Kita seemed very satisfied with this departure. She smiled and waved at the two, then quickly left the group before they reached their usual parting spot.
Like a moving blaze, she swiftly advanced, passing through the crowd, and soon disappeared without a trace.
After she left, the two continued towards the station.
However, Gotou-san kept her head down, as if regretting her strange, awkward remark earlier.
After a few steps, she slightly raised her head to look at Hayato, opening her mouth as if to say something.
But Hayato seemed not to notice, leisurely taking in the scenery before him.
After a little while longer, Gotou-san, worried that she wouldn't be able to clarify things before they parted, finally mustered the courage to speak.
"Um! Hayato, I'm sorry, I said something strange just now."
Hayato turned his head, satisfied, and in Gotou-san's uneasy gaze, he patted her head.
"Amazing, you said what you wanted to say."
Gotou-san smiled softly at the compliment, but immediately recovered, realizing that Hayato hadn't given her an answer.
"Hayato..."
She tried to ask again.
"It's okay, I actually found it quite interesting."
Hayato finished speaking and leaned forward slightly, looking at Gotou-san, who was still looking down.
He saw her sigh in relief, yet still looking troubled.
Gotou-san quickly noticed Hayato watching her, immediately stopped, her expression flustered, her eyes darting nervously from side to side.
Hayato looked at her, thought quickly, then smiled slyly before walking in front of Gotou-san, who was at a loss.
He put on a confident, arrogant expression, holding Gotou-san's shoulders, and stared straight into her eyes.
"You woman, you always manage to surprise me. You really are..."
He leaned down, gazing into Gotou-san's eyes, his face moving closer to hers.
Gotou-san saw Hayato approaching, and suddenly thought of something. A blush quickly spread across her face, and her azure eyes widened to their fullest.
As he got closer and closer, his eyes becoming clearer and clearer, Gotou-san could even see the irises in his eyes.
Her gaze shyly darted away, and at the same time, she inadvertently glanced down at his thin lips.
Then she let out a very cute whimper, her gaze quickly darting away only to immediately return nervously.
Her gaze was like that of an uneasy fawn.
"You really are cute."
But Hayato stopped when their noses were almost touching, then returned to his usual self, smiling as he patted Gotou-san's head firmly, stood up straight, and said to her.
"Then we're even."
Although he said this, seeing Gotou-san's face flushed and her clear eyes misty, he felt he had teased her too much.
He guiltily became a bit more serious, changing the subject with a stern voice.
"Let's make a deal. Gotou-san only needs to apologize to me in two situations."
Although Gotou-san was still in emotional turmoil, she turned her head and listened carefully to Hayato's words.
"One is when you intentionally break a rule I've set, and the other is when you hurt my friends."
After Hayato finished speaking, he saw the blush on Gotou-san's face fade considerably and smiled easily.
"But I trust Gotou-san a lot. Even if Gotou-san accidentally does something bad, I won't get angry, so Gotou-san should also trust me a little."
Gotou-san nodded gently like a fawn.
After Hayato stood up straight and walked to her side, he could only see her pink bangs covering half her face, while below, her creamy cheeks were flushed from within; her lips, which looked like they had no lipstick and were a very ordinary pale red, were slightly pressed together as if in a gentle pout, and her lips were trembling slightly.
Her face looked soft and tempting.
And in the glow of the various lights, her excessively pale skin reflected an even softer color, appearing particularly mysterious.
Hayato kept feeling that the atmosphere was still on the verge of being off.
It was definitely not his fault, but Gotou-san's.
He was sure that the girl next to him was definitely thinking some strange things.
Hayato even felt as if the sultry sound of a saxophone was playing around him, but the next moment, he pressed down on the saxophone's bell with a look of disgust.
The illusory saxophone sound immediately stopped.
He said to Gotou-san.
"Speaking of which, Gotou-san worked very hard today. I was watching, you know."
Gotou-san blinked, emerging from her slightly odd emotions from earlier.
Hearing Hayato's words, she remembered that he hadn't seen her successfully hand a drink to a customer later on.
She hesitated for a moment, then finally mustered the courage to say.
"Hayato, in the end... in the end, I was able to hand drinks to customers too."
Hayato was surprised for a moment, then pressed her shoulder, as if also very happy, applying a little force.
"Amazing, amazing! Gotou-san has improved!"
Hearing Hayato's congratulatory voice, Gotou-san smiled faintly.
At the same time, joy surged within her, making her purse her lips even harder, with the result that her entire lips seemed to quiver with awkwardness.
Just then, Hayato looked down at her and suddenly said, "Oh, right, if Bocchi feels too tired lately, there's no rush with the lyrics..."
"Lyrics!!"
Bocchi suddenly cried out, freezing in place as if her whole body had turned to stone.
Then, realizing she had exposed herself, Bocchi nervously turned to look at Hayato.
"You forgot, huh?"
Hayato smiled helplessly.
Bocchi weakly nodded.
Then, as she quickly hunched down, about to kneel, Hayato grabbed her arm.
"I told you it's fine."
Hayato sighed, holding her arm to keep her from kneeling.
"Th-that..." Bocchi's gaze flickered, then she suddenly remembered, "I have to apologize to Nijika!"
Saying this, she fumbled in her pocket for her phone.
As she clumsily opened Line to send an apology to Nijika, Hayato interrupted her again.
He delivered a swift hand chop directly to her head.
Hayato said weakly, "If you suddenly send a message like that, Nijika will be at a loss."
"Th-th-then what should I do?" Bocchi clutched her phone, looking around frantically.
Hayato thought for a moment and immediately had a good idea.
"This is when we should ask the other composer about her progress."
He took out his phone, quickly found Ryo-san's number, and dialed it, all while Bocchi stared blankly.
Hayato: "Ryo-san~"
Ryo-san: "What do you want?"
Hayato: "Just checking how your song composition is coming along?"
Ryo-san: "That's all you're asking?"
Hayato: "That's all."
Ryo-san: "None."
Beep beep beep.
Hayato had Ryo-san on speakerphone, and Bocchi next to him heard everything clearly.
When he smiled at Bocchi and said, "See, there's absolutely no rush,"
Bocchi was thinking,
As expected of Ryo-san, she's amazing... Near the station, it was almost time for them to part ways.
Hayato glanced at the station and casually asked, "Bocchi, is it okay for you to go back so late? Do you want me to walk you?"
Bocchi was startled and waved her hands repeatedly.
"No, no, I'll be fine on my own."
"Then Bocchi, send me a message when you get home, don't forget. If it's too late and I don't hear from you, I'll come looking for you."
"Ah... mm..."
Bocchi softly agreed, then suddenly became dejected.
Hayato looked at her, not knowing what was going on in her little head.
But a moment later, Bocchi suddenly asked, "Hayato, why are you so good to someone like me...?"
Hayato knew very well.
Social anxiety makes one constantly fear, worry about others' opinions of her, doubt everyone, and question her own worth.
"As for that, let me tell you next time."
Hayato looked at Bocchi, who had lowered her head as usual after hearing his words, and then asked her, "Bocchi, can I give you a hug?"
Bocchi suddenly looked up, with an expression of doubting if she had heard correctly, then showed a look that was both happy and uneasy, while glancing around.
It was very close to the station, and there were many people coming and going.
Stylish people, unconventional people, glamorous people, ordinary students, office workers, others carrying musical instruments... She slowly blinked, and hesitantly whispered,
"...Okay."
Hayato, as if not noticing her thoughts, bent down slightly, rested his head on her shoulder, and wrapped his arms around her back through her Guitar bag.
He hugged the girl who hadn't been hugged by anyone in a long time.
Amidst her anxious, slight trembling, he said, "Bocchi did very well today."
As his voice faded, the girl's body seemed to suppress its trembling, becoming much calmer.
Hayato released her, preparing to stand up, but Bocchi suddenly reached out her hand, then immediately lowered it.
Looking at Bocchi's gaze, Hayato patted her head.
"Next time." Then he spread his hands, as if to show the situation around them, and said to her, "See, nothing here has changed, has it?"
Bocchi just looked at Hayato, at his free and easy demeanor, at his unrestrained smile, at the people coming and going behind him who only paused their gaze on him briefly, but never stopped their steps.
"Mm."
Bocchi nodded, her gaze somewhat lost in thought.
Yes, this place under her feet was no different.
What was different was her, realizing her own thoughts.