Bonus: A Girl's Thoughts

(Karuizawa Kei's Perspective)

Back in middle school, I was subjected to the most vicious form of school bullying.

Being dragged into alleys on my way home to be cursed at and beaten, finding animal carcasses and all sorts of trash in my locker, or having thumbtacks placed inside my shoes—these were all common occurrences.

Worse still, someone once pretended to be a boy who liked me just to get close to me. His appearance once made me believe that I could finally step out of those shadows and start a real life.

Little did I know, it was merely the beginning of another hell.

"Idiot, you really thought Masamura liked you? Hahaha, how pathetic!"

"Exactly, exactly! Did you see the look on her face back then? Calling him 'senpai' every other word, it was hilarious."

"Stop talking about it. It was just a game at first; who knew she'd actually take it seriously? Just hearing her call me that gave me goosebumps."

A group of boys and girls gathered together, mocking and hurling insults at the girl curled up on the floor with her head buried in her knees. Yet, the girl didn't fight back; she simply sat there, her body trembling.

"Please... let me go..."

"Let me go..."

No matter how much the girl begged, the group didn't stop. One girl, who seemed to be the ringleader, suddenly let out a wicked laugh, as if she had just thought of something fun.

"Look at you, still trying to seduce men? Pfft!"

"Let me add a little something to you, so you won't go around ruining other people's lives in the future."

With that, the woman pulled out a craft knife and looked down at the curled-up Karuizawa Kei with a cruel grin.

"Don't come over here, let me go... please!"

"No!!!"

Whoosh.

The girl in her sleep jolted awake. Outside the window, thunder roared. Even though the air conditioning was on, Karuizawa Kei was drenched in a cold sweat.

"It was just a dream..."

After taking a deep breath, Karuizawa Kei straightened her bedsheets, her hand unconsciously reaching toward her left flank. There, a shocking, jagged scar remained, quietly etched into her skin.

"Everything is in the past. I won't let history repeat itself..."

She whispered to herself, her thoughts inevitably drifting back to the day school started.

After the self-introductions concluded, through a series of observations, Karuizawa Kei had identified the boy most likely to lead the class.

Hirata Yosuke. His kind personality and friendly way of speaking made his "potential" obvious to her at a single glance.

To that end, she didn't hesitate to find him alone after class and explain her thoughts, revealing her own past in order to seek his "protection."

"So, in other words, Karuizawa-san, you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend to help you avoid being bullied in class, is that right?"

That day, Hirata had tentatively voiced those words. Expecting him to accept, she was met with a refusal.

"No, that's not it. I just want you to act close to me in class until I can make friends..."

The more she spoke, the less confident she felt. In her original plan, Hirata's suggestion was exactly what she had intended to execute from the start. But the mere thought of her past experiences caused her to sink into the pain of the past, unable to pull herself out. For that reason, she had chosen a different path.

She would maintain an ambiguous relationship with Hirata to attract other girls and establish her own small clique.

In the end, Hirata smiled and agreed to her request, promising he would do his best to help her step out of the shadows and start a new school life.

Originally, things should have ended there, but subsequent developments began to leave her feeling lost.

Chiba Yu—a boy who initially seemed to have no highlights, completely unremarkable, and someone she thought she would never have any connection with—had miraculously become her "friend."

Their first interaction was merely because the homeroom teacher had asked her to wake up Chiba Yu, who was sleeping on his desk during a class meeting. He had left a terrible first impression on her at the time.

Needless to say, such a person would usually end up as a background character in class. Even if his name were mentioned, the likely response would be, "Oh, is that person even in our class?"

If not for his association with Hirata, she truly wouldn't have had any connection to him at all.

It wasn't until later, after the experiences at the karaoke parlor and the library, that her perception of him changed completely.

Being the first to crack the secret of the school's S-system, his extreme methods of controlling his test scores, and the attempts by Class B to recruit him—none of these were things a normal person could achieve.

Although he repeatedly insisted it was a coincidence and his subsequent scores were no longer identical, Karuizawa Kei took that as him being stubborn.

She wasn't like those ordinary girls who saw Chiba Yu as just an average student with decent grades.

But none of that was the most important thing. What mattered was that she felt she had been seen through!

Yes, during that study session at the library, she discovered that the look in Chiba Yu's eyes carried a different meaning. It wasn't the affection between a boy and a girl, but rather the sensation of being completely exposed.

This feeling made her skin crawl, yet it also brought a sense of relief.

She couldn't read Chiba Yu. She didn't understand why someone like him would be content to just be a "useless person" who spent his days idling away.

What was his past like?

And what would her own future hold...

The girl tossed and turned in bed, her thoughts drifting further and further. As for the rest, perhaps only the bright moon and the twinkling stars could catch a glimpse of it.