Chapter 72: Truth

Tetsuo Sakaki felt like agreeing to this meeting had been a mistake in the first place .

As the ace member of the karate club and one of the top-ranked students in Koaki High School, he was bursting with confidence .

Koaki High School was already a gathering ground for the best of the best, so standing at the top even among them was definitely something to be proud of . In his eyes, he only regarded his classmates as well as those equal to or above him in status .

Tetsuo Sakaki couldn't even be bothered with those who he considered as below him . Of course, that included students from other schools that weren't of the same quality as Koaki High School .

He failed to grasp the reason behind Haruka Shimizu's stubbornness regarding this matter . Genhana High School? This normal girl was from a low-rated school which wasn't even worth paying attention to .

Yes, they previously bore affection for each other, but that was over with now . It was wrong to continue it!

Since Haruka already decided to break up, she should have said goodbye to Chiaki forever and never bothered with her again, but . . .

He'd already directly told Haruka he didn't understand why she was doing this, but Haruka remained adamant about continuing, so he could only accompany her .

Haruka was too much of a softie .

Such a girl wasn't even worth her attention or love!

At this moment, Tetsuo Sakaki was more certain of this than anything else .

"The two of you . . . don't even know you're basically no different from garbage . " His eyes were filled with unrestrained condescension as he finally voiced his true thoughts .

"Tetsuo!" Haruka raised her voice .

"Don't stop me, Haruka! You saw how rude they were being for yourself!" Tetsuo gave Haruka a sidelong glance before glaring at the two in front of him again . "We were nice enough to meet up with them, but they're being so rude to us . . . They're nothing but scum!"

Seiji and Chiaki retracted their fake smiles as they exchanged glances .

"It appeared . "

"Yep, it was exposed rather quickly . . . the true face of the arrogant boy . "

They both anticipated this scene, so their attitudes remained calm .

Tetsuo felt another wave of anger sweep through his heart; he was incensed at being seen through by the duo he'd looked upon .

If only he could have remained calm, perhaps he would have realized the mistake he was making, but the current him was blinded by rage and arrogance .

He stood up violently and pounded the table with his fist, causing hot coffee to spill out of the cups .

"Let's go, Haruka! These scumbags aren't even worth our time . . . "

*Slap!*

A clear sound resounded throughout the room .

The blue-haired girl had slapped the brown-haired boy .

Tetsuo was shocked at the sudden slap and was left dazed .

"You . . . stop acting so shameful!"

Haruka stood up and yelled in a low voice as she struggled to suppress the burning rage which welled up within her .

Although she knew that the boy with her wasn't very reliable, she didn't expect him to fall for their taunts so easily .

In actuality, Haruka's sudden loss of control over her own emotions surprised her even more than her classmate's poor behavior .

Witnessing how shamefully Tetsuo was acting, she acted on sudden impulse and ended up slapping him .

This shouldn't be . . . Her normal self wouldn't do such a thing!

At this moment Haruka Shimizu finally realized how shaken she truly was deep inside .

A withering silence reigned over the room for several moments .

Chiaki finally sighed wistfully, breaking the silence .

Chiaki finally sighed wistfully, breaking the silence .

"Haruka . . . Actually, I really missed you . "

A soft, gentle expression appeared on Chiaki's face for the first time as she looked at the blue-haired girl .

"Chiaki . . . "

Haruka returned the silver-haired girl's gaze .

"After separating from you, I thought about you . . . Every day, every moment, for such a long time," Chiaki began slowly . "Every time I thought about what you said while breaking up with me, my heart would ache . You said so much, and all of it was logical . . . But none of that was important to me . I didn't care; I couldn't comprehend or accept the reasons . I only knew that you wanted to break up with me, and you were resolute about it . It hurt me severely . Nevertheless . . . I still loved you . "

A teardrop formed in the corner of Chiaki's eye and slowly dripped down her pale white cheek .

Haruka was unable to come up with words as she listened to Chiaki's heartfelt words .

Tetsuo still hadn't regained his senses .

If he had dared to say anything to ruin the current mood, Seiji definitely would have smacked him a good one in the mouth .

Wordlessly, a tissue was handed over to Chiaki .

Of course, the only one who would do this was Seiji .

Chiaki wiped her eyes with the tissue and took a deep breath .

"Finally, I was able to overcome it . One reason was the fun club I was in . . . Although the drama club president is a bit of a weird person, she's really nice, and everyone else in drama club is nice as well . Another reason was one of my best friends who clumsily approached me and consoled me when I was at my most disconsolate... Even though she herself was unaware of it . " Chiaki smiled lightly .

"Finally, I got to know Seigo . " She glanced at the boy beside her with a gentle expression .

"When I was hanging out with him... I had lots of fun—even more than before . That's when I received your phone call . "

Chiaki shot Haruka a look filled with deep emotion .

"I was surprised and happy, yet frightened . I didn't know why you did it, but no matter the reason, I still wished to meet you . You told me that you were bringing your boyfriend, which hurt me deeply, but that wouldn't stop me from wanting to see you . Even though I was so afraid, even though I knew this might not be a joyous meeting, I wanted to see you . I... miss you... Haruka..."

Glistening tears rolled down from Chiaki's eyes which currently flashed with various complex emotions .

Glistening tears rolled down from Chiaki's eyes which currently flashed with various complex emotions .

"Chiaki..."

Haruka Shimizu could no longer maintain her impassive expression; even she could not veil her true feelings which were hidden deep within herself .

Complex sadness, nostalgia, and longing burst out from the confines of her heart...

She walked over to Chiaki, kneeled, and hugged her .

"Sorry... I'm sorry..." Tears also slid down the blue-haired girl's cheeks . "Everything was my fault... Sorry, Chiaki... Actually... I... missed you too..."

Seiji remained silent, respecting this heart-touching scene .

After a while, he stood up noiselessly and looked at Tetsuo .

Tetsuo Sasaki was still reeling from Haruka's slap, but he'd almost regained his clarity of mind .

Seiji stared at him until Tetsuo noticed, and gave him a silent signal .

Let's talk outside!

If Tetsuo couldn't even understand such a simple gesture, Seiji was about to give him a good lesson on how to behave .

Luckily, the brown-haired boy wasn't that stupid .

Tetsuo Sasaki gave a parting glance towards the two girls, before following Seiji out of the room .

After leaving the room .

"I deeply apologize for my rude words earlier . " Seiji began with a sincere apology right off the bat . His tone of voice suddenly turned cold as he continued, "But that was also because the look in your eyes was quite unpleasant . You shouldn't believe that you're good at concealing it . "

Tetsuo remained silent .

"I don't know if you're really that girl's boyfriend or not, nor do I care, but taking your attitude into account, they won't be able to have a good conversation . That's why I had to expose your true self first . " Seiji bluntly told him the truth . "I also don't know, nor care, why you were looking down on us . At any rate, you're just an unimportant character; it doesn't matter what you think . But I'll never allow you to interfere with Chiaki! She mustered her courage and resolved herself to potentially having her feelings wounded again by coming here . As her companion, my role is to remove all obstacles for her . Now, let us wait here for them until they're finished talking . "

'If you dare to try anything, I swear that you'll never be able to do anything again . '

Seiji didn't say that last sentence out loud, and stood there in silence, ignoring Tetsuo .

'If you dare to try anything, I swear that you'll never be able to do anything again . '

Seiji didn't say that last sentence out loud, and stood there in silence, ignoring Tetsuo .

Tetsuo Sasaki was currently battling with complex emotions .

He had been slapped by Haruka and saw her true feelings revealed... He finally had an inkling of the mistake he had made .

That girl... Chiaki Wakaba was someone that Haruka had truly been in love with before .

However, he looked down on her... He was condescending towards her, and he'd ignored Haruka's feelings... He fell for such a simple taunt and exposed his way of thinking .

That was why Haruka got angry at him .

He totally deserved that slap he received!

Tetsuo felt downcast after coming to this realization .

He didn't intend to hurt Haruka's feelings but made such a mistake .

Haruka... would she hate him now?

Tetsuo felt like she wouldn't because she was a softie inside . However, this made his heart ache even more .

'Aw man!! What have I done!?' The arrogant boy suddenly fell into a state of self-loathing .

He then noticed the handsome boy who stood beside him wordlessly .

This guy... was actually quite smart .

Thinking about what this person had spoken and done, Tetsuo could only shamefully admit to himself that the other boy had completely outwitted him!

Seigo Harano... from Genhana High School .

Tetsuo etched this name into his mind .