"Alright, you can move now." Himeno smiled, releasing her ghostly control over Kana Okura. When she turned her head, the corpses of the Cockroach Devil and Bat Devil had already completely vanished. Although she didn't see what happened, Kana was absolutely certain that Arata harbored a massive secret regarding devil corpses. "Why are you spacing out? What's on your mind?" Himeno patted Kana's shoulder. "N-Nothing. Senior Himeno, we can head back now, right?" "Of course."
After dealing with the corpses, the four of them got into the car. Sitting in the passenger seat, Himeno suddenly remembered something Makima had told her. "Arata, before you came back, Miss Makima said she was going to dismiss you. Looking back on it now, she must have been joking." "Dismiss me?" "Yeah, Miss Makima definitely said it. She also said we couldn't keep relying on our master's strength." "No wonder Makima wouldn't step into the office today. Turns out it was because of a guilty conscience." Sitting in the driver's seat, Arata pondered for a moment before switching the car to autopilot. "Senior Himeno, do you know where Makima lives?" "Of course I do. But Miss Makima probably isn't home right now." "That's fine. Just give me the address first. I need to have a proper chat with her later."
Following Himeno's directions, Arata found Makima's apartment. He then told Himeno and the others he had some business to attend to and had them head back first, while he entered Makima's home by himself. Inside, Makima's dogs didn't bark fiercely at the sight of a stranger intruding. Instead, they swarmed over and affectionately rubbed against Arata's legs. Arata picked up a small puppy and sat on the sofa to watch TV. After waiting a while, Makima still hadn't returned. Arata opened the fridge, found some ingredients, and cooked up two dishes. Just then, the front door opened. Makima walked in. The moment she saw a pair of men's shoes in the entryway, she immediately knew who had come. "Welcome back, Miss Makima. Come on over and eat, I made a portion for you too."
Seeing that she couldn't avoid him, Makima simply took off her shoes and sat on the sofa. Her dogs quickly gathered at her feet, happily licking her sock-clad feet. "Why did you suddenly decide to come to my house?" "Didn't I just get back from China? I brought a gift for Miss Makima. Since no one was home, I just let myself in to wait." "A gift?" "Yeah, open it and take a look." Arata pulled a beautifully wrapped gift box out from the Mirror Dimension and tossed it to Makima. Makima had no real interest in the gift, but she was rather curious about how Arata could pull objects directly out of a mirror.
"Hurry up and open it, you'll definitely love it," Arata said, turning around to bring over another plate of food. Unsure of what exactly Arata was plotting, Makima opened the present. Once she tore off the wrapping, she found a dog bowl inside with the name Makima written across it. "Well? Not a bad gift, right?" As he spoke, Arata poured dog food directly into the bowl right in front of her. Makima sat frozen on the sofa, holding the dog bowl. "What exactly are you trying to do?" She didn't look angry; her eyes were just deadlocked onto Arata.
"Himeno tells me you want to fire me?" "That's right. Starting tomorrow, you no longer need to come in to work. I'm doing this to lessen your burden, I'm not targeting you. Plus, your salary will still be deposited into your account." "I never realized Makima was so considerate of others." Arata pinched Makima's chin between two fingers, then slid his hand up to forcefully squeeze her cheek. Makima had already witnessed the horrors of Arata's Second Layer Dream Realm, so she had absolutely no intention of making a physical move against him. "Let's eat." With that, Arata sat back down on the sofa.
Makima placed the dog bowl down on the floor. Her dogs immediately swarmed around it to eat. "Why are you sharing your food with the other dogs?" "I am not a dog, so I do not eat that," Makima stated with absolute certainty. "Looks like our previous training sessions didn't yield any results." "Arata, save those old tricks of yours. As long as I don't do anything to you, you have no way to pull me into your Dream Realm. I, on the other hand, can easily have someone else kill you." Makima seemed to have already figured out a counter-strategy. She just hadn't expected Arata to suddenly show up at her house. For now, she wouldn't attack him, ensuring he couldn't drag her into a dream.
"If you don't want to be a dog, then why are you wearing a collar with your owner's name written on it around your neck?" Makima rapidly lowered her head to look at her neck. A collar with Arata's contact information was securely fastened around it. Shocked, she reached up to tear it off, only to find that the collar seemed to be embedded directly into her flesh. The very next second, she shot up from the sofa and bolted out the door. Arata didn't even bother chasing her. He just sat back leisurely on the couch.
Running out of her house and onto the street, Makima flagged down a taxi and rushed straight back to Division 4 headquarters. Spotting Himeno smoking by the entrance, she hurriedly ran over. "Miss Makima, why aren't you wearing any shoes?" "Have you seen Kana Okura?" "Kana Okura? I think she went home." "Went home? She went home before her shift even ended?" "Miss Makima, why aren't you with Arata right now?" Makima didn't answer. She walked back into her office alone.
She sat in silence for about ten minutes. Suddenly, the office door cracked open, and Aki Hayakawa poked his head inside. Seeing Makima, his expression instantly lit up with joy. "Miss Makima, you're actually here!!" "Aki-kun, what do you need me for?" "Makima, someone has been looking all over for you." The office door swung wide open. Aki was holding a golden retriever on a leash in one hand and a flyer in the other. "Who is looking for me?" Makima didn't pay much attention to why Aki was walking a dog until he placed the Lost Dog flyer on her desk. Her pupils instantly dilated. "Your owner, Arata, is looking for you. The streets are plastered with lost dog posters featuring your picture."
"Get lost!!!" Makima snapped in a fury and activated her powers against Aki. But the result was a chilling, absolute silence. Her abilities were completely gone. This proved she had already entered the Dream Realm. "When did this happen?! I didn't even touch him! How did I still get pulled into the Dream Realm?!" Makima froze completely. Her brain was entirely incapable of explaining how she had suddenly been dragged in. "Miss Makima, hurry up and go home. Your owner has been waiting for you for a long time." Aki grabbed Makima by the wrist. She tried to resist, but she was completely powerless to break free.
Right then, Himeno walked into the office holding a leash. "Need some help, Aki-kun?" "Perfect timing, Himeno. I was just about to take Miss Makima to go find her owner." "I saw the lost dog posters too. Miss Makima must have run away from home." As Himeno spoke, she approached and clipped the leash directly onto the collar around Makima's neck. "Time to go home, Miss Makima." Himeno yanked on the leash. Makima, stubbornly refusing to submit, tried to stand up and attack Himeno. But Aki ruthlessly kicked her to the floor. "Arata said that as long as you're disobedient, any of us have permission to train you." With that, Aki planted his foot heavily down onto Makima's stomach.
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