So, it's the same person after all, right?
Kisaragi Chiyo rested her chin on one hand, thinking listlessly: He's already grown so much, he seems to be quite familiar with me? Since there's a way to contact him.. should I go ask him what exactly happened at Oboshima Shrine?
Just as Kisaragi Chiyo was feeling hesitant, a pair of cool hands suddenly reached from behind him and covered his eyes.
The eye covered by the blindfold didn't feel much, but the other one was in direct, intimate contact with the other's skin.
"Guess who I am?" The voice, intentionally lowered, the breath, both falling onto her ears and neck, made Kisaragi Chiyo instinctively try to struggle, but she was pulled backward by the other's strength, eventually leaning most of her upper body against a chest that carried a cold, faint fragrance.
"Wrong." Kisaragi Chiyo couldn't understand why an Evil Spirit that looked like a fully grown adult would suddenly want to play such a childish guessing game.
His hand instinctively reached out to the side, trying to find something to support his body.
Then, in the next second, Kisaragi Chiyo felt her hand being gripped by Matsuda Jinpei with a moderate amount of force.
"Be careful," Matsuda Jinpei reminded her.
He took Kisaragi Chiyo's hand, using a bit of strength to rescue the youth from Hara Kenji's clutches.
Kisaragi Chiyo shook her hair, which had been made a bit messy, temporarily set the culprit aside. Like a lop-eared rabbit grooming its ears, she began to meticulously tidy her hair.
"What kind of outfit is this?" Matsuda Jinpei looked at Hara Kenji from head to toe, feeling somewhat speechless, as the man clearly looked like he had spent a lot of time grooming himself. He belatedly realized what the other had been doing during the half hour he had spent in the bathroom.
"Let's go to the festival in a bit!" Hara Kenji's tone sounded somewhat excited. His long hair was tied into a ponytail at the back of his head with a wide pink hairband. Underneath his brown leather jacket, he wore a shirt of the same color as the hairband, on his lower half, he wore light-colored jeans with a slightly wide leg.
If one were to ignore his somewhat pale skin, he looked exactly like a vibrant college student, even though his outfit had absolutely nothing to do with the atmosphere of the festival.
Oh, wait.
Matsuda Jinpei realized belatedly that Hara Kenji was already quite young.
If that were the case..
"Little Jinpei, Little Jinpei?" Seeing Matsuda Jinpei fall into deep thought, Hara Kenji boredly waved his hand in front of his eyes. Only after those teal eyes finally focused did Hara Kenji stop his harassment with satisfaction.
What are you thinking about? Why do you have such a bitter and vengeful expression on your face?
"I am thinking.." Matsuda Jinpei raised his eyes, his gaze slowly settling on Hara Kenji's face.
You should be calling me Brother Matsuda by now.
Hara Kenji: "?"
"I don't want to!" Hara Kenji's body leaned back, showing complete resistance.
"Even Chiyo-chan has never called me Brother Hara!" he shouted, his voice trembling.
Kisaragi Chiyo, who looked over upon hearing her name: "—?"
"Refused." It was the same familiar way of refusing, concise and clear, without a single extra word.
"But I want to hear Chiyo-chan call me big brother." Hara Kenji tried using the same trick he used on the grown-up Kisaragi Chiyo to deal with the currently innocent and pure Little Kisaragi Chiyo.
But the young Kisaragi Chiyo, who was completely immune to Hara Kenji's trick, showed not a single sign of wavering. She rejected the Evil Spirit's request once again, even his attempts at acting spoiled and being affectionate were rejected as well.
"I'm so sad." Hara Kenji puffed out his cheeks like a pufferfish, putting on a pitiful expression. When those innocent, drooping eyes looked up, they were filled with such grievance that it seemed they would overflow.
"No means no." Kisaragi Chiyo remained unmoved; he was not used to being too physically intimate with others. As he was now, he still couldn't quite fathom how his future self would manage to accept being sucked on and nuzzled by a clingy Evil Spirit seeking affection.
You're so cold, Chiyo-chan," Hara Kenji sighed, shaking his head. "But the way you look when you're rejecting me is even more charming.
After saying that, Hara Kenji even gave Kisaragi Chiyo a wink.
This action successfully made both Kisaragi Chiyo and Matsuda Jinpei shudder.
It was definitely intentional, wasn't it? Kisaragi Chiyo stared at the Evil Spirit's face, rubbing her arms as if from a sudden chill.
Saying such things on purpose to get revenge on me? Kisaragi Chiyo narrowed her eyes slightly as the Evil Spirit looked back at her with an innocent and calm expression.
Now he began to wonder if his future self would be able to endure Hara Kenji's reasons simply because he was coveting that face..
After all, the Evil Spirit truly possessed a face worth admiring.. including Lord Cat God beside him.
Matsuda Jinpei, sensitively sensing Kisaragi Chiyo's gaze: "?"
So, what exactly did that look in those eyes mean—that sense of being more than satisfied?
*
Hara Kenji knew that Kisaragi Chiyo liked his face, she took pride in it.
Because of this, he had always known how to exploit her preferences and make full use of his own advantages.
Just like right now.
Kisaragi Chiyo felt a bit uncomfortable; to her, a kimono yukata was far less comfortable than her miko outfit.
"Do you need to hold my hand?" Hara Kenji asked with a smile, raising his hand. He didn't give Kisaragi Chiyo a chance to answer before taking his wrist and leading him through the crowd like two nimble fish.
"Does Chiyo-chan want some candy apples?" Hara Kenji suddenly stopped in his tracks, his gaze lingering on the vendor's stall, on the bright red, beautiful candy apples that emitted a sweet aroma.
"Don't call me that." Kisaragi Chiyo frowned, feeling somewhat uncomfortable being the subject of so many people's stares and scrutiny.
Most of them were drawn in by Hara Kenji's face.
At first, he had intended to choose an ordinary dark blue kimono. But Hara Kenji reached out to stop him, muttering that dark colors were too old-fashioned, while simultaneously pressing a white yukata with fine grey vertical stripes into his hands.
"How about trying this one?" The dark purple eyes were filled with a smile, when they curved, the drooping corners of the eyes held a shape that was impossible to refuse.
They were just like a puppy's eyes.
Kisaragi Chiyo thought calmly for a moment, but was soon coaxed into a daze by Hara Kenji's few words, agreed to his request.
"Her resistance needs strengthening," remarked Matsuda Jinpei, having witnessed everything.
*
"Here," Hara Kenji said after paying, handing the candy apple to Kisaragi Chiyo.
"Hurry up and try it." The impatient urging made Kisaragi Chiyo instinctively wary. Was this candy actually some kind of prank?
Are you talking behind my back again?" Harasaka looked at the boy, seeing right through his thoughts, winked. "Little Chiyo-chan is really being unfair to me.
".." Does this guy have mind-reading abilities?
Knowing full well that she could not change the way the other person addressed her, Kisaragi Chiyo let out a somewhat weary sigh. She said no more, under that expectant gaze, she lifted the candy apple and took a bite.
The thin layer of hard candy shell let out a crisp crunch the moment it was bitten. Then came the apple inside, carrying a hint of faint tartness, but mostly the fresh sweetness of the fruit.
The mouthfeel of two things with different levels of crispness combined together was truly wonderful.
"How is it?" Hara asked with a grin, looking at Kisaragi Chiyo, one of his hands tucked behind his back as if he were hiding something.
"Not bad," Kisaragi Chiyo replied truthfully.
"What are you holding behind your back?" Driven by curiosity, he asked directly.
"Well.." Hara Kenji laughed again; the other person always seemed to be smiling. Could that face ever show any other expression?
The teenage version of Kisaragi Chiyo was somewhat curious.
"Knock, knock, knock, it's a fox mask!" Hara Kenji pulled a fox mask from behind his back as if claiming credit.
"Chiyo-chan, you aren't used to so many eyes on you, are you?" He spoke with such certainty that he left her no room for excuse.
You'll feel a bit better if you use this to cover yourself.
Listening to Hara Kenji's words, Kisaragi Chiyo seemed to understand; on the way here, she had indeed seen many people wearing masks on their faces.
Foxes, rabbits, cats.. most of them were designed primarily for aesthetic appeal.
The fox mask in Hara Kenji's hands was only a half-mask; the patterns on it were no different from an ordinary fox mask, the reason for the opening at the mouth was likely just to make eating easier.
Kisaragi Chiyo looked at the candy apple in her hands and lowered her head, signaling Hara Kenji to help her put on the mask.
As the mask was placed over her face, the cool hands brushed against the skin on the back of her neck, his breath enveloped her, creating a momentary illusion for Kisaragi Chiyo that she was being embraced by him.
What exactly is the relationship between him and me?
After making sure the mask wouldn't easily fall off, Kisaragi Chiyo raised his head. Through the fox eyes of the mask, he looked into the Evil Spirit's dark purple eyes, which reflected the firelight from the festival lanterns and his own reflection.
Although Kisaragi Chiyo had rarely left the shrine since he was a child and had little contact with the world outside the village, he was not completely ignorant of matters concerning romance and love.
From the mouths of adults and from peers alike, she always heard rumors and gossip about romance and fleeting affairs.
But as a non-human, Kisaragi Chiyo had never thought in that direction.
Or rather, Kisaragi Chiyo had never considered these things.
Thinking of this, Kisaragi Chiyo subconsciously touched her left eye; because she had to wear a mask, her eye patch had been removed.
"Do you want some takoyaki?" Hara Kenji asked with a smile, pointing toward a stall a short distance away, as if he hadn't noticed Kisaragi Chiyo's unusual emotions.
"I want to try it," Kisaragi Chiyo replied after thinking for a moment.
This was his first time participating in a festival, so he wanted to try everything he had never experienced before.
"Okay." Hara Kenji raised his hand and patted Kisaragi Chiyo's head.
There are too many people here. Chiyo-chan, go wait for me on that bench over there for now," Hara Kenji said to Kisaragi Chiyo under the festival lanterns. "Wait just a moment; I'll be back very soon.
*
Kisaragi Chiyo had only just sat down on the bench when a figure sat directly down beside her. Turning her head to look, she saw Matsuda Jinpei, the man who had greeted her at the festival before heading off in another direction.
"Here." Matsuda Jinpei handed over a transparent bag filled with water, inside which two beautifully colored goldfish were swimming back and forth.
"I was originally supposed to catch ten." Matsuda Jinpei organized the spoils he had just won—porcelain vases, dolls, small ornaments.. most of them were decorative items.
It wouldn't be convenient to bring everything back, so I gave the rest to the little kid.
"Of course," Matsuda Jinpei gave a smile, his teal eyes incredibly bright under the slightly dim lights of the festival.
I picked out the two most beautiful ones first.
Matsuda pointed at the goldfish in Kisaragi Chiyo's hands with an air of taking it for granted.
Looking into his eyes, Kisaragi Chiyo wondered for some reason why she was thinking of Hara Kenji again; she hesitated, wondering whether she should take this opportunity to ask him if he knew what the relationship between her future self and Hara Kenji would be.
"Matsuda.. you.." Before Kisaragi Chiyo could even finish her sentence, she saw Matsuda Jinpei naturally grab her hand and, right where she had bitten it, take a large, crunching bite out of the candy apple.
"What's wrong?" Matsuda Jinpei looked up, the crisp candy coating and the apple making a crunching sound in his mouth.
Kisaragi Chiyo: ".."
"It's nothing.." Kisaragi Chiyo's voice sounded, for some reason, somewhat weak.
An absurd speculation arose in my mind: could my future self be a triangle enthusiast?