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Kitahara Makoto sighed, "It's a pity you arrived a step too late."
"Eh?" Kita Ikuyo was startled. "What do you mean?"
Bocchi-chan also looked up curiously, peeking over.
Kitahara Makoto said seriously:
"If I had noticed you coming earlier, I could have told that girl just now that the person I like is far away..."
"Don't, don't say it!" Kita Ikuyo's face flushed crimson as she hastily interrupted his spell. "The train is here, hurry and get on!"
The train slowly pulled into the platform.
The doors opened.
It was packed full of passengers.
It was rush hour, so the number of passengers on the train was imaginable.
"Get on, get on."
Kita Ikuyo, of course, didn't care at all and queued up to get on.
But for Bocchi-chan, the train, currently full of passengers, was clearly more terrifying than the subway tunnels of the Otherworld.
(Bad, bad, bad!)
(I left too late today, I caught the peak hour!)
(The open train door is like the mouth of a demon; once I walk in, I'll definitely be chewed to pieces...)
(So scary, so scary, so scary!)
(I really don't want to get on the train!)
Reason told Gotō Hitori that she had to get on the train immediately, otherwise she would be late for school, but every cell in her body resisted.
She didn't want to get on the train!
A crowded train with people crammed together, if she got on now, she would surely die!
Just as Bocchi-chan was pitifully weak and helpless, Gotō Hitori suddenly felt someone gently take her hand. She looked up nervously, only to find it was Kitahara Makoto.
"Follow behind me." Kitahara Makoto held Bocchi-chan's small hand and said softly, "Just look at me, don't look at anyone else."
"..."
Listening to Kitahara Makoto's voice and feeling the warmth transmitted from his palm, most of the fear and unease in Gotō Hitori's heart quietly dissipated, and her heart inexplicably settled down.
She didn't pull her hand away, just kept her head down the whole time, letting Kitahara Makoto lead her onto the train and then through the crowded carriage.
(The train is still hell, but with Kitahara-kun holding my hand, even if it's hell, it doesn't seem so scary anymore...)
"Eh?" Kita Ikuyo turned her head and saw the scene behind her, her pink cheeks immediately puffed up. "You actually took advantage of me not paying attention to secretly take advantage of Bocchi-chan?"
Kitahara Makoto said righteously, "I didn't take advantage of Hitori-chan."
Kita Ikuyo puffed out her pink cheeks, "If it wasn't bullying, would Bocchi-chan let you hold her hand?"
Kitahara Makoto looked down, "Hitori-chan, did I take advantage of you?"
"No, no..."
Gotō Hitori's face was crimson, and she quickly shook her head at the question.
Kita Ikuyo: "..."
Kitahara Makoto walked to a corner, spread his arms, and used his body to create a small space, then looked at Little Miss Anxiety:
"Hitori-chan, come inside."
"Mhm, mhm."
Gotō Hitori obediently listened and hid in the small safe zone Kitahara Makoto created with his body.
"Phew..."
After getting in, Gotō Hitori quietly let out a sigh of relief.
She had forced herself to take the train during crowded times before, but she had never felt as at ease as she did today.
"What the..."
Seeing this scene, Kita Ikuyo couldn't help but puff out her pink cheeks.
From the side, it looked as if Kitahara Makoto was hugging Bocchi-chan.
If it weren't for yesterday's events, seeing this scene now, Kita Ikuyo would at most feel a little resentment in her heart, but she wouldn't show it. But now...
He said they would date together, but he only took care of Bocchi-chan?
Liar!
Big liar!
As if sensing Kita Ikuyo's resentment, Kitahara Makoto turned his head and looked over:
"Kita, you come in too."
"Hmph." Kita Ikuyo snorted lightly and turned her small face away. "I don't want to."
If I go in just because you tell me to, wouldn't that be losing face?
As she spoke, the train slowly started to move.
By the next stop, only a few passengers got off, but another group of passengers surged on, making the carriage even more crowded.
Kitahara Makoto was browsing news on his phone when he suddenly noticed Kita Ikuyo next to him biting her lower lip, her expression aggrieved, as if she was trying her best to endure something. He immediately frowned and looked at the middle-aged man behind Kita Ikuyo, saying in a deep voice:
"Kita, is someone bullying you?"
"Eh?" Kita Ikuyo blinked blankly, then reacted and quickly shook her head. "There's no such thing, it's..."
Kita Ikuyo took out her phone and sent Kitahara Makoto a message:
"It's the uncle next to me, he smells like smoke, it's so uncomfortable..."
Kitahara Makoto finished reading the message and raised his arm, saying:
"Come in."
Kita Ikuyo: "It's okay, I'll bear it a little longer and we'll be at school..."
Kitahara Makoto's face hardened, "Listen to me."
"..."
Facing the suddenly forceful Kitahara Makoto, Kita Ikuyo bit her lower lip and obediently walked into the safe zone Kitahara Makoto had created with his body.
Although her cheeks were puffed out, for some reason, she couldn't feel even a hint of dislike in her heart...
Entering the 'safe zone', Kita Ikuyo quietly sniffed her small nose. The annoying smell of smoke had indeed disappeared, leaving only the scent of lavender laundry detergent on Kitahara Makoto. Her heart quietly settled down.
"It's just the smell of laundry detergent... but it smells really good..."
Kita Ikuyo couldn't help but sniff her small nose again.
Just then, Bocchi-chan secretly looked up. Their eyes met, and the faces of both girls simultaneously flushed red, then they quickly averted their gaze.
The rest of the journey was silent.
The train swayed, finally arriving at the Train Station in front of the school.
"Bocchi-chan and I are going to the classroom first."
Kita Ikuyo wrinkled her small nose and was about to slip away, pulling Gotō Hitori along.
"Wait a moment." Kitahara Makoto opened his school bag and took out the magical biscuit. "Let me give you the magical biscuit first."
Kita Ikuyo quickly shook her head at the mention. "I don't want it."
Since she wouldn't agree to date him, of course she had to draw a clear line and not take other people's things.
Kitahara Makoto said unhurriedly, "The midterm exams are coming up soon. Kita, don't you want to rank first in your grade and make your aunt and uncle happy?"
Kita Ikuyo: "..."
Stop talking!
If you keep talking, I'm really going to be tempted!
Kita Ikuyo's academic performance was good, her sports were also good, and she had a wide circle of friends at school. She was a standard cheerful girl and a social butterfly, but her grades were still far from being first in the entire school.
With the help of the magical biscuit, she might really be able to become the top student in her grade...
"Anyway, I don't want it." Kita Ikuyo bit her silver teeth and turned her head away. "You can give all the magical biscuit to Bocchi-chan."
"I, I don't want it either..."
Bocchi-chan quickly shook her head.
"You two are making this very difficult for me." Kitahara Makoto sighed, his gaze falling on Kita Ikuyo. "How about this, I'll give Kita the magical biscuit every day, and Kita will bring me a lunch bento every day, how about that?"
"I don't want to." Kita Ikuyo covered her chest with both hands, looking at him warily. "Don't try to trick me into going to the sports storage room again!"
It was fine before, but if she went to the sports storage room now... she would be taken advantage of, wouldn't she?
She would definitely be taken advantage of!
"No need to go to the sports storage room." Kitahara Makoto explained, "Kita secretly gives me the bento, and I eat it by myself, that's all."
Kita Ikuyo hesitated, "But the magical biscuit is very precious..."
"It's just ordinary animal crackers." Kitahara Makoto waved his hand. "With Hana-chan around, there are magical biscuits every day, so it's not precious."
Kita Ikuyo hesitated for a while, but in the end, she couldn't resist the temptation of being the top student in her grade, and stammered her agreement:
"Then, then okay..."
With Kita Ikuyo handled, the remaining Little Miss Anxiety was much easier to deal with.
Kitahara Makoto directly handed over the magical biscuit, and at the same time lowered his voice: "Hitori-chan, you don't want the secret of 'Guitar Hero' to be known by others, do you?"
Gotō Hitori: "..."
The day passed quickly.
In a blink of an eye, it was time for school to end.
Kitahara Makoto picked up his school bag, planning to go home, when a message suddenly popped up on his phone.
"Kitahara-kun, are you free now?"
The sender's name was Chihaya Anon.
"It's Anon..."
Kitahara Makoto raised an eyebrow slightly, "You tell me what it is first, then I'll tell you if I'm free."
Chihaya Anon: "..."
Infuriating!
So infuriating!
But remembering the strange situation she and her friend encountered, Chihaya Anon could only grind her little fangs while sending the message:
"It's hard to explain in a few words. How about I wait for Kitahara-kun in the courtyard?"
Kitahara Makoto: "Okay."
"..."
A few minutes later.
"Kitahara-kun, I'm here."
A pink-haired girl stood under a sycamore tree, waving and calling out.
Kitahara Makoto walked over, sizing up Chihaya Anon, and said meaningfully:
"Anon-san's dark circles seem even heavier than yesterday."
Though this Anon had light makeup on, the fatigue on her face could not be hidden. Now, she suddenly called him over… Kitahara Makoto already had a guess in his heart.
"Because it's very wrong." Chihaya Anon bit her lower lip, her tone resentful, "I had nightmares all night yesterday. After waking up this morning, I felt dizzy, my body was uncomfortable, it was even more tiring than not resting at all."
After a pause, Chihaya Anon continued:
"If it were just me, that would be fine, but when I woke up this morning and asked my friends, they were all like me, having nightmares these past few days, and even the content of the dreams was similar."
Chihaya Anon's academic performance had always been excellent, so her intelligence was naturally not low.
One person is an accident, two people are a coincidence, but six or seven people having nightmares together cannot be explained by coincidence, no matter what.
Coupled with Kitahara Makoto's reminder the day before yesterday, Chihaya Anon couldn't help but murmur in her heart:
No way?
Could she really have encountered a supernatural event?
Reason told her to believe in science, but science simply couldn't explain her current situation. Chihaya Anon was conflicted, which was why she messaged Kitahara Makoto, preparing to resolve the doubts in her heart.
After all, Kitahara Makoto had said before that if she encountered phenomena that science couldn't explain, she could ask him for help.
Kitahara Makoto calmly said:
"It should be the spiritual game after I left that day. You encountered something strange."
Chihaya Anon hesitated, "But we played spiritual games together in junior high, and nothing happened then…"
Kitahara Makoto said softly, "Just because nothing happened before doesn't mean nothing will happen now. People always have unlucky times."
Chihaya Anon was still conflicted: "But that kind of thing is too unscientific…"
Kitahara Makoto: "All of you having nightmares together is equally unscientific."
Chihaya Anon: "…"
Although she was unwilling to admit it, what Kitahara Makoto said made a lot of sense.
Eliminate the impossible answers, and the last remaining option, no matter how incredible, will be the truth.
"Kitahara-kun~" Chihaya Anon looked over pitifully, her hands clasped together, "If it really is that kind of thing… what should we do?"
Kitahara Makoto mused:
"Of course, we should check your body first."
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