Chapter 43: Hatsukade, The Fisherman

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Translator: Soafp

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The classroom, completely silent, was wrapped in a strange atmosphere as if time itself had stopped.

The male teacher, frozen with a piece of white chalk in his hand, had tightened his usually loose tie. On some days his hair was messy, but today it was neatly arranged.

He must have been putting extra effort into this class observation day.

“H-Hatsukade, what are you suddenly saying? Hahaha, don't take jokes too far, okay?”

When the teacher spoke, the air in the classroom began to move again.

Whispers could be heard from the parents seated in the back rows.

Amid that, the gazes my classmates turned toward me varied.

Some sat with wide eyes, unable to move.

Some hurriedly bowed their heads.

Others looked at me with curious, interested stares.

The male teacher wore a strained, pleading smile.

I'm sorry, but I had no reason whatsoever to worry about his position.

For this long, some of them had treated me in ways I could clearly call bullying.

There was no way he hadn't noticed at all.

He had either pretended not to see, or he was an utter fool.

In that case, I had no need to hold back, right?

“No, it's not a joke. There is bullying in this class.”

“O-Okay, I understand. We'll hear the details after class. Is that alright?”

“No, I'm asking you to do it right here, right now.”

“…!”

“Or do you think solving the textbook problems is more important than dealing with bullying, Sensei?”

“Of course not! That's exactly why I'm saying we should set aside proper time and talk about it carefully, so there's no confusion.”

Following the teacher, Ayano spoke up.

“Yeah! Don't ruin the class observation day with random nonsense. At least read the mood!”

Perfectly hooked like an idiot, I gave a small grin.

“You say ‘so there's no confusion,' but with students, teachers, and parents all present, there's no more transparent setting than this. If anyone opposes this, please state your reason. Oh, and parents are welcome to speak freely too. But not vague things like ‘read the mood.' Well, the only ones who would object to bringing up bullying are probably the ones involved in it anyway.”

Ayano let out a small breath and fell silent.

What a pathetic guy.

“Let me add one thing: if speaking here isn't allowed, then I'll never speak again and keep these feelings to myself forever. If it doesn't work now, it won't work at all. Are you going to crush a student's courageous confession, Sensei?”

“…I'll listen.”

The male teacher said that with a face like he'd just bitten into something bitter.

Given his position, he had no other choice.

“I'm the one being bullied. It all started with a fake confession…”

From there, I explained everything that had happened up to now.

The reactions from the parents, who had known nothing until then, were intense. Some narrowed their eyes sharply; others turned pale, probably worried their own children might be involved.

Fortunately or not, Miko's parents weren't there.

As for my mother… well, I could just persuade her once I got home.

And as for the most important person, Miko… she sat silently in her seat, her face dark, as if she were a criminal awaiting judgment. Keeping her constantly in the corner of my vision, I continued.

“Ayano has been bullying me persistently for over a month.”

“Don't lie! I didn't do anything!”

“If you want evidence, I have recordings of the abusive things he said to me over these past few weeks.”

“What!?”

From the day I decided to eliminate that annoying Ayano, I had prepared for a moment like this.

Probably his father. A man with a terrifying expression started shouting at Ayano.

“Is this true!?”

“Ugh…”

While he was at a loss for words, I spoke, rubbing my stomach as if it hurt.

“It's all true. Because of that, I became isolated in class. In these past two months, I can't recall having a single proper conversation with a classmate. Ah… it was a very painful time.”

Dozens of unfamiliar parents let out sympathetic cries of “Oh no…”

The students sent me looks as if I were a fraud.

Well, I wasn't lying. I simply hadn't talked to anyone in the first place.

“Why is it only me!? The one who did the worst thing is Miko, who made the fake confession!”

“No, I'm not seeking any punishment for her.”

When I said that, Miko lifted her face with a soft “Eh?”

“Miko has been reflecting, I'm sure. Ever since I started being bullied by Ayano, she's been working hard to make him stop. I can't forgive what she did, but anyone can make mistakes. I'd like to consider this settled.”

I said something I didn't actually believe.

I had no intention at all of letting it end like this.

The one I was truly angry at was only her.

I only said that because it would be a problem if she left the scene.

Ayano was noise, so I would eliminate him.

With that, the obstacle would be gone.

Finally, Miko would have time to face me.

Miko, stunned, stared at me as if trying to ask what I really meant.

The bell rang.

The class observation ended, but there was no way the situation would calm down just like that.

As expected, my class was given a half-day off.

An emergency meeting was immediately held with the people involved, including me, the parents, and school staff.

Of course, even there, it was all my stage.

I kept listing my grievances until my father hurriedly arrived.

In the end, Ayano was forced to take lessons alone in a separate room under the name of “guidance.”

Perhaps he couldn't stand that; he and his family moved away, and he transferred schools.

It only became clear later, through multiple reflection meetings, that Ayano had done all that because he had feelings for Miko.

He apparently couldn't stand seeing me getting along so closely with her.

An incredibly trivial motive, perfectly fitting for Ayano.

Now, you might think peace returned to the classroom after that.

But middle school boys and girls were far more foolish creatures than I had imagined.

I thought that after Ayano suffered like that, they'd hold back on their reckless behavior…

But perhaps they became afraid of retaliating against me, so they changed the target of their bullying to Miko. How much further did they intend to interfere with our relationship before they were satisfied?

And Miko was Miko, too.

Instead of apologizing, she started avoiding me and stopped even speaking to me.

I could no longer understand what she was thinking.

She just let her classmates badmouth her without doing anything, as if she were going to school for no reason at all.

I didn't feel sorry for her.

I only felt anger toward her for not taking any action.

At this point, there was no other choice.

Until she faced me, I would eliminate them one by one.

And so, at my hands, a full quarter of the class ended up “disappearing.” But that was just a minor side effect in the process of achieving my goal.

Only after that was over did Miko finally speak her feelings to me for the first time.