"No need to waive the bill," Kaito gently refused. He wasn't short on money right now, so there was no need to take advantage of the girl.
"Just treat it as an apology for last time! Please, please!", Nijika put her hands together in a pleading gesture, just as she was about to say something else, the wind chime hanging at the entrance rang, and two girls walked in.
One had medium-length red hair and vivid green eyes full of vitality. Her aura was so intense it almost hurt to look at her.
The other wore an old-fashioned tracksuit. Her long pink hair had a cowlick on the right side, and a blue hair accessory shaped like hard candy. Her whole body emitted a gloomy aura of "I don't want to be here."
As Kita entered and was about to greet them, she saw the back of someone she admired. Her face lit up instantly, "Eh? Kurumizaka-kun, why are you here?"
Hearing that familiar name, Bocchi, who had been downcast, also suddenly looked up. Her blue pupils sparkled, "Squad leader!"
Little Bocchi looked just like a puppy seeing its owner, too cute. If she had a tail, it would definitely be wagging happily right now.
Kaito smiled slightly too, "Good afternoon."
That smile was like the moon breaking through clouds, spring snow melting, reminding one of the mythological beauty Adonis, whom even the goddess of beauty fell for.
Nijika clutched her chest, struggling to look away. She was honestly a little worried about her own heart.
Taking this chance, she glanced around at the other people in the store. As expected, everyone's face was red, like they could bleed from it, yet no one was willing to blink even once.
'Seriously can't let my guard down even for a second...'
Thinking this, Nijika pulled a drumstick from under her skirt and gently tapped the bar. A crisp sound echoed in the narrow studio.
"Hey hey hey~ Snap out of it, everyone!"
Like a grand bell echoing.
Everyone was startled by the sound of the drumstick and tacitly chose not to mention their lovestruck expressions from a moment ago. The atmosphere in the studio seemed to return to normal.
"Long time no see, Kurumizaka-kun. What brings you to the shop today?", The first to speak was Kita. The cheerful girl's friendliness had long reached MAX level. Though she had been stunned for a moment, she quickly bounced back, full of enthusiasm.
"I heard from Nijika that there's a performance tonight, so I came by," Kaito didn't hide his reason and then looked at Bocchi, who was standing beside her.
"I just didn't expect... that even when coming to the shop on the weekend, you'd still be dressed like this. That tracksuit look is really recognizable."
"Ehehe, I think so too."
Kita chuckled a bit, then couldn't help but comment, "Bocchi-chan is so cute, yet she's always in that tracksuit. Is there something special about it?"
As the conversation turned to her, the little socially anxious girl got a bit nervous. But since everyone here was a familiar face, it was still within what she could handle. She hesitated a bit, then softly said, "If there's anything special... it's probably that it's especially expensive?"
That seemingly plain pink tracksuit was actually a high-end item she had bought on impulse for several hundred thousand yen. A major brand. But she regretted it right after buying it, and couldn't return it either.
Impulse buying really ruins lives.
That was the shopping decision Bocchi regretted most. At first, she wore it thinking "I bought it already, might as well wear it." After a while, she just got used to it.
"Boyfriend-kun must want to see Bocchi in other outfits, right?"
Gremlin Ryou suddenly spoke up, "I remember we still have a maid outfit in the shop. Kita wore it last time!"
"You're the one who wants to see it! Don't drag Kurumizaka-kun into your fantasies, you jerk!", Nijika's hand itched. She really wanted to bonk Gremlin Ryou on the head, but worried it would make her look like a violent girl, she barely held herself back.
"Actually…", Kaito pondered for two seconds, then said seriously, "I'm kind of curious too."
It was understandable.
That unflattering tracksuit had almost become part of Bocchi's core identity. Since he met the shy girl, Kaito had never seen her wear any other type of outfit. At most, she changed the bottom half. Sometimes she wore a skirt over the tracksuit pants, sometimes just the skirt.
"Nijika, say something!", Gremlin Ryou crossed her arms proudly, with a "I totally called it" expression.
The angel looked a bit awkward and whispered, "Sorry for misunderstanding you."
'Still… a maid outfit is just way too much...'
Gotou Hitori's instinct to escape kicked in, and it felt like she was about to turn into a soft-bodied creature and slide under the table.
Her blue eyes wandered around, soon locking onto a nearby box labeled "Mango Mask."
If she could just hide in there...
"Bocchi, you don't want to disappoint Boyfriend-kun, right?", Gremlin Ryou stared at her with shining eyes, perfectly exploiting the weak point of the little introvert. An effective and precise critical hit.
"Uuu...", Bocchi let out an adorable whimper.
But still, she braved her shyness and softly said, "I-I got it!"
———
Ten minutes later.
Kaito sat at the bar, sipping on the apple juice Manager Seika had generously provided.
Bocchi had gone into the back room to change, with Nijika and the others helping her. They still hadn't come out.
From the dressing room, muffled squeals and laughter could be heard, mixed with Bocchi's shy, trailing voice, making people even more curious about what was happening inside.
Kaito thought about it but decided not to use his spiritual sense to peek.
Controlling everything might be satisfying, but sometimes, keeping a little mystery was nice too.
Good thing they didn't make him wait long.
Soon, Gotou Hitori, fresh from the dressing room, was pushed out by the girls.
Black-and-white maid outfit. The classic style. Kita had worn it once before.
But the same outfit looked completely different on someone else.
End of the band: four members, three flat chests.
'Bocchi, you are not one of them!'
The gentle Nijika Ichiji, cute and cheerful, was a beautiful girl who understood others well.
But even the gentle and kind "Angel of Shimokitazawa" had her eternal pain.
Despite already being a sophomore in college, she was still as flat as a grade-schooler.
Nijika had comforted herself, saying, 'It's okay, no rush. I still had time to grow.'
But then she looked at her older sister Seika, nearly thirty years old, and their figures were practically the same.
'Is every girl in the Ichiji family doomed to be a landing strip?'
'And Bocchi is two years younger than me...'
'Kita isn't doing any better.'
She and Nijika-senpai both had pancake-tier proportions. It didn't bother her much when showering alone, but with Bocchi for comparison, the gap became glaringly obvious.
Bocchi-chan, between us now lies a sorrowful wall of thickness.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y