Where Loyalty Lies // Mori Ougai x Reader

Chapter 13: Who We Are

It was late in the evening when Mori was sitting in his chair overlooking the city. He had a devilish grin on his face and was texting someone when a knock came from his office door.

"I've brought her, boss," Chuuya said. Y/n remained out in the hallway, hugging the wall.

"So, where is she?" Mori said. Chuuya jerked his gaze at Y/n trying to sneak away from the scene.

Y/n hadn't spoken to Mori since the other night and was unsure of what to say to him now that she had returned. What if he's still mad at me? She thought. I know he sent people to find me, but what if he means to punish me in some way, or torture me? Or—

"And where do you think you're going?" Chuuya said, scowling at her. Mori raised an eyebrow at his executive's diverted attention.

Y/n whipped her head around with wide eyes. She shushed Chuuya and waved her hands at him to shut up.

Before Chuuya could respond to her ridiculous display, Y/n yanked his arm, pulling him away from the door frame, and covered his mouth with her hand. She crouched down in a whisper and said, "I'll visit him tomorrow. I need time to think, as I'm quite literally a mess right now. No one is giving me a break lately, so do something about this, will you?" She was like a whining child. Chuuya gave her a look of exhaustion.

He crouched down and said, "Is the princess really choosing right now of all times to act so stupidly pathetic? You just got your bloody ass beaten and shook it off without a care, but you're really going to lose your cool over this? Get a grip. He's probably just going to ask you about what happened, so get your ass in there already."

"And how do you know? He probably considers me a traitor for leaving."

"You'd be dead by now if that was the case. I'd personally see to it."

"But I still have blood in my hair," she said, pouting.

Chuuya rolled his eyes. "You've already been gone long enough as it is, so quit wasting my time, dammit," he said.

Y/n rushed to cover his mouth again, for fear of being overheard due to his loud voice, but tripped and fell on top of him instead. One of her arms accidentally slugged Chuuya in the throat, whereas one of his knees jabbed her in the gut as they both fell. They were both groaning in pain and cursing each other out when Mori decided to walk out to see what all the commotion was.

"Leave us," Mori said to Chuuya with a dead-eyed smile. Chuuya looked like a shaken Chihuahua as he felt a chill go up his spine.

After Y/n and Chuuya exchanged glares with each other, the latter got up and left while rubbing his neck with a grimacing face.

However, Y/n still remained seated on the floor. She didn't even want to look Mori in the eyes. She knew that it was disgraceful to act this way in front of the boss, but she couldn't seem to prop her legs up when he was already standing so close to her.

Mori stared at Y/n for about ten seconds without saying a word. His hands were folded behind in his dark coat and his silence made her even more nervous.

"Y/n," he said in a prompting tone, walking back into his office.

Y/n bit her lip harshly and stood up, following him like a guilty dog that just returned after running out the front door when their master wasn't looking. Mori approached the large window in his office, but did not sit back down. He simply stood gazing down at the city for a couple of minutes as Y/n's heart raced quicker with every passing moment of silence. Just rip the bandage off already, she thought as her facial muscles tensed. Y/n couldn't wait any longer in agony, so she decided to make the first move.