Chapter 23: You're Not... Gay, Are You?
[Ding! Host has activated the achievement 'First Meeting with Himeno'. Gained 1 Attribute Point!]
Seeing Himeno and her partner approach, Otonashi Chiya deliberately put on a slightly dazed expression. He then asked, feigning ignorance, "Are you two... devil hunters from Tokyo Public Safety?"
He certainly couldn't let it slip that he already knew who Himeno was; as far as the world was concerned, this was their first meeting.
"That's right, that's right~ We saw your fight with the Potato Chip Devil just now. You're quite impressive," Himeno said as she walked up to Chiya, casually reaching out to pat his right shoulder.
Almost instinctively, Chiya's pupils darted to the lower-right corner. The moment Himeno raised her hand, he had already read the trajectory of her movement; he nearly dodged her hand out of sheer habit.
Himeno noticed this strange detail in his pupils. Even before her hand landed, his eyes had accurately locked onto the exact spot on his shoulder she intended to hit. A small smile played at the corner of her mouth, but she didn't call him out. She finished the motion, patting his shoulder as if nothing had happened.
"You flatter me," Chiya said modestly.
He had noticed the subtle change in Himeno's expression as well. It seemed his eyes had been flagged as unusual, but he didn't care much. It was bound to happen sooner or later, and he could easily explain it away as a "devil power."
"No need to be so humble! Keep it up. I've got high hopes for you—I'm sure you'll do great in the civilian sector," Himeno said.
She chatted with Chiya for just a few moments before preparing to leave. Despite seeing that this boy's strength was far from ordinary, she had no intention of inviting him to join Public Safety. Having gone through so much in the Bureau, she no longer wanted to recruit anyone. She had seen too many colleagues die within a year or two of joining—including several of her previous partners.
Furthermore, since the boy was clearly a minor, she preferred he stay in the civilian sector. As long as a civilian hunter didn't go looking for suicide missions, it was much safer.
Just then, Hayakawa Aki arrived on the scene. He had been out and about when he heard news of a devil appearing nearby and rushed over, but it seemed Chiya had already handled it.
"Otonashi, you've already killed it? By the way, who are these two...?" Aki's interest piqued when he saw the Public Safety uniforms.
Chiya shook his head slightly. "I don't know them personally. Just two seniors from Public Safety."
"Oh? Is this your friend? Looks like another civilian hunter," Himeno said, sizing up Aki. "Another minor, huh? The civilian sector is getting younger and younger these days."
Aki remained his usual self—cold and indifferent toward strangers. Even if these people were potential future colleagues, he had no interest in networking. In his eyes, nothing mattered except his revenge against the Gun Devil.
"Yes, he's actually planning to apply for Tokyo Public Safety," Chiya said intentionally.
He realized that his presence had already started a "butterfly effect." Aki had completed the high-difficulty Gun Devil fragment commission early, met Himeno early, and was now likely to join Public Safety ahead of schedule. Chiya felt that meeting Himeno early was a good thing for Aki, so he wanted to take this chance to let them interact more.
"Really? Then we might be colleagues soon. What's your name?" Himeno asked Aki, a look of surprise on her face.
"Hayakawa Aki..."
Aki answered, his face devoid of emotion.
"Pretty cold, aren't you? But have you really thought this through? Are you certain you want to join Tokyo Public Safety?"
Himeno advised him, "Public Safety hunters are in much more danger than civilians. In the last four years, all four of my previous partners have died. I haven't even found a fifth one yet, though I expect they probably won't survive two years either."
Himeno spoke of her partners' deaths with casual indifference, but in reality, her optimism was just a facade. No one knew how much she was hurting inside.
Himeno-senpai's prediction is spot on, Chiya thought to himself. Her fifth partner really didn't survive two years—actually, they were gone in less than one.
In the original story, Hayakawa Aki was Himeno's sixth partner in Public Safety. Based on the current timeline, that was still about six months away; right now, Himeno hadn't even found her fifth partner yet.
"I know," Aki replied.
There was no way he would listen to reason. To get his revenge on the Gun Devil, he had to enter Public Safety. He had long since cast aside any concern for his own life.
Seeing Aki and Himeno in the same frame brought Chiya a sense of relief. Back when he first saw Himeno's death, it had left a bitter taste in his mouth. If not for Makima's interference, Aki might have kept his obsession with the Gun Devil, but he and Himeno certainly wouldn't have died so early—or so miserably.
At this point, Chiya quietly slipped away, leaving Aki to chat with Himeno while Denji waited for him.
Denji was incredibly obedient; she remained standing exactly where he had left her, not moving an inch. Chiya gave a helpless smile; he had told her not to run off, but he didn't mean she couldn't move at all.
"Let's go."
Aki soon noticed that Chiya had disappeared, but by then, Chiya and Denji were already far off.
"Since you're dead set on joining Public Safety, I guess all I can do is wish you luck," Himeno said with a laugh. "Hey, how about you become my fifth partner when the time comes? What do you say?"
Even though they had just met, she had already taken a liking to him. It wasn't just about his looks; what really intrigued her was how cold and serious he was. It gave her a mischievous urge to lead him astray—to get this kid smoking and drinking and see just how 'serious' he remained then.
"No."
Aki rejected her without a second thought. He had already planned to partner up with Otonashi Chiya.
Himeno blinked, surprised by the blunt refusal. "What? Am I not good enough for you? Or have you already picked a partner?"
"Something like that. The person from just now will be applying for Public Safety with me."
With that, Aki didn't want to waste any more time and prepared to leave.
"You mean that boy from before?" Himeno suddenly thought of something and looked at him suspiciously. "Wait! You're not... a gay, are you?"
"..."
A vein throbbed on the side of Aki's forehead; he looked genuinely annoyed.
Himeno quickly waved it off. "Hahaha! Just kidding, just kidding! Don't take it so seriously~"