"I would like to meet you today. If you are free, please agree."
"Okay."
"Then how about meeting at the Hachiko statue in Shibuya today at noon?"
"Okay."
"Thank you, see you then."
"☆"
↑
This is the chat record between Hayato and Sawamura Airiri.
She sent the first message at the awkward time of three in the morning.
Although Hayato was not very familiar with Sawamura Airiri, they had been exchanging messages for almost three weeks, so he knew she was a girl with an extremely healthy sleep schedule, so healthy that it didn't seem like a young person's.
"Three-thirty in the morning"... this time might be understandable for others.
But for Airiri, it seemed quite out of place.
Moreover, her sudden request to meet was also quite abrupt. Since their first encounter at the subway station, the two had never met again.
That "girl" had never expressed a desire to meet.
A special time.
A special request.
This made Hayato somewhat concerned.
Had she encountered some difficulty?
Hayato originally didn't want to agree; he just wanted to stay at home on his rare day off.
But he recalled Sawamura Airiri's gaze, imagining the girl standing in front of him.
Shifting his gaze down from her charming face, he saw two creamy white papayas.
He originally wanted to refuse, but alas, she was too big. ← Just kidding~~ Eh heh ★, it has nothing to do with "big" or "not big."
It's just that since Hayato transmigrated to this world, Sawamura Airiri might be the most special girl he had met.
This "special" could also be called "weird." However, Hayato had never understood where the conflicting yet charming feeling about Sawamura Airiri came from.
"Twelve o'clock…"
Hayato looked at the time on his phone, then exclaimed "Holy crap!" and stood up, threw on a T-shirt, and ran out.
The time she set was really urgent.
Hayato thought to himself, she must have something urgent she wants to tell him.
… … … …
"Sishouxia Chaya Station" → "Shibuya Central Street"
When Hayato jogged out of the subway exit, it was already close to the agreed time. Since it was the weekend, Shibuya Central Street was as crowded as ever.
Mostly young couples holding hands.
Hayato thought for a moment; his last few outings seemed to have been arranged to meet in front of the "Hachiko statue," a place he was quite familiar with.
But it seemed he hadn't gone out much with Akane. Next time there's a chance—no, let's wait until she achieves the "top ten in class" accomplishment.
Sawamura Airiri was so tall.
In fact, among the girls Hayato knew, besides the "three bad girls," the rest, whether it was Akane, Sakura, or Ayaka, were quite tall. Even his beloved Shigen Ryouka had the average height of a Japan high school boy.
But Sawamura Airiri's height talent was quite explosive even among those girls.
From a distance, one could see her standing out like a crane among chickens.
Coupled with her wavy blonde hair, it made her even less likely to be easily submerged by the crowd.
And…
Ugh.
Although Hayato was often evaluated by Kobayashi Ayaka as a "stylish man oozing trendiness," he himself didn't actually understand fashion. He mostly relied on his face, which was like a beautiful boy from the end of the world, but today Sawamura Airiri's outfit was truly—
How to describe it.
A bright pink thin cardigan, with a pure white T-shirt underneath. She wore tight jeans, revealing her ankles. Then she slipped on a pair of checkered slip-on sneakers.
How to put it, she was the Ground-type master in Pokémon, and in Armor Hero, she was the Earth Tiger Hero, highlighting a certain earthiness.
The good thing was, she still looked quite energetic.
Hayato thought, fortunately, this younger sister was quite good-looking, otherwise, this kind of outfit would be somewhat unsightly.
"Yo." Hayato raised his hand and greeted her.
Sawamura Airiri, who was Miyajima Tsubaki.
Her arms hung down, her hands crossed in front of her, her thumbs constantly rubbing against each other, clearly indicating she was struggling with something.
A dream.
A nightmare.
She had a nightmare last night... no, it should be said, in the early hours of this morning.
She dreamt that her daughter, Miyajima Sakura, was led into a warehouse by a boy whose bangs covered his eyebrows and whose eyes were shrouded in shadow.
Then, several other men emerged from the warehouse.
The leader was her biological older brother… "Miyajima Sosaku."
"Sakura, good niece… you're here."
Miyajima Sosaku revealed an absolutely malicious, evil smile.
Sakura's small face showed a hint of panic; she turned to look at the boy who had brought her here.
Their eyes didn't have time to meet.
The boy also smiled, his smile exceptionally cruel.
Then he gently pushed, sending Sakura towards that group… of men.
And then, Miyajima Tsubaki was completely startled awake.
Her forehead, chest, back, and thighs were all covered in cold sweat from extreme terror.
It was a dream.
It was a dream.
Thankfully, it was a dream.
It was usually her deep sleep time, but Miyajima Tsubaki was unusually awake then.
Although it was a dream, this dream was truly too terrifying. Even after completely breaking free from the dream, and the details in the dream began to blur, Miyajima Tsubaki still clutched her rising and falling full chest, her heart pounding.
This was not something that couldn't possibly happen.
Miyajima Tsubaki thought to herself. She particularly remembered the shadowy boy who pushed Sakura into hell. If such a thing were to really happen, who would this boy be?
The subsequent conclusion made Miyajima Tsubaki gasp.
Was it that boy who had gone on two dates with Sakura before?
Miyajima Tsubaki couldn't help but overthink.
Firstly, Sakura rarely had male friends, so the sudden appearance of this one was truly strange.
Secondly, if she calculated, the time of his appearance seemed to coincide closely with Miyajima Sosaku's self-proclaimed "return to Japan time."
This perfectly matched.
Miyajima Tsubaki pondered, could it be that bastard immediately found an informant to flirt with Sakura after returning to Japan, intending to use this as his "ace in the hole"?
She couldn't be entirely sure, and even thought this probability might only be one or two in ten, but since such a thing had occurred, she had to be cautious.
However, the only card Miyajima Tsubaki seemed to have to play was "Hayato."
She hesitated slightly.
So, late at night, she sent that message to Hayato.
She was going to "use" this boy.
Even if the boy who was with Sakura had no relation to Miyajima Sosaku, by establishing a connection with Hayato, she could better obtain information about Sakura at school.
This time, she would definitely win him over!
Miyajima Tsubaki made up her mind.