After taking a few minutes to recover, I offered Kurebayashi to have lunch with me at the construction site. She obliged and so we ate our lunches inside a makeshift tent that was probably put up before by one of the workers. While I was chowing down on my much anticipated porkchop, Kurebayashi once again thanked me for coming to her aid and proceeded to tell me about what happened.
Apparently, she received a request from the baseball club to help out during one of their practice sessions. Because one of their managers was sick that day, she was supposed to take on that manager's duties. This included setting up the pitching machine. But because she has no idea how to operate it, she accidentally set the machine on the highest speed and it wound up sending a ball flying at 90 miles per hour towards the baseball club's ace player. He got hit on the side of the head and suffered a mild concussion.
"He was taken to the infirmary afterward. I was not sure what else I could do except to apologize profusely. Though he assured me that he understands it was an accident and told me to pay no mind to it, I still felt my heart filled with concern."
Well, it's only natural for anyone to feel guilty after that. Hell, I might just bury myself in the ground if I were in that position. But I guess for such an altruistic person like Kurebayashi, having caused an incident like that would probably make her feel twice the guilt than a normal person would.
As we kept eating, she went into further detail about how after that day, she began to get harassed by a bunch of the ace player's fan girls. At first it was just passive-aggressive comments whenever she passed by, but then the mobster trio started to kick things up a notch by hiding her indoor shoes, drawing on her desk, and pouring water on her. This went on for five days until it finally reached physical violence today.
"I must admit, I have never felt so helpless and terrified as I did at that moment. All I could do was close my eyes and hope for it to be over."
She begins to tremble a bit. Although she is looking down and her usually pristine hair is slightly unkempt and covering her face, I could hear a few sniffles and see tears drop towards her skirt.
"W-well, I doubt that they'd openly come at you again as long as they think I have proof of their assault. So at least for a bit, you should be safe."
I said the most comforting thing I could think of to try and make her feel even just a tiny bit better. And while what I said is true to an extent, it's not a long term solution. I may have only met Miyoko once, but I get the feeling that she's not the type to give up so easily.
She wipes away her tears and takes a moment to compose herself before facing me.
"Thank you once again. I'm truly thankful for what you did. But I would like to keep you from getting involved. So, perhaps… It would be best if you avoid me."
Her voice is faint and weak, and her eyes are filled with sorrow. The way she is now feels all too familiar to how I was a few years ago. I get what she's saying. And honestly, that's the logical choice. I've already done my part, so there's no further reason for me to get involved.
But somehow, that just doesn't sit right with me. Here's that feeling again. The feeling I got from my first day with Kurebayashi. The urge to do something that I normally shouldn't even think of
doing.
I want to help her.
"Can't you tell the school about what happened? At the very least, they could threaten those three with suspensions if they keep harassing you."
"I have tried… And Mr. Hirashi himself reprimanded them. But it is a matter of my word against theirs. And as long as I cannot show any tangible proof, he is limited in what he can do."
That makes sense. Mr. Hirashi may seem like an omnipotent being, but he's just a guidance counselor bound by school rules.
"Perhaps… This is what I deserve. None of this would have happened if I had been more cautious. And it seems I am facing the consequences of my actions."
"Those are some harsh consequences just for a mild concussion. If you had killed someone, sure. But an accident is an accident. And those girls don't have any authority or right to punish you for that."
My words seem to have very little effect on her. I'm sorry, I'm not good at comforting people, okay?
Still, she's placed in a rough spot where she's under constant threat of being beaten up but she can't really go to anyone for help. What a broken system we must have if a bullying victim can't do anything but to accept the beat down.
This negativity even spoiled my appetite. I only managed to get a few bites out of my porkchop before feeling absolutely disgusted by these turn of events. But I'm not the type of person to be easily deterred from a fabulous meal. I stare at the piece of meat and force my mind to think how delicious it is and how much I paid for it. It would be a shame to let it go to waste. Come on, mind over matter! Brain power, activate!
… Hold up. I think I just got an idea. And it's all thanks to this wonderful piece of pork. It was totally worth paying 800 yen for this!