Chapter Seven: “Kokonoe Yukito
“Hmmm. Did I really meet Himiyama-san somewhere in the past?”
Himiyama-san, who is so friendly that she makes the IMF surprised, I’m pretty sure I met her somewhere in the past.
I barely escaped Utopia alive and almost ascended to heaven.
Only an elementary school calling their teacher or someone who does mamakatsu can call stranger “mom” and get away with it.
What exactly is a fake mom? It’s reminiscent of Yaldabaoth Gnosticism, although Himiyama-san may just be overly maternal.
Please take care of yourself. I can’t handle this.
She asked about the past, but it was too painful for me to watch any longer.
Should I keep forgetting, keep not remembering? Is that okay?
Only forgotten things pile up. I trust my memory, but I don’t remember much of the past.
Deleting useless memories has been my routine.
I’m desperately trying to piece together the fragments of forgotten memories, on the off chance that the answers lie in that lost past.
“….Not much there.”
I went home and flipped through photo albums in my room, chattering away. Even in this digital age, preserving them in an album format is important.
After all, it’s not digital data that gets passed down, it’s stone tablets. Information actually passed not in the cloud, but in the ground.
Mom was also a beauty when she was young… Oh, this is when neesan was born!
The arrival of Kokonoe Yuuri! Divine! With bursting rays of light.
I followed my family’s journey from the beginning. We seemed to take a lot more photos during that time. The number decreases after I’m born. Must have lost interest.
“….Is this me?”
A baby who looks like me crying. A one-year-old who looks like me, smiling.
A two-year-old who looks like me, angry. A three-year-old who looks like me…
“Wait. Come to think of it, around that time I was…”
At some point, the expressionless me appeared. As it goes on, there are hardly any photos, just shots of me alone scattered here and there. I get it, I get it. I don’t want to be in the frame. Left all alone in the album.
Desperately gathering fragments of forgotten memories, I look back at my past.
Remember! Why did this happen, where did I go wrong?
With no place to belong, abandoned by everyone, no, that’s not it.
There must have been someone who reached out to me, who saved me…
“Can I talk to you for a moment? “
Knock knock, and Mom comes in, dressed more formally than usual, like she’s going out. She looks cool, a mature woman.
“What’s up? Just going through albums and stuff. Something on your mind?”
“Nothing. More importantly, what about you?”
With a momentarily dejected expression, Mom opened her mouth quietly.
“….I’m sorry. I didn’t doubt you or anything. I complained to your school earlier. When I decide to fight, I go all the way. But if you don’t like this school, you can quit. You can transfer somewhere else.”
“Really?”
“I was going to wait until I officially decided, but I’m thinking of going independent from now on. If you ever need help with, I’d be happy if you’d just lend me a hand. So, Yukito, you can do whatever you want.”
Sitting next to me, Mommy gently put her hand on my knee.
The future. Something I hadn’t even considered until now.
But mom has a clear vision for her, even at this age.
“What do you want to do in the future?”
“Grow tangerines on a remote island…”
“Again? “
A pleasant option. I should just say yes, but I hesitate.
I was planning to drop out anyway. It’s reassuring that she could give me a push to do so..
My friends like Suzurikawa and Kamishiro probably wouldn’t really quit school to follow me. Their parents wouldn’t allow it. Everything about us is different. But still,
“I kind of wanted to live together as a family a little longer…”
I feel a little depressed. Because mom is inconsistent.
More and more of mom’s and big sister’s stuff is piling up in my room. Gradually turning it into a storage room. It must be a pressure on me to move out as soon as possible.
Moving would probably mean living alone. Well, it is what it is. Anyway, wanting me to move out means she’s unhappy with our current living situation. It can’t be helped.
She says she needs me, but her actions contradict that.
My place in our home is slowly disappearing, and I’m about to be expelled from school.
I must have expected this day to come, so it’s not a shock.
Haha, I see. So this is the last supper, huh?
Oh, that’s why Mom has been acting so strange lately!
Out of pity, she wants to be nice to me one last time before I’m gone!
Motherhood is essentially the divine nature like Sophia in Aeon.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
Tears well up in the eyes of the Blessed Mother. I quickly grabbed a handkerchief nearby and wiped them.
“It’s just that I’m so glad you told me what you want to do…”
“Huh? Is that really so surprising?”
Something leaked out, little by little, without me even noticing it.
“So please don’t go anywhere! Not to some remote island, not even to her place. Because you’re my precious…”
She gently holds my head. Is it really so rare that I express my hopes?
She can’t hide her bewilderment at this out-of-the-blue occurrence, but her warmth and feelings teach me that everything I just thought is pure fiction.
Recognizing my distorted thinking. I guess it’s time to find out
the answer to this paradox.
The hall outside the broadcast room was filled with students, both boys and girls.
“Thank you for helping, Saki!”
“It’s okay, Shiori… Please do it right this time.”
It was the day of the noon school broadcast by the Broadcast Club member Hasumura, but Kamishiro had asked him to do it and he’d readily agreed. She had planned to get a spot as an announcement from the student council anyway, but everything had gone smoothly. Suzurikawa felt relieved.
“Are you really okay with this, Suzurikawa? And Sato too. It will be a painful confession for both of you.”
“I don’t mind. The one who suffers, who is in pain, isn’t me.”
“I’m fine too. I was the idiot who did something stupid.”
“But are you really okay with it?”
Yuuri asks Keido sternly.
“More than anything else, it wasn’t something I was hiding in the first place. This is punishment. At this point, to be afraid of exposing my own shame would make me want to kill myself.”
“I’m sorry, Mutsuki chan…”
“It’s not Yumi’s fault. Look. Unlike an arrogant student council president like me. This is what true popularity and virtue look like.”
In just a few months, Keido was truly impressed by how Kokonoe Yukito had interacted with so many people. And they had all gathered here to help him.
Some he knew, some he didn’t.
But the people here now had only one thing in common.
“Don’t talk down to yourself. He would be sad.”
“Sorry, Yuuri.”
In the face of Yuuri’s scolding, Keido humbly bowed her head. Yes, that’s the way he is.
“It was Yukito-kun who rescued me from that hell. My dad was so angry he looked like he was about to raid the place. Well, I won’t stop him, though.”
Mikuraya Masamichi smiles ironically. Thanks to Kokonoe Yukito, he’s able to smile now, too. That’s why this injustice is unforgivable.
“We will definitely help you, Okay?”
“I put all my worries about Reika on his shoulders. Now it’s my turn, right?”
The desperation was gone from Suou’s face. It was Aihara who stayed at her side and supported her. And the one who brought them together was Kokonoe Yukito.
“I owe Yukito so much that I keep accumulating debts. Time to start paying him back. And the basketball club would be hopeless without him now that he’s made us this way.”
“Toshirou, aren’t you being too pathetic?”
“And what is Yukito doing right now? I don’t get through when I call him. Knowing him, he just does what he wants, but…”
“No use worrying about Yuki. Because he’s Yuki.”
The broadcasting room was full and people were spilling out into the hall. This was what he had done.
It made Kamishiro proud. Thinking that she was so lucky that Yukito was the one she had fallen for, she renews her determination.
“Um, can I squeeze in too? As a goddess, I can’t overlook my cute, cute followers in trouble, can I… Ohoho…”
Murmurs spread through the crowd at the appearance of this unexpected person.
Soma Kyouka. A well-known second-year student.
Her mood had become surprisingly soft lately.
“Whoooooa! It’s not funny at all, just as I expected!”
“Thank you very much!”
For some reason, Soma grabs her head as if in pain while Suzurikawa bows to her. Suzurikawa was surprised.
She had assumed that she knew everything about Yukito. But that was just arrogance.
Countless connections she was not aware of. And he had already have powerful force trying to save him.
Broaden your horizon. Suzurikawa really felt the meaning of these words.
She had only watched Yukito. Living in her own little world, just the two of them.
But that wasn’t enough. That was why she was wrong. That was why the only one who came to save her was Yukito.
From now on, her real high school life would begin, Suzurikawa felt.
The everyday life he had given her. The gentle world full of possibilities he had shown her.
Alright, let’s start. And let’s finish this.
So that we can spend time together again when he returns.
“This is fine… Right, Yukito?”
“Make it stop now! “
The teacher’s room was in an uproar. The truths revealed one after the other in the school broadcast pervaded with undeniable reality.
A first-year student described the situation from the alternating points of view of different students.
He’s not in school right now because he’s suspended.
Why did he slander, what made him do it? Victim Suzurikawa and perpetrator Sato talk about gratitude.
Why were Class B’s grades so good, why were the members of the basketball club so enthusiastic about the club’s activities? The openly revealed circumstances are as exciting as unraveling the clues to a mystery, making it hard not to listen closely.
How student council president Keido almost caused an indecent assault scandal, how those who misunderstood him tried to orchestrate his expulsion, it all comes to light under the sun.
Although the principal ordered to hurry and put a stop to it, it was Sanjouji who stopped his colleagues.
“There is no need for that.
“What are you talking about, Sanjouji Sensei? At this speed…!”
“Headmaster, what are you saying? The students have done nothing against the school rules. It’s just a school broadcast, right? On what grounds can we forcibly stop it? Are we supposed to enforce rules on the students that we teachers don’t follow ourselves?”
“This is no time for nice idealism! We have to…!”
The teachers, who had been secretly pleased with the principal’s orders, were worn down by the daily complaints from parents and the violent backlash from students. And now this bombshell.
It had already become difficult to say anything careless about Kokonoe Yukito.
“It seems that the rotten apples were us teachers after all. Besides, if we forcefully stop them now, they might broadcast outside the school next time.”
Kokonoe Yukito had already shown them the way. All they had to do was follow suit. This could become a big problem for the school.
The time when this could be resolved quietly was long past. Uncontrollable now.
Fujishiro regretted letting the students do such a thing in the first place.
As adults, it was their responsibility to solve things before they reached such a decisive breakdown. But instead, they pushed the responsibility onto the students and even tried to suppress it.
This was the opposite of the teacher Fujishiro wanted to be, absolutely unforgivable.
(…. The Die Has Been Cast)
What would happen now, no one knew. Fujishiro resigned himself with a wry smile as he simply let the situation unfold.
“Is there a student named Kokonoe here? Sorry, but call him here immediately!”
In the midst of the chaos, the man had undoubtedly worked himself into a frenzy. Lacking any trace of his usual composure, his desperation was obvious to any onlooker.
“T-Tojou Sensei!? What seems to be the matter?”
“That student! Kokonoe! What is he doing now?”
Shaken by the sudden visitor, Principal Yoshinaga had no choice but to react. After all, he was just a high school principal. The other party was an alumnus of this school and a local figure.
Most importantly, he was a prefectural legislator. Known for his enthusiasm for education, Hideomi Tojou was not someone to be taken lightly.
“He is currently suspended…”
“Lift the suspension immediately and call him here!”
“What is this all about? He is suspended on the recommendation of Tojou Sensei–“
“I made no such recommendation! I merely said that it seemed questionable to have such a student! This could be my downfall!”
It was the kind of self-preserving speech typical of a politician, leaving just enough wiggle room to avoid responsibility.
Still, Tojou was in a state before them.
What could have happened to this man…
As they all wondered, Tojou squeezed out words as if wringing them out.
“I’m doomed if I don’t do something about it.”
Hideomi Tojou had served as a prefectural lawmaker for 12 years over three terms. He had ambitions to one day enter national politics. So it was unusual when his only daughter, Erika, came to him with a request.
Hideomi was infatuated with his daughter Erika. Hearing Erika’s story made Hideomi angry. It was unbearable to think that such a student went to the same high school as his daughter.
On top of that, Shoyo High was also his alma mater. What that boy did was nothing short of criminal. Unacceptable for his alma mater, to say the least.
During his inspection the other day, he had proudly thought that the students were dedicated to their studies.
Hideomi picked up the phone. If he had made the slightest effort to verify Erika’s statement, things might have turned out differently.
But it was already too late.
A few days later, Hideomi received a call from a party official at the prefectural office.
The contents astonished him. His party nomination had been revoked. It was an unbelievable situation.
Hideomi was supported by the ruling party. He was one of the majority party’s top members in the prefectural assembly. Losing the party nomination meant that he would essentially have to run as an independent in the next election without any organizational support. Hopes of moving into national politics would burst like a bubble.
There’s no way he could accept that. This must be a mistake!
Hideomi protests angrily, but gets only an evasive answer.
It was on the orders of Himiyama Toshifune.
Toshifune Himiyama. A party heavyweight who served 8 terms in the Diet, holding positions such as Deputy Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, and Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare. Although he’s now retired from politics, his lasting influence hasn’t diminished one bit.
–Ridiculous, impossible!
Hideomi couldn’t understand. Of course not, for Hideomi, who had ambitions for national politics, Toshifune Himiyama was someone on a beyond the sky. He was a complete stranger, not to mention that he had never talked to him or even met him.
There’s no way the other side would know him. For Toshifune Himiyama, Hideomi was just a pebble on the side of the road. Why would someone like that tell him to withdraw his support for the party?
However, there was one thing he clearly understood. Getting the attention of Toshifune Himiyama would be a huge stepping stone to national politics.
Toshifune Himiyama had a solid voter base. Attention was also focused on who would inherit it. If he could take over the mantle, he would make a great leap forward.
Conversely, earning the displeasure of Toshifune Himiyama meant that he had no future.
While the astonished Hideomi was still reeling, he received another call. Haruhiko Himiyama.
A career bureaucrat at the Ministry of Education. Haruhiko informed Hideomi in a cold voice.
Hearing the circumstances, Hideomi turned deathly pale. This is bad, how did it come to this?
This was no longer about switching to national politics. This wasn’t the time for such idle dreams.
If he didn’t solve this problem immediately, he would have no future.
This would be his downfall! Hideomi instructed his secretary to cancel all his appointments, and then hurried off to his alma mater. It was a rash decision. Foolhardy. He had considered it a trivial matter. He had neglected to check the facts.
It was a direct indication that Hideomi lacked the qualities of a politician.
An inexcusable mistake that he couldn’t complain about being branded with.
This student had some connection with the Himiyama that he was unaware of!
He had framed an innocent disciple. And that he was connected to the Himiyama was so unimaginable.
Hideomi regretted his own stupidity in failing to check the facts, and was distraught.
“I’m so relieved! I’m so glad…!”
I had come to the hospital with my mother. A thorough examination for breast cancer.
The ultrasound results were “normal”.
According to Mom, the probability of breast cancer was low to begin with.
Still, it’s impossible to feel at ease. Just having the suspicion causes anxiety.
Not to mention having no one to talk to and having to endure it alone – that would be too much.
Mom’s hand shook until we got the results. She endured the horror by gripping my hand tightly. Now, perhaps relieved, her grip is even tighter.
“I’m sorry….I had to make you come with me.”
“I was free anyway. That’s all I can do.”
Of course, since I’m suspended, students should be in school during school hours.
If I’m out in casual clothes during that time, that means I’m a delinquent.
At this point, you could call me the Kokonoe Yukito Yankee Form. Although I don’t have a nail bat or a wooden sword.
Why do people buy wooden swords on school trips? An eternal mystery.
“No, not at all. Without you here, I might have fallen apart. Just having you by my side gave me courage. Thank you.”
Mom’s condition hurts my chest. The ashen face finally regains color.
Why did it have to be Mom? Why not me?
“I wish I could have gone in your place…”
I should be the one to suffer. It should be me.
Not mom. Mom is not someone who should suffer.
The burden is always mine, that’s my role…
“You are so kind. But please, never say anything like that again.”
An unyielding, strong tone. Mama’s expression tightens.
“Mom?”
“I’m sorry. Even though I’m the one who has neglected you…”
Tears begin to well up in Mom’s big eyes.
Unable to bear that sad expression, I quickly change the subject.
“Oh, that’s right. There’s somewhere I want us to go together.”
“Right. Let’s have dinner together when big sister gets back. I found a delicious restaurant the other day.”
Of course I’ll pay the bill, yes. Normally, I don’t spend a lot of pocket money, so it’s better to spend it freely on occasions like this.
When I tried to turn on my smartphone, I noticed that I had missed calls – a lot of them. Too annoying, so I decided to ignore them.
“Yukito inviting me like this… Yes, I should let Yuuri know. She seems to have noticed that something was wrong with me as well.”
How much fear did she have? I could never understand.
Fear of death. A thirst for life. Mom had been suffering in that space in between for a long time.
The only thing I could do was to be as gentle as possible to ease her worries.
Watch this. I’m going to use the secret techniques I learned on the Internet to cheer Mom up!
“I’m glad Mom is safe. I love Mom! I’m going to marry Mom!”
Gwaaah! Mom is showering me with damage effects. Huh, is she okay!?
Dwahahahaha! How about that? Did you see the power of that?
I was looking for what makes mothers happy, and I found out that it makes mothers happy when their children say that to them in their childhood.
Looking back, I don’t remember saying that when I was a little kid. I may not like it at my age, but I want to keep the spirit of challenge in my heart.
“Really, it would have been nice if you were my husband.”
I feel like I’m being pulled into her moist eyes. Wait, something’s wrong. Did I screw up?
“Um, Mom? Why are you so close to my face? Twice in a row. Doesn’t this pattern happen a lot lately -uh-uh-!”
…It was pretty intense. I won’t go into details, but it was amazing.
“S-Sorry! I was just so happy! But I really mean it.”
What should I do? She’s getting more and more seductive. It’s almost like a girl in love.
“I wanted to start over with Mom, but because you spoil me, I’m getting worse and worse. This is bad-seriously bad.
I make a suggestion that I’ve been thinking about for a while to my mother, who is clinging to me.
“Hey, you know, there’s a place I’d like to go with you next time.”
“…. With me?”
“Yeah.”
It’s a journey of self-discovery. Although it’s a common mental disorder among pretentious teenagers, in my case it’s a genuine journey of self-discovery, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t lump me in with pretentious people.
I’m not the kind of guy who suddenly goes to India or something and has an awakening into a new self. I’m Kokonoe Yukito. I have doubts about myself.
Until now, nothing bothered me. I paid no attention to anything. I don’t even get hurt anymore. My mental resilience has reached the alpha gel level of shock absorption. No matter what anyone says or does to me, it doesn’t hurt me. So I didn’t care.
I had no interest in myself or others. Just as I don’t care about others, of course no one cares about me. Isn’t that good? That settles everything. So I’ve given up on everything.
I must be hopeless if I go on like this. If some part of me doesn’t change, I’ll keep repeating the same things. Keep hurting people.
Why did Mom cry earlier? Why did Big Sis kiss me? What did Suzurikawa want to prove? What did Shiori want when she became manager?
I guess I know what emotions are directed at me.
I know, but I can’t understand it. I thought I had lost them. But it was definitely there.
My hand clutched at the answer that vaguely came to me.
“Then what about me?”
“I can’t contact Yukito! Where in the world is he…!”
“Please, is there any way to contact him–!”
The principal’s office was in chaos. Even the homeroom teacher Fujishiro Sayuri are all here..
Just a little while ago, a message from the school board had arrived here as well. It was the same as what Hideomi had heard, but the problem had grown beyond the school’s control.
A raging firestorm that made you want to cover your eyes. Principal Yoshinaga would not escape punishment either.
After hearing the whole story from Mutsuki, Erika broke down crying. Her father Hideomi had also lost his mind. Erika, who had tried to frame an innocent person, would inevitably be punished as well.
In fact, Kokonoe Yukito had received a de facto suspension with his disciplinary leave, even though he had done nothing wrong. He had unilaterally become involved in the stupid ruckus caused by the Tojous. Depending on the circumstances, Erika could even face expulsion in the worst case.
And now that it had come to that, the one who had the power over life and death for Erika, her father Hideomi and Principal Yoshinaga was none other than the student Kokonoe Yukito.
At least for Hideomi Tojou, if Kokonoe Yukito did not intervene on his behalf with the Himiyama family, he had no future. He might even lose his current position immediately.
“Erika, what you have done is unforgivable. However, if it was for my sake, then I share the blame. It was my fault that I did not tell others about this sensitive matter. In the worst case, I will leave the school with you.”
“I’m sorry, Mutsuki! This is all my fault! You don’t have to leave at all!”
Yuuri gives them a cold look. Anger smolders.
Just when it seemed like things were going well, there it is again, as if it was deliberately carried by malice.
And each time, Kokonoe Yukito would break a little more. She had already reached her limit. Just when she had begun to feel that her brother was opening his heart to her, the thought that he would break again, that he would treat her like a stranger, was unbearable.
“Both of you should leave school! He doesn’t need presences around him that want to hurt him!”
“Yuuri…I’m sorry…”
The air was tense, as if pulled tight. Nothing could be done.
The only one who could solve this situation wasn’t here – or should have been.
“Yo, what’s going on?”
With a completely inappropriate line and the frivolity of a businessman casually passing by a bar, the one who held the power of life and death in this place, that man, Kokonoe Yukito, appeared.
“Judgement Ti–!”
“Stop it.”
“Yes.”
With incomprehensible lines.
“Why are you here…?”
“Wouldn’t any normal person think something was up with all these calls?”
After I left the hospital and turned my smartphone back on, the incoming calls and emails were horrifying. I thought my personal information had been leaked with all the spam coming in.
But the calls were from my sister and school, so even I had to think something must have happened, which is why I came here. Still in casual clothes, by the way.
“Why couldn’t we contact you?”
“Oh, I was out for a while.”
“You’re technically on disciplinary leave…”
“Do I have to abide by that? “
The principal’s expression becomes uncomfortable. Of course. I have no reason to obey if I haven’t done anything wrong.
Obviously an unfair punishment – if it became public, the ones handing out the punishment would be the ones with problems.
“So what happened?”
“Kokonoe, I deeply apologize!”
The first words came from a 3rd year senior whom I met for the first time. Her eyes were swollen. Had she been crying? Next to her was a middle-aged man. He bowed his head several times in quick succession.
“I’m so sorry! This is all my fault!”
“First of all, could you explain what happened?”
When I arrived, the situation was already chaotic. I could see that it was a mess, but without any explanation, it was all Greek to me. I’m not Prince Shōtoku, who could understand ten things from one person’s words; I’m just Kokonoe Yukito, an ordinary person who can’t understand everything.
After hearing the story, I had a grim expression on my face. Well, of course. This situation was truly an unexpected event, but the more I heard, the more I realized that it was not just a random disturbance.
It had happened without my knowledge, that was all. What an injustice!
“In other words, this is the situation, right? I’m supposed to clean up the mess you made without my knowledge?”
Too annoying! Nothing but wasted effort! It’s as fruitless as a hunt for eggs! Why are you blocking my path by deliberately placing a boulder? I can’t be the only player irritated by developer harassment.
“I will take responsibility and quit school. So please, please forgive Mutsuki! She’s a necessary student for this school!”
The senior named Tojou begged tearfully. But when I heard that, I thought, “How self-centered. This person understands nothing.”
“On a whim, you slandered me and then said you’re quitting school, which may be fine for you, but is that an apology to me for the trouble I went through?”
“But…!”
“If it weren’t for me, Senpai, the school might have unfairly punished someone else, maybe they would even commit suicide. Or at least be deeply hurt. Will your leaving the school heal those wounds?”
“–Suicide!? I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!”
The senior looks shocked and collapses. Her father barely catches her. He must be something as well. The ringleader who has exacerbated this riot, and a party to it.
It’s only because my mental resilience has the hardness of gorilla glass that there’s no problem, but normally it would be understandable to despair at being treated so unfairly.
On top of that, the school has ganged up on me with punishment. With no allies, it would be no wonder to sink into grief.
“If they were dead, how would you take responsibility? You too, Mr. Tojou. Why didn’t you check the facts? What is your position for?”
“It was my failure.”
“I was only able to survive because someone helped me, otherwise I might have been treated unfairly indefinitely. What would have happened then?”
“Yukito, let’s claim damages for slander.”
“That’s an idea, but…”
“I will pay any amount. I’m really very sorry! I’ve been trying to focus my efforts on education. To think that I would do something like this…”
“Father, no, it’s my fault! Because I…!”
“Yukito-kun, it’s partly my fault too.”
Totally regrettable. If they regretted it so much, why couldn’t they have acted a little more cautiously? As I said before, I was burdened with nothing but cleaning up for something that had nothing to do with me – the worst pattern.
At this point, even my bad luck with women is just a joke.
*A deep sigh escapes me. The people around me react with a start. I feel their eyes watching me. Why do I always get involved in such annoying things?
This world is somehow hard on me. I wish it would stop.
What would the old me have said in this situation? I think about it. If she wants to quit school, let her. What she has done is inexcusable.
And to me, she’s just an irrelevant, insignificant existence. I wouldn’t care if she disappeared. That’s probably how I would have reacted.
Student Council President Keido also had a troubled expression on her face. Even the president is basically an outsider who has nothing to do with this situation. As far as this incident is concerned, she’s just a victim.
Would Keido be sad if Senior Tojou left the school? She had said that he would quit with her. HIPBOSS has a strong sense of responsibility. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have continued to treat me like this after the incident.
I think my luck with women is really terrible. I know that now.
But in this case, those who helped me were also women. Not only Himiyama san, but also my sister was upset for me. And the student council president also feels responsible.
Until now, I thought it was best to be alone. That was the way it should be.
I end up hurting people. Being alone is very good for me. It doesn’t bother me at all. I don’t even feel lonely. But still, there were people who didn’t want to leave me. People who wanted to stay by my side.
I’m supposed to be a dark loner, but now my relationships are so developed that I can’t even remotely call myself that. I may be dark, but I can’t say I’m a loner anymore. I have to admit it. To correctly recognize the current situation – I can’t move forward if I don’t change.
I don’t want to remain oblivious to the feelings they must have for me. I don’t want to see anyone else cry. But now someone is crying in front of me.
I look at Senior Tojou’s tearful face. To put it bluntly, she’s my enemy. She should be someone I hate. But I don’t have the feeling to hate someone like that anymore.
So…
“Senior Tojou, I am going to punish you. First, publicly admit what you have done. Work to restore my reputation. Otherwise, I’ll remain tobe the demonic first year student, understood?”
“Yes.”
After a pause, I take the senior’s hand and look her straight in the eye.
“Also, be my friend.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t have any friends at all, you know, since I’ve been a loner until now.”
“Um…”
“Don’t run away and say you’re quitting school. That would only save you, right? I wouldn’t get anything out of it. Can you get away with causing me so much trouble and then do that?”
“But… is that really okay with you?”
“I’ll let you apologize properly to make up for the trouble you caused, but…”
“….Thank you very much. And I’m really very sorry! How could I, how could I dislike you and do such terrible things…”
“Speaking of which, how did you know about us, Senior? I’m sure it wasn’t public knowledge that the President almost made me a criminal by mistake. So how…”
“I got a letter. It said that it was a trap you set up to frame Mutsuki.”
“Whaaaaat! That’s the culprit!”
“Who in the world would do such a despicable thing! Erika, that letter?”
“I’m sorry. The content made me so angry that I threw it away immediately.”
“But still, I guess this is what’s meant by ‘you reap what you sow’. I’m going on a pilgrimage to purify myself, so don’t let it bother you, President.”
Was I really hated that much? If I were a reincarnated young lady, my life would be easily reset.
For some reason, my sister hugs me from behind. Although her twin peaks insistently make their presence known on my back, I feign ignorance and look out the window at the azure sky. So soft…(distant look)
“Yukito, is this really okay?”
“It’s okay, but um…what’s wrong?”
“I just felt like you were about to be snatched away. A chill?”
My sister says strange things that I don’t really understand.
“But, Kokonoe Yukito. You have indeed been punished and it seems that Erika has been deceived. Mr. Tojou, we can’t leave it like this, can we?”
“You’re right. Principal Yoshinaga, I’d like the school to be very careful with information in the future. Something seems suspicious here.”
“O-Of course.”
Right there, my disciplinary leave was revoked. I’m a free man again.
Although it seems that immense pressure was put on the school, far beyond what a prefectural legislator like Tojou could do, resulting in the immediate revocation, I wonder what Himiyama san did? Frightening. But it would be even scarier to ask.
I remember what happened the last time I went home. She’s a witch. A witch, no doubt. An evil woman who tricked me. Why did she – oops, almost let it slip.
“I’m sorry, Kokonoe, but asking you this is extremely unpleasant and irresponsible, I’m well aware of that. It’s entirely my responsibility. But please! Won’t you put me through to Himiyama san?”
“Himiyama san, the only one I know is Misa-“
“Misaki…?”
“First of all, I don’t really know that so-“
“Please! I’m finished if this goes on! My daughter Erika’s life might also become difficult to live as it has been! I beg you!”
A grown man prostrated himself. Wasn’t that guy a prefectural lawmaker?
He must have received quite a beating from Himiyama san that he shamelessly revealing such a pathetic sight. Judging from his previous words, his career as a lawmaker must be in jeopardy.
Anyway, it’s too much adult stuff for me to get involved in.
When it comes to Himiyama san, I can only obediently obey.
“I understand. However, the only woman I know is Ms. Misaki. I’ll talk to her, so please take care of the rest. I really don’t understand any of this.”
“Thank you, I’m in your debt! A woman… so she’s a relative of Sensei Toshifune?”
“She said grandfather, so could she be his granddaughter?”
“I see, that must be it. No wonder Sensei acted immediately. You really are unbelievable. However, how did you get such connections…”
“Opp…Brea…why…take…off…clothes…don’t…touch…feel…”
“Yukito! What’s wrong, Yukito!?”
“–What!? The sealed door of banished memories has been opened!?”
“What was that just now!? What happened!?”
“I almost drowned in motherhood.”
“Hey! What’s your relationship? Tell me honestly!”
However, after spending time as Kokonoe Yukito Yankee Form, having to go back to normal school attendance starting tomorrow is kind of boring.
“Um… what about me?”
“Guilty.”
After that, Principal Yoshinaga was disciplined and had his salary cut for a month.
As a result, the figure of the principal, who now seemed to carefully gauge Kokonoe Yukito’s mood, could often be seen on the school grounds, further cementing Kokonoe Yukito’s treatment as a dangerous guy, even though he himself remained oblivious.
When I left the principal’s office, a crowd of students had gathered.
When they saw me, they immediately rushed to me.
“Yuki, you’re okay! If Yuki had disappeared, I’d… Hey, what happened? You didn’t… Yuki! Yuki!”
“Argh.”
Shiori’s bear hug, the most physically resilient of the girls, exploded. As I hear the crunching sound of my bones compressing from the outrageous force, my consciousness gradually fades.
“Whoa, stop it Shiori. You’re going to make Kokonoe unconsious.”
I was saved from this predicament by Hasumura, who I thought did not like me.
“I caused you trouble too…I’m sorry.”
Hasumura smiled awkwardly. The last time I was summoned, she had glared at me with daggers, but her impression now was quite different from then. Perhaps this is her true self.
“Kokonoe, I am sorry! If we had properly communicated who you really are…!”
“From now on, I’ll be more proactive in helping!”
“Isn’t reconsidering that preacher-like behavior an option?”
I interrupted the wandering poet duo.
“The… the suspension has been lifted. I’m glad, Yukito.”
“Stray Goddess Senpai…”
“Oh dear, what’s wrong? Are you overcome with emotion?”
“Yes. So Stray Goddess Senpai appears in places other than just the emergency staircase.”
“Right, this time I will definitely not forgive you.”
I apologized profusely.
“Honestly, you always worries me.”
The refreshingly handsome boy grumbles. Laughter rings out here and there around us.
They’re all familiar faces. There are classmates and even upperclassmen.
It seems that my sister has hastily contacted everyone and gathered them together.
Truly, I can only admire her kind intentions. How much virtue does she want to accumulate in this world? Thank you, Seraph Uriel.
I have heard that my sister, the president, Suzurikawa and everyone have made great efforts to help me. I hope they didn’t get compound fractures.
“Thank you all very much.”
I bow to everyone. It is difficult to help without being rewarded.
No one would blame me if I ignored them. After all, they’re strangers.
Somehow, the evil legends of Kokonoe Yukito had completely dissipated. Instead, the legends of the saints were unfolding. It’s extremely unexpected, but the atmosphere isn’t one where I can say something like that.
The burden is too heavy. Later, I will have to write letters of thanks to everyone who helped me.
Why on earth would they go so far for someone like me?
“Because it’s you, Yukito.”
In the middle of the crowd, Hinagi steps forward.
Come to think of it, everyone but me is in uniform. I can’t deny the feeling of being out of place. A feeling of alienation, as if I’m the odd one out. Strangely, it’s a comforting feeling, like I’m used to it.
But maybe that is no longer allowed.
I’ve been helped, whether I want it or not.
By so many people.
The words to say at times like this are always simple.
“Welcome back.”
“I’m home.”
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