Memory Loss Kouji.

Vol 1 Ch 3 - Next time.

Hirata pov.

My friend had been a victim of relentless bullying, enduring it day after day, week after week, until those days turned into months of silent suffering. The burden became too much to bear, and one day, in a moment of sheer desperation, he tried to take his own life. He leaped from the rooftop of our school building, and now, he lies in a coma, suspended between life and death.

For a brief moment, the bullies grew quiet, perhaps shaken by the weight of what had transpired. But it didn't last long. They quickly shifted their focus, finding a new target, as though cruelty were something they couldn't live without.

I couldn't let this cycle repeat itself. I couldn't stand by and watch another tragedy unfold. So, this time, I decided to act. I took matters into my own hands.

I confronted the bullies with all the rage that had been simmering inside me. I hit them, and to my surprise, they didn't hit back. My fists, fueled by anger and frustration, found their mark. Yet they simply stood there, enduring my blows without retaliation.

Was that all it took? A punch, a kick, and suddenly, the balance of power had shifted. They accepted the violence in silence, just as my friend had once accepted theirs.

Before I knew it, I had become the dominant figure in the school. The bullies no longer tormented anyone. The tragedy I had feared, the one that had pushed my friend to the edge, seemed averted. I had achieved my goal, or so I thought.

But as the days went by, something began to change. The once lively faces of my classmates, the smiles that had filled the hallways, were replaced by hollow stares. They looked at me with the same fear and helplessness that my friend had once reserved for the bullies.

I had become the very thing I despised. I had stopped the tragedy, yes, but at what cost? I wasn't a savior. I was a tyrant, ruling through fear, spreading the same darkness I had once sought to eradicate.

In the end, I had become the monster I swore to destroy

I had resolved to start fresh at this new school, determined to leave behind the baggage of my past and embrace this new chapter with open arms. With a sense of optimism, I convinced myself that things could be different, that I could reinvent myself.

At first, I went along with everything, trying to fit in. But soon enough, it became clear-people were quick to take advantage of my willingness to adapt. I won't name names, but most of them were from Class D. They saw my open nature as a weakness, something to exploit for their own gain.

Despite this, I managed to hold my own. I kept going, brushing off the subtle betrayals and manipulations, thinking I could navigate through it. But then came the year-end special exam, and that's when everything began to spiral out of control.

Yamaguchi, a classmate I thought I could trust, turned his back on the class. His actions left him on the brink of expulsion. The betrayal stung, but what hurt more was seeing the way the class began to treat him-like a scapegoat, a problem they could simply erase.

I couldn't stand by and watch him be thrown away so easily. Desperate to protect him, I did everything I could. I even began acting out, behaving obnoxiously, hoping that my classmates would find me irritating enough to vote me out instead. I made myself the problem, trying to draw their anger and frustration toward me.