Chapter 22: Dating in a General Sense Part 2
Heaven, angel?
Kurosaki Utsuki's eyes widened in surprise. She had no idea why she was being called that. But when she opened her mouth, her body had already reacted—
"W-why, suddenly..."
But the boy in front of her just smiled and repeated, "Kurosaki-chan is an angel."
What, what?! How could such a strange, fairy-tale-like title be applied to someone like her, a figure of death? What kind of weird thing did Hagiwara have in his head?
But he soon changed the topic. Kurosaki Utsuki tugged at the pendant on her wrist, wanting to ask why she was called an angel, but she felt that she might get some too shocking answer, so she hesitated and gradually calmed down as the train swayed.
Although, the person next to her is really easy to like.
I don't know if it's because he's gifted with higher emotional intelligence than ordinary people, or if it's because of his rich experience that he's been able to read people's minds in seconds. Although he'll occasionally make a joke to tease her emotions, he always knows when to stop and never makes her really angry.
It's not like she didn't have the opportunity to take the initiative, but it was completely unnecessary. She didn't dislike the feeling of not having to think too much and just following the other person's thoughts when chatting.
And, she didn't dislike this short journey that could be called "daily".
It also reminded her of last summer vacation, when she, Morobushi Kagemitsu, and Furuya Rei had secretly planned to go to the mountains of Nagano for fun. However, the three of them were caught red-handed at the Nagano City station by Morobushi Takaaki, who was on vacation visiting his adoptive parents. Naturally, they were forcibly deported.
"...I have friends too." Before getting off the car, Kurosaki Utsuki muttered softly.
The person walking in front of her who didn't hear what she said immediately turned around and said, "Kurosaki-chan?"
"Exit the station from the west exit," the orange-haired girl replied quickly, with a hint of concealment. "First, go to Dean Ishida to get the house key."
Hagiwara Kenji glanced up at the sign, found his way, and continued to follow the sparse flow of people towards the exit, making sure the girl he was traveling with wasn't separated from him by strangers. "The last time I was in Karakura City was probably during the summer vacation of sixth grade."
"What are you doing here in Karasuma?"
"Attending a fireworks display. A fireworks display with empty seats is huge. Kurosaki-chan is a local, so he must have gone to see it too, right?"
Speaking of fireworks displays, several images suddenly emerged in Kurosaki Utsuki's mind. They were all scenes of her father Kurosaki Isshin childishly shouting "Go grab a seat" and leading the way forward, followed closely by his two younger sisters Yuko and Xia Li. She and her brother followed slowly from behind, sometimes talking, and sometimes just smiling and looking at the backs of the three people in front.
"Yeah, I go there every summer." Kurosaki Utsuki responded, almost subconsciously extending an invitation, "Will you come this summer?"
The other party's response was so quick that she lost the opportunity to retract her statement: "Of course!"
After passing through the gate and exiting the station, the boy slowed down his pace and walked alongside her, his voice teasing: "Kurosaki-chan, will you also wear a black or white yukata during the fireworks festival?"
……ha?
Kurosaki Utsuki's mouth twitched: "No way, my dad buys me a new yukata with a very bright color every year."
Many times, the new yukata did not suit her aesthetic taste, but her brothers and sisters all said it suited her, and she gradually lost herself in the repeated comments of "it looks good".
"Eh, but if there's an emergency—"
Who cares about his emergency work?
"That's the job of the Shinigami stationed in Karakura City. It has nothing to do with me, the acting Shinigami of Beika City."
Just as she said this, her cell phone suddenly vibrated, and the work assignment from the Death God of Beihua City arrived as expected.
Under Hagiwara Kenji's worried gaze, which seemed to ask, "Is it really okay?", Kurosaki Utsuki hung up the phone decisively, and with her actions, she told Geto Suguru on the other end of the line that she was out of service area.
As a result, when she put away her phone, the worry on the boy's face was still there.
"Why that expression? They, the Shinigami, can't rest while they're stationed in the real world, but I, a minor acting Shinigami, still need a break."
The other party just responded with a smile, "Yes, yes, yes."
It took less than ten minutes to walk to the hospital. Kurosaki Utaki asked Hagiwara Kenji to wait downstairs while she went upstairs with ease.
When she passed by the Miyano couple's respective departments on the way, she slowed down and looked inside, but both of them were busy, so she didn't think to say hello.
There was no need to knock at the door of the dean's office. She just released a little spiritual pressure when she approached the door, and within two seconds she heard a voice saying "Come in" from the room.
"Long Xian, I'll get the key." Kurosaki Utahi opened the door and entered the room. She sensed from outside that there were no other guests in the room, so she spoke in a familiar tone that didn't sound like someone of a different generation. "I brought a friend to help."
The person behind the desk wasn't interested in her friend. He pushed the keys that had been prepared on the desk forward and waited until she got closer before speaking, "Why did you think of cleaning that house?"
Kurosaki Utsuki put the key into her pocket and shrugged nonchalantly: "I just suddenly remembered it. My mother lived there when she was a child. I want to go and see it too."
——Of course, it was because she couldn’t find a suitable project that she could introduce to Hagiwara as a part-time job.
For this purpose, she even made a flyer that looked real enough to recruit part-time workers. Although it didn't work, the other party seemed to have only glanced at the flyer she spread out.
Her reason was ambiguous, but Ishida Ryugen didn't ask any further questions. He just responded calmly: "Masaki left some things there, so there's no need to return the key."
Perhaps she was thinking that her mother, Kurosaki Masaki's death anniversary would be coming soon.
The orange-haired girl nodded, "I know. I'll take what I want."
·
Less than ten minutes had passed when Kurosaki Utsuki returned to the hospital. Hagiwara Kenji was selecting a drink at a vending machine and, upon seeing her, asked what she wanted, to which she casually chose a Coke.
Soon, the two set off again.
This time, the distance was a bit longer, and the destination was more or less in the suburbs, so the bus was chosen for transportation. Kurosaki Utsuki led the way, and after getting off the bus, we turned a few corners and finally stopped in front of a Japanese-style courtyard fence with the houseplate "Ishida" on it.
"Wow, what a big house."
In comparison, Kurosaki Utsuki's reaction was very calm: "Come in." She unlocked the door and entered the courtyard, walking straight inside.
Hagiwara Kenji followed closely behind: "Has Kurosaki-chan been here before?"
"No, this is the first time." She glanced at the people behind her, "No one has visited in recent years."
Indeed, this should have been her first time here, but everything around her, whether it was the withered flowers and plants in the courtyard or the trees that almost grew out of the fence, made her feel so familiar that she wanted to cry.
"Is that so..."
"Don't worry, it's not haunted." The orange-haired girl who unlocked the door and entered the main room glanced back at him at the entrance, her voice tinged with sarcasm. "This place is covered by a special barrier. No Hollow or Shinigami can enter. And after the people who died here, no souls were left behind."
Hagiwara Kenji paused, then gave a wry smile: "Hearing you say that, I'm starting to imagine a terrifying scene..."
Kurosaki Utsuki shrugged: "Maybe the truth is just the scene you made up in your mind."
After all, her words just now vaguely equated the Hollow that feeds on souls with the God of Death who protects souls.
She hadn't yet decided whether to explain her identity as a Quincy to the young man she was traveling with. She didn't think he posed a threat, but she didn't feel the need to explain it either. She was likely the only Quincy he would ever come into contact with, and knowing too much wouldn't do him any good.
...Besides, their relationship was far from close enough to share all the secrets.
"Hey, is that Kurosaki-chan in this photo? Wait, this is a high school graduation photo..."
The boy who was staring at the top photo in the box near the corner had a look in his eyes that looked very strange.
"Kurosaki-chan, could it be that—"
Kurosaki Utsuki's mouth twitched, guessing what the other person was thinking. "That's a photo of my mother when she graduated from high school. It must be something she left behind when she left the Ishida family. They were all packed up and put here."
She looked around the huge, dusty living room and pulled the corners of her mouth together, revealing a nostalgic smile.
"Although the Ishida family's nameplate is hung here, before Mom was adopted by the Ishida family, this was the Kurosaki family."
By the time she finished speaking, her smile had vanished, replaced by a look of annoyance. The childhood memories of her mother that suddenly flooded her mind seemed like hallucinations, leaving her unable to distinguish between truth and falsehood for a few seconds.
No, that was indeed a real past that once existed, but it just didn't belong to her.
Seeing her reaction was a little strange, Hagiwara Kenji couldn't help but take a step forward: "Kurosaki-chan?"
"...Nothing. Let's go check the utility room. The cleaning tools should be there. Although the power is off, the water should still be flowing. It seems someone comes to check the condition of the pipes occasionally."
The boy nodded. "Without electricity, does that mean we can only clean until the evening? It's such a big house, and there are only two of us—"
"Didn't I tell you to just do it casually?" Kurosaki Utsuki bent down and picked up the photo the boy had been staring at. She gently shook off the dust on it, and her voice softened unconsciously. "Just do it casually. I have to go back to shoot the 'Hagiwara Persimmon' video in the evening."
After a pause, she added, "If you find similar photos..."
The boy quickly added, "If I find it, I'll call Kurosaki-chan to check it out right away."
Instead of giving it to her, I asked her to confirm...
"——Those are all treasures that are very important to Kurosaki-chan, right?"
My breathing stopped.
"Well, thank you."
It turns out that humans can be such gentle beings.
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