If one has the ability to help others, should one? This is a question that was put to several people, but in most cases, there were only 2 common answers.

Only if it's a person I know. And the other answer was that I would help without thinking.

Then the question was changed, if helping this person caused you to get hurt, would you still do it?

By changing the question, 90% of people change their mind. After all, if you took damage for doing a good deed, it wouldn't make sense. Of the remaining 10%, 9% answered yes, as long as that person is a close friend or family member. Only 1% responded that they would help anyone even if it means getting hurt.

The human being is selfish by nature, so preserving his safety before others is totally rational, but today we are taught that we must help others although in the end this is in the decision of each one.

So, we can say that helping or not helping others does not make us less human since making that decision is what makes us think about the pros and cons of the situation.

Raiden POV:

The last few weeks have been exhausting, both physically and mentally. And all this is due to the constant arguments that Yumiko and Kawasaki have.

I thought that after they exchanged words for the first time; they exchanged words on the roof of the school, it would be calmer, I couldn't be more wrong.

I know that the two of them can't stand each other, but I have never imagined it would be this way. Starting an argument over any little thing or bothering each other are the main causes why they start arguing.

Of course, my solution to this was for the two of them not to interact anymore since it was just a headache, but Yumiko misunderstood that and said that she would come to have lunch with us every day.

I even tried to tell Kawasaki not to play along with Yumiko, this ended up giving the opposite result, women who understand them.

So, my lunch hour turned into being a bystander between the various close discussions and fights they had.

That Kawasaki was a brocon, that Yumiko wasn't a natural blonde, that Yumiko ranked higher than Kawasaki, and many more examples that are a headache to remember. They were looking for any reason to start their argument. Of course, I kept this from getting out of hand since Yumiko would end up losing if she tried to fight Kawasaki.

And when I thought that things couldn't get any more lively, one day Ebina and Yuigahama accompanied Yumiko, so now, we were 5 people having lunch on the roof.

The good thing about this was that Ebina was in charge of reassuring Kawasaki and Yuigahama reassuring Yumiko, so the fights were less frequent, but instead most of the conversations were directed at me, so things were worse than before.

But the good thing about this was that in the end both Kawasaki and Yumiko managed to hit it off a bit, enough to avoid arguing about anything, but this didn't prevent them from doing it anymore, it just became less frequent.

And I wouldn't have succeeded if it wasn't for the help of Ebina, who was the one who managed to calm the atmosphere much better than I did, but the look she gave me made me understand that it was more than a favor, it was an exchange, so I owed Ebina a favor.

The latter made my hair stand on end, since owing a fujoshi a favor would not end well at all.

Also, Ebina told me that when I wasn't there, the possibility of the two of them arguing was less, so I took advantage of that to make them both get along better, since I didn't want my friends to argue.

In short, if I went to the rooftop for lunch, I would end up exhausted, so with a few excuses and owing favors, I managed to avoid that exhausting time of day. So now I was having lunch in classroom, this was the best since being with the 4 of them would only make my mental stability decline.

And if Kawasaki managed to make friends with other girls her age, that would be fine with her. So, it was a win-win.

Of course, if any boy found out that I avoided spending lunch with 4 girls, they would call me stupid, moron, and more insults. But if someone manages to know them completely, they will know that my decision was the correct one.

Although this does not mean that I no longer talk or see myself with them, since we walked together at the time of the farewell and some days we go to Karaoke, since Taishi told me that Kawasaki has a beautiful voice, so we decided to go the 5, but in the end, this ended as always, in an argument between Yumiko and Kawasaki for who had done better, leaving the final decision to me. Thinking about it makes me feel exhausted.

The sound of the bell indicated that it was lunchtime.

''That would be all for today's class, they can have lunch' These were Hiratsuka-sensei words.

I guess it's time to get my lunch out and enjoy my moment of peace.

"By the way, Tsurumi, to my office, now!" The tone of her voice indicates that she is not in a good mood.

But I don't remember doing anything to piss her off, so I just got up from my seat and walked her to her office. Since I know, I didn't do anything wrong, I don't have to worry.

Once we entered her office, she took a seat across from me.

"Sit down." The tone of her voice indicated more of an order than a suggestion.

Once I sat down, I didn't hesitate to ask.

"Excuse me, Hiratsuka-sensei, why did you bring me to your office?"

She just looked at me and kept looking for something in a row of documents.

''Do you know what this is?'' Sensei put a sheet in front of me, if I remember correctly, it is an essay where we should mention the things we like and how we would see each other in the future. Of course, this time I did the essay, and I presented it correctly.

''It's the essay you left for homework.'' Remembering, I mentioned that I like to read, play and in the future, I see myself as a corporate slave, nothing out of the ordinary.

''So, you are telling me that you are aware of what you wrote?'' From her expression I can tell that she is upset.

''That's right, I only put what you asked us to. Also, I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary."

''Oh, so we have those, well, then I will read a little about what you wrote.''

''The human being is nothing more than a plague that torments the world, his very existence damages the planet. Although they say that their work is important, in the end they are just leeches, I'm wrong, comparing them to leeches would be an insult to these animals. People will always look after their own well-being more than that of others. They are disgusting beings who only seek their own satisfaction even if they have to harm others. No matter how much time passes, they will only get worse. All human beings are trash, that's why world peace will only be possible when humans are destroyed ... And there more of this absurdity written throughout the essay.''

Hearing everything Sensei mentioned, I couldn't help but cover my face in embarrassment.

The day I finished writing the essay, I started to write some ideas I had for the plots of some novels, so I made several drafts with different plots, and it seems that when I saved my essay by mistake, I saved one of these drafts.

"So, Tsurumi, what is your excuse?" Sensei said with a serious tone.

''I made a mistake saving my essay, so I turned in some drafts I wrote, but don't worry, I can bring you the real essay by tomorrow.''

I think this would suffice as it was just a mix up on my part.

''The essay is the least of it. After reading this, I could realize something, more than a simple writing, it is like a message to someone, as if everything were directed towards you.'' I guess she is very perceptive.

"Come on, Sensei, it was just something that came out of my imagination because I read a lot of manga so don't look for another meaning for it." I said this with a cheerful tone.

"Tsurumi, answer me, do you feel any hatred towards people?" Her tone was neutral.

''Of course not, sensei'' I answered in a disinterested way.

''Can you tell by looking at me in the face?'' I had averted my eyes when I said this to Hiratsuka-sensei.

''I thought you were calling me to talk about my essay, not about what I write in my free time'' I said this with a serious tone, after all, it is none of your business what I write about.

''As a teacher, it is my duty to watch over my students, and I was also able to realize several things when reading this: You would not hesitate to ignore someone who asks you for help or is suffering, you are indifferent to the pain or suffering of other people, you can hurt someone and not feel guilty about it, and most worrying of all, saying that human beings are trash and should be destroyed can be interpreted as actually hating people."

I guess Sensei is too perceptive, more than she would expect from someone, since to deduce this from a simple writing I did is quite scary.

"I don't hate people or anything like that, I just let my imagination run wild and wrote some crazy stuff, that's all." I said this with a natural tone.

''Maybe I could have been wrong.'' Although she said this, the tone of her voice showed that she doubted what I said.

''If I can get sensei to misunderstand what I wrote. it shows that I am on the right track regarding what I write.'' I said this in a cheerful tone.

''Going back to the subject of the essay, as a punishment at dismissal time you will come to my office and finish it.'' At least the tone of her voice returned to the authoritarian one of teachers.

"Okay." I guess with this, I have no reason to stay here anymore, I wanted to go back to my classroom, or I would miss lunch.

So, I stood up and started walking towards the door.

''Tsurumi.''

''Tell me, Sensei.'' I turned around hearing her voice.

''This is the second time you break the rules, the third time I won't be so lenient, and I'll have to give you a more severe punishment.'' After saying this, she made a pose with her hands that indicated that he would beat me up. Although her face showed that she enjoys saying this, does she have a fetish for hitting her students?

"Okay, Sensei, I'll try not to default again." Although I'm sure I could handle Sensei easily but doing so would only get me into more trouble, so when the time comes, I'll just let it go.

After saying this, I left the teacher's lounge.

I must say that I was surprised how Sensei could figure that out just by reading something so simple and monotonous.

Unfortunately, Sensei was wrong. That's why I was able to calmly deny all of her words from her, since saying that I hate people is wrong.

Clench my fist at the thought of this.

Because the person I hate the most is me.

But I must admit that he was right in the rest, I could not care less what happens to other people outside of me, they must be able to handle their own problems although this was what led to my death.

Remembering and thinking about this would only make me lose my appetite, so I returned all these thoughts inside me, to the deepest corner of my mind. Where they should stay forever.

Since just remembering them makes me think of nothing but my existence is unnecessary here, how could I enjoy this life while being a shitty person? Someone so despicable that the last thing I heard before I died was my own mother telling me "I hate you".

But that does not matter since in the end that is something that cannot be changed, and as long as you do not think about it, there is no problem.

I suppose it could be considered a skill not to pay attention to certain things.

With these thoughts, I headed to my classroom.

I went in search of a can of Max Caffe.

I had already finished my rehearsal in front of Hiratsuka-Sensei so now I can head home. Of course, it was something simple to do, and I also learned the great lesson of making sure of the things I deliver since I don't want to find out what awaits me after my third fault, although I can guess.

Once I bought my sweet drink, I headed outside the school to head home.

As I headed home, I could hear my name.

"Tsurumi-san!"

Turning around, I could see that the person who called me was Yuigahama.

"Yuigahama-san, hello." Quickly, Yuigahama caught up with me.

''I thought you had already gone home.'' She said with a tone of curiosity.

''Hiratsuka-sensei made me do some things, so I just got out, how about you?''

It was rare that Yuigahama was in Sobu High at this time since the most common thing is that she was together with Yumiko and Ebina. Also, I think that recently Kawasaki has also accompanied them at the start, I guess I should thank Ebina.

''Today I had to stay to clean the classroom.'' She said this in an animated tone, I'm surprised how animated she can be about anything.

And so, the topic of the conversation died. To be honest, I find it hard to maintain a topic of conversation with a person like Yuigahama. If it were someone else, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

As we walked, I could tell that Yuigahama fixed her eyes on me but quickly averted them, as if she wanted to tell me something.

"Yuigahama-san, do you want to ask me something?"

She looked surprised at my question.

''How did you know?'' The tone of surprise in her voice told me that I was right.

''You're too easy to read.''

''Ohhhhh.'' She looked like a little girl as she said this.

"So, what do you want to ask me?"

"Over lunch we got to talking about having a study group, of course it was still an idea."

It is 1 month before the exams start, so it would be normal to do this. After the exams come the holidays.

''And what's with that?'' If she wanted to tell me to study together, I'm sure Yumiko could have told me.

"Well, it's just that I'm not very good at it, so I'm afraid of being a burden to others." I guess that's valid. A study group consists of everyone supporting each other in order to improve their knowledge, but if one of them was very behind, it would only make the others fall behind.

"And while we were talking, both Yumiko and Saki-san mentioned how you are a great teacher, but they quickly started arguing." I can well imagine that situation.

''The good thing is that Hina was able to calm both of them down.'' As always, Ebina saves the day.

''Then what is your question?'' Yuigahama had told me many things, but she didn't ask the question she wanted to ask me although she could sense it.

''Well, since I heard how good you are at teaching.'' She take a breath as if the following was difficult to say. ''I was wondering if you could help me.'' After saying this, he put his hands together and crouched down in supplication.

I understand her situation, and it's not really that I have anything against this. If Yuigahama were interested in improving herself before doing a study group with the others, it shows that she wants to avoid causing trouble.

''Alright.''

''Seriously!''

I nodded to her words.

"Yeih!" Yuigahama quickly became more animated than usual.

I made the right decision?

''Then give me your number to coordinate a day to study, since there is still 1-month left before the exams start, so there is no rush.'' I said as I took out my cell phone.

Yuigahama took out her cell phone, and we exchanged numbers. With this one more number was added to my contact list that was only made up of my family, Yumiko and Kawasaki. It's not that I have many friends.

With this matter over, we say our goodbyes and go our separate ways since the Yuigahama address is far from my home.

At night I took out my cell phone to contact Yuigahama and plan the dates to study, since I doubt very much that just 1 time would be enough. I guess 2 Saturdays in a row would be enough. Of course, they will be long sessions.

But before I could dial her number, I received an incoming call, it was from Yumiko.

''Hello, Yumiko." I greeted.

"Hello, Raiden, on Saturday we will go to the mall to buy a present for Yui since her birthday is near, so you can come to pick me up at home, so we can go together."

I didn't know when Yuigahama's birthday was. Of course, it's none of my business to know, but since she's a friend of Yumiko's, I guess giving her a gift would be normal.

''I can't refuse, right?''

''Of course not.''

I could only sigh at my situation, and I wanted to use Saturday to study with Yuigahama. Then I will have to change the day, and since today is Thursday, it will have to be tomorrow.

"Okay, I'll pick you up on Saturday."

"Then we'll meet at school. By the way, don't you think you should spend lunch with us?"

''At this moment I am passing through a tunnel, the signal is being cut''

''You don't drive, so that's impossible!''

''I lost the signal''. I prefer to avoid having lunch with them, my mental stability will thank me.

''Don't hang up on me, Raid...''

I hung up.

I guess on Saturday I'll have to make up for it. Seriously, sometimes I still don't believe that I'm someone close to Yumiko.

But it's not that I dislike this 100% either.

After my talk with Yumiko, I called Yuigahama. We coordinated that on Friday and the following Saturday we would study.

And as strange as it was, Yuigahama suggested studying at her house. I don't know if she's very innocent or just doesn't take me seriously. It's not as if I had ulterior motives with her either.

So right now, we are going to her house to study.

Yuigahama is in a good mood as she hums something.

I can affirm that energetic people do not go with me.

During the way to her house, we could observe something.

Apparently, they were 2 students who had cornered another, by their uniforms I can tell that they are from middle school, more precisely a year younger than us.

But for some reason, the cornered student was totally serene, as if he had control of the situation.

''That's wrong.'' Quickly, Yuigahama did not hesitate to react when seeing this situation.

"I think you're misunderstanding" I said this to try to calm Yuigahama since I could tell that she would do something foolish, and he was absolutely right.

Yuigahama didn't hesitate to go and start berating those students.

The 3 students just looked at Yuigahama strangely.

Sometimes I forget that this girl is a headache, I already understand Hikigaya for choosing Yukinoshita.

I quickly grabbed Yuigahama's wrist and pulled her out of there.

''Sorry to interrupt." I could see the same look I get when I am having fun, watching that guy.

"Tsurumi-san, what are you doing, we have to help that boy." We had already moved away from those guys.

''Just shut up and watch.'' I am not one to brag about many things, but my intuition and my way of reading people is correct.

Since we were already a bit far from the scene, we would not be involved, we also had a great field of vision about what would happen, and, according to what I intuited, it would be something quite fun.

''That was kind of weird, but back to where we're concerned, give us the things you took back, and we'll just teach you a little lesson'' Said one of the 2 guys.

''What if I don't want to?'' His voice was provocative and at the same time showed security.

And just as I intuited, that boy beat up his 2 attackers, and from his expression I could tell that he was enjoying this, as if he had sought to end up in that situation on purpose.

"There was no need to interrupt." I said

Yuigahama looked surprised to see how that boy easily finished off his attackers.

"But he seemed helpless against those two." Yuigahama was still shocked at how that situation had turned out. I can't blame her, at first glance it seemed that that boy was defenseless, but the reality is that he only wanted to be in a disadvantageous situation to say that everything had been in self-defense, for some reason he reminded me of someone.

''It is not enough to look at some things to say that it is happening, you must analyze everything.''

''Did you know?'' She asked somewhat incredulously.

''That's right, just by looking at his expression, as well as looking at his posture, I could tell that the boy wanted to be in that situation.''

"That's surprising," Yuigahama said in an animated tone.

''Besides, what would you have done if your assumption had been correct, and that boy had just been someone helpless? I doubt that just talking would have calmed the situation."

Yuigahama averted her gaze guiltily, as I find it hard to think of Yuigahama doing anything physically against those two.

"Yumiko said that when she was in trouble, you wouldn't hesitate to help her, so I figured that if the situation got worse, you wouldn't hesitate to intervene.'' Yuigahama said with a guilty smile. Since when did I become a kind of tool for these situations?

Now I remember, I was to blame for this.

I guess I'll have to talk to Yumiko, maybe I was being too lenient on this. Of course, in the end, if the situation calls for it, I wouldn't hesitate to intervene, but just because Yuigahama is Yumiko's friend, if she were a stranger, I couldn't care less.

"Besides, you always act that way, so I thought it was normal." She said

"How's that?" I was curious how Yuigahama played me.

''Well, you know, the day of the Karaoke you intervened just at the moment that those boys approached Yumiko, you also did not hesitate to throw a glass of water at Sagami's head and from what Yumiko said, you always help her, so it's easy to think that you wouldn't hesitate to help anyone who's in trouble."

"I guess in Yuigahama-san's eyes I'm someone with a good heart who helps the needy."

"That's right." Yuigahama said with a cheerful tone.

''Unfortunately, you are wrong Yuigahama-san, if I help Yumiko, it is because she is my friend, if I saw another person in trouble, I would not take the slightest effort to intervene, since each one should be able to solve their own problems. After all, if someone solved all your problems, you would only end up becoming someone incapable of doing things, and the times I helped Yumiko were in things that were beyond her capacity.''

Yuigahama put on a surprised expression.

"I guess you're right." The tone of her voice was somewhat downcast. I guess she thought I was one of those people who would always help others. Unfortunately, I couldn't care less about others.

From our little conversation the atmosphere felt heavy.

Seeing the cheerful Yuigahama like that is strange and uncomfortable. It would be best to create a topic of conversation, and for my good luck I came up with something.

"By the way, Yuigahama-san do you have pets?''

"Yes, I have a cute cream-colored dachshund!" Yuigahama had regained her mood when I asked her about Sable. I guess there are benefits to knowing things you shouldn't know.

"Then we should speed up the pace, I want to meet him.'' That I like cats does not mean that I dislike dogs. I also remember the Sable is very lively, so I feel a bit intrigued by petting him.

With that said, we quickened our pace and in no time, we arrived at an apartment complex, this was where Yuigahama lived.

She led the way, and we headed to her apartment.

I never thought I would have the opportunity to visit Yuigahama's house, but now the most important question is whether her mother is home.

Thinking of someone's mother must be a crime, but we are talking about Gahamama. I remember that she was always loved by the fandom, even she was more popular than her daughter. And if I remember, when I was 6 years old, I thought about some irrational things involving the NTR. My thoughts at that time were quite unreal.

"Tsurumi-san, is something wrong?"

"Why do you ask?" I quickly answered her question in a normal tone.

''You stood still and made strange expressions.''

''I was just thinking about some unimportant things.'' I couldn't tell her that I was fantasizing about her mother since from any point of view it would be horrible.

''If you say so.'' There was some doubt in her voice

Once we entered her house, I could hear some footsteps coming at full speed.

Just as Yuigahama said, a small cream-colored dachshund appeared. Sable seemed excited by the return of Yuigahama and somewhat curious about the intruder who entered his territory.

I leaned down and called out to him.

''Come here, Sable.''

Sable quickly approached me, and I began to caress him. He is quite a docile and friendly dog.

''Tsurumi-san, how do you know his name?'' Asked a puzzled Yuigahama.

Knowing things that haven't happened yet or are confidential can be big help as well as a big problem if you leak information, in this case calling Sable by his name when Yuigahama never mentioned it is a problem.

The time it happened with Kawasaki I was able to manage, but in this situation, I can't think of an answer. Because if I say that Yumiko told me, but Yuigahama never mentioned it to her, I would look like a liar, so my options are slim.

If I took longer to respond, it would only make me look suspicious, so I'll have to do something I hate, improvise.

''The answer is simple; it has the shape of a Sable.''

I'm sure what I said must have sounded totally stupid. I'm really bad at improvising.

But to my surprise, Yuigahama's face showed that she was considering my words.

''You are right!'' She said this as if she had made the discovery of the cycle.

I guess I should be thankful that Yuigahama is kind of dumb.

She started petting her dog.

''Sable is shaped like a Sable.'' She said this with a playful tone.

I still wonder how she managed to pass the entrance exam.

"By the way, Yuigahama-san, your parents are at home?"

''Hum.'' She seemed to be trying to remember something.

''My mother told me in the morning that she would go out in the afternoon and come back in the evening.''

I guess I won't get a chance to meet her, not that I had any expectations from the start.

''Then it is time to start studying since I have a feeling that there is a lot of work to do''

''Don't say it like it's an impossible task!'' She pouted after saying this, she looked kind of adorable.

I guess impossible was a pretty good word.

I was on my way home, I had finished teaching a Yuigahama, since preparing her in a single day was something impossible but teaching her the basics of most of the course would simplify things.

There are still 1 month left before the exams start, so with the help of the others, I think Yuigahama would have no problem, after all, Yumiko is quite smart.

While I was walking near a park, I could hear some noises and several voices, these came from an alley near it.

Since I had nothing better to do, I decided to take a look at it since some words seemed interesting to me.

-''Now you're not so rude, huh?''

-''Attacking two of our own and thinking you would come out unscathed, are you stupid?''

-''Come on, why don't you defend yourself? I guess you're just a loser.''

-''Taking away their money to stay in the games, are you stupid?''

There were several boys hitting one who was lying on the ground, they had a uniform that I didn't know. I guess it must be from another high school since at first glance I can tell that some must be my age or older.

Looking more closely at the victim, I realized that he was the boy of the afternoon, the one who easily hit his alleged aggressors. From what I could hear, this guy was the one who took the money from him.

Maybe he was good at some martial art, but that doesn't make you invincible, much less ensure that you can take on multiple people at once. Of course, there are exceptions.

For a moment our eyes met, there was no reflection of that look full of confidence and arrogance, now it was just one of fear and terror. It seemed as if he was asking me for help.

At the time I thought that we could look alike, I couldn't be more wrong. After all, if he were the one who started all this, he should take responsibility for his actions and not be waiting for help from a stranger.

''Hey, you who are looking!'' One of the aggressors called my attention.

I just decided to go my way.

People must take responsibility for their own problems, if that boy had not taken an arrogant behavior, none of this would have happened to him.

It may sound selfish since if one has the ability to help someone, he should do it, but in the end, this is up to each one.

And honestly, I couldn't care less what happens to other people.