"Hikigaya, I feel like you're thinking some very rude things," Hiratsuka Ryosuke said softly, raising his eyelids and turning to look at Hachiman Hikigaya in the back row.
"Ah, no. I was just wondering why Hiratsuka would help the new girl," Hachiman said honestly. In his experience, Hiratsuka Ryosuke didn't seem like the kind of person who would proactively help others.
Hiratsuka Ryosuke's expression remained calm, and he didn't answer directly. He simply said to the person in front of him, "You're interested in me? To be honest, I'd be a little happier if a cute girl like you said that."
Upon hearing Hiratsuka Ryosuke's words, Hachiman Hikigaya felt his mental image of the Prince of Ice shatter.
This guy... he's actually the kind of person who can make jokes like that with a straight face? He helped someone just because he's a kind person? He's not as hard to get along with as I thought.
Soon, the class resumed. It was Japanese literature. It was Naoka Ueno's turn to read. She stood up straight and read in a perfunctory, emotionless voice: "I'm not in the wrong, so I will absolutely not say I'm sorry."
"Ueno, what kind of reading is that?" Her flat tone drew the teacher's displeasure. His tone was a bit stern, but perhaps not wanting to cause trouble, he sighed and said, "Forget it, next person."
Naoka Ueno sat down, a little annoyed by the teacher's stern tone, and muttered under her breath, "Stupid glasses."
"Nishimiya." The teacher called Shoko Nishimiya's name.
Hiratsuka Ryosuke patted the girl's shoulder and pointed to the place in the textbook she needed to read. Shoko Nishimiya stood up and began to read the text. She read very hard and seriously, but her voice was very strange, drawing the attention of the students. Perhaps due to the teacher's stern tone from earlier, though they found it strange, no one made a sound.
"Next, Ishida." The teacher spoke calmly, without offering any comments on Shoko Nishimiya's reading.
"That's allowed?" Naoka Ueno thought, recalling how she had been scolded by the teacher just a moment ago. In contrast, Shoko Nishimiya's garbled reading had received no criticism. The unfair treatment sparked a silent resentment in her heart.
Shoya Ishida stood up, glanced at the angry Naoka Ueno, and then began to read the text: "Wah wah wah eh ooh..."
This guy is doing things to get attention again, to prove his bravery?
But this time was different. Mocking a disabled classmate's speech made many people feel uncomfortable, including Hiratsuka Ryosuke.
"Ishida, no more fooling around," the teacher said, seeing the strange atmosphere in the class. He simply said a half-hearted word to stop Shoya Ishida from continuing.
The class let out a quiet laugh. Shoko Nishimiya, who didn't understand what was happening, also smiled foolishly, echoing the laughter of others.
Just as everyone was laughing, a cold voice, out of place with the atmosphere, rang out.
"Teacher, don't you think what Ishida did was too much?"
The teacher looked at the source of the voice. The standing boy made his head ache instantly. Other people didn't know Hiratsuka Ryosuke's identity, but he did.
Years ago, a few kids tried to bully Ryosuke just by hiding his shoes and writing some unpleasant things on the blackboard. As a result, members of the Hiratsuka-gumi showed up that very day. A group of men in black suits swarmed the office, scaring all the teachers and even alarming the principal. The matter was only settled after the principal and the parents of those students knelt down and apologized, and the students were immediately transferred. Since then, Hiratsuka Ryosuke had been a point of special concern for all the teachers. Fortunately, he didn't cause trouble and his grades were always at the top of the class, which made all the teachers breathe a sigh of relief. Now, with graduation so close, why was he suddenly sticking up for someone else?
"Hiratsuka, please sit down. I'll handle this later," the teacher said, trying to smooth things over, as he was very afraid of trouble.
But this time, Hiratsuka Ryosuke was uncharacteristically persistent.
"Teacher, what Ishida just did—mocking a classmate for their disability—isn't that school bullying?" Hiratsuka Ryosuke's tone was increasingly calm. But everyone heard the coldness in his words.
School bullying. This phenomenon existed in schools all over the world and was especially common in Japan, a kind of unspoken rule in schools. The biggest problem with unspoken rules was that they couldn't be spoken. School bullying did exist, but once it was spoken aloud, it meant the issue couldn't be easily swept under the rug.
Hiratsuka Ryosuke's persistence had only one reason. He had been practicing kendo for many years, not to be a hero who saves the world. There were too many unfair things in the world that he couldn't manage, and he wouldn't intentionally look for things to manage. But for this kind of bullying of a weak classmate happening right in front of his eyes, since he had seen it, he absolutely could not pretend he hadn't.
Though he was alone, he would use his best effort to swing his sword at the injustice he saw. This was Hiratsuka Ryosuke's kendo.
Perhaps many bullies didn't realize how vile their actions were. They always bullied weaker students to show their own presence and get attention. But in reality, for the one being bullied, it would always leave an indelible psychological scar. With school bullying, if you tolerate it once, it will only get worse. Therefore, this trend had to be nipped in the bud. Everyone had a past they didn't want to mention, and perhaps the past Shoko Nishimiya had also transferred because of something like this.
Hachiman Hikigaya watched from behind, looking up at Hiratsuka Ryosuke, who stood like a war god.
Is this guy really this brave? He dares to say those four words out loud.
But he's really amazing. He has the determination to solve a problem and he's actively stepping up. What boy doesn't want to be a "hero?" Who doesn't yearn for that feeling of being trusted and supported? If it were me, maybe I could never be that brave.
Perhaps Hachiman Hikigaya himself didn't realize that seeing such a brave Hiratsuka Ryosuke had planted a seed of courage in his heart.
Hiratsuka Ryosuke's relentless pressure on Shoya Ishida also made some girls begin to turn hostile toward Shoko Nishimiya, whispering under their breath.
"Nishimiya is amazing. She gets the prince's protection the moment she arrives."
"Yeah, don't boys just love soft and weak-looking girls like her?"
"Maybe she's faking it on purpose, just to trigger a boy's protective instincts."
"Huh? No way, Nishimiya is that cunning? I couldn't tell."
Hiratsuka Ryosuke didn't pay much attention to what these girls were saying, because he knew that school bullying wasn't a one-person job. Just as no single snowflake is innocent in an avalanche, the bullying also involved the main perpetrator Shoya Ishida, the teacher who tried to play mediator, the public opinion against the victim, and... the audience who was indifferent to the bullying.
If he solved the root of the problem first, everything else would naturally fall apart. Seeing the situation escalating, the teacher rubbed his forehead and reluctantly gave in. "Hiratsuka, Ishida, and Nishimiya, you three, come to my office after class."