Chapter 89

"But we weren't officially dating then, because Chihiro said she wanted to prepare a romantic confession before confirming our relationship. But tonight she came over and told me that the plan was canceled. Anyway, we are definitely boyfriend and girlfriend now."

"It was canceled?" Ichinose was a little confused. As the girl's best friend, she knew that the girl had imagined countless confession scenarios. "It's only been a day, why is this happening?"

"It's because you were behaving strangely today. Chihiro's sense of crisis kicked in, so she naturally decided to abandon all that formalism."

"Huh? Is it because of me?"

Ichinose was stunned; she couldn't have guessed that was the reason.

"Yes, if you hadn't come, Chihiro and I would probably have had a very pleasant evening."

"Ugh... Should I say sorry?"

Just as he couldn't see Ichinose's rosy cheeks, Aragaki Shun brazenly nodded and then began his moral blackmail.

"Simply saying sorry isn't enough. I've given up my nightlife to help you with your psychological issues, and according to business principles, I should receive a corresponding return."

"Huh? This, this won't do. I promised Chihiro, um, no..."

Upon hearing Aragaki Shun's half-joking remark, the girl suddenly became incoherent.

Will giving up nightlife bring corresponding rewards?

What exactly is Aragaki-kun hinting at?!

"Then I'll write that down for now. Now, let me hear about some of the unusual things that happened to you during your middle school years."

Ichinose initially breathed a sigh of relief, but after realizing what had happened, her expression suddenly became quite interesting.

"Aragaki-kun, did you guess it?"

"You're the third person to come to me because of their embarrassing middle school past!"

"Anyway, it's definitely just another aftermath of a rumor-mongering incident; there's no need to guess."

156. Ichinose's Confession; The Possibility of a Shift to a Sasuke Art Style

"I am a criminal; I stole things when I was in junior high school."

Gazing up at the moonless starry sky, Ichinose leaned against the wall and finally began to confide her hidden past to Aragaki Shun.

"Actually, I come from a single-parent family. My mother worked while raising me and my sister, who is two years younger than me."

"Although my family wasn't wealthy, I never felt unfortunate."

When talking about her family, Ichinose naturally revealed a serene smile.

It's clear that the girl genuinely accepts her family, rather than pretending in front of outsiders.

Aragaki Shun could understand this.

After all, we live in the 21st century, a time of highly developed productivity. As long as you don't live in a war-torn country, an ordinary family can support itself without any problems.

In this situation, as long as family relationships are harmonious and one's spiritual needs are slightly reduced, even ordinary people from impoverished backgrounds can truly experience the taste of happiness.

But in reality, such examples are quite rare.

This is because the prerequisite for achieving this is that all members of the family must learn to be content with what they have, to find sufficient satisfaction in a simple life, and not to pursue higher demands.

Otherwise, the basic necessities for survival—food, clothing, shelter, and transportation—would become mountains, crushing families striving for happiness.

If nothing unexpected happens, Ichinose started with these words, then the predicament she encounters later should still be the conflict between the harsh reality of poverty and her pursuit of a better life.

After all, it's impossible for a normal person to remain rational forever. Once a person's material needs are met, they will instinctively begin to pursue more social and psychological needs.

This is an innate quality that all people possess from birth, and there is no need to be overly critical.

"My mother is exhausted from raising two children while she is working, so I thought I would stop my education after graduating from junior high school and go out to find a job to support my younger sister with my mother."

"But my mother refused. She told me to study hard, hoping that both my sister and I could have a good and happy life, and that one of us should be sacrificed for the other."

"And so, my mother worked even harder, just to earn money for my future high school tuition, hoping I would grow into an upright person, but I let her down..."

At this point, Ichinose's voice gradually choked up.

The subsequent memories gradually led to the most bleak aspect of the girl's life. Even though almost a year has passed, she is still deeply mired in its shadow, finding it difficult to move forward in life.

"Knowing my mother's determination, I studied hard so that I could take advantage of the special treatment system to ease the burden on my family."

"But when I rose to the top of my class, during the summer of my final Third Year... my mother collapsed because she had pushed herself too hard."

Aragaki Shun's eyebrows twitched slightly, but upon reflection, he realized that such an accident was actually unavoidable.

A hemp rope always breaks at its thinnest point, and misfortune always finds those with a hard life.

This is simply because, in the same predicament, the wealthy can easily overcome it by spending their money, while the poor can only sacrifice their health, future, and even their lives.

The two are not even in the same league in terms of their ability to withstand risks.

Ichinose's mother wanted to support a stable life for her family of three, and the only thing she could sacrifice was her own health.

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In this situation, it's quite normal to collapse from working so hard.

And so, my mother was admitted to the hospital.

"To make matters worse, it was almost my sister's birthday."

Ichinose's voice grew increasingly low and choked with sobs; what followed was likely a long-buried past she absolutely did not want to recall.

Now, in order not to become a burden to Class A, she has to personally reopen that wound.

Aragaki Shun was having a bit of a headache; to be honest, he really didn't want to get involved in this kind of troublesome matter.

In his mind, what's past is past. Since no irreparable regrets have been caused, as long as he learns from the experience and keeps moving forward, he will naturally no longer need to dwell on the helplessness of the past when he becomes strong enough to face all challenges.

Therefore, when facing Kushida Kikyo and Karuizawa Kei, he simply proposed a deal without delving into their dark pasts, and he never considered acting as their psychologist to help them overcome their past and move towards a bright future.

Everyone has their own way of life. As long as it doesn't bother him, what they want to do, what their hobbies are, or what regrets they are trapped in are none of Aragaki Shun's business.

But now standing before him is Ichinose Honami, his key assistant as the Leader of Class A, who is able to coordinate relationships within the class and unite everyone.

Whether from an emotional or practical standpoint, Aragaki Shun cannot allow her to collapse and be left alone.

Ugh, why do people come to me to confide in me about all these mundane, everyday things?

While I appreciate your trust in me, even to the point of sharing such private matters with me, I'm really not good at handling these kinds of things!

"My younger sister has always been very well-behaved. She's only in the first year of junior high school and could have had a much happier life, but because she understands our family's situation, she never asks our family for anything."

"She resisted everything, from pretty clothes and favorite snacks to trendy cosmetics. To avoid putting her mother in a difficult position, she even refrained from attending her friends' gatherings."

"She endured it all, and then... for the first time, she wanted something—a hair clip that was all the rage last year."

Upon hearing this, Aragaki Shun realized that the turning point had arrived.

It's just unknown whether the next to explode will be the younger sister, the mother, or Ichinose herself.

Ah~ There are countless diseases in this world, but if these diseases have one source, it can only be "poverty"!

"I think my mother must have forced herself to work overtime so she could buy that hair clip, which is why she ended up in the hospital."

"I still remember my mother crying and apologizing to my younger sister on her hospital bed. After my sister's expectations turned to disappointment, she cried and cursed, shouting that she was looking forward to seeing the hair clip."

That's wrong!

Ichinose knew this, but she couldn't bring herself to blame her sister.

Because my younger sister has been so sensible over the years, this is the first and only time she has ever asked for a birthday present.

But the mother wasn't wrong either; she had already collapsed from exhaustion due to working overtime in order to fulfill her younger sister's wish.

Everyone was trying their best to keep the family together, and everyone had endured so much hardship, yet things still ended up like this.

Ichinose inevitably becomes confused, doubting whether her past morality was truly effective, and instinctively wants to do something.

"As the older sister... I have to find a way to bring my younger sister's smile back."

"I remember thinking that way at the time, so after school on my sister's birthday, I didn't go home, but went straight to the department store."

Aragaki Shun sighed inwardly; it was already quite clear what the girl wanted to do next.

So, Ichinose's inner turmoil stemmed from stealing a hair clip?

After thinking about it, it's probably more than that.

It's impossible that the hair clip is actually some kind of high-value item, more valuable than gold, right?

"After my mother collapsed from exhaustion, the family had to pay for medical expenses, and the money that was originally prepared for my sister's birthday was naturally used up."

"Given the dire circumstances at the time, it was impossible for my family to buy that hair clip, which was worth over 10,000 yen, through legitimate means, so I chose... theft, to steal it directly."

"What does it matter if I do something bad for my sister? After all, there are so many bad people in this world, and we shouldn't be blamed for enduring this long... That's how dark my thoughts were back then."

Ichinose's voice was heavy as she spoke, conveying a sense of grief and remorse that made one wonder if she had committed some heinous crime.

However, Aragaki Shun couldn't empathize with this. It's just a hair clip, its real value is probably only a few dozen yen, but it's been hyped up to a price of over ten thousand yen. It just goes to show that anything labeled "fashionable" can make a quick buck from fans.

But no matter how much the hair clip was priced, it wasn't a big deal to Aragaki Shun.

The Ichinose suffered so much can only be attributed to her extremely strong moral compass and high ethical standards.

If it were a slightly mischievous junior high school student, getting caught stealing would just result in a beating, followed by a good cry. After the crying subsided, the parents would pay the money, and the matter would be over.

"Wait, did you succeed or fail in your theft this time?"

"I succeeded. I didn't get caught," Ichinose looked up at the sky, not letting Aragaki Shun see her expression as she said this. "It was my first time stealing, and I wasn't caught by anyone. I immediately went home and gave the hair clip to my sister as a gift."

"Because it was stolen, it wasn't specially prepared and was quite rough for a birthday gift, but my sister was very happy to receive it."

Seeing her smile, I felt my guilt lessen for a moment, but I knew it was wrong!

Seeing Ichinose's self-deprecating attitude, Aragaki Shun felt a pang of sadness, realizing that the important thing was to understand what was going on.

"Since hair clips are decorative items, they should be worn on the head for people to admire, so your mother found out about this afterward?"

Ichinose's mother worked herself to exhaustion, even ending up in the hospital, but she still couldn't afford such a thing. So where did the hair clip in her younger sister's hair come from?

No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Once she noticed this oddity, Ichinose's mother would eventually uncover the whole truth by pursuing the matter further.

How will Ichinose's mother react then?

Just pretend to be dead and ignore the question with a sense of luck?

Given that someone could raise Ichinose's personality, it's clear the other party wouldn't make such a choice.

"That was the first time I saw my mother truly angry. She slapped me hard and took the hairpin from my sister. My sister, who was crying non-stop, didn't understand what was happening."

"Afterwards, my mother, who should have continued to be hospitalized, disregarded her own health and insisted on dragging me to the shop, where she knelt down in front of everyone and begged for forgiveness."

"At that moment, I truly understood just how serious the crime I had committed was. No matter what excuses I made, the fact that I had committed the crime was unforgivable."

This is Ichinose's past; she has been hiding crimes she doesn't want to be exposed.

"In the end, the shop owner forgave me and didn't hand me over to the police, but there were many people present at the time, and the news spread quickly."

"I didn't have the courage to go out anymore, so I had to drop out of school and lock myself in my room until six months later when my junior high school homeroom teacher told me about Advanced Nurturing..."

Having said all this, Ichinose's eyes were already filled with tears. She looked at Aragaki Shun and said in a trembling voice:

"I'm sorry, Aragaki-kun, I've disappointed you. I'm a thief tainted by sin, and I don't deserve the trust of everyone in Class A."

"Quite the opposite!" Aragaki Shun retorted calmly, "For you to be so hung up on something like this, your moral standards are truly too high."

"It's hard to say about her abilities, but if we only look at her character, Ichinose is definitely the most trustworthy person in the class."

After hearing the whole story, Aragaki Shun finally understood: Ichinose's biggest trauma was caused by her mother?

A mother, holding her middle school daughter's hand, performed a dogeza (a traditional Chinese kneeling posture) in public...

Well, as an outsider, it's really hard for him to comment on something like this.

A single mother raising two daughters alone not only has to ensure their basic needs are met, but also nurture them into morally upright and capable individuals.

In Sakurajima's social environment, this is truly remarkable.

"Ichinose, why do you think your mother insisted on a public apology instead of resolving the matter privately with the shop owner?"

The pink-haired girl was taken aback, wondering why Aragaki Shun had suddenly asked such a question, but she quickly offered her own interpretation.

"She wanted me to understand the seriousness of the matter, to know what I could and couldn't do."

"That might have been a consideration, but it's not enough. I've thought about it, and there are probably a few other reasons."

Aragaki Shun doesn't consider himself good at dealing with emotional issues, so he chose to break the whole thing down and let Ichinose hear his thoughts.

Of course, this is just his own way of thinking, and how much of it is true and how much is false is a matter of opinion.