After finishing the consultation, several people with flushed faces left Sakayanagi Arisu's dormitory and parted ways. Karuizawa's face was hot, but her heart was somewhat expectant.
Unexpectedly, Ichinose and the others had already developed to this stage with Hikigaya.
That makes sense too.
Everyone is a high school student; it would be abnormal not to have experienced it.
"Kamuro, you go first; we have some words for Karuizawa."
"Then as you wish."
Looking at Kamuro Masumi, who turned and walked into the elevator, Himeno Yuki waved her hand slightly.
"Karuizawa-san."
Ichinose walked up to Karuizawa and said in a gentle tone: "We have something to talk to you about; is it convenient?"
Just as she finished, Himeno Yuki walked up to Karuizawa and stared sharply at the girl in front of her.
Feeling their gazes, Karuizawa felt a sudden sense of awkwardness. Unsurprisingly, they were certainly going to ask about her and Hikigaya.
After thinking for a while, she looked back and forth between Ichinose and Himeno Yuki.
Finally.
"You want to ask about me and hikki, right?"
Karuizawa hesitated: "Um, actually there are some reasons. Ichinose-san, can we talk alone?"
"Ha?"
Himeno Yuki was suddenly unhappy.
Seeing that Karuizawa seemed to be showing weakness, Himeno Yuki also held her breath and said:
"What does this mean? You can tell Honami but not me?"
"Yuki-chan."
Looking at the somewhat constrained Karuizawa, Ichinose turned and said: "Let me talk with Karuizawa-san first; if there is anything, I will tell you later, okay?"
"Fine."
Glancing at the somewhat apologetic Karuizawa, Himeno Yuki was also somewhat helpless.
If the other party were a bit more overbearing, it would be easier to handle, but she just couldn't deal with this kind of attitude from Karuizawa.
Inside the dormitory, after pouring a cup of cocoa for Karuizawa, Ichinose sat opposite her.
"Karuizawa-san."
Ichinose hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Can you tell me about you and hikki? How did you meet, and why do you like hikki? And... to like him to this extent."
Earlier in Sakayanagi's dormitory, Karuizawa was almost always the first to state her position.
Even when putting her family and Hikigaya on a scale, Karuizawa stood on Hikigaya's side without hesitation.
No matter the reason, it showed that Karuizawa liked Hikigaya to her core.
Ichinose was quite concerned, and she believed Himeno Yuki was the same, which was why she hadn't been too harsh on Karuizawa just now.
"Actually..."
Karuizawa hesitated slightly.
But then she thought: she could tell Hirata Yousuke about her past, so why not tell Ichinose?
Ichinose was an even kinder person than Hirata.
Even if she told her, it wouldn't matter.
Moreover, she could likely gain Ichinose's sympathy and establish a firm foothold, and by then Hikigaya would have to accept her as well.
Weighing the pros and cons, Karuizawa no longer hesitated and revealed her past in full.
"hikki and I met at the end of the second semester of the first year. Actually, I suffered from very severe bullying in middle school."
"Bullying?"
Ichinose was instantly stunned.
This kind of thing was basically unrelated to her.
Therefore, it was also hard for Ichinose to understand the victim's feelings; she only knew that bullying was certainly not a good thing and the bullied person would be in a lot of pain.
But Karuizawa was extremely strong in school, not looking like someone who had been bullied at all.
"Yes..."
Karuizawa ignored her, biting her lip and continuing:
"I thought I had hidden it well, but it was found out by Manabe and the others on the cruise ship; I was even beaten up by them at that time."
"What?"
Ichinose was even more dumbfounded
She hadn't expected that in a place she hadn't noticed, such a thing actually happened.
"And..."
Just remembering it made Karuizawa feel bitter:
"This was also known by Ryuuen. You know that at that time, Ryuuen was looking for Class D's suspect X."
"Yes."
"They suspected I was an insider and used my weakness to threaten me to go to the rooftop. To avoid the bullying being known by others, I had to go."
"Then..."
As she spoke, Karuizawa pretended to sob.
What did crying matter?
Ordinary people might find it hard to understand her thoughts, but Karuizawa, who had experienced bullying, knew it very well.
As long as she could protect herself and get what she wanted, Karuizawa didn't care about all that.
"Then, what happened?"
"They started bullying me again."
Karuizawa's eyes were red, and she covered her arm, saying bitterly: "They poured some cold water on me, and just as they were preparing to do something to me, hikki appeared and saved me..."
Subsequently, Karuizawa told Ichinose everything that happened on the rooftop without reservation, since Ichinose's identity as a good person was indeed trustworthy.
However.
"Why didn't you tell the school?"
Ichinose's expression became serious.
The first reaction was to tell the school.
Whether it was beating or pouring cold water in the middle of winter, it was undoubtedly already bullying behavior, not something students could solve independently.
"It wouldn't work."
Normal people would likely have such a reaction; Karuizawa had long since gotten used to it.
"In that case, I would definitely go back to the days of being bullied."
Even if Ryuuen and the others were expelled, once the past of being bullied was exposed, she would certainly fall to the bottom.
Karuizawa, with her past of being bullied, knew very well that even various countries couldn't stop it; bullying wasn't a problem that could be stopped so easily.
"But..."
Ichinose was about to speak, then fell into silence.
She couldn't help but think of what Hikigaya had said.
Just like Himeno Yuki's situation, they can do whatever they want; she doesn't need to forcibly interfere.
And after saving Karuizawa, Hikigaya hadn't told these people either.
Until today, she learned these things from Karuizawa's mouth; clearly, Hikigaya and Karuizawa shared the same view.
However, looking at Karuizawa's somewhat helpless expression, Ichinose was truly puzzled:
"Karuizawa-san, you've always been very cheerful in school; you don't look like someone who has been bullied at all?"
"It's true."
Karuizawa was somewhat helpless.
As expected, these acting skills couldn't deceive Ichinose's eyes.
This was unavoidable.
"Because," Karuizawa's face turned red as she explained somewhat embarrassedly: "I knew that hikki would definitely come to save me, so I'm no longer afraid. If you don't believe me, I'll show you the evidence."
After hesitating for a moment, Karuizawa lifted her blue dress.
The snow-white skin of her abdomen and a hideous scar appeared before Ichinose's eyes.
Seeing this, Ichinose covered her mouth, shocked.
Just hearing about it might not make her understand how serious the bullying was, but with such a knife scar placed before her, she instantly understood the importance of the matter.
She hadn't expected someone would actually use a knife in school.
Thinking of this, Ichinose's eyes turned red, and she looked at Karuizawa with some admiration.
She hadn't expected that after suffering through such a past, Karuizawa could still remain cheerful and not hurt anyone.
She was truly a strong and gentle girl.
"So," Karuizawa lowered her dress and said somewhat embarrassedly: "Ichinose-san, can you let me date hikki? Don't worry, I definitely won't fight you for him, and I will definitely stand on your side!"
This was naturally a lie.
Whether it was Sakayanagi or Ichinose, she didn't care about all that, as long as she stood by hikki's side.
But Ichinose hadn't considered the issue of the main wife at all, and with red eyes, she pulled Karuizawa into her arms.
"It's okay, Karuizawa-san. If anything happens in the future, you must tell me. Whether it's hikki or me, we will definitely protect you."
Ichinose said with some sobbing in her voice.
"Eh?!"
Glancing at Ichinose's hair near her face, Karuizawa was a bit dazed, but then she showed a sly smile.
"Really? Thank you, Ichinose-san."
As expected, Ichinose was still easy to handle.