After taking some time to finally get to the gymnasium, I saw Izumi confronting a few people from the basketball club with a very serious expression from a distance. The other party didn't seem to expect Izumi to come at this time, so he felt a little inexplicable at first. But after she explained her intentions, she understood why.

"Is the squad leader of the second class such a nosy person?" The tall boy in the lead asked with a wicked smile, a mocking expression. "Or are all the top students like this?" Without giving Kazumi a chance to answer, he continued to talk to himself.

"I'm just here to get an explanation, but you've been trying to divert the conversation since then, what? Don't even have the courage to answer? As he spoke, Izumi stared straight at him and sneered a few times. Is it true that you can do that kind of thing without being ashamed at all? ”

Then, with a voice that couldn't help but make people afraid. "So what?" The tall boy walked up to her and asked with the same contempt. He didn't seem to be scared at all. "Were you such a warm-hearted person? Why didn't I find out before? ”

"If that's the case, doesn't that mean you're a fool who can't even notice something so simple?" After saying that, Izumi couldn't help but laugh out loud. "What did you say?!" And this, no doubt, provoked him like last time—

"Izumi!"

"Chihiro?"

At the moment when the guy's anger was about to explode, I pushed aside the crowd and walked over. "How are you?" Izumi was obviously a little surprised when he saw me. But it was only for a moment. "Are you embarrassed to ask? Make such a big fuss, and you still want to hide it from me? ”

"Oh? So you also found a helper? No wonder he was so fearless—" The tall boy looked at me with a sharp, unceremonious gaze, and asked, "Do you want to help this guy out?" ”

"If possible, I'd like to avoid the worst as much as possible—"

Unexpectedly, as soon as I finished speaking, Izumi glared at me mercilessly, "You still think about this kind of thing until now?" Chihiro, seriously, just kidding, right? Izumi shook my shoulder; While asking in an unbelievable tone. "And the other party doesn't plan to solve this matter in the way you think. Don't tell me you can't even see that, do you? ”

Before she knew it, she was shaking faster.

"I see. That's why I say that. I told her what I was thinking at the moment, earnestly, "because if it really turned out to be like that, we would be punished more severely if we didn't say it." You will also be removed as the squad leader. Don't you care if it turns out like that? ”

"yes, I think Chihiro is right." At this time, Lola also appeared in front of the two of us through the crowd, and persuaded Izumi with words that seemed to have been written in a notebook long ago—"I don't want things to turn out what Chihiro said." I don't want you to hurt me again! ”

"As a class leader, I appreciate your willingness to be my friend and speak for me. Honestly, it makes me happy. It's something I've never felt before—" She flipped through the pages to Izumi, a little shy in front of so many people, but still ready to say what she thought.

"So, thank you. It's enough......"

"Hey—?" However, at this time, the notebook suddenly disappeared from Lola's hand! "Did you talk like that?" — Robbed, to be exact. Now it's in the hands of the tall boy in front of you.

"Please give it back to me!"

Lola probably wanted to say this, right? She was anxious to get her notebook back, but because of the height difference, she couldn't reach it no matter how hard she tried to stand on tiptoe. "Hey! Sorry, Chihiro, I can't take it anymore! Izumi stepped forward, snatched the notebook back, and handed it to Lola. Then I slapped him!

"Enough is enough, you! Aren't you happy to do something like that? Then she continued to scold and question him, "Of course, happy—" In just an instant, her answer completely angered Izumi, and in the end, the original confrontation and quarrel turned into a complete mutual fight.

I didn't want to see Izumi being beaten unilaterally, so I joined in on the way—but nothing changed. We were both beaten by each other to the point where we could barely stand, let alone find an opportunity to fight back. After a while, his nose and face were swollen, and even opening his eyes became a luxury—

Even if you can open it, your vision becomes scattered and difficult to focus......

I can't help it—even though I'm almost 30 years old. But to be honest, this kind of thing is not good. The other party has obviously discovered this and has become more unscrupulous! And Izumi wasn't much better than me, and in a moment we both fell on our backs to the floor.

At this time, the severe pain also came to the door as if the time had been calculated. To be honest, it really hurts, but we don't even have the strength to cry out for pain. I even thought that if I closed my eyes, I might never be able to open them again.

"Chihiro, Chihiro!"

At this time, there seemed to be Izumi's intermittent shouting in my ears. She seemed to be calling my name, but I couldn't respond to her...... But then again, it could be someone else's voice. To be honest, I can't tell the difference right now.

It seems that there is also a teacher's scolding in it.

Immediately after that, my consciousness ended there. — After that, I woke up in the infirmary, with Izumi. She was able to sit up, though. It's just that there are several bandages around his face, and the same is true on his arms.

"Chihiro, are you awake?"

She staggered over to my bedside and asked easily. "Well, what about you? Is it okay to walk around casually? I braced my hands and tried to sit up, but she pressed back in an instant, "Lie down honestly, don't force it." ”

Her expression still looked very stiff, but she managed to smile. He continued, "We both have to be out of school for a while. I heard that the teacher was very angry about this, and he was going to deal with us in a harsher way. However, Lola is said to have interceded for us all this time—"

"Really?"

Izumi nodded, "Thanks to her, we were able to avoid being dropped out of school in the end. But—" She stopped, pulled a chair from the corner, and sat down. Then he cleared his throat before continuing, "But like you said, I'm not the squad leader anymore. ”

After speaking, she sighed with a somewhat tangled and complicated expression. I didn't show much sadness, but maybe I was aware of my feelings, right? "I'm sorry, you reminded me of that, but I still did that-"

"I think I'd probably do the same if I had changed, right? No, it would definitely do. I immediately interrupted her. However, because of the shaking of the head, the neck suddenly hurt terribly. She couldn't help but laugh when she saw how uncomfortable I was.

"You, you're still smiling!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—" She said that, but it was the exact opposite of what it actually appeared. So...... "In the end, I even felt that it would be a waste of time to blame her again."

"But, Izumi—"

Then, as a matter of course, another very important thing came to mind, "If this is the case, what should I do with my schoolwork during this period?" "It's obviously more important than blaming her for her schadenfreude." You don't have to worry about this, even if you are asked to reflect, it is still the kind for an indefinite period. But schoolwork doesn't fall behind. ”

"Why?"

I was very surprised by that. "I agreed with Shion that she would give us all the schoolwork during this period—" After listening to her explanation, I finally breathed a sigh of relief, "You have so many friends......

Then, I sighed with heartfelt emotion. "Please, don't say with such admiration, okay?" As soon as the words fell, I laughed before I did. "Chihiro, why did you do this for Lola?" Then, maybe you're shy, right? So she quickly changed the subject.

But when she asked me so nonefattently, I became a little embarrassed, "I think anyone will find a way to help when they see something like that happening around me, right?" And—"But if you think about it from another angle, there's really nothing to be embarrassed about.

"And what?"

Izumi urged me to continue with a very interested look. "Moreover, I have encountered similar things at that time, when not even one person was willing to stand up and help, and everyone seemed to regard what happened to me as a joke and a trouble."

"Does that mean—do you think you're going to get in trouble if I help you?" She asked thoughtfully. The voice was much softer than before. Maybe it's aware that this is a field that I don't want anyone to step into easily, right?

"Because of this reason, they all chose to be on the sidelines?" I nodded, and then told her, "So, I don't want Lola to be in the same situation as me, after all, when you need help, it's painful to find that there is no one around you who will help you." ”

As I said this, I tried to make my tone sound as relaxed and natural as possible, and I tried to tell her as much as I could—"It's all in the past." But even so, Izumi's expression became quite uncomfortable.

"Are you alright?"

"It's okay, I just tried to think about that scenario, don't care." Then, when I felt a little unsure of how to continue the conversation, she immediately regained her calm, cheerful expression. "Is there any other reason besides this?"

After that, the atmosphere became relaxed again. "She looks more like my sister—" I thought about it before I spoke, feeling a little embarrassed. The moment my eyes were about to meet, I immediately avoided them.

"Sister? Chihiro: You used to have a sister? But Izumi became reluctant as if he had discovered a rare treasure. You don't even have to ask to know how excited she is right now, "Well, that's right. ”

"Please introduce me when the time comes!"

Izumi grabbed my hand and said expectantly, his eyes as if they were shining. However...... "I lied, I'm sorry, Izumi." "Because in this world, even if Natsume really exists, it seems that it has nothing to do with me.