Gotō Hitori was facing the greatest crisis of her life so far.
Putting those strange dreams aside for the moment, this was the first time she had ever held a conversation with someone outside her family for such a long stretch of time.
"So, I'm saying, wouldn't it be easiest if the two guitarists just had a guitar showdown?"
On top of that, she was being egged on by a blue-haired girl wearing a faint smile—and was now on the verge of a guitar duel with a familiar stranger—
"W-wait, no matter how I think about it, this development is way too much! I'm not ready for this…!"
The pink caterpillar girl dragged the guitar case from her back to the front and hugged it tightly to her chest, clinging to it like a final lifeline she absolutely refused to let go of.
"Ah, um, I—"
"I mean, I really did think it'd be nice to form a band and play music with people who share the same passion, b-but…!"
Her gaze kept wandering, yet it lingered for a long time on the curly-haired boy.
It might be sudden to say this, but if one took a good look at the quiet Narumi Tōru, he was actually quite easy on the eyes.
He stood a head taller than all the girls present, with a slightly lean build that didn't look fragile, naturally wavy hair, and clear lake-blue eyes that always carried a hint of laid-back ease. His features were neat and refined, and the more you looked, the more you noticed their subtle delicacy.
"Well, I don't really know what's going on here either," the curly-haired boy said with a refreshing smile, letting out a light laugh as he stepped in front of Bocchi.
"But it seems like we're supposed to have a guitar match or something."
"Ah, ah—y-yeah…"
The moment she heard words like competition, match, or duel, Gotō Hitori immediately began retreating and avoiding confrontation, her speech stumbling as she struggled to get anything out.
The boy standing in front of her was apparently the culprit behind the emotional roller coaster she'd gone through in that absurd dream—but now that he was actually here, the unreal feeling of suddenly having to communicate with a complete stranger dulled her wariness a little.
And besides—
"Th-this is my first time ever talking to a boy my age…!"
If high school girls were the dazzling, once-in-a-lifetime flash that could color an entire youth—an existence forever out of reach for the pink caterpillar hiding in the shadows—then high school boys were an entirely unexplored territory for Gotō Hitori.
At that hormone-filled age, harboring unrealistic fantasies and longings toward the rarely encountered opposite sex, feeling both anticipation and anxiety toward interacting with them—that was the storm of emotions churning inside Gotō Hitori as she watched the curly-haired boy approach.
"Th-this is bad, this is really bad… How am I supposed to deal with talking to a boy…?!"
"Hm?"
Having received no response, Narumi Tōru raised an eyebrow. Even though the pink caterpillar stammered for a long time without forming a proper sentence, he remained patiently waiting.
Unlike certain boys she imagined as sweaty and rude, this curly-haired boy seemed unusually polite and considerate—at least, based on how he was acting now.
"This is bad, Bocchi… Could it be that because you've never interacted with boys, you ended up having such a weird dream?!"
"N-no, no! I just… think whether we compete or not doesn't really matter. J-just playing guitar together would already make me happy…!"
Bocchi hurriedly waved her hands. Beside her, Nijika—who had finally grasped the situation—smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, at least we're all on the same page now—let's just play guitar together first, okay? Want to head back to my family's live house? The space is pretty big."
She'd clearly noticed Bocchi's fear and tension, and gently soothed both Bocchi and Narumi at the same time.
"Of course, Narumi-kun, if you're interested in playing guitar too, it's fine if you skip your counter shift today and come have fun with us."
"Such high emotional intelligence… such high girl power…!"
At Nijika's cheerful call of "Come on~ let's go back together!", Bocchi instinctively followed behind her, guitar case on her back.
"Let's go with Nijika's plan, then. Come on, Koumi."
Yamada Ryō, already accustomed to Nijika's arrangements, casually hoisted her bass case and followed the blonde girl's lead.
"Yeah, let's go."
With no objections, Narumi Tōru joined them as well, walking up beside Bocchi with his guitar case on his back.
The moment she realized this, Bocchi flinched like a startled house cat, then locked her peripheral vision firmly onto the boy next to her.
If the aura around Ijichi Nijika was like the fresh scent of a high school girl with a hint of sweetness, then the air around Narumi Tōru carried a light, refreshing mint-like note.
Both were sensations Bocchi—an extreme introvert—rarely experienced.
"Ah… the smell of a high school girl and a high school boy…!"
The pink-haired girl couldn't help but sniff lightly, making sure not to draw attention as she performed this tiny, shadowy action—but of course, it didn't escape Narumi's sharp observation.
"If this were truly our first meeting, Miss Bocchi, there's a real chance you'd be mistaken for a creep, you know."
Narumi, who had seamlessly switched to a friendly, approachable demeanor around Gotō Hitori, let his eyes shift slightly. Naturally, he had no intention of voicing that thought.
Used to playing dumb to observe others, he'd originally planned to quietly see how Bocchi would react upon meeting him. Instead, she treated every unfamiliar presence—him included—like a cave creature suddenly exposed to sunlight.
"I still can't get a read on how she feels about me at all."
And that little sniff earlier—if it weren't a cute girl but a balding middle-aged man, it would've been labeled downright creepy.
"Wait… when dealing with someone who lurks in corners like this, secretly crawling around but actually has very thin skin, the most effective approach is…"
A plan forming, the curly-haired boy curved his lips upward, then turned his head as if he'd just noticed Bocchi's gaze.
She reacted instantly, snapping her head away like a startled bird and whistling off-key, trying—and failing—to look natural.
Even so, Narumi showed her a gentle smile.
"Is something wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Popular extroverted guy skill: Thoughtful attentiveness—activated!
"N-no, n-not at all…! Sorry for worrying you!"
Faced with such radiant sunlight, the pink caterpillar shrank in on herself, desperately avoiding the boy's open gaze while silently repenting in her heart.
"I can't believe I just did something that creepy to someone so kind… Bocchi, Bocchi, how could you…!"
Walking beside Nijika, Yamada glanced over at them, pursing her lips in mild confusion.
"Koumi's having so much fun—why didn't he invite me too… What a lousy friend."