Chapter 21
Upon hearing Date Wataru's words, a hint of surprise appeared on Kisaragi Chiyo's face.
Me?
Kisaragi Chiyo looked up at him. This officer's appearance was not the type that left no impression. If she knew him, even if they had only met once, she should at least have some vague impression of him.
After all, Kisaragi Chiyo was quite confident in her own memory, based on the familiarity in his tone, it didn't seem like they had only met once; there should be a deeper connection between them.
But the crux of the matter was that Kisaragi Chiyo had absolutely no impression of him whatsoever, which was highly abnormal.
Have you forgotten?" Date Wataru flashed a bright, hearty smile, one that carried a hint of intimacy unbefitting a stranger. "Just one year ago, on that night in Tokyo, you were near the Metropolitan Police Department..
But Date Wataru's words were only halfway out when he was interrupted by Kisaragi Chiyo.
"I'm sorry." Kisaragi Chiyo curled her lips slightly, her misty-gray eyes cast downward, her expression carrying a hint of apology and a perfectly measured sense of detachment.
I think you might have the wrong person, Officer Date.
Since the other party mentioned events in Tokyo from a year ago, Kisaragi Chiyo could be very certain that this was indeed her first time meeting Date Wataru.
I only moved to Tokyo the day before yesterday; before that, I had never been to this city.
So I think you've probably confused me with the person you know, Officer Date.
Upon hearing Kisaragi Chiyo's answer, Date Wataru was stunned for a moment, but in the next second, he seemed to remember something and quickly reacted.
"Oh.. I see. If that's the case, I might have mistaken you for someone else." The tall officer scratched his head apologetically, looking down at Kisaragi Chiyo with an apologetic expression on his face.
I am truly sorry, Kisaragi-kun.
It's fine." Kisaragi Chiyo's lips maintained their slight curve as he nodded to the other person and stepped out toward the corridor first. "In that case, Officer Date, we should find Miss Kagami as quickly as possible.
“Do you need me?” Date Wataru reached out, wanting to stop him.
"No thank you." Kisaragi Chiyo's footsteps paused as he turned his head to look at Date Wataru, who remained standing in place. His silver earring swayed amidst his hair, revealing the one exposed, unmasked mist-gray eye, which was fixed on a certain spot not far away—upon the Dark-purple-eyed Wraith that only he could see.
I still prefer working alone.
After saying this, Kisaragi Chiyo didn't even give Date Wataru time to respond before turning and leaving.
*
So, where do you plan to go first?
Hara Kenji followed him closely, like a little sprite set to follow its master.
Because there was no one else around at the moment, a cool, light white mist was released by the other party, spreading around his feet, even the tentacles wrapped around his wrist were stirring, wanting to poke their heads out.
We can't exactly make the children hold it in, can we?" Hara Kenji argued, shamelessly making excuses for his behavior. "This is for the children's mental and physical well-being.
Your tentacles have nothing to do with a Wraith's physical or mental health.
Although Kisaragi Chiyo did not say the words out loud, with only one person and one Wraith present, he finally got his wish and rolled his eyes at Hara Kenji.
"You don't seem to believe me." Hara Kenji looked at him with a smile, the black double-breasted trench coat he wore making his skin appear even paler.
As the white mist spread, a freezing sensation gradually crept from the bottom up, only stopping just before it could soak through his wide haori and drench his entire body in the other's temperature.
"Look, the children are so sad they're about to shed little pearls." Hara Kenji frowned, beginning to talk nonsense, his handsome features involuntarily taking on a melancholy expression.
"How are you going to comfort them?" The Wraith looked at him with feigned distress, watching him struggle as he was ensnared by the tentacles reaching out from the white mist.
"Now is not the time for playing around." Even though his movements were being restricted by the other, Kisaragi Chiyo maintained that same somewhat indifferent expression, as if being caught in such a predicament was nothing more than a trivial matter to him.
This level of restraint could not affect him in any way; it was something that both he and his opponent knew perfectly well.
But Hara Kenji did it anyway, even coming up with a ridiculous excuse for his actions.
Kisaragi Chiyo did not feel angry or experience any negative emotions because of the other's behavior; after all, to his personal sensation, the tentacles clinging to him felt more like a plea to stay and playfulness rather than restraint.
That feeling was just like a puppy gently biting your sleeve and refusing to let go before you head out to work. You both know that you could break free with just a little effort, yet your steps still falter because of the other party.
But no matter what, the things that needed to be done still had to be done.
"I don't want to be trapped here forever." Kisaragi Chiyo gazed at the scene outside the corridor; the rain in the courtyard of the Shimizu residence was falling incessantly, as if it were pouring endlessly from the thick, iron-gray clouds.
This was abnormal rain; based on the intensity when they arrived, it should have stopped long ago. Moreover, today's weather forecast made no mention of such heavy rain in Tokyo, it even showed a trend of gradually turning into a downpour.
".." Hara Kenji remained silent for a moment before reluctantly releasing the tentacles that were clinging to him.
Alright, alright." The Dark-purple-eyed Wraith looked quite unhappy. "What do you plan to do?
"Find Shimizu?" Hara Kenji slapped the floor with his tentacles, making thudding sounds.
You have to realize that kids this age are experts at hide-and-seek," Hara Kenji said in the tone of someone with experience. "They're even better at hiding than little mice.. not to mention that the one being sought isn't even a child in human form.
Yeah.. Hide-and-seek is definitely not my strong suit.
"So I want to go check out the main gate first." Kisaragi Chiyo looked at the rain falling in continuous lines, blurring the scenery of the courtyard into a single mass, stated her initial plan.
*
So they walked through that long, dim corridor and returned to the entrance.
The dark door was tightly shut; on such a gloomy and damp rainy day, no one would want to go out in this kind of weather.
Kisaragi Chiyo pressed his hand against the door with some force, the tightly closed door let out a slight creak under his hand. As he moved, the gap in the door widened until half of the door was pushed completely open.
Just as he had suspected, there was nothing outside.
This emptiness was literal; there was no street, no house, no sky, no rain like the ones he had come from.
There was nothing outside.
The entire Shimizu residence was as if it had been scooped out from the Earth by something and placed into an isolated space, unable to communicate with the outside world any longer, while the people within the house could only wander aimlessly and ignorantly amidst the heavy rain.
This is a Domain," Hara Kenji explained. "Just like my Hazama, unless the existence that constitutes this domain chooses to release it, one will remain trapped here indefinitely.
Of course." Hara Kenji lowered his eyes, giving Kisaragi Chiyo a leisurely look before continuing, "If that's what you want.. I could also just crudely break it open by force.
As for what kind of impact doing that would have on maintaining the existence of this domain.." Hara Kenji gave a light laugh, his tone carrying a trace of nonchalant indifference, "I can't guarantee that.
In any case, it should be harmless to humans.
Hara Kenji spoke with a smile.
It was a very standard smile; combined with his handsome features and melancholic aura, it could actually be considered pleasing to the eye, but if you gazed at it for just a few seconds, a strong sense of strangeness and inhumanity would cause an absurd fear to arise from the bottom of your heart.
It was a natural human fear of the abnormal and the non-human, yet at the same time, one inevitably found themselves drawn to such an existence at certain moments.
"Is that so?" Kisaragi Chiyo did not accept the suggestion, nor did he refuse it; he simply gazed at the void beyond the gates for a long time, as if he were contemplating something.
"Are you hesitating?" Hara Kenji tilted his head in confusion; after all, Kisaragi Chiyo had been acting like he wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.
"Is it because of Shimizu?" Hara Kenji slowly voiced his guess, because besides that, he could think of no other reason why Kisaragi Chiyo would refuse his proposal.
Because, judging by Kisaragi Chiyo's attitude toward that human child named Conan, children seemed to receive preferential treatment from Kisaragi Chiyo.
“I have an idea.” Kisaragi Chiyo spoke. He did not answer Hara Kenji's question, nor did he even spare him a glance, simply staring blankly at the gray, void-like space outside.
There was no boundary, no light, even the movement of air could not be felt.
“I have a small personal theory that I want to verify regarding this.” Without sensing any malice or danger, Kisaragi Chiyo actually preferred to experience the development of the drama firsthand rather than using a cheat to clear the game quickly.
Just like a text-based game, if you just choose to skip, what's the point?
"What?" Just as Hara Kenji was about to ask Kisaragi Chiyo how she intended to verify it, he suddenly noticed an eager expression appearing on the face of the person beside him, a sense of foreboding began to spread through his heart.
He didn't even have time to stop her; his outstretched hand barely grazed the edge of her black haori before passing through her palm like a gust of wind.
Kisaragi Chiyo didn't even say goodbye, let alone give him time to prepare himself.
Hara Kenji watched helplessly as Kisaragi Chiyo, like a little bird, spread her arms and lunged toward the void outside, leaping into nothingness, only to fall and vanish from sight.
Author's Note:
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Thank you, little angels, for adding this to your collections. Mwah to everyone 03330
Chapter 22
Heinrot believed that madness was a manifestation of the murky quality within a person. This quality was a murky state of disorder, a flowing chaos, the beginning and the end of all things. *
*
Kisaragi Chiyo felt himself falling rapidly, plummeting from a void of nothingness toward thick, suffocating clouds, then continuing to fall through layer upon layer of clouds until he plunged into a cold, deep pool.
Without any preparation, the freezing pool water tightly enveloped him from all directions, like a pomegranate seed forced to curl up inside a pomegranate, imprisoning him and then ruthlessly rushing into his mouth, nose, ears, stripping away any possibility of breathing freely.
Kisaragi Chiyo struggled with his limbs, trying to open his eyes, but he felt as though a force of gravity was dragging him down into the depths, as the dim light failed to penetrate the water's surface to provide him with any light.
In a daze, Kisaragi Chiyo felt something as soft as seaweed entwine around his ankles, pulling him down into deeper waters, closer to death.
Until a much firmer, irresistible force grabbed his hand and dragged him upward. The moment he was pulled to the surface, raindrops falling from the iron-gray clouds struck Kisaragi Chiyo's face, making him feel a slight sting of pain.
The force that dragged him up from the bottom of the water was merciless, not even noticing that his head bumped against a nearby rock, it dragged him from the heavy rain into the corridor with such strength that it nearly dislocated his wrist.
Kisaragi Chiyo was soaked to the bone, his raven-colored hair clinging to both sides of his cheeks, which looked pale and bloodless from the cold. His water-soaked clothes clung tightly to his somewhat slender frame, having long since lost any ability to provide warmth.
"You're satisfied now." The Long-haired Wraith looked down from above, staring at him expressionlessly, her dark-purple eyes fixed intently on the human who had left her in such a wretched state.
"Then now, Kisaragi." Hara Kenji leaned down, slowly bringing his face close to Kisaragi Chiyo, only stopping once those heterochromatic eyes were completely filled with his presence.
White mist surged around Hara Kenji, Kisaragi Chiyo could tell without even trying to sense it that he was in a very bad mood, judging by the strength of the tentacles that had been clinging to her without leaving her side since just a moment ago.
“Did your hypothesis yield a satisfactory answer?" Pure white, translucent tentacles slithered through the gaps in his clothes, the cold, soft things crawling against his skin, a sensation that made Kisaragi Chiyo shudder uncontrollably.
He opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but only managed to let out a series of violent coughs. The sensation of cold water having previously filled his lungs left his chest and throat feeling painfully irritated.
“How pitiful.” Tentacles emerged from the collar and wrapped around his neck.
As the grip tightened, Hara Kenji lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes obscuring the emotions within them. He reached out a hand to lightly brush Kisaragi Chiyo's face, moving from her brows to her nose and then to her pale lips.
You humans are truly fragile," Hara Kenji said, his eyes curving as he gave a beautiful smile. His eyes lowered slightly, he suggested to Kisaragi Chiyo in a lighthearted tone, "If you were to become one of my kind, you wouldn't have these kinds of troubles.
I will collect your soul and store it within Hazama, where you will receive the safest protection.
As he spoke, the tentacles wrapped around Kisaragi Chiyo's neck tightened simultaneously, bringing a strong sense of suffocation once more. Kisaragi Chiyo's face, which had been pale due to hypothermia, now showed a slight flush from the rapid breathing.