Asa blinked awake and took back control of her body.
She sat up at the dressing table and fixed the mess Yoru had made of her hair, tying it back into her usual twin tails. She trimmed the bangs that were blocking her view and softly touched her slightly flushed cheeks.
She gave herself a quick look in the mirror.
"Alright… I really am cute," she murmured confidently, brushing off her embarrassment.
Yoru snorted behind her.
"No way it's this late and you're still planning to go over to Cael's place?"
Asa didn't respond right away.
"Yoru," she said after a moment, "I want to give Cael something, but I don't have enough Yen for a fancy gift. What do you think would work?"
Yoru laughed.
Of all the things she expected, this wasn't one of them.
Was the War Devil really going to be a part‑time relationship counselor now?
With a teasing grin, Yoru said, "Aren't you a gift yourself? Guys are idiots. You don't need to stress about a present. Be a little more forward and he'll be putty in your hands."
"Cael isn't like that!" Asa huffed, her face turning bright red.
"Oh yeah?" Yoru teased. "Then tell me this—when you kissed Cael in that Ferris wheel cabin, why didn't he pull away?"
Asa puffed up proudly.
"Obviously because I'm cute and Cael likes me too!"
Yoru stared blankly.
Seriously? Average‑looking girl with too much confidence. Fantastic.
Yoru relented, figuring she might as well go with it.
"Fine. You love him, he loves you. But you know what I actually suggest? Practical stuff. Like, wear protection and don't get knocked up before I find Chainsaw Man."
Asa's face turned crimson. "Yoru! Are devils really this shameless?"
"See? I give you actual advice and you just ignore it."
Asa protested, "That's way too early to even think about…"
Yoru snapped her fingers. "Okay, okay. Change of idea. I did think of a perfect gift that Cael would definitely love."
"What?"
"A corpse."
Asa blinked like her ears were being beaten with alkali.
"Cael's an undertaker. A corpse would be the perfect gift."
"No! Yoru, that's insane!"
"I'm a devil. My brain works differently. So your options are protection or a corpse."
Asa bit her lip.
She really, really regretted asking Yoru for help.
Giving Cael a corpse as a present was insane. A corpse wouldn't even pass censorship in the gore section!
At least the safety advice sounded reasonable in comparison.
Then an idea hit her.
Her heart thudded.
She stared at her reflection and asked seriously, "Yoru… do you think with my body right now, I could actually have kids?"
"Probably. Why? You thinking about stuff like that?"
"Hypothetically," Asa said, blushing, "if Cael and I had a child… who would be the mother, me or you? Would the kid take my genes or yours?"
Yoru blinked, considering it.
"This is a weird question," she said slowly. "But if anyone would remember it, it would be you. Cause you're the mom. I won't fight you on that. I already have multiple kids."
Asa felt her jaw drop.
"What?! Yoru, YOU have kids?"
"Yes. I'm the War Devil. My kids are devils too. They don't have human dads. Don't try to logic this with human brain cells."
Asa stared, dumbfounded.
"But… don't your kids ever visit you? You seem miserable."
Yoru let out a long sigh.
"My kids came from war. They're powerful devils. The world's governments keep them locked down under surveillance. They have zero freedom."
She paused, then said, almost quietly:
"Their names are Gun Devil, Tank Devil, Nuclear Weapon Devil…"
Asa frowned. "Nuclear what?"
Yoru explained, "That one's erased from humanity's collective memory because Chainsaw Man ate it. When Chainsaw Man consumes a devil, the concept itself disappears—unless it's still part of its parent's body, then the parent remembers. That's how I remember Nuclear Weapon."
Asa swallowed.
Now she understood Yoru's hatred of Chainsaw Man. Her child wasn't just dead—its existence was wiped out.
"Being forgotten is worse than death," Asa murmured.
Suddenly she knew exactly what gift she wanted to give Cael.
A gift that meant he would remember her forever.
She opened the Funeral Home's door.
Cael trusted her and had given her a spare key.
Asa looked around, searching for his familiar figure.
The yard was empty, but rustling came from the body processing room in the back.
That had to be him.
Asa's fear of corpses still niggled at her, but thoughts of Cael pushed her forward.
"Cael… are you in there?" she called softly.
At that moment, Cael stepped out of the room wearing his black and white work clothes, rubber gloves in hand, specks of blood faint on the surface.
He peeled off his gloves and tossed them into the trash.
"Asa," he said casually, "why are you here so late? It's already ten. You should be sleeping."
Asa blinked those big eyes of hers.
"I wanted to see you. You're still up too. Is it okay for you to be working this late?"
Cael shrugged.
"I can't help it. My clients don't exactly tell me when they're about to kick it."
Asa gave a playful smile and rolled up her sleeves. "Finished here? Want help?"
She sounded more confident than usual—like she meant to charm him a little. Even though she was already cute, adding a sprinkle of adorable couldn't hurt, right?
Cael raised an eyebrow but smiled. "Yeah, you're just in time. I'm done. After the family pays respects tomorrow, we'll cremate."
He started for the locker room to shower and change. "I haven't eaten dinner yet. Asa… want some late‑night snacks? What do you want?"
"Anything except fish," she said cheerfully. "I like everything you make."
Thirty minutes later, Cael had cooked a few of his signature late‑night dishes. They were laid out on the dining table.
Asa sat beside him but didn't touch her chopsticks yet.
She leaned closer and whispered, "Is the kid you adopted not home?"
Cael nodded. "Denji's at school. He stays there longer these days. He likes it."
"So it's just us… again?"
"Yeah."
Asa felt a rush in her chest.
Her hand crept down to rest on Cael's leg.
Cael froze.
"Asa," he said gently, "let's eat first."
She had that look—like she wanted more than dinner.
"Asa, I want to give you a gift," Asa said suddenly.
"What?"
Cael set down his chopsticks.
"Okay… what do you need me to do?"
"Close your eyes," Asa said, cheeks warming.
He chuckled. "They're closed. What's the gift? Hard to guess."
"You'll see."
Asa pulled a small mirror from her bag to check her face. Perfect.
She took out an Instax camera, leaned in, and gave Cael a quick peck on the cheek.
Click.
Click.
Two photos snapped. They developed in moments.
She put them into two small frames—one for her, one for him.
"Okay… open your eyes."
She handed Cael the frame, voice trembling.
"I really miss that kiss on the Ferris wheel. There was no record of it back then, so I made one now. We'll get old someday, but photos stay forever. This is my gift to you. I hope you like it."
Cael took a breath, set the frame in a place of honor on the table, and looked at her.
"I love it, Asa. I swear I'll take care of it."
Asa exhaled with relief.
"Now let's eat. I'm starving."
"No rush," Cael said calmly, then reached out and took her hand.
Before she could blink, his other arm went around her waist and pulled her close.
Cael wasn't some saint who could ignore a chance like this.
"Asa… you're the best gift I've ever gotten."
His breath was a little heavy.
Asa suddenly felt everything spinning.
She lifted both hands to her face.
This wasn't in the plan.
Cael leaned in and whispered right by her ear, "Come on… let me see your face clearly, okay?"
Asa froze, caught between fluster and desire.
_____
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