Chapter Text
Power, Denji and Aki didn’t always make the best decisions. They would trust the wrong people sometimes, make mistakes and almost fall apart. But at the end of the day when one of them came back home the other two would greet them with open arms.
No matter what they had each other’s back until the very end. When Denji was in trouble Aki and Power were there to raise him back up and shoulder his burden together.
When Aki would visit his family’s grave the two devils would act like idiots to take his mind off the pain.
Each time Power woke up from fear and screaming Denji would wrap his arms around her and Aki would make her hot chocolate.
If the world wouldn’t care for them, they would care for each other. That was why they could face anything in their path, no matter what. Even when they realized just what kind of messed up world they now inhabited. “See Denji!? You see that chicken devil on the screen? You think his blood would taste like curry?”
The Blood Fiend was receiving a piggyback ride from Denji and pointing wildly at a large billboard screen that kept changing in flashes of white. She hugged onto her best friend as he walked through the streets behind Aki Hayakawa, doing their best to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Though Power threw a wrench in any plan to not create chaos whenever they went. “Can’t you two keep quiet for at least a little longer before we have another masked idiot try to jump us.”
“Oh, come on. It’s not like it will happen a third time. Plus, there’s no one outside at 5 in the morning usually, maybe except for some overworked people.” The blonde knew their luck was not the best, but it was never that bad, in his opinion. (It was terrible, and he knew it.)
“Denji, the store we went into to try and spend some money was robbed the second we exited after they threw us out for trying to use a fake currency. Then the pizza store that had some slices outside turned into flames before our eyes. And to add to it we were jumped by some red caped blockhead that was screaming his head off.” Aki wanted to hit something or someone because wherever they currently are is a complete joke. Even Hell had not been as unhinged as everything that was happening around them now. “We need to find some library or get access to a computer.”
After having successfully ran away from an agent sent by Public Safety and evading the patrol that had been chasing after them, they had entered a run-down apartment building and slept the night on the roof, watching the polluted night sky in silence. The three basked in the presence of each other and slept peacefully until the morning sun came over the horizon and bothered Denji enough to have him wake up and stretch. That caused him to gently push Power which had her wake up and straddle his chest. The ensued chaos was loud enough to have Aki open his eyes and groan.
The three continued onward with the task of gathering information, looking around for any newspaper or information station. “Hey, isn’t it weird that the hobo scarf guy from yesterday didn’t know who we are?” Out of all of them Denji brought up a good point.
“But we’ve all been dead so they have probably forgotten all about us. Even though forgetting the great Power should be a sin.” She ran her hand through her long hair and grinned like a cheshire cat. “But since you remember me then the opinion of those others doesn’t matter to me!”
“A good portion of time had probably passed between whatever happened to us and now. Perhaps there are new divisions that have new members in them.” Since the life of a devil hunter was too short to really count matter in the long run most often divisions would come and go, only some remained for a long time. Even the experimental Fourth had survived much longer than expected, but in the end almost no one cared that they had all been mowed down by the Darkness Devil.
“Hm, maybe.” At the very least Denji hoped that Kishibe was still alive and kicking. That drunkard was too persistent to simply die off. “Guess that means octopus guy will stop bothering me.”
“You mean Yoshida?” Aki glanced at his friend with eyes open. “The one who fought Quanxi?”
“Oh, yeah, he was kind of a dick…” And had been right that turning into Chainsaw Man brought trouble. “But that eyepatch lady was cool.”
“Didn’t she try to kill you?” And she came real close to doing so before they formed a ceasefire.
“Yeah, but at least she was open about it.” Most girls that Denji had ever met had lied to him before trying to kill him. But he respected Quanxi for being honest about her intentions, and she even helped him in the future.
“We need to get someone to look at your head and find out where everything went wrong.” Aki rolled his eyes and resumed leading the group forward. Their wandering through the city continued as he had to drag his fellow devils away from any new shiny thing they would find.
“I’m fine, I only cut my head when I fight against… Where’s Power?” The two brothers stopped dead in their tracks and turned around and seeing that their pink haired menace wasn’t there anymore. They look to the left, she’s not there. To the right, also not there. Behind, above, below and in front, still no sign. That was until they heard a loud screech coming from down the street they had previously walked on.
“For the love of everything! That idiot!” Denji was the first to break into a sprint, his heart beating loudly with the blood that he drank from his buddy once more.
His entire body moved as fast as possible, Aki right behind him and surprising both of them, keeping pace with Denji.
The two cleared the distance and were just about to turn the corner when Power stepped forward from the other side. Thankfully, she wasn’t covered in blood but she somehow managed to acquire a cat and a severed arm. The only bit of blood that was on her body was a small smidgen of it under her wrist. “What are you two looking at?” She bit into the arm and chewed it for a second before spitting it out.
Power’s tongue was sticking out as she threw away the arm and spat the blood out. “Too sugary.”
“How did you even get that arm?”
“How did you find the cat?”
It was obvious who asked what question.
Power held the cat near her chest as she walked up to the two and continued to move forward in fearsome strides. “I found some child hurting this cat by making explosions and threatening someone else. Naturally I made a spear of blood and ripped the boy’s arm off before taking the cat for myself as the other child was screaming and crying. Are all human children that pathetic and similar to worms?”
“Dunno, I had to work to pay of the debt I inherited.” Denji had no clue, he had never met any child and the first person his own age that interacted with him was Power. At least he always assumed they were the same age.
“Don’t remember.” Aki did remember. Especially how he used to hate that his younger brother was always sick and couldn’t do anything without his parents doting over him. “We don’t really apply to the definition of normal children. Also, please tell that no one saw what you just did.”
“Hah, and why should I have hidden my identity from others? I need a glorious stage so that everyone will know who I am!” Power puffed her chest out and glowed with pride in herself.
And mortified both Aki and Denji who grabbed her by the arms and dragged her along, not daring to let her go and do something insane once again. “Tell me you at least killed everyone who saw what you did?”
“Hm, depends on if someone cares for that crying child that curses his own blood. His mind and thoughts were so pathetic that I didn’t even wish to touch him. His blood was so soaked in misery that it would be more beneficial to leave him alone to suffer longer. The longer he exists the more strength he can provide to us.” All lives except one were meaningless to her. At the end of the day, she was still a devil.
“That’s quite cruel of you Power.” Aki didn’t know what to say. Maybe it was because he had just been turned into a devil. Perhaps he was still clinging onto his humanity in the vain hope of retaining some semblance of self. ‘But Denji…’
He glanced at his brother who was shaking Power intensely, his hands waving her around as they slowly devolved into another argument. ‘He is still human.’ At first it had perplexed him. How could someone without a human heart still feel emotions. He theorized at the beginning that the base desires for both humans and devils were the same. Live a good life, eat well, have a roof over your head when it rains. Aki had felt that his assumptions were correct especially when he had been forced to house Power in his apartment.
She had been the same chaotic mess as Denji that annoyed him to no end. A pink haired menace that always whined about not having enough blood to drink and devils to kill. An absolute affront to all standards of humanity.
But then he was how the two cared for each other. How Denji kept on trying to find someone to share his happiness with. To not feel alone. How the blond slowly grew more open about his past and his problems, what haunted him at night. Aki saw the Chainsaw Devil transform the perception he had made in his head and mold it into something completely different.
From monster, to friend, to confidant, to brother. A person that cried and laughed and was as human as he was.
The same was for Power. From a rampaging beast to an adorable sister that he wanted to dote on. How she could also be scared, wake up screaming from the pain and fear of darkness. See that she is her own person and should not be defined by her species.
Plus, everyone in a family had their own quirks. And if Power’s quirk was to enjoy drinking blood and mass-slaughter, if Denji’s quirk was being a pervert with a heart of gold, then that’s who they were. His younger siblings that he loved unconditionally.
As Aki Hayakawa realized it all he smiled freely from it all. He enjoyed the beauty of the sun above his head, the smell of freshly baked break. And in his moment of freedom he grabbed the arms of Denji and Power before taking off. “Come on, let’s get out of here before someone pins the blame on Power. And wipe the blood away from her mouth Denji!”
——
Kishibe had no fucking clue as to where he was going. After using the wonder power of the modern internet, he found all the relevant information he needed (and finally finding out who the Nazi were) to start searching for some decent way to make money. And apparently the most lucrative of all ventures was dressing up in spandex and assaulting people in broad daylight.
Not only that but he found out that he made the national news. Killing is frowned upon in this world and him killing a hero and villain is a very evil crime in their eyes. “Fucking civilians having a say in how we run shit. Who gives a crap that I took them out the way I did, both were a menace to society. This new Public Safety should have better policies and armed forces. Who actually green light the idea to have people run around in costumes instead of proper armor.”
Saying that he removed his knife from the corpse of another villain. Kishibe then kneeled down and grabbed the dead man’s foot before dragging him with him. During his brief use of the internet, he found that Public Safety also has a clause in place where you can deliver them bodies of evildoers who are on their blacklist for a monetary reward. There was also a pesky clause where you needed to have a hero license to do it but Kishibe decided that actions spoke for themselves.
That why he threw another body into the cart he was dragging with him. The corpse landed on top of a stack of other people that were unfortunate enough to cross their path with Kishibe. “Alright, that should make it 58.”
Taking a quick sip from his now refueled flask the hunter grabbed the reins for the cart he stole from a yard-sale and proceeded to move forward, dragging the numerous bodies along with him.
Kishibe was able to move about 10 meters before having to tilt his head to the side and avoid a knife coming for his head. The weapon didn’t even grace his cheek, instead it met the head of one of the corpse he was carrying.
“Hm, I knew that my quest to remove all fake heroes like you was just.” A man wearing a red bandanna over his eyes with a katana in hand and three knives in the other jumped down from a balcony, landing a few feet away from Kishibe. “To think you worthless heroes would now start killing people for sport instead of protecting the innocent!”
‘Another weirdo…’ The hunter took another swig of his alcohol and burped loudly, all the while his new opponent continued his monologue.
“Only a true hero like ALL MIGHT can ever kill me! I am an ideal that will spread through out the nation, nay, the entire world as people will open their eyes to see how worthless the hero industry actually is! I will become the one to…”
Kishibe raised an eyebrow and took out a notebook from his coat pocket. He opened the front and began to search through the entries he had written down. “Let’s see here… no… also no… look similar but not… aha. Hero Killer Stain… why stain? Does he piss on their corpses after he kills them?”
“And you shall taste my blade after I take your head clean off and let the world know who really is the one true hero to save us all. Only ALL MIGHT can lead us all towards our salvation!”
Glancing at the man who was still talking to himself, Kishibe shook his head and continued reading. “Known for the brutal murder of many professional heroes. Has evaded authorities many times. 20 million yen reward for bring his body?”
“Tonight is the day you die you fake hero!” Entering a fighting stance the Hero Killer kneeled down and shot forward towards his target. He dashed at incredible speed and rotated his body to throw his knives at his target. And then everything went dark for him.
The Hero Killer’s body dropped to the ground like a marionette that had its strings cut. A bullet wound was going through his head as he collapsed right into the cart, joining the other fools who didn’t know any better.
“That makes it 59.” Sighing, Kishibe wondered why no one taught these idiots properly thinking during a fight. Who goes into a battle and screams their ideals at the top of their lungs instead of killing the other person? Lowering his gun the strongest devil hunter holstered it and threw a tarp over the rotting bodies. He then began to move the cart forward once more, trying to find the Hero Public Safety Commission building.
The cart creaked under the combined weight of all the people as blood soaked through the wooden parts. Kishibe ignored the sounds as he held a small map of the city he borrowed from a shop. Using it he navigated the alleyways towards a huge red dot on the map that said HPSC in bold letters.
The moon was hanging above his head, and the night sky covered the heavens as the dark-haired hunter came out of a narrow path and right onto an open 2 lane street. He looked to his right, then to his left and saw a tall building with bright lights on. “Looks pretentious enough to be it.”
Glancing at the map one last time Kishibe pocketed it and trudged along until he arrived at the doorstep of the alternative Public Safety building. With a strong front kick he opened the doors and stepped inside.
His dynamic entry instantly garnered the attention of everyone inside as the eyesight of all guards connected with him. They were all looking at him carefully as he moved towards the center of the room.
Seeing the receptionist right down the middle of the room Kishibe walked up and stopped a few feet away. He cleared his throat and spoke in a tone that was loud enough to have everyone inside hear him. “Excuse me, is this where I turn in villain bodies for a reward?”
A tall lady stood behind the desk with hair that changed color every second and gazed at Kishibe from behind her round glasses. “Bodies… ah, you must mean our villain capture and deposit system. Then that must mean they are all in the cart behind you?”
Kishibe nodded and took a quick sip from his bottle. “Yes, there’s quite a lot of them in there.”
The eyebrows over every person listening in rose and one guard made his way over.
“Aren’t you worried that they’ll wake up and escape?” The woman questioned as the guard raised the tarp.
“Wake up?” Kishibe raised an eyebrow as if he had heard the most ridiculous idea possible. “The dead do not wake up.” Just as he said that a severed head fell out of the cart and hit the ground with a splat. Blood poured outward from the place where the neck once was and pooled on the floor. Everyone stepped away from the cart and some screamed in fear while others puked right out.
The guards instantly moved forward as the receptionist slammed the panic button under her desk. Metal shutters instantly slammed down and locked every exit. The windows sealed off with alarms blaring and bright red lights shining like beacons.
“Put your hands above your head—” With his fingers raised in the air in the shape of a gun another guard walked up and place it behind Kishibe’s head. Before anything else could happen all the guard's fingers were sliced off in one move. The next second a bloodied knife pierced the man’s throat.
“Why is everyone so scared of dead people in this place?” Kishibe threw the body of his knife and stabbed it into the eye of another guard that tried to punch him.
His eyes didn’t widen as a wall of flames came directly for him. Rolling back the hunter summoned a bigger knife and exhaled, closing his eyes as the fire surrounded him.
A second later all fifteen guards lost their arms and Kishibe comfortably entered the elevator and chose the highest floor possible. He ignored all the screams of agony and despite as the metal box he stepped inside closed its doors and ascended upwards.
A quite tune played overhead from a speaker as an orange light kept showing new numbers above the exit, indicating the level he was currently on. That was, until everything stopped, and the inside went dark. The elevator stopped abruptly, and the doors slammed open with more armed people stepping in, brandishing their weapons in a threatening manner at every corner of the room.
Then, five shots rang out and Kishibe walked out of the elevator with a new gun in his hand and a bloodied ID in the other.
“Am I really doing this?” He spoke to himself as he stood on the 50th floor out of 100. There was a staircase down the hall and twenty more people standing in his way. Even more began to pile in from the upper and lower floors as Kishibe continued to move forward. Never stopping and continuing to advance forward until he would arrive at the very top of the tower. “Fuck it, might as well see this through.”
The hunter summoned another knife and stated walking forward, his stride remaining unbroken even as he butchered dozens of guards with two blades. Anyone that came close to him was turned into a body full of holes at a leisure pace.
Kishibe didn’t give much through to the families he separated the hard way. His only goal was to reach the very top of the building and meet the supposed head of the Hero Public Safety Commission. There were now less than 50 floors between him and said person and he hoped that they hadn’t fled yet.
But after learning about how obtuse the people here were, Kishibe was 99 precent sure that the lady running this circus will not run away. “Let’s see what kind of person let society fall this far.”
30 minutes later he was standing inside an office with his gun pointed at a dark-haired woman sitting behind a desk in a suit.