Chapter 84: Still Sulking? (Bonus Chapter)
Cleaning up those thugs was child's play for Shingetsu; his military cap hadn't even budged an inch.
Once he stopped, the morbid expression from moments ago vanished, returning to his usual look—though his "normal" was far from typical, characterized by an icy, arrogant detachment. He habitually tugged the brim of his cap lower, looking down at the mangled thugs as if they were trash.
"I've spared your miserable lives. Be grateful," he said.
The thugs were in no condition to hear him. Between the severed hands and feet, they were on the verge of losing consciousness from the sheer agony.
Chiya stood nearby, still holding his two shopping bags. There wasn't a hint of pity in his eyes; xenophobic thugs like these deserved a brutal lesson. He considered the alternative: if it hadn't been him and Shingetsu standing there, but an ordinary foreigner—especially since these punks were armed with knives—the outcome would have been grim. In his mind, Shingetsu had done a fine job.
"Thanks," Chiya said, walking over to him.
Regardless of his status as a Devil Hunter, as a non-Soviet, getting into a fight in the USSR—right or wrong—would have been blown out of proportion. Being a foreigner and a Military Hunter were two "debuffs" stacked on top of each other; acting personally would have invited a mountain of paperwork and diplomatic headaches. By intervening, Shingetsu had not only vented Chiya's frustration but also shielded him from all the trouble.
Chiya wasn't afraid of trouble, but avoiding unnecessary drama was always the better option.
"..."
Shingetsu glanced at Chiya and then immediately looked away without saying a word. The memory of Chiya's interaction with Ian resurfaced, making that stifling feeling in his chest return. He decided it was definitely Chiya's fault for making him feel so uncomfortable, so he would simply ignore the guy.
"?"
Sensing the cold shoulder, Chiya was perplexed. Is he seriously still sulking about what happened earlier?
The Militsiya arrived on the scene shortly after. They initially approached with grim faces, ready to make arrests, but their attitude flipped the moment they saw Shingetsu's uniform.
"What exactly happened here?" they asked, their tone shifting to one of patient politeness.
Chiya produced his work ID first and gave a brief description of the encounter. Even without a uniform, he had his credentials from the Leningrad Military Department. Seeing that both individuals were Military Devil Hunters, the police allowed Chiya and Shingetsu to leave immediately.
The officers then focused on getting the thugs to a hospital to prevent them from bleeding out before they could be interrogated. Technically, Chiya and Shingetsu should have been taken in for questioning as well, but Military Hunters occupied a special legal status. The police had no authority to arrest them; unless a catastrophic incident occurred, any misconduct by Military Hunters was handled internally by the military.
And so, Chiya and Shingetsu headed back to the department without further incident. Shingetsu didn't speak the entire way, and Chiya had no interest in sucking up to someone who was acting like a block of ice. They walked in total silence.
As soon as Chiya returned to his dorm and put away his purchases from the mall, he received a notice from Director Lev. Both he and Shingetsu were summoned to the office to resolve the administrative fallout of today's "incident."
In the office, Director Lev showed no sign of wanting to blame them. Instead, he said with a smile, "Those thugs have already admitted to their identities and confessed that they were the ones who instigated the trouble. While there's technically some liability, the Military Department has taken the heat for it. You two don't have to take any responsibility."
To the Leningrad Military Department, this was a trivial matter. Military Devil Hunters were specialized assets responsible for hunting devils, while those thugs were merely societal dregs; their relative importance to the Soviet Union was worlds apart.
However, the primary reason it was handled so easily was that Shingetsu was the one who acted, not Otonashi Chiya. If Chiya, a foreigner, had been the one to strike, things would have been much more complicated. It likely would have led to visa issues, and the Military Department couldn't easily interfere with the Bureau of Migration; it would have required high-level military intervention.
Shingetsu was a different story. In fact, even Director Lev was a bit puzzled by how much leniency the high command showed him. Shingetsu had always been a "you dare touch me, I dare kill you" type, and he had caused plenty of trouble in the past. His delicate looks often attracted thugs or creeps, whom he would then promptly slaughter. Yet, every time, Shingetsu escaped punishment. The high command's stance was to protect him at all costs, so a mere Director like Lev wouldn't dare do anything.
"By the way, your custom-made military uniform is almost finished. Someone will deliver it to you today," Director Lev told Chiya.
"Understood," Chiya nodded.
"Well then, you two can head back. There's nothing else. If you run into this kind of situation again in the future, try to let Shingetsu handle the physical part," Lev reminded them.
It was better to avoid trouble whenever possible. If anything happened to Chiya, Lev feared the higher-ups would place the blame on his head.
Shingetsu remained silent throughout the entire meeting and didn't say a single word to Chiya even as they left. Chiya sighed internally; Is this guy really that petty? Is he still angry at me?
In reality, Shingetsu simply didn't want to experience that stifling, uncomfortable feeling in his chest again, so he opted to ignore Chiya as much as possible. Aside from the time Chiya broke his arm, Shingetsu hadn't felt pain in a very long time. This internal "tightness" was a sensation he found deeply unsettling.
Next, Chiya planned to visit the recreation center to have some tea and a snack. As luck would have it, Shingetsu had the same idea—he wanted to relax and vent his frustration.
They were headed the same way the entire time. Chiya found it strange but had no desire to force a conversation with someone acting so cold. Shingetsu was also bothered by it but tried his best to maintain his "ignore Chiya" policy. It wasn't until they both walked into the recreation center that the situation became clear.
"Since you two are partners, please use the same private lounge," the attendant said, handing Chiya and Shingetsu two magnetic keycards with the same room number.
Each private lounge was equipped with various amenities for food, drink, and entertainment, specifically designed for Military Devil Hunters to unwind. Chiya and Shingetsu had no choice but to enter the same room.
Neither spoke. They each did their own thing, making the atmosphere incredibly awkward.
"Still sulking?" Chiya finally couldn't take it anymore and spoke up, since he was under the impression Shingetsu was just stewing in anger.
AN-
I told yall this already,but tell me how Chiya's supposed to look like
This is top priority
Please
Use existing anime characters as reference
The most liked one gets the official image
Enjoyyyy