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Watching the footage on Ryo's laptop was blowing Akira's mind. Given the effects of the Sabbath's drugs in his system at the time, as well as the intense shock from being in the moment, Akira had almost no memory of the night prior. Seeing his own transformation, his own face twisting into that primal snarl and growing claws and a tail, felt unreal.
"You have the strength to fight the devils on equal footing, without using any weapons. The heart of the man, but the body of a devil." Ryo explained slowly, allowing Akira to process the information. "Devilman."
"Devilman..." Akira repeated to himself, looking down to the floor. The term seemed to roll of his tongue easily, with a sense of familiarity that Akira couldn't quite place. Ryo let out a faint choking noise, which made the half-demon raise his head back up with suspicion. It was uncharacteristic of him, but was Ryo... laughing?
Akira's blank expression turned into one of a scowl as he prompted Ryo to let him in on whatever joke the genius professor had running through his brain. "Don't you remember Devilman?" No longer trying to hide his smile, Ryo tilted his head slightly to the side and elaborated. "That old show we used to watch in kindergarten."
The devilman had to turn away from his best friend's smug glare, feeling the embarrassment rise up to his face. "You've got to be fucking kidding me..."
"Would you like me to have some tiny black briefs made for when you transform?" Ryo teased. He was fully aware of the power he held over Akira with this joke, and how long it would take for Akira to finally think of a good comeback.
"DON'T YOU DARE!" Akira snapped back, although there was more defeat in his voice than animosity. He'd just prayed that Ryo grew tired of the joke quickly.
"If we're going to call you the savior of humanity, perhaps you should call out your attacks." Ryo said as he watched Akira stuff his face with the meat he'd had his personal assistant bring in. "It would help bystanders know to get out of the way, if any were unfortunate enough to get close during a fight."
With his hunger partially sated, Akira now took the time to pause and actually listen to Ryo, downing a mouthful of food before responding. He may have had the body of a demon now, but he could still maintain decent manners. "What are you talking about? I thought you said the demons were trying to be discreet about killing humans."
"I'm only thinking out loud, however, it would look good in the video footage." Ryo raised a hand up to his own chin, the same blank expression as always. Akira didn't see the point behind Ryo's proposal, and turned his gaze back to the platter of meat.
"When I was fighting those demons, it was like my brain completely shut down. I didn't even have the foresight to think about my next attack, let alone call it out for other people to get out of the way." Akira muttered grimly, hoping he had more control over himself when he had to fight next.
Ryo hummed as Akira began eating again. "What a shame. And here I thought you were supposed to be a superhero, Devilman." Akira nearly choked, and had to gently punch himself in the chest a few times to swallow his food.
"CAN YOU LET THE OLD DEVILMAN SHIT GO ALREADY?" Satisfied with his teasing, Ryo turned back to his laptop, leaving Akira with a disgusted look on his face. Even after all the horrific shit they'd seen in the past 24 hours, Akira was beginning to wonder if he was dragged into this demon hunting mess solely to be the butt of Ryo's jokes.
Smugness was now radiating off of Ryo like a ray of warmth, and Akira had to pinch the bridge of his nose to hold himself back from punching his friend. "Or what? You'll spank me with your belt?"
"THAT'S IT. I'M DONE. I'M LEAVING." Akira shot up from the armchair and stomped away from Ryo's bed before the other could realize how red Akira's already tan face had become. Ryo craned his head to watch Akira leave, shaking his head with pride.
Akira flicked his dripping wet hair back from his forehead, swimming in place as he watched his pasty nerd of a best friend glare back at him. Akira may not have been so great with his verbal comebacks, but he felt like this was a just revenge for all the shit Ryo was giving him recently. Besides, Akira couldn't remember the last time they'd really had fun together.
"You're always on that dumb computer. I bet you're not even working half of the time, you're just rewatching Devilman to find new ways to make fun of me."
"So what if I am?" The sheer audacity Ryo had to actually admit it left Akira struggling to stay afloat as he burst into laughter. He'd expected Ryo to call him an idiot and coldly deny it, but lately, the things that came out of the prodigal anthropologist's mouth always managed to surprise Akira.
"You totally are, aren't you?!" Akira had calmed down from his laughing fit to look back to the blonde, only a poker-face and a pair of raised eyebrows challenging Akira to make another snide comment. "Take this, devil arrow!" Akira accepted, his grin widening as splashed Ryo in the face.
Ryo spluttered as the water hit him, trying to paddle back from Akira, as difficult as it was with one of his legs weighing twice as much as it normally would have, due to his injury. "Wait a second, was that bike you got me just a shitty Devilman joke too?" Akira asked as Ryo stabilized himself by leaning against the edge of the pool.
"No, you're just not legally allowed to drive a car yet, and it's hard for me to drive with a broken leg. Speaking of which, can we go back inside now?" Ryo replied with increasing bitterness in his voice. He could practically see the gears turning in Akira's head as he looked down to the cast on Ryo's leg and let out a soft 'oh'.