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He walked down the hall of buzzing lights and drole walls. You’d figure HQ would look a little nicer, but understandably so with all the budget cuts, it just wasn’t feasible to make themselves look as professional as they claimed to be to the public.
Matter of fact, if he looked hard enough, he could still see smudges of something on the tiled floor his shoes clacked against.
Regardless, his pace was undeterred, and he couldn’t help but continue at a brisk stride, humming a tune he had heard from somewhere. It honestly wasn’t all that good, but it helped pass the time, so it was worthwhile.
He recognized some of the people he passed, the pencil pushers that remained here and refused to or simply couldn’t do field work like he could. He didn’t know them by name, just by face. Specifically, he knew them by the faces they would make at him.
Faces of unease, worry, sympathy, scorn, and all sorts of things that made him smile.
It was always a blast to see how people were so different. So unique. All of it was just so interesting. Although, nothing was as interesting as his newest assignment.
“Agent Hirofumi Yoshida,” A firm and older voice stated.
He stood before a panel of them, of faces that gave him looks completely different than those outside of this room.
Faces of total indifference, as if they were looking at nothing important at all.
“Give us your monthly report.”
“Of course,” He nodded, his tone modest and his actions polite, “For the entire month of November, Chainsaw Man did not show up once. His last appearance remains on October 17th, 1998. From current surveillance and as documented by my partner and I, he has displayed mild interest in returning but is much too occupied with current and new responsibilities.”
“Current.” Another voice added. It was robotic. “That refers to the children he takes care of along with Control?”
“Correct.” He replied.
“And what of the new?”
His smile remained placid and insincere. He knew where this was going.
“We believe he is in a relationship.”
“With who?” Yet another asked.
Could they fire him? Aside from a small handful, there really weren’t many who could do what he could. He supposed it’d be fun to see what they’d try, though. But first, he wanted to see if he could weasel his way out of this one.
“Mitaka Asa.” He informed them.
Their faces were no longer just indifferent. He could see traces of disgust.
“The War Devil.”
The voice was flat.
“Allegedly,” Yoshida added, shrugging, “We aren’t quite sure if she is or is—”
“Is this a game to you, Agent?”
He pursed his lips, as even he knew he shouldn’t push his luck that much. There was a line he had to thread carefully through lest the game end too soon.
“No, sirs.”
“Chainsaw is to remain inactive,” They pressed, “Allowing him to move in so close with an entity like that, who wishes nothing more than bring the real one out is asking for nothing but a breach in containment. And if that were to happen, it would surely result in mass casualties, causing even greater distrust for us in the eyes of the public, and another massive cut in budget, affecting all of us. Even you.”
Dozens of dull eyes met his.
“We wouldn’t want that, now would we, Mr. Hirofumi?”
“Nope.” He helpfully supplied.
Before they could chastise him more, he added his own two cents.
“But for what it’s worth, though, they’ve been in contact for nearly the whole month of November with nothing substantial to report.”
He let that simmer for a moment.
“Unless you include one on one outing to cafes as substantial.”
“You failed to mention that in your weekly report,” They accused him. It was true, though. He hadn’t. But it was to prove a point. “Is there any reason for it, or should we chalk it up to sheer incompetence?”
They were spicy today, weren’t they?
“There was indeed a point,” He said, voice steady underneath so much scrutiny, “Tell me, are you aware why Kishibe did what he did?”
The old man was one of the most interesting people Yoshida had known. What a shame he had truly retired, but his last stunt was probably the most entertaining thing he had ever had the pleasure of witnessing.
“We are not your peers,” They not-so-happily informed him, “We will not engage with whatever it is you wish to do right now. You will inform us of your point.”
…A pity.
One-sided conversations were only so fun.
“He’s an old drunk, yes, but he’s intelligent,” He explained, placing his hands behind his back as he continued, “He recognized Chainsaw and Control both needed a pseudo-family to keep one another in check, but he also knew the dangers of leaving them alone with one another. As a result, he threw normal human children in the mix to act as a sort of buffer, allowing them to be more independent in their relationship. A sort of ‘kill two birds with a couple stones’ situation.”
“…Did you really believe we didn’t know that?” They replied, “Your point, agent.”
The corners of his mouth rose at the invitation.
“I believe we have another opportunity to kill many more birds with the stones we already have.”
Their disposition didn’t change at all to the normal eye.
But he saw it.
The change.
The slight curiosity blooming across their faces.
“And what,” They spoke slowly, “Pray tell, do you mean by that?”
…
This was great. He had managed to save his own ass, and added on top of that, things were going to get much more interesting for Denji, and by extension, for him as well.
She was outside at six on the dot. Well, she had gotten here about fifteen minutes earlier, but that was because sometimes their lessons ended early. That didn’t seem to be the case today, and …sure. They could wait inside of the lobby until she showed up at the supposed time that practice would be over, but she had been studying up, you know? It was a bad look to be late to things like this, to be the last guardian to come pick up their children. That sort of thing stacked up in pubescents, causing resentment when they grew. Right now was an important, transitional stage of their lives, and the last thing she wanted to do was—
“You speak as if you’re their mother.”
Asa turned to her side. Standing leaning against the wall, dressed outside of her school uniform and in a much more Asa-casual manner in a button-up and an ankle-length skirt was someone who looked exactly like her.
That is if you didn’t include the scar and the crimson red irises with the golden spirals centered in them.
Yoru gave her a disinterested once-over.
“It’s… annoying.”
“I know I’m not their mother,” She shot back, “I never claimed to be.”
She rolled her eyes at the girl, who was pretending to miss her point
“Then stepmother. Or maternal figure. Or parental figure in general. It doesn’t matter. This whole charade is stupid.”
Asa grumbled as she crossed her own arms, mimicking the War Devil across from her as she let her back hit the brick wall behind her as well.
“This isn’t a ‘charade’,” Asa insisted, letting her annoyance bleed through as she drew the word out, “I want to help. Seven kids is a lot of work, no matter how you cut it, and now, they rely on me.”
At that, Yoru sneered.
“And there it is!” She hissed, “The crux of the issue!”
She really knew how to push her buttons, because Asa’s eyes narrowed in on her.
“And what’s that?”
“They rely on me,” She parroted, scoffing as she finished the sentence as if it were the most ridiculous things she’s ever heard, “Do you not hear yourself? Tell me, who chose to put herself into that situation, hm? Because it wasn’t me. It was you, Asa. You’re the one who chose to step into this life and play Goddamn husband and wife with that blonde idiot who can’t stop making kissy faces at—!”
“H-husband and wife?!” Asa squeaked, the rest of the words falling onto the deaf ears much to the devil’s annoyance, “W-what are you...?!” Her face was flushed red and her eyes were wide in shock. “I-I don’t…!” She swallowed, a measly attempt at easing her nerves as a hand fanned her face. She averted her gaze, staring at the sidewalk as her other hand clutched her cheek. “Me and…D-Denji?!”
The pain of watching this juvenile, won’t she, will she shit show was almost enough to make Yoru miss having her body disemboweled and her flesh devoured by Chainsaw Man. Because as painful as the memory was, and as ashamed as it made her feel, it didn’t make her want to gouge out her own eyeballs as much as it did watching two human teenagers fumble each other about for about a month straight.
“Yes, you and Denji!” Yoru snapped. “Even if we didn’t share a brain, could you really tell me what the two of you are doing is truly platonic?!”
“Y-yeah!” She sputtered. As if to add insult on to injury, it wasn’t even a good attempt at lying to her, either.
Her nose crinkled in disapproval as she looked at her host.
“Foolish. All of this. Need I remind you what our ultimate goal is?”
At that, Asa finally began to calm down, her face returning to its normal color and her arms falling to her side as she looked at Yoru with a look one would give their parents upon being caught staying up late.
“…To beat Chainsaw Man?”
“Correct,” Yoru said, though, there was no real praise in her confirmation. “Nothing we do shouldn’t involve that in mind. The only reason I allow you to continue this is because it makes you more willing to work with me, but enough is enough. Get your priorities sorted, Asa.”
She grunted, shifting her jaw as she turned away from the War Devil, absentmindedly rubbing her arm.
“They… they are.”
“They’re not.”
“They are.”
“Were you not listening to what I was saying? They’re not.”
“T-they are!”
“They’re not, idiot!”
“They totally are!”
“You naïve, insistent, little sh—!”
A bell jingled loudly, the sharp ring notifying that A, the door was opening, and B, that she should stop looking like she was yelling at herself.
In a flash, she quickly patted herself off, as if her current mood could be physically flung off of her, and she adjusted the ends of her sleeve. Anything to busy herself and ignore Yoru who was quite literally growling beside her.
As the children spilled out, walking past her to the parking lot where parents waited in cars, who she was now realizing could’ve watching the whole thing go down with her and her mind-devil, two familiar faces in particular stepped out.
The boy and girl were both blonde, already making them an unfamiliar sight here in Japan, but whereas someone like say Denji had darker roots, both their heads were bright blonde to the point it looked almost like a wig. But they weren’t. They were simply the results of both the children being foreign, one hailing from the United Kingdom while the other came from Norway.
The boy had a sort of bowl cut going on, though the edge of his hair wasn’t super defined. It worked for him, though, as his hair was innately fluffy anyways, adding on to the naturalesque look
He was softspoken, evident by his modest demeanor as he seemed to hide behind the girl, his blue eyes trying to avoid looking at anyone else as he was dressed in nothing more than a pair of sweats and a grey T-shirt.
The girl in question wasn’t much more outgoing than her sibling, but she was learning to put on a brave face for him. Asa believed part of that had to do with their joint piano lessons.
Her face was much more focused as she led Max by the hand as she determinedly led the two of them passed the exiting students. It took only a few seconds for her to notice Asa, and for both her and Max’s face to brighten up.
Her heart felt funny.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Yoru muttered. Asa would’ve waved her off if she could.
The girl bounded to her, her own longer blonde hair tied together in a bun as it shook slightly as she approached.
On a few occasions already, she had asked Asa to help her with her hair and has expressed interest in trying out pigtails as well. She tried to act like it wasn’t as big as a deal as it was as she offered to help her out whenever she chose to go through with it.
But snapping back to reality, Asa offered as warm as a smile as she could as she spread her arms as Silvia went in for a side hug. Max lingered in the back whilst Asa stroked her back gently, but she didn’t take any offense to it. She understood physical contact didn’t mean the same for anyone, and lord knows it caught her off guard the first time she was caught up in a surprise hug.
“Ms. Asa!” Silvia chirped, still pressed tightly against her.
Max gave a light wave, to which Asa was more than happy to return. After a moment, the young girl pulled away, and Asa took the first step towards the admittedly long walk back. The two followed in suit.
As other families pulled away from the lot, driving off towards their homes with established dynamics, Asa led the two children back to a single room apartment with one bathroom.
The children in question wouldn’t have it any other way, as Silvia recounted how practice went. Apparently, Max was a sort of prodigy, with the boy in question averting his gaze at the appraisal. The whole time, Asa listened, asking questions regarding her limited albeit growing knowledge of the instrument. She did that both to learn more about them, as well as to ignore Yoru who was mouthing the same phrase to her.
“Get them sorted.”
“How was practice?”
“Good. Coach says I got real talent. Says I’m better than him when he was my age.”
“Your coach said that?” Denji asked, letting out a small huff of amusement.
The two walked down a damp alleyway, the buildings around them tall and constricting as all sorts of nasty smells filled the air. Yet, it didn’t particularly bother him, as he had learned to filter out bad smells a while ago, and it didn’t bother the girl enough to make her want to quit coming by here every Monday through Friday.
“Doesn’t really surprise me,” He continued, turning to face the black-haired girl, “Bet I could prolly also kick his ass when I was his age too.”
Rose gave a sharp snort from her nose, hands in her pocket as dark brown eyes moved to meet his.
“You seriously making this about you already?” She snarked, a toothy grin following it.
“I’m just sayin’ not to let it go to your head,” He shrugged, but his tone was obviously playful. He knew that she knew that he was just messing with her, “Of course he’s gonna tell you what ya wanna hear. It’s how they squeeze more money out of ya.”
“You’re just mad I could kick your ass too when you were my age.”
“Just try it, punk.”
A moment passed, and in the distance, a droplet of something fell from a pipe.
The two broke out into laughter, her own mad cackle sounding a lot like his own. The noise reverberated throughout the narrow hall, causing all sorts of critters to scurry beneath dumpsters and trash alike as they passed by. The final aftereffects of their shared amusement faded just as they had calmed down.
They were quiet for a second longer.
“Coach told me I should enter a competition.”
“Your coach is money hungry.”
“He said he’d pay for it.”
“What, so just because of that I should let you go get the snot beat outta you?” Denji questioned, scratching the underside of his jaw, “No way bucko.”
“It’d be more like me beating the snot out of other people,” The young girl corrected, “But I can only improve so much with sparring. I need to get actual experience.”
“Why would you need experience?” Denji asked, though he already knew why. “You’re good enough to protect your siblings from even grown ups at this point. You don’t need to get any better at fightin’.”
The girl hesitated, noting his tone, the earlier jovialness quickly fading.
Still, she pressed on.
“…If I want a shot at being a good Devil Hunter, I gotta be better than just—”
“Nope.”
Only their footsteps tracking against wet concrete filled the silence.
“There’s seven of us.” She continued, voice growing more defensive, “And every single one of ‘em wants to end up somewhere different. Somewhere pricey. I’ve talked to them. I know you have too. You prolly know better than me how much that’s going to—”
“That’s why we’re savin’ up,” The blonde cut in again firmly, “That’s why I’m saving up. So, you can all go to a good college and all of that.”
“I’m not going to college.”
Denji took another few steps before realizing that he was walking by himself.
They were nearly at the end of the alleyway, nearly out of this section of town where he felt like he could relax a bit easier. Rose stood defiantly a couple meters away from it.
“You are.” Denji assured her.
“I’m stupid,” She replied, crossing her arms, “There’s no point. What would I even learn?”
“I…” He thought for a second, before tossing his hands into the air, “I don’t know!” He declared, “But that’s the point of going to college! To learn and stuff!”
She clicked her tongue, followed by a hasty exhale.
“If I became a Devil Hunter,” She explained, the words slow and drawn, “We would have enough to send everyone to college no problem.”
“And what about you?” Denji accused, getting more frustrated by the second, “What, you think devil hunting is all fun and games?”
“You did it too! As a kid!” She shot back, challenging him.
“Yeah, and I died doing it,” He stated, earning a wince from her, “You think that’s what I want from you? You think that’s what your brothers and sisters want? To know that you died to get them into college?”
It seemed like she was struggling to speak, but then, at once, a steely gaze crossed her face, and she seemed more determined than ever.
“I’m the oldest,” She insisted, “It’s my job to look out for them. And plus, I’m tough. I won’t go down easily. And it’ll be even harder for me to go down if you just let me—”
“You’re thirteen,” He hissed out, and she rolled her eyes at the obvious statement from him, but c’mon. He felt like it was important to note that. No matter how grown up she may feel, she was still a kid, “You don’t got a damn clue what you’re saying. Do ya really think socking a bunch of nimrods in a cozy little ring is anything like devil hunting?”
“Obviously not,” She huffed, “But how would I ever know if you never let me?”
“Let you— Are you crazy?!” He exclaimed, eyes widening, “For starters, I haven’t even had time to be Chainsaw Man with how busy I’ve been, but also, never in a million years would I let you join me!”
Her eyes fell on him again as she frowned.
“And that’s the problem.”
She began to walk again, and made to move right past him, but he blocked the way.
“Did I miss your head getting all banged up or something?” He asked, scowling at her, “I’m serious, devil hunting isn’t a game. It’s dangerous.”
She looked up at him; her face mixed between boredom and disappointment.
“Totally. Looks super dangerous whenever we’d see you on the TV.”
With that, she moved right on past him as he gawked at her in shock.
“I-it’s different for me!”
“Sure it is.”
He grunted as she rounded the corner, a car passing by on the street across from them as he marched after her.
She was only a few years older than the others, ranging from almost three years older than Nayuta to just over a year older than Max, but judging by the way she acted, you’d assume she was as old as Denji. But she wasn’t, and she just didn’t know that. So, of course, it was up to him to remind her, as his leg crossed the curb, and to let her know that now was far too soon for her to start stressing about her future.
That was his job. Her job was to go to school and actually take advantage of it so that she wouldn’t end up like—
He froze as he stepped out, as he saw Rose standing still, taking a step back from the tall, raven-haired teen looming over her.
“Which one were you again?” Yoshida asked himself, stroking his chin, “You were the… first, no?”
Not a second later, he pulled her back and stepped right in front of Yoshida.
“Beat it.” He growled as Rose blinked in surprise.
The young man’s dead-like eyes seemed to shift in recognition of Denji, and his artificial smile widened slightly.
“Ah, hello Denji,” He greeted, “Fancy meeting you here.”
“What do you want?” Denji snapped, knowing that he’d only show up like this if he wanted something. Either that, or he was seriously testing whether or not Denji would kick his ass for real.
He hummed in response to Denji’s aggression.
“I was just walking around, enjoying the breeze.” Yoshida lied, and he hated how smug he looked knowing that Denji couldn’t do anything about it, “But, hey! It’s pretty lucky I found you. There’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.”
His eyes narrowed in at him.
“If that’s the case, you talk to me at school.” He demanded, “And only me, you got it?”
Whether or not he got it didn’t change the expression on his face. He hated this guy so much.
“Understood. But this is kind of an urgent development. I need you to come with me now, please.”
He grunted at the request, before replying immediately after.
“I gotta walk Rose home.”
“Rose? Her name is Rose?” He asked, raising an eyebrow, as his grin finally seemed to be turning authentic “Oh. Oh, that’s funny. You really are funny, aren’t you, Denji?”
His head pounded, and the girl he was holding on to shifted against his grip.
“…Denji?”
It was exactly for this reason he didn’t want Yoshida interacting with them. He knew that Yoshida wouldn’t be able to hold back from messing with them, and he knew in turn he wouldn’t be able to hold back from finally pummeling this guy.
“Let’s get outta here, Rose.” He said, not bothering for a response from either as his hand grabbed hers and began to drag her away. Thankfully, she didn’t try to resist as he did so.
They made it only a couple of steps before Yoshida spoke again.
“One hundred thousand yen.”
He stopped right in the middle of his tracks.
“If you come with me right now, I’ll give you one hundred thousand yen,” He continued, his voice flat now without any of the cruel amusement it usually carried, “And if you listen to what I have to say… well, I can promise you a lot more than that. A lot more.”
His hold on her hand remained steely, even as he turned around.
“I gotta walk Rose home,” He repeated.
“I checked with Octopus,” Yoshida replied smoothly, “There’s nothing from here to your house. Plus, just a few blocks down and she’ll meet up with Mitaka and her group. Let her go and come with me.”
“I…”
No.
That should’ve been his response.
A firm and resounding no. But… one hundred thousand yen… they’d be good for a month off that. A whole month he could spend saving up even more.
He looked back at the girl, who was still staring at the unknown man, whom she was only now beginning to realize was the same tentacle guy he would complain about and warn them of.
Worried eyes met his.
She tried to say something, but he beat her to it.
“…It’ll just be for a second,” He said, hating that he said that “Just… go and meet with Asa and the rest, and help prep dinner, alright?”
She struggled to reply, her eyes flicking back and forth wildly. Slowly, he loosened his grip on her hand, to the point where she was the one holding on.
“Go,” He repeated, giving as confident as a smile as he could, “I’ll wait until you’re down the street anyway. And if anything happens… well, you know I can zip across the city in a couple seconds.”
He knew that wasn’t the issue, and she did to. But she was a big girl, so she nodded.
“Okay,” She said taking a step back as she fully let go of his head.
She nodded again.
“Okay. Okay. I’ll… tell them you’ll be a little late.”
“That’s my girl.”
She gave a weak smile back, and the Russian girl hovered around for another few seconds, before taking a few unsure steps backwards. Then, she fully turned and began to walk off.
Denji didn’t take her eyes off her until she had made it a block and a half of distance.
It was then that Yoshida spoke.
“…I didn’t want to interrupt the tender moment, but you’ll probably be more than just a ‘little’ late.”
His face fell and his forehead throbbed again.
“Piss off.”
He only chuckled in response.
She was certainly going to have to have a talk with Denji. She didn’t care how safe it was or how short of a walk it was or how admittedly scary she could be at times, but leaving a young girl to walk by herself was nothing short of irresponsible. They should’ve met up at the impasse as they agreed on.
She didn’t care how important it apparently was, but the worried look on her face could certainly not be worth it.
“What an impartial stance,” Yoru mocked, “You certainly are very distanced from everything going on here.”
She mentally flicked her off, earning a sound of guttural annoyance from the War Devil.
Rose was a bit of a harder case to understand when compared to the other two with her, though by far not the hardest of the seven to deal with in Asa’s opinion. That spot was reserved for a very vocal individual.
Nonetheless, Rose was a very flippant individual, often switching between moments of maturity that impressed even Asa to moments where she more often than not mirror her original caretaker. A pleasant trait, she supposed, to mimic the one who raised you, but it made lecturing her or giving her orders of any sort difficult. She saw Asa as a friend of Denji’s who helped out, and nothing more. Not that she expected her to, of course. That would intrusive, and awfully naïve of her. For starters, Asa had only met any of them about a month ago, and had only offered to help more starting two weeks ago. If anything, it was more shocking that any of them had taken any liking to her.
But Siliva loved chatting with, Max liked listening to her, Marcus thought she was funny, Tado would ask her for help with school work, and Jade had actually asked her for help with hair.
And boys.
Which Asa knew plenty about, mind you.
“The blind leading the blind.”
Get lost already.
“Stop thinking so loudly. It’s grating.”
While she wanted to argue, her foot met the first step of the brief flight of creaky, wooden steps that led up to the apartment. The sun was finally beginning to dip a bit, and the cool air was beginning to drop to something that neither her nor the kids would be able to bear without difficulty.
They walked up to the front door, Asa reaching into her pocket for a spare key given to her. Since she came by so much, now, it just made sense to give her it. It was nothing more than a logical choice on both parts.
…
Nothing to say?
“Do you want me to?!”
The key slid into its hole, and a twist later, it was unlocked.
The noise was noticeable outside, the faint sound of discussion and movement spilling outside weathered walls, but as soon as the door opened, it was magnified by three.
The dogs barked loudly, getting up from their once-stationary spots on the ground, doing their best to disturb the kids within who remained seated, not really wanting to move for what was an otherwise regular occurrence.
“Welcome back!” Marucs called out, not even turning around as his eyes remained glued to the TV in front of him. Jade made a sound that sounded sort of like that, waving her hand as she also remained mesmerized by the screen.
Behind them, Tado tried his best to keep his papers from flying off from the wave of movement of the rushing pets, who Siliva and Max greeted with extreme fervor. Rose remained uncharacteristically unenthused by it, though. Something was definitely up. But Asa would have to wait before prying, because as the boy with glasses stacked his homework and bickered with his siblings to tell them to watch it, a girl sat across from him at the dinner low table.
“Where’s Denji?” Nayuta asked, looking thoroughly unimpressed with Asa.
Nayuta did not like her. She didn’t even pretend to like her. She only managed to stand Asa because even she couldn’t deny that she was helpful to keep around. Still, that didn’t stop the insults, or the demeaning nicknames, or the long stares from the yellow, spiraled eyes that did not intimidate her in the slightest.
Nope. It totally didn’t.
“Caught up with something.” She replied, shutting the door behind her. Thank God the AC was running at full power. With how many animals and people alike in here, it’d be suffocating without it. “He told us to start dinner without him.”
“Really now?” The girl chuckled. It dawned on her that she wasn’t doing homework like the boy across from her. Instead, she was idly drawing what looked like a mix between a horse and a dog. It made it slightly easier not to wither beneath her dismissing gaze. “So, what’s that mean? You’re going to get everything out so that Denji can come back and finish it all himself, then?”
“I—”
“Nayuta, don’t be mean,” Jade scolded, still facing the TV as she defended her, “We’re all going to help out anyways.”
The youngest of them all clicked her tongue.
“Yeah, cuz if we don’t, she’d prolly screw it all up.”
“I admit that she might not be as good as Denji,” Tado spoke up, scribbling something down, “But you’re also not the best cook either, you know?”
She guffawed at the accusation.
“Well, I’m—! I’m a kid! I’m not supposed to be!”
“Nah, you kinda suck,” Marcus agreed, poking his head back at them to put in his own input, “Remember when you tried making an omelet and everything was raw?”
“You all didn’t know how to make one either!”
“Yeah, but we didn’t say we did,” He continued, snorting as he turned back to the TV, “What was it you said… Oh. Wasn’t it something like, ‘It’s easy. If Denji can do it, so can I’?”
He started chuckling to himself, unaware that Nayuta had gotten up and flung herself at him. As the other children began to cheer as the two began to wrestle, Asa sighed in relief. No, she wasn’t happy that the heat was off her. She was just happy that everyone was okay. So long as they had each other, nothing really seemed to truly affect them.
…Well, that was true for everyone except for the girl who still stood by her side, rubbing her arm as she watched Marcus buckle against Nayuta’s chokehold. Normally, she would’ve stepped in by now to establish order.
Something was definitely up.
So, what should she do? Ask her directly?
…It involved Denji. It had to. And to them, he was either their older brother, or just flat out their father. And her? She was just someone. No, she wouldn’t discuss it with her.
Whatever it was that was bothering her, there was no way Asa could help.
So, really, what should she do?
What would… and she can’t believe she’s saying or rather thinking this, what would Denji do?
…
“I got a ton of bad memories. Like, tons of ‘em. I try not to think about them, but sometimes, they just show up anyway.”
The two sat on the rooftop. Since he had invited her into his home, she thought it would only be respectful to invite him to her usual school lunch spot.
She looked down at her chicken and rice. It was bland. She had never really been a good cook.
“…The same thing happens to me.”
“Right?” He exclaimed, sounding as if he just discovered that they shared the same favorite sports team, “It totally sucks.”
Perhaps the under exaggeration of a lifetime. They didn’t just suck, they made it almost impossible to function sometimes. But even then, she knew they were just something you had to learn to live with.
Usually, she would try to think of something else. Of a happier memory than the one plaguing her. There weren’t many, though, and intrinsically, she knew she was going to run out of memories to pull from.
She tapped her fork against the metal container she carried.
“…What do you do?” She asked, before clarifying since she knew his attention span wasn’t the greatest, “When you remember something bad? What do you do?”
He breathed from his nostrils, and on his face was that expression.
That expression that made him look less like a boy, and more like someone who had lived a life longer than she could’ve ever thought. Who had endured more than she could possibly imagine.
And then he blinked.
“I dunno,” He replied, scratching his ear lobe, “Just busy myself with something. Or nap. Napping’s awesome.”
…
“…Do you want to help me prep the vegetables?” She tried, doing her best to make herself sound less awkward than she felt.
No way that would work.
“Sure.”
It worked.
The two turned, and since Asa was closer to the fridge, she got to it whilst the other girl tended to the cutlery.
She still wasn’t very familiar with the concept of cooking, but she would like to say she was improving. For instance, Denji had told her they were making a stir-fry today, as evident by the dethawed chicken in the sink. That meant she should get things related to a stir fry. Like, for example…
The cut in half onion could be used, she thought, as she grabbed it. Same with the intact green onion. And the red pepper. And maybe… the onion and ginger too. Yeah, okay. That seemed like a good start.
She shut the fridge, not wanting to let the frost out, as the fight behind them concluded, Nayuta sitting triumphantly over her brother as he played dead.
The sun had nearly fully set outside through the window by the sink, and Asa did her best to wash the clump of vegetables she held in her hands, making sure the runoff didn’t fall into the bowl that held the chicken thighs.
A cutting board hit the countertop while she did that.
She shut the faucet off, satisfied with the rinse as she shook the stray droplets off. The girl was already brandishing a knife as Asa dropped the veggies on the board.
She was tempted to ask how she wanted to divide the labor, but as Rose already began to cut, Asa figured it would just be better to let her be. Wordlessly, she grabbed a bowl from the cupboard, placing it to the side so that they could place everything cut within it to keep the board relatively clear.
Asa watched as the young girl cut with a precision that was admittedly better than hers. She couldn’t help but comment on it.
“Nice job.”
Her eyes didn’t leave the board in front of her, her grip steady as she made sure to hold the knife still before dropping it and raising it again as her other hand pushed the green towards it.
“Thanks.”
Not a particularly fruitful conversation, and she probably should’ve just left it there. But maybe Denji had been rubbing off on her more than she realized, because she didn’t.
“Did practice go well?”
A rather loud cut was followed by a multitude of quieter, more controlled ones.
“It was fine,” She replied, “I… “She nearly leaned towards her with one ear upturned as she opened the cupboard looking for the spices Denji usually used. A heartbeat passed. “Yeah, it was fine.”
Right. She wouldn’t open up to her. She didn’t have to. She shouldn’t. But even so…
“Well, if it went fine, then it was fine,” Asa concluded, “But if there’s something else you’d want to talk about, then I’m all ears.”
Behind them, the TV’s volume was raised, the kids having either forgotten that they’d offered to help or were simply testing how long it’d take for them to be summoned to help.
Rose scraped the chopped onions into one hand, placing them into the bowl.
As she lined up the peppers, she hesitated.
“There is… one thing.”
She tried to act calm.
“Yeah?”
The girl nodded, and Asa did her best to discreetly swallow.
“What is it?”
She seemed troubled, as she struggled to select what words she wanted to use exactly. After a long, couple of seconds, her mouth opened.
“What do you think of De—”
A series of sharp and deafening rings filled the apartment.
The huskies which had only just settled began to howl in agitation, waking the cat who had somehow managed to remain dozing the whole time in his selected corner. The children all turned towards the source of the phone.
The landline phone.
Of all the bad time timing to—
“I’ll get it!” Asa announced, hurrying over thrashing bodies and tight corners, cursing under her breath all the way.
She pulled the ringing thing, the sharp click notifying her and the other line that she had picked up, and she placed it to her ear.
“Hello?”
Hopefully it was just a telemarketer or something, so she could put the receiver back and she could get back to discussing things with—
“Mitaka? That you?”
She stood still, hand still on the receiver as her brows began to furrow.
“…Yoshida?”
“Yup, that’s me. Say, you busy right now?”
She looked back at the room. Despite the TV still blaring and the dogs barking wildly as they circled the apartment, everyone was looking at her.
Nayuta grunted annoyingly, which prompted Jade to slap her side with no real force.
“Well,” She began, turning back to the phone, “Yes. I am. Can I ask why you’re—?”
As she spoke, there was frantic rustling behind the phone, before a loud noise came out, causing her to wince as she pulled the phone away. Before she could say anything, another spoke.
“Asa?! Asa! You there?!”
She knew that voice. She’d know it from anywhere.
“Denji?!” She asked in surprise, and out of the corner of her eye, Rose flinched. “What are you—?!”
“Look, there’s a million things I gotta tell you, but for now, you have to meet me at your apartment.”
She let the words settle in for a moment.
“…What?!” She exclaimed after a moment, “What are you talking about?! Why would I meet you at your—?!”
“I’ll tell you everything in a bit,” He shouted, cutting her off as she frowned. If it weren’t for the desperation in her voice, she’d be absolutely livid. “But right now, you gotta meet me at your place. Please. I… shit, sorry, I gotta go. I’ll see you there, alright?!”
“What, Denji, I don’t—”
Click.
And with that, the line was dead.
She stared in shock at it, as pairs of eyes looked at her for some type of answer she couldn’t give. During it all, her brain scrambled for what she should do next.
…
She decided.
“Rose, you’re in charge,” She said, placing the phone back into it’s place, “Don’t let anyone in unless it’s us, and if we aren’t back in the next thirty minutes, feel free to finish with dinner and eat without us.”
The girl nodded as Asa hurried to the front entrance, putting on her shoes.
“If you guys are late, can we also order pizza?” Marcus tried, ignoring the tense mood. That earned him a much louder slap from Jade.
She stared at him as she grabbed a coat, considering his request.
“…Yeah, sure.”
At that, everyone excluding Rose and Max widened their eyes and pumped their fists into the air.
For something that was urgent, he sure liked to take his time when it came to walking.
They stood at a red light, not a single car in sight.
“Let’s just cross already, dude.”
“And break the law?” Yoshida asked, tutting as he shook his head, “I don’t think so.”
He grunted, shoving his hands into his pockets to busy himself and take his mind off things. He fidgeted with the lint and keys inside of them.
“You’re a real piece of work, you know that.” Denji said, a result of him noticing that he had kept that same creepy smile the whole way.
“Says you.” He shot back, tone light and playful as if they were really friends, “Aside from the obvious ‘chainsaw’ in the room,” He emphasized the joke with air quotes. God, he really thought he was clever, didn’t he? “Seriously. Rose? What’s up with that.”
As soon as he said that, a flash of violet crossed his mind. He shook it away instantly, but it didn’t go away fully.
“That was her name. I didn’t pick it for her.”
“You didn’t?” He asked, and he sounded surprised doing so, “Huh. I thought you just had an odd sense of humor.”
“I don’t.”
“Still,” The agent continued, “You can’t deny how ironic that is. I mean, she’s soviet, too, isn’t she?”
His fists balled.
“What a coincidence that must—”
“If you keep talking about this,” Denji said, “I mean it when I say I’ll gut you like a fish.”
He had asked about it one single time. He knew he should just forget about her. He knew she was gone. He knew even if he ever saw her again, it wouldn’t be the same.
But when he asked, all he had gotten response was the following:
“Even if I knew, I couldn’t tell you.”
It didn’t make it any easier for him. Didn’t make the sight of fireworks any less blurred for him.
But he had priories now. And those priorities were the only reason he was willing to entertain a snake like this guy. Of course, though, those priories could only give him so much strength, and if he kept on trying him, then Denji would eventually snap.
“Oh.” He mouthed, “Sorry, Denji. Wasn’t my intention to offend you.”
It honestly might not have been. It didn’t make it any better, though. If anything, it made him hate the guy more.
“Yeah, whatever.” He responded in little more than a growl, “Are we there yet?”
“Yes.” He replied calmly as if his life hadn’t been threatened a second ago, “We’re right here, actually.”
Denji came to a stop, blinking as he turned to his side.
“…Is this a joke?”
“No.”
“Yoshida.”
“Yeah?”
“Why the fuck are we at a playground?”
Windley, red and yellow tubes crossed one another as they remained elevated thanks to plastic poles with metal rod in the interior of them. Half a dozen slides offered plenty of options for kids to leave when they so choose, but at the moment, it seemed rather empty.
Well, mostly empty.
There was someone sitting on a bench a few feet away from them, and he could hear the distant rumbling of someone stuck inside of the maze of plastic, their scramble within it made known. He could hear boisterous laughter, faint only because its source was far away and also entombed.
…Loud, friggin’ kid.
Whatever.
“Well…” he began, contemplating his words for the first time. Eventually, he just gave up, “You’ll see in a second. Until then, come meet my partner.”
“What, why?”
“Because she has important information to give you.”
He was upset at the lack of information he had given him, but regardless, he followed suit. After this, he would get the money, right? He’d ask about that next.
They made it only a few steps before the person sitting on the bench turned. A wild, flirtatious grin adorned her features as she adjusted her bangs.
“Ah, look who it is!” Fumiko cheered, waving frantically at him, “A real family guy, huh?!”
He wanted to go home now.
“You guys are partners?!” He blanched, looking at Yoshida, “I thought you guys were just coworkers or something?!”
“Nope!” The woman cheerfully responded for him. He looked back to see that she had risen from the bench, a stack of papers in her hand, “He and I work closely together to monitor and keep you out of trouble!”
“If that’s the case, why don’t I ever see you with him?” He asked. The only time they had ever been in the same vicinity was when Fumiko had first introduced herself to him.
…By making a move on him while he was out with Asa buying groceries.
…Who had left him alone to go buy some dairy products and had move to strangle her in an act very unlike the Asa he knew when she walked right into her cornering him against a shelf and touching his biceps.
If it wasn’t for Yoshida, he was positive she might’ve actually killed her.
“Because Fumiko has her friends,” Yoshida replied, “And I have mine.”
At that, they both looked at him.
“You have friends?”
“You have other friends, senpai?”
His smile was left unchanged, and he tilted his head to look past Denji.
“Fumiko, could you please hand Denji the documents now?”
“What, did he already agree to it?” She asked, not moving from her spot.
“Agree to what?” He scowled, still not knowing why the hell he had dragged him out to a playground for.
“Well… not yet, but c’mon. We know he will.”
“Sorry,” She replied, wagging a finger at him, “Gonna need to see confirmation.”
“Confirmation to what?” He asked, getting increasingly annoyed at being left in the dark.
“Fumiko,” Yoshida chided, “Have I ever steered you wrong before? Besides, even if he doesn’t agree to it, an idiot like Denji would forget about all the contents on that paper after a single day.”
“Are you begging me, senpai?”
“More like asking.”
“Aww,” She cooed, “I would’ve loved to see you beg.”
…
“What the fuck is going on here?!” He shouted, looking between the two.
Neither one moved at all, as he heard the somewhat familiar tumble of someone falling down the slide.
“You think I got time to waste like this?” He snapped, grounding his fists. He wasn’t some clown for these guys to be calling up to perform like this! “Cuz I don’t! I’m busy! Way busier than either of you creeps! So cough up the cash already and tell me what you gotta say already! Cuz from the looks of things, I’m starting to think this has all just been a big waste of my—!”
A red glint appeared in the corner of his eye.
Both he and Yoshida moved at the same time, bending back to avoid getting skewered by the instaneous projectile.
His hair moved as it passed him, and his eyes widened as Yoshida’s smile deepened across from him.
A nearby thunk could be heard, and it took Denji to slow his heartbeat to look over.
Sticking out of a telephone, having caused chippings and splinters of wood to burst around it, was a small, crimson arrow.
It was maybe the size of his hand, and to be honest, even if it hit him, so long as it wasn’t his head or neck, he doubted it would even do that much.
But he wasn’t struggling to breathe because he was scared.
It was because he recognized it. He recognized the color of it.
Recognized that it was made of blood.
Slowly, at an even more hesitant pace than before, as if he couldn’t even believe it, because, really, he couldn’t, he turned to where it had come from.
Small, budding red horns were the first thing he noticed.
Long, dirty blonde hair way past her shoulders with a pink tint was the next.
She was shorter than him and was wearing overalls over a shirt with long red sleeves and a cake pictured on it. Her red sneakers dug defiantly into the mulch as she crossed her arms.
“Boo. You’re back already? Get a hint and get lost already, scumbag!”
Her voice was brash, punctuated, and annoying. It was so, so annoying.
He really couldn’t breathe anymore.
She blew a raspberry, and golden-yellow eyes with a red cross shape in them glared at Yoshida, before facing him.
She raised an eyebrow at him.
“And you brought something that stinks of dog with you?” Power asked, clicking her tongue, “Are you that desperate to relinquish your life to me or something?”