Finding Witnesses

Hirata Yosuke walked up to the podium. He wore his usual gentle smile, playing the role of Class D's glue as always.

"I understand that everyone's upset about our points being deducted, but I think what we should be doing now is not blaming one another."

His gaze swept across the class before settling on Ken Sudō, filled with sincere trust.

"I choose to believe Sudō. Because he's our classmate."

Hirata's voice wasn't loud, but it had a way of calming people down.

"There's still a week before the negotiations with the Student Council. Instead of blaming one another, wouldn't it be better if we all worked together to find evidence and witnesses for Sudō? This isn't just for Sudō's sake. It's for all of Class D."

As soon as he finished speaking, a bright voice immediately chimed in.

"I agree with Hirata!"

Karuizawa Kei was the first to stand, voicing her support for Hirata without hesitation.

With the girls' leader having spoken up, the other girls around her quickly joined in.

"If Hirata says so..."

"Yeah, we should trust our classmate."

The situation among the girls shifted in an instant.

Just then, Kushida Kikyo stood up again. Her smile was even brighter than before as she chimed in sweetly:

"Exactly! I believe in Sudō, too! We're all classmates, and when one of us is in trouble, we absolutely can't just stand by and do nothing!"

Her words were like sparks catching fire, rekindling the boys' enthusiasm, which had already begun to fade. At the encouragement of their little angel, Kushida, the boys also said they were willing to help.

With Hirata and Kushida rallying everyone, the tense atmosphere in the classroom quickly shifted into one of "standing together and overcoming hardship."

Kushida Kikyo looked at the scene with satisfaction, then walked briskly straight to the back of the classroom.

She stopped beside Natsukawa Sosuke's desk and leaned forward slightly, a sweet smile on her face.

"Natsukawa, you'll help, too, right?"

Natsukawa Sosuke looked up and met her seemingly innocent eyes, which concealed a sharpness beneath.

He glanced at Hirata, still calling for unity at the podium, then at the students around him, stirred into a frenzy. He knew full well that in an atmosphere where everyone was being held hostage by "collectivism," any words of opposition would make him the class's public enemy in an instant.

So he merely nodded, letting out a noncommittal sound.

"Mm."

At his affirmative reply, Kushida Kikyo's smile grew even brighter. As if she hadn't noticed Natsukawa's halfhearted response at all, she clenched a tiny fist and spoke with infectious energy:

"That's great! Let's do our best together, Natsukawa!"

The afternoon bell rang. Students gathered their bags in twos and threes, getting ready to leave.

Kushida Kikyo, however, flitted around the classroom like a butterfly with boundless energy.

"Don't lose heart, everyone! We'll definitely find a clue!"

After comforting several girls who were feeling down, she walked briskly toward the corner at the back of the classroom, clearly headed somewhere.

"Natsukawa, let's go!"

With a sweet smile on her face, Kushida Kikyo naturally stopped beside Natsukawa Sosuke's desk, looking for all the world as if they were about to investigate together.

Natsukawa Sosuke raised his eyes and looked at her calmly. His voice was even. "Where?"

"To investigate, of course!" Kushida replied as if it were obvious, with even a hint of playful reproach. "Didn't we agree at this morning's homeroom meeting? We're going to find eyewitnesses for Sudō!"

Natsukawa Sosuke looked past her and out the window. His voice betrayed no emotion. "That's what you agreed to. I just nodded."

His meaning was clear: he had no intention of getting involved.

"Ehh—" Kushida drew out the sound deliberately, leaning forward slightly and clasping her hands in front of her chest. Her big, watery eyes instantly filled with pleading and hurt, like a small animal abandoned by its owner.

"You can't do that, Natsukawa! You already agreed! It's so unfair to back out now! Please, just come with me and ask around... I'd be scared to go alone..."

She softened her voice on purpose. Her adorable, pitiful expression, full of desperate pleading, would have been enough to make it impossible for any normal guy to refuse.

Natsukawa Sosuke met her gaze for a moment. He knew that everything this girl was showing him was just a carefully calculated performance. Still, he had to admit that her acting was flawless.

At last, Natsukawa sighed quietly to himself. It wasn't that he'd really been moved; he just thought refusing such a persistent request might lead to even more unnecessary trouble later.

"...Just this once."

He said a few words, which amounted to an agreement.

"Awesome! I knew you were the best, Natsukawa!"

Kushida Kikyo's expression cleared in an instant, her smile even brighter than before. She even naturally reached out to tug at Natsukawa's arm, but he deftly avoided her. She didn't mind and simply spun around happily beside him.

"Then let's get going! Time waits for no one!"

And so, half dragged along by Kushida's coaxing and half-forced insistence, Natsukawa Sosuke went with her to begin an investigation he considered utterly pointless.

As the two walked across campus, they naturally attracted plenty of attention. Kushida Kikyo was a hugely popular beauty among the first-years, and wherever she went, she was the center of attention.

Of course, their so-called investigation had a clear division of labor from the start.

Kushida Kikyo put her terrifying social skills to work, smiling as she stopped one student after another from other classes whom she knew, then questioning them in the gentlest, least intimidating way possible.

"Oh, Tanaka! Long time no see! Um, sorry to bother you for just a moment, but did you happen to pass near the special teaching building on the afternoon of the twenty-eighth—that's last Friday?"

Natsukawa Sosuke kept his distance as an observer, hands in his pockets, standing quietly several feet away like a background extra with no connection to the matter.

Kushida was questioning a girl from Class A. The girl seemed to be her friend, and the two chatted with easy familiarity.

Natsukawa wasn't focused on them, but his thoughts drifted back to fragments of his memories about this part of the story.

In his memory, at this point, the sole eyewitness to the assault incident involving Ken Sudō should have been Sakura Airi.

That day, she should have secretly gone alone to the secluded special teaching building to take photos for her "Shizuku" photo shoot. That was exactly why she happened to witness the altercation between Sudō and those students from Class C.

But now...