Part 1

Several hours ago….

Somewhere deep within a dark forest a black shadow cut past the trees at lightening speed. The moving person was no more than a blur and it would be impossible to spot him, given how dim the surroundings were. Even the small forest critters did not notice that 'something' or 'someone' had crossed them - they felt nothing more than a strong breeze blowing.

“Let go of me!!! Let go of me!!! Do you hear?” Shin-chan shouted out with all his might as he tried to wriggle free from the pervert’s grip. Shin didn’t understand why but the strange man suddenly grabbed him and began running through the hilly forest. However, Shin wanted to no part of this all. He had just sent his loyal servant to dutifully find a new castle. If his loyal servant were to return and not find his Master, his loyal servant would needlessly panic. Shin had many things he needed to do, including find food for the night etc. With him being ‘taken’ like this, how would he get anything done?

Unsurprisingly, the thought ‘brazen kidnapping’ never occurred to Shin-kun. To be specific, Shin did not know what was kidnapping. As Maou-sama there was never a need for him to require underhanded tactics such as kidnapping. As Maou-sama, there only existed two paths - kill or be killed. Therefore, the actions of this stranger only confused Shin.

*Mmmmm!!* *Mmmmm!!* *Mmmmm!!* Shin tried to scream out loud when the strange man covered Shin’s mouth with his one free hand. Thus, preventing Shin from screaming. No matter how much Shin tried, he could not get more than a muffled voice out. Furthermore, the grip on his mouth and body were firm as ever. No amount of struggle could free him.

Shin had heard about such people from his servant, Okasan. She had warned him several times to avoid strangers, especially men that he didn’t know. She told him that in the human realm there were many men who would kidnap and eat up small children. However, Tomo told Shin that Okasan was lying. Shin was cursing his luck for not paying heed to Okasan’s words of wisdom and trusting the stupid Tomo. Agreeing with Tomo at the time, Shin had laughed off his Okasan’s advise – humans eating other humans; a bedtime human story…hahahaha…

However, now that Shin had been caught, he was having second thoughts. This man appeared to be a complete lunatic – he was talking to himself before. Further, he was dressed oddly. Shin had met many humans over the past few years but he never met anyone dressed so strangely. The man also had paint over his face, making his appearance even more frightening in the darkness.

Shin knew he had no choice, for better or for worse, he had to escape. If this mad stranger was exactly as his mother described cannibalistic strangers – it was highly likely that he would be eaten tonight. This would certainly be a tragic end of the Demon Lord – the most pathetic ending. Shin was determined to escape this mad stranger’s grip.

But how? No matter how much Shin tried, it was impossible to break free from the man’s grip….just like how Tomo and Otosan wrestle sometimes….but Tomo manages to escape because he starts biting Otosan. Although, Shin disliked Tomo’s poor tactics in wrestling, Shin swallowed his pride for now.

*Bite* Shin dug his canines as deep as he could into the man’s hand.

“OOOUCCHH YOU DAMN MONGREL!!” The mad stranger, yelled out loudly as he shook his hand to throw of Shin. As they were traversing at high speeds, Shin hit the ground with a full force. Upon impact a lot of dirt was thrown up in the air. Shin then rolled several times on the ground – his entire outfit was completely covered in dirt.

Argh – Okasan hates dirty clothes. Shin thought to himself as he rolled on the ground. Although, Shin didn’t realize it, he didn’t have to worry about Okasan getting angry since he ran away from home. However, this thought never struck Shin. Shin slowly stood up, surprisingly he was unhurt. His clothes were soiled but other than that he took no damage.

“I am going to kill you, stupid human child! No one in a million years has dared to bite me!” The mad man shouted out.

Shin began trembling; the killing intent with each word was intense. This man was no pushover. Gulping down his fears, a meek voice made it way through Shin’s tiny throat. “Haha….if a bite like that can hurt you, what would you do if a dragon bit you?”

For a ‘normal’ person, Shin’s reply would make no sense. What does a fictional creature’s bite have to do with a human’s bite? Furthermore, there was no solid line of reasoning in Shin-kun’s argument. Anyone ‘normal’ would have dismissed Shin’s sentence as silly and nonsensical gibberish. However, this would only apply to someone ‘normal’. The mad-stranger, in front of Shin actually paused to think of a reply.

“Hmmmmm…..Why would a dragon bite me?” He asked as he gazed at Shin-chan. Previously, he had laid his eyes on Shin from a distance – while distracted by the ‘natural’ ambiance. Then various events happened and he ended up carrying Shin without giving the child a second glance.

“No I am just pointing out how weak you are…” Shin began explaining as he dusted off the dirt from his clothes. Shin’s response was surprisingly absurd given his situation. Which sensible child would begin chatting with his kidnapper?

“Hahahaha…..Me weak? That is an incredible joke. A supreme being such as me, being called weak by a human child. Child you sure have guts.” The man began laughing loudly, as his voice boomed in the dark forest – several birds which were sleeping in trees were woken up and began to fly away into the sky out of fear. There was an unknown confidence, in the man's voice and words. He did not come across as an arrogant being when he spoke those words. Instead, it revealed his profound experience in life. His voice was different from before, the 'louder and deeper voice' befit him better than the voice he used when at the onsen.

“No. I am not a ….” Shin stopped in mid-sentence. Without thinking, he was about to say he is not a human when he realized that he is indeed a human with the soul of demon lord. However, as it would appear to anyone who would be meeting Shin, they would only see a human child. This thought had never occurred to Shin - mostly on account of how casual his family was about the ridiculous tales of Maou-sama. Sui would put Shin and Tomo to sleep by requesting Shin to tell a story about his - Maou-sama self. Shin never felt that he was human when he was around his family but rather the same old Maou-sama. This did not mean Shin was not cautious about revealing his identity. Shin rarely spoke about being Maou-sama to people outside the family. However, he never once thought that if he were to reveal that he is Maou-sama that they would not believe him.

That explains why shopkeeper-san doesn’t believe I am Maou-sama….it is because I look like a human! For me to have missed this blind spot! Isn’t this all because Okasan and the others are accepting of the fact that I am Maou-sama?

Sheeeshhh! To have figured this out in this situation.

“You are not what?” The man asked as he continued laughing at the thought of being labeled ‘weak’ by a tiny human child.

*GRUMBLE*

However, before Shin could reply a loud roar could be heard – it was Shin’s stomach gurgling. Shin had never skipped a meal before. As the Demon Lord, Shin would not feel hunger the way humans would. So hearing his stomach grumbling, Shin could only stare at his own stomach in wonder.

“To think human stomachs can make noises..” Shin observed as he raised his shirt up, to observe his stomach for any abnormality. If Sui were to see Shin behaving like this in front of a kidnapper she would blame only herself for bringing up such a stupid child.

“Hmmmmm…. you are hungry as well?” The man chuckled. “Come little one; let us go somewhere to eat.”

When the man was speaking, something from his back suddenly began to stick out. The back of his leather jacket tore open and two majestic black draconian wings sprouted out. They extended over a twenty feet in wing span, and were as dark and black as the night sky. The wings slowly opened up as they sprouted from the back - as though they were muscles that had not been used in a long time. A strong gush of wind pushed past shin, as the wings drew out and opened fully. Along with the sprouting of the wings, a strange aura also began to leak out.

The aura was ancient and powerful, and had it not been for the transformation, there was no way for Shin to feel it. The person in front of him, concealed his aura so perfectly, that Shin was convinced he was talking with a human.

And Okasan said there is no such things like demonic beings....foolish servant. The world is vast and limitless.

Shin watched the entire bizarre seen in shock and silence. Shin’s strength was failing him, as he felt his knees go weak. Only angels or fallen angels are beings in the shape of a human and own a pair of wings, however their wings cannot be hidden. What Shin was witnessing was definitely physical body manipulation - a high level skill. The number of creatures capable of physical transformation was few – small enough to be counted on two hands. Creatures capable of physical transformation were extremely powerful – stronger than his former self. Shin was only now beginning to understand that he had been extremely rude to a powerful creature. Soft words escaped from Shin’s mouth, “You are not a human?”

“Hmmmm, did I scare you?”

Part 2

“Name: Shinichi Yamamoto

Age: 38

Marital Status: Single (never married)

Occupation: Detective

Hobby: Solving cases

Music Interests: None

Favourite TV shows: How to get away with Murder

Sport Interests: Chasing criminals

Reading Interests: Yomiuri Shinbun (National Daily Newspaper)

….no wonder you got rejected at the Omiai, Shinichi-san. This profile is so plain. If any woman reads this she will definitely reject you. Even eighty year olds have a more interesting life than you do…” A young officer spoke as he read through the profile of his senior.

“Go find solve some real cases…” Shinichi muttered. The officer was resting against his chair, lying as horizontal as his reclining chair would allow, with his legs on the table. His voice was barely audible to his junior as there lay a newspaper on his face blocking, which prevented any light to disturb his cat-like-sleep.

“Shinichi-san….” The young junior spoke up after a while, “This was your thirty-ninth omiai….if you keep getting rejected like this you will never get married….at this rate you will never get married and then the tuxedo I bought won’t be wearable….*fake sob*….I spent a month’s salary buying that tuxedo. I was sure that this time my Sempai would get hitched….Sempai is the reason why I am living of instant ramen…*fake sob*….”

Shinichi’s composure began to waiver, veins appeared on his temples. While avoiding unnecessary movement, Shinichi blindly began to look for something with his right hand. The room of the two officers was filthy beyond recognition. No one would believe this was a room in a police department. There were open newspapers scattered everywhere, piles eaten instant ramen lying about and stacks of books littered all over the room. The only clean bit in the room was a tiny spot on the table, which was currently being occupied by Shinichi’s resting feet.

Shinichi finally found what he was looking for – a hardcover book. He swung it at the source of his baka-junior’s voice.

*THUNK*

A direct hit and instant K.O.

“Shinichi-san….I am seeing stars….” The junior complained in a faint voice while his body began swaying dizzily.

“Stop sounding like my mother….and solve some real cases…” Shinichi muttered once again from beneath the newspapers.

“Shinichi-san is so mean!” The young officer muttered as he began rubbing his forehead which was red and swelling up. “What happened to the people’s hero who caught the bombing terrorist from five years ago? Where has the enthusiasm disappeared?”

Shinichi raised his eyebrow at the comment; but it wasn’t visible because his face was covered. “Oye…don’t say something so embarrassing. I wasn’t the only one who caught him; you were there with me too.”

“Hai…” The junior officer replied with a big smile. “…though I was still new on the force then. My contribution couldn’t possibly compare to your or captain’s efforts….” The voice of the young officer waivered at the end, his voice was deep and filled with emotion. “Though ultimately it is terrible…what happened to Captain-san….in the end we lost him….”

*THUNK*

Another hard cover book, but this time double in thickness, greeted the junior officer’s forehead. The junior fell of the chair upon impact – his fall was softened by the garbage all over the floor.

“Oye..oye…don’t go off killing your senior as you please.” Shinichi’s dull voice shot back.

“Hai…” The junior officer groaned as he slowly got up while rubbing his forehead – he now had two large *bumps* on his head. “I only meant, how Captain-san, no longer hangs out with us after the promotion.”

“Because, he has an entire police station to manage, unlike some officers who have nothing to do.” A stern voice rang throughout the dirty dingy room.

The smile of the junior officer widened to twice its original size, as the junior turned around to face the new person – Captain-san!

“Caaaptain-san~~!!” The junior officer shouted out as he lunged towards his boss. He was however struck down immediately.

“Oye! Shinichi! Stop goofing around and come have a look at this new case.” The Captain shouted out as he held out a thin file.

The junior who was lying on the floor immediately sprang to life at the mention of the word ‘case’ and grabbed the file the Captain was holding out.

“For Captain-san…to bring us a case…it must be something a super difficult case…” The junior was hugging the file as his body began squirming in passion.

“Eh?....no nothing…like that….the two of you are the only ones available….” The Captain muttered as he stared at his squirming junior in disgust. “Shinichi do something about him….in time he has only grown worse….” The Captain hurriedly added as he looked to Shinichi for escape from the creepy-baka-junior.

“Ignore him.” Shinichi replied while still lying on the chair with a newspaper flopped on his face. “That is what I have learnt.”

“Hey….” The junior officer voiced a complained as he browsed through the file. “Why are you handing us a lost person case? Shouldn’t you be giving this to some newbie? Don’t you have something more dramatic for us? Like impending terror strikes?”

*THUNK*

A third hard cover book, but this time triple the thickness, greeted the junior officer’s head.

“Just get to work, you lazy bum.” Shinichi muttered while still not laying on the chair with not a care in the world.

“Shinichi, you too.” The Captain spoke up when he noticed that Shinichi simply delegated the work to the idiotic junior.

Shinichi began grumbling as he lazily got off his chair. He could be heard muttering something like – ‘Maybe the PSIA to solve this case for us too.’ However, no one heard his complain.

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Author's Notes:

Chapter Updated. Love all the great reviews - except for that one person. :/ Shin-kun is not dumb - take that back!

Your Author-sama is now going back to preparing another chapter!