I play the wind instrument in Hokkaido.

Page 147

Kitahara Hakuba stretched.

Get off work and get off work.

As I stepped out of the school gate, the sky was brightly lit by the fireworks.

The flow of people in Hakodate City remains as strong as ever, and the air in the city is still stale. Kitahara Hakuba often gets into close contact with women wearing yukatas.

Kitahara Hakuba thought he could finally get some rest after returning home, but to his utter surprise, another beautiful girl appeared right outside his door.

The streetlights in front of the door illuminated her graceful figure; the girl's fitted dress accentuated her full and rounded breasts.

Beside her was a silver suitcase.

"Saito-san?" Upon seeing her, Kitahara Hakuba was caught off guard and felt an unusual touch brush against his skin.

Saito Harutori reflexively looked up, and when she realized he had finally returned, her legs, which were peeking out from under her skirt, were crossed as if hiding something.

Kitahara Hakuma walked straight past, and the girl turned her face away as if she were still in fear.

"What are you doing here?" His gaze fell on her face.

The sweltering summer night air flowed between the two, and the occasional bursts of fireworks in the sky stirred a subtle unease in Saito Haruka's heart.

"Teacher Kitahara... I... I would like to ask you for a favor."

Kitahara Hakuba Vivi frowned. Could it be about joining the club? Was that really what she was thinking?

"what?"

But since she hasn't said it outright, I can't speculate.

A shadow fell over Saito Harutori's face as she repeatedly stroked the strands of hair on her chest, seemingly trying to ease her anxiety.

"Could you be my guarantor?"

"what?"

The inexplicable words made Kitahara Hakuba unconsciously ask a question in return, and the girl's gesture of giving her hair turned into kneading, as if the fear of being rejected was emanating from her body.

"I think if it were Kitahara-sensei, she wouldn't laugh at me..."

Saito Harutori's amber eyes trembled slightly, like shimmering waves, as her gaze fell on the notebook bag he was carrying.

"Actually, I had a disagreement with my family over some things."

"Ok?"

So what? What does it have to do with me?

"I spent the night in an internet cafe last night."

Saito Haruka crossed one arm, supporting her prominent breasts, and said...

"But I'm still a little scared. Even though it's a private room, there are a lot of people walking around in front of the door, so I don't feel safe at all..."

"Try to communicate more with your family."

Kitahara Hakuba walked up the steps, casually took out his keys, and said...

“After all, they are family. They will worry if you run away from home.”

When Saito Harutori saw that he didn't seem to have any intention of helping, a hint of panic flashed across her face, but because she had hurt him, she couldn't bring herself to ask him for help.

“He wouldn’t worry about that…” Saito Harutori murmured, “I’m not even as important to him as Tsukiyo.”

Kitahara Hakuba went inside, his hand on the doorknob, and asked in confusion:

"You're living such a good life, do you think your parents are abusing you?"

Hmm.

1

This left Saito Haruka speechless for a moment, and she glanced at Kitahara Hakuba with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Her extremely vulnerable face and eyes were different from her usual gentleness, as if they were telling Kitahara Hakuba that she had nowhere else to go.

“You’re probably still angry right now. You can stay at another classmate’s house for a while. You’ll be fine once your anger subsides,” Kitahara Hakuba said, and then turned to close the door.

Saito Harutori gave a wry smile: "That's why I came to you, because I didn't know who else to contact."

"You can contact Minister Yukawa and the others."

She didn't answer, but simply looked up at the fireworks bursting in the sky, the light from the sky faintly reflecting in the dark canal.

"That's enough for now, go and get some rest." Kitahara Hakuba closed the door directly.

As the door clicked shut, a strange feeling washed over Saito Haruka. The streetlights emitted a warm glow, but somehow it still felt cold.

"sorry......

Saito Harutori lowered her eyes sadly, reached out and gripped the handle of her suitcase, the rear wheel slamming twice on the steps.

Where can Kada go now? Renting a place without a guarantor is impossible, and staying in an internet cafe is too scary; it's impossible to maintain a proper privacy.

Should we really go find Yukawa and the others?

..

But...she must have heard what I said to Eri that day...

As for going back, she would rather die than ever return to that place.

Just as Saito Haruka was wondering what to do, she heard the sound of a door opening behind her.

"Click!" Kitahara Hakuba opened the door and said with a hint of helplessness, "Saito-kun, come in and talk."

What's wrong with this girl? She keeps pushing her moral boundaries.

Saito Haruka froze, her shoulders tense, and a deep unease flickered in her eyes:

"this....

“Now that you’ve come all this way, any hesitation now seems unnecessary.” Kitahara Hakuba stepped forward and said, “What do you mean by guarantor?”

As the wind rustled through the grass, Saito Harukori brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, a burning emotion welling up from the depths of her heart:

“I went to rent a place outside, but the landlord said that I must have a guarantor to rent it out.”

This...

Kitahara Hakuba remembered that last time, Nagase Tsukiyo wanted him to be her guarantor, but she didn't need to. Instead, Saito Harukori needed to be her guarantor.

"You can find a guarantee company for this."

Saito Harutori said with difficulty:

"Their fees are too high..."

"You'll be broke?"

"Well... after deducting the three fees, I can only pay one month's rent. I really don't have any money to give to the guarantee company."

The three gold items she mentioned were a gift of money, a deposit, and a security deposit.

Kitahara Hakuba felt that the most outrageous thing was the wedding gift money, which was meant to thank the landlord for renting the house to him, and the wedding gift money was usually the price of one month's rent.

But Miss, are you kidding me?

He had just heard Saito Harutori help the other members of the brass band contribute to the club's expenses today, and now he heard her say that she had no money.

Can anyone tell him which one is true?

Kitahara Hakuba peered at the girl, whose hands were clasped together in front of her, looking unsure of what to do.

“Okay, I’ll be your guarantor. Can you contact the landlord now?” he asked.

A hint of unease flashed across Saito Haruka's face, but a look of delight appeared on her cherry-red lips. She immediately pulled out her phone and said:

"I'll contact you now."

She quickly dialed the landlord's number, and while she waited for him to answer, Kitahara Hakuba stood motionless beside her.

Feeling bored, I watched the fireworks rising in the sky.

Saito Haruka called several times, but received no reply.

“You should probably stay outside and have some fun, since it’s the port festival right now.” Kitahara Hakuba raised his hand, ran a hand through his bangs, sighed, and said, “Why don’t you come another day?”

"Hmm.

Harutori Saito held her phone to her chest in a sullen voice, her left hand gripping the handle of her suitcase tightly.

She was like a quilt with a hole in it, revealing a layer of unease.

Kitahara Hakuba was dumbfounded when he saw that she showed no sign of leaving.

Miss, you don't actually want to come in, do you? Do you really think I'm that nice?

"I'll get you some hotel rooms. You can stay there for now. Don't worry about the money; you can pay me back slowly later."

Kitahara Hakuba took out his phone, relieved that he was an adult.

Unfortunately, these past few days have coincided with the Hong Kong festival, and those wretched out-of-towners have booked out all the rooms in local hotels! They're not even sparing guesthouses!

Seeing that Kitahara Hakuba's expression was somewhat gloomy, Saito Harutori assumed that he was dissatisfied with her, so she sadly pulled her suitcase and walked out.

Sorry to bother you, Kitahara-sensei.

Watching her figure gradually disappear into the distance, Kitahara Hakuba really wanted to go straight home, after all, out of sight, out of mind.

But as a teacher, he simply couldn't bear to see this.

"Saito-san, come with me." Kitahara Hakuba quickly stepped forward and pressed down on her suitcase.

Saito Haruka felt a sudden sense of relief. Looking at the handsome face in front of her, she felt as if there were grit in her rice and fish bones that hadn't been properly removed.

Is this the feeling I give him?

"Give me your suitcase. It breaks my heart to hear you keep bumping into things."

Kitahara Hakuba was heartbroken over the suitcase; it was pure torture for him.

Saito Harutori's heart was like a wind chime hanging from the eaves, ringing out as if it were knocking on someone's name.

She let go of his hand, and Kitahara Hakuma placed his hand directly on the suitcase handle, where he could feel a distinct warmth.

"Let's go."