Chapter Text
2 Months Left
It had been 2 days since Aki Hayakawa died. Or maybe it’d been 2 weeks…Angel wasn’t quite sure how long he’d been out. When he had woken up from whatever happened, Makima was sitting next to his bed. She had sweetly informed Angel that Aki Hayakawa was dead and that he would be assigned a new partner in a couple of weeks once he recovered. “Aki died fighting the Gun Devil,” Makima appeared sad but Angel just felt that “sad” didn’t fit the emotion he saw in her eyes. He didn’t know how to explain it but he felt like a bunny being watched by a fox. Prey.
After talking a bit more, Makima informed him that he would be held in this room for a bit so they could keep an eye on him. Fine with Angel, the less work to do the better. His whole body ached and he had a pounding headache that didn’t seem to be getting better. He didn’t really know how to feel about Aki being dead, somehow it felt different than previous hunters he’d known dying. For starters, Angel actually felt guilty that Aki had died. Why was Aki dead but Angel was still alive? He couldn’t even remember what happened besides bits and pieces and that in itself felt disrespectful. But every time Angel tried to remember what happened his headache had only increased, so he stopped trying. He could only remember Aki and him going to see Makima for help, after that was a confusing blur. Sighing, Angel laid back down, he wanted to sleep for a bit more.
But even in his dreams, he wasn’t able to escape.
“Why.” A young girl stood in front of him, “why did you take my life.”
“Why.” An old man stepped into his view, wobbling towards Angel with a cane. “Was I not good enough to live?”
“Why me, I was young. I was young.” A young man rocked back and forth on the ground in front of Angel. “I was supposed to live long.”
Angel felt the bile rising from his stomach as another pointed at him and questioned, “Aren’t you an Angel? Why are you taking away lives? You’re fake, you’re a liar.” Wake up wake up wake up he tried to smack himself but found he once again had no arms. No no no he groaned, these types of dreams always felt a little too real for Angel to just ignore them. Unlike his normal dreams, he would vividly remember these moments, he would feel these moments when he woke up. As if reading his thoughts, and Angel was beginning to wonder if that was part of this dream world too, the man with a cane came towards him and raised his cane. Angel closed his eyes bracing for the impact but it never came. Instead, he heard the cane hit flesh, not Angels, and then a deep voice telling the man to scram.
“‘I’m actually going crazy.” Muttered Angel, “I don’t think I was that attached to him to be hallucinating him saving me.” But when he opened his eyes he found sapphire eyes staring into his own.
"Angel." Angel opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. Aki gave him a soft smile, “Save me, Angel.” I will, tell me what happened. Angel tried to speak but this time, it wasn’t the shock preventing him from speaking. He had no mouth. What’s happening? Angel wanted to scream.
"Angel." Angel whipped his head toward Aki whose voice was trembling and low, “Save me.” Aki stood there, his arms were now guns, and there was blood spilling from his mouth and his eyes like he was crying.
“Save me, Angel.” Angel ran toward him but found he could not get closer. I’m here Aki! I’m coming, let me save you. But no matter how much he tried he could not reach Aki. Aki turned toward him, “You’re a liar, Angel Devil.” His voice wasn’t his own now though, it sounded like a young woman. I’m not.
“You’re a murderer, Angel Devil.” This time it was the voice of an old man. Stop it. Stop talking. I’m coming, Aki, let me save you.
“Why didn’t you save me, Angel.” This time it was Aki’s voice and the sadness made Angel’s heart ache, Angel stopped running. He never knew he could feel like this, a horrible pit of some feeling in his stomach. I tried. I promise I tried. At that moment, Angel felt more pathetic than at any other moment in his life. He didn’t even have arms to hold himself, no mouth to scream or cry out.
“Angel,” Aki’s voice was a whisper now, “look at me.” Angel looked up and ruby eyes met sapphire, though Aki’s face was practically the same color as Angel’s eyes with all the blood streaking from his eyes. Aki bent down in front of Angel, when did he come this close? And for a second Angel was about to pull back, worried for Aki’s lifespan but oh right, he’s dead and this is a dream.
Aki smiled at Angel, but not the one that made Angel’s heart skip a beat. “You killed me, Angel. You told me Makima would help, you lied. You’re a liar. You murdered me, Angel.” He raised his gun arms and pointed it straight at Angel’s forehead.
Gunshots echoed through Angel's mind as he shot up from his sleeping position. Sweat pooled at his temple and his breaths came out shallow. He quickly did a quick check and found he had both his arms and his mouth, he let out a tired sigh. “Stupid dreams.” As he took in deep shaky breaths he noticed someone in the corner of the room. He jumped up, “who the fuck-“ he stopped suddenly. “What are you…”
As if his dreams were coming true, he stared into the sapphire eyes of Aki Hayakawa.
Opposite of dream Aki, this Aki tilted his head looking surprised. “You can see me?”
Angel cautiously looked around him, this has to be a joke right? Makima must be pulling a sick joke on him…but why would she do that? Angel groaned and massaged his forehead, whenever he thought about Makima his brain started to hurt and get fuzzy again. He squinted at the figure in front of him and then promptly smacked himself in the cheek.
“Angel?!” Aki rushed toward but Angel, out of habit, immediately backed up as far as he could. If this Aki was real, he didn’t want to take the chance of killing him by touch.
“What’s happening?” Angel stared at Aki, “You’re supposed to be dead.”
Aki hmmed, a thoughtful expression on his face, “I think I am dead.” He said this casually, but Angel saw how he lowered his head slightly, the way his shoulder scrunched in as if to make himself smaller. Dying for humans was different than Devils, they wouldn’t ever come back. At least that was supposed to be the case.
Angel opened his mouth to ask another question but Aki interrupted, “I don’t know why I’m here.”
Angel hesitated, thinking of a million possibilities that allowed him to see this man again. He reached towards Aki, “If you’re dead, I shouldn’t be able to touch you right?”
Aki looked at Angel’s hand and then firmly reached out and caught Angel’s smaller hand in his. They both were fairly shocked at this contact. Angel quickly ripped his hand out of Aki's and took a deep breath. Putting it all together, he was starting to understand what was happening, and he wasn’t too happy about it. There was only one thing left to confirm it…
The door to the room suddenly opened and Makima walked in. Aki, who had been staring intently at his hand, blinked and stared at Makima.
“Angel, who are you talking to?” Her yellow eyes pierced into Angel, if he lied she would know immediately.
“Aki.” Angel responded in his normal monotone voice. He walked back to his bed and sat crisscrossed on it. Makima raised an eyebrow but then let out a high-pitched laugh, “Oh Angel, didn’t I tell you? Aki is dead. Killed by his precious Chainsaw boy.”
Angel whipped his head to stare at her, “Th-that’s not what you said before.” His heart sped up as he snuck a glance at Aki, who’d gone completely rigid. Guess it was news to him too.
Makima covered her mouth, her eyes seemed to glow an even darker yellow. “Oh, I guess I did tell you the Gun Devil killed him huh?” She smirked and Angel felt his wings ruffle up. “Well have fun talking to Aki, don’t go too crazy otherwise I won’t be able to let you out.” As she left she gave him a sickly sweet smile, “And I’ll be needing you very soon.”
With a loud bang, the door slammed shut behind her.
There was so much for Angel to process from that but her last words of “I’ll be needing you very soon” echoed through his head. He felt fear, he didn’t know he could feel that. For some reason, he felt that if he went on a mission with Makima, he wouldn’t be coming back. He didn’t know why that scared him that much, he’d longed for death since he first became conscious. Plus, the people he liked were already gone.
“Angel.”
Aki’s voice shook Angel out of his daze and he looked over to see Aki who had a grim look on his face, his fists were clenched by his side so hard that his knuckles were white. Angel swallowed, that had confirmed it.
“Angel, what is happening? What is Makima saying? Why am I here?” Angel suddenly got chills, remembering dream Aki who had appeared right before this Aki. Angel’s shoulders sagged, “Sit down Aki, I’ll explain.”
~~~~~~~
Angel hated himself. He’d always hated who he was and the twisted powers he came with. He knew he was a Devil, he should hate humans, and he should want to kill them, want to take their years. But maybe it’s because of his Angel side, that he craved human touch, craved human love. Angel vaguely remembers loving a human before, remembers humans accepting him. But just like most things Angel tried to think too much about, everything was fuzzy and it made his head hurt. When he had joined the Devil Hunters he very quickly realized humans hated him no matter if he hated them or not. He tried to hate humans back and for a while, he succeeded. He took lives with a single touch, not caring if they were young, or old. If they begged for mercy, Angel simply slashed their neck so they couldn't scream anymore. He followed whatever Makima told him. Eventually, though, Angel found he still couldn’t hate humans as much as his fellow Devils. He knew humans would always hate him but he could live with that, he definitely deserved it. Angel settled into a neutral stance of not wanting to kill humans but not wanting to save them either. He also felt that way about himself, he didn’t want to live but he didn’t want to kill himself either. Angel just wanted to stop feeling. He wanted to stop fighting, and deep down he wanted to live a stupid mundane human life. But he knew that would never happen, his life never had any type of stability in it. Until he met Aki Hayakawa.
Aki Hayakawa was the first person to willingly touch Angel. And somehow, he had become a stable presence in Angel’s life. A little while after the hand touch, Aki invited Angel to dinner at his place, after that, it was only a matter of time before Angel was over for dinners every night and movies every weekend. Angel wasn’t sure how the Chainsaw Boy and the Blood Fiend would react to him being around but they only made a couple of jokes at Aki the first time. At times, when they would all watch a movie together, Denji and Power sprawled on the ground and Aki and Angel on the couch, Angel wondered if this was what a family felt like. But each time, another day at work killing devils reminded Angel they were no ordinary people. They could never be a normal family, but at least for a couple of hours each night Angel could lower his guard and pretend.
Power and Denji were odd fellows but Angel could tell that Aki really cared for them and to know Aki could care for Devils made Angel’s heart skip a beat in ways he tried to suppress. Angel knew better than anyone not to expect anything. But when he remembers the first time they touched, the way Aki had grabbed his hand and then pulled him into an embrace, Angel can’t stop his heart from hammering in his chest. He remembers the warmth of Aki and how, in that moment of complete chaos, Angel had never felt so safe. He knew it was wrong but he hadn’t been able to stop the stray thought of I want to stay like this from passing through his mind. Unfortunately for Angel, the moment had ended as soon as it started and Angel was forced back to distance and the cold.
With all the nights with the little family of three, Angel found himself getting more and more attached. He knew it was bad but he couldn’t stop thinking of ways to extend Aki’s lifespan, maybe he could form a contract or something. When Angel learned about Aki pulling out of the expedition for the Gun Devil, he felt something like relief.
But then everything went downhill and Aki died. Aki had gone down fighting the Gun Devil and had fulfilled his lifelong dream of destroying it and Angel had gone and fucked it up. Angel hated himself because of his powers but he hated himself the most because he always ended up hurting the people he cared about.
~~~~~~~
“It’s my fault,” Devil Hunter and Devil sat criss-cross across from each other, “I took two months from you…”
Aki hummed, touching his hand as if he could remember, he glanced at Angel before asking, “But what does that have to do with anything?”
Angel sighed, he felt more tired today than ever, “It’s rare but sometimes when I take time from someone…they’ll come back to…haunt me after they die.”
Aki’s eyes widened, “But I didn’t have anything against you or anything.”
“It’s not like that…” Angel sighed again, he really was a good-for-nothing devil. Aki seemed to notice Angel’s mood and softly asked, “What is it, Angel?”
Angel twisted his fingers together, he really hated himself at this moment. He stared down at the bed sheets, contemplating ignoring Aki completely and just going to sleep. But, it’s not like it’s Aki's fault, Angel shouldn’t punish him for just being a good person.
“I got attached.”
“Eh?”
“I got overly attached to you…and your little family,” Angel added in the last part but from Aki’s slightly red face he could tell it didn’t do much to buffer the hidden truth in Angel’s words.
“I’m sorry…” Sighing again, Angel scrunched up his face as he remembered his past. “It’s only happened once before and that human mostly stayed away, she tried to talk to me but nothing made sense. She went away after about 50 years though…”
Angel had always thought the girl was familiar, he enjoyed her presence, but he couldn’t place exactly what he’d known her from. She spoke a strange language that Angel had forgotten so Angel never figured out who exactly she was. Aki was different from her though, Angel remembered him clearly.
Clearing his throat a bit, Angel continued, “It’ll only last two months and then you can pass on peacefully to wherever you go after death.”
They sat in silence for a long time before Aki asked, “If I’m…dead, why can we touch?”
Angel, himself, didn’t really understand this aspect of his power and after the first girl, he’d never gotten attached to another. “Probably because you’re somewhat part of me now, plus you’re dead so it’s not like I can take any more time from you.”
Angel was starting to feel like his life was really just a cruel joke that someone made up. The only time he could actually touch someone and it was when he got too attached and they died…real funny.
“Everything is a bit of a blur but I remember bits and pieces.” Aki fiddled with his fingers and then looked at Angel. It wasn’t an unkind stare but Angel felt goosebumps up his arms, he wasn’t sure what Aki was getting at yet.
“I think…I think Makima is bad.” Angel stiffened, his head suddenly felt a bit fuzzy again, he didn’t want to think about all this right now. He couldn’t even respond though before Aki continued, “I think she killed me.”
The statement hung in the air for several minutes. For some reason, Angel didn’t feel too shocked by this revelation. Angel’s wings drooped a bit, “What am I supposed to do about it, Aki? I’m stuck here.”
Aki nodded as if he’d expected this response, which he probably did, Angel never put too much effort in anything. “She’ll let you out eventually, she probably doesn’t see you as a threat.”
“And then what, she’s way stronger than me and you’re…you’re dead.”
“I don’t know yet but if I have 2 extra months to be here then I need to find out what happened to me. I need to know the truth about everything.”
Angel stared into the beautiful jewel eyes that he had always longed to get lost in. Angel regretted a lot of things in his life and he really didn’t want Aki Hayakawa to be added to that list. However, he was still a devil, meant to hate devil hunters. So he proposed the only thing he knew how to do: “Let’s make a deal, Aki Hayakawa.”
“I don’t think I can make contracts…”
“Not a contract. A deal…A promise. In the next two months, I will help you with whatever you need. But in exchange, you have to promise me two things. One: when you pass on, don’t curse me, don’t hate me. Two: since I can touch you without you dying I want to be able to touch you when I want.”
Angel stuck his hand out, his requests weren’t hard to fulfill, they both understood that. These requests weren’t really a demand but more of a silent plea from Angel. He needed Aki to not hate him, he needed to know that even though Aki wasn’t really there, he was there.
Without hesitating, Aki firmly grabbed Angel’s hand. “I promise, Angel.”