It was about nine-thirty—neither early nor late, just right.
After copying the phone number left by "Flowers Under the Starry Sky," Aoki Kei decisively called the well-known animation director.
The phone rang a few times, and then—almost at once—was picked up.
"Hello, may I ask who's calling?"
A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end.
Aoki hadn't expected the famous director to answer so quickly, but the moment he heard the voice he replied at once:
"Hello—Mr. Niijima? I'm suki, the music creator on Yutube."
The real name of "Flowers Under the Starry Sky" was Niijima Yusuke. Aoki had looked him up beforehand, so it came back to him easily.
On the other end there wasn't an immediate reply; after a brief pause, the once-even tone lifted with excitement.
"Oh! Mr. suki, you saw my message? I've been following you since your very first video and always wanted a chance to collaborate, but the timing was never right… until a friend came to me recently about his movie and asked me to be the associate director. You were the very first person I thought of…"
"You can just call me Aoki, Mr. Niijima." Niijima rattled off a long paragraph; Aoki gave a polite line first, then answered,
"I've followed your work too, so it's an honor to collaborate. And being able to put my music on the big screen has been my dream…"
He said something that was smooth but not overly committal, then fell silent.
Since he didn't know anything yet about the project Niijima had mentioned, it was better to let Niijima bring it up himself.
And on Niijima's side, hearing no resistance in Aoki's attitude, he didn't overthink it and spoke up decisively:
"If you're willing, Mr. Aoki, how about we set a place to talk this weekend?"
"I'm fine with that," Aoki agreed.
They chatted a bit more—Niijima laid on the praise for Aoki's music.
From musical core to artistic depth, from "genius composer" to "legendary guitarist."
[portable speaker]
In the end they set a meeting for Saturday morning at a café in Shinjuku.
There were still four days till Saturday—plenty of time. After hanging up, Aoki shelved the collaboration for the moment.
The call had lasted thirty minutes; he'd only just woken up and hadn't eaten breakfast—so he was a little hungry.
But the time was awkward—too late for breakfast, a bit early for lunch.
He hesitated, then decided to find something to do in his room and head out at noon to eat.
He watched an hour-long variety show on his phone; when it ended, it was just about eleven.
He put away his phone, grabbed his keys, and went out.
When eating out alone, Aoki usually chose a ramen shop—fill up on a bowl. Not gourmet, but not bad either.
But eat ramen too much and you get tired of it. Since he'd finally taken a day off with time to himself, he decided to find a family restaurant a notch above ramen.
He searched on Google Maps and settled on a family restaurant five kilometers from his apartment.
Five kilometers wasn't far, but walking it wasn't realistic, so he headed straight for the station.
After a bumpy train ride, he arrived.
He picked a place called "Loya." After sitting down, he ordered from the menu: a hamburger steak, miso-simmered fish, and milk-cream toast.
The price was good—much cheaper than expected.
Order placed, the server acknowledged it, and he waited for the food.
A bit bored, and since his seat was by the window, Aoki propped his chin in one hand and stared out in a daze.
Then—
As mentioned before, in those rom-com light novels that hymn youth and passion, most "chance encounters" are more than a bit far-fetched.
At least, that's what Aoki thought.
So he always viewed those light novels with a skeptical eye:
He would read them, but at certain scenes he'd feel the urge to heckle them.
This thought lasted right up until just now—
Spacing out as he stared outside, a figure slid into his field of vision.
Soft pink hair hanging slightly over the eyes, a loose tracksuit that perfectly hid the figure…
It was Gotō Hitori.
And beside her—
Aoki had never met Bocchi-chan's family, but judging by their looks, he could roughly guess the identities of the three with her:
Most likely her father, her mother, and her younger sister.
And their destination…
He watched as Bocchi-chan, led by her parents, walked into this very family restaurant named "Loya."
…
Gotō Hitori hadn't gone to school today.
When she took leave last Friday, indulging a personal whim, she chose to take one more day.
Not because of social anxiety; she just wanted to slack a little and rest after the heavy training lately.
Who could've known: on the day she took off, her parents found the video on Yutube of her and the band performing together.
And who could've guessed—the video went viral.
So, on the grounds of "our daughter's accomplished something—we must celebrate," they pulled her out of the house.
Fortunately, if it was just a family meal, the socially anxious Gotō Hitori could accept that.
Thus, the four of them came to this family restaurant called "Loya."
Then, as her parents led her into the restaurant, Hitori glanced curiously around the interior.
By chance—her gaze met Aoki's.
Blinking from under the bangs that covered her eyes, Hitori froze for a moment—
Then she realized, and blurted out,
"A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A—Aoki-senpai?!"
-------
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