Kaito stood his ground, looking Ryouta and his crew in the eye. "What is your problem?" he asked, his voice calm but heavy. "Do you even realize how many people in this world die of hunger? Some only get to eat once every few days. It's not just humans—animals die of starvation too."
Ryouta let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "Listen to this beggar! We threw his food, and now he's giving us a lecture because he's so heartbroken over his cheap meal."
Meanwhile, Watanabe Yui burst into the classroom, breathless. Hinata was slumped over her desk, her head down, trying to sleep. Yui desperately tried to shake her awake.
"What happened?" Hinata muttered, not even lifting her head.
"The Class 3 seniors... they're harassing Kaito!" Yui cried out.
Hinata didn't budge. "If the seniors are bothering him, what does that have to do with me? Did Kaito send you here to ask for my help? Even if he did, I don't care. My stomach hurts too much right now."
"But Kaito is your friend!" Yui pleaded. "How can you say that? Don't you care about him at all?"
"Kaito never has a sweet word for anyone," Hinata replied coldly. "It's obvious people are going to get angry with him eventually."
"No!" Yui shouted, tears in her eyes. "He didn't say anything wrong. This is all my fault. If I hadn't gone to him for help with that question, none of this would have happened. Please... just bring Kaito back to the class. I'll owe you a huge favor."
Finally, Hinata lifted her head from the desk and looked at Yui. "You don't need to owe me anything. Just do one thing: never wake me up while I'm sleeping ever again. That's all."
The Scene at the Bench
By now, a crowd of students had gathered near the playground. One of Ryouta's lackeys sneered at Kaito. "Hey, beggar! If you want food that badly, just carry my bag and do my chores. I'll feed you much better stuff than this." The crowd erupted in laughter.
Ryouta stepped closer, pointing at the dirt. "If you're so worried about the food, then pick it up from the ground and eat it."
Suddenly, the laughter died down as everyone noticed a girl crouching on the ground. It was Hinata. Ignoring everyone, she was calmly picking up every grain and piece of food with her chopsticks and placing them back into the lunch box.
Ryouta blinked, confused. "Who is this now? Do you want some of this floor-food too?"
Hinata finished, stood up, and looked at Kaito. "There. Done. I don't think this is fit for us to eat anymore, but we can do something else. There's a forest nearby with plenty of insects and flies. If we crumble this into small pieces there, they can eat it slowly."
Kaito nodded. "Then we'll go there after school and leave it for them. But what are you doing here? You said your stomach was hurting. Let's get back to class."
The two of them began to walk away, talking to each other as if Ryouta and his gang didn't even exist.
"I've been watching you two this whole time!" Ryouta roared, stepping in their path. "Hinata, do you really think you can just ignore us and walk away?"
As they tried to pass, Ryouta reached out and grabbed Hinata's hand.
In a flash, Hinata spun around and delivered a devastating kick. Ryouta doubled over in pain as Hinata glared at him. "Don't you ever dare touch my hand again. I despise it when people grab me."
She then turned her sharp gaze toward Ryouta's friends. "What are you staring at? You want to hit me? Don't even think about it. I have no interest in school fights."
Suddenly, someone shouted, "The teachers are coming!"
The crowd scattered instantly, students racing back toward their buildings. Kaito grabbed the palm of Hinata's hand—avoiding her wrist—and they started running toward their class. As they ran, Hinata's eyes briefly met Kojo's in the hallway.
Back on the Roof
Kojo finished the story, looking at Hakuo. Hakuo was stunned. "All of that happened... and I had no idea."
Kojo rolled his eyes. "You're always busy in your own little world. Why would you care about what's happening to the rest of us? Of course you wouldn't know."
"Alright, alright, stop the sarcasm," Hakuo replied. "Tell me what happened next."
"Not much," Kojo said. "I don't know what Kaito told the teachers in the staff room, but only Ryouta and his friends got punished. Kaito and Hinata walked away clean."
Just then, the door to the roof creaked open and Tanaka Itsuki walked in, looking a bit flustered. "You guys won't believe who I just bumped into on the stairs," he said.
"How would we know who you bumped into?" Kojo asked.
"I bumped into Hinata," Itsuki said plainly.
Hakuo's eyes narrowed as he looked at the Class President. "Since when did you start calling her 'Hinata' so formally? You say it like she's your close friend or something."