This was all something they brought upon themselves; he couldn't be blamed for it.
*
"Alright, I have something serious to tell you all." This time, Matsuda Jinpei jumped onto a sofa furthest from Kisaragi Chiyo to sit down. His once-smooth fur had become somewhat disheveled, having just been thoroughly ravaged by that wicked human.
Its tail thumped against the sofa in displeasure, its teal eyes fixed intently on the young man's every move. The cat's entire body was tense, coiled in a posture that suggested it was ready to bolt at any moment.
"Little Jinpei, are you trying to say you're here to join this family, rather than to destroy it?" Hara Kenji teased, resting his chin on one hand with a smile.
He idly pinched his other tentacle with his hand, his dark purple eyes curving slightly, his gaze obscure and deep, making it impossible to read the emotions within them.
"I don't mind," Hara Kenji repeated, as if he were convincing himself.
“Because it's Little Jinpei, so I don't mind.” His voice was very soft, his familiar eyes gazing at Matsuda Jinpei, as time ruthlessly left a seven-year void between them, that death had indifferently taken away all of Hara Kenji's past memories.
It had crudely turned Hara Kenji into someone who felt both familiar and strange to Matsuda Jinpei.
An evil spirit.
What kind of existence is it, after all?
Matsuda Jinpei thought that he would find the answer himself.
*
In this meeting, the most satisfied person was Kisaragi Chiyo. He did not care what kind of motives Matsuda Jinpei had for approaching him, nor did he care about the look in Hara Kenji's eyes, which seemed as if he wanted to swallow him whole.
He reached out his hand, spreading his fingers, looked indifferently at the ring of red lines directly on his ring finger.
A fated connection, then..
But fate is not something that cannot be severed.
"So you want to help Hara Kenji regain his memories." Kisaragi Chiyo slowly closed her fingers and turned her head to look at Matsuda Jinpei, who was walking up from behind.
“That's good.” He clapped his hands together and replied with a smile, “That is exactly my intention as well.”
The curly-haired man's footsteps stopped three steps away from him. He was still wearing that black suit, with sunglasses hanging from the collar of his shirt; when his eyes, with their slightly sharp curves, looked over, it always made one lose focus for a second.
Amidst the black and white that composed Matsuda Jinpei, that streak of teal was so bright it was difficult to look away.
"Mr. Matsuda?" Kisaragi Chiyo looked at the silent Matsuda Jinpei and forced out a nasal snort. He was leaning lazily in the sofa, a book spread across his lap.
Matsuda Jinpei glanced at it and found it was a beginner's guide to raising cats.
“..”
"Why have you stopped talking?" Kisaragi Chiyo smiled and patted the seat beside her, inviting Matsuda Jinpei to sit down.
Don't worry, I won't do anything other than being your kitty.
"I'm not worried about that." Matsuda Jinpei paused for a moment, then sat down beside Kisaragi Chiyo as if following her lead.
What are your thoughts on this matter?" Matsuda Jinpei asked seriously, "He..
Isn't this a good thing?" Kisaragi Chiyo asked back with a smile. "If Hara Kenji can regain his memories, isn't that a good thing? Perhaps after that, even the other ghosts in that building will be able to smoothly have the chance to be reincarnated.
"Other ghosts?" Matsuda Jinpei couldn't help but frown upon hearing this.
"Oh, I see. Weren't there other officers who died in that explosion along with Hara?" Kisaragi Chiyo said, her eyes cast down as she closed the book spread across her lap.
I suspect the reason those officers remained there was because of Hara.
"Are you trying to say that Hara left them there?" Matsuda Jinpei's expression turned somewhat solemn.
No." Kisaragi Chiyo shook her head, denying that possibility. "Quite the opposite.
I think they left on purpose.
So that's how it is." Matsuda Jinpei frowned, but quickly relaxed. "If they did it on purpose.. that certainly sounds like something those guys would do..
"So, restoring Hara Kenji's memories is a necessity." Kisaragi Chiyo drew a conclusion, a smile appearing on her face as she looked at Matsuda Jinpei with calm eyes.
"By that time, they will all have obtained true freedom." They won't have to be trapped in those dead times anymore.
Whether human or ghost, everyone must learn to look forward.
And what about you?" Matsuda Jinpei did not show a relaxed expression; he asked back, word by word, "And what about you? Kisaragi Chiyo?
Matsuda Jinpei was not so blind as to miss something so obvious; the relationship between Kisaragi Chiyo and Hara Kenji was definitely not simple. It was like two different plants clinging to one another, twisting together, their roots and branches entwined, nourishing and taking from each other.
Hara Kenji had never hidden his lust, that kind of lust that even startled Matsuda Jinpei.
An intense appetite, bursting forth from encountering a special existence after having felt hunger, perhaps mixed with other ***.
Too heavy, uncontrollable, dangerous.. is it really okay to keep going like this?
Matsuda Jinpei couldn't figure out how Kisaragi Chiyo viewed the original situation—was she truly completely unaware of this undisguised, lewdness?
Matsuda Jinpei did not think so.
Me?" Kisaragi Chiyo lifted her eyes, her misty gray eyes looking at Matsuda Jinpei with amusement, asked unhurriedly, "What does this have to do with me?
Matsuda Jinpei fell silent for a moment. He reached out and tapped his own neck, his gaze shifting elsewhere somewhat vacillatingly.
There are still marks on the back of your neck; your clothes can't hide them.
Just by looking at the small love bites left exposed, Matsuda Jinpei could already imagine the angle at which they had been left.
He did his best to restrain his gaze, no longer attempting to imagine what that face would look like when filled with expressions of passion.
Kisaragi Chiyo: ".."
"Oh." Kisaragi Chiyo replied dryly, pulling his collar up a little higher, said nothing more.
*
Matsuda Jinpei felt that he was a bit too exhausted today. Unsurprisingly, after leaving Kisaragi Chiyo's side, he turned around and ran into Hara Kenji again.
"Little Jinpei, could you come over here for a moment?" Hara Kenji poked his fuzzy head out from the room and smiled at him. The curve of his lips held a strange, inexplicable hint of falsehood.
"If you don't want to smile, you don't have to." Matsuda Jinpei glanced at him, then followed him onto the room's balcony.
Halfway through, Matsuda Jinpei also noticed a conspicuous large dog bed placed in the room.
"This is Kisaragi's room," Hara Kenji introduced, pushing open the glass door to the balcony.
Outside the balcony was a sea view; except for sunny days, it appeared gloomy most of the time. The dark, dangerous surface of the sea was always churning with waves, crashing against the black reefs on the shore day after day.
They reminded Matsuda Jinpei of those several silent, not-so-distant daily routines.
"You've talked to Kisaragi Chiyo, haven't you?" The wind whipped Hara Kenji's long hair, tangling it as it blew to one side. A hint of a smile appeared in his dark purple eyes, carrying a probe and caution that was not very well-hidden.
"Yeah." Matsuda Jinpei didn't think that the conversation between him and Kisaragi Chiyo could be hidden from Hara Kenji; he figured the other man could find a hundred ways to eavesdrop.
"So.. Matsuda, you also think I am not free?" Hara Kenji spread his arms wide. He was standing extremely close to the edge of the balcony, as if he might plunge straight down into the reefs below at any moment.
But Matsuda Jinpei wasn't worried; after all, a ghost can't die a second time.
"So, what do you think?" he asked in return.
After hearing Matsuda Jinpei's words, Hara Kenji said nothing; he simply gave a slight smile and tugged at his collar, revealing an extremely eye-catching black collar against the pale skin of his neck.
On the collar, which was about two fingers wide, there was a circular brass-colored pendant with the letters 'hagi' laser-engraved on it.
Matsuda Jinpei subconsciously leaned back.
“At least this current lack of freedom is something I accept willingly.” Hara Kenji smiled beautifully, using his fingers to hook the collar around his neck and tugging it gently outward, like a child showing off a toy to a companion.
“..” Matsuda Jinpei fell silent for a long time before speaking a single sentence: “Kisaragi is truly unlucky to have been entangled by you.”
"Mm-hmm, there's no helping it, Kenji-chan is just that charming." Hara Kenji winked at Matsuda Jinpei in a playful tone, his voice light and his eyes narrowing slightly.
That wasn't a compliment.
There's no way, he can't shake me off," Hara Kenji repeated once more. "He can't expect to shake me off.
"So, is Little Jinpei going to sleep with me tonight to increase our bond?" Hara Kenji suddenly changed the subject as if it were nothing, extending an invitation to Matsuda Jinpei.
Because it's Little Jinpei, I don't mind sharing a bit of Chiyo-chan's spot under the covers with you.
Wait, you two sleep together every night?
"Is there a problem with that?" Hara Kenji blinked, wearing an expression of pure innocence.
This was a massive problem; Matsuda Jinpei felt like he had probably gotten himself entangled in some incredible relationship.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels for your support, mwah 0330
Chapter 54
“Kisaragi, it's time to get up.”
A low, magnetic male voice rang out from above. Kisaragi Chiyo felt a heavy weight on her chest, as if a stone were pressing down on her, making it difficult for her to breathe.
Opening his eyes reluctantly, his narrow, willow-leaf eyes squinted into thin lines, his misty gray pupils landed without focus on the large mass pressing down on his chest atop the soft quilt.
"Matsuda.. you seem heavier again," Kisaragi Chiyo complained, her consciousness not entirely clear, her voice still carrying a fuzzy and soft tone from sleep.
Kisaragi Chiyo tried very hard to keep his eyes open for a few seconds, but in the end, he couldn't resist the warmth of the duvet. After muttering a few words softly, he fell into a deep sleep once again.
Most of her face was buried in the soft pillow, leaving only a small part of her profile visible, her eyes tightly closed, with a patch of blurry light-gray shadow falling beneath her long eyelashes.
Matsuda Jinpei stared at the other's sleeping face with a serious expression; this was not the first time such a scene had occurred.
Ever since winter approached, Kisaragi Chiyo's frequency of staying in bed has increased. She is like a dormouse that needs to hibernate, wishing she could spend more than half of her twenty-four hours curled up inside her warm quilt.
Even the daily dog-walking duty, which should have been his responsibility, was transferred to Matsuda Jinpei.
"Is there a possibility that Hagi can walk himself?" Matsuda Jinpei asked, arms crossed, looking at Kisaragi Chiyo with raised eyebrows.
The books say that dogs need companionship." Kisaragi Chiyo held up a beginner's guide to dog ownership and countered with righteous indignation, "This is a requirement for scientific dog raising.. so I'm counting on you, Matsuda.
Kisaragi Chiyo winked at him, that day, he rarely pushed all the hair covering his eyes aside, revealing a dazzling smile on his face.
Then, by the time Matsuda Jinpei had come to his senses, he was standing outside the villa's main gate, staring blankly at the Bernese Mountain Dog with purple eyes as they both held onto the leash.
"Mada dane." *The Bernese Mountain Dog looked at the dazed Matsuda Jinpei, sighed and shook its head, then snatched the leash from his hands with its mouth and began to fend for itself.
*
Matsuda Jinpei raised his front paw, which had pink pads, pressed it solemnly against Kisaragi Chiyo's cheek. His teal eyes gazed at her fragile neck, which looked as if it could be easily grasped, he suddenly began to understand Hara Kenji.