"How did things end up like this…?"
In the cafeteria of Shuuka High School, Hitori Gotoh sat in her chair and let out a sigh.
On her left sat Little Red, and on her right sat Kita.
Even though there were seats available across from her, the two of them refused to sit there and insisted on squeezing into the same row.
The cafeteria was not somewhere Gotoh usually came.
Not only was it always packed with people, but buying food meant having to talk to the lunch ladies.
For Gotoh, that was practically hell.
Usually, she just ate the bento she brought from home, alone.
But earlier, she had accidentally agreed to Little Red's request to have lunch together, and then Kita kept pestering her about the question from before.
And so, the three of them ended up here.
The most awkward part was that Gotoh had brought her own bento. She couldn't exactly leave it untouched, so she had no choice but to eat it in the cafeteria.
Everyone else was eating bread, steaming noodles, or hot set meals. Only she sat there clutching a little bento box.
"Bo… Bocchi-chan, this ice cream is super delicious… Try a bite, just one bite~"
Little Red shyly extended her hand holding the ice cream toward Gotoh's lips, though she couldn't quite bring herself to look her in the eyes.
"Thanks…" Gotoh took a small lick.
Little Red let out a strange, indescribable squeal. Probably because she was happy.
"Gotoh-san," Kita spoke up from the other side, "shall we get back to what we were talking about earlier? You said you were in a band?"
"Yeah… Actually, our band is still missing a vocalist."
"Eh? Really? But what does that have to do with you coming to find me?"
"Well… I think Kita-san's voice is amazing… and I heard… you're really good at guitar too…"
"Where did you hear that?"
"Um… I just happened to overhear one of your friends say so…"
"Ohhh."
Kita glanced upward, looking a little embarrassed. "You might be disappointed… Actually, I can't play the guitar at all."
"Eh?" Gotoh froze.
"Hahaha, I have no idea what my friend was thinking. Maybe I bragged about it once before and they took it seriously? Anyway, the rumor spread and I never bothered to clear it up."
"I see… Ah, sorry for taking up your time, Kita-san."
"It's no problem~" Kita said with her usual bright smile. "Well, since I'm done eating, I'll be heading off first then."
She stood up without hesitation.
Gotoh didn't stop her. If Kita couldn't play guitar, then there was nothing more to discuss about her being the vocalist.
But then, just as Kita took a few steps, she suddenly froze.
Gotoh blinked in confusion.
She didn't know that inside Kita's mind, a fierce battle had just begun.
"Hey, how can you just leave after a couple of sentences like that?"
That was the War Devil speaking.
"You heard her yourself, she's just a normal girl in a band. She came to me because she needs a vocalist… What else is there to ask?"
"But she smells like a devil!"
"Uh, who knows why? Maybe she just happened to meet one or two friendly devils before and had some contact with them? I don't think I can get much more out of her."
"No, no, no, and most importantly, did you forget what her friend just called her?"
"Huh? Oh, right…"
"They called her 'Bocchi-chan.' And the person I'm looking for is named Bocchi!"
"Come on… That's just a nickname. It's probably a coincidence."
The War Devil shook its head from side to side like a sulking child. "I don't care, I don't care, I want you to investigate her!"
"I want you to get me everything on this Bocchi-chan within three days, or I'll make your head explode right now!"
Kita was speechless.
But after only a few seconds of hesitation, she turned back.
Because, honestly, "head exploding" did not sound pleasant.
Seeing her return, Little Red immediately frowned. "Why are you back?"
"Ahaha… I just remembered something," Kita said, scratching her head. "I'm actually really interested in guitar. If Gotoh-san could teach me, that'd be amazing!"
"Eh?" Gotoh blinked.
That's right, even though Kita couldn't play guitar now, everyone starts from zero.
A vocalist's main job is singing, and the guitar part only needs to be passable. With one-on-one lessons, she could definitely reach performance level quickly.
But… me, teaching someone? That's impossible, isn't it?
"Gotoh-san, will you teach me guitar?" Kita pleaded, clasping her hands together.
"I… I don't think… I can…" Gotoh mumbled.
Kita began to panic.
Hurry up and say yes!
She knew if Gotoh refused, her head was going to blow up.
So she grabbed Gotoh's hands tightly, leaned in, and pleaded loudly. "Please!"
"But… I…"
"Please, please, please!"
"Ahh…"
"Please, please, please, please, please!!!"
"Okay… okay."
Faced with this level of desperate persistence, Gotoh entered her "cannot refuse" mode once again.
Kita let out a breath of relief, feeling like the bomb in her head had been temporarily defused.
Then a trembling voice came from the side.
"Y-you… you let go of Bocchi-chan right now!"
Little Red's face practically had the word "urgent" written all over it, and she looked like she was on the verge of tears.
But even through her watery eyes, there was nothing but pure hostility as she stared at the hands Gotoh and Kita were holding.
It was easy to imagine that, if not for the law, she might have pulled out a knife and stabbed Kita on the spot.
"Ah… alright…"
Kita quickly let go.
The next moment, Gotoh was suddenly pulled into Little Red's arms.
"L-Little Red?" Gotoh asked in confusion.
She only heard Little Red whispering into her ear, over and over.
"I don't want it… I hate it… Bocchi-chan… with other girls…"
"Heh… mine… hehe… she's mine…"
Gotoh didn't catch every word, but it was enough to scare her.
This is terrifying!
Just how much psychological damage had Little Red suffered to become like this?
And why is she so obsessed with me?
I haven't done anything to her, seriously…
"Ahaha… hahaha…" Kita laughed awkwardly.
This time, she sensibly chose to sit on the opposite side.
When Little Red lost it, her scariness was honestly no less than the War Devil's.