Tokyo Sick Girlfriend

Chapter 30 I Want You to Remember Me
If you can't be sure, don't make promises lightly.

Shiratori Seiya originally didn't want to give Hojo Suzune any illusions, since the future was always uncertain.

But seeing the hopeful and expectant look in her eyes, and remembering that it was her birthday, I suddenly couldn't bear to say anything discouraging.

Just as Shiratori Seiya was about to speak, he suddenly recalled Hojo Shione's teary-eyed appearance.

Do you really think I love music? Do you really enjoy practicing singing from morning till night every day...?

"Qing Zai?"

The boy in front of her remained silent for a long time. Hojo Suzune tilted her head and called his name.

"what……"

Shiratori Seiya snapped out of his daze, looked at her rosy cheeks, and asked:
"Rin, do you like playing the piano?"

"Eh?"

Hojo Suzune froze, a thought flashing through her mind as she keenly sensed that this question was unusual, and quickly replied:
"Like it."

"Of course I like it! I've been playing the piano since I was little, you know that, right? Although my sister can sing, she doesn't put in any effort at all. I used to practice seven or eight hours a day..."

Seven or eight hours...

Shiratori Seiya recalled it in his mind.

When Suzune found out she could play the piano, she was already a first-year high school student? That means she must have started practicing in middle school.

So young...

If you weren't truly passionate about it, you wouldn't have persisted for so long.

Thinking of this, Shiratori Seiya sighed and reached out to pat Suzune's head, saying:

"Rinne, you're overdoing it."

When he suddenly touched her head, Hojo Suzune's petite body stiffened.

Immediately afterwards, she felt a warm current flow through her body from top to bottom. She couldn't help but stand on tiptoe and rub against Shiratori Seiya's palm, squinting her eyes and grinning foolishly.

"So, is it okay? Kiyoya, can you write songs for me in the future?"

"I don't think so. I guess I'll never reach that level in my lifetime. After all, piano pieces are too difficult for me."

Hojo Suzune ignored the long string of words Shiratori Seiya followed, raised her pretty face, and asked with a gleam in her eyes:
"So, you mean there will be an opportunity in the future, right?"

"Um……"

"yeah!"

As if she had received some kind of promise, Hojo Suzune jumped up and down with joy.

"Be careful."

Seeing her excited expression, Shiratori Seiya couldn't help but call out to her.

"Haha~"

Hojo Suzune excitedly spun around, her smile brighter than a waterfall in the sunlight...

While the route to Biwa Falls on Mount Takao isn't particularly steep, it's certainly not wide, and there are no guardrails.

Shiratori Seiya was so afraid that she would fall that he grabbed her slender, fair wrist.

"Let's go."

"Oh."

With her wrist held, Hojo Suzune seemed to have had a quiet mode switched on, instantly becoming obedient.

She gave a hesitant reply, lowered her eyes, and followed Shiratori Seiya with a flushed face.

But after taking a few steps, she couldn't help but look at the boy's broad shoulders.

Hojo Suzune felt her vision blurring involuntarily, and everything around her, except for Shiratori Seiya, seemed to be radiating a hazy light.

I had only experienced this scene in my dreams.

In the past, he would only bring me along when he and his sister went out to play.

My sister, who only knows how to eat alone, is as wary of me as she is of wolves. Going out with Kiyoya alone is absolutely out of the question.

The more unattainable something is, the more one longs for it, the more one yearns for it, and the more one suffers...

I want to hold his hand and walk with him along the narrow path, I want to smell his scent and bask in the sunlight together, I want to keep watching him and walk with him for a very, very long time...

As I crossed the waterfall bridge, tears welled up in my eyes, but I felt happier than ever before.

Kiyo, I love you the most.

...The two climbed Mount Takao almost in one go, stopping only once at a rest stop.

Shiratori Seiya glanced at the time on his phone.

13:14
The two of them didn't start climbing until about 10:30. It took them more than two hours, with them stopping and starting along the way. During that time, Shiratori Seiya took a lot of photos of her.

Hojo Suzune was clearly well-prepared; her handbag, which contained clothes, included not only a makeup box, sunscreen, and band-aids, but also a camera.

Photography was not allowed at the shrine, so Shiratori Seiya could only take pictures of her under the waterfall and on the bridge.

Later, after climbing the mountain, a sign read "One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji in the Kanto Region".

Unfortunately, there were too many clouds and we couldn't see Mount Fuji.

Shiratori Seiya could only stand out against the distant scenery as he took a few more pictures of Hojo Suzune.

However, it must be said that both Hojo sisters are very photogenic.

It's just a difference in style.

Xiyin is a gentle and beautiful woman, and the tenderness she occasionally reveals makes her seem like a submissive wife.

Although Lingyin is petite, her pretty face carries a hint of allure, especially when the sunlight falls on her, her charm becomes even more intense.

Shiratori Seiya glanced at it once and didn't dare look any longer. He pressed the shutter button and handed the camera to Rin.

Hojo Suzune's eyes lit up, and she smiled mischievously at Shiratori Seiya, pursing her delicate lips:

"As expected, the filming was quite good, Kiyoshi."

"..."

Seeing that she was deliberately teasing him, Shiratori Seiya didn't respond, but turned to look at the ramen shop next door and said:
"Are you hungry? Let's take the cable car down after we finish eating."

Upon hearing this, Hojo Suzune frowned and muttered:
Why do we have to take the cable car?

Shiratori Seiya glanced at the sweat on her forehead and her slender legs but said nothing.

However, Hojo Suzune could naturally read the doubt in his eyes, and she raised her small fist to gently punch his shoulder, saying coquettishly:

"You jerk, you always look down on people..."

But when she touched him, she couldn't bear to use force and pushed him away coquettishly like a girlfriend.

After grumbling and punishing him, Hojo Suzune seemed to have calmed down and pulled Shiratori Seiya into the ramen shop next door.

"Let's go, it's my birthday today, I'll treat you to dinner."

As she spoke, Shiratori Seiya glanced at the sign displaying the ramen prices:
"Char siu noodles: 950 yen; additional flavors: 100 yen extra."

As expected of a mountaintop location, the prices are outrageous.

Shiratori Seiya couldn't help but say:

"The ramen here is so expensive, Suzune, have you struck it rich lately? Besides, shouldn't I treat you to a meal for your birthday?"

Hojo Suzune didn't respond, but turned to the clerk at the counter and said:
"I'd like a bowl of tonkotsu ramen and a bowl of char siu with a chicken leg, please don't add scallions to the char siu bowl, thank you."

After paying, she pulled Shiratori Seiya to sit down in the corner and said with a smile:
"I didn't get rich, but I'll be happy if the money goes to Kiyoya. Making me happy on my birthday is what you should do today, right?"

The girl blinked her bright, watery eyes at Shiratori Seiya, her gaze conveying a sense of 'You can't refuse this, can you?'

She paused, then blushed again as she met Shiratori Seiya's gaze, pursing her lips and muttering softly:
"I admit I had a little ulterior motive. I wanted you to remember more of the good things about me, so you would remember my birthday..."

"What? You can only remember your older sister's birthday? That's a bit much."

Shiratori Seiya's heart skipped a beat, his expression froze, he swallowed hard, and nodded:

"Now that you say that, I won't forget it."

"That couldn't be better!"

"..."

The meal wasn't eaten quickly. Hojo Suzune would take a bite and say two or three sentences, sometimes asking Shiratori Seiya about his university life, and sometimes talking about some trivial things that happened to her.

She spoke ramblingly, without any logic or purpose.

It seems that Rin just wanted to say something.

I want to tell him all the days he was away, and I want to hear what happened to him after we broke up.

It seemed that as long as she did this, she could insert him into those boring and empty days, and that she and Kiyoya would never be separated.

……
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　One more chapter

　　
　
(End of this chapter)