Villian Days

Chapter 20

  The Feelings of Byakko Teruki Pt. 1

I met Amano Yuu in my first year of junior high.

At first, he came off as a bit selfish. But soon I was bought by his bright and expressive face.

However, his aura eventually became gloomy and everyone started to avoid him. I didn’t give up, though. I noticed that if you approached him directly, he’d draw up a cold front. But, as soon as you walked away, he’d watch you leave with a lonely expression.

Of course, if you somehow glanced back and met his gaze, he’d run off.

After pondering for hours why I just couldn’t leave him alone, I finally got my answer.

Amano resembled a stray cat I picked up in elementary school. Its coat was a soft maroon and its eyes were tinted the blue of the sky. Their names were also similar – I named my cat Yuujirou.

When I had first brought the stray home, it often hissed and stared suspiciously when I had approached it. And when I had stood to leave, it just hid and watched me go.

They were exactly the same.

Back when Yamada and his lackeys bullied Amano, Amano would always just endure it.

However, a vicious rumor began spreading.

Amano was a poisonous flower. He hurt the people around Houou-senpai.

It was such a stupid rumor. I attempted to gather evidence but couldn’t find any. As such, I couldn’t launch a countermeasure.

I couldn’t help but think that if Houou-senpai and the others sought to assist Amano, the situation would have been entirely different.

But at the time, it was already too late. The damage from the rumors had already been dealt. When looking at Amano, the eyes of the upperclassmen only held antipathy.

And so Amano became the victim of a witch hunt. Yamada was one of the more bold instigators, actually daring to shove Amano down a stairway. Mizuki and I tried to report this, but because there wasn’t enough evidence, the case was eventually dismissed.

I was so worried. My homeroom teacher said that when Amano fell, he also lost his memory. He told us all to treat Amano warmly when he returned.

Next time, I will definitely protect him. That’s what I decided as I awaited for Amano to come back.

To my surprise, when Amano finally returned to class he was brighter and more expressive than ever. He even spoke to Yamada quite nicely.

Even the actions of Houou-senpai were strange. When I relayed Yamada’s bullying to him, I was shocked by the look in his eyes.

They were colored by the desire to monopolize.

I should have listened to my older brother; he used to complain about and tell me why he was afraid of Houou-senpai.

(I honestly thought it was because my brother always skipped out on work, pissing him off.)

Back then, I was seriously scared.

He just smiled gracefully the whole time. It’s extremely frightening.

By the way, Yamada ended up transferring without anyone noticing.

Among our classmates, the ones who fancied Houou-senpai became strangely quiet.

Others had their stances changed to not mess with Yuu. Rumors began circulating that if you bullied Yuu, Houou-senpai would retaliate.