"Ryo-oniichan! Stay tonight! You can sleep in Big Sister's room~"
With a gentle, spoiled plea, Gotou Futari pounced directly onto Uchiha Ryo, attempting to use her weight to lock him down so he wouldn't leave.
Gotou Hitori spat out the mouthful of water she had just sipped.
Betrayed by my own sister! Futari, what are you doing??!
In the living room, Mother Gotou smiled without saying a word, letting Futari hang off Uchiha Ryo. Father Gotou, on the other hand, had long since retired to his room to rest.
Uchiha Ryo didn't really want to stay, because Chitanda had just called earlier to ask where he was.
It was best for him to return to his apartment tonight. After all, he slept holding Yukino the night before last, and almost slept holding Eru yesterday. If he held Bocchi today...
He'd truly be like an emperor selecting a concubine. Besides, if Chitanda called tonight and it happened to be a video call, what then?
Enyun-chan: [Why don't you use that all-powerful Sharingan to think of something?]
Uchiha Ryo: [The Sharingan can't hypnotize electronic signals. What use is the eye behind a phone screen?]
Genjutsu can deceive a living creature's five senses, but it can't affect a phone's camera... so in the world of the internet, his invincible Uchiha prowess was likely inferior to Bocchi's editing skills.
"Sorry, I really have to go. My cat is still at home! If I don't go back to feed her, she'll starve."
Hearing that the cat might starve, Futari finally let go.
"Is that so.... Is there no one to feed the kitty?"
Uchiha Ryo leaned down and rubbed Futari's head. "I live in a single-person apartment now, so I feed her every night."
Although Mother Gotou wanted to say that a cat wouldn't die from missing one day of food, since Uchiha Ryo had given a reason for refusal, she couldn't force him.
"Then let Hitori see you out."
Bocchi looked at her mother in surprise, but the gentle lady looked back at her with a deep, meaningful gaze, as if saying:
[Good luck, try not to come back tonight.]
Uchiha Ryo: "No need to trouble Bocchi. I need to leave quickly anyway."
Mother Gotou's face was full of regret as she could only welcome Uchiha Ryo to come back next time. Gotou Hitori breathed a sigh of relief. Whether it was inviting Uchiha Ryo to stay or seeing him out, she would have been incredibly nervous.
"I'll come to STARRY tomorrow to listen to your practice. See you, Bocchi."
Gotou Hitori: "Oh... mhm! I'll work hard."
She was already adjusted to the new guitar, so she could continue practicing tomorrow! And they had a performance during this summer vacation!
This time, they absolutely had to succeed!
Once again at the STARRY music bar, it was still the four members of Kessoku Band, but this morning the guest count went from Uchiha Ryo alone to three.
Shirosaki Haruka had brought her daughter, Hana, and even borrowed STARRY's kitchen to make omurice for everyone.
Ijichi Seika: "What a fragrant smell. Haruka, your cooking has improved again."
Shirosaki Haruka smiled. "Because Hana loves to eat, I research cooking frequently!"
Shirosaki Hana put down her spoon. "But Mom isn't good at desserts at all. They aren't nearly as delicious as the ones Ryo-oniichan makes."
Ijichi Nijika: "Haruka-san's home cooking is delicious. I feel like you could open a shop!"
Yamada Ryo was eating spoonful after spoonful, unable to stop.
Ijichi Seika let out a burp. "It's a pity we're a bar, otherwise I'd hire you as a specialized chef, and Hana could stay in the practice room in the back."
Shirosaki Haruka: "My profession isn't a chef. There are plenty of people with better cooking skills than mine."
Yamada Ryo: "Another bowl, please."
Ijichi Nijika looked at Yamada Ryo speechlessly, then actively stopped Haruka who was about to get up, taking Ryo's bowl to the kitchen herself to get more rice.
Ijichi Seika: "So, why did you bring Hana here?"
Shirosaki Haruka looked over at Shirosaki Hana, who was clinging to Uchiha Ryo. "It's because Hana wanted to find a hobby, so I came over."
At this point, Shirosaki Hana turned to look at everyone.
"The teacher told us that while we learn our school subjects, it's best to develop a hobby. But I didn't know what to do, so the teacher said..."
[You can go ask your family members or elders you know what hobbies they had during school. Please record them and write an interview report.]
Shirosaki Hana took a notebook out of her bag. "Speaking of hobbies during school, the first person I thought of was Nijika-chan, because they formed a band while in school, so I came to interview her!"
I see, developing a hobby during school? Uchiha Ryo thought about it; he didn't seem to have any particular hobbies himself.
If he considered things he did frequently, it was practicing ninjutsu in secluded places to keep his body from getting "rusty." As for ocular techniques, he sometimes used Enyun-chan for testing.
So what exactly was his hobby?
Shirosaki Hana: "I want to find a hobby for myself, so I've come to interview the older sisters!"
Uchiha Ryo: "Mhm, I want to find a hobby too!"
Hana's eyes lit up. "Is Ryo-oniichan the same? Then I'll work hard with Oniichan to find a hobby I can stick with."
Speaking of this, Shirosaki Hana suddenly sighed. "I've asked my classmates, and they all seem to have their own hobbies."
For example, Hoshino Hinata said her hobby was playing with "Mya-nee." You can't learn that, because Hana doesn't have an older sister. She has Ryo-oniichan, but she doesn't live with him.
As for Himesaka Noa, she said her hobby was dressing up cute, which Hana had no interest in. Uchiha Ryo agreed, because Hana was already the cutest without trying!
Other classmates liked drawing, swimming, or photography. The boys liked things like football.
But Shirosaki Hana just couldn't figure out what her hobby was.
Hoshino Hinata said Hana's hobby was eating... Shirosaki Hana would never admit to that!
How can someone's hobby be eating! That would make her a glutton. Her cute self would never admit that her hobby was eating!
Kita Ikuyo: "So Hana is looking for a suitable hobby, right?"
Shirosaki Hana: "Mhm. Also to do interviews. For example, what is Kita-senpai's hobby?"
"Me? For me, I fell in love with the guitar because of Kessoku Band. Before that, it was mostly hanging out and shopping with friends."
Shirosaki Hana nodded, then turned her gaze to Bocchi.
"What about Bocchi-senpai?"
Bocchi: "I... I guess just the guitar.... Wait! Why are you calling me Bocchi?"
Shirosaki Hana gave a pure, innocent smile. "Because Futari lent her 'Observation Diary' to our class to read. Hinata even read it out loud during self-study. Our teacher praised it for being well-written!"
Gotou Hitori: "!!!"