Chapter 52 Me and Akasaka (2)

Me and Akasaka (2)

From there, the conversation went on and on, and before I knew it, I was arguing with an officer.

I tried to ask the man who was molesting the woman for help, but when his eyes met mine, he immediately turned away and ran off somewhere as soon as the door opened, and I was taken to the station staff office by an officer and Akasaka-san, who looked at me with disappointment.

At that moment, I heard a sound as if something inside me was breaking.

I kept hearing things like, (The rumors were true after all) and (Shuu-kun…no, Hiiragi-kun, I was a fool to trust you) and my spirit was gradually wearing down. Even I, a fool, could predict that it was going to be a big deal. I knew that I would be rejected at home and that I would lose my place at school.

I told the police, the woman who was molested, the station staff, and Akasaka-san that I didn’t do it, but they didn’t believe me at all, and I just kept rolling down the road to hell.

Somehow it didn’t become important enough to be reported on the news, but it seems that there was some kind of deal between my parents and the woman who was molested. Still, rumors circulate in an instant, and it’s impossible to deal with them.

When I was at home, my father told me things like, (I wonder how you were born) and things like, (Don’t make trouble). Yoka never said anything to me, but she stared at me and looked down at me as if she was disgusted with me. Aika-san, my mother, treats me like I don’t exist; obey my father’s words.

Of course, I was also bullied at school, and the assaults and verbal abuse were much worse than Shinomiya-san’s for about six months. No matter how much I explained that I didn’t do it, they wouldn’t listen to me at all, and on top of that, I was also called a molester and accused of being a liar and a deceitful person.

Well, even if I talk about the details of the bullying, it probably won’t be good for Aoi-senpai or Shinomiya-san, so let’s not talk about it.

My spirit was getting worn out and my body felt like it was falling apart.

My heart…when did my heart wither? Obviously, something important was broken. It was probably broken from the beginning. There was a big crack in it and it just became a mess.

I think it was a little after the summer vacation of my third year that I was in such a mess for about half a year. There was a time when Akasaka-san came to the scene where I was being bullied, and in her impatience, she came to stop it.

I wondered why, but her intervention caused me to be bullied even more.

Akasaka-san looked at me with tears and concern, but in the end, nothing changed.

That was the reason why I didn’t come to help Shinomiya-san when she was being bullied. If I tried to stop the bullying, the bullying would get worse. I had experienced this myself…

One day, after a week or two of such torture.

When I returned home with a limp, I found Akasaka-san and the businessman who had molested the woman on the train at my house.

It seemed that the businessman, unable to bear the guilt of his crime, had told the police what had happened, and I was about to be exonerated of my false accusation. The businessman and Akasaka-san apologized to me in tears, but I had no feelings at that time.

Oh, that’s right. I had no feelings at all at that time.

No anger, no hatred, no refreshment, not even a feeling of relief that I was free from my tormentors, just that…when things like that happened, I felt like I wasn’t myself.

It was as if he was looking at himself objectively. I felt like I wasn’t living in this world, but watching a boring, hopeless story about a man named Hiiragi Shuu.

I heard about the situation from Akasaka-san, and she told my parents and Yoka.

After that, I don’t know what Akasaka-san did, but my bullying gradually decreased.

And at home…

My parents apologized, and Yoka apologized.

But my father stopped seeing me and rarely came home. Aika-san, my mother, became the way she is now.

“… I left out a lot, but this is about my past with Akasaka-san. If you want to hear the details, it would be better to hear them from Akasaka-san.”

““I see.””

When I finished telling them about my past, albeit in broad strokes, they looked at me with serious expressions on their faces.

I knew it would be boring for them to hear about my past, so I probably shouldn’t have talked about it.

“Is there anything else you want to hear?”

“Ah. No, I don’t. Thank you, Hiiragi-kun. I’m glad I got to know you a little better.”

“I see.”

Aoi-senpai said that.

Tears were almost streaming from her eyes when she turned to me. I wondered if I had done something bad to Aoi-senpai.

“Are you okay?”

“No, it’s nothing. It’s nothing.”

Aoi-senpai turned her face away from me and pretended to wipe her tears with the sleeve of her uniform before turning her face to me.

“Hiiragi-kun. I’ll always be by your side.”

“I’ll be there too. I’ll always be by your side, Shuu-senpai.”

“…?”

The two of them suddenly said such things to me and held my hand.

A question mark appeared in my mind, and I had no idea why they said those words, but I thought that there must be a deeper meaning that I couldn’t understand.

They held my hand, and after a few minutes of not being able to shake it off, they finally let go of my hand.

“I swear I will never tell this story to anyone.”

“I won’t tell anyone either.”

“Yes. I would appreciate it if you would.”

They said they didn’t want to tell anyone about my past, but I didn’t think anyone would benefit from hearing about it either.

“Well, okay, let’s study now.”

Aoi-senpai said with a lighter voice than usual.

“Yes, oh. I’m going to get a new drink from my mother.”

After Aoi-senpai said that, the conversation ended and Shinomiya-san went out of the room to get a drink.

I was not talking to Aoi-senpai, but she was staring at me as if she was thinking about something.

We spent some time like that, and the study session started after Shinomiya-san came back.

Basically, none of the three of us talked, and we continued with our own studies. It was the same as when Shinomiya-san and I studied together before.

However, I think that with Aoi-senpai here to teach her what Shinomiya-san doesn’t understand, and with her explaining things much more clearly than I do, we’re making a lot of progress.

The three of us worked in silence and the hour flew by.

We had planned to study more, but because of my past story, we were only able to study for about an hour.

I went downstairs and had dinner at Shinomiya-san’s house again today. I know it’s annoying, but Sachi-san tells me in her usual tone not to worry about such things.

Yukito-san also returned home, and the three of us, the Shinomiya family, myself, and Aoi-senpai, finished eating, and it was after 20:00 when I decided to leave…

When I got home and opened the front door, Yoka was standing there.

“I’m home.”

“Welcome home, Nii-san. Were you at Shinomiya-san’s house today, too?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think you should go there too often.”

With that, Yoka left and went back to her room.

I think what Yoka meant was that I went to Shinomiya-san’s house too often and became a nuisance. I have indeed been going there too often lately, and it has become a nuisance.

After Yoka left, Aika-san came and said the same thing she had said before, but I had already eaten my meal and would eat it tomorrow morning.

I had already sent Aika-san a message that I would eat at my friend’s house, but she seemed to have made it again today. I thought it would be easier for her since she wouldn’t have to cook for me.

I went back to my room, put my bag down, took a bath, dried my hair to some extent, brushed my teeth, and went back to my room.

After studying for a while, I turned off the light in my room, went to bed, and called it a day.

Akasaka’s PoV

I can’t make mistakes anymore.

“I didn’t do it, believe me, Yuko!”

I still remember the eyes that clung to me at that time.

I couldn’t believe those words and I avoided Hiiragi-kun and made him like that. He was the one who always told me the truth.

Until now, I have continued to make mistakes. The more important the matter, the more I misjudged it. Even before I let Hiiragi-kun go like that, I let a person die…