This isn't right..
The cat ears slowly pressed down, Matsuda Jinpei gently sniffed Kisaragi Chiyo's body with his nose; her scent had become completely mingled with his own and the original scent. Even though she often wore that black haori jacket, he could frequently find cat and dog hair on her.
Even so, it still left Matsuda Jinpei feeling unsatisfied, even though he understood this was merely the result of unhealthy possessiveness. But when a delicious feast was laid out before him like this, it was hard for Matsuda to say how much longer he could resist the urge to take a bite.
..
“Kisaragi, it's time to get up.” Another five minutes passed, the punctual cat alarm clock began calling out to the sleeping young man, its tone as serious as a high school dean's.
"Don't pretend you didn't hear me." Feline vision is excellent, so it was impossible for Matsuda Jinpei to miss even the slightest reaction from the other.
"I just saw your eyebrows twitch." Matsuda Jinpei lay sprawled across Kisaragi Chiyo, his front paws tucked in, bringing a sweet, heavy burden upon the human.
With her eyes closed, Kisaragi Chiyo, pretending not to have heard Matsuda Jinpei's voice, fell silent for a second. Between getting out of bed to face the cold air and staying in the warm bedding, she chose the latter without any hesitation.
He rolled over with his eyes closed, pulling the quilt over his head and wrapping himself completely within the airtight, warm bedding, rejecting Matsuda Jinpei's final warning.
The warm bedding induced sleepiness, Kisaragi Chiyo felt her eyelids growing heavy, just as he was about to drift back into dreamland. A pair of slightly cool hands forcefully pried open a gap from the outside and reached in, unerringly grabbing his waist and pulling him down.
"Matsuda," Kisaragi Chiyo let out a soft cry. His cold hands pressed against the skin exposed by the upturned hem of his clothes, causing him to shiver involuntarily.
I'm here," Matsuda Jinpei responded, pressing the restless, struggling human into his embrace. "I hope you haven't forgotten our plan for today.
With one hand, he deftly unbuttoned the young man's pajamas, while his other hand grabbed the clothes he had prepared earlier and began pulling them onto the other man.
“Are you trying to murder me?” Kisaragi Chiyo finally couldn't take it anymore, reaching out to stop Matsuda Jinpei's attempt to strangle him with the turtleneck sweater. "You're being far too rough; I'll do it myself."
"It's about time." Matsuda Jinpei let go, returning the right to dress himself back to Kisaragi Chiyo.
He took a few steps back and stood a little further away, his gaze tracing imperceptibly over the young woman's back, her slender figure, the slight protrusion of her spine as she bent over.. until finally, everything was completely covered by her clothes.
“I'm ready.”
Matsuda Jinpei waited at the door for another ten minutes before the young man emerged from the bathroom after finishing his grooming. His expression was indifferent, his cheeks flushed from the hot water, a few strands of hair near his temples were slightly damp and clumped together.
Come downstairs." Matsuda Jinpei nodded. "Breakfast is already made.
While you were still sleeping, he even went out and walked ten kilometers all by himself.
"You should also consider increasing your exercise occasionally." Recalling the sensation of holding her just now, Matsuda Jinpei felt her shoulders were a bit bony and her waist was very thin; she felt as if there was almost no flesh on her, leaving nothing but bone beneath her skin.
"Sorry, I'm the type who would just snap and die if I exercised too much." Kisaragi Chiyo lifted her eyelids and gave Matsuda Jinpei a deadpan look, rejecting him without hesitation.
The consumption of brain cells by a writer is enough to make up for the lack of daily exercise.
"Is that so?" Matsuda Jinpei gave a short, mocking laugh as he listened to Kisaragi Chiyo's sophistry. He lowered his eyes, staring at the silver earring that swayed slightly against her hair as she moved down the stairs.
He suddenly asked, "Then may I ask, Teacher Kisaragi, have you finished your next manuscript? I recall there are only three days left until the deadline circled on your calendar, right?"
Kisaragi Chiyo, having been poked in her sore spot: ".."
"Please don't pry into my personal matters." Kisaragi Chiyo paused for a moment, her gaze shifting as she answered nonchalantly.
Looking at the expression on the other party's face, Matsuda Jinpei didn't even need to guess to know that, regarding the story to be submitted for the next issue, it was likely still stuck at the stage of a newly created document.
However, Matsuda Jinpei was not Kisaragi Chiyo's editor after all, so it was better to leave the task of rushing her to start working to a professional.
*
"Good morning, Chiyo-chan, Little Jinpei," Hara Kenji said as he approached her with a fuzzy warmth the moment he saw Kisaragi Chiyo. He carried the aroma of bread, with a dark blue apron tied around his waist, he looked like the quintessential domestic man.
Looking into those sparkling eyes, Kisaragi Chiyo couldn't help but lift her hand.
Hara Kenji had almost realized her intentions by the time Kisaragi Chiyo looked over; he lowered his head with a smile, submissively nuzzling his face against Kisaragi Chiyo's palm.
The human's warm palm pressed against the Evil Spirit's cold, pale skin, as if by simply being close like this, warmth would continuously blossom between the two of them.
"I made cranberry bread today." The Evil Spirit tilted his face up to claim credit, his beautiful dark purple eyes staring unblinkingly at Kisaragi Chiyo, like a sweet vortex capable of sucking one's soul in.
Oh?" Kisaragi Chiyo looked down at Hara Kenji, withdrawing the hand that had been pressed against his face, asked with a smile, "So, are you seeking a reward from me?
"Am I allowed to?" Hara Kenji asked, pushing his luck. He took a step forward, when he stopped intentionally slouching, his height was more than enough to cast Kisaragi Chiyo entirely within his shadow.
"Anything?" the Evil Spirit smiled, a hint of amusement appearing in his pale, handsome eyes. With a touch of restraint and testing, he seemed to want to determine exactly where Kisaragi Chiyo's limit of acceptance lay.
This would make it easier for him to better encroach upon her in his next step, tightening the grip on his prey until she could no longer even conceive of the thought of escaping.
"Cough.." Matsuda Jinpei kept his hands in his pockets, one hand steadying the sunglasses he had put on at some unknown point, as he stubbornly squeezed between Hara Kenji and Kisaragi Chiyo, accidentally separating the Evil Spirit and the human by three paces in the process.
Today is truly wonderful weather for a trip." Matsuda Jinpei seemed not to have noticed Hara Kenji's smiling gaze, as he tilted his head back, looking at the bright sun outside, sighed, "The gift sent by the Director was truly timely.
Because I heard that with the current drop in temperature, it's likely to start snowing after today," Matsuda Jinpei continued, completely unaffected by the strange atmosphere. "A hot spring trip before the snow starts falling.
"By the way, can you drive?" Matsuda Jinpei suddenly thought of this question.
Upon hearing Matsuda Jinpei's question, Kisaragi Chiyo ignored the way Hara Kenji's eyes instantly lit up. She gave a slight smile, having long since prepared to completely shut down any possibility of Hara Kenji getting his hands on the steering wheel.
"We'll take the bus," Kisaragi Chiyo replied.
*
A few days ago, Kisaragi Chiyo received a message from Inspector Megure, saying that as a way to thank Kisaragi Chiyo and the others for their help in resolving the crisis at the amusement park, also as the mysterious grand prize for passing through the Mirror Maze.
Kisaragi Chiyo won a trip to the Gunma hot springs, which includes an unlimited number of family members.
I don't want to go." Slumped on the sofa with the cat in her arms, Kisaragi Chiyo responded lazily, "I don't want to go out.
"It's free." The Matsuda Jinmi in her arms licked his paw unhurriedly, his pink tongue covered in tiny barbs, which piqued Kisaragi Chiyo's curiosity.
So, when Matsuda Jinpei extended his tongue again, Kisaragi Chiyo took advantage of his lack of guard and used two fingers to gently pinch the tip of his pink tongue.
Matsuda Jinpei was startled by Kisaragi Chiyo's action.
If there were a high jump competition for cats, Matsuda Jinpei would likely take first place.
Kisaragi Chiyo looked up in amazement, watching Matsuda jump onto the chandelier, her clear, glass-like teal eyes widening with alertness and a hint of reproach.
The black cat's long tail, clad in white gloves, flicked unhappily behind its back, its triangular ears pressed downward, looking as if it were angry.
"Excuse me?" Kisaragi Chiyo blinked slowly, rubbing her fingertips together as she recalled the sensation. A barbed cat tongue lightly brushed across her skin, a mixture of numbness and itchiness, feeling as if she were being rubbed with sandpaper.
".. There won't be a next time." Matsuda Jinpei's bristling fur gradually smoothed down. He leaped gracefully from the chandelier, landing three meters away from Kisaragi Chiyo, sat down with his tail curled around him.
Kisaragi Chiyo gazed at the furry figure with its back turned toward her, suddenly realizing that Matsuda Jinpei seemed to have grown a size larger than when they had first met.
“Is he in a growth spurt, just like Hara?” Kisaragi Chiyo lowered her eyes, lost in thought.
Kisaragi Chiyo did not agree to the proposal to go to Gunma. She wrapped herself in a blanket, curling into a ball and refusing to move; even when the dog Hara nuzzled her head to act spoiled, it did not shake her decision in the slightest.
Not until Kisaragi Chiyo received a message.
The misty gray eyes, which had been half-closed, slowly widened, a sharp, fleeting, elusive emotion flashed through the dark pupils. Kisaragi Chiyo lowered her head, looking at the message on her phone that indicated it had just been successfully received, stared expressionlessly at those few short lines of text for a long time.
He finally spoke, "Fine, we'll set off the day after tomorrow."
After dropping those words, Kisaragi Chiyo stood up with a blanket draped over her and left, refusing to let either Matsuda or Hara follow her.
"Why the sudden change of heart?" Hara Kenji stared fixedly at Kisaragi Chiyo's retreating figure.
"I wonder who it is?" Hara Kenji's eyes crinkled into a smile as he spoke, his voice very soft, as if he were only speaking to himself.
I'm really curious.
Matsuda Jinpei was also very curious, but what he was even more curious about was the content of that message—exactly what was written in it to cause Kisaragi Chiyo to have such an unpleasant reaction.
What exactly is in Gunma?
Matsuda Jinpei thought that he would eventually figure it out.
-----------------------
Author's Note: *It's still a long way off. (Echizen Ryoma's catchphrase)
Thanks for the support, my little angels! Mwah 0333330
Chapter 55
Matsuda Jinpei had been wanting to ask Kisaragi Chiyo why Hara Kenji was able to turn into a Bernese Mountain Dog.
But because the person in question was staring intently from the side, Matsuda Jinpei couldn't find an opportunity.
It wasn't until the day before their departure for Gunma that the supplies in the refrigerator were finally exhausted. Taking advantage of the gap while Hara Kenji was out, Matsuda Jinpei finally found his chance.
"You didn't know?" Kisaragi Chiyo looked back, somewhat surprised, as she packed her luggage.
".. Should I have known?" Matsuda Jinpei asked back after a moment of silence.
I had wondered before if Hagi's situation would be the same as mine," Matsuda Jinpei said unhurriedly, leaning against the doorframe. "But I've found that there is still a difference between an Evil Spirit and a yokai.
"Oh," Kisaragi Chiyo put down the clothes in her hands and turned around, one of her eyebrows twitching upward slightly as she looked at Matsuda Jinpei with great interest.
For example,
At least I don't have the habit of standing by your bed at midnight, staring at you.
"And besides, he doesn't seem to like sunlight very much," Matsuda Jinpei mused.
Although sunlight cannot cause any harm to Hara Kenji, at least among the ghosts Matsuda Jinpei had seen so far, none of them had ever started sizzling and smoking upon contact with the sun, as if they were being roasted.
Even though Hara Kenji did not show any outward signs of rejection, Matsuda Jinpei could still observe that, whenever possible, the other man would choose to avoid appearing in areas illuminated by the sun.
He preferred to stay in the shadows, remaining silent most of the time, silently watching Kisaragi Chiyo, or occasionally casting a glance toward Matsuda Jinpei.
He was like a lifeless statue, a plant growing silently in the shadows, a moon that had lost its light, revealing only its rugged surface..
If Matsuda hadn't already been familiar with the other's aura, he would have been startled every now and then by the presence appearing in the shadows of the corners.
“He has always been like this.” Kisaragi Chiyo looked toward the shadows in the corner of the room, where a translucent, pure white tentacle slowly poked its head out.
However, they become a bit more lively when they turn into a puppy." Kisaragi Chiyo withdrew her gaze and continued, "Come to think of it, it's probably because of their animalistic nature.
"Are you trying to say that I am being controlled by canine instincts?" Matsuda Jinpei couldn't help but frown after hearing that.
That's too strong a word than just 'dominating'," Kisaragi Chiyo said, looking up at Matsuda Jinpei. "Besides, haven't you also picked up some cat-like habits yourself?
Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow upon hearing that, remaining noncommittal regarding Kisaragi Chiyo's words.
"I saw you helping Hara lick his fur last time," Kisaragi Chiyo said with a light chuckle, watching Matsuda's expression freeze.
Don't worry, it doesn't seem like a bad thing for now.. I bought some hairball paste for you.
That last part was unnecessary.." Matsuda Jinpei showed an expression of restraint, "I don't need that kind of thing.
Really