TBCTW Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – A Keychain

Chapter 4, Part 5

Novel Title: 獣はかくしてまぐわう (The Beasts Copulate This Way)

Author：風結子 沙野 (Fuyuko Sano)

Illustrator：小山田 あみ (Oyamada Ami)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 鹿倉 陣也 (Kagura Jinya -MC) & ゼロ (Zero -ML)

*Please read at novels.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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The cold emptiness that had been gnawing at his stomach was now filled.

As he took a slow, deep breath, the man beside him breathed in the same way.

Even if someone were to look at them, no one would be able to decipher what the two were quietly sharing.

Neither of them let go of their touching fists until Zero stood to leave as the Shinkansen neared Tokyo Station.

They got off at Tokyo Station and headed toward the designated Yaesu Exit rotary.

He climbed into the van where Zero was already seated and took the seat opposite.

After just pretending to be strangers, secretly touching beside each other, it felt strange to sit here now, face to face.

In Zero’s gaze, there was a faint, sheepish smirk, and after a quick blink to dismiss it, Zero leaned forward with a serious expression.

“The findings from this investigation have made my hypothesis about Renjou more plausible.”

Kagura also straightened his expression and leaned in, asking, “What’s the hypothesis?”

“Renjou might have been an unregistered child.”

“So… Renjou managed to obtain Toshimi Hasumi’s family registry?”

“Yes, I think Toono Ryouji arranged that for him.”

If that were the case, it would explain what had always puzzled him—the reason someone as formidable as Renjou would be so devoted and loyal to Toono.

“I’ve heard before that the Eastern Alliance would go to any lengths to collect family registries. I think Toono has been giving registries to unregistered children to gain their allegiance and turn them into his pawns.”

To Zero, this meant that Toono had taken in his fellow unregistered people, whom Zero felt he should be protecting, and turned them into subservient tools.

A feral crease appeared on the bridge of Zero’s nose.

“Toono controls the Eastern Alliance through both gratitude and violence. It’s possible there are other top members in similar circumstances.”

The van came to a stop a little way off from Kagura’s home apartment in Kamiyacho.

Returning to his everyday life, Kagura walked down the nighttime streets toward his apartment, realising that he didn’t feel the peculiar loneliness that usually followed the end of a trip.

He took the elevator up to his apartment on the sixth floor. Just as he inserted the key into the door, he heard running footsteps approaching and looked over, blinking in surprise.

“…Zero.”

“Forgotten item.” 

With those words, Zero held out a small bag.

“It’s not mine.”

“It’s yours.”

Zero pressed it into his hand, and Kagura accepted it. The bag was printed with the name of a souvenir shop in Niigata. Kagura remembered Zero buying something during their information-gathering.

He opened the bag and poured the contents into his palm.

“…”

It was a small sasadango (bamboo-leaf dumpling) keychain.

Apparently, Zero didn’t want it and decided to give it to him instead.

Kagura chuckled softly at the oddly realistic sasadango.

Zero’s expression softened too… and their gazes met.

Their shared glance was abruptly broken by a high, energetic voice for a man.

“Ah, Kagura-san!”

Sanae Suguru, who lived on the floor below, ran over. With his fluffy, greige cable-knit sweater, he looked even more like an otter than usual.

Kagura had hoped that Sanae wouldn’t see him with Zero, but it was already too late.

Sanae peered up at Zero with curious eyes behind his glasses and gave him a polite nod.

“I’m a junior at Kagura-san’s workplace. Is this your friend?”

The phrase ‘friend’ seemed so out of place for them that Kagura and Zero both had subtly awkward expressions.

“We were in the same club in high school,” Zero explained.

“Oh, really? So you were Kagura-san’s senior in the kendo club? What kind of high schooler was Kagura-san? Maybe a tyrant with a penchant for harassment…”

Sanae’s interest was apparent as he leaned in, but Kagura grabbed him by the forehead, turning him to face himself.

“What do you want?”

Sanae looked annoyed and pouted.

“You weren’t home last night or this afternoon. You ignored my messages, which is so mean. I was going to invite you out for a meal.”

Kagura had ignored the messages because he found it too much trouble to reply.

“Don’t try to spend my precious day off with me.”

“Your fingers are digging into my head!”

Kagura let go, and Sanae exaggeratedly held his head with both hands—then sniffed, twitching his nose. Following the scent, he moved closer to Zero.

“This… smells a lot like your special cologne, Kagura-san…”

He really had a knack for noticing unnecessary things.

“You’re imagining it.”

“Wait, but—”

When Sanae tried to sniff Zero’s scent again, Kagura didn’t hesitate to clamp down on him with an iron claw.

With his nose flattened under Kagura’s palm and his entire face held in his hand, Sanae groaned in pain.

With a glance, Kagura signalled Zero to leave, releasing Sanae only when Zero was on the elevator.

“I’m tired, so just go back to your room.”

He shooed Sanae away with a wave, slipped into his apartment, and locked the door with a sigh… then opened his left palm.

Gazing at the sasadango keychain, he muttered to himself,

“Not like I have any use for this.”

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*Translator’s Note: That’s a token of love, Kagura😝. Unregistered/undocumented.. I just used this interchangeably. Sometimes I forget which is which that I’ve previously used. -K

Next update: 2025.10.21

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☝🏻Sasadango. It’s a traditional sweets of Niigata.