Archive of Our Own

The afternoon came with a chill in the air, not quite the worst of the Japanese winter but not too far off either.

Still, it didn’t deter people from going about their day and enjoying the simple pleasures of life, such as dogs.

Parents watched from a distance as their children pet and rubbed at a pack of playful huskies, their bellies exposed and tongues hanging out as they soaked in the affection.

Two men watched the scene unfold before them, and the blond, younger-looking one, his hands firmly clasped around the dogs' leashes, opened his mouth to speak.

“I ate it all.”

The lone cat of the group lounged around the older man's neck as he looked over at Denji.

“Ms. Makima didn’t revive from my stomach or from the crapper either.”

“Seems she didn’t,” Kishibe mused.

They shared a brief moment of silence as they watched a child get swarmed by three huskies, disappearing beneath the excited dogs.

“Attacks don’t work against Makima,” the old man said, breaking the quiet. “How were you able to kill someone untouchable?”

Denji sighed.

“I’m not out to hurt Ms. Makima at all,” Denji explained, and he still felt gross that he meant it. “I ate her to become one with her. That’s not an attack.”

Tiramisu wandered over, tongue lolling as Denji cupped his face.

“It’s love. L. O. V. E.”

Kishibe hummed at the admission.

“Your plan probably happened to work by chance,” he finally said. “Either due to the specific terms of the contract or as a matter of perception. But I’m more interested in the explanation for something else.”

The younger man raised an eyebrow.

“How is it that you were able to get the drop on Makima with that attack?” he asked. “Given what she’s capable of, wouldn’t she notice you right away?”

Another sigh.

This fact probably hurt the most.

“…I had this hunch,” Denji began. “Based on all the conversations we’d had, the intel on enemies, and all that. The thing about Ms. Makima is... she perceives us via scent.”

“She doesn’t actually remember individual faces. She only remembers the scents of people she has an interest in.”

Creampuff barked loudly, causing a duo of kids to flee in terror.

“So, I made a gamble,” he said. “I bet the whooole time, Ms. Makima had only been lookin’ at Chainsaw Man, not me…”

He watched as a single girl remained, trying to ride one of the dogs.

“That she never saw me even once, from the start…”

The young girl managed to hoist herself onto Flan’s back.

The sight of her so close made him frown.

“Hey, short stuff. We’re havin’ a top secret conversation here.”

He waved a hand at her.

“Beat it!”

The girl leisurely turned to look at him, and he saw dark brown eyes staring back.

Then, she raised her own hand and flicked him off.

“Урод!”

Denji blinked.

Then he turned to Kishibe.

“What the hell did she say?”

“I picked her up from the far eastern side of the USSR,” he said, looking at the young girl as she promptly dismounted from her steed. “She doesn’t know Japanese yet.”

“Yet?”

“Yup,” he confirmed. “I’m hoping she’ll pick it up while she stays with you.”

Denji scowled at the man.

“The hell? Why is she going to be staying with me?”

“Because she’s the Control Devil.”

He blinked, then slowly looked back at the girl.

She had black hair, looked to be around ten, and was wearing cheap clothes that even he could tell were off-brand.

In the distance, a flock of birds flew by.

“…Uh, no she’s not.”

“She is.”

“She’s not.”

“She is.”

“Dude,” Denji stated, turning to face the older man, “as someone who literally ate her, I think I’m a good judge on whether someone’s the Control Devil.”

The girl threw herself at Creampuff while he yapped in surprise.

“Clearly not. I nicked her before anyone else could, so I’m hoping you can take care of her.”

“Okay, even if she was, why would I do that?”

“So she doesn’t turn out like Makima,” Kishibe exhaled, standing up, his old joints cracking. “You’re lucky I found her first before the government. I’m hoping you can raise her to be normal. Or... at least as normal as the Control Devil can be. Until then, I’ll see ya.”

He looked back at the clearly human girl.

“…I think we’re forgetting that she’s just not a devil.”

Denji waited for a response from the older man, but after nothing came, he glanced over, only to see that Kishibe had vanished.

“What the…?”

Meowy sat expectantly where he had just been.

Denji grunted as he balled his fists.

That old geezer. What kind of asshole just dumps a kid on someone else and leaves like that?

…Whatever.

Now there was the issue of what he was supposed to do.

He looked back at the Soviet girl, who seemed entirely preoccupied with the dogs.

…Well, it wasn’t her fault she was here.

He might as well see what she was about.

“Hey,” he spoke up, causing her to lift her head toward him, “you got a name?”

She frowned, pointing at him again.

“Тупой!”

“I… don’t know what that means?”

She blew a raspberry, and he sighed.

Just great.

There was a language barrier, and he could already tell she was a huge brat.

If only there was…

And then an idea hit him.

He suddenly stood and dug into his pocket.

The action caused the girl to flinch and take a step back, but a moment later he pulled out a stick of gum.

At once, the girl's eyes widened, and she scampered forward.

“Uh, uh, uh!” he chided, holding it over her head. “Not yet!”

She frowned, jumping for the gum.

“Придурок! Придурок!”

He raised his free hand toward her, and she finally stopped, crossing her arms as she stomped defiantly.

“Denji,” he said, patting his chest. “My name’s Denji.”

She gave him an unimpressed look before he pointed at her.

“What’s your name?”

She blinked.

“Denji,” he repeated, pointing at himself before pointing at her again. “And you’re…?”

She remained silent.

“Denji! Denji! My name’s Denji! Deeennnjiii.”

Then he jabbed a finger at her.

“What’s yours?”

He was about to repeat the cycle again before she rolled her eyes.

“Роза.”

He looked at her for a moment.

“Ro... roza? Rose?”

“Роза,” she repeated.

He grinned and nodded as he lowered his arm.

Instantly, she snatched the gum from his hand, unwrapping it with single-minded determination.

“All right, Rose,” he declared, scooping up the leashes. “I guess I should get you home, huh?”

She chewed with her mouth wide open, flecks of spit flying in his direction.

“Сволочь.”

“I’m really hoping that means something good.”

It took only a week of living with Rose to discover two things: one, that she was absolutely not the Control Devil, and two, that she was definitely a total brat.

While she had the decency not to disturb any of the pets, it was quite common for Denji to be awoken by a sharp smack to the head, followed by what he now knew were insults in a foreign language.

If this arrangement was going to work in the slightest, then he really needed to get over that language barrier fast.

And while enrolling her into school was something that would take a bit of time, thankfully, he knew of another method.

“D…dog!” she cried, repeating what the figure on the TV said. “Dog!”

He sighed, happy that her sights weren’t set on him.

Seriously, and to think people said television was bad for you.

If he had grown up watching it, he would've ended up some sort of genius.

But, as entertaining as the thought was, he had to face the reality of the situation lying on the kitchen table in front of him.

He was low on money. By a lot.

Between rent, utilities, food, and expenses for himself, the girl now living with him, and the eight pets they had, they hardly had money for anything else.

He massaged his temple as he tried to think.

He himself was going to have to start going to school, and because of that, getting a job wasn't going to be a possibility while also taking up a huge chunk of his day.

It wasn’t like hustling for side cash was anything new, but damn, he was gonna have to hustle.

As he gnawed on the end of his pen, a sharp knock rang out.

The heads of the dogs lying on the floor lifted slightly, and the girl turned with a scowl.

“Door!”

He frowned as another knock rang out.

Was it the landlord?

“Door!”

“I know, I hear,” he replied, getting up to answer it.

“Козёл.”

“Stop saying that,” he chided as he opened the door. “I don’t know what it means, but I know it’s…”

Denji’s mouth hung open at the person standing before him.

“Hey,” Kishibe greeted.

He slowly blinked at him.

“…Why are you here?”

“Because I was wrong,” he gruffed. “The girl I gave you wasn’t the Control Devil.”

“Yeah, well, no sh—”

“This kid is.”

It was then that Denji realized there was someone standing behind the old man.

Gripping Kishibe's pant leg, he noticed a small blond boy timidly peering out from behind him, his bright blue eyes fixed on Denji.

“I found him in the United Kingdom just—”

“That’s not the fucking Control Devil either, man!”

Kishibe stood there stoically as the kid retreated behind him again.

“Look,” he began, “I know I messed up, but I’m telling you this is—”

“It’s not!”

“If you cut me off one more time, I’ll break your jaw.”

Denji ground his teeth in equal parts annoyance and fear.

“As I was saying,” he continued, “our analysts give this kid a 99.7% chance of being the reincarnation of the Control Devil. It’s too high a percentage to just ignore.”

He kept staring at Kishibe.

“…You can talk now.”

“Okay, ignoring that, again, this kid is not the Control Devil, what about the other kid?”

“What about her?”

“I can’t take care of two kids, man!”

“Then I can take care of her off your hands instead,” he replied. “I’m sure we can find someone willing to take her in.”

“Sweet,” Denji huffed. “She was starting to drive me…”

He hesitated.

“What do you mean, find someone?”

“Hmm?”

“Can’t you just, like, put her back where you found her?”

“You mean back on the streets?” he asked flatly.

“Is... is that where ya got her?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed without missing a beat. “In order to fit the criteria of being a potential candidate for the Control Devil, the child needs to have just come into existence. Essentially, that means there can be no evidence of them ever having been born.”

Denji pursed his lips as the older man returned his blank stare.

“That means they have nothing. No family, no friends, no possessions, no place to live. Nothing. They’re totally and utterly alone.”

A blue eye cautiously peeked out from behind Kishibe to look at Denji again.

“Maybe we can find someone to take care of the other brat, but if not…”

“I…” Denji interrupted.

He gulped.

“…I can take care of both of ’em.”

From behind him, he heard Rose yell out, “Car!”

“…You sure?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “But… uh, it’s gonna be a little tight.”

“Well, it is a lot of work,” Kishibe mused.

“Not just that,” Denji said. “But, like, I don’t know if I have enough cash.”

He blinked.

“…You haven’t signed up for childcare?”

“Child what?”

Kishibe sighed as he reached behind him.

“I’ll contact you in a bit. Until then, familiarize yourself with him first. He’s a quiet one.”

Grabbing the boy by the scruff of his jacket, Kishibe brought him forward.

He sniffled as he looked up at Denji before quickly averting his gaze.

Kishibe gave him a gentle pat on the back until he was standing directly in front of Denji.

Denji bit the inside of his cheek as he took in the sight.

Yeah… no way this kid was a devil.

“…Wait, how do you guys even, like, analyze the chance for a kid to be a—?”

He looked back up to see Kishibe was gone.

Was he a ninja?

Another sniffle interrupted his thoughts, and the kid looked like he wanted to disappear.

Denji scratched his head as he tried to figure something out.

He didn’t have gum on him this time, so…

Ah. He knew.

“Hey, kid,” he said, dropping to his knees.

The boy nervously looked away, and Denji’s hands hovered awkwardly before he let them fall to his sides.

“…Wanna see something?”

He said nothing, either because he was mute or because he didn’t understand him.

Probably both.

Regardless, Denji stepped aside.

“Hey, guys! C’mon and say hi!”

It took only a second for the pack of huskies to rush toward the new intruder.

His eyes widened as he took a step back, but he was unable to avoid the swarm of dogs.

However, after just a moment, Denji watched as his initial fear melted away while the dogs sniffed and licked him all over.

The kid's mouth curled into a smile as he played with the dogs.

Denji grinned.

Then he turned to see Rose staring at him.

Her eyes darted from the new kid to him, and then she scoffed.

“Идиоты.”

Denji called him Max.

It wasn't his real name. The reason he knew that was because the kid didn't have one.

Or, at least, he just wouldn't say it. Matter of fact, he didn't say much of anything.

He kind of just acted skittish all the time.

But, regardless, he needed a name, so Denji chose Max.

He wasn't sure if it was appropriate, but he felt like giving him a Japanese name would be a little weird, considering he was European after all.

Plus, he acted like a Max.

And, honestly, aside from his nervousness, Max was alright.

He was definitely not the Control Devil, but he helped with the dishes, loved the dogs, and didn't really cause any issues.

Nah, the only real problem was Rose.

He took them to the playground one time, and he had to go save Max after Rose tried to shove him down the slide.

His eyes watered as he silently cried, and Denji carried him over to one of the benches.

The whole time, Rose watched with her arms crossed.

He huffed as he came back.

“What're you doing, man?”

She pointed past Denji at Max.

“Idiot!”

Great.

She had managed to cross the language barrier just to insult him better.

“No, he's not,” he said, grabbing her by the shoulders. “He's Max, alright?”

“Idiot,” she repeated.

He frowned.

“Rose, no. He's Max. He's your... look, he's gonna live with us now, okay?”

She clicked her tongue, looking away.

Denji sighed before scooping her up into his arms.

She struggled, hurling out even more insults as he fought to keep hold of her.

“Hey! Q-quit it, alright!”

“Moron! Idiot! Asshole!”

He huffed as he eventually brought her over, setting her down beside the bench.

Max watched cautiously as he curled in on himself, and instantly Rose tried to run away.

Denji kept a firm grip on her arm.

“Hey, stop it! Stop!”

She stopped fidgeting, glaring at him as he looked between the two of them.

“Look, I know you guys prolly don't get this, but we're going to live together from now on, so you guys have to get along!”

Max sniffed as Rose rolled her eyes.

Denji caught it instantly.

“Hey, Rose, look at me,” he said, pointing at his eyes.

“Ya can't just bully Max like that, okay?”

“Idiot,” she said.

“No, he's not,” he replied. “He's… he’s like family now.”

Her eyes narrowed at him.

“…Family?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed, nodding. “Family. That’s what we are. We're all family now, so quit being so mean to him. You're older than him, after all.”

He wasn't actually sure if she was. He didn't really know either of their ages, but she'd been the first one here, so that counted for something.

Admittedly, he wasn't really sure if she'd understand what being the oldest meant.

He hadn't either, on account of being an only child, but Denji thought he knew what having an older sibling was supposed to be like.

Rose looked between him and Max as she puffed out her cheeks.

“Family.”

“Exactly,” he agreed, loosening his hold on her.

Instead, he patted her on the back and gently nudged her toward Max.

She avoided Max's gaze while he trembled.

“Say sorry,” Denji said.

Her head hung low as Denji waited.

“C'mon, you can do it.”

She groaned dramatically before looking up.

She glanced at Denji, and he saw how embarrassed she looked before she turned toward Max.

A moment passed before she slowly extended a hand.

Denji raised an eyebrow.

“Family,” she repeated.

Max looked at it suspiciously before hesitantly reaching forward.

He cautiously took her hand, giving it a small shake before Rose quickly pulled away.

She shoved her hands into her pockets, clicking her tongue as Max sniffed back the last of his snot.

Despite how bare minimum it was, Denji couldn't help but feel relieved.

He ruffled her hair before helping Max off the bench.

“Alright,” he said. “As a reward, let's go get some ice cream.”

At that, both of them brightened up.

Things got a little better after that.

Not perfect, no. Rose was still a little piece of shit, but she stopped making Max the target of it.

Instead, she started recruiting him to help her out.

That was how Denji ended up with a face full of flour one morning.

“Pfft-hegh-hagh!” he cried, scrubbing at his face as he continued spitting the powdery substance into the sink while Rose doubled over in laughter.

Beside her, Max stood, trying his best to hide the small grin on his face as the dogs ran around in a frenzy.

“You brats!” Denji shouted, jabbing a finger at them.

They ignored him as Rose continued laughing.

“Idiot!” she laughed. “Idiot Denji!”

He frowned as he finally shut the water off, patting his face dry.

Seriously, how did they find crap like this fun? Denji never would've ever...

He sighed.

Right.

Of the three, he was the oldest, which meant it was up to him to set an example.

He took a steady breath, letting his hands hang limply at his sides.

“No TV for a day.”

“Nooooo!”

Denji crossed his arms as Rose and Max raced over, clinging to him and tugging at his shirt, their faces full of worry.

“Sorry! We're sorry!”

He stuck his nose in the air.

“Should've thought about that before you did it.”

As convincing as their cries and apologies were, the unfortunate reality was that the taste of flour was still fresh in his mouth.

But now that he was really thinking about it...

His show would be on later tonight.

Sure, the only reason he'd gotten into it was because Max seemed to really like cowboys, but he enjoyed it just as much.

And maybe, just maybe, he'd let them watch with him.

Assuming they earned their way back into his good graces.

First, though, he'd have to give them a little—

A forceful rap echoed through the apartment.

His head snapped toward the door, followed by the kids'.

...It couldn't be.

Surely that incredibly distinctive, thunderous knock belonged to someone else.

Anyone else.

The dogs barked loudly as Meowy yawned.

It pounded against the door again, and Denji prayed to whoever was listening that when he opened it, it wouldn't be who he thought.

He pulled the door open to see an old man with a scar running down his face calmly looking back at him.

“Motherfu—”

“I was wrong again.”

“I know you were!” Denji snapped, stepping outside. “I've been saying that from the get-go!”

Kishibe's expression didn't change.

“Look, this isn't as easy as you think it is. The algorithms we use to decide this shit would take someone like you hundreds of years to figure out. We're not just kidnapping random kids off the streets.”

“Oh yeah? So, what are ya doing then?”

“Kidnapping specific kids off the streets.”

At that, he reached behind himself, and Denji noticed a small figure hiding there.

Kishibe gently guided out a little girl with brown skin and eyes whose irises were emerald, green.

“We found her in Egypt, off the coast of—”

“Dude. This has to be the last one.”

“Well, she's the Control Devil.”

“She’s not,” Denji said exasperatedly. “And this isn't some daycare, okay? Three kids is too much, man. You can't just keep dumping them on me.”

“First off, don't tell me what I can or can't do. Secondly, I won't, because this is the final time.”

Denji remained unconvinced.

“…Sure. But this, this, is it, capiche?”

Kishibe didn't respond.

Instead, he gently patted the girl forward.

She took a couple of hesitant steps, stopping just short of Denji before clasping her own hands together.

He sighed at the sight.

He said she was from Egypt?

“…Can she speak Japanese?” he asked, looking up.

Of course, Kishibe was already gone.

...He'd say that next time he'd make sure not to look away, but hopefully there wouldn't be a next time.

Regardless, Denji looked back at the girl.

It was alright.

It was just one more kid, after all.

Jade actually picked her own name with some help from Rose, the girl in question having a much better grasp of learning Japanese from a foreign perspective than Denji.

It was impressive just how quickly kids could pick things up. Even though Max still didn't say much, his writing skills were already on par with Denji's, which was both a good and a bad thing. Then again, Denji never claimed to be smart.

Maybe if he was, he wouldn't have opened the door.

“No.”

Kishibe stared back.

“Fourth time's the charm.”

“It’s not.”

Holding his hand was a dark-skinned boy looking up at Denji with wide, curious eyes.

“Well, too bad.”

“…Do I even get a say?”

“You could give me the others and keep this one.”

“…Whatever.”

“For what it's worth, I'm starting to get annoyed with this too.”

“This is five kids now, dude.”

“I can count, yeah.”

“This has to be it. I'm serious. This is it. Last time.”

“Sure.”

“Hey.”

“…”

“We found him—”

“Just give me the kid, man.”

Denji balled his fists at the kitchen table.

The kids around him paused in their meals, mouths full of curry as the dogs stirred around their feet.

“He's back?” Jade asked.

“I hope it's a girl,” Rose added.

Marcus stuck his tongue out, blowing loudly.

“I hope it's not.”

She crumpled up a napkin and threw it at him.

Tado and Silvia snickered at the exchange while Denji sighed.

It had been just over a month since the last kid. Denji would be starting high school in just a week, and everyone else would begin the week after.

He simply did not have time to take care of a seventh kid.

And then there was the fact that there could be an eighth.

It just wouldn't do.

“Y'all can keep eating,” he announced, getting to his feet. “I'll sort this out.”

“Sure.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Mhm.”

His face twitched as he tried to ignore their comments.

Who knew a bunch of ten-year-olds could be so brutal?

Either way, enough was enough.

It wasn't even a matter of finances anymore. Apparently, being the guardian of several children was viewed as a good thing. Which was surprising, because when he mentioned it to anyone, he would always get a ton of stares.

He'd been given a whole spiel when he applied for “childcare assistance” about how he was doing such a noble deed by taking in so many kids, how his actions were helping offset Japan's declining population, and a whole bunch of yadayadayada.

Point was, while they didn't have a lot, they had enough.

But taking care of a kid wasn't just about money.

They needed time, attention, and more space than the now incredibly cramped two-room apartment they all lived in.

The bathroom was always occupied, and the nightly dog pile had become way too crowded.

He simply couldn't take in another kid.

He opened the door just as another knock came.

Kishibe remained as motionless as ever.

“I—”

“I can't.”

The old man didn't get a chance to speak before Denji continued.

“I... I would if I could, honestly, but I can't. I mean... six kids, man! Six! Do you have any idea how much work that is? At this rate, I won't even have time to sleep, much less be Chainsaw Man or a high schooler! Which, by the way, I am! And even if you did find the Control Devil, why would ya think it'd be a good idea to give ‘em to me? Don't you have adult friends? Or like… any friends? Or at least someone else you can dump—”

Denji trailed off as he finally noticed the small black-haired girl standing beside him.

She was easily the shortest of all the kids, and unlike any of them, she was perfectly still.

He would've called her calm, but if anything, the expression on her face was more analytical than anything else.

But that wasn't what held his attention.

Instead, he was staring at her yellow, spiraled eyes.

His mouth wavered as she blinked lazily back at him.

“He looks dull,” she noted.

“He is,” Kishibe agreed.

Denji looked between the two of them.

“Sorry, but it took a while to finally find her. She was tucked away in the furthest slums of China.”

“…H-huh?”

“Oh, you're talking about her Japanese. She already has a decent grasp of her powers, so what we did was—”

“You actually got her?!”

“Yeah.”

He looked between them again.

“You got her?!”

“Can I stay with someone else?” she asked.

“No,” Kishibe replied instantly, earning a sigh from her. “I'm sorry for the mishaps, but we're done. So long as you take care of her, I don't care what you do.”

“That's not—”

“Can you do it?”

Denji gulped as he looked at the little girl.

Did she ever blink?

“…Yeah.”

“Good.”

The old man turned away.

“This is goodbye then.”

Denji watched as Kishibe made his way down the apartment steps before disappearing into the street.

...So, he didn't just teleport.

His gaze fell back to the girl before him.

It was the Control Devil.

No doubt about it.

She was definitely going to be a handful.

He rubbed the back of his head.

“Do you have a name?”

“Nayuta,” she replied in a monotone voice.

Denji exhaled before opening the door wider.

From the other end of the room, six heads peeked over the table.

“…Wanna meet the rest of the family, Nayuta?”

He hummed contentedly as he counted the money he'd made that day.

After selling ten packs of cigarettes, he had earned fifteen thousand yen.

He grinned.

With this dough, he could get Marcus and the others some pizza for after his game tomorrow afternoon, as well as some ice cream for movie night tonight.

Back in the States, Marcus had always wanted to play baseball, and thankfully, the place they'd found had a team he could try out for.

Even though Denji had never played, he knew a thing or two about swinging a bat.

But as successful as today had been, he needed to hurry.

Max and Silvia would be finishing up with their piano lessons soon, and after picking them up, he'd have to swing by the gym for Rose.

While he'd offered to teach her how to fight, the girl had insisted that she wanted to learn properly.

He tried not to take too much offense to that, since he doubted any stupid ‘professional trainer’ could do a better job than him.

Of course, when she'd explained that, as the oldest, she wanted to become someone the others could depend on, he'd stopped pushing back and signed her up as soon as he could.

Still, the boxing gym was in a sketchy part of the city, so it'd be a couple more years before he felt comfortable letting her walk home by herself.

Until then, she'd have to wait until he came by with Max and Silvia.

It wasn't like they were in much of a rush anyway.

Nayuta was more than capable of taking care of things on her own, and the other two were just added assurance.

And since Tado was a little smarty-pants, Denji was confident they were actually being productive instead of lazing around watching TV.

Which... they still could, but at least they were home and safe.

At the end of the day, that was all that really—

“Hey, wait up!”

He stopped beneath the underpass, his shoes digging into the dirt below.

Turning toward the voice, he felt a pang of annoyance as he recognized her.

“Aren't you that chick who hates Chainsaw Man?”

“What are you doing?” she asked, ignoring his question.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Huh? I'm sellin' smokes cuz part-time jobs are against school rules.”

“What's with that?” she asked. “Are you an idiot?”

“Huh?!” he shot back. Seriously, who was this girl? “Get off my back!”

He waved her away.

“I got a lot goin' on! I'm a busy dude! Beat it!”

She closed her eyes and took a slow, steady breath.

“…Are you busy tomorrow, too?” she asked.

“Huh?! No duh! I'm busy tomorrow and the day after that too!”

“Oh... I see...”

Was she... disappointed?

What for?

“…Why'd you ask?”

Her face scrunched up as a blush spread across it.

“If you're free tomorrow,” she said, clasping her hands together and tilting her head, “would you go on a... d... date with me...?”

A gust of wind swept through the underpass as her words took a moment to sink in.

“A date...?”

Her awkward smile was all the answer he needed.

A date.

She had asked him on a date.

A girl.

A pretty girl.

Annoying? Who cares? Not him.

She liked him.

She...

“…What time?”

She sputtered.

“Huh?”

“I, uh... I can't do tomorrow afternoon.”

“Why not?”

“…I kinda have a baseball game I have to go to.”

“Y-you don't play baseball!”

“Well, I'm not... how do you know that?”

“Well, I... I don't see you play?” she sputtered.

His eyes narrowed.

“Do you, like, look for me or...?”

Her face turned an even deeper shade of red.

“Stop looking into it! No, I... fine! If we can't do the afternoon, is the evening okay?”

He nodded.

“Yeah... that should be good.”

The aquarium date had gone fine, even if, in the end, he hadn't developed any feelings for her.

That didn't bother her, because why would it? Although, what did was his suggestion for their second date.

“It costs 2,000 yen?”

His mouth hung open.

“Hwuh?” he blurted. “But you can watch as many mummy movies as you want.”

“Wouldn't renting the videos be cheaper?” she continued. “I don't want to go on any pricey dates.”

She felt a twinge of annoyance at how stupid he looked.

“I mean... sure. That works. You got a VCR at home?”

“No,” she replied flatly. “What about you?”

“I do...”

“Then let's do it at your place. It's cheaper that way,” she reasoned.

Despite how rational the suggestion was, Denji instantly shot to his feet.

“Huh?! You want to come over?!”

Her brows furrowed.

“What, is that no good? We don't have to have a date then.”

“No way!” he exclaimed.

She watched with growing irritation as he mulled over her words.

“Okay,” he relented. “But... I really have to warn you...”

“About what?”

“I have some...” He winced. “People over.”

“People,” she repeated.

“Y-yeah.”

“Is it an issue if I come over?”

“Well, no...” he mumbled.

“So, what are we waiting for?” she huffed.

His amber eyes darted around nervously.

“You're cool with people being there, then?”

“Yes.”

“Like... super sure?”

Was he an idiot?

Well, she already knew the answer.

“One more question and I'm going home.”

He straightened up instantly.

“Yes, ma'am!”

She had hoped that his earlier outburst would be the end of things, but as they got closer and closer to his apartment, his renewed energy began to fade.

“What is it already?” she hissed.

“Huh?”

She waved a hand at him.

“Why are you so worried?”

“I… I ain't worried.”

“You certainly appear to be.”

He groaned as he looked away.

“Look, just… do ya mind waiting outside for a second?”

“What?” she asked. “Is your house a mess or something?”

“Maybe?”

“What do you mean, maybe?”

“Just… please, okay? Give me a sec when we get there.”

Asa was tempted to end the date. She really was.

But the fact was that this wasn't a date born out of romantic intentions, but rather a goodbye.

After this, for his sake, she would never talk to him again.

It'd be better for everyone that way.

So that was why she continued putting up with his weird antics, right up until they reached his apartment.

How did she know it was his apartment?

Well, because she heard it before she saw it.

From inside, overlapping chatter from several high-pitched voices spilled into the hallway along with the staticky noise of a television playing.

“…Just how many people are in there?” she asked as they stood before his door.

He winced.

“Damn it, I told them… I'll be out in a moment, 'kay?”

She took a step back as she watched him struggle with the door, slipping inside and shutting it behind him the moment he got it open.

She let out another heavy sigh as she heard him shout.

Almost instantly, the noise inside died down until all that remained was a hushed conversation.

She crossed her arms as the muffled whispers continued, and she couldn't help but wonder what was taking so long.

Was there a party or something?

If he was having one, then why even suggest a date?

She began tapping her foot as she waited.

She could still hear voices, but from where she stood, she couldn't make out a single word.

…No.

She wasn't about to do that.

That would be nosy and borderline intrusive.

She would just wait.

...

...What was taking so long?

What was he doing?

What were they talking about in there?

Were they...

Talking about her?

In what way?

In a good way, or a—

No.

No, that's... she didn't care.

She'd just want to know if they were talking about her.

Which they could be, but...

Well, now that she thought about it, wasn't he being a terrible host right now? Telling her to wait outside like this?

This was his date, after all. She had only suggested they go to his place. He could've picked somewhere else.

And if that was the case, then surely she could afford to be a slightly bad guest.

Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she took a small step toward the door.

Then another.

Then she shuffled as close as she could without actually touching it.

Carefully, she turned her head until one ear faced the door, then slowly leaned in, inch by inch, readying herself to listen to whatever they might be saying.

And then the door opened.

With an undignified yelp, she fell forward, bracing herself for impact.

However, instead of hitting the floor, her face buried itself into a rather warm pillow.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then her mind began to race again, and she made a horrifying discovery.

“…They’re already getting into it.”

She yelped once more, pushing herself away from the handful of Denji's shirt she'd instinctively grabbed before staring up at him with wide eyes.

The expression he wore could only be described as sheepish, and he scratched at his jaw as he averted his gaze.

“Uh… sorry about that. I didn’t think you were—”

“I wasn’t!”

The two stood beside each other in a terribly awkward silence.

As they did, however, Asa heard more voices.

“Is that her?”

“She’s pretty.”

“Pretty stupid.”

“Doesn’t that make them a good match, then?”

“Do you think she likes dogs?”

“Who cares?”

“'Cuz I like dogs.”

“That’s true.”

Denji stood in the middle of the doorway, but behind him she could make out several faces, all doing their best to spy on her.

The moment she tried to get a better look, they all ducked back out of sight.

“…Ah, you noticed them, huh?”

She turned back toward Denji.

“Um… yeah? Are these the... people you were talking about?”

Denji sighed, his shoulders sagging.

“Yeah... hold on.”

He took a step back and craned his head around.

“Hey! Come here and say hi!”

He stepped aside, and five figures emerged from behind him.

Well, that was needlessly uninformative.

Five kids walked out.

They all looked to be around the same age, but what stood out most to her was that they all appeared to be foreigners, and each from a different region of the world.

What exactly was...?

“I’m Rose,” a pale girl with dark brown eyes said, crossing her arms.

“My name is Tado,” a boy with glasses said with a polite bow.

“Marcus!” a dark-skinned boy exclaimed, enthusiastically waving.

“…Silvia,” a blonde-haired girl whispered.

“I’m Jade!” a green-eyed girl announced, planting her hands on her hips.

Asa blinked.

“…Hi,” she finally managed, giving a small wave in return.

The kids stared at her expectantly, and thankfully, Denji spoke up.

“Um, Nayuta and Max are out right now with the dogs and Meowy, but they’ll be back any second now. Until then, I guess we can—”

“Can I…” she interrupted. “Can I ask whose children these are?”

The kids snickered among themselves while Denji awkwardly tapped his fingers together.

“Uh, well... I guess, if you really wanted to, you could say they’re... mine?”

She blinked again.

“Yours.”

“Yup.”

“You have seven kids.”

“Yes.”

Perhaps a million questions entered her mind at that revelation, but right now she only needed the answer to one.

“Why?”

“Do ya want the long answer or the short one? ’Cuz I’m pretty sure I can’t offer you the long one.”

“…So why even offer it?”

“Oh, right. Well, they had nowhere to go, so I took ’em in.”

They stared at each other.

“That’s it?!”

The kids beside them began snorting with laughter.

“Kinda, yeah,” he admitted. Then, a bit quieter, “That doesn’t, like... bother you, right?”

She stammered.

She wasn’t disturbed by it, but it was definitely strange that someone like Denji was taking care of so many kids on... what, a whim?

Her gaze drifted to the children, who continued standing there, watching the two older teens.

“…No, I guess not.”

He let out a sigh of relief.

“Great, ’cause they’re gonna be watching with us, if that’s cool.”

“Huh?”

He raised his hands defensively.

“I did say we could do something somewhere else. Besides, they said they’d behave. The only person we really have to worry about is...”

His voice trailed off, and Asa picked up the sound of dozens of paws clacking against the floor as they drew closer.

She looked toward the staircase leading up from the ground floor.

Several large huskies came bounding up the stairs, tongues lolling and tails wagging as they noticed her.

Thankfully, none of them could get too close thanks to the tight bundle of leashes keeping them together.

Just behind the swarm of dogs walked two children.

One was a blond boy with bright blue eyes, carrying a cat in his arms. The other was a black-haired girl wearing a bulky black belt that every leash was clipped to.

They stopped at the top of the stairs.

Yellow, ringed eyes settled on Asa, and an inexplicable sense of dread washed over her.

Something... something about this girl felt wrong in the worst possible way.

“…W-who are...?”

“You smell bad.”

Denji buried his face in his hand as the apartment erupted into laughter.

“Nayuta,” he complained, “you can’t just... look, this is Asa.”

The girl raised an eyebrow.

“Really? This wet fart?”

“Nayuta!”

She sighed as she walked over, and Asa did her best to avoid the curious dogs as they came with her.

The girl gave Asa another once-over before shrugging.

“Whatever,” she said, unclipping the dogs. “You guys leaving soon?”

“She’s staying for movie night.”

Her head snapped around, her face twisting with indignation.

“Huh?! No way!”

She jabbed a finger at the two of them while the other kids began leading the dogs into the apartment.

“The deal was you guys go do your own thing and we can stay here!”

“I know, but she said it'd be easier if we just watched movies here.”

Asa gawked at her apparent date, who had just thrown her under the bus.

“Yeah, well, sucks to suck! Go away!”

“No one else has a problem with it.”

“Huh?!” She scowled, “Yeah, they do, right, guys?!”

She turned to her siblings for support.

Unlike her, however, they seemed relatively unbothered.

“She seems funny.”

“As long as she doesn’t cause any trouble.”

“I’m cool with it!”

“…As long as she’s nice.”

“The more the merrier!”

Nayuta ground her teeth at the betrayal.

“Dirtbags! Max, back me up here!”

She turned to the blond boy, who flinched under the sudden attention.

His blue eyes flicked back and forth between Asa and Nayuta.

After a moment, he gave a weak shrug.

“You see?” Denji said. “Just you.”

“But...!” she stammered.

“Nayuta,” the girl she recognized as Rose chided, placing a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder, “c'mon, it'll be fun. Don't you want to see Denji screw up his date?”

“No, not really.”

“You can have my ice cream if you do.”

She pursed her lips.

“Well... I guess stinky girl can join us.”

Asa frowned deeply.

Was she... stinky?

“Do I smell?” she found herself asking aloud as the two girls walked into the apartment.

“You smell good,” Denji replied.

She gave him a look, causing him to cough awkwardly.

“So...” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “You still down for the movie?”

She looked back inside the apartment.

It looked unbelievably cramped, more than likely half the size of her own.

She sincerely doubted that, with so many children and animals packed inside, they'd be able to watch a movie in peace.

She considered it.

“…Sure.”

They were about forty-five minutes into the movie, and for the life of her, Asa couldn't tell you what was happening.

It was a mix of reasons if she were being honest. The grainy, hard-to-follow footage, the constant movement from the other viewers, but mostly the presence of the man beside her.

He sat still, calmly watching the movie with what she assumed was his full attention, but every so often, he reminded her that he was acutely aware of everything around him.

“Stop that,” he said as Marcus and Rose began wrestling.

“Swap with me,” he said when Silvia didn't like the strawberry ice cream she'd gotten.

“Stop talking so much,” he said when Tado and Jade began arguing about the movie.

She didn't know why, but something about it was just so... intriguing.

She wondered if he was keeping an eye on her just as much as he was on the others.

...It was a thought that made her feel strange and fuzzy inside.

“Stupid girl,” a voice in the back of her mind muttered.

She didn't reply to it.

Instead, she began to do what she always did, and that was think.

Think back on the day's events.

Her gaze settled on the blond boy beside her, sitting on the floor of the dim apartment where only the flashing light from the television illuminated him. On his lap lay Silvia, who had gotten tired following the sugar rush they'd all indulged in. Her own bowl of vanilla ice cream sat half-eaten at her feet, steadily melting.

“Hey,” she whispered.

“Yeah?” he replied instantly.

“Earlier, when you guys were talking about movie nights... what does that mean?”

“Oh,” he said. “We usually try to watch movies together as a family after school.”

She recalled what he'd said earlier.

“…So, if you already have something like that, why did you want to go to the cinema? Why not just come here?”

The blond boy thought it over.

“…I didn't want to freak you out by bringing you here.”

“Too late for that,” she replied instantly.

“Sorry.”

They watched the images on the screen continue to flicker as Jade doubled over laughing at something.

“…I don't mind it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Next time, don't prioritize going out with someone like me either. You should come back here.”

“Oh.”

Tado began scolding the others.

“…Would you wanna come back?”

“Huh?”

“Like... to the next movie night.”

Nayuta mocked his voice, earning another round of laughter.

“I... wouldn't that be intrusive?”

“I don't think so.”

The girl in his lap shifted, and Denji automatically gave her a reassuring pat on the head.

“…Then yes, I would like that.”

“Sweet.”

She scooted just a little closer to him.

“…Hey, you gonna finish your ice cream?”

She looked down at the melted mess.

“No.”

“…You mind if I...?”

“It's your food, is it not?” she said. “I'm just a guest. Everything here is yours.”

“It can be yours too if you want.”

Her head snapped toward him.

“What?”

His head did the same.

“What?”

The two stared at each other as the screen brightened with an explosion.

“…Are you guys gonna kiss?”

They both turned to see the children staring at them with wide grins and knowing looks.

Flustered, she shrank into herself as Denji did much the same.

“N-no.”

“No, I think.”

The children giggled, and Asa felt a terrifying realization creep into her mind.

She was upset that he'd said no.

And, even scarier than that, she found herself hoping he'd change his answer.

Maybe he would after a few more movie nights.