After meeting up with the main office and the Roppongi branch members, Celty's appearance caused quite a stir.
Then, Hojou Kyousuke proposed a race again.
The speed king, Makki Hojou, driving the Crimson ZⅡ, would challenge Celty in a showdown.
As soon as the suggestion was made, the stubborn delinquents started getting loud, no longer seeing Celty as just an urban legend.
They believed that in front of Makki Hojou, no matter the opponent, they would end up swallowing defeat.
By the way, should I name my own bike too?
It seems like everyone else's bike has a name.
What should I call it?
Rocket 3?
Rocket 33? Or maybe Rocket Sensei?
Haha, that sounds pretty fun.
But with my riding skills, is it really okay for people to call my bike "sensei"?
Watching the two motorcycles speeding off into the night, Kyousuke stroked his chin, thinking idly.
The race ended with Celty's defeat, and Kyousuke didn't know whether Celty had used her full power, but after the race, the delinquents had accepted her as a skilled rider—only a little bit weaker than the first-generation "Bousou Tenshi" (Rampaging Angel).
Some even tried to comfort Celty, saying, "It's not embarrassing to lose to Makki-sama. He's Makki Hojou. Any biker in Tokyo who hasn't lost to him can't even call themselves part of the gang."
Of course, the one saying this was none other than Eikichi Onizuka.
Kyousuke immediately kicked him out, grumbling, "Damn it, I saw that perverted look in your eyes! Extra swordsmanship training on Monday!"
...
That night, Kyousuke spent the whole evening racing around the Tokyo outer ring with Celty.
Honestly, if he couldn't hold Celty's waist, he wouldn't waste such a beautiful night racing with a bunch of old men.
But Celty had a blast, and on the way back to Kyousuke's place, she kept sharing her excitement on her pad.
"This is the happiest night I've had in over 20 years," Celty typed to sum up the evening.
"There will be more happy days waiting for you," Kyousuke replied.
If Celty had a head, he would have wanted to pat it gently, feeling a sense of affection.
"Well, goodbye then, Hojou," Celty typed, bidding him farewell outside his apartment.
"Wait a minute. Where are you planning to stay tonight?"
"I take it you won't be going back to your old place, right?"
After hearing Celty's conversation with someone named Shinra earlier, Kyousuke had a rough idea of what happened.
Shinra's father had stolen Celty's head, and then, as a condition for providing a place to stay, tricked Celty into letting them dissect her while they looked for it.
That's just plain messed up.
Could they have been demons turned from dead dogs?
Wait, no—scratch that, apologies to dogs. These two are just pure weirdos.
Even without considering all that, Celty had driven her motorcycle out of her apartment in front of everyone, probably with the area surrounded by all kinds of people.
"..."
Celty didn't respond. Kyousuke noticed that she lowered her head.
"If you don't mind, you can stay at my place for now?" Kyousuke smiled as he invited her, knowing well that his smile had a certain effect on her, so he wasn't shy about using it.
"Sure!" Without even thinking, Celty immediately typed her response.
'What am I saying? How could I just go home with someone I just met tonight?'
Celty felt her face burning, but her body obediently followed Kyousuke into the apartment building.
"Neigh!"
Her beloved bike made a horse-like sound from behind, and Celty hurriedly turned around, lightly pressing her hands on it before quickly following Kyousuke into the elevator.
"Uh, will your family...?" Celty nervously typed.
"I live alone, you don't have to worry at all," Kyousuke assured her.
"Come in. You don't need slippers; the floor is clean," Kyousuke turned on the light and entered, motioning for her to follow.
"Sorry for the trouble," Celty typed on her pad, even though Kyousuke was already out of sight.
"What would you like to drink? I only have Coke and cold water," Kyousuke opened the fridge and showed her a can of Coke.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot you don't have a head." He realized it as soon as the words left his mouth.
"It's okay. Once I find my head, I'll be able to drink it," Celty typed, unfazed, but still hopeful.
"By the way, since we know Shinra's father stole your head, why not just ask him for it back directly?" Kyousuke sat on the living room carpet, offering the couch to Celty.
Their relationship wasn't close enough yet to sit together on the same couch.
"It's probably not that simple. Shinra's father is a strange guy, and my head might already be lost by now," Celty recalled the strange old man named Kishitani Shingen.
"Wait! He might be working with a company called Yagiri Pharmaceuticals. They might be researching my head!" Celty suddenly typed excitedly.
Kyousuke couldn't help but feel a little strange hearing her calmly talk about her missing head.
"Well, at least there's a clue. I'll help you dig up some more info," he said, pulling out his phone to contact his subordinates, who were just as capable as Doraemon.
"Hojou, do you know anyone at Yagiri Pharmaceuticals?" Celty asked eagerly, moving closer to Kyousuke to look at his phone.
"Maybe? I'm not sure," he replied and began typing into the group chat.
Less than a second later, someone responded.
———————————————————————
"My sister works there as a pharmacist." — Underling A
"My dad works in the pharmaceutical workshop." — Underling B
———————————————————————
Celty was dumbfounded at how quickly they found so many people connected to the company.
Kyousuke thought it was normal.
Yagiri Pharmaceuticals was a big company in Ikebukuro, and of course, many of the delinquents' families had connections there.
"Has anyone seen a disembodied, super-beautiful, brown-haired female head?" Celty had mentioned earlier.
The chat group went quiet.
The few who had spoken earlier had stopped.
Looks like they had no information.
———————————————————————
"I've seen it!" — Underling C
———————————————————————
Oddly, this person wasn't one of the ones related to Yagiri Pharmaceuticals.
Kyousuke and Celty stared at the screen as Underling C continued.
———————————————————————
"Once, a middle school student who seemed to be running away rented a room at my place."
"One time, my father saw that the door was open, and after calling out with no answer, he walked in."
"I followed him, and we saw... a head in a glass jar, submerged in some kind of liquid. It was an unusually beautiful brown-haired female head."
"At that time, both my father and I were shocked."
"We thought about calling the cops, but in the end, we decided against it since weird things like that happen often in Japan, right?"
———————————————————————
"We found it! That's my head! Ask him where it is!" Celty typed urgently.
———————————————————————
"...16*-**, Kichijoji Minami-cho 1-chome" Underling C, whose real name was Tsukasa Kouji, gave the address of the rental property and promised to keep an eye on the person.
———————————————————————
"Thanks a lot," Kyousuke typed and closed the chat.
"We need to go now!" Celty typed.
"Don't rush. It's so late. Let's go tomorrow."
"But..."
"Okay, okay, listen to me. You'll sleep well tonight. I'll go buy you a set of pajamas since I don't have any that will fit you."
With a gentle smile, Kyousuke grabbed his phone and wallet and headed out.
Celty sat on the couch, reflecting on tonight's surreal experiences.
First, she made a new friend in Kyousuke, then discovered Shinra's deceit, went on a Tokyo outer loop joyride, and finally ended up at his place.
'Oh my god, things are moving too fast.' Celty didn't know what was happening to her.
Could it be that spring had come, like they say in the animal kingdom?
"Celty, you should shower first. I'll practice swordsmanship on the balcony for a bit," Kyousuke quickly returned with a set of pajamas from a convenience store.
Earlier, he'd mentioned that his bathroom didn't have a door, just a waterproof glass partition.
Since Celty wasn't like Yamauchi Sakura, he went to the balcony to give her privacy.
"Thanks. I'll pay you back," Celty reached for her wallet.
"No need. It wasn't expensive," Hojou Kyousuke declined.
———————————————————————
The night passed quietly, with nothing particularly intimate happening.
Kyousuke slept on the tatami in the living room, while a curtain separated the living room from the bedroom.
———————————————————————
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