This was terrible. Gotō Hitori had never once believed that abruptly inserting herself into a one-on-one appointment between Narumi and another girl was the right choice. If anything, this was precisely the kind of battlefield scenario she desperately wanted to avoid.
And yet, a single line from a certain airheaded Miss Yamada—"Bocchi-chan, do you wanna come too?"—had forcibly dragged her into this game. Cornered by the situation, the pink caterpillar could only halfheartedly agree.
Thinking back on it now, she really should have refused firmly.
Especially when Bocchi-chan arrived at the mall only slightly later than the agreed time, only to discover that Ryō-senpai—the very person she was supposed to meet—hadn't arrived at all.
[Ah, sorry! Something came up when I was heading out, so I'm still on the way. Bocchi, you go meet up with Koumi first~]
With such a breezy message, the free-spirited culprit casually brushed off the fact that she was late. Bocchi-chan, already on site and reading that text, was honestly on the verge of a breakdown.
"I knew it… I never should've trusted that Ryō-senpai was reliable…!"
But what was done was done. All she could do was clutch the hem of her eternally unchanged pink tracksuit, lower her head, and weave her way through the vast mall. Her slightly evasive gaze darted around from beneath her thick bangs, scanning passersby who felt completely out of place compared to her.
In the end, like a headless fly searching aimlessly through the mall, Bocchi-chan's eyes finally caught sight of that familiar, lazy silhouette.
"…!"
Then, summoning all her courage, she rushed forward—
And grabbed the hem of the curly-haired boy's loose black hoodie.
The above was the full mental journey that led Gotō Hitori—who had possessed absolutely no agency the entire time and had simply been swept along by circumstances—to this very moment.
"Man, I was planning to find a chance to tell Yukinoshita beforehand, before the others arrived… but looks like I'll have to ask for forgiveness after the fact now."
That was what Narumi Tōru was thinking as Bocchi suddenly found him, and he realized he now had to explain things to Yukinoshita, the one who had invited him out in the first place.
After all, upon seeing Bocchi-chan chatting with him, Yukinoshita Yukino—who had been confidently walking a few steps ahead and leading the way—had frozen in place.
Yukino's vacant stare was filled with confusion and surprise, which was only natural. Before this, she had probably never seen Gotō before.
"Um—let me introduce everyone."
To firmly regain control of the situation, Narumi cleared his throat and spoke up immediately.
A friend bringing along an unfamiliar friend to a meeting wasn't something Narumi personally found awkward at all, but taking into account the feelings of the other two girls present, he decided it was best to smooth things over.
"This is Gotō Hitori. She's a junior one year below me, someone I met while working part-time in Shimokitazawa. She's an effort-type genius with god-tier guitar skills. She's a bit shy and scared of strangers, but she's actually incredibly gentle and kind—and when it really counts, she's super reliable!"
"T-that's… not true at all…"
"And this is Yukinoshita Yukino. She's my club president at school, the one who invited me out shopping today—and also the famous aloof ice queen of Sobu High, a true Takamine no Hana. She might look like a cold beauty who keeps everyone at arm's length, but if you look closely, she's actually an extremely cute, very cute, especially cute cat-lover…!"
"That's enough."
By praising the bashful Bocchi-chan into utter mortification while simultaneously making Yukino turn bright red and look away, Narumi successfully diffused what could have been an awkward three-person meeting—simply by becoming the conspicuous one himself.
"Miss Gotō also has some things she wants to buy, so when I mentioned I'd be shopping with you today, President, I thought about inviting her along. But since we decided in a hurry, I completely forgot to tell you beforehand—sorry about that, really."
The curly-haired boy clapped his hands together and pressed his palms in apology, his sincerity unmistakable.
"So today, no matter what Miss Yukinoshita wants to do, I'll go along with it. Think of it as compensation for acting on my own without giving you advance notice…!"
And just to make sure Yukino wouldn't actually get angry, he added an extra layer of insurance.
"…Really?"
As expected, Yukino—who had still been flustered by the whole "cat-lover" remark—showed a subtle change in expression when she heard that.
"Anything I say… Narumi-kun will do?"
There was a probing look in her eyes now, one tinged with a different meaning.
Putting aside whether the girl standing before him was truly the same Yukinoshita Yukino who had fought through life-and-death situations alongside him in the simulation, one thing was clear from the current situation: she held at least some interest in him.
Narumi wasn't the type of guy who would be oblivious to a girl's goodwill or curiosity. If anything, as long as it didn't invite trouble, he rather enjoyed this kind of heart-fluttering development that felt straight out of a youth romantic comedy.
"Well, I might not be able to do something totally beyond my limits, like climbing a mountain of blades or diving into a sea of fire—but as long as it's within my capabilities, I'll do my absolute best if you ask, President. Even if I accidentally murdered someone and you told me to help dispose of the body, I'd immediately go buy you a refrigerated container, you know?"
"That's far too heavy, so no thank you—and if you did something like that, Narumi-kun, I'd be the first to report you."
Once again, he spoke with that wild, free-associative humor of his, and yet that familiar banter made a long-missed smile appear at the corner of Yukino's lips.
"Then… I suppose I'll take my time deciding what I want you to accompany me for. Before we pick out a gift, how about we go watch a movie?"
"A movie? Sounds like a good idea. What's playing these days?"
"Ah… these two are definitely very close."
Bocchi-chan sighed inwardly. Though she hadn't joined the conversation at all, as an outsider, she could see things more clearly than anyone.
It had been like this "last time" too.
In the dream, she had been the one closest to him—but the person he shared intimacy with had always been someone else.
"You don't even need to look closely—this senpai is obviously beautiful…"
That cool, expressionless girl was being pulled along by the boy's every move, her emotions rising and falling with him.
She must treasure him deeply… perhaps, just like Bocchi herself, she harbored very complex feelings toward the boy standing before her.
But while "last time," Bocchi had been able to confidently define her relationship with Narumi as "we were inseparable childhood friends," now all she could call him was "Koumi-senpai."
Not rivals who hated each other yet couldn't be separated, not equals standing toe to toe—just a distant senior.
But even so.
No—precisely because of that—their relationship couldn't possibly become worse than it had been "last time."
So what reason was there not to reach out and fight for something?
"M-movies… um, that one might be good."
Bocchi-chan spoke up, doing her best to keep her voice from trembling.
"They're re-screening that music biopic recently—Bohemian Rhapsody… it sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"
She could tell that movies were a shared interest between Narumi and Yukinoshita.
So, building on that—and connecting it with another interest she shared with Narumi—
"..."
Yukinoshita froze for a moment; she had just been thinking about what kind of movie to choose herself.
Caught between the two girls, Narumi glanced left and right. The confidence he'd had just moments ago was starting to waver, if only slightly.