The next morning, as I walked to school, a thought came to me,

School, the place where people my age socializes and build relationships with each other, the thing with school is that after the students graduate, most cliques will either be reduced to a smaller size or even being disbanded, not everyone has the same interest thus separating them apart as each of them follow their own personal dreams, so the term friends will always be temporary in most cases, even though nowadays there are phones and internet for them to communicate anytime and anywhere, bit by bit as time flies, new friends will also be made that will be more important at that time, not that there is anything wrong with a temporary bonding, that is also what helps humans to get through life day after day.

It’s just sad that someday, someone that we once share our problems with, get into fights together, will become a stranger to us.

Speaking of friends, it’s been almost 2 months since I entered this school, but it doesn’t seem like I made a lot of friends, Chiba, the student council, and perhaps the apprentices and sports club representatives? Well, we don’t mingle around that much.

As I continue to wonder, I arrived at school early to see that Kaichou has also arrived in class.

I never noticed that Kaichou had always been alone, does she not have any other friends?

“Good morning Kaichou!” I greeted.

“Good morning to you too Hitori-kun,” she greeted back.

We then walked together towards the school gate.

“By the way Kaichou, I always see you alone, do you have any other friends?” I asked bluntly.

“Friends? What is the purpose of having friends?” Kaichou questioned.

Purpose in having friends?

“Well not that I have many friends, but from the animes I watched, friends are people who will always be together no matter what happens to each other, they are the people to rely on other than your family,” I tried to answer.

“Then what if I tell you that having friends also increase the chances of betrayal and lies, I have never put my trust in anyone other than myself, I simply took account of the risk and probabilities when placing my judgment on something”.

“Err….am I your friend? Kaichou,”

“The student council are just acquaintances of mine, no more than that”

Acquaintances, is that how she perceive us?

“Does that mean you don’t trust me Kaichou?”

Kaichou remained silent as we walk to the gate.

“Well, even if you don’t trust me, I still have my trust in you, Kaichou-chan! Hehe,” I claimed with a smile.

I noticed that she looked at me from the corner of her eyes as they were glaring at me…

An idea came to me,

“Say, what if I can convince you to trust me?”

“I don’t care”.

How cold, her words are very cold it made me question whether global warming is even real.

“Alright, I’m gonna have you trust me before summer break! If I win, you’re gonna go on a date with me heheheh,” I proposed a bet.

“Although I guess we did went on a short date at that cafe before didn’t we? No no that doesn’t count, I’ll bring you on the best date you’ll ever remember”.

“Very well, but if you fail, you will be doing all my work in the council room for a week”.

What’s this, I never thought she would agree. But her condition seems a bit cruel…

“A week? That’s like seven days”.

“Scared?”

“Hell Nah, bring it on,” I said with a determined face holding up a fist.

…

During recess in a different part of the school, a group of delinquent or more known as the ex-bullies gathered behind a building.

“I’m not gonna let this end like this, who does he think he is?!” the leader of a gang of four, Genji Kirei is mad.

“I’m pretty sure he’s the student council vice president,” said Fujisaka, one of the guys in the gang.

“I know that, dumbass!” Genji said with anger.

“How dare that new kid showed his fangs in front of me, but…..dammit! That guy was scary as hell!!, I felt like I was gonna die when he stared at me like that,”

“This wouldn’t happen if the president didn’t allow that brat to become the vice president”

“That guy seems awfully attracted to the president too, what a freak,” said Fujisaka.

“The president…yes, if we can’t charge straight to the enemy, we’ll charge to the things he holds dear, hehe hehe, seems like we got ourselves some work to do boys”.

“As expected of the boss!” said Kasaki Yori one of the guys.

“For now I will need you guys to gather as much information as possible for me to plan the downfall of our beloved president,” Genji said with a wicked face.

The group of delinquents then left the place when the school bell rang. Little did they know that half of their conversation was heard by Hitori who was in the bathroom right inside the building that they gathered behind. Hitori’s face appeared to be very enraged but he immediately tried to calm down his clenched fist.

…

“Those guys again? They’re up to something”

For the following week, I kept my eye on them, but they seem to be acting as how good students should.

I kept my mouth shut about this problem because if I were to accuse them without any proof this time, it might backfire. The same strategy won’t work twice.

What are they plotting? ‘downfall of Kaichou’ huh? I won’t allow that.

As I wondered about their plans, they appear to be lost from my sight

Where did they disappear to? Dammit! I lost focus on the target, this is bad.

Ah, there they are!

There were three guys from the delinquent group exiting my class.

“Why are they exiting my class?”

After they left, I quickly went inside the class and look around if anything was missing, and then I noticed Kaichou’s bag was widely opened.

As I looked inside the bag, it appears to be a purse in the bag. It doesn’t look like a student's purse. I then grabbed the purse, but just as I was about to grab it,

“What are you doing?” Kaichou’s voice is heard sending a shiver down my spine.

“Oh it’s just you Kaichou, listen to this, just now I saw a few guys ca-” I tried to explain but was stopped by her.

“This situation seems like someone is trying to frame me into stealing one of the teacher’s purse,” Kaichou stated while glaring at me…

Wait, this is not one of those situations where the good guy got framed attempting to help another person, is it?

No way this is happening.

“Yeah! Those guys just ran-…wait, you don’t think I would do this, do you?” I asked Kaichou with a worrying face.

“Seeing is believing,” she said.

She sure can joke…

“Haha that’s funny Kaichou, gotta give you that one, I really thought that you would-…..”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

My face changed to an expression of shock almost as if this was a nightmare became true.

There was nothing I could say to make her believe me, rather it would make the situation worse if I continued to say anything, it would just make me seem more suspicious, I suppose I’ll just keep my mouth shut and say when I needed.

But sadly…

…

In the council room,

“I’m not buying it, there is no way Hitori-kun is that kind of person, don’t you think so Kaichou?” Sasaki said.

“Ye-yeah, even though he doesn’t seem reliable at all, he has never been anything but kind to other people, other than those bullies of course” Makino stated.

Kaichou remained silent while continuing her work on the desk.

The room’s atmosphere has turned very unpleasant.

…

Because most of the teachers in this school dislike me, majority of them didn’t believe my explanation except Ishizaki-sensei, my homeroom teacher.

Fortunately, she convinced the principal to give me a chance to prove my innocence. But she said she won’t be able to help me, otherwise, all this would be pointless.

She does have a point there, getting help from her might also result in her reputation as a teacher being tarnished if in the end, I can’t prove I’m innocent.

As a result of the case, I was suspended from any student council activities which means I can’t look at Kaichou more than usual…how frustrating…

“How did it come to this? There is no way I can prove myself innocent, this whole situation is just a mess, come on I gotta clear my name, anything…anything to serve as proof, one week and if not I’ll be relieved of my position as the vice president and suspended….. ahhhh” I said to myself while hitting my head with my hand on the way home.

Getting suspended means I won’t be able to go to school for a while….but getting relieved from my position is worse! I don’t want that…

My brain is already exhausted to cope with this situation, now I gotta find some non-existence proof…if this is a dream, please wake me up right now! even if this is a dream, it’s too brutal…

…

“What the fuck? How did that guy found the purse?! Well, either way, we got our prey cornered, no one will trust him ever again after this…..but somehow I’m still unsatisfied with this….ugh…, let’s go to plan B” Genji said to his guys.

“Maybe we should wait for this situation to calm down a bit more before proceeding with another plan,” Aoki, one of the guys said.

“Fuck that, we’re gonna go straight to plan B,”

“This time, I’ll be sure to see your face of despair bastard,” Genji said with an angry face.

“But isn’t that plan going to get us suspended from school for a whole week if we are found out?” Fujisaka worried and terrified.

“First, you knowing about the punishment for this plan is messed up, second, this plan B is kind of heartless boss, you sure this is okay?” Kasaki asked.

“That is if we are found out, I got something we can put on, don’t be a wuss, if we succeed, that bastard is gonna regret making me his enemy, hahaha” Genji claimed with a sinister laugh.

…

Day after day I tried to think about how to clear my name, but none of the brainstormings had bared any fruit.

To think back on the situation, why did I even bother to pick up the purse? Perhaps I was curious…

What if I just left the purse inside the bag?

Kaichou will found it or another person might found it first, that’s quite a risky situation.

She might not notice the purse until a search has been issued that lead to them finding the purse in her bag. Shit! That’s the worse possible scenario!

So, was my action that lead to this dilemma had indirectly saved Kaichou from being the victim?

I guess…

The days went by, there are two days left for me to prove myself innocent.

“Dammit, I can’t find anything! At this rate, I’m definitely gonna get assumed as the culprit!”

I shouted in the class after realizing that.

These past few days, I’ve been staying at school every single day in hope of finding anything to prove my innocence.

But the only thing that I got is exhaustion…

Noticing the sky is already dark, I was surprised that today I stayed for this long.

“Oh, it’s night time already, better get going,”

Suddenly, I saw Kaichou walking in the hall alone with her bag towards the school exit,

“I wonder what Kaichou thinks of me now, she did avoid me every time I tried to talk to her”

She must have lost all her trust in me…even though she might not even have trusted me before.

No no this is too soon to give up!

Too soon? I think this might be the best time to give up…I still have one more day though, might still wanna keep trying.

I guess I’ll try talking to her again.

“Hey! Kaich-”

“...”

I stopped after hearing small voices whispering,

“Whoa! She really worked late today, how did you know that?”

“I’ve been observing her schedule for two weeks bruh, what do you think I’ve been doing?”

“That’s creepy as hell bruh”.

“Yeah yeah let’s get this over with”.

These voices, no doubt they’re the delinquents.

Are they plotting something again?

The unusual design of the bottles they held in their hands caught my attention.

Observing them closer, I noticed a corrosive symbol on the bottle they were holding.

Shit! It’s acid!

Without even thinking, I quickly ran to Kaichou as the guys approached her slowly.

They’re very close to Kaichou but she doesn’t seem to notice, how is it that she could notice me following her before but not now?

At this rate…

What is this fear I’m feeling? Anger? Rage? Quite a mix of unpleasant emotions.

“Oraa!!!!” Genji shouted while throwing the acid at Kaichou.

Kaichou startled and turned around to witness the acid falling in mid-air towards her. She closed her eyes and felt a strong force pushing her until her body was flying to the ground. She opened her eyes and saw Hitori who had his face covered with his blazer while screaming.

“Argh!! It hurts!”

I shouted in pain, my hands feel like it’s burning! It hurts so much!

Holding in the pain, I immediately got up and caught one of the guys that were running away. My right hand got fumes coming out from it aside from blood gushing out. The guys were terrified but one was caught and held down.

“Hitori-kun, your hand…..” Kaichou said worriedly.

“Huh?” I said while rapidly breathing of exhaustion from catching the guy.

I take a look at my hand,

A small view of skeletal structure can be seen on the back of my right hand covered in dark red substances…blood.

“Ah, so that’s how human bones look like,”

My vision became blurry, I think I’m gonna pass out…

…

Upon waking up, I realized that I was taken to the hospital.

The doctor had also treated my hand to stop the bleeding.

“I’ll just ask this even though I already know the answer to it, your hand can be treated with new cells, it can look as good as new”

“Treat the wound with new cells? Hmm no thanks, I’ll just live with this, you know I can’t afford that luxury right, plus this hand looks so cool” I said to the doctor after hearing his offer.

“Well then, if that’s what you want, I don’t think I can change your mind on it,” the doctor said.

“But make sure to cover that up, people are going to get freaked out looking at that”.

With a hand like this, even I would freak myself out.

“Cover huh? Then can I wear a glove? The breathable ones of course I don’t want the glove to be filled with sweats,”

“In that case, I have a pair of nice gloves for you here, this is the least I can do to help you”

“What are you saying? I’m the one indebted to you,”

After receiving a cool pair of gloves I then proceed to leave the hospital.

“Thanks for the gloves too!”I shouted and got scolded by the guard.

After the explanation that Ishizaki-sensei told me though the phone,

So the school had taken me as innocent, apparently, his name is Kasaki Yori, that guy admitted to the school about the acid case and even the purse case, it surprised me that they all came to admit themselves, perhaps this is what they meant by the power of friendship. They got a one-week suspension, maybe they would have been expelled if I didn’t take back the acid case and admitted that I mishandled it, that would be too brutal for them, a bunch of high schoolers in their rebellious stage.

Ah, even my school uniform is now unwearable, need to order a new one soon.

“I wonder what happened to Kaichou, I hope she’s all right”.

…

The next day at Hitori’s apartment,

“Why do I have to rest at home for three days? Oh yeah, I don’t even have a uniform now……they said one will be delivered to me today,”

My phone rang and an unknown number called,

“Hello, this is Hitori Yume, who’s this?”

“Good afternoon, this is the student council president, I’m here to inform you that your new uniform is ready, I will come to meet you at four o’clock to hand over your uniform,” the caller said.

A very familiar voice.

“Wait! Kaichou? How did you get my phone number?”

“The school’s staff gave me,” she answered.

Is it that easy to get access to other people’s information? Well, she is the student council president…

“You’re gonna come to my house to deliver it?”

“Yes, is there something wrong?”

“No, no! Let’s meet up at another place, the park nearby school at four perhaps?”

Shit, I can't let her know about my apartment.

“If you’re fine with it, then that place is where we’ll meet up,” she said and immediately hung up.

“Why is she delivering it? I thought they said I was going to pick it up….”

I happened to arrive early at about 3.50 p.m., I’m not sure why I’m very nervous to meet Kaichou even though it’s just a delivery.

“Just a delivery, just a delivery, just a-” I repeated until I heard the voice of a person greeting me.

“Good evening, Hitori-kun,”

“Good evening, ah Kaichou!”

She’s wearing her school uniform while holding a plastic bag. From the looks of it, that plastic bag contains my new set of uniforms.

Kaichou then walked to sit beside me on the bench.

My gloves immediately caught her attention.

“Gloves?” she asked.

“Ah, these gloves help my hand to recover faster, it’s going to be like nothing ever happened to my hands,” I said with a convincing face.

“Ah, how was your hand? It looked very serious the other day,” she asked me.

“As I said just now, it’s fine, no need to worry, they got stem cell treatment, so everything’s fine now, hehe,” I said with an assuring face.

“Isn’t that expensive?”

“Don’t worry, I got it all under control,”

Kaichou then handed out the plastic bag to me.

“Here, this is your new school uniform,”

“Ah, thank you, how much is it?”

“Take it, let me at least pay that for you,”

“Eh, no way, I’ll pay for this uniform myself,”

“You helped me back there, let me show my gratitude for you by paying for this,”

“Nope, I’m not going to accept it then,” I said while handing the uniform back to Kaichou.

She got confused as I attempted to walk away.

“Wait! Please take this uniform, you won’t be able to get to school if you don’t have them,” she said with a worried expression.

Wahh, that’s the first time I have seen a different expression on her face.

“Why? Did you miss me~~?” I attempted to tease her.

Her face immediately turned emotionless.

“Suit yourself, don’t come to school,” she said with a cold expression.

“Ahh! I’ll take it, but let me pay for it, I can’t be indebted to someone anymoreeeee,”

She then took the money and left the park saying nothing as she fades from my vision.

“I can come to school again with this! Yahoo!,”

“I feel bad for lying to Kaichou though, does this mean that she is right to not trust me after all?? Uarghhh………”.

I still need to confirm that the gang boss is not related to the other guy, it just gives me an unpleasant feeling as if they are really connected. I guess I’ll just ask him when his suspension ends.

On my way home, I came across the gang leader, Genji Kirei.

“Eh, is that you Mr. Bully?”

…

This voice, I know this voice, this is the voice that made me fell into a fear I’ve never experienced before.

“Ye-yes? How may I help you”?

“I’ve got something to discuss with you”.

Discuss? Is he gonna kill me and dispose of me in the ocean? Is he gonna discuss a different method to kill me because I tried to hurt the Kaichou and frame him? Eeeeeek!

“Su-sure”.

I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead…

We approached a vending machine.

“Here,” Hitori handed a drink to me that he got from the vending machine.

What is this? My last meal? Please just end my life quickly, I can’t bear to be tortured like this!!

“Tha-thanks.”

“Do you know who Genji Kisho is?”

Ge-Genji Kisho?!!!

“Ho-how did you know that name?!”

“So you do know him…….. what’s your relationship with him?”

“He’s my big brother”

“Mind telling me some details?”

Details….

“He died……he was killed by a gang when he was saving a girl from getting abducted,”

“Well, to tell you something, I knew about it…,”

He knew?!

“Yo-you knew?!”

“Yeah, actually I was at the scene, that night the wind was colder than ever, I was on my way home from the hospital when I saw a guy was fighting a couple of thugs, upon closer inspection, I realized that he was saving a girl, I quickly went to help him but it was too late, he got stabbed in a vital spot, how I got to know his name is that I inadvertently saw his id card in his wallet when I picked it up from the floor, your brother fought heroically that’s for sure, his eyes were brimming with justice as his soul faded away”.

“We had a little talk before he left this world, I can tell he’s a very nice person, he even joked about his death right before his last breath, I can’t help but laugh… If I were quicker, maybe he would still be alive…”

“No! Please don’t say that!”

“Eh? Why?”

“I’ve already put aside blaming someone else for his death…”

“In the beginning, I blamed everyone, even myself… but I soon came to realize that I can’t go on living like this if I were to continue to blame someone else for his death.”

“Living like that seems like more of a hell than the hell I’ve been through…”

“Is that so…”

“I-I miss him so much…” the tears appeared inevitably.

“Th-the reason I became like this was that he left me, I have no one else to support me, our parents got divorced and we lived with our mother all this time, she worked so hard to keep us going, taking multiple jobs with very little time to rest, me and my late brother were very worried that she might get sick if this goes on and insisted that she continue to be like this, but our mother, every time we tell her to stop, she just put up a smile and say ‘it’s fine’, then one day, our worst nightmare came true, she fell sick and was bedridden, all these time, my brother was the one supporting us, he was my hero, when he left, we didn’t have the money to live, our living conditions become very poor that made her illness worse day by day, you might be wondering what a poor kid like me doing in a private school, my shit of a dad had actually paid for my education for a full three years in advance, that’s why I don’t need to pay for it anymore, but as days goes on, surviving with the little money I got from bullying those rich bastards’ kids, it still wasn’t enough to get my mother medicines for her illness until the day she passed away. I felt as if that most of the reason for me to continue living is gone, nothing has been good for me in my life, I-I-I really…..hoped…..that…..Nii-san….was still alive…..”

Genji continued to cry while being accompanied by Hitori on his side.

“Losing something means that you’ll be receiving something in return too, that’s what I believe.”

“...”

“Thank you, for listening to my crap, I’m very sorry for troubling you before….”

“Don’t sweat it, at the very least, it can’t get worse from now on, can they? Hehehe,” Hitori said with a wide pure smile and left the place.

That smile hides an unimaginable amount of pain, suffering, but somehow heartwarming. How did he hold himself intact for so long…. I don’t know what shit had he gone through to have developed that very thick persona…. I think I just realized what makes the gap between the two of us…... Nii-san, I found someone….just like you.

Wait I thought those thugs were beaten to near-death…………this guy is………. hella strong…….