Maybe it was because she'd run into Aoki outside of school and STARRY that day, but Gotou Hitori looked genuinely shocked.
And thanks to that shock, she completely failed to control her voice.
"AA-AA-AA-AA-AOKI-SENPAI?!"
Her sudden shout echoed through the restaurant, far louder than it needed to be.
Aoki, who'd only intended to give a casual greeting, froze awkwardly in his seat and didn't reply right away.
As for Bocchi-chan...
The moment the words left her mouth, Gotou Hitori realized—this wasn't a live house.
This was a family restaurant.
And it was right in the middle of the dinner rush.
She could already feel the curious stares of nearby diners turning toward her.
Her surprise turned to horror. Her expression froze mid-shock, and her voice got caught in her throat.
Luckily, her mom stepped in at just the right moment to smooth things over.
"Oh? Hitori, do you know that boy? Want to go say hi?"
She had seen the viral Youtube video, but since the quality was a bit grainy, and they weren't all that close to his table, Bocchi's mom didn't immediately recognize Aoki Kei.
But Bocchi-chan was in no state to explain anything.
With so many people watching her, all she wanted to do was crawl into a hole and disappear.
Desperate to end the awkward moment quickly and find a place to hide, she nodded firmly at her mom without a word.
And so, her parents and younger sister without giving her a choice—pulled her along as they walked toward Aoki's table.
As they approached, her mother leaned in and whispered, deliberately lowering her voice, "I'm surprised you have a male friend, Hitori! Is he your boyfriend?
He looks about your age... Wait, today's Tuesday—why isn't he in school? Don't tell me he's a working adult?! If that's the case..."
Question after question came flying at her.
Having only ever met Aoki-senpai in school or at the live house, Hitori was a nervous wreck. And that loud outburst just now? It made her want to sink into the floor.
She had zero mental energy left to respond to her mom's barrage.
All she could do was let herself get dragged all the way to Aoki's table.
"..."
As for Aoki—
Seeing the pink-haired girl suddenly brought before him like a captured creature, he paused for a moment before speaking up first—right before her family could say anything.
Turning to her parents, he offered a polite, calm smile and said, "Hello, sir, ma'am. I'm Aoki Kei. I'm in the same band as Gotou-san—we're friends."
He gave a respectful greeting, followed by a simple explanation of how he and Bocchi-chan knew each other.
Even though he'd been caught a little off guard by her sudden shout earlier, he figured that this little "meet the parents" moment had gone about as smoothly as one could hope for—at least in his eyes.
...Well, "meet the parents" might not be the best phrase.
That sounded a bit too formal—and misleading.
After getting a closer look, Bocchi's mom finally recognized him.
The video on Yutube had been blurry, but it had captured enough of his face to spark recognition now that they were up close.
And with Aoki Kei's clear introduction, everything clicked into place for her.
Whatever little hint of suspicion she'd felt melted away, and she responded with a kind smile.
"Ohhh—so you're Aoki-kun! Hitori mentions you all the time at home. Thank you for always looking after her."
"..."
Gotou Hitori went dead silent.
Aoki Kei blinked, also slightly stunned.
He glanced over at her, silently asking with his eyes: 'Why are you always talking about me to your parents?'
And Gotou Hitori...
Faced with Aoki-senpai's curious look, the socially anxious girl simply couldn't handle it.
So she activated her ultimate defense mechanism: the Ostrich Technique™—lowering her head, shutting herself off from the world, and letting her thoughts spiral in panic.
Seeing her do this, Aoki gave up on getting a real answer and shifted his attention back to her mom.
Bocchi's mother seemed to notice his puzzled expression.
Thinking "My daughter finally has a friend—and I actually get to meet him? I have to make the most of this!", she smiled warmly and continued.
"Hitori really does talk about you a lot at home. Things like, 'He's amazing at guitar,' or 'He's such a hardworking senpai,' or 'He's so kind when he talks...' Oh! And there's more—"
Even Bocchi-chan's Ostrich Defense nearly broke under that one.
Just when she finally mustered the courage to lift her head, she heard her mom go, "Oh, and one more thing—" and immediately froze again.
"She told us she's only been able to make so many new friends because you invited her into Kessoku Band. That you helped her take her first step out of her shell... So Aoki-kun, thank you for always looking out for our Hitori."
To have all the embarrassing things she'd ever said behind someone's back suddenly aired out in public…
Ah—this was the end of her life.
The light vanished from Bocchi-chan's eyes.
And as for Aoki, after hearing the mother's explanation—
"Ah, no, it's fine. Friends don't need to worry about that kind of thing," he replied instinctively, trying to sound casual.
Then he looked back at Hitori.
He didn't know exactly what was going through her mind right now, but he could guess—she was probably dying from embarrassment and desperately wishing she could disappear.
But being socially anxious, she couldn't even run away properly.
That was… honestly pitiful.
It felt like she was going through a public execution.
Aoki mentally apologized for his earlier curiosity and quickly decided to steer the conversation in a different direction.
"So, uh… Gotou-san, why didn't you go to school today? Did you take the day off too?" he asked, shifting the topic.
He looked at Bocchi-chan as he asked the question, clearly addressing her.
Her lips trembled as if she were about to say something, but before she could even squeak out a reply, her little sister jumped in and answered for her:
"Onee-chan said school was too exhausting and she wanted to rest. She also said she hasn't had the motivation to go lately and would rather stay home to binge-watch the episodes of Monday Late Night Uncut she missed."
...
Well, so much for changing the subject.
Aoki could visibly see the last bit of life drain from Bocchi-chan's soul.
She looked like she wanted to say something, maybe salvage a shred of dignity—but before she could, the little sister piped up again with an innocent smile:
"Hey, mister! Are you my sister's boyfriend? A band boyfriend?! That's so cool! Just like a TV drama!"
Aoki Kei froze.
"Are you her boyfriend?"
That was the kind of question where timing was everything—answer too slowly, and people think you're hesitating or lying.
Answer too fast, and it might seem like you're desperately trying to cover up the truth.
Worse still, the moment that question is asked, the assumption that you're dating is already baked into both possible answers.
Which meant he had exactly one chance to react with just the right amount of awkwardness—enough to sound sincere but not so much as to raise eyebrows.
Just then, Hitori's mother gently chided the little one, "Futari, don't be rude."
But her eyes were fixed on Aoki.
She didn't say anything else, but come on—what mother wouldn't be curious about the possibility of her daughter having a boyfriend?
A moment of silence.
Aoki Kei took a deep breath.
'All right, focus. Say it calmly, just like you practiced.'
Finally, he opened his mouth and replied:
"N-no, we're not dating. Bocchi—cough, I mean, Gotou-san and I are just… close friends. Nothing more."
'Crap.'
All that overthinking backfired.
Because he accidentally called her "Bocchi"—his usual private nickname for her—out loud.
At that point, it didn't matter if he'd answered too fast or too slow. The damage was done.
Another long pause.
Trying to recover, Aoki let out a small sigh and attempted one last ditch effort to change the subject.
"Anyway… sir, ma'am, you brought your daughters here to eat, right? Why don't we just share a table? My treat."
He was already mentally preparing to foot the bill.
Thankfully, he'd brought enough cash with him.
But...
Yet again, his attempt to redirect the conversation was shut down.
Hitori's mom quickly waved her hand with a polite smile.
She gave a thoughtful glance at her daughter—who was currently in a soul-left-body state then turned back to Aoki Kei.
Then, with a knowing smile, she said:
"Oh no no, we wouldn't want to intrude. My husband and I will just take Futari somewhere else to eat. We wouldn't want to get in the way of you two spending time together."
"...?"
Aoki Kei blinked, confused.
A hint of bewilderment slowly crept into his eyes.
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