After getting the information he needed from Kushida, Ren immediately found Hirata's number on the contact list she'd provided and called him.
"Hello, this is Hirata."
"It's Ren Ishikawa," Ren said, getting straight to the point. "I have something to talk to you about."
A few minutes later, they met by the landscaped lake near the dormitories.
"Ishikawa-kun!" Hirata said with genuine surprise. "I was just trying to figure out how to get in touch with you. Is there anything you need my help with?"
"No," Ren said flatly. "I called you out here because I need you to stop 'helping' me."
"What do you mean?" Hirata asked, his face a mask of confusion.
"I know what you did."
Hirata's expression turned apologetic. "Ah... you know. I'm sorry, I acted on my own."
"What's your purpose?" Ren asked, ignoring the apology. "What do you gain from this?"
"I don't gain anything," Hirata insisted. "I just want everyone in the class to get along. I don't want to see anyone get bullied. I want you to fit in."
"You think I'll be bullied?"
"Well... yes."
"Then do you realize there's a problem with your method?" Ren pressed. "It's full of hidden dangers. You're just suppressing the problem, not solving it. Sooner or later, the class will find out you lied to them, and it will ruin you."
"Sooner or later is better than right now, isn't it?" Hirata countered. "If I hadn't done this, you would have become the enemy of the entire class today."
"But have you ever considered," Ren said, his voice dropping, "that maybe that's exactly what I want?"
"What?"
"To tell you the truth, I don't want to be in this school. I want to drop out."
Hirata's gentle demeanor fractured. "Drop out? Why would you... wait, if you want to drop out, why not just submit an application?"
"For certain reasons, I can't drop out voluntarily or due to poor grades," Ren explained. "So I have to use other methods."
"I don't approve of you dropping out," Hirata said firmly, his composure returning. "My greatest hope is that everyone in our class can be together. No one missing. We should live in harmony, build beautiful memories, and spend these three years happily. So please, Ishikawa-kun, can't you stay?"
"No, Hirata. You're too naive. Your wish was impossible from the very beginning."
"Why?"
"Because the mere fact of being trapped here prevents me from being happy," Ren said, his voice quiet but intense. "What I yearn for is the vast world outside, but you want to keep me on this closed island. Our definitions of happiness are in direct conflict. If you really want to do what's best for me, then let me go."
Hirata looked discouraged. "Is that so? I understand. In that case, I won't try to keep you. But I hope you can promise me one thing."
"What?"
"No matter how you choose to drop out, don't do it in a way that hurts anyone in our class. And don't hurt yourself. As long as you are here, we are classmates. I don't want to see anyone in our class get hurt. That includes you."
Ren frowned. "That's asking too much. And whether I get hurt or not is none of your business."
"No!" Hirata's voice was sharp, his stubbornness absolute. "Everyone in our class must be fine! If one person is missing, it doesn't count as a 'class'! I will never give up on anyone!"
"There's something wrong with you," Ren said, finally putting his finger on the issue. "Is forcing a harmonious atmosphere really that important? You're willing to risk your own reputation to clear the name of a stranger? I was the first person you had to clean up after, but I won't be the last. This class... Class D... it's filled with defective products. You, me, all of us. You can't wash away all our problems."
"Enough! Stop talking," Hirata growled, his usual gentleness gone.
Ren ignored him. "Conflict and exclusion are inevitable. Your desire to keep everyone together, to cover up their flaws and force them to get along—it's nothing but a childish dream! Yosuke Hirata, it's time for you to wake up!"
"What the hell!"
Before Ren could finish his sentence, a fist appeared in front of his face.
Ren's wilderness-honed instincts took over. He activated [Super Body], his awareness heightening to a razor's edge. As Hirata's fist flew toward him, he took a half-step back, dropped into a low stance, and caught the punch with an open palm. The explosive power of his ability surged through him. In a single, fluid motion, he twisted at the waist, swung his arm, and sent Hirata flying.
Splash!
Hirata landed in the lake, sending up a shower of water. A few cold drops hit Ren's face, snapping him out of his alert state. He looked at the figure floundering in the water.
"Hey!" he called out. "Swimming is a compulsory course, so you can get back on your own, right? I'd rather not get my clothes wet."
As far as Ren was concerned, they were even. He had repaid Hirata's favor by warning him about the "bomb" he was sitting on. Since Hirata had thrown the first punch, the resulting bath was a justified act of self-defense.
After a moment, Hirata, calmed by the cold water, floated on his back and stared at the sky. "Oh, I'm fine," he called back. "I can swim."
"Then can you please get out?" Ren said impatiently. "If you get a cramp and drown after I threw you in, it'll be my fault."
"That's fine. If I don't get out, you can't leave," Hirata replied, a strange calmness in his voice. "Ishikawa-kun, can you chat with me for a few minutes?"
"I don't do heart-to-hearts," Ren said coldly. "That's for friends. I'm dropping out, remember? No feelings."
"We don't have to be friends," Hirata said. "Think of it as a transaction. I'll pay you for your time."
"A transaction?" Ren's interest was piqued. "If it's just about money and not feelings, that's fine. But my rates are high. Hundreds of thousands of points per hour."
"I have over 90,000 left," Hirata said with a small smile. "Is that enough?"
"For ninety thousand? I can give you half an hour, tops."
"So expensive..." Hirata mused. "Alright. The truth is, what I just did to you... throwing that punch... that was the last resort I had for fulfilling my wish. I had thought that if things in the class truly reached their worst, I could use force to maintain a basic level of stability. But as it turns out, I can't even handle you alone. It means, as you said, my idea is just an unrealistic fantasy."
Ren's eyes lit up, but not with sympathy. "Wait. Your fists were part of your plan to maintain your fantasy? You were prepared to use violence to keep the whole class together?"
"I've tried it before..." Hirata said quietly.
"You've tried it?" Ren asked, his curiosity overriding his annoyance. "You 'detained' an entire class with your fists?"
"An entire grade, actually," Hirata corrected. "Do you want to hear my story?"
"Why does everyone here like telling stories so much?" Ren sighed. "Fine, whatever. It's your money."
Floating on his back in the cold lake, Hirata began to tell his story. He had a best friend, someone he'd known since kindergarten. In middle school, that friend became the target of severe bullying. Hirata, afraid of becoming a target himself, did nothing. He turned a blind eye.
Eventually, his friend attempted suicide. The attempt failed, but it left Hirata crushed by a guilt so heavy it felt physical. He was horrified to discover that the bullies, completely without remorse, had simply moved on to a new target.
His guilt turned to rage. He snapped. He rushed forward and beat up the bullies.
Then, under the terrified gaze of the student they had been tormenting, he beat up the victim, too. And the onlookers. And everyone else. He used overwhelming, indiscriminate violence to enforce his will, to create a world where no one hurt anyone, because they were all too afraid of him.
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