"Slaughter the yakuza?"
This was something Denji wouldn't even dare to dream about. And now it was coming out of this stranger's mouth. Said so seriously too, without a trace of emotion.
"Who the hell are you?" The kid asked again, panicking. He didn't know Arata. He had no idea why this guy wanted to help him. Suspicion outweighed any possible benefit. By now, he was already drenched in cold sweat.
"My name is Arata. From China. Been an unaffiliated Devil Hunter for about a year and a half."
"china? Then why are you here?"
The sudden question made him frown. "That question is as boring as asking why a bakery sells drinks or why Harry Potter flies on a broomstick."
"Then why are you helping me?"
"You'll find out someday. But for now, all you need to know is that I genuinely want to help you."
He smiled and slowly extended his hand toward Denji.
Looking at that outstretched hand, the kid hesitated. He didn't know what it meant. Was he just trying to help him up? Or did this symbolize some kind of agreement between them?
The fear still lingering in his gut made him not want to piss this guy off. Almost against his will, his hand slowly reached out.
"Grrr..."
Pochita suddenly let out a low growl. That snapped Denji back to his senses.
"No thanks." He didn't take the hand. He pushed himself up off the ground on his own. "I hate living in debt, yeah. But this is my problem. I don't want anyone interfering in my life. Even if the debt crushes me until I can't breathe, that's still my problem."
"Fair enough." Arata withdrew his hand and smiled. Without another word, he turned and walked away.
Watching him go, Denji let out a long breath. Then he immediately slammed the door shut. "What a weird guy. Hope I never run into him again."
...
Not long after.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The wooden door to the shack was knocked on again.
"That guy again!" Denji clenched his fists and shot to his feet. Pochita also dropped into an attacking stance. Clearly, both of them hated that stranger's guts. Because of him, they were going to go hungry today for sure.
"Denji in there?" The person knocking sounded impatient.
"That doesn't sound like him. Who are you?"
"I'm Ino. One of the yakuza boss's men. The boss has another job for you."
"Yakuza!" The kid was skeptical as he walked to the door.
"Open up already!" Ino's impatient voice rang out again, louder this time. Denji didn't dare waste any more time and quickly opened the door.
Seeing that it really was Ino standing there, the huge rock in his chest hit the floor instantly. "Oh, it's really you."
"If it wasn't me, who else would come looking for you? It's not like you have parents or friends, right?" Ino said it on purpose, venting his frustration at having to wait outside. But Denji didn't care at all about someone poking at his sore spots.
"What's the job?"
"There's a cucumber devil that just showed up at a vegetable farm nearby. I'm taking you there now. You handle it." Ino casually lit a cigarette as he spoke, completely unbothered by the appearance of a devil.
"No problem." The mention of a devil got Denji fired up. What other people ran away from was, for him, the dream opportunity to make money.
Kill the devil, leave the corpse for the yakuza, and he'd get a cut. Of course, they took most of it. He didn't even get one twentieth. But even so, he didn't want to miss any chance to earn money.
He was only sixteen. No education, no diploma, couldn't even read. The yakuza's jobs were a massive help to him.
"Pochita, we've got another job. We won't have to go hungry tonight."
The dog was just as happy, running circles around him.
"Stop wasting time and get in the car." Ino tossed his cigarette and urged them on.
The two of them and the dog got into the vehicle. Ino sat in the driver's seat and was about to start the engine when someone suddenly stepped in front.
Beep beep beep!!
"Damn it, get the hell out of my way."
"Are you guys heading out to take down the Cucumber Devil?" The speaker was none other than Arata.
"Yeah, now move."
"Count me in."
Ignoring Ino's objections, he opened the door and got in.
"It's you!" Denji's jaw dropped. The person he didn't want to see had appeared beside him again.
"That's right. From now on, we're close partners."
"Who's your partner? Me and Pochita can handle this just fine."
"I don't want any money. You can keep all the commission."
"Ino, what are you waiting for? Step on it!" The kid immediately caved.
"You know this guy?" Ino turned and glanced at the unfamiliar face, still pissed about the roadblock.
"He owes me money."
"Ha. Didn't expect anyone to owe you money."
"Just drive. The Cucumber Devil might already be using the farm owner as a cucumber by now."
"You little punk, you think you can order me around?!" Ino's short fuse blew.
He didn't rank high in the yakuza, sure. But he was still the boss's runner. Having some random stranger talk to him like this didn't sit well.
"Ino, calm down. You don't want anything to happen to the farm owner, right? If we get there too late and the client dies, we don't get paid," Denji reasoned.
At the mention of money, Ino shot Arata a glare. "I'll deal with you when we get there." Then he turned around and started the car.
In less than ten minutes, something green came into view at the farm up ahead. At first glance, it looked like the place had grown some huge prize vegetable. But the green thing was moving. And making noise.
"It's huge!" Denji stuck his head out the window.
"Yeah, pretty big. Might be a certain body part of the Hulk that ran off on its own."
"The Hulk?"
"You'll find out in a few years."
"I'm not driving any closer. You guys get out here." Ino parked about three hundred meters away. The farther, the safer.
"You can't fear devils. Fear only makes them stronger. The best way to eliminate fear is to face it." Arata said this as he got out.
"You're a quiet-looking kid, but you sure talk a lot. And you're pretty damn punchable." Ino opened his door and started playing with a knife.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm gonna carve some words on that kid's face."
"Ino, maybe you should just let it go." Denji tried to smooth things over.
"Let it go? I don't take crap from anyone."
"So you're petty, then."
That one sentence set Ino off again. He charged with the knife. But the next second, he collapsed without any warning.
"Ino?"
"Don't yell. He's already asleep." Arata crouched down, rolled him over, and took the knife, examining it for a moment.
"What are you planning to do?" Denji asked, worried about a murder charge.
"Don't worry. I just want to carve two English letters on his face."
He lowered the knife tip toward Ino's cheek. The kid winced, expecting blood. But instead of cutting, he just scratched two letters into the surface—shallow enough to sting but not draw blood. S and B.
"S... B?" Denji squinted. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You'll figure it out someday." He stood up, tossed the knife aside, and stretched. "Alright. Let's go kill a cucumber."
He started walking toward the farm. Denji hesitated for a second, then ran after him with Pochita in his arms.
"Hey, wait up! What about Ino?"
"He'll wake up in about ten minutes with a headache and a new life lesson. Now stop worrying about that petty idiot and focus. That Cucumber Devil isn't going to kill itself."
As they got closer, the devil came into full view. It was easily fifteen feet tall, thick as a tree trunk, with rough green skin covered in warty bumps. Disgusting slime dripped off its body, sizzling where it hit the dirt. It had no face, just a vertical slit that opened and closed like a mouth, letting out wet, squelching cries.
The farmhouse nearby was already wrecked. Half the roof was caved in. The front door was splintered open.
"The owner might still be inside," Denji said, gripping Pochita tighter.
"Then let's make this fast." Arata cracked his neck. "I'll distract it. You hit it from behind. Aim for that slit—looks like a weak point."
"Why do I have to do the dangerous part?"
"Because I'm working for free, remember? Now stop complaining and go."
The devil noticed them. The slit on its front stretched wide, revealing rows of small, grinding teeth. It lunged.
He didn't dodge. Just stood there, hands in his pockets, as the massive green thing barreled toward him.
"Move!" Denji screamed.
At the last possible second, he tilted his head slightly. The devil's charge missed by less than an inch. It crashed into the ground behind him, kicking up a cloud of dirt.
"Now!"
The kid didn't think. He swung Pochita forward. The chainsaw roared to life. He sprinted at the devil's exposed back and drove the saw straight into the vertical slit.
Green blood sprayed everywhere. The thing let out a horrible shriek and thrashed wildly, but Denji held on, digging the chainsaw deeper. Pochita's engine screamed.
With one final wet crunch, the devil went still. Then its body began to dissolve into black smoke.
Denji collapsed to his knees, breathing hard. The dog licked his face.
"Not bad," Arata said, walking over. "You've got instincts."
"You could have helped more," the kid panted.
"I helped plenty. I made sure it was looking at me instead of you." He glanced back toward the car. Ino was still out cold. "Now go check on the farm owner. I'll keep watch."
Denji nodded and ran into the wrecked farmhouse.
Arata stood alone among the fading smoke of the dead devil. He closed his eyes and took a slow breath. The same satisfied smile crossed his face.
Fear. Such a delicious thing.
When he opened his eyes again, Denji was walking back out, supporting a middle-aged woman who was coughing but very much alive.
"She's fine. Scared, but fine."
"Good." He turned and started walking back to the car. "Then we're done here."
"Hey," Denji called after him. "Why are you really helping me?"
He didn't stop walking. Just raised a hand in a lazy wave.
"I told you. You'll find out someday."
Denji watched him go, Pochita warm in his arms. He still didn't trust this strange guy. But for the first time in a long time, he wondered if maybe—just maybe—something good was finally about to happen.