Tokyo: My Girlfriend

Shinichi Kitagawa, who was also there to pick up something, was also surprised. The two of them opened the door to the teaching aids room together in an awkward atmosphere.

Shinichi Kitagawa asked curiously, "What did Hina-sensei come to pick up?"

"Um... I just started working here, so I'm actually lacking in a lot of things. What about you?"

"I came to pick it up for the teacher. I just ran into him at the office door. He asked me to take some chalk to the classroom and said that Ms. Haruna was here, so he asked me to come along."

Haruhi Hina opened the door, puzzled: "Then why were you so surprised to see me just now..."

Shinichi Kitagawa laughed and said, "I didn't expect Hina-la... I didn't expect Hina to be here alone. I thought there would be other people here as well."

The two exchanged a knowing smile and, without tacitly agreeing, retrieved what they needed from the teaching aids room.

The quiet space and environment were rare, allowing everything to calm down.

They then exchanged a knowing glance, found a piece of cardboard in a corner, and sat down on the floor.

Haruhi Hina's slender, beautiful hands were wrapped around the thighs of a woman in a blue dress. She pursed her red lips, and her pale yellow hair fell to her chest and shoulders.

She exudes a unique scent similar to gardenias.

Shinichi Kitagawa stared at the several large boxes of chalk in front of him:

"You must have a lot of work after you start the job, right? Do you find it troublesome? I see that the author of the novel hasn't stopped updating either."

Kasuga Hina smiles:

"It's alright. At first, I really wasn't used to it in Tokyo. The things on both sides were overwhelming. But because I love this job, I cheered myself up and put in my best effort. Now that I've been transferred here, I feel more at ease."

Shinichi Kitagawa looked at Hina, who was still as beautiful as ever.

Even her scent hadn't changed at all, but her expression was no longer as carefree and natural as when they were alone: ​​"My date with Akemi this weekend was really just for Reina..."

Haruhi Hina slowly hummed in agreement, her fingers fidgeting with her skirt as she feigned magnanimity: "Yes, Shinichi already told you, didn't he? I understand. This is also an effort for Reina's sake..."

Seeing her magnanimous tone coupled with her adorable pout, Kitagawa Shinichi wanted to laugh: "Then why is Hina making that face right now?"

Haruhi Hina knew she couldn't pretend to be that convincing, so she simply laid her cards on the table, letting out a soft, jealous snort as she turned away and muttered:

"Understanding is one thing, jealousy is another, but they don't conflict... Besides, you two eat together every day now, so going on a date alone isn't a big deal."

When Kitagawa Shinichi saw her jealous expression, he was inexplicably moved and took her soft, warm hand in his own.

Haruhi Hina blushed and froze, "Shinichi..." She quickly looked towards the still-open gate in the distance.

"We can't stay in the teaching aids room too long, or we'll be discovered..."

Shinichi Kitagawa looked ahead: "It'll be fine this way. Nobody ever comes here usually, and the security cameras can't reach this area. Just stay here for two minutes. I saw Rena's expression after you called her out this afternoon; she was still resistant to talking to you, wasn't she?"

Haruhi Hina didn't refute, but instead grasped her hand in return, biting her lip:

"I originally thought that I might be able to do something with this transfer, but I really overestimated myself."

"Don't worry, there's always a way," Shinichi Kitagawa reassured him.

Haruhi Hina blushed slightly, feeling the strength of his hand, and slowly rested her head on Kitagawa Shinichi's shoulder, closing her eyes.

"Um..."

Shinichi Kitagawa turned to look at her profile, which was very close to his, and his heart started beating faster and faster. Sure enough... he only felt this way when he was with Hina.

Let's lock the door to the teaching aids room together.

Shinichi Kitagawa coughed, then remembered something: "Oh right, I remember the set square in the classroom was broken too?"

Haruhi Hina paused, understanding Kitagawa Shinichi's meaning. Blushing, she smiled and said, "Then next time, teacher, please pick it up with Shinichi. Just send me a message then."

The two smiled knowingly at each other.

They parted ways on the stairs and walked towards opposite directions.

When the notification ringtone sounded, Shinichi Kitagawa took out his phone to check and found that his uncle had added him as a friend.

With a look of surprise, he quickly took advantage of the brief moment to go to a corner of the rooftop, send the photo to the other party, and make a phone call.

After the call is connected.

The other person's voice was the same as last time, filled with apology: "Kitagawa-kun, I'm so sorry! My workplace is very busy at noon, so I didn't see your message immediately. Is there anything I can do for you? I'll help you if I can."

Shinichi Kitagawa didn't seem to care: "It's okay, Uncle. Did you see the photo I sent you? Do you recognize it?"

"Wait a moment, let me take a look."

The other person's voice on the phone sounded noticeably dull: "Of course, I remember this hair clip. It was a birthday gift that her mother and I gave to Rena. We made it ourselves."

"Made by hand?"

"Yes, because I'm good at this, I made a lot of them. It's a series. This is just one of those gifts. I remember there were about a dozen of them, all different little animals. It was a gift for her third birthday."

A handmade gift for a family of three?

Rena is the kind of person who is very good at decluttering. She will throw away almost anything that is useless to her immediately, so this thing must have special meaning to her.

The other person asked, "What's wrong, Kitagawa-kun? Did something happen to Reina again?"

Shinichi Kitagawa leaned against the wall and pondered for a moment: "Don't worry, Rena is doing well lately. Uncle, I have another question. Did Rena know about those years when you and Auntie were arguing? Did you intentionally avoid her?"

"Sorry...no, although I know it's not good to argue in front of children, my ex-wife is very intolerant of any problems. She would never let things drag on until the next day. Many times, we would start arguing as soon as I got home. Even if I didn't talk back, she would still scold me for a long time at home."

"What are the main reasons for your arguments? Could you tell me?"

"It was all about feelings... It sounds unbelievable, but my ex-wife took care of almost every aspect of my life. She planned everything for me, from meals and exercise. She would comfort me when I had setbacks at work. She was the kind of wife many people would envy, and that's why I fell in love with her."

But for some reason, she has an unusual obsession and suspicion about relationships. If I come home a few minutes late, which is outside her control, or if a female colleague appears in the photos I share with her at lunchtime, she'll become suspicious.

Every time she gets home, she'll have a huge fight with me, a really scary one. She might even threaten me with suicide or a double suicide pact. If you've ever been in contact with her, you know she always wears a bracelet, and underneath it are knife wounds—the marks from all the times she's attempted suicide. I don't even remember how many times. And I have many knife wounds on my body too.

Shinichi Kitagawa frowned, clearly remembering the exquisite jade bracelet on his aunt's wrist: "So... Rena saw all of this too? You mean when your aunt threatened suicide?"

"Well...and she used to be a nurse, and she told me that it's not actually fatal, she knows what she's doing, but I...still can't accept it."

"Has Rena ever interfered when you two were arguing?"

"Once, she even bit her mother to plead for me, and in the ensuing anger, her mother said that she was also siding with the other woman, which almost hurt Rena as well. Luckily, I protected her that time." Uncle reminded her.

"Of course, that's true, but she takes great care of Rena, just like she does for me. Putting aside her suspicious nature, she's not a bad mother."

Upon hearing this, Shinichi Kitagawa seemed to finally realize a fact: there was indeed a reason why that hair clip could be kept.

"One last question for you. When Rena was little, she really enjoyed being around you, right? She even spent more time with you than with her aunt?"

"Hmm...she used to cling to me a lot when she was little."

"When you eloped with Hina's mother, why didn't you take Reina with you?"

The uncle hesitated, then began to blame himself: "There's something I don't know if Rena has told you. Before I eloped, I asked Rena if she wanted to come with Dad, but she... seemed to pretend she didn't hear me... so I just left alone... I'm really sorry to her... But why are you asking all this?"

"Please just pretend I was asking casually... Thank you."

After hanging up the phone, Shinichi Kitagawa looked at the hair clip on his phone again.

Rena, who prefers her father, left her father and her aunt who said that all cheating men should die and cried all day long. After her aunt died, she had no belongings except for the hair clips that her parents had made together. There was also the image of Rena standing on the rooftop in junior high school, hating everything and wanting to leave this world.

When these jumbled pieces of information were pieced together, Shinichi Kitagawa felt as if he had been transported back to that rooftop three years ago.

I saw up close the silver-haired girl struggling with countless dilemmas and helplessness.

She despised her father for cheating and choosing to run away, and she despised her mother for unjustly accusing her husband out of love.

She loathed even more the escapism she had inherited, as well as her emotional obsession with being named Kitagawa Reina.

Countless shackles that she couldn't shake off or break free from were entangled around her.

But when he pulled her off the rooftop, saying he would never leave her and would accept everything about her, he didn't realize these things.

The heavy thread of fate binding her was easily torn off by Kitagawa Shinichi three years ago, but he had no intention of removing these shackles; he only wanted her to live, even if she depended on him.

Shinichi Kitagawa realized that he had wasted too much time in the past, leading Rena down the wrong path. If he had known these things earlier, everything would have been much easier.

However... this last hair clip...

She stared at the picture; perhaps it wasn't too late, there was still a chance...

The phone suddenly rang, and Shinichi Kitagawa realized it was Haruhi Hina calling.

Unexpectedly, Hina called him at this moment. He answered, "Hey? Hina, what's wrong?"

A frantic voice came from the other end of the phone: "It's terrible, Shinichi! When we went to the teaching aids room just now, it seems Reina went there too!"

"Teaching aids room..." He realized something, his pupils dilating: "What?"

"It's true! On my way here, some classmates asked me where Rena was. They said the teacher told her to look for you in the teaching aids room and to take the set square with you. But... neither of us saw Rena, right? We couldn't find her in the classroom either! She must have seen us together!"