You turn your head away from Asa and back into the darkness. The devil slowly creeps out from the shadows and reveals itself. It's rather big, hovering over you. It has bits of flesh hanging off of it, and its eyes are as dark as the abyss behind itself.
Your scythe's pulse slowly rises as the devil slowly crawls closer to you.
"You're a devil too, huh? Which?"
"Heart."
"..I see. Why are you protecting a human? Wouldn't you rather join little ol' me?"
"Little? Fuck off, creep."
"You're too kind, sweetheart." It quickly extends its tentacle to grab you, but you move out of the way and grab it, squeezing it as hard as you can.
BPM: 80
You spin your scythe around and yank the devil closer to you, stabbing its jaw and ripping it off by pulling the scythe towards you. It extends another tentacle and throws you against the wall, choking you.
BPM: 87
You bite down on it and rip a chunk of it out. It shrieks in pain and lets go of you. You grab back on and throw yourself at it.
"HEART! FORM, SET FIVE!" Your heart stretches around and shapes into a whip plastered with razors all over. You run up its tentacle and jump over its head, landing on its back. You flip around and wrap your whip around its neck, pulling on it and severing its head off. Its head flies clean off while its grabs you, throwing you towards Asa. You land on your ice cream.
"MY ICE CREAM! MAN!" You get up and crack your whip, running back at it.
BPM: 112
"Y/N, just.. pick me up so we can run!"
"NO! MY ICE CREAM IS RUINED!"
"SERIOUSLY?!"
You slash back and forth at it, cutting multiple of its tentacles off. It doesn't have any left, so it charges at you. You move to the side a little.
Right as it passes by you, you reach your left hand out. Your hand phases through its chest as you grab its heart. You remove it and it stumbles to the ground. It starts mumbling something ineligible since its jaw was ripped off. You bend down next to it and wave its heart in its face. It lifts its head.
"Cuz of you, we gotta go get more ice cream. I ain't ate it in a few years, so now I'm all worked up. Plus, it's all over my clothes."
It tries banging its neck against you, but its growing weak.
"What's wrong? You feel helpless?"
The devil begins to use its shoulders to drag itself towards you, slowly shuffling your way.
"This is just sad. Alright." You stand up and back away.
"Heart, return." The whip turns back into your normal heart, and you place it back inside you.
"May your heart never return."
You crush its heart, and it stops moving. You sigh and drop it, brushing your hands off and walking over towards Asa.
"Asa, I'm really, really sorry, I just didn't want you to hate me.."
She stares at you, still somewhat in shock. "I don't.. I don't hate you.. it does explain a lot, though.."
You whimper a little and stand her up. "You okay to walk?"
"I guess.. I wish you kinda told me sooner. I get why you didn't."
Of course I get it, I'm basically part devil myself..
"I-I was gonna tell you eventually!"
"Well, duh. It'd be rude if you didn't."
"Y'know, you're taking this awfully well. Whenever people find out I'm a devil, they usually just run away."
"But there's good devils, right?"
"Yeah.. Chester's a good example."
"You're a good example, Y/N."
"Y-Yeah.."
"..."
"Well.. anyways, it looks like only the ice cream got damaged, so we can just take the stuff and buy you more ice cream, okay?"
You smile and nod your head. You start to pick up the bags and she tries to help. "Hey, Asa, I got it. You're limping, just let me get it." You say as you pick up the bags near her. "O-Oh, sorry.." She hands the ones she picked up to you.
"Nah, you were just trying to help. Hold onto my shoulder so you can walk easier."
"Okay.. um, hey, what do we do about the corpse..?"
"Don't know, don't really care. Someone'll find it and call someone to get it picked up. I'd rather not be questioned."
"True.."
Yoru, one, I cannot BELIEVE you tried to turn her into a weapon, and two.. should we.. tell her?
"Not my fault. And no."
What! Why?!
"It wouldn't be beneficial to us for her to know."
So Chester knowing is beneficial..?
"Of course. He's my second in command."
Are you for real..
You tug on her a little. "You alright? You look a bit stressed."
"O-Oh, I'm okay, don't worry.. I was just thinking about something."
You stay quiet for a little bit as you two exit the alley. Right before entering the store, you stop. "Thinkin' about what?"
"Huh? Oh.. um.. we can talk about it later."
"Hmm.. okay."
After repurchasing the ice cream, you arrive at your apartment. You both go inside and kick your shoes off. "Just sit on the counter while I put the stuff away." You say as you place the bags down.
She hops up onto the counter and watches you misplace every single grocery that you're putting away.
"Um.. Y/N, do you need help?"
"Huh? No, why?"
"You put the milk in your freezer."
"..Yeah, it'll keep it cold."
"It'll freeze."
"Oh."
"It's in the name. Freezer. It freezes stuff."
"Oh."
"And you put the ice cream in the fridge."
"Hey, that doesn't count! I'm gonna eat it soon!"
She laughs a little and carefully drops off the counter, limping over to you. "Here, just let me do it for you." She kisses your cheek and starts to rearrange everything.
You groan a little, but you let her. She leaves the ice cream out and opens one of the cabinets. "Oh. We probably should've gotten you dishes."
"Oh, well. Thanks for all this, though.. you really didn't have to."
"I'd rather you not starve. But.. it does make me wonder. Do you, like.. eat people?"
"HELL NO! That's gross!"
"G-Gross? Isn't that in your nature?"
"Jeez, Asa! I may be a devil, but I'm not, like, a monster!"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. It's just.. you're so human. Um.. how many years have you lived anyway?"
"Same as you."
"R-Really? But.. you're so strong."
"I hate fightin'. I only do if something I like is threatened. I don't like hurting things. I've probably been reborn a ton of times, honestly."
"Oh..? Sorry for so many questions, I'm just really curious."
"Ask away. I don't really get to talk about it much."
"Okay.. also, do you wanna just eat the ice cream out of the container?"
"Duh." You open your utensil drawer and grab two spoons. You both go to your room and sit on the bed, opening the container.
"Okay, so.. how are you so strong? Like, I guess I'm not really scared of hearts. I don't know who would be."
"Nah, nah, it's what your heart represents."
"Huh?"
"Yourself."
"..Myself?"
"You guys have associated your heart with yourselves and your feelings. Who you are, what you're feeling.. what you're scared of feeling. If you're afraid of love, that makes me stronger. If you're afraid of heartbreak, afraid of feeling sad, joy, anger, yourself, it all leads back to me. If you were afraid of what you may become, what you already are, if you hated yourself, things like that. Everything to do with oneself. Everybody feels that at some point. Everyone's insecure about themselves in some way, and that insecurity or hate could derive from fear. It's in human nature."
"So.. that'd make you a primal devil..?"
"Uh huh." You scoop some ice cream out and eat it, kicking your feet and smiling as you eat it. "Man, I haven't had this in forever! It's so good!"
She watches you for a moment before eating some herself. "So.. mm, like, how does your power work?"
"Wanna see?"
"S-Sure?"
"Mkay." You hand the container and spoon to her and place your hand on your chest. Your hand seeps through your chest like before, and you pull your heart out.
It beats in front of her, and she scoots back a little. It's freaking her out just a bit.. understandably so.
"As long as my heart is touching me, I won't die. I mean, I can survive without it on me for a few minutes, but I'll end up having a heart attack, and THEN I'll die."
You bring it close to you and hold it carefully. "It's pretty strong as a weapon, but it's fragile like this. If you stepped on it, it'd probably, like, squish itself or something. I dunno. It's still sorta fragile as a weapon, but it wouldn't.. break..?"
"How do you turn it into a weapon.. Do you just talk to it?"
"Yeah, it can understand a few words. Not much, though. Like, uh.." You stand and hold it out. "Heart, form, set four."
It shifts all over and shapes itself into a longsword. You hold it out to her. "You can hold it for a bit. Just for a few seconds, though. It makes me feel all queasy.
"A-Are you sure?"
"Duh. Go on."
She puts the ice cream down and gets up, grabbing onto the handle. It beats at a calm pace in her hand, and she takes it from you. You shiver for a moment and hold your chest.
"Are you okay??" She asks a bit frantically, trying to hand it back to you. "Nah, nah, I'm good, I promise. I just haven't had it taken away in a while."
"If you say so.." She moves away from you a bit and examines it. It's a little heavy, the texture is definitely weird, but it's sharp as hell. She pokes the tip and jumps a little. "Ow, damn! It's so sharp!" She complains as she starts to suck her finger.
"Well, don't poke it, dumbass." She hands it back to you. "Heart, return." It turns back into a heart, and you place it back in you. "Phew.. I have, like, seven or eight sets I can use. I'd prefer not to use a couple, though."
"Hey.. wait, did Chester know?"
"Oh, he totally knows."
"What! So you told 'em and not me?"
"I'd talk to him before I knew he could speak! I'd tell him everything, so yeah, of course I told him!"
"You'd talk to a cat about everything?"
"Yeah.."
"..."
"I used to do that with Crambon."
"Really?"
"Yeah.."
"Well, I guess we didn't really have nobody."
"We got each other now, though. That's all that really matters."
"Exactly. ANYWAYS, do you wanna go see Chester 'n tell him you know now?"
"Sure, he's probably worried why we're taking so long. Let's put the ice cream away first."
"Yeah.. poor dude."
As you approach Asa's apartment door, you hear music playing and someone faintly.. um.. singing. Attempting to sing. It's more like shrieking.
You open the door and Chester is on her counter next to a speaker, swirling his ass in the air. Is.. is he cooking, too..?
"..."
"IT'S THE THUGGISH RUGGISH BOOOOOOONE~! IT'S THE THUGGISH RUGGISH BOOOOOOOOOOONE~! IT'S THE THUGGISH RUGGISH BOOOoOooOoooOOOOONE~! IT'S THE THUGGISH RUGGISH BOOOOooOOooooOOOOONE!"
"Chester."
"YOU'RE FEELIN' THE STRENGTH OF THE RUMPSSSSS- THAT BUMP, HEAR THE FUNK IN THE TRUNK THAT THE THUGSTAS FEEL, JUST BE THUGGIN', STRAIGHT BUZZIN', LOVIN' YO PEOPLES CUZ WE SO REAL, CHIL-"
"CHESTER!"
"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT, WHAT."
"Asa knows I'm a devil now."
"..."
"..."
He immediately turns the speaker off and jumps off the counter, trotting in front of you.
"Nah, that's crazy, cuz guess what? You could've waited. You could've told me after my song was over. That's my SONG. I LOVE that song. You done interrupted me. Be fucking for real. Now you got me all stressed when I'm just tryna make a meal for y'all. I was trying to be a good person. Now you got me all fucked up. See, this why I hate yo ass. You always interrupt me, you always disregard what I be saying, you- you ain't even listening, are you."
"..."
"Whatever. Did Asa tell you too?"
"What? Tell me what..?"
"CHESTER!"
"MY BAD. DAMN."
You turn to Asa. "Tell me what? Do you have a secret or something?"
She covers her face and groans.
Yoru, there's no way out of it.
"Fine. After thinking about it, I doubt it'll compromise my quest."
THANK you.
"O-Okay, I'll tell you.. um.."
Chester climbs up Asa and places his paw on her forehead, meowing for a bit, then smacks her forehead.
Poof.
"HEY!"
He does the same to you.
Poof.
"Dude, ask first!"
He grabs your head and presses his forehead against yours. A shiver is sent down your spine and you back up a bit. You blink.
You see three cats before you, and two look exactly the same.
"Wh.. hey, Asa, why are there two of you..?"
"Oh?" Yoru trots up to you and waves her paw in your face. "You can see me?"
"W-Who are you?" You paw at her hand, but your hand waves right through her.
Chester purrs a little and stands in between you two. "I didn't expect that to work. I linked your eyesight with mine, Y/N."
"O-Okay, but who is that?"
Asa sighs and walks up next to you. "This.. um.. this is Yoru. She's the War D-"
"WAR?!" You immediately back up and bump into the wall. You scurry further away. "Woah, woah, Y/N, it's okay!"
"NUH UH! HELL NO!"
Asa's head hangs low for a moment before her head lifts up.
Yoru walks over to you. "Do you have a problem with me?"
"N-N-No, I just.. didn't expect it.. I didn't mean to react like that.. why, um, why are you in Asa's body..?"
"I needed a way into your school. Chainsaw Man goes there."
"He does..? So?"
"I need to kill him. I've made a contract with her to aid me in my quest. I'll be gone once he's dead, so there's no worries to be had."
"..."
"I mean, I can help if you want."
"HUH?" Asa runs up next to the two of you. "No! No way in hell! It'll be dangerous for you!"
"Asa, I'll be fine. I'm pretty tough."
"Y/N has a point. You saw how she fought against that devil."
Yoru walks over to Chester. "Turn us back. The effect will remain, no?"
"Pretty sure it will."
"Go on."
After turning back and putting on new clothes, you all sit in Asa's bed in a circle. You clear your throat. "Chester, I gotta question."
"Then ask."
"How long did you know..?"
"Since my kittens attacked her. That was why I was whispering for her to calm down."
"You knew for that long? Damn.."
"Also, I'm helping them kill the dude."
"Huh? How? You're a fuckin' cat."
"Don't underestimate my army! They'll be strong, I promise!"
"O-Okay.. how're you gonna kill 'em, anyway?"
Asa sighs and gets up, reaching for where she hid the swords. She pulls the towel out and places it on the bed. "This stuff."
"What is it?" You lift the towel.
"Oh..!" You put it down. "Are.. um.."
"Okay, I SWEAR that was all Yoru. Like, most of it."
"Yoru, um, did you kill those girls..?"
"I did."
"..Were you the person I was chasing? And, are those swords made out of them?"
"Mhm."
"..."
"Oh well! This is pretty cool. I never cared about 'em dying, anyway. Err, not to invalidate how you feel, Asa."
"N-No, it's okay. So.. you're gonna help..?"
"Yup."
"How?"
"..."
"Guess we gotta get to killing."