Chapter 4: Judgment, Severance, and Loss
Translator: Soafp
The incident in the classroom spread rapidly throughout the school and then into the surrounding community. Yuki's act of violence exposed the long-hidden existence of bullying to the harsh light of day.
Sakuramine High School was thrown into chaos, as if a hornet's nest had been disturbed, and every day the school was flooded with inquiries from concerned parents and the media.
The school administration scrambled to contain the situation. An emergency meeting with parents was held, and the facts of the bullying were reported.
Mio's parents were in attendance. They had always believed, without a doubt, that their daughter was a perfect honor student. When they learned what had happened, they were plunged into a pit of shock and despair.
Then, the judgments were handed down.
Yamada Kenta, the ringleader of the bullying, was suffering from deeper emotional wounds than the visible scars on his face and continued to refuse to attend school. His parents accepted the school's decision, and Yamada was expelled. In that moment, his future was effectively sealed off.
Yuki Sakurai, who had committed the act of violence, was also expelled. However, his case was handled with a measure of leniency, as he had been the victim of bullying. He was offered assistance in transferring to another school. Still, for him, leaving this school had already become the only possible choice.
Ayaka Sato and the group of students who had actively participated in the bullying were given indefinite suspensions. Since the incident, regret and fear had been permanently etched onto their faces. Ayaka in particular had been traumatized by the empty look in Yuki's eyes and the humiliation of wetting herself in front of everyone—she was now mentally unstable.
As for Mio Hinata, she received a one-week suspension. She had not directly taken part in the bullying. However, the school determined that her “inaction” and “encouragement” had contributed to its escalation. Mio accepted the punishment with a blank expression. To her, the suspension felt insignificant compared to the greater loss she was about to face—losing Yuki.
During her suspension, Mio confined herself to her home. Her parents were visibly shaken and deeply disappointed by their daughter's involvement in the incident. The image of their “perfect” daughter had shattered completely.
One evening, the doorbell rang. When they opened the door, they found Yuki's parents standing there. Their faces were twisted with a mixture of anger and sorrow.
“Hinata-san…! What have you done to our Yuki?!”
Yuki's mother pointed at Mio and shouted. Her voice was filled with hatred and grief. Mio's parents rushed to the entrance in a panic.
“Sakurai-san… We are truly, truly sorry for what has happened.”
Mio's father said, bowing deeply. Her mother, pale-faced, followed with a trembling voice.
“We truly had no idea that our daughter had done something like this…”
Yuki's father glanced coldly at them before speaking in a sharp tone.
“Your daughter? Your daughter treated our Yuki like a disposable tool! That act of violence happened because of her selfishness—because of what your daughter put him through!”
His words pierced Mio's heart like a blade. Yuki's words echoed in her mind: “To you, I was just a tool to fill the void of your own insecurity, wasn't I?”
“That's not…!”
Mio's mother tried to say something, but Yuki's mother cut her off.
“Our Yuki cared so deeply about your daughter! Ever since they were little, he looked up to her, adored her! And what did she do with his feelings? She trampled all over them! She encouraged the bullying while standing by and doing nothing! We even thought of your daughter as part of our family—like a sister to Yuki!”
Her voice cracked into a heart-wrenching cry. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Mio stood there silently, listening. She had no defense. Everything they said was true.
Mio's parents dropped to their knees, bowing deeply in apology.
“We will do anything to make amends. We will pay damages. Please, we beg of you…”
But Yuki's parents coldly rejected the offer.
“Do you think money can heal this wound?! Yuki's eyes—his despair—do you think that can be erased with money?!”
Yuki's father's voice trembled with rage.
“We want nothing more to do with you. We never want to see your faces again.”
Those words carved a deep and lasting despair into Mio's heart. Severance. It was the final, absolute declaration that she had lost Yuki.
Less than a month later, Yuki's family quietly moved out of Sakuramine City. Yuki transferred to another school and would likely never return to this town again.
Mio and her parents were not informed of their whereabouts. Their phone number, email, and social media accounts had all been blocked. Every possible connection to Yuki had been severed completely.
Mio had lost Yuki.
It was a consequence she had brought upon herself by trying to maintain the illusion of being “perfect.” The person she had once cherished the most had vanished to a place she could never reach again.
Her heart was hollow. The weight of what she had lost tightened its grip around her, relentless and suffocating. There was no one left to make amends to. No one to ask for forgiveness. Only deep regret and bottomless despair remained.
Mio sat alone in her room. The curtains were drawn tight, casting the space in dim light. She stared blankly at the wall. Her eyes had lost all their former brightness—only a dull, vacant light remained.
Her perfect world had come crashing down with a deafening noise. And amid the ruins, all Mio could do was continue to ask herself: who am I, what did I truly want, and what was really important to me?
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2 Comments
Gotta appreciate supporting parents like that, they went to her house just to say "Fuck that, fuck them and fuck you"
I like that at least the parents are involved and took their son's side unlike most parents in these stories that care more about public image. It's too for Mio to make amends. The damage is already done.