Chapter 110: Return (Part 2)

Sunday evening.

Hitori felt that with Hayato absent these past two days, the four of them weren't as lively when they were together as before.

Kita and Nijika tried hard to keep the conversation going, but for some reason, it just felt messy.

Yesterday was fine, but todayー

However, tomorrow, Hayato would be back.

Hitori, sitting in her closet, smiled and eagerly anticipated going to school with Hayato tomorrow.

But suddenly, she received a message.

Hayato: "Hitori, you don't have to wait for me tomorrow. I've taken a leave of absence."

Hitori's heart skipped a beat.

A leave of absence?

What happened? Her mind was full of questions. Why so sudden?

Wait, could it be because of Hayato going to help?

Was Hayato being kept there?

Hitori thought carefully.

Hayato definitely wouldn't be kept by force, so there was only one possibility.

When she thought of this possibility, she suddenly became scared.

Without thinking, she quickly took out her phone and sent a message.

Hitori: "Hayato, although I don't know how big the girls' chests are over there, I usually bind mine a little! They definitely won't be smaller than theirs."

Hayato replied after a while.

"When you come back the day after tomorrow, don't bind them. Let me see."

Hitori immediately let out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the floor.

But after her head hit the floor with a jolt, she instantly sobered up.

See, see... see?

Just as she began to overload and melt, her phone chimed again with a new message.

This time it was from Nijika.

"Hitori, are you going to Hayato's house tomorrow? Hayato hasn't been home for two days and hasn't given a reason. Ishikawa Hibiki is a bit worried about him. I plan to go to Hayato's house tomorrow and explain things to Ishikawa Hibiki."

Two days without coming home.

Hitori hesitated for a moment, but without thinking about anything else, she replied, "I'll go too."

...

After schoolー

Hitori and Kita walked towards the station.

She could feel that Kita was also feeling down.

Hitori wasn't surprised by this at all.

She could tell that everyone in the band, more or less, liked Hayato.

If it was just everyone in the Band, she didn't mind, because Hayato would still be by her side.

But as for others...

...

Kita was quiet for a while, then tried to chat with Hitori.

Although her various actions often gave Hitori a shock, she now gradually understood what she shouldn't say to Hitori.

However, seeing Hitori's reserved demeanor and anxious, flickering eyes, she had no choice but to not force Hitori.

Upon reaching Shimokitazawa, they met up with Nijika and Ryo, and the four of them headed to Hayato's house.

After a brief greeting, they sat on the train.

Kita noticed that the other three had little interest in talking, and the situation was worse than the previous two days.

She also knew why.

But in this situation, she thought it would be better to speak up. Keeping everything bottled up would make things more painful.

She carefully chose her words, then unceremoniously complained about Hayato, who might have already forgotten all about them.

"Speaking of which, will that pervert with a harem not come back? Didn't Miss Hongo Amane say that many people there like him?"

After Hitori heard her, she blinked and suddenly shouted.

"No way!"

But after shouting, Hitori immediately came back to her senses, fearfully holding her hands up in front of her as if in protest.

"I-I'm so sorry! I'm really sorry for getting carried away."

Kita was not at all surprised by Hitori's reaction.

She quickly apologized.

"No, it's me. For saying such thoughtless things."

Ryo looked at Kita with a slight surprise.

She smiled almost imperceptibly.

"Well, Hayato promised me he'd come back. Besides, he only took two days off, so he should be at the shop tonight."

Nijika, seeing everyone relax, breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile.

"Mhm, mhm, Hitori, you don't have to worry too much."

...

Upon arriving at the Ishikawa Family home, Ishikawa Hibiki was already at the door to greet the four of them.

Seeing Ishikawa Hibiki's worried expression, which was almost written on her face, the four couldn't help but feel that Hayato was indeed well-liked, with so many people thinking of him.

They walked up and greeted Ishikawa Hibiki.

Although Ishikawa Hibiki was worried, she still received the four of them in a proper manner, without asking eagerly.

She welcomed them in, handed them slippers, led them to her room, and brought out drinks and snacks.

Finally, she sat properly in the spot the four had left for her and slowly asked Nijika.

"Nijika-nee, what exactly has Big Brother been doing recently?"

Hayato had previously informed his family that he would be helping a friend for two days and wouldn't be home.

Ishikawa Hibiki felt that what he said wasn't that simple.

She had no choice but to ask around.

Nijika felt that it was inappropriate for her, as an outsider, to interfere with Hayato's family matters.

However, she remembered Ishikawa Hibiki's anxious voice on the phone earlier, and she felt that she should still explain clearly.

Moreover, she was also concerned about whether Ishikawa Hibiki might do something dangerous after hearing it, so she chose to visit in person to tell her.

She paid attention to Ishikawa Hibiki's reaction and calmly recounted the events of that day, little by little.

"That's all we know. As for why Hayato hasn't come home, we don't know either."

After Nijika finished speaking, she saw Ishikawa Hibiki gradually relax, and then she seemed unable to help but whisper.

"Stupid Big Brother."

The four looked at Ishikawa Hibiki in surprise, not understanding why she would react that way.

Kita, seeing that Ishikawa Hibiki seemed to know something, asked with great concern.

"Um, Hibiki-chan?"

After Ishikawa Hibiki learned what Hayato was doing, she stopped worrying about him. 

She glanced at the group—who might be her future sisters-in-law—hesitated for a moment, then explained to them with a hint of subtle pride.

"Actually, my Big Brother wouldn't do something like this. He's a very cold person."

"As long as I can remember, he's always been uninterested in everything, playing by himself. He wouldn't even look when our parents argued."

"Eh? Was Ishikawa-kun/Hayato-kun like that before?"

Kita and Nijika exclaimed in surprise.

Hitori and Ryo also looked at her uncertainly.

Ishikawa Hibiki nodded.

She stood up, walked to the wardrobe, opened it, and took out something from a corner.

Only after she walked over did the four see that it was a photo album.

Ishikawa Hibiki opened the album, skipped the first few pages, and showed it to them.

"You can tell from the photos, too, how cold Big Brother used to be."

The four leaned forward to look.

The page Ishikawa Hibiki had opened contained photos of Hayato when he was about six years old.

He had his hands in his pockets, no expression on his face, and his eyes showed no emotion at all.

It was as if he was called over, turned around, and posed for a quick photo.

Even other photos with his family were like that.

The four looked at them and couldn't help but be surprised by Hayato's coldness at that time.

At the same time, they also thought that Hayato was really cute when he was a child.

They couldn't imagine him growing up to be like this.

Ryo tried to reach out to turn the page, but Ishikawa Hibiki kept pinching the two corners of the album, showing no intention of letting go.

Ryo had no choice but to give up.

On the other side, Kita tried hard to seek Nijika's opinion with a glance.

Nijika swallowed and shook her head.

Kita was silently asking, “Is this something a normal younger sister would do?”

Nijika's reaction was that she also had photos of her older sister, but she wouldn't hide the album, nor would she guard it so vigilantly. Moreover, a younger sister collecting photos of her older brother was inherently a very strange thing.

"What happened later?" Ryo asked Ishikawa Hibiki after looking at the album a few more times.

Ishikawa Hibiki shook her head, "I don't know either."

The four were puzzled.

Ishikawa Hibiki continued, "When I first entered elementary school, I got into a fight with my classmates. Two of them were hitting me. At that time, my dad and mom were separated, and I was with my mom."

"When the teacher called for my parents to come for a meeting, mom was busy, so she called dad. I was also taken back to dad's house."

"Big Brother, who was in second grade, was still as cold as ever. I sat on one side of the sofa, and he sat on the other, reading."

"But when Dad was on the phone arguing with Mom, he suddenly asked me, 'Were you bullied?'"

"I ignored him, and he didn't bother with me after that."

"It wasn't until the second time I went to Dad's house, and this time Mom and Dad were arguing face-to-face, that he took out something."

Ishikawa Hibiki reached out and took a wooden box from her bedside table, and from it, she pulled out a slip of paper, a smile full of memories on her face.

 "This... back then, my brother said, 'If you're bullied, use this ticket.'"

Hitori was surprised to see the note in her hand. She also took out a note to confirm if it was the same as the one in her hand.

"Later, a masked pervert came and beat up the person who always fought with me. After that, I asked him for another note to make my parents reconcile. Only when I grew up did I realize that it was all my silly brother's doing, and I don't know when he started calling himself a pervert."

As she spoke, she gradually emerged from her memories, but when she saw the note in Hitori's hand, she was all too familiar with the pattern on it and immediately recognized that Ishikawa Hayato had made it.

Her expression changed.

"You! How do you have that?"

Hitori was startled.

She quickly put the note away, clutching her pocket as she said,

"This... Hayato gave it to me to summon him..."

Ryo, Nijika, and Kita didn't know Hitori had this item and looked at her curiously for a moment.

However, seeing Hitori grow increasingly nervous, as if afraid it would be snatched away, they withdrew their gazes.

"But..."

She looked at Ryo and Kita in surprise.

She hesitated for a long time before saying,

"When my brother promised me he wouldn't give it to anyone else, he said he had to give one to his girlfriend."

Hitori's face lit up with a soft, joyful smile upon hearing this.

She looked at Hitori, a little confused.

It seemed to her that Kita and Ryo were closer to her brother.

But that was her brother's choice, and she couldn't control it.

What she cared about was something else.

Her hero was no longer just her hero alone.

Just then, the door suddenly opened, and Ishikawa Hayato rushed in, making a sound.

"Bocchi, what are you and my sister doing in the room?"

He only then noticed Ryo, Kita, and Nijika were also there.

All five pairs of eyes were on him, but he wasn't embarrassed at all.

Instead, he happily exclaimed,

"Oh~ My harem."