The Church was getting big. More and more members flooded in like hot cakes, and all the television appearances gained more students to the club. Weddings were happening every day. Even Seigi and Nobana had theirs. At least they were mildly happy. The women they were given were beautiful, and maybe it all made up for it.
You were currently helping out the catering team, carrying up rice to the cafeteria. Fami and the rude boy - whose name you learned was Sugo- kept you running place to place like a dog. Always giving you more and more tasks, so much so that you kept missing breakfast and dinner. You were so hungry, but you made due with snacks from the vending machine.
Sometimes, it felt like they were punishing you.
"(Y/n)!" Haruka found you fast. Before you could even turn, he grabbed you and pulled you into a tight hug from behind.
"Haruka? Whats--"
"Our ceremony. It's tomorrow." He smiled at you. Your eyes bucked wide. You chuckled nervously, turning and placing one hand on his chest. "I saw us on the schedule!"
"What?" You mumbled.
"Our initiation." He began to caress your face, rimming his hands down your cheeks. "It'll be beautiful... I can't wait to be one with you." He whispered, his eyes lidding.
You tensed, your eyebrows flared up wildly.
Hell no.
"Is that so- A- I think. Fami. I see Fami today... Her and Sugo have..." You stammered, pulling away from him. No, no, this was not what Fami promised you. You were going to have to talk to her, get her to change all of this! No way you'd ever lay with Haruka, let alone marry him - you didn't love him.
Haruka's eyebrows wilted, his face contorting for a second. "What... Are you not happy or something?" He folded his arms, cranning his head.
"It's not that." Your face paled.
"You don't want to intiate with me." He scoffed.
"I didn't say that." You said.
"You don't have to." He looked away. "What's wrong with me, (y/n)? What's so wrong with me that you hate me for it?" He stepped closer. You shook your head vigorously.
"I never said that? You're putting words in my mouth. I care about you Haruka." You said.
"But you don't love me, that's what you said before." He looked you dead in your eyes. "So, is it true? Do you still not love me, even now?" He stepped close, placing his hands on your waist, his lips quivering for a second.
"I--"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Little (y/n), you know you are supposed to be working with me today. It's thrusday." A gruff hand grabbed your shoulder and pulled you right out of Haruka's reach. The boy turned his head, folding his arms, betrayal etching on his face. Never once were you happy to see Barem, but right now, you totally were.
"Iseumi?" Barem hummed, his soulless eyes squinted at him. "Looking little blue, bud..." He dragged his eyes up and down Haruka. "Do you need a session with Fami?"
"No. Nothing. I'm fine. I'll see you two around..." He bowed to Barem and turned away sharply.
Barem looked at you with a smile. "Little (y/n)." He nodded.
You smiled tensely.
"One second kid." Barem pulled on his walkie-talkie, "Fami, why don't you pay Haruka a visit... He's a little out of it." He mumured into the device. He smiled softly down at you while he said it and you couldn't help but shiver. "Remind him who he is, please." He didn't even try to make his voice quieter. You could easily still hear him.
"Affrimative." Fami's voice fuzzed out from the other end.
He released his walkie-talkie and pulled his hand off your shoulder. His presence was intense, you noticed he had a smaller box in his free hand as well. You couldn't help but shift from foot to foot. "Sorry I couldn't be here for your other lessons... Got busy. But I'm here now, so follow me." He turned and waved you along.
Obediently, you stepped after him. He brought you to the Church's media room. It was where all the flyers, videos, and television appearances were prepared and made. Students were crammed into very corner of this place, pressing flyers and planning marketing videos on drawing boards. The room was lit with warm lighting, colorful posters, and even more colorful langauge. It smelled heavily of stinky boys. Your nose scrunched up. "Phew, that's stinky." Barem said, waving a hand by his nose. He pulled into a small glass room, where students where having a little meeting. When their eyes landed on Barem, they all shot up, saluting him.
"For the good of Chainsaw Man!" They yelled.
"To Chainsaw Man's grace..." Barem smiled. "You are dismissed, I need this room." He said. They filed out quickly, grabbing their things and not bothering to put their chairs back.
The door shut, and the room turned eerily slient. To think there was so much chatter going on just behind the glass. Barem found a seat at the table, not sparing you a glance. He crossed his leg, leaning back as he opened up the box. "The room's soundproof. Nobody can hear us here."
That wasn't comforting. It made things worse.
Just what did he need you for?
Your eyebrows pinched. You wanted to cry. Your heart was failing in your chest, and doom was murky around your breathing. Your blood pressure was shot. Stress was doing a lovely tango on your starved brain. You pouted to stop the tears, but it was looking like the tears didnt care about your defense. You rocked vigorously between each foot.
"Okay, you can cut these flyer-- Huh?" Barem's eyes finally found you, and his face softened. "What you doing, love?" He asked.
You started to frown.
"D'awe." He hissed, clicking his tongue. "What's wrong?" He sat up and dropped the box on the table. He pulled out the rolling chair next to him, his starch, soulless eyes being (for once) frighteningly warm. You hesitantly stared at the chair. "Sit, I won't bite you." He laughed.
You gulped and sat down. He started to pull flyers out of the box, along with two scissors. He stacked and tidied the papers quietly. Then, with a deep breath, he looked at you. "What's troubling you?"
You wanted to scream.
He was troubling you.
He was taking away all your free time for this stupid church, and you hadn't seen Denji in so long. Now- now you and Haruka--
Your face broke.
You could never sleep with him!
The tears started to bundle in your eyes. They leaped from their beds and raced laps onto your cheeks. Your face grew hot with anger. You placed at your bleary eyes. "H..." You tried.
You just wanted to talk to Fami.
She'd be less terrifying about it than Barem.
"Hm?" He hummed. The sound of scissoring slicing through paper echoed in the quiet room. You had your back facing the glass, so it wasn't like people could see you sob.
You didn't know where to start, what you were allowed to say. "Guh... D-Denji..." You mumbled. "I don't want to... Marry H-Haruka. I want to be with Denji." You stuttered.
"I know." He said.
Your fists gritted, you peered at him. He was slouched back, cutting away, his breathing steady and relaxed. It angered you.
"That's why you're not going to." He said in a low hum.
Your anger fell to shock. "What?"
"Pfft. Did you really think we'd give you off to Iseumi? That kid... Hahaha!" He burst into a fun laughter, parting his cutting to look at you. He shook his head, patting his belly quietly. "We're in a Chainsaw Man Church. Of course, we'll want the real Chainsaw Man to join." He slouched back, giggling as he started to cut again.
"You know Denji's Chainsaw Man?" You mumbled.
"Bingo." He finished a flyer and slid you a stack. "I used to work in Public Safety with him... Time flies. That was a year ago." He said. You blinked in confusion, grabbing a pair of scissors. "They're not all the same flyer, so make sure you sort them." He gestured to your stack.
You looked down, and the flyers were of Asa Mitaka? You squinted at them. "Why is Asa here?"
"Huh? Asa's in the Church. Were framing her as a hero, better than the great Chainsaw Man!" He grinned.
Ooh, it all made sense. Was that her voice on the intercom?
You nodded. "Anyways. Back then, Denji was amazing. This was before anyone ever had a name for him. We just called him Makima's prodigy for a whole before the public picked it up and named him Chainsaw Man. Pfft... Should've been Chainsaw Boy." He snickered.
"Makima?" You head tilted as you rummaged through the papers.
"I thought he told you about her?" His brows furrowed.
You shook your head.
"Ah. Forget it. She's not important to you. Anyways... I'll get that whole Haruka thing settled. You'll be Iseumi free in no time." He smiled.
He was jumping conversations so quickly. You nodded, a beaming smile burning onto your lips. Not that you minded, he was telling you exactly what you wanted to hear. "Thank you, Barem!" You cheered. You could hug him!
You were free! Free from Haruka! You clapped your hands excitedly.
"Easy as pie." He grinned.
"Eek!" You squealed. You launched from your seat. As a matter of fact, you will hug him! You dove into his chest, wrapping tight arms around his body.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" You chimed.
Denji, you could be with Denji. Nobody could break you apart now - you didn't need Haruka anymore. Besides, if your parents ever questioned you, you could blame the church! It was the perfect excuse!
"Oh!" Barem gasped, placing a hand on your head. "You're a sweet girl." You pulled away with a grin, leaning back into your seat. You readily began to cut flyers. "You make me want to be a father." Barem laughed wistfully.
Your face scrunched. "Don't." You mumbled.
His jaw fell slack. "I would be a great dad." He grinned.
You shivered.
Who would want to sleep with him?
"I suppose I couldn't. There's only one woman I could ever be with..." He sighed lovesickly, and your eyebrows quirked.
"Who?" You asked in amusement.
"Oh... You wouldn't want to know." He fanned you away, dropping his scissors and folding his arms over his belly.
"I want to know!" You said.
"Oh... I couldn't possibly bore you with a long story... The weapons rank don't even like to hear it..." He fanned you away again, leaning his head back in his chair. The weapons rank, you knew them as Sugo, the sunglasses girl and the mysterious blonde glasses guy. You didn't talk to them much- but you knew one thing - that girl with the sunglasses was incredibly stupid.
"I want to kno--"
"It was maybe a few years ago when I met her. My precious Makima." Barem leaned forward in his seat, his fingers rumbling against the glass table. "She stole my heart. Goodness... She's was the most brilliant woman ever. She had a beautiful plan for the world. She was going to create world peace - a utopia with no war between devils and humans."
Makima. That name came up often. You pressed your lips in thought. Was she that roommate Denji talked about? Wait. If she was, how old was Makima? Your eyebrows furrowed in disgust. Denji said he used to dress her. You scrunched away from Barem.
She can't be that young!
"What." Barem quirked a funny smile.
"Denji's roommate, Makima?" You asked.
His face lit up, his mouth falling open. He threw his head back with a bold, Earth trembling laugh. "What!" He yelled, cupping his face with his hands. "That stupid devil girl? No way! She was about a dumb as rocks - Ha! If you gave her one, she'd actually eat it! Haha!" He shook his head vigorously, waving me away with his hands.
"No, no, no. That girl's name was Power, she was the blood fiend. Hehe... Makima was a high ranking Public Safety member. She found Denji and gave him to Aki Hayakawa. Then those idiot three became roommates." He snickered, whipping tears from his eyes.
Aki must have been his other roommate, the boy! "Ooh. That... That makes sense." You scratched your head. "Makima must have been lovely." You smiled. Denji didn't mention Makima, now that you think of it. She must have died, too.
He's lost so many people.
"Oh, lovely doesn't scratch the surface of it. She stole my heart." He whined.
"If that's true, I don't think you had a chance, Barem..." You said.
"Don't think I have charm?" He folded his arms together, his void eyes meeting yours.
You shivered. "Not really."
He snorted. "You'll see. We'll all see." There was something sinister behind his words. It was funny, but slightly off-putting. You chuckled in confusion. You finished your last flyer and stacked them back into the box.
"Haruka's finished." Fami's voice popped in from the walkie-talkie.
Barem nodded quickly, standing up with a jump. "Let's go break up with your boyfriend, little (y/n)." He outstretched his hand for you to take.
You smiled, giddy.
Maybe you were wrong about Barem.
It wasn't long until Barem found Haruka. He was quietly eating at the cafeteria. Well, eating would be a long shot. It was more like he was poking around with his food. His frown worsened when he saw you, and even more so when Barem pulled the two of you aside.
"Iseumi. You're a beautiful asset to the Church." Barem said, dropping his hand onto his shoulder. You bit your lip, your heart racing in your chest. Haruka worriedly flickered between you and Barem, his eyesbrows beginning to furrow more and more. "But as your elder, some things came up that I needed to fix. Haruka Iseumi, (y/n) (l/n) will no longer be your Saw-Half. We're giving away to be initiated with someone else."
His face grew pale. He stared at Barem in disbelief. "What?" He stuttered.
"Don't worry. We think Fami would be a much better pair for you." Barem smiled.
"What- What n--"
"It's going to be really hard for the two of you at first. I hate to break you up. (Y/n) doesn't want to leave you eith--"
"Who?" Haruka hissed.
"I'm sorry?"
"Who are you giving her to."
"A member of--"
"Who."
"Haruka..." You whispered carefully.
"No. Who." He folded his arms.
"Are you familiar with Denji H--"
"Denji!" He yelled in disbelief.
That's when Barem's face began to scrunch. Distaste flowed on his expression like a heavy cream. "It's not something for you to question. It's something for you to trust me with as your superior." He harked.
"Trust you? She's my girlfriend. I want her." Haruka barked. Your eyes widened awkwardly. Oh goodness, your heart was about to rupture out of your chest.
"I am your Elder, Iseumi. Don't forget your place." Barem commanded, his voice cold and rough.
Your days were spent toiling after the Church. Some reason, it all felt like one giant blur. If you weren't protesting, you were cleaning up, and if you weren't doing that, you were on television. It was a constant battle of relevancy here.
Haruka hated the idea. You could tell from his reddened face, his launched tart brows, and his gripped fists. He protectively held you to him. The argument had been going on for some time. Normally, Haruka was so obedient to Barem, but today, he was snippy. The stark change even had Barem confused, as his calm voice started to dip into anger.
"We don't need Denji, Denji is a nobody. He's the last guy (Y/n) should be given to- I'll take Nobana over him." He growled. His grip on your waist tightened. "I hate Denji." He mumbled. Your heart ached for a moment.
Barem lost his cool, he grabbed you roughly by the shoulders, and ranked you out from Haruka's arms. Barem pushed you away from the two of them. Haruka shot dead slient. "Little (y/n), why don't you go see Sugo? He's waiting for you at the entrance." He smiled at you, but it was icey and cold.
You didn't need to be told twice. You darted off to the big wide gates of the school. Poor Haruka. It was your fault for getting back with him in the first place. It was your fault for caving... That's vision of the past... It tricked you for a moment. Maybe this let down would have been gentler if things stayed the way they did. You sighed.
Much to your distaste, you met that rude guy again. Miri Sugo, his hair was a dark raven, his eyes light and pretty. He was stocky like Denji, but he had the face of Yoshida. He rolled his eyes when he saw you. "If it isn't the wannabe Denji fangirl." He snorted.
You smiled smuggly. You couldn't even care for his banter. You were going to be marrying him in a little while. You raised you left hand up to his face, pushing down your ring finger. "Guess which one of us is going to be his, hmm?"
He clicked his teeth.
"Not you." You said. You were on cloud nine! You sighed lovesickly, hopping down the stairs and spinning for each step.
"I don't even like him like that." He sighed under his breath.
"Me and Denji!" You shouted.
"I hope you fall." He shouted back.
"I won't! The universe loves me too much!" You made it to the last step, throwing your hands to the sky. You were free! You and Denji forever! You trusted your hands into the air, biting down on your lip.
You and Denji. You and Denji... Just in a couple of hours.
You cupped your face with a loud giggle. Sugo finally walked down after you, sliding his hoodie up onto his head. He rolled his eyes when you looked at him, and you jabbed your fingers into his chest. "Cut it out."
"Me and Denji." You sang with a grin.
"Kids!" A voice boomed. "You guys go ahead. Hey-- Before you recruit him Sugo, let him and (Y/n) go on a date." Barem yelled from the entrance. He threw a bundled stack of yen at Sugo, and he caught it wistfully.
"Okay." Sugo called.
You grew giddy for every second, your teeth biting the inside of your cheek joyfully. You waved excitedly at Barem and he grinned ear to ear. "Go get him, tigeress." He said. You take it back you were totally wrong about Barem!
"Okay!" You cheered. You turned to Sugo with a smile. "Do you know where he is?"
"I got an idea." He said.
-
We're caught up now to the drafts now, so posts should slow down.