A youth story of a passerby at the end of the world

"Hey, Ayanokouji. Have you heard?"

"What?" Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who had just finished washing the dishes, replied expressionlessly upon hearing Yamauchi's words.

“Everyone in Class B can leave here.” Haruki Yamauchi slammed his fist on the table in frustration.

Ayanokouji sees this behavior of venting on things around them as a sign of being unable to control one's emotions and as being very immature.

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head.

"Is that so?" Haruki Yamauchi immediately put on a grinning expression, as if to say: See, you've made a profit.

"..." Did he perhaps think that this would make up for the hard work he did every day, in addition to cooking, he was also responsible for washing dishes and pots?

“Ayanokouji, your information is way too slow,” Haruki Yamauchi said smugly. “While you’re sleeping until almost noon every day, I’m out gathering intelligence.”

"..." He slept a lot during the day because he went out at night. Even if he could sleep efficiently, a lack of sleep for a long time would be a burden on his body. However, Yamauchi's words puzzled Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

If chatting with girls like Kushida while fishing counts as gathering information, then going out every night to wander through the city and record the conditions of each street is simply asking for trouble in hell.

“Those guys in Class B are really lucky. What kind of tricks do you think they used?” With a sigh, but without waiting for Ayanokouji’s reply, Haruki Yamauchi just wanted to say, “It’s the same old thing, isn’t it?”

"What?" Ayanokouji Kiyotaka didn't understand, and he wondered where Yamauchi had heard all this from.

"After all, Ichinose from Class B is a cute girl." Yamauchi said, making a lewd gesture. "You mean that one?"

"Oh, that's it." Let's just agree for now.

Does he mean that Ichinose used her body to seduce that man?

It's quite funny that someone would spread rumors about that person. If that were true, he wouldn't have chosen to leave with Uesugi in the first place.

People who cannot control their desires and vent them at will will ultimately bring about their own destruction.

"Right, but speaking of which, those people in Class B are really despicable. If they hadn't used this method, we wouldn't be in such a terrible situation."

Is there any connection between the two? Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, tilting his head, couldn't figure it out for a moment.

"How enviable." With a look of longing, Haruki Yamauchi said jealously, "He just has power and a good-looking face. I heard there's a woman who came with him, and she's a bitch who looks down on people."

"Yamachi, where did you hear all this from?"

"Huh? Isn't that what everyone's saying?" Haruki Yamauchi asked with an innocent expression.

"..." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka began to wonder if he was really too ignorant, or if Yamauchi had been used.

At that moment, Kanji Ike opened the door and strode in, saying as he walked, "Yamachi, it seems Karuizawa and the others have already returned."

"What?! What will happen to our Class D?" Haruki Yamauchi asked eagerly.

"It's said that a few more people will be added to Class D." That means a few more people will be able to leave this awful place.

"Huh? Who are they?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka asked with an indifferent expression.

"I don't know." Ike Kanji sat down at one side of the small table facing Yamauchi Haruki, with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka next to him. "But it seems that Horikita has one spot in our class."

"Why?" Haruki Yamauchi asked, dissatisfied.

Leaning forward, Ike Kanji created an atmosphere as if he were telling a secret, and whispered, "Isn't Horikita in the student council? It must be because of that."

"Eh~~~." Haruki Yamauchi braced himself with his hand behind him, then suddenly seemed to have a good idea and leaned forward. "What do you think about us going to Horikita and asking her to plead with that arrogant guy?"

Ah, you just talked about Ichinose's despicable behavior in Class B, but you don't even try to hide it yourself?

But Kiyotaka Ayanokoji didn't expect that they would ask for his opinion during their conversation.

"Ayanokouji, do you think Horikita-kun would be willing to help?" Ike Kanji asked anxiously, not understanding the meaning behind Yamauchi's smirk.

"Well, I'll have to ask around to find out." As the first person to speak to at the start of the semester, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka couldn't say he knew everything, but...

"But that girl probably doesn't care about what happened in Class D, since she's always kept quiet... I guess."

"No! We still have to ask her for help; this is our only chance." Haruki Yamauchi slammed his fist on the table again, his tone filled with a stark contrast in his emotions.

No, there are plenty of opportunities; it's a bit too early to say it's the only one.

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji also watched silently as the two discussed their plan to go to Horikita together with the girl's group, having heard that the girl's group was taking the same action.

It's like invisible threads manipulating a spider web.

"Let's go, Ayanokouji."

In the end, Yamauchi even dragged him along. What was the point?

-----------------

"You can do whatever you want, but don't drag me into this, understand?" Horikita Suzune solemnly warned the group of people in the room.

"So the rumor was true? Horikita-kun already had a spot." A girl named Ichihashi questioned.

"Where did you hear that from?" With Horikita Suzune's pride, she certainly couldn't admit that she was a so-called useless person.

“Of course it’s someone from the student council,” said another girl named Nishimura.

"I'm sorry, but I don't intend to waste my time doing meaningless things with you." Horikita Suzune turned her head away indifferently.

The man said he needed useful people, but given the value of Class D, it would be difficult to find someone who met his requirements.

If that's the case, why go looking for him again?

"Horikita-kun, don't you think you're being selfish?" Since Karuizawa wasn't there, Shinohara Satsuki, the most influential person present, spoke up.

"Yes." This sparked a wave of condemnation.

“Aren’t we in the same class? Ichino Se from Class B is said to have used the student council’s connections and methods to get everyone from Class B to leave here,” Haruki Yamauchi said loudly.

"What does that have to do with me?" Ichinose is from Class B, so whatever she does is none of my business.

"Horikita-kun is also a member of Class D," the boy named Onizuka said righteously.

"..." But Horikita Suzune still doesn't think she should have been assigned to Class D.

"Please." "Horikita-kun, please."

A group of people started making various requests again.

"Hmph! A bunch of idiots." There's no way that man would agree, even if I went over and asked him myself.

"What!" This outburst enraged everyone present.

"I've always thought that Horikita-kun's attitude makes you look down on us, doesn't it?" Shinohara Satsuki crossed her arms and looked down at Horikita, who was sitting at her desk.

"That's right! Does Horikita-kun think he's so great?"

"Ah, despicable people who are unwilling to make contributions."

"Yes!"

"Then what contribution have you made? You were just staying in your dorm room in fear, like scared mice trembling with fear," Horikita Suzune retorted.

"Heh, what has Horikita-kun been up to in the student council this time?"

"Ah~, is it exchanging bodies for food? Where's the bitch?" These words were spoken by Haruki Yamauchi in the crowd.

Surprisingly, no one showed any opposition. Everyone lost their minds, and the pressure accumulated from hunger, boredom, fear, and so on found an outlet.

I never expected to witness the legendary bullying.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who had retreated from the beginning and was hiding outside the door, crossed his arms, pressed against the wall, and silently listened to this boring farce. He held a cell phone in his hand, and the screen showed that it was recording.

Humans are easily swayed. Irrational people are driven by emotions, ignoring reality and consequences, and making blind and unfounded actions.

It's hard to say it's not foolish.

-----------------

What's all the noise next door?

"I don't know." Karuizawa Kei lay weakly on the floor, curled up with her arms wrapped around her knees, her back to the two people sitting at the small table.

Therefore, Chiaki Matsushita could not see her expression.

"Don't worry about them." Sato Maya also leaned on the small table with a subtle feeling. She tilted her head slightly towards Karuizawa, then changed her position and turned to the other side, as if her face was hurting from being pressed down.

Only Chiaki Matsushita seemed to be in a good mood?

“Matsushita…” Maya Sato said hesitantly.

"What's wrong?" Seeing the expressions on their faces when they came in, it didn't look like the negotiation had been successful. Matsushita Chiaki observed their expressions and didn't bring up the matter.

"How can you think that man is so easy to talk to?" He did something like that; he doesn't seem like a good person at all.

Was Panasonic scammed?

"Ah... so I was rejected after all?" Matsushita Chiaki said with a wry smile, resting her chin on her hand. Well, she'll go and reject him too... and ask him again later.

“…No, he said the two of us can go with you.” Maya Sato twirled her hair with her left hand and grabbed her ankle with her right.

"Huh?" Matsushita Chiaki exclaimed in surprise, then with a hint of joy, "Then why are you still making that face? I thought you had failed."

"That's great!" She patted her chest and breathed a deep sigh of relief. "Then we can all leave here."

“But…” Maya Sato said hesitantly.

"Huh? What happened?" Matsushita Chiaki asked, puzzled, seeing that the two of them didn't share her feelings.

As she asked the question, Maya Sato saw Karuizawa curl up again, making her look even smaller.

"No, I'm just worried." Maya Sato waved her hand in front of her face, jokingly adding, "Ah, what if that person is actually a bad guy? Wouldn't it be terrible to go there?"

When asked the question, Chiaki Matsushita crossed her arms and made a thoughtful gesture, as if saying "Hmm..."

"I don't think there's any need to worry so much. Ah!"

She suddenly remembered something, took out her phone, and while scrolling through it, said, "Take a look at this."

"You see."

After Karuizawa said that, Maya Sato and Chiaki Matsushita squeezed together, their similar scents mingling as they used the same shower gel and shampoo.

Apart from their separate toothbrushes and towels, they shared all other toiletries.

Then, Matsushita Chiaki clicked on a video that Sato Maya recognized at a glance—a video that went viral online last month.

The live broadcast of a handsome guy from Chiba fleeing with two female classmates, though filmed by a shady TV station, still brought a sense of satisfaction with the final, heart-wrenching scream.

Even now that the internet is down, you can still get the video files from posts on the school's online forum.

At first, Maya Sato didn't think much of it; she had practically memorized the video, except for the female reporter's voice, which made her want to vomit.

She rested her face on Matsushita's shoulder and watched quietly.

But in a split second, she realized the key and cried out in surprise, "Ah!!!"

"What's wrong?" Karuizawa Megumi couldn't help but ask because her tone was so loud.

"Karuizawa, come and look at this." Maya Sato took Panasonic's phone, climbed over to Karuizawa's side, lay on top of her, and held the phone in front of her face.

"What?" Karuizawa asked in confusion, looking at the content on her phone. "Didn't we just see this a few days ago?"

Although it was a malicious video, there's no denying that he's really handsome. The guy in it is like a prince on a white horse, or rather, a prince on a dark horse.

It carries a touch of the romantic flair of street artists, combined with exaggerated and extremely pleasing force.

The girls in the video are also very pretty. The girls from Advanced Nurturing High School sometimes talk about how if they were the girls in the video, they would definitely fall in love with the boy, like he was a free gift.

Even within the school's online community, you can easily find discussions about this topic by scrolling down.

"No." Maya Sato pointed to her phone, and thanks to that, she ended up completely lying on top of Karuizawa.

Well......

“Look, this boy.” She pointed forcefully at the frozen screen, a close-up of him with his hair pulled back into a ponytail, his mysterious sea-blue eyes full of allure.

Because it's still, the image is fairly clear.

"......!!!" After a moment of confusion, Karuizawa Megumi exclaimed in disbelief, "Could it be?!"

Sato Maya clearly felt the person beneath her tremble. She, too, was still filled with surprise. She sighed, "It's very similar, isn't it!"

"It doesn't look quite like it," Matsushita Chiaki said, causing Karuizawa and Sato to turn and look at her.

Matsushita Chiaki rested her chin on her hand, nodded with an expression of absolute certainty, and said, "I guarantee it's one hundred percent true."

She only belatedly discovered his swordsmanship after she returned.

But it was precisely because of his outstanding swordsmanship that she remembered him.

"Ah..." It was this person. Karuizawa Kei opened her mouth slightly, not knowing what to say.