Beyond Control 6 (Patreon)

Beyond Control 6 - or ‘I refuse to be Controlled, so I will attain the [Heavens] to not get dommed by a certain redhead Control Devil' (Chainsaw Man, SI!)

“You look distracted, Makima-san. Something’s on your mind?”

It’s been a few days and this is becoming a thing. I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised that Makima, in all her wisdom and boredom, sought the pleasure of coffee in the morning as she walked around to distract herself.

The business she was in charge of was, after all, one that she had people do for her in most manners, thus depriving her of something to do from time to time. And while it was true that her pets were an essential element in her existence, she paid dog sitters to help in that regard.

So, it was just her and I, sitting on a bench and sipping coffee from smooth cups. The redhead appeared a bit more distracted than usual, which meant two things: 1) She was thinking of something important that mattered to her way more than relaxing with a ‘friend’; 2) She may be plotting something and it was not good at all.

“I was thinking of recent events happening at work. My team was slightly… ‘manipulated’.”

Oh, is she talking about the Eternity Devil Case? That was a rather ‘direct’ development to me, but maybe this was just a ‘lingering thought’ considering how long it’s been since that happened.

“Truly? Was that a Devil or-”

“I don’t think he was a Devil, no. But he was able to ‘take charge’ of the situation. Then again, the one meant to keep the leash is quite lazy about it.”

“Hmm, now you’re making me curious. Was he some sort of jerk that tried to outshow the Public Devil Hunters?”

“No.”

I blinked. “You say no, but I can tell that-”

“Don’t finish it. I just… don’t want to put my head back to it,” The young woman interrupted dryly, knowing she had been caught lying. “Say, John, you appear to be in a good mood now that I notice?”

“Oh, you noticed now, Makima-san?” I half-asked cheekily. “Well, it’s just that I have been cooperating in a few anti-fiends operations and scored myself enough money to pay rent for two months, so I can slack off a bit.”

“And you are satisfied by so little?”

I scoffed. “It’s not like I am celebrating this as my greatest achievement. I am just glad I can enjoy a sunny day at the park, away from noisy issues- and with my best friend!”

“...I am your best friend?”

“Well, considering you are my only friend in Japan right now, I think that you are upgraded to that automatically.”

“It doesn’t sound that carefully-planned,” Makima ‘lamented’, her smile saying a lot. “But I find you to be my best acquaintance too.”

An achievement, but-

“W-Wha? I thought we were at least tense friends? How could I have failed? And here I thought that I had enough to be seen as such?”

“Not enough. Not yet,” She replied confidently, and smiled a bit more as I faux-groaned at this. “But, I will consider it if you answer a question of mine.”

“Oh? Another co-worker to seduce? I swear, I am becoming your own dating guru by the end of our relationship.”

Her lips twitched at that brief joke, but she went on with her question anyway.

“If you had the power to remove the Four Horsemen Devil from existence, those that control the worst fears possible, would you go for it?”

…

“I need clarification. What do you mean ‘removing’ them?”

“The world is scourged by the ‘Four Horsemen’. Wouldn’t it be a better place to just remove them? War, Famine, Death and… Control- the means to put pain in others’ lives.”

“Hmm,” I hummed, looking away and going for a bit of a ridiculous reaction as I had been thinking of Makima’s plan a lot in recent times.

The ‘main point’ was a good one- a world without pain is a good world, but how this really extends into is what makes the overall plan a shitty one. A world without any issue is a boring world.

“Nah. I think you are simplifying it too much, Makima-san.”

My response got a ‘reaction’. She fully looked at me, and frowned. I could tell I got Makima’s full attention with that cheap comeback.

“You think it’s too simple?”

“Yep. I mean, you are making it seem like those Devils are just meant to be bad people. But I know good ones exist if they know how to use their powers for good reasons.”

“Those are not good powers. They kill people.”

“...Isn’t everything a weapon?” I asked back, glancing at my fists. “My hands can kill. My head can kill. My legs can kill. So, should humanity be seen as a pure weapon?”

“No, but… how does this connect to the topic?” The redhead pressed on, failing to see what kind of point I was drawing out of this response.

“Well, the point is… do you think that these four elements are all as simple as they sound?” I hummed quietly. “Like, what is the opposite of War to you, Makima-san?”

“Peace.”

My serious face melted in a smile. “Ah, I knew you would have gone for such a silly response.”

Her eyes narrowed. “It’s not silly.”

“And yet it’s wrong. The opposite of War is the Absence of War. Peace is but a condition of War,” I elaborated with a more serious tone. “Without War, what is Peace? Likewise, the other Horsemen bear some importance without knowing.”

“So, you would prefer for humanity to suffer rather than grant them a lack of pain?”

I gave her a dry look. “What? No. But I wouldn’t even want to give them a worthless existence. That’s literally that- the phrase ‘no pain, no gain’ is not exactly meant to be just about gym-life. If you want something done, you have to do it by your strengths first. So, if there is no reason to do that, what kind of value and gratification would you get from it?”

“...”

“Neh, did I just get to one-up Makima-san in a philosophy question?”

Makima softly pinched at my arm as I said that, enough to be playful and enough to not create me any discomfort with her strength.

“No, I would say that you brought a valid point. But one that is born by assumptions. Like mine.”

“Mou, but you still lost.”

…

“You are still an acquaintance.”

“And a sore loser too?” I quipped swiftly, only for the redhead to just reach out for my face and pinch one of my cheeks. “Ouch.”

“Rude…” Makim muttered softly. “But yes, you and I are friends.”

“Neat!”

…

“Makima-san.”

“Yes, John-san?”

“You’re still pinching my cheek,” I stated the obvious.

“That seems to be the case. By the way, am I still a ‘sore loser’?”

That response caused me to frown. “Considering the childish behavior? Probable.”

…

“Has someone ever told you that you can be a pest, John?” Makima remarked as she found both her cheeks pinched by my hands, soon her free hand mimicking her busy one.

“As a child, yes- not much as an adult. How are you pets?”

“Doing well. And I am sure I already told you that.”

“Had to ask since you are being so silly right now and maybe forgot about it,” I replied ‘stoically’. Despite the seemingly tense and serious situation, we both couldn’t stop our smiles.

Crazy as it may sound, as the conversation ended and she went on for her chores after giving me a paper with her phone number, I couldn’t help but feel like these interactions were doing me more bad than good.

Did I dislike those? Not truly. It wasn’t like I found them to be too much but… I had a feeling that this all was going to make things difficult for me in the near future- when big choices will have to be made.

After all, I could end up forgetting why I have to kill Makima if this keeps on happening between us.

—---------d-d-d-d—-

AN

Despite their different ideas, the moral dilemmas are the same.