Madness: DxD

Incident: A Day Off

The coffee tastes like burnt dirt. Exactly how I like it.

I lean against the counter, city of devils and damned monsters yawning awake beneath the balcony. The underworld never sleeps. It just blinks slower in the morning.

Lady Phoenix sits at the small table, posture perfect. She's reading something legal. Probably correcting errors made by creatures who don't know how numbers work.

Phoenix: You're supposed to be listening.

I don't look at her.

Y/N: I am. I'm just prioritizing caffeine over conversation. The caffeine is more appealing.

She sighs, sets the papers down.

Phoenix: The eastern districts are requesting an audience today. Again.

I take another sip.

Y/N: They request a lot of things. Like exemptions. And— AAAAAAAARRRGH!

My body convulses violently, muscles jerking like they're being yanked by invisible wires. Three seconds. Maybe less. Long enough to feel every nerve misfire at once.

Then it stops.

I'm still standing. Barely.

Air rips in and out of my lungs, loud and ragged, like I forgot how breathing works and had to relearn it the hard way. My vision swims. The world feels too close, too loud, too alive.

Phoenix: Y/N—!

She's on her feet instantly, chair clattering back.

She reaches for me.

I snarl before I can stop myself.

Y/N: (loud breathing) Don't. Touch.

My voice comes out wrong. Sharper. Meaner.

She freezes mid-step, shock written all over her face.

Phoenix: What... what was that?

I grip the counter hard enough to crack stone. My breathing is still too loud, too fast. My heart feels like it's trying to fight its way out.

Y/N: (loud breathing) Nothing.

Phoenix: You screamed!

Y/N: (loud breathing) Boo. Hoo.

She takes another cautious step closer.

Phoenix: Your veins are black. Y/N, Your face—

I bare my teeth without realizing it.

Y/N: (loud breathing) I'm. Fine.

She reaches for my arm anyway.

I shove her away.

She stumbles back.

Silence slams into the room.

Her voice is quieter when she speaks again.

Phoenix: You've never done that before.

Y/N: (deep breath) Correction. You've never seen me do that before.

I straighten.

Phoenix: What was that?

Y/N: A minor inconvenience.

She steps closer again, slower now.

Phoenix: Y/N. That wasn't normal. You lost control.

Y/N: I didn't lose anything.