Hozuki stared at him in silence for a moment, sighed, sat down in the chair.
He pressed his hand to his forehead, muttering a string of complaints expressionlessly, "What a troublesome brat. I knew you'd ask this question as soon as you arrived. The files got mixed in with the documents sent over a few days ago and haven't been sorted out yet, Oboshima left for somewhere else a while ago, so in the end, I'm the one who has to explain everything.."
In short.." The Hell Assistant Official pressed his hands together, staring at the two people before him with overwhelming pressure, "Dismissed for now.
I will give you a reply regarding the things you want to know later.
Hozuki thought for a moment and added, "Once the files are sorted out after being messed up."
"Then I'll leave it to you." After hearing the reply, Kisaragi Chiyo felt relieved and did not ask any further questions.
"As for you, Matsuda," Hozuki turned to look at Matsuda Jinpei.
You can take Kisaragi Chiyo to visit the Hell Assistant Official's staff dormitory first, but you'll need to come back later to finish up the official business that has piled up during this period.
The sadistic boss coldly issued a voice essentially saying that if the work wasn't finished, one might as well die.
*
The Hell Assistant Official's staff dormitory was not far from where Matsuda worked; it was only about a ten-minute walk away.
It was a building that looked ordinary on the outside. Of course, that is aside from the various statues and decorations shaped like ghosts, the swaying Snapdragon greenery..
The others looked no different from the dormitories for employees in the human world.
Rooms lined both sides of the corridor, the lights overhead flickered. Matsuda Jinpei stopped in front of a door, holding a key in his hand.
Kisaragi Chiyo glanced up at the room number above the door, 404; how symmetrical.
“Hell is even more modern than I imagined.” As Matsuda Jinpei inserted the key into the lock, Kisaragi Chiyo suddenly remarked, “Looking at it this way, there isn't actually much difference between the world of the dead and the world of the living.”
Still, I prefer the skies of the mortal world.
Matsuda Jinpei opened the dormitory door, the first thing that caught his eye was a small entryway, with a three-tier shoe cabinet placed on the right side of the entrance.
Because it was a single-person dormitory, the space was not large, but it was fully equipped.
The living room and bedroom were integrated, with light green tatami mats covering the floor. The small kitchen was partitioned by a sliding door, there was also a bathroom and a small balcony.
There was a washing machine on the balcony, along with several small potted Snapdragon plants.
Kisaragi Chiyo took off her shoes and stepped onto the tatami mats, curiously observing the layout of the dormitory. On the left side, a closet served as both a wardrobe and storage space. Several paintings hung on the wall, most of them depicting plants and landscapes.
Perhaps because he hadn't lived here for so long, the room carried an old scent. Matsuda Jinpei observed every corner of the room, a sense of strangeness mixed with familiarity filling his heart, leaving him feeling somewhat unsettled.
He reached out and opened the sliding door to the balcony, the wind and fresh air from outside instantly rushed into the room, causing the light, thin gauze curtains to flutter.
Kisaragi Chiyo looked toward the balcony; the thick red sky looked as if it were burning, with billowing black smoke-like clouds entwining with the dark red sky, inseparable.
"So this is Hell," Kisaragi Chiyo lamented.
Along with the wind came the crisp, melodious sound of wind chimes.
Wind chimes made of seashells and glass hung from the balcony, making delightful sounds in the wind.
“Kisaragi..” Matsuda Jinpei looked at Kisaragi Chiyo, he found that the young man was also gazing at him.
Silence spread between the two, as they gazed into each other's eyes, they ultimately couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"I'll be here waiting for your return." Kisaragi Chiyo gave Matsuda Jinpei a gentle push on his back, signaling for him to hurry back and finish his pile of work; as for everything else that follows, they would have plenty of time to figure it out slowly.
It was just..
Kisaragi Chiyo sat kneeling on the tatami mat, with a dark brown low table beside her. On the table were some old magazines that Matsuda had brought out to keep her from being bored.
Although they were somewhat old magazines, for Kisaragi Chiyo, who only had a rudimentary understanding of Hell, the content inside was still quite novel and interesting.
I just wonder, what is Hara Kenji doing at this time?
Kisaragi Chiyo pinched the magazine and let out a soft sigh, then turned to the next page, which featured an introduction to the Hell Snapdragon competition, as well as instructions on how to raise and consume Snapdragons.
Kisaragi Chiyo: ".."
"If it were Hara, he would definitely be very interested in such a strange and novel competition, wouldn't he?" A faint smile curled at the corners of the young man's lips. As the sky grew darker, the only sound in the dormitory, where only one person remained, was the turning of pages.
*
Matsuda Jinpei didn't know when he had left his workstation, but he felt as if he were about to die.
It was the kind of death where one's energy is completely drained by work.
So even though I've already died once, why do I still feel so exhausted?
So even after becoming a ghost, even after becoming a yokai, is it nothing more than avoiding the fate of being a corporate slave?
Matsuda Jinpei didn't know how he managed to stumble his way back to the dormitory. Before leaving, a colleague with long horns had jokingly invited him to go out for a drink after work, but he had declined, using the excuse that someone was waiting for him.
Matsuda Jinpei expressionlessly pushed his chair back into its original place, ignoring the shocked gazes and incredulous looks of his colleagues behind him, left that energy-sapping place with a lifeless gait.
His steps were unsteady. As long as he could get back to the dormitory quickly, even if his stomach felt completely empty.. but right now, besides the need for rest, his mind held nothing but Kisaragi Chiyo's face.
Energy.. he needed to replenish his energy, no matter what kind.
"I'm back," Matsuda Jinpei said weakly, pushing open the door and calling out into the room.
The room was pitch black, Matsuda Jinpei's heart skipped a beat instinctively. But before he could even begin to imagine the worst, a lumpy shape under the covers on the tatami mat moved slowly.
"Mm.. Matsuda?" Kisaragi Chiyo rose from the bedding. Because he had waited for too long, he had unfortunately fallen asleep; three days had already passed since Matsuda left and then returned.
During these three days, Kisaragi Chiyo went out several times and returned, but he was in no hurry to find Hozuki; instead, he leisurely wandered through all the nearby areas by himself.
Because of his employee card, he had eaten lunch in the cafeteria every day for these three days. Although he didn't know if eating Hell's food would have any effect on a living person, the taste was at least normal.
However, it was still a certain level below what Hara Kenji made.
"I've packed some food for you." Kisaragi Chiyo rubbed his eyes as he climbed up from the tatami mat, wearing clothes that had been pulled from the closet—Matsuda's clothes.
The young man had a rather slender build, Matsuda Jinpei's clothes appeared a bit loose on him, but it would do just fine for a time like this.
"Are you hungry?" Kisaragi Chiyo looked at Matsuda Jinpei. The curly-haired man stood at the entrance, his teal eyes gleaming slightly in the darkness from hunger and desire.
The man stared intently at him, his Adam's apple bobbing, his lips pursed unconsciously. As he approached step by step, the desire suppressed in his eyes became increasingly obvious.
"I.." Matsuda Jinpei opened his mouth, suddenly at a loss for words. He looked at the young man, feeling as though he should be hungry—starving, in fact.
He lowered his eyes, the youth's figure was clearly reflected in them; every movement, every single detail of the other's person escaped not his gaze.
The lips parted while speaking, the silver earrings swaying slightly with every movement, the neck that remained pale even in the darkness, the collarbones exposed to the air by the wide collar.
"So hungry.." Matsuda Jinpei rested his hands gently on Kisaragi Chiyo's shoulders, lowering his head and inching closer to her.
It was the aura of a living being; even through the clothing, a warm body temperature continued to flow incessantly from beneath his palms.
A pleasant, comforting scent. Before him was his lovely, fragile human lover.
Because they are human, they are easily injured; because they are human, even the act of biting the neck must be done with care.
Matsuda Jinpei opened his mouth, carefully savoring every inch of the young man's exposed skin.
He wrapped both hands around the other's waist, able to feel the youth's body trembling slightly in his arms.
Is it because of fear?
Matsuda Jinpei used the tip of his tongue to tenderly lick away the tears seeping from the corners of Kisaragi Chiyo's eyes, the crystal-clear droplets carrying a faint saltiness.
"Kisaragi.." Matsuda swept the magazines off the low table, the books hitting the tatami with a dull, short thud.
The young man lay on his back on the table, his hands unconsciously grasping Matsuda Jinpei's arms, his head resting on the edge of the low table, leaving his vulnerable neck completely exposed to the other man's gaze without any defense.
"So fragrant.." Matsuda Jinpei rubbed his nose and lips against the skin near the young man's collarbone, one hand resting on the young man's waist while the other gripped his wrist.
I'm so hungry.
Matsuda looked down at the 'dinner' on the table, a slow smile spreading across his face.
Bon appétit.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thanks to all the little angels for your support, mwah 030
Chapter 138
Perhaps because he was truly exhausted, Matsuda Jinpei closed his eyes and fell asleep after biting her several times, leaving only Kisaragi Chiyo, whose emotions were in a state of flux, blinking at the ceiling alone.
"Matsuda.." Kisaragi Chiyo reached out and gently pushed Matsuda's head, but he had already fallen into a deep sleep, showing no reaction at all.
Kisaragi Chiyo lowered her eyes and remained silent for a moment.
He saw the curly-haired man slumped against his chest, dark circles clearly visible under his eyes. His thick eyelashes trembled as if he were about to wake, but in the end, he lost to the heavy drowsiness.
Kisaragi Chiyo poked Matsuda Jinpei's cheek with her fingertip; the sensation was soft and slightly cool. Even in sleep, the hand gripping her wrist did not loosen its hold in the slightest.
A soft sigh echoed in the room, quickly vanishing into the dark night.
Kisaragi Chiyo ruffled Matsuda Jinpei's curly hair even more messily, as if venting some frustration. In the quiet and tender darkness of the room, she heard a breathing sound that gradually synchronized with her own heartbeat, like a white-noise lullaby.
The young man propped himself up from the low table, exerting a bit more effort to lay Matsuda Jinpei down on the tatami mat covered with bedding. Once settled into the soft covers, the curly-haired man's furrowed brows relaxed, he turned his head to bury his face in the pillow, letting out a faint, indistinct murmur.
Kisaragi Chiyo knelt to one side, his wrist still held by the other.
The young man lowered his eyes, his expression soft. His gaze carefully and slowly traced half of Matsuda Jinpei's profile, after a moment, he chose to lighten his movements and lie down beside him.
"Goodnight." Kisaragi Chiyo pulled the quilt over both of them, the sleepiness that had previously vanished began to spread once more, eroding his willpower like a tide, wave after wave.
Kisaragi Chiyo finally decided to stop resisting; she closed her eyes and drifted into sleep amidst the steady, rhythmic sound of Matsuda Jinpei's breathing.
..
The next day, Kisaragi Chiyo woke up amidst the aroma of food.
He opened his eyes, the first thing that met his gaze was an unfamiliar ceiling. Having grown accustomed to the luxurious large beds in villas, sleeping on tatami mats with only a single layer of bedding felt somewhat unfamiliar.
Kisaragi Chiyo propped himself up with one hand, but Matsuda Jinpei, who had been lying beside him, was nowhere to be seen. He turned his head to look around; the sliding door to the balcony was halfway open, the wind chimes made a series of crisp sounds as the light-colored gauze curtains fluttered in the breeze.
Kisaragi Chiyo held his forehead, his mind still not entirely clear; he wanted to lie back down, yet he also wanted to get up. Caught in the struggle between these two conflicting thoughts, he sat blankly in place for five minutes, only suddenly snapping out of it when he heard the sound of running water from the bathroom.
It turned out Matsuda was still in the dormitory and had not gone to work.
Good morning.
When Matsuda Jinpei came out of the bathroom, he was still enveloped in steam, with a few strands of wet hair hanging over his brows, only to be casually swept up by his owner a moment later.
"How did you sleep?" Matsuda Jinpei leaned casually against the doorframe with his arms crossed. He was wearing a black utility vest on his upper body, revealing his arms with their smooth, muscular lines. On his lower body, he wore loose white sweatpants, because the room had tatami mats, he was barefoot after coming out of the bathroom.