A young girl in the corner of the classroom was attracting attention.
The clothes she wore that day were the centerpiece of the conversation.
A wine-red dress accented by a dainty ribbon on her chest, the garment boasted an abundance of ruffles and intricate embellishments scattered throughout, reminiscent of the allure of the Lolita style.
At that time, due to the trends created by kids fashion magazines, many children wore denim and leather jackets throughout the school year, which made her choice of outfits that went against this trend even more eye-catching.
The girls in her class adored her.
Because they thought her clothes were better than the fashionable ones.
It's not like there weren't people who felt unhappy with her sudden idol-like apperance, but the sense of superiority that came from looking down on childish clothes suppressed them.
"Yukari-chan's clothes are beautifully coloured!"
"Was it a celebration of something? Looks expensive-."
"We have a similar one, but Yukari-chan's fabric is nicer."
The girl named Yukari, who suddenly became famous, was a plain girl who never stood out.
She only has a few set friends, her grades are neither good nor bad, and she doesn't participate in club activities.
Because she had such a life, Yukari was happy to be praised, but was taken aback by her unexpected popularity.
Yukari's appearance was well received by the boys as well.
For some reason, they preferred her girlish appearance to the girls who dressed in adult-like clothes.
Unknowingly, Yuukari became the center of conversation among the boys, and those who had known her from the beginning were often teased with such comments as, "You like Yukari, don't you?"
It was such a small thing that sparked the fire.
Adolescent children are cruel; their intellectual understanding and rationality are still immature, and when they are swayed by intangible emotions, they become incredibly sadistic.
In particular, the feeling of 'being embarrassed of being in love with a girl' makes them go so far as to degrade the other person in order to get rid of that feeling.
"What flashy clothes. I really don't understand women's tastes."
"But you like that kind of thing, right? You were watching her all the time during class."
"Huh? I didn't look! That fluttering thing is annoying!"
Boys making fun of each other.
Divided between teasing and being teased, the friends around them starting agreeing with him.
"So you were looking after all! Uwa-, you actually do like her!"
"You're wrong, stop messing with me!"
The boy who was being bullied turned red in the face and denied it.
It wasn't that he hit the mark.
It was that just thinking about the rumour that he was interested in a girl made his face burn.
"How loud. Can't you hear yourself? 'Wait, there's some kind of rumour that... maybe you like me, kyu-un!' she might be thinking that."
Another friend joins in, posing his hands girlishly.
Followed by the entourage of followers who imitate the same thing.
"Gross! Stop it! Liking that girl is actually really gross!"
"Don't be so angry. Yukari doesn't have any male friends, so if you confess to her she'll immediately say 'okay.'"
"Hah? I don't understand the point of confessing. I'd be better off dead."
Eventually, he began to think that it was Yukari's fault that he was being made fun of.
Because she's here.
Because she wore clothes like that.
"What's with those clothes? There's something weird on them."
It would be better if he could show the people around him that he didn't like her.
Since it was easy to pull on the clothes Yukari was wearing.
The ruffles and ribbons are easy to grasp, and it seems that applying force could remove them.
Half-jokingly, he made fun of Yukari and complained about her clothes.
"Don't...! Don't touch them...!"
"Wow, how angry. So you're angry. Don't get so worked up over this then! Look, look!"
"Stop it! Enough of this!"
It is often said that a dispute that starts out as just teasing ends up becoming irreversible.
It was the same with Yukari.
The boy, trying to look good to his friends who had begun to crowd around the quarreling pair, heated up and put on a show of force.
That was the beginning of it all.
Yukari began to cry as the threads at the base of the frill came undone due to the force being applied to its fragile area. Even though the boy wanted to say that he didn't mean to do that, it was already too late.
If he admits his wrongdoing, he will be blamed by those around him.
So, contrary to his feelings, the boy pulled on her clothes even further, telling her not to make a fuss over something like this.
"An ugly girl like you wearing this kind of clothes! It doesn't suit you, so be grateful!"
The room that had been cleaned after school was overflowing with voices of anger and sadness.
"Cleaning the library is quite difficult because it's so large."
"Yuka is slacking off, so there's nothing hard about it."
"Haruka is too serious. Also, I was busy writing on Miyu's library card that she borrowed an erotic book."
"Please just die."
Groups of six people each, divided equally into six groups in the class.
In that half of the mixed male-female combination were Yuka, Haruka, and Miyu.
This group is divided into men and women no matter what they do.
This is because Miyu and Haruka are quiet and don't try to communicate.
Usually, Yuka serves as the point of contact with the boys, promoting extracurricular classes and group work.
In particular, Miyu did not try to get involved with anyone other than Haruka.
"Miyu, the boys have finished cleaning too."
"I see. Well then, I'm going back to the classroom. Yuka has some business with Haruka."
"Got it."
Separating from Haruka, Miyu went to the classroom alone.
Today, as soon as cleaning is done, it's straight to homeroom.
With the desire to go home as soon as possible, she arrived at the classroom, which had already turned into an unnatural silence.
Nobody speaks.
The air is tense.
It was like thorns were wrapped around the door. The sight was so painful that she hesitated to even look inside.
"Uuuu... Uguu...."
Yukari was crying as she sat on the floor.
There are three boys around her.
The argument between the onlookers and Yukari's friends seemed to have settled down, and no one wanted to get involved in this situation that had gotten out of control.
"What are you doing?"
With one exception.
"Ah? This girl didn't know that the clothes she was wearing were weird, so I taught her."
The person who answered Miyu, who stepped forward confidently, was the person who had started provoking Yukari.
He throws the ribbon he forcibly tore into pieces on the floor and glares at Miyu.
She half-heartedly put her cleaning supplies away.
Surrounded by desks that have been pushed aside, Miyu confronts the three men standing in front of the blackboard alone.
"I don't see how that can justify bullying."
Miyu slowly approached the male student while staring at him expressionlessly.
Everyone knew how strange it was.
Miyu, who doesn't try to interact with people on her own, is now taking the initiative and gets herself involved in a troublesome situation, creating a tingly atmosphere.
"Why are you complaining! You've hit on men so many times!"
The male student takes out a compass that had been lost on the teacher's desk and points it at Miyu with the needle at the end.
"You're cocky!"
With all his might, he swung it and threw it at Miyu.
The compass goes straight past Miyu's face and hits the wall.
A small scream rang out from among the onlookers as the weapon fell with a thud.
Miyu stands upright and motionless.
She even stops blinking.
Seeing this, the surrounding students laughed and laughed.
"Hah. You're scared, aren't you. This isn't related to you at all. Don't get in my way."
Miyu doesn't say anything back.
Instead, she picked up a broom that had fallen next to her.
Holding the base and center of the shaft with both hands, Miyu now points the tip toward the male student.
"What's with that. You're now eager to strike at me, huh?"
"Idiots won't understand unless they're told physically."
The male students burst out laughing at Miyu who was serious from beginning to end.
It's just an empty threat anyways.
There is no way Miyu, a good honors student, would get in a fight.
That's what they decided.
"If you're gonna do it, then just do--"
While the male students are taunting her.
Miyu took advantage of the switch in perception, launching an attack.
While maintaining the center line, she dives in and quickly closes the gap.
Without any deviation, the poke of Miyu's broomstick, which traced the shortest distance, split the sky and hit the male student's forehead.
With a dull sound, the male student falls backwards.
A painful scream echoed down the hallway.
The boy starts crying without caring about being seen by others due to the amount of pain he has never experienced before.
At the sight of the scene, one of his cronies took a teacher's triangular ruler and held it at the ready, as if he had been played.
"You bastard!! What are you doing!! What were you going to do if it hit his eyes!?"
"He's just making a fuss about a light nudge."
"Don't be ridiculous... you're getting carried away! I'll kill you!! "
The boy's friend points the sharpest part of the triangular ruler towads Miyu.
It was already the equivalent of a blade at that point.
DIfferent from hitting or shoving.
If you swing with it, you will almost certainly inflict a bleeding wound on your opponent.
It was just intimidation.
Since he is physically stronger and has a dangerous weapon, there is no way a girl won't be scared.
Believing that she would back away just because he was brandishing a weapon, the male students hurled abuse at Miyu.
"H-hey... I-I'm really going to do it!! I'm really going to kill you!!"
In reality, it was the male students who were frightened by Miyu, who closed the gap without changing her expression at all.
Miyu threw away the reach of her broomstick, her weapon, and approached him to the point she could reach out and touch him. Closing the distance, she grips onto the triangular ruler in his right hand.
Gradually, he applies more force, and the tip of the edge is pulled just in front of Miyu's eyeballs.
The ruler came to rest at a position on the surface of the pupil, where it almost reached the membrane, due to the balance of forces.
"What are... you doing...! Stop it! You idiot!! It's dangerous!!"
He can't relax his strength.
He'll end up gouging her eyes.
He couldn't even pull it.
No matter how much he pulled, he couldn't escape from Miyu's grasp, and the more she pulled, the harder it became to maintain his balance.
The tip of the ruler, literally in front of Miyu's eyes, was on the verge of collapse as they mutually exerted force on each other.
With sweaty hands, the male student could no longer endure the fear.
"Hey... stop it already...! I understand...!!"
Miyu suddenly let go of her hand as he begged.
With only the strength left to pull, the momentum he had caused him to crash into the wall and hit his head.
After curling up into a ball, all he could do was scream along with the first student who she made cry.
"Why are you trying to be so bossy by bullying a girl who doesn't fight back? You're just arrogant because they won't get back at you. If you were on the receiving end, you wouldn't be prepared to endure the same hardship. What's the reason for attacking a girl who didn't cause any trouble? Really... it makes me want to vomit."
Miyu's voice echoed through the earth, completely taking away the fighting spirit of the male students.
The remaining boy picks up the two crying people and lends his shoulder.
"Let's go. This girl's head is crazy."
The three of them ran away into the hallway, leaving behind parting words.
Replacing them, Yuka and Haruka entered the classroom.
"Ah, what's this. It's a mess. Is the teacher coming already?"
Yuka walks into the classroom without a care in the world and squats down in front of Yukari.
Haruka remained glued to the door, watching the scene.
"Here you go. I found your ribbon. Oh my, you're crying. Were you bullied by a boy and then Miyu saved you? If so, you should say thank you."
Even when she called out to her, Yukari kept her head down.
She was only shedding tears, no longer breathing heavily, and was staring at a single point like a doll whose strings had been cut.
"Hello hellooo. Are you listening?"
Yuka flips her hair like a cat.
Miyu returned to her seat, paying no attention to the exchange between Yuka and Yukari.
Yuka, following that with her eyes, frowned and twisted her body to a deep angle.
"--It hurts... my joints are screaming from Haruka's attack..."
Yuka's penchant for mischief is something she was born with.
Until she met Miyu last year, she would secretly sneak heart-shaped chocolates into boys' pencil cases.
"What are you doing, acting so over familiar with her?"
Unable to see anymore, Haruka pokes the top of Yuka's head with her index finger.
"Look, Yuka and Yukari, they're both yuka-yuka right? Isn't that kinda intimate?"
"That's not the problem..."
Haruka puts her hands on her hips and slumps her shoulders.
It was a big sigh that gave the impression of resignation.
"I hate it when Yuka can't read the atmosphere."
"What are you talking about? No one's speaking to her, so I'm the one dealing with it."
"Do you not understand the feeling of wanting to be left alone?"
"There's no way she would want to be left alone, after such a terrible thing happened to her. It's definitely more miserable to be left alone."
Yuka turned around and extended her hand to Yukari, who was still sitting.
"Here, here. The teacher's already coming, so hurry up and get up. You can use this handkerchief to wipe your tears. It's Miyu's though. Pupupu."
"Yuka..."
Even Haruka can't accept that as a joke.
Her thumbs pinched Yuka's temple like a vise, and with a scream, Yuka disappeared to the other side of the classroom.
Then the homeroom teacher came into the classroom with three male students.
Homeroom was held as usual, but Miyu was called to the staff room after school.
Although Haruka tried to persuade the homeroom teacher, the important Yukari became a silent shell, and Miyu was taken in for questioning.
After school, when all the students had gone home, the only people left in the classroom were Yukari, who was motionless, and Yuka, who was sitting across from her.
"How long are you planning on sulking. My benefactor, Miyu, is calling me out, you know."
Yuka had been talking to Yukari one-sidedly for about 30 minutes, with the back of the chair between her legs.
Yukari finally raised her cloudy face, causing her to wonder if such a call had worked.
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault. For wearing clothes like this... Yuka-chan, I'm sorry for making you go along with this too. Thank you. I'm feeling better."
Yukari's eyes filled with tears and she gripped her skirt tightly.
Yuka watched the scene for a while, then stood up.
"Ah-ah. Miyu's going home late. And she didn't put her gym clothes nor her recorder on the table. Let's go home then."
Perhaps satisfied with the response, Yuka hurriedly got ready to go home and left the classroom without saying goodbye.
In the classroom where Yukari was the only one left behind, the sudden silence filled Yukari's heart with anxiety and fear.
That fear caused confusion, leaving her unable to think straight.
Before she knew it, she was standing in front of a trash can.
The ribbon on my chest that Yuka picked up.
She wanted to pretend everything had never happened.
She chose and bought plain clothes.
Because she thought that cute clothes didn't fit her.
When she went to a relative's house, her cousin's older sister pointed out that she was already at a good age, but that she doesn't dress herself well.
When she plucked up the courage to talk to her mother about wanting to wear cute clothes, she was so excited that she bought them for her the same day.
She couldn't muster up the courage to wear it right away, so she continued to wear her usual clothes, feeling sorry for herself.
Today, when she put on these clothes and walked out the front door, her mother saw her off until she was out of sight.
What Yukari holds in her hand is a memento filled with such emotions for her mother, between the two of them.
"Like this… I can’t go home anymore…"
When she tried to throw it away, she couldn't stop sobbing.
Her view darkened and the air felt thin.
She couldn't even control her breathing.
The first thing Yukari noticed was the sound of the classroom door opening and closing.
"Mi... Miyu... chan..."
Yukari was shocked and stepped back.
She wanted to immediately continue with her apology, but when she tried to speak, her upper chest was pinched and couldn't get any air through.
Miyu glanced at Yukari's face and the ribbon, then placed her handbag, which she didn't have with her when she was called, on the desk, and after closing the door, handed Yukari a bag.
"Fue... what... is this...?"
"Gym clothes. I'll fix your clothes, so change into this."
It took Yukari a few minutes to understand the words.
Meanwhile, Miyu takes out a sewing kit from her handbag and prepares the needle and cloth.
"Fix it? Miyu-chan will?"
"I only did it as a hobby, though. I can at least attach the ribbon and fix the frayed edges. It's the type that is attached from the back with fabric, so I don't think it will look any different even if I rework it with what I have on hand."
When Miyu was ready, she put her hands on her knees and stood by.
Yukari hurriedly changed into gym clothes and handed the clothes and ribbon to Miyu.
Miyu looked over and over again at the front and back of the dress to check the shape of the seams, then immediately removed the needle from the needle pile and got to work.
"Today is the first time you've worn this dress, right? It would be a waste if you threw it away. It's so cute."
It was unexpected words.
It wasn't that she was able to guess that it was her first time wearing such clothes.
What surprised Yukari was that the hard-headed Miyu understood feminine clothes.
"Hey, Miyu-chan."
Her breathing calmed down when she realized that Miyu was going to fix her clothes.
Yukari wiped away her gloomy expression from earlier and turned to Miyu.
"I'm sorry, it was because of me that the teacher got angry at you. If the teacher's still angry, I'll talk to him, okay?"
"That's okay. The reason I was summoned wasn't solely because of this incident. Don't worry about it."
"Eh? Is that, so."
Miyu is a serious and excellent student.
There should be no need for her to be called to the staff room.
"Miyu-chan is really kind, huh."
Now that Miyu had helped her, it wasn't that surprising for Yukari.
Although she seems to have a hard time socializing with people, Miyu often takes care of students who are in trouble, and she is resourceful and considerate enough to do so.
"...I guess so."
Hearing Miyu's words and seeing Miyu's face, Yukari was shocked.
She thought Miyu would just humbly say, "That's not true," but the corners of Miyu's mouth loosened in amusement.
The way she was sewing while smiling suited her much better than her usual serious expression.
"Do you like sewing?"
"I like it. I've been doing it since I was in second grade of elementary school. It looks like this, but what do you think?"
Miyu asked Yukari to check the roots of the frayed ruffles.
"Heh? Uweh!? What is this!! It's back to normal!"
The wine-red color of Yukari's clothes should have been a color that couldn't be reproduced with the threads available at school.
It was restored as if the cloth had been completely replaced.
The way Miyu threads the clothes is smooth, and just the act of repeatedly inserting and removing the needle makes her want to stare at it forever.
It didn't take long until she finished attaching the ribbon.
"Yes, it's done. Can you check how comfortable it is? If it's too stiff, I'll adjust it as much as I can."
"Got it."
Yukari immediately took off her gym clothes and slipped her arms through her dress.
It's just like when she bought it.
It was clothes that were still brand new.
"Wow...it's exactly the same as when I wore it in the morning..."
"I see. Then that's good."
After putting away her sewing kit, Miyu folds up her gym clothes that have been taken off.
When Yukari hurriedly tried to do it herself, her gym clothes were already in her bag.
After Miyu put the two items away in her handbag, she captured Yukari's entire body in her field of vision.
"Yeah, it looks good on you."
"Ehehe. Is that right?"
Yukari scratches her cheek in embarrassment.
Miyu lightly nodded her head.
"You're a girl. You need to wear cute clothes."
"Miyu-chan...!"
A single drop of water trickles down her cheek.
It's different from the one from complete coldness just a while ago.
It was the warmest tears in Yukari's life.
"Thank you!! Miyu-chan!!"
Yukari jumps at Miyu.
Miyu embraces her and strokes her head.
After that, Yukari continued to wear gorgeous clothes to school, and it is said that from this incident with Miyu, not a single boy appeared to make fun of her afterwards.
"--I heard from Yukari that something like this happened."
"That's too unreasonable..."
I carried the completely cold french fries to my mouth.
Disgusting.
"I don't really understand why she likes cute clothes though. Miyu usually only wears passable shirts."
"Well, that's right. I've never seen Miyu wear fancy clothes since then either."
She was very picky about my manners and my way of dressing, but I never heard that she liked cute clothes.
I just thought that since that incident in the past, she had graduated and became an adult.
"I guess Miyu was also bullied at school after all."
"Miyu was? No way."
"But if the reason Miyu came home crying when she was in third grade was because of bullying, it makes sense."
"The one where she was rumoured to have beaten five or six people. If that's the reason, I can see why."
"Reason?"
"Why she hates men."
???
That's also new information.
Isn't Miyu dry towards everyone?
"For Miyu, sooo many amazing guys confess to her. Just counting the number of times makes me feel nauseous. And, surprisingly, they all fail. And she also rejects them quite harshly. Going that far, even I can't help but feel sorry for them."
"Is it that extreme?"
"It was a kind of physiological disgust, or rather, a denial of humanity... That's why some of the boys got angry. And then, it was pathetic that they took revenge. I know of a similar case regarding this. So I'm sure it's just as the rumors say."
Uweeh...
What a spine-chilling story.
Even though I'm also a guy.
I'm lost.
I wonder what she thinks of me.
Maybe in reality, she was secretly throwing up after everything I did with her...
No, if she didn't like it in the first place, wouldn't she not drink semen?
-Actually, she would have gone as far away from me as possible the first time she saw me masturbating.
"I guess she was stressed out because of the constant pestering. But she should have known that having such an attitude would cause trouble sooner or later. You didn't have to reject him so aggressively, did you?"
"She doesn't even know why she acts like that. She seems to get so disgusted that she can't control himself when sexual feelings are directed towards her."
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
I'm out.
Totally out.
I wanted to meet Miyu as soon as possible and reevaluate her reaction.
"I guess she’s a lesbian after all."
"She strongly denied it. I confessed to her several times too, but she's kinda different when it's from a man. I was treated badly, though."
Isn't that because you're the one doing it?
Confessing feelings just because they don't like you is the wrong way of being a person.
"Back to the topic. Why is Yuka pranking Miyu so much?"
When I asked Yuka, her expression became mysterious again.
It seems that Yuka is seriously considering it.
"Some of my classmates say that Miyu has no emotions. She is always calm, smart, and attentive. Miyu is strict with herself and others, comparable to Haruka. She is the idol of everyone at school. However, just because she's so out of reach, everyone forgets that Miyu is just a girl.''
There was a feeling of disgust and regret.
I don't feel anger from her.
It was just the feeling of desolation.
It's not like I've ever thought of Miyu as a distant stranger.
In spite of us being real siblings.
That's how much Miyu handles everything flawlessly, and it feels like she doesn't have to face any hardships.
I understand that such an evaluation is unwelcome.
However.
"That's no reason to prank Miyu."
"That's just how it turned out, isn't it? Personally, I was doing a lot of things to make Miyu laugh. But it didn't go well, and now things are getting a bit complicated."
Yuka clenches her fingers and follows the people walking by through the window with her eyes.
Does she want to embarrass Miyu so that others will help her?
Does she believe that if you make someone angry and shake their emotions, it will be easier for them to smile?
I'm glad that she cares about her, but Miyu won't open up in such a child-like way.
"And the same goes for her smile..."
Directly across from me as I was seriously re-evaluating Yuka, Yuka's face became excited and her voice became stagnant.
"Now, how can I say this? I want to see Miyu's crying face too... When I imagine Miyu crying like that... I... it kind of makes my heart flutter..."
Yuka folds her hands as if looking at something precious and breathes heavily.
Hey, Miyu.
Your friends are all crazy idiots.
Things have become so complicated that it ended up distorting Yuka.
"Anyways, stop playing tricks on Miyu! Alright!"
"...Oka-ay."
I quickly take out my wallet, slam the bill on the desk, and leave the store.
That proclamation, which was only for her, was abolished in less than an hour.
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