The Truth?

Sakura's camera bag fell from her arms with a thud at the roar. The instant its clasp sprang open, the side door of the first-floor cafeteria was violently shoved open.

"Looks like everyone's playing detective."

Sakamoto Junichi suddenly appeared before them, the soles of his black sneakers scraping against the tiles with a teeth-grating squeak.

He reached up to adjust his slipping black-framed glasses, his voice carrying a rare, barely perceptible trace of anger.

"But your game consists of forcing Sakura?"

Horikita Suzune swiftly hooked the camera bag's strap with the tip of her shoe. Her black hair fell like a curtain as she bent down.

"Uninvolved parties should leave immediately. This is an internal matter of Class D."

"An internal matter?" Sakamoto suddenly chuckled, his fingers rapidly swiping across his phone screen.

"Last week, I accompanied Sakura back to the classroom to retrieve her camera." A screenshot of their chat history was displayed on the screen.

In the 17:02 message bubble, tiny text curled beside Sakura's pink rabbit avatar: [Sakamoto, could you wait a moment? I forgot my camera in my locker.]

Below it was a sunset photo he had taken, followed by his reply: [I'll wait on the bench by the main gate.]

Kushida Kikyo's body stiffened uncontrollably the moment she saw Sakamoto, but she quickly regained control of her expression.

"Sakamoto was there at the time? What a surprise~" Her chestnut hair brushed against Sakamoto's sleeve as she tilted her head.

"Then afterward..."

"At 17:07, we were buying film at the convenience store by the school gate."

He opened his photo album. In the timestamped picture, Sakura was standing on tiptoe to reach Fujifilm on the top shelf. "Would you like to check the convenience store's security footage?"

Sudo Ken suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Sakamoto by the collar. "Then why was she acting so suspicious?!" His savage face was inches from Sakamoto's, his nose nearly slamming into Sakamoto's lenses.

"Let go."

Sakamoto's right hand snapped out like lightning and gripped a pressure point on Sudo's wrist, leaving Sudo utterly unable to resist. His fingers involuntarily loosened. Sakamoto shoved him away and straightened his rumpled collar.

"This has nothing to do with you."

"Hey, four-eyes!" Sudo raised his voice again. He rubbed his numb wrist and took half a step back. Having sensed Sakamoto's unusual physical strength, he had calmed down slightly, but his mouth was still as foul as ever.

"Quit putting on airs! Some guy who just popped out of nowhere like you—"

Sakamoto lowered his head slightly, the backlight on his lenses concealing his eyes.

"Sudo, you're pitifully stupid."

Sakamoto wrapped an arm around Sakura's trembling shoulders, his palm's warmth passing through her thin summer shirt. "More importantly—you should be focusing on how to obtain evidence."

Under the suspicious gazes of the crowd, Sakura suddenly raised her head.

"Th-there are only cherry blossoms in the camera..." With trembling hands, she pulled out the photos. The timestamp in the lower-right corner of the cherry blossom close-up was plainly visible. "And... portrait shots..."

The date on the photos was indeed that day's. They could not have been faked.

"What about the other photos? You can't guarantee there isn't one of Sudo in the later pictures."

Ike Kanji voiced his doubts as well.

At that, Sakura and Sakamoto exchanged a glance. Sakamoto took the camera and removed all the photos.

"The rest are only personal photos of me."

That outcome left everyone staring at one another. Yamauchi suddenly slapped his thigh and shouted, "No wonder she always hid that camera so carefully—"

He winked and mimicked Sakura hugging her camera tightly, until Horikita's icy glare nailed him back into his seat.

"Then please stop harassing an innocent student."

Sakamoto waved the camera photos between two fingers.

"And a reminder—there are less than twenty-four hours left before the deadline for resolving this incident. Class D should learn to investigate with their brains rather than their voices."

They watched Sakamoto and Sakura leave together.

Ike scratched his head. "Why is that guy even more annoying than Horikita?"

Horikita shot Ike a mercilessly cold look, and he gave an awkward smile.

Sudo suddenly kicked the spilled can of black tea at his feet in fury. The metal can slammed into the door with a loud echo.

"There are no clues now, so I have to take the blame for those Class C maggots?!"

Kushida gently grabbed hold of the rampaging Sudo. "The important thing now is finding the real witness~"

"The clue may not have run out. It's possible we were looking in the wrong direction."

Horikita began analyzing the situation calmly.

"Sakamoto and the others were at the convenience store by the school gate at 17:07, while your fight took place at 17:12. Even if they ran back to the classroom in those five minutes, there would be no guarantee they had time to take pictures, not to mention the locker area is even farther away."

"Then who is the witness, Horikita?" Kushida maintained her puzzled expression.

Horikita did not answer. The others could only stare blankly at one another.

No one noticed Ayanokoji's unruffled gaze resting on the surveillance log.

That day, Tokito Yuya of Class C had also attended the Photography Club activity.

He entered at 15:30 and left at 17:25—more than enough time to detour from the east corridor on the third floor to the gymnasium.

Therefore, this Tokito Yuya from Class C was the most likely real witness, and he very likely had photographs of the fight in his possession.

Ayanokoji picked up the surveillance register and pressed a fingertip against Tokito Yuya's entry and exit record. "This person is also from Class C?"

Horikita snatched up the register and examined it carefully. "The Photography Club room is on the east side of the third floor, while the locker area is in the west wing on the first floor—from the third floor, detouring to the gymnasium and then returning would take at least ten minutes. This Tokito had more than enough time to take photos." She suddenly looked up at Ayanokoji.

"Ayanokoji, you already knew?"

Ayanokoji's gaze settled on the vending machine. "No, it was just a coincidence. I just thought there was something suspicious about this person."

Horikita shot Ayanokoji a doubtful look.

"Oh, Ayanokoji just got lucky. Let's hurry up and find this Tokito from Class C."

Ike interrupted Horikita and Ayanokoji's private exchange and suggested they go look for Tokito.

"So it was someone from Class C after all!" Sudo spoke up first. "I knew it! They deliberately framed me!"

Everyone was already fired up.

"Useless," Horikita suddenly poured cold water over them.

"If he is from Class C, he will not be willing to help us. In other words, this is now the most troublesome situation."

"Tokito is from Class C, so he will most likely side with Ryuen and the others. He has no reason to tell us the truth of what happened. There's no way he would do something that harms his class's interests."

"There's a chance," Ayanokoji cut in.

"If he had been colluding with the others in Class C, there would be no need for him to stay there, because Ryuen's class has not produced any photos of Sudo beating Ishizaki and the others so far."

Most likely, they did not know the photos existed. The proof of their own injuries was enough for them to deal with Sudo's case. The photos would only expose the truth behind their fabrication.