Leaving Hitori's house.
Toru's whole mind felt blank.
Hitori had actually taken the initiative to suggest opening a harem…
If Kita had said something like that, Toru would not have found it strange, but Hitori was someone with extremely strong possessiveness within Kessoku Band.
She had clearly succeeded in confessing, yet she was the one backing down first…
Well, that really did feel very Bocchi-like.
"Does this even count as dating Hitori?"
Until he went to sleep, Toru still could not come up with an answer to that question.
A quantum superposition girlfriend in a Schrödinger state.
It was… pretty interesting.
————
The next morning.
The moment Kita entered the practice room, she noticed Hitori hugging her guitar, leaning against the wall, and giggling foolishly to herself.
"What's wrong with Hitori-chan?" she asked, looking at Ryo and Nijika.
The latter gently shook her head, indicating she had no idea.
"Bocchi-chan has been giggling like an idiot for half an hour already, ever since she came in."
Little angel Nijika guessed that maybe after she left yesterday, something had happened between Hitori and Toru.
How far had they gone?
A kiss?
Or a hug?
Um, those two could not possibly be secretly dating behind everyone's backs, right?
"Bocchi is broken."
Miss Ryo used a carving knife to carve Bocchi-chan's name, preparing to make a memorial tablet.
She hoped Bocchi's spirit in heaven could rest in peace.
"Ryo, even if Bocchi-chan is broken, you still have to pay back the money you borrowed a few days ago."
Nijika asked in confusion, "That's strange, did you already spend all your New Year's allowance?"
Ryo usually had plenty of pocket money. The reason it was never enough was entirely because she spent money recklessly, buying instruments like she was shopping wholesale.
Thanks to that.
Her room was piled full of unused basses, guitars, and equipment.
"I bought a new bass."
Three hundred thousand yen gone just like that, leaving her allowance almost empty.
From now until her next paycheck, it was once again Ryo's favorite freeloading time.
With three teammates plus one man, she was not worried about not getting meals.
"Hitori-chan, are you okay?"
Ignoring the comedic routine between the two seniors, Kita proactively approached Hitori.
Then she discovered that Bocchi-chan slightly came back to her senses and gave her a smile filled with unmistakable provocation.
"I won. I won, you know."
Miss Return-Home-Lady was full of question marks and stood there blankly for several seconds.
Snapping back to reality.
"Hitori-chan, wait right there."
Kita panicked and took out her phone. "I-I'll call an ambulance right now."
Hitori-chan's brain had malfunctioned.
"Don't worry, Kita-chan." Little angel Nijika waved her hand.
"But…"
"Besides giggling like an idiot, Bocchi-chan has also been muttering things like 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't bully a poor girl', 'Do you even understand the true value of the background heroine?', 'The dragon is riding my face, I don't even know how I could lose', 'Beaten Wet dog? What the dog doin?', 'The advantage is on my side!'…"
"What does that even mean?"
"No idea. She's probably been reading too many light novels lately. Those stories have lots of plots like that, where a protagonist looked down on by the royal family gets a lucky encounter and turns the tables on all kinds of geniuses."
Nijika explained.
"Has Hitori-chan been suppressing herself for too long lately? Is that why her mental state is so strange today?"
Kita patted Bocchi-chan's small face, then rubbed it a few times, only to find that her condition showed no improvement at all.
"Bocchi, I'm sorry."
Miss Ryo suddenly had a moment of guilty realization.
The song she had given Hitori last time did indeed have lyrics that were a bit too difficult to write.
It must be because of that, which caused Bocchi's brain to break.
"She was clearly very healthy yesterday." Nijika muttered.
Just then.
Ijichi Seika walked into the practice room with PA-san.
At first glance, she noticed Hitori's abnormal state.
Hiss, what is going on here?
That not-so-bright expression.
Kind of cute.
"Ara, kawaii∼"
PA-san covered her mouth and let out a few giggles.
Every time she came into the practice room, she was happy beyond measure.
The members of Kessoku Band were all more interesting than the last.
"Big sis, do you have any good ideas?" Nijika asked.
"Isn't Bocchi-chan always like this?"
Ijichi Seika looked puzzled. Usually when Hitori had an episode, all of you pretended not to see it. Why did you suddenly notice today?
"We can't even practice like this."
Nijika emphasized.
"…Where's your manager?" Ijichi Seika asked.
How was she supposed to know how to treat Bocchi-chan?
She could only change the subject.
"Toru-kun?"
Nijika was indeed distracted. "He went to the hospital to visit Hiroi-san. He won't come over until the afternoon."
PA-san glanced a few times at Hitori, her long sleeves covering her mouth as she turned her head and secretly laughed several times.
She was certain that Bocchi-chan's condition had something to do with the absent manager.
As a spectator, an observer, an unromanceable character.
PA-san knew how to ship couples.
This board that was Kessoku Band was getting more and more interesting.
The most interesting of all was still Manager Seika. She herself did not seem to realize that she had developed feelings for Kitahara-kun, and that she had fallen quite deeply.
"Hiroi…"
Muttering her junior's name, Ijichi Seika's expression became a little subtle.
She truly did not understand how someone could get so drunk that they broke their leg.
Alcohol really did cause trouble.
"Did you go visit Hiroi-san, big sis?"
"Not yet. Didn't you take my care package over last time?"
Because business at Starry had been busy, Ijichi Seika had not had time to go recently.
Besides.
It was only a minor fracture, not like her leg was completely broken…
Just resting in the hospital for a month was really nothing serious.
————
"Achoo∼"
On a hospital bed, Hiroi Kikuri sneezed.
Who was talking bad about me?
"Kikuri-san, did you catch a cold?" Toru asked with concern.
"No, just my nose itching a bit."
Hiroi Kikuri chuckled foolishly and took the tissue he handed her, blowing her nose.
Hospital days were really boring.
If Toru did not often make time to come chat with her, Hiroi Kikuri would have considered getting discharged early.
In fact, her injury did not require such a long hospital stay.
Once she had a cast on and picked up crutches, she could still manage daily movement, it was just more troublesome.
"Half a month left. After you're discharged, don't forget to pay me back for the medical bills."
"Huh? Isn't it free?"
Hiroi Kikuri instantly did not want to stay hospitalized anymore.
"…Forget it, free it is."
Toru only wanted to correct her habit of borrowing money without paying it back, but he could not bring himself to be that harsh.
"Hehe, I knew little Toru is the best."
"No drinking after you're discharged. It's a promise."
"Ugh…"
During their conversation.
A white-haired girl wearing a patient gown passed by the ward. Through the half-open door, she glanced at Toru's profile.
She did not linger and left.
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