The familiar ceiling.
Hiro sat up and touched her neck.
It was as smooth as ever, without a single wound.
The images remained in her mind: Ema's back as she stood on the edge of the rooftop, that dull thud, and those wide-open pink eyes.
The sensation of holding the pen and stabbing it into her own neck still felt like phantom pain.
Hiro pulled back the covers and walked to her desk.
The manila envelope sat on the table, containing the "evidence" of Sakuraba Ema's guilt that she had painstakingly prepared.
She took the fountain pen out of the pocket of her hanging school uniform and gripped it in her palm.
It was ice-cold.
Hiro put the pen back in her pocket, changed into her uniform, and went downstairs.
In the previous loop, she had tried to publicly expose Sakuraba Ema's facade, which led to Hikigaya dropping out.
And Sakuraba Ema had jumped to her death.
She couldn't let those things happen again.
But how could she stop it?
Keep silent and pretend nothing happened?
No. Leaving aside the fact that mistakes shouldn't be buried, even if she didn't expose Sakuraba Ema, the withdrawal application in Hikigaya's possession had clearly been prepared in advance.
He had already intended to drop out even without her intervention.
Yes, he was prepared to sacrifice himself for Sakuraba Ema.
Why would Hikigaya go that far?
That person usually seed indifferent to everything; he didn't complain about being on duty alone, didn't explain when rumors were spread, and didn't argue when people gossiped about him.
Yet, at the critical mont, he stepped forward to shoulder all the rumors for Ema.
By ans of dropping out himself.
She rembered the look in Hikigaya's eyes as he walked past her—no resentnt, no bla.
Just a sense of calm.
As if he had known she would do it all along, and had long since accepted this outco.
Hiro couldn't understand it.
But she knew his way of doing things was wrong.
Taking the fall for soone doesn't solve the problem. Ema wouldn't gain any realization from it, the rumors wouldn't disappear, and the matter would simply be suppressed.
This was not the "correct" way.
Therefore, she had to stop him and prevent him from dropping out.
Not because of Ema, and not because of Hikigaya.
Simply because his approach was wrong.
Mistakes should be corrected.
She could definitely do it.
"You can't."
The horoom teacher of Class F interrupted her and lowered his head to continue grading howork.
"I can't handle a student like that. If he wants to quit, let him. He's just a nuisance to keep around anyway."
Hiro froze for a mont.
"Sensei, I just want you to help persuade him."
The horoom teacher looked up and glanced at her. "You're Nikaido from Class J, right?"
Hiro nodded.
The teacher put down his pen, his tone a bit softer than before.
"I've heard about you from your teacher—top of the grade, very excellent. But you can't handle Hikigaya's situation. The withdrawal application was just submitted to the registrar's office this morning. He wrote it himself, submitted it himself, and no one forced him. What is there for to go and persuade him about?"
"But those rumors..."
"The rumors are a problem, I know," the teacher interrupted her. "But who spread the rumors? Do you know?"
She knew, of course, but she couldn't say.
"See, you don't know either," the teacher shook his head. "Without a source, how can it be solved? In the end, the person targeted just has to shoulder it. If they can't, they leave and change environnts. I've seen this sort of thing plenty of tis."
"Sensei, he's just acting on a montary impulse."
"Nikaido," the teacher looked at her, his tone not particularly harsh, "you're a good student, but there are so things you don't understand. A student like that is usually silent, doesn't fit in, and jumps to extres when sothing happens. You persuade him once, he nods and says okay, then two days later it's the sa thing. It's useless.
The withdrawal process takes several days, and he can change his mind at any ti during that period." The teacher lowered his head again to grade. "If he thinks it through himself, he'll co back. If he can't, it's useless for to try.
Go back. Don't ddle in things that don't concern you." He waved his hand, not wanting to discuss the matter further.
Hiro had no choice but to walk out of the staff room.
The hallway was quiet; the warning bell hadn't rung yet.
"Hey."
A voice ca from the side.
A woman in a white lab coat walked out of the staff room, holding a stack of essay papers.
She was young and beautiful, looking to be in her twenties.
"The student you were just talking about—Hikigaya Hachiman?"
Hiro nodded.
The woman glanced at the door of the staff room, then back at Hiro.
"That class's horoom teacher doesn't want to deal with it, right?"
Hiro didn't speak, essentially confirming it.
"Normal," the woman smiled. "He's just that kind of person—prefers to avoid trouble whenever possible.
Hiratsuka Shizuka, the Japanese language teacher for Class F."
She introduced herself.
"Co here, tell about it." Hiratsuka Shizuka turned and walked toward the other end of the hallway. "That Hikigaya kid—what's going on?"
Hiro gave a brief summary.
Hiratsuka Shizuka leaned against the wall and nodded after listening.
"Alright, I've got the gist of the situation.
But I have a question.
How do you know these things?" Hiratsuka Shizuka asked.
"Are you close with Hikigaya?"
"Not very."
"Then how did you know about him dropping out?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka stared at her.
"Did he tell you these things himself?"
No. She had seen them with her own eyes in the previous loop.
But she certainly couldn't say that.
Hiro paused.
"I saw him at the door of the registrar's office. He walked in holding a withdrawal application." (Perjury)
"Then how did you know it was because of those rumors?"
Hiro was silent for a few seconds.
"Everyone knows how long those rumors have been spreading and what they've turned into. Since he chose to drop out at this specific ti, what else could it be for?"
Hiro continued: "Furthermore, his approach is wrong. Avoiding problems instead of solving them by dropping out isn't the correct way. Mistakes should be corrected."
Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at her.
After a few seconds, she laughed.
"You're an interesting kid.
Always 'correct' this and 'wrong' that." Hiratsuka Shizuka crossed her arms. "It doesn't matter what Hikigaya thinks, and it doesn't matter how the rumors are solved; what matters is that 'this matter isn't right.' That's what you an, isn't it?"
Hiro was speechless; she was right.
But having it pointed out like that made Hiro suddenly feel a bit strange.
"It's not..."
"Fine, fine, I get it." Hiratsuka Shizuka waved her hand. "You're an elite student, so everything has to be done the 'right' way. When you see sothing wrong, you want to fix it."
Hiratsuka Shizuka stood up straight. "I can help you intercept his withdrawal application."
Hiro's eyes lit up.
"However—"
Hiratsuka Shizuka held up one finger.
"I can only block that piece of paper temporarily. If he applies again later, I'll be powerless. You'll have to persuade him not to drop out yourself. You understand that logic, right?"
Hiro fell silent.
She had only thought about stopping him and preventing him from submitting that paper.
But what about after it was intercepted?
"Can't think of anything?" Hiratsuka Shizuka asked.
Hiratsuka Shizuka took a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to her.
It was a club application form; the "Club Na" column was blank.
"What is this?"
"There's an activity room in the corner of the third floor of the school building—it's just sitting empty anyway," Hiratsuka Shizuka said. "I plan to establish a club where students can find their own ways to solve their problems."
Hiro looked at her.
"Don't you think his approach is wrong?" Hiratsuka Shizuka said. "Then use your own thods to keep him from taking that wrong path."
"How?"
"That's your business." Hiratsuka Shizuka held out the paper a bit further. "I'll give you the place; you find the people yourself. I'll drag Hikigaya in, and you guys can figure it out together."
Hiro took the paper.
Hiratsuka Shizuka turned to walk back.
"By the way."
She didn't turn around; Hiro looked up at her back.
"Since you say his way is wrong, then show him the correct way."
She pushed open the staff room door and walked back in.
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