Chapter 261

Nijika prepared breakfast, ate with Seika, and finished her housework before leaving home to go to Ishikawa Hayato's house.

In the elevator, even though it was her own fault, Nijika still felt abandoned.

She said in a low voice, with a hint of regret.

"Everyone should be up by now, I wonder if they're practicing or playing."

The elevator arrived at the floor where Ishikawa Hayato's apartment was located. She walked quickly towards Ishikawa Hayato's apartment and, with practiced ease, used her key card to open the door.

She's come here several times already, and she's gotten used to entering the house without permission.

"Sorry to bother you~"

After greeting everyone and changing into her slippers, she walked into the living room.

Upon arriving at the lobby, Nijika was surprised to find it empty and quiet, as if no one had been there that day.

Are you practicing?

Honestly, they didn't even wait for her.

Nijika quickened her pace and walked into the corridor.

As she passed Ishikawa Hayato's room and saw the tightly closed door, she quickly realized something and looked towards the end of the corridor.

Even on her days off, she still didn't dare to enter her boyfriend's room casually, as there was a high chance she wouldn't be able to leave once she went in.

Or perhaps they stumbled out like Liang.

Nijika confirmed her guess by walking towards Liang's room at the far end of the corridor and opening the door.

"Strangeness?"

Looking at the empty bed, which was messy and clearly showed signs of someone having slept there, Nijika was full of questions.

She tidied the sheets and blankets and walked towards the rehearsal room next door.

Finally, with the thought that everyone else had gone there, and even wondering if she had arrived too late and been abandoned, she walked towards Ishikawa Hayato's room.

Open the door.

She saw a man and two women lying on the bed. The man was in the middle, with his arm around the pink-haired girl on his right. Another blue-haired girl was lying on his other side, leaning against him. The three of them were covered with one blanket.

Nijika closed the door, took a deep breath, and then opened it again.

Nijika was stunned, staring at the unchanging scene.

"What... what are you doing?!"

She spoke incredulously, gradually making out the interior of the room, which was still dimly lit because the curtains were drawn.

On the bedside table, as if to prove her guess was correct, appeared a "small" piece of clothing that shouldn't have been there.

There are two things in the world that people can't live without.

They have similar spherical structures and the same ability to absorb light, but one is hard and the other is soft.

One is called a black hole, and the other is called...

Ishikawa Hayato got caught up in repetition this morning. Oh, let me touch this... it feels so good. I'll sleep a little longer.

What's this? Touching it makes me feel so good. I'll sleep a little longer.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason; Liang was also there because sleeping with the three of them made him feel especially comfortable.

Therefore, upon hearing Nijika's footsteps, he didn't rush to get up.

It wasn't until Nijika opened his door and woke Hitori up that he pressed down on Hitori's shoulder, preventing her from getting up, and covered her with the sheet that had fallen off because of her movements.

To prevent the other two from seeing anything.

Hitori quickly realized the situation and, finding herself in a state where she couldn't be seen by others, lay stiffly, her whole body seemingly melting away.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I played games last night and then practiced until very late, and it was so comfortable sleeping together that I didn't get up..."

Ishikawa Hayato helped Nijika prepare brunch.

He had just woken Liang up, and after leaving only Hitori in the room, he went ahead to wash up and came out to help Nijika.

Nijika came out in a huff and started cooking.

"Hayato-kun's life is really comfortable."

She stared blankly at Ishikawa Hayato, holding the frying pan.

Ishikawa Hayato chuckled twice, without denying it.

After all, it's really great to play games, practice, and sleep together with a few friends, and even have some fun together.

"Good morning..."

Not long after, Ikuyo walked out, still looking a little dazed.

She walked towards the kitchen with some unknown purpose in mind, and seeing the two people busy at work, she reached out to help.

Seeing that she looked half-asleep, Ishikawa Hayato went over, grabbed her hand, turned her around, kissed her on the cheek, and nudged her towards the aisle.

"Finish washing up first before you come to help."

"Um..."

Ikuyo slowly responded and walked back.

Ishikawa Hayato turned around to continue working, but saw Nijika's sighing expression.

He said with a smile.

"Why don't you stay and play together tonight? Three people can sleep in Hitori the rooms, and we have a performance tomorrow, so how about we practice together tonight?"

"You've even come up with an excuse for me..." Nijika complained, then turned back to continue preparing breakfast.

"Okay, but you're not allowed to do anything lewd tonight."

She agreed.

"Very good."

Ishikawa Hayato could almost see the four girls chatting and playing games together on his big bed, and then... a bright future.

When Hitori walked stiffly into the hall, Ishikawa Hayato and Nijika had already finished making breakfast.

Already feeling gloomy because Nijika had seen her like that, her mood darkened even further.

In this situation, Hitori tries to think positively.

She recalled the details of the morning, confirming the truth.

It seems that Nijika-chan probably didn't see her above the calves either, since Hayabusa covered her with a blanket at that time.

The falcon is wonderful.

But Nijika-chan must know that she slept with Hayabusa wearing only a bra!

Seeing the clothes on the bedside table, Nijika-chan even thought that she might not be wearing any at all!

I can't go on living!

And she'll definitely be kicked out of the band by Nijika-chan.

"Hitori."

"Yes!"

Upon hearing Ishikawa Hayato's voice, she immediately abandoned her thoughts and looked at him.

Her boyfriend... no, her husband, stood at the table with breakfast in hand. In the bright living room, his tall, upright figure and gentle laughter held up her world.

He stopped what he was doing because he was worried about her.

After looking around for Hitori, Ishikawa Hayato put down his plate and called out.

"Hitori, come here."

"Um."

After Hitori took his seat, Ishikawa Hayato spoke to Nijika, who had also taken her seat at the same time.

"Nijika, I already told you we slept normally last night. Liang probably got scared while playing games and that's why she came over."

Hitori noticed that Nijika's expression was somewhat uneasy when she looked at her.

After Ishikawa Hayato finished speaking, Nijika paused for a moment, seemingly unaware that they had just had such an exchange.

"Hmm... really? But Liang isn't afraid of haunted houses at all."

Nijika responded in agreement, while simultaneously looking at Hitori to confirm the truth of the matter.

Hitori answered honestly, following the situation.

"Liang Sang did indeed sleep in her own room at first last night, and I didn't see her when I was asleep..."

"I told you so, didn't I?" Ishikawa Hayato smiled and confirmed with Nijika, "If Nijika doesn't believe me, she'll surely believe Hitori."

Nijika gave a disgruntled snort, but changed her attitude towards Hitori.

"Bocchi-chan, I'm sorry for waking you up like that this morning."

"No, no, it's okay!"

Seeing that the matter was resolved so easily, Hitori breathed a sigh of relief.

Falcon is really impressive at always handling things right in their most awkward, nascent stages.

But her matter has been left unresolved for so long...

So it was because of what he said last night—that he wanted to hear her speak for herself?

Also, what Hayabusa said he couldn't do... seems to be true...

Then Ikuyo arrived at the dining table, and the five of them chatted and joked as they ate brunch.

Although they were still not good at communicating, they would try their best to steer the conversation in Hitori.

Despite the many difficulties, Hitori was still very happy.

After brunch, at Hitori's insistence, she stayed to wash the dishes with Ishikawa Hayato.

At the Ishikawa family home, because of Hitori and Nijika, everyone has to fight over doing the housework.

The scouring pad, soaked with dish soap, is used to rub the dishes, and then the running water washes away the foam.

Hitori put the bowls and plates aside and glanced at Ishikawa Hayato.

Seeing him happily washing the dishes, she organized her thoughts before speaking.

"Falcon, have you been suppressing yourself lately...?"

I need to take two days off, I'll make it up later.

I'm really annoyed by some things at work, and I feel like no matter how I try to change things, it's not right.

I need to take a break now; I'll finish this in a longer post the day after tomorrow.

By the way, let me mention the plan. The school festival part should still have about 70,000 to 80,000 words left to finish (of course, I can't be sure...).

That would mark the end of the main storyline (although there wasn't a party yet, and Nijika probably hasn't been officially introduced yet). The rest of the story will focus on harem slice-of-life (partying) and band development, padding out to around one million words before officially ending. I've already drafted the ending.

At my pace, it should finish in December, which should be enough to wrap up before the movie's release...

It's perfectly fine for everyone to keep one...

I'm really annoyed by some things at work, and I feel like no matter how I try to change things, it's not right.

I need to take a break now; I'll finish this in a longer post the day after tomorrow.