The next few days after the athletics festival, our Class, 2-1, is enveloped in a friendly atmosphere.
Before the festival happened, everyone would greet each other and then immediately go to their established friend groups. But now, everyone is talking to each other with a lot of intimacy. If it wasn’t for the festival,the initial sparks would not have been lit, but these sparks have helped us form these buds of friendships.
Even so, this harmony could never last.
One morning, our teacher, her face as pale as a ghost, was holding a letter in her hands. Before our teacher walked in, we were all chatting with each other as usual; however, the moment she walked in, we knew something was up. The whole classroom felt silent. Yukishiro-san was reading a book and telling me about it, when her eyes gave a sharp stare at the front of the room. I turned to look at it too and my confusion was cleared up. Before speaking, our homeroom teacher looked at all of us.
"Today, I got a bullying report from the school today. It really makes me disappointed to see this happen here. The victim is Erika Daidouji. So which one of you bullied her?"
The tension in the classroom could be cut with a knife. We all began to be suspicious of each other as we all looked around the class as we tried to guess the culprit. Even when we began our manhunt for the culprit, I had no idea who the victim was.
Just who the hell is Erika Daidouji?
Her name definitely is unique, but I can't recall who she even is. I try scanning through my classmates and nothing is coming up. I know Yukishiro-san sits beside me and the seats of a few other students, the seats of most of the females remain a mystery to me.
Wait, since she isn't here today, any empty seat will probably be her's. I look around and see that the first seat by the hallway is empty. Who sits there again?
Oh yeah, it was that plump girl who was complaining about Minaguchi in the karaoke hallway. So that's Erika Daidouji. She really was bad-mouthing everyone in the karaoke hallway, could that be a result of bullying?
But it doesn't seem to add up, something is out of place. I remember her tone of voice was really cold and usually victims of bullying are more weak and passive, right? I don't know...
"What should we do? I know someone here must be guilty, but I'm not sure if the perpetrator would be so willing to raise their hands."
This whole manhunt is really putting a weight on our class. After everyone's reactions, it would be hard to step forward. Our teacher just graduated from university, so she might be handling everything the wrong way due to her inexperience.
"So no one will give any answers. That's fine. But do remember that hiding bullying from teachers is a bad thing. At this school, we handle things a bit differently. There's a chance we could suspend the outdoor classroom for everyone."
Everyone is stunned.
The outdoor classroom is one of the most fun events of the year. And now those plans are being utterly destroyed. Because of that, the next day, the atmosphere in the classroom was heavy. It really was like someone was kicking us while we were down.
"Today we received another report giving us the name of the person who bullied Erika. Instead of calling them out, we would like them to step forward."
Like before, our teacher looks around but the result is still the same. After the longest ten minutes of my life, the teacher shakes her head.
"Haa... I wanted to avoid this, but it had to be done. Yukishiro-san, come with me."
"Wha..."
"Huh?!?"
Both Yukishiro-san and I speak at the same time.
"You were the one who bullied her. We have a few questions for you."
"No way, th-there's no way I..."
"Tell that to the guidance counselor, we'll talk with him together."
"..."
The teacher goes up to Yukishiro-san's desk and helps her up. I see Yukishiro-san's tear stained face. Our eyes meet. There's no way in hell she would ever bully anyone.
"Hey, wait up, this must be some mist-"
I raise my voice, but I am interrupted by the teacher.
"We shall let Yukishiro-san defend herself."
"Argh..."
Whoever the hell wrote that report is a fucking liar. What the fuck was that person thinking!? I am unable to convince the teacher otherwise and Yukishiro-san is led to the guidance counselor room.
And so, Yukishiro-san is somewhere else, bearing the sins of a crime she never committed.
__________________
Thus, our class started gossiping about her.
"Hey, did Yukishiro-san and Daidouji-san ever talk to each other?"
"I've never seen them together."
"Yukishiro-san's always doing her own thing, reading books and what not. Daidouji-san seems like... an otaku? She's always talking about anime with other people."
"But the report said that Yukishiro-san was the one bullying her, yeah?"
It's stuff like this that I've been hearing all around the class.
"Hey Ichinose, what do you think?" I sigh as I hear Hasuike ask me that.
"This whole thing is weird. The teacher doesn't know a damn thing about handling the situation and the students are catching on."
This is what happens when you try to make a private matter public.
"Everyone is definitely shocked by the news..."
"Anyways, there's no way in hell Yukishiro-san would be the type of person to ever bully someone."
"Yeah, she couldn't hurt a fly."
"Well, maybe the report they received was misleading."
Hasuike stares at me with wide eyes
“The person who gave the report was lying? But why...?"
"Well..."
As I open my mouth to speak, the classroom falls silent and everyone is at the entrance.
There lies the red-eyed figure of Yukishiro-san. She walks back to her desk with her head down. Her head is hung downcast, never looking up at anyone. She doesn't say anything either. I couldn't do anything to help as the chime of the class bell rang.
Although everyone is interested in hearing Yukishiro-san's side of the story, they all return to their desks. The teacher for the next class has yet to arrive, so everyone is still whispering to each other. I can see Yukishiro-san's hands clasped into a fist, but she suddenly takes out a pen and starts writing on a piece of her notebook and she passes it to me.
[I didn't bully Daidouji-san, please believe me Ichinose-kun]
As I read her cry for help, I can't stop myself from thinking that her writing style is beautiful.
"Don't worry, I will never doubt you."
I softly whisper that into her ear and large tears start welling up in her eyes. Her tears just then, looking at them, I understood everything.
Whoever gave the teachers that report, they must have had some sort of evil intention. And these tears from Yukishiro-san, that was their reward. There really only is one person wicked enough to direct something like this behind the scenes. I just need to confirm my suspicions.
I may not know where they are or how they are operating, but I will unveil the mastermind, just you wait. ______ Translator's Note:
It's definitely Hanabi lol.
The next few days after the athletics festival, our Class, 2-1, is enveloped in a friendly atmosphere.
Before the festival happened, everyone would greet each other and then immediately go to their established friend groups. But now, everyone is talking to each other with a lot of intimacy. If it wasn’t for the festival,the initial sparks would not have been lit, but these sparks have helped us form these buds of friendships.
Even so, this harmony could never last.
One morning, our teacher, her face as pale as a ghost, was holding a letter in her hands. Before our teacher walked in, we were all chatting with each other as usual; however, the moment she walked in, we knew something was up. The whole classroom felt silent. Yukishiro-san was reading a book and telling me about it, when her eyes gave a sharp stare at the front of the room. I turned to look at it too and my confusion was cleared up. Before speaking, our homeroom teacher looked at all of us.
"Today, I got a bullying report from the school today. It really makes me disappointed to see this happen here. The victim is Erika Daidouji. So which one of you bullied her?"
The tension in the classroom could be cut with a knife. We all began to be suspicious of each other as we all looked around the class as we tried to guess the culprit. Even when we began our manhunt for the culprit, I had no idea who the victim was.
Just who the hell is Erika Daidouji?
Her name definitely is unique, but I can't recall who she even is. I try scanning through my classmates and nothing is coming up. I know Yukishiro-san sits beside me and the seats of a few other students, the seats of most of the females remain a mystery to me.
Wait, since she isn't here today, any empty seat will probably be her's. I look around and see that the first seat by the hallway is empty. Who sits there again?
Oh yeah, it was that plump girl who was complaining about Minaguchi in the karaoke hallway. So that's Erika Daidouji. She really was bad-mouthing everyone in the karaoke hallway, could that be a result of bullying?
But it doesn't seem to add up, something is out of place. I remember her tone of voice was really cold and usually victims of bullying are more weak and passive, right? I don't know...
"What should we do? I know someone here must be guilty, but I'm not sure if the perpetrator would be so willing to raise their hands."
This whole manhunt is really putting a weight on our class. After everyone's reactions, it would be hard to step forward. Our teacher just graduated from university, so she might be handling everything the wrong way due to her inexperience.
"So no one will give any answers. That's fine. But do remember that hiding bullying from teachers is a bad thing. At this school, we handle things a bit differently. There's a chance we could suspend the outdoor classroom for everyone."
Everyone is stunned.
The outdoor classroom is one of the most fun events of the year. And now those plans are being utterly destroyed. Because of that, the next day, the atmosphere in the classroom was heavy. It really was like someone was kicking us while we were down.
"Today we received another report giving us the name of the person who bullied Erika. Instead of calling them out, we would like them to step forward."
Like before, our teacher looks around but the result is still the same. After the longest ten minutes of my life, the teacher shakes her head.
"Haa... I wanted to avoid this, but it had to be done. Yukishiro-san, come with me."
"Wha..."
"Huh?!?"
Both Yukishiro-san and I speak at the same time.
"You were the one who bullied her. We have a few questions for you."
"No way, th-there's no way I..."
"Tell that to the guidance counselor, we'll talk with him together."
"..."
The teacher goes up to Yukishiro-san's desk and helps her up. I see Yukishiro-san's tear stained face. Our eyes meet. There's no way in hell she would ever bully anyone.
"Hey, wait up, this must be some mist-"
I raise my voice, but I am interrupted by the teacher.
"We shall let Yukishiro-san defend herself."
"Argh..."
Whoever the hell wrote that report is a fucking liar. What the fuck was that person thinking!? I am unable to convince the teacher otherwise and Yukishiro-san is led to the guidance counselor room.
And so, Yukishiro-san is somewhere else, bearing the sins of a crime she never committed.
__________________
Thus, our class started gossiping about her.
"Hey, did Yukishiro-san and Daidouji-san ever talk to each other?"
"I've never seen them together."
"Yukishiro-san's always doing her own thing, reading books and what not. Daidouji-san seems like... an otaku? She's always talking about anime with other people."
"But the report said that Yukishiro-san was the one bullying her, yeah?"
It's stuff like this that I've been hearing all around the class.
"Hey Ichinose, what do you think?" I sigh as I hear Hasuike ask me that.
"This whole thing is weird. The teacher doesn't know a damn thing about handling the situation and the students are catching on."
This is what happens when you try to make a private matter public.
"Everyone is definitely shocked by the news..."
"Anyways, there's no way in hell Yukishiro-san would be the type of person to ever bully someone."
"Yeah, she couldn't hurt a fly."
"Well, maybe the report they received was misleading."
Hasuike stares at me with wide eyes
“The person who gave the report was lying? But why...?"
"Well..."
As I open my mouth to speak, the classroom falls silent and everyone is at the entrance.
There lies the red-eyed figure of Yukishiro-san. She walks back to her desk with her head down. Her head is hung downcast, never looking up at anyone. She doesn't say anything either. I couldn't do anything to help as the chime of the class bell rang.
Although everyone is interested in hearing Yukishiro-san's side of the story, they all return to their desks. The teacher for the next class has yet to arrive, so everyone is still whispering to each other. I can see Yukishiro-san's hands clasped into a fist, but she suddenly takes out a pen and starts writing on a piece of her notebook and she passes it to me.
[I didn't bully Daidouji-san, please believe me Ichinose-kun]
As I read her cry for help, I can't stop myself from thinking that her writing style is beautiful.
"Don't worry, I will never doubt you."
I softly whisper that into her ear and large tears start welling up in her eyes. Her tears just then, looking at them, I understood everything.
Whoever gave the teachers that report, they must have had some sort of evil intention. And these tears from Yukishiro-san, that was their reward. There really only is one person wicked enough to direct something like this behind the scenes. I just need to confirm my suspicions.
I may not know where they are or how they are operating, but I will unveil the mastermind, just you wait. ______ Translator's Note:
It's definitely Hanabi lol.
