In hindsight, the fact that they made me start working on the same day had to be a violation of some labor law. I just got finished cleaning up a zombie and muscle devil, and now you're going to make me wear this uniform and go on patrol all day? Public devil hunters really have it rough.

Well, with my new contract, I could've told Makima to let me off the hook for today. Buuuut…

"Aki Hayakawa, reporting in."

I freeze.

I… I can't face him.

Memories come back. Terrible memories. I… I-

"Hey, you've got stones for ears. Turn around."

The hand on my shoulder is…

"What's up with your face, rookie? Looks like you've seen a ghost."

For a moment. Just a brief moment. I see a gun where his face should be. But then it disappears and I see…

"Ms. Makima, is he alright? You didn't break him or anything."

"No. Denji, snap out of it."

Hearing those words, I take the biggest gulp and say, "Hi. Denji. Nice to meet ya."

"…likewise."

We shake hands. I suppress the sound of gunshots in my head and both Makima and Aki stare at me like I'm a weirdo. Good times.

"Anyway, you and Aki will be living with each other. More accurately, he will be keeping a watchful eye over you. Given your status as a half-devil, certain precautions must be met."

"Wait, what?" Aki removes his hand from mine and begins rubbing it on his uniform.

Ah, right. I forgot he had a huge hatred for devils. Getting him back might be harder than I thought.

"I've only heard flimsy rumors of cases like that…"

"Denji is special, so it's decided that we'll treat him as a special case. If Denji ever quits or disobeys an order, he will be put down as a devil."

So I still get the raw end of the stick on that deal, huh…

"Fine by me," I say. "If keeping a dagger pointed at my throat will help you all sleep at night, then be my guest."

"You're quite flippant with your life," Aki says. "Not that I care. Devils should all die."

Yep, still the same prick I know and love.


We go on the same patrol we went on before. This time, I'm trying not to be a pain in the ass, so hopefully, Aki won't lead me into an alley to give me a thrashing—and I don't have to turn his testicles into mush.

"Part of our duties as devil hunters include patrolling the streets for any activity," Aki explains. "If the incident is not the direct cause of a devil, then we have to let the police act. Also, we can't interfere with the activity of a civilian devil hunter unless they look like they're in trouble."

"Got it." It's a mouthful, but it's easier to remember something when you've heard it before.

"Denji, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Follow me."

The moment Aki turns towards an alley, I prepare for the worst. Nevertheless, I follow him. At this point, my hands are up, ready to take the brunt of his swing.

Aki turns to me, and I see a cigarette in his mouth. He takes it out of his mouth and blows smoke.

"Alleys are good places to unwind," he continues explaining. "Devils rarely attack in these tight spaces, the only exception being the Claustrophobia devil."

"I see…" I lower my hands but still keep my guard up.

"Relax. Getting too tense is bad for your health."

Nothing about this situation can make me un-tense. And last I checked, cigarettes are just as deadly.

"I'm just nervous 'cause it's my first day," I lied. "I'm hoping to make a good impression."

"Honestly, this is the point I'd tell you to quit. Kids like you die fast in this industry. But, with your circumstances, that isn't possible."

Every inch of me wanted to tell Aki the truth. But if I recall from Kishibe's explanation, Makima can borrow the hearing of lower life forms. She's probably listening to us speak right now.

"Hey, Aki. Is Makima a good person?"

When I asked him this question, his back was turned. I wonder-

"Of course, she is. I owe her my life."

He says this with the most hollow look. So this is what brainwashing looks like.

"Right…" Breaking past that is going to be difficult.


Like before, there's no incident. I make myself at home in Aki's apartment. It feels nice to be back somewhere nostalgic.

I even repeat all the behaviors I knew would piss him off. I have a blast.

We go and kill a fiend later. I do what I did before but changed my reasoning this time.

"Oh, uh, when I turn into Chainsaw Man, I get kind of wild. In a closed space like this, people can get hurt."

"…how noble of you," Aki replies.

As soon as he leaves, I turn to the magazines on the floor. On second thought, I shouldn't indulge in this bad habit even if Nayuta isn't around. I don't want to get addicted and end up being a bad influence on her.

I leave them as is and go on with what would happen next.

I need to face this.


"POWER!"

It takes all my willpower not to break down upon hearing her voice. It's quite a weird feeling, seeing a dead person and her murderer in the same room together. Makima introduces her like they're friends.

"Power here is going to be your buddy," Makima explains.

"Hu, hu, hu~ What is the matter, human? Trembling at the sight of me? 'tis natural, after all."

"Huh, oh, uh-"

"Denji's still acclimating to his time here," Aki says.

Upon explaining to Makima, Aki says I was a little rough around the edges but fairly manageable. Power would be a different story, though.

I don't do anything different at this point. I sort of just let Power be, for better or worse.

"Your cat was abducted by a devil?"

"'tis truth," Power explains.

I tell her that I'd help her get Meowy back. However, this time, I tell her to just tell me the location and that I'd do it alone. At this point, she doesn't know anything about my Chainsaw Devil transformation and thinks I'm suicidal. But, since the original plan was to feed me to the bat, she goes along with my request.

One bat and parasite devil murderizing later, I come back to Aki's flat with Meowy in hand and Power jumping for joy.

"I don't know how you did it, but I owe you big time!" Power says.

"Think of it as being on the house," I say, not wanting to repeat the utterly disappointing boob-touching fiasco. "Oh, actually, I do have a request. Aki, you come here too."

"Huh? What do you want?"

"Yeah, yeah, can you guys, like, stand next to each other?"

They look a little weirded out by my request, but I'm trying to look very sincere. Reluctantly, they follow along.

"A little closer. That's right."

As soon as they get close enough, I open my arms up and grab them into one big hug.

"W-what is this?" Power says.

"Huh? What's gotten into you?" Aki also asks.

"Just—let me have this."

At this point, I can't stop the tears from flowing.

We stay like this for what has to be a few minutes. I wish it could last longer.

This time, I won't let anything bad happen to you guys.

I promise.