Kagiroi spoke of a plan that was unbearable for Masamichi to listen to. Then he approached the boy and suddenly put a hand into the collar of his coat. The coldness and the overwhelming sense of disgust made Masamichi’s whole body tremble.
“You have a beautiful neck. Perhaps because you’re now a child, I can see that Shino has likely never held you. It appears that despite being a specter, he has a silly sense of morality. It’s because he’s been siding with humans too much.”
Masamichi stopped himself from blurting out that Shino was a fine master. It was something he would never say as a servant who had left Shino, trying to go to Kagiroi.
“I think it would be fun to take you, my little one. You were quite skinny as an adult, and I think you might whet my appetite more as a cute child,” Kagiroi said as he groped Masamichi’s chest through his shirt, then slid his hand along his neck and stopped at the base of his chin.
“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s fine to be in awe of your new master, but it isn’t cute to be scared. It appears I’ll need to teach you the custom of worshipping your lord.”
As if I would ever look up to a guy like you!
Anger burned deep inside Masamichi as Kagiroi mocked Shino and toyed with his own body, but he couldn’t let it show.
Maintaining the stiffness in his face, Masamichi looked up at Kagiroi and intentionally misled someone for the first time in his life.
“Will you take good care of me?”
He wanted to cry but felt he had to say that.
His nervous, frightened, and wary expression must have satisfied Kagiroi’s sadistic heart. With a genuinely pleased look on his face, he said, “Sure. Worship me, be infatuated with me. Do that, and I’ll take care of you until I get tired of you. I’ll show you.”
Kagiroi placed his hand against Masamichi’s chin, got down on one knee, and pulled Masamichi toward him by the waist.
The specter’s face was suddenly in front of his.
Kagiroi was going to kiss him.
Masamichi shivered when he realized that.
Perhaps he was being tested. This time, Kagiroi didn’t grab his chin as he had before.
Ah. He’s trying to see if I’m really serious, that I’ve truly chosen him…
There was no choice but to go along with it. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Come on, brace yourself! I’ve got to do this. It’s for my own good!
Masamichi kept his eyes open but raised his face, showing he was ready to receive Kagiroi’s lips as they drew closer.
“Oh my, aren’t you going to close your eyes? Didn’t Shino Tatsumi teach you that you’re supposed to close your eyes in a situation like this?”
“…I…want to watch,” Masamichi replied in a quivering voice, which caused Kagiroi to laugh with delight.
“Do you like my face that much? Well, it is beautiful, so I don’t blame you. I’ll reward you with a very deep kiss.”
“…Ngh!”
Masamichi was a child now, and his mouth was small, but that didn’t bother Kagiroi in the least bit. He went ahead and covered the boy’s lips with his own.
He twisted his tongue into Masamichi’s narrow oral cavity as the boy let out a moan of agony.
It felt as though dry ice was being forced into his mouth. It was more than just cold; he experienced a sharp jolt of pain in all the muscles and mucous membranes in his face.
Kagiroi was likely sucking all the chi he could out of him.
“…Ngh. Ngh!”
Amid the agony, Masamichi took his right hand out of his coat pocket.
Kagiroi didn’t seem to mind the move. He must have thought that Masamichi was struggling to breathe.
It’s now or never!
Masamichi wrapped his left arm around Kagiroi. Then he struck the nape of his neck with his right.
He didn’t exactly hit the specter. He put all his strength into jabbing the utility knife he’d been hiding as deep as he could.
But Kagiroi didn’t make a single sound of surprise.
He slowly pulled his lips away, grabbed Masamichi by the collar of his coat he had earlier loosened, and slammed his small body onto the ground.
“Agh!”
With no time to even assume a defensive position, Masamichi was knocked down, unable to move.
“I don’t approve of mischief,” Kagiroi said with exaggeration as he stood up, put his hand to the nape of his neck, pulled out the utility knife, and casually tossed it away.
It rolled close to Masamichi.
“You foolish child. Did you think you could kill a specter with something like that? Well, maybe could kill Shino with it, but you shouldn’t compare me to him.”
“…Shino…is a great specter. He’s my beloved master. He… He’s nothing like you!”
Several toggles had come off Masamichi’s duffle coat, and the bright-yellow fabric was covered in dirt. Masamichi’s cheeks were scratched all over and dripping with blood from the impact of his face-first fall.
But it was no longer necessary to lie. He had obtained what he wanted with his own hands.
Still unable to get up, Masamichi picked up the utility knife that Kagiroi had thrown to the ground.
But that was as far as he could manage.
From here on in…all he could do was to have faith in his master.
“Is that what you really think? So did you come here today to kill me for Shino’s sake? Oh, please. You really need to learn some humility. Who do you think you are, calling me here, you little worm?”
Kagiroi had to be angry that his pride had been hurt. Without holding back, he kicked Masamichi in the stomach with his shiny leather shoes.
“Ugh…! Ngh. Ngh.”
Masamichi didn’t have room to defend himself since he was focusing all his energy on protecting the utility knife. Like a special effects scene from a kung fu movie, his small body was blown away and crashed into the metal pole of the playground equipment.
“Fool. You could have lived a life of luxury if you came to me. I thought you would be an excellent toy for tormenting Shino, but forget it. You can die like a rag, regretting the choice you made.”
Kagiroi slowly approached Masamichi, who was bruised all over and curled up like a pill bug.
Maybe I came a little too early. But…but—
Death loomed before him, yet Masamichi hadn’t given up hope. But if he was going to be killed by Kagiroi, there was a name he wanted to be his last word.
“…Shino!” he managed to call out in a childish voice amid his labored breathing.
“Masamichi!”
The voice he wanted to hear struck Masamichi’s eardrums.
He came…!
He also heard Hayakawa’s voice.
“I’ve temporarily set up a barrier around you! But it’s the work of an old man, so don’t put too much faith into it.”
He can make a barrier, too?!
Masamichi screamed the moment he lifted his head to see around him. Shino grabbed his shoulders, pulled him up, and forced him on his feet.