Kapitel 184: Chapter 184 – Nagumo’s despair
"Hey, did you hear? That Ichinose really did steal something in the past. She admitted it in class, but it seems like she's been forgiven, and her classmates still support her as usual."
"Yeah, I saw it too. The school forum is full of explanations and support from her classmates. They wrote out the whole story, and that's that. After all, the store manager forgave her, and her mother took her to apologize."
"Right? I thought with all the fuss, calling her a criminal and all, it must have been something serious. But it turned out to be just this?"
On Wednesday afternoon, after school, the storm surrounding Ichinose on the Advanced Nurturing High School campus gradually subsided. After the full story was exposed in the morning, it triggered another round of discussion, but by the afternoon, no one cared anymore.
It just goes to show how fickle people are these days. All news is treated like fast food—once the gossip is consumed, it's forgotten. If it doesn't concern them personally, people don't take it to heart.
Seeing this outcome, Nagumo was furious, his eyes bloodshot, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles stood out. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't understand why the matter just fizzled out like this.
According to his plan, everyone should have blamed Ichinose, forcing her to the point of applying for withdrawal!
But why? Not only was Ichinose unscathed, but she also seemed to be even more loved? Nagumo couldn't figure it out; he really couldn't understand.
Despite targeting her so directly, there was no effect. In just two days, the whole issue had settled down as if an invisible hand was quietly manipulating the situation.
Nagumo could only speculate that Yukio must have done something again to make the situation so strange.
As he walked alone on the campus path, these thoughts occupied his mind. Recently, he especially disliked being around people and only wanted to think things over in solitude.
Maybe it was because the psychological shadow left by Yukio was too overwhelming. Every time he went to school, sat in the classroom, or ate in the cafeteria, he could no longer hear the praises that used to be directed at him as the second-year leader. Instead, he could only faintly hear jokes about bread traps and forum memes.
It made it impossible for him to live in peace! The growing mockery twisted his heart, making him wish he could make Yukio and Ichinose disappear immediately!
"Just wait, wait! So what if you escaped this time? There's plenty of time left. You might defend against one attack, but can you defend against countless others to come?"
"We have plenty of time, but Nagumo, your time is running out." Just as Nagumo was angrily venting his frustration with curses, Yukio's calm remark came from nearby.
"!" Nagumo whipped his head around. He didn't know when, but Yukio had appeared in the small grove by the roadside, staring at him with a serene expression.
This made Nagumo's heart clench. Being stared at by Yukio felt like being watched by a predator, bringing forth a primal fear of being hunted and devoured!
His heart inexplicably contracted, and it felt as if an invisible hand had pierced his chest and grasped his heart, lungs, and windpipe, causing an indescribable suffocating sensation. Nagumo's face turned pale in an instant.
"Yukio, what do you want to do…" Nagumo didn't even notice his voice was now weak and dry, completely devoid of the arrogance from their first meeting at the pool.
"What do I want to do? Ha, I have something good to show you." Yukio opened his school phone, revealing a recently taken photo.
"?" Nagumo couldn't see it clearly, but his mind began to race. What could the photo be? Yukio's confident demeanor suggested he had some damning evidence.
Maybe it was a picture of him secretly delivering the box of slanderous letters to the first-year dorm? Or collecting the medical team's stickers during the sports festival?
But that wasn't a big deal, right? If it was just that, Nagumo had plenty of ways to explain it away. Thinking this, Nagumo relaxed a bit, figuring Yukio only had such minor tricks up his sleeve.
Yes, why was he so afraid? Yukio couldn't really threaten him.
With these thoughts, Nagumo's previously weak confidence surged back. His pale complexion began to return to normal as he strode forward, approaching Yukio.
He glanced at the phone, ready to formulate a perfect excuse to escape the threat posed by the photo.
But when he saw the actual content of the photo, all his courage evaporated. His face turned deathly pale, beads of sweat the size of soybeans forming densely on his forehead!
His legs couldn't stop trembling, his eyes shrinking in terror, his eye sockets widening to the limit, about to burst!
"Seen it clearly?" Yukio's cold voice finally spoke. The photo on the phone wasn't of Nagumo at all, but of his family.
The background of the photo was something Nagumo was very familiar with. After all, it was his home for over ten years; how could he not recognize it? Every decoration and detail of the house screamed at Nagumo that the photo was taken in his home!
But the most crucial part wasn't the background; it was the people in the photo! Nagumo's family, his parents, seemed to be asleep, their eyes closed, sitting on the sofa.
Even though there was nothing overtly eerie about the photo, it instilled the deepest fear in Nagumo!
"What did you do to my family!" Nagumo wanted to rush forward and punch Yukio in the face!
But his trembling legs wouldn't move an inch!
Even his voice, questioning Yukio, was trembling. If you didn't listen carefully, you wouldn't even understand what he was asking.
"Heh." Yukio's faint smile was like a crack caused by the Titanic hitting an iceberg. It wasn't a natural smile but one of a demon: "And what did you do to Ichinose?"
Although Yukio was smiling, his emotions were filled with brutality and cruelty. The violent emotions surged from the depths of his heart, recklessly urging him to deal with this guy.
Just thinking about how Ichinose had to reveal her scars because of such a scumbag, being discussed by the entire school, locking herself in her dorm room in depression, and crying in Yukio's arms all night long.
The more he recalled these scenes, the more his violent emotions intensified.
"Nagumo, it was me who made you look foolish."
"You were dissatisfied and wanted revenge. That's natural. So come to me, I can still play with you and have some fun."
"But you turned to hurt Ichinose. That's unfortunate. This toy of yours has lost its value."
"However, there's no need to drag others into this. Your parents just ate food mixed with strong sedatives. They're simply asleep."
"If you want to save them, you better follow my orders."
Demon, demon! The words echoed continuously in Nagumo's mind. That was the most fitting description of Yukio!
Everyone was wrong; this wasn't just a powerful first-year student! It was a demon with immense influence!
Faced with Yukio, who could control both inside and outside the school, Nagumo's knees suddenly went weak, and he fell to the ground, kneeling. A sense of helplessness and despair overwhelmed him, as he realized no matter what he did, he could never succeed in front of Yukio.
***
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