Chapter Text
Ignorance is bliss.
If you know too much about the world, you can't simply go back to the simple happiness that ignorance brings.
Even Denji could comprehend that to a certain extent. It led him to his ruin in the past.
But everything was fine now. Totally fine. How couldn't it be, when everything was always the same shit?
He went to school at day; got called out by the teachers because of his academic shortness; was dismissed and mocked by his classmates, both guys -they were pricks anyway, he was too cool to be their friend- and girls -a lot of fish in the ocean, one day they would all love him.
Then in his free time, he went hunting devils, receiving praise for his accomplishments, even though the public didn't even know he was "Chainsaw-man" and their words actually weakened him instead of helping.
He was still loved -even though no one gave a shit about the real him.
Who was even the real him at this point? Denji or Chainsaw-man?
But it was okay. Everything was fine. Totally fine.
“Is everything fine, Denji?”
“OF COURSE!!”
Yoshida stared at him, incredulous. "Sure..."
With school finished for the day, Denji walked home beside the Hunter.
The dude was the only person -besides the brat- that he talked to on a common basis these days. No surprise there, Yoshida knew his real identity and also got involved with that whole mess with the assassins. The guy also seemed to consider him a friend or something.
That, or he was friendly with the objective of getting close enough to kill Denji if he ever snapped and went full ape-shit. At this point, Denji couldn't care less. All the people he liked and was kinda friends with, tried to kill him at some point.
The image of a light-haired young woman with red horns went through his mind, and in his distraction, he almost walked into a lampost.
“Hey, there, are you sure you are okay?” asked Yoshida again, after pulling him away before he hurt himself.
"I'm fine." He pulled his arm free. "Hey," he hesitated for a moment, "do you have any news about her?”
Yoshida sighed. "Sorry, but there have been no sightings."
“I see,” he mumbled.
“You should probably ask Kishibe. He would be better informed.”
Denji shivered jokingly “The old man creeps me out. I prefer to deal with him as little as possible.”
Yoshida chuckled, but then his expression turned more serious. “I don’t want to be rude but… maybe you shouldn’t focus too much on looking for her.”
“What?” Denji’s expression was blank.
Yoshida explained patiently as if talking with a child. "Finding a specific devil, when they are constantly dying and reincarnating between hell and earth all the time, it's very difficult. She may very well appear on the other face of the earth and you wouldn't ever know."
Denji snorted, though looking obviously uncomfortable. “It didn’t take long for the old man to find Nayuta.”
Yoshida nodded. "Certainly. But he wasn't looking for the Control Devil on his own." Denji's expression twitched, the ‘Control Devil’ had a name. ”It was an organized attempt by a huge network of Hunters wanting to stop any country from raising her into a second Makima… But this time, it’s just you, Denji-san.”
"And also the old man and you," he added, noticing Yoshida's hesitation before answering.
"Yeah, the three of us... But still, you shouldn't get your hopes up or obsess over it. Any other Hunter wouldn't think twice before trying to kill the Blood Devil if they ever crossed her-"
"AAAAHH!!" Denji yelled, making Yoshida step away. The guy got on guard, looking prepared to attack if he had to. "I forgot I have to get Nayuta from school!"
Yoshida blinked, lowering his guard again. “The Control Devil it’s studying.”
“Of course, she is! I can’t be the only one suffering this shit!” He smirked. ”Anyway, see ya.”
"O-oh! Yeah, see you later." He looked as if he wanted to say more, but Denji didn't give him the chance and just ran away.
He wasn't in the mood for talking with Yoshida anymore.
He didn't have to wait much at the school gates before he saw Nayuta approaching.
"You are here. You didn't have to." She said, totally expressionless. To be truthful, he wasn't sure if she was able to emote like a normal person.
Makima could. But Makima wasn't normal at all. It wouldn't surprise him if all the expressions she showed to others were fake from beginning to end.
"Meh, it was a good excuse to leave this annoying dude behind." He couldn't exactly be with Nayuta all the time, and he didn't need to. Both in the school and in the neighborhood there were some strong hunters -Kishibe's pals- looking out for Nayuta if any devil tried to attack her.
Besides, sooner than later she would become strong enough not to need any of their protection.
"Then carry me." Not waiting for his answer, she jumped on his back and held on tight, like an oversized tick.
“Yes, princess. But don’t get embarrassed if your friends see you and laugh at you tomorrow.”
"They are my classmates, not my friends." She almost sounded mad. Almost. "They aren't cool like the doggies at home."
"So they are annoying little pests, yeah, sounds about right." He was going to laugh until he realized something. "Wait. So only the dogs are cool? I'm not?"
“You are one of the doggies.”
He frowned, trying to ignore the little Vietnam flashbacks he was having. "Fuck no… At least you didn't control anyone today, did you?"
“No one got hurt.” She said quickly, not even denying she had done something. Not that he cared. Not really.
Being controlling was part of her very own being. He never judged Makima for that despite the awful things she did to him and everyone else, he wasn't going to start with Nayuta now.
“Guess it’s fine then.”
She climbed on his back, her jaw resting on his shoulder. "Next time, I can go home by myself. You should be a good doggo and play with your friends too."
He blew a raspberry. "I didn't do it for you, and that octopus isn't my friend," he grunted.
Nayuta had been doing that lately. Trying to be independent, or at least, independent from him. He didn't think she disliked him. It seemed more like something she had just decided to do.
He supposed that in itself was another form of control. One Makima never really met. A slave of the will of the people that raised her. The control over her own life.
“I have no friends either.”
He used to have some, he supposed.
They were all dead now.
He served the food. Some simple rice with some fried vegetables. Nothing special. He wasn't that good of a cook. But at least he didn’t suck too much.
His food couldn’t make anyone throw up, unlike hers.
They ate in silence. He missed the banter. What he didn't miss was the way Nayuta gave the veggies she disliked to the dogs. It was so much like her...
Why was she so much in his mind these days? It was annoying.
He only ate about half of his plate, before deciding he had lost his appetite. The dogs ate well that day.
He was washing the plates when Nayuta break the silence.
“Hey, Denji.”
"Hmm?" He kept his focus on the plate; how annoying it was. Usually, Aki was the one to do such stuff. He was the organized and clean one.
He was also the main reason he wasn’t in total poverty now he wasn't working for the Public Safety Devil Hunters anymore. There was also Kishibe, but the money he sent monthly was technically for Nayuta, not him.
Damn. Even now Aki managed to annoy him.
“Denji.”
“Yeah, yeah. Tell me what you want?” he said, realizing he had totally missed what Nayuta said.
“I asked if you hate me?”
Denji processed her words, lowered the plate, and turned around. "What kind of stupid question is that…?" Had he missed the full context? He truly couldn't get where that question even came from. "Why would I?"
"Because I'm the Control Devil," she said as if that explained everything.
“No shit. I’ve known that from day one. What about it?”
Nayuta seemed annoyed now, even though her face didn't waver. "Kishibe-san told me everything about the Control Devil before me." He flinched. "She hurt a lot of people, including your friends. Don't you hate me for that?"
“You aren’t Makima.” Even though every day he wondered if that would be the day Nayuta would become as twisted as her predecessor. Even then, he didn’t feel any fear or hate for her.
"I know. But even Kishibe-san doesn't like me." He lifted an eyebrow. He seemed okay with her. "He knew Makima-san for longer than you and knew how dangerous she was. She killed a lot of his friends too. So he decided to keep me away because he would probably kill me otherwise… He told me that himself."
He swallowed his shock. Why was everything always so fucked up?
He walked to her and narrowed his eyes.
He put his hand on Nayuta’s head and messed up her hair. “Stop thinking over-complicated stuff. You are just a kid.”
“I’m not. I'm a devil.”
“A brat is what you are!” She tried to move her head away from his hand but he followed her. “I never hated Makima and I don’t hate you. End of the story.”
“But you are sad. You miss your friends.” She raised her voice. Or at least it felt that way, maybe it was his imagination.
He lowered his hand. And Nayuta looked at him warily.
Did he? Miss them?
No. He didn't.
...He just thought about them every day, all the time. And felt like shit every time he did.
"Yes. I guess." He smiled ruefully, feeling like a loser.
“If you miss them, then miss them… But you never speak about them.”
He couldn't believe it. Was she seriously trying to manipulate him into talking about… feelings?
“What am I supposed to say? Didn't Kishibe tell you everything about them already?”
"Not everything." She sat on the ground. Was this storytime for her or something?
Denji sighed and sat on a chair. "Okay, First, there's Aki, this stuck-up bastard I should totally hate and yet, I got used to his nagging to the point I can perfectly imagine him being all fastidious about me doing anything. It's annoying! And the worst part is that I end up owning a lot to him, but now he is dead and I can't do shit to pay him for it even if I wanted! It feels as if he was showing me the middle finger and telling me to suck it from wherever he is in the afterlife."
“He sounds nice.”
"He was a dick." One who was a lot nicer and more caring than he ever recognized. One who fought for him. One who felt like family. "And then there's Power... She was this weird, obstinate, and even dumber than me fiend. She had this grave case of thinking she was like the second coming of the Gun Devil when she was just a compulsive liar and kind of a coward, and it seemed like her hobby was to bite and stab me all the time. And she wasn't sexy at all about it!" And despite the fact they bickered all the time, it felt as if they were always there for each other, especially after Aki's death. To the point of her dying for him to live, her blood being one of the reasons he managed to stop Makima.
“She sounds nice.”
"She was totally awful." And yet he was laughing as he remembered all the moments they shared together. "They both were so fucking awful that when I remember them I feel like crying!"
Nayuta tilted her head. ”You are crying.”
“S-see?! Just like I’m saying!”
She nodded. “Feel better?”
“I feel like shit.”
“So better.”
“You are such a brat.”
"Woof."
Aki and Power were dead. It was partly his fault, and they would never return.
But the Blood Devil was still out there.
He wondered what she would be like?