Back at the camp, the sky was completely dark.
But for high schoolers, this was still early.
There were still several hours until bedtime.
So, Hiratsuka Shizuka simply gathered everyone together under the guise of arranging tomorrow's volunteer work, allowing everyone to get to know each other.
This might sound a bit ridiculous, since they were all classmates who had spent a semester together.
Why would they still need to sit down and "get familiar"?
But the reality was, they did need to.
Because aside from Yuigahama, who was relatively familiar with Hayama's group, people like Mori Shinra, Kawasaki Saki, Hikigaya Hachiman, and Totsuka Saika weren't actually that familiar with the popular clique.
Totsuka Saika was doing okay.
He was popular in class and could occasionally chat with Tobe and Hayama.
But the other three were completely insulated from the popular clique.
Take Mori Shinra, for example.
The person he was most familiar with in the entire popular clique was Miura Yumiko, followed by Hayama Hayato.
Mori Shinra wasn't familiar with anyone else.
He only remembered their names and faces thanks to his 'Photographic Memory' skill.
As for Hikigaya, there was even less to say.
He held an equal amount of prejudice and resentment for every single member of the popular clique.
And Kawasaki Saki... she didn't care about anyone in the class.
Besides scholarships, Mori Shinra, who had actually helped her, was the only one she would exchange a few words with.
Given this situation, to say they were "classmates" was the nice way to put it.
The harsh truth was that they were just strangers randomly thrown together to attend school, with a relationship worse than that of colleagues at the same company.
At least colleagues chat with each other occasionally!
"That's all for tomorrow's work schedule. Next, everyone can speak freely. Share any interesting things you encountered today, or complain about any troubles at work. Anything is fine." Hiratsuka Shizuka finished explaining the rough schedule for tomorrow in just a few sentences.
Her efficiency was streets ahead of the leaders at the student assembly.
If Hiratsuka Shizuka ever ran for a school leadership position, everyone present would undoubtedly cast their vote for her without hesitation.
We'd go through fire and water for you, Shizuka-nee-san.
"The problem we encountered today... it's probably about that child, right?" The child Yuigahama was referring to was, unsurprisingly, Tsurumi Rumi.
In fact, Yuigahama and the others had met Tsurumi Rumi even earlier than Mori Shinra and Yukinoshita.
"That child? What problem did you encounter?" Hiratsuka Shizuka asked.
If it were just sharing fun stories, Hiratsuka Shizuka wouldn't have interjected.
But since it involved a student—even if they weren't her students—it was her duty as a teacher to be concerned.
"A classmate is being ostracized by other classmates..." Hayama explained.
After he finished, whether by telepathy or something else, everyone turned their gaze to Hikigaya.
Even his sister, Komachi, was no exception.
It's a stereotype.
"Hey, what's with everyone looking at me?"
"That child did seem rather pitiful," Miura Yumiko added, ignoring Hikigaya's question.
"Am I not pitiful?" Hikigaya felt that he was being ostracized too.
"Rumi-chan is a bit pitiful. You're... a bit laughable." Yuigahama's skill at roasting people had been leveling up ever since she joined the Service Club.
Especially when facing Hikigaya, she often landed critical hits.
"Looking for a fight?" Hikigaya shot Yuigahama a death glare.
It had to be said, the death glare paired well with his dead-fish eyes.
It actually looked a bit intimidating.
Unfortunately, Yuigahama had already developed an immunity to Hikigaya's dead-fish eyes and wasn't scared at all.
After the joke, it was back to the main topic.
Compared to Hayama's partial understanding of Tsurumi Rumi's situation, Yukinoshita, who knew more of the inside story, took the initiative to briefly explain the situation to everyone.
It wasn't that Yukinoshita was hoping for a group effort to find a solution.
What she was doing was more like reporting her planned actions to Hiratsuka Shizuka, the Service Club's advisor.
Although it was just a brief summary of Tsurumi Rumi's plight, Yukinoshita's words were so concise and clear that everyone present easily gained a clear understanding of the situation.
If you put yourself in her shoes for just a moment, you could feel the suffocation.
"That sounds... kind of scary."
When Miura Yumiko said "a bit pitiful" earlier, it was more about displaying empathy than genuine pity.
But this time, when she said "kind of scary," it was from the heart.
"So, what do you plan to do?" Hiratsuka Shizuka's question was directed at Yukinoshita.
Hiratsuka Shizuka knew that Yukinoshita wasn't the type to do useless things.
Since she had stood up now, it meant she already had a specific idea.
"Naturally, I will use various means to resolve this problem... if she needs it," Yukinoshita replied without any hesitation.
"Well then, does she need it? Or rather, has she asked you for help?"
"...Not yet." Yukinoshita Yukino shook her head.
"If she hasn't asked for help, on what grounds will you help her?" Hiratsuka Shizuka continued to press.
"..."
Faced with Hiratsuka Shizuka's questioning, Yukinoshita was at a loss for words.
It was Hiratsuka Shizuka's words that made her suddenly realize: Tsurumi Rumi had never once asked them for help.
Their so-called "help" was just her and Mori Shinra's "one-sided wish."
What if Tsurumi Rumi herself doesn't want them to interfere?
Just as Yukinoshita began to ponder this question, Mori Shinra spoke up. "Is it possible that, because of her past experiences, Rumi can't ask for help, even if she wants to?"
"After all, she experienced a 'betrayal' from a friend. After a blow like that, it's understandable to be wary of everyone, isn't it? Instead of agonizing over whether she needs help, it's more practical to think about how to help her."
As long as the method is right, no one would refuse well-intentioned assistance. This is especially true for an elementary schooler like Tsurumi Rumi, who is currently isolated and helpless. If nothing else, the very fact that she was willing to tell them the reason for her ostracization shows that she, too, longs to be saved.
Thinking of this, the name Yukinoshita Haruno somehow popped into Mori Shinra's mind.
Since she "entrusted" Yukinoshita Yukino to him, is it possible that she also wants to see the possibility of salvation in Yukino?
This thought only lingered for a moment before Mori Shinra temporarily set it aside.
The main problem at hand was Tsurumi Rumi.
As for Yukinoshita Haruno, he would have to wait until after the summer camp at the earliest.
After hearing Mori Shinra's answer, Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at the others. "Does anyone else have a different opinion?"
No one present answered, tacitly agreeing with Mori Shinra's thoughts.
After all, he had laid it all out.
It's not like someone would suddenly jump up and say, "I don't want to be a busybody, what that girl does has nothing to do with me."
What's the difference between that and social suicide?
You'd probably become Tsurumi Rumi 2.0 the second you said it.
Seeing this, Ms. Hiratsuka clapped her hands and said with a smile, "Very good. Since you all want to help that child, then think hard about what to do. I'll leave this matter entirely in your hands. Do a good job."
With that, Hiratsuka Shizuka stood up from her seat, leaving the rest of the time to the group.
She went back to her room to wash up and sleep.
...
After Hiratsuka Shizuka left, the great discussion began.
On the topic of "How Tsurumi Rumi can live harmoniously with those around her," everyone had different experiences, so their opinions varied.
The discussion inevitably descended into chaos.
Miura Yumiko believed it wasn't a big problem.
In her eyes, Tsurumi Rumi was so cute, so why not just go make friends with other cute classmates? As long as Tsurumi Rumi was willing to take the initiative, she believed no one would refuse to be friends with a cute girl.
Mhm... in some ways, Miura Yumiko wasn't wrong. No matter how twisted Japanese schools are, the "character model" advantage still exists. A cute girl like Tsurumi Rumi could definitely find a small group willing to accept her, even if her original group ostracized her, as long as she was willing to speak up.
However, the difficulty of this operation was whether Tsurumi Rumi was still willing to speak up after everything she'd been through.
"That's probably something only you could do, Yumiko," Yuigahama rarely refuted Yumiko's point.
Miura Yumiko looked confused, frowning as she started to say something.
Then she heard Mori Shinra say, "Indeed. Not everyone has such strong initiative in social interactions as Miura-san. From the looks of it, getting Rumi to actively talk to people will probably be difficult."
Miura Yumiko's furrowed brow relaxed.
Thinking about it, Yuigahama's words made sense.
"It's true, I was being inconsiderate," Miura Yumiko pleasantly admitted her oversight.
Yukinoshita Yukino, seeing Miura Yumiko admit her mistake so readily, felt that something was wrong.
This Miura Yumiko is being way too agreeable. This doesn't fit her stereotype at all. In Yukinoshita's eyes, Miura Yumiko cares a lot about her image. So, when faced with a challenge from Yuigahama, who is "below" her, she should have first suppressed her to protect her own "authority," not contemplated whether she was right or wrong, and certainly not admitted her mistake in front of everyone. Especially since "everyone" included herself and Kawasaki Saki, two people Miura Yumiko didn't get along with.
However, since Miura Yumiko had already recognized her own oversight, Yukinoshita wouldn't press the issue.
She had no time to play female-competition games with her.
The first round of discussion thus ended with Miura Yumiko realizing the flaw in her method.
Next up was debater number two, Ebina Hina.
"I'd say the solution is simple—just let her get a hobby. As long as she focuses her attention on her interests and participates in various activities, friends will naturally gather around her. On a larger scale, we should make her understand that school life isn't everything. If she broadens her horizons, she'll be able to look at things more easily."
Ebina's method was surprisingly reasonable.
In a broad sense, it almost perfectly matched Mori Shinra's own thoughts.
And to prove the effectiveness of this method, Ebina even used herself as an example.
"I made a lot of friends because of BL! No girl hates gays! So, Yukinoshita-san, you can also—"
OK, Mori Shinra decided to retract his previous statement. Next.
Your "Trojan horse" is a bit too obvious. Mori Shinra thought Ebina was just a fujoshi, but he never expected her to try and drag Yukinoshita down with her. Mori Shinra absolutely could not accept this. He did not want his future wings to get tangled.
After Ebina was dragged away by Miura Yumiko for re-education, the third strategist stood up.
"If you ask me, there's nothing wrong with being alone."
Don't even need a name to know who this is. Next.
"Komachi thinks that maybe Rumi-chan just has a hard time fitting in with the elementary school girls. When she's a few years older, the situation might be different," this was Hikigaya Komachi's answer.
"I can't help," this was Kawasaki Saki's answer.
"Um... I think what Ebina-san said actually makes a lot of sense."
The moment Totsuka Saika finished speaking, he was immediately invited by an excited Ebina to join the BL family.
This scared the boy so much he hid behind Hikigaya, which only made Ebina more excited.
Her nose began to bubble with blood.
Hey, is this really okay?
Tobe offered to take Ebina to the camp's infirmary.
Ebina, though she didn't refuse, dragged Kawasaki Saki along with her.
Three people were gone just like that.
Although their absence wouldn't have a major impact on the discussion's outcome, it proved that the discussion had hit a wall.
It was Hayama's turn to speak. He stuck to his original view, "I still think everyone just needs to get along."
"That is complete nonsense," Yukinoshita refuted him bluntly.
If they could just 'get along', why would this exclusion be happening in the first place? If that's not a nonsense suggestion, what is?
"If that's the case, then do you have any brilliant ideas, Yukinoshita?" Miura Yumiko couldn't stand Yukinoshita's high-and-mighty attitude.
She hadn't found a chance to strike earlier.
Now that the other girl had so bluntly and mercilessly attacked her group's opinion leader, she naturally had to fight back.
"My method is simple. Help her adapt to her current situation as quickly as possible. Compared to wronging herself to fit into an inferior, idiotic circle, maintaining her current personality is perhaps the better choice."
"Ha? Is that your method? As expected, it's full of arrogance and prejudice. Come to think of it, you two are exactly alike with that 'looking down on people' attitude. No wonder you get ostracized."
Miura Yumiko had thought Yukinoshita would have some brilliant idea.
But in the end, it was just the self-deceiving method of 'You didn't isolate me, I isolated you'.
"Arrogance and prejudice? Heh. Then again, a brain like yours can probably only understand that much. Only those who know they can't compare to others would feel looked down upon, right?"
Yukinoshita's words instantly ignited Miura Yumiko's anger.
She shot up from her seat, ready to settle old and new scores.
"You're only like this because you always talk—"
"You two, please calm down a bit."
Mori Shinra interrupted their argument.
It was clear that Yukinoshita Yukino and Miura Yumiko's conversation had gone beyond the scope of discussion and escalated to personal attacks.
"I... Hmph!"
Miura Yumiko still wanted to say something, but after meeting Mori Shinra's calm and indisputable gaze, her enraged mind suddenly cleared.
She sat back down, crossed her arms with a dark expression, but ultimately said no more.
The atmosphere at the scene had become extremely heavy due to their argument.
It was clear the discussion could not continue.
After a brief consultation, the group decided to shelve the discussion for now and revisit it tomorrow after the two had calmed down.
After this battle, Hayama finally stopped saying, "everyone just get along."
He clearly realized that if even their group of high schoolers couldn't get along, how could they expect elementary schoolers to?
In the end, the so-called "getting along" was just a consensus for most people to maintain superficial friendliness.
It was like the rules of the United Nations—it only worked on those willing to abide by it.
For those determined to violate it, it was no different from waste paper.