After spinning an elaborate web of stories so impressive even she couldn't help but admire her own genius, Kita finally dragged herself out of the swamp of her classmates' endless questions. Exhausted, she trudged toward the storage room.
She knocked weakly. When she heard Bocchi's voice from inside, she pushed the door open and stepped in.
Inside, under the orange glow of the late-afternoon sun, stood Bocchi—clearly having waited for some time.
A wave of guilt hit Kita at once, and she lowered her head.
"Sorry, Goto-san…"
Bocchi blinked in confusion. She was just about to say something when Kita raised her hand to stop her.
"Please, don't ask me anything right now. I think I just developed a bit of PTSD from all the questions."
"Ah… o-okay."
Bocchi reluctantly dropped her curiosity and said, "Then… let's start. We'll pick up where we left off at noon…"
Goto-san!
Hearing Bocchi's soft voice almost made Kita cry inside. She had wanted a little friendly competition, sure—but not like this, not by resorting to such dirty tricks.
This was all Ishikawa-kun's fault!
If he hadn't suddenly spoken to her so casually in front of the entire class, none of this would have happened.
But then Kita froze mid-thought.
If Ishikawa-kun had been here, he probably would have just denied everything outright. As awful as he could be, he wouldn't make such a lame joke.
So why did I drive him away…?
Then whose fault is this, really?
Kita's eyes glazed over as she delivered the verdict mercilessly in her heart.
It's Ishikawa Hayabusa.
…
Meanwhile, as Kita was drowning in despair and regret, another very satisfied little pervert—who had managed to mooch a meal—was strutting toward STARRY, dancing like an awkward knockoff Spider-Man.
This creep had been flaunting himself the entire way from school, flirting with countless girls along the way.
But a man who lives like the wind wouldn't stop for a pretty face. With stylish movements and confident poses, he shook off all the girls who tried to chat him up, weaving through the crowd of Shimokitazawa with effortless flair.
When he finally reached STARRY, he ended with a dramatic 360-degree spinning flip, one hand braced on the ground as he looked up at the shop entrance in the shadow.
"I'm here."
…
More than ten minutes later, back at Shimokitazawa High, Nijika let out a breath and quickly walked out of the classroom with Ryo, heading toward the shoe lockers.
Their school had a notoriously strict schedule, with daily homeroom meetings and morning assemblies that ate into their time, leaving them stuck at school longer than students from other schools.
"I'm a little worried about them…"
Nijika retrieved her loafers from the locker, set them on the floor, and used her white-socked toes to slip out of her indoor shoes, slipping them neatly into the loafers.
Ryo tilted her head, not quite understanding.
Nijika gave her an exasperated look before crouching down with a sigh and tucking both her and Ryo's indoor shoes into the locker.
"Didn't Hayabusa-kun make my sister mad yesterday? And Kita-chan and Bocchi-chan don't even know yet. If they all start fighting…"
Ryo closed the locker and thought about it for a moment.
Inside STARRY, Hayabusa and Seika would probably still be continuing yesterday's battle. Kita would be desperately trying to stop them with a miserable look on her face, and Bocchi would be hiding in a corner with a trash can over her head.
A living picture of hell.
"That sounds kind of fun."
Ryo covered her mouth with a laugh.
"Absolutely not!"
Nijika shot back, annoyed. But her worry only grew stronger. She couldn't resist taking out her phone and dialing Kita's number.
The call connected quickly.
Nijika: "Kita-chan, good afternoon! Did you all get to STARRY yet?"
Kita: "Ijichi-senpai, we're just about to leave now, sorry. I stayed late practicing guitar."
Nijika: "No, no, it's fine—we just left school ourselves. No need to rush."
She breathed a sigh of relief—only to freeze at the next sentence that made her heart rate shoot straight up to 150.
Kita: "Mm, but Ishikawa-kun already went ahead. He's probably been there a while now."
The phone slid out of Nijika's suddenly stiff fingers, but Ryo—who had expected this—caught it casually, brought it to her ear, and said smoothly:
"Then hurry up and get here."
She hung up after Kita's delighted shout of "Senpai!" on the other end, tugged on Nijika's sleeve, and said:
"Let's go."
"You just want to watch the chaos!"
Even in a moment of crisis, Nijika didn't forget her role as the group's straight man, throwing out a sharp retort before quickly putting on her shoes and hurrying out.
…
Ishikawa Hayabusa entered STARRY, turned the corner, vaulted over the railing, and landed in one smooth motion.
He threw a front flip to dodge several mousetraps scattered on the floor, landing like a gymnast and raising both hands triumphantly.
"Pervert—win!"
"Tch."
The sound came from the bar counter.
Hayabusa turned toward it and saw Seika retract her gaze, her expression calm as though the mousetraps had nothing to do with her.
Plastering on a fawning grin, Hayabusa walked over.
"Manager-san, your humble employee has arrived for duty."
Seika had already lost the urge to fight this man. She'd tried yesterday—no matter how close or from what sneaky angle she attacked, he had dodged everything with stylish ease, as though he had eyes all over his body.
She had ended up exhausted, while he hadn't even broken a sweat.
So when she saw him approaching again today, she didn't even bother to react.
But…
Employee?
Seika glanced around at the unusually quiet interior, then back at the man with the sycophantic smile in front of her.
She stood up with a sinister grin.
The former rock-band musician cracked her knuckles, her shoulders rolling back, her waist twisting slightly.
"Then how about you be my punching bag? I'll pay you ten times the usual wage."
Before her words had even faded, Hayabusa whipped out his phone and tapped it twice.
Seika's voice came out of the speaker—saying exactly what she had just said.
When the recording ended, Hayabusa pleaded pitifully.
"Manager, please let me work here! I'm broke! And you wouldn't want Nijika to find out you said something so cruel to her friend, right? I'm begging you!"
And just like that, the pervert's eyes welled up with tears. He grabbed Seika's arm and shook it relentlessly.
Seika was left speechless. This guy really had no shame whatsoever.
"Fine, fine!"
Already feeling a bit guilty for being too harsh, Seika gladly used this excuse to back down. But she jabbed a finger at him and growled:
"Delete that recording!"
Hayabusa immediately clutched his phone to his chest, horrified.
"No way! This is my life insurance!"
Seika squinted at him for a long moment before finally giving up, clearly unfazed by such a threat.
But simply letting him off didn't sit right with her.
"Then prove you're worth hiring. Clean the ceiling, the corners, and the walls—thoroughly. And don't leave this place covered in dust."
"Understood!"
Saluting, Hayabusa immediately asked where the cleaning supplies were and got to work without hesitation.
Seika sat back down and crossed her legs, waiting expectantly for this overconfident man to eventually come crawling back in tears.
Cleaning every last corner that carefully was physically exhausting, especially when you had to keep the dust from flying everywhere.
Just picturing him going up and down the ladder carefully with a rag in hand was strangely therapeutic. Let's see how long he lasts, she thought.
To hide the little flicker of delight in her heart, she cracked open the bottle of 100% apple juice she had just bought and took a sip.
…
Kita and Bocchi walked together toward STARRY after leaving school.
The two girls kept a slight distance between them, and Bocchi stared straight ahead, avoiding eye contact.
Seeing Bocchi so silent, Kita's amber eyes flickered slightly. She tilted her head and murmured to herself.
"Why did Ryo-senpai suddenly take over the call just now…?"
Noticing Bocchi's glance, she quickly put on a bright smile and tried to start a conversation.
"Goto-san, we're finally all working together today. Doesn't it feel exciting?"
Bocchi's eyes darted nervously to the trendy, confident-looking young men and women on the street, feeling out of place. That comment landed like a punch to the gut.
Her expression darkened, her gaze drifting. "Y-yeah."
Kita smiled encouragingly at the reply.
"It's our first shift together as a five-person team. Let's do our best!"
Her dazzling smile seemed to shoot rays of light straight into Bocchi's chest, leaving her feeling completely deflated. Even her footsteps grew wobbly.
Those two sentences had completely shattered Bocchi's fragile defenses. It felt like more and more people were staring at her, the awkward country girl.
"Okay…" she murmured, inexplicably drifting behind Kita.
Startled, Kita glanced back at Bocchi hiding behind her and asked nervously:
"Goto-san? What happened all of a sudden?"
Bocchi kept her head down, clutching Kita's shoulders as she whispered:
"Sorry… I still can't get used to this place."
Then, in a low wail:
"It's so embarrassing!"
Kita noticed the way people around them were now staring at them thanks to Bocchi's odd behavior. Her own cheeks flushed red.
"Now I'm embarrassed too!" she groaned.
But even while whining, she obediently took the lead, pulling the "girl-train" along all the way to STARRY.