Ex-V: I hope you like it!

Emi stormed into the Mgronalds, scowling, glaring across the counter at Maou, who was taking orders at the Cash register. When he refused to take a second, in between customers, to speak with her, she took a place in line, fuming.

When it was finally her turn, she stood in front of Maou, foot tapping impatiently, arms crossed.

Maou sighed, aggravated. "Make it quick. You're holding up the line."

"Oh, Sure, I'll be quick-" She snapped, poking him in the chest. "How about our daughter needs you for a parent-teacher conference tonight?"

He twitched, momentarily caught off guard, but regained his compose, and his eyes narrowed. "I know that. I'll be there-"

She glared at him, turning away ever so slightly, suspicious. "You knew? Is that right? How come it wasn't on your calendar when I checked this morning? "

He ground his teeth, but had no reply.

"Eight PM-!" She hissed. "Be there! I need you! And you're lucky I came by, I knew you weren't capable of handling something this simple-"

"Right. Now, the door is over there-" He glared at her, irritated, veins pulsing in his temple. "Since I know you aren't capable of finding it on your own-"

(That night, At the parent teacher conference)

"So…Given all this trouble in the classroom…" Alas=Rasmus' teacher looked slightly nervous. "We…We were just wondering how her home situation is…?"

Maou and Emi stared at the teacher, clueless.

"How…How are things in your home?" The teacher reiterated, clearly uncomfortable with the obvious tension between the Demon king and Hero.

"It's fine." Maou glared over at Emi, after a moment.

"Maybe it would improve if someone helped out with the chores once in a while-!" Emi snapped back. "Maybe help me cook or clean…At least wash your own filthy briefs-"

Maou drummed his fingers on the desk, grinning, annoyed. "Sure, sure, wouldn't want to trouble you…After all, I'm only working for both of us, making all the money, while you sit at home watching Cops and reading 50 Shades of Grey-"

The teacher coughed, interrupting them. "Now…This sort of thing…These issues do regularly arise between married couples-"

Maou and Emi turned, as one, gaping, towards the teacher, silent.

"Okay, what-?" Maou began, blown away, twitching.

"That's not the case." Emi said, flatly, disgusted. "We don't even like each other."

"We hate each other-"

The teacher looked, erupting in a cold sweat, from Maou, to Emi, and back. "I…I see…In that case, perhaps you two shouldn't have…had a child together?"

There was a moment of painful silence, as Maou turned to Emi, and the Hero's poignant glare at him forced him to say. "Yes…Well…We're young, as you can tell…Mistakes do happen…"

Emi sniffed, crossing her arms, turning to the teacher. "Oh, do they ever. I assure you, if it wasn't for our daughter…"

"We'd have nothing to do with each other." Maou finished, dead serious. "I'd probably have killed her already."

"Oh, shut up! I could kill you anytime, and you know it-!"

"Try me, bitch! I'll light you up right here-"

The teacher, terrified, folded her hands on the desk. "Yes…Yes, well…It's good that you two can put aside your differences…for your daughter's sake…Uh…"

Maou and Emi sighed, in unison, turning back to the kindergarten teacher.

"Can I…Can I count on you two to help Alas=Rasmus with her homework, and to keep her attendance record straight-?"

"Yes." Emi pointed over at Maou, frustrated. "I just want you to know, in advance, that this idiot fucks everything up, and I'm completely free of responsibility-"

"Free of responsibility is right," Maou snorted, unimpressed. "Try actually working, help me pay some bills-"

(That night)

"You have to stay the night-" Emi sighed, clearly displeased, wandering silently out of Alas=Rasmus' room. "She insisted."

Maou groaned. "That's the third time this week…What If I had plans?"

"They're cancelled, that's what-" Emi snapped, impatient. "Don't take too long."

She turned on her heels, and vanished back into their daughter's room, after a moment. Maou shook his head, defeated, and fished around in his backpack for a pair of striped pajamas, changing quietly, making his way over to the little girl's door.

"D-Daddy…?" Alas=Rasmus whispered, from the bed, as he stepped into the dark room.

Maou smiled, warmly, as he approached the bed, where Emi was laying, holding the little girl, on the leftmost side. The Demon king climbed under the sheets to his daughter's right. "Yes, Sweetheart. I'm here."

"I was scared today, Daddy…" Alas=Rasmus' voice trembled. Maou felt his eyes cloud over, as fury built, instantly, inside him.

"Who scared you, hun?" He tried to keep his voice even, looking over at Emi, who shrugged her shoulders, silent.

"A pretty lady…" Alas=Rasmus' face contorted, as she did her best to remember. "Wearing white…?"

Emi tugged the little girl closer to herself, hugging her daughter, and Maou set himself as close to them as possible, pulling the sheets up around the three of them. As the demon king and the hero cuddled their daughter tightly between them, while she drifted off to sleep in their arms, Maou whispered. "It's okay, sweety. Nobody will ever hurt you…"

(The next morning, 6 Am)

Alas=Rasmus woke up early, before both her parents, and crawled up out of the bed, out from between them, stepping down onto the cold floor, heading for the bathroom. Maou and Emi, who were left behind, on her bed, unconsciously pulled themselves closer together, cuddling each other, without the buffer of their daughter between them.

They both slept on, blissfully unaware; until Maou, half asleep, adjusted the covers, and wrapped his arms around Emi, pulling her into him. She sighed, happily, groggy, still mostly sleeping, and, a moment later, she nuzzled her face into his chest, dreamily, and wound her legs into his, so that they were wrapped up in each other.

"Good morning-!" A cheerful, ringing voice filled the room. Maou and Emi's eyes snapped open, and they sat up, abruptly, still tangled up in one another. A tall, beautiful woman, draped in flowing white robes, stood, smiling, down at them, at the head of the bed, and, as two massive, majestic white wings unfurled from her back, the demon king and the Hero were so shocked they didn't even notice that they were clinging to one another .

"Good morning!" The angel said again, almost singing, voice echoing joyously.

"W-Who…?" Emi gaped, as Maou just watched, speechless, and Alas=Rasmus wandered into the room from outside. "Who are you-?"

"Mommy! Daddy! Look, the pretty lady!" The toddler gaped, pointing excitedly at the intruder. "In white!"

"Oh, My beautiful daughter…It warms my heart so to see you like this-!" The angel hummed, clearly thrilled. "My beautiful daughter!"

Maou raised an eyebrow, turning to Emi, who was just watching, slack jawed.

"M-Mom…?!"

"Yes, my beautiful daughter! I am your mother, Eluciel, from heaven…Look, I have come to collect you and your lover, the world needs you-!"

Emi's eyes darkened all at once. "My…My lover-?!"

The angel, confused, tilted her head, pointing down at Maou and Emi, who were still wrapped up in the sheets, wound tightly together, holding each other. Emi's leg was in between his, and his arms were around her.

The Hero shrieked, shoving him backwards, flushed, and Maou staggered back, alarmed, but before they could say another word, The Angel snapped her fingers and a flash of light overwhelmed them.

By the time Maou could see again, the angel, Emi and Alas=Rasmus were sitting, in a circle, in a white room, at a huge table. A man in black sunglasses, wearing a white suit stepped in through a door on the room's far side.

"Yes, Please take care of their daughter for me, Ergiel-" The angel gestured, shimmering, at Alas=Rasmus, and the man picked the Yesod Fragment up, carrying her away.

"Where…Where are you taking her, Mom-?" Emi sounded a bit winded, clearly taken aback. "And…What's…what's all this?"

The angel smiled, standing up, before pacing the length of the table, around them. "Oh, my beautiful daughter…I'm so glad to see you found a good man. As I expected, He's really something…Worthy of you-!"

Maou coughed. "I…I think there's been a misunderstanding-"

The angel ignored him summarily. "My Daughter, the world needs you…All of earth is in grave danger-!"

Emi, breathless, unable to take her eyes off her divine parent, blinked. "You…need my help?"

"I need both of you."

Maou frowned, annoyed. "Take me back to earth, then. I need to gather demonic power, or I won't be much use…"

"All in good time, king of demons-" The angel sat back down, smiling. "Let me explain…"

(Ten minutes later)

"That's right-" The angel rubbed a nail file across her fingernails. "Once every few thousand years, this competition is held. The contestants belong to one of two worlds; You will battle against representatives from a parallel universe."

Maou rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Another Dimension?"

"That's right. The fate of everything you know is at stake, so... Last time your world lost, was during Noah's reign, and…Well…" The angel grimaced. "I think you're familiar with the consequences of that, right?"

Emi rocked back, shook, in her chair. "The flood? You're saying the last contest took place in antediluvian times?"

"Not quite." Emi's mom shrugged. "Last time, your world was victorious, When Christ walked the Earth. The time before that was Noah's defeat."

Maou struggled to absorb this new information. "Why…Why us?"

The Angel popped up out of her seat, excitedly. "The contest is waged and decided by the most powerful couple in each world. Of course, I knew I would volunteer my daughter; Surely, she and her man would be the best suited to fierce competition? Imagine my delight when I found out that she was the Demon King's consort-!"

Maou choked, and Emi squeaked. "C-Consort?!" She stammered. "Wait, let's get one thing straight here-"

But Eluciel was having none of it. "Of course, when I looked down on the world, to check on you, Emi, I was thrilled. You and the Demon King must be the most powerful couple in the history of the event! There's no way you can lose, with your combined abilities-!"

Maou held his head, thoughts swimming. "What…What happens if we do lose-?"

Eluciel's eyes clouded over. "Oh, well…That would be disastrous, of course. The world would end, certainly…Perhaps worse-"

"Worse…?" Emi's voice was no more than a whisper.

"That's right! So please win-" The Angel tottered back over to her seat, but didn't sit down. "On another note, you'll have to be engaged to officially compete, so if you haven't reached that stage in your relationship yet…Please do so-!"

Maou opened his mouth, presumably to retort, presumably to deny having any sort of romantic relationship to the Hero, but thoughts of the apocalypse silenced him. He closed his mouth again, after a moment of silence, lost in thought.

Emi glanced over at him, dizzied, before looking up at her mother. "C-Can…Can we have a few minutes…to decide?"

The angel glowed. "Of course-!"

Silence, as mother and daughter stared at each other for a moment.

"Can we…Have a few minutes alone to decide?" Emi sighed, defeated. "As…As a couple-?" She added, grudgingly, wincing, as if saying so caused her physical pain.

Eluciel nodded vigorously. "Oh, of course! Naturally, naturally…I'll be back in ten minutes, alright-?" Before Emi or Maou could say a word, she vanished in a puff of curling smoke.

Silence, dead silence in the room, as Maou turned, shaky, to Emi, who was trembling in her seat, slightly red.

"S-So…." She started.

"So…" Maou began, weakly. "No fucking way, right?"

Emi twitched. "We have to! We have to, right-?"

Maou groaned. "Yeah."

"W-we…we have to…" Emi said again, disbelieving.

"If we don't, the world ends?" Maou shook his head.

"Wait…N-Not necessarily!" Emi was practically stumbling over her words, completely overwhelmed. "If we don't compete…Some other couple will take the job…"

"A real couple." Maou added, as an afterthought.

"The second most powerful couple…"

"The next most powerful couple…?" The Demon king wondered, listlessly. "Who would that even be…?"

Emi held her head. "Alciel and Rika?"

Maou laughed. "They would be…They would be way less powerful than we are."

"Incomparably less powerful." Emi agreed, after a moment

Maou nodded. "They would be less suited to the competition. Who knows by how much."

Emi felt her cheeks redden, ever so slightly, just thinking about what accepting this would entail. "By a lot. Even…Even mom said there's no way we can lose if we…together…" Emi looked away, painfully aware of the heat in her face.

"Right." Maou felt his heart turn, feeling strange. "It's our responsibility. How can we pass this off, probably dooming the universe, knowing that we could save the world-?"

"R-Right!" Emi snapped around, agreeing instantly. "So…So…We'll do it."

"We'll…Do it." Maou nodded, lamely.

"We…" Emi blushed, faintly, staring over at him. "We have to pretend…That we're engaged."

Maou sighed. "That's right."

Silence.

"Are you really okay with that-?" Maou watched her carefully.

"Y-Yes!" Emi flushed. "For the sake of the world? Yes!"

(Fifteen minutes later)

"Oh, I was so happy to hear that you'd compete-!" Eluciel walked Maou and Emi down a long white hallway, practically skipping. "You're sure to win, now!"

"Can you take me back to Earth for a second-?" Maou sighed, flatly, following the angel, not nearly as excited. "I need to fill my demonic powers-"

"In a minute, In a minute-!" The woman in white stopped, fishing around in her robes for a key, in front of a massive set of white doors. "Let me show you your room."

Eluciel produced a shimmering card, before sliding the double doors open, revealing a stunning bedchamber covered in marble statues with a fantastic view of the oceans on earth.

Emi wandered around, in a daze, stopping next to the massive, four poster king size bed. "Do I get a room like this too?"

The angel laughed, a brilliant, chuckling giggle. "Oh, you. Of course! This is your room."

Maou and Emi shared a terrified look, in silence, before glancing down at the single bed.

"Now, this may seem redundant, my beautiful daughter, but…" Eluciel crossed her arms, leaning on a wall. "Security will drop by to check in on you during the night. It goes without saying that you need to be sharing the bed…"

Emi choked, flushed, and Maou groaned.

Ignoring them, the Angel sauntered over to the balcony, stepping up onto the ledge. "Now, Maou! Let me take you down to Earth to refill your powers…"

(An hour later)

"So…" Maou did his best to make small talk, slightly intimidated by the ancient looking judge, seated on a massive podium, far above. "Can you tell us anything about our opponents…?"

The judge frowned, nose crinkling up. "Your opponents? You aren't here for that." The old angel continued rustling papers around on his desk, largely ignoring them.

Emi sighed. "It would really help…Anything at all?"

The Ancient looking angel tossed a finished contract down from his podium to them, and Maou snapped it out of midair, taking a moment to appraise it, while Emi shuffled over, to stand beside him, peering over his shoulder.

"That document will verify your participation in the competition as the couple from Dimension 1."

Maou shared a brief look with the Hero, before shrugging, unwilling to read through the paragraphs and sidebars of tiny script. "Do you have a pen?" He called up to the Angel sitting far above them.

"You will sign in your own blood, of course."

Emi nodded, producing a small knife to lance her finger with. After pressing a drop of blood to the parchment under her name, she passed the knife and paper to Maou, who followed suit.

"Very good." The Judge's booming voice echoed in the enormous court chamber. "There is no turning back for you now…Withdrawal from the event, by either one of you, will result in the immediate disqualification of your world, and, subsequently, automatic loss in the tourney. Keep this in mind."

"As you say-" Maou was slightly annoyed. "But do you have any information on our opponents that you can share?"

The old angel sniffed. "If you must know, they're renowned as conquerors and tyrants from their home world. Together, they united a universe under a single banner, and even extended their rule from Inte Elsa to Aerth."

Maou and Emi shared a blank look. Maou chuckled. "Their versions of Ente Isla and Earth?"

Emi groaned. "That's…So corny-"

(Two hours later)

Maou and Emi were sitting, side by side, at a fireplace, with Eluciel, talking over the next day's events.

"So, as for the victory conditions…?" Maou yawned. "We just have to kill our enemies?"

Emi tilted her head. "It's possible that we can win without taking their lives-"

Eluciel looked back and forth between them, highly amused. "Kill them-?" She giggled. "Oh, heavens no. Nothing like that-"

The Demon lord and the Hero exchanged brief looks. "So…We just incapacitate them, or-?"

"No! No, Of course not. Nobody knows the events until the day of, to be fair…"

Maou felt a headache blossom in his temples. "Events-?"

"What…What kind of events?" Emi twitched.

"I have it on good information that tomorrow will be a 'best kiss' competition, but nobody knows what the day after will bring…" Eluciel counted cheerfully off on her fingers.

Dead silence. Maou felt Himself break out in a cold sweat. Emi's mouth opened and closed ineffectively, face heating up.

"K-Kissing contest-?!"

(That night, In Maou and Emi's room)

"Kill me…" Emi sighed, cradling her head.

Maou growled, feet up in a chair next to the bed. "Remind me, why did we agree to this?"

"I….you…!" Emi's head snapped up, desperately. "I thought…!"

"You thought-?!" Maou hissed, sitting up. "Well, in real life, we're supposed to compete tomorrow by having a more romantic kiss than those other-!"

Emi squeaked, bright red. "Stop! Don't! Don't talk about it-!"

"Is the problem going to vanish if we ignore it-?!" Maou stood up, furious. "We signed a contract, betting the fate of the world on this-!"

Emi groaned, flopping down onto the bed, miserable, pressing her red face into a pillow. "What…What have we done…."

Maou stared down at her, silent, for a moment, feeling a strange twinge in his heart, at the thought of what they were going to do tomorrow, whether they liked it or not. He sighed, after a moment, and sat, gently, down on the bed, next to her.

"Do you want to…" he couldn't believe what he was about to say, tilting his head. "Practice?"

Her head snapped up, furiously red. "What?!"

Silence. She gaped at him, blushing, and he stared back, rubbing the bridge of his nose, still unable to believe what he'd said.

She trembled, desperate to say something, anything. "I…You…!" She stammered. "You…want to kiss me…More times than absolutely necessary-?"

He scowled. "I don't want the planet to be destroyed."

"You…want to kiss me! More times than absolutely necessary-!"

He shook his head, wildly, defensive, struggling to acknowledge that whatever the reason, he did want to kiss her more times than absolutely necessary. "Listen, do you really want the first time you kiss me to be in front of a panel of judges-?!"

"I don't think I want to kiss you at all-!" She snapped, breathless, bright red.

They fell asleep, silently, fuming, as far from each other on the bed as they could get.

(The next day)

Somehow, Maou and Emi woke up tangled up in each other. Somehow, during the night, they had attached themselves to each other, and were cuddling when Emi woke up.

Now, they were standing, on a podium, In the middle of a huge arena, on what appeared to be a television game show set, standing across from A tall Man with long black hair, and a girl with short purple hair.

Their opponents.

Maou and Emi refused to look at each other.

"Now-!" An announcer's voice boomed, thunderous, from an unseen position near the top of the Arena, out over the crowd. "We'll introduce our contestants!"

The Man with long Black hair waved to the crowd, to roaring cheers and applause.

"From the Second Dimension, Emporer Neth and Empress Fuori, Engaged seven decades ago, who forged a massive country from the conquered ruins of their former home worlds-!" The announcer screamed, and the crowd screamed with him.

Emporer Neth bowed, and his girlfriend curtsied, grinning over at Maou and Emi, who still were not looking in each others directions.

"From the First Dimension, Maou, King of Demons and Wickedness, and his Fiancée, The Hero Emilia! It's no exaggeration to claim that these two represent the sum of the forces of Good and Evil!"

Maou Smirked for the crowd, drawing Demonic power up around him, Donning his Horns and mantle, despite retaining his human form. Emilia Summoned her Holy Armor and Sacred sword, flourishing it for the crowd; The audience ate it all up, thrilled.

"The Two Couples will approach each other, and shake hands, to begin the first day's event!"

Maou and Emi stalked into the middle of the ring, still on edge, to greet Neth and Fuori.

"This doesn't have to happen." The king of Demons crossed his arms, hoping to scare his opponents away. "We have no desire to destroy your world."

Neth grinned, furious. "Oh, this is long overdue, King of hell. My family has been preparing me for this day since your Jesus Christ scoured our world two thousand years ago-"

Fuori smirked. "That's right. When we win, we're adding your world's population to our regime; as slave labor-"

Emi scowled. "If that's how you want it, we'll show no mercy-"

Neth laughed. "Really? You two don't even look very comfortable together."

Maou twitched. "Don't worry about us. Good luck." He shook hands with the foreign emperor, glaring across at him, while Emi held Fuori's hand for a moment, before turning away, sniffing, haughty.

The Demon king and Emilia took their places on their podium again, by their side of the arena, and Emi immediately poured herself a drink at the small bar located there.

Maou watched, calculating, as the announcer called for Neth and Fuori to kiss first. The Emperor swept his empress up into his arms, grinning, and set his lips on hers, passionately. Fuori reacted, dramatically, leaning into him, and Maou scowled. They really did have a lot of chemistry, and were clearly in legitimate love.

The crowd was really into it, cheering along, and Maou watched the Judges, up on a panel by the crowd, deliberating. The announcer added his two cents. "What love! What fire!"

The emperor and empress pulled apart, smirking, and stared over at their opponents.

"Maou and Emilia, It's your turn-!" The announcer cried, and the Demon king turned, full of trepidation, to the hero.

Emi was blushing, furiously, but stared up into Maou's eyes, unwilling to look away. "Do…Do your worst…" She hissed, after a moment, glaring at him, somehow slightly excited.

Maou stepped towards her, grinning, twitching. "Just so you know, I'm going to try to fucking kill you-"

Her eyes flashed, and Maou's eyes flashed red, and he grabbed her, pulling her into him, savagely pressing his lips on hers, forcing himself into her mouth, wrestling her tongue down, pushing her backwards. She gasped, bright red, in between his lip locks, squeaking, but found her strength and resolve after a moment, and her hair shimmered, becoming brilliant white, as holy power coursed through her, and she pressed him backwards, going up onto her tippy toes, slamming him into the wall behind them, taking control of the kiss.

Maou, after a moment of silent disbelief, grinned, and called his demonic powers up into himself, filling himself with evil strength, maintaining his human form. The Demon King grabbed Emi's ass in both hands, pulling her up, off the ground, into him, before turning, and slamming her down onto the bar, his tongue finding hers. She squealed, involuntarily, when their lips separated for a moment, but he was relentless, and kissed her again; her back arched, and she felt him grinding into her, between her legs; heat filled her body, filled her head, between her legs…Somehow, she was losing it, as he licked her cheek, then bit her neck. She gasped, restless, and rubbed her crotch on him as he locked their lips together again. Totally lost in each other, They were entirely unaware of the passage of time, and the silence in the crowd, and the silence of the announcer.

After a moment, the announcer cried "Is this a kiss, or a wrestling match?! What incredible passion..!"

Maou and Emi both became Very aware of themselves, at the exact same time, Maou with his body pressing into hers, through their clothes, and Emi with her arms and Legs wrapped around him, lips locked.

"The judges have spoken! The Event Is called, unanimously, In favor of Maou and Emilia-!"

The crowd howled for them.

"One Point to Maou and Emilia! One to Nothing!"

Ex-V: I hope you had fun! Let me know what you think-If you want, I'll post the next chapter later tonight or tomorrow morning! See you in Chapter Two!