I won't."
Hikigaya responded bluntly.
What a joke. He never wanted to experience something like this a second time.
Speaking of which.
Ryuen's grip was really strong. Hikigaya instinctively touched his jaw; he should have extorted a bit more for medical expenses.
"Wuu..."
Karuizawa curled her lip, not quite believing him: "I think you'll still help me."
Hikigaya remained expressionless.
Although he couldn't guarantee things in the future.
However.
It wouldn't be good to let Karuizawa develop this kind of inexplicable expectation.
If this inexplicable confidence led Karuizawa to do something risky, that wouldn't be something he could take responsibility for.
"I say."
"It's better if you don't rely too much on others. I'm not as amazing as you think. This time was just a coincidence of the right time, place, and people that allowed me to force Ryuen to back down. There might not be such a good opportunity next time."
Hikigaya turned his body again, looking slightly serious.
The fact itself was so.
Never mind that big black guy; he was no match for Ryuen at all. The other could handle him with one hand.
Although he didn't know the details of what happened in between.
But the fact that Ryuen could orchestrate a rooftop confrontation and drag unrelated people like Ishizaki into such a dangerous matter.
Was enough to prove Ryuen's planning ability and leadership.
He was not someone Hikigaya could deal with.
"And."
"You also need to learn to protect yourself properly. If you want to stop bullying from happening, you have to learn to fight back," Hikigaya said seriously.
"Easy for you to say."
Not knowing what had triggered her, Karuizawa's pretty face stiffened. She slapped the table and stood up, saying indignantly:
"You're just talking big because it doesn't hurt you. You haven't experienced it. Only when you are truly threatened can you know how weak you are—just a hopeless parasite!"
"Oh... oh..."
Hikigaya was startled by her attitude.
He had no idea why this girl suddenly got so agitated.
Girls are scary.
If you had used this kind of attitude to deal with Ryuen, wouldn't everything be fine?
Sure enough, she thinks he's too easy to bully.
"Uh..."
Just as she finished speaking.
Karuizawa realized her state was a bit off.
Regardless, the person in front of her was the one who had just saved her, and he was someone capable of helping her end the bullying.
If her attitude was bad, what if Hikigaya didn't help her in the future?
Karuizawa's eyes flickered as she said:
"That... I'm sorry, my emotions were a bit off just now."
"No, it's fine... I didn't take it to heart."
Hikigaya waved his hand to indicate she didn't need to worry.
The bullying Karuizawa experienced might be far beyond what he imagined, which is why she became like this.
"Well..."
Gazing at the somewhat frightened Karuizawa, Hikigaya explained with some embarrassment:
"It's not exactly 'talking big because it doesn't hurt me.' I used to be bullied too, so... how should I put it? I should have a fair understanding of that disgusting feeling of falling to the very bottom."
"Eh?"
Karuizawa was slightly stunned and raised her beautiful eyes to look at the boy in front of her.
He had been bullied before too?
But then, why did he still have the courage to stand before Ryuen again?
"It's true."
Hikigaya explained with a bit of pride:
"I've been ignored, ostracized, and ridiculed by people since elementary school. I was even called 'Hiki-germ.' Even a barrier would be ineffective against me."
"That can hardly be called bullying."
Karuizawa was a bit speechless, but the atmosphere relaxed slightly. At least Hikigaya really didn't seem to take what just happened to heart.
However.
Being isolated by people might just barely count as bullying.
But it couldn't be compared to her experience at all, much less allow them to understand each other. Karuizawa felt slightly disappointed.
"I guess so."
Hikigaya didn't mind, continuing to reveal his dark history with a conciliatory smile:
"And there's that, too. Having trash stuffed into my shoe locker, finding 'go die' written on my desk when I arrived in the morning, being mocked as a self-absorbed bitter guy on the blackboard... there was quite a lot."
"..."
"Eh?"
Karuizawa looked up slightly.
Her snowy little hand couldn't help but touch her abdomen.
Although it still didn't compare to her experience, these were clear acts of bullying. Even she hadn't experienced being mocked on a blackboard.
But.
The person in front of her.
Why could he still talk about it with such a bright smile?
"Don't you find it disgusting?"
Karuizawa pursed her lips and asked with some hesitation.
"Yeah."
Hikigaya explained proudly: "At first, it was indeed a bit disgusting, but after thinking it through, I just became angrier."
"And then what?"
"Then it ended."
Feeling Karuizawa's stunned gaze, Hikigaya became even more proud:
"Those guys actually wanted to bully me. They're even more naive than MAX Coffee. Do you know what I did?"
"I don't know..."
Karuizawa was somewhat curious.
No matter how one looked at it.
Hikigaya didn't have the ability to resist bullying.
His physical strength wasn't up to it, his communication skills were clearly lacking, and he didn't seem to have any friends. Why could he quietly enjoy campus life?
What was the difference between the two?
"Simple."
Hikigaya showed off proudly:
"I directly stuffed the trash from my shoe locker into someone else's shoe locker. The next day, I arrived at school early and wrote 'let them die' on everyone's seats in class, and then I stuffed liquid glue into their desks."
"At that time, their expressions were really ugly. They made a huge scene in class trying to find out who did it so they could beat them up. The teacher didn't want things to escalate and talked to everyone."
"After that, the person who bullied me never appeared again."
Thanks to this.
To this day, Hikigaya still didn't know who had bullied him.
But.
That didn't matter either.
In any case, he had certainly paid it back.
However, there was nothing he could do about being ridiculed.
"..."
Karuizawa stared blankly at this scene.
It turned out that one didn't need particularly strong physical power, communication skills, or friends.
Even alone.
Hikigaya could resist those who seemed impossible to resist.
If, if she had done the same back then, would the subsequent events have never occurred?
Seeing Karuizawa's beautiful eyes staring at him blankly, Hikigaya became slightly embarrassed:
"Well, don't look down on it."
Hikigaya extended a finger and explained proudly: "This isn't a simple task. You have to pinpoint those who stand at the top of the class and love to make a scene. Only by framing those kinds of people can you make a huge deal out of it."
"Only then will those perpetrators have misgivings. After all, offending someone with high status in the class won't lead to anything good."
No need for hesitation.
If I'm not having a good time, no one else should either.
Bystanders and perpetrators share the same guilt.
Therefore.
There's no need to have any psychological burden; at most, just apologize to them in your heart.
After all.
This stopped an incident of bullying from happening; they should feel very happy. They should be very willing to help.
If even that bit of happy thought doesn't exist.
Then there's even less reason to feel guilty. They certainly aren't good people and will sooner or later turn into new perpetrators anyway.
Resisting is saving their future!
But don't go thinking Hikigaya is some kind of good person.
"In short."
"The most important thing is to let those people know that you're not someone to be messed with!"
Hikigaya took a stealthy glance at her.
He really hoped Karuizawa could learn to protect herself and not think about relying on an unreliable guy like him.
"Pfft."
Karuizawa held her stomach and leaned over the table, unable to stop herself from laughing:
"What is this? You were the one being bullied. What's there to be proud of? You're like an idiot."
Hikigaya's face darkened.
He was teaching Karuizawa how to protect herself, yet this girl was being so out of line.
Truly a slut.
Fine, for the sake of her being bullied today, he wouldn't say it out loud for now.
After a long while.
"Then..."
Karuizawa wiped the tears of joy from the corners of her eyes and asked with some hesitation: "If, if the one being beaten by them today was you, what would you do?"
"Hmm?"
Hikigaya put himself in that position and thought for a moment:
"There probably wouldn't be any good way. I'd just have to honestly take the beating today."
"What the..."
"But tomorrow, I'd go to Class C, find someone weaker than me, and secretly give them a beating. I'd also tell that person it was all Ryuen's fault and not to blame me."
His sports grades were at least average.
There was bound to be someone weaker than him.
Pick on the low-hanging fruit.
"But you'd still be beaten back by Ryuen next time."
"Then I'd drag Horikita, Hirata, everyone in Class D into it. I'd escalate the matter into a conflict between Class D and Class C."
Hikigaya secretly encouraged.
He wished Karuizawa would use such a method and just start a fight with Class C.
"But that wouldn't solve the problem either. Ryuen would still hit you."
"He won't."
Hikigaya shook his head and said: "I'm just an outsider, after all. The person I beat up should instead resent Ryuen, since he's also innocent and was only dragged in by Ryuen."
"If Horikita doesn't help, I'll consider betraying the class. After all, why should I work for a class whose leader won't even protect their own people?"
"If the fighting continues, even the school authorities probably won't be able to ignore it."
The situation would definitely be resolved.
There was only one problem.
"By then, you definitely won't have any friends, right?"
Karuizawa pursed her lips and asked.
"Ha."
Hikigaya said disdainfully: "I don't need that kind of thing. Besides, the moment they don't help, it's already decided that these are just superficial friends who aren't needed at all."
For some reason.
Hikigaya thought of Kobashi Yume and the others; they would actually stand up for him... and for Class D as well.
"But I still kind of want them..."
Karuizawa said with some lack of confidence.
Even if it was just that kind of superficial friendship, it was a relationship she had built with great difficulty.
"Then there's no helping it."
Hikigaya spread his hands helplessly.
There was ultimately a difference between the two of them. He wasn't a very strong person to begin with, so he really couldn't think of any good way to have the best of both worlds.
"Though, maybe having one friend is enough."
Karuizawa murmured to herself. If only all her friends could be like Hikigaya.
Hikigaya did not respond.
Unluckily, he didn't even have one, so he really didn't know how to respond.
"By the way."
Karuizawa curled her petite body and walked over to Hikigaya, her snowy little hand reaching toward his cheek:
"Does it still hurt a bit?"
"Hmm?"
Hikigaya hurriedly leaned his body back, startled by Karuizawa's movement.
"I-I can do it myself."
Why did this girl suddenly want to touch his face?
Doesn't she know about appropriate distance between men and women?
Truly a slut.