If you don't mind, Kisaragi.. if you're willing.." Matsuda Jinmi casually wagged her tail, "you could also tell us a story.
Any story will do." The cat's tone sounded very serious. "Anytime is fine; as long as you need, I will be right here.
What here? Kisaragi Chiyo thought dazedly, listen to me tell stories?
What stories could I possibly have? Aside from my past, what else could I have to tell? Kisaragi Chiyo bit her lip, her hands stroking the cat's soft fur, she spoke in a raspy voice, "I.. I don't know. Are you all willing to listen to me tell those things?"
“About..”
Kisaragi Chiyo's voice was very light, becoming intermittent because she needed to pause to recall.
But no one spoke to interrupt him; Matsuda Jinpei and Hara Kenji simply listened in silence.
They watched as Kisaragi Chiyo once again dug up her sorrow, showing them the crooked, unhealed wounds. After all, they all knew full well that the wounds of the past would never heal again; they would exist as long as memories do.
Just like the arrival of every rainy season, a repetitive cycle of dampness.
But at least, Matsuda and Hara had no intention of letting Kisaragi continue to feel the ruthless cold of the rain. They pressed their furry bodies close to Kisaragi Chiyo, huddling together, their warm breath slowly and steadily dispelling the chill of the rainy season.
Kisaragi Chiyo's voice grew lower and lower, he buried his face into the puppies' warm bellies, eventually falling into a deep sleep as the cat's tail gently patted him.
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Author's Note: Thanks to all the little angels for your support, mwah 0330
Chapter 83
White mist swirled, a humid heat spread and rose within the narrow bathroom. Tiny, scattered droplets formed lines, spraying downward from the circular showerhead before falling onto the young man's pale skin.
His raven-colored hair was soaked into wet strands, clinging in winding lines to his cheeks and neck; everything had become damp and soaked. He tilted his head back and blinked, staring at the ceiling with a somewhat dazed expression, while the sound of the continuous, pitter-pattering rain caused him to empty his mind and temporarily stop thinking about his current situation.
“Chiyo-chan.”
A gentle knock sounded on the door from the outside, both familiar and strange, a voice laced with laughter seeped through the cracks, feeling somewhat surreal because it was separated by a door.
It was light and airy, just like the steam rising from the hot water.
"Little Jinpei bought some cake." Although he was talking about the cake, his true intention was to check on how she was doing in the bathroom.
It's not like I'm a three-year-old who can't even take care of myself in the shower.
Kisaragi Chiyo was thinking this, but he still turned off the showerhead and called out an affirmative to the outside.
The moment the bathroom door was pulled open, Hara Kenji was somewhat surprised, because it had only been three minutes since he had just called out to Kisaragi Chiyo; he had thought it would be at least a while before the other person finished showering and came out.
With that thought, a smile still spread across Hara Kenji's face. His eyes crinkled as he looked on almost subconsciously, observing the young person approaching him, who was close in age to the Kisaragi Chiyo he had first met.
There was no longer any significant difference in height; the only change was that his hair was slightly shorter. Having passed his sixteenth year, Kisaragi Chiyo had completely abandoned his bowl cut.
The hair covering the right eye was quite long, but whether by facial features or voice, one could already distinguish her gender; she had completely shed all the awkwardness and childishness of her youth.
'You've grown up!' Hara Kenji couldn't help but marvel.
"Have you seen enough?" After being stared at for a long while, Kisaragi Chiyo finally lifted her eyes, unable to endure it any longer. Her left eyebrow arched slightly, her originally cold expression instantly became more vivid because of this movement.
Because the air conditioning in the room was running sufficiently, Kisaragi was only wearing a light checkered shirt and dark matching trousers.
The outfit originally intended for him also included a vest and a ruby bolo tie. But Kisaragi Chiyo didn't wear any of those because she found them too much trouble.
"What a shame." Hara Kenji rested his elbows on the table, cupping his chin in both hands, a look of regret appearing on his face.
I checked the size of that vest, it should fit Chiyo-chan perfectly." Hara Kenji continued to mutter, "And that bow tie—I spent a long time picking out those gemstones because they're so close to your eye color.
Upon hearing Hara Kenji's words, Kisaragi Chiyo, who had been drying her hair, suddenly paused.
His lips twitched silently as he wanted to say something. But as soon as the words reached the tip of his tongue, he thought of something and forced himself to swallow them back down.
His eye color was clearly normal, but the size of the vest he chose was just right—so what was the real reason? Kisaragi Chiyo had a moment where she desperately wanted to ask him why he knew her clothing size so accurately, but she was also somewhat worried that she might hear an answer from his unreliable mouth that exceeded what she could accept.
Hara Kenji, who was sitting to the side smiling and observing Kisaragi Chiyo, had actually noticed her small movements. Unlike Kisaragi Chiyo's worries, Hara Kenji was actually quite looking forward to her asking him about it.
In that case, he would naturally and thoughtfully answer her questions.
How did I know? It's because I measured it with my own hands, of course!
Hara Kenji thought that if Kisaragi Chiyo were to ask, he would definitely answer in this way. As for what the other person would think after hearing this answer? What kind of expression would she wear?
Wasn't that exactly his goal?
But unfortunately, Kisaragi Chiyo didn't ask, which made Hara Kenji feel even more regretful.
*
Kisaragi Chiyo had just put down the towel and was shaking her half-dry hair when she suddenly felt a large shadow cover her from above, a hand pressed down on her shoulder.
"Sit down first." Hara reached out and pressed down on Kisaragi, who was trying to get up.
He looked down at her with a smile on his lips, while his other hand held a hair dryer.
Let me help you blow-dry your hair.
Such a trivial matter was something Kisaragi Chiyo could have actually completed herself; there was absolutely no need to go to such lengths by using someone else's hands.
But Hara Kenji gave him no chance to refuse. As the cool fingertips pressed against his scalp and a gentle, warm breeze blew by, his eyes closed involuntarily.
As his hair was gently brushed, the tips of the strands sweeping across the back of his neck, it brought a fine, tingling itch.
Hara Kenji's technique was excellent; Kisaragi Chiyo's eyes half-lidded, feeling somewhat drowsy in the warm breeze. Then, with a soft click, his cool fingertips seemed to intentionally or unintentionally brush against her earlobe, only to withdraw nonchalantly a second before she could react.
“Um, Chiyo-chan.” Hara Kenji gave a light cough.
"What?" Kisaragi Chiyo lifted her face, looking at him from this deathly angle; even so, the Evil Spirit's face remained remarkably beautiful, completely unaffected.
"The current you.." Hara Kenji's tone was hesitant, his eyes lowered, his gaze revealing a hint of longing.
You should be an adult by now, right?
“..”
Kisaragi Chiyo let out a sneer, brushed Hara Kenji's hand aside, stood up from her chair.
“You didn't care about this question when you were just having sex with me, so why does it suddenly come to mind now?”
Kisaragi's blunt wording caused Hara Kenji's expression to shift back and forth, making it difficult to tell exactly what emotions were written on his face. But after a few seconds, he put on a smile again and followed closely behind Kisaragi Chiyo, acting all fluffy and clingy.
So, how old is Chiyo-chan now?
When Hara Kenji asked this question, Matsuda Jinpei happened to return at that exact moment, carrying a six-inch strawberry cake in his hands.
That's right, when Hara Kenji had said earlier that Matsuda Jinpei was back, he was completely teasing Kisaragi Chiyo.
Looking at Matsuda Jinpei as he opened the door and walked in, Kisaragi Chiyo turned her head and looked at Hara Kenji with a half-smile.
Hara Kenji once again unleashed a series of innocent, coquettish, cute tricks, attempting to bluff his way out of it. Fortunately, Kisaragi Chiyo was indeed susceptible to such tactics; when it came to these minor issues, once she thought about the other party being a cute Bernese Mountain Dog, it was difficult for her to maintain a harsh attitude.
Matsuda Jinpei: ".."
"Excuse me, you two, could you please not block the doorway?" Matsuda Jinpei reached out to push Hara Kenji aside, then, holding the cake, squeezed through the two of them without looking sideways.
Matsuda Jinpei placed the cake on the table, opened the packaging, used the complimentary plastic knife to cleanly slice the cake into three portions.
He didn't really like sweets; although it wasn't that he hated them, he was rather indifferent to cake-based desserts.
So he kept the smallest portion for himself, of the remaining two, he pushed the largest one toward Kisaragi Chiyo.
After all, that other guy liked sweets too, so he needed to control his intake; not just throwing a single sugar-free baguette at him would be considered an act of great mercy from Matsuda Jinpei.
After dividing the cake, Matsuda Jinpei did not start eating immediately. He first took a careful look at Kisaragi Chiyo, raised an eyebrow, asked, "Twenty?"
When Kisaragi Chiyo looked over with a surprised expression, Matsuda Jinpei knew he had guessed correctly. So, he reached out and used his fork to poke the largest strawberry off Kisaragi Chiyo's slice of cake and popped it into his own mouth.
"My reward," Matsuda Jinpei said while chewing the strawberry, his voice muffled.
"How did you know?" Kisaragi Chiyo looked at Matsuda Jinpei with some curiosity; after all, one couldn't tell an exact age just by looking at his face.
"Just a random guess." Matsuda Jinpei shook his head, a smug smile appearing on his face.
"As expected of Lord Cat God, you are truly amazing." Kisaragi Chiyo smiled and nodded in agreement.
"You're still calling me Lord Cat God?" Matsuda Jinpei looked up, gazing at the smile lingering on her lips, a sudden sense of dissonance welled up within him.
After all, just a few hours ago, sixteen-year-old Kisaragi Chiyo was still a tiny, miserable, crying little mushroom. Having just lost her family and experienced the pain of life and death, that heavy past made even those who only knew of it through words feel distressed.
But a few hours later, Kisaragi Chiyo appeared before them. After four years apart, the twenty-year-old Kisaragi Chiyo looked much more composed.
Although it wasn't obvious, Matsuda Jinpei could still feel that at this time, Kisaragi Chiyo's personality was still quite lively, especially compared to the Kisaragi Chiyo they knew.
She looked just as she was before she had suffered through the beatings from that devil of a professor of his.
Matsuda Jinpei thought with a hint of sympathy; after all, at this time, Kisaragi Chiyo, who had only recently started university, still didn't know what a terrifying supervisor he would choose for her in the future.
“Don't you like it?”
Kisaragi Chiyo winked at him, as those misty gray eyes looked over, Matsuda was momentarily dazed. He had to admit one thing: he truly felt as if his heart had been lightly scratched.
"Of course I do." Matsuda Jinpei chuckled softly; he felt that compared to the previous description of her being a bit more lively, he might have to add "enthusiastic" to it.
"Chiyo-chan, Chiyo-chan," Hara Kenji said, working very hard to press himself against Kisaragi Chiyo without crushing her.
"Open your mouth." Facing the dog's acting spoiled, Kisaragi Chiyo commanded without even lifting her eyelids.
Hara Kenji subconsciously opened his mouth, only to be hand-fed a bite of strawberry by the other person the very next second.
"Is it okay now?" Although Kisaragi Chiyo had no experience in raising cats or dogs, as an owner, being fair and impartial should be the bare minimum requirement.
So, did my future self really become someone who was playing both sides?
While being rubbed on the face by the Bernese Mountain Dog, Kisaragi Chiyo drifted off into thought, then felt someone give her fingertips a light, playful bite.
"What's wrong?" Kisaragi Chiyo turned her face slightly and looked at Hara Kenji with a smile.
The other person was very close to him, his dark purple eyes like a whirlpool, enchanting yet dangerous. A deep longing was hidden within his gaze, causing Kisaragi Chiyo to knit her brows.
He seemed to have thought of something, a flicker of disgust that he could barely maintain flashed across his smiling expression; although it was quickly suppressed, both of them still noticed it.
Eh? Am I being hated? His original body stiffened, his expression one of disbelief, as if he couldn't believe that was the expression Kisaragi Chiyo had just shown.
"It's not because of you." Hara Kenji leaned against her, of course, Kisaragi Chiyo could feel it.
He carelessly lowered his head and took a bite of cake, the cloying sweetness and strawberry jam quickly melting on the tip of his tongue. Kisaragi Chiyo gently pushed Hara Kenji away, as he watched the two of them react, he suddenly realized something.
He looked down at the red thread circling his right ring finger, suddenly feeling a bit confused as to what his future self was actually thinking.
He could certainly feel the connection between himself, Matsuda, the others. It was just like having exchanged names with a Yokai; once a bond was successfully formed, they would be able to hear him whenever he called their names.