Kimono, formal wear, police uniform, nurse outfit, doctor’s white coat, maid dress...
Hatsune, Cardcaptor Sakura, Wuming, Saber, Little Red Riding Hood, Gang Shou, Kasuga no Hina, Shiro, Hua Cheng Lingnu, Rem...
"Girl Frontline," "K-On!," "Sword Art Online," "Danganronpa"...
In a flash, Dubian Che almost caved to Jiutiao Meiji’s proposition—he would wear whatever she wore for him to see.
Imagining Jiutiao Meiji as a Platelet... or maybe...
As Dubian Che struggled on the edge of the abyss, Kiyono Lin approached the battle costume of the "boring world without dirty jokes" heroine—Hua Cheng Lingnu.
"This one looks useful," she said, reaching out to feel the fabric of the white material.
The shop owner eyed her with a strange look.
Dubian Che hurried over and tugged at her aqua-blue sweater.
"Hmm?" Kiyono Lin turned her head in confusion.
"This is..." Dubian Che leaned in close to her ear and explained the outfit to her.
After listening, Kiyono Lin scoffed with disdain, "Do you think I care what others think?"
"But I care how others look at you, let’s forget this one."
... Kiyono Lin let go of Hua Cheng Lingnu’s battle costume, "Well then, what are you waiting for? Get moving."
Kiyono Lin realized her wording was problematic and quickly clarified, "I mean, pick out costume props."
Afterward, she couldn’t help but whisper with a blushing face, "Idiot."
"Leave it to me." As for the latter remark, Dubian Che pretended not to hear it.
What else could he do? Surely he couldn’t snap back, could he?
Dubian Che walked towards the horror-themed costumes, Mayi Asuka stood beside Kiyono Lin.
"Kiyono, do you like Mr. Dubian?" Her tone was still calm.
"I was about to ask you the same question, Asuka," Kiyono replied.
Mayi Asuka’s serene and clear eyes met Kiyono Lin’s, which were as stunning and coldly beautiful as the aurora.
"What are you two doing? Planning to leave all the work to me?" From afar, Dubian Che’s grumbling voice could be heard.
Mayi Asuka took a step forward and walked over.
Kiyono Lin stayed where she was, watching Mayi Asuka continually make suggestions to Dubian Che, and she touched her lips, deep in thought.
After purchasing the costumes and wigs, they went to a mask shop and then planned to rest for a while.
"Shall we grab something to eat on the first floor?" Dubian Che’s arm was full of shopping bags.
"Sure," Mayi Asuka nodded.
"To thank Asuka, I’ll treat," Kiyono Lin said, also holding shopping bags, though not as exaggerated as Dubian Che’s.
The trio walked into a dessert shop.
The song playing in the shop was full of autumn colors, emitting an atmosphere of ’everything withers, but isn’t it also beautiful?’
After sitting down on a sofa in the corner, the already tired Kiyono Lin’s expressions eased.
Under the cozy lighting of the shop, her radiant black hair outlined an angelic face.
Mayi Asuka stared emotionlessly at the menu, but beneath the table, her feet, now without shoes, had slipped into Dubian Che’s trouser leg.
Dubian Che looked back and forth at the two women, feeling that the song playing was setting a certain mood, hinting at what kind of ending the protagonist might have.
"Dubian, what do you want to eat?" Kiyono Lin asked.
"Uh—?" Dubian Che jumped in surprise.
’What are you doing,’ his eyes seemed to ask her.
"Hurry up, we shouldn’t keep the waiter waiting," Kiyono Lin said, her voice gentle with a hint of command.
Though it was... Dubian Che felt very uneasy, extremely so.
He remembered a sentence he had written on the front page of his notebook: Always be wary of R-san, no matter when or where.
"Let’s go with this," Dubian Che acted as if nothing had happened, pointing to a mousse cake adorned with blueberries.
"Okay, I’ll have the same," Kiyono Lin replied, "Asuka, what will you have?"
"...This," Mayi Asuka’s slender finger settled on the picture of a cheesecake.
"That’s all for us," Kiyono Lin told the waiter.
"Okay, please wait a moment," said the waiter, casting an envious glance at Dubian Che before leaving with the menu.
After the waiter left, Kiyono Lin said, "Thank you for your trouble today, Asuka, for coming along with me and Dubian."
Mayi Asuka shook her head.
Dubian Che guiltily moved away from Mayi Asuka’s foot.
Could it be that he was discovered?
"Dubian, also thank Mayi Asuka," Kiyono Lin said again with a gentle tone that carried a bit of command.
"Oh, thanks, Mayi Asuka," Dubian Che said.
"It’s okay," said Mayi Asuka, her legs assertively hooking Dubian Che’s foot over.
"Speaking of which," Kiyono Lin sipped the black tea on the table, "Mr. Dubian once called Asuka and Mayi by their first names in front of me."
"It was just a slip of the tongue," said Dubian Che, "in the whole of Tokyo, the only name I call is Meiji’s."
"What if I ask you to call me by my first name from now on?" Kiyono Lin asked through the steam of the black tea.
"That would depend on whether Ms. Kiyono is willing."
Kiyono Lin thought for a moment and said,
"As far as being willing or not, I probably wouldn’t agree, but if you insist on calling me that, I think I wouldn’t object after the initial resistance."
Dubian Che’s heart skipped a beat, so much so that he couldn’t even attend to the mischievous leg under the table.
Although he had no idea what Kiyono Lin was up to, she never lied.
Wait, maybe Kiyono Lin is also the type who doesn’t care about how she’s addressed.
Thinking back on articled "Men, Women’s Slaves," "Lowly Males," and "The Little Schemes of Tokyo Girls," women actually don’t like you, they just want to be liked.
But Kiyono Lin wasn’t so superficial.
What exactly is she up to?
"What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you’re unwilling, Mr. Dubian?" Kiyono Lin asked with a smile.
"Didn’t you say yourself that you wouldn’t agree? I don’t like to compel anyone," Dubian Che responded.
He always felt that Kiyono Lin’s smile had a teasing edge.
She actually had this side to her? No, that’s wrong, she’s always enjoyed teasing him.
Right then, the waiter brought over the dessert.
The three of them picked up their forks and began to eat.
Kiyono Lin cut a piece and gently took it into her mouth.
After savoring the small bite, she leisurely said,
"Thinking about it, ever since you joined the Human Observation Department, we have been together a lot, even on Saturdays and Sundays, and sometimes we stay together until midnight."
"It does seem that way," Dubian Che replied, one hand eating the cake while the other was under the table reaching for the nylons that were planning their next mischievous move.
The nylons felt wonderful, smoother even than the mousse cake.
"I have been liked by many, but because I can see through lies, the only one willing to stick around me for a long time is you, Mr. Dubian, can you tell me why?"
The song playing in the store changed.
"You whisper that there is no night that won’t dawn,"
"On days of worries and troubles, during moments of sorrow and setbacks, it’s because I have your company that I can get through."
It was Matsuda Seiko’s "Lapis Lazuli Earth," but sung by another artist.
"It’s like the line from ’The Great Gatsby’ you lent me: ’It takes two people who both don’t look properly for a motor accident to happen,’" said Dubian Che, "I’m used to lying, and you never do, so I like being around you, so I don’t lose myself."
"...Is this your way of countering me to fall for you?"
"Huh?" Dubian Che paused, his action of taking a bite of cake stopped in place, "What did you say?"
Kiyono Lin looked down at her plate and responded in barely audible voice, "Nothing."
Suddenly feeling her face warm up, she abandoned her plan.
After finishing the cake, they went to buy a human skeleton model, ending their shopping trip for the day.
Back at Shibuya Station, after parting with Mayi Asuka, Dubian Che and Kiyono Lin walked a little way together.
"What were you up to today?" Dubian Che asked.
"I deliberately acted close to you. Asuka wasn’t bothered at all; she had no interest in our conversation. It seems that whatever happened between you two, it indeed doesn’t matter."
"...All that, just for this?"
Kiyono Lin, dissatisfied with his response, said, "What do you mean ’just for this’? It’s also part of observing humans."
"My point is, couldn’t you have simply asked her directly given your identity as Kiyono the lie-detector?"
Dubian Che had no intention of hiding Mayi Asuka’s matter from Kiyono Lin.
In fact, Kiyono Lin could find out if she really wanted to, but he also wouldn’t bring it up, especially careful not to be caught by her on the spot.
"I don’t like to press people," Kiyono Lin said in what seemed like a response but also not quite an answer.
"I feel that there are many questions in the world that are better left unclear."
"For example, whether two people who cannot be together like each other or not; finding out would only lead to greater harm."
Kiyono Lin stopped in her tracks and said to Dubian Che, "Are you talking about you and me?"
"...With you being so straightforward, it’s troubling for me."
"The distance to my victory seems to be getting closer, primitive man Mr. Dubian," Kiyono Lin laughed.
"Mutual feeling, I also sense that I’m about to win, primitive woman Ms. Kiyono."
Crows cawed overhead, almost as if they pitied them, their arms laden with shopping bags.