"Class Monitor?" Matsuda Jinpei turned his head back with some confusion. He wasn't wearing sunglasses, those teal eyes, possessing a familiar curve, appeared excessively bright in the dark night.
Just like a cat's eyes, Date Wataru thought.
"Will I be able to see you again?" This was the question Date Wataru had hesitated to ask for a long time back at the convenience store.
Because according to Kisaragi Chiyo, Matsuda Jinpei had merely been sent to the human world by his superior in Hell to carry out a mission, while the young man himself was a genuine human, responsible only for providing assistance to Matsuda.
Matsuda would always have to return eventually. The distance between the human world and Hell was so vast that it was difficult for Date Wataru to even imagine; perhaps, just as it is recorded in the Book of Rebirth, Hell is located one thousand ri beneath the mortal realm.
One thousand yojun, which is 160,000 kilometers, enough to circle the Earth nearly four times.
Perhaps this is also why, it was only in the third year after Matsuda Jinpei died in the line of duty that he finally came to the human world to find himself; this journey was simply far too long.
"Of course." The curly-haired friend gave him a smile, his tone casual and nonchalant, as if he could come to find Date Wataru whenever he wished.
We will definitely meet again," Matsuda Jinpei waved to Date Wataru, his figure not clearly visible in the darkness, but his voice was exceptionally firm, "sometime in the future.
".." Date Wataru fell silent for a moment, then raised his hands and waved them just as vigorously toward Matsuda Jinpei and that young man.
"Then it's a deal!" The tall police officer's bold and loud voice rang out through the silent night sky, seeming to bring a faint vibration with it in that trance-like moment.
I will wait for you forever.
Watching his friend and the young man's figures gradually fade into the darkness, Date Wataru rubbed his face vigorously. The events of tonight were far too bizarre; before he could even process the shattering of his long-held scientific worldview, he was bombarded with a deluge of other information by those two.
As a result, Date Wataru's brain was overloaded, he had acted purely on instinct just now.
So Hell really does exist in this world.." Date Wataru murmured thoughtfully, "I wonder.. if that guy Hara is like Matsuda too?
Regarding the matter of Hara Kenji, Date Wataru had originally intended to ask, but he was afraid that he might accidentally touch upon the man's painful memories, or that Hara Kenji had already been reincarnated.. If that were the case, Date Wataru would feel like slapping himself in the middle of the night whenever the thought occurred to him.
"Next time.. if there's another chance to meet, I'll ask Matsuda about Hara's situation." Date Wataru convinced himself as he rubbed his throbbing temples, temporarily setting aside these overly shocking matters.
Right now, he still needed to make a trip to the hospital to see Takagi Wataru and check on how that driver's condition was actually doing.
*
“Kisaragi.”
Matsuda Jinpei and Kisaragi Chiyo stood side by side on the platform, as a cold wind carrying a biting chill swept in from the distance, blowing into the young man's wide haori. From afar, he looked like a black butterfly fluttering its wings.
"What's wrong?" Kisaragi Chiyo turned her head slightly, the eerie green light falling upon her face, while the nearby display screen announced that the next train was scheduled to arrive in five minutes.
"Will you be nervous?" Matsuda Jinpei had put his sunglasses back on at some unknown point. Although, as a non-human, he didn't need to worry about being unable to see clearly while wearing sunglasses at night, Kisaragi Chiyo felt that he was doing it purely to act cool.
Although she had to admit one thing, that face certainly had the capital to fascinate him.
"No way." Kisaragi Chiyo replied immediately without even blinking.
Alright." Matsuda Jinpei's expression looked a little disappointed. "Actually, I was going to tell you a good way to relieve tension.
"Matsuda." Kisaragi Chiyo's intuition told her that Matsuda was definitely secretly plotting something, but just what was he up to? She still couldn't guess.
Why do you think I would be nervous?
Hmm.." Hearing Kisaragi Chiyo's rhetorical question, Matsuda Jinpei showed a thoughtful expression, "For example..
He gave an example: "Eloping with his childhood friend right in front of Hagi, acting all lovey-dovey?"
Then let me ask you, Mr. Matsuda," Kisaragi Chiyo sneered, "as his former childhood friend, what is your take on this matter?
Don't you feel a sense of guilt?
"Ahem.." Matsuda Jinpei rubbed his nose and coughed awkwardly. Being asked such a question made his few remaining bits of conscience feel a sense of guilt and excitement.
We're all family, so why distinguish between you and me?" Matsuda muttered under his breath, turning his head slightly. "Besides, you and Ye have shared quite a few kisses behind my back.
Kisaragi Chiyo said nothing; she merely stared at Matsuda with a half-smiling, half-mocking gaze. It wasn't until he felt unsettled by her stare that she mercifully withdrew her gaze.
Tell me about it," Kisaragi Chiyo said, glancing sideways at him. "What was that good method you just mentioned?
Actually, I heard it from someone else before, too," Matsuda Jinpei paused. "Write the character for 'person' on your palm, then swallow it to relieve nervousness.
"Is there such a thing?" Kisaragi Chiyo showed a skeptical look.
"Of course there is!" Matsuda Jinpei emphasized, before finally revealing his true purpose.
"If it's a hassle, I can help you write it." Matsuda Jinpei's expression was dead serious; through a layer of sunglasses, Kisaragi Chiyo couldn't tell at all what kind of emotion was revealed in his eyes at this moment.
But he was still happy to cooperate with Matsuda to keep this game going.
After all, they are lovers.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Officer Matsuda," Kisaragi Chiyo said with a slight smile, then she extended her right hand.
Matsuda Jinpei lowered his eyes, gently grasped the young man's hand, then his fingers slipped into the slit of the long sleeve, slowly pulling the glove off.
"Is this step necessary?" Kisaragi Chiyo, who had never heard such a thing, lowered her eyelids and observed the other's every move with seriousness.
"The words definitely have to be written directly on the palm to take effect; if they're written through a glove, they might not work." Matsuda Jinpei replied with great conviction.
Kisaragi Chiyo fell silent, looking at her right hand after removing the glove; the situation was better than she had imagined. Her palm hadn't become completely transparent; instead, it looked more like its opacity had been lowered, as if it were on a different layer than reality.
Matsuda Jinpei's grip on her hand suddenly tightened. As his cool fingertips touched her palm, a tingling sensation first struck her more sensitive areas, making Kisaragi Chiyo instinctively want to curl her fingers inward.
"Don't move." Matsuda Jinpei did not look up; he was writing very earnestly. Even though it was clearly only two strokes, Kisaragi Chiyo felt that the process was actually quite long.
There." Matsuda released his grip and looked up at Kisaragi Chiyo. "You can swallow it now.
Since it had come to this, she should cooperate to the end. Therefore, Kisaragi Chiyo did not hesitate; she clenched her palm as if grasping something, then opened her mouth to swallow a mouthful of air.
Perhaps it was because of the other party? Even though it was just a mass of air, Kisaragi Chiyo felt a trace of sweetness on the tip of her tongue.
It was truly terrifying; Kisaragi Chiyo felt as if she had completely fallen from grace.
"The train is coming." Even though it was Matsuda Jinpei who had proposed this method, after doing all this, he turned his head away shyly, his ears, hidden beneath his curly hair, were also turning slightly red.
Kisaragi Chiyo did not expose his sudden bashfulness, leaving some space for both of them.
With a whistle, the train pulled into the station. Once the doors opened, the familiar Shadow Passengers were still standing inside.
However, this time, they were not gathered together. Instead, they tacitly made space for Matsuda and Kisaragi Chiyo, as if silently welcoming the two of them to their final ride on this Supernatural Death Train.
"We're going back." It wasn't until this moment that Matsuda felt a complete sense of relief.
"This journey.. is finally coming to an end." Kisaragi Chiyo was already becoming a bit impatient to see Hara Kenji; counting the entire duration, they had been apart for nearly three days.
Let's go.
As the train doors closed once again, this strange journey against the flow of time came to a complete end.
*
When Kisaragi Chiyo stepped off the train, as expected, the first thing she saw was Hara Kenji standing there.
The tall, long-haired man stood there expressionlessly, his eyes with dark purple irises cold and devoid of any fluctuation or emotion.
The skin exposed outside his clothing was pale and bloodless. Even in the well-lit station, a terrifying shadow seemed to shroud the man, causing every person passing by him to instinctively clear a wide berth.
This resulted in an empty space centered around Hara Kenji, even though it was a peak travel time with people coming and going.
"Hara.." Kisaragi Chiyo called out softly, feeling a bit at a loss.
Long before he and Matsuda stepped off that Supernatural Train, which everyone else had ignored, Hara Kenji had already noticed their presence.
But Hara Kenji did not approach; he simply stared from a distance at Kisaragi Chiyo, who was walking toward him, his dark purple eyes gazing at her. His gaze slowly swept over her, then, he revealed a smile.
“Welcome back.” Hara Kenji smiled at the two of them, opening his arms to pull Kisaragi Chiyo into his embrace.
Burying his nose in her hair, he greedily inhaled the scent of the young woman that brought him peace, before slowly lowering his head to the hollow of her neck.
"Kisaragi.." Hara Kenji whispered her name softly into the young woman's ear. He struggled to control the urge to press her into his very being, it wasn't until the moment he truly embraced her that the sense of panic gradually faded from his heart.
"I'm sorry, Hara." Kisaragi Chiyo took the initiative to rub her cheek against his.
"How long have we been gone?" Kisaragi Chiyo's muffled voice came from Hara Kenji's embrace, as he was now completely enveloped in her scent. The cold, fragrant aroma seemed to possess a consciousness of its own, seeping into his clothes and gradually staining every inch of him, making his head feel a bit dizzy.
Fortunately, Hara only held her for a few minutes before letting go.
"Twenty minutes." Because the time Kisaragi and Matsuda were missing wasn't very long, Yuan's mental state remained relatively stable, he temporarily suppressed the urge to turn the station upside down.
"It seems that time flows differently in both places." Matsuda Jinpei frowned, a contemplative expression crossing his face.
"Isn't this a good thing?" Kisaragi Chiyo had not forgotten the news reports regarding the train bombing accident that she had seen back at that initial station with the Scotland demon.
"We still have time." Before the accident occurs, to change the fates of those on that train.. those Shadow Passengers who were eternally trapped in the carriages after death.
"We even have extra time to prepare." Matsuda looked at Kisaragi Chiyo and smiled.
Because, according to the regular arrival time, they were originally supposed to board that train in half an hour, there were still ten minutes left before the train arrived.
While the two were talking, Hara Kenji maintained a smile, tilting his head slightly as if he were somewhat puzzled by the situation before him.
But he wasn't confused; Matsuda and Kisaragi Chiyo were talking about something he couldn't understand at all.
Instead..
What exactly happened?
What exactly happened between Little Jinpei and Kisaragi Chiyo? While I was away..
Why.. does it feel like the relationship between the two has become even more intimate? Weren't we.. originally the same?
I'm truly curious.
Hara Kenji narrowed his eyes, gazing at Kisaragi Chiyo with a smile. He could clearly feel the emotion surging within his heart at this moment: jealousy.
So, why isn't it me?
It's really too much, it's so unfair, it's truly making me so sad.
Hara Kenji took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Original: Blackening power bar loading..
Thanks for the support from all the little angels, mwah 030
Chapter 110
The perpetrator of the train bombing case, named Yamamoto Tarou, is a forty-five-year-old, disheveled middle-aged man.
He once worked in the railway industry before switching to real estate sales, but was eventually dismissed due to poor performance. Later, he worked as a convenience store cashier and a supermarket stocker, but ultimately left both positions because of his eccentric temper and personality.