Karuizawa was very pitiful.
And what she had been hiding was an injury on her abdomen.
Between her fair skin, there was an extremely long scar, as if cut by a sharp knife, an ugly scar.
But it made everyone know that this injury… once threatened her life.
This must be what she meant by almost dying in her resistance.
And exposing this injury would certainly lead to questions, which would make her remember her past of being bullied.
So she was so… afraid.
At Horikita Suzune's dorm entrance.
"Suddenly I feel…" Hachiman said. "My old junior high wasn't so bad."
He had already learned about Karuizawa's past.
He had also confirmed that she had indeed been injured.
And it was a fatal injury.
If, after years of cruel and even life-threatening despair, she could still go out and attend high School, her inner strength was already remarkable. But now, in a School she thought would save her, her weakness was discovered again. For her, this was despair.
So Karuizawa was now collecting herself.
And Hachiman had already asked Horikita Suzune and obtained temporary showering rights from her.
After all, this was the girls' dorm, and Karuizawa had been splashed with Horikita Suzune's water by him, suddenly soaking wet. It wouldn't be good if others found out.
Thus.
Karuizawa was showering in Horikita Suzune's room.
But.
He stood with Hachiman at the dorm entrance.
"Junior high?" Horikita Suzune said. "Speaking of junior high, although I was always studying and didn't have many friends."
"But I seem to have heard that something big happened in junior high."
"It seems there was a Class where even the Teacher went on strike for a month," Horikita Suzune said.
"…" Hachiman.
Alright, Horikita, please don't say such terrifying things outside.
Because you know what you're talking about, Kushida's dark past?
Having learned about Hirata's past, Hachiman confirmed that Kushida's dark past, similar to Hirata's, was quite serious.
And Horikita Suzune, don't you understand a little now?
But this is the girls' dormitory, and Kushida is right next door to you.
Although she's not in the dormitory right now, you shouldn't casually say such terrifying things.
Otherwise, the Kushida bomb is going to explode.
So Hachiman interrupted her.
"How do you spell the English word 'abandon'?" Hachiman said.
"…" Horikita Suzune.
"Are you deliberately testing me?"
Horikita Suzune said, "Abandon."
"Are there any other words?" Hachiman asked.
"Give up."
Okay.
That's enough, Horikita. Please don't bring up anything related to your middle school.
…
20 minutes later.
After showering and changing, Karuizawa also blow-dried her hair.
Of course, she didn't have a change of clothes here, so she borrowed Horikita Suzune's.
Of course.
According to Horikita Suzune, she just needed to wash it and return it to her.
In other words, Horikita Suzune would lend things to girls who asked.
This left Hachiman feeling a little disappointed.
Only.
"Then, Horikita, please wait here a little longer," Hachiman said.
"…" Horikita Suzune.
So what happened today?
It was her own room, but she kept being kept outside.
But there was nothing that could be done.
Because.
Although Karuizawa told Hirata about her past, it was to seek help.
Hirata merely passed this request for help over.
And Hachiman, through his own observation, induced Karuizawa to reveal it herself.
But this kind of past, just as Karuizawa feared, was not something that could be casually told to others.
So Horikita Suzune could only wait outside the door for now.
Thus, Hachiman walked into the room.
Karuizawa had already finished her shower, with a slight mist of water around her.
Speaking of which, she smelled so good. She was clearly using the same body wash as Horikita Suzune, or rather, she was using Horikita Suzune's body wash.
But it made her smell even better.
Moreover.
This was also the first time Hachiman had seen a girl after a shower.
Sure enough, Kushida's provocation had no effect at all.
Hachiman felt a little shaken.
But he quickly calmed down.
Because he noticed that after Karuizawa showered, she sat obediently, but her eyes seemed a little uneasy.
Yes, she was a little scared, because all her secrets had been revealed.
"If you feel uneasy, then I can also offer one of my secrets in exchange," Hachiman said.
"That won't be necessary." But Karuizawa's demands didn't seem to be high. "Can you promise to protect me?"
"Since Hirata told you my secret… that means you have his trust," Karuizawa said. "It shows you have strength, so can you protect me?"
Oh.
I see.
So realistic.
However, her willingness to cooperate was excellent.
Rather, she sought help from Hirata in the first place to get protection, didn't she?
She had become very timid; even her current strong exterior was just a disguise.
To protect her inner self, which had already become weak.
"My goal is to lead Class C to Class A, and you know the situation with the classmates, so when aiming for Class A, it's necessary to control the Class when needed."
"I already have the assistance of Hirata, Kushida, and Horikita."
"So, if you are willing to assist, then I will do my best to protect you in all aspects…"
Actually, the word 'protect' shouldn't be used casually.
It's usually only said by those with power, and only to those they cherish.
But just now, Hachiman really wanted to say it.
It was probably sympathy.
Karuizawa's experience was terrible, and if he were in her shoes, he probably wouldn't have fared better than her, perhaps even worse.
So.
Hachiman said his middle school was pretty good. But for people like Kushida, Hirata, and Karuizawa, their middle schools were outrageous.
It no longer felt like mere bullying; it felt more like a crime.
But.
If he were in Karuizawa's situation, facing bullying, he would probably do something.
For example.
There could be several ways to handle it.
For example, if Karuizawa was bullied in the past, violence could be used to deal with it.
Similar to Hirata's way.
But unfortunately, she probably wasn't good at fighting.
However, not being able to use violence doesn't mean there are no other options.
For example. She was clearly being bullied, yet the school turned a blind eye to her situation, and her parents only told her to endure it, even her friends abandoned her out of fear of being bullied along with her, leaving her isolated and helpless, so she resigned herself to enduring it.
This situation is terrifying.
And if it were Hachiman, he would probably adopt other solutions.
If the world abandoned him, then he would become the god of a new world.
The simplest thing would be to directly record their crimes and then send them to their parents. If the other party pretends to be a good girl at home, it would become even more interesting.
If the other party's family also doesn't care about these things, one could find someone to send them spam messages, or throw feces at their doorstep. In other words, if these people make others collapse, then make them collapse too.
Ordinary people are easily incited to commit crimes by others, but they are also easily bullied into not fighting back.
Because they don't want to lose their peaceful and stable lives. Even bullies have things they fear; one just needs to find them.
So, if one's own world is destroyed, then go destroy their world.
A little eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
But these things are all hindsight.
For Karuizawa, this school, which has nothing to do with her past, is her salvation.
Otherwise, she wouldn't use her current strong, gyaru-like appearance to disguise herself, like an external skeleton, protecting herself.
"Protect… me…"
Karuizawa seemed to still be in a daze.
Because.
For her, the word 'protect' must be very distant.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have suffered injuries that were close to life-threatening.
That was her own resistance, she resisted, but the cost was also great.
"The students of this school are selected," Hachiman said. "It's like a new beginning. And you also want to start a new life in this place, don't you?"
"So, this is a win-win solution. I will keep your secret."
"But I need your assistance."
"…" Karuizawa.
Karuizawa seemed to ponder for a moment.
"Then…"
"Are you sure you can help me deal with Manabe's problem?"
Manabe?
So you've already decided to choose his side, huh?
"I will handle Manabe's problem. The Student Council gave me a spot, although it's just a Disciplinary Committee member, I can give it to you."
"The Student Council in this school has high authority. As long as you show that you are a Student Council member, Manabe will chicken out on her own," Hachiman said.
In other words, he was inviting her to join the Student Council. Although a Disciplinary Committee member doesn't have much authority, having the title is enough to protect her.
"I understand." So, Karuizawa looked at him. "Then don't leak my secret."
"That's a given," Hachiman said. "Rather, a past like that would be painful to even mention, sorry for splashing water on you earlier."
"…" Karuizawa.
If he knew splashing her was too much, then he shouldn't have done it.
But she wasn't stupid.
She quickly realized whether Hikigaya was testing her by doing that.
"So Hirata didn't actually tell you my secret?" Karuizawa indeed reacted.
"It was deduced based on observation," Hachiman said. "Your expression when facing Rika was off; it didn't match your gyaru leader image."
"And when Manabe and Rika came together as a group, if she were a strong enough gyaru, she wouldn't be afraid even if she was alone."
"And not…" Hachiman paused. "Borrowing someone else's strength."
This 'borrowing someone else's strength' referred to her hugging him and then acting fierce by proxy.
"…" Karuizawa listened to his analysis.
"Then how did you know I was hurt?"
"You wore your swimsuit early for swimming Class, and you don't expose your skin in front of other girls after swimming Class, do you?"
Hachiman said, "If it were an ordinary girl, maybe she gained weight, had belly fat, or had some pimples she didn't want to be seen.
But for you, you wouldn't be so superficial.
I thought it might be a scar."
"That's why I asked if you had been hurt," Hachiman said.
Is that so.
Then you are quite frightening.
Just by observing, he could discover her true nature, and then, by how she wore her swimsuit, he confirmed that she had indeed been hurt.
Is his observational skill that terrifying?
It's just.
If the other party is so strong, then does that count as finding a big tree to rely on?
After the panic she experienced today, Karuizawa suddenly felt… a sense of relief.
…
Thus.
The next day.
Hachiman came to meet Hirata for their appointment.
According to Karuizawa, she sought help from Hirata because she didn't want to be bullied anymore and wanted to solidify her current position.
She was the leader of the gyarus in the Class, but her academic performance seemed to be very poor.
Hmm.
Horikita had mentioned this point.
And her athletic ability was also average.
Hachiman had observed her for two days and also discovered this; Karuizawa had no talent for sports.
What about other special skills?
It seemed there were none.
If anything, it was probably her current strong gyaru demeanor.
Although Hachiman discovered Karuizawa's true nature through observation, he hadn't realized that her toughness was acted out before he seriously considered it.
Not even Kushida or Sakura had seen through it.
This acting was indeed quite impressive.
And according to her.
"I don't want to be bullied, so… I dressed up like the people who bullied me and imitated them," Karuizawa said.
Is this what they call becoming the very thing you hate the most?
Hachiman arrived at the agreed location, waiting for Hirata while letting his thoughts wander.
About five minutes passed.
"Sorry, I'm a little late," Hirata arrived.
His forehead was sweaty, and he carried some warmth on his body.
From his busy appearance, it seemed he had just helped another student before finally arriving late.
This was quite normal, after all, their Class was the original Class D.
All sorts of problems and troubles needed someone to mediate them.
"Actually," Hirata said, "I wanted to ask, Hachiman, what do you think about school romance?"
"Of course, I'm not talking about actually dating," Hirata said.
"I hope you and Karuizawa date.
Karuizawa proposed a fake relationship to me to maintain her position, and now, I think this position can be given to you.
Your reputation is much greater than mine now."
Hmm.
I see, you want to tell him Karuizawa's secret… so why is it this?
Why is it dating?
Hikigaya suddenly stood up.
Because of what Hirata said.
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