I'm going to die! But in return, your life is over too. So, struggle through the pain! - Chapter 1

My name is Tsubasa Izumi (泉翼). I’m just an average, timid guy who happens to be relentlessly bullied.

It wasn’t always like this.

When I was a kid, I might have even been considered close to a “normie.”

My father owned a small business, and we had a decent amount of money. I was supposed to inherit the business someday.

I wasn’t incredibly handsome, but I think I was at least average-looking. I was part of the soccer club and did fairly well in it.

But everything changed when I entered middle school. My father’s business failed, and our family suddenly became poor.

Not long after, my father committed suicide. I don’t know if it was because of the failure, but that’s what happened.

Thanks to his life insurance, we received a reduced payout, which allowed us to pay off our debts and still have some money left over.

That might have been the moment my life started to fall apart.
I quit soccer, which I’d worked so hard on in elementary school, because the practice in middle school was too intense and overwhelming for me.

Then, my fate took a turn when I discovered light novels and anime.

Up until that point, I had never been particularly into anime or manga. But one day, while flipping through channels, I stumbled upon a late-night anime.

It was one of those isekai (otherworldly) series, featuring a pink-haired, flat-chested witch as the protagonist.

I got hooked. And that anime changed my life.

Because of it, I developed a fixation on tsundere heroines and quiet girls, which completely altered my taste in women.

At the time, it was a societal phenomenon, so maybe people would have let it slide.

But it didn’t stop there. I got deeply into other anime and manga.

I spent so much time on them that my grades plummeted.
Fortunately, I was enrolled in Seiyo Academy, which offered integrated education from elementary to university, so I managed to advance to high school despite my slipping performance.
In high school, I started hanging out with others who shared my interest in anime and manga. But then…

A guy named Furuyanagi started mocking us.

“You guys are so gross.”

“Bunch of otaku losers.”

“You stink.”

“Disgusting.”

He hurled insults at every opportunity.

Sure, we were otaku, so maybe we deserved it.

But then, my childhood friend, Yoko Mikami, started getting caught up in it and was on the verge of being bullied herself.

Because she was my childhood friend, they teased her, calling her things like “the pig’s girlfriend,” and made her cry.

Yoko wasn’t an otaku like me. She was just a regular person.

And honestly, she was pretty cute. She was one of the few girls who still treated me normally despite my descent into otaku culture.

Looking back, I should have kept my cool.

“Enough already!” I snapped and grabbed Furuyanagi by the collar.

In an instant, he threw me to the ground with unbelievable force.

“You seriously think you can take me on? I’m the judo club’s star player, you know? Hey, why get mad when I call a pig a pig? You’re over 100 kilos, aren’t you? Calling your childhood friend the ‘pig’s girlfriend’ is perfectly reasonable, don’t you think?”

He said this as I lay on the ground, my nose bleeding.
That was the moment my life hit rock bottom.

Beside me, Yoko was trembling.

The others joined in, showering me with insults.

“Furuyanagi’s totally right. I mean, come on, calling you fat or a pig isn’t wrong!”

“You can’t talk properly, can’t study, can’t play sports. You know, all the girls hate you, right?”

“Seriously, if I looked like you, I’d kill myself.”

So that’s it… I was hated by everyone.

But I had to speak up.

“I’m fat, so I deserve it. But Yoko has nothing to do with this! She’s just my childhood friend; we’re not even dating!”

“Oh, really?”

Furuyanagi smirked.

That day ended there.

But the next day, my nightmare began.

“Hey, Tsubasa, could you stop using that name? It’s the same as my favorite idol’s, and it’s grossing me out.”

“…It’s just my name. I can’t help that.”

“Ugh, whatever. From now on, you’re ‘Pig Boy.’ That works, right? Yeah, Pig Boy.”

I was furious, but I couldn’t hit a girl.

“…Fine.”

From that day on, no one called me Tsubasa anymore.
I was just “Pig Boy,” an ugly guy who resembled a pig.
Anime and manga fans are often among the weaker ones.
Afraid of getting caught up in the bullying, my friends stopped talking to me altogether.

The bullying escalated further. Finding trash in my lunch was a daily occurrence. Walking down the hall, I’d get kicked by classmates.

When I tried telling the teachers, all I got was, “Oh, it’s just kids joking around,” or “It’s your fault for not fighting back.”

My homeroom teacher, Shirayuri, a female teacher, simply said, “Stop being so pathetic. If you’re a man, stand up for yourself.”

This school prided itself on being prestigious and promoting both academics and sports. Its athletic clubs were known for outstanding performances.

As a result, many of the teachers were muscleheads.

In the end, talking to anyone was pointless.

What hurt the most was when Yoko started dating Furuyanagi and joined in on bullying me.

“I shouldn’t have helped her.”

That thought crossed my mind countless times.

Life in high school became unbearable, and eventually, I began to seriously think about ending it all.