5 Chapter 5

"I'll get some more medicine after the shift today, Mama," Akane called as she headed down the steps to the shop.

"But Akane--! The rent is past due!" her mother cried back. Akane halted, biting her lip in dismay as she struggled to compose a thought.

It was either her father's medicine or the rent for the shop and apartment.

"I-it's fine, Mama, I'll ask Mr. O'Connor when he comes by today if he doesn't mind giving another week."

"We said that the last two weeks, Akane," Her mother sighed, her eyes filled with worry, "I'm afraid he's not a patient man."

"It'll be fine," She assured, warmly, "Just let me know if Papa needs anything."

When she walked downstairs, Akane grabbed her apron from the hanger and wrapped it around her waist, setting about her business to finish the last touches to open the shop. When she pulled out her paperwork for the day, on the top was the contract freshly signed from Haru and Isabella. She let out a heavy sigh, shifting the orders around to look at Azumi and Hiroshi's. Her friends had offered an advancement beyond the deposit they gave, but Akane had insisted they pay like normal clients. As she felt the weight of her mother's words sink into her, she held her head on the edge of the counter, shaking it slowly as she felt herself dare to hope for a miracle.

Unfortunately, reality crashed down as Mr. O'Connor stormed into the shop. Akane stood up straight, her eyes wide as the man in black approached her, "M-Mr. O'Connor, good morning!"

Mr. O'Connor was a ghastly man, with unruly facial hair and a large body that was both wide and towered over Akane. "Good Morning, Miss. Tanaka," He replied dryly, tipping his black bolero hat to her, "I've come to collect for the month."

Akane began to gnaw nervously on her bottom lip before she held up the orders in her hand, "If you come next week, we'll have your money and an advancement on the next month."

"That's not how this works, girl." Mr. O'Connor replied, his voice rising slightly, "I 'ave a business to run too, you know! Keeping tenants isn't easy in this economy! Everyone wants an extension or another week- then another week- and another! Well, I 'ave my accounts to settle too, ya know!"

Akane nodded stepping towards him, beginning to show the papers to him, "Please, if you just give us until next week. You can see it here with the signatures and the dates of the money owed that I have two big orders giving their second payments next week!"

"That's not this week!"

"You know my father is sick!"

"So is ev'ry damn poor bastard that worked in the factory," Mr. O'Connor snapped, taking a step towards Akane.

Akane narrowed her eyes, setting the orders down, and drumming her hand on top of them before she walked over to the register and opened it, gesturing to the drawer, "Take whatever is in there and I'll pay you the rest next week."

"Do ya want me to kick ye out onto the streets, girlie? It's bad en'gh your father is ill but worse that he's got a woman to run a business who don't know nothin' 'cept how to make flowers look pretty!"

"Excuse me." A low voice rumbled from behind, causing both Akane and Mr. O'Connor to jump in surprise.

The two turned to see Anala and Kurayami wandering about the shop, sniffing flowers quietly, while Hitoshi was standing behind them, taking a long drag from his cigarette holder as he examined Mr. O'Connor, "What's your name?"

"Who the hell are you?" Mr. O'Connor yelled, taking a step away from Hitoshi, whose eyes seemed to bore into him.

"I asked first, old man." Hitoshi snickered, tapping the ash on Mr. O'Connor's shoes.

Almost as if in a trance, Mr. O'Connor's eyes glossed over, "I… I'm Shein O'Connor."

Hitoshi took a few steps around the increasingly anxious man, his eyes flashing for a brief second as his lips curled upward, "You're on my list, Mr. O'Connor. What a wretched pig you are. Let's see here… You're just the walking fucking poster-boy for the Seven Deadly Sins. Sloth… Gluttony… Greed… Envy… Wrath... Pride..." his crimson stare shifted to Akane, "Lust."

Akane's face flushed as she became mortified at what Hitoshi was insinuating, grabbing the contracts from the counter and holding them in front of her as if they were a shield.

"I-I'm in the middle of a business transaction 'ere!" Mr.O'Connor cried, his voice trembling as he did.

Hitoshi hadn't taken his eyes off of Akane, who was growing visibly uncomfortable at his intense new study of her, "I didn't think florists doubled as brothels."

Akane slammed the contracts down, her color shifting to red with anger, "How dare you!"

"Relax," Hitoshi chided, smirking darkly as he did, "Do you want my help?"

"Are you ignoring me?" Mr. O'Connor bellowed, balling his fists.

Akane shook her head, pursing her lips before smiling kindly at Hitoshi, "I'm sorry, you got me at a moment where I wasn't composed. Does the gentleman seek flowers for a lady-friend?"

"Yes! He really needs flowers!" Kurayami yelled from the other side of the shop, causing Hitoshi to jerk.

"He needs anything that you've got that can help him get a lady-friend!" Anala added, resulting in Hitoshi shooting back a menacing glare at them.

He winced, forcing a smile as he turned back to Akane, who was nervously eyeing Mr. O'Connor as she continued to grin, "How much?"

"How much for which one?" she asked, softly.

"All of them."

Akane's jaw dropped as did Mr. O'Connors's, "Y-you can't be serious!"

"If I buy out your shop, will this ugly pig leave us the fuck alone for a bit?" Hitoshi asked, pointing back to Mr. O'Connor, though not turning away from Akane.

Akane's eyes darted from Hitoshi to Mr. O'Connor and back again, realizing that he was not jesting in his offer, "Yes."

"Good," Hitoshi muttered, turning around to Mr. O'Connor and taking out his wallet. He handed him an obscene amount of money and glared at him, "I'm sure that's enough, pig."

Mr. O'Connor grabbed the notes from Hitoshi, trembling as he did, though his eyes were wide with glee. He snatched them out of Hitoshi's hand and dashed out the door, not daring to look back.

Akane blinked for a moment, processing what had just happened before her eyes went wide, "W-why did you do that?! I can't sell you the whole shop!!"

Hitoshi side-eyed Akane, "What's your name?"

"P-Pardon?"

"You're going to learn really quick that I don't fucking repeat myself."

Akane twitched at the insult but swallowed her irritation. She took a few steps forward, wiping her hands on her apron before extending her right hand to him, "Akane Tanaka. It's nice to meet you, Mr um… I don't remember your name. I'm sorry."

"It's because I never said it,"Hitoshi replied, taking her hand for a moment, surprised by her firm grip as she shook his hand, "I suppose you'd call me Hitoshi Mazuko."

"Mr. Mazuko,"Akane began, gratefully, moving away and showing him the flowers, "Take whatever you want. I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me today. M-my father has been sick in the lungs for months and my mother takes care of him so it's just me and my friends some days down here. We have lovely blooms but we're just not in a good spot in town."

"Hmph," Hitoshi scoffed, walking over to some of the rose arrangements, "My… companions aren't lying when they say I need flowers for a lady."

"Well, what are you trying to say to her?" Akane asked, kindly.

He quirked an eyebrow as he pinched his cigarette holder in his teeth, "What the fuck do you mean 'say'? It's flowers. Flowers don't fucking talk."

Akane giggled, "Flowers have their own language with ladies, surely a gentleman of your wealth has some knowledge of that."

Hitoshi struggled to stifle a laugh when he realized she was serious, "I'm not exactly the type who bothers with flowers."

"Maybe you should learn to be,"she jested playfully, folding her hands in front of her as she swayed.

"You should listen to the lady, my lord," Kurayami jeered, warranting a glare from Hitoshi, "You could learn something!"

Akane pointed to the side of the room, "You could declare true love with Forget-me-nots, or maybe a geranium to show she's your preference. Oh! Maybe you could give her some lilacs to show your first emotion of love!"

As Akane moved about the shop, showing different flowers and rattling off their meanings, Kurayami picked up on how intently his master was actually listening. Hitoshi raised his eyebrow again at her, this time his crimson dark eyes swept her up and down twice before settling to meet her bright coffee colored ones, "If it was you, which ones would you want a man to give?"

Akane smiled, moving to the pure white roses, "Definitely white roses. They have this lovely quiet beauty about them and elegant hue in the sunlight. It's a bridal rose that means purity, true love, happy love, and loyalty. It means 'I'm worthy' or 'I'm thinking of you' in a subtle way. Plus, they have a light and innocent scent to them so it's not too strong of a smell."

Hitoshi folded his arms, shifting on his feet as he tapped his finger on his arm, "Those then."

"O-okay. A dozen?"she asked, putting on her gardening gloves as she starting picking up a few of the roses.

"Whatever."

"Okay."

Anala leaned over to Kurayami, "She's not on the list." she sang quietly.

"That's not surprising," Kurayami replied quietly, "She's actually pretty innocent, but she definitely holds weight in her chest like she feels like she has sinned."

"Any idea what that could be?" Anala asked, her head shifting to the side.

Kurayami shook his head, "That I can't tell."

Hitoshi shifted impatiently as he watched Akane carefully take out the white roses, being mindful not to touch the buds to avoid potentially bruising them. He noticed how delicately she pulled each one, not even being phased by the thorns. "Hey, Miss Tanaka,"

Akane's mouth twitched into a smile as she became overly focused on counting how many stems she pulled, "What is it, Mr. Mazoku?"

He moved to her, standing almost uncomfortably close as he put his face next to hers. Akane jumped back, the bridge of her nose flushing a light pink in surprise as they locked gazes.

Noticing her increase in color, Hitoshi's lips formed to a devilish smirk, "What do you desire?"

"M-me?" Akane stammered, "What do you mean?"

"Is your memory short or something? Don't you remember what the fuck I said earlier about repeating myself?" he murmured, his eyes flashing for a split second.

She paused, looking deep into his eyes, "What I desire?"

Kurayami let out a quiet chuckle, rolling his eyes, "And now she's done."

"Well, I thought she'd entertain him a bit longer but if he's going down this route…" Anala huffed quietly.

To their surprise, Akane shook her head and began to giggle again, "Oh that's easy! If I could have anything in the world right now, it'd be some mochi!"

The Devil and the two demons froze immediately, shock plastered on Kurayami and Anala's faces as Hitoshi's eyes began to widen.

"You mean to tell me out of all the damn things in the fucking universe that you desire mochi?!" he snapped at her.

Akane blinked, confused as to his outburst, "Well I mean, I could technically get some after work. It doesn't cost that much," she stated as she counted on her fingers, "If I remember right it's only two pieces a piece at the end of the day because they make it fresh every morning."

His face twisted in disbelief at her statement, "You've got to be fucking kidding me. That's not what I meant!"

"Then what did you mean?" Akane asked as she finished pulling the twelve roses and crossed over to behind the counter, where she pulled some sheets of red paper to wrap them in. When she was finished,Akane took off her gardening gloves and placed them on the surface.

"I-- You--- You're supposed to fucking say what you desire most in the world!" Hitoshi shouted, stomping over to the counter as he leered at her, completely unaffected by him and his abilities.

Akane let out a lofty sound as she turned back to him, carefully holding out the dozen white roses in her arms as one might an infant. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but as she stepped into a ray of sunlight, he found her enchanting. The warm hue of the sun reflecting off her rich brown hair and making her eyes illuminated to a light caramel, catching small traces of green in them. The white roses she held in the red paper were striking, appearing to have an ethereal glow in the sunlight, "What I desire doesn't matter."

Hitoshi scoffed, taking the bouquet and holding it at his side, "Humor me. What's your deepest desire?"

Akane cheerful disposition faded for a moment, her face showing the stress and pain she felt in her heart, "The only thing that I desire would require a miracle."

Taking a step towards her, he began to grin again, "Fuck asking for a miracle, trust me. God is way too fucking busy to listen… so what about making a deal with the Devil?"

"The Devil?" she repeated, quietly. Her voice was soft, but it did not hold fear.

"Yeah," Hitoshi chuckled sinisterly, "If God won't hear you, what if the Devil will?"

Akane felt a chill creep down her spine as she took a step towards him, holding her head up with a morose look on her face, "Are you making fun of me, Mr. Mazoku?"

"Come now," he coerced softly, taking a long drag from his cigarette holder before exhaling slowly, the smoke encompassing his red eyes to make them appear to glow in the haze, "I'm being perfectly fucking serious."

Something told Akane to send Hitoshi away immediately, however against her better judgment, she found herself not fearful but intrigued, "My desire is for my father to be well… to make enough money that my parents have an easy life."

Hitoshi tapped the ashes onto the floor, his head rolling to his shoulder, "There now… was that so damn hard? You'd make a deal with the Devil to cure your pops and make your folks wealthy, eh?"

She felt an uncomfortable weight in her chest, pressing her lips together as she turned away from him, "You can think whatever you want about me, but not all of us have enough in our wallets to buy off the landlord."

"Hmph, I'm not God, I don't judge," the Devil sneered, "I'm the fucking punisher and executioner."

"Sure," she sighed, rolling her eyes as she did. Almost immediately, her cheerful aura returned, "Can I assist with anything else today?"

He crossed to her, holding out the bouquet of white roses out to her, "One more thing."

Akane's brow furrowed in confusion as she looked at the bouquet then back up at Hitoshi, "What?"

"Miss. Tanaka," he began, "I have a deal for you."

Akane let out a puff of laughter as she looked at him.

"You said you were willing to make a deal with the Devil, so I have a deal for you." He repeated, his voice low and cunning. His articulation and steady tone perked up Kurayami's and Anala's attention as they stopped browsing and were locked on their Prince.

Hitoshi closed the gap between them, forcing her to take the bouquet of roses back into her arms, causing Akane to step away in surprise, "What are you doing?!"

"You said if you were to have a man bring you flowers, you'd want those white roses, right?" he contended, "So how about it, Miss. Tanaka? Will you make a deal with me?"

Anala leaned into Kurayami, her voice quiet so only he could hear, "You don't think he's decided on her?"

"We're about to find out…" he muttered back.

Akane's eyes searched his for a sign or signal that he was playing a cruel joke on her, but she found no trace of humor in them. If she hadn't known any better, it appeared the red color of his eyes was beginning to glow. She flashed a nervous smile, her instincts telling her to run and get away, but she was enraptured in a twisted fashion, "What? So you're the Devil?"

At that moment, the shades of the shop dropped causing the room to go dark immediately. In the shadows of the flowers,Akane saw the silhouette of wings stretch towards the ceiling as Hitoshi's skin faded to grey, a dark halo forming around his head.

Akane felt her mouth turn dry and her blood run cold but she stood unmoving and unshaken.

"So what'll it be?" Hitoshi's voice reverberated in her ears and into her mind, "Make a deal with me and I'll cure your father and make sure your family doesn't have to work another day of their mortal lives unless they feel like it."

She took a deep swallow as she studied the being before her, "And what would the Devil want with me?"

He extended his hand to her, curling his claws in a beckoning fashion, "In exchange, you'll become my wife."

Akane's face fell, "Wife? So if I agree to marry you… you'll heal Papa and make sure he and Mama are taken care of?"

"You're not as damn dense as you look," he growled, his grin wide and white as his eyes illuminated further in the dark, "So? Do we have a deal?"

For a moment,Akane felt she'd faint but instead, she hugged the roses closer to her chest. As the light floral aroma filled her senses, her eyes trailed down, making a study of them in the dark of the room. Even in the shadows, the white roses seemed to glow softly. She felt her heart turn in her chest as she recalled the countless bouquets she had made of them for brides and how she had resigned herself to never become one. It was ironic given all she had lost that the Devil would want her now. If she sacrificed her soul, it would mean her father's health and her family's security. To Akane's own horror, there was no hesitation or questioning in her heart on what her decision should be.

Inhaling sharply, Akane extended her hand, looking directly into Hitoshi's eyes as she did, "Deal."

"Your left hand," he ordered.

Nervously, she shifted the bouquet in her arms then extended her left hand. His claws curled around it then she felt a quick burning sensation as if she had her finger held over a candle for a moment. She yelped and yanked her hand away, noticing that around her left ring finger was a tiny burn mark that resembled a circle of rose thorns.

Hitoshi smirked as his wings slowly retracted and he turned back into his human form, "It's a deal, then."

Akane's eyes widened as she realized what had just happened, "T-Then Papa--?"

He huffed, adjusting his cloak as he signaled to Kurayami and Anala, who was standing there in shock as to what had just transpired, "He'll be better by nightfall and cured in the morning."

"And the money--?" she squeaked.

My coach will come to get you this afternoon before supper. I'll have my servants come help you grab your essentials and we'll move you into my manor tomorrow."

"T-that's not proper! We're not even married yet!" She screeched.

Hitoshi's face fell in disbelief, "You're fucking kidding me, right?"

"If you're the Devil and I'm supposed to be your wife," she began as she hugged the bouquet to her chest,"Shouldn't we have some sort of semi-tragic themed ceremony, where the souls of the dead sing our wedding hymn and Satan marry us?"

"I can't tell if she's joking or not…" Kurayami whispered to Anala.

Hitoshi held up two fingers while shaking his head, "First of all, fuck no and secondly, Hell no because I'm not asking my grandfather to marry us."

"I want a wedding," Akane declared, waving her left hand in his face as she wiggled her ring finger, "I'm twenty years old and will be twenty-one in December. Do you have any idea how many weddings I've been too and what a burden I've been on my family?! And you can't expect the bride of the Devil to have a burn mark as her wedding ring, can you?!"

This time, Hitoshi's mouth twitched, unable to hide his surprise at her outgoingness and immediate acceptance of her situation, "Y-you're fucking serious right now?!"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" She asked, smiling cheerfully as she nuzzled her bouquet, "Besides, it's kind of smooth of you to have gotten a bouquet just to give it to me."

What the fuck have I gotten myself into?he lamented to himself.

"He's totally thrown off right now," Anala observed.

Hitoshi shot back at his two demons, "Did you say something, you damned idiots?!"

Kurayami shrugged, smiling as he gave a thumbs up, "Looks like you're gettin' hitched, buddy!"

"I'll fucking kill you!" he yelled, clenching his fists as he looked back over his shoulder at the grinning Akane. In deals he had made previously, Hitoshi always felt like he was getting the better end of the bargain, but for some reason, he was second guessing this one. Whatever. I go through the fucking motions, get hitched, and off her on the wedding night. I can handle this shit for another few weeks.

Akane looked past Hitoshi to Anala and Kurayami, "Who are you two then?"

Kurayami bowed, grinning widely as he did, "I'm Kurayami Saiko, my lady."

Anala bounced up and down as she pointed to herself, "And I'm Anala Nakamura. We serve the Devil."

"Huh. So are you two devils as well?" she asked.

Her composure threw the three off. Usually, the sight of an ethereal being made mortals cower in fear and pray to God, but Akane seemed pleasant and curious about them.

"No," Kurayami replied, scratching the back of his head as he did, "We're demons."

Akane smiled warmly, placing the bouquet on the counter as she."Oh, my mistake!"

"Wait a fucking minute," Hitoshi moved to her, hovering over her face with a suspicious glare, "Why are you so damn calm right now? Don't you understand what you've just done?"

Akane's smile faded to a serious look. Behind her rich colored eyes was a fire that Hitoshi caught with intent, "Damnation is a small price to pay if it means my family is well and taken care of."

"You're not fucking damned, Akane," he grumbled, rolling his eyes at her as he did, "You're marrying the Devil."

"Don't people who usually make pacts with the Devil end up in Hell?" Akane asked, her eyebrow quirking upwards as she did.

He let out a laugh, shaking his head, "What the fuck have you done in your small little life that would warrant you going to Hell?"

Akane thought for a moment before she looked down at the floor, sadly, "I've known a man out of wedlock."

"Great, so you fucked someone?" he snickered, "If that was really a Hell-worthy trespass then Hell would be a lot more crowded." Noticing her silence and sorrow growing, Hitoshi's eye twitched with annoyance, "You really think that shit would make you go to Hell?"

She shook her head slowly, shrugging as she did, "I guess if you're saying it doesn't… But…"

"You're not going to Hell, Akane," he said sharply, assuring in a warped way.

Akane looked up at him through her dark eyelashes, "How would you know that?"

"Because I'm the Devil. I know whose souls I get." he snapped, "You ask too many damn questions."

She bit her bottom lip, her eyes remained sad and he felt she was keeping something from him. Deciding not to pry, he huffed, snapping his fingers and the blinds shot up to illuminate the room once more.

"I would like a wedding, please." Akane asked softly, "You gave me those white roses, after all. Might I turn them into my own bouquet?"

Hitoshi felt his temper flare up, gritting his cigarette holder between his teeth. He hands became clenched hard before he took a long inhale of his cigarette, holding in his breath for a moment before the smoke came from his nose. He couldn't stand her being so melancholy, "Fine."

Her eyes immediately lit up, "Really?"

"What the fuck did I just say?"

Akane held her lips together, as she nervously twirled one of the strands of her hair around her finger, "Could I also have a ring? Please?"

"Oh for fuck sake--!"

"It would make my parents feel more secure."

Hitoshi seethed with irritation as he tapped his foot, "Fine! What the hell do you want?"

Akane crossed one arm across her chest to hold the other one as she smiled sweetly, "It's a tradition that a husband picks his wife's ring."

"Jesus Chr-- Ugh--! Will it shut you up?!"

"Yes."

"Fucking fine!"

Anala and Kurayami watched in amazement as the two went back and forth with Akane's requests. They had never seen Hitoshi negotiate with someone whom he had made a deal with before.

"Kurayami, Anala, we're fucking going now!" He ordered, flipping his cape as he moved towards the exit, "Have your bags ready when I get back with your damn ring!"

Akane smiled with satisfaction, putting her hands behind her back as she followed after him, "Wait."

Hitoshi whirled around, his eyes red with rage, "What the fuck is it now?!"

Before he could even react further, Akane leaned over and kissed his cheek, causing him to jolt back as if he had just been electrified. To the surprise and amusement of his companions, Hitoshi's face flushed bright red as he stared at Akane, holding his cheek as if she had slapped him.

"Well, that's not a reaction I've gotten before," she giggled, "If I'm going to be your wife, shouldn't I be affectionate towards you?"

He shook his head to regain his composure and stormed up to her again, towering over her as she continued to smile up at him, "Let's get one thing perfectly fucking clear, alright? I don't do affection. I fuck or nothing at all, do you understand?"

Akane frowned, "You've got a lot to learn about how a marriage works then, Mr. Mazuko."

A low rumble of a laugh came from the back of his's , "What could a damn little innocent like you teach me, cheeks?"

She gathered her courage to stand on her toes, causing herself to almost be at his eye level, "Try me."

"I fully intend to." he replied, licking his lips. The look he gave her was that of a lion ready to devour a lamb, causing a chill to run down her spine, "I'll be back. Don't keep me waiting when I return."

"Y-Yes,"Akane stammered, watching him as he left the shop with Anala and Kurayami at his heels. The events that had just transpired set in and her legs gave out once more, sending Akane to her knees as she began to pray. But before she could utter a single devotion, she remembered what Hitoshi had said. Gathering her resolve, she ran upstairs, calling out as she did, "Mama! Mama! How's Papa?!"

Her mother ran to meet her in the hall, "You won't believe this Akane, but he's stopped coughing up blood and he's finally resting!" Tears began to well in Akane's eyes when she realized Hitoshi had meant what he said and that her parents were going to be fine. She ran over, throwing her arms around her mother's waist as they embraced deeply, "Thank God!"

Akane winced at her mother's words, thinking to herself, For once, I'll thank the Devil.