The poster wants to turn Sakuraba into a Witch.
This conclusion sounded like the terminal delusions of a chuunibyou patient, but after experiencing bone wings and "Return by Death," his definition of the word "delusion" had beco blurred.
The problem was, now that he had reached this conclusion, what next?
Call the police? Tell them soone is trying to turn a classmate into a supernatural being through school bullying? The police would likely suggest he check into a psychiatric ward.
Find a teacher? Hiratsuka Shizuka might believe him—though he wasn't sure where that confidence ca from—but where was the evidence? He couldn't exactly say, "I have mories of the next two weeks."
Tell Sakuraba directly? Warn her to be careful? That would only worsen her already teetering ntal state.
Hikigaya stopped walking and stood at the intersection, waiting for the red light.
He needed a different approach.
Bullying usually targets those who are isolated. One person is easy to pick on; things get complicated when more people are involved.
At the sa ti, the victim needs to have "value" to be bullied.
Hikigaya thought back to his middle school days. After his confession email was leaked, he was mocked for a few days, and then... everyone ignored him.
It wasn't because those people grew a conscience; it was because nobody had paid attention to him in the first place. He had no presence. Since many people already ignored him, a few more didn't make a difference.
But Sakuraba was different.
She was a stunningly beautiful girl with no physical flaws. She was constantly trying to make friends, trying to smile, and trying to make herself seem easy to get along with.
A person like that is a natural target.
Not because she did anything wrong, but because she was too conspicuous. When a conspicuous person is targeted, onlookers feel it's "only natural." Who told her to be so flashy?
The drop she would feel upon being isolated would be far greater than that of an average person.
Hikigaya stepped forward as he crossed the street.
In that case, he would make it so Sakuraba no longer had the "value" to be bullied.
Appearance? That was impossible to change, so he passed on that imdiately.
Personality? No point there, and changing it likely wouldn't help anyway.
That left the "Third Party" (Howrecker) label.
Labels are things you can't just peel off, but you can cover them up.
Cover it with a bigger label.
It's like graffiti on a wall; the best way isn't to scrub it—because you can never get it truly clean—but to apply a fresh coat of paint.
What kind of paint could cover "Third Party"?
For example: "Saeki's Best Friend"?
If everyone saw that Sakuraba and Saeki were on great terms, the "Third Party" narrative would crumble on its own.
Hikigaya considered the feasibility of this plan.
In the previous loop, Saeki had been defending Sakuraba the whole ti. If he asked her to spend more ti with Sakuraba, she would likely agree.
But a problem arose. He rembered the reactions of the girls in the last loop.
When Sakuraba and Saeki got close, what did those girls say?
"Saeki is so kind even though her friend is stabbing her in the back. How pitiful."
"That Sakuraba is so thick-skinned, following soone's boyfriend around every day acting like nothing's wrong."
See?
Sakuraba and Saeki being close was instead interpreted as "Saeki is too kind and is being taken advantage of."
The label wasn't covered; instead, it gained a "manipulative" modifier.
That is the disgusting nature of public opinion—it's not about what the facts are, but what people want to see.
If people want to see Sakuraba as the villain, her being close to Saeki is "exploiting Saeki's kindness."
If she avoids Saeki, she's "guilty."
If she does nothing, she's "tacitly admitting it."
Whatever she does is wrong.
Therefore, he couldn't pin his hopes on "what everyone sees."
He had to shift everyone's attention away from Sakuraba.
Shift it to...
Hikigaya paused.
Shift it to himself.
Currently, all the rumors revolved around one core: Him.
He was the guy surrounded by two girls. He was the one who made Saeki transfer schools and the one Sakuraba followed every day.
He was the "root of all evil."
But currently, people didn't hate him; they were mostly just curious.
Why was a gloomy guy surrounded by two beauties? Why?
This curiosity itself didn't hurt him, but it burned Sakuraba.
What if people started hating him?
What if people felt he was the one with the problem?
Turn himself into the target.
But not by disappearing like a school withdrawal—by becoming soone even more worthy of attention.
What was he now? Just an ordinary gloomy guy with zero presence.
What if he slapped a massive label on himself?
For example... a "scumbag."
The kind that toys with the feelings of two girls.
Hikigaya imagined the scene.
If everyone thought he was a scumbag, how would they look at him?
They would curse him, attack him, and point fingers behind his back.
And Sakuraba would beco an innocent girl deceived by a scumbag.
A victim.
Victims aren't bullied; they are sympathized with.
Hikigaya stood before the school gates, contemplating this plan.
This seed... actually viable?
Fra himself as a scumbag to draw all the fire.
Let the malice of the masses concentrate on him.
Turn Sakuraba from a "howrecker" into a "victim."
That way, those looking to isolate her would lose their justification.
How could he fra himself as a scumbag?
He needed an event. Sothing that would make the whole school think, "Hikigaya Hachiman really is a piece of work."
He thought about it.
What if he and Saeki pretended to be together?
Hikigaya hesitated.
On the surface, this plan seed logical. Saeki was already close to him, and people were already speculating. A public admission would be a natural progression.
But the result would be Saeki becoming "Hikigaya Hachiman's girlfriend."
That identity would only drag her into the center of the storm as well.
Moreover, Hikigaya rembered that month for Saeki.
She had endured cyberbullying—the vitriol, the curses, the "you deserve it" and "just die" ssages.
She had finally managed to start her life over; was he really going to involve her in this again?
No.
Furthermore, if he and Saeki were together, Sakuraba's label wouldn't be removed.
The "Third Party" tag would be nailed down even tighter.
People would say: "Look, she really was trying to horn in on them."
Sakuraba would be flad even harder.
This plan wouldn't work.
Hikigaya shook his head.
That left only one direction.
Find an outsider.
Soone who, on the surface, had no connection to the three of them.
Soone famous enough, excellent enough, to ensure the news spread across the entire school.
Soone who, even if implicated, wouldn't be hurt.
A na popped into Hikigaya's head.
Nikaido Hiro.
The top student of the grade, a perfect honors student, beautiful, cold, and aloof. She lived in a completely different world from a gloomy guy like him.
If he were to confess to Hiro in a public setting...
The outco was predictable.
He would be rejected, mocked, and turned into a laughingstock.
Then the whole school would be talking about it.
"Did you hear? That Hikigaya from Class F confessed to Nikaido Hiro?"
"LOL, where did he get the nerve?"
Saeki and Sakuraba could then transition from "girls entangled with him" to "innocent girls he tried to get close to."
The label would be successfully overwritten. He just needed Hiro to cooperate and play along with the scene.
This plan had many holes.
Whether Hiro would agree was a question. What would beco of him after the confession was a question. How to wrap things up afterward was also a question.
But at the very least, it wouldn't end up like before.
Hikigaya stepped through the school gates.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting on buyacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting
User Comments
0 comments from readers