If It's Plan B

Masumi Kamuro left the teachers' office. Tomoya Majima emerged from the staff break room, his expression complicated.

"You handled that really well. Are you really a high school student? You were practically like a seasoned counselor or teacher."

"I just read a lot of random books. That's where I get these ideas."

Star Color stood up and looked at Tomoya Majima.

"You changed a troubled kid's mindset with nothing but words. Actually, Seishiki Otonashi, you could easily become a school counselor in the future."

It was the homeroom teacher's responsibility to educate and correct students who were having problems. But actually correcting them was a headache even for teachers. If Tomoya had been the one handling it, he might not have gotten the same results as Seishiki Otonashi. A teacher's job was to educate and correct, and from a teacher's perspective, it was inevitable that there'd be an element of lecturing. That made it easy to overlook what was going on in a student's heart.

"I'll pass."

Star Color's smile held a trace of bitterness.

"Physics asks why ripples form when you throw a stone into water. The study of human nature asks why words cast at people send ripples through their hearts."

"A person has to be strong and happy before they can help someone who's unhappy. If I ever fall into unhappiness, teacher, will you come save me?"

Star Color's pupils, crowded with ineffable emotions, were like an abyss, like an unknown color. His words left Tomoya Majima lost in baffled thought. Like a stone thrown into water, they had already sent ripples through his heart.

"I'm just kidding, Teacher Majima~. Don't take it to heart~."

Star Color was as pure and innocent as a young girl, as if the indescribable monster that had existed just moments ago had been nothing but an illusion.

"See you this afternoon, Teacher Majima."

Kaneda Satoru, leaning against the doorway of the teachers' office, saw Star Color and nodded in greeting.

The two of them went up to the deserted rooftop.

Star Color pulled a Pack of Cigarettes from the inner pocket of his jacket.

"Phew..."

"Does someone like her, who steals from people, even deserve to be saved?"

Kaneda Satoru also disliked people who stole and caused trouble for others, so he didn't have a good impression of Masumi Kamuro.

"She seems to be in the same club as you, Kaneda. You think she doesn't deserve to be saved? That's the wrong way to look at it."

"The wrong way?"

Kaneda Satoru looked puzzled.

"Those who are good, I treat with goodness. Those who aren't good, I also treat with goodness. That is the virtue of goodness."

"What does that mean?"

"We treat good people with kindness. And if someone isn't good, we can still lend them a hand—as long as they haven't fallen too deeply into evil..."

[Doesn't it disgust you to hear yourself say that?] ??? ????? ?????

A voice from a higher-dimensional plane rang out from deep within his bones. It was a self-reproach only Star Color could hear, transmitted into his brain through bone conduction...

"Yeah, I learned a lot from you. Like when you reached out to help me back then. I'm... really grateful."

"It was nothing worth mentioning."

"Then should we delete those two videos?"

As soon as Star Color realized Masumi Kamuro was following him, he had sent the videos of her stealing to Kaneda Satoru. Then he'd told Kaneda not to message him, and to just go to their agreed meeting place at the appointed time.

"Let's wait until she apologizes properly to the shopkeeper."

"Otonashi... You've got another plan, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. If Masumi Kamuro sinks into the Abyss of Evil, I'll use the rules to correct her completely."

"Japan is a society that places great importance on relationships. Stealing is a permanent stain on your life. It could even lead to school bullying... People who follow the rules instinctively reject those who break them."

"Exposing her theft won't be nearly enough. She wouldn't care about something like that. If she gets bullied, she'll probably drop out right away. That wouldn't solve the problem at all... The other plan is to trample her reputation as hard as we can—but not in the school's greenhouse. Out in the real world."

"Out in the real world?"

Kaneda Satoru couldn't understand what Star Color meant.

"Heh. This school isn't nearly as wonderful as you think. It might look like paradise to the students, but to adults, it's practically hell."

"The Neon government poured money into this school. So where does Neon's money come from?"

"The public?"

"Exactly. From you in the future."

Star Color's lips curved into a classical smile. Was it kind? Was it pitying? Was it compassionate? No, none of those. There was no emotion in it at all.

"Why should I have to support you students? We already have to pay taxes to support all those old people, and now we're supposed to fund you troublesome students too? What a joke. Will supporting all these students make Neon any better? After all these years, nothing's changed, has it?"

"That's how most adults who've entered the workforce judge this school."

"This school has an exceptionally bad reputation online. But the sad thing is, as a project backed by the island nation, no matter how much the public vents their frustration online, it all comes to nothing in the end."

"In a way, this school has gone beyond the bounds of education. It's become a tool for maintaining political power. Anything with a solid foundation is bound to attract envy. There'll definitely be people stirring things up behind the scenes."

"The school's rules forbid all information from being leaked outside. That's to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the first place. The administration has ways of keeping negative news from spreading beyond the school. But I have a way to contact the outside world... People out there need a spark. A school that cloaks itself in mystery and claims to be an 'education program for nurturing talent'—and its students are caught stealing and attempting a violation of Article 177 of the Japanese Penal Code."

(Search Article 177 of the Japanese Penal Code yourself.)

"Imagine how much of a sensation that would cause on the internet. Don't underestimate the internet's malice. The Newspaper Man from 2011 already showed us plenty. Populism is terrifying. The moment people catch even the slightest hint of something, they'll blow it out of proportion and spread it everywhere. Doxxing, insults, all kinds of things will happen. They might even jeopardize her parents' jobs and careers."

(The Newspaper Man is from the manga The Fable.)

"Even though she's a high school girl, the Vengeful Spirits online won't pity her, forgive her, or let her off the hook. The school will be engulfed in a Flame War... Will the higher-ups think the school's reputation matters more, or the student? As someone who thinks realistically, Kaneda, you should understand better than anyone."

"Masumi Kamuro will soon become a casualty in the war between two political factions."

"Everyone will learn Masumi Kamuro's name and what she looks like. She'll be like a stray dog branded with a Slave Mark. She might even drag her parents down with her. In the end, she'll probably have no choice but to go to school somewhere in the remote countryside, right?"

"People will shift their attacks from the school to Masumi Kamuro. That's one way of diverting a conflict. It's easy for people online to change sides with the wind and shift their dissatisfaction with the school onto a person."

"Compared to the school's petty, toothless punishments, everyone in society will show her what 'malice' really means. Only the cruelest punishment can make people who have fallen into the abyss feel fear. They don't repent. They're just afraid."

Star Color stubbed out his cigarette and swept back his hair.

It was terrifyingly dark thinking, yet it had come from a face as innocent and pure as a young girl's.

The purple eyes of Star Color dimmed. A pitch-black darkness, bottomless with inferiority, stirred within them.

(Afternoon)

Masumi Kamuro returned the phone.

"Um... Could you come with me this afternoon...?"

"Where to?"

Star Color scratched his head, puzzled.

"Come with me... to apologize."

Masumi Kamuro turned her head away, unable to look at Star Color.

"Sure. Looks like you've gotten back on your feet, Kamuro."

Star Color smiled warmly.

To Masumi Kamuro, that adorable face seemed to shine with dazzling light. With Seishiki Otonashi beside her, she felt a strange sense of comfort for some reason.

"You're beautiful now, Kamuro... both inside and out."

At those words, Masumi Kamuro's face turned red as a steam engine, and wisps of steam seemed to rise from her head.

"Don't say things that embarrassing."

What Masumi Kamuro was thinking at that moment was that he should at least save those embarrassing words for when they were alone together.

"Star Color, have you made another new friend?"

Tamiya Emi stared at Masumi Kamuro with displeasure in her lovely eyes.

Masumi Kamuro sensed the hostility of another girl. Her expression darkened as she returned Tamiya Emi's cold stare and even gave a snort.

"Um... What's going on with you two?"

Star Color, the culprit behind it all, started playing dumb.