"Didn't they say Cael had been taken away by Public Safety? So why are you still here?" Yoru muttered in disbelief.
Asa Mitaka puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms stubbornly, "I don't care. Yoru and I agreed to wait fifteen minutes, so I'm waiting the full fifteen minutes before leaving."
"Are you out of your mind?" Yoru replied, exasperated. "You met him once! And Cael can't even see you from here. You're just wasting your damn time."
Asa checked her watch. "Ten minutes left."
"I give up," Yoru finally sighed. "Just wait then. But if he's dead, you can follow him to the grave."
Asa blinked at that.
Yoru blurted, "Whatever weapon you use to kill Chainsaw Man, fine, but turning a person into a weapon is just fucked up."
Asa wrinkled her nose, dead serious, "I'm cute, so anyone with normal taste would like me," like it was the most obvious fact in the world.
"That's why you're delusional," Yoru groaned.
Time ticked by.
The sun sank behind the dark mountains, the sky bleeding into night. One minute remained.
"Ha, now you should give up," Yoru grumbled. She'd wasted yet another afternoon. If she'd spent this time looking for Chainsaw Man, she might have had clues by now.
Suddenly—
A bright beam cut through the darkness.
A taxi pulled up in front of the funeral home.
Cael stepped out, Denji right behind him.
"Cael, I didn't think a taxi would actually drive out here this late. We're lucky," Denji said cheerfully.
"Because I paid extra," Cael replied flatly.
Thump‑thump.
Asa Mitaka's heart raced like it might burst from her chest. She really had waited for him.
The taxi headlights lit him up, and Cael saw her standing at the shop entrance.
Well damn.
Perfect timing.
He'd been thinking about returning her student ID, and there she was.
"Asa, why are you here?" Cael asked calmly.
Asa's whole body froze. She'd rehearsed dozens of conversation openers in her head, but right now she could only stare, face flaming red, no words coming out.
Lucky for her, Cael was chill enough to break the silence.
"Heavens, he's actually gentle," Asa thought, starstruck.
"I'm here to return your shoes," she stammered at last, lifting the bag she'd been clutching.
Cael nodded, understanding immediately. Of course that was the reason she stayed.
He hadn't had time to think about something as small as shoes with everything going on — the fight with Katana Man, the Public Safety chaos, the taxi ride… shoes definitely slipped his mind.
"It's pretty late," Cael said softly, "you haven't been waiting out here long, right?"
"No… no, I just got here too," Asa managed.
Cael opened the shop door. "Come in and have a meal first. I've got something to talk about."
Asa's heart did a little flip.
Cael invited her to dinner.
And he said he wanted to talk to her.
Was he… going to confess?
Her face turned red all over again.
Before she could melt into a puddle of embarrassment…
"Don't just stand there, Documentary Lady," Denji said, taking the shoes from her. He silently followed Cael inside.
Denji had that impression of Asa from before — emotionless encyclopedia mode when she rattled off iris facts like some robotic speaker.
"Oh… okay," she said.
Inside, the blood had been cleaned up by Public Safety, but the floor and courtyard were still a wreck. The Fox Devil wasn't exactly lethal, but it was hell at wrecking the place.
Cael probably noticed Asa's shocked expression because he explained with a tired smile, "A few days ago Public Safety Devil Hunters came here looking for a devil, and this is what happened. Business will be slow for a bit."
Asa processed that, her eyes softening.
Old lady Tamura had made it sound like some supernatural mystery.
This… was just the truth.
She really needed to stop believing rumors.
Casually, Cael asked, "Asa, do you have any food allergies?"
With fifty million yen in the bank and the shop closed for repairs, wasn't it time to enjoy life a little?
Denji wildly raised his hand, "I can eat anything! Cooking or assembling corpses, I'm down for both!"
Cael patted Denji's head. "I didn't ask you. Asa is a guest, Denji, you're an employee. Go prep the vegetables."
"Okay! I'm great at both cooking and corpse putting together!"
Asa blinked again.
Cael asked her about her food tastes.
So that must mean… he liked her a little, right?
"That's… cool," Asa said awkwardly.
Asa smiled faintly. "I don't eat fish. Always feels like the texture of a rotting corpse."
Asa blinked.
"What a weird metaphor," he said politely.
Cael shrugged. "Anyway, I don't know how to cook fish. I'll make some dishes from my hometown."
"I'll help too," Asa said.
"Cool."
One hour later Cael had made a feast: twice‑cooked pork, shredded pork in garlic sauce, tomato scrambled eggs, spicy chicken, a vegetable stir‑fry, and pickled cabbage with vermicelli soup. Five dishes and a soup.
Cael had originally planned Mapo tofu, but after Asa's fish comment about rotting corpse texture, he figured tofu might be too… squishy.
They sat at the table. Pochita was nowhere to be seen. Like always, he stayed inside Cael unless he felt like coming out.
Cael served Asa a big bowl of rice.
"In my hometown we eat rice like this. If you're not used to it, no worries."
Denji, who was already super used to chopsticks, chimed in proudly, "I can eat three pounds of rice at once!"
Asa stared at the food, overwhelmed by the spread.
"Feel free to eat," Cael said. "Once you're tired you can even sleep here. The shop's pretty big."
"Thanks for the meal," Asa said softly.
Warm memories flooded her mind.
A long‑lost sense of home blossomed in her chest, warm and bright.