Because she had personally witnessed Rinji being struck by lightning, Fujiwara—already afraid of thunder—was now even more terrified of this natural phenomenon.
After leaving the Yoyogi Kaikan, she simply put away her umbrella and bought a raincoat at a convenience store.
"Well then, Secretary Fujiwara, you should head back. See you at school tomorrow."
"Are you sure you'll come to school tomorrow?"
"I'll be there for a while at least. Once this business is over, I'll return."
"... Rinji-kun, are you really going to keep investigating?" Fujiwara asked, sounding downcast. "That was so dangerous just now… and yet you still want to continue?"
"I already told you—this is important to me."
"Can't you just tell me what it is? Why would you keep going after something so dangerous? What could possibly be more important than your safety!?" Fujiwara suddenly shouted. "I don't understand… I can never understand what you're really trying to do. We're all in the student council, but you keep everything to yourself…"
"…"
Rinji paused, then took off the deerstalker hat on his head and gently placed it on Fujiwara's.
"The world you guys see and the world I live in are different. We can be friends, but if you try too hard to understand each other's worlds, it might mean we can't even stay friends."
"Rinji…"
"Thanks for coming with me on this. And sorry, Secretary Fujiwara. The detective game is over."
———————————————————————
The lightning strike had hit Rinji directly.
Although he was unharmed, his phone wasn't so lucky.
As everyone knows, lightning isn't exactly AC or DC current—it's a pulse phenomenon. When it strikes, it unleashes not only heat and high voltage, but also an electromagnetic pulse (EMP).
It was like a massive EMP bomb.
Even though Rinji's phone was a custom-made organizational model, it couldn't survive such a direct strike and now wouldn't power on.
Looking at the smoking phone in his hand, Rinji sighed and tucked it into his pocket.
After saying goodbye to Fujiwara, he had wanted to find Hina, but with his phone broken, he had no way to contact her through LINE.
Just as he was considering buying a spare phone from a telecom shop, two familiar figures caught his attention.
"Hina? And Nagi? What are you doing out in this heavy rain?"
"Rinji? Thank goodness, so you're here!?"
Hina, wearing a raincoat and dragging Nagi along, looked visibly surprised when she saw Rinji, then her face lit up with relief.
"What's going on?"
"No time—just run!"
Without waiting, Hina grabbed Rinji's wrist and pulled him along.
"What happened?"
As he ran with her, Rinji's expression turned serious.
"Are you being chased? If so, don't worry—I'll kill them all."
"No, no, it's not like that."
Hina shook her head and whispered as she ran.
"It's the child welfare officials. They came to take me and my brother away."
"…Ah, right."
Rinji had been so busy that he'd forgotten: Hina and Nagi, while not undocumented, were legally considered minors without guardians in Japan.
Under Japanese law, orphans with no living parents are supposed to be taken in by relatives. If there are none, they're placed in child welfare facilities—essentially orphanages.
Adoptive parents are selected by the facility, not self-chosen. Married couples aren't allowed to adopt orphans directly; the facility decides among candidates.
It's technically to protect the children—but Hina and Nagi clearly didn't want that.
Because going meant being separated.
"Where are we headed now?"
"I haven't thought that far. I just grabbed Nagi and ran…" Hina said, blushing a little. "I wanted to talk to you about it first, but your phone wouldn't connect."
"Oh… my phone broke earlier."
In a moment of trouble, the first person Hina turned to was Rinji.
She used to bear everything alone. There was no one she could rely on. That changed the moment Rinji appeared.
He was the only one she could depend on.
"All right. Let's head to my place first. We'll figure out the rest from there."
"Okay."
———————————————————————
After calling someone to pick them up and bring them back to the apartment in Minato Ward, Rinji handed over his phone for repairs.
He brought the siblings into his home and turned on the water heater.
"Go take a bath first. I'll find some clothes for you to change into."
"Thank you."
"Thanks."
The siblings looked around the interior of the apartment.
It was simple, but far larger than the place they used to live in.
It was around 3 PM. Nagi went to take a bath first, while Rinji and Hina sat in the living room.
"I'll think of a way to deal with the child welfare people. Maybe I can convince someone to intervene. If not, I'll talk to them myself. Don't worry—I won't let them separate you and your brother."
"Thank you… and sorry for the trouble."
"It's no trouble at all. As long as you're doing okay, that's enough for me," Rinji said with a smile. "If anything comes up, just tell me—I'll take care of it."
"...Yes."
Compared to simply offering financial support, Rinji's personal involvement gave Hina a much greater sense of reassurance.
He didn't just throw a wad of cash at them and call it a day—he treated the siblings like they were part of his own family.
Looking around, Hina said, "Rinji, your place is pretty big."
"It's alright, nothing compared to my house back home," Rinji replied. "But it's enough. I used to live here alone anyway."
"Used to? So you're not living alone now?"
"Well… not exactly full-time."
Ding-dong.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
Rinji stood up and checked the peephole, spotting Hayasaka standing at the door.
He immediately opened it.
"Ai, you're home early?"
"There weren't any classes today. Also, the student secretary came to me all of a sudden, asking about your whereabouts. She looked genuinely worried. What exactly have you been doing all day… Also, who's that kid sitting in the living room?"
Hayasaka paused mid-sentence as she noticed the nervous-looking Hina in the living room.