Bullying will forever be an uncomfortable topic to talk about. No matter how close you are to someone or whatever your relation is to them, hearing their suffering in excruciating detail will evoke feelings of anger and hopelessness within you.
How could this happen to them?
Why didn't I notice anything?
What can I even do to help them?
These questions will ring in your head over and over to the point of inducing madness. I can see this very phenomenon happening to Asamura right now. As we detailed the sequence of events leading up to the attempted assault on Kurebayashi, her initial happy expression slowly turned into one of shock, concern, anger, and regret.
It's okay, Asamura. You didn't even know all of this was happening. And even if you did, what could you have possibly done? This might have held more meaning if I had actually said these words to her out loud.
"I had no idea… I'm really sorry, Reina-chan. I should have been there for you."
"Please don't worry yourself, Asuka-san. I assure you, I'm quite alright."
Asamura pulls Kurebayashi in for another hug. But this time, it's a lot calmer and gentler. Kurebayashi returns the favor by wrapping her arms around Asamura; all the while burying her face within her shoulder to hide the tears that have started to flow down.
Asamura, while still holding on to Kurebayashi, then turns to me with a cold look in her eyes.
"So, what are we going to do?"
"You already figured out that we have a plan in mind?"
"Obviously. You don't strike me as the type of person who would reach out to someone just to set up a venting session."
"You're right about that. Actually, we plan on shifting everyone's focus away from Kurebayashi by spreading a rumor."
I then begin to lay out what I had in mind about taking Miyoko's attention away from tormenting Kurebayashi by using a rumor to take up all her time in either denying it or fixing her image from it.
"That's a roundabout way of doing things. But it's kind of stupid, not gonna lie."
"Yeah, I can't really deny how stupid it is. But it's the best I could think of at the time."
Asamura shrugs and shakes her head in a hopeless manner.
Well, what I said is partially true. I've actually already thought of how all of this should play out. You see, throwing out just any random rumor about Miyoko would be an insanely stupid thing to do. It'll just provoke her even more into going after Kurebayashi. No, the rumor needs to be calculated, methodical, and targeted.
Now, while I already have something in mind, there are a few things I need to confirm first. And to do that, I'll have to ask Asamura and hope she can answer them.
"By the way, do you know anything at all about Miyoko?"
"Hmm… I don't know much about her, to be honest. Just that she's the captain of the girl's volleyball team. Oh, and she has a huge crush on Suzuki-senpai."
Kurebayashi finally breaks away from Asamura, her eyes puffy and red. She catches me staring at her and gives me a weak smile, as if to let me know that I shouldn't worry about her. I give her a quick nod in response and continue to question Asamura.
"Has she confessed to him?"
"Duh, of course not. You don't just suddenly confess to a guy like Suzuki-senpai."
"Why not? Does he have a girlfriend or something?"
"No, it's not that. He's the most popular guy in school. No one would even dare to confess to him because he's so far out of everyone's league."
Yep, I suspected as much. Miyoko doesn't just like Suzuki. She reveres him, like so many other female students. To them, Suzuki is a forbidden fruit that all of them want to get more than anything. But they know that if one of them attempts to do so, they risk the shame of rejection or the wrath of the other girls.
Miyoko may be popular, but even she probably feels scared of Suzuki possibly rejecting her. And so, she convinces herself to be content with what she has now.
"How about you, Kurebayashi? Did Miyoko say anything to you that stood out?"
"H-hey, what good will it do to have her remember the times she was bullied? She shouldn't have to go through that again!"
Asamura moves in front of Kurebayashi, acting like a protective mother cat. Crap, did I come on too harshly?
"It's perfectly fine, Asuka-san. I don't mind going over what happened again if it would help in any way."
Kurebayashi ponders for a bit, as if jogging up her memory and trying to discern the insults and petty comments from stuff that might be useful to remember.
"Now that I think about it, I do recall Miyoko-senpai being quite upset when I helped treat Suzuki-senpai in the clinic. She mentioned that someone like me shouldn't have been the one to tend to Suzuki-senpai."
"Geez, that's totally petty of her. She acts like she's his girlfriend or something. And what does she mean by someone like Reina-chan? That's way out of line!"
"P-please, Asuka-san. There's no need to be upset."
As Kurebayashi tries to calm Asamura down, thoughts begin to swirl around my head. From what Kurebayashi said, Miyoko seems to be the possessive and jealous type of admirer. She didn't really care that Suzuki was injured. She only cared that Kurebayashi managed to touch and be that physically close with Suzuki while she could only watch. I'm almost thankful that she turned out to be such a pathetic person. If she truly did admire Suzuki, this plan would certainly fail.
Well, not that I have much confidence in it to begin with. Afterall, it's just something I came up with on a whim. Anyway, now that I have all the information I need, it's time to put things into motion.