The three nodded slightly. Seika frowned, Nijika looked worried, and Ryo stared expressionlessly at Kita.
"Ishikawa-kun went to a middle school full of delinquents. In his first year, he did something—he bullied the entire class back."
Amid their astonished expressions, Kita continued.
"At first, someone in the class was being bullied. Ishikawa-kun stepped forward and beat up the people picking on him."
"Later, those bullies didn't dare provoke Ishikawa-kun, but they kept bullying that boy. More and more people even joined in."
"So Ishikawa-kun bullied them back. Some of the worst ones were even beaten into the hospital..."
"Wasn't that really cool?" Nijika asked in surprise.
"Some people in the class didn't see it that way." Kita lowered her head awkwardly.
"That's a problem with Kita's classmates."
Ryo immediately took Ishikawa Hayato's side.
"Actually, there's more..." Kita continued.
"He even kicked his way into the girls' restroom to protect a girl being bullied. He's also gotten into fights on the street."
"He established an anti-bullying student organization. It seemed even some influential people were helping him."
"I just don't know why he came to this high school..."
"You're talking about Hayato-kun, right?"
Nijika blankly asked Kita, looking as though she doubted her own hearing.
She couldn't imagine that the guy who usually joked around and acted strange could have done something so terrifying.
Kita nodded firmly. Seeing that none of them seemed put off by it, she took out her phone and shared the messages and information.
"Impressive."
Ryo said it admiringly after reading through it.
"What the heck, he's a good guy."
Seika-manager breathed a sigh of relief.
And now, Kita felt as though she was seeing the real scene she had once described to Ijichi-senpai and the others.
So that was what he had meant when he said that to her.
Still, didn't everyone in the class know what Ishikawa-kun had done? Why did they still dare do this...
Once nearly all the students in the class had arrived, Ishikawa Hayato steadily walked up to the podium with an overwhelming presence, as though he had been waiting for just the right moment.
"Now then, everyone, sit down. I have something to explain."
"From today onward, I will protect everyone here, as well as every student in this school."
"If you encounter any kind of bullying, you can come to me. I'll make those people suffer twice as much, then make them lower their heads and apologize to you."
"This isn't an empty promise. The principal and Mingshi Law Firm support me. They will provide me with comprehensive support, both legally and within the school."
"Everyone, let's have a happy, wonderful school life."
"That is all."
"Words from a pervert who wants to live happily in a world without fairness."
"In other words, truly perverted remarks."
Performance (3)
So this was Ishikawa-kun's true face...
Kita didn't know what she was feeling right now. As an ordinary person, she couldn't understand the thoughts of the person onstage.
Individualistic? Unconventional?
No, he was someone who truly let his own self shine through. He had made it very clear.
He simply wanted the world around him to be beautiful. He wasn't trying to save or help anyone; he was changing the environment.
Alone, facing that wall of despair in this tiny society, where even those who agreed with him didn't dare lend a hand.
Yes, even if Ishikawa Hayato hadn't said, "Don't speak up for me in class."
Kita still wouldn't have dared say a single word for Ishikawa Hayato right now.
After returning to his seat, he sat there alone.
But then—
By the afternoon, a boy who looked like a habitual punching bag had gathered around him.
At the same time, two people were absent from the class.
Everyone knew those two were still lying in the infirmary.
Quite a few people had seen with their own eyes that the punching bag had been forced to attack Ishikawa Hayato at noon.
The next day, at lunch, three people surrounded him and ate with him.
The previously united class seemed to have been shattered into pieces. The atmosphere turned strange, and many people secretly glanced at the four of them chatting and laughing happily.
On the afternoon of the second day, someone who seemed 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 completely unrelated to the bullying had a few injuries on his face.
But that same morning, a fight broke out directly in the classroom.
Two people were beaten to the floor by Ishikawa Hayato without the slightest mercy. He held their heads down and made them apologize, beating them again if they refused.
Some of the people in the class who liked bullying others watched the two battered, utterly humiliated students with pale faces.
Delinquents who had lost face were the lowest of the low on campus.
Then Ishikawa Hayato took over the morning homeroom period.
As though he were about to deliver the final conclusion to this drama, he leisurely walked up to the podium.
Every student in the class watched him, watching this man who seemed ready to change their little world.
As he walked, Ishikawa Hayato spoke casually.
"Kind people are fools."
"Because they don't dare hurt others. They're even afraid to witness harm, so they avoid it."
"But when they can't avoid it, they can only accept the harm."
He took the teacher's place.
But Teacher Ishida didn't stop him. He backed away slightly in fear.
"But some people are simply pure idiots. They follow their instincts, acting on the primal malice of behavior they never outgrew from infancy."
"They carry their uneducated childish habits into adulthood. They know pain, yet tirelessly continue creating it."
Ishikawa Hayato pressed both hands on the podium and asked.
"What is your life?"
"Bullying the weak to boast of your own strength. You have no ability, no foundation, yet boast in some tiny corner."
"Then one day, when you are defeated, the balloon bursts, and you suffer others' contempt and scorn."
At that moment, someone objected.
"Aren't you the same? You're just stronger, lecturing people here."
Ishikawa Hayato didn't look at whoever had spoken. He didn't care about it in the slightest.
"That's how you see it, isn't it?"
"But have you considered why the principal stands behind me, why a law firm supports me?"
"I merely brought you into the adult world early."
"Stupid children, accept an early beating from the adult world."
"Oh, right."
"People like you need the fear and awe of others to support your dignity. I don't."
"False dignity gained from others is an obstacle on the path to happiness. I, Ishikawa Hayato, don't need it."
"From now on, if anyone still wants to make a move, I'll make them kneel on the athletic field and apologize loudly enough for the entire school to hear."
"You've all seen it. So far, no one has been able to endure without screaming."
"Because those who bully others are often weak people holding knives."
After saying that, Ishikawa Hayato stepped down from the podium. He began bowing his head in apology to each classmate who had merely watched the past few days unfold.
"Furuta, I'm very sorry for dragging you into something like this."
"Ryugu..."
"Mizutani..."
Then, amid the incomprehensible expressions of his classmates, he returned to his seat.
After morning homeroom.
Kita felt that the atmosphere in the class had actually improved.
Everyone had completely understood what kind of person Ishikawa Hayato was. They knew that gathering around him meant being protected, without having to endure the pressure brought by cliques.
At lunch break, most of the class greeted him, asked about his usual life, and after learning that he had joined a band, said they would go watch his performance.
But Ishikawa Hayato said the band had not taken shape yet. Once it had, they could come enjoy the music together.
On the fourth day, the atmosphere in the class had completely changed. It became more relaxed and casual.
Those who bullied others and stood above everyone else became the isolated ones instead.
Ishikawa Hayato had changed the environment.
He had shattered and reshaped all the circles that had formed since school began.
Kita felt that he was like a hero sent down before her by God after seeing how bored she had become with everything.
A perverted hero.
And tomorrow was the day of the LIVE.
A shadow fell over Kita's heart. Ryo-senpai, Ishikawa-kun, Ijichi-senpai, and the others' band had to be interesting.
She wanted to join them, but she knew that was no longer possible.
"The pervert has arrived!"
Ishikawa Hayato shouted from a corner by STARRY's entrance. In one fluid motion, he vaulted over the railing beside the door and landed in front of them.
He knelt on one knee, raised his head, and wore an expression that said, praise me already.
"If you break anything, you'll have to pay for it."
Seika, sitting at the bar, turned her head, glanced at him, and spoke coldly.
My heart hurts...
Before you continue