She was surprised and asked how it all ended.
At that moment a car stopped next to them. They heard a strange sound, and then several men ran out. One of them grabbed the girl.
Naritu was immediately flooded with memories, and he grabbed the man by the arm and threw him a few metres aside. The man who had been standing next to them was very frightened, and Naritu asked whether he still wanted to continue. He backed away from him in fear, telling him not to come closer, and thought, what kind of monster is this?
Rui got out of the car, applauded and told Naritu that it was impressive. He had never seen him in action before, and he was even cooler than he had imagined.
May furiously ordered him to stop talking nonsense. What the hell had just happened? He had set this up so that Naritu would get into a fight, in order to use him. What a nasty older brother she had.
Hearing this, Naritu looked back and forth in shock and asked, "Is he your older brother?"
Before they left, Naritu wanted to ask her about it, but her brother said that time was up. She said goodbye to Naritu and apologised for that strange behaviour. Then she got into the car.
When they returned home, she was still wondering what was going on. She was pulled out of her thoughts by her brother's voice, telling their father that they were back.
Gentoku Narumiya told the children that dinner was ready. Let them change their clothes and come to the living room.
Soon they were all gathered at one table. They ate in silence, and May glanced at her brother and thought, why today of all days? They usually all eat separately.
Her father called out to her, which made her nervous, and said that he had heard there was some kind of ridiculous game at school and that she had been present at it, and that it seemed there was one student there with exceptional skills. His name was Naritu, or something like that. What was he like?
She asked him, confused, why he needed to know this, and he said that he had heard about him from Rui. Apparently he wanted to enrol at their university. It seemed that Rui, a junior, was close with this man. He confirmed this and continued. As a parent and as president of the university, he felt he should know a little about what was going on.
May was curious about this interrogation, and she asked with displeasure, had he finally decided to become a parent?
He asked in response what her clothes were made of. What she was eating now, and the place where she lived. It was all with his money, wasn't it?
She agreed with this, but it was not money he had earned.
He said that things were not created by working hands alone. Business is born where there is money. Without it, nothing would appear. Charity is just a cover. But she could live as she wanted because he allowed her to. However, her childish protest could no longer be ignored.
She could not stand it any longer. She jumped up from the table and slapped it with her palms in anger, telling him to stop talking nonsense. He had sent a car today just to ask about Naritu.
Without looking up from his meal, he asked in response, would he really send someone for a simple question? A child's time and his time were not of equal value.
She furiously reminded him that he had left her alone all this time.
And he asked, did she still think she was a child? Non-interference is not the same as inaction. So what is he like, this Naritu?
A new day arrived. Classes were almost over, and Naritu was planning to call May to go to cram school together. He also wanted to ask her about what had happened yesterday.
So May is Rui's younger sister. A brother from an elite school and a sister from the worst high school — but the best on the courses. But still, why is she here? There are much better schools than this one.
Laughter came from May's classroom. He decided to see what was going on, heard May's name, and looked inside through the window.
A crowd of girls were forcing another girl to eat off the floor, and May was filming the whole thing on her phone.
This sight made him uneasy, and he thought, why is she doing this?
The girl went on swallowing rice in tears, and Saki pulled her hair, asking, "Is this okay? Did your mum make this for you?"
She mumbled something and threw it on the floor, and Naritu thought that they were definitely making fun of her. He turned his gaze to May and thought, is she just like them?
Saki poured a carton of milk into that girl's rice and said that it would make everything tastier. She's a dog, right? She sometimes mixed soup into her dog's food. The other girls giggled quietly, and Saki pushed the rice towards the girl and told her to eat.
She said something in a trembling voice. Then Saki stroked her head and asked with a smile, "Did she talk? Can dogs talk? I didn't know that."
Right after that she slammed her face into the rice. She started choking, and Saki said, "If she can't talk any more, then let her raise her left paw."
She raised her hand. Saki hit her again and called her an idiot. Dogs don't raise their paws like that.
Naritu was shocked. It was a heavy blow for him. The friend he had finally found, a student who shared his values, a study partner he had no longer hoped for, was really like that.
But May herself could not watch it. Her hands trembled. She turned away and met the shocked gaze of Naritu, and she herself was frightened.
After the prep class, they walked home together as usual. Naritu felt awkward, but he wanted to make sure of everything, and he started mumbling.
And May, without even looking at him, sternly told him to say what he needed to say.
He asked why she had entered Shaon High School.
She told him that it was none of his business and headed for the exit, and he followed her in agitation and said that it was weird. She was a good student, and she had seemed normal when they talked.
She stopped and turned to him, asking, "So what?"
He looked away awkwardly, but she must have a reason for this.
She told him that of course there was a reason, but it was not something he had made up. It really was not a cool reason at all. Just a normal teenage rebellion. She had had plenty of other options — other schools to go to, emergency exits, and so on. Despite all that, she had specifically chosen this school of her own free will. Being with those girls, filming that video of the bullying of a student — all of it was her choice.
An image of her older brother covered in blood immediately popped into her head, and Naritu asked, "Are you serious?"
These memories made her shudder. She quickly pulled herself together and told him that it was really serious. She also suggested that they not meet at school any more. She had decided to live her life the way she wanted, and she would never live the way he told her to.