"Besides, their recent performance has indeed been quite good," Hayato said with a relieved smile: "Originally, I approached them to teach them a lesson, but unexpectedly, it inadvertently corrected their bad personalities… which is also a good thing."
Nogami Izumi froze, then her lips trembled, but she controlled them from turning up.
Huh?
Performing quite well?
Indeed, they weren't as arrogant as before, but that was only because their trio had disbanded, and they needed to behave themselves. Hinata Sae had even yelled at her desk-mate earlier, scaring the girl into crying miserably…
Nogami Izumi suppressed her laughter.
This guy in front of her seemed quite smart, easily approaching Hinata Sae and Sanada Minako and breaking down their defenses. Unexpectedly, he was also so easily fooled.
But… 'improving bad personalities'… Was this guy actually approaching those two idiots with such a hilarious reason? It's too funny, isn't it? Does he think he's some great philanthropist? He's practically brain-damaged…
Speaking of which, perhaps he helped simply because he couldn't stand Kurashiki Reina bullying her… What a bleeding heart.
"Are you done?" Hayato asked again.
Nogami Izumi had already made up her mind to take full advantage of Hayato's 'innocent' heart.
"…Um."
Nogami Izumi deliberately showed weakness, revealing a somewhat scared expression. She tugged at Hayato's sleeve again and asked timidly, "…I have a question. Aren't you afraid of making an enemy of Kurashiki Reina?"
Hayato frowned, "What do you mean?"
"I offended Kurashiki Reina this time, and I'm afraid she'll retaliate against me… She seems to be quite afraid of you, so… can you protect me?" Nogami Izumi said, her fingers trembling: "After this incident, I've realized how terrifying it is to be bullied… And Sae and Menako aren't playing with me anymore, so I have no one to rely on. I'm really… very worried."
As she spoke, Nogami Izumi bit her lip, her eyes couldn't help but redden, and even a misty teariness welled up.
I'm really good, I should be an actress, Nogami Izumi thought to herself, sniffling.
Hayato glanced at Nogami Izumi, seemingly with a hint of distrust.
Nogami Izumi tightened her grip on Hayato's sleeve, her fingertips even starting to turn white…
Hayato's eyes shifted, still with suspicion: "Really?"
"Really…"
Nogami Izumi nodded and said, "…Of course, it's normal for you not to believe me, after all, I have indeed done many bad things before… But you can observe me for a while, just, as long as you can prevent Kurashiki Reina from bullying me during this time…"
How amusing.
If even Menako, that airhead, and Hinata Sae, that brainless girl, could deceive this guy, then with her intelligence, there would certainly be no problem…
Doing this had three benefits.
Firstly, she was indeed somewhat afraid of Kurashiki Reina's retaliation. Although the latter was a busy person and might not even remember this incident, what if she did…
Secondly, hah, Sanada Minako and Hinata Sae… I've put up with you two for too long!!
Thirdly, during this time, she might also be able to secretly trip up Hayato, this idiot… Even if she couldn't kill him, she could at least disgust him to death!
Nogami Izumi had already finalized her plan, just waiting to implement it.
"Then…" Hayato narrowed his eyes, still a bit uncertain.
Nogami Izumi, however, spoke with a clear conscience, relying on her acting skills.
"…Can you change?" Hayato asked again.
"Yes," Nogami Izumi said very firmly.
"Then go apologize to the person you bullied," Hayato said.
...
"Hontoni! Sumimasen!"
Nogami Izumi's skirt billowed as she bowed under the shade of a tree towards Asaba Ibuki, almost burying her head in her knees.
Hayato asking her to apologize was reasonable… After all, Shiraki was so small, and the cause and effect of the hallway incident could easily be figured out. But it was beyond Nogami Izumi's expectation.
She hadn't expected Hayato to ask for a pledge of allegiance from her.
She, Nogami Izumi, had always been the one to bully people; when was it her turn to apologize?
But to gain Hayato's trust, she still clenched her fists and took this step.
Initially, Nogami Izumi's pride couldn't accept such a request… She had thought that since Menako and Sae could get away with it, she could too. But after careful consideration, she felt that this was the first matter, and it was better to do it herself.
If a flaw was discovered later, she could find various excuses, but if the first matter was exposed, no excuse would work.
When Nogami Izumi saw Nanao Akane, she gasped even more… Fortunately, she came herself. With the family member standing there, whether she came or not was just a matter of a single word, wasn't it?
Nanao Akane was also surprised.
She remembered seeing this junior, but couldn't quite recall her, vaguely feeling that her personality wasn't very good… But she had forgotten where they had met before.
Seeing her approach aggressively, Nanao Akane thought she was coming to fight.
Although Nanao Akane had no fighting experience, she was good at a devastating groin kick… East Gang had tried it and exclaimed he couldn't take it.
Unexpectedly, this junior girl's attitude changed in an instant…
"This…?"
After Asaba Ibuki patted her shoulder, Nanao Akane quickly moved aside. "…It's you?" Asaba Ibuki was also somewhat startled.
"It's me, Senior. I deeply apologize for my behavior in the hallway earlier, and I hope you can forgive me… I… In short, I'm sorry…"
When it came to other matters, Nogami Izumi might have been eloquent, but apologizing was a first for her, and she was truly at a loss for words.
But fortunately, Asaba Ibuki also seemed unwilling to escalate the matter. After a few seconds of stunned, she said:
"Then don't do that again… I'll forgive you this time."
"…Then please write something for me," Nogami Izumi shamefully pulled out a blank paper and a pen from her skirt pocket.
"Write something?"
"Mm… just write anything, so I can have something to show when I go back."
"Show…?" Asaba Ibuki understood even less.
"…Someone came to talk to me and made me realize how seriously I was wrong…" Nogami Izumi almost squeezed the words through her teeth: "…So please write something as proof that I was here."
Asaba Ibuki suddenly understood.
I get it, Kurashiki… How amazing, what a good person…
As for Nanao Akane, she tilted her head.
She must have been forced to come and apologize, this guy… Forcing someone to apologize, and even demanding evidence, while not showing himself… Ugh, I just feel like Kobayashi-chan could do that.
----------------------------------
I've already posted 70 new chapters on Patreon!
If you like the story and want to reaad more, please visit my patreon. Every support is very meaningful!
[patreon.com/Kazenova223]
Thank you very much!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"