Chapter 5

After school, I headed to the library located in a separate building.

Though I might not look it, I am a literature-loving bookworm. I visit the library almost every day.

Of course, that was a lie—this was actually my first time stepping a foot into the library.

It wasn’t because my homeroom teacher had told me to go yesterday, but rather an attempt to discover a new side of myself.

I wandered around the shelves for a while, but I almost lost my temper when I saw a couple in the back corner being all lovey-dovey. Deciding that it wasn’t worth it, I left. It felt like if I said anything, I would lose. Not wanting to leave empty-handed, I borrowed a suspicious-looking book called God’s Conversation.

As I exited the library, I headed downstairs toward the entrance.

When I reached the second floor and was about to descend to the first, I stopped. Turning around, I walked down the hallway. The dim corridor lined with special classrooms was quiet.

It wasn’t about justice. It was just that I had had a silly conversation with Sumahiko this morning.

Whatever the specifics, it was clear that a lot of questionable things were happening.

If something went down, it would surely leave me with a bad taste in my mouth. After witnessing what I had yesterday, I couldn’t just ignore it.

Trying to talk sense into the girl would probably be useless, but it might be worth trying to talk to the boys.

I stood in front of the same boys’ bathroom as yesterday.

As usual, the hallway was empty. I listened carefully, but there was no sound at all.

Maybe today’s meeting had been canceled, or it had already ended.

I touched the door. I pushed lightly, but it wouldn’t open. I was sure someone was inside.

I pushed harder with both hands, but it wouldn’t budge. The door was more securely locked than yesterday.

Taking a few steps back, I gathered my strength and kicked the door with all my might. It opened. I rushed inside.

“Ah!”

A scream—or something close to it—rang out.

The boys who had been facing away from me turned around, looking at me like they had seen a monster.

Both of them were standing today. Frozen in place.

By the far wall, a girl in her uniform was crouched down, curled up as if trying to make herself smaller.

There was another boy. He was sitting on the floor and appeared to be hugging the girl from the side, trying to loom over her.

The situation was hard to read, but I stayed calm. I had prepared for something like this. That’s probably why I knew exactly what to do. I pulled out my phone and quickly took a series of pictures.

At least I had the evidence.

The boy who had been clinging to the girl seemed so absorbed in what he was doing that he didn’t even notice me. Even when I took the photos, he didn’t seem to care.

I set my bag down and picked up the mop that had been wedged in the door.

Holding it with both hands, I stepped forward. I thrust the end of the mop into the side of the boy’s torso. It hit exactly where I intended, and he collapsed to the floor with a silent scream, clutching his stomach.

I turned to face the remaining two.

One was the short, chubby guy with glasses, and the other was tall and skinny. Even in a two-on-one situation, I wasn’t worried at all.

However, these guys just kept avoiding eye contact, as if not looking for a fight. Their expressions said it all.

“Th-that’s not it! W-we didn’t do anything! We’re not involved!”

The chubby one screamed as he waved his hands, then bolted toward the exit. The other followed right behind.

I looked down at the last one. The guy who had taken the mop hit was groaning on the floor, breathing erratically. For some reason, he looked at me with a pleading expression, but it creeped me out, so I kicked him in the ass.

In the end, he flailed his arms and legs, crawling across the floor as he fled.

“Pathetic.”

No one came at me. I was honestly a little surprised.

I had taken the photos, and chasing after them wouldn’t do any good.

What mattered now was—

I leaned the mop against the wall and sat down with my back to it, my gaze falling on the girl still sitting there.

She was curled up in a position like she was sitting cross-legged, repeatedly touching her fingers. She brought both hands in front of her face, inspecting them carefully.

Her blouse’s collar was messed up, but she made no move to fix it. Looking closely, I saw that her third button had come off. Through the gap in her loose blouse, I could barely see the white of her skin and the pink of her bra.

“Your button’s gone.”

I subtly pointed out that her underwear was visible.

I wasn’t going to ask if she was okay. It was entirely her fault.

Despite that, she didn’t make any move to cover up. When she briefly lifted her gaze, she twisted her lips into a smirk and snorted.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Heh… seems like he was a virgin, so he didn’t know what to do, huh?”

She spoke with surprising confidence.

It didn’t seem like she was in shock, stunned or lost for words.

The only visible damage was that her blouse was slightly torn, but her lower half was untouched. From between her bent knees, the short black inner panties she was wearing could be seen.

Miki Tachibana lifted both arms lazily toward me.

“Pull me up.”

“Huh?”

“My legs gave out. I can’t stand.”

I took her arm and helped her up. Her palm was cold to the touch.

When she stood, she staggered a bit. I supported her shoulder, and without saying a word, she started walking. It seemed like she was planning to leave just like that.

“Hey, your bag.”

“Bring it.”

I picked up the bag she had left by the wall. A small mascot doll was hanging from the handle. For some reason, I followed her instructions without question.

After grabbing my own bag along the way, I followed her out of the bathroom.

We walked in silence down the hallway, which, as usual, was devoid of people. This annex building was as quiet as ever, with only the distant sound of a brass band playing. It was a typical after-school atmosphere.

Miki’s Tachibana steps slowed as we went on. When we turned the corner, she descended two steps on the stairs and then sat down on the floor.

“Just resting for a bit.”

She said it while staring down at the floor, though it was probably meant for me.

I stood next to her and asked.

“What are you going to do? Head to the teacher’s office? Or the police? I don’t know.”

She silently shook her head.

Even if we did go, I had no idea how she planned to explain things.

“Honestly, I don’t really get it, but what happened?”

“I was suddenly hugged and my chest was touched. But more than that, my finger hurts.”

She had been constantly fidgeting with her finger.

“Look,” she lifted her hand to show me, but there didn’t seem to be any visible injury. There was no cut or anything. Her finger was slender and pretty.

“Doesn’t look like anything’s wrong.”

“I don’t know, maybe I bumped it somewhere.”

“You might want to get it checked out at the hospital.”

When I said that, she pulled her finger back as if trying to hide it. Another silence fell between us.

But soon, I could hear her sniffing. I looked down, and she was repeatedly wiping her eyes with her sleeve. It seemed like she was crying now.

“You’re really unstable, huh?”

I muttered softly and sat down next to her.

Apparently, she heard me. Her face turned toward me, and her red eyes glared at me.

“You’re not kind.”

“What?”

“You’re supposed to gently pat my head in a situation like this, right?”

There was nothing “normal” about this situation. I couldn’t just casually touch someone’s head like that.