"Talk"

'Thought'
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"Mirai Saiko!"

"Mirai Saiko!"

"Mirai Saikoooooo!"

Early in the morning, a barely-awake Aki Hayakawa was met with a very strange sight when he woke up this morning - and that sight involved Dante casually dancing with a devil that somewhat resembled a tree.

"Mirai Saiko, the Future Rules, la la la~"

He was known as the Future Devil, and as his name implies, he really loves the future, which is why he was dancing about it; however, Hayakawa didn't know why the Devil Hunter was dancing with the demonic tree.

"... Why are you here, Future Devil? I don't remember summoning you."

Aki decided not to worry about the dancing red coat man and simply asked why his contract was here, which caught his partner's attention.

"It's Because You Broke Our Contract!"

The Future Devil then suddenly stopped dancing and quickly looked at Top Knot with extreme annoyance and anger.

"Wait, you made a contract with a Devil? Isn't that usually the number one thing you shouldn't do with them?"

Dante looked confused now, unable to understand why his teammate would do such a thing.

"I'm not sure if it's the same here, but in Japan it's almost required for us to make contracts with Devil's, so that we can use their powers and service to fight other Devils."

Aki quickly explained and tried to dash any worries or doubts that the Devil Hunter might have about him, though he still couldn't help but frown and somewhat disapprove of the situation.

"But Since He Broke Our Original Deal, He's Not Allowed To Use It Anymore!"

The Future Devil huffed and looked away with a grumpy expression, crossing his arms and softly growling to himself.

"What do you mean, how did I even break off from our arrangement?"

Aki genuinely did not know what the demonic tree was talking about and was trying to figure out what he meant or if he had broken any rules.

"You've changed your future, Aki Hayakawa, I don't know how you did it, but your death that was once prophesied is no more."

What the Future Devil said made Hayakawa go wide-eyed in shock; no doubt leaving him completely speechless with this unexpected revelation.

"Ah, well since you're no longer needed, I guess you can go back to Hell, hm?"

Dante already had Ebony out and aimed his black gun at the face of the fortune-telling devil, no doubt planning to kill him.

"A-Actually, I wish to make a new deal with you!"

The Future Devil quickly panicked once he realized he was about to be killed; he quickly tried to make a new contract with them, though that only earned him having a gun pushed against his face.

"Sorry, but not interested-"

Before Dante could ignore whatever he was about to be offered and simply shoot the demonic tree, Top Knot gently grabbed his arm and pushed his gun away from the tree.

"What are you offering?"

Aki wasn't entirely against the idea of killing his ex-contract, but he just couldn't ignore what the devilish fortune teller had to say to them, much to his partner's annoyance for wanting to make another deal.

"I-I will use my powers to tell you when and where the next Devil will show up, but in exchange, you help me get my ability to see the future back!"

The Future Devil spoke quickly and clearly, though what he said surprised Hayakawa.

"Wait, you lost your powers?"

Aki wasn't sure if the idea of the demonic tree and him losing his ability in the future was something to be worried about.

"Well, to be specific, I'm not able to connect back to our original timeline, it seems your visit to Hell and meeting the big D.D messed with my link to the future."

The mere mention or hint of what the Future Devil was talking about suddenly made Top Knot shiver and tense up, which the Devil Hunter noticed.

"And how are we supposed to fix your powers?"

Aki now felt like it was important to help the devilish fortune teller after being reminded of such a threat and wanting every possibility to stop it, which includes being able to predict the future when it happens.

"It's quite simple really, all I need from you lots is to find me the Divinity Statue."

The Future Devil made it seem like it was an obvious fact that everyone knew about, though the two Devil Hunter's just looked confused.

"Divinity Statue?"

Neither Aki nor Dante seemed to understand what the demonic tree was talking about; the tree demon seized this opportunity to explain.

"It is a golden statue of a woman wearing a lion mask holding an hourglass, it is supposed to represent the old ways of war and give the aura of someone who is an omniscient God of time and space, you can't miss it."

Once the Future Devil explained what he needed specifically and what they were looking for in general, Top Knot took a moment to think about what he was being asked for and whether or not he should do it

"And you're sure it will help you get your powers back?"

Aki just wanted to make sure that was all there was, not wanting to make sure there wasn't some kind of hidden meaning or extra horrible step, which the devilish fortune teller tried to reassure her.

"Just bring me to the statue and I should be able to do the rest, I even know where it is so don't worry about being lost."

The Future Devil was very clear on what he was asking for and had no other tricks up his sleeve, so the two Devil Hunters just took a moment to consider the offer, or to be more precise, Hayakawa was making sure if the red coat man was okay with all this, who just sighed in slight defeat and quickly put away his Ebony, which made the demonic tree happy to see.

"Now then, is it a deal?~"

"... It's a deal."

Once Aki accepted the new contract, while Dante simply watched with his arms crossed and wore a frowning face, the Future Devil started to chuckle and, if he had a mouth to show it, would have been smiling very brightly and crazily.

"MIRAI SAIKO!"

A moment later, in the depths of a vast forest, a large abandoned, and nearly crumbling, old church-like castle could be seen. And at this very castle, both Dante and Aki could be found, as they were engaged in combat with any random devils or demons that had come their way.

"I'm guessing you have a problem with me making deals with demons?"

As Aki, while expertly slicing a demon's neck, began speaking with his partner, he felt as if he already knew the answer to the question he was about to ask.

"I would be lying to say I wasn't."

Hayakawa was about to be jumped on by a random demon, but was quickly saved by a bullet going through its head, killing it instantly; Dante pulled away his smoking gun and let out a small sigh after answering the question.

"But you seemed to be ok with me hanging around with Denji and Power."

Aki, who had wiped the blood from the blade, wasn't trying to be critical or sarcastic; he was simply pointing out and noting something to his partner.

"Don't misunderstand, I'm still willing to kill them if they suddenly turned evil on us."

Dante, who had holstered his Ivory and pulled his Rebellion blade out of a random demon, responded back to Top Knot, like him he wasn't trying to be rude, more or less explaining that he wasn't that stupid to not do what needed to be done if it was necessary.

"But… It would make me a hypocrite to start killing them just because they have some relations or connections with some demons, despite them not doing anything wrong, technically."

However, Dante also admits that he isn't a merciless stone-cold killer; sometimes, he wonders if he should feel ashamed of letting his emotions guide him in certain situations.

"A hypocrite? What do you mean by that?"

Aki sheathed his sword and looked at the man in red with a raised eyebrow, said red coat man looks away a bit, before wearing a defeated expression.

"Ugh… I'm also part Devil…"

As soon as Dante finally revealed a truth bomb to Hayakawa, he couldn't help but widen his eyes in slight surprise.

"W-Wait, so you're a hybrid like Denji?"

While Aki wasn't shocked by the existence of demonic hybrids in general, he had already met a few, but he was startled to learn that his new partner was one, and it did make him be on guard, if just a bit.

"I'm not sure what the story is with him, but for me, I was born like this, my mother is a human, but my dad's a demon."

Dante noticed, but didn't say anything about it; he understood the reaction, so he just went on and continued with his explanation, which Top Knot listened attentively to.

"A relationship between a demon and a human?..."

The mere thought of that made Aki think it was nothing but impossible, though at the same time, he just knew that such ideas were not only possible, but probably had already happened before, though it was still a mind-boggling thought.

"Wait, so you didn't kill them because you don't want to hurt your own kind?"

Though Aki momentarily ignored that idea for a moment as another question popped into his head and couldn't help but look at the demonic hybrid with a confused curious gaze.

"Heh, no, I'm not that nice, again I would kill those two without hesitation if they decided to betray us."

Dante sighed as he took a moment to remember the time spent with Denji and Power; it had been short and they barely knew each other at all.

"But since they're not, and have yet to do anything evil that deserves them to be put to death, I can't bring myself to hate them."

But at the same time, it was enough for Dante to know that they did not deserve to be doubted and mistreated, or at the very least not be killed so mercilessly.

"Are you the type who would be friends with a Devil if they were nice to you?"

Aki couldn't help but be reminded of a certain blonde who spoke fondly of a chainsaw-wielding dog demon pet.

"I'm not that naive to think like that, but I am willing to give them a chance to live if I can see them wanting to change for the better, like how my mom saw my dad."

Dante shook his head and then decided to keep on walking forward and towards the church building.

"I see…"

Aki decided to say nothing more and simply followed her partner, the two Devil Hunter walked in silence together, killing a few more demons along the way, but continued to remain quiet and respectful with one another.

"... So, what made you become a Devil Hunter?"

Dante couldn't help but suddenly ask, which made Top Knot stop and look at her with wide eyes from such a question.

"To kill a specific Devil that killed my entire family…."

Aki's knuckles were white as he clenched his fists angrily; there was no doubt that his desire for revenge and justice burned brightly in his heart, a flame that the demonic man could not have missed.

"Hey, I guess we're not too different after all."

Top Knot quickly snapped out of his thoughts when Dante said that, but he clearly wasn't expecting him to say that to him.

"I won't ask for details, I'm sure it's a touchy subject."

Not only that, but Dante seemed to both immediately sympathize and understand his partner, even going so far as to pat his shoulder and somewhat attempt to comfort him.

"But I hope your whole revenge arc doesn't kill you or anything like that, I don't want to be the one who has to look after Denji and Power if something happens to you."

Dante then let him go before opening the front entrance of the church and walked inside, momentarily leaving Hayakawa alone with his own personal thoughts.

'Those two…'

Aki couldn't help but suddenly remember Denji and Power; memories of being around them, and even if they were either good or bad flashbacks, he couldn't help but find himself smiling lightly, no doubt that even if they were a headache to deal with, he wouldn't exchange them for anything, though obviously he wouldn't admit it.

"Finally, we're here!~"

After all that, we found ourselves inside the church, and within the holy ruins of the building, the Future Devil was seen standing before a certain statue, known as the "Divinity Statue", looking beyond happy and pleased with himself to finally be there.

"Now then, time to work my magic~"

The Future Devil then suddenly lifted up his wrist and tore his skin off, allowing his blood to drain out, as he performed his ritual with the Divinity Statue in front of him.

"You can chill for a bit, I'll keep an eye on your little tree problem you got here."

As the demonic tree did this, both Dante and Aki just simply stood back and watched them with careful and on-guard expressions; however, the red coat man decided to take it from here and let Top Knot have some time to rest, as he wanted to refuse, however, he just let out a sigh instead and nodded, not bothering to argue and just walking up to one of the seats nearby and simply sitting down, now just taking this chance to both relax and have a moment to be in deep thoughts, thinking about what he is doing now and what he plans to do in the future.

'I still want to kill the Gun Devil… But maybe I should enjoy the life I have now before I possibly lose it…'

No doubt the earlier discussion Aki had with Dante definitely got him second-guessing on his main goals in life and how he should proceed moving forward, which was not as easy as it sounds. However, before he could even come up with some kind of ideas on how to even think of what to do next, the sound of whimpering and panting could be heard, which definitely caught Hayakawa's attention and snapped him out of his thoughts. Quickly, he looked at the source, and, much to his surprise, what he found were something he did not expect at all - and that is, two newborn wolf pups, huddled together and cuddling each other, though despite their young and innocent appearance, they were anything but normal, in fact they were, in fact, demonic wolves, evident by how they look; one of them wears demonic gold jewelry, while the other has metal nails or blades stabbed into its body, though it doesn't seem to have been harmed by it. Usually, seeing any kind of demons would instantly earn them a quick death sentence, however, the Devil Hunter couldn't help but suddenly hesitate after seeing such innocent looking creatures here, even though they were still devils.

"Oh…"
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Hah! Future Devil is now part of the Devil Hunter group, though as mentioned he is mostly there as support, either in giving information, or just there as a helping hand, I'm open to suggestions to how he should be used in this story~

(Anyway, here's a list of Aki Abilities, let me know if I forgot something or did something wrong)

/Aki Abilities\

Combat Expert: Aki just knows how to fight, use a sword and shoot guns, not top tier, but he's definitely better than most.

(Being part Devil does help, making him physically stronger than before)

Angel Sword: A sword that can kill demons and ghosts, while also shortening the lifespans of any mortal cut by the blade.

(Well for those who wanted the Angel Devil, he's a sword now, he'll only appear when necessary)

Curse Devil Contract: A large nail that can summon the Curse Devil after three attacks and saying fire.

(He is immune to the side effects since he's a devil now)

Gun Man: Someone similar to Chainsaw Man, but instead of Chainsaw, Aki has guns, he can transform into any Gun he needs or want, and can add more new guns if he eats the bullet or the weapon itself.

(I don't know how Aki activated his Devil form, so I'm just gonna say that it is done by pulling his top knot hair thing like a gun hammer trigger thing)

True Gun Devil: The only way to activate this transformation is by either drinking Dante blood, which will give him full control by only last for a little bit, or by giving up on his humanity, which will make it last longer but have no control over it.

(A last resort to use his true demonic form)

Freki and Geri: After adopting two wolves, and making a deal that they become his pets and be taken care of, the twin agreed to share their power with Aki, Geri is basically the same as using Kon, but with Freki, he could summon sharp claws instead, either for attacking or carrying things.

(I couldn't find any fox characters in DMC, so i hope this is ok with you all)