The next morning at ten o'clock, outside a movie theater.
"Sorry, Makoto-kun, I'm late."
Hearing the voice, Makoto turned around. She wasn't wearing the Public Security Bureau's black and white uniform. Instead, she had changed into a refreshing, soft casual outfit… a light-colored, collarless short-sleeved top paired with a simple beige high-waisted straight skirt.
Her signature wine-red hair, no longer tied in a single braid, hung naturally loose, the ends falling gently past her shoulders and back.
She carried less of her workplace sharpness and had gained a touch of feminine gentleness.
"It's fine. I just got here too."
Makoto walked over to greet her.
"I don't have much experience with dating, so I'll leave it to you, Makoto-kun."
Makima said, her hands clasped behind her back.
Makoto was quite satisfied with this answer.
It should be noted that in the original work, when Makima tricked Denji into going on a date, she didn't give him any room to discuss it and simply declared she wanted to watch movies all day.
"Let's watch a movie first."
Makoto said.
If Makoto were to describe Makima as a person, he would call her a beautiful puppet, or to put it bluntly, a pseudo-human.
Although she imitated human behavior almost perfectly in every aspect, you could still see from certain details how fundamentally different she was from humans.
And from Makoto's perspective with the benefit of foresight, this was even more obvious.
If he had to pinpoint when in the original work she showed her human side or her true nature—
Makoto felt there were only two instances: one was when she thought she had obtained the Chainsaw Devil, and the other was when she was watching a movie.
"Mm, okay."
Makima was also quite satisfied with Makoto's decision.
Ten minutes later, inside the screening room.
The movie Makoto chose was exactly the classic anti-war film that had made Makima cry… Ballad of a Soldier.
Just as Makoto had anticipated, during the scene where the soldier protagonist, Alyosha, returns home during the war, embraces his mother, but is forced to leave her quickly to return to the battlefield, Makima finally showed her human side and shed tears.
Come to think of it, Makima as a person, or rather, her existence, was quite complicated.
As the Control Devil, she was born from humanity's fear of control.
Yet she deeply admired the mutual care and equal love between the soldier protagonist and his mother in the movie. She also longed to be loved and embraced equally by others.
But she regarded almost everything other than herself as inferior to her, or rather, as her dogs, and she wouldn't hesitate to kill them.
Therefore, she wanted the Chainsaw Devil to eat her, using its special ability to erase Devils from existence at the root, thereby eliminating the concept of control from the world, eradicating inequality among people, and creating a perfect world.
Suddenly, Makima felt a strange sensation in her hand. She turned her head to see that her hand was being held by Makoto beside her.
Noticing Makima's gaze, Makoto smiled slightly. "Is that not allowed?"
"...No, it's nothing. After all, we're dating."
Makima paused for two seconds, then smiled back, quickly returning her attention to the movie.
Makoto didn't know how much his action would affect Makima's feelings. He simply wanted her body.
If it weren't for Makima's good looks, given all the things she had done, she would have been torn apart by readers from his previous life.
Yet most readers' impression of her was 'I want to be Makima-san's dog'.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side, Yu and the others began their operation.
Yu prepared his katana, his weapon, and arrived at the rendezvous point to meet up with Shinichi.
Besides Shinichi, who was acting as bait, his father was already waiting there.
"Where's the Devil Hunter Makima assigned?"
Yu asked coldly.
He didn't have a good attitude toward this father and son.
Just as the two were about to answer, a lively voice came through—
"Ah, sorry, sorry. Am I late?"
They turned to see a woman in a Public Security Bureau uniform, with a pretty face and an eye patch covering her right eye, jogging toward them.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Himeno, a member of Special Division 4 under Makima-san."
"They only sent one person?"
Yusaku frowned.
"There's no choice, Mr. Kudo. As you know, after the Gun Devil incident, the number of Devil Hunters in the Bureau dropped sharply. No matter how good the benefits, many people don't want this job. I've already lost four partners since joining the Bureau, and I haven't received a new one yet."
Himeno explained with a shrug. "Besides, the fact that they could send me, a Devil Hunter contracted with a Devil, is already thanks to Makima-san's influence."
'She was contracted with a Devil?'
Hearing Himeno's words, the three became somewhat interested in Himeno's contracted Devil.
Seeing their expressions, Himeno knew what they were thinking and said with a smile, "Sorry, but I only talk about my contracted Devil with people I trust. I'm not very familiar with you all yet, so I don't plan to reveal my Devil's abilities."
"Whatever. Let's just get started."
Yu waved his hand dismissively and was about to leave Shinichi alone in the open while the others hid in the shadows, waiting for the Devil to take the bait.
"Wait. Could we have Himeno-san act as the bait instead?"
Yusaku suddenly said.
At this, both Yu and Himeno shot Yusaku suspicious looks.
Yusaku quickly explained, "I think that Devil won't be stupid enough not to see this is a trap."
"After all, Shinichi has already fallen victim to him once. Now, with the curfew the Bureau has issued, if the Devil sees Shinichi walking alone on the street again, it might become wary and not make a move."
"If we use Himeno-san instead, I think the chances of luring it out would be higher."
Himeno blinked her remaining left eye. "That does make some sense."
If it were an ordinary woman, she certainly wouldn't want to do something like this.
But people in the Devil hunting business were, more often than not, a bit unhinged. Not to mention someone like her, who had dared to contract with a Devil.
"Then I'll..."
"Why don't you do it?"
Just as Himeno was about to agree, Yu pointed at Yusaku and said.
Everyone was thrown off by Yu's words again.
Yusaku pointed at himself. "Huh? Me?"
"Yeah."
Yu said seriously. "Since it was that reasoning maniac who was assaulted last time, it means that Devil's taste isn't limited to women. Maybe it actually prefers men. If that's the case, it's quite appropriate for you to take your son's place. Besides, you two look alike, don't you?"
'Holy shit! That makes even more sense!'
Himeno felt that the new recruits the Bureau had taken in this time were all quite something.
"...Alright. I'll do it."
Yusaku gritted his teeth and agreed.
"..."
Shinichi seemed to want to say something, but Yu shot him a cold glance. "You should just go back. We have no interest in taking a burden along."