I Picked up a Homeless Girl and she is My Ex girlfriend's sister

Tokyo, Shinjuku district, in front of a Lawson convenience store.

Zeyama Haruno closed her umbrella as she stared in disgust at the bottom of her pants, soaked by the rain.

The weather, as unpredictable as ever, was not to her liking. However, she congratulated herself for having the foresight to bring an umbrella with her. Otherwise, she would have had to take a full shower when she got home.

She didn't know if it would continue to rain later, but as a precaution, she decided it would be best to quickly buy what she needed and return home. She put her umbrella in the holder at the entrance and pushed open the door of the store.

"Welcome..."

The store clerk, looking unfriendly and completely discouraged, gave her a welcome that lacked enthusiasm.

Haruno was already used to this kind of greeting. It was late and the rain had reduced the flow of customers. The monotony of work seemed to have worn the clerk out. However, Japanese social norms demanded courtesy at all times. Even in his apathetic state, the worker tried hard to show respect.

As Haruno walked to the refrigerator to grab a drink, a line of text floated before his eyes:

"The rich lament life's hardships as they shed crocodile tears, while the poor, in order to survive, make choices they may regret forever."

He froze as he read this. He looked around, thinking someone had left him a message somewhere nearby, but the words were still visible in the air.

A novel-style power system? he thought, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He couldn't help but laugh to himself. He had worked hard on his own to get admitted to Tokyo University. Now that he was ready to carve out a future as a writer, this "system" seemed to have come too late to be of any use to him.

But just as he was about to resume his shopping, new lines of text appeared before him:

"When you consider something a treasure, you inevitably treat other things as mere waste."

"Just as no two flowers are exactly alike, the same goes for people. Even if they look identical, they hide secrets deep within, like that girl named Miyazawa Maki, whom you were once connected to."

"Miyazawa Maki?"

The name sounded familiar. She was the younger sister of his ex-girlfriend, Miyazawa Mana, and they were both twins. Haruno had dated Mana throughout high school, but their relationship ended before he started college.

Maki, the younger sister, was the opposite of her sister in terms of character. She was reserved, aloof, and preferred to keep her distance. She had always been cold towards him, which caused Haruno to stop paying attention to him over time.

However, the next lines that appeared made him frown:

"Miyazawa Maki, who possesses a face almost identical to her sister's, has had a completely different fate. She grew up under her sister's shadow, facing constant pressure until she finally gave in. Today, after dropping out of school and facing family problems, she has been kicked out of her home. Now she wanders the streets, with nowhere to go."

"You happen to know of her situation, and also by chance, you live right next to her."

The system offered a reward of 50,000 yen if he helped Maki, but Haruno wasn't sure what to do. His logic told him it wasn't his responsibility, but his heart couldn't ignore the idea of ​​leaving a young girl wandering the dangerous streets of Shinjuku.

He finally decided to look for her.

Haruno left the shop and, in the rain, headed towards a dark alley near Kabukicho, known for its bad reputation. She looked around, passing by groups of girls with exaggerated makeup and troubled teenagers, until in a dark corner she saw someone who matched Maki's description.

Her clothes were wet from the rain, clinging to her thin figure, and her eyes, cold and distant, seemed to observe everything and nothing at the same time.

"So it's her… Miyazawa Maki," Haruno thought as she sighed to herself.