After parting ways with Kita, who had been unusually quiet today, Ishikawa Hayabusa and Bocchi were left walking side by side toward the train station.
The street was packed with people, bustling with life, and yet here he was, walking alongside a timid, tracksuit-wearing beauty—no, not quite a beauty yet, more like an unpolished gem.
The feeling was strangely fascinating.
Hayabusa deliberately lagged half a step behind, fully matching her slow, hesitant pace.
Because she'd lost her usual reference point—and perhaps because her mood was complicated—Bocchi's steps kept changing: slowing down, then speeding up as if worried she'd fall behind.
Her mouse-like eyes kept sneaking glances his way, constantly checking his reaction as if gauging the distance between them.
Noticing her gaze, Hayabusa looked down and met her eyes.
Bocchi instantly turned away, ducking her head in embarrassment.
A lot happened today, Hayabusa thought.
A morning date with Bocchi, lunch at her house, a band meeting in the afternoon, and then a trip to Ryo's place.
It had been a busy day—but also a day spent surrounded by girls.
The Harem King begins his reign, huh.
He let out a self-mocking chuckle, then spoke to Bocchi, whose head was still lowered, steps growing slower and slower.
"Bocchi, you'll be okay with the part-time job, right?"
Bocchi stopped walking. Hayabusa stopped as well and looked at her.
After a brief pause, her quiet, breathless voice came out.
"Mm…"
Hayabusa didn't push the topic, just said casually:
"Alright, we'll leave it at that for now. Come on—Bocchi, you don't want to stand here forever, do you?"
Bocchi hesitated, then shuffled forward again. Seeing her head drooping—not sure if from disappointment or just habit—Hayabusa couldn't resist reaching out and patting her head.
The girl with the long pink hair, wrapped up in her pink tracksuit like armor, tensed up for a moment—then relaxed.
Amid the noisy, fast-moving crowd, Hayabusa heard her soft murmur:
"With Hayabusa beside me, I'm not scared."
Hayabusa said nothing. He let go of her head, then gently took her wrist and led her toward the station.
"I'm home."
As soon as Bocchi stepped through the door and called out, she heard quick footsteps from the living room.
"Ikiri, welcome back."
Her mother came out smiling warmly, glanced at her, then at the now-closed front door. Her smile faded slightly, replaced by a sigh that sounded faintly disappointed.
"Mom!"
Bocchi could tell exactly what that look meant and protested, cheeks puffing slightly.
But her mother ignored her, speaking aloud as if talking to herself while heading back toward the living room.
"Hayabusa-kun's such a good boy… why won't Ikiri bring him home?"
B-Bring him home?!
Where would Hayabusa even rest? Don't tell me… in her room?!
Besides, he'd literally been here just today. Wasn't it way too trusting for her parents to be this casual about a boy visiting?
Bocchi's expression turned pitiful at the thought.
She quietly changed out of her shoes and walked further inside.
Soon, as if falling back into her usual rhythm, she had a silent dinner while her father and sister chatted and laughed, with her mother occasionally chiming in.
Afterward, Bocchi went back to her room, climbed into her closet, strummed through a few popular songs and recorded a video.
Once she was done, she practiced guitar for a while.
At last, she flopped down on the tatami mat, staring blankly at the familiar ceiling, running through the events of the day and thinking about tomorrow.
The tracksuit-wearing girl with the black socks ruining the aesthetic curled up on the floor with a smile, rolled over, and then rolled back the other way like a restless cat.
But when she ran out of happy memories to think about, the thoughts she didn't want to face started creeping in.
Work.
Tomorrow… working at STARRY… work…
She sat up with a jolt, eyes wide in horror, then scrambled toward the stairs with a loud thud-thud-thud.
I don't want to work! I absolutely don't want to work!
And working at a livehouse meant facing all kinds of scary people.
In her mind, she saw a post-apocalyptic scene: mohawked punks in studded leather jackets, whip-wielding women in matching outfits.
Sure, she'd told Hayabusa she wasn't scared—but that was when he was there.
Right now…
Let me run away just this once.
Bocchi dashed downstairs and ran out of the house under the puzzled gazes of her parents.
Moments later, just as her parents were debating whether to make red bean rice to celebrate, Bocchi returned—carrying a heavy bag full of clinking, stone-like objects.
The two of them stood up from the sofa, following her curiously.
Bocchi marched straight into the bathroom.
Moments later, they heard the sound of ice-cold determination—literally—as Bocchi came out and headed straight for the fridge.
Under their baffled gaze, she opened the freezer, removed every single ice cube, dumped them into the bag, and went back into the bathroom.
Her parents followed and watched silently as she poured the ice cubes into the tub.
Then they looked at each other and sighed.
Bocchi's parents were fairly open-minded—they didn't interfere too much with their daughter's choices.
And honestly, their daughter had done so many strange things already that there didn't seem to be much point stopping her now.
But today…
"I guess it's time for that, huh." Michiyo Goto looked at her husband.
He nodded, picked up his phone, and dialed a number.
The call connected quickly.
"Hello? Hayabusa-kun? Ah, yes, you guessed right—Ikiri's doing something weird again. I'll hand her the phone. Sorry to trouble you. No, no—really, we're just glad she has a friend like you."
He walked over to Bocchi, who had just come out of the bathroom and was heading upstairs to change clothes for what looked like a deathmatch against hypothermia.
"Ikiri, phone."
Bocchi froze, staring blankly at the phone being handed to her.
She accepted it with deep suspicion, pressed it to her ear, and—
Hayabusa's voice came through, calm and direct.
"Bocchi, it's Ishikawa Hayabusa. What are you doing?"
Bocchi's eyes went wide.
"Ah—ah…"
She looked helplessly at her father, then at the bathtub now full of ice, opening and closing her mouth without managing to say anything.
She'd never imagined her father would rat her out to Hayabusa.
Since when were the two of them on such good terms?!
So this is what it's like when normies have power…
After a moment of silence, Hayabusa's voice came again from the phone:
"Let's not use your dad's phone—call me back from yours."
"Ah… okay."
When the call ended, Bocchi slowly handed the phone back to her father, then trudged upstairs like a prisoner heading to the gallows.
Her parents, however, exchanged a pleased smile.
One hour earlier—before Bocchi had even returned home—Naoki Goto had been watching a movie with his wife and daughter when he received a phone call.
"Hello, is this Mr. Goto? This is Ishikawa Hayabusa. Sorry for calling out of the blue."
Naoki excused himself, leaving the room before replying.
"No problem, Hayabusa-kun. Did something happen with Ikiri?"
Though he asked, his tone wasn't overly worried—he could tell from Hayabusa's calm voice that nothing serious had happened.
"No, Ikiri's already on the train home. What I wanted to tell you is that today, the rest of the band and I decided to work part-time at a livehouse to raise funds for band activities."
Naoki blurted out, "A part-time job?!" then quickly lowered his voice, worried it might sound like disapproval.
"No, I actually think it's a good idea—but will Ikiri really be able to handle it?"
"I think it'll be good for her to try," Hayabusa said. "She agreed to it, but I'm not sure if she really meant it. I'm a little worried. If she starts doing anything weird, could you let me know? Sorry to trouble you, sir."
"Oh, and by the way—aside from me, the other band members are all girls around her age. Nothing to worry about there."
Naoki chuckled. "No, just knowing you're there already puts me at ease."
After hanging up, Naoki turned around and saw his wife peeking out of the living room, clearly curious.
He couldn't hide the emotion in his voice as he said, "Honey—Ikiri's made a really good friend!"
He then told Michiyo everything about the conversation he'd just had with Hayabusa.
Michiyo's face lit up with a delighted smile.
"Wow… what a wonderful boy!"