Death or Devil

Momoka moves to a haunted mansion as promised for her father, however, the first day there-she dies. Ryuga, the demon who lives in the mansion, saves her from death - but Momoka is now his.

666 Hellock Abyss

"Momoka's a very good girl, you are, you are," the little girl's father looked at her through his thin glasses and said; squeezing her tiny hands at the same time.

The small child tilted her head, looking quizzically at her father. He smiled, scooping her petite body into his always welcoming arms, "Momoka my dear, not that I'm ever hoping this will happen but, if father one day leaves-"

"NO!" the little girl named Momoka cried out, hugging her father's neck tightly, "papa is my papa. You have to be with me always."

He planted the most gentle kiss upon his daughters forehead, "I love you lots my little Momoka. Do not be dificult now and listen to what papa has to say."

Momoka looked at her father and nodded, though her grip on his shoulders were still very tight. She took in the surrounding scenery as her father began to walk again. Bright, sweet smelling and colourful, with more colours than a rainbow, a rich sky blue hanging over with fluffy clouds. Pretty, pretty, was what Momoka kept thinking, smiling as she grew to like such a peaceful and beautiful place.

She turned her small head as asked by her father to look in the direction asked of her. Before her was a mansion, where Ivy grew amongst it's pale red walls in a perculiar way that formed the pattern of a butterfly; to the right hand side was a tower with a bell, oddly attached to the main building and only slightly taller in comparison to the whole infrastructure. There was a birch coloured flight of stairs that led up to the main entrance, which doors were pure white with studded gold along the side for decoration and a golden handle. Set to the side of the door was a name plate of the place which read: 666 Hellock Abyss.

Momoka turned back to her father as he spoke again, "Promise me Momoka. If I ever disappear before you, then you must come to this place. You must live here and no where else. If you do that then you will see me again for sure..."

Momoka kissed her father's cheek, "I promise papa."

"Momoka's a very good girl, you are, you are," the little girl's father said again, "My little Momoka Sendou..."

xx 11 Years After xx

Earphones in her ear, pulling a suitcase along after her, whilst reading a map as she walked along; a girl with long silky brown hair and red-brown coloured eyes now stood before 666 Hellock Abyss.

"Yes I've arrived Shunran, you don't have to worry about me," she talked into her phone.

"Really," a worried voice spoke back, "I thought you were joking Momoka when you said you were going to move into that mansion."

Momoka Sendou, now 17 years old, meekly smiled, "well Jonathan Sendou is the weirdest father in the entire universe... as his daughter I can't really disobey his request right?"

Shunran Wakaba sighed over the phone, "but you still love him don't you Momoka? You want to see him again, is that why you're moving into that mansion?"

"We had a promise Shunran," Momoka said, looking at the mansion which in her memories and the present had not changed, "he said if he ever disappeared from my life, I'd live here. I trust him."

"But Momoka, that mansion is-"

"I know," Momoka said cutting off Shunran, "no one's willing to move into this mansion because they say it is haunted; the foulest place ever. According to its history, this mansion was built for a nobleman at first but later was bought and used by an occult to worship Satan. Apparently more than 300 live humans, child, women, elderly were killed as sacrifices for rituals in this very house, should I mention later buried here somewhere. After the cult died out, there has been record of a few family living here, but they all ended up dying after the first three months or develop some kind of psychological disorder."

"Then Momoka, don't move into that place," Shunran strained her voice as she said more forcefully down the phone to Momoka, "I'm worried."

Momoka laughed, "I don't believe in supernatural stuff, it's not like I'm going to find a real life demon in the house. Anyway see ya."

Momoka closed her mobile and removed the earphones from her ear. She took the weirdly shaped key from her pocket, remembering the day her father gave it to her, the day he also left her. She opened the door and without hesitation stepped into its dwelling. Dark, dank, dusty and empty was what it looked like inside, despite the fine outer appearance. She walked in a few further steps. No, it's way too dark to see properly, Yuuki thought as she looked through her bag for a torch. She turned it on and aimed the beams at the walls, there has to be a light switch here somewhere. She stopped as she spotted one and immediately pressed it. The lights flickered several times before it was settled with a faint lit light. Momoka stared around; she was currently standing in the main hall way, where a huge flight of stairs was set in the middle, two huge beasts as the pillar of the stairs and two corridors leading off elsewhere to the side. Around to the side there was a very odd staircase. Taking slight interest in the beast form on the stairs, she walked up to it; the marble was cold to her touch. Momoka blinked.

"What is this?" she asked unable to identify the form before her. She stretched her hand into it's open mouth, grasping on a weird object, pulling it out. "A metallic doll of a angel." She went to the other beast statue on the stair and took out another similar doll from its mouth. "Weird." Momoka carefully placed the two angels on the floor, turning her back to the stairs to get her luggage which she left just outside the door.

The light's flickered once again. Shivers spread through her body, as she heard a nasty growl from behind. She stopped, but the sounds of steps didn't stop. Momoka spun around to see and she screamed. There was the faint sound of her bones crushing, flesh ripping apart. Blood splattered everywhere. Before her eyes there was nothing but the colour of red and a terrible pain that burned her. Momoka tried standing up, ran towards the door, "help me..." she whispered through her mouthful of blood, but the floor beneath her seemed to open up and her body fell. Falling, falling, falling, endlessly falling.

The last thing she saw before complete blackness was a purple glowing circle, ones similar to those used in witchcraft and...a beautiful looking man, sleeping within that circle.

"Daddy..." was the last thing Yuuki tried to say.

Her heart stopped, making her nothing more than a falling corpse. Momoka Sendou was dead. Her torn body however continued to drip blood as she fell and a drop of it landed upon the sleeping devil...

Still Sleeping

A thunderous howl echoed through the woods, disturbing the peace and tranquility of the place; however stopped after several seconds. The origin of the noise now lay quietly on the floor, properly tamed and looking at its master.

"You gaurd beasts are annoying," a young man said with a gruff voice. "That girl really is useless. I've only been away for three weeks and you two eye-sore have been released."

He tucked harder at the rope that was attached to the two collars which encased the marble beasts neck; they purred at their masters tuck, following him as he led the way towards the mansion or what was better known as 666 Hellock Abyss. With each step he took, a growing darkness seemed to surround the entire place. Instead of heading towards the main white doors, he took a detour around to the very far back of the mansion, stood idly before a large grave, where a statue of a girl stood ontop of it's stone. He bit his lips with a smirk, letting go of the rope, saying "do it."

Upon their master's command, the two marble beasts raided the grave, tearing at the statue till not even a part of the original thing was visible. With one huge scoop, a still lying wooden coffin was unearthed. The beasts stood back behind their master who stepped upon the coffin, "are you intending to sleep for another century, Maria Kurenai."

There was a few clicking noises and the lid to the coffin slowly lifted up, the young man stepping off it at the same time. With a loud thud, the entire lid was flung into the air and landed miles away onto the ground.

There was a soft yawn, as a young girl stretched. "Rough as always, Kaito Takamiya." Her fingers brushed at her straight, pale hair as she stood up in her coffin. She was fairly short in comparison to Kaito, who watched her impaitiently as she set a little bun to the side of hair. She looked at him too, "is this the proper way you should be treating me?"

Kaito stared at her for a long time before turning away, a little regretful of his actions, "it's entirely your fault is it not? I've told you countless times to look after the mansion when I'm out and make sure these two things are sealed. You know me, when I'm mad, I could go overboard without realising. I'm sorry for recking your- HEY!"

Completely ignoring Kaito, Maria was now patting the two marble beasts, "it's been awhile hasn't it, Mar and Bel." Maria looked at Kaito with a shameful expression, "how cruel of that man over there to seal you two away for so long. Even worse than that, you used them as decorations for the main stairs of the mansion."

Kaito twitched, "have you forgotten we're in the human world? Mar and Bel are gaurd beasts from the demon world, they're ruthless and dangerous. They attack and destroy anything that isn't their master."

"Even so, the forest that surrounds the mansion is a big enough space for them to run around and not hurt any humans," Maria protested.

Kaito clicked his fingers, the rope on the floor immediately curling around his wrists, "how were Mar and Bel released? Maria, why do I sense..."

"Human blood," Maria finished for Kaito, "I was asleep the entire time. I never thought that any human or demon could penetrate the barrier we set up, so until you woke me, I have no clue."

There was silence between the two. The both of them jolted at a sudden pain in their hearts, a daunting realisation of what was to happen if a human did enter this place. Without another word, Kaito tied the rope down, securing Mar and Bel before running in the same direction as Maria. Down, down, down, then along countless pitch-black, twisting corridors that was miles underground. They stopped before a black gate, where beyond it a strong purple light was emitting.

Kaito grasped Maria's shoulder, "are we really going into that room?"

Maria bit her lips, "he's my brother. Its fine." Her shaking hands pushed the rusty black gates that gave a strange creeking noise as it opened.

They walked in slowly. The room was vast, endless to be exact with darkness, the only thing in the entire space was the raised platform in the middle, where the devil supposedly rested. Maria gripped Kaito's shirt, their eyes widened and heart-beats almost stopped at the sight before them.

Wrapped in the arms of the devil was the corpse of a girl who neither of them had seen before, but was clear that she died from wounds caused by Mer and Bel. The girl's blood smeared over the devil's naked body as well as reddening his pale lips.

The purple magic circle suddenly flashed brightly, then glowed a hellish red colour. Black and white feathers floated everywhere; holding the corpse of the girl, the devil slowly opened his eyes.

The grip Maria had on Kaito's shirt became tighter, despite the movement he made by kneeling down on his knees. Tears dripped from Maria's eyes, "brother, brother, are you awake?"

Maria let go of Kaito and began to run towards her brother but stopped as he re-closed his eyes, the feathers disappearing and the hellish red glow turned back to purple. Her entire body trembled, "Kaito, what happened? Kaito, brother, his eyes, they were opened, they were opened just then? Why-why?"

Kaito stood up, took hold of Maria, "calm down and listen. He isn't awake. He's been sealed and locked away here for so long, he's not awake."

Maria wiped her tears, "your wrong."

"Maria."

Maria shoved Kaito away from her. She then proceeded to lift the corpse of the girl from the arms of her brother and slowly descended from the raised platform. She handed the body to Kaito, "resurect her."

"What?" Kaito said staring from Maria to the girl in his arms.

Maria looked at him with an intense gaze, "over the past countless decades, we've tried all sorts of ways to wake my brother up. Nothing worked, so we had to give up in the end and quietly live in this human world but today... whether its fate or not, this girl ended up here and her blood." She turned to look at her brother, "her blood made him open his eyes."

"Then can't we just slash her body and drip her blood on him more?" Kaito asked.

Maria shook her head, "brother closed his eyes after, it means one thing. He needs the blood of the living. So we'll resurrect this girl, keep her alive to feed my brother."

Kaito nodded, only following Maria as they headed back up to the part of the mansion that wasn't deep beneath the ground. The arrived at the front at the main stairs where Mar and Bel should be standing, sealed like statues.

Kaito gritted his teeth, seeing the two metal angels on the floor, "this human girl asked for death."

"Don't be so harsh," Maria said, looking at the luggage left only slightly inside the house, "she should be an old friend of ours or at least her father is. This indeed is fate."

Kaito didn't say a thing but looked at Maria quizzically.

She smiled, "she's the daughter of Jonathan. She's our beloved Momoka Sendou."

Hearts Switch

Kaito finished the little touches to one of the rooms in the mansion, making sure the temperature was cold enough to preserve the dead body. He gave the corpse one last glance before he headed to the massive library, again underground, where Maria now sat, flicking through countless antique books.

"Is this going to work Maria?"

She looked up from the book she was reading from, "Technically if we hurry yes. A person is not really dead when their hearts stop functioning. Their souls remain in the body for about 7 days before leaving the corpse, kind of like sleeping there with no conscience. As long as the soul stays in the dead body when we ressurect it, everything will work." Maria slamned the book shut, "I'm a little annoyed at myself for not thinking of this before but, Jonathan Sendou, our old friend has very special blood running through his veins. We probably could've woken my brother up ages ago. Kaito, you know better than me. It should work."

Kaito nodded with a smile, "what do you think would become of that girl?"

Maria frowned, "Momoka, it's Momoka Sendou."

"You know her but I don't," Kaito snapped, "how do you know this girl in the first place."

Maria placed one finger on her lips and mouthed, "secret."

Kaito ran around the room and ended up banging his head on the wall to calm his anger or frustration. It was always like this with Maria though he didn't hate her for it, he found her getting on his nerves.

"Well, let's begin," Maria said leading the way.

The purple circle broke from the chant that Maria kept saying as she entered the room. In its place two massive cross appeared in the air, the body of Momoka and the devil was pinned to the crosses with magic. Maria raised one of her hand and swung it in the air in a perculiar way which turned the two crosses to face eachother. "KAITO DO IT!" she shouted.

Holding a long black dagger, Kaito started to run up to the two crosses and miles before he reached them, he threw the dagger with all his strength; piercing through the back of the devil, into his heart then into Momoka's and out from her back.

There was a huge gust of wind that blasted around the entire room, a hellish red glow surrounded the two crosses as the dagger slowly disappeared. Maria and Kaito held onto eachother, watching as the heart was ripped out the body of both the devil and Momoka, then replacing itself into the others body.

There was a defeaning screech before the black and white feathers started to spread everywhere again, the hellish red glow vanished after the feathers finished scattering. Kaito and Maria ran to the falling bodies, Maria catching Momoka's and Kaito the devil, then carefully laying them down. Maria twitched a few fingers and some dimly lit candels settled themselves around the room, lighting some of the darkness.

"What now?" Kaito asked with urgency in his voice as he watched the devil's skin peel off to reveal the flesh that's begining to rotten - a disgusting sight.

Maria smiled, "Kaito, we leave and let things play out."

"But his body is decomposing..."

Maria grabbed Kaito by the neck and said more firmly, "WE LEAVE NOW."

Kaito gulped and nodded; his first time in a while seeing how tense Maria was, but her serious tone meant everything was fine. He took one last glance at the girl and couldn't help but silently think, 'what'll happen to a human with a devil's heart?'

xx X xx X xx

It was strange, it was more than strange. Before her eyes was the same blackness that surrounded her before she closed her eyes, before... but now the same blackness was there or at least if it was always there, she's sensing, seeing it again. Some sort of strength seemed to be coming back to her, the pain gone, no blood dripping out. Momoka tried twitching her finger gently. It worked. She focussed her everything on one thing now and that was to open her eyes, no matter what. Slowly, and with effort, as though she was lifting lead with her eyes, her eye lids opened, her vision returning to her almost immediately.

Momoka quickly sat up on whatever it was. She glanced around, taking in every deatil of the room. She was in a dark room with odd candels lit here and there. She was on a raised platform and there was only one very visible door before her. She felt her heart burn but not with any pain, just oddly beating faster and faster and faster. Momoka held her chest and breathed hardly for several minutes before she felt her heart was calming down. Her memories seemed to have came flooding back to her as she calmed down, looking at her wrecked clothes with her blood stains on and remembering she was in 666 Hellock Abyss Manor, the two beasts that suddenly attacked her, the sleeping man when she was falling...

"The man," she whispered in sudden surprise, "there was someone living here..."

Momoka stood up, surprised she had the energy to. She looked around carefully, this was the place where she'd fallen into but where was the man, besides that, how could she be alive and feel no pain.

"You came back from the dead," a unnerving hiss said suddenly in reply to Momoka's thought.

She spun around in the direction of the voice and almost wrecked her voice box from screaming. "NOOOOOO..."

Momoka tried to run but the hands of the monster caught her. It wasn't human; with rotting flesh, eyeballs that was mushed up to the side of the hole, supposedly the eyes, lips that were cut now drooping to the side, a nose that was twisted and hung diagonally off the skull and parts of the bone on the body showing or rather sticknig out. Hideous and revolting, yet the most dangerous part of it was those sharp teeth, in which the canines seemed to be protruding.

Close, the monster was becoming closer and closer still to her. Momoka felt nausea, her body trembled, "no, no, no, I'm not dead, I can't be, I WON'T ALLOW IT!" She wrenched herself away from the monsters grip and made a run for the door. It was as she was about to grab the handel of the door that she felt it. Her heart was burning again, this time it was painful, so painful it felt as if it was about to rip and tear away from her body. She dropped to her knees clutching her heart that seemed to be calling to her, stopping her from running. It was too much. "No...no..." was all Momoka could say, still reaching for the door.

"My heart won't let you be apart from me," the same hissing voice whispered in her left ear.

"Its over..." Momoka said, feeling the monster's arm, or was it a arm - wrap around her body, a hand that was mostly bones, covering her eyes. "This time will... I really die."

Momoka clenched her hands, felt a small prick on the back of her kneck and the pain in her heart going away only to be replaced by something sharp, digging into her skin and flesh, once again spilling her blood.

RUNNING
Momoka felt the trickle of warmth that ran down the back of her kneck as blood oozed out the two little bit holes. The creature, monster whatever you call it now loosely held onto her and instead fully concentrated in licking the blood as it trickled out. Surprisingly its tongue was soft and warm, strangely feeling ticklish and bringing about a sensation that made Momoka feel dizzy.

Her head was spinning, her senses all a blur and all she could think of in her mind was, am I dead, am I going to die, I just died before... Momoka bit her lips to regain some sort of control of her wandering senses. Her eyes gleamed a little at a sudden thought, I just died, so I am the dead too. So this must be hell or the after-life, meaning this monster is the same as me. Well, I'm prettier. Momoka smiled to herself as she continued to talk to herself in her mind, then I don't need to be scared of this thing, we're the same...

"HEY!" Momoka suddenly said out loud, grabbing the attention of the monster before her who seemed to stop to listen. Momoka siezed the opportunity and whacked him across the face, hard and full. Standing up straight as she ranted, "AREN'T YOU ASHAMED OF YOURSELF FOR PICKING ON YOUR OWN KIND AND SCARING THEM LIKE THAT. Seriously for the moment there I thought I had something to be scared of. So I'm guessing this is the afterlife right? What kind of things do you do here? Does everyone wait here for a new-comer to drop in and then scare them? What kind of the dead are you? Oh,, also..."

"Are you stupid?" the monster, if he had proper not mushed eyes, would be looking at Momoka right now, as he sat where he was.

Momoka blinked and blinked again.

"You were bleeding right? You felt very much alive. Your heart was beating. All your senses seem to work fine as well." he continued to say, "isn't that enough to prove that you are alive? Or should I ask, what makes you think you are different now from when you were alive?"

Momoka stood quite still for several minutes, her thoughts a mess at first, then slowly unwinding till she landed on the conclusion that, she wasn't dead. The realisation took her back to the traumatic state she was in before she thought she was dead. Still in a haze but without hesitating, she swiftly took the beast before her by surprise, landing another blow on him, before dashing out the door, hearing him laugh disturbingly as she ran through the long twisting corridors endlessly.

It was impossible to keep up a strong front anymore - Momoka knew this. Her emotions were so mixed and twisted, she no longer knew what she felt or was doing. Tears started to spill from her eyes, as she kept running. "Dad," Momoka sobbed through her distress, "Dad... why did you tell me to come here? I trusted you, why do you want me dead?" There was a searing pain in her heart again. Momoka hated the sensation it gave her, ever since she stepped foot in 666 Hellock Manor, she felt wrong, but after waking up from her death, her heart was the most wronged, it didn't feel like it was hers.

Momoka slowed down, her strength draining from her tired body too quickly to keep up with the immense running she'd done. Then in the silent corridors, she heard it, that very distinct sound, that sent shivers down her spine. It was a low whistling that was high-pitched and ear scorching, then footsteps that went tap, tap, stop, tap, tap, tap along the corridor behind her. The pattern repeated but each time it sounded louder. He's catching up, Momoka thought, that monster in that room must be catching up. So pityful, that she was scared of him once more, in fear from the situtaion she was in, once she knew she was alive. Maybe being dead was better afterall - she wouldn't experience this fear at the least if she was. It was a human's weakness, because when your alive you want to be alive and will do anything to run from death; but if your dead, you would not want to be dead and would not run to be alive again, because there is no way you could be.

There was really no other option - Momoka could only continue to run.

xx X xx X xx

"Maria, are you sure we should just sit here and do nothing?" Kaito asked, glancing around uneasily.

"You sense it too right?" Maria asked back.

"He's awake."

Maria took hold of Kaito's hand and began to lead the way again. "Let's go into the human town and get some food. We should start to prepare dinner for our master."

"Master," Kaito repeated, "I still don't understand why you call him that sometimes."

Maria smiled and started to run, pulling Kaito along with her. They were deep into the forest that surrounded the manor in no time. Maria only slowed down when she knew she was about to approach the barrier set up to keep the area away from normal or uninvited humans, even demons.

Kaito who was annoyed to be pulled everywhere by Maria and who wasn't paying much attention, now was. Just like Maria, he too felt sudden panic. The gateway, the only entrance in the barrier that was supposedly closed in now opened.

"Maria, what does this mean? I don't remember inviting anyone. Why is it open?" Kaito quizzed, "didn't he make this barrier only accessible to a few people?"

Maria nodded, "Master made the barrier accessible to me, you, him, the other three and only the Cross's." She walked up to the gate and examined it more closely, "this looks like a forced entry. The barrier must've weakened because he's just awoke and isn't stable."

Kaito kicked the gate and headed back towards the manor, "HURRY!" he shouted at Maria, "there's trouble..."

xx X xx X xx

Momoka felt her legs starting to give in but it was just a little more, she was beginning to see light at the other end of the corridor, it must be the outside. She bit her lips and allowed her mind to go completely blank, charging towards the light. She shut her eyes at the bright light that shocked her eyes which was so used to the dark tunnels of the building. Slowly opening them, she felt a small laugh escape her lips. She was outside, outside at last. She slowly started to run but her speed was slower than when she had started. She saw the forest in which she came up from towards the Manor that morning and didn't hesitate to run back through it.

There was a chilly breeze that swept across her body. It was so cold she stopped to hold onto herself for a moment, her legs finally too tired to walk another step. She leaned against a nearby tree, only dared to take a few minutes rest before moving again. Even if she couldn't run, she had to move. The cold air around her didn't go away but became more colder, and the deeper she entered the forest, she found herself being submerged in mist. Momoka struggled but strained her ears to hear those tip, tap noises that had vanished and she strained her eyes to look ahead of her. No use, the mist was too thick for her to look far.

Momoka spotted a black figure withing the mist that she seemed to be walking towards. At least I'm heading towards something, Momoka thought. Then she stopped moving completely, unable to believe what she was seeing before her eyes. Was she too tired or was it this mist that confussed her. The shadowy figure walked closer to Yuuki and when he came into view, she knew she wasn't dreaming. He was there right in front of her, because his voice was real wasn't it?

"My Momoka, you came," he said.

Tears started to spill out her eyes again, "Dad, dad... papa, are you there are you really there?"

Jonathan Sendou, who was standing opposite Momoka nodded with the sweetest and most loving smile ever. He outstretched his hands towards Momoka but didn't move closer to her, "I'm sorry you had to go through this. I'll explain to you everything, I promise I will. Yuuki, come here... don't be scared, I'm here for you now. Come to me..."

Overwhlemed with her happiness in seeing her own father again, Momoka stumbled in her steps towards him. He was there, he was there, she had to reach him.

"STOP!" a voice called from behind Momoka, "DON'T GET ANY CLOSER TO HIM!"

Momoka turned around to see the monster that was in the room with her before, the one that bit her to lick her blood. He was still a ugly sight, the only difference was, his eyes were normal, his eyes were back. They were a light brown colour that stared right into Yuuki's own eyes, trapping her for the moment. His eyes were mesmerising.

Alive Again

Momoka's heart thumped. Her logic catching up to her senses, she would not listen to a monster who tried to harm her, there was no need to think. Her feet took her body automatically towards her father, she herself ignoring those light brown eyes, that wanted to say something.

"IDIOT!" Momoka heard the monster shout behind her as she sped forward, reaching her arms out to the one man she most wanted to hold now, her father - Jonathan. A tincture of pain squeezed Momoka's heart; her hands touching complete thin air and her body leaning forwards. She was falling, falling again like she did before, only this time it was off a cliff and she didn't see anything but mist. Pain. Sadness. Trauma and a feeling of betrayal. She cried. Tears flew out her eyes. "Why...dad...I trusted you and this is what I get...why..." Momoka kept asking, whilst all she could feel was the air whiping at her body as she fell quicker and quicker - towards what? Hysterically, she laughed for the moment, maybe, she should've stayed being mesmerised by those light brown eyes; the exact same eyes that she was now looking at.

"Huh..." Momoka gasped just realising the monster was right under her, falling with her. Was it the blood that was rushing through her body at that moment or the fact that she had escaped death before just to fall into another, or even, she knew this nightmare would stay with her and she was to die either she fought or not - she didn't feel the same fear as she did before. She was not scared of him. "I trusted father only to recieve two deaths in one day..."

"What makes you think, you're going to die a second time?" he asked Momoka, staring up at her.

Momoka smiled at death, "I can see death."

The twisted lips seemed to part and move, but they were so deformed Momoka couldn't tell, however, the monster was laughing, a more hysterical laugh than she had before and with it bringing her that same sense of fear.

"Do you believe in God?" he suddenly asked Momoka.

This startled her slightly, uncertain of her answer. "I guess I do."

"Then you don't believe in Satan?"

"No," Momoka replied.

"Then, should I show you Satan?"

Yuuki stared down into those light brown eyes, as if hypnotised by them, she gave a simple nod. Afterall she couldn't care anymore even if the devil ate her right now. Her heart was dead from her fathers betrayal. The mere thought of it brought tears to Momoka's eyes again, she sobbed, "I was abandoned by the only person I have in this entire world. Right now I can even say I want to be the devil's bride."

She felt two long and hard bony arms wrap around her body; the same sharp pain as before on her neck, then her eyes became very weary and heavy. She closed them, once again dropping back to that feeling of death.

"I'll grant that wish...the contract is sealed."

xx X xx X xx

"Wasn't that over-doing it?" Maria questioned Kaito who was pushing in the tray that had breakfast placed upon it. Delicately cooked poached salmon with mint salad and some freshly baked scones served with rich earl grey tea.

"Master was the one who came up with the idea, don't ask me," Kaito replied, wheeling it beside the bed.

"You were supposed to catch the invader," Maria sighed, "they got away in the end and-"

"All your annoyed with is that Master had to fix the broken barrier the first thing he woke up right?" Kaito said, "well, it does show as his servants we are pathetic. I was scared when I first saw him after he woke up. This girl really has done it for us."

"Be careful there Kaito sweety, she's your mistress and my sister-in-law."

"Seriously, has Master Ryuga accepted his meal to be his bride?"

Maria slapped Kaito on the head, her eye-brows raising, "the family Kou's and Sendou's have a complex past relation in that world. Momoka Sendou was born to become a bride for the Kou's."

Kaito rubbed his head, heading towards the big windows, "but to marry someone you don't love. Master doesn't seem to treat her like a lover either."

"It can't be helped," Maria admitted, "I know he doesn't love Momoka Sendou at all. But destiny proved itself to be unexcapable. It was only Momoka no, maybe the Sendou's blood that broke the spell and wake him up."

"I wonder if he could really love this girl," Kaito glanced at the sleeping Momoka on the bed, "he's a cold-hearted devil. Or will they ever love eachother?"

He pulled opened the crimson coloured curtains letting the light flood the room with its colour.

It was weak but it still gave out the same uncomfortable feeling to a sleeping persons eye when first meeting the shining sun; the sign of a new day. Momoka slowly flicked her eyes open to stare at a white ceiling. Turning her head with care, as her neck seemed to hurt, she noticed she was...somehow, not very surprised to be alive for the third time in her life. She was sleeping in a bed and rather spacious room, that was quite decorated with some glamour; the smell of breakfast maknig her feel hungry. She sat herself up to see two strangers; a girl with long grey hair set with a bun to the side perching on the end of the bed and a guy who just looked bored but had a neat and casual attire.

"Awake? You've been sleeping for a week straight. Not that its surprising."

Momoka looked more closely at the male and female in the same room as her. They looked human and didn't seem to want to harm her, for now at least.

"Oh," the girl let out, "your not scared."

Momoka shook her head. Why would she be after everything she's been through. Besides these two people in front of her were by far the most normal thing she'd seen, ever since stepping foot in this creepy place, her father tricked her to come to. She'll deal with it business like. She would believe anything now - AS IF, Momoka thought to herself calmly, however there must be a logical explanation to what happened to her, only if she gave chance to listen to some fairy tales... "Where am I?"

"666 Hellock Abyss Manor," the guy answered, "I'm a servant in this house. My name is Kaito Takamiya."

"My name is Maria Kurenai, I'm a kind of relative or a servant or just me I suppose. You are Momoka Sendou."

Momoka nodded. "Why am I here? What happened? Where's my father?"

"Answers to those questions aren't necessary are they?" a voice spoke out. Momoka felt a jolt of familiarity as she heard that voice, the tense tone, the deep dreamy voice, exactly the same as the one that the monster had. He was here the entire time, Momoka thought, he's still here... She looked down, scared she'd loose her logic if she set eyes upon that disgusting thing again.

"Master," she heard both Kaito and Maria say in unison.

"Should you not be resting?"

"If I rest anymore, that slave of mine will slack more wouldn't she?"

Momoka felt someone sit on the bed, close to her. She closed her eyes, not willing to look at that monster, knowing she'd go crazy again. She felt a pair of hands cup her face gently, turning it to face who ever it was.

"Hey, do you not recognize me?" he asked.

Momoka refused to answer or give any movements that would hint anything.

He continued, "I asked you before, Do you believe in God? You answered, I guess I do. Then I asked you again, I asked, you don't believe in Satan? You said no."

He paused and without his continutaion, Momoka obviously knew who he was. That decaying monster who attacked her after her first death, trying to draw blood from her neck that still had a small pain. She would not open her eyes no matter what.

He laughed and continued to say, "I said after that, should I show you Satan? You remember you said, I want to be the devil's bride right? Well, I suggest you open them and look at your husband then, afterall I've saved you under the contract that you'll live as my property from now on."

Momoka felt his breath upon her face. She trembled, sensing him leaning closer and closer.

"OPEN THEM OR I'll EAT YOU - in the sexual way..."

Momoka jolted opened her eyes at the word sexual. She almost lost her breath, unable to believe what she was seeing before her. The man whose soft hands was holding her face, with the same light brown eyes as that decaying monster. "Who are you?" Momoka finally said as she took in every little aspect of his beautiful face. A face any girl like her would fall in love with...

Communicate

"You don't need to know who I am but the fact that I am the devil," he whispered back.

Momoka felt herself falling into a trance, her mind was messed up, unable to think properly. "I don't believe in that kind of stuff," she said weakly.

He laughed in a hysteric way, "but you've agreed to be my bride and there's no going back after you've woken me with your blood."

"Excuse me," Momoka said in a higher pitch, "you're the one who took some without asking me." She paused, putting on a weird look then a sly smile, "well, if you don't move away fast enough. I'd have a very sweet revenge."

He blinked at her, confused by her statement. With one swift movement, Momoka twisted her right leg and using everything she's got - kicked him in the most hurtful place ever. The devil or whatever it was rolled off Momoka and she dashed towards the door only to find it bolted shut. She bit her lips turning back to face the strangers that could potentially harm her. From the side of the bed, Kaito and Maria giggled uncontrollably although they tried.

Pissed off that he got attacked by a mere girl, he leered at Momoka like a child and whined, "mean. Unfair. That didn't count. Apologize."

Momoka put her hands on her hips, standing taller, "why will I apologise when you were the one who bit me first? Why will I apologise when you were the one who dressed up all weird to scare me out my shell? Answer me that, Mr- I CLAIM I am a devil. Take this as a lesson and learn to treat people better."

"Is she lecturing him?" Kaito whispered, straining to keep his face muscles from changing into a smile.

Maria held a finger to her lips, "she is his bride I suppose…"

"Momoka Sendou," he said with a demanding voice, "I'll teach you a lesson."

Momoka shivered at hearing him say her name. It wasn't right to her, how did he know her name? She didn't remember telling him or did she? He waved his left hand in the air signalling the leave of Kaito and Maria from the room. Now they were alone.

"What are you planning to do?" Momoka trying to sound calm, "are you trying to scare me again, Mr. I claim I am a devil."

"First, stop calling me by that ridiculous title. My name is Ryuga Kou, remember it."

"Like I care what your called," Momoka said, deliberately provoking him.

"How much longer can you put up this act of yours, I wonder," Ryuga mused, "what could I do to break you apart and make you beg for my forgiveness?"

"Try me," Momoka whispered.

"I was planning to," Ryuga smiled, his eyes glowing crimson.

So quickly that Momoka didn't even see him move, Ryuga had already somehow grabbed onto her throat and flung her onto the floor. His tightening long fingers clasping around her neck. She felt her breaths get shorter, more air escaping than she could take in. She was suffocating but she didn't do anything at all, not the usually grabbing or effort to push away the person that was hurting her. Momoka just closed her eyes and allowed herself to be suffocated. After a few more seconds she felt his hands move away and as she opened her mouth, a gush of air refilled her lungs, making her cough.

"So your not afraid of death. How about this then…"

Momoka twitched at the touch of his hands upon her waist. He moved his head down her neck, leaving a trail of hot breath wherever he had been. "What is this?" Momoka whispered, her body suddenly feeling weak.

"Pleasure," he simply replied, his hands slipping under her shirt. Momoka closed her eyes shut, clenching her hands into a fist as he kissed her bare breasts. Her body simply shivered at his touch. He worked his fingers down her stomach then between her thighs, pressing against her privates. Momoka clasped her hand over her mouth, breathing heavily at the same time. She felt him bend down to kiss her stomach and with that, she stopped shivering. She relaxed her body completely. It was more like she didn't react to his touches as she did before.

He stopped in accordance to her reaction, "did you give in?"

"You can go ahead and rape me. I figured having you mess up my body isn't the thing I'm most afraid of. When I realized that, I just don't care anymore."

Ryuga stared at her, taking his hands away from Momoka's body. He stood up and walked slightly away from her, giving her space. Momoka quickly rearranged her clothes, her arms hugging herself. "It was my father who told me to come here if ever he went missing," Momoka began to say.

"What's this, you want me to start listening to your story?"

"LOOK I DON'T KNOW YOU. I'VE ONLY MET YOU TODAY and you start blabbing about how you own me, throwing me all those ridiculous lies about magic and devil and blood. You go as far as to dress up like a monster - I'll praise you for your efforts. Then you try to kill me and rape me. I don't know what your trying to get at BUT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" Momoka shouted, "I've had enough of you trying to mess with me. Your wasting my time. I can't stay here and put up with you forever."

There was silence. Ryuga studied her closely and he finally said, "What do you want?"

Momoka gulped, "I want to communicate with you and whoever else is here. I want to come to a agreement or understanding between us. Even probably to establish the fact that we should have nothing to do with each other. Be out of each others ways. Talk things through."

"Do you think I will listen to what you have to say?"

Momoka threw him a stern look, one with determination as well, "I have two choices in front of me. Either we communicate with each other properly or I'll kill myself."

He chuckled, "are you so sure you have that privilege to kill yourself."

"I may not understand what it is you want from me but I know one thing - you enjoy watching my reactions. If I can't kill myself physically then I'd shut down all my emotions. I'll be nothing more than a living corpse to you," Momoka said not hiding any of her intentions.

He took the chair near the mini table in the room and sat down on it. "Certainly, that would be no fun."

"Then how about you agree to-"

He raised his hands to stop Momoka speaking. With one finger he pointed towards her heart, "didn't you feel before as if your heart was not yours?"

"What about it?" Momoka asked slightly fiercely.

"The heart inside your body that's pumping blood and keeping you alive is mine. Your heart is beating inside my body."

This time it was Momoka that laughed hysterically. She couldn't believe what she just heard. "What the- that's so obvious it's a lie. Don't waste my time."

"Test it out," Ryuga demanded, "test it out for yourself. Because we're using each others hearts there is a certain limitation to how far apart we can physically be. It sounds ridiculous but the truth is, our bodies need to be somewhere around our original hearts otherwise it'll start to decay. The result of swapping between a demon and a human."

"Shut up, stop now," Momoka whispered. "Stop messing with my mind and agree already to leave me alone."

Ryuga clicked his fingers and the bolted door opened, "RUN. Go as far away from me as you can. When you start to rot to your death and truly feel the effects of the strain on your heart, will you finally believe me."

"It's not going to happen as you've said," Momoka said, running at the same time out the room. It was all nonsense to her and she'll prove to herself and that crazy-minded Ryuga Kou that he needs to be in a mental hospital.

Cooperating and Learning Manners

Momoka came running back into the room an hour later only to find Ryuga on the floor laughing.
"See? I told you you couldn't do it! Not even if you tried and look, here you are, back with me. HA! That was hilarious!!!" The demon laughed so hard he almost cried. Momoka, ticked off went up to him and gave him a kick in the leg.
"Ow!!!!! What the hell was THAT for?!" Ryuga screamed at his stubborn to-be bride.
"Thats for getting me into this mess! If I hadn't agreed to you, I wouldv'e just died and all of this would never happen!," Momoka plopped on the floor. Tears welled from her eyes as she clasped her hands to her face. "Why did I have to be so STUPID to agree to you?" She cried.
The demon stared at the weeping girl. Mabye he was a little harsh....No! She was his bride and she pretty much deserves punishment after she kicked him. Ok, so mabye the reason she did that was because he laughed at her but still, it was her fault.
"Get up and stop pouting. You'll just have to live with it."
"You know what?", Momoka got up, "There might be some good qualities being here. I just have to find them... Yeah! Thats what I have to do!"
The demon was surprised. He never saw an emotion change so quickly...
"But first," Momoka turned to Ryuga, "I have to teach YOU some manners."
"Wait, what?" The demon looked at her.
"You need to learn how to treat a lady with respect, and stuff." Momoka pointed out.
"No way"
"Yes way"
"No."
"Yes."
"No!"
"Yes!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
They both stopped yelling and stared at each other. This was going to be a long morning for both of them....