CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. . . . . .A NIGHT OF INNOCENCE !
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┄﹒DENJI HAD TOSSED OVER ON HIS SIDE, TRYING TO GET COMFORTABLE. his eyes were partly opened and looking at the empty spot to his right. he further opened his eyes, eyebrows furrowing in the process. the girl with grey eyes nowhere in sight, which bothered him.
he carefully got up from his spot, making sure he didn't disrupt power in the process, and began to look around the decent sized apartment.
since the incident of some days prior he had made sure to keep an eye on those close with him; more specifically aki, power, and erity.
and now erity wasn't where he last saw her at. first, he checked the bathroom— making sure to knock on the door first before entering. but she wasn't there.
then he looked inside aki's room. being careful to open the door in case he woke him up. he knew how badly aki needed to sleep.
the last and only place he could look was the balcony, it being the only place he hadn't checked. and if she wasn't there then it would be an issue.
the sliding door to the balcony was already slightly ajar before he had even touched the handle, and so he knew that she was out there. erity didn't like to close it all the way, especially at night.
"eri?" denji asked when seeing the girl sitting on the single chair.
she hummed at first, not looking in his direction until he sat down next her, yet on the ground.
"why are you up?" she asked, ignoring the fact that she had been up for an hour already. "it's late."
"then why are you up? aki said you need to be resting for at least a month. zankoku would attest to that also." the blond had a point but she ignored it. not wanting to follow strict rules of staying in bed all day.
a comfortable silence fell between the two. neither of them knowing what to say— erity knowing she was in the wrong, and denji was aware that he was right.
it wasn't until erity made a move to sit on the concrete beside denji. her body being only mere inches from his, close enough that if one of them flinched their shoulders would make contact.
"have you... taken the time to just think about what's happened?" she breathed out, resting her head against the wall. "i mean, we've been through a lot so far.. could it get worse?"
he simply nodded, his eyes staying trained on the star filled sky. "why think about how it could get worse?"
"i can't help it— it's just been plaguing my mind. everything. it didn't seem bad at first, our only trouble was power and the bat devil, but now... we're here. the eternity devil, my sixteenth birthday, himeno, reze. it's a whole mess."
the boy stayed silent as the girl continued her rant. words spilling from her lips without any sign of stopping.
"i haven't even had the time to mention that i could quickly end my life if i wanted. that's what's... fucked up. i'm supposed to live a happy, fulfilling life and yet i'm stuck. denji, i could heal you, anyone, myself but that comes with a price. my lifespan is on the line each time i wish to do that."
denji looked over at the girl, curiously. "you... can do that?"
"it's what zan told me a long time ago. my birthday actually. when that bullet got me."
"have you used it?"
"on that day. a couple times in all, not crazy about it but i'll use it if i need." that was the last thing denji had wanted to hear. "i wish things wouldn't be like this. that we could live a normal life."
"eri," he looked at her. noticing a distant look in her eye. "why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"because, i," she let her head gently fall onto his shoulder, closing her eyes as she breathed in peacefully. "wanted to wait for the right time. all of this has bern happenings nonstop snd i've only now found the courage to tell you." her tone was soft. her body relaxing onto his side. "do you hate me? are you mad?"
he wasn't sure on what to say or do at that moment, only wrapping an arm around her to bring her closer to him, if possible. his face felt warm, his eyes looking down at her figure curled up to his side.
"no, eri, i don't hate you. how could i ever?" his words brought a noticeable smile to her lips.
she tilted her head to look at him, her cheek resting against his shoulder. "i'm glad.. i think you must know, i love you, denj."
"you—"
the balcony's door suddenly slid open before denji could continue what he was to say. power emerging from inside the apartment and quickly over to their sides. the blood fiend sliding onto her knees to denji's other unoccupied side.
tears falling from her eyes as she desperately held onto the blond. "the darkness devil was theree..." she whined aloud, wetting his white shirt.
erity frowned lightly at the sight of power crying. she felt bad that the girl grew so scared of the darkness. "why don't we go back inside? we can all sleep for the rest of the night?" the girl offered as she slowly stood from her place at denji's side, holding a hand out towards power.
the fiend looked at the grey eyed girl for a moment before lifting her hand up towards eri's. tears still gathered in her eyes, a frightened look clouding her face.
"you can trust me power, come on.."
it took minutes until the trio were all laying down in their perspective spots, power laying in between denji and erity. their arrangement had been the same every night and it continued to be that way.
denji's head turned to look at the girl's next to him, both of them sound asleep. his attention moved moreover onto erity.
a smile spread onto his lips after recalling what she had said to him, but he wasn't able to respond. maybe another night would be more fitting to respond.
