Himiko's parents had filed a notice against her.
Practically a lawsuit threat, and why?
Because of the clothes she had taken when we moved into our house.
Completely ridiculous.
It had been years since then, and some of them didn't even fit her anymore.
We had just gotten home. Himiko hadn't said anything the whole way, she had just been clinging to my arm with her head lowered.
"... Himi."
I gently removed her from my arm and turned her toward me, holding her face with my hands on her cheeks.
"Huh?"
I stared at her for a few seconds, her eyes slightly red and beginning to water.
"It's okay…"
"You can cry."
"I'm here…"
Her eyes stayed fixed on mine.
"I'm here with you."
That made her break down.
Tears started flowing nonstop, slipping through the gaps between my fingers while I wiped them away with my thumbs.
She clung to my arms before throwing herself against my chest.
"Sniff…"
"W-why??"
I wrapped her in a hug, keeping her standing as her legs were starting to give out.
"Why do they have to be so petty??"
"Sniff…"
I stroked her hair, which eased her trembling just a little.
"..."
"I know it's… Sniff… stupid, but…"
"I hoped they'd change… Sniff…"
"..."
"That they'd love me again… Sniff."
I picked her up princess-style and carried her to the couch, letting her cry in my lap until she calmed down.
Himiko wiped away her tears with the backs of her hands, taking a few deep breaths.
"... Thank you, my love…"
She sat beside me and rested her head against my shoulder.
"Sigh…"
"What are we going to do?"
She grabbed my hand and started playing with my fingers, pulling and bending them.
With my free hand, I pulled out my phone to talk to Dr. Ryūichi.
He had already sent another message:
[Dr. Ryūichi: "We could easily win this, but it would take valuable time, which you two can't afford to waste while attending UA."]
[Dr. Ryūichi: "Not to mention all the costs and headaches it would cause."]
"Maybe we could donate them?" I had already forwarded the message to the lawyer, though it took me a bit longer to type while distracted.
[Dr. Ryūichi: "I'm sorry, Kaneki… But I'm afraid not."]
[Dr. Ryūichi: "The notice demands either immediate return or permanent disposal of the items."]
[Dr. Ryūichi: "Passing them on to third parties could create problems for the NGO or the family receiving them."]
"..."
[Dr. Ryūichi: "They just want to prolong the conflict, therefore:"]
[Dr. Ryūichi: "The best option is to record every listed piece of clothing being destroyed."]
"Hmm…"
Tec!
Himiko started cracking my fingers.
I switched my phone keyboard to one-handed mode to make it easier and typed a few messages.
["Is there any extra condition we need to know before doing this?"]
[Dr. Ryūichi: "Yes! The place has to be private and isolated, that way we avoid future problems with them and with the government."]
[Dr. Ryūichi: "We could rent a vacation cabin for this."]
[Dr. Ryūichi: "Unfortunately, even for a short period, it's still going to be pretty expensive."]
Tec!
The prices for those vacation cabins were absurdly high since summer break was approaching.
We still had some money saved up, but that was far beyond our current means.
'Come to think of it…'
I turned to Himiko with a smile, which seemed to cheer her up immediately as she grew eager to hear my idea.
["Actually, Dr… I think I know a way we can do this for free."]
─── ◆ ───
We left early on Saturday, taking a subway to the city where Dr. Ryūichi lived, which was already closer to our final destination.
Back then, he used to live in the same city where Himiko and I attended middle school, but he moved afterward.
Ryūichi met us with his car in front of the station, and from there, we hit the road.
Not before buying four huge sandwiches and a bottle of soda for lunch, courtesy of our lawyer.
At the moment, we were driving along a dirt trail through an open forest with low grass, where a few destroyed trees could be seen here and there.
"How interesting… Most pro heroes prefer buildings in the center of large cities," Ryūichi murmured while observing the surroundings from the driver's seat.
"Does Mirko have an agency, Kaneki-kun?" Himiko turned toward me and asked.
She was wearing some of my clothes, which looked quite oversized on her.
Her hair was a little messy since she hadn't had much time to get ready today.
'Really cute…'
"Hellooo, Earth to Kaneki."
Himiko was beginning to blush under my fixed stare.
She poked my cheek, bringing me back to reality.
"Ah, no, she doesn't."
"She's always been known for working alone… At least until Kaneki started showing up beside her in Hosu and Tokyo."
─── ◆ ───
It didn't take long before we arrived at the wooden cabin.
Getting out of the car, I grabbed Himiko's hand and headed to the door, with Ryūichi following right behind us.
Knock knock knock
"..."
I heard footsteps approaching…
The door opened.
"Yo, what's up brat."
Rumi appeared wearing casual clothes, with Daisy peeking over the top of her head.
"Hey old lady."
I raised my gaze to the classy madam above the grumpy rabbit's head.
"Hii Daisy, good to see you again."
She happily waved her paw.
"Hmm… And you must be…" Rumi looked Himiko up and down, narrowing her eyes.
Himiko had been a little distracted by Daisy, but quickly recomposed herself and introduced herself.
"Hello Miss Mirko, I'm Himiko Toga."
"Kaneki's girlfriend." She added.
'Heh.' I raised a single eyebrow toward Mirko.
"You can call me Rumi…"
She poked Himiko's forehead with her finger.
Himiko seemed a little confused by the sudden gesture, but didn't try to stop her.
"No way…" Her eyes filled with horror.
"You're actually real…"
A vein bulged on my forehead.
Rumi was clearly holding back laughter while looking at Himiko in disbelief.
'This old hag.'
"Hehehe…" Himiko let out a quiet giggle after seeing my reaction.
"..."
"And this guy?" She gestured toward Ryūichi with her chin.
"He's our lawyer…"
"It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Miss Mirko. I'm Ryūichi Naruhodō from Phoenix Law Office."
"Right..." Mirko turned his gaze to me.
"You can choose any spot around here to burn those things, as long as it's far from the trail."
I had obviously called her yesterday, and luckily, she happened to be taking the day off today.
"Thank you, Rumi, seriously." I said sincerely, setting aside our usual insult banter for a moment.
She waved her hand dismissively and said it was fine.
Grabbing the bags of clothes from the trunk, we headed toward a more distant corner of Mirko's property.
The first part of the video showed all the clothes listed in the notice being thrown into the center of a clearing.
After pouring a little gasoline over them, we finally set everything on fire.
The pile burned before us while a phone mounted on a tripod recorded the entire scene.
"..."
"It's going to be so expensive to buy new clothes…"
Himiko snuggled closer to me, eyes fixed on the burning clothes.
"Don't worry about that, we'll figure it out later."
She only nodded.
Once Ryūichi thought it was enough, he turned off the phones.
Ryūichi kept recording with his own phone as backup.
"I'll handle the rest of the situation. For now, you two should focus on your studies."
"Thank you, Ryūichi-san… But what about the payment?"
"Leave that for when you're actually able to pay me. I won't charge interest."
"..."
People just kept helping me…
"Let me pay for it." Rumi stepped forward.
"But…" I tried to protest.
"No buts. The condition is that you call me sensei from now on!"
"..."
I let out a sigh, alternating my gaze between the two adults.
"Okay, sensei."
Rumi hummed before snorting in disdain.
"Bah, boring."
"Just call me Rumi."
Rumi and the other two smiled at that, chuckling quietly.
Even I let out a small smile.
'Seriously… I've been blessed with wonderful people…'
"OHHHHH!! A REACTION!!!"
Rumi pointed at my face with her mouth hanging open in shock.
Daisy, on top of her head, had the exact same reaction, literally pointing at me with her paw and mouth open.
Dr. Ryūichi just put his hands on his head, also staring at me with his mouth open, alternating his gaze between Himiko and me.
"Hahahaha!"
That pulled a genuine laugh out of me, leaving the three of them even more stunned.
─── ◆ ───
[A/N]: Has the site gone back to normal? Now everything is correct, including the paragraph comments... strange, but very good.
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