Chapter 575: I just want to help

Chapter 575: I just want to help

“Here.”

Shishio held his handkerchief in front of Rumi. “Blow up your snot.”

“…..”

Rumi was embarrassed, but she still did what he asked. Her tears were wiped, and her snot was cleaned up.

Shishio had snot and tears on his t-shirt, but he decided to ignore it for now.

“Don’t misunderstand. I am not crying.”

Rumi seemed stubborn after she cleaned up all the stains and traces of her vulnerable state as if she had never bawled to begin with.

“….”

Shishio stared at Rumi for a moment before he looked at Yukinoshita.

Yukinoshita wasn’t sure, but his gaze contained malicious intent. Yet she didn’t bother to ask him for a responsibility since she felt the problem encountered by this little girl was more important.

On the other hand, Yui wasn’t sure what to say since it was quite awkward to say something when she saw what had happened.

However, this situation was quite normal since unless one had a talent or an experience, it was simply impossible to know how to comfort someone when they cried.

The majority of people would only say, “it’s okay,” “everything will be okay,” or “stop crying, okay?” They only wanted the person who cried to stop crying without a desire to know why they were sad.

Shishio knew this, and he didn’t say anything since he didn’t know anything. If he said something, trying to comfort her without knowing anything, it would make him stupid. Instead, the right thing to do was just to accompany the person who cried without saying anything, and you just needed to gently pat their shoulders.

If you were an expert, you might as well hug the person who cried.

Still, the most important thing was to ask what had happened after the person had stopped crying and never make a conclusion after you were sure of everything. It would be even better if you could lead the person who cried into the answer to their problem by themselves.

Frankly, the matter of emotion was difficult.

There was never one answer, and there was no right or wrong.

Yet among those countless answers, as a scumbag, he knew which answer he should choose.

“Okay, it’s just a sweat.”

“Sweat?” Rumi was stunned, but she nodded. “That’s right. It’s a sweat.”

Shishio smiled and pointed at Yui. “You might be busy crying before, but let me introduce you to this stupid big sister. Her name is Yui Yuigahama.”

“Yahallo~ Rumi-chan.” Yui smiled, but then she realized something. “I am not stupid!”

However, Rumi glanced at Yui for a moment before she looked at Shishio, Yukinoshita, and Hikigaya. It might be her feeling, but she asked, “You three are kind of different from those other people. I am different too. From those people.”

Yui titled her head, feeling confused. “Different? What do you mean?”

Rumi looked away slightly, holding the hem of Shishio’s t-shirt before she said, “They are all such kids. So I thought maybe being alone wouldn’t be so bad.”

“Memories of friends from elementary school are kind of important, don’t you think?” Yui said naively

Rumi showed a melancholic expression that wasn’t suitable for someone around her age.

“I don’t need memories. I can just make friends with people from other schools when I get into middle school.”

“Unfortunately, that won’t happen.”

Yukinoshita entered and interrupted, making everyone’s attention turned toward her.

“Those girls who point and laugh at you are going to the same middle school, aren’t they? That means the same thing will happen. And those people from other schools will join.”

Shishio looked at Yukinoshita to spill out such a cruel fact.

However, unexpectedly, Rumi could accept Yukinoshita’s words calmly.

“I guess you’re right.”

No, Rumi was frustrated, holding the hem of his t-shirt tightly while lowering her head.

“I was just so stupid.”

Her voice trembled, but this time she didn’t cry and endured.

“What happened?”

Yui asked in concern.

Rumi hesitated, but when she saw him, she told them what had happened to her.

“This isn’t the first time they have shunned someone. But it usually ends pretty quickly, and they start talking to them again. Someone always makes the suggestion, and everyone kind of just goes with it. I’d go along with it too. But before I knew it, this time, I was the one getting shunned. I didn’t do anything wrong, either.”

Her voice was shaky when she told them about her experience.

“Is this how it’s going to be in middle school too?”

If so, when was this going to end?

Shishio knew that everyone was different.

Many people were weak, and they needed someone to support them.

Shishio was the same previously, but he hid it by working hard to live in this world, forgetting his loneliness when he became Shishio Oga.

Yet he met many people, and they saved him.

On the other hand, Rumi didn’t have such people.

Shishio wanted to help her, but he knew it would be quite difficult.

Rumi ended her story, but she didn’t ask someone to solve her problem. Instead, she wanted to tell her story so the burden on her chest could be released. She felt better even if no one was able to answer her question, but then her head was patted.

“Shishio-nii?”

Rumi looked at Shishio curiously.

“There’s no person who is born to be alone in this world. I can’t guarantee whether you’ll be able to meet a friend that you can trust and won’t betray you in middle school, but as long as you’re here, if you feel lonely, you can visit us anytime, alright?”

Shishio couldn’t make an empty promise since this type of problem was quite hard to solve, but if Rumi wanted to visit them, he could give her a promise that she could visit them anytime.

“Um.”

Rumi nodded and thanked him since she knew his words came from his heart and he didn’t have an empty promise. “Thank you, Shishio-nii.”

“Okay, I am sure you’re hungry. Let’s go eat first. You might not believe me, but I am good at cooking.”

“…Really?” Rumi looked at Shishio in doubt.

“….” Shishio thought that this girl was quite uncute somehow.

—

The day passed, and before long, the sun was about to set.

The sky turned orange, wrapping everyone in the temporary light before the night came.

The sound of crickets echoed throughout the forest, yet everyone talked about what had happened to Rumi since her lonely figure was noticed by everyone.

Still, neither Shishio, Hikigaya, Yukinoshita, nor Yui told everyone everything they had heard from Rumi since they knew Hayama’s group was unreliable.

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Yui was worried.

Hiratsuka leaned on the corner of a table while smoking. “Are you worried about something?”

Shishio looked at her firm buttstock, which squeezed against the table, showing unexpected softness.

“There’s this girl who is always alone.”

“I kind of feel sorry for her.”

Shishio looked at Hayama and Yumiko, who talked about Rumi with half-assed feelings. However, he didn’t blame them since this was how people normally do.

This wasn’t their problem, so why should they care?

They also wouldn’t meet each other for a few days.

If Rumi didn’t trigger his system, Shishio might be too lazy to say anything and spent his days with Hiratsuka the past few days. After all, as she had said before, she wasn’t the only one who was shunned, yet why was she the only one who got the help?

This situation was like a hidden rule in society.

Even if no one told you, you had to follow.

No, you were forced to follow.

If you are weak and have no connection, power, or someone you can rely on, you would be in a helpless situation and unable to do anything.

This was also the reason why Rumi didn’t ask them for help.

Shishio didn’t offer her help and just gave her comfort like a small oasis in the middle of the desert.

Frankly, if Rumi wanted to be alone, Shishio didn’t think it was a problem.

However, Rumi was forced to be alone, and it wasn’t her wish to be alone.

Among them, Shishio knew that many people understood it, but no one put it into their mouths since this type of matter wasn’t something they should utter in their mouths. Instead, they should quietly keep it inside their hearts since some people were insensitive about this matter.

“So? What do you want to do with it?”

Hiratsuka asked everyone.

“I want to do whatever I can to change it.”

Hayama took the initiative to say what he wanted to do.

“Anything you can do? I see.” Yukinoshita made sarcasm.

“Ah…” Hayama couldn’t utter a single word.

“You can’t do it. You couldn’t before.”

Shishio looked at Yukinoshita and held her hand, which she placed on her thigh. Even if her legs were slender, he realized how soft they were from her tight jeans. Still, he didn’t have time to enjoy it since her hand was sweaty from the feeling she felt after hearing Rumi’s story.

Yukinoshita gently glanced in his face for a while, but she didn’t say anything and let him hold her hand quietly under the table.

Hayama showed frustration, but no words came from his mouth since he knew everything that came from her mouth was a fact.

“Yukinoshita, what about you?” Hiratsuka asked.

Yukinoshita didn’t let go of his hand and answered her question, “You said that this was part of the service club’s summer camp, right? Will her case be included as part of the club activities?”

“Working as a summer camp counselor is part of your summer camp. Logically speaking, you can argue that it is”

Hiratsuka looked at Yukinoshita when she answered that question.

Shishio looked at Yukinoshita, and his lips twitched, wondering why this girl had always had a hard time with what she wanted to do inside her heart.

“I see.”

Yukinoshita looked at Hiratsuka and said, “Then, if she asks for our help, we will do whatever it takes to solve her problem.” She glanced at Hayama in silence.

Hayama was unable to say anything, feeling the silence and discomfort on his heart so heavy.

“And is she asking for your help?” Hiratsuka asked.

“We won’t—”

“Cough!”

“What?”

Yukinoshita looked at Shishio.

“I think Hiratsuka-sensei used the wrong question in this discussion,” Shishio told his opinion.

“Oh? Then what is the most suitable question in this discussion?” Hiratsuka asked curiously.

“Do you want to help her?” Shishio asked while looking at Yukinoshita.

Yukinoshita blinked her eyes for a moment before she nodded. “I want to help her.”

Hiratsuka glanced at Shishio and saw his hand holding Yukinoshita’s hand quietly under the table without anyone noticing. She stood up and kicked his rump lightly.

“…” Shishio.

“Well, you’re right. My question is wrong, so just do whatever you want.” Hiratsuka waved her hand and left. “Then, I will leave. You can talk about this on your own.” However, before she left, she glanced in Shishio’s direction.

Shishio nodded and would visit her tonight.

However, before that, he was thinking about how to get back from this discussion since he didn’t want to waste his time on a meaningless discussion.