Lucilfer (ChrolloxReader)

Chapter 8

My body awoke slowly to the odd sensation of being crushed. I couldn't breathe properly, but I wasn't aware enough to know why yet. All I knew was my heartbeat was sounding louder and louder in my ears and my breaths were coming shorter and shorter. With a jolt, I tried to bolster my body to consciousness and sit up, but I found that I couldn't do that, either.

I began to panic just slightly, memories flashing through my mind of being strangled and choked as the horribly familiar feeling of hands around my neck became a physical reality.

Am I dreaming? I thought through my scrambled mind.

No, I definitely wasn't dreaming. The hands around my neck gripped tighter, the pads of the fingers digging into my skin and probably leaving bruises. My brows were scrunched and my eyes were closed, and as I regained control of my body, I frantically reached up to grab onto the arms of whoever was strangling me. Wildly, I pulled and struggled against the solid body over mine.

When I tried to move my legs, I realized they were trapped underneath the blanket because whoever was on top of me had a leg on either side of my body, keeping me tightly tucked.

It's a good thing my arms were outside the blanket.

My eyes flew open as airflow to my lungs was almost completely cut off. The face above me was obscured by the purple and black dots now appearing in front of my vision. I felt my struggles weaken, while the body above me never even moved.

Before I could lose hope though, I felt my aura flare up automatically, and I focused Nen into the hands around my neck. Surrounding them with thick, intense energy, I squeezed roughly, hoping to do some crushing. Then, I retracted it back, drawing in the strength from them. Slowly, but surely, they began to loosen, my Nen practically prying them away from my throat. I gasped viciously, gulping air back into my lungs while still trying to stay focused on pulling away the willpower in whoever's hands those were.

They released my neck almost immediately after I'd activated my Nen, sitting up over me calmly. There had been no worry or feverishness in the way they moved. My eyesight cleared a bit, and I screwed up my gaze, trying to make out a familiar face.

"Ch-Chrollo?" I choked, swallowing back a hacking cough.

With a heavy exhale, I fell back against the bed, splaying my arms out on either side of me and trying to make sense of the situation. I didn't like the way I felt, like I'd just been violated again or something. My instincts had gone into autopilot, and it was a surprise to me that I even remembered to activate my Nen—I'd been so trained to just take it. My Exorcist and Feeler abilities had always been blocked during times like that, and my brain always knew to shut off and wake back up when it was over.

I closed my eyes. I felt Chrollo on his knees, his legs still on either side of me and trapping my lower body underneath the blanket. Even though he'd just choked me and I had no idea why, there was something about it that made my cheeks flush. I furrowed my brows angrily, lifting my hands and smacking my face with them.

"What are you doing?!" I shouted, but it was slightly muffled underneath my palms. "Are you fucking dumb?"

I threw my hands out, looking through a furious, constricted gaze at him. He was kneeling upright, his arms crossed over his chest. I noticed that he was wearing a black v-neck t-shirt over the same black joggers from before. Hazy memories of our late night—or early morning—talk floated back through my mind.

Did he kiss me on the forehead before I fell asleep? I felt my face heat up, but I tried to disguise it as rage.

"That was a test," he remarked calmly, his stoic face unchanging, his velvet voice always smooth. "You passed, (Y/n)."