Eyewitness

"Classmate from Class C, please don't forget that there is bad blood between our class and yours," Kanzaki said from the side, arms crossed.

"I'm just here to pass on a message. You must be Kanzaki Ryuji, right? Ryuen told me to let you know that you won't be this lucky next time. I'm leaving now." Ibuki finished impatiently and headed toward the Class C classroom.

Kanzaki couldn't help but feel puzzled as to why Ryuen would send him a message. He then looked toward Ying with a thoughtful expression.

Ying: "The weather is so nice today, isn't it, Kanzaki?"

It seems Byakuya has done something else behind my back again. Kanzaki thought helplessly to himself.

Inside Ayanokoji's dorm room, everyone was looking grim because of Sudo's situation.

"Why! I clearly saw Ying nearby, hey!" Sudo said indignantly.

"You only saw him after the incident had already ended. He also said he didn't see anything; perhaps there was a third party?" Ayanokoji said calmly.

"Oh, right. That is a possibility. But how are we supposed to find that third party!" Sudo shouted, clutching his head.

"Sudo-kun, don't worry too much. Hirata-kun and the others have already started looking for witnesses in every class. I believe they'll find someone before long," Kushida comforted him. While they were looking for Ying, Hirata was also using his connections to search for witnesses across all grade levels.

"Ayanokoji, what should I do if we can't find a witness?" Sudo seemed worried because of the delay in finding one.

"Why ask me? But if you really don't find one, you'll be suspended, and then because you can't keep up with your studies, you'll be expelled at the end of the term," Ayanokoji said.

"Damn it! Why did I have to get dragged into something like this!" Sudo slammed his hand heavily on the table, dissatisfied.

You got dragged into this because of your usual behavior, Sudo. Ayanokoji thought.

"Perhaps... we could ask Byakuya-kun? He was there at the time, maybe he saw that third party?" Kushida suggested.

"That's right, Ying was there too. As long as we ask him who he saw in that building, that must be the witness!" Sudo suddenly said excitedly.

"However, it's possible Byakuya didn't see anyone else either," Ayanokoji said.

"We'll know once we ask!" Sudo said, ready to leave the dorm.

"Knock, knock..."

Just then, there was a knock on the door of Ayanokoji's room.

"Who is it! Hori... Horikita!" Sudo opened the door and saw Horikita Suzune standing there.

"I'm leaving." Seeing everyone in the room, Horikita Suzune turned to leave.

"Since you're already here, let's exchange information," Ayanokoji said, stopping her.

Horikita Suzune closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "I know who the witness is. It's Sakura Airi from our class."

"Are you saying the witness is Sakura-san?" Kushida asked.

"Yes. When Hirata called on everyone to find witnesses, only Sakura-san kept her head down. Furthermore, when she heard Sudo-kun suspecting Byakuya-kun of being the witness, she was visibly relieved," Horikita Suzune explained.

"Then I'll make a call and ask." After saying that, Kushida dialed Sakura's number. "Oh, Sakura-san isn't picking up. I wonder if something came up."

"Her not answering only confirms my suspicion. Let's ask her after class tomorrow," Horikita Suzune said.

"Sakura-san, could you spare a moment? We have something we'd like to ask you." The next day, Kushida approached Sakura as soon as class ended.

"I don't know! I don't know anything, I don't know anything!" After saying this, Sakura pulled her hand away from Kushida's grip and ran off.

"It looks like that witness is her, nine times out of ten," Horikita Suzune said.

"Should we go ask Byakuya-kun again? I feel like Sakura-san is quite troubled," Kushida said, looking in the direction Sakura had fled, feeling worried.

Horikita Suzune frowned and said with some annoyance, "Then you two go ahead." She then turned and walked back to the classroom.

"Why are you guys here again? I told you I didn't see anything. I just happened to pass by after their fight ended," Ying said, speechless as he looked at the group from Class D.

"Ying, this time we want to ask if you saw anyone else besides me that day!" Sudo asked urgently, cutting in.

Ying recalled for a moment and said, "I did."

"Tell me! Who was it! Was it Sakura Airi!" Sudo became excited.

"It was those guys from Class C that you beat up."

Sudo's energy instantly deflated.

"However, I did see Sakura Airi as well," Ying continued.

"Yes! Now it's confirmed that Sakura-san is the witness! As long as I ask her to testify, I won't be suspended!" Sudo said excitedly.

"But I'm not sure if she saw the whole thing. What if she only saw you hitting them?" Ying reminded him.

"Can't you just say everything at once? You made me get my hopes up for nothing so many times!" Sudo complained angrily.

"But Byakuya-kun makes a good point. We must confirm it with Sakura-san." After Kushida said this, the group from Class D left.

"Ying, why didn't you tell us when you saw Sakura Airi that day?" Hamaguchi, having overheard the conversation between Ying and the Class D students, came over to ask.

Because of the bad blood between Class B and Class C, Ichinose had rallied the students of Class B to help Class D find witnesses for Sudo's brawl after learning about the conflict. Even so, Ichinose had promised that if the witness they eventually found indicated that Sudo had been the one to initiate violence against the Class C students, Class B would never shield Class D.

Therefore, the students of Class B had also asked Ying, who was at the scene, but no matter who asked him, he always said he hadn't seen anything and only discovered Sudo and the others after the fight had already ended.

"I forgot about that at the time." Ying smiled sheepishly, having not mentioned Sakura until he suddenly remembered.

Hamaguchi merely glared at Ying in annoyance and said nothing more; after all, it wasn't exactly rare for Ying to do things like this.

After school, Ying headed to the Student Council as usual. The moment he stepped inside, Horikita Manabu asked.

"Do you know anything about this incident between Class C and Class D?"

"Huh? Why are you asking me too, Boss? It was purely a coincidence that I was in the area that day!" Ying said helplessly.

"Then what is your take on this incident? Do you intend to intervene?" Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses and asked.

"What kind of take could there be? In any case, Class D definitely won't be suspended, not with your sister there." Knowing the original story, Ying had long since known how it would turn out.

"Oh? Are you saying that Suzune alone can resolve this incident perfectly?" Clearly, Horikita Manabu did not believe that Horikita Suzune was currently capable of resolving this situation.

"Just sit back and enjoy the show, Boss—this duel of lies between Ayanokoji."