Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

The past will not pass easily, but the present will not stop easily.

When they sat down, Chihaya Aion took the seat next to Iruma Hibiki, pushing Iruma Hibiki aside, and she stood between Iruma Hibiki and Nagasaki Soyo.

"Ah... I really don't want to leave. When I think about how hard it will be to have dinner with everyone like this after going to England, I kind of want to stay in Tokyo, but—"

"Actually, I thought the last dinner together was the last, but I didn't expect to have dinner together again today. What a surprise!"

Chihaya Aine became the one who livened up the atmosphere almost as soon as she came back.

The reunion of the disbanded band, which had been somewhat difficult at first, was finally slowly getting back on track.

No matter from what angle you look at it.

Chihaya Aine is an excellent captain, but she just can't play the guitar.

Iruma Hibiki thought so after he breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at Chihaya Aine beside him and felt a rare sense of security, and his body softened slightly from the tense mood.

Then comes gratitude.

"When I come back from England, even if our relationship isn't as good as it is now and we've both changed a lot, Iruma-san, can you at least meet me?"

Hibiki Iruma suddenly remembered the promise he made with Chihaya Aine.

Is your relationship with Chihaya-san getting worse?

Is it real or fake?

At least at this moment, Hibiki Iruma could not imagine such a scene at all, nor could he imagine what kind of situation would require such a promise for them to even meet.

In other words, he was completely unable to repay Chihaya Aine's kindness by fulfilling the agreement.

Iruma Hibiki thought helplessly.

But it's a little easier.

He gradually got into the state and, together with Ijichi Kouka, comforted the depressed Goto Ichiri and Nagasaki Motoyo.

After some stumbling, the band finally got everyone together.

Apart from--

Kita.

46 Stupid Kita and the love that started but never fully started

'?'

?

In fact, Iruma Hibiki didn't think that he would be the first person to receive a reply from Kita. After all, he became a little tired after returning from the party.

Shoko Toyokawa's follow-up questions were a bit scary.

Although at that time Toyokawa Shoko left freely and naturally, as if she was completely confident that he would handle the relationship with his [ex-girlfriend] Su Shi.

But in fact.

Shoko Toyokawa is a fool.

A complete idiot.

It's like he's reluctant to let go but at the same time he's saying it's okay if he stays in the band.

It was the same with this matter. I felt relieved, but at the same time, I was clearly worried. Iruma Hibiki's response was also very difficult, but——

Nagasaki-san is indispensable.

This was a consensus between Hibiki Iruma and Shoko Toyokawa.

Is this really good?

Iruma Hibiki asked himself softly.

In fact, perhaps, even after making such a farewell, he still felt a little sorry for Nagasaki Suyo in his heart.

It's impossible not to feel bad.

But reconciliation is also impossible.

Although it sounds like a child's joke, he and Shoko Toyokawa had signed a document to exchange their lives.

It won’t work if you don’t follow the rules.

Iruma Hibiki thought so.

But no matter what, he couldn't enjoy the relationship at this moment.

Is it that Shoko Toyokawa is not good?

No, not at all. To be honest, for Iruma Hibiki, Toyokawa Shoko is a lover who is so perfect that it is frightening. She is a girl that he would never have dared to imagine in the past.

She's the kind of pretty girl that he can't find if she smiles at him.

Not to mention Toyokawa Shoko's lovely personality. That day, when he caught Toyokawa Shoko at the corner and heard her restrained and soft sobs, Iruma Hibiki was completely captured in an instant.

It’s not that I don’t like it, nor that I don’t love it, and it’s certainly not that it’s bad.

But because of some concerns, Iruma Hibiki cannot enjoy the relationship directly.

but--

However, this is not correct.

Because he was worried about Nagasaki Suyo, he couldn't devote himself wholeheartedly to this relationship, which seemed irresponsible to his current partner, Toyokawa Shoko.

So, Hibiki Iruma was torn and worried. What would happen next? How would he get along with Nagasaki Motoyo? What would he do if Nagasaki Motoyo chose to leave Crychic? Would he try to keep her? Would that be too cruel? Would he just let her go? That was definitely not an option either...

In fact, he himself didn't quite know it.

Some are at a loss.

There is also a subtle sense of anxiety and panic.

Was it too quick to agree at that time?

Sometimes he would think so, but when he saw the continuous letters from Toyokawa Shoko, Iruma Hibiki completely gave up such irresponsible and rude ideas.

Then, he chose to escape——

Because even if you want to face it, you will be at a loss.

Nagasaki Suyo's account naturally fell silent.

This was the first time since Hibiki Iruma and Motoyo Nagasaki met, excluding the period of the Cold War.

This situation brought some uneasiness, but it also allowed Iruma Hibiki to avoid facing more complicated problems at the moment.

He opened the chat box of Ijichi Hongxia and asked if they had received any contact from Kita.

[No, did Hibiki find any clues about Kita? ]

Iruma Hibiki was silent for a moment after reading the news about Ijichi Kouka.

Then he went back to Xiduo's chat history.

【（'? '【0疑球（?一”）⑦罒伍jifu〃丝就⑻群: ）】

The emoji is still there.

Indeed, Kita contacted him and responded to his greetings, although the meaning was unclear.

How should I speak next?

Iruma Hibiki thought for a moment.

[How are you doing lately, Kita?]

[Something happened that bothered me, but it’s okay, everything is OK, thank you for your concern! ]

-

After seeing the reply, Iruma Hibiki once again confirmed his thoughts.

This is different from the concealment from Ichichi Hongxia and the others.

Kita didn't seem to resist communicating with him.

why?

what happened?

Iruma Hibiki suddenly became curious about this.

For a moment, he felt like a detective.

What should he do now? Should he ask Kita about the band? Hibiki Iruma pondered for a moment but couldn't find an answer.

[By the way, when is Crychic, where Iruma-san is, performing? I'll definitely be there!]

Before Iruma Hibiki could finish his thought, Kita sent him a message.

[Eh? Is it okay? I think I heard from Goto-san that Kita hasn't been to school recently.]

There was silence for a while from Kita before a new message came.

[Yes, if the show was soon, I might have missed it! Could it be that Crychic’s show is soon?! How could this be!]

"It's not just recently, but after hearing what Goto-san said, I'm a little worried about you."

Iruma Hibiki replied while thinking.

Let Kita's thoughts occupy your mind.

Don't think about other complicated situations.

「That’s great! Don’t worry, I’ll be fine soon. But Iruma-senpai…I have something I want to ask you, is that okay?」

[Yes, you can.]

[Can you keep this a secret for me? I replied to your message today! Please! I really need your help with this!]

【why? 】

Iruma Hibiki asked.

He felt that he was very close to the answer.

【because……】

Kita was obviously hesitant.

She seemed to hesitate for a long time, and Iruma Hibiki also realized that this long pause was obviously abnormal, so he recounted:

"I'll help you, but only if I know what happened to you, Kita."

I ran away.

So straightforward!

Looking at the words on the screen, Hibiki Iruma made a subtle complaint.

After all, shouldn't things like this be covered up or explained? Even saying they couldn't come to the show because they had mushroom poisoning or fell into the water while rowing a dragon boat would be more reasonable and acceptable.

To directly say, "I ran away."

Iruma Hibiki didn't know whether to praise Kita for her honesty or blame her for being irresponsible.

"Actually... I didn't think that way at first. I... was a fan of Iruma-san and Ryo-san, so I joined the band as the lead guitarist at Goto-san's suggestion. But I don't know how to play guitar at all and have never practiced..."

So I ran away during the first performance.

Good guy!

That’s right!

Iruma Hibiki was almost laughing at Kita's comments, especially since Kita was talking to him with such a serious look on his face.

But actually——

A few seconds later, Kita sent a photo. It was a scarred left hand covered with band-aids. The index finger was the most seriously injured and was wrapped in a bandage.

【How could he be injured like this?! 】

At this moment, Iruma Hibiki also restrained his playful mood and instead became worried about Kita.

[When I was practicing before, I couldn't get the pitch I wanted in the book, so I tightened the knob too much. Then the strings broke and got scratched...]