Chapter 6: Maverick & Human

The next day, after greeting his parents, sister, and a familiar neighbor, Ishikawa Hayato walked to school with a bag in one hand and a synthesizer slung over his shoulder.

However, even though it was morning, he was already looking forward to after school.

It wasn’t that he disliked school. It was just that Nijika and Ryo had already made plans with him when they parted ways yesterday.

“Well, if you’re free, we’ll meet at STARRY after school.”

Nijika’s gentle and lively voice still echoed in his ears.

“We usually practice here.”

These were Ryo’s words.

Ishikawa Hayato was already impatient to show off in front of them. Make way, let me show you this pervert’s true strength!

Following the same path to school as yesterday, Ishikawa Hayato paid attention to his surroundings.

He didn’t see the girl in the pink tracksuit.

It was a bit of a shame.

Upon arriving at Class 2, he placed his synthesizer in the locker, walked to his seat, took out “Synthesizer Self-Study Growth Tutorial” from his bag, held it with one slender hand, completely ignoring the surrounding noise, and quietly read the book.

There was no hint of the timidity of being alone. Instead, he was so composed that it felt stylish.

Only when the class began did he put away the book, take out his textbook, glance at it, memorize the key points, then tilted his head, listened to the teacher’s lecture briefly, and thoughtfully gazed at the boundless sky.

Lunch break.

After finishing his bento, he walked towards the staff room.

Upon reaching the staff room, he just happened to see Ishida Yu finish tidying his desk and get up to leave.

The two met face to face. Seeing Ishikawa Hayato, Ishida Yu’s eyes behind his glasses showed surprise.

After their first meeting yesterday, he had thought Ishikawa Hayato was the type of person who was arrogant and didn’t respect teachers, never expecting him to actually keep the appointment.

“Ishikawa, you came.”

“Because we agreed.” Ishikawa Hayato took the lead and walked into the staff room, stood in front of Ishida Yu’s desk, and extended his hand.

“Teacher, please sit.”

Ishida Yu: ???

For a moment, Ishida Yu was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to sit or not, but in the end, he still sat in his chair.

“Teacher, you called me here because you wanted to discuss yesterday’s self-introduction, right?”

Ishikawa Hayato spoke as soon as Ishida Yu sat down.

As a teacher, and an adult, he naturally didn’t want to be led by a student, so Ishida Yu didn’t answer directly.

“Hmm, that’s part of it. Ishikawa-kun, you don’t seem to have much interaction with the other students in Class 2, do you? Why is that?”

He tried to keep a stern face, appearing more serious.

Facing the serious teacher, Ishikawa Hayato, on the contrary, smiled.

“First, I appreciate your concern, Teacher. The reason I do this is that I don’t want to waste time on perfunctory social interactions. I don’t want to spend much time communicating with people who are uninteresting or unspecial.”

“Ishikawa-kun, rich social interaction makes school life interesting.”

“The definition of interesting varies. For me, that wouldn’t be interesting.”

Ishikawa Hayato didn’t care about Ishida Yu’s nagging and trouble at all, patiently explaining to him... In the end, Ishida Yu was left speechless.

Ishikawa Hayato then left with a parting remark.

“Thank you for your concern, Teacher, but interfering with another person’s harmless lifestyle is a form of arrogance. Please be mindful of that, Teacher.”

He bowed and left the staff room.

For a moment, the staff room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

On the other side, the now free Ishikawa Hayato wasn’t in a hurry to go back to reading. Instead, he slowly walked towards the staircase corner on the first floor of the school.

At this moment, he felt like he was going to peek into his cat’s nest at home.

As for what he had said to the teacher about being harmless to others, he had long forgotten it completely.

A pervert naturally has flexible moral boundaries.

He muffled his footsteps and walked step by step towards the corner. In the bustling school, that quiet corner felt devoid of human presence.

Ishikawa Hayato didn’t know if he would encounter anyone. He was just going to take a look.

He walked up the stairs, leaned out from the side of the staircase, and looked down.

Amidst the piles of extra desks and chairs, a few strands of extremely bright pink hair were visible. The hair was slightly moving, and he could hear the faint sound of chopsticks clashing with a lunchbox.

Still eating, huh.

I really want to bother her!!

As this thought appeared in his mind, Ishikawa Hayato had already reached the entrance of the to the maze of desks and chairs.

A pervert’s mind and body are perfectly in sync.

Looking at this alley-like corner, Ishikawa Hayato was also a bit curious how Gotou Hitori would run if she wanted to in this situation.

Thinking this, he deliberately heavy-footed his steps, his thick shoe soles making loud sounds against the ground.

Thump.

“Eh!”

A faint gasp sounded from the corner beneath the stairs.

“Who’s here?”

Ishikawa Hayato pretended not to know and walked inside, but as soon as he passed the pile of desks and chairs, he heard hurried packing sounds and a nervous shout.

“So… sorry! I’ll leave right away!”

A person in a pink tracksuit, holding a bento, rushed towards Ishikawa Hayato as if afraid of being seen.

It went without saying that this was Gotou Hitori.

Ishikawa Hayato naturally wouldn’t let her run away. If he let her escape, it would be difficult to find her next time.

For someone with social anxiety, once a safe haven is discovered, they’ll never come back...

...

On her first day of school, Gotou Hitori, relying on her social anxiety instincts, found this place where she could eat in peace.

It was quiet, no one came, and she didn’t have to worry about eating alone and being seen by others.

This was the perfect personal space.

That day, as she ate her meal, proud of finding such a perfect spot.

*Thump*

A single footstep instantly tensed all her relaxed nerves. She froze there, holding her breath.

“Eh, who’s here.”

Someone’s here?

No, no, don’t come in.

But the footsteps didn’t hear her inner plea and approached a little closer.

Danger descends! Apostle attack!

Instantly, Gotou Hitori looked left and right, finding nowhere to hide.

With a determined look, she quickly closed her bento box, wrapped her chopsticks and bento in a cloth, hugged her lunch, and without hesitation, rushed out with her eyes closed.

“So…sorry! I’ll leave right away!”

But just as she saw the light outside, someone grabbed her shoulder.

“Ah ah ah ah ah…”

As Gotou Hitori thought she was doomed and showed a collapsing expression.

“It’s you.” As the first words she hears the person say to her... 

Ishikawa Hayato looked at the girl whose face, no, whose features were collapsing, and marveled inwardly.

'Wow, is that an expression a human can make?'

He pretended not to know and said.

“It’s you, why are you here alone?”

Gotou Hitori started to notice the familiar tone in his voice and calmed down a little, secretly looking up at the person.

Ah, it’s the person I met on the first day of school.

'Wait, my eyes!!'

Ishikawa Hayato watched Gotou Hitori cover her eyes again, roughly guessing her thoughts. He wasn't expecting a single word from Hitori's mouth when attempting to interact with her, so her flustered apology was surprising. Seeing the bento in Hitori’s hand, he directly asked.

“Are you eating alone here? By the way, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Ishikawa Hayato from Class 3.”

After speaking, Ishikawa Hayato watched Gotou Hitori fall into another kind of panic, like a fish gasping for air, constantly opening her mouth, until much later she lowered her head, her eyes hidden beneath her bangs, and squeezed out a sentence.

“I… I’m Gotou Hitori from Class 2.”

Finally completing the self-introductions, Ishikawa Hayato breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

“By the way, did I interrupt Gotou-san’s meal? Sorry, I scared you.”

Gotou Hitori desperately wanted to nod in agreement. At this moment, she felt unwell in her stomach due to extreme nervousness, but she still replied in a voice as faint as a mosquito.

“No, you didn’t.”

That’s what she said, but she had already decided in her heart that this place could no longer be used. She needed to find another safe haven.

“That’s good. Actually, I deliberately came to find Gotou-san. It took quite some time.”

Hearing that bright and cheerful voice, Gotou Hitori didn’t feel relaxed. Instead, she fell into a panic.

'You specifically came to find me!!!?'

She immediately felt like seeing the green dots representing safe havens within the school in her mind disappearing rapidly.

“No! Stop it now!”

“Is... Is something wrong?”

Gotou Hitori once again showed a crumbling expression, but Ishikawa Hayato could faintly discern a plea on her face: “Please don’t do this.”

Ishikawa Hayato realized he had made her too nervous and reined in his playful attitude.

“Actually, yesterday I saw Gotou-san carrying a guitar… My band currently needs a guitarist. Would Gotou-san like to join? Besides me, everyone else is a girl.”

'A band… a band!'

'Gotou Hitori looked up. Someone was actually willing to invite her!?'

'This wasn’t a dream, was it?'

She secretly glanced at Ishikawa Hayato, then looked away.

He seemed like a good person. Although she was a little scared, she decided to agree…

“I’ll think about it.”

Gotou Hitori lowered her head after speaking.

She wanted to die… What was she saying? But Gotou Hitori also understood.

Although she wanted to join a band, it was too difficult for her current self to get to know others. Just thinking about greeting several strangers made her feel unable to take a step.

“Alright, if you decide to come, just come find me.”

Ishikawa Hayato looked at Gotou Hitori, who was already shorter than him and now had her head bowed, looking slumped and listless. He resisted the urge to pat her head and finally left her with a remark.

“Gotou-san, you always eat here, huh? It’s a bit dim, but it’s quite nice. I can come here to find you again in the future, right?”

Seeing Gotou Hitori nod slightly, Ishikawa Hayato smiled, waved casually, and walked back to his classroom.

Watching him walk away, Gotou Hitori clearly realized one thing.

It would be hard to run away now… Gotou Hitori’s gaze instantly became as despairing as a dead fish…