Karuizawa Kei Takes Action

After finishing her day of studying with a sense of satisfaction, Shiranami Chihiro sighed softly. There was less than a week left until the Midterm Exam. Every student in Class B was working hard to get good grades, and she should also do her best.

However, she suddenly received an audio recording in her email, titled "Ichinose Honami," sent by an anonymous account.

Shiranami Chihiro thought it was a prank by one of her classmates, so she clicked on it casually.

"I... have also committed theft in the past."

The girl's emotions overflowed, and then the rest of her words poured out like a flood.

How could this be?

Just as Shiranami Chihiro's mind was in turmoil from the recording of Ichinose Honami's words, the anonymous account sent another message:

"If you don't want this recording to be known throughout the school, how about doing me a small favor?"

"I know, you've always liked Ichinose, haven't you?"

Shiranami Chihiro's fingers trembled, and it took her a while to reply:

"What are you up to?"

"I just need you to do me a small favor."

"Shibata Sō, just ask him to come to the Special Administrative Building at 5 PM tomorrow. It's that simple, isn't it?"

Shibata Sō is a very popular boy in Class B, almost like a male version of "Ichinose Honami". He is good at sports and communication and is quite popular among the girls in Class B.

"... How can I be sure you will keep your promise?"

"We can sign a contract. If I reveal this recording and Ichinose Honami's past to a third party, I can immediately drop out of school."

The other party's tone was quite resolute. Shiranami Chihiro was timid by nature, and at this moment, she had no time to think or bargain, so she could only agree.

Horikita Manabu frowned slightly as he looked at the submitted documents awaiting review, while the secretary, Tachibana Akane, meticulously read the contents aloud:

"Regarding the incident yesterday in which Shibata Sō of Class 1-B assaulted Ryuen Kakeru of Class 1-C, Class C's homeroom teacher Sakagami Kazuma, has requested an immediate ruling."

There are less than four days left until the Midterm Exam.

"Have you remembered everything I taught you?"

"Well, but..."

"Don't worry, from this incident onwards, you'll be acting as the leader of Class D."

"I believe in you, and I look forward to seeing you succeed."

"Benefit."

Chapter Sixteen: Karuizawa Kei in Action

"The teacher is very late today."

Are you sick?

"I wonder if it'll be the same as last time, just a simple hangover and oversleep."

The mornings in Class 1-B were noisy and full of youthful energy. Because their homeroom teacher Hoshinomiya, was quite easygoing, most of the students in Class B to treat this young, beautiful, and quirky teacher as an older sister, and they spoke to her more freely.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this kind of class teacher that Class B has always maintained such a cheerful atmosphere.

However, Ichinose Honami felt that something was wrong. Shiranami Chihiro, who sat at the front, seemed to be feeling unwell and had been slumped over her desk since entering the class. Shibata Sō, who was usually popular, had not yet come to the classroom. She had asked several of his close friends and even sent him a message herself, but had not received a reply.

However, these questions had to be put aside until the homeroom teacher Hoshinomiya, arrived. As usual, Ichinose Honami stood up and maintained order in the class. Although the pre-class communication could help students learn in a good mood, it was also not good for the homeroom teacher to see a noisy class as soon as she entered.

"Good morning."

Just as the noise in the classroom gradually subsided and quieted down, Hoshinomiya teacher, finally arrived. However, unlike the image of a hangover drunkard that the students had imagined, Hoshinomiya showed none of his usual eccentric behavior today. His serious expression made people almost wonder if he was a completely different person.

"Thank you for your hard work, Ichinose."

Having apparently realized Ichinose Honami's actions just now, Hoshinomiya nodded first, then took a slight breath as she walked to the podium:

"I have an important report to make this morning. There was a dispute at school yesterday. It seems that Shibata Sō had a conflict with a student from Class C. To put it bluntly, Ryuen Kakeru from Class C accused Shibata of assaulting him, which is why Shibata didn't come to class today."

The classroom immediately erupted in chaos. The students of Class B instinctively sided with Shibata Sō, bluntly accusing Class C of plotting against them.

Hoshinomiya teacher, seemed very tired. Although Ichinose Honami was taken aback, she took the initiative to stand up and calm the students, allowing Hoshinomiya to continue her lecture.

Therefore, Hoshinomiya teacher, simply and directly announced that Shibata Sō had a dispute with Class C, that Shibata would be suspended from school depending on the degree of responsibility, and that the Class Points would even be deducted.

"Um... why hasn't a conclusion been reached yet?"

Ichinose Honami posed a perfectly obvious question.

On the one hand, she didn't believe that Shibata Sō would be the boy who started the fight, but on the other hand, she noticed that the other party in the incident was from Class 1-C. Combining these two factors, Ichinose Honami naturally concluded that this must have been a setup by Class C.

Kitagawa Ryo's image flashed through her mind, but Ichinose Honami quickly came to her senses. Her current position was that of the class representative of Class 1-B. Whoever the other party was, if they wanted to take action against Class B, they would be her opponent.

"The complaint was filed by Class C, who claimed they were the victims of a one-sided beating. However, when the school investigated the matter, Shibata said that this was not true. According to him, he never assaulted Ryuen Kakeru."

"Since there are discrepancies in the testimonies of both parties, why not review the surveillance footage?"

A student from Class B reached out and asked a question.

"Because the fight took place on the third floor of Special Building without surveillance cameras, it's impossible to reconstruct the incident using the footage."

As soon as Hoshinomiya finished speaking, the students in Class B began discussing the suspicious points of the incident:

"That's strange. Why would Shibata go to the Special Building for no reason?"

"Aren't you in the same club as Shibata?"

"I don't know either. Shibata did say yesterday that he had to leave, but he's been bothered by the students from Class C these past two days, so I haven't noticed where he went."

"It must have been a setup by people from Class C. They've been harassing people from our class since May."

"If it weren't for the class monitor and the others stopping us from getting into a fight, I would have already turned against those delinquents."

Seeing the discussion in the class escalating, Ichinose Honami quickly asked Hoshinomiya:

"Then the teacher must have met with Shibata- kun, right? Did he tell you anything?"

"For example, the specific circumstances of that day, etc."

Hoshinomiya Chie shook her head and replied:

"I met with Shibata- kun yesterday. He insisted that it was a setup by Class C, that he never laid a hand on Ryuen Kakeru, and that the guy was self-harming in front of him, but..."

Hoshinomiya Chie pointed to her lips with a puzzled expression:

"He couldn't, or rather, was unwilling to, explain why he went to the Special Building. This kind of doubt would put Shibata at a complete disadvantage in the entire argument, because Class C insisted that Shibata had invited Ryuen Kakeru to the Special Building, and that a violent incident had occurred there over a trivial matter. While they had such a plausible reason, Shibata couldn't explain his motive for going to the Special Building that day."

"So the situation is basically one-sided now, after all, Ryuen from Class C is really injured."

"Is there any way to prove Shibata's innocence now? I believe Shibata is not that kind of person, and the other classmates should feel the same way as me."

Ichinose Honami quickly noticed this subtle point in time:

"I'm worried it will affect Shibata- kun's Midterm Exam."

In Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, Midterm Exam and Final Exam hold an absolutely crucial position in the entire system. Unless there is a major change such as being too ill to take the exam, any absence due to personal factors such as catching a cold or having diarrhea and having to stop attending school is considered a failure.

The consequence of failing is expulsion from school.

"Yes, that's the most troublesome part."

"Because the Midterm Exam are just around the corner, the school plans to handle this matter quickly."

"Then... how much time do we have left?"

"Two days."

Hoshinomiya Chie held up two fingers, looking with some concern at Ichinose Honami, whose body was swaying slightly from the shock of that number:

"Ichinose?"

"I'm fine. The most important thing now is to prove Shibata- kun's innocence. We can't let him drop out of school because he missed the Midterm Exam."

Ichinose Honami quickly reaffirmed her resolve, took a deep breath, and began to outline her plan with brisk and clear speech:

"The incident happened just yesterday. Although it's Special Building without surveillance cameras, there might still be witnesses. I hope everyone can use today to ask friends from other classes or upperclassmen. If you can find anyone who witnessed the incident, please contact me immediately."

"Of course, this doesn't necessarily have to happen offline. Everyone can post about this on the school forum in the name of Class B, stating that if anyone can provide information about the violent incident that happened in the Special Building yesterday, a points reward will be given."

"Please ask Kanzaki for more details, Shibata. I'll contact Class C and see if we can get them to drop their appeal regarding this incident."

That's all for now. Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Even in this emergency, Ichinose Honami's thinking remained unaffected, and the other Class B students, led by Kanzaki Ryuji, naturally had no objections and nodded in agreement with Ichinose's suggestion.

As always, Sakura Airi kept her head down and hunched over, trying her best to walk out of the classroom unnoticed.

Although almost a whole day had passed, she still couldn't forget what she had seen in the Special Building yesterday. It seemed that a student from Class C was engaging in self-harm in front of another student from Class B.

This timing is absolutely terrible.

Sakura Airi secretly works as Gravure Idol online, was just looking for a place to take selfies when she unexpectedly witnessed something like this. It was the first time she had ever seen someone so ruthless as to attack her. Judging from the slight blood on the long-haired boy's right fist, he had used considerable force and showed no mercy. Although Sakura Airi had seen her classmates pull each other's clothes and pinch each other's arms when they argued in elementary school, this was nothing compared to what she had witnessed. The boy from Class B seemed unable to comprehend the situation and just stood there dumbfounded.

Despite her fear, Sakura Airi, almost unconsciously, used her digital camera to capture the scene. As the shutter clicked silently, Sakura Airi didn't even understand what she was doing, but she quickly realized the danger of her actions and wanted to leave as soon as possible.

However, his feet seemed to be firmly bound and he couldn't move them.

No, we have to leave quickly.

Sakura Airi didn't want anyone to find out she was there and get involved, because if they did, her currently peaceful school life would be plunged into danger.

Finally, before the two could find her, Sakura Airi escaped from the Special Building.

"Ah..."

Perhaps because she was distracted, Sakura Airi didn't notice the boys coming towards her. Her body was slightly pulled, and although she didn't fall, the digital camera she was holding in her right hand accidentally fell to the ground. It first fell with a loud thud, and then rolled around on the ground.

Sorry.

Seemingly realizing that he had bumped into the girl in front of him, Kitagawa Ryo took two steps forward, picked up the digital camera, and returned it to her.

"Would you like to check if there's anything wrong with it? I'll compensate you."

"It's nothing, it's nothing."

Sakura Airi, who had subconsciously pressed the power button to check if the digital camera was working properly, looked up and saw Kitagawa Ryo's face. This was probably the last face the students in Class D wanted to see. She immediately shrank back like a small animal and quickly hid the camera behind her back.

I'm leaving now.

"Don't be so afraid. If you really break it, I will definitely pay for it."

Kitagawa Ryo replied while chewing gum, "Actually, if we didn't consider that the other party was from Class C, and that Class C and Class D had a very bad relationship, Sakura Airi might have agreed. After all, Kitagawa Ryo looked completely harmless and easygoing at that moment, without any airs."

"No, it was my own fault... I was too careless, I'm sorry."

Sakura Airi suddenly caught sight of the long-haired boy she had seen in the Special Building yesterday. Even though his face was wrapped in thick bandages and one arm was in a cast, he still glared at her with an intimidating look after noticing her spying.

"I... I'm leaving now."

Just as the two were struggling, the commotion attracted the attention of other students in the corridor. Sakura Airi was being stared at by more eyes, felt like she was being slowly tortured and almost ran away with her head down.

"Hey, instead of studying this early in the morning, you're blocking our Class D' s door. Looks like Class C is really confident about the Midterm Exam."

Just as Sakura Airi was about to run away, Karuizawa Kei, who had come to the rescue with Matsushita Chiaki, Sato Maya, and other girls, showed no fear of Kitagawa Ryo. She took a step with her right foot toward Class C, leaning slightly forward, a move that seemed to be full of danger and provocation.

Today, Karuizawa Kei didn't tie her jacket around her waist as usual, but it was still loosely draped over her shoulders. The inner lining of the uniform at Tokyo Advanced Training School is optional, and unlike most of the regular white ones, Karuizawa Kei's inner lining is light blue. This unique outfit already makes her eye-catching enough, not to mention what she is doing now, which is mocking Kitagawa Ryo, who has been stealing the show among the First Year these days.

The gaze that had been focused on Sakura Airi suddenly shifted to Karuizawa Kei, like a spotlight changing its position.

"I didn't block anyone from your Class D. I just accidentally knocked this student's camera away. I just want to pay for it."

"But Kitagawa, you don't seem to have considered how much pressure talking to a student from Class D alone would put on her, given what you've done. The last person you talked to, Horikita Suzune, was called a traitor for quite a while."

Karuizawa Kei pursed her lips, stepped forward, and pulled the stunned Sakura Airi back behind her. Yamada Albert and Ryuen Kakeru from Class C also gathered behind Kitagawa Ryo. Karuizawa Kei was a full two heads shorter than Yamada, the tallest member of Class C, and although she was looking up to talk to Class C, Karuizawa Kei didn't seem intimidated at all. She took out her phone from her pocket:

"Want compensation? Then pay me back. Ten thousand points for repairs, Class C should be able to afford that, right?"

"Yes, it's really not expensive."

Kitagawa Ryo didn't seem angry. He nodded seriously, walked to Karuizawa Kei's side, and took out his phone, seemingly to arrange a points transfer with Karuizawa Kei. This disappointed the students from other classes who were hoping to watch the show. However, the students from Class D were surprised that Karuizawa Kei had managed to snatch points from Kitagawa Ryo's face and discussed the matter quietly.

"You've reached your points, goodbye."

As if she had already received the points, Karuizawa Kei turned around and waved without hesitation, her honey-colored hair brushing against Kitagawa Ryo's nose, giving off a slightly itchy feeling.