"What should we do?"
"Should we tell Miko-nee where Hachiman-nii is?"
"Probably not a good idea... I tapped the empathy bracelet just now, and it felt like things over there are kind of busy..."
Noticing that as she talked she seemed to drift off a bit, Komachi and Shion quickly exchanged a look, whispering about whether they should tell Yotsuya Miko the truth of what was happening in the bath right now.
Since Iris wasn't here, and Kaede and the others were also busy at the moment, this house could only rely on the two of them to keep things stable and prevent a battlefield.
This kind of thing was actually easy to handle. The girls who had a close relationship with her brother could go to Ichinose Ayano's side and soak together with the little landlady Asou Miyuri, Kaede, Suzu.
Those whose relationship with her brother wasn't that close could stay with her and Shion. Everyone would just bathe and chat together, then go out, change clothes, and sleep.
But they only knew that girls like Ijichi Nijika and Gotou Hitori had a special relationship with her brother. As for Yotsuya Miko and Yurikawa Hana, they had no idea where those two stood.
Normally, girls who were willing to stay overnight at the house were not something they had to worry about. If they wanted to get close to her brother, then they would. If they wanted to play, then they would. Komachi would just avoid the scene.
But for Yotsuya Miko and company to come stay at the house on their very first meeting… This really left them unsure of what to do.
Should they let Miko go to her brother?
Or let Miko stay with them?
If they guessed wrong, things would get complicated.
"Yotsuya-san and Yurikawa-san?"
"Phew! Looks like Hachiman isn't over with Komachi and Shion."
Ichinose Honami had suddenly noticed that Yotsuya Miko and Yurikawa Hana had already gone over to look for Hachiman. Ijichi Nijika, who was currently being tugged around by Yamada Ryou, also froze for a moment.
But seeing that Yotsuya Miko and the others were chatting normally with Komachi and Shion, with nothing weird happening, the two of them let out a breath of relief at the same time.
"Isn't Shion his little sister? Why are you two so nervous?"
Yamada Ryou cast a glance at the two overly worried girls.
Ijichi Nijika and Ichinose Honami ignored the pot-calling-the-kettle nature of Ryou's comment. Instead, they both turned toward the group of Ichinose Ayano, Ichinose Marika, and Horigome China.
Indeed, Hachiman would definitely avoid Shion and Komachi right now. The bath was big, so why in the world would he go near them?
If Hachiman wasn't with Kaede and Suzu somewhere else, then he had to be with Ichinose Ayano and the others.
So should they go to Ichinose Ayano's side?
Ichinose Honami and Ichinose Ayano showing up here together to bathe at the Hikigaya home meant their relationship was definitely deep.
Plus, Ijichi Nijika had bullied Hachiman on top of a school desk together with Miura Yumiko and Kitagawa Marin, and Yamada Ryou had been deeply sympathetic toward Nijika during the band performance and had her thigh touched for a long time.
As for Gotou Hitori, who felt especially safe near Hachiman and loved sticking to him, there was naturally nothing to worry about. She was fully mentally prepared for anything she might see.
But there was still one more person, someone just like Yotsuya Miko and Yurikawa Hana, who wasn't familiar with Hachiman.
"Kita-san, maybe… you should go to Komachi's side?"
Ijichi Nijika looked at Kita Ikuyo for a moment, then couldn't help trying to send the completely clueless Kita away.
"Yeah yeah, Kita, go hang out with the younger girls and soak with Yotsuya and the others."
Yamada Ryou nodded rapidly, fully agreeing.
With clueless Kita around, Nijika would definitely be way too embarrassed to obediently be "handed over" to Hachiman.
But if Kita wasn't there, then basically everyone present would be a girl who had a special relationship with Hachiman. Nijika's resistance would drop a lot.
Ichinose Honami and Gotou Hitori didn't say anything, just silently looked at Kita Ikuyo.
"Me? Alone?"
Kita Ikuyo looked around at Nijika, Ryou, and the others, all staring at her, utterly confused as she pointed at herself.
"Nijika, are you hiding something from me?"
So weird. Ever since she'd arrived at Hikigaya-kun's house, everything had felt off.
Weren't they supposed to be scared of ghosts? Weren't they supposed to sleep together here like a band training camp?
So why were they suddenly excluding her?
"Kita, don't overthink it. We don't dislike you, and we're not pushing you away. It's just that something might happen when we go see Hachiman, and it's a bit hard to explain."
Seeing Kita Ikuyo's expression starting to turn strange, Ijichi Nijika rushed to explain.
"What thing? Aren't we all in the same band?"
Seeing Nijika dodge the question again, Kita started to feel a little upset.
That wasn't what Nijika said earlier at all.
At school she'd earnestly come find her at the classroom door, even dragged Bocchi-chan and Ryou after school to talk her into returning to the band.
At the time, Kita had confessed she couldn't play guitar, had lied to everyone, and planned to quit for real.
But Nijika and the others didn't get angry. They were understanding and gently persuaded her to come back as the band's vocalist, saying she could learn guitar slowly.
So why, now that she'd come back, had Nijika's attitude suddenly changed?
If it were just one or two people who had private business with Hikigaya-kun, Kita would absolutely respect their privacy.
But there were only a few people in Kessoku Band. Just four girls besides Hachiman. Yet Nijika, Ryou, and Bocchi-chan all seemed to share the same secret.
The whole band was hiding something from her? Then why did Nijika even want her back?
"Kita, you really misunderstood. We don't mean it that way. It's just that if you come with us, you might…"
"Nijika, let her come."
Yamada Ryou suddenly cut off Nijika's tortured explanation, patted Kita Ikuyo's shoulder, and very solemnly asked, "This is our Kessoku Band's secret. Kita, do you have the resolve to face it? Once you learn this secret, you might never be able to return to your original life."
"Yes!"
Facing Ryou's dramatic-sounding words, Kita Ikuyo nodded without a second of hesitation.
She loved secrets.
She'd chosen to join the band because she didn't want to live some boring normie life, and she'd seen Ryou walking a path unlike anyone else.
"Ryou? Do you even know what you're saying?"
Seeing Ryou shamelessly trick Kita, Nijika nearly jumped out of her skin.
Why were they suddenly going to tell Kita the truth about the band performances?
Honestly, they didn't have to rely on Hachiman to conduct. If they trained hard they could manage on their own.
"Nijika… do you really not want me in the group that badly?"
Kita Ikuyo's gaze dimmed as she looked at the constantly rejecting Nijika.
Even if she'd joined with selfish motives rather than pure love of music, she still wanted everyone to get along.
Things hadn't been like this before. Why had Nijika changed the moment they entered Hachiman's house?
"Relax, Nijika. She's just going to look. If anyone suffers, it's Hachiman, not Kita," Ryou didn't wait for Nijika to answer and quickly spoke her mind.
"Since Kita rejoined the band and has the resolve to face the truth, we should be honest too."
"Yeah yeah! I can handle it!"
Kita nodded enthusiastically.
Although she didn't really get the "Hikigaya-kun suffers" part, she agreed with Ryou. They were all in the same band. If everyone else knew, why couldn't she?
"Honestly… I give up. Kita, just don't regret this later."
Seeing Kita being sweet-talked by Ryou, Nijika could only fume helplessly. The things tied up between them and Hachiman were hard to explain.
Where would she even begin? Should she start from how she and Marin and Yumiko bullied Hachiman together?
No matter how she explained it, it wouldn't make sense. She herself didn't even understand their relationship with Hachiman.
"And you, Ryou! When Kita harasses you later, I'm not helping!"
Ryou definitely just wanted to drag Kita down with them.
Though, well, they couldn't drag Kita down unless she went willingly. With Hachiman's personality, Kita had to make the first move.
But if Ryou didn't drag her into this, Kita would never take the initiative because she wouldn't know the truth.
"Ugh… Nijika, can't you just tell me directly? I'm already going with you to ask Hikigaya-kun where he is."
Now that Nijika seemed so resentful about Ryou's decision to bring Kita along, the curious part of Kita's heart just couldn't hold it in anymore.
She'd know soon anyway. Why not now?
"It's fine, it's fine. You're just going to take a look. What could happen?"
Ryou wrapped an arm around Kita's shoulder and started swimming with her toward Ichinose Ayano's side, giving her mental prep as they went.
"As long as you don't reveal our Kessoku Band secret to outsiders."
"What if I slip up accidentally?"
"Heh… then be ready for punishment. Several days and nights with no rest."
Ryou looked at her blankly, then tugged up the corner of her mouth.
"Gulp!"
Seeing Ryou talk about it that seriously, Kita swallowed hard, her heart pounding.
What kind of secret did Kessoku Band have? Was it really that serious?
"Aiya! Nijika, you said you weren't going to interfere! Why are you hitting me again?"
Ryou suddenly yelped in pain, clutching her head and whipping around to glare at Nijika.
"I said I wouldn't stop you from taking Kita, not that I'd let you scare her!"
Nijika huffed, retracting her hand chop, then swam up next to Kita with Honami and Bocchi-chan, gently comforting her.
"Don't worry, Kita. I really don't want you dragged into this, but nothing bad will happen to you."
"Ryou was just trying to spook you. Don't listen to her."
"If you can't handle what you see later, you can just go back to Komachi and Shion."
Even if pretending something never happened didn't erase the truth, at least everyone could act like they didn't know.
Kita wasn't like her; she didn't need to help Yumiko. It was better if Kita didn't get involved. Otherwise she'd end up like her, Marin, and Ryou, constantly selling each other out.
In a band, if everyone except Bocchi-chan was trying to sell her out, she'd really collapse.
"Mm… okay."
Listening to Nijika's patient kindness, Kita nodded repeatedly, relieved that the Nijika she knew had returned.
It seemed this Kessoku Band secret was really huge, even making normally considerate Nijika feel cornered, unable to watch Kita's feelings properly.
But the more things looked like this, the more Kita's curiosity grew.
"Hm? That sound."
The bathhouse room was big, but not vast. Nijika and the others quickly reached the area where Ichinose Ayano and the others were.
But then, suddenly, Kita Ikuyo found the scene before her shifting and a sound filling her ears, impossible to ignore.
What looked like a normal group bath was actually arranged in a circle.
And in the center of that circle, surrounded by Ichinose Ayano and the others, was Hachiman.
And with Hachiman were the student council president Kaede, student council secretary Suzu, and the pink-haired demi-human princess Lala, who had been glued to Iris the elf princess lately.
There also seemed to be a petite girl she didn't recognize, sitting in Hachiman's lap with Kaede, Suzu, and the others all clinging tightly around his neck.
'T-this… this is the Kessoku Band's secret?'
'Nijika and Ryou told me not to come because of this?'
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