Okay, after some serious consideration and some thinking… I'm bringing you guys a brand new story. As a quick note, my update schedule is still in the shit on account of me trying to finish Part 2 of Chase Ryder and the City of Lost Memories. I wanted to get it out before July, but as you can see, that ain't happening. So, yeah, this and Invincible Girl will be my last updates for a while. Sorry guys.
That said, I might as well give you some quality content. Blame ahsoei for helping me brainstorm ideas for this craziness.
On with the show!
Chainsaw Man X RWBY:
"I Just Wanna Kick Back"
Chapter 1:
What is this Isekai Bullshit?
Denji blinked. Once, twice, then three times just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "Am I back in Hell again?"
Ordinarily, one would balk at the blatant nonchalance and lack of shock on his face, especially considering the world he lived in. Denji was not "normal" in any sense of the word, though; a child of poverty, he was in debt to the local yakuza and would have died had it not been for a chance encounter with a wounded Devil with whom he made a contract with. Through this contract, Denji managed to coast through life, if only barely up until his encounter with the Zombie Devil. Its appearance led to a violent rollercoaster that upended his daily, normal life.
To make a long story short, Denji became a Devil/Human hybrid after Pochita became his replacement heart. Devils were a strange race of monsters born from humanity's fears, ranging from the absurd (seriously, who feared tomatoes?) to deep-seated primal fears that have been with humanity since their conception. They could die, but would eventually return after being reborn in Hell. To combat this threat, the government sanctioned the founding of the Public Safety Devil Hunters and licensed ordinary citizens to become Devil Hunters to combat Devils on their own terms. Denji was recruited into Public Safety, with the alternative being death.
His life in Public Safety was a major step up compared to his former poverty. He had clothes, a warm bed, and got to eat bread with jam. The only downsides initially were his partners: a stoic-faced edgy-looking guy named Aki and a loud and obnoxious Fiend (a Devil inhabiting a human corpse) named Power. Coincidentally, both were his roommates.
In time, Denji came to see them as family…up until one tragedy too many took them away. What followed was a dark period in his life, a moment in which he thought he was never going to know what it was like to be happy and stay that way until his sensei convinced him to stand back up on his own two feet. The Devil responsible for the recent tragedies in his life was dead and gone in a fashion, and Denji was in a new chapter of his life. He was attending school and working hard to get the money he needed to give his sort-of friend sort-of little sister a good education.
Which brings us to the current situation.
Kishibe called him regarding a job for the famous and popular Chainsaw Man, the one and only Devil Hunter who could kick ass and take names. It was one of those rare times when Denji's opponents were humans; to be more specific, there was this cultist group looking to summon some kind of Devil. They had no idea what Devil the cultists were trying to summon, and at the end of the day, it didn't matter. They needed to go. Since money was involved, Denji was more than happy to rev up his chainsaws and get to work.
The cultist hideout was easy to find as was killing the cultists he found along the way. The idiots didn't even have anything to defend themselves with. No guns, no bats with barbed wire, not even contracts. Denji found the main chamber easily enough after having decorated at least three hallways in red and gore.
"A'right, dipshits!" Denji roared as he kicked down the door. "I'm here to cut you up, take names, and steal your girlfriends!"
"You're late, Denji!"
He tripped, nearly falling flat on his face and the wind knocked out of his sails. "What the—Nayuta?!"
A girl sat atop some kind of operating table, legs crossed and arms folded over her chest with a pout. Surrounding her were men and women in bloodied robes, all of whom looking as though they killed themselves. Knives neatly dug into flesh, hands wrapped around necks, ropes held firmly in hands, etc. It was a bizarre sight for Denji indeed, though not for the reasons one might think.
"The hell are you doing here?" Denji asked in confusion. "I thought you were walking the dogs."
"I was until these guys snatched me up in the middle of the street," Nayuta replied nonchalantly as if she weren't in the middle of a bloodbath. "They were really freaking rude, too! They were talking about how they were going to sacrifice me, and I kinda got curious about how it was gonna go."
"How were they going to sacrifice you? Stab you with a knife? Violate you?"
Nayuta sighed. "Nah. They were going to feed me to whatever Devil they wanted to summon."
"…that's kind of lame."
"I know, right?!" Nayuta exclaimed. "They're doing it all wrong, too! I even told them as much, and they got mad and started screaming at me. It got really annoying, so I told them to sacrifice themselves." The girl glanced at the dead bodies, sniffing the air. "I think they might've been aiming for virgin sacrifices too. I don't think any of them were, though."
"Do I even wanna know how you know that?"
"You have heard Mr. and Mrs. Kazamatsu going at it next door, right?"
Denji grimaced. The Kazamatsu couple were decent folks who offered to tutor and look after Nayuta during the weekend when he was busy, though they were rather 'overly affectionate'. He recounted more than one night when he heard their loud moans through the walls, and on more than one occasion cursed Mr. Kazamatsu for scoring such a hot babe for a wife. That their lovemaking was so obvious and loud did get them in trouble with the landlord, though.
Still, part of Denji was relieved to know that Nayuta was safe. While he knew she was fully able to protect herself, he did not want her getting involved in dangerous situations like these. He wanted her to grow up like a normal girl, not like…her.
"Well, fun's over I guess," Denji said as his chainsaws retracted and his demonic visage melted, revealing the teenage face underneath. Nayuta hopped off the table and joined him. "Come on, let's go home… Hey, wait a second. If you got nabbed in the street, what happened to the dogs?"
"Oh, they're fine! I gave them commands to head home in case something happened to me. Hopefully they won't wait too long."
"Y-you bastards…!"
Denji and Nayuta blinked. Evidently not all of the cultists were dead; one was still alive, leaning against the wall with her arm. A knife sat in her shoulder, a large quantity of blood seeping and staining her cloak a dark red color matching her madness-filled eyes. Her skin was deathly pale. Overall, she was just barely clinging to life.
"How dare you interrupt our ritual…" the woman gasped out while glaring hatefully at the two. "Y-you'll pay for this…!"
Nayuta sighed. "Classic B-movie villain. Come on, Denji. Let's go. I have a test tomorrow."
"Y-you aren't going anywhere," the cultist rasped. To Denji's surprise, she yanked the knife from her shoulder. Blood spurted from the wound with renewed vigor. She pressed the knife's edge against her neck. "Isekai Devil… In exchange for my life, send these two far away! To a place they can never return!"
"Isekai what-now? Hey, are you serious? That's an actual devil?"
All Devils were born from human fears, including weak asinine ones that well and truly made no sense. Who in their right mind would be scared of chickens and tomatos? That there was apparently a Devil born from a fear of a genre surprised Denji, though he found himself curious and laughing almost. That someone was scared of going to another world was kind of hilarious in a way. Truth be told, Denji was an avid fan of the genre. It didn't matter how trashy isekai novels were these days, he always found some enjoyment in them.
Well, except for the dense harem protagonists. He cursed them for being so popular and raged over how freaking oblivious they were to the smoking hot babes around them. And some of those girls were so freakin' obvious in their affections too!
Wait, what was going on? Oh, right. The cultist.
The woman slashed her own throat and fell to the floor. Having already lost a lot of blood, the act drained what little she had left and died on the spot. Nothing happened, leading Denji and even a somewhat curious Nayuta to pout.
"Wait, that's it? I was expecting something showy to happen. Where's the-"
That was as far as Nayuta got when an eight-fingered hand suddenly appeared above them, reaching down for her and Denji and closed its fingers.
When Denji opened his eyes again, he was greeted with a bizarre sight that made him blink.
"Am I back in Hell again?"
Not many humans could say they visited the realm of Devils and lived to tell about their experience. In all honesty, Denji hadn't taken the time to take in the sights on account of facing down a monstrously powerful Devil that made him shudder each time he remembered the encounter. He vaguely remembered how underwhelming Hell looked, being a grassy plain with a sky filled with doors.
Compared to then, "Hell" looked much more vibrant. In the distance was the biggest tree he'd ever seen. Surrounding it were floating islands; to the left were snowy plains with what he assumed were desserts and fruits (at least he assumed the giant red thing with the stem to be a cherry), and to the right was a forest with absurdly large glowing mushrooms. Further back he saw mountain ranges and volcanoes.
"If this is Hell, it's gone through one heck of a makeover," Denji thought aloud. "Definitely better the last time I was here." He paused for a moment and looked around his immediate area. "Nayuta? Hey, Nayuta! Where are you?!"
The girl was nowhere to be found. She was far from helpless of course, but Denji couldn't help but worry all the same. Ever since Kishibe dumped her in his lap, he did his best to do right by her. He worked up the courage and means to attend high school, worked hard on getting the money for her tuition, and helped her as much as he could given his lackluster education. In a way, Nayuta was equal parts daughter and little sister to him. It would be a cold day in Hell before he would allow her to come to harm.
It was strange how they were separated when they were standing side-by-side when that Devil showed up out of nowhere. It was possible distance didn't matter and the devil sent them wherever. Actually, where was this place anyhow? It didn't feel like Hell, and it seemed too…peaceful(?) to be a place for devils.
"Not gonna learn anything, standing around here," Denji decided as he rolled up his sleeves. "Let's go find us a Nayuta!"
With that, Denji charged into the unknown.
"Cheshire."
The Curious Cat blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"Your name," the strange creature in front of him said with a resolute nod. "It's Cheshire."
Today proved quite a strange, if not exciting day in the Ever After for the Curious Cat. It parted ways with a denizen unable to fulfill its purpose, giving it a piece of his heart when it came across something new. It showed up out of nowhere, literally dropped to the ground by a disembodied hand with eight fingers. The hand mysteriously vanished afterward as though it never existed in the first place, leaving the creature behind.
The creature looked human like the two it met years ago, but he knew right off the bat it was not human at all. It may look human, but its presence was anything but. It was a most unpleasant feeling, an awful one to describe, as if all his being demanded he cease to exist and forfeit all that made him who he was.
To experience such unpleasantness when he had yet to interact with the creature made the Curious Cat excited, yet fearful at the same time. What sort of existence could elicit such feelings from him, such terrible dread? As always, he was terribly curious.
As such, he approached the creature as he had with the humans from long ago. He introduced himself to the creature and answered what questions it had while it answered his.
The creature called itself "Nayuta" and claimed to come from a place called Earth. The Curious Cat felt some disappointment upon hearing this, half-expecting it to have come from Remnant like the humans did, but it was quickly forgotten in favor of learning new things. From the way Nayuta described Earth, it was not very different from Remnant. It had civilization, an absurdly large population, and its own host of troubles. Nayuta talked about the Devils, and the Curious Cat could not contain himself.
Such fascinating creatures! Monsters born from the fears of humans, ranging from the absurd and outlandish to the primordial and instinctual. Nayuta did not outright confirm or imply it, but the Curious Cat was almost certain it too was a Devil. He almost asked it what fear of humanity it embodied before turning its questions elsewhere. The creature required a guide, and he was more than happy to do so. It seemed only fair since he was learning so many new things.
One thing that irked him about the creature was its questions about itself. He answered honestly and to the best of his ability, but it always asked him about his name. He did not understand what was so important about having a name. It was an identifier and tag. He did not need one, yet the creature disagreed. He ignored such things in favor of showing her around the acre, at least until the creature took matters into its own hands.
"Cheshire?" The Curious Cat repeated the 'name' with a hum. It rolled off the tongue easily enough, but he could not understand the meaning and intent. "A strange name. Tell me, what does it mean?"
"It's the name of a character from a book I read in school." School? Oh, the humans mentioned that before. A place of learning if he recalled correctly. Earth had such things as well, it seemed. "They're a talking cat who likes to rhyme and speak riddles. They're actually called the Cheshire Cat and live in this weird place called Wonderland. You live in a weird place, and you like riddles, so from now on, your name is Cheshire."
The Curious Cat was almost certain the creature left out a lot and was positively miffed about it. An interesting tale, and she refused to share! The nerve! Ah, oh well. He'd pry it out of the creature in time.
"If you're that insistent on calling me by a title, I won't stop you," he said smoothly and leaped down from the tree branch and onto the dirt path in front of the creature. "You've told me quite a bit about these Devils, so I must ask. When I came upon you, I saw something most peculiar. A hand with eight fingers. It dropped you here and disappeared. Was that a Devil as well?"
Nayuta grimaced. "Oh, right. I forgot about that. Stupid cultist jerk. Yeah, that thing was a Devil. The jerk called it the Isekai Devil, so I think it's born from people's fears about going to another world. It's kind of a popular genre in fiction."
"Why would someone be afraid of going someplace new?" the Curious Cat inquired.
"Beats me. I don't get it, either. I mean, think about all the excitement of going to someplace new! Like Italy! I heard the spaghetti and pizza there are the bomb, so me and Denji have been saving up money to plan a visit."
"What is this Italy?"
"Oh, it's…"
Nayuta continued to answer the Curious Cat's questions. With each question answered, he felt more and more curious about the creature. One thing that stuck out to him the most was this 'Denji'. Were they the same species as Nayuta or something else? He wanted to ask, but the creature implied Denji was here in the Ever After as well. In fact, Nayuta asked for his help in finding them, to which he agreed. Someone new had questions, and the Curious Cat had many for newcomers to the Ever After. The more he heard about Earth, the more interested he became.
Was it, too, like Remnant? Was it made by his creators?
He wanted to know.
The mouse stared at the monstrosity in a mix of fear and awe.
"Stupid fucking trees! Fuck off and die already! I ain't got time for this shit!" Accompanying the vicious words were dreadful sounds that pierced the otherwise tame and calm noises of the jungle. The 'brum-brum' sound coming from its arms and head screeched like the Jabberwalker, the rotating blades slashing apart the vines and trees as they tried to snatch up the monster in vain.
With each wild swing of the arms, the vines were severed. With each gnashing bite, the vines were pulled. With each flail, the trees were carved. It was a dance of brutality, and the mouse couldn't help but watch with horrific interest. It was the first time he ever saw such a being, much less such wanton brutality. What manner of creature was this? Where did it come from?
A flurry of vines erupted from every direction, seeking to wrap and ensnare the monster entirely. The monster let out a furious roar as the vines closed in, snapping into a tight ball and swallowed it. For a moment, silence returned to the forest. The mouse looked on warily on baited breath, wondering if the monster was struggling.
Five seconds passed before that unholy screeching noise shrieked through the air once more. A rotating blade tore through the vine shell, and from it emerged the monster's head, spurting green fluids and staining its body. It continued to roar and flail as it cut its way out, spewing more green fluids to the point a fair portion of the forest floor was now bright green. Strands of vines fell and joined the discarded leaves.
The monster landed on his feet, breathing so hard its pants were visible clouds of steam. Its spinning blades continued to rotate. "ALRIGHT!" it bellowed. "ANYBODY ELSE?! ROUND 2?! ANYONE?!"
The forest did not answer.
"…tch. That's what I thought. Freaking hell."
The mouse blinked as he watched the monster's frightful visage melt away. Gone was the orange head with sharp teeth and spinning blade protruding from its forehead. Gone were the blades sprouting from its arms. The visage disappeared, replaced by…something else. Something normal. Peach-colored flesh, brown eyes, and messy hair.
"A human?"
The mouse blinked again. How did he know what this…strange creature was? And why did he suddenly think of two similar-looking creatures with dark skin and brown hair?
"The fuck?" The mouse squeaked in alarm, suddenly finding the…human(?) in front of him. It crouched down, it's head tilted and staring at him in confusion. "What the heck are you? A Rat Devil or a Mouse Devil?"
"Ex-freaking-scuse me?!" Indignation bubbled in his chest. He rose to his haunches and glared at the human(?) with all the fury he could muster. "Who are you calling a rat, you freak?! I'm a freaking mouse! You got crappy eyes or somethin'?!"
"Hey, my eyes are fine! It ain't my fault you rodents all look the same!" the human(?) shouted back with equal indignation. Then it blinked. "…wait, you talk?"
"No, I'm the voice in your head talking shit," the mouse snarked. "Of course I can talk! What do I look like, a savage?"
"…well, I've met weirder Devils…"
"What the heck is a Devil? And more importantly, what the heck are you? Never seen one of you weirdos around here in the Ever After."
"Ever After? Wait, this isn't Hell?"
The mouse frowned. "What's Hell?"
The human(?) frowned back. It looked up at the forest canopy, past that and the sky, then looked back at the Great Tree. After a moment, the creature's face changed into something more panicked.
"…I don't suppose you've heard of Earth, have you?"
The mouse groaned. Of all places for this freak to show up, why here…? Well, I suppose it could be worse. It could be that darn cat and whatever in the heck that thing was…
Yoshida stared. "You're kidding."
"Does it look like I'm kidding?" Kishibe sneered. Much like the last time the young man saw him, he had a flask in his hand and a cold glare that made lesser men shiver. "We checked the whole place top to bottom. I even went so far as to visit his place. Only things there were the cat and the dogs."
"You mean to tell me Denji and the Control Devil—"
"Nayuta."
Yoshida winced. "Nayuta," he amended. "Have both gone missing? And no one knows where they are?"
Kishibe nodded. Yoshida wanted to scream in frustration. Ever since Denji enrolled in high school and Public Safety told him to keep an eye on his activities, the former tested his patience in ways he never could have imagined. He would have thought that, after Makima and everything that happened to him, he would have learned something, maybe matured, but no, Denji was still Special Division 4's problem child. Actually, Yoshida argued he might have gotten even worse.
Yoshida empathized with Denji to an extent. The boy loved being Chainsaw Man, lavished the attention it brought, but that was because it was what constituted a normal life. Maybe that was what he wanted, so Yoshida decided he would try and convince him to stop. Half of Public Safety wanted him dead simply for being part-Devil while the other half wanted to use him as a weapon. Apparently they learned nothing after Makima. Despite his best efforts, the young Devil Hunter was convinced he was attempting the impossible. He underestimated how much of an idiot Denji was.
Seriously, all this just to get a girlfriend, he thought with a grimace and sighed, dragging a hand down his face. "My bosses aren't going to like this," he said. "And people will start asking questions."
"Then I'd suggest we start looking for that idiot as soon as possible," Kishibe said, taking another swig from his flask. "I know that boy pretty well. Denji might be an idiot, but even he isn't stupid to think he could escape every law agency in the world looking for him, especially the government."
Yoshida frowned. "Do they know he has Nayuta?"
"They suspect it," he shrugged. "I've been doing my best, but I'm reaching the limits of what I can do."
"I see…"
Once all the important matters were discussed, Kishibe turned and began walking away. He was still a wanted figure, so he could not afford to stay in one place for too long. Yoshida watched him go before he turned his gaze to the abandoned apartment complex where the Devil cultists were based out of. The last place anyone saw Chainsaw Man and the Control Devil.
"Dammit. Where in the Hell are you, Denji?"
Soooooo…. Yeah, this is a thing.
This initially started off as a random plot bunny that plagued my mind when I started watching the Chainsaw Man anime. When I broached the idea to a guy named ahsoei, who wrote One Punch DxD: NEOby the way, he jumped on board and we started bouncing ideas around. Honestly speaking, when I first envisioned this I just thought of Denji and just him…but then I got to thinking of what kind of trouble he and Nayuta could get into, and that's how we got here.
I should note that this takes place between Parts 1 and 2. At this point in time, Denji has not met Asa, nor has Asa met Yoru. You also shouldn't an expect an appearance from either character, as this will focus entirely on Denji and Nayuta.
BTW, as I'm writing this, I decided to change my mind. I'm going to try and write out chapters for this story and any others I got on my plate while writing out the rest of Chase Ryder and the City of Lost Memories Part 2: Revolution. Writing this has turned out to be surprisingly fun!
…on a completely unrelated note, if you have the time, I recommend you guys check out a fellow CSM x RWBY crossover titled "Remnant gets a Chainsaw(man)". It's a good read, if a little on the crack-ish side.
That will be it for now. If you're interested in supporting me financially and want to help put food on my table, please consider checking out Chase Ryder and the City of Lost Memories on Amazon or my (Pa)treon account. That's (Pa)treon\SkyRig for anyone curious. To be honest, I really hate having to resort to using (Pa)treon. I get why some authors use it, but I would much rather not paywall content…which fortunately for me has yet to happen since I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING UP ON IT!
See You.