CHAPTER SEVEN - BLOODY BULLET TRAIN TO LOVE ARC - SWEET SUGAR OVERDOSE

Lucy brushes a strand of hair behind her ear.

She takes a deep breath.

"Exactly one week ago, on the 10th of May, an exceptionally powerful devil appeared above Shinjuku. Due to the nature of this devil and its method of attack, we can safely assume its identity to be Belphegor, one of the seven Princes of Hell. Further details can be found in the report submitted by me and my fellow exterminators who were at the scene."

She stands at the edge of a long table, facing twelve figures dressed in religious garments with white sheets covering their faces. At the end of the table stands a black monolith. The letters "YHWH" inscribed onto it glow with an ominous light. 

One of the faceless individuals flips through a folder on the table. 

"Though I suspect that's not what you're most interested in," speaks Lucy. 

Inside the folder is a printed photograph.

"Our extermination operation was interrupted by the appearance of another devil, one capable of defeating and eliminating the aforementioned Prince of Hell."

It depicts the silhouette of a winged devil flying in front of the sun with outstretched wings almost entirely obscured by shadow.

 "This devil, well..."

Lucy swallows a lump in her throat.

...

"...We believe it to be Gluttony."

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Lucy exits the room, shutting the door behind her.

Immediately, she lets out a sigh of relief. 

She walks down the sterile white halls of the facility, the sound of her heels knocking against the concrete floor occasionally interrupting the faint buzz of the fluorescent yellow lights above.

Approaching from the other end of the hall is a tall and emaciated man, with straight black hair neatly parted at the middle of his forehead and reaching down to his waist. His wide eyes and jet black pupils only serve to make his unusually pale face even more ghoulish.

Lucy looks at him sternly in an attempt to disguise the soft expression of fear that came across her face for only a moment. An indiscernible frustration smolders behind her eyes. The man's black pupils reflect nothing in return.

"Hello, Lucy."

"Uriel..."

Unable to speak any further, she simply gives him a nod. 

"How goes the investigation? Let's hope you didn't bite off more than you can chew."

His lips, usually twisted downwards into a nasty grimace, morph into a smile. 

"Though, I must say, I'm impressed. You've surpassed me in rank rather quickly. I remember how helpless you were when the two of us were in Eden... oh, how much you've grown."

"I have somewhere to be. Please excuse me."

She quickly storms off before being pulled backwards.

Uriel's delicate and pale fingers are wrapped around her wrist. 

"But using the corpse of a devil to do it? I can't say I approve. You're killing yourself, you know."

Lucy doesn't speak, her boiling emotions shut tight deep within her chest.

"After all, you're just so beautiful..."

He cautiously runs his fingers up the rough and miscolored skin of her burns.

In an instant, a spurt of blood stains the side of his sleeve.

Looking down, he notices a small combat knife stuck deep into his hand.

Lucy shoots him a fiery glare.

"You're touching a superior officer. Know your place."

Somehow, Uriel's smile only seems to widen.

"You poor soul... nothing but hate within you."

In an instant, his smile drops, and his black eyes darken even more.

"Burn. And burn. And keep burning. Until there's nothing left," he violently spits.

"Um, excuse me?"

Their conversation is interrupted by another exterminator, a young and serious looking man with black hair cut neatly above his brows. As if coming to a realization, he nervously bows.

"I mean- Pardon my rudeness!"

He doesn't lift his head.

"Naoto Osakabe, rookie exterminator from the Tokyo recruitment program! It's a pleasure to meet you both!"

As the man nearly shouts, Uriel swiftly hides his bleeding hand behind his back, the knife still lodged deep inside. 

Osakabe takes a glance at Lucy.

"Y-You're Ms. Lucy, correct? I believe I'm to be stationed under your command."

She gives him a soft smile.

"You're correct. I expect great things from you."

The innocent young man appears as if he's about to cry as he gives her a passionate nod.

"I won't let you down!"

"A new recruit? How wonderful," speaks Uriel. 

"Let's hope you can handle the responsibility."

He smiles again as if to silence any response. 

Lucy watches his back as he exits the hall and tenderly touches against the burnt skin on her arm.

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"It's not fair! Why didn't it happen to you?!"

"I was totally right! You DID wanna fuck him!"

Fukuzaki laughs as she scoops a spoonful of ice cream and shoves it in her mouth.

Misaki is blushing furiously.

"That's not what I said! Older men is relative!"

"Right. Relative." Fukuzaki replies sarcastically.

"I probably meant older as in, like, 20 year old dudes! Not older older!"

"A-An afterschool lesson..? Mr. Kanou, I don't know if that's appropriate..." Fukuzaki mocks in a high pitched voice, hugging her chest.

"How do I know you're not lying about what I said, anyways?! I don't remember anything!"

"No, it's okay! She's not lying!"

"Riru, you're really not helping here!"

"Um... Ruriri, I've been meaning to ask... what happened to your hair?" Inuyama questions.

The girls simultaneously look towards Riru, who awkwardly stops to stare back after taking a huge bite of ice cream. Her hair is now cut to shoulder length, though the completely uneven length and frayed ends make it look as if a chainsaw was used to finish the job. 

"Impressive, huh?" she confidently boasts, puffing out her chest.

"It's a look, for sure..."

"Now, Fukuzaki! Let me try that one flavor! That one!" Riru points.

"Huh?! you already have, like, seven scoops!"

Riru's bowl of ice cream more closely resembles a tower on the verge of collapse.

"That's nothing! I still have forty-three left!"

"Forty-three?! You're getting every flavor?!"

"Come on, this is her first time trying it!" smiles Inuyama.

Riru takes another big bite.

Somehow, in just the matter of days, most of the city seemed to have moved on from Belphegor's assault on the arcade. The massive repair efforts still underway became more of a minor inconvenience than anything else. After a certain point, life-changing catastrophic events become background noise, and more important things like clocking in at work on time become the priority.

And luckily, this ice cream parlor had survived the wreckage.

Fukuzaki and Misaki seem to be bantering again, but Riru isn't listening to their exact words.

She scarfs down yet another scoop of ice cream in just a few seconds. 

It was sweet. Overwhelmingly so.

Nothing she'd had before could even compare. 

"Hey, Riru, you all good?" Fukuzaki asks.

Without her noticing, a few tears had fallen down Riru's cheek.

"Huh..?"

She rubs her cheek before vigorously shaking her head.

"Yes! I'm fine!"

"She really loves that ice cream, huh..?" Misaki sighs.

Putting everything else aside, she eats another scoop. 

It was almost sickening.

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Riru, Misaki, and Fukuzaki walk their way home, the streets dimly lit by the sun setting just above the cloudy horizon. Inuyama seems to have left a bit earlier. 

"You think it's gonna rain tonight again? Maybe we'll finally get to hear Fukuzaki's true feelings!" teases Misaki.

"Yeah, I'm gonna reveal it all!" Fukuzaki proclaims.

"I am Belphegor! And I really respect you, Misaki!"

"T-That's what you'd say?!" Misaki seems flustered.

"'Cuz it must've took a lot of courage, shouting out your preferences like that!"

She swings her leg to kick Fukuzaki in the butt.

"I'm heading this way. See you at school," Misaki takes a turn down another street.

"Later."

"I... had a lot of fun today!" shouts Riru.

Misaki smiles, waving at her as she turns the other way.

"Now, as for you..." Fukuzaki has a devious grin.

"We're fixing that hair of yours!"

"Whaaat?!"

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"Hey, stop tilting your head!"

"I wanna see!"

Riru sits on the toilet in the bathroom of her apartment while Fukuzaki carefully snips away at the back of her head.

"Anyways... What's with the sudden makeover?" Fukuzaki questions.

"It's a disguise!" shouts Riru proudly.

She holds still.

"I'm worried... a lot of people might've seen me that day."

"I'm not sure a haircut is gonna do much about that..."

...

Fukuzaki continues cutting.

"You'll be fine. I dunno what happened, but you should've seen yourself. You were basically unrecognizable."

Riru shifts around uncomfortably in her seat.

"Um... thanks."

...

"Hey, what's that big, uh... thing... on the floor?" asks Fukuzaki, looking outside the bathroom door and eyeing the giant pentagram etched onto the floor of Riru's room.

Riru's eyes widen.

"It's a contact sigil! For talking to people in Hell!"

"Hell, huh..?"

For a moment, Fukuzaki looks uncomfortable.

"You guys really gotta get cell phones," she grins before getting back to work.

...

"What's it like down there?"

Riru casts her eyes down.

"Mainly just war, and fighting, and more fighting. And stupid ceremonies. It's terrible," Riru sulks.

"Doesn't sound much different than Earth, then," jokes Fukuzaki.

"Well... at least there's ice cream up here."

Fukuzaki smiles.

"Yeah, I guess."

...

"I wanna put a stop to this. To all of it."

Riru has a serious expression.

"What do you mean? The invasion?"

She nods.

"I just need to date a guy... I think."

"Huh?!

"Uh, nevermind."

Fukuzaki smiles.

"Weirdo."

She has a quiet expression.

"Alright, how's that look?"

Riru gets up from the toilet, looking in the mirror. 

"Woah..."

The tangled mess on her head has been completely brushed through and neatly cut straight across at the ends. 

"It's perfect!"

"Hehe." Fukuzaki looks smug.

"Hey, uh, what's that..?"

She looks down with a surprised expression, parting a section of Riru's hair to take a closer look at her scalp.

"Huh? What's what?"

A tiny second horn on the right side of her head slightly pokes out from within her skull. 

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Back at the main office, Lucy has another meeting with the twelve robed figures.

"Kyoto?" she asks, appearing confused. 

"Correct. A decision has been made."

A voice booms from the tall black monolith standing at the edge of the room.

"Matthew."

At the command of voice, one of the robed individuals takes over. 

"We will take action regarding the disguised devil spotted at Yamabuki High. When the school was attacked by a rampaging devil calling itself Belphegor, Class 1-C was specifically targeted, and this devil came to their defense."

Lucy looks nervous as the man continues.

"It bares a striking resemblance to the Gluttony you speak of."

Her eyes widen.

"I'm sure you're aware of how dangerous Tokyo has been as of late, and how few devil exterminators we have to spare. Class 1-C will be temporarily evacuated to Kyoto until the situation is under control. I leave the responsibility of making these arrangements to you and the rest of Division 3."

"Right... of course," Lucy replies, taking a deep breath.

...

"Forgive me, but... I have to wonder if I'm getting the whole story."

Lucy casts her eyes downwards, nervously fidgeting with the sleeves of her suit.

In a sudden burst of resolve, she narrows her eyes and stares directly at the black monolith.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you believe this devil is disguised as a student in Class 1-C."

A bead of sweat slowly falls down her cheek.

"And you plan to eliminate it in Kyoto."

...

After a brief pause, the booming voice returns.

"How shrewd."

Lucy nervously smiles.

"We have already made arrangements. The beast can no longer hide. And if it tries..."

"We'll sniff it out."

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The next morning, Riru walks towards the gates of Yamabuki High while snacking on a piece of milk bread. Two girls pass her by, whispering amongst themselves.

"Hey, those guys in the uniforms..."

"Huh? Why are they here?"

Looking over towards the entrance, Riru spots two men adorned in black religious vestments speaking with a young schoolteacher. She politely bows before quickly running back into the school.

Riru watches the men attempt to maintain composure amid the quiet murmurs of students before a light tap on the back gives her a sudden jolt.

Turning around, she notices Fukuzaki, who shoots her a quick smile.

She looks over towards the devil exterminators, eyeing them suspiciously.

"...Come on, let's just head to class."

She grabs Riru's hand, tugging her along into the building. 

Riru looks behind her, attempting to ignore the ominous tightness growing within her chest. 

Weaving their way through the crowds of students congesting the halls, the two finally reach the classroom, receiving a small wave from Inuyama sitting near the back.

Their new homeroom teacher has a scowl on his face, but at this point, that had become the norm. 

After the last few students take their seats, he clears his throat, and a silence falls over the room.

"Now! Listen up! We have a new transfer student today. Come on in."

He gestures towards the door.

A young man steps into the room, and Riru feels her heart drop.

Pure and utter panic overwhelms her senses.

He wears a stylish puffer jacket over his school uniform and carries large rectangular case with a strap over his shoulder, completely covered up in tape. A small silver crucifix dangles from his neck.

"Introduce yourself, Gabriel."