One Above All

Chapter 24: This isn't even halfway there.

Disclaimer: Chainsaw does not belong to me; only Tatsuki Fujimoto can profit from his own work. This is just a fanfic in an alternate universe.

Notes: The chapter that you, the specialized audience, are about to witness is quite lengthy, so if you're just passing by, I recommend finding a comfortable place to read it. Grab some chips and soda to accompany you; trust me, it's very relaxing.

Although I think it might just be me, but with so many scenarios I've written, this seemed very lengthy to me.

It will depend on each of you to discover whether this feels forced or not. For my part, it's a bit forced, I think. Skipping 4 years when I've already laid many foundations for this story is a bit forced, just a bit, but it had to be done nonetheless.

Because I don't have any more ideas to include for 10-year-old Hiro, the rest of my ideas in my head encompass Hiro's life from age 14 onwards until he reaches 27, right in 1997 when the events of the manga begin.

And let me tell you that writing a 10-year-old is more challenging than you imagine, especially if one wants to make it as realistic as possible, considering how a young child would face these problems in real life, which didn't turn out as expected in the end, but well... They're anime kids, lol. One of you made a joke about why Hiro acted that way when he was only 10, but then remembered that they were manga kids and got over it.

You know what I mean, like how anime has us all accustomed to how protagonists should be portrayed if you want to tell an origin story. Although I, like many fanfic writers (and practically any writer), try to give their protagonists their own touch, one that they think would look great when depicted in words, and sometimes it's far from the established order.

For my part, I'm mostly proud of how I've written Hiro; many of you seem to like him, and it makes me happy because I know that for the moment, I'm taking him in the right direction. Despite the core of CSM fanfics being the same Chainsaw Man (the manga literally bears his name), people have managed to accept Hiro as if he were already another protagonist in that same universe, although that can always differ from person to person.

For my part, even though Hiro reaches the manga arcs, the main plot will always revolve around Denji and Pochita, and of course, Makima. But we will see how our current protagonist (Hiro) interacts with the others in those conflicts and how his presence had a significant impact on those around him, especially Makima.

So you can be sure that I won't leave Denji and his share of the spotlight behind; he will remain a key character in this work.

Finally, I wanted to say that this time, I won't leave final notes as I usually do at the end of each chapter; I'll provide more information in another clarification note.

These will be important so you don't miss interesting details about the upcoming arcs.

But think about this: it's pretty crazy when you analyze it closely.

Everything I told you about the life of 10-year-old Hiro didn't happen in just a week, XD. In Chapter 8, we started on a Thursday, in 9 to 14 on a Friday, in 15 to 18 on a Saturday, in 19 to 22 on a Monday, and 23 on a Tuesday (Take a look at your own cellphone calendars and search for September 1980, because curiously, Chapter 23 started on September 23, and Chapter 24, well, it's starting on September 24 too).

Damn, I don't know if I'm terrible at prolonging things or if I'm good at continuity. You tell me.

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