See you next time." Kisaragi Chiyo waved to the other person. "I'll tell you my name.
Amuro-kun.
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Author's Note: *Because of being willing to indulge, even death requires no salvation. "The Little Prince"
Thank you for the support, my little angels. Mwah 030
Chapter 101
After Kisaragi Chiyo and Matsuda Jinpei left the station, they were in no hurry to find the next location where the paranormal train would appear. They first went to a convenience store to buy some food, intending to fill their stomachs first so they could better prepare for the upcoming plan.
"I estimate that next time, we should arrive at the timeline where Morofushi died," Kisaragi Chiyo said, her voice muffled as she chewed on her red bean bread.
Standing nearby, Matsuda Jinpei had no appetite, so he only bought a can of coffee and took a few sips from time to time.
"It is time to make a proper plan." Matsuda Jinpei casually tossed the empty coffee can into a nearby trash can. He looked up at Kisaragi Chiyo, who was munching on red bean bread, reached out to naturally wipe away the crumbs from the corner of her mouth.
"Do you have any thoughts?" Matsuda Jinpei recalled what Kisaragi Chiyo had said to Furuya Rei just as they were leaving the station. Without even having to guess, Matsuda could already imagine how Furuya Rei would refuse to let it go and insist on investigating Kisaragi Chiyo's identity once he returned.
But it was ultimately in vain, because at this time, Matsuda Jinpei had no idea that he had been forced to have an extra family member, Furuya Rei could naturally gather no useful information from him.
As for the matter of causing trouble for his past self, Matsuda Jinpei could be said to have absolutely no qualms about it. He even thought quite boldly that since it was just himself after all, what did it matter if he suffered a bit of a headache from Furuya's harassment?
"Although Morofushi mentioned that organization member who chased him to the rooftop that day, claiming to be an FBI undercover agent." After finishing her bread, Kisaragi Chiyo crumpled the wrapper in her hands, making a crinkling sound.
“But we have no way to verify it after all.” Kisaragi Chiyo handed the trash in her hands to Matsuda, who was closer to the trash can.
“And Morofushi also cannot fully confirm whether this news is true, or if it is a lie told by the opponent to make him let down his guard, in an attempt to pry more information from Morofushi's mouth.”
"So, to be cautious." Kisaragi Chiyo did not want to cause too many accidents halfway through, besides, they could not stay in one place for too long; the time left for them to implement the plan was extremely limited.
Let's just be straightforward.
"Oh?" Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow, looking at Kisaragi Chiyo with great interest. Although the young man's expression remained calm, Matsuda, who had long ago come to understand his personality, felt that in the very next second, Kisaragi Chiyo would propose something completely unexpected.
As expected, after saying those words, Kisaragi Chiyo flashed a smile, in a very casual tone, he suggested to Matsuda Jinpei, "Let's go kidnap Editor Morofushi together!"
“Since he would be being hunted after his identity was exposed, would commit suicide to protect the information..”
Then, before he makes a choice like that, we'd better tie him up first.
Matsuda Jinpei: ".."
"Hara will surely be disappointed that he couldn't come along." A smile flickered in his teal eyes; rather than refuting Kisaragi Chiyo's blunt proposal, Matsuda Jinpei actually seemed quite eager to try it.
After all, the chance to kidnap Keidan doesn't come around very often.
*
As a result, not long after Kisaragi Chiyo proposed this plan, he was kidnapped first.
At that time, they were on their way to the next station when a small incident occurred along the way; because a knife-wielding robbery took place, Matsuda Jinpei took some time out to act as a helpful citizen.
With Matsuda Jinpei's ability, he could likely resolve this matter in less than ten minutes. Therefore, Kisaragi Chiyo did not step forward, but instead waited outside the crowd.
In those few short minutes, Kisaragi Chiyo, standing in the shadows of the corner, suddenly felt a bone-chilling coldness gradually seeping through his clothes and permeating his entire body.
Just as he caught a whiff of that familiar, chilling fragrance, in the brief moment he was dazed, a pair of icy, pale hands covered his eyes and mouth from behind, carrying him away.
As is well known, dogs have a habit of liking to carry their food back to their dens, or to a place where they feel safe, to hide it away and enjoy it slowly.
Kisaragi Chiyo had already entered Hazama's space for the second time, though unlike the last time, he was completely passive this time.
"So the last attempt really was unsuccessful after all?" Kisaragi Chiyo, tied into a bundle by tentacles and discarded in a corner, lowered her eyes, her heart caught between a sense of regret and a base sense of relief.
He actually still had some worries, because he didn't know if, if Hara Kenji's life were changed, there would still be a possibility of them meeting.
Despite some emotional conflict, Kisaragi Chiyo rationally hoped that Hara Kenji could have a better life of his own.
But seeing the situation now, that attempt with the letter back then had indeed failed.
Kisaragi Chiyo let out a long sigh, he thought of Matsuda Jinpei again, wondering how panicked the other man would be after discovering his disappearance. Just as Kisaragi Chiyo was lost in these wandering thoughts, a tall figure stood before him.
A pale and handsome face, with long hair casually scattered in a somewhat messy fashion, stared at him, the dark purple irises shimmering with an appetite that was closer to a beast's hunting instinct.
Kisaragi Chiyo's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly remembered that Hara Kenji had once said his consciousness had been chaotic at first, only gradually regaining some of his former rational existence as a 'human.'
The Evil Spirit lowered his eyes to observe the prey that had been brought back. Saliva had already begun to secrete in his mouth, the fangs on both sides of his jaw itched intensely. A sense of hunger, carrying a powerful longing, rose from his stomach, making him long to simply open his mouth and bite down.
So he crouched down, his cold hands carefully caressing the prey's face, from the ears and eyes to the lips.
The Evil Spirit was hesitating, wondering which part would be the best to start with, but after observing for a while, he found that he loved every single part.
The soft and warm sensation, even just the touch of it, gave him a slight sense of satisfaction.
The pure white, translucent tentacles were coiled tightly, constricting Kisaragi Chiyo so firmly that they left him no room to struggle.
Even in the darkness of Hazama's environment, Kisaragi Chiyo could still feel Hara Kenji's gaze scrutinizing him, unrestrained and fervent, if the other man wasn't thinking about physically devouring him at this moment.
“Hara..” Just as Kisaragi Chiyo began to speak, he felt something closing in on him, in the darkness, Hara Kenji's face suddenly enlarged before his eyes.
The other person seemed to still be hesitating; he first rubbed his nose against his own cheek, then sniffed to the left and right, before finally seeming to confirm the exact spot to bite.
Icy, thin lips pressed against the skin just above the collarbone, Hara Kenji's entire head was almost buried in Kisaragi Chiyo's neck.
When the evil spirit bit down, Kisaragi Chiyo's body couldn't help but tremble. Aside from the pain, the chill radiating from the other person almost froze him to the bone, as if he had plunged into an icy lake; the coldness quickly enveloped his entire body, but he had nowhere to escape and could only force himself to endure everything the other brought.
"Hiss!" Kisaragi Chiyo was held in the arms of the evil spirit; he tilted his head back and let out a cry of pain.
Kisaragi Chiyo could be certain that Hara Kenji's bite had definitely drawn blood from him.
After the sharp teeth bit through the skin, bright red droplets of blood quickly seeped onto the pale skin. The Evil Spirit cherished this hard-won food, licking it carefully with the tip of his tongue, refusing to waste a single drop of his prey's blood.
He was almost obsessed, constantly rubbing his fangs against the patch of skin where he had left his bite marks.
After a sharp sting, Kisaragi Chiyo could feel the other's movements; he still remembered the Evil Spirit's ability to heal wounds, so the place that had originally felt pain soon turned into a numbing, tingling itch.
The other party did not fixate on a single spot; the Evil Spirit used his few remaining faculties of chaotic thought, wondering if other places tasted just as delicious.
So he began to explore more places; he bit into the other's ear and blocked the other's mouth.
Just as the Evil Spirit was preparing to aim for its prey's throat, he was knocked unconscious from behind with a swift, decisive blow.
“Kisaragi, are you alright?” Matsuda Jinpei pulled his foolish childhood friend away. He looked at the coughing Kisaragi Chiyo, feeling somewhat annoyed with himself for being too careless, which had allowed the original opportunity of this timeline to seize Kisaragi Chiyo.
"I'm fine." Kisaragi Chiyo wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, the coarse surface of her glove rubbing against her slightly swollen lips and bringing a series of tingling stings.
At this stage, Hara Kenji's kissing was practically no different from a dog gnawing on something.
Kisaragi Chiyo cast a somewhat disdainful glance at the unconscious Hara Kenji; with his eyes tightly closed, his quiet appearance made it impossible to tell that he had just been acting like a wild beast that only knew how to bite.
"You clearly could have stopped him." Looking at Kisaragi Chiyo's disheveled clothing, Matsuda Jinpei let out a sigh.
He took two steps forward to tidy up the young man's clothes. When his gaze brushed against the prominent bite mark on the collarbone, Matsuda's movements paused. After a two-second hesitation, he finally averted his eyes.
"Aren't you here for that?" Kisaragi Chiyo looked up and smiled at Matsuda Jinpei. After tidying his clothes, he returned to his appearance as a gloomy, conservative young man.
Not an inch of skin was exposed between the gloves and the sleeves, the top button of the shirt was fastened, just enough to cover the marks left behind by the Evil Spirit's frantic biting.
Matsuda Jinpei looked at Kisaragi Chiyo, a strange sense of incongruity in his heart made him feel uneasy. Perhaps it was because his gaze was too focused, drawing Kisaragi Chiyo's attention.
What's wrong?" Kisaragi Chiyo asked him half-jokingly. "Is there a problem? Could it be that you're jealous?
No." Matsuda Jinpei stared at Kisaragi Chiyo's feigned expression of ease, his gaze heavy, as he asked word by word, "I remember that I shouldn't be able to touch you at this time.
The smile on Kisaragi Chiyo's face faded slightly, but he still replied in a lighthearted tone, "Perhaps it's because I don't belong to this timeline?"
Matsuda Jinpei said nothing; he simply looked at Kisaragi Chiyo, then, under the other's puzzled gaze, he reached out and gripped the other's wrist.
"Matsuda.." Kisaragi Chiyo frowned as she looked at him.
If you truly consider me family," those cyan eyes locked onto him tightly, "then you shouldn't hide your condition.
Now it was Kisaragi Chiyo's turn to fall silent; his expression was hesitant, tinged with a hint of guilt.
Actually, I don't think this is a big deal..
"It's not your call alone just yet." Matsuda Jinpei's tone was very serious, carrying a sense that a storm was brewing.
"Fine." Kisaragi Chiyo knew that he had truly angered Matsuda Jinpei this time.
"I only just discovered it myself." Kisaragi Chiyo took off her gloves and held up her hands.
Upon seeing the fingertips before him becoming increasingly transparent, Matsuda Jinpei's pupils contracted sharply.
This is probably what Morofushi meant by one's sense of existence being eroded, right?" Kisaragi Chiyo shrugged nonchalantly. "I think that's also why Hara Kenji can touch me; because my existence as a [person] is vanishing, I'm no longer a complete person.
But at this rate, we still have time," Kisaragi Chiyo tried to ease the tension with a relaxed tone. "At the very least, before we are completely erased, we will definitely be able to find the correct timeline.
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Author's Note: Thank you for the support, my little angels. Mwah! 030
Chapter 102
It was obvious that Matsuda Jinpei was angry.
The curly-haired man walked straight ahead without looking to either side; from this angle, his sharp and handsome features were clearly visible. His lips were pressed tightly together, the corners of his mouth pulled into a nearly straight line, his teal eyes held a cold, stern light. Although he didn't say it out loud, those eyes had become bright and vivid due to his owner's anger.
Even when he was angry, he was so handsome.
Kisaragi Chiyo thought distractedly, that in the past, he had never cared about what emotions he caused others; embarrassment, anger, shame.. none of these were things worth noting.
But Matsuda Jinpei was different; a rare expression of distress appeared on Kisaragi Chiyo's face. He lowered his eyes, his conflicted and lost feelings like a tangled ball of yarn that he didn't know how to unravel, lying there in a messy heap, leaving him at a loss for what to do.
Kisaragi Chiyo understood that this was a problem that couldn't be solved with a simple apology. He had read many novels, in most of those stories, the ruptures and partings of ways between protagonists gradually escalated into such outcomes from small matters involving a lack of complete honesty and trust.
Kisaragi understood clearly that he did not want things to reach that point with Matsuda Jinpei. Even in the most intimate relationships, arguments were unavoidable, but the most important thing was, how would one repair things afterward?
The raven-haired young man blinked slowly. He raised his head, looking at the other person, opened his mouth as if to say something, but he truly did not know what to say to break the stiff silence.
“Matsuda..” Kisaragi Chiyo called out softly, but Matsuda Jinpei seemed determined to let them both cool down; he did not look back, nor did he respond.
'If Furuya Rei were here right now, there would surely be a better way..'
Kisaragi Chiyo thought with a slight headache that, in the end, they walked out of the high-rise building in silence. But while descending the stairs, Kisaragi Chiyo suddenly realized that this time, he didn't seem to see those ghosts who loved to watch the commotion.
At this moment, even Hara Kenji's rationality had not yet fully recovered; were the souls of those police officers who had died together in the explosion still in slumber as well?