The end-of-school bell rang.
Hirata picked up his bag alone and walked out. His expression was difficult to read. Meiyu, who had been quietly worried about him, followed at a distance.
Ryunosuke didn't involve himself. This was something Hirata had to work through on his own. A wound in the soul, if never faced, never heals.
He glanced at his watch. "Right, I need to go be with Hiyori."
He had made a promise to spend time with her, and that promise had cost him considerable effort to earn. Even the short window after school, he was expected to keep her company in the library. He didn't want to disappoint her.
He grabbed his bag and headed off. Kei, who had only just started going out with him and had been thinking about asking him to dinner, saw him leave in a hurry and let the thought go without pressing it.
Hirata sat slumped at the side of the staircase, breathing out a long, heavy sigh. The forced expulsions of Yamauchi, Ike, Shimamura, and the others had left a mark on him that was hard to ignore, even if they had brought it on themselves.
Meiyu had just arrived and was about to say something to him when Hirata held up a hand. "Wang Meiyu-san, could you give me a moment alone?"
She stopped, not sure what to do. At that moment, Kouenji strolled over, running a small comb through his blonde hair.
"Yo, Hirata boy. Sitting here contemplating the nature of existence?" He said it with the faint mockery he applied to most things. "Don't make such a sour face over three pieces of garbage."
Hirata's hand shot out and grabbed Kouenji by the collar. His eyes had gone sharp, the way eyes do when something strikes exactly the wrong place.
"What do you know?! What do you know about me?! You don't know anything, so don't stand there pretending you do."
"Stop it, please, Hirata-kun!" Meiyu grabbed his arm, pleading.
Hirata came back to himself and realized what he had done. He let go of Kouenji's collar.
Kouenji straightened his collar with complete composure, then calmly poured more salt into the wound.
"Those three got exactly what they deserved. Attention-hungry clowns, the lot of them. Feeling sorry over something lower than garbage is a waste of your time."
Hirata, who had barely calmed down, flared up again immediately.
Sensing the situation escalating back toward a fight, Meiyu panicked and grabbed Hirata's arm to pull him back. He flung her hand away without thinking.
Meiyu cried out, stumbled, and nearly hit the floor. Ryunosuke, who had just finished keeping Hiyori company in the library and happened to be passing by at that exact moment, caught her.
She landed softly against him. He didn't think anything particular of it; he had spent enough time around attractive girls by now that a certain immunity had developed. He steadied her until she had her footing again, then stepped back.
Meiyu, who had braced herself for the impact, was puzzled to find that it hadn't come. She opened her eyes and saw who was in front of her. "Akasaka-kun?!"
Her expression brightened at once. She caught the hem of his sleeve, eyes glistening. "Please stop Hirata-kun and the others!"
She pointed. Ryunosuke looked over at the two of them, still exchanging words. He stepped forward to get between them. They were both members of his class, and as the one in charge, he couldn't stand aside.
He walked in, separated them with a firm hand on each, and looked at them both without expression. "Am I invisible to you two? You have the nerve to fight right in front of me?"
Hirata went quiet immediately. He managed a bitter smile. "I'm sorry for the trouble." He bowed deeply.
"How dull." Kouenji tidied his hair with the small comb, as unhurried and self-satisfied as ever. "Akasaka boy, nothing left for me here. I'll be going."
Ryunosuke said nothing, which was permission enough. As he passed Meiyu, Kouenji's entire manner shifted.
"Beautiful lady, we should go on a proper date sometime."
"Wha, what, what?!" Meiyu's face turned completely red. She was one of the top students in English class and understood perfectly well what that phrasing carried. It was essentially a confession.
On instinct, she looked to Hirata.
She waited. Nothing came. His expression didn't change at all. Her face fell slightly.
"Hmph." Kouenji had seen every bit of it, and that had been exactly the point. "Truly a man without any courage."
He left the words hanging behind him as he walked away.
Hirata stood there confused, sensing he was being mocked but unable to follow what any of it had to do with him. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing between himself and Meiyu. From where he stood, he genuinely didn't see it.
Ryunosuke observed Meiyu's romantic situation in silence for approximately three seconds and moved on.
As he was about to leave, Hirata called out to him.
"Could you hear one request from me, Akasaka-kun?" He lowered his head.
Ryunosuke stopped. "What is it?"
Hirata looked up, his expression serious. "Could you find a way to make sure no more students get expelled going forward?"
Ryunosuke paused, feeling the request was a little unreasonable. "You're asking a lot. Do you think I'm Superman? Something like that isn't something I can just..."
He cut himself off.
(Actually, I probably can. As long as I'm willing to ask my future father-in-law.)
That had been Hirata's reasoning from the start. The school announcement from a few days ago had been perfectly clear: the chairman's daughter was in a relationship with Ryunosuke. If Ryunosuke were to say a word or two to the chairman himself...
Hirata knew perfectly well that his request was asking too much. So he offered something in return. "If Akasaka-kun is willing to do this for me, I will follow you from now on. Whatever you say, I'll do it."
He meant every word of it. And the offer was genuinely attractive. To manage Class C as a whole, Hirata was a valuable presence. With his support going forward, Ryunosuke could afford to ease up a little.
In the end, Ryunosuke agreed to what seemed like an impossible request. Hirata's face broke into open relief and gratitude. "Thank you so much, Akasaka-kun. I promise I'll give you everything I have from here on."
Meiyu blinked her large eyes, not quite sure she had followed everything that had just happened.
Hirata's mood had lifted considerably.
(With this, no more of our classmates will be expelled. Thank goodness.)
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