tightens. "... What do you mean?"
She sighs and stands up.
I immediately stand after her from muscle memory, wary if she decides to try anything.
I still don't trust her. I can't.
She laughs under her breath and folds her arms across her chest.
"I see." She clicks her tongue. "We still aren't friends."
"I'm not saying I don't appreciate what you did for us-" I exclaim. "But that doesn't mean I can automatically forget everything that happened before that. And I never will. I'll... always remember it."
She sighs. "Is that so?"
I gulp.
"Well, you'll probably want to be my friend from now on, if you ask me." She smirks. "After all, you and Mephisto are the new supreme overlords of Gehenna."
I clench my teeth.
"I wish I could've seen your reaction." She says with a smile. "I assume you were quite... befuddled."
She begins laughing hysterically, clutching onto her stomach.
I close my eyes with frustration. "Bella, why are you here?!"
Her laughter dies down.
"Oh, Judi..." She smirks. "You need me, face it."
I widen my eyes.
"And why the hell would I need you?"
"I know what's happening just as well as you do." She retorts. "You think it's bad here? Even for Gehenna it's bad, too. The demon's desire for you and Mephisto grows what seems to be by the minute. I don't think you really want to know what happens with demons get desperate, Judi."
"We don't need your help." I hiss. "The last thing we need is for you to be on Assiah again."
"Oh, but you certainly needed it back on Gehenna, yes?" She exclaims. "And besides, I'm pretty you're not the one who gets to make that call. You're not even an Exorcist yet, are you?"
I ball my hands into fists.
Of course she knows. She's probably been watching me ever since I left Gehenna.
"I don't care." I shake my head. "If you wanted a thank you, then thank you. Now leave."
She sighs.
"Ugh... you're going to have to maaakkeee meee," She draws out her words and giggles.
I grind my teeth and quickly look around me.
I see a few people still standing around.
I can't expose my flames now.
Bella begins to laugh louder. "Oh... you're a little shy in front of the humans aren't you?"
She shakes her head.
"Tch. Even as a demon queen you're still a pussy-"
I grab her by her neck, squeezing tightly as I hoist her up in the air.
I see a small purple flame illuminating on my palm, penetrating the skin on her neck.
She laughs through her chokes, struggling to remove herself from me.
"There it is-" She stares right into my eyes. "There's the demon inside of you!"
I stare back at her, seeing the reflection of my brightly lit eyes.
I can see my flames trying to showcase on my body, so I quickly throw her down before they can.
I breathe heavily, trying to calm myself down.
"C'mon, Judi." She coughs, stumbling back onto her feet. "One last fair fight."
I glare at her, my silence answering for me.
She scoffs and clears her throat.
"Fine. Let's take this somewhere else then." She clenches her teeth and grabs onto my wrist before I can dodge her.
She tries to pull me, but I stay put.
She smiles at my resistance.
Her hand suddenly becomes covered in her red aura, filling my entire arm.
I suddenly begin to feel weaker, and she begins pulling me. I see my arm becoming infused in flames, causing Bella to wince.
But she ignores it and continues to drag me.
She pulls me a long for a little while until no one is around. And when I'm just about to strike at her again, she throws me into the entrance of a parking garage.
As soon as she releases me, I scramble to my feet and begin to run.
I'm not fighting her again.
This is the end of her and I, and every relation she has with this place.
I can hear her laughter echoing against the cement walls of the complex, filling my brain entirely.
Goddamnit. I came out here to get away from shit like this.
But it's always following me.
Tragedy is always following me.
The pain inflicted from her grasp has entirely gone away, so I begin to pick up my speed.
If I can get up the roof before she gets to me, I can jump off and make use of my wings.
Wait.
"You're lucky it was only a minor split." Yukio says as he begins to wrap new gauze around it. "It'll heal fully with a few days. Until then, I want you to take it easy."
Shit.
What... what am I supposed to do?
Kill her?
I scold myself.
Why am I feeling indifferent about killing her, all of the sudden?
I should want to kill her like it's muscle memory. Why am I... why am I suddenly doubting it?!
"I'm warning you!" I call to her. "Stay away from me! Just leave me alone, dammit!"
"I wish I could, Judi!" She shouts back. "But you and I both know that I can't! We're both stuck here!"
Her quick steps begin to sound closer, but I don't have the guts to look back.
All of the sudden, I feel an entity wrap around my ankle, hurling me onto the ground.
I fall on my back, clenching my teeth when I see her hovering over me.
"I don't wish to kill you..." She sighs, leaning closer towards my face. Her nail runs down my cold cheekbone. "But I'm going to have to get my point across somehow."
"You stupid bitch..." I snarl through my teeth. "You made a mistake c-coming back here. Y-you should've just stayed where you belong!"
"You say that as if you have somewhere you belong."
I freeze and stare straight at her.
"You can tell yourself you belong on Assiah and that you don't belong in Gehenna, but something tells me you don't even know if you belong here. After all, your friends... even your lover can see it-"
"Damn you!" My flames explode off of me, pushing her onto the ground. "Don't you dare speak for them!"
I feel a sharp pain arising from my stomach.
Shit. I... I can't overdo it.
I have to be careful.
Bella looks up at me, flashing her bloodied teeth as she smiles.
"Woah, look at you..." She wipes off the blood and slowly gets back on her feet. "Your power is stronger. Bolder. But... it seems you haven't quite gotten used to it yet."
I clench my teeth, taking a step back.
"That's a risky thing, Judi..." She cackles. "Housing a power that's still too great for your own body."
My flames increasingly begin to grow larger.
Including the pain in my stomach.
"Nnh-" I grab onto my stomach, trying to hide my wince from Bella.
"Ahh...?" Her smile grows larger. "What's this? You've yet to heal?"
I look up at her.
"You shouldn't have shown me, Judi. You know better." She sighs and begins to walk towards me. "Because now I know where to aim."
She raises her arm and a long whip of her red aura strikes my stomach, sending me crashing into the wall behind me.
She laughs devilishly as she closes in on me.
"You know, I don't think I ever told you..." She wipes the blood off the side of my mouth and licks it off her finger. "But this... red aura you see... it's called a miasma."
She swirls her tongue around in her mouth, the taste of my blood startling her.
She licks her lips and smiles.
"The human's definition of a miasma is a dangerous, deathlike influence or atmosphere. A Latin word that refers to poison or pollution." She says. "It's a pretty word for such a negative thing, don't you agree?"
Miasma?
That's what... that is?
"Several demons have the ability to withdraw a miasma, except for them, theirs have the ability to change colors. Blue, green, black, purple..." She clicks her tongue. "But mine has been red ever since I've had the power. Some say it's because red is the color of anger and war... but... I believe it's stained red because of all the blood its come in contact with."
She grabs my neck with her hand, her nails digging deep into my skin.
Her miasma slowly moves down her fingers.
"And might I add..." She bites her lip. "Your blood's taste has significantly improved. It seemed to tingle when it went down my throat."
Her nails suddenly penetrate my skin, blood beginning to trickle down my neck.
She takes her finger and runs over it, bringing it up to my lips.
"Look at it... it's beautiful."
I look at my blood on her finger, gasping when I see small purple flecks of light shimmering ever so often in the redness.
She suddenly sticks her finger in my mouth, my blood coming off on my tongue.
I choke and begin to kick until she takes it out.
I can feel it sizzling on my tongue and down my throat.
What the hell...? She wasn't lying, or being intentionally weird.
"It's become valuable." She adds. "I bet I could sell you for a lot of money, my girl..."
I scream and push her off of me, my flames firing out of my mouth like a dragon.
She grabs my wrist before she can fall, taking me down with her.
We both collide onto the cement floor, and I climb on top of her before she can move a muscle.
I sock her hard in the face, using my free hand to grab onto her neck.
I continue to hit her face over and over again until her blood appears black.
She screams and pushes me off, her miasma trailing after me and filling my lungs.
It suddenly becomes harder to breathe, and my body can barely move.
I begin to choke and cough, gasping for air as she sits herself down on me.
"You know..." She wipes the blood off of her mouth and places it on my gauze. "I've been wondering why you were out here all alone this entire time."
I let out a loud, unearthly scream as her blood begins to burn into my wound.
"Tell me. What happened that made you wanna be alone, huh?"
I don't answer her, my screams taking place of words.
She sighs.
"Fine then." She moves her hand out from under my shirt and places it on my temples. "I guess I'll have to take a look for myself."
She takes her other hand and places it on my other temple.
"D-don't you d-dare-" I choke and continue to gasp for air. "Don't- you... look- into my head!"
She closes her eyes and a heavy pressure suddenly falls upon my brain.
My eyes widen and my chest seems to rise off of the ground as she tightens her grip on my head.
I scream loudly and try to move my arms to push her off of me, but none of my limbs can do anything.
I... I have to find a way to get the miasma out of me.
Her eyes suddenly shoot open, bloodshot and watery.
"Oh, wow... I haven't done that in a while." She looks down and smiles at me. "How interesting. I don't know a lot of couples who can have that great of sex after an argument."
I scream and try to kick, but only tears fall from my eyes.
Think, Judi.
There has to be some way to get the miasma out.
But I need my freedome, I need space... I need-
Energy.
Energy.
That's it.
I have to get my flames to my lungs and draw out the energy from her miasma so I can overpower it.
I'm more powerful than her. I know I am.
It happened on Gehenna.
Once I awoke, the influence her miasma had on my body completely washed away.
She continues to slur out words to me, but I tune them out and focus.
C'mon... this shouldn't be hard.
I clench my chest and gulp, clenching my teeth so hard they begin to ache.
I squeeze my eyes shut as I feel the entity of my flames trailing down my throat and into my stomach, swirling around all of my organs, my guts, my heart...
And then my lungs.
I wince as a sharp pain overcomes them.
C'mon.
Take it away.
Get rid of it.
Get rid of her garbage.
I begin to breathe.
Heavily.
I move my fingers.
I tap my foot.
I open my eyes.
My flames travel to my hand, sharpening on the end in what appears to be a thick blade.
You're wrong, Bella... I'm housing a power that's perfect for me.
I shove the blade into her stomach, blood gushing out of her mouth like a fountain as I push it in so far it pierces through the skin on her back.
She groans and grits her teeth, pulling herself out of the blade.
She coughs out more blood, and once it touches the floor, it begins to sizzle and smoke.
"Not bad..." She spits out more blood and places her hand over the gaping hole in her stomach. "There's not many who can overcome my miasma."
"Well I'm not like many-" I scramble to my feet and look down at her.
"That may be true..." She smiles at me and holds her hand out.
"But you're not the only who can play around with your powers."
Her miasma suddenly discharges out of her hand in the shape of a sword, piercing me right on top of the gauze.
My eyes widen and I cry out as the sword becomes longer and begins to whip me around the building, slamming me into cement pillars and all of the walls.
Blood pours out of the wound, blood pours out of my mouth, blood pours out of my head and into my eyes.
Red.
Everywhere.
Her miasma suddenly leaves my body, my blood trickling out of it as it returns to Bella's body.
I fall hard to the ground, a large puddle of blood beginning to form around my body.
I'm too scared to look down and see if it reached my scar.
I'm too scared to see how big the puddle is.
I'm... I'm scared.
I groan in agony as the pain hits me like reality, and I begin to roll around. My body curls up and becomes soaked with my blood.
I'm not going to die out here... am I?
N...
No.
I can't die.
Mephisto... he'd... he'd be mad at me.
He'd cry.
I slowly open my eyes when I hear her voice faintly behind me.
"Alright, Judi. We're done."
I begin to laugh lowly.
"N-no... no, no, no, no-" Blood drips down the side of my mouth when I speak. "N-no... I-I'm not done with you."
I hear Bella stop moving.
"Um... Judi-" She clears her throat. "We're done. Look at you, you're half dead."
"Oh, no, no, no..." I giggle. "I'm not done. I'm not done with you."
"Judi... that's enough!" She shouts.
"No, it's not." I whisper. "Not for me..."
I begin to cackle so loudly, it echoes off of the walls.
I throw my head back backwards, blood dripping all over my face.
Blood covers my teeth as I smile widely.
"I'm not done with you!"
I raise my arm, 4 fragments of my flames branching off and piercing through each of her limbs.
They push her onto the wall, sinking deep throw her veins and guts to penetrate the cement behind her.
She screams with pain as she tries to free herself, but the more she struggles...
The more it excites me.
I laugh loudly as I run towards her, flames shooting everywhere around the building as blood drips out of every open wound I have.
I take my other arm and send it into her stomach, twisting it so her skin splits and her guts come pouring out.
I put my face directly in front of her, so close that I can feel the fear radiating off of her skin.
"You know what I'm going to do...?!" I howl, my fangs seeming to sharpen as I speak. "I'm going to drink all of your blood... and I'm going to laugh as it burns down my throat. Maybe if I drink enough my blood will become nice and hot like yours!"
I take advantage of my elongated teeth and bite down on her flesh, cackling as her blood begins to burn every corner of my mouth.
I tear her flesh off, spitting it out onto the ground next to me. Blood gushes out of her neck, and I open my mouth and let it hit my tongue.
I exhale deeply and smile, looking straight into her dimmed eyes.
She stares straight at me, her face emotionless as she clenches her teeth.
My smile dies down into nothing, and my body begins to shake.
I suddenly feel weak.
I look down to see if her miasma is anywhere on me, but it isn't.
It's all me.
My flames dim, my pain returns.
Blood continues to drip.
And I tumble onto the ground and close my eyes.
~
I taste blood in my mouth.
All sorts of blood, it seems.
My entire body tingles, yet my bare legs still have goosebumps from the cold air breezing in from outside.
I become reconnected with my pain, every cut, every stab, every bruise...
I feel all of it.
I groan and let out a small sigh, my breathing uneven and staggered.
I've felt worse, definitely. But it never seems to get old, waking up from a fight.
I wonder what happened this time.
"You finally awake?"
My eyes shoot open, and when they do, my vision is dry and blurry.
I blink a couple of times to get them moistened, and when everything comes back to focus, I see myself rested in a pool of blood.
I move my arm up, and blood drips off of it immediately.
I slowly move my aching head over, my neck cracking under the pressure.
My entire body freezes when I see Bella with a small smile on her face, but her normally beautiful form is covered in nasty cuts, a huge gaping wound, bruises and blood, and her hair is wet and stringy from a combination of her own blood and sweat.
"Imagine if Azazel saw me like this." She laughs and licks her cracked lips, which are also infused with blood. "He'd have one more reason to want to leave me."
I don't reply to her, gulping as I slowly sit up.
So much blood.
"I... I did this?"
She scoffs.
"What, you don't remember?" She asks, followed by a laugh. But her laugh quickly stops. "Oh. Right. Make senses, I suppose."
"W-what makes sense?" My voice is frantic. "What happened?"
She sighs.
"You should've seen yourself. So monstrous." She says softly. "Damn near killed me, too."
She faces me entirely.
"And let me tell you, nothing nearly kills me."
I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.
"I don't know about you, but..." She says softly, followed by a nasty cough. "That was a fair fight, if you ask me."
I feel my throat tighten, but I nod my head.
Indeed, it was, Bella.
Indeed.
I move my body and rest my back against the wall next to her.
"So... now what?" I ask, my voice raspy. "Do you plan to terrorize me for the rest of my life, now?"
She laughs under her breath.
"I didn't come here to terrorize you, Judi."
I face her. "Then what did you come here for?"
She doesn't answer immediately, but she soon looks at me.
She sticks her hand down her pocket and pulls out two blunts, gesturing one of them towards me.
I exchange glances between the blunt and her.
"C'mon, take it." She places one of them in between her teeth. "I know you've been needing it."
I swallow and take it from her, placing it in my mouth.
I wrap my lips around it as I create a small flame on the tip of my finger with a snap.
I look over at Bella, who's already patiently waiting for me to light hers.
And so I hover my finger over the tip of the blunt, sitting back against the wall as I puff smoke into the clean air.