This guy always says such embarrassing things.
And he's younger than me.
Kurisu Makise took a step forward, closer to the train, to prevent Chihaya Kaiser from seeing her expression.
She tried hard to put on a poker face, her gaze fixed on the distance, just as a train came speeding along the tracks.
The sun was about to set. The train blocked the last rays of twilight, and its passage stirred a gentle breeze that lifted her long hair.
She turned her upper body, her slender legs crossed. The shadows on her face were soft and natural, a faint smile contrasting with the light in the background, every single strand of her hair glowing in the twilight.
"I'll be going back to America in a little while."
"Huh? So suddenly?" Chihaya Kaiser's pupils dilated slightly. He was surprised for a moment, but then he came to terms with it.
After all, she was a genius who was about to graduate from university at eighteen. Her daily life belonged in a lab in America.
She only came to Japan to present a paper, and that's over now.
She was going to go back.
She didn't belong here. They were from two different worlds.
A pity. He'd only managed to get one quest out of it.
They boarded the train together. The seats were mostly full, but it wasn't crowded. It wasn't the corporate drone rush hour yet, so the train traffic wasn't horrendous.
When they left the station again, the sign read 'Ikebukuro', and the pedestrians were still hurrying along.
Kurisu Makise looked around with interest, her eyes on the surrounding signs, especially the many that were written in Chinese.
"Hoh... Ikebukuro is pretty interesting too."
"Yeah, it's like being back home."
His gaze fell on signs for Jue Wei Duck Necks and Malatang, and Chihaya Kaiser truly had the illusion of being home.
She would draw out her words in fascination, occasionally stopping to look around, and he would pause to wait for her to finish reading the signs.
The two of them made their way to 'ring'. Chihaya Kaiser sent a message to Anon and got a reply that they were in the café.
Just then, he noticed Kurisu Makise squatting down in the instrument section on the first floor, reading the text on them.
"What do you think?"
"Mah, I've seen electric guitars in America. They seem pretty much the same."
Kurisu Makise stood up and looked around. "This is very different from what I imagined. I thought it would be some kind of dark, pitch-black basement."
"Oh, STARRY is the kind of live house you're imagining. This place is bigger and brighter."
Chihaya Kaiser walked with her toward the café. "The facilities here are very complete. It's considered a really good live house."
"...Mhm."
Her curiosity satisfied, Kurisu Makise placed a hand on her hip, reverting to her cool demeanor and putting on a poker face.
People on the street occasionally glanced their way. With her by his side, exuding a 'don't-come-near-me' aura, she drove away the girls who were eyeing Chihaya Kaiser.
He had to admit, with his passive skill having double effectiveness on the opposite sex, he felt a bit like Tang Sanzang.
If he wanted to indulge in his desires, becoming a kept man would be easy. He might even end up like Oba Yozo.
He wanted no part of that.
Chihaya Kaiser arrived at the café area, passed through rows of potted plants that served as dividers, and saw the girl who also had pink hair.
"You look that much alike?" Kurisu Makise glanced at him, then at Chihaya Anon.
"Mah, she is my twin sister, after all." Chihaya Kaiser shrugged. "By the way, you kept asking me why I'm so insistent on the existence of the soul, right?"
"Yeah. You need to present some evidence."
Kurisu Makise asked, "You can't prove it just because you and your sister look alike, can you? If so, I'll have to question your sanity tonight."
"No, it's that I can remember everything since the day I was born. I even remember some things from before I was born.
Being in my mother's womb was not a pleasant feeling at all. All that talk about it being comfortable is a lie.
When you have a soul and can think, those days in the darkness are maddening. It was so boring I almost wanted to hang myself with the umbilical cord. It's why I'm still a little afraid of the dark now."
Chihaya Kaiser's tone was calm, with a hint of banter and humor.
He didn't mention his reincarnation. Just remembering everything was already quite something.
"You can ask my sister to verify my fear of the dark. I guarantee it's true."
"What?! That's impossible!"
Kurisu Makise wanted to object, but a café waitress came over and led the two of them to a table.
She opened her mouth, finding it unbelievable.
From what angle could she even begin to refute that? So many questions came to mind, but...
Just then, Anon saw them too. Her hand, raised to wave, froze mid-air. She was so surprised her little snaggletooth was showing, and she almost blurted out 'Huh?' along with the long, black-haired waitress.
She knew it! He'd suddenly started jogging in the mornings; he must have found a girl he liked.
She sized up the girl next to him: long red hair, a delicate face, and she looked like she wasn't wearing any makeup. How could she be so pretty without it?
Her little brother has good taste.
A school uniform? But she doesn't seem like a high school student.
Anon figured the girl must be a bit older than them. Her expression was so cool, and the white shirt with black stockings gave her an intellectual look. So this is the type Little Chi likes.
She covered her mouth with her hand, staring over at them, her own conversation halting and drawing the attention of her two companions.
The grey-haired girl followed her gaze and also looked a bit surprised.
"Anon, there are two of you."
"Tomori, it must be her family," the girl with flaxen hair added.
Meanwhile, the white-haired girl sitting at the counter twitched her ears like a cat and looked toward Chihaya Kaiser.
"Interesting."
The waitress with long, straight black hair, however, felt her eyelid twitch as she asked the two what they would like to order.
After they ordered, Anon was still hesitating about whether to say hello. She felt like it would be an intrusion.
Chihaya Kaiser, however, waved to her with his standard fake smile and greeted her.
"Anon, are these your bandmates?"
"Yeah." She nodded and introduced him to the others. "This is my little brother, Chihaya Kaiser."
"Huh? I'm the older brother," Chihaya Kaiser retorted. "We agreed I'd be the older brother for these three months."
"No way. In front of my friends, I'm the older sister and Little Chi is the little brother," Anon shot back.
"Alright, let's not argue in front of other people."
Chihaya Kaiser took a step back. He had come to see Anon's bandmates, not to fight.
He smiled. "Sorry, I won't disturb you. My friend is waiting for me."
The three of them greeted him in return, and the conversation ended.
Chihaya Kaiser hadn't planned on talking to them for long anyway; he just wanted to observe their dynamic and conversation from a distance.
As someone who'd been in a band before, he could get a general idea just by watching them.
When he returned to his seat, Kurisu Makise was giving him a strange look, sizing him up.
"You already knew what was going on over here?"
"Yeah. I used to be in a band, had some bad experiences. I was a little worried, so I came to check things out." Chihaya Kaiser was frank and explained the situation directly.
She maintained her expressionless poker face, her gaze carrying a slight hint of disdain.
"Are you a siscon?"
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