Chapter 196 – ???’s Thoughts

When I was little, my mother used to praise me all the time for being a bright and kind child. She would shower me with praise over and over.

"If you keep living as a kind person, you will surely lead a happy and fulfilled life."

That was something that my mother always told me. She was a gentle person at heart who only saw the good in others. It was inconceivable for her to think of another person as evil.

I thought I could be the same as her. My mother who lived so happily and joyfully, I truly thought that I would be able to grasp the same happiness as her.

With that goal in mind, I made sure to become the nicest girl in the world. I changed my personality so that everyone would love and adore me. Good grades, a beautiful face, and a deep well of kindness was the very essence of the person known as Mitsuki Fujiwara.

However, my efforts were all for naught. I was not able to achieve that happy and fulfilled life that my mother talked of.

I was bullied for being beautiful. All of the girls thought that I was trying to steal their boyfriends. The boys thought I was a convenient girl that would hop from guy to guy.

I was bullied for being smart and having good grades. Everyone was jealous of me for having the top grades in my school year. No one wanted to be friends with such a person who hogged the number one spot of the school year.

I was bullied for being kind. Boys would often believe that I was into them just because I was being nice to them. The girls thought I was putting up a nice girl persona to steal their boyfriends. They thought I was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Even though all of this was happening, I was able to endure the bullying because of my kind mother who cheered me on. I truly thought that I could conquer the world if my mother was here standing by my side.

Then, it happened.

My mother died.

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Why was this happening?

What did I do to deserve this misfortune?

Why?

Why?

Why?

My mother died in a car accident on her way to work. A drunk driver drank a bit too much in the morning and completely rammed into my mother's car from the side.

She was pronounced dead on site.

My kind mother who gave her all to raise me as a single parent was dead. My father left us when I was too young to remember anything.

I didn't have any immediate family left. For the first time in my life, I was truly alone.

There was no longer a safety net for me to live a normal life. I knew I had to find a way to survive, so I decided to pick up a few part-time jobs and managed to barely afford living with the spare funds my mother had left me.

Go to school, go to work, sleep, go to school, go to work, sleep. This was my routine day in and day out.

There was no longer any warmth in my life. I was just continuously droning away everyday just to make end's meet.

I hated living.

Why did such horrible things have to happen to the kindest people?

Why am I being punished?

Mom... was I a good enough girl?

Would you still be alive if I was a better girl?

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I made it to high school.

I didn't really care which high school I went to, so I decided to choose the closest one.

Shirakawa High was the place that I decided to go.

When I went in for the first day, I had completely no expectations at all. This was just a place to waste my time for the next couple years.

Nothing was different anyways. People would ignore me because I was too gloomy and unapproachable. No one even tried to approach me in the whole first month of school.

I was once again reminded of how alone I was in this world. No one acknowledged my existence and no one made sure to check up on me. I was just a waste of space in this world.

Then, something happened.

I was minding my own business and then two delinquent-looking guys approached me and asked for my number. They looked extremely nasty and evil, so I tried to let them down easy.

However, these two guys didn't want to go down without a fight. They kept on getting closer and closer to me.

I noticed that one of them was about to get physical, so I tried my best to yell for help. Even if I knew that no one in this world cared for me, I still held on to a glimmer of hope that someone would help me.

For the first time in my life, I wished from the very bottom of my heart that I would be saved.

As if the gods heard me, someone did come and save me.

An average-looking boy with messy black hair and no noticeable features came to my rescue as he faked an emergency call.

After scaring the two delinquents off, he asked if I was okay and offered me his hand.

I grasped his hand without thinking about it too hard and realized that the thing I had been lacking was right in front of me.

The warmth of his hand reminded me of the warmth of my mother's hand that I would often hold. This boy was seriously concerned about my condition and was trying his best to help me.

It was at this moment that the frozen walls that encased my heart finally began to thaw.

This boy made my heart beat like no other. Before I knew it, my cheeks were flushed and I was asking him for his name.

It was so painfully obvious that I had fallen in love with this boy. If it's him, I'm sure to lead a happy and fulfilled life if he becomes my lover. That's why I must have him at all costs.

Because...

I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him.

—

Meter will have more of a presence in the next two arcs.

Serious-san: I think she really likes him...

Sugar-chan: You think?