Those Bullied by Kujo

In front of the girls' bathroom in the school building.

The smell of disinfectant was particularly pungent.

Manabe Shiho pressed her back against the cold tiled wall, her fingernails almost digging into her palms.

Why?

Why was this happening?

I hadn't done anything wrong, so why was this guy cornering me again?

Manabe Shiho, the leader of the gyaru girls in Class C, had run into the most dangerous person in her class.

Kujo Makoto.

Kujo had a terrible reputation in Class C.

Not only had he managed to win over Shiina Hiyori, the class's most well-behaved honor student, within days of the school year starting,

but physically, he was a match for Albert, the strongest person in the class.

In terms of character, he was no worse than Ryuen, the class tyrant.

Even Sakagami couldn't do anything about Kujo.

All signs pointed to Kujo being the true power behind the scenes in Class C.

Didn't Kujo skip class altogether?

Wasn't that the very definition of a delinquent?

Rumors had been circulating around the class for a while.

Ryuen was Kujo's puppet.

And now that she was facing Kujo, Manabe felt that it wasn't just a rumor.

"Why are you so afraid of me?"

Normally, Manabe brought a few of her friends along for courage, so she could stir up trouble outside the classroom.

But alone, when suddenly confronted by someone as dangerous as Kujo,

she couldn't muster any bravado.

Kujo hadn't even said a word, and she'd already told him about every bit of trouble she'd gotten into lately.

Kujo stared at her, bewildered. Was he really that scary?

Wang Meiyu, from Class D, liked Hirata Yosuke.

Kushida Kikyo, also from Class D, had found out and wanted to help Wang Meiyu.

Karuizawa and her group had heard about it too, and they agreed to set Wang Meiyu and Hirata up.

Manabe had heard about it from Kushida.

But it seemed someone in Class C liked Hirata Yosuke too.

After all, he was an excellent guy. From his looks to everything else, Hirata was one of the best prospects in their year.

So Manabe had wanted to sabotage things.

Karuizawa's group had caught on.

And they'd started arguing.

"Wait. Karuizawa?"

Kujo had keenly noticed an anomaly brought about by the butterfly effect.

At this point, Karuizawa should have been pretending to date Hirata to maintain her gyaru persona, becoming his girlfriend in name only.

Karuizawa was pretending to be a gyaru. She wasn't actually one.

So how had she gotten involved with a real gyaru like Manabe, who was covered in accessories from head to toe?

In the original story, Karuizawa had been traumatized by a group of gyaru before she even enrolled.

Now he was hearing that someone who was so afraid of gyaru had approached one herself?

Even if she'd brought people along, Kujo still found it hard to believe.

As for leaking information about girls in her own class to someone from another class, that was exactly the sort of outrageous thing someone like Kushida Kikyo would do.

Kujo found that entirely plausible.

The original story had mentioned that Wang Meiyu liked Hirata Yosuke, as far as he could recall.

After weighing the pros and cons, Kujo quickly made up his mind.

"Let me make sure. Is Wang Meiyu an international student?"

Manabe blinked, then looked him over and spoke bluntly, dropping a bombshell:

"You've already got a goody-two-shoes like Shiina, and you want another one? Looks like you're no good, either."

Before Kujo could answer, Manabe gave him a look of utter disgust. Then she obediently took out her phone and rattled off a string of numbers.

Manabe knew the delinquent circles were complicated, and she knew the rules.

What she'd just said had been pretty insulting, but she'd pretend she hadn't said anything.

She'd just pay protection money.

She knew the drill.

Kujo didn't leave in a hurry. Instead, he continued questioning her.

"If Ryuen ordered you not to tell me anything, what would you do?"

Manabe cursed him in her mind, but kept her composure as she answered:

"I wouldn't say a word. Not even if I died."

Kujo said again:

"If you don't tell me, I'll beat you up."

Manabe finally caved. She replied sheepishly:

"I'll tell you everything."

Kujo rubbed his chin, curious.

"Aren't you afraid Ryuen will get you expelled?"

Manabe thought about it, then said:

"Then I'd deliberately mislead you and tell you something else..."

Manabe realized that Kujo didn't believe what she'd told him earlier.

Once she understood, she hurriedly bowed and apologized to him. She hadn't lied, but she still had to apologize.

Bowing in apology wasn't a big deal in Japan.

Kujo was used to it, but he found it painful to watch.

"You may not be the sharpest, but I think I understand Ryuen's thinking a little better now."

After all, sending someone like her out as a smokescreen could clearly lull the other party into a false sense of security.

Even if she got expelled, Manabe would probably keep hanging around in her own little circle.

In fact, Kujo thought that if she ever joined a company, she'd be best suited to working in the break room.

The kind of employee who spread gossip but was loyal to her friends.

That sort of person was probably common in Japan.

Kujo sighed, then warned Manabe:

"Don't go spreading what happened today. And don't cause Hiyori any trouble from now on."

Manabe understood.

From now on, Shiina—not, Lady Shiina—would be her big sister.

Kujo left.

Manabe sank to the floor in relief, sitting in the distinctive Japanese seiza position.

But before she could get back to the classroom, Ryuen was already waiting for her halfway there.

"What did that guy want with you?"

Oh, God.

Were the two of them in on it together, just to mess with me?

"You don't think I can tell when you're lying, do you? Don't look at me like that. I didn't have anyone follow you. You've met that guy, right? Anyone who's met him should get it. Look at you—you're still shaking all over."

No one knew what Manabe and Ryuen talked about after that.

Meanwhile, Kujo went to find Hirata Yosuke from Class D.

When Kujo asked Ichinose to organize the Student Council, he'd only mentioned Kushida and Horikita. But the person who truly held influence in Class D was the boy named Hirata, now running toward him from nearby.

In the original story, Hirata had been Class D's leader in the early days, with the support of most of the class.

So if Kujo wanted to get all of Class D moving, Hirata's involvement was essential.

And as the most popular boy in their year, Hirata readily agreed to meet with Kujo. Before leaving, he even turned down a date with a girl from their year.

"You're quite popular, aren't you?"

Watching Hirata hurry over, Kujo couldn't help teasing him.

Hirata laughed cheerfully, like the male lead in a high school romance.

His easygoing attitude reminded Kujo just how different people could be. He decided to get straight to the point.

After all, he'd come here to torment Hirata.

"Hirata, do you remember me?"

The sudden question caught Hirata off guard. He looked Kujo up and down carefully.

It seemed they didn't know each other.

Hirata shook his head.

"Sorry, Kujo. I..."

Kujo cut off his apology and casually told a lie:

"I'm the childhood friend of someone you hurt back then."

Hirata stopped in his tracks, unable to believe what he'd just heard.

"What did you say?"

Kujo refined his lie:

"Do you remember the boy you left to fend for himself in middle school?"

Kujo's opening salvo caught Hirata completely off guard.

Hirata's pupils gradually went blank. He clutched his head as if he'd finally recalled the nightmare from back then.

He really had a shockingly low tolerance for stress.

Kujo sighed and continued:

"Understand now? You don't get to call me 'Kujo.' You're not worthy."

Since they were somewhere crowded, and Hirata was popular throughout the school, Kujo could only threaten him while dragging him somewhere quieter.

Along the way, he even had to explain to passing students that Hirata wasn't feeling well and that he was just helping him.

It was all such a hassle. He should've waited a little longer before saying anything.

"So what do you want me to do?"

Hirata had completely given up resisting.

He slumped to the ground, leaning against the wall, his bangs hiding his eyes.

Kujo clicked his tongue.

"Would beating you up make you feel any better? Who are you putting on this act for? Have you thought about how he felt? Have you thought about how all the students you bullied afterward felt?"

In the original story, Hirata had a friend in middle school who was frequently bullied. Once, when that friend asked him for help, Hirata had ignored him and looked the other way.

Later, that friend had tried to take his own life. He survived, but he lost the chance to continue going to school.

The bullies faced no consequences. Instead, they began looking for another target.

Hirata blamed himself for not stepping in back then. Then, all at once, something clicked.

After that, he used violence to control everyone in the school, becoming the only person there who bullied others.

After enrolling at Advanced Nurturing High School, Hirata had wanted countless times to change who he'd been in the past.

He wanted to become someone Class D could rely on.

He wanted to earn the trust of everyone in Class D.

He wanted to completely change the person he'd once been.

That was why,

after learning about the school's rules online, he'd been the first—and the most determined—to take action for his classmates.

Hirata had once been accustomed to using violence to rule over others.

So he wasn't afraid to face people in Class D who were just as accustomed to violence.

And when dealing with Class D students who refused to cooperate and had no sense of unity, he knew what worked. He just had to persuade them one at a time and shamelessly stick by them.

Even if people mistook him for a creep, Hirata didn't care.

At least during the first month, he'd thought everything was going well.

Everything he did had been for the good of Class D.

But had it finally come to an end?

Yeah...

Someone like him had never deserved to be saved in the first place. Why was he still thinking about that now?

"Go ahead. Beat me until you feel better."

Hirata was already in despair. He just kept telling Kujo to hit him.

Watching Hirata like this, Kujo crouched down and said to him:

"Stay at this school. Don't drop out. That's your punishment. I recorded everything we just said, including your past. Someone suitable will come and help you later."

"Why?"

"Because I believe you have the ability to change Class D. I won't do anything to you. If you feel guilty toward me and him, then try to change this school, just like you did in the past. Protect your most important companions—but this time, don't use your fists."

"I don't understand."

"The first person to drop out of this school will be the companion you speak of."

"..."

"By the way, Ichinose will organize a study group for your class later. Have Horikita help the top students with their grades. She's excellent in every subject and can help those who do well but are weak in certain areas. Have Kushida look after the students who are struggling across the board; those clueless guys won't stand a chance against her. As for you, just look after Horikita and Kushida. The two of them have pasts as terrible as yours."

Strictly speaking, only Kushida had a past similar to Hirata's.

Horikita Suzune had been placed in Class D for entirely different reasons.

But Hirata didn't know that, so it didn't really matter if Kujo had gotten anything wrong.

Hirata didn't react at all, even after Kujo left.

The students placed in Class D at this school were people with pasts like his.

If no one saved them, they would remain "defective" forever.

In the original story, Hirata broke down during the expulsion exam at the end of the first year.

It was because Yamauchi was expelled.

Even though Yamauchi had betrayed the class, Hirata still regarded him as a companion.

And in the end, Ayanokoji saved him.

After Kujo had gone some distance away,

it began to rain.

Even with his pants soaked and his hair clammy, Hirata didn't get up.

He picked up his phone and called Chabashira.

"Teacher, Class D wants to organize a study group for the midterm exams. Yes, could you come to our classroom? All right, thank you."

"Hmm?"

"My voice? It's nothing, teacher. I, I'm cutting onions."