The Old College Try

[mansbestend]

Sender: Denji
To: Everyone
Subject: i write in the book and people read this???


OK so

I had a genius idea and wanna test sumthin

someone come swing at me. one guy and one girl. kick my ass if you want.

then we go eat or whatever after. i dunno.

Comments

[adorabrawler]

I won't be long.

[ Give her a bit, but sure enough—there's a... young kid who shows up at the designated area, but it's a young kid with a yellow coat. Mizuki stops in her tracks once she's arrived, looking around; maybe she should've asked what he looks like, too... ]

[mansbestend]

[He's finishing off a soda and pitching the can into a bin as he looked around. Oh... yellow... that's yellow right there, isn't it?]

Yo...!

[He masked a yawn behind a hand. That them...? After, he approached.]

Are you the yellow person I'm lookin' out for?

[adorabrawler]

Oh—so it's gotta be you.

[ a nod! ]

Yep, that's me. Sooo... How'd you want to do this?

[mansbestend]

Uhhh... I dunno. We can just get into it?

[He shrugged.]

I don't have a bell or a whistle or whatever to sound off with.

[adorabrawler]

Well, all right.

[ Mizuki slips off her backpack, setting it and the pipe attached to it down out of the way. ]

You said kick your ass, right? [ Meanwhile, she cracks her knuckles into balled fists, rolling out her shoulders. ] Theeeen...

[ That's all the warning he gets before Mizuki makes a swift swing at his face with a fist; should it land, he'll find that the strength behind it is far, far beyond what a girl her age and size should wield. ]

[mansbestend]

[Wow, she really gets into it, hu-

WHUMP. He went from looking at her to reeling. Stars popped in his vision and his jaw felt really freakin' weird for a minute before he pressed a hand to one side and pressed hard.]

Holy shit...!

What're you, some kinda kung-fu clan heir or somethin'!?

[adorabrawler]

Nope! Hyah!

[ There's only enough time for him to fumble back before Mizuki quickly pivots on one foot, swinging around to land a hard kick at his side. Once again, she doesn't hold back on her strength.

For better or worse, she's taking "kick his ass" to heart... ]

[mansbestend]

[Oh god, somebody save him. The hit was like someone took a sledgehammer and knocked him in the ribs full force. Right... fighting back was kind of important, wasn't it? It'd be embarrassing if he wound up dying here somehow from something he asked for.

He swung back with a fist but tucked his body in for the defensive, pushing through the stars that had only now begun to melt from his vision. Gotta give her something to work with!]

[adorabrawler]

[ Oh, good, he's finally fighting back; she was going to start feeling a little bad if he didn't eventually.

Mizuki catches his fist in a free hand before it lands. ]

You're not gonna hit me like that.

[ She then grips around his wrist and jerks him forward, while simultaneously throwing yet another fist with her other hand at his face again. ]

[mansbestend]

[He could only tip his head to take that fist to the forehead. Who needed a working brain anyway? But he definitely made a massive mistake.

...He could work with this! He staggered back. He fumbled briefly for the gap between two buttons on his shirt and retrieved the pull cord. He gave it a yank.

An engine fought to start, sputtered, then was silent. Denji had a distinct feeling of, 'Come on, you're better than this.']

Fuuuuuuck, c'mon, Pochita...!

[He seethed and steam rolled from between his teeth. Maybe he'll never get his chainsaws. But he wasn't about to just get turned to mush by someone he was possibly boring by now. When he lowered and launched airborne, it was with an agility far less human than before. With a roar he came down with a heel.]

[adorabrawler]

[ In retrospect, she would think if this was supposed to be a distraction tactic, it sure as hell was an effective one.

As he stumbles back, she can't so much as think of what move to make next before he's... pulling a cord? Revving an engine? Her eyes grow wide once smoke billows from his mouth, but there's no making sense of it before he launches straight into the air. ]

What the—whoa!

[ All Mizuki could do was quite literally dive out of the way as he comes back down. ]

[mansbestend]

[It was the pain of striking the earth that brought him newfound clarity. She was tough, yes, but he shouldn't go easy on her.

He knew plenty of people who were deceptively badass. Why bore her?]

Sorry! I do owe you somethin' serious, huh...? You just needed to knock my brain back into place for a bit is all.

[He backed off and let her back up. No more fuckin' around.]

[adorabrawler]

[ Her eyes narrow at him, baffled. ]

If you want... [ They're just here to science something out, right? ] But, what—what did you just do?

[mansbestend]

I mean... I tried to rev up, but it ain't workin'. There's supposed to be chainsaws everywhere!

[He sighed, reached into his shirt and pulled the cord sticking out from his chest. The engine roared again, gave a dog's whimper, then went quiet.]

I'm not- I ain't gonna kill her, dude! I'm just practicing!

[He was arguing with... someone. But who?]

[adorabrawler]

[ With who, indeed. Mizuki sizes him up a second time, brow furrowing when a thought comes to her. ]

... Are you talking to someone in your head?

[mansbestend]

What? No, my chest, there's...!

[He pounded his chest with a fist twice.]

My heart! I'm talkin' to my heart. ...Long story. I'm supposed to be all... Chainsaw Man by now, but I'm not.

[adorabrawler]

[ So, it wasn't something like Aiba, then. Huh. ]

"Chainsaw Man"? [ She echoes, a touch derisively; then again, he did try to rev up like one just now, which is a thought process she still can't believe she's having. ] What normally makes you go all, er—chainsawy?

[mansbestend]

If a devil pops up from hell and starts goin' after people, Chainsaw Man shows up and cuts 'em down. ...Or, really, if a devil shows up and wants to take a shot at me, anyway.

[He shrugged.]

That's what fans call me, anyway, so I stuck with the title. I probably wouldn't'a came up with a better one. But I thought if I got into a fight it'd... work? But it ain't. Maybe 'cause I started it...?

[adorabrawler]

And I'm not a devil, either...

[ Mizuki trails off in thought. This is all sounding so much like something straight out of television—which leads her to a thought. ]

Is this one of those powers you can only use in a moment of desperation? Like, a real life or death scenario? I'm not trying to kill you, so maybe that's why.

[mansbestend]

[He blinked and realized that it worked when he went up against the oven witch while everything was candy land. It was a life or death situation...]

Shit, you're right. ...Damn it.

[He sighed and folded his arms.]

...Wanna go eat, then? Guess I wasted your time. Sorry.