Chapter 84

"Hurry up, the main character can't wait here."

Nijika glanced at Bocchi, then at Ishikawa Hayato, and after understanding the situation, she smiled helplessly and left the matter there, heading towards the birthday party.

Meanwhile, Ishikawa Hayato walked in the opposite direction from her towards the bar where Bocchi was.

The bar area was dark without the lights on, but the light coming in from outside was bright enough.

Bocchi was wearing sunglasses in the dim light, but she wasn't afraid at all.

He held out his hand to Bocchi.

"Stay with me for a bit."

Wearing star-patterned sunglasses, Bocchi nodded. The large frames obscured her expression, but her sweet, soft voice was heard in response.

"Um."

The birthday party ended happily.

Although there were some minor incidents, such as when Nijika's friend came over and asked Ishikawa Hayato if he had a girlfriend.

She asked as if she found Ishikawa Hayato interesting and wanted to try dating him.

Ishikawa Hayato generously opened his arms and placed them on the shoulders of Bocchi and Kita, who was watching the scene unfold.

"This is my harem."

Kita, who was caught in the crossfire, didn't offer any explanation, but stared at him angrily.

Nijika's friend glanced at Bocchi, her expression momentarily blank, but upon seeing Kita, she smiled and left without hesitation.

After the guests and hosts had enjoyed themselves to the fullest...

Nijika said goodbye to her friends, the sound of their laughter still lingering in her ears as they said today's birthday was the most interesting.

She glanced at the cool, dark street, sighed, thought of someone making a ruckus, smiled, and turned to walk down the stairs.

Back in the shop, she closed the door behind her, rolled up her sleeves as she walked downstairs, and prepared to get to work and restore the shop to its original state.

But as she walked down the stairs, she was stunned to see the shop completely cleaned and restored to its original state.

It was as if everything before had been a fairy's magic trick.

Meanwhile, Ishikawa Hayato, Ryo, Bocchi, and Kita sat at the table.

Ishikawa Hayato asked the three, "How about we change to a practice rock version of the birthday song tonight?"

Kita sighed, "If it weren't for Ishikawa-kun, I would have agreed."

Liang, unusually serious, said, "There are only four nights left until the audition, there's no time left."

Bocchi said nothing.

At this moment, Nijika walked over and greeted the group.

"Everyone, let's start practicing! We must pass the audition!"

All four of them raised their hands in unison in response to her suggestion, having no objection whatsoever.

"Oh~"

76. Escape

After practicing for about the right amount of time, Ishikawa Hayato and Bocchi prepared to go home.

This time, Kita didn't choose to go back. She said that her home wasn't far from here and she wanted to stay and practice more with Nijika and Nijika.

Nijika naturally agreed.

After making their decision, the three of them saw Ishikawa Hayato and Bocchi off.

Kita watched the two people walk towards the mesmerizingly lit street with a strange expression, as if she had thought of something that made her both embarrassed and angry.

Ishikawa Hayato and Bocchi walked down the bustling street, the lights around them like countless dots, various colors briefly lingering and sweeping over the two of them.

June is just two days away. At this time of year, the cool night breeze carries away the last bit of heat from the daytime.

The two walked almost side by side, and Ishikawa Hayato felt that Bocchi's hand was very close to his, almost touching it.

He glanced at the girl beside him. She was carrying a guitar on her back, her head down, and her long pink bangs were hanging down. From this angle, she looked strangely cool.

However, considering her usual eccentricities, or looking at her expression at this moment, that glimmer of a good image would completely crumble.

Ishikawa Hayato sensed the atmosphere was a bit somber, and it was clearly not the right time to chat, but he still asked anyway.

"Bocchi, when is your birthday?"

Bocchi moved his head slightly, as if he wanted to look at him, but then stopped moving.

"February 21st..."

"How about we celebrate together next time?"

"Ah, um, what's Hayabusa's birthday?"

March 14.

White Day!?

"That's right. I was surprised that Bocchi remembered this. I thought it was one of the dates that Bocchi had blocked."

As she chatted with him, Bocchi quickly forgot her earlier thoughts and began to communicate earnestly.

Upon hearing this, Bocchi's expression turned strange, and he paused in his tracks.

Indeed, she had previously written curse poems on holidays such as Valentine's Day, White Day, Qixi Festival, and Christmas.

Now that I'm with Ishikawa Hayato, looking back on those things suddenly makes my dark past seem even darker.

She couldn't understand why she had done something so foolish back then.

After she started, memories seemed to be punishing her, constantly surfacing, and she felt terrible.

I want to forget it!

She acted on her impulse, walking straight to the shop next door. Just as she was about to smash her head against the wall, a hand pressed down on her head.

"What are you doing?" Ishikawa Hayato said speechlessly.

"Um, I want to forget some things."

As if struck by a dark past, Bocchi's expression began to turn strange.

"My birthday?" Ishikawa Hayato teased deliberately.

"No, no, that's not it!" Bocchi vehemently denied.

"Let's go then. And Bocchi, try not to do that anymore, it makes me uncomfortable."

As he spoke, Ishikawa Hayato took Bocchi's hand and led it to him.

Bocchi looked at the hand that had been taken, and a feeling of joy welled up inside him.

While she was happy, she also began to feel uneasy.

She noticed that Falcon would only hold her hand when she was feeling uneasy or confused.

Despite her probing attempts, he showed no intention of taking her hand.

Bocchi even paused for a moment on a nearby hotel.

She knew that Ishikawa Hayato had probably found out, but he hadn't said anything.

Bocchi happily walked hand in hand with Ishikawa Hayato to the station. When she saw the platform that usually separated them, she felt reluctant, but she was also prepared to let go.

However, Ishikawa Hayato did not let go, but instead pulled her to the ticket counter.

"Falcon?"

Bocchi looked at Ishikawa Hayato, who was buying tickets, with a puzzled expression.

After buying the tickets, Ishikawa Hayato returned to her side and asked.

Why do you look so confused? Didn't we agree this afternoon that I'd take you home?

Although Bocchi didn't know where Ishikawa Hayato's house was, she could tell from the tram he was on that their two houses were in different directions.

Not wanting to waste Ishikawa Hayato's time, she spoke hastily.

"Our house faces the opposite direction."

"A promise is a promise; that's my rule."

He said with a smile, and then gently squeezed Bocchi's hand.

"Let's go, don't overthink it. Besides, if I let Bocchi go home alone like this, I'll be so nervous I'll jump off the tram when I get back."

Bocchi didn't say anything more.

After boarding the train and sitting down, Ishikawa Hayato noticed that Bocchi had been a bit dazed lately, as if he was thinking about something profound.

He roughly knew what she was thinking, and he also knew that her guesses were unfounded.

He deliberately took out his phone, opened YouTube, found Guitar Hero's account, clicked on a video that Bocchi had posted before, and looked at the video description and said...

"Wow, Bocchi used to be so popular! That's amazing."

Bocchi gradually came to his senses when Ishikawa Hayato was holding his phone. Hearing what he said, he saw the profile he had written in the past to protect his pride.

Her eyes widened, and she let out a sharp scream, jumping up from the chair before collapsing back down.

Amidst the astonished gazes of those around her, she seemed on the verge of melting away, retreating into her own world and beginning to ramble on and on.

"It's the fault of the monster of self-existence... I was manipulated, it's not that I wanted to live that kind of life... It's okay to think about it, isn't this the kind of life high school girls are supposed to live?"

Ishikawa Hayato listened to her with a smile, and even asked a question out of curiosity.

"Isn't that right?"

Bocchi sat up abruptly, she said in a panic.

"It's a misunderstanding!"

"Alright then, by the way, Bocchi, do you still remember your date? Don't forget it three days from now, in the morning."

Ishikawa Hayato returned to the main topic, reminding everyone of this Bocchi statement.

Instantly, Bocchi's chaotic emotions quickly subsided, and she calmed down. Her expression became somewhat serious, and she nodded.

As if leaving herself no way out, she spoke with intense unease and a do-or-die attitude.

"I... I also have something to say."

After leaving the station, Ishikawa Hayato accompanied Bocchi all the way home.

He stopped where he could see the front door of Bocchi's house.

"Then I'll head back."

Bocchi felt a pang of disappointment, as if something was missing. She glanced at the dark road behind them and said to Ishikawa Hayato.

"It's so late, Falcon... would you like to stay at my house?"

Once she started talking, she realized she was getting increasingly shy, clearly thinking of something quite unusual.

Ishikawa Hayato smiled and shook his head.

"It wouldn't be appropriate for someone to suddenly show up and ask you to stay overnight at this time."

After refusing, he turned around decisively, waved, and walked back.

Bocchi remained where he was, watching his figure disappear into the darkness before heading home.

Because it takes a long time for Bocchi to get to school by bus, she has to get up very early every day.