Pov Narrator.
"Isagi."
Makima's soft, slightly lower voice immediately interrupted his plans to spend his future earnings trying to double them through luck and whatever God had in store. As if someone had flipped a switch, Isagi snapped out of his little fantasy world.
He turned to look at her and met her eyes directly, never breaking eye contact as the carefree smile on his face slowly faded away.
"You know, Isagi, have I ever told you? I find you to be a very interesting person. From your pleasant scent, your good taste in movies, and how persistent you are in trying to be my friend... you're unique, Isagi Fushiguro." Makima's smile widened just a little, maintaining that serene and impossible-to-read aura that always surrounded her.
"I know. Tell me something I don't know." Isagi flicked his head to toss his hair back, wearing a faint, confident smile filled with ego. It was the kind of expression that made it clear he had absolutely no intention of being humble in that regard.
Anyway, putting that aside, he sat down again, this time beside the redhead. He settled comfortably, though deep down he still wondered where she wanted to take the conversation. With Makima, even the most casual conversation could hide something far deeper.
"But, you know? I've also noticed a certain pattern, Isagi. Although it's only happened twice so far. After you saved Power, you later displayed a Blood Manipulation ability similar to hers." Makima began lightly tapping her index finger against her knee, setting a slow, steady rhythm as she spoke. "Also, after your confrontation with the Bomb Devil, you acquired an ability that lets you turn objects into explosives, according to the report from the Eternity Devil mission."
Isagi felt as though his soul had left his body. For a brief instant, even his heart seemed to stop. Not even he had noticed that pattern, and the fact that Makima had discovered it after only a couple of incidents caused every alarm in his head to go off.
Even so, he recovered quickly and intertwined his fingers in front of his face, making sure to maintain a calm, serious expression as if that observation hadn't meant absolutely anything.
"(This woman isn't just nosy, she's a nosy motherfu...)." He cut the thought off before finishing the word, aware that insulting her—even if only inside his own head—was already becoming a habit. "(Alright... and what's the bad part?)"
"There's nothing bad about it. I simply thought it was worth pointing out." Makima replied with the same serenity as always, never taking her eyes off him, as though she were trying to see through every one of his expressions. "Besides... would you like to tell me what that owl you used to return to Tokyo during the attack was?" she asked with gentle curiosity, tilting her head ever so slightly.
"Also, Aki reported seeing a deer, a snake, and..."
"Alright, alright, alright... I get it already, okay?! That Aki is such a damn snitch; back in Mexico, they would've already had him silenced for running his mouth." Isagi muttered that last part under his breath, though he immediately raised his head again and returned to a more relaxed expression. "Look, Makima, I'm not going to tell you where I got these abilities from; that's a personal secret. But I can tell you it's called the Ten Shadows Technique, and it allows me to summon ten different creatures. Those three you heard about... the owl is called Nue, the snake is Orochi, and the deer is Madoka. Each one has different abilities."
As he spoke, Isagi casually moved one hand, counting each name on his fingers. He had no intention of revealing anything important, but he also didn't see any problem with explaining something that everyone would eventually find out during a mission anyway.
"I noticed. According to Aki and Himeno, your deer appears to possess remarkable healing abilities." Makima nodded, calmly storing away that information.
Her expression barely changed as she mentally organized every detail she had just heard. She didn't need to know the origin of Isagi's powers, at least not for now; it was enough to understand what he could do and the extent of his abilities.
Silence settled between them, filling the room for a few moments. Isagi scratched the back of his head while thinking of something to change the direction of the conversation. Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind, and a faint smile appeared on his face. He joined his hands together to form the shadow of a wolf's head.
"Divine Dogs."
Isagi's shadow began moving across the floor, growing larger and larger as if it had come to life. A second later, his Shikigami emerged from the darkness: the black wolf and the white wolf, appearing naturally beside him.
Both lightly shook themselves before looking toward their summoner. If there was one thing Makima liked, it was dogs... and he had a Shikigami with that very name.
And it worked. Makima's eyebrows rose slightly when she saw the Shikigami Isagi had summoned. A tiny smile, almost imperceptible, appeared on her lips before she looked back at him.
"Divine Dogs, huh?"
"Yep. Actually, these two were my very first summons. They're twins." Isagi said as he sat beside Makima, absentmindedly stroking the white Shikigami's back.
The white wolf climbed onto the sofa as well and sat beside Isagi, calmly leaning its body against him, while the black one remained near its master's feet, attentively watching every movement in the room without ever stopping the slow wagging of its tail.
"Would you like to pet them? Outside of combat they're pretty gentle. You can't say no to this face." Isagi hugged his white wolf Shikigami while it happily stuck out its tongue and wagged its tail enthusiastically.
Completely relaxed, displaying behavior entirely different from the ferocious creature that appeared during battles.
Makima, meanwhile, let out a soft laugh and extended her hand. She was curious about how it would feel to the touch. She began gently stroking the white wolf's head with slow, delicate movements; its fur was remarkably soft, even softer than she had imagined. The Shikigami closed its eyes slightly, enjoying the affection without showing the slightest sign of rejection, while its tail softly thumped against the sofa from side to side.
"By the way, Makima, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but... can you also feed on humans? Devils seem to have a taste for them. For example, the Bat Devil talked about women, children, and well-built men like he was some kind of professional food critic." Isagi asked, because in his vague memories of the Chainsaw Man story, he had never seen Makima do anything like that.
"Hehe." A quiet giggle escaped Makima.
"As a devil, technically I do possess the same abilities as any other devil, such as recovering by drinking blood. But let me tell you something, Isagi."
Makima stopped petting the white wolf and leaned a little closer to Isagi himself. The distance between them shrank enough for him to notice even more clearly the calmness conveyed by her gaze.
"The more closely a devil resembles a human, the less hostile it will be toward humans. Although, of course, most will still attack if they feel threatened."
"Mm, that makes sense to me." Isagi nodded and shrugged naturally. The explanation fit quite well with everything he had seen so far.
Makima looked almost completely human; aside from her eyes with those distinctive rings, there was nothing different about her. Anyone who didn't know the truth would have a hard time imagining they were standing in front of a devil.
Although Isagi also believed that the fact she was the Control Devil played a major role in why she neither needed nor gave in to something as basic or primitive as eating humans. In fact, from everything he had observed since arriving in that world, she seemed to enjoy things like alcohol or a good meal far more than any instinct typical of an ordinary devil.
"But if I ever had to taste someone's blood, I think I'd like it to be yours, Isagi. I already told you that day, your scent is incredibly attractive to devils." Makima said in a slightly amused and suggestive tone, never taking her eyes off him.
The faint smile on her lips barely changed, but the closeness with which she spoke those words was enough to give the atmosphere a different kind of tension than it had only moments before.
Not even she was completely immune to the trait of the Wind Hashira that Isagi had obtained: Sanemi's Marechi blood. That peculiar characteristic made his scent exceptionally tempting to devils, even for someone with Makima's self-control and discipline, who, despite maintaining her usual composure, couldn't help but acknowledge how enticing she found it.
"Want some? Don't worry, I don't need to cut myself to draw blood." Isagi raised his hand, and using Convergence, blood began to emerge from his skin through his pores.
Thin crimson threads slowly gathered over the palm of his hand without causing him the slightest pain, as though the entire process were the most natural thing in the world for him.
He didn't need to cut himself to draw blood when he could do it through Convergence. Makima's nose wrinkled ever so slightly; the scent of the blood, now fully exposed, had become much stronger... and much more tempting. Even without getting too close, the aroma was surprisingly intense, gradually filling the room.
Makima had almost never—if ever—drunk blood simply because she wanted to. And thanks to her contract with the Prime Minister, she didn't need blood to heal her injuries either. In other words, the need to drink blood had never existed for Makima.
But now that the powerful scent of Isagi's Marechi blood reached her nose so clearly, a small temptation was beginning to awaken inside her. It was a strange, subtle feeling... but impossible to ignore. Which was only natural, considering that even Kokushibo had lost control the first time he smelled Sanemi's blood.
"Maybe just a little, but in a glass. I won't drink it straight from your hand; I'm not Power, so I'm not going to lick it directly from the source." she replied with a faint amused smile, though she carefully maintained the same calm tone as always, as if that admission had cost her absolutely nothing.
"You're going to drink it like it's a beverage? Well then... AAAAAHHHHH!" Isagi stretched out his other hand, and a glass floated toward him, straight into his grasp, as though an invisible force had pulled it.
He caught it effortlessly and immediately drank the small amount of liquid inside in a single gulp.
"It tastes exactly like water... because it was just water."
Isagi cleaned the glass and, using Convergence, blood began to flow directly into it, as though someone had turned on a faucet. The crimson liquid poured in a steady stream, while his expression didn't show the slightest trace of pain or discomfort.
Thanks to his incredible regeneration, the blood inside his body replenished itself just as quickly as he lost it, allowing the process to continue for several seconds without any consequences.
The chances of him becoming anemic were practically nonexistent. Once the glass was nearly full, he held it out to Makima, who accepted it carefully. She completely ignored the fact that she had just watched Isagi effortlessly pull the glass through the air with telekinesis; at that moment, all of her attention was focused on the crimson liquid resting before her.
Her golden eyes remained fixed on the blood for several moments, as though she were analyzing it before tasting it. The aroma was incredible, so she brought the rim of the glass to her lips and took a small sip.
The flavor of Isagi's blood struck Makima's senses immediately. She felt a pleasant sensation slowly spread throughout her body, relaxing every muscle as a warm energy seemed to flow from her throat to the rest of her body. It tasted nothing like she had imagined... it was far more pleasant than she had expected.
"It tastes quite good. Is this what Power eats sometimes? I understand her a little better now... and also why she lost control on the first day." she commented with a faint smile, staring at the contents of the glass for a moment before taking another small sip, as though she wanted to confirm that her first impression hadn't been an exaggeration.
Unexpectedly, Makima rested her head on Isagi's shoulder as she continued drinking from the glass containing his blood. The movement was so natural that, for an instant, it seemed as though she had done it without even thinking.
From the outside, the scene looked like a couple quietly enjoying a peaceful moment together on the sofa, aside from the small detail that the woman was drinking blood.
Isagi didn't think much about it and instinctively wrapped one arm around Makima. This time, Makima didn't tense up at the embrace. She accepted it naturally and, in fact, leaned a little more against Isagi, getting slightly more comfortable while continuing to hold the glass in her hands.
For a few moments, they simply remained like that, enjoying the unexpected moment of peace: she, savoring the rich taste of Marechi blood; he, surprised that Makima seemed to feel so comfortable by his side.
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End of the chapter.