Part 3: Raw Accusations
The quiet bubble surrounding the middle row shattered as footsteps echoed sharply from the corridor.
Hina stepped through the doorway, her presence immediately casting an unsettling chill over the classroom. She was unrecognizable. Her usual energetic demeanor was gone, replaced by a cold, vacant stillness. She walked with stiff, mechanical steps, casually chewing a piece of gum—a blatant, disrespectful violation of Academy rules that she wouldn't normally dare commit.
Every head turned toward her.
Hina didn't look at anyone. She walked straight to the trash bin by the front desk, spit her gum inside, and continued toward her row. She unslung her heavy gear bag and threw it onto the floor, letting it crash against the wood without caring where it landed.
Instead of sitting down, Hina turned on her heel and walked directly toward Haruto.
"Haruto," Hina said, her voice unnaturally flat. "I need to talk to you."
Souta stepped in front of the wheelchair, placing a defensive hand out. "Hina, stop. Look at him—he's severely injured right now. Just give him space—"
"Shut your mouth, Souta," Hina snapped, her eyes narrowing into cold slits as her voice cut through him like a blade. "Nobody asked for your input, and nobody cares what you think."
Souta flinched, the sheer venom in her tone shutting him down instantly. He stepped back, speechless.
Hina stepped right up to the alloy wheelchair, leaning over Haruto. "Can you hear me, Haruto?"
Haruto offered no response. He sat motionless under the veil of his long red hair, completely shut down inside the dark fortress of his own mind.
Hina's breathing hitched, her composure visibly fraying. She reached down, grabbed the frame of the wheelchair, and violently jerked it toward herself. "I said, can you hear me?!"
Haruto's head rolled slightly, but his eyes remained dead, staring at the floor.
Losing the last thread of her control, a wave of overwhelming rage crashed through Hina's chest. She pulled back her arm and threw a sharp, violent punch straight across Haruto's face.
The blow snapped his head back, striking his bruised cheek with a sickening crack. The sudden force rattled the heavy frame, causing the wheelchair to wobble dangerously and tip sideways on two wheels.
"HEY!"
Arashi and Souta lunged forward instantly, catching the metal handles and slamming the wheels back onto the floor before the chair could flip.
Amaya's face flushed with pure fury. She shoved her way between Hina and Haruto, her fists clenching so hard her knuckles turned white. "Hina, have you completely lost your mind?! He's severely injured! He's in a medical chair!"
"You don't know a damn thing about what I'm going through, Amaya!" Hina screamed, her voice cracking as tears finally erupted from her eyes, cutting tracks through her pale face. "He might have broken his ribs, but he completely broke my heart!"
The classroom went dead silent. Nobody understood what she meant.
Hina pointed a trembling, accusation-filled finger directly at Haruto's lowered head. "My father died yesterday!" she yelled, her voice echoing violently off the wooden rafters. "And it's because of him! It's because of him and the Inazumas!"