SUDDENLY TURBULENT PREFIX
(Sakura Airi's Monologue)
It was the worst time.
While looking for a place to take a selfie, I came across an incident. It was a tense situation. It all started a few seconds ago, when a trivial accusation provoked the other party and turned into a fist fight quite quickly. No, say boxing, "fight" would be more appropriate. Three male students were on the floor, covered in wounds. A red-haired boy was standing above them, looking down. It was a pretty good one-sided fight.
I saw streaks of blood on his right fist from the other boys' wounds. It was my first time seeing a real boxing fight. In elementary school, I saw boys pulling each other's clothes and pinching each other, but this was different. I could feel the weight of the tense situation.
Although I was scared, I unconsciously photographed the scene. The atmosphere was dead silent. I thought, "What am I doing?", but in my panicked state, I couldn't think very clearly.
I tried to leave this area as quickly as possible. But my brain wasn't functioning normally, and my legs wouldn't do what I told them to do. Feeling paralyzed, I couldn't move at all.
"Hehe, do you think... things will end like this, Sudou?"
The boy who could barely move his upper body desperately tried to hold himself together despite being frightened.
"Are you trying to make me laugh? The three of you are in a pitiful state. Do you want to fight me again? Next time, I won't hold back."
Grabbing the collar of the disciple who had lost his fighting spirit halfway through, Sudou brought the boy's face a few centimeters away from his own body. Looking as if he would devour them at any moment, the defeated boys looked away.
"Are you surprised? Did you think you could win if you had more people?"
Thumbing his nose, Sudou-kun dropped it to the ground and picked up his bag.
As if he had already lost interest in the three boys, Sudou-kun turned around and started walking away.
At that moment, my heartbeat increased. Well, that was natural. Sudou-kun started walking to my hiding place. My route from the rooftop was limited. The theory was that he would go down the stairs I had used to get up here. Missing the right time to escape, my body couldn't move the way I wanted it to. When someone has an accident, I hear that their body tenses up and feels paralyzed, and that's exactly the situation right now.
"There's no point in making me feel tired after training, give me some time to rest."
The distance shortened. He was only a few meters away.
"...The one who will regret it later is you, Sudou."
One of the boys called out to Sudou in a strained voice.
My paralysis slowly faded, as if a curse was lifted.
"There's nothing more embarrassing as whining, loser. No matter how many times you try, you won't win against me."
He was definitely not bluffing; it was clear that he had the confidence to back it up. After all, Sudou-kun was able to come out unscathed from a fight where he was at a huge disadvantage.
Tomorrow was the first day of July; it was the beginning of summer.
Still not moving from my hiding place, sweat began to form on the back of my neck.
Without panicking, I decided to leave my place quietly.
I just had to avoid being seen and getting involved in this situation.
If I got involved, only a dark future awaited my quiet and peaceful school life.
Carefully but quickly, I moved away and left the place behind me.
"Is someone there...?"
Unconsciously wanting to escape, the air changed slightly. Sensing the change in the atmosphere, Sudou peered at the location where I was hiding a moment ago. However, I was able to escape from a hair's breadth away.
If I had been a second or two too late, he might have seen my retreating figure.
(Kiyotaka AyanokÅji's Monologue)
Mornings are always busy in Class D. That's because most students are far from serious.
But, today was harder than usual. The reason was unquestionable. It was because we would most likely get some points since our entrance ceremony.
The school I'm visiting, "Koudo Ikusei High School", is using a new system called the S system.
Taking out the cell phone given to us from the school, I opened the school app that was already installed, and logged in using my school ID and password. I then clicked on the item that said "Remaining funds"
Many things can be done from this page. You can check your own points and the class points. In addition, you can give points to other students from your own account.
There are two types of points listed; which are ultimately listed as "cl". This stands for "class", and it lists how many points the class has. It's not what each person has, but rather the points that the class itself has. Next to our class, class D, it shows that we have "0 cl" since June. In other words, we have no points. The other type is "pr". This stands for "personal", and it shows our individual points.
On the first day of every month, it's time for the cl 100 point number to be deposited into our personal account.
These personal points are for us to buy necessities, food, electrical devices, or other items; they replace the role of money and are very important.
Since real money cannot be used at school, if we don't have personal points, we are forced to live day by day with no pocket money to use.
Since D class points are 0, we definitely don't get personal points, and therefore have to do without money.
However, at the beginning of the year, our class points reached one thousand.
If we maintained our points, we would earn 100,000 yen every month. However, our class points were unstable from day to day. Things like getting bad grades or whispering during class contribute greatly to point deductions. As a result, D class had no points the first time May came. It's sad, but it continued until today, July 1st.
In addition to our monthly allowance, class points also determine our class eligibility. In order of points, classes are arranged from class A to class D.
So, if class D gets more points than class C, class D will probably become class C for the next month. And finally, if we make it to class A, our dreams of higher education and job opportunities will be fulfilled.
When I first heard about this system, I thought it was important to keep our class points as high as possible. Saving personal points wasn't helpful at all.
But my mind changed once we bought a grade in the middle of the day.
On the previous test, I was able to buy one point for Sudou, who had been longing for a piece of a point. When I saw that the school agreed to sell it, I understood that Chiyabashira-sensei was not joking when she said those words.
"In this school, there's nothing you can't buy with points."
That is, holding personal points means you can make the situation more favorable.
If that was the case, it could probably be to get more than just test scores. "
"Good morning, everyone looks more restless than usual today."
As the bell rang for homeroom, Chiyabashira-sensei walked in the classroom.
"Sae-chan-sensei! Do we have 0 points this month too!? When I checked this morning, I didn't even have a single point!"
"Oh, so why are you fretting?"
"This month, we tried! We made it through the midterm... so, isn't it cruel to leave us still at 0!? We weren't late to class, we weren't absent, and we didn't whisper!"
"Don't decide things on your own. Let me talk first Ike, you're obviously working harder than I've ever seen you try. We realize that... Of course, the school understands how you feel too."
After being reminded, Ike closed his mouth and sat back down.
"In that case, this is this month's point total."
The point results were listed starting from class A on the paper he put up on the blackboard.
Other than class D, all classes were pretty close to the points, and everyone had earned around 100 points.
Class A reached 1004 points, slightly above the number of points that everyone started with.
"...Not a very pleasant development, have they figured out how to increase points well?"
My seat neighbor, Horikita Suzune, only seemed to care about the other classes, but Ike, along with most of his class, didn't care about the other classes. To them, "does it matter just because we have points?"
Written next to class D was-87 points.
"Huh? What's that, 87... did we really increase our points!? Woohoo!"
After seeing the points, Ike jumped up and down in excitement.
"Don't get too excited, all the other classes increased their points by the same amount as you did. The gap isn't getting any closer, it's like a reward for just passing the middle round. Everyone else paid about 100 points. "
"I see, I thought it was strange that we got points so quickly."
Horikita, who was aiming for class A, seemed like he was unhappy with the points we got, and didn't smile.
"Are you disappointed, Horikita? Because the gap widened a bit."
"Nothing like that, I got something out of it this time."
"What do you mean, you got something out of it?"
Ike stood up and asked Horikita. Drawing the attention of the other classmates, Horikita sank back into silence. Hirata Yousuke, having seen the situation unfold, stood up and answered for her.
"The conclusions we came to during April and May... in other words, along with whispering and being late to class, there are no other conclusions, as I believe what Horikita-san said."
The quick Hirata answered without any problems. That was impressive. Right on target, too.
"Ah, that's so, if there were many conclusions, our 100 points would've been 0."
Having understood his easy explanation, Ike raised his hands in celebration.
"Huh? Then why didn't we get any points?"
Turning back to the original question, Ike looked at Chiyabashira-sensei.
If we didn't get 8700 points, it would be strange.
"This time, there was a little problem, the points for the first year were postponed, sorry, but you have to wait a little longer."
"Uh, seriously, since the school is in trouble, don't we have some kind of free choice?"
All the students grumbled in dissatisfaction. Once they understood that they got points, their attitudes completely changed. Having 87 points and no points was a different world.
"Don't blame it on that, the school decided it, not me, once the problem is resolved, you'll get your points, if there are any points left, that's all."
Chiyabashira-sensei's words hung in the air.
As soon as it was lunchtime, everyone went on their own to get food.
Lately, however, I've been thinking that going out with friends all this time is the hardest thing in school life. Take Kushida Kikyou, for example. She's friends with a lot of girls and boys, and is very popular, so while she's obviously invited in person, she's also invited by email and phone all the time. Although she sometimes has to turn people down, it seems like she has a life, going out to eat with many friends.
On the other hand, people who are not popular with girls like Ike and Yamauchi always seem to eat with a close group of boys. Sudou and Hondou were part of that group.
What I want to say is that I don't have a place where I belong.
I was friends with Kushida, and also friends with Ike and Yamauchi. Although I would eat with them, it wasn't very often. Generally, it was a relationship where the other party would approach me and ask, "Do you want to have lunch" or "Are you free after school?".
I didn't mind at the beginning of the school year. Since before I made friends, it was only natural that I was alone since there was no one else I knew.
But now, it's a strange phenomenon of 'being alone even though I have friends'
This phenomenon... is a very uncomfortable experience. If there's a day where we decide to go on a school trip and I don't attend, it's likely that I won't be invited by anyone. Do they think that I'm a low-ranking friend, or is that all I consider them to be? I might be having a wild misunderstanding about our relationship.
Feeling uneasy, I looked towards Ike's group. I'm here, it's fine to invite me. It was a faint look of selfishness and anticipation.
And then feeling uncomfortable with myself, I reminded myself that it was bad not to know when to give up and avert my gaze.
This miserable event repeated itself every day.
"You're still not used to it, I understand. As usual, you're pathetic, Ayanokouji-kun."
My neighbor looked at me with a cold stare.
"...I look like you're really used to being alone."
"I'm fine, thank you."
It was meant to be sharp, but she answered bluntly.
Most of my classmates had already formed groups, but the number of people like him who ate alone was by no means small, so I felt relieved.
Koenji also spent most of her time alone. At first, he surprisingly spent a lot of time in the cafeteria with girls from other classes and other classes, but as his points were running out, he started spending more time in class.
The sole heir to the Koenji conglomerate, one of Japan's largest companies, did not choose to be someone else, but rather someone who liked himself and no longer paid attention to others.
I felt respect for her because she didn't feel the anguish of loneliness.
As usual, she checked her face with a hand mirror, and it seemed she found no fault with her own appearance.
After all, besides her, there was a quiet girl wearing glasses. At one point, Ike was attracted to her because he was thinking about breasts, but since she was plain and didn't stand out much, no one was attracted to her after that. She was always alone, and she never spoke.
Like every day, she was eating her bento by herself with her back bent. She was one of the few who made her own bento.
Later, my neighbor took the bento out of her bag and started opening it.
Lately, Horikita hadn't been going to the cafeteria, and instead, brought a homemade bento.
"Doesn't it take a lot of time and effort to make your own bento?"
Although it wasn't a luxurious thing to do, but there was an act of relief in the cafeteria for students who had spent all their points. Since it took time and cost several points to make your own fort, free food seemed like a better option.
"I don't know, the supermarket also has free ingredients, you know."
"You made this with free ingredients?"
Without denying it, Horikita opened the fort. There wasn't much meat or fried food, but it tasted pretty good.
"Are you a cooking expert too? That doesn't fit your character."
"Anyone can cook after reading books or looking things up on the internet. All dorms have the necessary tools as well."
Without bragging about her skills, she took out her chopsticks. I guess she answered like that because she thought it was obvious.
"But why did you decide to make your own fort?"
"The cafeteria is noisy. It's more fun to eat here, isn't it?"
Many students went to buy bread or other food in the cafeteria at the beginning of the year, but now that many students no longer have points, a large number of students go to eat free food. If you notice, only a few people are left behind in class.
Is this what Horikita prefers? After all, Ike and the others were no longer in the room.
"Did I miss the big wave already...?"
"You're always staring at the ocean, but you don't even have a surfboard or the resolution to ride the waves. Even back then, saying that you couldn't ride the waves... you were talking like a big shot."
I wished I could argue, but she wasn't wrong.
Unlike lunch, after school felt more comfortable because there was no need to worry about personal relationships.
Also, I didn't really stand out if I tried to return to the dormitory right after school because there were very few people who did the same.
There were some advantages to being able to disappear into the crowd like a ninja. If I turned my back on a group of friends, I could pretend to be part of their group.
"...How pathetic."
I felt satisfied with myself for pretending to have friends, but in the first place, no one in this school cared who I hung out with.
"Sudou, I have something to tell you, come to the staff room."
Sudou, who was trying to quickly leave the classroom, was stopped by Chiyabashira-sensei.
"Huh, what business do you have with me? Now I'm going to practice basketball."
Feeling sluggish, he opened his bag, grabbed his uniform and showed it to Sensei.
"I already talked to your coach, you don't have to come, but you'll face the consequences later."
Sudou was on guard after Chiyabashira-sensei threatened him.
"What's wrong... is this going to end soon?"
"That depends on you, just by staying here, we're wasting more time."
With those words, it seemed he had no choice but to follow.
After clicking his tongue, Sudou walked behind Chiyabashira-sensei and exited the classroom.
"I thought she changed, but I think Sudou is the same as before. Wouldn't it be better if he came out?"
I don't know who that person was, but I could hear someone in the class muttering to themselves.
After the last exam, I thought that the class became more united as a group. Somehow, that seemed to be my imagination; guess it was a lie.
"What do you think too? It would be better if Sudou-kun was expelled."
While talking to me, Horikita put his notebook in his bag to return to the dormitory. There probably weren't many students who carried their notebooks around with them to review and prepare for lessons. This was a depressing thought.
"Uh, not really, what about you, Horikita? As the only person helping Sudou."
"Hmm... well, we still don't know how many positive points we'll get."
My neighbor, Horikita, replied in a disinterested voice.
When Sudou was on the verge of being expelled, she deliberately lowered her own score, and spent a lot of points to buy a score for him. I didn't expect such behavior from him.
At the same time, the two of us got up from our seats to leave the classroom together. I don't know when, but we started going back to the dorm together. Since we didn't eat together, or hang out, it was strange to be like this. The only thing we had in common was that we walked back on the exact same path. Maybe that's why we ended up walking together.
"I feel a little worried, about what Sensei said this morning."
"About how our points were postponed?"
"Yes, there seems to be a problem, but is it a problem on the school's side or on our side? If it's the latter..."
"You're overthinking too much these days, we're not making trouble. She said so herself... I doubt class D will be the only class that doesn't get points... In simple terms, this is a school problem."
If there was a strong concern to worry about, all the first years would be delayed, so the possibility of class D being involved was quite low... Probably.
"I hope so. After all, the problem directly affects our points."
Every day, Horikita always thought about how we could improve our points. He wasn't thinking about his personal points, but his class points so that he could reach class A. Of course, this wasn't impossible, but even then, it was far from our grasp.
However, there is still hope. If Horikita could find a good way to increase our points, it would be a great advantage for class D. Furthermore, our classmates would trust Horikita more and he could make more friends. A winning situation.
"Oh, right, you should join the chat. You're the only one who hasn't participated yet."
Taking out my phone, I opened the group chat app.
After doing a test, we invited Horikita in the group chat. Kushida thought that Horikita, who hated interacting with other people, would be able to participate if it was a group chat. However, his efforts were in vain, and Horikita did not participate at all.
"I'm not interested at all, I also saved my notifications."
"Is that so?"
It seemed like she had no intention of participating at all. She probably didn't delete the app because it would send notifications to the other group members.
Whether she participated or not, but I didn't continue. I didn't have the right to do so either.
"Ayanokouji-kun, you've been talking more lately too."
"Really, I think I've always been like that."
"Just a slight difference, but you must have changed."
Although I didn't intend to change, I must have changed without even noticing myself. I must have gotten used to it.
Especially, I felt like I was with Horikita-wait, no, we definitely didn't get along, but strangely, I didn't feel awkward around her. If it were any other girl, I wouldn't be able to speak normally, and would probably get confused.
That's why I only talk to people who are close to me.
More than anything, I was grateful that silence didn't make the mood worse.
"Did something make you change?"
"I was wondering... If I had to come up with a reason, it could be that I got used to school life and made some friends. Kushida is also a big factor."
If it was just a group of boys, then no one really said much and there was a lot of silence in the conversation.
If Kushida was there, someone always spoke up at any given time, and the atmosphere felt more lively.
"You seem to be familiar with Kushida-san, aren't you worried, let alone know about the other side?"
"I was surprised when she said that she hated you, but it's natural that you like and hate some people. There's no point in dwelling on such petty things. Even when she said it clearly, why did you pretend to be together with her?"
"I understand, I hate Ayanokouji-kun too, but we're still talking normally, I don't really mind."
"Hey..."
Seriously, why say that to my face?
"As I said. If others say that they hate others, it's fine, but if someone says that they hate you, do you feel bad?"
"...are you testing me?"
While saying "I don't know, is that me?", she began to style her hair. It was really forced.
"I don't mean to bother her, but Kushida-san and I are like oil and water. I don't think there's any need to fight with her."
In other words, it probably meant that she would not join the group chat with Kushida in it.
"First, why does she hate you?"
Since the beginning of school, there hadn't been much contact between the two. Since when did he start hating Horikita?
Kushida did say that it was his goal to be friends with everyone.
"I don't know either, maybe she doesn't know much about me either."
Even if that was the case, there seemed to be something between Horikita and Kushida.
"Are you curious? Ask her yourself."
That was impossible.
Kushida Kikyou was usually an angelic and perfect girl, but she unintentionally showed a different side of herself.
It was impossible to tell from her kind smile and tone of voice, but I still remember her words from back then. I guess Horikita didn't know either.
"No need, I'm fine with the current Kushida."
"That's disgusting, you know?"
"...right?"
Although the words came from my mouth, they sounded disgusting to me too.
After I finished dinner, I returned to the dormitory. Taking out my phone, I checked my balance. I had 8320 pr left. That hadn't changed since morning.
Considering that we got 100,000 points at the beginning of this year, this was a very small amount.
I spent a lot of points to buy Sudou's value.
"It would be great if we accumulated our 87 points."
In yen, it was 8700 yen. Although it wasn't enough, the money was still relatively large.
"Save me, Ayanokouji!"
While I was playing with the phone on the bed, the door suddenly opened. It was Sudou who was blushing.
"...Why are you in such a hurry? Or should I say, how did you get in?"
I remembered locking the door when I returned to my room. I don't think I forgot to do it because I do it out of habit now. Did she break through the door or something?
Just to be sure, I checked the door, but nothing was broken.
"This is the room where our rooms meet, so we held a lock and decided to make a duplicate lock. Don't you know? It's not just me, everyone else has a key too."
She turned the key in her hand.
"I learned this important fact just now..."
Somehow, it seemed like my room was no longer safe against invaders.
"Anyway, it doesn't matter, I'm in a really dangerous place now! Help me out."
"It must be important, give me the key."
"Huh, why would I do that? I bought this thing with my own money, it's mine"
What kind of ridiculous excuse is that? If you've committed a crime, it's still a crime, no matter what you say.
Even if we're friends, it doesn't mean that I'll allow anything.
"If you're worried about something, how about asking Ike or Yamauchi?"
"Those two are no good, they're stupid."
As she spoke, Sudou sat on the floor.
"Get a carpet. My butt hurts."
I didn't have enough money for the interior.
From the start, even though my room was designated as the meeting place, we hadn't met here since the party. Even if I bought a carpet, only I would sit on it. The thought felt unreal.
When I got up for tea, the doorbell rang.
The person who stuck her head through the entrance was Kushida, the Madonna of Class D. She's cute every time I see her. She looked at Sudou, who was still sitting on the floor.
"Oh, Sudou-kun is here."
"I'm just asking, but do you also have a duplicate key?"
"Uh, yes? Isn't that how we met?... incidentally, didn't you know, Ayanokouji-kun?"
She took out a key from her bag and showed it to me. It looked exactly the same as my key. Apparently, Kushida thought it was done with my permission.
"Um, this... should I return it?"
She apologized and gave me the key.
"It's fine, there's no point if you're the only one to return it, it seems Sudou wants to return the key."
Is it really okay for Kushida to have the key? No, well, in my imagination, you could say that it feels like I have a boyfriend if he keeps the key. Men are calculating creatures.
"Since Kushida also came, can we move on to the actual topic?"
"It won't help... then, what's the problem?"
After they came to my room, I couldn't refuse her bluntly.
With a gentle look on her face, she slowly started talking.
"You know how I was summoned by the teacher today? Then, uh... actually... I might be suspended from school and temporarily too."
"Se.... suspension?"
That was unexpected. Compared to the beginning of the year, Sudou had behaved quite well. He had yet to speak up or fall asleep in class, and was doing well in his club activities.
"By any chance, did you insult or slander Sensei?"
When Chiyabashira-sensei stopped Sudou from going to her club today, she looked unhappy.
She might get angry and utter some careless remarks once again.
"I won't say it."
"In that case, did you grab him by the collar and threaten to kill him or something?"
"I'm not saying anything."
Without the slightest hesitation, Sudou refused to speak.
"Is that so?"
"It might be worse than what you think..."
I was thinking two very bad conjectures, but to say that it was even worse...
"Oh, that's how it happened, Ayanokouji-kun, I beat up and attacked Sensei and then spat on him!"
"That's cruel... or should I say, your wild ideas are too cruel...!"
"Ahaha, this is a joke. Of course I wouldn't go that far... Sudou-kun too."
Although I thought Sudou would deny it immediately, he gasped in surprise at Kushida's joke.
I guess it showed how confused he was.
"What's wrong?"
"Actually, I beat up some kids from Class C yesterday. And earlier, Sensei said that I would be suspended... Perhaps this is the punishment for that."
Surprised by Sudou's words, Kushida unintentionally looked at me. I couldn't swallow this situation at first. That Sudou had gotten into trouble again. Are my worries right?
"Slapping them... that, uh, why did you do it?"
"For your information, I'm innocent, okay? Those C class kids are at fault, I just responded when they tried to provoke me, then they went and talked to me. They are also guilty."
Somehow, it seemed like Sudou hadn't been able to gather his thoughts either. I understood what he wanted to say, but I still didn't know why this fight started or the details of the fight.
"Wait a minute, Sudou-kun, can you say it one more time, but slower?"
Kushida encouraged him to calm down and tried to get him to tell her how the fight started.
"Sorry, I must have left out too many parts..."
Taking a few deep breaths, Sudou started from the beginning once more.
"The club coach and I talked about being able to be regulars for the summer tournament."
I heard that he was good, but I didn't expect the talk to immediately go to regulars.
"Isn't that super good, Sudou-kun! Congratulations!"
"No one's decided, it's just that there's a possibility."
"Even so, we just entered high school."
"Well, actually I was the only first year who was recommended to be regular and even then, it's not like I'm definitely going to be regular. When I returned home, those guys... Komiya and Kondo, who were also in the basketball club, called me to a special building. They said that they had something to talk about or whatever, I could have just ignored it, but I had argued with them many times during club activities, so I thought I'd settle this. Of course, I went to meet them, you know? And this Ishizaki was there, waiting for me. Komiya and Kondo were this guy's friends, and said how they couldn't let a D-class student like me be made a regular, then he told me to quit or face a painful experience, I refused and hit them, but then all this happened. "
It was a rushed explanation, but I got a general idea of everything. It seemed that Sudou was satisfied with the explanation.
"And then you were portrayed as a bad person, huh."
With an exasperated expression, he nodded. Class C students started it all, and when Sudou refused to stop, they resorted to violence... that's all. However, Sudou who was experienced in fighting, turned the tables and hit them. Naturally, they were injured. But, there was no evidence, so they lied to the school that Sudou beat them up for no reason.
"Sudou-kun, it doesn't matter if the situation was started by C class."
"I really don't understand, I don't believe that teacher either."
"We should tell Chiyabashira-sensei tomorrow about what happened. How is Sudou-kun innocent"
Things were not that simple. Sudou must have told the school about what he just told us just now. But since there was no evidence to support his claim, the school decided to punish him. "
"When you told the school, what did they say?"
"They said they would give me until next Tuesday to prove it. If I can't, I'll be suspended until the summer, and the whole class will also have points deducted."
It looked like the school had decided to wait. But, it seemed like Sudou was more worried if he couldn't become a regular, rather than our point deduction or being suspended. I guess he couldn't bear the thought of the possibility of himself being ruined.
"What should I do?"
"Sudou-kun, you tried to tell the teacher correctly, right? It's strange, because they don't believe your story, even if you didn't do anything wrong, right?"
Kushida was looking for a positive response from me, but unfortunately, I couldn't give a firm answer.
"Well, I'm curious... I don't think it's that simple."
"What do you mean by 'I'm curious'? Are you doubting me?"
"At the very least, the school doesn't believe you, right? For example, it wouldn't be strange if Kushida agreed with you just so we wouldn't lose points."
"That... that's probably true."
This time, the problem wouldn't be solved by proving who started the fight.
The three of them might be suspended for a week, for example.
There were three people who said that they were beaten up. Without proof, Sudou would definitely be punished. And that meant only one thing.
"Even if the other party is wrong, Sudou may still blame him."
"Huh? Why, that's legitimate self-defense. Right!?"
Sudou, unable to understand, hit the table with his fist. Kushida jumped up in surprise.
"Gosh, I'm a little upset."
Seeing Kushida's frightened face, Sudou apologized.
"Hey... why is Sudou-kun still blaming her?"
"Sudou hit them, but they didn't hit Sudou, that's the big reason, I think it's a more difficult matter than just saying 'self-defense' If they come at you with knives and metal bats, these things will be different. Normally, if they were going to fight, they would probably prepare for it. 'Self-defense' is when you have to defend yourself from a sudden and dangerous attack. In other words, I don't think this is similar to 'self-defense'. "
This was the best I could think of, given the situation.
"I... I don't understand, there are three people, three, I think it's quite dangerous."
I think the number of people should be taken into account, but this case is very complicated. If the school thought of the number of people, from my estimation, then Sudou might be found not guilty.
But it's dangerous to think optimistically.
"I think the school gave it a few days because they also found it difficult to make a decision."
The evidence we have now... the only key we might have is the injuries of the other three.
"Then... they plan to severely punish Sudou-kun, huh."
"Whoever starts first is the one who raises his hand up, the victim's testimony works as evidence."
"I still don't understand, I'm a victim! This isn't a joke. If I'm punished, I won't be able to be a regular for this tournament!"
Those C-class kids had deliberately gotten rid of Sudou to ruin her chances. They were trying to stop him from becoming a regular, while bringing down the rest of the D class as well. Such a plan seemed possible.
"Let's ask the three C class students to speak honestly. If they feel what they did was wrong, there will definitely be feelings of guilt, right?"
"Those guys aren't fools. They won't speak the truth, damn it... I'll never forgive them, those bastards...!"
Picking up the pens that were on the table, she took both of them. It's not like I don't understand where she's coming from, but that's my pen...
"If trying to explain it away doesn't work, then we have to find some actual evidence."
"Yes... it would be great if there was evidence proving Sudou-kun's innocence..."
If things were that simple, this would not be too difficult. Even then, Sudou could not deny it, and began to think about the situation.
"Maybe there's something, maybe it's just my misunderstanding, but... When I was fighting with those people, I felt a strange presence around the area, as if someone was watching."
Although he was not too sure of that, Sudou threw the idea out there.
"So you're saying that there might be an eyewitness?"
"Well, that's what I think there's no definitive proof of."
An eyewitness, yes. If he saw everything, that would be great. But in some cases, it might drive Sudou further into a corner. For example, if she only saw the situation after Sudou started fighting, this might be the final straw for Sudou.
"...What should I do..."
Sudou held his head in his hands. Kushida spoke, breaking the heavy silence.
"There are two ways to prove your innocence, the first is to ask the C class kids to confess their lies. Since Sudou-kun is not at fault, it might be best for them to know that."
That was definitely idealistic.
"As I said earlier, that's impossible, they won't admit that they lied."
Like she said, they probably wouldn't admit it. If they confessed to the school that they liked someone else to get them into trouble, they would definitely be suspended.
"And then the other method is to find that eyewitness. If someone saw you guys fighting, we might be able to find more evidence of the truth."
Well, this was about the only realistic plan we had.
"How do you plan on finding that eyewitness?"
"Asking people one by one? Or asking each class to cooperate as well?"
"It would be great if someone came forward, but..."
I thought our discussion had gone on long enough, so I went to the cupboard. I took out the instant coffee and tea packets that I bought at the goods store right after school started. Well, Sudou isn't very good with coffee. After preparing a pot of hot water, I placed everything on the table.
"This may be a shameless request, but... can you keep this a secret?"
While taking the cup from the table and blowing into it, Sudou asked us apologetically.
"Uh... secret...?"
"If this rumor spreads, it will be heard all the way to the basketball club, I don't want that to happen, you understand, right?"
"Sudou, even if-"
"Please understand, Ayanokouji, if I can't play basketball, I have nothing left."
She grabbed both shoulders and pleaded. This thing wouldn't explode even if rumors didn't spread. If rumors spread that she used violence, the basketball club might not let her stay anymore.
"Wouldn't the C class students spread the rumors themselves? It would be easier for them."
That's what I was thinking. It's not strange if they spread the rumors themselves. As if he was saying "Seriously!?", Sudou held his head in his hands once again.
"What if the rumors are already out...?"
"No, for today, news of the incident probably hasn't spread yet."
"Why do you think so?"
"If the C class kids spread the rumor, it's likely that it would have reached us in the first place."
The school called Sudou after school.
Also, there were no rumors about it during the day.
At the very least, it had not spread widely.
"So, we're safe for now?"
But how long will this last? Even if you silence some factions, it will become a rumor sooner or later. Before long, it will become public knowledge. Right now, the only thing that is certain is-
"Sudou-kun, perhaps you should stay away from this case."
Kushida, also understanding this, advised Sudou.
"Yes, it would be bad if the related parties try to do anything."
I replied, agreeing with Kushida's words.
"But, pushing everything onto you guys is-"
"I don't feel like this is being pushed onto us. We just want to help Sudou-kun, I don't know how far we can get, but we'll do our best.
"...Alright, I know it's troublesome, but I'll leave it to you."
It seemed like she understood that things would get more complicated if she tried to involve herself.
"In that case, we'll go back to our room. Sorry to disturb you suddenly."
"Don't worry, except for the fact that you made a duplicate key."
Saying "I won't return it", Sudou put the key in his pocket. I'll have to lock the door with a chain from now on...
"Kushida, see you tomorrow."
"See you, Sudou-kun."
She watched Sudou leave, who looked rather sad. Only a few rooms away.
"Well, Kushida, aren't you coming back?"
"I just wanted to ask you a few more things about what happened today. It seems like you were very enthusiastic to help Sudou-kun."
Kushida looked at me with wavering eyes. I suddenly had the urge to hold her hand. I stretched my back and pushed away my bad thoughts.
"It's not like that, but there's not much I can do, I can only respond to Sudou's story, if it's Horikita or hirata, they might be able to give better advice."
"That may be true, but Sudou-kun relies on you, even more than Horikita-san, Hirata-kun, or even Ike-kun, he entrusts his story to you."
"I don't know if I should be happy or not."
"Fu~n."
I'm confused Kushida's eyes went cold for a moment.
Speaking of which, Kushida once told me that she hated me straight to my face. She always has a gentle smile, so I forget from time to time, but I might get burned once again if it happens repeatedly.
"It might be better if Ayanokouji-kun tried harder to blend in with the class."
"Well, I more or less tried, it's just that not much came out of it, this time, I dare not say that I will help Sudou."
I guess she didn't think that I was worried about not being able to eat lunch with anyone.
I might think that way, but Kushida probably knows that I have a problem.
"Kushida, you're going to help Sudou, right?"
"Of course, we're friends, Ayanokouji-kun, what are you going to do?"
"As I said earlier, talking to Horikita or Hirata is better, right? Well, Sudou hates Hirata, so Horikita is the right choice."
But I don't think that Horikita has any good ideas for solving this problem.
"Will Horikita-san help?"
"I don't know, we'll have to ask, but he won't just casually watch as Class D collapses... probably."
I felt a bit doubtful. After all, this was Horikita.
"I know you're trying to avoid the question, but Ayanokouji-kun, you're also going to help, right?"
He steered the conversation back even though I was trying to change the subject.
"...Is it okay if I don't help? Maybe I'm not useful anymore, you know?"
"It won't be like that, you'll be useful somehow."
She didn't say how I would be useful.
"What should we start tomorrow? Sudou-kun said that it would be a waste, but I still think we should talk to the three people he fought. I'm actually friends with Komiya-kun and his group. So, we might be able to persuade them. Hmm, is that dangerous...? "
It seemed like Kushida couldn't discard the option of talking to them.
"The risk is high, not considering who started the fight, all three were the first to bring it to school. They have the upper hand in this situation, nor will it work, because that's the case, it wasn't Sudoulah who started the fight. "
There is no easy way to prove to the school that they are lying. But if the school finds out that they made up a lie and tells them, C class will get a big punishment.
"In that case, I think finding witnesses is the way to solve it."
Even that was quite difficult. Without any details, it was impossible to find an eyewitness. Asking "Did you see anything?" was a tremendous waste of time and effort.
I won't come to a conclusion now, no matter how much I think about it now.
If there is a change in the situation, the flow of events may change slightly.