Noon. The sky was a somber gray, lightly drizzling rain over Tokyo.
Aozawa stayed inside the classroom, looking out the window. He watched the rainwater fall on the osmanthus trees and the courtyard grass, creating a poetic scene.
But he was no poet. He brought his gaze back in and opened the bento prepared by Shouko. The contents of the bento changed slightly every day. The only constant was the heart shape poured in the middle of the rice with sauce, accompanied by a blessing ssage.
This let Aozawa know just how much thought Shouko put into making the bento.
"I really don't get it. For a manly man like you to actually like this kind of bento, don't you think it's too fussy?"
Hearing Hojo Tetsuji's criticism, Aozawa shook his head and said, "Tetsuji, you eat so carelessly. Can you really call yourself a romance comic artist?"
"As long as it's convenient and fills up, that's enough. I don't want to eat cute-looking food at ho and outside."
Hojo Tetsuji, a pained expression on his mature face, seed to rember so unsavory past as he spoke of this.
Such an expression piqued Aozawa's curiosity, and he asked, "Be honest with . Do you hate cute bentos so much because you have so dark history that you can't speak of?"
"I can't possibly tell you that."
"Tetsuji, you have to share fun stories with your brothers. I promise not to tell a second person!"
When Aozawa realized Tetsuji truly had a story, his curiosity flared, and he desperately wanted to hear it.
Hojo Tetsuji shook his head, having decided in his heart to forever seal that mory in his mind.
He could never tell Aozawa.
Back in kindergarten, with the encouragent of Shouko and his mother, he cross-dressed on weekends to go out and play. He even received praise for being cute from the neighbors. At the ti, Hojo Tetsuji was happy, believing it was sothing to brag about. But he soon realized that a boy wearing girls' clothes was not a good thing. When his kindergarten classmates caught him, he earned the nickna "Pink Skirt Prince." Since then, Hojo Tetsuji resolved to walk a path filled with manliness, never allowing anyone to call him cute. He wanted to be the manliest of n.
"Tetsuji, don't be so petty."
"Zip it. Just eat your bento."
Hojo Tetsuji snapped irritably, taking a big bite of his bread, followed by a gulp of cola.
The past should disappear like smoke in the wind.
Aozawa rolled his eyes, picked up a atball with a smiley face on it, and seeing Ayatsuki Ayaka approach, he changed the subject, "Ayaka, do you need sothing?"
Ayatsuki Ayaka stopped. She had intended to pull out Phoenix Academy Maggie's chair to sit down, but she hesitated, afraid of being seen by Phoenix Academy Maggie.
She chose to stand there and asked, "Aozawa, how long have you known Morimoto Chiyoda?"
"About ten years," Aozawa replied honestly, a hint of curiosity on his face. "Why do you ask?"
"Haha, it's nothing." Ayatsuki Ayaka waved her hand and turned around, her face filled with shock.
Ten years?! Aozawa is sixteen now. That ans that woman harbored such vile thoughts towards a six-year-old boy! She's a pervert!
Ayatsuki Ayaka clenched her fists, feeling the flas of anger in her heart erupt like the volcano of Mount Fuji.
If that Morimoto Chiyoda woman were in front of right now, I'd punch her in the stomach without hesitation!
「...」
"That damn perv!"
Ayatsuki Ayaka unleashed a dragon's roar, ruthlessly punching the hallway wall.
Takahashi Saeko, seeing her so enraged, wondered, "Why are you suddenly losing your temper like this?"
Miyahara Kaoru grabbed her hand with concern. "Does it hurt?"
This question interrupted the fury in Ayatsuki Ayaka's heart, making her aware of the pain in her fingers. She wanted to grimace but felt it would ruin her current mood and montum.
Ayatsuki Ayaka held back her desire to cry out in pain, glared fiercely, and said, "Did you guys know? Morimoto Chiyoda has known Aozawa for ten years. That ans, when Aozawa was six, that woman already had her sights set on his body. It's criminal behavior, that pervert!"
Takahashi Saeko was also startled. "How old exactly is Morimoto Chiyoda?"
"Ah, I didn't ask that. I just know she's older than Aozawa. Definitely an old hag!"
Ayatsuki Ayaka's face was full of anger. She rarely used such insulting terms, only for those she considered utterly unforgivable. Morimoto Chiyoda's actions, in her eyes, had seriously violated her moral bottom line.
Having designs on a six-year-old boy... she's definitely a pervert!
Takahashi Saeko stroked her chin, thoughtfully remarking, "This is tough. With ten years gone by, it's extrely difficult to heal Aozawa in a short ti. Ayaka, honestly, you might as well give up."
"What are you saying? If I give up, that ans letting Aozawa fall into the clutches of the old hag! I absolutely won't allow that!"
Ayatsuki Ayaka brimd with fury, determined to rescue Aozawa from that old hag's grip.
Aozawa is such a good person; he can't be ruined by that old hag for the rest of his life!
"But it's going to be tough," Saeko said.
Tama Chan added from the side, arms crossed over her chest, "ntal illness is the most difficult thing to heal. To be blunt, it's quite possible he will never recover in his lifeti. Are you willing to gamble on that one-in-ten-thousand chance?"
"I am," Ayatsuki Ayaka replied with a serious face, before quickly shifting to dependence. "Saeko, Maru, you guys have to co up with a solution for quickly."
She was very clear that curing Aozawa's ntal illness was impossible with her own abilities alone. In this aspect, she could only ask for their advice with an open heart. In her eyes, Maru and Sae were invincible hot girl champions.
Miyahara Kaoru felt a bit envious. She also wanted Ayaka to depend on her like that, but the persona she initially constructed was one of dependency on Ayatsuki Ayaka. Changing now would only have the opposite effect.
Takahashi Saeko and Tama Chan exchanged a glance. Both did not mind Ayatsuki Ayaka's dependency on them; in fact, they quite enjoyed the feeling of being depended on by Ayaka.
"Since you've put it that way, let Maru and I take care of Aozawa," Takahashi Saeko readily agreed, adding gravely, "Sun Tzu said, 'Know thyself, know thy enemy, and you will win a hundred battles.' We need to understand Morimoto Chiyoda's situation first. Then we can devise a way to make Aozawa develop an aversion to Morimoto, eventually making him dislike her and choose to be with you instead."
"I see! 'Know thyself, know thy enemy, and you will win a hundred battles.' It really is won who understand won's hearts," Ayatsuki Ayaka nodded repeatedly, feeling that Sun Tzu was truly a master of love.
Takahashi Saeko displayed a look of helplessness and tapped on Ayaka's empty head, retorting, "Sun Tzu was a man, a military strategist, not a modern-day master of romance."
"Eh? But he has 'Zi' in his na, and he's male?"
Takahashi Saeko explained, "Sun Tzu was a military strategist from the late Spring and Autumn period of China, and 'The Art of War by Sun Tzu' is widely known worldwide. He was a very powerful man. 'Zi' is an honorific in ancient China; his real na was Sun Wu, with the courtesy na Changqing."
"Saeko, you are so knowledgeable!" Ayatsuki Ayaka looked at her with admiration on her face and quickly moved on from the topic of Sun Tzu. "How should I look for information on Morimoto?"
"Leave that to ." Takahashi Saeko took it upon herself, deciding to help Ayatsuki Ayaka with this matter free of charge.
"Thanks, Saeko! I'll treat you to a drink afterward." Ayatsuki Ayaka hugged Takahashi Saeko's right arm with a giggling smile, looking utterly grateful.
Takahashi Saeko pinched her nose and complained, "This is the cheapest fee I've ever accepted."
In the past, without a few tens of millions of Yen, she wouldn't even bother opening her mouth.
"Hehe, wait till I beco a popular blogger with a million subscribers, then I'll really treat the three of you to a great al." Ayatsuki Ayaka started making grand promises.
Tama Chan laughed and said, "That's sothing to look forward to. Hopefully, we'll get to enjoy it before we die."
"Maru, don't underestimate ! You'll get your al in three years," Ayatsuki Ayaka said defiantly. "I have four hundred subscribers now, so show so respect, or I'll unleash my followers on you online!"
With that, she couldn't hold back her laughter any longer, snorting with laughter, which caused everyone else to join in. Playfully shoving each other around, they all headed to the vending machine to buy drinks.
「...」
The afternoon rain had stopped.
Morimoto Chiyoda got off work. Sitting on the howard train, she thought about the information she had gathered that day. According to their investigation, the girl was suspected to have been born in Fukushima, and indeed, a female high school student had gone missing there. Her na was Hayakawa Sachiko. She had black hair, liked wearing white dresses, and went missing last Wednesday. After her grandfather reported her missing, the police, operating on the principle of avoiding opening cases whenever possible, concluded the girl had run away from ho and didn't pursue the matter further.
Was this Hayakawa Sachiko's doing?
But the surveillance footage from the scene indicated that the girl was not the sa as Hayakawa Sachiko.
However, if she had acquired a superpower, she might have been able to alter her appearance. That kind of thing was always shrouded in mystery.
The question Morimoto Chiyoda and the special task force most wanted to answer now was: Is Tritium dead? Or did it escape sowhere else?
There was no footage of Tritium reappearing downstairs, but there was also no corpse of Tritium left at the scene. This made it impossible for the special task force to confirm if Tritium was alive or dead.
Tritium could release intense nuclear radiation capable of killing people within seconds. Calling it a humanoid nuclear reactor wasn't an exaggeration. The most terrifying thing about a nuclear bomb wasn't the destructiveness of its explosion, but the nuclear radiation.
Besides, Tritium was different from Dio; it had a clear vengeful streak. If it released nuclear radiation in a crowded place, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The thought of such a terrifying scenario made Morimoto Chiyoda shudder, and she sighed inwardly.
We'll need to have people stationed at Shinjuku Station soon. If Tritium were to cause an incident there, the death toll could easily surpass ten thousand.
As Morimoto Chiyoda mulled this over, the station arrival announcent interrupted her thoughts. She stood up, deciding to push those worries aside and focus instead on what to cook for Aozawa that night.
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