Sudo Incident

Hoshino sat on a bench near the gymnasium, waiting anxiously for the outcome on Ichinose's side.

Wait, did a girl just walk past?

An illusion! It must be an illusion!

Thinking back to what he had just said, Hoshino wanted to crawl into a hole! Was it a bit too cringey? Lecturing someone like that! He felt like another "dark history" moment had just been added to his record!

Just as Hoshino was clutching his head in embarrassment, wishing he could just die, a girl with short hair ran out from that very corner, crying!

"...Eh?" Maintaining his original posture, Hoshino turned his head to watch the girl running further and further away.

Was it really a girl? Hoshino's brain "crashed"... I mean... a girl gets confessed to by another girl, yet he was still a "single dog"?

Hoshino's pupils dilated, feeling that the world was full of malice...

"Eh? Hoshino-kun, you're still here!" Ichinose walked out slowly, looking toward the retreating figure with eyes full of apology.

"Uh, hey, Hoshino-kun!..." Seeing that Hoshino wasn't responding, Ichinose stepped closer, waving a fair hand in front of his eyes.

"...Ah! Sorry, sorry!" Hoshino snapped out of his daze, pulling back his gaze and sitting up straight, feeling a bit awkward. "Cough, cough, did you clear things up?"

"...Yeah!... I was so focused on how not to hurt Chihiro that I tried to use that as an excuse to run away; it seems that way of thinking was wrong! I told her that starting tomorrow, we'll go back to interacting like we used to. Is that really possible?" Ichinose clenched her hands, her eyes filled with conflict, before she looked off into the distance, appearing relieved.

"Probably, maybe, perhaps..."

To be honest, if it were a boy, Hoshino would never support Ichinose's approach. But between two girls... Hoshino really wasn't sure.

"Hehe—what are you saying? Hehe..." Ichinose laughed, sounding relieved, though her face held a trace of helplessness.

"Uh, sorry! I think I might have been a bit harsh earlier!" Hoshino remembered his "chuunibyou" speech from earlier and finally found a chance to apologize.

"No! You were right! Perhaps I really was wrong!" Ichinose shook her head, looking both amused and pained.

"...Sorry about today! Making you accompany me through such a strange ordeal! It seems I owe you a favor!" Seeming to have truly let go, Ichinose returned to her usual smile.

"No! It's nothing! Eh?... Isn't it Hoshinomiya-sensei who owes me a favor?" Seeing that Ichinose had finally relaxed, Hoshino let out a sigh of relief and said half-jokingly.

"...Hoshino-kun, what are you talking about? I never mentioned Hoshinomiya-sensei!" Ichinose wore an expression of "I don't know what you're talking about," a sly smile on her face.

"I told you, it's not like that! There were three of them!"

Early in the morning, as soon as Hoshino arrived at the classroom, he heard Sudo shouting loudly at two girls in front of him.

Yesterday, Hoshino had already seen the incident report.

To be honest, Hoshino really hadn't expected Ryuen's target to be Class D!

The first time he saw the report, Hoshino thought he had misread it! After confirming it repeatedly with President Horikita, Hoshino finally believed the fact.

What exactly was Ryuen thinking? Wise for a lifetime, foolish for a moment? What possible benefit was there in coming to cause trouble for Class D at a time like this?

Class D had so few class points, and the personal points each person received every month were only about 8,000—that wouldn't even cover a few decent meals! What was there to be wary of? At a time like this, it was best to just ignore them.

To insist on snatching "food" from the mouth of a "dying man"? Was he really not afraid that Class D would choose to "go down with him"?

"Members of the Class C Basketball Club have filed a complaint with the school against Sudo, claiming that after club activities ended, Sudo unilaterally assaulted them and caused injuries."

During the homeroom meeting, Chabashira-sensei announced the details of the incident with an indifferent expression.

"It was self-defense! Self-defense!" Sudo, looking unconvinced, slammed the desk in a rage. "They were just jealous that I became a regular player, so they came to pick a fight!"

"But you have no evidence! If there were witnesses, things would be easier to handle." Chabashira-sensei stated a solution in a nonchalant tone.

It seemed Chabashira-sensei was indeed starting to care about the class!

"Everyone, does anyone know anything about this?" Kushida stood up, looking at everyone with a worried expression.

Seeing no response, Kushida seemed to suddenly remember something and turned to ask Hoshino: "Hoshino-kun, aren't you a member of the Student Council? Do you know anything?"

"...No, that's all I know as well. After all, I'm in Class D too, so I have to avoid any conflict of interest!" Hoshino said with a blank expression.

The gazes that had just gathered on him shifted back to Kushida because of his words. However, Chabashira-sensei kept staring at Hoshino, making him feel a bit guilty, so he could only pretend to be completely ignorant while looking at the others.

But immediately, Hoshino froze again, as if he had discovered something.

Everyone was looking up at Kushida and Chabashira-sensei, but one person was an exception, looking down and thinking about something with an anxious expression.

Hoshino roughly understood; it wasn't that there were no witnesses—it seemed the girl with long pink hair sitting next to Horikita knew something!

But would that really be useful?

In law, there is a practice of recusal for family members, established to prevent collusion or indirect pressure on outsiders.

If that applied here, it might work as a lead, but if she were a witness or a related party herself, her testimony likely wouldn't be accepted!

"I think it would be better if you just dropped out! Red-hair-kun... your existence isn't beautiful at all!" A muscular boy with blonde hair was looking at a mirror in his hand, grooming his hair, with both legs propped up on his desk!

Sigh, Koenji, that unstable factor, was starting to act up again! Come to think of it, wouldn't this behavior lead to a deduction of class points? Hoshino felt a bit helpless.

"Ha?" Sudo stood up with a fierce look.

"Sudo, don't do anything!" Seeing that Sudo was about to "lose it," Hirata immediately stood up to persuade him.

"In one week, the Student Council will intervene to negotiate with Class C. Depending on the outcome of the negotiations, points will be deducted, and the disciplinary action for Sudo will be decided." Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Chabashira-sensei spoke up to explain the direction of the upcoming events.

He didn't know what Chabashira-sensei was thinking, but at the very least, Hoshino felt that this matter probably wouldn't end simply.

Oh! Right! It seemed it was time to retrieve the camera! Hoshino suddenly remembered an important task.