Yuuichi: Hey, Horikita —whispered Yuuichi to Horikita, who remained silent and kept her head down.
Yuuichi: (sighing) This is going to cause me more trouble later —he said as he approached Horikita and kissed her on the cheek.
Horikita: H-hyah?! —Horikita exclaimed with an abnormally feminine voice.
No matter how annoyed or flustered someone may be, if you surprise them enough, they will snap back to their senses. Even if they don't like it. The teachers seemed somewhat surprised by his actions, but at that moment, he didn't care.
Yuuichi: Pull yourself together, Horikita. We're going to lose at this rate. You have to fight! —with a gentle voice.
Horikita S: Tch...
She looked at Class C, then at the teacher, and finally at her brother as if she finally understood our position. It seemed she realized how desperate our situation was.
Horikita: Excuse me. Can I ask a question? —she said.
Akane: Do you mind, President?
Manabu: I'll allow it. However, please answer more quickly next time.
Horikita slowly stood up from her chair.
Horikita: Earlier, you said that Sudou-kun called you to the special building. But, who did Sudou call and why? The Class C students looked at each other, as if saying, "Why is she asking that now?"
Horikita: Please answer —Horikita added these last words to reinforce her aggressive style of interrogation. Secretary Tachibana allowed it.
Ishizaki: Kondou and I don't know why he called us. After we finished practice and changed, he said he wanted to talk with us for a minute. Wasn't the reason simply that he didn't like us?
Horikita: Then, why were you in the special building, Ishizaki-kun? You're not part of the basketball team, so you have no connection to this case. I think your presence there is quite strange.
Ishizaki: Well... I went there as a precaution. There were rumors that Sudou is violent. He's also physically stronger than us. I thought I had to go, you know?
Horikita: In other words, you felt that the situation could turn violent?
Ishizaki: Yes —They answered in unison, almost as if they were expecting these questions. The Class C students had rehearsed thoroughly for this meeting.
Horikita: I see. So you brought Ishizaki-kun as your bodyguard, since he was known to be quite good at fighting. Just in case there was an emergency.
Hondou: It was to protect ourselves. That's all. Besides, we didn't know Ishizaki-kun was known for being good at fighting. We just considered him a reliable friend.
Horikita silently listened to their answers, as if she was running several simulations in her head. Immediately after, she made her next move.
Horikita: I have some knowledge of martial arts, at least to a certain extent. I understand that when you're fighting against multiple opponents, victory becomes exponentially more difficult. So, I don't understand how you were easily defeated, how the fight could have been so one-sided, when you had a skilled fighter like Ishizaki-kun with you.
Hondou: Because we had no intention of fighting.
Horikita: The main factor to trigger a fight is the collision of "energy" between opponents. In the case that you have no intention to fight, or that you are not violent, the probability of you being hurt must be very low. Especially when there are two of you.
Horikita's opinion was very objective, based on evidence, rules, and her own logic. On the other hand, Hondou defended with his own weapon, real evidence.
Ishizaki: That way of thinking doesn't apply to Sudou-kun. He's exceptionally violent. Even if we weren't violent, he still ruthlessly attacked us.
That's what happened. He removed the gauze covering his cheek, revealing the scratches underneath. No matter how many reasonable arguments Horikita made, his injury provided powerful evidence.
Manabu: Have you finished your claims, Class D? —said Horikita's older brother coldly. After remaining silent while Horikita discussed, his words were few and icy. His gaze seemed to suggest that if that was all we had to say, it would have been better not to say anything at all.
Horikita: It's true that Sudou injured the other students. However, Class C initiated the fight. There is a student who witnessed the whole incident and can testify to it.
Manabu: Well then, can the Class D witness come in, please?
Sakura, worried and anxious, entered the student council room. She looked down at her feet, as if fearing danger.
Manabu: First-year Class D, Sakura Airi-san.
Sakagami: I thought I heard something about a witness, but are you a student from Class D? —Sakagami, the Class C homeroom teacher, laughed as he cleaned his glasses.
Sae: Is there a problem, Sakagami-sensei?
Sakagami: No, no, please continue.
Sakagami-sensei and Chabashira-sensei exchanged glances.
Manabu: You may start your testimony if you don't mind, Sakura-san.
Sakura: Yes, okay... Well... I...
She stopped talking. There was a period of silence. Ten seconds. Twenty seconds. Sakura looked more and more down, and her face turned paler.
Horikita: Sakura-san... —Horikita, unable to endure it any longer, addressed Sakura. Unlike before, the words didn't seem to reach her.
Sakagami: It seems she wasn't a witness to anything. Continuing this would be a waste of time.
Sae: Why are you in such a hurry, Sakagami-sensei?
Sakagami: I want to speed things up. If we waste time, my students will suffer. These students are the heart of their class, so I have no doubt that all their friends are worried about them. Besides, they're trying to improve their basketball skills, and we're depriving them of valuable practice time. As a teacher, I can't overlook this.
Sae: I see. You may be right about that.
One would think that Chabashira-sensei would side with Class D, but it didn't seem to be the case. Instead, she nodded, agreeing with Sakagami-sensei.
Sae: You're right that this is a waste of time, so I suppose we have no choice. You can go back now, Sakura.
Chabashira-sensei ordered Sakura to leave, as if she had lost interest. The student council members didn't ask for a postponement or anything. The writing was clearly on the wall in the student council room, spelling out Class D's defeat. Sakura clenched her eyes shut, as if she couldn't bear it anymore, as if she regretted her own weakness.
Then, it happened. An unexpected voice echoed through
the room.
"I definitely saw what happened!" It was undoubtedly Sakura's voice, although it took me several seconds to recognize it. What impressed me the most was the volume of her voice. "The Class C students threw the first punch. There's no doubt about it!"
Sakagami: Excuse me, but can I say something? —asked Sakagami-sensei, raising his hand—. Normally, teachers are asked to speak as little as possible, but this situation is too regrettable. Student Council President, do you mind?
Manabu: I'll allow it.
Sakagami: Regarding what you said, Sakura-kun, I don't necessarily doubt you. However, I have one thing to ask. You stepped forward to testify as a witness, but you came very late. May I ask why? I would think that if you really saw something, you would have come forward much earlier.
Yuuichi: Don't rush, Sensei. Sakura-chan brought evidence. It's just that due to some inconveniences, her evidence wasn't usable until her camera was repaired. I even brought the repair papers.
Sakura: I'll hand them over!
Sakagami-sensei remained motionless in response to Sakura's words.
Sakagami: Please don't force this situation to continue. If there were really evidence, they would have presented it earlier...
Sakagami: What are these?
Although she had brought more than just words, Sakagami-sensei's expression hardened for the first time.
Sakura: These are proof that I was in the special building that day!
Secretary Tachibana approached Sakura. Although she hesitated at first, she took the papers.
Akane: President.
After seeing the photographs, Secretary Tachibana handed them to the student council president. Horikita's older brother, after looking at the photos for some time, placed them on the desk for all of us to see. We saw Sakura in those photos, but this Sakura had a charming expression that seemed both similar and different from the Sakura that was present with us now. It was the idol, Shizuku.
Sakura: I... was looking for places where there was no one around to take pictures of myself. The photos also show the date and time, which proves that I was there as I said.
Sakagami: What did you use to take these photos? —Sakagami-sensei asked.
Sakura: A digital camera...
Sakagami: With a digital camera, you can easily modify the date. If you manipulated these photos on a computer, you could effectively set them to the time and date of the incident. This is insufficient evidence.
Manabu: But Sakagami-sensei, don't you think this photo is different? —Horikita's older brother took out one of the photos we hadn't seen yet and handed it to the teacher.
"What's this?!"
The photo showed the fight itself; obviously, there was no need to set the time. The setting sun bathed the hallway in a dim light. The photo showed what happened immediately after Sudou hit Ishizaki.
Sakura: I believe you'll believe that I was there after seeing this...
Yuuichi: Thank you, Sakura-san.
This photo had also saved us. To rescue such an overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation...
Sakagami: I see. Well, it seems you're telling the truth about witnessing the incident. That's something I must accept. However, I can't determine how the situation started from this image. This doesn't prove that you saw the whole incident.
It was true that in this photo, it seemed like the fight had already ended. We couldn't call this definitive evidence.
Sakagami: So, what do you think, Chabashira-sensei? Why don't we reach an agreement at this point? —asked Sakagami-sensei.
Sae: Agreement?
Sakagami: I'm convinced that Sudou-kun lied in his testimony.
Sudou: You bastard!
Sudou stood up and seemed ready to fly out of his chair, but he finally gripped his arms and stayed still.
Sakagami: No matter how long we continue this, we'll never reach an agreement. We won't change our testimony, and you won't give up or admit that you conspired with the witness. In other words, you won't stop. It will be an endless cycle of saying the other side is lying. Besides, the image is insufficient to be considered definitive evidence. Therefore, I suggest we come to an agreement. I believe the Class C students are partly responsible for all this. There were two students against Sudou, and one of them has a history of fighting, which is a problem. So, how about two weeks of suspension for Sudou-kun, and one week of suspension for my students? How does that sound? The weight of the punishment is different, of course, but I think it matches the difference in injuries suffered.
Horikita's older brother remained silent as he listened to Sakagami-sensei. It seemed Class C was only willing to compromise halfway. If we hadn't had Sakura's testimony or evidence, Sudou-kun would have been suspended for more than a month. Asking for less than half of that was a considerable concession.
Sudou: Stop joking! This is no joke! —Sudou became enraged.
Sakagami: Chabashira-sensei. What do you think?
Sakagami-sensei didn't even look at Sudou.
Sae: It seems we have reached a logical conclusion. There's no reason to reject Sakagami-sensei's proposal, —said Chabashira-sensei.
Yuuichi: I refuse.
I firmly believe that part of the blame lies with Sudou, and he should change immediately before I get tired of saving his ass.
Sodou: Hey!!
Sakagami: A very honest response. It seems the matter is resolved now, don't you think?
Akane: Thank you very much. Please have a seat —Secretary Tachibana said to me —Do you want to sit now?
Yuuichi: But regarding this particular incident, I don't think Sudou is at fault. It's just a Class C strategy to attack us.
Manabu: Then... what do you mean?
Yuuichi: I'll say it again. We claim that Sudou-kun is completely innocent. Therefore, I won't accept his suspension from school, not even for a day!
(I don't like volume 2 much, so I want to finish it quickly 👌😑