Ivy’s eyes slowly slid open, a small sigh escaping her lips.

The dance they shared had changed once again.

There was no warmth this time.

No soft light.

Only fire.

She hadn’t given.

Only taken.

An inferno that had engulfed her entire being, cradling her throughout the night, lighting her weary spirit and reviving her soul. Entwining the two of them ever closer to becoming one.

The room was still dark, the light of a new day just beginning to threaten to creep in and overtake it.

The girl was there.

But she hadn’t yet fully returned.

And neither had he.

The two lingered in a numinous state between sleep and awake, teetering on the boundary, not yet ready to cross.

Her head tilted up, greeted by crimson. Body rose gracefully, arms pushing and hoovering her above him. Slowly lowering, foreheads coming together, feather light, eyes closed once more.

Connecting.

He offered.

She claimed it all.

Their hearts, their breaths, souls synchronized.

A farewell.

A greeting.

They separated, eyes opening, returning to the land of the living.

She smiled tenderly at him.

She tried to go.

To begin the day.

But his fingers found the back of her neck and guided her down, his clear gaze slipping to her lips.

She couldn’t think.

Couldn’t breathe.

Her blood being set on fire.

Lava coursed through her veins, heating her skin from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, burning up all the oxygen and suffocating her.

It was so much.

Too much.

But she couldn’t quell the blaze.

Couldn’t escape the flames.

She could only let it be.

Fall into them, letting them devour her whole.

Crimson snapped back to violet, then to the side, breaking the connection. His hand fell away, releasing her.

Ivy nearly jumped out of her inflamed skin at the knocking at the door in the same direction as his glance.

“What the fuck?!” Sakura growled, rolling away from the intruding noise and burrowing herself against Ren. “Go away!”

The girl scrambled to her feet, her chest ready to explode, and stumbled over herself as she rushed to the door and slid it open.

“The child is coming.” Akiko stood there holding a basket of her supplies. “Would you like to assist me?”

“The baby?” Ivy gasped, her lungs straining as she breathed for the first time and her skin began to cool. “Now?”

“There’s time, but birth is unpredictable, so we need to be going.” The old woman was suddenly concerned at the sight of the girl, and she reached out, brushing her hand along her cheek and then down her arm. “Are you alright, dear? Every bit of you is red as an apple and burning up.”

Ivy nodded frantically. “Uh huh. Yeah. I’m fine. Umm...” She spun around, unsure of what she was doing.

“I’m sorry, but Zero must stay. Men are not allowed during a child’s birth.”

The girl froze, her thoughts still frantic and impossible to grasp. “Oh.”

“If it’s okay, I’ll go.” Sakura pried herself from Ren’s grasp and got to her feet as he grabbed meekly at her leg while mumbling nonsense. “I can just sit outside and wait.”

“I can use your help as well. Let’s be quick.”

The two girls hurried and dressed as Akiko waited by the open door.

“We’ll be back later. Just stay here and out of trouble, Ren,” Sakura warned in a rush as she flew out of the house following closely behind a flustered but silent Ivy.

“Yeah. Okay. Whatever. Good luck,” Ren grumbled, face down in his pillow, not even listening to the woman. He heard the door slide closed and then silence. He raised his head, looking around for the girl whose voice he had expected to hear but didn’t, and found only Zero laying in the other futon. Eyes squinted, observing and taking in the uncomfortable atmosphere that had taken residence around them. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked the devil, noting his tightly clenched fists and labored breathing.

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“Nothing,” Zero said too fast, too soon.

The angel blinked at him, trying to decide if it was a battle worth fighting, before crashing back down into bed, out before his head hit the pillow.

Zero stared at the ceiling, feeling the warmth from the girl’s body fade and the weight like a stone sinking further into his chest. He had wanted more. Needed more. A feeling he had had before that was only growing in strength and urgency with every passing day. Every passing moment. He no longer cared if it was the right thing or not. He wanted to take it, and it had just been so close.

She had been so close.

But now, he was left with a hollowness that only further dragged him down.

Disappointment.

With a dejected sigh, he closed his eyes, ready to escape the dreadful feeling.

But he didn’t want to feel the toe of a boot knocking into his ribs either.

“Get up, boy. Let’s go play.”

The devil opened his eyes to a now bright room and an antsy Ren. He rolled away from the man and pushed himself out of bed, knowing that the day wasn’t going to start looking up for him anytime soon.

“Get dressed. Hurry up. We’ve got shit to do.”

Zero grabbed his shirt and pulled it on. “Where are we going?”

“The training grounds.” The angel could hardly contain himself as he bounced on the balls of his feet, a wide grin overtaking his face.

He knew exactly where this was headed. Ren was itching for a fight and would stop at nothing until he got it. But he had to try. “Sakura doesn’t want anyone to see my eyes.”

The man scoffed. “We survived for three years without her nitpicking and coddling and did just fine. Don’t listen to her. Listen to me. This will be good for you. You need this.”

“She told you not to leave.”

“I don’t remember that.” Ren guffawed. “So it never happened.”

It wasn’t looking good, but Zero didn’t want to give up so easily. “What if I die?”

“Easy. Just don’t. You manage to not die most of the time. You’re pretty okay at it.”

The devil knew there was no getting out of it, and he was all out of ideas. So, he pulled on his boots and stared up at the angel blankly. “You’re just bored, aren’t you?” he accused as he got to his feet.

Ren’s eyes bulged and he gritted his teeth, grasping the boy’s shoulders tightly. “More than you will ever know. Let’s go!”

Zero closely followed the angel as he sauntered his way towards the training grounds, waving and sending salutations to everyone he passed, even going so far as to slip coins into the little hands of the children who ran up to him despite their parent’s warnings. Though the devil kept his head lowered, even a blind man could see the way the foxes of the den stared in disgust at them. The way they quietly conversed amongst themselves, words the boy didn’t need sensitive hearing for, like one of his companions, to understand the gist of what they were saying. What they were always saying.

No wonder Sakura had such a visceral reaction to returning here.

Zero didn’t much like it either.

And yet, the ever-growing excitement building in the man was palpable as they made it closer to their destination and could see men already there in various stages of their practice. The training grounds they came upon had been built down into the ground like an amphitheater, the area for the fighters flat while the stone-built stands curved around it. They entered the arena, and one by one the foxes stopped to look at the unfamiliar men. By this point, everyone in the den was well aware of the outsiders that were staying in their territory.

“Hello, new friends!” Ren greeted cheerfully when all eyes were on him. “Is this where the sparring takes place?”

They looked at him like the fool he was being.

A light-haired fox spoke, weary of the man. “You’re here to spar?”

“Oh no, not me. I would never. Fighting scares me. But my little boy here really wants to learn.”

The man’s brow raised, looking at the little boy who was anything but, before setting his sights on the angel’s massive weapon. “Then why do you have such a large sword if you don’t fight?”

Ren looked up at the hilt sticking out above his shoulder, shocked, as if it was the first time he’d ever noticed it. “Oh! This old, useless piece of shit? It’s a decoration. Don’t worry about it.” He grabbed the top of the boy’s head and pulled him forward. “This is who you really want to fight.”

The trepidation was thick as Zero looked up at the men, the blood red on full display. One after another, their voices slowly began to rise.

“His eyes…”

Ren waved them off, the way he had done time and time again to different people in different places. “It’s a birth defect.” He leaned over Zero’s shoulder, coming closer to the men and lowering his voice. “Inbreeding. Multiple generations of it. You know how those Northern Mountain people are. Not a whole lot going on up there, and when your only choices are between your sister and your mother, strange things start occurring in the body. You know, extra limbs, missing noses, red eyes. It really is a shame. But for what the boy lacks in diverse genetic material, he makes up for in spirit! Besides.” He smacked the boy hard in the back of the head. “Would a devil stand by and allow this?” He smacked him again.

“Please stop,” Zero requested quietly. He really disliked times like these, and it wasn’t going to get any better.

The man kissed the top of the boy’s head. “See. Precious. No horns. Definitely not a devil. No need to fear.”

A demon who looked a few years older than Ren stepped forward, his hazel eyes intrigued by the new challenge. “I’ll fight him,” he offered, “but only one katana.”

“You heard him, boy!” The angel slapped the devil’s back. “No cheating. Hand it over.”

Zero removed one of his katanas and handed it to Ren. He turned to leave but was stopped by Ren’s arm around his shoulders and the man’s lips close to his ear.

“Listen. Ivy’s gonna love it if you beat the shit out of every fox demon here.”

The boy wasn’t so convinced and knew otherwise. “No, she won’t.”

“She’ll love it,” he repeated. “Nothing will impress her more. Trust me on this. Go out there, watch their movements, plan your strategy, don’t... get... stabbed, and if you don’t win you don’t come home. Understand?”

“Can I go now?” At this point, Zero was willing to do anything just to get the man to stop his senseless blathering.

Ren pushed the boy forward. “Good luck, young warrior! Remember, Papa loves you no matter what!” he called. “And don’t go easy on him, fox! He’ll never grow into a man if you do!”

Zero walked out to face his opponent, halfheartedly getting into stance and waiting. The fox observed him for only a moment before making the first move and charging him, swinging his katana and putting Zero on defense as he blocked the blade with his own. The fox pulled back and slashed towards the devil’s ribs, his blade deflected once again. He continued his rapid attacks, wasting no time and taking no chances in letting the devil go on the offensive.

Zero was careful to observe the demon’s feet, their spacing and how he held his weight. He watched the way the man’s body curved and flowed. How his arms and fingers were positioned. Where his eyes darted. He listened to his breathing and the grunts that came along with his attacks. Zero moved along with his opponent, following each motion diligently until he had managed to successfully predict and defend against the fox’s next several attacks.

Waiting for the opportunity he knew would soon come.

The opportunity that Ren had trained him to anticipate.

Sometimes it came sooner.

Sometimes later.

But it always came.

The fox finally raised his sword and slashed it downward at the devil, the moment Zero had been waiting for as he spun himself to the side of the man and smashed the pommel of his katana against his skull, dropping him instantly.

“Beginner’s luck!” Ren snorted and turned to the other men who stared in silent, wide-eyed astonishment at the boy. “Who’s next?”