Tsukikawa Shu did not just like to fool around at night. Sometimes, when the mood suddenly struck him during the day, he would casually pull her into his arms.
I should probably carry a few with me... But how many should I buy?
One box? No, that probably wouldn't be enough.
Then two boxes?
But she'd never been inside a store like this before. She had no idea how these things were sold, let alone what brands or sizes there were...
Wait... If Tsukikawa Shu saw her taking these things out, would he give her that meaningful smile?
Then he would push her down again... and then...
Goto Hitori's face turned bright red with a whoosh.
"Bocchi-chan? Bocchi-chan!"
It was not until Ijichi Nijika gave Goto Hitori a vigorous shake that she finally snapped out of it.
"What were you thinking about?"
Ijichi Nijika glanced at the shop in front of Goto Hitori, and her expression immediately changed.
"You weren't thinking about something naughty, were you?!" Ijichi Nijika frowned, planting her hands on her hips as she stared at Goto Hitori.
"Ahhhhh..."
She found out! She found out! This is so embarrassing... I've added another entry to my dark history!
Goto Hitori's expression shifted unpredictably like an abstract master's painting, and all that came from her mouth were incoherent noises.
For someone with extreme social anxiety, their tolerance for embarrassment was practically zero. Even the smallest humiliating incident could make them immediately want to die.
Then, Goto Hitori seemed to feel the shop before her growing farther and farther away as she continuously fell into an abyss and was swallowed by darkness.
Then her vision went black, and she collapsed like a deflated balloon.
After that, her body scattered into the wind...
"Bo—cchi—chan!"
Her ears seemed submerged underwater. Goto Hitori could only hear Ijichi Nijika's faint cries, but she no longer cared about anything.
After all, I'm just a withdrawn person with social anxiety. It's normal for me to have weird thoughts sometimes. I don't need that much social interaction anyway...
Bocchi-chan's soul seemed to float into the sky.
Leaving behind only a faint smile, like Umeboshi Jam.
Tsukikawa Shu had already returned home.
Goto Hitori was going to band practice today, so the two of them did not go shopping together as usual.
With nothing to do, he had originally wanted to ask Hiratsuka Shizuka out on a date, only for her to kick him back home.
Hiratsuka Shizuka had also laid down three ground rules: any intimate behavior between them could only happen in private, and there was no way she would go out on a date with him.
With no other choice, Tsukikawa Shu could only go home.
He stopped by the supermarket on the way to buy ingredients for dinner.
As usual, he returned home carrying two large bags of groceries, turned on the stove, and made curry rice.
As usual, after Tsukikawa Shu finished cooking, he knocked on his neighbor's door.
Compared to the beginning, the door opened much faster now.
Tsukikawa Shu could clearly hear quick thudding footsteps from inside. Then the door opened, revealing that tuft of pale pink-and-white ahoge and the small figure in an oversized T-shirt.
The door was no longer left half-open, and Ouyama Mahiro was no longer so timid around Tsukikawa Shu.
"Here, dinner." Tsukikawa Shu smiled and handed over the lunchbox.
"Mm."
She took the lunchbox, then ran barefoot back into the room with quick thudding steps.
A moment later, she brought back the empty lunchbox from last time and returned it to Tsukikawa Shu.
Tsukikawa Shu took the lunchbox.
"Um..."
This time, Ouyama Mahiro did not immediately return inside to eat as she had before.
"Hmm?" Tsukikawa Shu looked somewhat puzzled.
"Do you want to come in and sit for a while?"
Ouyama Mahiro held her hands behind her back, looking a little nervous. "Mihari said that familiar friends visit each other often too..."
"Do you want to play some games?"
She nervously fidgeted with her fingers, lacking confidence.
"That would be fine." Tsukikawa Shu thought for a moment before answering.
He did have quite a bit of free time today. Even if he stayed at home, he would only play games anyway.
Studying was out of the question. He might as well browse online for Inner World guides.
"Mm!"
Ouyama Mahiro was delighted and stepped aside to let Tsukikawa Shu enter.
"Excuse me."
Tsukikawa Shu took off his shoes in the entryway and followed Ouyama Mahiro inside.
When they reached the second floor, Tsukikawa Shu was somewhat surprised.
The room was actually clean?!
According to Tsukikawa Shu's memories of the original work, Ouyama Mahiro was the very model of a shut-in.
Every day, she only played games. When hungry, she ate instant noodles; when thirsty, she drank cola. She never cleaned her room, leaving trash everywhere.
But what Tsukikawa Shu saw today was completely different.
The room was so clean that it did not look like a happy shut-in's little nest at all.
On one side of the room was a bed, while a game console stood opposite it. Two enormous cabinets were placed against the wall.
There were no empty instant noodle cups or cola bottles scattered around like Tsukikawa Shu had imagined.
Tsukikawa Shu did not believe that Ouyama Mahiro's living habits had somehow changed. The more likely explanation was that she had carefully cleaned up to receive a guest.
Ouyama Mahiro sat down in front of the game console, skillfully turned it on and opened the game menu, then handed a controller to Tsukikawa Shu.
Heh, there weren't even any 18+ games. Tsukikawa Shu glanced around and almost laughed.
This little brat had definitely hidden that stuff away.
If he had not known Ouyama Mahiro's personality beforehand, he might really have believed it.
"Let's play a round of Super Smash Bros."
Tsukikawa Shu said.
Noisy sounds of battle drifted out through the window.
The moment Ouyama Mahiro got hold of the controller, she seemed to become a completely different person. Her eyes gleamed, and her expression turned crazed.
"Take this! Take this! Combo!"
She viciously worked the controller as her character constantly leaped and dashed around, attacking Tsukikawa Shu.
Tsukikawa Shu lost five games in a row.
Have I lost my singlehood aura? Did the hand-speed buff from eighteen years of being single stop working?
Tsukikawa Shu began to doubt his life.
Of course, he was not single anymore.
"Will Mihari be back soon?" Tsukikawa Shu asked.
"Mm... She might need some more time." Ouyama Mahiro thought for a moment. "There's a problem with her research paper."
"A paper... Yeah, those really are troublesome things." Tsukikawa Shu nodded.
For ordinary students, papers were absolutely idiotic things.
They were academic trash that required enormous amounts of time and effort to produce.
The two played games until late at night before Tsukikawa Shu finally left.
"Bye-bye." Ouyama Mahiro stood at the door and waved at Tsukikawa Shu.
"Go to bed early. You still have school tomorrow," Tsukikawa Shu said.
"Ugh..." Ouyama Mahiro seemed to remember something and pouted. "Got it."
Watching Tsukikawa Shu leave, Ouyama Mahiro returned to her room as well.
She sat down before the game console again and reached out to hold the controller Tsukikawa Shu had just used.
His body heat still lingered on it.
"Hehe..."
She stroked the controller, then could not help pressing it against her cheek.
"Mm... It doesn't feel like anything."
Ouyama Mahiro put down the controller in disappointment.
However, she quickly widened her eyes as she realized something.
"Wait a second! Ouyama Mahiro, what are you doing?!"
Ouyama Mahiro put down the controller and grabbed her head.
Ouyama Mahiro panicked...
Ever since her younger sister, Ouyama Mihari, had turned her into a little girl, she seemed to have been constantly changing.
Not just physically—her personality seemed to have changed completely too.
Originally, she had only felt embarrassed about always eating food someone else had made. So she had specially cleaned her room and invited him over as a guest.
At the time, she had even been pleased with herself, thinking she had taken the first step and made one of her few friends.
But now, it seemed that the feelings growing inside her were not friendship at all...
Then she opened the cabinet.
Everything inside came tumbling out: game discs, figurines, and even dirty magazines.
She searched through them and pulled out a BL game.
After turning on the console, Ouyama Mahiro began playing again.
An hour later, she turned off the console, her face still slightly flushed.
Um... Why do I feel even more excited?
"I can't go back anymore!!!"
She clutched her head.
Before you continue