Chapter 16: Assault behind the school building

Thanks to the letter I wrote to Nagisa, I never dreamed that the day would come when I would thank her.

I am sitting at the dining table, eating dinner with my two family members and three other people.

I’m having a hard time with the fact that I can’t not eat with them since I said I’d forgive them. I’m lucky that my sister doesn’t say anything to me, thanks to the rule that she doesn’t talk to me except when we’re alone.

My father is annoying, but I can put up with it because he’s basically a mute.

“Curry…….”

And Nagisa is also here today.

We met face to face for the first time when she found out I was falsely accused. At first she was hesitant to say anything, but in the end we sat down to eat without saying anything.

I don’t feel anything when I see my sister like that.

I don’t feel nostalgic after seeing her after a long time, nor do I have any feelings of being glad to see her.

But neither did I feel any hatred.

I don’t feel resentment when I see her like I do my older sister and father,…… because she doesn’t apologize or speak to me in a friendly manner — anyway, she keeps ducking the actions that I find offensive.

“It’s delicious,……… mom,…….”

“It’s been a while since we ate together, right?”

“……Yes,……I’m sorry mom.”

My younger sister is eating her curry while crying.

I guess this girl feels nostalgic because she hasn’t eaten with mom for a long time. …… she always ate with her.

Mom was gently soothing Nagisa as she cried.

“Nagisa, have you apologized to Ryosuke?”

“Eh,……, not yet, but…”

“Why don’t you apologize to Ryosuke first?”

Kaede points out that the order of apologizing is the opposite.

Kazuhiko, who is sitting next to Rinka, nods his head and says, “Yeah.”

“I-I was thinking that I would show my brother that I was sorry for my behavior and then apologize to him—-“

“That’s a little late for that, don’t you think? You don’t understand Ryosuke at all, do you?”

“……………Uugh”

“Stop it, both of you.”

Rinka scolded and the two fell silent.

Nagisa is purely out of remorse,…… while Kaede is an impure palpitation to be liked by Ryosuke, who is good friends with his mother.

Ryosuke looked at Kaede with cold eyes.

“………Haa~”

─ ─ My mother is also tilting her head in dismay.

Besides, I feel that she is somewhat distant from my older sister,……, and her response is clearly different compared to my younger sister’s.

Is there something wrong?

─ ─ Then again, school and home are hell.

Oh, but my mom is close to me…… so I can live in hell with plenty of time to spare.

But my sister and father are still scum.

~Ruiko’s Point of View~.

The next day, afternoon time.

Ruiko was reading a book on a courtyard bench in the school building.

She had short chestnut-colored hair, a catsuit on her head, a face so well-defined that she was scouted as a model on the street, and a slender, beautiful figure.

She had been absent for a while, and today would be her first day of school in about two weeks.

She was ready to quit school, but her mother and father persuaded her to start today.

She is depressed that her resolve is not as strong as it should be since they were paying her tuition.

She skipped her afternoon classes when she wasn’t feeling well.

“…… Huh?”

That’s when she discovers five girls heading to the back of the school building.

It’s not uncommon for delinquents to skip class and hang out behind the school building,……, but it’s a case that can be dismissed,…….

“Mai and Kirishima?”

The combination of the two makes her no longer a stranger to the situation.

One is a girl who is good friends with Ryosuke.

The other is a girl who was good friends with Ryosuke in the ‘past’. …… Yes, a girl with the same past tense as herself.

“Things might not be good…….”

If Mai is in a pinch, he would come to her aid, but Ryosuke has long since blocked Ruiko.

So, having no choice but to handle the situation herself,…… Ruiko gathered her courage and went after the five of them.

…..

…..

“Hey, Nakazato……,Help me get through to Ryosuke.”

Fumika Kirishima said with a sense of intimidation.

“…… that’s.”

Usually Ryosuke protects her.

Mai does not have much tolerance for this kind of shura situation. She is usually protected by Ryosuke.

“Please do the same for me too.”

This time, a third girl, who is supposed to be completely unrelated, tells Mai.

This girl is Chiaki Sunagawa. She sits next to him, but Ryosuke does not know her name.

Both of them had dyed their hair and were dressed down in their school uniforms, and both of them looked very bad — of course, the other two girls had the same look.

In other words, Mai was now surrounded by four delinquents,…… and the horror of the situation made her cry her eyes out.

Still, the two do not stop their pursuit.

The two are in separate elective classes for men and women, and without Ryosuke’s presence, this is their chance. Fumika Kirishima was convinced that if she could win Mai over, there was a chance for reconciliation.

Kirishima was not happy to have to rely on such a lame woman she had looked down on so much, but now was not the time to be extravagant, so Kirishima was determined to ask Mai for help.

“S-sorry.”

But Mai still did not nod her head.

The delinquents called her to the back of the school building, and Kirishima grabbed her arm to prevent her from escaping, but she still refused.

No matter how weak she usually is, Mai is stronger than anyone else when Ryosuke is involved. She would not yield to any threat.

“Stop f*cking with me!”

Such an attitude annoyed Kirishima.

She had been a jerk to Ryosuke until last year, and had cried and run away when she made fun of him,……, but now her condescension exploded.

She released her grip and pushed Mai away with both hands.

“Agh……!”

Mai fell to the ground.

Although she was not injured, she was too scared to get up.

Unlike Kaede, whom she had known since childhood, Kirishima, whom she had only recently met, was nothing but fearful of violence.

“…… Oi, if you tell Ryosuke about what happened today, you won’t get off scot-free, okay?”

Kirishima looked down at her and threatened.

“….A-aah”

Mai was too frightened to speak.

However, Chiaki Sunagawa sees it as being [ignored].

“Stop screwing around, you b*tch!”

She raised her arm to strike Mai, who fell to the ground. And she set her sights on his face.

“Wait! Not her face! Ryosuke will find out!”

Kirishima, not wanting to leave as much evidence as possible, tried to stop her, but it was too late.

Chiaki’s fist hits Mai in the face—-

“Watch out!”

Before she could do so, the student body president, Ruiko Himekawa, intervened to stop her. Just in the nick of time,……, before Chiaki’s fist touched her, Ruiko succeeded in pushing Chiaki away.

“……, S-Student Council President?

“Are you okay?! —-What are you doing?!”

Ruiko stood in front of the delinquents to protect Mai.

“That woman!!”

“Damn you for pushing Chiaki away!”

……, but unable to stand the fact that her friends were pushed away, a pair of bystanders attacked her.

Not only does they try to violate Ruiko ……, but also Mai, who has collapsed.

“S-stop!”

“S-Student Council President!”

As if to protect Mai, who was unable to move due to fear, Ruiko covered her as she collapsed.

The two of them assaulted her without regard to that,……, and Ruiko was kicked by them on her back.

“Ugh……!”

It was also repeated many times,…… and each kick was painful and agonizing to Ruiko, who had not been trained.

But even so, she never relaxed the strength of her arms that held Mai in her arms.

Mai was an important person for Ryosuke,…… a woman who had always protected him on her behalf.

She wants to save her unharmed at any cost,…… she thought so.

“S-Student council president!? ── No, stop! Someone help the student council president!!”

“The student body president?!”

“Seriously, ……, there is something wrong here”

The two assaults stop.

They didn’t know what the student body president looked like because she didn’t participate in school events.

And Ruiko is limp from the dozens of kicks to her back —- her back is in shreds and the headband she wore on her head has come off and covered in mud.

“Student Council President …… ugh …….”

Mai hugged the student council president, who was covered in scars, from the head and cried.

“Run away?”

“Yes,…… Chiaki and Fumika are coming too!”

“…… what are you guys doing to me?”

“Shut up! But there are no witnesses, so why don’t we just keep it quiet?”

“That’s right! First of all, it’s Chiaki’s fault for getting blown up!”

“…… I didn’t expect her to show up so suddenly. …… bad Fumi …… I made a mistake bringing them here.”

“Oh, because you were the first one to try to make a move!”

“I-I’m sorry,……, I just got mad when I thought that these shady girl was ignoring you.”

“What if Ryosuke finds out about it!!”

“If I knew you were that freaked out, I wouldn’t have said it. Nakazato is unharmed for some reason…aren’t you two dangerous? Beating up the student council president like that…I mean, how can you beat up the Student Council President like that and …… bust her back?”

“That’s why we’re running away!”

With that said, the four of them left the place.

On the way there, only Fumika Kirishima looked back several times to see what was going on, but that didn’t stop her from calling for help.

“Ry-Ryosuke……!”

“Ugh,……, I think I might have a blue bruise.”

Mai called Ryosuke in a great hurry, but all the while she held on to Ruiko.