DISCOVERY ➴ Chrollo x Reader

XIX. Hard work

Sweat dripped down my forehead, my shirt felt like it had been drenched in water, dust started floating around the air and making me cough or sneeze, sometimes a mixture of both. I was inside a hole that reached my knees, and I kept thinking it looked far too small in width to fit that body.

The glances I had stolen solely for logistic information at first, now became longer and more curious. The man had short dark hair, about the same length as Chrollo, but it somehow looked so dull and basic. Did the killer take special care with his hair? His skin started to pale, it had been a rather light with olive undertones, but now it just looked ashy. I wondered how long it had been.

I wasn't being quick at all. I sighed as I sunk the shovel into the soil once more, it had become more pliable, softer even. Though it had come with a dampness, and I was not sure if I enjoyed the feeling of it. Maybe there was a source of water nearby. That'd be good. I was thirsty. Really thirsty. All the wheezing had brought back my poor condition into the current whining ongoing on my brain.

"Wait." My neck snapped as I faced Chrollo, still seated in the same spot, my back cracked when I straightened it. "What happened to the other?"

"What other?" Fabric shuffled as he leaned closer, snapping his book close.

"The other person." I pointed at the dead body and looked back to the large jeep. Our new ride. At least I hoped so.

"Oh, dead. The body is on the back seat of your taxi." I narrowed my eyes at him, pressing my lips together before rolling my head and hearing the satisfying crack.

"Why." I took a deep breath. "Why is one in the car and the other being buried?"

"Thought you'd never ask." He got up stretching, so it had been long enough. It wasn't just my mind thinking I'd been digging forever.

"Well, I was a biiiit busy digging." I waved around, palms facing up as I twirled on the sorry excuse for a grave.

"I'll tell you if you keep digging." He was by the tree he had slept against, hands reached to pick up his fluffy jacket and his large travel bag. He moved them closer, avoiding the considerable pile of dirt as he settled his bedding right by the edge of the hole.

"Would've been faster if it was you digging." I sighed and swallowed the little saliva I had gathered.

"The other body is going to burn with your car." He laid down quietly, turned to face me and closed his eyes.

"Why?" I wheezed out, forcing myself to not hit him with the shovel for burning one and not the other just because he felt like it. Oh, to shove a shovel up someone's arse. Maybe these thoughts were why I was being punished by the heavens.

"Supposedly after killing this one, they tried to escape but the car caught on fire, it was old after all." His voice was deeper, almost sleepy. But I shook my head before I had any thought. He would never fall asleep like that. Not with me holding a shovel. No. He wasn't dumb. Sadly.

The sound of the blade sinking into moist dirt was all I heard for a long time. I decided to break the silence when the hole reached halfway to my thighs. "What if another car passes by?"

"We'll have two cars to pick from?"

I snorted, what a mindset, what a thought process. We'll have two- We. Was I going? He wasn't killing me here. He wasn't making me dig my own grave? He wouldn't bury me with this stranger... My heart leapt at the thought of a few more moments of life. My will to dig was replenished.

When it reached my hips, I stopped. "Is this deep enough?"

He didn't open his eyes, his chest kept rising on the same soft and well-timed way it always had been. "If you had killed the man, would you deem that a decent depth?"

"No, but I am a panicky overthinker. I would probably want double this, so perhaps this is the right depth." I struggled to climb out of the hole, shuddering as my large pants dragged across the dirt. The bottom edges were damp. I sighed and decided that if I thought I'd catch a cold, it was bound to happen sometime soon.

I nearly tripped over the corpse, a small squeak left my lips as I felt the coolness of his skin.

"Should I... Toss it inside?" I was surprised to find that I didn't dread dragging this dead body into the hole. I didn't really know the person. Plus, after all the work digging the hole, I felt like it had to be used or else it was all for naught.

"You seem to be accepting this quite well, Y/N." I looked at the spider, he sat on his jacket, his hair was mussed and his right cheek was redder since it had been pressed down. He looked peaceful. Beautiful. Deadly beautiful.

"Honestly? You killed them. I'm just burying the body." My hands closed around cool pale wrists and pulled, the body felt incredibly stiff.

Chrollo was on his feet, picking up his belongings as he tiptoed around the body. "I'll move everything to the new car."

"Sure. Take the easy job." I grunted as I pulled with all my strength. The body flipped and fell down the hole headfirst, limbs like a porcelain doll, legs bent up along the wall of the hole. The arms stretched upwards, reaching the other wall.

I heard Chrollo mutter something about "feeling useful" but my mind was set on the corpse that didn't quite fit the hole I had dug for it. Taking a step forward, I jumped down and winced as one of my feet landed on the arm. Well, he was dead, he couldn't feel it. That's what kept me going, I pulled him and folded him in a way that fit the shape well enough before climbing out and shovelling dirt over it.

Chrollo had returned, holding another shovel as he helped fill the grave. I held in any sarcastic commentary about his need to help just at the end, after all the grunt work was done. I didn't want to lose the help.

I stepped around the freshly moved dirt and walked over to the taxi. Did I have any parting words for it?

I heard him step closer to me from behind. "Do you also carry gasoline to burn the evidence in that bag of yours?" I opened the passenger's door and tossed the shovel inside. The corpse was now at the driver's seat. My seat was occupied by a once beautiful lady with daring clothing.

"No, that's too inconvenient." He punctured the gasoline tank with his shovel. The sound had me cringing away from the car.

"Huh, I'd say that about a shovel... but lo and behold." I waved at the shovel he was holding.

"A shovel is not inconvenient."

"Only you would be offended by nothing but a mere comment about shovels." I rolled my eyes and he shrugged, pulling out a match box.

"Want to do the honour?"

> Author's Note: I'm not quite sure about this chapter but heh, things will pick up sometime soon~