And what happened before was your doing as well, wasn't it?" Kisaragi Chiyo ignored the other's explanation. He waved his hand to disperse the white mist that was gradually taking shape and trying to crawl into his collar and cuffs, asking the other party with a calm expression, "Since you still retain your consciousness and can communicate normally, you should be able to understand that what you just did is what humans call harassment.
"Oh? I am very sorry?" It gave a low laugh, making no attempt to deny that the white mist surrounding it was being manipulated according to its own will.
A water-like chill receded from Kisaragi Chiyo's eyes. It moved its hands away from his face, but as it withdrew them, it very casually brushed against his exposed skin with thin, concentrated wisps of white mist.
Even though it was only for a split second, Kisaragi Chiyo still felt a faint chill brush against his earlobe.
"I don't remember." It felt no shame for its actions; instead, it used Kisaragi Chiyo's own words to refute her with a smile.
Since you said yourself that according to human behavior..
The words "humanity" were spoken by it with a slightly heavy tone, as if to emphasize that it no longer fell within the jurisdiction of human rules.
“So, whatever I do should be considered normal, right?”
After all, I'm not human, am I?
Its hands rested on Kisaragi Chiyo's shoulders, feeling weightless, as if they had no mass at all; after all, if the two were to actually make physical contact, it would only result in a clipping error.
After confirming that the other party had no physical form and could not touch her, a large part of the vigilance in Kisaragi Chiyo's heart dissipated. The small remaining portion was focused on staying alert against the other party's attempt to trap her in the building, specifically the trick where, even if one kept walking downstairs, they would find themselves back on the starting floor in a repetitive loop.
Breaking such a trick wasn't exactly complicated, but it wasn't simple either; it would still cause a fair amount of minor trouble. Although this endless loop caused no substantial harm to humans, the physical exhaustion it caused was very real.
Kisaragi Chiyo did not like engaging in continuous, meaningless actions, so he took the initiative to speak to them, attempting to draw out the mastermind—the primary existence that constituted the Hazama Ghost Stories.
“What is it that you want?”
Kisaragi Chiyo fell silent for a moment, then turned around to look back. The Long-haired Wraith, possessing the appearance of a young man with dark purple eyes, was standing right behind him. Its long black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, nearly merging with the darkness, with a few strands scattered across its chest like snakes in slumber; if anyone were to touch them, they would be startled and then constrict their prey until it suffocated or its neck snapped.
But it was undeniable that it had a sharp, well-defined face with a slightly melancholic aura. Although its skin was as pale as paper and tinged with a grayish hue, its handsome features were still unmistakable, that indescribable, intense sense of inhumanity made Kisaragi Chiyo think of beautiful yet poisonous flowers.
“Do you like this face?”
After noticing Kisaragi Chiyo's scrutinizing gaze, its long eyelashes trembled slightly. It looked up, its smiling eyes resembling thick, sticky honey, conveying an unreal sense of deep affection. Most of its body remained hidden in the darkness, as white mist continuously surged and spread around its sides.
“Even before I met you, I had already forgotten what hunger was.” A smile tugged at the corners of its mouth, it tilted its head, negotiating with Kisaragi Chiyo in a slow, deliberate tone, "Could you give me just one bite?"
Author's Note:
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Thanks to all the little angels for adding this to your collection. Sending kisses to everyone!
Chapter 5
“I refuse.”
After saying this, Kisaragi Chiyo bypassed the other and continued walking downstairs. However, to his surprise, he did not repeat the experience of being trapped in the same hallway again; the floor number that had changed on the wall told him that he had exited the Hazama.
“I'm not that kind of unreasonable ghost either.” An arm reached out from behind and wrapped around his neck, bringing a surge of icy chill and a faint fragrance once again. Even though he knew the other couldn't actually touch him, Kisaragi Chiyo still felt a sudden impulse to give his neck a good, hard rub.
"No way? You're really that repulsed by me?" The Long-haired Wraith with dark purple eyes floated by his side. After noticing the fleeting expression on his face, a look of grievance appeared on her pale, handsome face.
"You haven't taken a bath since you died, have you?" As soon as he thought of this, Kisaragi Chiyo felt uncomfortable all over. He gripped the revolver in his hand, which he hadn't let go of since he used it just now, contemplated the possibility of giving the other party one more bullet.
Never mind, why bother arguing with a Long-haired Wraith whose state has been frozen since death? Kisaragi Chiyo calculated his remaining ammunition and ultimately chose to give up. After all, he was just an ordinary person, it would be quite difficult to obtain more bullets to reload once he ran out.
Using this to deal with the opponent was, in terms of money, not quite worth it.
Tsk.
Kisaragi Chiyo pursed her lips tightly, suddenly feeling a bit dissatisfied, but she quickly adjusted her emotions. Ignoring the Long-haired Wraith's incessant chatter beside her, she gripped her handbag and continued walking downstairs.
When Kisaragi Chiyo had almost finished walking halfway through the floors, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. This caused the Long-haired Wraith, who had been floating beside her, to lose focus, most of its soul-body passed directly through Kisaragi Chiyo's body.
Kisaragi Chiyo: ".."
Purple-eyed Wraith: ".."
"Excuse me?" The purple-eyed Long-haired Wraith quickly reacted, floating a few steps to the side to create some distance from Kisaragi Chiyo, before quietly drifting back until she had enveloped Kisaragi Chiyo in white mist, finally revealing a satisfied expression.
Kisaragi Chiyo: ".."
“Just how long are you going to keep following me?” Kisaragi Chiyo asked again.
He raised the revolver held in his right hand, the pitch-black muzzle stopping less than two fingers' width away from the center of the other's brow, while the long silver tassel earrings on both sides of his cheeks swayed slightly as Kisaragi Chiyo suddenly turned.
"Hmm? Are you going to shoot me again?" The dark purple eyes curved into a perfect arc, looking calm and appearing incredibly innocent due to the way the corners of the eyes drooped.
It blinked slowly, appearing as if it wanted to flash a smile, but after observing Kisaragi Chiyo's cold expression, that smile was suppressed once again.
"You know full well this can't cause me any harm." As it spoke, it suddenly paused again. Following the slight fluctuation in Kisaragi Chiyo's emotions, the scent emanating from her—the kind that made it feel 'hungry'—became even more intense.
Although it was very slight, for it, which had not experienced any form of sensation for a long time, it was like a white dot on black paper. Even the slightest change could instantly catch its attention.
Even though it knew that its mouth no longer secreted saliva or anything of the sort, it still subconsciously swallowed.
Its vision was excellent, far superior to that of a human, which meant it was completely unhindered even in dark environments.
As a result, it could clearly see the hand the other person raised, the small patch of bright, fair skin exposed between the cuff and the black glove, the pale blue veins running beneath that skin.
This is truly terrible.
Suppressing the surging appetite, it thought to itself with a touch of dark humor: if it couldn't have even a single bite, at least it could catch a scent, which was better than nothing.
In its misty gray eyes, the Long-haired Wraith's pitiful expression was reflected—a look of intense craving mixed with restraint, looking exactly like a dog salivating over a large meat bone.
Then, in the next second, Kisaragi Chiyo realized that she seemed to be exactly that big meat bone in the other's eyes.
Kisaragi Chiyo: ".."
"Give up, it's impossible." Before the other party could finish their hesitant movement to speak, Kisaragi Chiyo spoke the refusal first. With a click, he ejected the round from the revolver in his hand and tucked it back into his handbag.
"I haven't even said anything yet," the Long-haired Wraith tried to argue in his own defense.
"Give me a break." Kisaragi Chiyo let out a scoff, his eyebrows arching slightly, which made his originally cold expression become a good deal more vivid.
“Your gaze is so blatant, it's almost as if you're about to pounce on me.”
".. Is it really that obvious?" A hint of hesitation appeared on the face of the dark-purple-eyed Long-haired Wraith as it reached out to touch its own face, seemingly still skeptical of Kisaragi Chiyo's words.
"Believe it or not, it's up to you." Kisaragi Chiyo's interest in chatting with the other party suddenly faded. Although, this was the only spirit he had ever spoken with for such a long time; in his past experiences, he had encountered either mindless ghosts that only knew how to howl, or deformed creatures that gave him no desire to understand them.
This dark-purple-eyed, long-haired male ghost was the first one Kisaragi Chiyo had ever encountered whose linguistic logic was closest to that of a human.
"Even though I'm a ghost now, I was at least human once.." Facing Kisaragi Chiyo's casual compliment, a look of slight helplessness, yet something akin to excitement, surfaced on the Long-haired Wraith's face.
"To praise me with a description like 'human' is truly perfunctory." The Long-haired Wraith hovered by her side, complaining with a hint of dissatisfaction, though even Kisaragi Chiyo's cold attitude could not dampen its enthusiasm for a long chat.
I really don't know why he has such a strong urge to vent.
Kisaragi Chiyo walked downstairs, occasionally giving a few perfunctory murmurs of agreement.
Although Kisaragi Chiyo had already read most of the stories on the forum about humans being driven away by the Long-haired Wraith's malicious scares after being attracted by the rumors, she still reluctantly offered a few words of flattery, seeing as the other party showed no ill intent.
"Is that so? How impressive." He responded nonchalantly, not even sparing a sidelong glance for the Long-haired Wraith beside him, but the entity seemed quite pleased, its surrounding white mist surging as if to swallow Kisaragi Chiyo whole.
"It truly pleases a ghost," it said with a smile, a stiff grin spreading across its pale, handsome face. Its dark purple pupils occupied two-thirds of its eye sockets, creating a sharp contrast against the whites. When it smiled, Kisaragi Chiyo could see almost nothing but that dark, swirling color within its eyes.
"I haven't experienced this kind of emotion in a long time," it said, reaching out with its slender hands to pull the ink-black hair cascading down its back across its right chest, its neatly trimmed nails carrying a pale greyish hue that did not belong to the living.
Its hands were very flexible and fast, in just a few movements, it had braided the hair into a long, loose braid that would not fall apart.
Kisaragi Chiyo looked up and estimated the length of the braid; the longest strand at the end of it would reach down to the other's calves if it hung straight. For a strange moment, Kisaragi Chiyo had a sudden hallucination of Rapunzel trapped in a high tower.
Even though it was incorrect, regardless of whether it was in terms of gender or race.
"How do I smell to you?" After being stared at expectantly all the way, Kisaragi Chiyo finally asked the question upon reaching the first-floor lobby.
To be honest, he was somewhat curious. Whether it was because the other was a rather peculiar individual compared to other wraiths and ghosts, or because of the version of himself perceived by the other's senses from the perspective of another world, Kisaragi Chiyo could not help but feel a sense of curiosity.
This was a rather dangerous matter, but Kisaragi Chiyo clearly lacked any such sense of danger.
He looked at the way the other person's eyes and brows drifted into contemplation because of his words, a preliminary concept for a new, unwritten work suddenly formed in his mind.
"If you can answer my question, perhaps I can grant you a small wish." A faint smile played on Kisaragi Chiyo's lips, her mist-gray left eye, which was not hidden by her hair, reflected the other's slightly surprised expression.
"For example.. give me a bite?" the Long-haired Wraith asked cautiously.
"In your dreams." The corner of Kisaragi Chiyo's upturned mouth instantly dropped.
Author's Note:
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Thanks to all the little angels for adding this to your collections, mwah to everyone 030
Chapter 6
So, the little wish you mentioned was this.
The Long-haired Wraith with dark purple eyes floated in mid-air, holding a triangular slice of strawberry cake in its hands with a look of wonder.
The long-awaited, creamy sweetness and the fresh fragrance of fruit drifted into its nostrils.
So, it's possible to still eat things even after becoming a ghost?
The pale-skinned Long-haired Wraith blinked, holding a fork carefully in one hand. He poked a small corner of the cake, scrutinized it with his gaze for several seconds, only then slowly brought it to his mouth.
With just a light sip, the cream quickly melted in her mouth, her tongue easily tasted the rich sweetness belonging to the cake.
So amazing!
Like a dolphin seeing a human for the first time, the dark purple-eyed Long-haired Wraith circled Kisaragi Chiyo excitedly several times. The surrounding white mist, which had condensed into tentacle shapes, also performed a jubilant, unbearable dance. Like writhing strands of white seaweed, several of the tentacles cautiously curled their tips, like a spoiled puppy, nudged themselves under Kisaragi Chiyo's palm.
"That won't be necessary." Kisaragi Chiyo stepped back with her umbrella, noncommittally dodging the white mist tentacles that were lingering around her.
After he spoke his refusal, the tentacles, which had been writhing like seaweed, immediately lowered their tips, turning into wilted, dejected seaweed.
“Do you really not want to pet them?” After spinning around, the Long-haired Wraith, whose long hair was tied in a thick braid, floated toward him. A look of pity appeared on her face as she spoke, pushing the thickest tentacle near her toward him.
"They look very sad." The Long-haired Wraith lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly.
This is the most well-behaved child.
It was doing its absolute best to recommend the white mist tentacles it controlled and wore to Kisaragi Chiyo.
The white mist tentacles were just like sea anemones in full bloom, dancing lightly. Their translucent bodies did not evoke disgust or fear; instead, they possessed a strange sense of beauty—the kind of fascination humans feel toward the extraordinary.
"So, do you want to try touching it?" It let out a light chuckle with squinted eyes, its gaze lingering on Kisaragi Chiyo's face for a long time, as if unwilling to miss any subtle expression the other might show. Upon seeing Kisaragi Chiyo's usual resistant attitude show a slight softening, the smile on its face widened even further.