Chapter 24: Visiting and Catching the Childhood Sweetheart in the Act
After returning from the other world, Hitori kept her head lowered, too embarrassed to speak.
Ren picked up the 0.01 on the floor without saying anything. He knew this couldn't have been Hitori's idea—it must have been her family's suggestion.
Was Japan really this open-minded?
This clashed slightly with Ren's personal values. He temporarily stored the condom in a drawer, then picked up the guitar leaning against the wall and handed it to Hitori.
"Let's play guitar, Bocchi-chan."
The guitar was the only reliable cure to cheer Hitori up. Ren planned to let Hitori try this guitar first, so even if she refused when he told her it was a gift later, she'd already have formed an attachment to it.
"Mmm..."
At the mention of guitar, Hitori finally looked up. Her cheeks remained flushed bright red—not from shyness, but from sheer embarrassment.
When she took the guitar, she couldn't help but admire the custom Yamaha PACIFICA that Ren had bought. The design perfectly matched her aesthetic taste, and the tone was flawless.
After some tuning and test playing, Hitori found her rhythm and lost herself in performance. As passionate music filled the room, Ren sat as an audience member, appreciating the beautiful melody.
Anon next door heard it too. She hadn't gone out today, just chatting with Shiina Taki and others about band matters in their group chat. When guitar sounds came from Ren's place, she immediately became alert.
Did Ren bring that vixen home? Had another woman invaded the room that only she had ever entered?!
At this thought, Anon immediately got up and went to Ren's house. She rang the doorbell before opening the door and walking right in.
Neither Ren nor Hitori noticed the intrusion over the guitar music. Anon strode straight into the room and pushed the door open.
"..."
Her arrival interrupted Hitori's performance. Seeing Anon's aggressive demeanor, Hitori stopped playing and shrank back, leaning slightly closer to Ren.
"...Are you two playing guitar? Mind if I join? Hello, I'm Anon Chihaya—Ren's child·hood·friend!"
Noticing Hitori's strange reaction, Anon felt somewhat confused but still asserted her dominance, carefully enunciating her status as the childhood friend.
Usually, once people knew she was Ren's childhood friend, few would still entertain ideas about him. No matter how impressive you were, could you ever compete with a childhood friend?
"H-hello, I'm Hitori Gotou, Ren's deskmate."
Hitori was startled by the sudden appearance of a stranger but still managed to introduce herself.
"What are you doing here?"
Ren felt a headache coming on seeing Hitori's reaction. Wasn't Anon ruining everything by showing up now?
"I heard you playing guitar and wanted to check it out. I'm not interrupting, am I?"
Having already interrupted, Anon began deploying her "tea art" skills—something she could do naturally without any special training.
"You've already interrupted. Bocchi-chan, no need to be nervous. She might look fierce, but she's actually harmless. You two might even become good friends."
"Anon, don't judge Bocchi-chan by her appearance—her guitar skills are much better than yours. You could learn from her."
After Ren's teasing remark, she actively tried to bridge the gap between them. Although Anon currently seemed jealous and was asserting her territory, her nature wasn't truly bad—she wouldn't actually make things difficult for Hitori.
"Really?"
Anon was somewhat skeptical. Earlier, she had been so focused on catching them in the act that she hadn't paid much attention to how Hitori played guitar.
She examined Hitori and noticed the girl seemed rather gloomy with terrible fashion sense—even worse than her own! Ren had once mocked Anon for having middle-aged aunt taste in clothes, but Hitori's style wasn't any better.
"Of course. Bocchi-chan, can you keep playing? If you can perform in front of two people, it'll make future stage performances much easier, right?"
Ren took the opportunity to encourage Hitori. Being able to play guitar normally in front of Anon, who was a stranger to her, would represent significant growth and help with future live performances.
"I'll do my best."
Hitori looked at Ren with touched emotion, surprised that Ren still cared about her in this situation.
After hearing Anon claim to be Ren's childhood friend, Hitori had felt afraid and guilty deep down.
How could she possibly compete with an unbeatable childhood friend? With someone like that in the picture, how could Ren ever be interested in her? Anon was both cute and cheerful—so much better than her.
But now wasn't the time for self-deprecation and doubt. She had finally managed to visit a friend's house, and she didn't want to leave in defeat.
Taking a deep breath, Hitori began playing again. Though her performance was still affected by nerves, it was clearly better than Anon's playing.
"Wow, really..."
Anon admitted with admiration after listening, but she wasn't convinced. Unaware that Hitori hadn't even shown half of her true ability, Anon just thought Hitori played decently—something she could achieve with enough practice herself.
Most importantly, Hitori seemed so gloomy and unfashionable. Could it be that Ren actually liked this type? What normal person would wear casual clothes and then put a tracksuit over them?
"That was already great."
Ren praised Hitori, knowing it would be difficult for her to perform at her full capability. Reaching this level was already quite an achievement.
"..."
Hitori felt somewhat discouraged, thinking she hadn't done well enough, but she just couldn't help being nervous.
Seeing this, Ren sent Anon a few messages explaining Hitori's personality.
Social Anxiety Disorder and suspected cyber psychosis?
Reading Ren's messages, Anon felt somewhat relieved. No wonder Hitori gave off such strange vibes.
Normally, other women wouldn't be so afraid of people—they'd either confront her directly or play the innocent victim for sympathy. Someone like Hitori who actively tried to avoid others was truly rare.
Social Anxiety Disorder...
To some extent, it could indeed evoke pity, but Anon still couldn't see what Ren found attractive about Hitori.
Hitori just had social anxiety, but Ren was an orphan—wasn't he more pitiful?
So what exactly had she failed to notice?
Afterwards, Anon went back to get her guitar and played together with Hitori, taking the opportunity to learn from the more experienced and skilled Hitori.
Once she learned that Hitori was socially anxious, she lost the confrontational attitude she had earlier and instead treated Hitori very gently.
Because if Hitori was socially anxious, then she posed very little threat.
However, when Hitori, feeling less nervous due to Anon's kindness and wearing a bit too many layers, took off her tracksuit, Anon saw the way her white shirt bulged prominently and finally understood why that bastard Ren had taken a liking to Hitori.
Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it with her own eyes was another. Anon couldn't help but look at Hitori with a hint of jealousy—they were still high school students, after all! Hitori looked like she was at least a D-cup—what guy could resist that kind of temptation?