"Well... I have something I want to talk to you about..."
"Okay. It often helps to just get things off your chest."
That simple phrase seemed to be the trigger, and her dam of emotions burst open. From there, Karuizawa-san's words wouldn't stop. She told me all about the trouble with the Class C students and the argument she had with Yousuke-kun over how to resolve it.
"You got into a fight with Manabe-san and the others... Was it true that you were the one who bumped into her first?"
"Yeah... I think what they said was true."
One thing I hadn't expected was for Karuizawa-san to admit that she was at fault. I had been wondering how to persuade her, as I thought she would stubbornly refuse to admit it...
"Did you not apologize because of your position in the class?"
"...Creepy. How do you know?"
Like a child caught in a prank, Karuizawa-san turned her face away in embarrassment. Seeing her attitude now, I concluded that her behavior in class was not her true personality.
"Well, I think everyone gets a little stubborn. But isn't it painful to stay that way forever?"
I chose to be a little insensitive on purpose. It was necessary to get to the heart of Karuizawa-san's true self.
"You... you wouldn't understand. A person with no talent like me has to put up a front like that. If I don't, I'll end up like 'that time' again...!"
Karuizawa-san spoke in a muffled voice. The trembling of her shoulders wasn't from the cold.
"'That time'?"
I asked. Karuizawa-san averted her eyes and hesitated for a few seconds before she started to talk in a low voice.
"...I was bullied. For nine years, from elementary to middle school."
"Bullied... I can't believe it."
The compulsive need to assert her superiority, even if it meant being disliked by others. Her behavior during the uninhabited island exam. Her excessive reaction to Manabe-san and the others. I had guessed something was up from all these hints, but hearing it from her directly still hit me hard.
"...Is that why you act the way you do in class?"
"Yeah... That's also why I was dating Hirata-kun. I was the one who asked him first. 'I don't want to be bullied, so please go out with me.'... In the end, I just dumped him."
Karuizawa-san laughed at herself in a self-deprecating way. Her aggressive attitude from before was nowhere to be found.
"You're amazing, Karuizawa-san. I think you've recovered well."
"Recovered? I gave up. I just waited to be preyed upon by this hopeless situation. Don't say such comforting things..."
...Why are so many people around me so hard on themselves? Suzune-chan and Kiyotaka-kun are both trying to move forward despite their lofty spirits, which I envy. And Karuizawa-san is the same. She's making an effort to get rid of the trauma that's been tormenting her.
When I see them, it just highlights my own ugliness, and I hate it.
"...Sorry. I know you didn't mean anything by it."
"No, I was being careless. I'm sorry."
After those words, silence returned. ...This is bad. I was just supposed to listen to her, but if I'm like this, it's meaningless.
"Hey..."
However, it was surprisingly Karuizawa-san who broke the silence.
"Sorry if I'm wrong, but... how should I put it... have you had any kind of experience like that?"
She continued, "You haven't, right? That was a weird thing to say," but I was surprised that she had hit the nail on the head. Feeling my face stiffen, I asked Karuizawa-san a question.
"By the way, why did you think that?"
"Huh... I don't know. A hunch?"
A hunch? High school girls these days are incredible.
"Hmm. Well, my story isn't important, is it? It's not an interesting story anyway."
"...I see. Well, I guess so."
For a moment, Karuizawa-san's eyes met mine happily, but when I gently brushed it off, she was visibly disappointed. It wasn't exactly a healthy emotion, but I guess she felt she had found a comrade. It was a side of her I couldn't have imagined from the months I'd known her.
...Well, it's fine. We're only going to be together for another six months anyway. I'll mix in a story that's consistent with my age.
"I didn't have anything like that with classmates, but... it was my parents, for me."
"Parents? Do you mean abuse?"
...It's difficult to explain. It wasn't that dramatic.
"My parents divorced when I was about four. I was left with my mom, but I was a difficult child, so she would hit me with a bag and sometimes kick me out to sleep outside in the winter. I wasn't fed properly, so I used to mooch off my friends."
It was a nostalgic memory. My current resilience probably came from that time. The winters in Tokyo were certainly cold.
"...I'm surprised you grew up with such a personality."
"My current parents... my adoptive parents, were good people. I was taken in after I was stabbed with a kitchen knife and things got bad, but I'm doing well somehow."
I kept the explanation vague to avoid contradictions.
"You were stabbed?"
Karuizawa-san leaned forward, eagerly asking. I didn't expect her to focus on that...
"Huh? You want to know about that? Um... yeah, it hurt quite a bit. I called an ambulance myself, so I was okay, but my mom was arrested for abuse."
The last part was a lie. In fact, she died shortly after, so I don't even know if she's alive.
"...I feel like you didn't have any scars during swimming class."
"They're in a place you can't see."
This girl is surprisingly persistent. I'm trying to be vague since she'd probably ask how I'm still alive if I said I was stabbed a dozen times, but it's getting difficult to keep things consistent, so please stop.
"Hmm."
Even though it should have been a dark topic, Karuizawa-san's reaction was surprisingly good. What's going on?
"I haven't even told Hirata-kun this."
Saying that, Karuizawa-san lifted the hem of her jersey and the camisole underneath, exposing her stomach... Wait, what?
"Hey, wait, wait..."
"No one's coming here."
"That's not the point! And why are you taking off your clothes... wait—huh?"
There, on her beautiful skin, was a vivid, ugly scar. It was a painful-looking wound, as if torn by a sharp blade.
"It's so funny, right? We're a matching set."
"That's... what is that?"
That scar couldn't have been from bullying among children. A wound that deep could have been fatal if not treated quickly.
"That's right. What I went through wasn't the kind of gentle bullying a nice guy like you would imagine. Tacks in my shoes, dead animals in my desk drawer. They'd douse me with dirty water in the bathroom, and write 'slut' and 'whore' on my uniform. Getting my hair pulled, punched, and kicked was normal."
The things she described were far beyond anything I had imagined. As I stood speechless, unable to find the words to say, Karuizawa-san continued with a self-deprecating laugh.
"What I just told you is only a small part of it. They're so kind they're laughable. I've been through every form of bullying you can count."
I was naive. My entire perception was wrong.
"Go on and laugh. Laugh at me for being a pathetic person who's always been bullied. Even now, I'm just happy to see someone in a similar situation. Normally, I would never do something like this. ...You might think I'm amazing, but it's because I'm a weak person that I was bullied."
Standing up and revealing her emotions, Karuizawa-san let out a pained cry.
"Ha, hahaha... I'm the worst. Nothing's going to change just by telling you this."
"Karuizawa-san—"
"I'm sorry."
I tried to call out to Karuizawa-san as she turned her back and started to walk away, but an apology came back, cutting me off.
"I think I was jealous of you. I had a similar feeling, but you were still so popular with everyone. ...You're a good person, so good that you shouldn't be associated with someone like me."
"Karuizawa-san!"
"It's okay now. It helped a lot to have you listen. I can see why you're the most popular guy in the first year. So... thank you."
With that, Karuizawa-san ran away as if she was escaping. Looking back, it must have been her way of telling herself that she couldn't rely on me any longer.
Seeing her like that, I couldn't just leave her alone.
"Huh...?"
Before I knew it, I had grabbed her left arm as she ran away. Her beautiful face was a mess of tears as she turned to face me.
"That's enough...! That's enough!"
"No."
"Let me go! We're not friends or anything! ...When I talk to you, I want to be spoiled! I can't do that!"
Sobbing, Karuizawa-san tried to shake off my grip on her left arm. ...Sigh. Why are my friends all so stubborn?
Muttering this complaint to myself, I hugged Karuizawa-san from the front. Why didn't she ask me for help like she did with Yousuke-kun? She was probably still bothered by the false accusation during the underwear thief incident.
"!"
"Doesn't it feel warm? It's a memory from a long time ago, but my mom used to do this for me."
It was something I had always longed for in my previous life. Karuizawa-san, who had a similar experience, must also be seeking human warmth somewhere in her heart. With a height difference of over 20cm, her small body fit perfectly in my arms.
I couldn't fathom the emotional burden that Karuizawa-san had been carrying, fighting alone without being able to truly open up to her friends.
"..."
"Thank you for opening up to me. Thank you for trusting me."
"It's, it's not like that..."
I strengthened my embrace, swallowing Karuizawa-san's rebuttal. Stroking the head that rested on my chest, I spoke to her, consoling the girl who had fought all alone.
"I'm a little jealous, you know? You relied on Yousuke-kun so much, but you have nothing for me?"
"But... I did such a terrible thing..."
See? I told her it was okay, but she still worries about it. She's such a handful.
"I told you I don't care. I think of you as an important friend, Karuizawa-san. How about you?"
"Yeah..."
Feeling a sense of déjà vu as Karuizawa-san buried her tear-soaked face in my chest, I continued to stroke her head and speak.
"Then you can relax. From now on, I'll protect you, Karuizawa-san. All my friends are good people, so you have nothing to worry about. ...You've worked hard. It's okay now."
"...You idiot. You're too nice."
I felt a light pounding on my stomach, but when I thought of it as Karuizawa-san's only form of resistance, it was a cute gesture.
"I'm a parasite, you know? I can't do anything on my own."
"If you're this cute, I'm happy to be your host."
"Everyone in the class hates me."
"That can change. I'll teach you how to talk to people. Like Kiyotaka-kun."
"But he has no social skills."
"...That's a natural talent. Probably."
"If I said I liked you, would you go out with me?"
"...That's, um..."
"You're the worst."
"Ugh..."
"Well, whatever. ---"
"Hmm? Did you say something?"
"Nothing... Hehe, I'm looking forward to it, Saitou-kun!"
I saw a subtle change in Karuizawa-san's expression, as if a weight had been lifted. It was a very lovely smile.
---------
The next day. The morning of the third day of the fourth exam, which was a designated break. I was having breakfast alone at a cafe and on the phone. It was a quiet place with few people passing by, perfect for a day like this.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well last night... or rather, this morning?"
"Hmm, so-so? I'm tired from everything that happened. But I apologized to Hirata-kun properly and told him we'd 'resolve it peacefully'."
The person on the other end of the phone was Karuizawa-san. We had talked for so long that I didn't get her back to her room until after 4 a.m.
Her prickly words were gone, and she had transformed from a sharp-tongued gal to a regular one.
"I see. That's good."
"So, what are you going to do about Manabe-san and the others? What did you mean by 'you don't have to do anything'?"
She was probably curious about what I had said when we parted ways yesterday. I hadn't said anything to her in order to minimize the risk, but it had only been a few minutes, so it should be fine.
"Hmm, you'll find out in a bit."
"In a bit?"
I wonder if I sent the message without any typos? I had Kiyotaka-kun look it over, but... oh, here it comes.
A large number of notifications arrived on my smartphone at once. At the same time, the murmuring of students eating breakfast in the distance reached me.
"Huh... what does this mean!?"
"You have a good reaction. That's good, Karuizawa-san. You won't have to face Manabe-san and the others anymore."
The reason they were having problems was because they kept seeing each other during this exam. The "evidence" and "threats" were perfect, so there would be almost no chance of Manabe-san and the others contacting her in the future.
"Huh, huh?"
"Well, I have something I need to do now, so I'll talk to you later, Karuizawa-san."
Karuizawa-san seemed to want to say something, but I cut her off and ended the call.
At the same time, a shadow fell over the table I was using. Good, you're on time.
---------
"---Good work. It was a good deal."
I checked all five notifications that had arrived on my screen. The following words were listed on my smartphone screen:
'Tiger Group's exam has ended.'
'Rabbit Group's exam has ended.'
'Dragon Group's exam has ended.'
'Snake Group's exam has ended.'
'Horse Group's exam has ended.'
============
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