After parting ways with Kita, who had been much quieter today, only Hayato and Bocchi were left walking towards the train station.
Walking through the bustling streets with a timid, tracksuit-clad beautiful girl—no, at this point, she could only be considered a raw gem of a girl—was a very interesting feeling.
Hayato teasingly lagged half a step behind her, perfectly matching her pace.
And Bocchi, having lost her reference point and with a complicated mood, would slow down one moment and then, as if worried, speed up the next.
As she walked, her mouse-like gaze would constantly steal glances at him, secretly observing the reaction of the man beside her.
Hayato, feeling her gaze, looked down and met Bocchi's eyes.
Then Bocchi shyly averted her gaze immediately, lowering her head.
A lot happened today, Hayato thought.
A date with Bocchi in the morning, going to Bocchi's house at noon, a Band meeting in the afternoon, and then going to Ryo's house.
It was a busy day, but also a day surrounded by various girls.
The Harem King was beginning to form.
He chuckled self-deprecatingly, then said to Bocchi, who was looking down and slowing her steps.
"Bocchi, is the part-time job okay?"
Bocchi's steps stopped. Hayato also stopped in place, looking at her.
After a moment, her faint voice came.
"Mmm..."
Hayato didn't press, saying casually,
"Let's just assume it is. Let's go, Bocchi, you don't want to stay here forever, do you?"
Bocchi shuffled over. Hayato watched her, her head drooping, whether from disappointment or habit, and couldn't help but reach out and pat her head.
The girl with pink long hair, tightly wrapped in a pink tracksuit, tensed her body slightly, then relaxed.
In the noisy, rushing crowd, Hayato heard her soft murmur.
"With Hayato beside me, I'm not afraid."
Hayato said nothing, put down his hand, and, holding her wrist, walked towards the station... "I'm home."
Bocchi had just greeted her family when she heard quick footsteps coming from the living room.
"Bocchi, welcome home."
Her mother walked out smiling, glanced at her, then at the already closed door, and her smile subsided a little.
As if disappointed in her daughter, she sighed a little flatly.
"Mom!"
Bocchi understood the meaning in her expression and called out unhappily.
But her mother ignored her, walking towards the living room as if talking to herself.
"Hayato-kun is a good child. Why didn't Bocchi bring him home..."
Bring... bring him home?
Where would Hayato rest? Surely not in her room?
And Hayato had just been to her house today. Were her parents really so trusting of the friends their daughter made?
Bocchi thought, her eyes becoming much more pitiful.
She sadly changed her shoes alone and walked into her home.
After that, once she returned home, she seemed to get back on track.
Amidst the joyful sounds of her father and sister, and an occasional interjection from her mother, she silently finished dinner, then returned to her room, entered her closet, and began to cover popular songs and record videos.
After finishing, she practiced the Guitar for a while.
Finally, she lay on the tatami mat, staring blankly at the familiar ceiling, beginning to review the day and think about what to do tomorrow.
And this girl, wearing a tracksuit and unsightly black socks, first curled up laughing, then rolled over to the other side.
Then she twisted and rolled back, tumbling on the tatami mat.
After thinking about the happy things, she felt some things she didn't want to think about quickly emerged.
Part-time job.
Tomorrow... working at STARRY... working... She suddenly sat up, her eyes wide with terror, and scrambled, thudding quickly downstairs.
She didn't want to work, absolutely didn't want to work!
And working at a livehouse definitely meant facing all sorts of people.
Bocchi's mind instantly conjured images of men with post-apocalyptic mohawks wearing studded jackets, and women in similar attire carrying whips.
Although she had told Hayato she wasn't afraid, that was when he was there. Now... let her escape for a bit.
Bocchi hurried downstairs, and amidst her parents' puzzled expressions in the living room, she left the house.
A moment later, as they considered whether to cook red bean rice, Bocchi returned, carrying a bag of stone-like objects that made a hard scraping sound.
The two got up from the sofa, bewildered, and looked out from the living room.
They saw Bocchi take the bag into the bathroom.
And in no time, Bocchi came out of the bathroom again, walking resolutely towards the refrigerator.
In front of her curious parents who followed her, she opened the refrigerator, took all the ice cubes from the ice maker, put them in the bag, and went into the bathroom.
The two followed her to the bathroom.
Seeing Bocchi pour bag after bag of ice cubes into the bathtub, the two exchanged a silent glance and sighed in unison.
Bocchi's parents were the more open-minded type and didn't interfere much with Bocchi's own decisions.
Besides, their daughter had already done many strange things; there was no need to specifically stop one.
Only, today.
"It has to be that, doesn't it?" Goto Michiyo looked at her husband.
Her husband nodded, picked up the phone, and dialed a number.
The call connected quickly.
"Hello, Hayato-kun, ah, you guessed right, Bocchi is indeed doing strange things again. Mmm, I'll give her the phone, thank you. No, no, we're very happy that Bocchi has a friend like you."
He finished speaking, holding the phone, and walked towards Bocchi, who had come out of the bathroom and was about to go upstairs.
"Bocchi, phone."
Bocchi, who was preparing to change clothes for a race against death by cold, looked at her father holding his own phone and handing it to her, and was stunned.
Then, full of confusion, she took the phone, but when she held it to her ear, not knowing what to say,
Hayato's voice came from the phone.
Hayato: "Bocchi, this is Hayato, what are you doing?"
Hearing the voice from the phone and the straightforward question, Bocchi's eyes widened instantly.
"Ah, ah..."
She looked at her father in confusion, then at her bathtub where the ice cubes were already placed, her mouth opening and closing, completely unable to speak.
Her father actually tattling to Hayato was something she had never expected.
When did their relationship become so good!
Is this the power of a normie?
After a while, from the other end of the phone, without Bocchi's response.
Hayato: "I won't use Uncle's phone anymore, Bocchi, use your phone to talk."
Bocchi: "Ah... okay."
After the sound of the call ending, Bocchi stiffly returned the phone to her father, then, as if going to her execution, walked slowly up the stairs with a dejected expression.
And seeing Bocchi like this, her parents smiled broadly... The time returned to an hour ago, when Bocchi hadn't come home yet.
Gotou Naoki, who was watching a movie at home with his wife and daughter on his day off, received a call.
"Hello, is this Uncle Gotou? This is Hayato, I apologize for calling so suddenly."
Bocchi's father, after receiving the call, greeted his wife and daughter, then left the room.
"No, Hayato-kun, is something wrong with Bocchi?"
Although he asked this, he didn't seem too worried, as he could tell from Hayato's calm tone.
"No, Bocchi is already on the train home. What I'm worried about is that today, the other Band members and I decided to work part-time at a livehouse to earn funds for our Band activities."
Gotou Naoki exclaimed in surprise, "Work part-time!?" Then, realizing his voice was too loud, as if he was objecting, he quickly explained.
"I'm very much in favor of it, but can Bocchi manage it?"
Hayato: "I think Bocchi can try, and she agreed. I'm just not sure if she really agreed, I'm a little worried."
Hayato: "If Bocchi does anything strange, please tell me. I'll trouble you, Uncle."
Hayato: "Oh, besides me, all the other Band members are girls of similar age, so there's no need to worry."
Gotou Naoki: "No, with Hayato-kun there, I'm already at ease."
After hanging up, Gotou Naoki looked at his wife, who had come out of the living room with a worried expression. He calmed himself down, but still couldn't help but say with emotion,
"Honey, Bocchi has made some really good friends!!"
Then, he recounted his conversation with Hayato on the phone to Goto Michiyo.
Goto Michiyo's face broke into a surprised smile.
"Wow, she's such a good child!"