"Renji, when are your results coming?"
"Uh… the 6th of this month."
"Oh, that's great! I'll prepare all your favorite foods if you score well in the exam."
"Yeah… I think I'm going to fail this time."
"Why?"
"I don't actually know."
"If you fail, I'll admit you to a kindergarten school as punishment."
"That's impossible though."
"Nothing's impossible for your mom. And I know very well that my son will never fail any exam."
"Anyway, I'm going shopping. Do you want to come with me?"
"Sure, if you want…"
Yeah… that was the day after my last exam. Basically, I had tons of free time then. But even so, I felt pretty bored since there was nothing to do.
Anyway, that day Himari and I went to the canteen, and we ate together.
I was shocked by how much she could eat. She ate five sandwiches by herself…
Right before I finished my meal and was about to get back to class, she called me and made me a promise… one that she forgot the very next day.
In the final exams, she scored top 3 in the whole school and even surpassed me.
The teachers were shocked because I had held 3rd place for two years.
I wasn't jealous—actually, I was happy to see her improve.
But I had no idea that this would completely change her personality.
On the first day of 3rd year, I was cleaning the hallway as punishment for losing my rank. I saw Himari walking toward the classroom.
I noticed her, but I kept doing my work and said, "Good morning."
She coldly replied, "Morning," before entering the class.
I thought something was wrong with her.
I tried multiple times to talk to her in class, but she ignored me…
like I didn't even exist.
I was kind of confused. Her shyness and introversion were gone like they never existed. After a few days, she joined the student council—and yeah, that made her even more arrogant. That's what I thought at first.
But soon I realized she had formed a friend circle of her own. She talked to them normally, almost cheerfully.
I was like, "What the heck is going on? And why am I even concerned about her?"
But I think I found the answer.
She was the very first female classmate to ever talk to me. Maybe that's why it affected me so much.
However… a few days after she joined the student council, I saw her walking toward the school gate while I was entering. I turned around, raised my hand, and said, "Good morning."
And what she did next still makes me angry to this day.
She walked right past me—completely ignoring me—as if I didn't even exist, casually chatting with her so‑called "friends."
One of them asked her who I was.
And she replied,
"A fatherless brat."
If no one else had been there except me and Himari… I swear, I would've eaten her alive—turned her into ashes, even her tears.
My entire body was shaking. My eyes turned red. I controlled myself and walked away.
That evening, I saw her going toward the science lab. I quietly followed her.
Right after she entered the room, I rushed there and shut the door.
She turned around, walked up to me, and said,
"What do you want now? You're an illegal child of your mo—"
I lost control and slapped her.
She burst into anger and grabbed my collar.
Then, fully consumed by rage, I punched her in the belly.
She collapsed to the floor, crying in pain.
I said,
"Apologize for what you said."
She replied,
"I–I was telling the truth…"
I clenched my fists.
"My father died six years ago… and now you're saying things like this? Can you imagine how I feel?"
She whispered,
"Quga told me that—"
"YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT MEEE!!"
Then I calmed myself down, grabbed her hand, and helped her stand.
I apologized for my behavior and said,
"Don't think about me from now on. You and I… won't exist in the same world anymore."
Before I could step out, she quietly said,
"I'm sorry."
I didn't even look back.
"What will I do with your sorry? Should I eat it?"
She tried to explain,
"My friend sa—"
I interrupted,
"You call them friends? They're parasites. They'll use you and throw you in the trash once they're done with you."
I left the room…
and skipped classes for the next three days.
After 3 days, Himari came to my home to apologize to me. I was a bit annoyed to see her. But looking at her face, I noticed that it was all a misunderstanding. I forgave her, but I made an application to the headteacher to transfer me to another classroom. And with that, the chapter "Himari" closed forever. We never met again.
Anyway, about Quga—he is one big pain in the ass. He likes to bully weak ones. He once tried to bully me, but I gave him no chance. Seems like my father's martial arts training actually helped me. And basically, that's why he wants revenge on me. He definitely saw me with Himari, and he lied to her about me and my father, which started all of this.
My father is lost… perhaps dead by now. I don't know.
When I was 7, he went out for marketing and got hit by a truck. People nearby saw him standing right after getting hit, then collapsing to the ground again—totally conscious and suffering in pain. People grabbed him, took him away from the main road, and placed him on the footpath. They used his phone to call Mom. The moment she heard the message, she broke into tears.
By the time me and my mom got to the accident site, my father was nowhere to be found. People said he vanished magically in the blink of an eye. Some even said his body glowed white like a bulb. But all that was nonsense.
My mom reported it to the police, and there was a massive search for my father. But we never found him.
Anyway, my 3rd year of middle school was way busier than I thought. It was too much pressure because my mother had enrolled me in a private computer course. By the time of the final term, I had piled up 15 assignments… Heh, that took me 4 straight days of work, from 08:00 in the morning to 01:00–02:00 at night. I had almost finished all my assignments—only 2 were left. It was Monday, practically Tuesday, 01:30 at night. I went to sleep completely exhausted. – to be continued…