And so, this middle-aged man, who had faced rejection at every turn while searching for work and was burdened by debt, ultimately chose to blame all his misfortunes on society, thereby launching a vendetta against so-called successful people who enjoyed happy and fulfilling families.
"That's simply absurd." After hearing Kisaragi Chiyo's retelling of that 'Future Report,' Hara Kenji's eyebrows instantly knitted together.
Admittedly, Yamamoto's life has been fraught with misfortune, but how could he be so innocent as an ordinary passenger on that train at the time?
It is simply irrational for someone to blame all the misfortunes they encounter on social responsibility, thereby turning them into a pretext for taking out their vengeance on others.
"However, since Yamamoto is in the railway industry, it must be related to his university major. From what I know, this industry mostly uses permanent contracts, so employees are generally not dismissed easily." At this thought, Hara knit his brows, pursed his lips, looked toward Kisaragi Chiyo.
“Was there any other news mentioned in that report?”
Based on the cases Hara Kenji had seen before, Yamamoto's dismissal was likely related to the debts he carried.
"That report didn't mention the reason why Yamamoto was dismissed." Kisaragi Chiyo had a fairly good memory; while it couldn't be called photographic, the details he described were more or less the same as those in the report.
That's strange." Hara Kenji struggled for a few seconds before quickly convincing himself, "Anyway, once we catch that guy, we'll understand the reason.
But since there's a bomb on the train, members of the Bomb Disposal Squad might show up at the scene later." Hara Kenji winked at Matsuda Jinpei beside him. "There might even be our former peers among them.
But our contemporaries should have become reliable seniors by now, new blood will surely step in to fill the gaps after we're gone." Hara Kenji's eyes crinkled as he let out a sigh like an old man. "Time really waits for no one.. no, it's more like it shows no mercy to ghosts.
Such things are perfectly normal.
Perhaps sensing the sudden drop in mood, Kisaragi Chiyo raised her hand and gently brushed the pale, cold cheek of the Evil Spirit, which felt equally soft.
The death and birth of humans, the departure of the old and the arrival of the new—it is all like the natural cycle of rain, repeating endlessly, life continuing without end.
"Besides.. death is not your end." Kisaragi Chiyo had originally intended to say that he would be by your side, but on second thought, he felt those words were far too sappy.
"Are you trying to comfort me?" Hara Kenji lowered his head and looked at the young man with a smile, the human who always managed to make him feel flustered.
Kisaragi Chiyo said nothing, but she lifted her eyes to gaze into those obscure, dark purple eyes. After a brief pause, she took advantage of the other's lack of attention and used two fingers to pinch the soft flesh of his cheek.
"It hurts." Even though he hadn't used much force, the Evil Spirit deliberately put on a pained expression. With furrowed brows and lips tightly pressed together, his beautiful, drooping eyes were filled with grievance.
He looked completely pitiful, as if he were being bullied.
What a dishonest, clingy fellow.
"I was thinking, Kisaragi.." Seeing that playing the victim had no effect, Hara Kenji instantly dropped that expression. Then, with a very natural movement, the fluffy man leaned in, pressing against Kisaragi Chiyo's hand.
That sentence just now," Hara Kenji caught the young man's hand as he tried to pull it back, his eyes brimming with a soft smile as he looked at him, "there was another meaning you wanted to convey, wasn't there?
Kisaragi Chiyo said nothing, but he gave a slight twitch of his right eyebrow, as if in agreement, or perhaps signaling Hara to continue sharing his insights.
"Death is not the end.. Are you inviting me to join you on the ignorant journey that follows? My companion?" Hara's tone carried a certain tenderness, as if he were speaking words of passion.
You could understand it that way," Kisaragi Chiyo nodded, answering unhurriedly, "but there is one thing you got wrong.
"What?" Hara Kenji blinked in confusion, his long eyelashes as lovely as the wings of a butterfly. He held Kisaragi Chiyo's hand and, through the gloves, rubbed his face against her palm.
Our relationship is not that of companions.
"What is that?" Hara asked reflexively, a trace of bewilderment appearing on his face. His heart tightened, a feeling of being caught at the boundary between heaven and hell caused his heart to thud violently within his chest.
"It should be a lover." Kisaragi Chiyo watched the Evil Spirit, whose expression instantly went blank after he spoke those words, she pulled her left hand from his with a hint of amusement.
Counting the seconds in his head, the Evil Spirit, who had been left somewhat bewildered by this news, finally reacted after the twelfth second.
“Lovers!?” Hara Kenji's eyes widened, he cupped his cheeks, wearing a truly dreamy expression, as if he were watching a cat sitting at a piano while butterflies danced wildly around it.
“Me and Little Chiyo?!"
"Actually, to be precise, it should be the three of us.." Kisaragi Chiyo suddenly felt fortunate that the passersby were all subconsciously ignoring them because of Hara Kenji's evil spirit ability.
Otherwise, he truly couldn't imagine how many shocked stares he would receive from passersby after saying those words.
“Ohhh..” Hara Kenji had no objection to this; if anything, he had been prepared from the very moment that cat-like Matsuda Jinpei had proactively delivered himself to him.
After all, that was Little Jinpei.
Hara Kenji rubbed his face vigorously, then said to Matsuda Jinpei with an expression of disbelief mixed with excitement, "I never expected that Little Jinpei and I would end up becoming family. If Sister knew.."
When mentioning Hara Chihaya, Hara Kenji's voice gradually faded. After his memories returned, it wasn't that he hadn't secretly gone to visit his sister and other relatives.
In his family's home, everything was still kept exactly as it was. Judging by the spotless furniture, it seemed things were cleaned regularly.. Although his family still wore expressions of sadness whenever they saw his photo, Hara Kenji could feel that every single one of them was working hard to move forward from that shadow.
He had not been forgotten; his family had simply decided to live well, including the part of him they carried with them.
".. That's wonderful." Hara Kenji lowered his eyes, that emotion appeared on his face only for a moment before being quickly hidden away.
"At least I have everything now." Hara Kenji silently repeated his lover's name in his heart, with every repetition, the love and longing in his heart seemed to grow a little deeper.
I can hear you." Kisaragi Chiyo reached out with a hint of helplessness and gently hooked her fingers around Hara's slightly cold fingertips. "I can feel it every time you say it in your heart.
This is the connection of the contract; even if it is only silently recited in one's heart, the other party will still sense it.
It's truly miraculous." Hara Kenji smiled as he pinched the young man's fingertips, "Every time you say it, I feel like I love little Chiyo just a bit more than before.
"Isn't that to be expected?" Kisaragi Chiyo wore an expression that suggested it was only natural.
*
After all, they already knew the criminal's name and physical characteristics; for the three of them, finding that guy among more than twenty people was as easy as taking an open-book exam.
Even the location of the bomb placement didn't require interrogation; relying solely on the exceptional hearing of the two non-human entities, they found the two hidden locations of the bombs in less than a minute.
As for the incredulous and indignant expression on Yamamoto's face, Kisaragi Chiyo had no desire to listen to him say much. He cared nothing for the thoughts and feelings of others, nor was he willing to serve as a venting machine for someone like Yamamoto.
As for questioning, that was for the police to handle; all he could do was watch the other person and wait for the police to arrive.
As for the matter of defusing the bomb, it was naturally left to Matsuda and Hara.
Claiming to be officers from the Bomb Disposal Squad quickly succeeded in calming the passengers in the carriage. Although, from a legal standpoint, there was a suspicion of impersonating a public official, from an objective standpoint, what the two men said was indeed not wrong.
Matsuda Jinpei even possessed an additional identity as an officer of Investigation Division One; whether he was a former officer or a current one was, naturally, none of Kisaragi Chiyo's business.
After all, he was just one of the innocent passengers, simply asked by the two officers to keep an eye on the criminal.
By the time the police from the Bomb Disposal Squad arrived, Matsuda Jinpei and Hara Kenji, the two who had been questioning the passengers about the bomb, had already vanished without a trace; no one had even noticed when those two officers had disappeared.
All that remained was the innocent passenger who had been asked to temporarily watch over the criminal, along with the white-gloved black cat and the Bernese Mountain Dog by his side.
"It's you, Kisaragi-kun." A tall figure stepped past the back door of the Bomb Disposal Squad and approached Kisaragi Chiyo's side.
"Hello, Officer Date," Kisaragi Chiyo said with a slight nod, even though they had only just seen each other not long ago.
It was only at that moment that Kisaragi Chiyo finally realized the true meaning behind the "long time no see" that Date Wataru had said to her when she first met him.
"How did you end up on this train?" Date Wataru asked while opening his notebook to conduct a routine inquiry.
“I'm taking my cat and dog for a walk.”
Hearing this answer, Date Wataru's pen paused. He looked up at Kisaragi Chiyo, who had an expressionless face but whose eyes and tone betrayed her sincerity, let out a confused sound: "A walk?"
Considering that this location is almost across half of Tokyo from where Kisaragi Chiyo lives, it would make more sense to call it grocery shopping.
"It's socialization training." Kisaragi Chiyo stroked the Bernese Mountain Dog, which was friendly and wagging its tail, while the cat perched on her shoulder also nodded along with her movements.
"So that's how it is." Date Wataru wore a look of sudden realization, though whether he actually believed it was something only he knew.
With the cooperation of both parties, the questioning was quickly completed. After Date Wataru closed his notebook, only then did he have time to take a good look at the cat perched on Kisaragi Chiyo's shoulder.
It was a very standard-looking cat, with pointed ears standing upright on its head and a long, agile tail swaying casually behind it.
But what caught Date Wataru's attention most were the cat's teal eyes.
"A new child you've adopted?" Date Wataru asked in a low voice, sounding somewhat curious.
“Yes.” Kisaragi Chiyo smiled as she stroked the cat on her shoulder. The cat, with its teal eyes, was very well-behaved, rubbing its head against her and purring contentedly under the young woman's touch.
"This little one.." Date Wataru had originally intended to compliment how cute the cat was, but for some reason, when he met those teal eyes, the word "cute" got stuck in his throat and simply wouldn't come out.
"What is this child's name?" Date Wataru felt like his head was truly in a fog; how could he start looking for a substitute for his contemporary in a cat?
"Mazda," Kisaragi Chiyo answered truthfully.
Date Wataru: ".."
Date Wataru fell silent. As he watched the black cat perched on the young man's shoulder, leisurely licking its paws, he began to doubt himself once again.
Haha.. that sense of familiarity.. it must have been my imagination, right?
Even if Matsuda and Kisaragi Chiyo were somehow related, even if this cat felt a bit like Matsuda, even if Matsuda might be able to turn into a cat after becoming a ghost and returning to the human world—after all, if Hell exists, what wouldn't be possible?
But I must state one thing once more: whether the cat is Matsuda or not, he truly has no intention of eating a substitute for his contemporary.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels for your support, mwah to everyone 030
Chapter 111
Date Wataru had to use almost all of his willpower to barely manage to shift his gaze away from the cat on the young man's shoulder.
"That's a pretty good name." After a long silence, Date Wataru squeezed out those words.
Just as he was thinking of chatting with Kisaragi Chiyo a bit more about cats, the officer in the slightly bulky bomb disposal suit stepped down from the train that had come to a halt on the station tracks. He first looked around, then walked directly toward Kisaragi and the others.
"Inspector Date." A muffled voice came from beneath the helmet, as the person stood beside her, his heavy frame blocked out most of the light. This appearance couldn't help but make Kisaragi Chiyo think of the armored samurai from the Sengoku period.
"So you're the one in charge of the scene this time, Kojimayuu." Date Wataru seemed to be acquainted with the newcomer.
At that moment, the bomb disposal police officer known as Kojimayuu reached up and removed the helmet from her head, revealing a youthful face.
"Yes, the seniors happened to have all set off on another mission, so I am in charge of this scene," Kojimayuu's voice sounded stiff; she didn't seem like the very social type.
But fortunately, Date Wataru understood the other person's personality very well. So, before Kojimayuu could even speak, he spoke up first with understanding: "Has something gone wrong? Or is there something you would like to ask?"
No." Kojimayuu shook her head. "There is no problem; the bomb has already been defused by someone ahead of us. We only need to be responsible for its recovery and disposal now.
Since it wasn't the former that was the problem, Kojimayuu had come for the latter.
"Um.. I'd like to ask a question." Kojimayuu's expression looked somewhat conflicted, as if she had encountered a problem that was difficult to comprehend.
"This person.." Kojimayuu looked toward Kisaragi Chiyo, who was said to have had direct contact with those two policemen who performed good deeds without seeking credit, her expression hesitant as if she wanted to say more but couldn't.
"Please, just call me Kisaragi Chiyo," Kisaragi Chiyo said, glancing down as if sensing something. The Bernese Mountain Dog's wet black nose sniffed the air lightly. This was probably another former colleague from the same department, wasn't it?
Kisaragi wondered.
“Kisaragi-kun.” Kojimayuu called out softly, looking at Kisaragi Chiyo with a serious expression. “Do you happen to remember the appearance of those two men who claimed to be bomb disposal officers?”
Kisaragi Chiyo did not answer immediately; he lowered his eyes, pretending to look thoughtful, while in his heart, he had other thoughts regarding Officer Kojimayuu's question.