Chapter Text
It’s almost as if this world is built solely to parade the wonders of ‘youth’. Or, at the very least, to have such a notion stand central among everything else the world deems important. What is important gets highlighted, in the form of holidays or just as a festivity. And of course, a few of these so-called holidays are vile in their youthfulness. The prime suspect being…Valentine’s Day. It’s a horrid day. Celebrating love and romance? Ridiculous. Insensitive. Worthless. What’s the point of it? To make those in a relationship feel better about themselves? Do they really need an entire day dedicated to their love as if they don’t have the opportunity to flaunt it around day-in day-out regardless? You have over three-hundred-sixty days to do so already. It doesn’t even consider the feelings of those not experiencing love. In fact, it’s only pressure. Pressure to confess to whoever holds your fancy, because that is simply what you are ‘supposed’ to do. Pressure to leave your comfort zone, as the world itself is trying to pull you out of it. Who even came up with that? What makes this day special compared to all the rest? Is it scientifically proven that confessions are more likely to be accepted on this day compared to any other? No? Yes? Is there no answer? Well that isn’t surprising. Life is hardly able to provide a good answer. There’s no one to blame for that. Humanity will forever be lost in a series of questions. For as long as we do not know the purpose of living, we will remain with a question. Even if every other question in your life has been answered, that singular one will remain etched in our collective human essence. It is up to you whether or not you care about something like that. If you don’t then that’s the easiest way. If you do, well, having a solid reason for why you were born sounds nice, but what’s the likelihood of it being something different than just the whims of your parents? The entirety of humanity is a product of lust, a lust only sometimes born from love. So fighting tooth and nail against your everyday desperately clinging to the belief that ‘something’ is out there, that there is a reason why you’re here… Grasping at a deeper, more profound reason for your existence… It might all end up being totally pointless, and it turns out there’s no light in the darkness. Maybe life’s true meaning is that there is no meaning at all. That we are the authors of our own stories and must make our own individual reasons ourselves. It would explain human individuality and the idea of ‘having a preference’. Perhaps…all we do in life is slowly find what it is we want to do and what it is we like, finding shiny things one after the other, and hope to make a constellation out of it as we look back on our lives. A constellation that forms the purpose of our being, the reason for our existence. Finding not some singular engulfing light that is meant to illuminate our entire existence, but a collection of smaller ones. All so we can navigate the darkness of life’s unknown. So maybe that’s the reason for Valentine’s Day’s existence. If there is one thing all those grotesque romance stories have in common, then it is the portrayal of love as some sort of magical fix-all power that can fight away quite literally everything. If it is capable of joining two teenagers across time and creating a new timeline where everything is alright, then it wouldn’t be that far of a stretch to assume it could serve to become a part of someone’s reason for being alive. If love makes blind, then surely it can do much, much more. How many times has this emotion, this set of chemicals in the brain, been cited as the reason for bringing about miracles? Even if it is all bogus—no, it probably is just bogus, it is somewhat amazing to see this bogus come up again and again. Only somewhat. And yet despite the collective human desire for something as wonderful as this, the world remains so utterly cold. Maybe that’s another reason why the holiday exists, to forge just a bit of warmth in this world akin to the depths of despair... If that was all that it was then maybe it could be seen as a good thing, but unfortunately the loveless will forever feel terrible on that holiday. There is not a single thing the entirety of humanity can agree on. Not the origin of the species, the best way to govern your people, what deity exists beyond our comprehension, nor the true purpose of life. And so, there will always be those ever so slightly bitter on Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and any other holiday or festivity where it is customary to spend it with your ‘significant other’. And that bitterness will probably resurface year after year, until the day comes around where they give in to society’s schemes and confess to whoever it is they like, hoping to become a part of their constellation. Depending on the outcome... Well, it can always be celebrated or drowned away with discounted chocolate the day after.
- Hitori Gotoh
This was bad.
This was really bad.
Really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really bad!
Hitori was having a moment.
Her mental state was...it would be inappropriate to call it a state.
There was no such thing as a state.
It would be an insult to all ‘states’.
It was pure, unadulterated chaos.
It coursed through her, overwhelmed her, almost threatening to spill out of her being and come into being in her bedroom.
Her mind has been like this ever since she came back from her latest outing with a certain person called...
Called...
Called Ikuyo Kita.
Another explosion went off in her head. It was getting dangerous thinking about...
About...
About Ikuyo Kita.
There. Another explosion.
It almost felt like a warzone, but if that was the case, Hitori couldn’t tell what was actually fighting. Her consciousness? Her rationality? Her youth complex? What was it?
She didn’t have an answer.
But who had an answer?
Was there anyone that could give her an answer?
Surely someone.
Someone she knew.
She started counting all of the people she knew on her hands.
Mom. Dad. Futari. Jimihen. Nijika-chan. Manager. PA-san. Ikuyo-san.
Something blew up again.
Her mind’s disarray seemed to only grow more and more intense as time went on. For moments like these, simply stopping with thinking would be best.
Yes.
Breathe-in.
Breathe-out.
Stop.
...
With everything.
...
Eventually, Hitori stopped thinking.
And she stopped breathing.
Hitori’s coughing fit was heard by Futari, who was passing by her room.
“Mom! Onee-chan is dying!” she shouted while running downstairs, her footsteps being accented with the barking of Jimihen.
Her thoughts resumed.
Where was she again?
She remembered.
Mom. Dad. Futari. Jimihen. Nijika-chan. Manager. PA-san. Ikuyo-san.
Explosion.
Hitori started bashing her forehead into the tatami flooring.
Was it that difficult to not think about Iku—
The floor was about to have a hole bashed into it.
Hitori stopped and entered a meditating position.
Breathe-in.
Out.
Going forward from she-who-will-not-be-named.
Her Zen was about to give out.
The drunk lady. Classmates. Fans.
No.
Not them.
Who else?
Who else did she know?
Someone with experience with…
...dallying with women?
One person came to mind.
This would work.
And so, she messaged Ryo Yamada.
The skies were cloudy, divided over the decision to bless the lands underneath with rain or snow. The sun was nowhere to be found, obscured by the gray blanket of clouds. A blanket gently blowing in the wind, which was getting colder and colder by every day that slipped away from the grasp of humanity. Slowly over the course of the past few days, the weather was transitioning into patterns more appropriate for the midst of winter. Following this transition, the population took out their winter wear. Hitori had no understanding of fashion, so what was ‘in-season’ was beyond her. If only it could be pink tracksuit season all day of the year, then people would stop looking at her funny. That’s as if they looked at all. It was better if they didn’t. Human perception was unneeded. Hitori didn’t have to be ‘on-the-radar’.
Or so she thought.
Maybe she’s been on the radar all this time, unknowing. How else would you explain Ikuyo—
Hitori froze up, and her train of thought derailed catastrophically.
Really.
These reactions...
They couldn’t be normal.
They weren’t the reactions someone like her, with her complex, should have been having.
And.
And yet.
Hitori cleared her mind, shaking her head violently, scaring an older lady that passed by her and the family restaurant Hitori was standing in front of. Hitori was waiting on her fellow band member, the bassist of Kessoku Band Ryo Yamada in a vain attempt to get a second opinion on the events of the past few weeks. To get another interpretation, just in case she was imagining things a little too wildly. To shed a light on the intentions of that-person. Many people passed her, not paying the girl any mind. Hitori briefly wondered where the crowd was going. Who were they going to meet? What experiences would they have? Did any of them have any experience with what she was currently facing? Could she ask the help of anyone other than Ryo Yamada?
“Yo Bocchi,” the person in question arrived, fashionably late. Any hopes of getting an opinion of someone else were snuffed out.
Not that Hitori would have dared to ask a stranger. Even confiding with a friend and fellow band member was asking a lot from her, let alone someone completely random.
“H-hi...”
“You didn’t wait inside?”
“I-I didn’t want to be approached by the waiter...”
Ryo nodded, Bocchi will always remain Bocchi.
“Then let’s go in together.”
Bocchi weakly nodded as Ryo walked past her into the restaurant. The staff guided them to a booth next to the window overlooking the street. The restaurant wasn’t very busy. It made sense, it wasn’t anywhere close to dinner time and lunch was a while ago as well. There were Christmas decorations laid out, with cheap illumination both outside and inside. The building housed a few mini Christmas trees that honestly looked more pathetic than anything else, probably having been used a few too many times. Only a few other booths were occupied, but none were close to the two bandmates.
In other words, there was no threat of anyone overhearing their conversation.
Hitori was being overly conscious. Ryo, on the other hand, casually grabbed the menu card and browsed through it without a care in the world. Ryo continued, ordering a hamburger steak with a side of fries, as Hitori continued retreating in her mind while overthinking everything. She was only snapped back to reality after Ryo asked her if she wanted to order something herself, to which she responded:
“N-no, I ate before leaving home...”
Ryo raised her shoulders in a ‘so be it’ kind of way.
“S-so, u-uhm,” the hesitance to get to the heart of the matter was astounding.
“Bocchi.”
“U-uh! Y-yes?”
“Calm down, we can talk as w—I eat. Relax until then,” Ryo’s words made a lot of sense to Hitori, so she took her words to heart and stared outside for a while. A family walked by the window, not noticing Hitori who was staring creepily at them, following their movement as they moved past. The parents of the family were more absorbed at looking at their child who was walking in between them. Did they come to eat as well?
Her question was answered by the door bell ringing, followed by a ‘welcome’ said by the staff as they were directed towards a booth behind Hitori, but not the one directly behind her.
Hitori continued looking out the window, noticing what seemed to be a couple walking across the street, if the arm wrapped around the girl’s shoulder was anything to go by. Disgusting. At this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within this street? The audacity. Hitori looked away and shifted her gaze towards one of the other booths in the restaurant, where she noticed two people sharing a parfait, giggling all the while. Her youth-sense was tingling, and that wasn’t a good thing.
Was this world mocking her?
Picking on the already vulnerable...it was despicable.
Curse this world and its inhabitants.
Well, except the people she cared about.
Like her family, the members of Kessoku Band like Iku—
Hitori smashed her forehead into the restaurant table, emitting a pretty satisfying ‘bonk’ noise.
“Bocchi, can you do that again? I wasn’t recording and I think I could use it as a sample.”
Another bonk, somehow more lifeless and pathetic than the last one.
"Keep going."
Hitori continued bonking her head.
The waiter, who arrived with Ryo’s food, had no words after seeing the display.
The younger generation was incomprehensible.
“Uhm. Your hamburger steak with fries and soda?” Ryo stopped the recording and shifted her head at the noise at the head of the table, before raising her hand, signifying it as hers. The waiter left as fast as possible. Hitori raised her head, glad to see the food of her companion arrived. That companion hastily said her prayers before grabbing her cutlery to start digging into her food unreservedly.
“U-uhm,” Hitori struggled to seek permission to speak. Ryo, noticing this, nodded.
Or was she simply nodding because the food was good?
“S-so, uhm... B-basically, why I called you here was because uh...” Hitori struggled weaving the words together into anything incoherent. All she could do was keep going. “The past few weeks have been...s-strange? W-well, not entirely. Not that you or Nijika-chan have been weird... Or my family...” She was saying irrelevant things. Hitori's eyes were darting everywhere as she stuttered, looking all over the restaurant as if she were a security camera. Looking everywhere but right in front of her. Ryo kept nodding or vocalizing sounds to voice her understanding and that she was listening.
Or was that all just a manifestation of the joy she’s experiencing from eating good food?
Was even Ryo listening at all?
“I-It’s like, things have been different. I-I can’t really describe it all that well. Ever since...the festival? A l-little later than that?”
Ryo looked up at Hitori, who interpreted it as an expression of ‘get-to-the-point-already’.
Though, Ryo was looking behind Hitori, as the child of the family started making weird noises.
Not that Hitori noticed.
“Uhm! S-so, basically...” Hitori was gesturing violently.
She was too deep into her mind.
What should I do...
Ryo-san looks so annoyed! It must be because of me! I’m useless!
It was entirely in Hitori’s imagination.
Get to the point, get to the point, get to the point, get to the point! I can’t even tell a story properly! I practiced this all day yesterday! Why can’t I remember the words! WHY DID I LEAVE MY CHEAT SHEET AT HOOOOOOOOOME!
Hitori looked down at the table, fiddling with her fingers. Ryo was eyeing Hitori while slowly working her fries into her mouth one at a time.
“I-it’s about Kita-san.”
It almost felt like there was a fireworks show inside of her head. Those were the only kinds of explosions that fit a radiant person like that. The only kind of beautiful explosion in existence. Hitori wasn’t too fond of fireworks, she didn’t need reminders of the fact she has never been invited to go to a summer festival with anyone that wasn’t family. Not even once in her life.
Didn’t she say something about going to one of those festivals together once summer rolled around?
All of Hitori’s memories concerning Ikuyo Kita were all jumbled up, not knowing how to interpret it anymore.
That was what Ryo-san was for.
She started recounting all of the strange occurrences.
“A-at some point, Kita-san started making me school lunches... R-remember when you ate my lunch? I-it started around then. I don’t know why she started doing that. I-I mean, what did I do to deserve that, you know? She said it was for thanks, and it’s rude to refuse someone’s token of gratitude... And wasting food is not good, so I accepted it...” Hitori breathed-in sharply. “I-it doesn’t end there though. After that she invited me to all sorts of spaces, calling those outings ‘dates’... B-but she told me that outings between friends get called ‘dates’ too, so it was fine? Normal?” Hitori realized the slight silliness in retrospect. Putting it all in front of Ryo puts things into perspective. Could she have also just talked to Futari about this, and come to the same conclusion? No. Showing weakness in front of that girl never ends well. Kids are vicious. “S-she even allows me to use her first name when it’s just the two of us...”
Ryo dissected her last fry with her knife, before dipping it in sauce and putting the thing in her mouth.
“A-and then...”
Ryo started sipping her drink through her straw.
“And then!”
That memory was next.
The next major thing.
The thing that acted as the catalyst for everything.
The disco lighting was still in her mind.
And so was the sensation of Ikuyo’s lips on hers.
“She kissed me,” Hitori said, barely above a whisper.
Ryo’s sipping halted for a brief moment as she heard that, but she continued sipping all the same after.
“After we went to a karaoke place. She said it was just a thing friends do... And I believed her at the time, but...” a wry smile manifested itself on Hitori’s face, laughing at her past self’s naivete. “No way that’s true, right? So what...are we even...” Hitori ceased fiddling, feeling the wave of relief finally hit her as she was finally able to articulate her situation to both herself, and her friend. She felt like melting but tried her absolute hardest to keep it together.
Don’t turn into ash now...
...
Ryo didn’t respond.
She kept sipping her drink.
Hitori was reminded of the time she wrote lyrics for the first for the band.
Guitar, Loneliness and Blue Planet.
Was Ryo mulling it over?
Her drink was empty, and she rose up from her seat after wiping her mouth with a napkin and mouthing words of gratitude for her meal. She walked towards the cashier, and gestured towards Hitori, who automatically followed her and started the payment process. Only after the duo was outside the family restaurant did Ryo speak after putting her hand on Hitori’s shoulder and looking her in the eye.
“Ikuyo’s totally in love with you.”
It was finally spelled out for Hitori, but the guitarist sort of had an idea already. She wasn’t that...socially inept.
The biggest piece of fireworks went off inside of Hitori’s head.
And Ryo started walking away waving at Hitori, mentioning that her grandmother’s dog was in the hospital. Hitori was left alone on the side of the street watching Ryo’s back grow smaller and smaller, before disappearing completely from her sight. A gust of wind blew past, a piece of tumbleweed following in-suit.
Maybe talking to Futari would have been smarter after all.
Somehow her wallet didn't feel like the only empty thing.
“S-so that’s what happened with Ryo-san,” Hitori finished recounting her encounter with the bassist a day before.
“That girl,” Nijika said, forming a fist with her right hand, “she hasn’t learned her lesson at all!”
The two of them were sitting in Hitori’s cursed room, as Nijika came over to see guitarhero’s video creation process on a slow afternoon. But somehow, the conversation was anything but relaxed or slow, as it had shifted towards Hitori’s Horrific Love Life at some point. While still dying of nervousness on the inside, threatening to crumple like an autumn leaf, Hitori experienced telling that story slightly easier the second time. Maybe the fact she was no longer confused about anything helped. And Nijika-chan was just a way better listener.
Hitori felt a little proud that she succeeded better this time.
“But Bocchi-chan, what will you do now?”
“H-huh? With what? The fact Ryo-san leeched off of me again?”
At least she’s aware of it!
“No,” Nijika waved her hand around, “with you and Kita-chan.”
Oh!
About that!
Hitori almost forgot. Her mind has felt too free since her ‘conversation’ with Ryo.
“What do you mean?”
Nijika blinked at her guitarist, “You know...are you gonna confess or...”
...
The fireworks started again.
And Hitori died, her body collapsing on the floor.
Hitori didn’t realize. Her mind had rejected the prospect of love for so long, that she never even considered something like this ever occurring. That she, of all people, would be placed into this position. It was preposterous. As if it wasn’t real.
But it was very, very real.
This was the reality she lived in now.
Maybe this death was her transition into this new side of reality.
“Bocchi-chan, don’t die on me~” Nijika shook the lifeless body around for a while until Hitori regained consciousness and rose up again. Nijika had become an expert at dealing with the episodes of the pink-haired guitarist.
“C-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c,” Hitori started, but wasn’t able to finish.
“Ah, I get it! I get it! You don’t have to try so hard, calm down!” Nijika patted Hitori on the back. Almost as if she was helping someone who was choking on something. What was Hitori choking on? Her youth complex? Was this the moment it could come out of her system and return Hitori to being a normal person?
Nijika whacked Hitori a little harder for good measure.
“Geh! W-what was that for...”
“Just making sure of something!” Nijika’s bright smile silenced any potential complaints. It seemed to not have worked, maybe it was chronic. Unfortunate for the Gotoh family, and for Kita-chan. Nijika quickly paid her respects.
“I’m still alive...”
“I know! Now, are you finally ready to face the elephant in the room? Don’t you dare die on me this time~” Nijika’s honest threat was hidden behind her jovial tone.
“C-confess...” Hitori stuttered. Nijika almost wanted to start clapping, saying ‘congratulations’. Alas, she needed more people if she wanted to do that. And perhaps a penguin.
“Yeah, confess! I mean, you do like her too, right?”
Maybe she had to confirm that beforehand.
Kita-chan was cute though, so surely…!
But when had Bocchi-chan paid any mind to cuteness...?
She didn’t even notice her own inherent cuteness...
...
“Like her...” Hitori began.
Hitori Gotoh liked Ikuyo Kita. She was kind. She smelled nice. She was easy to talk to. She didn’t make fun of her. She helped with navigating social situations like that one time in the guitar shop.
And...
Hitori knew that, at the very least, Ikuyo loved her.
But were Hitori’s feelings on the same page?
She couldn’t tell.
What was love?
What was it supposed to feel like?
Hitori hated love songs.
Hitori hated romantic stories.
Hitori hated romantic love.
She rejected it, with her entire being, as it was almost synonymous with youth. It denied her existence as a social outcast. It wasn’t for her. It didn’t fit her. Other things fit her. Darker things.
But.
But!
She couldn’t deny the occasional daydreams.
The occasional fantasies.
About...
About what it would be like...
...touching that love she rejected.
And now, finally, after all these years, it was within reach.
But Hitori knew better than to lunge at it now out of desperation.
That would just be an insult to Ikuyo.
Ikuyo Kita.
A charming person.
(Hitori wasn’t charming.)
A shining person.
(Hitori wasn’t shining.)
A social person.
(Hitori wasn’t social.)
Hitori Gotoh.
A person...with nothing. Nothing to give besides her guitar. And she could give that even without love.
Yeah.
Love didn’t fit her at all.
Hitori shook her head after pondering.
“Love just isn’t for me,” she said with a defeated smile, as she resigned to her ‘fate’.
“Youth complex?” Nijika carefully responded, Hitori nodded in return.
Youth.
Youth.
Youth!
It was always youth with this one...
Are you really still able to say that, despite all that Kita-chan did?
“Did you dislike all those dates?” Nijika said out-of-nowhere.
“H-huh?”
“Answer," Nijika's words were laced with an uncharacteristic seriousness.
“No...they were f-fun...to some extent.”
“But those were youthful too, no?”
“I-it’s different!”
“How is it different, Bocchi-chan?” Nijika really started digging into Hitori, perhaps a little rudely. Probably very rude, actually. Brash. Whatever. It didn’t matter if her methods were lacking finesse.
All that mattered was that Bocchi’s head was split open now.
Or nothing would begin.
And if things didn’t begin here, they would never.
You better thank me for this, Kita-chan!
Her senpai powers were at its maximum.
“What’s wrong with youth?”
Hitori was struggling a bit to answer, shrinking at the questioning. Close to turning into ash, but in the face of her life’s mantras being questioned, she had to defend.
“It’s not for me...love, youth...” she solemnly responded.
If that is the case, then...
Nijika lunged forward, forcing Hitori to fall backwards while making strange noises to avoid her. Nijika was about to land on top of her, and Hitori braced for impact.
But the impact never came.
Nijika stopped herself from falling face-first using her forearms.
Their faces were close.
They could feel their mutual breathing.
And Hitori’s heart raced, her face flushed. They stared into each other's eyes for a while, before Nijika returned to her regular seating position, helping Hitori up.
“W-what was that for...?” Hitori said between pants, catching her breath.
“Was that exciting? Was your heart pounding?” Nijika questioned.
Huh?
“I-I guess?” Hitori had no idea how to respond.
“Seems you haven’t totally rejected romance and youth then, Bocchi-chan!” Nijika said with a smile, her demonstration successfully completed. Hitori wanted to shout foul play, but she took the time to reflect instead.
Was this...what romantic excitement felt like?
It was familiar.
The sensation of Ikuyo’s lips on hers resurfaced.
...
Only, that felt a lot better than this.
All she did with Ikuyo, all the places Ikuyo brought the two, it was recontextualized. Youthful romance was present all around them, and yet her youth complex prevented her from seeing it. She was rejecting it; refusing to look at it. It took a literal kiss to pry away that complex for only a moment, for Hitori’s eyes to see what she looked away from.
And just like gazing upon Ikuyo, it was difficult looking away.
And...humans sought companionship.
Hitori, despite everything, couldn’t reject her own humanity. For as long she did not possess a vampire-turning stone mask, she had to cope with being human and her fallibility.
“Nijika-chan?”
“Yes, Bocchi-chan?”
“What is love?”
...
Nijika had to resist laughing. Or to start citing lyrics.
“It’s a warm feeling where you long to be with another person forever, simple right?” Nijika wondered whether love really was that simple as she was making it out to be, but overcomplicating it now would only create more questions that answer them. Bocchi was already lost as she was.
Want to be with...
“Does my thinking about her constantly count as that?”
“Like, all the time?”
Hitori nodded a little pathetically.
In other words, Hitori just nodded.
“And how does being with Kita-chan feel?”
...
“I-I feel safe around her... A-and it’s a lot of fun...being near her, spending time...”
“Do you want to see her?” Nijika went down her mental checklist of love symptoms.
See her...?
Hitori reflected on her experiences.
Especially the ones at school.
She couldn’t lie.
She did look forward to the guitar lessons and other outings, and maybe, maybe, she was subconsciously looking for red whenever she was walking in the hallways.
But if this is love...
“But why me...”
Nijika hit Hitori with a paper fan she conjured up out of nowhere.
“None of that! She already chose you, didn’t she?”
“Chose me...?”
“She literally kissed you, Bocchi-chan,” it really was as simple as that.
“Right...”
All of Hitori’s self-doubts about not shining nearly as much or just being a pathetic existence altogether were washed away. If a person like Ikuyo Kita, a super popular person that could get with anyone, chose her specifically despite seeing all of her pathetic parts first hand...
It gave Hitori a confidence booster, for better or worse.
A creepy smile dawned on the face of the so-called guitarhero.
Love is amazing! Banzai!
Hitori wanted to throw her arms up in the air.
I’m in love with her, and she loves me! Love! Love! Love! Love!
Hitori was suddenly jumping the gun. Her overexcitement was surging.
“I have the feeling you finally understand what your love is, Bocchi-chan,” Nijika commented, sensing the increased excitement all over the other girl’s face.
“My love?” Hitori was puzzled at the statement.
“Everyone is different, and everyone feels things differently. No way you would experience love in the same way someone else does. We’re all individual humans, so there’s slight variation,” Nijika explained like a textbook, “Doesn’t make your love invalid though, so don’t worry!”
“So my brain going all mushy whenever I think about her is my love?”
“That sounds like a medical condition, but yeah! Get that checked out if it doesn’t stop!”
...
“So now what do I do?”
“Well, confess? Are you going to make her do everything?” Nijika remembered all of Ikuyo’s efforts.
And they were finally paying off.
Bocchi finally had her realization. Seemingly.
“But we’re both girls!”
“Ryo gets confessed to all the time by girls, and also we’re in a rock band aren’t we? We’re all about defying the status quo!” Nijika stated the obvious.
Defying the status quo...
Hitori liked that. And Ikuyo seemed to like that too, considering the whole kiss and all.
“R-right!”
“So all you have to do is give her a time and a place to be at,” Nijika began. “Here give me your phone.”
Hitori hesitantly handed her phone to Nijika. Nijika instantly went to the messaging app and sent Ikuyo a message on Hitori’s behalf.
“Here, tomorrow on the roof after school, lucky we don’t have practice and you both don’t have to work right?”
Hitori blinked as her confidence evaporated and she instantly began fearing tomorrow.
The only audible sounds apparent to Ikuyo were the after school sports clubs yelling on the ground and the noises of distant cars tearing asphalt.
That, and the sound of the beat of her heart. Sporadic, arrhythmic.
A cold breeze blew by, chilling Ikuyo’s soul while reminding her of the season’s change. Winter was gracing the world. She was wearing her coat, as being this high up without extra layers was irresponsible. Despite all the noise surrounding her, she looked ahead of her, resolutely. She focused all her senses on the figure in front of her without wavering. As much as she was able to, at least. The figure was oh-so easily recognizable to Ikuyo. To call herself familiar would be an understatement. She had seen this person in her dreams countless times already.
For she was gazing upon the girl of her dreams, the setting sun acting as a golden backdrop.
Truly, shining.
Yet no one but her was looking.
What a shame.
On the school rooftop, Ikuyo and Hitori stared at each other.
“H-hi, Hitori-chan... I’m here, you had something you wanted to talk about?” Ikuyo tried her hardest to play dumb. She knew what was coming. Considering the twilit-hued rooftop and all.
Hitori didn’t respond.
In-fact, Hitori didn’t do anything at all.
Nothing.
She didn’t hear a single thing.
Nor did she react to another cold gale surging past.
Seeing the familiar and coveted red tangle of hair, and hearing that sweet voice, and especially experiencing the kitaura...
All of that paired with the fear and excitement that’s been ramping throughout the entire day...
It short-circuited the pink guitarist.
She stopped breathing.
Froze up.
And she collapsed.
“Hitori-chan!?”
This time maybe, dead for real.
Bitten by winter.
Just kidding.
Both of the guitarists weren’t going to get out of this one that easily.