..
But what does it matter?
"What does it matter? I have already kissed you." *
Matsuda Jinpei forgot what reaction he made after hearing those words. His body and mind both felt light and airy; the hands of Kisaragi Chiyo that had been resting on his shoulders lifted, instead gently cupping his face.
The raven-haired young man tilted his face upward. His heterochromatic eyes were like those of an aquatic creature, covered in a thin, shimmering halo and a moist luster. His well-shaped lips parted and closed, the sweet, soft tongue hidden between them made Matsuda think of a breathing oyster.
"Teacher." Kisaragi Chiyo smiled, his nose brushing against the other's, his teal eyes filled with nothing but his own reflection. He deliberately used that title at this moment, admitting that he harbored a desire for Matsuda Jinpei himself.
But he was not a demon tempting others to fall; he was merely a greedy human with ulterior motives, wanting every single one of them.
“Do you want to test out my practical results?”
As Kisaragi Chiyo spoke, she pressed her lips against Matsuda Jinpei. He was in no hurry to begin, merely rubbing against her with gentle, small movements, feeling her breath suddenly grow heavy.
A tongue probed through the parting of their lips, Matsuda Jinpei cooperated by opening his mouth. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling their chests tightly together, as a searing heat spread along with the ambiguous sounds of moisture.
"Mmm.. how do you feel?" Kisaragi Chiyo pulled back from the kiss, her teal eyes shining with an almost frightening intensity as she stared straight at him, a familiar and burning flame dancing within them.
"Not bad at all." Matsuda Jinpei chuckled deeply, raising his hand to gently brush the corner of Kisaragi Chiyo's eye, which was tinted with a different hue from her arousal.
"Actually, I'm still a little curious about something," the words, intentionally left unfinished, successfully caught the young man's attention.
“Curious about what?” Kisaragi Chiyo's breathing quickened slightly. Regrettably, he still hadn't fully learned how to breathe better through his nose while kissing.
Curious about what it would have been like if you were conscious that night?
As soon as the words left his mouth, Kisaragi Chiyo was caught by the waist by Matsuda Jinpei and pressed stumbling against the glass window.
A dull pain radiated from her shoulder blades as they struck the hard glass, but before her brain could even fully process the sensation, it was immediately replaced by a chilling sensation creeping up her spine.
Matsuda Jinpei kissed him almost impatiently, as if all his patience had been exhausted just moments ago, his movements rough and forceful as he cracked open the oyster shell to reveal its soft, delicate interior.
Gasps and soft moans were stifled, forced back down. Lips and tongues were stirred, the air in her mouth was constantly being snatched away, which even gave Kisaragi Chiyo a sensation of suffocation, as if she were drowning.
And in this drowning accompanied by pleasure, the only driftwood Kisaragi Chiyo could cling to was Matsuda Jinpei, yet this man was also the primary culprit who had brought him into this state of suffocation.
Kisaragi Chiyo's hands rested feebly on Matsuda Jinpei's shoulders, her eyes half-lidded and her gaze somewhat unfocused. She could feel Matsuda Jinpei's hands already slipping inside her pajamas, moving nimbly around her waist.
This feeling was deeper and more sensitive than that night.
“Enough, Matsuda..” Kisaragi Chiyo panted, leaning his full body weight against the glass window behind him. Those hands continued to linger, the pads of the fingers rubbing against a patch of skin on his lower back; every stroke sent a tingling, numbing itch racing up his spine, causing Kisaragi Chiyo to involuntarily tense his body.
"Is that all?" Matsuda Jinpei stopped his movements, looking at Kisaragi Chiyo with a half-smile, half-smirk. His deep teal eyes held a profound, more explicit lust, but it was being temporarily suppressed, with no intention of being fully released just yet.
"With your level of sensitivity.. if it were like that, you'd probably just faint immediately, wouldn't you?" The curly-haired man spoke with an ambiguous tone, saying words that felt quite dangerous.
"What?" Kisaragi Chiyo blinked in confusion, unable to understand for a moment which aspect Matsuda Jinpei was referring to.
"It's nothing." Matsuda Jinpei gave a light chuckle, leaned in closer, planted a kiss at the corner of Kisaragi Chiyo's eye.
"That's a very suspicious answer." Kisaragi Chiyo narrowed her eyes, scanning the expression on Matsuda Jinpei's face with a skeptical gaze. Unfortunately, she failed to find any valid evidence that could convict him.
"You called me over for something else, didn't you?" Matsuda Jinpei let out a short, mocking laugh, a hint of amusement flickering across his face. The corners of his mouth curled upward, his expression honest and straightforward.
But the hand hidden beneath Kisaragi Chiyo's clothes moved up from the young man's waist, stroking inch by inch along his spine, its movements as meticulous and earnest as a scholar studying human bone structure.
But this seriousness made Kisaragi Chiyo's entire body tremble uncontrollably.
"Stop touching me," Kisaragi Chiyo whispered to stop him, resting her forehead against Matsuda Jinpei's shoulder. The clothing at her waist was pulled up, the contact of her skin with the cool air made Kisaragi Chiyo subconsciously shrink into the man's embrace.
"It tickles," Kisaragi Chiyo complained.
"You shouldn't be feeling very well, then?" Matsuda Jinpei's movements did not stop because of Kisaragi Chiyo's words, his other hand was not idle either, tracing ambiguous circles on the young man's chest.
".. I am not." A very soft murmur, which would have been missed entirely if Matsuda Jinpei's attention hadn't been focused entirely on the other person right now.
“Really?” Matsuda Jinpei's grip tightened slightly.
Kisaragi Chiyo couldn't help but let out a muffled groan. His shoulders hunched as he tried to shrink away, wanting to escape backward, but he was held firmly by Matsuda Jinpei's hands from both the front and the back.
"Don't squeeze me like that." A crimson flush rose to Kisaragi Chiyo's cheeks as he lowered his eyes, averting his gaze elsewhere, unwilling to meet Matsuda Jinpei's eyes.
"Sorry." Matsuda Jinpei nuzzled the young man's cheek with the tip of his nose, a kiss landed casually on his earlobe.
"You bastard.." Kisaragi Chiyo cursed him, but he made no move to resist or refuse. He lay completely limp under Matsuda Jinpei's caresses, his eyes half-closed.
“I do have other matters I need to discuss with you.”
“I'll be leaving for a while in a bit.” Matsuda Jinpei's movements stopped at those words.
“Leaving for a while?” Matsuda Jinpei repeated. He quickly realized the meaning behind Kisaragi Chiyo's words.
"You aren't planning on taking anyone?" Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow.
There are some things.." Kisaragi Chiyo answered vaguely, "It wouldn't be convenient to bring you all along.
It's inconvenient to bring us?" Matsuda Jinpei continued to ask calmly, "Are you going to see someone?
"I am indeed going to see someone; I need his help with some matters." Kisaragi Chiyo buried her face in Matsuda Jinpei's shoulder.
It won't be dangerous. We have frequent business dealings, besides..
And?
Perhaps.. we will soon find a way to restore Hara's memory.
-----------------------
Author's Note: *Your lips are bitter,
Is it the taste of blood?
Perhaps it is the taste of love,
Because people say love is also bitter.
They say that love is bitter..
But what does it matter?
What does it matter? I have already kissed you. — Oscar Wilde's "Salome" Thank you, little angels, for your support, 030 muah to everyone
Chapter 71
The day Kisaragi Chiyo prepared to head out was a sunny one.
In the winter, patches of sunlight drifted over the edges of the houses and the pointed tops of the hemlock trees, scattering generously before the large glass windows, bathing everything in a warm glow.
Kisaragi Chiyo was wrapped in a thick black winter haori, with a mouse-gray turtleneck sweater underneath. A soft, neatly arranged white wool scarf was draped over his shoulders, a silver tassel earring hung from his raven-colored hair, swaying slightly as he tilted his head.
“Hara..” Kisaragi Chiyo let out a soft sigh, a hint of helplessness appearing on his face.
He looked at the Bernese Mountain Dog, which was gazing at him pitifully; its fluffy fur looked soft and silky in the sunlight, its moist purple eyes held a heart-wrenching expression.
The puppy just stared at him like that, without saying a word, making Kisaragi Chiyo feel for a moment as if he were some heinous criminal.
I'm only leaving for a few days," he tried to comfort the other, "I'll be back very soon, very soon.
Despite Kisaragi Chiyo saying this, the stubborn Bernese Mountain Dog remained unmoved. He just stared intently at Kisaragi Chiyo, his tail pressed against the ground occasionally thumping softly, making a sound of reluctance.
Matsuda Jinpei stood to one side with his arms crossed, watching the spectacle.
He had a casual and relaxed posture, with a pair of cat ears poking out from amidst his curly hair. A long, flexible tail hung behind him, its tip twitching slightly, as if he had no intention of helping Kisaragi Chiyo, even though he had long known that Kisaragi Chiyo would be leaving soon.
“Can't you really take me with you?” The Bernese Mountain Dog looked at the heartless human with pleading eyes, letting out a whimpering sound of grievance.
"Sorry, I can't." Kisaragi Chiyo raised her hand, letting it rest with moderate pressure on the puppy's head.
I have some private matters to attend to, but I won't forget to bring you a souvenir when I return.
".." The Bernese Mountain Dog was silent for a moment. He rubbed his head against the other's palm, his moist nose lightly touching the young man's fingertips through the glove, as if wanting to engrave the other's scent into his brain and memory.
"I will miss you." The Evil Spirit slowly closed his eyes and then opened them again, his dark purple eyes looking down at Kisaragi Chiyo from above. His pale and handsome face carried a hint of melancholy, his gaze was lingering and profound, sweeping inch by inch across Kisaragi Chiyo's face.
"Don't forget what you said." The Evil Spirit in the shadows smiled as he looked at him, his eyelashes blinking slightly, a smile hanging on his lips that would send chills down one's spine even if he were standing in the sun.
"You should miss me, too." The words that escaped those thin lips were soft and slow, like an unfathomable mist, or a binding curse.
*
As Kisaragi Chiyo stepped off the swaying, sleep-inducing tram, those dark purple eyes from their parting moment still surfaced in his mind, causing him to rub his brow in a slight headache.
Well, the books aren't entirely wrong when they say dogs are more clingy than cats.
At the very least, he couldn't imagine what Matsuda Jinpei would look like if he were to look at him with such a pitiful expression.
But when this behavior was seen in Hara Kenji, it felt strangely natural, without the slightest hint of incongruity. Even though he was a towering man of one hundred and ninety centimeters, even as a puppy, he still weighed a full hundred jin.
Kisaragi Chiyo couldn't understand it; in the end, he could only attribute everything to Hara Kenji's clingy personality and that face of his, which occasionally made people uncontrollably lower their standards.
"I'm really regressing.." Kisaragi Chiyo sighed and patted his forehead. He dragged his suitcase, intending to head toward the reserved hotel, but after only a few steps, he stopped in his tracks.
Is it just my imagination?" Kisaragi Chiyo narrowed his eyes, looking suspiciously at the black suitcase in his hands, muttered to himself, "I feel like it's gotten a bit heavier than it was at the start.
"It's just an illusion, right?" Kisaragi Chiyo asked again, but there was no one else there to give her an answer.
In the end, he chose to cast the doubt aside. After arriving at the hotel where the room had been reserved and checking in, Kisaragi Chiyo stuffed the suitcase into the closet, closed the door, left alone.
About ten minutes after Kisaragi Chiyo left, the suitcase suddenly gave a slight, spontaneous shudder, as if something inside wanted to come out.
But a talisman covered in strange characters was pressed against the suitcase, locking it firmly in place. Following a muffled thud, the room returned to silence.
*
The Mechano Family's main residence was situated in a quiet and secluded location. After walking through a long corridor, Kisaragi Chiyo stopped in front of a Japanese-style room under the guidance of Ms. Nanase.
He reached out and slid open the shoji door, a gust of wind blew straight toward him from within. As it blew up the hair on his forehead, it also swirled the paper charms resting on the grass-green tatami mats inside the room.
The paper charms spun through the air like light birds following the wind's trajectory, before plummeting rapidly once they lost their support, eventually scattering all over the floor.
"What is this?" Kisaragi Chiyo bent down and casually picked up a paper talisman. The black characters on it quickly dissipated, like fish diving into water, in just a few short seconds, the talisman returned to being a plain white piece of paper.
It's just a little game for fun.
A long-haired young man, with hair that fell past his eyes and a paper talisman covering his right eye, rested his chin on one hand and looked with a smile at Kisaragi Chiyo as she entered from the door.
"You're finally here." The young black-haired man with crimson phoenix eyes pushed himself up from the tatami mat, bracing his hands against the table. Beside him lay a cat magazine, its pages dog-eared and only half-read.
And a nearly finished cream scone.
.." Kisaragi Chiyo fell silent for a moment. Only after he reached back to close the Japanese-style room's door did he reach out and tap the corner of his mouth, saying, "You have a bit of cake crumb here.