Chapter 215: Hayasaka Ai Meets Karura

Two years ago, the year after Rinji left Japan to join the IW Operations Division, Hayasaka Ai had been deeply worried about his situation.

She was afraid the Shinomiya family would do something to him. After all, given what he had done, they would stop at nothing to eliminate him.

So Hayasaka used her intel network and even secretly hacked into the computer of one of Kaguya's brothers to investigate Rinji's situation.

She uncovered the following information:

First, most of Rinji's identity in Japan was fabricated. He wasn't the Chinese-American he claimed to be. He was stateless. No records of his birthplace, no parental information. Only his consumption records in Japan could be found—like someone who had suddenly appeared and might vanish just as easily.

Second, Rinji was connected to an organization called IW.

Not many people had heard of this group, and its reputation wasn't good. Yet it was so powerful that even countries couldn't deal with it. The Shinomiya family, compared to IW, were like ants.

Third, before discovering his connection to IW, the Shinomiya family had attempted to eliminate him by hiring an external force, since they couldn't touch him legally—both the police and the Self-Defense Forces refused to act, citing all kinds of reasons.

The group they hired was an assassination organization known as the Kure Clan, based 500 kilometers outside of Tokyo. Over a hundred elite members were dispatched to ambush him in Ikebukuro.

The result was obvious—Rinji was still alive and well, and now even had a girlfriend from the Kure Clan.

"Sigh…"

Thinking about all this, Hayasaka couldn't help but sigh.

She walked through a lively shopping district, dressed in youthful, trendy clothes.

An hour earlier, she had messaged Rinji asking if he wanted to hang out. Five minutes later, he replied:

'Come to my place.' He included the address.

This would be her first time going to Rinji's home.

Putting away her phone, she walked toward the address, a faint smile on her lips.

Maybe something good would happen—after all, he'd invited her over.

Something good would happen—but only for Rinji.

Because today just happened to be the day Karura returned to Tokyo, so he had to stay home.

---

"Hmm~ hmm~"

In the kitchen, Rinji hummed a tune while stirring food. The dining table in the living room was already filled with beautifully presented dishes, and Fusui was practically drooling.

"Rinji, can I sneak a bite?"

"No."

"Ehh…"

"'Ehh' my ass. This is for Karura. You're only here because she's generous enough to let you stay for dinner."

"No need to be so harsh. We did sleep together, after all."

"Watch your words. All you did was crawl into my bed in the middle of the night and get thrown out. We don't have that kind of relationship."

Rinji plated the food from the pot and carried it over, glaring sharply at Fusui.

"You try saying crap like that in front of Karura and I'll twist your head off and stuff it in a fish before launching it with explosives."

"There you go again—always with the scary threats." Fusui waved her hand dismissively, completely unfazed.

Rinji sighed. He really didn't know what to do with this annoying friend.

Still, compared to the utterly chaotic Fujiwara Chika, Fusui was tolerable.

"Aren't you going to check on your brother? Word is he lost badly."

Karura gave him daily updates on the Kengan Annihilation Tournament. In the quarterfinals, Raian faced Tokita Ohma and got absolutely wrecked.

The Kure Clan's once-in-a-century genius lost to Rinji, and then to Ohma. His mental state was probably in shambles.

"No need to worry about my brother. As long as he's not dead, it's fine."

"What a filial sister you are," Rinji said sarcastically.

As if remembering something, Fusui suddenly asked, "By the way, didn't you invite a girl over today? Who is she?"

"…Hayasaka Ai. She asked me out to eat, but I had to wait for Karura, so I invited her over instead."

While washing dishes at the sink, Rinji added, "She was kind of my first love."

"Oho~"

Fusui immediately perked up.

"Your first love and your current girlfriend coming to your place at the same time? Sounds juicy. But why didn't you tell Karura about it?"

"You think I didn't?"

Rinji smirked and pulled out his phone.

"I already told her Ai was coming and explained everything between us. I only invited her after getting Karura's permission."

"…At this rate, you're gonna become one of those whipped husbands."

Fusui gave Rinji a strange look.

"If you end up being controlled by your wife, and Karura's not even the type to be controlling… your marriage is probably going to be tragic."

"Are you cursing me?"

"I wouldn't dare~"

---

"This should be the place."

Hayasaka Ai looked at her phone. The navigation app had brought her to the foot of Rinji's apartment building.

It was her first time visiting his home, so she was understandably nervous.

She entered the building and rode the elevator up. It stopped on the tenth floor.

As soon as she got out, she spotted a nearby door with a nameplate reading "Rinji."

She approached and was about to ring the doorbell when ding—the elevator behind her opened again.

Out stepped a beautiful girl with long black hair and black sclera.

The moment she saw her, Hayasaka recognized her—it was Karura, the girlfriend Rinji had once posted about on his social feed.

"Huh?"

Karura also noticed Hayasaka.

Right in front of Rinji's door, the two girls locked eyes.