"Ibuki must be part bull or something!"
"She stomps way too hard!"
As Hikigaya walked, he could still feel a dull pain on the top of his foot. He hadn't expected that the moment he finished talking, Ibuki would stomp on him viciously, spit out a cold "I'll get my revenge next time," and then leave.
"I should be the one getting revenge here! Damn, that hurts!"
Hikigaya thought bitterly.
At 3:15 in the afternoon, Karuizawa sat alone in a booth near the corner of a café, holding a cup of coffee in both hands. She looked a little uneasy.
Before long, a guy suddenly sat down across from her.
She didn't even need to look up—she could feel the intimidating aura coming from the person in front of her.
Neither of them spoke. They just sat there, locked in silent tension.
Finally, Karuizawa couldn't stand the pressure anymore. She bit her lip and glared at the dead-eyed guy in front of her.
"What... what do you want?"
"If... if you want an apology, I'll give you one right now. I'm sorry. Last time, I was wrong. I shouldn't have falsely accused you, Hikigaya. Please forgive me."
She placed both hands on the table and lowered her head in apology.
"If saying 'sorry' was enough, then what would we need the police for?"
With just that one sentence, Hikigaya made Karuizawa feel like she had been dropped into an icy abyss.
So this guy was planning to...
The thought sent a shiver through her body, and her face drained of color.
"This is a café. There are a lot of students watching."
That realization snapped Karuizawa out of her panic. She quickly steadied her breathing, forcing herself to stay calm. No one could find out about her fear.
And then it hit her—Hikigaya had taken complete control of the conversation with just a single sentence.
"I know what you're afraid of," Hikigaya said slowly, watching her carefully.
"You're scared that people will find out you were bullied in the past, aren't you?"
Karuizawa's head shot up. Her eyes widened as she stared at him.
"Anyone who's been bullied would want to hide their past in a new environment, especially in a school like this, where strength is everything. Of course, you'd do everything you could to protect your secret.
"But the thing is, it's not a secret anymore."
Karuizawa's face filled with panic.
"You... You didn't tell anyone, did you?!"
"I didn't have to. Think about it—Ayanokouji, Manabe from Class C... they've already figured it out.
"So what are you going to do? Beg them to keep quiet? You already know there are only two possible outcomes to that—either you threaten them, or they threaten you."
Karuizawa turned completely pale. Hikigaya's words left her feeling lost and helpless. She instinctively asked,
"Then... what should I do? I... I don't want to go back to that hell!"
"Hell, huh?"
Hikigaya's expression changed slightly. "For someone who has been bullied, this really is a nightmare. But now, you're walking right back into it."
"W-What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what you've been doing, don't you? You think you've escaped from hell, but all you've done is step into a different one. This time, you're the one hurting others."
Hikigaya's voice was cold.
"I-I haven't!"
Karuizawa's face stiffened, and she quickly tried to explain. "I-I just wanted to protect myself, so..."
"So that gives you the right to hurt others? You think it's okay to protect yourself by stepping on someone else?"
Hikigaya snapped at her.
"I-I... It's not like that. I just wanted to scare them a little, teach them a small lesson... That way, no one would bully me."
Hikigaya stared at Karuizawa. "I get that you're scared, but that doesn't mean I agree with what you're doing. In the end, all you're doing is taking out the anger you felt when you were bullied and justifying it by calling it 'self-defense.'"
"Then what do you expect me to do?! Tell me! How am I supposed to live without getting bullied?!"
Karuizawa suddenly shouted.
Her outburst caught the attention of nearby students. Hikigaya didn't react at all, as if he hadn't noticed, but Karuizawa panicked and quickly covered her mouth.
"Karuizawa, look at yourself right now. Don't you think you look ridiculous?"
Hikigaya stared at her coldly. "You say you want to protect yourself, but all you're doing is pushing others down. When you were bullied, you were filled with pain and hatred, yet you never dared to fight back. Why? Because those people were stronger than you, and you were scared."
"So now, when you see someone weaker than you, you're suddenly not afraid anymore? You only pick on the weak? What a pathetic coward."
Karuizawa's face turned red with anger, then pale with shame. She snapped back, "You don't understand anything! You've never been bullied! How could you possibly know how I feel?!"
"I don't understand?"
Hikigaya let out a mocking laugh.
"Do you really think I've never been bullied?"
Karuizawa froze at his words. She studied the dead-eyed boy in front of her and, after a moment, shook her head.
"What if I told you I was bullied too?"
"T-That's not possi..."
She stopped mid-sentence. Something about the way Hikigaya looked at her told her he wasn't lying. She didn't even know why she felt so sure.
"Surprising?"
Hikigaya chuckled. "A loner with dead fish eyes who doesn't like talking to people... You think I never got cold stares or was ignored? I had my desk scribbled all over, my shoes stolen, even had bugs stuffed in them. It's not like I haven't been through it."
"Then... how did you..."
Karuizawa's voice softened as she stared at him. Everything he described had happened to her, too. But what she couldn't understand was how he had gone through all that and yet looked completely unaffected.
"Bullying is just a group of people ganging up on someone weaker. Of course, you were scared, because back then, you didn't have the strength to fight back. You didn't have the confidence to stand on your own. But once you gain one of those things, you'll realize that those so-called bullies are nothing but clowns. They know they're weak, which is why they only pick on people who are even weaker."
Hikigaya looked straight at Karuizawa. "And right now, you're doing the exact same thing. You're becoming the kind of person you once hated the most."
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