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“Don’t listen to that-” Yoru cut herself off, realizing she was now standing outside of the aquarium. “Asa?”
“You won’t be able to contact her in any way, for the time being. No going inside the aquarium either. But it’s for the best.” She could feel her standing uncomfortably close behind her. “I’m disappointed you did not tell Asa who I was.”
There were countless reasons why she didn’t want Asa to know about Famine. But she should’ve known sooner their paths would cross again. She wasn’t the only devil looking for chainsaw man.
“What do you want from me?” She questioned. If she had inserted herself into her plan, then she was after something. She knew her sister well enough to know she didn’t show up to help without an ulterior motive.
“I’m only trying to help my little sister. We have similar goals,” she leaned over her shoulder. “Having a human make weapons for you was smart. But your choice of human was poor, not that you could have known it when you possessed her. Without extreme intervention, she wasn’t going to do what you requested, so I decided to step in. Asa will be trapped in that aquarium until she can make the boy into a weapon. She will either make him into a weapon or starve.”
“I don’t believe that you’d help without wanting something out of it,” she spoke through gritted teeth. “Also, I didn’t agree to this plan. Let Asa out.”
“We can talk about that later, once we have a weapon. For now, consider this bonding time for us. A lot has happened since we last saw each other.”
“You think you can leave me powerless and separated from Asa then I’ll just catch up with you?” She demanded, walking towards the aquarium entrance. “Either let her escape the aquarium or let me in with her. And maybe when we’re finished I’ll think about chatting with you.”
“Allowing you back in won’t make a difference. I've been watching you two for a while now. You let her get away with telling you what she will and will not do. You threaten her, then do not follow through. Maybe if you had been harsher initially, we wouldn’t be here right now,” she paused for a moment, watching Yoru attempt to brute force the door open. “Consider this a lesson from someone with more experience than you. You handle the human. Not the other way around.”
“I’m not going to treat Asa like that. I don’t want to make her more miserable than she already is. And besides, why would I listen to you? She’s mine! I know what she responds best to. She’s doing exactly what I told her to by chasing after this boy to make him a weapon. We were just about to chase after him!”
“She wouldn’t have followed through. You know that. Saying she’ll do something isn’t confirmation she will. Your methods failed. So we’re switching to mine. It may take a few days, but I can wear her down. Have patience, and you’ll get a weapon out of this.”
Yoru stared at the door in front of her, giving it one last pull. It didn’t budge.
She expected to leave the aquarium without a weapon. She had resigned to that soon after the date had begun. Not that she’d tell Famine that. It wasn’t like she was happy about it, and she did plan on chasing him down to give it one last shot. But that boy wasn’t the only potential target. They could always find someone else.
“What if she doesn’t do it after a few hours? What about days?” She turned, finding herself talking to nobody. As quickly as she had shown up, she had disappeared.
She stayed near the entrance, on the small chance Asa decided she could turn someone into a weapon after all. Or if Famine decided to return and answer her question, or allow her back in, which seemed nearly as unlikely.
The silence started to become overbearing the longer she stood, staring into the inside of the aquarium. From what she could see, everything looked normal. The lights were on. But the entrance area was empty.
If Asa made it out, she would sense her immediately. Maybe it was best to take a break, to walk away from the place causing her so much anxiety. But every step away only made it worse, the feeling of separation only growing stronger.
She went home because she didn’t know where else to go. She laid in bed, on the same side she always did, staring at the uninhabited space where Asa would usually lay. Sometimes they’d get in bed early, and talk before falling asleep.
Yoru flipped over, shoving her face into Asa’s pillow. It smelled sweet, like the shampoo she used. And for a moment, the familiar scent calmed her down. She clutched onto a blanket, pretending it was Asa in her arms.
She had messed up, worse than she ever had. The longer she laid there, the more painfully aware she became of it. Her heart raced in her chest. She should have known something like this could happen. She wasn’t careful enough, and now Asa was suffering.
The anxiety reminded her of Chainsaw Man. Of having a piece of herself ripped away. She clutched the blankets tighter as the memories flooded her mind.
Without Asa’s thoughts, she was left alone with her own. It was nearly unbearable.
Asa would never forget me. She repeated in her mind over and over, trying to make them louder than the sounds of chainsaws. She replaced the feeling of sharp teeth and searing pain with the memory of Asa’s lips pressed against her own, their fingers locked together.
Everything Chainsaw Man had taken from her, Asa had filled the place of. She was slowly rebuilding her, every kiss and gentle touch replacing what he had ripped away. For the first time in a long time, she felt whole.
But instead of telling her that, she had spent the day causing her nothing but misery.
Why did she have to call her a bore? Any other time, she could listen to her talk for hours before the sound of her voice became something constant and calming and she drifted off to sleep.
Why did she have to say something like that? Why did she tell her she was plain when she looked so beautiful?
What if those were the last things she ever got to say to her?
She knew why, as stupid as it felt now. Even if it had been a fake set up, she didn’t like the thought of Asa going on a date with someone. She was hers. She loved her. Nobody could love her as much as she did. So she acted like a fool, instead of just saying how she felt.
Maybe if she had been less jealous, she would have thought about how dangerous the plan was. It made her blood boil. Even if she had her powers, she was inexperienced. Who knew what other people in there had access to, if any of them devil contracts themselves. And humans in a high-stress situation could act out.
If she found a single scratch on her, every person who was in that aquarium would meet a brutal end.
This was her fault. When she possessed Asa, it became her job to protect her.
As soon as she saw Famine, she should have known she’d be a threat. She had failed to protect Asa.
She stood up, throwing the blankets to the ground as she stormed back to the aquarium.
“Famine! Answer me before I take you out along with Chainsaw man!” She screamed. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t like anyone would hear her.
“Calm down, it hasn’t been that long. I’ve been checking on them. If I thought she wasn’t going to make it, I’d find you a new body. I’d make sure they were from the same school.”
She spun around to face her, her hands balled into fists at her sides. “You think I’ll just take a new body? If things get that bad you will let her out. If Asa dies, then I go with her. I’ve had enough of this. Your method isn’t working either!”
It would be a foolish decision to let herself end up back in hell, but it was all she had to convince Famine to keep Asa alive.
“I went back in and talked to her a bit, before things got too bad. But you had already left to go brood. I think I have a better understanding of what’s going on now. You have feelings for Asa.”
Feelings were an understatement. She loved Asa. Any doubts she had before had been erased now that they were apart. But that wasn’t something she wanted Famine to know. She didn’t want Asa’s life to end up being used as leverage against her.
“I don’t,” she forced the words from her lips, her eyes locked with her sister’s. As soon as she heard herself, she realized just how pathetic the attempt was. She turned to face the aquarium door once again, leaning against it and closing her eyes, hoping it would hide the clear look of dishonesty on her face.
“I have no problem with it. I think she’s working through being attracted to the war devil, but it seems the feeling is mutual. But I don’t foresee this relationship ending well,” she idly played with one of her earrings. “If you feel this strongly about her, how guilty would you feel about killing her? As soon as she has her own body back, she’s in danger.”
“I’m well aware of how powerful a weapon she would make. But if you think I would do it, you’re wrong. If the urge ever starts, I’ll fight it. I don’t care if it eats me alive every day,” she grabbed her by the collar, slamming her against the door. “Did you tell her I would hurt her? Are you going in there to torment her even more?”
“We only talked for a bit. She refused to accept you making her into a weapon as a possibility, regardless. I guess she has a little trust in her girlfriend,” she pushed back, and Yoru let go. Fighting wasn’t going to get her out any sooner.
“I’m not asking you to take her out. Just promise me you won’t let her die. You said you’d do anything for your little sister not that long ago, didn’t you? I’ll never ask for something again,” she felt the unfamiliar feeling of tears welling in her eyes. She didn’t know how long it had been since she cried. If she was dealing with a different person, maybe it would have gotten her sympathy points.
She stared at her, seeming to consider the offer. “I’ll let her out if I see her health decline. But that doesn’t mean this is over. I will be back until we have a weapon made. We are a team now.”
“Even if it isn’t him, we’ll make a weapon,” she agreed, ignoring the team part. She’d find a way out of that, but that was a plan to be made later. “You know more people from the school than we do. I’ll consider suggestions.”
“Then you have my word she won’t die. But I’m annoyed at how stubborn she is. I told her not to keep you waiting. Maybe that’ll encourage her.”
“It won’t,” she wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hands, although she had a feeling more would come when she saw Asa again. She looked inside, nothing having changed since she last saw it.
Hang in there. We will be together again soon.