This question flashed through Kisaragi Chiyo's mind and was temporarily set aside.
Before leaving, Kisaragi Chiyo stood before the gates of the high-rise building and looked back. In the deep, dim darkness, a tall, slender figure slowly appeared in his line of sight.
With hair as black as ink and dark purple eyes as chaotic as an abyss in the darkness, his pale skin became the most striking color; the Evil Spirit, whom Matsuda Jinpei had knocked unconscious, quickly woke up.
For some unknown reason, he did not chase after them again; he merely watched Kisaragi Chiyo and the others as they walked away from a distance, remaining silent for a long time before finally merging into the shadows.
*
Kisaragi Chiyo was still thinking about what had just happened, as emotions had already been stirred. Therefore, even though this Hara Kenji seemed like a beast devoid of reason in this moment, as Kisaragi watched his blank figure, she still felt a sense of guilt, as if she were abandoning a puppy.
He thought again about Hara Kenji, whom they had truly left behind at the station, the headache grew even more intense; he had no idea how much of an uproar the other would cause once they returned.
Oh, wait. No.
Kisaragi Chiyo suddenly remembered that Hara Kenji had already recovered his memories, his personality was much more steady than before he lost them.. so, it shouldn't be a big problem, right?
Kisaragi Chiyo thought about it with some uncertainty.
Because she was thinking about other things, her pace subconsciously slowed down, naturally causing her to fall several steps behind Matsuda Jinpei.
It wasn't until a voice rang out from above and the path ahead was blocked by a wall of flesh that Kisaragi Chiyo was pulled from her contemplations.
Raising his head, Matsuda Jinpei looked down at him, his teal irises containing dark pupils that had narrowed into thin slits; in the bright light, those cat-like eyes were as beautiful as high-purity gemstones.
“What are you thinking about?” Matsuda Jinpei stared at him unblinkingly. Only then did Kisaragi Chiyo suddenly react, realizing that the sunglasses on the other man's face had been removed at some point.
“I.. it's nothing.” Kisaragi Chiyo shook his head. He felt a throbbing pain in his brain, as if a sharp spike were being driven into it, pulled out, driven in again, over and over.
But fortunately, this pain only lasted for a short while, so it wasn't that unbearable.
Kisaragi Chiyo lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose; when she looked up at Matsuda Jinpei again, several overlapping shadows unexpectedly appeared before her eyes.
Was this really just because of a lack of rest?
Kisaragi already had the answer in her heart; this was likely caused by the erasure of his existence, stemming from a timeline that did not belong to him.
“Kisaragi.. Kisaragi?” Matsuda Jinpei called out several times without receiving a response. He looked at the youth's slightly pale face before him, his brows unconsciously knitting together.
"I'm fine." His lips parted, uttering the words that Matsuda Jinpei hated to hear.
"Maybe you haven't rested well lately?" Kisaragi Chiyo turned his face away, trying to avoid Matsuda Jinpei's overly blunt, scrutinizing gaze, but as he raised his hand to brush aside Matsuda Jinpei who was standing in front of him, he suddenly discovered that his hand was actually trembling slightly.
Kisaragi Chiyo froze, thinking that perhaps this effect was even faster than he had imagined.
"Because of this.. that's why I hate you." Matsuda Jinpei looked at the face that, after he spoke those words, had an expression of disbelief and astonishment appearing on it.
He reached out, gently cupping the other's face, lowered his head, crudely using his tongue to pry open the other's lips, swirling around the tip of the other's tongue and sucking with a savage force, as if he wanted to vent all of his anger into this single kiss.
Matsuda Jinpei retaliated by plundering all the air from the other's mouth. He gave Kisaragi Chiyo no time to react, his sharp teeth biting into the other's lips, leaving the taste of blood lingering between their lips.
Kisaragi Chiyo kept his eyes half-open. He wanted to tell Matsuda Jinpei to stop first, but not even half a syllable could escape his lips; he could only continue swallowing helplessly.
..
It was finally over. Kisaragi Chiyo breathed in the fresh air greedily; his lips felt incredibly numb, aside from a dull, stinging ache, he could feel nothing at all.
"How are you feeling now?" Matsuda Jinpei asked in a low voice. He reached out to touch the corner of Kisaragi Chiyo's lip, which he had bitten, for some reason, his mood suddenly improved.
".." Kisaragi Chiyo fell silent for a moment. Although his mental exhaustion had indeed lessened, he simply couldn't find the words to say thank you.
Just as wounds could be healed through kissing and saliva, Matsuda himself possessed certain special abilities.. through a certain method of energy exchange, allowing the other party to recover their mental energy or strength.. in other words, so-called, mana replenishment.
“Do you need another round?” Matsuda Jinpei asked, feigning ignorance. He reached out to fiddle with the young man's earring, the long tassel reflecting a bright silver light under the sunlight.
"Of course.. if you feel that's not enough, I have other ways to make you feel even better?" Matsuda Jinpei pinched his earlobe, only withdrawing his gaze with satisfaction once he had stared Kisaragi Chiyo until the young man's head was practically smoking and he looked as if he wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground to hide.
"Just kidding." Matsuda Jinpei thought it was quite fun to tease Kisaragi Chiyo once in a while, especially when he could see a rare expression of shame on her face.
But if you have any needs next time.." Matsuda Jinpei took Kisaragi Chiyo's hand, "I'm always happy to be of service.
“.. Stop talking.” A flush appeared on Kisaragi Chiyo's face, it was unclear whether she was angry or shy.
"You really are a bastard," Kisaragi Chiyo suddenly said.
Hmm?" Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, a hint of smugness in his expression. "Can I take that as a compliment?
*
"I'm sorry, Furuya."*
"Those guys discovered my identity as a Public Security officer.. It looks like I'll have to escape to another world."*
Morofushi Hiromitsu was running, he had never run this fast in his entire life. The cold night wind whistled past his ears, blowing the hair from his forehead. His back was already soaked with sweat, causing his clothes to cling to his body, feeling both cold and hot.
But Morofushi Hiromitsu paid none of this any mind. He felt his heart racing; as he ran, he switched the handgun to his other hand, taking the opportunity to wipe the sweat from his palms against his coat so that the tension wouldn't affect his grip when firing.
His undercover identity had been discovered by the Organization. He didn't know if it was due to a betrayal from within his own side or if his actions hadn't been cautious enough, allowing that suspicious fellow Gin to catch onto him.. but there was no time to think about or investigate these things now. From the very day he chose to become an undercover police officer, Morofushi Hiromitsu thought that he had already prepared himself.
He absolutely, absolutely could not let the Organization get any information from his mouth.. He had to protect Furuya Rei's identity.
But in this world, anything that exists will inevitably leave a trace. The Organization has always had its own methods for interrogating undercover agents; although Morofushi Hiromitsu trusted his own willpower, he could not be one hundred percent certain that if he were caught by those people, they wouldn't find any way to extract information through other means.
So.. perhaps death is the best outcome.. because the dead do not speak; only the dead can keep secrets.
Morofushi Hiromitsu thought this to himself, feeling the phone resting against his left chest warming up slightly. This might have been an illusion, but after sending the message to Furuya Rei, he had deleted all the information and formatted every application.. but even that wasn't the most secure way.
Morofushi Hiromitsu hid in the corner and fired several shots from behind him, accurately hitting the Organization members who were coming to kill him.
A figure with long black hair flashed by just as he turned his head; even in the night, those green eyes still shimmered with a terrifying, icy sharpness.
Rye, Black Malt Whiskey.
Morofushi Hiromitsu silently repeated the other person's codename in his heart, leaning his back against the cold, rough wall, couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.
To think that he had actually run into him.
Morofushi Hiromitsu quickly realized the other party's thoughts once again. After all, they had once been part of the same team on a mission; whether it was to claim credit from the Organization or to use it as an excuse to clear their own suspicions, killing or capturing him, an undercover agent, would be an excellent method.
But.. I won't let you have your way.
A plan flashed through Morofushi Hiromitsu's mind; he would then use the cover of night to lead the person he was tracking toward a sparsely populated area.
"If he is not mistaken.." Morofushi Hiromitsu's gaze became firm; he was already prepared, ready to die for his justice and his ideals.
Abandoned buildings appeared in the distance, the dim, soft moonlight failed to illuminate the uneven path ahead.
But the unknown path was not frightening; Morofushi Hiromitsu ran into the darkness without a moment's hesitation.
-----------------------
Author's Note: *Original dialogue
Thanks to all the little angels for your support, mwah 0330
Chapter 103
The high-rise building under the dark night was like a silent, massive monster, its mouth agape, waiting for him to step inside.
It was a building that had been abandoned for several years; the tiles and concrete on the exterior had already begun to peel away, the ivy covering the old walls made faint rustling sounds in the wind.
Run..
At this moment, Morofushi Hiromitsu had only one thought in his mind; he heard the footsteps behind him relentlessly pursuing him, echoing loudly in the empty room as they struck the iron stairs.
The revolver in his hand was already chambered, with four of the six bullets remaining; even if he couldn't fire them all, Morofushi Hiromitsu kept in mind at every moment that one of those bullets belonged to him.
Just like the last time, the door to the rooftop was not locked; the rusted chains had long since lost their original purpose. Dim moonlight spilled in from the outside, its eerie blue hue looking like a gateway to the underworld, opening wide before him.
But just as Morofushi Hiromitsu stepped onto the third-to-last step, the ground suddenly gave way, the once-solid step vanished.
“Eh?”
Morofushi Hiromitsu froze for a moment, only having enough time to let out a bewildered syllable before his entire body began to plummet, his figure vanishing completely into the pitch-black shadows.
Six seconds later, Black Malt Whiskey, who had intentionally slowed his pace, came chasing after. He naturally heard the sudden cessation of footsteps, the disappearance of Scotland both made Black Malt Whiskey feel that something was incredibly strange.
He stood before the step where Scotland had vanished, his eyes cast down. After staring at that spot for a long time, he tentatively extended his foot and stepped onto it.
There was no reaction; there were no pre-set traps.
"Simply hellish.." Black Malt Whiskey cursed under his breath. He fished a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it; the rising flame briefly illuminated half of his cold, stern face, once it went out, only a single spark remained floating in the darkness.
Black Malt Whiskey—or more accurately, he should be called FBI Investigator, Akai Shuichi.
Although he felt relieved that Scotland, who was also an undercover agent, had escaped, he also knew that he would have to face even greater trouble.
After all, since he had suddenly vanished while being pursued by others, no matter how he looked at it, the Organization would identify him as a rat covering for Scotland and assisting him in his escape.
Thinking of this, Akai Shuichi let out a bitter laugh. He opened his phone and, unsurprisingly, saw a message from Gin, which was likely something along the lines of threats and intimidation.
Every word between the lines conveyed only one meaning: if you can't prove your words, then go die.
"Oh dear.. Scotland, you've really given me a difficult problem." Akai Shuichi crushed his cigarette out on the guardrail beside him and turned to leave the place without any hesitation.
Regardless of what method Scotland used to escape, one thing was certain: he was no longer here.
After all, he wasn't the only one who would have to face the trouble of the Organization's suspicion.
Black Malt Whiskey thought somewhat gloatingly; he thought of another former member of the group, suspected that it wouldn't be long before the other person found their way here.
But unfortunately, Bourbon's plan was going to fail this time.
*
'What happened?' Morofushi Hiromitsu thought blankly, blinking in the darkness. Muffled words sounded beside him; though they were difficult to make out, one voice in particular sounded exceptionally familiar.
Who on earth is it? Morofushi Hiromitsu thought with great effort.
"You used too much force." Kisaragi Chiyo looked at Morofushi Hiromitsu, who had been placed on the ground with his eyes tightly closed and was clearly unconscious, let out a soft sigh.
"That shouldn't be right." Matsuda Jinpei frowned, rubbing his chin. He kept his eyes lowered, carefully observing the other's movements.
Based on the force he just used, Morofushi Hiromitsu should have woken up by this time.
"So, how likely do you think it is that.. he is acting for our benefit?" Kisaragi Chiyo proposed a hypothesis, then gave Matsuda a meaningful look, signaling him to step forward and deal with it.
One hundred percent?" Matsuda Jinpei's tone carried an irrepressible hint of laughter. He leaned down, lowering his voice to a whisper, hissed softly into Morofushi Hiromitsu's ear, "Keidan, get up.
"If you don't get up right now, I'm going to tickle your armpits." It was a light, non-threatening, childish remark.
Morofushi Hiromitsu still hadn't moved, not even his breathing had changed; if one ignored the rising and falling of his chest, he might be mistaken for a corpse that had only recently died, still fresh.
"If you still refuse to wake up." As the other's friend, Matsuda naturally knew which method would be the most effective way to threaten him.