I Was Blackmailed Into Accepting Bullying Using My Childhood Friend as Leverage, But When I Found Out My Friend and Bully Were Together, I Abandoned All Compassion and Swore to Take Revenge with Everything I Had - Chapter 13: Scum File - Shizuku Himeno - Beginning 1/2

Chapter 13: Scum File – Shizuku Himeno – Beginning 1/2

Note: This work contains depictions of violence and sexual content, but it does not promote any of these actions.

This is the start of a six-chapter arc from the perspective of the “scum” characters. It may be frustrating, so please bear with it.

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Shizuku Himeno – Beginning Arc

I, Himeno Shizuku, have known a boy named Kenichi Komada since elementary school. I used to call him “Ken-chan” as a nickname and would always follow behind him.

We first became friends when I was playing on the jungle gym at a nearby park. Suddenly, a large stray dog approached and started barking at me fiercely. I was too scared to climb down, but Ken-chan showed up and saved me, and from that moment on, we grew close.

Ken-chan was truly a prodigy. Even without any special training, he could win races effortlessly, and even after running long distances at full speed, he wouldn’t be out of breath for an hour.

When the two of us joined a karate dojo for a trial session, the most arrogant adult there, wearing a black belt, challenged him. He said, “Go ahead, punch me here without holding back!” and pointed to his stomach. With a single punch, Ken-chan sent the man flying into the wall, knocking him unconscious. (In the end, we didn’t join the dojo.)

It wasn’t just his physical abilities—Kenichi could memorize entire textbooks at a glance. I remember how, in elementary school, he had finished reading all the textbook material by the time of the opening ceremony and spent the rest of the year looking bored. But back then, as a child, all I thought was, “Wow, that’s amazing.”

However, there was a change in my once-proud childhood friend. Around the time we entered middle school, he started growing his bangs long enough to cover his eyes, slouching, and carrying a kind of air that made him seem unreliable.

I assumed it was only a change in appearance and that his personality hadn’t changed. But even in sports, he dropped to the middle or lower ranks in the class. As for academics, he barely looked at his textbooks during class, so his grades plummeted, falling to the bottom of the rankings.

In contrast, my academic performance kept improving, and I consistently ranked within the top five in my grade. I, who had always just admired his accomplishments from behind, had become someone others relied on. By the time we were in our third year, I was class president thanks to everyone’s recommendations and even joined the student council, enjoying a fulfilling middle school life.

Without realizing it, the gap between us had grown wider. The boy who once called me “Shizuku” now naturally referred to me as “Himeno-san,” as if we were just acquaintances.

In truth, I had become less interested in him as I made new friends and got involved in various committee activities. The changes in him didn’t really bother me. In elementary school, we used to play together almost every day, but as we advanced through middle school, that became less and less frequent. Occasionally, I’d still visit his house when interacting with his stepsister, Kotone-chan, helping out with dinner or sometimes going grocery shopping together, but that was about it.

Then came high school. On the first day, I was filled with excitement for my new life. I had a new uniform, a new bag, and I was eager to meet my close friends as we entered our new class. I was the first to arrive, so I placed my things on the desk with my name written on the blackboard at the front. As other classmates started filing in, I realized that even though I didn’t know them, they seemed to know me. Apparently, my reputation as a student council member from middle school had carried over.

Just as the warning bell rang, a boy quietly entered the classroom at the last minute—it was my childhood friend. Thanks to my achievements in middle school, I was once again recommended for class president, and I felt a sense of pride in being someone the class could rely on.

Except for him…

By that time, though, my interest in him had already faded. All I thought was, “Oh, he goes to the same high school as me…” and that was the extent of my feelings.

One day, the fact that he and I were childhood friends became a hot topic in class. Friends teased me with the usual rom-com scenario where childhood friends are secretly in love, imagining some sweet, bittersweet romance between us. But, of course, I didn’t have those kinds of feelings for him. While I acknowledged that we were childhood friends, I firmly denied any romantic connection.

However, the playful rumors didn’t seem to sit well with him. The teasing from the others, which started off light, soon turned into something more cruel when he ignored it and didn’t react. The frustration among some of the boys exploded, and the teasing escalated into severe bullying.

As class president, I tried to step in and reprimand the boys who were bullying him, but they always evaded my efforts, and the situation never improved. I told him, “You should be honest with them and the school about how they’re treating you.” But he simply responded with, “Just leave me alone,” and nothing changed.

The bullying grew more intense, becoming more violent, and it seemed like he was regularly being forced to buy drinks and snacks for the bullies.

One day, after finishing an errand for the teacher, I was about to head home when I noticed Iketsuki, the ringleader of the boys bullying him, leaning against the classroom door.

I hadn’t noticed him at first, but when I suddenly felt his presence, I was startled. Not having a good impression of the boy who was bullying him, I glared at Iketsuki with clear displeasure.

“I’m done with my errands, so I’d like to go home now. Could you move out of the way?”

I spoke firmly, but he just smiled slyly, grabbed my arm, and pushed me against the wall.

“Hey, Himeno, I like you… Please accept my feelings.”

With that, he suddenly kissed me.

“!?”

Shocked, I pushed him away with all my strength.

“What are you doing!? I don’t like people who bully others! Don’t treat me like I’m easy!”

I wiped my mouth and glared at Iketsuki. He stumbled back and ended up sitting on the edge of a desk, his head lowered, tears welling up in his eyes.

“I… I’ve liked you since the day we started high school, Himeno… Shizuku. But… I couldn’t stand seeing you close to Komada-kun… I was so jealous… I know, I’m acting like a child…”

“W-What… no way… huh?”

His sudden confession left me completely stunned. By that moment, thoughts of Ken-chan had already vanished from my mind, and I was completely overwhelmed by the fact that someone as cool and popular as Iketsuki, admired by both girls and boys, had just confessed to me.

I had spent my childhood chasing after Ken-chan, and even in middle school, all I had was my seriousness. I had never had any experience with romance.

But like any girl my age, I was beginning to take an interest in romance and relationships. Many of my friends already had boyfriends, and I was curious about love myself. So when Iketsuki-kun suddenly kissed me—my first kiss, no less—it left a strong impression on me.

And now, with his passionate confession… I couldn’t help but start thinking about Iketsuki-kun in a different light.

He slowly approached me, gently lifted my chin, and whispered seriously,

“Shizuku… If you hate me, push me away like you did earlier…”

With that, he closed his eyes, and his lips moved closer to mine…

Before I knew it, I had wrapped my arms around Iketsuki-kun’s neck and kissed him back.

“I-If you’re okay with me… then let’s go out.”

And just like that, I started dating Iketsuki-kun.

However, he asked me to keep our relationship a secret at school for a while, saying it was still a bit embarrassing. So, at school, we continued to act like regular classmates.

Iketsuki-kun’s family owned a hospital, and since he was preparing to take over the business, he was busy with various lessons every day. As a result, we could only meet occasionally, and I still spent a lot of time with my childhood friend and Kotone-chan.

Even so, every week, we would meet up at a café outside of school on a set day and go on dates together.

The places Iketsuki-kun took me were always exciting—live houses, dance clubs, karaoke, and billiard halls. These were glamorous places that I normally wouldn’t have gone to, and they were stimulating.

In the beginning, during our dates, I would often ask him to stop bullying Ken-chan. But one day, Ryusei looked at me with sad eyes and asked,

“Is Komada more important to you than me?”

I couldn’t say anything in response and just shook my head, denying it.

Eventually, the topic became something I only brought up at school out of obligation, and I stopped mentioning it outside of school. To be honest, I gradually stopped feeling anything about Ken-chan being bullied by Ryusei.

Then one day, during a date, Ryusei was in a bad mood, irritated by the obligatory warning I had given him at school. Desperate to cheer him up, I found myself saying, “I’ll do anything you ask.”

“Alright then, Shizuku… Prove to me that I’m more important to you than Komada!”

That night, after he pleaded with me, I gave him my first time at a love hotel.

At first, it hurt and was difficult, but the joy of becoming one with the person I loved outweighed the pain, and we were together many times that night.

Eventually, I began to feel pleasure in being with him, and by the end, I found myself wanting him more and more.

I lied to my parents, saying I was staying at a friend’s house, and spent the entire night wrapped up in him.