Episode 25 

Source

https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330661640203483/episodes/16817330662247106497

The flames caused by the article Saito san wrote and published jumped from my parents to the school.

After slamming my parents, the netizens turned their attention to the advisors of the club and the school who left the bullying and lynching situation unchecked.

[What was the school doing when Shinonome Tohru was being bullied?]

[Another cover-up?]

[It must be a cover-up. The worst.]

[Can’t you do something about the habit of covering up in educational institutions?]

[I read the article and the advisor of the soccer team is finished. Letting bullying by club members go unchecked…stop it now !]

[Was he lynched within the club as well……it’s really too harsh.]

[He was lynched in class, at home, and in the club, that’s too hard, I’d definitely kill myself.]

[It’s close to my home, but I’d never let my kids go to this school.]

[Wasn’t there a teacher, a counselor, or any other adult who could have been on his side?]

[The situation is totally different, but when I was a student I was bullied and even though I talked to teachers and others they didn’t do anything about it, so when I see incidents like this I feel pain in my heart.]

[Wouldn’t it be better for Shinonme Tohru’s homeroom teacher and class leader to be disciplined and dismissed? Is that the case?]

The coach who overlooked the lynching by the club members, the homeroom teacher who neglected the bullying by the classmates, and the school who did nothing were all bashed by the netizens.

The school’s bulletin board was also intensively attacked and vandalized, even causing the server to crash temporarily.

The school’s official social media was also frozen across the board, probably after netizens reported the incident.

The flames were not extinguished, but rather spread and engulfed the surrounding area.

The incident was also touched upon by well-known influencers on the Internet, who raised issues related to the cover-up of the Japanese educational institutions.

“I never thought it would get this far.”

I was a little surprised as I watched the incident from my side.

I was a little surprised.

When I was interviewed by Saito san, I had never imagined that this incident would become so important.

Due to the recent trend of being sensitive to issues such as bullying, many people’s anger was directed at the school, but I didn’t feel particularly sorry for the school.

All I did was tell Saito san the truth.

When I was suffering from the false accusation, the adults around me did not help me at all.

Except for Risa and Hayato, no one listened to me.

When I asked for help in appealing for the truth, my homeroom teacher cut me off and said, [You deserve what you get, you have to take care of it yourself.]

So the netizens are not wrong in their accusations.

Even if they were not directly involved in my lynching and bullying, the teachers who knew what was going on and turned a blind eye were no different in my mind from the students they had abused.

So, to be honest, it felt pretty good to have the world impose sanctions on the school on my behalf, as if they were speaking for me and expressing the feelings I had always wanted to express.

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“Ah, Tohru ! Thank Goodness ! You came !”

After the break.

When I arrived at school as usual, I met Risa at the school gate.

When Risa saw my face, she ran up to me, waving her hands happily.

“I’m glad…..Toru. You came to school…”

“Of course I came.”

“I-I was worried about you, you know…? You know, after what happened on the internet……I was wondering if it might be difficult for you to come to school anymore…”

“I don’t think so. I’m more comfortable than I was before.”

“I see…I’m glad to hear that.”

Risa lets out a sigh of relief.

I’m sure Risa was worried that I might feel responsible for this incident and find it difficult to come to school.

But to begin with, I’m completely disgusted with the teachers and students of this school because of this false accusation.

So no matter how much they get beat up on the Internet, they deserve it, and I won’t feel sorry for them at all.

“You’re worried about me?”

“Yeah……I told you before, I’m on Tohru’s side,…..so you can talk to me if you need anything, okay?”

“Yeah, I know. I’m really grateful for your help.”

“Yeah…….”

“…? What’s wrong Risa?”

Risa looked a little sad.

I asked her why.

When I asked why, Risa said timidly.

“Um…Tohru? I…..read the article that started the fire…”

“Oh.”

“What was written there…about Tohru’s family…that they didn’t believe in Tohru…is that true?”

“….”

“Ah….”

As soon as the topic of family came up, I couldn’t help but frown.

Risa saw my expression, guessed something, and shut her mouth.

“Sorry…..can you please stop talking about my family…?”

“S-sorry…”

“Those three people…I can’t see them as family anymore…”

“…..It’s…..true, isn’t it…what was written in the article…”

Risa looked very sad.

As a childhood friend, Risa had met my parents and my sister.

She had met all three of them and knew that our family relationship had always been good, which was probably why she was so sad that my family had joined the world in blaming me.

“Yeah…it’s all true…..I told those three the truth many times, but they didn’t believe me…..so I don’t believe them anymore either. …”

“Tohru…”

I clenched my fist tightly, and Risa gently put her hands on it, as if impatient.

“Risa?”

“I know it’s been hard for you… Being betrayed by your family…”

“Yeah…”

“I think I can imagine how painful it must have been for you, Tohru. You know, Tohru. If you don’t trust your family anymore,……you can think of me as your family.”

“…Family?”

“Yeah…..I want to help you,……and I don’t want to see you in pain anymore,……so if something really happens to you…I want to help you. I’ll help you no matter what.””

“….Risa.”

I shook Risa’s hand back and nodded.

“Thank you. Then, if there’s anything I need to talk to you about, I won’t hesitate to do so.”

“Yeah.”

Risa looked straight at me as if to leave it to her and nodded vigorously.

“Ah, b-but, uh-uh, even though I said family…..I don’t mean that I want to be your companion…or anything weird like that…”

“…? Risa?”

Risa, who had let go of my hand as if in a panic, was red in the face and was mumbling something in a small voice like a mosquito’s.

I couldn’t hear what she was saying because her voice was too quiet, so I looked into Risa’s face and asked her.

Risa buzzed and shook her head as if to say it was nothing.

“I-I’m sorry…don’t worry about it…”

“O-oh…?”

I went to the classroom with Risa, who was acting a little differently than usual.

“H-hey…did you see? The Internet…”

“Yeah…isn’t our school really bad…?”

“I never thought it would be this big of a deal…”

“Ah…..Shinonome senpai…”

“Shinonome senpai……”

Students passing by were overhearing whispered conversations about the flaming incident.

The school has already been talking about the flames on the Internet.

The students recognized me as we passed each other, all of them let out an [ah] and then walked away awkwardly.

“I really can’t believe it.”

Seeing this, Risa next to me said that in an irritated manner.

“Everyone’s under fire for what they did and they’re not remorseful at all…… They tried to blame you for their mistakes, but they can’t admit their own?”

“That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

I didn’t have any expectations about that, because after the incident, I’ve learned the hard way that humans are convenient creatures.

But Risa, perhaps angry on my behalf, who has lost the energy to even be angry, looks at me and glares at the students as they walk awkwardly away.

“Did anyone apologize to you after that? Since Tohru was found not guilty?”

“Not a single person, I’m afraid.”

“…..I really can’t believe it.”

“Yeah…well, I guess so.”

In the end, Risa remained angry all the way to the classroom.

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