The current moment is April 5th, '97, a time when Denji and Kobeni weren't getting along so well yet, mainly because they were still complete strangers to each other.
They were always distant, hardly ever talked, and when they did, it was for basic things. Kobeni decided not to kick him out of her house because, whether she liked it or not, he still helped with certain things, like keeping the house clean and taking care of her sister. And he was the one who saved her life.
The day had just begun, and one of the arrangements was that Denji would take Shizune to school, but since Denji was poor and didn't have a car, and the only one belonged to Kobeni, they would have to walk.
"What!? No! I have to spend time with him and still walk to school!?" - Shizune protested fervently.
"Shizu, it's not that bad..."
"Of course it is! Look at his face, he's definitely a pervert, no normal person would have a pug face like that!" - Denji received a critical hit to his self-esteem, -999 life points.
"W-what... Hey, I'm not that ugly!" - Denji tries to defend himself from the accusation, even though it's true... Ahem.
"Of course not, you just look like a statue made of shit!" - The girl says, sticking out her tongue.
"Shizune! Watch your language!" - Kobeni says, severely embarrassed and annoyed.
Denji's eyes turn dull and his skin completely pale, as if his soul had left his body, and then he crouches down and enters an anime-style depression bubble.
(Statue made of shit... Pug face... I've never been insulted like this before!) - Silent tears stream down his face.
"D-Denji! Do you see what you did, Shizu?!"
"This just proves he's a sissy! I'm not going to school with him, period!" - To complete Denji's cliché anime misery, all that was missing was for him to vomit blood. Thankfully, "sissy" didn't hit the mark, come on: he's from the 2020s, that doesn't bother anyone anymore.
"Then you'll walk ALONE to school, and I don't want to hear that you skipped today!" - Shizune joins Denji's depression after her older sister's statement.
But that soon dissipates, and she returns with a motivated expression.
"Pug face, carry me like a horse!" - She says, jumping on the teenager's back.
"Hey, hey, hey! Hold on there!" - The blond says, surprised by the girl's actions.
"Hold on? No way, giddy-up!" - She kicks his ribs as if urging a horse to run.
Unintentionally, Denji starts walking forward with his back bent and a confused face that turns into a depressive one.
(Why am I doing this...?) - He wonders internally, but continues walking.
From afar, Kobeni just watches the scene with a clear poker face, not understanding what had just happened, but soon regains awareness and decides to simply lock the door and leave for work.
Back to the present...
The day continued as normal as seen before, the only relevant thing to mention is that Denji was watching the news before going to bed, and Kobeni was doing the same.
To the blonde's discontent, they had to watch sitting at the table, as the house didn't have space for a couch.
"Another case of demon attack was solved in the city of Yamanashi, neighboring Tokyo, by an unidentified underground hunter. The individual was considered a dangerous asset, and so far we don't even have a clue which demon he has a contract with..." - The report about the mysterious hunter continued, but in the kitchen of an apartment, a conversation started.
"Isn't this you?" - Kobeni asks, starting a conversation.
"I think it is..." - Denji responds, somewhat disinterested, as the news about him becomes increasingly repetitive.
"This is something I've been wondering about before, but I haven't asked you until now, which demon do you have a contract with?" - The older sister asks a pertinent question, and Denji wouldn't know how to answer if he had to lie.
"None." - He answers straightforwardly.
"Huh, then how do you..."
"I can't really explain it properly, but I have something called 'Trial and Error System.'"
"And what does that do?" - She asks, quite curious.
"In short, I can gain abilities if I understand them, but I can only acquire one ability every three and a half days."
"That's... Very powerful. Can you show me? I want some confirmation."
Denji just smiles and starts some attempts. On the third one, a blue screen appears in front of Kobeni, showing various numbers and information.
"Kyah!" - She covers her mouth a bit, so as not to wake her sister.
"In this case, I tried to make the screen where my abilities are, and some information, appear to you... and it worked." - He explains, already providing the confirmation Kobeni wanted and surprising her.
"Look... don't tell anyone about any of this, I trust you with that. It's a secret that needs to be kept very well."
"I understand, don't worry. I'll keep this secret."
Denji smiles weakly with his eyes closed, but they both end up paying attention to the news again.
"... In response to this, Public Security states that they will send a team to investigate and find the said underground hunter, as he represents a danger to society and is tarnishing the organization's name. Next, you'll see the next J-League game. Kashima Antlers against Gamba Osaka!"
Both Denji and Kobeni have poker faces at the news that the blond was on the verge of being considered a terrorist.
"..." - The silence is deafening, but soon it's replaced by a question through gritted teeth - "Do I start wearing a burqa now, or...?"
"Well... try to throw them off, is there any way? You know, you can't be in two places at once."
This remark triggers a light bulb in Denji's mind, leading him to come up with an idea.
(Of course!) - He thinks to himself as if he were a genius.
Timeskip
"I've told you this Coke is Fanta!!" - A blonde girl said inside a car.
"I'm sure it was a woman, stop it!" - Says a young man with brown skin, green sclera, and golden pupils, whose hair was made of leaves, he was infernal.
"CAN YOU GUYS STOP?! You've been arguing for over 35 minutes whether that person was a man or a woman! THAT IDIOT HARUKI EVEN MADE UP A BACKGROUND STORY FOR THE JERK!!" - A very recognizable young man for anyone who's seen Chainsaw Man, Aki Hayakawa, was quite stressed with the team he was assigned.
"Don't talk about Jessica like that!" - The young man identified as Haruki said.
"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THAT'S HER NAME!!" - Aki yells again, almost crashing the car into a truck.
"Damn it!! Drive properly, human! You almost killed your sovereign being!" - The girl with yellow hair says again, she had red horns and a blue jacket, as well as golden pupils. Also a familiar face, Power.
"My only sovereign is Jesus! Shut up, Satan!" - He says and continues driving.
As you can see, in this world, Aki Hayakawa has an incredibly different personality from his original counterpart. This is due to the butterfly effect caused when the person who possessed Denji arrived here. It's funny how all time is interconnected and the present can alter the past and future.
[N/CA: Yes, messing with timelines is completely unpredictable and let's take advantage of that.]
"That's what you think, Power will still receive the Nobel Prize and become president! Mark my words!" - He says with great pride.
"Okay, okay! Now be quiet and let me drive, or I'll turn this car around and jump into the Sumida River right now!" - Aki thinks he needs stress medication at this point, after realizing he threatened to jump into the river next to them.
As if by magic, the two instantly became quiet, because they knew they would have problems with Makima if pineapple hair messed up like he threatened.
With the quiet trip, they arrived at the Public Security building in a few minutes, with the Asian enjoying his moment of peace. Parking the car, the three get out and head towards the reception.
Aki takes the lead and informs that they have completed the mission they received and waits for payment, but something he liked to hear [Simp] was that Makima wanted to see them, something about a special mission that he didn't pay attention to.
Without complaining, he calls the two infernals and heads towards the redhead's office. Arriving there, he sees 'his goddess' signing some papers and pays attention to a Gameboy with Tetris on next to her.
(Another subject to start a conversation with...) - Yeah, Aki in this timeline is a simp, I feel bad narrating this...
[Do you want to be fired? Keep narrating! Otherwise, I'll call Uncle Mappa!]
[Narrator: NO! I DON'T WANT TO ANIMATE ANYMORE!! NOOOOOO!!!]
"Fourth squad reporting in!" - He makes a Japanese military salute that we certainly know.
"Welcome, it's good to know you're alive, I heard your last mission was a great success." - She says with the typical dead smile. - "Without further ado, I wanted to present the next case that will be... Problematic."
"No matter the difficulty, we will do our best to fulfill what the organization asks of us."
"Good to hear. I wanted to leave this case especially for you, since as an experimental squad this could be a great breakthrough. The specific case is to discover and arrest or kill the illegal hunter from the neighboring city."
She gets up from the table and starts walking towards the trio, with her smile gradually becoming somewhat genuine, perhaps of interest.
"Kill? Will it be necessary to go that far?" - Aki asks hesitantly, he knew he might have to ask such a question, but he didn't think it would be so 'early' in his career.
"If he poses a danger, yes. That will be up to you." - Finally stopping in front of them, she looks at them with interest, perhaps to know what the trio's choice would be.
"Alright, do we have a composite sketch or any clues?"
"Yes. But only a list of descriptions, there aren't enough witnesses for an accurate composite sketch."
"I'm all ears." - After that, Makima's smile extends further.
To be continued…