Nakoma

“See something you like?” Dica asks with a wink as I turn off my sight. I sigh.

“I’m not exactly sure what it means but I saw something.” I look around the room for Colt who is poking around in the bathroom.

“Noki,” Colt calls for me. Looks like he picked up on the nickname as well. Great… I guess it wasn’t a horrible nickname and I was getting used to Dica using it.

“Yes, Colty?” I answer back.

“Can I shower?”

I blink. Honestly showers would be good for the lot of us, “Yeah, go ahead.” He bounces happily then shuts the bathroom door. Within a few moments, I hear the shower running. I look back to Dica who still seems to be waiting for me to explain what I saw.

“I haven’t got all day, Noki,” he taps his foot.

“I saw Colt’s name over your heart,” I state.

“What do you mean I have Colt’s name over my heart?” he raises an eyebrow. I noticed a small pink tinge to his cheeks. Was he flustered?

“I’m not sure what it means but Colt has Lucifer’s name over his.”

“How useful is your power if you don’t even know what it does?” He snorts. “Maybe you should put some effort into finding that out.”

“That’s the plan,” I yawn.

“Someone’s sleepy,” Dica teases. “Given how much you sleep, are you sure you’re not Sloth?” I snort and flop down onto the bed. I kick off my shoes and wriggle under the blankets.

“I’m going to sleep,” I announce, rolling onto my side.

“Sweet dreams.”

***

I am awoken the next morning by Dica’s distressed shrieks from the bathroom. Groggily, I lied there blinking trying to come to terms with being awake and what could possibly be wrong with Dica. I hear the bathroom door fly open and Colt snickers.

“Noki!” Dica cries out my name as if I were the only one who could help him. “Noki, please, I need you to get up.”

Groaning, I sit up, my hair in my face and tangled. “What is it, Dica?” I ask during a yawn. What time even was it? I didn’t feel well rested at all.

“What is it?! Look at me!” He shouts dramatically. Irritated by all the noise, I look over to see Dica’s wet, curly hair. Heh. It looked kind of cute all curled like that opposed to its normal straighten state.

“What’s wrong with it?” I ask.

He huffs with aggravation. “I need a hair straightener and fast.”

“I don’t have one.”

“Well, we’re going to have to fix that,” he snaps.

I give him a dark look. “The money I have is for food and emergencies only.”

He pulls at his hair. “This definitely counts as an emergency.” I felt like ripping my hair out! Who does he think he is? King of… well, okay, he was a king but that didn’t mean I have to break my back to get him a stupid hair straightener!

“I think it suits you, Dica.” Colt laughs. “It’s a mess, just like you.”

“At least it has more personality than you.”

Colt rolls his eyes.

“Also, Noki, I don’t know how long you expect us to keep wearing the same clothes but this is getting kind of disgusting.” Dica pulls at his shirt.

I groan. “Okay, okay, I get it. We need to go clothes shopping.”

Spending the church’s money buying outfits for demons probably wouldn’t send me to Hell, right?

“Just let me shower and then we’ll see if we can find a clothing store.” I submit. The two demons looked pleased and I make my way into the bathroom after grabbing a change of clothes. I made a mental note to hit a laundromat while we were out today. I strip down and hop into the shower. The water is warm and I feel drowsy in its sanctuary.

As I run the soap over my body, I think about Dica and Colt. I knew why they hated each other but it still didn’t seem right to me. I didn’t think Dica was that horrible nor was he deserving of being called a whore every five minutes. Maybe it was time I start standing up for him. Colt might back down if I get involved.

Colt said that Dica was a killer and Dica didn’t try to deny it, in fact, he agreed with it. I wonder if Dica was really so cold when it came to murder. Was he a cold blooded killer or was there more to the story than I was understanding? I supposed I wouldn’t know unless I asked but it didn’t seem like a topic to just casually bring up. As my thoughts drift I remember the woman from the airport who tried to drown me. She said she was following order from someone, someone named Furfur. The name sounded ridiculous but whoever this Furfur was, they had it out for me. I wanted to know more about my almost assassination and the person pulling the strings. Perhaps Dica could tell me more.

I finish up in the shower, dry off, and change into my last pair of clean clothes. I stand in front of the foggy mirror for a moment and stare at myself in the mirror examining my face. I was never too fond of my appearance, but I never really hated it either. While I found brown hair boring and common, my blue eyes were always a favourite feature of mine. As I stare myself down, I find myself thinking back to my mission and wonder if I’m capable of rounding up all of the seven deadly sins. I was only one girl. I wasn’t anything special, was I? I try to shake away the negative thoughts. According to the most powerful man in the world, I was chosen by God. That wasn’t something that happened to everyone. I must be strong enough to complete this mission or else God wouldn’t have sent me, right? I must have angels watching over me or something or else I probably wouldn’t have gotten this far.

Deciding that I’ve wasted enough time, I exit the bathroom, a towel thrown over my shoulders.

“Hey Dica?” I call to the curly haired demon.

“Yeah?” I notice he’s lounging on my bed while Colt sits in a chair across the room. My eyebrow twitches slightly.

“What can you tell me about Furfur?”

He seems surprised. “You caught the name, huh? I thought you had forgotten it.” I shake my head. He sighs. “Lord Fur is an Earl of Hell and commander of twenty nine legions of demons. He’s also one of my oldest friends and my advisor.” Dica smiles. “He’s a powerful demon who can see into the future and can answer any question you have. Although he’s a compulsive liar,” Dica adds. I shudder. So some all knowing demon Earl has it out for my head. What a comforting thought…

Well enough of that gloomy business! I toss the towel from around my neck to the floor.

“Let’s get going then.”

***

We found a thrift store, much to Colt and Dica’s dismay.

“What? I’m not spending tons of money on you two. You’re just going to have to deal.” They begrudgingly agree and we enter the store. I look around while the two of them part ways and begin to browse for themselves. I find a few cute outfit while I wait but I decide not to buy anything. Spending the church’s holy funds on demons was bad enough, there was no way I was going to be greedy.

Within an hour, the two of them return to me with clothes draped over their arms.

“Hey, Noki, look what I found,” Dica proudly brandishes a hairstrightener at me.

“Nice, what else did you guys get?”

Dica shows me dark jeans, a plain shirt, basketball shorts, and a tank top, all monochrome. Colt however shows me a pair of jeans, a green dress shirt and… a pink blouse and white skirt...

“Um… Colt, that’s a skirt,” I say. He looks at me with smiling eyes.

“Yeah I know, and it’ll look cute on me.”

I shrug. “Whatever floats your boat.”

Dica grins. “Very princely, Colt.” Colt doesn’t seemed phased by either of our comments, instead he bounces happily.

“I can’t wait to put them on.”

I take the clothes and hair straightener from them and go to pay. Once I do, I usher the two of them out the door after denying Dica a real leather jacket.

“A laundromat is our next stop,” I tell them. We eventually find one after an hour of looking around. Once we get there I wash the new clothes and the two boys strip down to their underwear so I can wash their current outfits. I blush and look away, getting a lot of odd looks all the while. I try to ignore the look and focus on the task at hand, but it’s hard when everyone is staring. Dica demands to plug in the straightener then and there so I had to deal with him crouched in a corner straightening his mess of a head while looking into a handheld mirror. I recognized it instantly as the thing Dica usually wore clipped to his belt. Why he carried it around confused me but I never felt like bringing it up.

Once the clothes are done, Dica changes into his black tank top and white shorts while Colt puts on the short skirt and blouse. I do admit he looks cute in it.

“So, Dica, where do we head to find her?” I ask.

Dica smiles. “We head to a small town called Piedra de Grava and then we walk an hour or so.” I grimace. An hour or so in this heat? I was bound to die.

***

Once we arrive at the worn out town, I realize exactly how horrible this journey was about to become. The town was practically in the desert! Why anyone would want to live in a place like was beyond me. It was dry, hot, and unbearable. As we exit the taxi, I look around. There were small houses and stores, not a fast food joint or chain store to be seen. I fan myself.

“We should definitely invest in some water bottles.” I say, spotting a small convenience store not too far from where we got off. Already sweating bullets, I head into the small shop. It’s quaint and filled with various items that one would expect to find in an convience store. I gather as many water bottles as I think my small carry on bag can carry then make my way to check out. There’s an old lady at the counter who smiles a withered grin when she spots Dica and Colt.

“You two must be related to that nice young woman who stops in here every now and then. You have the same unique hair.”

Dica nods. “Yes ma’am, she’s our sister. Has she been here recently?”

The woman thinks for a moment. “I believe she was in here yesterday morning. She stops in about once a week.”

Dica grins. “Thank you ma’am, have a nice day.” And with that we head on our way into the unforgiving desert.

About fifteen minutes into our trip, Colt starts complaining.

“I’m hot,” he whines.

“So am I but you don’t hear me complaining,” Dica retorts. Colt groans and keep walking. The trip is pretty uneventful, we were all too hot to talk. But we were accompanied by the sound of insects and Colt’s constant complaints.

“Why does she live out here anyway?” Colt asks.

“She just doesn’t like being around people, mostly the rest of the royal family,” Dica explains with a shrug, “I would too. I can only imagine how annoying it would be to be the oldest of all.”

“She’s the oldest?” I ask.

“Yeah, like the oldest. The first child of Lucifer and the only one left of the original Seven Deadly Sins.”

“Impressive,” I remark. I could only imagine how old she must be to be Lucifer’s first child.

“I’m excited to meet her,” Colt chirps.

“She’s going to feckin’ kill me,” Dica mumbles.

“I sure hope so,” Colt mumbles back.

“Cut it out,” I snap before a fight can break out.

“I didn’t even say anything,” Dica complains. Colt, however, shuts his mouth.

“Sorry,” he whispers to me. Dica suddenly points into the distance.

“There it is.”

Nestled near a small hill was a little cabin. It was nondescript in many ways but something about it seemed to belong here in the desert, undisturbed like a painting,.

“It’s kind of cute,” I remark as we walk closer to it. In the air I smell something like the scent of freshly baked cookies.

“It looks so cozy,” Colt remarks as we reach the front door. Dica goes up to the door and knocks. I hold my breath but there’s no answer.

“Maybe she isn’t home?” Colt suggests.

“Where else would she be? She hates everyone!” Dica sighs. Suddenly, the door opens to reveal a tall woman with snowy white hair and eyes the color of freshly spilt blood. She was absolutely beautiful. She stares at Dica with cold eyes plastered with a dark emotion I can’t quite understand.

“Hey, sis,” Dica waves hesitantly.

Without a pause, the woman pulls back her fist and slams it into Dica’s face. Dica tries his best to block the blow but the force sends him sliding back a few feet in the sand. At Dica’s misery, Colt grins ear to ear.

“Nice to see you too,” Dica grunts.

Dear God, I think as I close my eyes.It’s me, Nakoma. I’m asking you to please offer me your sight so I can capture this demon before me.

“Piss off, Dica! You know I hate visitors.” She snarls.

“Hi, I’m Colt,” I hear Colt say.

I open my eyes, the world tinted blue, and I look to the demon. She shares the same name on her chest as Colt does. She’s staring at Colt with wide eyes. “I don’t…” She trails off.

“Voluipuella,” I read the name above her head as I pull out a collar from my bag. The demon gasps sharply and she freezes, staring at me with wide eyes.

“Shit,” Dica breathes.

“Uh-oh,” Colt mutters.

I walk over to her and reach up to clasp the collar around her neck. “There,” I say triumphantly, the glow from my eyes vanishing. She growls at me before regaining her mobility.

“That makes three,” I grin. She turn to me, eyes glowing with wrath.

“What is this?” She demands.

“A collar,” I respond bluntly.

“And why did you put a collar on me?” She growls.

“Maybe she thinks it brings out your eyes,” Dica sneers.

“I have to collect the Seven Deadly Sins to forge the Angel Blade until I have word to stop. I know it seems confusing with Lucifer’s death and all but...”

Her eyes widen and her face scrunches up in agony. “Father’s… dead…?” Her tall frame trembles as she utters the words in horror. Suddenly she turns to Dica and yanks him up by his collar. “Dad’s dead?!” She repeats angrier.

“Lord Lucifer passed away a few weeks ago. As oldest living son, I was next in line,” Dica explains. “Now for the love of Hell, Puella, put me down!”

Puella complies by slamming him into the ground.

***

Michael

“To think such a young Saint is making so much process,” Raphael spoke, a gentle smile on his face. “I think Wrath would have been the most difficult of the Sins to cage.” Michael nodded.

“I must admit I was ready to interfere if things got too violent,” he said, a hand placed on his sword. “But luckily Envy was able to distract her just long enough.”

Two more angels joined Raphael and Michael.

“I wonder what would happen if I fist bumped Wrath,” Gabriel speculated.

“Heaven and Hell’s strongest? Forget Lucifer and Michael fighting, that would bring about the End,” Uriel laughed. The room’s atmosphere grew heavy. “Oh, I’m sorry Michael, it still hasn’t set in yet.”

Michael fixed Uriel in his golden gaze. “It’s alright. Lucifer’s passing was a shock to us all. He was our brother after all.” The other three angels nodded solemnly.

“Has Father sent the word to tell the church of it?” Gabriel looked to Uriel. Uriel shook his head.

“Nothing yet. Michael, has he said anything to you?”

“No,” Michael responded. “Nothing of that sort.”

“Then what do we do?”

“We wait,” Raphael sighed. “We wait until Father tell us to.”