Eyes [A chainsaw man story]

Chapter 8

"How was the grave visit?" Kishibe asked.

By that time, the old man and Aki sat at a table face-to-face. The younger one placed the cat--that was placed in its cage--under the table. The smell of coffee and tea filled the air.

"More exhausting than fighting Devils."

"Not surprised. Denji and Power are a handful. Don't know how you were able to take 'em along."

"Their behavior has shaped up some. As hard as it is to believe. Denji does as I say now. And Power stopped throwing vegetables," there was a bit of reluctance before he added. "Y/n lessened the load too, I guess."

Then there was a brief silence. Aki thoughtfully stared at the table as Kishibe waited for a response from the youngster.

"Captain Kishibe," Aki said, breaking the silence. "The upcoming expedition to eliminate the gun devil... can division 4 withdraw from it?"

...

"Now I'm surprised," Kishibe said in a monotone voice. "I thought you'd be eager for this operation out of everyone in public safety," he leaned closer to the table. "The spots that belonged to the agents killed by santa will be filled by others."

"I'm aware of that, sir."

"Division 4 won't be fighting alone. Public safety's best teams will be coming together for this. We should be able to fight even the gun devil on equal footing," the old man said, trying to convince Aki.

There was a moment of silence once more.

"The fun devil's location is classified information. Pull out and you close yourself off from getting access to it. Even if the gun devil gets taken out, that information will be kept under a tight lid. It'll be years before you'll know whether the devil that killed your family is dead." Kishibe said in a low and deep tone in a way that sounds menacing. "Do you still wanna back out?"

"...I'm willing to accept that," Aki said in response.

The old man stared at him for a while, taking in the information. He took a sip from his cold water. "I'll inform the higher-ups of Division 4's intention to stay out of it. It's an experimental unit, anyway. More of a joke. I doubt they were expecting much. In exchange, you can get out the bill."

"I always get our bill."

"...Aki. Why the change of heart?"

Suddenly, he recalled the images of Denji and Power on the ground, bleeding profusely. He stared blankly out the window of the restaurant before he replied. "I got cold feet."

From afar, someone...somewhere listened intently to the conversation. He stood up from the couch and stretched. He walked to the balcony of the apartment and stared at the blue sky. "...So that's how it is?"

----

Eventually, Aki came back to his apartment. He was greeted by the sight of Denji, cooking. He gave the cat to Power, to her joy, while the ginger prepared the 'food' on the dining table.