"Since I brought you here, of course I'll take responsibility to return you all exactly as you were, safe and sound."
Kaito didn't intend to continue knocking her head and gazed into the girl's wine-red eyes, "You're an excellent leader, but sometimes you should put down the burden and try relying on others, Nijika."
"..."
The Archangel of Shimokitazawa fell silent for a long while.
Her mother had passed away in a car accident long ago, and her father was always busy working and rarely at home, so most of the time Nijika had only her sister for company.
But her sister was clumsy, couldn't even fry an egg properly, so the housework had to be done by herself.
This made Nijika develop an independent personality. Being capable, she also got used to taking care of those around her like a gentle mother.
She had always been the one others depended on, but now someone was saying to her, ["You can try depending on me."]
The girl softly went "Mm," but her smile bloomed like a flower across her lovely face.
"If there's nothing else, go back to your room and rest."
Seeing that she'd finally come to her senses, Kaito didn't say more and subtly glanced at the direction of the wardrobe, "Get plenty of rest. We'll head to the shrine tomorrow."
"Then Kaito-senpai, good night," Nijika's brows and eyes curved like crescent moons as she cheerfully waved at him and prepared to leave.
But before she could take two steps, the room door was knocked again, followed by a delicate female voice, "Kaito-kun? Are you asleep?"
This scene, this moment, exactly the same as before. Deja Vu!
Even the knocking lines were the same.
Nijika was startled, 'If I heard correctly, that was Kita's voice?'
'But why would Kita be coming to Kaito-senpai's room in the middle of the night? Don't tell me'
'No no no, there's no time to think about that now.'
The sudden knock completely disrupted Nijika's rhythm, not to mention her visit wasn't exactly pure. Now, she was full of guilt, with one thought in mind, 'I must not let Kita discover I am in Kaito-senpai's room.'
But this was the second floor. Jumping out the window wasn't an option.
Under the bed was solid. No way to hide there either.
Nijika quickly scanned the room's furnishings and suddenly her eyes lit up.
'The wardrobe!'
The wardrobe in the hotel room was purely decorative, with no clothes inside and a lot of space, enough for two or three people without crowding.
Nijika's figure was on the slender side anyway. Hiding inside was more than sufficient.
"Sorry sorry! Kaito-senpai, my visit must not be found out by Kita! I'll hide for a while, please help cover for me. Once she leaves, I'll go right away! I promise I won't disturb you too long!"
The girl put her hands together, looking pleadingly. As the knocking sounded again, she bit her silver teeth, not daring to delay, opened the wardrobe door, and quickly slipped inside.
Hiding in the pitch-black wardrobe, Nijika finally let out a sigh of relief.
She had just patted her chest when she suddenly realized something was off.
'Inside this empty wardrobe there doesn't seem to be just me?'
She turned her head, and saw a familiar figure.
Yumiko was showing an awkward yet polite smile, waved at her, and whispered, "Ijichi-san what a coincidence."
Nijika: "..."
The Archangel of Shimokitazawa was so startled she almost screamed, but Yumiko, with fast reflexes, firmly covered her mouth.
"Calm down, calm down, calm down! Kita's still outside! You don't want her to find out either, right?"
"It's not what you think, it's not that complicated. I can explain"
Still worried, she added, "If you understand what I'm saying, blink twice."
After the brief shock, Nijika also realized the current situation, so she obediently blinked twice.
Only then did Yumiko slowly let go and whisper an explanation, "I had some questions and came to ask Kaito-kun for help. But not long after I arrived, you knocked on the door. I was afraid of being misunderstood, so"
She didn't finish her sentence, but Nijika understood completely. Because she thought the same way.
Only
"So what you're saying is, you heard everything I just said?"
Yumiko: "..."
'If I say I didn't hear anything, would you believe me?'
Her look of wanting to speak but stopping made Nijika's heart finally sink.
'As expected she heard everything'
'Sneaking into a boy's room in the middle of the night and even saying all kinds of strange things to myself.'
'If it was just heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know, that would've been fine. But now there is a third person present'
Nijika really wanted to smash herself with a block of tofu, or smash someone else.
"W-Wait!", Seeing the blonde girl's pupils gradually lose their light, Yumiko quickly changed the topic to avoid a bad ending where she'd be silenced, "Let's look at Kita in the distance! She's already entered!"
Click!
The door opened, and a red-haired girl as bright as fire appeared at the entrance.
"Kita?"
Kaito repeated the same line he had just said minutes earlier, "What's the matter?"
"It's just I couldn't fall asleep, so I wanted to come talk to you."
Kita played with a strand of hair by her ear, a bit embarrassed, "Can I come in?"
But she quickly waved her hands, looking a little flustered as she added, "I-I mean! If I'm bothering you, Kaito-kun, I'll leave now."
Seeing her looking like a timid little animal, Kaito stepped aside, "Then come in."
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Chapter 71: Good Evening, Ultraman, I Am Rena
At this moment, it was deep into the night. The room was lit only by a dim yellow light, faintly illuminating the dark night.
Kita walked into the room, her mood a little curious.
At school, she was undoubtedly the center of attention, able to get along with everyone, the kind of top-tier normie who could casually post a status update and easily rake in hundreds of likes. Her popularity good enough to make the socially anxious cry.
But she didn't have much experience interacting with boys her age, and all her close friends were girls.
Just a few hours ago, she had come to this very room with Nijika and the others, but coming alone was different from coming with friends, the experience wasn't the same.
'This can probably be counted as what the books call, a man and woman alone together in a room, right?'
'Heh, hehe'
Still sitting on the sofa, maybe it was purely coincidence, the spot Kita chose happened to overlap with where Nijika had been sitting.
"Weird why is the cushion warm?", The moment she sat down, Kita noticed something was off. The sofa cushion still retained a faint warmth, as if it had just been heated by someone.
"Because that's where I was sitting just now," Kaito's face didn't change, brushing it off calmly.
"Ohhh," Kita didn't think too much about it. She saw two unopened bottles of pineapple juice on the coffee table and curiously asked, "Kaito-kun, you couldn't sleep either? Were you just sitting here playing on your phone?"
"That's right, I was just playing on my phone earlier."
Kaito paused for two seconds, then went along with it, "You guessed it, such a clever little Kita."
"Ehehe~ I'm not that amazing~", Kita scratched her head a little embarrassedly, grinning like a fool.
Kaito wasn't fond of teasing kids, and with two girls in the closet still watching like hawks, he didn't plan to waste time. He got straight to the point, "Kita, coming to see me this late, is it also because of the Inugami matter?"
"Mm, because the thought of possibly having to go against a legendary god makes me a bit uneasy."
"Wait, also? What do you mean 'also'? Did someone else come see you?"
"No, you misheard."
'Is that so?'
Kita found it a little strange, but her thoughts were occupied with something else right now. She lightly bit her lip and hesitated, "Kaito-kun, do you think Senpai Ryou will be in danger?"
Even though Ryou always borrowed money and never paid it back, loved freeloading meals, was good at pretending to be harmless to earn sympathy, and was a pro at playing with girls' feelings, but to a normie girl, Ryou was once the senpai she admired.
That street performance of Ryou's back then had given Kita a huge shock, and it gave her the thought of 'wanting to join a band.' For that reason, she even lied about knowing how to play guitar and applied to join Senpai Ryou's band, just to get closer to her.
Even though she quickly panicked about being exposed due to not knowing how to play guitar and ran away before the performance, causing a lot of trouble for Senpai Ryou and Senpai Nijika, with Bocchi-chan's help, Kita rejoined the Kessoku Band and started learning guitar, steadily improving.
The senpai she once admired had now become a close friend.
Emotionally and logically, Kita didn't want to see Senpai Ryou get hurt.
"If we're talking danger", Kaito paused for a moment, "Does being punished afterward by Nijika's iron fist count?"
"Nijika-senpai's not that violent", Kita was speechless but amused. Thinking about it carefully though, this actually seemed very likely.
They say every force has its counter. Ryou might seem like a cool and aloof ice queen with a strong personality who's hard to approach.
But in front of Nijika, who knew her true nature, she was completely dominated. Even little Bocchi would be hounded by Senpai Nijika to repay debts, if not, no meals for her.
Still, Nijika was too softhearted. She'd say "no food," but as soon as Ryou acted pitiful, she'd still share her fries.
'So maybe those two are actually mutually restraining types?'
A simple joke lightened Kita's anxious mood a lot, her earlier worries gone.
Even though she wanted to stay a little longer, even if just to chat idly
She remembered it was already late, so the girl reluctantly said goodbye, "Then I won't disturb you any longer, Kaito-kun."
Kita stood up, ready to leave, but as she turned to go, she suddenly doubled back and sneak-attacked Kaito with a quick peck on the face, "Th-this is just a thank-you for comforting me."
With both hands behind her back, her face flushed red as fire, the girl still wore a big smile, as bright as the first ray of morning sunshine.
"Kaito-kun, good night," Kita turned to leave, this time she really meant to go.
Though it was just a light, dragonfly-touch kiss, and the target was the cheek, not the lips
This was still the first time in her life that Kita had such intimate contact with a boy. She was dying to rush back to her room, hug her pillow, and roll around on the bed to vent all her nervous excitement and joy.
But she had barely taken two steps when her wrist was caught by Kaito.
'Ehh, eehhh???'
The girl jumped in shock, 'C-c-could it be! Kaito-kun is going to'
She didn't dislike him, but that kind of thing should wait until after they started dating, right? Besides, she heard it hurts the first time for girls, and she had to go to the shrine tomorrow to gather intel. It would totally affect her performance
Just from looking at her expression, Kaito could basically guess what this girl was thinking.
He helplessly pointed toward the door and sighed, "If you don't want to bump into someone else, it's best not to leave through the front door."
'What does that mean?'
Before Kita could react, the door was knocked on, followed by Senpai Ryou's voice.
"Good evening, Ultraman. I am Rena. May I come in?"
'W-wait a minute! Why did Kaito-kun know Senpai was arriving in advance?'
'That's not the point.'
The point is she had just stolen a kiss from Kaito, and now Kita was full of guilt.
Suddenly hearing Senpai's voice made her feel like she'd just been caught cheating, panic rising out of nowhere.
'But I am clearly the one who came here first, so why do I have such a weird feeling?'
'No no no, I need to find a place to hide!'
Kita had thought about just casually greeting Ryou, 'But Senpai is a smart girl. She might notice from some small clue what I have just done, then I will really have no face left to show anyone.'
'Under the bed? No good.'
'Behind the curtain? No good.'
The room was big, but there weren't many places to hide.
At last, a plain-looking wardrobe caught her attention.
Kita's beautiful eyes lit up. Without another word, she dove in.
And then
Two people, smiling awkwardly yet politely, waved at the red-haired girl who hadn't figured out what was going on yet.
"Kita-chan good evening?" x2
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Chapter 72: You didn't call me to the jam session?
Kita: "..."
The normie girl rubbed her eyes, suspecting she might still be dreaming.
'Otherwise how can I be inside Kaito's room closet, watching Senior Nijika and Miura?'
Seeing that Kita had no intention of screaming, merely frozen in shock, Nijika hurriedly explained in a low voice, "Anyway the reason we're here is the same as you, Kita, don't misunderstand!"
Yumiko also grinned wickedly and teased, "I didn't expect this, Kita-chan's actually so bold~"
That scene where Kita forcibly kissed him truly caught her off guard, but after recovering, she couldn't help but find it thrilling.
Especially since she was hiding secretly in the closet, and looking out from inside, it was maxed-out role-play experience.
Kita: "..."
The normie girl's ears visibly turned red, the color spreading to her entire pretty face in the blink of an eye.
"D-Don't say anything!", She slapped her hand over Yumiko's mouth, "I didn't do anything! You're all hallucinating! Yes, hallucinating!"
She finally worked up the courage, only to get live-broadcasted.
Kita wanted to find a crack to crawl into, best case, she could go live in another world.
Seeing the corners of her eyes glisten with tears of embarrassment and anger, Nijika felt a twinge of sourness in her heart. After all, witnessing your best friend kiss the guy you like, that feeling is really hard to take.
But in the end, her gentle and generous nature won over, and she tactfully changed the subject, "Shhh Ryou already came in, let's stay quiet so she doesn't find us."
