Tokyo Detective Chronicles

Fushimi walked up to the mop cabinet.

A girl's cheerful voice came from inside:

"Akiyama-kun~ I'm so sorry, I've really reflected on my actions. Please let me out, please! I really didn't seduce Kano-kun..."

"I've returned everything he gave me."

Surprisingly, there wasn't a trace of grievance or sadness in that voice; on the contrary... it sounded quite happy?

Fushimi ripped open the locked cabinet door.

A smiling girl was squatting inside.

Her hair was wet, strands of it clinging to her cheeks and neck, with water droplets dripping from the ends.

The school uniform shirt was almost transparent after it got wet. The shirt and skirt clung to her body, outlining the girl's curves and revealing the skin underneath.

Gray water stains spread across the white shirt, obscuring the skin tone.

The water splashed on the girl was clearly dirty water from washing the mop.

It emits an unpleasant odor.

On this cool evening as autumn approached, she trembled, hugging her arms and shivering. She was a girl who looked both pitiful and somewhat adorable.

At that moment, she was looking up at Fushimi with a bright smile.

"Eh? Excuse me, are you? Where are Akiyama and the others?"

Fushimi paused for two seconds, then said, "They're gone."

"Ah, they're gone..."

The girl tilted her head, water droplets dripping from the ends of her hair, as if she were a little disappointed.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, her eyes lit up: "Hey classmate, did you hear them just say they like me?"

"..."

"They mean they like to bully you, right?"

"Hehe, they're all the same."

Is this guy out of his mind?

Just then, Fushimi reached out his hand.

The girl smiled and took his hand, using it to climb out of the closet. Her movements were a little clumsy, probably because the closet was too narrow, and her legs were getting numb from squatting inside.

"call."

After a moment of adjustment, she stood up straight. The soaked skirt clung to her thighs, which were clad in black pantyhose, and dark water stains spread all the way to the heels of her indoor shoes.

It seems like you could wring out dirty water just by twisting it onto your thigh.

"Hello, classmate! My name is Hayakawa Chiho, and I'm from Class 1-C."

She bowed to Fushimi so forcefully that dirty water splashed out of her hair.

"Thank you for letting me out!"

Fushimi stared at her for a few seconds.

He vaguely remembered the name Hayakawa Chiho, but it took him a while to recall that she was the top student who gave a speech as a representative of the first-year students at this year's opening ceremony.

His clean and fresh appearance back then was completely different from the guy in front of me who was covered in filth and still grinning like an idiot.

"My name is Fushimi Iori, and I'm a second-year student."

"Ah! It's you, senior! Hello, senior!" She bowed again.

Fushimi looked at the girl who was trembling but was forcing a smile and sighed.

I seem to have inexplicably gotten myself involved in something completely unrelated again...

I took out my sports jacket, which I had prepared to take home to wash, from my bag and handed it over.

"Put this on first."

Hayakawa glanced at the relatively clean jacket, then at the dirty water on his clothes, and quickly waved his hands:

"No, no! It'll get your clothes dirty, senior..."

"You'll catch a cold doing that."

"Ah, that's true."

Hayakawa Chiho looked down at herself, scratched her face sheepishly, but then smiled.

"But it's okay, I'm in great health!"

She raised her arm to show off her thin arms with little muscle, which was unconvincing.

Fushimi didn't say anything more and simply reached out and draped his coat over the girl.

"Huh?"

Hayakawa paused, stunned. The oversized tracksuit almost completely covered her, the hem reaching her thighs. Only her wet calves and torn pantyhose were visible.

"Thanks……"

Her voice was very soft, and she seemed a little embarrassed.

Fushimi glanced at the darkening sky outside the window: "How are you getting home?"

The girl smelled strongly of filth, making it impossible for her to take the tram or bus home during rush hour.

"I can just walk back!" Hayakawa said with a smile, clearly aware of the issue with the taste.

Where do you live?

Katsushika Ward.

Fushimi remained silent for three seconds.

From Chiyoda to Katsushika, it takes more than an hour by train... It would obviously cause serious problems if a girl soaking wet had to walk home alone for several hours at night.

Not to mention that in Tokyo at this time of year, the temperature drops sharply after nightfall.

Safety on the road cannot be guaranteed, especially with the recent rampant rumors of perverts and gropers.

Can your family come pick you up?

"Mom is working the night shift at the hospital and won't be back until tomorrow morning," Hayakawa Chiho said with a smile.

Fushimi fell silent. The school's shower rooms should have stopped providing hot water by now, and even if they did, there were no clean clothes to change into... What a hassle.

Sometimes he really wished he could be more indifferent in the face of such things; helping her open the cabinet was already more than enough.

My purpose in coming here is simply to investigate the source of the strange fragrance.

What are the girl's plans next, and what does that have to do with me?

But looking at Hayakawa Chiho's smiling face, yet always trying not to cause trouble for others, she probably... will really walk back.

However, there are solutions.

Although it was somewhat inappropriate, Fushimi still asked, "Would you like to come to my house?"

"Huh?"

Fushimi looked at Hayakawa Chiho with a serious expression:

"My home is very close to the school. You can go take a shower and dry your clothes before going back."

"No, no!"

Hayakawa Chiho quickly waved her hand: "You're too kind! I can walk back myself—"

"If you keep going like this, you'll get a fever and faint on the way home."

Hayakawa remained silent.

She looked down at her still-dripping pantyhose, seemingly conflicted. She cautiously looked up at Fushimi, but seeing his serious expression, she looked down again.

After a moment, he finally nodded.

"Then... I'll have to trouble you, senior."

……

It takes five minutes by bike to get from school to Fushimi's house, and only ten minutes on foot.

In those ten minutes, Hayakawa Chiho asked at least twenty questions.

"Which class are you in, Fushimi-senpai, in the second year?"

Class E.

"Class E... Ah! I know! The elite class with the highest deviation scores! Amazing!"

"Why is the senior still at school so late?"

"Something's up."

"What's wrong? Oh, if it's inconvenient to talk about it, then never mind!"

"..."

"It's so convenient that my senior's house is nearby. My house is super far from school, and I have to get up two hours earlier every day."

"Um."

"Does the senior live alone?"

"Um."

"Wow—that's amazing! Living alone must be so liberating, right? I'm always under my mom's thumb, she even dictates what time I go to bed..."

She asked one question after another, always smiling as she spoke, her eyes crinkling, her tone relaxed.

Surprisingly, this feeling wasn't annoying at all. Even if Fushimi didn't respond, she could keep talking to herself, as if there would never be an awkward silence as long as she was there.

He doesn't seem like someone who has just experienced that kind of terrible school bullying at all.

Fushimi could clearly sense that Hayakawa Chiho was genuinely happy.

When she speaks, her eyes seem to be filled with starlight. If you occasionally meet her gaze, she won't be puzzled; instead, she'll give you a genuine, radiant smile.

To be honest, this made Fushimi feel a subtle unease.

It's not that I dislike girls' smiles.

Human emotions should not be like this. When good things happen, we feel happy and joyful, but when we are bullied, we naturally feel angry, sad, wronged, or even cry.

But Hayakawa Chiho seemed to have no negative emotions at all. What was she happy about?

Is it really possible for someone to be this oblivious?

With this in mind and through unintentional observation.

Soon after, the two arrived at the Fushimi residence. Hayakawa Chiho stood at the entrance to the courtyard, looking up at the detached house with its small garden.

"Wow... Senior, do you live in such a big house all by yourself?"

"Come in."

Fushimi pushed open the courtyard gate, and the wind chimes rang out crisply.

He always felt that there were many uncomfortable gazes around him...