Kushida Kikyo was furious because some bastard had tricked her.
That very morning, after she turned on the charm, Ayanokoji had reluctantly admitted that Uesugi Hara was the one who had told him what was going on.
She remembered how Uesugi Hara had previously sworn up and down that he knew nothing. Yet the next day, Ayanokoji had learned something from him.
It made her feel like a complete idiot.
She went straight to confront Uesugi Hara, sending a long string of complaints through her Terminal.
"You bastard! I thought you were going to keep hiding like a coward forever."
Seeing Kushida Kikyo's complaints in the Terminal chat, Uesugi Hara hadn't planned on replying. But she seemed so pitiful that he decided to humor her.
"I heard it from someone else." Uesugi Hara had originally intended to ignore the complaints, but he figured he might as well placate her.
"You bastard! I thought you were going to keep hiding like a coward forever."
Uesugi Hara could practically feel Kushida Kikyo's resentment coming through the Terminal.
"Sorry, I just saw this." Uesugi Hara played dumb.
"You think I still believe you?"
"Uh... I think you probably do."
"Heh."
"Anything else? If not, I'm logging off." Uesugi Hara ignored her sarcasm.
"Aren't you going to give me some information to make up for it?"
"?" Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow. Was she trying to get something out of him for free?
"?" Kushida Kikyo sent back a question mark too.
"When I send a question mark, it doesn't mean I have a question. It means I think there's something wrong with you. So what does your question mark mean?"
"I sent it to ask what you were going to say! And what do you mean, there's something wrong with me?" Kushida Kikyo felt like she was having the worst time. Talking to him was even more frustrating than talking to Yamauchi.
"You know where the altercation happened, right?"
"Bastard! Don't change the subject!"
"I heard a lot of people passed by there that day. Maybe someone saw something. That's the information. Do what you want with it. I'm logging off. Bye."
"Uesugi Hara, you bastard! Don't run away if you've got the guts!"
Uesugi Hara switched his Terminal to silent mode, placed it face down on the desk, and stopped paying attention to Kushida Kikyo, who was still venting her frustration.
Uesugi Hara: She'll calm down on her own once she gets tired.
The information he'd given her was accurate. Lots of people had passed by outside that day, though whether they could see what was happening inside was another matter.
Kushida Kikyo: Damn it! If I don't know whether anyone passed by, can't I just check the security footage? That bastard is just brushing me off!
After school.
Teachers' office.
"Mr. Mashima, could I speak with you somewhere private?" Uesugi Hara asked calmly.
All four homeroom teachers were in the office, and Uesugi Hara didn't want anyone else to know about this.
"Let's go to the counseling room next door." Mashima Tomoya was a little puzzled. Uesugi Hara hadn't been this secretive the last time he'd come to ask about the school rules.
The three other homeroom teachers in the office reacted in different ways.
Hoshinomiya Chie rested her chin on her hand and mused, "I wonder what little Uesugi wants to discuss so secretively with little Tomoya. Do you know, little Sae?"
Chabashira Sae looked thoughtful. "How would I know?"
Sakagami Kazuma was the calmest of them all. As long as it didn't involve Class C, he couldn't be bothered to care.
As soon as they sat down in the counseling room, Uesugi Hara got straight to the point. "Mr. Mashima, if I help the school resolve the matter with Ken Sudō, what kind of reward would the school offer?"
"Uh... Would an official commendation count?" Mashima Tomoya felt awkward. The school hadn't mentioned any rewards to them, so there probably wouldn't be one.
"Oh." Uesugi Hara replied flatly. How stingy.
He took out his Terminal and handed it over. "Then, Mr. Mashima, take a look at this. About how many Points do you think this video is worth?"
Mashima Tomoya opened the video. When he saw it laid out the whole story behind the Ken Sudō incident, his pupils contracted. He immediately understood what Uesugi Hara was thinking.
He gave Uesugi Hara a meaningful look, his eyes full of approval. "Since you came to me, I take it you've already got an idea?"
"That's right." Uesugi Hara nodded. "I plan to make a deal with Class C, but I don't want to reveal myself, so I'll need to trouble you to handle it." (I'll explain later why I'm having a teacher handle it.)
"It's no trouble." Mashima Tomoya was in a good mood, pleased that a student trusted him. "Tell me your specific plan."
"Class C probably thinks they've got Class D cornered right now, so the video should only be brought out at the most crucial moment."
"Like the day before the hearing starts?" Mashima Tomoya chimed in.
"Exactly."
"And we can't negotiate directly with Ryuen, either. We have to make the deal with his homeroom teacher. As the class leader, Ryuen can collect Points from his classmates, but he won't squeeze them too hard, so he probably wouldn't be able to offer many Points.
"I heard that Sakagami let Ryuen take control of Class C so quickly. So, Mr. Mashima, do you think Sakagami would be willing to pay for his class?"
"I see." Mashima Tomoya finally understood what Uesugi Hara was planning.
He looked at Uesugi Hara with mixed feelings. He hadn't expected young people these days to be so ambitious—to even dare scheme against teachers.
Then he remembered Uesugi Hara was in his class, and felt a little more fortunate.
He silently offered a two-second moment of sympathy for Sakagami, then straightened up. It was time for him, as the homeroom teacher, to do his part.
The two exchanged a look. They both had a bright future ahead of them.
Meanwhile, Sakagami was sitting comfortably in the office, drinking coffee when he suddenly shivered. "Strange. Why does it feel so chilly behind me? The window isn't even open."
That night, Uesugi Hara lay in bed, thinking back on his conversation with Mashima Tomoya that afternoon.
Although teachers couldn't directly get involved in helping students, they could still assist them within the bounds of the rules. He'd come to this conclusion by observing the other classes. Ayanokoji was one such victim.
Besides, the other party in the deal with Mr. Mashima would be Mr. Sakagami. It was a private matter between teachers and had nothing to do with the students—provided the video didn't get out.
But they'd both been teachers at the school for a long time. Surely they wouldn't make such a stupid mistake, would they?
After this, Mr. Sakagami would probably warn Ryuen. Class C should rein themselves in a little, and the conflict between the classes wouldn't continue to escalate.
It was a school, after all. What kind of conduct was all this fighting and killing?
After going over the details of his plan and filling in the gaps, Uesugi Hara stretched. It had been another hard day.
He opened his Terminal. He'd been ignoring Kushida Kikyo for so long that he was curious how much she'd been ranting about him.
He skipped past the pointless messages and went to the latest one.
Uesugi Hara frowned when he saw it.
The screen clearly read: "Sakura may have been a witness."
Why would Class D suspect Airi?
Had someone seen Airi there that day? If so, why hadn't they suspected him?
First, he sent Airi a message. "Airi, if anyone gives you trouble, be sure to tell me!"
The reply came quickly. "...Okay." Airi didn't know why Uesugi was sending her this message, but she usually listened to him.
After receiving Airi's reply, Uesugi Hara felt a little more at ease. Then he asked Kushida Kikyo about what had happened.
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