もののけ | monster | soshiro hoshina (Kaiju No. 8)

さんじゅうご | thirty five

もののけ | kaiju | monster

35

[A lengthy chapter ahead]

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Soshiro

YAWNING, I DRAPED MY TRACKSUIT OVER MY SHOULDER as I quietly walked down the hallway back to my room. The dawn was just beginning to break, and the sky was a mesmerizing blend of orange and reddish hues, casting a soft, ethereal glow over everything.

I shoved my hand into my pocket, fishing out my keys as I approached the door to my room. The quiet hallway amplified the shuffling noise of the keys, and the metallic clink as I unlocked the door seemed louder in the stillness of the morning. Twisting the handle, I opened the door, only to be greeted by the sight of Gen, half-naked, his back facing me. A towel was wrapped loosely around his waist, while he used another to dry his damp hair.

It startled me to see him awake so early, his sharp gaze locking onto me as I entered and closed the door behind me.

"You bastard, where did you sleep last night?" he demanded, hands on his hips, frustration radiating from his every pore.

I stared at him, momentarily speechless, before ignoring his question and lazily making my way to my bed. "Oh please, you sound like a nagging wife asking her husband why he came home late," I retorted, my voice dripping with sarcasm. I collapsed onto the mattress, feeling the exhaustion seep into my bones. Normally, the thought of wearing my outside clothes in bed would have made my skin crawl, but now I was too drained to care.

I hadn't slept a wink. Kiyomi hadn't given me a moment's rest. Oh god.

"I'm just wondering where you were all night," he huffed, frustration etched into every line of his face. "If you're not even going to sleep here, then I wouldn't have wasted my time moving all my boxes!"

I ignored his irritation, pulling a pillow over my face in a desperate attempt to block out the world and steal a few precious hours of rest. "But seriously, where were you all night? I didn't even see you in the meeting."

What was I supposed to tell him? That I had spent the night in our Lieutenant's room, making out until the early hours? No, of course not.

"Just somewhere," I replied tiredly, my voice muffled by the pillow. "Don't bother me. I need to sleep."

I could hear him scoffing, probably with a scowl on his face even though I couldn't see him. "Don't flatter yourself. I don't even care if you sleep in the streets," he said, his voice dripping with annoyance as always.

Damn it, he was seriously annoying and loud. Couldn't he just leave me alone?

Gen's warning reached my ears as he shuffled around the room. "Well, if you're planning to sleep late, then you better watch your ass. Mad Dog is coming. Don't you want that bald head of his to explode in anger?" He chuckled, but I could hear the underlying seriousness in his tone.