02. Blackmail:
That smirk of his only grew when she agreed to become the Devilbats' manager.
Hiruma Youichi always did just what he wanted to, just when he wanted to, just as he liked to do it. And with this firm resolve he conducted business, gained power and acclaim, and built an empire. It would have been surprising if he'd found love in any other way. Because of this:
She was never proposed to by him. No candlelit dinner, violins or bended knee. In the middle of July he bought her a white sundress and flew her to Hawaii. There must have been a service during the flight over the Pacific, because by the time they'd hit the beach she was his all over again, though this time it showed on paper.
She never received an engagement ring, because they'd never been engaged.
Only after she'd been hit on for the third time at a company dinner did she at last receive some small token from him. A gold band carried many words within its circular simplicity. One that, she quietly noted, was a pair with one fitting his own bony finger.
She'd never had to tell anyone that they were seeing each other, that they'd become an item or that they'd been wed; all of her closest friends just knew. Those who didn't simply assumed because, to anyone watching, it was quite obvious. The way he'd press his hand to the small of her back as they entered a room, lightly directing her toward the seat at his right hand. The way her eyes would soften at the corners because of it. It was hard to miss.
Anezaki Mamori took control of her little corner of the world with a mixture of chiding words and soft touches. "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" was a personal motto. It was in this manner that she had worked her way into the devil's heart.