"What?" Hara Kenji said, crunching loudly on a rabbit apple.
How were the wasabi shrimp chips?
It was so-so." Hara frowned as he evaluated it. "The wasabi flavor was too strong, there was almost no shrimp taste, I wouldn't recommend buying it again.
Hara Kenji: "Wait.."
"Heh." Matsuda Jinpei let out a cold laugh, once again staring at Hara Kenji until he was breaking into a sweat.
Listen to me, Little Jinpei." Hara Kenji weakly raised four fingers. "I really only ate a tiny bit; most of the missing snacks weren't eaten by me.
Matsuda Jinpei remained silent, his sneer unchanged.
Little Jinpei QAQ." Hara Kenji's eyes turned into teardrops. "You have to believe me, I really did run into a Ghost Vigilante.
"So?" Matsuda raised an eyebrow, signaling his friend to hurry up and reveal whatever scheme he had in mind.
"So tonight, will you stay and help me catch the Ghost Vigilante?" Hara Kenji said, his hands clasped together with difficulty as he looked at Matsuda Jinpei with an incredibly sincere gaze.
Actually, it should have been a high five, because his other hand was wrapped up like a rice dumpling; in addition to the fracture, there were some abrasions on the back of his hand.
"How are we going to catch it?" Matsuda Jinpei tilted his head, a look of interest crossing his face.
"First, we need to prepare a small strawberry cake.." Hara Kenji held up a finger.
Matsuda Jinpei stared silently at the finger extended before him, then raised his hand and pressed it down forcefully.
“Little cakes?” Matsuda let out a scoff. “Are you taking me for a fool, Hara Kenji?”
It's not!" Watching the black mist rising behind his friend, Hara curled into a large ball on the bed, shivering. He wrapped the quilt around himself, leaving only his fuzzy head visible. "It really does take little cakes to lure out the Ghost Vigilante..
Hara's voice grew quieter and quieter; although he knew that the method he proposed sounded somewhat absurd, it was indeed true—the Ghost Vigilante who saved him really did love small cakes.
In addition to that, the other party also likes crème brûlée, sandwiches, shrimp crackers, oden..
"I'll trust you one more time, reluctantly." After staring at Hara Kenji with a sharp gaze for three minutes, Matsuda Jinpei finally gave a reluctant nod of agreement.
Then, while Matsuda was out of the hospital buying a cake, he sent a message to his supervisor.
I'm going to the hospital to take care of Hara tonight, so I won't be coming in to work overtime on reports!
*
At midnight, Matsuda Jinpei let out a yawn.
He and Officer Hara crouched in the corridor outside the hospital room, observing the movement inside through the crack in the door.
An exquisitely crafted strawberry cake was placed on the table in the hospital room, its sweet aroma wafting through the air.
This is really suspicious, don't you think?" Matsuda Jinpei lowered his voice and poked the head of Hara Kenji below him. "With such an obvious bait, would that Ghost Vigilante really fall for it?
"Maybe?" Hara Kenji wasn't actually very sure. He didn't even know if Matsuda Jinpei had been right beside him when they spoke this morning; if he had been, he might not have come out.
During these days of hospitalization, Hara had thought of many methods. Planchette, spirit boards, yuzu leaf water.. but none of them worked, unlike the one thing that remained constant every day: the snacks by his bedside, which were steadily diminishing.
"Maybe I shouldn't have believed your nonsense." Matsuda Jinpei felt a bit sleepy, his head nodded rhythmically, looking as if he were about to fall asleep.
Hara Kenji was also feeling a bit dejected. It wasn't that he doubted the Ghost Vigilante was fake; in fact, there was one more thing that Hara had not told Matsuda.
That was because he had seen what the Ghost Vigilante looked like, right in the middle of that explosion.
The Ghost Vigilante with beautiful heterochromia covered his eyes, wrapping him in a gentle, cool fragrance to insulate him from the flames, death, that roar loud enough to shatter his eardrums. As the physical pain gradually subsided, he might have been held in the other's arms, that sense of security allowed him to fall asleep in the darkness.
Even now, recalling the image of that moment, Hara Kenji could still clearly feel the rapid thumping of his heart.
Just as the two were about to give up, a series of extremely light footsteps suddenly echoed from the hospital room that had previously only been occupied by one person. Matsuda and Hara instantly snapped to attention, peering through the crack in the door.
The window in the hospital room had been opened at some unknown time, the light-colored sheer curtains drifted in the wind, forming beautiful curves under the moonlight.
A dark shadow stood by the window, silver moonlight falling upon it. The figure slowly turned its head, its gaze locking onto the two people hiding behind the door almost instantly.
"Hide and seek?" The Ghost Vigilante, dressed in a wide black haori, looked at them with confusion, as if looking at small animals peeking out from the bushes, his gaze calm and tinged with a hint of interest.
The Ghost Vigilante with raven-black hair had a pair of rare heterochromatic eyes, mist-gray and dark red, which added a touch of mystery to the Ghost Vigilante in the eyes of the two men.
The Ghost tilted his head from side to side like a curious bird. The silver tassel earrings swayed gently with his movements, it was also at the moment they saw the other's face that Matsuda and Hara confirmed the other's gender.
It's Mr. Ghost.
"There is a difference between me and a Ghost Vigilante." The other person had walked up in front of the two of them at some unknown moment, staring down at the two people crouching outside the door crack.
"What difference?" Caught red-handed, Matsuda Jinpei didn't panic in the slightest. He stood up, his gaze locking onto the Ghost Vigilante, appearing very interested in this kind of supernatural event.
"I'm an evil spirit," the youth said, flashing him a smile. The corners of his narrow eyes curved upward in a way that carried a hint of an unlikable cunningness.
"I am Matsuda." Matsuda Jinpei looked at that smile and subconsciously pursed his lips; he reached out his hand to introduce himself to the young man.
“I know you.” The young man, who called himself the Evil Spirit, smiled again. His palm was covered by a black glove, with only a small patch of pale skin peeking out from between the glove and his haori.
"Officer Matsuda." The young man grasped his hand; although it was only a light touch, Matsuda Jinpei could still feel the chill in his palm, a chill that even the glove could not block.
But just as Hara Kenji had said, Matsuda Jinpei caught a faint scent in the chilly air, something like the fragrance of a flower, it wasn't unpleasant.
So, how should I address you?" Matsuda Jinpei asked curiously. "As a matter of social etiquette, you should probably introduce yourself as well, shouldn't you?
"Social etiquette?" The young man let out a strange laugh, possessing a ghostly aura that was nonetheless accompanied by a captivating beauty that made it difficult to look away. He gazed at Matsuda with shimmering eyes, seemingly mocking human ignorance and naivety.
“I am an evil spirit, you know.” The young man tilted his chin slightly, his expression carrying a hint of reserve.
But sorry, Matsuda Jinpei just found this movement quite adorable.
"Um.." A faint voice drifted from between the two, a hand slowly rose. Hara Kenji looked at his childhood friend with a resentful gaze.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, but could you give me a hand first? My legs have gone numb from squatting." Hara Kenji felt that such an opening was truly uncool, but if he waited any longer, his legs would really go numb and he would collapse. At that time, would it look good for him to be lying all stretched out in the middle of the road?
Hara Kenji thought indignantly, feeling that Matsuda Jinpei was suspect of prioritizing a beautiful woman over his friend.
-----------------------
Author's Note: This is an identity-swap IF storyline! Bomb Disposal Squad x Evil Spirit Kisaragi Chiyo. Thanks to all the little angels for your support, muah!
Chapter 160
"Oh, Officer Hara." The young man lowered his eyes, staring at Hara Kenji's face, gave an ambiguous smile.
That smile seemed to hide something that made Hara feel uneasy.
“You know me?” Hara Kenji blinked, looking at the hand the young man extended toward him, slowly took it.
"I suppose so." With a slight tug, the young man pulled Hara Kenji up from the ground. Matsuda Jinpei stepped in to take his hand, helping him back to his hospital bed as he stumbled, his legs still feeling numb.
"I suppose so?" What kind of answer is that?
Hara felt that the young man was being a bit too cunning. This kind of evasive, ambiguous, somewhat distant answer was like placing an unsolved mystery in front of a detective; it made one's heart itch with curiosity, making them unable to resist the urge to keep probing to find an exact answer.
“What is the difference between an evil spirit and a ghost?” Matsuda Jinpei pulled over a chair and sat down; he had originally intended to grab one for the youth as well. But by the time he turned back, the other person had unceremoniously occupied more than half of Hara Kenji's bed, pushing the poor host pitifully into a corner.
"Hmm.." The youth sat on the bed with his legs crossed, his hands resting naturally on his knees. His head swayed slightly as if he were contemplating how to explain this question to these two ordinary people who had never encountered supernatural events before.
You can think of a Ghost Vigilante as a herbivore; they are generally harmless. In contrast, an Evil Spirit is a carnivore, they are much more aggressive.
The young man spoke these words in a calm tone, as if reminding Matsuda and Hara not to underestimate his social danger.
But, please forgive his subjective judgment. One must realize that most humans are visual creatures, with the exception of the blind. Even Matsuda Jinpei, who considered himself calm-headed and capable of judging the current situation rationally, was no exception.
He glanced at the young man's face—youthful and still possessing a touch of boyishness. That beautiful and fragile appearance would unconsciously make one feel a sense of worry, such as whether he had been eating properly, or if the dark circles under his eyes were because he hadn't rested well last night.
Of course, Matsuda Jinpei was merely using a metaphor; it didn't mean he would suddenly feel an overwhelming sense of sympathy for a strange Evil Spirit without any reason.
I see." Matsuda let out a hum, then pointed to the strawberry cake sitting on the table nearby and asked the youth, "Do you want some?
The young man: ".."
“Did you hear what I just said?” The young man fell silent for a moment, tilting his head as he looked at Matsuda Jinpei, seemingly unable to comprehend Matsuda's extraordinary way of thinking. Normally, upon hearing him say that, shouldn't one show signs of worry or fear?
He is an evil spirit! An incredibly aggressive evil spirit! If he wanted to, he could easily harm the two ordinary humans in front of him.
"So, do you want some?" Matsuda Jinpei picked up the cake from the table and offered it to the young man.
“.. I'll eat it.” The young man stared at the exquisite strawberry cake before him, then used a fork to scoop up a massive piece and shove it into his mouth.
"I still have Pocky, dried squid, pudding, matcha sandwich cookies.." Hara Kenji dumped all the prepared snacks onto the hospital bed in one go. Watching the cake vanish so quickly from the young man's hands, he felt that what he had bought was simply not enough; he really should have just told Matsuda to buy the whole thing.
"Thanks for the treat." The young man pulled a handkerchief from his haori and elegantly wiped his mouth, showing no sign that the other person had just devoured all the prepared snacks in one sitting.
"That's incredible.." Hara Kenji looked in shock at the empty food wrappers on the table, then turned his head to look at the young man. His gaze landed with restraint on the man's abdomen, he suddenly began to wonder if the Evil Spirit's stomach was actually a bottomless pit.
The young man said nothing, merely letting out a restrained hum, he looked up at the clock hanging on the hospital ward wall. It was 2:30 in the morning; he had stayed long enough, it was time to leave.
When the other party said he was leaving, neither Matsuda nor Hara tried to stop him; after all, they were not yet that close.
"Will you come back again?" Hara Kenji asked curiously. Although they had only spent about two hours together, Hara, having met the Ghost Vigilante for the first time, still felt a trace of reluctance deep down. Regardless of what the other's motives were, the fact that he had saved him and the entire squad was beyond question.
"Perhaps?" The young man didn't give a definitive answer. He stood up, his gaze lightly sweeping over the two of them.
"It's best not to walk through deserted areas at night lately, don't try anything like Ouija boards or spirit boards again." The last sentence was clearly directed at Hara Kenji.
"Is something about to happen?" Matsuda Jinpei looked at the young man with sharp eyes, attempting to find some clue within the other's calm expression.
It's just some trivial matters," the young man muttered. "I'll have it sorted out soon.
"However.." The young man's gaze shifted toward Hara Kenji. It seemed he had thought about how the other man's methods for dealing with ghosts over the past few days had encompassed all sorts of styles, from traditional to Western, once again, he raised his estimation of this young officer's unreliability in his mind.
I'd better take some precautions.
Precautions?
Just as Matsuda Jinpei was about to ask what precautions, the young man suddenly leaned in toward him, the distance between them so close that they could clearly see each other's eyelashes.
"You.." Matsuda felt a bit flustered and tried to step back, but the other man used his hand to press down on his shoulder, forcing him back into the chair.
"Don't move." The young man looked down at him with a cold expression, a chilling aura began to swirl around Matsuda Jinpei.
"It'll be quick." The youth lowered his head, his face drawing closer and closer.
A soft, cool sensation brushed lightly against his cheek, Matsuda Jinpei's entire body stiffened instantly.
It was just a light touch against his cheek, just a quick graze on either side.
Matsuda Jinpei's fingers curled at his sides, the spot where the young man had brushed his cheek against him began to burn.
"Do I get one too?" After a brief moment of shock, Hara Kenji chose to accept it readily. He sat obediently at the corner of the bed, gazing expectantly at the youth who had turned around.
"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm doing this first?" The young man met Hara's sparkling purple eyes and was momentarily speechless.