Social Anxiety and the Rock of Loneliness

"Within two months, I'll definitely show you my harem! And Hibiki, finish eating and come upstairs."

"Eh... even a magnificent pervert needs guidance from my almond-sized brain, huh?"

Hibiki swayed her head slowly, bowl in hand, looking like she had her brother right where she wanted him.

"If you're not working, give me back the pay."

Ishikawa Hayato didn't mind at all. He'd only just started, but the hardest part of music was the beginning.

The rest didn't require Hibiki.

In other words, his little sister's usefulness was already spent. She could go flop on the sofa like a dummy and stare mindlessly at the TV.

"I'm coming!"

Hibiki immediately sped up her chopstick movements.

7. Going My Own Way

The next day, after greeting his parents, his sister, and the familiar neighbor—each with his signature pervert flair—Ishikawa Hayato headed to school with a bag in one hand and a synthesizer slung over the other.

Though it was morning, he was already looking forward to getting out of school.

It wasn't that he disliked school, but yesterday when they parted, Nijika and Ryo had already made plans with him.

"Well, if you're free, let's meet at Starry after school."

Nijika's warm, lively voice still echoed in his ears.

"We're basically always practicing there."

That was Ryo's line.

Ishikawa Hayato couldn't wait to show off in front of them. Out of the way, let you see the power of a pervert!

Walking the same road as yesterday to school, he glanced around.

He didn't see the girl in the pink tracksuit.

A bit of a shame.

When he reached his classroom, he stowed the synthesizer in his locker, walked to his seat, and pulled out the Synthesizer Self-Study Growth Tutorial from his bag. Holding it with one slender hand, he completely ignored the surrounding noise and quietly read.

There was no trace of the timidity of being alone; instead, he was so composed it came off as cool.

Only when class started did he put the book away, take out his textbook, skimmed it a couple of times, committed the key points to memory, then tilted his head, half-listening to the teacher's lecture while seriously gazing at the endless sky in thought.

Lunch break.

After finishing his bento, he headed to the staff room.

As he walked in, he happened to see Ishida Hane clearing his desk and standing up to leave.

They met face to face. Seeing Ishikawa Hayato, a flicker of surprise showed in Ishida Hane's eyes behind his glasses.

After their first meeting yesterday, he'd thought Ishikawa Hayato was the arrogant type who didn't respect teachers. He hadn't expected him to actually show up.

"Ishikawa, you came."

"Because we had an appointment." Ishikawa Hayato strode into the staff room first, stopped in front of Ishida Hane's desk, and extended his hand.

"Teacher, have a seat."

Ishida Hane: ???

For a moment, Ishida Hane didn't know whether to sit or not, but in the end, he sat down in his own chair.

"Teacher called me here to talk about yesterday's self-introduction, right?"

Ishikawa Hayato spoke the moment Ishida Hane sat down.

As a teacher and an adult, he naturally didn't want to be led around by a student, so Ishida Hane didn't answer directly.

"Mm, that's part of it. Ishikawa-kun doesn't seem to interact much with your classmates. Why is that?"

He tried to stiffen his face, putting on a serious expression.

Facing the stern teacher, Ishikawa Hayato simply smiled.

"First, thanks for the concern, Teacher. The reason is that I don't want to waste time on perfunctory socializing. People who aren't interesting or special—I don't want to spend extra time talking to them."

"Ishikawa-kun, rich social interaction is what makes school life fun."

"The definition of fun varies from person to person. For me, that wouldn't be fun."

Ishikawa Hayato didn't mind Ishida Hane's nagging or trouble at all, patiently explaining to him.

In the end, Ishida Hane was left speechless.

Ishikawa Hayato left one last remark.

"Thank you for your concern, Teacher, but interfering in someone's harmless way of life is arrogance. Please keep that in mind."

He bowed and left the staff room.

For a moment, the staff room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

On the other side, the now-idle Ishikawa Hayato didn't rush back to continue reading. Instead, he strolled leisurely toward the stairwell corner on the first floor of the school.

At that moment, he felt a bit like he was sneaking a peek at the cat bed at home.

As for what he'd told the teacher earlier about being harmless to others—he'd long since forgotten every word of it.

A degenerate naturally has flexible moral standards.

He softened his footsteps and crept step by step toward the corner. Amid the noisy school, that corner was so quiet it felt devoid of any human presence.

Ishikawa Hayato didn't even know if he'd run into her. He was just going to take a look.

He climbed the stairs and leaned out from the edge to peer down.

There, among a pile of surplus desks and chairs, a few strikingly bright strands of pink hair were visible. The hair shifted slightly, and he could hear the faint clatter of chopsticks against a lunchbox.

Still eating.

I really want to go bother her!!

The moment that thought popped into his head, Ishikawa Hayato was already standing at the entrance to the maze of desks and chairs.

A degenerate's mind and body were just that aligned.

Staring at this alley-like corner, Ishikawa Hayato also grew a little curious—if Gotou Hitori wanted to run in this situation, how would she do it?

Thinking this, he deliberately made his footsteps heavier, the thick soles of his shoes striking the floor with a loud sound.

Tap.

"Eep!"

A tiny, startled cry came from the bottom of the stairwell.

"Who's here?"

Ishikawa Hayato pretended not to know and walked further inside, but no sooner had he passed the pile of desks and chairs than he heard a flustered rustling and a panicked shout.

"S-Sorry! I'll leave right now!"

A person in a pink tracksuit, clutching a lunchbox, charged straight toward Ishikawa Hayato as if afraid of having their face seen.

No need to guess—it was definitely Gotou Hitori.

Ishikawa Hayato naturally wasn't about to let her escape. If he let her run off now, it'd be hard to find her next time.

For a social phobe, once a safe haven was discovered, they'd never come back.

On her first day of school, Gotou Hitori had used her social-phobe instincts to find this spot where she could eat in peace.

Quiet, no one came by, no worry about being seen eating alone.

This was the perfect personal domain.

That day, as she ate, she was feeling proud of herself for finding such a perfect spot.

Tap.

A single footstep snapped her relaxed nerves taut. She froze on the spot, holding her breath.

"Huh, who's here?"

Someone's coming?

No, don't, don't come in.

But the footsteps didn't hear her plea; they drew closer.

Danger descends! An Apostle is attacking!

In an instant, Gotou Hitori looked left and right, finding nowhere to hide.

Her eyes made a snap decision. She slammed her lunchbox lid shut, wrapped her chopsticks and box in a cloth napkin, hugged her lunch, and without hesitation charged outward with her eyes squeezed shut.

"S-Sorry! I'll leave right now!"

But just as she saw the light outside, someone grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Aaaaaaahhh..."

Just as Gotou Hitori thought she was done for, her face twisting into a broken expression—

"It's you."

The person said that.

Ishikawa Hayato stared at the girl whose expression—no, whose entire face—had collapsed, and marveled inwardly.

Whoa, is that a face a human can even make?

He pretended not to know and said, "It's you. Why are you here all alone?"

Hearing that the speaker seemed to recognize her, Gotou Hitori calmed down a little and timidly looked up to see who it was.

Ah, it's the person I met on the first day of school.

Her eyes!!

Ishikawa Hayato watched as Gotou Hitori covered her eyes again and roughly guessed what she was thinking. But he didn't expect Hitori to say anything. Spotting the lunchbox in her hand, he went straight to the point.

"Are you eating here alone? Come to think of it, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Ishikawa Hayato from Class 1-3."

After he spoke, Ishikawa Hayato watched Gotou Hitori fall into another kind of panic, like a fish gasping for air, her mouth opening and closing endlessly. It was a long while before she lowered her head, her eyes hidden beneath her bangs, and squeezed out a sentence.

"I'm... Gotou Hitori from Class 1-2."

8. Human

Finally finishing the self-introduction, Ishikawa Hayato let out a relieved smile.

"By the way, am I interrupting your lunch, Gotou-san? Sorry for startling you."

Gotou Hitori's heart wailed as she desperately wanted to nod. At that moment, she felt her stomach churn from the sheer tension, but still answered in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

"No, not at all."

That's what she said, but in her heart, she had already decided she couldn't come here anymore. She needed to find a new safe haven.

"That's good. Actually, I came looking for you on purpose, Gotou-san. Took me quite a while."

Hearing that bright, cheerful voice, Gotou Hitori didn't feel relieved—instead, she was plunged into panic.

He came looking for me on purpose!?

In an instant, she felt the green dots of safe havens within the school vanishing one by one.