Chapter Text
Makima walked down the dark, dank hallway beneath the headquarters of Public Safety Division 4. She was alone, having been forewarned that the power of this particular devil she was about to meet had previously drained the will of several agents before her. Causing symptoms related to deep sadness, rendering trained men and women to fetal positions as they cried and wailed about past traumas. Assumingly all this occurred by just being near this devil. Makima already had an inkling on who this devil could be, but needed to see them for herself in order to truly know for sure.
This devil had already behaved far differently than the usual every-day devil on the streets of Japan. They had turned themselves in without a fight. Any attempt to restrain them was not met with any kind of hostility. But nevertheless, it took Kishibe himself, the strongest Devil Hunter in Japan, to tie up the devil and drag them down to the lower levels of the building. To the deepest levels, in fact. Kishibe gained something that almost no human in the world could gain from her, that being respect. Makima was no fool, she was not the most superior being in the world, no, that would be the Hero of Hell. She had to make a contract with the Prime Minister of Japan in order to ensure her own existence. So, when she heard that even Kishibe had to take a short leave of absence after encountering this devil, that intrigued her. He wasn’t injured, nor was he quitting, he was taking what was called a ‘Mental Health Day’.
Kishibe had never taken a single day off in his long career as a Devil Hunter, as far as Makima knew. He was unbending, unbowed, and spent nearly every day of his life for the past thirty years hunting and killing devils. Some devils he’s killed more than once. There was a reason why he was the one who trained new recruits.
And this one effectively took him off the board. Even if it was just for a day.
That was when she decided that this devil could prove useful.
There were no guards at the end of this long hallway. The lights barely worked, and the walls and floor were damp with condensation. The closer she got to this devil’s cell, the heavier she felt. Interesting. This was a type of devil whose abilities worked in an aura. A rare ability, something not even she could boast of on her own. Still, it seemed that it would only take more root into her the longer she remained in its presence.
She reached the door to the devil’s cell, and looked through the thick reinforced glass pane at the top of the cell door to see just who could bring Kishibe low enough to have to take a day off.
The room was dimly lit, but she could still see him. Or was it a her? It was difficult to tell, but in the end it didn’t matter which gender this devil took the form of. The devil seemed to darken the light around it, in an aura of black and blue. It was like the light itself was being dispelled, or rather, it warped around this devil, refusing to touch its body.
The devil had blue skin, or at least it appeared blue whilst within its own light-destroying aura. Its long wavy hair appeared to be black, slightly tinted with its own blue sheen, and was long enough to reach its lap when it was sitting down, staring at the floor. It wore one of the outfits of a Public Safety agent already. The suit was oversized for this devil, and that’s when she remembered that the devil had entered the building to turn itself in without wearing any clothes. Kishibe must have had to cover it himself, and didn’t seem to care that what he gave it was several sizes too big for them.
The devil was of rather diminutive size. The sleeves of its suit jacket were too long and covered its hands. The pants were lifted high, the waistline placing itself above the devil's belly button rather than around its waist in order for its exposed feet to touch the floor. It seemed that the body of the devil took the form of a young teenager, as it appeared perhaps thirteen to sixteen years of age.
It was true then, this devil had been reborn on earth quite recently, and the first thing it did was turn itself into Public Safety.
Makima believed that she already knew why.
Her spiral eyes flashed with familiarity as she entered the cell, catching the attention of the devil. It lifted its head, and revealed a face that could look like a boy’s or a girl's, depending on the angle. The sclera of their eyes, in contrast to the rest of their body, were a pristine white, unblemished by any of its body’s veins. Though its iris appeared as if its pupil were so dilated it took up the entire space. Pure black, like the void, was its color, or perhaps represented the lack of color at all.
“Offspring,” Makima said with a small smile. “It has been some time. What brings you here to my division of Public Safety?”
“...” Depression said nothing.
Makima rolled her eyes. “Depression, then. Or do you prefer nephew? Niece? Son, or daughter?”
“Hm?” Depression raised their head, at last giving her their attention. “Any of those is fine, I guess. I don’t really care.”
“I suppose I’ll call you what you are, then.” Makima took the spare chair from the corner of her cell, and moved it just in front of the line on the floor where the light refused to get any closer to the very blue devil. “Devil of Depression.”
“Mm.” Depression hummed.
Depression, a common and often serious mental condition characterized by long lapses of deep sadness, hopelessness, and loss of interest. It could heavily impact one’s ability to socialize, and compromise their own well-being. In extreme cases, it could even cause a person to commit suicide. It could be caused by a very large margin of things. Trauma, loss, poverty, stress, to name a few causes. Or alternatively, one could simply be born with it.
It was a difficult concept to fear. But in a way, everyone feared their own loss of conception of self-worth. Nobody in the world wanted to be depressed, and as such, that birthed a fear. A fear that nearly every human had. Almost no person could live out their entire life without feeling an aspect of depression. It was an innate part of life, and so the devil born from such a concept was surely to be powerful.
Despite the devil’s small stature, it was one of the more powerful devils to exist. Not quite on the level of the primal fears, nor even to the level of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. But certainly powerful.
Curiously, Makima raised a hand, and pointed a finger at the blue devil.
A chain shot from the tip of her finger.
The Depression Devil didn’t move an inch. The chain simply passed right through their head, and clanked harmlessly against the back of the cell.
“As I expected,” Makima’s smile only widened. “You are still as untouchable as ever. Quite literally, in this sense.”
Depression raised a hand and scratched the middle of the forehead where the chain would have hit if they held a physical body.
“You can control whether or not you want to be touched. I could do nothing to you, can I? Anything I can do would simply pass harmlessly through you.” Makima went on. “Why have you come to earth? I would have thought someone like you would have preferred your dark lonely corner of hell.”
Depression shrugged their shoulders.
“Were you killed, somehow?” Makima knew that couldn’t be true, as devils reborn on earth after being killed in hell lose their memories.
Again, Depression said nothing.
They were never very talkative.
“I suppose I’ll cut right to the chase, then.” Makima cleared her throat. “I have a job offer for you.”
“Sounds boring.” Depression stated. “I’m content with staying in this cell. I don’t have any responsibilities, I don’t need to worry about moving or thinking. I can just… sleep everything away.”
“That would be quite a waste of your talents.”
Depression released a rare scoff. “What talents?”
Makima felt a burning sensation behind her eyes. It couldn’t be ignored. Uncomfortable memories from being raised by the government have been surfacing ever since she entered the Depression Devil’s aura. It was bound to start taking an effect on her.
“Just by being near you, I can feel my will continue to drain.” Makima said, feeling tears begin to sting the corners of her eyes. She was quite resilient, it seemed. More powerful beings like herself must make it so that it takes several minutes, or even hours, for their wills to be drained. “I imagine that if you wanted it, you could intensify this aura of yours even more. I doubt I could withstand your full power for very long.”
Depression shrugged, neither confirming nor denying her hypothesis.
Makima continued. Talking made it easier to try and ignore the memories.
“I have found Chainsaw.” She said at last.
Depression’s head turned to her. Finally, a reaction.
“You want to die, but you can’t do it yourself, no matter how many times you try. As long as humans can be depressed, you will always exist.” Makima explained. “But what if I made it so that humans could never be depressed? In my perfect world, there would be no need for a being such as you. Terrible emotions could be erased, suicide rates would drop to zero, trauma would have little to no effect on the world, so long as you don’t exist.”
“Can’t be done.” Depression mumbled.
“The Hero of Hell can erase concepts. If you let him eat you, depression and everything it’s packaged with will cease to exist from the past or the present.”
“Human’s are humans,” Depression stated matter-of-factly. “Even if I were to let Chainsaw devour me, humans will always be capable of feeling emotion. Something will happen, someone somewhere will feel sadness, and that road will lead to me.”
“Then Chainsaw can just eat you again.” Makima said in between wiping uncontrollable tears from her face. It took active effort and control over herself to continue. “And again, and again, and again. As many times as it takes, for the rest of time. You won’t ever have to feel-” Makima felt a sob burst from her face. The sensation was extremely unfamiliar to her, but she had to keep going before she lost the will to speak.
“You won’t ever... have to… feel sadness again.”
“Hm.” Depression leaned back in their seat.
The darkness surrounding Depression faded away. Light touched their body, but their skin and hair remained blue. Answering a previous question.
Makima suddenly felt the rampant sadness within herself dissipate.
So, it can be controlled… She thought to herself. If it can be controlled… yes, yes, this can work.
“Become an agent of Public Safety.” Makima offered her hand toward the offspring of herself and her sisters. “And I’ll find a way to kill you.”
“Ugh, fine.” Depression clasped her hand within hers. “As long as I get to eat pizza and ice cream whenever I want.”
Makima’s smile returned.
“I’ll make sure you give you a copy of my credit card.”
“This is the Depression Devil.” Makima introduced her child-slash-nibling. “They will act as an observer to your operations.”
“Depression Devil?” Denji looked the child-like devil up and down. Makima tried to get the devil a suit that actually fit their body, but they refused to accept the change on the grounds of not wanting to move more than they had too. “So, what is she like, permanently sad?”
“This is the devil that turned themselves in a few days ago?” Aki Hayakawa asked whilst Denji approached the Depression Devil. Before he could get too close, Aki grabbed his… he refused to say partner. His ward. By the back of their collar and pulled him back. “From what I’ve heard, she has the power to make people lose their will to live just by standing near them. Is that right?”
“Indeed.” Makima confirmed. “However, we have come to an accord. Depression here has agreed to assist in our operations, and as such, lessened the intensity of her passive ability.”
“So all she does is just make the people around her sad?” Denji asked, confounded. “What’s… what’s the point of that? I don’t get it, how is that gonna help us murderize some devils?”
Depression shrugged. “I dunno.”
“So, you’re useless then?”
Aki sighed. “With all due respect, ma’am, but I hardly need any more… assistants.”
“I’m no assistant!” Denji exclaimed. “You’re the assistant, not me! Fuck you!”
“On the contrary, Hayakawa,” Makima’s spiral eyes bored into his. “I believe that Depression will be an invaluable asset to our organization. I am charging you with watching them as much as I am charging them with observing you.”
“Ah…” Aki suddenly understood. “If this is what you want, then so be it.”
“In addition-”
“Wah hah haaaahh!” Denji suddenly burst out crying, falling to his knees and slamming his fist into the wooden floor in anguish.”I didn’t mean it! I didn’t!”
Aki and Makima turned toward him, seeing the Chainsaw Devil bawl his eyes out at the feet of the Depression Devil.
“Not my fault.” Depression said. “He tried to pat my head.”
“I tried getting the money, I really did!” Denji wailed. “I didn’t know working would get me so little money! What’s even the point of working if I don’t get money!? I can’t even afford dates! Now no girl will want me… I’ll never be able to touch boobs now. Waaaaaaaah…”
Depression sighed. They raised a hand, and waved it.
After that small gesture, Denji shot up to his feet, the tears no longer falling and now with a bright smile on his face.
“I feel amazing! Wow, I don’t feel any sadness anymore!” Denji turned toward Depression. “Thanks! Any time I feel down, can you do that again?”
“Don’t thank me.” Depression looked disgusted at the very notion of being thanked for anything. “You have the ugliest crying noises. I didn’t want to listen to that.”
Aki blinked at them. Then he looked to Makima to gauge her own reaction.
Makima’s grin seemed to have grown by a small margin.
“In addition,” Makima continued on as if nothing had happened. “Although Depression will be acting as an observer first and foremost, if the situation calls for it, they will assist you in combat. As long as you abide by her wishes.”
Of course, devils never acted in the benefit of humans without some sort of stipulation. Aki nodded along. “And that would be?”
“Food.” Depression answered him, gaining his attention. “Specifically pizza and ice cream. I will accept nothing else.” After some thought, they added. “I won’t eat anything besides pizza and ice cream.”
“Pizza… and ice cream?” Aki repeated. Did he hear that right?
Every time he used the powers of the Fox Devil, it took a small portion of his flesh.
But this devil just wanted pizza and ice cream!?
“Yo, I want to try that too!” Denji exclaimed. “We should get some right after this, eh Topknot?”
“Ugh…” Aki slapped a hand against his face. He gave Makima a pleading look.
“Miss Makima, as much as I am grateful for your trust in me, Denji and Power are already a handful. Adding another glutton to the mix is going to…”
“Don’t worry,” Makima interrupted. “Depression has a copy of my credit card. So they can help themselves to pizza or ice cream whenever they want.”
“Yay…” Depression emotionlessly celebrated.
“Say, where is Power anyway?” Denji asked suddenly. Picking at his face while looking as if he put deep thought into that question.
Aki’s eyes widened.
“Denji. What do you mean, “Where is Power?””
“Eh, she just sorta ran off after we killed that devil earlier.” Denji explained. “I was chasing after her, but then you said Makima was calling us back here for some surprise meeting. So I just sorta left her.”
Aki stared at him, unblinkingly.
“But eh, fuck ‘er, she kept blaming stupid shit on me.” Denji continued, as if there was nothing wrong at all with what he was saying and doing. “And besides, we have a new devil buddy anyway, so we lost one and gained another, that means we evened out, right? Isn’t that how PEMDAS works?”
Depression looked at the two of them, at Aki, who looked like he was about to explode in a fit of angry emotions, and was only held back due to being in the same room as Makima. Then they looked at Denji, who was happily bragging about losing a fiend in the middle of Japan, a fiend very capable of hurting and killing people. Lastly, they turned to Makima, who appeared as if nothing was wrong at all.
“I observe that these people are fucking idiots.” Depression said.
“Indeed.” Makima said. “Denji, dear?”
“Yes ma’am?” Denji straightened up, looking hopeful and excited at the very thought of being noticed by Makima.
Oh, great, he was infatuated with her in fact.
Depression sighed. This was going to suck…
“Go find Power.” Makima demanded softly.
“Is it too late for me to go back to the cell?” Depression asked. “I don’t really want to have to… like… even think of this guy.”
Makima looked at her newest tool.
“Too late.”
Depression lapped at a vanilla ice cream cone whilst hovering behind Aki and Denji. It was the first thing they did as soon as they left the building. Sure, they were technically supposed to observe the idiot and the one with the stupid haircut, but she was hungry and her sweet tooth was acting up. The ice cream temporarily made her feel that everything was okay for once, and besides, she could easily find her way back to those two. She already figured out how to track them via emotions. Denji was a mixture of wonderment, joy, and permanent lust for anything with titts or ass that was within his eyesight. Aki was more typical. He usually always felt serious, focused, annoyed, but also a hint of fondness whenever he regarded the idiot. Depression was sure that Aki didn’t even realize it, but that fondness was bound to grow over time.
Depression was glad that neither of them were talking to them. It required energy to talk, and using up energy was just a waste of time. It’s why she preferred to hover rather than walk. It was easier to hover. Even if it just meant that more people would give them strange looks. As soon as they saw their blue skin, however, they correctly assumed that she was some devil or fiend working in Public Safety.
They wondered why they even let devils and fiends work as Devil Hunters at all, but in the end, Depression decided that they didn’t care enough to think about it for more than a few seconds. Instead, they kept licking their ice cream.
“Ugh!” And there went the peace and quiet… “This is stupid! If Power ran off why do we have to go find her? She could be anywhere in the city anyway, we’ll never find her! We should just wait for her to come back, or whatever.”
“If you didn’t lose her to begin with then we wouldn’t have to deal with this, Denji.” Aki said, exasperated. “It’ll be faster if we split up, we can cover more ground that way.”
“Yeah, as if that’s gonna work.” Denji looked over his shoulder, directly at them. Depression groaned before he even started to talk. Talking to him meant that they would have to engage their throat muscles, and they’d rather be using that energy to lick and eat their ice cream…
“Yo, sad girl,” Denji regarded her. “Can’t you help at all? You can fly, I bet you could find her right away if you tried.”
“I don’t know what the Blood Fiend looks like.” Depression pointed out.
“Power has blonde hair, and red horns sticking out the top of her head.” Aki explained. “She’s about the same height as this idiot, and her eyes are the same color as Miss Makimas, only she’s got a red plus sign in the center of them. Does that help?”
“Oh, and she’s got the same teeth as mine!” Denji added, opening his mouth unprompted and letting them get a full unnecessary look into his mouth.
Depression didn’t care much about looks. They couldn’t see color, after all. All they saw were shades of blue, so nothing about the color of this Power’s body did anything to give her a clear image, aside from the horns.
“I can track via emotions…” Depression began. “Personality. I can’t see color. So none of that really helps unless I get close.”
“You’re colorblind…” Aki sighed. “Why am I the one who gets shacked up with these kinds of devils?” He asked no one in particular.
“Um… what’s colorblind mean?” Denji asked, confused. “Also, if you can’t see color why’d you tell us to describe her for you??”
“Uhm…” Depression said nothing.
Talking to him was a waste of energy.
“It means she can’t see colors,” Aki explained curtly, answering his first question and thankfully moving past the second. “Depression, if I did my best to explain her personality, could you find her?”
Depression shrugged.
“I can try, I guess.”
Aki looked relieved.
“For pizza.”
Aki sighed.
“We can get pizza if you find her.” He offered.
“Hm…” Depression leaned her face on one hand, deep in thought. “I want an entire pie.”
“If you find Power in the next hour, I’ll get you two pies.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Denji asked. “How’s she making you get her pizza like this? Is she messing with your head or something?”
“Shut up. She isn’t doing anything.” Aki quickly shut him down. “So, how about it, think you can do that?”
“Hm.” Depression nodded. “I accept these terms.”
“Great.” Aki crossed his arms, thinking of the best way to put into words just how Power is.
“Power is-”
“Power’s a fucking bitch,” Denji interrupted. “She lies all the time, she steals my food when we’re on break, she’s loud, never shuts up, and she smells really bad.”
“I-” Aki thought about it for a moment. “That’s pretty much all true. She is an immature idiot who thinks talking with big words means that she’s smarter than she is. She’s bloodthirsty, and has a knack for violence. Just yesterday she killed a devil illegally and when Miss Makima scolded her for it she put the blame on Denji. Supposedly.”
“Not supposedly, she did!” Denji exclaimed. “She made me look bad in front of Miss Makima!”
“I see…” Depression looked up to the sky, taking this information in. “I can find her with this information. She’s that way.” Raising her arm, she pointed to the right, just down the road.
At the end of the road, standing in front of and kicking at a vending machine, was a fiend.
Aki and Denji looked at her, then to Power, the former face palmed.
“She was there this entire time wasn’t she…?”
“Two pizzas.” Depression reminded him. “You owe me.”
“Whatever.” Aki turned to Denji. “Go to her and don’t lose her again. I have to go back and drive Makima to a meeting now that this is over with. Do not lose her again. I shouldn’t be gone long.”
“Fine, fine, whatever.” Denji harped.
“Depression, stay with him.” Aki requested.
“That wasn’t part of the deal.”
“You can have three pizzas later.”
“I accept.”
Depression floated behind Denji as they made their way toward Power. Who managed to kick the vending machine hard enough to make something fall out of it. She managed to finish her ice cream while on the way there.
They were sad after that. They were really looking forward to those pizzas now.