Cocktail party, a form of entertainment, originated in Europe and the United States. Compared with banquets, it is more economical and convenient and has been used to this day. It occupies an important position in people's social life and is often used to commemorate and celebrate birthdays for social groups or individuals, or to keep in touch and enhance relationships.
In a country like Japan that is heavily influenced by the West, cocktail parties have become a very common form of socializing. The Japanese have combined Western-style cocktail parties with local Japanese food and banquet habits to create a unique Japanese-style cocktail party.
The cocktail party that Tsuruya, Elsa, Shinji, and Sakura are going to attend is a typical Japanese cocktail party, with Western wines and beverages, Western pastries and cold dishes, as well as Japanese soups, grilled food, fried food, boiled food, and sashimi.
However, no matter what form the cocktail party is, it is not a buffet, and one cannot eat and drink without restraint. Tasting just enough is the basic etiquette of a cocktail party. In addition, as Shinji is the son of the head of the Matou family (to the outside world), Matou Tsuruya, many people's eyes are on him, and his every move requires more attention, so Shinji has never liked to participate in such activities.
—The only exception is today. He is very interested in this family, no, to be precise, one person in this family.
The Asagami family, whose main branch is located in Nagano, once had a great reputation in the mysterious world.
Unlike the Matou family who were European immigrants, the Asagami family is a native Japanese family whose main business is "exorcism".
In Japan, "natural distortion" is called demon, and exorcism is to repair the distortion, which can be a distorted phenomenon or a distorted species. The Asagami family was once one of the four most famous demon-exorcism families in Japan, but now the family has dwindled and is gradually declining. Due to poor management, they owe a large amount of debt and are on the verge of bankruptcy.
Tonight's cocktail party may seem like an ordinary social event, but it is actually the last struggle of the Asagami family. The reason why they held it in Kanbushi City instead of Nagano is because the main family can no longer afford a large cocktail party, so they can only ask the Asagami family, a branch family with great influence in Kanbushi City, for help.
The Matou family had had several dealings with the Asagami family in the land leasing business during the Zouken period, and Tsuruya also had several cooperative projects with the Asagami family's Asagami Construction Co., Ltd., so he was invited. Shinji happened to say that he had something to do in Kanfushi City, and Sakura insisted on going with her brother, so she took the two children with her. She originally planned to send them to the Matou family's villa, and she and Elsa would go to the cocktail party. Unexpectedly, Shinji asked to attend the cocktail party after learning that the organizer was Asagami, which was unusual. This led to the scene before the cocktail party.
At the cocktail party, Shinji successfully met the person he wanted to meet.
This girl is a few years older than Shinji, with long purple hair similar to Sakura. The girl's eyes are cold and she looks very quiet. Her small, straight face is very cute, with a pointed jaw and a delicate sense of balance that reminds people of a Japanese doll.
Her long hair extended all the way to her back, with her sideburns slightly tied up at the base of her ears and hanging symmetrically to her chest. Her forehead hair was cut beautifully, giving her the unique temperament of a lady of noble birth.
The girl's name is Asagami Fujino, the main character of the third chapter "Residual Pain" of "Kara no Kyoukai", and one of the four fallen girls of Type-Moon (the young master will never admit to such an insulting title as "Po Na Sha").
Of course, now she is still as pure as a small flower, blooming quietly in the corner, as if forgotten by the whole world.
Shinji lowered his head and walked past Asagami Fujino. Maybe it was because he was not paying attention, but Shinji accidentally stepped on Fujino's foot.
"I'm sorry, I must have hurt you when I stepped on you."
Shinji apologized quickly. Even though his head was shaking, his eyes never left Fujino's face.
"It's okay. It doesn't hurt at all."
Fujino's voice was not loud, and her gentle tone showed her good upbringing.
"No, no, please don't force yourself. My family always says that my steps are too heavy. The stairs at home have been broken several times. If I hurt you, please tell me-"
Shinji approached attentively, an innocent smile on his face.
"—Or, sister, you can't feel any pain at all?"
Fujino's slender body trembled, the goblet slipped from her hand, and an unconcealable panic appeared on her quiet face.
Shinji seemed to be prepared. He grabbed the goblet with his left hand and caught it easily without spilling a drop of the juice in the goblet.
"You said you didn't force yourself, but it hurts so much that you can't even hold the cup. I'll help you over there to rest for a while."
"Ah, yeah."
Shinji's smiling face made Fujino feel inexplicably frightened, but she couldn't refuse Shinji's request, so she could only let this boy who looked younger than herself help her leave.
At the party, diners had to stand. There were no fixed seats or standing positions. There were only a few seats on one side for the elderly and tired to take a rest.
The two of them were in the deepest part of the rest area, where the lighting was the darkest.
"Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, much better."
"As expected, sister, you don't feel any pain." Shinji had deliberately controlled the strength of his kick just now. Not to mention the pain, his senses were so dull that he wouldn't even notice that he was stepped on.
The sudden words made Fujino's face, which had improved slightly, turn pale again. She looked at Shinji with horror, mumbling but making no sound.
"Don't deny it, and don't ask me how I know this. Just know that I might be able to restore your sense of pain."
The smile on Shinji's face did not change from beginning to end, but in Fujino's eyes, this smile gradually changed from a terrifying one that made people want to stay away to an irresistible attraction, as if it was the temptation of a "devil".
"Are you telling the truth?" Fujino asked involuntarily.
"Of course it's true. What happens next must be kept secret. Don't tell anyone."
"Um."
After getting Fujino's affirmative answer, Shinji stretched out his finger, carved a rune between Fujino's eyebrows, and then bent his finger and flicked hard at the place where the rune was carved.
Accompanied by the sound of nails hitting the skin, a strange feeling was transmitted to Fujino's brain through the peripheral nerves under the skin.
It's an instinctive feeling, an unpleasant one, but it's also a warning to keep your body away from danger.
If a normal person, they would definitely take action to eliminate this feeling as soon as possible. But Fujino is different. She can't feel pain, but she craves this feeling from the bottom of her heart, this feeling that makes her feel uncomfortable.
"This is... ... "
"That's the pain."
Shinji said as he flicked Fujino's forehead again, harder than the last time, leaving a faint red mark on Fujino's fair skin.
"So... this is pain."
The red mark did not affect Fujino's beauty. Her whole face turned red, and her eyes emitted an inexplicable excitement. Even the air in front of her seemed to become distorted. She pleaded with Shinji in a completely different tone from before.
"Can we do it again?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't." Shinji shook his head. "I'm only making you feel pain temporarily, not really restoring your sense of pain. If you want to really restore your sense of pain, come to the Matou family's villa tomorrow morning. As for the reason, just say that I want to play in Kanbushi City for two days and hope you can be my guide—"
"—Will you come? Asagami Fujino."