I sat in a plush chair inside a vast office. This was the Demon Hunter Division office. But to me, this place felt more like a very clean cage.
Across from me, Sumeragi was sipping her tea. Her movements were incredibly graceful; every finger moved with a precision that made me shiver for no reason. She wore a tight suit and a black tie, formal attire that somehow looked intimate on her body.
"Aqua-kun," she called.
That voice. Just by mentioning my name, my heart thumped wildly. I looked up, trying to offer my best messy smile.
"Yes, Miss Sumeragi?"
She set her cup down silently. Her purplish eyes stared at me as if she could see every inch of muscle and bone inside my body. She didn't blink. She never seemed to want to blink when she looked at me.
"Why were you looking toward the window earlier?" she asked. Her tone remained calm, but there was something sharp beneath the surface.
"Ah, that... I was just looking at a crow outside. It's kind of funny, right?" I answered honestly.
Sumeragi stood up. She walked around her large desk, her footsteps silent on the expensive carpet. She stopped right in front of me, then leaned down. Her scent, a mix of jasmine and something oddly clinical, assaulted my senses.
She placed her hands on both sides of my chair's headrest, trapping me.
"That crow is free, isn't it?" she whispered near my ear. Her breath was warm, but it made the hair on my neck stand up. "Are you feeling bored here, Aqua-kun? Do you want to fly far away from me?"
"No! It's not like that, Miss Sumeragi! It's nice here; there's bread with jam every morning," I stuttered. A strange fear began to crawl in my gut.
Suddenly, she gripped my jaw gently, forcing me to meet those hypnotizing eyes. Her smile widened—a very sweet smile, yet her eyes remained cold, filled with an unspoken hunger.
"Good," she said, her thumb stroking my lower lip with a pressure that was slightly too firm. "Because you are mine now. Entirely. Your blood, your bones, even every strand of your hair is my property."
She brought her face closer until our noses almost touched.
"I love the power within you, Aqua-kun. Your demon soul... it's so wild. And only I am allowed to hold it. If anyone else tries to touch you, or if you try to look at anything more interesting than me..."
She paused for a moment, then gave me a light peck on the forehead. A mark of ownership.
"...I'll have to make sure they disappear from this world so your attention isn't diverted. Do you understand, my little dog?"
I swallowed hard. I felt like a fly entangled in the most beautiful spiderweb in the world. I wanted to run, but at the same time, I wanted her to keep looking at me like that forever.
"Woof," I answered reflexively.
Sumeragi chuckled, a sound that felt like a beautiful yet lethal melody. "Smart boy."
The night in my new apartment felt far too silent.
The apartment was luxurious. Much more so than the wooden shack where I used to sleep with Charon, sharing a single slice of hard, dry bread. Now, I had a soft mattress, smooth running hot water, and a fridge full of food.
But for some reason, I felt like I was sleeping inside a velvet-lined coffin.
I lay there staring at the ceiling. My heart beat with a steady but heavy rhythm. Since that day, since Sumeragi brought me home, the world felt like a stage play where only she and I existed.
"Charon," I whispered to the darkness. "Are we really safe?"
There was no answer. Only an oppressive silence.
Suddenly, my apartment door opened without the sound of a knock. I jolted upright, my hand reflexively reaching for my chest, preparing to transform into the blade-monster from before. However, the figure standing there made all my courage evaporate.
Sumeragi.
She was no longer in her official uniform. She wore a long, thin white nightgown, her black hair flowing freely over her shoulders. In her hand, she carried a wooden comb.
"Aqua-kun, aren't you asleep yet?" her voice was low, echoing in the quiet room.
"M-Miss Sumeragi? How did you get in? The door was..."
"I have spare keys for everything that belongs to me," she answered casually. She walked closer, then sat on the edge of my bed. Her patterned purple eyes glowed in the dark, catching a sliver of moonlight from the gap in the curtains. "I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about you."
She gestured for me to sit in front of her. I obeyed like a tethered ox. She began to comb my messy hair with movements that were very slow, very meticulous. Every tug of the comb felt as if she were counting every single strand on my head.
"At the office earlier, I heard you speaking to a young female client," she said. Her tone was flat, but I felt the room's temperature seemingly drop several degrees.
"Oh, that? She just asked for directions to the toilet, Miss Sumeragi. What was her name again, I forgot—"
Crack.
The wooden comb in her hand snapped in two.
I froze. My breath hitched. Sumeragi wasn't angry, at least not outwardly. Instead, she placed the broken pieces on the bedside table and switched to using her fingers to comb my hair. Her manicured nails pressed slightly into my scalp, providing a strange mix of pain and pleasure.
"You don't need to remember the names of other women, Aqua-kun," she whispered right against the nape of my neck. "That woman... she won't be asking you anything tomorrow. Or ever again."
My heart raced. "You mean...?"
"She had an 'accident' on her way home. Truly unfortunate," Sumeragi hugged me from behind, resting her chin on my shoulder. Her cold hands wrapped around my neck, her fingers playing near Charon's heart in my chest. "This world is dangerous for people who try to interfere with what's mine. I'm only protecting you, Aqua-kun. You understand, right?"
I wasn't stupid. I knew exactly what she had just said. That woman died because she talked to me. Just for asking the way to the toilet.
Nausea began to creep into my stomach, clashing with a sense of gratitude for having someone who so thoroughly adored and desired me. On one hand, I felt incredibly precious. On the other, I felt that if I made one small mistake, I would end up just like that wooden comb.
"I understand... Miss Sumeragi," I replied faintly, my voice trembling.
Sumeragi kissed my neck, a long and possessive kiss. "Smart boy. Tomorrow, I will introduce you to your new teammate, Kageyama Kyo. He will look after you when I'm not around. But remember one thing..."
She turned my body so we were facing each other. Her hands now cupped my face, her thumbs pressing into my cheeks until it hurt a little.
"Only I am allowed to touch your heart. Only I am allowed to be the one you see when you wake up. If you try to seek protection from anyone else... I will kill them all before your eyes, and then I will lock you in a place where even the sunlight cannot reach you. Understand?"
She smiled. The most beautiful smile I had ever seen, and simultaneously the most terrifying.
"Understood, Miss Sumeragi," I whispered.
She then lay down beside me, pulling up the blanket and hugging me as if I were her favorite bolster. That night, I slept in the arms of a goddess who loved me in the most destructive way possible.