Beside the shrine's approach, the warm glow emitted by the hanging lanterns and the clamor of human voices were gradually filtered out as they ventured deeper, until finally, only the subtle friction of gravel beneath their feet remained.
This small garden, located to the rear side of the shrine, appeared particularly secluded on New Year's Eve. Only a few ground lamps cast a faint, ghostly illumination on the silhouettes of the evergreens, stretching the shadows of the two men into long, slender shapes.
Kurokawa Osamu stopped in his tracks and turned around.
His burly physique blocked almost all the light in front of Michiya Gōshin, casting an oppressively heavy shadow.
There were no pleasantries, no polite social formulas. The man's sharp eyes, which had weathered countless storms and possessed a penetrating insight into human nature, locked directly onto Michiya Gōshin. He cut straight to the chase, his voice deep and direct, carrying a force that brooked no perfunctory answers.
"Michiya-kun, I don't like beating around the bush, so I'll say it straight... What exactly is your relationship with my daughter, Akane?"
This question came so directly, it was almost abrupt.
However, it was very fitting for his style as a Police Superintendent, and exactly what a protective father eager to guard his daughter would say.
The air seemed to stagnate in that moment.
Michiya Gōshin inhaled a slight breath of the freezing air, not immediately avoiding the other man's gaze.
Before walking over, he had anticipated such a question; he just hadn't expected that under these circumstances, the other party would choose to be so straightforward.
He pondered for about two seconds, then chose the safest answer that was also most true to the current situation.
"Kurokawa-san, your daughter and I are very good friends; we are close friends who trust each other."
"Close friends?"
Kurokawa Osamu repeated the term. One could not discern joy or anger in his tone, but his slightly narrowed eyes clearly conveyed his distrust.
"I have watched that show, Love is a Required Course in Life."
He paused, throwing each word out like a small stone. "In the show, and in what I just saw—the way Akane looks at you, and her unconcealed concern for you—it doesn't look as simple as just being 'close friends'."
"Not to mention... she hasn't worked at all these past few months, staying at the hospital to take care of you instead. I know all about these things."
His words carried a scrutiny peculiar to fathers. Michiya Gōshin could even sense an almost instinctual guardedness radiating from him, as if he were assessing a "dangerous individual" who might abduct his daughter.
Michiya Gōshin was not overwhelmed by the man's imposing aura. He understood this father's concern, so he adjusted his stance to appear even more sincere and earnest.
"Kurokawa-san, I understand your doubts. Variety shows have effects they want to present, and there is post-production editing involved; you should have heard something about this."
He explained slowly, his tone very sincere.
"But setting the show aside, my relationship with Kurokawa is indeed very close. She is a very kind and passionate girl, and I cherish this friendship with her very much."
"I respect her, and I would absolutely never do anything to hurt her or exploit her feelings. That is our current relationship."
Michiya Gōshin wasn't afraid of what Kurokawa Osamu might do to him, but since the man was Kurokawa Akane's father, he naturally had to explain with the utmost seriousness.
Kurokawa Osamu listened quietly to his answer. The expression on his face did not loosen at all, but his sharp gaze seemed to soften ever so slightly, as if he were assessing the truthfulness of the words.
Silence spread between the two for a few seconds, with only the distant, faint sound of bells and clamor reminding them of the New Year atmosphere.
Suddenly, Michiya Gōshin smiled. He looked up, his gaze no longer just candid, but now carrying a hint of a rhetorical challenge.
"Kurokawa-san, please allow me to ask a presumptuous question. If... and I am just saying if, one day in the future I really started dating Akane... what would you do?"
This question exceeded Kurokawa Osamu's expectations.
He clearly hadn't expected this young man to not only handle his interrogation but to dare to ask such a direct counter-question.
Immediately, a sneer appeared on that constantly stern face, and he spoke in a cold, severe tone.
"In that case, I would let you taste... the freezing waters of Tokyo Bay."
Now it was Michiya Gōshin's turn to be dumbfounded.
But soon, Kurokawa Osamu gave a low chuckle, shook his head, and continued, "I'm just joking. You don't need to be so nervous, Michiya-kun."
"Kid... you really have the guts to ask."
He took a small step forward. The sense of oppression increased again, but this time it seemed less like pure scrutiny and more like a measurement.
"Michiya-kun, I absolutely detest those slick-haired, sweet-talking, fickle pretty boys in the entertainment industry."
Kurokawa Osamu's voice was deep, carrying unconcealed disgust. "That circle is too messy, with too many temptations. I do not want Akane to be hurt in any way."
His gaze became piercing once more, fixing tightly on Michiya Gōshin.
"But... I appreciate a man who is responsible and owns up to his actions. I investigated your injury. I heard it was to save a co-star actress, not because of some messy jealousy or an accident. To be able to step forward in that kind of situation shows that you have something in your bones that I appreciate. That is very good."
Michiya Gōshin was slightly stunned; he hadn't expected this Superintendent to have privately investigated the cause of his injury.
Kurokawa Osamu continued speaking, his tone softening slightly, though still carrying a note of warning.
"That child, Akane, looks gentle and cheerful, but she is actually very sensitive and stubborn. Once she sets her mind on something, nine bulls couldn't pull her back. Since she treats you... Hmph!"
He snorted coldly, leaving the sentence unfinished, but the meaning was already obvious.
"If you, kid..."
Kurokawa Osamu's gaze became sharp again, pressing down on Michiya Gōshin like a physical weight. "If that day really comes in the future, and you can guarantee that you will treat Akane wholeheartedly and not make her cry in sadness... then, I might not mind. I might even... lend you my strength."
These words sounded as tough as ever, even carrying conditions, but the meaning contained within was unmistakable.
This was an awkward, yet heavy acknowledgment and preliminary acceptance from a father.
The meaning of this sentence was: I am just observing you temporarily for now. If you are worthy, I won't be an obstacle for you two; I might even become your backing.
This was almost standard "future father-in-law" speech, but coming from this powerful Superintendent, it carried a heavy weight.
Michiya Gōshin was silent for a moment, then nodded solemnly.
"I understand. Thank you, Kurokawa-san. I will take your words to heart."
The atmosphere following this relaxed significantly.
Kurokawa Osamu asked a few more simple questions about Michiya Gōshin's recovery and future work plans, all of which Michiya Gōshin answered cautiously.
Although the conversation between the two could not be called warm, it was at least no longer a sword-drawn interrogation mode.
After a while, Kurokawa Osamu checked his watch. "That's about it. Let's go back, or Akane will get anxious waiting."
When the two returned one after the other to the lively main approach, Kurokawa Akane immediately trotted over. Her face was written with nervousness and worry, her eyes darting rapidly between her father and Michiya Gōshin, seeming to desperately search for any sign of discord.
"Dad! Michiya-kun! What did you... talk about?"
There was an imperceptible tremor in her voice.
Kurokawa Osamu glanced at his daughter, his face resuming that serious expression, though his eyes seemed to soften just a fraction. "Nothing much, just a casual chat. I also asked about Michiya-kun's physical recovery."
He lightly glossed over the tension-filled conversation they had just shared.
Kurokawa Akane clearly didn't believe him and cast an inquiring look at Michiya Gōshin.
Michiya Gōshin gave the girl a reassuring smile and shook his head slightly, using his eyes to convey the message: "It's okay, everything is fine."
His smile seemed to possess a magical power, one that had a super-effective impact on Kurokawa Akane. It instantly relaxed most of her tightly wound nerves. Although she remained curious, she was at least at ease.
Yamazaki Kento stood a little further away. having consumed another massive piece of gossip today. The fire of rumors was crackling and burning within his heart, but on the surface, he still had to strive to maintain the bland expression of a mere bystander.
At the end of the New Year's visit, Michiya Gōshin and Yamazaki Kento bid farewell to the Kurokawa father and daughter.
Kurokawa Osamu nodded slightly to Michiya Gōshin, then left with Kurokawa Akane, who kept turning her head back every few steps, her eyes still filled with curiosity and attachment.
"Wow! That really scared me to death just now!"
When only the two of them remained, Yamazaki Kento immediately revealed his true colors, patting his chest and letting out a long sigh of relief. "Kurokawa-san's aura is too terrifying, isn't it? What on earth did you talk about? He didn't give you a hard time, did he?"
Michiya Gōshin smiled, dodging the heavy questions. "Nothing much, just a normal inquiry from a father concerned about his daughter."
"A normal inquiry?"
Yamazaki Kento wore an expression that said 'who are you trying to fool'. "Looking at that stance, it was almost like an interrogation room. Is Kurokawa-san's job actually a police officer?"
Michiya Gōshin smiled and nodded, then shook his head. "Stop gossiping. Let's go back."
After leaving Meiji Jingu, the two felt a bit hungry, so they found a still-open oden stall at random and sat down. They ordered some piping hot food and asked for two cups of sake to ward off the cold.
With the hot soup in their stomachs and slightly buzzed from the alcohol, Yamazaki Kento's curiosity swelled to its peak once again.
He leaned in close to Michiya Gōshin, lowering his voice, his face wearing that specific probing expression men have when discussing this kind of topic.
"Seriously, Michiya, there's no one else here. Give me the bottom line."
He counted on his fingers. "Sakurajima-san, the popular female star who debuted as a child actor; Kurokawa-san, the stage actress with exquisite acting skills; and that idol Asakura-san—although she doesn't seem to have many emotional fluctuations, I saw it clearly in the hospital ward that day, the way she looked at you was definitely not right..."
"So..."
He dragged out the sound, staring into Michiya Gōshin's eyes. "Who is the real one? Can't you even tell your bro? I absolutely won't leak it, I swear!"
Michiya Gōshin held the warm sake cup, looking at the clear liquid inside and the swaying lights reflected within it. He was silent for a moment. The night breeze ruffled the hair on his forehead, and his profile looked somewhat hazy outlined by the night and the lights.
After a while, he spoke slowly, his voice calm and clear. "As of now... none of them are."
"None of them?"
Yamazaki Kento was so shocked he nearly jumped up, but he quickly lowered his voice, leaning in to ask with surprise, "...How is that possible? Then you..."
"Feelings aren't a multiple-choice question, nor are they some competition where a champion must be decided."
Michiya Gōshin gently swirled his sake cup, his gaze suddenly becoming somewhat distant.
"They are all very outstanding girls, and I have fond feelings, appreciation, and even gratitude for all of them. But those feelings are perhaps still a bit short of a clear confirmation of that 'singular love,' or rather, it still requires a decisive moment."
He paused, then added, "Besides, there are many things involved in this, not just the feelings themselves."
Yamazaki Kento listened, seemingly understanding yet not, and it took him a good while to digest this information. In the end, it only turned into a long sigh.
"Sigh... hearing you talk really goes in circles. If you like them, you like them; how can it be so complicated?"
Yamazaki Kento picked up his sake cup and clinked it forcefully against Michiya Gōshin's, his tone becoming half-joking and half-serious.
"But I need to remind you of something. When I first entered the industry, a senior who had debuted over thirty years ago warned me that I must be careful of women in the entertainment circle!"
"Although they are each more charming than the last, every one of them possesses traits a hundred times more dangerous than ordinary girls. Your body has just recovered; don't go tossing yourself back into the hospital."
Yamazaki Kento chuckled, that cheeky expression of a bad friend appearing on his face again. "But if you really do go back in, your bro will definitely come to take care of you again, hahaha! I hope that day doesn't come too soon."
Michiya Gōshin was amused by him. He shook his head helplessly and drained the wine in his cup in one gulp.
The first cup of wine of the New Year, carrying a hint of spice, a hint of sweetness, and countless complicated thoughts waiting to be sorted out, was swallowed all together.
The tangled mess of emotional problems could perhaps only wait for time to provide the answer.
***
The third day of spring break.
The steel forest of Tokyo remained bustling, but the carnival of the New Year's beginning had gradually settled, restoring some of the usual order. A lazy atmosphere unique to the holidays lingered in the air.
On a certain floor of a high-end apartment building, inside a room decorated with a style full of literary flair and girlish indolence, Kasumigaoka Utaha was bogged down in an arduous war—a struggle with the plot conception for the fourth volume of Love Metronome.
She sat before a large desk. Her long black hair, usually soft and lustrous, now looked somewhat frizzy, with a few strands even disobediently sticking to her slightly sweating forehead.
The girl was wearing a slightly loose black nightgown, the neckline revealing her delicate collarbone and a small patch of fair skin. Her exquisite face bore obvious signs of fatigue, and those bright wine-red eyes were currently somewhat dim, with unignorable dark circles beneath them.
The poor sales of Love Metronome volume three shrouded her mind like a nightmare.
The urging of the publisher, the expectations of the readers, and her own demanding desire for perfection transformed into heavy shackles, making her unable to write a single word.
She had been sitting there staring at the blank document for a long time. The girl's fingertips were ice-cold, yet her brain felt as if it were stuffed with scalding cotton, chaotic and stagnant.
Fragments of ideas flashed by, only to be quickly shattered by the denial within her mind.
When it rains, it pours.
Perhaps due to a decline in immunity from staying up late consecutively, coupled with accidentally catching a chill when returning from a meeting at the publishing house last night, she had felt a dry, sore throat, a dizzy head, and waves of chills throughout her body since this morning.
At this moment, the temperature of her forehead had clearly risen, and her cheeks were flushed with an abnormal redness.
She had a fever.
Physical discomfort intensified her mental anxiety and sense of powerlessness. Kasumigaoka Utaha tossed the mouse aside in irritation, leaned back against the chair, and closed her sore eyes, letting out an extremely faint murmur filled with pain and frustration.
Can anyone come and help me...
Even just to help think of an opening idea...
Or, just pouring me a glass of hot water would be fine...
Such thoughts, fragile to the point of pleading, rarely appeared in the mind of the proud Kasumigaoka Utaha. But under the double torture of illness and pressure at this moment, they surfaced uncontrollably.
She finally felt an unprecedented loneliness.
Just then—
Knock, knock, knock.
A clear and rhythmic knocking suddenly sounded, breaking the suffocating silence in the room.
Kasumigaoka Utaha snapped her eyes open, looking towards the door with some confusion.
Perhaps she was muddled from the fever; she didn't think much of it for a moment, simply relying on instinct to struggle up from her chair.
A wave of dizziness hit her. She stumbled, holding onto the corner of the desk to barely steady herself, then dragged her floating footsteps slowly to the entryway.
Kasumigaoka Utaha reached out sluggishly and twisted the door lock.
The door opened.
Michiya Gōshin, standing outside, also hadn't expected the door to open so quickly, and wore a polite smile on his face.
He had come specifically to visit his neighbor today, bringing along a small New Year's souvenir to say a formal hello.
Having recently been discharged from the hospital, Michiya Gōshin also felt he should engage in more interpersonal interactions.
However, when he saw Kasumigaoka Utaha standing inside the door, the smile on his face froze instantly, immediately transforming into obvious astonishment.
"Kasumigaoka-sensei?!"
Michiya Gōshin's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected his neighbor to be Kasumigaoka Utaha. But after seeing her complexion, doubt and worry immediately rose in his heart.
The girl before him had an abnormally flushed face, her breathing was slightly rapid, her eyes were unfocused and hazy, and her body swayed slightly, as if she might collapse at any moment.
That black silk nightgown only served to highlight the strange redness of her skin, and her entire being radiated an extremely fragile aura.
"Wait... hang on, you are..."
"It's... Michiya-sensei? Am I dreaming?"
The moment she opened the door and saw him, Kasumigaoka Utaha saw the face of the person before her clearly. Consequently, the breath she had been holding onto all this time seemed to suddenly escape.
The cold air from outside hit her scalding skin. A violent dizziness struck like a tsunami, and everything before her eyes instantly spun, turning blurred and dark.
She didn't even have time to make a sound before her body went limp and fell forward.
Michiya Gōshin's pupils constricted slightly. Acting almost on a conditioned reflex, he took a step forward and quickly spread his arms.
In the next second, a soft, powerless, tender body fell solidly into his embrace.
Michiya Gōshin subconsciously held her. Where his arms touched, there was an astonishing heat. The girl's beautiful long black hair scattered across his cheek and neck, bringing a hint of ticklishness, but mostly a scorching temperature within reach.
"Her forehead is so hot! Is this a fever?"
The girl in his arms had completely lost consciousness, her burning breath spraying against the hollow of his neck.
Michiya Gōshin was thoroughly stunned. He looked down at the unconscious Kasumigaoka Utaha in his arms, then looked at the open, empty apartment interior, and felt the frightening body temperature radiating from the tender body in his embrace...
This sudden situation completely exceeded the script he had envisioned for a "neighborly New Year's greeting."
"Really, what is this..."
Michiya Gōshin gave two bitter laughs, held onto Kasumigaoka Utaha, and walked towards the room.
________________________________________
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