Tokyo Yandere Girlfriend

Chapter 18

After hanging up on Hojo Suzune, Shiratori Seiya felt a flash of relief that he had stayed calm and hadn't immediately agreed to let her come to Tokyo.

Part of it was exactly what he had told her: showing up in Tokyo alone was dangerous, and if anything happened he would be responsible—something he had no right to be.

The other part was that he had now completely cooled down. Since he had decided to break up with Shione, he ought to be decisive.

He who hesitates is lost.

Avoiding Suzune was the same as cutting off contact with Shione. The last thing he needed was an on-again, off-again entanglement.

Seeing Shione again today had reminded him that his heart was not the fortress he liked to imagine. A few words and he'd already wavered; a couple more meetings and the consequences were unthinkable.

Besides, it would be unfair to Takahashi Mio. Even if she didn't actually like him yet—even if they were only playing at being a couple—if people found out he still had ties to Hojo Shione, it wouldn't end well for her.

Mio cared deeply about appearances, so as her "boyfriend" he had an obligation to protect them.

Seiya composed himself, sat back at his desk, and looked over the step-by-step plan he had drafted for Mio's career. After checking it one last time, he closed the folder and prepared for bed.

Ding.

His phone lit up again. Seiya glanced over and saw a message from Takahashi Mio. Her ID was followed by [3 unread].

He suddenly remembered that he had received her messages before calling Suzune, but he had been distracted...

He picked up the phone to reply, but the moment he opened the chat his face froze.

"Shiratori-kun, are you free this Saturday afternoon? Everyone wants to meet you..."

Photo.

"Shiratori-kun, is this you?"

The picture was grainy—probably taken on a phone with a low-resolution camera—but the contents were clear enough.

Even without having seen it before, the image felt familiar.

There he was, together with Hojo Shione.

Shione was holding an umbrella, facing him under its shade.

Seiya's brow furrowed. This was going to be trouble.

Not because he would have to explain to Mio; if the tabloids caught wind that Hojo Shione's "boyfriend" was at Tokyo H University, the paparazzi would swarm.

He should never have agreed to meet...

At the very least, he shouldn't have chosen somewhere as conspicuous as the school gate.

Seiya typed a reply:

"It's me."

"Oh..."

Mio answered almost instantly.

Just a single "oh." Seiya had no idea what emotion lay behind it.

"That's Hojo Shione?"

"Yes."

"So Hojo Shione really was your girlfriend?"

"I didn't lie to you."

"......"

Beside the apartment building, Takahashi Mio sat on a planter beneath a streetlamp.

She stared at Seiya's reply, her finely arched brows drawn together, a dull ache spreading in her chest.

The feelings tangled inside her were too complicated to name.

Disbelief?

A sting of inferiority?

Or the righteous anger of a girlfriend discovering her boyfriend still entangled with an ex?

The last one probably wasn't fair, yet it still left a bitter taste.

For a moment she even forgot to exercise her rights as his "girlfriend" and demand an explanation.

Two hours earlier.

Haruno Reika had convinced her that the best way to judge Seiya was to learn about his past. To do that, she needed to find people who had known him before.

But neither she nor Reika had turned up anyone at H University who knew anything about Shiratori Seiya's history. That left only his high-school days.

Of course, she couldn't simply ask, "Which high school did you go to? I want to check whether you're a con man."

Even if she asked that bluntly, there was no guarantee he would tell the truth.

Two million yen wasn't pocket change. On top of that, he gave her a monthly allowance, bought her bags, jewelry, and even paid for a makeover... yet never tried to take advantage of her.

Mio was convinced Shiratori Seiya was hiding something.

His talk about turning her into a star thrilled her, but what if he tricked her into signing some shady film contract?

Using the excuse "my friends heard I have a boyfriend and want to meet you" seemed the smartest way to probe.

She felt a little guilty—but if he really was a good person, she would make it up to him later.

After spending the last two days together, she had decided Seiya was different from any man she had met before.

Ordinary looks, yet oddly pleasing to the eye.

When they talked, a quiet charisma put her at ease...

If things kept going like this, actually being his girlfriend wouldn't be so bad. She would do her duty properly.

That night she arranged the dinner in advance, ready to introduce him to her friends.

Carrying her bag, Mio stepped into the reserved private room. Every head turned.

An eerie silence fell; if she hadn't still been able to hear the clatter from the rest of the restaurant, she would have thought someone with superpowers had hit the mute button.

Even Haruno Reika sat with her mouth agape.

"What's wrong? Why is everyone staring at me?"

Mio blinked, touching her face and hair in confusion.

"Is something off?"

"Uh..."

Her old high-school friends exchanged glances. Reika recovered first, smiling.

"Mio, what happened to your style?"

"Huh?"

Only then did Mio realize.

Thanks to Shiratori Seiya's makeover, she looked like a completely different person.

The most obvious change: her once blue-streaked blond hair was now jet-black, softly curled at the ends and draped over her shoulders. The expertly cut style framed her face perfectly.

Instead of short skirts and stockings, she wore a pale-blue maxi dress and a white chiffon blouse. The overall effect was elegant, serene.

She was as beautiful as ever, but compared to the peacock-bright flashiness of before, her beauty now felt natural, gentle—like a rose in full bloom drawing every eye without effort.

Basking in her friends' admiring stares, Mio felt a surge of satisfaction, though she feigned shyness.

"Stop looking at me, it's embarrassing. I'm basically the same..."

Perhaps enjoying the attention, her movements became even more graceful. She slid into the seat beside Reika and reached for the menu.

"Have you ordered yet? It's been ages—my treat tonight?"

Reika lifted an eyebrow, gave her a long look, then handed the menu back.

"Fine. You finally got yourself a boyfriend; you should treat us for once."

The word boyfriend broke the dam.

Across from her, a round-faced girl's eyes lit up with gossip.

"That's right! Reika just told us—Mio, you actually have a boyfriend and didn't breathe a word. When did this happen?"

"Well, recently..."

"I always said, a beauty like you should've had a boyfriend ages ago. But wow, you've changed so much I almost didn't recognize you..."

The girls—majors in different fields—chattered noisily.

During the meal Mio and Reika gave a rough account of Shiratori Seiya, carefully omitting the two-million-yen debt and the "sugar-daddy" arrangement.

They simply asked everyone to vet him, no holds barred.

As for asking Seiya about his high-school days and past, there was no need to prompt the others; they would bring it up naturally.

Women never run short on curiosity.

The topic wound down easily enough; for Takahashi Mio the main thread was done, so the group drifted into idle gossip.

A thin, almost fragile-looking girl with a short bob suddenly piped up, "Hey, did anyone see the school's message board today?"

"Nope. What now? Another break-up? Someone's take-out stolen? Cheater caught red-handed?" a round-faced girl asked between bites of chicken bites.

"Way bigger. Supposedly Hojo Shione showed up on campus—and ran off with a guy. Rumor says he's her boyfriend..."

"Huh?"

"'Ran off' sounds over-dramatic, and the scene doesn't fit. Besides, Shione should be swamped prepping for next month's concert—how would she have time to come here?"

"I thought it was fake too, but the post has photos."

"Seriously? Photos?"

"Yeah, grainy side profile..."

"Look." The girl who'd started the rumor zoomed in and laid her phone in the center of the table.

Everyone leaned in. Mio held back, a sudden bad feeling prickling at her.

"No frontal shot, and she's wearing a mask. Are we sure it's her?"

"Comments say a bunch of people spotted her at noon. Can't be AI, right?"

"Let Mio decide—she's the super-fan. Bought all the collectible posters, went to her live matches. You'd know, right?"

All eyes turned to Mio.

"Yeah, I can tell."

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Mio gave a small smile and took the phone.

The moment her eyes landed on the couple, she focused on the man Shione was supposedly "running away" with. The moment she recognized his silhouette, her pupils shrank and the smile froze on her face.

"So, is it her?"

Mio didn't answer. Her grip on the phone tightened.

Haruno Reika, seated beside her, narrowed her eyes and casually stepped on Mio's foot under the table.

Startled, Mio snapped back, set the phone down, and laughed. "Sorry—got too serious."

She shook her head, forcing lightness. "Hard to say. Blurry photo, masks everywhere..."

"Oh well, can't be helped." Disappointment rippled through the group, but soon they moved on to the next topic.

Mio picked at her food, mind elsewhere, replaying lunch with Shiratori Seiya.

So that call he took—was it from Hojo Shione?

Is Shione really his girlfriend?

Impossible...

Time slipped by. After saying goodbye, Reika lit a cigarette on the curb, took a long drag, and turned to Mio.

"That was Shione in the photo, wasn't it?"

"I don't know."

Mio shook her head. She'd recognized her at first glance.

Reika flicked ash and asked, "Your new boyfriend?"

This time Mio didn't deny it. She nodded quietly. "Yeah."

Reika said nothing, finished her cigarette in silence, then stared at the streetlamp. "Maybe it's not such a bad thing for you."