Ijichi Nijika clenched her fists happily: "I see! Alright then, next up is Bocchi-chan's welcome party slash post-performance reflection meeting!"
[It's getting late. I won't be joining you guys after this. I have something to do, so I'm heading out first. See you.]
As soon as Saiki finished speaking, he immediately left and vanished quickly. Once he stepped out of the shop, he used teleportation to fly straight to today's park.
(Just five more minutes of walking from here and I'll be home.)
(As long as I leave Gotou here with Ijichi Nijika, they can deepen their friendship a bit. And honestly, it's way too late. Time to head back for dinner.)
(If I went along too, Gotou might end up clinging to me too much and feel out of place with the others. If I'm not there, the effect might actually multiply. Yeah, that's right.)
"Eh, Kusuo-kun left so fast. I was hoping to chat with him more today. I even wanted him to show off some guitar playing."
Ijichi Nijika had just opened her mouth to try and stop Saiki, but he was already gone. She turned her head: "Oh well, next time then. Bocchi-chan, you're the star today, so let's..."
Gotou Hitori saw Saiki disappear and hurriedly waved her hands while slowly backing away: "I've talked to people way too much today. I'm exhausted, so I'm heading home first."
"Eh?"
Ijichi Nijika was still stunned when Yamada Ryo's voice came from the side: "I'm sleepy."
Ijichi Nijika turned to see Yamada Ryo standing there with her eyes opening and closing, looking like she was about to fall asleep on the spot.
"I'm heading out."
When she turned back to look at Gotou Hitori, not even a shadow remained.
Ijichi Nijika stared at the practice room that had been somewhat lively just moments ago. Now only she was left, along with Yamada Ryo standing there asleep, bubbles coming out of her nose while making ZZZ sounds.
"I don't feel any bonds at all."
In Ijichi Nijika's plan, she had originally wanted everyone to eat together and chat after the performance.
Because Gotou Hitori is pretty reclusive and only talks a little more when Saiki Kusuo is around. She had even planned to have Saiki perform something to liven up the mood midway, then start chatting to deepen their friendship. Perfect...
"Kusuo-kun, why did you run away!!!"
...
"Achoo."
Saiki walked along the road and rubbed his nose.
[What's this? A cold? No way. How could I, Saiki Kusuo, possibly catch a cold? Is it hay fever again? But it's not even the season for that.]
He thought for a moment.
[It must be because of Gotou. She probably ran off again, huh? Well, whatever. There was only a chance she'd stay in the first place, and in the end, things turned out pretty much as expected.]
On the other side, Gotou Hitori stepped out of the shop and looked left and right, unable to spot Saiki. She thought about shouting loudly to see if he had just left, but the words reached her throat and she swallowed them back down because there were still too many people around.
"Forget it, I'll just head home."
Gotou Hitori walked while recalling everything that had happened today.
Gotou Hitori [In junior high, because no one remembered me, I wanted to make friends, form a band, perform on stage, and join the culture festival. I practiced guitar for six hours every day.
But junior high passed by in the blink of an eye. I only made one friend, Saiki, the band never formed, and I didn't participate in the culture festival.]
Gotou Hitori [I thought things would get better in high school, but a month passed and nothing changed. I excitedly dressed up like a band girl in the morning, but got ignored again. Then by chance I ran into the only friend I had from junior high.
He even brought a senpai from school, recommended me to the band, and in the end I actually joined and performed with them. Even though the result wasn't great, playing together really made me enjoy the process.]
Gotou Hitori made up her mind [I have to overcome my social anxiety. I need to show the true strength of Guitar Hero. For Saiki, for Nijika, for Ryo-chan, for Kessoku Band... I won't let your expectations down...]
While lost in thought, she accidentally bumped into a passerby, then bowed her head repeatedly to apologize: "Sorry sorry sorry..." (ᗒᗩᗕ)՞
...
Saiki arrived at his front door. He was just about to reach for his key when he paused for a moment, then turned the doorknob and walked in. The lights were still on inside the house.
[I'm home.]
Saiki sat down to change his shoes. Footsteps came from behind, and someone approached: "Saiki-kun, you're back. It's really late today. It's already eight o'clock."
[Shiina-san, you're still here?]
Shiina Mahiru nodded: "Since I didn't know when you'd be back, I kept reheating the food over and over. Have you had dinner yet?"
[I went out to help a friend with something today. I haven't eaten yet.]
"Oh, that's good. Otherwise today's cooking would have been for nothing. But Saiki-kun, next time if you're coming back late or eating out, please send me a message beforehand, okay?"
[You haven't eaten yet either, have you?]
"Mm."
Shiina Mahiru nodded.
[Shiina-san, you don't have to wait for me.]
Saiki didn't understand. If it were him, he wouldn't just sit here stupidly waiting for someone else to come home.
Shiina Mahiru broke into a bright smile: "It's fine. So, are you ready to eat now?"
Saiki looked at Shiina Mahiru's carefree attitude and resolved that next time something came up, he really should send a message. He had completely forgotten today.
[Then let's eat together.]
"Mm."
Shiina Mahiru and Saiki sat down at the dining table to start eating. She suddenly asked: "So Saiki-kun, you went out today with your friend to handle something. The friend you mentioned... is it someone from our class like Kubo-san and the others?"
[No, it's a friend from junior high. She transferred to this school. Because of her personality, I helped her out with something today.]
Shiina Mahiru, for some reason, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing that: "Oh, I see. What kind of person is she?"
Saiki thought for a moment.
[She's a pretty unique person, but she's really good at playing guitar.]
"Eh, I really want to meet her sometime and hear her play guitar..."
[You two probably wouldn't get along.]
"Eh? Really?"
Saiki pictured Gotou Hitori and Shiina Mahiru. Their personalities and ways of handling life had no common ground at all. Even if they were put together, there was no way any chemical reaction would happen.
(If Gotou had a sly and bold personality like Kubo-san, or a more assertive one like Shikimori-san, then maybe they could become friends.)
Saiki shook his head.
(Well, better not think about it. Right now, the best person for Gotou to connect with—the most suitable friend in terms of both personality and music—is still Ijichi Nijika.)
"Saiki-kun's friend, huh."
Shiina Mahiru thought for a moment [What kind of classmate would become friends with Saiki-kun from junior high?]
Shiina Mahiru smiled and asked: "So, is this classmate a boy or a girl?"
[Girl.]
Shiina Mahiru nodded: "I see, a girl... Girl ʕ(ⓛ–ⓛ)ʔ"