Chapter 110

"So what's next?"

When Ishikawa Hayato saw that her attitude was gradually changing, he knew that she had accepted it.

"Take it easy, do as much as you can, and then start again when you're fully prepared."

"This is too..."

Hongo Amaha disagreed.

But Ishikawa Hayato didn't give her a chance to refute.

"Do your best before helping others; that's the most basic thing. Besides, my band is still in its infancy."

Hongo Amaha's expression gradually turned strange.

"You just want to be in a relationship, don't you?"

Ishikawa Hayato whistled guiltily, but after a while he couldn't resist Hongo Amaha's persistent gaze.

"But it's definitely true that we can't rush it. Besides, maybe the world will be better in the future and we won't need to do this anymore, or maybe someone has already planned to do it. Then we can have fun without any worries, right?"

"I don't want someone else to beat me to it! Fine... okay, don't stand me up this time."

"If I don't make a promise to you, what if the band breaks up? You're going to try and kill me with a knife, aren't you?"

Hongo Amaha was stunned. After regaining her senses, she stood up angrily and kicked Ishikawa Hayato's legs repeatedly.

"You bastard, you bastard, you bastard!"

Ishikawa Hayato cried out as he dodged.

"Pervert! Call me a pervert!"

Sunday evening.

Bocchi noticed that with Ishikawa Hayato gone these past two days, the four of them weren't as lively as before when they were together.

Kita and Nijika tried their best to steer the conversation, but for some reason it just felt chaotic.

Yesterday was fine, but today...

However, the falcon will be back tomorrow.

Bocchi, sitting in the closet, was smiling and looking forward to going to school with Ishikawa Hayato the next day, when suddenly she received a message.

Ishikawa Hayato: "Bocchi, don't wait for me tomorrow. I've taken the day off."

Bocchi was startled.

Ask for leave?

What happened? Her mind was full of questions. Why all of a sudden?

Could it be because Falcon went to help?

Was the falcon left behind over there?

Bocchi thought about it carefully.

The falcon certainly won't be kept there by force; there's only one possibility left.

The thought of this possibility terrified her, and without thinking, she grabbed her phone and quickly sent the message.

"Bocchi," Pochi said, "I don't know how big the girls' breasts are over there, but I usually wear something underneath! They're definitely not smaller than theirs."

Ishikawa Hayato took a while to reply.

"Don't wrap yourself up like that when you go back the day after tomorrow, let me see."

Bocchi breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground.

But the jolt from hitting her head on the floor jolted her awake.

Look, look... look?!

Just as she began to overload and melt, her phone beeped with a message notification.

This time it's Nijika's.

"Bocchi-chan, are you going to Hayato-kun's house tomorrow? Hayato-kun hasn't come home for the past two days and hasn't given a reason. Hibiki is a little worried about him. I'm planning to go to Hayato-kun's house tomorrow and explain to Hibiki."

I haven't been home for two days...

Bocchi hesitated for a moment, but without thinking, he replied.

"I'll go too."

After school.

Bocchi and Kita headed towards the station.

She could sense that Kita also feeling heavy-hearted.

Bocchi wasn't surprised at all; she could tell that everyone in the band liked Falcon to some extent.

If it were just the band members, she wouldn't mind, since Falcon would still be there for her.

But what about other people...

Kita a moment of silence, Kita tried to chat with Bocchi. Although her previous actions had often dealt Bocchi a blow, she was now gradually realizing what she couldn't tell Bocchi.

But seeing Bocchi's restrained expression and his flustered, shifty eyes, she had no choice but to give up on Bocchi.

Upon arriving at Shimokitazawa, they reunited with Nijika and Ryo, and the four of them headed to Ishikawa Hayato's house together.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they sat on the tram. Kita noticed that the other three weren't very interested in chatting, and the situation was even worse than the previous two days.

She knew the reason.

But in this situation, she felt that speaking out would be better; keeping it all bottled up would only be more painful.

After carefully choosing his words, he then bluntly criticized Ishikawa Hayato, who was probably already having too much fun to remember his homeland.

"Speaking of which, could it be that that perverted harem member is no longer coming back? Didn't Miss Hongo say that many people over there like him?"

After listening to her, Bocchi blinked and suddenly shouted.

"No way!"

But after calling out, Bocchi snapped back to reality, fearfully covering his body with his hands in a defensive gesture.

"I'm so sorry! I got carried away and I really apologize."

Kita was not surprised by Bocchi's reaction and quickly apologized.

"No, it's me who's saying things without thinking."

Ryo looked at Kita with some surprise, and smiled almost imperceptibly.

"Yes, Falcon and I agreed that he would come back. Besides, he took two days off, so he should be at the shop tonight."

Seeing everyone relaxed, Nijika breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Mmm, Bocchi-chan, don't worry too much."

When they arrived at the Ishikawa house, Hibiki was already waiting for them at the door.

Seeing Hibiki's worried expression, the four couldn't help but think that Ishikawa Hayato was truly well-liked, with so many people thinking of him.

They went up to greet Ishikawa Hibiki.

Although Ishikawa Hibiki was worried, she still received the four people in a serious and methodical manner, without rushing to ask any questions.

He welcomed them in, handed them slippers, led them into his room, and brought out drinks and snacks.

Finally, she sat properly in the seat that the four of them had left for her and slowly asked Nijika.

"Sister Nijika, what has my brother been up to lately?"

Ishikawa Hayato had previously informed his family that he was going to help a friend for two days and wouldn't be coming back, but Hibiki felt that there was more to it than met the eye.

She had no choice but to ask around.

Nijika felt it wasn't right for her, as an outsider, to interfere in Ishikawa Hayato's family affairs, but remembering the anxious voice she heard on the phone earlier, she felt she should still make things clear.

Furthermore, she was worried that Xiang might do something dangerous after hearing about it, so she chose to talk to him in person.

She carefully observed Hibiki's reaction and calmly recounted the events of that day, bit by bit.

"That's all we know. As for why Hayato-kun didn't go home, we don't know either."

After Nijika finished speaking, she saw Xiang gradually relax, and then she whispered as if she couldn't help it.

"Silly brother."

The four looked at Xiang with surprise and confusion, not understanding why she reacted this way.

Kita noticed that Hibiki seemed to know something, and she asked her with great concern.

"That... the one that's ringing?"

After learning what Ishikawa Hayato had gone to do, Hibiki stopped worrying about him. She glanced at the group of people who were probably her sister-in-law, hesitated for a moment, and then explained to them with a hint of smugness.

"Actually, my brother wouldn't do such a thing; he's a very cold person."

"As far back as I can remember, he's always been uninterested in anything, always doing his own thing, and he wouldn't even bother to check on things when there were arguments at home."

"Huh? Was Ishikawa/ Hayato-kun like this before?"

Kita and Nijika exclaimed in surprise, while Bocchi and Ryo looked at her uncertainly.

Xiang nodded, stood up, walked to the wardrobe, opened it, and took out a book from a corner.

After she walked over, the four of them realized it was a photo album.

Xiang opened the photo album, skipping the first few pages, and showed them the photos.

"You can tell from the photos how cold and aloof my brother used to be."

The four of them peered forward, and on the page that Hibiki had unfolded was a photo of Ishikawa Hayato when he was about six years old.

He had his hands in his pockets, his face expressionless, and his eyes devoid of any emotion.

It's as if she was called over and turned around to pose for a photo, and this also applies to other photos of her with her family.

The four of them were surprised by Ishikawa Hayato's indifference back then, and at the same time thought that Ishikawa Hayato was really cute when he was a child. They couldn't imagine that he would become like this when he grew up.

Liang tried to reach out and turn the page, but Xiang kept her grip on the two corners of the album and showed no sign of letting go.

Liang had no choice but to give up.

Meanwhile, Kita tried to get Nijika's opinion through his eyes.

Nijika swallowed and shook her head.

Kita means, is this something a normal younger sister would do?

Nijika's reaction was that she also had photos of her older sister, but she would never hide the album, much less be so wary of showing them to anyone. Besides, it was very strange for a younger sister to collect photos of her older brother.

"What happened next?" Liang glanced at the photo album a few more times and asked Xiang.

Xiang shook his head. "I don't know either."

The four were puzzled, and Xiang continued...

"When I first entered elementary school, I got into a fight with two classmates. They attacked me. At that time, my parents were separated, and I lived with my mother."

"When the teacher called my parents over, my mom was unavailable, so she called my dad instead, and I was taken back to my dad's house."

"My older brother was still just as indifferent in second grade. I sat on one side of the sofa, and he sat on the other side reading a book."

"But when Dad was arguing with Mom on the phone, he suddenly asked me, 'Were you being bullied?'"

I ignored him, and he ignored me afterward.

"It wasn't until the second time he went to his father's house, when his mother and father were arguing face to face, that he took out something."

Hibiki reached for a wooden box on her bedside table, took out a note from inside, and smiled with a look full of memories.