It's been a very long time.

Somewhere amidst the chaos, you had forgotten your first love.

...your only love, really.

The world had plans for each of you. Those plans, no matter how hard you tried, didn't involve the other. You simply had to drift apart. It was what the universe wanted.

Aki had no idea what happened to you after you two broke up. He didn't want to know. If he did, he feared he'd try to find you. To chase you. He was never inclined to pursue any more romance. Sure, there was Himeno, but it was Himeno... he didn't want to deal with that even when she was alive.

And Angel wasn't feasible. Plus he was a devil. Aki doesn't think he could forgive himself for stooping so low.

And now with watching over Denji and Power, he only had time to think about work and nothing else. Kill devils, clean up their messes, and smoke a cigarette. It was a simple routine. Aki preferred routine.

Which is why he felt as though his carefully structured life shattered the moment he stepped root into Makima's office. The protective walls he built shook.

The person standing next to Makima's seated form was... you? You became a devil hunter? You looked so... different. But Aki knew. And what he had once forced down and forgotten quickly welled to the surface.