Kanzaki said in a low voice, "At the same time, I'll contact Hirata Yousuke and hint that Class D has eyewitness evidence, so they can prepare to coordinate and fight back at the hearing. But don't reveal any specific information about Sakura. We need to protect her."
"Mm! That's the safest approach!" Ichinose nodded. "Toudou, I'll leave submitting the evidence to you. You're the most careful."
"No problem," Toudou Shizuka replied. He looked out the window. Dusk had already fallen.
The evidence in his hands was like a cold blade, poised to pierce the web of lies Class C had so carefully woven. And his appointment with Sakura tomorrow was a brief lull in the storm, a warm breeze.
Toudou Shizuka pushed up his glasses. The bright lights of the Student Council Room reflected in the lenses, quietly concealing the cold scrutiny in his eyes toward Class D's environment, along with his complicated feelings for Sakura.
At 9:50 on Saturday morning, Toudou Shizuka arrived at the school's main gate ten minutes early.
The morning sun had barely risen, and the air held the crispness unique to early autumn.
He had thought he'd be the first to arrive, but when he glanced around, he spotted a petite figure curled up on the edge of a bench beneath the landmark ginkgo tree not far away.
Sakura Airi wore a simple off-white knit sweater and a dark blue skirt. Her huge black-rimmed glasses covered almost half her face.
She kept her head down, clutching the straps of the canvas bag in her lap. Her shoulders hunched inward, like a snail trying to hide inside its shell.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting shifting patches of light over her, but she seemed to be in another world, one utterly silent.
Toudou Shizuka paused, a