Chapter 43

He inched closer, and Naoko could practically feel the scorching heat of his breath against her ear. She cried out anxiously, "Naraku, what are you doing...?"

"Aren't you asking for a reward?" His voice mumbled, his throat tight.

She hurriedly replied, "I'm not asking for any reward! "

Wasn't he simply repaying a favor with a vengeance?

Naraku placed a hand on her trembling shoulder and whispered in her ear, "But I don't have any leverage other than myself, so... Besides, don't you like my face too?"

The aroma of tea still lingered from the table. He spoke softly and slowly, like a demon luring mortals into hell.

"I'm no worse than that Amamiya Tomie, am I?"

The scorching heat penetrated Naoko's skin through the thin shirt on her shoulders.

The hand continued to move slowly, resting on the small of her back, gently caressing it.

She couldn't help but shudder, tilting her head to scold him, but her nose brushed against his lips.

At this moment, no matter what she said, it would be weird, so she had to lower her head, but she could see clearly the white skin exposed on his chest.

"Try it, Kawase Naoko."

The ambiguous atmosphere crawled all over her body like dodder, and she stretched out her hand, ready to pry him apart.

As if realizing her thoughts, Naraku picked her up forcefully and threw her on the bed.

The bedding that once belonged to Naoko was stained with the scent of another person.

However, because they used the same shower gel, the two fragrances were tightly intertwined like intertwined branches, inseparable.

She softened her waist at the touch of Naraku's rare gentle gesture and lost the intention to stop him.

In ancient times, there was a saying in the flower-growing family that if someone saved a life, they should repay him with their body. It seemed natural for Naraku to devote himself to her.

But...

"Naraku, your leg is healed, right?"

he replied indifferently. "Who said that?"

"When you carried me into the room just now, you were walking briskly."

An expression of impatience crossed his sweaty face. "Kawase Naoko, I really can't do anything about you."

Without a definitive answer, Naoko couldn't fully rest assured. "So, is your leg healed or not?"

"...Shut up, don't ask."

"But where did your teardrop mole come from? Did you have it all along?" Her slightly cool hand rested on his face, and the area under his cheek near the teardrop mole gave him a chill.

Naoko immediately screamed, "Hey, Naraku, be gentle!"

A cold snort echoed from the darkness, followed by his voice, which was inexplicably tinged with a hint of triumph:

"You deserve it."

All Naoko remembered about that night was the half-orb swaying on his chest, and the illusion of being nearly suffocated by his dancing black hair.

...

The locked doors and windows, the messy bedding, and the warm, soft body in his arms all reminded Naraku of what had happened last night.

...Damn that spider demon!

He saw it as the work of the damn spider demon within him.

Naoko turned around, met his ferocious expression, and rubbed her eyes. "Naraku, are you awake yet?"

His expression froze at the corners of his lips, and he looked away uncomfortably.

"Get out of the way."

"This is clearly my bed, you should be the one getting out of it."

"You..." His eyes met her exposed skin, and Naraku suddenly leaped up like a rabbit. "I mean, shouldn't you be getting busy?" "

It's the weekend. I'm so tired, I want to sleep in." She pulled the covers up over her head. "Naraku, I think you should sometimes do something for the family, like help with groceries or something."

He curled his lips. "Isn't it convenient for you?"

Naoko's answer was brief and powerful:

"Not at all. Even donkeys need rest, you know."

She had thought he could finally help out after living off the bills for so long, but it turned out she was too happy, because a few days later, Naoko heard from the neighbors that she had brought her gigolo home. What kind of rescue literature is this?— ·— 

Despite his reluctance, Naraku had to go out with a reusable bag. 

A small fresh food supermarket had recently opened near the community, and because of the big discounts, the grandmothers in the neighborhood loved to buy their groceries there. 

Naraku, young and disheveled in his black t-shirt, stood out among the eager old ladies. 

"Young man, you're a stranger. I don't think I've seen you before." 

He hurried a few steps impatiently, trying to pretend he hadn't heard. But after passing a few shelves, he was pestered again and reluctantly replied: 

"...Naraku. Currently staying at Kawase's." 

"Oh, so you're Naoko's boyfriend? I haven't heard her mention you." The old lady was delighted and clapped her hands. "That's great news." 

"Boyfriend"? 

What a vulgar word. 

He explained coldly, "No, she just took you home." 

"Ah, you still have to live a good life." The old lady covered her lips, as if she had heard something extraordinary. Her eyes darted around him. She seemed to have misunderstood something, but he didn't explain further. 

—·— 

"So you've become the gigolo I brought home, huh?" 

Naraku raised his lip. "Really? It's still unclear who the gigolo is." 

Haha. 

She pushed him away: "I have to go tutor Yuuki-kun. I don't have time to talk to you about this." 

But when she knocked on the door of Asano's house, she only got a cold "Get lost". 

"Mrs. Asano? Yuuki-kun? I'm here to tutor." 

There were a few muffled sounds from the room. Naoko confirmed that there was someone in the room, but there was no response. 

She didn't want to lose this job. No matter what, she had to ask her what she was not doing well enough. 

So she knocked on the door with all her strength. 

After about ten minutes, a head popped out from behind the door. It was Mrs. Asano. 

His wife, who was usually very warm to her, pushed her away coldly when she reached out her hand: "We don't need any tutoring." 

"But..." 

"Get lost." 

The door slammed shut in front of her, and she realized belatedly that there seemed to be a strange smell in the house - like the smell of blood. 

Naoko returned home with a frustrated look on her face. 

Naraku walked around her and glared at her: 

"The smell of ghosts on you is as strong as a trip through hell."

"Why do I smell like a ghost?" She sniffed herself, but of course, she didn't notice anything unusual.

"Besides ghosts, there are demons and curses in this world... You're making such a fuss because you're so ignorant. You'd better not go out for a while."

"Huh?"

Of course not.

Because she had to go to school and buy groceries the next day.

Naraku's half-hearted expression seemed more like a joke than a reminder.

But she was a person who was afraid of death, so she still made a detour to the shrine to ask for a talisman, and also asked for one for Naraku.

When she passed by the coffee shop on her way home, she couldn't help but order two chocolate parfaits.

Maybe because it was too hot, there were not many customers here.

Besides her, there was only a smiling man in a monk's robe and a young man in green clothes with his back to her, so she could only see his back.

The man in the cassock smiled, his lips perpetually curled slightly. "Please give me your finger. I can give you what you want."

"This is cargo from the Zoldyck family. Sorry, there's no way I can give it to you," the long-haired young man in green said, undeterred, his voice even.

"Then I'll have to resort to some inappropriate means."

Naoko didn't know what those means were, as she'd eaten so much that she had to run to the bathroom.

The sound of shattering glass echoed from the café, as if something terrible had happened.

When she hurried out, the windowpanes were scattered across the floor. The man in the cassock, the young man in green, and the waiter had vanished without a trace.

Only her two chocolate parfaits lay quietly on the table.

In any case, the parfaits had done nothing wrong.

She swallowed both, but halfway through, she felt a strange, hard, finger-shaped object inside.

She tried to remove it from her mouth, but in her frantic search for her drink, she accidentally swallowed it.

What's that?!

Could it be something strange?

Fortunately, after sitting quietly for a few minutes, she didn't feel anything strange.

Maybe it was just an oversized piece of chocolate... right?

With this self-consolation, Naoko returned home, carrying the amulet she'd requested. But as soon as she entered, an arm grabbed her neck and shoved her against the wall, causing her to cough in pain.

"Did you do anything?" Naraku leaned over to her neck and sniffed. "It smells like a foul curse."

As he spoke, his free hand slowly moved from her lips to her lower abdomen, making a semicircle. "There's something strange here, too."

She was wearing only a short top and a skirt, the hem of which was easily pulled open, lifting to her waist.

"Let...let me go!" Goosebumps spread across her skin, and she struggled to grasp his hand.

Naraku's dark red eyes glared at her sharply, and with a cold snort, he released his grip.

She slid down the wall like a rag, collapsing onto the floor in disarray, coughing into her bruised neck.

"What the hell is this?"

He squatted down, extended two fingers, and pressed them against her exposed belly.

"Are you going to kill me? Naraku, you ungrateful, ahem... bastard!"

No matter what, this guy had shown absolutely no mercy when he attacked her just now, hadn't he?

She had no doubt he really wanted to kill her.

He didn't comment, and his fingers drew another ambiguous circle on her skin: "I'm saving you. Tell me, where did this come from?"

After staring at each other for two minutes, Naoko shuddered at his cold gaze and tried to explain:

"I ate a parfait, ahem, it was really just a parfait."

"Oh, chocolate finger parfait." He smiled and looked down at her bulging belly, "You've provoked something you shouldn't have, idiot. It seems that you're going to die without me doing anything."

"Ha, are you kidding me?" She pushed him away, "Get out of here, I'm getting up. I even went to the shrine to get a talisman for you, you ungrateful bastard." She

took out the amulet from her pocket and threw it hard in his face, but before she could walk far, someone grabbed her collar from behind.

"What are you going to do? Be careful or I really hit you." She said angrily.

After a while, Naraku said in a deep voice: "Deal with the scar on your neck. It's an eyesore."

"Didn't you do this? Why are you pretending to be a good person?"

The clay man still had some temper. Naoko slapped his hand away: "Get out of here."

She walked away in her high heels that she had not changed yet. After the girl disappeared outside the door, he squatted down and picked up the useless and inferior amulet. He

twisted the talisman with his fingertips, and it seemed that there was still a little warmth from the previous owner.