Meanwhile, back in Japan. On the first day Arata left, everyone in Division 4 was already missing him. Only Makima breathed a long sigh of relief.
"How long is Arata going to be away?"
"I'm not sure, he didn't say," Aki Hayakawa replied. He was the one who had informed Makima about Arata leaving the country. The moment Makima heard Arata had gone abroad, she rushed back from the countryside overnight.
"With my master's abilities, he might even be back by tonight," Denji declared confidently.
Hearing that Arata might return tonight, Makima's legs subconsciously clamped together. But her expression remained perfectly cold and indifferent.
"Arata needs to hurry back, I just can't feel at ease when he's not around." When Arata was here, Himeno was full of energy every single day. The moment he left, her sense of security plummeted. She even started having nightmares about dying from overusing the Ghost Devil.
"Now you see how important my master is, right?" Denji grinned.
"Aki mentioned that Arata left a gift behind before he left."
"Yeah, but since I'm not strong enough yet, bringing it out would only embarrass my master, so I just left it at home."
The members of Division 4 gathered around the office, chatting away. None of them were talking about devil hunting, instead spending all their time gossiping about Arata.
"While Arata is away, we all need to stay sharp. We've lost a reliable backup, after all."
"Miss Makima, can I take a few days off? My mother drank too much last night and is in the hospital with no one to look after her," Arai asked.
"Arai, you're asking for time off the second Arata leaves. You aren't planning on extending this 'vacation' until he gets back, are you?" Himeno hit the nail on the head, causing Arai to panic slightly.
"N-No, that's not it. My mother is actually sick, I really need to take care of her."
"Alright, your leave is approved." Makima didn't seem to care either way.
"Thank you, Miss Makima. See you later, seniors," Arai said before instantly bolting out the door.
"Does Kobeni need to take some time off too?" Makima asked.
"I don't need to," Kobeni replied, her eyes filled with a surprising amount of resolve. This caught Himeno off guard. It seemed the incident at the movie theater had really left an impact on Kobeni.
"If no one else is taking time off, then I'll introduce the two new rookies joining Division 4 today. Come in."
Just as Makima spoke, a mature-looking woman in a Public Safety uniform pushed open the office door and walked in. The moment the door opened, everyone's eyes snapped toward the entrance.
"Hello everyone, my name is Kana Okura. I'm a new recruit who will be working with you all. I hope to learn a lot from my seniors." Kana bowed to the room.
"Hello, I'm Himeno." Himeno took the initiative to walk up and shake Kana's hand.
"Hello, senior Himeno." Kana bowed slightly as she shook her hand.
"Hello, my name is Hubby," Denji said, trying out a cheesy pickup line.
"Hello, Hubby," Kana replied politely, shaking Denji's hand.
"Denji, stop spouting nonsense," Himeno barked, slapping their hands apart. "His name is Denji. He definitely learned that garbage from his master, so just ignore it. From now on, just call him Pervy Denji."
"You're way more of a perv than I am, senior Himeno!" Denji grumbled, remembering all the times he'd seen Himeno rubbing her body against Arata's arm.
"It's fine, I didn't understand what he meant anyway," Kana forced a polite smile.
"Let me introduce the rest," Himeno continued. "This is Aki Hayakawa. He's one of the most reliable guys on the team. If you have any questions, just ask Aki, he's definitely a proper senior."
"Senior Hayakawa." Aki simply gave a curt nod in response.
"And this is Power."
"Hello. From now on, you will address me as the Great Power when we meet."
"Uh... she's a fiend, just ignore her."
"Right..." Kana replied awkwardly. She had assumed being a Public Safety Devil Hunter was a serious, professional job, but it was starting to look like she had completely overthought it.
"What do you mean ignore me?! Listen well, Okura! Remember my words, or else I won't save you when Denji starts bullying you later!" Power yelled suddenly.
"Why would I bully her? She looks way older than me."
"I know how you operate! You only like huge women."
"I'm not talking about their age!!"
"Power?" Makima shot her a single glance. Power instantly ducked behind Denji and shut her mouth. Her mind flashed back to the horrifying illusion Arata had shown her, where Makima had shot her point-blank.
"And this is Kobeni."
"Hello." Kana shook Kobeni's hand as well. "It's a pleasure to meet everyone." She followed up with another deep bow to the room.
But as her face pointed toward the floor, her expression twisted into pure disgust. If she didn't have her own hidden motives, she never would have joined Division 4.
"Makima, didn't you say there were two rookies?" Himeno asked after everyone had met Kana.
"He's up there," Makima said flatly.
Right as she spoke, a figure suddenly dropped from the ceiling, landing squarely in front of Denji.
"Lord Chainsaw!!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Holy shit, what the hell is this?!" Getting tackled by some half-naked weirdo the moment he appeared, Denji instantly answered with a brutal uppercut.
Even though he was knocked flat on his back, the man still looked ecstatic. He had finally met his idol.
"His name is Beam. He's your fan, Denji."
"My fan? Why the hell isn't he a woman?"
"Lord Chainsaw!!"
"Are you kidding me?" Denji swapped to a front kick this time, sending Beam flying across the room. But Beam still wouldn't give up.
"Stop right there!!"
"Yes, Lord Denji." Beam hit the brakes, skidding to a halt right in front of him.
"Raise your hand. Open your mouth. Turn your head." Beam followed every single one of Denji's commands flawlessly.
Watching this unfold, Makima couldn't help but feel a twinge of discomfort in her chest.
"Alright, that's enough playing around. I've brought you these new teammates so you won't have to rely on Arata anymore."
"We get it, Miss Makima, but if we run into a really tough devil, we're still going to need Arata to back us up," Himeno pointed out.
"I plan to dismiss Arata from Public Safety."
"What?! You're firing Arata?!"
Makima's shocking statement left everyone in Division 4, aside from the rookies, completely stunned. Their faces were etched with sheer disbelief.
"Miss Makima, why would you do that?"
"Yeah! What did my master do wrong?!"
"This is not up for discussion. Himeno, call Arata later and inform him of this decision. I have business to attend to, so I'll be leaving now." With that, Makima walked out of the office.
She left the rest of the team staring at each other in utter shock.
"Why would Miss Makima do something like that?" Himeno muttered, asking the exact question that was on everyone's mind.
"Who is Arata?" Kana asked.
"He's the strongest Devil Hunter in Division 4."
"The strongest in Division 4! What kind of abilities does senior Arata have?" Kana deliberately acted surprised before immediately probing for details.
"Why do you want to know?" Denji asked suspiciously.
"No reason. We're all coworkers now, I just wanted to get to know him a bit."
"You don't need to learn about Arata, you just need to learn more about the Great Power! Go out and buy me a steak later as a greeting gift for your senior."
"Alright..." Kana replied. "But really, what kind of abilities does senior Arata have?"
"Where are your honorifics?!"
"Senior Power."
"Call me the Great Power!!"
"Right... the Great Power. What abilities does senior Arata have?"
"I have no idea."
Those four words infuriated Kana so much her ears started ringing. She was half a second away from using her powers to blow Power to pieces right in front of everyone. But in order to dig up more information on Arata, she had to endure it. After all, she still couldn't utilize the full extent of the Reality Devil's power yet.
"Oh right, what devil did you contract with, Kana?" Himeno asked suddenly.
"Miss Makima told me to keep it a secret for now."
"Beam, what kind of devil are you?"
"Reporting to Lord Chainsaw, I am the Shark Fiend!"
"But why exactly are you my fan?"
"Because of your immense strength, Lord Chainsaw! I'm your number one fanboy!"
"So do I have any other fans out there?" Denji asked, genuinely curious.
"Of course! There are many who adore Lord Chainsaw."
Hearing that he actually had more fans made Denji puff up with pride. He quickly pulled Beam aside and whispered, "Are any of them, you know, really open-minded female fans?"
"Yes, but they aren't here."
"Then where are they?"
"They aren't in Japan, anyway. And I highly doubt Lord Chainsaw would like the way they look."
"Whatever, forget it. I can't count on you for anything."
"Please don't be disappointed in me, Lord Chainsaw! I can do other things for you!"
"I have zero interest in you."
Right as everyone was chatting, Himeno's phone suddenly rang. She assumed it was Arata calling, and was just getting ready to break the news about Makima firing him.
But it turned out to be the Public Safety dispatch operator.
Learning that a devil had appeared, the veterans and rookies of Division 4 rolled out together. But without Arata holding the fort, the current Division 4 severely lacked its usual ferocity.
Want to read more??
Checkout my P@treon: AfrikaanPolarBear Here you can read 50 chapters ahead everyone and also support this fic. Consider subscribing as it'll motivate me and also help this fic.
: )
Thanks you!!!