[Because the chosen route was relatively simple.]
[In the first half, you and Kita walked with ease and leisure. It was only when the slope steepened midway that it truly started to feel like climbing a mountain.]
[You began the ascent in the afternoon. By the time you reached the mountain hut you had reserved for the night, it was already eight in the evening.]
[Since you planned to watch the sunrise over Mount Fuji the next morning, you decided to go to sleep early.]
[There were too many climbers, so you had only managed to reserve one hut in advance. Kita did not object. If anything, she was more than happy with it.]
[If Gotoh Hitori's affection for you was the reserved and restrained love of a young girl.]
[Then Kita's feelings were undoubtedly fervent, so scorching they could burn you.]
As expected of you, Kita-san.
The most unpredictable woman in Kessoku Band.
Toru could not help but recall the last simulation.
Kita had taken the initiative and said she wanted to become his lover.
It had scared him badly at the time.
For a while, he had even wondered whether Kita's mental state was still normal.
#Kita Status
[At two in the morning, you separated from your embrace, tidied your clothes, and prepared to head for the summit.]
[A few cold gusts of wind swept past outside the mountain hut.]
[You checked on Kita's condition. After confirming that she was fine, you picked up your trekking poles and set off toward the summit.]
[Along the way, you felt a trace of regret.]
[Because it was deep in the night, you could not update Tachibana Kanade in real time during the climb, worried that you might disturb her rest.]
[Still, you planned to record the sunrise at the summit and send it to her on the way down.]
[As Tachibana Kanade's eyes, you had once promised that you would see every corner of the world on her behalf.]
[You did not know how long you had walked.]
[At last, you and Kita reached the summit.]
[Standing atop the absolute peak, all other mountains seemed small beneath your feet.]
[Amid the drifting mist and clouds, a streak of golden red appeared along the horizon.]
[During your first simulation, you had seen countless sunrises, but this trip to Mount Fuji would surely rank among the top five.]
[You checked once more to make sure the recording equipment was functioning properly.]
[Such a magnificent view, you truly wished that Tachibana could see it with her own eyes.]
————
Meanwhile.
Inside the hospital.
Hiroi Kikuri lay on her bed, feeling weak all over.
Propping herself up with a crutch, she hopped and skipped toward the neighboring ward, planning to drop in unannounced.
"Clearly Little Tachibana is so beautiful, so why is Little Toru not interested at all?"
Hiroi Kikuri could not figure it out no matter how much she thought about it.
In their everyday interactions,
she could tell that several girls in Kessoku Band liked Toru.
But she had not completely understood it either.
From Hiroi Kikuri's perspective, a group of girls were showing affection toward Toru, yet he gave no response at all and remained single.
The meaning was obvious, right?
Even someone like Kikuri, who had never been in a relationship, could see it...
Toru simply did not like them!
Mm, a perfect deduction.
Hiroi Kikuri believed she had been in society for over a decade. There was no way she could be wrong.
Normally, PA-san was always smiling. She must have noticed something as well, just like her.
Only Ijichi Seika was completely kept in the dark.
Poor Seika.
She could not even understand the gossip she was watching unfold.
Pulling her thoughts back.
Hiroi Kikuri knocked on the door of the neighboring ward, then pushed it open without waiting for permission.
Inside the clean and tidy hospital room, a girl with delicate features and skin as white as snow lay with her eyes closed, sunk in sleep like a sleeping beauty.
Tachibana Kanade's consciousness was not in this dimension.
She was inside a simulation, personally experiencing the feeling of climbing Mount Fuji.
The observer simulator suited a frail girl like her perfectly, someone who could not leave the house yet wanted to travel the world.
The sense of immersion was very strong.
The only strange part was entering a boy's body.
Next time, Tachibana Kanade planned to switch to another target to peep at... observe.
For example, Big Sister Hiroi.
"Little Tachibana, are you awake?"
Hiroi Kikuri called out softly.
After waiting a few seconds, she realized the child did not move at all.
Hiroi Kikuri had originally planned to secretly help bring Tachibana Kanade and Toru closer together, but before she could even begin, she was already defeated.
'What kind of girl does Little Toru actually like?'
Hiroi Kikuri sat by the hospital bed, studying the fragile, sickly girl before her, who looked as though she might shatter at the slightest touch.
The four high quality girls in Kessoku Band had all failed to catch Toru's eye.
Did a girl who could make him fall in love really exist in this world?
Little Ohtsuki was no good, Bocchi chan was no good, Yamada Ryo was no good, Seika senpai's sister was no good either...
This lineup covered way too many attributes. Tsundere, socially anxious, big breasts, small breasts, ice cold beauty, virtuous housewife types, and so on. Even after rolling around in a pile of women like that, Toru still had not been taken down?
Were the girls of Kessoku Band really that hopeless? If not, should she step in herself?
'With standards for love this high, Toru-kun might end up alone for life, just like that senior who is already thirty and still does not have a boyfriend.'
Hiroi Kikuri mentally took a jab at Seika.
After spending a year together,
Hiroi Kikuri had always treated Toru like a younger brother.
When it came to his relationship history, pure like a blank sheet of paper...
Hiroi Kikuri's feelings were complicated.
She was afraid her little brother might be tricked by a bad woman, yet she was also afraid that he might not like women at all.
Could it be that because he had mixed in the entertainment industry as a child and seen too much darkness, he no longer trusted women?
After imagining an entire tragic childhood for Toru in her head, Hiroi Kikuri became even more determined to play matchmaker.
Before she was discharged from the hospital, she had to arrange a meeting between Toru and Kanade!
————
[You have exited the first person observer perspective.]
Tachibana Kanade left the simulation and slowly opened her eyes.
She noticed a familiar person sitting beside her.
"Hiroi nee-san? Why are you here."
Tachibana Kanade was not very good at dealing with Hiroi Kikuri.
She had heard that bassists were all bad news.
"Hehe~"
Hiroi Kikuri let out a couple of suspicious laughs.
"Let me say this first. No lending money, and the nurse said patients are not allowed to drink alcohol," Tachibana Kanade said in a calm voice.
"...It's not about the alcohol."
Hiroi Kikuri looked awkward.
Was her image really that terrible?
When she was not drinking, she was actually quite normal... probably.
"Little Tachibana, have you ever thought about getting a boyfriend?"
"?"
"In psychology, there is something called the placebo effect, right? Starting a relationship might help ease your heart condition."
Hiroi Kikuri began making things up.
"No."
Tachibana Kanade shook her head.
Romance was far too distant for her.
She needed to cure her illness first before she could even think about such things.
"Do not reject it so quickly. Big Sister knows a really amazing boy. Little Tachibana, you will definitely like him."
A bad feeling rose in Tachibana Kanade's chest.
Could it be...
"I want to introduce you to a boy called Kitahara Toru. He is just like you. He learned piano, and he can also play guitar and bass."
Hiroi Kikuri continued, "He is sixteen this year, has never been in a relationship, pure like a blank sheet of paper."
"..."
The Toru you are talking about, is he the same one I know?