Chapter 42:

Today was the first day of tutoring Yuuki, and to show how serious she was about the job, she briefly reviewed what she had learned in high school.

This was her first time entering the Asano household.

She had been puzzled as to why the Asanos' entrance was on the corner when the structure was identical. It turned out that it was because their house was twice the size of Naoko's rental.

The bright floor-to-ceiling windows let in the sunset light, illuminating the European-style furnishings inside.

"Please come in... Kawase-san." Asano Yuuki made way, not daring to look her in the eye, his face flushing slightly.

Naoko had been worried about not being able to do the job well, but now she realized it was completely unnecessary.

Yuuki was a smart kid, and didn't really need her tutoring.

But perhaps because he wasn't used to being around her, he always stuttered when answering questions, and often glanced at her when he looked up.

"Is there something strange on my face?" She touched her face.

He immediately dropped his eyes, and from the side, his eyelashes were surprisingly long. "No." He

sat stiffly for a moment, then, seeing no response from Naoko, carefully lifted his eyelids and glanced sideways at her.

What a lovely child.

After helping to grade the homework, the tutoring session ended. While it wasn't too much trouble, it was already too late when he got home.

Naraku couldn't help but make subtle sarcasm: "If I didn't know your true nature, I might have thought you couldn't find your way home."

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

His red eyes darted as he followed her movements, his gaze following her closely.

Naoko hummed, "With this job, our lives will be much better."

"If I were you, I'd abandon this useless patient in the bed," he snorted insincerely.

In truth, Naoko really hoped he would get better soon, and then get the hell out of there.

She had had enough of being a nanny... She

should have never taken him back, and now, because of that damn sense of responsibility, she couldn't bring herself to kick him out halfway.

Especially since she knew he was an orphan.

"But it's been half a month, your wound should be healed by now, right?"

Ever since she'd pricked him, Naraku had been asking to apply the medicine himself, so Naoko naturally had no idea how well his wound was healing.

He'd casually said, "I'm afraid it's not quite healed yet."

Since he'd said that, she could only pray for him to heal quickly and get out of here.

At first, she'd dreamed he'd repay her kindness with some money, but now she realized the chances of that happening were slimmer than her winning the lottery.

He was nothing but a broke, unmotivated man, a mere gigolo. His

only real upside was that he was a perfect trash can.

No matter what Naoko rambled on about him, his annoying mouth wouldn't utter a single word she didn't want to hear, aside from sarcasm.

Of course, she'd also complained a lot about Amamiya-kun, and he'd been sending her a series of bloody letters lately, ranging from warnings to insults.

Having seen his methods, she occasionally felt a little scared—just a little. She simply had a premonition that Tomie Amamiya would never do anything terrible to her.

But Naoko wasn't the type to enjoy being humiliated. After all, being scolded was certainly unpleasant, so she gradually stopped reading.

Naraku, on the other hand, examined each letter with relish, even taking the time to observe the fun. "If you don't like it, just kill him."

"How can that be?" she exclaimed. After all, Amamiya-kun couldn't die.

His red eyes shone with a chilling light, and his voice was as cold as ice: "The source of suffering has no reason to exist."

...Is that so?

Naoko was well aware of her own selfishness. Her feelings for Amamiya-kun stemmed largely from his years of devotion to her.

"Sometimes it's distressing... but sometimes it's necessary. Never mind, you wouldn't understand even if I told you," she said, shutting the others up.

High school students are at the peak of their love, and since they were about the same age, it was natural for Yuuki to be attracted to her.

During class, he suddenly and carefully pushed over a box of cake and a box of cute little accessories in a very pink package.

"This is... Kawase-san. I asked the girls in my class... and I think you might like this." His ears flushed red, and he glanced at her before quickly looking away.

"Also... this is Sakuragawa's cherry cake. A girl in my class recommended it... I heard it's delicious. If Kawase-san doesn't mind, please have some."

Good girl.

Despite her repeated refusals, Naoko finally couldn't resist his enthusiasm. He stubbornly placed the cake in her arms and waved at her from behind the door.

"Kawase-san... see you tomorrow." As he spoke, the corners of his lips curved into a cute curve, and she only then noticed that he had two adorable dimples on the sides of his face.

Naraku had been eavesdropping for who knew how long. As soon as she entered, he teased her sourly, "Does that kid know that you'd bring the cake he'd carefully prepared home for another man?"

Why did something so normal become so strange when he said it?

"He's not that stingy."

In fact, even if she hadn't agreed, he still looked like he was going to eat the cake.

But after just a few bites, he tossed the half-ruined cake aside: "It's awful."

Haha, that damn bastard, he had no environmental awareness at all.

Because communication was difficult, Naoko found a rudimentary secondhand phone at the school flea market. It was so old that it barely functioned as a phone for calls and text messages.

The good thing was that it was cheap, and the stall owner, a classmate she knew well, Yagi-kun, offered to give her the phone for free.

Naturally, things turned out that she had no choice but to agree to a one-day date with Yagi-kun. She

had experienced the pain of being a popular person, and even more painfully, she wasn't as good at saying no as some others.

Unfortunately, Naraku wasn't the type to understand the hardships of a guardian. He would call her relentlessly, regardless of the time or place, like a ghost demanding her life.

She mistakenly thought that he had something urgent to do, and when he picked up the phone, he would slowly reply:

"Aren't you coming home yet? Don't you think you're coming home later and later?

Are you planning to abandon me?"

Standing next to him was the smiling Yagi-kun. Seeing this, he narrowed his eyes and smiled like a fox: "Oh, it seems like it's urgent. Kawase-san, please answer the phone first. I'm fine."

"Sorry, Yagi-kun," she could only smile apologetically, carefully covering her phone. "I'm almost home, don't worry. I have some important school club stuff to attend to, so why don't you just heat up the leftovers yourself?"

The moment she finished speaking, the other end angrily hung up.

Meanwhile, Naoko felt an inexplicable chilling gaze behind her, but when she turned, she could only see a fleeting white-haired baboon.

...?

Did it escape from the zoo? Perhaps

she was seeing things.

Yagi-kun was much better than Kitajima-kun. At least he wasn't flirting around, nor did he suddenly lower his head to drink from her glass.

So, she was in a good mood when the date ended, but the next day she heard that Yagi-kun had also broken his leg after falling down the stairs.

A strange rumor was circulating around school, claiming that Naoko was protected by a shikigami, saying they were being punished by the gods for offending her.

She simply laughed off such nonsense, but after that, the number of male classmates who approached her decreased, giving her peace of mind.

But perhaps it was her recent romantic luck, because after a few male classmates left, Naoko was confessed to by Asano Yuuki.

She had never imagined such a thing could happen to her, so she was still dazed when she returned home.

"Kawase Naoko, you really do love flirting. You've been busy all day, even with high school students."

Naraku sat on a futon in the hall, his hands propped up on his knees, pouring himself a cup of tea.

The bandage on his leg had been removed, and although he was wearing a shabby old man's shirt, he looked completely healed.

Naoko was more curious than his inexplicable questioning tone: "When did your leg get better?"

He slowly raised his head, his gaze fixed on her, a thick, lingering scrutiny tinged with lust. He looked from her face to her waist, then to her thigh, which was exposed under her short skirt. A teardrop mole had appeared under her left eye and swayed slightly with his movements.

"You look disappointed."

After spending time together, it seemed that Naraku was gradually accepting her, although the sarcasm still remained.

"Of course not. I'm happy for you."

Of course she was happy. She could finally get this burden out of the house and no longer have to worry about the hefty medical bills.

And for a whole month and a half, he hadn't paid her anything for room, board, or medical expenses.

His eyes flickered, and he grinned. "But you don't look happy. You think I'm bothering you?"

"Of course not. What are you thinking? Haha. But," she gestured as if counting money, "when are you going to leave here? You know, it's not easy to support yourself in Tokyo."

Besides, she was already aching from sleeping on the sofa every day.

Naraku's eyes circled around her, and he intoned, "Of course I'm not leaving."

"Huh?" She was stunned, the smile that had been creeping up on her lips froze.

He seemed to see through her thoughts and listed them all maliciously. "I have a place to stay and food to eat here. Why would you leave?"

Besides, he still needed to find the legendary Sukuna's finger and gain supreme power.

"However, I advise you that there is no need to continue with that awful tutoring job. It seems that your students are much more interested in your body than your brain."

How did he know this?

Naoko turned around in front of him suspiciously: "Naraku, what do you mean? Are you following me?"

Naraku did not comment, but Naoko exploded instantly:

"If I don't do this job, how can I let us survive? I always work, isn't it because you always eat for free?"

She was so angry that she snatched his tea and took a sip, then slammed the teacup heavily on the table.

"Really." He raised his eyes, as if he was about to sneer, but his eyes fell on her lower lip, which became shiny because of the tea, and he paused.

He slowly stood up, stared at her condescendingly, and shouted: "Naoko."

Because of his height, from this angle, he could see the white skin on the back of Naoko's neck and the pink collarbone.