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"Marurara!"
Gotō Hitori sat curled up in a tiny ball in the cramped, narrow closet, hugging her knees.
Ever since she was threatened by Asakura-kun that if Kessoku Band couldn't be ready before the Founders' Festival, she would be dragged out to play a guitar solo in a bunny girl outfit, the girl had been putting in her absolute best effort during daily practices.
The result was that the situation became even worse. The already chaotic ensemble became even more unbearable due to her overly heightened emotions.
Yamada Ryo's bass could barely keep up with her playing, but honestly, bass didn't matter. The crucial part was that Izuchi Nijika, the drummer, was a complete failure (Note), and once the drumming went awry, the entire song was basically unsalvageable.
"If this continues, I'll definitely be caught by Asakura-kun, humiliated in front of everyone, then pelted with rotten eggs and forced off the stage in disgrace, completely ending my performing career. After graduation, I'll only be able to make a meager living with odd jobs, and finally, on a snowy Christmas, I'll freeze to death outside STARRY's window, clutching extinguished matches..."
Gotō Hitori muttered self-deprecatingly.
[Doesn't STARRY not have glass windows?]
A faint, ethereal voice echoed in the girl's ear.
"You're right. It seems I won't even get to see Nijika-senpai and the others one last time. My last words will be 'Guh, turkey'..."
The girl mumbled, staring blankly at the closet shelf.
[Is it really okay for the last words left to this world to be something so meaningless?]
"Then what did Miss Hoshino say in the end? Can you give me some reference?"
[Don't give up on your life so quickly!]
"As expected of an idol, even her last words are so cool. As for me, at most, I can only make a pathetic shriek like a deflating rubber chicken."
[No, no, no, I wasn't talking about last words, I was trying to encourage you, Bocchi-chan! Snap out of your self-pity!]
"I wish I could just sleep until Soubu High School's Founders' Festival is over..."
[You'd starve to death, considering common sense.]
"..."
[Why does Bocchi-chan look even more dejected?!]
"Because a ghost told me to consider common sense..."
[Bocchi-chan sometimes says really hurtful things, you know.]
"S-s-sumimasen..."
The pink-haired girl bowed nervously towards the small table made of stacked cardboard boxes beside her.
On the small table was an eraser with 'Hoshino Ai's Memorial Tablet' written on it in cute, round handwriting, and a Chibi Hoshino Ai sticker was affixed to the eraser to serve as a portrait.
[I'm not angry, though, and I didn't manage to say any proper last words when I died. Rather, let's not think about such negative things. Since you're still alive, try your best to live well!]
"I think I'm already trying very hard..."
Gotō Hitori said dejectedly: "I feel like I've already taken so many steps, but both Asakura-kun and Izuchi-senpai only say with relief that I've only taken the first step..."
[Perhaps it's because your sense of distance is a bit different from everyone else, Bocchi-chan.]
"I guess it's better to just prostrate myself and beg for mercy when Asakura-kun comes to grab me..."
Gotō Hitori hung her head in despair.
[Don't worry, if it really comes down to it, I'll go on stage in your place that day, Bocchi-chan.]
Hoshino Ai said confidently [Bocchi-chan has a great figure and a very cute face, not at all inferior to professional idols. As long as you change into a suitable performance outfit, you can totally replace the guitar solo with singing and dancing.]
"No, no, no, no! Singing and dancing on stage in such a flimsy dress, that's way too embarrassing!"
The girl shook her head desperately: "If I have to do something that embarrassing, I'd rather perform a dogeza and beg for mercy..."
[Bocchi-chan, can I use your hand for a moment?]
"Ugh, you can... Ow, ow, ow?!"
The moment the girl released control of her hand, her right hand immediately lifted, pinched her own cheek, and distorted it hard.
[So, from Bocchi-chan's perspective, singing and dancing on stage in a performance outfit is that embarrassing, huh?~]
Although Hoshino Ai's voice sounded like she was smiling, a strange sense of crisis welled up in Gotō Hitori's heart.
"Thash not it!"
The girl tried to explain tearfully, but because her cheek was being pulled like mochi, her words sounded a bit strange.
[Rather, Bocchi-chan is really wasting her potential. Her face is so cute, but she always covers it with her bangs, and not only that, but also here...]
"Eeek?! No, don't rub it…"
"I've had this feeling for the past two days. Bocchi-chan, your bra is a bit small, isn't it? Why don't you buy a new one?"
"Going to a lingerie store, I feel like I'd be melted by the sales assistant's gaze…"
"You don't need to care so much about what others think."
"And I'd be coaxed into buying a ton of things I don't need… The big pack of socks I bought from the lingerie store two years ago, I still haven't finished wearing them…"
The girl, who couldn't refuse others, looked distressed.
"In that case, why don't you let your mother help you buy one?"
"But I just had Mom buy a new bra last month, buying another one so soon feels a bit bad…"
"…"
"Why did you suddenly stop talking and rub even harder?!"
"Big sister, Mom said we can go down for snacks…"
At this moment, Futari Gotō pulled open the closet door, then stared at Gotō Hitori's hands, which were doing a self-touching Thirteen Orphans, for a moment, and then slammed the sliding door shut with a 'thump'.
Immediately after, Gotō Hitori heard the gradually fading pattering footsteps outside, and the shout, "Mom, Hitori is touching her chest."
"Quick, quick, stop it, even Futari misunderstood!"
Gotō Hitori was almost in tears.
"How old is Bocchi-chan this year?"
"Fif…fifteen."
"…Damn it, isn't this a complete defeat for Hoshino Ai?!"
"At…at least…no, don't pinch, it feels so strange."
The girl's voice sounded pitiful, but also had a different kind of sultriness due to the gasping.
Feeling that Hoshino Ai had inexplicably accumulated a lot of resentment, and fearing she might turn into a vengeful spirit if this continued, Gotō Hitori had no choice but to concentrate on the ring on her right ring finger. In just a moment, accompanied by Hoshino Ai's gasp in her ear, the girl regained control of her hands.
She tearfully adjusted her bra, waited for a moment, but Hoshino Ai didn't speak again, which made her feel a little flustered.
"Hoshino Ai…are you angry?"
"No."
Hoshino Ai said stiffly.
"Ugh, s-she really is angry…I'm sorry, I'll do anything, please don't be angry…"
"Will you really do anything?"
"Eh? Rub…rubbing my chest is not allowed…"
Gotō Hitori said in a small voice.
"Then come with me to Miyazaki Prefecture to find Tendoji Sarina-chan~"
Note: Although it sounds a bit bizarre, the original work clearly states that among the four members of Kessoku Band, the weakest is not the beginner Ms. Kikuri Hiroi, but the great angel Nijika…
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