“It was early this spring. A little before I came under Himari-san and Reika-san’s care. Hasumi’s SNS account got flamed online. That’s what led to her quitting high school.”
After leaving ‘reverse’, we went around to other stores and enjoyed a round of shopping, then we made our way to a modern cafe on the outskirts of the downtown area.
The shopping arcade was filled with clamor, but just a short distance away, the foot traffic became sparse. Inside the cafe, empty seats were scattered here and there, allowing me to calmly explain the whole story.
“The post that got flamed was on ‘RootSpeak’. Hasumi, who was in high spirits at a class gathering during spring break, went onto the JR train tracks and took a picture. With the city scenery in the background—”
Entering the tracks of an active railway violates a law called the Railway Business Act.
Not only that, but if it’s determined to have endangered the passage of trains, it violates the Penal Code, and if it causes significant delays or service suspensions, there’s also the possibility of being sued in civil court.
Hasumi’s appearance is excellent. It’s not flattery or anything; she’s genuinely good-looking. That’s why she had many friends of all genders, and naturally, she had a decent number of followers on her SNS account.
I think that’s what spurred the photo’s spread. Her name, school, and even her address were identified right away, and by the next morning, she had over 100 times the mentions, and the school received a number of direct reports. And so, Hasumi was suspended, and after a two-week probation, she ended up voluntarily withdrawing from school.
What Hasumi did was undeniably an illegal act.
I also think it was careless of her to post the photo without understanding the implications of what she’d shot.
‘Six Degrees of Separation.’ A phrase Himari-san and Reika-san taught me just recently.
Because based on the principles of social networks, she was essentially voluntarily broadcasting her own illegal act to people all over the world.
However—I think.
Is the act of ganging up on and bashing a high school girl online for one mistake, and driving her to the point of dropping out, truly not wrong?
Is bashing an individual while hiding behind the anonymity of the internet and a righteous cause truly justice?
“Hasumi has a sharp tongue, but she was sociable and a straightforward person. She’s the type who’s always treated everyone that way… To be honest, I’m relieved. There are a lot of people in the world whose lives have been ruined by online lynching, right? People who were originally energetic become shut-ins and their personalities change after getting flamed… that sort of thing. I didn’t know what to say when we met by chance, so I couldn’t speak up, but I’m relieved that Hasumi hasn’t changed.”
“Yeah. She seemed to be doing well.”
Himari-san continued in a gentle voice.
“Hasumi-san was an important friend, wasn’t she.”
“Yes… that might be so.”
I wet my lips with my iced coffee.
“I started my streaming activities around my first year of high school. I’d been interested in makeup and crossdressing since I was little, and from the very beginning, I’d been streaming where I’d crossdress, act cute, and just chat. From there, my channel subscribers and follower count grew, which brings us to today.”
The time I explosively increased my follower count was one year ago.
When I was a second-year in high school, a photo I posted on Instagram got a lot of attention, and I was featured in viral media as ‘a boy cuter than any girl,’ becoming a hot topic. From there, using SNS as a pipeline, the number of concurrent viewers on my streams increased exponentially.
“Our generation is the one hit directly by SNS. So naturally, people around me found out. Honestly, people started being weirdly considerate, or rather, more distant… But Hasumi, even after learning I was the kind of person who crossdresses and talks to a camera by myself, didn’t change her attitude at all.”
Because Hasumi, a central figure in the class, acted naturally, the strange atmosphere around me gradually faded. And so, while immersing myself in the world of the internet, I was able to live my school life as a normal high school boy.
Hasumi is my benefactor.
I’m sure that from her perspective, she was just doing what came naturally.
Just as I finished speaking, I drained the liquid in my glass and looked up—
For some reason, Himari-san was looking behind me with a somewhat tense expression.
I wonder what’s wrong. Maybe I made her feel awkward.
“I’m sorry,” the apology reflexively left my lips.
“I ended up doing all the talking. I’m sorry.”
“Hm? —Ah, no no no, I’m sorry! I was listening properly! It’s just that”
“Just that?”
“Outside the shop—no, it’s nothing. I was happy you told me about yourself, Mayuki-kun.”
I wish I could have said, ‘I was happy you listened,’ but for some reason, I felt incredibly embarrassed and opened my smartphone as if to hide it.
That’s strange. I’m supposed to be wearing my armor.
I wonder if it’s a reaction to baring my true self.
I began writing text to post the photo of the pancake set I took earlier to SNS, just like always. It was purely to hide my embarrassment.
“RootSpeak?”
“No, Instagram—Himari-san. If you don’t mind, would you like to take a picture together? Like we did on the university terrace before.”
“What’s with the suddenness!?”
Himari-san showed an over-the-top reaction to my invitation. The truth is, I just wanted a memory of the two of us going out together, but I soothed my feelings and covered it up by saying, “Posting is part of the business, you know.”
“I was thinking that this kind of composition, with a girl sitting across from me, looks like a ‘normal date’.”
“Okay. Make sure you pick a photo where I look good, okay?”
“You sound like a typical college girl.”
“I am a typical college girl!”