Sillage || Chainsaw Man

fabric softener

A/N: hellooooo! this story is literally set during part 2 of the manga, from the very start of the War Devil arc and will continue on from there with its own pace and plot. Since the manga is still ongoing, i'll be taking a few liberties here and there but we'll mostly stick with canon. fair warning for CSM manga spoilers for part 2 btw. please, enjoy~!!

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Rent-A-Boyfriend. 

The words were written in bold pink, sparkling with glitter as they curved over one another. There was a stamp at the corner of the poster, marking it as official. In the middle, right below the glimmering words, the face of an anime boy had been expertly doodled.

Snowy white hair and dark aviators perched on the bridge of his nose, the character smiled cockily as it seemed to peer out the poster with bright blue eyes. Whoever the artist was, they had done an exceptional job in offering the pretty boy look.

A sole finger tapped against the poster, nail painted a vibrant shade of purple as it clicked away at the thick sheet of paper. She read the words again, the description under the title signalling that the date of the event was going to be a surprise.

"Mitaka-san." She hummed loudly. "What's this?"

Her voice caught the attention of the girl beside her. Asa shuffled closer, arms crossed over her chest as her cautious gaze drifted over to the brightly colored poster. She read the words once and her brows furrowed before she frowned in disgust.

"Looks like something weird the student council's trying to do." Asa grumbled. "Why would anyone wanna do this anyway? Sounds pretty disrespectful to me."

"Mhm, you're right."

Asa stared at the poster again before clearing her throat, glancing at the girl beside her. "You don't have to be so formal with me."

Sea green eyes blinked, shifting to the side while Asa stared up at the poster again.

"Then," Kaori smiled gently, peering up at the gigantic poster taped to the wall. "You can call me by my name too, Asa-chan. I don't mind."

From afar, faint feminine laughter echoed through the hallway.

Kaori blinked when Asa shuffled forward on her feet, tensing with alarm before she pressed her forehead against the poster. Her face flushed slightly, and Asa flattened her front against the wall, as if wanting to disappear into it.

Kaori inclined her head, gaze dipping down to Asa's clenching fists.

"Asa-chan?" She leaned closer, hanging her head sideways. Pink curls tumbled down her shoulders as she continued to look at Asa curiously. "Are you alright?"

Asa's voice was muffled against the poster. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Kaori inched closer, the keychains dangling from her bag jostling noisily. "You don't look fine."

A group of girls passed by them, leaning towards one another and muttering in hushed voices. Kaori straightened when the girls peeked back over their shoulders, gazes pinning to Asa's taut back and Asa stood leaning against the wall, the tips of her ears burning red.

Kaori watched them reach the end of the hallway before Asa pushed away from the wall, scowling down at her shoes.

Kaori tipped her head to the side. "Asa-chan?"

"Let's..." Asa scrubbed a tired hand down her warm face. Kaori paused, catching a glint of wetness in Asa's brown eyes before she drew in a shuddering breath. "Let's get this tour over with."