Tokyo Detective Chronicles

On the rooftop of the teaching building.

The wind was strong, carrying the refreshing coolness of summer as the heat was about to fade, whistling through the barbed wire and blowing the ends of their hair.

The cement steps were warm from the sun, and the cicadas chirped incessantly. Fushimi and Hayakawa Chiho sat side by side in the shade, about a person's distance between them.

Since leaving Class C classroom, the two have walked here in silence without exchanging a single word.

"Thank you... senior. I'm sorry to have troubled you again."

Hayakawa spoke first; only now had she finally caught her breath.

Fushimi grunted in agreement, opened his lunch bag with a crookedly tied cat-shaped handkerchief, and took out the dark blue double-layered lunchbox prepared by Hoshizaki Rina.

"Let's eat."

The sound of their voices was somewhat scattered by the wind.

Hayakawa Chiho hugged the bento box tightly in her arms.

After a long while, she took a deep breath, turned her head, and tried to make the smile on her face look more natural.

"Okay."

Unfasten the clasp on the lunchbox.

The moment the lid was lifted, the aroma of fried food wafted out: tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet), fried chicken nuggets, garnished with blanched broccoli and a few cherry tomatoes.

The arrangement was very thoughtful.

"It stinks..."

Akiyama's voice, like some kind of spell, rang in my ears again.

She paused, holding her chopsticks, and abruptly brought the entire lunchbox to her face, sniffing it vigorously. After confirming there was no strange smell, she secretly glanced at Fushimi beside her.

He had already started eating, his movements unhurried, his profile clearly defined in the sunlight.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Hayakawa mustered up her courage and handed the uneaten lunchbox to Fushimi, asking softly:

"Senior...would you...want to try some?"

Fu Wen turned to look at her, and without any hesitation, he reached out with his chopsticks, took a piece of fried chicken from her lunchbox, and put it in his mouth.

Hayakawa looked at him nervously.

"Um."

Fushimi chewed a few times and nodded: "Delicious."

"Really!?"

Hayakawa regained her enthusiasm and excitement, her eyes sparkling. She unconsciously leaned towards Fushimi, placing her hand between them to create space, bringing her face closer with a bright and natural smile.

"Yes, it was fried to perfection, and the seasoning was also good."

Fushimi gave an objective evaluation.

In his opinion, this fried chicken was indeed quite good, and its quality was clearly superior to that of Rina Hoshizaki.

Even though I'm eating the bento box prepared by the girl, it's a little impolite to think like that.

Hayakawa happily hummed in agreement before starting to eat.

They ate their lunch in small bites.

A gentle breeze ruffled the strands of hair at her temples, and the expansive view from the rooftop seemed to dispel the unease in her heart.

As they were eating, Fushimi handed his lunchbox to the girl:

"Would you like to try mine?"

Hayakawa, with chopsticks in his mouth, looked up in surprise, his eyes wide, somewhat flattered.

"Is it really possible?"

"Um."

She carefully picked up a fluffy and soft-looking thick omelet and took a bite out of it.

"Mmm! It's delicious!"

It was clearly just a regular tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet).

But Hayakawa still exaggeratedly placed the lunchbox on his lap, cupped his cheeks in his hands, and squinted his eyes happily, looking like he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

But suddenly, she remembered something... Fushimi-senpai lives alone, so what is this bento box for?

"Huh? By the way, senior, did you make this bento yourself?"

"No, it was done by that Hoshizaki classmate you met yesterday."

"Huh?"

Could it be that my senior and that Hoshizaki-san are dating?

Hayakawa suddenly felt a little uneasy. She remembered Hoshizaki Rina's strange look last night and belatedly realized what was going on. She looked around furtively like a thief.

Thankfully, I didn't see Hoshizaki-kun.

Then, he secretly leaned close to Fushimi's ear and nervously asked, "Senpai, are you and Hoshizaki dating?"

She paused, her tone becoming even more uneasy.

"Won't Hoshizaki-san...she have a problem with you having dinner with me like this?"

Fushimi glanced at her speechlessly:

"no."

"Ah, that's great!"

Hayakawa patted his chest as if he had breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, I didn't become the scumbag who ruined other people's relationships.

Fushimi was too lazy to waste any more words on this matter.

He appeared to be focused on eating, but in reality, he was listening to Huali's report one-sidedly.

This was also his main purpose in coming to have lunch with Hayakawa Chiho at noon, but he didn't expect to witness such a scene.

Karin, in a semi-transparent spirit form, sat floating in the air on the other side of Fushimi, her arms crossed, the hem of her mourning clothes swaying gently in the wind from the rooftop.

He was muttering to himself.

Her expression was displeased, mainly because of the girls who had bullied Hayakawa earlier; even to an outsider like her, it was infuriating.

If Fushimi hadn't appeared in time, she would have been ready to teach those ill-mannered brats a lesson.

Listening to Huali's complaints.

Fushimi calmly picked up a piece of pickled radish.

Karin told Fushimi in a very serious and unjoking manner:

"The wounds on Hayakawa Chiho's body were not caused by anyone else."

Fushimi was somewhat puzzled. What did he mean by "not caused by someone else"?

Self-harm?

"It appeared out of thin air."

Karin added, her golden eyes peeking through the gaps in the bandages at Fushimi.

Appearing out of thin air?

Fushimi slowly swallowed the food in his mouth, glancing at Karin out of the corner of his eye to confirm that she wasn't joking.

Huali nodded seriously, a rare occurrence for her.

Then she began to recount what had happened that morning. She had initially thought, like Fushimi, that Hayakawa's wounds were caused by harm inflicted by family members.

But the truth is that this morning, Karin noticed that although the relationship between the mother and daughter wasn't particularly close, Hayakawa's mother, who was clearly tired, still ate breakfast with her daughter and even prepared a bento for her.

But just as we were halfway through the meal...

Hayakawa's arm suddenly broke open with a wound, as if cut by something unseen, and blood gushed down his elbow onto the ground.

"I assure you, absolutely nothing came near her at the time..."

Even Karin didn't react in time, but she was certain that no one or any demon or monster had appeared or approached Hayakawa; the wound had simply appeared out of nowhere.

It's simply unbelievable.

What's even stranger is that neither the mother nor the daughter showed any surprise, astonishment, or panic.

Hayakawa's mother reacted quickly, immediately grabbing the first-aid kit from within easy reach and skillfully disinfecting and bandaging the wound.

After the bandage was finished, Hayakawa's mother hugged her, seemingly to comfort the girl, but from Karin's perspective, one could see tear tracks at the corners of Hayakawa's mother's eyes...

Then Hayakawa comforted his mother before heading out with his lunchbox.

Huali shrugged:

"As for the rest, I was afraid of being discovered, so I didn't dare to get too close to investigate. I plan to find another opportunity tonight to take a closer look around her house and inside."

Fushimi nodded, indicating that he understood.

By this time, both of them had almost finished eating.

Hayakawa Chiho closed the lunchbox lid, let out a satisfied sigh, and looked up blankly at the azure sky, the wind blowing across her cheeks and neck.

"Ah, that feels so good..."

She sighed softly, wishing time could stand still at this moment.

Fushimi turned his head and his gaze fell on Hayakawa.

In his vision, which had been quietly activated, he could see the bandage marks on the girl's arm through her slightly loose summer school uniform shirt.

More and more doubts are emerging.

For now, we can only wait for Huali's further investigation.

Just then, Hayakawa seemed to notice his gaze and turned around.

From her perspective, Fushimi-senpai was staring at her...body?

She subconsciously looked down following Fushimi's gaze, and the first thing she saw was her chest. Because of her posture and the movement she had just made, the buttons on her collar seemed to have come undone a little...

Hayakawa's face turned bright red, and she hurriedly raised her hand to cover her collar, her ears turning crimson.

"Senior?"

Fushimi also snapped out of his daze, subtly shifting his gaze and simultaneously deactivating his spiritual vision.

"Feel sorry."

"It's okay..."

Hayakawa whispered, his fingers clutching at the buttons on his shirt.

I belatedly felt a little embarrassed.

She pursed her lips, her eyes darting around as if she were struggling with something. "I was clearly at my senior's house yesterday..."

After a moment, as if she had made up her mind, she took a deep breath, suddenly stood up, and opened her arms wide towards Fushimi.

Despite being incredibly shy, he still wore a silly grin and squinted as he said:

"If...senpai really wants to see it..."

Before I could finish speaking, I heard the rustling sound of lunchboxes being packed up next to me.

She opened her eyes and saw that Fushimi had already stood up and retied the strap of the lunch bag.

"Let's go, it's time to go back."