Shinjo hung up just like that. He wasn't sure there was any connection, but he had a vague feeling that this was somehow related to his Class Points not having come through yet today.
"Sorry, Kei. Sudo asked me to come over, so..."
"Wait... I'm pretty sure I heard something about a secret base..."
They were only pretending to be a couple, but Karuizawa had long since started treating Shinjo as her prey. To be honest, she never wanted her boyfriend hanging around the class's Idiot Trio in the first place.
What if they corrupted the honest Shinjo?!
But ever since Shinjo joined Horikita's study group, things had gotten out of hand.
A boys' secret base... It didn't sound like the sort of place where anything good happened...
"The secret base is actually Ayanokoji's dorm room. Sudo seems to be in some kind of trouble, so he asked me to come over."
Seeing the look on Karuizawa's face grow more and more suspicious, Shinjo hurriedly explained.
"Isn't that even worse?!"
"So what exactly are you thinking...?"
"Katsuya! I'm only worried about you because I care. You can go if you want, but take me with you, okay?"
That way, whatever happened, having his girlfriend there would make everything perfectly safe!
"Uh... all right."
Sudo had sounded urgent, so Shinjo hadn't thought to call and check whether it was okay to bring his girlfriend along.
"Hehe! Let's go, then!"
Sudo's secret base. (Ayanokoji's dorm room)
"So why is my dorm room the secret base?"
"Well, after the celebration last time, everyone thought your place was clean and hygienic, so we each got a spare key and decided to make it the secret base."
As Ike spoke, he even took out his key and twirled it in front of Ayanokoji.
"I feel like I'm in a pretty dangerous situation here!"
"That's not important. Anyway, Sudo, what did you want to tell us? You even called Horikita and Kushida over."
"I... can I wait until Shinjo gets here? This is a big deal, so..."
Sudo didn't look like he was joking, which made Horikita, standing nearby, grow suspicious.
Fortunately, Shinjo didn't keep everyone waiting long.
When they saw Karuizawa following behind him, everyone reacted in their own way.
"K-Karuizawa?"
"Karuizawa, you came too!"
Seeing Horikita and Kushida there as well, Karuizawa finally realized she might have gotten the wrong idea.
If they were really planning to do that sort of thing, wouldn't they have kept the girls away?
Especially these two.
The atmosphere grew awkward in an instant.
"Um, Sudo, sorry I didn't tell you. I brought my girlfriend along without asking..."
"Huh? Oh! It's fine! She's your girlfriend, after all! That means Karuizawa's my good friend from now on, too!"
Sudo was very easygoing about it. Right now, he felt nothing but admiration and gratitude toward Shinjo. He wouldn't have minded him bringing his girlfriend—in fact, even if he'd brought Sae Chabashira... no, maybe not her.
"Of course it's fine! We're glad to have you here, Karuizawa!"
Kikyo Kushida really was the class's social butterfly. She got along well with everyone, so naturally she wouldn't give Karuizawa the cold shoulder.
The two other suck-ups chimed in to welcome her, too. Horikita was as usual; she was more concerned with what Sudo wanted to say.
[Hey, at least ask me what I think...]
But Ayanokoji knew perfectly well that his opinion had never mattered.
"Now that everyone's here, Sudo, what did you want to talk about?"
Sudo looked around at everyone, then finally spoke, his face full of bitterness and sorrow.
"Um... Teacher Chabashira called me in today, and it looks like... I might get suspended. Maybe for a long time..."
"Suspended?!"
Even Shinjo's eyes widened. It really was a turbulent time.
"Did you... insult a teacher?"
Kei was the one who asked. She didn't have a very good impression of Sudo, and with his temper, it wouldn't have been surprising if he'd done something like that.
"Of course not! I might be dumb, but even I know not to get on a teacher's bad side."
"Then what happened?"
"Well... last week I beat up some guys from Class C, so Teacher Chabashira said I might get suspended. They're still deciding what to do, so maybe that's why our points haven't come through."
Sudo had beaten someone up? People from Class C, no less?
That sounded pretty normal!
But they still had to ask.
"Wh-why did you hit them? I'll admit the people in Class C can be pretty punchable, but still."
"I'm telling you right now, they came after me first! I only fought back! And then those guys reported me, claiming I was the one who went looking for a fight! They're obviously framing me!!!"
Shinjo immediately thought of Ryuen. It was a given that the guy would make a move against Class D, whether because of their past grudge or to gain an advantage in the class competition.
So he'd targeted Sudo first, since he was the easiest to catch slipping up.
That was pretty clever of him...
"Sudo, calm down. Tell us exactly what happened, from start to finish. Don't leave out a single detail, okay?"
Shinjo did his best to soothe him. Sudo seemed to grab onto him like a lifeline, steadying his breathing before slowly beginning to speak:
"Our basketball team's coach said he'd make me a regular player for the summer tournament. But on my way home that day, Komiya and Kondo from Class C, who are also on the basketball team, called me over to the Administration Building. They said they had something to talk to me about. We'd already had a falling-out before, so I thought I'd settle things once and for all, and I went with them."
"But I wasn't planning to use violence! By the time I got there, a guy named Ishizaki was already waiting. They said they couldn't accept someone from Class D becoming a regular player, and threatened to beat me up unless I quit the basketball team. Naturally, I refused! But they didn't even try to reason with me—they just attacked. So I took them out before they could take me down."
Shinjo put the whole story in order.
"So you've already told the school exactly what happened, right? And they told you to wait for a punishment?"
"Not exactly. The school told me to find evidence by next Tuesday proving they attacked first. Otherwise, I'll be suspended. And our class will lose Class Points, too. I might even lose my spot as a regular player on the basketball team!"
Clearly, of the three punishments, the last one was the hardest for Sudo to accept.
"How is that fair?! We're the ones who got attacked! Why are they making us gather evidence?!"
"You've got to be kidding me..."
Before you continue