Disclaimer: I do not own The Devil Lady (devilman lady) or any of the characters from the anime.

Chapter 1

“Kazumi, we have to talk about where you’re going to stay,” Jun said to the girl sitting in the main room while she herself put the finishing touches on dinner. When she didn’t get a reply she turned to observe her friend, who hadn’t said a word since they’d come inside. “This is real complicated for me, you understand?”

Kazumi nodded her head once to show she did, but still gave no real verbal response. Jun couldn’t blame her. Having your parents murdered simultaneously had to be rough. She should know. Fudo currently was living hell at the moment; what with Lan Asuka, the devil beasts, and the hunt.

Jun sighed as she looked back to her work and moved the food from the pan into a serving plate. “Dinner’s ready,” She mumbled, then turned off the stove and dumped the pan in the sink. She could worry about the rest later. Right now her main concern was Kazumi, who had moved from her seat on the floor to the table.

Moving slowly so as not to even hint at the idea that she wanted to rush Kazumi, Jun walked over to the table, which was already set, placed the platter that held the food between their own plates, and sat down. “Here, have something to eat.”

“I hope its okay, I don’t cook much,” Fudo whispered as she watched Kazumi slowly take some of the food and spoon it into her mouth. Her movements were listless and smooth, but not at all relaxed. They looked more like a puppet’s arms on strings than anything else.

Jun shook her head; that was a thought she never wanted to have again. Kazumi had always been one of the liveliest people she knew, almost always happy, excited, and sincerely interested in everything Jun had to say. Now she wasn’t even sure if anything was registering in the girl’s mind.

“I would have made rice, but it would have taken too long.” She wasn’t sure why she was talking, maybe it was just the fact she was so uncomfortable with the situation. After all it was her fault in a way. The attack on Kazumi was an act of revenge against her for killing devil beasts. If she hadn’t gotten involved with Asuka, or become a beast at all, Kazumi would still have a family… and would still be happy. It was just after that thought occurred however, when she heard a sob coming from the younger girl’s direction. “Kazumi?”

By now it was obvious she was crying, despite the fact she was trying to hold back the sounds and the tears. “Why did they both have to get killed?” Kazumi said, finally breaking and allowing herself to do what she hadn’t done since the murder. “It’s just not fair, it’s not fair at all!”

“Oh Kazumi,” Jun whispered softly, wondering what else she could say. It really wasn’t fair in her eyes that Kazumi should have to suffer because of something she didn’t have any part in.

“And…and I hated them,” That shut Jun up, of all the things she expected to hear from Kazumi that wasn’t one of them. “I wanted to get out of there so bad, and the whole time I just wanted to get out of there and leave them behind.”

Jun wasn’t sure why Kazumi was saying on this. Maybe it was because the younger girl wanted to get it off of her chest. Maybe she was trying to take some of the blame onto her own shoulders. There were so many different maybes.

“The strange thing is, I shouldn’t be sad!” By now Fudo wasn’t sure whether Kazumi was talking to her at all or to herself. “So why am I?”

Jun could only stare for a few seconds after Kazumi finished talking. Then, at the exact moment she opened her mouth to speak, her cell phone rang. Unsure of what else to do, Jun walked over to it, picked it up, and answered it. “Hello,”

“The hunt is on,” A familiar feminine voice said from the other end. Jun fought the urge to curse, shout, and hit something all at once with great effort. Why now! Why did ‘that woman’ have to call now! Any other time would be fine, but tonight…

“Please,” Jun pleaded in a whisper. “No tonight,” Before the words even left her mouth she knew it was futile. Lan Asuka was an utterly cold woman, who had even gone so far as to lock her in a warehouse with a beast knowing full well what was going to happen to her.

“You don’t make that decision.” Asuka said curtly, without even pausing to think it over or ask why. “My secretary will be downstairs waiting for you in less than five minutes, be there!” Then the line went dead.

Jun slowly turned off the phone and put it down, then turned back to look at Kazumi. The girl’s face was streaked and her eyes were still brimming with tears. For a brief moment Jun considered defying Asuka and staying right where she was. She had every reason to stay and no reason to help the woman who’d destroyed her life… yet, that voice, the woman’s voice…always seemed so hard to deny. “Please, don’t wait up for me.” And with that she turned to flee. In her mind it was the only thing left she could do. She couldn’t tell Kazumi the truth, and that was for damn sure, but she didn’t want to lie to the young girl either… she, of all people, didn’t deserve to be lied to.

“Wait!” Kazumi yelled, standing up quickly. The voice, though not as commanding as Lan Asuka’s, still cut through Jun easily.

She stopped and turned to glance at the girl one more time before whispering, “Sorry,” and exiting her apartment.

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Jun rolled over and opened her eyes, which almost instantly adjusted to the dark. She was lying in the top half of the bunk bed she’d bought for herself and Kazumi when the girl had moved in with her.

To tell the truth she still didn’t know how it all had happened, but despite everything being against it, Kazumi had come to live with her. And needless to say there were a lot of things against it. The first and foremost being the fact Jun was a beast. Really that was not just one problem, but an entire set of problems in and of itself.

No matter how hard she tried, her self control seemed to be tested almost constantly by new urges, some of which she’d never felt before. She’d literally forced herself on more than one person working with her during photo shoots, when the feelings had become just too much for her. Jun had also noticed she seemed to become angry more easily than before, probably another side affect of being what she was.

Then there was the fact she was a beast hunter and constantly had to be ‘out on the hunt’ with Asuka and Maeda. Kazumi had of course noticed the fact she constantly disappeared and asked about it, but had backed off when Jun avoided the question.

And of course there were the beasts themselves. Many of them seemed to know of her reputation as a hunter and traitor, and those that did almost universally hated her. Meaning there was the constant threat that Kazumi could be hurt should one of them find them together. The attack on Kazumi’s home not long after her first transformation was a good example of just how dangerous it was for them to associate.

Yet for all that, Jun had been unable to say no when Kazumi had begged to be allowed to live with her. She had at first been tempted to deny the girl’s request, and then attempt to find a better home for her. But for some reason she had allowed Kazumi to convince her it would work out… and for probably the same reason she managed to convince herself of that too.

Trying to make as little noise as possible, Jun moved over to the edge of the bed and looked down at the person sleeping in the bottom bunk. Thankfully the noises she must have made in her fitful slumber hadn’t woken Kazumi. Her new ‘roommate’ still slept peacefully, looking as angelic as ever.