Saints (SAINTS #1) | ✓

6

DAICHI WAS FAST ASLEEP on her bed by the time she came back, numerous snack wrappers littered around him, cake crumbs on his lips. She sighed as she neared, head aching from all the chaos of the previous days. It all still seemed fake somehow and she had done exactly everything she always did in situations like this: dip her scalding words in poison and smooth her heart over with ice.

That way had always worked for her after all.

And she was trying to better herself, she was - even though she never had seen a problem with her original behavior to begin with. But no part of her looked forward to exploring the rest hell had to offer, so here she was being the best version of herself.

She had even foregone asking a maid to help her, instead carrying the ridiculous demands he had given her herself, her hands full as she halted by his side. That was as far as her patience reached though and she let everything go, not bothering to look at it falling as she walked around the bed and slid under the blankets.

Sure, Daichi was lying on it too, but it was her bed and no one could chase her out of it. She was tired and had literally been to hell and back, including staying awake until four AM as she tried finding the ridiculous stuff one of the devil's minions had hounded her for.

So she rested her head and closed her eyes, drifting off easily. When she woke the next day, it wasn't to the usual sound of one of her maids waking her up though. An unfamiliar voice spoke to her, incoherent words becoming clearer as the fog of sleep cleared up.

She blinked.

Daichi was leaning over her, face so close she could count the long eyelashes framing his eyes, a certain curiosity in them as he watched her. Her surprise vanished as quickly as it came though and she pushed herself in a sitting position, before stretching out leisurely.

"Sleep well, gorgeous?" Daichi smiled.

"As well as I could with a literal demon by my side," she said.

"I could say the same," he said as his smile widened," you're quite famous in hell, you know."

She shrugged, before running a lazy hand through her silken hair, eyes on him.

"I thought the devil didn't sleep though," she said.

"So early and yet so many remarks," he said," you're quite a piece of work, Jasmina Nawar."

When she raised her eyebrows he lifted his hands in a pacifying move though, a grin on his face.

"That actually is good, coming from me," he said as he turned to the door," and also, we don't need to sleep, but we can choose to. Sloth sometimes doesn't wake up for months."

"Living the dream," she said as she pushed the blanket off and revealed her bare legs.

He opened the door then and she parted her lips as cart after cart entered her room, each one filled with more exotic and aromatic dishes than the last. His smile widened as he stole a strawberry from a passing cart, popping it in his mouth as he looked over at her.

"Do you even need to eat?" she said.

"No," he smiled happily," but it's a life rule of mine to never pass up on a chance to."

She stood up then, clapping her hands so her maids could rush to her with her specifically chosen breakfast, her satin robe gliding over the floor.

"That's a nice life rule," she said.

A very long breakfast later they were both downstairs, waiting for her driver to arrive at the front door.

"I'm glad my parents are never home," she commented," I don't imagine they would like having a charity case from hell they didn't know about."

"Don't worry," he chuckled," I can alternate memories, so even if they were here, they wouldn't mind. Your principal assumes I'm a great addition to your school that he's been trying to get to join for months."

"And that while you most certainly mean the end of his precious school instead," Jasmina said.

"Exactly," he smiled, his eyes flaming up a wicked red before they immediately turn to normal again.

She was not sure why she felt so restless when they stepped into the car and began the drive, Daichi talking about everything and nothing that entered his mind. Tuning him out had been easy and he didn't seem to mind that she wasn't listening, so now she was just staring out of the window, eyes glazing over.

"Looking forward to confronting your cheating boyfriend?"

She slowly turned her head towards him, her full lips tugged up in the mocking smirk that always adorned her face.

"Very," she said," I was not done with hurting him yet."

"Aren't you supposed to become a better person?" Daichi said, before adding," not that I'm complaining, I'm quite looking forward to a show."

"That can wait for the five minutes it takes to make sure he knows he can never escape unscathed from messing with me."

"You do know there isn't a pause button for redemption?" he said amusedly," did you like him that much?"

"No," she said without batting an eye," but it's not about that, it's about him betraying me. I would tell you I don't deal well with that, but I ended up in hell so I think we both know."

"What about your friend?" he said," aren't you mad at her? I haven't heard you speak about her yet."

"The devil sure told you all everything," she said with an eyeroll.

"We know your whole life," he grinned," it helps with getting settled."

She didn't comment on that, instead letting her gaze wander over the window as she absent-mindedly tapped her fingers on her knee.

"I'm not," she said," mad at her. We aren't friends, we've never been. She follows me and I command her around - there isn't any sort of relationship there except one made of fear, so no, I don't blame her. She's dead to me, but she never had any loyalties to me to begin with."

"That's a mature approach to things," he said.

"Alan however," she continued," I'm going to kill him. I actually let him get close to me and he dared to do this -"

"I've actually begun to like you quite a bit, Jasmina Nawar," Daichi smiled as he drew patterns on the window, the places his fingers traced turning jet black for a second before vanishing again," so I'm quite confused what kind of man would cheat on you. Angry even, somehow."

"I understand," she said," what's not to like? But all that aside, is your moral compass great, oh wicked Gluttony? Just asking out of curiosity."

He leaned forward then and the whole word disappeared as they were transported to a space so dark she couldn't see anything except for the sugary sweets and colorful lollies swirling in the air, his lips stained red again when he laughed, everything seeming distorted as his Cheshire cat smile widened.

"I may be a great sinner," he said," but I know when not to eat off other's plates. And besides -"

His hand brushed across her cheek then and she could feel the electricity coursing through his veins. Right then and there as she looked in his scarlet eyes, she knew he wasn't human, never could be. He was just a devil clad in charming smiles and empty words and she could almost feel his fangs sinking into her neck.

"We seven sins each have our own morals," he said softly," some better disguised as others, but I think you're forgetting, gorgeous - we once were humans too."

"And now you're back," she said," so try to make the most out of this holiday of yours, dear Daichi, because I sure as hell won't."

"Oh, I certainly will," he smiled, a wicked gleam coming in his eyes.

He leaned back then, slinging his arm over her chair as he looked out of the tinted windows with a certain amusement.

"I'm looking forward to meeting this cheating boyfriend of yours, gorgeous."