"Aki-kun, don't go too far. You have to look at the owner before beating a dog."
"It's fine. Arata said Makima is meant to be beaten. A Makima that hasn't been beaten isn't a good dog."
"Hearing you say that makes me want to try it too," Himeno laughed.
The two of them proceeded to kick Makima in the stomach several times until she could no longer resist. Then, they forcibly dragged her all the way back to her house.
Arata was currently sitting on his sofa watching TV, the front door left open. Aki Hayakawa dragged Makima inside. "Excuse the intrusion, we're here to deliver a dog."
"That was fast. I put up those lost dog posters less than half an hour ago."
"We happened to find her right at Division 4 headquarters, so we brought her back for you."
"Though Aki and I did beat Miss Makima up a bit," Himeno said apologetically.
"It's fine. It's not like you guys can kill her anyway." Arata stood up and handed them two beautifully wrapped boxes. "Thanks for the hard work, this is your reward."
"Thank you. If Makima goes missing again, just contact us. Aki-kun and I will definitely do our best to help you."
After seeing the two off, Arata closed the door and sat back down on the sofa. Makima sat off to the side, glaring at him.
"What exactly is going on? I didn't attack you, so why was I still pulled into the dream realm?!"
"You want to know?" Arata smiled, though his eyes never left the movie playing on the TV.
"When exactly did I enter the dream realm?" Makima pressed again.
"If you want to know, down this bowl of dog food on the table and I'll tell you." Arata pushed the dog bowl from the center of the table over to the edge.
"Impossible!!" Makima yelled. The moment she ate it, she would undoubtedly be admitting to the fact that she was a dog.
"I can tell you right now, eating this bowl of dog food is the only way you're getting out of this dream realm. If you want to stay in here forever, you can keep refusing." With that, Arata stood up.
The surrounding environment instantly underwent a drastic change. Everything went pitch black. A single streetlamp flickered on. Under the light of the streetlamp, Makima was locked inside a square cage. A bowl of dog food soaked in milk sat just inches away.
.....
After dealing with Makima, Arata headed back to Division 4. To celebrate his return, everyone in Division 4 had arranged to go out for hot pot.
They arrived at a place called Fuji Hot Pot. Arata pushed open the door and walked inside.
"Arata's here! Kobeni, hurry and tell the waiter to bring out the food." Kobeni nodded and immediately scurried away from the table.
"Sorry I'm late." Arata smiled, sitting down in the empty seat they had specifically saved for him.
"Where did you go, Arata?"
"I went to grab the gifts for everyone. They're all local specialties I brought back from China."
"Looks like Arata-kun didn't forget about us in Division 4 while he was away," Himeno laughed, immediately downing a glass of alcohol in a good mood.
"Just give Denji's gift to the Great Power! Denji just said he didn't want it!"
"Power, stop sprouting bullshit!!" Denji roared.
"Do I get one too?!" Beam yelled.
"No gifts for the rookies. When I came back, I didn't know Division 4 had new members. If you absolutely want a gift, I can give you an octopus named Timothy. That guy really understands men, I'm sure you'll love him."
"Thank you, Master Arata!"
"Hey, don't just call him that! Arata is my master, not yours," Denji corrected.
"I don't know what else to call him, so I just followed Lord Chainsaw's lead," Beam said, scratching his head.
"Beam, you can just call Arata 'senior'," Himeno said.
"Hurry up and give the Great Power my gift!" Power stood up and shoved both hands right in Arata's face.
Arata summoned a mirror, reached his hand inside, and started rummaging around. Everyone eagerly awaited their presents, but Kana Okura was solely focused on the mirror Arata just summoned, silently jotting it down in her mental notebook.
"First gift goes to Denji, my apprentice." Arata handed a beautifully wrapped box to Denji.
"Thanks, Master!" Denji grinned from ear to ear as he took the gift. "Master, can I open it?" "Of course."
Denji quickly tore open the packaging. Inside was a shirt with the character for 'Dragon' embroidered on the chest, along with a matching pair of pants.
"This is an outfit given to me by China's most famous actor, Jackie Chan. I asked him for an extra one. From now on, you and your master can wear matching master-and-apprentice outfits."
"This is way too cool!!" Denji examined it from top to bottom, absolutely refusing to put it down.
"And this is a gift for senior Himeno." Arata handed Himeno a relatively large square box.
"Thanks, Arata." Himeno couldn't wait to open it. Inside was a beautifully crafted mahogany makeup box. The box contained a peach-wood comb, a mirror, hairpins, and a phoenix-ornamented hairpin, among other things.
"Ever since I joined Public Safety, this is the first time a guy has given me such a beautiful present." Himeno's voice carried a slight choke; she was genuinely moved by the gesture.
Back in her school days, Himeno was, at the very least, the class beauty. Plenty of boys chased after her back then. The gifts she received every week could stuff a backpack to the brim.
But as she grew older, the story of her life took a completely different turn. Her parents were killed by devils, leading Himeno to abandon her original career path and join the Public Safety Devil Hunters.
Ever since she became a Devil Hunter, things like romance, surprises, gifts, and dates gradually vanished from her life. Every single day consisted of killing devils, training, and dealing with extreme psychological stress.
It wasn't until she met Aki Hayakawa that the thought of falling in love with someone slowly sprouted in her heart again. It even got to the point where Himeno wanted to quit being a Devil Hunter entirely and move to the countryside to live with Aki.
"Senior Himeno, I gave you a gift to make you happy, don't start crying on me."
"What are you talking about? I didn't even cry when my last partner died," Himeno forced back her tears and smiled.
"Master." Just then, Kobeni returned to the table. Arata handed the next gift to her.
"What's this?" Kobeni was still a little confused. "It's a gift your master brought back from China." "A gift!! Thank you, Master." Kobeni hurriedly held out both hands and bowed deeply as she received the present.
She then sat down and quickly stowed it away, not opening it on the spot like everyone else. The gift box actually contained hair clips.
"Aki, this is your gift." "Thank you." Aki took the gift, not planning to open it in public either. But after being relentlessly urged by Himeno, he had no choice but to unwrap it.
It was a pair of fingerless tactical gloves with the character for 'Dragon' engraved on the back of the hand. "These are tactical gloves. They don't just protect your hands; they'll also give you a much firmer grip on your sword hilt."
"Thank you, I really like them." Aki immediately put them on to test the fit. He was highly satisfied with the result and genuinely happy.
"You're way too thoughtful, Arata, actually buying Aki-kun gloves."
"Arata, where's mine!!!" Power screeched. "Don't rush, you're up next."
Arata pulled out a rectangular box and handed it to Power. "This is the most substantial gift of them all."
Power took the gift and weighed it in her hands a couple of times, then immediately started showing off. "Do you see that? This is what you call a gap in status! The gift Arata gave the Great Power is the heaviest of all! I really am Arata's favorite person!"
Power gleefully tore open the packaging, but the item inside nearly made Himeno spit out her drink in laughter.
Worried that Power wouldn't know what the gift actually was, Arata hurriedly explained, "This is a solid brick I brought back from China. It has immense lethal power in a street fight. It's especially suited for Power to use as a long-range throwing weapon."
Want to read more??
Checkout my P@treon: AfrikaanPolarBear Here you can read 50 chapters ahead everyone and also support this fic. Consider subscribing as it'll motivate me and also help this fic.
: )
Thanks you!!!