He wanted to make it up to her, but what kind of gift should he give?
Bocchi seemed easy to please.
As if any gift would do.
But in reality, giving Bocchi a gift was far more difficult than giving one to other girls.
It wasn't just a little difficultit was extremely challenging.
If he gave her something extravagant or expensive jewelry, Bocchi would undoubtedly feel anxious, worried about the money spent on the gift.
She might even secretly save up and try to return the money to him.
And if he wrote a book just for Gotoh Hitori
If he really wrote something like "Lonely, The Rock!!~" or anything along those lines
Gotoh Hitori would surely feel burdened by the overwhelming emotions behind it.
After all, he had once said that Bocchi was more suited to being a lover than a girlfriend/wife.
A personality like hers was truly troublesome.
After thinking for a while, Yukima Azuma came up with the idea of gifting her a song.
A song that could connect their souls.
Bocchi would definitely love it.
Even if it caused her a bit of emotional pressure, the feeling of being touched would outweigh it.
"You haven't heard this song before. Try playing it a little?" Yukima Azuma said with a smile.
Hearing that, Gotoh Hitori immediately jumped off the bed and ran to the closet to grab her guitar.
That guitar was a gift from Yukima Azuma.
Hugging the guitar, Gotoh Hitori looked at the sheet music and plucked the strings.
Even though it was her first time playing this song, it felt incredibly natural.
This song was written by Yukima Azuma specifically for Gotoh Hitori.
While composing it, he had deliberately prioritized the guitar and even incorporated some of Bocchi's playing habits.
That's why, as she looked at the sheet music now, nothing felt unfamiliar at all.
The melody began to flow.
("_")
Chapter 262: Bocchis Second Dowry
Chapter 262: Bocchi's Second Dowry
Strumming the guitar, Gotoh Hitori immersed herself in the song that belonged only to the two of them.
When the chorus came, Gotoh Hitori couldn't help herselfshe gently began to sing.
(o)o .
Yukima Azuma sat beside her, listening.
He savored every moment of this time.
The lead vocalist of the Kessoku band was Kita Ikuyo.
Gotoh Hitori, the lead guitarist, had never tried singing before.
But now, upon hearing Gotoh Hitori's voice, Yukima Azuma realizedthe reason she wasn't the main vocalist wasn't because she couldn't carry a tune.
It was simply due to social anxiety.
Gotoh Hitori's voice was soft, melodious, and full of life.
Perhaps at first it wouldn't leave a strong impression.
But the more you listened, the more beautiful it became.
As one final strum rang out, the song came to an end.
Yukima Azuma clapped loudly.
"Sasuga Bocchi-chan! Sugoi! ~Pachi pachi pachi~"
( )
Gotoh Hitori snapped out of it, shyly clearing her throat.
"It wasn't too bad, was it?"
()
Gotoh Hitori asked softly.
Since she had never sung before, she wasn't very confident in her voice.
Online, people sometimes said that otaku voices sounded like dying rats.
Naive Gotoh Hitori kind of believed that, which made her even more afraid to open her mouth.
"It was so good I want to use it as my ringtone."
Yukima Azuma said sincerely.
Hearing that, Gotoh Hitori scratched her head and smiled foolishly.
-(; )
She was the kind of person who couldn't handle compliments.
Just a little praise would make her giddy and grinning like a fool.
"Oh right, how's your Kessoku band doing lately?"
Yukima Azuma asked about Bocchi's band.
After all, it was just a group of joshi kousei who had gathered together.
But Kessoku band was very different from those typical high school bands formed on a whim.
Lead guitarist Gotoh Hitori was a famous guitar blogger online, with top-tier playing skills.
Bassist Yamada Ryo used to be in a professional band.
Drummer Ijichi Nijika's family owned a live house, and her older sister was also in a band.
From the moment they formed, Kessoku band was never just playing around.
But how far they could gowas still unknown.
"Lately, we've performed two shows at STARRY, and quite a few people came to watch."
(><)
Gotoh Hitori said with a happy expression.
To have fans of her own
To Gotoh Hitori, that kind of happiness was second only to being with Yukima Azuma.
"Nijika-chan said that maybe next year, we'll even get an offer to perform."
"Then we might be able to perform on a bigger stage."
"Maybe one day I'll even be invited for an interview, appear on a TV show..."
Yukima Azuma chimed in: "And then you'll say on the show something like: 'Actually, back in high school, I didn't have many friends.'"
Hearing that, Gotoh Hitori nodded rapidly.
That was exactly what she imagined.
She stepped onto the path of becoming a guitarist
All because, one day, she was watching a program on TV.
She saw the guitarist of a famous band being interviewed.
He said that back in high school, he was very isolated, didn't have any friends.
After he started playing guitar, he slowly began to connect with bands, and then began to shine brightly.
If hosting a concert was Gotoh Hitori's short-term dream
Then getting on a TV show and reminiscing about her lonely high school years was her lifelong wish.
Yukima Azuma let out a small chuckle.
Bocchi's dreams were always that adorable.
Well, actually... they seemed very much worth achieving.
Thinking that, Yukima Azuma curiously asked:
"So now you're totally fine performing on stage, Bocchi?"
Hearing that, Gotoh Hitori's expression clearly froze.
"Well... these days I can open my eyes, but I still don't dare look down at the audience too much."
(,,,,)
She said softly.
Like a guilty criminal.
Yukima Azuma reached out and gently patted her long pink hair.
"Good job, reallywell done~."
For others, opening your eyes while performing on stage was the bare minimum.
But for Gotoh Hitori, being able to open her eyes was already a huge step forward.
Back then, Bocchi had to wear a cardboard box on her head when going on stage.
Even before the school festival, she would always keep her head down, immersed in her own little world.
Bit by bit, she dared to raise her head, peek with one eye, and nowshe could open both eyes.
Just as he was gently stroking Bocchi's soft, silky hair
Yukima Azuma already had a rough plan in mind.
If this girl could just be a little braver, she could go a little further.
Next year, Laplace Corporation would be partnering with several major stages for promotions.
With just a few steps in the right direction, it might even be possible to push Kessoku Band into becoming a hot idol band.
But with Bocchi, of course, rushing things wouldn't work.
Right now, Kessoku Band was still within the realm of an underground band slowly building popularity.
Ijichi Nijika had speculated that they might get invited to perform at some small venues next year.
But that still depended on luck.
As for Yukima Azuma, he planned to guide Bocchi little by little, starting with small stages as well.
To allow Kessoku Band and Bocchi to go through the full, proper process of growing as a band.
Next year, pick a few small stages, maybe even buy some audience members.
When the time came, they could send out a performance invitation to Kessoku Band.
That was what Yukima Azuma had in mind.
"Actually, Azuma-kun doesn't need to worry about me"
Gotoh Hitori suddenly said in a small voice, cutting off Yukima Azuma's train of thought.
Hearing that, Yukima Azuma paused slightly.
He was a little surprisedhow did Bocchi know what he was thinking?
Seeing the puzzled look on Yukima Azuma's face,
Gotoh Hitori said, "Azuma-kun asked about Kessoku Band, then asked about how I was doing too."
"Bocchi's EQ suddenly went up! I'm shocked!" Yukima Azuma was even more surprised.
(®®)
If it had been some other girl, like Kato Megumi or Yukino, this would've come as no surprise to him.
But Bocchia girl whose EQ, if just a little higher, might not have ended up as a complete social shut-in
Being read like that by her was unexpected.
Feeling like she had just been insulted by Yukima Azuma's reaction,
Gotoh Hitori pouted.
"Even if I'm dumb! I can at least understand a little of what Azuma-kun is thinking!"
Bocchi shouted as if giving up everything.
Yes, her EQ was low!
So what!
Other people's thoughts were really hard to understand!
But even sowhen it came to Yukima Azuma alone
Even her own parents and little sisterthe people closest to herwere honestly incomprehensible.
And yet, with Yukima Azuma alone, there was a strange sense of soul-level connection.
At that moment, the door was knocked.
"Onee-chan, Azuma onii-chan, dinner time!"
Futari's voice rang out from outside the door.
After calling once, the little girl ran off with quick little steps.
Mommy and Dadddy had already saidwhen onee-chan and Azuma onii-chan were in the room, don't bother them.
She didn't really understand why.
But Gotoh Futari still decided to obey.
After all, Azuma onii-chan could do magic tricks, and he bought her cake too.
Her onee-chan was already weird enough as it was.
If Azuma onii-chan ended up disliking onee-chan because of being disturbed
Then wouldn't onee-chan die all alone like a lonely old woman?
(ЇЇ)
That's what Gotoh Futari had thought.
Completely unaware that her own little sister saw her as "unreliable," Gotoh Hitori stood up.
She carefully tucked the sheet music into a drawer in her cabinet.
Inside that drawer, Yukima Azuma spotted a piggy bank.
That piggy bank
It looked a lot like the one he had received beforethe one used to hold Bocchi's dowry or marriage fund.
Noticing Yukima Azuma's glance,
Gotoh Hitori's cute face turned bright red.
"This is the money we earned from performing."
"I'm saving it just in case I need it someday."
(///// " )
Ever since the band started turning a profit, Gotoh Hitori had bought this piggy bank.
She tried her best not to buy more guitar accessories.
Bit by bit, she saved it up.
In truth, it wasn't so different from that so-called "dowry" from before.
Only this time, the piggy bank wasn't being filled by Mama Gotoh.
This time, it was Gotoh Hitori herself, saving every coin by her own hand.
The introverted girl thought of the futuremaybe someday, when she was of age, she could buy a small apartment.
Then she could live there and welcome Yukima Azuma anytime he visited.
Or maybeshe'd just give all the money to Yukima Azuma.
Gotoh Hitori never asked Yukima Azuma to take any responsibilityyet she herself was a person with a deep sense of responsibility.
Yukima Azuma didn't say anything else. He simply reached out and gently held Gotoh Hitori's small hand.
The two of them left the room, walked down the stairs, and went together to the dining table.
(Note: BOCCHI IS SUPREMACY!!!)
(o)
Chapter 263: Before Spring Break
After Christmas, New Year's Day arrived in a flash.
It was the start of a new year.
Yukima Azuma went to a shrine festival in the Shibuya area with the girls in the household.
When it came to New Year shrine visits in Japan, Yukima Azuma only had two impressionsyukata and fireworks.
As massive bursts of fireworks exploded across the sky,
Yukima Azuma finally understood why so many works from the Land of the Rising Sun
featured scenes of confessions and misunderstandings under a sky full of fireworks.
Because fireworks are really loud.
You have to shout at the top of your lungs just to be barely heard.
And confessing at that moment,
it was totally normal to get misheard as saying "moon."(Note: Suki = like, Tsuki = moon.)
After New Year's,
spring break was just around the corner.
Following the final exams, Yukima Azuma received a phone call from Sayuri.
"Does Laplace have shares in that operating system under Microsoft?"
Sayuri got straight to the point as soon as the call connected.
"Quite a lot."
Yukima Azuma himself wasn't exactly sure how much anymore.
The investment had been poured in back when the operating system was still in development.
At that time, most of Laplace Corporation's liquid cash had been handed over to Microsoft.
Later on, those shares had been diluted through multiple rounds.
But stillan investment from the early development phase.
Founding shares and stocks bought on the market were two entirely different things.
Even without knowing the exact numbers, Yukima Azuma could still calmly say: "Quite a lot."
On the other end of the line, Sayuri sucked in a sharp breath.
"Hiss~... So what are you planning next?"
After Microsoft's cross-platform Windows operating system launched,
it crushed the government-issued OS released the same day in terms of functionality, usability, and convenience.
All kinds of vultures who had once ridiculed Microsoft were now staring wide-eyed.
Everyone now knewbuying Microsoft stock meant making a profit.
The only issue was that getting even a single share was about as hard as reaching the moon.
Regardless of how much "quite a lot" actually meant in Yukima Azuma's mouth,
it was undoubtedly a sum of money growing to an absurd degree.
At least for the current scale of Laplace Corporation,
there was simply no need for that much capital.
If you had that much money and still stuck to making little furniture items,
that'd be a waste so tragic it hurts.
That kind of moneyhell, even if you poured it all into dead-end industries like cars or cell phones
might be enough to carve out your own empire.
"I'm starting a video platform. Those shares will only cover part of the cost, and I'm not even sure the cash will be enough to burn through."
Yukima Azuma said.
"What kind of video platform could possibly burn that much"
Sayuri instinctively wanted to question what kind of video platform could possibly need that level of funding.
But halfway through the sentence, she stopped herself.
Reality had proven itYukima Azuma's foresight was far sharper than hers.
At the very least, she had seen the Microsoft OS investment too.
But at the time, she hadn't considered buying in at all.
I mean, who would've thought
