Gotō Hitori once had a dream.
Even though she knew full well that people could never truly understand one another, she still hoped that there might be someone who—after seeing her darker side—would smile and accept all of her.
Originally, that neighbor boy who always greeted her with a smile, no matter what happened, was exactly that kind of person.
Even on community kids' activity days, when she was supposed to go out and socialize with her mom but her social anxiety flared up and she stubbornly refused to leave the house, the boy would just laugh and say,
"Geez, I really don't know what to do with you, Hitori~," and stay home to play with her instead.
In Hitori's heart, he had been the most special person in this simulation.
But people change.
When this smiling "guest" came to the Gotō household, Bocchi-chan's internal alarm bells were already blaring.
"You're already this old and still holed up at home all day—honestly, there's no helping you. Looks like being completely disconnected from society really is a caterpillar's fate."
He smiled politely, looking like a well-behaved kid—yet in a voice only he and Bocchi could hear, he would murmur these barbed remarks.
"Oh my, isn't that little Tōru! Long time no see—did you come to chat with Hitori? You two go catch up in her room~"
Bocchi's mom, ever considerate, deliberately gave them space to be alone. At the same time, she tugged Bocchi's dad—who went into full combat readiness the moment a boy talked to his daughter—by the tie to keep him at her side, while Gotō Futari, still a bit confused, stayed with them in the living room.
Alright—just him and Bocchi now.
That meant he could do whatever he wanted…!
Bocchi, meanwhile, was sitting on pins and needles. She'd never imagined this boy would, like in childhood, break into her comfort zone and come straight to her.
"Um… well, it's like this. About how I went a bit too far before… I figured that no matter what, I should still come apologize to you, Caterpillar."
But to her surprise, the curly-haired boy's attitude this time was unbelievably gentle.
"H-huh… i-it's… it's fine…"
Bocchi blinked, having fully prepared herself to be bullied into hiding in a closet again, and double-checked that she wasn't dreaming.
"Narumi-kun not bullying me… that's so rare!"
And if you looked closely at his face, he was actually rather handsome. If he didn't deliberately put on that sharp, aggressive expression, he could even be described as approachable.
If only Narumi-kun could always be this gentle… Bocchi quietly prayed in her heart.
"Mm, but I'm a bit thirsty right now. Caterpillar, could you bring me something to drink? No ○○ Cola this time—black tea is fine."
"Ah—o-okay…!"
Bocchi stood up blankly, took tiny steps downstairs, and under her mother's surprised gaze clumsily boiled a pot of tea, then nervously carried it back up.
"And also, something sweet—tea needs snacks, right?"
"O-okay, okay."
So Bocchi went back down to the kitchen again to grab some small cakes and bread.
"Hmm~ by the way, does your place have any other drinks? I kinda want canned coffee. Please, please."
And just like that, Bocchi had no choice but to run to the nearby vending machine to buy the exact coffee the curly-haired boy asked for.
Wait.
"Hold on—he's still ordering me around, isn't he?!"
Carrying the canned coffee back to her room, Bocchi finally realized she'd been completely CPU'd.
"Oh wow, thanks, thanks~"
Narumi lazily took the plastic bag, sipping the coffee Bocchi had just bought while glancing at the guitar resting in the corner.
"By the way… could you play the guitar for me, too?"
"What is this supposed to be?! Why does it sound like it's New Year's and I'm being asked to perform for relatives?!"
"W-why…? I-I don't really understand…"
After being ordered around again and again like this, even Bocchi finally mustered the courage to ask.
"I… I just want to get along with you properly, Narumi-kun. Why… are you always like this with me…? Did I do something wrong…?"
She tugged at the hem of her clothes, looking at the curly-haired boy sitting cross-legged in her room like he owned the place. Even being treated this badly, she was still reflecting on what she might have done wrong.
"Is it because I broke our promise, and you're still hung up on it? I-I'm sorry…"
"…I mean, yeah, I do mind a little—but it's not that."
The boy's lazy smile faded. After a brief silence, he awkwardly turned his head away.
"…Because other than this, I don't know how to talk to you."
"E-eh?"
"Idiot. You're so noisy. Don't make me say it again."
He turned his back on Bocchi and stopped responding, shoving small bread rolls into his mouth to avoid saying anything else.
Bocchi stood there in a daze, and it took her quite a while to process what had just happened.
"S-so that means… Narumi-kun doesn't actually hate me… He just doesn't know how to talk to me properly, so he's been using these over-the-top actions to get closer to me…?"
So clumsy!
And yet, to her own surprise, Gotō Hitori completely understood!
"I-it's okay, really! I didn't mind at all!"
Feeling a bit guilty, she picked up her guitar. Her movements were still stiff, but she gathered her courage and cleared her throat.
"I-I'll play something for you, Narumi-kun!"
"As compensation for not understanding his roundabout feelings…"
Narumi relaxed a bit of his guarded stiffness and watched Bocchi play the intro—but a very different thought surfaced in his mind.
"Such a cute, earnest caterpillar. She didn't even suspect that I was just putting on a tsundere act on purpose to make her feel guilty."
Looks like the slap-then-candy strategy works wonders on Bocchi-chan. Bully her hard first, then tearfully say, "I'm sorry, this wasn't really my intention—I just didn't know how to express my feelings," and she'd definitely forgive you.
This is bad.
Bocchi, what kind of scumbag-manufacturing machine are you?
"Good thing the one you ran into is Narumi 'Kindhearted Philanthropist Passing By, Anonymous Masked ○○ Rider' Tōru—someone with zero bad intentions who just wants to help you achieve your dreams. Any bullying is purely out of innocent curiosity, no malice whatsoever."
[I didn't expect you to adopt this style of action. Still, allow me to remind you: time is limited. Don't take things too far.]
It seemed even the system had finally had enough; its voice appeared in Narumi's mind after a long absence.
And along with it came some sudden physical symptoms.
On his way home, just as he was planning to buy more alcohol to drink a few bottles, Narumi felt his limbs grow weak. His breathing became labored, his consciousness slowly blurred—and a knife-like pain tore through his upper abdomen, making him retch uncontrollably.
Narumi understood.
The side effects of long-term heavy drinking and smoking had arrived—hand in hand with the system's verdict.
And that probably meant…
He didn't have much time left.