Chapter 202: The First Meeting

Four years ago, on a certain day.

"Hmm… now that I think about it, I haven't eaten in a few days."

The young Rinji sat on a bench in the park, his crimson eyes glancing around.

Although his father had sent him out to gain experience for a while, and he had agreed to it himself, it was still quite absurd to throw a twelve-year-old directly into Japan.

Sure, he'd been given a hundred million dollars, but this was Japan. U.S. dollars were useless here, and to exchange them at a bank, Rinji needed all sorts of documents he couldn't provide.

He wanted to contact one of his father's associates to pick him up, but realized he hadn't even brought his phone.

On top of that, his Japanese was still poor, and he didn't like interacting with people.

So in short: GG.

While going hungry for a few days wasn't a big deal for Rinji, he knew things couldn't go on like this forever.

"Sigh… Anyway, I should first try to contact one of Dad's associates."

Just as he was about to stand up and see if he could get help from someone on the street, a figure appeared in front of him.

It was a blonde girl in a white school uniform.

"Hm?"

"You look like you've been troubled for a while now." The girl asked with a hint of concern. "Did you get separated from your family?"

"…"

The girl was speaking Japanese, which Rinji wasn't fluent in yet, so he didn't fully understand what she was saying.

Gurgle~

"Ugh…"

Hearing his stomach growl, Rinji blushed slightly.

The girl in front of him clearly heard it too. She gave a light laugh and pulled a packet of red bean bread from her bag, handing it to him.

"Here, eat."

"…"

Rinji hesitated for a moment, but seeing the girl's gentle smile, he accepted the bread. He unwrapped the packaging and began taking small bites.

The girl stood in front of Rinji, watching him closely. With his cute features and warm red eyes, the way he nibbled on the bread made him look like a little hamster.

After finishing the bread, Rinji clumsily thanked the girl in Japanese.

"Ari…gatou."

"You're welcome."

After saying thank you, Rinji pointed to his ear and made a phone gesture. He was asking if he could borrow her phone.

The girl immediately understood his gestures and took out a phone from her pocket, holding it out.

"You want to make a call?"

Rinji nodded.

Taking the phone, Rinji dialed a number from memory and spoke a long string of English on the call.

Hayasaka could catch a bit of what he said. It sounded like he was asking someone to pick him up and reporting his current location.

After returning the phone to the girl, Rinji asked, "Na…mae?"

"You're asking my name?"

"Hayasaka."

Just then, a cold voice called out from behind the girl.

When she turned around, she saw a black-haired girl in the same school uniform. Her expression was icy, as if nothing in the world could affect her.

"Kaguya-sama."

"It's time to go, Hayasaka," Kaguya said sternly. "The house rules say we can't stay out too long."

"Yes."

Hayasaka nodded and walked back to the girl named Kaguya.

Kaguya gave Rinji a single cold glance, then looked away, not sparing him another second.

To her, he was just an irrelevant kid.

Rinji tilted his head slightly. "…Hayasaka… is her name Hayasaka? What a kind girl. And that other girl with the haughty face—what's her deal? A friend?"

A few minutes later, a black stretch limousine pulled up outside the park. Two men in black suits approached Rinji and bowed.

"We sincerely apologize, young master. We're late."

"No, it's not your fault. I left my phone at home." Rinji responded calmly. "I should be working while I'm here, right?"

"Yes, sir. We'll take you to the Ryujuka Group's base."

---

"Ugh… ugh…"

"So noisy."

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. Staring at the corpse lying before him, Rinji handed the gun to one of his men.

"Young master, this…"

"They broke the rules of the deal. This is what they get."

Rinji removed his gloves and slipped them into his pocket, then kicked the body that was still wrapped in a bloody cloth.

"Clean up the body later. I'm going to rest for a bit."

"Yes, sir."

Walking out of the abandoned warehouse, Rinji followed a familiar path and arrived at a park, sitting down on a bench.

It was now the second month since he had come to Japan. He'd grown used to life here and had learned Japanese. To stay active, he helped manage the Japanese branch of the organization his father founded.

Earlier, someone had tried to tamper with a transaction, so Rinji handled it the usual way—by eliminating the problem.

Though he was used to Japan by now, he would still come to this small park every day to sit on the same bench.

He didn't do anything in particular. Just sat there until nightfall, then sighed and left.

This was the place where he'd first met the girl named Hayasaka. Maybe somewhere deep down, he was hoping to see her again at this same bench.

As the sky darkened, more and more people left the park. The girl Rinji hoped to see hadn't shown up.

"Forget it, I'll head back."

Just as he was about to get up, a voice called out beside him.

"You're… that kid from before?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Rinji turned his head immediately.

That same white uniform, that same blonde hair—Hayasaka stood beside him, surprised.

Seeing her, Rinji quickly sat back down and smiled. "What a coincidence."

Hayasaka, too, smiled and walked over to him.

"It really is. It's been two months, hasn't it? Your Japanese has improved a lot."

"Yeah, I've gotten used to living here."

Rinji smiled.

"Um… can I ask your name? Mine is Takamine Rinji. I'm twelve years old."

"My name is Hayasaka. Hayasaka Ai," the girl replied. "I'm thirteen."

"Nice to meet you, Hayasaka…"

Rinji wanted to talk more with her, but not having interacted much with girls, he didn't know what to say.

"Oh, right."

Hayasaka seemed to remember something. She pulled out another red bean bread from her bag and handed it to him.

"Are you hungry?"

This scene felt like déjà vu.

Rinji took the bread without a word, unwrapped it, and took a bite.

The familiar taste.