Sacrifice--Hozuki x Reader (Hoozuki no Reitetsu)

Chapter 7

Normally, (F/N) would have reincarnated immediately. She wasn't sure why she chose not to. Perhaps it was that she was tired of running, or perhaps it was the strange combination of fear and happiness that twisted in her gut whenever she thought of reuniting with Hozuki.

She heard about Hozuki soon after arriving in Heaven. Apparently, he was King Enma's Chief of Staff. The fact that he was so powerful didn't surprise her. What surprised her was that the idiot boss he always talked about was the Great King Enma himself. (F/N) felt a little of her faith in the gods fly away every time she thought of one of Hozuki's stories, and that just continued the longer she stayed.

Unable to spend her afterlife idly, (F/N) got a job with the Chinese god Hakutaku caring for his rabbit apprentaces. Several people had told her it wasn't a necessary job—that he just hired her randomly because she was cute—but she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

That was becoming harder and harder to accomplish.

She watched as he flirted with the twentieth girl that day. In her arms, a fat rabbit named Pofu nibbled on her hair.

"Hey!" she hissed. "No! Bad rabbit!"

She waved a scolding finger at him, and he gently chewed on it, wondering if it was a carrot.

"You're hungry, huh?" she said. "Come on. I'll get you some food."

She carried Pofu to the kitchen where Momotaro stood at the stove, stirring a pot. (F/N) took a whiff, and frowned.

"Hangover medicine? Hakutaku-sama seems pretty sober to me."

"This is in preparation," Momotaro told her. "He's been rejected so many times today, he's bound to go drinking tonight."

"Is that so?"

(F/N) sighed. What Momotaro must have gone through to gain such a good sense of his boss...

(F/N) opened the fridge, and searched for the ever-present bag of carrots. The front door of the shop opened and closed in the background, and she heard a familiar voice.

"Still at it, I see. One would think you'd have caught a disease and died by now."

(F/N) froze.

Hozuki-kun? What's he doing here?

"Ah! Hozuki-sama!" Momotaro exclaimed. "You haven't met him, right, (F/N)-chan? I should probably introduce you."

He reached out to take her hand, but she pulled back.

Hozuki-kun...I...killed him.

I...can't.

"(F/N)-chan?"

Her eyes met Momotaro's, and she took a step back.

"Sorry, I just..."

Momotaro frowned. "(F/N)-chan, have you met Hozuki-sama before?"

She hesitated. What should she say? She didn't know where to even begin.

"Please..." she whimpered. "I just don't want to talk to him, okay?"

Momotaro opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again, and nodded.

"Okay. I won't tell him you're here."

"Thanks."

Momotaro left to enter the shop, leaving (F/N) alone in the kitchen. She heaved a sigh, and set Pofu on the ground, trying to focus on the fat rabbit in front of her, and not the familiar voices bickering in the background.

"Insults aside," Hozuki said, "I'm looking for a girl—"

Hakutaku laughed. "What? So you finally got so lonely and decided to come to me for help?"

(F/N) flinched, both at the knowledge that Hozuki was looking for her, and the sound of someone getting hit.

"A specific girl!" he snapped. "Her name is—"

"Speaking of girls..."

This is the first time I've been so grateful for Hakutaku-sama's one-track mind...

"I've picked up a rather cute girl myself recently."

No! No! Please don't say he's talking about me...

"She's ten times cuter than anyone you could pick up," Hakutaku continued. "Just a minute."

Hakutaku's steps grew closer and closer, until he finally poked his head into the kitchen.

"There you are, (F/N)-chan! There's someone I want to introduce you to! Heh. That demon bastard is going to go down for sure this time."

"What are you even competing for?" (F/N) asked. "And let me go!"

He took ahold of her wrist, and dragged her into the shop. (F/N) kept her eyes shut tightly. Maybe, if she couldn't see him, he couldn't see her. Maybe he would disappear.

Unfortunately, though, that was not the case, and (F/N) knew it. When she opened her eyes again, Hozuki was staring at her, and even if she knew he didn't know what she'd done, she couldn't help but feel he somehow hated her.

As she stood frozen, Hakutaku frowned.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot." He picked up a rabbit, and put it in her arms. "She's terrified of strangers, but she usually restarts if you do this."

She still didn't move. Hakutaku took the rabbit from her, and frowned. "That's odd..."

Hozuki took a step forward, and hugged her.

"H-hozuki-kun..." she stammered. "What..."

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I...I think I am...right now anyway."

Not long ago, she would have been thrilled to have him hold her like that. Now, all she could think about was the day she killed him.

"Wait—" Hakutaku stammered, "how—"

"I think they know each other, Hakutaku-sama," Momotaro said.

"She's my girlfriend," Hozuki said, earning a sputtered exclamation from Hakutaku. "Now, I think we have some things to talk about."

He drew away, and (F/N) panicked. She had a feeling this wasn't going to go well.

"First," Hozuki said, "what are you doing here?"

"I'm dead," she answered, as if that wasn't obvious.

"I can see that," he replied, "what I want to know is why you're here, in this shop, with this pervert."

"Hey!" Hakutaku shouted.

"I work here," she told him.

"Work here?" he echoed. "I don't think I understand the appeal. You don't seem surprised to see me. Why didn't you come to me right away when this happened? I would have helped you, and I'd also like to have a very long discussion about how this happened. I believe your mother told you at a very young age not to allow strangers into the house. And another thing—"

"With all do respect, Hozuki-sama," Momotaro interjected, "(F/N)-chan is rather overwhelmed right now. I think maybe you should come back another time."

Hozuki looked down at her pale, shivering figure, and his gaze softened.

"I think that's a good idea. May I pick you up tomorrow? We can get something to eat and talk things over calmly. I can even give you a tour of Hell, if you like."

(F/N) nodded wordlessly. One more day. That should be enough time to sign the reincarnation papers, right? She couldn't do this anymore. She had to forget everything.