The Neutral Soul--Hozuki x Reader (Hoozuki no Reitetsu)

Chapter 5

"That's it for the morning trials," (F/N) announced, sighing in relief as she put away the poor sinner's scroll. It had been several weeks since she and Hozuki returned from Australia, and she was finally getting back into the routine of trails and punishments.

King Enma groaned, leaning back in his chair. "What a relief...now I can finally have lunch."

(F/N) pointed her sword at him. "No. Not until you finish this paperwork!" She plopped a large pile of papers onto his desk.

"But, (F/N)-chan! My lunch!"

"You can eat at your desk, but don't slack off!"

Enma mumbled something under his breath as he got to work, writing with one hand and shoveling rice into his mouth with the other. (F/N) rolled her eyes.

"How did he get to be the King of Hell, anyway? I'll have to ask Hozuki-kun..."

Keeping one eye on the king, she occupied herself by balancing the tip of her sheathed sword on her finger, counting how many seconds it would stay up.

"Hey, (F/N)-chan," Enma began, "are you sure that's a good idea?"

"It's fine, as long as I catch it before it hits the ground," (F/N) assured him.

"Well, if you insist..."

Just as the king finished that statement, the sword tumbled to the floor, leaving a giant crater in the marble. Someone screamed, and (F/N) peered through the rubble to see the explosion had just missed Karauri.

"I'm sorry!" (F/N) exclaimed, crossing the floor. "Are you okay?"

"Wow..." Nasubi gasped.

"I...I'm fine," Karauri stammered, "but what was that?"

(F/N) pointed to the sword lying on the floor.

"That...that sword..." he muttered.

"A gift from Hozuki-san," she explained. "It's part of his cursed weapons collection. It's supposed to drain the life force of anyone that uses it, but he insists it's taken a liking to me."

Karauri grimaced. "Is that so?"

"It's more powerful unsheathed," (F/N) continued, "so I don't do that without Hozuki-san's permission. As you can see, it's not the sharpness that kills, but the shockwaves it makes."

"Hozuki-sama actually gave you that?" Karauri exclaimed.

(F/N) nodded, slipping the weapon back into her obi. "Yep. As he always says, 'the ironclad rule in Hell is 'protect thyself.'"

"Yeah, that does sound like him."

"By the way, where did Nasubi go?" (F/N) asked, only just noticing the little oni disappeared.

Karauri froze. "Oh, no. Nasubi, get back here!"

He took off down a hallway. (F/N) sighed, debating what to do about the damaged floor.

"Ah, (L/N)-san!"

(F/N) turned to see the Momotaro Crew entering the Judgment Hall. Shiro led the way, Rurio and Kakisuke trailing behind.

"Hey, guys!" she said, waving them over.

"I see you're handling the Judgment Hall today," Rurio observed.

(F/N) nodded. "Yeah, Hozuki-san's taking a day off."

"What?" Shiro whined. "He has the day off?"