Mark was sleeping in his chair, as he usually did. Maria sat across the room, staring at him. As she watched the Devil Hunter rest, her mind began to wander. She started thinking about how they met.
It was some seven years ago. She had been well aware that various people wanted her dead. She was also aware that these people were Devils, like her and Mark. What she didn't know was that Mark was the one they hired.
Mark, of course, didn't know Maria wasn't an evil entity. He had expressed embarrassment over letting the ones who employed him trick him. It was clear he didn't know *how* they did it, only that they did.
Either way, he accepted the job. Mark found Maria in an abandoned village. To be fair, Maria struck first - though at the same time, she thought Mark was another evil Devil. The two fought, but they both recall it as more of a dance. A deadly dance. With swords and guns and blood. *Lots* of blood. But a dance nonetheless.
A dance which swiftly became a co-op when they were *both* attacked by Mark's then-employers. Then, it became a whirlwind of death and bad puns.
Very, *very* bad puns.
When the dust settled, Mark found himself alone. Maria had slipped away, still not trusting Mark entirely. She still thought it was weird that his first thought after the fight was to name his pistol after her. It ended up being a sweeter gesture than she had initially thought.
But that's a story for another time.
