"Sorry about that."
Ishikawa Hayabusa casually reached over and ruffled Bocchi's hair. Still shaken from their wild ride and sipping on her drink, Bocchi let him do it without protest.
After a couple of gulps of cola, Bocchi slowly came back to herself. She glanced at the bottle in her hands, then at Hayabusa's drink, hesitating for a moment.
Then she spoke.
"No, it's fine…" Halfway through, she trailed off, as if replaying the thrill of what just happened in her head. She tilted her chin up and gave Hayabusa a fleeting but genuine smile.
"It was… kind of fun."
Hayabusa blinked at her sudden courage. Her expression still carried some of the gloom from earlier, but that smile—it was unmistakably happy.
Beneath the warm late-spring sun, her porcelain-pale face seemed to glow.
Hayabusa grinned.
"Looks like Bocchi might have the makings of a pervert after all."
Bocchi froze.
After that, the two of them—much more at ease with each other now—pushed the bike along the road toward the rental shop.
Hayabusa walked with one hand on the bike and pulled out his phone to check the time.
"It's getting late. What's your plan now, Bocchi?"
Bocchi glanced down at her cloth bag. She hadn't brought her guitar with her—just the bag. She'd have to go home to pick it up before heading to STARRY for afternoon practice.
While she was still lost in thought, Hayabusa asked again after waiting patiently.
"Where do you live, Bocchi?"
Bocchi looked at him curiously, then answered without much hesitation.
"Down in Kanazawa, in Yokohama…"
As the bicycle wheels clicked and turned softly beneath them, Hayabusa considered the distance, then nodded.
"Then how about this—we return the bike, grab some lunch, and then swing by your place to get your guitar?"
Bocchi stiffened, the little hair sticking out from her head going ramrod straight, as if he'd just read her mind. Panicked, she blurted,
"C–can you read minds, Ishikawa-kun…?"
Hayabusa smirked mischievously.
"Bocchi doesn't exactly hide what she's thinking."
Bocchi let out a flustered squeak and immediately covered her face with both hands, completely forgetting they were out in public.
Hayabusa chuckled and reached out to tug her sleeve gently, steering her so she wouldn't veer off the sidewalk.
Then, just to tease her, he added,
"So what are you thinking right now, huh? Something bad? Come on, let me see."
"N–no way!"
Bocchi clutched her face even tighter, her whole body trembling with how hard she was trying to hide. Even her ears were glowing red now.
Even if she hadn't been thinking anything just moments ago, she definitely was now.
Hayabusa found her reaction hilarious—but he knew when to stop. Bocchi was too fragile to push too far.
So he changed the subject.
"What do you want to eat, Bocchi?"
Even though they'd switched topics, she still didn't uncover her face. It seemed like she planned to wait until the blush faded before daring to show herself again.
Hayabusa, watching how long she was taking, smirked knowingly.
"I get it. Fast food it is."
"Eh?!"
Bocchi yelped, startled, and hugged her head as she shook it frantically.
Hayabusa stopped walking and laughed, his grin wicked.
"And now you're thinking, 'You liar, you totally can read minds.'"
Bocchi almost burst into tears as she shouted,
"Stop reading my mind already!"
Hayabusa was nice enough to leave it at that—otherwise, he could have guessed her next line and said it faster than she could.
They played around like that all the way down the street, completely ignoring the fact that they were drawing curious stares from passing strangers.
Well… mostly, it was Bocchi who was being played with.
When they arrived at the rental shop, the owner was, as usual, chewing on a cigarette, staring blankly at a wall with faint streaks of bicycle grease.
"Hey, I'm here to return the bike," Hayabusa said.
"Oh."
The owner replied absently, then stood and looked toward the entrance.
The pair who had borrowed his special model bike that morning were finally back.
The boy was grinning from ear to ear.The girl looked like she'd just been through a war.
He had a strange feeling—their faces looked the same as when they'd left, but somehow, something had completely changed.
Hayabusa pushed the bike in and said with sincere admiration,
"Boss, this really is an amazing bike."
The owner nodded, pride flashing across his face.
"Of course. That's the legendary Love-Love Special Model. It's witnessed the birth of dozens of couples."
Hayabusa's smile froze. He glanced nervously at the bike.
Bocchi's ahoge went rigid again, spinning like a little propeller.
Sensing something bad, the owner looked closer at the bike. His heart crept up into his throat.
And then—
"What the hell did you do to my bike?!"
His furious roar shook the shop.
Later, as they walked toward the fast-food place, Hayabusa looked down at his poor wallet with teary eyes.
The wallet seemed to look back at him, whispering, This is all I have left…
"Ahh, my money…"
Even though he'd recently asked for allowance for the first time in ages—and actually gotten quite a bit—Hayabusa's spending habits were merciless.
Still, his manuscript fee was coming soon. He just had to hang in there a bit longer.
At that moment, Bocchi quietly pulled her own wallet from her bag and started fumbling with it.
"U-um… Ishikawa-kun, let me pay you back for what you just spent. It was all because of me…"
Hayabusa wasn't surprised by Bocchi's reaction—but he hadn't expected her to offer to cover everything.
He patted her gently on the shoulder.
"Bocchi, you'll get taken advantage of someday if you do stuff like this."
When they got to the fast-food place, they had already agreed—Bocchi would pay for lunch, but she wouldn't cover the rental damages.
Hayabusa's first experience of having a girl buy him lunch was officially Bocchi-powered.
Bocchi walked up to the counter and glanced at the menu. Her eyes immediately darted toward a certain set meal—then panicked and looked away.
Her heart screamed in protest.
Don't get carried away! No matter how good the deal is, this is NOT a set someone like you can order! Don't you dare remember the pain of trying to order the couple's set the last few times!
Stop now—you'll self-destruct!
But just then, a completely pink, lovestruck version of Bocchi appeared in her mind, whispering,
But if it's with Ishikawa-kun, we can order it proudly, and then maybe—
Before Pink Bocchi could finish, Normal Bocchi clamped a hand over her mouth.
But somehow, she could still hear the words echoing in her mind.
Her lips curled into an unconscious smile. Her eyes glazed over, going hazy with daydreams.
Then a bad feeling crept up her spine.
She turned to look—and saw Hayabusa grinning at her, eyes sparkling with amusement.
Bocchi deflated like a balloon, collapsing forward until she was practically flat on the counter.
After they ordered and sat down, Bocchi gathered her courage, braced her hands on the table, and bowed her head so low her forehead thumped against the surface.
The table shook slightly.
"Ishikawa-kun, please," she begged miserably. "Please stop reading my mind."
"Sure. On one condition."
Hayabusa was perfectly calm, but he knew the truth: once he got to know Bocchi, he didn't even need to guess—her thoughts were practically written across her face.
It wasn't about reading minds. It was about not teasing her with what he already knew.
Bocchi raised her head, looking at him with those fragile blue eyes, curious about his condition.
"Calling me 'Ishikawa-kun' feels a little distant," he said. "How about switching to something else?"
Bocchi hesitated, feeling once again as if her thoughts had been read.
She had been thinking about this for a long time—but never dared to do it, caught in constant hesitation.
And suddenly, she felt like… even if he was reading her mind, maybe that was okay.
She lowered her gaze and softly whispered,
"Um… Hayabusa…"