Zero woke to blackness all around him. It was a vast contrast to the warmth that had engulfed him, holding him lightly, comforting him. It had been blinding, absorbing into every crevice of his being.

He had accepted it.

The devil blinked, his vision becoming accustomed to the dark enclosed in the walls of the tent. He listened to the small moans and sighs of those sleeping near him, felt the weight of the girl who rested against his chest. Raising his arms, he enclosed them around her and burrowed his cheek against her amethyst waves as she began to stir with the movement.

“Good morning,” her sleepy voice barely there as she snuggled closer before returning to her dreams.

“Good morning,” he whispered and closed his eyes, feeling the warmth just beneath his ribs, and waited for the day to come.

When Zero opened them again, he was alone, the entrance to the tent folded open, light and voices spilling in. Crawling from the comfortable confines, he went to sit with the group, accepting the food offered to him but refusing Ren’s attempts to hand feed him repeatedly, each rejection resulting in Sakura snatching the morsel and gobbling it down before anything more could be said. The boy would finish his meal and return to the spot where he would die once again.

Zero stood, trying to work the kinks from his stiff muscles that had laid sedentary for nearly three days as he waited for death to come.

“Ready?” Sakura asked.

He cracked his neck and nodded, the katana immediately plunging in and out of his heart. He felt the growth of his nails, fangs, and horns, heard the snapping of his bone. However, his vision remained clear, his mind aware, his body controllable.

“Your eyes are normal. There’s no black around the irises.” The demon observed as she stood on her tiptoes and leaned in close, their noses a hair’s width from brushing against each other. “Are you there? Can you speak?”

“Yes.” The boy’s voice was deeper and raspy, but still his own.

“What’s your name?”

“Zero.”

“Where are you?”

Crimson glanced around their rocky surroundings. “Wherever this place is.”

“How do you feel about Ren?”

“He’s an idiot.”

She chuckled and slowly walked around the devil. “Well, you’re still with us.” The katana impaled Zero through his heart once again from behind and was removed as Sakura peeked around at his face. “How about now? You still you?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. I’m still me.”

She made her way back to facing him. “You healed quicker just then. Let me try again. I’ll start in your gut this time and work my way up. Is that alright?”

Zero nodded.

The woman stabbed low into the boy’s stomach, pushing the sword up towards his ribs, watching with glee as the split skin healed instantly following the blade. She pulled the weapon back, no sign of even a scratch left behind. Her hand shot out in Ren’s direction, clasping open and closed quickly. “Give me the other one.” The smile on her face was impossible to suppress as she made her demands.

The man grabbed the katana leaning up against a rock next to him and tossed it to the fox. She unsheathed it, throwing the saya back to him, and held the two weapons up in front of the devil as she bounced from one foot to the other with impatient anticipation.

“Take them!”

He obeyed without question.

“Only block the glaive.” Sakura barely finished the command before drawing and smashing the large weapon down on the devil, his blades slashing above him to protect his head. Her foot collided into his chest as soon as the weapons met, pushing him back with the snapping and then almost instant reconstruction of his ribs. She spun, angling the glaive towards his hip as her leg swung out towards his head. He blocked the blade as the kick crashed into the side of his skull.

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She continued to push him back in this manner; block, kick, block, kick. Each swing of the glaive was deflected, but the woman’s kicks connected with deadly accuracy, cracking and crushing bones that healed just as quickly as they shattered. The large weapon was brought high above the woman’s head before bringing it straight down as the boy raised the katanas to defend himself.

“Drop!” she yelled suddenly without warning.

His hands opened, the weapons falling from his grasp, as his arms continued towards their intended position. The katanas hit the ground just as the glaive’s blade stopped short of the hair on his head.

“Not bad.” Sakura smiled as she brought the glaive back. “Pick them up. It’s your turn.”

Zero bent down to retrieve his weapons. “To what?”

“To be on offense,” the fox told him. “We need to make sure that you can maintain control while attacking.”

The devil stopped short of the hilts and straightened up, empty handed. “No.”

The woman blinked in surprise at him. That wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear. “No? What do you mean no?”

“I can’t.”

Sakura scoffed. “Bullshit! Of course you can.” Her gaze followed Zero’s behind her and towards Ivy who had been sitting quietly at Ren’s feet the entire time, watching silently with a clear expression of concern. The fox turned back, annoyed that she wasn’t going to get the fight she had been itching for. “Can’t or won’t?” she asked bitterly, already knowing the answer.

He looked back at the demon, his eyes stating clearly that his decision was not up for debate. “I won’t. I won’t risk hurting you.”

The woman stared the devil down for several moments before giving in, rolling her eyes and huffing at her defeat. “As if you fucking could! Whatever! Fine! Fight Ren.” She turned and stomped back to the pair, throwing herself down next to Ivy. “It’s your turn.” She sneered.

“Awww,” the man taunted, poking the fox with the toe of his boot with a snicker. “Zero doesn’t want to play with Sakura. Poor baby. Life is so hard.”

“Shut up!” She swiped at his leg as he sauntered off towards the devil. “You’re such a jerk.”

Ren unsheathed his sword and halfheartedly swung it back and forth. “Be gentle with me, I’m delicate. I don’t just come back to life like you do.” He sighed as he raised the blade and began blocking Zero’s attacks.

The two girls watched the angel and devil spar, listening as the man yelled at him to straighten his back, lower his elbow, widen his stance.

The demon sat moping in a puddle of self-pity. It wasn’t every day that someone got the opportunity to go up against a devil, and she had been denied her chance. It wasn’t enough to just attack. She wanted to be attacked. She wanted to fight. But, instead, she had to sit on the sidelines and watch Ren have all the fun. The jealousy seethed from her in suffocating waves, and she chewed her cheek, trying to hold herself back from storming out there and forcing a confrontation.

Ivy peeked at the festering fox who was very obviously teetering dangerously between antsy obedience and losing her mind. Remorse began to seep further into the girl’s core, eating at her. How unkind and merciless she’d been to the woman who had given everything for her and never asked for anything in return. All because she feared for the boy and the agony he would experience.

The agony she would feel.

Doubt had poked its way through her optimistic spirit and left her questioning the boy’s abilities, causing her to lash out at the woman when she challenged that uncertainty.

But Sakura had been right.

Ivy’s fear had all been for nothing. She had managed to accept the ache within her in the same way that Zero had, and although it was still uncomfortable, it was now bearable.

“I’m so sorry for what I said,” the girl whimpered quietly.

“What did you say?” the demon asked, her glare burning at the two sparring men, having not the slightest clue as to what the girl was referring to.

“That you don’t care about anyone but yourself, and you just want us to be miserable.” Her eyes filled with tears as her voice cracked. “I was so mean. I didn’t mean it. I’m so sorry.”

Now, Sakura’s attention was solely focused on the girl. With a sigh and a small smile, she slipped behind her, hugging her arms around Ivy’s shoulders and kissing the top of her head. “You weren’t completely wrong. I do tend to not see what’s going on around me when I get that way. I can really be an asshole, and I really was one to Zero. I’m sorry. I want to do better. But no matter what, I always care about you, so don’t ever think I don’t. And even if you do, that doesn’t change the fact that I love you.”

Ivy held onto the fox’s arms and pulled them tighter around herself. “I love you.”

“I know you do. How are you doing with all of this?”

“I didn’t know if he could do it,” the girl admitted. “After what Zero did to himself… I just… I didn’t want him to go through it again. I don’t want him to suffer. But you were right.”

Sakura rested her chin on Ivy’s head. “I suppose. But I was only right because Zero chose to do it. Devils only ever do what they want. No one can make them do anything. Not even me,” she grumbled, the truth an awful thing to admit.

“I guess not.” Ivy sighed, watching the pair until they finished sparring and made their return. It wasn’t something that the girl liked, she’d much rather prefer it to not be an issue. But it was, and avoiding it wasn’t going to make it go away. She would have to work with it, the way the devil had.

“Can you go back on your own?” the woman asked Zero as he got closer.

“I don’t know. Maybe if I go to sleep it will go away?”

The fox released Ivy and nudged her forward. “Go on. Go fix him.”

She got to her feet and went to the boy, wrapping her arms around his waist, looking up as his devil features receded with a radiant smile. “You did it!”

He nodded, his gaze soft on the girl.

Sakura stood. “Good. Let’s do it again. And this time.” Her eyes hungry. “You fight me.”

The tenderness is his eyes drained and Zero stared at the ruthless woman blankly. He took Ivy’s hand in his own and turned, walking away from a fight he had no interest in. “No.”