"Heh."
Without directly responding to Ishizaki’s question, Ryuuen simply sneered, a smirk playing across his face as he shifted his cold gaze to Karuizawa.
"Do you really think I’ll let Karuizawa go just because of this little stunt of yours?"
"Who knows?" Hikigaya shrugged, lowering his arm subtly to signal to the towering Albert to ease his grip.
Being held up like a ragdoll wasn’t exactly the image he wanted to maintain. Besides, standing on tiptoe for too long really made your calves cramp. Surprisingly, Albert complied. A decent guy, in a way—albeit the silent, terrifying kind.
Still, it didn’t matter much. Hikigaya posed no threat. He couldn’t run, and he didn’t look strong enough to fight. Holding him up or not made no difference.
"You’ve already poured water on her," Hikigaya said, referring to Karuizawa, who stood shivering and humiliated. "So it wouldn’t be all that surprising if you decided to do sothing worse."
Even while still partially restrained, Hikigaya sighed. "Still, I’m definitely filing a complaint with the school."
He felt a little embarrassed making that kind of declaration, so he quickly added, "After all, if this school turns into a place where bullies thrive, that would severely affect the learning environnt."
Ryuuen’s expression darkened. His clenched jaw and twitching brow suggested he was about one second away from flattening Hikigaya into the rooftop tiles.
"You think a complaint will do anything?" Ryuuen scoffed. "Let enlighten you. The surveillance equipnt on this rooftop has already been tampered with. Even if soone raises a suspicion, there’s no solid evidence that we did anything. Nothing that’ll stick."
Hikigaya glanced at Karuizawa. She looked at him again—hopeful eyes, clinging to a belief that he’d do sothing miraculous.
Don’t look at like that.
I’m not your hero. I’m not anyone’s hero.
It was clear she had been bullied badly before. Probably for a long ti. That kind of fear didn’t co from just one confrontation.
Honestly, Hikigaya thought, part of him felt she kind of deserved it.
Not in a cruel, spiteful way—but rather, out of realism. He didn’t understand why soone wouldn’t speak up. Why wouldn’t she resist? Why let them do this?
But then again, that was the norm.
Most people who were bullied didn’t resist. They feared the spotlight. They feared being noticed more than the actual violence.
"Yes, I have a witness," Hikigaya said, tilting his chin toward Karuizawa. "Her."
"Huh?" Ryuuen turned his head, confused.
"You an... her?" he asked, eyeing Karuizawa like she was so irrelevant side character.
"Are you an idiot?" Ishizaki scoffed. "That girl doesn’t even dare to open her mouth."
"You’ve misunderstood," Hikigaya replied nonchalantly, glancing at them all like they were clueless. "It’s not that she doesn’t dare to speak. It’s that she doesn’t dare to let others know she was bullied. That’s the difference. That’s why she’s fallen to the bottom of the class."
He’d seen people like Karuizawa before—many tis. People who would rather suffer in silence than break the illusion of normalcy. They would smile, laugh, join in with gossip or rumors, just to maintain their place in the hierarchy.
All for vanity. All to avoid isolation.
He never understood it. Then again, maybe they weren’t trying to be liked—they were just afraid of being alone.
"Ha? What difference does that make?" Ishizaki asked, utterly confused.
"The difference is huge," Hikigaya said, eyes narrowing slightly.
He could feel Ryuuen watching him closely now.
"She’s not afraid of you. She’s afraid of the invisible thing called atmosphere. That unwritten social rule that says, ’Don’t rock the boat.’"
Karuizawa looked up, her tear-filled eyes staring at Hikigaya with genuine confusion. What was he talking about? How could he know so much about her? How could he understand what even she couldn’t explain?
Ryuuen stepped forward, his voice low. "So what? You’re going to use that against her?"
Hikigaya smirked faintly. "The witness is Karuizawa. If she won’t help , I’ll expose the fact that she’s been bullied. But if you don’t let her go, I’ll expose the fact that you bullied her."
He let that sink in for a second before adding: "Now do you get it?"
This wasn’t about morals. This was about leverage.
Both sides were using Karuizawa to get what they wanted.
Ryuuen didn’t want this incident exposed. Karuizawa didn’t want her past revealed.
That ant he—Hikigaya Hachiman—held all the cards.
No one really thought he was a good person... right?
Right?
Karuizawa was stunned. A fresh wave of panic surged through her. Her secrets, her pain, her entire façade—threatened from both sides.
She had thought the man in front of her ca to rescue her. But now she wasn’t sure. Did he co to save her... or to exploit her?
Ibuki Mio stared at Hikigaya, her eyes wide. "Aren’t you supposed to be saving her?"
Hikigaya scratched the back of his head, awkward as always. "Well... I an... technically."
He forced a small smile. "Preventing bullying is every student’s responsibility, sure. But before protecting others, you have to be able to protect yourself."
He glanced back at Karuizawa and shrugged. "Besides, I don’t really know her. So why should I get involved?"
"Don’t mistake for soone like Ichinose."
Ryuuen narrowed his eyes. "Class C has been working on this plan for a while. And now you think you can just walk in and ruin everything?"
So that’s what this was about.
After the sports festival, Ryuuen had been relentlessly hunting for the elusive X—the one who had been feeding information to Class D.
He’d wasted ti, manpower, and resources... and now this.
"Is that so?" Hikigaya said calmly.
He raised his hands again, as if tired of the entire charade. Albert didn’t stop him. Perhaps he’d also realized there wasn’t much point anymore.
"Look," Hikigaya began, "whoever this X is, they don’t care about Karuizawa. If they planned to co, they’d have co. If they don’t plan to co, they won’t. Whether she’s here or not doesn’t change anything."
Silence settled over the rooftop for a mont. Even the breeze seed to pause.
Ryuuen clenched his fists. Ishizaki looked like he wanted to throw a punch. Ibuki stared, unsure whether Hikigaya was a genius or just completely insane.
Karuizawa stood there, motionless. She didn’t know who to fear more—Ryuuen and his gang, or the boy who now had power over her truth.
Sowhere deep down, she felt the weight of her own choices. She had let herself be silenced for so long... now others were speaking for her, using her as a bargaining chip.
Was this what she wanted?
Was this how she wanted to live?
She didn’t have the answer.
In this twisted dance of cruelty, silence, and manipulation, Hikigaya Hachiman once again proved that he wasn’t the protagonist of a teen drama. He wasn’t the prince. He wasn’t the hero. He was the one who saw through the ugly truths and played them better than anyone else.
And for better or worse... that made him dangerous.
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