Sacrifice--Hozuki x Reader (Hoozuki no Reitetsu)

Chapter 3

(F/N) hadn't expected Hozuki's visits to increase. After that outing, he began visiting every time he could get off work, which was about once or twice a week. After he memorized her shift schedule, which didn't take very long, he would come to walk her home. (F/N) appreciated the company, and she had to admit, she looked forward to seeing him.

Around four months after the cat café, it was a brisk autumn evening. (F/N) bundled up, and when she spotted Hozuki, she noted that even he wore a haori coat.

"Hey!" she said, running up to him. "You were able to get off work?"

"Yes," he answered. "I told my boss I would steal all his photos of his grandchild if he didn't stop being a useless lump."

"How has your boss not gotten fired?"

Hozuki didn't answer—he never did when it came to work. (F/N) was used to it. When they were together, they talked about her work, not his.

"Do you wanna see the latest pictures of Mr. Fluffybutt?" she asked.

"Is there even a question?"

She was already taking out her phone. "No, there isn't."

She handed her phone to him, and he stared down at the koala picture with wide eyes.

"He's gotten so fluffy..." he said. "I want to snuggle him."

(F/N) grinned. "I don't want to bend the rules like that twice, but maybe if you were super sweet to me..."

Hozuki shook his head, handing her phone back. "No, there's no need to do that for me."

She chuckled. "Hey! I was joking! I'm not gonna do that again, and you're always super sweet to me. Anyway—"

Just then, she noticed a homeless man at the side of the road. His clothes were thin and tattered, and he didn't even have a jacket.

"Just a second."

She ran across the street, and knelt next to him.

"Hey," she murmured, "are you okay? It's freezing out. It may be a little small, but here."

She took her coat off, and handed it to him. 

He shook his head. "You don't have to do that for me, miss!"

"I insist." She took of her hat, too. "Here."

"Ah—thank you so much, miss—"

"My companion is waiting for me, so I've got to go. Keep warm!"

She scampered back to Hozuki. "Sorry about that."

She always felt bad about running off when he took the trouble to walk her home, but without fail, her body moved on its own, and without fail, he always said the same thing.

"It's no trouble. He seemed happy."

(F/N) smiled, and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. Hozuki frowned.

"Will you be all right?"

"Of course!" she insisted. "I have lots of coats."

"I meant on the walk home."

She forced a chuckle. "Don't worry about it."

Without a word, he took off his coat, and put it around her shoulders. (F/N) flinched.

"Hey! You don't have to do that!"

"And you didn't have to give your coat to that man, but here we are."

"I—"

Realizing she had no counterargument, (F/N) puffed out her cheeks, and put her arms through the coat sleeves.

"You win."

Hozuki's coat was a dress on her, coming down past her knees with sleeves double the length of her arms. Still, it was warm with Hozuki's body heat, and she couldn't help but notice it smelled like him. Her cheeks were cherry-red, and it wasn't from of the cold.

This guy...she thought, looking up at him. He's always so cool no matter what he does...I swear...and come to think of it, he forced his coat on me, and didn't even offer the hat. Not that it's a winter hat, anyway, but still...why does he always wear that thing?

She found herself staring. He wasn't bald. Did he just have a really bad hairstyle? But that hat wasn't any better. Was it some horrible deformity? A gourd-shaped head like Nurarihyon? No, that wouldn't fit under the hat...

She was so busy examining the hat over and over that she didn't notice Hozuki returning her gaze.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked.

That was when she noticed it—the outline of a single horn under his hat.

That explains it...

She smiled.

"Nope. Nothing at all."

~o0o~

That night, Hozuki walked with her up the steps of her rickety apartment building to her third-floor apartment. He remained silent the whole way, but as she was getting out her keys, he spoke.

"(F/N)-san, there's something I've been meaning to ask."

She looked up at him. "Hm?"

"Would you like to go on a date with me?"

"What?"