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The night passed without incident.
The next day.
The plum rain continued; apart from a short break at noon, it rained incessantly for the rest of the time.
After the daytime classes ended, Kitahara Makoto went to the library to continue studying with Bocchi-chan.
"Y-yesterday's homework is all done…"
Gotō Hitori handed over her homework notebook with both hands, like an elementary school student awaiting a teacher's review.
Kitahara Makoto briefly checked it and praised her:
"Good, one hundred points."
"Eh heh~"
Bocchi-chan, having received the praise she wanted, involuntarily showed a proud expression.
However, the next second, she heard Kitahara Makoto say faintly:
"Don't just be happy, hurry up and study. After we finish, we'll continue yesterday's unfinished punishment."
"..."
Click.
It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck.
Bocchi-chan's proud smile instantly froze.
An hour passed quickly.
"That's enough for today," Kitahara Makoto said, stretching his limbs with satisfaction. "If we continue at this pace, Hitori will definitely pass her math exam at the end of the term."
There was too little time to turn Bocchi-chan into an academic overachiever.
"Th-thank you, Kitahara-sensei…"
Bocchi-chan lowered her head, her face flushed, stuttering her thanks.
While Sudden Enlightenment could increase learning efficiency, it also had the side effect of turning people into 'master-betraying disciples.' At this moment, Gotō Hitori's mind was filled with indescribable, terrible impulses.
"I'm going to the bathroom first, then I'll buy two drinks." Kitahara Makoto inexplicably felt an itch in his hand, so he extended his right hand and patted Bocchi-chan's head. "Hitori, go wait for me in the storage room."
There was no helping it; that height was just too perfect for head-patting.
When he first started patting her head, Bocchi-chan would get nervous, but now she had clearly gotten used to it, her head even subconsciously rubbing against Kitahara Makoto's palm.
"Th-that…"
Gotō Hitori mustered her courage, wanting to change the punishment; kissing was just too embarrassing.
Unfortunately, her voice was too faint to be heard clearly.
"What's wrong?"
Kitahara Makoto asked, lowering his head.
"N-nothing…"
Gotō Hitori quickly shook her head.
She couldn't say it.
She truly couldn't bring herself to go back on her word.
"If it's nothing, then go wait for me in the storage room first."
"Oh…"
Bocchi-chan subconsciously agreed.
A moment later.
At the storage room door.
(Eh? Eh? Eh?)
Looking at the familiar storage room door in front of her, Gotō Hitori's eyes widened instantly.
(W-why did I actually walk over here?)
(I clearly wanted to go to the bathroom and then hide until the end of time… Why did I subconsciously walk over here?!)
(Should I just slip away now?)
(J-just say my stomach hurts today…)
Amidst her struggle, footsteps suddenly sounded in the hallway.
Gotō Hitori jumped in fright, hurriedly pushed open the door, and darted into the storage room, displaying her guilty conscience to the fullest.
At the same time.
Kitahara Makoto, having washed his hands, arrived at the storage room door, just about to push it open, when he suddenly felt a prickling sensation on his back.
"This feeling… Is someone watching me?"
Kitahara Makoto subtly scanned his surroundings and quickly saw a figure flash by in the corner.
"Kita?"
Although it was only a fleeting glimpse, Kitahara Makoto still identified the person by their figure and hair color.
"Why is Kita following me?"
"Following me in secret, it just feels off…"
Kitahara Makoto pondered for two seconds, just about to go over and ask about the situation, when a soft 'hum' sounded in his mind, and fragments of a future scene immediately appeared before his eyes—
In the dim storage room, he stood looking down, Kita and Bocchi-chan sat in a row, both girls' faces were flushed, their eyes… especially Kita's lips, clearly showed a silver thread that had just broken…
"Tsk~ I foresaw the future again."
Kitahara Makoto pressed his forehead, quickly understanding.
At this moment, it was clearly a very important juncture; if he went to find Kita, the future he had just seen would cease to exist.
But if he pretended not to notice, then the future he had just seen might come true.
"Although I don't know what will happen… pretending not to notice is all it takes."
Kitahara Makoto silently retracted his gaze, pretending not to have noticed anything, and continued walking towards the storage room.
Since there was an opportunity to tease both Bocchi-chan and Kita at the same time, Kitahara Makoto naturally chose to have both.
"That was close, I almost got caught…"
Kita covered her flat chest, quietly exhaled, then slipped out from behind the wall and continued her tailing.
As for why she was following Kitahara Makoto… the reason was simple.
It was still about Bocchi-chan.
As a social butterfly, Kita was very concerned about the mental and physical well-being of her friends, and Bocchi-chan was her top priority.
In class today, Bocchi-chan was occasionally spacing out, losing focus, blushing… When Kita subtly asked her about it, Bocchi-chan's face immediately turned into a red apple, which definitely meant something unusual had happened!
As Bocchi-chan's best friend, she absolutely could not ignore it!
So, after school, Kita Ikuyo made an excuse to cancel her plans to go shopping with her friends, hid in the shadows, and quietly followed to investigate.
First, going to the library to study with Kitahara Makoto—that wasn't a big deal. Kitahara Makoto had even invited her to study together before, but Kita had refused.
However, after studying, Bocchi-chan's steps as she left the library were like walking on cotton, and her face had unknowingly turned explosively red… Something was wrong! Very wrong!
"Sure enough!" Kita Ikuyo hid in the shadows, clenching her small fists. "I knew it had something to do with Kitahara!"
"…"
At the same time.
In the storage room.
"Hitori, have a drink first, so you don't get thirsty later."
Kitahara Makoto distorted open the cap of the drink bottle and handed over the black tea.
"Th-thank you…"
Gotō Hitori's face was flushed; although she was about to be teased, she still subconsciously thanked him.
After taking a sip of her drink, Kitahara Makoto opened his bag and took out the Pocky he had bought yesterday:
"What flavor do you want to eat today, Hitori?"
Gotō Hitori stammered:
"The matcha isn't finished yet, and it's already opened…"
Kitahara Makoto nodded:
"Then let's continue with matcha."
The flavor didn't matter; his target wasn't the biscuit stick, but the little Hitori in front of him.
"Shall we begin then?" Kitahara Makoto pulled out a biscuit stick and brought it to Bocchi-chan's mouth. "This time, you must obey the punishment rules. If you fail, we'll have to continue tomorrow."
"I-I understand…"
Gotō Hitori clenched her small fists, frantically cheering herself on in her mind.
(H-hang in there!)
(Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic!)
(As long as I can complete the punishment today, I won't have to come here tomorrow!)
As Bocchi-chan took the biscuit stick into her mouth, Kitahara Makoto simply lowered his head and bit the other end.
Crunch, crunch.
The sound of eating the biscuit stick quietly echoed in the storage room.
This time, Bocchi-chan had indeed improved a lot. Although her eyelashes trembled nervously and her gaze shyly darted away, she ultimately didn't immediately close her eyes.
But that was all.
As only half of the biscuit stick remained, Gotō Hitori ultimately couldn't endure the torment of embarrassment and closed her eyes, overwhelmed with shyness.
"Challenge failed, so… accept your punishment."
Kitahara Makoto didn't act coy; he decisively covered Bocchi-chan's rosy, moist lips, and then knocked on the door again.
With yesterday's experience, Bocchi-chan wasn't a clueless goose today. Upon sensing Kitahara Makoto's actions, although she really wanted to refuse, her body felt dizzy and couldn't react, even slightly parting her lips and actively opening the door to meet the 'enemy'…
A moment later.
Bang!
The storage room door was suddenly pushed open.
"You, you, you… What are you two doing behind my back?!"
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