Chapter 30

Màu nền
Font chữ
Font size
Chiều cao dòng

WARNING: Minor swearing.
_____________________________________________

Hajime looked nothing short of pissed when Nagito asked him to go to Mikan and ask for a wheelchair.

"Don't even think about working," Hajime growled when Nagito requested for the chair.

"I need to. It's my job."

"You're injured, Komaeda."

"You're just trying to stay away from Tsumiki, aren't you?"

"Don't you dare change the topic."

"What do you expect me to do then? Take a day off?"

"Don't expect me to carry you, because I'm not. You're going to stay here and rest, whether you like it or not."

Nagito glared at Hajime, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, his back aching when he did so.

"Then I'll walk myself."

"Komaeda, what-"

The Grim Reaper was off the bed before Hajime could stop him (as if he could anyway), his legs shaking as he stood up.

His thighs screamed in pain when his muscles worked to support his legs. He ignored the pain, but his legs couldn't take the stress and Nagito collapsed on his knees.

He almost tipped over hadn't it been for Hajime, who caught him before he fell flat on his face.

"I can walk. Let go of me." Nagito lied in a futile attempt to reassure Hajime.

The brunet furrowed his brows, helping Nagito back onto the bed.

"'I can walk' my ass." Hajime snapped irritably, forcing the albino back under the covers. "You just collapsed. You want it to be like that night when you overworked yourself?"

Nagito gave Hajime the silent treatment, eyes glued to the brunet's while he clutched the sheets.

Hajime threw his arms up in exasperation.

"Oh, so that's how it's going to be? Fine then. Suit yourself. I'm not moving even if you forced me to."

He sat down in the chair next to Nagito's bed, annoyance radiating off his body like waves.

"No, Izuru. I will not get him a damn wheelchair."

Izuru? Who was Izuru again- Oh.

Nagito had momentarily forgotten that Hajime's brother was stuck inside his mind.

"Why? I'll tell you why. No, stop trying to reason with me. He's not going to work again with those injuries."

Hajime fell silent temporarily, his eyes closed.

"Fine. Fine, I'll do that. It's not my fault if I die by her hands- Take him-him with me? You insane? No, don't take that as a fricking compliment... Okay, okay, just shut up. I'll do it. If this fails, you'll be the one saving me, alright?"

Hajime stood up hastily, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at Nagito.

"Well guess what? I'm getting you a damn wheelchair. Yipee."

He walked to the door, briefly turning around before he left.

"Don't you dare stand up when I'm gone. I expect you to be in the exact same position when I get back, got it?"

Nagito stuck out his tongue childishly, blowing a raspberry at Hajime.

"Seriously, don't. I'll have to tie you to the bed if you do," he growled.

A smirk appeared on Nagito's lips, and he thought that it'd be fun if he teased the brunet just a little.

Wiggling his eyebrows, he grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"Kinky."

Hajime blinked twice in surprise before harshly slamming the door shut. Nagito started laughing, his stomach starting to cramp.

A muffled 'Shut up!' was heard behind the door.

Nagito laughed harder.

~

Nagito was reading a book when Hajime returned with the promised wheelchair.

"About time." Nagito sighed, closing the book.

"It took me five minutes to deal with Mikan. Five. Freaking. Minutes. Just because she kept peppering me with questions about you."

Nagito's heart jumped suddenly when Hajime said those words, a sign of his jealousy. He low-key favored the jealous side of Hajime's personality more than the others.

Hajime pushed the wheelchair toward Nagito and the boy attempted to lift himself off the bed to sit in the chair.

He struggled to avoid putting pressure on his wounds, but it was quite impossible when he was trying to get off the bed by himself.

Then, he was being lifted into the air and into the wheelchair by a pair of strong arms

"Hurry up, we haven't got all day," Hajime spoke blandly, pushing Nagito out the door.

"Where are we going?" Nagito inquired as Hajime walked through the corridors.

"Where do you think I'm going? I'm getting you a day off, you workaholic."

"I don't need a day off." Nagito shot back, trying to slow down the chair as they moved closer to the throne room.

To much of his dismay, Hajime left him sitting outside of the doors despite his protesting.

"Hajime! Get back here!" Nagito shouted after the brunet had entered the throne room. "HAJIME!"

The Grim Reaper groaned in defeat. He hated how stubborn Hajime could be when he put his mind to something. It was an admirable trait of his, but at times, his most annoying attribute.

The doors opened, and to his relief, Hajime was still in one piece when he dipped his head in a slight bow.

"Did she...?" Nagito asked in fear.

"Yes, she granted you permission for a day off after some persuading. You're welcome." Hajime deadpanned.

"But that's not what I wanted-"

"Deal with it. You're going to take it easy today."

"But-"

Before Nagito could protest any further, Hajime was already pushing him down the hall and to the cafeteria.

"Why are we here? It's barely eleven yet."

"You need to eat to regain your strength. You look like a cheese stick."

Nagito narrowed his eyes in amusement as Hajime picked out dishes of food.

"A cheese stick. Really?"

"Yes. A cheese stick. Now hurry up and eat your broccoli, cheese stick."

"Why is it always broccoli?"

"You have a problem with broccoli?"

"No-"

"Then eat your vegetables, kid."

Nagito almost tossed his knife at Hajime when he called him a child.

"I'm older than you."

Hajime shrugged nonchalantly, taking a bite out of his spring roll.

The dining hall was silent except for the occasional hums of the machinery inside the kitchen.

Out of the corner of his eye, while he was eating, Nagito noticed that Hajime kept flickering his eyes over to the cookery.

"You want something from the kitchen?" Nagito asked.

"No. Nothing. It's fine." Hajime returned his gaze to his plate.

"Perhaps... you want to cook something?"

Hajime went rigid.

Jackpot.

"So the most feared mafia leader in Japan has a hobby of cooking?" Nagito teased.

"I don't," Hajime replied with a tint of disappointment in his voice.

"I mean... I could borrow the kitchen for a day if you'd like."

Hajime's eyes brightened and Nagito had to resist the urge to smile at his apprentice's joy.

"Well? Come on. I'll ask for it now."

"You sure? I don't want it to be much of a hassle-"

"Hajime." Nagito lowered his voice. "It's fine. Plus, you said it was my day off. And this is what I want to do. So start pushing."

Hesitantly, Hajime began pushing Nagito to the kitchen doors.

"Hanamura!" Nagito bellowed. "Hanamura, where the hell are you?!"

A stumpy figure raced out from the office door, scrambling toward Nagito.

"Y-Yes, Komaeda?"

"Is the kitchen free today?"

"Ye-yes."

"It won't be a problem if we borrow it for a day, right?" Nagito raised an eyebrow at the chef, a translucent blade beginning to form in his hand.

"Yeah! It won't be a problem. Nope! Use it for as long as you'd like." TeruTeru replied nervously, sweat starting to form on his forehead.

"Thank you. You may go now."

The chef scurried away quietly, retreating back into his office.

"You're quite... intimidating." Hajime chuckled.

"What do you want to make?"

"... Kusamochi."

"Kusamochi? What ingredients do we need?"

"One cup of yomogi leaves, two cups of water, one and a half cups of sweet rice flour, one cup of sugar, half a teaspoon of salt, two to three drops of rice vinegar, half a can of sweet red bean paste, soybean flour, one fourth cup of potato starch, and sugar." Hajime recited with ease.

"Wow... you really know how to make kusamochis, don't you?"

"A friend taught me." Hajime smiled lightly.

"I'm pretty sure the kitchen has everything, so look around. It shouldn't be that hard to find."

Hajime rummaged through cupboards and dishwashers for the ingredients and materials. Finally, he gathered all the supplies needed, rolling up his sleeves.

"Here, I'll teach you how to make them." Hajime ran the yomogi leaves under water to wash them.

"First, we need to boil the leaves and let it sit there for a minute or two for it to wilt and cool. While we wait, we can scoop the red bean paste into balls."

Gently, Hajime took Nagito's hand in his, wrapping the albino's fingers around the cookie scooper as he demonstrated.

"Got it?"

Nagito nodded.

"Then, we put the water in with the yomogi leaves and blend them until smooth. After that, we strain out the juice and add the flour, vinegar, salt, and vinegar into the bowl. Then whisk it."

Hajime handed Nagito the whisk, instructing him to tilt the bowl slightly so that everything could be mixed more thoroughly. Nagito watched as Hajime placed the gooey substance into the microwave for ten minutes.

"Careful, it's hot," Hajime warned as Nagito sprinkled flour onto the cutting board.

Hajime expertly took the knife in his hands and pressed it against the dough, flattening it as he added more dusting powder. He proceeded to cut the green substance into twelve pieces.

"Try this. Just press the squares into circles with your thumbs. Like this." Hajime showed Nagito, forming a lopsided circle on the board.

Nagito followed suit, the dusting powder coating his fingertips.

"Now we add in the sweet stuff. Place the red bean paste in the middle then wrap the dough around it."

When finished, a small mountain sat on the cutting board.

"Uh... I think I did something wrong." Nagito crinkled his nose in distaste.

"Nah. Just sprinkled it with a little bit more dusting powder." Hajime molded the mochi in his hands. "There we go. Now you can do half while I take the rest."

The two worked relentlessly, molding and folding the dough into small mounds.

"Now for the last part." Hajime brushed off his hands on his pants. "Take the soybean flour and top it on the kusamochi."

The brunet took a pinch of the tan powder and spread it across the top of one of the sweet, gesturing for Nagito to do the same.

Suddenly, a thought shot through Nagito's mind, and he smiled devilishly.

He took a fist of the powder and hurled it at Hajime, hitting him square in the face.

Hajime gasped, brushing the powder off his face.

"You did not."

Nagito laughed, tossing a bit of sugar to top it all.

Hajime countered with a blow of his own, leaving Nagito sputtering as he attempted to wipe off the powder.

Soon enough, the kitchen became a war zone between the two boys, each throwing handfuls of flour at each other.

Nagito never left so overjoyed in his life, and for once, he let go of every troubling thought, every piece of stress that tied him to his job as a Grim Reaper. He let himself indulge in the bliss, to enjoy the moment.

Hajime and Nagito caught their breath again, running their hands through their hair to get rid of the flour.

Nagito wiped his face multiple times with the back of his hand, surely enough to get all the dust off.

"Is my face clean?" Hajime asked Nagito, readjusting his tie.

"Hm? You missed a spot here..." The Grim Reaper leaned in and brushed his lips against the corner of Hajime's mouth to get rid of the sugar.

Hastily, Nagito averted his eyes, about to turn his head away when Hajime leaned in a placed a tiny peck on his lips.

"You missed," he smirked.

Nagito's face went red, but he couldn't deny the fact that Hajime's lips were warm when they met his for a split second.

Surprisingly enough, he found himself craving more.

Screwing himself ten times over for what he was about to do, Nagito didn't think twice before he grabbed Hajime by the tie, yanking the male toward him.

Their lips connected, and this time, the kiss was longer, both returning the action. It was sloppy, teeth knocking against teeth, but the two still managed.

They didn't part until they ran out of breath, panting as they separated from each other.

Nagito blinked, stunned at his actions.

Oh, fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

He knew he was the Grim Reaper, a boy who had almost no emotions ever since he had been recruited by the Queen. He knew the consequences if Junko ever found out. He knew how much trouble he would get into.

Then... why?

Why did he kiss Hajime?
_____________________________________________

I gave up on the chapter after I wrote 'cheese stick'.

I think I was high on caffeine when I wrote that part or something.

My caffeine consumption rate has dramatically increased in the past two days since I needed to update.

eh

oh well

i give up on trying to english tonight

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen2U.Pro