Chapter 96: Touma Kazusa's Complex Inner World, The No-Cooldown Direct Attack
"The hand should be placed like this..."
The red-clothed female ghost couldn't touch Kazusa, so she could only make gestures and let Yoru correct Kazusa's piano playing posture.
At this time, Kazusa looked calm on the surface.
In reality, she felt her body had stiffened.
Not to mention physical contact with a male.
Since the start of school until now, Kazusa basically only spoke to Yoru.
In Class A, she could only remember three people.
Besides Yoru, they were Yui and Miko.
This was because those two girls formed a club with Yoru; otherwise, she wouldn't remember them either.
Kazusa's mind went blank, not knowing where to put her hand...
Oh, her hand was in Yoru's hand.
Then it's fine.
"Yes, just like this. Separate the middle finger and ring finger slightly by about three millimeters..."
The red-clothed female ghost swept away her previous timid appearance and spoke very seriously.
Under Yoru's manipulation, Kazusa suddenly came back to her senses.
"Is this... you correcting my playing posture?"
"Not me."
Yoru didn't claim the credit and smiled.
"It's that female ghost who watches you play the piano every day and even plays it herself."
"Female... ghost?"
Kazusa froze for a moment.
Right.
The piano won't play by itself.
Since there was piano sound, didn't it mean something invisible to her was playing?
Kazusa's pupils shrank in shock.
"Are there really ghosts in this world?"
Yoru complained speechlessly.
"No, your reflex arc is too long."
Kazusa was indeed a piano genius in the truest sense.
She was simply born to be a pianist.
Not only having top-notch talent.
But also this perseverance and purity—once she started playing, she would devote herself wholeheartedly, not even thinking about the supernatural events happening around her.
Having said that...
Yoru looked at the surprised Kazusa and felt that this black-haired beauty seemed to have some dorky cute (moe) attributes?
"So that's how it is."
After Yoru withdrew his hand, Kazusa felt an inexplicable sense of loss, but she was now more focused on her adjusted playing posture.
She tried pressing a few keys, her lips parting slightly in surprise.
"This... this..."
"Hmph hmph."
The red-clothed female ghost crossed her arms over her chest, looking very proud.
"This child's original playing fingering actually had no problem."
Yoru knew what the other party wanted to hear at such a time.
Since this red-clothed female ghost helped Kazusa, he didn't mind cooperating to make her happy.
After all, respect the dead.
Yoru deliberately put on a puzzled and curious look.
"Since there was no problem, why adjust it?"
The red-clothed female ghost wanted to see this reaction.
Looking satisfied, she stopped keeping him in suspense and explained directly.
"Although there was no problem with the original playing method, this child plays the piano for too long every day, at least ten hours starting."
"If just playing, she only needs to pay attention to fingering and not affect pressing the keys."
"But playing with this fingering for a long time will cause great damage to her hands."
"Let alone becoming a world-class pianist; if this continues, her hands will be ruined within two years."
"After my correction, it can effectively alleviate the damage to her hands caused by long-term playing."
"But you still have to tell this child. Her practice frequency and intensity are too high, completely exceeding the limit her hands can bear. She needs to combine work and rest."
Yoru relayed the red-clothed female ghost's words to Kazusa verbatim.
For the first few sentences, Kazusa nodded occasionally, looking deeply convinced.
But hearing the last sentence, asking her to combine work and rest, she bit her lower lip lightly, complex emotions appearing in her eyes. She sighed faintly, as if explaining to Yoru and the red-clothed female ghost, or muttering to herself.
"I... I must catch up with her. As long as I catch up with her... surely... maybe... I can..."
Kazusa muttered softly, stole a glance at Yoru, organized her emotions, and returned to that cold and calm appearance.
"Please thank that senior for me."
Yoru waved his hand.
"No need to relay, she can hear you speak."
The red-clothed female ghost nodded and smiled.
"No need to thank me. My reason for helping her is simple."
The red-clothed female ghost walked to the piano, placed her left hand on the black and white keys, stroking them gently and slowly like caressing a lover's skin.
"Once, I also wanted to become a world-class pianist."
"Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried, my talent ultimately couldn't reach that level."
The red-clothed female ghost's tone seemed a bit sad, but more of it was nostalgia and reluctance.
"But this child possesses outstanding talent that I never had, enough to become a top performer."
"And I see her efforts too."
Speaking of this, the red-clothed female ghost paused.
Her body gradually became transparent.
Before disappearing, she left only the last two sentences.
"Tell her, I hope this piano can appear on the world-class stage with her one day."
"Let her complete what I never completed."
As her voice fell, the red-clothed female ghost's body dissipated completely.
Yoru knew she was like Miko's father.
The obsession in the living world was fulfilled, and the soul passed on.
Yoru truthfully relayed the last few sentences left by the red-clothed female ghost to Kazusa.
After listening, complex emotions flowed in Kazusa's eyes. With the same movement as the red-clothed female ghost, she stroked the black and white keys in front of her, murmuring.
"Can I... really do it?"
Hearing Kazusa's self-doubt, Yoru smiled nonchalantly.
"Even a ghost says you can, so you definitely can."
Hearing this, Kazusa showed a rare smile.
"Yes, didn't expect my first supporter to be a ghost."
"How can it be the first? Clearly the second."
Kazusa froze and asked in confusion.
"Second? Then who is the first...?"
Yoru smiled.
"Of course it's me. I've always supported you."
Kazusa's pretty face blushed slightly. She lowered her head, not wanting Yoru to see her expression, and scolded playfully.
"Idiot, don't suddenly say silly things. You didn't even know I could play the piano before."
"I knew it too well."
Kazusa didn't continue this topic. She stood up, closed the piano lid, looked at Yoru's face, hesitated slightly, but finally couldn't help asking.
"That can of drink on the shelf at your entrance is..."
"Correct."
Before Kazusa finished asking, Yoru replied unabashedly.
"It's the one you gave me."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
Kazusa pursed her lips, complex emotions flashing in her eyes.
"Didn't you... dislike the gift I gave very much? You even made a speech about it."
Yoru smiled.
"Yes, Pepsi, and lukewarm at that. It can simply be called my most hated drink."
Hearing the gift she gave being disliked so much, Kazusa's expression became a bit unhappy, and she snorted coldly.
"Since you dislike it so much, why didn't you just throw it away?"
"That won't do."
Yoru shook his head, looked straight into Kazusa's eyes, and smiled.
"I don't like the gift itself, but I quite like the person who gave the gift."
Kazusa was stunned.
A few seconds later, a shy blush gradually appeared on her fair face.
Those slender and clear eyes showed bewilderment from being suddenly attacked directly, and a few hints of unexpected surprise.
Did I... hear wrong?
Organize the logic.
That can of Pepsi was indeed given to him by me on the first day of school, right?
In other words.
The person who gave the gift referred to in Yoru's words is me, definitely right?
Then he means...
He quite likes me, so he kept that can of Pepsi?
Suddenly encountering such a direct attack caught Kazusa, who had never had contact with boys of the same age... no, with anyone else, off guard.
At the same time, she also felt an indescribable sourness in her heart.
Not being jealous of Rio, Mai, Yui, Miko, and other girls around Yoru.
Kazusa just felt, did she really deserve him?
She wasn't very clear about Yoru's reputation in school.
Because of her family environment, Kazusa had a strange sense of inferiority, and her personality was complex enough to be called twisted.
Yoru's simple sentence caused an unimaginable impact on Kazusa.
She didn't know how to respond.
Maybe she knew.
But Kazusa didn't have the courage to express her thoughts directly with words.
She made a subconscious choice.
"You... you go back first. I'm going to play the piano."
Kazusa almost pushed Yoru out of her house, then closed the door heavily.
"Truly a person with a twisted personality."
Looking at the closed security door in front of him, Yoru couldn't help but have such a thought.
However, he had expected this long ago.
Cold, violent, inferior, but easily shy and unable to express true inner thoughts.
Isn't this Touma Kazusa?
Just as Yoru left the apartment building and arrived on the street outside, preparing to go home, his phone suddenly rang.
Checking it, he found the caller was Yagami Light, with whom he just exchanged numbers this morning.
After connecting.
"Hello, Itou-kun."
Light's voice still carried a smile.
Yoru said faintly.
"What's up, Yagami-san?"
"Nothing major, just telling you I might not be able to meet you for these two days. My father applied for leave, so the whole family is going to tour around Kyoto."
After saying this, Light's heart was in his throat.
Silence on the other end of the phone for now.
After a few seconds, Yoru responded.
"Mmhmm, it's okay. Meeting when you are free is not too late."
The conversation between the two, even if eavesdropped by anyone, would only seem like two new friends planning when to go out and play together.
Actually, Yoru had understood the message conveyed in Light's words.
The other party's father, Police Criminal Investigation Bureau Chief Soichiro Yagami, took leave for these two days.
It meant the police didn't plan to launch an investigation into the theft of Onimaru Kunitsuna, or shelved it temporarily.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
Actually, among the police members present at the time, only Soichiro Yagami knew that the genuine Onimaru Kunitsuna had been taken away.
Judging from the news report, after he reported to the police higher-ups, the decision made by the higher-ups was to conceal this news.
In that case, only a small number of people knew about the theft of the genuine Onimaru Kunitsuna.
If the police wanted to launch an investigation, they would inevitably have to tell the members below the news that the genuine Onimaru Kunitsuna was lost.
Either tell the truth or can't investigate.
It seemed those higher-ups chose not to take the blame and treated the fake as real.
Hearing Yoru's response, Light also knew the other party understood his meaning.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the other party's brain wasn't bad either.
This was also a multiple-choice question.
If Yoru's answer was something like "we didn't agree on a time anyway" or didn't understand the hint in his words, Light would take the earliest Shinkansen tomorrow morning and leave Kyoto immediately.
Light had a problem.
He was misanthropic towards stupidity.
Classmates in school being stupid was fine; they were just eyesores and didn't cause any actual impact on him.
But in such matters, no carelessness was allowed.
"Oh, by the way."
Just as Yoru was about to hang up, he suddenly heard Light on the other end add with a smile.
"Next time we meet, we can go to a place together. It's very interesting; it definitely won't disappoint you."
"Is that so?"
Yoru smiled and said noncommittally.
"Yagami-san, my expectation threshold is very high."
"Don't worry."
Light's voice still carried a smile, meaningful.
"It definitely won't disappoint you."
.....
When Yoru returned home, it was already almost 12:00 PM.
He took out the key to open the door and found Rio missing. Only Mai was sitting on the sofa waiting, looking sleepy and bored, resting her chin on one hand.
"Did Futaba go back?"
Hearing Yoru's voice, Mai immediately stood up from the sofa, walked slowly to the entrance, and smiled sweetly despite the sleepiness in her eyes.
"Done? Welcome back."
After saying this, Mai sighed helplessly and pointed to the second floor.
"Futaba-san doesn't stay up late often. Seeing her so sleepy, I let her go to sleep in my room first."
"Your room?"
Seeing Yoru catch the flaw in her words and look at her with a half-smile, Mai blushed slightly. But immediately after, she put on a righteous look, turning from guest to host.
"I slept there for so long; of course, it's my room. To supervise you, this junior, not to do weird things with the bed I slept in, that will be my exclusive room from now on."
Yoru's response was as direct as ever.
"Sure (Chi Chu). As long as you agree to wear the bunny girl outfit at home in the future."
"You!"
Mai bit her silver teeth lightly, then tucked her hair behind her ear, enduring the shyness, and whispered.
"Hmph, si... since it's a request from you, this junior... wa... wait until next time when there are only two of us. If I'm in a good mood, I'll wear it for you to see."
Watching Mai clearly being pure and shy but insisting on pretending to be mature and calm, Yoru chose to smile without speaking.
Those who understand, understand.
You don't even know what a condom is, yet you are pretending to be mature here?
"By the way, there is one thing I want to ask you."
Mai pulled Yoru to sit on the sofa. She didn't choose to sit opposite but sat close to Yoru's body.
If Rio sleeping upstairs saw this scene, she would probably have mixed feelings.
Unfortunately, she was sleeping.
A great victory for the night owl party.
After sitting down, Yoru smiled in that frivolous manner.
"Want to ask what? If you want to sleep together at night, as long as your attitude is sincere, I can consider it."
Mai blushed hearing this.
"Pah, keep dreaming."
"Look at what you're saying; it's not like we haven't slept together before."
Mai was speechless.
Seems that's true.
Slept together in the hotel; can't sleep together at home?
She wasn't afraid of accidental discharge (sexual encounter).
Mainly, she wasn't mentally prepared yet.
But if Yoru requested...
It didn't seem impossible.
Mai shook her head, throwing away the wild thoughts in her mind, looked straight into Yoru's eyes, and asked seriously and softly.
"I still don't understand now. Why did everyone in the world, even my mother, forget me, but you could still remember... no, in Futaba-san's words, still 'Cognize' me?"
This was Mai's doubt all along.
If her relationship with Yoru was as intimate as now from the beginning, it would be barely reasonable.
But the problem was, when they first met on the school rooftop, she had already suffered from Adolescence Syndrome.
Miko at that time could still cognize her existence, but as time passed, she couldn't anymore.
This ruled out the factor of spirit mediums.
Then why?
Facing Mai's question, Yoru just spread his hands.
"I say, you should know why you had this sudden illness, right?"
Mai frowned and complained.
"What kind of vocabulary are you using? But the cause of Adolescence Syndrome... I can roughly understand."
"Then isn't it done?"
Mai looked confused.
"What do you mean? I don't understand."
"Very simple."
Yoru suddenly stopped smiling, staring at Mai's exquisite face, and answered softly.
"Because to me, Sakurajima Mai is just Sakurajima Mai. The so-called former national idol actress is far less important than you as a person in my heart. That's all."