[Touken Ranbu] The Strange Mr. Neighbor

Former serial title: The New Neighbor Turns Out to Be My Ex-Boyfriend

A modern AU featuring Heshikiri Hasebe x female protagonist / Ichinose Aoi

Eccentric novelist x devoted male assistant

More than a year after leaving her hometown, Ichinose Aoi returns and discovers that her recently arrived neighbor is none other than her former assistant and "ex-boyfriend," Hasebe Kunishige.

"From the moment I first saw you, I knew I would love you, with a love like a wild beast, like a blazing fire. But I mustn't. This can't happen. The mountains will collapse, and I'll be left bloody and broken." (Qiu Miaojin, Notes of a Crocodile)

"You look down on me and the worth of my love, and it makes me rot from within. Yet I will spend my whole life proving my beauty and my love. I will make love shine with my own 'immortal' self. I will make you understand that this is the ultimate meaning of life." (Qiu Miaojin, Last Words from Montmartre)

[Please Read Beforehand]

* This story contains heavy dog-like characterization, male-centered attitudes, and a gloomy, obsessive atmosphere. The romance is twisted and definitely unhealthy, though it may or may not be entertaining. The only thing I can guarantee is that the two of them get a happy ending together.

* This is a Hasebe x female protagonist story set in an alternate modern world. For the sake of the story, the female protagonist has a name but no set personality. You can treat it as the default protagonist name in an otome game. Feel free to self-insert or not.

* The whole story has a rather strong office-worker vibe (written after work by a tired wage slave, haha). It's probably a love story for adults.

Theme: I long for that happy day, the day you come back.