Asa's morning had gone by like a gust of wind, if she had to choose a word to describe it, it was 'monotone'. Yoru had come back and rambled something about Famine but she was exhausted and couldn't care much or pay attention, Yoru had definitely noticed, or, experienced as well, but surprisingly she didn't bash her for it.

She now sat on her school desk, fiddling with a pen and switching fingers with it in her hand. Her other hand supported her chin with her elbow against the smooth wooden surface. Biology hour was relatively easy, they had reading and then a quiz, it was good for her, when she focused she could keep her mind in one thing, without it drifting and making her head hurt.

"Great job Mitaka." The teacher praised as he handed her a paper sheet, walking by her seat and smiling at her, leaving to the next student with a pat on her shoulder.

Her note was perfect, per usual, but she was sure as hell each time she got a good note she got rewarded with less dopamine than the time before, maybe it was a result of her self diagnosed long term depression.

The sun beaming through the window heat up the tips of her moccasins, feeling it she kicked her feet back and crossed them under her chair. Her attention was drawn by the silhouettes of young boys outside her classroom window, in the distance, she could make up the figures of some of her grade-mates, within them was Hirofumi Yoshida, the guy of dark hair and numerous piercings Yoru had asked out when she first possessed her. Embarrassment and anger bloomed at the memory of that.

He was always around Denji, so she caught herself now looking for him too, but he was nowhere to be found, she shifted her hand supporting her chin to cover her mouth, drifting her look and head back to the chalkboard ahead of her, partially as a reaction to the growing blush in her face and also because she convinced herself she had to pay attention to class.

"You don't want to turn him into a weapon, do you?" Yoru's mirrored voice of her own interrupted her thoughts, banishing her blush from her face. Asa could feel her own hackles raise, she didn't have an answer to what Yoru had said, but her impulsive defense got the best of her. "Yeah I do! I will!" She exclaimed, turning harshly to her left, where Yoru watched her unimpressed.

Unwanted looks washed over her as she interrupted the silence in class, and a sudden wave of wanting to be buried alive right there and then rushed dover her. She could say so many insults and slurs out of anger and embarrassment, which for some reason she kept bringing upon herself. She shifted over her seat and cleared her throat, looking away where the floor met the wall, and everyone continued with class as if that didn't happen. Good.

"That amount of guilt would do plenty of a powerful weapon, you still want your body back, no?" Yoru pushed, now leaning in closer to her face, if it wasn't her mind Asa could swear she could feel her own breath.

She wasn't going to talk to Yoru until they could have some sort of privacy, but her questions didn't cease from troubling her mind, truth was she very much told Denji off. She wanted to be close to him again, or talk to him, but she knew if she did that Yoru would turn him into a weapon the moment they got intimate.

But he didn't even like her back? No? Could she even make him like her at all anymore? The mere thought of her talking or- thinking about him like he was an object made her feel disgusted with herself, his warm smile and soft approach to her filled her mind, if he was going to die, she wouldn't forgive herself if she was the reason why. Why couldn't she just do what she had said she would?

It's because he's more of a cat than criminal.

Asa decided upon that, so for his and her own good she'd stop approaching him at all, and if he dumbly decided to look for her she could just tell him to get lost. As much as she didn't want to. He probably hated her anyway.

Three hours in Denji couldn't be more bored, he walked down the empty hall without much enthusiasm, kicking his foot with each step. Yoshida had said some bullshit about meeting him in the Devil Hunter Club Office after class, so he was headed there. However he couldn't keep his mind all blank, he usually did, thinking superficial things like how much was the water bill or what he could buy to bring home for dinner that day, but this time a new concern troubled his mind.

The picture of Asa's brief smile kept flushing his thoughts from time to time since yesterday, it felt like it'd been ages ago but it had just been a day, when he shared silence and space with that mysterious girl.

He wondered what'd it truly been than made her change her mind about him, back at the Aquarium, she looked just so comfortable and happy to run around with him like little kids and like all that was happening wasn't real, like they couldn't have died then and there. Maybe it was that, that she seemingly didn't have much to lose.

Denji let out a 'tch' sigh, he could figure it all out some other time, when Yoshi-ass wasn't bothering him. He straddled quicker and finally reached the club's entrance, letting himself through the door, he met Yoshida's impossibly dark stare. "Whaddya want?" Denji inquired nonchalantly.

Yoshida was sitting on one of the wooden chairs by the window, he tilted his head to the side, bangs revealing more of his eyes. "I'm not here to chit chat." He warned, pleasant smile as always. "You know you have a lot of bounties on your head, chainsaw man?" He sighed, leaning into his knee, supporting himself with his elbow. "I promised my mission was to let you have a peaceful life," Denji's jaw dropped slightly, disinterested, he could feel his eyelids hang. "So do me a favor and save the chainsaw action for a while, will you? Or I will have to come into tighter terms." He stood up and walked to Denji, giving him a pat on the shoulder before leaving the room, leaving him to think by himself.

Chainsaw action? Wha?

Asa ambled through an empty street, almost dragging her feet with each step in consequence of her burnout. She felt like shit to say the least, she was also pretty sure she looked like shit too. Her grip tightened on her schoolbag's shoulder strap, and her lip twitched as she swallowed.

I'm quick to convince myself someone likes me… and when I'm wrong my feelings get hurt. A life of solitude would really be better than feeling like this…

"You may be right." Yoru pointed out.

There's nothing even good about me. Who am I even living for? I only care about myself… yet whenever I get lonely, I crave companionship. How arrogant is that?

"I know you're arrogant Asa… but methinks you're being a little too hard on yourself." Yoru stiffly said, face twisting uncomfortably.

I'm just tired… tired of my inability to maintain a lasting relationship with another human being.

…maybe I'd be better off dead.

Her thoughts were torn into by the sound of a falling… person? No screaming, just the, thud of a body, next to her. She numbly turned her head to her left, and the view she was welcomed with was shocking. A man laid by her foot, limbs twisted in ways they shouldn't and flesh mushed under blood-soaked clothing. She stopped thinking, like her instincts kicked in and she immediately regretted wishing death and promptly ending up looking like the man next to her.

She wanted to run away, run away from danger, what a hypocrite.

But suddenly she wasn't in her body anymore.

"Something's wrong! Asa stay back!" Yoru warned, kicking her feet back and lowering her posture into a defensive one.

It probably wasn't more than a minute from when she first saw the man, but now multiple people leaped and slid off balconies and roofs around her, unless everyone suddenly wanted to kill themselves, this must be a devil's doing.

Disgust and horror engulfed her, if she was in control of her body, she would've thrown up and slipped on her own vomit.

"Ruler sword…" Yoru growled, grabbing the old plastic ruler she kept in her schoolbag and pulling it out, all while it stretched and transformed into a big sharp edged ruler.

Yoru waited for the devil to come out from somewhere, but her eyes widened as she heard the crunch of bones and extremities from a pile of bodies near her. Her hackles raised, Asa could feel everything, and the fact Yoru was uneasy concerned her, letting her piece the puzzle together.

"Ah crap." Yoru whispered, "I misjudged… this… is not a fight I can win."

Yoru dashed away from the scenery, speeding her pace as she refused to look back, only the sound of shifting and wooshing warned her that the devil she'd encountered was already doing something.

"I'll be your Chef tonight. ——— -devil… is my name." A polite, deep feminine voice spoke, distracting Asa with fear and making the two switch over the control of her body, so she tripped. Yoru took control again and scoffed.

"I'm visiting at the request of the residents of Hell. A word of warning— those who don't finish their food will taste Death." The voice berated.

"Asa! Snap out of it! That devil's power is causing your negative feelings!" Yoru yapped, running faster and agilely skipping over obstacles across their runaway path.

"Now then, allow me to begin cooking." It spoke.

"Of the two of us, only you can create powerful weapons! Are you even listening??!" Yoru barked, or yelled, Asa couldn't tell, her mind felt like it was turning off, interrupted by buried memories.

"For the first course, it will be my pleasure to feed you… My Hors D'oeuvre, La Root Vonla."

Last thing Asa heard was a clap, darkness was all she could see for what felt like hours, and out of nowhere she was back at being 14, sitting on the floor in the orphanage. Her fear and consciousness vanished as quickly as they'd appeared.

Asa sat calmly on the slippery wood, her hand brushed one page of the book she held into

the other. Leaning back against the wallpaper and tucked on a bookshelf's side. Familiarity surrounded her as she could feel the warm fur of a smaller being laying on her shoulders, and it's purring was as vivid as she remembered it.

She could hear giggles and laughing coming from outside the dusty wooden building, accompanied by the chirp of multiple species of birds, it was serene. Her ears picked up on creaking wood, and as she guessed, the woman who used to take care of her and the other kids let herself in the room, smiling warmly as she made eye contact with her. "Asa, can we talk?" She questioned.

Asa stared for a couple seconds "What is it ma'am?" She softly replied.

The woman's eyes danced from Asa's eyes to the behind of her neck, where her short hair met her cat's fur. "It's about your cat, why don't we have my friend who likes cats take him?" She spoke, suggesting with an undertone of aggression that was difficult to tell. "Huh?" Asa piqued, confused. "One of the other kids is allergic. This is unhealthy for you too. You depend on that cat's companionship instead of interacting with other people." She explained, though the expression on her face remained pleasant.

"I don't wanna." Asa mumbled, gaze drifting down to the floor. She could hear shifting cloth and then a thud, when she turned her head, the woman wearing the apron was seating next to her. "All the orphans here… devils killed their parents. Mine too." She softly spoke. "My mom was killed by that recent typhoon devil… but you know, they can still laugh and play outside …because they became a family here." The woman turned to look at Asa, "Your cat is the only cat here. Don't you think he'd be happier living at my friend's house with other cats?" She smiled, forcing Asa to question her reasoning.

Asa looked away from the woman and stared into the wall for a couple seconds, she sighed. "Crambon." She murmured. "Crambon?" The woman questioned. "His name is Crambon. Make him happy…" Asa reassured, picking up the cat from its front legs and rib cage and lending it to the woman, who warmly smiled back at Asa.

Hours went by, it was nighttime now, Asa lied down on her mattress. The fabric of the bed sheets had a felt-like texture under her palms, uncomfortable to say the least. She stared at the wooden beams supporting the ceiling, just waiting to fall asleep, it was hard without her cat cuddling her anymore.

"Asa are you asleep?" A soft voice startled her, but she kept her eyes closed. "What?" She asked drowsily, "Where's your cat?"

She turned to her left and engaged looks with a dark eyed blonde girl who laid in the bed next to hers. "Why?"

"Cause when we went to the river to play today… there was a cat like yours…" She whispered "…at the bottom."

Asa stared at her, her eyelids barely widened, like she froze in shock and panic.

"Hey, you two, it's lights out! go to sleep." It was that woman's familiar voice and face, the one she had spoken to in the morning standing by the doorway.

"Ma'am… Crambon-… Crambon's okay right?" Asa whimpered, finding it difficult to keep a steady low voice.

Realization, horror and impact washed upon her like a tidal wave when the woman didn't reply and just stared at her.

"Everyone here lost their family. You can't be the only one with a family member." Asa could swear her stomach had just flipped in terror and apprehension, threatening to spill its contents and her breathing increased.

"Isn't that unfair?"

"AAAAAAHHHHHH-…Ah?" Asa let out the most blood curdling scream, out of both terror and melancholy. It was interrupted by the unanticipated notion of her body weight pulling her… upwards? She was falling, falling upwards. Her heart skipped a beat and her hands started sweating, she threw them up and around so quickly she managed to get a grip on a sidewalk parking rail, it creaked while she tightened her hold.

Her fuzzy mind took a second to adapt back into whatever the hell was happening, she was back at the present where she was running away from a devil while Yoru argued with her.

She wasn't the only one, anyone around who seemed to be troubled or have a concern in mind began falling too.

"The lower the heart sinks, the higher the body falls. That's the concept of this dish." The chef dressed devil spoke, indulging fear in anyone around, if Asa hadn't gone to the bathroom before leaving school she would've pissed herself.

"May the flavor of past trauma delight your taste buds." It announced.

Asa could feel her grip start to slip, she looked down and the sky looked awfully dark, she could've sworn it was barely sunset while she had left school. Everything felt so surreal, her common sense and survival instincts were desperately trying to adapt. "Asa!! I can't enter your body!! Don't be afraid!!" Yoru yelled frantically.

Not be afraid? Like hell I could not be afraid! Nothing makes sense!