Class D's class teacher, Chabashira Sae.
She was leaning against the desk, playing with a cigarette in her hand, and her professional attire outlined her mature curves.
On the hospital bed at the far end of the room, the curtain that originally blocked the view had been half opened.
A girl was lying on the bed, her face was pale and full of tears, and she was covering her legs.
It is Kinoshita.
Seeing Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyo walking in, Chabashira Sae raised his head, and his eyes that always looked at Horikita Suzune fell on him.
"It seems that I don't need to look for it."
Chabashira Sae spoke calmly, his voice so calm that it made people feel scared, "Since you are here, that's just right. Some things need to be verified in person."
"Teacher..."
Horikita Suzune Looking at this "deliberation"-like posture, the uneasiness in my heart became stronger.
"What's going on?"
"What's going on?"
Chabashira Sae raised his eyebrows, turned sideways and looked away, pointing at Kinoshita on the hospital bed, "Regarding the collision that occurred during the obstacle race in the morning, the party involved, Kinoshita, has some claims that are different from the superficial appearance."
"Claim?"
Horikita Suzune looked at Kinoshita.
The girl who had an ordinary face on the field was looking at Horikita Suzune with fear in her eyes, and she shrank as if she had seen the perpetrator.
"Well... it hurts..."
Kinoshita let out a weak moan, and even squeezed out tears from the corners of his eyes, "It was her... it was Horikita... who bumped into me on purpose..."
"Huh?"
Even with Horikita Suzune's cold temperament, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief when he heard this accusation of confusing right and wrong.
"What nonsense are you talking about? It was obviously you who bumped into me..."
"No! It's not just that!"
Although Kinoshita's voice was weak, it was full of determination, "When I fell...Horikita, in order to vent his anger... or to stop me from moving forward... kicked my calf! He kicked me hard!"
"That's total nonsense!"
"About this..."
Chabashira Sae interrupted Horikita Suzune.
"The picture captured by the fixed-point camera at that time. Although the angle is a bit off, it can still record the general process."
"Kinoshita claimed that you were watching her from behind, as if you were looking for an opportunity to strike. And this action of turning back will objectively be interpreted as some special 'preparatory actions'."
"It's not like that. At that time... it was because someone was calling my name! I heard the voice, it was Kinoshita's voice, and it was her who kept calling me, so I subconsciously turned around!"
"Say your name?"
Chabashira Sae was noncommittal, "In that noisy environment, the video did not capture clear sound. And..."
Chabashira Sae pointed to Kinoshita beside the hospital bed.
I saw that Kinoshita's lower leg had large bruises all around it.
The scar looked extremely serious, definitely not a simple scratch.
"Judging from the point of stress... it is difficult to say that it was caused by an 'accidental fall'."
"It's more like... the scars left behind when someone kicked you deliberately."
The air in the room suddenly solidified.
"It's not me..."
"When I fell... there was no such wound at all! I didn't kick anyone... This was definitely..."
This is definitely framed.
It might even be a deliberate injury done to frame her afterwards.
However, she has no evidence.
"Horikita..."
Chabashira Sae sighed and put the unsmoked cigarette back into the cigarette case.
"I can understand your current mood, and I believe you are innocent."
"However, understanding is understanding. If the possibility of 'intentional harm' on your part cannot be ruled out, then this matter will not be just a simple foul."
"The school will step in and conduct a formal review phase."
"Deliberation?"
Horikita Suzune's pupils suddenly shrank, "Deliberation is necessary just for such a baseless lie? This is simply stupid!"
"Stupid? Maybe."
Chabashira Sae did not refute, he just pointed out the reality.
"One party insists that it was maliciously harmed and has a confirmed injury, while the other party denies it but the video evidence is not conducive. There is no other way to deal with this kind of dispute except to review it."
"And... if we ignore Kinoshita's demands, or the two parties cannot reach a settlement, things will become more complicated. If it gets bigger..."
"It will be delayed until Student Council personally handles it."
"Student... Students' Union..."
These three words exploded in Horikita Suzune's mind.
Student Council.
If this matter reaches Student Council.
If my brother knew that his sister, who was originally regarded as useless, not only accomplished nothing on Sports Festival, but was even involved in such a scandal.
That would be even more terrifying than letting her Expulsion.
"If it was really me who maliciously hurt someone during the game..."
"Then why didn't Class C lodge a protest with School Authority or Referee as soon as possible? If Kinoshita was really seriously injured, why did he wait until now to speak out?"
This is an extremely obvious logical flaw.
If you are a normal victim, your instinctive reaction at the moment of suffering violence should be to ask for help and blame.
But Kinoshita didn't appear until the end of the game, when all the evidence became blurry.
"If this is the truth, isn't it more like... it was made up after the fact to cover up some ulterior purpose?"
Faced with Horikita Suzune's almost questioning rebuttal, Chabashira Sae just leaned against his desk calmly.
"You are very keen, Horikita." Chabashira Sae lowered his eyes slightly.
"Indeed, if it is an ordinary accident, this delayed reaction is indeed unreasonable. I also do not deny the possibility that Class C deliberately set up a trap to frame you."
"However, speculation is just speculation after all. As long as Kinoshita's injuries are real, as long as your actions in the video are ambiguous, plus the testimony of the person involved... all of this is enough to constitute a 'fact' against you."
Horikita Suzune gritted her teeth, knowing that Chabashira was right.
"So..."
She turned to Kushida Kikyo, who was standing aside with a worried expression on his face.
"Teacher, how did you know about this? Kinoshita has been staying in the health room, so he shouldn't have had the opportunity to come into direct contact with you."
"Kushida told me."
Chabashira Sae is not hiding anything.
"Kushida came to me and said that Kinoshita had always wanted to discuss with the teacher that the injury was a deliberate kick, but he did not dare to speak because he was afraid of retaliation. That's why I came here specially."
"Oh..."
Horikita Suzune sneered.
Indeed it is.
All the clues are connected.
All this is to force her into a blind corner.
"That's really... thank you Kushida for your 'kindness'."
Horikita Suzune turned his head and looked at Kushida Kikyo.
"It's just that I'm also curious. As a student of Class D, where did you hear Class C and Kinoshita pour out these 'inner thoughts'? Could it be that..."
"Not just with me, do you also get along so well with the people at Class C?"