[The Okinawan experience] Aki x Angel

Chapter 1 - Arrival

"-And make sure to empty the lint tray when you do laundry. I don't want to come back to my apartment burnt to a crisp, thank you very much." Aki held onto the railing of the small ferry with all his might, while his other hand was gripping his flip phone. He watched as the waves crashed against the sides of the boat, quietly wondering how it hadn't toppled over yet.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll make sure Power behaves too." Denji's voice yawned through the speaker, at which Aki rolled his eyes.

"Just- do what Kishibe and Makima tell you, okay? And no parties." Aki gripped the railing even tighter as a stronger wave rocked the boat.

"Yeah..... But man, I'm jealous! Why couldn't I go on that trip with Miss Makima? I'm stuck here doing office work, while you get to splash at the beach with fancy boy." Denji's voice drawled as he complained. Aki could hear Nyako purring as she seemingly rubbed against Denji's mic.

Aki glanced at the aforementioned fancy boy, the Angel Devil accompanying him, who was currently hunched over, sitting on one of the benches, death-gripping a paper bag. Clearly not used to boats.

"Yeah. But hey, at least you're with Makima at the office." He focused back on his phone call.

He could guess why Makima had asked him to keep the nature of this trip under wraps. Denji and Power were inefficient when it came to using their brains. And this mission required brains. If they were informed that there was a devil in the middle of a sunny beach town-

This trip wouldn't be very efficient.

Aki wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the cupboard either, but when held up to some of the other members at the public safety office, he was practically Einstein.

Thus, Denji and Power were firmly asked to stay behind while Aki went on "paid vacation".

"That's true. You better get back quick, or I'll snatch her up before you know it." He could hear Denji snickering on the other side.

Aki rolled his eyes once more. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, we'll reach shore soon. I'll call you in the evening. If something happens, contact me, alright?"

"Yeah. Don't drown or something. Bye." And with that, Denji had hung up.

Aki sighed as he snapped his phone shut and turned to his partner for the trip, who still looked a little green in the face.

"I didn't know Devils could get sick." He sat down next to Angel, whose wings fluttered slightly in the wind.

"I didn't either." The small Devil looked miserable, his hair falling into his face.

Aki rubbed soothing circles into his back, making sure to avoid any uncovered inch of skin.

Angel groaned, rubbing his temples. "What do we know about this devil?"

Aki blinked, and as if on command, the words poured out of him. "Negation Devil. Showed up in Okinawa prefecture around a week ago. The exact location can't be pinpointed, and its influence is spreading by the minute. Not hostile, but has the potential of causing natural disasters. Not to mention-" He pauses. He knew the case file by heart at this point. But this part was always the one that baffled him the most.
"It can make Devil contracts and Fiend powers cease working. Leaving them defenseless."

Angel scoffed. "Which means that Makima sent us on a wild goose chase where we can't even use our usual means."

Aki nodded. That was the part that confused him too. Makima had insisted that he and Angel would be fine on their own- that the trip would be of great benefit to them.
But Aki wasn't all that strong without his contracts.
He wasn't a twig, not like Angel, but a good physique didn't necessarily help when it came to killing a devil.

So why? Why send Aki, who fought mainly by using his contracts with Fox and Curse, or Angel, who fought using the impending death his touch brought?

The more he thought about it, the less sense it made.

His train of thought was interrupted by the ship's horn blaring, announcing their arrival at the wharf.

Aki put on his gloves and rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt back down before he helped Angel get up on his feet.

He grabbed their suitcases as the ferry docked, throwing his backpack at Angel who just grumbled as he looped his arms through the straps, wearing it on his chest so as to not squish his wings.

As they scrambled to get off the ferry, Aki felt something shift in the air as soon as his foot made contact with the solid ground.
He stood still for a moment, before making the fox shape with his hand.

"Kon."

Nothing.

It was to be expected. He had been told that that was what would happen. It was still strange.

Subtly (while making sure no passersby were staring at him), he unsheathed his sword from the inconspicuous duffle bag he'd hidden it in.

"Curse. How many years do I have left?", he mumbled, staring at the blade expectantly.

Nothing.

He sheathed the sword back up, before turning to Angel, who was looking at him expectantly.
"Can we go to the hotel already? I wanna sleep."

".... Sure." Aki took his gloves back off, rolling his sleeves up. "The.... devil's power. It's active. Your- your life drain. It shouldn't work anymore."

Angel blinked. "Guess so. I did feel- something. Something's missing."

Aki hummed. Defeating Negation was going to be a challenge. Finding the devil being the biggest challenge of them all. He could feel its influence pulsing gently in the air when he focused on it-
Or maybe that was just the heat bouncing off the streets and into his face.

He shook his head, his topknot swaying. "C'mon. Hotel's nearby."

The air seemed to ripple as they walked on, the devil's influence spreading. And still, Aki couldn't help but feel that not just his contracts had ceased working.

Something else had gone away.