Minato Mizuhara transfers from Kanagawa and perfectly plays the role of a bright, cheerful newcomer. He smiles at everyone, chats easily, and blends into the class. But on his first day, one girl sees through his mask: Akari Kajiwara, the ace of the judo club. She simply says, 'That laugh—you used the same one before.' Minato freezes, his fingertips turning cold.
From then on, they start walking home together. Beside the silent Akari, who asks nothing, Minato finds an odd comfort. He gradually
The Classroom Without Sunlight - Serves you right, quiet.
At the end of July, the sky over Kugenuma was high and clear. Thin clouds stretched across it, and the wind from the sea slowly swayed the classroom windows. Minato sat at his desk, staring at two notebooks placed on top of it. One had a dull navy cover. Filled with his own handwriting—dates, times, and who said what, crammed densely onto every page. The other was the battered notebook he had received from Minegishi Jin. Its corners were worn, and the edges of the pages were yellowed. Even so, every character written inside was sharp and precise.
Minato traced the cover of the notebook with his fingertip. The texture of the paper was cool against his skin.
(Today, I'll end it.)
(No—not end it. Today, I'll begin.)
He corrected himself in his mind.
He looked at the seat next to him. Akari was quietly gazing out the window. Her chestnut-colored short bob swayed gently in the wind. Her single-lidded black eyes were looking at the distant sea. On the back of Akari's right hand were old calluses from judo practice. Minato had seen that hand countless times.
"……Let's go."
Akari said, without looking at him.
"Yeah."
Minato stood up, clutching the two notebooks to his chest.
The hallway after school was quiet. The footsteps of students heading to club activities echoed in the distance. Minato and Akari walked side by side. As always, the distance between their shoulders was one fist's width. No more, no less.
The student council room was at the end of the third floor. An old plate reading "Student Council Room" hung on the wooden door. Minato stopped in front of it, just once.
(I'm shaking.)
His hands were trembling slightly. The fingertips holding the notebooks were moving in small, involuntary twitches.
Akari stood beside him. She said nothing. She was simply there.
Minato knocked on the door.
"Come in."
A calm voice answered from inside.
Minato opened the door.
The student council room was smaller than he had expected. Two long desks faced each other. A yearly event schedule and several old photographs were pinned to the wall. The evening sun streamed through the window, casting long shadows on the floor.
Behind the long desk sat Kamiya Soichiro. The third-year student council president. He wore thin silver-rimmed glasses, and his hair was neatly trimmed. The collar of his uniform was buttoned properly. Minato had hardly ever spoken to Kamiya directly.
Beside Kamiya sat the female vice president and the male secretary. Both of them straightened their posture slightly when Minato entered.
"Mizuhara-kun and Kajiwara-san, right? I've heard about this. Have a seat."
Kamiya gestured to the chairs across from him. His voice was matter-of-fact. Hard to read his emotions.
Minato and Akari sat down side by side.
Minato gripped the notebook on his lap tightly once more.
(Don't use the smile.)
(If I use the smile here, everything becomes a lie.)
Minato raised his head.
"……Please look at this."
Minato placed the two notebooks on the long desk.
A heavy sound echoed through the room.
Kamiya glanced at Minato's face for a moment. Then his gaze dropped to the notebooks on the desk.
"……What is this?"
"Records. Everything from July fourth to today. Dates, times, places, who said what. Witnesses are written down too."
Minato's voice was lower and calmer than even he expected. It wasn't shaking. His fingertips were still trembling, yet his voice alone came out strangely steady.
Kamiya picked up the notebook without a word. He opened the navy one and slowly went through it from the first page.
The room fell silent.
Only the sound of the wall clock's second hand ticked away.
The vice president and secretary peered over Kamiya's hands.
"……Did you write all of this?"
"The one I wrote is this one. The other one was written by someone else, starting much earlier."
Kamiya picked up the battered notebook. He turned the pages. His hand stopped for a moment.
"……Whose notebook is this?"
"It belongs to third-year Minegishi Jin. Minegishi-senpai had been investigating those guys before Shiraishi and the others even transferred in."
Kamiya's eyebrow twitched.
"Minegishi……Jin. That Minegishi."
"Minegishi-senpai gave this to me of his own will. He says he'll testify too."
Akari said quietly.
"I'll testify too. The judo club underclassman will also speak about what she witnessed."
Akari's voice was short and strong.
Kamiya placed the two notebooks on the desk.
Then he adjusted his glasses and looked Minato straight in the eyes.
"Mizuhara-kun. Bullying cases can't be acted on without evidence. I think you know this. As the student council, we can't judge people on emotion alone."
Minato looked back into Kamiya's eyes.
"I know. That's why I brought them."
Kamiya studied Minato's face for a while.
Then he opened the battered notebook again.
He turned the pages.
Turned them.
Kamiya's finger stopped.
"……This is."
Kamiya's expression changed.
"This notebook has records from June, before Shiraishi and the others transferred in. And there are entries from middle school too……What on earth is this?"
"Minegishi-senpai investigated everything those guys did in middle school. Even before they transferred in, he knew who they would target at this school."
Minato recalled what was written in Minegishi's notebook. Being ignored. Things going missing. A quiet erosion through rumors. The same methods Shiraishi's group had used on Minato in middle school had been planned against students at this school before they even transferred in.
Kamiya closed the notebook.
A long silence followed.
"……Vice president, secretary. Confirm the contents of these two notebooks right now. Take photos and preserve the data as well."
Kamiya's voice was different from before—it had force.
The vice president and secretary hurriedly picked up the notebooks.
Kamiya turned back to Minato and Akari.
"Mizuhara-kun. Kajiwara-san. Based on the student council bylaws, I hereby decide to convene a student general assembly. The date will be tomorrow after school. In the gymnasium. All second-years and the relevant teachers will be gathered."
Minato couldn't believe his ears for a moment.
(A student general assembly.)
(It's really moving forward.)
"……Thank you."
Minato bowed his head.
Kamiya gave a small nod.
"Don't thank me yet. The real fight starts now. ……Also, Mizuhara-kun."
Kamiya lowered his voice slightly.
"You kept records all the way to this point. That's not something an ordinary person can do."
Minato couldn't say anything.
He simply bowed his head once more.
When they left the student council room, the hallway was darker than before. The setting sun slanted through the windows, dyeing the hallway floor orange.
Minato put his hand against the wall.
"……ngh."
His knees were giving out. He could barely stand.
(Did I do it?)
(Nothing's finished yet.)
(But I moved one step forward.)
Minato pressed his trembling knees with his own hands.
Akari stood beside him. Without a word, she walked next to him.
The two of them headed straight for the entrance hall.
The next day.
The gymnasium was sweltering.
All the second-years were made to sit on the floor. Over two hundred students were packed together. The air was heavy and murky with sweat, tension, and a faint trace of expectation.
Teachers stood along the walls. Fujii Rie was there too. Her habit of pushing up her black-rimmed glasses was more restless than usual.
At the front of the gymnasium, on the stage, stood Kamiya Soichiro. The student council president armband reflected the fluorescent lights.
"We will now begin the emergency student general assembly. Today's agenda is to have the entire school confirm the records and testimony submitted to the student council regarding the series of bullying incidents that occurred in July."
Kamiya's voice echoed through the gymnasium via the microphone.
The murmuring students fell silent.
Minato stood at the edge of the gymnasium, in the wings of the stage.
He held his notebook in his hands.
(Don't use the smile.)
(Don't run.)
(Just state the facts.)
His heart pounded deep in his ears. His fingertips were cold. His breathing was shallow.
Akari stood beside him.
"……You'll be fine."
Akari said quietly.
Minato looked at Akari's face. She was looking straight ahead. Her profile was the same as always.
"……Yeah."
Minato stepped onto the stage.
Over two hundred pairs of eyes converged on him at once.
His legs were heavy. One step, another step, treading the floor.
He stood beside the podium, in front of the microphone.
Minato opened his notebook.
He raised his head.
He tried to make a smile. He started to raise the corners of his mouth—and stopped.
(Don't smile.)
(If I smile here, everything becomes a lie.)
Minato reached for the microphone.
His fingertips touched the cold metal.
"……I'm Mizuhara Minato."
His voice echoed through the gymnasium.
It was so low and quiet he barely recognized it as his own.
"Today, I'll speak the facts. I'll leave emotions out. Dates, times, places, who said what. I'll say only that, in order."
Minato looked down at his notebook.
"July fourth, Monday. During morning homeroom, three transfer students came into the classroom. Shiraishi Yuma, Haizaki Ryo, Koyanagi Atsushi. Shiraishi looked at my face and said, 'Oh, Mizuhara-kun? What a coincidence.' Everyone in the classroom heard this."
Minato's voice wasn't trembling.
"July fourteenth, Thursday. Before first period, Haizaki Ryo said he lost his wallet in the classroom. A bag inspection was conducted, and Haizaki's wallet was found in my backpack. But the time the wallet was found was before the time Haizaki said he 'lost his wallet.' This can be confirmed by the classroom security camera footage and the testimony of a student who will speak up."
The gymnasium began to stir.
"July fifteenth, Friday. Koyanagi Atsushi spread a rumor in a social media group chat that 'Mizuhara stole at his previous school and transferred here.' There's a forwarding history and testimony from someone who heard Koyanagi talking about it."
The murmuring grew louder.
Minato turned the page of his notebook.
"July nineteenth, Tuesday. The belt of Kajiwara Akari's judo uniform was cut before morning practice. A judo club underclassman witnessed Koyanagi Atsushi sneaking into the dojo the night before."
Minato raised his head.
He didn't look at Shiraishi and the others.
He didn't need to look. He knew what kind of faces they were making.
"And now, I'll tell you everything Shiraishi Yuma, Haizaki Ryo, and Koyanagi Atsushi did to me in middle school."
Minato opened Minegishi's notebook.
"April of first year of middle school. Shiraishi told everyone in the class to ignore me. Things disappeared almost daily. Indoor shoes, textbooks, gym clothes. Rumors spread. 'Mizuhara steals people's money.' 'Mizuhara is a liar.' For three whole years."
The gymnasium went dead silent.
"The teachers didn't act. They said there was no evidence. But there was evidence. No one just tried to look at it."
Minato paused for a breath.
"So I recorded it. Everything. Dates, times, places, who said what. This isn't a lie to destroy someone. This is a record so that no one else gets destroyed."
Minato took his hand off the microphone.
The gymnasium was silent as if water had been poured over it.
The one who broke that silence was Shiraishi.
"Mizuhara-kun, isn't that a bit much to say?"
Shiraishi stood up from among the students.
A refreshing smile. Neatly styled hair. His narrow, double-lidded eyes curved into crescent moons.
"Everything you're saying is just your subjective view. The wallet incident—it's a fact that it was found in your bag. And the stuff about us doing something to you in middle school—isn't that just your imagination?"
Shiraishi's voice was calm and kind.
The students around him stirred restlessly.
"Mizuhara-kun has a bit of a persecution comple
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.