4.4

It was around two in the morning when my roommate quietly woke up. Taking extreme consideration as to not wake the other three people in the room, Hirata slipped out of bed. Since students were required to sleep in their jerseys, he stole out of the room while still wearing it.

After I’d confirmed he wasn’t going to the men’s room, I grabbed my keycard and got out of bed myself. There was no guarantee he’d make a move today, but it seemed like my labors had begun to bear fruit. Once he realized that I was awake, we exchanged glances without speaking a word.

Without looking away, I told him there was something I needed to talk to him about. He said he’d be waiting in the hall. Then, he stepped out. I found him in the hallway, wearing a troubled look.

“Did I wake you? Or were you already awake?” he asked.

“The latter. I thought you might be leaving the room tonight,” I said.

“Why would you think that? This was the first time I’ve left the room at night.”

Trying to deceive him would have a detrimental effect, so I thought it best to just be honest. “Karuizawa contacted you, didn’t she?”

Hirata seemed to understand what I was getting at, just as I’d expect. His comprehension skills were flawless. “Do you happen to know something about it?” he asked.

“Well, I’m in her group. I don’t know how much she’s told you, but I get the situation.”

Hirata waited for me to continue. Well, considering I’d chased him down in the middle of the night, it had to appear urgent.

“You said you wanted to act as a bridge between Horikita and the rest of the class, right? This has to do with that,” I said.

“I see. So Horikita-san told you to talk to me, Ayanokouji-kun?”

He’d saved me a lot of trouble. Now I didn’t have to bother with a lengthy explanation.

“She asked me to report on everything that happens in the Rabbit group, including Karuizawa’s situation. Once I heard about what happened with Karuizawa, Horikita told me to keep an eye on you, too, Hirata. She told me to follow you. But you said you wanted to be a bridge for her, so I thought this might be the chance to finally make that happen.”

“What kind of information does she want?” he asked.

“Everything you know about Karuizawa. Also, whatever it was you talked to her about.”

Hirata probably didn’t see why I needed information about Karuizawa. However, he seemed to understand the impact this could potentially have.

“I don’t know what I can tell you, honestly. I have to consider Karuizawa-san’s feelings.”

With that, Hirata started walking away. I decided to just follow him at a slow, unhurried pace.

Even though I’d been in bed for about two hours, I didn’t have bedhead. I didn’t really worry about personal grooming most of the time, but I knew I had to take it into consideration when I was with other people. I didn’t want to make them uncomfortable when they looked at me.

“Ayanokouji-kun, I’m sure you won’t say anything unnecessary, but what I’m about to tell you is extremely delicate. Also, Karuizawa-san might refuse to talk and head back to her room. Please understand that first,” he said.

I could always eavesdrop on them, but Hirata probably wouldn’t like that. Since this was something Karuizawa didn’t want others to hear, she’d called for him in the middle of the night. He’d never approve of me listening in from the shadows. My best bet was to just give him a straight, honest answer.

The meeting place was in front of the vending machine near the second-level lounge area. Being in the center of the hallway, it was easy for people to see us, but its placement also meant that we could see them. Its location made eavesdropping difficult.

Karuizawa was already waiting for Hirata, clad in her jersey and sitting on the sofa. When Karuizawa saw Hirata coming, she instantly smiled, but when she noticed me trailing slightly behind, her joy was replaced with anger. She stood and shouted at me.

“What’re you doing here, Ayanokouji-kun?!”

“I asked him to come,” said Hirata.

“You did, Hirata-kun? Why? I told you I wanted to talk alone.”

“I know. But Karuizawa-san, I was worried about what you told me earlier. That’s why I thought it might be a good idea to bring Ayanokouji-kun, since he seems to understand the situation. I’m sorry for not telling you first.”

Karuizawa looked upset, but it didn’t seem like she’d snap at Hirata.

“But...I said I wanted to talk alone, just the two of us,” she repeated.

“If you want, we can be alone. But when we spoke earlier, you never said anything about it having to be just the two of us.”

I already assumed this was related to the trouble she’d had with the Class C girls, but I wondered how Karuizawa would approach the topic. If she just wanted to vent her anger, there’d be no reason for it to be just the two of them. Karuizawa had wanted to talk about something without any third parties present. That meant she wouldn’t talk about it if I were here.

Perhaps because he was impatient, or perhaps because he thought silence was pointless, Hirata started talking about their earlier phone call.

“You were telling me about a fight with Manabe-san from Class C. Is it true?” he asked.

Karuizawa opened her mouth slightly to answer, but said nothing, perhaps because she was still wary of my presence. Hirata once again broke the silence.

“Ayanokouji-kun, did you know about the fight with Manabe-san and the others?” he asked.

“Sort of.”

Since this wasn’t working, Hirata attempted to shift the conversation. It looked like he intended to ask me questions. Karuizawa seemed dissatisfied, but she continued to listen.

“From what Karuizawa-san has told me, it seems like the girls were making false accusations. They took her to a deserted spot and started hounding her for answers. They were on the verge of using violence,” Hirata said.

“Yeah. That’s all true. I saw it myself. Yukimura saw it, too.”

“I see.”

Hirata looked momentarily lost in thought and closed his eyes. I wondered what he’d do. Would he call Manabe and her friends out and reprimand them? Or would he report them to the school?

“If Manabe-san and her friends got violent with you, we definitely need to take action. I absolutely cannot allow violence,” he continued.

When Karuizawa heard Hirata’s just words, she momentarily broke into a smile. But when she saw me looking at her, her expression changed back to anger.

“Karuizawa-san, they were so cruel that you were completely overwhelmed, and couldn’t stand it. Right?” I asked.

“No.”

Karuizawa tried to answer, but seemingly couldn’t. She just glared at me without saying anything more. I couldn’t lie, so I just told Hirata what I’d seen. Apparently, Karuizawa and some girl named Rika had some trouble in the past. Manabe and her friends wanted to make Karuizawa apologize. But then they’d almost gotten violent with Karuizawa. Hirata, after hearing the whole story, nodded as if I’d filled in some gaps.

“I see. So that’s why you told me,” he said.

“Told you what?” I asked.

“Karuizawa-san asked me to take revenge on Manabe-san and her friends.”

I hadn’t expected such unsettling words. Then again, from the perspective of someone who’d been physically threatened, it must’ve looked like a kill-or-be-killed situation. After Hirata spoke, Karuizawa finally broke her silence.

“Why did you tell him?” she asked.

“Because this isn’t like you, Karuizawa-san. You aren’t a violent person,” Hirata answered.

“But your girlfriend’s suffering, right? You should want to help me.”

“Yes, I do. But I don’t believe in an eye for an eye. You know that, don’t you?”

Their core differences were starting to clash.

“Let’s think this through. If possible, let’s find a way to get along with Manabe-san and her friends,” he said.

“That’s impossible, isn’t it? I mean, they absolutely hate me for practically no reason. Please, you have to understand!” she begged.

“No reason? Didn’t this start because you had an issue with Morofuji-san, Karuizawa?”

Hirata said Morofuji, but he probably meant Rika. That must’ve been her last name. It was amazing how much information he had.

“But that’s... I didn’t have any choice! Shinohara and the others were there, and—”

“So because Shinohara was there, you had no choice? What does that mean?” I asked.

“You shut your mouth!” she screamed. Her voice carried all the way down the hallway.

“Please, I’m begging you. Help me. Hirata-kun. You said you’d protect me, didn’t you?”

“Of course I’ll protect you. But I can’t just hurt Manabe-san and her friends for no real reason. Let’s try to find a way to resolve things peacefully, through discussion.”

“I’m telling you, it’s not possible! If I could do that, I wouldn’t need your help!”

What she said might have sounded absurd, but I understood how she felt. Karuizawa’s position was more dangerous than I expected. Things might very well end violently. For example, students here weren’t allowed to smoke, much like many other schools around the world. But there were many students worldwide who smoked and got away with it. Not everything could be bound by law or governed by rules, and bullying was one of those things.

Hirata did seem to be worried about Karuizawa, but he was also worried about Manabe and her friends. Hirata wanted to think of a way to resolve things peacefully for all parties. He wasn’t treating Karuizawa like his treasured girlfriend, but as another friend.

“It doesn’t matter what the reason is. I can’t do what you want. You’re one of my classmates, Karuizawa-san. If you’re in trouble, I’ll help you, protect you. But I can’t hurt someone else to do that, even if they’re from Class C,” he said.

“You liar! You said you’d protect me!” she shouted.

“‘Liar’? You’ve known this was my stance since the beginning.” He stood up. The next words out of his mouth would’ve taken all the Class D students by surprise. “I’ve told you from the start that we aren’t really boyfriend and girlfriend. I don’t mind pretending to go out with you, but I definitely won’t fight a war for you.”

Apparently, their relationship was a huge lie.

“What?! Wh-why are you saying all of this now?!” Karuizawa was horrified by what she’d just heard.

I understood Hirata’s intentions. He was using Karuizawa to extract information as a tribute to Horikita. That was what it looked like, anyway.

“Because we need a new option now. I want to help you,” he said.

He wasn’t abandoning Karuizawa at all. He was seriously trying to help her, in his own way. He approached Karuizawa, who now looked really upset, but didn’t even try to touch her slender, delicate shoulder. I would’ve expected him to do that much.

“So are you saying...it’s better for me to get violent with them?” she asked.

“That’s not what I’m saying. I’ll do what I can to help you. When morning comes, I intend to speak with Manabe-san and her friends. I’ll tell them to stop harassing you, Karuizawa-san. You probably won’t like this, but I’ll tell them that you’ll apologize.”

“I don’t want to!” Karuizawa had come to Hirata in order to take revenge on Manabe and her friends, and that spoke to her true personality—her real self. More than anything else, Karuizawa was afraid.

“If that’s the case, then I can’t help you. I’m sorry.”

Hirata was calm. Even now, he was composed. But he was also extremely reliable, and for someone like Karuizawa who needed that reliability, losing it was basically a death sentence.

“Ayanokouji-kun, do you have any ideas?” asked Hirata. It seemed like he was trying to make me take a more active role in this.

“Whatever! If you’re not going to listen to me, then I don’t need you!”

Karuizawa threw the can of juice she was holding down the hall. The contents spilled all over the place, and the sound echoed down the hall.

“Our relationship is over. It’s over!” she shouted.

With that, Karuizawa abandoned us and fled. Hirata seemed annoyed not because the truth of their sham relationship had been revealed, but because he couldn’t help her. He showed no signs of running after her. She wasn’t his priority.

“Ayanokouji-kun. I have my limits. I can’t do everything. Please understand that,” he said.

I’d planned to use Hirata to extract information about Karuizawa. However, it appeared that Hirata had used me instead, and used this opportunity to task me with saving Karuizawa from her troubles.

“You said that you wanted to be a bridge to connect people, but that’s a lie, isn’t it? You’re everyone’s ally.”

“Yes. I’m Karuizawa-san’s ally, and I’m your ally as well,

Ayanokouji-kun. However, my priorities might change depending on the situation. You’re far more capable than everyone thinks,” Hirata observed.

“You think way too highly of me.”

“Really? I’m good at reading other people. That’s why I understand.”

I wanted to ask more about this supposed skill but decided that we should resolve this problem first. “Your relationship with Karuizawa sounds like it was all for show. Is that really true?” I asked.

“When you put it that way, it sounds like you already suspected as much.”

“You and Karuizawa have been dating for almost four months, but your relationship with her hadn’t progressed much. Of course, I considered the possibility that you were maintaining a pure and platonic kind of relationship, but even then, you’ve always kept yourself distant from her. You still call each other by your last names.”

Even if they hadn’t gotten closer physically, they should’ve grown nearer emotionally. But Hirata and Karuizawa’s relationship had showed absolutely no signs of change, for better or for worse. In a romantic relationship, such stagnation was exceptionally odd.

“You’re exactly right. We weren’t really dating. We were going out because we both felt that it was necessary. I suppose you consider that contradictory,” he answered.

In other words, theirs had been a mutually beneficial relationship. In that case, which one of them had proposed the idea, and which had agreed to it? Well, I suppose that was obvious. Karuizawa had asked Hirata to pretend to go out with her, and Hirata had simply honored her request. With that in mind, her actions made more and more sense.

“The rumors started roughly three weeks after school began. From that point onward, Karuizawa’s popularity soared by leaps and bounds,” I observed.

A similar phenomenon had occurred in Rabbit Group. By attaching herself to Machida, Karuizawa could assert herself more aggressively than normal, and her level of influence had increased. To Karuizawa, Hirata was basically a host, and she was his parasite. He’d been a tool to enhance her social standing.

“You played the part of Karuizawa’s boyfriend so that her social standing would improve.”

I’d arrived at the truth. In response, Hirata simply smiled. I’d thought that was the entire truth, but then I realized that it didn’t explain everything.

Besides, Hirata hadn’t admitted that I was right. Karuizawa had used Hirata and Machida to place herself at the top of the school’s caste system? No, that alone wasn’t enough.

After all, why would Hirata have accepted her request so easily? That was a tall order for him. Karuizawa’s aggressive attitude was getting more and more out of hand every day. She was behaving more like a bully.

Why would Hirata approve of this and not criticize her at all? Besides, did Karuizawa really just want to use Hirata and the others to get to the top? I was doubtful. I couldn’t say she’d used Machida just to increase her influence. If anything, she showed no interest in the group. More often than not, she just sat in silence. Maybe she hadn’t planned to use Machida at first.

In that case, what had triggered her to establish contact with Machida? I felt like I was starting to discover Karuizawa Kei’s true self.

“It’s to protect herself?” I asked. That was the only remaining answer. There was no mistaking it.

“So, you understand. Honestly, when I heard you say it, I got goosebumps,” Hirata said.

“I heard about it from Horikita; that’s all. She said Karuizawa had her reasons for clinging to you and to others.”

But Hirata wasn’t simple enough to fall for my deception.

“Ayanokouji-kun. I have to be very honest, but... Well, this is going to sound very rude, but I honestly find you a little weird. You kind of creep me out. I’m sorry if that offends you.”

“Creep you out? Why do you think that?”

“I’ve been watching you since school started. The Ayanokouji-kun back then and the Ayanokouji-kun now are like two different people. Your presence, the words you use... It’s like you have two different personalities.”

Hirata was frighteningly observant. It was only natural that he would think something was off.

“I’ve already told you, it’s all because of Horikita’s advice. I already gave her a detailed report about my group. I’m only following her orders. It’s just like back on the island. Horikita made the right calls and led Class D to victory. She’s why we got so many points. I mean, that’s good for me, too. She’s just so awful at communicating with others that she’s afraid to try, you know? She told me to talk to you and report back.”

I spent a lot of time with Horikita. Because of that, Hirata probably wouldn’t doubt my words.

“Well. I suppose Horikita-san must’ve determined that saving Karuizawa-san will give our class a lead,” he reasoned.

“Yeah.”

“But I do think you’re amazing, Ayanokouji-kun. You’re different from Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun.”

“I’m worse than them.”

“Even if you’re just following Horikita-san’s orders, you’re still the one talking to me right now, Ayanokouji-kun. It isn’t as though Horikita gave you a list of prepared responses. I think that you show clear, well-reasoned logic. That’s not something you can pretend to have.”

Hirata was smarter than I’d imagined. Although I had some concerns about his desire to constantly save everyone, he had extraordinary abilities.

“You’ve already said as much, but I agreed to act like Karuizawa-san’s boyfriend so she could protect herself. That’s what she wanted. She said she wanted me to save her. It might be a little difficult for you to imagine, but throughout her elementary and junior high years, she was viciously bullied.”

“Is that really the truth?” I asked.

So Karuizawa’s hyperventilation had been triggered by memories of her past. If she had suffered such deep trauma, it explained why she couldn’t shake off the earlier encounter.

“Of course, I only met Karuizawa-san after she started school here. But I understood. People who are bullied give off a unique vibe. That’s why I agreed to go out with her. That way, Karuizawa-san would free herself from her past by using her position as my girlfriend. I don’t think that Karuizawa-san has been showing us her real personality. I think she’s just desperately trying to act tough.”

That was why she couldn’t control her emotions very well. Many people who’ve been bullied tended to have very meek and timid personalities, like Sakura. On the other hand, people who were confident, aggressive, and selfish—those who acted like Karuizawa—were typically the ones doing the bullying.

So Karuizawa’s personality was a façade. A front. That’s why she needed people like Hirata and Machida. With them, she was able to get that assertive personality.

“Wait a minute. What was in it for you?” I asked. High school is one of the prime romantic times of a student’s life. Hirata was popular with girls. If he pretended to go out with Karuizawa, he couldn’t pursue a relationship with anyone else.

“What was in it for me? Karuizawa-san wasn’t being bullied. That’s all I needed.”

It wasn’t hypocrisy or love. He didn’t have any selfish impulses.

“I know you’re not convinced, but that’s the reason I did it,” he continued.

“I believe you. But is there some deeper reason as well?” I asked.

Hirata wouldn’t hesitate to save a friend, but he considered Manabe and the others friends, too. His concern for others was downright pathological.

Since he’d told me this much, Hirata probably felt like he had to see the story through. He bought a couple of drinks from the vending machine and handed one to me, which I gratefully accepted.

“Until my second year of junior high I was, for lack of a better word, a nobody. I didn’t stand out at all.”

“You, Hirata? I have a hard time imagining that.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that I was completely invisible. I did have friends. I had this one friend ever since I was little, a guy named Sugimura-kun. We were in the same class together for six years, throughout elementary school. We were neighbors, too. We walked to and from school together every day.” Hirata spoke like he was recalling some fleeting memory.

“When we started junior high, we were put into separate classes for the first time. At first, we kept going to school together just like we always had. Gradually, we walked together less and less. I started to only hang out with other guys from my new class. That story probably sounds normal enough, I suppose.”

It was perfectly normal to make new friends in a new environment. Nothing odd about that.

“But you see, while I had my new friends, Sugimura-kun was getting bullied.” Hirata squeezed the can he was holding. I understood where this was going. “Sugimura-kun sent me SOSs over and over. He’d show up with cuts on his face, or with bruises. But I cared more about hanging out with my friends, and never took him seriously. Sugimura-kun was always headstrong, quick to get into fights. I didn’t think too deeply about what was happening.

But when we entered our second year, we reunited. By then, Sugimura-kun’s spirit had shattered. His bright, cheerful personality was gone. That was only natural after being beaten down so much. He’d been punched and kicked so many times. They hounded him so much that he couldn’t even go the bathroom; he ended up having accidents during class.”

“So you saw that, and...”

“Yeah. I didn’t do anything. I couldn’t. I was afraid I’d become their next target. I was afraid that my new, fun life would be destroyed. So I pretended not to see Sugimura-kun, my oldest friend. I came up with convenient excuses for myself. I thought someday the bullies would just stop. Maybe once Sugimura-kun stopped going to school, they’d leave him alone. Or maybe someone else would step in to help him.”

“So, what happened to Sugimura?”

“That day’s burned into my memory, even now. After morning soccer practice, I returned to the classroom. When I got near the room, I saw that Sugimura-kun was already there, his face swollen. I decided to wait a bit before going in. To be honest, I felt uncomfortable. We’d been friends who played together ever since we were little, but right then, it felt like were complete strangers. I thought, ‘If I get involved with him, I’ll get bullied, too.’ Perhaps Sugimura-kun saw how ugly my heart was. He didn’t say a word, but it was almost like he was sending out a plea for help. That day, he jumped out of the classroom window,” said Hirata.

“He jumped? Did he die?”

“He was declared brain dead. But even now, Sugimura-kun’s parents believe he’ll recover. They’re waiting for him. That day was so surreal, I still wonder if it was a hallucination. I couldn’t believe it. When Sugimura-kun jumped, I realized something. By selfishly focusing so much on my own desires, I helped drive a treasured friend to his death.”

That incident had given birth to the man named Hirata Yousuke.

“I don’t think Sugimura-kun can be saved, but I wanted to atone. I figure the only way for me to do that is to save others,” Hirata said.

“I understand what you’re feeling, but the world isn’t that simple, right? At this very moment, there’s someone being bullied somewhere. And they might try to take their own life, just like Sugimura-kun. You can’t stop them.”

“Of course I know that. I’m not a hero or anything. But I want to save the people close to me, at the very least. I must help them. That’s my penance for the sin I committed,” he said.

“So what are you going to do, then? You want to save both Karuizawa and Manabe, but that’s not possible.”

“I understand that. It’s probably why you’re here with me right now,” he answered.

Apparently, Hirata knew that he was abnormal himself. At any rate, he was a man on a mission.

“I never thought I’d ever tell this story to anyone. Nobody here knows the truth. That’s why I chose this school,” said Hirata. He tossed his empty juice can into the trash. “Will you and Horikita-san keep this confidential?” he asked.

“If you promise not to get yourself involved, I’m sure Horikita will stay silent,” I answered.

“Then I’ll believe in you two. Our philosophies are similar.”

Hirata had pledged not to involve himself in the Karuizawa issue. From this point onward, Hirata would probably come to me for help whenever he was in trouble. I had successfully gained Hirata’s cooperation, a power I’d always wanted. I’m sure he felt he’d gained something as well.

“Hirata. Since you have a large social network, I have a favor to ask.” I handed Hirata a piece of paper. He read it and accepted my request without so much as a displeased look.

“Oh, Ayanokouji-kun. There is one more thing I’ve been hiding from you. I know the identity of the last VIP from Class D.”

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***