246: Nervous Kitten

Starry Exhibition Hall, Recording Studio

As usual, everyone who finished their band practice gathered here after school.

After everyone arrived, they took a short break before starting to practice repeatedly.

The new single created by Chisato for them was much more difficult than the previous one, so they focused more on the coordination and combination of the band members.

There are no shortcuts to this; all you need to do is practice over and over again.

Practice makes perfect—not only by using your brain to remember but also by allowing your body to develop muscle memory for the instrument.

There was nothing unusual about the previous training process. Everyone was very attentive. 

Aside from Ryo occasionally complaining about hunger, everything was progressing steadily.

However, today's situation was a bit different.

The problem lay with Hitori.

Ryo, who was more advanced in the band, first noticed her problem. There were several obvious wrong notes while she was playing the guitar.

At first, she thought it was just Hitori's lack of touch, but after the second and third practice sessions, she realized it was something more.

It wasn't so much that Hitori was making mistakes; rather, she seemed a little dazed, clearly not paying attention to what was in front of her.

Later, even Ikuyo, who was the last to join the band and had the weakest musical foundation, clearly recognized that something was wrong with Hitori, which highlighted how out of control she was.

"Okay, after practicing for so long, let's take a short break!"

Nijika had noticed this problem long ago. She originally thought that Hitori would adjust her state by herself, but things didn't develop as she expected.

It was pointless to continue practicing like this, so after the current stage of practice, she took the initiative to bang the drum sticks together to signal an intermission.

Ryo took off the bass and set it aside. She looked at Hitori, who was sitting silently on the sofa, blankly adjusting the pitch of her guitar. 

Just as she was about to walk over to ask her what was wrong today, she was pulled back by Nijika, who grabbed the corner of his clothes.

Ryo turned around, puzzled.

Nijika shook her head at him and said softly, "Bochi-chan is probably worried about something or maybe didn't sleep well last night. Anyway, don't rush over to point out her mistakes. The pizza I ordered is coming soon." 

"We'll have dinner and rest for a while before continuing. If Bochi-chan still hasn't changed, I'll talk to her alone then."

"Understood."

Ryo nodded obediently.

"Bocchi-chan probably had a fight with Suzumiya-kun, right?"

Ikuyo worriedly expressed her guess.

"No, no, they have such a good relationship. It's not like we haven't seen each other normally. Besides, can you imagine what Bocchi-chan looks like when she's arguing with someone?"

Nijika's words made sense to the others.

The other two followed her logic; they really couldn't picture Bocchi-chan arguing with anyone.

With her timid and sensitive character, she was more likely to be bullied unilaterally.

As for Hitori, who was now sitting alone on the sofa in the corner, her thoughts were far more complicated than the other three members of the band had guessed.

Her cell phone was placed directly in the center of the table in front of her, and she glanced at it nervously every few moments.

She also looked up at the clock on the wall much more often than usual.

This was, of course, not without reason. The culprit making her feel so anxious and on edge was Suzumiya's prolonged absence.

During lunch break at school today, Chisato had invited her to the bottom of the stairwell. In that secret space where she felt extremely safe, he had told her something.

"You go to Starry to practice as usual after school today. I may or may not call you later to ask you to meet two people."

Two! Two people!

Could it be that...?

"...They are not my parents; they are two kittens who are as important to me as you are."

Chisato gently scratched Hitori's nose.

With such a doting gaze and gentle smile, Hitori immediately understood what kind of relationship the two people had with him—probably similar to her own...

Hitori had felt terrified when she heard Chisato's arrangement. She was extremely worried and panicked, and she still felt the same way now.

But she had no way to refuse, as that was what Chisato had arranged, and it was something she would have to face sooner or later.

Unless she was willing to turn into a mouse and live in a dark, dank sewer for the rest of her life.

Although she herself did not resist or mind this way of living, she could understand without even thinking that Chisato would never allow such a thing to happen.

Thus, she could only face it.

However, sometimes death is not the most terrifying thing; waiting to die is.

Chisato had said at noon that he might call her to ask her to meet, but that wasn't a definite announcement.

Because of this, Hitori had been restless since today's lunch break, her little mind occupied with thoughts about this nerve-wracking and uncomfortable situation.

Only then did she exhibit the erratic and distracted behavior that the other band members noticed.

However, it was now half past six, and it was getting late. Chisato had not called yet. 

This should mean that today's plan had been canceled, and she didn't need to meet those two people anymore, right?

Escaping was shameful but effective.

Hitori kept comforting herself internally and praying to the gods, which seemed to have some effect.

Until the pizza was delivered to the store at 6:40, and they began to sit around the table for dinner, there was still no movement on Hitori's cell phone.

Just as her heart, which had nearly jumped into her throat due to nervousness, was gradually calming down as she focused on eating, her cell phone suddenly began to vibrate on the table and then rang.

The drink in Hitori's hand fell with a clatter, and the pizza she had just taken a bite of also fell to the ground from her unconsciously opened mouth, leaving her momentarily stunned.

"Hey, Bocchi-chan, it's Suzumiya-kun calling! Aren't you going to answer it?"

Unlike Hitori who was more worried, Nijika picked up the phone and handed it to Hitori.

Ryo calmly set down the pizza she was holding, leaned in close to her side, and made a scissor hand gesture while also pulling out her phone to take a photo of the moment.

Realizing what was happening, Hitori didn't bother with Ryo's antics. Instead, she reached out tremblingly to take the phone from Nijika and stammered her thanks.

She took small steps and sneaked into the corner of the recording studio, squatted down, pressed the connect button, and put the phone to her ear.

"Chisa…Chisato."

"Why did it take you so long to answer the phone?"

Chisato's voice came through. There was no blame, just a simple inquiry.

"Sorry, I was just eating pizza."

"That's fine. No need to apologize. Do you still remember what I said at noon?"

Hitori's body tensed for a moment, but even so, she nodded desperately.

Suddenly realizing that this was a voice call, she quickly replied, "I remember!"

"That's good. Can you spare some time now?"

"Ah, it should be fine."

Hitori looked back at her teammates.

Even without her, the three of them could still practice; they could just play the guitar solo she recorded in advance.

"Then, I'll leave it to you. This matter is very important to me. Please do what I said at noon."

Chisato's faint sigh came from the other end of the line.

"...All my hopes now are pinned on you, Hitori. I can only rely on you."

When the person he cared about most said such words, Hitori felt as if she had been injected with a shot of cardiotonic in an instant. 

Her trembling body gradually calmed down, and a sense of mission spread throughout her.

She answered resolutely, "I... I understand!"

"Come directly to me, and I'll send you the address."

"Okay!"

"As expected, Hitori is my favorite. I'll make it up to you afterwards."

"I... I will try my best!"

"See you later."

"See you later..."

After Hitori hung up the phone, she pursed her lips to suppress her laughter and squatted in the corner, feeling giddy for a long time.

She didn't return to her senses until her phone beeped again.

The address displayed on the screen was in the city center, not far from there. She could get there directly by taking the tram out of the store, arriving in about 20 minutes.

She slapped her face to wake herself up.

Then, it was time to set off.

"Well, Nijika, I have something to do today, so I have to leave first."

"Something?"

Ryo munched on the pizza that belonged to Ikuyo, her cheeks bulging.

"What's going on? Uh—"

Nijika withdrew her hand after flicking Ryo's forehead and smiled nonchalantly at Hitori.

"It's okay, Bocchi-chan. If you have anything to do, just leave first. Please be safe on the road."

"Thanks," Hitori nodded in response.

She quickly packed her school bag, put her guitar back into the gig bag, and slung it over her shoulder. 

After waving goodbye to the other three, she turned around, opened the door to the recording studio, and walked out.

A minute later, Hitori returned.

"Well, I'd better leave the guitar here. Nijika, please take care of it for me."

"Ah... okay."

"Bye-bye."

"Well, bye..."

The three of them watched Hitori leave again, feeling a mix of disbelief and confusion in their hearts.

In the past, Hitori always carried her guitar with her wherever she went. It was a companion she treasured deeply.

But what was happening today? She actually left her guitar behind in the studio.

"Bocchi-chan wouldn't do anything dangerous right? like getting into a fight, so she must have left the guitar behind to avoid damaging it," Ryo suggested, having recently watched movies and TV shows about the underworld.

The other two exchanged glances and waved their hands dismissively.

"No way, no way."

"Because that's Bocchi-chan."

"Even if everyone else in the world would do something dangerous, Bocchi-chan would be the exception."

"Exactly."

Ryo silently munched on the pizza that belonged to Nijika, not giving it much thought. It was just a casual idea.

The most important thing now was to speed up their meal. With Bocchi-chan gone, her portion of pizza could legitimately be his.

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(9/22)

50+ advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta

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