Tokyo Sick Girlfriend

Chapter 212 The Storm Is Brewing (Part 2)

"We...we're not planning on getting married yet..."

In the training room, Hojo Suzune, sitting on the sofa, was so angry upon hearing this that she almost ground her back teeth to powder.

She snatched the remote from Mio Takahashi's hand and turned off the TV.

Then he casually tossed the remote control aside, stood up, and shuffled to the window. He opened the window, took a deep breath of the cold air, and only then did he manage to calm down.

Seeing the interview footage suddenly disappear from the television screen, Mio Takahashi was startled and couldn't help but frown.

"Tsk, what are you doing?"

"Humph."

Hojo Suzune turned her head, an impatient look appearing on her delicate face, and said irritably:

"What's so interesting about it? Are you happy watching her show off?"

Seeing Rin's pouty expression, Takahashi Mio blinked her bright eyes, then a smile appeared on her beautiful oval face as she rested her chin on her hand and said:
"I'm fine, I've gotten used to it already. Don't you think it's interesting?"

Hojo Suzune rolled her eyes at her and said:

"Hmph, I don't believe you're not jealous. Kiyoya isn't here, so why are you pretending to be so magnanimous?"

Upon hearing this, Mio Takahashi covered her mouth and chuckled:

"Pfft, what do I need to pretend for? And if I'm jealous, I feel like I've run out of jealousy to be had, haven't I? Your sister, Hasegawa, and you, don't you all like him?"

And who knows who will be vying for his attention in the future? If I get jealous, won't I be dying of jealousy? My teeth aren't that good.

"Humph."

Seeing her say that, Hojo Suzune couldn't refute it, and after thinking for a moment, she added:
"You make it sound so easy. Aren't you afraid that Kiyoya will leave you one day? Now that you know why Kiyoya chose you, you should be the most anxious, right? Hasegawa, my sister, and I are all better than you now, aren't we?"

After a pause, Lingyin lowered her head again, her soft hands twisting together, and she couldn't help but mutter:

"What's so great about her? I'm no worse than her. Sooner or later, I'll be standing in the spotlight with Kiyoya by my side."

Mio Takahashi didn't hear what she said next. Her lips twitched, she leaned back on the sofa, shrugged, and said indifferently:
"What's the use of being afraid? Anyway, Kiyoya hasn't broken up with me yet, has he?"

"And even if I'm anxious, it's useless. I can't keep those who want to leave, and those who want to stay won't give up on me in the end. I've done all I can. If he insists on leaving, there's nothing I can do. No matter how anxious I am, can I become a star overnight?"

Besides, if I really became a star, wouldn't Shiratori Seiya stop paying attention to me?

Hojo Suzune bit her cherry lips, raised her clenched little fist, and waved it in the air:
"Hmph, anything is possible. If you're a woman, you should do everything in your power to snatch someone you like!"

Seeing her confident expression, Takahashi Mio blinked and chuckled:
"Hehe, then good luck, I wish you and Kiyoya can start discussing marriage soon."

Seeing her acting like it was none of her business, even though she was clearly his girlfriend, Hojo Suzune couldn't help but retort:
"Summer insects cannot speak of ice."

However, Mio Takahashi seemed not to hear at all, shook her head, and picked up her phone to browse posts about Saori Hasegawa winning the competition.

However, the more comments she scrolled through, the deeper her worry became. Finally, she scrolled to the bottom, and the screen went black.

She stared at her reflection in the black screen and sighed inwardly.

Mio, you have to do your best!

...............

Meanwhile, inside the Tokyo Budokan stadium.

Upon hearing Saori Hasegawa's words, reporter Nao Arima was stunned, not understanding for a moment what she was talking about.

Looking at Saori Hasegawa's pure and beautiful face, she noticed the shyness on the other's face and immediately understood what was going on.

However, before she could ask any more questions, the referee who was maintaining order at the scene had already walked up to her.

"If you are going to do an interview or take photos, please follow the specific procedures stipulated in the event regulations and do not disturb the scene."

The man frowned as he looked at Arima Nai, a displeased expression on his face.

Upon hearing this, Arima gestured to the cameraman next to him, turning the live stream to the camera in the center of the scene.

Once the broadcast was successfully completed and the cameraman responded, Arima Nai quickly bowed and apologized, saying:

"Oh, I'm so sorry to have troubled you. We'll be leaving now."

After saying that, she turned and left.

"It's finally over, Arima-nee."

As they approached the corner of the corridor leading to the lounge, the photographer, who had been holding the camera, let his tense shoulders slump and exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's finally over. I'm exhausted today. I don't know when I can get off work."

Arima glanced at the two of them and sighed:

"I ordered a boxed meal, it will arrive in a little while, so you can take a short rest. But please cut out the interview footage tonight."

Upon hearing this, the two young-looking men unconsciously lowered their heads and sighed silently.

"Okay, Sister Ma..."

Seeing their listless appearance, Arima's lips twitched and he said again:

"Alright, don't be so downcast. Once we're done with these last couple of days, I'll have the president approve some of the company funds so we can go out for a meal."

"Awesome! Long live Arima-nee!"

"Long live."

"However, today's match was really exciting. That girl named Hasegawa actually did it! It's unbelievable!"

"Yes, I felt so excited when I was filming. I thought she was going to become famous overnight, right? Even Kurosawa Katsuichi lost..."

"She's absolutely made a name for herself in one battle! Anyone who has practiced swordsmanship knows how incredible her strength is; it seems impossible for someone her age to be like her."

"Eh? Yukino, so you mean you've studied kendo?"

"Of course, I was in the kendo club in high school and college... That girl was really strong. I thought about it, and I guess only a kendo player in his thirties with a fourth dan or higher could be her equal?"

After a pause, Yukino added:

"It has to be a man."

"It's amazing. She became famous at a young age, and she's beautiful and powerful. I really don't know which lucky guy can find a girlfriend like that."

"Yeah! Don't you think she's super cute? And she seems to be love-struck too, saying things like, 'We're not planning on getting married yet...' Having a girlfriend like that is insanely enviable..."

Upon hearing this, Arima moved his lips, but reluctantly interrupted their conversation:

"Alright, stop thinking about that. Let's think about how to get back to work. These next few days will be tough."

Seeing what Yumane said, Yukino's eyes darted around and he said:

"Of course, I think Sister Ma is also amazing, especially when she's commentating. She's so powerful and inspiring, it gets your blood pumping just listening to her..."

Even if you flatter me, it won't raise your salary; it's a waste of your effort.

Arima rolled her eyes at him, then twisted her neck and blinked hard, trying to relieve her fatigue.

She had been commentating on the match all afternoon, and although the content was very exciting, she was exhausted and her mouth was dry after the tension wore off.

"hey-hey."

The two younger colleagues beside him laughed awkwardly.

"Wait a moment."

As the three were about to turn the corner of the corridor, a voice suddenly appeared behind them.

Arima Nai could clearly sense that the voice was coming towards her, and she subconsciously stopped and turned around.

Just then, I saw a tall boy jogging towards us.

He was backlit, so Arima couldn't see his face clearly, but when he saw the three of them stop, the boy also slowed down.

"Please wait a moment."

As if afraid she would leave, the boy repeated himself.

The three looked at each other, and Arima instinctively crossed his arms and stood there waiting.

As the other person drew closer, Arima Nai saw his face clearly and felt a sense of familiarity. After a moment's thought, she realized that the other person was the boy that Hasegawa Saori hugged after every match.

Why did he come looking for me?
Arima Nai felt a sense of doubt.

"Hello."

Walking up to them, Shiratori Seiya's gaze swept over the three of them, finally settling on Arima Nai, whose aura was clearly stronger.

Arima Nai instinctively met the man's gaze, and the instant their eyes met, she immediately sensed something was wrong.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but even though this face looks very young, there's a sense of maturity in the eyes that comes from years of working in the corporate world.

In an instant, Arimata sensed that the other party was not simple, and a professional smile appeared on his face:
"Hello, what can I do?"

"Ah."

Shiratori Seiya nodded, then took off the logistics tag around his neck, glanced at the name on Arima's name tag, and said:

"Hello, Ms. Arima. You're a reporter from TV Asahi, right?"

"Hmm." Seeing the other party nod, Shiratori Seiya continued:

"I have a breaking news story I'd like to offer. Would you be interested?"

"Ok?"

Hearing this, Arima became interested and tilted his head slightly, smiling:

"Excuse me, what's the news?"

Upon hearing this, Shiratori Seiya glanced at the two people behind her, and his lips moved as he said:

Can I speak with you privately?

Upon seeing this, Arima immediately understood what was meant. She hesitated for a moment, then turned around and gestured for her two henchmen to leave.

Once the two had disappeared down the corridor and their footsteps were no longer audible, Arima smiled at him and said:

"Can we talk now?"

"Yes, this is quite important. I'd like to make an appointment with Ms. Arima in advance."

"?"

Seeing the other person's riddle-like expression, Arima Nai subconsciously frowned, his lips moved and he couldn't help but say:
"Let's talk about it later, I'm quite busy."

Hearing the other party make empty promises, Arima immediately lost interest. As a top-notch reporter for television and newspapers, she had a lot of things to do every day and no time to pay attention to what the other party considered to be breaking news.

Seeing this, Shiratori Seiya smiled, walked up to her, and whispered something.

Upon hearing what the other person said, Arima's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at him, unable to resist asking:
"real?!"

………………

By the time Shiratori Seiya emerged from the passage, the celebrations were essentially over, and the organizers announced the end of the first day of the competition. The kendo clubs from various universities were preparing to pack up and leave.

As he walked to the rest area, he found Saori waiting for him at the intersection.

The moment Saori saw him, she felt like a daughter who had been separated from her father and found him again; her nimble ears twitched and her eyes lit up.

She leaned close to Shiratori Seiya, placed her hands clasped in front of her, and asked cautiously:

"Kiyoya, what were you doing just now?"

Noticing the unease on her face, Shiratori Seiya reached out and pulled her into his arms, explaining softly:
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm going to ask that reporter if they can do an exclusive interview with you, Saori. Didn't you say you wanted to become a star? This is a great opportunity..."

He pulled her into a tight embrace, and a look of relief appeared on Hasegawa Saori's face. She tightened her grip on his arms and said:

"Yes, thank you, Kiyoya."

Sensing that Saori's tone didn't seem so happy, Shiratori Seiya grabbed her hand, took a step back, and looked at her small face, saying:

"what happened?"

"No, it's just... Saori was a little sad because she thought Seiya was gone, but she's fine now..."

As she spoke, her bright eyes gazed intently at the white bird.

She didn't say it, but Shiratori Seiya could read the meaning in her eyes: even if she won the championship, Saori wouldn't be happy without Seiya by her side.

A thought stirred within him; the heart that had hardened because of Fujikawa Shunpei warmed again, and he hugged Saori tightly, speaking softly:

"How could that be? I will always stay with Saori."

"Ah."

Saori nodded heavily upon hearing this, then raised her smiling face, but the next moment, a look of hesitation appeared in her eyes as she looked at Shiratori Seiya.

"what happened?"

Saori's lips moved slightly:
"Kiyoya, you said you'd give Saori a reward..."

Shiratori Seiya was speechless, staring into her eyes, and after thinking for a moment, said:
"Saori...how about we go to Hokkaido together this winter?"

When Saori was in high school, she told him that she wanted to go to Hokkaido to see the snow together, and then go to a hot spring together at night...

She wanted to go to Nara to see the deer, to wear a beautiful kimono at her coming-of-age ceremony and go to an ancient temple to make a wish, to watch fireworks together, and to go home after her wedding to receive her mother's blessing...

She had told herself many, many wishes, and had envisioned many wonderful futures.

However, after they separated, nothing more was said about it.

Now that they're back together after three years, Shiratori Seiya feels he can gradually make these things happen.

After all, some special moments, like coming-of-age ceremonies, only happen once in a lifetime. Once missed, they can never be brought back.

A young woman's twenties won't be long enough for her to become the richest person in the world.

Upon hearing Shiratori Seiya mention this, Saori's eyes lit up, but she still asked uncertainly:
"Really?"

"Well, really."

She checked several times to make sure that Shiratori Seiya had really agreed, before happily pulling him back to the rest area.

After disbanding and leaving the dojo, it wasn't time to rest yet. Although everyone gathered around Saori to congratulate her, it was clearly not time to hold a celebration banquet, since there was still a team competition the next day.

Back at the hotel that night, after 11 p.m., Saori secretly knocked on Shiratori Seiya's door again, drank a tube of milk, and then fell asleep peacefully.

In the team competition the following day, Saori's performance was once again overwhelming.

However, a team competition is ultimately a team competition. Although both the club members and online comments said that as long as the score was tied, Saori could win, in the end, a tie could not be achieved when the team reached the semi-finals. C University's kendo team was eliminated in the semi-finals.

However, even so, this achievement is still a record that has been broken in recent years for C University.

With Shiratori Seiya enlisting the help of Iguchi and Eda to recruit online trolls, Saori's online popularity skyrocketed.

In just three days, Saori's name had already climbed to the top of the trending search list.

Beautiful girl, kendo, genius, dark horse, comeback, overwhelming victory...

These words accurately struck a chord with many ordinary people, especially when paired with Saori's naturally dazed demeanor during the interview, which contrasted sharply with her kendo skills, quickly garnering her a large following...

She successfully created a following online, and in real life, a whole bunch of people flocked to Saori.

Shiratori Seiya didn't disturb C University's celebration banquet. Instead, he quietly waited until they finished celebrating before packing up to take Saori home.

He had more pressing matters to attend to next.

He has spent the last two days with Saori regarding Fujikawa Shunpei's matter and has almost come to a conclusion.

He pondered for a long time between threatening the other party and simply crushing them to death.

But in the end, they decided to crush him in one fell swoop.

There is only one reason: he cannot completely control Fujikawa Shunpei based solely on the evidence he has against him.

In other words, it's possible to obtain resources from Fujikawa Shunpei temporarily, but it's impossible to control him in the long term.

No one likes having their life and death controlled by others.

Especially someone like Fujikawa Shunpei, whose social and personal resources far surpass his own, has plenty of ways to resist.

Shiratori Seiya doesn't have a third eye, so it's impossible for him to keep an eye on the other person 24 hours a day.

In fact, just running around between his career and four women has almost exhausted him.

Therefore, in his eyes, Fujikawa Shunpei was a time bomb wrapped in a cake.

You never know when you might bite into a bomb and blow yourself to pieces.

Not wanting to leave this danger, since the other party has already shown its claws, it is absolutely not possible to give them a chance to breathe.

Once the sword is drawn, and the opponent's weakness is seized, a fatal blow must be delivered.

"Kei-ya, you... don't seem very happy?"

Just as Shiratori Seiya got into the car and was about to fasten his seatbelt, he suddenly heard Saori next to him ask this question.

He paused for a moment, turned to look at Saori, and opened his mouth to smile:

"Why do you ask so suddenly?"

Saori leaned down, smoothing the furrowed brow with her fingers, and whispered:

"Qingzai, he has something on his mind."

"Can't you talk to Saori about it?"

"..."

Shiratori Seizai was speechless, opened his mouth, and prepared to brush it off:
"I……"

As if anticipating what he would say, Saori then said:

"Saori is very worried about you..."

He subconsciously met Saori's eyes.

Her delicate brows furrowed unconsciously, and a look of worry appeared in her pure eyes.

……
-
(End of this chapter)