Unspeakable bubbles

Professor Nakamura nodded and said this.

"Huh?" Misa Ohara didn't expect Nakamura to still be protecting Ikuko at this point.

“Professor, seven children in the class have severe finger fractures and may be left with disabilities... This is no small matter.”

"Oh?"

Nakamura clearly hadn't expected Ikuko to go so far this time, but the next moment he looked at the girl's panicked face and said, "It was excessive self-defense, but there were eight people on the other side, so there was nothing we could do about it."

"professor!"

“Misa, watch your tone,” Nakamura said calmly.

Misa Ohara's heart sank; it seemed Nakamura was determined to protect Ikuko.

"If there's nothing else, go outside. After something like this happened, you, as the homeroom teacher, should be maintaining a good atmosphere in the class."

"I don't want to hear any rumors. Don't just stand there like an idiot; you have a lot of things to do."

Misa Ohara remained silent, gritted her teeth, and stormed out.

As soon as "Professor" Misa left, Ikuko said anxiously, "What should we do? This time 'she' really did something outrageous."

"Ninomiya and the others kept crying and begging her. But she wouldn't listen."

"Alright, alright, I can handle this little thing."

"Sit down for a while, I'll make you some tea."

Regardless of his inner thoughts, Nakamura always maintained the demeanor of a kind elder in front of Ikuko.

"Have some tea, and tell me slowly," Nakamura said kindly as he skillfully brewed a cup of black tea for Yuko.

Yuko covered the scalding hot teaware, and her heart calmed down a little.

Then, she recounted everything from her 'memory': "Last night, Naoe led a group of people to tie me up in the toilet. She said she's always disliked me and wanted to teach me a lesson today."

"What a naughty child! Did you two have any conflicts before?"

Yuko looked bewildered: "I don't think so. We're roommates. Although we're not particularly close, I really didn't expect this."

The girl got angry as she said this: "I never expected her to do something like that."

"Don't take it too hard, Yuko. I know Naoe too."

“She’s always been rather withdrawn, and spending so much time with someone as outstanding as Yuko must have put a lot of pressure on her,” Nakamura said seriously.

"Yes, really?" The girl took a sip of tea, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Later, they tried to do some terrible things to me."

"Are you alright?" Nakamura asked with concern.

Yuko shook her head, a look of fear returning to her face: "They hadn't done anything to me yet, and 'she' suddenly woke up."

"I see, I understand now."

Nakamura comforted them, saying, "They brought this on themselves; it has nothing to do with Yuko."

"wrong!"

Yuko became agitated: "I couldn't stop it, I..."

“You just happened to fall ill at the right time,” Nakamura said firmly.

"The right time?" Yuko asked, puzzled.

“That’s right. If ‘she’ hadn’t appeared back then, you would be the one lying in the hospital now.”

"Or do you think they are more important than yourself?"

“This,” Yuko was speechless for a moment.

"There's nothing to worry about. A bunch of bad kids got what they deserved. You really have to thank 'her' this time."

Nakamura smiled nonchalantly and then asked, "Yuko, how are you now?"

"what?"

"Haha, I mean, compared to before, Yuko, do you have any special feelings now?"

Yuko hesitated for a moment, then said uncertainly, "I feel much more relaxed."

(Is it easy? That's good, that's good.)

Nakamura breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, this valuable material hadn't caused any major problems.

He nodded. "Yu Zi, don't overthink it."

"Leaving aside the fact that they were in the wrong to begin with, it doesn't matter if you really did something wrong."

"I'll take care of everything."

Chapter 52, Section 052: Yesterday's Self

"Have you heard? Yesterday?"

"It's not impossible that it's that Yuko."

How terrifying!

"If you're obedient, everything will be fine, right? I've always been obedient."

The atmosphere in the classroom was a bit off early this morning.

With so many students absent, and Naoe and her friends' final actions not being concealed, the situation became even more complicated.

They weren't fools either, and they quickly learned the whole story through various small circles.

Everyone was whispering, glancing nervously at an empty seat every now and then.

They're all gone now.

Kimiko sat in the back row, lost in thought.

Naoe, Takano... those who bullied me are gone.

According to my classmates, they seemed to have had a fierce conflict with Yuko and are now probably all in the hospital.

Even though she knew it wasn't right to think this way, Kimiko felt a secret joy welling up inside her.

'They're all gone, all the people who bullied me are gone!'

A twisted smile slowly spread across her face. 'Serves you right for bullying me!'

At that moment, the classroom door was opened.

Everyone fell silent for a moment, and after seeing who had entered, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

It's not Yuko, don't be nervous.

However, the person who came in is indeed a hot topic right now.

Naoe Akimoto had a band-aid on her face and a large bump on her head.

Once inside, she turned her eyes around, searching for someone.

Soon, Kimiko, with a smile on her face, met Naoe's gaze.

Kimiko's face drained of color instantly; she felt a chill run down her spine from Naoe's gaze.

Something is different.

Something about Naoe, whose eyes are vacant, has changed!

A strong sense of unease made Kimiko restless; she had a bad feeling.

My own affairs are probably not over yet.

Sure enough, after a morning of torment, Kimiko saw that unsettling figure on her way to the cafeteria.

"...Yes, is there something you need, Naoe?"

"Same as always, see you on the rooftop."

Naoe Akimoto said the last thing Kimiko wanted to hear, without any expression on her face.

"Um, me."

Before Kimiko could respond, Naoe walked straight past her.

Is it going to go back to the way things were before?

Kimiko bit her lip. At this moment, the person she hated most was Naoe, and besides that, it was Sakakibara Ikuko.

She couldn't help but think: Since you've dealt with everyone else, why did you leave Naoe behind? Haven't I suffered enough?

I've had enough. I don't want to be with them anymore, um, wait.

they?

No, it shouldn't be her.

Naoe Akimoto only had one enemy.

So, is it possible for me to... put up a fight?

Long-term repression finally made Kimiko want to rebel. If the target were Ikuko, that would be one thing, but it was Naoe.

Naoe, who led a group of people and got utterly defeated by Yuko!

"Me too, I can do it too."

As Kimiko muttered to herself, her gaze hardened.

"If it's just one person, I can think of a way."

While her courage hadn't yet dissipated, Kimiko stopped going to the cafeteria altogether.

She turned around and ran quickly towards the classroom.

...................................................

On the rooftop, Naoe stood quietly.