36 V11.5 Chapter 1 Part 2

5

After the two students left.

Mashima openly revealed his thoughts to Chabashira.

"There're still some things I can't understand."

"I'm the same, Mashima-sensei. But what Ayanokouji-kun said was true."

"Interfering with the very structure of the school, all for a single student?"

Mashima-sensei exclaimed. No matter how many people around him emphasised the authenticity of the situation, it would still be hard to believe.

"You've observed Ayanokouji for a year now, Chabashira-sensei, so what kind of existence do you think he is?"

"That's a difficult question."

Because they couldn't stay for long, they left the reception room a minute after Ayanokouji and Sakayanagi left.

"At first glance, he seems like a normal high school boy you could find anywhere, indifferent to his surroundings, with little spirit, and a bit out of place."

The other class teachers would probably think of him in a similar way.

Their impression of him wouldn't be deep, maybe it would be up to the point where they could barely match up the name to the face.

"But those eyes which do not falter even in the face of adults, those eyes that see through everything, those aren't the eyes of a child."

"I'm still in disbelief…"

"Yeah. For a first-year to already reach that level."

"Although I've only been a teacher for a few years, I've seen many types of students. If we focus on the past two years, Horikita Manabu and Nagumo Miyabi are the ones that have left an outstanding impression of themselves."

"That's true."

Both of those students had excellent academic and athletic abilities, second to none throughout their respective years, as well as possessing rare leadership abilities on top of that.

"This year's first years gave me the impression that they are slightly inferior compared to those two people. Of course, some students can match them in some aspects, but not in every one of them. Overall, what do you think is the extent of Ayanokouji's abilities?"

"Will my answer have any impact on what you do in the future?"

"No, not at all. No matter what kind of student Ayanokouji is, I won't allow Acting Director Tsukishiro to do what he wants. This is just out of curiosity."

"Curiosity… That's unusual for you. But I'm still trying to figure that out myself."

Chabashira was also one of the people who wanted to learn more about Ayanokouji.

It was true that she couldn't answer.

"That really is a difficult question."

Mashima helplessly folded his arms.

"Originally, the teachers were to maintain a proper working distance with the students and govern them like that. Forming such close relationships isn't the best thing to do."

"So we just have to eliminate Acting Director Tsukishiro as quickly as possible."

"But after we eliminate him-Is that really going to be the end of all this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Even if we expose the Acting Director, there's no guarantee that there will not be another person sent afterwards. In that case, Ayanokouji's situation will create a disturbance for the entire year…Depending on the situation, the whole school itself might suffer from it."

Mashima expressed his own unease.

Of course, even having said that, he still would not abandon the students.

"The way this situation is unfolding, it's like I'm sinking deeper and deeper into quicksand. This scares me."

"Yeah."

If this continued, there will be students who would not be able to receive a fair evaluation.

This is something that the teachers must prevent from happening.

"I hope my hunch won't turn out to be true."

The two teachers envisioned what would happen in the future, and prayed that those were just groundless fears.

6

After passing some time following the end of the conversation with the teachers and Sakayanagi, I went to the gym.

Soon, the 3rd years who were in the thank you meeting would come out.

The people around me were eagerly awaiting their arrival.

As that time approached, the anxiety of both the first years and second years seemed to increase.

Apparantly, some of the 3rd years would leave directly after the graduation ceremony.

But maybe some would stay, wanting to say something that they've always wanted to before.

How many people were there in total? From what I could see, there were about 100.

There was a person I recognised, standing a small distance away from the main group of people.

"You actually came."

I greeted Horikita, who was standing in the middle of the waiting crowd, but only got a glare in return.

"…What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, I'm just impressed."

"Impressed? I don't know what you mean by that."

"I was thinking that if it were up to the old you, you wouldn't have come."

Horikita seems a bit displeased with my praise.

"Really? I haven't changed a bit. I'm still me."

She denied her growth. Or rather, she didn't even attempt to reexamine herself.

No, it's not that she's in denial, she just didn't want to admit it in front of other people.

The thank you meeting held at the gym was finally over, and the doors opened.

The graduation ceremony was officially over.

Now was the final chance for the graduates to formally communicate with the remaining students.

After it ended, a stream of 3rd years came out.

Most of them were happy, but some were not smiling.

Was it because of the loneliness they faced having left school, or their failure of not graduating from Class A?

If it was the latter, then it was weird that most of the students weren't unhappy.

However, even after one glance towards them, I could see that there were also students outside of Class A that had expressions of joy.

"What do you think?"

I asked Horikita for her opinion on the situation.

"Even if the shortcut to their dreams has been cut off, they can still use their own strength to make it a reality. Further education and employment. As long as they have the strength, it can be accomplished."

The path of life would continue to be trodden on.

That is to say that many students had faced reality, and had determined their way forward, intending to continue?

In that sense, saying that they've spent a disciplined 3 years on this magnificent stage wasn't surprising. (C)

Some of the 3rd years returned to their dormitories without stopping to talk, but the majority of them stopped.

The claw marks they've left over the course of these 3 years were visible here as scars.

Among the graduates who stayed, former student council president Horikita Manabu was one of them.

No one had gathered around him yet, so this should be a good opportunity.

If the number of people around him increased, then Horikita would find it harder to squeeze in.

Horikita was wholeheartedly looking forward to this, and yet she didn't take a single step.

"You should go."

"I know."

I didn't need to say that. Horikita was only here because of her desire to talk with her brother.

However, her body wouldn't move when the time came.

During her moment of hesitation, more and more students started to approach the elder Horikita.

If I did nothing, there would be no progress, so I took a forceful approach.

I pushed the hesitant Horikita's back.

"Wait… Wait a minute-"

"Use your privileges as his sister."

Although I repeatedly urged her, Horikita insisted on not moving forward.

"It's going to be weird if I ran to his side now."

"There's nothing weird with you hanging out with the other students."

"It's definitely weird. I'll be a complete outsider."

Horikita made such an evaluation as if to belittle herself.

It was similar to the trap with Horikita's cooking, as it reminded me of what happened when I just came to this school.(c)

I remember her staring at her distant older brother while he was giving a speech to the first years. Even though she slowly became more mature throughout the year, her core remained unchanged.

Even if one accumulated a lot of experience, there would be parts which would be challenging to develop.

Perhaps this was due to the timid expression on her face that made me think so…

"But don't get me wrong, I'm not scared. My brother's three years… I just wanted to see how he lived these 3 years for him to get to this point."

"I see."

She meant that she wouldn't be satisfied with just a small chat with her brother.

Not bad.

A few more second-year students ran towards the elder Horikita.

"Your brother is pretty popular."

He was the student council president and the boy who had always stayed in Class A. Of course he was popular. I initially thought he wasn't very close with the first years, so I never would have predicted that this many first-year students would come over.

Soon, the circle around him began to grow larger, enveloping the other graduates.

He occasionally smiled and gently greeted the younger generation.

But nearing the end, I saw a slightly different expression.

I sensed that he had been relieved from the heavy burden that was on him.

Next to me, Horikita was like she was trying to engrave this sight into her eyes, staring at him without blinking.

And then-A boy appeared next to the elder Horikita.

The current student council president, the second-year Class A's Nagumo Miyabi.

Immediately followed by Vice President Kiriyama, Secretaries Mizowaki and Tonokawa, as well as Asahina Nazuna.

The atmosphere did not turn heavy, but instead, developed into something unique.

"Congratulations on graduating, Horikita-senpai."

Dropping a sincere compliment, Nagumo approached Horikita with a smile.

Horikita greeted Nagumo unabashedly.

"Ahhhh, as expected of Horikita-senpai. In the end, I still wasn't able to threaten you."

"It wasn't like that. To be honest, I didn't know what would happen in the end. If I must, I'd say the reason for your failure was because we aren't in the same academic year. No matter how much you interfered, in the end, you were still just an outsider.

No matter how much he wanted to fight, he couldn't bridge the gap between year groups.

Since he couldn't directly participate in the exams, what he could do was very limited.

Although if Nagumo really wanted to bring him down, he could have adopted Ryuuen's chaotic and reckless fighting style.

However, Nagumo didn't seem to have such plans.

"Yeah. Ahhh-why was I born a year later than you?"

It was clear that he wasn't dissatisfied, but just disappointed for not being in the same year as the elder Horikita.

"Can I still shake your hand like this?"

"Of course, I have no reason to refuse."

A brief and pleasant silence ensured.

Both being student council presidents, many factors allowed them to communicate and understand each other in certain situations without having to talk.

"There'll still be a long year ahead of you. Be sure to spend your remaining school life on something that will satisfy you."

Advice from his senpai. And through those words, he showed that he wasn't worried about Nagumo running wild anymore.

In other words, he'd given Nagumo permission to do whatever he liked now.

"Mhmm. In that short period after senpai's gone, I'll do whatever it takes. I'll turn this school into a true meritocracy. Because I'm prepared, and determined to do so."

Horkita's brother accepted his statement positively, nodding his head.

"You said you regretted not being a year older. I kind of feel the same. Not being able to see what you'll do to this school is a pity. If I could witness what you'll create up close, I'm sure I'd understand you better."

"I won't be so sure of that. I don't think I'll be compatible with senpai at all."

The one who followed school rules and regulations, and the one that wanted to destroy them.

Since their ideologies were a complete opposite, a confrontation was inevitable.

"Also, it won't matter if you can't see it yourself. Don't you have a sister in the 1st year?"

With that said, Nagumo's caught sight of me who was watching from a slight distance – not so much at me, instead staring intently at Horikita's sister.

Although it was only a slight change, the Horikita next to me became a bit nervous.

"As long as your sister is here, she can help me spread the word to you."

Once they graduate, the siblings would meet once again sooner or later.

What he meant was that in the future, Horikita's brother would still be able to hear his story.

"Perhaps."

With that said, Horikita's brother and Nagumo's firm handshake finally ended, and their hands separated.

"Thank you very much."

"Likewise."

The former student council president, Horikita Manabu, and the current student council president, Nagumo Miyabi.

A heavy curtain fell on the unexpectedly gentle atmosphere.

Perhaps because he didn't want to bother the other students, Nagumo immediately distanced himself with Horikita's brother. Although the combo of the two student council presidents was exciting, it might have made it a bit difficult for the other students to approach.

Nagumo instead walked towards Horikita, who was observing from a distance.

As a fellow student of Class 2A, Asahina Nazuna was also there with him. The other student council members had probably left to see off the other graduates.

"Did you hear what I just said? Please enjoy what I will do next year. I remember your name was-"

"Horik-Suzune."

Horikita's voice was filled with nervousness.

If it were the usual Horikita, she wouldn't have been shaken up like this. This was probably the result of hearing the conversation between him and her brother.

Nagumo seemed to enjoy her reaction and looked back.

The one in Nagumo's line of sight was, needless to say, former student council president Horikita Manabu.

An opponent he had continuously challenged despite the risks.

And now, he was surrounded by his underclassmen, accepting their gift of a graduation bouquet.

"Suzune, your brother is a truly amazing person. You should be proud of being his sister."

After the word of praise, he once again directed his gaze onto Horikita Suzune.

"Yes. I am proud."

Horikita forcibly replied towards the man whose eyes focused back to her.

"If you have anything you want to ask me, I'll answer it. Because I'm in a good mood today."

"Then I won't hold back."

Horikita then asked Nagumo a question.

"Don't you regret it?"

"Regret?"

"Because I don't see any shadows in your eyes."

This should be referring to the handshake and the dialogue between those two people just now.

Nagumo seemed genuinely happy for the elder Horikita who graduated from Class A.

However, there was more to their relationship than just being both student council presidents like it looked from the outside.

Nagumo persistently attacked Horikita, in hope of dragging him down from Class A.

Horikita obviously would be unhappy with Nagumo, right?

Because of this, she expressed her puzzlement at the honest praise given by Nagumo towards Horikita Manabu.

Even though Nagumo's painstaking attacks had been securely defended against.

"I don't think I can beat Horikita-senpai that easily. He's pretty much an invincible opponent, right?"

"Well… That's true."

"So you admit you lost to Horikita-senpai completely."

Miyabi gently cast his eyes towards the interjecting Asahina.

"Lost? Why do you say I lost, Nazuma?

"Hmm? Horikita-senpai graduated from Class A, so doesn't that mean you lost?"

Asahina didn't need to answer the question with another question, but that was how she replied.

As for what she said, Nagumo immediately pointed out the error in it.

"Indeed, if you only look at the outcome, I have not prevented senpai from graduating from Class A. But what does that have to do with losing?"

"Won't that be considered as losing…? At least that's what I think, am I wrong?"

Asahina looked towards Horikita, who was standing beside her, for confirmation.

Horikita did not answer and instead listened to Nagumo's justification.

"I certainly wanted to challenge him to a fight. However, it wasn't for the sake of finding out who would win and lose. Even if Horikita-senpai really did fall to Class B, my fundamental evaluation of him wouldn't have changed. That person's strengths cannot be determined by the position his class is in."

Asahina still did not seem to understand what Nagumo was talking about.

"Still don't understand? Then I'll ask you this. Did this incident lower your evaluation of me? I'm still a student of Class A as well as the student council president. Is there anything about me which shows that I'm a failure?"

"No, but…"

"You can't formally distinguish who wins and who loses in a conflict of people in the 2nd and 3rd years."

It wasn't hard to understand what he wanted to say.

But, even knowing that he couldn't directly battle him, Nagumo continued to challenge Horikita.

"I've only kept attacking senpai so far to get his acknowledgement… no, it's only to get his acknowledgement that I've kept attacking senpai up to now.

In that sense, judging from how the elder Horikita looked at Nagumo, it seemed like he definitely acknowledges Nagumo.

No, I should say that he had recognised Nagumo's strength from the very beginning.

He just couldn't accept his approach.

Maybe Nagumo was trying to get the elder Horikita's approval for his approach.

"You feel like a young girl proclaiming her love."

"Maybe. I've already heard about what Horikita-senpai will do in the future, so I'll chase after him."

There wasn't a hint of remorse or defeat in Nagumo's expression.

Was he purely just enjoying the showdown with the elder Horikita to the very end?

"Even after graduation? Really? Even the path you take in life has to be the same as Horikita-senpai?"

"Yes. At least that's what I'm planning to do."

"Ah~ You really do like Horikita-senpai."

"I don't have any rivals in the second year, and of course, none in the first year as well. I only have one thing left to do in this school. That is, to directly transform the structure of the school, and make this boring world more interesting."

Half of Nagumo Miyabi's time as student council president had already passed.

However, to this day, nothing new had been implemented.

After Horikita Manabu graduated and he becomes a third-year, he would finally start to take action.

As for what would change in the future, it was still impossible to predict.

"Speaking of which, this year, I still haven't been able to evaluate you, Ayanokouji."

Nagumo's attention finally turned to me for the first time.

The look in his eyes was different from the one he gave to the Horikita siblings. It was a look of boredom.

"There's nothing about me worth investigating."

Because of the fact that I had Horikita-senpai's attention, Nagumo felt that there was a connection.

However, that mere feeling of unease wasn't enough to interest Nagumo.

Seeing that he still had this sort of attitude towards me, there was no reason to provoke him.

"But this coming April, even if you don't want to, I'll still have the answer. After this school becomes a true meritocracy, you're going to have to fight even if you don't want to."

With the graduation of the elder Horikita's 3rd-years, the school would be entirely under the control of Nagumo.

It was hard to say how much of an influence the student council had over the school itself. Still, considering how confident Nagumo was, there'll definitely be a notable difference from the first year.

"So you're saying that the competition between students won't be limited to class?"

Horikita raised a question, seemingly worried about what Nagumo said.

"It'd be nice if we were able to implement it, but it wouldn't be possible anyway. The school won't allow it."

Nagumo shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"But I can change the school's system so that individual strengths can make more of an impact than before. Excellent students staying at the top classes is something that should be a given, right?"

To this point, Horikita neither agreed or disagreed, and just listened quietly.

"Other than that, I've also proposed to the school to mix up the students from all years. If the school allows it, fighting against you wouldn't be impossible."

Of course, from Nagumo's point of view, I'm not considered to be anyone important.

But even so, I feel like he was instinctively measuring my strength right now.

"Ah, looks like it's time to leave, huh? Don't you want to say goodbye to some of the upperclassmen? They'll be going soon."

"Yes. We can chat whenever we want in the coming year."

And so Nagumo and Asahina walked towards the 3rd years and away from Horikita.

"Haa…. it's a pain to talk with that person."

"He's the student council president, after all."

Although there was only a difference of a year, it seemed like he was way out of reach.

"I'm going back. I've done everything that I should've."

In the end, she seemed to have given up on speaking with her brother here.

"Are you sure? He'll probably be leaving school tomorrow."

"That… I don't need you to tell me that…."

Faced with this dilemma, Horkita retreated.

It wasn't a good idea to stop her, so I chose to just watch her while she left.

"Are you going to go back?"

"Ah, I still want to stay here for a while."

"Oh…Then I'll see you later."

Although Horikita was curious about what I was doing, she still turned her back on me and went back to the dorm.

I decided to take a brief look at the situation with Horokita Manabu and the other 3rd years.

It wasn't particularly interesting.

If I had to tell you, I just wanted to engrave this scene into my eyes.

At the same time, I couldn't help but imagine what I would be like in 2 years, but it was impossible to see that now.

The atmosphere was warm for a while, but then they started to leave one by one.

A trend that meant the group was about to disband.

After the elder Horikita said goodbye to everyone, he noticed me and came over.

"You're still here?"

He should understand that I didn't fit well into that kind of atmosphere.

"Were you waiting for me?"

"Yes."

I didn't talk to any other of the third years, that much would be obvious even if you were looking far away.

"This may be the last time I'll speak to you. When are you going to leave?"

I decided to hurry and inquired about the most important thing first.

Because if he was going to leave school immediately after this, I had to tell Horikita.

"Noon on the 31st. I'm taking the bus on 12:30."

So a week later. Although it wasn't today, there wasn't a lot of time left.

"Looks like Suzune went back."

"The culmination of your 3 years in the school. She engraved that into her eyes and then left."

We both glanced in the direction of the dormitory.

Of course, Horikita was already long gone.

"Really?"

I couldn't read his emotions from the expression on his face.

But if the two of them didn't do anything, this could end without having them see each other.

I didn't think she would be this afraid of this…

"If possible, please pass on this message to Suzune. I will be waiting for her at noon on the 31st near the main entrance.

"Isn't it better for you to tell her yourself? Even if you go now, there's still time."

More like things would be easier if there was an actual intention to meet.

There was a chance that Horikita would come over right away.

"Even so, she may not be very open to that. That's why I hope you're able to convey the message to her."

"It may be counterproductive. If I tell her, she may not come."

There's a stubborn side to her, too.

"That's Suzune's choice if that's the case."

"Is that really fine?"

After I repeatedly warned him about this, Horikita Manabu answered without hesitation.

"Yes, I'll leave it to you."

Well, there's no reason to refuse. As long as I'm not the one taking responsibility for this.

Besides, if Horikita was to hear about this, she would agree to come to see him off 9 times out of 10.

After all, their relationship was gradually getting better.

"I wanted to talk to you more, but I have an appointment afterwards."

It seems that many of his underclassmen had invited him for a gathering.

Today, he just wanted to forget about being a sibling, and spend time as an ordinary student.

"Besides, you're not one to engage in long meaningless conversations, right?"

"That's true."

No matter how much his popularity declined, the previous student council president would still stand out.

"If possible, on the 31st, I hope you come to see me off."

"I'm not good at speaking in front of others."

"Don't worry. I don't plan to call anyone else over other than you and Suzune."

Since it wouldn't be a problem, I gently nodded and agreed.

"Sorry. "

Leaving behind that one word, the elder Horikita left my side.

Once he left, I had nothing to do, because he was the only third year I talked to.

I guess I'll go back then.

"Ayanokouji-kun. If possible, can we head back together?"

Suddenly, Hirata spoke to me.

Just now, I saw that he was talking to a bunch of third years away from where I was.

"You're done settling things already?"

"Yes, although the graduation ceremony was today, many of the upperclassmen will stay on campus for a few more days. I heard that some of the students close to them are holding farewell parties for them."

Since it was Hirata, he should've received several invitations to these occasions.

The third-year students could stay until the 5th of April at most.

Of course, students who've finished their preparations were allowed to leave.

Because their time left was limited, I guess they've already finished preparing for their school life to end.

And because I had no reason to refuse him, I returned to the dormitory along with Hirata.

7

As I was walking back together with Hirata, he looked over at me just as we passed the convenience store.

Then, as if nothing happened, he faced forwards again.

This was something that Hirata repeated several times in the past few minutes.

It was as if Hirata was waiting for an opportunity to start a conversation.

Soon, Hirata spoke, as if he had made up his mind.

"Actually-Ayanokouji-kun, I need to tell you something."

Hirata said hesitantly.

For a moment, I thought he was going to speak about the end of year exam, but he did not give me that sort of feeling.

"Is there anything you wanted to discuss?"

"Yeah… Well, I really do want to talk about this with you."

After thinking a little, Hirata admitted that.

"Well, I'm not sure if I'll be of any help, but you can tell me."

Having Hirata depend on me didn't feel too bad.

It's just that I couldn't predict what the topic of the discussion would be.

Although he was depressed for a while during the incident with Yamauchi being expelled, that incident had been resolved.

Even if there were certain feelings he wasn't able to let go of, it wasn't worth consulting me.

Those things should have been resolved to the extent that the rest of the problems would fix itself.

"You might find this unexpected of me…"

Starting with this sentence, Hirata continued.

"I, um, it feels like I can't be bothered with relationships and love anymore… I'm not sure about myself."

That was an unexpected start.

I didn't think that Hirata would come to me to talk about love.

"You're not sure?"

Let's clear some stuff up first.

I pressed him to continue.

"I think I might have never liked a girl in my life…"

Hirata confessed shyly.

"So you're saying that you've never dated a girl before?"

"Other than the agreement with Karuizawa, never."

Maybe this wasn't so unexpected, but it was still surprising.

Hirata treated both boys and girls equally, and I would have thought he experienced love at least once or twice in his life.

Although you couldn't really count the relationship between Hirata and Kei.

Pretending to be lovers, all to protect Kei from being bullied.

But if he said he never liked a girl before…

"So you're saying you don't have someone you like now?"

"Yeah…"

Although one of his merits was the ability to look at all girls in the same light, this was still a bit unbelievable.

"Then what about the situation with Mii-chan?"

Mii-chan very much hoped for progress with her relationship with Hirata, showing that she clearly had feelings for him.

"I can't see myself in a relationship with her, but I can't tell her that."

Mii-chan said that she wanted to start with being friends.

After that, of course, she would look forward to the chance for them to develop into lovers.

But since Hirata didn't have that desire, it would be difficult for her to make progress.

And if he avoided her for no clear reason and dragged this on, it wouldn't do her any good.

So that's the thing.

This was the source of Hirata's uncertainty that he wanted to discuss with me.

"I think it's best to just say this directly to her. But, that seems to be difficult."

To make her understand without hurting her was a difficult thing to accomplish.

"A conflicting view—— Of course you would feel that way, huh."

"Yeah."

It was because of Hirata's kindness that he was always involved in cruel situations like this.

"But, that's just the situation now, and who knows what will change in the future?"

The feeling of love wasn't something you can control.

It could quietly sprout at unexpected moments.

…At least that's what I think.

"Sure, I don't know if that's a possibility. But…"

However, Hirata didn't want his relationship with Mii-chan to progress any further.

There doesn't seem to be anything unsatisfactory about Mii-chan in terms of appearance and personality.

But of course, love wasn't just about those factors.

"I can assert to you that…I won't ever have those kinds of feelings."

Although he wasn't entirely sure, Hirata still insisted on his answer.

In that case, there's only one thing I can say.

"It's better to just make it clear, because Mii-chan is still hoping that her relationship with you can progress."

I looked into Hirata's eyes while I said this.

If the answer to that question was kept to himself, Mii-chan would have to keep waiting forever.

So, it would be better to clear things up as early as possible.

If Mii-chan continued to think about Hirata even after that, she was free to do so.

But Hirata avoided my gaze.

"Even…if, it would hurt her?"

"Delaying in answering the question even though you have it would only cause more harm, right?

I once again looked into Hirata's eyes and said.

Hirata met my gaze and then quickly looked away again.

"Well, um, right, that's right…"

He nodded two or three times, as if he was admonishing himself.

And then he came to a new conclusion.

"Thanks for talking about this with me, Ayanokouji-kun. This gives me courage too. It's the same as running away, not having the consciousness of hurting the other person."

He seemed to have successfully found the answer.

"So are you able to explain this to her clearly?"

"I don't know if it's the right thing to do, but I know which way is the one that's really hurting her.

Hirata considered both approaches.

He was silent, with his thoughts being conveyed on his face.

Continuing being silent, or straightforwardly expressing it.

Hirata understood that the second option would be better for Mii-chan, and so he was no longer conflicted.

If he were the old Hirata, he would have been troubled, and it would have taken him a long time to find the answer.

He would probably continue to be obsessed with the "not hurting others" option, and would be lost inside the maze of thoughts and feelings.

Not long after his worries had been resolved, Hirata seemed like he had something to say.

"What is it?"

I asked.

"Oh, err… from now on…Can I call you Kiyotaka-kun?"

"Eh?"

I was wondering what he would say, but this turned out to be very unexpected.

"Well, if it's okay with you, you can call me by my first name as well… is that fine?

Was this a step forward for our friendship?

My relationship with him had gone one step further, just like with Keisei, Akito, Haruki, and Airi.

"If you're okay with it, of course."

Seeing how I agreed so willingly, Hirata smiled from the bottom of his heart.

"Really? Can you really?"

"You mean being referred to by your first name? Isn't that common for you, Hira- Yosuke?

Although I remember Hirata addressing both boys and girls by their last names, it was not unusual at all.

"Well, before that happened, it wasn't unusual at all. "

He was talking about that incident, during Hirata's middle school days when his friend was bullied, which led to him attempting suicide.

"Since then… I've always been afraid to get closer to people. I'll treat everyone equally, but I make any important friends."

It had been 2 years since then, and it seemed like Hirata had only used surnames to address others.

Speaking of this, Hirata treated everyone in the class the same way.

This held true even when the whole class unanimously chose to drive out Yamauchi from the class.

But it seems that yet again, he was able to break out of that shell, this time on his own.

Hirata's development was also quite remarkable, even compared to the other students who have also grown throughout the year.

"That's why I'm really grateful to you… Kiyotaka-kun."

His gaze that was avoiding me came back. It was a look that said he wanted to convey something.

"I'm flattered, thanking me so much."

Although I got some sort of sappy feeling from all this, I still accepted it open-heartedly.