Sacrifice--Hozuki x Reader (Hoozuki no Reitetsu)

Chapter 4

After much sputtering and coming very close to a spontaneous combustion, (F/N) said yes.

Hozuki had agreed to pick her up at her apartment. He instructed her to dress comfortably and warm, and chose to keep their destination a surprise. He said he would take care of everything himself, but that didn't keep (F/N) from panicking.

The night of their date, she found herself unable to sit still. She got dressed an hour early, and spent the rest of the time pacing around her apartment, waiting for the knock on the door.

When it finally came, she flew to the door, and threw it open. Hozuki stood outside in his usual outfit, a bouquet of flowers in his arms.

"Here. For you."

He handed them to her with his usual stoic expression, and she accepted them with shaking hands.

"Ah...thank you..." For the first time in months, she didn't know how to talk to him.

"I...I need to put these in water..." she told him. "You can come inside if you want."

She didn't wait for his response, and hurried into the kitchen. She stared at the flowers for a moment. They were so bright and colorful, she wondered how they were gifted to her by a man who always wore black.

I was wondering what it would be like to go on a date with him...she mused. I guess he's going to go pretty by the book, huh?

He soon proved her very, very wrong.

~o0o~

It turned out, the location he'd chosen for their date was a graveyard.

(F/N) didn't mind, and she wasn't particularly surprised, either. She did want to ask, however, why he decided a graveyard was the best place for a first date. Every time she opened her mouth, though, she remembered the horn he his under his hat, and decided she should do some thinking about whether or not she wanted to know the answer.

(F/N) knelt in front of one of the grave markers. She read the name over and over for the sole purpose of ignoring Hozuki's gaze. Why was it suddenly so hard to talk to him?

She tried to remember how she'd talked to him before, and found that she'd mostly run her mouth. She suddenly wanted to hit herself for being so annoying. Hozuki must hate her.

No, you idiot! She scolded herself. He took you on a date! He doesn't hate you!

It's best just to go with what works.

"My favorite playground growing up was right next to a graveyard," she confessed. "My friends thought it was creepy, but I played there more than the playground. I found it peaceful. Is that weird?"

"Not at all," he answered, kneeling beside her. "I find them peaceful, too. They're reminders of human mortality."

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "And you think that's a comfort?" She took another look at the grave marker. "Actually, maybe I find it to be a comfort, as well."

She stood up, and looked over the landscape. The graveyard was rather small, but the graves were well taken care of, with bunches of flowers laid out in front of them. Still, she couldn't help but notice that some were deserted. It created a sudden impulse in her that she couldn't control.

"I'll be right back."

When she returned, she had about ten bouquets of flowers in her arms. She dumped them by the gate, and answered Hozuki's raised eyebrow with a smile.