Strays: A Romantic Fantasy Adventure

Zero slept a lot.

Mornings started out normal enough. The boy would wake, pull on his shirt and boots, and set out with Sakura to hunt for the morning’s meal. It became a routine that he looked forward to. The woman possessed a wealth of knowledge in regard to tracking, stalking, and hunting that she was more than willing to share with the boy. It was a refreshing change to the way Ren had taught him, the man merely pushing him forward and telling him to either figure it out or starve, laughing at the devil’s many failures before finally helping out.

Sakura actually took her time in explaining which daggers were best for which game and where on the body you wanted their blade to penetrate. She listened to his questions and answered them thoughtfully. Any mistakes were carefully corrected, and successes praised. Once he was able to sling the daggers with ease and consistently hit his mark, the woman promised to buy him some of his own at the next town.

After each successful hunt, they’d go back to camp and fill their bellies before Zero would follow Sakura to the spot of her choosing.

Then, she would kill him.

Each time he succumbed to the darkness, the hunger, the desire that flooded his entire being, dragging him further into their depths. An immeasurable abyss that clung around him like a second skin, cutting him off from everything outside of its hold. But despite the emptiness, the whispers of a song still seeped through, calling his name, guiding him in the direction of a tender embrace and the murkiness of his mind would fade away, the world becoming bright again at the sight of Ivy’s gentle smile.

The devil would die over and over, his skull twisting horns from the bone while claws tore at his flesh before receding back into his body, until there was nothing left to keep him on his feet and conscious. Ren would then sling his limp form over his shoulder and carry him back to the tent to sleep until the next morning.

But no matter how deep in the void he descended, Zero could always feel when Ivy was with him, her voice and touch always beckoning him to follow. It kept him floating. Kept him close to the warmth.

The light.

The devil began to push himself towards it, but the process was excruciatingly slow and tedious and it only eluded him further the harder he pushed. He tried to reach out, bring it into himself, but he would only wake up in the morning with Ivy curled against him, the warmth and light subsiding like the remnants of a dream.

Day after day and night after night would pass before it would appear while he was still on the cusp of consciousness. His world had gone dark, but it was present, so small and unattainable. But every time he died, it came back a little stronger, a little brighter. Zero stopped trying to reach it, instead letting it come to him.

And it finally did.

Sakura plunged the blade quickly through his heart and out, stepping back and watching him with interest. Zero could see the darkness close in, but the warmth created a tunnel through it, lighting his way. He felt his fangs and claws grow, the pain of his skull cracking and morphing as his skin split open to allow the horns through. But he saw the woman through it all, heard the rattling of his breath as he turned to see Ivy standing next to Ren, the man’s hand cautiously on the hilt of his sword, a look of amused curiosity on his face. The boy stepped towards Ivy, his feet heavy like trudging through knee deep mud. She looked up at him, her body emitting an intense brightness around her, pulling Zero to her.

“Zero.” He watched the movement of her lips, heard the pleasantness of her voice.

Like the song.

He felt that hunger, that urge, that desire welling up within himself.

He wanted her everything.

He wanted to give her everything.

The devil leaned over, resting his head on her shoulder. “Ivy.” His words and mind his own.

Feeling the warmth.

The light.

The comfort.

And he allowed it to take him.

Sakura ducked her head into the tent, stealing a peek at the boy as he slept. Ivy lay facing him, cradling his head in her arms and against her chest as she sang softly to him, waiting for his return. The fox silently backed away, not wanting to disturb the pair, and slipped out from the cave.

She wandered a short trek away and made herself comfortable on a flat rock, setting a small bottle of ink beside her as she opened Ren’s journal and began scratching down her observations.

‘Day 2: Asleep, no change’

Satisfied with her entry, the woman set the quill down and flipped through the pages, skimming Ren’s neatly written remarks. She smiled at the angel’s meticulous note taking of the devil and his growth throughout the last three years. It was a habit that he had picked up from Raz. The fox could never understand the appeal of writing down every little mundane thing that happened throughout the day, but she welcomed the nostalgia that it brought. There were books, how many she wasn’t sure, that sat on a bookshelf in Raz’s room, detailing whatever he found pertinent to write about in regard to Ren and Sakura.

Years worth of information.

Years worth of memories that would have been otherwise forgotten.

Her ears twitched towards the beating of massive wings in the far distance, and she continued to read until the angel landed in front of her.

“Well look at you.” His voice dripped with arrogance the moment his feet were comfortably on the ground. “Waiting around for me on bated breath. Have you been out here the whole time?”

There was no way the woman was even going to acknowledge this foolishness and pump up his already inflated ego. “How far out are we?”

“Four days. He ended up taking us further north. How is he?” Ren asked as he slipped on his bracelet and held out his hand.

Sakura slapped the journal into it. “Still sleeping. I’m sure he’s exhausted.”

He opened the journal, scanning for the woman’s entry. “Yeah, well, it’s rough dying all day every day.” A look of disgust crossed his face as the angel held the journal open in front of the demon’s face. “What the hell is this mess?”

She looked away sheepishly. “I did what you told me to do.”

“How is your handwriting still this bad? Can you even read this?”

“Yeah!” She hesitated, somewhat humiliated by the vast contrast in their handwriting. “Sometimes.”

The man shook his head in disappointment as he sat next to the fox, squeezing as close as possible to her. He plucked the quill from next to her and began writing.

“What was his color like?” he asked.

The woman began to pick at her nails, digging the dirt out with a carefree shrug. “Normal.”

“Eyes?”

“Didn’t check.”

“How was his skin? Dry? Clammy? His temperature?”

“I don’t know.”

What tolerance he had quickly dissipated, and Ren whapped her on the top of her head with the journal. “What good are you?”

Sakura huffed as she rubbed her scalp. “Why does it matter? Writing it down doesn’t change anything.”

“Because Zero is an anomaly to everything we’ve ever known. He shouldn’t be here right now. There is no record of a devil ever successfully creating a child with any being other than another devil.” He rubbed his forehead and looked soberly at her. “He ages but doesn’t die. He can go mad and then go back to normal. I’ve never heard of a devil pulling themselves out of madness. Or anyone pulling them out of madness. It’s not normal. That’s why it matters. And that’s why you use decent handwriting to scribble down more than five words!”

Ren had a point, but Sakura didn’t want to admit it. It was better to turn the tables, so she peered up at him curiously. “Just how many times has Zero died with you?”

The man leaned his long body forward, rubbing the back of his neck with both hands. “Oh shit, Sakura,” he sighed. “Three. To be honest, I kinda suspected something was up with him after the first time I saw him, but I wasn’t sure what. I found out when we were sparring, and he screwed up. Second time, he slipped and fell down a cliff. Third time, he was fighting another pest. It was pretty funny, until it wasn’t. I figured three out of three times were kinda my fault, so what were the chances he’d die again?”

“Well, now it’s been four out of four,” she pointed out.

“Fuck!” The angel cringed. “You’re right. I’m a terrible father.”

The demon patted his back with false sympathy painted on her face and a mocking pucker to her bottom lip. “You sure are. Maybe you should stop being so negligent. Look at Ivy. She’s been under my care much longer and has never once come close to dying. It would seem that I really am the better parent. Better luck next time.”

He gazed over and smirked at the woman, instantly perking up. “Is that an invitation?”

Sakura snorted. “Not if that’s how you raise your kids.”

His hand found hers and brought it to his lips. “Come on,” Ren cooed against her knuckles. “Don’t be like that. Just give me a chance. I promise I won’t kill our children. Besides, we’ll have plenty. You’ll never notice if one or two go missing.”

A laugh erupted from the fox as she pulled her hand free, flicking the angel’s forehead, and stood up. “Well, you can’t kill what you’ll never have, so…” Hands went up as she shrugged and walked towards the cave, leaving Ren on his own to deal with his disappointment.

“We could still practice!” he called after her retreating form, giving it one last try.

It was best not to respond to the man’s desperate attempts and as Sakura entered the cave, she found Ivy sitting on the ground outside of the tent, rifling through her bag. The girl looked up from her task and smiled sweetly.

“Still sleeping?” the woman asked.

“Yeah.” Ivy went back to her search, pulling out items and setting them neatly around her. “I don’t think it’ll be much longer though. He’s moving around and making more sounds. He was snoring earlier. I just wanted to get some food and water ready for when he wakes up. He’s probably hungry and thirsty after sleeping for so long.”

“I still have some boar you can give him.” Sakura grabbed her bag and sat across from the girl, pulling the meat out and handing it over. She surveyed Ivy’s supplies and grabbed a small carving that caught her attention, turning it over in her hands. “When did you get this?”

Ivy peeked at the butterfly. “Ren made that for me the first night they were with us.”

The demon nodded. “He was always good at making these little carvings. He’s gotten better at it though, but I suppose that happens when you have years of practice.” Her fingers pinched the wood figure and held it up. “Why a butterfly?”

“He said I reminded him of a butterfly. I don’t know why he thinks that, but it sure is pretty.” A bright smile illuminated Ivy’s face. “It’s the first time someone other than you have ever given me something. It’s special, so I didn’t want to get rid of it.”

“Huh.” Sakura looked at it a moment longer, tracing her finger over the intricate designs in the wings, before handing it back to the girl. “I guess it is kind of like you. Beautiful and delicate and calming.”

The girl puffed out her cheeks as her eyes dashed away. “I don’t know about all that.” She finished packing her bag and grabbed the meat and canteen. “I’m gonna go back and wait.”

“Alright, I’ll check on you later.” The demon watched Ivy get to her feet and go to the tent, her petite body light and wispy as it glided across the cave, and disappear within. Several minutes passed with Sakura staring at the tent, her body unmoving but her thoughts racing too fast to fully grasp. With an exasperated sigh, she squashed the jumbled mess into the back of her mind and reached over, grabbing Ivy’s bag, and pulled out the carving to observe once more.

A butterfly?

It really did suit the girl.