Author's Note: Hi there. I just wanted to clarify something about this fic. I know the time placement is a little difficult to pin down, and honestly, when I began, I wasn't quite sure of it myself. I've set it a little further into the future from where the storyline of the manga is now. In Chapter 8 of this fic, his age is mentioned as being 17 which would be indicative being beyond the present time frame in the manga where is considered to be 16.
Although I don't know what will happen in the future of Chainsaw Man manga, I do know what I'd like to see happen for Denji which is why I'm writing this story. Denji deserves a good relationship with a woman who genuinely loves him and won't try to kill him. Nayuta and Denji both deserve to have a happy little family.
So with all of that being said, and hopefully clearing up a bit of confusion, on with the next chapter...
Mari fiddled with the huge bow tied at the side of her neck to further camouflage the bite mark. She stared at herself critically. This shirt had always been a favorite with her clients when she had worn it to work at the club which surprised her. Extremely modest in design, the shimmering powder blue silk the same color as her eyes, covered up every inch of skin from below her chin, down to her wrists, and completely across her belly and back down to her waist.
She believed it was the oversized bow attached to the wide collar they liked. When tied in the back, it gave the impression of being something akin to a fancy kitty collar. Today she tied it on the side to make double sure the bite stayed out of sight. And she didn't look like someone's pet.
Standing on her tiptoes, Mari leaned forward to check the concealer and foundation she had thickly layered on her forehead to conceal the nasty looking bruise. It would be a while before it wasn't gross, changing all sorts of icky colors during the healing process.
"You're beautiful," Denji assured her, resting his hand on her hip when he inserted his body in the limited space between her rear end and the wall in the tiny bathroom.
Mari's eyes slid to meet his in the mirror. Then she smiled.
"Are you sure you feel like going back today?" he asked her, sliding his hand up her side. His fingers followed the roundness of the outer curve of her breast. "You could take another day to rest. I could walk Nayuta to school then come back. We could spend the whole day in bed."
"Hah...I certainly wouldn't be getting any rest. As tempting as that is," she sighed, placing her hand over his that groped her breast. "My bills tell me I should get to work. Besides, I need to get things back to normal as soon as possible before I'm too afraid to leave my apartment...which I would be evicted from when I can't pay rent."
"You know I'd never let you be homeless," he said, reluctantly removing his hand from her breast.
"I know, but we're not there in our relationship yet. I would never expect you take care of me financially," she returned, rotating her body to face him.
Coming nose to nose with him because there was absolutely no space in the little bathroom reminded her of something her grandmother used to say. She would have described this room as being "so small I would have to leave in order to change my mind."
"You're so sexy when you're being independent," Denji joked, brushing the tip of his nose across hers. His lips grazed hers, teasing her with the promise of a kiss but lifting away. "Come on. What do you say?" He pulled at the bow untying it. "You can take this off and crawl back into bed and wait for me."
"Hmmm," she hummed, finger combing the unruly cowlick poking straight out from his head above his ear. "You need to quit being so damn cute and trying to tempt me. You don't need to miss another day of classes either." She gave him a peck on the lips, patting him soundly on his pecs on either side of the pull cord. "Come on. We need to go."
"Ugh," he groaned, hanging his head when she slipped out from between him and the sink. "Okay. But tonight?"
"We'll see," she replied before disappearing into the hall.
"Damn," Denji murmured in approval. She was wearing her tight black skirt leaving no curves to the imagination.
"Denji, are you ready?" Nayuta called from the foyer where she and Mari were putting their shoes on.
"Yeah, yeah," he muttered grumpily, joining them to put on his sneakers.
As always, they walked hand in hand, Nayuta in the middle. Mari listened as they conducted their typical morning conversation that had become a part of their daily routine during the week. There was comfort to be found in the typical and mundane.
"You walked the dogs right?" Denji asked her.
"Yes. I made sure they had their breakfast and the water bowls are full," she informed him without being asked.
"Did you eat your breakfast?" he inquired.
"I did. Did you?"
"Uh huh."
Mari had not cooked for them this morning. Letting her sleep to the last minute, they ate cereal and toast. Denji had offered to make scrambled eggs or pancakes but Nayuta declined. He had the sneaking suspicion she liked Mari's better. He couldn't blame her really. Although he had come a long way with his cooking skills, he preferred Mari's cooking too.
As they walked down the street getting closer to the coffee shop, Mari started to break into a cold sweat. Droplets beaded above her lip and across her forehead. She made a concerted effort not to squeeze Nayuta's hand too tightly but did grip it securely. She counted her inhales and exhales, keeping them even and slow, lasting five seconds in and five seconds out.
Nayuta's fingers tightened around hers when they passed the darkened coffee shop. Closed until further notice, the sign on the door informed the disappointed customers denied their morning caffeine fix from the café.
Nayuta pointed to the little variety store across the street. They always had an interesting supply of cute and unique items in there.
"Can we go there after school? They might have gotten a new shipment, and I want to see what they have," she said to distract Mari who had begun to tear up.
"Sure, kiddo. Sounds great. Anybody got any ideas for dinner?" Mari asked the same question she always did when they passed the grocery store.
"Karaage," requested Denji.
"Nayuta?" Mari asked for her vote.
"I like fried chicken," she replied, swinging their hands.
"I can make home made French fries too."
"Mmmm," the other two hummed in unison.
Keeping to their normal routine, the trio stopped on the corner across from the school. Nayuta typically let go of their hands to run meet her friends at the front gate. Today she hesitated, not wanting to let go of them. When she did not immediately cross the intersection, Melanie and Himari came across to greet her.
"Hi!" they sang out in a cheery chorus, waving to the trio while still en route across the street.
Denji and Mari waved back while Nayuta continued to hang onto them. Apparently he had told her what happened. Mari wondered if sometimes they were a little bit too truthful with her, although Nayuta seemed to be able to sense a lie not leaving them much of a choice. Neither one of them wanted to lose her trust.
Mari swallowed before she choked on the lump in her throat. Being deceived or outright tricked felt horrible and could have terrifying, even deadly, consequences.
"Nayuta, I'm having a sleepover at my house Friday night. I do hope you'll come," Melanie said, her eyes shifting to Denji. "Is it okay for her to come over, sir?"
Denji's eyes, wide and round, met Mari's. She wasn't sure if he was shocked or pleased by the girl's excessive politeness especially in calling him sir. Maybe he was simply thrilled with the invitation Nayuta received.
Mari smiled and shrugged realizing he was not sure if he should let her go. He should make the decision. She had faith in him he would understand if he wanted Nayuta to be a 'normal' little girl, she should go.
"Of course it's okay," he said finally when four pairs of pleading female eyes rested on him. How could he say no to that?
The girls squealed with happiness, Nayuta finally letting go of their hands to hug her friends and jump around in a circle. Mari wanted to cry watching the sweet and innocent scene of the good friends.
"When should I bring her over?" Denji asked.
"Oh, can she come to school prepared to go to my house? My driver comes to pick me up every day."
"Your driver?" he mumbled, wrinkling his nose.
It came as no surprise to Mari the girl's family is loaded. Her father probably moved his family here after snagging some lucrative business venture.
"He can drive her home on Saturday too if you like," she added as if to sweeten the deal by making things even more convenient for them.
"If it's not a problem, that would be fine I guess."
"No problem at all, Mr. Denji."
A blushed colored the tops of his cheeks, and he smiled.
"Call him Big Brother," Nayuta urged her.
"Big Brother," Melanie said, giggling afterward. "I like it. I don't have a brother. Or a sister. I'm an only child."
"Oh, you can call Mari Big Sister then. You won't be a lonely child anymore," Nayuta said, taking Melanie by the hand.
The cute blonde chuckled, hiding her mouth behind her hand. She hugged Nayuta then corrected her, "I'm an only child, not a lonely child." She took both of her friends by the hand, looking from one to the other. "Especially when I have friends like you."
The school bell chimed, giving them the first warning school would be starting soon and they better run for the gate.
"See ya later!" Nayuta exclaimed, glancing back at them as her two friends pulled her across the street and into the tide of students flowing into the front gate.
Mari and Denji waved then looked at each other.
"I think that was the sweetest thing I've ever seen," Mari said, pivoting on her heel.
"Yeah, it was," he agreed, lowering his eyes to the sidewalk.
Denji shoved his hands in his pockets and hung his head.
What's up with him?, she mused, threading her arm through his as they strolled along.
"First sleepover. That's a big deal," she said to make conversation with the reticent and inexplicably dejected Denji.
"Yeah. Sure is," he mumbled, kicking a rock into the building to their right.
"Then what's wrong, Big Brother?" She pressed his arm between her boobs when she leaned harder into him, swaying him a little. "Hmmm? What's up with you?"
Denji massaged the back of his neck, raising his head to look down the street. He shrugged, elbowing her gently in the belly with the small movement.
"I don't know. I'm glad she's found such great friends, that she's being treated so...normal. This is exactly what I was hoping for. But..."
Mari waited patiently for him to continue despite wanting to blurt out "But what?!"
"The sleepover will be the first time she's been alone with regular people without me or Kishibe being there. These people won't understand her if...if she says or does something weird."
"She'll be fine. She's doing really well fitting in. Don't underestimate her, Denji. She's smart, and I mean emotionally intelligent. She's been watching people, learning. She wants to understand emotion, to have genuine feelings and connections. She wants to meet people at their level," she said, hugging his arm.
"She's learned more than I have. I still don't understand emotions most of the time, not mine and certainly not anyone else's. Makima always said she wanted an equal relationship, someone who was on her level and understood her," Denji said, glimpsing down at Mari as she clung to him even tighter at the mention of that woman's name. "What?"
"Well, from what I've heard about her from you, Makima was an egotistical, self-centered bitch who thought she was better than everyone else, humans and Devils alike. Except for one." She reached across his body to touch his chest over his heart. "That's why she wanted Pochita right? She saw him as an equal? Strong enough to be worthy of basking in her glorious presence?"
"Me-yow," Denji teased her, pulling his arm out of her pinching grip to hook it around her shoulders. "Do I sense a little bit of jealousy?"
"Damn right you do," Mari admitted, softly punching him in the gut. "Don't you get all conceited about it. By now you should know I'm crazy about you."
"Sometimes I still can't believe it. I keep expecting you to turn on me and try to kill me in my sleep."
"Really?" she snapped, ducking from under his arm.
Denji stopped after taking two steps without her. He turned to see her standing a few paces behind glaring at him. Her almost seemed to glow when she was angry. Oops.
"Seriously? Do you really think I'd try to kill you?"
"No. Not really," he scoffed realizing he had made a mistake by even teasing her about such a thing when her eyes narrowed to mere slits. He raised his hands in a surrender gesture. "Hey, don't be offended. I don't mean it. You couldn't kill me anyway, and you'd be stupid to try," he said, watching her roll her eyes and shake her head.
"Dammit," she muttered stomping her foot and pouting like an annoyed toddler. "You're not wrong. But I'm not a Devil or a Fiend or whatever might want to try to kill you. And I adore you, you moron. I love you."
Denji grabbed her, planting a kiss right on her lips which made passers by stop and gape at them in shock to see such a flagrant public display of affection.
"I love you too. Even though you can be an idiot sometimes," he added, receiving a poke in the gut that made him flinch and let her go.
"Jerk," she muttered but with a smile on her face. "We need to hurry or we'll be late."
~\'/~
By the end of the school day, Mari felt like her brain had melted from the redundancy of the mindless phrases from the primary book of English written for illiterate people at the beginning of the last century. Unfortunately for her and the students, the damn Fiend attack had sidelined her from getting fresh material to keep them from dying of boredom.
Thankfully, no one was interested in playing twenty questions at the end of the last period. She was practically ecstatic to watch Yoshida exiting the classroom after tossing his reader onto the desk which left only her and Denji in the classroom.
"Oh, my God," she moaned, draping her body dramatically over the podium as if she had fainted. "That was torture. I've got to find some new stuff to read and teach you guys English."
"I'm just happy I get to stare at you and your tits for an hour like a pervert and there's nothing you can do about it," Denji joked, walking over to close the door.
Mari lifted her head when she heard the door sliding shut. With a twist of his wrist, Denji engaged the lock with a click. She propped up on her elbow, watching him walk down the aisle to the second door to close and lock it too.
"What are you doing?" she asked as he slowly approached her.
"I am about to fulfill a fantasy," he said, taking her by the hand.
"You're going to get us both into serious trouble," she said as he backed her into the desk. A gasp escaped her when his hands clutched her waist. "Are you going to bail me out of jail?"
"We're not going to get caught," he assured her, lifting her to set her on the desk.
The piles of books shifted and some slid onto the floor. The glass vase with a single daisy in it given to her by a boy in first period clinked against a bottle of melon flavored ramune a girl from third period gifted her.
"You're crazy," Mari murmured when his hand gripped her calf. Sliding his hand under her skirt along her knee and thigh, he pushed up her skirt so he could stand between her legs.
"Crazy about you," he teased, kissing her cheek.
"You're such a dork," she laughed, clamping her knees onto his hips.
"But I am," he whispered in her ear, pressing a kiss to the small patch of skin under her ear lobe above the high collar.
"That makes me happy," she sighed, holding onto his slim waist.
Denji was not wearing his jacket. She could feel the warmth of his body through the thin material of the dress shirt. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the sensation of his soft lips on her cheek blazing a trail to her lips. Her hands moved slightly on his sides with his every breath. Outward with each inhale. Inward with each exhale. Her breaths matched his as if he was not just breathing with her but through her.
"Denji, we really shouldn't," she whispered half heartedly when she felt his hands sliding toward her inner thighs to push her legs further apart.
"I know," he agreed, kissing the outer corner of her mouth.
Goosebumps raised over her the entirety of her legs when his fingers brushed across her panties over her lower lips. The muscles in the lowest part of her back tightened making her sit up straighter when she felt the silk around her neck loosen when he untied the bow.
"You should stop," Mari said, sliding her arms around his neck as he bent to place a kiss below her earlobe.
"I don't want to stop," he returned, grasping her thighs and pressing his fingers deeply into the skin as he pulled her forward. He rubbed the bulge below his waist against her through the thin silk of her panties.
Mari enclosed his waist with her legs, clamping her knees onto his hips. She hooked her ankles together behind him as if he would try to escape from her. They both knew damn good and well she did not want him to stop either despite saying so. His lips fitted themselves to hers, kissing her hungrily.
Her lips parted, inviting his tongue inside. When his tongue touched hers, his bottom teeth scraped her lower lip. She aggressively pushed his tongue back and inserted hers into his mouth.
"Mmmm," she moaned into his mouth then retracted her tongue.
Denji removed his lips from hers, pressing his palms to her cheeks to hold her face between his hands. His eyes roamed over her face as if committing every inch to his memory.
"I want you so fucking bad," he panted, his glassy eyes meeting hers.
"I'm yours. Always." She wiggled her body against creating a nice friction.
He issued a snort of self-derision, his lips tilting into a sideways smile.
"What?" Mari chuckled self-consciously, trying to duck her head to be in his line of vision when he lowered his eyes.
"Sometimes I still can't believe you're mine."
She smiled at him, draping her arms around his neck.
"You know what? I'm pretty damn lucky to have you too. You're not the only who can't believe it sometimes."
"I'm nothing special," he muttered, avoiding eye contact
"They hell you aren't." She lifted his chin, forcing him to look at her. "You are incredibly unique even among hybrids and Devils and Fiends. You're more human than many humans I've known. Stop underestimating yourself."
Denji kissed her squarely on the lips. Pulling down the material of her shirt to reveal the bite mark, he traced the perfect set of teeth prints embedded in her skin. The wound still looked bloody because the flesh was so red and raw. He pressed his lips to the intact circle of skin in the middle that was untouched.
"We should take those books back to the faculty room. We need to leave soon to meet Nayuta," he reminded her, retying the bow.
Mari took his proffered hand to slide down from her seat on top of the desk. Squatting down, keeping her knees tightly pressed together, she began picking up the books. Denji bent down to help.
"Where did Yoshida go?" Mari asked, restacking the books on the desk.
"His club meeting."
"Club?" she snorted derisively. "What club could he possibly belong to?"
"The Devil Hunter Club," he replied, picking up a stack of the books.
Well, that makes perfect sense. What other club would he belong to besides the Devil Hunter Club?
"I can't imagine high school kids spending their time hunting and killing Devils. It really is an awful world we live in."
"Not all of it is bad," Denji said, turning his back on her to walk to the door. He flipped the lock and slid it open. "There is beauty all around us and good people in this world still. I want to protect that. So does Yoshida. That's why we choose to kill these assholes."
If he can find the good in this world, Denji certainly takes away everyone else's excuse for always looking on the gloomy side of life.
"You have probably come into contact with more Devils and Fiends than you think. You were just lucky you didn't get attacked before."
Mari exhaled a shaky breath. He was right. Thinking about it now, she realized some of the other girls did. It was not uncommon for Sato's girls to go missing on a regular basis. At the time, she assumed they had tried to escape.
A few showed up beaten to bloody pulps, even missing limbs; half eaten and almost completely drained of their blood, as she understood things after her ordeal. The women either died soon after their return from blood loss or were put out of their misery in a back alley with a shot to the head like an injured animal.
While in Sato's hands, whenever she left the house or the club, Mari was escorted by Hideki and at least two other sword carrying members of Mr. Sato's security team. All that time she had thought they were there to keep her from running away. She didn't realize he had been protecting her.
Somehow that stunning realization did not instill any positive feelings in her for her former employer or make her want to forgive him. All he was doing was protecting his investment. He spent a lot of money on his pretty little cash cow. She was just one of a herd.
"What's wrong?" Denji asked her, breaking through her thoughts.
"Uhm, I just never realized how lucky I really was," Mari murmured, pressing her hand over the bow when the bite started to pulse as if reminding her how close she came to dying.
"The Yakuza Boss who held my debt once told me it's better to be lucky than good. He said I wasn't either of those things. Since Pochita became my heart, I've realized that's not true. If I hadn't been good, you'd be dead," he said without the slightest hint of arrogance.
"I can't say you're being a conceited jerk because you are absolutely right."
Mari juggled the books in order to get a free hand to open the faculty room door. Denji followed her inside to place the books on the shelf where they belonged. She bowed and greeted the other teachers sitting at their desks grading papers or working on lesson plans or whatever they were doing.
Both of them quickly exited the room together. Neither one spoke on the way back to the classroom for Denji to get his book bag and jacket and for Mari to get her gifts and purse.
"So you've got some fans huh?" Denji said, nodding toward the flower and drink.
"I suppose so. Not gonna lie, I kind of like the attention," she confessed, studying the simple white daisy.
"Yeah. I enjoy the attention Chainsaw Man gets. I used to want to shout it to the world I was Chainsaw Man. I wanted the attention. And the women."
"But Yoshida wouldn't let you blurt it out, huh?"
"No. He said I was safer keeping it a secret."
"Have you and Yoshida been friends for a while?" she asked as they walked down the tree edged sidewalk to the front gate.
"For a while," he replied without giving a specific amount of time.
"Did you ever let your secret accidentally slip out to a girl to try to impress her?" Mari made air quotes as well as emphasizing the word accidentally by changing her tone.
"Yeah, I did," he admitted, his face blushing a lively magenta. "But she got angry and called me a damn liar."
"Really?" Mari giggled, a pang of jealousy stabbing her right in the gut. "What happened to that girl? Did she ever learn who you really are?"
The color of his face deepened to a shade of crimson. Mari mused that he might burst into flames at any second as red faced as he got. He tugged at his open collar as if it was constricting his neck.
"We dated. Went out a few times. She eventually believed me. Then she tried to kill me because she was a Fiend possessed by the War Devil who had a grudge against Pochita."
"Damn," she murmured. So Yoshida wasn't bullshitting me. Pretty much everyone woman who has come across his path, even ones who could be called his girlfriends, really have tried to kill him to steal Pochita.
"Yoru wanted revenge for Pochita beating her and eating most of her body, making her weak. She wanted to take back everything he stole from her."
Actually, I can understand that. No woman likes to be consumed by a man...literally or figuratively, Mari thought but kept her mouth shut. What she didn't understand, and what really pissed her off, was how those women cruelly deceived him, pretended to like him, then betrayed him in such a terrible way.
The traffickers who tricked her, Sato who bought her, and Hideki who kept her captive garnered her hate and deserved to have revenge wreaked upon them. It sure as hell didn't sadden her that Denji chopped up Ichiro or that Yoshida murdered Kenji. Well, Kenji's death made her a little bit sad. But she got over it. Although he wasn't quite as horrible as his brother who obviously controlled him, in the end, he helped him and she almost died.
"Hey! Hey, Mari, are you listening?" Denji snapped his fingers in front of her face to break her out of her self-induced trance.
She blinked and glanced at him.
"I'm sorry," she apologized.
"What the hell are you thinking about so hard?"
"A lot of things. Just trying to work through it all in my head. I just don't know how you do it," she sighed, taking hold of his hand. She grasped the neck of the glass vase tightly in her other hand.
"Do what?" he asked, glancing at her with a quizzical expression on his face.
"You just let it all go. You don't hang on to the hate or the pain. You don't have any fear or resentment at all. How do you go through this stuff, to see and do the things you do, yet not be all fucked up in the head?"
"Maybe I am," he said, scratching his cheek. "Maybe you're crazy too so you don't notice."
"Maybe so," she agreed with a sigh. "How do you trust people? After what those women did to you, what made you keep wanting to form romantic relationships? After all the people you've lost, how do you keep putting yourself out there? I just don't understand."
"Sometimes I don't understand myself. But if I hadn't kept trying, if I hadn't been willing to trust, I wouldn't have you."
"Yeah, I'm pretty damn awesome aren't I?" she joked with mock conceit.
"Hell, yeah ya are."
After meeting Nayuta, they went to the shop full of random items just to see if there was anything new that might catch their eye. Mari found a three tiered tea tray with lovely white milk glass plates. After rummaging a bit, she discovered a china tea set including a tall tea pot, cream pitcher, sugar bowl, and four matching cups. All were covered with a spray of red and orange roses.
"What do you think?" she asked Nayuta for approval. "Should we get them for the tea party?"
"Oh, yes please," Nayuta said, reaching for one of the delicate tea cups. "When are we going to have the tea party?"
"Next weekend maybe since you have your sleepover this weekend. It will give us time to bake and prepare." Racks of colorful sheets of paper caught Mari's eye. "We can make invitations on Sunday if you want."
"I'll pick out the paper," she volunteered, hurrying over to the racks. She choose red, orange, and green paper to match the roses and leaves on the tea set.
"I'm going to head on over to the grocery store while you two ladies finish up here," Denji announced, already walking away.
"Did you see anything you want? I can grab it for you," Mari offered.
"Nah," he replied with a lecherous grin while eyeing her up and down. "What I want will already be coming home with me."
Mari could feel her face heating as Denji walked away.
"Mari, are you feeling okay? Your face is all red," Nayuta remarked, touching her cheek which made Mari aware of just how hot she felt.
"I might be running a little bit of a fever," she returned. "Let's keep looking and see if we can find anything else."
Meanwhile, Denji roamed the aisles of the grocery store, trying to concentrate on picking out items for dinner but his mind kept wandering back to the past since another piece of long dead memory had been resurrected.
Although she was not the first woman to deceive and betray him, Asa Mitaka was the last in quite a long line. He had not been surprised, just disappointed. And hurt. Wounded in both body and spirit. His body was good as new within hours. His broken heart and dashed hopes an hour or two longer.
Denji had heard once what doesn't kill one makes them stronger. No wonder he was strong as hell, practically fucking invincible.
He picked up a potato, tossing it in the air, then catching it and dropping it in the handbasket. He choose two more. One for each of them should make plenty of fries. He followed the same logic with the chicken picking a package with three plump pink breasts. A smile curled his lips. Tits are his favorite after all.
Continuing to peruse the selection of meat, his eyes focused on the steaks. He could wear her out Friday night so she would sleep late Saturday morning. Then he could go to the grocery store, buy steaks, and cook breakfast for her. He could surprise Mari with breakfast in bed. With one appetite sated he could indulge another; possibly two or three times before Nayuta returned home.
Mindlessly drifting down the aisles, Denji stopped in front of the bottles of wine. Even if he could buy her one, he had no clue what she would like.
"That one is my favorite," she said, pointing at the bottle straight out in front of him. It was a blue glass bottle with a blue and silver label on it bearing a silver half moon.
He picked up one of the bottles to add to their basket.
"Anything else?" he asked, turning to face her.
"I don't think so. Let's go."
Once their few items were purchased, separately of course due to the age and alcohol issue, they were on their way home. Denji carried both bags in one hand so he had one free to hold Nayuta's. He began to lay out the usual evening routine they were well acquainted with.
"We walk the dogs while Mari cooks. We eat dinner. Homework. Bath. Bed. Got it?"
"Got it!" the other two exclaimed in unison. Mari even added a salute.
When the evening turned into night, leaving nothing to be done but bedtime preparation, Denji and Nayuta went to their apartment which had a tub. Mari took her shower. Denji promised to come back so she went to her bedroom to wait.
Dressed in fuzzy lavender sleep shorts and a white and lavender hoodie, she entered her bedroom with a towel wrapped around her freshly washed hair. The black walls seemed to absorb the light from the lamp and the room still seemed dim. Perhaps drawing back the curtain from the glass sliding door would help.
She pulled back the curtain, the metal rings sliding across the rod with a metallic hiss. The fabric was so thick the curtain only halfway opened before sliding back to almost completely block out the light again. She kept tugging, growing frustrated until she jerked so hard one of the curtain rings popped open and the corner sagged to the floor. Grabbing the heavy material with both hands, she pulled until more of the metal rings bent and released the curtain.
Suddenly irrationally enraged, Mari planted her feet firmly on the floor and pulled with all of her might. Gritting her teeth, she pulled and pulled until the curtain rod popped free sending her down on her butt. She jumped when the metal bar fell to the floor with a clamorous clang.
Sitting in the pile of fabric, the warped curtain rod sitting on the floor beside her, she began to cry.
"What the hell?" Denji muttered upon entering the room to see her sitting on the floor halfway wrapped in the curtain bawling her eyes out. "What the fuck are you doing?"
He went to her, squatting down in front of her to be eye to eye.
"I wanted light. I need - " Her words were cut off by a wheezing inhale, her body shuddering from her histrionic crying. "I need the light. I'm afraid of the dark. I can't stand it anymore."
Mari covered her face with her hands, weeping and wailing.
Denji dropped to his knees, taking her by the wrists to pull her hands away from her face. He stared at her red face streaked with tears and snot. She was not a pretty crier. How could a woman be pretty when she is sincerely pouring out her pain, her fear, trying to rid herself of it?
She squeezed her eyes shut, snatching her hands away from him. Grabbing her head, she pulled her hair. Opening her mouth wide as if preparing to unleash a blood curdling scream, only a feeble croak came out. Her eyes popped open wide giving her a wild eyed, crazy look.
"When I close I my eyes, it's so dark. And I'm afraid. He's swimming around in my brain. I can't get him out. I can feel him, hear him, smell him - " She paused, gagging. Pressing her hand to her throat, she gulped audibly. "Taste him."
Her tongue felt fuzzy and itchy. Although she had done her best to keep Ichiro's blood out of her mouth, on the way home she stupidly licked her blood covered lips when they became dry and crusty. The taste of his blood was like sucking on a penny that been soaked in rotting meat.
Mari's eyes returned to their normal size, moving to Denji's face to focus on him. He believed she was actually recognizing him for the first time since he arrived.
"Help me," Mari begged, reaching out to touch his wrist with her fingertips as if testing to see if he was real not a hallucination. Her fingers clamped onto his wrist like a vise grip. "Help me, Denji, please."
"I don't know how," he replied, taking hold of her wrist while twisting his to free himself from her astonishingly strong grip. She actually caused him some discomfort, compressing the tendons and grinding the bones together. "What do you want me to do?"
"Hold me while I fall apart," she begged, lunging forward to throw her arms around his neck before he could. "I need you."
His arms hung limply at his sides, the backs of his hands lying on the floor beside his knees. She clung to him, holding on tight even though he did not embrace her.
"But I have the darkness in me, a Devil. Does that mean you're afraid of me?"
She pulled back, her eyes shifting back and forth between his.
"What? No," she gasped, pressing her palm to his cheek. "No. You're my light, my sunshine."
"But - "
"Oh, Denji," Mari whispered, sitting back on her feet and swiping at her nose with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. "I don't mean that kind of darkness. I mean the literal dark because Ichiro snuck in here while it was dark. He stood right there by the bed and watched me. I couldn't even see him until he wanted me to see him. I'm afraid of what might be hiding in the dark."
She scooted forward on her knees, pressing her kneecaps against his. Picking up his hand, she placed it in her lap, playing with his fingertips.
"Besides, you're not evil. You're nothing like he was. You would never hurt anyone... who doesn't deserve it anyway. You're a hero." She patted her chest over her heart, smiling at him. "You're my hero."
Standing to his feet, Denji extended his hand down to her. When she took it, he pulled her up to her feet with very little effort. Leading her to the bed, he sat her down.
"Ugh, God I'm a disgusting mess," she muttered, covering her face with her hands. "I need to wash my face. I'll be right back."
Denji watched her leave then flopped back on the bed exhaling and making a sound like air escaping a tire. Her emotional swings were giving him whiplash. He was not sure what to think. Apparently he had caught her in the middle of a nervous breakdown.
What the hell was that?, he pondered, closing his eyes and draping his arm over them. He recalled her words trying to decipher their meaning. When I close I my eyes, it's so dark. And I'm afraid. He's swimming around in my brain. I can't get him out.
Perhaps there is no deeper, hidden meaning. It could be a side effect of the bite. She had been covered with that asshole's blood. She might have gotten some of his blood in her mouth and that is why she is having a reaction like a bad drug trip.
Denji lifted his arm from his face, opening his eyes, and sitting up when he heard the squeak of the bathroom door opening. Then he heard her bare feet tapping on the hardwood floor moving away from the bedroom.
She must be going to the kitchen for a bottle of water, he thought. His guess was confirmed when she returned drinking from one bottle with another unopened bottle in her other hand.
"I'm not thirsty," he said, taking the bottle offered to him and setting it on the bedside table. Catching her wrist, he pulled her forward. "Come here. You said you wanted me to hold you right?"
Mari straddled his thighs, kneeling with her knees on either side of his hips. She felt like she might topple off backwards so she encircled his neck with her arms, pressing her clean cheek to his.
Denji's big hands cupped her behind so she would feel a little more safe and secure, not like she was about to drop right onto the floor. She released his neck, sitting up to look at his face. Her hands rested on his broad shoulders as she gazed into his warm brown eyes finding soul soothing comfort there.
I have darkness in me. When he said that it panged her heart. Her hand pressed to his chest over his heart. That Devil, the Chainsaw Devil called Pochita, saved him. He wasn't all bad or evil. He had befriended this human, kept him from being alone. Pochita loved Denji and sacrificed his life for him.
Denji's eyes followed his fingers that stroked along her cheek and down to her neck. He examined the bite on her neck again. Eventually it would be gone, possibly leaving a light pink scar behind. The mental scars would fade too but it would take a little longer.
"Why are you looking at me that way?" Mari inquired, sliding her fingers through his hair.
"Like what?" he asked, his eyes meeting hers.
"Like you feel sorry for me. Don't pity me. Just love me."
"I do love you."
"Then make love to me."
She did not have to make that request twice. He placed his hands on her waist to hold onto her as he leaned forward to press his lips to hers. The kiss was brief, tender, not demanding but giving.
When he pulled his head back to look at her, she raised up and slid one foot from the bed down to the floor then other one. Her eyes remained on his when she reached down to grasp the hem of his shirt. With a sharp tug, she snatched his t-shirt off, throwing it behind her.
Mari backed up, removing her shirt and flinging it away. She stood in front of him half naked, her glorious breasts looked to be in desperate need of his touch: his fingers, his lips, his tongue. When he stood up, she stepped toward him pushing her breasts into his outstretched hands. Oh, yes indeed. Just what they both wanted.
Denji happily kneaded her pliant boobs. He sucked in his gut when he felt her fingers sliding between the elastic of his sweatpants and his skin. Her breasts slipped out his hands when she lowered her body along with his pants to the floor. He was already hard and his erection bobbed in front of her face.
She stood up in front of him, pressing her palms to his chest on either side of the pull cord. Nudging him gently, he responded by stepping back to sit down on the bed again. His eyes followed her hands that glided down her sides and under the waistband of her shorts and panties. Her hands continued their downward slide along her hips and legs to push off the clothing.
Stepping out of them, she straddled his lap hovering over his erect cock. Lowering her body, she was able to take him inside of her without ever touching him with her hand. Her arms circled his neck compressing her breasts against his chest, she continued to lower herself until she was sitting in his lap once more.
Denji groaned, savoring the delicious pleasure of her warm, wet womanhood, holding him, massaging him, though her body never actually moved. He placed his hands on her generous hips, waiting for her to move them. He accepted her gentle closed mouth kiss when her lips brushed across his. Pulling her hips forward, he moved her on top of him because he was impatient.
"Mmmm," she moaned against his lips, vibrating them until they tingled.
Mari raised up, his hips following, pushing up into her. Her lips disconnected from his when she raised her body again. Raking her fingers through his hair, her eyes met his while sliding back down the length of him.
Although Denji wanted to ram himself into her, he restrained himself letting her take their lovemaking at her own pace. Her every touch was light, delicate, asking for tenderness in return. She wanted the closeness, the connection, to be comforted and reminded how much he loved her. There really was much more to making love than just getting in, coming, and getting out.
Denji nuzzled between her breasts, fondling them while kissing them all over. He started raising his hips to meet her downward strokes, their pubic and hip bones bumping together with a delightful friction.
"You're so amazing," she whispered, placing her hands over his on her breasts encouraging him to squeeze a little harder.
Mari opened her mouth to say his name but was only able to issue a soft whimper. She could feel every inch of him gliding inside of her. Each time he was completely buried inside of her he would pause moving momentarily, giving her a peck on the lips or sneaking in a lick or nibble at one of her nipples. He set her entire body on fire with his little intermittent teases between long luxurious strokes.
The pressure inside of her mounted gradually at an almost infuriatingly slow pace. But she wanted this to last, remain so intimately connected him for as long as possible. Apparently he was enjoying extending things as well, teasing her by pushing her to the edge of the precipice then pulling her back without allowing her to fall in.
She kept her eyes fixed on his, holding them captive as if she could see right into his soul. Her eyes wanted to close with each subsequent push, but she struggled to keep them open not wanting to break the connection of the eye contact deepening their intimacy.
"Mari," Denji whispered, pulling her hips forward as he pushed into her.
"Oh, Denji," she gasped, closing her eyes.
The orgasm broke deep inside of her, spreading the intense heat of the release throughout her body. The fragments of pleasure, little stinging bursts at the tip of each nerve ending, erupted all over her body like fireworks. Her entire body tingled as she held onto him while bucked under her with his own climax.
"Thank you," Mari said, kissing his temple when his head fell forward onto her shoulder.
"What the hell are you thanking me for?" he panted. "You're so weird."
"Thank you for just being you. For loving me," she clarified, resting her hand on the back of his neck.
Denji lifted his head to look at her. She gave him the warmest, kindest smile. Her eyes were soft and shiny. The look of a woman hopelessly in love. He never thought he would find a woman to care that much about him. So far, his search had been less than successful to say the least. Attempted murder is a real relationship breaker.
"Do you want me to leave the light on?" he asked when she slid off his lap to crawl under the sheet and comforter.
"No. The moonlight will be shining in."
Denji glanced at the pile of material and the bent curtain rod on the floor. Oh, yes, how that whole weird scenario of her freaking the fuck out began.
Mari patted the bed beside her, inviting him to lay down.
"Besides, as long as you're here with me, I'll be fine."
He flipped off the lamp and scooted in next to her. She turned her back to him and started to hum. Closing his eyes, he fitted his body to hers, draping his arm over her waist. She began to sing. He liked to hear her sing.
"*By the light of the silvery moon, I want to spoon...To my honey, I'll croon love's tune..."
Denji placed a kiss on the back of her neck. A smile graced his lips as the pleasant drowsiness started to setle over him.
"Honey moon, keep a-shinin' in June...Your silvery beams will bring love's dreams...We'll be cuddlin' soon...By the silvery moon..."
Author's Note: By the Light of the Silvery Moon Song published in 1909. Music written by Gus Edwards. Lyrics by Edward Madden. Most notably sung by Doris Day in a 1953 musical movie of the same title.