Of Bombs & Chainsaws

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/43493473.

Rating: Mature
Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Category: F/M
Fandom: Chainsaw Man (Manga), Chainsaw Man (Anime)
Relationship: Denji/Reze (Chainsaw Man), Denji & Hayakawa Aki & Power, Denji &
Hayakawa Aki, Denji & Power (Chainsaw Man), Angel Devil &
Hayakawa Aki, Power & Reze (Chainsaw Man)
Character: Denji (Chainsaw Man), Reze (Chainsaw Man), Makima (Chainsaw
Man), Hayakawa Aki, Power (Chainsaw Man), Higashiyama Kobeni,
Galgali | Violence Fiend (Chainsaw Man), Beam (Chainsaw Man),
Kishibe (Chainsaw Man), Angel Devil (Chainsaw Man), Nyako | Meowy
(Chainsaw Man), himeno (mentioned), Yoshida Hirofumi, Quanxi
(Chainsaw Man), Tolka (Chainsaw Man), Santa Claus (Chainsaw Man),
Darkness Devil (Chainsaw Man), Pingtsi (Chainsaw Man), Long
(Chainsaw Man), Tsugihagi (Chainsaw Man), Cosmo (Chainsaw Man)
Additional Tags: Fluff, Chainsaw Man Spoilers, obviously, There's Some Angst In There
Too But Mostly Fluff I Promise, I Fucking Adore Denreze, they deserve
better, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and
Hurt/Comfort, Mild Sexual Content, Might Become More Than Mild But
We'll See, Domestic Fluff, True Love, Attempt at Humor, There's Some
Akiangel Here Too, Akihime Fans Are Also Eating Good Though,
Kobeni's Car Is In Here Too
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2022-12-08 Updated: 2023-05-31 Words: 67,292 Chapters:
11/?

Of Bombs & Chainsaws

by jcride

Summary

Denji is waiting for the girl that stole his heart to come back and run away with him. When
the young woman is nowhere to be seen, their love seems destined to be over before it ever
has the chance to flourish. So imagine everyone's surprise when Reze is revealed to be
Division 4s newest member the very next day.

A slight reimagining of Part 1 from Chapter 51 onwards where Denji and Reze are
together, or in other words: "What if Chainsaw Man hurt just a little less?"

Notes

First Chainsaw Man fic, one I'm very excited for too! Do keep in mind, while this is
technically an AU story, the emphasis of this fic is on Denji x Reze fluff. Events will
obviously be altered to fit Reze into the mix but I am not intending on changing the overall
plot or any of the characters in any massive way, my ass cannot write the Chainsaw Man
story better than Fujimoto! So if you're mostly looking for an AU story, this might not be
the right one for you. But if you're here because Denji x Reze warms your cold heart,
you're in the right place! As always, enjoy!
 We Don't Have Many Days

A boy holding out a flower, smiling as he did.

Reze had witnessed a plethora of things, a mere fraction of which would be enough to scar most for
life. Most sane people that is. Despite acting rationally, Reze was conscious enough to know she
had departed with most of her sanity long ago. One doesn't survive in her world without some
screws loose.

So why? Why, out of all the things she had seen, the image that seemed to bewilder her the most
was that of some boy holding a flower?

The young woman was trying her very best to erase such intrusive thoughts from her memory. Her
mission had been a partial success. While he was still breathing, word of the Chainsaw Devil being
in Japan, and by extension under Makima's leash, would soon reach the entire world. There was
nothing left for her in Tokyo but death.

Yet as she was approaching the train station, she couldn't help but take the flower that the sales
woman offered her. How could she refuse it, after all it was the same flower he had given her.
Almost as if it had come back to haunt her.

The train would arrive any minute. She would travel to Yamagata as instructed. She'd report to her
superiors. And then she would go on a new mission, destined to repeat a never ending cycle of
death and destruction.

But that damned image wouldn't give her mind a moment of rest. She knew her only real option
was to get on that train and get the hell out of there. Yet that persistent little voice in the back of her
head kept torturing her.

'Run away with him.'

She'd never had a stupider idea in her short life. Granted, the odds of her survival would increase
with Chainsaw by her side. But even so, he was inexperienced. They could run away from the
Soviets and Public Safety, maybe even from all the assassins that would soon inevitably be after
his heart. But running away from Makima? In all likelihood they'd be dead in a matter of days.

Days they would spend together.

"The 11:08 Tsubasa Shikansen bound for Yamagata will depart momentarily."

Her train had arrived. It was time for that stupid little day dream of hers to come to an end.

'We'd only be together for days.' That's what her rational mind was repeating to herself. Yet the
prospect of spending those few days with that boy was starting to sound more and more enticing.

The doors of the train would close any moment. Reze thought she should have gone inside before
they closed. She shouldn't have walked away. She shouldn't have headed for that damned coffee
shop where he would be waiting for her to lead him to certain death.

But she did.

She took her hat off and tossed it aside, letting her dark purple hair bathe in the morning sun, and
set course for the shop. She was done lying to herself. She'd rather spend the rest of her days with
the one person who treated her like a human being, than go back to the savage fucks who molded
her into a weapon of mass destruction. And he deserved better than to be the dog of that witch.
She'd teach him everything, just like she promised.

She'd make their days together worth it.

She was practically running towards him, her feet seemingly moving on their own. Her heartbeat
was rising steadily as she got closer and closer. Soon she was able to discern a messy blonde mob
of hair sitting by the window of the coffee shop, right where he always sat. He was waiting for her,
just like he promised. Of course he was.

As she was approaching him however, she noticed a suspiciously large amount of rats running next
to her in the tight alleyway. What started as a suspiciously large amount soon turned into an
abominable body of rats stacked on top of one another, blocking her path.

Reze stopped and by reflex went for her pin. He would have to wait for her a little longer. At first
she thought she might have been spotted by a devil hunter, perhaps someone who had a contract
with a Rat Devil. Or perhaps she was unlucky enough to have stumbled upon the devil itself. She
also considered a third possibility, one that struck fear deep into her heart. The one that would
unfortunately turn out to be the case.

Before Reze could consider her next move, the mass of rodents formed what resembled a mouth.

"Me too."

It was a woman's voice. A feminine yet commanding voice that Reze feared could only belong to a
certain someone she hoped she'd never meet.

The disgusting pile of rodents collapsed on itself, revealing a red haired woman standing behind it.
She was slightly taller than Reze, wearing a standard devil hunter uniform, her mesmerizing
yellow eyes seemingly glowing in the shadows of the dirty alleyway. It was her.

"I like the country mouse too."

The Control Devil was standing in front of her in the flesh, paralyzing the young woman with fear
the likes of which she had never thought possible. Unless by some miracle, odds were she was
moments away from her death. The few days she dreamt of spending with the boy she loved would
be over before they ever had the chance to begin in the first place.

Makima held one of the rats disturbingly close to her deceivingly angelic face. "My friend has this
farm in the country," she started, her voice not giving away even the slightest hint of concern. The
Bomb Devil was clearly way beneath Makima in her eyes. "Every fall, I visit and give them a little
help with their work."

Reze's fingers refused to move away from her trusty pin. She'd let Makima finish whatever bullshit
speech she wanted to get off her system and then turn into the Bomb Devil and fight her with all
she had. A weak plan, but a plan nonetheless.

"Rats hide in the soil in the fields. They'll damage the crops…"

Reze's eyes were fixed on the blonde mob of hair in the distance. What plans did that devious bitch
have in store for him?

"So before the ground is covered in snow, you have to exterminate them."
The word exterminate was a clear indication of the things to come. Yet her bright green eyes was
still fixed on him.

"You do it by digging into the soil and having dogs catch and kill them."

Makima glared at Reze, her eyes creeping into her soul and her barely discernable smile crippling
her in her place. The dog metaphor didn't elude Reze, and she despised falling right into Makima's
trap. But she had to think of her survival and her survival only.

"And I couldn't tell you why…"

Makima's sinister smile broadened. Reze prepared to pull the pin.

"But I find watching that to be very calming."

Before the purple haired woman knew it, her right arm had exploded into pieces, causing
excruciating pain. Reze had no choice but to ignore the sensation and the pool of blood that had
formed below where her arm once was as she pulled out her knife with her remaining hand.

With incredible speed Reze was able to slice Makima just below the chest and landed behind her.
The wound wasn't enough to even make Makima flinch and before Reze had time to face her again,
Makima pointed her fingers towards her. Before she knew it, Reze was on the ground, a massive
hole occupying the space where her abdomen once was, her guts spilling on the ground as she
collapsed.

In a last ditch effort to survive, Reze tried to pull her pin with her remaining hand, only for it to be
blown to pieces as well. With both limbs and her entire abdominal cavity lost, the woman finally
accepted the inevitable conclusion of their duel.

As her senses were starting to fail her, Reze felt her head being taken into the arms of her murderer.

It was stupid. This whole thing was stupid. She should have known it could have only ever ended
that way. 'Really… Why didn't I kill you the first time we met?'

To her surprise Makima wasn't finished. "I was planning on using you a long time from now. But
seeing how… attached my puppy has become to you, you fit into my plans quite nicely."

Blood was dripping out of Reze's nose and mouth as Makima's cryptic words filled her head. She
didn't know what that bitch had in store for her or him, and quite frankly she hoped she'd never
have to learn.

"But, I will need you to forget everything you know about me."

She only wished she could be with Denji again. Even for a day.

"That's an order."
 Bewildered In Other Eyes
Chapter Summary

After believing that Reze bailed out on him, Denji struggles to keep the Bomb Devil
out of his mind. A heart to heart with Aki becomes a stepping stone for Denji to move
on, but the forces that be have other plans in store.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

12 pm.

Another slow day at the office for the mustachioed man who owned the humble coffee shop. His
waitress had bailed on him yet again, he was definitely keeping this one from her paycheck.
Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered with the girl. At least her absence meant she and
that weird devil hunter friend of hers wouldn't give him another migraine with their constant
shouting and all their childish antics.

Much to the man's dismay however, just a few seconds after that thought, the weird looking boy
would frantically enter his shop, carrying a giant bouquet of flowers and almost breaking his door
as he entered. 'Speak of the devil…'

"Hey take it easy Denji, this door isn't cheap you know."

The boy took a moment to catch his breath before speaking. Completely ignoring his warning, he
asked, "Was Reze here before me?"

'It's gonna be one of those days isn't it?' The man prepared to make a double Espresso for himself
before replying. "No, and when you see her again you tell her she's not getting paid for today, and
if she bails out on me again her ass is fired!"

The boy took his usual seat with his back to the window, placed his backpack next to him and
grabbed hold of the bouquet. "Oh don't worry 'bout that, Reze quit."

"SHE WHAT? She could have at least notified me!" The day was going from bad to worse. 'Just
great,' he thought, 'now I gotta find a new employee.'

Denji shrugged. "Yeah, guess you'll have to find a new waiter girl or sum. Good luck with that."

From the moment he first laid eyes on him, the shopkeeper thought there was something off about
that boy. Actually, there were several things off about him. His surprisingly natural blonde hair
made him stand out like a sore thumb, his teeth looked sharp enough to bite through metal, he had
eyebags that shouldn't be possible for a boy his age and his build was a mix between muscular and
malnourished. And if his physical appearance wasn't odd enough, apparently he was a 16 year old
devil hunter! One could only wonder how a kid like him ended up in that situation. Regardless,
eerie as he may be, the boy had become a regular, his heavy appetite providing a steady source of
income.

Denji couldn't remember the last time his heart was beating that fast. After regaining his motor
function with the help of Beam, Denji was taken straight to HQ, where he had to give a detailed
description of the previous night's events and sign dozens of documents he couldn't read even if he
wanted to. And to make matters worse, Makima was nowhere to be seen. Thankfully Denji was
given the day off, and he wasted no time getting ready to come to the café.

Aki had a lot of paperwork to deal with himself and Power was yet to return from the blood
draining, resulting in Denji being alone when he came back to the apartment. He found the
backpack that Power had brought when she first arrived and packed some essentials. Water, food, a
toothbrush and a heavy supply of porn magazines. Lastly and most importantly, Denji packed an
envelope filled with several thousand of Aki's yen, the location of which he wasn't supposed to
know.

On his way to the coffee shop, Denji thought he should buy Reze a gift if she does end up coming.
It would be a waste of money if he spent their limited supply of cash on such trivial things, but he
couldn't care less. Although it had been roughly two weeks, Denji could still remember her face
the day they met, when he offered her that flower. The memory was one of Denji's most treasured.

Up until that point, whenever he closed his eyes, the only image that would pop into his head was
that of Makima. Her soft features, her beautiful red hair, her porcelain skin, those piercing yellow
orbs. In that face he could picture, in detail, the reward he would get for killing that stupid gun. But
in that phone booth, he found the only human that could ever rival Makima's beauty.

Now when he closed his eyes the hair he saw was purple. The yellow eyes had been replaced with
green ones. Suddenly, killing the Gun Devil wasn't that big of a priority anymore.

When Denji saw all the colorful flowers in that giant bouquet, he thought back to Reze's blushing
form. How was it that an earthly being walking alongside him could be so divine at the same time?

As he entered the shop, Denji couldn't shake the feeling that he was betraying those who treated
him like a person for the first time in his life. Aki probably wouldn't mind, Denji figured he was
more of a nuisance to him anyways. Power would probably be upset at first, the fiend and him
were beginning to form an unlikely friendship, if you could call it that, but he doubted she'd care
for more than a day. Makima on the other hand… she saved him from his previous life, practically
found his heart for him. She trusted him. Leaving her behind, leaving that life behind… it would be
tough.

But to bear witness to Reze's face lighting up at the sight of flowers once more, it was worth it.

3 pm.

A few people occasionally walked in to grab some coffee and perhaps something to eat. All of
them without exception would marvel at the sight of Denji, standing there with his bizarre features
holding a bunch of flowers. Unfortunately for the teen, not one of them resembled the girl he saw
when he closed his eyes. Nevertheless, Denji had never been one to give up easily.

'She'll come soon enough! I can just feel it!'

6 pm.

Customers were scarce. The blonde haired boy still refused to move from his position. The
bouquet never leaving his hands.

"You've been here for six hours kid! She's not coming! Go home already." The man was frankly
astounded with the young devil hunter's patience, but his was wearing thin.

It was at that point when doubt started to criple Denji with fear. Maybe Reze truly didn't mean any
of the things she said to him. Maybe all the blushes were fake after all. Maybe if she did come,
she'd just try to kill him again anyway. Even if that was the case, he didn't care. Denji just wanted
to see her face again.

'Please... please just show up.'

9 pm.

The shop owner's anger towards Denji had mostly been replaced with pity. Nine hours he'd been
waiting for someone, refusing to accept what he should have accepted eight hours ago.

"Denji, I need to close now!"

Denji couldn't remember the last time he was on the verge of tears. Obviously he had cried tears of
pain more times than he could remember. After all, his dismemberments were frequent, too
frequent in fact. But tears of grief? No. Not when his father killed himself. Not when he and
Pochita died. Not when any of the other devil hunters died. So why now? Was it worth it, shedding
tears for that woman?

"Face it, she was out of your league anyways, you lived in separate worlds."

'Guess the old geezer's right.' There was no point in waiting anymore. It seemed that the only truth
to come out of Reze’s mouth after all were her final words.

Closing the shop couldn't wait any longer. "Cmon Denji, you'll meet a girl who's right for you
eventually!" In truth the man highly doubted that, but at that point he would say just about
anything to get rid of that kid.

Just as Denji was about to get up and leave, the door swung wide open. For a split second, Denji's
heart skipped a beat. The silhouette was that of a slender woman.

'She's here! She actually came!'

Luck however, had not smiled on Denji after all, as the woman that did enter the shop was wearing
some off brand sneakers, a pair of pants that she had pulled way above her ankles, a messy white
shirt with a black tie and a pair of red horns that were protruding from her strawberry blonde hair.

"PAAAAAAWER!"

If the shop owner was desperate before, he was now suicidal.

"Rejoice, for the mighty Power has returned! Upon chasing Denji's scent I have ended up in this
here tiny shop!"

The shop owner was not the only suicidal man in said tiny shop. Denji let out a defeated sigh and
proceded to bury his face inside the flowers. If that wasn't his cue to give up, he didn't know what
was. His little dream of running away was officially dead and buried.

10 pm.

"Where the hell have you two been? I've told you, you can't just disappear like that without letting
anyone know where you are, this is grounds to have you two hunted down!"

A typical Hayakawa lecture was awaiting the two of them as soon as they returned to their shared
apartment. Power ignored Aki's 'bitching' as Denji usually put it and headed straight for bed, still
upset at Denji for eating the flowers. Denji however was uncharacteristically silent during the
reprimanding, something that Aki caught wind of.

Denji took off his work clothes and headed straight for the bath. If something could take his mind
away from all the shit that had been going on lately, that something was nothing other than a nice
warm bath to end the day with.

'How sweet would it be if me and Reze could share baths if we had run away?' Hard as he tried,
Denji's mind was fixed on the Bomb Devil, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Cmon, hurry it up in there! You've been in the bathroom for 45 minutes dammit!"

More of Aki's moaning was the last thing Denji needed. He dried himself off, put on a loose t-shirt
and some pajama pants, got out of the bathroom and set sail for bed. Before he could reach it
however, Aki motioned for him to join him in the balcony. 'Great, more fucking lectures.'

When Denji joined Aki he was wearing his night clothes and had his hair down. Needless to say a
cigarette was decorating his left hand.

"Where did you go today? We feared you might have tried to run away." His voice was calm and
collected and his tone more friendly than usual.

"Nah, I've told you I ain't running away, not alone at least. I was at the coffee shop since I got out
of HQ." Denji had no reason to lie to Aki, the two had their differences but if someone could help
him understand any situation better, it would probably be him. Well, after Makima maybe.

Aki raised his eyebrow and took a drag out of his cigarette. "Since when do you like coffee that
much?"

Denji pulled out his tongue and made a disgusted face. "Ew, I hate coffee! Shit's plain mud water!
Don't know how you guys drink it all the time! Nah, I was there 'cause…"

Aki put out his cigarette and directed his sight towards Denji who was taking way too long to
answer what should have been a simple question. "Because?"

Denji's face dropped, his expression that of genuine sadness. "When Reze got away, I told her to
meet me in the coffee shop at noon, I promised her that if she did… we'd run away together."

The silence that followed was somehow much worse than the verbal outbreak that Denji had
anticipated. Instead, Aki waited a full minute in silent contemplation before opening his mouth.

"So, if she had come, would you have run away with her?"

"Yes." Denji didn't waste a second with his reply. He didn't care if Aki or anyone thought less of
him because of it.

More silence ensued. The expression on Aki's face was unreadable as he looked his roomate dead
in the eye.

"Listen Denji… for some reason people are after your heart. Powerful people. If you keep falling
for every one of them that looks your way, eventually one of them is gonna get the drop on you,
and that time we might not be there to hel-"

"Fuck that!" Aki couldn't recall the last time Denji looked as furious. "I wouldn't fall for every
chick that looked my way! I like girls but I ain't that desperate! Reze is different!"

Aki wrinkled his nose. "Come on Denji, even you know deep inside that she didn't mean the things
she told you."

Denji's fury was slowly turning into grief. Aki was only repeating what Denji's own subconscious
was telling him all along. That Reze never really liked him. But he refused to believe it.

"Maybe she didn't mean all the stuff she said! Yeah I'm probably not the funniest guy she's met,
and I'm no genius neither! And maybe some of her blushes were fake! But why did she wait so
long to kill me? Why did she teach me how to swim, and butt naked too?"

"Even if that's th- wait did you just say you two went fucking skinny dippi-" Aki shook his head in
an attempt to push the shock of that previous sentence away. "Anyways, what I'm trying to say is, I
understand that you're looking for someone like her in your life. It's not weird, it's normal. In fact, it
might just be the only normal thing about you."

"Uh, thanks?"

"But your… no, our priority should be killing the Gun. It's going to take a lot of time for you to
forget about her, I won't lie to you about that. But we have a job to do. You'll have plenty of time
for that if you manage to kill the Gun Devil."

Aki's words were both reassuring and depressing at the same time. On the one hand he was right,
running away with Reze was a stupid plan and he knew it, plus killing the Gun Devil meant he had
a free wish from Makima! But on the other hand, hearing that the pain wouldn't go away any time
soon was… disheartening to say the least.

"One last thing and I'll get off your ass. I know you're wondering if you did the right thing. We’re
devil hunters, it's part of the job to make some of the toughest decisions. So, if you had to choose
between Makima and the Bomb girl, which one would you pick?"

Denji worked his brain tirelessly in an attempt to come up with an answer, but no words escaped
his lips.

"You don't have to answer that to me. But the one you'll end up choosing will tell you if staying
here was the right thing to do or not."

Aki took the ashtray in his hand and headed inside. It was midnight and all three of them had a long
week ahead of them. 'Enough heart to hearts for the day. Or hopefully for the month.'

"Yo Aki." Denji spoke without turning around to face his roommate.

"What?"

"If you could choose between saving Himeno and killing the Gun Devil… which one would you
pick?"

Aki stayed motionless for a couple of seconds, before turning around and heading to his room, not
saying another word.
A soft purring sound was the first thing Denji heard upon waking up. Meowy had been sleeping
with him in Power's absence and apparently the feline was still coming to wake him up even after
Power's return. Not that Denji would complain, he couldn't have asked for a better alarm clock.

The night had been mostly sleepless for Denji, and the few hours he did manage to get some
shuteye were occupied with the ever so familiar door that had been haunting him for weeks. He
often wondered if there was any further meaning to it, but Denji figured he had enough on his mind
as it was.

The pleasant aroma of breakfast led Denji straight to the kitchen, where his two companions had
already started eating.

"Gmornin." It was easy to tell from Denji's voice that he hadn't exactly gotten a good night's rest.
And if his voice wasn't a big enough giveaway, the bags under his eyes probably were. Aki looked
like he could use some more sleep as well. Power on the other hand was enthusiastically devouring
everything on the table that wasn't a vegetable.

"Morning, I let you sleep in a little longer so we started without you."

Denji sat down and started slowly digging into his breakfast. "Do I start working with Power again
from today? Shark dude is cool and all but he's always getting on my nerves."

"Aha!" The fiend addressed Denji for the first time since the previous night. "Not only have you
been sleeping with that traitor Meowy, you have also replaced me with some foolish shark? Die!"

With that, Power sank her teeth into Denji's left arm. Power would never admit it to anyone but for
some reason she enjoyed Denji's blood the most. Unfortunately for her, Denji was not too keen on
the idea.

"Hey," he yelled while trying to push her away. "Ouch ouch! That hurts dammit!"

"Power! We've been through this a million times! Let go of Denji's arm or I'll tell Makima to drain
your blood again!"

Aki's mention of Makima was extremely effective as Power immediately relinquished the arm and
looked down on her plate. Denji knew all too well that Power was much more of a scaredy cat than
she let on, but he always wondered why she seemed to be so petrified of Makima in particular.

"Sweet, we're gonna see Miss Makima today?" During the night Denji figured thinking about
Makima was the only way to forget about Reze. He still couldn't bring himself to answer Aki's
question, but for now the prospect of seeing his beloved boss was enough motivation to get him
through the day.

"She asked the three of us to come by her office before we start our parole."

Power's eyes suddenly went wide and she started sweating. "It would appear I have a stomach ache.
I shall remain here for the remainder of the day!"

Aki wasn't having any of it. "Not a chance! You're coming whether you like it or not!"

Power gritted her teeth but knew further resistance was futile.

As the Hayakawa trio entered the building, most of Special Division 4 was already waiting outside.
 Denji was observing the rest of the team during the wait. Angel was lazily resting his small body
on the wall, looking as disinterested as ever. He was the last to arrive, as per usual. He noticed Aki
giving his new buddy a disapproving look but chose to ignore it. Violence was waiting patiently
with his hands in his pockets. Denji wondered what his face looked like behind that mask. Next to
him was his partner Kobeni. It was a miracle that the short chick was still working with them, but
Denji didn't really care enough to ask why she was still there. Beam was probably around
swimming at some surface. And that freaky Spider Devil was nowhere to be seen.

Aki was the first to break the ice. "Anyone know why we were all called here?

"Nope," was all Angel had to say.

"No idea,” said Violence, “me and Kobeni were just informed to show up before we start our
parole.”

Suddenly, the door opened and Makima came out of it, spotting her signature reserved smile.
Seeing her angelic face was enough to make Denji feel lightheaded.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting everybody. We all have work to do so I'll keep this short. I'd like to
congratulate all of you for your efforts against the Bomb Devil. Especially you Denji, using your
chains was a very smart move."

Denji's cheeks took the same color as Makima's hair, his blush reaching all the way up to his ears.
'I can't believe I almost abandoned you Miss Makima! From now on, you're the only woman I'll
look at again, like eeever!'

"That being said, the reason why I called you here today is because I would like you to work with
her."

As Makima finished her sentence, a second woman exited the door and stood beside her.

Aki clenched his fists.

Power huffed.

Violence took a step backwards.

Kobeni’s jaw dropped to the floor as she started sweating profusely.

And Denji was staring into the eyes of the the loves of his life.

Chapter End Notes

Much longer chapter, still warming things up so be patient Denreze fans, I'm just as
eager to get to the good stuff as you! I hope the characters don't feel off here, if they
do, do let me know. I have no idea at what rate I'm going to be releasing new chapters,
but hopefully I won't keep you waiting too long. As always, enjoy!
 Quiet Internal Rebellions
Chapter Summary

Aki voices his concerns about the way things have unfolded with Reze's recruitment.
Meanwhile, the human-devil hybrids are mentally preparing for their meeting, while
also dealing with their appointed fiends.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Denji hated his brain. Even when his body was only human, and barely functioning, he always
considered his lack of intelligence to be his biggest shortcoming. He was completely uneducated
and often relied on instinct alone for his survival. Kill the devil, get paid, eat, sleep, repeat. Despite
how shitty life was, it was simple. Upon his transformation into… whatever he was, Denji was
forced to use his brain more than ever, and although he felt smarter than ever before, Denji was
under no illusion of being nearly as smart as his peers.

So when presented with the image of the women he'd loved most in life standing next to each
other, Denji was far from surprised when his brain completely gave up on him, his eyes hastily
alternating between Makima and Reze's irises.

'What the fuck am I supposed to do now?'

"Her name's Reze, I believe you know her abilities far better than I do."

Makima's voice snapped the young devil hunter out of his stupor. Even then however, his eyes had
trouble concentrating on just Makima, especially when Reze seemed to be fixating on him as well.

"Power was originally going to return as Denji's buddy. However, partnering Reze with Beam
would be… unwise considering his reaction to her before you got here. Therefore, until further
notice Denji will keep paroling with Beam, while Power will be working with Reze."

To say Power was displeased with the decision would be an understatement. "'TIS
PREPOSTEROUS," she started screaming. "I DEMAND TO BE DENJI'S BUDDY ONCE
MORE! DENY ME THIS REQUEST AND I SHALL… I shall…" Power scanned the room for
any potential leverage. Her eyes lit up when they fell on Kobeni. "I SHALL SLAUGHTER THE
SHORT ONE RIGHT BEFORE EVERYONE'S EYES!"

Kobeni began to tremble and started producing incoherent sounds. She had lost track of the amount
of times Power had threatened to kill her. Working with a homicidal fiend was stressful enough,
but now she had to deal with not one but two insane teenagers who could turn into devils?

Makima directed her attention towards Power and smiled at her, sending chills down the fiends
spine. "Power dearest, I'm afraid there is no other option for the time being. You will continue to
live with Denji and the two of you will be together in all special missions, that's a promise."

Power immediately backed down, she was not what you would call sane, but she knew going
against Makima's orders would be suicide. It was now Denji's turn to get upset.
"Hey, wait a minute! Why can't I work with Reze? I have experience with her... sorta. We'd make a
super good team!" He hoped that his words would elicit some reaction from the
uncharacteristically quiet Reze. Much to his disappointment, she remained motionless. Her eyes
however, refused to leave his own.

"Denji, you know I can't have two fiends paroling together unsupervised."

"Kay that's fair, then how 'bout Aki works with Power, short dude works with Beam and I get
Reze? That's not breaking any rules is it?"

"I did not agree to this," was Angel's first spoken sentence of the day.

"Unfortunately it is," came Makima's cool headed reply. "Angel might look human but he's still a
devil, I can't pair him with a fiend. I'm sorry Denji but this is unnegotiable. Any further questions?"

Aki opened his mouth but Makima spoke before him. "Aki and Angel, please come to my office. I
wish to speak to you in private. The rest of you are dismissed. And Power, be a good girl and
behave with your new partner."

Before anyone could go their way, a slender arm was raised in the back of the room.

"Yes, Kobeni?"

"M-Miss Makima," she said on the verge of tears. "When a-are we getting our b-bonuses?"

Reze was nervous.

Not because she was expected to work with a room full of people she had tried to kill two days ago,
she couldn't care less about them. Not because she was forced to work as a devil hunter, with a
fiend no less, or be killed. Not even because her employer was the same mysterious woman who
managed to kill her without breaking a sweat. No, the root of her anxiety had a name, and that
name was Denji.

He was the reason she had, in hindsight foolishly, stayed in Tokyo. Her dream of running away
with him was obviously dead and buried. But now the two of them had been given a new chance
together. Denji wasn't the type to hold grudges, but then again he probably didn't know that the
reason she was captured in the first place was because she came back to him. Not to mention, he
obviously had some feelings for that Makima character. They had some talking to do, the two of
them.

As soon as she was dismissed, the guy with the weird top knot and the Angel Devil headed inside
Makima's office. To say that the tall one was looking at her with murderous intent throughout her
introduction would be an understatement. Granted she had probably killed several of his friends the
other day. Reze figured it'd be best to avoid that one for the time being. The fiend with the mask
and the short girl accompanying him left the building practically running. She couldn't remember
the last time she'd seen a person sweat that much. That left only the horned fiend and…

Denji hurried towards her as she was going down stairs. 'Now's not the time Denji,' she thought.
Plus, it was fair to assume the Public Safety Headquarters were bugged. No, they had to speak in
private.

Denji caught up to her and tried to lightly grab her shoulder. "Hey hold up, Rez-" Before he could
finish Reze had turned to face him and grabbed him by the arms, bringing his blushing face inches
away from hers. Reze always found it amusing how ridiculously easy it was to make Denji
flustered. The boy was standing there motionless, with his eyes wide open, his jaw hanging and
with a blush that painted his whole face red. Reze smiled and leaned towards his ear. "Meet me
outside the café when we're done with our shifts, we'll talk then." Her whisper sent chills all the
way down Denji's spine, rendering him speechless. All he could do was nod, which was enough for
Reze. It was shaping up to be an interesting day.

As she got outside, she saw Denji waving at her with a stupid grin on his face and going about his
patrol route. She didn't wave back, but offered him a reassuring smile instead. Reze loosened up
her tie. She wasn't a fan of the devil hunter outfit, wearing it felt… wrong. Plus she thought it didn't
look good with her choker that she always wore to disguise her pin. Denji was lucky to have his
cord in his chest. Deciding not to dwell on the outfit longer than she should, she went about her
own patrol route, one that she had memorized within minutes, a product of her gruesome training.

Suddenly, Reze felt a palm smacking her on the back of her head. She instinctively grabbed her pin
and turned around to confront her attacker, but relaxed upon realizing that the perpetrator was none
other than her so-called "partner".

Makima gave her a small debriefing regarding each member of the unit she was in. The woman
was careful not to disclose too much information to her, but she did inform her about the Blood
Fiend, since she was forced to work with her, plus she happened to be off duty when everything
went down. Apparently she went by the name Power and was exceptionally smart for a fiend. That
remained to be seen.

The fiend was wearing a blue jacket on top of her outfit and was slightly taller than her. She wore a
furious expression on her face, clearly not happy with the circumstances.

"So, 'tis you who I am forced to cooperate with! Make no mistake human, this deal is but
temporary! Soon, Denji shall become my buddy yet again! Until then, it is expected of you to
provide me with plenty of devils to slaughter!"

'What in the actual fuck?' Reze's admiration for Denji grew even more upon realizing that he had
not only managed to work and live with that thing, but also somehow befriend it! Regardless,
fighting the fiend would be a waste of time and energy. She'd have to rely on her social skills yet
again. After all, the pink haired freak had been working with Denji for a long time, perhaps she
could use that to her advantage.

Reze's expression changed from agitated to neutral as she extended her hand toward the horned
woman. "I think we got off on the wrong foot here. We'll be working together for some time so
let's be frien-"

Power pushed Reze's hand away. "DO NOT INSULT ME HUMAN! I have but one friend, and that
is a feline! The only human I can tolerate is Denji, merely because he is not as sentimental as the
rest of your filthy kind, that and he admires my strength!" The fiend let out a devious laugh and
went ahead. "Come now, battle awaits us!"

The thought of pulling her pin and blowing Power to bits was a lot more enticing than Reze would
like to admit, but thankfully she managed to suppress her urges and keep her cool. Bargaining
wouldn't work. She'd just have to play along.

The next few hours went by without much happening. Makima had instructed Reze to mostly
avoid public places, since Power's horns didn't go unnoticed by civilians. Around noon and after
failing to find any devils, Reze decided she could use a coffee break.

"It perplexes me how humans are able to drink this woeful liquid! Tastes like mud water! Denji too
cannot stand the taste of it."

Reze recalled all the times Denji would order coffee just so she could serve it to him. It was plain
obvious from the comical faces he made alone how much he disliked it, yet not once did he not
empty his cup. The memory brought a warm smile to Reze's face.

"So, do tell human. What is your ability? I pray you are not as useless and frail in combat as you
appear."

'The nerve on this one.' Reze had no idea how she would ever get along with that woman. "I can
turn into a bomb. One snap of my fingers and you're roasted beef." Flattering the fiend wouldn't
work, so maybe a more direct approach would.

Power crossed her arms and exposed her sharp teeth to Reze. "Hm, I would slaughter you where
you stand… but Makima would kill me in an instant." The mere mention of the name seemed to
strike fear into Power's heart. Reze saw an opportunity to try and learn more about her eerie
employer.

"She's quite powerful that Makima character isn't she? She's the one that captured me ya know.
Did she also capture you?"

Power looked down at her feet, her eyes betraying her contempt for the woman. "She captured all
of us."

'Interesting,' thought Reze. "That includes Denji I assume?"

Power wrinkled her nose and slammed her palms on the table top. "Cease pestering me with foolish
questions! You have yet to provide me with a single devil to slay thus far!"

Reze ignored Power's outburst and kept on pushing while sipping her coffee. "Does everyone else
fear Makima as much as you?"

Power was furious. "FEAR?" She started shouting, bringing everyone's attention to her. "THE
MIGHTY POWER FEARS NOONE, NOT EVEN MAKIMA! 'TIS OTHERS WHO SHOULD
FEAR ME! I COULD KILL HER IN A HEARTBEAT!"

Reze squinted her eyes. "Huh, didn't you just say Makima captured you? And that you can't kill me
cause otherwise she'll kill you?" Now Reze was just confused.

With the straightest face she could possibly pull, Power looked Reze dead in the eyes and
exclaimed: "I never said that."

Reze was starting to get a migraine. "Are… are you impaired or something?"

"'TIS YOUR HEARING THAT IS THE IMPAIRED ONE! I merely stay so as to help Denji, that
and topknot prepares food for me on a regular basis!"

Lesson learned. Power was a pathological liar and everything that came out of her mouth had high
chances of being complete and utter bullshit. The only valuable informarion that she learned was
that Makima should not be fucked with, which wasn't exactly news to her, and that Denji had
superhuman patience.

"I see. What about that topknot guy? What's up with him? He always that grim?"

Power blew away the strand of hair that had fallen in front of her left eye and rested her head on her
hand. "He is most annoying, making me take baths daily and forcing foul vegetables down my
throat! But he is a competent fighter. Too emotional though. 'Tis his obsession to kill that blasted
Gun Devil."

Reze considered her partner's words carefully. 'Emotional means he's unlikely to let go of me
killing his friends. And it's true that he's pretty damn competent in battle. Should be cautious of
him.'

Reze figured that was all the information she could get out of Power for the day. Too bad she still
had several hours of parole left. The evening couldn't come soon enough.

A few hours ago, two beings entered Makima's office. One was as stoic and uninterested as always.
The other was furious.

As soon as they closed the door behind them, Makima sat on her chair and put on her typical
reserved smile.

"I asked you here because I knew Aki was bound to have some complaints and I would rather if
this was resolved as soon as possible."

"Miss Makima," started Aki, his fists yet to unclench and his anger evident in his voice. "You
asked me to take care of some devil hybrid punk with no sense of right from wrong. I did what you
asked because you saw something in him, and you were right. I let a fiend live in my house because
you asked me to, and once again I never doubted your judgment. But now, you ask me to work
with the spy that killed an entire Special Division, that killed dozens of devil hunters! How can I
not be upset with that?"

"Aki, slow down. That's a lot to process." Makima was calm and collected as always, not that
anyone ever expected any less of her. "I understand why you're upset. I really do. But you must see
the bigger picture here. Reze is a hybrid, just like Denji. You've seen the impact that he's had since
his arrival. Having not one but two of them on the team greatly increases our chances of defeating
the Gun Devil. It would be a waste to let a woman with her talents perish, don't you agree?"

"Her talents are killing innocent people! I understand she has potential, but Denji was never a
murderer! How can I possibly ever trust her to have my back? And what if she tries to kill Denji ag-
"

"That's not going to happen." Makima's eyes glowed as she cut off Aki, her tone was still friendly
but her voice had been ever so slightly raised. "She has nothing to gain from that anymore. And she
knows she can be killed at any instant should she try to run away. Not to mention, it would appear
little Bomb Girl might have a crush on your roommate. After all, she was only captured in the first
place because she came back for him. Not for Chainsaw Man's heart, but for Denji."

For the first time in a long while, Angel smiled.

Aki wasn't nearly as happy as his partner. "Is that supposed to be a joke?"

Makima didn't reply. Her facial expression changed from friendly to neutral, which let Aki know
he had made a very poor choice of words.

"I apologize. I know you're taking this more seriously than any of us. It's just hard for me to accep-
"

"Luckily for you Aki, there is nothing to accept here. The decision is final, and as always I expect
your full cooperation. You were never one to let your emotions cloud your judgment."

Aki looked down at his feet as he conceded defeat. "I apologize ma'am. I understand."

His response earned him a smile from Makima. "Excellent, it's settled then. I have no reason to
keep you here any longer than I already have. Have a good day, both of you."

Man and devil bowed and went about exiting the room. Just before Aki left however, Makima
referred to him one last time.

"Oh, and Aki. One last thing."

Aki turned around to face her. "Yes ma'am?"

"If Denji and Reze are to get romantically involved with each other, you are not to interfere in any
way. Understood?"

Aki clenched his first yet again. What the fuck was Makima thinking? First she recruits a
murdering Soviet spy in Public Safety and now she's actively rooting for the two most dangerous
members in the team to hook up? Something was off. Something was really off.

"I understand."

On the other side of town, a very confused teenager was walking down the street.

Denji and Beam had encountered some weak devil a few hours ago, one that Beam quickly
disposed of. Denji was glad he didn't have to use his chainsaws, those things hurt like hell.

"SEE HOW I KILLED THAT DEVIL LORD CHAINSAW?"

"Yeah yeah real impressive Beam, now shut up and go swim somewhere or whatever, I told you
people'll get freaked out if they see you."

"LORD CHAINSAW! YOU MUSTN'T TRUST THE BOMB! SHE WILL DECEIVE YOU
AGAIN! BOMB UP TO NO GOOD!"

Beam had been busting Denji's balls about Reze all morning, and Denji wasn't having it anymore.
He could be out working with Reze but he was stuck with some shark guy instead. And while
Denji had a newfound appreciation for the fiend after how much he had helped him, he still
couldn't stand his constant bitching. "Zip it and go swim somewhere else for fucks sake!"

"YES MY LORD," came Beam's response as he sank into the ground.

A small part of Denji didn't want Reze to come back. The part of him that hated to be presented
with choices. The part that wanted nothing more than to do what he was told, no questions asked.

But an even bigger part of him was ecstatic. Even if Reze hadn't come back for him, she was there!
They actually had a chance together! And not just some hopeless, borderline suicidal escape. They
were coworkers, more specifically coworkers that couldn't quit even if they wanted to. They were
still trapped, but for the first time they had someone they could truly relate to.

As time went by and the sun slowly began its descent, Denji was growing more and more anxious.
'What if I say sum stupid and fuck things up again?" That seemed to be his primary amongst many
concerns. 'Or what if she only wants to tell me that she really never liked me and that she doesn't
wanna see me again?' As time went on, the more paranoid he was becoming. His brain was
betraying him yet again.

Asking for advice was also out of the question. Aki would not forgive Reze… probably ever. If
anything, Denji figured he'd probably try to keep the two of them apart. Power… asking Power for
any advice was about as wise as sticking your dick in a beehive. And Makima…

'Fuck, there's Makima too!'

Denji realized he desperately needed to answer Aki's question. It'd be unfair to try and pursue
anything with Reze and also hope to get "rewarded" by Makima in the future.

"Ahhh, my brain hurts!" Denji desperately yelled into the sky in a futile attempt to vent his
frustration. Soon he'd have to meet Reze outside the coffee shop and make his mind up once and
for all.

Denji was standing on a rooftop drinking some soda. The sun was about to set soon and while he'd
never admit to something so girly, Denji always liked watching it. It felt… cathartic back when he
was still working for the Yakuza. The sun's rays of light would disappear and no one would notice
him anymore. Back then Denji felt like he and Pochita could blend into the night, like nocturnal
animals. They could finally eat, sleep, be glad that despite the odds they managed to live another
day. And most importantly, they could finally dare to dream of a better life.

Now that their dreams had come true, the sunset was a lot more melancholic. It signified the end of
a beautiful day. Going to sleep wasn't the saving grace of his day anymore nor a solution to his
hunger, but the sad finale. And instead of hopeless dreams, he was now faced with horrific
nightmares about things he couldn't understand.

"Ya know Beam, sometimes I wish I'd never been saved by Makima. I know that's like super
selfish of me, but things are just so complicated man." Denji knew he was talking to a guy with a
shark for a head, but he couldn't care less at that moment.

"LORD CHAINSAW SHOULDN'T BE SAD! LORD CHAINSAW WILL SAVE US!"

"I know I shouldn't be sad, but I feel like I never know what I want. When I was broke I was
dreaming of living the good life. And now that I'm living it I'm too afraid to make choices and shit
cause I might lose it! Same with girls! When Reze left I was sad but also a bit happy because it
meant I could go all in on Makima. But now that she's back, I'm like super happy about it, but also
sad 'cause it means I have to choose between her and Makima! Everything's one big clusterfuck is
what it is!"

Denji was sure that Beam couldn't even begin to comprehend what he was being told, but letting it
out of his system was nice regardless.

"LORD CHAINSAW SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT CHOICES ARE WHAT MAKES HIS
LIFE WORTH LIVING! LORD CHAINSAW SHOULD STOP TRYING TO LIVE A
FRICTIONLESS LIFE, FOR THAT LIFE WOULD TRULY BE WORTHLESS!"

Denji stayed quiet for a good minute.

"What the actual fuck? Since when the hell were you smart?"

Beam offered Denji a wide smile and continued happily swimming on the roof.

Looking back on things, Denji slowly realized that it was the choices he made that made him the
happiest. He became Chainsaw Man because he chose to take care of Pochita. He was living a
 good life because he chose to work for Makima instead of dying by her. He chose to save Power
despite her betrayal. And he chose to run away with Reze.

"I can't believe I'm 'bout to say this but… you might just be a fucking genius Beam!"

For the first time in his short life, Denji realized his choices mattered. And tonight, he was going to
choose Reze once and for all!

Chapter End Notes

I really liked the idea of partnering Reze up with Power, it could make for a real fun
dynamic! I know I'm still teasing you all but I'm a sucker for internal monologues and
characters fights with their own subconscious, though this mostly applies to Denji
here. Next chapter should be when the Denreze fluff begins! As always, enjoy!
 Walking Contradictions
Chapter Summary

Aki and Angel begin to suspect Makima's abrupt decision involving the Bomb Devil
and question her mysterious behavior regarding Denji. Meanwhile, the young
inhumans are finally having their highly anticipated reunion.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

"You know, you should really stop smoking."

Ever since he first took on the habit of smoking, Aki's peers had been trying to convince him to
quit. They always used the same tired old arguments. "Nicotine is bad for you," this and "those
things'll kill you," that. As if Aki didn't already know. Just about all of those peers were dead, and
it sure as hell wasn't any bad habit that got to them.

Only one person had ever actively encouraged him to smoke, the same person that got him
addicted in the first place. Aki figured Himeno knew that neither of them would live long enough
to see the effects of their vices. An excuse she applied to drinking as well.

At times like these, Aki missed her the most.

"Seriously, could you put that out?"

Angel was the worst partner that Aki had ever had. Well, maybe second worst. He figured his first
encounter with Denji thoroughly deserved the number one spot. But Denji had changed since. He
was still some punk kid with barely any respect for anything, but he was good at following orders
and over time he had become much less of a nuisance. Aki honestly wouldn't mind having current
Denji as his partner.

On the contrary, Angel was only getting more annoying by the day. His disinterest for everything
around him sickened Aki down to his core. Therefore, it came to his surprise when the devil asked
him to put out his cigarette during their break. Especially considering he knew Aki didn't have
much time left.

Aki took another drag out of his cigarette. "Since when are you so worried about my health?"

Angel was not amused. "Worried? We both know it's not cigarettes that'll kill you. The wind is just
blowing all the smoke in my face. If you wanna smoke, smoke. Just not when I'm around."

'Figures,' thought Aki. Angel didn't even care that a woman who tried to kill him two days ago was
now their new squad member. Of course he wouldn't bat an eye about something as trivial as his
partner's health.

"You know, you could have at least tried to back me up a bit when I was talking with Makima."

Angel rolled his eyes and sat on his knees, resting his back against the wall of the building they
were standing in front of. "Nothing you and I say can possibly change such decisions. You think
your opinion matters because you killed a few high profile devils?"

"So are you on board working with a woman that murdered a bunch of your coworkers and tried to
kill you in the process?" That damned devil always found a way to get on his nerves.

"I couldn't care less. If Makima is right she'll be an asset. If she's wrong she'll try to kill us again.
Simple as that. Those people that died, they were your coworkers. Your friends. Not mine. I would
tell you I'm sorry for your loss but we both know I'm not."

Aki wanted to punch the devil, but he figured he wouldn't gain anything from it. Being a dick was
practically second nature to him. At least he had the decency to be honest. A quality not many
possessed these days.

Angel bowed his head and let out a tired sigh. "You wouldn't have to deal with me if you had just
let me die in that typhoon you know."

Aki wondered if those two months of his lifespan were worth losing. Probably not. But he didn't
dwell on it too much. He'd rather die a bit sooner than see another partner of his die, even if said
partner was as infuriating as Angel.

"You don't get to bail out on me so easily. You're dying when I say you can die, no sooner."

If Aki had been looking at Angel he would have seen a tiny smile form on his face.

"I don't think you're upset that bomb girl joined the squad."

Aki raised his eyebrow and put out the remainder of his cigarette. "Did you listen to a single word I
said to Makima?"

"You kept going on about how she's a killer, but you know Makima's right. She doesn't have a
reason to fight us again. Bomb girl is many things, but stupid is not one of them. She knows that
there's no escape… You're upset because she came back for chainsaw boy."

Aki remained silent for a while. While Angel was downplaying the situation, he wasn't wrong.
Bomb was unlikely to pull anything funny to them, she had nothing to gain. She came back for
Denji. But why was she ever allowed anywhere near him? That just didn't sit right with him.

"Makima says Bomb came back to meet Denji, not for the sake of the Chainsaw Devil. Doesn't that
sound the least bit suspicious to you?"

"Jeez Aki, the kid is not that ugly!"

Aki face-palmed. "That's not what I meant dumbass. What I'm trying to say is, why would Makima
take that risk?"

Aki had piqued Angel's curiosity, which was no small feat. "Elaborate."

"Makima knows things about Denji that she is not disclosing to us. That much I'm certain of. She's
been giving him special treatment since day one, and the kid is willing to die for her. Denji
mentioned she even promised him something to motivate him to kill Gun. Knowing Denji, it's fair
to assume that something was some form of intima-"

"Ok, ok hold your horses!" Now Angel was just disturbed. "Makima wants to kill the Gun Devil as
much as anyone, but no way in hell is she pimping herself out to some teenager for it! This is still
Makima we're talking about! After all, it's not like Denji could leave even if he wanted to."
"My point exactly! Makima, for whatever reason, needs Denji. His fixation on her ensures she can
keep a tighter leash on him. Make sure he does exactly as told. So why would she allow another
woman to potentially steal his affection from her?"

Angel considered Aki's words carefully before replying. "Look, you've got some solid points here.
But that still doesn't prove anything. Chances are, Makima is just looking to give the kid some
extra motivation. If some half assed promise is enough to make him want to try and kill the Gun
Devil, imagine the things he'd do to protect someone he loved."

Aki crossed his arms and let Angel's words sink in. No doubt the devil was making sense, Aki
knew the motivation loved ones could give you better than anyone. Whether that be wanting to
protect, or avenge them. Yet something was still off. Some part of his brain was convinced that
Makima wouldn't have let Bomb anywhere near Denji, even if there was the slightest possibility
that the hybrid was still after Chainsaw's heart. For the time being, all they could do was wait and
see how things unfolded.

Angel spoke once more, his tone uncharacteristically playful this time. "Are you sure you're not
just upset because you're afraid she'll steal the boy from you?"

If looks could kill, the one that Aki had just given Angel would have been enough to kill the devil
twice. "I'm neither gay nor a pedophile."

It was Angel’s turn to face-palm. "C'mon man, you know that's not what I meant. You've been
living with him for quite some time now and you've put your life on the line for him more than
once." Angel suddenly put on the most devious smile he could muster before continuing. "You
sure you're not upset with the thought of Denji banging his girlfriend while his big bro is lovingly
making dinner for-"

Aki jumped up and held Angel by the collar. "Ok that's it. Get your ass up, we're moving. And no
ice cream for you today!"

Angel let out another disappointed sigh. "That's what I get for trying to develop a sense of
humor…"

The hours went by and as the working day was slowly coming to a close, most people made their
way home, perhaps not grateful enough that their life wasn't abruptly ended by a devil of some sort.

Reze was grateful. Not because she didn't have to face a devil that day, she technically was one
after all. No, she was grateful that it would be several hours before she would have to work with
Power again.

The Blood Fiend had been shouting nonstop for the entire day. The content of her speeches varied.
Sometimes it was long psychotic rants about why the human race deserves to go extinct. Other
times she was spewing random personal insults towards Reze. Occasionally she would express one
of her desires, which consisted of sucking a human dry of blood, the phrasing of which made Reze
giggle, or some stupid shit about becoming prime minister. After their little discussion during her
coffee break, Reze decided she had gotten enough information out of the fiend for the day. She was
convinced she'd go apeshit if she tried to interact with her any more than she already had.

After reporting the fact that no devils were spotted on their route, Reze thought she could finally
have a heart to heart with Denji, although she would probably stop by the pharmacy to grab some
painkillers first.
Just as she was about to head towards the coffee shop however, Power grabbed her by the arm.

"My house is that way you imbecile!"

Reze was really starting to lose her patience as she pushed Powers hand off of her. "Good for you,
why should I give a shit? You can move your legs can’t you?"

"You are to walk me there daily! 'Tis your punishment for failing to provide me with any devils
today!"

'What did I do to deserve this,' was the first thing that sprang to Reze's mind, before realizing
there's quite a few things she had done that would make her deserving of such punishment. "Can't
you walk by yourself? I'm supposed to meet Denji now and I already technically set him up once
before.” Reze was desperate to avoid the fiend, she would even resort to pleading. “C'mon Power
darling, just for today can you go home on your own? You wouldn't want to make Denji sad now
would ya?"

Power wasn't having any of it. "OF COURSE I WISH TO MAKE DENJI SAD! That traitor
replaced me with some blasted shark, leaving a weak human such as yourself in his place, and to
add insult to injury he somehow coerced Meowy into sleeping with him during my absence! 'Tis
unforgivable! I shall drink his blood today as punishment! Now walk!"

Reze let out a defeated sigh and started walking with Power. Denji would have to wait for her just
a little longer.

As if she was reading Reze's mind, Power suddenly opened her mouth. "You mentioned setting
Denji up in the past. Was it you he was anticipating yesterday at that tiny shop that sells that
disgusting liquid?"

Reze sighed. "Yeah… it was me alright."

"Then you need not worry! I honored the shop with my presence last night and overheard some
funny looking man saying Denji had been waiting for you for nine hours. By my calculations you
have ample time to meet him today."

'Nine hours?'

The thought of Denji waiting for her for so long almost brought her to tears. ‘Why Denji? Why
would you wait nine fucking hours for someone who’s done nothing but lie and hurt you?’ Any
normal person would have left after two hours max. But he waited there for almost half a day. And
for what? For the two of them to run away into certain death?

Reze wondered if perhaps she should be less preoccupied with how she could have Denji for
herself, and more with whether she deserved his heart in the first place.

The house Power and Denji were living in wasn't far from headquarters. It appeared plain at first
sight, your typical monotonous gray structure, just like the rest of the apartment blocks in the area.
For Denji’s sake, she hoped the apartment itself wasn’t too cramped. In an ideal life Reze would
much rather give up the delicacies of the city in exchange for the tranquility of the country.

Right outside the front door of the building stood a man with a tiny frame and long vermilion red
hair. Reze would have mistaken him for a petite woman if she hadn't noticed the not so subtle halo
floating above his head and a pair of wings protruding from his back. It was undoubtedly the Angel
Devil.
Power shoved him out of the way and stormed inside. "Out of my way you pathetic excuse of a
devil!" The door closed behind her and Reze's source of migraine was finally away from her. She
almost felt like dancing.

Angel almost fell on his ass due to Power's powerful shove, but he didn't seem to mind. He didn't
seem to mind in general. Reze knew she'd be wasting even more time conversing with him, but she
couldn't resist talking to the devil.

Her lips formed a smile and she leaned slightly forward, carefully hiding her arms behind her back
so as to avoid touching him, even by accident. "You're Angel Devil right? We’ve met already but I
haven’t introduced myself. Name’s Reze, nice to meet ya."

Angel seemed unimpressed, glancing at her with his standard bored expression. "Great deduction,
figuring out who I am. I wonder what gave me away. I'll be going now if you don't mind."

'So we're dealing with a sarcastic little shit,' thought Reze. Well two could play that game. "How
come you're out here in the first place?"

Angel sighed, clearly he was in no talking mood, but he replied regardless with his typical
monotonous voice. "My house is not far from here, I just stopped by Aki's to drop him off. You
just missed him, thankfully."

Reze awkwardly rubbed her head with her left hand. “Not too glad to be working with me is he?”

“That’s an understatement.”

Reze wouldn’t have expected any less. "You know, I'm surprised they let you live alone."

"I'm surprised they let you live alone."

Reze put on a sinister grin. “Who told you I plan on living alone?” Her wink afterwards made
Angel squint his eyes.

“I don’t know what perverted stuff you plan on doing with chainsaw boy, but please keep it to
yourselves. Or at the very least don’t ever tell Aki.”

"Don't tell me he’s afraid I'll try to kill you guys again."

“He hasn’t crossed out the possibility just yet.”

Reze crossed her arms and dropped the sarcastic tone. “Are you afraid I might kill you?

"You'd be doing me a favor."

'Oof, depressed much aren't we Mr Angel?'. Makima had mentioned him being lazy but the man
seemed borderline suicidal! Nevertheless, he was the most powerful member of the squad other
than her and Denji. Underestimating him could prove to be a fatal mistake.

"I heard you've got some sweet powers. A single touch and you're able to take someone's life span
and turn them into a weapon. Should I be scared?" Being ironic with someone as stone faced as
Angel was useless but it was entertaining nonetheless. He started it after all.

"My power works on humans, something you and your boyfriend are not. It might still work on
you two but I'd much prefer it if we didn't have to find out."

Reze didn't bother correcting Angel about using the word "boyfriend" to describe Denji, she liked
the sound of it after all. How Reze wished she could be working with Denji or even Angel instead
of Power. Hell, she’d even take the tall and brooding guy who wanted her dead over her.

"Anyways, I'm tired and I wanna go to bed, so bye." With that Angel turned around and started
slowly walking towards wherever his home was. Reze herself turned the other way and headed
towards the café. It was finally time for her and Denji's long overdue meeting.

Reze was good at reading people. A spy that couldn't do as much was a spy that shouldn't expect to
live long. When she first met him, she thought she had Denji completely figured out. Yet the more
she interacted with him, the more she came to the realization that perhaps the blonde wasn't as
transparent as he appeared to be. On surface Denji was kind, awkward, not pervy but definitely
horny, straightforward and unfortunately for him, trusting. The boy was starved for affention. Give
him even the slightest of it and you won't find an easier target to manipulate.

But during battle he was fierce and decisive despite his obvious lack of experience. And despite his
perceived horniness, his commitment was outstanding. Never in a million years did she deserve to
be revived after she drowned, to have someone waiting nine whole hours for her. These weren’t the
actions of someone looking for sex. They were the actions of someone desperate for love. He did
those things even if it meant she could hurt him again and again. Even though she told him she was
lying to his face. The boy was unpredictable to say the least. Which probably explained how he
was still alive.

Reze could feel her heart beating as she was approaching the store. She considered changing from
her work outfit before meeting him, but she was already running late. During her walk she was
vigilant at all times, the memory of her battle with Makima foggy but still fresh in her mind. She
hadn't planned what she would say to him. She would simply speak from her heart, act the way she
acted around him without wanting something back from him for once. He deserved that much.

The sun was about to set when Reze spotted a slim boy with bright blonde hair and gold brown
eyes, wearing the same outfit as her, bar the choker and the black suit jacket. His sleeves were
rolled up as usual and he was holding something in each hand.

As soon as he spotted her, Denji's face lit up. "You came!" He never doubted she would show up,
not under the current circumstances. Yet he was still as excited as ever simply to have her in his
presence again.

Reze looked as gorgeous as ever. Her dark purple hair was tied in a bun with a thick strand falling
on her face. Luckily it didn't obscure her bright green eyes or any of her beautiful features. Her lips
were curled into a beautiful smile, one that made Denji’s heart flutter. Denji thought the devil
hunter outfit looked super cute on her.

"I got ya a bunch of flowers last time cause I know you like em. But Power stole most of my
pocket money before we left home so I only had enough to buy us an ice cream each. They're
vanilla flavored! You like those don't ya?"

Reze looked at Denji's hands and then back at his beaming face, desperately trying to suppress her
laughter.

"Denji… I think the ice cream melted."

"Say wha?" It was at that very moment that Denji realized that you couldn't hold an ice cream for
45 minutes and expect it not to melt.
Denji panicked. "Ah fuck shit! I was too nervous to.. I would… fuck! I'll buy you a new one I
promise, I still have some change I think!"

Before he had time to continue mourning the loss of the ice cream, he felt Reze leaning towards
him and pressing her right hand on his shoulder blade, before breaking out in a maniacal fit of
laughter.

'She's gonna dump me before we even start dating! Why do I have to be so fucking stupid!'

After wiping away the tears of laughter from her face, Reze fixed her posture and snatched one of
the two melted ice cream cones.

"It's fine Denji," she said, still trying to return her breathing to normal. "We can just eat the cone,
that's pretty tasty too!"

Denji felt relief wash over him. "Ha, yeah I guess that works too."

The two teens grabbed one cone each and started licking, trying their best to scoop up the
remaining, now liquid, ice cream before munching down on the biscuit cone. Reze got some below
her nose, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by Denji. “Hold still, you got some cream on ya.” Always
the gentleman, Denji used his rolled up sleeve to wipe it off, earning him one of Reze’s gorgeous
blushes that he loved so very much.

Denji was the first to break the awkward silence that ensued. "So uhm, wanna go in? I know it’s a
bit late for coffee but maybe we could grab sum to eat."

"Well I mean, I don't have any money on me. Plus, senior mustache is going to kill me on sight if
he sees me again." Reze figured her old boss would rather sell the shop than have to deal with the
likes of them again, a thought she found strangely entertaining.

Denji rubbed his head in shame. "Yeah I don't have enough money to buy anything either. Aki cut
my lunch money in half 'cause I wouldn't stop wasting it all on soda and shit."

"So…" Reze had just finished her cone and wanted to lay down somewhere. Her feet were hurting
from all the constant walking. Well, that and all the times Power clumsily stepped on her whenever
she thought she had smelt a devil nearby. "Where do you wanna go?"

Denji scratched his hair. "Well, I'd looove to have you back at the house and all but Aki's gonna
murder me. And you. He's still upset 'bout the whole thing the other day. Plus Power will be ther-"

"Yeah, let's skip your house for the day! Seriously, how in the hell do you manage to deal with her
on the daily?"

Denji looked at her with a prideful expression. "I’m just that cool!”

Reze playfully shoved him and showed him her tongue. “C’mon, I’m being serious Denjii. I’m
afraid one day I’ll just snap and blow her up!”

Denji shrugged. "You'll get used to her at some point, I think. Just give her some time will ya?”

Reze grabbed Denji's hand into hers, making both of them blush in the process, and locked eyes
with him. "Well, since your place is no good, why don't you come over to mine?"

Sirens started sounding inside of Denji's head. Suddenly his mind was flooding with images of the
last time he was alone at a woman's house, and how he almost lost his virginity to a drunk that had
 puked in his mouth two hours prior.

Reze noticed him getting uncomfortably flustered and rephrased her offer. "We're only gonna go
there and talk, ok? It'll be just like hanging out at the café, only it'll be free! I'd ask you to walk
somewhere with me since the weather ain't bad but my feet are killing me."

Reze could feel Denji relaxing upon hearing that. She was honestly expecting the implications of
them being alone in her apartment to have caused a different reaction on him. For the life of her she
could not predict that boy.

All of a sudden, Denji let go of Reze's hand and turned his back on her. For a split second, Reze
internally panicked, thinking her offer had somehow completely ruined Denji's image of her. Her
pulse however went back to normal when he bent his back and looked at her with a stupid grin on
his face.

"Hop on! I'll give ya a piggyback ride home!"

Reze was at a loss for words. "You can't be serious right now!"

Denji's grin grew even wider. "Haven't ya figured it out already? I ain't never serious!"

Impulsive yet thoughtful. Fast thinking yet patient. Fierce yet kind to no end. Afraid to form
attachments yet desperately holding on to them. Denji was unreadable. A riddle. A walking
contradiction.

Yet despite all that, Reze immediately found herself on Denji's back, her body resting comfortably
on top of him with her arms draped around his neck and her legs subconsciously wrapping around
his waist. During the entire duration of the ride she felt at ease resting her worn out body onto his,
her head never leaving the crook of his neck.

Reze never thought she’d feel at ease in her life. She wouldn’t dare to even dream of ever finding
someone like Denji. Someone who actually understood her. Someone who she genuinely loved.
She wondered if they could experience true lasting happiness together, even with their luck. No
doubt there would be many dark days ahead of them. Immortality came with a heavy price.

But as long as they were holding on to each other, there was a chance that maybe, just maybe,
things would be alright.

'Never change Denji.'

Chapter End Notes

Akiangel fans are eating good on this chapter! I don't really ship the two but I really
enjoy their dynamic, they will be prominently featured ahead! As for the main focus
of the story, the prologue is finally over and Denji and Reze are finally kicking things
off! It doesn't take long until we hit fluff territory! I apologize if the story feels like it's
moving too slow but I like to pad things out quite a bit, not a fan of rushing scenes.
Comments of any nature are highly appreciated! As always, enjoy!
 Walls
Chapter Summary

What was supposed to be an uneventful meeting between Denji and Reze turns into an
outpour of emotions as the two desperately try to tear down the walls between them.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

"Kay, now turn right, walk just a liiittle further… aaand we're here!"

It took Denji about fifteen minutes to carry himself and his sweetheart from the café to her
assigned apartment. Luckily for Denji, Reze was pretty light and seemed very comfortable resting
on top of his back, closing her eyes throughout most of the ride and simply enjoying the afternoon
breeze. Her face carried such a peaceful expression that it almost made Denji tear up. He made a
mental note to carry her again in the future.

Reze climbed off of Denji's back and grabbed her keys out of her pocket. At first glance the
building looked old and the entrance was in desperate need of a paint job, but the two teens didn't
seem to mind. As soon as they entered, Reze pressed the button to call the elevator.

"If you want I can carry ya up the stairs too, no biggie."

Reze laughed. "My apartment's on the fifth floor dummy, why climb up all those stairs when the
elevator’s working just fine? You don't need to prove your chivalry to me Denji."

"My chi-what-ry?"

Reze kept forgetting Denji's lack of a basic education. "Chivalry, it's when a guy is being extra
kind to a girl."

Denji frowned. "Is that bad? I love being extra nice to you Reze!"

'For fucks sake Denji stop being cute all the time!' Reze had no idea how he always seemed to
know exactly what to say to push the right buttons inside of her. "I know Denji, but you don't have
to do it all the time."

Denji couldn't comprehend why acting nice to Reze all the time was a bad thing, but he decided not
to press the matter any further.

The door of the elevator opened to reveal a woman pushing a stroller with her baby in it. She
appeared to be around her early 30s while from the quick glance that Denji and Reze gave to the
toddler, it couldn't have been older than two.

"Excuse me, you're that girl that moved in yesterday aren't you?"

Reze hated herself for being suspicious of a mother and her baby, but old habits die hard. "That's
me. Can I help you?"
"No no, I was just wondering if it was you, welcome!" Despite the woman offering Denji and Reze
a warm smile, something seemed off about the two in her eyes. The teens were wearing outfits that
were way too formal for school. Not to mention, she hadn't seen any sign of the girl's parents, and
the boy looked unusual at best and feral at worst.

"Is the boy a classmate of yours? Did you two come back from club activities?"

Denji took the stand this time. "Nah, we ain't going to school."

The woman's suspicions had been confirmed. The two of them looked no older than 17, so why the
hell were two teenagers going around dressing like that instead of getting a proper education? "May
I ask what the two of you do for a-"

Tired of being interrogated by some random woman, Reze pulled out her badge and practically
shoved it in the woman's face. "Public Safety, please stop wasting more of our time."

Public Safety? These little twerps were Public Safety? The woman instantly bowed her head and
practically ran for the entrance, pushing the stroller along with her. Denji and Reze finally got
inside the elevator.

Denji was replaying the conversation they had with the lady in his head, his face betraying some
skepticism. "That was a bit harsh don't you think?"

Reze crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "We don't have the luxury of trusting anyone Denji,
no matter how innocent they may look."

"You really think that chick and her baby could want anything from us?"

"No, but better safe than sorry." Denji noticed that Reze's usual melodious and playful tone was
gone from her voice. He figured she was probably speaking from experience. It'd probably be best
to drop that subject as well.

At long last they found themselves standing outside of Reze's apartment. Denji noticed the doormat
had some english word on it, one he could, to no one's surprise, not read.

Reze unlocked the door and motioned for Denji to follow her inside. "Welcome to my humble
abode," she exclaimed, making her best Power impression. She shut the door behind them as both
teenagers instinctively kicked their shoes off. "They gave me this little shithole to live in, it's
somewhat clean but it still needs a lotta work. It ain't much, but I think I can get used to it. Least
they let me live on my own. Fuckers sure are confident about themselves!"

Reze's apartment could be summed up in one word. Small. On the right, a narrow hallway led to a
cramped bedroom and an ever more cramped bathroom, while in front of the door stood the
kitchen and living room. The place was relatively well lit, courtesy of a small balcony. At first
glance, the kitchen was equipped with nothing but bare essentials and the living room consisted of
one big couch, a small tv and a table in the middle.

"It's pretty neat, Aki's is a bit bigger but you got everything you need. And the balcony is sweet,
the view ain't half bad!" The view was nothing more than a few similar buildings, but Denji
thought any view was nice. Being on the fifth floor, the apartment was a bit warmer than Aki's,
something he figured might come in handy during the winter.

Reze laughed. "I love how low maintenance you are! I think it's a bit depressing, there's no color at
all, and the view isn't exactly inspiring either. But it blows my previous homes out of the park, if
you could call them that."
Denji considered asking about Reze's previous places, but before he could she headed towards the
bathroom. "I'm gonna go change into something more comfy, this outfit is annoying as shit! Sit
down and put something on the tv, I'll be back in no time! I'd offer you some food but I'm empty.
Want some tea?

"Nah don't worry 'bout me, do your stuff. I'm cool."

Denji felt uncomfortable being alone with a girl at her place, but he figured nothing nearly as
dramatic as last time would happen. He stopped by the kitchen and inspected the contents of the
fridge. True to Reze's words, it was practically empty. Her dinner would most likely consist of a
pack of instant noodles. Denji felt awful for his utter incompetence when it came to cooking,
maybe he'd ask Aki to teach him some basics.

Afterwards, Denji sat on the couch, spreading his legs and loosening up his tie in the process. He
grabbed the controller and zapped through the channels of the small Daewoo television. Some soap
operas, a few game shows, mostly news. Denji found some channels with children's shows but he
didn't want Reze to catch him watching that stuff. 'News it is.'

A few minutes went by before Reze popped out of the bathroom. She was wearing an oversized
green sweatshirt that perfectly complemented her eyes and some black short pants, her hair still
tied in the same bun. Naturally, Denji couldn't take his eyes away from her.

She plopped down on the couch and settled alarmingly close to Denji, her right shoulder brushing
his own left. Denji wished there was a way to control one's blushing, and libido, but no such luck.

Reze looked back and forth between the boy sitting next to her and the tv. It wasn't long before she
began to giggle.

"What's so funny?"

"It's just that with you watching the news and the outfit and the loosened up tie and everything…
you look like a husband who's just come back from work!"

Denji had no idea whether that was a compliment or not, but he decided to interpret it as one
regardless. The news broadcast was almost exclusively reporting devil attacks around the country.
Denji had no idea they were that widespread.

"Ugh, I'm so tired of this," complained Reze as she pointed towards the screen. "Devils this and
devils that, as if we don't have enough of that shit in our lives as is. Don't they have anything else to
report?"

"Guess not. Wanna switch the channel? I don't really dig news to be honest, too gloomy."

Reze moved even closer to him and rested her thigh on top of his. "I don't know, I'm not really in
the mood for tv in general. I've never had one in the past to be honest."

Denji tried his best to ignore Reze’s leg on top of his, though that was easier said than done. "I feel
ya, I didn't even know how to change the channels 'till I moved in with Aki."

Although Denji had never opened up about his childhood, it wasn't hard for Reze to guess that a 16
year old devil hunter who'd never been to school had probably grown up in very… unfortunate
circumstances.

"Mm, what should we do then?"

"Uhh, lemme think."

Denji closed his eyes and tried putting his mind to work. 'Think, what do you and Power do when
you're bored? Watch tv? Did that already. Prank Aki? He ain't here to begin with. Wrestle? Hell
no. Eat? Hard without any food. Shit!'

He opened his eyes and looked to see if Reze had any ideas. What he found instead was her face
mere inches away from his. Her eyes were glowing as she was staring at him intently. He could
smell her warm breath on his face. It smelled like coffee. Although he hated the taste, Denji
suddenly found the aroma intoxicating. His face was burning hot as Reze placed her arms on his
chest and pressed her body slightly closer to his.

"Remember our kiss Denji?"

Denji remembered that kiss alright, hard as he may have tried to erase it from his memory. So far
all of his kisses had been an absolute fucking disaster, to an almost comical degree.

"Y…yeah, kinda hard to forget…" Denji's hands were desperate to hold onto Reze, to start
exploring. But he decided to keep them at bay, at least for the time being.

Reze's voice registered just above a whisper. "I fucked that one up didn't I? Well… lucky for me, I
might get to make things right."

Her voice was beyond arousing, every sound that came out of her was immediately burnt into
Denji's memory. She pulled him close enough for their shirts to come in contact, closed her eyes
and leaned in.

Finally, there was hope for Denji. Hope of a first proper kiss. No more would he have to correlate
something as precious as a kiss with barf, or beer, or blood, or…

Cola flavored Chupa Chups.

"Stop."

At the sound of his request, Reze froze. She felt his body go rigid and he lightly pushed her away
as he shot up from the couch. 'Fuck, was that too fast for him?'

"What…what the fuck are we doing Reze?"

Denji was panicking. He loved being with Reze, being touched by her. But she still hadn't said a
thing to him. No explanations, no apologies, no nothing. Were they dating? Was she planning on
using him and then leaving again? Did she actually like him or not? Denji wanted to be with her
more than anything, but doing so meant he was effectively giving up on Makima. If he went
through with this, he would never look her in the eye again the same way he did. Reze had to show
her intentions, right there and then.

Anger momentarily overtook Reze. "What the fuck did it look like we were doing Denji?"

"No shit, we were about to kiss! I mean… What am I to you? You… I wait for you for half a day
and you don't show up. And that's fine, cause I know Makima caught you and shit. So I think to
myself I should try and move on from you. And then next day you're back, acting as if nothing
ever happened! We can't just… start kissing like that! You said it yourself, we'd only talk today but
you're fucking lying to me again!"

This was exactly what Reze feared might happen. In hindsight, going in for a kiss was a massive
risk. She thought that if she demonstrated how much she really cared for him, showed that she was
more than willing to go all the way, she could bypass… this. Well, she couldn't have been more
wrong. It was time to face the music whether she liked it or not.

She got up from the couch and offered Denji an apologetic look, her hands signaling for him to
calm down. "Ok look, I had no right to do that to you just now ok? You're right! I fucked up, big
time! You deserve an apolog-"

Denji suddenly jumped towards her and hugged her as tight as he could, to the point where Reze
could barely breathe. She could feel his heart racing under his shirt and his cord hit just above her
ribs. "I don't want you to apologize! I don't care that you tried to kill me! I don't give a flying fuck
about any of that shit! Just… just tell me something, anything!"

Tears started falling from his eyes, staining Reze's shirt as he pressed his head between her neck
and clavicle and breaking her heart in the process. His voice was trembling, pleading for something
from her. Reze hugged him back and caressed his hair. "Denji, you gotta help me understand what
you want right now."

Denji's voice was filled with sorrow as he spoke. "I know you were telling the truth on the beach. I
know you only pretended to like me. I'd been trying to convince myself that maybe you did but…
but deep down I know you didn't. So why are you trying to kiss me again? Why are we doing this?
Tell me that it's cause you think I'm pretty, cause I'm funny, cause I'm fucking pathetic… just give
me a reason to be here, please!"

"Cause you're just like me."

Denji's tears suddenly dried up. Reze never stopped hugging him, her voice full of pain, as if
saying those words out loud had finally made her realize them herself. "What?"

"You're just like me!" She repeated it once more, this time for herself rather than Denji.

Denji was stunned. How the fuck could someone as vile like him be anything like her?

"I never went to school either. I've never had a family. The government locked me in a room the
moment I was born. They did experiments, one more painful after the other until I finally merged
with the bomb devil. And then they trained me to do nothing but kill. I'm still trapped in this
fucking hell, the only thing that changed is the one holding the leash. And you… You're just like
that too Denji! Alone, forced to kill or be killed without even knowing what you are in the first
place…"

Denji took her head into his arms, grateful for the silence that had ensued, giving him enough time
to let her words sink in. "You've never been to school?"

"No, I lied about that. But I didn't lie about you Denji. I did want to run away with you. And I do
like you. I did from the moment you gave me that flower."

Denji felt relief wash over him, hearing that Reze did have feelings for him. At the same time
however, he hated how fucked up Reze's life was. She was right, they were more similar than he
ever thought possible. But Denji didn't see that as a good thing. Noone deserved to live under those
circumstances.

"You think we can watch the sunset from your balcony?"

Reze broke the prolonged hug and looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Huh?"
Denzi averted his gaze. "It's really really girly and all… but when I was a kid, I really digged
watching the sunset with Pochita. Wanna… do that?"

Reze frown transformed into a bright smile. "I'd love to."

After breaking their hug, Reze opened the balcony door and the two went on the balcony. The tiles
felt cold under their feet, but neither of them seemed to mind. Despite the lack of a table,
conveniently enough there was a chair for each of them to sit on.

"Pochita is the Chainsaw Devil right?"

Denji took out his cord from the opening of his shirt and started toying with it. "Yeah, me and him
have hunted devils together since I was a kid. Mum died when I was… young. Dad killed himself.
But what do ya know, someone had to pay back all his debts. And that someone was me. So I'd kill
a bunch of devils and sell em to the yakuza to pay off what he… what I owed. So when night
finally came by, me and Pochita were real happy cause it meant we'd probably live another day.
That's why I always liked sunsets."

Reze didn't know if the appropriate reaction to that story was to laugh or cry. 'He really is just like
me. To the point where it's almost scary!'

"You must have been super stoked to join the devil hunters then? I know what it feels like to have
steady meals and a bed after years of neither."

Denji stopped meddling with his cord and directed his attention back towards Reze, crossing his
right leg over his left in the process. "Yeah, I thought I was living the dream. Pretty pathetic isn't
it?"

"I'd kill for that life in your place."

"You don't have to. Not anymore."

Reze rested her cheek on her hand and stretched her legs. The final rays of sun hit her face before
their daily disappearance. Denji was right, sunsets did have a rather calming effect, even when
most of their sight consisted of ugly buildings.

Reze broke the silence. "So… what's gonna happen, between us I mean."

Denji looked at the horizon, carefully considering his words, for once. After about a minute of
silent contemplation, the boy made one of the most important choices in his life. "When Makima
saved me, I thought I loved her. Every time I saw her I'd get all mushy inside. I still owe her my
life, and I always will. But Makima is so… godly ya know? She feels… untouchable. Distant, even
when I'm right next to her. But you… even though you're waay above my league, you feel so…
tangerine!"

"You mean tangible?"

"Yeah that! You talk to me about normal stuff, and you touch me, and we watch tv together, and
you hug me! You're the only person who… understands me! I always dreamt of having someone
like that ya know. So what I'm trying to say is…"

Reze was at the edge of her seat, subconsciously biting her lip in anticipation. His next words
would be decisive.

"I ain't no good with feelings, but I'm pretty damn sure I love you, Reze."
The walls between them had finally broken down. He hadn't used the word 'like', or 'dig' or
anything casual. He told her he 'loved' her. A word he had probably never heard someone say to
him in his life, just like she hadn't in hers. By all means, he was hers.

Reze blushed a deep red and gazed into his gold brown orbs. "You were right, I did lie to you on
that beach. Cause I don't like you…"

Denji almost had a heart attack.

"I love you too, Denji."

Denji remained motionless for a full minute, trying to comprehend the sheer gravity of the word.
Finally he opened his mouth, gazing into her eyes with a pleading look as he did.

"Promise me… promise that you won't leave. Not this time."

"I won't. I promise. But I want you to promise me that you'll wise up a little. You can't keep
trusting everyone around you, not if you wanna survive. And I sure as hell don't plan on letting you
die any time soon!"

Denji's mind traveled back to the beach, to the last things she had told him before leaving. "I
promise. But can I trust you?"

Reze smiled yet again. Denji couldn't get enough of it. "What does your gut tell you?"

With the stupidest possible grin he could pull Denji replied, "It tells me you're too sexy not to."

"Smart boy."

Another awkward silence ensued.

"Sooo… are we like boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

Reze's face was beaming with joy. "I think that'd be the best way to put it, yeah."

In his excitement Denji shot up and started throwing his arms around like a maniac. "HEEELL
YEAAH, I GOT A GIRLFRIEND BITCHES!"

"Hold it mister!"

Denji immediately stopped dancing around as he saw Reze slowly approaching him with a
mischievous grin on her face.

"We need to make it official!"

"And how will we do th-" Before he had time to finish his sentence, he felt a pair of hands grab his
face and soft lips touching against his own.

Denji shut his eyes, cocked his head and wrapped his arms around Reze's neck, allowing himself to
get lost in the moment. He figured Reze must have been standing on her tiptoes, their height
difference wasn't big but he was still noticeably taller. He was reserved at first, his past experiences
still haunting him. Soon enough however, he couldn't help but have his tongue join in on the
action.

Turns out, when your partner isn't puking in your mouth or biting your tongue off, kisses felt really,
really fucking good. Both of them were somewhat sloppy in their attempt, Denji in particular being
uncharacteristically careful, making sure that his sharp teeth wouldn’t hurt his girlfriend. He
wouldn't mind kissing Reze for hours if she didn't eventually break it off. She was kind enough to
offer him one final peck on the lips as she pulled her face away from his.

Denji had a stupid dazed look on his face. "So, we official now?"

"Fuck yeah!"

The rest of the afternoon went by smoothly enough. Denji and Reze discussed their day as long as
it was still bright outside, a discussion which mostly consisted of Reze venting about Power.
Afterwards the newly declared couple headed inside and nestled on the couch, hugging each other
while watching whatever anime was airing. Turns out Reze was a lot more into that than Denji
thought she'd be. As the hours went by however, Denji's stomach signaled for him to return home.

"I think I'll be on my way. I really don’t wanna go but Aki's gonna skin me alive if I stay out any
longer. Plus, I could really use some food! We should do some shopping after we're done with
work tomorrow!"

Reze remembered she had practically no food supplies whatsoever. "For sure, we can call it a
date!"

"Hell yeah!" This had turned out to be a strong contender for Denji's favorite day to be alive.

"You gonna tell topknot about us? He'll probably tell Makima you know." Reze figured that was a
good opportunity to test Denji's commitment.

"I'm dating the hottest girl in the world! Course I'm gonna tell him! I want everyone to know!
Makima probably won't be sad anyways, she told me she likes my type but I don't think she's into
me like that."

Reze was highly skeptical of Denji’s comment about their boss. Makima definitely didn’t look the
type to be interested in Denji in the slightest, yet she seemed to have a particular fixation on him.
Something was fishy, she’d have to investigate further. For now however, she was simply ecstatic
with Denji's reply. 'Passed with flying colors! That's my Denji!'.

With that Denji put on his off-brand sneakers and made his way towards the door. He was about to
leave, when he impulsively decided to go back to Reze, who was still comfortably seated on the
couch, and give her one last smooch on the cheek, turning it red hot in the process. Reze suspected
he'd be the sentimental type, not that she would ever voice any complaints. She was a lot more
clingy than she would like to admit herself.

As he opened the door, Reze called out to him one last time. "Denji."

"Wassup?"

"Thanks, for giving us a chance. I wasn't sure if I deserved it."

"You deserve the world Reze! Gnight!"

Denji's mind was on autopilot as he was walking back home, having quite a lot to process. 'Fucks
sake Denji, "you deserve the world"? You couldn't have said anything cringier if you tried! Man, I
wish I was good with words.' Still, Denji couldn't recall the last time he was feeling that happy.

Back at the Hayakawa household, the owner of the apartment was not in a similar mood.
"How fucking hard is it for him to to tell me where he's running off to for once in his life?"

After washing and putting on their night clothes, Aki and Power were munching down on their
meal. A third plate with Denji's portion on it was still untouched, or rather mostly untouched, as
Power had made several attempts to steal little bits of meat. Seeing as Aki was already mad at
Denji however, she decided it'd be tactically sound to strike when Denji arrived, as Aki would be
too preoccupied with him to pay her any attention. Her genius was truly astounding.

"Fret not top knot, 'twas revealed to me that Denji is with that purple haired harlot he's been
fawning over. One can only wonder what that sot sees in that useless strumpet! What say you we
slay her and blame it on Denji?"

Aki dropped his chopsticks and clenched his arms into fists. 'Of course he's with that monster.
What are the odds she convinces that idiot to run away with her? Or takes his heart when no one's
looking? Pretty high come to think of it.' Once again, all Aki could do was anxiously wait.

Around ten, the door opened to reveal a beaming Denji, still wearing his work outfit. He took off
his shoes and immediately sat down by the table, his tongue sticking out of his mouth in
anticipation. Aki's first reaction was relief that he had come back, and in one piece. Relief however
was soon replaced by fury.

"Yo! Is that curry? Sweet, I haven't eaten anything all day!"

Aki slammed his fists on the table. "Don't you fucking "yo" me! Our shift ends at five! Five! You
got any idea what time it is now? It's past ten!"

Denji furrowed his eyebrows and wasted no time stuffing his mouth. "Hey man, quit busting my
balls ok? I've told you, I ain't running away. Now lemme eat, yo boy is starving here!"

Power was initially disappointed that Denji arrived before she had time to steal more food from
him. Soon however, her disappointment turned into curiosity. There was something off about him.
Not in the way he looked or acted, but rather in the smell department. Out of the blue she started
loudly sniffing the room, before letting out a growl and pointing her index finger towards Denji.

"You smell just like that Bomb wench! 'Tis all over you! Ha! You copulated with her, 'tis a
certainty!"

Upon hearing Power's loud accusation, Aki violently choked on his meal and started coughing
uncontrollably. Power had many, many faults, but her sense of smell was impeccable. He was
suspicious of how happy Denji was when he arrived, but he never thought he'd have to deal with
that stuff so soon! As he was chugging water down his throat in an attempt to stop the coughing, an
even more frightening realization hit him.

Denji had never received sex ed, meaning that even in the off chance that he knew what a condom
was, he definitely would have never thought of using one. The image of a baby with Bomb Devil's
head and Denji's chainsaw arms popped into Aki's mind, nearly giving him an aneurysm.

Denji blushed and got agitated. "Hey, knock that shit off Power! I just went to her place and we
talked and watched tv and stuff. Yeah we did some smooching too but that's all! You think I would
have come back here instead of sleeping with her if I had scored?"

Aki's heartbeat returned to normal. Denji was dumb as a log but he wasn't a liar, plus his argument
made sense. If they had fucked he wouldn't have come back in the first place. The kissing bit
however seemed to confirm some of the fears he had expressed to Angel that very morning.
"What exactly did the two of you say that could lead to you… smooching?"

Denji crossed his arms and turned his head away from Aki. "Mind your own business dickhead!
What me and my girlfriend say or do is for us to know and you to… not find out!"

Aki sighed, his fear had come true, and in mere hours no less. "Your girlfriend?"

At the sound of the word Denji's temper instantly diminished. The expression on his face could
only be described as dreamy. "Hehe, yeah we did some like, super intense talking and then we
decided we love each other aaand we're a thing now!"

Aki looked at Denji, no emotion evident in his face. "You… love each other?"

"Yees!"

"You hung out together for about two weeks, she killed you, burnt you to a crisp and tried to steal
your heart… and less than 48 hours later you decide you're in love and that you wanna be
together?"

"Well it sounds stupid when you put it like that… but preety much, yeah. We figured out we're like
super similar!"

Aki rubbed his temple and got up from his seat. "I always knew you were a halfwit Denji, but I
never thought you could be that big of a moron!"

Denji followed suit and flipped Aki off. "Fuck off! What the hell do you know about her anyway?
Jack shit is what! I'd like to see you try and fucking stop me from dating her!"

Power seized the opportunity to clean both men's plates while they were arguing. She had no
interest in human quarrels after all.

"If you're too much of a retard to understand that this woman is lying to you that's your problem!
But I can't kill the Gun Devil without your help, so I have to try and protect you from your own
stupidity!"

Denji had had enough. "Gun Devil this and Gun Devil that, maybe you'd get some action too if
you weren't so fucking obsessed! I get that you're mad cause she killed your friends, but why won't
you give her a second chance?"

Aki was in disbelief, Denji's words were borderline personal insults. "SECOND CHANCE? Are
you trying to kill me by raising my blood pressure? I mean, do you actually think I'll ever forgive
her? But that's beside the point! We're devil hunters Denji! Devil! Hunters! And unfortunately, so
is she. Do you really believe you two can ever live a normal life together? Cause if you do, both of
you clearly have no idea how any of this works!"

"You don't know what the fuck the two of us have been through! You think you have it hard cause
a bunch of your friends died? Well boo-fucking-hoo! Me and Reze have seen shit your ass can't
even imagine! You keep yapping about how she'll kill me or betray me again, but truth is you're
just a sad piece of shit who wants eeeveryone else to be as miserable as you!"

"I'm trying to save you you fucking dolt!"

"I don't need shit from someone who couldn't even save his own partn-"

Before any of the two men knew it, Aki's fist had swiftly connected with Denji's nose dropping him
 on the floor, his body almost taking Power down with him in the process.

"Watch it you numskull! I'm trying to feast here," she protested, completely disinterested in her
roommate's dispute.

"Ouch." Immortality unfortunately did nothing to numb pain, but Denji had been used to getting
punched.

Aki grabbed a towel and tossed it at Denji's side. "Don't let any blood hit the floor, have a shower
and go to bed."

Denji tossed the towel back at him. "Go cry to Makima if you want, there ain't NOTHING you can
do to stop me from seeing her," he all but yelled.

"I don't give a shit, do whatever the fuck you want." With that Aki retreated to his room, not to be
heard of again for the rest of the night.

Denji rubbed his bloody nose. "Fucking asshole," he murmured.

As he looked up he came face to face with a now standing Power, smiling at him. "Your blood,
hand it over to me this very instant!"

"Reze, save me from this nuthouse!"

Chapter End Notes

Happy holidays everyone, no matter where you are or what you celebrate I hope you're
doing well! Lots of angst on this (particularly long) chapter but also enough fluff to
balance it out as things are starting to take off! Chapters will come out at a much
slower rate as I don't have too much time to spend on writing these days, but I think
this works to the fics advantage, no need to rush things. I'll try to post the next chapter
before the new year but no promises. As always, thank you for any input you might
have and enjoy!
 Out Of Touch
Chapter Summary

Aki is unsure of how to deal with current events. Power is happy. And Reze realizes
just how firmly Makima’s leash is tied around her boyfriend's neck.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Denji should have been happy.

The previous day had gone far better than he could have ever hoped for. He and Reze had managed
to bridge the gap between them and Denji now had a real, actual girlfriend! Before being taken
under Makima's care, the thought of ever being loved by anyone, let alone someone as gorgeous as
Reze, was nothing but some stupid daydream. By all means, that night he should have been too
excited to even consider sleeping.

Yet as he lay on his bed carefully examining the ceiling, he couldn't help but feel disappointed.
Despite his successful reunion with Reze, the dispute with Aki was messing with his head,
rendering it impossible for him to sleep.

Denji had never been one to chew on his words. He was abrupt, straightforward, not pulling any
punches with what he said or did. He still maintained he was right about everything he had said to
Aki. In the depths of his mind however, Denji was having second thoughts in regards to his choice
of words. Particularly about the bit about Himeno.

The silence of the night was interrupted by a soft meow. Meowy had found his way to Denji's
room once again. Normally Denji would return the feline to its sleeping owner. Power drank a
substantial amount of his blood a few hours ago and would in all likelihood try to murder him if
she found him sleeping with her cat again. Apparently the fiend was upset about the whole new
partner situation and blamed it on him. Denji was certain that in actuality Power blamed Makima,
but since she was deathly afraid of her he'd have to serve as her scapegoat.

That night however, Denji decided he could use the company. After Meowy jumped on the bed
Denji welcomed him into his arms and started petting the cat, eliciting soft purring sounds from it.

"I should be bricked up right now just thinking about my day with Reze, but I can't get that asshole
out of my head! Talk about a boner killer! I mean, yeah I was a bit of a dick to him about that
whole Himeno thing… but man did he have it coming too, right Meowy?"

Denji was not expecting a response.

"He said he doesn't care but I wouldn't be surprised if he snitched on me and Reze to Makima. You
think she'll try to split us up? What if she stops treating me to nice things or fires me? Man, why
can't I get one good thing in my life without ten bad shit with it?"

Meowy had already fallen asleep on Denji's lap, relishing in his warmth. Denji decided to continue
his monologue regardless, hoping that at least Pochita would be his sole audience.
"Reze told me I shouldn't trust everyone around me. I know Aki's annoying as fuck but he's saved
my ass more than once. And I did talk shit about someone he cared ‘bout. Him, Reze, Makima and
maybe Power, Beam and the old drunk are just about the only ones I can trust right now. I gotta
make up with him tomorrow, and pray that Miss Makima doesn't separate me and Reze."

With that Denji closed his eyes and prayed for at least a few hours of rest. His prayers were
answered, but as Denji drifted into sleep, he came across the ever so familiar door in his dreams,
along with Pochita’s cryptic warnings. He figured whatever entity had heard his plea must have
been a really twisted one. Denji was almost grateful when the nightmare was finally over and he
was back awake.

Only problem was, he'd been awakened by a powerful punch to his nose.

Denji shot up and rubbed his once again aching nose. "Motherfucker! I swear to fucking God one
more nose punch and I'll murderize the lot of you!"

The culprit this time was the visibly angry strawberry blonde fiend, standing above him with her
pink sweater and undies. The whereabouts of her pants were unknown. "Relinquish Meowy at once
human! Your deception ends now!" With that declaration out of the way, Power wasted no time
launching herself towards a particularly dazed Denji. Luckily for him, his reflexes were on point
and he was able to deflect Power's attack by kicking her right in the stomach, causing her to shriek
in pain and fall to the ground.

"I'm sick and fucking tired of you and your cat! You know what? Screw it! I'll drink your blood
this time! Gimme me my motherfucking breakfast!"

With unprecedented speed, Denji launched his counterattack, jumping from his bed directly
towards Power, trying to sink his razor sharp teeth inside her arm. "AHHH! MEOWY, YOUR
MASTER IS UNDER ATTACK, AID ME IN BATTLE FELINE!"

"STOP DESTROYING MY FUCKING HOUSE AND COME EAT YOUR BREAKFAST,

WE'LL BE LATE!" Aki's morning had been ruined before it had even started. His war cry was
effective enough to convince Denji and Power to stop harassing each other. With a cat-like hiss
Power headed for the kitchen, Denji following suit right behind her.

Breakfast was awkward, even by Hayakawa family standards. Denji was silently contemplating
how he'd get back on Aki's good side. Power was wolfing down her rice while shooting side
glances at Denji, determined to find a way to repay him for his earlier attack. Aki was trying to
avoid eye contact with both of his roommates, deciding instead to concentrate on his food.

Over time Aki had gotten used to Denji and Power, to the point where their presence was almost…
welcome. With Bomb's arrival and the subsequent chaos however, he felt as if time had reverted
back to the days when they couldn't stand each other's guts.

Denji decided it was now or never. "So… Aki… you gonna tell Miss Makima 'bout me and Reze?"

Aki sighed, clearly not in the mood to strike a conversation. "I've got better stuff to do. She'll hear
it from someone sooner or later anyways. Hell, she might know already. I told you, I'm not gonna
get in the way of things. But if shit goes down with Bomb, your ass is on its own."

'That was… a start.' Denji was glad to hear Aki wouldn't try to keep him and Reze apart, but the
idea of Makima knowing about his new relationship made him sick to his stomach, feeling as if he
was somehow betraying her. Nevertheless, he'd deal with Makima when the time called for it.
"Neat… thanks. Look, about last night-"

Aki swiftly interrupted his roommate. "Don't apologize Denji, you and I both know you meant
what you said down to the last word. I told you I'll get off your case, don't make this harder than it
has to be."

Denji had no idea apologizing about stuff was that easy! Upon hearing Aki's reply his mood was
lifted as he smiled and patted Aki on the back. "Neat, no problemo then! I knew you wouldn't hold
a grudge! And as for me and Reze, don't worry at all man! We'll be examplementary!"

"That's not a word."

"Plus, with me dating Reze full time, you can officially make a move on Makima! I take my dibs
on her back!" In truth the thought of anyone getting with Makima still deeply upset Denji, despite
his own perceived unfaithfulness to her.

Aki considered a great many replies, before deciding the best course of action would be to simply
go along with any bullshit that came out of Denji's mouth. "Sure, whatever. Just try to be home by
dinner, and for the love of all that's holy don't ever tell me anything you do with her!"

"Deal!"

Power decided to voice her opinion. "Your foolishness is astounding, the both of you truly are
pathetic! One fawning over that wench Makima and the other mating with that fopdoodle that
claims to be an explosive!"

Denji frowned and threw one of his chopsticks at Power, nailing her just above her right eye and
generating a painful cry from the fiend. "For the last time, we didn't have sex!"

"You dare attack me not once but twice! 'Tis war!" Power wasted no time throwing her food
towards Denji and nearly giving Aki a heart attack in the process.

"Just fucking kill me already!"

As Aki was, finally, putting on his suit after hastily cleaning after Power's mess, he noticed a bare
chested Denji standing by the doorframe of his room, holding his shirt and tie in his hands.

"Don't tell me you need help with your tie again, it's a simple fucking concept!"

"Nah man that ain't it. I just wanted to-"

"I told you I don't need any apolog-"

"WILL YOU LET ME FINISH MY FUCKING SENTENCE?" Denji's face turned red from the
intensity of the scream.

Aki was equal parts stunned and intrigued by Denji's outburst. "What is it?"

Denji looked down at his feet, before meeting Aki's gaze and taking a deep breath. "Think Miss
Makima's gonna be upset? You know…that I chose Reze over her?"

Aki had been highly skeptical about the situation. He highly doubted that Makima was ever
remotely interested in Denji that way, the kid wasn't ugly but he was… a kid! Not to mention she
had just about every devil hunter in Tokyo at the palm of her hands, her reputation practically
earning her celebrity status. Clearly Makima had other interests in Denji, ones she could, for
whatever reason, not disclose. He considered lying to Denji, telling him that Makima might be
upset. In the end, he decided to hit him with the truth.

"I wouldn't have let you go near bomb girl if it was up to me. Makima was the one who gave me
the order to let you two do whatever you want. So no, she won't be upset. If anything, she'll
probably be happy."

For some reason, Denji felt his heart sink. "Oh."

He figured he should have been happy. Makima not wanting to break him and Reze up was by all
means a blessing. But the fact that she was so accepting of him being with another girl was…
disheartening.

"Denji!"

Why was she being so nice to him? Did their movie date mean nothing to her?

"Denji?"

Did she even care about him? If he had gone and killed the gun, would she have done naughty stuff
with him without feeling anything for him? Wasn't she the one that said sex feels better when both
partners know each other well?

"DENJI!"

Denji snapped out of his momentary trance and readjusted his eyes, which slowly focused on a
purple haired woman standing in front of him.

"Good morning darling," she chearfully exclaimed with emphasis on the final word, eagerly
approaching the Hayakawa trio as they were waiting to split for their daily parole. Reze made sure
to avoid any eye contact with Aki and tried her best to ignore Power's existence. Luckily, both of
them seemed less than eager to interact with her as well. She stood inches away from Denji and
offered him a concerned look. She had hoped that the use of the word “darling” wouldn’t have
gone unnoticed. "You okay? You looked completely out of it for a second there!"

Denji rubbed his temple and put on a forced smile, embracing Reze in a tight hug. "Hey Reze, all
good just a bit sleepy, turns out it's pretty hard to get some shut eye when SOME ASSHOLE
TRIES TO DRINK YOUR BLOOD!"

Power weighed in the option of attacking the couple as punishment for their continuous insults
towards her, but decided against it. No misbehaving when Makima was anywhere near her.

The couple broke their hug. Looking at Denji, Reze could tell something was slightly off about
him, his smile was less bright than usual and his movements uncharacteristically reserved. She
hoped this wasn't the product of any argument with the tall one about their relationship.

"Where's shark boy?"

"He's here, swimming around somewhere. He just doesn't wanna see you."

Reze laughed. "Can't say I blame him! So, our date still on?"

This time her words elicited the reaction Reze had hoped they would as Denji gave her a generous
smile. "Bet! See ya outside the shop at 5?"
"Your horned friend over there wants me to walk her home after our shift so mind if we meet up
outside your house?"

Aki mentally scoffed at the sound of his house being referred to as Denji's.

"Sure, I might have time to switch clothes too. Gotta run, see ya!" With that the two exchanged a
soft kiss on the cheek as Denji went about his route, a shark fin suddenly appearing from the
ground and tailing him.

With Denji out of the picture, this left Reze, Power and Aki alone outside the Public Safety HQ.
Figuring that the tall guy and her would have to work together at some point in time, Reze decided
to attempt breaking the ice.

"Soo," she said, crossing her arms and sparing Aki a side glance. "You must be Aki, Denji's told
me a lot of good things about you." That was a lie. The few times Denji had mentioned his
roommate it was to complain that he was a dick.

Aki burned a hole in her with his blue eyes, no doubt fantasizing about all the gruesome ways he
could kill her. "He also told you what I think of you?"

'Straight to the point aren't we?' Reze had to be careful with her words around him. "Didn't have to,
you're not exactly trying to hide it ya know. You always walk around with a stick up your ass?"

Aki raised his eyebrow, his voice having enough venom in it to kill everyone in the building
behind them. "Clearly you're the brains of the relationship. Killed any innocent people lately?"

Reze gritted her teeth and averted her gaze. 'Okay, fuck that guy! Talking to him is beyond useless.
Denji was right, dude's a complete dick!'

Before the tension could get out of hand, Angel finally decided to show up, walking at
approximately 3 kilometers per hour. Aki turned to face him with an irritated look on his face.
"You're late. Again!"

Angel yawned and blinked several times. "Give me a break, my alarm clock broke."

"You said that yesterday, and the day before that!"

"Well yeah, I never said I fixed it."

Aki was already experiencing his daily headache. "Just move," he sighed as he and Angel went
their way.

As they were leaving, Reze noticed a short woman wearing the same outfit as her running towards
the building, stopping just outside the main door in order to catch her breath. Reze remembered
seeing her during battle and as Makima was introducing her. She figured talking to her couldn't go
any worse than it had with Aki. Anything to save time from going to work with Power.

"Hey," she greeted Kobeni who was hyperventilating with her hands on her knees. "Everything
ok?"

Kobeni, surprised that anyone would pay attention to her, responded as she was trying to control
her breathing. "Yes… it's just… my car is in service… and I'm running late… thanks for the-"

As she looked up to thank the woman for her interest, her eyes went wide as she recognized Reze's
green orbs. Needless to say, the short woman went into panic mode. "Eh-eh-ehhh!"
Her squeals caught Reze off guard, borderline frightening her with their sheer intensity. "Hey relax,
relax! Not gonna hurt ya! We're coworkers now, remember? Name's Reze by the way, nice to meet
you," she said as she carefully extended her hand towards her.

Her words seemed to mostly comfort Kobeni, who reluctantly shaked Reze's larger hand, filling it
with sweat in the process. "Oh, ha, ok… I-I'm Higashiyama Kobeni… you're w-working with the
blood fiend right?"

Reze let out a sigh and looked at Power, who was currently too preoccupied with stomping ants on
the street. "Afraid so, I asked if I could work with Denji but no such luck. You've gone on missions
with him before haven't you?"

Extremely unpleasant memories started assaulting Kobeni's brain. "Y-yeah, Denji is…" Several
words came to mind when trying to describe her batshit insane 16 year old coworker who talked
like a thug, belittled her constantly and occasionally had a chainsaw sticking out of his head.
Recalling however that Denji and the Bomb Devil were friendly with each other, she settled for
"useful?"

Seeing how stressed her coworker appeared, Reze decided, against her better judgment, to tease her
a little in an attempt to lift her mood and show good intentions. She moved alarmingly close to the
woman and draped her arm around Kobeni's shoulder, eliciting some unintelligible sounds from
her.

"You wouldn't happen to have a crush on Denji now would ya? Cause I-"

Before she could finish, Kobeni pushed her arm away and completely broke down. "GOD NO!
He's insane! Fucking insane I tell you! He's always rude a-and illiterate and he always calls me
short and his teeth are… his teeth are just fucked! Who in their right mind would want to go out
with him?"

Reze remained silent for a few seconds. "I was going to say that I'm dating him…"

Kobeni went pale, her skin becoming whiter than what should be medically possible. Her eyes
started to tear up and she started violently shaking. "Oh G-God I-I'm soo sorry, he's… I…. I meant
h-he's not my t-type is all, hyeee! I'm sure y-you're p-perfect together, and h-his teeth aren't th-
that… EEGHGHEKHGHKEH PLEASE DON'T KILL ME I'M SO SORRY!"

Reze figured that was enough interacting with Special Division 4 for the day. "Kobeni, chill out!
It's fine, I'm not gonna hurt you cause you don't like Denji! If anything I guess that means less
competition for me haha," she said, trying her best to calm the girl down and diffuse the situation.
How that woman was amongst the devil hunters to survive her attack the other day was beyond her.

Kobeni wiped her tears and sweat away. "Ha…ha ok, I-I'm still sorry, I'm sure you two are…" The
thought of an electric chainsaw banging against a nuclear bomb popped into her head, making
Kobeni question her sanity once more. "You're really similar… I guess… I-I reeeally have to go,
Violence is waiting for me inside so bye!" With that Kobeni disappeared out of sight as quickly as
she had arrived.

With no other distractions remaining, Reze decided it was time for the inevitable to happen.

"Leave the ants alone dipshit! Let's get moving."

Angel was not as good at reading people as people stigmatzied him to be, mostly because he was
rarely bothered to try. It wasn't hard however to notice that something was off about Aki. His pace
was slower than usual and he hadn't reprimanded Angel about his lacking attitude once, a definite
sign that something was eating him up.

"You're awfully quiet today," he commented as he was enjoying the warm miso soup they had
ordered for lunch. "Something on your mind?"

Aki didn't even bother looking up at him, instead deciding to focus on his bowl. "Since when do
you care?"

"Oh I don't, I'm just striking up conversation. Even devils are scared of awkward silences. Come to
think of it, I wonder if there's an awkward silence devil out there."

Aki sighed one of his usual sighs. Thankfully his headache was starting to wear off. "Denji and
Bomb Devil are already dating. Took those idiots less than a day!"

"Her name's Reze you know, much shorter than Bomb Devil."

Aki gave him another one of his now signature death stares. "You're pushing your luck."

Angel rolled his eyes and continued quietly sipping his soup. "Can't say I'm surprised. From what
she told me yesterday, it'd be best if you slipped a condom or two in Denji's pocket, sooner or later
he's gonna have to use it."

Aki vowed to use the Curse Devil on himself if he ever heard the words "condom" and "Denji"
used in the same sentence again.

"You're a devil, shouldn't you know something about her? Any specific weakness we could use to
our advantage should she decide to do what she does best?"

Angel frowned, his tone indicating he was irritated. "You're a human, why don't you tell me the
specific weakness of the waitress just by looking at her?"

"Asshole." Aki couldn't stand Angel's unrelenting sarcasm.

"You're worrying too much about two teenagers, long as they do their job there's no point in
lecturing either of them, it'd be about as useful as talking to a brick wall. There's more important
things at stake."

Aki lifted his eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Like the fact that not one but two hybrids have tried to steal your roommate's heart in the last few
weeks. He managed to defeat the first one and… somehow hook up with the second one. But how
many times until someone actually goes through with the job?"

Angel had a point. More parties would come after Denji's heart, that much was certain. Aki's trust
in Makima had taken a small hit after the appointment of Reze, but he knew beyond a shadow of a
doubt that she wanted to kill the Gun Devil, and she was the only one who could actually make it
happen. If she thought Denji was the key to their victory, he'd follow her instructions to the letter,
make sure he'd be safe by any means necessary.

Denji was right. Aki was by all means obsessed. A fact he knew all too well himself.

"No offense but, if someone was to attack Denji, his chances of survival would be far greater with
Bomb than with you and your fiend. Makima doesn't do things at random, you know as much."
Aki wasn't letting up so easily. "Bomb's still a prime suspect herself."

"Fine, maybe she is. You have three alternatives then. One, go against Makima's orders and keep
them apart somehow. You won't get anything done other than get yourself killed even sooner.
Two, ignore her existence for the rest of your life and let them do whatever they want. Or three,
gain her trust and use her to your advantage. You keep going on about not trusting Bomb, but have
you done anything to earn her trust?"

At times Aki found it extremely hard to decipher the being that was Angel Devil. "Her trust is
beyond worthless to me."

Angel finished his soup and drank some water, his appetite fully satisfied. "Which one do you want
more? Bomb's trust or to kill the Gun Devil?"

"That's a stupid question even by your standards."

"My point is, you've been dealt a good hand but you're too stupid to see it! You have someone who
can help keep Denji safe. Keep your hopes of killing the Gun Devil alive. No one's asking you to
like her. You work with me but you sure as hell don't like me. Time is running out Aki. You can't
afford to choose which hands you'll play and which ones you won't. Not anymore."

Aki looked lost. Time was running out, that much was certain. Perhaps Angel was right. He'd
never forgive Bomb for what she'd done, but he figured he could at least give her the benefit of the
doubt.

"Thanks."

Angel's eyes went wide as he almost choked on his water. "Huh?"

Aki offered him a rare smile. "I said thanks. You've got a point, I might hate her guts, but if there's
even a chance that she'll help keep Denji out of harm's way, I have to risk it."

Angel was in disbelief. "Holy shit, you-you actually took my advice for once?"

"Don't get used to it."

Angel would not let this slide. "Ok-ok, how about this. I advise you to pay the entire check."

"That happens every time you dick!"

"Holy shit it works! I advise you to give me the rest of the day off!"

Aki figured no good deed goes unpunished.

Despite their rather conflicting attitudes, Aki and Angel had managed to get along much better than
Aki would have anticipated. Denji too was getting more and more used to Beam by the day. Reze
on the other hand…

At long last Reze and Power had returned to the Public Safety building. The day was less
disastrous than the previous one, largely thanks to the two of them encountering some lowly devil
in the back of an alleyway, one which Power eagerly slaughtered within seconds, an act which
greatly lifted her mood. Unfortunately, it also made her a lot more vocal.

After the kill, several Public Safety agents arrived to identify the devil and examine it for potential
Gun Devil pieces, the likes of which were unsurprisingly nowhere to be found. The duo continued
with their schedule until it was time to report back to HQ and call it a day.

"And that is the tale of how I, single handedly, slaughtered the Bat Devil, saving Meowy as well as
your weakling beau!"

Reze had deduced that Power wasn't lying. Well, she was lying, but she had somehow convinced
herself that the events she recounted had happened the exact way she recalled them. That and she
had an infatuation with Denji. Reze wondered if her boyfriend had ever interacted with anyone
normal in his life. Probably not. And she wasn't helping with that either.

"Thank you Power, for telling me the Bat Devil story… again! It's even more entertaining the
fourth time."

Power laughed and shoved Reze's shoulder with enough force to almost knock her over, likely the
fiends idea of a playful shove. "You are most fortunate, being able to hear my tales first hand is
something few mortals can ever hope to achieve!"

Reze groaned and rubbed her shoulder. "Do you always shove Denji that hard too? You almost
dislocated my fucking shoulder!"

"Ha, 'tis a blessing to be shoved by my graciousness! Denji was a lot less fortunate than you, right
after we met I rendered him unconscious and sacrificed him to the Bat Devil!" The fiend sounded
almost... proud!

Reze's eyes almost popped out of her sockets and she stopped walking. "You WHAT? Didn't you
spend half the day talking 'bout how you saved him from the devil?"

"I said no such thing."

Reze desperately wanted to pull her hair out, but before she materialized her thoughts, she caught
sight of Denji resting his back on the wall of his building, waiting for them to come back. He had
changed to a pair of jeans, a red shirt and a gray jacket.

Before she had time to wave at him, Power ran full speed towards him, boasting about her latest
kill. "Denji! You missed all the fun! A gigantic powerful devil appeared out of nowhere and
attempted to feast on your lover. Needless to say I slaughtered it with ease and swiftness, saving
her in the process!"

A quick look at Reze's face was enough to judge the validity of Power's claims. "Ahhh, sure, good
job Power. Anyways, me and Reze gotta run, tell Aki I'll be out shopping, Imma be back at like 9
or 10."

"No need," she exclaimed, "as reward for my heroics, I shall bless the two of you with my
presence!"

"NO," Denji and Reze shouted simultaneously, their voices completely synchronized. Reze wanted
to relax and spend some time with her boyfriend. If she had to endure another minute of Power,
somebody was going to die!

Denji too was less than eager to have Power tagging along. "Get your ass in the house! A date is
only between boyfriend and girlfriend!"

Power crossed her arms and shook her head. "You do not command me humans! The mighty
Power answers to no one! 'Tis decided, I shall join you!"
Denji gave bargaining a try. "C'mon Powy, go inside and I'll… I'll… blood! You want blood right?
You can drink mine when I come back!"

Reze tagged in to help. "I'll let you drink some of mine too tomorrow if you're a good girl and
leave us be!"

"NAY! I can drink your blood whenever I so desire anyway! Now let us commence the date!"

A deep voice suddenly entered the conversation. "You're coming with me Power. Let them go."

All three of them turned to see Aki and Angel approaching the residence.

Power gritted her teeth and growled at Aki. "Cease meddling with my affairs you vermin! I'm
going with them whether you like it or not!"

"The two of them are dangerous enough on their own, adding you to the mix is a catastrophe
waiting to happen. After all, Denji and Bomb are to be left alone. Orders from Makima." Aki was
greatly exaggerating Makima's orders, but it was the only way to convince Power to change her
mind about… well anything.

As he anticipated, at the sound of the name Power froze, her eyes going wide and her hands
beginning to tremble. She tried to come up with a response, but to no avail. Defeated, she lowered
her head and loudly barged inside the building.

Denji and Reze shared a puzzled look, perplexed by Aki's help. If anything, he should have seized
the opportunity to enjoy his afternoon in silence.

Denji awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Hey uh, thanks for that man, Power would have
totally ruined things." Reze figured she should thank the man as well, the dislike between them
was mutual but his helping hand was much appreciated. "Yeah thanks, you really saved our asses
here."

Aki nodded and sent a very sleepy Angel off, before heading inside himself. He looked back at the
couple one last time before heading inside.

"Bomb," he shouted. Reze turned to face him and lifted her eyebrow, indirectly telling him he had
her attention.

"Behave, or I'll rip your heart out."

Somehow, Reze found that reassuring. Denji wasn't quite sure what was going on but he was glad
to see Aki helping them out nonetheless.

"That was weird. Anyways, we got some shopping to do! We'll turn that house of yours into the
coolest crib in town!"

Reze blushed, her cheeks reaching a red achievable with Denji's help alone. She took Denji's hand
into hers, interlacing her fingers with his. Denji blushed back, always one to appreciate any form of
physical contact. He failed to mention that the act reminded him of the way Makima's fingers felt
on his.

As they started walking however, Reze recalled a minor detail.

"Hold up, Denji, I barely have enough money to buy some food and I'm not getting paid again until
next week! We'll only try to stack up the fridge today, kay?"
With a stupid grin on his face, Denji reached into his pocket. "We gonna buy anything we want,
bill's on me! A guy can't let his girl pay for nothing!"

Reze wore a confused expression on her face. "You mentioned daddy longlegs there gives you just
enough money to buy lunch, where are you gonna find the cash?"

Denji's shit-eating grin grew even wider as he pulled out a small piece of plastic. "Hehe, who said
anything about cash?"

"You stole Aki's credit card?"

"Borrowed it."

"You know he'll kill both of us if he finds out right?"

Denji shrugged and picked up the pace, eager to treat his girlfriend to stuff he didn't think he would
ever be able to afford in his lifetime.

First stop, supermarket. Bread, rice, noodles, dairy products, spices, sauces, dozens of soda cans
and a variety of meats were amongst the things sloppily tossed into their basket, with Reze adding
the finishing touch of several family sized ice cream buckets.

"When the fuck are we even gonna eat all of that?" In truth, Denji was more worried about the
exorbitant weight of the bags than the ice cream consumption.

Reze shrugged. "Fuck it, we'll just have a shit ton of it on the freezer and it will last us for weeks.
After all, it's not every day we have a stolen credit card to use!"

"You have a what credit card?"

In her excitement, Reze had forgotten that the two of them had reached the checkout and were
within hearing distance of the cashier.

It was Denji's turn to save the day. Following Reze's example from the previous day, the boy
swiftly pulled out his badge from his pocket and shoved it at the cashier's face.

"Public Safety, we need this shitload of food to kill the uhhh… Hunger Devil! Yeah! If you don't
accept this credit card you'll be thrown in the slammer for… tamp… obst… uhhhh…"

"You'll be arrested in general!" Reze's contribution wasn't massive but it was enough to make the
cashier comply. The badge looked real enough, the girl was wearing a public safety outfit and
getting mixed up with devil hunters was the last thing the woman needed in her life.

"Man… I… can't believe that shit… actually worked!" Denji and Reze were by no means weak,
but even they struggled to carry all the food they had bought.

"You… fuck that's heavy… you carry that badge… everywhere you go?"

"Yeah… honestly… it might be more useful… than the chainsaws!"

After the two of them successfully carried, or rather dragged, the bags to Reze's place they sorted
everything inside the fridge and the freezer.

"Shit, Denjiii the freezer won't fit more than three ice creams!"
"Just put the rest in the fridge, even if they melt we'll just freeze 'em up again when there's room!"

"Wow, you really are a genius!"

Soon enough the duo was back on the streets, this time on the hunt for, as Denji put it, "fancy
house shit".

Their first target was a mattress shop where they bought a second pillow in case Denji were to
sleep over. Reze found it highly amusing how the naughty implications of the purchase completely
eluded Denji.

Second stop, the local record shop. Being a broke homeless person and a government agent who
was practically a slave, it was no surprise that the two teenagers didn't have the slightest clue when
it came to music, spare for a few Soviet songs Reze barely recalled from her youth. They bought a
relatively cheap light blue record player and some random vinyls to go with it. They didn't even
plan on using it, the purchase being purely aesthetic and motivated solely by the fact that they
weren't spending their own money.

Next up, clothes. Reze bought a new pair of Allstars seeing as her old ones had practically melted
as well as some new shirts, a new pair of short jeans, a white jacket, and some underwear. Denji
considered buying some new clothes as well but Aki would notice them.

"Heyy Denji," she called from behind the changing room curtain, using the most sensual voice she
could muster. "I'm not sure if those fit me, why don't you come in here and help me?"

Denji was tempted, but refused to give into temptation so easily. "Pervert," he shouted at her.

"Says the guy who's seen me naked!"

Denji frantically tried defending himself. "You practically flashed me!"

Reze had too much content to work with. "You didn't exactly do much to look away though, did
you?" She loved teasing her boyfriend too much. 'If only I could look at his face right now, he's
probably more red than a tomato!'

More red than a tomato he was. "Aw come on, no fair! You didn't look away either!"

"I never said I did, hihi!"

Denji could feel his blood rushing up to his head. "Just put some clothes on you fucking perv! We
still gotta go to the…"

Final stop. Electronics shop.

Deeming the quality of tv programs subpar to their standards, Denji and Reze had decided that their
finest purchase of the day would be a VCR. Therefore, the teenagers wasted no time grabbing the
first Panasonic VCR they came across.

"We gotta buy some tapes too! Know any good movies?"

"Nah, but I can ask Makima! She's huge on movies, she knows all the good ones! Aki is bound to
know a few too."

Reze found the idea of interacting with either of the two less than appealing. "Ooor we can just ask
an employee here!"
Denji shook his head. "No no no, there's a shit ton of bad movies out there! We should only get the
best! Trust me, a good movie is worth ten shit ones!"

Reluctantly Reze agreed to buy movies after they had asked around for some suggestions, seeing as
Denji's conviction on the subject was surprisingly strong. She wouldn't pass on a golden
opportunity to tease him however.

"Hey Denjiii, how about this one? "Steel Rider" sounds pretty fun to me!"

"You're in the porn section."

Reze pretended to be shocked as she covered her eyes with her hands and giggled. "Oh my, I guess
you've already seen it then!"

"You're literally the biggest pervert on the planet! And I'll have you know I'm planning on
throwing out most of my porn mags! That's how romantical I am!"

He was just asking for it. "Ohhh, you learned all you had to learn from them? Maybe you can teach
me on the subject this time!"

The pair decided they'd have to stop by the supermarket again to buy some napkins to deal with
Denji's nose bleed. For the time being, toilet paper would suffice.

As the two of them were heading to the register, something caught their eye. A beautiful gray
console with a colorful logo and a single word beneath it. "Playstation".

Reze looked Denji straight in the eye. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Denji nodded. "Oh yeah!"

Aki's card would be drained a bit more for the sake of their entertainment. Along with the console,
Reze and Denji decided to pick one game each. "Tomb Raider" was Reze's choice while Denji
went for a fun looking one with a weird animal on the box, the name of which he couldn't read.

Turns out all it took to transform an apartment was one afternoon and several thousand Yen from
someone else's credit card.

It took the pair about an hour but by 9, they'd managed to transform the place. The living room that
was once equipped with nothing but a television now boasted a brand new VCR to go with it, as
well as a Playstation console. It took them a while to figure out how to plug in and use the two new
electronic devices but both of them were quick learners.

Denji got his first look at Reze's bedroom as they were sorting out her new clothes. The room
consisted of a bed, a window and a closet with drawers beneath it. Even with the new purchases
Reze's wardrobe was still rather limited, but it was sufficient nonetheless.

The record player and vinyls wouldn't fit in the living room so they settled with dumping them in
the kitchen. In hindsight, it wasn't their smartest purchase.

After they were done organizing and dusting the place, Reze undid her tie and the couple slumped
on the couch to catch their breath.

"Place looks full doesn't it? Shame the record thingie didn't fit the living room but oh well. We eat
on the couch anyway."
Reze was still slightly dissatisfied. "I still hate those plain white walls, we should paint them at
some point."

"I really don't think we got time for that. Maybe we can buy some flowers and shit? That'd lighten
up the place a bit!"

Reze blushed. "I'd love that, but I'm paying next time!"

Denji shook his head. "Not on my watch you ain't!"

Reze slowly crawled towards him and snuggled against his torso, placing her ear on his heart. Yet
again, Denji's mind travelled back to his movie date with Makima. The day he discovered he had a
heart after all.

She kissed him on his chest, right below his cord. "Mmm, thanks… for everything! As far as
second dates go, that couldn't have gone better!"

Denji was quick to become flustered but ignored the tingling sensation, wrapping his arms around
Reze's back, lightly massaging it. "I'm real glad ya liked it! I… honestly I don't think I've ever been
happier than I've been with you Reze!"

Reze bit her lip and rose up to Denji's eye level, their bodys still wrapped around each other. He
looked less flustered than she would have expected and much more… serene, as if he could fall
asleep at any moment. Reze adored the idea that her touch made him feel safe. She loved just
about everything about him. Her body was acting on its own. Without a word she planted her lips
on his, her hands beginning to run circles on his upper body.

She had no idea how far they would go, but in her heat Reze wanted nothing more than to be with
him. To touch him. To crawl under his skin. Everything about him was so perfect. His fluffy hair,
his small nose, his soft lips, his intoxicating odor, his slim yet toned body, his tired eyes that
reminded her of their struggles, even his razor sharp teeth. She wanted... no she needed for him to
be hers and hers only. But something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

There was no reciprocation. Denji wasn't kissing her back. His hands weren't curiously exploring
her. There wasn't even a bulge pressing up against her lower abdomen. Suddenly, Reze was feeling
up a corpse.

"Denji what's wrong?" Her voice betrayed her concern. Did she do something wrong?

Denji shook his head and slowly got up from the couch, forcing Reze to climb off of him. "It's all
good, it's just… I'm running late again, don't wanna keep the other two waiting. See ya tomor-"

Reze grabbed Denji by the arm and threw him back on the couch, her face doing nothing to hide
her anger. "That's bullshit and you know it! I get backing out last night but… I just don't fucking
understand you sometimes! We have a great time, things are perfect and then I kiss you and… and
you just shut off! It's like I disappear out of your sight! I mean… was it something I did?
Something I said? Clue me in here for fucks sake!" Her voice was loud enough to be heard by
several of her neighbors.

Denji was having a dilemma. He was not willing to lose his girlfriend after a single day but on the
other hand, he didn't want to talk about what was troubling him either. He hated himself so much
for freezing up in moments like those but he just couldn't help it. 'How are words harder than
killing devils?'

"No! You didn't do anything, for real! I'm just… I don't fucking know! I wanna touch you and kiss
you and… and fuck! I really do! I wanna do everything! But I'm just…"

Reze's features softened up. "Denji… are you… afraid of touching?"

Denji went pale, his eyes almost bulging out of his skull as he violently shook his hands in denial.
"Huh? Hell no! I…"

"Denji, if that's your problem then just tell me! I'll never judge you for anything, you should know
that by now! I… rush things cause I really wanna show you how much I love you… prove I'm not
lying to you again. If you wanna take it slow that's a-ok! But… speak to me! Tell me if I'm doing
something wrong. I'm… I'm new to this too!"

Denji had a problem alright. He didn't dislike touch. At least not Reze's. But the other woman had
been stuck on his mind for the entire day. Reze didn't deserve kissing with someone who wasn't
even thinking of her. He decided to come clean, she deserved that much.

Denji took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "I really… really liked Makima before you showed
up. She's the one that gave me this life, made my dreams come true. And I still like her, a lot. But I
love you! And I chose you over her, a choice I ain't never gonna regret! But today I learned that she
has no issue with us being an item which… hurt! I really convinced my dumbass that maybe she
liked me back, with all the touching and promises and what not. I guess she never saw me that
way. Figures... Thing is, I always thought I had to earn her love, while you just hand it to me for
doing shit as simple as buying you some video games! It's… overwhelming is all, ya know?"

Reze's heart sank. She wouldn't have burst into a fit of anger if she knew all that. She sat next to
him on the couch and gave him a loving look, deciding to momentary refrain from any physical
contact. "Denji… you need some time to get over your crush on Makima. That's fine! You should
have told me from the get go! We can do naughty stuff when you're rea-"

Suddenly, Reze considered Denji's words. All of his words. Including the part about…

"Wait, hold on a second. Touching and promises? Wha-what's that mean?"

Denji blushed once again and bowed his head in shame. "Uhhh, well… I was telling Makima 'bout
how touching Power's boobs was a lot less hot than I thought it'd be… and then she took my hand
and started making me rub her face and ears and all… before I knew it she put my hand on her
tits…"

Reze was so shocked she completely jumped over the fact that Denji had felt up Power. If her heart
had sunken before, it had now officially drowned.

"Oh my God, Denji… I'm pretty sure that's sexual assault!"

Denji almost had a heart attack, thinking Reze had misinterpreted his words. "No no no no no she
was the one that started it, I wouldn't have touched her on my own I swear!"

Reze punched the couch. "No! Denji, I mean you got assaulted! It sounds to me that Makima
practically forced herself on you!"

Denji was just confused. "Nah, that's like impossible! I mean, she's a girl and I'm a dude! And even
if she started it it's not like I didn't… want it." Saying those things to Reze felt wrong.

"Even so, she's a grown ass woman! Who the fuck does that? And what about those… promises?
Did she… did she promise to have sex with you if you killed the Gun Devil for her?"
 Denji bit down on his teeth and gulped, which was a sufficient answer for Reze. 'Ohhhh, that sick
bitch! I knew something was off about that… that fucking groomer!' Reze decided to stop
pressuring an already stressed Denji even more. Like him or not, she'd have to discuss the matter
with Aki when she had the chance.

"Ok look, what Makima did to you is fucked up! But it worked! She made sure you'd follow her
orders. But Denji, when people love each other they show it all the time! They hug and kiss and
touch whenever they feel like it! Love isn't some Pavlovian response!"

"The fuck was that last part?"

"Love isn't a reward Denji! I don't love you cause you brought me back when you should have let
me to die. Or because you bought me a bunch of stuff! I love you cause you're you!"

All his life, Denji had been taught one rule. You give and you take. The idea of unconditional love
was simply unfathomable to the boy. Yet, Reze's words spoke to him, he felt warmer than he ever
had inside. He didn't blame Makima for doing those things in order to keep a leash on him. After
all, their agreement was for him to be her dog, nothing more. She had given him this life,
regardless of her intentions, and Denji would always admire and obey his master. But he had a new
top priority in his life. From that point on, when he closed his eyes, he would only see her.

"Thanks, I really needed that," he declared as he took her in his arms, giving Reze the most
passionate kiss he could offer, almost making her dizzy.

Denji broke the kiss and looked Reze in her majestic green eyes. "I still need some time to move on
from Makima… so I don't wanna hit third base just yet. No naked stuff in general. But… maybe we
can do some touching while we're here… if you want to!"

Reze's lips curled into a smile as she untied her dark dark purple hair, letting it flow down just
above her shoulders.

"Come here!"

Aki would have to wait for Denji to come back just a little longer.

Chapter End Notes

I kept what is essentially a double chapter as the closer to 2022, hope you all have a
wonderful new year's eve! A lot more fluff and humor than angst in this one, consider
it a Christmas present from yours truly! Next chapter should mark the start of
International Assassins arc so I'm very much looking forward to that, even though it
will take quite some time. As always, any comments are greatly appreciated and
enjoy!
 In Dreams
Chapter Summary

Reze's got a lot on her plate. Assassins from all over the world are after her and Denji's
heads, her distrust of Makima grows by the day, and there's no solace to be found in
dreams.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Reze shot up from her bed, sweat trickling down her forehead as she instinctively grabbed the pin
on the right side of her neck. Her hand was intact. Her intestines were inside her body. She was
alive. She rubbed her eyes and pushed her hair away from her face. She checked her alarm clock.
06:23. "Fuck," she whispered to herself, "way too early."

Nightmares were nothing new for Reze, her heavy consciousness had been torturing her in the
form of dreams for as long as she could remember. But ever since she'd started her new life, she
was persistently being haunted by one dream in particular.

Rats.

Humongous, disgusting piles of rats forming a single abominable unit that blocked her path, their
grotesque bodies forming a mouth that spoke to her in words she couldn't decipher. It felt real, too
real, and when she woke up she felt pain, real excruciating pain all over her body. Any attempt of
decrypting the nightmare had completely and utterly failed thus far.

The days following her involuntary appointment as a Public Safety devil hunter had been…
eventful. On the bright side she had a home, low but steady income and, for the first time in her
life, someone she loved. Even her relationship with her coworkers had improved ever so slightly
since she first met them. Over time Power had become somewhat less of a pest, Aki didn't
perpetually look like he wanted to murder her on the spot, and Kobeni didn't suffer from nervous
breakdowns at the mere sight of her, at least not visible ones. She had also come to find that
Violence was surprisingly easy to talk to. Shark was still avoiding her like the plague but that she
could live with. Things were, for the first time in her life, looking up. Maybe.

On the other hand, the discovery of Denji's persistent infatuation with Makima was very
troublesome, especially considering the things she had done to him, actions she loudly condemned.
Reze was already highly suspicious of her boss. But her suspicions had reached new heights
since…

Denji and Reze had gathered at the latters home the previous night, a habit that had become a daily
occurrence, much to the teenager's satisfaction. Soon as they were done with their shifts they
changed to some comfy house clothes and wasted no time eating several generous scoops of ice
cream. Denji had the bright idea of bringing some of his own clothes to Reze's apartment for such
occasions, her closet had ample space after all. After filling their stomachs the teens moved on to
playing videogames. Nothing was out of the ordinary, until Denji spoke.
"Why didn't you like Miss Makima back then?"

Reze set down her controller and raised her chin, shooting him a curious glance. What part of
Crash Bandicoot in particular had reminded him of that bitch?

"Because she used you and borderline assaulted you! You might be ok with that but I sure as hell
ain't! You should start standing up for yourself!" Irritation was evident in her voice. If there was
one thing Reze disliked about her boyfriend, it was how little he valued himself. "Where'd that
come from anyway?"

Denji took a bite of the apple he was snacking on and stretched his arms, making sure to never
break eye contact. "I'm not talking 'bout that. I mean what you said 'bout her before."

Reze had no idea what her boyfriend was referring to. "What do you mean?" She curved her
eyebrows and rolled her eyes in an attempt to recall any mention of Makima prior to their
discussion that night, but it was fruitless.

It was Denji's turn to question her memories. "Huh? Don't you remember? When we were fighting
and all, and you called her a witch and said we couldn't have run away even if we wanted to 'cause
of her? What was up with that?"

Reze could do nothing but blankly stare at him, eyes wide open. "Denji what the fuck are you
talking about?"

Denji's jaw went agape as he tossed aside the mostly consumed apple. "You seriously don't
remember?"

"Not even a little bit! I didn't know who Makima was until she caught me!"

Denji forced his eyebrows into a pronounced frown and gawped at Reze. "Now you're straight up
bullshiting me! Even if I misheard what you told me, which I'm sure I didn't by the way, ain't no
way you don't remember at least one of the times I mentioned her! I can't be stupid enough to not
even remember my own words!"

The accusation caused Reze to feel a tightness in her chest. "This has hardly anything to do with
your intellect Denji. Why would I lie to you about that? If I remembered anything I'd tell you but
she wasn't brought up, ever! And it's not like that creep is easy to forget!" Reze figured she should
have remembered if she had known anything about the redhead beforehand. Right?

Puffing his cheeks, Denji accepted defeat and focused on the tv screen once again.

"Nevermind. My mind's probably fucking with me again."

Reze considered that conversation yet again as she was taking a morning shower to clean her sweat
and kill some time until her shift started. As lukewarm water fell along the curves of her body, she
questioned whether she had any trouble recalling past events. Unfortunately, all of her torment was
still there, fresh as new in her memory. She highly doubted she could have ever forgotten anything
regarding someone as mysterious and captivating as Makima. But it was also unlikely that Denji
was making things up. She couldn't make sense of anything anymore.

"One too many screws loose Reze, one too many screws loose."

The notorious Hayakawa trio entered the Public Safety building donning their usual work attire. As
always, their interactions were quite vocal.
Denji had been pestering Aki all morning. "Just a few thousand yen man, that's all I'm asking!"

Aki gritted his teeth and shoved Denji away as they were going up the stairs, Power unwillingly
following right behind. "You steal my fucking credit card, I still give you lunch money when I
should have left your ass to starve, and now you and Bomb want to burn more of my money?
You're barking at the wrong tree!"

"Pleeease Hayacaptain, just twenty thousand so we can buy… stuff! You can keep it outta my
paycheck!"

The tall man furrowed his eyebrows. "You're not seeing a single penny out of that until you pay
back the amount you stole from me! The only reason I didn't take money from your girlfriend too
is because otherwise she'd starve, not that I'd be opposed to that, but Makima would."

Denji crossed his arms and wrinkled his nose. "You suck balls."

Aki disregarded the insult. Denji's persistent bitching had set the mood for the day, but at least
Power was uncharacteristically quiet, no doubt due to their imminent meeting with Makima.

Soon enough they reached their destination. "Ah, glad you're here. Right on time as always."
Makima looked spotless, her hair tied in her usual ponytail and with her signature reserved smile.
She carefully examined the trio, her eyes finally resting on Aki.

"You called us ma'am?" Aki was hoping Makima's reason for their visit would be positive, for a
change. Meanwhile Power was latching onto Denji's arm, refusing to meet Makima's gaze. Denji
considered pushing her away but decided against it when he felt his buddy tremble.

"I've been busy for a while, so I'm going to take some time off and visit Enoshima. Do you three
want to go with me?"

As Makima had expected, Aki took no time to make up his mind. "We'll go."

Power widened her eyes and started sweating profusely, desperately trying to find a way to avoid
going on the trip. "I have an urgent meeting that day," was the best she could come up with.

Makima had expected no less. "Power dearest, we still haven't picked a day." Power almost teared
up when she realized her lack of excuses.

The red haired woman then addressed Aki once more. "I'll work with your schedule, just let me
know what day you can take off."

"I haven't used any of my pto, so anytime works for me."

After nodding in agreement, Makima turned her attention towards Denji, staring at him intently.
His reaction, or lack thereof, was most interesting to her.

She offered her prodige a warm smile. "This will be your first time outside of Tokyo, Denji. Aren't
you excited?" Her tone sounded almost… judgemental.

Denji shyly scratched the back of his head and averted Makima's intense stare. "Uhh… sure am,
always wanted to go on a trip with you Miss Makima. But ummm… is there… maybe room for one
more?"

Makima's smile widened ever so slightly, her face now unreadable. "Denji, is it so hard for you to
depart from your sweetheart for a day?"
Denji blushed a bright red. Suddenly there was a fishbone stuck in his throat. She knew. Of course
she knew. Nevertheless, he'd come to terms with the choice he'd made. "That's not it… it's just
that… she hasn't seen Japan outside of Tokyo either…"

Aki could swear Makima looked… amused! He'd known her long enough to know when she was
putting on a face for the higher-ups and when she was genuinely intrigued about something, partly
due to the sheer rarity of the latter scenario. Just what the hell did she find so intriguing about two
weirdo teenagers jerking each other off? Metaphorically that was, at least for the time being.

Before Makima had time to open her mouth, a crowd of black suits barged into her office uninvited.
The men completely ignored the trio and surrounded Makima, wasting no time to whisper in her
ear, their expressions making it perfectly clear that the info they were conveying was anything but
positive. Suddenly, Makima's smile disappeared as she and the men turned their attention towards
Denji.

Even Power was not oblivious to the commotion. "What seems to be the ruckus?"

"We have a problem."

Reze arrived at the building a few minutes later. Power and Denji were usually waiting for her
outside and Reze was hoping she'd get the chance to finally have a discussion with Aki. She
couldn't bear not to express her suspicions about their boss any longer. To her surprise, the only
people she spotted were Violence and Kobeni on their way out of the main entrance.

Reze greeted the odd duo as soon as she saw them. "Hey Violence, Kobe! Seen my boyfriend
inside? He usually waits for me here."

The surprisingly friendly masked fiend waved at her. A significantly less friendly Kobeni stood
cautiously behind him on the edge of her seat. "Hey Reze, yeah we saw Denji inside, lady Makima
wanted a quick word with the Hayakawas I believe." Just as Reze was about to thank the fiend,
two Public Safety agents exited the building and charged towards Reze.

One of them grabbed her by the shoulder. "Bomb Devil, your presence is required immediat-"

Reze angrily shook the man off and grabbed her pin. "Keep your fucking hands off of me pig!"

Kobeni pulled Violence's sleeve, signaling that it was time for the pair to get the fuck out of there
before the situation escalated any further.

The men motioned for her to calm down. "No need for any of that, Miss Makima simply requires
your presence." Reze was less than thrilled with the idea but relinquished her pin and decided to
oblige.

Instead of leading her to Makima's office, the men guided her to a dimly lit room where a television
could be heard from the distance. Reze's training enabled her to pick up on their silent conversation
as they were escorting her.

"Word has it that little shit's fucking chainsaw kid! What are the odds!"

The second man let out a discrete laugh. "Only fitting these two freaks get it on with each other.
Think these dipshits do it in their devil forms?"

Were these the people she was supposed to feel guilty about killing a week ago? The urge to pull
her pin and blow these assholes to space was overwhelming but Reze was able to successfully
suppress it. They weren't worth her time.

As soon as she entered the room Reze came across the sight of a handful of devil hunters gathered
around a tv screen. Aki and Makima were amongst them while Denji and Power could be heard
talking on the front.

"'Tis Denji fighting on a train," loudly exclaimed the fiend.

Denji turned his head around and managed to spot Reze amongst the crowd. "Yo Reze! Check it
out! Yo boy's on tv! Sure feels good don't it?"

The rest of the room stared daggers at Denji, and Makima looked directly into Reze's eyes, giving
her the chills in the process. Reze immediately understood the gravity of the situation. They were
in deep shit.

"Reze," she started, "the restrictions Public Safety has been imposing on the media failed, Denji's
all over the news… this was part of the Soviets plans correct?"

"The primary objective was obtaining Denji's heart. In case that failed, exposing his identity was
the next best thing." Her voice was cold and distant, almost as if she was reporting post mission.
Denji hated hearing his girlfriend like that.

Makima leaned over Denji and redirected her emotionless stare towards the screen. "America and
China will want Denji, I'm sure. Reze too perhaps. Your kind is… most valuable."

Aki intervened. "Hold on, why would the Soviets deliberately increase their competition?"

Makima replied without pulling her eyes away from the tv. "They probably don't care who has their
hand on Denji… as long as that isn't me. Right Reze?"

Reze squinted her eyes. "I don't remember your name ever coming up."

"I'm sure you don't."

With that Makima shut the tv off and headed outside the room, the rest of the devil hunters
following her like obedient dogs. She gave Denji one final look before she left.

"The trip is postponed."

Power jumped in the air and excitedly shouted "woohoo!"

She continued. "Denji, in the days to come assassins from all over the globe will be coming to kill
you. This might be the case for Reze as well. Consider yourselves without freedom for the
foreseeable future."

The couple exchanged concerned looks.

"Aki, you are to accommodate Reze as well during this time. The two of you, follow me. Denji and
Power, you're dismissed. You'll be escorted home and are to remain there until further notice."

It was Denji's turn to jump in the air and shout like a maniac.

Aki stared into the void upon realizing he'd have to provide his home to the woman who killed the
majority of his remaining friends. Nevertheless, he managed to push the thought away, there were
much bigger things at stake.
As Makima was leading the crowd back to her office and barking out orders, Aki was repulsed to
see Reze cautiously walking next to him and leaning sideways towards him. He shot her a warning
glance.

Reze looked left and right before whispering to his ear. "We need to talk after this. Privately."

Aki made sure that Makima wasn't paying attention to them before replying. "If it's about you
wanting to scam me out of more money I swear to-"

"It's about her." Reze discreetly looked over at Makima. Her usual playful attitude was nowhere to
be seen, or heard. Aki figured the girl was being serious, for a change.

"We'll see."

Right before they reached Makima's office, she addressed the teen. "Reze, wait for me here. The
rest of you, inside."

As the door slammed shut behind them, the purple haired woman was left to ponder in the hallway.
Thankfully she'd brought her suit jacket, the building was humid as hell. She rested her back on the
outer wall of Makima's office, lowered her head and fixed her bun. Her eyes were on the verge of
tearing up.

The inevitable had happened. Ruthless killers from all over the world were gunning for her and
Denji's heads, and it was all her fault. She knew Denji well enough to understand he'd never blame
her for it, but it did nothing to alleviate the guilt. And amidst the chaos, she still had to investigate
the whole Makima situation. Things were, simply put, fucked. At least she'd finally get to sleep
under the same roof as her sweetheart, though the prospect of being roommates with Power was
quite frightening. Not to mention Senior Cockblock would be there too.

Suddenly, a pungent smell invaded her nostrils. It smelt like… booze. A lot of booze.

She looked up to see a tall and buff figure heading towards her. When he was close enough she
managed to make out his features. He had gray hair and a scraggly beard with a large stitched scar
running from his mouth to his left cheek as well as piercings on both ears. He wore a long coat
over his outfit and was holding what appeared to be a silver flask. The description could only fit
one man and one man only.

Reze crossed her arms and met him halfway, observing him closely. The man seemed far less
intrigued by her. She lifted her eyebrow and shot him a sharp look. "I'll be damned, Mad Dog
Kishibe, in the flesh."

His face remained expressionless. "If it isn't Makima's newest toy. You know me?" His voice was
raspy and devoid of any emotion, and his breath stank to high heaven. One couldn't help but
wonder if he was perpetually drunk.

Reze wasn't exactly thrilled to be referred to as a toy, and Makima's no less, but she chose to ignore
the comment. "Your reputation precedes you. I was warned to avoid contact with you at all costs
before my mission."

Reze could have sworn she caught a glimpse of a smile appearing on his face for a few
milliseconds. "Women tend to do that."

Reze prayed he was joking. "Uhhh, sure I'll take your word for it, I guess. Glad to have me on your
team I'm sure!"
"Reasonably. You're pretty strong, and I appreciate not having to worry about you as well. But
you're no devil hunter material."

Reze clenched her fists and narrowed her lips, glaring at the man with contempt. That was far from
the answer she had expected. Reze still had her pride. "Oh yeah? Am I not drunk enough," she spat
back.

Her sarcastic remark did little to upset the grizzled man. "You came back for your boy, it's what got
you killed. Means you act on emotion. Your boyfriend would have left you behind. You should
learn from him."

Reze was fuming. "You don't know shit about Denji," she stated firmly.

Kishibe instinctively took a sip out of his flask. A generous sip. "And I'm not keen on finding out
either. What matters is he's the perfect dog for the job. Makima must have a good reason for letting
you live so I'll let you off the hook, but you better not soften him up. It took some work and a
whole lotta liquor to sharpen him up."

The woman was sick and tired of herself and her boyfriend being treated like objects. Was every
single person in this line of work an insufferable asshole? "Is that all he is to you people? Just a
weapon? A hunting dog? Did it ever occur to you that maybe he has feelings too? Or a shit load of
unresolved trauma?"

"No. Your boyfriend has no rights. And last I checked neither do you."

Reze was about to reply, and quite harshly so, when all of a sudden Kishibe lost his balance and
awkwardly slumped on top of her, pushing their bodies against the wall.

Reze used all her strength to push the heavy man back to his feet, something which proved to be no
easy task. "Jeez old man how much did you fucking drink? It's not even noon," she managed to
murmur.

Kishibe lightly grabbed onto her jacket and got back up rubbing his head in the process. "Sorry
'bout that, soon I saw the news I figured I'd be tasked with coming up with a bunch of plans, so I
got to drinking a bit more than I usually do this time of day."

As Reze was trying to make even the slightest sense of Kishibe's drunken ramblings, the door of
the office swung open and a swarm of devil hunters hastily exited it, Aki included. Makima was
the last to leave the room. As soon as she saw the pair, her lips curled into a smile.

"Captain Kishibe, you're here early."

"Figured the sooner I get here the better."

"A wise call indeed. I see you've already met Lady Reze. Good, that saves us the introductions.
Let's take a walk."

The three of them started their awkward walk along the halfways of the building. The few devil
hunters they met along their road seemed to tremble at their mere sight. Reze wondered who
amongst them they were afraid of the most. After a few minutes of silent walking, she broke the
ice. "Why exactly am I here?"

Makima turned her head to face her. The smile she usually wore around people had disappeared
leaving behind two piercing yellow orbs. How Reze despised those eyes. "We're brainstorming
ways to intercept the assassins. Of course we already have a basic idea of who we can expect to
pay us a visit, but I'd value your input as well judging from your experience on the field."

Things finally started to click for Reze. "The Soviets have a handful of crazies on their arsenal, but
I was their best, no doubt about it. I'm sure they'll sit back and bet on someone else getting to
Denji."

Kishibe scratched his beard. "Think there's a chance they might come back for you?"

"Doubt it, they would have made a move by now. Trying to kill me out of spite for leaving them
isn't their style, especially not when they know the casualties I would cause them. I've always been
expendable to them… much like I am now." Reze would take any and all opportunities to have a
dig at her superiors. Much to her disappointment however, said superiors couldn't care less.

Makima seemed satisfied with that information. "The Soviets had their chance. I hear however that
the Chinese are very much interested in Denji's case. You know what that means, don't you
Kishibe?"

The man in question took out his flask and downed its entire contents. "I'm not too keen to
approach Quanxi."

"Is that the name of the woman with the four fiends?"

Both Makima and Kishibe shot Reze a curious glance. "Are you aware of her?"

"Not by name, but her existence has been brought up. The Soviets have always been interested in
hybrids. I was their only success but they were keeping tabs on a few others too. The Crossbow
Devil and her fiends were amongst them."

This seemed to pique Makima's interest. "What other hybrids were brought up exactly?" Her voice
was cold and commanding, a far cry from her usual tone.

Reze shrugged. "I overheard a Flamethrower Devil being mentioned but far as I can remember his
whereabouts were unknown, if he ever existed in the first place. Can't really help you here, it's not
like they'd ever bothered sharing this kind of info with me."

Kishibe butted in. "That checks out. We should worry about those we know first. If the entirety of
humanity held a bare knuckle fighting tournament, Quanxi would take first place. She'll be tricky
to intercept."

Reze figured the old man was surprisingly reasonable for someone who drank from a flask every
few seconds. "I can try to take her on, crossbow doesn't sound too intimidating. If not on my own,
I'm sure me and Denji can take her down together."

Kishibe chuckled. "Good luck with that."

Reze was once again about to spar with the man but Makima interrupted their little back and forth.
"It's no use taking precautions against Quanxi. The one we really need to watch out for is
Germany's Santa Claus."

That was a name Reze had never heard of before.

Kishibe certainly had. "You think he'll pay us a visit?" Despite his concern, he made sure that his
voice never lost its cool.

Makima stared off into the distance. "I couldn't say… rumors have it that he died of old age, but if
he uses his devil on us we'll be in deep trouble. Guess we should pray he's been called up in the
pearly gates."

Reze sighed. "No luck there."

"Know something about him?"

"No, but what I do know is people like him… like us… it's never old age that gets to them."

It had been a long day for Aki. What started as a chance to spend an entire day with Makima had
devolved into a shit fest that included the Chainsaw Devil being revealed to the public, assassins
from all around the globe coming after Denji and by extension himself, being forced to live under
the same roof as Bomb and Angel picking that particular day out of all of them to drop the
bombshell on him that Denji's devil had probably murdered numerous other devils… in hell no
less. The only good thing to have come out of the day was Makima's announcement that they'd be
going after that fucking Gun a year from now, and he was on the expedition. Maybe all his
sacrifices wouldn't be in vain after all.

As he was finally heading home, Angel tugged at Aki's sleeve and stopped him on his tracks just
outside his house, careful to avoid skin contact. Aki almost flinched but did nothing to push the
devil away. "Something wrong?"

Usually by that time of day Angel was a sleepy slob who looked seconds away from passing out on
the street. But looking at him he appeared… sad. Almost melancholic. "Are you alright? That
was… quite a lot to take in for a single day. Even for you."

If Aki didn't know better he'd have thought Angel was being sympathetic. Still, he appreciated his
occasional shows of concern, they proved to Aki that there was more to the devil than he let on.
"I'm fine, I've seen worse days."

"Are you going to be ok with Reze joining the household?"

Aki let out a deep breath. "I'll manage. Anyways, go get some rest. You're gonna need it, for once."

Angel let go of Aki's sleeve and looked down at his shoes. Something was still troubling him.
Before Aki could disappear behind the front door of his apartment block, he spoke in a melancholic
tone. "Do you ever have recurring dreams?"

The question caught him off guard and he turned around to face his partner. "Come again?"

"Recurring dreams. For some time now I've been dreaming of a woman. It actually started the day
you saved me, right when I touched you. My memory of her is very faint but I can remember her
smile. I've never seen her before in my life but somehow her face feels… familiar… that ever
happened to you?"

"I have several dreams. All bad… but none like what you described. Perhaps it's a remnant of a past
life."

Angel shook his head. "Maybe but… I don't think so. It feels too real! Too… tangible. These
dreams, the chainsaw sounds… they're just giving me a really bad hunch about things to come."

Aki had no idea how to comfort his buddy. He never was particularly good at that part of the job.
"We've dealt with powerful opponents before, we'll deal with them again. I promise." Though he'd
never admit it, Aki wondered if he could actually keep that promise.
"Aki I think you should drop out of the Gun Devil expedition." He almost whispered the words in
one quick breath, praying that Aki hadn't heard them. He was not that lucky.

Needless to say Aki was not pleased with the request. "The hell are you talking about? My family's
dead, I've less than a year and a half to live and all my friends are six feet under! And just when
there's finally a breakthrough, a chance for me to achieve my one goal in life, you want me to
quit?"

Angel had anticipated that reaction. He tried explaining his feelings to Aki but the words were
lodged in his throat. His tongue wouldn't move. "I know this doesn't make sense. But I just…
something's off about this whole thing, I can sense it! Please just take my word on this one!"

Aki had had enough. "This discussion is over. Mind your own fucking business will you?" With
that, the man disappeared behind thick walls, like he always did.

Angel knit his eyebrows together and pursed his lips before lowering his head in defeat. At the end
of the day, Aki was only human.

With all the commotion Aki had completely forgotten that Reze had forcibly moved into his home.
His memory would be refreshed the moment he reached his apartment's floor as blood curdling
screams could be heard from inside his place, startling an unsuspecting Aki and making him drop
his keys. Had the assassins made their move already? He hastily picked them up and unlocked the
door, prepared to face any potential intruder.

He lowered his ground when instead he found Reze and Power rolling around on the floor, Power
looking as if she was trying to grab something near Reze's face. Meanwhile the green eyed girl was
desperately using her hands and feet in an attempt to push the fiend away. Denji was also trying to
restrain his former partner from the back.

Amongst many of Power's unintelligible war cries, Aki was able to discern the words "LEMME
PULL IT!" Upon closer inspection Denji had a spray bottle on his grasp. "NO, BAD POWER," he
yelled as he sprayed the fiend like a misbehaving cat. "GET HER THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME,
SHE'LL KILL US ALL," was Reze's contribution to their "discussion".

Denji's eyes lit up as he saw Aki enter the room and he shot him a pleading look. "Aki! Quick, you
gotta help us! Power's trying to pull Reze's pin, she'll blow us all to fucking bits!"

Aki pursed his lips and gave a long hard look at the brawl that was taking place in front of him.

"Nope," he declared as he headed for the bathroom. If it was his fate to die because his blood fiend
roommate pulled a pin from the neck of a human-bomb hybrid, so be it.

As time went by, spirits luckily died down in the Hayakawa household. Power postponed her
attack on Reze and directed her attention towards her beloved feline companion while the couple of
the house nestled into the couch and had a quiet discussion while putting on whatever anime they
could find for background noise. After Power had refused to provide Reze with any of her clothes,
she settled for one of Denji's oversized t-shirts and a pair of his black shorts, a combination she
found particularly cozy. Aki walked back into the living room to find Reze resting her feet on the
arm of the couch while her head lay comfortably on top of Denji's thighs and her eyes were shut.
Denji's hands were behind his head and he had a vivid expression on his face as he was recounting
previous battles.

Denji noticed Aki entering the room but chose to ignore him. "And that's how I figured out I can
bust chainsaws outta my legs too! They feel real shitty but without 'em I wouldn't be here now. No
way I would have beaten Katana douche and his stupid fucking move that he spammed all the
time! Told you, old man's a weirdo but he knows his shit."

Reze replied without opening her eyes. "I know how skilled he is, he's got quite the reputation after
all, and I'm glad he helped you out. Even if his way of helping out was murdering you twenty
times a day. Just wish he didn't reek that much!"

"Yeah I'll give you that, but you get used to it eventually."

Reze opened her eyes to see Aki staring at them with an unreadable expression on his mug. She
grinned mischievously as she decided to get back on the older man for his inactivity when Power
was trying to blow them all up. Well that and being an obnoxious asshole in general.

She spoke loud enough to make sure Aki was listening. "Say Denji, since you can pull chainsaws
out of your limbs, think you could maybe-"

"No."

Reze's eyes went wide as she lifted her upper body to meet his gaze. "You… you've tried?"

"Yes."

Aki pretended he hadn't heard any of it and crossed his arms. "Alright, sit straight, I want a word
with you. Power, you come here too!"

Reze blushed at the thought of Denji sitting in his room trying to pull a chainsaw out of his dick
but shook the thought away and sat up, not in the mood for more fighting. Power soon joined them
with Meowy in her grasp and squeezed next to Denji on the couch.

Aki took a deep breath. "As long as Bomb-"

Denji clenched his jaw and flared his nostrils in anger. "C'mon man it's been a week, her name's
Reze for fucks sake!" Although she never expressed her gratitude, Reze greatly appreciated the
gesture.

Aki narrowed his eyes but decided he was too worn out to argue. "Fine, as long as Reze is staying
here, you're all going to follow some rules so we don't kill each other before the assassins get to us.
Sounds fair?"

Denji snorted loudly and rolled his eyes. "Whatever." Reze merely tilted her head, while Power
gnashed her teeth.

"I'll take that as a yes. Ok first up, several agents are monitoring the place 24/7 just to ensure your
safety, so you never leave without telling me. Especially you Denji!"

"Why are you always on my ass man?"

"Cause it's primarily your ass the assassins are after dumbass!"

Power laughed and lightly tapped the top of Denji's head. "Topknot speaks the throuthe oh
dimwitted human!"

It was Reze's turn to defend her significant other. "Zip it shit face!" It didn't go unnoticed to Reze
how uncharacteristically light Power's tap on Denji was. If she were in his place she figured her
head would be rolling on the floor.
Power was about to launch at Reze before Aki raised his voice. "Which brings me to the second
rule! No! Fighting! Save your breath for when the time genuinely calls for action. There'll be
plenty of that I'm sure."

There were no objections this time, much to Aki's satisfaction.

"And third and final rule… Stay outta my room! And try to make as little noise as possible. Easy
enough?"

Reze raised her eyebrow. "That's it? I thought you'd give us a lecture about how premarital hand
holding is a sin and whatnot. You sure look the type." Denji seemed just as surprised as his
girlfriend.

Aki sighed. "No use in lecturing any of you. Do whatever you want as long as you do it in Denji's
room. And don't you dare stain my couch, otherwise the killers will be the least of your worries!
Got it?"

Reze couldn't let a golden opportunity like that pass as she put her seductive voice to use once
more. "Want us to keep the door open for ya? Something tells me you like to watch!"

Aki was about to retort, but before he could, he heard a familiar female voice answer in his place.

"I do!"

Aki, Reze and Denji were all wonderstruck as they looked to find the source of the voice. Their
eyes soon fell on the fiend of the house who seemed to be unaware of what she had just declared.

Denji managed to shut his hanging jaw shut and say what everyone else in the room was thinking.

"Huh?"

Power was still oblivious to the gravity of her statement. "I am most interested in witnessing the
two of you copulating! The concept of mating is foreign to me, therefore I wish to study you
humans during the act! Though I have long hypothesized that Denji might be impotent."

All three of Power's roommates simultaneously face-palmed hard enough for their hands to almost
go through their skull. Meanwhile Denji leaned in to Reze and whispered in her ear. "What's
impotent mean?"

"She says she's afraid you can't get it up."

Denji bared his teeth and pointed his finger at Power. "Hey! I'll have you know my dick works
perfectly fine!"

Power crossed her arms and averted her eyes from Denji. Reze could have sworn the fiend…
blushed? "If so, how is it that thy rod appeared to remain stiff during the chest fondling?"

Aki let out an exasperated sigh and pulled out a cigarette. "I'm too tired for this shit," he declared as
he stepped outside on the balcony for a much needed nicotine break.

Denji had never felt more embarrassed in his life. His cheeks reached a magnificent red as his
trembling form peaked at Reze to get a glimpse at her reaction. He expected her to be shocked or
even mad. But much to his surprise however, his girlfriend had curled into herself and burrowed
her head between her knees, holding her abdomen as she let out a maniacal laughter.
"Oh shit," she managed to say in-between her laughs. "Ohh… that was a good one! Thanks Power,
I needed that! Anyways, it's getting late. We all need a shower so I'm gonna go first."

Reze got up from the couch and left a relieved Denji and an annoyed Power behind.

She headed for Denji's room which temporarily served as her own as well to grab a new shirt.
Noticing her work outfit laying on the bed, she decided to toss it in the laundry. Power was only
slightly taller than her, her shirts would fit just fine. And in case the fiend was reluctant to lend her
one, she'd simply steal it. As she picked up her outfit however, she noticed something white
protruding from the pocket of her jacket.

'The hell?' Reze certainly didn't remember having anything other than her keys and some lunch
money on her. Tossing the rest of the clothes aside, she picked the jacket up and reached into the
pocket, pulling out a piece of folded white paper.

After looking around to make sure no one else was watching, Reze cautiously unfolded the paper
and examined its content. The handwriting definitely belonged to a man. It wrote:

MAKIMA IS LISTENING

DON'T SPEAK TO ANYONE ABOUT HER

Reze's eyes almost bulged out of her sockets, her heart skipping a beat as she audibly inhaled
through her mouth. "What in the actual fuck?" She remained motionless for a couple of seconds in
an attempt to figure out the perpetrator who could have planted this on her. Until it hit her.

'The drunk! That's why he fell on top of me! Or rather pretended to… I thought he was supposed to
be Makima's right hand man!' Too preoccupied with her rampant thoughts, Reze failed to hear
footsteps approaching her.

"Hey you."

Reze jumped in fear and quickly turned her head around to face the intruder. She pressed her left
hand on her chest and breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Aki. With her right hand the green eyed
woman discreetly hid the note behind her back.

"Christ, you fucking startled me! Didn't they teach you to knock before entering? Or were you just
hoping to catch me na-"

"Cut the bullshit. What did you want to say to me?" Aki's patience was wearing thin.

Reze scratched her head with her free hand. "Huh?"

Aki grunted. "In the morning, you said you wanted to speak to me in private. Denji and Power are
too preoccupied watching tv, so here's your chance. Make it quick will you? Lunch won't make
itself."

"Nothing!" Reze had no idea why Kishibe was warning her about Makima, but she'd be a fool not
to trust the only man who seemed to know the truth behind their employer. No need to put others in
danger, those days were behind her… hopefully. "I just… wanted to ask for money! Yeah! I lied
when I said it was about Makima! But now with the assas-"

Aki didn't even wait for her to finish her excuse before angrily storming out of the room,
murmuring several unintelligible insults as he did.
"There's my clean boy! Took you long enough!"

Upon finally entering his room after a long bath, Denji found his girlfriend laying on his mattress,
a most pleasant sight for the eyes. She looked insanely cute with her cozy clothes and warm smile.
Never in a million years did the boy ever think he'd have the chance to sleep next to a heart like
hers.

"Sorry," he shyly apologized as he walked towards her resting form, still wiping his hair dry with
his towel. "I went in last and I always like to stay in the bathtub 'till I'm soaked. 'Fore I moved here
I'd only clean up whenever it rained."

Reze offered him a sad smile and scooped over to the left side of the bed, signalling for him to join
her. "Shame, your hair looks so fluffy afterwards!"

Denji awkwardly smiled back, visibly fond of Reze's compliment. He gave the free side of the bed
a cautious look, his heart beating violently against his ribs, still struggling to settle with the sight in
front of him. "You sure you wanna sleep with me? I can sleep on the floor no problem!"

"Denji get in here or I'll murder you."

"Yes ma'am!"

With that Denji jumped onto the bed and landed face first on the mattress. "Shit," he declared upon
impact, "we only got one pillow!"

On command, Reze moved the pillow towards him. "Lucky for us we only need one! I have a
pillow of my own!"

As Denji carefully adjusted his head onto the pillow, Reze shifted her body so that her head was
nestled comfortably on the upper part of Denji's chest, the top of her skull lightly brushing his chin.
She wrapped her arms around Denji's waist and threw her right leg on top of him, locking him in
place, as if she was afraid he'd try to break free from her grasp. Having gained some experience
with touch, Denji no longer froze up during their more intimate moments together and simply
melted into her embrace, his arms glued to her back.

Their bodies relished in their combined heat and they both relaxed, their synchronized breathing a
lovely duet to their ears. Denji hummed contentedly, haziness beginning to overtake him. "This is
nice, you smell incredible."

"You don't smell half bad yourself." Reze moved her head to the nape of her boyfriend's neck and
softly pressed her lips on the area, eliciting barely audible moans that let her know she was doing
an excellent job.

Denji let out a giggle as he began to gently rub the back of Reze's ear. The iniative earned him a
soft bite near his carotid. "Funny you should say that. Back when I lived on the streets they wanted
to kick me and Pochita out of the benches, but I reeked so much they wouldn't come near us! Over
time I found a shitty hut to stay at, that was a life saver."

Reze breathed into his neck, sending tingles down Denji's spine. "Can we talk about something
else? I don't wanna hear anymore about how awful your life was, it only reminds me of all the shit
I went through. Those days are behind us."

"Yeah, you're right. Too gloomy. So uhhh… how come you didn't get mad with all the stuff Power
said?"
"I'd be thrown into a nuthouse by now if I'd taken Power's words for granted all this time. If she
wants to fantasize about anyone touching her tits I say let her."

Reze heard a loud gulp. "Uhh.. well… about that… she wasn't… lying... exactly. I did touch her
tits and all. Thrice in fact. I mentioned it a few days ago too when we were talking but you skipped
over it."

Neither of them spoke for a while, their faces remaining neutral. Yet Denji could feel Reze's body
slightly stiffen up on top of his. "You mad?"

She sighed. "Not really, it's just… Power? Why her of all… beings? And how the hell did you
manage to do that without getting your hand bitten off?"

"She told me she'd let me if I saved her cat. I did, plus I saved her ass from Bat Devil, so…"

Reze hated the fact that every single one of Denji's sexual interactions with women had been based
on the prospect of being rewarded for his actions, but she decided not to press the matter any
further, no need to kill the mood. "Oh well, I guess I don't have the right to talk here, I did give you
the worst first kiss ever after all."

Denji squinted his eyes and wrinkled his nose. "That… wasn't my first kiss… and it wasn't my
worst one either."

Reze's eyes bulged in shock as she pressed her hands on Denji's chest and rose up to meet his eyes.
"You're fucking with me right?"

"I reeeeally don't wanna talk about it! It involves barf and I get sick even thinking of it!"

Judging from how pale his face turned, Reze figured the boy wasn't lying. She returned to her
previous position and buried her face on the crook of Deni's neck. "And I thought my life sucked…
at least tell me your first wasn't with Makima!"

Denji considered switching the conversation but decided Reze deserved to know the truth. Better
rip the bandaid now. "Nah it was… a friend I made here. She kicked the bucket 'fore you showed
up. I… almost lost my V card to her too but I wanted to… save it for later."

Reze breathed a sigh of relief. She never figured Denji for much of a romantic when she first met
him, but she couldn't deny that must have taken some restraint. "Yeah well, we're gonna have to
wait a little longer for that, I'm not doing anything with that nympho fiend around!"

"I second that! By the way, Power was talking shit when she said I can't get a boner, that works
like clockwork, I swear!"

Reze blushed, her voice feeble. "Yeah Denji, I know, I can feel it against my leg. You're uhh... not
exactly easy to miss…"

It was Denji's turn for his temperature to rise exponentially. He thought he might die of
embarrassment. Thankfully no one could see his face. "Ha uhm… still kinda new to this thing and
all… can't really help it…"

The conversation had to end quickly before their libido threatened to alter their plans. "Whatevs,
let's just… get some sleep. We got hell waiting for us come tomorrow."

Reze closed her eyes and let Denji's heartbeat lull her. Hopefully no rats this time. She was about to
drift off to sleep when Denji spoke.
"Yo Reze."

Reze blinked several times and yawned before replying. "Mmm what's wrong?"

She felt his grip on her tighten. "Sorry."

"There's no need to apologize Denji, you-"

"I meant sorry about the whole Makima thing."

The mention of the name fully woke Reze up. "What Makima thing?"

"When I pushed you saying you spoke to me 'bout her. I never meant to say you were lying, I
just… really thought you'd mentioned her before. Sorry my mind's fried."

Kishibe's eerie warning came to mind. The witch had done something to her, she could just feel it.
Denji was right. It never made sense for her to remember Kishibe's existence but not Makima's. No
way she wouldn't have been briefed about her. And who knew what fucked up plans she had in
store for Denji. Reze knew she couldn't tell anyone, not with Makima having ears everywhere. But
she decided she'd be caught dead before she'd let that freak get her claws on the boy.

"Do you have nightmares Denji?"

Denji was caught off guard by the abrupt change of subject but replied instantly. "Almost every
night." Just as Reze had anticipated.

"So do I… I always see a bunch of rats. They creep the fuck outta me. What do you see?"

"A door. I think. It's always the same dream but it's foggy as hell."

Reze rubbed her cheek on Denji's chest and began to draw circles around his chest with her slim
fingers. "Did you use to think of Makima before you went to bed?"

"Yeah…" Denji felt too relaxed to speak properly. "Before you came around... I couldn't think of
much else," he all but confessed.

If Makima was so interested in their conversations, she'd let that bitch know Denji wasn't hers to
play with anymore.

"Remember when you pulled that magic trick with the flower on me?"

Denji had no idea where Reze was going with this, but was more than intrigued. "'Course I do."

"It's my turn."

He was hanging on Reze's lips, her voice alone hypnotizing him and setting his lower abdoment on
fire.

"Think of this tonight, and I'll make our nightmares disappear!"

Before he knew it, a soft pair of lips met his own once more. None of his previous encounters with
the fair sex resembled anything like it. There was no doubt, no awkwardness on either part. It was
simply two souls acting on their long suppressed emotions, nothing less, nothing more.

At that moment, Denji forgot. Forgot about the assassins after him. About his past life. About his
worries and responsibilities. About Makima. The only thing on his mind was the image of the girl
 he was holding, smiling in her blushing form. Eventually their mouths seperated as sleepiness took
over.

"I love you Reze. Feel like I don't tell you enough."

"I love you too Denji. Sweet dreams."

Two bodies drifted off to the most peaceful sleep of their entire existence.

A third one's ears perked up.

Chapter End Notes

Happy New Year to all you wonderful people! We're officially in International
Assassins arc waters! As Denji x Asa has essentially become canon and as a result
many people have for some reason started hating on Reze, it's fair to say this has not
been the greatest week for Denreze fans. Hopefully this chapter can offer you some
sweet Denreze comfort. These chapters are getting longer and longer, there's just so
much to write! UUnfortunately I've got a shit ton on my plate this month so I doubt
next chapter will drop before February. Regardless, I'm overwhelmed with the support
the fic has received, your kind words mean the world to me! As always, enjoy!
 Loud Silences & Silent Explosions
Chapter Summary

Denji and Reze love silence. They can't get enough however when assassins are
lurking all around, Yoshida won't stop being weird and Aki keeps secrets from them.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

If there was one thing Denji and Reze loved almost as much as each other, it was sharing
comfortable silence.

Their entire lives thus far had been a never ending stream of orders, screams, cries, ear shattering
explosions and buzzing chainsaws to name but a few. Sounds were indications of peril, of duty, of
death. It was no wonder then, that the couple relished in silence, a lot more than anyone would
think a bunch of literal weapons would.

They didn't exchange a word when the mellow morning sunlight creeping through the curtain
awakened them from their shared slumber, opting instead to communicate solely through drowsy
morning smiles and snooze at the comfort of their bed. At least that was the plan until Power
kicked their door open and launched at them for reasons known only to the fiend herself.

They never spoke as they were putting on their work clothes after a particularly noisy breakfast,
nor as they were walking towards wherever the hell Aki was leading them to.

It was only natural that they wouldn't speak as they were enjoying their freshly purchased rice balls
by the lake. A cool breeze brushed their hair pleasantly as the clear sky was promising a beautiful
day ahead and a raft of ducks calmly paddled away in the water. To the blonde and dark purple
balls of hair that were silently munching down on their food while observing the scenery, and
occasionally each other, it was as close to heaven as they would dare to dream of.

Alas, it was Denji who finally spoke. "Think it's legal to catch 'n eat those birds over there?"

Reze took another bite out of her snack and turned to face the boy, curiosity evident in her emerald
green eyes. "Ever the romantic aren't you love?"

A third ball of hair, this time strawberry blonde that was situated to Denji's left, replied despite her
mouth being full. "If I were president I'd allow it," she declared, lazily digging into her remaining
rice ball.

"If you were president we'd be even more fucked than we already are!" Reze was well aware of
how fruitless berating Power was, but she couldn't help it. Something about messing with the
irritable fiend just felt right.

Power angrily bit down on her lower lip and furrowed her eyebrows, her grip on her rice ball
noticeable strengthening to the point where the food barely resembled a ball. "If I were president I
would additionally have you maimed you no good skank," she spat back.

Denji, upon realizing that he would inevitably have to intervene between the ladies once more, let
out an irritated sigh and grabbed Power by the shoulder. "Okay, c'mon Powy knock it off!"

The action only seemed to make Power more irritated as she pushed Denji's hand away with her
free arm. "Must you always blame me instead of your consort you impotent fool?"

Denji did not take kindly to the third accusation of impotence that morning, a fact he demonstrated
by snatching Power's hair and pulling hard, eliciting painful cries from his former partner. Needless
to say the fiend followed suit, digging her nails into Denji's scalp and attempting to rip his hair off.
Reze merely observed as she chewed her food, finding the ordeal much too entertaining to
interfere. "Call me limp dicked one more fucking time and I-"

Suddenly during their throw down, Power accidentally knocked Denji's rice ball out of his hand
and onto the floor. Denji, having paid for all three of their rice balls, was overwhelmed with the
urge to cry as his jaw dropped and he gave the horned woman one final powerful shove.

"Awwww shit," he declared, wasting no time to pick his meal up from the ground. As he went to
throw it in his mouth however, a foreign hand stopped him in his tracks.

The hand belonged to a tall stone faced man with slicked back blonde hair and glasses. Said man
was staring a hole into Denji, his face betraying his state of utter disgust. He wasn't the only new
face to have appeared.

"Un-be-lievable! Don't eat food that fell on the ground! The ground has millions of bacteria
invisible to the human eye, some of which might cause food poisoning for all we know! It's unsafe.
Give it here and I'll throw it away." Denji thought the man sounded like he was reading from an
encyclopedia. Reze unconsciously agreed.

Denji pushed the man's hand away and warned the intruder by displaying his sharp teeth. "Back
off dude, I bought this grub so it's mine to do whatever I want with!"

Power seemed to be on Denji's side, having already forgotten about their conflict from twenty
seconds ago. "'Tis but human nature to steal… such shameful creatures indeed."

Aki spoke for the first time since they met up with Angel, in no mood to argue over trivial matters.
"I'll pay you back later Denji, just throw that thing away."

"You should listen to them," added Angel, who was licking his usual morning ice cream.

Two more new faces advised Denji against eating the rice ball. "If you give yourself an upset
stomach, that could interfere with our ability to guard you," explained one of the two unfamiliar
men, a guy with short hair and a small but noticeable mole in the center of his forehead.

"You heard them," came the words from the second man, this one with hair that obscured most of
his vision. He was wearing a striking baby blue sports jacket in favor of the typical devil hunter
attire and Denji couldn't help but notice the guy maintained a creepy smile on his face as he spoke.

Reze took the silent route once more, knowing full well that Denji had made his decision the
moment he picked the rice ball up from the ground.

Almost on cue, her boyfriend proved her right as he practically inhaled the food and loudly gobbled
it up in record time. "I threw it away alright… in my belly," he yelled, leaving everyone else
around him with a defeated look on their face as he smugly rubbed his belly. Well, everyone except
for the guy with the creepy smile.

The additions to the squad hadn't gone unnoticed by Reze. "So, who the hell are you guys?" Great
minds think alike, thus Denji spoke as well. "Yeah, speak up rice ball thieves!"

As if they had been waiting for that very moment all morning, the three men went about
introducing themselves. Turns out they were a couple of Division 2 agents. The blonde one's name
was Kusakabe, his buddy was Tamaki, and the young guy with the eerie smile was Yoshida.

"They're experts in personal security."

"JESUS!" Reze latched onto Denji as Makima's unnecessarily sneaky appearance caught her off
guard. She figured she had been letting her guard down way too often as of late. And the redhead
was the last person she wanted to let her guard down near, or just see in general, the memory of
Kishibe's warning still fresh in her mind.

Makima ignored the girl and continued with her speech. "These three, Aki, Angel and three more
agents from Kyoto will be sticking close to you for a while," she announced, glancing straight at
Denji as she did. "There's more people working behind the scenes, but you don't need to think
about that."

Denji rested his arms behind his head and smiled. "Man… we're pretty damn big deals ain't we
Reze?"

The answer came from Kusakabe instead. "You don't know the half of it boy. Mr Subaru who's-"

Denji completely disregarded his superiors' long speech about a bunch of boring shit he didn't care
about and lightly nudged Reze’s side. "Wanna go get some coffee or sum after the dude stops
yapping his mouth?"

"Last I checked you still don't like coffee."

"Ah shit, you're right. Then how 'bout that burger joint we were eying up before stuff went to shit?"

"Sure, I doubt there's anyone here who wouldn't eat a burger."

"Unless they have like, a burger allergy."

"Weighing in all the possibilities I see! And I thought I was the spy of this relationship!"

The man's patience finally wore thin as he snapped his fingers in front of the couple. "Oh I'm sorry
you two, am I boring you with all the talk about how hard we've all been working specifically to
protect your butts?"

Denji lazily scratched his ass and yawned. "Yeah dude."

"Not ‘yeah dude’. You answer with 'yes sir' and 'no sir'! Understood?"

An equally disinterested Reze joined the conversation. "C'mon Denji just call him whatever he
wants and let's get this over with. Trust me, guys like him get off on being called sir and shit."

Kusakabe diverted his attention to the slim woman. "No swearing either! This goes for you too
lady! I have also been informed that the two of you are entangled in a romantic relationship. Care
to explain yourselves?"

The couple shared dumbfounded looks before curving their eyebrows. "Explain what," they asked
in total unison.

"This is unacceptable behavior coming from minors! You will refrain from any form of
unnecessary contact throughout the duration of this mission!"

Denji was not having any of that, he'd be damned if some fucking nerd threatened his relationship
in any way, shape or form. "Ay listen here jackass, your job is to protect us ‘n whatnot, not
cockblock us!"

Reze did not take kindly to the order as well. "Yeah, fuck off miss goody two shoes, that's not
happening!"

A vein faintly bulged out of the man's forehead as he clenched his fists, his face hot enough to fry
an egg on top of. "YES SIR! You reply to elders by saying that and that only! Both of you drop
down and give me 50 push-ups, pronto!"

"Why don't you drop down and lick my balls dude," yelled Denji as he stuck out his tongue.

"100 PUSH-UPS!"

"Ugh! I knew you looked like one of those push-ups guys! You sure put the dick in predictable
don't you?" Reze was quite frankly enjoying herself by that point.

"500 PUSH-UPS!"

Makima consoled a dejected Aki by lightly tapping on his shoulder and offering him the most
sympathetic smile she could muster. "Best of luck. You're going to need it."

Hunger soon overtook the group after several hours of constant bickering during their patrol of the
bustling streets of Tokyo. In truth, their public appearance served as nothing more than bait for the
assassins, but Makima had suggested Denji, Power and Reze needn't know about such details.

Unbeknownst to the redhead however, Reze had caught on to the scheme within minutes, but
deliberately refrained from informing her boyfriend.

"So, whaddya make of the new guys," she asked as they were sitting across each other, taking the
final bite out of their mostly consumed burgers. Power had finally left Denji's side, too preoccupied
with vomiting out the vegetables he stuffed down her throat. Yoshida and Angel were occupying
the table next to them, while the rest were too busy keeping watch for any suspicious activity.

Denji cracked his knuckles and took a loud sip from his soda. "Four eyes is annoying as shit. His
buddy is… whatever. Dunno what to make of that Yoshida guy."

"I'm glad you remember my name."

Denji's heart skipped a beat as he instinctively clenched his fists, ready to throw some hands. His
pupils reverted to normal only after he realized the voice belonged to Yoshida himself, now
standing right behind him.

"What is it with you people today? Tryna scare us to death?" Denji couldn't help but notice the
man had the same shit eating grin on his face from the moment they met.

"Apologies if I startled you. I was hoping the three of us would get along."

Reze addressed the dark haired boy for the first time since he arrived. "Not to sound like a bitch
and all but we don't need any more of Makima's cronies around us, why don't you join your
buddies?" She figured the usage of the word 'we' was appropriate, since Denji never bothered to
correct her.

Yoshida's smile only grew larger as he buried his hands in his pockets. "Oh, a big shot like Miss
Makima would never bother with small fry like me, today's the first time I ever saw her in person.
Plus, I hardly know these guys. Don't have too much in common with them, guess it's an age
difference thing."

The age part seemed to perk Denji's interest. "What age difference thing?"

"I'm still a high-school student. In fact I'm hoping this whole deal with you two doesn't draw out
for too long, I still have a lot of studying left for my finals," he explained as if it was the most
normal thing in the world.

Reze was overtaken by… rage, a fact her facial expressions did little to hide. The idiot was given a
shot at a normal life, a shot she and Denji would kill for, and they had. And instead of enjoying the
privilege of living that life, there he was, fighting to survive amongst them in the gutter. "Well,
that explains the outfit. It's nice that you think you'll be alive by then. Least you're optimistic. "

"We'll see. By the way, big fan of you Denji! Love the chainsaws, and you're just about the only
guy I've met who dislikes coffee as much as me."

Denji was about to thank the surprisingly likable dude, but his jaw fell to the ground as he failed to
recall ever disclosing that information to anyone but his girlfriend, Aki and Power.

"How the hell'd you know that dude?"

Yoshida responded lightning quick. "Lucky guess, you look the type. Maybe after all this is over
we could go for a movie, assuming your girlfriend let's us of course. You like movies? I'm
somewhat of a cinephile if I do say so myself!"

That sounded like much more than a lucky guess to an ever suspicious Reze. "You wouldn't
happen to be stalking Denji would you?" Her question was half comedic half dead serious.

The accusation did little to upset Yoshida, his eyes still strangely fixated on the blonde boy who
was now starting to feel really uncomfortable. "Denji can grow chainsaws out of his arms and you
can blow people up with a snap of your fingers, not to mention you're both practically immortal.
Doing such a thing would be suicide, no? I'm simply good at reading people, or so I’ve been told."

Denji and Reze shared yet another puzzled look, not sure what to make of the whole conversation.

"Anyways, don't want to set off on the wrong foot. Just wanted to let you know I'll have your back
in case shit goes south." With that, the man offered them a wink and sat back down across a
daydreaming Angel, not once breaking his smile.

Denji leaned in to Reze and cautiously whispered in her ear. "Is it me or was that really fucking
weird?"

"It's definitely not you. Dude almost has a hard on for you!"

"That guy ain't right in the head."

Reze sighed. "None of 'em a-"

Reze lost her train of thought and squinted her eyes as she noticed a tiny speck of dried out blood
on Denji's neck, just below his ear and almost obscured by his hair.
She carefully wiped the stain with her thumb. "How'd you get that?"

Denji looked just as surprised as her, completely oblivious to the source of his minor injury. "No
clue, prolly a mosquito bite or sum."

In all likelihood the boy was correct, no unknown figure had approached them and the injury was
too small to stem from any conventional weapon. But Reze knew better than to believe in
coincidences. She considered the possibility of Yoshida having to do anything with it, but quickly
remembered his hands were constantly hidden away in his pockets.

Before she had time to draw any conclusions, Aki addressed them. "Power ran outside, we should
get going too. Let's head out."

As the suited men and woman went through the entrance, Reze shot one final glance behind her to
inspect the scene. Everyone was wolfing down their burgers, conversing with their friends or
family as they did.

Everyone but a pair of green eyes that bore into her own.

The Hayakawa household residents returned to their home for a quick break, their shifts having
been extended for the days to come. And while Denji and Power were still oblivious as to why,
Reze certainly wasn’t.

The inhuman trio was lazily resting on the ground, staring at their feet and relishing the last few
peaceful minutes of their break before they would be inevitably forced to head outside once more.
On Denji's right side lay his girlfriend's purple haired head, nestled comfortably in the crook of his
neck, a place which had become her favorite resting spot as of late. On the left side, his best
friend's messy ball of hair slumped against his shoulder, her pointy horns poking his face as she
was petting her not-so-loyal feline companion between her legs. Perhaps it was their calming
presence that led the boy to a resounding conclusion.

"I see now," he started, his voice betraying how tired he was. "Those guys ain't protecting us.
They're using us as bait!"

Reze rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms, sounding equally tired. "Of course they are." Power
was still trying to grasp the situation. "Bait?"

Aki didn't bother deflecting the accusations. "You're right. We're using you guys as bait to draw the
assassins out."

Hearing the words come out of Aki's mouth upset his two roommates significantly more as they
both hawed before gritting their teeth. "You piece of shit," shouted Denji, while Power settled for
"You're what?" Reze had nothing to add.

"Don't hold it against me, you three are much harder to kill than us ordinary humans. It's so we can
go to Enoshima as soon as possible. Hell, if we get through this I'll try to convince Miss Makima to
let Reze come along as well."

Reze went pale as she started nervously waving her arms, her voice coming off as borderline
feeble. "Woah woah woah, hold that thought! Who the hell told you I wanna go on a trip with that
bitch? My ass is staying here, thank you very much!"

"In that case I'm staying too. Enoshima sounds cool and all, but if Reze won't be there that's a no
from me." Denji was less than thrilled with the announcement. Even though he didn't have his
sight set on Makima anymore, the boy still admired his boss and would love to spend more time
with her. But as his girlfriend rewarded his loyalty by offering him a soft peck on his right cheek,
he knew he'd made the right call.

Power wouldn't miss the opportunity to jump on the Makima hate train. "I demand that I stay
behind as well! Enoshima be damned!"

Aki let out yet another sigh. "Fine, you three can stay here and take a few days off from work
while I'll go to Enoshima with Makima. So it's a win for everyone."

That seemed to satisfy the couple of the house. Not so much the fiend however. "Hold on! No fair!
'Tis foul play!"

The other three shot Power an irritated look, bracing internally for whatever nonsense she'd spew
this time.

Power cocked her head and crossed her arms, not bothering to fix her jacket that was slowly falling
down her arm. "The three of you get rewards for your work, yet I remain empty handed! 'Tis
unacceptable!"

Aki figured Power's demand wasn't completely unreasonable, for a change. "Okay Power, then
what do you want?"

Power considered her options carefully before furrowing her eyebrows and curving her lips into a
devious smile that sent chills down the other's spines.

"I want to suck a human dry until they die," she exclaimed, emphasizing her point by sticking her
abnormally long tongue out.

Aki turned to face Denji, but before he had time to say anything, Reze, who noticed the man's look
towards her boyfriend, loudly intervened.

"Heeeell no! Nobody's sucking Denji dry on my watch!"

"She means she wants to suck his blood out, pervert! Or at least I hope that's what she meant."

Denji's jaw hit the floor for the second time within minutes. "Yo guys, can anyone clue me in, I'm
lost!"

He was promptly ignored by both Aki and Reze. "I don't care how or where she wants to suck him,
it's not happening!"

"It's gotta be either you or him, since last I checked I'm still a mortal. Just let her drink your blood
and then revive."

"Easy for you to say!"

Power angrily shook her head. "Nay! I shan't drink that wrenches blood! Revolting! I wish to suck
Denji's!"

"DON'T PHRASE IT LIKE THAT!"

"Do I get to have a say here?" The two women and Aki directed their attention towards Denji,
wordlessly giving him the stand.

"I sure as shit ain't keen on having my blood sucked out, but if Power promises to leave me 'n Reze
alone for a full day after she drinks it… I accept."

Power's eyes lit up as she excitedly jumped on top of Denji's shoulder, wrapping her legs around
his neck and pumping her fists up in the air. "Woohoo! 'Tis a deal!"

Although Reze was less than thrilled with the outcome, she was at least grateful for the prospect of
spending a day without Power or any of her bullshit. That was assuming they'd be alive to see the
light of that day of course. She decided to let Denji deal with the beaming fiend for a while as she
followed Aki outside on the balcony.

The dark haired man was far from happy to see her accompanying him. "Denji accepted it on his
own, nothing I can do about it."

Reze stood against the balcony wall and crossed her arms. "Were you planning on telling Denji
you've been using us as bait? I've known from the start, but I wanted to see if you'd at least have
the decency to tell him yourself."

Aki lit up a cigarette, wasting no time to place the filter on his lips as he took a generous drag.
"And if I wasn't? Gonna blow me up as well?"

Wrinkles appeared on Reze's forehead, though mostly obscured by her hair. Both due to Aki's reply
and to the smell of tobacco that invaded her nostrils despite them being outside. Why did all of her
superiors have to smoke? It wasn't like those assholes ever did the heavy lifting. "I'm considering
it."

The lack of noise that ensued proved to be unbearable. Turns out silence wasn't nearly as pleasant
when spending it with people you don't trust, and who certainly don't trust you. Reze made an
attempt to change the subject. "You met that Yoshida guy? Pretty weird case that one isn't he?"

"He looked normal enough to me."

"Well yeah, cause you weren't listening to him. Guy practically asked Denji out on a date!"

"It wouldn't be Denji's worst date."

That was the final straw, Aki was in for a piece of her mind. "You want me to apologize,
Hayakawa? Will that shut you the fuck up? I killed your friends cause they were in my way. If I
hadn't done it another assassin would, not like they were particularly skilled after all. Last I
checked no one forced you guys to join this… fucking cult! You knew the risks, and you made a
choice. A choice I never had! Not when the Soviets practically kidnapped me, and sure as hell not
when I joined this godforsaken squad!"

Aki sat down on his chair, the cigarette never leaving his hand and his face refusing to let any sign
of emotion slip. Reze knew how to recognize a trained poker face when she saw one. "So, is that
what you tell yourself at night? You didn't have a choice… So now you sleep like a baby, knowing
you've murdered all those people? Innocent people, with families left behind."

"Who the fuck are you to lecture me about conscience?"

"The guys whose friends you murdered."

"I doubt your hands are any cleaner than mine." Criticism Reze could stomach, but hypocrisy was
where she drew the line.

Aki groaned and flared his nostrils, finding the comparison repulsive. "We do not kill for the same
cause, Bomb."

"No. We don't. You're in some fucked up suicide mission to kill some devil you don't even stand a
chance against, while I was told to complete missions or have my limbs cut off! And now I'm
fighting for a normal life with the boy I love, to make up to him for all the things I did! But what
would you know about that... You're just another one of Makima's dogs, chasing after a bitch that
won't even look at you. Acting all high and mighty like you're this great action hero, pretending
everyone in your way is a bad guy you have to put down to achieve your noble goal. At the end of
the day, the only difference between you and me was the one holding the leash. Quite frankly…
you're a fucking hypocrite!"

Reze capped off her rant with a deep breath. She was expecting some smartass response, perhaps a
speech about how different the two of them were or some last ditch attempt from the man to justify
himself.

Instead ensued yet another uncomfortable silence, even more devastating than the one before,
interrupted only by the occasional late summer breeze. The air around them was getting way too
heavy, Reze knew she had to leave. She decided to make her point perfectly clear before she
headed back inside, just in case he didn't get the message.

"I do hate myself for the things I've done, and I know the end doesn't justify the means. But I don't
need any forgiveness from the likes of you. "

She prayed he would leave it at that as she made her way to the safety of the inside of the
apartment, where Denji was still desperately trying to get Power to climb off of him. Her prayers
wouldn't be answered however as Aki's deep voice stopped her in her tracks.

"I do know what it's like… to love someone."

His tone was… melancholic. Genuine. Sickeningly so. 'Just how deep has she clawed her way into
his mind… no, his soul!'

"Oh please, if you think your feelings for Makima are love then-"

"Not her." Another long drag. "There was another."

Reze's lips parted momentarily but she quickly closed them shut, not daring to interrupt him again.
"She was my partner, made it pretty clear she had feelings for me early on. For a long time I tried
to ignore them, focus on my goal… but I caved in. She'd try to make me quit again and again, and
while I always declined, in the back of my mind something was telling me to give this life up, start
anew with her, let the past go…"

Reze felt like a punch had connected with her liver. She deeply regretted hurting the man as much
as she had, but there was no point in looking back. At least he wasn't as much one of Makima's
cronies as she thought. However, that begged the question: "So why didn't you?"

"Cause that's not how things work." The mysery in his voice was almost tangible. "I wouldn't be
able to live with myself if I gave up on my revenge…"

'So that's what it was. Burden.' That, Reze could sympathize with. "Maybe you should have tried
living for her instead."

"Everything's so easy to you isn't it? I never wanted an apology from you, it wouldn't mean shit to
me anyways. But Denji… even if he's an insufferable brat… he's a good kid, and God knows he's
been through a lot. The way you two are headed, you'll end up like me and Himeno. You deserve
nothing less… but he doesn't."

Reze wasn't oblivious to how improbable her goals were. She knew better than anyone. But she'd
be damned if she wouldn't at least try. With unparalleled resolve, Reze clenched her fists and
locked eyes with the man in front of her.

"None of you value Denji's intelligence, but he's a lot smarter than he lets on. He and I both know
the situation we're in… That the life we dream of is borderline impossible. But you know what?
Long as we're together, we have to try. And so did you. I knew what would happen to me when I
came back. What would happen to us if we ran away. You're damn right I'm lucky to be alive right
now, and I know I don't deserve Denji after what I did to him. That's what keeps me up at night.
But if you weren't willing to do absolutely everything in your power to be with that woman…
Maybe revenge is the only thing you deserve after all."

Aki broke eye contact, deciding to inspect the floor, the butt of his cigarette still burning in his
hand, producing the same familiar odor. His skin glistened in the sun, his face betraying he was
deep in thought. He got up from his chair and took one final drag, before putting the stump out and
gazing at the unappealing buildings across his own.

The view was so much nicer back then, in moody, rainy days when a one eyed woman would defy
the rain and cold and happily smoke on that very same balcony, wearing nothing but one of his
shirt or her underwear.

Would the corpse of the Gun Devil ever bring that view back?

"Maybe it is."

After a short break, the squad regrouped outside of Aki's home, but before they could resume with
their extended patrol, Aki's cellphone rang.

Denji observed the device closely. "You had a cell all this time? Why don't I have one of those?"

"Shut up, it's for emergencies so this can't be good news." As soon as the call ended Aki rubbed his
temples, confirming his own suspicions.

"Motherfucker," he murmured.

Tamaki was the first to speak. "Bad news?"

"It was Makima. Kurose, Tendo and Subaru were ambushed on their way to Tokyo. Kurose is the
only survivor…"

For the first time that day, Yoshida dropped his smile. "They're here," he all but whispered.

Kusakabe took off his glasses and said a short prayer for his two fallen coworkers. "Should we
postpone this patrol, Hayakawa?"

"No such orders, we continue as planned." Even if Aki had received orders to fall back, he'd protest
them. Sooner or later, one of the assassins would have to take the bait.

Reze remained silent as they navigated the busy streets of Tokyo. The combination of the two
murders and the mysterious speck of blood that had appeared on Denji's neck smelt like imminent
danger. The perk of being an assassin herself was being well accustomed to their thought process.
She tried to think of possible ways she would have approached the situation were the roles reversed
and she was the one doing the hunting.

Her boyfriend on the other hand was preoccupied with more important matters, or at least
according to his judgment. "Shit," he exclaimed completely out of the blue, putting Reze on hyper
alert for a few seconds. "What's wrong? Notice anything suspicious?"

"I forgot to ask Aki about movie recommendations, again," he moaned, earning a light smack at
the back of his head.

"C'mon Denji, focus! We can worry about all that when this whole assassins thing blows out. You
promised me you'd wise up, didn't you?"

Denji slouched even more than usual with a downcast gaze. Being lectured usually irritated him,
but when it came to Reze and Makima their disapproval, even if minimal, was brutal. "Yeah," he
replied with a monotonous voice.

Reze was quick to notice his change of posture. She hated scolding Denji even in the slightest, but
with his attitude it was sometimes unavoidable. "Good, be on the lookout for any suspicious
figures or vehicles then. My gut tells me an assassin is near."

"But why would they kill these two? Ain't we their target?" Denji was finally putting his brain to
use, much to Reze's delight.

"Intercepting backup is not a bad start. Though allowing one of them to live is sloppy, especially
for an assassin of my caliber."

The two remained silent for a while, attempting to figure out the thought process behind the
assassinations. "What if…" Denji rubbed his chin, trying his best to come up with an explanation.
"What if they didn't? Maybe they let him live so he'd lead 'em straight to us. All they'd have to do
was track the guy and soon as he comes here boom, they're on our ass too!"

Reze felt immensely proud of the boy for making such a deduction even faster than her. She loved
his goofy and unhinged nature but his exceptional battle IQ proved how capable he truly was.
After all, he had outsmarted her before. It made her feel proud, confident in him and… horny?

Reze felt heat beginning to form in her lower abdomen and she bit down her lower lip. "God, you
are so fucking hot when you're smart," she whispered, shooting Denji a look that sent shivers down
his spine.

"I agree! That was an excellent theory Denji!"

It was the second time Yoshida had come close to giving the couple a heart attack.

"You HAVE to stop doing this shit dude!" Denji didn't bother keeping his voice down this time.
Neither did Reze. "Seriously, the fuck is your problem?"

Yoshida completely ignored their protest. "You really are as sharp as Captain Kishibe said you
were Denji! I'm impressed."

Reze had had enough of that guy sneaking up on them and overhearing their conversations. "And
you're as much of a fag as you look! I swear to God, next time you pull this shit you're getting
fried!"

"Yo, check out that piece of shit relic of a car!" Denji announced out of the blue, laughing and
pointing towards some old yellow Fiat 500 that had just made an illegal parking. Before she had
time to consider the possibility of it being a threat, the car's doors opened and three people of
varying heights got out, two of which the couple knew all too well.

"Hey! How are ya fellas?" Violence, Kobeni and a third man with a bandaged forehead and a scar
below his left eye that extended all the way to his nose approached the squad which stopped
moving upon spotting the trio. From their lack of a reaction and the unknown man's suit, Denji and
Reze assumed he was with Public Safety.

Aki came forth to greet them, his lips almost curling into a smile upon seeing the scarred man. "It's
been a while, Kurose. We heard what happened to Tendo and Subaru…"

Reze examined the man from top to bottom. Nothing seemed off about him, but if Denji's theory
was correct, the assassins would now be aware of their position, something that could mean
nothing but trouble. She considered questioning the man about how he survived, but her eyes fell
on a scene that had potential to cause more havoc than any trained killer could.

Though she wasn't within hearing range, being a seasoned lip reader Reze was able to make out the
conversation between Power and Kobeni.

Power was smiling as she spoke, a clear sign that something bad was going to happen. "This
constant walking has been most bothersome… This is perfect! You shall give me a ride!"

Although Reze couldn't quite make out the incomprehensible words forming on Kobeni's lips, the
ridiculous amount of sweat coming out of her pores was enough to convince Reze to intervene.

At first she began slowly walking towards the other two women who were heading for Kobeni's
car. She was unable to see what they were saying anymore as she was facing Power's back but
decided to pick up her pace when for some reason Kobeni had allowed Power to enter the driver's
seat.

She caught up to the pair just before Power had time to sit on the wheel, grabbing the fiend by the
arm and forcefully pulling her out.

"Oh no you don't! What the hell do you think you're doing Miss 'such Denji dry'?"

To say the gesture made Power angry would be an understatement. "You!" She roared as she
furrowed her eyebrows and grit her fangs. "First you purloin Denji's attention, you make for a
pathetic and frail partner and now you keep me from entering my OWN CAR? You have interfered
with my affairs for the last time, harlot! Die-"

Using almost her entire force, Reze's palm connected with Power's right cheek, the slap leaving a
bright red handprint behind and forcing the fiends eyes to tear up in pain. Kobeni's eyes were
moments from bursting out of her skull at the sight, her instincts begging her to get in the car and
drive as far away as possible from the two much taller, much more aggressive women.

"I don't have time for your bullshit today, got it? Get your ass back with the rest, now!"

Reze had expected an explosive reaction from the strawberry blonde, but much to her surprise
Power simply clenched her jaw and did as she was told.

Kobeni ran up to Reze and pressed her palms in front of her chest, crying tears of joy in the process.
"Oh sweet, merciful God, thank you so much! I was so afr-"

"Do you have a death wish Kobeni?" The gaze Reze shot towards the woman was even more
ferocious than the one she had given to Power.
The sweating defense mechanism was back in full motion. "N-n-no?"

"Then why would you ever let that thing enter, let alone drive your car? You have any idea how
high the chances of her running over some innocent civilian were?"

"I-I-She t-told me she had a l-license!"

"And she told me she has an IQ of a thousand and that she once won a Grammy! You give a
calculator to a retard she's gonna try to turn on a tv with it! Get your shit together! And park
somewhere else, she might try to break into your car to get back on me later for all we know."

"Y-yes ma'am," she shouted, tears falling out of her eyes as she hid inside her car and began
anxiously looking for her misplaced keys.

"What'd I miss," Reze asked upon returning. "Not much, new dude's weeping 'bout his buddies, I
think. Haven't really been paying attention."

Almost on que, Kurose approached Denji. "Blondie there, is he Chainsaw?" He asked no one in
particular.

Denji was no fan of being called blondie, especially not by guys. "Yeah, so what if I am," he asked,
opting for a snarky reply.

Kurose stopped in front of Denji and extended his hand towards him. "I'm a pro too, I won't hold
you back. Would you let me help you with this mission? Put 'er there!"

Denji looked at the hand standing patiently in front of him, disgust evident in his features. "Eww, I
don't wanna touch some dude's hand!"

"Denji!" Aki shot him a warning glance, letting him know he didn't have a choice at the matter.
Reluctantly, Denji let the man grab his hand and perform the most awkward handshake anyone in
the squad had ever witnessed. Kurose's eyes lit up as he then saw Reze standing next to the boy.

"And you must be Bomb. Charmed," he exclaimed as he took her hand into his and went to kiss it,
causing Reze to almost barf in her mouth.

Denji was furious, quickly pushing the man away and grabbing him by the collar, his free hand
forming into a punch. "You wanna catch these hands fucker?"

"Kurose!" Aki was quick to intervene. "The two of them are dating, don't get on their bad side.
Didn't they tell you about them?"

Kurose started trembling as Denji let go of his collar, nervously fixing his tie. "Ha… must have not
gotten the memo. Maybe they forgot to tell me. Sorry about that, just wanted to be nice is all."

'Didn't get the memo?' Now Aki was starting to get suspicious. Kurose was already acting slightly
out of character, a fact he contributed to the shock he had experienced. But there wasn't a single
person in Public Safety who didn't know about the two hybrids dating, it had been the main gossip
ever since Reze was forced to join. Plus, Makima had informed everyone assigned on the mission,
and there's no chance in hell Makima would ever forget to mention anything.

Reze too was suspicious, deciding it was a good time to test Denji's theory. "Violence, did anyone
check this guy for trackers?"

Before Violence could respond, Kurose interrupted them. "Trackers? The hell are you talking 'bout
 lady?"

Nervousness, light trembling, sweat, constant changes in his vocal tone, excessive fidgeting… all
signs Reze was trained to easily pick up on. Someone was either trying to hide something, or lying.
She put on her most serious face and menacingly approached the suspect.

She was inches away from his face, the man being only slightly taller than her. She had an idea.
Hybrids didn't have any enhanced smell, but he wouldn't know that. "I smell something… funny on
you," she said, pretending to loudly sniff him, squinting her eyes in the process.

Her bluff worked as the man began to shake violently, unable to form coherent words. She was so
close to discovering the truth.

That was until she felt her pin detach from her neck.

In a moment of utter shock, Reze pressed her fingers on the place where her pin once was, said pin
now in the index finger of a smug Power.

"Aha! At long last I have my revenge! Your precious pin is now-"

"POWER NOOOOO!"

Utilizing his exceptional reaction speed, Denji launched at Power and squeezed her in a tight hug,
covering her with his body in an attempt to protect her from what was about to come.

In less than a heartbeat, Reze's head exploded into tiny pieces. Angel instinctively used his wings
to protect Aki and the rest from the explosion. Due to the close proximity, Kurose's chest was
caught in the explosion. His body was launched directly into a wall head first, snapping his neck
and killing him instantaneously while the shock wave sent Denji and Power flying in the air, and
directly through the old Fiat's windshield, the two inhumans landing directly on top of an
unsuspecting Kobeni who was still looking for her keys.

Kobeni slowly opened her eyes. The driver's seat was broken due to the excessive weight and the
petite woman was now lying horizontally. Power was bleeding in the back seat while Denji, who
was laying on top of her with his shoe's sole pressing against her face, appeared to have severe
burns on his back and had blood dripping down his face, most likely from the impact with the
windshield.

The woman looked in horror as a groaning Denji held onto her tiny shoulders for leverage and
stood up, positioning himself on top of the shocked woman. He looked at her, his eyes betraying
his confusion.

"You got insurance shortie?"

Kobeni broke down in tears.

Chapter End Notes

Took me a while but here it is! Much like Fujimoto I'll try to keep to a biweekly
posting schedule cause I got a lot going on. Not sure if you guys noticed but Denji/Asa
fics surpassed Denji/Reze. Hope there's more Denreze fics to come! Anyways, chapter
came off as mostly comedic as we're progressing into the International Assassins arc,
with a considerable amount of angst sprinkled in too, can't keep you guys too happy.
I'm extremely grateful for all the love this fic has received, it's reached a point where I
really hope I don't screw things up in the future. Your comments are extremely
appreciated and as always, enjoy!

Edit: Posted a fic about Denji x Famine devil that will be a few chapters long. I don't
know why you would be interested in it, to be fair I don't know why I wrote it in the
first place, but if for some reason you are, check it out, first chapter came out better
than expected!

Edit 2: 10k hits, precisely two months after posting the fic. Thank you all for reading,
as well as your immense support from day one!
 Love's Gonna Get You Killed
Chapter Summary

Reze and Power are forced to put an end to their feud. Meanwhile, Denji and Reze are
in for a rude awakening.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

The Tokyo sky was pitch black when the door of the infamously loud Hayakawa apartment opened
wide, revealing five exhausted suited figures desperate to head inside, grab some fresh clothes, visit
the bathroom and hit the sack.

As soon as the group dragged themselves inside the apartment and kicked their shoes off, Aki and
his partner Angel removed their jackets and headed for the kitchen, while the teenage couple,
along with the strawberry blonde fiend, were quick to collapse face first on the couch.

The day had been… eventful. After Power had, according to her own account knowingly, killed the
first of the brothers by triggering Reze's transformation, chaos ensued. Aki and Angel were quick
to aid the badly injured Denji and Power, the devil being forced to offer some of his blood to heal
the duo, as well as calm a frantic Kobeni down with the help of Violence. Reze was promptly
hidden away in a nearby alleyway until she had transformed back to her human form so as to
conceal her identity. Lastly, Yoshida had somehow managed to locate and terminate the second
brother, a fact that only served to confirm Reze's suspicions about the boy, leaving only the third
one on the loose. Two assassins down wasn't necessarily a failure, but the way things had
transpired could be described as less than ideal. Which is precisely how Makima described the
situation when Aki had begrudgingly explained it to her over the phone.

Aki had to make sure things would play out differently next time. He had to ensure that Makima,
the woman he liked the most, wouldn't berate him again. After all, his performance on that mission
was crucial if he wanted to be included on the Gun Devil expedition. Not to mention, if his team
had at least a semblance of hope that maybe they'd manage to get through this whole ordeal in one
piece, things had to improve, fast.

Despite weariness evident in his voice, Aki's commanding nature was audible above all else as he
set his sight on Power. "Power, go to the bathroom and take a shower."

The mention of the dreaded word "shower" immediately snapped the fiend back to the world of the
living, as she jumped up from the couch and shot Aki a desperate look. "I have not been stained. A
bath shall not be necess-"

"Now Power!" Aki's loud and firm order conveyed the message that he wasn't joking around quite
convincingly, as Power quickly conceded defeat and reluctantly headed for the obnoxious
bathroom. As soon as the fiend was out of view, Aki directed his attention towards the two hybrids.

"Get up, I need a word with you two before you go to bed."

Aki could barely hear Denji's muffled reply, as the boy refused to take his head out of the pillow
while talking. "C'mon man, we've been walking all day, Reze had her head blown off and I went
through short chick's windshield and had my back burned to a crisp. Cut us some slack, you can
lecture us tomorrow."

Reze, who had at least bothered to stick her head up and meet Aki's gaze, decided to aid her
boyfriend in avoiding another one of their roommates' obnoxious lectures. "Plus, we killed two of
the brothers, and judging from their intellect the third one can't be too much of a threat. And no one
died, somehow. Mission's off to a good start if you ask me. Also, why is he here?" Reze's last
sentence was accompanied by her pointing towards Angel, who was eating some cereal on the
kitchen table, his barely open eyes indicating he could pass out and sleep on the bowl any minute.

Aki shook his head and crossed his arms. They were not getting off the hook that easy. "As things
stand I can't let Angel stay alone. The others will be outside patrolling the place all night, but if I
make him join them he'd be more of a liability than an asset in his current state. He'll take the
couch so you don't need to worry about him. What you do need to worry about is Power."

At the mention of the name, Denji finally stuck his face out of the pillow as well and shifted his
body so as to rest on his back rather than his belly. "What about 'er?"

Reze angrily nudged Denji's ribs. "C'mon Denji, don't ask stupid questions. She pulled my pin and
could have killed any of us! Or a random civilian! Aki's right, for once. We should pull her out of
the mission."

Aki squinted his eyes, quick to dismiss Reze's suggestion. "There's no we here, this whole
mission's very existence is your fault, might I remind you! We'll be damned if we'll take any orders
from you. But… you're not wrong. If I had reported the incident to Makima exactly the way it
happened, Power would be dead now. Killing the assassin was a sheer stroke of luck, and it's a
miracle her stupidity didn't cost any innocent lives."

Denji, now fully awake, stood upright on the couch, flashing a frown on his face before shouting.
"We are NOT killing Power!"

"Calm down Denji." Aki had anticipated such a reaction from his roommate and was quick to
avoid any misunderstandings. "I didn't mention Power's fuck up to Makima, so she's in the clear.
Truth is, I don't want Power to die either. The brothers were the least of our worries, much more
powerful assassins are on their way, and we're gonna need all the help we can get. But I also can't
risk the integrity of my team for her sake. Today we got off lucky. But tomorrow her actions could
cause a catastrophe. I don't need a ticking time bomb on my squad. One bomb's more than
enough."

Reze certainly wouldn't have had any objection to Power being terminated. Hell, if Denji weren't
her boyfriend she would have volunteered to kill the dumbfuck herself. But the fiend's closeness to
Denji was undeniable, and doing anything that would hurt the boy was out of the question. "So,
like I said, why don't we pull her out of the mission? She's an asset but I'm sure we can handle just
fine without her."

Aki let out another one of his signature exasperated sighs. "Pulling her out of the mission equals
killing her. Power either behaves, or dies. Much like you. So I need the two of you to talk to her,
tonight."

Denji and Reze, now both fully back to their senses and sitting upright on the couch, exchanged
concerned glances. Aki's plan was more of a suicide mission than anything else.

"What good has talking to Power ever done?" Reze had to use every ounce of willpower in her
body to refrain from scorching the fiend after she triggered her, very painful, transformation. The
last thing she wanted to do was talk to the woman.

"Power has been acting up ever since she met you," declared Aki, his eyes glued on the dark purple
haired beauty. "It's fair to say she's jealous of you for stealing away Denji's attention. So try to
befriend her. And Denji, maybe tell her you'll start spending a little more time with her as well."

"No way!" Denji's frowning form betrayed he was less than happy with the suggestion. "I don't
wanna spend less time with Reze so that Power can bite me and beat me up all she wants! And that
jealousy thing is stupid, me and Power have never been together that way, what's there to be
jealous of?"

"Power doesn't have to be in love with you to be jealous, Denji. She likes spending time with you,
that much is certain. It's only natural that she might get defensive when she sees you with another
girl."

Denji awkwardly scratched his head, the thought of Power being into him that much, even in a
platonic way, made his brain hurt and his heart pound. He had no intention of reducing his time
with Reze for anyone, but the thought of Power being sad in his absence made his heart sink for
some stupid reason.

"Fine," he announced as he finally caved in. Reze shot him a surprised look, but did nothing to
interrupt him. "We'll talk to her, but don't expect too much. You mind if we do this Reze? I know
you don't like Power but… I really don't want her to die."

Denji's borderline pleading tone was enough to melt Reze's inhuman heart. She offered him a
melancholic smile as she capped his face with her right hand and gave him a peck on the nose,
making the boy, and herself, blush a deep red. "You're lucky I love you too much to say no!"

Angel, who had just finished eating his cereal, interrupted the lovely scene as he entered the living
room. "That's very cute and all, but get to it already. It's past my bedtime."

Aki would have smacked the short devil on the head, if the action didn't mean the reduction of
months from his life span, months he absolutely did not have the comfort of losing. "Behave, or
you'll sleep on the balcony."

In the minutes to come, Angel collapsed face first on the couch, not even bothering to take his
clothes off, Aki retired to his room after cooking up a small snack, and of course smoking a
goodnight cigarette, and Power angrily ran off to her room as soon as she walked off the bathroom.

After discarding their mostly destroyed work attires and settling for some comfy night clothes,
Denji and Reze found themselves standing awkwardly in front of Power's door, trying to come up
with a way to approach the peculiar situation they had found themselves into.

"You sure I should tag along? I'm not trying to leave you on your own but I doubt she wants to see
me." Though Reze wouldn't admit it, she certainly wouldn't mind skipping the upcoming
conversation entirely, provided that the scene never escalated to anything more violent in the first
place.

Denji closed his eyes and shook his head disapprovingly. "Nope, we gotta get her to like you, and
we ain't gonna do that without you around."

Reze's slouched shoulders and manic foot tapping proved that she was less than thrilled with the
idea, but the lady knew she didn't have much of a choice. "Fine," she sighed, "but if she ever as
much as touches my pin again she's dead meat, you hear?"

"Yeah yeah, c'mon let's get this shit over with and go to bed."

Upon mutual agreement, Denji slowly pushed the door open, revealing Power laying on her bed,
wearing nothing but a teal t-shirt and some shorts. Meowy was firmly wrapped around her arms as
the fiend quietly mumbled incomprehensible nonsense to the cat. Power didn't react upon seeing
Denji enter her room, but her fight or flight mode was activated instantly as she laid eyes on the
woman accompanying her friend.

After letting out what could only be described as a hiss, Power stood on her knees and displayed
her teeth, her orbs fixated on the green eyed intruder. The fiend pulled Meowy close to her body,
most likely on instinct. "Are you here to make another attempt on my precious life? Vacate these
premises at once!"

Reze could already feel her head boiling with rage. "Attempt on your life? You're the one who
made me explode!"

"Deceiving witch! I would have never touched you had I known your true abhorrent nature!"

Denji had to admit, he'd made Reze red more often than not, but he could only dream of making
her that red!

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I'VE TOLD
YOU AT LEAST FIVE TIMES THAT I'M THE BOMB DEVIL AND SPECIFIED PRECISELY
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU PULLED MY PIN!"

To everyone's surprise, it was Angel who replied from across the apartment, his voice louder than
anyone thought possible. "SHUT THE FUCK UP! SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!"
Angel's surprising scream was enough to calm spirits and grind the hostilities to a temporary halt.
In fact, up until that point Reze was under the impression Angel didn't know any swear words to
begin with.

"Look," came Denji's intervention as he placed himself between the two women he so adored. "The
reason we're here Powy is because… we want to be your friends."

Power raised her chin and curved her eyebrow, bemused at Denji's odd request. "Friends? The
mighty Power does not befriend humans, or devils! Come back when you have turned into felines!
After all, Bomb is too busy fornicating with you and trying to murder me, is she not?"

Reze was about to respond to the accusations, but Denji covered her mouth with his hand before
she had time to speak her mind. "Ok, fine, Reze ain't your buddy, but I am right?"

Power gave the statement a bit of thought before replying. "'Tis true. Despite your infinite
shortcomings, you are the most tolerable human I have met."

Finally, Power had given them something to work with. "Nice! That's good! So, by that logic, isn't
a buddy of your buddy, your buddy too?"

Power blinked several times in a futile attempt to decrypt Denji's words. "I guess?"

"Awesome! So that means Reze is your buddy!"

"Nay!"
Denji leaned into Reze's ear and whispered. "Aight I gave it my best shot, your turn."

Reze face-palmed but reluctantly closed the distance between herself and the fiend, making sure to
avoid touching her bed so as not to overstep any unspoken boundaries. The beef between them had
to be settled as soon as possible… for the sake of her own and her boyfriend's wellbeing, and in
hopes that the damn migraines would go away.

"Listen Power, I'm not gonna sugarcoat this, we've been off to an awful start. Quite frankly, I think
you're repulsive…"

Denji gulped loudly, watching nervously as Power squinted her eyes more and more with Reze's
every word. "Okay Reze, maybe a lil' too straight forward."

"And you're disgusting, and you're so full of shit it's ridiculous, every second word to come out of
your mouth is a lie…"

By that point Denji was sweating profusely, anticipating Power to launch at them any second.

"And you stink to high heaven the vast majority of the time, and your IQ is the room temperature
of Petersburg."

Power was clenching her fists hard enough for her palms to bleed, a thick vein decorating her
forehead as she gritted her teeth hard enough to almost break them. Denji rubbed his temples in
defeat. "We're fucked," he murmured to himself.

"But… I owe you an apology."

Denji's eyes went wide open, a smile of hope plastered across his face. Maybe Reze was onto
something after all. Power was still visibly fuming, but against all odds decided to hear the woman
out before striking. She did fancy being apologized to after all. "Go on wench."

Reze chose to ignore the insult and moved along with her speech, eager to get over with it and at
long last get some much needed shuteye. "You and Denji were real close before I showed up, and I
ruined that for you. I know I'm not half as good of a partner as him, and I understand why you
would feel that way towards me. I would too in your shoes-"

"I am currently barefooted, you oaf!"

"I know dumbass, it's just a saying." Power's correction ruined Reze's train of thought. She had to
wrap things up, fast. "Look, bottom line is, I'm sorry alright? I never wanted to steal Denji from
you or anything like that. But Power, if we want to have any chance of surviving the days to come,
we have to work together! We got off lucky today, but if we keep trying to kill each other we're as
good as dead. So if you don't wanna be friends, that's fine. But let's at least agree not to kill each
other! If not for me or yourself, do it for your pal Denji!"

Power averted her gaze from Reze's eyes, choosing instead to study the contents of her sheets. Her
face betrayed little emotion and the pair was hanging on her next word to see if they had managed
to get through to the thick headed fiend. After a few seconds of silent contemplation, Power
opened her mouth.

"I shall not let you hurt Denji!"

Denji's and Reze's jaws simultaneously hit the floor. That was certainly not what either of them had
expected to hear, not even close. "Powy, what?" Denji's voice was feeble, almost desperate to
understand what his buddy had just declared.
"You claim to be fond of Denji, and you copulate with him regularly!" Both Denji and Reze
considered correcting that copulation part, but decided it'd be futile. "But the mighty Power sees
right through your deception! You are plotting something foul! You do not feel anything for Denji,
you are merely using him! Just like Makima! But I shall not allow you to hurt him! I shall not!"

Two things dawned on Reze at that moment. One: Power was only acting hostile towards her all
along because she thought she was protecting Denji. In hindsight it made perfect sense. Power was
completely indifferent towards Angel or Violence or Yoshida or any of the others. She was just
trying to protect her friend from someone who had already hurt him in the past. And two: She had
an epiphany, an idea of how to win the girl's favor, utilizing the one thing the two of them had in
common.

Denji was moved to tears upon learning how much Power truly cared for him behind her facade.
He cautiously approached her, intending to offer her a warm hug. "Powy… I never knew… But
don't worry! I tell ya, Reze's a good guy… or girl. Yeah, she hurt me in the past but, so did you
right? That shit don't matter! I know she loves me, and I sure as hell love her too! And I hate to see
the girls I care 'bout fight with each other all the time. Please Powy, hear me out on this one!"

Denji indirectly admitting that he cared for her stirred Power's insides in ways she'd never felt
before. Vulnerability was a look she would never allow anyone to see on her, but Denji… Denji
was an exception. It felt good, letting her guard down in front of someone for once. Yet the fiend
was still conflicted regarding her friend's betrothed. Until she spoke.

"Will you help us kill Makima?"

Both Denji and Power gaped at Reze, unable to believe the words that had come out of her mouth.
"Huh?"

"Makima. We want her dead, just as much as you. We didn't want to tell you until we were sure
you're not one of her cronies, but we're certain now. And we want you to join our alliance. But...
you won't tell Aki, or anyone! This'll be our little secret!"

Denji opened his mouth to protest, but Reze stepped on his toes, causing him to shriek in pain and
swallow his words.

Power's eyes lit up. "Do you speak the throuthe? Do you and Denji truly wish to slay the witch?"

Reze's lips curled into a smile. She'd struck gold. "We do. After we kill the assassins we'll wait for
the perfect opportunity to strike. Then, we'll all be free from Public Safety and we'll run off
wherever our heart desires! You might not like me, but I'm sure you like Makima a lot less."

Power smiled. And not a fake forced smile, but a genuine beautiful and somewhat mischievous one
that made her lips look soft and her teeth slightly less lethal. "'Tis decided," she announced as she
extended her hand towards Reze. "I shall be crowned the unanimous leader of our new secret
alliance until that dreaded Makima has been slain! But beware Bomb! Should you betray my trust
or hurt Denji in any way I deem excessive, you shall be dealt with accordingly!"

Reze gladly shook Power's hand, as Denji marveled at the sight of the two women he held in his
heart getting along for the first time in their lives. A memory he would no doubt keep deep within
him for years to come.

Soon after the pair exited the room, but despite the joyous mood, Denji's confusion was still
evident in his face. "Yo Reze, we ain't really killing Miss Makima are we?"
Reze giggled and gave Denji a playful shove. "No silly, it was just the only way to get me on her
good side. And thankfully, it worked." Reze was technically not lying. She didn't plan on killing
Makima. Yet. She had to learn more about the redheads' deeds. And if it was even possible to kill
her in the first place. "Though I must say… I wish I had a friend like that. I underestimated the little
freak. I see why you like her now… somewhat."

Denji's cheeks blushed slightly at the fresh memory of Power declaring she didn't want him to get
hurt again. No doubt the fiend had become a monumental figure in his life. Still, his heart belonged
to the woman he loved most, the one he was currently standing next to.

In a surprising turn of events, Reze suddenly found herself in Denji's arms, as he happily swooped
her off her feet and slowly carried her towards their bed.

"Ya know, I really thought today was gonna suck," Denji started as he felt Reze's body relax into
his arms. "But we offed two assassins, n' the woman I love made up with my best friend! So
maybe this day ain't half bad after all!"

Reze wrapped her arms around Denji's neck, allowing him to carry her wherever he wished as she
rested her head on top of Denji's shoulder. "You're forgetting the bit where my head blew up and
your back caught on fire while you flew through a car."

Denji let out a stupid giggle. "Oh well, shit happens! Long as I get to sleep with you every night,
it's aaaall worth it!"

Reze practically purred in satisfaction. "Mmm, carrying your girl to bed. Never knew you were so
sexual Denji!"

Before a blushing Denji had time to respond to his girl's tease, an exhausted Angel came out of the
bathroom, inspecting the scene of the two teens in front of him.

"Now I understand why Aki is depressed."

Day two of the mission had been surprisingly uneventful thus far. No suspicious individuals had
decided to make an appearance and there was no internal fighting, unlike last time. Denji, Reze and
Power were lazily following around their superiors, with Denji trying his best to avoid Yoshida in
the process. His luck was about to run out however.

"Hey guys," came Yoshida's calm greeting as he walked towards the trio, waving at them in the
process. Power chose to ignore the tall boy's presence while Denji and Reze sighed, wishing they
could turn invisible.

"What do you want?" Reze had slept better than most nights, but was always on edge during
missions, a product of her training. Be alert at all times and whatnot.

Yoshida and his stupid signature grin motioned for her to relax. "Take it easy, I'm just looking to
see if you're holding up alright. Slept on the wrong side of the bed?"

Denji was silently praying Yoshida wouldn't speak to him, while Reze tried her best to end the
conversation as quickly as it had started. "I slept just fine, it's just that I went to wake up Power and
in her sleep she kicked me in the liver. It still hurts!"

"I was not sleeping."

Reze chose to let Power's admission of guilt slide. "Anyways, that's all. We're fine, and not in the
mood to chat."

Yoshida leaned closer to the trio, making all three of them extremely uncomfortable. He spoke
before any of them had time to push him away. "That's good cause there's no time to chat.
Something's off. I think we're being tailed."

Finally, Yoshida had their attention. Denji impulsively turned around, but Reze was quick to pinch
his hand and bring his head back forwards. "Act discrete idiot!" Her voice registered just above a
whisper as she scolded her boyfriend. "Are you positive? I haven't noticed anyone following us,
and I'm no amateur when it comes to these sorts of things."

"4 o'clock. Check that one out. At first glance he looks like a normal person, but watch out for the
mouth… and the eyes. And the footsteps… they're systematic, too much so to be human."

Reze slowly turned her head just enough to spot the person Yoshida was warning them about. He
was right. The man looked innocent enough from a distance, but upon closer inspection his eyes
were dead, completely unmoving. His steps were perfect. And his mouth was… wrong. Someone,
or rather something, was indeed after them.

"We gotta get out of plain sight, we're sitting ducks here. They could hit us from anywhere." Reze's
brain was working overtime, as it always did when she switched to survival mode. Still, displaying
worry or any sort of emotion was out of the question. The enemy would strike the moment it
sensed any sign of weakness. She knew cause that's what she would have done.

"I'll inform the others, you come up with an excuse for us to head somewhere indoors." Somehow,
this was the first semi-normal interaction Denji and Reze had with the eerie high-schooler.

Denji took the initiative to lead the group away from the public eye. "Yo guys," he yelled, making
everyone on the team turn around and face him. "My belly's been rumbling for hours, let's go
someplace to stuff our mouths."

Aki, who had just been quietly briefed by Yoshida, decided to play along. "Very well. Let's grab
lunch in this department store."

As soon as the group had gone through the doors of the large store, those same inhuman steps
started getting closer, faster. The time for action had come.

Reze, Power and Denji were the last to enter the store, and to their surprise the first thing they
came across was Kusakabe kneeling in the center of a surprisingly intricate circle, motioning for
the three to quickly get behind him.

Denji had entered fight mode as well. "Should we transform?"

Reze shook her head. "No, we leave that as a last resort. Let's see what these assholes have in store
for us."

The door of the department store opened loudly, and in came, or rather sprinted, what could only
be described as doll-like humanoids, with their arms deformed into makeshift knives. Before the
monsters had time to attack however, Kusakabe, still kneeling in the circle, blew between his
fingers, the air coming out of his lungs turning the dolls to stone in an instant.

Denji and Power seemed satisfied with the result, while Reze still scouted the area for more
potential attackers. "Whoa, they turned to stone! Not gonna lie, that's pretty cool!"

Kusakabe and the rest of the squad were still on high alert. "Stay back unless you want to end up
like them. The Stone Devil is quite fickle."

Yoshida was the one who finally made the revelation Denji had been waiting for. "It's the Doll
Devil… if they touch you, even just your clothes, you'll turn into one of them.

"It's Santa." Never in a million years did Reze think that the word Santa would strike fear in her
heart, but one touch and you turn into a doll was too much of a risk.

Her death was never nearly enough to frighten her, but Denji's…

As Tamaki was explaining to a confused Angel how they had spotted the dolls, Reze tugged at
Denji's sleeve and interlaced the fingers of her left hand with his right, leaning close to him
sideways after making sure that no one was paying attention to them.

"Denji, even Makima was worried about Santa. We might be facing an unwinnable scenario here…
Maybe our best course of action is to let them buy us some time, and then pick the right moment
and make a break for it."

To Reze's surprise, Denji broke the contact between them, his frown indicating he was… angry?
"And what? Let Aki and Power die, or turn to fucking dolls? Even the other guys, they're annoying
as shit, but that don't mean I can just let them kick the bucket! I mean, even if we did run, where'd
we go? For all we know there could be thousands of those waiting outside!"

Reze understood how desperate her request made her sound, but anything that petrified Makima
was bound to be too much even for them to handle. "I don't want any of those people to die Denji,
and I know we're in deep shit if we run away. But if I have to choose between them and us, I
choose us! Me and you, against the world, remember?"

Denji grabbed onto Reze's shoulders, looking into her eyes, desperate to find a way to convince her
she was wrong. "Reze, I love you! More than anything in the world! But I can't let these people die
so we can run off to certain fucking death! When I started out I didn't care about 'em, if Aki and
Power had died in front of me I wouldn't have given much of a shit. But now… I couldn't live with
myself if something were to happen to them! And Makima, she trusts me, no us , to-"

Denji had unwillingly pushed the wrong button, and Reze exploded, metaphorically for once.
"FUCK MAKIMA! Stop grabbing onto that golden tit of hers! Makima wouldn't bat an eye if any
of us died, including you! I'm the one who's trying to protect you here, not her!"

"That's NOT fucking true!"

Their argument was cut short, as the entrance of the shop was completely demolished by a
terrifying horde of humanoid dolls charging towards the group. Their number was in the hundreds,
and suddenly any and all contingency plans went flying out the window.

"There's too many of them! Run to the second floor!" Amidst all the chaos Reze failed to pinpoint
the source of the voice, but whoever it was had just announced what was their last hope at survival.
Lightning fast, she firmly grabbed onto Denji's wrist and the two of them began running as fast as
they could up the stairs.

As they were running, Denji noticed Power had fallen a bit behind, with a few dolls approaching
dangerously close to her. "Power! Climb faster!"

Power was at her limit. "Nnyaaaah! Denjiii, the dolls are almost on me!" Her muffled cries for help
almost made Denji cry, as he turned around to see at least three of the dolls jump on Power and
attempt to stab her to death with their sharp arms.
Reze, who was far from oblivious of the situation, tried to pull Denji away. "Denji, it's over! They
touched her. We have to move!" But her warnings were futile as Denji violently yanked her hand
away from his, jumping towards the dolls while screaming Power's name on top of his lungs. Reze
would have to witness the man she loved turn into a puppet in front of her very eyes.

There was no time to think. Against her every instinct, Reze launched at the dolls that Denji and
Power were fighting tooth and nail, kneeing the first one as hard she could in the jaw and
roundhouse kicking two more dolls that were on their way to bite into Denji's flesh. But the three
of them were greatly outnumbered, and soon enough Reze could feel several humanoids jump on
her back, their weight crushing her and throwing her towards Denji and Power, as the trio painfully
fell down the stairs, a new horde of dolls jumping on top of them as they did.

'This is it.' In a moment of acceptance, Reze closed her eyes, waiting for the moment she'd be
turned into a freak, or an even bigger freak than the one she already was. Would it hurt? Probably.
Everything in life hurt. Or at least almost everything. As she gave a struggling Denji laying by her
side one last look, she couldn't help but feel bittersweet inside. His death was a monument to her
failure, but dying alongside the one she loved was a much better death than she'd ever anticipated
for herself.

But the sweet release of death wouldn't come, nor would her consciousness be striped away from
her, as a giant paw clawed through the inhuman bodies on top of them, finally allowing the three
unfortunate devil hunters to breathe again.

Denji's familiar voice was like music to her ears. "What the fuck? We're not dolls!"

Kusakabe shouted from the top of the stairs. "Only humans get turned into dolls! Fiends and…
whatever you two are must be immune."

The relief that washed over Reze was almost orgasmic. The dolls were not too much of a threat if
they couldn't turn her and Denji into one of them. It also meant that whoever was controlling them
couldn't be far off.

Power breathed a sigh of relief as well, as she wiped the excess sweat off her forehead. "Phew,
'twas a close one! I did not know topknot could still call the Fox Devil."

"That would be me," exclaimed a new suited figure. "Name's Nakamura, Division Two! That was a
little too close for comfort! Quick, head back up!"

Denji was the first to stand up, helping Reze and Power get up as well with each hand. Before they
had time to climb the stairs again however, a new mob of dolls could be heard closing the distance
between them. Reze thought quickly.

"You guys move! We'll meet you ahead!"

Aki was not a fan of the plan. "Our goal is to keep you safe, remember? Stay there, we're coming!"

"No! The three of us are almost impossible to kill now that we know we can't be turned. Santa
must be nearby! Go find him! We'll buy you some time and then come help you nail the bastard.
Sound good Denji?"

Despite the circumstances, Denji couldn't help but grin. Whatever cowardice had momentarily
taken over his beloved was now gone, leaving behind the real Reze. "Fuck yeah! Let's kick some
porcelain ass!"

Even Power was ecstatic in the heat of battle. "Worry not topknot, we shall handle this with style
and grace worthy of the name Power!"

Aki was on the verge of climbing down alone, before Angel pulled his sleeve. "Don't worry about
them, worry about us! Reze's right, our only chance is to find Santa before it's too late!"

Wordlessly, Aki was forced to agree with the improv plan as the dolls could be heard getting closer
by the second. He gave his roommates one final look. Denji tried his best to reassure the man by
making the peace sign with his left hand. Somehow, Aki was convinced the three assholes would
be alright.

As soon as the rest of the squad was out of sight, Power drew her favorite blood hammer from her
wrists, gripping it tightly in anticipation of the battle to come.

Denji and Reze exchanged smug looks. Their shirts were a bit dirty and Reze's bun had become
messier than usual, but they couldn't help but smile at each other in the face of danger. Just as the
first dolls began to appear in the distance, Denji pulled his cord out of his shirt while Reze placed
her index finger through the pin on her neck.

"Remember what I taught you, Denji. Apply yourself, use everything you got."

Denji put his own index finger through his cord. "I will! As for you, try to avoid getting wet."

"No promises with you around." He was making it too easy.

One final look sealed the deal. The pair was moments away from transforming together and
teaching these dolls a lesson in pain.

Mere seconds before triggering their transformations however, Reze caught a glimpse of
something moving past them in incredulous speed.

"Denji, hold!"

Denji had to stop his arm mid-air to make sure the cord hadn't been pulled. "What's wrong? C'mon,
they're coming and they're coming fast!"

"Did you see something run by us? I swear I caught a glimpse of something!"

Denji relinquished his cord, turning his head to offer Reze a confused look. "No? Powy, did you
notice anything like that?"

"Did not."

Reze trusted her eyesight too much to consider this a mistake on her part, but the dolls were fast
approaching. There was no time to waste. "Anyways, let's wrap this sh-"

In a split second, the body of every single doll approaching them was cut in two. Some of them
were sliced in the torso while others were decapitated. All of them however, suddenly lay dead on
the floor, their blood painting the entire hall a deep red.

The three of them were at a loss for words. "Did… did you do that?" Denji was looking around
like an idiot, his brain trying in vain to make sense of the situation.

"I wish I did! That thing I caught wind of, that must be responsible!"

Figuring there was no better explanation at hand, Denji, Reze and Power reluctantly agreed that
whatever had done such massive damage was not to be toyed with. After the initial shock wore off,
the trio tried climbing the stairs for the second time that day. Half way up, Denji noticed something
metallic shine on the floor. Picking it up, it proved to be a completely destroyed sword.

"This tell you anything," he asked, handing the weapon over to Reze. Her inspection of it proved
fruitless. "Not a thing," she admitted as she tossed the useless sword aside. "Let's move."

The moment they finally reached the second floor, muffled screams of pain could be heard from
the distance. Reverting back to fight mode, Denji, Reze and Power ran towards the source of the
sound, hoping for the best.

The sight they witnessed was, simply put, unexplainable. Nakamura's decapitated body lay dead on
the floor, his head having rolled up next to the bodies of Kusakabe and Tamaki, both of whom
were unconscious, at best. A little further away laid a knocked out Aki, with an equally
unconscious Angel next to him, a peculiar sword laying on the floor not far from Angel's tiny
frame. And dead center, the trio came across an unknown female figure standing on top of a dazed
Yoshida, her sword hanging just above the boy's head. It was the same sword they had found on
the stairs, only significantly less damaged.

The woman turned her attention away from Yoshida and fixated on the two hybrids, a barely
discernible smile forming on her face as her one brown eye fell on the boy's cord and the girl's pin.
She slowly and menacingly got up, sending cold shivers down Denji and Reze's spines. The
woman stood at almost 180 cm tall, making her even slightly taller than Denji. Her hair was cream
colored and tied in a ponytail, while a black eyepatch covered her right eye, much like in Himeno's
case. The woman wore a black tank top tucked into high-waist pants with a large brown belt to
hold them up. Her grip on her sword relaxed and it soon hit the ground as she studied the teenagers
standing across from her.

"Bingo."

Reze went pale. A woman as strong as that could only fit one description. "Denji, she's one of us.
She's crossbow. Kishibe warned me about her."

Quanxi lifted her eyebrow at the mention of her former partner. "Kishibe? Mmm, interesting."

Denji was done stalling and took to questioning the odd woman directly. "Is it true? You one of
us?"

Quanxi completely ignored the blonde and turned her attention towards Reze, eying her up from
head to toe. "Another one of Makima's dogs… not a good look for you Bomb."

Reze was having none of that. "Fuck off! I don't owe any explanations to anyone. Trust me, I have
my reasons."

"Tell you what. Chainsaw's heart is what I'm mostly after, and since you don't mind switching
sides, why don't you join me and my girls? We'll treat you real good hottie."

Denji could feel his blood boiling as his hands balled into fists and he bared his teeth in an attempt
to intimidate the assassin. "Ay, stop flirting with my girl you fucking lesbo!"

Reze was not too keen on the advances either, opting instead to lift her fists up at the woman.
"Why don't you go fuck yourself granny? I don't swing that way. And besides, I'm spoken for.
There's one of you and two of us, and crossbow doesn't sound nearly as intimidating as bomb and
chainsaw!"

Denji couldn't help but butt in, lifting his fists up as well in preparation for the duel to come and
mockingly sticking his tongue out. "Yeah, we're gonna murderize your ostrich lookin' ass!"

Quanxi cracked her neck and knuckles, offering the inhuman couple a disappointed look.

"What a waste."

Time to dance. Reze figured she was the best suited one to call their attack pattern. "Alright Denji,
you take her left! Power, hit her hard from the right!"

"Let's d- Wait," Denji blinked several times as he looked around to find someone missing. "Where
the fuck's Pow-?"

With incredible speed, Quanxi had already made her way towards Denji, her fist connecting with
his chin hard enough to send the boy flying in the air. Reze was quick to react, shooting back at
Quanxi with a few well thrown punches. The older woman deflected them with surprising ease and
initiated her counter attack. Reze was excellent at blocking as well, but weariness caught up to her
relatively fast, allowing Quanxi to connect an abnormally strong punch with Reze's stomach,
causing her to violently cough up blood and momentarily collapse on the floor.

Seeing his girlfriend in excruciating pain gave Denji the needed boost to overcome the pain and
attack Quanxi once more, this time opting to sneak up on her from behind. It was in vain, as using
her lightning fast reflexes, Quanxi caught on to the boy's scheme and she performed a backwards
kick, connecting her heel with his forehead and once again flooring the boy.

Reze's quick thinking led to her grabbing Angel's sword on her way back up and she used it to
attack the seasoned hybrid, but once again the woman was able to avoid her swings with relative
ease. After many failed attempts to stab her, Reze finally had a chance to land a hit as Denji
jumped from behind and tried to hold Quanxi in place for Reze to strike the blow. Quanxi however
proved to be much too strong for Denji. After breaking free from his hold through sheer force, she
kicked the sword away from Reze and headbutted Denji with the back of her head in one swift
move, causing his nose to bleed and for him to momentarily lose his senses. In his state of
dizziness, all Quanxi needed to knock him out was one final well placed kick, which she nailed,
sending Denji crashing face first on the floor, completely knocking his lights out.

Using all the speed she could muster, Reze moved quickly enough to manage to strike Quanxi as
she was done with Denji, managing to connect her fist with the woman's face, causing her to lose
her balance for the first time that day. Normally, a full force punch from Reze was enough to knock
people out cold, but Quanxi barely flinched. Reze managed to connect one final hit as she kicked
Quanxi on the knee, but the more experienced woman blocked Reze's incoming jabs with her arms
and kicks with her legs, and when she found a rare opening, landed a perfectly timed punch, nailing
Reze in the neck and incapacitating her, causing her to fall to her knees and struggle for air. From
then on, the battle had been decided. As Reze was gasping for air, with a swift knee to the face,
Reze's nose shattered just like her boyfriend's, and the poor girl went flying, landing on top of the
barely conscious body of her significant other.

Quanxi stood victorious above the rest of her kind and lightly rubbed the cheek that Reze had
managed to injure. "Two hits, not half bad Bomb. Though your boyfriend needs a lot of work."

Just like she had anticipated, Quanxi hadn't required her sword to defeat her two targets. She picked
up her discarded weapon and moved towards their bodies. "I'll rip out your heart first to get it over
with Bomb. Though I wish you'd just picked the right side."

"You would know about picking sides, wouldn't you Quanxi?"

 Before she ever turned around, Quanxi immediately recognized the hoarse voice talking to her. The
stench of cheep liquor was another dead giveaway. Her old partner was back.

And holding two of her beloved fiends at knifepoint no less.

The two gray haired acquaintances exchanged emotionless looks. Looks that held decade old
stories in them.

"Let's talk."

Chapter End Notes

Did you have to wait three weeks for this new chapter, only to see Power being extra
and Denji and Reze getting the ever living shit kicked out of them by the world's
favorite lesbian? Yes! Yes you did! If you ask me, getting beaten up by lesbians is the
epitome of couple goals. In all seriousness, sorry for the delay but the Denji x Fami fic
I wrote on a whim was just too damn fun to write and I couldn't concetrate on this
project for a few weeks. This chapter proves I suck at writing action but oh well.
Hopefully there won't be a three week wait for next chapter but with my lazy ass, who
knows. I just cannot thank you guys enough for your outstanding support. This fic
somehow stands at more than 12k hits and you guys LOVED the Famiden fic as well!
Your support truly pushes me to improve in ways you cannot fathom! So from the
bottom of my heart, THANK YOU! Comments are always greatly apprecaited, you
know how much I love to interact with all of you, and as always, enjoy!
 Hell Of A Life
Chapter Summary

Reze's mission to protect Denji becomes harder and harder, as the couple are forced to
face horrors beyond their comprehension.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

'Failure.' That was the one word repeated over and over again within Reze's mind, as her form lay
motionless on top of the equally battered body of the boy she'd sworn to protect.

Despite the slow rise of his chest against her back reassuring Reze that her beloved was still
breathing, she was on the verge of tears in her barely conscious state. Partly due to the searing pain
in her face and windpipe. Partly due to the near fatal blow her pride had received upon being
humiliated so effortlessly by some old hag. But mostly due to her sheer inability to abide by her
oath to protect the one she loved.

The blurry image of three people standing above her suddenly invaded her field of vision, and Reze
felt the tip of a shoe lightly kicking her in the ribs, forcing the exhausted hybrid to let out a silent
groan.

"You're still breathing, so get up. That goes for you too Power." The raspy voice accompanied by
the pungent smell of alcohol that assaulted her bleeding nostrils were enough to give away the
man's identity. Using every last ounce of strength still left in her body, Reze managed to lift her
back up and slide next to Denji, alleviating him from the pain of being crushed by her weight.
Finally getting a good look at him, she noticed a large bruise on his left cheek and a bloody, broken
nose that probably resembled her own. After a few violent coughs, Reze cupped her boyfriend's
face with both her hands, inspecting his injuries. "You okay baby?"

As soon as Denji's tired eyes met hers, his lips slowly curved into an earnest smile. "Is this
heaven?"

Reze couldn't help but reciprocate his smile. Even after being beaten to a pulp he was still
unapologetically cute. "Not quite I'm afraid. Come on, we gotta get up." Shaking the confusion
away, Denji grabbed onto Reze's arm as the two used each other for leverage to get back to their
feet.

Both of them were naturally surprised when they were greeted with the sight of Kishibe
headlocking two… women? The one wearing a burgundy miniskirt and a white sweater resembled
Power with her red horns and equally unkempt hair, though hers were dark red instead of
strawberry blonde. Her partner appeared to be shorter, wearing a black dress and boots and with a
weird creature masking as her ponytail. Both of the odd beings appeared to be completely
incapacitated in Kishibe's hold.

Denji's curiosity got the better of him. "What the hell are those?"

Completely ignoring Denji's question, Kishibe tossed the horned fiend towards the blonde,
motioning for Power, who had magically spawned seemingly out of thin air, to hold the second
fiend hostage, handing a knife to each of his apprentices. "Denji, Power. Restrain these two. If they
try anything, kill them. Reze, you stand behind Quanxi."

Denji and Power were quick to comply, but when Reze noticed a drop of blood dripping down to
her tie from her busted nose, she headed towards Denji. "Our noses are broken, I gotta put them in
place."

Kishibe shook his head as he took a seat across from the chair Quanxi was sitting at. "No time. Do
as I said. And stay quiet."

After closely inspecting the fiend he was forced to hold at knifepoint, Denji snapped his neck to
glance at Power, a furious expression on his face. "Where'd you run off to this time, you fuckin'
dumbass?"

Power squeezed her own hostage tighter and let out a crooked laugh. "I mastered the craft of
playing dead! I am certain you and your betrothed must be most impressed!"

Denji merely rolled his eyes and huffed, too familiar with the fiend to even attempt to berate her in
any way. It would be nothing but a colossal waste of energy.

Reze reluctantly ignored her bleeding nose and stood behind the eyepatched assassin as instructed,
her fists shaking with rage, desperate to settle the score with the woman that had humiliated her
and put her and Denji's lives at risk.

Quanxi turned to face her, a dim smile creeping onto her face as she focused on Reze's dried up
blood just above her upper lip. "You can come closer if you like. I won't bite."

Reze was about to go through the roof at the sound of the older woman taunting her. "Laugh while
you still can bitch, this isn't over between us!"

"Shut it." Time was of the essence, and Kishibe could not afford the luxury of wasting any of it.

The stage was set for Kishibe and Quanxi's long awaited reunion. "Where are the other two
fiends?" Quanxi appeared to be just as straightforward as the man she was facing.

"Got away, but Public Safety and the police have the entire area on lockdown. Just a matter of time
before they're caught."

Quanxi's reaction to the information was outside of Reze's field of vision, but the hybrid couldn't
help but notice that Kishibe would not let the woman out of his sight, even for a split second. Reze
was on high alert, especially after she had spotted Denji and Power dozing off as they were holding
the fiends hostage. She doubted either of them were paying any attention to the conversation,
something she'd have to discuss with Denji, provided they survived.

Kishibe resumed his speech, his face not showing a single identifiable emotion. "Once Public
Safety cleans up the dolls downstairs, I'm taking you in. Don't move a muscle until then."

Quanxi smirked. "This isn't the Mad Dog Kishibe I once knew. You've gotten crafty. I guess being
collared turned you into a real dog. She's even assigned you your own puppies."

Reze crossed her arms and gritted her teeth, contemplating an appropriately harsh response to being
compared to a puppy. The words got stuck in her throat however, as she caught a glimpse of
Kishibe pulling something out of his jacket, not once breaking eye contact with his old partner.
"I'm past 50 now. You mellow out at my age." The older man had put out a notepad on which he'd
already written but three words.

Makima

is

listening

Reze was left awestruck, instinctively turning towards Denji's direction to see if he was reading
Kishibe's message as well. He was not, and she figured the veteran must have planned on keeping
it that way. 'That's why he asked me to stand behind her, so I can watch too.' The man clearly knew
something about Makima that they didn't, and Reze vowed to do everything in her power to finally
discover just what the fuck was really up with their boss. For the time being though , she could do
nothing but keep her mouth shut and watch.

Though her body language hadn't changed, Quanxi must have been somewhat perplexed as well,
taking her time to formulate an appropriate response. "Devil hunters die before they reach old age,"
is what she settled with, apparently opting to play along.

"And live on a pension? Fuck that. Though I am getting pretty up there in age." Kishibe flipped the
page to reveal a second Makima-proof message.

Do what I

say and I'll

let you go

I can

guarantee

your safety

Reze was positively fuming at the idea of the white-haired hag being guaranteed safety of any
kind, or anything for that matter, but she trusted Kishibe's judgment. Not that she had much of a
choice.

"Nowadays, going senile in retirement scares me more than any devil."

"You won't go senile if you follow the times. Keep watching the news, reading newspapers.
Constantly experiencing new things."

Kishibe flipped through to the final page of his notebook, the one that caught Quanxi's and Reze's
attention the most.

Going to kill

Makima

Will tell you

everything
 if you'll

help

Nothing but silence ensued as both women stared intensely at Kishibe's incredulous claim. 'Just
what the hell has Makima done for him to be desperate enough to try and recruit both of us into
killing her? He probably would have recruited Denji by now too if the bitch hadn't dug her claws
so deep inside him already.'

Reze's head was beginning to ache at the mere implication that Kishibe needed both of them on his
side to have a chance at disposing of the redhead.

'What the hell is she?'

After what felt like eternity, Quanxi finally broke the silence, recounting a seemingly irrelevant
story about some news reporter. "The news… there's this reporter on the news who's my type… I
watched her program every day…"

Denji irritably rolled his eyes as Quanxi held her speech. "Jeez, we get it already, she's a lesbian!"
Normally the volatile boy would have snapped at the older woman, but he was smart enough to
read the room and keep his voice down. That, plus he'd only be setting himself up for another
beating.

"Pst, Denji." Power's voice was loud enough to be heard by Denji alone, well, him and the creepy
barely conscious fiend whose neck she was pressing her knife against.

"What?"

"What is a lesbian?"

Denji sighed, not in the mood to give Power sex ed at the moment, or ever. "I'll tell you when we
get home." He prayed she would have forgotten by then.

Denji remembered the situation he was in as Quanxi finally concluded her lengthy story. "The
secret to leading a happy life in this world is that ignorance is bliss… so be a good dog and keep
your collar on Kishibe. That is if you want a piece of advice from your former buddy."

The revelation that Quanxi used to be Kishibe's partner did not go unnoticed by an ever vigilant
Reze. The important part however was her refusal, which brought a smile to Reze's face. Even if
Quanxi did help them get rid of Makima, Reze would rather die than team up with the likes of her.
No, the only thing she wanted to do regarding the old assassin was shove her fist up her ass.
Metaphorically, of course.

Denji was as unimpressed as he was blissfully ignorant, letting out a loud yawn. "Did she have to
go through all this shit just to say that?"

Power nodded in agreement. "Indeed, the snow haired harlot is most bothersome, hopefully the
human with the firearm shoots her."

"The who?"

Before Denji had time to even consider turning his head around, Kishibe moved lightning fast to
kick him in the shoulder, moving Denji just enough so that the bullet intended for his skull would
only graze it instead, shattering the glass next to Kishibe.
Quanxi utilized the small window of opportunity she had been presented with to the fullest,
startling a confused Reze by tossing her the chair she was sitting at, causing her to go off balance.
Meanwhile, the fiend Denji was holding had broken loose from his hold and attacked him.

As Kishibe and Quanxi quickly engaged in combat, Reze jumped back up, her priority being to
ensure Denji's safety. She charged at the shooter who had seemingly appeared out of thin air as he
was shooting at one of Quanxi's fiends. The man was too late to react and Reze was able to connect
a devastating punch to his cheek, sending him flying near the window. Before she could finish him
off however, the horned Power look alike took a deep breath, unleashing a powerful fire attack on
her, one that Reze barely had time to dodge in time as she rolled out of the flame's path.

Denji, who was still immobilized by the fiend, desperately tried to warn his loved one. "REZE
YOU'RE ON FUCKING FIRE!"

Denji did not have to tell her twice, as the girl noticed her jacket sleeve had gone up in flames. The
sound of breaking glass in the background startled her momentarily, but she was too busy trying to
take her jacket off in time to investigate its source. She finally freed herself from it and tossed the
flaming suit jacket aside… accidentally landing it on top of the armed man and setting his hair
ablaze.

Utilizing the man's desperate confusion in his vain attempt to put out the fire atop his skull, Reze
ran towards him undetected, drop kicking him directly out of the broken window with a loud war
cry, presumably sending him to his death. At least the wind combined with his falling momentum
was bound to put out the fire.

Unfortunately, before Reze managed to aid Denji in his battle against the fire breathing fiend,
Quanxi launched at her from the table, landing awkwardly on top of her and pinning her wrists on
the cold tiles.

Reze refused to be beaten by the woman a second time, her hands desperately trying to reach for
her pin. Quanxi was much stronger however, holding Reze in place with ease, and causing her to
see red.

"Where's Kishibe?" The question was more of a spit at Quanxi's face than anything else.

"Went through the window. Don't worry, he survived. He always does."

"When I pull that pin you're as good as dead bitch! DEAD, YOU HEAR ME?" Reze's incandescent
screams did little to intimidate the older assassin. If anything, they only served to turn her on.

"You'd like that wouldn't you Bomb? I fucking love it when they put on a fight!"

Denji's irritated screams could be heard from the back. "FOR FUCK'S SAKE, WE GET IT,
YOU'RE A LESBIAN!"

Power suddenly decided to be useful for a change, strengthening her chokehold on the ponytailed
fiend and eliciting loud groans from her which caught everyone's attention. "Stay back or I'll kill
her!" Power dozed off for a moment before adding upon her request. "Oh yeah, and let Denji go!"

"Reze too goddamnit," complained Denji as his face was being pressed against the floor by the
aggressive fiend he once held hostage.

"Nay, you may kill the purple haired one if you so desire, but allow me and Denji to flee!"

Reze growled, not even bothering to pretend she was surprised. 'Kill Makima alliance my ass!'
Still restraining Reze, Quanxi turned her attention towards the strawberry blonde fiend, putting on
a surprisingly sweet voice. "Could you let the girl go for me, sweetheart? I don't want to have to
fight you."

Denji was at his limit. "Holy fuck, you're an even bigger whore than I was 'fore I met Reze!"

Out of nowhere, a gigantic shark head emerged from the floor, knocking the horned fiend over and
allowing Denji to properly breathe. Beam had finally announced his late arrival. "Don't touch Lord
Chainsaw! You're filthy!"

Denji was quick to get to his feet and move as far away from the fire breather as possible. "These
bitches are fucking nuts Beam! We gotta get Reze and run for it!"

Beam had no intention of stalling for the likes of Reze. "No Lord Chainsaw! We must move now!
Bomb bad!"

"Enough of this shit!" As Quanxi had at long last let her guard down upon Beam's appearance,
Reze used all her strength to free her wrists from Quanxi's hold, connecting a devastating uppercut
with the woman's chin, startling the assassin and enabling her to finally escape the woman's fangs.

Quanxi rubbed her aching chin, staring daggers into Reze as the girl united with Denji and the
shark. "Alright, playtime's over." Shooting up from the ground she menacingly approached the
trio, her light frown and slanted eyes indicating she was not intending on pulling punches anymore.

Before she could reach them however, Yoshida, who had apparently regained consciousness,
moved in front of them, blocking the tall woman's path.

Reze motioned for him to step aside. "Yoshida, take Denji and run. I have a score to settle with that
nympho."

Yoshida refused to even face Reze, merely shaking his head in refusal. "As do I. Denji is safer in
your hands. I'll deal with her."

Reze had to admire Yoshida's courage. Or sheer stupidity. Fine line between those two. "Alright
Denji, time to run! Hopefully octopus boy can buy us enough time before he dies!"

Thus the chainsaw, the bomb and the shark scurried away towards the empty shops of the cursed
department store.

Reze loved having a plan.

Plans made her miserable life a lot simpler, and if one were to ever fail, she would always make
sure to have at least two back up plans ready to be put in motion at any given moment. Her
impeccable planning was the reason she was so good at her job, and more importantly, the reason
she was still alive.

Reze despised not having a plan.

The trio of misfits could do nothing but run through the multitude of stores, dodging the waves of
mutilated doll bodies lying motionless on the ground. If her lack of a plan wasn't enough of a
nuisance, Beam certainly wasn't helping with his paranoid screaming.

"Hear me Lord Chainsaw! The bomb! She's evil! We must get rid of her!"
Denji was not having any of it. "Reze stays with us whether you like it or not, so shut up and
move!"

Reze ignored the shark's demands and addressed Denji for the first time since they escaped
Quanxi, panting in between sentences. "Denji, what do we do? The dolls won't stop coming unless
we find Santa! And Quanxi is probably already on our tail!"

Denji bit his lip as he was running, desperately trying to organize his clouded thoughts and come
up with a solution. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.

"I'm working on it," he shouted, turning his head to make sure his two companions were still
following him as he ran inside a clothing store. "Think we should bring out the big guns?"

Beam was quick to respond, despite the question not being directed towards him. "No! Save your
blood Lord Chainsaw!"

Reze shook her head, surprised to hear anything of value coming out of Beam's mouth for a
change. "Shark boy's right, we've already lost a lot of blood. We best save it for Santa or Quanx-"

"Gyaugh!" All of a sudden Beam tripped, clumsily falling on the floor and dragging Reze down
with him as he fell, her groans of pain alerting Denji to slam on the brakes and head towards his
injured girlfriend.

"Beam, you retard! C'mon, watch your step!"

Reze, who was growing more irritated by the second, violently shoved the heavy shark away from
her body as she slowly got up from the ground, the fiend following suit. "Should have killed this
stupid animal when I had the chance!" At least the shark had offered the trio a moment to catch
their breath after all that frantic running.

"You okay Rez- OUCH!" On his way towards Reze and Beam, Denji suddenly felt something
sharp sting the bottom of his left foot. Looking down at his shoes, he realized he'd stepped on a
large nail. "Yikes! Where the hell'd that come from?"

"Careful Lord Chainsaw!"

Reze was up and running again, immediately rushing towards the injured boy along with his shark
faced companion. "What's wrong Denji? Are you hurt?"

"Stepped on a nail. No biggie, I've been through worse."

Reze knew all too well how much pain Denji had endured in the last few weeks alone. She had a
sizable part in it after all, a fact she would rather not overanalyze at the moment. "Can you run?"

Denji put on a smug grin. "Heh, I can run with chainsaws bustin' outta my feet, you think a lil nail's
gonna stop me?"

On the one hand, Denji's statement was most reassuring to Reze, who couldn't help but smile at the
sight of her loved one being peppy and… mostly uninjured. On the other, while Denji had grown a
few centimeters since she'd first met him, Reze certainly didn't remember the boy being that tall!
Nor did she ever remember him… floating?

Reze's smile disappeared as soon as it had popped up on her face, her mouth going agape as she
witnessed the unbelievable sight of Denji slowly being lifted up in the air by some sort of invisible
force. They truly could not catch a break!
Denji was not oblivious to the unexplainable phenomenon either. "Whoa, what's goin' on?" His
worried tone indicated he was just as surprised as his two companions.

"Amazing… you can float Lord Chainsaw!" Beam did not seem as concerned as Reze. The latter
however was beginning to get extremely worried. Spotting cold sweat running down Denji's
petrified face was such an uncanny sight for the woman, her own desperation threatening to get to
her.

"How… Denji, can you get down? I… I don't know how to stop this!" Sweat was beginning to
form on her forehead as well, her tie suddenly feeling a lot tighter around her neck than it did just a
moment ago.

There was nothing Reze could do other than gawk in horror as Denji's arms spread sideways, his
body moving into a crucifix position. "Ah! I… I can't… move it! Can't move my body! Run Reze,
run before it gets you too!"

Before Reze had time to bark at Denji for even suggesting something so stupid, horrid screams
invaded her ears as a terrifying skeleton-like creature had suddenly been summoned behind Denji,
sinking its teeth deep inside his flesh, his warm blood spilling all over the place, painting Reze red
from top to bottom.

Reze's arms reached around the back of her head, desperately pulling her hair as tears started
running down her cheeks, mixing in with the fresh blood she was covered in. Too much. His
screams, his blood all over her, her utter inability to help in any way. She could do nothing, nothing
but crumble down to her knees and release, desperately looking for a way to stop the massacre.

"Shark, we have to do something," she cried at the equally stunned fiend, Denji's horrifying
screams perpetually torturing her mind. She figured she couldn't have looked more pathetic if she
tried, on her knees, weeping like a pathetic little girl, too useless to save the one person she couldn't
afford to lose. "Please, we have to do something! Any-"

Before she had time to finish her sentence, Reze felt someone's hand connect with the back of her
neck, the powerful rabbit chop hitting all the right nerves, immediately incapacitating her, causing
her to lose almost all motor function and most of her senses as she collapsed face first on the cold
ground.

Reze's eyes were still functioning as her consciousness was slowly beginning to fade. She could
discern Denji's corpse resting in a pool of his own blood. Beam was crawling towards his 'Lord'
when an unrecognizable figure kicked the shark in the face, knocking him out cold. The unknown
man then grabbed hold of Denji's lifeless body when a woman appeared, speaking to him in a
foreign tongue.

If Reze allowed herself to faint, Denji would die. For good. She could not allow that to happen.
She would not allow that to happen. Ignoring the excruciating pain and the tears obstructing her
vision, Reze gathered all her strength to stealthily move her right hand towards her pin, which had
been painted red from Denji's blood. Her finger trembled as she wrapped it around her pin,
desperately trying to apply enough force to pull it.

She gritted her teeth in frustration, praying the two enemies wouldn't catch wind of her movement.
She couldn't make out what they were saying or what they looked like in her dazed state. Suddenly,
out of nowhere, the woman touched the man's chest, causing him to let out a bone chilling cry.
When the screaming ceased, the man stood completely motionless.

Reze didn't have the slightest idea of what was going on, but it was of minimal importance. All that
mattered was pulling the pin before her body gave up on her. Time was running out, her vision
becoming more and more blurry, as moving her limbs became a near impossible task. Reze put
everything she had into pulling the pin…

But it wasn't enough. Paralysis took over her as her hand unceremoniously fell on the floor. Her
limbs would not obey her mind, and any dreams of saving Denji, keeping her promise… they all
but faded away in her final moments.

She had failed. Time and time again she had failed him. Her tears were the only apology she could
offer him as Reze began to give into the deathly drowsiness.

Before her sense of sight abandoned her however, the eerie woman approached her, kneeling
beside her. Familiar bright green orbs stared into her own, a wicked grin plastered across the
woman's face. Against all odds, the stranger wrapped her slim finger around Reze's pin.

"You appear to be distressed. Here, let me help you with that."

Just like that, she pulled Reze's pin, moments before the Soviet succumbed to her injury. The
woman utilized the short window of time before Reze's neck would explode to vacate the room,
uttering one final word of advice prior to her departure.

"Human or devil, it won't make any difference when it finds you."

Reze's head exploded into pieces.

Milliseconds before it did however, Reze could swear her vision was engulfed by pure, unmitigated
darkness.

Reze's head was feeling noticeably heavier than before as her senses returned on her. A long apron
had materialized over her white shirt and black tie and Reze extended her arms, only to find bomb
fuses covering them. For some reason, the uncanny woman had helped her transform. Then again,
the fuses only covered her arms up to her elbows, proof that she could use some extra blood. But
that was not of any importance at the moment. No, she had to heal Denji as soon as possible and
then use one of the doors in the sky to-

If Reze's hybrid form could blink she would have. Snapping out of the initial confusion, Reze
looked around to find herself, Denji's corpse and an incapacitated Beam laying atop a humongous
open grass field, a seemingly infinite variety of doors decorating the sky. Either someone had used
chemicals on them, or they were fucked.

The Bomb rushed towards Denji, taking his unmoving form into her hands and pulling the cord in
the middle of his chest, reaminating his lifeless body. Half a chainsaw violently shot out of the
blonde's head, causing him to shoot forward with a blood curdling scream.

"OWWWWW! Arrrgh God that hurts like a motherfucker!" Denji's head chainsaw had barely gone
out, his arm chainsaws still nowhere to be seen. His transformation was stuck in an awkward, and
most painful, middle part due to the enormous amount of blood he'd lost. Denji fell back on the
grass, groaning as his arms desperately searched for something to hold on to. That something
turned out to be Reze's shirt.

Disregarding her partner's groans and her own inhuman form, Reze pulled Denji into an emotion-
filled hug, pressing her body against his and softly placing the explosive one might call a head on
his shoulder. "Don't you fucking scare me like that ever again!" The sheer outpour of emotions in
her voice broke Denji's heart, who figured the girl would probably be shedding tears if she
physically could.

The sight of Reze in her devil form was still unsettling to him, especially as the memories of their
duel inevitably rushed back to his mind. Despite that, Denji pushed the painful memories aside,
eager to return his girlfriend's loving embrace. "Don't worry 'bout me, I'm too dumb to die! I'm so
fucking glad you're okay!" Even in moments like those, he somehow knew just the right thing to
say to make her heart melt. Disregarding the fact that he had half a chainsaw sticking out of his
head, hearing Denji's voice again made Reze smile. Inwardly, of course.

Unfortunately for Denji, as comforting as the hug was, it did little to alleviate the excruciating pain
in his head. "Gngh… gahd damn this shit hurts! Where… where the hell are we?"

Reze inspected the otherworldly scenery once more, coming to a profound conclusion. "I don't
have… the slightest fucking idea."

"Well that sucks, cause neither do we."

Both of them turned towards the source of the voice to find an… interesting group of faces heading
towards them. Aki and Quanxi lead the line, her two fiends following them closely alongside
Power, Angel, Kusakabe and Tamaki. Humans and fiends alike were looking around in sheer
confusion, while Angel stared off into the distance, sweating profusely as his eyes went wide in
sheer horror.

Aki was the first to address the trio. "What the hell happened to you three? And who's that?" His
question was accompanied by him pointing his index finger towards the unknown man who stood
completely motionless next to Beam.

Reze carefully placed a still groaning Denji back on the ground and got up, standing much taller
than she normally did in her human form. "We were running from that bitch over there." Reze
didn't need to point towards Quanxi to let Aki know who she was referring to. "On our way Denji
stepped on a nail, and all of a sudden I see him being lifted up into the air and some skeleton
looking devil biting him 'till he was dead."

"That explains why he isn't fully turning into Chainsaw Man… must have lost too much blood."
Quanxi's observation was correct, but also useless when it came to explaining… anything.

Aki's brow shot up and he rubbed his head, obviously deep in thought. "That sounds a hell of a lot
like the Curse Devil… I'm guessing the ginger is the one responsible."

The Bomb Devil shrugged. "I don't know. He knocked me out when I wasn't looking so he can't be
too friendly. But before I passed out I saw some woman touch him and… he just stopped moving,
talking… functioning in general! He's been like that since. She's the one who pulled my pin too, not
me."

Try as he may, for the life of him Aki could not make even the slightest sense of the situation.
Tamaki intervened. "Any idea of who that woman was? Or why she would help you?"

"None, but I'm sure I saw her yesterday at the burger place. I think I heard her mumble something
about it not mattering whether I was a devil or not… I'm not sure. Look, I don't know what this
place is or how we got here, but we gotta get the fuck out, NOW!"

A new, familiarly timid voice popped out of nowhere as Kobeni and an exhausted Violence
approached the group. "Ha-Hayakawa's group! Y-you have to h-help! Violence is ill… or so-
something like that! He's been like this ever since we came… h-here!" Kobeni was true to her
words as almost on cue Violence collapsed on the floor, the rest of the fiends following suit.

The humans of the group marveled in awe at the sight of all five fiends crumbling to their knees,
collectively shouting and screaming at the top of their lungs.

Even Quanxi was mildly disturbed by the sight, and sound. "Alright, temporary truce until we
figure out what's wrong with the fiends."

Aki, Kusakabe and Tamaki nodded in agreement, and while Reze was reluctant at first, she soon
followed suit. Her personal vendetta against the eyepatched woman suddenly seemed insignificant
at the face of whatever the hell they were up against.

Kobeni sat on her knees to caress a mumbling Violence, and Reze considered doing the same to a
terrified Power, but she simply couldn't get herself to leave Denji's side. They needed a way out,
and fast. Their final hope of making any sense of things lay in the small hands of Angel, who stood
almost as motionless as Tolka.

Aki's patience was starting to wear thin. "Angel," he shouted in an attempt to snap the devil back to
reality. "Do you know what this place is? We need a plan, now!"

When Angel finally opened his mouth, the words could barely escape his lips. He sounded
desperate, defeated, like a man heading towards certain death. "No plan that can save us. We're
done for… this is hell… it's hell's scent."

As much as they were desperate to contest Angel's claim, it was the only semi-logical explanation
they'd had thus far. Kobeni broke down in tears, refusing to leave Violence's side. Aki, Tamaki and
Kusakabe exchanged worried glances. Quanxi approached the ponytailed fiend in an attempt to call
her down and prevent her from killing herself. And Reze kneeled next to Denji.

"Ngah, ahhh this is… hell? Ah... how do we get outta here?" Someone not as experienced with the
unpleasant sensation of pain as Denji was would have probably passed out by then.

"I don't know, but we're leaving one way or the other. I'm gonna get you out of here or die trying,
you hear me?" Reze's logical thinking had gone out the window hours ago. Nothing made sense
anymore. Logic failed her. Plans had failed her. Her own mind had failed her. It was pure survival.
And she would use any means necessary to make sure the two of them survived.

Her new priority became helping Denji recover. "Aki, have someone spare Denji some blood. I'm
already weak as is, if I use up more of mine I'll be useless."

The ponytailed man nodded in agreement. "I'll do it." Aki tossed his jacket and rolled his sleeve
up, positioning his sword above his left arm with his right. Before he could make a cut however,
Quanxi's fiend snapped.

"We're being watched… w-we're being watched by a very dangerous devil! A devil with the name
of a primal fear! One far more dangerous than some Gun Devil! One that's transcended, not once
having experienced death! As s-soon as we draw it's hostility we'll all die a horrible horrible
death!"

Reze was growing more and more hopeless by the second. They were decimated physically and
psychologically, had somehow been transported to hell… and on top of all that, a primal fucking
fear was after them? It was too much to comprehend … just too fucking much.

"Denji…" Reze's voice was trembling, and so was her body as she embraced her darling once more
in an even tighter hug, one that stemmed from pure desperation. It pained her to speak the dreaded
words to him, more than anything in the world. But he deserved to know the truth of their situation.
"I… think this might be the end for me."

Denji refused to accept the Bomb's words, his desperate face speaking volumes. He pulled back,
careful not to hit Reze with his chainsaw and cupped the sides of the bomb's cheeks. He tried to
meet her eyes but wasn't exactly sure where to look. "No no no don't you say that! We're gonna get
through this! We always do, don't we? Even when shit hits the fan! We always survive! You're not
dying on my wat- agh fuuck it hurts!"

His words did little to comfort his beloved. Reze leaned in closer, whispering into his ear. "I'll buy
you as much time as I can. Find a way to get out of here as soon as-"

"NO!" Denji broke the hug, pushing the Bomb Devil away. "You think I want you to kill yourself
over my dumbass? Fuck no! I want you… us to live! You stole my heart, remember? Well if you
die, it dies too! I'd rather die a thousand times than see anything happen to-"

"WE'RE DOOMED! DOOMED! IT'S COMING!"

Everyone gazed upwards to marvel at the sight of a purple door opening, with some sort of black
goo falling from it onto the grass. In mere seconds, the field was plunged into absolute darkness,
the temperature dropping well below zero.

"IT'S HERE! THE DARKNESS DEVIL!"

A murky form appeared in the distance, slowly approaching the group.

The screams of the fiends amplified as the entity closed the distance between them. Suddenly, out
of the darkness appeared a row of perfectly lined up… dismembered astronauts, their mangled guts
spilling onto the floor and their hands pressed together in praying position.

Aki, Quanxi, Kusakabe and Tamaki each took their fighting stance, preparing for what they
thought would be the hardest duel of their lives.

But Reze's gut knew better, as she simply gazed at the abhorrent creature nearing them, refusing, or
pehaps unable to move a muscle.

The situation spoke for itself. The battle was, simply put, lost before it ever started. And they
would all certainly die a gruesome death.

The sound of a croaking frog echoed around the field.

Before any of them had time to even comprehend what was going on, the entity had teleported right
behind them. Within seconds, their hands were collectively detached from their shoulders, floating
aimlessly above the bodies they once belonged to.

The sudden disappearance of their limbs caused everyone to lose their balance and fall to their
knees, gaping in horror at their empty sleeves.

For the first time since their arrival in hell, Tolka spoke.

"I am the Doll Devil. I've brought you Chainsaw's heart as per the contract."

The rest of the group stared at the man in awe, most of them still trying to overcome the shock of
what had just transpired.
Tolka stood in front of the four headed beast, speaking his demand loud and clear, completely
unfazed by the Devil's abominable presence. "Please give me the power to kill Makima."

Though her devil form obscured her emotions, inside, Reze was on the edge of her breaking point
Even if by some miracle they managed to escape hell with their lives intact, how could she ever
hope to stop Makima if the Doll Devil required help from a goddamn primal fear to even attempt to
slay her. Not that she was under the impression she'd live long enough to worry about any of that.

Denji was completely befuddled, on top of still experiencing skull crushing pain. "Whuh… what
the hell are you talking about? You're gonna… kill Makima?"

Denji's question would remain unanswered as the Darkness Devil grabbed Tolka by the neck,
decapitating him as if he was some cheap doll. Kusakabe thought he'd catch the devil off guard by
attacking while it was handling the ginger man, drawing a circle with the blood coming out of his
empty sleeves and blowing towards the devil. It was to no avail as the primal fear somehow
grabbed the Stone Devil mid air, crushing the small creature with ease, and subsequently crushing
Kusakabe in the process.

The unofficial plan appeared to be to attack the devil with all they had in some form of hopeless,
last ditch attempt to save their skin.

Beam managed to crawl towards Denji, offering his beloved Chainsaw Lord his very own blood.
For the first time since she met him, Reze was truly appreciative of the Shark Fiend. "Quick," she
urged him, trying her best to avoid transforming back to her human form due to her excessive loss
of blood at the cost of her arms. "The thing wants Denji's heart, we have to protect him at all costs,
understand?"

After Beam was done feeding Denji, he moved towards Reze. "Drink too! Must help keep Lord
Chainsaw alive! Only Lord Chainsaw can grant our wish…"

Reze was entirely oblivious to what said wish was, but she couldn't care less as she gracefully
accepted the shark's offer, gulping down his rancid blood as fast as she could. The effects were
immediate as fresh bomb fuses created new arms for her and Beam's blood had provided her with
enough fuel to explode several times. Meanwhile Beam pulled Denji's cord with his teeth. "Bomb,
protect Lord Chainsaw! Lord Chainsaw will save u-"

The abomination suddenly pointed towards Beam, slicing his body in three, his dismembered
corpse falling on the ground, painting the grass red. Reze didn't dare move a muscle as she noticed
the beast's many dead eyes focus on her.

Reze fully expected to be dissected within seconds, when Tamaki and Quanxi both charged at the
devil. Darkness did not take kindly to the attack, slaughtering Quanxi, Tamaki and all three of the
female fiends with a single swift movement.

Violence took his turn to attack, having transformed into an unrecognizable monster with huge
muscles and four white eyes, screaming as he charged at the devil. But Reze didn't have to watch
to predict the outcome. Instead she focused on Denji, whose arms had reattached and had grown
chainsaws. His head was still human however, proving that he needed even more blood to fully
transform. Unsurprisingly, Denji was fixated on Power's corpse, clenching his jaw as tears began to
form on his eyes.

Sadness however was soon replaced with boiling rage as Denji furrowed his forehead and gritted
his teeth, preparing to launch at Darkness. Something Reze would not allow as she grabbed him by
the arm, using her enhanced strength to keep him in place.
Glancing towards the massacre, she witnessed Violence's mutilated body on the ground, as the
devil set his sight on the only remaining beings other than the couple. Angel and… Aki.

Reze gulped. Denji could not be allowed to see what was to come.

She grabbed Denji by the shoulders, positioning him so that Aki would be out out of his sight.
Denji tried to turn his head around but Reze covered his eyes with her right hand, forcing him to
gaze at her instead.

"Denji, there's no easy way to say this, but everyone is probably dead. Attacking this thing is
useless. Maybe if we can get to one of the other doors in time we can…"

Denji's arm chainsaws suddenly retracted, as the teary eyed man grabbed his girlfriend's arm in
return. The sensation of bomb fuses on his palm felt foreign, a lot more rough than her soft skin,
but it didn't matter. Somehow, his anger seemed to have… dissipated. Only sadness remained in
his swollen, teary eyes as he gazed into her own.

"I thought I wouldn't cry ya know." His voice was… uncharacteristically mature and soft. As if
he'd made peace with what was to come. "And here I am, balling my eyes out for 'em... The thing
wants me, so maybe if I give myself to it it'll let you go…"

The bomb on Reze's head and the fuses on her arms began to melt away as she transformed back to
human in the arms of her beloved. If that was the end, she wanted them to face each other for the
last time as humans, not the freaks they had turned them into. Her ugly cry be damned.

The tender embrace turned into yet another full blown hug, as Denji let his blood covered
girlfriend shed her tears on the crook of his neck, wrapping his own bloodied arms around her
waist. "I don't want… to live without you. Please… just run…"

"That piece of shit already took my friends from me… I can't let it take the woman I love… I… I
couldn't live with that… knowing you died because of me."

Reze let out a desperate sob, her voice quivering in fear. "I'm the one who did this… all of this! I'm
so sorry Denji! I swore I'd protect you and now… now we're both gonna die because of me…"

She shivered in the absence of heat as Denji pulled his body away from hers. Hell was a lot colder
than any biblical description, that much was certain. Denji turned around to witness Aki
unconscious on the floor, Darkness looming over him like some sleep paralysis monster. He had to
at least try. He'd never forgive himself if he didn't.

Pulling his ripcord, a chainsaw burst out of each of his arms once more. Denji offered the woman
he loved one final smile.

"Thanks… for being someone worth dying for."

Leaving a sobbing Reze behind, Denji turned his attention towards the very personification of
darkness. "Hey fuckface," he screamed at the top of his lungs, catching the beast's attention. "I'm
the one you want! SO COME AND GET IT MOTHERFUCKER!"

Reze fell to her knees, using both her arms to cover her blood drenched face, refusing to bear
witness to the demise of the only person she'd ever loved.

Her hearing told her all she needed to know. Denji's war cry, the sound of a chainsaw hitting
against something, the sound of several hands clapping together in unison.
 And finally, the sound of several bones being broken. Followed by the single worst, most terrifying
silence she'd ever experienced.

When she finally removed her hands from her face, Reze made sure to avoid catching so much as a
glimpse of Denji's corpse. Instead she let out a blood curdling scream.

"COME ON! FINISH IT!"

Yet death wouldn't come, as the devil was too preoccupied with the corpse of… the Spider Devil?
'Where the fuck'd she come from?'

If Reze was awestruck before, she was petrified when out of the blue, the spider's body split in
two, and from inside of her came…

Her.

Reze's jaw hit the floor at the sight of Makima emerging from the devil, her face as neutral as it
was back when she was introducing her to their colleagues.

Somehow, her presence was even more unsettling than Darkness. Especially as the two
immediately pointed at each other. Makima's fingers snapped like twigs, but not only did the
redhead remain completely unfazed, she also somehow managed to wound the primal fear, simply
by pointing at it.

No devil contract in the world could ever offer such strength to any human. Not even if they
sacrificed every last thing they had.

In Reze's mind, this was clearly a battle of two devils fighting over her soulmate's heart.

As Darkness let out what could only be described as a hellish cry of pain, Makima turned to face
Reze, her awful ringed eyes staring at her with… contempt.

"Hmm, you're still alive... resilient little rat."

She pointed her other arm towards Reze.

Before Reze had time to even comprehend what was happening, she felt her entire abdominal
cavity explode, her body collapsing awkwardly as her guts spilled all over the grass. The taste of
her own blood in her mouth became her final sensation before she joined the rest of her group in
death.

Makima smiled, turning her attention towards Tolka's decapitated head. Her plan was safe. Before
she grabbed the head, the devil offered Reze's corpse one last look.

"Don't worry Reze," she spoke to noone in particular. "You're not allowed to die just yet."

Chapter End Notes

What, you thought I wasn't going to give Reze enough trauma to send her to the moon
if the Falling Devil attacked? Oh you sweet ingorant child! So this chapter was by far
the hardest to write thus far, putting all this chaos to paper (or in doc form, I guess?) is
a lot more challenging that it may appear, especially considering I am not trying to
significantly alter events. The lesbian jokes stop here too, I promise! Not the most
exciting chapter cause once again... action. But I think many will appreciate seeing
Reze in her most vulnerable, plus that gave me a decent opportunity for some ultra
sweet moments between the two lovebirds. And Makima is cooking some nefarious
shit. I mean, when the hell isn't she?

You guys know how much I love comments but hooly fucking shit, Famished For
Your Touch has almost 250 comments in 3 chapters! Would love to hear more of your
takes about this fic as well, I absolutely love interacting with all of you! Also a
question towards my dear readers: Do you think Reze would react the way she does
here? I fear I might have written here as a bit too emotional, but then again Denji is the
only thing she has, and Reze is always reasonable enough to know her chances of
survival. Would like to hear your opinion on this.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to write a chapter about Denji and Fami fucking
their brains out. As for you, as always, enjoy!
 Flammable Dilemmas
Chapter Summary

The terrifying foes that stand in Denji and Reze's way challenge them both physically
and mentally, as the couple must save each other, as well as themselves.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

He dreamt he was with her. He dreamt they were alone on an empty field.

Denji found himself overwhelmed with joy, relishing in the momentary bliss brought about by yet
another gruesome death of his. Or at least something resembling death. Everytime Denji's neck
was snapped or his limbs were torn apart or he was fried to a crisp, his consciousness would
transport to mystical dimensions, his mind trapped in a state of limbo until the moment his
companions would pull his cursed cord and drag him back to the harshness of reality. Sadly, Denji
found more solace in death than he ever could in dreams.

Instead of ominous futures and peculiar doors, in death he would come across forests, and beaches,
and pretty fields with flowers whose colors alone were enough to warm his inhuman heart. And
best of all, he would find the woman he loved in his arms, the two of them laying on the grassy
field as naked as they were the night she taught him how to swim.

There, in her loving embrace, Denji was free for the first time since he was born. Neither of them
would dare interrupt the comfortable silence between them, choosing instead to relish in each
other's heat. Denji strategically rested his head atop her chest, allowing Reze's calm heartbeat to
lull him as he drifted off to a peaceful snooze.

Perhaps life was better in death after all.

No. Life was better with her.

Life could only exist in her presence.

As Denji closed the eyes of his soul, Reze's comforting warmth suddenly disappeared. The body
that was pressing against his own was warm yet cold, familiar yet foreign. Her heartbeat was slow,
too slow, almost as if the woman was moments away from dying. And her chest suddenly felt a lot
bigger pressing against his ear. Deep in confusion, Denji groggily fluttered his eyes open.

There was no field ahead, only asphalt.

The eyes that pierced into his very soul weren't green but yellow, with thin red circles all around
them. Before he had time to react, he felt himself instinctively gulping down on a cold liquid.
Blood, somehow even more repulsive than the one he was forced to swallow during his battle with
the Eternity Devil.

Without uttering a single word, the redhead pulled the cord on his chest, and Denji violently jerked
upwards, screeching in pain as a chainsaw burst out of his forehead, kickstarting his lurid
transformation.
"Gack!" Denji shook the pain away, steadying his pain-ridden body by planting his palms on the
road, frantically looking around to locate Reze amidst the chaos. Yet all he could see ahead was a
towering abomination consisting of several porcelain-like limbs, legs made out of numerous doll
heads, and the head of a blue haired woman. Suddenly, Denji wasn't so sure if he was still in hell or
not.

Sensing his state of distress, a bleeding Makima addressed Chainsaw Man. "No time to explain.
The enemy absorbed a piece of Darkness's flesh. No attacks in the darkness will work."

The horrifying beast approached the duo, a cocky smile plastered across its hideous face.
"Makima. Your dreams end here," it proudly announced as it kept closing the distance between
them.

Denji was back to his feet, his transformation fully completed as chainsaws protruded from his arm
and forehead, his head taking on a mechanical shape with long, jagged fangs. He could feel
Makima's intense glare at the back of his chainsaw handle as she took cover behind his body.

"Denji, will you sav-'

"GIMME BACK MY GIRLFRIEND YOU FUCKING DEVIL!"

Makima was unsure as to whether Denji hadn't heard, or had completely ignored her. Nevertheless,
she could only stare in awe as the boy charged at the Doll Devil. Santa Claus tried to strike before
Denji's attack could connect, but the swift movement of his chainsaws cut right through her arms
like a knife through butter.

Makima observed Denji's movement intensely, marveling at the unprecedented rage that the
hybrid was displaying when he thought his girlfriend's well-being was at risk. Denji landed behind
the injured devil, ready to continue with another relentless attack. "That's what ya get for sending
us to hell, bitch! Reze, Power and Aki better be alive or else you don't wanna know what I'll do to
ya!"

Familiar with Denji's speed, Santa Claus was fast on her feet that time, dodging his second charge
by combining her remaining arms into one synchronized fist and smashing through the floor,
causing the entire building to collapse and sending both herself and Chainsaw Man crashing down
at the ground floor of the department store.

Despite all the chaos around her, Makima couldn't contain her devious smile as she observed the
fight from the roof. "The mouse proved even more effective than I thought…"

Reze woke up coughing, her immediate reaction upon regaining her senses being to nervously
press her hands all over her abdomen, making sure that her guts were still in place. Upon
confirming that her injuries had healed she breathed a sigh of relief, in disbelief that she was still
amongst the living and out of hell. The sensation wouldn't last long however as images of the
Darkness Devil murdering everyone in sight assaulted her mind, alerting her to the gravity of the
situation. Panicking, Reze shot upwards, desperate to recognize her surroundings and get a glimpse
of Denji's, hopefully fully healed body. She was stopped however by a firm hand on her shoulder,
accompanied by a characteristically raspy voice.

"Relax. You're still beating, for now."

Reze glanced up at the man who touched her, only to witness Kishibe towering above her and
Yoshida sitting on a giant octopus tentacle. The former was preoccupied with his flask, as always,
while the latter lazily waved at Reze.

After allowing the initial shock a few seconds to settle, Reze shook the confusion away and turned
her back on the duo once more. "No time for talk! Where is Denji? And where is that redheaded
cunt?" The girl's fury was evident in her voice, her fists violently shaking as she fantasized beating
Makima's face into a bloody pulp as revenge for what she had done to her.

Kishibe was having none of it. "Your boyfriend's fine. He's fighting the Doll Devil. As for
Makima… I think it's due time we had a little talk."

Only the first part of the sentence registered in Reze's mind, now desperate to locate and aid her
boyfriend. "Where is he? Tell me now or I'll kill you both!"

Yoshida motioned for Reze to calm down. "We're not the ones you should be after Lady Reze.
You'll help Denji in time. But I think you and Captain Kishibe should have a little chat first."

Reze squinted her eyes at Yoshida. "You… you're still alive?"

Yoshida vacated his unconventional seat and headed towards a mob of dolls that were being torn to
pieces by his Octopus Devil. "I'm just helping with the cleanup. The captain will brief you in on
what you need to know. I doubt I'll be seeing you anytime soon, so best of luck. You and Denji are
going to need it."

With that, Yoshida took his leave, allowing Reze to have a long awaited tête-à-tête with Makima's
mysterious second in command. Reze eyed him up from top to bottom, crossing her arms and
narrowing the corners of her lips as she confronted the elder. "I assume it was you who revived
me."

"How'd you figure?"

"Your blood tastes like dogshit. Couldn't you at least have the octopus weirdo do it?"

Kishibe took a generous sip from his flask, before wiping any excess alcohol from his lips. "You
were lucky to be teleported outside of Makima's reach, the boy moved you here with the octopus.
His devil also made sure that Makima can't hear us. I get that you want to help out, but this is a
golden opportunity. Denji will have to hold his own without you. I trained him so he ought to be
able to hold his ground just fine, at least until nightfall."

"Start talking then. Just what in the fuck is she?"

Kishibe's gaze was fixed on the ground, unable to concentrate on a specific object as if he was
drunk, which he probably was. "You once knew exactly what Makima was. Any recollection of
that?"

Reze was growing more irritated by the second. "I know damn well something is off about her.
She's been trying to get her hands on Denji, in more ways than one. And this mission… so many
things were off about it. Using me and Denji as bait, assigning a bunch of weak hunters for our
protection, murdering me in cold blood while we were in hell! And speaking of her appearance in
hell… that power wasn't normal, it couldn't be! No contract on Earth could grant one the means to
survive a Primal fucking Fear!"

Kishibe remained silent for a while, much to Reze's dismay.

"I don't have time, old man! Tell me what the fuck she is or let me get to Denji before it's too late!"
"Some things are best left unspoken Bomb. You know she's a devil, that'll do for the time being.
What I need from you is to-"

"FUCK THAT!" Reze was positively fuming, gritting her teeth hard enough to nearly break them
as she got all up on the drunkard's face, trying her best to ignore his putrid breath. "Why should I
trust you? Why should I trust ANY of you? When this is over, I'm taking Denji and we're leaving,
today!"

At the blink of an eye, Kishibe's rough palm connected with Reze's face with enough force to
knock her on her ass. All she could do was sit there and rub her burning hot cheek, contemplating
whether she should pull her pin and have a go with the old fart there and then.

"Get this though your thick fucking skull. There is no running from her. The sooner you accept that
the better. If I told you what she was, what she's capable of… I don't think you'd be able to keep it a
secret from Denji."

"Screw you old fuck!" Her cheek still red, Reze got up from the ground and headed towards the
ongoing battle. "If you don't wanna tell me, so be it. But don't waste my damn time!"

"Hayakawa and the Blood Fiend might be in danger. At least assuming they haven't already kicked
the bucket."

Kishibe's words made her freeze in her tracks, cold shivers traveling through every inch of her
body.

"I don't know what the bitch is up to. For the life of me I can't figure her out. But whatever it is, it
sure as fuck ain't good. She's been raising the boy like a lamb to the slaughter, and sooner or later I
think she'll try to hurt him, or worse, use him. And if that's the case, you best believe she'll get rid
of the ones he loves first."

Reze's anger was quickly replaced by pure desperation. If Makima was so strong, how could she
hope to protect Denji from her claws? How could she hope to keep the only two people she could
sort of call friends alive?

"You're right not to trust me. But you have to start trusting these two. You can't win this on your
own, not this time, and they're the only ones I know for sure aren't working with Makima. So do
me a solid and try to keep them safe, will you?"

She didn't have the courage to respond. A mere nod would have to suffice. Dwelling on the
horrifying new information would only worsen the already disadvantageous situation she found
herself in. The time for words had come to an end, the time for explosions was nigh.

Before she could set off into the sunset and join the action, Kishibe offered one final piece of
advice.

"Oh, and Bomb."

"What?"

"Remember, she's got ears everywhere. So you best keep your damn mouth shut."

Denji was a simple man. His philosophy maintained that if one was to witness evil, one ought to
murderize said evil until there was nothing left but warm guts. When evil appeared to have infinite
regeneration however, Denji's philosophy would begin to crumble before his very eyes.
Almost as if to rub salt on the wounds, Santa taunted the outmatched hybrid. "My wounds heal
instantly in the darkness. Regeneration truly is a splendid ability, would you not agree?"

"Shut your trap and fight!" In an attempt to render his attacks more effective, Denji experimented
with using a powerful kick instead of his chainsaws. Before his leg could connect with the
monster's body however, dozens of dolls jumped at him, pushing him away from their leader, with
many more running towards him at full speed with murderous intent.

"Oh crap!" Frightened by the overwhelming number of the transformed humans, Denji tried
running away, putting as much distance between himself and the dolls as possible. His efforts
proved futile however as the dolls eventually caught up to him, with several dozens of them
swarming Denji and slowly crushing him under their collective weight.

"Ouch, ow, fuck, ouch!" The relentless mass tried to massacre the boy, stabbing him blindly and
taking bites out of his flesh in an attempt to lead him to a slow and painful death. By all means, that
should have spelled doom for Denji. But just before his lungs could be crushed in, a rain of arrows
took out most of the dolls, allowing him to overpower the remaining ones and free himself.

"Phew, that was close, thanks…"

Looking up, Denji locked eyes with a tall, butt ass naked woman. Hardened arrows with wide
curved horns taking the shape of a bow protruded from the side of her head, while arrowheads
stuck out of her neck. Her body was slender in frame and her forearms had grown glove-like flesh
with sharpened bow-shaped attachments on them.

"What the hell're you?"

Completely ignoring his question, Quanxi urged Denji to get up. "Chainsaw Man, give me a hand
until I kill that damned devil. That bastard killed my women…"

'Oh, she's the lesbian.' Trying his best to ignore her state of undress, Denji got back to his feet and
moved next to the indecent hybrid, hoping that she knew of a way to defeat the hordes of dolls
charging at them.

Noticing that the dolls she had injured with her arrows were still able to fight, Quanxi grunted.
"Damn. The dolls are powered up. It's pointless to take them out without killing their master."

Denji was slightly more optimistic than the battle hardened woman. "Or, we can cut 'em up like a
blender. I'd like to see 'em get up from that!"

Quanxi chose the silent route once more, getting ready to initiate her plan to take out Santa Claus in
hopes that that would subsequently get rid of the infected as well.

"A'ight, watch my back!" Denji took the initiative to lead the charge, and while he would much
rather have Reze by his side he was hoping for Quanxi's support. Instead he was left looking
around confused as in the blink of an eye the woman had disappeared without a trace. "Whoa, she's
gone?"

Gone she was as Quanxi sped past all the fast approaching dolls and launched a storm of arrows
towards Santa, shattering her body into tiny fragments. The pieces however reconnected as soon as
they had been shattered, and Santa's lips curled into a cocky smile. "I didn't anticipate you joining
us. It's an honor to meet the human who was known as the first devil hunter."

Quanxi did not appear too flattered at the compliment, wasting no time in sending a second wave of
arrows at the devil, which proved to be just as ineffective as the first. "That tickles. It would appear
I can spread my sense of pain across the other dolls."

Well aware of her invulnerability to attacks, the devil merely stood and took every arrow thrown at
her direction. Finally deciding that her approach was pointless, Quanxi decided to put her hand on
hand experience to use. While Santa was preparing for her inevitable fight with Crossbow, she tried
to come up with a way to get rid of Chainsaw as well and kill two birds with one stone. In her
wisdom, the woman came to the realization that it wasn't invulnerability that was her greatest
weapon, but her total lack of empathy. Something Chainsaw very much maintained.

"Tell me little Chainsaw, can you kill these dolls?"

While Santa and Quanxi were preoccupied with each other, a safe distance away Denji was
engrossed in a fight of his own, still struggling with the staggering amount of dolls on his tail.
"Shit, they just keep coming! So much for that arrow chick having my back!" Four of them tried to
slice Denji with their sharp, knife-shaped arms, but utilizing the enhanced agility of his devil form,
Denji had no trouble dodging and cutting through all four of them with one calculated swing of his
arm chainsaw. Chainsaw Man was about to move on to the next wave, when all of a sudden he
heard several gut wrenching cries of pain that sent shivers down his spine.

Denji's mechanical jaw dropped as he turned around to see the same four dolls he had just laid
waste to return to their human form and scream at the sight of their own mangled bodies. The
screams and cries only got louder and louder as somehow, every single person who had been
transformed into a doll had seemingly regained their senses.

Suddenly, Denji was faced with a frightening dilemma.

"FOR REAL," he shouted as the horde of screaming humanoids ran towards him, some ironically
accusing him of being a devil. "Come on, that's the sorta crap super villains pull!"

In the small window of time provided to him before he was forced to defend himself, Denji tried to
weigh his options. The dolls had to be stopped, there was no doubt about that. But slaying innocent
people would likely haunt his already heavy consciousness. He had to make a choice.

"Nope, nope, no way! I'm not gonna be a murderer!"

At the end of the day, when Denji was faced with a dilemma his brain couldn't solve, his legs
would solve it for him, by running away from it altogether. Perhaps the gift of choice wasn't that
grand after all.

Running away was easier said than done however, as Denji's every path had been blocked by the
shrieking porcelain masses. Desperate to evade the dolls lest he be forced to hurt them, he busted
out his leg chainsaws which allowed him to stick to the side of nearby buildings, thus momentarily
dodging the bloodthirsty dolls. Much to Denji's surprise however, some of the dolls sharpened their
feet through their shoes in response, allowing them to adhere to any surface and keep up with the
unfortunate hybrid. Surrounded from every conceivable direction, Denji was all but forced to use
his chainsaws for what they were intended.

"Shit on a stick!" After voicing his frustration as elegantly as he could, Denji jumped down from
the wall, using the chainsaw on his right leg to slice one doll in half, and impaling a second one
mid-air with his left arm. Upon landing, the infected man he had massacred collapsed on the
ground, drowning in a pool of his own blood. His final words would only serve to confirm Denji's
fear.

"Mur… derer…"
In a moment of weakness, Denji stopped, hanging his head in shame as he gazed at the lifeless
body he had slain. Suddenly survival was not as important as it was before. That was not the fate he
was dreaming of when Makima offered him a second chance at life.

Picking his head up once again, Denji was stunned to find a new group of dolls much closer than
he had anticipated. Before they could reach him however a new devil entered the scene, landing
right in front of the dolls and creating a mighty explosion that blew them into pieces immediately
upon impact. Reze had finally announced her arrival with her usual bang.

On the one hand, Denji was delighted to see that his girlfriend not only had survived but was also
in her devil form, providing a helping hand just when he needed it most. On the other, she was
probably murdering innocent people, again.

After getting back to her feet, Reze wasted no time running towards her beloved, beyond ecstatic to
see him holding his own as Kishibe had suggested he would. Her shoes had been completely blown
off as she released several explosions from her feet to basically fly towards Denji as fast as
possible. Thankfully, unlike their previous encounter in their devil forms, her pants were still intact
above her knees, and her shirt and tie remained mostly untorn, bar from the big hole in her
abdominal area which was covered by her apron. She would have loved to offer Denji the warmest
of hugs, tell him how elated she was to see him alive and, mostly, well. But like always, time was
against them.

Reze's back touched Denji's, both of them on the lookout for dolls and ready to defend themselves
from any potential attack. Unlike Reze, Denji couldn't quite mask his excitement. "Reze! Thank
goodness you're okay! I thought that doll thing had you-"

"Denji, I'm so fucking happy you're alive but you gotta fill me in asap. How many of those things
are there?"

"Doesn't matter! We gotta make a run for it! We can't kill 'em!"

Reze never thought she'd live to see the day when Denji thought there was something he couldn't
kill. "Oh yes we can! Have faith in your abilities! You've done great so far baby!"

On cue, a new wave of dolls popped up out of nowhere, ambushing Denji who was too hesitant to
use his chainsaws against them on time. "DENJI, USE YOUR FUCKING ARMS!" Reze's warning
was to no avail, as the devils had already latched onto the Chainsaw, trying to impale him with
their sharpened limbs. With no other alternative on sight, Reze flicked her hands, releasing a spark
which landed on the face of one of the dolls. The subsequent explosion was successful at making
light work of the devils, but due to their close proximity also sent both hybrids flying through the
windows of a nearby clothing shop.

After lying on the ground for a few seconds, the injured inhumans slowly rose to their feet, but not
before having lost a significant amount of blood from their many glass cuts. "Damn it Denji,"
grunted an exasperated Reze. "Get your head in the game! It's not like you to freeze in moments
like those!"

The desperation in Denji's voice caught the Bomb by surprise. "No, that ain't it! They're humans
Reze! Humans, like us! We can't just murderize 'em like plain ol' devils? We're devil hunters not
murderers!"

Her transformed face was incapable of displaying emotion, but her assertive and
uncharacteristically cold tone got her message across just fine. Reze stood right in front of Denji,
placing her hands on the boy's shoulders. "Listen to me. Right now you're not a human, a devil, or a
devil hunter. You're a survivor! And survivors kill anything that threatens them! C'mon, if we're
gonna get through this we need to-"

"NO!" After making sure to retract his arm chainsaws so as not to accidentally injure Reze, Denji
pushed her hands away from his body and gritted his sharpened teeth. "We're better than that!
You're better than that!"

"For fucks sake Denji, when will you GROW UP? We're not some manga heroes out to save the
world! We're two freaks who've been targeted by half the assassins in the world! Stop acting like
some goddamn hero and help me get us out of this shitstorm alive!"

"Jeez, will you two newlyweds zip it already?"

Both hybrids immediately snapped their necks towards the source of the foreign voice, only to be
met with the sight of the naked Crossbow Devil staring at them through the shattered front.

Reze was less than happy to see the older woman. "Oh great, that's what we were missing! A
fucking voyeur!"

"At ease princess barefoot. Look, Chainsaw. The dolls are not humans, they're only imitating them.
So don't hesitate when killing them."

Denji did not sound the least bit convinced. "How do you know that, huh?"

"If you understand it that way, you can kill them, can't you?"

To Reze's surprise, Denji actually seemed to consider Quanxi's words carefully. The Bomb sighed,
crossing her arms together. The boy was still as gullible as ever. Yet under the current
circumstances, perhaps ignorance wasn't exactly a bad thing.

"Ignorance is bliss Chainsaw."

"Found you." Taking all three hybrids by surprise, Santa managed to sneak up on them and using
her many arms, she grabbed a hold of Quanxi.

Denji was beginning to lose the plot. "That thing's a real pain in the balls! Reze, use your explosion
thingies! My chainsaws can't do shit against her!"

"No, I barely have enough blood to protect us two. I'll be damned if I waste it on her." Lucky for
them, Quanxi was in no need of assistance as she managed to destroy Santa's body once more using
her arrows. Unfortunately, the devil's healing was showing no signs of slowing down, in fact it
only appeared to get faster and faster.

Denji and Reze jumped out of the shop they had crashed into, the latter trying her best to come up
with a plan to defeat their seemingly insurmountable foe. Both Denji and Quanxi were suddenly
overcome with fear as they noticed that there was barely any daylight left.

At the sight of the looming sunset, Denji remembered that Reze was not aware of the Doll Devil's
ability to utilize darkness. "Oh, this ain't good! Makima told me that thing is like, unbeatable when
it's dark!"

"Your master was right, little Chainsaw." With incredible speed, Santa tried to punch Reze, who
was quick enough on her feet to narrowly dodge the attack and hurl an explosion towards the devil,
sending the beast crashing into a wall and shattering most of her limbs. As with every previous
attack however, in a matter of seconds the devil's body was as good as new. Using the wall for
leverage, she pushed her legs against it and struck back at the pair, swinging her humongous arms
in all directions in hopes of striking a hit. Due to its tremendous speed and range, the attack proved
unavoidable and Denji could only attempt to dodge it with his chainsaws, an action which sent him
flying spine first into the asphalt. Reze was planning to use the fuses on her arms to blow off the
incoming attack, but Quanxi utilized her speed to tackle the Bomb Hybrid out of the way just
before the blow could connect.

After rolling on the ground for a few seconds, Reze pushed Quanxi's naked body away from her
own. "Agh, get your tits off me!" To Reze's bewilderment, Quanxi not only obliged, but also
offered her a hand as soon as she got up, a hand which Reze was most reluctant to take. "I don't
need, nor want your help."

"That thing was trying to hit you, not Chainsaw. That's because you're probably the only one that
can hurt it."

"How so?"

"In her current state Santa is invulnerable to any attack in the dark, but your explosions might just
produce enough light to weaken her. Even if that's not the case, they're a hell of a lot more effective
than chainsaws and arrows. You were right not to help me a few moments ago."

"YO LADIES!" Both women directed their attention towards Denji, who was running around
narrowly deflecting each of Santa's brutal attacks. "SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOUR CHIT CHAT
BUT I REALLY COULD USE A LIL HELP HERE!"

Realizing that time was of the essence, Reze took Quanxi's hand, or rather grabbed onto the spikey
bow above her wrist, and as soon as she was back to her feet she released a massive explosion from
her legs which sent her flying high into the air. The timing of the move was perfect so as to land
directly above Santa, at which point she transformed her left leg into a torpedo and kicked the devil
directly in the face, generating a huge explosion that would have been enough to reduce even the
mightiest of devils to bones.

Denji jumped in excitement, pumping his fist into the air. "Hell yeah! She must have felt that! I
know I did!"

The fire that was still burning Santa's body was enough to hinder her healing factor. In what felt
like a huge middle finger from the universe itself however, any remaining sunlight was completely
gone, as the land was covered by the dark of the night.

"Hee hee hee hee hee." In the total absence of light, Santa's body not only managed to fully recover
from the explosion, it also appeared to have grown taller and potentially stronger. Using her
enhanced speed to catch the hybrids by surprise, Santa hurled herself towards Reze who could only
use her arms to block. The incoming kick was far too powerful however, sending Reze crashing
through a car several meters behind her.

"So this is the power of darkness!"

"REZE!" Completely ignoring the devil in front of him, Denji ran towards his girlfriend to make
sure she was still conscious. Meanwhile, Quanxi threw another wave of arrows at the Doll Devil in
an attempt to slow her down.

Santa merely smiled, displaying her new set of razor sharp teeth. "Bomb is the only one that even
stands a chance against me. You and Chainsaw are nothing! I will kill you just to where you won't
quite die. Then I will turn you into dolls, and together we will tear Makima limb for limb!"
Despite the eerie situation at hand, Quanxi remained unimpressed. "Sure, whatever." Coming to
terms with the fact that arrows would never hurt the abomination, Quanxi took her fighting stance,
ready to put her bone shattering fists and kicks to use. The devil's creepy smile however only grew
wider at the sight.

"Silly me, I forgot to mention. While you were killing me I took the liberty of creating a few more
dolls. Recognize them?"

Crossbow turned her spikey head around, only to find Pingtsi, Tsugihagi and Long with creepy
unmoving eyes and mouths, their hands shaped into swords. Quanxi let out an exasperated sigh.

"This shit again?" Disregarding the inevitability of how their reunion would end, Quanxi fearlessly
approached the three women and squatted in front of Pingtsi, embracing her into a tight hug.

Pingtsi reciprocated Quanxi's act of love by stabbing her in the stomach.

Santa figured she'd let the fiends handle Crossbow for her and directed her attention towards the
Bomb and the Chainsaw. "Now, on to Makima's dogs."

Reze was on the ground, resting on her hands and knees in an attempt to replenish her strength.
Without blood however, that seemed like a lost cause. Denji rushed to her aid, retracting the
chainsaws from his arms and kneeling in front of her.

"Reze! You okay?"

"Agh, relatively." Reze rubbed her aching back, grunting in pain as she did. "I can't believe the
torpedo didn't work! Just what the hell is that thing?"

"She's untouchable when it's dark. It don't matter how much we beat her, it won't do squat! Think
you can set her on fire or sum? Maybe that will weaken her cause of the light 'n all?"

"I can try." Reze went about using Denji's body for leverage, but he gently set her back down and
proceeded to bring out the chainsaw on his left arm, using it to cut into his right palm.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Denji brought his bleeding hand just above Reze's devilish mouth. "You need that more than I do.
I'll distract the fucker for as long as I can, and while I'm at it you go in for the kill."

Reze was less than fond of the plan, but it was the only one they had at the moment. Reluctantly
she gulped down on Denji's blood, her wounds healing almost instantaneously. Before they had
time to implement their plan however, Santa announced her arrival by landing right in front of
them. "Found you!"

"SHIT," they both screamed in perfect unison.

Santa broke into a maniacal fit of laughter, her demonic voice sending chills down the couple's
spines. "Aren't you a cute pair of lovers? Don't worry, you will be together in the afterlife soon."

"Eat shit and die!" With that declaration out of the way, Denji pulled his cord and revved up his
chainsaws, pouring all his remaining strength into his attack as he started frantically cutting
through Santa and reducing her into mere fragments. The devil didn't even bother deflecting,
knowing all too well the inevitability of Chainsaw's efforts.
As expected, within seconds Santa was back to her usual form, her unsettling green eyes
examining Denji from top to bottom. "Are you quite done?"

Denji scratched the chainsaw handle at the back of his head. "Uhh, yeah?"

"My turn then."

A monstrous punch from Santa's numerous arms completely broke through Denji's defense,
sending him flying into a gas station several blocks away.

"DENJI!" Reze rushed to her boyfriend's aid, but due to Santa's immense speed, she was able to
catch up to her and block her path. "Leaving so soon, Bomb?"

Being in absolute no mood for chatter, Reze immediately used her exploding limbs to propel
herself forward and punched Santa right in the teeth, making sure to set off another powerful
explosion immediately upon impact. The attack was successful as the devil's face caught fire, and
for the first time since their battle had begun, Reze saw an opportunity to serve the coup de grâce.

'Denji was right,' she thought. 'Gotta burn her 'till there's nothing left.' Praying she would be able to
defeat the monstrosity before her blood ran out and she went anemic, Reze opted to put all her
force into her next attack and pray for the best. Following her punch, with many consecutive snaps
of her fingers Reze released sparks targeting each of Santa's limbs individually. In her confusion
the devil failed to see through the attack, and after the sparks exploded the Doll Devil's body was
scattered all around. The pieces did eventually manage to come back together, but as Reze had
hoped for, the fire had not gone out. For the first time that night, the beast was screaming in pain.
And Reze knew what she had to do to finish it off for good.

"Here goes nothing!" Using every last drop of Denji's blood, Reze blasted herself as high as
possible, positioning her legs so that her feet were pointing upwards. She then used a second
explosion to launch her body towards the devil with sensational speed. Lastly, with her final fuel
left she transformed both her arms into torpedoes, hoping the impact from the hit would be enough
to annihilate the hellish doll.

Santa however, even while burning, offered Reze a wicked smile. "Now!"

Upon command, a group of possessed dolls jumped in front of their master to protect her in her
vulnerable state. "NO!" Reze was desperate to halt her attack, but the speed she had reached made
it impossible. Inevitably, the torpedoes hit the dolls instead of Santa, creating a humongous
explosion that covered the entire scene in fire and smoke.

Reze lied on the ground, the smoke obscuring her vision completely. Pieces of porcelain were
scattered around her feet, but there was no way of knowing who they belonged to. In all likelihood
her attack had missed the intended target, in which case she was as good as dead. For the
umpteenth time that cursed day, Reze was holding out for a miracle.

As a horrific demonic figure slowly emerged from the smoke however, Reze knew that there
would be no miracles for her. "I fucking hate this day."

Santa wasted no time grabbing a hopeless, fuelless Reze from her wrists and lifting her upwards.
"Clever girl. If that had hit me I probably would have died. But at the end of the day, the likes of
you are no match for the magnificent power or darkness!"

Reze gritted her teeth, trying in vain to free herself from the devil's hold. "God woman, do you
practice those speeches in the mirror? Not a single line you've said has been remotely original!"
Surprisingly Reze's words managed to wound Santa's pride, who used the rest of her arms to grab
Reze's ankles and raise her over her head. "Insignificant little ant." With one swift downward
motion, Santa's knee connected with Reze's back, breaking it entirely and rendering her unable to
move as she screamed in excruciating pain.

"Not that you can walk, but do stay put. I will bring you your boyfriend's head momentarily. Then
we are all going to pay Makima a little visit."

After a few seconds of regaining consciousness, Denji crawled out of the ruble he was buried
beneath and looked around for a source of some much needed blood. No such luck. He
contemplated rushing back to Reze's aid, but decided against it upon realizing that despite the fact
that his chainsaws were still functional, they had been greatly damaged and his body felt severely
weakened.

"Crap, in this state I'm only gonna get in Reze's way."

Hanging his head low, Denji could only sulk, disgusted at his pathetic inadequacy. He couldn't
even help the woman he loved most in the world, let alone anyone else.

"I wish I could make cool ass explosions like her…"

On cue, an earth shattering explosion occurred, followed by a blood curdling scream. To Denji's
horror, he recognized the voice. The mere idea that Reze had somehow lost was enough to paralyze
him with fear.

Saving her was no longer a choice. It was life or death personified. Consequences be damned, if
fire was the only thing that could defeat that thing, then fire he would use.

Ignoring his aching bones, Denji retracted his chainsaws, grabbed the nearest barrel of gasoline he
could find, and poured it all over himself. Without as much as a single speck of hesitation, he then
used his chainsaws to create sparks, which immediately set the boy ablaze upon contact with his
gasoline soaked body.

Santa was fast approaching the gas station, eager to finish off the last of the hybrids and move on
to her real target. To her surprise however, she noticed from a distance that the annoying punk was
no longer buried underneath a bed of concrete.

"Mmm, now where did you run off to-"

"AHHH HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT!"

Santa was almost frightened by the screams, but before she could trace their source a burning
Chainsaw Man had jumped on top of her, engulfing her into flames as well.

"THIS IS THE POWER OF LIGHT!"

"Gah… hurts… hurts so bad…" Reze's body had gone into shock, her brain working tirelessly to
keep her awake and cancel out the pain as her experienced eyes scanned her surroundings. In a
single day she had failed at protecting the one she loved more times than she had ever failed in her
entire life. The thought of accepting her fate and waiting for the sweet release of death crossed her
mind, but the bone chilling cries coming from the distance brought her back to her senses. She
would save Denji from that atrocious doll or die trying.

Luck smiled on her at long last as she spotted a singular, mostly intact doll corpse nearby. Despite
the searing pain in her back and the total paralysis of her legs, Reze managed to torturously crawl
her way towards the corpse and sank her teeth deep into its flesh, devouring it and gulping down its
blood in an attempt to replenish her health. After she had consumed all there was to consume,
Reze's spine had been fully repaired, but her fuel levels remained exceptionally low.

The screams in the background confused the hybrid, sounding as if they were a mix of two
different entities shouting in unison. That was until she was close enough to the source to witness
the gruesome battle that was waging on for herself.

If Reze could blink, she would have several times upon seeing Denji, on fire, all out attacking the
Doll Devil, who was also partially on fire. "No, no, no, no! DENJI HANG ON!" Determined to
save her darling from the no doubt agonizing pain, Reze opted to disregard her weakened state and
make a run towards the battlefield.

That was the initial plan at least, before Quanxi cleanly decapitated her.

"Truce is over."

As Reze's body collapsed on the ground, Quanxi, still in her devil form but greatly injured with
deep cuts all over her body, instructed the only surviving member of her harem regarding their next
move. "Cosmo, when Chainsaw beats the Doll, you show her all your knowledge. Got it?"

"Halloween!" As such, the fiend lazily set sail for the battlefield, awaiting for the fight to end so
that she could carry out her orders.

Quanxi approached Reze's decapitated body, offering it one last demeaning look. "What a waste."

"Hey asshole."

Quanxi was startled, trying to locate the source of the unexpected voice before tracing it to…

Reze's decapitated head?

"Boom."

Out of nowhere, Quanxi's right arm exploded, the shockwave sending the woman head first into a
nearby wall. Reze's headless body then got up, grabbing her decapitated head and putting it back in
place.

"Pretty cool trick huh?" Reze's pride had finally returned as she balefully made her way towards
the grunting Crossbow. "You see, I knew you'd pull something like that the moment you came to
our aid. You'd use us to kill that thing and then catch us off guard. Would have worked too. But
you forgot one thing: you might be the greatest assassin on earth, hell maybe the fucking universe.
But you got nothing to fight for. Nothing to lose. EVERYTHING I have is at stake here. And I'll be
damned if I let some slimy old hag take it away from me with cheap theatrics!"

It was hard to tell behind her devilish face, but for the first time since they met, Quanxi looked
well and truly enraged.

"Hmm, how'd you do that you lil slut?"

Reze crossed her arms and tilted her head. "When you offered me your hand, I snuck a little piece
of fuse in the space between your wrist and bow."

"That's what I get for being nice."

Reze would have loved to fight the older woman there and then, but Denji took priority. "Look, we
can do this after we-"

"Shut, the fuck, up." Quanxi was having none of it. "Your boy toy is fucking insane, I saw him
purposefully light himself on fire to fight that devil. I was wrong. If anyone can beat that thing, it's
him. Guess you don't have such terrible taste after all."

The revelation that Denji had gone as far as to set his body on fire hit her like a train, struggling to
even comprehend how he could endure the pain for so long. The two of them would have a great
many things to discuss after all the action was over. But all in due time.

"You got lucky the first time. Even without my full power, in this form I'll make you my bitch!"

Quanxi spat on the ground, lifting her remaining arm up and taking aim at Reze. "This time I'm not
fucking around. One arm's more than enough to beat the likes of you. I'll break you like a twig."

An immense sense of determination suddenly overcame Reze, eager to restore her pride and save
the one she loved. Extending her arm forward, she motioned for Crossbow to make her move.

"Bring it."

In the blink of an eye, Quanxi launched dozens of arrows towards Reze. The girl was able to dodge
most of them, but her extreme fatigue led her to be scratched by one on the leg, causing her to
shriek in pain. Before she had time to launch a counter attack, Crossbow had already moved in
front of her, her all powerful kick connecting with Bomb's ribs, and breaking several of them. The
kick was followed by a new wave of arrows which Reze narrowly avoided. In retaliation, Reze
sent a spark flying towards Quanxi's direction. Using her phenomenal reflexes however, Quanxi
was able to dodge it and connected a brutal knee with Reze's chin. Miraculously Reze remained on
her feet, yet her explosive punch missed as well, leaving her open to a Quanxi's own fist, which
succeeded in knocking her down.

As Reze bled on the ground, Quanxi cracked her neck, menacingly approaching the younger
woman. "I don't even care about taking your boy toy's heart anymore. I'll rip it from his chest while
he's still alive, and then I'll shove it up your ass!"

Reze refused to let the taunting get to her head. She knew that she only had one good explosion left
in her, and that time she would make it count. Taking Quanxi in a bare fistfight would be a near
impossible task. Yet as she saw some of Quanxi's discarded arrows on the floor, an idea was born.

As Quanxi inched closer to strike the final blow, Reze made a light explosion with her hands which
propelled her head upwards, headbutting Quanxi right in the chin. Utilizing the Crossbow's
confusion, Reze grabbed one of Quanxi's arrows and used it to stab her in the thigh, causing her to
lose balance and fall over.

With a missing arm, tons of blood lost and a barely functional leg, the battle was turning in Reze's
favor. Quanxi tried throwing a desperate punch with her remaining arm but Reze countered it,
blocking her attack and targeting her injured leg with several consecutive kicks which brought
Quanxi to her knees. From a close distance she tried to retaliate by firing her arrows, but having
anticipated that very move Reze had no trouble dodging them. In an incredible display of speed and
reflexes, the Bomb managed to grab one of Quanxi's arrows mid-air and threw it back at her
exhausted opponent, nailing her right in the stomach and ending any and all hopes of victory for
the seasoned assassin.

Reze had achieved her long sought after revenge. "Stay down," she warned her bleeding opponent.
"Funny isn't it? You threw a few dozen arrows at me, yet all it took was two of them to bring your
ass down."

Refusing to accept defeat, Quanxi tried using her remaining arm to launch one final, hopeless
attack. Reze shook her index finger disapprovingly.

"And you know what the most embarrassing part is? I had one more explosion in me all along. But
I was saving it for this."

Upon completing her sentence, Reze used the last of her fuel to blow Quanxi's left arm off, leaving
the hybrid to teeter between life and death. Miraculously, despite missing both her arms and having
an arrow pierce her leg and guts, Quanxi maintained her consciousness as her devil form finally
melted away.

Having no option but to accept defeat, the woman's anger was replaced by her usual stoicism. "Hey
Bomb, mind if you stick one of those arrows right between my eyes? I'd much rather you doing it
than that redheaded fuck."

Reze, who also allowed her devil form to melt away, shook her head, a cold smirk on her face.
"You get what you fucking deserve. Tell Makima I said hello, will ya?"

Against all odds, his insanity was victorious.

A weary Denji gazed at the burning remains of the once proud Doll Devil. His transformation back
to human had melted his chainsaws away and Denji stood soaked from head to toe in blood, his
clothes burned to a crisp bar his pants. Santa Claus, reduced to a scorched face and torso, could
only gaze at the lunatic with hatred burning in her eyes as he used one of her minion's blood to put
out the flames on his blonde hair.

In a vain attempt to get into the boy's head, Santa began laughing. "Hee hee hee. I understand your
behavior pattern now. My contract with the doll devil dictates that I can turn anyone on the globe
into the Santa Claus assassin with a mere touch. With the power of darkness on our side we shall
continue to grow in strength and number. Does that fill your heart with dread Chainsaw? Knowing
that no matter what, we will come to kill you and your pathetic little girlfriend time and time
again!"

Santa was blissfully unaware that such talk only served to entertain Denji, who burst out laughing
at the sound of her threats. "If Santa's coming to town, I hope he comes on a weekday, cause Reze
and me get Sundays off!"

Santa, stubborn as ever, was convinced she could break Denji's spirit. "Hee hee hee. It isn't that
you're fearless. You simply lack the intelligence to fully comprehend the implications. You and
your girlfriend may be immune to my doll's touch. But every single day, be it your friends, your
family, your coworkers, or perhaps a complete stranger… anyone you know or meet could turn
into a doll and attack you."

Seeing as Denji stopped laughing and his tone turned serious, Santa doubled down on her claims.
"Can you imagine living your life, starting a family with that Bomb of yours when you're
constantly stalked by death?"

As the flames engulfed her more and more, Santa hoped that her words would crush the boy's
spirit, make him realize the gravity of the situation, show him how meaningless his short-lived
victory over her really was. She thought she was finally getting through that thick head of his.
Until she saw the dumbest smile she had ever witnessed on a human plastered across his stupid,
blood smeared face.

"I ain't smart enough for all that shit. But Reze is! You think I'm crazy? I'm nothing compared to
her! You got lucky you fought her while she was weak! But that ain't gonna happen again, cause
she's the bestest and the strongest! SO COME AT US! TRY TO KILL US AGAIN, SEE HOW
THAT WORKS OUT FOR YA! WE LOVE DANGER! WE LOVE THAT SHIT! WE GET OFF
ON THAT SHIT! GO AHEAD! MAKE OUR DAYS FUN! MAKE US CUUUM!"

"Halloweeeen!"

"Huh?" Denji's passionate rambling was interrupted as he turned around to see a weird woman with
pink hair, heart shaped eyes and… half her brains protruding from her skull?

"Ahhh lady, I think you gotta see a medic! Your brain's all out!"

"Haloweeen?"

Denji squinted his eyes, unable to figure out what the woman's deal was. "I… I dunno what you're
saying! How are you even walking? You a devil?"

"Haaaloooweeen!"

At that point, Denji was just lost. "Sorry lady but I don't speak Italian. Yo Santa." Denji directed
his gaze towards Santa's equally confused face. "You're a real smartass ain't ya? You speak
Italian?"

It was at that exact moment that the almighty Doll Devil officially gave up. "Yeah, I will save the
speech for Bomb, that guy's not right in the head."

After the very insightful conversation with Denji, Cosmo approached Santa's remains, greeting her
with her usual "Haloween!"

"Return to your master, fiend! I have no business with the likes of you."

"Oh! She an Italian fiend?"

Surprising both of them, Cosmo crouched on her knees and pulled her arms towards her body, just
as if she was charging a huge energy beam. Instead of an energy ball however, when she finally
released her arms, the only thing that came out was the loudest and longest "Haloweeen" that had
ever been spoken.

Santa was still confused as to the fiends powers until she suddenly felt the sudden urge to ask.
"Halloween?"

Cosmo enthusiastically replied. "Haloweeen!"

Suddenly, Santa's brain began to collapse, as the unfathomable weight of the forbidden knowledge
of the universe invaded her mind, shattering it forever.

Soon enough, "Haloweeen," was all Santa could shout at the top of her lungs as the fire slowly
reduced her face and torso to ashes.

Denji rubbed his head, laughing as he did "Ha, so you can speak Italian! Neat!"

"DENJI!"
Before the boy had time to even turn his head around, Reze's blood covered body jumped on top of
his own, the two of them at long last embracing in a passionate kiss as they held each other as close
as humanly possible.

Immediately following their kiss, Reze's face switched from joyous to enraged as she slapped
Denji as hard as she could.

"Ow!" The force was enough to make Denji tear up, too nervous to even meet Reze's eyes. "What
was that for?"

"For setting yourself on fire you dumbass! What in the actual fuck were you thinking?"

For the first time that day, Denji was truly terrified. "It was like the only way! You were out cold
and all and we needed fire to kill her and I thought hey I should light myself on fire! Please don't be
mad! We won after all!"

Much to Denji's relief, Reze's features softened up as she hugged Denji tightly once more. "Just…
don't pull that shit ever again, kay?"

Denji nodded, kissing his girlfriend lovingly in the forehead and stroking her hair, completely
disregarding all the blood. "Promise. Sorry I scared ya."

"It's ok, you did amazing!" Reze could not hope to contain her pride, offering Denji the sweetest
smile she could muster. If kept that form up he would soon surpass her, if he hasn't already. Denji
marvelled at the sight of her smiling form. Even while covered in blood from top to bottom, she
looked adorable.

"Hey, you didn't do half bad yourself! Oh, what happened to that lesbian anyway?"

"I-"

"Reze defeated her. Me and Captain Kishibe already disposed of her, permanently. Great work you
two."

Ruining the moment as always, Makima had decided to show up out of nowhere, causing Reze to
be on alert once more.

Denji on the other hand was delighted to see her alive and well. "Miss Makima! We did it! We beat
that shit faced devil! But how's Power and Aki? Please tell me they're okay!"

Makima's artificial smile was present on her face as always. "Indeed, you both performed
immensely well today, especially you Denji. I will make sure you are compensated handsomely for
your-"

"Power and Aki. Are they alive?" Reze rudely interrupted Makima, not bothering to mask the
hostility in her voice.

Makima's face remained unchanged. "Power is the only fiend that survived. With a little blood she
should be back to normal by tomorrow. As for Aki…"

Upon hearing Makima's hesitation, Denji went rigid. "Oh God, please don't tell me-"

"He's alive. And stable. But his arms were severed, and I don't know if we will be able to reattach
them."
 Denji and Reze breathed a sigh of relief, lovingly squeezing each other's hand. The news about
Aki's arms were unfortunate, but relatively insignificant as long as Aki was alive and well.

"Miss Makima, what about… her?" Denji's question was accompanied by him pointing towards the
eerie pink haired fiend.

"Tell me Denji, did that fiend use her powers on Santa Claus?"

"Dunno. All she said was 'halloween'. And then Santa started saying it too."

Makima's smile widened as she revealed a huge sword from behind her back, and casually used it
to decapitate the fiend in one swift motion.

"Whoa!"

Reze was anything but surprised. For she knew all too well, their victory was but temporary. A far
greater foe was preying on their every move, hiding in plain sight.

A wolf in sheep's clothing.

Emotionless as ever, Makima wiped the blood from her sword and addressed the disturbed couple.

"Mission successful. Time to go home."

Chapter End Notes

Kept you waiting huh?

After a very lengthy break, we are well and truly back! The last of the action chapters
was the most challenging chapter I have ever written due it's constant fighting and just
how challenging of a concept it was to convincingly fit Reze into the fight while
providing enough content variety. That being said, I am very happy with how this
chapter turned out! I had a great time writing the humor in this too, and I also hope that
you will appreciate mad Quanxi, even if she feels a little out of character towards the
end (but only a little). Reze gets the Bane treatment but she does get her pride back,
and Denji was just a joy to write.

The next few chapters are the ones I have been looking forward to writing the most
and will be absolutely packed with fluff, so do look forward to them! Also *that*
chapter is getting really close too ;).

Thank you for not abandoning this project after all this wait. I can't tell when a new
chapter of this fic or FFYT will be out as I've got exams, but I doubt it will take nearly
as long as this chapter did! Please remember that I value your comments more than
anything and would love to hear from you and discuss with you, and as always, enjoy!

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