"Kidney deficiency sometimes follows excessive drinking... Back and leg aches, lack of spirit, feeling like the body has been hollowed out..."
"Is your kidney overdrawn? Use XX Brand Kidney Treasure Tablets! Replenish what's been overdrawn!"
Before his eyes was a river flowing with Oolong tea. Miyazawa Yuu lay comfortably, flanked by a double dose of Nanaka-姐 and Azusa-senpai. Holding an ice cup of Spirytus, he felt like the king of this world!
However, beautiful illusions are always fleeting. Just as he was sinking into them, unable to pull himself out, a familiar voice rang in his ear again.
Six months ago, the youth might have been confused, but now he instantly understood what was happening. It was just the same old routine of getting drunk and making a fool of himself; he was already well-acquainted with it.
Still, with Azusa-senpai and Nanaka-姐 covering for him, they surely wouldn't leave his corpse out in the wilderness...
His face was poked twice with a wooden stick. Sensing something was wrong, Miyazawa Yuu forced his eyelids open against a pounding headache. He found that without even lifting his head, the blue sky and white clouds were right there. It seemed he was indeed a "corpse in the wilderness" once again...
"Ugh... my head, my head hurts... Yu?"
"Present."
"Water..."
"Ha?"
Looking at the irresponsible purple-haired girl with eyes devoid of any highlight, Miyazawa Yuu just wanted to scream at his two girlfriends to give back his trust. Beyond that, he didn't even have the strength to move a single finger!
"Sumimasen. I don't know why, but it feels like you've had a harder time than me..."
Waking up from the hangover, Hiroi Kikuri's head wasn't quite clear. Her last memory was of being "bros" with Miyazawa Yuu, arms around shoulders, stacking up like a human pyramid while drinking.
Although she didn't know where this guy's resentment came from, as a keen "small animal," she quickly switched targets for the sake of her life and safety.
Drunkard Radar: ON. Automatically matching with the nearest person who looks easiest to bully and most likely to offer help—the sucker... er, kind-hearted person!
"Eek—!"
Stared down by two "scumbags" simultaneously, the pink-haired guitarist was struck with horror. She let out a scream, turned, and bolted! As a high school girl facing drunkards, this was a perfectly normal instinctive reaction!
However, after a few steps, the girl's conscience suddenly acted up. Turning back to confirm that the "corpse" found in the park hadn't chased her after "resurrecting," she dropped the "Resurrection Wand" (an ordinary stick) in her hand. After struggling for a long time, she walked back and squatted down.
"Um, that, the police? Do you need me to call the police? Or call home?"
"No need to bother the police. Water..."
Thinking she'd have to wait for the heavens to rain to survive, Hiroi Kikuri immediately locked onto her target the moment she saw the girl return. She crawled over in a "boob-sweeping-the-floor" posture, hugged the girl's leg, and pleaded bitterly.
"Please give me water!"
"Yes! I'll buy some for you right away!"
Although the hem of her tracksuit pants was grabbed and dirtied, the pinkish girl didn't mind at all. Instead, she submissively nodded her head, showing a distinct lack of social experience.
But just as she turned frantically to help, the resistance on her leg didn't lessen because of her helpfulness; instead, the person crawled further up her pants.
"And hangover medicine..."
"Ah... wait a moment."
"Next is clam-flavored miso soup. I also want to eat porridge..."
"..."
Her expression changed from anxious to confused and disgusted. The mountain of requests flying at her directly stumped the girl. To be honest, she had never seen such a thick-faced person.
"I also want to lie on a soft, fluffy bed that's just been out in the sun!"
"Kikuri! That's too impolite..."
"!!!"
She almost forgot she had picked up two people in total. Startled by the sudden criticism from behind, the pink-haired girl turned toward the upward-facing muscular man with a hint of fear in her eyes.
Even without tattoos, what kind of decent person gets drunk and passes out by the roadside wearing nothing but underpants!
But, having criticized the older sister with the excessive demands, he didn't seem like a bad...
"Sorry. As for me, please buy me some 'hangover beer' and rice balls!"
"As if! What on earth is hangover beer?!"
...
"Aah~ I'm back to life!"
"Tell me about it..."
Ten minutes later, Miyazawa Yuu put on the pink tracksuit top, held a beer, and sat obediently on the park steps. His face showed the same refreshing healing as Kikuri's after her porridge.
As expected, drinking hard liquor straight is no good. "Hangover alcohol" is truly one of the most important inventions of the Pab club. He felt warm all over!
"Arigato. I didn't expect to actually meet a kind person. Compared to the scumbags in Izu, it's like heaven and earth, Hahaha!"
"I'm... I'm just glad you're happy."
Shrinking fearfully into a corner in a state of self-isolation, the pink-haired girl could manage a few words when the two weren't sober, but seeing that Miyazawa Yuu was clearly fine, she seemed to fall into a closed state, not daring to look people in the eye.
Seeing her like this, Miyazawa Yuu tilted his head and thought for a while. Assuming she was afraid of his muscles, he explained in a "trying-to-cover-it-up" manner: "Don't worry! I'm just a clear-headed yet stupid college student, not Yakuza!"
"No, no, no! I didn't mean to doubt you at all... it's just..."
"Hey~ Little sister, what's your name? I really have to thank you properly!"
"Ah... there's no need to be so polite!"
With a whoosh, a strong smell of alcohol rushed into her nostrils. The pink-haired girl watched the older sister lunge in front of her, so scared her soul almost flew out of her mouth. It took her a long time to stutter out her name.
"Go... Gotoh! I'm Gotoh Hitori!"
"Gotoh?"
Easing out of his hangover, Miyazawa Yuu carefully folded the clothes and returned them to Hitori. His mind also started racing, digging up something from the depths of his memory.
"Yes! Since everything is fine now, I'll be going—"
Feeling as though she had saved two monumental troubles, Gotoh Hitori wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. She stood up, preparing to quickly bid farewell to the troublesome duo.
To think she had spoken so much to a muscle freak and a drunken rock-and-roll sister. She already felt her stomach acid churning. As expected, coming out alone to sell Livehouse tickets was still too much...
"You must be a member of Kessoku Band, right? The one with Nijika, I think you're called... Ponyo?"
"Eek! H-how do you know!"
Cold sweat instantly extended from her spine to her tailbone. Having her nickname called out by a stranger was a very... "memorable" first in Gotoh Hitori's life!
Of course, if the person doxing her wasn't a terrifying muscular man, she might have been more moved than horrified.
"Stalker? Hacker?!"
"I already said I'm with Nijika. Why do you still jump to shady professions? Tokyoites just can't stay calm..."
Patting his arm muscles while muttering quietly, Miyazawa Yuu pulled up Nijika's contact info on his phone with a dark expression. Last time, she said if her sister got drunk again, he could call her. Now it served as proof.
Speaking of which...
While "Ponyo-chan" was suspiciously double-checking the proof, Miyazawa Yuu also saw the stack of flyers she was clutching tightly. On them were four band girls drawn in sketches.
From the triangular ahoge and the color scheme, one of them was indeed Nijika.
"It! It's actually true! Sumimasen! I didn't know Nijika had other friends outside the band, so..."
"Actually, we're not exactly best friends. We just met a few days ago. And you don't have to call me 'Ponyo'."
"Hehe, really? Also, it's actually Bocchi. You can call me Bocchi or Bocchi-chan!"
The distance between the panic of meeting a friend of a friend and being smugly proud was only a thin line. Miyazawa Yuu stared blankly at the shy girl rubbing her head, not knowing what to say.
The girl seemed to exude an aura of being likely to die alone. Truth be told, the nickname wasn't wrong; she really was "Little Solitude"...
"So you're Seika's kid. A rising band? Any troubles? Why come to such a remote park?"
"Actually, there are, it's..."
Since they were friends of Manager Seika, Gotoh Hitori hesitated for two seconds, her eyes darting away for a moment, but she still told the story of how she couldn't sell her ticket quota and how the performance was almost banned by the manager.
Naturally, at the end, her social anxiety flared up. Fearing she had spoken too harshly, she added a defensive follow-up: "Of course, I'm not blaming the manager. It's all my own fault..."
"Ah~ I'm starting to get confused whether she's the 'lonely type' or the 'heavy type.' I feel like it would be wrong not to help."
After hearing the girl's experiences, which could practically be written as a book titled How a Lonely Girl Becomes Radiant, Miyazawa Yuu nodded slowly with his arms crossed. When he opened his eyes again, it was as if he had discovered a treasure!
"Bocchi-chan!" x2
"Yes!"
Scorched by the intensely hot gazes, Gotoh Hitori felt like she was being melted by the sun. she had to use her jacket to block her front, not daring to look directly into the eyes of Miyazawa Yuu and Hiroi Kikuri.
"Um... if it's a bother, I can actually keep working hard on my own."
"No, no, no! Selling tickets is indeed very hard..."
Hiroi Kikuri began wiping away tears. Compared to Miyazawa Yuu's treasure-hunter joy, Kikuri felt more empathetic sadness for Bocchi-chan's plight.
Recalling when she first debuted, many people were dissatisfied with her drunken singing.
It was just one mouthful of spray! Turning from fan to hater is just too much!
"Y-yeah."
Relaxing completely, Gotoh Hitori was deceived by the drunkard's words. Her favorable impression of the purple-haired older sister began to skyrocket; this person truly sympathized with her plight!
"In that case..."
"As your saviors, please accept our help! Bocchi-chan!"
Rising simultaneously, the excited naked man with corded muscles and the drunken, dazed older sister blocked all the sunlight, casting their shadows over the innocent girl.