Ichinose Wants to Help / Looking for Witnesses

After Ryuen finished speaking, Ibuki's face turned ashen. She knew that once this guy returned to the classroom, he definitely wouldn't let the matter rest.

"It's all right, Ibuki. If Ryuen really wants to help the class, I think there's no harm in letting him try."

Shiina Hiyori looked calm. She knew that the only classmates Ryuen could control right now were these two lackeys who had been suspended alongside him. The others wouldn't be so easily swayed.

Still, if he really could get results, that wouldn't be a bad thing. After all, it was for the class.

"Hmph. What else can this guy do besides fight? I don't believe he can come up with some complicated scheme."

After leaving the classroom, Ryuen looked at the two people behind him and said slowly, "We'll act this afternoon. Remember what I told you to do?"

"Don't worry, Ryuen. This is your first plan since your return, so we have to make sure it goes perfectly." Ishizaki Daichi looked confident.

"That's right. We won't let you down, Ryuen." Komiya Yogo looked serious.

"Good. I hear that the class with that bastard Hashiba Hikaru has risen to Class A. What a pain."

A flash of hatred crossed Ryuen's eyes. That guy was the reason he'd been suspended for a month, missing his chance to bring the class together. Now he could only control these two, and he'd have to go along in person when they carried out the plan.

"Just you wait, Hashiba Hikaru. You taught me this move, after all. I'll send you plunging into the abyss!"

Chapter 76: Ichinose Wants to Help

It had been a few days since they had advanced to Class A, and the students were gradually getting used to their new position. Thanks to Ichinose Honami's efforts, the class still had a strong academic atmosphere. No one had gotten complacent; they continued to stay united and move forward together.

Seeing this, Hashiba Hikaru felt satisfied. He believed that bringing the class together completely before the Special Exam was a very wise decision. Whatever the competition ahead might bring, he was now confident he could count on everyone in the class, without anyone refusing to cooperate or even causing trouble.

Although they had risen in the rankings in their very first month, they hadn't opened up a gap in Class Evaluation Points with Class B, where Sakayanagi and Katsuragi were. They couldn't afford to slack off and had to stay vigilant.

As Hashiba Hikaru pondered the other classes, a familiar, sweet fragrance wafted toward him.

"Hashiba, something's happened!"

"?"

The boy looked up at the pink-haired girl who had hurried over to him and asked, "What happened? Is it related to someone in our class?"

"No, it's Class C, where Kushida is. Someone in their class has apparently been accused of extremely serious violence, and the other party is even demanding that he be expelled."

Anxious, Ichinose Honami explained to Hashiba Hikaru, "Kushida just messaged me. Their class is in an uproar now."

Violence?

After hearing those words, the boy asked, "Which classmate accused someone from her class?"

"Kushida said it was Ishizaki Daichi and Komiya Yogo from Class D. They were seriously injured in the incident, and they still have bandages on their hands."

"That serious?"

Hashiba Hikaru furrowed his brow. But as soon as he heard those names, he immediately thought of a certain man: Ryuen Kakeru.

When they had carried out that photo-taking plan, the two people lying in wait on the other side with Ryuen, ready to attack Ibuki, had been those two.

The boy rubbed his chin. By his calculations, Ryuen's suspension should have ended by now, and he had probably returned to class. These two accusers were also his lackeys. There was no way it was such a coincidence.

So this matter had to be connected to him.

"But why are you so concerned, Ichinose?" The boy glanced at the pink-haired girl beside him and said gently, "It's not someone from our class who's been accused."

At Hashiba Hikaru's question, Ichinose Honami immediately held her phone screen out in front of him. It showed a message from Kushida Kikyo.

Kushida Kikyo: Ichinose, we're looking for witnesses to the incident. Could you get your classmates to help? I don't want Sudo to be expelled.

"I see."

After reading the request, Hashiba Hikaru understood. He glanced at Ichinose Honami. The girl really was the kind of person who liked to help others, so her reaction wasn't surprising.

If they could find a witness, that would be very useful in a case involving accusations of violence.

Of course, eyewitness testimony wasn't nearly as good as physical evidence. People could lie, so it wasn't certain that the people with the authority to judge would believe them.

The incident that had gotten Ryuen suspended last time had made that perfectly clear. Still, had this act of violence really been serious enough to leave people needing bandages?

No wonder they were demanding that the other student be expelled.

"Should we help?"

After showing Hashiba Hikaru the message, Ichinose looked at him expectantly. She knew her class was competing against Class C, but she was on good terms with Kushida Kikyo. And she had always been deeply troubled by the frightening word "expulsion."

"Hmm... Ichinose, could you give me some time? I need to weigh the risks and benefits of getting involved."

"Okay. I'll wait for your answer."

Ichinose Honami wanted to go help right away, but she wanted the boy's support even more. If he didn't agree, the students in Class A might not actually support the decision.

Once the girl turned her attention elsewhere, Hashiba Hikaru began carefully considering the various possibilities.

No matter how he looked at it, there was a good chance Ryuen had ordered this. As soon as his suspension ended, he had set his sights on Class C, which ranked above them. This might be his first move toward taking control of his class again.

If he really succeeded in getting a student from another class expelled, the other students in Class D might not immediately switch sides, but they would surely start to see him differently.

After all, his actions really would be for the class's sake. His methods might be underhanded, but as long as he could get someone from Class C expelled, and the gap in Class Evaluation Points between the two classes wasn't very large, they might even reclaim their ranking next month.

Was this his way of putting pressure on Ibuki?

Compared with Ryuen, Hashiba Hikaru still thought Ibuki would make a better class leader for Class D. He had already worked with her twice. Although the girl had a bad attitude toward him, at least he didn't have to worry about her doing anything too outrageous.

Ryuen was completely different. Just look at how he had secretly ambushed his classmates last time, preparing to attack Ibuki Mio. He was someone who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

He couldn't let that guy climb back up. It would be best to keep suppressing any signs of his revival.

After weighing everything in his mind, Hashiba Hikaru decided the benefits were worth it.

He looked at Ichinose Honami and nodded. "I think we can help. Ichinose, go ahead and reply to Kushida. Tell her Class A will help look for witnesses, and ask her to send us the location and details of what happened that day. I'll talk to everyone in a moment."

"Mm-hmm."

Ichinose Honami nodded and quickly began messaging Kushida Kikyo, who was sitting in the classroom.

The short-haired angel was sitting at her desk, carefully observing the atmosphere in the classroom.

Ever since Chabashira-sensei, their homeroom teacher, had brought the matter to light, Class C had immediately split into two groups. One, led by Hirata, wanted to help. They thought they had to find a way to resolve the serious accusation and couldn't actually let Sudo be expelled.

The other group held the opposite opinion. They thought Sudo was violent by nature. He had a terrible temper and never took part in the study sessions everyone organized. Now he had caused another violent incident, and if he were expelled, it might even eliminate a source of trouble for the class.

Even Koenji, who usually looked down on everyone, had clearly stated that he thought Sudo should be expelled.

Chabashira-sensei had added that the Student Council would oversee the hearing for the accusation a week later. If the accusation was upheld, the class would lose Class Evaluation Points, and Sudo would be punished as well.

The other party was demanding that he be expelled. If their request was approved, he would have no choice but to leave.

As for the plan to look for witnesses, Kushida Kikyo had proposed it herself. Since it was a fight, finding witnesses might give the case an entirely different turn.

While her classmates discussed the matter, the short-haired girl thought of someone else she could enlist: Ichinose Honami. She was the leader of Class A and always eager to help others.

If Kushida could persuade her to help, perhaps they could find a witness more quickly.

So when she saw Ichinose's message agreeing to help, Kushida's face lit up. She quickly stood and said to everyone, "Everyone, I just told Ichinose from Class A that we're looking for witnesses. She agreed to get her classmates to help us."

"Really?"

Hirata looked delighted. If they could get more people involved, they would have a better chance of finding someone. The wider they cast their net, the more likely they were to find useful information.

"Hashiba will help us too. Let's go out together in a bit."

Kushida Kikyo's gaze swept over the few people who had just supported her plan: Hirata Yosuke, Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike, who had joined after she proposed it, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was sitting at his desk.

Yamauchi had invited him. Those few seemed to spend time together often.

The classmates who disliked Sudo didn't want to get involved at all, so they had remained silent.

"If we can get students from other classes to help search, our chances will improve," Hirata said seriously, urging everyone on. "But we need to hurry. We only have a week."

"If we can't find a witness in time, the hearing will be very difficult."

"Exactly. This is important. I don't want someone from our class to be expelled," Kushida said, standing up and looking earnestly at everyone. "Once Hashiba from Class A gets here, we'll split up and search. We have to find a witness or a lead as quickly as possible."

"Yeah! Let's get started after school!"

After school, the few Class C students who were eager to help stayed in the classroom. They waited for a few minutes, until at last they saw two familiar figures at the door—the pair who had once come to sell them the rules.

Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami.

"Hashiba, Ichinose, you're here." Kushida Kikyo immediately went over to them.

"Good afternoon, everyone in Class C."

Ichinose Honami waved to the students remaining in the classroom. Hashiba Hikaru looked around and noticed quite a few empty seats. It seemed many of them had simply left, unwilling to take part in the search for witnesses.

Seriously, even in a situation like this, they still couldn't unite?

"Hashiba, Ichinose, thank you for lending us a hand." Hirata immediately stepped forward, fulfilling his duty as the class leader, and asked, "Have you told your classmates about this? Did you find any leads?"

"We've gathered the information."

Hashiba Hikaru nodded. After exchanging a glance with Ichinose Honami, who was smiling beside him, he calmly explained to Hirata:

"I just checked what everyone in our class was doing yesterday. Three students went to the Special Building, but none of them went up to the second floor, so they didn't know about the violent incident that happened there."

"Another student bought a drink from a vending machine near the Special Building, but didn't stick around, so they didn't see anything."

"That's all the information Class A can provide."

After he finished speaking, the Class C students still sitting at their desks fell silent.

Hirata couldn't help staring in surprise at the boy's calm expression and the pink-haired girl beside him. He understood one thing more and more clearly.

Hashiba Hikaru had an extremely firm grip on all of Class A. He had gathered information about what everyone had done yesterday in no time, and he didn't seem to have faced any resistance at all.

Thinking about how his own classmates always went off on tangents whenever he suggested something, Hirata Yosuke, the class leader, felt a sharp sense of defeat.

Seriously, how was he supposed to compete with that?

Chapter 77: Searching for Witnesses

As Hirata watched Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami, Kushida Kikyo beside him was also looking at the boy.

After hearing his explanation, the girl felt a strange emotion stir in her heart.

Hashiba was an important figure who held sway over all of Class 1-A. From the time he sold them the rules to now, while providing information, he had always been calm and detached.

But he had once shown that he liked her and had even helped come up with plans to support her ideas.

The contrast left Kushida Kikyo feeling conflicted. Being liked wasn't anything unusual for her, but if the person who liked her had not only exceptional abilities but also enormous influence—and showed a special attitude toward her alone—

It was hard not to feel something. Everyone wanted to be special.

For a moment, Kushida didn't know what to say. She could only quietly feel her own heartbeat.

"Anyway, we're here to help, so let's get going," Hashiba Hikaru said, looking past the remaining students in Class C. "You don't have much time."

"That's right. Everyone, let's get moving."

At Hirata's urging, the few students who had stayed behind, along with Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami, left the classroom to search the school for witnesses.

The violent incident had taken place on the second floor of the Special Building. They could also ask upperclassmen, not just students in their own year. The wider their search, the better.

Hashiba Hikaru, Ichinose Honami and Kushida formed one group. They went to the busier areas of Keyaki Mall, questioning and checking with the students they encountered. It was a little abrupt, but it was the best approach.

Meanwhile, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Hirata's group searched the buildings and walkways near the Special Building, looking for passersby who might know something.

After searching for a while, Ichinose Honami picked up her phone and said to Hashiba Hikaru, "Hashiba, it looks like Kanzaki posted about this on the online forum too. Look."

"Really? He reacted quickly. That should help widen the search."

Hashiba Hikaru glanced at the phone screen and then looked away. Although he suspected Ryuen was behind the incident, there was no way to confront him directly right now. At the Student Council hearing, everything would have to be decided based on evidence.

One thing that made the boy suspicious was that, after Hashiba had tricked him last time, Ryuen might have planned this operation and decided to take photos secretly, so he could completely nail Sudo.

But according to what Hashiba had heard from Kushida, Ishizaki and Komiya had only made the accusation and hadn't submitted any evidence. That was why the Student Council would hold a hearing a week later. Otherwise, the punishment would have been announced immediately.

"Did he overlook something? That seems unlikely."

Hashiba Hikaru rubbed his hair, unsure what Ryuen was thinking. He set the idea aside for the moment and continued searching for information about witnesses with the two girls.

They searched around Keyaki Mall for several hours but didn't find anyone who had visited the Special Building. After all, it was a rather remote school building, so few people lingered there.

By around six, the sky had begun to darken. The group gathered again at their starting point.

"How did it go, Hashiba? Did you find anything?" Hirata wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked toward Hashiba Hikaru's group.

"Nothing so far. Everyone said they didn't go to the Special Building yesterday."