Chapter 89

"However... I want to contribute to everyone's dreams, Nijika's dreams, Kita's dreams, Ryo's dreams, and Hayabusa's goals."

She didn't speak loudly, but it was as if she used all her strength, causing the swing to sway slightly and make a metallic scraping sound.

She continued dejectedly, "I don't know what happened after that. If... if Falcon really could take care of me..."

"Someone like me..."

"Bocchi is a very good guitarist, has a great physique, and is a very cute person."

Ishikawa Hayato added, affirming her.

As if to confirm whether Ishikawa Hayato was comforting her, Bocchi looked up at him.

In the sunset, his eyes shone with a golden light, like the last glimmer of hope in a silent world.

Ishikawa Hayato noticed her gaze and, seeing her uneasy expression, reached out his hand.

"How about we try bone conduction lie detection?"

Bocchi looked at Ishikawa Hayato's outstretched hand, hesitated, and then reached out her own. After a long pause, she carefully clasped his fingers in her palm.

Can you sense anything?

Ishikawa Hayato asked.

Bocchi shook his head, a look of bewilderment mixed with a hint of relief and joy.

"I can't feel it."

Ishikawa Hayato didn't let go of his hand, and said with a smile.

"That means I wasn't lying." He gripped Bocchi's hand tighter. "Supporting someone else's dream is a goal in itself, but it's the most painful goal. Have you decided?"

Bocchi thought for a moment, then raised her gaze again. Her eyes did not dodge; they were very calm, as if her heart had been opened.

She spoke.

"I want to move forward together with everyone in the band. I want to grow a bit more. It'll be tough... but I'll try my best to persevere!"

Seeing Bocchi's unwavering determination, Ishikawa Hayato said nothing more. He released Bocchi's hand, swung on the swing for a moment, and then suddenly stopped.

"By the way, Hitori, I was thinking about how close we should be..."

He felt that Bocchi had made progress and that he could get closer to her, but he was also worried that he might be imagining things, so he asked hesitantly.

"How about we rent an apartment together in Shimokitazawa next semester?"

Because his change of heart was so sudden, Bocchi didn't react in time and looked blankly at Ishikawa Hayato.

Renting a house to live in...

Together...?

Living together!?

Bocchi stared wide-eyed, blinked blankly, and then, as if afraid Ishikawa Hayato might change his mind, hurriedly said...

"Coco, yes!"

Ishikawa Hayato stood up, walked up to her, and flicked her head with his finger.

"Think it over carefully before you agree,"

As his voice faded, the surrounding lights came on, the warm-colored streetlights and the cool white lampposts in the park beginning their vigil in the darkness.

That evening, Bocchi returned home.

Hearing the door open, her father and mother came out.

But there was only Bocchi, and her mother smiled and said, "Hitori, welcome back."

Father: "How did today's audition go? Did you pass?"

Looking at her parents' expressions, Bocchi realized that this wasn't the person they wanted to see, and pitifully lowered her head and said...

"Yes, it's approved."

"Very good."

After saying this without any perfunctory tone, the two turned and went back to the hall.

She knew her parents liked Falcon very much and were very fond of this prospective son-in-law they had chosen, but this differential treatment was just too much.

She changed into her slippers and went inside.

Futari ran over with Jimmy Hen and glanced at Bocchi.

"My sister's boyfriend didn't come. So boring!"

After saying that, he turned and ran away.

She only saw him once this morning, and even Futari betrayed her!?

In the morning, when Bocchi and Ishikawa Hayato returned from the suburbs to retrieve their instruments.

Bocchi greeted everyone upon returning home.

"I'm back."

As soon as Ishikawa Hayato entered, he noticed that the Bocchi family seemed to be present, so he greeted them.

"Sorry to bother you~"

The youngest girl in the family reacted the fastest.

A cheerful little girl with short hair and ahoge (cowlicks) on both sides like Bocchi ran out of the house. She looked at Ishikawa Hayato with curiosity and said something that sounded like a precocious child.

"Is he my sister's boyfriend?"

Ishikawa Hayato crouched down, but even crouching, he was still considerably taller than the little girl.

He looked at the exquisitely beautiful young girl before him and spoke softly.

"Not yet, are you Hitori's younger sister?"

"Yes, nice to meet you. I'm Goto Nijiri."

Unlike Bocchi, Futari was not afraid of strangers at all and naturally bowed in greeting.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Ishikawa Hayato."

Ishikawa Hayato smiled and bent his back slightly to accommodate her.

Looking at Ishikawa Hayato, Futari seemed quite familiar with him. She raised her head slightly and curiously compared her hand above her head with the head of Ishikawa Hayato when he squatted down.

"Brother Hayato is so tall! He's even taller than Dad!"

"Oh?" Ishikawa Hayato saw through her intention and gave her a funny expression.

Do you want me to lift you up high?

"I want it! I want it!" Futari jumped up and down happily.

When Ishikawa Hayato lifted Futari high in the air, Futari let out an extremely happy laugh.

Bocchi was completely stunned by what he saw.

Surprisingly, he became so familiar with Falcon in less than a minute after meeting him, even seeming closer to him than she was.

It seemed as if she had no room to interject between the two of them.

Just like if she disappeared now, everything would continue as usual.

No, no, no!

Her presence... her presence is fading away!

After Ishikawa Hayato put Futari down, he immediately noticed the situation on Bocchi's side.

Futari, looking at her strange older sister, explained.

"My sister is making that strange expression again."

At this moment, Bocchi's parents also came out of the hall.

"Futari ~"

Bocchi's mother called her youngest daughter's name softly, with a hint of reprimand, clearly exasperated by her overly familiar and impolite behavior.

When they came out, they saw their eldest daughter squatting in the corner of the entryway with a strange expression. After Ishikawa Hayato patted her head, she quickly returned to normal with a shy look.

The two exchanged a knowing smile.

However, Bocchi's father also revealed a hint of helplessness.

Ishikawa Hayato noticed that Bocchi's parents had arrived and bowed respectfully.

"Hello, Uncle and Aunt, I've come with Bocchi to pick up the guitar again."

"Hayato-kun, please make yourself at home."

Bocchi's mother spoke, and Bocchi's father was about to say something when she nudged him with her elbow to the waist, cutting him off completely.

As if afraid that Ishikawa Hayato would be snatched away by her family, Bocchi was also trembling with fear among her family members. She tugged at Ishikawa Hayato's arm and said...

"Hawk, come up here too."

Ishikawa Hayato smiled helplessly at her parents, then followed Bocchi upstairs.

Futari watched the two people walking upstairs, then glanced at her parents, and after a short while asked with great confusion.

"Is it okay for Brother Hayato to go to my sister's room? Aren't there pictures of Brother Hayato all over the ceiling?"

"Huh?"

Bocchi's parents turned around and stared blankly at their youngest daughter. When they came to their senses, cold sweat poured down their frozen smiles.

Meanwhile, Bocchi had already led Ishikawa Hayato to the door of her room on the second floor.

Bocchi's house is a classic detached house that retains many traditional features within a modern architectural style; even her doors are shoji doors.

Standing at the door, Ishikawa Hayato was a little curious about how Bocchi filmed and recorded her videos on YouTube.

After all, he could tell from the video that she was doing it very professionally, so she must have a lot of professional equipment. He started to get curious about her room.

Amidst the hurried footsteps downstairs, Bocchi opened the shoji door without much thought and spoke meekly.

"Please come in."

Just as Ishikawa Hayato was about to step inside, and his gaze lingered on the interior, a powerful force drew his attention upwards.

Looking up, he saw his face, infinitely fragmented, on the roof, and he was stunned.

Bocchi saw that Ishikawa Hayato had suddenly stopped in his tracks and was looking up, so she looked up in confusion as well.

She immediately realized the problem.

"Ah..."

Bocchi's expression was one of utter dismay.

She has common sense; normally, this kind of 'photo wall' shouldn't be shown to others.

However, because she had long been accustomed to the view from the room, she overlooked this detail and even invited Falcon into her room under these circumstances.

What should we do? What should we do? Are we doomed?

Bocchi's parents, who ran up from downstairs, felt despair at the sight of their late arrival.

But soon, Ishikawa Hayato came to his senses, thoughtfully stroked his chin, and said to Bocchi.

"I knew my eyes weren't wrong, Bocchi, you have the potential to be a pervert, don't you? But don't you feel suffocated with that on your head?"

After he finished speaking, he calmly walked inside.

As if something had broken down, Bocchi floated in behind him and closed the door behind him.