The Boss of Control 3 - (Chainsaw Man, SI)
The true effects of the Gun Devil in the world were not through the loss in human lives, rather the sudden political shift in the economic and social view many held towards guns.
The US in particular had to truly feel the pain since the Second Amendment was all about owning guns and... that pretty much fucked their businesses. It was a genuine gut-punch to the economy, and one that led to an utter turn to blades and other sort of weapons.
Japan was not spared by this disastrous development. The PSD was no longer allowed guns, all sorts of flashy shit that was given to them secondhand from the military no longer legal for them to handle. Instead, they were given a lot of lances, spears, crossbows and swords. Lots of swords at that.
Kishibe was a simple man. He saw a knife, and he decided to buy two more for his colle-arsenal.
Training with those was already something he had been busy with for five years now, and he was glad that he didn't have to fear some cultist could shoot him dead with how intensive the law enforcers were in removing any guns available to people.
Four months passed to see those sold and return the money to their previous owners. The government was 'sweating bullets' as his boss called, but it was also true that no one was laughing. Not even that creep Makima, and definitely not Quanxi with her usual stoic. His boss was, however, the most amused. He wasn't smiling or laughing at the matter, but he could crack some surface jokes.
The tragedy had happened, some died and some lived - in Kishibe's mind, this was part of the curse this world had in living with Devils. A small sacrifice compared to how many lives were saved on a daily basis. Some of those Devils, he could imagine, would have been humans in a world without Devils. And where normal humans could hope to be given leniency, Devils were too hated by the public for those to bribe their asses out of a harsh punishment.
Plus, his job made the concept of 'dead rather than alive' sort of worthwhile despite how tough it already was to kill a fucking Devil.
Kishibe had been doing this work for almost a decade now, and yet he was still unable to truly match his boss in terms of... mental 'calm'. Despite all jokes thrown at him for his known attraction for Quanxi, Kishibe was a self-loathing man.
He can only kill with his hands, and he can't even score with someone that he loved. He could never hope to raise a family - not with how fucked up his mind was but-
"Kishibe, I hope you are not wasting people's time with an internal monologue of yours."
His boss' voice slapped him out of his thoughts, forcing the older man to leave the car as... they were busy with work.
It was him, Quanxi, Makima and their boss. It was rare to see their chief working on the field, but the PSD had been working harder than usual as a few reports from Private Devil Hunters had frightened some of their administrators - There were Gun Fiends in Japanese soil.
The news surprised him as Kishibe had never heard until now of a Devil being able to spawn numerous Fiends after being downed. the phenomenon was indeed a rarity that not even their highest expert on the topic seemed able to draw scientific reasons for this to happen.
Instead, the PSD's high bureau wanted its agents to act with caution as they 'defused' some hostile situations tied to the Gun Fiends in the country. There were rumors that this was more problematic in the USSR and the US, while Japan had the 'least' considering the presence the Gun Devil in the country had been... 'limited'.
"Remember the main worries: rapid shooter, tends to use high caliber shots to swiftly kill its targets. Avoid direct contact with it if it is aiming at you from a distance from which you can't react accordingly. Concrete is good cover, wood isn't."
They all nodded at their boss' summary for what was left in their documents - this wasn't technically a difficult mission, yet their boss had 'asked' to be there with Makima to see them at work with this chore. So, it was just Quanxi and Kishibe to take care of the chore.
And they didn't take too long to find the bastard in that crappy-looking old building they were looking into.
The Gun Fiend was indeed peculiar and it bore a passing resemblance to what was reported of the Gun Devil. A monster that bore numerous weapons that were of alternate sizes to their original counterpart. The Fiend had just two guns, a shotgun sticking by its knee, and the large barrel of the Beretta M9 it had for its head which made this fiend rapid with its ranged attacks.
Makima and the boss took cover before the battle, while Quanxi rushed closer to it by using the various hurdles left around in this old building. Most of the ceiling had rotten away, giving Kishibe a chance to jump to the upper floor, dash rapidly in a beeline to the hole closest to his target, and then jump right as Quanxi had struck.
The one-eyed woman had cut with a machete the knee with the shotgun, while Kishibe successfully descended on the rotating torso and slammed his daggers onto the heart of the fiend. A quick kill, but one that surprised Kishibe as he felt something twisting within the fiend's chest before he pulled his blades out.
As he did so, he saw something flung out of the chest and landing on the ground beside the killed fiend. He got a brief look, seeing it shine under the dim light before Makima personally knelt to retrieve it with gloves and put it in a plastic bag.
"What's that?" Quanxi asked, her face showing a hint of displeasure at the sight of what clearly was a bullet. Just not a normal bullet.
"A fragment of the Gun Devil. One of its bullets," Boss Haru remarked flatly. "The reason why we will have our hands full for at least a decade."
Kishibe frowned. "The same bullets that killed the civilians months ago?"
"Seems to be the case," Makima nodded to confirm his guess. "Our superiors are unsure of this detail right now, but it's fair to say that some of the Devils working with the PSD have agreed that it contains its... stench."
Sparing a brief look at Quanxi, Kishibe saw her give a nod and... frown at him, causing the man to look away with a hint of embarrassment.
"And I am certain of it as my contracted Devil confirmed this much, so we will have to be careful as we will have our hands full if all those bullets used can forge Fiends."
This thought actually had Kishibe sweating nervously as that meant than more than fifty thousand fiends could be created if those bullets ended up in the wrong places. Especially when people like the Yakuza and other big groups were still pissed over the recent Anti-Gun bills that have been approved by the national died and...
"Yes, Makima?"
Kishibe turned to see that the boss was now directing a flat but curious look at the redhead as... she had stopped smiling. It was a rare sight for sure to see the creepy smiler that was Makima lose her grin for something.
"You have a Contracted Devil...?" She inquired, sounding devoid of emotion, but Kishibe was willing to tell something else was cooking inside her mind. "Your files didn't mention it."
"Why would I want my public contract to mention I have a Contract with a Devil, Makima?" Boss Haru flatly asked back, patting Makima's head and just walking away. "Let's get going, we have more work to do."
The boss... Kishibe could now tell the man was either insane or had the biggest pair this world had ever known. In fact, the man doubted that his superior had not noticed the strangely livid look on Makima's face as he walked away. It was indeed a ugly look, and one that sent shivers down Kishibe's spine.
Nonetheless, Makima marched after him, irked but definitely compliant to orders as she marched after her direct boss. Leaving Quanxi and Kishibe to look at them leave and...
"He's dead."
"If he doesn't do anything to fix that, then yes," The one-eyed woman agreed with her partner. "But we should be going. And no more monologuing, please. It's embarrassing."
It's either that, or thinking how to date you, you silly woman.
But Kishibe was not as ballsy as his boss and held his words back for a latter time. Or never. Either way, he will live to see another day and... his boss' days looked numbered if he didn't solve the little situation tying up with Makima's strange annoyance in regard to his secret contracted devil.
AN
Kishibe is a 'deep man' (when he is not a pervert), and Haru-san has a contracted Devil? Since when? Oh, the irony behind the secret will be murderously hilarious. Which is why next chapter will see Makima receiving a gift to 'appease her ire'. Haru-dono is her boss after all, and he doesn't need other Devils beside her (she just doesn't know this is why she is truly pissed at him for this discovery).