ᴄʀᴀᴢʏ ɢɪʀʟ| chainsaw man

ten

Aoi was holding onto Akako's leg, terrified of the other people in the room.

Akako ran her fingers through his hair soothingly, trying to understand what was going on in the room.

"A testicle devil attacked his balls." A blonde boy said, clearly lying. Aki had his arm around Denji, half conscious.

"That's a lie... He made that up." Aki pointed towards the blonde.

Akako glanced at Makima, confused as to what was happening. Makima was just smiling blankly.

"Hmmm. So what do you think? Can you get along?" was Makima's response to the fight those two had.

Akako wasn't sure what a testicle was exactly. She knew vaguely about it being a part of male anatomy... Aki would know. She decided she would ask him later.

Makima recieved two very unenthusiastic answers from the two men. However, it was clear she chose not to let it bother her.

"I'm glad you two are hitting it off." Makima then glanced at Akako for a moment, before turning her gaze to the newest devil hunter. "I'm putting Denji in your squad, Hayakawa."

Akako found the blonde's- well, she supposed she now had a name to call him- Denji's confused expression funny. She stifled a laugh. She didn't want to seem unprofessional or make Aoi confused too. He was currently hiding himself in her blazer. She stopped playing with his hair and instead put a hand on his shoulder. She rubbed it gently.

"This thug?! Really?!" Aki scowled. "But we already have so many troublemakers as is! If we add any more weirdos..."

This new behavior from him was odd. From the little time she had spent with him, Aki never seemed to be very emotionally driven. All his actions were rhythmic, careful, planned. The way he lost his cool truly made Akako wonder.

"I told you when we created your squad, didn't I?" Makima asked. While her expression was as plain and calm as ever, Akako could feel her authority increase inside her aura. "That I'd try operating it with an experimental set up you wouldn't see elsewhere."

That brought all of Akako's attention to the conversation. Her hand went still on Aoi's shoulders as she waited for more information. An experimental set up? How so? Akako hadn't gone on any missions with Aki nor his squad... actually, Akako couldn't remember being assigned to a squad. She was given solo missions with devils that weren't much of a threat. She frowned a little, but her lips turned back up as Denji yawned boredly.

"Just who is this guy?" Aki asked, looking shocked by Denji's loud yawn.

"Denji here is human, but he can turn into a devil," Makima answered calmly. Akako raised an eyebrow. So Makima spoke about this all casually...

Aki glanced over at Akako as Denji tried to brag about his powers. Ah... So he does know... Akako busied herself with playing with Aoi's hair agian.

"Denji is special. So it's decided we'll treat him as a special case," Makima continued her speech. The dark tone that was overtaking the room made Akako decide to take her leave. She pulled Aoi with her. She placed her hands on his ear, opening the door with her elbow. She pushed into the door to it just as Makima made her closing statement.

"It means we'll be working together til death do us part."

~

Akako was thankful she was able to spend some of the night visiting Makima.

When she and Aoi returned to Aki's apartment, she was quickly faced with the chaos.

Denji hogged the bathroom for the entire night. Aki was too busy glaring at the wall for her to ask if she could use the kitchen sink to clean Aoi up. She decided to grab a bowl of water and a towel and use that to dab his scratches. She placed bandaids on any of the ones that concerned her.

"It'll be fine, Aoi..." she whispered to the boy.

"But... but miss said he could turn into a devil!" Aoi cried, holding onto Akako's shirt sleeve.

She left where she was kneeling to take care of the scratches on his legs and sat next to him on the bed. She had already gotten pajamas for him during an afternoon shopping trip they took before they visited Makima. She had changed into pajamas as well.

"There is a saying that I heard from my... dad... that I think you should remember. It goes like 'Hell is empty and all the devils are here'," she whispered to Aoi. She could hear Aki walk down the hallway. He was either going to go sleep or yell at Denji again.

"But devils are both here and in hell," Aoi frowned. He looked up at her, confused.

It took some mental strength to resist showing her surprise... She didn't actually know that. Aoi didn't need to know she barely knew anything, though. "Well... that is true. But! Don't take it literally. Take it... in a way that shows humans and devils have good and bad sides. Humans are victims of sin just as devils are."

Aoi nodded, seeming to understand. She was grateful he understood as she barely understood her words. She remembered Fuwa Fuwa saying something like that... while they laid under the night sky.

She looked up for a second. She had seen some star shapes stickers you could place on the ceiling. They were also glow-in-the-dark. Maybe she and Aoi could have their own version of that. She would have to ask him, but not right now.

"I think we should sleep now. You've had a long day..." She ran her fingers through his hair. He laid down on the bed, leaving room for her. She smiled as she leaned over and turned off the light. She laid down next to Aoi and fell asleep quickly.