An Unexpected Disaster

Shinjo hung up the phone just like that. Although there might not necessarily be a connection, he had a vague feeling that this matter and the fact that his personal points hadn't arrived yet were somehow causally linked.

"Sorry, Megumi, Sudō called me over, so..."

"That's not right, is it... I could have sworn I heard something about a secret base..."

Even though the two were currently a fake couple, Karuizawa had long since viewed Shinjo as her prey. In truth, she never wanted her boyfriend associating with the Idiot Trio in their class.

What if they corrupted the upright Shinjo?!

But ever since Shinjo joined Horikita's study group, things had spiraled out of control.

A boys' secret base... it didn't sound like a good place at all...

"The secret base is actually just Ayanokōji's dorm room. Sudō seems to be having some trouble, which is why he asked me to go over."

Seeing the increasingly strange expression on Karuizawa's face, Shinjo hurriedly explained.

"That's even worse, isn't it?!"

"Seriously, what exactly are you thinking..."

"Katsuya! I'm only looking out for you because I care. If you want to go, that's fine, but take me with you, okay?"

That way, no matter what happened, with her there as his girlfriend, everything should be foolproof!

"Well... alright then."

Because Sudō had been in such a rush, Shinjo hadn't thought to call and confirm whether it was appropriate to bring his girlfriend along.

"Heehee! Let's go then!"

Sudō's secret base (Ayanokōji's dorm room).

"So, why is the secret base my room?"

"Well, after the celebration party last time, everyone thought your place was clean and hygienic, so we each made a spare key and designated this place as our secret base."

As Ike spoke, he took out his key and twirled it in front of Ayanokōji.

"I feel like I'm in a very dangerous environment!"

"That's not important. Anyway, Sudō, what exactly do you want to tell us? You even called Horikita and Kushida over."

"I... can we wait until Shinjo gets here before I say it? Because this matter is of great importance... so..."

Sudō didn't look like he was joking, which made Horikita, standing to the side, feel a bit suspicious.

Fortunately, Shinjo didn't keep everyone waiting for long.

When they discovered Karuizawa following behind him, everyone's reactions were quite varied.

"Meg... Karuizawa?"

"Karuizawa-san, you're here too!"

When Karuizawa saw that Horikita and Kushida were also present, she finally believed that she might have misinterpreted the situation.

If they were really going to do that kind of thing, they would probably avoid having girls around, right?

Especially these two.

For a moment, the atmosphere became awkward.

"Um, Sudō, sorry about that. I didn't check with you before bringing my girlfriend along..."

"Huh? Oh! It's fine! After all, she's your girlfriend, Shinjo! From now on, Karuizawa-san is my good friend too!"

Sudō was very straightforward. After all, he only felt admiration and gratitude toward Shinjo now. Never mind bringing a girlfriend; even if he had brought Chabashira Sae... well, maybe not her.

"It's no problem! We couldn't be happier that Karuizawa-san could come!"

Kushida Kikyo lived up to her reputation as the class socialite. She maintained good friendships with everyone, so naturally, she wouldn't give Karuizawa a cold shoulder.

The two big sycophants naturally followed suit and welcomed her as well. Horikita remained the same as always; she was more concerned with what Sudō had to say.

[Hey, at least ask for my opinion...]

But Ayanokōji knew very well that his opinion was never important.

"Since everyone is here, Sudō, what exactly do you want to say?"

Sudō looked left and right, and finally, with a face full of bitterness and sorrow, he spoke:

"Um... actually, I was called in by Chabashira-sensei today, and well, if things go poorly... I might be suspended, and it could be for a long time..."

"Suspended?!!"

Even Shinjo couldn't help but widen his eyes. It really was a troubled time.

"You didn't... curse at the teacher, did you?"

The person who spoke was Megumi, as she didn't have a very good impression of Sudō to begin with. Combined with his explosive temper, it would be perfectly normal for him to do something like that.

"Of course not! Even if I'm an idiot, I know better than to offend a teacher."

"Then what happened?"

"Actually... I beat up some guys from Class 1-C last week, so the teacher said I might be suspended... I'm currently waiting for the final decision, so the reason everyone hasn't received their points yet might be because of me."

Sudō hit someone? And it was people from Class 1-C?

Isn't that just normal for him?

But I still had to ask the necessary questions.

"You, why did you hit them? Even though I admit that the people in Class 1-C are indeed asking for a beating."

"Let me say this first! They were the ones who came looking for me; I only fought back! But those guys actually reported me for starting the fight! They are clearly framing me!!!"

Shinjo immediately thought of Ryuen. It was certain that guy would target Class D, whether it was due to their past grievances or for the sake of class competition.

Therefore, he chose to target Sudō first because he was the easiest one to find a flaw in.

He's actually quite clever this time...

"Sudō, calm down. Tell us exactly what happened, from start to finish, without missing a single detail, okay?"

Shinjo did his best to soothe his emotions, and Sudō, as if he had grabbed onto a life-saving straw, began to regulate his breathing and slowly spoke:

"Our basketball team's advisor said that I would be included as a regular player for the summer tournament. But that day, on my way home, Komiya and Kondo from the basketball club—who are in Class 1-C—called me to the administration building, saying they had something to tell me. Since I had already had run-ins with them before, I thought I'd just settle things once and for all, so I followed them."

"But I didn't intend to use violence! When I got there, a guy named Ishizaki was already waiting. They said they couldn't accept someone from Class D becoming a regular player and threatened me to quit the basketball club if I didn't want to get beaten up. Naturally, I refused! But they didn't want to listen to reason and just started swinging, so I took them down before they could take me out."

Shinjo organized the sequence of events in his mind:

"So, you should have told the school this version of events, right? And their attitude is to make you wait for the disciplinary action?"

"That's not quite it. The school told me to find evidence by next Tuesday proving that they were the ones who started the fight; otherwise, I'll be suspended. And if that happens, our class points will be deducted, and I might even lose my status as a regular player on the basketball team!"

Clearly, compared to the first two punishments, the last one was the one Sudō couldn't accept the most.

"How can this be?! We are clearly the victims, so why do we have to be the ones to collect evidence?!"

"What a joke..."