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

Night. 10:47 PM.

In a modern apartment in the Shinjuku district, Zeyama Haruno sat on the living room sofa, looking towards the bathroom, where the sound of running water was coming from.

Miyazawa Maki was taking a shower.

Haruno massaged his temples, clearly frustrated.

"I just received the 50,000 yen reward from the system, and now I've already spent it all… On top of that, I even put in another 50,000 out of my own pocket. What the hell am I doing?"

He looked at his phone, where the last conversation with his ex-girlfriend, Miyazawa Mana, was still on the screen. Although they had long since broken up, he never deleted her contact. They had ended on good terms, at least enough to maintain a civil relationship.

"I guess I should call her…" Haruno muttered, giving up.

After looking up her number in the contact list, he pressed dial. The ringtone was accompanied by a soothing piano melody.

Golden Hour.

The music managed to calm her nerves momentarily. Finally, Mana answered.

"Haruno? Why are you calling me so late?"

Mana's voice sounded somewhat surprised, but not hostile. It was the first time they had spoken since they had broken up, but there was no trace of awkwardness or special emotion in her tone.

Haruno took a deep breath before answering:

"Mana… I ran into Maki."

On the other end of the line, there was a long silence.

Haruno began to recount everything that had happened that night, from how he found her on the street to how he had taken her home. Of course, he omitted to mention the part about the system and the floating messages. Instead, he explained that he found her by chance while returning from the supermarket.

When he finished, he heard a long sigh from Mana.

"I'm sorry…" she finally said, her tone clearly tired. "I'm sorry Maki is causing you trouble."

"Don't worry about it. After all, we were classmates in high school, right? It's the least I can do."

Haruno looked in the direction of the bathroom, where the sound of running water finally stopped.

"What are you planning to do? Do you want to come pick her up? I can send you the address of my apartment."

"No…" Mana hesitated before continuing. "Maki and my mother had a huge fight tonight. If we bring her back now, they'll just argue again. I think it'll be best if she stays with you tonight, if it's not a problem."

Haruno closed her eyes in resignation. She knew that would be his answer from the start, but she still wanted to try.

"Okay," she answered at last. "But let your parents know. I don't want them to think I kidnapped her or something."

Mana laughed lightly on the other end of the line.

"I will. Thank you very much, Haruno." I'll be sure to talk to them to sort this out."

"Okay. We'll keep in touch tomorrow."

Haruno hung up the call just as the bathroom fell silent.

A few moments later, Maki emerged wrapped in one of Haruno's towels. Her short hair, still damp, fell in messy strands around her face. She was wearing one of Haruno's t-shirts, clearly too big for her thin frame, which left one shoulder bare.

"Is there anything to eat?" Maki asked, without preamble, as she shook her hair with the towel.

Haruno stared at her for a moment before answering.

"I only have instant ramen. You'll have to make do with that."

"Ramen?" Maki frowned in disgust. "Is that all you have? You're such a miserable person."

Haruno ignored her complaint and headed to the kitchen to prepare the ramen.

"I'm being kind by letting you stay here, so don't complain. Besides, I already gave you ten thousand yen." You could have bought anything you wanted with that."

Maki watched him as he began to boil the water, crossing her arms with an air of superiority.

"Ten thousand yen? That's nothing. You should feel honored that I'm here. You could see it as a privilege."

"Yeah, right. Quite an honor," Haruno replied sarcastically. "Finish your ramen and then go to sleep. There's a spare room. If you're cold, there are blankets in the closet."

Maki looked at him with disdain, but finally sat down to eat when the ramen was ready.

"By the way," she added as she ate, "was my sister like you once? So… boring and predictable."

Haruno raised an eyebrow.

"Mana has nothing to do with this. You should stop comparing yourself to her."

Maki dropped her chopsticks with a thud and stared at him.

"Everyone always compares me to her. If you don't like it, why don't you tell them?"

Haruno sighed. She knew this was a sensitive topic, but she didn't expect him to react that way.

"Listen, I'm not interested in your family problems. I'm just trying to help you. So please finish your meal and go to sleep."

Maki glared at him, but didn't say anything else. Finally, she finished eating and headed to the room he had pointed out to her.

Haruno slumped down on the couch, exhausted.

"Why am I getting into these things?" he muttered to himself.