You wouldn't have gone into this with that intention from the very beginning, would you?
"Not at all," he replied, his voice trailing off languidly, reminding one of a puppy basking dizzily under the warm sunlight.
“..”
And?" Hara Kenji's lips curled into a smirk as he observed Kisaragi Chiyo's expression with leisurely composure. "What are you thinking?
"If you leave a wound in a place like that, not only will the friction from your clothes be uncomfortable, but the hot water will also sting when you bathe." Hara Kenji put on a worried expression, as if he weren't the one who caused the injury.
Heh." Kisaragi Chiyo gave a cold snort and said to Hara Kenji with a fake smile, "Then I really must thank you for your concern.
Then I'll have to trouble you, Dr. Hara, to handle it for me.
Hara Kenji had to admit that, in fact, the expression Kisaragi Chiyo wore when she was being mocking was quite arousing to him.
*
Kisaragi Chiyo sometimes felt that it was truly subtle how Hara Kenji possessed the ability to heal wounds, despite being a Long-haired Wraith.
What was even more subtle was Hara Kenji's method of healing.
The raven-haired young man was pressed against the full-length mirror. Facing the tall, long-haired Wraith, he tilted his head back, pressing it tightly against the cool surface of the mirror behind him to make it easier for the Wraith to treat him.
Soft, slightly cool lips pressed against the bite mark on his collarbone, as a tongue licked over it, the wound felt a slight sting.
Before this, Kisaragi Chiyo had always thought that the ability to heal wounds through kissing and saliva was a setting that only appeared in novels.
Until he met Hara Kenji.
"Alright." Hara Kenji slowly raised his head, looking with regret at the bite mark that had already vanished from her collarbone, decided that when he had the chance next time, he would definitely leave a few more.
"Then you can go out now." Kisaragi Chiyo coldly pushed away Hara Kenji's lingering head, signaling him to quickly get out of the bedroom.
"?" How heartless. Hara Kenji knew exactly what Kisaragi Chiyo was planning to do in a moment—of course, it was to change out of the clothes he had made all wrinkled.
"I can help with that too, you know." Hara Kenji leaned against the door, blinking pitifully as he offered the hint.
"I don't need help." Kisaragi Chiyo smiled faintly, peeling his fingers away one by one, slammed the bedroom door shut with a bang, leaving Hara Kenji standing outside with a suddenly expressionless face, staring motionless at the door.
Even through a door, with the Long-haired Wraith's excellent hearing, the sound of clothes being removed in the bedroom was clearly audible.
*
Kisaragi Chiyo changed her clothes and looked at the marks still covering her neck, letting out a soft click of her tongue. She took off her shirt and finally changed into a turtleneck to barely cover those suggestive marks.
As expected, after opening the door, Hara Kenji was still standing outside, like a silent statue.
The dark purple pupils slowly rotated in a circle, scanning Kisaragi Chiyo from bottom to top, before a smile appeared.
"Kisaragi, don't you think.." Hara Kenji curled his lips, a smile appearing on his pale and handsome face, his eyes seeming to hide a sliver of cunning moonlight; if one were to attempt to touch it, one would instead stumble and drown within it.
"I don't think so," Kisaragi Chiyo interrupted coldly, knowing that Hara Kenji wouldn't be saying anything good at a time like this anyway.
“Don't you think that the way you look, hiding the marks I left under those tightly covered clothes, is really erotic?” Hara Kenji was not deterred by Kisaragi Chiyo's cold attitude at all; he followed behind her downstairs with a smile on his face.
Then, at that very moment, the villa's doorbell rang at just the right time.
Kisaragi Chiyo and Hara Kenji both looked toward the front door at the same time, somewhat puzzled that anyone would actually come to visit such a godforsaken place.
Driven by this curiosity, when the doorbell rang for the third time, Kisaragi Chiyo opened the door, Hara Kenji's head peeked out from behind her.
Then they saw an elegant black cat with white paws sitting primly three paces away, only after seeing them open the door did it leisurely approach with a graceful, cat-like gait.
The upright triangular cat ears twitched, the cat tilted its head, its round, teal-colored irises narrowing into slits due to the light.
"Matsuda?" Hara Kenji called out hesitantly. This was the first time he had seen Matsuda Jinpei in his cat form; although the scent was that familiar smell, he still didn't quite dare to be certain.
"Hello, everyone." Uninvited and arriving of her own accord, Matsuda Jinmi gave a polite meow.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you for the support, my little angels. Mwah! (-ε-)
Chapter 53
"Would you like some tea?" Kisaragi Chiyo asked hesitantly, holding her teacup and looking at the cat, who was sitting upright on the sofa cushion with its tail wrapped around its front paws and its torso held straight.
She was somewhat unsure if a cat could drink tea.
"Thank you, no need.." Before Matsuda Jinpei could even finish his refusal, he saw Kisaragi Chiyo suddenly pull out her phone and start seeking help online.
The other person's movements were efficient, she had no intention of hiding her phone's search interface. Thus, Matsuda Jinpei saw that after she finished searching whether cats could drink tea, she began searching again to see if a cat ringing a doorbell to come to the door meant it wanted to be adopted.
Matsuda Jinpei: ".."
Was Kisaragi Chiyo really not doing that on purpose?
Matsuda Jinmi remained skeptical of this.
He gave an awkward little cough, wanting to interrupt the other person's blatant behavior, but he saw that Kisaragi Chiyo, having successfully found the answer she wanted, tucked her phone away nonchalantly, in the process, swapped the tea intended for Matsuda Jinpei with milk.
Matsuda Jinpei fell silent for a long while. He stared at the milk, which had even been thoughtfully transferred into a flat-rimmed cup, suddenly felt his claws itching. This time, it was definitely intentional; he was certain of it.
"First of all, I'm not actually a cat, secondly, I'm a yokai right now." Matsuda Jinpei slapped the soft cushion beneath his feet with his tail, making a series of dissatisfied thumping sounds.
Above his head, hanging along with the magnificent chandelier, the six ghosts that had become Halloween decorations remained there quietly; aside from scaring Matsuda Jinmi so much that her fur stood on end when she first entered a short while ago, they had done nothing else wrong.
"I know." Kisaragi Chiyo imperceptibly pushed the glass of milk toward Matsuda, a kind and gentle smile on her face that made Matsuda Jinpei feel a strange sense of familiarity as he looked at her.
Soon, Matsuda remembered; the tourist in the amusement park who had tried to pet him had the exact same expression on his face while trying to lure him with some rather unappetizing dried small fish.
"So you don't have to treat me with such care, as if I were a cat." Matsuda Jinpei's gaze shifted from Kisaragi Chiyo's smiling lips to the cup of milk.
He stared at the glass of milk with a serious expression, his whiskers twitching on both sides. Perhaps because the indoor lighting was a bit dim, the vertical slits in the cat's beautiful teal eyes turned into oval shapes, softening its sense of cold detachment.
He stared with intense focus, as if facing a formidable enemy, yet he was actually facing a completely harmless cup of milk.
This look is truly adorable.
“But aren't you a cat?” Kisaragi Chiyo suppressed the smile at the corners of her lips, he lowered his eyes in thought, wondering exactly how many steps it would take to lure the kitten home.
Suddenly, he felt something cool lightly touch his hand hanging by his side.
Looking down, he saw it was a translucent, split tentacle, tentatively coiling around his finger.
Only then did Kisaragi Chiyo realize there was another problem.
That is, how cats and dogs should coexist harmoniously in the same room.
However, if it were Matsuda Jinpei and Hara Kenji, it should be no problem, right?
Kisaragi Chiyo thought with some uncertainty, her peripheral vision shifting toward Hara Kenji, who was sitting on the sofa on the other side.
The tall, long-haired Wraith sat hunched in the single armchair, his head lowered, which gave his sharp, well-defined features a somewhat melancholic air.
After noticing Kisaragi Chiyo's gaze, he raised his eyes, his dark purple eyes with long lashes blinking softly, carrying a hint of seductive charm.
Chiyo-chan.
Without even needing to make a sound, Kisaragi Chiyo could tell just by the shape of his mouth that Hara Kenji was silently calling her name.
Seeing that it received no rejection, the soft tentacle grew even bolder. It continuously rubbed against his palm like a puppy acting spoiled for its owner; if it could speak, it would surely be making clingy, whiny little noises.
"So, what brings you here today, Mr. Matsuda?" Kisaragi Chiyo let out a light laugh, feeling delighted, as she pinched the tip of the tentacle. Before Matsuda Jinpei could notice the small tentacle, she instead brought up another topic.
Is it about what happened last night?
"There is indeed a part of that reason." Matsuda Jinpei struggled, feeling somewhat unsure of how to speak; he did indeed want to stay, not just because of Hara Kenji.
And another reason was that he wanted to figure out why Kisaragi Chiyo held such a special attraction for him.
And..
Matsuda Jinpei's gaze involuntarily fell upon the raven-haired youth's right hand; on the fingers, which were slightly pale and carried human warmth, a ring of an exceptionally obvious and impossible-to-ignore red line rested quietly upon the man's ring finger.
It was as if a mark belonging exclusively to Matsuda Jinpei had been branded upon Kisaragi Chiyo.
Once he realized this, an inexplicable joy and elation began to sprout in his heart.. as well as a certain derivative ***.
This abnormal emotion made Matsuda Jinpei feel quite unsettled, so he hoped he could find the answer to why he was acting so strangely by being by her side.
Because of him, a certain bond had been formed between them that could not be untied for the time being. Since that was the case.. Matsuda Jinpei's pupils contracted slightly, he stared at Kisaragi Chiyo with focused and genuine intensity.
The other person's figure was clearly reflected in those cyan irises.
Beside them, Hara Kenji noticed something was off. He watched Matsuda, who was in the form of a cat; the other's body instinctively crouched forward, his pupils narrowing into thin slits, completely and utterly entering a hunting state in his excitement.
Chiyo-chan is truly greedy.
Hara Kenji rested his chin on one hand, puffing out his cheeks in dissatisfaction. Looking at Kisaragi Chiyo, who wasn't paying him any attention at all, he couldn't help but feel a surge of bitter, dark emotions, but he was powerless to do anything about it now, able only to grit his teeth while watching the interaction between the person and the cat.
*
"So, are you going to stay?" Skipping all the probing, Kisaragi Chiyo went straight to the point. He looked at Matsuda with a smile, his fingertips landing softly on the other man's head.
"You can do whatever you want." Kisaragi Chiyo lowered his voice, offering terms to Matsuda Jinpei in an enchanting tone.
Do you remember the wish I made to you last night?
I just want a cat that is affectionate and can be petted," Kisaragi Chiyo said, her voice laced with a faint hint of amusement, "and I will assist you in fulfilling your needs.
"It's a very fair deal." Kisaragi Chiyo gently stroked the sensitive base of the cat's ears.
I have other things I want to say to you.
Matsuda Jinpei instinctively lifted his chin when Kisaragi Chiyo's fingers reached out toward him. He rubbed his nose against her fingers, leaving his scent on them, leaned in uncontrollably, letting out a contented purr from his throat.
A faint gaze stared intently at them. Matsuda Jinpei sharply opened his eyes, only to see Hara Kenji huddled alone on a single armchair, looking pitiful, with long hair scattered behind him and a face full of longing, wearing a lonely expression as if wanting to lean closer.
Matsuda Jinpei: ".."
Sorry about that.
I completely forgot you were still on the scene.
“Kisaragi.. wait a second.”
Having regained consciousness, Matsuda Jinpei wanted to escape the human's warm fingertips. He tilted his head back and retreated, but this posture conveniently facilitated the human's hand, which landed directly on the cat's soft belly.
"Hmm? What's wrong? You don't like it?" Kisaragi Chiyo didn't pay any mind to the little dog's feigned pitifulness beside him; he lowered his eyes, casually stroking the kitten.
Although he used the exact same techniques used for petting a dog, it was more than enough to capture this inexperienced kitten, Matsuda Jinpei.
Pinching the fluffy tip of the tail, Kisaragi Chiyo thought happily that he would probably have a cat very soon.