Chapter 62: Rainstorm
Early the next morning, Hikaru Hoshino woke everyone up, preparing to head back.
Staying here indefinitely wasn't a solution; they all had proper jobs and couldn't afford to waste time waiting for Ishigami.
"If Ishigami shows up, restrain him first and wait for my word."
Hikaru spoke to Rin Futamichi. He observed the female bodyguard's face; though her posture remained upright, her complexion carried a trace of fatigue. He added: "Can you still hold out? I can find a few more bodyguards to rotate shifts with you."
Rin Futamichi, however, was quite confident. She waved her hand and said, "This is nothing; I could stand guard here for a month. However, my primary job from the company is to protect your safety. These tasks outside the scope of work..."
She flashed an ambiguous smile. In his memory, this was the first time Hikaru had seen this stoic bodyguard smile.
"Require an extra fee."
Hikaru raised an eyebrow, his lips curving upward as well. "That's easy to discuss."
"Problems that can be solved with money are not problems at all."
Outside, the sky was a murky gray, as if a shroud had been draped over the world. Tiny water droplets suspended in the air created a thick mist with every breath; it was damp and chilly, making one feel quite uncomfortable.
"Summer truly is the rainy season."
Ai looked a bit surprised. "Hikaru, didn't you know? There's a rainstorm warning for these next two days. I heard it's going to be heavy. We should go back and take cover."
*A warning...* Hikaru felt like he might have seen something like that. He searched his mind and found that he had indeed received an alert.
He had originally planned to deal with Ishigami before this storm hit so they could enjoy the festival happily, but he hadn't expected it to drag on this long.
Now that it was raining, catching him would likely be even harder. What a headache.
"Let's have breakfast first. I'll have Gotanda send someone to pick us up."
The izakaya from last night was closed, but the breakfast shop next door was open—it looked like a traditional Japanese breakfast spot. Since waiting for the car would take time, they might as well try a new flavor.
Hikaru led the group inside to find many early-rising elderly men already eating. He looked up at the menu and froze on the spot.
Rice, miso soup, raw eggs, grilled fish, beef... was this really what people ate for breakfast?
However, the others looked completely unfazed. Ruby had already sat down, tilting her small face up to look at Hikaru with expectant eyes.
He had no choice but to let everyone pick for themselves, and then he ordered the exact same thing as Ai.
*Patter, patter.* Soon, the rain turned fierce. Droplets the size of soybeans slammed against the glass with a loud din, accompanied by the heavy howl of the wind leaking through the window. People who hadn't brought rain gear rushed indoors, looking like drowned rats by the time they made it inside. Most were salarymen carrying briefcases for work, watched with interest by the old men in the shop.
"Unlucky," sighed a young man whose shirt was still dripping. "When is this rain ever going to stop?"
"Going to work in such heavy rain?" an old man said cheerfully. "Why didn't your company give you the day off?"
"Listen to that. Unless the government issues a notice, why would a company give a day off for a little thing like weather?"
As soon as he spoke, he was met with a chorus of agreement.
"True." "You're right." "I don't want to work..."
Hikaru had no time to deal with them; he was thinking about Ishigami. With such a massive storm, leaving Rin Futamichi alone was indeed a bit too much.
Should he go back and check? Maybe Ishigami would come down the mountain because of this storm?
*The mountain is so slippery; why didn't he just fall and die...*
While grumbling internally, Hikaru quickly finished his breakfast.
Ai chose rice and miso soup, along with a raw egg and a serving of Gyudon (beef bowl), mixing the egg and beef into the rice to eat. Hikaru was happy that Ai was proactively eating rice; he felt this was a huge step forward and decided that if he had time later, he would write that K-On! song for her to sing.
That song, *Gohan wa Okazu (Rice is a Side Dish)*—Ai singing it wouldn't be a problem, but would she turn into a comedic character like Yui Hirasawa? A comedian might be okay; it was arguably better than being an idol, as fans wouldn't be so demanding.
Hikaru still couldn't get used to raw egg on rice, so he only ordered the Gyudon. He had to admit, authentic Japanese beef bowls tasted quite good, though he wished he were tasting it at lunch or dinner rather than on this storm-lashed morning.
As the group prepared to leave, a nurse pushed open the door and walked in. She carried an umbrella, so she wasn't completely soaked, with only water stains on her arms and calves.
She had chestnut-colored hair tied up behind her head, wearing a pink coat over a light blue shirt.
*Isn't that... Goro Amamiya's assistant?*
*A gathering of old acquaintances; Miyazaki really is small,* Hikaru thought.
Was Aqua present the last time they saw this nurse? He wondered what kind of expression Aqua had now. Seeing his former assistant in this child's body—would he feel embarrassed?
Hikaru stole a glance at Aqua out of the corner of his eye and found him smiling happily, his face filled with joy and relief. He seemed very glad to see that the nurse was doing well.
Although Aqua appeared cold and ruthless in the original work, he was actually soft-hearted quite often, proving he wasn't as detached as he seemed.
This was exactly why Hikaru liked this character; Aqua's gentleness was obvious.
Because in his previous life—Goro Amamiya was a doctor with medical ethics.
Suddenly, he wondered why that old geezer Gotanda's car hadn't arrived yet.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, Hikaru's phone began to *beep-beep*.
Teppei Nishikawa's voice came through the phone: "Leader, the car is ready."
"? What did you call me?"
"...Senior?"
It seemed he was having auditory hallucinations from too much pressure.
Hikaru let out a long sigh.
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