Chapter 18

The “fire extinguisher incident” refers to the event that got me suspended.

It all started one morning after summer break when I got into an argument with Kaneko, a second-year student, on the way to school.

Apparently, this senior didn’t like that I didn’t get off my bike and instead rode through the school grounds. He thought it was cheeky for a first-year like me to act that way.

Let me clarify—I’m not the only one ignoring the rules. 

Some students blatantly ride their bikes everywhere, especially the ones who try to act tough. 

Even while Kaneko was stopping me to lecture me, other students zoomed by without getting off their bikes. Naturally, I asked about it.

“Why don’t you say something to them?”

“They’re third-years, so it’s fine.”

“So, it’ll be fine for me too when I’m a third-year?”

“That’s not what I said!”

Hmm, is he stupid? I bet he couldn’t solve a single math proof.

“It’s the school rules.”

He had the nerve to lecture me about rules while sporting dyed hair, a sloppily worn uniform, and layers of shirts underneath. 

It was annoying, so I just got off my bike and walked at the time.

That was the beginning of it.

After that, he started finding excuses to mess with me.

He always had his gang with him, and they’d pick on me whenever we crossed paths in the hallway.

One day, it escalated to him asking, “What class are you in? What’s your name?” When I told him, he burst out laughing. 

“Knight? Wow, that’s so cool. Sounds super strong.” 

So, I replied, “Yeah, I’m super strong.” 

Then he said, “Oh, yeah? Prove it.” 

So, I showed him. A single jab was enough to make his nose bleed and drain his will to fight.

After that, he stopped messing with me directly. 

Instead, I was harassed a little bit, from time to time.

Things like graffiti on my shoe locker or my shoes being hidden. Ridiculously stupid things.

The final straw came when he threw a lit cigarette butt at me as we passed each other in the hallway.

The cigarette was still burning. 

I noticed a fire extinguisher nearby, so I put it to good use—on him and his gang.

When I was called to the principal’s office afterward, I explained, “I noticed some lit cigarette butts on the ground, so I thought it was dangerous and took action to extinguish it.” The teachers gathered there fell silent.  

Kaneko, clearly panicking at how things were turning, started claiming, “He’s the one who threw the first punch. He hurt me before, too.” Basically, he was snitching to the teachers after losing the fight. When I said, “So~ pathetic,” I got suspended.  

That’s the gist of how it all happened.  

“Actually, I knew about you even before. I’d heard from classmates that there was this cheeky first-year around. And that it was Kaneko-kun—the guy you punched.”  

“Oh, you’re on that side?”  

“He’d already had a bad reputation for his behavior, and no one liked him. But after his suspension, he mellowed out. People started saying stuff like, ‘He cried to the teachers.’ That story really spread.”  

I still can’t accept that I got two weeks, and he only got one.  

“Kaneko-kun kept persistently asking me out to hang out, and I was really bothered by it. So, well, I kind of feel like you helped me out…”  

“That’s just your interpretation. I didn’t do it to help you.”  

“And, actually… when you sprayed the fire extinguisher, I saw it from a distance. I heard shouting, got scared, and couldn’t move. But you, even when they surrounded you, didn’t flinch at all. I thought that was amazing.”  

Honestly, I assumed at worst, they’d beat me up. I didn’t think they’d actually kill me. Thanks to my dad, I’m used to getting hit. There were times as a kid when I genuinely thought he might kill me.  

And as for the cigarette, I have a bit of a trauma about them. My dad almost caused a house fire because of carelessness with a cigarette. That could’ve easily ended in tragedy.  

“And also… you know Masuda-sensei? He’s so scary. I thought it was amazing how you could talk back to him like that.”  

“That old guy is a pretty decent teacher, so he can’t come down too hard on a delinquent like me. He’s actually kind of pitiful.”  

“You mean you’re doing all this fully understanding that?”  

“Well, yeah, both of us, really.”  

Saying it out loud made me feel gross. The idea of “understanding” an old man like that is a bit much. Being told that was “amazing” doesn’t resonate with me at all.  

“I thought I was being really brave when I gave you my contact information.”  

“Really? You seemed pretty confident to me.”  

“At the time, my heart was actually pounding like crazy. My hands were shaking too.”  

She says that, but whether it’s true or not is something only she knows.  

Miki started to talk fast, perhaps because she was getting excited. It’s a way of speaking Yuki would never use.  

“So, you’re saying there’s more to the story? Fine, I get it. But what do you want, then?”  

“I want to know more about you, Hoshi-kun. I like strong people.”  

“Strong people? Then maybe you should date a grizzly bear or something.”  

“Yea~h I never thought of that~”  

She let out a laugh.  

Still, it wasn’t entirely an off-target joke.  

“You know, there was a bear-like guy the other day.”  

“Huh? Who?”  

“You know, the guy in the baseball uniform. And wasn’t there someone who approached you this morning?”  

“Oh, Takeda-kun? No way.”  

“So mean. You looked like you were having fun talking to him.”  

“Yeah, I looked like I was having fun, right? But I wasn’t. I don’t even like baseball. I don’t really know the rules either.”  

“Is that really the issue?”  

“Ah, but keep that a secret, okay? I think it’d hurt his feelings if he found out.”  

A secret between the two of us.  

It sounds like something nice when you put it that way. Sharing a secret might even make the other person feel closer to you.  

But personally, I kind of wanted the school’s princess to be the type of girl who cheered earnestly for the hardworking baseball team members.  

“So, you’re saying that’s how you are behind the scenes? Acting nice to their face while thinking otherwise?”  

After I said that, she fell silent.  

Silence in a phone call feels long, even if it’s just a few seconds.  

Just as I was about to say something to fill the gap, a low voice reached my ear.  

“…Because there’s no other way.”  

“No other way?”  

“Yeah. Weak people have no choice but to act like that.”  

Her voice was flat. She didn’t laugh it off or try to gloss over it.  

I couldn’t see Miki’s expression. It didn’t sound like she was angry, but beyond that, it was hard to tell anything from just her voice.  

“Sorry for calling you out of the blue.”  

With those final words of apology, the call ended.  

Though her tone had returned to normal by the end, I’m pretty sure she dislikes me now. The likability meter probably plummeted into the negatives.  

These kinds of things peak when you’re dreaming about them. After that, it’s all downhill.  

Even if I tried to act cool now, it wouldn’t matter. The truth would come out eventually. This whole situation was a misunderstanding from the start. It’s better to clear up misconceptions sooner rather than later. That’s all there is to it.  

[TL: maybe it went up instead?]