"Bocchi-chan, you're so nervous!" Ijichi Nijika, the blonde girl with a prominent ahoge and a side ponytail, smiled and patted her. "That was B-Komachi, the group that's been skyrocketing in popularity recently!"
Gotoh Hitori, who was called Bocchi-chan, showed intense surprise in her eyes upon hearing that. "Eh! I think I've heard of them!" Gotoh Hitori fell into recollection. She had heard the name several times while secretly eavesdropping on her classmates lately.
However...
"Do little shota idols perform in the underground scene now?" Hitori weakly pointed at the little shota being held by Ai, her voice filled with shock.
"Um... I think that's probably her little brother, Bocchi-chan?"
"Wait, wait! Bocchi-chan?"
"She's done for, Bocchi-chan is sinking into her own world again." Nijika could already vaguely hear Hitori's stream-of-consciousness thoughts about how the underground idol world was too dark, forcing such a young child onto the stage, and so on.
"Forget Bocchi-chan. Doesn't the Manager know B-Komachi's manager?" Yamada Ryo, the girl with short blue hair, curiously pulled Nijika toward the live house's backstage area.
The live house manager, Ijichi Seika, did indeed know Saitou Kyoko. They were senpai and kohai from college.
"Kyoko-senpai, under your management, B-Komachi is getting more and more popular," Seika complimented.
"Ai is just too talented. I'm only doing the minor work," Kyoko said clearly, keeping a level head. She was well aware that if she hadn't coincidentally met and scouted Hoshino Ai on the street, B-Komachi would never have achieved its current momentum.
Seika couldn't help but agree. Hoshino Ai was simply a born idol! She perpetually radiated a dazzling light, captivating and firmly drawing the attention of all onlookers.
Seika looked at Hoshino Ai and was momentarily stunned to see her hugging a little shota.
At that moment, Ai noticed Seika's gaze and pulled Asa over to say hello. "Hello, Ijichi-senpai, long time no see."
"This is my little brother, Shiraishi Asa!"
Seika smiled faintly, seeing Ai introduce her little brother with such doting pride. "It looks like she really loves her little brother..."
Looking down at the little shota, a flash of admiration crossed Seika's eyes.
"What a cute little shota!" Her younger sister, Nijika, exclaimed behind her, voicing her innermost thought.
"Asa-kun, do you want a snack or a drink?" Nijika crouched down, resting her hands on her knees, and asked Asa in a gentle voice.
Asa was unmoved. This was not the first time he had heard this kind of opening line. More importantly, he would never be swayed by mere snacks and drinks in front of Ai!
Instead, Ai squatted down and kissed him on the cheek, saying, "The audience will be coming in soon, Asa-kun. You can go play with these onee-sans for a bit."
With that, Asa was pulled away by Nijika.
"What's wrong? You finally brought him out. Aren't you going to spend more time talking to him?" Kyoko asked Ai.
The idol shook her head slowly, her eyes fixed on Asa with unwavering resolve. "The performance is important, too. Only by earning good money can I give Asa-kun a better life in the future."
....
Behind the live house bar, the three high school girls of Kessoku Band surrounded the little shota.
"Hello, Asa-kun. My name is Ijichi Nijika. You can call me Nijika-neesan."
"Nijika-neesan!"
"My name is Yamada Ryo."
"Ryo-neesan!"
"I-I-I'm Gotoh Hitori..."
"Hitori-neesan!"
It's a known fact that cute high school girls cannot resist cute things. The little shota's tender yet sincere words instantly struck the hearts of the three girls.
"S-so cute!" Hitori murmured softly.
"Onee-san's maid uniform is cute too!"
Hearing the little shota's compliment, Hitori could barely contain the smile on her face. She was instantly floating on cloud nine.
"Heh-heh, heh-heh, I'm cute too..."
"Asa-kun, I'll get you an iced cola!" Hitori volunteered, clumsily operating the machine to pour a cup of cola.
"Here comes the iced cola!"
Asa looked at Hitori's wobbly, spacey steps and immediately had a bad feeling.
Sure enough.
The next second, Hitori tripped over her own feet, performing a textbook-perfect spontaneous fall.
"Ah!"
Asa kept his eyes on the splashing cola, expertly dodging the liquid. However, while he avoided the cola, he couldn't escape the benefits of the Rito-style Fall. The falling girl directly tackled him to the floor. Her maid skirt billowed up.
"Asa-kun was tackled!" Ryo muttered, her cherry lips slightly parted in shock.
"Bocchi-chan fell! Hurry up and pull them up." Nijika snapped at her.
Just as the two girls were about to help Hitori up, the latter suddenly let out a soft moan. They both froze.
A moment later, the two of them rescued Asa. Hitori, who had been covering her face and needed a long time to recover, was now lying on the side, slowly turning grayscale and unable to get up.
A few mumbled words could faintly be heard escaping her lips.
"Judge, I plead guilty..."