Because of someone's sudden stop, Shinjoka couldn't help but stop.
"President...?"
She asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"
However, the young man remained silent and just stared straight ahead, with an obscure light flashing in his ink-like eyes.
Follow his gaze and look over.
A lone, slender figure was squatting under the telephone pole with his knees in his arms.
The girl has long black hair, a delicate face and a slender figure, giving people a fragile feeling.
She was wearing a black sailor suit, a blue scarf on the chest, and an equally thin-looking gray cardigan jacket.
At this time, he was curled up and hugging himself, as if to resist the chill of the night.
However, although Tokyo is not too cold in November, the average temperature at night is only 10 °C. It is not possible to maintain body temperature just by dressing up at that level.
Including the action of hugging one's knees to keep warm, it is actually just a drop in the bucket of spiritual comfort, and does not help the current situation at all.
If we really want to talk about the actual effect, it is better to go and sit in a nearby McDonald's restaurant.
For girls like this who would rather stand outside and suffer the cold, Shinjo-ka would usually indifferently classify them as those who take over their father's job.
On the streets of Shinjuku, there are countless girls waiting to be approached like this.
But this raises a new question.
That is, after all, this is a secluded place off the beaten track. If you really want to be talked to, you should at least choose busy places like the pedestrian street and in front of the station instead of squatting here alone.
——That's what only homeless people do.
But to say that the girl is a tramp, the other person does not have that insensitive and empty feeling of losing hope in life.
Moreover, for a homeless man, the external conditions of this innocent little white rabbit are too good.
If it had been left in Kabukicho, I'd probably have been tricked into doing a dangerous job long ago.
"...So you ran away from home?" Shinjoka murmured with understanding.
In a sense, this phenomenon was also not uncommon and nothing unusual. She really didn't think there was anything worthwhile about such a person.
But unfortunately, things developed in an unexpected direction...
After observing the girl for a while, Kato Yusuke silently walked up.
"...Hey, that JK over there."
He said so that the other party would be aware of his arrival.
"...?"
The girl raised her face buried between her knees and chest and looked up blankly.
As if she didn't expect to be spoken to, her reaction was a little slow, and she muttered to herself unconsciously: "...Uh-huh, he's a handsome guy...?"
He had a pair of big eyes that were very clear, but full of weakness. His slightly pale complexion looked a little weak, and he didn't know if he was cold.
"..."
Ignoring her reaction, Kato Yusuke put his hands in the pockets of his jacket and continued to ask condescendingly.
"……May I have your name?"
As if being dragged back to reality by his indifferent attitude, the girl blinked twice nervously, her expression tightening unconsciously. …
"...Before that, were you a police officer?"
"no."
"That's it..."
"So, why are you sitting here alone?"
"Um……"
Hearing that he was not a policeman, the other party relaxed a little, then whispered for a while, and replied hesitantly: "Actually... I'm very troubled now."
Kato Yusuke looked at her quietly, waiting for the follow-up.
"Well, my name is Xiao Xi... Serizawa Yu, can you help me?"
"……What help?"
"One week..."
The girl named Yu Serizawa said hesitantly: "Can you take me in...until next weekend morning?"
Kato Yusuke's eyes quietly became much deeper, "...Why don't you go home?"
"If you ask me why...it's not a big deal. I just...don't want to go home."
"runaway?"
"...Ahaha, that's pretty much it. You understand it very well."
The girl showed a forced smile and said tentatively: "In return, I will cure you...?"
"cure……?"
"Well...yes, I won't live and eat for free, I'm very good at housework.
If you are willing to take me in, you can leave all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. to me at home."
"…………"
Hearing this answer, Kato Yusuke couldn't help but be silent for a while.
However, the girl misunderstood his reaction and thought that her conditions were not enough to get a place to live.
"In addition...and..."
Serizawa Yu stood up from the ground with her knees up, her eyes wandering around uneasily, and she whispered with a red face.
"Well... as long as you take good measures, you can do what you want to do. You can do anything..."
When he said the last sentence, his voice was almost so weak that Yusuke Kato could hardly hear it.
"...How many times have you brought this up to someone?"
"Huh? Ah... well, this is my... first time... ah haha..."
The girl smiled awkwardly while looking over with embarrassed and pleading eyes.
"……Is this okay?"
Didn't wait for an answer.
Silent silence permeated the air, making the already secluded alley even more deserted.
Maybe it was ten seconds in the past, or maybe a few minutes.
Gugu...
The faint but clear sound of abdominal rumble suddenly drifted into their ears.
"Ah, this...um...I'm sorry..." Serizawa Yu hesitated, covering her stomach in embarrassment.
The silence at the scene was also broken.
Kato Yusuke closed his lips tightly, took out his wallet from his trousers pocket, took out all the cash containing about 90,000 yen, and handed it over.
"...I'll give you this money. It'll be enough for you to get through tonight. Then you can go home."
"Eh--?"
With the girl's stunned expression, he just put the money into her hand, then turned and walked towards the brightly lit station.
"Let's go, Shintiao."
"Ah~ I'm coming, President."
Shinjōka, who had been silently observing from behind, trotted up to him and looked back curiously at Serizawa Yu, who was staring blankly at the money in his hand, and then turned his face back to normal...
"Hey, President, do you know her?"
"do not know."
"Do you believe what she said? There are actually a lot of girls who take advantage of other people's kindness to deceive."
"It doesn't matter."
"Hehe, that's it! The president is surprisingly gentle sometimes."
"Have you said enough?"
The indifferent voice sounded, causing Shinjoka's footsteps to hesitate.
In a speechless atmosphere, the two walked forward one behind the other.
After walking like this for a while...
Dongdongdongdong——
A rush of footsteps sounded from behind them.
"that--"
A girl's voice shouted: "Please wait...you guys!"
Serizawa Yu ran to catch up, put her hand on the young man's back, and stopped them.
"Please, please wait... Huh... Huh... Please, wait a moment..."
She first bent over and breathed for a while, holding her knees, and then raised her head after she recovered a little.
"That... I'll give you the extra!"
She gasped and said: "I only need to leave ten thousand yen..."
Facing their gazes, Serizawa Yu took out one card from a wad of cash and handed all the remaining money to him.
Shinjoka's eyes suddenly became strange, and he looked at the girl with interest.
"..."
Kato Yusuke looked at the money that was brought to him, but did not reach out to take it. Instead, he said: "I told you, you can use this money."
"Hmm~ So I took one. This already gives me a place to sleep, hehehe..."
"...Then what are you going to do next?"
"Well..."
Serizawa Yu hesitated at first, then forced a smile and said: "It doesn't matter, there will always be a way. Thank you for your help, but this is too much, so I give it back to you...!"
Just like his previous behavior, the girl grabbed his hand, forced the money into his hand, and then bowed seriously.
"Thank you very much! Big brother, you are a good person. I will remember this kindness well. Goodbye then~"
After saying that, he straightened up, chose a direction at random, and walked forward aimlessly.
The lonely back figure unconsciously exudes a kind of abandoned confusion...
Two steps, three steps, four steps, the young man frowned and said nothing.
Five steps, six steps, seven steps, the girl kept walking.
Until the frail figure was about to disappear into the crowd, Kato Yusuke's brows tightened and relaxed, and finally he spoke.
"Just wait a moment -"
"...?"
The girl stopped in confusion and looked back.
"——Um, what else can I do——Hello...!"
"New article..."
Kato Yusuke asked in a low voice without squinting: "Do you think there are any traces of man-made or something wrong here?"
"Well...it's hard to say now~"
Shinjoka's eyes flickered slightly, he looked around intentionally or unintentionally, and replied: ...
"At least there seems to be nothing suspicious so far, but the information is still too little. It would be nice if we could learn more about it."
"Is this so..."
Kato Yusuke nodded and asked without emotion: "Would you mind having an extra roommate?"
"If you really want to talk about it, people will really mind it!"
Shinjoka said with great resistance at first, then changed the topic and smiled at him.
"However, the president's words are everything to me, so the answer is completely OK~~?"
"...Go and bring her over and have dinner together."
"Follow me~"
◇
Ten minutes later.
Diagonally opposite Takadanobaba Station, there is a barbecue shop called "Shichiwa Yakiniku An'an".
In the noisy atmosphere, the sounds of cheers and cheers came and went.
The smells of charcoal fire and oil smoke are intertwined, and the air is filled with the aroma of food.
It was in this environment that the three of them sat down at a table.
Sizzsssssss~
On the hot stove, the meat slices are undergoing the most primitive Maillard reaction on the iron net, playing a beautiful melody.
The rich aroma of meat is astounding to the nostrils, as if to seduce the greedy worms in people's stomachs, and goes straight into the depths of the nasal cavity.
Gudu~
Serizawa Yuu stared intently at the barbecue in front of her, swallowing a mouthful of saliva for the first time.
As a girl, this kind of behavior is not only unladylike, but also very impolite.
She was fully aware of this, but the hunger in her belly was like a monster.
No matter how much she endured, her appetite, which had been neglected for a day, was completely out of her control and she just wanted to eat it eagerly.
Seeing her reaction, Shinjoka joked: "Even if you keep staring at it, the meat won't cook faster, right? Ms. Serizawa."
"Ah, yes! Sorry...that..."
"Xintiao Xiang, you can call me Xintiao, but you don't need to add the honorific."
"...That's it~ Well, the same goes for me, just call me Xiao Xi."
She must have had a personality that was relatively close to people. The girl responded politely and cheerfully, then blushed slightly and involuntarily cast her eyes on the face of the boy next to her.
"Then...where's the big brother's name?"
"Kato Yusuke."
"Brother Yusuke..."
"No need to add honorifics, just Kato."
"Then... Brother Yu?"
"…………"
Kato Yusuke couldn't help but pause, but in the end he didn't say anything and acquiesced to this title.
"It's up to you."
"hey-hey……"
The girl showed a shy and soft smile, and said with a little uneasiness:
"Um, is this really okay? Not only do you give me money, but you also treat someone like me who comes from unknown sources to dinner..."
"It's a small thing, don't worry about it."
Kato Yusuke glanced at her and said, "Besides, what we ordered is a buffet, so you can eat whatever you want."
"Um...thank you, haha..."
"I'm talking about you, Xiao Xi." Shinjoka took over the topic with a smile, "Are you a godly girl~?"
"God treats girls..."
Serizawa Yu blinked twice in confusion, then immediately shook her head left and right in denial: "No, really! I'm still a high school student, and I'm not doing that kind of thing." ...
"Hey~ But you clearly said "Yes" to the president before?"
"That...that's because..."
The girl lowered her head in shame and whispered:
"I'm sorry... I just... don't want to go home, but I have nowhere to go. I'm sorry... for saying that to your boyfriend without permission."
"Don't worry, and the president is not my boyfriend. And then, how old are you? Where are you from? And why did you run away from home?"
Facing a lot of questions thrown by Shinjoka one after another, although Serizawa Yu was a little embarrassed, she still opened her mouth to respond.
"Well...I am 18 years old and a native of Tokyo. As for the reason why I ran away from home..."
She said apologetically: "Can I not say anything about the last one...?"
Shinjoka didn't press too hard on this, but asked in a different way: "From your tone, it should be more than a simple reason like quarreling with your parents, right?"
"Um...no..." Serizawa Yu slowly shook her head, her expression becoming a little gloomy.
This change did not escape Shinjoka's observation, but she did not point it out, but asked calmly: "You said before that you wanted to find a place to stay for a week, right?"
"Well...that's right..."
"In that case, do you want to come and live with me?"
"---Eh?"
The girl couldn't help but let out a confused cry, and was stunned on the spot for a moment.
It just so happened that the barbecue on the stove was ready at this moment.
Ignoring her reaction, Shinjoka first used a tong to pick up a piece of meat for Kato Yusuke, then picked out a piece for herself, and finally put the remaining pieces on the girl's plate.
"Well~ the meat is already roasted anyway, let's talk while eating."
After a while, Serizawa Yu finally came back to her senses.
First he glanced at the barbecue on the plate, and then immediately looked to the opposite side.
"That...Sister Shinjo..."
She sat up unconsciously, feeling a little hungry for a while, and asked uneasily:
"Is what you just said true...are you willing to take me in...?"
"Yeah~"
Shinjoka said with a relaxed face: "But the president will come here sometimes to guide me in my homework, and the time is not sure. Can you accept this?"
Serizawa Yu was slightly startled at first, and then nodded hurriedly.
"Yes, I am willing to accept it! So Yu-ge and Shinjo-san are also students? I won't disturb you, and I can also help with housework!"
She took a deep breath and put her hands together in front of her face.
"As long as it's until next Sunday, I will definitely leave then, so... during this week, please let me stay, please...!"
"Yeah~ ok, I mean I just said it."
"...Great, I was still thinking about what to do if I was rejected." Serizawa Yu breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes lit up with hope.
"..."
Kato Yusuke watched all this in silence, knowing in his heart that the reason why Shinjoka said that was because he didn't fully trust the other party and was on guard, so he didn't say much.
After that, probably because her troubles were solved, the girl relaxed and began to eat happily.
Seeing the other party's almost gulping down the meal, Kato Yusuke took the initiative to give her the barbecue on his plate.
Although the girl was a little embarrassed about his behavior, she didn't think much about it and accepted it happily.
However, when it comes to Shinjoka, who has a little understanding of his character, the shock deep in his heart is almost as much as a tsunami!
With deep shock and suspicion, Shinjoka finished the meal absentmindedly...