Chapter seventeen. Holidays, boycott and a lost acquaintance

There is no real reason for this. There is never a sufficient reason for a boycott. Monkeys are social animals; it is physically uncomfortable for them to live without communication. And people, as one of the species of monkeys, are extremely uncomfortable without communicating with creatures of their kind. The Japanese nation, of course, despises the teachings of the white barbarians and does not doubt at all that the white barbarians are descended from monkeys while considering themselves descendants of the gods. However, as a mockery, for the Japanese, social norms or the desire and need to be part of society are even more critical than for the "white barbarians." And for them, too, boycotting or completely ignoring a creature or creatures of their kind is an extremely inconvenient, unpleasant, and evil thing.

A boycott is terrible. Even if not everyone boycotts you, but only your class and some bosom friends of those in your class — this is actually a lot. That's almost one hundred percent of the people you talk to every day. That is, for you, it's almost all the people you see every day, all your usual surroundings.

In some ways, a boycott is even worse than bullying; no, this is the very peak — this is the peak of bullying — not recognizing you as a reasonable being. Or even not recognizing you as existing at all. No one talks to you, no one addresses you, they give you leaflets from the teacher, yes, but that's all. The atmosphere in the classroom, which had been very bad for a long time, became even worse.

Those who started this hoped, not by washing, but by rolling, to ensure that Hideki and Kyoko would break down, ask for forgiveness, and do everything so that they would only be noticed. Perhaps they will start a fight and more than one, and they can be pinned down. During the incident with the stationery knives, everyone was so stunned that there was not even any evidence of this. And behind the attempt to accuse them of unmotivated violence, there was a chance that it would be revealed that the violence was very motivated. The next day, another scratch on Khair's cheek put an end to direct physical attempts to harm. Still, if Hideki or Kyoko were the instigators and their opponents were ready for this, the prospects were interesting. They were especially considering the family ties of Khair Lin and the headmaster.

But, to the surprise and disappointment of Haire, Gila, and their inner circle, it didn't work. The rest of the class treated the boycott in different ways, from support to rejection. The former believed that Anpan-kun himself deserved this by his behavior and Ame-san for his support. The latter considered such behavior to be wrong, and even if Anpan-kun behaved incorrectly, it was necessary to talk to him, explain what he was wrong about, convince him to apologize, in general, come to something ... more normal. As a rule, these were people who were sensitive to the atmosphere of the class and had a little more empathy. The atmosphere of the class became very cold and unfriendly. But those who did not accept the boycott did nothing, fearing to find themselves in this atmosphere of cold alienation and perfectly remembering that "the protruding nail is beaten harder." Most of the class didn't care. We decided to ignore Anpan-kun and Ame-san, so we ignored them. Whether it's right or wrong, and who started it at all, it doesn't matter. I'm like everyone else. After all, no real reason is needed to justify one's inaction.

Moreover, it looked like Anpan-kun and Kyoko didn't suffer from the boycott at all. Which, of course, was not true, but to a very small extent.

Kyoko and Hideki didn't feel very comfortable all this time, but each had an additional motivation to hold on. Each of them understood that if one of them broke down, it would be much worse. Both Hideki and Kyoko would have broken down and suffered a nervous breakdown long ago in much, much less time than what has passed since the beginning of the boycott if they were alone.

But a system, including a social one, is always more than just the sum of its components. And a couple is much, much more than one person. And they held on.

Sometimes, it didn't require much effort, like during lunch, when they left the classroom and sat down to have lunch together on the roof. Or they crossed paths with Kyoko's younger sister and her friends and again had lunch together, chatting quite cheerfully. Hideki, although he was not a particular fan of certain idols, was well-versed in the topic.

At times, this ignoring was quite unpleasant during physical education lessons, when paired exercises had to be done with the teacher or by himself — they were and did it together. Still, the lessons for girls and boys were conducted separately. But in any case, they were together almost all the time, which means that both were never alone.

Kyoko even found a part-time job in a small shop not far from Hideki's part-time job. The store was open late, and she often took shifts coinciding with her boyfriend's shifts as often as she could. These days, he accompanied her home, and they chatted freely and calmly. They both liked this mini-date walk very much.

— How did you like today's physics lesson? — I decided to raise the controversial topic of Hideki. They were studying mechanics now, which made Hideki's understanding of the subject, given his part-time job, a couple of trifles for him.

And when their classmate Tagari kept stuttering in today's lesson, the teacher told Hideki to "help."

He helped and even explained so that he understood and even completed the task on his own. But there was one caveat: poor Tagari belonged to a neutral group and did not know how to react or whether to thank for the help; he blushed, turned pale, and only after waiting for the teacher's remark, "Say Thank you to Kazumi-kun," muttered "thank you" and sat down.

— It was a little funny, yeah, — Kyoko smiled, but Hideki saw how sad she was. Apparently, she remembered the very fact of the boycott—one more time.

Hideki decided that it would be necessary to cheer up the girl and decided to distract her:

"Shall we go on a date this weekend, Kyoko—Chan?" Shall we go to the cinema?

***

The beginning of all this was extremely unpleasant for Kyoko. The atmosphere in the classroom was so tense that even the situation after an open confrontation was easier for her. You don't have to think about who to be careful with and try not to say a single superfluous word, and which of the girls can be trusted. Don't think about the fact that you might still be able to get girlfriends. Everything has become sadder but, in some ways, easier. You have to be careful with everyone, but you won't be able to make friends. But Kyoko didn't think she was at a loss. Instead of unreliable girlfriends, she got a boyfriend, who at the same time became not only close to her but also an extremely reliable person. So reliable that she would do anything for him. Kyoko blushed, but once again, she clearly realized that, yes, she was ready. If Hideki… She waved her head; that's for sure, this nonsense is not a problem at all if you protect yourself. Kyoko pressed her hands to her cheeks, then slapped them sharply twice, putting her thoughts in order. Again, she's not thinking about that. It didn't work out with her friends, but she managed to establish a relationship with her sister, and she had already stopped hoping for it. Hideki helped again, albeit indirectly.

Therefore, the boycott that followed shortly after the confrontation was associated not only with particularly unpleasant feelings but also with relief. She got a part-time job at a cafe near Mato-san's auto repair shop, sometimes came to her sister's classes, and occasionally participated in them. However, the main motivation for her was for Hideki to see her in the best way that her fans could see an idol. Unlike many idols, she did not need the love of numerous fans. The love of one fan would be enough for her if that fan were Hideki-kun.

His invitation to date was so sweet and caring that Kyoko wanted to kill herself if only Hideki would have a good time. But she doesn't really want to go to the movies, and she also wants to avoid crossing paths with at least one of her classmates, even by accident. But to refuse a date…

I didn't want to.

And this weekend in the neighboring town, there is a local autumn festival, where her sister's idol group even performs on Sunday, with a not particularly original name, "Bright Smiles." And Kyoko answered bluntly:

— I don't want to go to the movies — she even felt ashamed. Hideki-kun's face became sad so quickly, and she quickly continued, — But I want to go on a date! In the next town. And this time, the passage is on me.

The manager of Bright Smile, who had seen all the recordings of her participation in the idol contest with her sister, more than once suggested that she join as the "Left Twin Kikari" at least temporarily, and she would even take advantage of this invitation. The performance is not very significant; the town is small, and the festival is not so popular throughout the prefecture, so there should be few people there. We need to agree about Hideki-kun, but if anything, little sister will help. Let him try not to help!

***

In the last six months, ever since that unfortunate or lucky confession, Hideki's life has been so full of surprises that he thought he had stopped being surprised. And when, after getting to Kyoko's house quite early in the morning, and together with her sister and a couple of small suitcases of luggage, they were picked up by a small van, he was not particularly surprised. Well, the girls needed more handbags, which is unprecedented. But after a couple of minutes, he identified the girls already sitting in it. Ko-chan, Rina-hime, and Hana-san from Bright Smile. No, he knew, theoretically, who Kyoko's sister was, but still, it was amazing and strange. And then, as he understood it, their manager joined the conversation, and his sense of surprise began to play full again.

"So you're the Kazumi—san?" — an older girl, about 20 years old, who was driving, addressed him.

—Kazumi-san is me— Hideki did not freeze off. — And that "the one" is the first time I've heard it.

— The one for whom Kyoko agreed to go on stage. — It's not very clear to Hideki, the girl explained, — By the way, my name is Akita-san. I see that you know Ko-chan, Rina-chan, and Han-chan.

Hideki glanced at Kyoko, who lowered her head:

"I'm sorry, Hideki—kun, but you'll just have to look at me for part of the date time. But before and after the concert, you and I will take a walk. There will be fireworks after the concert, and there is a terrace a little higher behind the stage. Everything will be clearly visible there," she often said, fearing, for some reason, that Hideki might not like something, although yesterday, it all seemed like a wonderful idea to her.

— It's okay, Kyoko! Hideki smiled, "I'll be glad to see you on stage."

— By name and without a suffix, Kyoko-chan, this is definitely the one! Kyoko-chan, Kyoko-chan, how did you meet? — the "Genki" idol of the Ko-chan group, who plays a cheerful and active girl, has become more frequent.

"Tell me whatever you want, Hideki-kun," Kyoko correctly understood his uncertain look. "Katari already knows, and I don't have much to hide from her girlfriends.

***

Upon arrival in the town, the girls crammed into a barrack room behind the stage while Hideki was put out to stand outside. He wasn't sure exactly how long he was waiting, all the while waiting just hanging in another mobile casual.

—Hideki-kun,— he was called softly from behind. Hideki looked back and saw an angel.

The angel was dressed in a light yukata with a pattern of blue lilies, belted with a yellow belt, was dark-haired, with her hair tied back in a knot, and had such a cute face that Hideki completely instinctively broke out:

— Angel!

The girls who followed her were all dressed up in yukata; however, unlike the "angel," Kyoko, with demon masks, temporarily shifted to the side and laughed when they saw Hideki's reaction.

—Kyoko-chan, I think I'm starting to understand what you see in this guy.

Ko-chan immediately jumped closer to Hideki, lifted his bangs, and added:

— Well, except for a cute, slightly chubby face. Her scarlet yukata swayed on her chest, which was too large for a middle—grader, but Hideki's gaze did not even move — he stared at Kyoko with all his eyes. — Hmm, even so. Ignoring the cute, perky Ko-chan. Kyoko-chan, congratulations, and try your best!

— I'll do my best. Kyoko bowed slightly and smiled. Not that Kyoko was grateful to Ko-chan for such a "test," but the fact that Hideki-kun passed it with such ease pleased her.

A walk through the festival could be considered ordinary, if not for a few exceptional moments.

Firstly, he and Kyoko were in a neighboring city, and the chance of meeting someone from their class or school was minimal. Because of this, Hideki was internally less stressed than on dates in their city. Of course, Kyoko came to visit him from time to time, but his sister was usually at home, and he was usually too embarrassed to bring her into his room, and he did it extremely rarely. Therefore, they often sat in the living room, and his younger sister was often there.

If he came to visit Kyoko, then if Aoi Ame-san did not say anything except that she hinted to protect herself, Katari, if she were at home, would not let them stay alone with Kyoko, worrying about her "older sister," this wolf in a bearskin will pounce on here. The fact that they often talked alone when Katari was busy did not bother her at all, and Katari did not see any problems in her logic.

Secondly, it was actually one of the few times in the last three years that Hideki had been to the festival at all, let alone to go there with a girl. Yumiko tried to pull him out several times when she went there with her friends, but he refused. Yamada-senpai once dragged him to the festival "in gratitude." It wasn't so bad, it wasn't boring, but he could frankly say that he was enjoying himself a lot more now.

They caught goldfish — Keki did well here, they shot at the shooting range — Hideki did better here. And even though he couldn't knock out a big bear, a small figure of a brown bear, which for some reason Kyoko really wanted, he still won.

— Where to now? Hideki asked, a little out of breath, watching Kyoko hug the little teddy bear she had finally won. Her appearance became even more cute than usual, reaching almost critical values. And hesitantly he added, "Maybe you want to look for some interesting festival food?"

— I want to, but something is not very heavy. Kyoko smiled a little crookedly, "It's just that you shouldn't overeat before the performance; otherwise, I'll feel bad.

The festival in this town was the Autumn Fire Festival, which, in particular, was expressed in a large amount of food baked on coals. As usual, in the form of various seafood meat or fish, and more exotic, such as various kinds of baked fruits, all sorts of tricky pies made of rice and wheat flour.

—Okay,— Hideki nodded, "Let's look for something satisfying for you but not heavy." Hideki himself, despite his weight, was well-versed in various kinds of diets; he just picked one for himself to look exactly the way he looked. However, if desired, he could lose weight to a suitable norm, practically only through food, for several months.

Finding easier food in this place was a challenging task, but Hideki did it. They had lunch together and later found a crepe shop with fresh fruit filling.

— Ugh, thanks, Hideki-kun. — Although I still ate a little too much okay, by the time we got to the stage, everything was shaking.

They had been walking for quite a long time, and although there was still enough time before the performance, both Hideki and Kyoko decided to move to the stage. The crowd, compared to those that had been in the morning, had clearly arrived, and Kyoko thought that she had slightly underestimated the popularity of the fair. People were already slowly beginning to accumulate in the square next to the stage; they did not have to squeeze through yet, but there was no free passage either.

Next to the stage, along with several representatives of the local administration who ordered the concert, they found Katari, Hana-chan, Rina-hime, and an extremely worried Akita-san.

"Ko—chan disappeared," the manager explained, "she was waiting next to one of the rides and then decided to eat. Her phone is dead, and only the local Youkai knows where she is.

Kyoko-chan looked at Hideki pleadingly.

"I'll find it,— Hideki immediately offered his help. — Where exactly did you lose her?