Seduction--Hozuki x Reader (Hozuki no Reitetsu

Chapter 1

"W-what are you talking about? Me? Like Hozuki? He's just a friend!"

Enma tilted his head to the side. "Really? But you're always talking about him, and I see you together all the time!"

"Exactly. We're friends, and he's such a pain in the ass, who wouldn't talk about him?" She froze, expecting to feel Hozuki's malicious aura behind her. "Oh, no! What if he comes in? King Enma, what have you done?"

"He won't come in here," Karauri piped up as he walked into the throne room with an armful of papers. "He's outside watering the goldfish plants. It's gonna take him a while."

(Y/N) flinched. Dang it! There goes my chance to escape.

She turned back to Enma. Well, might as well be direct.

"No. I'm not going to have any part in this scheme of yours. If you're going to do this, find someone else."

She turned, and strode to the door.

"Wait, (Y/N)!" King Enma called after her. "At least consider it!"

"Fine, fine."

She ran into the hallway, heart racing. Even after all these thousands of years, telling someone off in any way that didn't involve a weapon was still difficult—even if it was King Enma, the biggest pushover in Jigoku.

Sighing, she decided to take a walk around the outside of the mansion before returning to the dorms.

Why me? I'm not a seductress. I worked in the Engineering Department before women were allowed to torture. Heck, I work in the Hell of Undying Suffering right now! No, it can't be that I'm a seductress...

Do I really look that in love with him?

As she turned a corner, she came face-to-face with the origin of her problems, watering his goldfish plants as promised.

"Good evening, Hozuki," she greeted him, putting on as good an air of nonchalance as was possible.

"Ah, Ms. (Y/N), good evening."

"You don't have to be so formal," she reminded him, coming to stand beside her friend on the steps.

"Right, I apologize. (Y/N)."

She pinched his cheek—something she was fairly certain she would have done under normal circumstances—and he swatted her hand away. She chuckled, glad for the sense of normalcy.

"Your crop's looking good this year," she observed, taking a step into the garden.

Hozuki nodded, setting his watering device on the ground. "Yes, though I have to say this one here is by far the best." He gestured to the one in front of him.

(Y/N) scurried over, and gasped.

"Wow! It's such a pretty shade of orange! You know, I always wished I could keep these things, but we aren't allowed to have gardens at the dormitory, and they won't exactly fit in my room, you know?"

"Is that so?" he muttered, wandering to the other side of the garden.

(Y/N) nodded, examining each plant individually.

"They're so big already!" she exclaimed. "I wonder if I could ride them...I could make a saddle. The only problem is whether the stem would hold my weight."

She bent over, prodding the stem until she felt someone tap her shoulder.

Letting out a squeak, she turned around, reaching for her club, but it was only Hozuki, holding a plucked goldfish in his hand.

"H-hozuki, what—"

"You said you wanted to keep them," he said in his usual grim voice, "so I picked one for you."

"A-ah," she stammered, taking the flower, "thank you..."

She didn't have the courage to tell him the plucked ones actually scared her with the way they gasped for air. However, despite her apprehension, her heart was beating even faster now, her face flushing a bright red.

What...what's wrong with me?

"Are you all right?" Hozuki asked, raising a hand to her forehead. "You look like you have a fever."

"I'm fine!" she insisted, standing so fast, she almost hit her head on his horn. "I probably just worked myself too hard today. I'll go back to the dorms right now and rest!"

Hozuki nodded, getting to his feet. "Very well. Please take care of yourself."

She backed away from him. "I will. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, (Y/N)."

She turned and ran, still clutching the goldfish flower in her hand.

Yes, that has to be it. I'm just overworked. That's it.

I am not falling in love with Hozuki!

Author's note: Hi! This is my first fanfiction, so if you have any advice, please leave it in the comments down below. Thanks!