Chapter 13: The Fourth Pink Hair
Shimokitazawa High School, Starlight Exhibition Hall. The staircase leading underground appeared somewhat eerie even in daylight when viewed from above.
"Hitori, are you sure we're at the right place?" Ren asked skeptically, glancing at the bowing-headed Hitori beside him.
"No mistake. Nijika and the others are down there."
Unlike Ren's doubt, Hitori actually found it easier to breathe upon seeing the somewhat gloomy entrance. Only such dark corners could truly feel like home to her.
"The others?"
In Japanese, the pronouns for "she" and "he" were distinguishable through pronunciation. Ren showed slight surprise but quickly understood, this was the era of all-girl bands after all.
This made him somewhat curious about who Hitori's bandmates might be. Tolerating Hitori wasn't an easy task, one needed fundamental patience since she often withdrew into herself, or would wander in thought before suddenly whimpering over negative thoughts, sometimes taking forever to complete a single sentence.
Anyone who could discover these flaws and still recruit her for a band must be either divine or saintly.
Well, perhaps they simply hadn't discovered all of Hitori's quirks yet.
Driven by curiosity, Ren took the lead down the stairs. He glanced back at the motionless Hitori, wondering if she would have just sat on the stairs waiting for someone to open the door and find her if he hadn't come along.
Fortunately, he had accompanied her. Seeing Hitori remain frozen, he pushed the door open and entered.
"Sorry, we're not open for business yet~"
Hearing the wind chimes ring from the opened door, a small figure peeked out from behind the counter. Nijika, with her triangular ahoge, mistook Ren for a customer and quickly reminded him they weren't open yet.
"I'm here with Hitori."
Ren stepped aside as he spoke, leaving the Hitori who had been hiding behind him with nowhere to hide.
"Bocchi-chan! Are you two friends? Hello, I'm Ijichi Nijika."
Spotting Hitori, Nijika happily rushed over from the counter, enthusiastically grasping both of Hitori's hands.
"I was a bit worried you wouldn't come, Bocchi-chan. After all, I practically dragged you here last time. I'm really sorry for not considering your feelings properly then."
"I-It's fine! Just being invited by you, Nijika, makes me feel like I could die without regrets."
Overwhelmed by such enthusiasm, Hitori desperately tried to retreat backward, but Nijika turned out to be surprisingly strong, not letting her break free.
Clearly, she was a sunny, cheerful blonde beauty.
Ren's earlier suspicion that someone else had also recognized Hitori as a hidden gem was dispelled. It was simply that Nijika was naturally outgoing, fate had brought her and Hitori together, ultimately forming a band.
Ren had thought that girl bands would be like what he read online, four people in a dorm but eleven different group chats, but it seemed that wasn't the case. At least Ijichi Nijika didn't strike him as someone who would do that sort of thing.
"How should I address you?"
Waking from the joy that Hitori hadn't run away like the previous guitarist, Nijika smiled somewhat apologetically at Ren.
"Watanabe Ren, Hitori's classmate and friend. You can call me Watanabe or Ren-kun," he replied while examining the interior decor of Starlight Exhibition Hall. This was actually his first time entering a place like a bar or lounge, and it felt quite different from what he had imagined. He had expected it to be more chaotic.
But Starlight Exhibition Hall was surprisingly clean and tidy. Most importantly, there was no smell of smoke or alcohol, and he didn't see any used condoms in the trash bins.
His stereotypes were still too strong.
"Then I'll call you Ren-kun," Nijika said, her face maintaining a constant smile as she pulled Hitori along and led Ren to a practice room.
There was already someone waiting in the practice room, blue medium-short hair, a mole below the left eye just like Shina Ritsuki whom he had met once, giving off a somewhat androgynous vibe yet carrying a subtle charm because of that mole.
With a blade of grass dangling from her lips and an expressionless face, she didn't greet them when she saw them, just gave them a cool glance before continuing to chew on the grass in her mouth.
Ren never thought he'd one day describe a girl as both handsome and beautiful.
"Ryo! Why are you eating wild grass again? Are you going to borrow money from me tomorrow using stomach pain as an excuse to buy medicine again?"
Not long after Ren finished his internal admiration, Nijika noticed Yamada Ryo chewing grass again and immediately stomped over angrily to snatch the wild grass from her mouth.
"I'm hungry, Nijika. You're abusing me, boohoo," Ryo pretended to be wronged after having the grass taken away, lowering her head and wiping the corner of her eye, the cool and handsome image from before completely vanishing.
Well then, turns out she's quite a character. That explains it.
After this brief encounter, Ren gained a somewhat one-sided understanding of what Hitori's bandmates were like.
Nijika was sunny, cheerful, and very gentle. Though petite, she already had the makings of a proper mother figure.
As for Ryo, she was too quiet to read much, but someone who could chew grass to look cool was either a goofball or a unique character, definitely not a bad person.
This put him at ease. As long as no one was competing with him, it was fine.
After this, Ren and Ryo introduced themselves to each other. As family, he didn't participate in their discussions and didn't disturb them during practice. Ren took this opportunity to experience the atmosphere of watching a live band performance at Starlight.
Though the bands performing on stage might not match the technical skill of well-established major bands, the atmosphere remained electric, so Ren was quite satisfied with the experience. He thought he could frequently attend live shows if he had free time in the future.
Mainly, the bands on stage were all-girl groups—adorable girls pouring their sweat into the performance. Just watching them play with all their might, faces flushed and drenched after giving their all, was worth the price of admission alone.
It wasn't until 9 p.m. that Ren and Hitori left Starry. Instead of heading straight home, they decided to grab dinner together, as they hadn't eaten anything since the afternoon.
By this point, Hitori was feeling dazed. The day's events had been a bit overwhelming for her. Having a friend accompany her to Starry had put her at ease, and after the band activities ended, she even got to have dinner with Ren.
Going out to eat with an active high school boy—something like this was beyond anything Hitori had ever dared to imagine before. Now that it was actually happening, she felt so thrilled she wanted to take a photo and boast about it on her YouTube channel. Before, it was all just empty bragging, but now it was real.
"What do you want to eat? It's on me."
At a ramen shop, Ren asked Hitori what she'd like to order. He had previously taken her "friend fee," and now he could pay her back in part.
"No, no, no! I should be the one treating you. How could I possibly let you pay when you're willing to eat with someone like me?"
Hitori shook her head vigorously in refusal. In her mind, she was already overstepping by paying someone to hang out with her. The idea of Ren treating her was something she couldn't accept—if anyone was paying, it should be her.
"No objections."
"…O-okay."
With just those four words, Ren dismissed Hitori's protests. He had noticed from daily observations that Hitori seemed to have a hard time refusing requests—or even demands—from others.
For example, a couple of days ago, when Nijika dragged her into joining a band, Ren guessed that Hitori had probably been roped in without fully realizing it. By the time she came to her senses, the band "Kessoku Band" was already formed. She likely didn't dare say anything about it and just quietly went along for the ride.
It was the same now. With Ren speaking a little more firmly, she didn't dare argue further and simply accepted his offer gratefully, completely forgetting that she had previously paid him a "friend fee."
Hitori enjoyed the ramen immensely, so moved that she even cried, constantly dabbing her tears with a tissue.
Ren wasn't surprised by this. Hitori not only "transformed" and wailed miserally at times, but she also cried or laughed easily—though her laughter wasn't quite like his childhood friend's.
After the meal, they headed to the train station together. As it was late at night, with people getting off work or heading home after drinking, Ren and Hitori encountered an incident on the way.
"Hey there, little girl, how about joining us for karaoke? Aren't you bored being out alone so late? If you're looking for some excitement, we'll keep you company."
Two drunken men were blocking a girl, relentlessly forcing her into a nearby alley.
"R-Ren..."
This was the first time Hitori had encountered such a crisis in her daily life. Terrified, she grabbed hold of Ren's sleeve, unsure of what to do.
As for Ren, his approach to such situations was simple: if he had the ability to help and witnessed it happening, he would step in. There was no grand, noble reason—it was simply because he could. Otherwise, he would have just called the police, warned the two drunkards, and made a quick escape.
So, Ren patted Hitori's hand, signaling her to let go, and then walked over to the two drunkards, expressionlessly tapping them on the shoulder.
"Hey, old men, isn't Okubo Park full of the kind of excitement you're looking for? What's the point of harassing people here? Trying to be society's trash?"
After they turned around irritably to see who was behind them, Ren took a step back and issued a warning.
Though he stood only 177 cm tall, he seemed like a giant in front of them. The two drunkards were a full head shorter, and Ren's intimidating aura initially frightened them. But feeling humiliated, their anger flared, and they bared their teeth, attempting to shove him aside.
"You little brat, who do you think you are!"
Ren found their hands too greasy to block or grab, so instead, he swiftly kicked them to the ground.
After being taught a lesson, the two drunkards, now rolling on the ground, lost all will to fight and scrambled away in a panic.
"Are you okay?"
With the drunkards dealt with, Ren turned to the girl who had been threatened. From a distance, he hadn't noticed, but up close, he saw that she also had pink hair, tied into a single ponytail at the back, with two strands left loose in front, their ends tied with red ribbons.
"I'm fine, thank you, Ren. I'll be going now."
The girl, who also had long pink hair, smiled at Ren and bowed before walking away.
She didn't seem flustered at all and even knew his name.
But no matter how hard Ren searched his memory, he couldn't recall who she was. So, she only knew him from her side? How strange.
Still, as long as she was safe, that was what mattered. As for the two drunkards, the most troublesome part of helping others was often the aftermath—whether there would be retaliation or if the person helped would turn against him. The fact that the girl had thanked him was already rare; normally, the person being helped would have run away the moment he confronted the drunkards.
[The system has provided humanitarian assistance on behalf of the host. The host need not worry about any follow-up issues. Please relax and enjoy a carefree, laid-back life.]
Just as Ren began to feel concerned, the system stepped in once again.
He didn't ask what "humanitarian assistance" meant, but as long as he didn't have to worry about future trouble, that was enough.
After resolving that minor trouble, Ren and Hitori continued on their way to the train station.
"Ren, you're amazing."
Hitori gazed at Ren with sparkling eyes. The way he had stepped forward just now felt incredibly safe and undeniably cool.
"I just happened to be capable of handling it."
Ren smiled modestly. He didn't think he was particularly remarkable. If someone had the ability, he believed anyone encountering such a situation would lend a hand.
As they chatted and walked, neither noticed the pink-haired girl who had earlier claimed she was leaving emerge again from a nearby alley. She stared obsessively at Ren's retreating figure, then gritted her teeth when her eyes fell upon Hitori, her expression darkening with unreadable thoughts.
But Hitori wasn't her main target right now. As for those two who had interrupted her stalking of Ren—better to just kill them.
The pink-haired girl touched the axe she carried with her and headed in the direction the two drunkards had gone. However, before she could act, the two drunkards, disoriented from alcohol, ran a red light and were killed in a traffic accident.
?
They got off easy.
Taking in the gruesome scene on the ground, she silently turned and left.
Meanwhile, because of what had just happened, Ren escorted Hitori all the way to her doorstep. Hitori was so moved she almost considered offering herself to him, but then she remembered she smelled like mothballs and was dressed in frumpy clothes. Even if she threw herself at him, Ren might be put off. In the end, she decided she'd just continue paying the "friend fee" tomorrow.
"Sis, who was that big brother earlier?"
After Hitori greeted her parents and returned to her room, her younger sister Futari and their family dog Jimihen came in. Futari, who also had pink hair and blue eyes, asked Hitori curiously.
"You saw him, Futari?!"
Hitori was startled. She hadn't told her family yet that she had made friends—it still felt somewhat unreal to her—and she hadn't expected Futari to have seen him.
"I saw him! He's really handsome. Did you get a boyfriend, sis?"
"Hehehe~ He's just a friend, Futari. Am I amazing or what?"
Now that it had come to this, Hitori had no choice but to admit it. She grinned proudly.
"Did you pay him?"
Now that Hitori had admitted it, Futari grew a bit suspicious that it might be fake.
"Of course not! And it's not just him—I've made even more friends!"
Hitori pulled Futari into a hug and boastfully started talking about Nijika and Gabriel. In her mind, anyone she'd exchanged words with counted as a friend. Since Futari couldn't go to her school to check if it was true, Hitori couldn't resist bragging a little.
While they were chatting, Ren had also returned home. It was only then that he messaged Anon. She had been asking him nonstop since school ended when he would be coming home.
"You're too late! Don't tell me you've already gotten a girlfriend, Ren?"
Anon, who had rushed over immediately after receiving the message, complained discontentedly before asking somewhat nervously why Ren had been out playing all night.
"Not at all. I just went to a live house with someone to watch band performances for the night."
"So you already have someone you're interested in?! School just started! You're cheating on me right after I went abroad???"
"How is that cheating? We're just childhood friends, aren't we?"
"Hmph, I don't care! You're definitely cheating!"
After thinking about it all day at home, Anon grew increasingly uneasy. She had been planning to ask Ren if he had anyone he was interested in, only to find out he had already gone on what seemed like a date with someone.
What was this? This was totally failing as childhood friends!
"So you came here to catch me in the act?"
Ren laughed incredulously.
"I couldn't care less about you. I was just bored."
Anon puffed out her cheeks. Though feeling somewhat conflicted inside, she didn't voice it. They were just childhood friends after all, it would be overstepping if she tried to control who Ren dated.
Still, she was absolutely furious. Her childhood friend wanted to find a girlfriend, but instead of choosing her, he went for some outside vixen? Was that right?
"Actually, perfect timing. There's something I wanted to ask you. Back in elementary and middle school, besides you, do you remember any other pink-haired girls who interacted with me? On my way back today, I met a pink-haired beauty who seemed to know me, but I can't recall ever having any contact with her no matter how hard I try."
One advantage of having childhood friends was having someone to help remember things from childhood. Perhaps Anon might remember the girl he just met, so Ren decided to ask her.
"You can drop the 'beauty' part. But a pink-haired girl? Yes, there was one. How could you forget, Ren?"
Anon muttered discontentedly before thinking for a moment. She actually did recall that during middle school, there had been another pink-haired girl who had connections with Ren, though she was surprised he had forgotten.
"Don't keep me in suspense. I really can't remember."
Hearing that Anon actually had some recollection, Ren was somewhat surprised and urged her to explain quickly.
"That was back in first year of middle school. You should remember how someone in our class was being bullied, right? She was the pink-haired girl, the only other pink-haired girl we've encountered from elementary school until now besides me. You were the one who helped her back then, though she transferred schools afterward."
Anon's tone carried a hint of nostalgia as she spoke. Her childhood friend wasn't just brave, he hadn't stood by idly when faced with bullying, daring to confront five or six people all by himself.
"..."
A memory surfaced in Ren's mind, and he remembered. There was indeed such an incident back in junior high school. His fists showed no favoritism—whether you were male or female. He particularly despised bullying. When it happened in their class, he taught all the bullies a lesson. When their parents came to confront him, he didn't hesitate to throw punches at them too.
Because he was too young to be selected back then, he instinctively bullied all the bullies and their parents.
In the end, everyone apologized to him. Those who needed to transfer schools did so, and those who needed to change classes changed classes. In short, the bullies became notorious and ended up at the bottom of the school's social hierarchy.
As for the pink-haired girl he helped, it seemed she transferred schools due to her parents' decision.
What was her name again?
Ren furrowed his brow in thought, then remembered—the name had left a deep impression on him.
She was called Yuno Gasai. In his current understanding, it could be interpreted as "my wife Yuno," which made it quite memorable. But since it happened years ago and she transferred soon after, it took him a moment to recall.
No wonder she recognized him and appeared timid when threatened. After being bullied, it's not easy to escape the shadow of such trauma. It must have been hard for her. Fortunately, he encountered her, or the consequences could have been unimaginable.
After learning the truth, Ren withdrew his thoughts and didn't dwell on the matter, assuming it was unlikely he'd cross paths with her again.