New Life
Hinata Aoi ended her "standing punishment" at the classroom door and opened the door, just in time to see Ishida Shoya with his arms raised, showing off something.
At that moment, everyone's movements slowed down in Hinata Aoi's eyes until they froze.
The black-haired spiky-haired boy is the undisputed protagonist of this scene.
He stood in the open space at the back of the classroom with his arms stretched out above his head, the notebook in his hand creased under the force of his fingers.
Hinata Aoi could see the satisfaction on his face and recognized that it was the notebook that Nishimiya Shoko used specifically for communication.
In the lower right corner of the screen, Nishimiya stood up and reached out towards Ishida to grab it back, but Ishida's good brother, the fat boy Hirose Hirasawa, stopped her.
Only a few students in the class were busy with their own things. The others were either worried or happy to see it happen, but in reality they were just standing by and watching.
Ueno Naoka even sat on her desk with her legs crossed, smiling brightly. Beside her, Kawai Miki was less brazen, covering her mouth with her sleeve, her brows slightly furrowed as if she couldn't bear to see what was happening, but the smile in her eyes was clear.
Only the curtains were holding Ishida Shoya back.
The window was wide open, and the wind from outside blew the curtains into an arc, as if pushing Ishida, but he was too far away and had no strength to move. The next second, everything would return to calm...
Hinata Aoi punched the door hard, and the loud noise completely paused the scene.
She was thinking about something and walked from the front door to the back door, and almost walked into another class. Unexpectedly, entering from the back door was the best viewing seat and she could see such a big show.
The attention of the whole class was attracted by the noise. The brave ones were frightened and thought it was an earthquake.
Ishida Shoya turned to look at Hinata Aoi in surprise, and his arms relaxed and dropped.
When Ueno Naoka saw Hinata Aoi come in, her expression changed immediately. She felt indescribably confused and weird. She was wondering why Hinata Aoi reacted so strongly, but she also felt a little guilty, so she stammered and didn't know how to start.
Hinata Aoi is a man of action.
She didn't say anything to them, but walked straight to Ishida Shoya, snatched the notebook from his hand and threw it gently into Nishimiya Shoko's arms.
This class is going to fail - that was the only thought in her mind.
Pulling up Ishida Shoya's arm, Hinata Aoi dragged him out of the classroom.
"Hey, hey! What are you doing?!"
Ishida Shoya only just thought of resisting, but Hinata Aoi was stronger and faster, and she easily dragged him into the corridor and then towards the teacher's office.
Ueno Naoka and the others didn't know what to do. They just leaned against the door frame and watched Ishida being dragged away by Hinata Aoi.
The ignored heroine Nishimiya Shoko was feeling uneasy. She quickly put down her notebook and pushed Hirose Shuu away while he was distracted, then went out through the back door to chase Hinata Aoi and Ishida.
But she didn't have much courage left, so she didn't dare to move forward. She could only walk slower and slower, following the two of them from a distance.
Ishida was too embarrassed to yell as he passed by students in the corridor. Although he spoke tough, he knew deep down that what he was doing was not right.
The warriors in the game will defeat various bosses they encounter on the way for their own goals, and these goals are basically for the justice of the public.
Ishida Shoya also thinks that he is a warrior of justice, and Nishimiya Shoko, who made his friends unhappy, deserves to be treated like this by him, but his justice is one that he is afraid to say out loud, a justice that belongs only to him and his friends - that's what he thinks.
But he didn't expect that someone would oppose him so strongly and would drag him in front of the class teacher to expose him.
He had walked this road to the office countless times because of his poor grades and mischief. He went from being afraid to being indifferent until the head teacher gave up communicating with him. Now the fear came back with another reason.
As they got closer to the office, the fear in Ishida's heart gradually became heavier than the shame, and he began to shout and struggle to break free again.
Hinata Aoi was annoyed and was distracted by Ishida and failed to grab the door handle. After subduing Ishida, she turned around and saw a man and a woman sitting in front of the class teacher through the window on the door.
They should be a couple.
Hinata Aoi's brain got rid of the anger that had just broken through the threshold, and she was a little hesitant.
The homeroom teacher is obviously busy with something, so now is not a good time to make a report... Please give Ishida some face.
She glanced at the girl whose tracking skills were not very good, and pulled Ishida to the rooftop.
Nishimiya Shoko didn't know that Hinata Aoi had already discovered her. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the person she was following leave.
Although she felt uncomfortable being treated like that, she didn't want to see the matter get out of hand.
Her inferiority complex told her that her classmates were actually good people, it was just that she was not likable.
Just not suitable to be friends...
Instead of following the two, Nishimiya Shoko turned around and slowly walked back to the classroom.
*
Hinata Aoi brought Ishida to the top floor platform where the stairs connected to the rooftop.
In order to prevent accidents from happening to the children, the school rooftop is not only equipped with high netting, but also has a locked door all year round.
Ishida Shoya's legs felt weak after surviving the ordeal, and he fell onto the marble floor after Hinata Aoi let him go.
Hinata Aoi in front of him stood against the light, her face gloomy, her arms folded as she looked at him.
Hinata Aoi doesn't like to solve problems with violence.
She only punched the door frame with all her strength, and refrained from punching Ishida Shoya on the head.
"How have you ever bullied Nishimiya?"
"Nothing like that... just a prank, throwing some small things or something..." Ishida stammered, his voice getting lower and lower.
"What did you throw?"
"...hearing aids, three pairs..." Ishida turned his head away, not daring to look Hinata Aoi in the eye, like a suspect whose eyes were blinded by the desk light in the interrogation room.
"Don't you know that you have to pay compensation if you damage other people's property?"
"Do you have money?"
The boy was stunned by the question.
Perhaps he had thought about the consequences of being caught teasing his classmates at the beginning, but repeated indulgence and tolerance magnified his appetite, and he no longer thought about how everything would end.
"It's not much, right? What's there..." Ishida calculated his New Year's money.
Although his family was not wealthy, or even a little poor, his mother did not treat him harshly with money, and he did not develop the habit of planning his spending and did not save much.
Hinata must be trying to scare me, Ishida thought.
How much could these things cost? Nishimiya's family didn't seem to be very wealthy, and they could easily replace a lost hearing aid. Even if I didn't have enough compensation, I could secretly take some from my mother first, and it wouldn't be easily discovered.
Ishida Shouya, who thought he had figured it out, spoke confidently, "I'll pay it back, and if I do, you can't tell the homeroom teacher!"
His arrogance almost made Hinata Aoi laugh.
"You can't pay it back. Even if your mother comes, she'll have to use her savings to pay it back."
Hinata Aoi had a certain understanding of Ishida's family situation. It was not easy for a single mother to raise two children, and it was obvious that the child did not appreciate her.
"If you don't want your mother to come to school and embarrass you, stay away from Nishimiya while no one is asking about it."
"I guess you're the only one in the class who bullies Nishimiya with actions, right?"
"You are the only 'criminal' who will be arrested."
The second to last sentence is really a guess.
Hinata Aoi only saw Ishida struggling to learn. He'd scribbled on other people's desks, taken other people's things and thrown them away, and there were countless other bad things he'd done.
Ishida was horrified after seeing this, and his tone changed: "How is it possible?!"
Even if it's a crime, he's still an accomplice, okay?! What on earth is he insisting on? Isn't he just helping his friend vent his anger?
"Then try asking them to help you pay back the money."
See if your supposed allies are willing to assume your liabilities.
This is not a small amount of money, nor is it a glorious act like a charitable donation. Hinata Aoi can foresee Ishida's tragic ending of being "abandoned by everyone".
A hearty and satisfying "you deserve it".
"If you have a conscience, pay the money back slowly."
"I play the hero in the back of the class every day and fight the devil. I've never heard of a hero owing money and not paying it back."
Ishida Shoya pursed his lips and said nothing more.
Anyone smart can see that in this dispute, Hinata Aoi is currently biased towards Ishida.
If she really stood on the side of justice, she should report Ishida Masaya without hesitation, let the teachers and parents see what he did, criticize him and compensate Nishimiya Shoko for the harm she suffered, making an example of him to scare the others and making people happy.
But the side of justice is neither Nishimiya Shoko's side nor Ishida Shoya's side.
Since Nishimiya Shoko did not explicitly express her intention to make Ishida get the punishment he deserved, Hinata Aoi did not want to easily ruin Ishida Shoya's last year of elementary school.
Only Nishimiya Shoko has this power.
*
When the two returned to the classroom, it was already time for class. The teacher saw Hinata Aoi, who was leading the class, and did not ask them what they had been doing, but simply asked them to return to their seats.
Ishida Shoya, who was experiencing the "good student preferential treatment" for the first time, had his head still filled with the words written by Hinata Aoi, and returned to his seat with worry.
The teacher was somewhat relieved: "Okay, this child also knows how to reflect."
His passion for teaching and educating people surged, and he gave Ishida more opportunities to answer questions, and ended up with Ishida who had a brain short circuit and was scratching his head.
But the teacher was very satisfied.
"Ishida-san performed well today."
"Even though I didn't answer a single question correctly, I tried my best to think it through, unlike before when I just stood up and said 'no'."
"That's 'attitude'."
"It's not about not knowing, it's about not learning. Everyone can learn from Ishida-san!"
Ishida Shoya, who didn't expect to be praised, was a little stunned. Then he touched his neck, laughed awkwardly twice, and lowered his head in shame.
*
After the class, Ueno Naoka couldn't wait to ask Ishida Masaya, eager to know what had happened between him and Hinata Aoi.
They were originally desk mates. She was talking to Ishida in a low voice during class, but Ishida was distracted and didn't know whether he heard her clearly or not, but he ignored her anyway.
She elbowed Ishida Shoya, which actually triggered him to stand up and answer questions.
In the past, when Ishida was distracted in class, she did remind him to answer questions in this way. She didn't expect that Ishida now didn't even have this ability to distinguish and just stood up stupidly.
Fortunately, the teacher was choosing who to ask questions and thought Ishida had volunteered.
Feeling guilty, Naoka Ueno kindly passed the answer to her from the side, but Ishida still didn't hear it. He embarrassedly used his fingers to pick at the crotch of his pants, standing there like a mute telephone pole.
In the end, Ishida Shoya managed to get through the class in a daze and even received a compliment. He was lying on the table, facing the desk, with his arms tightly covering his face, as if looking for a gap to crawl into.
This is too embarrassing! Ishida wailed in his heart.
It is actually normal for him to not be able to answer questions. Today he was just a little exaggerated and was praised by the teacher for no reason. However, he just felt extremely ashamed... He especially didn't want Hinata Aoi to see all this!
He had just been taught a lesson by Hinata Aoi, and after coming back he was terrified to think about it carefully. He thought everyone he saw might want to harm him - when Ueno confronted him, he felt like he was pricked by a needle. He stood up with his nerves tense, his ears ringing, and his mind went blank.
"What's wrong with you? What did Hinata say to you?"
Ueno pushed Ishida hard a few times, trying to awaken his vitality.
Kawai and Nishimiya in the front seat were also eavesdropping with their ears perked up.
"...Hey, leave me alone!" Ishida turned his head towards the aisle, determined not to say another word.
What can he say?
Could it be that he really asked his friends to pool money for him as Hinata Aoi "said"?
Ishida Masahiro is not a stupid child. On the contrary, because he grew up in a single-parent family, he is particularly sensitive and knows how to read other people's expressions.
He could see through his mother's fake smile, his teacher's expectations and helplessness towards him, and his friend's disgust towards Nishimiya.
But he lived in his own shell, only seeing what he wanted to see and only responding to what he wanted to respond to...and then the seemingly hard shell was pierced by Hinata Aoi in just a few words.
As long as his brain worked, he knew without even trying that Hinata Aoi was probably right. But as long as he didn't try, there was no right or wrong, and he could continue to shrink into his repaired shell.
He didn't dare put his friendship on the table.
That was something he always believed he possessed, and he would never actively give it a chance to become vulnerable.
Ueno Naoka was annoyed by his tone, "What? I'm concerned about you?!"
She herself couldn't tell how much concern and how much selfishness it was, but it didn't stop her from being angry.
"Why don't we ask Xiaokui?...Forget it?" Kawai Miki suggested weakly.
She noticed Ueno's hesitation, made a suggestion, and then refuted herself. She pretended to pull Ueno back for fear that she would really adopt her suggestion, but in fact she didn't use much strength.
Ueno Naoka was really inspired by the first half of Kawai's words. She immediately felt that she was not asking alone, but was representing two or even more people. She went over with a rush of courage.
…
She came back and dragged Kawai along.
Instead of giving her spiritual support, it is better to stand beside her and give her more confidence.
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