"The two sides' attitudes and the information they provided are inconsistent. However, Komiya and Ishizaki have suffered fairly serious injuries, so we can't rule out the possibility that Sudo was the one who initiated the violence."
"That concludes the explanation of the situation. Please begin your debate."
Tachibana Akane closed her notebook.
The next second, Sudo, who was sitting on the Class C side, stood up and shouted, "It's true that I hit them, but they provoked me first! They were obviously jealous that I'd become a starting player, and they came to bother me while I was practicing. That's why you—"
"Please remain quiet. Your statement is only one side of the story, and whether it can be accepted as testimony remains to be determined." Tachibana Akane looked toward the Class C seats and asked, "The accused party has the right to ask questions first. Is your spokesperson ready?"
"Ready."
Horikita Suzune stood up immediately, without the slightest hesitation. She glanced at her calm-faced brother out of the corner of her eye, then thought of the conversation she'd had with Hashiba Hikaru at the café.
This was a great opportunity. She had to make a good impression in front of her brother.
"Then I'll ask the questions."
Horikita Suzune took a deep breath to steady herself, then looked up at the two Class D boys sitting across from her.
"First question: Since you claim that Sudo was the one who called you out, why did he ask you to go with him? Please explain in detail. This is important to us."
Komiya Yogo looked at the black-haired girl across from him. He'd rehearsed this in advance, so of course he wasn't nervous. He immediately answered, "Sudo said he had something to discuss with me and asked me to meet