Earlier that day...
"Everyone in here should be aware of the situation. That's what you told me, right, Ayanokouji?" asked Chabashira-sensei.
"Yes, I've explained everything to the class," Ayanokouji-kun replied.
"Alright then, Ike and Yamauchi will be coming with me later for the hearing along with Horikita. If you can't defend yourselves today, we'll have to treat it as a trial and make a decision right then and there. Sakagami-sensei and I will be there to aid the student council in presiding over the hearing," she explained.
The student council...? The hearing will be led by Nii-san? What will he think about this? Our class has gotten in trouble... and it's up to me to try and fix it... Will he think of me as a failure once again?
"Horikita? Are you alright?"
I didn't realize that I was absentmindedly staring downwards until Ayanokouji-kun called out to me.
"You're worried about your brother being there?"
"No, I'm..." I tried to deny it, but the tone of my voice told him otherwise.
"Get it together, Horikita. We can't show any weakness right now." Ayanokouji-kun uttered those words without looking at me.
"Yes, I know that..." That's right. I know that much... It's just that...
"Come to the last end of the hallway on the third floor later. I need to talk to you about something," he said.
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When lunchtime arrived, I finished my meal before immediately proceeding towards the place Ayanokouji-kun talked about. I got there and saw his waiting figure. The small open window on the topmost part of the wall illuminated him in a very picturesque manner.
"You didn't ask Hirata-kun and Kushida-san to come?" I asked.
"No, you're the only one I need to tell," he replied.
"What is it?"
"It's about this case, of course. What do you think of it?" he asked.
I see... He wants my opinion, huh?
"It's a losing battle, Ayanokouji-kun. I racked my brain last night, thinking of any possible argument to save Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun... But it's no use. We don't have anything. They have concrete evidence, while we have nothing but logic to twist their statements. In the end, they'll be punished by the school," I explained.
There's no way out. We got completely caught off-guard. But seeing Ayanokouji-kun's calm expression, it doesn't seem like everything's lost... Or at least, that's what I'm hoping for.
"To twist their statements, huh? Well, if you can do that, then you don't have to worry Horikita. That's all we need."
"What? It'll do nothing but draw out this case."
"That's right, perpetuate it. It doesn't matter if it's next week, on Friday, or tomorrow. You just have to prevent them from making the final decision today. If you can do that, then we'll win." he said, looking at me straight in the eyes.
Those were the eyes of someone who was telling the truth. Somehow, the anxiety that's been gnawing on me from the inside slowly disappeared.
But... we'll win? How?
"What are you saying...? Do you have some sort of plan?" I asked.
"I'll tell you everything once this is over."
This again...
"You've said that before, but you haven't told me anything."
"I'm serious this time. I'll explain everything to you after this, I promise."
I nodded. It's not like I have any other choice but to trust him. If there's anyone who can get us out of this situation, it's Ayanokouji-kun...
"I just need to delay them, right?"
"Yeah."
This is the perfect time to ask him the question that's been on my mind since this incident took place.
"Ayanokouji-kun... Did you really mess up? Did Ryuuen-kun really see through you?"
He turned around and looked at me straight in the eyes.
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"No, everything is going according to plan."
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Ayanokouji-kun replied as if he were telling me something obvious.
I saw the image of myself reflected in his eyes. Those were the same eyes that disturbed me since the first month.
From that moment, I knew... Ayanokouji-kun had always been in control.
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When we arrived inside the conference room, only Nii-san and her secretary were around.
"Oh, Sakagami-sensei and the students of Class D aren't here yet?" asked Chabashira-sensei.
"They'll be here shortly," Nii-san answered. "Suzune? I see... I'm surprised that Ayanokouji isn't with you. He's just as involved in this case, isn't he?"
I initially thought he'd ignore me.
"That's..."
"Well, no matter. Sit down and wait for the other party."
I'm freezing up again. I need to focus. I can't mess things up now.
Before long, Sakagami-sensei, the class adviser and homeroom teacher of Class D, arrived with four of his students. Ishizaki Daichi, Kondou Reo, and the two "victims"; Kinoshita Minori and Manabe Shiho.
They immediately put on faces of revulsion upon seeing Yamauchi-kun and Ike-kun.
"Alright, since everyone is here, why don't we start the meeting?" asked Nii-san. "We'll start with a quick breakdown of the incident. Tachibana, please."
"Yes." she nodded. "According to Kinoshita-san and Manabe-san, they planned to call out Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun on the same day. They wanted to convey their feelings of interest towards them without asking to be in a relationship. However, Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun couldn't accept this and tried to force themselves onto them."
"That's not true!" yelled Yamauchi.
"Be quiet, Yamauchi-kun," I warned him.
"But-"
"She told you to be quiet, Yamauchi." Chabashira-sensei followed with a cold glare.
Yamauchi responded with silence and Secretary Tachibana continued her report.
"According to Ryuuen-kun, Ishizaki-kun, Oda-kun, Nomura-kun, Yamada-kun, and Kondou-kun, they wanted to look out for their friends, hence, they followed them. Manabe-san and Kinoshita-san also stated that they were aware of their friends' presence, and they felt thankful for their concern. According to the six Class D students, they immediately charged in to rescue Kinoshita-san and Manabe-san when they saw Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun grab them by the shoulder. They said that something felt weird when they heard Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun suddenly raise their voices." She looked at the four Class D students for confirmation. "Did I get everything right?"
"Yeah, we knew Yamauchi and Ike had a reputation for being a couple of sleazebags, so we were initially against their feelings. But as the week passed, we saw that they were having a good time with them. The two even became friends even if they didn't hang out with each other, initially. Ryuuen-san had me and Nomura follow Kinoshita cuz' she was pretty athletic and could probably defend herself. The other four followed Manabe. In the end, they were terrified by Ike and Yamauchi's actions so we had to step in," said Ishizaki.
"I can attest to this. I have always observed the behavior of my students and Kinoshita-kun and Manabe-kun were noticeably livelier this past week. Manabe-kun also asked me for the rooftop keys, so I was aware of their confession that day," Sakagami-sensei added while shaking his head. "I never thought that such an incident would take place."
I don't believe that Sakagami-sensei was involved in any way. This could only mean that Ryuuen-kun has taken the teachers' impressions and perspectives into account.
"Alright, Tachibana. You can now proceed with Class B's statements," said Nii-san. Secretary Tachibana followed with a nod.
"According to Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun, they were both called out by their respective partners in different locations. They said that when they arrived there, the attitudes of Kinoshita-san and Manabe-san were completely different. In Ike-kun's case, Ishizaki-kun and Nomura-kun arrived shortly after he got to their agreed location, which was the area behind Gymnasium #1. Ishizaki-kun approached and punched him before taking his hands to touch Kinoshita-san's blazers. Yamauchi-kun was called to the rooftop and was punched and set up by Ryuuen-kun in a similar fashion. He also said that Ryuuen-kun was already there when he arrived. They have adamantly claimed to be innocent, and that everything was Class D's plot to sabotage their class points." She looked at us before asking; "Did I get everything right?"
"W-What...?" Kinoshita asked in dismay.
"Are you serious...?" Manabe had the same frightened expression.
"Hey, Ike, Yamauchi?! What's with this bullshit?!" Ishizaki lashed out.
"The hell do you mean by bullshit?! It's the truth!" yelled Ike.
"Ishizaki-kun, calm down." Sakagami-sensei said as he fixed the position of his glasses. "Sexual assault is a serious thing. It is beyond my comprehension to see youngsters like you come up with such convoluted lies after scarring two female students. I'm appalled, to say the least, Class B."
"Well, of course, you can say that, Sakagami-sensei. The evidence says it all," replied Chabashira-sensei.
"That much is obvious. Everyone in this room can clearly see how traumatized Kinoshita-kun and Manabe-kun are."
"I agree, I agree," nodded Chabashira-sensei. "But let's take the emotional and psychological stuff away for a moment and think about things logically. Is that alright?"
"Logically?" Sakagami-sensei narrowed his eyes.
"President Horikita, the defendants' group is allowed to speak now, right?" Chabashira-sensei turned to Nii-san.
"Sure," he nodded.
"Go ahead, Horikita. Tell us what you have in mind."
Keep it together. I have one job and I must do it right. I don't have time to think about anything unnecessary.
"Yes," I nod. "First of all, I assume that Hondou-kun and Miyamoto-kun have been interviewed as well? They were directly involved in this case, too."
"Yes, they have. According to their testimonies, they wanted to play a prank on Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun by recording their responses to what they all thought to be Kinoshita-san and Manabe-san's confessions. Miyamoto-kun stated that he encountered Ishizaki-kun and Nomura-kun while Hondou-kun encountered Yamada-kun, Oda-kun, and Kondou-kun. This was in conjunction with Yamauchi-kun's statement that Ryuuen-kun was already waiting on the rooftop with Manabe-san. They claimed to have been pinned down, and that their phones were taken from them, saying that the Class D student who took it deleted any prior voice recordings."
So they decided to hide Ayanokouji-kun's part, after all. But Nii-san still saw through that and assumed Ayanokouji-kun's involvement.
Regardless, this is bad. Class D can easily deny Hondou-kun and Miyamoto-kun's testimonies.
"Hah? That's a load of crap. We may have seen some first years on the way, but we didn't talk to any," said Kondou-kun.
He's right. Firstly, they were careful enough to pin them down without touching their clothes. Secondly, we can't use Hondou-kun and Miyamoto-kun's phones to search for fingerprints because it's been saturated by others at this point. We can't use fingerprints as evidence like they have. Lastly, their plan to act discreetly on Ayanokouji-kun's instructions backfired. We can't use witnesses to prove their involvement.
Wait... Witnesses?
"First of all, you can't immediately deny Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun's statements. The possibility of Class D fabricating the evidence is still not out of the question," I started.
"What are you saying? The school's investigation showed that their fingerprints were indeed found on Kinoshita and Manabe's blazers. We even saw the incident happen ourselves!" said Ishizaki-kun.
"I won't question the fingerprints, but it doesn't deny Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun's arguments. They claimed that the fingerprints were your doing— using their hands against their will to touch Kinoshita-san and Manabe-san's blazers."
"That's ridiculous! You don't even have any evidence for that!"
"Nor do you. We would immediately forfeit if you could give us footage or a voice recording. Do you have those?" I asked.
"What the hell? You're just arguing for the sake of arguing!"
"No. I think what I've said is considerably logical, given that Ike-kun, Yamauchi-kun, Miyamoto-kun, and Hondou-kun's statements match. It's also logical to assume that you used violence to incapacitate Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun to proceed with your plans. They've said that, too, right?"
They used the fingerprints as proof. We claim that those fingerprints were fabricated. Minutes passed and our arguments would turn full circle once again.
We're in a stalemate. However, we're still in a worse position. If they had a well-spoken person on their side, this would've been much tougher.
"This is stupid. We're not getting anywhere. President Horikita, why don't you just sanction them so we can get this over with? I want to protect my students from these kinds of incidents."
"Why are you in such a rush, Sakagami-sensei?" Chabashira-sensei asked with a smile.
"And why do you want to drag this out, Chabashira-sensei? As a woman, I don't believe that even you would condone the behavior of your students."
"Of course not. However, you must first prove that my students are indeed in the wrong. I wouldn't have opened my mouth if the evidence refuted the statements of Ike and Yamauchi. But isn't the opposite happening? Their statements are perfectly against the fingerprint evidence that you're using against them. Even without bias, I wouldn't discount their claims of Class D's fabrication plot."
"I can't deny that, but that's just because they knew about what they've done. With how well-spoken and quick-witted some of the students in your class are, I'm sure they had a hand in forging the perfect counterarguments against our own claims. After all, they were interviewed last and had time to prepare. Logic aside, I simply can't ignore the psychological effects that this incident has caused Kinoshita-kun and Manabe-kun."
"Well, I won't question the specifics since one party claims that they talked about confessing their feelings before getting assaulted while the other party claims that they weren't even given the chance to talk before getting punched and framed," Chabashira-sensei narrated. "However, you can't deny the weakness of the fingerprint evidence's potency because they only touched the arms, shoulders, and some parts around the chest area. No delicate body parts were violated at all."
"Of course, there weren't. Ryuuen-kun, Ishizaki-kun, and their friends acted immediately to prevent any further potential damage. Furthermore, we've already checked the rooftop footage, right? While nothing decisive was captured on camera, we clearly saw how rushed Kondou-kun and Oda-kun were when we saw their figures brush past the visible area. It clearly indicated an emergency."
The two teachers were engaged in a battle of wits and logic. They didn't show any openings...
"If I may interrupt..." Nii-san finally decided to speak. "The defense of Class B was fine, but in the end, sexual assault is still something that this school will not tolerate. Unless Class B can present us something concrete to deny Class D's claims that will back Ike and Yamauchi's testimonies, we'll still have to sanction them accordingly."
At that time, I spoke.
"We... have a lead. We'll find a witness outside of Class B that will confirm Hondou-kun and Miyamoto-kun's statements. We'll also try to find a witness that might bring light to the truth."
"Heh, you wish. No one else was there except for us," snickered Ishizaki-kun.
"Hmm... Alright. Based on everything we've heard, Class B is still at a disadvantage, but since you've claimed to have some sort of lead, we'll give you the entire Thursday until Friday at 4:00 PM where we'll finally have the trial in order to make a decision." Nii-san looked at us, the students. "You may now go."
I did what you asked for... With this, we'll win, right?