Chapter 44:

The night was quiet, with only a few thin rays of moonlight filtering in, illuminating Naoko's face as she lay on the sofa.

A tall, dark figure approached and stopped.

He leaned down, examining the girl's waist and abdomen.

Because she slept awkwardly, her pajamas were delicately wrapped around her waist, revealing just enough of her fair, supple waist.

Naraku still remembered the feel of it when he held it.

He spread his palm and caressed the soft, fleshy belly.

He could feel the burning warmth of Sukuna's finger beneath the skin.

If he could just cut her open, he could obtain that finger, gain the power of Gokami, and no longer bother searching for the Shikon Jewel.

— Just cut her open.

In the darkness, as if instinctively sensing danger, Naoko frowned and curled up in pain.

He could feel the finger responding passionately.

With her curled-up posture, she looked as if she were holding his arm tightly.

— Just cut her open.

—-

Naoko seemed to have slept for a long time.

The pillow beneath her lingered with the scent of another owner's hair. It was clear that she wasn't lying on the living room sofa, which had almost become its own shape from her lying on it, but on the bed in the room occupied by Naraku.

Before she could even marvel at this guy's sudden change of heart, she found a note on the bedside table:

"Stay home and don't go anywhere."

He usually didn't leave her any notes when he went out, and this time he would probably be gone for a long time.

It seemed that he had finally gotten her wish and left.

But no one would listen to him, okay?

Naoko hadn't heard any movement from the Asano household in two days.

She had hoped for a chance to talk to the Asanos, but the opportunity hadn't come.

Now that there was no one living off her, she thought carefully and decided to continue tutoring Yuuki-kun, even if there was no reward.

After all, the Asanos had helped her a lot.

There was no sound.

Naoko lay prone on the dirty, damp hallway floor, squinting into the house.

It seemed... empty. Just

as she was about to get up, a pair of pale, bare feet appeared from the crack of the door in front of her.

The next second, the door in front of her was violently opened by an angry hand.

Asano Yuuki's face appeared behind the door.

It seemed that he had not taken care of his hair for a few days. His bangs had grown a lot longer and drooped at the corners of his eyes. His cold pupils turned downwards and fixed on Naoko's embarrassed face.

She felt that she was being rude and stood up quickly.

It was still summer, but he was wearing long sleeves and long pants. The curtains in the room were drawn tightly, and no light could get in.

"You?" he asked.

A chill climbed up her spine to the back of her head, and her heart began to pound. She felt panic and fear for no reason.

"It's like this, Yuuki-kun... It doesn't matter if I don't have money. I have decided to tutor you well and get you into the university of my choice..."

He didn't speak for a long time.

Only when Naoko's calves began to tremble did he speak impatiently,

"Are you crazy?" His hair fell as he tilted his head, obscuring his eyes. "If you're fine, then get out of here. I don't have time to play house with you right now."

She frantically replied,

"But you still have exams to take! I promised you I'd get into college, and…"

"Disappear like garbage, okay?" He raised his eyes and cut her coldly.

A terrifying red light flashed in his eyes, somewhere she hadn't noticed.

After all, Naoko considered herself his elder, a teacher even.

The rude words washed over her, and she instantly forgot the chill

she'd felt. "Asano Yuuki, what's with that attitude?" Unable to bear it any longer, she reached out and caressed the side of his face lovingly. "Did I teach you to be so rude to your teacher?"

A

crisp sound echoed through the quiet corridor, a faint echo almost lingering.

Asano Yuki kept his side face and froze.

Beat up by bread.

This perception made blue veins rise on his face, and his sharp and narrow fangs also reveal them.

Very good, he will make her regret it.

The light was dim. Not only did she not notice the danger, she even scolded him without knowing the consequences: "

Just because I rejected you? You are still young, and you shouldn't always think about these things that are not available..."

Asano Yuki raised her hand and saw that she was about to pinch the neck of the bread. The food she got was pulled back by someone...

No, it should be said to be a monster, a lowly monster.

His gaze unconsciously fell to the belly of the bread, a place with a strange and seductive red light.

I didn't notice just now that there seemed to be something very interesting hidden on this bread.

The demon, holding bread hostage, entered the room not far away in a flash, and slammed the door.

Under the slightly longer bangs, Asano Yuki's bright red eyes flashed.

Having just eaten three loaves of bread, he wasn't that hungry...

If he hadn't been seriously injured earlier, making it difficult to fight this demon of unknown strength, he would have grabbed that damned loaf of bread and ripped her open.

Then he'd see what secrets lay within.

—·—

Naoko was viciously thrown onto the sofa, her knees banging against the backrest, causing her to groan in pain.

Before she could even complain, Naraku's voice, cold yet tinged with anger, rang out:

"Didn't I tell you to stay home?"

"Are you just going to die like this?" His crimson eyes gleamed with rage, and he gripped her chin tightly. "If I had been a moment later, you'd be a corpse by now, you idiot." He

was trying to scare her again.

"Yuuki-kun is just a child, and besides, he's much gentler than you."

His handsome face was distorted with fear, as if he wanted to devour her.

"Foolish... He's a demon."

His chest heaved several times before Naraku seemed to calm down. He tore off the half-orb dangling from his chest and spread it out in his palm.

This was the Four Souls Jade, the gem that held his entire demonic life. Previously, his only goal was to collect all the fragments and gain supreme power.

Seeing his sudden silence, Naoko leaned in and asked, "I've been curious about this. What is it? An heirloom gem?"

"It has nothing to do with you." He clenched his fist, hid the Four Souls Jade, and urged impatiently, "You reek of ghosts. You'd better take a shower first."

His expression changed so quickly.

Although she didn't believe his talk of ghosts and demons, she chose to indulge him.

As she walked into the bathroom, Naoko could still feel his burning gaze following her, even through the bathroom door, shining directly on her...

In fact, this was not her imagination, because as soon as she stepped out of the bathroom, she was pushed against the wall by Naraku, startling her.

"W-What are you doing? It's still daytime."

A cold touch touched her neck, and his pupils were fixed on her. "What nonsense are you talking about... idiot. Wear it properly, and don't take it off even in the shower."

Her hand fell to her neck, and she realized that it was the half of the Four Souls Jade that he had always valued.

"Don't you treasure this thing very much? Is it okay to give it to me like this? I'm not to the point where I have to ask you to pay me back."

His crimson pupils flickered, and Naoko could see herself clearly reflected in his eyes.

After a while, he turned his eyes away: "No need for so much nonsense, just wear it. You can take it off, but if you die from it, I will remember to burn paper for you."

"You obviously want to care about me, but do you have to use such an irritating attitude? Tsundere has long been out of the mainstream."

"Tsundere? Naoko Kawase, if you die, I will applaud. However," he grabbed her hand, "tell me in detail, how did this finger come from?"

As he spoke, his cold fingers pressed against her abdomen through the thin nightgown and pressed.

"It really was Buffy. Yesterday I went to a dessert shop and had a Buffy with some strange lumps in it. I thought they were chocolate bars..."

"Didn't you meet any strange people?"

"Yes, I guess. A handsome monk in a cassock, and a man with long hair and green clothes. He seemed to mention something about Zoldyck, or something."

Naraku's expression grew increasingly strange. "You idiot. Do you know what you ate?"

The man in green, the one who had seriously injured him earlier, narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Huh? Isn't it just Buffy?"

"It's Sukuna's finger, a special cursed item. Congratulations, idiot! You're going to become cursed."

Although he said congratulations, his tone was not congratulatory.

"... Sukuna's... finger?" Hearing this, her eyes widened. "What is that?"

He smiled, his hand lightly stroking her waist. "I almost forgot, you're just an ignorant human."

At this point, this guy was still willing to keep her in suspense.

It sounded like she was going to die!

If he wasn't lying.

His expression was so earnest, so earnest that she couldn't doubt his truth.

She spun around anxiously. "In that case, help me get it out now. What are you talking about? If I die, you can't live either!"

"It's just a change of location. Whether you live or die has nothing to do with me." His tone was carefree, like a mischievous cat teasing its prey.

Naoko looked him over, finally confirming that he was a heartless, ungrateful person.

Perhaps it was a psychological suggestion, but she felt the cursed object in her stomach begin to heat up, burning her stomach lining.

She burst into tears. "I don't want to die. I haven't finished college yet... I'm not in love yet, and I'm still thinking about finding a male escort..."

Naraku's forehead throbbed. "Finally, you're telling the truth, Kawase Naoko. You've been wanting to kick me out for a long time, right?"

It was the truth, and she couldn't argue with it.

As if guessing what she was thinking, he chuckled wickedly.

"Of course there is a way to take it out."

"...What?"

His hand slid ambiguously across her belly twice, and he said in a chanting tone:

"How about opening her belly and taking this thing out? This cursed object is a burden to incompetent humans like you, but not to me."

Open her belly...

It would be strange if she could survive!

Although, she still retained a trace of doubt about Naraku in her heart.

Ghosts are still too unbelievable.

By analogy, someone like Tomie Amamiya should be a sexy ghost... right?

"Is there no, no gentler way? If my fragments are scattered all over the floor, it will be difficult for you... for you to deal with it?"

Her panicked face obviously pleased him.

"Yes."