The gymnasium was loud.
Hundreds of first-year students packed into rows, whispering, shuffling, glancing at each other with that particular nervous energy of people about to do something stupid. Above them, banners hung from the rafters- old ones, faded, advertising sports festivals and cultural events from years past. The Devil Hunter Club had clearly claimed the space for the day.
At the front, on a small raised platform, four students stood waiting.
The one speaking was a guy with a headband tied around his forehead. Dark hair. Sharp eyes. The kind of presence that made people listen without knowing why.
"First year students!" His voice carried. No microphone needed. "Thank you for coming! Welcome to the Devil Hunter tryouts!"
Behind him, three others.
A dark-haired girl with a neutral expression. Nothing special. Just... there. Observing.
A taller guy with the same headband, same dark hair. Brothers? Cousins? The resemblance was strong.
And a taller girl with long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was smiling. Actually smiling. More positive than the others combined.
The headband guy continued.
"This club only accepts those strong enough to fight devils! You will patrol the city for devils in groups of three, guided by one senior!" He paused. Let that sink in. "You have one week to bring back a dead devil! Do that, and you're in!"
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. A week? A dead devil? That sounded-
The shorter girl raised her hand. Her voice cut through the noise.
"To keep things fair, we'll be choosing your members as we see fit!"
The ponytail girl added, still smiling: "And remember, the senior won't be able to interfere unless the rest of the team is wiped out! So don't expect to rely on them!"
Wiped out. The words hung in the air. This wasn't a game.
The shorter girl scanned the crowd. Her eyes moved like she was counting, calculating, choosing.
Then he pointed.
"You. You. And you." Three jabs of his finger. "You're a good team. Good luck!"
Asa blinked.
The guy next to her was... him. The tall one. The one War had tried to flirt with. The one who'd said "nah, I'm good" and walked away like turning down a devil was nothing.
He was looking ahead. Calm. Unbothered.
On his other side, a girl with short blonde hair and glasses was adjusting her uniform, looking around with obvious curiosity.
'Great,' Asa thought. 'Just great.'
The tall guy turned. Glanced at her. Just a glance.
"Hey."
That was it. Just... hey.
The glasses girl bounced slightly. "Nice to meetcha, partners!"
Asa's face was doing something complicated. She could feel it. Heat rising to her cheeks. Blood rushing where it shouldn't.
'Stop it,' she told herself. 'Stop it stop it stop it-'
Behind her, somewhere inside, War was conspicuously silent. Which meant she was watching. Which meant she was amused. Which meant this was going to be insufferable.
Asa tried to tune everything out. The crowd. The announcements. The way the tall guy was standing there like he owned the space. The way the glasses girl kept glancing at her with obvious curiosity.
'Just focus on not dying,' she told herself. 'That's the goal. Don't die. Find Chainsaw Man. Don't die. Simple.'
A shadow fell over her.
She looked up.
The ponytail girl was standing there. Smiling. Arms crossed.
"Yo." Casual. Friendly. "Guess I'll be your 'guide' for the week?"
-----------------------------------------------------------
The school was empty.
Not abandoned-empty. There were desks, chairs, papers scattered on floors, and even students. The kind of empty that meant 'there is something missing here'. EìThe normality of it was creepy.
The quartet moved through the hallways in a loose line.
The guy first. Tall. Easy strides. Hands in pockets. Looking around like he was on a casual walk.
The tall girl behind him. Ponytail swinging. Still smiling. Senior or not, she seemed more like a tour guide than a protector.
The glasses girl third. Glasses glinting as she peered into every classroom they passed. Curious. Nervous. Excited.
Asa last. Bringing up the rear. Trying to look anywhere except at the guy's back.
"Would devils really be inside a school?" The glasses girl's voice echoed slightly. She was leaning into an empty classroom, scanning the desks.
The guy didn't turn. "This is the biggest school in Tokyo. Supposedly, sometimes devils live in the unused classrooms."
"Huh." The girl pulled back. Considered that.
The senior raised a finger. Smiled wider. "And besides, devils can be anywhere, really. It's no surprise. They can range from pests to kaijus."
'Kaijus,' Asa thought flatly. 'Great. Hope we get a pest.'
The shorter girl perked up. "Oh! We never introduced ourselves properly!"
She turned. Walked backward a few steps to face them.
"I'm Yuko! I'm super into Chainsaw Man lately!"
Asa's brain snagged on that.
'Into Chainsaw Man. Like... into into? Or just into?'
The guy nodded. Easy. "I'm Yoshida. Chainsaw Man's great, right? I like him too."
The senior laughed. Light. Genuine. "And I'm Riko! I really like the 'brooding type of guy that has internal conflict but is bottling them up'!"
She winked at no one in particular.
Asa felt her face do something complicated again.
'Just say your name. Simple. Just-'
"Asa." The word came out quieter than she meant. "Asa... Mitaka."
Silence.
They were all looking at her.
Waiting.
She opened her mouth to say something else, anything else, but nothing came out.
'This sucks!!!' Her brain screamed. 'Why'd I have to get teamed up with him?!'
'Awkward much?!' Her brain screamed. 'Aaaah! I wanna bail! I'm not the one who asked him out!'
Yuko tilted her head. Innocent. Curious.
"Do you like Chainsaw Man, Asa?"
Asa's mouth opened. Closed. Opened again.
'Can't time move any faster?!'
"Uh..." She swallowed. "Like, as much as the average person..."
Footsteps.
Asa looked up.
Three girls were walking past them. Familiar faces. Her class. The ones who'd been there. The ones who'd seen.
They walked past without looking at her. Without acknowledging her. Like she was invisible.
But their voices carried.
When they were far enough away to whisper, but not far enough that Asa couldn't hear-
"Ugh. She has some nerve trying to get a boyfriend after what she did."
"Shhh! She can totally hear you!"
"Ahahahaha!"
The laughter echoed down the hallway.
Asa's face went red.
Not the good kind of red. The kind that came with heat behind the eyes and a tightness in the chest and the overwhelming need to disappear.
She looked down at the floor. At her shoes. At anything that wasn't them.
Riko's voice came from the front. Light. Unbothered.
"Mannn, these juniors are as heartless as a devil."
She wasn't the type to judge. That was clear.
Yoshida glanced back. "What's up with them?"
Yuko shrugged. "Beats me."
Asa's hand tightened on her sword.
The grip was wrong. Sweaty. Slipping.
The sword clattered to the ground.
Everyone turned.
"I just remembered..." Asa's voice came out strange. Hollow. "Suh... something I have to do."
Yuko blinked. "Huh?"
Yoshida's brow furrowed. "Huh? What's wrong?"
Asa pushed past them. Shoulders brushing. Not stopping.
"I just remembered something I have to do! I gotta go!"
"Hey, wait a-"
She was already walking. Already moving. Already fleeing.
The hallway stretched ahead of her. Endless. Empty.
Her body hunched forward. Like a zombie. Like a puppet with cut strings.
Behind her eyes, images flashed.
Bucky. Dead. Guts on the grass.
Her class. Watching. Accusing.
The whispers. The looks. The way they moved away when she got close.
She has some nerve.
After what she did.
She can totally hear you.
The lockers appeared in front of her. She didn't remember walking here. Didn't remember the hallways or the stairs or any of it.
Her hands moved on their own. Found her locker. Opened it.
Inside-
Her shoes were covered in grease and raw meat.
She stared.
Didn't move. Didn't blink. Didn't breathe.
"ASA!"
Yuko's voice. Behind her. Concerned.
"Wait! What's wrong? Are you okay?"
She stopped. Looked past Asa's shoulder. Saw the locker.
"Oh yikes..." Her voice dropped. "That's raw meat..."
Asa kept staring.
The red. The grease. The smell, suddenly, hitting her all at once.
'I'm fine,' she told herself. 'I'm fine. Everything's fine.'
"I'm fine."
Yuko's face crumpled with confusion. "What?"
"Are you sure about that?"
"I'm fine."
Asa turned. Walked away from the locker. Away from the shoes. Away from everything.
Without shoes.
Just socks on cold concrete floor.
The exit door swung shut behind her.
Cold air. Gray sky. The sound of traffic in the distance.
She walked.
Didn't know where. Didn't care. Just walked.
Her socks were wet now. From what, she didn't know. Didn't want to know.
Beside her, invisible to everyone else, War appeared. Walking in step.
"Don't walk shoeless. Our feet will hurt."
Asa kept walking.
"Bullying is common in communities without social fluidity. Both human and devil." A pause. "Shall I take care of it for you?"
"I said I'm fine!"
"You are not fine."
"I'M FINE!"
The words echoed off buildings. Faded into nothing.
She kept walking.
And then-
"Your are not fine!"
Footsteps behind her. Running.
"ASA!"
Yuko. Huffing. Catching up.
"AHAHAHAH! Yup, going shoeless hurts, alright!"
Asa turned.
Yuko was holding something. White. Shoes. Her own shoes.
"Here, Asa!" She thrust one forward. Grinning. Breathless. "I'll lend you one of my shoes!"
Asa stared at it.
Just stared.
"If you wear one shoe, only one of your feet will hurt!" Yuko held up a thumbs up. Triumphant. Like she'd just discovered fire.
"What?!" Asa's voice cracked. "No, seriously, I'm fi- I mean, I don't need it!"
"Then give it back to me!"
Yuko turned. Ran.
"Huh?!"
"Come on, give it back!"
"Wai- YOUR SHOE! Are you kidding me?!"
Asa grabbed the shoe. Put it on. Started running.
"What is with- Ack! Hey, wait-!"
They ran.
Through streets. Past buildings. Around corners.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!"
"Hey! Gah... WAIT!"
Running like children. Like idiots. Like nothing bad had ever happened and nothing bad ever would.
Just a dispute about shoes.
Just two girls being stupid.
Just alive.
Yuko reached a dead end.
A house. Small. Ordinary. A door.
She stopped. Turned. Grinned.
"Hff... phew!" She was breathing hard. Laughing. Actually laughing. "This is my house! Wanna come in?"
Asa doubled over. Hands on knees. Gasping.
Her lungs burned. Her legs ached. Her face was wet, sweat, tears, she couldn't tell anymore.
"Huff... no... no thanks..."
Yuko held up the other shoe.
"Here! Take the other one! I have extras!" She beamed. Radiant. Completely sincere. "Now both your feet will be protected on your way home!"
Asa wiped her face with her sleeve.
The fabric came away damp.
"No." Her voice was quiet. Hoarse. "I don't need your shoes..."
"Then sell them!" Yuko shoved the shoe into her hands. "If they won't sell, you can just throw them away!"
She was still smiling.
Still there.
Still being... kind.
Asa looked at the shoe in her hands. White. Ordinary. Warm from Yuko's grip.
She didn't know what to say.
Didn't know what to feel.
Didn't know anything except that someone had just given her something for no reason at all.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The walk home was long.
Asa's feet were warm now. Protected. The shoes squeaked slightly with every step.
Beside her, War appeared. Walking in step. Invisible to everyone else.
"Shall we sell them?"
Asa didn't look at her.
"Are you an idiot?"
"What?"
"Nothing." Asa kept walking. The shoes squeaked. "Just... nothing."
Behind them, the city hummed. Normal. Unaware.
Ahead, home waited. Small. Empty. Safe.
For now.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The final bell rang.
Around him, the classroom emptied in the usual rush- chairs scraping, bags zipping, voices chattering about nothing. Normal sounds. Normal movements. Normal people living normal lives.
Tanaka didn't move.
They sat at their desk, hands pressed flat against the wood, staring at nothing. The headache had started during fourth period. By lunch, it was a constant thrum behind their eyes. Now, at the end of the day, it was a jackhammer.
'You should have gone to the tryouts.'
The voice in their head was calm. Reasonable. Infuriating.
Tanaka didn't respond.
'The Devil Hunter Club. First years trying out. You heard the announcement this morning.'
'I heard it.'
'And you chose to sit here. In class. Doing nothing.'
'Asa wasn't in class today.'
A pause.
'So?'
Tanaka finally moved. Reached down. Began tying their shoes. The motion was automatic. Familiar. Something to focus on besides the pounding in their skull.
'So she was somewhere else. Doing something else. Club stuff. Tryout stuff.' They pulled the laces tight. 'And if she's doing club stuff, War is doing club stuff. And if War is doing club stuff-'
'You're afraid.'
'I'm not afraid. I'm sensible.'
'Same thing.'
Tanaka stood. Grabbed their bag. Walked toward the door.
'War tried to kill us. Remember? She bisected my hand. She would have bisected my head if you hadn't-' They stopped. Swallowed. 'If you hadn't taken over.'
'I remember.' The voice was quiet now. Almost gentle. 'I remember everything. The pain. The fear. The way you screamed inside.'
Tanaka's jaw tightened.
'Then you understand why I'm not walking into a situation where she might be.'
'I understand your reasoning.' A pause. 'I don't agree with it.'
They were in the hallway now. Empty. Most students already gone. Their footsteps echoed off the lockers.
'Of course you don't. You wanted to go. You wanted to see her. To fight her again.'
'I wanted to observe.'
'Same thing.'
'...That's my line.'
Tanaka almost smiled. Almost. The corner of their mouth twitched, then flattened.
'Is this human for you?'
Pause. Just void between voices.
'This is why you'll never be human.'
Just silence. Human didn't respond.
They walked.
Outside, the air was cold. Gray sky. The usual.
'You know what your problem is?'
'I have many problems. Be specific.'
'You think too much. You analyze. You calculate. You weigh every option until the moment passes and then you tell yourself you made the right choice because you didn't make any choice at all.'
Tanaka's steps slowed.
'That's rich. Coming from you.'
'Why?'
'You're the one who spent three years numbing me. Making me not feel. Making me not care. Making me watch the world like a movie instead of living in it.' They started walking again. Faster now. 'And now you're complaining that I think too much?'
Silence.
Then, quieter: 'I didn't say it was your fault. I said it was your problem.'
Tanaka didn't respond.
They walked past the school gates. Onto the street. Past the convenience store where they sometimes bought food. Past the vending machines humming in the dark.
'You mocked me earlier.'
'When?'
'When you said that's why I'll never be human.'
Tanaka remembered. The words had come out sharp. Mean. The kind of thing you say when you're hurting and want someone else to hurt too.
'I remember.'
'It bothered me.'
'Good.'
'Not because it was cruel. Because it was true.'
Tanaka stopped walking.
They stood on the sidewalk. People passed around them- salarymen, students, an old woman with a shopping cart. None of them noticed. None of them cared.
'What?'
'I'll never be human.' The voice was flat. Matter-of-fact. 'I've known that for millennia. But hearing you say it...'
A long pause.
'It felt different. Coming from you. Coming from someone who is what I want to be and doesn't even appreciate it.'
Tanaka didn't know what to say.
Didn't know what to feel.
The headache pounded.
They started walking again.
The street stretched ahead. Ordinary. Boring. The same route they'd walked a thousand times.
In the distance, laughter. Two figures running. Girls. One with glasses, one with-
Tanaka's eyes caught them. Just for a moment. The dark hair. The familiar shape.
Asa.
Running. Laughing? No- chasing. Being chased. With another girl. Both of them moving like children, like nothing was wrong, like the world wasn't falling apart.
'There she is." Human's voice was sharp. Alert. "War's vessel. We should-'
'No.'
Tanaka kept walking. Didn't look back.
'She's right there. We could observe. Learn. Maybe-'
'No.'
They walked faster. Away from the laughter. Away from Asa. Away from whatever was happening between those two girls.
The laughter faded behind them.
'Coward.'
'Fine.'
'You're not even going to argue?'
'No point.'
Human was quiet.
Tanaka walked.
A flash of color on the ground.
They stopped.
A plushie. Small. Rabbit? Bear? Hard to tell. Pink. Dirty from the street. One button eye missing.
It lay there. Forgotten. Alone.
Tanaka stared at it.
'A child's toy.' Human's voice was curious. 'Lost. Probably being looked for.'
'Probably.'
'Are you going to do something?'
Tanaka didn't move.
They looked up. Down the street. A woman stood on the corner, a young girl clutching her leg, crying. The girl's face was red, streaked with tears. Her mouth moved- words Tanaka couldn't hear, but could guess.
My plushie. I lost my plushie. I want my plushie.
The woman knelt. Wiped the girl's face. Said something soothing. Pointed down the street. Toward where Tanaka stood.
Toward the plushie. Probably. Tanaka saw it like that.
Tanaka looked down at it again.
Dirty. Missing an eye. Worth nothing.
But to that girl-
'Simple.' Human's voice was calm. 'Pick it up. Walk over. Give it to her. She stops crying. Everyone moves on.'
Tanaka's hand didn't move.
'That's what a human would do.'
'I know.'
'So do it.'
'I can't.'
'Why?'
Tanaka's mind raced.
Options. Outcomes. What if the woman thought they were a creep? What if the girl was scared of strangers? What if they walked over and the plushie was the wrong one? What if they picked it up and someone saw and thought they were stealing? What if-
'You're doing it again.'
"I know!"
The word came out loud. Sharp. A passing salaryman glanced at them, then quickly looked away.
Tanaka's face burned.
They stared at the plushie.
At the crying girl.
At the distance between them.
Too far. Too close. Too much.
'You've spent years judging humans.' Human's voice was soft. Almost thoughtful. 'Watching them. Analyzing them. Deciding what they do wrong, what they do right, what makes them weak or strong or pathetic.'
'That was you. You were influencing me.'
'Partly.' A pause. 'But the thoughts were yours too. You wanted to understand. You wanted to judge. You wanted to feel superior to the messy, emotional, irrational creatures around you.'
Tanaka's hands curled into fists.
'That's not-'
'Is this human for you?'
The words landed like a slap.
Tanaka's own words. Thrown back at them.
'A child is crying. You have the solution in front of you. Pick it up. Walk over. Give it. Three steps. Simple. And you can't do it.'
'I can. I just-'
'You just what?'
Nothing.
Tanaka had nothing.
They stood there. On the sidewalk. Staring at a dirty plushie. Listening to a child cry in the distance. Feeling the weight of every thought, every judgment, every moment of feeling superior to people who at least tried.
'It's not that serious,' they heard themselves say. The words came out quiet. Defensive. 'It's just a plush. She'll forget it. Kids forget things.'
Silence.
Then, softly: 'That's my line.'
Tanaka froze.
'That's what I would say. That's what I've always said. That's the logic of a devil who's watched millions of children cry and decided none of it matters.'
A pause.
'You're using my reasoning. To justify your inaction. To feel better about being afraid.'
Tanaka's throat tightened.
'That's not-'
'You're a hypocrite.'
The word hung in the air.
No anger in it. No judgment. Just observation. Just fact.
'You've spent years judging humans for being emotional, irrational, weak. And now that you're feeling things for the first time, you're paralyzed. You can't act. Can't decide. Can't even pick up a toy and walk twenty meters.'
Tanaka's eyes burned.
'I'm not-'
'The difference between us,' Human continued, 'is that I know what I am. I'm a devil. I kill. I consume. I wear skins and steal lives and call it understanding. I don't pretend to be good. And if I do pretend to be good, I'll know that I am not. You lie to yourself.'
A pause.
0You pretend. You've always pretended. You pretended not to care because caring was too hard. You pretended to be above it all because being below it all hurt too much. And now that the numbness is gone, now that you have to actually be human instead of just watching humans- you're failing.'
Tanaka's vision blurred.
'I'm not failing. I'm just-'
'The girl is still crying.'
They looked up.
The girl was still there. Still crying. Still clutching her mother's leg. Still wanting something that was right in front of Tanaka and wouldn't cost them anything to return.
And they couldn't move.
Couldn't do it.
Couldn't be the person who helped.
'Is this human for you?'
The words again. Softer this time. Almost sad.
Tanaka looked down at the plushie.
Dirty. Broken. Missing an eye.
Like them.
They bent down. Picked it up.
Walked to the nearest trash can.
Dropped it in.
Walked away.
Behind them, the girl's cries continued.
Ahead, the street stretched empty.
'...Why?'
Jin's voice was quiet. Genuinely curious.
Tanaka didn't answer.
Couldn't answer.
Didn't know the answer.
They just walked.
'That was cruel.'
'I know.'
'You knew it was cruel and you did it anyway.'
'Yes.'
'Why?'
Tanaka thought about it. Really thought.
'I don't know.'
'That's not an answer.'
'I know.' They kept walking. The sky was getting darker. 'I don't have one. I just... couldn't. And then I was angry. At myself. At the plush. At the girl for crying. At you for watching. And I just-'
'You wanted someone else to hurt too.'
Tanaka's steps faltered.
'...Maybe.'
'That's very human.'
A bitter laugh escaped them. Short. Sharp.
'Yeah. Maybe it is.'
'Not the good part of human.'
'I know.'
They walked in silence.
Behind them, the city hummed. Unaware. Uncaring.
Ahead, home waited. Empty. Quiet. Safe.
'You're not what I expected.'
'What did you expect?'
'Someone stronger. Someone who would fight back. Someone who would use my power and my knowledge and become something...' A pause. 'More. And in the end, you're all of that, but at the same time, not.'
'I'm not more. I'm just... me.'
'I'm beginning to see that.'
Tanaka wasn't sure if that was an insult or an observation.
Probably both.
They reached their apartment building.
Climbed the stairs.
Opened the door.
Stood in the dark living room, listening to the silence.
'The girl will forget.' Human's voice was soft. 'Not the plush. But you. She'll forget you existed. That's what humans do. They forget.'
'Maybe.'
'But you won't forget her. You'll remember this moment forever. The crying. The plush. The trash can. The way you felt when you walked away.'
Tanaka closed their eyes.
'Why are you telling me this?'
'Because that's what it means to be human. To carry the weight of the things you've done wrong. To remember. To hurt. To wish you'd chosen differently.'
A pause.
'I can't feel that. I can watch it. I can learn it. I can wear the skins of people who felt it. But I can never feel it myself.'
Tanaka opened their eyes.
'Lucky you.'
'No.' The voice was quiet. Almost wistful. 'Not lucky. Just empty.'
Silence.
Tanaka walked to the window. Looked out at the city. At the lights starting to flicker on. At the millions of lives being lived out there, none of them knowing he existed.
'Human.'
'Yes?'
'Thanks. For... I don't know. Talking, I guess.'
'You're welcome.' A pause. 'Even if you are a hypocrite.'
Tanaka almost smiled.
'Yeah. Maybe I am.'