I Liked Her First, but My Brain Was Broken, Then for Some Reason, I Became Friends With Beautiful Girls, So I’m Done My With Childhood Friends
The gymnasium goes silent.
Until just a few moments ago, Kido san had certainly captured the hearts of the audience.
It was clearly Kido san’s charm that created the atmosphere that should have been warm.
So why is someone…who doesn’t even know who Kido san is, interrupting?
“What do you mean she nearly killed her father?”
“Don’t you know? A girl named Kido Tsumugi, a first-year student, had an incident in junior high school.”
“I thought that was a lie.”
The stirring of the audience’s hearts and the ripple effect gradually spread.
Perhaps because of the large number of people gathered, the waves grew big in an instant.
A buzz. Feelings of doubt and anxiety override the heat.
This is not good. This is really bad. I can’t allow this to continue !
“……”
The sudden malice made Kido san freeze, unable to say anything.
The situation didn’t require any special appeal, but the atmosphere that had been created changed completely.
Now, if I speak even a single word, I don’t know what kind of backlash I’ll get.
Just knowing that people like that existed prevented me from speaking up.
[E-erm…..everyone please be calm….]
The MC’s warning was not enough to stop the ripple effect that had already spread.
“I’ve heard rumors that she’s a violent woman.”
“I heard that a boy in the second grade was also a victim.”
“Ew, that’s scary.”
Negative feelings tend to spread easily.
Especially, bad words are easy to get excited about. I didn’t even have friends who talked bad about me, but I know because I have seen people who enjoy talking about things that put others down.
I just let it pass in silence, feeling awkward each time.
“……”
But please……don’t do it now…… Please, someone help Kido san !
Matsuyuki san, Sano kun, Sugito san……. Someone, anyone, please talk back !
But my pleas came up empty and no one’s voice was raised. There was no voice to protect Kido san.
“Don’t you think we should pursue the truth here, everyone? If we don’t get to the bottom of this, we’re not even going to have a beauty contest, are we?”
The words of the first boy who raised his voice settled the buzz in a bad way.
I could see that everyone’s eyes were focused on Kido san on stage. Her eyes were different from before, and her body shook with a twitch.
“Kido Tsumugi san. You heard me, didn’t you? Please tell me if it’s true or false that you nearly killed your father.”
As if he was a journalist, the boy hurled malicious questions at Kido san.
“T-that’s…….”
Kido san clammed up.
There is no way she can tell them the truth. Because if she did, she would have to reveal the truth about her sister, who was also a victim.
She had a great chance to make up with Yuika chan, but… If things continue like this, the gap between them will only get bigger.
“Oh, you can’t say it? Does that mean you’re not denying it? In other words, does that mean you beat your father half to death?”
“…..”
A voice that sounds like it is floating, like it is drunk with itself.
This kind of voice sounds familiar.
Surely, this is not a malicious attack on Kido san.
He is drunk with his own righteousness. The pleasure of defeating an evil person whom everyone recognizes. He is someone who is trying to taste it.
And that negative justice will propagate as a pleasant sensation.
Everyone expects it. The moment when the bad guy is defeated in front of their eyes. Because they want to experience that pleasure, it is easy to agree with them.
“Is that an acknowledgment? Does that mean you’ve admitted it? Then I’ll change the question. How did you feel when you beat your father half to death?”
Ah…..shit. I can’t go any further.
If I were to be pursued like that in front of so many people, my heart would be broken. A person in the shadows can be easily crushed by the stares of others.
I know this as if it were me, and that’s why my heart ached.
I don’t want Kido san to get hurt !
“N-no, it’s not like that, yo !”
My loud voice, which sounded as if it had been turned upside down, echoed through the gymnasium.
“Eh, what?”
“Who was that?”
“Yo……?”
A murmur spread. All of them were suspicious of me.
My heart is racing. Just being the center of attention from so many people is enough to make my heart go crazy.
But that’s okay.
I still have that feeling of my brain being destroyed. No matter what I do, I can’t help it. No matter what I do, I will not be swayed……
Because I’m a crazy guy.
“A strange rumor spread, and yet Kido san has not given up and has made it this far yo.”
Hiding my face from turning bright red with a raccoon mask, I walk toward the stage.
The gymnasium is quiet. Thanks to this, my nervous voice resonates well.
Why rapping? I don’t know either ! My head is so out of control that I don’t understand the meaning of my actions.
But if I tried to speak normally in a place like this, my voice would shake. My whole body, not just my hands, would have been shaking.
“Don’t say bad things, don’t look for faults in others, and take a closer look at yourself yo”
Shaking my body to get the rhythm. I tell my trembling from nervousness that I’m just getting into the rhythm.
I don’t know if it rhymes or not. All I can do is just shake out my voice.
[ [ [Why raccoon?] ] ]
I went up on stage and grabbed the microphone from the MC. Perhaps because he was so stunned, it was a piece of cake for him to grab it.
“Zun cha cha cha zun chazzun chacha♪ Zun cha cha cha zun chazzun chacha♪”
I stepped on the steps while humming the appropriate rhythm. If people in the real profession heard this, they would be offended.
I was paralyzed with nervousness as I was moving my body.
An action that will surely become black history. When I get back home, I’m sure I’ll dive into my bed and flop around.
But I don’t care.
Whether I ruined the beauty contest or I would have to live my life as a weirdo, there was no reason for me not to move now.
If I did not protect Kido san’s honor here, I would definitely regret it.
“I was saved yo ! I was so happy when Kido san saved me ! While everyone else pretended not to see, Kido san was the only one who risked her life to protect me yo !”
It was my fault that I accelerated the bad rumors at school.
I was pathetic, but Kido san was the first to help me. She acts before thinking. Isn’t that because Kido san’s kindness is genuine?
“Don’t be fooled by rumors yo ! See her as she really is ! Have you ever seen Kido san really commit senseless acts of violence yo !”
The audience said nothing. From here, it’s pitch black, and I can’t even tell what they’re thinking.
They may simply be thinking, [What kind of weirdo just showed up?] or something like that.
If that’s the case, that’s fine. I don’t care what they think of me as long as they don’t get a bad impression of Kido san.
“Senpai…..”
My nerves are over the limit and my head is about to boil.
What’s the point of what I’m doing right now? I don’t know anymore. Someone please say something !
“But it’s true that she nearly killed her father, isn’t it?”
It’s that boy again……
Don’t try to bring me back to the beginning !
But I can’t say anything about Kido san’s family situation. I’m not in a position to do so.
What should I do? The only thing I can do is change the subject…..but then I’m sure I’ll only be pursued further….. If I try to mislead them, it will sound false…… What should I do?
“She’s not ! !”
That’s when I started to lose my mind.
A little girl’s loud voice silenced the audience.
Next came the sound of little footsteps approaching the stage. I kept my eyes fixed on the dark side of the audience as I kept up the rhythm.
“Big bro racoon !”
“Yuika chan !?”
Yuika chan was running toward me, her long silver hair fluttering in the wind. From behind, I could see her mother chasing after her daughter, saying, [Wait, Yuika !]
Yuika chan jumped on the stage with the same momentum she had gained from her run. Her athleticism was too good to be true.
Yuika chan urged me to give her the microphone, so I handed it to her without thinking. I’m at my limit…..
The beautiful young girl spun around to face the audience and cried out at the top of her lungs.
“Onee chan was helping me ! !”
A howl sounded.
The excitement subsided, and Yuika chan began to speak in a normal volume and in a raspy voice.
“My father is not my real father, but…. My sister was just protecting me so that he wouldn’t do terrible things to me…… So, um….I’ve been feeling all messed up and haven’t been able to say it for a long time…..”
Yuika chan looked up at Kido san.
Kido san was also staring intently at Yuika chan.
“Thank you….for protecting me, Onee chan. Also, I’m sorry….it took me so long to realize that you protected me.”
“Yuika……”
Perhaps because her sister had finally reached out to her, Kido san began to shed tears.
Yuika chan also sniffled and asked for a hug from her big sister.
“Yuika.”
Kido san hugged her precious little sister.
The feelings that she had never been able to express were clearly conveyed. The reason Yuika chan had come to see her sister must have been to make amends like this.
“I’m glad.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched the Kido sisters make up.
How much longer do I have to keep the rhythm going? I had completely lost sight of when to stop……
“Sisterly love is so cute.”
“The best !”
“Thank goodness. I don’t know what it is, but I’m glad !”
The audience applauded loudly as the sisters suddenly made up right in front of them.
I don’t think they really understood what was going on. Yuika chan’s faltering words were not enough to understand the details.
But that doesn’t matter. When you see a scene in which feelings are shared, it’s human nature to feel something.
It is not always a bad thing to sympathize with others.
Yuika chan, being hugged by her sister, opens her mouth to the audience.
“Everyone, I have a request for you. Please don’t bully my sister. And… please cast your vote for my sister♪”
[ [ [UWooooo ! ! Let’s gooooooo–! !] ] ]
The audience responded to Yuika chan with a passionate outcry. Little girls are strong.
◇ ◇ ◇
The beauty contest ended with Kido san as the winner.
It seems that the number of votes was so overwhelming that it was close to that of last year’s Matsuyuki san. It was a nice assist by Yuika chan at the end.
So, the festival is over and we are cleaning up.
It was a tiring day, but tomorrow is a substitute holiday. If I can get through this, freedom awaits me.
“All right.”
On my way home from taking out the trash with my last ounce of strength.
On the way home, I saw a few men and women on the staircase landing. I was cursing in my mind, telling them to clean up after themselves, when I overheard what they were saying and stopped in my tracks.
“You’re the one who spread the rumor about Kido Tsumugi, aren’t you? I was supposed to be the one to bring the bad guy to justice, but…..you put me to shame with your gossip !”
Is this the guy…..who first brought up the rumor about Kido san in the gymnasium?
He disappeared before I knew it, but here he is.
He seems to be in a bad mood. The friends around him seem to be in an awkward mood. Is this a domestic dispute?
It was a girl who was being chased by a boy. She was shrinking back, completely frightened.
I guess she would have been frightened if she had been shouted at like that.
“That rumor……i-it’s not me……”
“Oh? Then who started it?”
The girls uttered unbelievable names in a trembling voice.
“Hashiba…..Mitsuki senpai…….”
Maigetsu