"Huh?!" I replied keeping my puzzled expression on my face.
"How are you here?" Lucifer's eyes stayed wide as he raised one brow.
"Um, could you please get your hands off me?" I stayed uncomfortably close to the door once he lifted his hands from my stiff shoulders. Talk about harassment!
"Urushihara! Leave her alone, and apologize to the guest." Maou shouted, irritated by Urushihara's behavior.
"She's not a guest!" In one swift motion he directed his finger at me. It was so close I pressed myself against the door as stiff ever. Maou dragged Urushihara by the collar to the other side of the room. "I'm not kidding! I know her!!" I heard them whispering a little louder than needed.
"I'm sorry about that Suta-San. Please, sit down." Alsiel suggested. I did as told and sat down by their small table. I knew this would happen. Urushihara would notice me of course. The spell had been broken. However, that was going to happen if I was to observe and pull information from them at such a close range. "Do you like Udon?" Alsiel asked from the small stove.
"I'm not sure," I replied. Urushihara and Maou were done talking. They moved to the table. Urushihara sat in front of me, drinking his glass of water while eyeing me suspiciously.
"Udon is popular around here. Have you not tried this dish before?" Alsiel asked, placing the noodles on the table.
"Hikari is suffering from amnesia. She fell outside MgRonald's and we called for the doctor. He suggested I help her recover some of her memory since I am the last person she remembered. She probably doesn't remember some meals as well." Maou explained to the two of them.
"Oh poor girl, please try the food. Hopefully, you will remember the taste." Alsiel offered me the rice. Why were demons feeding me? Why did they feel sorry for me? Was this just an act?
"You don't need to feel bad." I scooped up noodles and beef and gave it a taste. My eyes widened. "Delicious! Oh yes, now I remember this taste!" I smiled, scooping more into my mouth.
"Thank you! I forgot to mention, my name is Shirou Ashiya." He smiled joyfully by the compliment given to him.
"You must be a good cook Ashiya-san." The sauce of the beef and the rice together made the flavor much more enjoyable.
"You're too kind. Urushihara should learn a thing or two from you." Ashiya turned his head to Urushihara, who still kept a watch on me.
"So Hikari-san, do you remember anything before the incident at MgRonald's?" Maou asked with his mouth full of rice.
"Hmm. I remember being sent to you for a particular reason. Before that it's a little fuzzy." I answered before drinking my glass of water.
"Are you the new employee from the other franchise? Kisaki-San told me we would be evaluated and have a transfer." Maou said quizzically. It amazed me how he had gone from planning attacks on cities to deciding what should be the special of the month.
"Possibly," I lied. "I have had numerous jobs." I said nervously, hoping he wouldn't see right through me. I noticed that Lucifer-or Urushihara-had been silently eating. He occasionally paused to glare at me. Alsiel sent a look at Lucifer every time he stared at me.
I didn't really like this awkward cycle of behavior of his, so I decided to try and hold a conversation with him.
"So, Urushihara-" I began, before he cut me off.
"Shut up." He muttered. I swallowed the irritation.
"Excuse us for one moment." Alsiel said, dragging Lucifer with him outside.
"Sorry again. Don't mind him, he's a bum." Maou said, glaring at their direction as Ashiya closed the door.
"No, no, it's fine. If I did know him before, I can't remember a thing." I said, swirling my chopsticks in my noodles half heartedly.
"Why are we friends?" Lucifer asked me. The sun shone bright and warm on our faces, and the breeze brushed back strands of our hair, keeping us cool.
Why was I remembering this?
"I do not know. Even though, if it is okay with you, I would like to stay like this for awhile." The breeze that touched my cheeks reminded me of the fact that they were heating up.
"Of course, it's okay." He turned the other direction, trying to hide his nervousness.
"Hikari?" Maou was gathering the plates. I returned to the present. How foolish of me. There was nothing in the past. There was no point of it whatsoever. I can't get distracted now, not when I'm so close to them at the moment. I couldn't forget my purpose.
"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking of the other people I might have forgotten." I stated as monotone as I could manage. It wasn't a complete lie.
"Oh." Maou shrugged.
It was at this moment that Alsiel and Lucifer walked back in, Lucifer sulking. He crawled to the corner with his laptop. I sweatdropped. Was that thing really an obsession of his? The look on his face was intent, as if the screen held imperative content.
What if he was hacking into databases that contained this world's deepest secrets? Is that what he was doing? I was tempted to look.
So that's what I did.
I tried to appear casual, walking past him and looking over his shoulder at the screen. He kept going at different angles which made it difficult to see. Whether he was doing it on purpose or not, I wasn't sure.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lucifer inquired, holding the laptop close to him.
"Well, you gave me weird looks too, at dinner." I said in a matter-of-fact fashion.
"Hikari-san, we didn't really get to talk much at dinner, sorry about that." Maou was done with the dishes and was drying his hands with a cloth.
"You don't always have to apologize to me." I said, looking away from Lucifer and back up at Maou. He most likely didn't even want to apologize but either way it annoyed me. The Devil isn't supposed to say sorry. "It's my fault that you are tangled in this mess of mine."
"You were put in my care, so I will do what I can to help you. You are might even turn out to be my employee. It's the job of the Assistant-Manager to protect and help his associates!" He grinned, his canines showing. I was amazed by how much was different, then immediately back looked down.
What a strange smile... It looks so deceivingly sincere. How much has the Overlord changed? Did I suspect him for the wrong person? I immediately stopped myself from thinking such strange thoughts. I was here for research, not to befriend the Devil.
"Thank you, Maou-san." It felt odd speaking such kind words to someone who had done such terrible things.
"You don't always have to thank me." He laughed, his smile widened. I nodded. "Do you remember where you came from? Your family?"
"I had a mother, a father, and a sister," I started thinking of the possibilities why I wasn't sent to them. "But they passed away, I can't remember why. Sometimes I wish I could forget that memory. But even with amnesia it won't fade away. Hmm." Half of what I spoke was true. I used to have something like a family. I turned from him and rested my chin on my hand, my elbow upright on the table, steadying my arm. It was only after Maou spoke that I noticed Ashiya and him were staring at me.
"I'm sorry to ask you such a personal question. Forgive me." Satan, asking an angel for forgiveness?
I waved my arms in front of me stating to stop. "No, no. It's ok, really! You didn't know, so it's alright!" Drops of sweat formed on my temple. How could they act so kind? They could be top-notch actors in this world.
"I'll try not bring up bad memories. Hehe, do you know where you live now?" He asked nervously. I still needed to watch them, it would be a more thorough task if I stayed with them. I was prepared to answer. Almost completely prepared if it hadn't been for my nervousness.
"Oh, I just remembered," I started tapping my fingers together. My face darkened. "I got kicked out... I couldn't pay rent last time." I laughed a little nervously, the sweat started forming on my temples again.
"You should go back to the hospital." Urushihara uttered.
"Probably-" Maou jumped in cutting me off.
"That won't happen. The doctor left you in my assistance. You might be the new employee, after all." He went to a closet and threw me a blanket. I caught it in my arms. "You probably won't need it, summer has dragged in excessive heat. You could lay down on it though."
"But, that's too much! I can't accept-" I started off, baffled by the offer.
"I agreed to give you my assistance, didn't I?" In the background, Ashiya looked as if he was questioning Maou's decision as well.
"Are you sure about this, Sire? Urushihara may be correct. What if she was sent for us?" Ashiya came up and whispered in Maou's ear. I could hear it because of the little magic that still remained in me. Oh no! Was it that noticeable? I sure hope not.
All while this was happening Urushihara glared at me again. Ashiya went back to cleaning up. Right after he went back to finish some chores, Urushihara left his laptop. He went up to Maou repeating what Ashiya had done.
"Maou, you know we can't let her stay. She's dangerous." Urushihara whispered.
"I know but she's got no where to go. Anyway, if something happens there's always three of us. We aren't exactly sure if she really is from Ente Isla yet."
An awkward silence drifted between the whole house. No one said anything, just did their chores and such. I would have preferred it if someone had talked, even if it was rude or accusatory. Anything. Just anything to talk about.
Because, from my experience, the silence can only scream the truth.
Did they really sense my magic? Was it that easy?
"Hey. You." I looked up, hearing Lucifer's voice.
"What is it?" I tried not to appear rude.
"You might as well be useful and help out." Lucifer snorted. I felt a tick mark on my head, but I managed not to snap. He handed me a broom and I took it firmly. While sweeping, I thought of things I had to do. Get inside the minds of the demons, learn their plans report back... The whole mission would have taken longer if I watched them from a distance, if I had done the original plan. But going through the Gate was difficult, the transformation had hurt my head. This new plan, however, allowed me to get closer to all three and maybe get the job done faster. The fault in this plan was that Lucifer would recognize me, and I had a greater chance of jeopardizing the mission if the suspicion rose.
I was so deep in thought that I bumped the broom into the laptop. Urushihara's laptop was open, bent to the point where if you weren't right next to it, you wouldn't see a part of the screen.
Once I knocked it, it opened just a little more. I was content to have an opportunity to see what he might have been planning. But the image on the screen was something unspeakable. Never in my life had I thought I would stumble upon this photo that Lucifer had looked up! A small blush crept up on my face. It was a picture of two boys doing this game called a 'Pocky Challenge'. Both of them were blushing, their mouth on each end of the Pocky stick. In a way, they both looked like Ashiya and Maou.
I quickly closed the laptop and kicked it to the side.
I had swept the whole floor of the one room apartment. Even though it was small, it was tiring. Especially in Urushihara's corner.
When all of us finished cleaning up we got into bed. Or onto the blankets and tatami mats. To my surprise they didn't have anything to sleep on for themselves. The closest thing was the boxes Urushihara slept in.
I layed down on the folded blanket and set down my glasses. Today was a long one. I was taken to the doctor by the Devil, I was said to be suffering from amnesia, I had encountered three demons in one room, I was fed by them, and now they allowed me to sleep in their apartment. Nothing about today was natural. Not at all, I thought drifting to sleep.
☆☆☆
Clink! I was woken up by the sound of a glass. Lucifer was trying to get some water.
"Why are you awake?" He probably saw me move.
"I heard you get water." I whispered feeling groggy.
"You should go back to sleep." He said before taking a drink.
"Can I ask you something?" He looked curious. "When I was sweeping the floor I, um, I saw what was on your screen..." There was a moment of silence. "I swear it was by accident!"
"You shouldn't look at my business!" He shouted.
"What was it?" I blushed, remembering the image.
"It's this thing called yaoi, okay? Don't talk about it." Urushihara stammered.
"Ok... Was it Ashiya-San and Maou-San?" He looked away.
"Let's not talk about it anymore." He went back to the sink.
"Fine." It was a warm night. There was a slight breeze around the whole room. I started to cough.
Lucifer put a glass of water on the floor next to me. I took it puzzled, but grateful. It was refreshing. He sat down beside me.
"Let's just keep it between us okay?" He said still looking away.
"Yeah, it's our secret." I wasn't sure why, but the warmth in my cheeks crept back up again.
~
「Claire」
Hola! This chapter came quicker than last Chapter did. That's an accomplishment! ^ - ^ Haha I hope you liked the little fluff I put in this chapter, there will definitely be more coming up! （≧∇≦）so glad I could insert a small but of fluffy yaoi. Today is the last day of school so in summer I will have more time to write for you guys. I might also make a new fan fic soon but that is yet to be decided. Cover photo is from the manga/light novel Hataraku Maou-Sama! aka The Devil is a Part-Timer! Thanks for reading, hope you liked it. If you did please vote!