I'll Hit You for Her / I'm About to Lose It, and Nobody Can Stop Me

Especially when the other party is an alcoholic.

Normally, a female high school student should run away as soon as she sees the other person's shadow.

I fled quickly, my heart pounding with fear.

She was going to leave anyway.

But the other person's reaction made Chihaya Anon realize immediately that this person wasn't drunk at all.

A truly drunk person wouldn't react this way, nor would they pressure her to say anything about calling the police.

So, not only did she not leave, she also struggled with the other party for a moment over the door panel, and even blurted out 'threatening' words as if she had never been taught.

That's all there is to it.

After calming down a bit, she still didn't dare to actually go inside and be alone with a middle-aged man.

After all, she was just a weak, pitiful, and helpless high school girl.

The door opened again.

A middle-aged man with a complicated expression peeked out from behind the crack in the door:

Are you Sakiko's friend?

"No, my friend wouldn't say something like that..." He sighed, released the door, turned around, and walked straight into the room. "Anyway, do you want to come in?"

"No, I don't dare go in." Without hesitation, Chihaya Anon shook her head.

The middle-aged man's steps noticeably slowed for a moment, followed by a heavier sigh.

"...Then you can just stand there," he said. "Don't worry, it won't disturb the neighbors."

"The other tenants don't come back until midnight."

The tenants living in this cheap rental area don't have the leisure to leave work at 6 PM.

The door was open. He stepped over the rows of liquor cans on the floor, opened the small refrigerator, and took out a can of beer.

"Click, hiss--" The accumulated gas burst out of the opened beer bottle, and he gulped it down directly into his mouth.

"Ha--"

He let out a satisfied sound, then turned around and slowly sat down cross-legged facing the door.

"I am Toyokawa Kiyotsugu. Tell me your name, little sister." The middle-aged man named Toyokawa Kiyotsugu raised his head.

Chapter 136 I'll Help You Fight

"... Chihaya Anon."

Looking at Toyokawa Kiyotsugu sitting cross-legged, Chihaya Anon hesitated for a moment before giving her name.

"I guess I should consider Sakiko... a friend."

Of course, this "friend" title was self-proclaimed.

So far, she has only exchanged a few words with Toyokawa Sakiko, and they have nodded to each other a few times. The most she knows about her comes from the descriptions of the other members of the band.

If I had to say, they're only slightly better than the average passerby.

"... Where did you hear about this place?" Toyokawa Kiyotsugu took another swig of his drink, rubbed his head, and before Chihaya Anon reply, added, "No, I should say, where did the word come from?"

"You're not the first high school girl to come here looking for Sakiko, and I don't think you'll be the last."

"It's not good to keep you out. Tell me, who spread the rumors, and to what extent?"

Although he was drinking and quite unkempt, Chihaya Anon subtly sensed a certain imposing aura emanating from Toyokawa Kiyotsugu.

But more than answering his question, Chihaya Anon was more concerned about...

"... I'm not the first one?"

Someone else arrived at the rented room before her.

"Yeah, this morning a blonde bombshell knocked on my door." Toyokawa Kiyotsugu said casually, "Looks like I can't stay here any longer."

Sakiko was a very stubborn child.

Leaving behind the comfortable life of the Toyokawa family, she took the initiative to follow them to this dilapidated little rented house, transferring from the elite Tsukinomori School to the relatively ordinary girls' school Haneoka.

Admittedly, the naive young girl's ignorance of the hardships of real life likely contributed to her making the wrong decision.

But she has persevered until now.

Whether Xiangzi wanted to endure hardship or suffer without effort, Toyokawa Kiyotsugu believed that was entirely Sakiko's own choice.

He had long since lost the right to interfere with his daughter's decisions.

But... if any bad rumors spread because of living here, that's a different story.

"Eh..." Chihaya Anon was a little surprised.

Is that blonde bombshell... also the owner of the Diary?

Given that it was yesterday's diary entry, and he came to visit today, it's hard not to assume that he took action after reading the Diary.

"Ah, but no one's spreading any rumors, right?" Chihaya Anon said. "I came here on my own."

"That... hot lady, I don't know much about her, but she probably didn't come here based on any rumors."

"If I had to say... it was out of curiosity?" she said.

Even if she talked about the diary with others, it would be automatically filtered out. Rather than making up a suitable reason, Chihaya Anon thought that it might be better to explain the past with 'curiosity'.

"... If you're just curious, then leave." Toyokawa Kiyotsugu intended to take another swig of beer, but when he poured it out, he realized the beer bottle was empty. He shook the bottle and casually tossed it aside.

"The darkness of the Toyokawa family cannot be glimpsed by mere curiosity."

... What kind of darkness is the Toyokawa family?

Is it this pitch-black room where even the lights can barely be turned on, or the hallway?

If someone else were here, they might tell her it was Sakiko Toyokawa's Dark Forest.

Unfortunately, someone is still at school.

Therefore, Chihaya Anon remarks weren't very effective.

"..." But after Toyokawa Kiyotsugu that, she seemed to suddenly remember something.

Speaking of which, Toyokawa Toyokawa...

"TGW Group...?" Chihaya Anon suddenly recalled the promotional CMs she often saw on TV.

That subtle, captivating little gesture, performed by the famous actress Mori Minami.

"... Oh, so you knew." Toyokawa Kiyotsugu raised his eyes and waved his hand. "Then I have nothing more to say. Go back."

"Sakiko will be back soon. If you don't plan to meet with her, then you should leave."

He started asking the guests to leave.

Chihaya Anon ultimately didn't press the matter further, nor did she continue waiting there for Toyokawa Sakiko to return home.

Standing on the platform of the returning tram, the roar of the tram echoed in her ears, but her thoughts were in complete turmoil.

The Toyokawa family, TGW Group, Toyokawa Sakiko, Toyokawa Kiyotsugu, and...

The news I just found online based on these keywords is from last year, about a fraud involving a staggering 16.8 billion yuan.

The party who was defrauded is Toyokawa Group.

Is this why you quit Crychic? Is this why you're living in that kind of rented apartment? Is this why you became a customer service representative...?

It's a mess.

Although Toyokawa Sakiko and she were not really related, almost everyone in her band, except for Kaname Rana, the free-spirited Stray Cat, was connected to her.

I will be affected by her emotions, I will pay attention to her, I will care about her, and... because of her, the band's normal training and performances will be affected.

Chihaya Anon doesn't like this.

Yes, that's right. Her initial reason for forming a band was indeed to gain attention, and she genuinely enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention on stage.

However, this was a band she started, so she wouldn't let it end with Toyokawa Sakiko.

But... what should I do?

Finally, she learned the reason for Toyokawa Sakiko's strange behavior, but Chihaya Anon, who didn't know her very well at all, had no clue how to move forward.

Annoyed, the tram clattered and rattled until it arrived at the station.

Lost in thought, Chihaya Anon arrived home step by step.

Today I walked a long way, for a long time, to RING, to the Tsukinomori, to the lamp's house, and to Sakiko's house.

Then, I went home.

Surprisingly, although her body should have been exhausted, her mind was exceptionally clear.

She was so alert that the moment the Diary started flipping through, she immediately realized what was happening and turned her gaze away.

... The diary has been updated.

"..."

The information about Toyokawa Sakiko came from her Diary. Is it possible that the Diary also tells her what to do next?

The girl's gaze swept over the newly displayed text.

Then, she got the answer.

Hesitation, indecisiveness, fear of loss, looking before and after, weighing the pros and cons --

These are my bad habits.

The reflection of the past still influences me, and the habits I once had linger in every corner of my being.

Every word, every action, every move bears the mark of the past.

I should be free to do whatever I want by now, but I still always feel very restricted.

That's wrong, that's not good.

So, tell me your name and I'll call for you.

Chapter 137 I'm about to have an attack, and no one can stop me.

Two months later, I feel it's necessary for me to introduce myself again.

The mysterious man, Voldemort, that person, Mr. Diary, spoiler bastard...

You can call me whatever you want; my name is just a code. I won't reveal my real name anyway.

I don't know if anyone remembers, or if you've ever seen, what I wrote in my very first diary.

I am a 'time traveler'.

Well, that's just a more general way of putting it. Perhaps I'm not necessarily a time traveler, but rather a projection of some higher-dimensional being, a lucky one who received information from other planes, or an intelligence agent created by some powerful beings for their own amusement.

But none of that matters.

The reason I'm bringing this up again is simply to explain my existence to those 'newcomers' who may not have read my first diary entry.

To be omniscient and omnipotent—that's impossible.

But without a doubt, I know more than you can imagine.

This is my confidence, and the foundation for me to write this diary. I can write about the unknown past hidden deep in your hearts, and I can also write about the future that may happen in the future.

For the past two months, I have adhered to the principle of not giving away spoilers unless necessary, keeping the pranks and spoilers to a reasonable level, and trying my best to write down what I think will be interesting diary entries on each relatively Advanced Nurturing day of this dilapidated vocational school.

That's reasonable and normal. After all, even though it's a diary, it doesn't mean every day will be incredibly exciting, right?

But the more I acted with this belief, the more I felt like I was being shackled.

It wasn't others who put these shackles on me; I put them on myself.

... I should have been free.

I should be more indulgent and more willful.