Hey, All! To everyone who reviewed my first/ previous HataMaou fic, thank you very much! Here's another offering set around volume 12/13. Again, because I have only read spoilers regarding these volumes, inconsistencies might appear. For this, I ask for your understanding. :)

Title: Demon King and Hero, Inching Closer to an Understanding
Rating: K+
Word Count: 1884
Warnings and Notes: OOC-ness, probably. I'm not entirely sure. Again, Acies-Ara does not exist here. Or well, we could all just pretend that like Alas=Ramus, she was asleep during this time. I wrote this at around 12 midnight and I have no beta-reader, so consider yourself amply warned. xD
Disclaimer: Hataraku Maou-Sama!/The Devil Is a Part-Timer and its characters belong to Satoshi Wagahara

Emi wondered how things became like this.

For the past week, she had been clinging to Maou's side whenever she could in an attempt to avoid interaction with her mother, Laylah. If anyone told her that this would happen a few months ago, she would have laughed first, and then maybe punch the person in the gut, before saying that it was a bad joke that should never be repeated.

But this was not a joke, and recently, Emi realized that she didn't exactly hate the idea of clinging to Maou.

"Emi, your mother is out. You probably won't even encounter her today," Maou explained to her as patiently as he could.

"I-I know that! But on the off-chance that she arrives earlier—"

"Then at that point, you can just go home."

Having been cut off, Emi stayed quiet. He had a point, and she could not think of anything to say to rebuke him. She casted her eyes downwards and moved to the opposite side of the table. She sat down and drew in a breath.

Why was she even at Villa Rosa Sasazuka?

"Where are the others?"

"Ashiya's out to stock up on groceries. And Urushihara, said something about a game development forum. I'm just refreshed to see him out of the fortress at this point. Suzuno… I'm not sure where she went."

"Hmm."

At that moment, someone called from outside the door.

"Maou? Anyone home?" A new voice said from outside room 201.

Emi stiffened, recognizing the voice.

Maou, also realizing who was outside the door, looked at Emi at the corner of his eyes. Sighing, he stood up and moved towards Emi, having already resigned to the fact that despite her big words, she did not have the resolve to have a serious talk with her mother just yet. And to be honest, Maou could not really blame her. Being raised like a weapon and finding out that your mother had a hand in most of the things that happened, he could only imagine the turmoil inside her.

Even after telling her that she should go home if ever Laylah arrives, he could not just drive her away.

"Hey," He whispered, squatting down beside her, scratching the back of his head.

"W-What?" Emi whispered back.

"If you're not ready to talk to her, that's fine. Relax."

"I-I'm fine."

From the way things looked, Maou could see that Emi was not at all relaxed. Seeing this, he took her wrist.

"!"

"Wait a second!" Maou shouted through the door so Laylah could hear him. He then gestured for Emi to hold on to the bottom hem of his sleeve.

"Just follow me."

"I-It's not like I need to."

"Right," He said knowingly as they both stood up. Even though Emi pretended to hate it, she still held onto his sleeves.

They walked towards the door and Maou opened it.

"I almost thought no one was ho—oh my. Did I interrupt something?" Laylah asked as soon as she saw Emi behind Maou, a playful smile showing on her face.

"What are you talking about? Anyway, Emi's here so no negotiations can be done."

Emi, who was avoiding Laylah's eyes casted her eyes downwards.

"Emilia, are you sure holding onto Maou-kun's sleeves is a good idea?"

"It was his idea!"

"Oh my, Maou."

"Aah, shut up! If you need anything besides the negotiations, just come in!" Maou said, stepping to the side so Laylah could go in.

"Ah, no, that's fine, I'm gonna take my leave," Laylah replied, her eyes finding her daughter as she forced a smile.

Maou furrowed his eyebrows. Even though he was the one who said he didn't want to be involved in any of their quarrels or conversations, he was slightly irritated because Laylah was not even trying to talk to her daughter properly.

But he also understood that there were things that should not be hurried.

"Ugh, what is it with you mother and daughter!" He muttered under his breath.

"Hmm? Anyway, take care of Emilia for me," Laylah said, giving Maou a wink.

"What does that even mean?"

Emi, who had been quiet, suddenly said, "I'm just fine. I don't need him to—"

"I know. You're really strong," Laylah said softly and smiled, and Maou thought that there was a hint of sadness behind it.

"I'll be going now!" Laylah added cheerfully afterwards and turned to leave.

"H-hey—Aah! Seriously, the both of you are so stubborn. Proves you are related," Maou huffed before closing the door behind him. He turned his head to look at Emi, who was looking at the ground like it just became ten times more interesting.

"Emi," He said.

When he didn't get a reply from her, he turned his body so that he's fully facing her, twisting his sleeve in the process.

"Hey, Emi!" He called a little louder, gently removing her hand from his sleeve.

Surprised at the sudden warmth from his hand, Emi looked up.

"S-Sorry," She said weakly as she made her way back to sit by the low table.

Maou wasn't sure why, but seeing Emi like this was making him irritated. He wasn't sure where this irritation is coming from, nor was he sure to what or to whom this irritation was directed to. All he knew is that he found himself not liking seeing her like this.

Maou drew in a breath as he rubbed his temples, letting himself calm down.

Making his way to the table as well, he asked, "Is Alas=Ramus still sleeping?"

"…Yes."

Now Maou also didn't know how things became like this.

For the past week, Emi had been clinging to him whenever she could in an attempt to avoid interaction with her mother, Laylah. If anyone told him that this would happen a few months ago, he would have laughed first, and then maybe kicked the person's ass, before saying that their sense of humor was flawed and needed fixing.

But this was not a joke, and Maou realized that he was already too used to having Emi by his side.

"Good," Maou said, sitting down beside her.

The Hero, obviously surprised that the Demon King willingly chose the seat beside her, looked at him in surprise.

Maou had his head turned to the other side so that Emi could not see the expression on his face. He scratched his cheek using his index finger and said, "While I definitely recommend talking things over with your mother as soon as possible… As a Demon King, I also have the duty of making sure my generals are in their best state of mind."

Emi just looked at him, not entirely sure where Maou was going with this.

"I also have a responsibility to look after my subordinates. And you're a Demon General now so..." He trailed, looking up as he tried to come up with the least embarrassing set of words to say to her.

"…"

"So… Just… Take your ti—"

"Heh… Hehe."

Maou, disturbed by the sudden sound that came from Emi, immediately turned his head to look at her. With her face away from him, one hand covering her mouth, the other settled on her stomach, he could only see her partially hunched back, showing tremors in an uneven pace.

He narrowed his eyes.

"O-Oi! Are you—are you seriously laughing at me?!"

"I-I'm… s-sorry—" Emi trailed, finally giving in to the laughter she could no longer hold.

For about half a minute, the sound of Emi's laughter filled Room 201 of Villa Rosa Sasazuka.

"S-Seriously… I was even trying to be considerate here," Maou mumbled under his breath, sulking as he prepared to stand up and move to the opposite side of the table.

But as soon as he stood up, warmth enveloped his right hand. Surprised, he glanced down at the hand now holding his own.

"I-I'm sorry," Emi started, huffing as she finally stifled her laughter.

"I just… It was just you were so serious," She continued, her eyes flickering because of the tears from her fit of laughter.

"…"

Her hand still on his, Emi drew in a breath in a final bid to calm herself down.

"Erm… T-Thank you."

Growing more and more agitated as different feelings kept on hitting him in full force, Maou couldn't help but shift his gaze away from Emi.

"O-Ou."

Emi, realizing that she had been holding his hand, suddenly let go.

As soon as Emi let go of his hand, he quickly moved to the opposite end of the table. He let his eyes wander as he could not bring himself to look at Emi.

"S-Still, that was too funny!" She said and laughed awkwardly in a bid to dispel the uncomfortable atmosphere surrounding them.

Because he could not handle it anymore, Maou slapped both his cheeks with his hands and cleared his throat.

"Eh. Even though I was trying to say that you should take your time, don't take too long! I can't have you hanging around me all the time much longer!"

"It's because of the stupid rules you made!"

"Ha?! Who would have thought you're stubborn enough to choose me over your mother!"

"Don't say it like I like being with you!"

"I didn't say that!"

"I just chose the less awkward choice!"

"This is less awkward?"

And just like that, the two continued to argue needlessly, taking refuge at the fact that they could always turn to this to avoid confronting their own feelings. At the back of their minds, their peaceful life in Japan was like this after all—with them spouting out things they didn't really mean while trying to repair the walls in their hearts that a lot of unnecessary feelings were starting to unravel.

Now, no one really knew how things ended up like this.

For the past few months, the Demon King and The Hero have spent a considerable amount of time with each other, even more so this past week because of the circumstances forced by the appearance of an angel called Laylah. If anyone told Alciel, Bell, and Lucifer that these things would happen a few months ago, Alciel would have fired green energy projectiles at this person, Bell would have used her large hammer to threaten him, and Lucifer would have… shrugged it off. And then all of them would say that said person should learn a thing or two about humor.

But none of these was a joke and although none of them would dare to say it out loud at this point, the other residents of Villa Rosa Sasazuka have personally borne witness to how the Demon King and the Hero have been slowly reaching an unspoken understanding.

After peeking through one of the windows from the outside, Alciel, Bell and Lucifer crouched down, and in incredibly hushed voices, discussed their plan of action.

"A-At what timing should we go in? We should make our presence known before Emilia finds us here…"

"Maou-sama, I know that you have appointed her as new demon general but…"

"Who cares, let's just go in."

"Maou-sama…"

"Alciel, stop whining and lead us in!"

"I'm hungry…"

At the very least, the three of them agreed to not tell any of these to Chiho.

Now, I'm not sure how to feel about this one. Everything looked and sounded better in my head. Hope they weren't too out of character. xD

If you have the time, do drop a review to let me know what you think. :)

- Eri