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"What? Hitori ran away?"
Asakura said into his phone, his face full of surprise.
"Why are you understanding it so biased? Bocchi-chan just said she was going out for a walk to find her inner self or something…"
Ijichi Nijika's voice came from the phone.
Asakura had originally planned to check on Kessoku Band's progress tonight, but after just a couple of sentences on Line with Ijichi Nijika, she called him directly to tell him that Gotō Hitori had taken a leave of absence and the band couldn't practice today.
"Did she see a movie on TV with four boys walking on a railway, and that's why she felt she needed to embark on a journey?"
"No, no, Bocchi-chan isn't a trainer aiming to be a Pokémon Master…"
"By the way, why did you, Ijichi, and Yamada, as members of the same band, accept this explanation so easily?"
"Because Bocchi-chan is a guitarist…or something?"
Is it common knowledge in bands that guitarists run away?
Asakura looked at his phone with the expression of an old man looking at a subway map, indicating his difficulty in understanding.
"People in rock bands are all like that, they're more free. I even know a professional bassist who's always drunk, and their performance style is so bold it's chaotic. They even spit out alcohol during live shows…"
Perhaps sensing his bewilderment from Asakura's long silence, the thoughtful Nijika-san quickly explained.
However, after she said that, Asakura began to deeply doubt whether his decision to invite Kessoku Band to perform on the Founders' Festival stage was ill-considered.
After hanging up the phone, Asakura brought his thinking back to normal.
Gotō Hitori running off on a trip to find her inner self—Asakura felt this was pure nonsense. If Gotō Hitori had that kind of initiative, Kessoku Band's breaking-in period wouldn't be so difficult.
Ijichi Nijika and the others didn't notice anything amiss, probably because they were somewhat misled by Hoshino Ai, who had filled in for Gotō Hitori recently, and didn't have a deep understanding of Gotō Hitori's true personality.
But speaking of Hoshino Ai, could it be that Gotō Hitori suddenly ran away this time because she was instigated by her? After all, Hitori is the kind of person who is easily swayed by others, and even if she realizes something is wrong, she won't be able to refuse due to her social anxiety and introverted personality. Thinking about it that way, the possibility is quite high.
So, where would they go?
As guitarists, would they go on a pilgrimage to famous Livehouse holy sites? Hoshino Ai wanting to go to her home before she died out of obsession? Or somewhere else?
"...It feels like the answer is already obvious."
Asakura sighed and quickly went to the Service Club activity room.
Inside the activity room, Yukinoshita Yukino, who had already finished her daily requests, was sitting by the window reading a book.
Noticing Asakura's arrival, the girl lifted her eyelids, put down the paperback she was holding, and seemed to be about to take out the play script from a nearby drawer.
"Sorry, I'm here to ask for leave today."
Asakura said to her first.
The girl's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She carefully observed Asakura's expression, then after a moment, put away her displeased look: "It seems you're not simply trying to avoid being alone with me."
"If two people are alone, as a girl, you're the one who needs to worry and run away, right?"
Asakura looked down at the girl sitting in the chair.
"Modern society is a society ruled by law. No matter what you want to do, it's best to consider the consequences of breaking the law first."
Yukinoshita Yukino said unhurriedly.
"Are you sure?"
Asakura curled his lips, looking at the girl with a half-smile.
Yukinoshita Yukino stared back at him silently, her expression looking a bit unnatural: No matter what era's laws, they don't seem to be able to control supernatural situations...
If he wasn't in a hurry, Asakura would have loved to continue teasing Yukinoshita Yukino. After all, no matter how you looked at it, she was just putting on a brave front and being stubborn right now.
He used a gaze that seemed to caress, starting from the girl's beautiful face. After physical labor, the girl's complexion was rosier and more adorable than usual. Combined with the faint fragrance, whether from antiperspirant or body scent, and her flushed cheeks, she was exceptionally alluring.
His gaze began to slide downwards, past her swan-like pale neck. Although Asakura didn't have any strange fetish for girls' necks, if one looked closely at a girl's neck, that fair, tender, and beautiful skin still made him understand why some people would like the kind of fetish where they suck on a girl's neck like a vampire.
Continuing down, one could see the girl's collar slightly open for ventilation due to physical exertion. Although the sweat had been wiped away and there were no glistening beads of sweat to enhance the aesthetic, the faintly visible delicate collarbone and skin not usually seen still gave off a unique allure.
At this point, if one continued to look down, one would see a woman's soft and perky mountain... mountain... mountain...
No mountain.
Asakura's eyes subtly turned to pity.
Yukinoshita Yukino, who was already uncomfortable due to Asakura's intentionally rude gaze, now had her blood pressure soaring. If this were a manga, a cluster of vein-like symbols would definitely have appeared on the girl's head, and she would have wished to smash the hardcover paperback in her hand directly onto his face.
So she did just that.
However, a paperback is not as heavy, and the girl's surname was Yukinoshita, not Fujibayashi, so the book she threw was easily caught by Asakura, without even triggering the Magic Snake's super reaction speed.
Asakura even had time to glance at the cover and found that it was the first edition paperback of "Snowpiercer."
"It might get boring on the way, so I'll borrow this book."
Asakura waved the book at her and smilingly left the activity room under the girl's murderous gaze.
After Asakura left, Yukinoshita Yukino calmed down.
She took a deep breath, feeling that her emotions lately seemed a bit off; she wasn't usually such an emotional person.
Was it because she suddenly came into contact with the supernatural world, and her worldview, along with her outlook on life, shattered, leading her to become this way?
Just as the girl was trying hard to get her mindset back to its original calm state, her phone suddenly rang.
Seeing 'Sister' displayed on the caller ID, Yukinoshita Yukino immediately felt an even bigger headache.
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