Natsukawa turned around, but instead of heading for the elevator, he looked towards the other end of the corridor.
Just after the discussion ended, Karuizawa Kei stayed in the room for a while, took a call, and then left in a hurry, not with the rest of Class A.
Subsequently, the three girls from Class C exchanged glances and followed Karuizawa.
Natsukawa Sosuke took a step.
Although the cruise ship was large, there were only a few places suitable for
Following the direction Karuizawa had left, he quickly pinpointed several dead ends.
Not long after.
From an emergency exit connected to the stairwell, faint sounds of an argument reached his ears.
'Found them.'
Natsukawa lightened his steps, silently walking around the corner, revealing the scene inside... Within the emergency passage, the air was filled with a damp, metallic scent.
"You... what do you want to do?!"
Karuizawa Kei leaned against the cold iron door, her hands covering her chest. She tried to maintain her usual arrogant posture, attempting to dispel the approaching fear with a sharp voice.
"I'm warning you, Machida-kun will notice I'm gone soon! If he finds out you're doing this..."
"Shut up."
Manabe Shiho interrupted her impatiently, her gaze like she was looking at disgusting garbage.
"It's all Machida, Machida, Hirata. Can't you even speak without a man?"
Manabe advanced step by step, while Yamashita Saki and Nanami Yabu tacitly blocked both sides behind her.
"Where's your arrogance from before? Bring out that ruthlessness you had when you pushed Rika down?"
"I told you it wasn't me!!"
Karuizawa Kei shrieked, her voice already clearly trembling.
Fear.
A long-lost, viscous, suffocating fear crawled madly up her spine.
The scene before her began to overlap with the dim classroom in her memory.
Those mocking faces, those malicious encirclements, those cries for help that could never be heard no matter how hard she tried.
(Why...)
(Why am I experiencing this again...)
(I've tried to become
In the instant she was in a daze.
A hand suddenly reached out, roughly grabbing her meticulously styled golden hair.
"Ah! It hurts!!"
The sharp pain from her scalp forced her to look up, directly facing Manabe's distorted face.
"Still lying."
Manabe's voice was chillingly cold, "I've already called Rika over. Once the victim arrives, I'd like to see how you continue to act."
"But before she comes... I think it's necessary to teach you some manners first."
Yamashita Saki next to her had long been unable to hold back.
The pleasure of watching the usually high-and-mighty
"The way this woman usually looks at people is infuriating."
Yamashita stepped forward and raised her hand.
"Slap!!"
A crisp slap echoed in the enclosed space.
Karuizawa Kei's head was knocked to the side, her originally fair cheek rapidly swelling and turning red.
She was stunned by the blow.
This slap not only landed on her face but also directly shattered her false shell named
The leader of Class D girls, Hirata's girlfriend, a popular gal... In the face of absolute violence, these titles were as fragile as paper.
She was instantly reverted to her original self.
She became the bullied girl who could only tremble, cry, and beg for mercy.
"Ugh... no... I'm sorry..."
Karuizawa slid down the wall to the ground, hugging her head with both hands, her body curled into a ball. This was the defensive posture her body instinctively remembered.
"I was wrong... please... don't hit me..."
Around the corner.
Natsukawa stood in the shadows, coldly observing everything.
He held his phone, its screen clearly recording the scene inside.
But he didn't go in.
He didn't even have the slightest thought of stopping them.
'Not enough.'
Natsukawa looked at Karuizawa's collapsing state and made a cold judgment in his heart.
She was only feeling fear now, not despair.
If he were to rush in and stop them now, Karuizawa would only feel that her humiliation had been witnessed by the lower-class members of the school. Not only would he not receive her gratitude, but she might also transfer some of her hatred towards Manabe and the others onto her helper.
She was still subconsciously hoping for a prince charming to come and save her, hoping for this nightmare to end quickly... Karuizawa Kei, this girl was indeed interesting.
After suffering nine years of dark bullying, she came to a twisted conclusion for survival: if she didn't want to be bullied, then she should imitate those who bullied her.
This was also how she behaved after coming to this school. She learned to speak in the tone of those bullies, learned their arrogance, and learned to order others around. She thought this was what made her
Unfortunately, she tried to draw a tiger but ended up with a dog.
She was ultimately just an imitator.
'Unless this false skin is completely peeled off, unless this crooked tree is uprooted... a new personality cannot germinate.'
Perhaps a crooked sapling could eventually grow into a towering tree, but Natsukawa didn't have the time or energy to wait.
And now, that
Only by letting this seed named
Only then would she completely abandon the so-called 'growth' she had groped for during this period, and truly become a blank slate.
A blank slate that he, Natsukawa Sosuke, could color as he pleased.
Natsukawa wedged his phone into a gap in the pile of sundries, adjusting the angle to ensure the camera could capture the full scene.
Having done all this, he exited the emergency passage and sat down in the nearby rest area.
A few minutes later.
Urgent footsteps came from the stairs.
A petite girl with a bun ran down, appearing to be Rika from Class C.
Rika stood at the passage entrance, looking at Karuizawa huddled on the ground, trembling, and then at the fierce-looking Manabe and the others.
She instinctively didn't want to join, but ultimately, spurred on by the three, she timidly walked in.
Subsequently, the sounds within the passage became more muffled, yet also more shrill.
Natsukawa Sosuke sat on the bench, casually flipping through the cruise ship guide in his hand.
Faintly, Karuizawa Kei's distorted screams reached his ears.
"No... my shoes... my shoes..."
"Please... I'm sorry... let me go..."
"Someone... save me..."
...Eventually, Karuizawa's faint pleas for mercy completely disappeared, with only the indistinct shouts of the three remaining.
Natsukawa glanced at the time.
"That's enough."
He closed the manual, straightened his collar, and stood up from the bench.
The indifferent expression on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a slightly surprised and serious countenance.
Then he stepped forward, heading towards the emergency passage.