"What's wrong? Big sister?"
Nijika yawned, the corner of her eyes producing a trace of tears, obviously still not fully awake.
Yesterday, in order to supervise Ryou and prevent this girl from sneaking out at night to do bad things, she had no choice but to share the same bed with Ryou, sleeping foot-to-foot.
The effect was indeed very good, making the petty Ryou's night raid plan collapse halfway.
But Nijika also paid the corresponding price.
Ryou's sleeping posture was always very bad, and she would unconsciously grab the blanket. Clearly, the guest room's bed was very large, enough for two girls to sleep comfortably, but Nijika was still squeezed into the corner, staring blankly at the ceiling, only dozing off for a bit when she was really too sleepy.
Luckily, her school, Shimokitazawa University, didn't start until tomorrow, giving her a whole day to catch up on sleep, considered fortune within misfortune.
'…Wait.'
Nijika suddenly realized something was wrong.
'Supervising Ryou?'
'Ain't I in my own home? Why would I need to supervise Ryou?'
Her chaotic brain gradually cleared, her smart IQ began to reclaim the high ground.
Yesterday's memories surged like a tide, 'Encountering Kaito-kun in Akihabara… eating together, shopping… later in the evening proposing to stay over for one night…'
Nijika's body stiffened, rubbing her eyes foolishly, then slowly lifted her head.
The imagined eternally cold, world-weary face of the tsundere sister-obsessed shop manager was not there.
Kaito stood two steps away, waving his hand, seemingly calm as he greeted her, "…Morning?"
Nijika: "…"
The girl's silence was deafening.
She raised her head, looking at the white tiles of the bathroom ceiling, laughing twice dryly, "This must be a dream? I must still be not awake yet…"
'Fake, it's all fake.'
'The Kaito-kun before me is fake, the toilet under me is fake, this whole world is just one giant dream.'
'Yes, that's it.'
Seeing her bury her head into her arms like an ostrich, looking like she had no face to meet anyone, Kaito pondered for a moment, then decided to leave first, pretending nothing happened.
But plans always can't keep up with changes.
Just as he stepped out one step, he suddenly stopped, and not only didn't leave, but instead turned around and locked the door as fast as possible.
The subtle "click" sound was extremely clear in the quiet, narrow bathroom.
Nijika's sharp ears twitched slightly but still didn't lift her head.
Only to hear, knock! knock!, someone knocking on the door.
"Strange... why is the door locked? Nijika, are you inside?"
'This is… Ryou's voice?'
Nijika was so frightened her heart almost stopped.
If such an awkward scene were discovered by Ryou, even jumping into the River couldn't wash her clean. Ryou wouldn't even need to laugh loudly; just a strange look would make Nijika want to dig into the ground with her toes.
'No! Absolutely can't be found out!'
'Need to find a place to hide!'
'But even so… this time's situation is different from when we were in Hoori.'
Last time in Hoori, although they had encountered similar situations, they were in a hotel guest room, with many places to hide. Like the closet, the balcony, even behind the curtains.
Now, they were in a bathroom, the area was small, and even fewer places to hide.
As long as the door was pushed open, everything would be in plain sight.
If you had to say… the bathtub could barely allow her to hide.
But there were no curtains over the bathtub. Even if she hid her whole body inside, it would still be obvious.
'Ryou isn't blind, how can she possibly miss me?'
'Could it be… really no way out?'
Nijika couldn't help but look at Kaito beside her, her wine-red beautiful eyes filled with hope. Long experience had given her firm trust in him, 'Even scary evil spirits can be easily defeated by him. Maybe… Kaito-kun really has a way?'
Although facing imminent exposure, Kaito's expression remained calm, not panicking at all.
Putting his index finger to his lips, making a "silence" gesture, he slightly shook his head, signaling Nijika to stay calm, and then spoke in a normal tone, "Nijika's not here, it's me washing up."
"Boyfriend-kun?"
Although her inner thoughts were messy just now, it only lasted a few seconds, so petty Ryou didn't suspect anything, just casually asked, "Did you see Nijika? After getting up just now, I haven't seen her, it's so strange."
"Nijika?", Kaito's tone showed just the right hint of confusion, "She just went out to buy breakfast, do you need her for something?"
'Buy breakfast?"
Ryou wasn't that easy to fool though, still asking suspiciously, "If that's so, why did you lock the door?"
'If it's just washing up, there's no need to be so cautious, right?'
'Or is he hiding something?'
"Of course for privacy."
Through the thin door, Boyfriend-kun's voice still sounded normal, no hint of abnormality, "Boys must protect themselves when outside. If the door isn't locked properly, what if you or Nijika barged in and saw something you shouldn't?"
Sounded quite reasonable.
Outside, petty Ryou let out an "oh", then said, "Can you open the door for a bit? I have some personal matters to handle."
'What to do what to do!'
Nijika, who had just finished tidying her clothes and stood up, panicked and spun around.
Besides the bathtub, the bathroom had no place to hide.
Even if she hid in the bathtub, when Ryou came in, she would still be discovered.
In this desperate situation with no escape, Kaito slightly shook his head, gave her a calming glance, and then calmly opened the bathroom door.
Nijika: "!!!"
But unexpectedly, after the door opened and Ryou walked in, she didn't say anything about Nijika, who was close at hand.
More than that, she didn't even glance this way, as if… she didn't exist at all.
'What is going on?'
Nijika was baffled, looking at petty Ryou standing only two or three steps away, but didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
Seeing Kaito turning to leave, she quickly tiptoed after him, almost brushing against Ryou's side, thrillingly and dangerously walking out of the bathroom.
Unaware, petty Ryou also felt it was strange.
She originally thought Nijika was hiding inside, but after entering, besides Boyfriend-kun, she found no other figure.
There was also no strange smell in the air, nor suspicious crumpled paper balls in the wastebasket.
'Could it be… I really overthought?'
———
Following Kaito back all the way to his bedroom.
Just after closing the door, Nijika couldn't wait to ask, "Kaito-kun, just now… what exactly happened?"
"Just a little trick."
Even low-level evil spirits could use "ghost blocking eyes" on Bocchi; naturally, Kaito could also do this kind of thing.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y