Social Anxiety and the Rock of Loneliness: Chapter 27

"My welcome party?" she asked blankly.

"Mm." Nijika nodded, then glanced to the side.

Under her gaze, Ishikawa Hayato abruptly turned his head in feigned confusion, his terrible acting making it look as though he had no idea what she meant.

Hayato-kun...

The resentment in Nijika's heart was about to explode. He worked so well with Ryo every time, yet he was playing dumb with her now!

"Gotou-san, you should join us too."

The one who stepped in to save the situation was, as expected, sunshine incarnate herself—Kita Ikuyo.

"Oh? What's this impressive thing the guitarist who ran away halfway through has to say?"

Ishikawa Hayato, who had just been playing dumb, suddenly appeared like a ghost behind Nijika and Kita. Leaning against Nijika's shoulder, he spoke to Kita in a sinister voice.

Kita's smiling face instantly went pale. As though struck by an arrow, she sprayed blood and fell straight backward.

Not only were you not helping, you were interrupting me!

"Ishikawa-kun!!"

Just as Nijika complained, she heard Ishikawa Hayato say, "But as your senior, I still welcome you both. So, how about it? Want to join?"

Kita recovered and got up from the ground. Hearing Ishikawa Hayato's words, she was filled with confusion.

It seemed Ishikawa-kun had not deliberately interrupted them just to fool around. It was more like he had been trying to stop them.

Yet now, his invitation sounded like nothing more than a casual mention.

Why?

Bocchi had felt a little delighted and excited at the two girls' invitation, though she was also nervous and unsure how to answer.

But when she saw Ishikawa Hayato messing around over there, the heart she had only just calmed after being asked so nervously tightened again.

Was it because her performance had been too bad, and they didn't want her to join after all?

But then Ishikawa Hayato asked in the same tone as before—without any pressure, as though it was entirely up to her whether she stayed or left.

She relaxed a little and reaffirmed her decision.

Bocchi lowered her head in silence for a few seconds, then looked up and gathered her courage.

"I... I want to join."

Figure

As she stepped up the stairs outside STARRY, the air gradually seemed lighter, and the excitement in her heart made her quicken her pace.

Step, step.

The swaying guitar case gave her a steady, reassuring weight.

Coming up from the sunken stairway, the cool May breeze brushed lightly past her, as though stripping away her heavy shell and leaving her frighteningly carefree.

Bocchi hurried forward a few steps, then worried that the joy in her heart might disappear if she walked too fast, so she slowly came to a stop.

She looked up at the sky. It was filled with stars, and she felt as though she stood at the center of the universe.

The starlight around her flickered as it gradually drew closer to her.

I have to cure my social anxiety and show everyone all of my ability.

Having made up her mind, she took a step forward. The immature version of herself from a moment ago was left behind, while the current her walked one step ahead.

Even the quiet street looked different in her eyes.

For Nijika, Ryo, Kita, Hayato, and the band, I definitely...

Her thoughts drifted, and scene after scene from the performance surfaced in her mind.

"The mysterious unknown girl making her debut—Bocchi... Hehe."

She could not help repeating the introduction Ishikawa Hayato had shouted for her earlier, and her mood immediately soared.

Just as she seemed to hear countless voices calling, "Bocchi, Bocchi,"

her shoulder suddenly bumped into something.

Thud.

She immediately snapped back to her senses. Seeing the other person's startled expression, her drifting consciousness instantly withdrew back into her body.

In a trembling voice, she hurriedly said, "S-s-sorry! I'm sorry."

"Then I should head back too."

Ishikawa Hayato stretched and said to the three girls in the room.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

Nijika smiled and waved to him.

Kita glanced at Ryo and saw that she was already dozing off in the corner. She then said goodbye to Nijika as well and followed Ishikawa Hayato out.

After leaving the live house.

Seeing Ishikawa Hayato a few steps ahead of her, she quickened her pace and caught up.

"Ishikawa-kun."

Amid the romantic neon-lit streets, Ishikawa Hayato stopped and turned around.

"Thank you for letting me rejoin the band."

Under the streetlights at night, Kita Ikuyo bowed deeply as she spoke.

"You don't need to thank me. I just want everything around me to be beautiful. That's all."

His tone was casual and relaxed.

Kita Ikuyo raised her head and looked at the boy before her. The flashing lights beyond the road, the cheerful laughter, the dazzling and colorful world—none of it compared to him.

All that remained reflected in her eyes was the boy's refreshing smile.

"Kita, we're heading the same way, right? Let's walk together."

After saying that, he waved, turned around, and left.

Kita Ikuyo hurried after him.

Nijika glanced at the dozing Ryo, then walked behind the drum kit. Holding her drumsticks, she replayed today's performance in her mind.

In the end, she sighed and looked up at the ceiling light.

"Was it just a dream...?"

As she reflected, she thought again of that brilliantly shining boy, and of the teasing he had done earlier.

The moment she saw Bocchi's thoughtful expression, she understood.

He wanted her to think it over seriously, rather than simply agree with the flow.

Nijika stroked the drumhead.

"Hayato-kun really is a good person."

The moment the words left her mouth, she remembered Ryo was still there and immediately looked over. But seeing Ryo leaning against the wall with a snot bubble hanging from her nose, she was helpless for a moment before shouting, "Go home and sleep!"

"Mmm... I'll leave it to Nijika to take me home."

"Honestly!"

"I'm home."

Ishikawa Hayato called out to the house as he took off his shoes.

The moment his voice carried out, his mother's voice came from the living room.

"Hayato, your dinner's still warm."

Damn it, making me eat alone.

Ishikawa Hayato changed into his house slippers and headed for the kitchen.

Come to think of it, if Mom was in the living room, then Dad, that permanent fixture of the living room, was probably there too. If both parents were in the living room, that meant his stupid little sister had been pitifully driven back to her room.

Thinking that, the smile on Ishikawa Hayato's face grew even brighter.

He carried his meal into the living room.

But the moment he entered, three pairs of eyes peeked out from the sofa and examined him.

Seeing that all three of them were there, Ishikawa Hayato was surprised for a moment before smiling and greeting them.

"Good evening~"

And Ishikawa Hibiki—his little sister—said as thoughtlessly as ever, "No blood."

After saying that, she got smacked on the head by their mom, then covered her head and shrank back into the sofa with an aggrieved expression.

After watching Ishikawa Hayato for a while, Ishikawa Jinpei spoke in a conflicted tone.

"Um, Hayato, helping people is a good thing, but don't go overboard."

He knew very well just how absurd his son's combat ability was. Since some time ago, the three of them had started keeping track of the time.

Whenever he came home around half an hour later than usual.

Ishikawa Jinpei would say, "He's probably swept through Shinjuku and Shinagawa Ward by now."

An hour later.

Ishikawa Shizuka said, "The suppression in Tokyo should be over by now, right?"

An hour and a half later.

Ishikawa Hibiki said, "The enemy is in America?"

The moment she said it, she received the blank stares of her parents.

Even Ishikawa Hayato couldn't keep up with his family's train of thought. After standing there dumbfounded for quite a while, he set dinner on the table and said, "Didn't I tell you I had a performance today?"

A performance...

The three Ishikawas looked at one another, all thinking of the same thing.

Ishikawa Hayato, AK in his left hand and AUG in his right, stood atop a speeding sports car as bullets flew through the air amid sounds like a symphony.

Ishikawa Jinpei covered his forehead and sighed, while Ishikawa Shizuka silently wiped at the corners of her eyes.

Seeing their expressions, Ishikawa Hayato knew without even thinking that words alone wouldn't clear up the misunderstanding.

He took out his phone, pulled up footage from today's performance, and showed it to the three of them.

Then he returned to the table and pressed his palms together.

"I'm digging in."

He then began wolfing down the still-steaming dinner.

After the three family members finished looking at the photos, Ishikawa Jinpei exchanged glances with his wife and daughter before asking, "What organization did you join?"