After escorting Bocchi-chan to her doorstep and watching Bocchi-chan enter, Kitahara Makoto turned around and went home.
The journey was silent.
Kitahara Makoto bought another small cake, then walked to his own doorstep and pressed the doorbell.
Footsteps quickly sounded from behind the door.
The door opened, and Nijika, with her golden side ponytail, stood behind it:
"Kitahara-kun, you're back? Did you safely escort Bocchi-chan home?"
Kitahara Makoto suddenly stepped back half a pace:
"Senpai, close the door, and I'll ring the doorbell again."
"Eh?" Ijichi Nijika tilted her head in confusion, "Why?"
Kitahara Makoto said seriously:
"I want to hear Nijika say, 'Thank you for your hard work today, welcome home.'"
"I would never say something like that!"
Ijichi Nijika's pretty face flushed slightly as she glared at him playfully:
"Come in quickly. I just mopped the floor, so you must wear slippers; no bare feet."
"Nijika, you've worked hard."
Kitahara Makoto entered the genkan, changed into slippers, and heard the sound of rushing water from the bathroom, casually asking:
"Is Yamada Ryo taking a bath?"
"Because I need to wash my hair today, I let Ryo go first." Ijichi Nijika raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, "After Ryo finishes her bath, Kitahara-kun can go, and I'll take a bath last."
"I'm not in a hurry." Kitahara Makoto said casually, "Nijika, you go first."
Ijichi Nijika raised her delicate chin, put her hands on her hips, and said:
"After bathing, a lot of hair falls out, and you have to clean the bathroom, unclog the drain, and clean the bathtub… If Kitahara-kun wants to bathe last, then you stay last."
Kitahara Makoto's mouth twitched slightly as he quietly said:
"Actually, there's another way."
"Eh, what way?"
"Nijika and I can bathe together, and after we finish, Nijika can stay and clean the bathroom…"
"Hmm?!"
Ijichi Nijika's pretty face stiffened as she glared at him.
"I'm sorry, I was wrong." Kitahara Makoto quickly corrected himself, "Then I'll take a bath first, and after I'm done, I'll study with Nijika."
"Humph~"
Ijichi Nijika let out a soft hum, her eyes suspicious:
"You came back so late; you weren't bullying Bocchi-chan again, were you?"
…
Kitahara Makoto did not argue; he simply opened his arms, took two steps forward, and embraced Ijichi Nijika.
"You… what are you doing?"
Ijichi Nijika immediately panicked.
"Of course, I'm letting Nijika personally check." Kitahara Makoto said righteously, "If I taken advantage of Hitori, I'd definitely have a smell on me, right?"
Ijichi Nijika heard this and subconsciously sniffed her nose.
Indeed, there was no smell.
Or rather… Kitahara Makoto only smelled of her.
Ijichi Nijika's pretty face flushed slightly as she looked up and glared at him, whispering:
"I've already smelled you; hurry up and let me go."
"Senpai is too careless." Kitahara Makoto shook his head, "Your inspection wasn't thorough enough; you forgot a very important place."
Ijichi Nijika was slightly startled, her tone puzzled:
"What place?"
"Of course, it's your mouth."
Kitahara Makoto lowered his head and leaned in to kiss Ijichi Nijika.
Ijichi Nijika wanted to dodge, but it was too late. She also didn't dare to make too much noise, fearing that Yamada Ryo would discover them, so she could only swallow the bitter fruit with a wronged expression.
A moment later.
Kitahara Makoto released Nijika, who was slightly out of breath and trying to suppress any sound, and asked in a low voice:
"Nijika, what's the result of your inspection?"
Ijichi Nijika was both shy and angry, reaching out to pinch Kitahara Makoto's waist:
"…Commit seppuku!"
…
There's no need to say more about what happened next.
When Yamada Ryo finished her bath and came out, Kitahara Makoto went into the bathroom to bathe, and Nijika was left to go last.
By the time everyone had finished washing up, it was already ten o'clock at night.
"Should we go back to our rooms to rest now, or read and study?"
Kitahara Makoto poured a glass of water and placed it in front of Nijika.
"Let's study." Ijichi Nijika took the water glass, took a couple sips, "After all, final exams are next week, we must hurry up and read more books."
Ijichi Nijika said, turning to look at the sofa:
"Ryo, come study with us."
Yamada Ryo was watching TV. Hearing this, she tilted her body and softly collapsed:
"I'm not listening, I've already fainted."
"Even if you faint, you still have to study."
"Nijika is so cruel…"
"Hurry up and come study. Don't worry about the score, at least pass."
Ijichi Nijika walked to the sofa and pulled Yamada Ryo up.
Unlike the impromptu overnight stay before, today Ijichi Nijika was fully prepared.
She opened her school bag, revealing textbooks, stationery, exercise books, notebooks… everything was there.
"Hmm?"
Kitahara Makoto's gaze suddenly focused, attracted by a few bracelets on the table.
These were several black bracelets of the same size, appearing to be handmade from ordinary black silk thread.
Of course, the material of the bracelets was not important.
What was important was that the bracelets were clearly emitting a faint glow.
Four bracelets were actually glowing together?
This was the first time Kitahara Makoto had seen such a situation.
"Nijika, let me see those bracelets."
Kitahara Makoto spoke.
"Okay." Ijichi Nijika handed over the bracelets, curiously asking, "These are Kessoku Band bracelets I wove myself. Is there a problem?"
Yamada Ryo, who was sprawled on the table, tilted her head to look over upon hearing this:
"Nijika loves making handicrafts. A few days ago, she even said she wanted to design the Kessoku Band's costumes herself."
"The bracelets are naturally fine, but…"
Kitahara Makoto took the bracelets, and a prompt immediately appeared before his eyes.
"You have found optimizable items. Do you want to optimize them now?"
"But what?"
Ijichi Nijika looked over curiously.
"But Hana said that these bracelets seem to have magical power attached to them."
Kitahara Makoto spoke nonsense with a straight face.
"Eh?" Ijichi Nijika said in surprise, "Isn't Hana eating cake? When did she talk?"
"It's mind-to-mind communication." Kitahara Makoto's expression didn't change, "Hana and I can communicate in our minds."
Ijichi Nijika narrowed her eyes:
"That sounds suspicious…"
"Don't mind those details." Kitahara Makoto held the bracelets, silently choosing to optimize, "Let me borrow Hana's power…"
Under the curious gazes of the two girls, a hazy white light quickly appeared in Kitahara Makoto's palm, and specks of light drifted into the bracelets.
"Item: Kessoku Band Bracelet"
"Current Status: Optimized"
"New Entry: Destined Twin, when you and another person wear the bracelet together, you will share the five senses, achieving 100% empathy."
"New Entry: Soul Swap. Under certain special circumstances, you can experience the wondrous experience of Soul Swap."
"Note: The effect of Soul Swap is limited to the same gender."
"Destined Twin? Soul Swap?"
Kitahara Makoto raised an eyebrow slightly.
The two entries seemed impressive, but as for their use… Kitahara Makoto couldn't think of anything for a while.
"Hana's power has been attached to the bracelets." Kitahara Makoto said with a straight face, "I'm not sure about the specific effects. Shall we try them on?"