"Daddy, Daddy, I want this one."
"You've had enough."
"I want it, I want it!"
At the air rifle booth, a purple-haired girl who looked about high school age clung to a man who couldn't have been older than thirty, throwing a full-blown tantrum.
Everyone who spotted the pair had the same first thought: That's one young-looking father.
Their second thought: Good lord, the genes in that family.
The girl was devastatingly cute, and every guy in the vicinity felt his heart clench with something between pity and longing.
"Hey there, gorgeous. How about I play a round with you?" A bleach-blond man with a lip piercing sidled up, running his tongue over the stud for emphasis.
Whether the 'gun' he wanted to play with was the air rifle was anyone's guess.
Reze stared at him for a few seconds, then turned her head away. "No thanks. You're ugly. My daddy's rich, he'll buy it for me." She swiveled back to Makoto with stars in her eyes. "Right, Daddy?"
Makoto said nothing.
A few hours later, the two of them walked hand in hand up a mountain trail, heading for the best vantage point to catch the nine o'clock fireworks.
"Don't go around calling random people 'Daddy.' Understood?"
Reze held his left hand while licking an ice cream cone in her right, tongue working in lazy circles. "Relax, you're the only one I've ever called that." Her eyes curved into happy crescents. "So? Did it make you happy?"
...A little.
Reze's expression curdled into disgust. "Getting excited because a girl calls you Daddy. You really are a pervert."
Smack.
His palm landed squarely on her backside.
They reached the viewing platform halfway up the mountain. The moment they stopped, a streak of light shot skyward with a whistle and burst apart with a thunderous crack, showering the night in color.
"You don't need these right now." Reze plucked the sunglasses off his face.
Fireworks reflected across both their features, layering the already charged atmosphere with something warmer, more intimate.
"Hey, mister. City mouse or country mouse. Which one would you rather be?"
He glanced sideways at her but before he could answer, she went on. "The city mouse gets all the good food, but cats and humans are always trying to kill it. Could die any day. The country mouse lives free, but it's always cold, always hungry..."
She clasped her hands behind her back and tilted her face up toward his. "So which does the mister prefer?"
Makoto turned to meet her gaze head-on. "We're people, not mice. We can live in the city and enjoy everything it offers. And when we're tired, we go back to the countryside for the peace and quiet."
"Ha... haha... hahahaha!"
Reze's mouth fell open. She stayed frozen for a long beat, then burst out laughing, the sound spiraling louder until she couldn't stop herself.
"I knew it, mister, you really are something... but mice are always mice. They don't just turn into people..."
He opened his mouth to reply, but she'd already closed the distance and wrapped her arms around him.
He lifted a hand and rested it gently on her back.
"Mister. Let's run away together."
A long silence passed before she raised her head to look at him again.
"Run? Why?" he asked.
"Because being a Devil Hunter is dangerous, isn't it? You're strong now, but the devils are only going to get worse. And for some reason, people keep coming after you for the Chainsaw Devil's heart." Fear bled through her voice, impossible to hide. "Let's run. Somewhere nobody knows us. We'll live normal lives and die normal deaths..."
Two seconds of silence. Then he lowered his forehead against hers. "Reze. Do you like me?"
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
Fireworks kept detonating overhead, painting their faces in vivid reds and golds. Impossible to tell whether the flush on the girl's cheeks came from the light or from something else entirely.
And finally, she gave her answer.
"Yeah. I like you, mister. So let's..."
"Reze."
He cut her off.
"We're people, not mice."
He repeated the words, then dipped his head a fraction lower. His lips brushed against something soft.
Beneath a sky full of fireworks, a man and a girl kissed.
He was sharp and mature; she was delicate and lovely. Apart from the age gap, not a single flaw between them.
And yet, in the middle of that sweet moment, the girl's right hand crept upward. Her fingers found the pull-ring on the choker around her neck.
"Reze."
He spoke again, and her hand went still.
"In this world, I've been protecting a lot of people. They've all been living well, because they trust me, and I love every one of them. The same way I love you."
He cradled her face in both hands. "Will you trust me the way they do? Put everything in my hands?"
Reze stared at the face inches from her own, wide-eyed. The hand on the pull-ring was suddenly covered by his.
"We will leave this place. But we won't run. We'll walk out on our own terms."
A quiet, absolute confidence settled into his smile. "I'll make you happy. You'll go to school. You'll have friends. You'll join clubs after class like a normal high school girl, go shopping with your classmates, and then come home and we'll eat dinner together. Watch movies. Play games. Take baths. Make l—"
Reze had been sinking deeper into every word, but at the last one she spat in mock outrage. "Tch! Dirty old man!"
A long silence.
"...Is that real?" she whispered.
"I keep my promises. That's my ninja way," he said.
She had no idea what a ninja way was, but the warmth of his body seeped into hers, and she felt herself going boneless. The fingers hooked around the pull-ring slowly, quietly let go.
After a while, her voice came out small. "Take me. Right here."
Makoto's expression shifted. He shot a look into the shadows where Beam and the four animal-type devils were hiding.
All five materialized at once and fanned out on patrol.
The moment another couple appeared on the trail hoping to watch the fireworks, the four muscle-bound devils swarmed them before Beam even had to move.
"Who said you could come up here for a date?"
"Don't scream! Scream again and I kill the boyfriend first, then deal with you!"
The couple nearly jumped out of their skin. The boyfriend fumbled for his wallet. "P-please, let us go. Take all my money."
The Libido Devil sneered. "This is all you've got and you're out here on a date?"
"Y-yes, sorry, we'll leave right now."
The Gorilla Devil loomed over them. "Do you know what time it is? Don't you have class tomorrow?"
"We already graduated..."
The Dolphin Devil crossed its arms. "Graduated means you don't need a job? Your parents aren't worried about you?"
Time slipped past, unmeasured.
The Chainsaw Man world spanned five nations, and China was one of them.
China and Japan sat only one time zone apart.
The group led by Mrs. Yukinoshita and Mrs. Yuigahama had spent the past decade or so living in China.
Just as she had in the Naruto world, Mrs. Yukinoshita opened a dessert shop, this time in China's Tianfu Province. Mrs. Yuigahama, it turned out, had a knack for the same craft. The two worked together with seamless chemistry.
The four-woman maid squad helped out in the kitchen.
A shop staffed entirely by beautiful women, serving food that was genuinely excellent. It had drawn massive crowds from the day it opened. Word was the only place in the area that rivaled its popularity was Kikkaro Restaurant on the next street over.
"I'm sorry, we've run out of ingredients for today. Please come a bit earlier tomorrow."
Yui Yuigahama, whose figure had only grown more striking over the past decade, bowed apologetically to yet another crestfallen customer.
This was practically a daily ritual.
She'd just seen off another disappointed patron when Yumiko Miura called from inside. "Yui, come help me clean up. We're closing."
"Coming!"
Yui turned to head in, then caught a silhouette approaching from the corner of her eye.
She didn't even look properly before launching into her reflex apology. "I'm sorry, we're already clo..."
"It's me."
Her head snapped up.
"M-Makoto?!"
Joy flooded her face, bright and instant. It lasted about two seconds before freezing solid.
Because slung across his back was a cute girl who looked about high school age.
And what made it worse, what made Yui's emotions tangle into an impossible knot, was the smell clinging to the girl. That unmistakable... well. Everyone knows what that smell is.
She was twenty-nine years old in this world. She knew exactly what she was smelling.
"She's yours now. Get her cleaned up, and look after her until I've dealt with the Gun Devil." He said it matter-of-factly, transferring the unconscious Reze into Yui's arms.
"Mmn..."
Just as Makoto prepared to leave via the Flying Thunder God Technique, Reze murmured in her sleep and looped both arms around his neck.
"Mister... kiss kiss."
Resignation settled over his features. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.
Beside them, Yui's expression could have been ripped straight from the famous painting scene in White Album 2, her face a perfect mirror of Setsuna's.
Pop.
Their lips finally separated with a sound like a cork leaving a bottle.
Makoto flicked her forehead. "Behave yourself while I'm gone, got it?"
"Fiiine. Don't you dare abandon me though."
He gave her nose a gentle squeeze, then vanished.
"U-um, are you okay, sweetie?"
Without Makoto supporting her, Reze was about to crumple to the ground. Yui rushed forward to catch her.
"Mmm..."
Reze smacked her lips, savoring something, and blinked at Yui's face. She tilted her head. "Huh... auntie, are you the mister's wife? S-sorry, I think we did something bad to you..."
"W-wife?!"
The jealousy simmering in Yui's chest evaporated on impact. Her face turned scarlet. Okay, maybe this girl isn't so bad after all...
"Yui, what's taking so long?"
Yumiko Miura and Hina Ebina came out to investigate, only to find their friend holding a teenage girl in her arms. A single sniff told them everything.
"Was Makoto just here?"
Mrs. Yukinoshita emerged behind them, nose twitching. Her brow furrowed.
Yui stared at her, floored. "How did you know?"
A week flew by.
Makima's office.
Every Devil Hunter assigned to Public Safety Special Division 4 had assembled in the room.
Makoto. Yu Ishigami. Aki Hayakawa. Himeno. Kobeni Higashiyama. The Violence Fiend. The Angel Devil. The Spider Devil...
Aki frowned. "Everyone from Division 4 is here? That's a first."
"Must be something big," Himeno said. "Do you know what's going on, Mr. Makoto?"
All eyes turned to the man on the couch, accepting a cup of hot tea from Ishigami.
Within Public Safety, the relationship between Makoto and Makima was an open secret. What puzzled everyone was how, given the nature of that relationship, the two never seemed particularly close in public.
Before he could answer, Makima appeared at the front of the room wearing her trademark faint, enigmatic smile.
"I apologize for the sudden summons. Something important has come up."
"W-what is it?" Kobeni stammered, silently praying it wasn't anything too dangerous.
"The Gun Devil has surfaced."
Every person and devil in the room went rigid.
"What? Are you serious, Ms. Makima?"
No one reacted more intensely than Aki. Vengeance against the Gun Devil was his entire reason for joining Public Safety.
Makima's expression didn't waver. "Special Divisions 1 through 5 will all participate. If we defeat the Gun Devil, we don't just eliminate one of the most terrifying threats in existence. Once other devils learn that the Gun Devil fell to humans, they won't dare cause trouble for a long time."
"Where and when?" Makoto asked.
Makima turned to him. "You won't be going."
Surprise rippled through the room.
"You're our trump card," she continued. "You stay in reserve. Once we've worn down the Gun Devil's strength, you deliver the final blow."
On the surface, the strategy sounded reasonable.
Dig a little deeper, and it fell apart.
Against an ordinary devil, or one within a manageable power range, sure, hold something back. But this was the Gun Devil. Thirteen years ago it had appeared for a mere 0.2 minutes and killed over a million people across the globe, triggering worldwide panic.
Against an enemy like that, you throw everything at it from the start. If your front line gets wiped in seconds, what good is a trump card sitting on the bench?
"Ms. Makima, that's..."
"The decision has been made. If anyone wants to opt out, tell me now."
Aki tried to protest but she cut him off before the words left his mouth.
An uneasy silence. Glances traded back and forth. Kobeni raised her hand first, trembling head to toe. "U-um, c-can I not go?"
She'd joined Public Safety to earn a paycheck and support her family. Facing down the Gun Devil wasn't part of the deal.
Makima nodded. "Anyone else?"
More glances. A handful of hunters whose names Makoto couldn't place raised their hands, requesting to sit the operation out.
Getting paid pennies and risking your life against that thing? Can't blame them.
"Aki." Himeno looked sidelong at her partner.
"I'm going." His voice was steel. "I've been waiting for this."
Makima said, "There's still time. Go home and think it over."
One by one they filed out, until only Makoto and Makima remained.
"You really think that lineup can beat the Gun Devil?" He turned to her.
"I'm quite confident. And we still have you as our trump card, don't we?" She smiled.
He held her gaze, those concentric rings staring back at him. After a few seconds, a grin spread across his face, and he arched an eyebrow. "Liar."
Makima didn't deny it. She walked up to him, her voice dropping to something soft and low. "Though the odds of not making it back alive are fairly high. Before we go... would you like me to help you with that? Could be the last time."