Iโve Been Reincarnated as the Childhood Friend of a Doomed Heroine. Since I Donโt Want to Get Caught up in Her Bad Ending, Iโll Make Sure She Ends up Happy
Within the story of ใSakuchiruใ, the incident involving Yukimi’s assault is likely the darkest.
Though it tends to be overshadowed by the overwhelming hatred directed at her, Yukimi is the only heroine in the story who suffers physical abuseโbeing beaten and kicked.
However, this is ultimately only information conveyed through the game’s scenario.
The reality revealed far more of humanity’s ugliness than one could imagine.
In the silent, closed room.
I listened again, in detail, to the story of the group assault.
Honestly, having played โSakuchiruโ, most of it was already known to me, but there were a few tidbits worth hearing.
โโฆThe perpetrators were students, right? Senpai said the Shichikajo family destroyed every single one of the perpetrators’ families. What exactlyโโ
The assault was committed by a group of nearly ten high school students.
Some were students here at Meirei Academy, others were from different schools, and their grades varied widely.
While hostility towards Yukimi within the school was the initial trigger, it apparently evolved into something like, โHey, we can gang-r*pe that famous, beautiful young lady,โ which drew in more participants.
However, what’s crucial is what happened after the crime.
When discussing the aftermath of the assault, Yukimi was vague, but she mentioned she โused her family’s influence to punish the perpetrators and their families.โ
Since the game didn’t elaborate on this, I found myself slightly intrigued.
At my question, Yukimi’s expression clouded over, looking somewhat uncomfortable.
โOne of the perpetrators had a father working for a subsidiary of the Shichikajo Group. We spoke to HR and had him fired. Naturally, I understand we also made sure he couldn’t find another job.โ
โYouโฆ you can do that?โ
“Yes. Shichikajo has extensive connections, so something like that is easily done. Apparently, that dismissal left him destitute, and he committed suicide. His mother developed mental illness as a result and is currently hospitalized. As for the son himself, he dropped out of high school to support himself and took a manual labor job.”
โโฆโฆโ
It hit me too hard, too suddenly.
I’d expected something like this, but they really went all out.
The Shichikajo Group is something else.
They truly are terrifying people to have as enemies.
Attacks unimaginable to commoners like me were apparently being carried out behind the scenes.
Ignoring my horror, Yukimi continued.
โThe second one was skipping school anyway, so they worked behind the scenes to get him expelled. But after transferring schools, he returned to a normal life and is now enrolled in university, apparently.โ
โHuh? That one sounds pretty normal.โ
Expulsion is harsh enough, but the first one was so gruesome it made this one seem trivial.
I felt deflated, thinking they hadn’t faced significant punishment.
Then, Yukimi coldly added.
โNo, apparently after enrollment, he started associating with antisocial groups. We’re just letting him run free until we get a decisive opportunity to eliminate him. Since he was the one who gathered most of the members, we were just waiting for the bait to take the hook.โ
โA decoy operation, you meanโฆ?โ
โIn this case, it’s more like a sting operation. Now, the third oneโฆ he was a student who poured his heart into club activities. His tournament results were excellent, so apparently he was aiming to go pro. But after we expelled him, he apparently despaired and took his own life. The collapse of his athletic career must have been a tremendous shock.โ
โHuh?โ
I was shocked.
I’d assumed all the perpetrators were still alive.
Knowing Yukimi’s goal was to eliminate the entire group, I hadn’t considered any might already be missing.
This information wasn’t even in the original story.
It must be top-secret knowledge known only within the Shichikajo family.
Learning someone had already taken their own life, I found myself stiffening unconsciously.
The tension surged instantly.
I’d jokingly thought, โLooks like someone’s gonna die in real time~,โ but it wasn’t funny at all.
Somewhere deep down, I’d convinced myself that if I tweaked the scenario, no one would have to die.
But in reality, it had already begun.
The gravity of the incident I’d gotten myself tangled up in was driven home by each and every one of Yukimi’s words.
And without a care for my reaction, Yukimi continued.
โThe fourth victim. It seems rumors about his involvement with me accidentally leaked out, forcing him to transfer schools. But even after moving to the countryside, he had the misfortune of getting picked on by delinquents there. Now he is a shut-in, refusing to go to school.โ
โAccidentally? Misfortune? How could that beโโ
This case should have been completely buried by Shichikajo
Even if some rumors spread, there’s no way the culprit would be identified to the point it interfered with their daily life.
That’s what I thought as I asked.
โSomething?โ
โNo, nothing.โ
Her cold voice snapped sharply, and I couldn’t help but shake my head.
Scary.
Too scary.
I’d expected it, but this was still a case too heavy to get involved in.
After that, I was told about the current status of the perpetrators. They’d either all been expelled, stopped attending school, or, for some reason, gone missing.
Even though it wasn’t explicitly stated, it was clear Shichikajo was involved in all of it.
But still.
Even after hearing all this, it remained unclear how much of it was Yukimi’s own will.
Everything I’d been told so far was merely an explanation of how the Shichikajo family operated.
Not a single mention of Yukimi taking action herself.
And most likely, Yukimi had nothing to do with this outcome.
Her matter-of-fact tone revealed no sense of satisfaction.
This punishment was solely the family’s decision. That’s precisely why Yukimi’s revenge wasn’t overโit hadn’t even begun.
Hearing her voice directly, I finally grasped the full picture.
The path leading to why Yukimi clings so fiercely to her revenge became clear.
โWant some sweets?โ
โโฆCan you get me the chocolate?โ
โHere you go.โ
After all that heavy talk, I felt weighed down, so I handed Yukimi some sweets.
โโฆYou’re amazing.โ
โWhat about me?โ
โI mean, how can you even think about eating sweets at a time like this?โ
โBecause it’s precisely this kind of time.โ
โโฆYou really are a genius at throwing people off balance.โ
โI’ll take that as a compliment.โ
We took a break and exchanged casual banter.
The sweet scent filled the room, easing the tension just a little.
After swallowing the sweets, I spoke up.
โThank you for talking to me.โ
โโฆIt also helps me sort out my own feelings.โ
Whatever the reason, being confided in itself made me happy.
It was proof that I was valued.
If I hadn’t been busy defusing the bomb that was Shinori, I would have been genuinely proud.
Yukimi took a breath and got to the point.
โRight now, the second man I’ve been keeping under surveillance is showing suspicious movements. If we’re going to act, it has to be now. What’s more, his younger sibling apparently attends this school, so I’ve already established a foothold. The entrance exams are coming up soon too, so I want to eliminate any sources of anxiety early. โฆAnd above all, I need to finally break away from the past.โ
โSibling? You meanโโ
I started to say, but immediately shut my mouth.
Looking closely, Yukimi’s lips were trembling.
Seeing that, I looked away.
Of course.
No matter how strong-willed a young lady she is, she’s still just a 17-year-old child.
An assault that came close to rape isn’t something you can easily forget.
Especially for someone with Yukimi’s pride, it must be an indelible memory.
I wrapped up the conversation here.
โSo basically, you’re dissatisfied with the half-hearted punishment imposed by your family against your will. You want to act independently, separate from Shichikajo, to draw a line under the past, right?โ
โโฆYes.โ
โBut what exactly do you plan to do about it, Senpai?โ
I understood her feelings.
I could empathize.
But I couldn’t just nod in agreement.
In response to my question, Yukimi narrowed her eyes and shot me a piercing stare.
โYou know, don’t you? โฆI’m going to kill them.โ
โโฆYou absolutely can’t do that.โ
What they did was unforgivable.
That said, killing in revenge is absolutely unforgivable too.
Is this an ethical issue?
Yukimi snorted at my cautious reply.
โThe police’s actions can be contained by the family name, and since we’ll proceed in strict secrecy, there’s no problem. โฆPointing out ethical issues is beside the point. What consideration is needed for a barbaric herd of livestock who gang up to assault those they dislike, and worse, try to use them as outlets for their sexual urges?โ
โEven the scum have human rights.โ
“Isn’t that where you’re wrong? Human rights, which should symbolize respect for happiness, function in today’s world as a get-out-of-jail-free card when people harm others. So why not just get rid of that nonsense altogether?”
She was starting to say outrageous things, but I could understand her feelings.
Besides, I knew about Yukimi’s inner conflict from the game’s scenario perspective too.
Even after Yukimi entered the individual route where she dated Akito, there were still occasional descriptions of her being haunted by nightmares.
It had eaten away at her deepest core, and complete healing was impossible for her entire life.
The only thing anyone could do was stay by her side.
Surely, there were still nights at home when she cried.
Knowing that made it hard for me to simply dismiss her words.
But it was also true that revenge wouldn’t create anything.
Through my memories of playing โSakuchiruโ, I understood her feelings just as well as I knew that this path of revenge led to a bad ending.
If I were to affirm Yukimi’s revenge, the only future awaiting her was one where she would commit murder.
Knowing that, I couldn’t possibly give her the green light.
โBut you don’t have the right to take the law into your own hands either, Senpai.โ
Finding an opening in the word โright,โ she shot me a sharp look.
Then she lowered her gaze.
โThen what about my dignity?โ
โโฆโฆโ
Her suddenly weak voice left me speechless.
No good.
After all, I can’t clear Yukimi’s heart.
This role definitely needs the protagonist.
โโฆIf I donโt go along with that plan, I won’t be able to study for the test, you know.โ
Yukimi’s probably final plea to me, after I’d already refused once.
And a development already far removed from the original story.
I couldn’t immediately come up with an answer.
All I could do was desperately dodge the question.
โโโ
ใ Shichikajo Yukimi ใ
Affection for Akito: โโ
Affection for Kyota: 43% (โ)
Maiban
Bros really out here defending rapists