Love's Not Void

Chapter 20

The pizza was served with what Bardo made earlier: the fruit salad he was putting together, before Kimberly taught him the graces of 'human food'.

The devils in particular were interested in Kitty's dish. In fact, they dug right in.

The only human in the room was munching on her own slice of pizza, trying to ignore the glances from the cats. They were all periodically looking at her, watching her eat this thing named 'pizza'. They didn't dare venture out and try it themselves, oh no. That would be like committing one of the most deadly sins.

"Guys, do I need to force-feed you? It isn't going to attack you like a rabid squirrel. I'm just asking for one bite. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it."

Asato gradually reached over, taking a slice of pizza. Konoe immediately followed, placing it on his plate. Bardo was next, leaving Rai with hardly anything in front of him.

"Don't think I won't ask the devils to hold you down while I stuff it in your mouth. Trying new things is not a method of torture. God, you were like this with the apple too."

Staring at her expressionless, he finally took the thinnest piece out of the pizza-pie.

"Is this the reason why you can't run a mile without panting like a dog?"

Taking a berry out of the near-by salad, she threw it at Rai. He caught it with his hand, and popped it in his mouth.

"Excuse me if ladies where I come from don't get Basic Training."

A few devils laughed, some fighting off smiles.

While she saw the other confused expressions, she rolled her eyes. "You know; armies of people that fight for their homeland? That's what the military is. Basic Training is what you have to go through in order to join the army."

Froud lifted his head with his usual smile. Only, it seemed more genuine.

"As I recall, women in that day and age were supposed to be feminine?"

"Some of them were really haughty...and scary," Verg added. "But you'd come across the occasional girl like her. You know, the ones that are tolerable."

Jerking his head in the direction of Kimberly, Rai faced Verg.
"That is tolerable?"

"Yes, she's quite tame for a lady of her age," Razel commented.

She flashed the red-haired man a mischievous glance, her eyes suddenly going to Kaltz. He was at the end of the table, his plate of pizza gone.

Damn, he swallowed that thing whole! How did she not hear him chew like a cow?

"Are you alright, Mr. Freeze?"

"Yes."

Liar. Something was on his mind.

"Alright, don't be with the land of the living. But if something's on your mind, feel free to express your thoughts. Nobody is going to condemn you for it."

"I'd rather not think of it as condemning. It's more senseless than argumentative."

Verg shoved the youngest devil playfully. Kaltz closed his eyes as it happened, trying his best to brush it off.

"Loosen up! Can't you see we're at a party?"

Rai looked up from his plate, narrowing his eye at Verg the moment he heard what he had said. Konoe joined him, his mostly white ears drooping.

"This is no party. Last night a devil attempted to kill Kitty. We have no idea who it was, if he will be back, or if he has allies."

"Our kind tends to stay in groups of three or more," Razel said, "If there was one, I have no doubt there are more."

"Besides, devils don't kill their prey," Verg added.

Everyone faced him, wanting to know more.

"She and Konoe know what I'm sayin'," he paused to chuckle, "He probably just wanted to shake her up."

Come to think of it...that devil could have torn her limb from limb if he wanted to. Surely he has the power. Yet, he took his time and watched as she tried to scramble to safety. Did he get some sick pleasure out of seeing her in that desperate state?

"How do we keep her out of their hands," Rai questioned.

"There are three stages she has to go through. He will need to oppress her, which devils do through dreams. Then he will force her to eat some part of him. The final stage is Temptation. If she manages to resist his power and turn him down, there's not much he can do. However, if she can't resist...I'm afraid her life will be in his hands. If he finds her useful in any way, he'll probably turn her into one of us. But that rarely happens. He'll probably want to eat her more than anything." Froud sighed wearily. The mere thought of their victim being captured by someone else was giving him a headache.

"Basically there's no way to prevent this from happening, and whatever happens, happens," Kitty assumed.

"Not necessarily," Kaltz glanced around the table for a moment, "They can't take a victim if it has been claimed by another demon."

The room fell silent. Not only were the living taken back by the suggestion, but the devils were as well.

Claimed by another demon? Did that mean one of these dorks had to frickin' mark her?

"Not a snowball's chance in hell," Konoe hissed.

"I can't agree to this either," Asato stated.

"I won't let that happen," Rai announced.

Kimberly saw that they were waiting for her answer. Clearly, it didn't matter what they thought. It mattered what SHE thought. After all, it was her choice and not theirs...

Disagree: Only in books 1-5

Agree: Only in books 6-9

(A/N: Yeah...this one isn't a choice yet because I haven't finished the entire series. Sorry. Although I want to have the series done in one day, that wouldn't be realistic. They'll be done as soon as possible.)

"I appreciate that offer, I really do, but I don't think I'd feel comfortable with that. What if I piss you off and you decide to suddenly off me? No thanks. I think we'd rather take care of things the old fashioned way."

The devils all shrugged casually.

"Count us in then. We'd be damned if we let some other devil take our prize." Froud gave a wolf-like smile, Verg and Razel joining him seconds later.

Prize? What do they think she is? A stuffed animal you earn at a carnival?

Sighing, she leaned back in her chair. After glancing at her friends and allies, a faint smile came to Kimberly's face.

You know, she's been away from home for almost a week. And she wouldn't want to spend those long days with anyone else. It was almost like the world that she came from wasn't hers.

As corny as it sounds, this was home.

~The End of Common Route~

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Here it is! Done, finished! 122 pages worth of Common Route, has been posted. 

Rai's Route is coming. I'm more than half way done with it as it is! 

I hope you enjoyed and got attached to at least one character. 

Please vote and comment. The comments help me progress. Tell me if i need to be more descriptive. Tell me if someone is out of character. Tell me if Kimberly needs to be less light-hearted and become more serious. Does Kimberly need to be less or more complex? Do you want to know more backstory?
I need to know!

Comments, Positive or Negative, are much appreciated. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions :)

<3 Cat