Tokyo: My Superpower Refreshes Every Week

June 16, Friday.

A torrential downpour outside the Maid Cafe resulted in business being exceptionally slow. Arakawa Reina glanced outside, her brow furrowing slightly. The rain started so suddenly, and I didn't bring an umbrella, she thought.

"Nashi, it's time for your shift to end," her colleague said.

"Okay," Arakawa Reina replied, repressing her worries and comforting herself. It's okay, on a rainy day like this. The streets should be empty, so even if I get soaked, it won't be a problem.

Is it really not a problem? Another thought flickered through her mind. But on a day with such heavy rain, getting my clothes soaked could lead to dangerous situations. Those people who thought it wouldn't be a problem all ended up foaming at the mouth with their eyes rolled back.

Picturing that, Arakawa Reina shook her head vigorously, telling herself not to overthink it.

She changed out of her maid outfit and into her Brilliant High School uniform. The cool sailor uniform was made of thin fabric; if the rain hit it, it would become completely soaked. The way the thin fabric would cling, vaguely outlining my curves, could easily ignite criminal desires in men.

Maybe I should just ask to borrow an umbrella after all, Arakawa Reina considered for a moment, then decided it was inappropriate. Her relationship with her colleagues was just average. Asking out of the blue would be very awkward if I were refused. And if they agreed, wouldn't it be even worse to put the evening-shift colleague in a difficult position? I'd be resented for a lifetime and would have to live on, carrying a heavy psychological burden. Such a future is too heavy to bear.

After agonizing for a long time, Reina decided against it. She silently finished changing and put on her black-framed glasses.

She then made up her mind. I'll ask a colleague to borrow an umbrella, then go to the nearest store and buy one. This isn't the time to be frugal or avoid a little hassle.

Just as Arakawa Reina turned to speak, her phone chimed.

Unlocking it, she found a message from Aozawa.

"Class President, I'm at the back door. Come on out."

Seeing those words, Arakawa Reina's pupils dilated in disbelief. I just sent a message during my shift complaining that I forgot my umbrella, and Aozawa actually came to pick me up? Impossible, right?

As her mind raced, she quickly considered his possible motives, then immediately shook her head vigorously. How can I think such dark thoughts about someone who's kindly helping me?

Arakawa Reina took a deep breath, swallowed the words she was about to say to her colleague, closed her locker, and said, "Senpai, I'm heading home now."

"Okay."

With that reply, Arakawa Reina headed to the back door.

...

Outside the Maid Cafe's back door was a narrow alley. Opening the door revealed the pouring rain, and standing beneath an umbrella in the midst of it was a short-haired boy.

The heavy rain blurred his features, yet in Arakawa Reina's mind, his image was perfectly clear.

"Mr. Aozawa, you're really here?" she asked, her voice filled with surprise.

"Of course. With such heavy rain, it'd be tough for the Class President to go without an umbrella." Aozawa stepped forward.

Arakawa Reina looked at him, wanting to say something but holding back. She simply stepped out of the cafe and under the umbrella.

Rain pattered against the umbrella. She took out her phone; typing was far easier than speaking. Many things are difficult to say aloud but can be easily expressed through social media.

"Mr. Aozawa, why did you only bring one umbrella?" she typed.

We're so close, there's no need for messages, is there? Aozawa thought with an inward grumble, yet he still typed his reply with one hand while holding the umbrella with the other. "I only have this one at home. Don't worry, I won't let you get wet."

"It's not about that. With just one umbrella, we'll look like a couple. Mr. Aozawa, your idea is a bit dangerous," Reina typed back, adding a tongue-out emoji to make the text more lively.

She could never say such things aloud, but with her phone, she felt free to say anything. Even if the recipient of the message was right beside her, she didn't have to worry.

Aozawa couldn't understand her reasoning but found it amusing, so he didn't complain and typed his reply.

"Don't complain. I'm a student, so I can't exactly splurge on a new umbrella."

Truthfully, I just wanted to experience the romance of sharing an umbrella in the rain, just like in an anime, Aozawa thought. I never had the chance to try it, and since the Class President forgot her umbrella, I decided to give it a shot. It feels okay, but it's not as intimate as I imagined. That's probably because we're not a couple. If Iroha were by my side, I could wrap my arm around her shoulder. Letting the cold rain fall outside, I could draw warmth from leaning against Iroha's body. I could even let the rain dampen her shoulder, letting the rainwater trace a path down her collar, perhaps revealing a hidden pattern. But I can't do any of that with the Class President.

Aozawa glanced sideways at her. After work, the Class President tried to hide her charm, wearing her hair in old-fashioned twin braids and large, black-framed glasses. Against the black of her glasses and hair, her skin seemed even more fair and delicate, like fresh snow on the peak of Mount Fuji in winter.

She was staring at her screen, typing with intense focus.

Glancing at her screen from my angle, I can roughly make out the words: "Thank you for coming, but next time, please don't go to such trouble. I just need to borrow an umbrella from a colleague, and then I can buy one at the supermarket on my way back." Aozawa guessed.

After typing those words, Arakawa Reina tapped send with her thumb. She wasn't ungrateful; she was just worried that it was too much trouble for Mr. Aozawa to come all the way to Ikebukuro for her. They were merely friends. An act like this seemed to transcend mere friendship, easily letting her imagination run wild.

But letting my imagination run wild isn't good. I don't want to keep indulging in such narcissistic fantasies, she thought.

It's no trouble at all, Aozawa wanted to say. I was already using Schrödinger's Cat to enjoy the Tokyo rain scene; picking her up was just something I did on the side. As for the umbrella, I didn't bring it from home; it's a non-existent umbrella conjured by Will-o'-the-wisp. But I can't tell Arakawa Reina any of this.

He typed back with one hand, "No problem. I did say I wanted to be the Class President's Guardian Knight."

Seeing this, Arakawa Reina paused, slightly stunned. Now that he mentions it, I think he did say something like that. At the time, I wasn't too pleased; I thought Aozawa was just making light of my concerns. I never expected him to take it seriously. He had appeared right when she needed him. Mr. Aozawa is a man of his word!

Oh no! Arakawa Reina realized her heart was pounding, and her vision seemed to swim. She quickly typed on the screen: "Wow, that's such a sly thing to say! Ayatsuki and that student from Phoenix Academy must have been fooled by words like these. Luckily, I have a heart of steel; I won't be sunk so easily!"

Arakawa Reina quickly typed out the message and hit send. Looking at the screen afterward, I realize those words were a bit much, huh? she thought, then sent a sticker of a gorilla thumping its chest. That made her feel a little relieved.

"I haven't deceived Maggie or Iroha. I've always been very frank with them," Aozawa typed.

"Eh? Then between Ayatsuki and the one from Phoenix Academy, who are you dating, Mr. Aozawa?" Arakawa Reina typed out the question that had been weighing on her mind.

Aozawa replied, "I'm not dating anyone. Certain subtle events caused a bit of a change in Iroha's attitude."

Arakawa Reina understood instantly. "Are you two-timing them?"

"Class President, you're surprisingly perceptive about these things. Is it a woman's sixth sense?"

"I'm just making an educated guess," Arakawa Reina typed back, a contemplative look in her eyes.

I never thought Aozawa, who seems like a decent guy, would be the type to two-time someone. But then again, many protagonists seem kind on the surface but are actually quite promiscuous behind the scenes. For example, the guy who goes to his rural hometown to be the temporary chairman of a shopping district and ends up seducing all the married women and his childhood sweethearts. When he leaves, the women are still longing for him. And when he finally returns, there's this atmosphere of pure love, making people wonder if the protagonist was actually the husband of those women.

Thinking this, Arakawa Reina cautiously glanced at Aozawa's lower body.

Could it be that Mr. Aozawa is... exceptionally gifted in *that* way? Similar doubts flashed through her mind, but she quickly shook her head, banishing them. I can't think about such things; it's too rude.

"Mr. Aozawa, although it's not really an outsider's place to say this, I don't think you should expect a manga plot to become reality. Trying to satisfy several people at once is ultimately impossible. You'll just end up drained."

Seeing these words, Aozawa was quite astonished. How did the topic suddenly jump to whether my body can handle it? I don't know what goes on in the Class President's head; she's always twisting things into the context of those adult manga. Does she actually like that stuff, or not? Wrestling with these thoughts, Aozawa couldn't reach a clear answer. He typed with one hand: "Don't worry, I know my limits. If you don't give something your all, how can you know if the outcome will be good or bad? I want to find a way for all of them to be happy."

"Ah, that's a classic scumbag line. But if you can actually follow through, I guess it's not so bad," Arakawa Reina typed truthfully.

Many promises sound wonderful, but most people who make them don't seriously try to fulfill them, which turns those beautiful words into hypocritical lies. But Arakawa Reina didn't think Aozawa was lying. She believed that if he said it, he truly intended to do it. After all, he even took that offhand joke about being her Guardian Knight seriously. He didn't have to come, but he still braved the heavy rain for her.

"Mr. Aozawa, is the other person you're involved with the student from Phoenix Academy?"

"No, it's the one I'm living with."

Aozawa's reply sent Arakawa Reina's mind racing with all sorts of adult scenarios. Her cheeks flushed as she typed, "Mr. Aozawa, don't push yourself too hard just because you're young. By your mid-twenties, you'll realize your body isn't what it used to be!"

"Class President, are you secretly a bit of a pervert?"

"I and anything indecent are sworn enemies!" Arakawa Reina typed out the defiant words, adding an emoji with the character for 'Kill' to emphasize her resolve.

That doesn't sound like you at all, Aozawa wanted to retort.