M'kay, I was not expecting this to get any attention at all, seeing as how niche this crossover is, but, hey, I guess it did get some attention, which is all I can ask for, now can I? Anywho, I'mma do the same thing I do with another story of mine, and that's respond to some reviews/comments, so, here goes nothing!
Before that, though, I know that I flubbed up with Basil's house. He's only got 1 floor and an attic, so pretend that when Sunny barges into his house and goes up the stairs, he's going to the attic, because that's where Basil is. My bad….
[My Response to reviews/comments]
(Qoutev) Bubbles: To be honest, if it wasn't for it being a Psychological horror game, I would've thought the same way about OMORI, at least, in my personal opinion. And, considering Chainsaw Man is, well, Chainsaw man, and how it deals with these kinds of topics, albeit in a very Shonen-esque way, I felt like making both things that already feel like fever dreams coming together would be a very funny idea, and thus, here we are.
(Qoutev) Ale: Well, I'm glad you like this! Hopefully, I can keep your attention!
(Ao3) xSololife: Detroit, Become Human reference spotted. Nice.
Questonimperialis102296: First of all, what a username, and second of all… I mean, Guilt Man is kind of a lame name, but yeah, pretty much. And, funny you should mention "Dee as in Death" because that is one of my inspirations for writing this.
Well, with that out of the way, let's get into the chapter, shall we?
[WikiHow: Devil Contracting 101 – Know the basics!]
When Sunny came to after his quick street nap, as he opened his eyes, he was greeted with the ceiling fan of a living room in a house he… had no idea of who it belonged to. Groaning as he cupped his forehead, he looked around the place he was in and found it almost… familiar. Like he had been here before, but couldn't place where it was he was exactly.
"Where… am I?"
He looked around his surroundings for a few moments and concluded that this place wasn't familiar. Because he didn't recognize anything. There was a coffee table just in front of the couch, some bookshelves, no TV, and….
Almost as if it was comedic timing, his stomach growled. Well, he hadn't eaten anything since he had been revived, so that was to be expected, right? So, he should probably do the smart thing, and get something to eat. Sunny hadn't known for just how long he had been passed out for after his fight with The Suicide Devil, so there was that to consider. For all he knew, he could've been asleep for days on end, and that was no good.
He was already malnourished as is… he didn't need to get thinner….
Bringing his hands up to his face to rub at his eyes, Sunny paused, looking at his wrist. It… was fully healed. Almost as if he never slashed his wrist in the first place. And… the entry points where those chains dug into his arms weren't there either.
Come to think of it, his head was fully intact too.
"What the hell…?"
He shook his head. Maybe this was all some sort of elaborate fever dream, and he was still in his hospital bed, recovering from getting his eye stabbed out by Ba—
His train of thought stopped when he saw himself in the reflection of the glass coffee table to his right. His right eye was still there. But that… didn't make sense. Why was his right eye back? Basil stabbed it out with those pliers. He shouldn't have his eye back, he should still be blind in his right eye, at the very least. There was no earthly explanation as to why he could see out of his right eye again.
"Oh, that's simple! You grew it back!"
"Ah, that makes—WAIT, WHAT?!"
The voice in his head that belonged to that Mari lookalike giggled in the back of his head, making him clutch his forehead harder.
"I told you, did I not? We made a Contract. However, our contract was unique. Normally, when a person dies, and a Devil takes over their body, the Devil takes complete control—which is what The Suicide Devil did to you when he threw your body off the roof—turning you into a fiend. However, when your soul actually passed on, he forgot, and or didn't notice, one thing."
Sunny groaned, clenching his teeth together as he squinted. His head hurt—a lot, but he had to bare it. At least, for the time being. He just hoped that his head didn't hurt every time this…. Devil? Yeah, he was pretty sure that the fake Mari was a Devil, seeing as it compared itself to The Suicide Devil, spoke to him. "Ugh…. Yeah, okay. But… what was that?"
"Me, silly! You see, I had invaded your body at the same time you made contact with the ground, taking my chance to finally make some form of contract with you! But, you were dying, and seeing as I couldn't let that happen, I noticed that your brain stem snapped in half due to the impact, and at that moment, I decided to become your brain stem, which connects me to your, spine, and from there, nervous system."
"Wow, that sounds like one of those Symbiotes from Marvel Comics…."
"Ugh, don't compare me to those things. Works of fiction they might be, but I'm the real deal. I saw some merit in you, and today you've proven me right! You did amazing against The Suicide Devil. Although, I'm surprised. He usually appears as figments of people's imaginations… oh well, not that it matters now! Now the bastard has to wait until he dies in hell to come back here! And, he'll be significantly weaker!"
As the fake Mari said that, Sunny stood up from the couch, rubbing the back of his head. That was a lot to take in, moreso than he was willing to listen to. Although, he did have one question….
"Does your kind… uh, Devils, right? Do you usually merge with those you make contracts with?" Sunny asked. He didn't get an answer for another few minutes, as he walked into the kitchen of whoever's house he had found himself in, opened the fridge, and pulled out what appeared to be a Tupperware container of what appeared to be leftover mac-and-cheese. It wasn't much, but it'd do.
Fishing around for a spoon in the drawer next to the fridge, he pulled one out and began to eat the cold macaroni noodles. Gross? Probably, but Sunny was hungry enough to eat just about anything. That included cold mac-and-cheese.
"No. Typically, we make contracts and bind ourselves to their spiritual bodies, not their physical ones, and then, when we let our contracted use our powers, we take something from them, like an eye or a flap of skin. You, Sunny, are a special case. You're a Hybrid, which only the strongest of the Devils can pull off. Myself included."
Sunny nearly choked on his third bite of the cold food, coughing it up into the sink when he sharply inhaled. That was… an interesting prospect. So, he was special? Well, he was certainly special alright. Just, typically not in a good way. Still, though, that was a shock to the system. A shock that he honestly wasn't too mad about. Usually, surprises were a bad thing, especially as of recently. But, compared to this, he was actually kinda glad that he was in the situation he was in.
At least with this, he wasn't having to force himself to remember his trauma, what happened to Mari… the truth…. Ugh. The less of that he thought of, the better.
Taking another bite out of the food he had obtained, he closed the fridge door and looked straight ahead. The kitchen was connected to the dining room…. Hmm. He must've been in a really small house then. Or, maybe just the first floor was small? Most houses in Faraway were two storeys, at least. Only the slums of Faraway had one-floor houses, and seeing as he caught a glimpse of a set of stairs leading upstairs from the angle he was standing at, it was clear as day that he wasn't anywhere near there.
Glancing out the window from his far left, he noticed that the sky was dark. It was late at night and—
"Sunny, is it…. Is that… really you?" His head snapped over to his right, and toward the doorway. Standing there, in a sleeping gown, was Ms. Polly. Or, Polly, or whatever. The nurse that Basil's parents hired to look after Basil's grandmother. Now that he wasn't in a rush, he could actually look at her, and she was just as he remembered her.
Tannish brown skin, maple brown eyes, shoulder-length brown hair. A caring, concerned expression always adorned her face. Yup, that was Ms. Polly, alright.
Sunny put the Tupperware container on the counter next to him and smiled. He thought about just nodding, but decided that seeing as he was done with keeping quiet, he spoke. "Yeah…. Uh, surprise?" Sunny said, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish expression.
"How…? Basil said you… you threw yourself off that building, and… and your neck broke, and—"
"Stop," Sunny interrupted, looking away. "I know what Basil probably told you. And, I… I know what happened…. But please, just stop. I wasn't really… myself when I threw myself off the roof. You, probably won't believe me, but—"
"Does it have something to do with that monster who threw you out of the house through the wall?" Polly asked. Sunny blinked. Great, so it wasn't a fever dream. He really did fight that monstrosity. Which meant that he couldn't write this off as one big coma. Lovely.
"Uh… yeah, actually. That was… uh… The Suicide Devil, I think. It… goads people into killing themselves. Makes it more powerful. And… I killed it," Sunny said, placing both of his hands at his sides, slowly sliding them into his shorts pockets.
"And when your…. Um…. Head exploded into chains… how are you alive after that?" Polly asked. Sunny guessed that she must've seen everything. And if that was the case, she must've seen him slit his wrist, too, to activate that power. Whatever this new power was. He knew it had something to do with his now Devil brain stem, but he had to discern what the Devil he made a contract with was, or if there were others like him, for that matter.
"I…. to be honest, I don't even know myself. I… think it has something to do with… uh… The Devil I made a contract with," Sunny said, blurting out the last part, which made Polly recoil.
"You made a contract with The Devil?!"
Sunny held up his hands in a form of a "hold on" gesture. "Whoa! I didn't say THE DEVIL, I mean… um… A Devil. Kinda like the one I fought and killed. You know, to stop Basil from…. Taking his own life?" Sunny paused. "He… is alive, right?" Sunny asked, lowering his hands as Polly looked dejectedly at the ground.
"I… admitted him into the hospital so that the doctors could keep an eye on him. I… I'm just so worried about him… and… well, thank you, Sunny… I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions, it's just… been a really long day, and… and I…."
Sunny sighed. "Yeah," he agreed, looking back to his cold 'bowl' of mac-and-cheese. "Um, so… you don't mind if I finish that," the black-haired boy asked as he looked over at the food he stole from the fridge. Polly smiled and nodded.
"Go ahead. I wasn't going to eat it anyway. I've never been a fan of cold macaroni," Polly said, as Sunny thanked her, taking the food, and finishing it off—there were only a few bites left, anyway. When he glanced at the time on the stove, he frowned. It was already past midnight, and he was still awake. Summer break or not, and… keeping himself in the house for four years, doing online school for that period of time aside, he knew damn well that staying up this late was a bad idea.
Finishing the mac-and-cheese, he placed the Tupperware in the sink and bowed his head at Polly, a reflex that his mother taught him to do when he was younger…. Before the incident happened. Before his mother cut almost all contact with him, only leaving voicemails and calling him from other places. "Thank you, Ms. Polly. I'm… going to go back to sleep. Unless you want me to leave?"
Polly waved her hands with a haphazard smile. "No, no, no! It's far too late to have you wander the streets by yourself! You can sleep on the couch if you like, just make sure you let me know when you're leaving in the morning so I don't get too worried about you," Polly said, as Sunny looked around. The more he saw the house, the more he realized that….
"This isn't Basil's house, right? This is your place," Sunny asked as Polly nodded.
"Well, I can't stay in a house where part of the attic caved in on itself, right?" Polly admitted, as Sunny bit his lower lip, a shameful feeling washing over him.
"Yeah, uh… sorry about that…."
Polly replied with a smile, before turning to leave the doorway, leaving Sunny all by his lonesome. He heard the stairs creek, signifying that she had left for her room. Sunny sighed, stepped out of the kitchen and sat back down on the couch in the living room. There was a pillow propped up for him, which explained why he had been on the couch. No blanket, though, but then again it was in the middle of summer, and the house was warm enough as is.
Laying his head back down on the pillow, and relaxing his body, Sunny closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
.
.
.
"Welcome back!" The fake Mari said as Sunny rubbed his eyes, confusion appearing on his typically emotionless face. He found himself once again in the white, blank void in which he first met the fake Mari in.
"Where are we?" Sunny asked his tone of voice blunt and to the point. The fake Mari shrugged, kicking herself off the ground as she began to float, arms resting on the back of her head as she eyed Sunny with a calculating eye.
"We're in… I think this is called Headspace. I renovated it a little bit and got rid of that random door. Oh, and the carpet, the bed, the knife, the laptop, and… pretty much everything. I like big empty places, you know?"
Sunny felt his eye twitch, but that was about it. He sighed, looking around. At least he still had the hanging light bulb and… the cat. Which was licking its paw off in the corner. The Devil floated toward the cat and stroked its head. "Cute cat, by the way. What's its name?" The Devil disguised as Mari asked, looking down at the black cat.
"Omori called it Mewo…." Sunny said, frowning as the fake Mari pursed her lips.
"The Suicide Devil, who lived in your head, named your mental cat? Really? And you just… let him?" the fake Mari asked, raising an eyebrow. Sunny just shrugged, as he began to twiddle his thumbs. Mewo rubbed against fake Mari's hand, which, in response, she aptly gave it more pets. "This thing really likes me… why is that?"
"You look like Mari. Mewo was Mari's cat. Then Mari died," Sunny answered bluntly.
The fake Mari frowned, looking at the cat, scratching behind its ear. "That's depressing. So… should I not look like her?"
"No."
"Okay. Whatever you want, Sunny," the fake Mari said, shrugging.
God… The Devil that he made a contract with sounded exactly like Mari. It was… unnerving. It was like she never died, and that alone haunted him more than anything. Of course, this wasn't Mari. Mari was dead. This was just a demon who took her appearance, probably to torment him.
"Why…? Why do you look like Mari?" Sunny asked as the fake Mari frowned.
"Because it represents your Guilt. I am the manifestation of your Guilt. Specifically, what you fear about it. I said as much when we first met, duh? Did you not pay attention?"
Sunny frowned. Silence reigned in the white expanse for the next few minutes, neither of the other saying anything to one other. That was until….
"You know… Mari and I were contracted before, too, right? That's why I got interested in you," the fake Mari blurted out, making Sunny snap to attention and stare at her with wide eyes.
"W-what?" Sunny asked as the fake Mari smirked, showing off the sharp, shark-like teeth again.
"Yup! She was the town's angel for a reason, you know. For two years, she cleared out Devils that were roaming the streets. It's why she sometimes came home late from school, you know, on the days she wasn't practicing piano. It was because of her that Devil's stayed clear from Faraway. But… when she died… well, you can imagine just how fucked things got around here, not to mention the outer towns around Faraway. It's why I was desperate to get your attention. I wanted to make a contract with you so that we could continue where Mari left off."
Sunny didn't know what to say to that. That… couldn't be true. No, he refused to believe that his sister, Mari, would do something like that. Lie to them about what she was doing for two whole years…. Especially something so dangerous...
But then, it started to make sense. And Sunny didn't like it.
There were days when Mari would come home covered in bruises, and she'd blame it on falling out of trees that she climbed to get cats down from there, to practice when Mewo would get stuck in the trees. He never did, and never would, because he was a house cat. But, Sunny just went with it, because any other explanation would've made no sense.
One day, around 4 weeks before "the incident" he came home with a broken arm, and say that she got into an accident. And those days when she went to piano practice on her own without their parents knowing….
"No… that's… that can't be right…. That's…."
"Now do you get the picture? Did you really think that she got hurt all those times because she climbed trees? Or how she had the strength to our arm wrestle the fitness trainer of all people, who was one of Faraway Highschool's best athletes and win? Not to put down other girls, but she was as thin as they came, and you mean to tell me that she could beat that guy without breaking a sweat? Please. Devils give their hosts superhuman strength, regeneration, speed, reflexes, and all that jazz. Fiend or hybrid, we need to ensure our survival, so our hosts can't die from stupid stuff like falling out of a tree. "
"No…. you're lying. W-Why would she risk her life … to do that?! A-And… why…. If I can heal wounds like my eye… why couldn't she just… prevent herself from dying when she fell down the stairs?!" Sunny all but shouted at the fake Mari, who smirked.
"Our contract. That's why Sunny."
A chill went down his spine upon that being mentioned.
"A-And… what was the contract?" Sunny was afraid to ask, but his morbid curiosity got the better of him. The fake Mari smiled, showing off that impossibly large grin that twisted her face, reminding Sunny that this wasn't Mari, or even her spirit, but some demon who simply looked like her.
"That if you ever struck her, attacked her, or… for example, shove her down a flight of stairs, I would never let her use my powers. That includes regeneration. That was what she made me agree to, even though I found it stupid. And, well, would you look at that, it came back to bite her in the ass, just like I said it would."
And once again, his curiosity burned, which made him ask the follow-up question. "W-What… exactly is our contract? I… don't remember it…."
"Simple," the fake Mari began. "For as long as you live, you and I will protect Faraway and the cities just beyond its borders. And since you made no stipulations, if any of your friends become Devil Hybrids or Fiends, and start hurting or killing people for any reason…."
If Sunny could get even paler, he would. That… that prospect…. Killing people, even if they were also Devils…. That was something he wasn't okay with. But… he had already made the contract. And, he feared what the repercussion would be if he went against the contract. This was a Devil after all.
Sunny didn't know much about the Devils. The only Devil he knew was the one from the church. The only thing that he knew was that the larger, outer cities had to deal with them on a near-daily basis. The town of Faraway was also blind to the issues of the Devils, and that probably had something to do with Mari and her constant patrolling of the area if the Devil before him was to be believed. And… well, from what he heard from people on the streets when Kel had all but forced him outside….
"People are dying… because of me…. Because I killed Mari…." Sunny murmured, earning the Devil's attention. "I… can't make any changes to the contract, right?"
"Nope. But… I have a feeling you want to make a special request. Go on, get it out. What is it?"
Sunny sighed. On one hand, this could backfire heavily. On the other hand, however, he really didn't want to end up hurting his friends. So….
"If, and only if, one of my friends, for some reason, makes a contract with a Devil, and for whatever reason wants to hurt me…. Can I at least have the option to try and spare them?"
Instead of getting what he thought would be a raving rant about how stupid he was for even thinking of that idea, the fake Mari just shrugged. "Sure, whatever. As long as it doesn't get you killed. The only reason why I didn't get sent back to hell when Mari died was that the contract stated that if you hurt Mari, I got to bail before it was too late, hence why she couldn't use regeneration or whatever. Since I didn't get that assurance with you, though, if they do try and kill you, friend or no friend, you will at least have to put up a fight. If you die, I die, and I value my life. M'kay?"
Sunny wanted to say something in return but decided against it. He wasn't going to push it. He was lucky he got the fake Mari to even agree to it at all. And then, another question came to him.
"Why?"
The fake Mari raised an eyebrow, prompting him to continue.
"Why do this? From what I know about Devil's…. which isn't much…. Why would you want to help this town? Help humans in general? I'm sure that you have had other hosts before…. And, for as much as I loved Mari, she wasn't the type of person who could change an eldritch being's mind…. So… why?"
The fake Mari adopted what appeared to be a nostalgic expression as if thinking of times long forgotten. "I… had inspiration from an old friend of mine…. He was known as The Hero of Hell."
When the fake Mari said that, everything went blank, as he felt that familiar pull of waking up….
.
.
.
When the morning came around, alerted to him by the sunlight creeping in through the window, Sunny sat up, before letting out a quiet, barely audible yawn, rubbing his eyes all the while squinting, adjusting to the sudden light in the living room.
On the coffee table in front of the couch, there was a steaming cup of… he didn't know if it was tea or coffee, but he didn't really care. There was a note next to it, signed by Ms. Polly.
Hello, Sunny! I thought I'd leave you a cup of coffee so that you have an easier time waking up. I don't know if you like coffee or not, but it's the thought that counts, right? I've gone to visit Basil in the Hospital, and I think you should too. At least, when you have some free time. I'm sure your mother would love to see you again. At least, I think so.
P.S. I don't know how you like your coffee, so I put two sugars and a dash of cream. You can add whatever you want to it so that it fits your liking. Just don't touch the cinnamon, please!
P.S.S. You're welcome to stay here anytime, by the way! All you have to do is knock, or, if I'm not home, there's a key under the welcome mat.
Sunny smiled. Ms. Polly really was a caring woman. She was a good person, all the way down to her bones. "Unlike yourself." He snarkily remarked to himself, making him grit his teeth in frustration. There were just some things he could never forgive himself for doing. And…. Kill—watching Mari fall down the stairs, not bothering to help her was one of those things.
"You didn't watch her fall down the stairs, moron. You killed her. Accept it, idiot."
"Shut up. I know…. I just…. Don't want to accept it."
"Whatever, live in denial. It doesn't matter to me."
Sunny bit back a snarky remark to this… Devil in his head. And, actually, now that he thought about it…
"What kind of Devil are you, anyway? Are you The Grief Devil, or something?" Sunny asked, frowning as he took a sip from the cup of coffee that Ms. Polly made for him. It was a bit on the strong side, and while he wasn't much of a fan of coffee, only having it once when he was 9 years old, he didn't mind it all too much.
"Right on the money, Sunny! I did say this in our introduction, yeah? I said I am the manifestation of the fear of Grief! I thought that would be obvious enough. But, yeah. I'm The Grief Devil. Fitting for you, is it not?"
Sunny took another sip of his coffee, before looking up at the ceiling, ignoring The Grief Devil's snarky comment. The ceiling fan whirled, keeping the air in the room from going stagnant. He had to admit, Ms. Polly's house wasn't so bad. In some sense, it reminded him of his own house…. Or, his old house. Honestly, he didn't know what to think at this point when it referred to his status.
What he was sure of, however, was that he was pretty thankful that Ms. Polly would allow him to stay in her house. He wasn't sure how his mom was going to react to him being alive again. Even when he was alive, she stayed far away from him, deciding to stay in the big city rather than be at home with him, only sending him money via TD Trust to get food delivered to the house.
He was pretty sure his mother silently hated him. He couldn't blame her, either. Not after what he did. But, that was assuming what he thought was true. And even if she didn't, the fact of the matter was that she never talked to him, not unless it was over the phone. She refused to look at him, even in the brief times he left his room.
Yeah… he was pretty sure his mom hated him.
"It's better if I face her now. She's… probably still thinks I'm dead. Which…. Makes sense. I've only been alive for a total of 24hrs now."
With that thought, Sunny stood up and headed for the front door, but not before chugging the rest of the coffee. Not the best of ideas, seeing as it burned his tongue, but it was better than nothing. He didn't want to reject Ms. Polly's hospitality.
Once he was done, this time, he headed for the door. When he stepped outside, he was met with the chirping of birds and the warm summer air. If he remembered correctly, they were in the middle of August. He also remembered that he was supposed to have moved away by now. The chances of his mother still being in the town of Faraway were slim to none, but…. There was always the chance, right?
And so, he started walking.
Not many people were up this early, so he wouldn't be spotted by anyone. Maybe a few of the Hooligans were up and about, but, if he were to guess, they were at the park.
It didn't take him long to find his old house. When he got there, what he found did not surprise him in the slightest. As for what those were, it was a for-sale sign and an empty parking lot.
"Guess she's gone…. Oh well."
No harm, no foul, he supposed.
Sunny turned around so that he could find something else to do, seeing as there wasn't much he could do, what with the lack of money—he had been dead for the last 48 hours, so he was bound to have his name written off the town's census, so he couldn't get a job till he visited the townhall—and so, he was left with no other option but to leave the area.
He could go see Basil at the hospital. Or… he could go to the Townhall and clarify some things. Maybe he'd flip a coin to see what it was he should do. Both of them were important, and he didn't want to use too much brain power to decide what to do.
Or, well, that was what he was going to do if it wasn't for what was right in front of him.
Because what he saw in front of him made him quickly change his mind.
Why? Well, standing before him, albeit on the other side of the road, was an unforgettable person that he knew was probably more affected by his "passing", outside of perhaps Basil.
Dark brown hair. Brown skin. Orange Jersey. Orange shorts. Orange and white shoes. A basketball at his feet. Wide brown eyes. Jaw dropped. Hands shaking.
Oh…
Oh….
Oh…..
"S-Sunny…?"
-To Be Continued-