Chapter 55 Find me, catch me, and take me away...

On one side, Ikumi Nekono's cheeks were puffed up with anger, her fingers flying across the screen. On the other side, Rei Furuya looked at Ikumi Nekono's furious reply on the other end of the phone, and couldn't help but smile with a pleased expression.

Furuya, a respectable person with a mischievous and wicked lover and a childhood friend who is also a black sesame dumpling, has also quietly become bad under the influence of both of them over the years.

Oh dear, Yumi always teases him, and he sometimes wants to tease Yumi back.

Who wouldn't want to unlock more of their lover's emotions and let their partner's feelings rise and fall with their words?

And how could this be considered an embarrassing photo?

How adorable it is to see the drunken Nekono Ikuya with hazy eyes, flushed cheeks, and clinging to her own arm!

Especially since his pose limited his shooting angle to top-down, when taking the picture, Nekono Ikuya's gaze was drawn to the moving object and he subconsciously looked at the camera. His bright green cat eyes were wide open and round, making him even more adorable.

[Zero: Oops, my hand slipped~]

[Zero: Snow Cat blinks innocently.jpg]

A slip of the hand? Nekono Ikuya looked at the cat series of pictures at the very top of Furuya Rei's screen that hadn't been retracted. The Snow Cat with a pair of devil horns on its head was still grinning at him devilishly.

...Hmph, he doesn't believe that Furuya Rei really slipped up!

[The image "Zero: Snow Cat's Devilish Laughter.jpg" has been withdrawn.]

...The "devil's smile" image has been withdrawn?

Nekono Ikuya narrowed her eyes, staring at the message retracted notification at the bottom of the screen. Destroying evidence, huh? Interesting. But—

Is it too late to withdraw now?

[Ikuya: What do you mean, "slip of the hand"? You clearly did it on purpose, didn't you? You scoundrel Zero! Hmph, you think you're the only one with my embarrassing past? Just you wait!]

Nekono Ikuya quickly scrolled through her private photo album, selected two photos, and clicked send.

[Ikuya: Dirty Bun Baby Zero.jpg]

This photo was taken by Nekono Ikuya when he encountered Rei Furuya in the park after he was fighting with some bad kids. It showed Rei looking disheveled.

Who knows how Nekono Ikuya managed to take those photos so discreetly? Blake, who also had a lot of his embarrassing past recorded without anyone noticing, felt a pang of sympathy.

[Ikuya: Rei Furuya in a panic.jpg]

This picture shows Rei Furuya being startled when Nekono Yuya suddenly darted out from a corner, causing him to lose his composure and his facial expressions to instantly crumble.

Although Furuya Rei's facial features are slightly misaligned in the photo and he looks startled, to be honest, his panicked appearance isn't funny at all; rather, it's quite cute.

[Ikuya: Snow Cat's Devilish Laughter.jpg]

Hmph, Nekono Yuumi smiled contentedly, finally getting her revenge on the devilish smile picture. Exchanging embarrassing photos of each other, it's just a tit-for-tat exchange.

[Zero: ? ? ? ]

Rei Furuya typed a series of question marks. The first photo was one thing, but the next one... Rei Furuya laughed in exasperation, his fingers flying across the screen.

[Zero: Yu Mi, look at yourself! That second photo isn't some kind of embarrassing moment for me; it's clearly pitiful evidence of how terrified I was by you!]

【Zero: Ikuya—Ikku—Iku-chan, tell me, doesn't your conscience hurt when you look at this picture?】 (Ikuya → Ikuya, Ikku → an affectionate tone variant, Iku-chan → little Ikuya or Ikuya-chan)

[Zero: Q-version tearful headgear.jpg]

[Zero: Snow Cat condemns.jpg]

Looking at Rei Furuya's tearful accusation, Ikuya Nekono blinked. Oh dear, that really—it doesn't hurt at all.

He's kept this photo for so many years, what is Furuya Rei still expecting?

Nekono Ikuya honestly delivered a critical hit.

[Ikuya: No!]

Then, he happily saved the chibi version of Furuya Rei's crying head that Furuya Rei had sent him, and returned a chibi version of himself to Furuya Rei in return.

[Ikuya (laughing wildly): Q-version Nekoyaki smugly crossing her legs.jpg]

Nekono Ikuya: Exchange, exchange, another emoji added to my collection, so happy.jpg

The chibi-style illustrations of the two characters, drawn by Nekono Ikuya and Furuya Rei, are essential emoticons in their chats. In addition, chibi-style illustrations of Morofushi Kagemitsu and Yukiko also frequently appear in their chats.

Of course, the chibi version of the Snow Cat was the most frequently used by them.

A delicious cat meal was all it took to get a permanent portrait of Nekono Ikuya, and from then on, countless memes went viral between Nekono Ikuya and Furuya Rei.

The naive and easily deceived Snow Cat, realizing the danger only after losing her last chance to refute the deception, asks: "Will anyone speak up for me?!"

Human society is full of tricks, and innocent cats are so easily fooled.

Snow Cat: A real tearful cat head.jpg

A new chibi-style picture of Nekono appeared, and Furuya Rei honestly long-pressed to save it before reading the message.

After reading it, he was speechless.

As expected of Nekono Ikuya, she's got a knack for teasing people with such confidence.

The battle began, with the two exchanging blows, neither willing to give an inch, and their phone screens were instantly flooded with all sorts of old photos of them.

[Zero: Young Neko's disguise slips up, and he panics to salvage the situation.jpg]

[Ikuya: Awkward smile when her little Furuya is caught stalking her.jpg]

[Zero: Nekono was caught red-handed stealing dessert at her home.jpg]

[Ikuya: During a cooking class, Furuya's corpse-destroying dishes were seized on the spot.jpg]

[Zero: Sleeping Nekonojo.jpg sent]

[Zero: Nekono's sleeping face.jpg retracted]

Nekono Ikuya: ? ? ?

Wait, this isn't his dark history, it's Furuya Rei's dark history, isn't it?

A sneaky photo! Rei Furuya secretly took a picture of him sleeping! Haha, he caught you, didn't he?

[Ikuya: Oh, Zero actually took a picture of me sleeping! I caught you red-handed! The evidence is conclusive (sends a quick screenshot), what can you say to deny it now? Hmm? Detective in cat form.jpg]

Falling Valley Zero:! ! !

Oops! This time it was a real slip of the hand. Oh no!

Even if one's reasoning is flawed, one can still be arrogant.

[Zero: Is there anything wrong with me taking a picture of my boyfriend sleeping? No! I'm perfectly justified.jpg]

Rei Furuya: ...What did he say?!

Nekono Ikuya: ...Seems okay?

They both fell silent for a moment, and then Nekono Ikuya slowly typed.

[Ikuya: Ceasefire? Sharing embarrassing moments between us has left us both hurt.]

[Zero: Agreed... Killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of your own, eh?]

[Ikuya: Ceasefire Agreement.jpg]

[Zero: Shaking hands and making peace.jpg]

Nekono Ikuya and Furuya Rei reconcile instantly.

Then Rei Furuya suddenly remembered the question he originally wanted to ask Ikuya Nekono.

[Zero: Wait, you still haven't told us why you chose a bar this time?]

With the topic veerging completely off course, who remembers the original question?

"Why a bar?" Nekono Ikuya typed without hesitation.

[Ikuya: Of course, it's to wash away my shame! Let me tell you, I'm not the same person who can't handle a single drink anymore. I've evolved, I'm no longer intolerant of alcohol, bring it on! *arrogantly raises a glass.jpg*]

Jianggu Ling:......

The message “The other party is typing…” appeared at the top of the chat box for a while before a new message popped up on Nekono Ikuya’s screen.

Rei Furuya attempted to be tactful.

[Zero: ...I don't believe it.]

Rei Furuya's attempt to subtly fail backfired.

Is this weakness so easy to overcome? Nekono Ikuya had worked hard for several years before, how could it be suddenly resolved in just a few months after he entered the police academy?

What, is he affecting Ikuya Nekono's performance by being around her?

Nekono Ikuya: ...That's a very straightforward statement.

Well, I knew Furuya Rei wouldn't believe me, at least his attitude was quite sincere... right?

[Ikuya: Actually, it's because I asked my mom for help, and she sent me some medicine, saying it could help me fight off alcohol. I'm going to try it out.]

Rei Furuya stopped questioning it instantly; there was nothing to question about Wonder Woman's magic potion.

Having become a member of the Nekono family, Rei Furuya gradually learns that Nekono Ikuya's mother is a mysterious witch whose family lineage is connected to the legendary Avalon.

—The legendary Avalon actually exists! Although it has gradually faded from the world due to its mysterious decline, Rei Furuya is still quite shocked. His materialistic worldview has been severely shaken.

Is this scientific? The world tells him it's very scientific.

【Zero: . 】

Never mind, if it exists, it has its reasons.

[Ikuya: So where are you? It really only took five minutes?] How come he felt like five minutes had already passed during their pleasant conversation?

This time, Furuya Rei's reply was slightly slower than his usual reply speed to Nekono Ikuya.

[Zero: Yeah, it's just around the next corner. But...]

[Ikuya: But what?]

Rei Furuya was walking and replying to messages when he paused slightly after pressing send. Hmm? He had a feeling that something was following him.

……illusion?

He subconsciously turned around, and out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to see a shadow quickly flash behind the wall.

Rei Furuya's purplish-gray eyes sharpened instantly.

It's not an illusion!

[Zero: Someone is following me.]

Nekono Ikuya could tell from the information that Furuya Rei's tone was very confident.

His reaction to this was—

【Ikuya：。】

Hmm, Nekono Ikuya didn't react.

Black's years of special training for them were not in vain, and Furuya Rei also trained himself extra because he wanted to take the police academy entrance exam.

Therefore, with Furuya Rei's current strength, ordinary trackers would be easy prey for him.

Furthermore, a stalker powerful enough to threaten Rei Furuya's safety wouldn't be so easily discovered by him.

Moreover, the message sent by Rei Furuya was full of confidence and did not show any intention of asking for help, so Ikuya Nekono was not worried about Rei Furuya at all.

Nekono Yuuya sat calmly at the bar counter, gently swirling the wine glass in her hand. The amber liquid traced elegant arcs along the glass, while ice cubes clinked softly, producing a chiming sound like wind chimes.

He awaited news from Furuya Rei.

Rei Furuya's reply came a little later than he expected, but he didn't have to wonder for long before Ikuya Nekono found out the reason.

[Zero: It's alright now, it was just that damn curious peer who was following me.]

[Zero: Chip version of Rei Furuya speechless.jpg]

[Ikuya: Oh, then hurry up and find me. Like always, find me, grab me, and take me away! I'll be waiting for you!]

Nekono Ikuya raised her glass, tilted her head back, and drank the scalding liquid in one gulp before rising and disappearing into the crowd.