As always, he spent English and math class studying Japanese and geography and history, and as usual he gathered at Ren’s desk during breaks to chat with Miho and Haruto about whatever was trending on Twitter and Instagram… It wasn’t until lunchtime, when Harutaki lay his head on the desk and stared out the window, that he realized something felt missing, “Hey, come out with me for a bit.” Oh, so that was what he’d been missing: Nogami herself. He had only enjoyed less than a week of being left alone, and only a morning apart, but as soon as Nogami wasn’t around the quiet that settled over him felt painfully plain. What a melodramatic guy, he thought of himself. When Nogami set her sights on him he craved a peaceful school life; once he’d solved her problem, though, he found he missed the days when a cute girl fussed over him. “I’m not 'hey,' Hoshikawa, Hoshikawa-kun… or Nogami, if you want to call me Harutaki, I wouldn’t mind.” “Stop flattering yourself, idiot.” Nogami gave the edge of his desk a light kick, shot him a glare, and hustled him out of the classroom. Nearly half the students were still inside. Seeing Harutaki being “tormented” by Nogami, more than a few offered sympathetic looks. But most people thought Nogami was still angry; anyone who stuck up for Harutaki would be asking for trouble. Even though she’d become more or less the school’s pariah, someone everyone shouted at or excluded, a pariah was still a dog. What if it snapped? Some students felt pity and wanted to help, but friends nearby quickly dragged them back. Walking down the hall with that scene in front of him, he could understand why his would-be allies were held back. The three first-year girls who’d made trouble the evening before seemed to have acted out of spite because their boyfriends had been embarrassed by Harutaki. Not daring to cause a scene when the school was full, they’d taken to an anonymous forum with a spicy post, [Second-year student Ngm seen making out with her boyfriend in public; when discovered, a confrontation turned into a fight.] Using initials to smear someone is common on anonymous boards, but since Izumi’s surname is Nogami, many immediately understood who they were targeting. The post twisted the events of the previous evening, flipping the roles: instead of being provoked and threatened, Nogami was accused of being the one caught in an embarrassing situation, and her boyfriend flew into a jealous rage, fought a few delinquent boys off-campus, then ran away after injuring them. The post was meant to soil Nogami’s reputation, but it backfired. Yes, Nogami had a delinquent boyfriend who’d fought with others, but considering how tarnished her name already was, this barely registered as more than a speck of dirt. And with a boyfriend like that, the vast majority of students at Nichiya High, kids who relied on grades and recommendations to get ahead, weren’t about to risk getting into a fight by poking her anymore. “Did you see the post on the anonymous board, Hoshikawa?” Nogami asked. In the corridor she shot sharp, aggressive looks at the students who were peeking from the sidelines; many, he noticed, now avoided meeting her eyes, like they had before Harutaki’s revenge. “Yeah. Three foolish girls,” Harutaki replied in a low voice. “Picking a delinquent boyfriend because they think it looks cool? They’ve got something wrong in their heads.” Those three first-years were clearly at the very bottom of the school’s social ladder: bookish, limited in outlook, lacking social skills. All they could do was latch onto an obnoxious delinquent who, among the genuinely popular kids, was tacky, then try to buy respect from others in their tier. “Then… does that mean I don’t have to ask you to fix my problems anymore?” They reached the empty classroom Nogami had adopted as her own. After pulling two chairs and sitting down, she cut straight to the point. Deep down she’d already decided she trusted Harutaki, but she refused to show any emotion outwardly, this was about pride; it was almost an obsession with how she must appear. She’d offered someone the chance to be her boyfriend, and he’d had the nerve to dance around it? What did Harutaki think she was? Even if Harutaki hadn't believed that the night-time question contained any real sentiment, Nogami considered it her first confession. A confession was simple: one person asks, the other answers yes or no. He refused to give her any face—fine, then she’d make sure to pay him back for it later. She’d make Hoshikawa regret his carelessness so deeply he’d wish he could turn back time! When that time came, he’d be groveling on the floor like a dog, bowing his head and licking her feet as he begged her to go out with him—only then would she consider forgiving him. “Nogami-san? I didn’t think you’d daydream and look so happy.” “Tch… daydream? Tell me, is the trouble at school over now?” She kicked his shin under the desk in annoyance. Wearing indoor slippers, he barely felt it; if anything, he could almost feel how soft the sole of her foot was through the thin rubber. “If bullying and online abuse were that easy to end, no one would fear them.” She was the kind who, once she broke a toy, stopped caring about it and remained on top of things, always looking down from above, unaware of how terrifying bullying and cyberharassment could be. Only now did she speak those naive words. Harutaki, disappointed, gave her the answer she didn’t want to hear. “Why? Don’t tell me everyone’s calmed down. You’re not planning to ask me for a reward, are you? Don’t be deluded, you pervert.” She asked half-hoping, half-expecting to see him flustered with disbelief. Then she could pat his head, comfort him, and he’d tearfully shout praise for Nogam-samai, begging forgiveness. That was the plan in her mind. Harutaki, though, simply laid out the ugly truth. “Bullying in real life and online abuse are the same at their core, like two buildings drawn from almost identical blueprints. The foundation and structure are the same; only the paint job and decoration differ.” His eyes were amused as he looked at her, and Nogami’s bravado faltered a little. She didn’t want to lose face in front of him, so she forced a weak glare back. “A lot of media and dramas preach: ‘There’s no reason for bullying,’ ‘Anyone can be bullied, so resist it!’ Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? The pretty words are repeated so much people start to believe them. But in reality?” “You… why are you staring at me like that…?” “In a cruel world , there are lots of people with sleazy, low-class thoughts, people who think if someone has a weakness or leverage, then it’s fine to throw stones or beat them up. That’s how they think, Nogami-san.” “But, if someone has a weakness, whose fault is that?” Such a naive thought. “That’s easy. When the victim becomes someone like you, don’t be surprised. If you have weaknesses, I’ll smash them with stones; if you don’t, I’ll create a weakness for you. If that continues, society collapses.” He paused, voice teasing. “Who do you think’s to blame?” She bit her lip, flustered, ready to argue but unable to find words; her face flushed. He continued without waiting for an answer. “Of course, there are many causes behind bullying, saying ‘it’s all the bully’s fault’ doesn’t tell the whole story. But admitting there are reasons for being targeted will only hurt victims again, so the public prefers the slogan that there’s no reason. If you want to avoid being bullied, the only thing you can do is hide and minimize your weaknesses, patch your leaks as best you can.” “Don’t think about it.” Harutaki cut Nogami’s hopes off with a helpless sigh. “Everything you’ve ever been is a weakness someone can attack. Given that, no amount of patching will ever be enough.” “Y-you, Hoshikawa, you can do something, right? You can help me, can’t you?” She imagined a life where she’d never have to avoid Minako and Sae in school, where she could speak to anyone, where no flaw ever surfaced again. She remembered Harutaki’s method for resisting bullying, the collective power of friends. But right now she, like Harutaki at the beginning, had no friends to call upon. When it came down to the real reason behind it all… wasn’t she, just like the boy in Harutaki’s story, the fool who’d “isolated” everyone else out of pride and self-respect? The two friends she had at school barely caused a ripple in the crowd, and now, the only person she could actually talk to, the only one capable of helping her, was… “Don’t look at me like that. Why not ask your dad for help instead, Nogami-san? I’m sure that man’s means are far better than mine.” Nogami shot up from her chair, palms slamming the desk so hard that Harutaki flinched. Ah, so the topic of her father was off-limits, huh? He came to that conclusion immediately. “Don’t joke around! What will it take, Hoshikawa, what do I have to do to make you help me!?” If she’d been willing to rely on her father, she never would’ve stubbornly moved out to live alone, never would’ve endured this long. That man, the politician who stood just below a handful of the country’s most powerful, yet far above tens of thousands of others, carried such authority that even sitting still, the slightest twitch of his brow could make seasoned officials tremble. To earn his recognition… to hear him praise her as an equal, not as a doted-upon daughter, She could never, ever show weakness before him. “Is that really how you ask someone for help, Nogami?” “Guh… p-please… please help me…” “I could. But it wouldn’t be free, of course.” He at least wanted to leave her some dignity, not trample her into the dirt. Official source ıs 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩•𝗳𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝕟𝕖𝕥 Harutaki only meant to teach her a lesson. If he made too excessive a demand, it’d only turn into resentment, and he wasn’t stupid enough to make her a permanent enemy. Treating it as a paid favor would be better for both of them. “W-what do you want?” “Payment. Or… let’s call it a reward.” Nogami froze, then clenched her fists so tightly her shoulders began to tremble. After a long pause, she nodded, voice trembling. “Only with my hands… or, or maybe with my feet…” “…At least two or three times… like before, ” It took Harutaki a moment to realize Nogami had completely misunderstood him. Who exactly was the pervert here again? “I meant that luxury bento from last time. What on earth are you talking about? Eh? Hands? Feet? What would you exactly do with your hands and feet?” Crossing his arms, he tilted his head innocently, deliberately feigning confusion to tease her. He was doing this on purpose! Seeing that mischievous glint in his violet eyes, Nogami could practically feel something inside her snapping. “Feeding me with your hands might be a little embarrassing, but understandable. With your feet though? That’s where I draw the line, Nogami-san.” “Just once won’t fill me up either. Ah, don’t get me wrong, what I mean is, one bento won’t be enough food.” “Tch, tch. Feeling bad about the price of the deluxe meal?” That flushed, snow-pale face. That mix of shame and fury. She was unbearably cute . “Now that I think about it, can we do it like in those dramas? You sit on my lap, feed me sushi with your chopsticks, and say, ‘Here you go, my lord, ’” “Have you had enough, you bastard!?” Even though he’d raised his arms in time to block, and she hadn’t even used full strength, the impact alone sent a shudder through him as he slumped down toward the floor. “H-Hoshikawa? I, I didn’t even use that much force…”