"Mm, then never mind, Kirie. Just call him something else. Saiki-shishou is just that stubborn. No matter what anyone says or does, he won't care and he won't change. Don't worry about it."
(Where am I being stubborn?)
Motoba Kirie gathered her courage and spoke up: "Th-then... can I just call you Saiki-kun?"
[Mm, that's fine. You can call me that from now on.]
Saiki made an expression like he had just remembered something. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and glanced at the time.
[Yare yare daze, I just remembered. I think I have something to do. I'll head out first. Komaru, I'll come play with you next time. For now, Motoba-san can keep you company.]
Umaru had just gotten really into the game. Seeing Saiki about to leave, she quickly grabbed his arm: "Saiki-shishou, what are you doing? Didn't we agree?"
Saiki looked at Umaru. [Sorry. Next time I'll hang out with you. And you should chat properly with Motoba-san. If I'm here, you two won't be able to talk freely anyway. Let's leave it at this for today.]
"Ah, okay~"
Umaru slowly let go of Saiki's arm.
Saiki looked at Motoba Kirie, who still seemed a bit uncomfortable around him. [Then Motoba-san, I'm leaving Komaru in your hands. Make sure to take good care of her.]
Motoba Kirie, seeing Saiki trust her so much and entrust her with such an important responsibility, was deeply moved. She placed her hand on her chest and said: "Got it, Saiki-kun! Leave everything to me. I'll protect shishou with my life!"
[Uh, then I'll leave it to you.]
Saiki turned and left, giving the two of them space to talk properly.
(If I'm here at a time like this, I'll just get in the way. I have plenty of experience handling situations like this.)
...
Saiki arrived at the usual park and once again saw a familiar pink-haired figure sitting on the swing, carrying what looked like a guitar on her back. This time it was Gotoh Hitori.
(Yare yare daze, this park swing really is familiar. Couldn't be more familiar. Gotoh this time? But I was actually planning to go look for her anyway.)
At that moment, Gotoh Hitori was sitting on the swing, feeling troubled.
(Gotoh Hitori's picture→)
Gotoh Hitori noticed someone else sitting on the bench, looking very down. She gave a small, relieved smile. [Looks like the people who come to this place are just like me, filled with loneliness inside! That person must be separated from their family...]
"Daddy!"
A voice interrupted Gotoh Hitori's thoughts. A child happily ran toward the man sitting on the bench, with a woman following behind.
"Sorry I'm late."
The man stood up happily when he saw them.
"No worries, no worries."
Gotoh Hitori's relieved smile slowly faded. Black lines covered her head, and her expression turned to disappointment. [It's actually a textbook perfect harmonious family.]
Gotoh Hitori [Sorry, I shouldn't have just lumped you in with me like that.]
(Picture→)
(She really hasn't changed at all.)
Saiki watched the familiar Gotoh Hitori, exactly the same as she was in middle school, not a single bit different. The feeling was spot on.
Gotoh Hitori pulled out her phone. [My followers hit 30,000. Mm, yeah, this is my place of belonging.]
(Don't be so pessimistic.)
Gotoh Hitori looked at her phone, her expression gradually calming down. [I kind of don't want to go to school anymore.]
(That's no good!)
[What's wrong? What's the musician worrying about? Want to talk about it?]
Saiki suddenly appeared and pressed a cold bottle of cola against Gotoh Hitori's face.
"So cold!!"
Gotoh Hitori got startled, but when she saw it was Saiki, her expression changed to happy. She took the cola, sat on the swing, and pointed to the empty swing next to her.
"Oh, it's Saiki. Come on, sit down."
Saiki sat down without hesitation, took out another can of cola, and started drinking.
Gotoh Hitori took a sip of cola: "I'm not really a musician or anything, Saiki."
[You're carrying that huge guitar around so blatantly at school. Isn't it obvious you're trying to let everyone know you play guitar?]
Gotoh Hitori was shocked: "What? You actually noticed?"
[It's pretty obvious.]
Gotoh Hitori silently shed tears: "So the fact that no one else sees me really means they're choosing to ignore me? If that's the case, my spirit is going to break!"
Gotoh Hitori felt her heart pounding: "The other people at school really are laughing at me behind my back. If I go to school tomorrow and hear someone mocking me, I'll just disintegrate into nothing."
[No need to exaggerate that much. Maybe people just don't know what to say to you.]
Gotoh Hitori seemed a little comforted by Saiki's words, but still sighed.
"If that's really the case, that would be great. By the way, Saiki, how come you're at Sobu High? I thought you went to PK High. The people you were close with in middle school all seemed to go there."
[I wanted freedom. Wanted to live alone. Figured I'd come to a place farther away.]
Saiki took a sip of his drink.
[But you're the same, aren't you? You came here too. Your house is pretty far from here. I never heard you were at Sobu High either.]
"Ah, well..."
[Don't tell me you wanted to go to a high school where no one knows your past!]
Gotoh Hitori had the expression of someone who had been guessed correctly: "N-no, how could that be? It's just changing locations, changing scenery, changing my mood! Haha..." [He guessed it...]
(I was just guessing randomly.)
[Whatever. But your followers broke 30,000. Let's celebrate.]
Saiki raised his cola, ready to clink with Gotoh Hitori.
"Oh!"
"Clink!!"
After taking a sip, Gotoh Hitori suddenly realized something and asked in surprise: "How did you know? Have you always known I was releasing music at night?"
[Didn't I tell you before? As a fan, you're that Guitar Hero.]
Saiki remembered that before graduation, he had messaged Gotoh Hitori as a fan.
Gotoh Hitori looked a bit embarrassed: "Mm, don't say that name in front of me..."
[But it was already pretty obvious back in middle school. You brought records to school, didn't you? And that band merch bag was a dead giveaway.]
Gotoh Hitori's face slowly changed.
[And in second year of middle school, during lunch you requested that death metal song. Mm, that song was pretty interesting, even though...]
"St-stop... don't say anymore..."
Gotoh Hitori stood on her tiptoes and covered Saiki's mouth: "It's too embarrassing. Even hearing it from you, Saiki, I can't take it."
[What's the big deal? A lot of people knew back then.]
Gotoh Hitori lowered her hand and covered her face: "Back then no one even came near me. Why..."
====
rawr (｡◕ˇ﹏ˇ◕｡ )