Social Anxiety and the Rock of Loneliness

But then she smiled. Her small feet in loafers and frilly socks tapped lightly as she hurried forward two steps, clasped her hands behind her back, leaned her head forward, and spoke to Bocchi, who was walking on Ishikawa Hayato's other side after being forcibly dragged along beside him.

"Gotou-san, you don't need to be nervous."

Bocchi nodded timidly.

Seeing Kita Ikuyo's goodwill toward Bocchi, Ishikawa Hayato thought for a moment before reminding her.

"Come to think of it, Kita still can't play guitar, right? You can learn from Bocchi. Don't let her appearance fool you—she's actually incredibly good at guitar. She's a genuine death metal fan."

Death metal!?

Of course, Kita remembered that term. It was the type of music that had made Ryo-senpai so happy when she heard it.

She immediately rushed toward the panicked Bocchi and grabbed her hand.

"Gotou-san, please guide me strictly as a death metal senior!"

Ishikawa Hayato almost burst out laughing. He turned his head away, bit down on his lip, and stomped his foot hard.

When Ishikawa Hayato had dragged her over, Bocchi had been happy but also a little scared, because this was the first time he had treated her so forcefully.

But when she heard his usual-toned, "Let's go."

She relaxed a little.

Although she felt even more conspicuous now. After all, a sunny, handsome guy was holding hands with a gloomy girl while chatting with another girl.

But it wouldn't take long to get to the station from here.

About eight minutes. Eight minutes was 480 seconds. She just had to count to 480.

1, 2, 3, 4...

But suddenly, a sentence interrupted her silent counting.

"Kita still can't play guitar, right? You can learn from Bocchi."

Huh?

Wait.

No, no, no, that won't work!

If he says that...

The next moment, accompanied by excited footsteps, Kita quickly appeared in front of her and stared straight at her with sparkling eyes.

"Gotou-san, please guide me strictly as a death metal senior!"

"Please!"

Refuse! Hurry up and refuse!

She didn't want to look at Kita's sunny smile every day. She would be purified!

Like a slug that had been sprinkled with salt!

But after a long struggle...

"Ah... okay."

In the end, she agreed.

At the same time, she understood that her social anxiety was beyond saving.

"Great."

Kita Ikuyo smiled happily, then, as if casually, moved to Bocchi's other side.

Bocchi:??

Ishikawa Hayato gradually felt Bocchi continuously pressing closer to him. He glanced at the girl beside him, who was a head shorter than he was.

Bocchi's features had already started to twist out of shape. It was obvious that she was terrified of Kita, who had suddenly moved closer beside her.

But she probably hadn't noticed that her whole body was nearly pressed against Ishikawa Hayato.

Ishikawa Hayato looked helplessly at the awkward Kita beside Bocchi and decided not to snap Bocchi out of it.

He had a feeling that if he did, Bocchi would have a terrifying reaction.

The three of them continued onward in that strange state for a while.

At a fork in the road, Kita headed in another direction and smiled as she waved to them.

"Ishikawa-kun, Gotou-san, see you tomorrow."

After nodding, Ishikawa Hayato added with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah. Oh, right—don't try to cram at the last minute tonight and hurt your hand. Kita's already dumb enough; don't make it worse."

Hearing Ishikawa Hayato's voice then, Bocchi blankly turned her head and saw just how close she was to him.

"Aaaaaah!!"

She had barely leapt up with a scream when Ishikawa Hayato pressed a hand to her shoulders and made her stand straight.

Then, while she was still flustered, Ishikawa Hayato patted her shoulder and gestured toward Kita, who was preparing to leave.

The habits she had developed over years of living in society made her properly bend slightly toward Kita as she said goodbye.

"Ah, see you tomorrow..."

"Mm." Kita replied with a smile, then complained to Ishikawa Hayato.

"Don't call me an idiot!"

After saying that, she swiftly turned around as if brooking no argument. Her little feet stepped lightly across the ground beneath her fluttering short skirt as she gradually disappeared from view.

Only Bocchi and Ishikawa Hayato, who were headed the same way, remained.

The two continued walking toward the station.

Gradually, though, Bocchi began sneaking glances at Ishikawa Hayato from time to time, and they kept becoming more frequent.

"Bocchi, you're going to the station, right?"

Noticing it, Ishikawa Hayato asked casually.

"Mm." Bocchi nodded lightly, somewhat awkwardly.

"So, is there something bothering you?"

Ishikawa Hayato asked outright.

Bocchi was startled for a moment, then asked.

"Um, Ishikawa... are you going to the station too?"

She was even curious about why she could voice her question so easily, and she secretly tilted her head to look at Ishikawa Hayato.

"Yeah. My house isn't exactly that close either."

Ishikawa Hayato spoke to Bocchi with a smile in his voice, carrying a teasing implication of, Bet you didn't expect that.

Huh?

Bocchi's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Then she began wondering why Ishikawa Hayato went to a high school so far from home.

But after thinking about it for a moment, she suddenly realized the conversation had stopped.

She looked up at Ishikawa Hayato, but the question she had just wanted to ask would not come out. She lowered her head and fell silent.

The two continued strolling down the road, which had been dyed orange-red by the setting sun.

Before long, however, Ishikawa Hayato asked.

"Isn't commuting four hours every day exhausting, Bocchi? Have you thought about living nearby on your own?"

Living nearby?

Just imagining it terrified Bocchi, and she hurriedly shook her head in refusal.

"N-No, no, I can't do that. Living alone is too hard."

Ishikawa Hayato did not mind her panicked appearance. Instead, his eyes were full of amusement as he said.

"I asked Bocchi two questions, so Bocchi can ask me questions too."

Ah, he's treating me like a child, isn't he?

Bocchi thought.

But still...

"Why did Ishikawa come to high school over here?"

She asked curiously.

"Of course, to fulfill my harem ambitions."

Ishikawa Hayato clenched his fist and looked into the distance, his tone solemn and his expression utterly serious, but halfway through, he could not help laughing.

Bocchi froze for a moment, then the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.

But she did not ask anything else. She only grew a little more curious inside.

As the station drew closer and closer, it was almost time for them to part ways.

At that moment, Ishikawa Hayato stopped walking. Bocchi took another two steps before pausing in confusion and turning back.

Ishikawa Hayato looked at the girl in a cute tracksuit the same color as her hair, a guitar on her back and a hint of confusion in her clear blue-green eyes beneath her bangs.

Her long pink hair had taken on a yellowish tint in the sunset. Her body was slightly hunched from always trying to hide herself, and even a small situation outside her expectations left her faintly panicked.

Ishikawa Hayato asked her.

"Bocchi, how about we go on a date tomorrow morning?"

Bocchi paused, then answered as if thinking it over.

"Ah... okay... Huhhhhh!?"

But then she became flustered again.

But Ishikawa Hayato gave her no time to recover and said directly, "Then I'll take that as a tentative yes. It's not really a date—I just want you to come with me to a place I often go."

"If you're coming, meet me at Iketora Station at nine tomorrow. If not, just message me before then."

After saying that, he asked Bocchi, "Did you remember that?"

When Bocchi nodded, Ishikawa Hayato smiled, quickly passed her, and headed toward the station.

"Anyway, whether it's morning or afternoon, see you tomorrow."

The situation had gone so far beyond Bocchi's expectations that she felt like she was about to explode.

She stood there blankly for a long time, then took out her phone and made a note of it.

After standing there and thinking for quite a while longer, she finally drifted uncertainly toward the station.

34. The Chain

At the same time, different people saw different emotions and the flow of time moved at different speeds.

Inside the train, Ishikawa Hayato watched the people around him, who seemed frozen in place.

Playing on their phones, spacing out, reading, chatting quietly, staring out the window, and, like him, looking around.

This place was frozen.

Outside the window, the flowing scenery was alive.

He took his phone out of his pocket and checked it. Nearly ten minutes had passed.

Asking Bocchi out earlier hadn't been a sudden impulse. It had started when he saw Bocchi after he told her, "Good luck with your part-time job."