Social Anxiety and the Rock of Loneliness

The three women nodded slightly. Seika frowned, Nijika looked worried, and Ryo stared at Kita with a blank expression.

"When Hayato-kun was in middle school, it was a school full of delinquents. In his first year, he did one thing: he reverse-bullied the entire class."

As their faces filled with surprise, Kita continued.

"At first, someone in the class was being bullied. Hayato-kun stepped up and beat up the bullies."

"After that, the bullies didn't dare mess with Hayato-kun, but they kept bullying that kid, and more and more people joined in."

"So Hayato-kun reverse-bullied them. Some of the worst offenders ended up in the hospital..."

"Isn't that cool?" Nijika asked in surprise.

"Not everyone in the class thought so." Kita Ikuyo lowered her head sheepishly.

"That's a problem with Kita's classmates."

Ryo immediately took Ishikawa Hayato's side.

"There's more..." Kita Ikuyo continued.

"He even kicked down the girls' bathroom door to protect a girl being bullied, and he's gotten into fights on the streets too."

"He founded an anti-bullying student organization. It seems even some influential people helped him."

"I just don't know why he came to this high school..."

"Are you talking about Hayato-kun?"

Nijika stared blankly at Kita Ikuyo, as if doubting her own hearing.

She couldn't imagine the guy who usually goofed around and caused trouble doing something so terrifying.

Kita Ikuyo nodded firmly. Seeing that none of them seemed opposed, she pulled out her phone and shared the messages and information.

"Impressive."

Ryo said with admiration after reading it.

"What, so he's a good guy after all."

Seika-manager let out a sigh of relief.

And now, Kita Ikuyo felt like she was seeing the real scene she had once described to Ijichi-senpai and the others.

So that's what those words to me meant back then.

Speaking of which, the classmates all know what Hayato-kun did, so why do they still dare to...

Ishikawa Hayato saw that most of the class had arrived. As if waiting for the right moment, he steadily walked up to the podium with an aura that silenced the entire room.

"Alright, everyone, sit down. I have something to explain to you all."

"From today onward, everyone here, and every student in this school, is under my protection."

"If you ever encounter any situation where you're being bullied, you can come to me. I'll make those people suffer twice as much, then force them to bow their heads and apologize to you."

"This isn't an empty promise. My statement is backed by the principal and the Mingshi Law Firm. They will provide me with full support, both legally and within the school."

"Everyone, let's enjoy a happy and wonderful campus life together."

"That is all."

"From a pervert who hopes to live happily in a world without fairness."

"In other words, a true pervert's speech."

22. Performance (3)

So this is Ishikawa-kun's true face...

Kita Ikuyo didn't know what she was feeling. As an ordinary person, she couldn't understand the thoughts of the person on that stage.

Personality? Eccentricity?

No, he was someone who truly let his self shine through. He made it very clear.

He simply wanted the world around him to be good. He wasn't trying to save anyone or help anyone—he was changing the environment.

Facing a wall of despair alone, where even those who agreed with him didn't dare to help, facing this small society.

Yes, even if Ishikawa-kun hadn't said, "Don't speak up for me in class,"

Kita Ikuyo still wouldn't dare say a single word to Ishikawa-kun right now.

Back in his seat, he sat alone, isolated.

But.

By the afternoon, a boy who looked like a pushover had gathered beside him.

At the same time, two people were missing from the class.

Everyone knew those two were still lying in the nurse's office.

Many people had witnessed with their own eyes that pushover being forced to assault Ishikawa Hayato at noon.

The next day, at lunch, three people gathered around him to eat together.

The once united class seemed shattered into fragments, the atmosphere turning strange, as many secretly glanced at the four of them laughing and chatting happily.

On the afternoon of the second day, someone who appeared completely unrelated to the bullying joined his side.

Laughter began spreading from one corner of the classroom.

On the third day, that person who seemed unrelated to the bullying had some injuries on his face.

But at the same time, that morning, a fight broke out directly inside the classroom.

Two people were knocked to the ground by Ishikawa Hayato without any face spared; he pressed their heads down, demanding they apologize, and if they didn't, he kept hitting.

In the classroom, some of those who usually bullied others watched with pale faces as those two lost all their dignity from the beating.

A thug who has lost face is the lowest of the low on campus.

Then, the morning homeroom was taken over by Ishikawa Hayato.

As if to put a final end to this drama, he strolled leisurely up to the podium.

All the students in the class watched him, this man who seemed about to change this small world.

As he walked, Ishikawa Hayato spoke casually.

"Gentle people are fools."

"Because they don't dare to hurt others, they're even afraid, afraid to see harm, so they avoid it."

"But when they can't avoid it, they can only accept the harm."

He occupied the teacher's position.

But Ishida-sensei didn't stop him; he stepped back a little, somewhat frightened.

"But some people are pure idiots, acting on instinct, with the primal malice of unweaned children."

"They carry the habits of uneducated children into adulthood, knowing pain, yet tirelessly creating pain."

Ishikawa Hayato pressed both hands on the podium and asked.

"What is your life?"

"Bullying the weak to boast of your own strength, without ability, without foundation, boasting in a corner."

"Then one day, when you're finally defeated, the balloon bursts, and you suffer others' disdain and cold stares."

At that moment, a voice of discontent rang out.

"Aren't you the same? Just stronger, lecturing others here."

Ishikawa Hayato didn't look to see who said it; he didn't care at all.

"That's how it looks to you."

"But have you thought about why the principal stands behind me, why a law firm supports me?"

"I'm just bringing you into the adult world ahead of time."

"Foolish children, take your beating from adults early."

"Oh, and."

"People like you need others' fear, others' reverence, to build your dignity and support yourselves. I don't."

"False dignity, obtained from others, is an obstacle on the road to happiness. I, Ishikawa Hayato, don't need it."

"Next, if anyone still wants to fight, I'll make them kneel on the sports field and apologize loud enough for the whole school to hear."

"You've all seen it by now—no one has been able to hold out without crying out."

"Because those who bully others are often the weak holding a knife."

With that, Ishikawa Hayato stepped down from the podium. He began to bow and apologize to each classmate who had watched the situation unfold over the past few days.

"Furuta-kun, I'm very sorry for dragging you into this."

"Ryugu-kun..."

"Mizutani-kun..."

Then, amid the classmates' bewildered expressions, he returned to his seat.

After the morning meeting.

Kita Ikuyo felt that the atmosphere in the class had actually improved.

Everyone fully understood what kind of person Ishikawa Hayato was. They knew that gathering around him meant being protected by him, without suffering the oppression of small cliques.

During lunch break, most of the class greeted him, asked about his daily life, and upon learning he was in a band, expressed their desire to come watch him perform.

But Ishikawa Hayato said the band wasn't formed yet, and that they should wait until it was ready to enjoy the music together.

On the fourth day, the class atmosphere had completely changed, becoming lighter and more relaxed.

Those who would bully others, lording over them from on high, had instead become the targets of isolation.

Ishikawa Hayato had changed the environment.

He had shattered and reshaped every clique that had solidified since the start of the term.

Kita Ikuyo felt that he was like a hero descended before her eyes by the gods, seeing that she found everything boring.

A perverted hero.

And tomorrow was the day of the LIVE.

Kita Ikuyo's heart was shrouded in gloom. Ryo-senpai, Ishikawa-kun, and Ijichi-senpai's band—it must be so interesting.

She wanted to join, but she knew it was something that could never happen again.

"The pervert has arrived!"

Ishikawa Hayato shouted loudly from the corner at the entrance of STARRY, vaulting over the railing by the door in one breath and landing into everyone's line of sight.

He knelt on one knee, looked up, with an expression that screamed "praise me."

"If you break anything, you'll have to pay full compensation."

Seika, sitting at the counter, turned her head, glanced at him, and said coldly.

Heart hurts...