Courage Training That Set Hearts Racing

After watching the whole scene of Karuizawa "calling someone out" at the café, Shangguan Che leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

He rubbed his chin, mulling it over. "It really does seem like I haven't done much to help Karuizawa—not in terms of time spent or what I've actually done, especially compared with Sakura and Hirata."

Other than Ayanokoji, whom he'd barely paid any attention to, Karuizawa was the one he'd treated most halfheartedly.

Thinking of Karuizawa's past experience with bullying, then seeing how she forced herself to "act tough" just to fit in with her group, Shangguan Che felt a faint sense of unease.

"If she keeps going like this, she might go down the wrong path someday. No, I need to pay more attention to her from now on."

As for why Karuizawa had "called someone out" in front of a stranger, Shangguan Che could understand.

People who'd been bullied either became extremely timid or used "arrogance" as armor, terrified of being picked on again.

Or so he guessed. Shangguan Che had never experienced anything like that himself, so he could only speculate based on things he'd heard somewhere.

"Karuizawa's so scared inside, but she still cares about saving face." Shangguan Che shook his head helplessly and put her situation aside for the moment. He had something more important to deal with.

Early the next morning, Shangguan Che walked into the classroom with dark circles under his eyes. As soon as he sat down, Sakura gently nudged his arm.

"Shangguan, were you up late last night?" Sakura's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, her eyes full of concern.

"Is it that obvious?" Shangguan Che rubbed his eyes, feeling a little guilty.

All that time he'd spent waiting for the letters to appear last night hadn't been wasted.

"It's not that obvious. Your dark circles are just a little heavy." Sakura spoke quietly and handed him an eye mask. "This can help reduce them. I bought it at school. Want to try it?"

"No, no, it's nothing." Shangguan Che waved her off, then yawned, squeezing a few tears from the corners of his eyes. "As long as my eyes aren't so swollen they look shut, it won't affect my studies."

But inside, he was secretly delighted.

Last night hadn't been for nothing. He'd finally caught the creep harassing Sakura.

"So it really was you, the shop clerk." Shangguan Che recalled the lewd messages the clerk had sent to the "Shizuku-chan" account in the surveillance footage, as well as the way he'd secretly followed Sakura. His gaze turned cold. "Harassing a high school girl? Let's see you get away with it now."

Shangguan Che nodded off as he sat there smiling, and Sakura woke him just before class started.

As soon as he woke up, Shangguan Che immediately began "showing proper respect to his teacher."

For now, though, Sudo's disciplinary hearing was the most important thing.

The hearing about the fight would begin after school that afternoon, and Shangguan Che had a feeling that something was off with Hirata today.

He hadn't volunteered to answer the teacher's questions in class, which had never happened before.

During the break, Shangguan Che took out his phone and sent Hirata a message: [Hirata, are you going to the hearing this afternoon?]

A few seconds later, Hirata replied: [I'll be there. Did you find something, Shangguan?]

[Sort of. I have a lead, but I'm not sure if it'll help.] Shangguan Che tapped the screen and sent him the files he'd put together last night.

They contained a list of Class C's recent violations that he'd typed up himself, as well as details of Ryuen Kakeru privately threatening students in his class. (Even without audio, Shangguan Che could tell from the footage when someone was making physical threats.)

Hirata replied quickly, sounding confused: [I don't see how this has anything to do with Sudo's case.]

Shangguan Che smiled and sent back: [You're going to the meeting with Horikita, right?] He wanted to confirm who his ally was first, so he wouldn't end up messing things up.

[Yes, we're going together.]

[Good. You'll see how to use it during the meeting. Trust me.] Shangguan Che repeated to himself, You have to trust me, Hirata. This is the opening I worked so hard to find.

[Okay, I trust you.] Hirata's reply came quickly, and his trust was unmistakable.

Seeing those four words warmed Shangguan Che's heart. All that care he'd put into this guy really hadn't been wasted.

Once he'd dealt with Sudo's problem, he could focus on Sakura's.

At first, Shangguan Che had been at a loss, too.

A few harassing letters would only get the shop clerk a warning at most. They weren't enough to punish him severely.

But after seeing the clerk's messages to the "Shizuku-chan" account in the surveillance footage, along with the way he'd secretly watched Sakura, Shangguan Che knew the guy wouldn't stop there. Sooner or later, he'd do something even worse.

He'd even had a dark thought: what if he "let" the clerk follow Sakura? That way, he could gather more serious evidence, punish the man more severely, and make Sakura rely on him more.

But as soon as the thought occurred to him, Shangguan Che stamped it out.

"I'm here to help Sakura, not hurt her. How could I risk her safety?"

"Sakura's physical and mental well-being comes first. I'll deal with the root of this evil before anything else." Shangguan Che made up his mind. After lunch, he took Sakura by the wrist and led her toward the little grove behind the school building.

There weren't many people there, so it was a good place to talk in private.

Sakura was pulled along and instinctively tried to resist, but Shangguan Che was stronger than she was, so she gave up and lowered her head. The tips of her ears turned bright red.

Only after they'd reached the depths of the grove did Shangguan Che let go. He put his hands in his pockets and looked down at Sakura, who had her head lowered.

"Sakura, aren't you going to tell me the truth?" He deliberately put on a stern face, hoping to tease her.

Her voice trembled. "W-what's wrong, Shangguan? I didn't do anything."

"Didn't do anything?" Shangguan Che suppressed a laugh and made up nonsense with a straight face. "I saw several love letters in your desk. It's rude not to reply to people."

Sakura lowered her head even further, her voice barely audible. "I-I haven't received any love letters..."

"I'm just teasing." Shangguan Che dropped the joking tone, crouched down, and met her at eye level. "I know what's been troubling you. The dark circles under your eyes that day and the way you're always avoiding people told me you were in trouble."

He paused, then spoke more slowly. "After school this afternoon, take those letters to a teacher and tell them what's going on. I'll go with you."

Sakura's body trembled. She clutched the hem of her clothes, tears welling up in her eyes. "B-but I'm scared... I'm afraid the teacher will think I'm making a big deal out of nothing, and I'm afraid that bad person will get back at me..."

"It's okay, Sakura." Shangguan Che gently patted her shoulder. "Everyone has a cowardly side. We don't have to kill it; we just have to learn to control it."

He reached out and gently cupped Sakura's face, making her look him in the eyes. "Look at me."

Sakura had no choice but to lift her head. She met Shangguan Che's serious gaze, and her cheeks instantly turned as red as apples. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt ready to leap out of her chest.

She wanted to look away, but Shangguan Che's hands held her face steady. She couldn't escape his gaze.

"See? You're already doing great." Shangguan Che's voice grew gentler. "A girl your age looking a boy in the eyes from this close is something plenty of people wouldn't dare to do."

Feeling how hot her cheeks were beneath his hands, he quickly added, "Your heart's beating fast, isn't it? Breathe slowly. Don't be nervous."

Huh? Is my heart beating a little fast, too? Shangguan Che felt his breathing growing uneven as well.

Sakura obediently drew in a deep breath, then slowly let it out. After repeating that a few times, her heart really did begin to slow down.

"Remember how this feels. Next time something scares you, steady yourself the way you did just now." Shangguan Che slowly let go, careful not to frighten her. "I'm not asking you to become brave all at once. You just have to learn to control your fear. Little by little, things will get better."

Then Shangguan Che noticed that his palms were slick with sweat. He felt a little awkward.

Seeing Sakura gradually calm down, Shangguan Che felt relieved. She hadn't noticed anything unusual about him.

"That's right. Sakura will keep being brave from now on."

While raising a hand to encourage her, Shangguan Che wiped his sweaty palms.

Then he took out his phone and checked the time.

Oh no, class was about to start! He didn't want to be late with Sakura, or the classroom gossip would spread like wildfire.

"Sakura, let's go back to class!" Shangguan Che tugged at her sleeve. When she didn't react, he added, "Don't be scared. I'll definitely go with you this afternoon."

Sakura still stood motionless, her gaze a little dazed.

Shangguan Che waved a hand in front of her eyes. "Sakura? Did you space out?"

Suddenly, Sakura covered her face with both hands and dropped to her knees with a thump, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Shangguan Che was startled and hurriedly crouched down. "What's wrong? Was I too rough just now? I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

As he floundered, he suddenly heard Sakura make a muffled "Mm-mm" sound.

Shangguan Che froze for a moment, then understood. She wasn't crying. It was more like she was letting her emotions out.

But when he checked the time, he realized they really were about to be late! Shangguan Che made a snap decision. He reached out, picked Sakura up, then gently set her back on her feet.

The sudden movement made Sakura freeze. Her sobbing stopped, too.

"Sakura! If we don't leave now, we really will be late! Run!" Shangguan Che grabbed her hand and sprinted toward the school building.

His first instinct had been to carry Sakura as they ran, but when he thought of society's judgment, the school rules, and the cameras everywhere, he had no choice but to give up on the idea.

"With these three mountains pressing down on me, I'll just have to follow my instincts."

(You readers would make the same choice if you faced these three mountains, wouldn't you?)

The two of them raced all the way back and made it into the classroom just before the bell rang.

Shangguan Che leaned against the doorframe as he walked in, while Sakura lowered her head and went to her seat. She quietly took out the textbook for the next class, looking no different from usual.

Sitting at his desk, Shangguan Che secretly watched Sakura.

Had she made any progress?

Had that "courage training" actually worked?

Shangguan Che mulled it over for a while but couldn't reach any conclusion. He could only reassure himself: "I'll stop thinking about it. Class comes first. I'll find out this afternoon anyway."

What he didn't know was that Sakura sat at her desk with a pen in her hand, but her thoughts had already wandered far away.

She touched her burning cheeks, remembered meeting Shangguan Che's gaze just now, and felt her heart start racing again. "Shangguan..."

She murmured softly, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly without her realizing it.

So this was what it felt like to be encouraged and protected. It felt wonderful.