And now, that same tome—after taking the form of a book fitting the world it was thrown into—was now in Renji's hands.

He stared at it for a moment longer then shrugged. "Eh. It's not like you're going to tell me," he said, shoving the book back into his backpack. "I'll find out whenever I find out."

He slung the back over his shoulder and headed out into the corridor. Mrs Hoshizawa wasn't there anymore and Hiroshi had retired to the desk where he bored on a magazine.

Renji gave him a smile when he looked at him then headed into the art hall to paint.

Painting was the easy part of everything. He actually enjoyed doing it. At home, in between homework and reading new issues of his favorite manga, Renji barely made time for himself to paint.

But doing it in the Center ended up being a way for him to express this talent that he had, and it was quite the soothing thing to do. More so, it helped him get practice before the big day in the Art Competition.

Today, Renji painted a collapsing skyscraper, crumbling from the tops in blue boxes like it was a game model.

It was a brisk idea he had come up with, didn't even know what he was doing when he picked up the brush but it actually came out better than he thought.

Hana entered the hall sometime during the painting process and she stood by him for a while after inspecting others. While her perfume fucked his heart, he tried his very best to maintain his composure around her.

If allowed her presence or the smooth, soothing way she spoke, get into his head, he could slip and end up stroking a paint on the wrong side, ruining his painting.

But Hana kept asking him questions, her sweet motherly voice spiralling in his head like a hypnotic song, almost drawing him to stand up and kiss her right there.

He did his best not to.

It really was difficult this time because it was a full blown crush now, not the ordinary lust he'd had this time last week.

Things were different now.

In any case, the painting session ended, and as expected, Renji won the Art of the Day.

"Gather round, everyone! Take a look at what our young artist here has cooked up today," Hiroshi said. "Renji, my boy, this is something special. Tell us about it."

Renji shrugged. "I don't know. I just painted anything."

The volunteers and organizers crowded the bulletin board in the main hall, the room buzzing with the low hum of conversation and the occasional clink of paintbrushes being cleaned in water jars from the art session that had just wrapped up.

Renji locked eyes with Miyu for a short second, before she shyly looked away, her hand pressed into the middle of her thighs.

Yumi, the middle-aged woman with short brown hair and a paint-stained apron, leaned in to the painting, her hands clasped in excitement as she pointed at the blue boxes with a finger.

"Oh, Renji, this is incredible! It looks like a skyscraper falling apart in blocks. It's familiar though, like one of those video games my son plays. What do you call it, Minecraft or something?"

"The way the top is crumbling, it's so dynamic. How did you come up with that?"

Renji shrugged again. "Ehhh. I don't know. I just… did it."

Everyone glanced at each other and erupted into a playful laughter. Renji just stood and stared, not sure of what was so funny. He even saw Miyu smiling dreamily at him from the corner.

His cheeks turned red from the attention.

"Well," Mrs Hoshizawa stepped forward, "It'll come as a surprise to no one that Renji wins our Art of the Day again. He's a four -time consecutive winner now."

She stood beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder once again, sending electric jolts of ecstasy through him. "That's never happened before." She looked at him and smiled. "We're really happy to have you as a part of our family, Renji."

Renji smiled back and gave them all two nervous thumb ups. "I'm happy too."

Hana remained eye-locked to him, admiring his youthful features and his lovely character. Such a fine young man. Any woman would be proud to have him as a son.

"Alright now!" Hiroshi declared. "Get your things if you're leaving, the distributing party is ready to start moving. Everyone else, the cleaners, do the cleaning, the painters, you can head home, other volunteers, round up. The bus is almost here."

Activity immediately hummed in the air as the distribution team sprang into action.

Soon after, the large, expensive bus pulled up, ready to be loaded with the day's donations. Stacks of boxes lined the ground: food supplies, the toiletries; blankets, cleaning supplies, and small household items like batteries and light bulbs.

Team members in casual jeans and Sunshine Center t-shirts hefted boxes into the bus's cargo hold and stacked them securely to prevent shifting during the drive.

Renji, now a dedicated member of the distribution team, rolled up his jacket sleeves and joined in.

With his skinny arms, he grabbed a heavy crate of bottled water and non-perishables, sliding it into place beside a tower of diaper boxes for families in need.

As he worked, sweat beading on his forehead under the morning sun, he caught sight of Hana overseeing the operation from a nearby table, clipboard in hand, checking off items on her list.

Wiping his hands on his pants, Renji approached her. "Hey, Mrs Hoshizawa. I was curious, what are the places we're heading to today for the donations?"

Before Hana could respond, a woman materialized beside her, stepping out from the shadow of the bus.

Renji froze. An aura of authority had just slammed into him out of nowhere.

The woman was dressed in a sharp black suit and dark sunglasses. She was like a female version of Hideo.

She had her dark hair in a ponytail, with a few striking dyed white strands cascading over one side of her face, adding an edge to her otherwise impeccable look.

She exuded a cold, no-nonsense vibe, and her face was like stone carved from ice. But what was more shocking was her allure.

This woman was extremely sexy.

Renji tried to take a good look at him without seeming awkward.

She had the kind of hot build that turned heads: full, big breasts straining subtly against the tailored fabric of her jacket, a slender hourglass figure that tapered to a narrow waist and flared into curvaceous hips, all accentuated by the form-fitting suit that left little to the imagination while maintaining professional poise.

Who the hell was this? Renji had to ask.

He looked at Hana. "Who's this?"

Hana glanced at the woman with a small smile. "Oh. This is my new bodyguard, Akira Mina. Akira, this is Renji."

Akira extended her hand, and Renji shook it nervously, her grip was so strong and confident. "Nice to meet you."

Akira tilted her head slightly as she asked with a cool and measured voice. "Are you the one who saved Hana from that speeding bike incident?"

"Yeah, that was me," Renji replied, rubbing the back of his neck modestly.

She nodded approvingly, showing a faint hint of respect through her icy facade. "Impressive. I'm looking forward to working together with you to ensure Mrs. Hoshizawa's safety out here in the world."

"Oh. Well… okay," Renji said, a bit taken aback by her directness.

Hana chimed in then, answering his original question. "We're heading to three locations today, Renji. The Onukawa foster care homes and one homeless shelter in Minamito Street. Should be a full day, but a good one."

Renji nodded, absorbing the info. "Got it. Well, see you in a few."

He turned to head back to the packing, but his mind lingered on the new bodyguard.

Akira was undeniably sexy—those curves, that confident stance—but her presence got him pretty worried.

Now that Hana had a bodyguard again, would things revert to being difficult as before.

'Hmm.' From looks alone, she appeared over 30, so if she became a problem, she too could end up in the Milf Note.

Maybe it was smarter to put her in the Note preemptively, before any issues arose. Though, right now, she seemed fairly nice.

After a while of thinking, Renji shook his head, deciding to think on it later.

The team finished loading the bus soon after, every box secured and the doors latched shut.

They piled in, the engine rumbling to life as they set off for the first stop: the Onukawa foster care home on the outskirts of town.

Renji slid into his usual seat beside Hana, the two of them chatting lightly about the day's plans and sharing a laugh over a silly volunteer mishap from the week before.

Akira sat quietly behind them, her eyes scanning the surroundings without a word.

'She just took a seat in the back without question,' Renji thought. 'Hmm. She's already much better than Hideo so far.'

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