"Aren't all dogs like that?" Matsuda Jinpei reached out and hooked his arm around Kisaragi Chiyo's neck, saying he was going to take him to play a two-player game to sideline Hara Kenji.
By the way, the extra gaming corner in the living room was something Matsuda Jinpei and Hara Kenji spent an entire day setting up a while ago.
"How is it?" As soon as Kisaragi Chiyo sat down against the soft cushion, a game controller was shoved into her hands.
They all like licking people.
“And what about the cat?” Kisaragi Chiyo glanced at Matsuda Jinpei and asked with a smile.
Matsuda Jinpei also smiled at him, but said nothing.
Just as Kisaragi Chiyo thought Matsuda Jinpei wouldn't answer, he suddenly felt something lightly brush against his leg. Looking down, a furry long tail was resting quite casually across his leg.
Kisaragi Chiyo: ".."
Kisaragi Chiyo hadn't yet figured out what Matsuda Jinpei meant, but by the time he realized it, his hand had already reached out.
Seeing Matsuda Jinpei's expression, which said, "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist the temptation," Kisaragi Chiyo belatedly understood the meaning behind Matsuda's answer to her question.
Cats don't need to do much; they only need to flick their tails slightly to easily hook a human.
Fishing for people is easier than fishing for fish; this was a truth Matsuda had derived from his own experience.
*
By the time Kisaragi Chiyo finished washing his face and came downstairs, his cat and dog were huddled together, sprawled out in a heap on the sofa where the sunlight hit.
On the left is the thick, warm, extra-cuddly dog biscuit, on the right is the smooth and soft-furred cat biscuit.
Human, which cookie are you going to choose now?
Kisaragi Chiyo didn't choose either one; being a greedy human, he naturally wanted them all. So, he walked right between the Doggy Cookie and the Kitty Cookie with total confidence, forcing a space open for himself.
The squeezed dog biscuit and cat biscuit said nothing. The former quickly adjusted its posture, nuzzling its head under the human's hand, making sure the human would stroke its ears and chin thoroughly. The cat biscuit was a bit more lazy; he opened one eye just a crack, cast a glance at the human with his teal-colored cat eyes, then stretched, elongating himself into a soft cat-shaped strip. It just so happened that during the stretch, the tip of his tail landed right on the back of the human's hand.
The sunlight made the black coat feel a bit hot, but Kisaragi Chiyo, surrounded by cats and dogs, was somewhat reluctant to move from that spot.
He half-closed his eyes, the earrings on both sides of his cheeks reflecting a silver light. After holding out for three minutes, the young man finally could not resist the sleepiness that rushed in like a tide.
In the end, his head slumped to the side, he fell asleep again.
*
When he woke up again, Kisaragi Chiyo felt a heavy warmth enveloping him, a familiar presence wrapped around him. The frown that had instinctively begun to form relaxed due to this sense of familiar security.
Opening his eyes, the piercing light had already become soft. The once azure sky was gradually being dyed with the brilliant colors of dusk, as if the entire world were slowly and silently burning within the twilight.
Kisaragi Chiyo tried to move but found that he couldn't move at all. With Hara Kenji on his left and Matsuda Jinpei on his right, he had completely lost all ability to move.
One could only say it was truly difficult for them to force themselves to squeeze onto the same sofa with him after they had taken human form.
Especially Hara Kenji on the left, because of his tall stature, he had to hunch his shoulders just to rest his head on Kisaragi Chiyo's arm. Like a small animal huddling together for warmth in winter, he looked somewhat pitiful.
"Chiyo-chan." It was likely Kisaragi Chiyo's attempt to pull her hand away that woke Hara Kenji.
His voice still carried a hint of sleepiness, he hadn't even fully opened his eyes, but he seemed to have an automatic positioning system, burying his face unerringly into Kisaragi Chiyo's neck.
"Is it dark yet?" Matsuda Jinpei was also woken up by the noise. The cat ears standing up between his curly hair had not yet disappeared, his teal eyes slowly opened. Perhaps because he had just woken up, the curves of his eyes and brows had not yet become sharp, his entire being exuded a lazy air.
"It's six in the afternoon." Kisaragi Chiyo reached out and casually patted a pair of cat ears.
That was quite a long sleep.
"Did you really sleep for that long?" Upon hearing the time, Hara Kenji instantly woke up. After all, if that were the case, it could be said that as a human, Kisaragi Chiyo had not eaten anything worth calling food today.
"Actually, I'm not even that hungry.." Before meeting Hara Kenji, Kisaragi Chiyo's diet and daily routine were already quite irregular. Combined with the fact that she lived alone, both her meals and her rest were quite arbitrary. They didn't follow any normal schedule.
"Alright, I am actually a little hungry after all." Under Hara Kenji's burning gaze, Kisaragi Chiyo tactfully changed her story.
He behaved very well, after promising to finish all the broccoli that Hara made for dinner, the Evil Spirit mercifully let him go.
"Kisaragi, you've been completely played," Matsuda Jinpei said with a gloating tone. He stretched, making no move to get up from the sofa. Instead, taking advantage of Hara's departure, he brazenly rested his head on Kisaragi Chiyo's lap, enjoying the headrest provided by his lover's thighs.
After all, I'm not like you." Kisaragi Chiyo ignored Matsuda Jinpei's words, idly stroking the curly hair resting on her thigh, mocked him in a nonchalant tone, "You act like you've seen a natural enemy whenever you see a carrot, your whole body hair stands on end.
"I am not." Matsuda Jinpei opened his mouth and bit down on Kisaragi Chiyo's outstretched hand.
He gently bit down on her fingertip and wouldn't let go, a muffled voice squeezing out from his throat: "You're the only one who knows how to tease me."
"Sorry," Kisaragi Chiyo said with a half-hearted laugh.
He didn't pay any attention to his finger being bitten by Matsuda Jinpei; instead, he lowered his eyes and looked into Matsuda Jinpei's beautiful teal eyes, where the dark pupils had likely become rounded instead of slit-like due to the lighting.
If your cooking were as delicious as Morofushi's, I would also help you join in on making fun of Hara Kenji.
"Can't you just ask for something else?" Matsuda Jinpei grumbled, biting down on the young man's finger in dissatisfaction.
Mmm.." Kisaragi Chiyo showed a thoughtful expression, "For example, how about we play a game of frisbee together?
"Don't even think about it." Matsuda Jinpei rejected her outright.
To put it simply, the frisbee game was originally used for training dogs.
Only Hara Kenji liked playing this with Kisaragi Chiyo; Matsuda Jinpei adamantly refused to run out to fetch the frisbee and then excitedly bring it back in his mouth.
Matsuda Jinpei thought that was simply too stupid; he wasn't actually a cat!
Thinking of this, Matsuda applied even more force, leaving a few shallow tooth marks on Kisaragi Chiyo's fingers with his fangs.
"What happened with that Curse Dwarf?" Matsuda released Kisaragi Chiyo's fingertips, remembering the question.
Don't worry." Kisaragi Chiyo reached out and casually stroked Matsuda Jinpei's cat ears again. "There should be some movement within the next day or two.
Kisaragi Chiyo could feel that the curse on the Curse Dwarf was becoming more intense by the day. He had also asked Nozono Shizuka if he had any understanding of this form of curse.
Unfortunately, the Mechano Family is more skilled in talisman sorcery, their understanding of things like cursed dolls is much the same as what Kisaragi Chiyo already knows.
The abilities of a Curse Doll are not significant in the early stages; in the end, one must wait until the curse has accumulated to a certain extent to see exactly what method the curse intends to use to harm people.
If one were to say that Kisaragi Chiyo had noticed any recent changes in her physical condition, it would be that she seemed to be sleeping much more than before; since she never experienced any feelings of fear, aside from her sleep quality being exceptionally good, she didn't even have any dreams.
Looking at it this way, wouldn't this Curse Dwarf be quite popular in the insomnia market?
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you for the support, my little angels. Mwah! 030
Chapter 115
On a certain day of a certain month, the weather was overcast and rainy.
Looking out through the glass windows of the school building's corridor, the sky was gloomy, with massive, heavy, iron-gray clouds piling up and gathering over the playground not far below.
The wind caused the trees on both sides of the path to rustle in unison, followed by a violent gust of cold air that swept through the half-open glass windows and into the corridor, eliciting a sudden outcry from the students.
"It's going to rain.." Oboshima Asako stood in the corridor outside the third-floor classroom. It was currently after school, the corridor was filled with the sounds of students chatting and making noise, interspersed with the occasional piercing, high-pitched laughter of teenagers, which left Oboshima feeling somewhat irritated.
"Oboshima!" Someone in the classroom called her name. Oboshima turned around and saw her classmate Yamae waving at her from the front row.
"I'm coming," Oboshima replied, walking into the classroom while clutching a half-dry rag in his hand.
According to the previously arranged seating order, it was her turn to be on duty today along with Yamae. To be honest, Oboshima truly felt that she couldn't quite handle girls with a personality like Yamae's.
"Oboshima, Oboshima.." Yamae kept calling out.
She was a cute girl with long, smooth hair that she often tied into two ponytails at the back of her head. She was a member of the school's gymnastics club and was said to have represented the school in national women's gymnastics competitions.
She is a girl who is incredibly popular throughout the entire grade; it seems no one could dislike her, she is equally friendly to everyone, including a student like me, who has only recently transferred and remains quite antisocial.
"What's wrong?" Oboshima Asagiri didn't like noise, but Yamae was simply an outgoing person; her level of noisiness couldn't compare to the male classmates who gathered during breaks to act mature and boast about themselves.
Oboshima.." Yamae smiled somewhat sheepishly, then clasped her hands together and said to Oboshima in a very sincere tone, "Could I please ask you to go throw out the trash by yourself in a little bit.. because I've made plans to go to karaoke with Sayuri and the others, so..
"Sure." Oboshima didn't even wait for Yamae to finish her sentence before agreeing directly.
Taking out the trash was a simple task. As the Class Monitor, Yamae had provided a lot of help to her when she transferred in the middle of the semester, so Oboshima was more than happy to help her with such small matters.
"That's great!" Yamae flashed a brilliant smile, Oboshima suddenly seemed to understand why she was so popular.
Thank you so much, Oboshima!
"You're welcome, after all, you helped me too, Yamae-san." Oboshima Asagiri found Yamae's overly familiar personality a bit hard to handle, so as she approached, she subconsciously took two steps back.
"Actually, if you look closely like this.." Yamae stared intently at her own gaze, causing Oboshima to frown.
Oboshima, your eyes are mist gray!
Mist gray is a color between dark and light, possessing a hazy feeling like mist, which is why it is called mist gray.
"Is that so.." Oboshima Asagiri blinked, looking a bit confused, but Yamae was quickly distracted by something else.
"Hey," three girls appeared at the classroom door, dressed in trendy, fashionable styles, looking more like students from Tokyo in a small-town school like this.
Yamae, are you ready?" the girl with long, curly hair called out to Yamae. "The reservation time for the private room is almost here.
"Coming, I'm coming.." Yamae quickly grabbed her schoolbag and, while walking out, didn't forget to thank Oboro Asagiri once more.
Then I'll leave it to you, Oboshima-san.
"Seriously, Yamae, why are you getting so close to that transfer student.." The figures of four girls disappeared through the classroom doorway, but the sound of their conversation was carried to Oboro Asagiri's ears by the wind.
Eh, I think Oboshima-san is actually quite alright..
Haven't you heard those rumors.. Getting too close to her will bring you nothing but bad luck. Just look at those people before..
What a gloomy weirdo..
..
More words dissipated in the wind before they could even land, but none of this caused even a ripple in Oboro Asagiri's heart. In truth, more than all of this, she always felt that something was wrong.
Oboro walked up to her own belongings, where her notebook from the previous class was placed. She stared at the five characters of her name, Oboro Asagiri, on the notebook, feeling as though something was wrong.. She had a feeling that, at this moment, she shouldn't be called by that name.
But there was no doubt about it; she was indeed Oboro Asagiri.
Oboshima lowered her eyes and subconsciously touched her ears, but they were empty; there was nothing extra on her earlobes.
It's so strange.. Standing in the empty classroom with no one else around, Oboro Asagiri suddenly couldn't understand why she was here.
Especially when she saw her reflection in the classroom window and saw herself wearing a navy blue sailor suit, that sense of displacement grew even stronger.
How strange, Oboro Asagiri repeated to herself.
But what exactly was so strange about the way she looked right now?