Tokyo: My Girlfriend

The bicycle was parked in the yard in front of the house.

After taking a quick shower, Shinichi Kitagawa dried his hair and called Akemi Aoki: "Yeah, it's nothing, thank you Akemi for asking for leave for me."

Akemi Aoki said anxiously on the phone, "Are you really alright? But you seemed so anxious at noon, not replying to my messages or answering my calls. It was so worrying."

Hearing Rena's showering sounds coming from the bathroom, Kitagawa Shinichi laughed and said, "It's really nothing. Rena and I just had a little tiff, but we've made up now."

"A little trouble?" Aoki Akemi didn't know what had happened, but it certainly wasn't as easy as Kitagawa Shinichi made it sound. However, judging from his tone, he was obviously alright.

The ease in a person's tone cannot be faked.

Kana Sato's voice could also be heard on the other end of the phone: "Kitagawa-kun, what about Rena now...?"

"She's at home with me now, so you really don't need to worry." Kitagawa Shin said into the phone as soon as he heard the bathroom door open, "Then I'll hang up now. I'll call Akemi again tonight. Okay."

After hanging up the phone, Shinichi Kitagawa looked towards the bathhouse and asked, "What's wrong, Reina? Are you done showering?"

Rena Kitagawa's voice was still cold, but it was a natural tone, and her gentle tone softened the coldness: "Shinichi, we're out of shower gel. We ran out halfway through my shower."

"I'll go get it for you, you wait inside for a while."

Kitagawa Shinichi got up and went to the warehouse to rummage through the spare toiletries. He saw on his phone that Haruhi Hina had also sent him a message: "Shinichi, don't rush to return the bicycle to me. You can give it back to me next week. Spend some time with Reina."

Despite being in a very good mood, Shinichi Kitagawa felt a pang of emotion. He vividly remembered Hina's anxious expression after Rena's accident.

I'll try to thank Hina next week.

I believe that after this incident, Rena should be able to gradually accept everything.

He took the shower gel to the bathroom door and knocked: "I left it at the door for you, take it yourself."

"Oh..." Rena Kitagawa blushed as she heard Shinichi Kitagawa's footsteps as he left, and opened the door, her arms still covered in a little soap as she picked up the bottle of shower gel.

After taking a shower, Rena Kitagawa was drying her hair alone in the bathroom.

Shinichi Kitagawa was sitting on the sofa watching TV and eating fruit.

After taking a shower, Rena didn't change into a dress, but instead wore her white spaghetti strap nightgown. After drying her hair, she walked over and said, "Shinichi?"

When Kitagawa Shinichi saw her like this, the semi-transparent nightgown on her upper body vaguely revealed the girl's soft and beautiful body.

Her smooth, slender thighs were so clean they had a pinkish sheen. He couldn't tell if there were any undergarments behind her pajamas; all he could see was the thin nightgown swaying with her steps. He quickly turned his head away.

"What are you doing? Aren't you afraid people will come to your house during the day? Change your clothes before you come out."

Kitagawa Rena felt happy to see that the other person still acted this way towards her at times: "I know, I just haven't changed it yet, wait a moment."

After finally changing her clothes, Kitagawa Rena sat next to Kitagawa Shinichi, her long, slightly damp, silvery-white hair clinging to the girl's delicate arm skin.

She leaned against Kitagawa Shinichi's shoulder, linking her arm with his, like a real younger sister: "Shinichi..."

"Um?"

She hesitated for a moment, then blushed and said, "I like you... the kind of liking between a man and a woman."

Shinichi Kitagawa felt a little embarrassed. He hadn't felt this way at all when he was in the lake, but now he felt something was off.

Reina Kitagawa gazed at the ground with sparkling eyes: "Of course I know that your feelings for me are those of a brother for a sister. We're just childhood friends, after all. Your true love is Hina Kasuga, right?"

Before Shinichi Kitagawa could speak, she interrupted him:

"However... although I said things like I hoped you and Haruhi Hina would be happy at the bottom of the lake, since Shinichi chose to bring me back again, I've decided that I will not support your relationship with Haruhi Hina in the future, and I will always oppose you two being together."

"what?"

"Huh?" Kitagawa Rena straightened up and stared at him coldly, saying with disdain, "You don't think I'd wholeheartedly approve of you two dating, do you? Do you think a normal human being would do something like watching my beloved Shinichi being all lovey-dovey, dating, and going to hotels with another woman?!"

Shinichi Kitagawa grinned helplessly: "I didn't think that way... but..."

Rena Kitagawa snorted jealously, tilting her head back haughtily, "Anyway, as long as I'm alive, I'll never give up on the person I like! Besides..." Her eyes were disdainful, "Brother and Haruhi Hina have already broken up, right? Tell me, haven't they broken up? Even a good horse doesn't turn back to eat the grass it already grazed."

That's because...

"It's because of me, right? But even so, so what? In my opinion, Haruhi Hina's relationship with her brother is just that. What three years of relationship? It was just an online romance. They were only really in love for a few days. Logically speaking, she can't compare to me."

Kitagawa Shin was wondering what was wrong with this girl... Her attitude was definitely not what he had imagined.

Rena Kitagawa spoke from the heart, her hand still linked with Shinichi Kitagawa's arm, her tone much softer:

"I know I've always been selfish, so when I first saw Haruhi Hina's gentle and kind expression, I genuinely felt disgusted. I've always mistakenly thought I was jealous of her sunny and cheerful personality, but just now I realized that's not the case."

What I envy is Haruhi Hina's ability to openly express her inner thoughts. I can't accept her mindset of sacrificing herself for the happiness of those around her, nor do I want to be that kind of woman, and I don't think it's a virtue.

Rena Kitagawa looked up at Shinichi Kitagawa: "Especially Shinichi, I can't possibly give Shinichi to someone else. And if I became that kind of good person too, wouldn't I just become another Hina Kasuga? Then Rena Kitagawa wouldn't be Rena Kitagawa anymore? The Rena Shinichi likes isn't like that!"

Shinichi Kitagawa thought about it and agreed: "That's true. Rena is Rena, and Hina is Hina. They both have flaws and strengths. And although you said you don't really like Rena's temper and personality, I think she's quite cute sometimes."

Rena Kitagawa blushed, a smug smile playing on her lips: "So as long as I change all the ways others influenced me in the past and keep my own unique characteristics, Shinichi will definitely like me, right?"

Kitagawa Shinichi: "...."

Rena Kitagawa leaned forward, her face almost touching Shinichi Kitagawa's, and pressed, "Right?! Why aren't you saying anything, Shinichi?!"

Shinichi Kitagawa leaned back to avoid her: "Just ask, you don't need to get so close. The main thing is, I really don't know how to answer your question. At least from beginning to end, my feelings for Rena haven't been romantic..."

"Oh? Really?" Kitagawa Rena observed Kitagawa Shinichi's expression and deliberately asked, "Do you really not have any romantic feelings for me at all? Or is it that Shinichi himself hasn't realized it?"

Rena Kitagawa wrapped her arms around Shinichi Kitagawa's waist, coldly pressed her face against his heart, and put her ear against his chest to feel his heartbeat.

Kitagawa Shin blushed and asked, "What exactly do you want to do?"

Rena Kitagawa had actually discovered this long ago, and knew it:

"Shin-ichi's heart always races whenever I do things like this, including that night when he hugged me, and the last time he kissed me first, saying that his feelings for me were only like a younger sister. To be honest, Shin-ichi is a dishonest guy." She said jealously, "A fickle scumbag."

"Am I a scumbag?" he asked in surprise, pointing at himself.

Shinichi Kitagawa pushed her away and calmed down: "My heart beats fast because I'm naturally fast, okay? It has nothing to do with that. I really like Hina."

"Oh?" Rena Kitagawa said no more, snatched the half-eaten apple from his hand and continued eating. "Okay, I believe you. I hope that when Shinichi sleeps with me in the future, he won't feel ashamed for saying this now." She waved her phone. "I've already recorded it. I'll definitely play it for you when the time comes."

Shinichi Kitagawa was embarrassed: "Rena, what are you talking about... I would never do that to you."

Rena Kitagawa, lying on Shinichi Kitagawa's back, watched the TV program: "Yes, yes, yes, don't talk to me anymore, I want to watch TV, you idiot brother, I hate you the most."

"hehe...."

Rena Kitagawa glanced at the speechless Shinichi Kitagawa out of the corner of her eye, and suddenly felt much more at ease and relaxed.

So this is what it feels like to be able to express your feelings naturally.

Come to think of it, if Shin-il will never leave me, what have I been afraid of all this time?

Even though I never doubt what Shinichi says, I keep creating panic for myself.

Being close to the water tower gives you an advantage. Even though Shinichi and Haruhi Hina haven't broken up yet, every day when Shinichi comes home, he sees me, and I'm the one clinging to him. Haruhi Hina can only imagine Shinichi being clung to by me every day and fall asleep feeling jealous.

Not to mention, the two of them are now separated, so there's nothing to be afraid of. As for Aoki Akemi... she's completely insignificant.

She suddenly spoke:

"Tomorrow, which is this weekend... I want to go to Tokyo alone to see my father. It's not that I intend to forgive him or anything, but I feel it's time to say goodbye to the past. I want to hear his thoughts when he left my mother. I want to avoid going down the same path they did."

Upon hearing this, Kitagawa Shinichi's gaze widened, and he smiled, patting her head. She was truly determined to move forward: "Okay, but don't you want me to come with you?"

"Aren't you going on a date with Mingmei? Go ahead and go on a date with her. As for the two of you..." She took a big bite of her apple, completely unconcerned: "I'm not worried at all."

---------

Inside a high school classroom, Aoki Akemi, who was attending afternoon class, propped her head up with one hand, her fox-like eyes glancing at the empty desks and chairs beside her.

Shin-il... as expected, still has many secrets he's unwilling to tell me.

Many issues were simply skipped over.

Akemi Aoki looked back at Haruhi Hina, who was lecturing on the podium, and inexplicably sensed that Haruhi Hina was also in a bad mood; everyone seemed to have their own worries.

He recalled what his sexy best friends had said before, and the indifferent look Kitagawa Rena usually gave him.

"It's true that nobody has any faith in me, but... sometimes people like me are the ones who are most likely to become winners, don't you think, Shinichi-kun?"

Across from Aoki Akemi, Sato Kana was secretly drawing a portrait of Kitagawa Shinichi during class, blushing and biting her lip, swooning over him.