V2Ch17: Ripples of Madness

Translator: Soafp

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Why is he asking if I’ve been doing well? How can he talk to me so casually with that nonchalant expression?

Rather than feeling remorseful, Rinto’s words, which seemed to mock me, only fueled my anger further, causing my clenched fist to tighten even more.

Of course, I hadn’t forgotten my hatred for Rinto and Reina up to this point. There was no way I could forget.

But over the past week, I had less time to dwell on it due to conversations with Mio, Yuzuki, Todoroki, and others. However, now that the two of them had reappeared, my hatred resurfaced.

“Taiga! Violence is not the answer, okay?! I’ll put up with it too!”

Mio held me back, and I felt her strength in her arms, which was surprisingly strong for a girl, and it brought me back to my senses.

I was being pathetic. Mio was restraining herself too. If I lost control in anger and punched someone here, it would only play into Rinto’s hands.

“Wait a minute! What’s going on, Taiga? Mio too! What’s happening?!”

Todoroki, who was completely unaware of the situation, had wide eyes. Right now, nobody paid attention to her words except for the two people present in the room.

“What’s wrong? Boring, aren’t you? I thought you’d come at us with more aggression, but whatever. Reina, don’t just stand there, go back to your seat already. You don’t need to be so frightened; these guys won’t do anything. They’re all good kids who can’t do a thing.”

“Yeah…”

Each word from this guy grated on my nerves. Is this… Is this the true nature of the guy I thought of as my best friend?

The dependable and kind Rinto and others I knew no longer existed. This guy was the worst scumbag.

Rinto, without a hint of remorse, walked confidently to his seat.

In that moment, a boy from the back row kicked Rinto’s seat with force and grabbed a handful of his hair, yanking it forcefully and slamming Rinto’s head onto his desk.

Even though we were in the same class, I couldn’t remember his name right away. His face was filled with madness. He had always been quiet, avoiding interaction with anyone in the class.

“Oi, oi! This is getting too much!”

“Kyaaaaaa! S-sudou-kun?!”

The unexpected actions of a boy named Sudou caused a commotion throughout the class.

Oh, finally you came to school. I’ve been waiting for you…waiting for you. I’ve been waiting for you… I’ve been waiting for you to come to school. It’s your turn to be judged and it’s boring to be expelled. I think you all think so too, right? I thought it was strange from the beginning. There is no way that the gentle Yagami I know would do something like that in the presence of such a noble being as Sakuragi-san. But I couldn’t say it at the time. I thought no one would listen to what I had to say…!

Mio is a noble being? The kind-hearted Yagami-kun I know??

What on earth is this guy talking about? He’s talking as if he knows Mio and me well, but we’ve had no significant interactions with him until now.

Sudou… is it? I couldn’t recall him from my memory.

“But I won’t run away anymore!! Instead of the kind-hearted Yagami-kun and you two, I will relentlessly and methodically corner you. Fufu, I’m quite experienced in that. After all, I’m sure the kind-hearted Yagami-kun and the others never thought about revenge…”

Revenge… Of course, I had considered it. But since I couldn’t talk to the police about Shion, and I couldn’t do anything about the principal, I had given up on taking matters into my own hands.

Rinto and Reina were unforgivable to me. To be honest, when I heard Sudou talking about revenge, my body shivered with excitement.

But even so, I could say one thing: this was my problem. It was absolutely wrong to have someone else do something like this for me.

“To be honest, I hate them so much that I want to punch them right now… But I don’t owe you anything, especially someone I barely know, to do something like this for me. You don’t have to do this for my sake!”

“…It seems like you still don’t remember me. But it doesn’t matter anymore. Hey, what about everyone here? Is it really okay to let these two criminals stay in our class and get away with it?”

Rinto had a rare look of sweat on his face as he lifted his head in anguish, and Reina, trembling in the corner of the classroom, looked even more desperate.

“…Reina was just using me. It’s all my fault—”

In a rare moment of panic, Rinto defended Reina. Perhaps, he had been trying to direct all the hatred toward himself with his attitude today.

“Who cares about that! The moment you put you plan into action, she becomes an accomplice!! You’ve acted all princely, but you would have never spoken the truth if that little girl hadn’t testified. You just framed an innocent Yagami-kun and walked away like it was nothing… I can’t forgive you… I won’t forgive you!!”

After Sudou spoke, I saw tears in his eyes.

Why was he getting angry for my sake?

Was I inadvertently making him say the things I wanted to say?

Why was someone I should have no recollection of crying for me?

I had no idea about the situation. My head was filled with confusion. But one thing was clear: he was desperately doing this for my sake.

While everyone, including me, was left speechless by Sudou’s words, Sanada was the first to speak up excitedly.

“…That’s right! Let’s all work together to drive them out! Because of these two, I lost a friend! I have the right to do this!”

“Yeah! I also treated Yagami-kun and Mio harshly… If only these two hadn’t done what they did, we could all have gotten along! I wouldn’t have to carry this guilt every day!”

One by one, my classmates, even those who didn’t have much interaction with me or Mio, began to express their feelings as if they were pouring out their hearts.

Whether it was due to the atmosphere or a newfound sense of justice, even those who had little interaction with us started to support Sudou’s opinion.

Before I knew it, everyone except for Aizawa and her friends had joined in.

The classroom had descended into chaos. Despite our pleas for calm, nobody was listening.

In the midst of this, someone started telling them to leave, and soon, the entire classroom was filled with shouts of “Go home!”

What is this…?

I mean, I should be utterly insignificant to my classmates, right? I should have been someone they could easily dismiss without a second thought, without bothering to listen to me.

Why has it come to this?

The initial emotion that surfaced was… ‘Fear.’ It wasn’t a feeling of satisfaction like ‘serves you right,’ and certainly not gratitude.

Seeing people flip so dramatically, I felt a strong sense of fear. It seemed that Mio felt the same because her body, holding onto mine, was trembling slightly.

“What the heck is going on here… What’s happening to our class? Why isn’t anyone trying to stop this? This is definitely not right! Do you guys know anything about this?”

Todoroki shook both me and Mio vigorously, snapping us back to reality.

That’s right… In this situation, it’s impossible not to explain things to Todoroki.

The chants of “Go home!” continued until the first period began, but Rinto and Reina remained, their faces twisted in disgust.