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

Chapter 8

(F/N) dropped a few pellets into a fishbowl, watching the purple betta gulp them down one by one. She found the presence of fish calming, which led to her having over twenty betta fish in her small room.

Behind her, Hozuki knelt in front of the DVD cabinet, looking over her collection. He came over occasionally to watch a movie, since he didn't have a television in his room.

"Hey, Hozuki-kun," (F/N) said, dropping some pellets into the next bowl, "didn't you say you had some special plans for the Sports Day this year?"

"Ah, yes." He took a scroll out of his sleeve. "I actually wanted to discuss it with you. It's very complicated."

(F/N) sat next to him. He spread the scroll on the floor, showing plans for a rather...interesting...contraption.

"What's that supposed to be?" (F/N) asked.

"This is the punishment for the hell minions that lose."

"Seriously?" (F/N) exclaimed, bending over to get a better look. "That's awesome! Just one question..."

"Yes?"

"How do we ensure that they don't die? We have staffing issues enough as it is..."

"That's simple," Hozuki pointed at the stick figures, "This is where the winners will stand. They have to find a way to rescue the losers."

"Is that possible for demons of their power?"

"That's a minor detail." He then pointed to an area next to the pit of boiling oil. "This is where you will be. I want you to deflect the boulder should the others fail."

"Sounds easy enough," she muttered, puffing out her cheeks, "but then I won't get to see the ones on the top level squirm..."

He rolled up the scroll. "You'll have plenty of time to see people squirm during the games."

(F/N) grinned. "Sounds fun. I won't be participating, I hope?"

"No. You're both my assistant, and a human. I see no reason for you to go through the same tests as the others."

"And I assume you won't be. We're both more sadists than masochists."

Hozuki glared at her. "I am not a sadist."

(F/N) rolled her eyes. "If you're not a sadist, I'm not annoying."

Hozuki went back to going through the DVDs. "I actually don't find you annoying most of the time."

Yes! She cheered in her mind. He doesn't find me annoying!

Physically, she raised her eyebrows. "Really? I must not be trying hard enough."

He looked at her over his shoulder. "You try? I assumed it was just your personality."

(F/N) wrapped her arms around his neck, and spoke in as whiny a tone as possible. "You can't blame me! It's the only way I can get any sort of emotion out of you!"

He sighed, finally picking out a DVD. "You're annoying."

"See! You just called me annoying."

He peeled her off his back so he could put the DVD in. Once the movie was playing, (F/N) crawled into his lap. Hozuki didn't try to move her, and simply rested his chin on her head—after all, it wasn't unusual for her to do this.

Why is my heart hammering?She wondered, squirming. I hate this...

She wanted to fall asleep—she was exhausted, and, even without her medication, her nightmares wouldn't bother her with Hozuki to protect her. Even so, with her heart rate at that speed, it would be impossible.