[Denji x Reze] COUNTRY MICE | a Chainsaw Man Fanfiction

Chapter Four: Restless

Reze woke up to the sunlight dappling her skin and songbirds tweeting a morning tune. The occasional cicada would hum rhythmically, her mouth was dry as she woke due to her sleeping in the dry weather conditions. She slowly opened her eyes and was shocked to see someone else staring at her, one hand resting underneath his head and another to his side, brown wide eyes watching her motions.

"Denji?" Oh, she was dreaming. It made sense, it was odd of her to wake up in a wilderness so beautifully decorated with nature's finest oddities. She closed her eyes back, accepting the sleep that still lingered in her eyes. Until she feels a finger gently touch her cheek and a palm rest alongside her face. "Denji!" She says in a shocked tone, realizing it was indeed not a dream she was experiencing. Denji offers nothing but a cheeky smile. As Reze came to her senses, she recalled the previous night, of how the Clown Devil had taken her away from the date at the fair with Denji, how she'd run away once Power saved her from the devil. Aside from the devil's interference, Reze had a great time on their date.

Reze studied Denji's face as she woke up particularly drawn to his glee-filled brown eyes, like warm caramel in the sun, sparkling with joy and kindness as they met her own green gaze. They radiate a comforting glow to Reze. Moving her line of sight away from Denji, she sees a familiar plush doll lying at the streaming river where their feet were pointed.

"Through all of that... You kept that stuffed animal with you?" Reze quietly asked Denji, who nodded to her and matched her hushed tone of voice though it was just the two of them;

"I couldn't leave 'em." He replies, "Not knowing you got it for me. He took a bath in the river and now he's dryin' off." Reze gives a warm smile towards him, an all too familiar feeling of warmth from her chest overcomes her, like a cozy embrace from within. It reminded her how much she enjoyed little things, like simply being in the presence of the blonde-headed teenager. She already craved another outing with the boy. She recalled how she felt looking at all the other people their age at the fair, and envious was the best descriptor she could apply to the feelings she had towards them.

Reze wondered what she could've done to deserve the life she'd been handed. How she'd give anything to have what they had, and they didn't even know it. Why others could be born into such fortunate situations of freedom? but it seemed as if she was born to mindlessly serve a cause she didn't quite understand. Thinking of these things, she quietly gazed upon Denji as she thought about her next words. "Why don't we just leave, they already know you're gone." Reze smiles to Denji whimsically. The cicadas continued to chirp, as peacefully as they did when Reze awoke as silence filled the air between the couple once more. Reze's smile slowly fades. "What's the matter?" She asks through the silence she'd created between them. Denji looks over to the river that streamed in front of them freely, then back to her.

"I had time to think about it." He begins, "And, I really have a life here in the city. Before all this, I didn't have anything. I don't really get why you don't like my friends, 'cuz they kinda gave me a life and things to work toward. If I left them, I think I'd be leaving a piece of myself with them." Reze sighs, blinking away frustration.

Denji then continues, "Why don't you give workin' with Makima a chance? She's not all bad, you know. I mean, she's great to me. You just come from a different background so..."

"No!" Reze tells him with a raised tone, obviously offended by his choice of words. "Denji, you don't understand. You're the outlier here, everyone who knows anything knows about her and how she is bad news! She's cruel! She's using you, and I just don't know what for yet; no one knows. That's why all these devil hunters are after you. That's why I was tasked to kill you. Do you understand that?" She describes with annoyance flickering in her usually poised vocalization.