Chronolust Temptation [18+] High S*xual Content
ch.1 Happy Ending (C) [Doesn’t touch the metal object]

Hayao drew a steadying breath and resolved to finish the shoot in one go. And, he would be damned if he was touching anything that looked like it could give him a tetanus infection. Hayao kept a careful distance from all of it as he continued. Phone held aloft like a talisman, he forced a wry grin and began narrating into the camera, his voice echoing off the damp concrete, the flicker of his phone’s light skimming across graffiti that whispered old dares. 

He filled the gloom with a running monologue—halfhearted jokes about headless commuters, hushed warnings about a pale woman who waits for lone travelers—anything to keep the air from feeling too still. Each sentence echoed back to him, warped and hollow, and the tunnel answered with its own creaks and drips.

After fifteen long minutes, he reviewed the footage, nodded once, and slipped out of the tunnel. The evening smelled of wet concrete and distant frying oil from corner shops locking up for the night. As he walked, the camera swung at his side, forgotten. His thoughts had already sprinted weeks ahead, to the day after graduation when he would finally stand before Nanako. In that imagined moment, his heart pounded louder than in any haunted corridor.

With that vision blazing brighter than any will-o’-the-wisp, Hayao trudged along Tasaka’s quiet streets, lamps painting gold pools on the asphalt. Each step felt lighter than the last, as if the ghosts of Kurotaki had stayed behind, and only hope now followed him home.

***

After the graduation ceremony, Hayao found Nanako by the cherry blossom tree near the school gate, just as he’d imagined. Petals drifted around her, catching in her short, dark hair. 

His heart pounded, his palms slick with sweat, but he forced the words out, stumbling over them. “Nanako… I’ve liked you for a long time. I don’t want to leave things unsaid before we graduate. Will you… go out with me?” 

Her eyes widened, a flush creeping up her cheeks, and for a moment, he feared the worst. But then she smiled, soft and shy, and nodded. “I… I like you too, Hayao. I was just too scared to say it.” They stood there, awkward and hesitant, two teenagers stepping into something new, their hands brushing but not quite holding.

Their relationship bloomed slowly, marked by tentative dates in Tasaka City’s arcade and quiet walks along the river. When university came, they parted ways—Hayao to a modest college in Tokyo, Nanako to an art school in Kyoto—but they stayed in touch, their bond growing through late-night calls and long train rides to see each other.

Distance tested them, but their hesitant affection deepened into something steady, real. 

Years later, Hayao proposed, his voice trembling as he slid a simple ring onto Nanako’s finger. She laughed through tears, pulling him into a tight embrace.

Their wedding was small, held in a Tasaka City shrine nestled in the hills, the air thick with the scent of incense and spring. Mai, Hayao’s widowed mother, watched with beaming pride, her full-figured frame draped in a black kimono. She’d always been fond of Nanako, seeing in her the daughter she’d never had. At the reception, Mai raised a glass, her voice thick with emotion.

“To my son and his beautiful bride,” she said, tears glistening. “You’ve made this old heart so happy.” Hayao and Nanako exchanged a shy glance, their hands entwined, no longer hesitant. As the celebration carried on, laughter echoing under the lantern-lit sky, Hayao felt a quiet certainty: this was his happy ending, a life with Nanako.

The End

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