Burn Yourself

The morning had come, and Luca ended up bringing Rosanna to SCC even if he had to hire a cab instead since Nadin destroyed his uncle's motorcycle. He was also surprised that Leslie recognized the girl, and so did Rosanna recognize the woman. He then led her to Noah's room.

When Rosanna saw a vending machine, she broke away from Luca's hold and only asked for some loose change. Afterward, she went up to it herself and proceeded with her errand.

Luca only opened the door to Noah's room. When he walked in, he saw the man sleeping like a dog sleeping on his side. Limbs on the side with the body in a log position. He came to the side and stared at Noah's sleeping face.

What kind of life was it for him to live as an assassin and a witch at the same time?

Luca had already received files from Allan about Sleepydog. Apparently, Noah Rocco was a top-class assassin known as a Shadow Hand, and he could be hired with no payment. Up until now, he hadn't given a clear price for his services to SCC, but he had already shown his prowess last night. All the other mercenaries could practically go home.

However, when Luca kneeled next to the bed and watched the small movements of Noah's eyelashes, he could see a person unwilling to live with all this darkness. Was Noah being forced into becoming the monster he was now? What did he get in return for everything?

Moreover…

Luca's gaze landed on Noah's lips. He could envision the smiles Noah had given him, and whether they were flirty or not, it seemed both mysterious and entrancing. If he could only feel them…

His head had already moved before Luca realized that he was getting too close.

At most, he shouldn't keep on watching a sleeping Noah. He reached out to wake him up slowly.

A hand stroked at Noah's head, and his eyes opened at the touch. Luca's soft gasp came from in front of him, and the witch lifted his gaze to the man who was kneeling next to the bed. Luca then terribly blushed before clearing his throat, keeping his eyes away from Noah's.

If he dove in, Nah would know because he's already awake, right?

"You're awake. Mr. Cicero was asking about your status." Luca was then able to remove the blushing from his face. "Can you come see him now?"

"Did you really think they're after SCC?" Noah continued to lie down on his side, his hand next to his face.

"Huh?" Luca twitched before realizing that he knew about the meeting. The look in his eyes grew serious. "In paper, that was what the Order of Michael told me. As for the deeper reasons, only a revelation would give me an answer. Like most, that would come when it's due."

"Revelations, huh."

Rosanna then walked in with a few bags of chips and cold drinks. She then looked up at Luca who got to his feet and helped her with the load. The child then went where Noah's face was and reached out her hands to shake his shoulder.

"Noah, Noah? Noah, are you okay?" Her voice cracked a little in worry.

"I don't think you should shake him like that." Luca chuckled and went to her. He realized that Noah closed his eyes again and wouldn't respond to her.

"Wuwuwu, Luca, is he going to be okay? I thought he woke up earlier. Who were you talking to?" The child started crying. She only had a few friends; was she going to lose one too soon?

Noah then cracked an eye open and burred to let Rosanna notice him. "Little girl, don't cry so easily. Tears are like gold, don't you know?"

"Whaa! Noah, you're awake!" She climbed the bed and hugged him even if he was still lying down.

"How could someone grow on you so fast?" Noah chuckled before sitting up while her arms were still around his neck. "I'm okay. Were you a good girl when I was out?"

"Yes, I didn't leave the house, and I slept early!" Rosanna nodded with vigor before letting go and just sitting on Noah's legs. "The dogs behaved strangely last night. Can they feel you're in trouble?"

Noah only nodded, but he caressed her head. "Don't worry though. I'm not leaving Rosanna just like that. I'm in good health today, see?"

The child only reached out and pulled on his face before giggling. Noah caught her hands, but she evaded and ran off the bed. Noah would go after her, but he only shook his head. Still, Rosanna laughed out as she ran as Mediis's group went to playfully chase her.

Silence came from Luca. He didn't think Noah was really someone who could care for something so pure while he was considered tainted by the darkness of the world. He then took a snack and a drink that Rosanna brought for him. "Here, she'd be upset if you didn't eat them."

"Thank you." Noah received the food and ate it slowly. "Help me tell Cicero I don't want to see him right now. I want to sleep."

"I can just tell him you're not yet awake." Luca kept himself from laughing out.

"Yeah, do that." The witch got under the covers again and decided to pull it up to his face.

Seeing that action made Luca feel more embarrassed. Could it be that he was covering his totality now because he felt that Luca was about to do something bad? The hunter could only scratch his cheek before leaving the room.

He should find Rosanna to make sure she was safe after running around.

After a few minutes of silence, Noah pulled the blanket off of his head. He stared at the open door… as it closed with Mephisto pushing it.

"How was it? Your first encounter with Bomberman after one year?" Mephisto chuckled as he heard about the particulars of it. He just wanted to know how Noah felt now that he saw how… overestimated Nadin was. Even he himself didn't think Nadin would be so easy.

If he didn't have a super-strong charge underway, he wouldn't be able to escape Sleepydog.

"It's wrong." Noah huffed as he sat up again. "It seemed that he was not being himself that night."

"That is Bomberman, alright. He just grew so arrogant now that his contract was transferred to Satan." Mephisto shook his head. "However, he was still a small bug compared to the real top-notch witches. He's just… Satan's new favorite right now…

"Which brings me to the next topic… did you kill the white ghost?"

Noah only stared at him. "What white ghost?"

"Oh, you didn't pay attention to her." Mephisto cracked up a little, expecting that Noah wouldn't know what he would be talking about. "If you didn't see her well enough, it's okay. You don't have to rack your brains over it."

The witch frowned. "Is she that important?"

Mephisto nodded as he walked to the bed and sat down at the edge. "When you fight a witch, you need to know their familiars first. Likewise you, Bomberman would be making use of his familiar's talents to the full extent. It's just that last night, he didn't expect to fight against a strong witch."

"How arrogant."

"That's Bomberman."

The demon then reached out his hand and took hold of Noah's chin. Tilting his face up, Mephisto stared at the barely-visible mapping of skin from the blast. The hellhounds might be able to make him regenerate at a great speed.

However, it only meant that his skin was new at some parts while some were not touched up. Without the proper mastery, his body healed in one night; however, he looked like a patched-up monster.

Mephisto used his other hand to hook the edge of Noah's shirt and lift it to expose his chest. He stared at more ugly patches on that flawless chest he liked to taste. The same hand holding onto his chin held onto the shirt while Mephisto's other hand felt the strange contours created by the patching.

"We should train Caliga in fixing you. Not that they even had the chance to make use of this power before." He then started repairing the unevenness. "I would really hate seeing this."

"Do you mean burning me again and again for them to train?" Noah chuckled as he somewhat enjoyed the hand on his chest. The way Mephisto flattened the unnecessary contours was tickling him. It didn't help that the cold wind kept on blowing on his bare skin.

"You won't be burned by a hellhound's flames. If you want to burn yourself, make sure you use gasoline first."

It was supposed to be a diss, but Mephisto only licked his lip. He then gave up in the meticulous mapping and leaned close to kiss Noah's chest. His hands then also went to hold him by his waist, fingers sliding inside Noah's pants to feel his hips.

He figured that it would take him too long to fix it the way he first chose to do so. Mapping and flattening the contours were more laborious than just using magic to reshape Noah's body to what he remembered it should be. It's not like he hadn't touched this for a very long while after all.

Moreover, the face Noah was making broke all his reins. Noah rarely held back when it was Mephisto who was in front of him. As his breathing started to become labored and his face started to blush, the demon knew something was cooking inside Noah's head.

It's just that while he was helping himself with Noah's chest, the door opened.