Chapter 35: The Chain (Part 2)

After returning home, Kita called out to her family.

"I'm home."

Her mother in the living room responded indifferently.

Kita went to the living room and glanced around. Her mother was still watching TV. After greeting her, Kita turned and went back to her room.

Entering her seemingly cluttered room, filled with various small ornaments and a couple of cute stuffed animals, she quickly sat down at her desk.

She picked up an instrument bag placed by the desk.

She pulled the zipper all the way down and took out the instrument inside.

Looking at the six strings on it, she nodded affirmingly.

"This definitely isn't a bass."

But as she said it, she remembered what the others had said, and added uncertainly at the end,

"...right?"

Just then, her phone chimed with a message. From the sound, she could tell it was a message from the group she had marked for special attention.

She quickly opened her phone.

It was from Ishikawa Hayato.

"Does Kita know how to do makeup?"

Kita Ikuyo's mind was full of question marks. Was he questioning her basic skills as a high school girl?

Kita replied, "Of course! I'm really good at that."

Ishikawa Hayato: "Good, that makes things easier. The music genre you like requires a bit of makeup skill. I was just a little worried."

Music? Makeup?

He must really be talking about music, right?

Kita: "I feel like you're tricking me again..."

After a while, the other side sent a smiling banana man emoji, along with an MV link.

She was tricked again, just as she thought!

Kita Ikuyo was a little worried about what kind of music genre it would be.

She clicked the link, saw the title 'Detroit Metal City Band,' and then scrolled down to see many positive reviews, which put her mind at ease.

It seemed it wasn't a scary video.

However, the video upload dates were all from a long time ago.

She was a bit puzzled why Ishikawa Hayato sent this video. Then, with a sense of unease, she clicked to play the music MV.

Not two moments after the intense music began, a grotesque figure with pale makeup and terrifying black eye shadow suddenly jumped out like a cockroach.

[ "I~ will~ kill~ you~!!!" ]

"Ahhhhh!"

Kita Ikuyo's phone flew out of her hand...

...

A few moments after sending the message, Ishikawa Hayato received a reply from Kita Ikuyo.

Kita: [ Ishikawa-kun... Can you come to STARRY early tomorrow? ]

Ishikawa Hayato: [ Well, does this song match your current mood? ]

Kita: [ I'm going to kill you! (with a cute knife-wielding emoji) ] 

Ishikawa Hayato smiled and put away his phone...

He returned home.

Seeing his dad watching the news at home, and thinking he hadn't communicated much with his family recently, he sat down next to him.

And when dinner came.

Hibiki came downstairs, and before she even reached the living room, she heard the voices of two men inside, grandly discussing and critiquing the world.

Their tone, more presidential than a president's, made her sigh deeply.

And even during dinner, the two continued to argue about the future development and changes of the world.

Finally unable to bear it, Hibiki put down her chopsticks and called out to her brother beside her, displeased.

"Brother, it's too noisy!"

Ishikawa Hayato straightened his body, looking down proudly at his sister beside him.

"How dare you speak to me like that! You..."

Before he could finish, his mother's gentle call instantly brought him back to reality.

"Hayato~"

His expression changed, and he switched his words without hesitation.

"Tonight's dinner is truly delicious. It must be because our great mother added her love for us into it."

Seeing his son talking nonsense again, Ishikawa Jinpei protested loudly, refusing to accept it.

"Nonsense! Only my bowl has Shizuka's love for me!"

This time, it was Ishikawa Hayato's mother, Ishikawa Shizuka, who sighed.

But after a moment of quiet, amidst the clinking of chopsticks, Ishikawa Jinpei, still not out of his earlier grand pronouncements, asked Hibiki,

"Have you decided on your high school, Hibiki? Do you want to go with your brother?"

"With this pervert?" Hibiki looked up at her father in disbelief.

Ishikawa Hayato tilted his head back as if he had been complimented.

But after Hibiki finished speaking, she glanced at Ishikawa Hayato, then fell silent for a moment, and suddenly, with a hint of temper, said,

"We'll talk about it later!"

...

The next day, Ishikawa Hayato greeted his mother and informed her that he wouldn't need lunch prepared for him, then left home.

He checked his phone. He hadn't received a message from Bocchi refusing.

He wasn't sure if Bocchi wanted to come or not, as virtually no one could penetrate the layers of psychological defenses to see through another's thoughts.

People, sometimes even he himself, didn't know what he was thinking or why he did certain things.

He took the train to Ike-Tora Station, and upon exiting the station, he saw Bocchi sitting on a public bench, head down, seemingly deep in thought.

She was still wearing her tracksuit today, carrying a beige cloth bag, an outfit so plain that no one would notice her.

Judging by her appearance, he didn't know how long she had been waiting there.

Ishikawa Hayato, however, understood why she was like this.

After all, she would worry about all sorts of situations and prepare early, and once prepared, she would wonder if others would arrive early, so she came early herself.

"Bocchi."

Ishikawa Hayato greeted her only after he had gotten a little closer.

Bocchi looked up, her blue eyes under her bangs meeting Ishikawa Hayato's gaze.

"Ah, good morning."

"Mm, good morning. Let's go."

Ishikawa Hayato walked up to her side and waved to her. Bocchi, clutching the straps of her bag with both hands, followed him.

Leaving the station, Ishikawa Hayato glanced at a map and led Bocchi down a less crowded street.

After walking for a short while, Bocchi felt a little nervous due to the lack of conversation. She also realized the surroundings were a bit remote and, feeling a little scared, asked Ishikawa-kun,

"Uh... Ishikawa-kun, where are we going?"

Ishikawa Hayato, who had recently been in the mood to tease Bocchi, now showed a slight smile and said,

"Bocchi, you don't even know where we're going, yet you've followed me this far. I'm really worried about your safety in the future."

At this moment, Bocchi seemed to have recovered.

Yes, recovered to her usual gloomy state.

"Ah... a worthless person like me, no one would want..."

She looked down at the small pebbles on the ground with a gloomy expression.

Ishikawa Hayato didn't know if she was saying this because of their previous conversation about part-time jobs, or if she genuinely thought this way.

He recalled Bocchi's family situation, then said, "Bocchi's parents definitely care about you."

He looked at Bocchi and continued, "Bocchi, you should pay more attention to your family."

But Bocchi just nodded, offering no further response.

They walked for a little while longer.

"We're here."

Ishikawa Hayato stopped.

Bocchi followed Ishikawa Hayato's gaze and saw a sign above them that read: Bicycle Rental.

'Hmm?'

Bocchi looked back and forth between Ishikawa Hayato and the bicycle rental shop, full of confusion.

Why come all the way to a bicycle rental shop in such a remote place? And hadn't they just passed one?

Could it be!

Bicycle — Chain — Chainsaw.

A black market clinic!

Could it be... that he was going to cut her up and sell her organs!

So that's what Ishikawa-kun meant earlier. She had trusted him so much for nothing.

Is it too late to run now?

As she thought about running... her hand was grabbed.

Bocchi looked at Ishikawa Hayato in terror.

His expression was grim, like a lawless thug, as he pulled her into the bicycle rental shop.

Bocchi believed she didn't have the strength to escape from a strong man, so to avoid getting hurt, she obediently followed him in.

'Father, Mother, I'm sorry. Although I'm a useless daughter, you won't see me again.'

Just as she was about to cry,

Ishikawa Hayato asked the counter with a serious and tense expression.

"Boss, give me that."

Sitting behind the counter, a tall, burly boss with a big chest and thick arms, wearing a dirty apron and a cigarette in his mouth, put the cigarette butt into an ashtray, exhaled, and white smoke diffused into the air.

"That's illegal."

Ishikawa Hayato sighed as if he had made up his mind.

"I know."

Behind him, Bocchi's tears burst out.

'No! At least... at least give me an anesthetic.'

'Futari, I'm sorry, I never took good care of you before. Ah, but it seems Futari doesn't need my care.'

"You wait a moment."

The boss sighed, as if lamenting the young man's path of no return.

Bocchi watched this scene, feeling her death was imminent, and all her memories flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern.

'Nijika, Ryo, Kita, I'm sorry I can't play with you anymore!'

As Bocchi began to repent for her life, the boss pushed out a bicycle.

It was a bicycle for women, and about 70% percent new with a reinforced back seat.

Normal bicycle rental shops don't have this kind of bicycle for rent.

"I'll say it one last time, carrying people on a bicycle is illegal, you..." The boss looked at the trembling girl standing behind Ishikawa Hayato and sighed.

"The vehicle is well-maintained, don't worry."

He showed a nostalgic smile, reminiscing about the good old days, and pushed the bicycle to Ishikawa Hayato.

Ishikawa Hayato reached out his hand.

The boss clasped it, and their two hands clasped together firmly.