Ardent Hope: Chainsaw Man x Male Reader Insert.

2. It burns.

"Live, protect and love." Was the last thing she said, and (Y/N) understood the condition of their exchange. Yet, he found himself wondering about whom exactly. (Y/N) always felt that a life without a motivation or meaning is a nothing but a miserable existence.

The renewed life that was found in its heart burned in the fury of a thousand lives. Yet, he could feel the sooth of its warmth, and that was something he wasn't used to. The ever so calming sensation of a burning desire, the soothing sensation of a heart being filled, flames pouring into it, a conflagration deep beneath his own soul.

A longing fulfilled, there was something at the back of his mind that struck the neverending emotion, sparkling under a thousand flames in a realm reborn, of a need whose requirements of fulfillment were finally met. Deep into his newfound heart, burning and aching profusely with every heartbeat, he realized this was something he had been yearning for long ago, the missing interpretation left behind for his mind to wander, the one thing he recognized as a the 'something' that was missing on itself.

Who was that person he needed to protect and love? He wasn't even remotely sure, but the sparks of fire he felt through his heart gave him enough determination to realize this was the motivation he needed in his life.

The streets of Tokyo felt damp after the storm had passed, and the soulless blinding lights illuminated the night of its dark skies and dimly firmed as an artificial starry sky forced to shine over the intricate streets of the stone ocean. (Y/N) couldn't really figure out why his heart felt like burning the moment he stepped out of that alleyway, and just assumed it had something to do with the warmth he was now feeling deep beneath his newfound heart.

However, the moment the light night's breeze turned its calming smell into the fiery stench of blood, the same smell he hated so much after countless endeavors and torment endured, he understood the assignment of his heart as a high pitched scream pierced the silence of the calm night, forcing his own body to desperately ran towards the source of the scent, feeling from below his bare feet the usual touch of concrete he always knew of, ever since he was left behind. Shortly after, he found himself in a deserted alleyway, like the ones he was used to roam.

The dim bright of the night, only brought by the brightness of the streetlights and its colorful neon, as soulless and uncaring as it was, seemed completely absorbed by the pitch black alley that stood before him. Yet, he could see a moving form, a shape of a white dress, and long raven hair.

A single woman stood there, looking at him.

"Oh- Hey, are you-"He tried to speak, but fell silent the moment the woman seemed to float into the air, rising into the air as she stared deeply into his eyes, her raven mane of long silky hair falling down and covering half of her face.

The stench of blood came from the same alley, which (Y/N) now realized, had stains of the same dark, heavy liquid left to dry out, splattering every corner of the long and narrow corridor.

From the darkness behind her glowed the red eyes of a devil that approached him, revealing itself in the dim lights of the alley. Its body was a faint reminiscence of that of a beast, and his head was a mass of contorted shapes carved in its bones. From the top of its head, an appendage attached its skull to the body of the woman, using her whole body as a bait.

"Oh, what a poor unfortunate fool." Said the devil, in the reverberating voice of a dying woman, apparently coming from the corpse it held before him, quavering and twitching awkwardly as the devil shook her body. "You've just fallen right into my trap."

The devil proceeded to pierce the night in a scream the moment his beastly body burst open, like a scarlet flower that blossomed only to reveal a mass of bloody tentacles from its now visible ribcage, its limbs stretched over in a mass of amorphous shower of blood.

(Y/N) feared for his life at that very moment, and tried to step back only to trip and fall to his back after the devil extended one of his arms and reached for his feet, not quite enough to grab him, but certainly enough to force him to lose his balance. He didn't know what to do in that very moment, stuck between fight or flight.

However, both of his open hands found their way extending towards the devil, pointing at it, almost touching the flesh of the overarching figure standing before him as it got closer. The fire inside his heart burned fiercer than before, and saw an opportunity at the mocking devil's careless error.

"Incinerate." He pronounced. His voice made an awkward sound when he tried to replicate the same commanding and harsh tone of the burning devil he had met.

He wasn't exactly sure what these words meant, and he was pretty sure he wasn't in full control of his body at that precise moment. The surge of power that released from his hands reverberated through its body, shaking it to the core and burning his veins the moment a powerful burst of golden fire, the same the devil he had made a contract with seemed to be shaped of, found its way towards the devil in the narrow alleyway. The devil tried to scream the moment the golden strokes grasped him, becoming a pitiful echo as the roaring fire engulfed it.

A showering dance of fire, it seemed to reach and grasp for the devil before him, trying to avoid its escape, twitching uncomfortably and constantly merging into its body, searing its way apart as the burst of golden flames penetrated and turned the fleshy tentacles into no more than ashes.

By the moment the fire vanished, the empty carcass of the devil's skull laid on the scorched concrete while its remnants, now purely ashes and crisp embers, blew into the light breeze of the now silent night.

The tattered clothes (Y/N) was wearing were now completely torn apart by the sheer force of the fire burst, leaving only the charred remnants of his bottom half garments. He couldn't quite notice at that very moment, but the searing touch of the fire that had found its way out of his hands had left a scar behind, his arms were now wearing deep burn marks all over his skin.

"That..." He began. "Was amazing!" screamed to the top of his lungs, and quickly realizing it wasn't the best idea to do so, the moment every muscle of his body ached and burned rendering him unable to move at all, and forcing his body into landing head first onto the floor.

"This is the power inherited from my heart." The harsh and soothing voice began, resounding from the depths of his heart, only for him to hear. "The power you inherited from the Fire Devil's heart."

"And is it going to leave me crippled every time I use it?"

"Your weak body was simply overpowered by the power of the flames." She said in a scolding tone. "Mind you, you haven't eaten anything in the last two days."

"How do you even know that?" (Y/N) said trying to get up from the ground, every single cell of his body still begging him to not do so. A deep silence was left only for him to notice,the silent calm of the night seemed unnaturally disturbing as he couldn't evenhear the light noise of the breeze passing by.

At that moment, every aching muscle of his body tensed at the hearing of footsteps walking towards him. He rolled in the ground, almost desperately, trying to discover the identity of this newfound visitor, and he met the yellow eyes of a fair woman who looked down at him. She wore a black trench coat over an immaculate white shirt and a tie, undoubtedly the uniform of an organization she surely was a part of. It made special contrast with her light skin, almost flawless, and the furious red tone of her silky hair.

"Oh, my... What could you possibly be doing in this godforsaken alleyway, talking to no one but yourself?" She said in a strangely mechanic condescending tone, staring deep into his eyes as she spoke, as two more persons approached from behind dressed the same as her.

Her eyes weren't even remotely human.

"Although, your smell... It is quite interesting."