The Terrible And The Strong | Chainsaw Man x Male Reader

Chapter IV

Big chapter bois....

Aki sat hunched over the low table in the cramped living room, surrounded by a fortress of cardboard boxes. The lamp above created a small yellowish glow that made his eyes ache, but he couldn't risk missing anything.

His fingers smudged with ink and dust flipped through another file—a thick one labeled "Vladivostok, 1991: Eyewitness Accounts." The pages felt heavy with age, stained with coffee rings and dog-eared from years of handling. He tried not to focus too hard on the photos paper-clipped to the documents. Grainy black-and-white shots of bodies, shredded like someone had run them through a meat grinder.

Close-ups of hands that had clenched so hard in their last moments that nails were embedded in palms, and eyes that bulged with the kind of terror that doesn't go away even after death.

The folder joined the growing pile on his right, a sad stack of horrors he'd already combed through. His eyes went to the boxes he hadn't even touched yet...still about ten of them. Ten boxes filled with more of the same. His back ached just looking at them.

"Find anything good?" Y/N's voice called from the kitchen.

"None," Aki muttered, "You should be helping me, you know."

Y/N appeared in the doorway wearing a bright apron patterned with cartoon eggs. Each one had a different face: some smiling, some crying, some in mid-scream.

He had on a pair of oversized, orange oven cooking gloves that looked like they'd been borrowed from a kid's science experiment. "I would, Hayakawa-kun, but then who would make the food?" He bent down with a tray of freshly baked cookies right under Aki's nose.

The tray was a confusing blend of shapes and sizes since Y/N hadn't bothered with consistency. "These ones here," he pointed with a gloved finger to a cluster of round, golden-brown cookies with gooey centers, "are double chocolate chip with a sprinkle of sea salt, perfect for dunking. Over here, we have oatmeal with a twist—cinnamon, cardamom, a molasses for that deep, almost spicy kick." His finger moved to another batch, smaller, almost pale with a slight dusting of powdered sugar. "And these little guys? Natto-flavored."

Aki's face wrinkled in disgust. "Natto?"

Y/N nodded enthusiastically, "Yup. A flavor most people hate, but I've got a soft spot for the underdog. And hey, there are folks out there who appreciate the... unique taste." He tapped his chin, "Monks say it builds character. And some bodybuilders, believe it or not. High protein, you know?"

Aki eyed the tray suspiciously. Out of twenty-four cookies, there were twelve of the natto ones. "Why make so many of the ones no one likes?"

"Force of habit. Ignore them if they're not your thing." Y/N gave the tray a little shake, sending a few crumbs skittering across the table. "Go on, take one."

Aki picked up a double chocolate chip and slowly brought it toward his mouth.

"Ah, ah," Y/N held up a hand. "Careful, Hayakawa-kun. They're still hot inside."

Aki nodded, blowing on the cookie before taking a tentative bite.

"Good?" Y/N asked.

Aki swallowed and gave a short nod. "Yeah. Not bad."

"Perfect!" Y/N clapped his gloved hands together, "I'll set them on a plate." He turned back toward the kitchen. "What's your drink? Coffee, tea, milk?"

"Coffee," Aki said already reaching for another cookie. "I'm going to need it for all this."

"Coffee it is!" Y/N hummed a tune—a some old jazz and a children's song—as he prepared the cups. "So," he continued, voice raised over the gurgling noise, "you been at this since when, noon? Early morning? Your eyes look like a couple of pissholes in the snow."