“……Tch, I’m telling you, what’s there to be shocked about?” Chuuya shot an annoyed glance at the shocked Hiiragi Eiji, “Didn’t I tell you last night?”
Just at this moment, Hiiragi Eiji keenly noticed that Dazai Osamu’s hand, which was suspended in mid-air, slowly dropped, and he himself subconsciously took a step back.
For some reason, Hiiragi Eiji’s fatherly intuition made him realize that he absolutely must not let Dazai Osamu’s hand drop just like that.
As Hiiragi Eiji followed his body’s will to reach out and grab Dazai Osamu, he suddenly felt a violent tremor coming from the ground. Immediately following a loud “boom,” the ground beneath Dazai Osamu’s feet split open.
Almost in the blink of an eye, the crack collapsed into a huge crater, as if a giant beast was about to swallow Dazai Osamu in one gulp.
Hiiragi Eiji didn’t even think, immediately pouncing over. Chuuya was stunned for a solid half-second by this sudden turn of events, but once he reacted, he plunged headlong in the direction of the two.
Hiiragi Eiji’s reaction was extremely fast; almost the moment he grabbed Dazai Osamu, he swapped positions with him. So, when Chuuya used his ability to rush over wanting to grab Hiiragi Eiji, he was handed a “bandage-man” into his arms by the reverse of Hiiragi’s hand.
Chuuya: “……”
A look of shock still hung on Chuuya’s face. The next second, all the red light around his body dissipated. At the last critical moment, he bypassed Dazai Osamu and grabbed Hiiragi Eiji.
He knew that this guy would definitely not ignore Dazai Osamu, but because the situation was too urgent, he didn’t even have time to throw Dazai Osamu away, and the three of them fell down together.
More than ten seconds later, Hiiragi Eiji climbed up from the ground with difficulty. When he fell, he discovered that Chuuya intended to be a meat shield for him and Dazai Osamu. Fortunately, his reaction was quick, so he didn’t let him and Dazai Osamu crash into Chuuya.
And right now, his left wrist was still being tightly gripped by Chuuya.
“……Chuuya, are you okay?”
But while attending to Chuuya, Dazai Osamu had hit a certain rock during the descent due to a moment of negligence and unfortunately fell unconscious again. Fortunately, when they landed, Hiiragi Eiji had cushioned him from beneath, so Dazai Osamu didn’t sustain any major injuries, and because of this, he was also tightly gripping Dazai Osamu’s left hand.
Hiiragi Eiji took a heavy, sharp intake of breath. He was disqualified again! He was not a good father!
They seemed to have fallen into a pile of gravel. After adapting for a while, Hiiragi Eiji could gradually see the surrounding environment clearly. The underground was actually hollow; he didn’t know what its purpose was. They were lucky and had not been injured by the rubble.
“Of course I’m fine, how could there be a problem with this height.” In the darkness, Chuuya’s muffled voice came from Hiiragi Eiji’s left side, “How about you?”
Hiiragi Eiji moved his body, making a rough assessment. Although he didn’t possess ninjutsu without “cheating,” his physical fitness was very strong, so at such a height, he only felt multiple bruises on his body; apart from that, there were no other major issues.
Speaking of which, Chuuya suddenly thought of the guy who was currently unconscious. It was truly unexpected that with Eiji acting as his human meat shield, this guy could still fall until he was unconscious. So, he asked even more annoyedly, “What about that mackerel? Is he dead yet?”
Chuuya didn’t hide his difference in attitude toward the two at all.
Hiiragi Eiji chuckled: “He’s just passed out. We’ll send him back to the hospital once we get up.”
Chuuya responded, then fell silent.
Hiiragi Eiji didn’t urge him. Although this place was some distance from the ground, for Chuuya, who possessed the gravity ability, it didn’t constitute any problem at all.
……It was more that the fact he followed himself and Dazai Osamu down here was even more absurd.
In the pitch darkness, Hiiragi Eiji stared forward with unfocused eyes.
He was thinking about what had just happened, thinking about the invitation Chuuya extended to him before falling down.
Chuuya hadn’t let go of the wrist he was holding, and he himself hadn’t let go of Dazai Osamu’s wrist.
……What kind of strange combination is this?
After struggling for a moment, Hiiragi Eiji still asked softly: “Chuuya, was what you said up there just now serious?”
After a long silence, Chuuya finally spoke, “……Why would I joke about this kind of thing?”
Hiiragi Eiji didn’t speak again.
……He just vaguely felt a sense of familiarity from Chuuya’s intentions. Once upon a time, Sasuke seemed to have extended an invitation to him for similar reasons.
And that reason was—
He wanted to be friends with him.
Hiiragi Eiji had an epiphany on the spot.
Chuuya didn’t seem to be obsessed with wanting him to be his subordinate, but rather wanted to be friends with him.
Illuminated by inspiration, Hiiragi Eiji spoke solemnly, “I’m sorry, Chuuya.”
Chuuya to the side didn’t respond, but the force with which he was gripping his wrist started to lighten. Chuuya didn’t realize the change in how Hiiragi Eiji addressed him; he only knew he had been rejected.
“I cannot go and be your subordinate. I have some personal reasons that I must stay by Dazai-sama’s side.”
The force became even lighter. Seeing that Chuuya was about to let go, Hiiragi Eiji grabbed Chuuya’s silk-gloved hand with his backhand, “However, rather than being your subordinate, I am more willing to be your friend.”
Chuuya was almost shocked into jumping on the spot by this plot that took a sharp turn. He turned his head in disbelief and looked at Hiiragi Eiji.
“Don’t be sad, okay?” Hiiragi Eiji gently shook Chuuya’s hand.
Whoosh, Chuuya jumped up from the ground. In the darkness, Hiiragi Eiji couldn’t distinguish the expression on his face, but he discovered Chuuya’s breathing suddenly became rapid, “I, I’ll go clean this up and prepare to go up!” Chuuya said gruffly. After finishing, he strode forward.
After walking about five or six meters forward, he then whispered: “……I know.”
Dazai Osamu woke up in the familiar hospital bed again.
There was no need for him to do anything; someone had already walked to the side of the bed, “How do you feel? Is there anywhere that feels uncomfortable?”
……Sure enough, it’s Yorozu Eiji.
Dazai Osamu wanted to close his eyes again.
He had already vaguely sensed it. Whenever he wanted to disobey Hiiragi Eiji’s will, misfortune would always befall him in all sorts of strange ways.
“No sleeping allowed. You’ve slept long enough, get up and eat.” Hiiragi Eiji’s cold voice stopped Dazai Osamu’s movements.
When he saw the other party actually start to fiddle with the lunch box, Dazai Osamu sighed lightly.
Hiiragi Eiji naturally heard this sigh, and his eyelids twitched violently.
It’s coming, it’s coming again. Hiiragi Eiji thought secretly in his heart; his “Good Son Trouble Detection Radar” went off once again.
Sure enough, he heard Dazai Osamu beside him whisper: “……At that time, why did you save me? Do you like the joy of saving others very much?” This sentence really couldn’t be counted as very friendly. Although it carried a bit of a smile, it wasn’t hard to feel that familiar mocking tone.
Hiiragi Eiji had been completely tempered. He felt not a shred of annoyance, but rather focused on doing his own thing.
He arranged the meal boxes one by one and stuffed a spoon into Dazai Osamu’s hand, only then answering nonchalantly: “I just want to protect the people who are important to me.” Saying that, he looked up and swept a glance at Dazai Osamu, “You are certainly one of them, so I will save you.”
Then, he saw those russet eyes of Dazai Osamu tremble slightly. Immediately following that, he received the system prompt sound.
[Dazai Osamu Favorability -5]
[Dazai Osamu Impression has been updated]
Hiiragi Eiji: “……”
Hiiragi Eiji was already numb. He didn’t know why, but after saying those words, he had actually captured a trace of fear in Dazai Osamu’s eyes, and immediately following that was the very familiar act of evasion.
He took a deep breath, telling himself it was still because his parenting experience wasn’t enough. It didn’t matter; he would stand up from where he fell.
Then, he tapped open the NPC panel.
[Dazai Osamu Impression: Source of Light (Fearful of)]
Hiiragi Eiji: “……”
So afraid of light (the light-source) as all that?!
Hiiragi Eiji closed the panel with a somber expression. He understood now; it seems that next, he must help this bear-child undergo a course of desensitization therapy.
After the bombs were completely dismantled, Mori Ougai seemed to finally realize that the missing defector could no longer be found, so he immediately ordered Hiiragi Eiji and Chuuya to terminate the mission and return to the Port Mafia.
When Hiiragi Eiji left Chuuya’s office holding the handover report, he suddenly realized that the fragile connection between him and Eiji seemed to have been completely severed because of this one paper of termination orders.
He didn’t continue to think about what happened in that quiet underground, because he didn’t want to be disappointed because his secret expectations in his heart fell through.
The days that followed were all plain; Chuuya remained busy.
Six days later, at 8:13 PM, Chuuya walked out of an office building.
Starting from the evening, the atmosphere on the street was off. He belatedly realized that today seemed to be Christmas Eve.
Just the moment he stepped out of the building, he saw Hiiragi Eiji standing quietly under the lamp light at a glance.
The youth was no longer wearing his usual black suit, but wrapped in a white down jacket. The hood hanging on the back even had a fluffy collar around it. His hands were tucked in his pockets, and a black shopping bag hung from his wrist.
Gray casual pants matched with sneakers added a touch of childishness to him, and his gentle temperament was even more obvious. His exquisite appearance caused passing pedestrians to inadvertently cast their gaze upon him.
But he himself didn’t notice it at all, just staring blankly at some spot on the ground on his own.
The irritability Chuuya originally brought from the mission was diluted by the scene before him in this instant.
He couldn’t help but quicken his pace walking toward Hiiragi Eiji, and the other party seemed to have sensed something, quickly looking up toward his location.
Then, Chuuya saw that the youth who had just had a listless expression on his face suddenly broke into a smile.
“Thump,” Chuuya’s heart skipped a heavy beat, which made his footsteps slow down again.
He clearly felt that he was being waited for by the person before his eyes. Hiiragi Eiji, who shouldn’t have appeared here, stood here on this cold night, just waiting for him.
“……Are you waiting for me?” Chuuya said in a low voice.
Hiiragi Eiji blinked his eyes somewhat confusedly, “Is it that not obvious?”
Chuuya was stunned for a moment, then tugged at the corner of his mouth. He didn’t know why his mood suddenly became cheerful.
“Merry Christmas.” Hiiragi Eiji reached his hand forward, and the black shopping bag was brought before his eyes.
Chuuya looked at the object before him blankly. He was somewhat puzzled, but still didn’t want to leave Hiiragi Eiji’s hand hanging there for too long.
He wasn’t wearing gloves; it must be very cold, right?
“……What is this?”
“It’s a Christmas gift.” Hiiragi Eiji answered with a smile.
After Chuuya took it, he lowered his head and looked at the black shopping bag. Thinking of what happened before, he didn’t look at Hiiragi Eiji, and even his mood became low. So, he asked muffledly: “……Why give it to me?”
This time, it was Hiiragi Eiji’s turn to be somewhat troubled, “Sorry…… I just, during the holidays, wanted to give a gift to a friend……?” Is it possible that this doesn’t conform to the Port Mafia’s social etiquette?
But after Chuuya heard this sentence, he suddenly raised his head, his deep blue eyes widening slightly.
He had originally thought it was just polite words to avoid making him embarrassed.
But at this moment, Chuuya finally understood.
The reason why he was attracted to Yorozu Eiji was precisely because he had always been a sincere person.
Chuuya’s mood climbed upward again rapidly.
Until this moment, Chuuya finally knew what he was happy for.
——That line he thought had been completely severed was reconnected in this cold yet warm night.
……Is this what it feels like to be friends with Eiji? But it seems a bit different from the “friend” he thought of.
Chuuya felt the vibration in his chest cavity along with the blood in his body accelerating. He gently exhaled a breath of white air, “……Eiji, it seems like it’s gotten colder lately.”
“Yeah.”
“……Um, it’s already too cold to go to Okinawa to see the sea in this weather.” Chuuya rubbed his nose.
Hiiragi Eiji nodded in agreement, “So we can wait until—” Spring.
However, before Hiiragi Eiji’s words were finished, Chuuya quickly added: “So, it seems more suitable to go to Hokkaido to play now.”
Hiiragi Eiji: “……” So that’s what he meant!
“Next week, shall we go together? I know a very good hot spring there.”
“Alright.” Hiiragi Eiji agreed straightforwardly, “However, Chuuya, don’t forget to help me ask for leave first.” He added faintly.
“That goes without saying.” Chuuya answered stiffly, “Let’s go, I’ll take you to eat, I’m starving to death.”
Saying that, the two disappeared into the crowd together.
The next day, when Hiiragi Eiji went to the office, he discovered that Dazai Osamu was sitting at his seat fidgeting with a gray cashmere scarf.
This was the Christmas gift Hiiragi Eiji gave him, but this bear-child hadn’t wrapped it around, but was lying beside the scarf poking it from time to time.
After organizing his work documents, he casually mentioned his weekend plan for next week to Dazai Osamu.
“……In other words, you are planning to go to Hokkaido to play with the Slug?” Dazai Osamu’s tone suddenly became light and slow.