#he is a cat?? hello u must be put on a slide to examine in a microscope

[sheskindathere]

Im so in awe of the people who see a small lil cat like existing online and comment stuff like 'the beast marks the end times. Its greediness knows no bounds and it wishes to conquer the world' like how are you seeing that. Why are you speaking like a war veteran its just a kitty not the harbinger of doom

[angelofthequeers]

Hold Me By Both Hands: Chapter 46

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

@smolplantmum tagged as requested :)

Chapter 45 | Chapter 47 | AO3 link

Although the plan is to go and visit Master Fu and discuss their next move, a wrench in the form of Adrien’s sleek car pulling up at the Eiffel Tower and honking is thrown into that plan.

“You sure?” Marinette says when Adrien heaves a deep sigh at the sight. “You can transform, you know, and they can’t exactly do anything about it.”

“No, I should go,” Adrien says. “I’ll just be delaying the inevitable. But trust me, Father won’t be stopping me from Chat Noir. That’s one thing I will put my foot down on.”

Marinette smiles and pushes herself on her tiptoes to press a quick kiss to Adrien’s lips. “Good luck,” she says and squeezes his hand. “Text as soon as you’re free, okay? I’ll probably gather the team now instead of waiting until tonight. That reminds me, who’s Petite Souris?”

“Mylène,” Adrien says. “I was…well, I was desperate once I knew that Sanguisuga would get to Luka first. I just kind of knew that the Rat would be helpful. And she was the first one I found. Is that…okay?”

“Of course it is, silly kitty.” Marinette kisses Adrien on the cheek. “Don’t doubt your instincts. Mine haven’t been wrong yet and neither have yours.”

Adrien smiles and looks down at the ground with pink cheeks. “She suits it, doesn’t she?” he says. “I don’t think Alix or Juleka would’ve pulled it off as well as she did.”

“A hundred percent,” Marinette says. “Can you text her and tell her to meet at the hotel, since she knows you’re Chat Noir?”

“Of course. That’s my bugaboo.” His cheeks still dusted with pink, Adrien squeezes her hand, then turns to head for his car, ever so slowly letting go of her hand so that they’re left joined by their pinkies before he inevitably has to fully release her. Once his car has driven off, Marinette lets out a deep sigh and pulls out her phone.

[1:56 pm] miraculass

ladyBIrd: @everyone nvm about tonight, meet at hotel asap, I’m heading there now so I’ll meet Honeybee on the roof

honeybeetch: asdfghjkl ok lb

what does the fox say: kk

mess w turt u get hurt: how’s adrien?

ladyBIrd: facing the music with his dad

mess w turt u get hurt: :|

airhead: I’ll be there soon and I’m bringing Luka

what does the fox say: wait why does luka get to sit in on superhero business

ladyBIrd: I’ll explain everything

honeybeetch: lb hurry the fuck up and get here

what does the fox say: smooth

honeybeetch: fuck off

Marinette can’t help the snort that escapes her at Rena Rouge and Honeybee’s banter as she shoves her phone back into her purse, then takes extra care to make sure that no one can see her behind the Eiffel Tower leg.

“You ready?” she whispers. Tikki darts out and nods.

“All recharged, Marinette!”

“Tikki, spots on!”

.

“Adrien.”

Adrien gulps. If Gabriel’s waiting on the staircase rather than hiding away in his atelier, this conversation is not going to go well.

“H-Hello, Father,” he forces out. Gabriel dismisses Nathalie with a nod, then descends the staircase and pauses directly in front of Adrien. The gleam in his eyes as he takes Adrien’s hand and examines the ring leaves an unsettled pit in Adrien’s stomach. Gabriel’s probably just a Miraculous enthusiast, right? Hence why he’d had the Peacock? But there’s just something…unnerving about his face right now. Something almost greedy and…triumphant?

“All this time…” Gabriel murmurs.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Father,” Adrien says. “I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone –”

“Oh, I know. We all have our, ahem…little secrets. And I think it’s time I shared mine with you, in light of this new information. Come with me. I have a task for you…son.”

Okay, so Adrien had expected his father to act weird because of the news that he’s Chat Noir. But there’s weird and there’s leading him into the atelier and pausing before the painting of his mother with an odd smile.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Gabriel says. “You look so much like her. Perhaps that’s why it’s been so hard to look at you. To see Emilie in you every time you’re around…”

“Perhaps that’s why it’s been so hard to look at you.” The words are like a slap in the face, leaving Adrien reeling back with an audible gasp that Gabriel seems to ignore. Plagg darts out and nuzzles against Adrien’s cheek to comfort him.

“It all makes sense. You’re never around when akumas attack. Adrien was never in danger because he had magic to protect him.” The hungry gleam in Gabriel’s eyes as he watches Plagg unblinkingly sends sick shivers down Adrien’s spine. He can’t shake the feeling that something’s going to happen, something massive, and it involves Gabriel, and…is Gabriel really Hawkmoth like they’d suspected all those months ago? It’s a thought he’s shelved for his own sanity, especially after Gabriel had been akumatised, but with the way Gabriel’s acting right now…

“F-Father?” Adrien croaks. “What’s going on?”

For a moment, Gabriel says nothing. Then he sighs and reaches out to press several spots of Emilie’s dress simultaneously, and the ground beneath them starts to descend so rapidly that Adrien yelps and instinctively clings to Gabriel’s arm. For some reason, Gabriel doesn’t even react and shake Adrien off like he normally would.

Okay. Another point for the “Gabriel is Hawkmoth” theory. Who the hell has an elevator installed in their atelier?

Oh. Shit. Gabriel could be Hawkmoth. And the Black Cat Miraculous is literally right next to him. Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Adrien pushes Plagg back into his shirt with the hand containing his Miraculous, wiggling his fingers until Plagg finally gets the message and the ring starts to slip off Adrien’s finger. If it comes down to it, so long as Plagg can get away with the ring and warn the others, that’s all that matters to Adrien right now.

“Come,” Gabriel says once the elevator grinds to a halt before a metal catwalk in a dark room. As he and Adrien cross the catwalk, lights begin to slam on, bathing the room in artificial fluorescence and revealing it to be full of greenery, with an odd, cylindrical object in the middle of the patch of grass.

“Father –”

“You must understand.” Gabriel stops next to the cylindrical thing and grabs Adrien by the shoulders. There’s so much tension in his hands that Adrien can’t help but wonder if he’s two seconds from snapping like a taut string and shaking the life out of his own son. “Everything I’ve done has been for you.”

“F-Father…are you Hawkmoth?” Adrien whispers. A corner of Gabriel’s mouth twitches.

“I never intended to hurt you,” Gabriel says. “One of my mortal enemies, my own son…well, there’s definitely a sense of poetry in that, is there not?”

The nausea bubbling inside Adrien threatens to rise into his throat at the confirmation; the confirmation that his father is the magical terrorist who’s been traumatising Paris all this time. No. No. It can’t be! Having that suspicion all the way back when he’d found the book and the brooch is nothing compared to having the confirmation before his eyes. But how can he warn the others?

“…the Butterfly’s akumas create internal change within the target themselves, and so a transformed Butterfly cannot affect themselves with an akuma.” Master Fu’s words from months ago come swimming to the forefront of Adrien’s mind. “And akumatising themselves when not transformed, without the safety net of the holder’s control over the akuma, can potentially have harmful effects on their psyche. Only a truly desperate holder would akumatise themselves.”

Is Gabriel really that desperate that his own son isn’t enough to stop him from going to these lengths? And just how much of this is Gabriel? How much has he been warped from akumatising himself into the Collector? Judging from the Collector’s single-minded drive to capture and collect everything around him, does that mean that Gabriel’s just gotten so much more obsessive about achieving his goal? If so, how dangerous is he to Adrien right now, and is he seeing Adrien…or Chat Noir?

“You’re a monster!” Adrien bursts out. “You’ve been terrorising Paris all this time, and for what? Ultimate power? A wish that comes with a price?”

“You don’t understand!” Gabriel shouts. Adrien takes a reflexive step back, then freezes when a small purple thing comes zooming out of Gabriel’s jacket and rests on Adrien’s shoulder. A…kwami with butterfly wings? Is this Nooroo?

“Master, you’re scaring your son!” Nooroo says in a little, high voice. “I’m sorry, Adrien. I never wanted to be part of any of this.”

Gabriel visibly takes a deep breath. “Very well. I’ll explain. And then you’ll see, Adrien, why you should help me in my goal.”

“I’ll never help –”

But the cylinder starts to whir and the top of it slides open before Adrien can finish his sentence, to reveal – to reveal – no –

“Mother?” Adrien claps a hand over his mouth to hold back the bile that rises at the sight of Emilie Agreste inside the cylinder – the coffin – with her eyes closed, dressed in a sleek white suit, looking as though she’s just sleeping rather than – rather than –

“She’s not dead,” Gabriel says as Adrien sinks to his knees and rocks back and forth, trying desperately to cope with the sudden influx of emotions coursing through him at the knowledge that his mother isn’t dead, she’s been here all this time, underneath his feet! “Merely damaged by the Peacock Miraculous. You ask why I want the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses? I want to fix the damage done to her, to bring your mother back for you!”

“Did Nooroo tell you there’s a price to pay?” Plagg comes darting out of Adrien’s shirt and hovers in front of Gabriel, thankfully without the ring. “You really wanna mess with the universe, Gabriel Agreste?”

“I know…sacrifice myself –”

“– don’t get to pick who –”

The whole exchange is distorted, like Adrien’s underwater, but it still somewhat registers in his frying brain. Desperate, he fumbles in his pocket for something, anything to ground him, and his fingers close around something bumpy, something that turns out to be a little charm when he pulls it out – Marinette’s lucky charm! Of course! His lucky charm from his lady!

“– universe could take Adrien, but you don’t seem to give enough of a shit about him –”

“– you dare –”

Adrien can’t breathe – why is the light so bright, why is his mother there, taunting him, just out of reach, little butterfly thing in front of him, mouthing something, but he can’t hear, he can’t hear, he can’t breathe, purple light, why did butterfly thing disappear –

“– universe would shift to accommodate – not just as simple as swapping a life for a life –”

“Enough!” Adrien clutches at his hair, yanking, gasping, struggling to draw in oxygen as black spots dance at the edge of his vision. “Why? Why? Why? Just leave me alone!”

“Adrien. Son. Look at me.”

Purely on autopilot, Adrien’s body obeys and when he looks up, his father is no longer there. No, now it’s a man with a silvery head mask, dressed in a purple suit – it’s Hawkmoth, his mortal enemy, his father –

“You can help me,” Hawkmoth says in a voice that sounds a million miles away. “Join me, son, and help me take Ladybug’s Miraculous. Then you’ll have your mother back. Isn’t that what you want?”

Hawkmoth’s words are smooth, honeyed, sticking to Adrien, trying to draw him into their trap. But…no. He’s a hero. He can’t betray his lady, his Marinette, all his friends, the world, just to bring back someone who he’s already started to move on from, because yeah, it hurts to think of Emilie, but he’s been making progress, he’s moving on –

“No,” Adrien gasps around the iron band constricting his chest. “I can’t. I won’t.”

“Don’t be selfish!” Hawkmoth hisses. “You want your mother back! I’m doing this for you!”

“Not like this!”

Hawkmoth sighs and flips open the top of his cane. “Then I have no choice.”

“Adrien, look out!” Plagg cries as an evil, dark butterfly emerges from the cane and makes a beeline for Adrien. He gasps and shuffles back, trying desperately to avoid it, because he can’t give in, he can’t betray everyone, but there’s nowhere to go, nowhere to run, why can’t he get away from this?

“Plagg! Please!” Adrien’s voice cracks as the akuma darts at his lucky charm, and he’s suddenly filled with despair, betrayal, he’s drowning in it, he wants to cry and scream and do something, anything, to fix this, to right this wrong that’s been done against him, he just wants it all to go away, he can’t cope –

“Be strong, kid!” says a voice through the fog as something brushes against his side.

“No!” Hawkmoth bellows, both far away and deep in Adrien’s mind, so deep that he can’t get away no matter how much he gasps and cries and tugs at his hair. “Fine. It matters not. You can just get the ring back for me.”

“No,” Adrien chokes. It’s clear in that moment that he’s not going to be able to hold out, not in his current state of mind, but if he can just hold on, he can give Plagg a chance to get away and then the ring will be safe from Hawkmoth.

“Yes.” The word reverberates through Adrien’s mind, compelling him to obey. “Phantom, you will obey me. I grant you the power to possess others, to control them and bend them to your will. Once you bring me the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses, you’ll have your mother back. Your family will be whole again. Do we have a deal?”

“N-No!”

“Yes!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“Stopitstopitstopit – get out of my head –”

“Obey me!”

The direct order from his father slams into him both physically and mentally, unbalancing him, and that brief lapse in resistance is just what Hawkmoth needs, and cold, sickly power washes over Adrien, enveloping him, pushing him down into the abyss until everything is dark and he knows nothing…

Devoid of spirit, Phantom rises to his feet. The purple man in front of him grins, and he knows he should hate this man – Hawkmoth – but he just can’t muster up any feelings of hatred. He’s blank, floating in apathy, and it’s actually kind of blissful in a way, to not have to care about anything except what Hawkmoth tells him to do.

“Good boy, Phantom,” Hawkmoth purrs. “You’ll listen to your father, won’t you? Tell me: who is Ladybug? Who are the other Miraculous holders?”

Opening his mouth to follow that order is like a bucket of cold water falling on Phantom; he gasps and staggers back, then fumbles for the pitch-black bracelet around his ghostly white wrist to get this evil butterfly away, far away, and if he can get it to Ladybug – to Marinette – because he can’t betray his teammates, he can’t, if he has a smidgen of resistance then let it be for this –

“Enough!” Hawkmoth says, and Phantom sinks back beneath the waves of apathy, swaying on the spot as he awaits his next order, his resistance thoroughly squashed. “No matter. Phantom, you will simply take me to the other Miraculouses yourself.”

They’ll all be together at the Eiffel Tower, but that won’t be until tonight. And the thought of betraying Ladybug causes the faintest stirrings of some kind of feeling deep in Phantom’s core, so he steers himself as far away from it as possible so that he doesn’t have to leave this blissful apathy.

But if Hawkmoth wants Miraculouses, well, Phantom knows exactly where to go to get them.

[uci-fanfic-requests]

Kuriririn Submitted:

I AM THE SAME PERSON WHO REQUESTED FLUFF MARSUMOTO 5 MINUTES AGO So what about sad Matsumoto x Reader where reader is in the same situation as Chihiro and doesn’t remember their memories but they fall in love with matsumoto and end up being with him anyway (ohmygoooooood I hope you get what I mean ; u ; )

Admin Notes: Okay so first off, can we talk about how popular this request is? There are four of them in the askbox, I’m screaming.

To save myself some trouble, I put them all into one, okay? It’s about the reader waking up in Licorice General Hospital! *cracks knuckles* All my knowledge of the FILAMENT Gameplay finally comes in handy! –Admin Hirahara

The last thing I remember after waking up in a hospital bed was the feeling of suffocation before everything went dark. What happened exactly… I can’t really remember well. I think, I was talking with some friends? And… that’s as far back as I can go. When I sit up in the hospital bed, I notice that there’s someone in the room as well. He’s kind of short, and he’s wearing a green cape of some kind. He looks like he’s busy doing something, and doesn’t notice that I’m watching him.

“Um…” I start, slowly sliding out from under the covers. Strange, I think, looking myself over. I don’t remember changing into a hospital gown. At my call, though, the man seems to startle and jumps, letting out an ‘eep!’ when he sees me.

“O-oh!” He smiles, his mint eyes shining brightly. “You’re awake, huh?” He looks out the door, like he’s expecting someone to come in. When I look over, though, there’s no one there. “U-um, I didn’t think you would wake up yet… I was just getting your room set up.” He gestures over to a small desk with a calendar over it. “Usually Suigin’s the one doing this… I don’t know what to say, exactly…”

“Who’s…” I start, frowning. Is that someone I know? The man seems to realize that I’m not sure what’s going on, so he shifts his gaze a little before smiling again.

“U-um, welcome to Licorice General Hospital. You’re one of our patients.” He gestures to the room. “You can stay until you’re recovered.”

“Recovered from what?” I ask, trying to remember checking into a hospital to begin with.

“You crossed over,” the man tries to explain, but then he crosses his arms like he doesn’t like where he’s going with the explanation. “U-um, this isn’t your world. You came here probably because you were close to death.”

“Close to… death?” I ask, clutching my heart. “I don’t remember that.”

“I didn’t think you would,” the man sighs. “Oh, but the Doctor is here today, so why don’t you go see him? He’s on the first floor next to the reception.” The man goes for the door, gesturing for me to follow. “I’m Matsumoto, by the way. I’m usually in the chemical room, if you need me.” As I leave, he waves me off, telling me “good luck with recovering your memories!”

I don’t really get it at all, so I head down the hall and to the stairs. There’s a wheelchair to my right, and it looks like it’s moving on it’s own. Although it’s a strange thing to see, I think it’s probably because of the wind or something. As I head down the stairs, I see a cat slowly hopping up the steps. She seems like an old cat, because she struggles a little with each step. When she sees me, though, she actually starts speaking.

“Are you a new guest?” She asks, tilting her head. “Well, it’s unusual to see humans here.” She then continues walking up the steps. I… can’t believe I just talked to a cat.

“I’m… dreaming,” I decided, heading down to the first floor. Examination Room is written on one of the doors, and it is just across from a long table. It looks like someone’s standing there, but when I look, the person is definitely not human. Her skin is grey, but she’s wearing a nurse uniform. I’m not sure she actually has eyes. She sees me, though, and gives me a little wave. I hurry and knock on the examination door.

“Come in,” I hear someone call, and I open the door. There’s a person sitting on the far side of the room, and he tells me I can grab a chair. I sit down at the only one in the middle of the room, anticipating seeing someone in a lab coat. Instead, when the man swings around, I see someone with a strange hood pulled over his head. He has sharp teeth, and as he gets closer, I realize he towers over me, even sitting.

“Hello,” he smiles, greeting me formally. “I’m the Chief physician in his hospital. Most people just call me ‘Doctor’ though, so feel free to as well.” He looks me up and down before continuing. “You must have plenty of questions, so let me explain. To put it simply, you’ve had a stroke with death, and have ended up in our hospital. Can you remember anything at all?”

I pause for a moment to think it over. “I… can remember… talking. With… people.” I start, but I can’t remember much else. The Doctor begins asking me other things. ‘What’s your name?’ ‘What’s your age?’ and ‘What were you doing?’ I can’t seem to answer any of these questions.

“A soul with memory loss is pretty fragile,” the Doctor says, smiling. “But don’t worry, you’ll surely recover them in a week or so. Until then, feel free to stay here and explore around a little. Make sure you come see me every day, so I can help you recover some of your memories.” With that, he sends me off, saying that if I needed anything, someone named ‘Suigin’ would be the one to go to. Matsumoto had mentioned this person before as well, although I still don’t know what they look like.

When I leave, the hospital seems a little more crowded than before. There must have been visitors or something. There’s a strange black orb and a yellow orb, and I think they might be talking to each other. A girl with horns blooming from her head is patiently sitting on one of the chairs, probably waiting for someone. I decide to go back to my room, only I happen to notice a door labeled Chemical Room. If I remember correctly…

“Hello?” I ask, knocking on the door. It’s not locked, so I open it and go in. Matsumoto is inside, talking with someone with blue hair. When he sees me, he smiles and nods before going back to talking with the other person.

“…and if you can get me these things, I’ll be good to go,” he then looks back over at me. “Oh, Suigin, this is the new patient in 202.”

“Yes, I remember,” Suigin nods when she sees me. “Have you talked with the Doctor yet?” I nod. “Well, if you need anything, I’ll be around.” She excuses herself then and heads out the door. Now it’s just me and Matsumoto left.

“Um,” I start, looking around. There are a lot of bottles and tubes, labeled with different things. Some things I recognize. Others… not so much. “This is where you work?”

“Yes, for the most part,” Matsumoto nods. “I’m on loan from the Underworld Escort Branch… I guess.” He laughs nervously at that. “W-well, I guess it’s a loan….” I don’t really understand what that means. Something about him, though, is very friendly, and it’s really reassuring. “Did you need something?”

“Not really,” I say, wondering what it was the Doctor had told me to do. “Doctor said… if I regain some of my memories, it would be by talking to people…”

“You want to chat?” Matsumoto asks, his smile brightening. “Okay! What do you want to talk about?”

---

Somehow, I spent the whole day talking to Matsumoto. When I went back to my room, I was completely exhausted and passed our right away. The next morning, there was a nurse in my room, wondering how I was feeling. I ended up talking to Matsumoto again the next day, and he showed me some of his medicine collection. When I talked with Doctor afterwards, he asked me some questions to help me regain my memory. It was unfortunate, but I did start remembering some things or another.

“I was talking to my friends,” I had told him. “I think… yes, we were talking about stopping by a café for coffee on the way home.” The second day ended too quickly as well. I saw a lot of other patients around, and one in particular was a girl with red skin and blue hair. She said her name was Benibara, and insisted that I was “cute” because I was the first human she’d ever met.

This was pretty much how the rest of my days were spent. I ended up visiting Matsumoto every day, and we talked about all sorts of things. Books I liked reading, music I liked listening to, my favorite flavors of ice cream… Meanwhile, Matsumoto told me all about himself as well. He explained what an Underworld Escort was, and how there were others as well. They sometimes visited him, but I never actually saw any of them. They must have been coming and going when I was in the examinations. Matsumoto is a very sweet person, and with each day I spend with him, I think I grow to like him more.

On the third day, I could just remember hearing the sound of the ocean as we walked, probably heading home. On the fourth day, I thought I remember a car coming dangerously close to me, and the sensation of falling. On the fifth day, I could remember being surrounded by water.

“You’re doing really good,” the Doctor says, on the sixth day. “The only thing left if for you to remember your name. Once you have a name for yourself, you should be able to return to your world when you leave this hospital.” With that, I leave the examination room, and run right into a tall man with light hair and slate colored eyes.

“Hm?” He notices me and smiles. “A human? That’s rare.” He looks a little passed me, and waves to someone there. “Matsumoto, have you been working hard?”

“Saitou-san!” Matsumoto smiles, hurrying over. “Yes, I’m working very hard.” He then introduces me to this man, his supervisor, Saitou. The taller man greets me with a bow, then looks between me and Matsumoto.

“My, my,” he smiles, although I’m not exactly sure what he’s seeing. “A soul with memory loss? Be careful that you recover all your memories before you leave.” With that, he said his goodbyes, leaving me with Matsumoto.

“What does that mean?” I ask, a little confused and worried. Matsumoto just smiles nervously.

“W-well,” he explains, “it’s just that, we want to make sure we send you back with everything.” He seems some what sad after saying that, like he is thinking about something pressing but can’t say it. In the end, he tells me he’s going back to get more work done, and that I should rest in order to remember my name. When I go to my room to rest, I keep thinking about one thing, and it actually starts to worry me a little. What if I don’t want to leave?

---

It’s the seventh day today. When I look in the mirror, I feel pretty confident in that I know who I am. I can remember the important details to the accident leading to my arrival at Licorice General Hospital. However, instead of going to the examination room as the Doctor had instructed me to the day before, I end up going to the chemical room instead. Matsumoto is there, mixing something together with a metal spoon. When he sees me, he smiles.

“Today is your last day, huh?” He asks, a sad tone in his voice. “It was really great talking to you.” I nod, agreeing that I had a lot of fun. However, I don’t really want to leave yet.

“Can’t I… you know. Stay, here?” I ask, unable to meet Matsumoto’s eye. “I mean. Stay. With you.” Matsumoto blinks, and I can tell his cheeks are flushing. I can’t tell if he’s happy or upset.

“Stay…?” He asks, then quickly shakes his head. “No, no, no! You definitely should go back to your own world.” He points to the door. “Your family and friends will really miss you if you don’t go back.” Even if he is right, I just don’t want to leave.

“I really can’t stay with you?” I try again. “It’s impossible?”

“I… didn’t say that,” Matsumoto shifts his gaze, his embarrassment clear on his face. “I-It is possible for you to stay…” Then he looks back at me, smiling a little. He grabs my hands in his, and the warmth is very welcoming. “Y-you can be my assistant here, if you want!”

“Really, I can stay?” I ask, smiling back.

“I just have to talk to the Doctor, but I don’t see why he’ll say no,” Matsumoto nods. “Y-You’re absolutely sure you want to stay, right?”

“Absolutely,” I nod, holding his hands a little tighter. Even if I can’t return to my own world, I think that it will be okay as long as I am with Matsumoto. This world itself is interesting as well, and the people are very friendly. All in all, I think this is the right choice. “Also, I have to tell you,” I add, letting go of Matsumoto’s hands. “My name. It’s…”

…