Tokyo Detective Chronicles

Night had fallen, and the streets of the residential area were quiet and empty, with only a few streetlights casting pale white halos of light.

The three walked side by side, with Hayakawa Chiho in the middle, her steps light and quick, humming an unknown tune and swinging her arm naturally.

One moment he'd point to the sparse stars overhead and ask, "Do you know what constellation that is?" and the next he'd say to Hoshizaki, "Hoshizaki-san's hair is so beautiful. What brand of conditioner do you use to maintain it?"

She was too lively, so lively that it was almost deliberate, as if she wanted to use all her strength to fill the silence between the three of them.

However, he was unmoved by the gravity that Hoshizaki unleashed with all his might.

Even someone as lively as Hayakawa Chiho felt slightly overwhelmed...

She had a vague feeling that she had messed up, but she didn't know what had happened.

Previously, in the Fushimi household, there was a rather delicate atmosphere.

Hayakawa quickly finished his cup of tea, picked up his schoolbag, and stood up.

"Um, it's getting late, senior, I should go home!!"

Fushimi glanced at the sky outside, which had completely darkened, and stood up as well:

"Okay, I'll take you to the station."

"I'm going too!" Hoshizaki blurted out almost immediately.

Hayakawa glanced at Fushimi, then at Hoshizaki, her smile widening even more: "Yes! Thank you, senpai and Hoshizaki-kun!"

Thus, the awkward scene before us has come to be.

As they approached the train station, Hayakawa stopped, turned around, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, placed her hands in front of her, and bowed deeply to Fushimi.

"Thank you so much, senior, for today!"

Hayakawa straightened up, her eyes sparkling: "I'll definitely repay you! Hmm... although I don't have much to offer right now..."

She tilted her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly clapped her hands:

"By the way! It's the weekend! Are you free this weekend, senior? Please come over to my house!"

She clasped her hands together, her eyes full of anticipation, like a primary school student trying hard to invite friends to a birthday party, making it impossible for anyone to refuse.

Besides, even if she didn't invite me.

Fushimi would also take the opportunity to inspect the Hayakawa family... trying to figure out the origin of that strange fragrance.

Rina Hoshizaki stood half a body length behind Fushimi, feeling extremely uncomfortable, and even the corner of her eye twitched involuntarily.

"..."

You...you want to come to my house to play?

What to play?

Fushimi remained silent for a moment, then nodded as Hayakawa's eyes gradually became somewhat uneasy: "Okay."

"Really? That's great!"

Hayakawa immediately broke into a big smile, as if his whole being had lit up.

She waved vigorously: "It's a deal! I'll text you the address! Please make sure you come!"

"And Hoshizaki-san, thank you for coming to see me off!"

Hoshizaki, somewhat surprised, snapped out of her daze: "Ah... oh, goodbye, please be careful on your way."

"Um!"

Hayakawa then turned and ran towards the station entrance.

She ran to the turnstile, then turned back and waved vigorously, her smile almost unreal in the white lights of the station.

Only then did Hoshizaki turn his head and glare at Fushimi.

"So."

She crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks:

"Now can you tell me what happened to those wounds, Detective Fushimi?"

The two bought drinks from a vending machine and walked back.

Fushimi briefly recounted what happened after school that afternoon: he witnessed Hayakawa being bullied in the classroom, her closet being filled with dirty water, and how he later took her home to treat her wounds.

The parts about the strange fragrance and the leech monster are omitted; it is only said that they met by chance while investigating Takeda-sensei's affairs.

"That's too much!"

Upon hearing this, Hoshizaki clenched his fists in anger and stomped his foot.

"That girl and her cronies! How could they bully people like that! That child... she can even laugh?"

Thinking of Hayakawa's smile, Hoshizaki felt even worse.

"No, I need to..."

Fushimi sighed: "Don't do anything unnecessary, I'll figure something out."

"What are you going to do? Tell the teacher or...?"

"No, there's no point in doing that."

Fushimi waved his hand. If telling the teacher would be helpful, there wouldn't be so much school bullying in Yingzhou.

The girl opened her mouth as if to speak, but still didn't say anything.

After a moment of silence, she suddenly nudged Fushimi's arm lightly with her shoulder.

"...feed."

"Um?"

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have thought that way about you."

Fushimi glanced at her sideways and found it somewhat amusing.

What were you thinking about me just now?

The girl lowered her head, the streetlight illuminating her slightly reddened ears and tightly pursed lips... she looked a bit like a puppy that had done something wrong.

"..."

"It's just... I'm sorry..."

Fushimi smiled and raised his hand to give the girl's head a good rub.

"fine."

This action is exactly what a self-important, greasy middle-aged man would do.

"Hey! You bastard..."

Hoshizaki blushed and looked up, defiantly reaching out to touch Fushimi's head, but Fushimi tilted his head, deliberately preventing her from touching him.

"Hey."

The two playfully wrestled, their figures gradually disappearing into the darkness deeper into the residential area.

In the distance, the faint rumble of passing trams could be heard, but it quickly dissipated into the ever-present darkness of Tokyo's night.

……

At night, Hoshizaki's house.

Rina Hoshizaki lay on the bed, wearing pajamas with a cartoon rabbit pattern, hugging a soft pillow, tossing and turning.

My mind is a complete mess.

Hayakawa Chiho's words, "I will definitely repay you!" kept echoing in her mind.

"repay……"

She murmured to herself and buried her face in the pillow.

Fushimi has helped me so much, from the past to the present, it's countless.

I feel like I've never really thought about repaying them.

She usually jokes around, acts spoiled and unreasonable, and takes his childhood friendship for granted, relying on him as a natural person.

But when other girls suddenly appear in his life... strange feelings quietly arise.

The pillow in her arms was completely deformed from being squeezed so tightly.

How should I repay Iori?

Giving a gift?

What does he need?

Expensive gifts are unaffordable, and cheap ones are embarrassing to give... So how can we differentiate them from birthday gifts and the like?

Ultimately, she was just a poor student.

"Ugh—this is so annoying!"

She rolled over on the bed, staring at the ceiling on her back. In the dim light, the air conditioner emitted a regular low hum.

As if by some supernatural force, the faces of her close friends suddenly flashed through her mind...

How about... we introduce him to a girlfriend?

"Snapped!"

The thought had barely crossed her mind when she slapped it away.

No way!

Just thinking about that kind of thing makes me want to vomit.

"..."

Ah... After thinking it over, I decided that I should just tie myself in a bow, pack myself up, and give it to him.

But would that really be considered a way of repaying someone?

"Rina Hoshizaki, you're hopeless..."

She covered her burning face and groaned softly.

"Waaah..."

Just then, the phone screen next to my pillow lit up.

Hoshizaki struggled to reach out and touch it, then squinted and was surprised to find it was a text message from Takeda-sensei.

Rina, are you free this weekend?

My husband and I would like to invite you and Mr. Fushimi to our home for a casual meal so we can formally express our gratitude for your protection.

Sorry to bother you so late~

Hoshizaki sat up abruptly, his eyes wide.

At Takeda-sensei's house...Isn't Iori investigating this matter?

She instantly banished those chaotic thoughts from her mind and her fingers flew across the screen as she forwarded the message to Fushimi.

"bite."

Fushimi's reply came in less than ten seconds.

Okay, sure.

Upon seeing the reply, Hoshizaki happily sent a cute emoji and also wished Fushimi goodnight.

【Good night.】

Upon reading Fushimi's reply, the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up. She then replied to Takeda-sensei, arranging to meet on Saturday noon, thoughtfully avoiding Fushimi's visit to the Hayakawa residence...

【Very good!】

[The location is at [address], we look forward to your visit!]

After doing all this, Hoshizaki lay back down on the bed, covering his chest with his hands holding his phone.

The light from the screen shone through her fingers, casting a faint, flickering blue glow on her face.

The thought of having to pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend with Iori again this weekend... made her heart pound loudly in the quiet room, each beat pounding against her eardrums.

faster and faster.

She turned over, pressed her burning cheeks against the cool pillow, and curled up.

It's the weekend...

What clothes should I wear?