Chapter 34: Consequences.

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Translated and Edited by: luccayn.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you're close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it's cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one's older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

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TL: Here’s a big, big. biiig hug from me to all the people who supported me on Ko-fi over the years. Here’s a little chapter to thank you all for the love <3
– luccayn

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Surprisingly, Tsukino didn’t reach out to me. In fact, she didn’t even talk to me at school, so I remained unaware of how things ended that day.

Maybe she was pissed off because I left without saying anything, and decided she had enough of me. If she lost interest, that would actually make things easier for me.

But I realized that wasn’t the case on the morning of the third day since that incident.

…Apparently, romance is a much more troublesome thing than I had imagined. I was forced to understand all too well why the world describes the entanglements of love as “messy.”

“Don’t mess with me!”

The first thing I saw after arriving at school was Tsukino facing off against the heroines. She seemed frightened; from behind, I could see her knees trembling slightly.

“Michiru. What the hell were you thinking? How could you do something so cruel to Kou?”

“…I did what I thought needed to be done.”

“You think what needed to be done was digging up Kou’s trauma and hurting him?”

“I believe it was necessary.”

“Necessary? There’s no way it was necessary to hurt Kou!”

As I hung my bag on my seat, Hamabe approached me with a worried expression. Having a messenger like him around really helps someone like me who tends to be out of the loop.

“What happened?”

“We’re not really sure. The four of them were talking as usual, but then Aoyama suddenly raised her voice. Then Haruna and Yusa started attacking Tsukino too.”

“…So this just started a moment ago, huh?”

It seems like there's no one in the class who knows what's going on.

“Come on, I don't wanna watch a girl fight. Hey, Shinji, can you play the bad guy and draw their attention?”

“Could you stop offering me up as a sacrifice like it's the most natural thing in the world?”

By the way, it seems that someone who should be there is missing. Among the group of girls trying to calm down the three who are still furious, and the bullied Tsukino, there's definitely one guy who's supposed to be there.

“Hey, Hamabe. Where's Hareta?”

“Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him. Did he take the day off today of all days?”

“I see.”

Useless, man.

“Ah… Hey, Miki.”

“What? …Oh.”

When Yusa pointed at me, the three of them stopped attacking Tsukino and glared at me. Just as Hamabe had predicted, it seems ‘Shinji Takatsuki’ is a living curse magnet, destined to draw all the hatred in the world. I'd recommend dismembering my body and sealing it in a weather box after I die, just for safety’s sake.

“What the hell, Yusa? That's not the kind of reaction you should have when you look at someone's face.”

“…It's all your fault, Takatsuki, isn't it?”

“Huh?”

“I said it's all your fault! Kou getting hurt, Michiru acting weird—it's all because of you, isn't it!?”

It's not like I'm so dense that I wouldn't understand why they're pissed. My relationship with Hareta isn't that superficial. In other words, what's happening before my eyes is the main result of ‘D-Day’, or in other words, the opening of the harem collapse. The day I snapped.

“Hey, are you even listening!?”

“What? You three got dumped by Hareta or something?”

…The mood died.

Or rather, I killed it. The terrified looks from the heroines, combined with the horrified stares from my classmates, who clearly thought I'd crossed a line, pierced through me like daggers.

“You… you just said something you shouldn't have, Takatsuki.”

“What's wrong with that? Everyone gets their heart broken at some point, so what's the big deal?”

“W-What did you just say?”

“It's a common story. Everyone goes through it and moves on. So stop acting like it's the end of the world and picking on your friends. It's pathetic.”

Aoyama started marching toward me, raising her hand high as if to strike. I just stood there, expecting to be hit again, but for some reason, her hand remained suspended in the air.

“…What would you know about it?”

Aoyama murmured, her eyes brimming with tears. The expression on her face was far from something I could dismiss lightly. It was filled with deep uncertainty and a painful seriousness.

“Someone as strong as you! What could you possibly understand about us!?”

The hand she had raised gradually lost its strength and fell. Watching it drop, I looked back into Aoyama's eyes.

“Not everyone can face things head-on like you! Not everyone can put in the effort to avoid losing! Some people don't need the strength to push forward—they need help that makes them feel safe in the present!”

Once again, I had overlooked something important.

“Kou was the last person who allowed us to keep believing in love! He was the only guy who wouldn't reject us, even though all we could do was run away!”

When had I forgotten that kind of pain?

“There are plenty of women in this world who find solace in not being rejected! There are plenty of women who despise themselves! You forced us to move forward and took that comfort away from us!”

If righteousness doesn’t save people, and if Tsukino was seeking to remain stagnant because of trauma…

“You're nothing but a psychopath who bullies the weak and pretends to be some kind of hero! I really, really hate guys like you!”

I should have understood from the beginning that they were just as fragile.

“…Don’t get the wrong idea.”

“What!? What are you saying!?”

“I’m not condemning you for fawning over one guy all together. I just told you to do it somewhere else because it was gross.”

“That’s exactly why—”

“It was you who realized it, wasn’t it?”

In an instant, Aoyama's face paled, and she staggered backward. She bumped into a desk, her knees buckling under her, and she fell to the floor, looking up at me.

“Stop trying to pass off the responsibility. You realized it yourself, watching Tsukino and Hareta change. You realized that the you right now isn’t good enough, and that your lukewarm ‘maybe-yes-maybe-not’ relationships were disgusting. You're the one who's most frustrated with yourself.”

“S-Stop it…”

I took a single step closer and met Aoyama's gaze.

“Let me ask you something, Aoyama.”

In the quiet classroom, Tsukino let out a faint breath. I closed my eyes for a moment, sighed, and then turned back to Aoyama—

“Stop it, Shinji-kun,” Tsukino cut through the razor silence.

‘Who do you think is to blame?'

Just as I was about to say those words, Tsukino interrupted me.

“What?”

“I'll apologize for getting involved, but this is our issue. It's not something you should interfere with. So, please…”

When I turned around, I saw Tsukino desperately holding back her tears. She was biting her lip hard, trying to muster the strength to move forward on her own. She stood in front of Aoyama, as if to shield her from me.

“Just wait.”

She said that, holding me back with a pained smile.

“Hey, Shinji. If you get involved, it'll really turn into a mess. Just drop it.”

First they tell me to step in, and now they want me to stay out of it. Make up your minds already.

…Not that I could say that out loud.

“Aoyama, you know Shinji isn't the type to hold back. It's better if you calm down.”

“Sh-Shut up! I'm not scared of this guy! If he's got something to say, then let him say it to the end!”

“Stop it, Aoyama! Shinji, just leave the classroom already!”

As I was leaving the classroom, just as Higashide had suggested, I glanced around and saw that Haruna and Yusa were crossing their arms and avoiding eye contact with me. I see now—that wasn't hatred in their eyes, but fear.

It reminded me of the way I used to look at the man who was supposed to be my father when I was a kid. The memory made me feel sick.

“…Hey, Shinji. What did you do this time?”

As I stepped into the hallway, Yamakawa crouched down beside me and asked, his voice lacking energy. It seemed he was willing to keep me company since I had nothing else to do after being kicked out.

“I thought I'd break up their little harem.”

“No way.”

“I dragged out a girl Hareta thought was his ex, made her confront him, and got him brutally rejected.”

“You… Do you even have a heart?”

“Who knows? I just can't stand people who try to hold back someone who's trying to move forward.”

“…I see. So, it's for Tsukino, huh?”

I didn't reply. I knew Yamakawa had already figured out the truth.

“So, what's gonna happen with Hareta, Aoyama, and the others?”

“How should I know? You took responsibility for failing to get into Shu’un Academy, didn't you? Eventually, this will blow over, and they'll get through it on their own.”

“…That's not true, Shinji. I'm having a good time now because you saved me.”

“No, you—”

“No, I'm right. If it weren't for you, my school life would have rotted away even more. The existence of that previous, weak version of me who bullied Hareta proves that.”

As Yamakawa spoke, I sat down next to him, bringing my gaze level with his. He was right, and I understood that I had been wrong.

“Aoyama, Haruna, Yusa… even Hareta. They've probably been waiting for someone like you all this time. Weak people can't move forward unless someone gives them a good push.”

“It doesn't look that way to me.”

“That's just because you're not seeing it that way. If you didn't understand their suffering, you wouldn't have been able to say such cruel things.”

I couldn't help but laugh at how Yamakawa had hit the nail on the head. He laughed too, and for a moment, the weight on my shoulders felt a bit lighter.

“Honestly, I thought you were actually going to kill Aoyama. What were you planning to say if Tsukino hadn't stopped you?”

“I don't know. I've already forgotten.”

“If you say so, fine. But even if you were angry about Tsukino being bullied, you went too far. Aoyama's still a girl, after all.”

But somehow, I could sense what Yamakawa was really trying to convey, and it made me feel uneasy. I just couldn't bring myself to genuinely want to help those girls.

After all, I'm someone who's been twisted and bent by life, but I kept walking despite it. There's no way I can accept lending a hand to people who, despite having grown up in better circumstances than I did, crumbled after just one setback or regret.

“…Yeah, I guess I overdid it. I'm sorry for that. I'll reflect on it.”

Yet, despite everything, I can’t help but feel frustrated.

“Right?”

I remember thinking the same thing when Tsukino first asked me for a favor on that rainy day in June.

“How about it? To make amends, you could lend a hand. If it’s at my request, you won’t have to break the ‘no girls allowed’ rule, right?”

In the end, as Yamakawa said, I realized—painfully—that the problem was simply that I didn't see them that way.

“…Well, to be honest, it’s my own fault. Things definitely didn’t go as planned, so I suppose I need to make up for it.”

“Oh! That’s the Shinji I know! You’re such a reasonable guy, aren’t you?”

“Don’t overestimate me. Besides, there are concerns. At that place, there’s at least one person who definitely wants to handle things on their own.”

“Oh, you mean Tsukino.”

“I absolutely can’t mess things up for her by getting involved without permission.”

When I nodded silently, Yamakawa chuckled as if exasperated.

“You’re too kind, man.”

“That’s why I’m going home today to think about it. I’ll let the class cool down over the weekend and start taking action on Monday.”

“Hey, wait a second.”

As I stood up, Yamakawa grabbed my shirt, stopping me in my tracks.

“What is it?”

“I’ll go get your bag. And I’ll bring Higashide and Hamabe along too.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Why do you think? We’re gonna skip together, obviously. Don’t play dumb.”

So, the four of us headed to the arcade, ate at Saizeriya, and sang our hearts off with our off-tune voices at a karaoke before finally parting ways.

And I genuinely wished from the bottom of my heart that we could spend our youth like this forever.

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