Crossover Anime: I Forced Exorcists to Join the Chat Group

Page 394

"The agreement is void."

These words were almost on his lips.

"Kuonji Yuju will notice..."

Shiraishi's voice was so hoarse it was unrecognizable.

Aozaki Aoko felt his other hand sliding down her spine, sparking a series of magical sparks wherever it went.

"I can't help it anymore."

Aozaki Aoko bit his earlobe and heard him gasp.

In another place, under the dim light, Kuonji Yuju's slender fingers gently brushed across the yellowed pages of an old book, but she couldn't concentrate on reading a single word.

The lingering scent of ink from the pages of the book mingled with the aroma of the long-cooled red tea in her hand, lingering in the air.

"This is really... unlike me."

Yuju Kuonji murmured to herself, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the edges of the book pages.

She has always been that fairytale witch out of step with the times, as aloof and distant as an antique sealed in a museum.

Now, she's actually so preoccupied with a relationship that she's become so distraught.

Outside the window, the night was as dark as ink, and occasionally a breeze would rustle through the bushes in the courtyard.

Kuonji Yuju raised her eyes and looked at her reflection in the glass window.

Those eyes, which were always as calm as a deep pool, now held an anxiety she had never seen before.

"Is it because you've spent too much time with Aozaki Aoko?"

She gave a self-deprecating smile.

"Even I'm starting to become weak?"

The black tea on the table had completely lost its temperature, and a thin film had condensed on its surface.

Kuonji Yuzu remembered that she would never let her black tea cool down to this extent before; she always precisely calculated the time, savoring each sip at the perfect temperature. But now…

The image of Aozaki Aoko appeared in her mind—that always energetic magician, whose personality was completely opposite to her own.

Kuonji Yuzu's fingertips tightened slightly, and the pages of the book made a soft protesting sound in her hand.

"What Shiraishikawa said... could it be true?"

She recalled Shiraishi's meaningful words that day, which she had dismissed as a pointless provocation at the time.

Looking back now, I realize that subtle sense of distance definitely existed when I was with Aozaki Aoko recently.

Both of them knew the truth, but neither of them said it aloud.

Kuonji Yuju closed the book and placed it aside.

She stood up, the hem of her black dress swaying gently with her movement, gleaming with the unique sheen of silk under the light.

Am I... distancing myself from her?

This realization caused Kuonji Aryu a strange, stinging pain.

She has always been proud and aloof, and instinctively avoids getting close to people, always retreating from deepening interpersonal relationships.

Now, she actually feels... guilty about her subconscious act of distancing herself?

"madness."

She scolded herself in a low voice, but could not suppress the surging emotions in her heart.

How much effort and danger did Aozaki Aoko put in to save her and everyone else?

But she, because of her inexplicable emotions, avoided him like a sulking child.

Kuonji Yuju walked to the window, moonlight shining through the glass onto her pale face.

She remembered Aozaki Aoko's back as she shielded her in the moment of crisis, and how that always-smiling fool had fought with all her might to protect something.

How could I... blame her?

On the contrary, she felt ashamed that she couldn't stand by Aozaki Aoko's side.

Aozaki Aoko is fighting and moving forward, while she is standing still, even pushing the other party further away because of her own awkwardness.

The wall clock ticked regularly. Kuonji Yuju looked up—it was 10:40. Aozaki Aoko should still be awake.

"This can't go on any longer."

Kuonji Yuju made up her mind and turned to walk towards the door.

Proud as she was, she never bowed to anyone, but at this moment she clearly realized that if this atmosphere continued, it would be too late to regret it when the worst situation occurred.

She didn't want to lose Aozaki Aoko.

This realization caused Kuonji Aratsu to pause slightly, her heart feeling as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

Just as Kuonji Aratsumi's (okay?) hand was about to touch the doorknob, a strange magical fluctuation came from the end of the corridor.

That was Aozaki Aoko's magic, but... it was mixed with some kind of chaotic frequency that she had never felt before.

Kuonji Yuju frowned and subconsciously slowed her pace.

Her magician instincts alerted her, but deep down, a sense of foreboding was creeping in.

She moved silently down the corridor, her magical perception fully activated.

Aozaki Aoko's room was at the far end, with a sliver of light shining through the crack in the door.

As the distance closed, Kuonji Yuzu heard indistinct voices.

Aozaki Aoko's voice carried a quality she had never heard before... A charming and alluring woman?

Chapter 501 Taking a Bath

"Wait... don't do this..."

Kuonji Yuju suddenly stopped in her tracks.

That wasn't the sound of battle, nor the tone of everyday conversation, but rather... an intimate tone that made one blush.

"Aozaki Aoko? Who are you with...?"

The hand of Yuju from Kuonji Temple was suspended in mid-air, only a few centimeters away from the door panel.

Reason told her she should turn and leave, but a stronger emotion compelled her to gently push open the door.

"Aozaki Aoko?"

The sound coming from outside the bathroom door made Aozaki Aoko shudder.

She instinctively tightened her arms, pressing Shiraishi Kawa, who was hiding in the bathtub, even closer to her.

Warm water flowed between them, and the rising steam blurred their equally flushed faces.

"Kuonji Yuju? I'm taking a bath!"

Aozaki Aoko's voice was eight octaves higher than usual, and the end of her voice had a suspicious tremor.

Shiraishi Kawa, squeezed in the bathtub, let out a muffled groan, his lips almost touching her collarbone at 450 degrees.

Aozaki Aoko glared at him fiercely, silently threatening him with her mouth.

"Don't make a sound!"

After a few seconds of silence outside the door, Kuonji Yuju's voice rang out again.

"I just want to talk to you."

Aozaki Aoko felt her heart was about to jump out of her throat.

She looked down at the current situation—Shiraishikawa was curled up in the bathtub, and she was straddling him, barely covering herself with her body and her loose long hair.

The bathtub was too small, and they were pressed almost tightly together. She could clearly feel the rise and fall of his chest and the tension in his leg muscles.

"Can't we wait until I go out first?"

Aozaki Aoko bit her lip, trying to make her voice sound less strange.

"About Shiraishi-kun."

Kuonji Yuju's voice sounded somewhat muffled through the door.

What's your opinion of him?

Aozaki Aoko's fingers unconsciously tightened around Shiraishikawa's shoulders underwater.

This sudden question left her mind blank.

Water droplets dripped from her wet hair, slid down Shiraishichuan's nose, lingered for a moment at his tightly pursed lips, and then disappeared into the water.

"That bastard?"

Aozaki Aoko blurted out, then realized she had overreacted and quickly added something.

"He's a jerk... but he's not exactly awful."

To prove her point, she inexplicably hugged Shiraishi Kawa even tighter, her chest almost touching his face.

This action surprised even herself, but what shocked her even more was that when Kuonji Yuzu's voice rang out again, a strange sense of joy welled up in her heart.

"Yeah..."

Kuonji Yuju's voice lowered.

"I just feel that lately, the distance between you and him... has been a little too close."

Aozaki Aoko felt Shiraishikawa move slightly in her arms, his warm breath brushing against her collarbone, sending a shiver down her spine.

She suddenly felt like laughing, and a strange impulse drove her to hug the person in her arms even tighter, as if she were announcing something to Kuonji Yuju outside the door.

"how come!"

Aozaki Aoko's voice was unusually light and cheerful.

"We are still very careful about maintaining appropriate boundaries in public."

Her sudden movement caused ripples on the water's surface, and a few drops of water splashed onto the edge of the bathtub.

Aozaki Aoko stared at the water droplets and suddenly realized that her heart was beating abnormally fast.