Pure Route in a Netorare School

The bell rang.

The teacher gathered his papers and left the classroom. Almost at once the room filled with voices, scraping chairs, and footsteps.

Miu reached Hayato’s desk first.

Like always.

She swung the chair around and sat on it backwards, arms folded over the backrest.

— So, Hayato? — she asked. — Training after school today?

Hayato thought for a second.

— Probably. If nothing comes up.

— Perfect. Then I’m coming too.

She said it too fast, as if she was scared someone else would claim the spot first.

I came up from the other side.

For a few seconds I just stood there beside Hayato, trying not to let anyone see how badly my fingers were shaking.

Ren stayed at his own desk.

He was lazily scrolling on his phone and didn’t join the conversation at all.

Before, he would have said something. He would have helped me slip into the talk, made space for me next to Hayato, tossed out a topic.

Now he didn’t even look up.

“We’re just acquaintances.”

I edged a little closer to Hayato.

He turned to me right away.

— Yūki?

I rose on my toes and whispered into his ear:

— I want to spend this whole break with just you.

Hayato’s face went red in an instant.

Miu narrowed her eyes.

— What are you two whispering about over there?

— Nothing, — I said quickly.

Hayato gave an awkward cough.

— Yūki and I are going for a walk.

— Right now? — Miu asked.

— Yeah. I promised her the whole break.

Miu’s mouth opened, ready to argue, but then she looked at me.

She studied my face for a few long seconds.

I was terrified she would notice my red eyes or the careful way I was moving because of the pain in my side.

But she only sighed, annoyed.

— Fine. Next break is mine, though.

— I’m not some object you can just hand around, — Hayato laughed.

— Not yet, — she muttered.

I took Hayato’s hand.

He got flustered again, but his fingers stayed laced with mine.

— Ready?

— Ready.

We headed for the door.

Passing Ren’s desk, I couldn’t help glancing at him.

He kept staring at his phone. Didn’t ask where we were going. Didn’t lift his head. Didn’t even look after us.

Like I didn’t matter to him anymore.

I squeezed Hayato’s hand harder and stepped out into the hallway with him.

We walked in silence all the way to the roof.

First through the noisy corridor, then up the stairs to the top floor. Hardly any students were around. Only our footsteps echoed off the walls.

The closer we got to the roof door, the harder my heart hammered.

Hayato seemed to read my silence wrong.

— Still embarrassed about this morning?

I looked at him.

— A little.

It wasn’t even a lie.

He smiled, a bit awkward.

— Me too.

— Really?

— Of course.

He scratched his cheek with his free hand.

— Everything happened so fast. I still don’t really know how I’m supposed to act now.

There was no irritation in his voice. Only the same gentle kindness and uncertainty I knew so well.

Warmth spread through me. I squeezed his fingers tighter.

— Just be yourself.

— Says the girl who could barely string three words together a little while ago.

Hayato laughed softly.

— You’ve changed.

— Yeah.

He looked at me, soft-eyed.

— A lot.

My heart gave a small, painful flutter.

This was what I had wanted. Exactly this.

Walking beside him. Holding his hand. Hearing the laugh that was only for me.

When we stepped onto the roof, cool wind brushed my face.

The sky was clear. Beyond the railing I could see the schoolyard, the sports fields, and the roofs of the neighboring buildings. The sounds of school felt far away, like we were truly alone.

Hayato walked to the railing.

— It’s beautiful.

I stood beside him.

— Yeah.

But I wasn’t looking at the city.

I was looking at him.

The wind tousled his hair. He squinted against the sun, looking so calm that the urge to tell him everything rose up in me again. Right now. While we were alone.

— Hayato-kun…

He turned.

— Mm?

I opened my mouth.

But the phone in my pocket gave a short, sharp vibration.

My whole body went rigid.

Hayato didn’t notice.

— What were you going to say?

I forced a smile.

— Nothing.

— Just…

I leaned my head carefully against his shoulder.

Hayato blushed again, but he didn’t pull away. Instead he rested his hand on my shoulder — a little clumsy, uncertain, but so gentle it made my chest ache.

I closed my eyes.

Just for a few seconds.

I wanted to be happy for a few seconds. To pretend there had been no message. That the three girls had never appeared. That the next break would be ordinary. Maybe Hayato would kiss me again. Or maybe I’d find the courage to kiss him.

— Yūki, — he said quietly.

— Yeah?

— I’m glad.

I lifted my head.

— About what?

— That you finally told me how you felt back then…

He looked away, embarrassed.

— I probably would’ve stayed clueless for a long time otherwise.

My eyes started to burn. Not from fear. Almost from happiness.

— Hayato-kun…

The roof door opened with a loud metallic screech.

We both spun around at the same time.

Three girls stood in the doorway.

Momo came in first. Long black hair swayed in the wind. Her face wore a calm, confident smile.

Nana followed — blonde, high ponytail. She shut the door behind her and leaned against it.

Suzu came last. Pink hair, lots of accessories, new phone in her hand with a big pig keychain swinging from it.

Suzu looked at me first.

Then at Hayato’s hand still resting on my shoulder…

And smiled.

— What a sweet scene.

Ice slid down my spine.

Hayato blinked at them in surprise.

— Who are you?

Momo didn’t answer him. She was looking straight at me, checking whether I had obeyed.

Then her smile widened just a fraction.

— Hi, Yūki.

Hayato glanced at me.

— You know each other?

I couldn’t speak.

Momo took a step forward. Then another. I instinctively moved closer to Hayato. He noticed, but seemed to think I was just shy around strangers.

— Yūki? — he asked quietly.

Before I could answer, Momo was right in front of me, arms already opening.

— Yūki!

She pulled me into a tight hug.

I froze.

Her hand landed right between my shoulder blades — exactly where the last blow had landed. Pain exploded. I almost cried out, but she only hugged me harder.

From the outside it looked like a happy, friendly embrace.

Her fingers, though, pressed deliberately into the bruised spot.

— We’re old friends! — Momo announced cheerfully, turning her head toward Hayato. — We went to the same school before.

She said it so smoothly, like she’d practiced the lie a dozen times.

Hayato blinked.

— Really?

Momo gave the fabric of my blouse the tiniest, warning squeeze.

— Y-yeah… — My voice shook. I hurried to add, — A long time ago.

— Ages ago, — she echoed. — Yūki was such a quiet little thing back then.

Nana chuckled softly by the door.

Suzu lifted her phone like she was just checking messages, but the camera was pointed straight at us. I saw it. Of course I saw it.

Momo finally let go, but stayed right beside me, hand on my shoulder like we really were close.

— Why didn’t you ever tell me about them? — Hayato asked. No suspicion, only honest curiosity.

He believed it. Immediately. Completely.

He didn’t see how stiff I was. Didn’t notice how I avoided Momo’s eyes. Didn’t feel how heavy her hand was on my shoulder.

— We lost touch after I transferred, — I managed.

— And today we just happened to run into each other, — Momo added lightly. She smiled at me. — Right, Yūki?

Her thumb pressed into my collarbone. Just enough.

— Right.

— That’s great, — Hayato said, genuinely pleased. — So you can catch up now.

Something inside me twisted hard.

How can you not see?

The thought came sharp and almost angry. I felt guilty the second it appeared.

I loved Hayato for exactly this — his kindness, the way he never looked for cruelty in people, the way he believed. Next to him I never had to prove I wasn’t lying.

But right now that same trust felt dangerous.

— So you’re Hayato? — Momo asked, giving him a slow once-over.

Hayato smiled, awkward.

— Yeah. Sakurai Hayato.

— Yūki’s boyfriend?

— Um… yeah.

Momo’s eyebrows rose with interest.

— Not bad.

Nana stepped closer.

— Yūki was always so secretive.

— Especially about boys, — Suzu added, phone still raised.

They talked so naturally, like they really had known me for years, tossing easy lines back and forth, supporting each other’s lies.

Hayato just listened and smiled.

— She still gets shy sometimes, — he said.

— Really? — Momo looked at me. — Wouldn’t guess it.

Her gaze cooled for a split second.

— She’s changed a lot.

They knew about the stream. They knew exactly what I had become. And they wanted me to remember they could tear it all down with one tap.

— People change, — I said quietly.

Momo’s smile widened.

— Of course they do.

Hayato turned to me.

— You okay?

My heart jumped. Finally. Had he noticed?

I almost told him the truth right then.

But he added, smiling:

— You’re blushing again.

Momo laughed. Nana laughed. Suzu covered her mouth with one hand, still filming with the other.

The tiny spark of hope inside me went out.

— I’m fine, — I said.

— She’s just embarrassed, — Momo answered for me. — She’s always been like that.

— Got it, — Hayato said gently, smiling at me.

That smile used to make my heart race. Now it only made irritation prickle under my skin. Small, but real.

Look closer.

I wanted to grab his shoulders and force him to see. Three girls had shown up on an empty roof right after someone ordered me to bring him here. I was pale, barely speaking, flinching at every touch. Wasn’t that enough?

Kurosaki-kun would have understood.

The thought surfaced on its own. I shoved it down.

Don’t compare.

Hayato wasn’t supposed to read my mind. He didn’t know what had happened. I had lied to him. I had backed up every word Momo said.

How could he know?

And still the anger stayed.

Because before, his innocence had felt like kindness. Now I was seeing something else.

Hayato believed people even when he shouldn’t. He believed Momo’s smile and her easy voice and the story she made up in seconds. But he didn’t see my silence.

— We actually wanted to talk to Yūki for a bit, — Nana said.

— Reminisce about old times, — Suzu added.

Momo took her hand off my shoulder and looked at Hayato.

— Mind if we borrow her for a couple minutes?

He laughed.

— Sounds like she’s an object.

— Of course not, — Momo waved lightly. — Just girl talk.

Hayato turned to me.

— Yūki?

This was the moment. I could have said no. Could have taken his hand and walked away with him.

But Suzu tilted her phone.

For one second a frozen video frame showed on the screen — a toilet stall, my face, tears.

I looked away fast.

— It’s fine, — I said. — Talk without me for now.

— You sure?

He sounded calm. Not worried at all.

— Yeah.

— Then I’ll wait downstairs.

Hayato smiled at the three of them.

— Nice meeting you.

— Us too, — they chorused.

He headed for the door. Even held it politely for Nana as he passed.

Momo watched him go with a small smirk.

I watched him too, hoping until the last second that he would stop, turn around, understand something was wrong.

The door clicked shut.

Nana locked it from the inside.

All three smiles vanished.

Momo turned to me.

— Nice boyfriend you’ve got.

She stepped closer.

— Kind.

Another step.

— Polite.

I stepped back.

— And he doesn’t understand a single thing.

The words hit harder than any punch.

Because seconds earlier I had been thinking the exact same thing.

— He’s a good person… — I whispered, trying to defend him even to myself.

Momo smiled. Almost softly.

She put her arms around my shoulders and guided me firmly down onto the low wall at the edge of the roof. Nana and Suzu sat on either side, boxing me in.

For a split second something like real pain flickered in Momo’s eyes. Then it was gone and she was smiling again.

— Listen carefully, Yūki. We didn’t become like this because we’re bad people.

— Understand?

She sighed, staring past me.

— We used to be exactly like you. Normal girls. Quiet. We had normal lives… and kind boys.

I started to speak, but Nana drove her fist into my side.

I gasped and folded over.

— When someone’s trying to teach you something, you listen, — Nana said calmly.

Momo laughed under her breath and laid her hand on the back of my neck. Not hard, but her fingers curled just enough to make the point.

— They made us this way. We had kind boys too. Quiet lives. Maybe someday we can go back to that.

Suzu gave a small, bitter smile.

— I had a childhood friend — Kai. He’s still crazy about me. Real, pure love. But I already know my body will never be able to be with him. Not really. Not on the level that matters.

She looked almost guilty, but her eyes were dark.

— Get it, Yūki? There are boys like your Hayato. Safe ones. You can live peacefully with them. You can even be happy.

She leaned in.

— And then there are the other kind.

Ren’s face flashed in my mind — tall, quiet, that heavy, crushing stare.

I looked away fast, but they saw.

They smiled, slow and knowing.

— The kind that makes everything inside you burn, — Momo said softly. — The kind you want even when you know it’ll break you. The kind you want to be broken by.

They laughed quietly.

I felt my face go hot.

— But… can’t you just go back? — I asked, voice small. — If you really want to…

They glanced at each other.

Momo’s fingers tightened on my neck.

— We’re still trying, — she said, almost gentle. — We really are. But until then… we’re going to keep having fun.

The smiles dropped.

Momo shoved me forward. I hit my knees. Nana kicked me in the back, forcing me lower. Suzu grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head up.

— Repeat after me, — Momo said.

The rest of the break blurred into pain and humiliation. They made me say the words over and over until my voice was hoarse and automatic:

— I’m a depraved slut…

— I don’t deserve Hayato…

— I’ll do whatever you tell me…

I cried the whole time. Tears wouldn’t stop. Every hit, every degrading phrase sank deeper.

They only stopped when I was repeating everything on autopilot, barely making a sound.

When they finally let go, I was curled on the cold concrete, shaking and sobbing.

— Next break, same place, — Momo said, fixing her hair. — If you don’t show up, we send Hayato everything we have.

They left me there alone.

I stayed on the floor a little longer, pressing a hand to my aching side. Then I slowly got up, went to the edge where a little rainwater had collected, and washed my face. Wiped the tears. Fixed my hair and uniform. Took several deep breaths until the sobs stopped.

When I came downstairs, Hayato was waiting by the stairs.

— Yūki! You took forever… Everything okay?

He smiled his usual warm smile. The one I had wanted beside me for so long. The one that used to make everything feel safe.

Now it only left me feeling strangely hollow.

He stood close. Hand half-extended, waiting for me to take it. And somehow he still felt impossibly far away.

— Yeah… — I said quietly. — We just talked for a long time.

My voice was weak. I almost hoped he wouldn’t hear the lie underneath.

He didn’t.

He just smiled, relieved.

— Got it.

And that was it.

He believed me. Again. Without a single extra question.

Something small and quiet inside me broke.

I had lied to him myself. I had told him everything was fine. Of course he believed me.

But it didn’t make anything easier.

I still wanted him to see.

I still wanted him to notice the way I was holding myself, the way I avoided his eyes, the way my hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

I wanted to say the words I couldn’t say:

“I’m scared.”

“They’re bullying me again.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

But the fear had already locked them inside me, the same way it had back in middle school. Back then I had waited for someone — anyone — to notice. A teacher. A classmate. A stranger in the hallway.

Nobody did.

So I learned to stay quiet. Learned to smile when I wanted to cry. Learned to say “I’m fine” and make myself smaller, quieter, safer for the people who wanted to hurt me.

I thought I would never be that girl again.

Kurosaki-kun had helped me change. He made me look people in the eye, speak louder, stand straighter, stop apologizing for existing.

I had really believed the old Yūki was gone.

But she was coming back. Step by step.

Hayato took my hand. His palm was warm.

— Come on, the bell’s about to ring.

I nodded.

— Okay.

He led me back to class, talking cheerfully about something that happened in one of the lessons — some mix-up with pages in the textbook, I think. I barely heard him. I just walked beside him, nodding in the right places, smiling when he smiled, watching his face so he wouldn’t suspect anything.

It was too familiar.

In middle school I had done the exact same thing. Laughed when everyone else laughed. Pretended I didn’t hear the whispers. Hid the ruined things. Never told my mother, because complaining only made it worse.

Now I was doing it again.

Only this time they had videos.

This time they had Hayato.

This time they had the new life I had built.

I squeezed his hand tighter.

He glanced at me and smiled.

Probably thought I just wanted to be closer.

I smiled back.

But inside I was screaming.

Please.

Look closer.

Don’t believe me.

Help me.

Hayato heard nothing.

And that was when I understood how completely alone I still was.

He was right there. Right beside me.

But I was still on my own.

I couldn’t ask him for help because he didn’t even know I needed it.

And I could no longer bring myself to say the words out loud.

Fear had already sealed my mouth shut again. Made me quiet. Obedient. Convenient.

When we walked into class, Kurosaki-kun was at his desk, writing something, head down.

I walked past him more slowly than usual.

Maybe too slowly.

Some small, pathetic part of me still hoped he would notice. That he would say one word and stop me. That he would look at my face and understand everything.

He always used to understand. He noticed things even I tried to hide from myself.

But Kurosaki-kun didn’t lift his head.

I sat down at my desk.

The pain in my side made me draw a quiet, sharp breath through my teeth.

He still didn’t look.

And in that moment I finally understood there would be no help.

Not from Hayato, who noticed nothing.

Not from Kurosaki-kun, who no longer wanted to notice.

The huge wall I had once felt safe behind was gone.