Chapter 120

She brushed the side hair that was leaning against her back to the front, and lowered her head to sniff it.

Suddenly, a voice rang out.

"Um, Nijika-chan..."

Nijika was startled and quickly let go of her hair, looking towards the source of the sound.

Bocchi came out of the store, her hands clenched and twisted in front of her, looking very cautious.

"Ah, Bocchi-chan."

Nijika responded to her easily.

What's wrong with you?

Bocchi had been waiting at the store for a long time, but Ishikawa Hayato and Nijika hadn't returned.

Although she wasn't worried about what had happened to the two of them, she couldn't help but come out to check, only to see Nijika alone.

"Ah, I just came to cool off for a while," Nijika replied naturally.

Bocchi noticed that Nijika's ears were still slightly red and believed her.

Just as she was about to move closer, she inadvertently noticed a footprint next to Nijika's feet that was clearly a different size from hers.

And they've already left along the other side.

She walked to the other side of the footprints, keeping a slight distance from Nijika, and stopped to speak.

It's a bit chilly tonight.

"Yes, it's all because of this heavy rain."

Nijika appeared very calm, and she sighed softly.

After she finished her sigh, she noticed that Bocchi hadn't responded for a while, so she turned her head to look at him.

Bocchi lowered her head, and her previously weak expression now carried a hint of gloom.

Nijika wasn't too surprised by her reaction and smiled as she gave her instructions.

"Bocchi-chan, if you don't pay attention, the person you like might be taken away by someone else."

Nijika didn't try to hide it, and it was within her expectations that Bocchi would find out, but it happened much earlier than she anticipated.

Bocchi has always had excellent observation skills, but he just doesn't dare to express them boldly.

Upon hearing this, Bocchi looked up at Nijika in surprise, then looked away and said...

"No, not this..."

Her voice grew weaker and weaker as she spoke, as if she still dared not express her thoughts, but she still finished speaking completely.

"... Nijika-chan didn't come out for that reason, did she?"

"Ah..."

Nijika was also surprised that Bocchi had seen through her, and she felt a little embarrassed for a moment.

But suddenly, she realized that the reason for Bocchi's gloom was not because of Ishikawa Hayato, but because of her.

Her act of not telling the truth made Bocchi uneasy.

"Sorry, I was preoccupied with something and called Hayato-kun out."

She quickly apologized to Bocchi.

"Um..."

Bocchi fidgeted with his fingers and nodded.

Sensing that Bocchi didn't seem inclined to investigate further, Nijika couldn't help but complain, wondering what kind of magic Ishikawa Hayato had used on Bocchi to make Bocchi so trusting.

However, you can sense that Bocchi has become much bolder.

Nijika smiled and explained to Bocchi in a comforting manner.

"Just now, I was talking to Hayato-kun about Bocchi-chan being Guitar Hero."

She looked at Bocchi, her eyes filled with tenderness.

Bocchi was slightly taken aback, then hurriedly covered his hands.

"Ah, no, it wasn't intentional."

Seeing that she was getting nervous again, Nijika looked away and gazed ahead. She continued speaking in the cool night breeze.

Amidst the constant winds, she also articulated her dreams.

The two continued their conversation, on the other side.

When Ishikawa Hayato returned to his seat and saw that Bocchi was gone, he was surprised, but after glancing at the shop door, he felt relieved.

He turned around, glanced at Kita was curled up on the ground with the same cringeworthy expression as Bocchi, and then looked at PA-san.

With a slight flush from the alcohol, she patted the seat, gesturing for him to sit next to her.

Ishikawa Hayato pretended not to see anything and laughed as he called out to Kita, who was lying on the ground.

"Hey, Bocchi Number Two."

He casually sat down between Bocchi and Nijika.

At the same time, he pointed at Hiroi Kikuri next to him and laughed loudly, saying, "Little brother, are you scared? Haha!" He ignored her completely.

And they also ignored PA-san, who was pretending to cry while covering his face.

Upon seeing Ishikawa Hayato approaching, Kita instantly regained her composure and angrily exclaimed.

"It's all because Ishikawa-kun mentioned my name that I'm acting like this!"

Upon hearing what she said, Ishikawa Hayato looked at Ryo, who had a mischievous smile on his face.

It's obvious that Ryo revealed this.

Ishikawa Hayato said, suppressing a laugh.

"Ikuyo, a mature person is one who bravely accepts everything about themselves!"

Kita's eyes were filled with a chaotic light as he sat on the ground and called out to Ishikawa Hayato.

"You're still called Ikuyo! And even if you use nice words, you can't hide the reality!"

Don't be angry.

As Ishikawa Hayato spoke, he propped himself up and brought over the snacks he had ordered, picking up a skewer of chicken.

"I'll treat you to a skewer."

Kita looked at the chicken skewers in his hand, hesitated for a moment, then took them, saying with some reluctance.

"This was a treat from the manager, so it doesn't count. You still owe me one!"

"Alright," Ishikawa Hayato agreed.

But Kita finished dealing with the situation, Ryo started making noises again.

"Falcon, I want a string of them too."

Without much hesitation, Ishikawa Hayato took out a skewer and handed it to Ryo.

Kita was stunned for a moment, while the three adults opposite him looked at Ishikawa Hayato with the same eyes they would give a scumbag.

But Ishikawa Hayato smiled, completely unconcerned.

104. Departure

"Ishikawa-kun, let's go to the rooftop for a bit later."

After the teacher announced the end of the holiday and turned to leave the classroom, amidst the students' commotion, Ishikawa Hayato received this text message from Kita.

But let's start from this morning.

That day, Ishikawa Hayato came out of the station with his schoolbag on his back. As soon as he stepped under the gloomy sky, he broke away from the crowd and walked to the left.

After walking 68 steps along the roadside trees and the station fence, Ishikawa Hayato saw Bocchi standing by a tree.

She kept her head down, her hands clasped together in front of her, carrying a canvas bag. Whether it was because of her sportswear or her overall demeanor, she gave off an extremely weak and melancholic impression.

Ishikawa Hayato looked back. Previously, Bocchi had hidden behind nearly 20 trees, making it impossible to see the station at a glance. Now, after passing 10 trees and taking 68 steps, he could see her.

This can be described as a milestone.

Even so, she was still dissatisfied with herself.

He often wore an expression of suppressed apology and dejection.

Although Ishikawa Hayato had encountered situations where Bocchi stood by the station waiting for him, he could tell on those occasions that she was only putting on a brave face.

And each time I comforted her, telling her not to force herself to wait by the station.

She did indeed hide back by the tree, but her expression quickly returned to one of guilt.

It seems that Bocchi is the type who, after being pampered a little, will feel perfectly justified in becoming useless.

This put Ishikawa Hayato in a difficult position, but fortunately, Bocchi is easy to please; a little teasing and his mood immediately improved.

Thinking of this, he was both amused and exasperated.

"Now I'm going to hold the hand of a very, very cute girl. Oh my, I'm a little excited! Will she let me hold her hand?"

When he was three or four steps away from Bocchi, Ishikawa Hayato teased him as usual.

Bocchi looked up happily and walked over with a look of surprise.

"Falcon..."

She reached out her hand to Ishikawa Hayato without hesitation.

Ishikawa Hayato caught it and held it firmly.

The two walked side by side, as they were used to, at the same pace toward school.

"Speaking of which, Bocchi doesn't seem to be in a good mood today?"

As Ishikawa Hayato spoke, he observed his surroundings.

Among the surrounding crowd of students heading to school, pairs of boys and girls like them were not many, but they were still a few.

However, I didn't see any children holding hands on their way to school like them.

Most of the time it's just playful bickering, or the husband and wife following each other's lead.

It's hard to believe when it started, but Bocchi was able to hold his hand so naturally on their way to school.

Beside her, Bocchi wasn't surprised at all that Ishikawa Hayato knew so much about her.

She was just thinking to herself, "I'm reading minds again..." She felt so shy.

She glanced to the side with a slightly aggrieved look, to be honest.

"Today is the last day of school with Hayabusa, and I feel really reluctant to leave."

Ishikawa Hayato seemed amused by her naiveté and chuckled softly.

"That's what Bocchi thinks, but you can see him during summer vacation when he's working or going out to play."

Go out and have fun?

Bocchi perked up and realized that summer vacation was meant for having fun, enjoying life, and savoring the time of youth.

Vomit.

But thinking about this made her suddenly feel nauseous.

She had completely forgotten about her Youth Phobia, and suddenly the memories of practicing guitar from morning till night during the holiday resurfaced in her mind.

Back then, she cursed herself day after day for being too afraid to go out and have fun, and for the carefree, popular guys out there.

Youth Phobia was deeply ingrained in her soul.

But... going out with Hayabusa should be fine, right? Even if it's my past self, I think I could accept it.