Chapter 66 It hardened, the fist hardened.
After an unknown amount of time, a few strands of golden hair lingered between his fair fingers before slipping away. Nekono Ikuya gently released his hand, which had been climbing from Furuya Rei's collar to the back of his head, and the disordered breathing subsided in the blink of an eye.
His expression had regained its usual composure and calmness. If it weren't for his shimmering eyes and his rosy lips tinged with moisture, no one would have been able to see the traces of that passionate kiss just now.
Caught off guard by being pulled down, Rei Furuya had no choice but to brace himself on the table for balance. At that moment, he wrapped his arms around Rei's, palms against the table, completely trapping Ikuya Nekono in the small space between his arms and the table, their breaths still mingling.
One second, two seconds passed, and Furuya Rei remained motionless in that position above. Nekono Ikuya began to feel the space becoming cramped. So, without any hesitation, he reached out and pressed against Furuya Rei's chest, manually pushing him away.
During this process, his shimmering eyes also regained their calm.
Nekono Ikuya's strength was not great, even extremely light, but Furuya Rei still obediently got up with his strength and stood up straight again.
He straightened his collar, which had been ruffled by Nekono Ikuya, with his wheat-colored hands, but his purplish-gray eyes, much darker than before, remained fixed on Nekono Ikuya, like a wolfhound eyeing its prey.
Nekono Ikuya remained completely unaffected by Furuya Rei's gaze, his expression calm and composed. Even his emerald green eyes, which had been deep, became clear again, as if he had not been affected in the slightest by the passionate kiss just now, and that only Furuya Rei was lost in it.
...A naughty cat who runs away after having his fun, his interest comes and goes quickly, truly living up to the name of Nekono!
Rei Furuya pressed the tip of his tongue against the root of his teeth, slowly and forcefully grinding it over, his gaze fixed on Ikuya Nekono.
Then he slowly closed his eyes, took a long, deep breath, and when he opened them again, only a restrained clarity remained in his purplish-gray eyes.
"How is Hiro? What happened? Why did Tomokazu suddenly ask to see Hiro?"
It's not strange that Tomokazu asked to see Motofushi Kagemitsu. He had made similar requests before, but he was usually in a mad state when he made them, so he was usually rejected. It's rare for him to be normal and sober now.
Tomokazu seems unable to accept the death of his daughter, always feeling that someone deliberately hid her away, and he is particularly concerned about Morofushi Kagemitsu, who was a good friend of his daughter when they were young.
His previously delirious mind, through some incomprehensible process, connected Morofushi Kagemitsu with Tomomori Arisato, and he felt that asking Morofushi Kagemitsu would lead him to Tomomori Arisato.
For some reason, Furuya Rei always felt a strange aversion to Tomokazu. Although Tomokazu seemed pitiful because he was mentally unstable due to the death of his daughter, Furuya Rei couldn't let go of his resistance while feeling sympathy for him. Perhaps it was because Tomokazu seemed mentally unstable every time he mentioned Morofushi Kagemitsu.
Although Morofushi Kagemitsu paid close attention to Soto Moriichi and would even visit the hospital in person from time to time, Soto Moriichi had actually seen Morofushi Kagemitsu very few times over the years. This was because each time Morofushi Kagemitsu came to the hospital, he would only meet with the attending physician and learn about Soto Moriichi's condition indirectly.
Nekono Ikuya could tell that Morofushi Kagemitsu's enthusiastic visits to Tomokazu over the years were not out of overflowing sympathy, but rather out of a sense of vigilance that seemed to have sprung up from nowhere.
Although she didn't understand, Nekono Ikuya still signaled to the people here to pay more attention to the outside world and prevent unpleasant situations from occurring.
"Don't worry, Jingguang is doing well. This time, Gaishuichi just wanted to see Jingguang to talk about his daughter, since Jingguang was his daughter's closest playmate. Perhaps he also wants to apologize to Jingguang for his previous behavior? I guess."
Given how abnormal Tomokazu's condition was, Nekono Ikuya must have carefully investigated before allowing Morofushi Kagemitsu to meet with Tomokazu. Otherwise, he would never have allowed the abnormal Tomokazu to approach Morofushi Kagemitsu.
"...So, Tomokazu's condition has really improved?" Furuya Rei was surprised. For so many years, he had thought that Tomokazu would never get better.
“It’s incredible, but yes, his condition has improved,” Nekono Ikuya affirmed.
"Has Tomoichi finally started to accept the fact that his daughter is dead? I thought he would rather stay in his delusions than accept this fact until he dies."
Previously, Furuya Rei sometimes wondered whether Soto Morikazu's illness was inherently difficult to treat, or if he subconsciously didn't want to be treated. Furuya Rei's tone was complex, but his overall mood was happy. Mainly because of Morofushi Kagemitsu; Morofushi Kagemitsu must be very happy to receive this news, as he's been in a good mood all week.
"Perhaps it's because the time has come, and this matter needs to be resolved within this period of time in any case."
"time?"
"Yes, time."
Nekono Ikuya smiled enigmatically, offering no further explanation.
He began tidying up the table, carefully putting away the chibi-style Furuya doll, and throwing away or putting away items such as tissues, straws, and water cups.
Rei Furuya realized something and turned his head towards the reception room. The next second, the door slowly opened from the inside, and Kagemitsu Morofushi walked out.
"Hiro!" Rei Fangtani smiled and waved.
Behind her, a soft yet deeply emotional "thank you" and "I'm sorry" drifted on the wind, followed by suppressed sobs that gradually grew more unrestrained.
It's always a good thing to be able to vent your emotions through crying. The sense of vigilance that had always been inexplicably present in Morofushi Kagemitsu's heart finally dissipated, and he suddenly felt much more relaxed.
Then, as soon as he pushed open the door, he saw Rei Furuya, who hadn't come with them because of an urgent matter. Under the bright sunlight, Rei Furuya, whose blond hair shone as brightly as the sun, was smiling at him.
Nekono Ikuya, who was showing her true face, looked at him with a warm and bright smile.
So Morofushi Kagemitsu couldn't help but smile. He closed the door behind him, took two steps toward Furuya Rei and Nekono Ikuya, and was about to say something with a smile.
Then Morofushi Kagemitsu's smile suddenly froze, because as he got closer, he saw more details about Nekono Ikuya and Furuya Rei.
Rei Furuya had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead and was radiating more heat than usual—which could be explained by the fact that he had engaged in strenuous exercise while rushing here.
Despite his careful adjustment, a discerning person like Morobushi Kagemitsu could still see the marks of rough handling on the collar fabric.
Even though Nekono Ikuya appeared calm, her slightly disheveled hair and bright red lips hinted at something unusual.
There were also tissues piled up in the trash cans...
Kagemitsu Morofushi stared in utter shock at Rei Furuya and Ikuya Nekono, who stood before him, each more composed than the last, seemingly having done nothing.
What were you all doing here, taking advantage of every spare moment? Hopefully, it's not what he's thinking!
Morofushi Kagemitsu hesitated: "Ikuya, Zero, you..."
Nekono Ikuya tilted her head: "What's wrong?"
Fangtani Rei was confused: "Hiro?"
Nekono Ikuya's gaze was pure, while Furuya Rei's eyes were upright. Their bright green, upturned cat eyes and purplish-gray, drooping dog eyes looked at him together, without any guilt, only pure doubt.
Morobuchi Kagemitsu immediately crossed out his absurd guess, which he already found hard to believe, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's nothing, let's go. I found a newly opened restaurant nearby, and the reviews are pretty good. How about we go eat there now?"
Zhu Fujingguang regained his composure and spoke.
He calmly ignored the dog food that was practically shoved into his mouth, his expression one of composure that comes from having seen it all.
Hey, it's just a face-to-face display of affection, no problem, Morofushi Hiromitsu doesn't care at all. Anyone with two close friends who can handle this would gradually get used to it, Morofushi Hiromitsu calmed down and thought that as long as the affection he was being fed didn't suddenly go bad, it was fine.
Their mental stomachs were filled with sweet dog food, making their real stomachs seem even emptier. So, Morofushi Kagemitsu decided to soothe their real stomachs.
"...Okay?" Nekono Ikuya and Furuya Rei exchanged bewildered glances. Wait, what was Kagemitsu just surprised about? And how did the topic suddenly jump to this?
Well, since Jingguang has changed the subject, it seems he's not going to talk about it anymore.
Since things have come to this, let's eat first.
...
Over there, Nekono Ikuya and her two companions were heading to the newly opened restaurant recommended by Morofushi Kagemitsu, while over here, Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji had finished lunch with Matsuda Jotaro and seen him off, and were on their way back to the police academy dormitory.
Looking at the outdoor training field they were passing by, Kenji Hagiwara suddenly said, "Jinpei, let me tell you, I saw Furuya's boyfriend today!"
"Oh, really? What a coincidence? He's on a date with Furuya today too?" Matsuda Jinpei looked at Hagiwara Kenji with interest, his expression somewhat complicated.
It seems that Furuya and the wolf-tailed youth's relationship is developing rapidly but is still relatively stable. Well, given the blond jerk's consistently serious and earnest demeanor, he probably wouldn't be so casual about relationships... right?
Matsuda Jinpei recalled how they had gone straight to the hotel that day and suddenly became uncertain.
"No, Furuya's boyfriend is with Morofushi today. His name is Nekono Ikuya. Ikuya, a very elegant name, quite fitting for his temperament."
? ? ?
"Refined," Matsuda Jinpei murmured to himself.
He recalled the scene when he met the young man with wolf tail hair, and he felt that the other man's temperament should be described as cool rather than elegant.
Strange, could it be that I changed my style of dress because I'm not going to a bar today?
And why is Furuya's boyfriend with Morofushi? What's going on? Are they meeting relatives or friends? But according to Hagi's description, Furuya isn't here?
I don't understand Matsuda Jinpei at all.
Just as he was about to raise an eyebrow to express his doubt, he heard Kenji Hagiwara's explanation that followed.
Kenji Hagiwara looked somewhat smug: "You didn't expect that, did you, Jinpei? Nekono is actually childhood friends with Furuya and Morofushi. They're very close, so Nekono often plays with Morofushi on weekends!"
"Sigh, I made a huge misunderstanding this morning about the relationship between Moronobushi and Nekono, it was so embarrassing, Kenji-chan."
Kenji Hagiwara shared his embarrassing past with his childhood friend, feeling both amused and exasperated.
!!
But Matsuda Jinpei didn't press the matter, or even pay attention. His face darkened: "Wait, Hagi, you're saying the three of them are childhood friends?"
Kenji Hagiwara nodded gently, "Mm."
Matsuda Jinpei: It's hardened, its fists are hardened.
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