The bad news just kept coming. During homeroom the following morning, as Chabashira-sensei was about to leave, she assaulted us with one of her infamously brief and off-hand announcements.
"I have an announcement for you all. There was a bit of trouble the other day, an incident between the student sitting there, Sudou, and some students from Class C. In short, there was a fight."
The classroom erupted. Depending on the degree of responsibility that Class C saddled him with, Sudou could face suspension, and we might see a reduction in our class points. Chabashira-sensei laid the whole situation bare for the class. Her face was so devoid of emotion or interest when she spoke that there was a certain serene beauty to it.
She inserted no personal bias whatsoever when she addressed the class, and explained the situation from a position of neutrality.
"Umm. So why hasn't this issue been resolved already?" Hirata asked a rather reasonable question.
"The complaint came from Class C. They claim that the fight was one-sided. However, when we spoke to the accused, Sudou said that their claims were false. He insists that the students Class C called him over and started the fight."
"It wasn't my fault! It was self-defense!
Self-defense, I tell you!" shouted Sudou as he shouldered his classmates' icy glares.
"But there's no evidence of that. Am I wrong?"
"What evidence? I don't have any."
"So in other words, we don't yet know the truth. Therefore, we have put our decision on hold for now. Our response, and the punishment, will come when we find out who was at fault."
"All I know is that I'm innocent. If anything, I ought to receive a settlement for my trouble."
"So speaks the accused, but I wouldn't say that you have a high level of credibility right now. If there is an eyewitness, as Sudou seems to believe, then the situation may change. If anyone here witnessed the fight, please raise your hand."
Chabashira-sensei continued talking in a robotic, flat voice. No students raised their hands in response to her question.
"Too bad, Sudou. It appears there are no witnesses in this class."
"Looks that way," he grumbled.
When Chabashira-sensei cast a doubtful look at Sudou, he glanced downward.
"In order to check for witnesses, every teacher will inform their classes of the details of this incident."
"Huh?! You're telling everyone?!"
The school probably had no say in the matter. Because Sudou had insisted it was a false charge and brought up a potential witness, the school had to be sure. For Sudou, who had hoped to hide the situation, none of this was good.
"Damn it!"
Sudou's plan had already fallen apart.
"Anyway, that is all. We'll make our final judgment next Tuesday, taking into account any eyewitnesses and evidence. With that, let's end homeroom for the day."
Chabashira-sensei left, and Sudou followed right after her. He probably realized that if he stayed in the classroom, he'd lose his temper with someone.
"Man, isn't Sudou just the worst?" Ike was the first to talk.
"If we lose points because of Sudou, will we be at zero again this month?"
As uproar enveloped the classroom, and things started to get out of hand. If we ended up losing points because of this, Sudou would most likely become the sole target of our class's frustrations. Naturally, Kushida didn't want this to happen.
"Everyone, can you please listen to what I have to say?" Kushida stood and tried to silence the commotion.
"What our teacher said seems to be true. Sudou-kun may have been in a fight. However, Sudou-kun was dragged into it."
"Kushida-chan, what do you mean? Do you believe Sudou?"
Kushida conveyed yesterday's story to the whole class. She told them how Sudou had been chosen as a candidate to play regularly on the basketball team. She also described how some students in the basketball club were envious of Sudou, and how they'd called Sudou out and threatened him in order to make him leave the team. She also explained that Sudou, acting in self-defense, had punched their lights out.
Most of the class listened to Kushida's heartfelt words in silence. If Sudou or I had tried to explain the situation in the same manner, we probably wouldn't have been nearly as effective. However, not everyone in class easily believed the story. Sudou's typically poor behavior made it difficult to swallow, no matter how reasonable it sounded.
"I'd like to ask you all again. If anyone knows someone who saw what happened, whether it's someone in class, a friend, or an upperclassman, please tell me. You can contact me at any time. I would sincerely appreciate it."
Even though she'd basically said the same thing as Chabashira-sensei, the class had a very different response. She had an innate ability to connect with people. Her presence glowed so bright that I could almost feel it.
Instantly, silence enveloped the classroom. The first to speak wasn't the eyewitness, but Yamauchi.
"Hey, Kushida-chan. I just can't believe what Sudou said. I think he lied so he could justify what he did. He talked about beating up kids all the time in junior high. He even told us how much fun it was to beat people up."
After Yamauchi voiced his concerns, the rest of the class murmured their dissatisfaction with Sudou in turn.
"I saw him grab some kid by the collar just because they bumped into each other in the hallway."
"I saw him cut in line in the cafeteria and lash out when someone tried to tell him that wasn't okay."
Kushida's appeal for Sudou's innocence didn't seem to have reached anyone. They'd already hung Sudou out to dry, because he was probably going to lose them their hard-earned points.
"I want to believe him."
Hirata, the class hero, uttered those words as he stood in support of Kushida. His appearance was dashing, and he clearly wasn't drunk on the same anti-Sudou Kool-Aid as everyone else.
"If a student in another class were casting doubt on him, I could understand it," Hirata said. "But I think it's wrong to doubt a fellow classmate right away. Shouldn't friends do everything within their power to help someone in need?"
"I agree!"
Karuizawa, heroic Hirata's girlfriend, called out in agreement, brushing her bangs aside with her hand as she spoke.
"If it were a false charge, that'd be a problem, wouldn't it? In any case, you'd feel bad for him if he were innocent, right?"
If Kushida lived by the softness of her heart, then Karuizawa lived by the strength of her will.
Perhaps it was because of Kushida and Karuizawa's influence that many of the girls started to express their support.
This was typical of Japanese people. They would follow suit when someone took the lead. Though they probably mocked him in their hearts, they would help Sudou a little bit. Sudou's critics stopped, at least for the time being. Hirata, Kushida, and Karuizawa had attracted the rest of our class's admiration.
"I'll try asking my friends!"
"Well then, I'll try asking the upperclassmen I know in the soccer club!"
"I'll ask around, too."
Starting with those three, we launched our investigation to prove Sudou's innocence. Well, I guessed I didn't have to take a turn. I wouldn't be any good at this, anyway. Better to just leave it to them and fade out quietly.