Chapter 37: Like

After Ishikawa Hayato pushed his vehicle to the roadside and laid it down, he returned to Bocchi's side, who was tightly gripping her cloth bag.

For some reason, the closer he got, the more nervous she became.

Her face inexplicably flushed, a hint of panic appeared in her expression, and her hands crinkled the cloth bag into layers of folds.

Ishikawa Hayato walked up to her, knelt down, and to her gasp, cupped her face with both hands, looking directly into her wavering eyes beneath her bangs, and said to her.

“Bocchi is very beautiful, I say with certainty, Bocchi is extremely beautiful, definitely a pretty girl.”

“So, show some of that pretty girl confidence.”

Being looked at directly like that, being told that, Bocchi felt a jumble of emotions piling up in her chest, as if she was about to explode.

Moreover, Ishikawa Hayato’s eyes were directly on her; no matter where she glanced, she could see the color in his eyes in her peripheral vision.

When their eyes met inadvertently, she felt as if her breathing stopped.

“Th-th-th-that...”

Her face red, she mumbled softly.

But just as she was about to explode, Ishikawa Hayato let go, stood up straight, turned around, patted her shoulder, and then directly pulled her arm.

“Let’s go, the scenery here is the best.”

...

It had been a long time since he was last here.

Practicing instruments, studying music theory, preparing for performances with Nijika and her friends, and improving the school atmosphere.

His days were packed, with no time to come here for recreation.

But, today, he brought someone here after a long while.

And a cute, timid pretty girl at that.

Ishikawa Hayato took out a tarp from his messenger bag, spread it on the ground, and then sat down casually.

Then he patted the empty spot beside him.

“Bocchi, come, sit here.”

Bocchi shuffled over in small steps, slowly bent down and sat, then placed her cloth bag beside her, quickly glanced at Ishikawa Hayato, and then turned her gaze to the distance.

But at the same time, her peripheral vision was still secretly observing her surroundings.

“It’s very beautiful here, isn’t it?”

Hayato Ishikawa gazed at the hazy horizon in the distance.

Far away, layers of thin, cotton-like clouds continuously stacked up, covering the sea and blurring the horizon.

Bocchi looked into the distance, and before her gaze even reached the horizon, she immediately pulled it back, looking uneasily behind her.

A sparrow flew past the edge of her vision.

Ishikawa Hayato noticed her actions and said to her.

“Very few people come here. This road is an old path to a village. I occasionally only see some uncles and aunties strolling here.”

Seeing her relax a little, Ishikawa Hayato felt that if he didn’t make things clear beforehand, she probably wouldn’t completely relax.

After a moment of silence, letting all sounds cease.

With some curiosity in his heart, wondering what cute reaction she would have, he said.

“I quite like Bocchi. She’s like a hamster, wary of her surroundings, and cute, yet timid. But because of this, I don’t dare to approach casually, for fear of scaring her.”

He said, while secretly glancing at Bocchi.

After surprise, panic, and shyness, Bocchi showed a beaming smile, and then tried hard to compose her expression.

But feeling unable to compose herself, she raised her bent leg, which was on the grass, hugged her calf, and buried her head in her knees.

Ishikawa Hayato stopped talking.

Bocchi paused for a moment, then suddenly looked up uneasily again.

She thought for a while and said.

“Th-thank you...”

Ishikawa Hayato could feel that as she spoke, what she was conveying in her heart was, “I’m not as cute as you say.”

“Bocchi, do you know what I like about you?”

Bocchi’s eyes widened in panic at his sudden words, and she looked at Ishikawa Hayato with wavering gaze, shaking her head blankly.

Ishikawa Hayato looked at her shoulders, at the grass behind, and at the sky.

He said slowly.

“Bocchi’s eyes are very clear, and she’s always carefully paying attention to others. While being wary of others, she also cares about them. I’ve said before that Bocchi is very gentle.”

“Bocchi’s gentleness is that if someone falls behind you, you will try to reach out.”

“Also, Bocchi is pink and soft, and feels very comfortable to hug.”

“And Bocchi seems very easy to take care of, satisfied with just a little bit of care.”

“Bocchi plays the Guitar very well. That solo the other day was very cool.”

After Ishikawa Hayato finished speaking, he looked at her dazed expression, stood up, and took two steps back.

He asked her.

“Bocchi, do you know why I like it here?”

Bocchi shook her head blankly.

Ishikawa Hayato raised one hand, as if supporting the sky.

“It’s very spacious here, spacious enough to accommodate me.”

“There’s a vast ocean here, an endless sky. I can face a huge and infinite existence here.”

“It gradually gives me the courage to face everything.”

Bocchi quietly watched this towering presence.

Ishikawa Hayato... Hayato... a falcon is a bird of prey that can hunt creatures several times its own size. It is brave and tenacious, and its flight speed is extremely fast, ranking among the top birds.

It is at the top of the avian food chain.

And Ishikawa Hayato... this young man in front of her, is probably no different.

“Bocchi, it’s your turn, what do you like?”

Bocchi hesitated. She lowered her gaze slightly, her eyes, imprinted with the young man’s figure, fell to the ground.

“I... I like...”

...

On the way back, Bocchi sat on the back seat of the bicycle as before.

She regretted not being able to speak at that moment.

She had things she liked, but nothing she could bring out to compare with the gems the young man had presented.

And she still had things she liked, but to say them out loud would just be a distant extravagance.

So she couldn't say anything.

When Ishikawa Hayato went back, he didn't ride as fast as he did when they came. He was taking it slow and leisurely.

But Bocchi wished he would go faster, to get back sooner.

She hung her head, feeling ashamed and not daring to stay by his side anymore.

“Bocchi.”

Ishikawa Hayato’s voice came from the front, carried by the wind.

“Ah, yes?” Bocchi responded quickly.

“That day, I wasn’t lying. If Bocchi ever feels life is difficult in the future, I’ll support you.”

Is he teasing her again?

If only it were true.

Bocchi felt her eyes getting a little warm.

“A pervert like me probably won’t find a wife, so it’s fine for Bocchi to stay at my house, and it won’t make me feel lonely.”

Really?

Bocchi looked up at the figure in front of her.

But before she could speak, it was as if Ishikawa Hayato had read her thoughts.

He said softly, “It’s true.”

“However, if you don’t work hard because of this, I’ll be disappointed, which is why I said what I did at the end that day.”

Reason sorts through all the fragments, laying them out to pave a path, and the human heart can communicate using it.

With the sound of the wind, the doubts and barriers in her heart were broken.

Doors that were closed off were pushed open again.

After Ishikawa Hayato finished speaking, he waited for Bocchi, who had been silent for a long time, to speak.

The bicycle wheels crunched on the firm dirt road. The concrete highway was not far ahead.

Before they reached the highway, a faint, slightly tearful voice came from behind.

“I... I will try my best.”

“Good.”

Ishikawa Hayato smiled contentedly, reaching his hand back and feeling around the area for Bocchi’s head.

Then two small hands grabbed his arm, and a sensation of a small head with soft, fine hair was felt.

His hand was being pressed on her head. 

He happily stroked it, then withdrew his hand.

And just then.

“Hey, you two over there!”

Ishikawa Hayato, riding his bicycle, immediately felt a bad premonition when he heard that voice. He looked over.

He saw a traffic policeman on a motorcycle, leaning by the roadside, shouting at them.

“Bocchi, hold on tight to me.”

Ishikawa Hayato quickly yelled to Bocchi, who was sitting on the back seat.

Bocchi’s panicked voice came from behind.

“Eh, eh!?”

“Quickly.” Ishikawa Hayato emphasized his voice.

Bocchi hesitated, then hugged him.

Her two hands wrapped around Ishikawa Hayato’s waist, cautiously holding him loosely.

Ishikawa Hayato glanced back. Although she wasn’t holding him tightly, her hands were already clasped together.

He ignored the traffic policeman’s shouts of “Wait for me!” coming from behind.

He gradually accelerated.

At the same time, the roar of the motorcycle behind him gradually drew closer.

“Hold on tight!”

Ishikawa Hayato reminded Bocchi behind him, then looked up and shouted proudly.

“Want to catch a pervert? Wait another hundred thousand years~! Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh!”

In an instant, the pedals under his feet spun into a blur, and the bicycle suddenly accelerated as if it had been injected with oil, soaring forward and transforming into a shadow that shot out.

Only Bocchi’s surprised cry was left in the air.

“Ah ah ah—!!!”

Hakuto Namikaze hadn’t seen a child riding a bicycle with someone on the back so openly in many years.

In the past, he occasionally lamented that young people today couldn't experience the romance of their era, but seeing it today… he still couldn't ignore it.

He had originally planned to tell them to stop and just give them a stern lecture.

But they actually ran!

And what did that boy call himself? A pervert?

That girl was in danger!

He twisted the throttle to the maximum.

His desire to protect citizens was ignited.

Justice will be served!