“Oh,” Jonas nodded his head awkwardly, “I see,” the unnatural tone in his voice made Yuki smile because she found him entirely refreshing, like a budding flower growing in the unlikeliest of environments.

“Do you not find it strange that I killed him for no good reason?”

“You had your reasons,” said Jonas, he felt like he would say anything to keep her happy as long as he was trapped with her, “I assume you took a liking to the room.”

“I did consider myself his woman. However, that sentiment didn't last long,” said Yuki, “Years ago, when I was captured by the hurts gang I was assigned to be his dummy slave. He was relatively nice, about as nice as you can find when dating guys who beat the shit out of you for work, which he did so, very brutally.”

“It's strange to see a woman in the Hurts gang, you might be one of the only ones down here,” Jonas sighed.

"Typically, captured women aren't given the chance to fight and learn about Sin. Instead, they are sold as sex slaves, or maids if they're lucky. I was once captured and this would have been my fate had I not been training myself for a few hundred years in basic martial arts. I viciously maimed my kidnappers, and the leader realized it would be easier to sell me as a dummy slave than a sex slave, at least that way he wouldn't get in trouble for his buyers being castrated in their sleep," she licked her lips.

"Don't buy sex slaves if you don't want to lose your junk," Jonas shrugged his shoulders, he didn't feel bad for them, "So, Keal kept hitting you the entire time?"

“The beatings stopped as soon as we started sleeping together,” Yuki grinned, “He helped me become stronger, showed me how to control Sin, and together we unlocked its secrets. Eventually, we both worked our way up the ranks and became gladiators capable of wooing a crowd. However, things changed very quickly because we were both under different management. Keal had been brought in by Brow, while I had been brought in by Thomas."

“What was his Cardinal Sin?” Jonas asked.

“Envy,” she said, “I couldn’t have known about their behavior beforehand considering I self-taught myself about Sin. If I had known, I would have killed him earlier."

"I met someone who belonged to the envy category. There was this asshole, Rick, who worked security at the Dark Fly auction house. I wouldn't trust him for any amount of money. There was something about him that surprised me though."

"Oh?" Yuki tilted her head, "Do tell."

"My former master seemed to know of him, and he told me a few things. He said that Rick belonged to the Envy category, but didn't have any Sin Scars. He also said he was a Hellite. I find that kind of surprising, that a Hellite of his age didn't have his Cardinal Sin unlocked."

"Don't be too surprised," said Yuki, "Your former master should have told you that not every Hellite is important, and not every Hellite is born with a tremendous talent for Sin."

"He was a bit of a quack, but that's a story for another time," Jonas wasn't in the mood to answer questions about Old Louie, "Have you met many Hellites?"

"Not really. They run in their circles, and they consist of mostly rich kids born to important people. However, sometimes noble families will have Hellite children born without much talent, and these children are ostracized from a young age. When they grow up, they are usually given jobs and told not to embarrass the family. Rick is probably one of them, a black sheep."

"That's a good assumption," Jonas nodded, "So what happened next, with you and Keal?"

"Everything was fine, and life as a slave was about as good as it could be. However, things began to change once Keal’s lack of talent caught up to him.”

“What do you mean?" Jonas noticed that Keal's story had similarities to Rick the security guard.

“Garth, Ahmed, Xiao Lin, Wolf, and Keal, they were the top-five at the time,” said Yuki, “The weakest of them was Keal. At first, the difference in talent between him and the next best fighter was quite large… until I was the next best fighter. I might've started late, but I caught up quite quickly, and when I did, Thomas told me that the Hurts gang would be better off with me in the top-five."

"Fuck," Jonas looked amazed, "He told you to kill your boyfriend, without actually telling you to do it."

"Exactly," said Yuki, "He also told me there was a good chance that Keal might try to kill me on Brow's behest, he said that I needed to make the first move."

“Fuck,” said Jonas, “Brow probably told Keal to get rid of you before you got rid of him.”

“Bingo,” said Yuki, "Keal and I had gotten along up until that point. He was a piece of shit, but he was decent to me, and I returned the favor. However, I was growing more powerful by the day, and it wasn't long before Keal became weary of me. I would've never thought of betraying him, especially not because of his lack of talent. I wish he could have said the same for me,” Jonas noticed a glimmer of melancholy in her dark eyes as she recalled those memories.

"I'm sorry," said Jonas.

"Don't be sorry. One day, I overheard his conversation with Brow because a guard on Thomas’ payroll told me they had been meeting in secret. I followed them and eavesdropped on their conversation.”

“Brow wanted Keal to kill you, right?”

“Keal was anxious about it at first, and I think he didn’t want to. Rogues have strange personalities that can be erratic, spontaneous, and extremely bitter when provoked. Brow managed to convince Keal that his position was threatened by me, and I think you can guess what happened next.”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“You killed him before he could kill you,” if this was true, Jonas could hardly blame Yuki for doing the things she did.

“Brow fell from grace after losing his best fighter, I took Keal’s spot, and the rest is history.”

“That’s a lot of drama,” said Jonas, “Remind me to never get in bed with a Rogue.”

“I could say the same about Crusaders,” said Yuki.

“I’ve only been learning about Sin for a few months, but it seems to me like Nobles have the best personalities.”

“Nobles have some of the worst personalities in all of Hell,” she said while wearing a bewildered expression, “Gluttony is the Sin of over-indulgence, and most of the time that over-indulgence revolves around killing, torturing, raping, drinking, gambling, and eating. It's Monks who have the best personalities."

Jonas was so angry he nearly choked on his spit, “Fuck those assholes, I was sold to the Hurts gang by a damn Monk, all because I trusted him.”

“That’s weird,” Yuki looked confused, “Are you sure he was a Monk?”

“Oh he was a Monk,” said Jonas, “Indecisive, melancholic, and lazy as sin!”

“Sounds like you got unlucky and met a bad egg.”

“That’s an understatement,” Jonas shook his head, “Thanks, by the way.”

“For what?”

“Everything,” he said, “Inviting me in your escape plan, letting me use your bath, even trusting me with your secrets.”

“Don’t thank me,” said Yuki, "I just thought I’d take a gamble on you and see if you were worth anything.”

“What’s the verdict?”

“The Jury is still out,” she sent a playful wink, “The evidence is leaning in your favor.”

“Good to hear,” Jonas smiled, “Hopefully things go my way, and maybe I’ll be able to use this bath again.”

“Out of all the things in this room that you could have,” Yuki began, “High-quality booze, the finest chocolates, or deep inside of me while tangled together amongst soft silk sheets,” the temptation rolled off her tongue, “You would choose hot water, and scented soaps?”

“If you had heard rumors that I killed the last girl I slept with, would you be so quick to hop in bed with me?”

“That is very true,” she nodded approvingly at him, “I can see that your parents taught you well.”

“No parents,” said Jonas, “My big brother.”

“Well, he did a fine job,” said Yuki, “Not many could resist such temptations when it’s so readily available for the taking."

“I have my Pride,” said Jonas, “And I’ve learned my lesson about taking pleasures from strangers, they always come at a price.”

“Very true,” Yuki whispered as she took Jonas by the hand and led him out of the bathroom, “Care to have a drink with me?” Jonas chuckled and wondered if she had paid any attention to what he had said.

“Sure,” Jonas was led back to the fancy lounge, “I'll take a beer if you have one.”

“Eww,” she gave him a look full of judgment, “I’ve got wine.”

“How about vodka?”

“I’ve got wine,” and a minute later a large glass of red booze was shoved into his hand.

“Wine is good, I guess,” he said while clinking cups with her. Yuki held the glass with expertise and brought it to her nose so she could gently smell the flavor, while slowly turning it in her hand as she used her senses to distinguish the aroma.

“Made from the finest red grapes that were grown to perfection in the southern parts of the Overworld,” she began, “Harvested by expert farmers, and fermented…” but she was interrupted by an annoying slurping sound as Jonas held his glass like a mug and chugged its contents back. She was open-mouthed and stared stupidly at the uncultured young man in front of her.

"What?" He belched loudly.

“That’s a two-hundred Sin Stone glass of wine you just chugged.”

“What a waste of money,” he enjoyed the annoyed expression on her face, he found it rather charming, “I wouldn’t say no to some of those sweets,” Yuki rolled her eyes as she brought over a silver platter that contained the various pastries one would find at a fancy dinner banquet.

It was quite nice, Jonas thought, as he and Yuki made their way through multiple bottles of wine, and platters of sweets. Both of them were red-faced and laughing joyfully at nonsensical things. He hadn’t been in the company of a woman since his time with Amberlee, and they had gone right to sex, just like his time with Leanna Narwitz. For whatever reason, he felt like his relationships with women had always been about sex or property. Either they pursued him, or he pursued them. Never were they just friends.

“I’m happy I met you,” Jonas said, and like the burning candles around them, the conversation was slowly dying out.

“Really?” Yuki sat near Jonas, with her smooth legs draped over his lap, “Even though I’m a boyfriend murdering lunatic?”

“You’re not a lunatic, just a boyfriend murder,” Jonas chuckled, “Yes, I mean it. This is kind of cool.”

“It is cool,” said Yuki, “I’m glad I set my targets on you.”

“I wouldn’t expect any less of a Hunter,” said Jonas, “I’m just surprised it took you so long.”

“I only really started paying attention to you after your fight with that big guy, what’s his name again?”

“Ralph,”

“Yes, him,” Yuki slurred, “After that, I kept an eye on you, and once I had heard your full story from the guards,” she paused to hiccup, “I knew that I wanted you.”

“Well, you got me,” Jonas nodded.

“Not where I want, though,” she giggled and nodded towards her bed, and Jonas felt her foot rub against his crotch.

“I like where we are,” he said, “This feels right,” and for a moment it looked like Yuki might throw a tantrum, but instead she huffed in frustration and rested her head against a pillow.

“I'm just going to close my eyes for a few moments,” she said with a yawn, “I need some time to think.”

“Think away,” said Jonas, he couldn't believe that such a badass woman was also such a lightweight, “I’m going to have the worst hangover tomorrow. Sweet booze makes for a sweet headache."

A few minutes passed as Jonas sipped the rest of his drink. Then, a loud snoring sound told him that the sleeping beauty had finally drifted off to dreamland. She had such a cute and innocent expression on her face, and it gave him strange feelings in his chest that he had never had before. It was impressive how she could just get drunk and pass out with a stranger, especially because most people in Hell knew not to drink themselves into a stupor. He wondered if this was her way of building trust with him.

Seeing that moment as a chance to escape, he slid out from underneath her legs and prepared to leave. However, she appeared rather cold and uncomfortable on the lounge, and Jonas felt guilty leaving her like that.

Steeling himself, he gently picked her small body into his arms and brought her over to her bed, gently setting her down while laying her head against a fluffy pillow shaped like a cloud, “Goodnight, Yuki,” he whispered. He licked his two fingers and with a sizzling sound, he extinguished the last of the candles.