The conversation ended there for the time being.
Yukinoshita Yukino returned to her room.
Both individuals carried their own thoughts as they began organizing the belongings they had just moved in.
...
Downstairs.
Kasumigaoka pulled Yukima Azuma, and a small group of people gathered.
"Why is Kirisu-sensei staying at Azuma's house?!" (Eriri)
"Apparently, her previous rental contract expired." (Azuma)
"It seems more like she's here to supervise us." (Utaha)
"Ehh? What do you mean by that?" (Eriri)
"Umu umu, maybe she's just worried about her students running into unexpected trouble." (Azuma)
"Stop dodging the question! Let's set Kirisu-sensei aside for nowwhat about Yukinoshita?" (Utaha)
"Yukinoshita? Who's that?" (Eriri)
"She seems to be a former top student of Toyogasaki." (Megumi)
"Why do you all know everything?!" (Eriri)
"You're just the only clueless one." (Utaha)
"Yukinoshita-san also moved here because her rental contract expired." (Azuma)
The suspicious gazes of the three girls all turned to Azuma.
"Ahem... Currently, Yukinoshita-san works at my company, handling HRspecifically, recruiting programmers for our team."
Yukima Azuma added an explanation.
"Wow, wow. Not just a student-teacher relationship, but even office politicsyou're going all out!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha shot Azuma a sharp glance, as piercing as a knife.
Yukima Azuma raised three fingers and swore solemnly.
Heaven bear witnessthey were absolutely innocent!
...At least for now, they were still innocent.
"Hmph, I'll let it slide this time. But no more outsiders casually moving into this house!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha warned.
Eriri nodded furiously, completely oblivious to the fact that she had just moved in the night before.
"I've already asked the agency to withdraw the rental listing."
Yukima Azuma aligned himself with the two as if they were united in their cause.
...
Thus, after a busy morning, the Yukima household finally sat down for breakfast.
Following breakfast, Kasumigaoka and Eriri resumed their work on White Album.
The entire weekend passed peacefully.
The following week unfolded neatly and orderly.
After Kirisu Mafuyu moved into the house, she mostly kept to herself in her room every day.
As for Yukinoshita Yukino, she left early in the morning and only returned to the apartment in the evening.
Yukima Azuma remembered that his company operated on standard business hours9 a.m. to 5 p.m., five days a week. So why did Yukino seem so busy?
Kasumigaoka Utaha was also swamped. Besides writing scripts for novels, she was gearing up to prepare Volume 5 of The Metronome in Love.
Outside of school, Yukima Azuma's official match had concluded.
He secured first place in the tournament with an undefeated record, earning a promotion to 7-dan professional shogi player, the youngest in history to achieve this milestone.
This achievement served as a bold declaration of Yukima Azuma's return to the shogi world.
Additionally, Yukima Azuma confirmed his participation in the "Ryuuou" title tournament starting in the summer.
This news dominated shogi headlines for quite some time.
Meanwhile, at school, Kita Ikuyo seemed to have integrated well with the band and became friends with Bocchi.
Their band, Kessoku Band, was scheduled to perform their first live show at STARRY next week.
What a cause for celebration!
Toyogasaki recently held a monthly exam.
Yukima Azuma maintained his position at the top of the school leaderboard with an unbeatable score.
Meanwhile, Eriri scored failing grades in both English and math and received a scolding from Kirisu Mafuyu. Eriri's British blood wept in shame.
Typically, Eriri's grades were just enough to meet the standard, but lately, she had been neglecting her studies due to being preoccupied with her illustration work.
Kato Megumi barely managed to pass the threshold as well.
As a result, Kirisu Mafuyu specifically sought out Yukima Azuma, warning him to supervise the two girls and ensure they studied more seriously.
If they failed any subjects in the national exams this summer, they would have to stay back for remedial classes.
Yukima Azuma nodded repeatedly, promising to help the two of them review during breaks between classes.
Amid a busy life, a plan Yukima Azuma had prepared for quietly reached its execution date.
Titanic had premiered.
....
"My mom received two movie tickets from a friend, but she didn't want to go, so she gave them to me."
"If Azuma is free It-it's not like I'm insisting you come watch a movie with me, hmph! But it'd be a waste not to use the tickets!"
Eriri handed a movie ticket to Yukima Azuma.
Yukima Azuma took the ticket and glanced at it.
It was indeed a ticket to Titanic.
As for Eriri's tsundere-style explanation, Yukima Azuma ignored it entirely.
What "my mom got it from a friend"?
She must have bought it herself.
Though it was also possible that Sayuri-obasan orchestrated this behind the scenes, acting as a matchmaker trying to pair her daughter with her crush.
As expected, Titanic tickets had long been sold out everywherea true "impossible ticket to find."
Even Yukima Azuma, as an investor, had only received a few tickets.
Carefully tucking the ticket into his chest pocket, he patted it lightly and smiled:
"Umu, I'm looking forward to it."
Eriri's face immediately turned bright red.
At that moment, Kita Ikuyo happened to walk by.
Eriri quickly dragged her into the restroom, making an excuse to flee.
Just then, Kato Megumi returned to the classroom and nearly bumped into them.
Fortunately, Kato Megumi gently sidestepped and avoided the collision.
Witnessing this, Yukima Azuma clapped softly:
"Sasuga Megumi-sama, your dodging skills are impressive!"
Not only the Number One Assassin of Toyogasaki but also the Dodge Master of Toyogasaki.
Kato "Hassan-i Sabbah" Megumi, the "Young Girl of the Mountain."
She always managed to gracefully avoid every collision.
Kato Megumi seemed to guess Yukima Azuma's thoughts.
She lightly poked his side with her finger.
Yukima Azuma instantly straightened up, no longer daring to joke around.
"Did something good happen with Sawamura-san?"
Kato Megumi asked.
Indeed, Eriri was an open book.
Her emotions were always written all over her face.
"Maybe," Yukima Azuma replied vaguely, quickly changing the subject.
He reached into his backpack and pulled out two Titanic tickets.
Kato Megumi blinked her gentle eyes, like tuberose flowers.
"Watch a movie? After being ignored by the ticket checker last time, I haven't gone back to the theater since." (lol)
Upon hearing this, Yukima Azuma felt that the topic had taken a slightly heavy turn.
He was about to say something comforting.
But before he could open his mouth, Kato Megumi snatched the ticket out of his hand.
"Just kidding, of course I'll get my revenge a bit!"
"I'm really looking forward to it!"
Looking at Kato Megumi's mischievous smile, Yukima Azuma's heart skipped a beat.
Kato Megumi really was the cutest in the world!
As for whether Kato Megumi had truly been ignored by a ticket checker before,
It might have happened, but now she didn't care at all.
No matter what, with Yukima Azuma by her side, she'd never be ignored again.
....
After school,
Yukima Azuma returned to the apartment.
"I'm back."
"Welcome home."
Only Kasumigaoka Utaha was at home.
After changing his shoes, Yukima Azuma walked over.
Shiratamaru was lying on Kasumigaoka's lap, bouncing its feet.
Yukima Azuma ruthlessly picked it up and threw it onto the sofa next to them.
"Abandoned," Shiratamaru scratched the sofa a few times in frustration before jumping down and playing by itself.
"Lonely-kun, back at it again?"
Kasumigaoka crossed her arms over her chest, making her "outstanding advantage" even more noticeable.
"If that's the case, senpai, what will you do?"
Yukima Azuma smiled with hidden meaning.
Kasumigaoka made a troubled face.
"Well, resistance probably won't work. Objectively speaking, there's a physical difference between men and women."
"Maybe I'll report it to the police and have Lonely-kun sent to a reform center, wait a few years and then come pick you up," Kasumigaoka said coldly.
Upon hearing this, Yukima Azuma immediately put on a pitiful expression, as if on the verge of tears.
Faced with that expression, Kasumigaoka couldn't stand it anymore and lost her composure completely.
She didn't know what to say to comfort him, so she decided to pull Yukima Azuma into her arms.
Both of them fell onto the sofa and curled up together.
Feeling the softness of her body underneath him, Yukima Azuma couldn't help but be amazed.
Kasumigaoka Utaha's figure was truly perfect beyond belief.
Though Eriri often teased her as being chubby, her waist was actually very slim.
It seemed like all the fat was distributed in the most "suitable" places.
After a while of rolling around on the sofa, Yukima Azuma took a slightly crumpled movie ticket out of his pocket.
"Senpai, let's go watch a movie."
Kasumigaoka took the ticket and glanced at it.
"So, you came over just to invite me to a movie?"
Yukima Azuma nodded honestly.
And just like that, he was kicked off the sofa by Kasumigaoka.
Chapter 82: Titanic Premiere, Investment Settled
"And here is our second song: That Band!"
The performance by the Kessoku band ended smoothly.
This was their first live performance at the STARRY live house.
Clearly, the four members still had some shortcomings.
In particular, the first song could be described as a disaster.
However, just before starting the second song, Bocchi suddenly exploded with a guitar solo powerful enough to awaken every soul in the room.
This solo not only grabbed the attention of the distracted audience in the live house,
but also "restarted" the entire Kessoku band.
After being awakened, the band performed the second song, That Band,
with a level of professionalism, both in singing and the coordination of the instruments.
When they finished, loud applause erupted from the audience.
Yukima Azuma, sitting under the stage, listened to the entire performance,
and gave a warm round of applause to the performance of all four members.
Afterward,
when the four members of the band returned to the backstage,
they saw Yukima Azuma waiting for them there.
"Azuma-kun!"
Bocchi exclaimed in surprise and joy.
Yukima Azuma handed bottles of water to each member of the Kessoku band.
Then, he took a tissue from his pocket
and wiped the sweat from Bocchi's forehead.
With Yukima Azuma taking care of her,
Bocchi nearly melted from embarrassment.
The other three members of the band could only look at each other,
feeling like they were being treated differently.
They also wanted a handsome guy to wipe their sweat!
They don't want eat dog food.
But before they could tease Gotoh Hirori,
"Bocchi, can I borrow you for a moment?"
Yukima Azuma smiled and said, then pulled Bocchi away from the backstage.
Only the three of them remained, standing in confusion.
It wasn't until they left Shimokitazawa
that Bocchi finally regained her composure.
"Azuma-kun."
"Bocchi, you didn't forget our promise, did you?"
"I didn't forget... but... I'm sorry, I couldn't get the movie tickets."
Bocchi bowed her head.
Earlier, she had sent a small apology to Yukima Azuma via LINE.
"It's okay, I already got the tickets."
Yukima Azuma took the movie tickets out of his pocket.
When Bocchi saw the tickets, her eyes lit up.
She really wanted to go watch the movie with Yukima Azuma again.
She had stayed up until midnight trying to get the tickets, but ended up not being able to get them, feeling regretful for a long time.
...
They took the train to Ginza.
Before they even reached the cinema, Bocchi could feel that the crowd today was different.
When they entered the cinema,
the absurdly long ticket line only made Bocchi feel even more awkward.
Yukima Azuma reached out, took Bocchi's hand, and pulled her closer to him,
shielding her from the crowd.
Bocchi felt her hand tightly holding Yukima Azuma's.
The sense of unease quickly disappeared.
Although since joining the Kessoku band,
Bocchi had somewhat understood that the distance between her and Yukima Azuma, in terms of friendship, was definitely unusual.
However, this feeling of abnormal distance
gave Bocchi a sense of comfort and reassurance.
So, after just realizing her unease about the distance between them, Bocchi decided to accept this mistake.
They checked their tickets and entered the theater.
Unlike their first movie outing,
this time, the seats in the theater were almost full.
As soon as they entered, Bocchi could feel many eyes on them.
She instinctively gripped Yukima Azuma's hand tighter.
Yukima Azuma gently patted Bocchi's head as a way of comforting her.
After finding their seats, they sat down.
Yukima Azuma looked around the crowded theater, feeling quite satisfied.
The people sitting here, It's all money.
Although only a small portion of it would end up in Yukima Azuma's pocket, it was enough to make him feel happy.
The lights in the theater dimmed.
The movie officially started.
Bocchi inhaled the familiar scent from beside her.
Gradually, she stopped noticing the people around her.
She immersed herself in the film.
With a total investment of over two hundred million USD, especially considering that the actors' fees made up only a small portion, the film offered impressive shots.
When the Titanic ship cut across the surface of the sea, entering the viewer's sight,
gentle breaths could be heard throughout the theater.
As the plot progressed,
the movie finally reached the famous scene.
You-jump, I-jump.
At this moment, emotions peaked.
There were quiet sobs in the theater.
Bocchi, immersed in the film, also felt sadness.
At this moment, in this scene, she wanted to see Yukima Azuma's reaction.
However, the moment she took her eyes off the screen,
she saw, not far ahead, a young couple passionately kissing.
Bocchi immediately felt her cheeks burn, quickly turning her gaze away.
