Perhaps it was necessary to mention that the exterior was now completely calm, the darkness of the night had increased as the seconds progressed and only the light from the street lamps or the light that came from the distance produced by the main area of the city made that you could still appreciate the shapes and outlines of the surroundings.
The time had also advanced accordingly, leaving only an hour difference before midnight hit, so it wasn't too hard to guess that the people around the area were already strange to see, but on top of all that Kurono's car was still parked in front of the apartment complex that served as Shizune's home.
The words that Kurono had just said were still fresh in Shizune's mind, she had understood that the feelings he felt for Kazumi were completely sincere, but all that was in the past, although that did not mean that Kurono was simply going to forget about everything, since if that were the case, they would not find themselves in this situation.
"What kind of incident?" Shizune had to ask since Kurono had once again remained somewhat silent, she was not trying to force him to tell everything, but she knew that this was a way of supporting him so that he could continue with his story.
"Sigh… I guess you could consider it stupid revenge." Those words had left Shizune confused, but Kurono quickly continued speaking. "I don't know how or when exactly it happened, but one day I started hearing a lot of rumors all over the high school, and each of them had Kazumi-nee as the lead."
Shizune felt indignant and upset after Kurono started saying some of those so-called rumors as each one was worse than the last, from lies about Kazumi to things that shouldn't be said lightly. It was clearly a scene of abuse, but before she could express her own feelings, Kurono stepped forward.
"I know, surely you want to curse the culprit of all that in many ways, it wasn't much different for me back then." Although he seemed calmer, only Kurono knew the annoyance that remembering all that caused him.
"Tell me that all that is solved, please." Shizune hoped to hear something positive as a response, although it would be something more complicated.
"The best thing would have been for everything to be fixed with a couple of explanations or just ignoring those rumors… But not to give it too much importance, I found out who was to blame for starting all that, an idiot who had been rejected by Kazumi-nee and was doing all that for revenge." Kurono's hand felt a slight tingle and he couldn't help but clench it to form a fist while frowning a little.
Shizune noticed that small action, so she simply put her hand over his in an attempt to calm him down, which was quite effective.
"Sorry… It's just that thinking about him and the way he hurt Kazumi-nee makes me upset with myself. During that time I had tried to talk to her, I know that I looked a bit hypocritical after avoiding her all that time, but I had to ask her what exactly was going on and get any clues, but she always told me that nothing was wrong and that there was no she cared what others said about her... But just the day I discovered the culprit, I met Kazumi-nee to tell her what I was going to do, and what I saw was not that usual smiling face as the tears that fell from her cheeks betrayed all the pain she was feeling at that moment." Kurono didn't know how many times he had sighed, most of the time because he was disappointed with himself for not having acted when he should or for the way he treated Kazumi.
Shizune had placed her hand on her chest while with the other she kept squeezing Kurono's. Shizune was not too oblivious to hearing people around her talk about her behind her back, she had experienced it when the news of her pregnancy had come to light, and although it had not been a pleasant thing to remember, it was also true that she received the support of the people who cared about her as well as her friends and classmates, so she needed to know what exactly had happened to Kazumi.
"I don't know if what I did was the best either, but from the way everything turned out, I guess I brought a little change to the situation." Now, Kurono chuckled a little to himself, which was a bit strange due to the environment from a few moments ago, and had to continue explaining himself when he saw the curiosity on Shizune's face. "In short, I got into a fight with that guy, in the first place I complained to him about everything he had done, but I couldn't bear to continue listening to his teasing and denial, and when he started insulting Kazumi-nee, it all came to that."
That was a more difficult situation for Shizune to imagine, she thought she knew Kurono's attitude very well, so she knew that he was not a violent person, but after hearing the way talked about Kazumi, even though she felt very upset, she didn't judge his actions.
"Maybe I should be thankful that I always had a good physical condition, and that combined with the anger I felt, ended with that guy getting what he deserved… Unfortunately, it hadn't been a very good idea to make all that fuss in the middle of the cafeteria. I still remember the crowd that had formed around us and the futile attempts to separate us, but when I had been able to calm down enough, I was greeted by the figures of the teachers arriving right at the area where everything was happening." Kurono told everything with some embarrassment, but that feeling hadn't been enough to erase the small smile on her face. He knew that he had not made the best decision, that violence was not the answer... Well, maybe on some specific occasions it was... But now that he remembered all that, at least he felt satisfied.
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And with this, it would be 100 chapters... I wonder if I developed the story well up to this point.