Chapter 38: Name

The motorcycle also roared, fiercely chasing after the small bicycle in front, as if to completely devour it completely!

60km/h... 66km/h... 70km/h... 80km/h... 90km/h...

A bicycle and a motorcycle began a fierce chase on the highway, while the cars beside them stared blankly at the two shadows speeding past them.

“Bastard, stop right now!”

Amidst the whistling wind, Hakuto Namikaze shouted at the bicycle he was slowly catching up to.

His voice was blurred by the extreme speed, but he still desperately shouted.

Ishikawa Hayato heard the sound getting closer, looked back, and the black and white motorcycle was particularly dazzling in the sunlight.

“Bocchi, hold on tight!”

He reminded Bocchi behind him.

Feeling Bocchi holding on even tighter, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and suddenly opened them.

It was as if a light exploded in his eyes.

“The Fastest Shadow, Ishikawa Hayato! Now, full power!”

He shouted with great momentum, his legs instantly tensing into rock-like muscles, pushing down hard.

The pedals beneath his feet made a terrible sound, and the bike chain shrieked like it was sawing through iron.

Hakuto Namikaze heard that shout from ahead, felt a bad premonition, and twisted the throttle a bit more.

But...

“What?!”

Hakuto Namikaze was startled.

His throttle was already at its limit, and the young man in front was still accelerating!

And at a visibly fast speed, he was riding a lady’s bicycle and shaking off his police motorcycle, which was at full throttle.

He was currently going 98km/h!

He looked on with a sigh as the fluttering pink shadow pulled away.

The motorcycle’s limit was like a dead wall, blocking his path forward.

“Ooh, ooh, ora!”

Amidst the young man's loud shout, the gap between them widened at an extremely fast pace.

From a distance, the bicycle was like a rocket shedding its useless fuel tanks, leaving the motorcycle behind and speeding ahead.

That figure broke through everything, soaring straight into the sky.

On this day, Ishikawa Hayato re-entered the peak of a pervert… 

...

“Phew, it’s been a while since I went all out, that felt good.”

By the roadside in a small town, Ishikawa Hayato propped up his bicycle and ordered a bottle of mineral water from a vending machine, along with a bottle of cola.

“Bocchi, take this.”

He held the mineral water and turned to hand Bocchi the cola that had just dropped from the machine.

However, Bocchi was staring intently at him, looking as if she had been stunned.

Ishikawa Hayato waved his hand in front of her eyes.

Still no reaction.

But the next moment, he saw a soul, seemingly crying, chasing after them from not far away, returning to Bocchi's body.

Ishikawa Hayato: ... 

...

“Sorry.”

Ishikawa Hayato naturally patted Bocchi’s head, and Bocchi, still shaken and drinking her beverage, allowed him to do so.

After two sips of cola, Bocchi slowly came back to her senses. She looked at the drink in her hand, then at the drink in Ishikawa Hayato’s hand, and paused.

Then she said.

“No, it’s fine…” Halfway through, she thought again, as if recalling the thrill she experienced just now.

She looked up at Ishikawa Hayato and gave a fleeting smile.

“It was kind of fun.”

Ishikawa Hayato was slightly startled, looking at Bocchi who had suddenly mustered courage.

Although her face still carried a hint of gloom, her smile seemed happy.

Under the warm late-spring sun nearing noon, her excessively pale face was touched with a layer of light.

He then smiled.

“It seems Bocchi also has the potential to become a pervert.”

His words made Bocchi freeze.

...

Afterwards, the two—now more familiar with each other's presence—pushed the bicycle together and walked along the road towards the bicycle rental shop.

Ishikawa Hayato pushing the bicycle with one hand, took out his phone, glanced at it, and said to Bocchi.

“It’s getting late, Bocchi, what are you doing now?”

Bocchi looked at her cloth bag. She had only brought a bag when she left, not her guitar… She would have to go back to get her guitar for practice at STARRY in the afternoon.

While she was thinking this, Ishikawa Hayato, who had waited for a while, asked her again.

“Where is Bocchi’s home?”

Bocchi looked at him in confusion, then said without much hesitation.

“In Kanazawa, Yokohama…”

Amidst the ticking sound of the bicycle axle turning, Ishikawa Hayato thought for a moment, considering the distance.

“Then let’s return the bicycle, grab some lunch, and then go to Bocchi’s house to get her guitar?”

Bocchi, suddenly feeling like her inner thoughts had been seen through, was so startled that her ahoge(TN: cowlick) stood straight up. She asked in a panic.

“Ishikawa-kun… can you read minds…?”

Ishikawa Hayato looked at her with a teasing smile.

“Bocchi isn’t hiding her inner thoughts at all.”

Bocchi panicked for a moment, then shyly covered her face, not caring at all that they were on a public street.

Ishikawa Hayato went along with her, simply reaching out and pulling her sleeve to prevent her from straying.

But he still teased her.

“Bocchi, are you thinking something naughty right now? Let me see.”

“No, no… you can’t!”

Bocchi still covered her face, and when she cried out, her body trembled from the effort.

Moreover, her ears were now completely red.

It seemed that even if she hadn't been thinking anything just now, she certainly was now.

Ishikawa Hayato found her very amusing, but he didn't dare to tease her any further; Bocchi gets easily flustered.

He returned to the main topic.

“What does Bocchi want to eat?”

Even though he had returned to the main topic, Bocchi still covered her face, seemingly intending to wait until the blush on her face faded before taking her hands away.

Ishikawa Hayato, seeing how long she took to respond, immediately guessed her thoughts.

He raised the corner of his mouth and said flippantly.

“I know, let’s go eat fast food.”

“Eh!”

This time, Bocchi was so startled that her whole body stiffened, and she hugged her head, shaking it repeatedly.

Ishikawa Hayato also stopped, smiling mischievously, and said.

“And Bocchi is thinking right now, ‘You still say you can’t read minds.’”

Bocchi cried out, almost in tears.

“Don’t… don’t read my mind anymore!”

Ishikawa Hayato still gave her some face. Otherwise, he could have guessed that sentence too, and even said it faster than her.

As they spoke, the two paid no attention to the fact that they were on a public street, and played around amidst the surprised glances of passersby.

Well, Bocchi was the one being played with…

...

At the bicycle rental shop, the owner still had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, but his distracted gaze rested on the wall with traces of bike oil.

“Boss, I’m here to return the bike.”

“Oh.”

Hearing a customer return, he responded casually, then stood up and looked towards the entrance.

The two people who had rented his special bicycle that morning had returned.

Only, the young man was all smiles, while the young woman’s face showed a hint of dejection.

He felt that compared to the morning, their expressions seemed unchanged, yet also completely different.

The young man pushed the bicycle in and said admiringly.

“Boss, this is truly a fantastic bike.”

The boss nodded, a look of genuine pride on his face.

“Of course, this is the ‘Love’s Embrace Special’ model that has witnessed the birth of dozens of couples.”

It was at this moment that the young man’s expression stiffened, and he looked at the bicycle in a panic.

The girl's ahoge on the side of her head perked up, then quickly stirred the air.

The owner felt a bad premonition. He looked at the car, scrutinized it, and his anxious heart kept rising.

And then... "What in the world did you do!!!"

A roar of fury echoed through the shop.