Is this man really Hara Kenji?
The thought of doubt appeared in his mind for only a brief second before being completely dismissed.
Without a doubt, the extremely dangerous evil spirit before him was Hara Kenji. Even if he had changed, even if that sense of danger felt like a sharp thorn, constantly stimulating his alertness.
But there was no doubt about it; the guy in front of him was Hara Kenji, his childhood friend.
"Hello." The curly-haired man did not hesitate any longer, reaching out to grasp the hand being extended to him.
Even through the gloves, the warmth unique to humans still stained his skin.
Perhaps it was because he had already died once, but after taking on human form, his body always gave off an unmistakable sense of lingering chill.
Why was that so?
He had once asked the Cat demon, but the answer he received was, "That is something that follows death like a shadow."
A cold temperature, the body heat of the deceased.
Matsuda Jinpei." He held the other person's hand and spoke, "My name is Matsuda Jinpei.
Matsuda-kun." Kisaragi Chiyo nodded slightly and, following the lead, asked, "Was your profession in life also a police officer?
".. Yes." Matsuda Jinpei's gaze fell upon their clasped hands, his other hand, hanging at his side, curled its fingers uncomfortably.
I am a police officer from the Bomb Disposal Squad.
Bomb Disposal Squad.. Kisaragi Chiyo instinctively wanted to look toward Hara Kenji, but he quickly stopped himself.
"I see." Kisaragi Chiyo flashed a smile, his voice calm. He raised his left hand, bringing his fingers together in an introductory gesture.
"In that case, you must know each other." This was obviously a redundant statement, but it was a necessary part of the procedure.
Anyway, hurry up and remember—what exactly did that social master manual from Reigen Arataka say?
Matsuda Jinpei: ".."
“Kisaragi-kun.. you don't actually have to be this nervous.” Matsuda Jinpei slowed his pace of speech. He truly couldn't understand—was he some kind of ferocious beast or something? Why did everyone get nervous the moment they saw him?
.." Forced into tension, Kisaragi Chiyo fell silent for a second, her misty gray eyes staring straight at Matsuda Jinpei as she denied it expressionlessly, "I am not.
“I am not nervous.”
The one who should be nervous is Hara Kenji beside him; he just can't stand the way the tentacles beneath his feet are all bunched up and tangled together.
"I do know him." Matsuda Jinpei adjusted his sunglasses and glanced at Hara Kenji, pausing for a moment before calling out the other man's name.
Hara Kenji.. He and I are childhood friends.
After Matsuda Jinpei uttered the words "childhood friend," a vast array of cliché tropes commonly found in popular literature flashed through Kisaragi Chiyo's mind, such as childhood sweethearts and the return of a first love.. During his student days, a classmate had enthusiastically recommended such romance novels to him.
No, now was not the time to think about that.
Before his thoughts could slide toward strange directions, Kisaragi Chiyo stopped his mental speculation. He looked at the evil spirit, who was trying to adopt an ostrich mentality to escape reality, smiled as he reached out, firmly grabbing the other's arm.
Origin.
Now it's your turn to say something.
-----------------------
Author's Note: As for how Furuya Rei found out why Matsuda Jinpei and Hara Kenji turned into a puppy and a kitten, this involves the later plot; it all began on a certain dark and windy night 【Click to expand】
*
Thanks for the support, my little angels! Mwah to everyone!
03330
Chapter 44
Hara Kenji: ".."
Hara Kenji felt he needed just a little more time to get ready, but Kisaragi Chiyo's hand gripped his arm firmly, refusing to give him even the slightest chance to continue escaping.
It was a rare sight to see Kisaragi Chiyo acting so forceful.
Hara Kenji thought to himself, skillfully finding the right angle as he looked up, a pitiable expression flickering in his drooping eyes. His dark purple eyes turned toward Kisaragi Chiyo, his voice carrying a hint of weakness, "Chiyo-chan.. you're hurting me."
"Oh?" Kisaragi Chiyo turned her head to look at Hara Kenji, the corners of her lips curling into an ambiguous smile as her misty-gray eyes glanced sideways at him.
“Is that so? In that case, please bear with it just a little longer.” Kisaragi Chiyo answered with a smile, showing no intention of reducing the strength in his hands.
Hara Kenji was rarely left speechless, but he opened his mouth blankly, wanting to say something in defense of himself. However, when he met Kisaragi Chiyo's knowing, teasing gaze, the words simply wouldn't come out.
I'll probably make him angry..
The tall man sat hunched in his seat, his hair tied back and falling behind him like smooth ribbons. With his eyes cast downward, his long eyelashes partially veiled his gaze, making the expression in his dark purple eyes difficult to discern.
After a long time, Hara Kenji finally reacted. He slowly raised his head and looked at the familiar yet strange curly-haired man sitting opposite him.
His gaze traced the other's silhouette bit by bit, following the faint sunlight in the air, until his eyes met the other's through the sunglasses amidst his daze.
With a low hum accompanied by tinnitus, the world blurred for a moment before becoming clear in front of him once again.
Just as Kisaragi Chiyo had said, it was his turn.
Hara Kenji couldn't help but feel nervous, he subconsciously pursed his lips, only to feel the hand gripping his arm squeeze him with a moderate amount of force.
Out of the corner of his eye, Hara Kenji saw Kisaragi Chiyo watching him from the side, her expression calm and serious.
"Hello." Hara Kenji took a deep breath, reached out his hand, then flashed a smile.
He looked at the curly-haired man opposite him. The words "Matsuda-kun" had just reached the tip of his tongue, but for some reason, they involuntarily shifted into another more familiar nickname that escaped his lips almost subconsciously.
I am Hara, Hara Kenji.
Little Jinpei..
Why this nickname?
“You.” Upon hearing this long-unused address, Matsuda Jinpei felt a momentary sense of unreality, but he quickly snapped back to his senses.
Of course they were dead, yet now, for various reasons, they were sitting face-to-face once again. Even though Hara Kenji had forgotten the past, the time and memories they had shared while alive were real and tangible; they would not become illusory bubbles simply because of their deaths.
So it didn't matter; it didn't matter if Hara Kenji had forgotten, at least he still remembered.
You're just like you used to be.
Matsuda Jinpei covered his face with one hand, slowly bending his head down, his shoulders shaking as an uncontrollable, muffled laughter erupted from his throat.
Hasn't this not changed at all?
Kisaragi Chiyo felt that she probably couldn't understand this kind of bond between childhood friends.
But he would also feel heartfelt joy upon seeing a happy ending.
“Hara, look.” Kisaragi Chiyo released Hara Kenji's arm and said softly to him, "Isn't it quite simple?"
“You just need to say it.”
“I am truly happy for you.” Kisaragi Chiyo looked up, the sunlight dancing in her eyes was like shimmering light on a rippling water surface, filled with the warm colors of summer.
As those rosy lips parted and closed, Hara Kenji couldn't help but feel a sensation as if his heart had been lightly tickled by a feather. He covered his chest with his hand in a daze, blinking slowly.
By the time he wanted to take a closer look at those bright eyes and those moving lips, the other person had already turned their head back, chatting about something with Matsuda Jinpei.
*
"Mr. Matsuda, would you mind talking to me a bit more about that shrine?" After finally resolving Hara Kenji's avoidant attitude, Kisaragi Chiyo recalled the experiences Matsuda Jinpei had described, feeling that a portion of the story sounded strangely familiar.
It was as if she had seen something similar somewhere before.
Kisaragi Chiyo lowered her eyes in thought, her gaze shifting back and forth between the words "Notebook" and "Shrine."
Of course." Matsuda Jinpei agreed quite easily. He paused, then asked Kisaragi Chiyo in a slightly curious voice, "Why are you so interested in this?
Just as I introduced myself before, I am a supernatural novelist," Kisaragi Chiyo said with a slight smile. "So you can think of it as a hunter's passion for interesting material.
"Then will you write me into your novel?" Matsuda Jinpei asked, looking quite interested. He lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze landing on the small patch of fair skin visible between the other man's sleeve and black glove.
After thinking about it, it was about the size that could be easily encircled by one's palm.
This young man, who claimed to be a novelist, looked somewhat slight; by modern standards, he would be considered an otaku-type man.
So, what were the odds that he wouldn't have been able to break free when the other person grabbed his arm just now?
It's zero, right?
Matsuda Jinpei thought somewhat amusedly, his pupils clearly reflecting the appearance of the raven-haired youth. The other's eyes, shoulders, neck, fingers, the silver earrings on both sides of his face.
Matsuda Jinpei discovered that after death, his vision and sense of smell had become exceptionally sharp.
The warm and delicious aroma emanating from the human's body was far more enticing than the small sausage the Cat demon had given him that day.
Besides, he only possessed a yokai after dying, he wasn't a vampire, right?
So why on earth did he feel an itch in his teeth and an urge to bite people?
Matsuda Jinpei couldn't figure it out; Matsuda Jinpei fell into deep thought.
"I get the feeling you're thinking something quite rude, Matsuda-san." Kisaragi Chiyo narrowed her eyes alertly. Although she was only sensitive to the ill intentions of others, that didn't mean she couldn't see something in Matsuda Jinpei's sudden silence.
"Ahem.. I wasn't thinking anything like that." Matsuda Jinpei gave a slightly guilty cough, vaguely dodging the topic.
Let's get back to the things you're interested in.
"About the shrine.." Matsuda Jinpei's face took on a look of reminiscence. Although one-third of his face was obscured by his sunglasses, it was still possible to tell from his body language.
"The Cat demon took me to that shrine." Matsuda Jinpei rested his chin on one hand, contemplating the conversation from that time.
It said that if I were to gain strength by jumping around and helping people in a cat's appearance like I do, it would be far too slow.
So, it said: you need an urban legend of your own.
"Urban legend?" Kisaragi Chiyo repeated those words, turning to look at Hara Kenji, the so-called Hazama and Ghost Vigilante.
These were the urban legends belonging to Hara Kenji; regardless of how he lived before, these stories truly constituted the necessary conditions for Hara Kenji's existence after death.
Just like the Slit-Mouthed Woman, the Eight-Foot Tall Woman, Hanako, the like.
As they are passed down through word of mouth among humans, their power also gradually strengthens. Emotions such as fear and cowardice become their nourishment, allowing rumors and urban legends to take root and flourish in the soil of negative emotions.
Of course, not all inexplicable existences rely on human negative emotions to survive; positive emotions have the same effect.