Chapter 54:

Side Story - The (Former) Strongest Delinquent & The Blonde Devil (3)

The Pride of A Banchou


When I opened my eyes, what greeted me was the same dull, grey-colored ceiling of my room.

“…it’s morning again.” I muttered resentfully.

Waking up in the morning, going through an uneventful day, then going to sleep and waking up to do the same thing all over again—it was such a tedious life.

Nevertheless, I still went through with it.

I didn’t know why I stubbornly clung to this boring life, but I just couldn’t bear the thought of ending it. Even though I didn’t know the meaning to this life, I didn’t have the courage to find out.

Perhaps I was a coward.

I sat up on my bed and shook my head, chasing off any unpleasant thoughts. At the same time, a knock was heard from my room’s door.

“Hiiro-bocchan, please wake up. It’s already morning.”

The voice of my caretaker echoed from behind the door.

“Mm, I know. I’m awake.” I replied drowsily.

“I understand. Breakfast is already prepared downstairs.” She informed me before leaving.

After dressing myself up for school, I left my bedroom and went to the kitchen downstairs. The middle-aged caretaker was already there, silently preparing the dining table for my breakfast.

“Good morning, Bocchan.” She greeted me when I walked into the room.

“Yeah, good morning, Kurosawa-san.”

I took a seat and picked up a glass of coffee. It was black, with only a teaspoon of sugar added, just the way I liked it. Kurosawa had been taking care of me for years, so she’d grasped all of my likes and dislikes. In a sense, she was more of my mom than my real mother.

“What is your plan for today, Bocchan? Will you be coming home after school?” Kurosawa asked as she served a plate of perfectly cooked sunny-side eggs.

I snorted as I reached for the fork. “Since when have I gone home straight after school? I have several dates planned, so I’ll probably come home quite late. I don’t need dinner.”

Kurosawa’s usual expressionless face twisted slightly upon hearing my answer. She never batted an eyelid no matter what kind of pranks I played on her, but she’d always react with disappointment whenever the topic of my loose relationship with girls came up.

“Bocchan…don’t you think it’s time for you to settle down with one girl that you truly fancy? What about Mitsuki-sama, whom you’ve played with since you were a child? That way, both Master and Madam will be more at ease—”

“Don’t be absurd.” I snapped at her reflexively. “My parents won’t care even if I brought all the girls here and have fun with them. Why should I care about people who abandoned their son and went travelling on their own?”

“T-That’s…Bocchan, no matter what happened, your parents will always love and care about you.” Unable to refute, Kurosawa tried to change the subject. “They always asked about you, and…”

“Is that so? If they’re so curious, then why don’t they stop their honeymoon and come back to see me?” I replied sarcastically, knowing full well that there was no way my parents would do that.

The two of them were, putting it lightly, madly in love with each other, to the point that their whole world consisted only of each other. Coupled with their free personalities, those two were the worst parents that a child could ever have. After having me, they left me in the care of Kurosawa and left on their second honeymoon.

Of course, they always made sure that I grew up without lacking anything. I lived in big, expensive house, with a caretaker that would stay by my side all the time, and I’d get whatever I wanted when I asked for them.

But they never gave me any love.

Perhaps that was why I grew up to be such twisted, hollow person that I was today.

I quickly finished my breakfast and stormed off the house, not wanting to argue any further with Kurosawa. I’d just taken a few steps when I heard someone calling my name flirtatiously.

“Hiiro-kun, wait for us!”

I stopped in my tracks and turned around, already wearing the amicable smile as if nothing ever happened.

“Good morning, ladies. It really is a blessing to start my day with such beautiful flowers as you are.” I greeted the three upperclassman girls that came toward me with a light kiss on their hands, acting as a gentleman.

All three of them blushed and fidgeted nervously at my blatant advances. I kept my amicable smile as we walked to school, masking my boredom at their easily predictable reactions.

We had just walked past the school gate when something suddenly flew toward us in high speed.

“…!”

Acting on pure instinct, I grabbed the girl standing on the collision path and pulled her away, just barely missing the hurtling object.

Thud!!!

That object, which was apparently a third-year male delinquent, crashed into the school gate. He slid to the ground, already unconscious from the impact.

The girls, belatedly realizing the situation, shrieked and hurried to distance themselves from the delinquent.

“Ahh, sorry, I didn’t think he’d fly this far. Are you hurt?”

The one posing this question was a tall, athletic upperclassman with scowling face who came running toward the unconscious delinquent. I remembered crossing path with him on my first day at school. If I recalled it correctly, he was the strongest delinquent in Sakurasaki. Looking at how easily he sent someone flying, that didn’t seem to be an exaggeration.

“No, but you should be more careful next time, Senpai.” I replied curtly.

The upperclassman nodded and bent down to pick up the delinquent, as if he was simply a trash to be disposed of. I turned away and went ahead with the girls, who already recovered from the shock.

“That scares me…”

“I know, right? That delinquent came flying out of nowhere!”

“He’s in our year, that so-called strongest delinquent, right?”

The girls started chattering about the incident, as if they’d forgotten their fear earlier. I quietly listened to them, looking for any information that might prove useful to me. It was some kind of a hobby for me, and I could always use the information to get out of any situation.

“No, I heard that he’s no longer the strongest.” The first girl interjected, eliciting a “Huh?” from the other two girls. “Sawada-san from Class 2-B said that she saw him being ordered around by the super strong first-year girl…what’s her name again…Kaguya? Kagura? Anyway, it seems that she’s defeated him and he became her subordinate.”

I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrow at her story. It was such an unlikely story, since that upperclassman had real strength and could send someone flying. I’d seen the rumored first-year, Kagura Sakuya, and while her delicate beauty amazed me, she didn’t seem like a fighter type.

I chalked it up as unreliable rumors and ended up forgetting about it as I went through my day uneventfully.

*****

When the last bell rang, I let out a relieved sigh. If the class went on any longer than this, I might actually die out of boredom. I stretched my stiff body before grabbing my bag and headed outside. I was immediately ambushed by the first-year girl that agreed to go on a date with me after school today.

“Hiiro-kun, I’ve been waiting for you!” She beamed at me happily. “Let’s hurry up and go! I really like this movie, and—”

“Mikoto Hiiro.”

That voice didn’t speak loudly nor yelling. But it was powerful enough to be heard above the chatters filling the hallway. I stopped in my tracks and looked behind my shoulder.

A petite girl with long, neatly cut black hair, and vivid ruby eyes stood in the middle of the hallway, accompanied by the scowling upperclassman earlier.

It was Kagura Sakuya, the rumored first-year delinquent.

“My apologies, but I have business with you. Will you give me some of your time?” Sakuya asked politely.

The girl next to me pouted and stomped her feet. “No way! Hiiro-kun promised me first, so…!”

“Sorry, Ayumi-chan, but we’ll go on that date another time, okay?” I peeled her off from me and stepped toward Sakuya. “If such beautiful girl like you are asking me, then I’ll gladly oblige, Ojou-sama.”

I bent down and reached out to kiss her hand like I always did, but—

Slap!

“…!”

My eyes widened when Sakuya slapped my hand away. Her expression was full of disgust, as if she’d just heard the greatest nonsense of her life.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean.” Sakuya said coldly. “You’re free to do that to anyone else, but I’m not interested.”

The amicable smile on my face nearly collapsed, but I desperately suppressed the urge to burst into laughter. I’d taken great care to maintain my image as a gentle playboy who would date any beautiful girls, so I couldn’t afford to have my mask fall apart right now.

I straightened my back and controlled my expression. “I understand. Then, shall we change location?” I smiled and gestured outside.

Thankfully, the two of them followed me quietly to a deserted corner of the school. Then again, that upperclassman was strong enough to deal with me even if I tried anything funny, so Sakuya’s confidence made sense.

“Here should be good.”

I stopped walking and turned to face the two of them.

“Then? What do you want from me, Sakuya-chan?” I addressed her casually, not forgetting to wink at her. “Do you perhaps want to beat me and make me your subordinate, just like how you subjugate Mikado-senpai over there?”

Even though I didn’t believe the rumors, I taunted her to probe her reaction. If the rumors weren’t true, then Ouji would definitely be offended. But if it were true…

Sakuya smiled and clapped her hands. “As expected of the infamous ‘Blonde Devil’. Such amazing information network you have there. While it’s true that I want you to become mine, I don’t intend to subjugate you through force.” She glanced at Ouji. “That method worked since Pochi here valued strength the most. But you’re different. Even if I subdued you with violence, I wouldn’t be able to capture your heart.”

I could feel my face stiffened at her unexpected words. I was used to be on the side that made advances on girls—I rarely on the side of being wooed like this.

“Uh…thanks, I guess. Since you want me to become yours, you’ve prepared to pay for it, right? How about going on a date with me tomorrow, Sakuya-chan?” I struck back at her.

“Such insolence…!” Ouji’s scowling face distorted in anger and he stepped forward to punish me.

But Sakuya stopped him. She looked back at me with a sneer on her face. “It seems your loyalty is so cheap that it can be bought with just a simple date? How disappointing. Perhaps I’ve misjudged you.”

“…ha?” I reflexively frowned at the insult.

“It seems that you’re the one who has to prepare to pay for the price, Mikoto-kun. If you become mine, I’ll give you what you’ve been looking for this whole time. Are you prepared to give me your everything in exchange?” She challenged me with her unwavering vivid ruby eyes.

This time, my whole body stiffened at her last sentence.

“What I’ve…been looking for? What do you mean? What is it?” I hounded her, not noticing how desperate I sounded.

Instead of answering, Sakuya turned her back at me.

“It will be no fun if I give you the answer right here and now. Think about it carefully, Mikoto-kun. I’ll come to ask you again three days from now. I hope you’ll know what you want by then.”

After saying all she wanted to say, Sakuya left with Ouji.

*****

“Hey, you two, what do you think that I’m lacking of?” I addressed my childhood friends, the Hayakawa twins, from on top one of the beds.

It was the day after I met with Sakuya. I’d thought long and deep about what she said before she left, but I still had no clue. Since they said that two—or three—heads were better than one, I decided to pop into the twin’s house and ask for their opinion.

Mitsuki, who was the only one sitting properly on the carpet while reading her book, looked at me with annoyance. “…is that the first thing you said after barging into our room unannounced?” She replied.

“Well, cut him some slack, Mitsuki. Hiiro always did that anyway.” Her twin, Asahi, defended me as he rolled around lazily on his bed. “Putting that aside, what brings that question up?”

“Don’t think about it too deeply—just answer me.” I evaded Asahi’s question, not wanting to tell him about my encounter with Sakuya.

“Hmm…” Asahi looked up, contemplating my question. “When you think about it, that’s quite a difficult question. I mean, you’re rich, have good looks—though not as handsome as me—and popular with girls, you’re smart enough to take it easy at school, and you’re a tough fighter as well. What else are you lacking?” He ended up questioning me back.

“I know, right?” I frowned, having arrived at the same conclusion as Asahi. What in the world did Kagura Sakuya have that could possibly interest me?

Mitsuki’s stare at me turned colder and colder as she listened to our talk. “Friends.” She declared flatly. “You don’t have any friends.”

Ouch.” I grimaced as her words pricked my conscience. “Et tu, Mitsuki-san? Is this your way of saying that you don’t consider our 10 years long association as friendship?” I joked to lighten the mood.

“I’ll reconsider if you stop barging in unannounced every now and then.” Mitsuki replied curtly.

“But the only friends I have are the two of you!” I whined, unashamed of announcing the pitiful truth that I had no other people I could truly call friends. “Isn’t that what friends are for? To help you when you need it?”

“Friends don’t come into your house as if they live there and eat puddings that you’ve carefully stashed away.” Mitsuki’s voice dropped below zero temperature.

“Aah, so that’s what you’re angry about.” I recalled having eaten a pudding hidden deep inside the refrigerator when I came by last time.

The twin’s mother always welcomed me warmly, and she told me that I could consider this my own house. Maybe I’d gotten a bit too carried away, since she never forbade me from doing anything I wanted.

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll buy a new one for you next time, so won’t you please forgive me, Mitsuki?” I put my hands together and pleaded with her.

From other people’s perspective, Mitsuki’s expressionless face remained without any changes. But me and Asahi were close enough to notice that her expression softened slightly from my apology.

“…a dozen.” Mitsuki finally said. “Buy me a dozen then I’ll forgive you.”

Asahi burst out into laughter. “How harsh of you, Mitsuki. Don’t you find Hiiro pitiful?”

“No. And I recall you haven’t bought me the macarons that you accidently eaten a week ago.”

This time, it was Asahi’s turn to clam up when Mitsuki mentioned his wrongdoing.

I cleared my throat and changed the subject before Mitsuki could drag up any other offenses we’d done to her. “Back to my question, is there anything I’m lacking of?”

“No, seriously, you’re making me curious here.” Asahi sat up and stared at me. “Why are you suddenly asking this? What changes?”

“Nothing did, and that’s the problem. I feel like my life is a bit too tedious.” I smoothly lied without batting an eye. I didn’t want them to find out how shaken I was from Sakuya’s confident declaration.

“Hmm…I dunno…” Asahi groaned as he looked up to the ceiling, as if the answer could be found there.

“Ambitions, perhaps.” Mitsuki quietly offered her answer.

“ “Huh?” ”

Both Asahi and I turned toward Mitsuki in surprise.

“Maybe it’s because you don’t have any goals for yourself, so your days felt boring and repetitive.” Mitsuki elaborated.

“Ah, that could be it.” Asahi clapped his hands. “Hiiro, if you’re really bored, then you should help out with the Student Council!”

“Thanks, but no thanks.” I smiled wryly. “Where in the world would you find a delinquent serving in the Student Council?” I asked, without knowing that the next Student Council President was actually a former infamous delinquent.

“We’re not part of the Student Council yet. We’re just helping out.” Asahi corrected me with a pout.

In Sakurasaki Academy, only second and third years could serve in Student Council. But any potential first-years could be scouted into helpers, as to get them used to Student Council work before being officially appointed. The twins had already caught an upperclassman’s eye and got roped into helping out the Student Council. At this rate, they were guaranteed to be Student Council officers next year.

“Putting it aside, ambitions, huh…?” I mulled over Mitsuki’s answer.

*****

I continued to think about it until the next day.

Aah…this is so unlike myself.” I scratched my head and shook off my thoughts. “Rather than thinking myself to death, it’ll be better if I go and take a look for myself. Maybe seeing how Sakuya-chan treats her subordinates will help me reach an answer.

When the last bell rang, I left my classroom and discreetly made my way to the delinquent’s base. I’d done enough research to know the base’s location, as well as how many people Sakuya had under her. Unfortunately, I still couldn’t determine if the rumors about her strength was true or not. It was possible that she simply borrowed Ouji’s strength to subjugate other delinquents.

If Ouji could hear my thoughts just now, he’d burst into laughter from how ridiculous that notion was, but sadly, it wasn’t until quite some time later that I learned the truth.

I arrived at the delinquent’s base after quite a while, since it took more time to move without being detected by anyone. But sneaking around like this was my hobby, so I didn’t really mind the trouble. I hid myself right outside the classroom, under one of the open windows. Judging from their spirited voices, it seemed that almost all of them were gathering right now.

I carefully raised my head and took a peek inside the room.

“…checkmate. It’s my victory.”

“Wha—?! How is that even possible?! It’s only been a few minutes since we started the game!”

“Accept it—you’re just that weak, Kazu.”

“Alright, who’s my next opponent?”

The delinquents were gathering around Sakuya and a second-year delinquent. They were sitting across each other with a chessboard on the table between them. The second-year delinquent groaned as he was speedily defeated by Sakuya in chess.

“Uh…Kagura-san, I don’t think there’s anyone else who want to play with you after watching this.” One of the first-year delinquent, Fuudou Abe, if I wasn’t mistaken, piped up.

“Hmm? What was that? Oh, you want to play too, Abe? I never decline a challenge, you see.” Sakuya turned toward him with scarily brilliant smile, having located her next prey.

Abe’s shoulder sagged as he resigned himself to being Sakuya’s next victim. He sat down while another first-year delinquent, Hijiri Narumi, laughed out loud.

“Narumi, you’re next.”

But Sakuya’s merciless words instantly shut down his laughter.

“What?! B-But I never even played chess before!” Narumi protested frantically.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle on you, since it’s your first time.” Sakuya smiled gently at him, but it was still scary enough to send chills down your spine. “Or would you rather train with Pochi? It seems he’s quite lonely because no one want to play with him lately.”

“It will be my pleasure, Kagura-san.” Ouji cracked his knuckles, seeming excited by the prospect.

“Er…i-if I have to choose, I’d rather train with Kazu-senpai…” Narumi averted his eyes and timidly offered.

“If you play with me, I won’t force any of you to train with Pochi.” Sakuya assured him with a devilish smile on her face.

“Do it, Narumi! Do it for all of our sake!”

“It’s just a game! Kagura-san won’t hurt you! On the other hand, Ouji-senpai’s training will literally kill you!”

Hearing this, the other delinquents frantically pushed Narumi to agree.

Seeing this lively and boisterous scene made me reflexively break out into smile. Despite their whining and complaints, they seemed to enjoy themselves. Sakuya also didn’t act like an arrogant ruler, instead she interacted with her subordinates freely and casually. Instead of leader and subordinates, they looked more like a big family, with Sakuya at the helm as the slightly mean, but protective older sister.

Perhaps being included and spending days alongside them wouldn’t be so bad.

By the time I realized it, I’d already visualized such future for myself. I was so sure that I’d find my place among them, without knowing that my certainty would fall apart mere hours later.

*****

After taking a long, careful look at Sakuya’s group, I went home quietly before anyone could notice me. I could’ve sworn that Sakuya glanced toward my direction a few times, but since she said nothing to indicate my presence, it was probably just a coincidence.

I walked home in quite a good mood, until I sensed myself being followed. I purposely walked in a roundabout route to try and lose my stalkers, but they persistently followed after me. Finally I chose to stop in a quiet, deserted alleyway so I could deal with them.

“Why don’t you come out already?” I spoke out without turning around. “You’re not doing such a good job of stalking me, so perhaps I should give you a few pointers?”

For a moment, there was no response. Just as I thought to drag them out by myself, my stalkers finally gave up and revealed themselves.

“Tch…you’re still as arrogant as before, you devil.”

Two male students wearing another school’s uniform walked out from behind the corner. The one speaking was quite short for a high school boy, with chubby body and mean face. The other one was tall, with stout body like a gangster, but he was completely silent, unlike his partner.

I examined both of them carefully before tilting my head. “Do I know you guys?” I asked them.

The shorter guy immediately blew a fuse at my question. “How dare you insult us like that?! Even though we used to give you hard time back at the middle school, are you telling me that we’re so insignificant that we don’t worth remembering?!” He shouted angrily.

“Middle school…?” I racked my brain and finally recognized them. “Oh, so you’re Takano and Osamu? It’s been quite a while, huh? How’s life?” I asked with a smirk.

Those two went to the same middle school as me, and they were among the delinquents that frequently picked a fight with me. They always found a reason to pester me, whether it being my handsome face, or how the girls always all over me, or how I topped their test score despite not studying, et cetera. I’d beaten them up, of course, but it seemed that I held back too much to the point that they learned nothing from picking a fight with me.

Takano, always the chatterbox, growled at me, “How’s life, you asked?! It’s going down the drain, and it’s all because of you, bastard! Today is the day that we get our revenge against you!”

The taciturn Osamu nodded with resolute look on his face.

“Revenge? For what?” I acted dumb, knowing that it would rile them up even more.

As expected, Takano instantly sent me a murderous glare. “For ruining our lives, what else?! Because of you revealing that my mom cheated with one of the teachers, my family broke apart! I even lost the chance to attend a private school, and everyone kept mocking my parents! It’s all your fault!”

I stared coldly at Takano. My heart remained unmoved despite all of his drivel about his family’s misfortune.

“…so what?” I replied curtly. “It’s your mother’s fault for sleeping with the teacher. How is it my fault when she’s the one who cheated?”

Takano’s face reddened from anger and embarrassment. “Because it’s none of your business, dammit! Don’t bring my parents into our fight!”

“So why are you bringing this up again?” I tilted my head. “Are you saying that the whole middle school knowing your parent’s scandal isn’t enough, so you want me to let your current school know as well?” I threatened him.

Takano flinched at my blatant threat, but this time Osamu stepped forward.

“That’s enough, Mikoto. All we’re asking is for you to change your ways.” He said.

“Really? The way Takano glared at me makes it seem like he wants to beat me up instead.” I shrugged indifferently. “Besides, I did nothing wrong. It’s not like I told you to become a gay, I merely informed other people about your peculiar preferences. How’s it going with your secret crush, by the way? Did he return your feelings?” I grinned as Osamu’s face twisted in pain. “I guess not.”

“Forget it, Osamu! It’s useless to hope that this bastard will change his way on his own!” Takano pushed Osamu aside. “Bastard, don’t think that you’re the only one who can find out other people’s dark secrets!” He yelled.

“Oh? Try me, then.” I sneered at his pathetic attempt to provoke me.

“We know that your parents abandoned you!” Takano blurted out. “Your parents left you here and went abroad because they can’t stand you!”

“That’s it?” I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. “That’s weak, man. Everyone can find that out with just a little bit of digging around.”

At those words, Takano burst out in laughter as if he found it funny. “Oh, but that’s not all! You see, you actually have a younger brother.”

My head suddenly blanked out when I heard that. “…huh?”

Takano grinned victoriously as he continued, “When your parents live abroad, they have another son, just two years younger than you. But instead of abandoning him like they did to you, they doted on him immensely. Your younger brother is still living with your parents, without even knowing that he has an older brother who is unloved—”

“LIES!!!”

Before I knew it, I’d already shouted out loud.

“It’s a lie! That’s impossible! Those two are so in love with each other that they left me behind, so there’s no way they’ll take care of their son like that!” I refuted frantically.

“I’m only telling the truth.” Takano shrugged. “If you do your own research, you can find out about it just as easily. Rather, I’m surprised that you haven’t done that already. What, are you afraid of knowing the truth that your parents never loved you?”

Every word stabbed into my chest like a knife, gouging my insides and leaving it hollow. I bit my lips, desperately recalling the last communication I had with my parents. But the more I recall, the more likely that Takano was telling the truth. I’d abhorred my parents so much that I refused to read any messages or accept their calls. In fact, I couldn’t remember the last time I heard from them.

“I…I…” I cast my gaze down, unable to form any argument.

“Hah! Serves you right!” Takano gloated when he saw my despair. “You’re truly a devil! A cursed child that cannot be loved by anyone! It serves you right to be abandoned by everyone—!”

BAM!!!

Before Takano could finish his sentence, I’d lunged at him and punched his face as hard as I could. He hit the ground hard, but I wasn’t finished with him. I straddled him and mercilessly showered him with punches, to the point that my knuckles were covered in his blood.

“Mikoto! Stop it! Stop before you killed Takano—!” Osamu tried to stop me, but it only made him the next target.

By the time I came to myself, the two of them were already lying unconscious on the ground. They were beaten up so badly that there wasn’t a single place that remained unharmed on their body.

I looked down at my bloody hands and Takano’s mocking words crossed my mind again.

Your parents abandoned you.

I turned around and ran back home, leaving the two delinquents behind. When I reached my house, I threw the front door open and stormed in, startling Kurosawa who was cleaning the living room.

“Bocchan? What is it—is that blood?!” Her eyes widened when she saw my messy appearance. “Are you hurt—?!”

“Kurosawa-san, is it true that I have a younger brother?”

I interrupted her, only to be met with silence.

“Is it true?!” I raised my voice when Kurosawa failed to answer me.

She closed her eyes as if resigning herself before she answered, “…yes.”

“Does he…does he live with my parents?” I asked again with shaky voice.

“…yes.”

“And is he…” At this point, the words that I wanted to say choked my throat. But I forced myself to spit it out. “…is he…loved…by them?”

Kurosawa fell silent for a long time, her face was full of conflict. I waited in silence for her answer, half in fear and half in resignation.

“…yes.” She finally whispered her answer.

I dropped my gaze to the ground, suddenly feeling so utterly powerless.

“…why didn’t you tell me?”

“I…” Kurosawa hesitated. “I’m terribly sorry, Bocchan. I never meant to lie to you. I just…don’t want to hurt you.”

A weak laugh escaped from my mouth. So this was how it felt when you thrusted an unwanted and unpleasant truth to someone’s face. Even more so when that truth could upend everything you thought you knew.

I turned around. “…I don’t need dinner. Just leave me alone for today.”

“Bocchan, I…!” Kurosawa reached out to grab my arm, but I shook her off.

“I want to be alone.” I repeated before retreating to my room and locked the door.

I spent the whole night without any sleep, my mind too busy thinking about that incident earlier and how many similar things I’d done during my middle school period.

For the first time in my life, I finally understood just how malicious my methods were. I’d hurt many people by flaunting painful facts they didn’t want anyone else to know, smugly thinking that I was superior because I could control other people with my information network. I never once stopped to consider that I could ruin someone’s life with a truth.

By the time morning came, I also made my decision.