CH 5

“I understand…I won’t go to the police. In exchange, please promise me that you will never touch my sister here.”

“Taiga! Wait! Do you know what that means?!”

I know what it means. I will be treated like a sex predator by everyone at school until I graduate for something I didn’t do. I can only imagine the hell I have to go through.

But I don’t want anyone I care about to become a victim because of me. That’s more unbearable for me.

A self-satisfied self-sacrifice? Yes, that may be true. But what else is there to do in this situation? If there is any other way to ensure that I can protect my sister from the scumbag in front of me, please tell me.

Any choice that has even a 1% chance of not protecting her is out of the question, it has to be 100% or it’s useless.

My hell will last until I graduate high school at the most. My sister’s future is at stake. I don’t care what anyone says, there’s only one answer I can choose.

The principal no longer hides his true nature and smiles a sickening grin.

“I’m glad you understand, Taiga-kun. Yes, it’s a good decision. Of course, I knew you would say so!”

“Wait a minute! I will never allow you to do that!”

“This is fine! Mom!”

Mom, I’m glad that you feel the way you do about me. Yet, I dare to raise my voice here.

The principal is watching our exchange with a look of satisfaction on his face.

There is no reason for me to use honorifics with this outcast anymore.

Now I’m like a bomb to the school. Just as he holds my sister hostage, I hold the school’s honor hostage.

I should be allowed that level of selfishness. The man in front of me is not respectable at all.

“Finally, okay. I want to hear your personal opinion. After listening to what you have said so far, what do you think of Rena Saito?”

“…Well, I don’t know. But her father is a wealthy man who donates a lot of money to our school, you know.”

I see. So there’s a reason for that. It’s really repulsive.

It’s probably because my sister is a promising and excellent student with high expectations for the future, and Rena Saito is popular with boys. As for me, just an ordinary student with no standout features, he probably doesn’t want me to interfere or do anything, and just wanted me to disappear

If I was falsely accused and expelled from school because of my mental illness, there would be no damage to the high school. That’s who they are.

“Is that all you want to know? Well, that’s all I have to say. So with that, I ask that you take good care of yourself, okay? Taiga-kun, as long as you keep your promise, I swear I won’t do anything.”

“Yeah.”　

After receiving my phone back from the principal, I drag my mother, who is still not convinced, to the exit.

“I’ll see you later. Please come to school tomorrow in high spirits.”

In high spirits…huh. I guess he knew it was impossible for me to do such a thing. He is a classless man who licks people until the very end. Such a man is the head of his school.

“Go to hell. B*****d.”

I said this with all the hatred I could muster and left the principal’s office.

I managed to calm my mother, who was now becoming furious with me for having taken the liberty of doing so, and was just about to head for the front door to go outside when I heard someone running from behind me and a woman’s voice calling out to me.

“… Yagami.”

“… Yuki-sensei?”

Aoi Yuki-sensei. She is my homeroom teacher with long hair that reaches her waist and is in her late 20s. Rumor has it that she is like a mirror of a teacher who faces any student straight. The reason I say this as if it were someone else is because I have never caused any particular problems in my life, and it has only been a few days since I started second grade and switched classes.

She is affectionately called “Aoi-chan” behind her back by her students. I’ve seen students who got caught calling her that lightly pushed, but I’ve never heard of anyone who dislikes her even if they do such things.

I wonder if she ran to me in quite a hurry. After such a teacher caught her breath, she politely greeted my mother next to her and then stared into my eyes and asked.

“I heard what you said. I’m sorry…it’s impossible for me, as the homeroom teacher, not to be there, but the principal wouldn’t let any of us in. Since there were no classes, I was taking care of Sakuragi in place of the health teacher.”

“How is Mio looking now?”

“She’s probably tired from all the rough stuff she’s been through. She is sleeping in her bed now. Did you do what Saito said you did?”

She raised her glasses and looked at me with a serious expression.

As in, “Don’t ever lie to me.”

My mother, who was left alone, looked at me with concern, and in order to respond to the seriousness of the teacher, I looked her in the eye and clearly assured her

“I did not do it. I am not lying. I want you to believe me.”

After a short period of silence, the teacher’s expression softens a little as she smiles.

“I don’t think you are lying, after all. I thought it was strange from the way Sakuragi was acting, but I’m glad I was able to confirm it with you directly.”

“Do you believe me, Sensei?”

“Not only am I your teacher, but I’m also Saito’s teacher, you know? Well, either way, I’m still your teacher. Believe it or not, it’s just confirmation. So, what happened?”

I assume she is asking about what we talked about in the principal’s office. But I can’t tell her the details.

As I was making a bitter face, the teacher saw it and seemed to sense something. The teacher, as is her habit, raised her glasses again.

“You can’t tell me….huh. But I guessed it. I know what he’s thinking. It’s laughable to think that such a person is the head of a sacred educational institution.”

“I agree with that opinion. But is it okay for you to say something like that, sensei?”

“I also hold a grudge against him.”

It’s not something one would normally say to their superior, but it seems that Sensei has her own circumstances.

“I’ll try to find a way to help you in my own way. I am always on the side of my students. So, Yagami, you are not alone. And I’m not the only one, you know?”

Sensei looks at my mother, who is next to me.

That’s right, I also have my mother and Mio. I still don’t know what to tell my other family members… but Rinto has been my friend for 10 years, I believe he will understand.

“Well then, take it easy today. I don’t think there are any disrespectful students in my class who blatantly bully others, but if there are, don’t hesitate to tell me, okay?”

“Yes, thank you, sensei.”

After seeing the principal, I sincerely feel relieved that my homeroom teacher is Yuki-sensei.

“What, it’s natural. See you tomorrow then. Sorry to leave your mother behind.”

My mother, who was moved to tears, thanked the teacher and left the school building this time.

The silence continued as neither of us could speak, but when we came to a place where there were few people around, the silence melted away.

“Taiga, Shion is my precious daughter, and at the same time you are my precious son.”

“I understand. Thank you, Mom.”

“I’m sorry, Taiga. I don’t know what to say to you right now.”

It’s only natural as a mother. If you have to choose between two important things, it would mean cutting off the other important one without hesitation.

At that time, she did everything she could to protect me, but my mother didn’t really know what the right choice was.

It’s painful to see my mother cry. But no one could have known what the right choice was in that situation, and both my mother and I couldn’t say anything more.

We walked towards home without our usual cheerful conversation.