Chapter 21: Taste of a Kiss

Denji frets, longing to kiss Himeno yet dreading doing so while Makima looks on. When Aki presses Makima on why she cares about Denji, she breezily says she will explain after a few more drinks. The drinking carries on, Denji excluded as a minor, until nearly everyone has slumped over or gone home, with only Makima untouched by the liquor.

Power, meanwhile, brags about a sky-high IQ, padding her lies and her supposed height as she goes. Out of nowhere Himeno seizes Denji from behind for a deep kiss. Wary of Makima's gaze, he fixates instead on a warmth in his mouth, taking it for Himeno's tongue until he draws back and grasps that she has thrown up into him. Power notes that Denji's starved upbringing means he will gulp down anything for the nutrients, and sure enough he swallows it. A brief flashback shows him and Pochita scavenging a dumpster, where Denji once sneered at rats eating vomit, certain nothing could sink so low.

In a restroom stall Arai consoles a retching Denji and admits he envies his devil-hunting skill. Denji snaps that he still tastes vomit from his first kiss and wonders what is enviable about that, drawing a laugh from Arai. As the group disperses, Fushi tells Makima that Denji left carried on Himeno's back. Later Denji stirs in an unfamiliar bed asking for water. Drunk again, Himeno kisses him once more, and it becomes clear the room is hers. She grumbles over why he and Aki are so taken with Makima, brands her a bitch, settles beside him, and asks if he wants to sleep with her.

At the drinking party Himeno kisses Denji from behind and vomits into his mouth, which his starvation instincts make him swallow whole. Arai comforts him afterward in the toilets and confesses his envy of Denji's devil-hunting talent. Denji is then carried off on Himeno's back, waking in her apartment, where a drunk Himeno kisses him once more and offers to have sex.

Collected in Volume 3 and tied to the Eternity Devil arc, this entry adapts into Episode 7 of the anime. The Japanese title reads Kisu no Oaji. A noted art error draws Himeno with her tie on during the kiss even though she had removed it at the bar. Characters include Makima, Denji, Himeno, Aki Hayakawa, Arai, Power, and Pochita.