NOVEL NEXT Chapter 426
Strangely, at that moment, I caught on to the situation before the pain.
“Koko, wait a sec.”
First, I stopped Koko. No way I wanted to see blood at school.
“Koto Ne?”
Koko’s voice sounded pretty much the same as usual, but I clearly saw a faint light vanish from her eyes.
“Koko, please. Let me handle this here… Even if you get involved, don’t go overboard.”
Koko knows how to read the situation.
At least, she understands that killing someone is a no-go.
Because I hate that.
“What, are you just chill right now—”
The girl who called me a harlot slapped my face with her over-the-top bravado. She seemed so worked up that she didn’t even notice Yuuki standing right next to her.
She didn’t see the person she was gossiping about pop up, which showed just how mad she was.
Then I heard the shouting of some kids behind her. They seemed to be calling her name.
But before she could turn around,
Whack!
A crisp slap sounded. It was way louder than the hit I took.
“…!?”
The girl couldn’t even make a sound. She just turned her head hard towards the fist that hit her cheek.
Well, she only turned her head; her body wobbled to the side. She didn’t fall over. Holding onto the sink next to her, she finally knew who had just hit her and her face turned pale.
“…You.”
After landing one hit, Yuuki glared at her as if he remembered something.
“Didn’t you say something similar to me before?”
“Y-Yamashita!? What are you doing here—”
What do you mean, “What am I doing here?” It’s a bathroom, anyone could be here.
So if you want to gossip in the bathroom, you better check if all the doors are wide open. Of course, the best rule is just not to gossip in the same school.
“…That time in middle school.”
“Really?”
When I asked, Yuuki looked at me as if I was ridiculous. He had a face that seemed to express, “Why’d you butt in?”
Thwack.
“Eek!?”
Just when Yuuki’s arm was about to move, I stopped it by hitting that girl.
“Koto Ne?”
Koko called out to me.
“Koko, wait a moment, u-uh. If we’re getting too beaten up, then at that time. Just at that time, with fists only.”
“What are you talking about?”
As I kept trying to calm Koko down, Yuuki looked bewildered and asked.
“You guys—!”
Just then, the girl who stood up and yelled was simultaneously glared at by Yuuki and me.
Just a moment ago, she was cursing Yamashita’s gang, and while I might not be directly connected to them, I was kind of related, too.
“There’s something I didn’t mention, but I—”
Oops. But mentioning that we’re cousins would be bothersome. Yuuki already knew that fact, but I was just using my alias right now.
“—I’ve been friends with Yuuki since we were very young.”
“…”
Hearing that, Yuuki looked at me blankly.
N-no, with that expression, I felt a bit embarrassed. It seemed like he was about to deny what I said.
“…Ah-ha.”
That girl staggered backward. Maybe her cheek was swelling from where Yuuki punched her. Holding her face with her hands, her eyes brimmed with tears as she spoke.
“Oh, that’s how it was. You all were from the same class, huh?”
“Classmates or not, we were friends!”
I replied slightly annoyed.
Yuuki was still staring at me with a blank look.
But it wasn’t just because he was listening to me that he was looking my way.
“…When I hear someone badmouthing my friend, I can’t just stand by, you know? You guys seem to be that way?”
“…”
That girl glared at me.
Slowly, the kids behind her, about four of them, had angry expressions too.
We were outnumbered. Well, if Koko jumped in, it would be a different story, but then there was a real chance of actual blood being shed. I could only hold back for so long—
“…Fine. If you really want to fight.”
As the girl said that, she charged at me—
“Eek!?”
—only to stumble and fall forward.
The floor wasn’t even that slippery.
I glanced over at Koko.
Koko had a stiff expression.
Her neatly braided hair was a little loose.
So it looked like she wasn’t planning on hitting me, after all. Anyway, she just fell straight down.
I barely stretched my hand out to avoid my face hitting the floor, but then my hand smacked against the ground and made a loud thud. The girl sat up with a sullen expression.
“You!”
No, that wasn’t my fault.
Of course, it wasn’t Koko’s fault either. She couldn’t be blamed for tripping me with her hair.
I tensed up and gathered my strength. Yuuki’s hand was back up.
But we didn’t just start throwing punches at each other.
“Yuuki~ Koto Ne~? Are you there?”
A voice echoed from outside the bathroom.
Before anyone could respond, someone popped their head in from outside.
“Hey, before lunch ends—”
Harumi, who seemed to be suggesting something, froze the moment she saw the situation inside the bathroom.
“Koto Ne?”
And then came Mako right behind her.
…And then Yuka followed them too.
To describe the situation, the only one obviously hurt was the girl lying on the ground. But from anyone’s perspective, it was clear that the larger group was cornering the three of us.
“What are you guys doing?”
Harumi’s voice dramatically fell flat.
Yuuki might look a bit aloof, but he’s generally on the more reserved side. I’ve known him since childhood, so I know he’s not all just calm and chill, but it wouldn’t be surprising if some punks underestimated him.
But Harumi was different. At a glance, she seemed like someone who loved to joke around.
However, I’ve known Harumi’s playful skin tone since back in the day. She liked playing outside; she sometimes ended up getting more tan, but now that her hair’s dyed yellow, she definitely looks like she’s going for that ‘purposefully tanned and dyed’ look.
“…Uh, um.”
“They hit Koto Ne.”
Before anyone could respond, Koko ratted them out.
Koko, so she’s not completely oblivious.
And Kagami was a little scared of how Koko would be treated socially. Koko’s definitely a bit special compared to the rest of us.
So for the last few years, I’ve been giving her plenty of early education.
Instead of attacking others, she should watch the situation first and ask for help from those around.
…And Koko chose the second option.
“…”
Expressions vanished from Harumi, Mako, and Yuka’s faces.
“…Really?”
Harumi asked, looking towards Yuuki.
“Yep.”
Yuuki answered very coolly.
“Ah~ I see. That’s what happened.”
“No, wait a minute, listen to me.”
Maybe now they finally understood what was going on, the girl who had just stood up waved her hands frantically to talk.
…But, really, kids can be quick to throw fists in situations like this.
Harumi, Mako, and Yuka didn’t show any intention of hearing her out.
Well, it’s fine if Harumi and Yuka feel that way.
But what about Mako…?
*
“By the way,”
Standing side by side in front of the teacher’s office, Harumi spoke.
“Those kids were the ones who picked fights with Yuuki back in middle school. We had a huge fight.”
“Is that so….”
Honestly, I hardly got hurt in the middle of that incident. I got a few hits, but my body heals super fast.
Koko didn’t get hit at all. She skillfully dodged punches and kicks, barely even pushing them away with her hands.
And that alone was enough. Those kids probably all hit the ground at least once.
Harumi had a small cut by her lips, and Yuuki had been rubbing his shoulder for a while. Mako, surprisingly good at fighting, had avoided damage like Koko. Yuka was in the same boat.
We all stood in a line against the wall of the teacher’s office. Inside, the teachers seemed to be having a discussion or something.
“Um, it’s a bit awkward to say outright, but we were all pretty chaotic back then. I was the only one who was somewhat okay, but actually, I was a bit too distracted to help everyone focus.”
“…”
Not knowing what to say to Harumi, who told me I was being distracting, I just kept my mouth shut.
“Since they lost almost unilaterally that time, I guess they held a grudge.”
I let out a small breath.
“…Was Mako troubled too?”
“Yeah, probably. The sudden transfer might’ve shocked them. They were pretty tight with you, right?”
…It wasn’t just the transfer, though.
I wonder how Mako remembers that incident?
As just a nightmare, or for that time when I was really bitten by that bear?
“The three of us could only stick together and wander around; we really couldn’t do much, but at least now things are more or less fine.”
“…I see.”
I answered absentmindedly.
In the meantime, a lot has happened.
If I had been there, could I have helped these kids?
Or would I have just given them another wound?
…Now that it’s all in the past, it’s something I can’t know.