Want to come over to my place?

After rendezvousing with the main branch and Roppongi branch personnel, Celty's appearance still caused quite a sensation. Then, Hojo Kyosuke proposed a street race once again: a showdown between the Speed King Masaki Kyosuke, riding the Guren ZⅡ, and Celty.

As soon as this proposal was made, the notoriously indomitable delinquents immediately began clamoring, completely refusing to view Celty as an urban legend. They believed that in front of Masaki Kyosuke, any entity whatsoever could only swallow the bitter pill of defeat.

Come to think of it, should I give my bike a name too? It seems everyone else's bikes have names.

What should I call it? Rocket 3... Rocket 33? Rocket-sensei? Haha, that sounds quite interesting. But given my driving skills, wouldn't it be a bit inappropriate for others to call my bike "sensei"?

Watching the two motorcycles roaring away into the dark night, Hojo Kyosuke rubbed his chin and let his mind wander.

The race ended with Celty's defeat. Hojo Kyosuke did not know whether Celty had gone all out; he only knew that after the race, the delinquents had accepted this headless rider whose skills were only a tiny fraction inferior to the first generation of the Dekamaru.

One delinquent even comforted Celty, saying, "There's nothing shameful about losing to Masaki-aniki. He is Masaki Kyosuke, after all. Among all the riders in Tokyo, if you haven't lost to Masaki-aniki, you haven't got the face to call yourself a bosozoku."

That's right, the one coming up with such nonsensical logic was, of course, Onizuka Eikichi.

Then Hojo Kyosuke chased him away. Bastard, did you really think I didn't see that lecherous look in your eyes?! Your kendo training on Monday is doubled!

……

For the entire night, Hojo Kyosuke accompanied Celty as she practically made a full circuit around Tokyo's outer loop.

To be honest, if he hadn't been able to hold onto Celty's waist, he wouldn't have wasted a wonderful night drag racing with a bunch of grown men. Celty, on the other hand, had a blast. On the way back to take Hojo Kyosuke home, she kept using her tablet to share her joy.

"Tonight has been the happiest night I've had in over twenty years," Celty used these words to summarize everything about tonight.

"There will be even happier days waiting for you in the future."

It was a pity Celty didn't have a head; otherwise, Hojo Kyosuke would have truly wanted to stroke it affectionately.

"Then goodbye for now, Kyosuke."

Downstairs at Hojo Kyosuke's apartment building, Celty typed her farewell.

"Wait a second, where do you plan to stay tonight? If I'm not mistaken, you probably won't be returning to your previous residence, right?"

From the previous conversation between Celty and that guy named Shinra, Hojo Kyosuke had roughly figured out the course of events.

Shinra's father had stolen Celty's head, and then coaxed Celty under the pretense of providing her with a place to live, after which the father and son dissected her as she searched for her head.

That is utterly despicable. Could they be demons born after dogs died?

No, I apologize to the dogs; those two are simply pure perverts.

Even putting aside this matter, Celty had ridden her motorcycle out of the apartment in full view of everyone, speeding along the walls. That place was probably surrounded by all sides by now.

"..."

Celty did not speak, and Hojo Kyosuke could tell she had lowered her head.

"If you don't mind, why don't you stay at my place for now?" Hojo Kyosuke invited with a smile. Now that he knew his smile had an extraordinary lethal effect on Celty, he naturally wouldn't hesitate to use it.

"Alright!"

Sure enough, before Celty could even think it through, her hands had already typed the characters onto the tablet.

Ah! What on earth am I saying? How could I just go home with someone I've only known for a single night?!

Celty felt as if her face was about to smoke from blushing, yet her body still honestly followed Hojo Kyosuke into the apartment building.

"Neigh-neigh!"

Her beloved steed behind them let out a sound like a horse whinnying. Celty hurriedly turned around, pressing her small hands downward in a calming gesture, and then quickly followed Hojo Kyosuke into the elevator.

"Um, will your family members..." Celty typed anxiously.

"I live alone, you don't need to worry about that at all."

"Please come in. You don't need to wear slippers; the floor is very clean." Hojo Kyosuke turned on the room light and stepped inside first.

"Pardon the intrusion." Although Hojo Kyosuke couldn't see it, Celty still raised her tablet.

"What would you like to drink? I only have cola and ice water here." Hojo Kyosuke pulled open the refrigerator door, holding a can of cola as he motioned to Celty.

"Ah, sorry, sorry. I forgot you don't have a head." As soon as the words left his mouth, Hojo Kyosuke realized what he'd said.

"It's fine. Once I find my head, I'll be able to drink," Celty typed without any anger, full of anticipation.

"Speaking of which, since you know your head was stolen by Shinra's father, wouldn't it be easier to just go demand it back from him?"

Hojo Kyosuke sat down on the living room carpet, leaving the sofa for Celty to sit on—their relationship wasn't close enough yet for them to squeeze onto the same couch.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. Shinra's father is a weirdo, and my head was probably lost by him long ago," Celty recalled the eccentric old man named Kishitani Shingen.

"Right! It seems he has a partnership with a company called Kiryuto Pharmaceuticals. He might be researching my head together with them!" Celty suddenly typed excitedly.

Listening to her discuss her missing head with such calmness, Hojo Kyosuke always had a subtle feeling about it.

"As long as there's a lead, I'll help you ask around." Hojo Kyosuke took out his smartphone; this was the moment to call upon his Doraemon-like subordinates for help.

"Kyosuke, do you know people from Kiryuto Pharmaceuticals?" Hearing this, Celty hurriedly moved from the sofa to stand behind Hojo Kyosuke, watching him operate his phone.

"Maybe I do?" Hojo Kyosuke said uncertainly, then typed a question into the chat group.

In less than a second, someone replied.

"My older sister works as a pharmacist in there." — Minion A

"My father is a worker on the pharmaceutical assembly line." — Minion B

...

Celty watched in dumbfounded amazement. It was actually so easy to find so many related personnel.

Hojo Kyosuke, however, found it quite normal. As a well-known major enterprise in Ikebukuro, Kiryuto Pharmaceuticals certainly employed family members of those delinquents from the Okuizu branch.

"Has anyone seen a detached, super-beautiful brown-haired female head?" This was what Celty had just told him.

The chat group fell silent. The few subordinates from Kiryuto Pharmaceuticals who had just spoken remained quiet, which seemed to mean there was no news.

"I've seen it!" — Minion C

Strange, this subordinate was not among the people related to Kiryuto Pharmaceuticals who had just spoken. Hojo Kyosuke and Celty stared at the screen together as Minion C continued.

"Previously, a middle schooler who looked like a runaway came to rent a house from us. Once, my father saw his door was open and called out for a long time without anyone answering, so he went inside to take a look, and I followed him in. That's when I saw it.

Inside a glass jar, a head was soaking in some unknown solution. Just like the commander said, it was an exceptionally beautiful-looking brown-haired female.

At the time, both my father and I were startled and originally wanted to find a detective, but later we dropped it. After all, such things are very common in Japan, aren't they?"

"Found it! That's my head! Quickly ask where he is!" Celty typed excitedly.

"..." Minion C, namely Tsukasajo Koji, provided the address of the rental property his family owned, and also stated he would make sure to keep a close eye on that person.

"Thank you for your hard work." Hojo Kyosuke closed the chat room.

"Let's go quickly!" Celty typed.

"Don't be in such a rush. It's already so late; let's go tomorrow."

"But..."

"Alright, listen to me, go to sleep obediently tonight. There are no pajamas suitable for you to wear here, so I'll go downstairs and buy you a set."

Giving Celty a gentle smile, Hojo Kyosuke picked up his phone and wallet and headed out the door.

Celty sat on the sofa, recalling the magical experiences of tonight.

First, she made a good friend named Hojo Kyosuke, then unexpectedly learned of Shinra's deception towards her, went for a joyride around the Tokyo loop, and finally followed Hojo Kyosuke back to his home.

Good heavens, this progression was way too fast.

Celty didn't know what was wrong with her; could it be that spring, as described in nature documentaries, had arrived?

"Celty, you can take a bath first. I'll go out to the balcony to practice kendo for a while." Hojo Kyosuke quickly returned from the convenience store downstairs with a set of disposable pajamas.

As mentioned before, the bathroom in his apartment had no door, only a waterproof glass door. Celty was not Yamauchi Sakura, so he still needed to go out to the balcony to avoid any awkwardness.

"Thank you, I'll give you the money." Celty pulled out her wallet.

"No need, it didn't cost that much anyway," Hojo Kyosuke refused.

……

The night passed peacefully just like that, without any romantic entanglements occurring. Hojo Kyosuke slept on the tatami mats in the living room, with a curtain drawn between the living room and the bedroom.