Tokyo: My Girlfriend

The three looked at Aoki Akemi, who never ran away, and were surprised that she had suddenly run away.

After a moment of silence, each person began to relive their inner monologue.

Kana Sato's inner monologue was that she could understand this behavior. In such an unexpected situation where someone expresses their feelings to the person they like, nine out of ten girls would probably run away, because it's just too embarrassing.

She could absolutely empathize with Aoki Akemi. In fact, Akemi's ability to confess her feelings to someone she likes is impressive enough. She usually only dares to have secret crushes, and her only boldness lies in daring to have a secret crush for a lifetime.

But Kitagawa Rena didn't think so. She was even more curious about why this guy ran away.

She had already accepted Mingmei's explanation, as it was quite reasonable and there was nothing particularly unusual about it. However, her current escape raised her suspicions. Was she really running away simply because she accidentally bumped into Shinichi and witnessed him saying he liked her?

Would this fox do something so embarrassing? I have a vague feeling that something is wrong.

As for Shinichi Kitagawa, he was still puzzled. Although he had always been skeptical about Akemi's feelings for him, Akemi had never truly expressed her own feelings and would always brush him off with joking remarks.

Even so, it wouldn't surprise him if Akemi told someone else that she liked him, although he was briefly surprised when he heard her express her feelings.

But... why did it run away? I still don't quite understand.

Rena Kitagawa asked him directly, "Shinichi, what happened between you and Akemi the night before last?"

"The night before last?" Kitagawa Shinichi turned to look at Kana, about to say that he and Akemi hadn't seen each other since they parted at the shrine the night before last, but as the words were about to come out, fragments of that "dream" strangely surfaced in his mind, but Akemi's image still didn't appear. He paused for a moment:

"No, I haven't seen Akemi since we parted ways at the shrine that night."

Rena Kitagawa knew that Shinichi Kitagawa wouldn't have this expression when he was lying, so she relaxed, closed her eyes, and left.

"Really? Then it's alright. I don't remember Akemi coming to our house that day either, so why did she run away just now? Was it something urgent?"

Shinichi Kitagawa frowned, watching the direction she had left in.

In a deserted corner of the staircase, Akemi Aoki leaned against the wall, her fox-like eyes tightly closed, and slid down the wall to the ground.

She held her forehead with her hand: "Why did I run away? I didn't say anything revealing just now. Even if Shinichi-kun overheard our conversation, it wouldn't matter. Wouldn't running away just increase suspicion? What have you been doing lately?"

Aoki Akemi used to think she was very carefree when it came to relationships. For example, in order to please Kitagawa Shinichi, who was heartbroken during this period, and to make him like her, she tried to achieve the goal of making him like her.

She was happy to dress up in a way that the other person liked, even if such a path was unacceptable to most people, but Aoki Akemi didn't care.

She felt that no one could criticize her for choosing this method without harming anyone.

But this road completely collapsed after that night.

That night, in that atmosphere.

In fact, from the moment Kitagawa Shinichi hugged her, she had already vaguely realized that something was wrong. Although she was imitating, she never thought of becoming a complete copy of someone. However, the feelings that Kitagawa Shinichi conveyed to Haruhi that night completely ignored her own existence.

The feeling of completely stealing someone else's identity made her feel ashamed.

Even so, she continued down the path she had chosen, feeling that she could still control it.

But the emotional outburst that followed her mistaken entanglement proved that she was indeed wrong.

My first time, the process of my first time, I never imagined it would feel like that.

Sadness, pity, heartache—these words are insufficient to describe her feelings at that moment.

She served as a substitute, taking Haruhi Hina's place and spending the night with Shinichi.

Even during their intimate moments, Shinichi Kitagawa called out Haruhi Hina's name.

She felt Kitagawa Shinichi's love for Haruhi Hina and carried out everything as a shadow.

She clearly didn't think that way at first; she just wanted to use that makeup, not be used by it. But unknowingly, she went further and further down the wrong path.

When I left, weak and leaning against the wall, in the middle of the night.

Akemi Aoki only remembers crying the whole time. To avoid being discovered the next day, she put a little bit of red on the dress she had placed on the bed before she started.

Wearing that dress, she looked like a thief who had stolen someone's love, a stark contrast to her usual open and generous manner.

Only then did she understand what Haruhi Hina meant when she said she would be in pain; her heart truly felt like it was being twisted.

I kept asking myself, "How could this be?"

At this moment, Aoki Akemi clutched the small wooden stick tightly in her hand, her fox eyes blurry as she looked at it: "You look so pathetic, Aoki Akemi... How did things turn out like this..."

The school bell rang again, marking the end of another simple cycle. During the next break, Aoki Akemi, smiling, walked up to Kitagawa Shinichi with her hands behind her back, as usual, testing whether he had noticed anything: "Shinichi-kun, did what I said in the restroom earlier make you angry?" She covered her face with one hand, feigning shyness.

"I was too shy and ran away. Actually, saying those things didn't mean anything special. I remember everything we said before. Shinichi-kun isn't going to be with me right now, is he?" She winked. "So just take it as me joking."

Kitagawa Shinichi chuckled, clearly not taking it to heart: "I know, I'm used to Akemi saying things like that."

Aoki Akemi looked at the other person, a smile playing on her lips.

So you didn't even suspect anything... It seems you didn't even consider me as a suspect in what happened that night.

Sure enough, even now, she still doesn't like me at all.

I gave you my whole self, Shin-il.

She clapped her hands, her voice slightly distorted, "Then let's continue practicing singing tonight! This weekend will be my first time appearing on stage, and I definitely won't let Shin-il down this time!"

Kitagawa Shinichi nodded: "Yeah, good luck."

Aoki Akemi waved happily when she heard the school bell: "Class is starting." She sat down at her desk and took out her books, but her eyes revealed a pain that was not easily noticed.