Ueno, seated nearby, frowned and stood up. "Haruya, maybe—"
But Haruya cut her off with a cold glance. "This isn't about you, Ueno. Sit down."
Sitting nearby, Kawai fidgeted beside her seat, her expression uneasy. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but stopped, biting her lip instead.
Tamao leaned toward Nagisa, whispering nervously. "Whoa… Haruya-kun looks scary right now."
Nagisa, who was usually quick to smile, had her lips pressed together tightly. "He's serious. I've rarely seen him like this before."
Hazuki simply adjusted her posture, her quiet eyes narrowing slightly on Ishida. "He crossed the line. In the past, he also had an encounter with Ishida due to Nagisa, which ended badly for him as well. But compared to that situation, this one seems much more serious."
Ishida clicked his tongue, glaring at Haruya. "Tch. What's your problem? I was just joking around!"
"Bullying isn't a joke," Haruya shot back loudly, looking around, as if reminding everyone inside the classroom. "Mocking someone for something they can't change is pathetic. You owe Nishimiya-san an apology."
Shouko, who still hadn't fully grasped what had been said, looked between Haruya and Ishida with a worried face.
Hazuki leaned toward her, quietly scribbling a note on her paper and sliding it across.
"He's standing up for you."
Nishimiya's eyes widened slightly. Her hand hovered over the paper for a moment before she held it to her chest, her lips pressing into a trembling smile.
"I-I don't need to apologize!" Ishida finally shouted back, his rebellious pride keeping him rooted in place. "She doesn't even care! Look at her, she doesn't even know what's happening!"
That was the final straw. Haruya's desk screeched against the floor as he kicked it backwards, his height and momentum making Ishida instinctively flinch.
"Then I'll make you care."
For a moment, the tension snapped tight like a wire about to break.
Takuomi-sensei finally intervened, slamming his hand against the board. "Enough! Both of you, sit down!"
But Haruya didn't listen. His cold eyes stayed locked on Ishida. "Apologize. Now. Or I'll make sure this is the last day you spend in this school."
Haruya started to walk forward towards Ishida.
With every one of his steps, seemingly matched the heartbeat of everyone watching. Including Takuomi-sensei.
Standing in front of Ishida, he leaned down and whispered into the boy's ear, "Or worse. Your last day in this city."
This seemed to be Ishida's final breaking point as tears started to fall from his eyes.
He bowed his head towards Nishimiya with tears pouring down to the group.
"I'm sorry for saying those mean things to you, Nishimiya-san."
Nishimiya, who seemed to understand what it was for, hummed slightly and nodded repeatedly before stopping.
Hearing the slight sincerity in his voice, Haruya let out a sigh.
Even though he had issues with Ishida, he had never intended to go so far as to threaten him by using his family.
'I guess I'm not as calm and collected as I thought.' Haruya complained.
At first, he had just wanted to use scare tactics on Ishida, just like the last time.
But when Ishida nearly brought up Nishimiya's hearing impairment, he lost control of his emotions, and anger surged in his head.
'Why do I have to be the mature and understanding one?' Haruya lamented.
Having now vented his anger, Haruya took out a folded tissue paper from his pocket and handed it to the crying Ishida.
"Here, wipe your tears with these. Stop crying like a baby in front of class. And if you don't like me or Nishimiya, I don't care. Just don't bother any of us," Haruya turned towards the girl sitting nearby. "That goes for you too, Ueno. Don't think I don't notice your little comments." He warned.
"I-I understand..." Ueno looked down, ashamed at being caught.
"That goes for everyone in this classroom too!" Haruya looked around, staring at each and every one of his unfamiliar classmates.
His gaze paused on some specific ones, such as Miki Kawai, Keisuke, and Kazuki.
"We should understand her situation and help her, not laugh at her," he continued. "If you were in her place, how would you feel? Your first day in class, and people start making fun of your disability."
Takuomi-sensei speechlessly watched his student berating most of his classmates.
Even he didn't know how to feel about this.
One moment, Haruya threatened his classmate and even scared him, a grown adult.
Next, after receiving what he wanted, contrary to what Tatsuomi thought was gonna happen next, he easily let Ishida off the hook and started to scold his other classmates for laughing.
And now, he was teaching them how to act like a decent person.
Even he felt like his emotions had gone through a roller coaster today.
Looking at Haruya and then at the quiet Ishida, he felt that this class was lucky that Haruya was not a bad person.
"Sumeragi-san is so cool!" Tamao's eyes shone with admiration as she looked at Haruya, who was standing in the middle of class.
"Yeah... he's amazing." Nagisa nodded, still amazed at how Haruya handled things so easily.
Most of his classmates who previously laughed now had their heads down in shame.
Haruya, having felt like he said what needed to be said, returned to his seat and sat back down slowly, resting his chin on his hand again as though nothing had happened.
Nagisa leaned toward him, her voice low. "That was… intense, Haruya-kun."
He gave her a sideways glance, his expression softening slightly. "Someone had to say it."
Meanwhile, Nishimiya turned slightly in her seat, holding her notebook up for Haruya to see.
"Thank you."
Her handwriting trembled slightly, but the smile on her face was radiant.
Haruya stared at the words for a moment, then gave her a reassuring smile.
"Anytime."
Takuomi-sensei let out a long sigh, running a hand down his face as the last of the tension in the room began to settle.
His eyes flicked from Haruya, now sitting casually with his chin in his hand as if none of it had happened, to Ishida, who still sat frozen, clutching the tissue Haruya had handed him.
'This boy…' Takuomi thought, watching Haruya. 'One moment he's terrifying his classmates, and the next he's lecturing them like an adult. What am I even supposed to do with him?'
He cleared his throat loudly. "Alright… let's wrap things up here. I think that's enough for today."
A ripple of relief went through the classroom, students exhaling quietly.
Takuomi adjusted his glasses, his eyes landing squarely on Ishida. "Ishida. Office. Now."
Ishida stiffened, his face flushing red, but he didn't argue. Head low, he stood and shuffled out of the classroom.
"Class dismissed early," Takuomi added, turning back to the others. "Go home and reflect on what happened today." His tone carried no room for argument.
Chairs scraped, and chatter started back up as students began packing their bags.
Nagisa, Hazuki, Tamao, and Yuma all drifted toward Haruya's desk. Nishimiya, notebook still in hand, hesitated before slowly following.
"Let's go together," Haruya suggested, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
The group nodded, and soon enough, they stepped out of the classroom, leaving the tense atmosphere behind.