It was fine when Akiyama Mio stayed quiet.
But the moment she spoke, Tainaka Ritsu immediately got fired up.
"What?! School bullying?! Damn it!"
Ritsu rolled up her sleeves and charged straight ahead.
Mio frantically tried to stop her, but it was no use at all.
"Wait, Ritsu, that's a boy! We should just—"
Before she could even finish, Mio was dragged along by Ritsu right up to Hakushu.
The two of them stood protectively in front of Gotou Ichiri.
Facing Hakushu, who was much taller than them, Ritsu showed not the slightest hint of fear. Instead, she glared with righteous indignation and shouted:
"Let go of that girl!"
Hakushu blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected this.
These two… weren't they from the Light Music Club?
One had short tea-colored hair with a headband holding up her bangs, revealing a bright, smooth forehead—Tainaka Ritsu.
The other was the classic long black-haired type, with straight bangs cut in a hime-style—Akiyama Mio.
But unlike the typical "black long straight" girls, this one gave off a timid, introverted aura.
Looking closely… she was trembling? Just like Gotou Ichiri?
Ahaha… Hakushu suddenly found this kind of funny.
Gotou Ichiri opened her eyes too, blinking in surprise at the two not-so-tall figures standing in front of her.
I'm… being rescued?
No, wait—this situation looks even worse now!!
Better to just play dead!
Hakushu took a step forward. "Wait, this is a misunderstanding—"
Ritsu pulled Mio back a step.
"Don't come any closer!"
Hakushu reached out a hand. "I said, it's a misunder—"
Ritsu and Mio both took another step back, cutting him off.
"One more step and I'm calling the police!"
Ritsu even waved her phone threateningly.
Hakushu sighed, pulling his hand back and stepping away.
Gotou Ichiri, still lying limp on the ground, opened her mouth as if to speak… and then closed it again.
Seeing Hakushu hesitate, Ritsu grew bolder and whispered to Mio,
"How about that, Mio? You didn't really think I was gonna fight him, did you?"
Mio let out a quiet breath of relief—she had been terrified just now.
Then, still keeping an eye on Hakushu, the two turned to check on Gotou Ichiri.
Just to make sure he didn't suddenly lash out or run away.
But when they saw Ichiri lying unconscious on the ground—
Ritsu cried out, "What did you do to her?!"
Mio also looked worried, gently lifting Ichiri in her arms.
What the heck is going on here?
Hakushu was just as confused. He spread his hands and said, "I didn't do anything. Will you believe that?"
Ritsu shot back, "What do you think?"
"If you don't step back, I'll report you to Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei! You know her, right? The teacher who can punch through a desk with one hit!"
A bit careless she might be, but Ritsu had noticed from his uniform that he went to the same school.
Hakushu's mouth twitched. Hiratsuka-sensei, you've really made a name for yourself that fast…
Then his eyes flicked mischievously.
"Wait, don't! Please don't tell Hiratsuka-sensei! I'll do anything you want!"
Ritsu's eyes lit up. Wow, that name really works that well?
If that's how it is—heheh!
"Apologize! And pay compensation!"
Ritsu planted a hand on her hip, phone raised high.
Hakushu's eyes went wide.
Wait, you're serious?!
He had just wanted to tease them a bit while Ichiri was passed out!
I wasn't actually planning to do whatever you say!
Mio looked equally shocked. "Wait… Ritsu, isn't this going too far?"
If they did this, didn't that mean they were the ones being unreasonable now?
Hakushu realized if this went on, he'd actually be painted as the villain.
And if they really called Hiratsuka-sensei, that would be a pain in the ass.
But… why hasn't Gotou Ichiri woken up yet?
He knew she fainted easily, but not for this long.
Could it be…
She's faking it?!
Hakushu narrowed his eyes. "Gotou-san, you're not actually awake right now, are you?"
Awake?
Ritsu blinked in confusion too.
And the Ichiri being held in Mio's arms—
Couldn't keep pretending anymore.
Truth was, Ichiri's body had been trembling the entire time.
But Mio was trembling too, so neither noticed.
"Ah… um… wait… you're all misunderstanding…" Ichiri finally spoke up weakly.
"Huh?"
Ritsu turned to her in surprise.
"Phew…"
Seeing her open her eyes, Hakushu finally sighed in relief. Then he said,
"Gotou-san and I are friends. There was a reason for all this. If you don't believe me, ask her yourself."
Friends!
Her only friend!
Ichiri nodded frantically in shame. "Y-Yes, we're friends. You've… got it wrong."
But the way she said it—timid, shaky, looking even more afraid than Mio—
Made Ritsu suspicious again. Maybe she was being threatened?
"Really? It's okay, you don't have to be afraid." Ritsu said seriously.
"Mio and I will protect you."
Though trembling, Mio nodded firmly in agreement.
Hakushu could only stare in disbelief at Ichiri, completely exasperated.
"I'm telling you, really, nothing happened…"
But Ichiri's eyes were darting all over the place, not meeting anyone's gaze.
Hakushu covered his chest, feeling strangely heartbroken. Maybe he had too much faith in her courage.
(Ichiri's inner thoughts: I just can't make eye contact with strangers… o(╥﹏╥)o)
In the end, it took a long time of Hakushu explaining, being misunderstood, clarifying, being misunderstood again, re-explaining, and re-clarifying…
Until finally, Ritsu and Mio believed him.
But when Hakushu showed them his chat logs with Gotou Ichiri, Ritsu almost called again.
Now both of them stood before Hakushu, bowing their heads in shame like kids caught misbehaving.
"Ah… I'm really sorry! If you'd just said you were Hiratsuka-sensei's student from the start…"
Ritsu scratched the back of her head apologetically, then put her hands together.
Then she glanced at Ichiri, who was shrinking into herself. This girl… she might even be shyer than Mio-chan.
Mio's face flushed red with guilt. "We're so sorry, Hakushu-kun! We really caused you trouble!"
"Please forgive us!" ×2
Both of them bowed in unison.
Hakushu nodded, accepting their apology with a smile. To his surprise, the system even rewarded him with musical notes for meeting them—so really, he had no reason to be angry.
"Besides," he said, smirking, "have you ever seen a bad guy this handsome?"
So narcissistic…
All three girls had the same thought.
Not that they denied he was good-looking.
But Ichiri couldn't help thinking—usually, the good-looking, popular guys in class were the bullies… though she didn't dare say it aloud.
"It's all because Mio said something about school bullying first!"
Ritsu grumbled under her breath.
"What?! Idiot Ritsu, you're the one who suddenly charged in!"
Mio snapped back immediately.
"Hey, that was justice! I was being heroic!"
"Then why did you threaten Hakushu-kun just now?"
"That was a joke! I could tell he wasn't a bad guy."
Listening to their bickering, Hakushu just waved a hand with a calm expression.
"Alright, alright. The misunderstanding's cleared up, no need to argue because of me."
Ichiri watched the cheerful scene, feeling completely out of place.
"Yeah, yeah! Anyway, we'll be going now. Hakushu-kun, you're a really good guy!"
Embarrassed and guilty, Ritsu was eager to slip away.
"Bye, Hakushu-kun. Bye, Gotou-san."
With that, Mio and Ritsu walked off, still playfully arguing as they went.
Actually, Ritsu had noticed the guitar earlier and originally wanted to invite Gotou Ichiri to join the Light Music Club as their guitarist.
But after all this chaos and awkwardness, she was too embarrassed to bring it up—and then promptly forgot.
Once the two were gone, Hakushu chuckled lightly, while Ichiri grew nervous again.
"Gotou-san…"
Hakushu turned to her slowly.
"I'm sorry!"
Ichiri immediately looked like she was about to kneel again.
"Don't—!"
"Gotou-san, please don't kneel again," Hakushu quickly stopped her. If she kept doing that, who knew what kind of scene it would cause next.
"I'm not mad at you, really, Ichiri."
In his haste, he called her by name directly.
Ichiri froze, a small sound slipping out. "Ah… hai…"
"Alright then," Hakushu smiled, "tell me—why did you call me to the park today?"
After all that commotion, Ichiri was still feeling guilty.
She slowly began to explain her social anxiety, and how she couldn't perform properly in front of others.
So that's all it was, Hakushu realized, and gently reassured her.
"I know all about that already. Don't worry—I won't give up on you because of it."
How do you know?
Ichiri looked confused, but hearing those words made her smile for the first time that day.
"See? You look much better when you smile."
Hakushu praised her warmly. From now on, he would keep encouraging his little Bocchi-chan.
Ichiri's cheeks turned rosy.
"Waaah! Guitar!"
That voice!
This time, there was no mistake!
Hakushu's eyes lit up in delight.
He didn't even need to turn around—
Because the owner of that voice, the great angel of Shimokitazawa herself—
Had already come running toward them.