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 34: The Komada Family, a Symphony of Collapse

Chapter 34: The Komada Family, a Symphony of Collapse

Ken-nii’s got caught up in the gang attack on the school.

One of the culprits behind the incident was Iketsuki, who had been bullying Ken-nii.

Iketsuki admitted to his involvement in the incident and confessed everything to the police. Additionally, the leader of the gang, Red Dragon, Benimaru Ryuzaki (21), and all of Iketsuki’s associates were arrested. They all fully admitted to their crimes and were aggressively demanding to serve their sentences.

Among them, a rumor spread on social media—not on mainstream channels—that a female student from the same school, who had been dating Iketsuki, was gang-raped by the group.

Though I haven’t seen it myself, I heard that a male student who accessed a suspicious website saw a video of the assault. The girl in the video looked a lot like Himeno-senpai, a second-year student.

In reality, Shizuku-chan hasn’t been to school for over a week. I was so worried that I called her and sent her messages, but there was no reply.

[Ding Dong]

[Click]

“Yes, who is it…? Oh, Kotone-chan… welcome…”

Aunt peeked out from the entrance, but she looked exhausted, and even her smile seemed a bit worn out.

“Um… is Shizuku-chan…”

Aunt let out a deep sigh and shook her head slowly.

“I’m sorry… You came all this way out of concern, but Shizuku said she doesn’t want to see anyone right now… I’m really sorry…”

Aunt bowed her head slightly as she apologized with a weak smile, one that looked like it could disappear at any moment, like a fading sparkler.

Some days later, when I entered the classroom, I saw Sumie, a friend I’ve known since we were kids, surrounded by a group of classmates.

“Hey, Sumie! Is it true you’re Fudo-senpai’s sister?”

“No, no, not his sister. I’m his stepsister, but we’re actually cousins too, haha.”

Wait, what… what’s going on? Sumie is Ken-nii’s cousin? His stepsister? I mean, I do remember Sumie’s last name is Fudo… But when we were little, we used to play in the sandbox together, and even after Ken-nii chased away those mean middle schoolers who were bothering us, we played together a few more times… She never mentioned being his cousin back then… What’s this all about?

“Wait, Sumie!? You’re cousins with Ken-n… I mean, Fudo-senpai…? You never told me…”

“Eh? Really? Oh, sorry! I only found out recently myself, so I must’ve forgotten to tell you, Kotone~♪”

What is this… I knew that Ken-nii cut ties with the Komada family and was adopted by his late mother’s sister, but…

And then… the way Sumie is looking at me, with such disdain… I don’t like it.

“Oh! But everyone, I was told by my cousin to call him Fudo-senpai at school, so you all should be careful, okay~♪”

…I… I treated Ken-nii coldly at school, so no one would know we were related, and eventually, he cut ties with me…

But now, here in front of me, my friend, who’s acting all giddy like a girl in love, is proudly boasting to the girls in our class about her wonderful cousin, Ken-nii…

[Grit] I clenched my teeth and glared at Sumie.

“Sumie!! What do you think you’re doing? Is this all to get back at me!?”

My sudden outburst startled the classmates, and the room fell silent.

“Hahaha, I don’t really get why Kotone’s so mad~♪” 

Sumie lightly hopped off the desk she had been sitting on with the agility of someone from a sports club. She landed just in front of me, then lifted her face and, with a smile, looked at me with cold, threatening eyes. Turning towards the other girls, she added:

“Well, Kotone is an only child, so maybe she got a little jealous that I suddenly have such a cool and handsome cousin~”

“I know, right! I wish I had a handsome brother like that!” “I’d want him as my boyfriend!” “Hey, Sumie! You should introduce me to Fudo-senpai!”

The same classmates who used to mock my stepbrother as “the gloomy senior” and “the nerdy senior” are now suddenly praising him, and it makes me furious.

“Originally, he was! My—”

“Kotone-chan! Kotone-chan, you’ve always been an only child, right?” 

“—Sumie, you…”

Sumie lightly patted my trembling shoulder and whispered in my ear, “Meet me at the bench by the hallway next to the cafeteria during lunch…”

The morning classes ended while I was still stewing over everything, and I declined invitations from other girls to have lunch together. I saw Sumie, carrying her oversized lunch bag like a typical sports club member, quickly heading off, and I followed her.

“I’m here, Sumie…”

“Yeah, I just got here too. Have a seat, why don’t you?”

She motioned for me to sit on the empty side of the two-person bench.

Sumie had her big lunch bag in her lap but didn’t seem interested in eating. It looked like she was waiting for me to speak, so I started.

“Hey, Sumie… What was that attitude of yours in the classroom?”

Sumie closed her eyes with a smug, fake smile.

“Attitude? What? I was just the same as always.”

“You! You knew that Ken-nii was my stepbrother! And now that you found out he’s your cousin, you—!”

Sumie sighed lightly, almost as if she was bored.

“You’re wrong, Kotone. Kenichi-san was your stepbrother, but now he’s mine. You’re just an outsider now, do you understand?”

What Sumie was saying was technically correct, but still…

“But, even so! How could you—”

“You were the one who told me not to tell anyone that Komada-senpai was your stepbrother.”

“…That’s because…”

Sumie looked down at me with a cold expression.

“You said we’d stop being friends if I told anyone… right♪? Well, I don’t see any reason to stay friends with you anymore, so if you want to end it, that’s fine by me~”

“What!?”

Seeing my shaken expression, Sumie noticed something behind me. She suddenly smiled brightly and waved.

“Onii~san!”

I turned around hesitantly and saw Ken-nii, my stepbrother, standing still, staring at us with a blank expression after Sumie called out to him.

“Wait for me!” Sumie quickly grabbed her lunch bag and ran over to him.

I watched in a daze as Ken-nii handed Sumie a brown envelope while they talked, with Sumie looking annoyed and Ken-nii remaining expressionless.

After a moment, Sumie reluctantly took the envelope from Ken-nii, handed him her lunch bag in exchange, and walked back toward me. She looked displeased as she carelessly held out the envelope that Ken-nii had just given her.

“Here! It’s from my cousin! Just take it already!”

Sumie shoved the envelope into my chest, and as I accepted it, she leaned in close.

“Don’t ever go near my Kenichi-san again…”

She glared at me with eyes so cold they could kill, then turned on her heel and ran back to Ken-nii, wrapping herself around his arm. As they walked off together toward the cafeteria, she chatted happily, while Ken-nii remained expressionless.

Stunned, I stood there holding the brown envelope with my name, Kotone Komada-sama, written on it in Ken-nii’s handwriting.