[Pine] Is It Wrong to Look for a Second Chance at Love at the Booze Factory?

Also known as: “As a high-level Guide, I was forced by the organization to pair up, so I had no choice but to make do with that bastard colleague who lost his Guide” Also also known as: “How a Bomb Disposal Cop Who Lost His Guide Was Forced to Fake-Marry His Undercover Colleague for Revenge, Only for the Fake Marriage to Become Real” The serious blurb: Four years ago, Guide Hagiwara Kenji died in an “accidental” explosion. His Sentinel, Matsuda Jinpei, has lived in a hell of sensory overload and the smell of gunpowder ever since. Four years later, Sentinel Morofushi Hiromitsu was exposed during an undercover mission and ultimately took his own life. His Guide, Furuya Rei, has always worn an impenetrable mask, and no one can glimpse his shattered heart. Until one late night, Furuya Rei, mentally broken and looking utterly wretched, climbed through Matsuda’s window and said, “Bond with me.” “What the hell are you talking about?!” “Unless you want to see me form a mental link with Gin tomorrow, or, worse, bond with Rye.” “...Which one is supposed to be ‘worse’?!” “So, do we have a deal?” This bond has nothing to do with love. It’s simply a “survivors’ cooperation agreement.” He needs Matsuda’s combat skills, and the freedom to avoid being “reclaimed” by the organization. Matsuda needs his identity, and a pass to venture into the darkness and seek revenge. They move through the darkness under the false identity of “partners,” intending to turn it upside down for good. But the unstoppable understanding and dependence that grew from the ruins... Who’s to say that isn’t love? ●●● Reader Advisory ●●● The pairing is Furuya Rei (Guide) x Matsuda Jinpei (Sentinel), with HagiMatsu and HiruRei/ReiHiru as background pairings. The Sentinel-Guide setting includes many original and altered elements. I’ll do my best to keep them from hindering the reading experience. The technology level is only slightly more advanced than the real world today. The story begins with loss. It’s about two bereaved men supporting each other through desperate circumstances, fighting side by side, and ultimately building a new life on the ruins. Theme: Two broken people come together to form a complete circle.