Ardent Hope: Chainsaw Man x Male Reader Insert.

21. Crystal Wall.

Makima woke up that day, just like any other day of her life.

The immaculate white of the bedsheets, the tender touch of her satin pillow and the fragrant scent of aromatic perfumes deeply imbued in every corner of the room, it all felt deeply disconnected to anything she ever dreamt about. Perhaps it was all in her head, but the bitter cold grazing her fingers that she would always feel whenever she touched every spot of the lonely room was a permanent reminder of her state.

Her room was a perfect square of light colors varying from light grey to white, as were the painted walls matching the tiles and carpet on the floor, as well as her plain, same colored bedsheets. The only thing that differed from the light colors was a couple of cushion chairs in a deep tone of black, and the usual furniture at each side of the room, such as dressers, nightstands and a dressing table at the corner, all made from fine ebony wood in dark tones. A couple of paintings hanging from the walls decorated the place too, although Makima never took any interest on looking at them in the first place.

It all fell slightly odd, but not for her, who had simply gotten used to the soulless place on which she had grown over the years.

She got up from the cold bed; it would never warm up no matter how hard she tried, so after a long time, she simply stopped. Looking through the window, she could see it was still raining. Her reflection on the polished mirror just above her dresser, long hair flowing down finally free from the delicate and awfully restricting plaits on which she always tie her hair, and not a single mark nor imperfection on her fair skin.

She let the loose and perfectly unpolluted white nightgown fall off her body, the standard uniform of public safety devil hunters was already waiting for her in the clothes valet next to the drawer. She touched her skin, embracing it in a self hug as she felt the cold breeze of an early morning flowing through the already open window, before walking towards the stand.

Even her own fingers felt cold in her skin, and she shivered for a slight moment still embraced in her pitiful self hug as she finally encouraged herself to start the day properly, and so she did.

She had even taken the trouble of pour herself a cup of tea, but by the time she had finally decided to take a small sip from the cup, she had found that it had already gone cold minutes ago too. Aside from the company of her dogs, she was never able to find any warmth on the stillness of the place, and she hated it so much.

She remembered the night she went on a date with Denji, the day they spent all the evening constantly hopping from room to room in the cinema in search of an actually good movie they could enjoy. Her mind fleetingly betrayed her, bringing to her mind the scene of two persons sharing a sincere hug of affection at the end of the last movie they had seen that night.

A single teardrop falling from her eye.

"Perhaps you are aware of why I called you here." Makima spoke, standing up from the chair behind the counter of her office. Power and (Y/N) stood right before her, their shoulders in slight shivers and fidgeting hands as signs of obvious nervousness. "I was informed of your little escapade last night." Her expressive eyes were now dull, a special kind of gaze that made Power shiver under her judgment. Neither of them both spoke, as they expected Makima to keep talking, and so she did. "And it's really disheartening to tell you how disappointed I am in your behavior."

(Y/N) simply looked down. It was hard for him to look at Makima's eyes, the one person that had took him over her wing. "We're sorry." He could only muster.

Makima made a slight pause before continuing. "There are assassins from all over the world currently tracking you down, (Y/N). I thought you two were able to understand how important it is to ensure your security." She said. "And as for you, Power, I don't know how you managed to drag him into such a thing or what did you used as an excuse in the first place." Makima automatically assumed Power was the one that came up with the idea, and for the first time, she was promptly ready to take the blame. "Perhaps it would be wiser to-"