I grabbed the girl as she tried to run away.
There were no streetlights, so I couldn't see her face.
But whoever she was, I wouldn't let her just walk away.
I pinned her hands against the wall and leaned toward her.
"You heard all that?"
I tried to sound threatening.
I tightened my grip on her hands and felt her struggle in pain.
"Wait... You're hurting me."
At the sound of her voice, I froze.
It sounded a little familiar, but I couldn't remember who she was.
But whoever she was, and whether she'd heard anything or not, I didn't want to leave any loose ends over something so trivial.
Maybe it was nothing important, but I couldn't help wanting to make sure even the smallest details were taken care of.
If I lost out in the future because of something insignificant, I knew I'd regret it.
I released her wrist, and she rubbed it, wincing.
"Who are you...? Why do I feel like we're not strangers?"
She lowered her head and didn't answer.
Seeing that, I took out my mobile device and turned on the flashlight.
I wanted to get a good look at her...
"Don't!"
The moment the light hit her, she visibly trembled.
Then she seemed lost in some memory, leaning against the wall in a daze.
(Karuizawa)
The harsh glare of the flashlight shone across my face.
The memory of what happened back then came flooding back. The knife, glinting faintly silver as it reflected the light, tapped against my cheek.
"Why don't we give her face a little cut? A face that pretty is just asking to make people mad."
"No. If we leave a mark on her face, what if she can't take it and kills herself?"
"Hard to find a toy this fun."
"But I still want to leave a more lasting impression on her."
Their demonic whispers echoed in my ears.
"Don't!"
I watched helplessly as the knife plunged into my body. The excruciating pain made me lose consciousness for a moment.
"Isn't that a little deep?"
"Maybe a bit. Put a couple of bandages on her to stop the bleeding."
I clutched my stomach, blood sticking to my shirt. They didn't care at all, and left while cursing under their breath.
By the light, I could make out her face.
Karuizawa Kei.
How could it be her?
I tried calling out to her, but she didn't seem to react at all.
So I let her lean against the wall, staring blankly.
I couldn't quite make sense of it.
At school, Karuizawa Kei was famous for her assertive personality.
I vaguely remembered Kushida mentioning it to me, though I'd doubted her at the time.
After all, I'd interacted with Karuizawa before and found that it was all just a facade, completely different from her real personality.
I also remembered how she'd been dressed when we first met. She'd seemed pretty bold.
Going by her appearance alone, people would probably label her as someone you shouldn't mess with—strong-willed and independent.
But in my opinion, the less of something people had, the more they cared about it.
I didn't know if she remembered me, but the last time we ran into each other while walking around campus, she'd acted as if she didn't know me at all.
She hadn't even given me a second glance.
I found that a little hard to understand.
Was she deliberately keeping her distance because there was someone she cared about?
I vaguely remembered rumors that she and Hirata were dating.
I didn't know why she kept pretending to be this way.
But her words and actions just now didn't quite fit the image she wanted to project.
Even with me gripping her wrist, she shouldn't have said something so weak.
Wouldn't it have made more sense for her to threaten me with something like, "Let go of me right now, or I'll get Hirata to make trouble for you"?
So what was she trying to hide?
Or was she afraid of something?
I suddenly remembered the day a group of girls had chased her, and she'd stumbled into me in a panic.
"Don't!"
Karuizawa Kei suddenly cried out, clutching her side.
I shook the dazed Karuizawa, but she didn't react at all.
I gently lifted her shirt, revealing a shocking scar beneath it.
How could this be...
I placed my hand on her scar and gently ran my fingers over it.
It was a little rough, nothing like the soft skin of her stomach.
My touch seemed to snap her out of it.
"W-What are you doing!? Let go of me!"
Karuizawa shoved me away with more strength than I'd expected.
"How did you get this scar?"
"You don't need to know!"
"I do."
I grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes.
After I stared at her for a while, she lowered her head to avoid my gaze.
"It has nothing to do with you..."
"Tell me."
I grabbed her by the throat and pinned her in the corner.
"I told you, it has nothing to do with you. I didn't hear anything you two said, either."
I frowned, unable to stop my hand from tightening.
"Cough, cough..."
Had I gone a little too far...?
"Hmph. It's just a scar from when I used to hurt myself."
Karuizawa pursed her lips and spoke as if she didn't care.
She still wouldn't tell me the truth...
If she'd only given herself the scar, why had she reacted so strongly when I shone the flashlight on her?
Since I couldn't get anything out of her, I put a little distance between us and took another look around.
There was no one around. The night was pitch-black, and she'd had a strong reaction when the flashlight hit her.
Besides, the tool that had made that scar looked far sharper than any ordinary kitchen knife.
...This seemed like a perfect place for school bullying.
"Did someone bully you and leave that scar?"
"Are you pretending to be someone you're not because you're afraid of being bullied again?"
"Don't act like you know me so well."
"If I don't know you, don't you know yourself?"
"I'm right, aren't I?"
It was as if a guilty verdict had been passed down. The pious angel had waited in vain for salvation from God.
The demon seemed ready to rip open the angel's unsightly past.
"Stop making things up. I promise I'll keep what happened today a secret, okay? Just stop."
Karuizawa Kei's voice was clearly trembling.
I ignored Karuizawa's pleading and kept going.
"Rumor has it you and Hirata are involved. Is it because you want to take advantage of his position as Class D's leader? That way, you'd naturally become the center of the girls' group and avoid being bullied like before."
"You just want to get established at your new school."
"..."
Karuizawa didn't deny it. Instead, she admitted it, as if she'd given up.
"So what if I am? Now that you know, I'll just go back to the way things were before. What's the big deal?"
"Either way, I can't escape being bullied."
Karuizawa Kei gave a self-mocking smile.
"That's how it ends."
"Are you satisfied now?"
"..."
I didn't like seeing her give up like this.
I suddenly felt selfish. Just to prevent a very unlikely possibility, I'd gone and shattered a girl's dream.
Though for an ordinary high school student, it could hardly be called a dream.
But that only made me feel more uneasy.
I was the one who'd brought her to this point. If I hadn't exposed her, maybe she could've enjoyed a normal school life as she'd hoped.
Even if I let her go now, would she really be able to keep this secret as time went on?
"I never said I was going to tell the school about you being bullied."
"Hm?"
Karuizawa Kei tilted her head, looking confused.
"You happened to stumble upon my deal with Manabu Horikita. In a way, we've exchanged secrets."
"If we exposed each other's secrets, we'd both lose."
"You... aren't you worried I'll get rid of you to protect everything I've built?"
"You're not stupid. You understand what it means to take each other down, don't you?"
"Besides, the whole thing might not fall apart."
I lifted her chin and studied her furrowed expression.
"Besides, shouldn't I protect what's mine?"
"Wait! Who said you could just decide that I'm yours?"
"I'm telling you. I wasn't asking for your opinion."
"What..."
She looked at me with a complicated expression.
"You're so pretty, I can't help wanting to possess you."
I didn't know what she'd thought of, but her face flushed.
She seemed to want to say something, then muttered quietly,
"Do you only want to possess me?"
"What?"
"...Nothing."
I hadn't heard her clearly, but I didn't press her.
It was my fault for bringing up her scar.
Maybe this would make it seem a little less abrupt,
if I pretended I had feelings for her so I could protect her.
Karuizawa Kei.
A girl like her shouldn't have to suffer over being bullied.