Himari Azuma sat at her desk, her foot tapping against the wooden floor in frustration. Her cheeks were flushed, and her fingers twitched slightly as she struggled to focus on the reports in front of her. But no matter how hard she tried, her thoughts kept drifting elsewhere—toward him.

Yuuki Wakura.

She scowled, shaking her head violently. "No, no, no! Get out of my head!" she whispered fiercely to herself, slamming her hands against the desk.

It was beyond humiliating. For some inexplicable reason, she had started having thoughts about that lowly, lewd man. Not just normal thoughts—lewd ones.

The way his uniform fit snugly against his toned arms… The way he was always so eager to serve, his loyalty unwavering… How he carried himself with a quiet confidence despite his position…

And worst of all, the way his hands moved so fluidly during combat, gripping his weapon firmly yet skillfully, his muscles subtly flexing—

"UGGGH!"

Himari buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking. What the hell am I thinking?! This was Yuuki! That pathetic pervert! A lowly, degenerate man!

"This is all his fault," she muttered darkly. "Always being so... so weirdly competent. And polite. And looking like that!"

"Looking like what?"

Himari's body went rigid. Slowly, she turned her head to find Yuuki Wakura standing in the doorway, looking at her with a curious expression.

Her face instantly went beet red.

"L-Looking like a disgusting lewd man, obviously!" she snapped, standing up abruptly. "What the hell are you doing eavesdropping, you creep?!"

Yuuki blinked. "I wasn't eavesdropping. I just got here."

"Liar!"

Before Yuuki could defend himself, a calm yet authoritative voice interrupted.

"Himari. Yuuki."

Both turned to see Kyouka Uzen, standing with her arms crossed, her piercing gaze locked onto them.

Himari immediately straightened up, clearing her throat. "Y-Yes, Captain?"

"I have an errand for you both," Kyouka stated. "You will be heading to the southern district to pick up an important supply package for the Anti-Demon Corps. The location is already set, so I expect you to complete this efficiently."

Himari felt her stomach drop.

"Both of us? Together?" she asked hesitantly.

Kyouka gave her an unimpressed look. "Yes. Is there a problem?"

A very big problem. A humiliating problem.

Himari clenched her fists. Go on an errand... alone with Yuuki? Right after she had been having those kinds of thoughts about him? Absolutely not!

She shot a glare at Yuuki, who merely stood there with his usual composed demeanor. Of course, he'd be fine with this. He's probably enjoying my suffering, that perverted lowly man.

Himari forced a stiff smile. "W-Wouldn't it be better if I went alone, Captain? I mean, I'm perfectly capable of handling something like this on my own—"

"No," Kyouka interrupted firmly. "This task requires two people to carry the supplies. I trust that won't be an issue."

Himari felt like screaming. Of course it's an issue!

Yuuki, completely oblivious to her turmoil, simply nodded. "Understood, Captain. We'll get it done."

Himari wanted to punch him. Instead, she swallowed her pride and forced herself to nod.

"...Fine."

Kyouka gave a satisfied nod. "Good. Then get going. And don't get distracted."

As Kyouka walked away, Himari turned to Yuuki, her face still red as she jabbed a finger at him.

"Listen, you lowly lewd man! Stay away from me during this errand, got it?! I don't want any of your disgusting perverted thoughts tainting my mission!"

Yuuki tilted his head. "I wasn't planning on doing anything weird in the first place..."

"Liar!"

Himari stormed ahead, her boots clicking against the pavement as she led the way toward the southern district. Every step she took was filled with irritation—mostly directed at herself.

Her mind was still betraying her. Despite her best efforts, she kept thinking about Yuuki in ways she absolutely did not want to.

She peeked over her shoulder at him. He was walking calmly behind her, hands in his pockets, looking completely at ease.

Why does he look so relaxed?! she fumed internally. Doesn't he realize how much of a lowly, lewd man he is?!

"Oi," she snapped, trying to distract herself. "You better not slow me down, Wakura!"

Yuuki raised an eyebrow. "We're just picking up supplies. I doubt this will be that difficult."

"Tch! That's what weak, perverted men like you say before they mess everything up!"

Yuuki let out a small sigh. "I don't get how I'm the perverted one when you're the one constantly bringing it up."

Himari nearly choked on air. "S-Shut up!"

She turned her head forward again, her cheeks burning. Damn him! That's not fair! I only keep thinking about it because... because—!

She had no excuse. No way to justify it. And that made her even angrier.

The two continued walking in awkward silence, with Himari doing her best to ignore the occasional glance she threw in Yuuki's direction.

She was absolutely NOT looking at him to admire his form.

Absolutely NOT!

After several minutes, they arrived at the supply point, a warehouse located at the outskirts of the southern district. An older man was waiting for them, sitting on a crate while smoking a cigarette.

"Ah, the Anti-Demon Corps. 'Bout time you showed up," the man said, standing up and stretching. "Your package is right inside. Be careful with it—stuff inside is fragile."

Himari nodded, still keeping her glare locked onto Yuuki. "See that, Wakura? No funny business. You better not drop anything!"

Yuuki crossed his arms. "I wouldn't drop anything even if you didn't tell me that."

"Hmph! I don't trust you."

Yuuki simply shook his head and walked into the warehouse to retrieve the package.

Himari stood outside, arms crossed, waiting impatiently.

This is fine, she told herself. Just a simple errand. No reason to think about anything weird. Just get the supplies and go back—

Her thoughts were abruptly cut off by the sound of an explosion.

BOOM!

Dust and debris flew into the air as the ground trembled. Himari's eyes widened as she instinctively reached for her sword.

"What the hell?!"

Before she could react, several figures emerged from the thick cloud of smoke—Demonized humans.

Their twisted forms and glowing eyes confirmed it instantly. These weren't normal people. They had been corrupted by Shūki energy.

Himari clicked her tongue. "Tch! Of course something had to go wrong!"

One of the demonized figures snarled and lunged at her. In a flash, Himari unsheathed her sword and slashed, cutting the creature down with a single swing.

Yuuki dashed out of the warehouse carrying the supply box under one arm, his expression tense. "Himari! We've got company!"

"Yeah, no kidding!" she snapped, slashing another demonized enemy that tried to get too close. "You better not drop that package, Wakura!"

"I won't!" Yuuki replied, sidestepping an incoming attack.

More enemies rushed at them. Himari's blade danced through the air as she cut down one after another, her movements quick and precise. Yuuki, despite carrying the package, still managed to dodge and counterattack, landing well-placed kicks to knock back their foes.

As they fought, Himari couldn't help but notice—Yuuki looked kinda cool.

The way he moved, his quick reflexes, his calm focus amidst the chaos—

Himari's face turned red again. Damn it! Not now!

She gritted her teeth, shaking off her thoughts, and focused on slicing through the remaining enemies.

Within minutes, the last demonized creature fell, dissolving into black mist. The battlefield went silent.

Himari exhaled sharply, wiping sweat from her brow. "Hmph! That wasn't even a warm-up."

Yuuki adjusted his grip on the supply box. "We should get moving before more show up."

Himari crossed her arms, still flustered. "Hmph! Just don't screw up!"

Yuuki smirked slightly. "I won't."

Himari stomped ahead, arms crossed, her expression set in a deep scowl. She refused to look at Yuuki as they walked back to headquarters.

The errand had been a disaster—not because of the demonized enemies, but because she kept thinking about Yuuki in a way that made her want to scream.

Her mind betrayed her the entire time.

Every time he dodged an attack? She noticed.
Every time he stood his ground? She noticed.
And worst of all—when they fought together, she actually thought… they made a good team.

It was unbearable.

By the time they reached Kyouka Uzen's office, Himari had already made up her mind.

She was never doing another errand with Yuuki again.

Kyouka was at her desk, going through documents when they entered. She looked up, her sharp eyes immediately scanning the two of them.

"You're back. Any issues?" she asked, setting her papers aside.

Yuuki gave a polite nod. "We retrieved the package, but we ran into demonized enemies on the way back. We handled them without issue."

Himari snorted. "Tch. I handled them. He was just running around carrying the damn box."

Yuuki sighed, adjusting the supply package he had carefully protected. "I was literally fighting and carrying this at the same time."

"Sure you were," Himari said, turning her nose up.

Kyouka arched an eyebrow at their bickering but didn't comment. Instead, she reached for the package. "Good work. I'll check the contents later. Since you both handled the situation, I assume you'll have no issue going on another errand together in the future."

Himari's eyes widened in horror.

"Absolutely not!" she shouted, taking a step back. "No way! I refuse to go on another errand with this lowly lewd man!"

Yuuki blinked in surprise, frowning slightly. "…Did I do something wrong?"

"You exist," Himari snapped.

Kyouka gave her a flat look. "Himari. Be serious."

"I am serious!" she insisted. "I refuse! I won't go on another errand with him! He's… he's just—he's unbearable!"

Yuuki's frown deepened, a mix of confusion and irritation flashing across his face. "I did all my tasks without complaint. If anything, you were the one getting distracted."

Himari's face turned red. "I—I was not distracted!"

Yuuki stared at her. "You kept glaring at me the entire time."

"I was making sure you didn't screw up!"

"You were blushing," he countered.

Himari nearly choked. "I was not!"

Kyouka exhaled and rubbed her temples. "Enough. Himari, your personal complaints don't change the fact that Wakura performed well. Your refusal is noted, but unless I see a valid reason, you will be assigned with him again if necessary."

Himari's jaw dropped. "Wh—b-but—!"

"Understood," Yuuki said, nodding calmly.

Himari clenched her fists, steam practically rising from her head as her mind screamed, No, no, no, no, NO!

Kyouka gave them both one final glance before waving a hand. "That's all. You're both dismissed."

Himari stomped out of the room with her face still burning, absolutely furious at the thought of being paired with Yuuki again.

And what made it even worse?

Yuuki still looked annoyingly cool as he walked away.

Damn him.