She laid there for a few more minutes, soon sitting up as the delicious scent of pancake batter and blueberries wafted across the space.

Retrieving her clothes and getting dressed, Inrin soon came out as she twisted her hair up into a bun.

"Good morning." She greeted, unable to meet his eyes.

She took one glance at his bare body faced away from her as he left a room and immediately, her cheeks heated up and blood rushed to her head, followed by a light headache.

Embarrassed, Inrin silently apologized for the relentless attacks on his skin. No full suit will fully cover everything.

And Inrin woke at the slightest movement but didn't leave the comfortable confines of the bed. She stayed still, her own soreness coming over her, especially around her chest, hips, thighs...

She let out a quiet sigh, rolling over a little to see Makimoto's retreating figure...

Her hand shyly found his, placed upon it, and she wondered what he's thinking of. What he's feeling.

What will he do next?

Yet she's leaning in again, brows furrowed, a cute small frown on her face, and those doe eyes closed before her lips met his.

It started from a small press to a slow and careful part of her lips, inviting him in for a deeper taste.

She's a bit shaky, a little anxious, and it's quite cute...

She whispered, eyes trailing to his lips too and she still felt his lingering warmth. It was hot and her heart continued to thrum in her ears, and although she was afraid, she wanted...more.

Like him, she wanted more.

"...why did you do that?" The way she said it almost sounded like an accusation.

Instead, Inrin looked at Makimoto—eye to eye. Not a boss. Not a superior. Just a man, or atleast she hopes so.

In the back of her mind, she wondered if he's just doing this because it's fun. It's amusing. It's easy to control a pup if given the right affections, right?

"...I'm not drunk..."

A shiver ran up her spine and it was quite delightful to see such a powerful devilhunter like Inrin just melt... She is still a woman after all, capable of being flustered, touched, and kissed so sweetly.

She didn't pull away, nor did she slap him or push him, or anything that she should have done.

Inrin laughed and gently poked his nose, "Don't look at me like that... I know, I know, it's insane and yet I'm still working for him and somehow, apparently, I keep impressing him. Though, at the same time, I think he just thinks I'm amusing..."

What does this do? Nothing. What is she doing? Waiting? For something?

...she's afraid but the way those golden eyes burned in her mind with such a knowing smile...

It's crazy.

She makes her want to slap him sometimes for looking so smug and other times, she just wants to bite his lip in a kiss.

She felt his hand cup her cheek, hand a bit shaky when he leaned in, and she almost dropped the glass out of surprise.

"...what are you saying?" Her voice came in a whisper, breath hitched and face reddening.

Inrin should be pushing him away but, for some reason, she only closed her eyes...

Yet more are actually afraid of him than anything.

But it's true, no one has been this close before. This special treatment had her worrying and Inrin picked up the wine, taking a quiet sip after a swirl and a sniff of the red liquid.

It stained her lips and she furrowed her brows, looking at him.

"I'm only working hard because it's my job..." She mumbled, "Besides, you said I haven't been killing much devils and that's true despite me being a member for a while. It's only fair."

And yet, she's treated this way by Makimoto. Should she feel lucky? So many women are swooning over him.

She ate from his hand, gently gripping his wrist before guiding the onigiri to her lips, and her face burned red the whole time.

Inrin refused to look at him as she did so, wiping her lips with some tissues after taking a few bites, "Thank you."

His comments had her a little confused though.

Or was her curse going through something too? Is she slowly returning to a more human form? Is it weakening? Is she going to die one day soon?

...

Inrin got rid of the thought and just focused on the current happenings, smiling a bit as she looked at the food, "...can I have some onigiri, please?"

But here, it's almost like she has a limit now and time is needed for full recovery.

...maybe she's gotten used to a mundane life that the urgency to get back on her feet had her going slow? In the old world, there's always danger, but she can take it easy here.

Soothe the pain, fill her stomach with nourishment, heal quickly and she'll be back on the field in no time.

Inrin wondered though—how come she's not healing as fast as she usually does? Even without food, she's usually already regrowing limbs and such in no time.

The more she looked, the more her eyes lit up and she soon joined the man, face burning at his offer. However, recognizing the state of her hands (pierced flesh, stitches, missing nails, etc.), she reluctantly agreed and glanced at the drinks.

"Some wine would be nice..." She nodded, agreeing.

Tempted by the sight of the food and in need of a palate cleanser after filling her belly with glass and rot, Inrin followed him and gazed at the lavish meals and drinks.

She gripped her stomach, recognizing its emptiness before bowing a bit, "Thank you, sir, I really appreciate this."

"You asking me if I got someone new?" At this point, she's just assuming whatever Mousse is saying as she continued to walk, "Mmm... Well, I guess I did. It's complicated. If anything, he calls me his puppy. Is that a red flag? I'm just doing my job..."

Yes, Inrin, it sort of is?

"...a lot of things happened to us both, huh?" Inrin sighed, picking up Mousse and standing, "Mousse, you're probably better with relationship advice, how do you know if a relationship is real? What if I get betrayed again? The last time a guy did so, I got cursed..."

And Inrin laughed, letting him do so, "Where have you been? I was so busy, I couldn't find the time to look for you." She hummed, "I fight devils and monsters from the other world now, still looking for my name. And I have the strangest and creepiest boss." She chuckled, joking about the last bit.

"Hello there, brother, long time no see." Inrin chuckled, crouching infront of the duck.

She smiled, reaching a gentle finger to rub its chin, "Hello there..."

...gazing at her, hair cascading down her shoulders and back in gentle waves, smiling and in much ease despite the horrors they witnessed before.

Like a princess.

...

̷W̷̷h̷̷y̷ ̷w̷̷o̷̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷s̷̷h̷̷e̷ ̷l̷̷o̷̷o̷̷k̷ a̷̷t̷ ̷h̷̷i̷̷m̷ ̷t̷̷h̷̷e̷ ̷s̷a̷̷m̷̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷̷y̷?

That's when her brown eyes lit up, watching as a crow actually land on the headrest of thr sofa.

"...ah." The way she looked so flustered and happy to see it is actually adorable, "...it's you. One of the crows that followed me the other day when we came back from that world."