Giving a gift to a fishing guy is relatively simple, floats, fishing rods, fish finders, sun-protection clothing... just pick one.
Kaito didn't lack money, so he simply bought a full set of fishing gear gift pack, including fishing rods, floats, sun hats, folding chairs, and many other things. And he picked all big-name brands. For example, the fishing rod was from the famous Japanese brand "Daiwa." The price wasn't cheap, he ended up spending nearly 700,000 yen.
That was over two months of salary for secretary Sakiko, just spent like that.
However, Kaito didn't feel the least bit of heartache. The several million yen demon-exorcising fee he earned from Yumiko back then, he hadn't even spent half of it yet, not to mention the rewards from commissions completed afterward.
But... thinking carefully, wasn't he basically spending his daughter's money to buy a gift for her father?
He felt like he had somehow picked up a weird soft rice script.
Kaito shook his head and tossed these trivial thoughts aside, then turned to consider another matter.
He had bought a gift for Miura-sensei, but there was still one more: Mrs. Miura.
Although Yumiko had repeatedly said that for her mother, having a boyfriend was already great news and that there was no need to specifically bring a gift, it would still be a bit rude to show up empty-handed.
However, before he had time to think about what gift to bring, his eyes happened to glance at a nearby street corner, there was a familiar figure.
Flame-like, dazzling, scarlet-red long hair draped over her shoulders, the ends slightly curled. A coffee-colored short shirt paired with a dark gray uniform skirt, brown leather shoes on her feet, matched with cute white slouch socks, radiating youthful girlish energy.
"Kita?"
Probably because of the impulsive kiss she gave him before, secretly, and the fact that it was witnessed by Nijika and Ryou who were hiding in the closet, ever since returning from Hoori Town, this sunny-spirited girl always seemed a little guilty when facing him.
Though not to the point of deliberately avoiding him, there was always a sense of awkward reservation when talking to him.
"Uh... Kaito-kun?"
Maybe she was thinking about him too, because Kita happened to turn her head at that moment and locked eyes with him.
The girl looked pleasantly surprised at first, but then a hint of shyness flashed across her face. When she saw Miura Yumiko beside him, she looked a little puzzled.
She recognized Yumiko. The first time she went to the Paranormal Research Club, she had met her. They even got along fairly well in private. After all, both were normies and very outgoing, it was only natural for them to become friends.
But, the current situation...
'Miura-san, is she shopping privately with Kaito-kun?'
'Is this a club activity?'
Kita quickly had this thought in her mind but then denied it.
'If it is a club activity, Bocchi should be here too.'
'Normally, when a boy and a girl go out shopping alone together, that kind of situation should be called a "date," right?'
In Kita's mind, her cheating-cat radar began flashing rapidly, sounding the "tick-tock tick-tock" alarm.
No wonder she had this reaction.
Yumiko had done a good job keeping things secret. At school, she never got too close to Kaito. Although there was some contact, everyone knew they were in the same club, so their interactions seemed normal and didn't raise suspicion.
'Could it be... all of that was just a disguise?'
Seeing Kita's shocked expression, as if she had uncovered the truth, Yumiko panicked.
The reason she had tried to hide her relationship with the club president in the first place was to avoid hurting Bocchi if she found out.
But since Kita was Bocchi's friend, if she discovered the truth, it wouldn't take long for Bocchi to find out too.
Yumiko couldn't just sit back and let that happen. Her clever mind quickly came up with a suitable excuse.
"Kita-san, what a coincidence! I didn't expect to run into you here."
"Mm... because I live nearby," Kita hesitated for a moment before she couldn't help but ask, "Are you two... on a d-d-date or something?"
"That's right!"
Yumiko nodded boldly and smiled, "The club president is going to visit an elder tomorrow but doesn't know what gift to bring, so he dragged me along to help... I even turned down Yuki and the others' afternoon tea invitation for this!"
"Is that... so?", Kita half-believed, half-doubted. It didn't sound like there was anything suspicious, and Miura-san's demeanor seemed normal too.
'But for some reason, something just feels... off.'
"Of course," Miura Yumiko looked calm. What she said wasn't a lie, buying a gift was true, visiting an elder was also true. She just... omitted a few key details.
"Since we bumped into each other, how about you come along too, Kita-san?", After a brief pause, the blonde girl proactively suggested.
"Uhh...", Kita was a bit tempted, but after hesitating for a while, she sighed.
"Better not... I have to head home early, I really don't have time," Thinking about her strict and serious mom, the girl felt distressed.
Both of her parents were civil servants. Their family was actually quite well-off, but her mom had a meticulous personality, very traditional, believing that studying was the most important thing for students and had always opposed her being in a band.
In her mother's eyes, music was just an idle pastime, something to do occasionally to relax. If she wasted too much time on it, it was clearly a path of self-destruction.
That was completely opposite to Kita's dream. Her goal was to become a band member in the future, and she had always worked toward that.
Because of her mom's strong opposition, she never talked about band matters at home. Even when secretly practicing singing, she would hide inside cardboard boxes, trying not to make any noise.
It had been peaceful until recently, when her mom somehow found out about her involvement in the band and exploded. Fiercely scolding her, and forcing her to come straight home after school, not allowed to loiter outside.
Because of this, Kita didn't even have time to work part-time at the STARRY Studio. She was also forced to skip the band's regular practice sessions.
If it was just for a day or two, it might've been fine, but if she kept missing sessions for too long, even someone as gentle and understanding as Nijika-senpai would eventually have no choice but to find a new guitarist and vocalist to fill the void in the band.
"Ah... I can't delay anymore. If I'm late, Mom will definitely scold me again! Miura-san, Kaito-kun, goodbye! I'm heading home now~", Seeing that the curfew time was drawing near, Kita couldn't stay any longer. After hastily saying goodbye, she hurriedly left.
Watching the girl's figure fade into the distance, Kaito frowned slightly.
'No wonder Bocchi's been a little down lately... I thought it is just her usual social anxiety. Turns out the band's in trouble?'
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