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The night was like water.
A silver moon hung high in the night sky.
The residential area had quietly settled down.
Kitahara Makoto walked in front, and Bocchi-chan, as usual, obediently followed behind him, deliberately walking in Kitahara Makoto's shadow, as if only by hiding in someone else's shadow could she feel at ease.
"It's quite late today. Won't you get scolded when you go back?"
Kitahara Makoto slowed his pace and asked softly.
"I won't be scolded..." Gotō Hitori replied softly. When they were alone, her voice sounded a little nervous. "When I went back yesterday, Dad and Mom didn't scold me, only Futari was fierce to me..."
Kitahara Makoto casually said:
"Futari is your younger sister, right?"
"Mhm, mhm." When talking about her younger sister, Bocchi-chan's voice was noticeably more cheerful, without the nervousness and restraint from before. "Futari is five years old this year, super cute."
At this point, Gotō Hitori's face showed a hint of slight resentment: "When Futari was little, she clearly loved sleeping with me, but later, for some reason, she said she always had nightmares where she couldn't breathe, and then she never wanted to sleep with me again."
Couldn't breathe?
Kitahara Makoto turned his head upon hearing this, his gaze subtly sweeping over Bocchi-chan's chest, and he already guessed the truth of the matter.
Underneath seemingly ordinary clothes, there were actually surging waves. A five-year-old child would definitely be out of breath!
"Wah--"
As the two passed a green belt, a piercing scream suddenly rang out.
"Ah..."
Bocchi-chan was startled and quickly hid behind Kitahara Makoto.
Immediately after, two dark figures, one after another, suddenly darted out from the nearby bushes and fought in a tangled mess at their feet.
"Don't be afraid, they're two stray cats."
Kitahara Makoto grabbed Bocchi-chan's small hand and pulled the Little Miss Anxiety back a few steps to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Under the streetlight, two orange cats of similar size pounced and bit at each other, fur flying everywhere, looking quite intense.
Gotō Hitori was clearly very timid; she was even afraid of cats fighting. She only dared to hide behind Kitahara Makoto, peeking out her head:
"Sh-should we take another path?"
Kitahara Makoto nodded: "Then let's take another path, lest we get accidentally hurt... How do we go?"
The two cats were fighting quite intensely, fur flying everywhere. It looked like they wouldn't separate anytime soon, and the road was very narrow. If they passed by now, they might be caught in the crossfire. If they were accidentally scratched by a stray cat's claws, they would have to get rabies shots.
"Mhm, mhm." Gotō Hitori quickly nodded, more familiar with the surrounding environment, "We can go around through the small alley behind us."
Kitahara Makoto and Bocchi-chan turned and walked back, quickly arriving at a small alley.
This alley was even narrower; once inside, it could only fit about two people walking side by side. Fortunately, there was light from the buildings on both sides, making it easy to see the path.
Kitahara Makoto walked in front, Bocchi-chan obediently followed behind him. Halfway through, Kitahara Makoto suddenly saw a woman wearing a windbreaker standing facing the wall in front.
"Strange..."
Kitahara Makoto frowned slightly, his gaze falling on the woman in the windbreaker in the corner. He felt something was off.
As if sensing Kitahara Makoto's gaze, the woman in the windbreaker moved slowly, beginning to turn around little by little.
"Wait, it's a shadow!"
The second before the woman in the windbreaker was about to turn around completely, Kitahara Makoto finally discovered her peculiarity.
No shadow!
She was clearly standing under the light, but there was no shadow at all on the ground or the wall!
"Ghost story or evil spirit?"
Kitahara Makoto's mind raced, his brain quickly thinking.
Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't human.
When he previously [optimized] the drum washing machine, he had consumed a lot of vital energy and spirit, and the fatigue had not yet dissipated. Even a Dutiful Exorcist couldn't eliminate an evil spirit when his waist and knees were sore, right?
To be safe, try not to get into a conflict with that strange woman!
Based on previous experience, it seemed that as long as the evil spirit didn't know you could see it, you wouldn't be attacked.
If that's the case, now he could only...
Kitahara Makoto took a deep breath, quickly turned around, and faced Gotō Hitori behind him.
"Eh?"
Gotō Hitori looked up blankly, clearly not yet knowing what had happened.
The next second.
Kitahara Makoto reached out and gently pushed Bocchi-chan on the shoulder, causing Bocchi-chan to involuntarily lean back against the wall. Then he extended his right hand and pressed it firmly beside Bocchi-chan's ear.
Slap!
The loud sound made Gotō Hitori tremble slightly. She looked up blankly, and after two seconds of confusion, she finally came to her senses. Her delicate and cute fair small face instantly flushed red at a visible speed.
(Wall, wall-d-don... This pose is clearly a wall-don from shoujo manga!)
(So s-scary...)
(Being wall-donned by a boy is so scary, shoujo manga was lying all along...)
Gotō Hitori felt her heart pounding at an unprecedented speed, almost jumping out of her throat. She was so nervous that her hands and feet were at a loss, and she barely knew how to breathe.
While there was shyness, given Bocchi-chan's social anxiety, being suddenly wall-donned by Kitahara Makoto, panic clearly took the upper hand.
"Hitori-chan..."
Kitahara Makoto lowered his voice and leaned closer.
Gotō Hitori quickly averted her gaze, wanting to escape, but there was nowhere to run. In the end, she could only frantically close her eyes and play ostrich.
(Too, too, too, too close!)
(Why is Kitahara-kun leaning in so close?)
(Could it be that he wants to k-kiss...)
(No!)
(I, I, I, I haven't even brushed my teeth yet...)
Gotō Hitori's small fists were tightly clenched at her chest. She was so nervous she was almost fainting. It took all her courage to finally muster up a pitiful plea in a voice like a mosquito's hum:
"N-no..."
"Don't expose yourself." Kitahara Makoto said in a low voice, "We've encountered an evil spirit."
"Eh?"
Gotō Hitori opened one eye blankly.
Kitahara Makoto leaned close to Bocchi-chan's ear and whispered:
"That woman in the windbreaker has no shadow."
Gotō Hitori nervously held her breath, secretly peeking with the corner of her eye, and quickly confirmed that the woman in the windbreaker walking towards them indeed had no shadow.
"Don't look at her." Kitahara Makoto lowered his voice, continuing to whisper, "If it knows we can see it, it will definitely cling to us again."
The hot breath on her ear made Gotō Hitori, who had never had such intimate contact with a boy, tremble slightly. Her entire ear turned into red agate, and she quickly responded in a panic:
"I, I know."
Kitahara Makoto maintained the wall-don pose while glancing at the woman in the windbreaker from the corner of his eye, his body slightly tense, ready to strike with a heavy punch at any moment.
This woman, whatever she was, quietly approached, making no sound as she walked. She finally stopped a few meters away from Kitahara Makoto and Bocchi-chan, then her head suddenly tilted, and her entire head directly fell off her shoulders.
Gotō Hitori couldn't help but open one eye to peek, and just happened to see such a terrifying and frightening scene. She involuntarily opened her small mouth, and a gasp was about to escape.
"...If you shout now, all our efforts will be in vain!"
At this instant, Kitahara Makoto's body reacted before his brain, and he suddenly lowered his head, sealing the girl's lips.
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