My Online Friends Turned Out To Be the Ultra-Beautiful Girls in My Class and They Were Yandere - 28

Chapter 28: Rejection

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“…Where is this?”

When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar white ceiling. Along with that, there was a rough, stiff sensation around my head. That was enough for me to understand. This was the infirmary. I had probably collapsed. I ended up remembering things I didn’t want to remember. The anger and hatred toward them, the regret. All things I never wanted to recall. So many questions swirled in my head.

“Thank goodness! You’re awake! I was so worried, Hakkun!”

Noticing that I had woken up, Haruna’s face lit up as she grabbed my hand. Normally, I would have accepted it. But impulsively, I rejected it. I smacked her hand away.

“Huh? Ha… Hakkun?”

“I had a bad dream. Sorry, Haruna. Thanks for worrying about me. But I’m fine now. So… Can you leave me alone for a bit?”

“…Okay. I understand. I’m glad you woke up.”

It must have hurt her deeply to be rejected by me. Tears she couldn’t hold back spilled as Haruna left the infirmary. What was this swirling, nauseating feeling inside me? There was definitely a strong anger. I even felt betrayed. But at the same time, questions kept coming up. Why had they listened so sincerely to me online? Why had they gone so far as to pretend, just to hear my worries? I could understand Haruna. That affection of hers was genuine, without a doubt. My head was getting all messed up. What should I believe? What am I supposed to do?

Can I trust those two? Setting Rin-nee aside, those two who never did anything for me all this time…

“Hakkun, are you okay?”

“Rin-nee…”

As I was thinking that, the curtain around the bed was suddenly pulled open, and I caught a glimpse of a red ponytail.

“What’s wrong, Hakkun? You look like you’re in a lot of pain. If it’s okay, would you talk to Rin about it?”

Rin-nee sat lightly on the bed and reached out her hand to me. As I tried to take it, a voice echoed in my head. Was it really okay to take that hand? Would I just be betrayed again like with the others? And before I realized it…

“Hakkun, why?”

“I’m fine, Rin-nee. So… could you leave me alone?”

“I see. We’re just getting in your way, huh. Okay, I understand.”

Even Rin-nee, I ended up rejecting her. Just like Haruna, she left with a very pained expression. No, that wasn’t it. I didn’t mean it like this. I never intended to reject Rin-nee too. Ah, could it be… have I started to distrust people? I could hear voices that weren’t there. But it wasn’t paranoia. It was just that Muna, Haruna, Rin-nee… everyone felt terrifying.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!!”

I slammed my fist into the bed. All I felt was softness, nothing more. What was this anger even directed at? I couldn’t understand anything anymore. Was it anger toward myself? Resentment toward the people who believed the rumors? Hatred toward Muna and the others who didn’t reach out to me? There were too many things I didn’t understand.

“…Should I go home?”

The sun was still shining, the sky still blue. I had only been asleep for about an hour. But my mood wasn’t something I could just ignore and go on with. So I decided to go home. I’d come up with some excuse and skip the rest. After saying something vague to the infirmary teacher and getting permission, I left the school. The breeze that should have felt nice instead felt distorted. It made me feel sick. Right as I passed through the school gate, my phone buzzed with a notification. I checked it. It was Muna.

『e: Are you okay?』

『hara: Yeah, I’m fine. Is Haruna okay?』

『 e: She’s been crying the whole time. She’s with me in the lounge right now.』

When I read that, a sharp pain ran through my chest. The reason was obvious. It was my fault. Because I rejected her. But since Muna was with her, she’d probably be okay.

『hara: That’s good. Can I leave her to you? I’m going home.』

『e: Yeah, leave it to me.』

Muna didn’t ask anything. Knowing how perceptive she was, she had probably already realized it from Haruna’s reaction that I had rejected her. There was no problem. I had always been alone to begin with. It was not something I needed to worry about… no, I see. I couldn’t even rely on that place anymore. Even if I could, only hamihami would be there. 

Then maybe I should just die-

“Hm? Hey, you’re Hara Kamitsuru, right! What’s up? Are you skipping too!?”

The moment that thought crossed my mind, someone called out to me from behind. The voice was somewhat bright, yet soft. When I turned around, I saw a gyaru with long blonde hair tied up, reaching down to her waist, with faint pink at the tips. …A gyaru?

“You know me?”

“Yeah! I’ve heard you’re someone super important to my super important best friend. I’m Nonoa Tsurumaki! Nice to meet you! You can call me Nonoa.”

Nonoa introduced herself with a peace sign. So this was a gyaru… how should I put it, she was dazzling. She seemed like the kind of person you couldn’t push away even if you tried.

“My rumors… you know about them?”

“Yeah, I know them. But I’m not the type to believe that stuff! Because I trust my best friend!”

“Can I ask your best friend’s name?”

“Yep, sure! Do you know her? Her name’s Misaki Hanado.”

“!?”

Misaki Hanado. A person whose name had only come up in my past. The gentle-looking girl in that photo. And one of the people who abandoned me. Her best friend… 

Well, if she’s a gyaru, then I guess that makes sense.

“Wah, what’s wrong!?”

“No, it’s nothing. I was just surprised. About Misaki Hanado.. I just heard something like that earlier, but is she the one who’s always surrounded by rumors?”

“Yeah, that’s her. I don’t believe any of that though. Misaki isn’t some promiscuous girl like that! She’s always been thinking about you!”

“M-me?”

“Yeah. She said you helped her before. Ever since then, she’s been head over heels for you. Even when she’s with me, she’s always talking about you.”

Hearing that from Nonoa surprised me again. 

She’s in love with me? That Hanado Misaki? No, this is just getting more and more confusing. Then why didn’t she help me back then?

“Anyway, are you free after this? If you’re skipping, hang out with me for a bit! Let’s go to the arcade!”

“Huh? Wait, hey!”

Before I could even process it, Nonoa grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the city.

I wonder if Haruna and Rin-nee are okay. And also… Nonoa Tsurumaki. It feels like I’ve heard that name somewhere before, or maybe not.

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