Chapter 19: Her Past

"Hey! I didn't make you guys wait too long did I?"

Ryuji smiled harmlessly and Hirata gestured for him to sit next to Sato. After nodding at Sato he sat down and ordered a coffee for himself.

"Is something wrong, Karuizawa-san?"

"O-Oh, not really. We've just heard some interesting stuff about you floating around in class." Karuizawa evasively shifted the topic, not betraying her sense of unease.

It lasted for just a moment but that was all it took to shake her composure, albeit briefly.

"Me?" Ryuji acted surprised, "I don't think I've done anything special for there to be rumors about me, it's not something bad, right?" He turned towards Sato who shook her head.

"Yamamoto-kun, are you dating Horikita-san!?" Sato ended up blurting out the question.

"Well, some of our classmates have seen you hang out together and Horikita-san doesn't really talk with anyone else," Hirata added to the conversation, making things a bit more clear for Ryuji.

"Ah, so that's what's up..." Ryuji chuckled with an embarrassed expression, "Actually we're from the same middle school so she's willing to talk to me. My grades aren't really the best and Horikita was always the best in studies so I asked her to tutor me."

"Oh! See, Karuizawa-chan! I told you they weren't dating." Sato smiled joyfully.

"Hmph," Karuizawa pouted, "What's it to me if he's dating her or not? Plus I'm sure she's going to spend the rest of her school life with that bitchy attitude—"

"Apologise."

Ryuji's cold voice cut her off and the members of the table froze in shock.

"What did you say to me?" Karuizawa glared at Ryuji but unexpectedly her glare caused him no discomfort.

"You have no right to insult her like that, especially not behind her back. Apologise right now."

"So that's it? You just hung around us without a care? You only care about that Horikita huh!? Talk about being a leech—"

"Karuizawa!" Hirata raised his voice, a faint tinge of anger in his expression. Karuizawa froze, her hand trembling under the table.

Looking at her expression, Hirata's face softened but his tone was still stern, "Yamamoto-kun is right, you shouldn't talk bad about someone behind their back. Since Yamamoto-kun knows her from middle school he must not like it."

"But I was just—" Karuizawa paused, "Alright alright, I wasn't insulting her that's just how I speak. There! Happy?" Karuizawa continued to glare at Ryuji.

"I'm sorry for acting like this, I truly consider you guys friends but Horikita helped me a bit in middle school so I can't stand her being disrespected for no reason." Ryuji paused, "She's actually a very kind person at heart but she acts cold for certain reasons I can't explain."

Hirata put on a strained smile, "Of course, I'm sure Karuizawa-san, like she said, doesn't mean it."

"C'mon c'mon let's not focus on these things." Sato who had been silent tried to interject and Ryuji helped her.

"Well me aside, I'm surprised you two got together. Who confessed first?" Ryuji grinned at the two and the tense atmosphere slowly melted.

Hirata was grateful that Ryuji wasn't being stubborn, despite it being Karuizawa's fault.

"I did," Hirata spoke calmly and a smug expression adorned Karuizawa's face. Sato looked a bit envious but she glanced at Ryuji and her jealousy lessened a bit.

"That's amazing, you're really brave." Ryuji whistled and the table smiled.

At the same time, his coffee arrived.

They continued to talk for about twenty minutes before bidding each other farewell.

...

Ah, what splendid coffee.

I called the waiter over and ordered another one. I know I was wasting points but I couldn't help it. Refreshing my taste buds with this new country and culture has certainly been amazing.

At the same time, I pulled out my phone and sent someone a message. Instantly, the message showed a blue tick, indicating it was read.

Though, I received no reply.

I wasn't worried though.

Before my coffee was ready my visitor had come. She sat down in front of me with an irritated and haughty look.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, I'd like to apologise for my outburst again. I think I overreacted a bit." My expression was surely sincere, my eyes surely innocent.

"Hah!? Well... At least you know your place. You're lucky Hirata-kun was there otherwise I wouldn't have let you go for that!" Karuizawa harrumphed coldly.

"Of course of course." I smiled.

Karuizawa seemed impatient. Seeing that I wasn't saying anything she got up to leave. Almost three weeks had passed since the beginning of school and Karuizawa had unofficially become the queen of the class. 70% of the girls followed her lead, which was an unprecedentedly high number.

"You've changed so much, Karuizawa."

My soft voice drifted through the chaotic cafe reaching Karuizawa's ears, causing her to freeze in place.

...

"You've changed so much, Karuizawa."

What?

My heart began to race. For a second my mind went blank before I turned around and stared at his face. He looked at me gently, as if gazing at a small helpless child.

I've changed?

Of course, I have. The past me would've never believed what Karuizawa Kei has achieved. She would've never thought that the loser, bullied and helpless Karuizawa had become the one with the highest social status in class.

But why... why is he asking me that? Who is he?

Mechanically, I turned around before choosing a confused look and questioning him, making sure none of my anxiety showed, "Huh? What do you mean? Do I know you?"

I tried my best to sound arrogant, to sound like a bitch. I want him to hesitate. To drop the topic. To think he must've identified the wrong person.

He said he was from the same middle school as Horikita.

He couldn't possibly know me.

"Are you not Karuizawa Kei? The Kei that I've known for three years. The Kei that got beat up regularly. The Kei that got her videos of getting beaten up circulated. The Kei that screamed in terror when she found dead animals in her desks. The Kei that often cried while going home because of wounds caused by thumbtacks being placed in her shoes... Are you not Karuizawa Kei?"

For a moment, my mind went completely blank. All I saw was endless white. And then immediately after, there was darkness.

Despite myself, I remembered. I remembered junior high and the hell I'd created for myself over the most trivial of things. I was stubborn, headstrong, and right after starting school, I made enemies of the other girls for no reason. What followed was a complete nightmare.

Writing hateful graffiti on my textbooks and throwing my notebooks away? That was just cute. They dumped water on me while I used the bathroom. More than once. It even became a routine. They punched and kicked me. They recorded me getting beaten up and circulated the videos. They put thumbtacks in my shoes and dead animals in my desk.

I remembered all of it.

They pulled my skirt down in front of our classmates. They hid my underwear and uniform after swimming class. They made me confess romantic feelings to boys I didn't actually like. They made me lick their shoes. They even made me pick garbage off the ground and eat it.

I remembered experiencing one humiliation after another.

Yes, that was right.

I remembered.

I worked so hard after coming here. I showed no weakness, I maintained my image. I even confessed my past to Hirata so that he would help me and accept me as his girlfriend, even if not real.

Was...

Was I going to lose everything again?

Was I really going back to those days? If that happened, I knew my heart couldn't take it. I couldn't endure it if the girls who were now kind to me, who were my friends, started to change.

My old school had abandoned me. The only good thing it ever did for me was tell me about this school.

They threw me a lifeline by letting me go someplace where no one knew me.

If no one knew me, then I—

"Sit down."

The tone of his voice never changed, as calm as ever, yet it made my heart turn cold with dread.

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A/N- 750 powerstones is insane and way more than I expected. I'll post the extra chapter in an hour like yesterday. We're also top 10 in ps ranking!!!

The next bonus chapter goal is 1000ps though I'm kind of hoping you guys don't reach it, I really need to stock patreon T-T

Again, the lemon has been done and the rewards for the blackmail (I've made it more interesting) have been distributed. Depending on the powerstones you could get the chapters today or tomorrow since you guys have certainly been enthusiastic.

Otherwise you can read ahead if you've got the cash.

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