Securing Evidence

After school, Hoshino did not linger; he packed his bag and left the classroom.

Behind him, the voices of Hirata and Kushida echoed in the classroom, seemingly trying to mobilize the entire class to search for clues. It was a good thing he had made a quick getaway.

Throughout the breaks, he had occasionally heard comments like, "Why not just let him get expelled?" or "He's just a burden anyway." It was indeed Sudo's responsibility, so it wasn't surprising that most people felt this way. Even Hoshino began to wonder if keeping Sudo around last time had been the wrong decision.

Most people didn't have any real affection for Sudo; they were mostly acting out of consideration for Hirata and Kushida, or perhaps for the sake of those pitiful class points. How should he put it? With that kind of mindset, it would be hard to achieve anything, especially since Ryuen wouldn't be acting without a plan.

However, none of this seemed to have much to do with Hoshino, as he hadn't been counting on those few points anyway. But if the camera had captured anything, he could at least squeeze some benefits out of Ryuen.

On the third floor of the club building, Hoshino retrieved the camera he had set up a few days ago from a broken box in the corner; it was already covered in a thick layer of dust. He wiped the dust off the screen and pressed the power button repeatedly, but it showed no response. It seemed to be completely out of battery.

When did it run out of power? He didn't know if it had captured anything.

"Sigh..." Hoshino looked at the "lifeless" camera in his hands and sighed. Now, he really had to leave it to fate.

He took some paper out of his bag, gave the camera a quick wipe, wrapped it up simply, and placed it in his bag before heading to the Student Council room.

"Hoshino, what is your take on this Sudo incident?" President Horikita looked at the report in his hands and asked Hoshino, looking thoughtful.

"...My take?" Hoshino, who had been busy with the documents in his hands, looked up in surprise upon hearing President Horikita's words.

"Yes. If it were you, how would you handle it?" President Horikita put down the report and turned to look at Hoshino.

"...Uh, if it were me... maybe a two-week suspension? Offer some compensation? As long as it doesn't affect the next exam, right?"

Hoshino was a bit confused, not knowing what President Horikita was getting at.

However, if Hoshino had to handle it, that was likely what he would do—provided, of course, that he didn't have any video evidence in his hands!

In reality, Hoshino didn't think the impact of this incident was all that significant. As long as there was no expulsion, most other punishments were acceptable.

Class D didn't have that many class points to begin with, so in the end, it wouldn't make much of a difference; if they were deducted, so be it. At most, they could pay some medical expenses? After all, it was three against one; Hoshino really couldn't imagine what other tricks Class C could have up their sleeves.

Of course, it wasn't that Hoshino was afraid of trouble, but rather that if he didn't have any solid evidence, there was no point in hitting a wall head-on.

They hadn't found any clues from the start, so if they spent all their energy looking for them now, they would surely have to pay a price! And even if they won, what would it prove? At most, it would show that the other side had made a false accusation and provoked the fight first. The three students from Class C would get a two-week suspension and some class points would be deducted. Frankly, that kind of punishment wasn't worth the effort.

It was an undeniable fact that Sudo had injured three students from Class C! Even if Class C were punished, it was impossible for Sudo to be completely off the hook!

Moreover, with Sudo's personality, if he didn't change, he would definitely cause bigger problems in the future. If paying a price this time could teach Sudo a lesson, it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.

"...Hmm, I think I understand." President Horikita shifted his gaze, looking pensive.

Seeing that there didn't seem to be anything else, Hoshino lowered his head again.

"...You certainly know how to keep your cool." Vice President Nagumo, who was nearby, looked over with interest as Hoshino calmly continued writing his documents.

"...It just doesn't seem to have anything to do with me, does it? There's nothing I can really do..." Hoshino pondered for a moment without looking up.

"...Heh heh heh, who knows?" Vice President Nagumo seemed to have a hidden meaning in his words, a frivolous smile still playing on his lips.

Hoshino was walking back from the Student Council, lost in thought about Ryuen, when he suddenly passed a fountain and discovered the curious combination of Ayanokoji and Kushida.

They were sitting by the fountain taking a break, while Ike and Yamauchi were also sitting nearby looking exhausted. The group was chatting about something, likely the status of their information gathering for the day.

"Yo, Hoshino, finished with the Student Council?" Ayanokoji noticed Hoshino passing by and waved a greeting.

"Yeah! How are things going on your end?"

"Average. No real progress." Ayanokoji stood with one hand on his hip, looking at Hoshino with a helpless expression.

"Hey, Hoshino-kun, did you hear any clues at the Student Council?" Kushida stood up from the side of the fountain.

"...Nothing. The Student Council just confirmed some of the deliberation procedures; there wasn't anything useful." Hoshino recalled the situation, but couldn't think of any clues.

"Sigh, maybe Sudo is lying after all!"

"That's true!"

Ike and Yamauchi, standing nearby, also seemed to be giving up.

After returning to the dormitory, Hoshino immediately took the camera out of his bag, cleaned it briefly, and plugged it into a power source, hoping it wasn't broken.

Half an hour later, Hoshino tried to turn it on again. This time, the camera powered up successfully.

He searched for the auto-saved video and watched it on fast-forward, repeatedly scanning for the event. Finally, at a certain point, he found the footage of the incident:

The three students from Class C had been waiting there for a long time. Only after a while did Sudo arrive, looking dissatisfied.

"Hey, why did you call me here? I still have training to do!"

"Heh heh, I'm afraid you won't be training anymore!... You idiot, I don't know what kind of tricks you used to become a regular player..."

"Huh? What are you talking about? Nonsense! The only reason you didn't become regulars is because your skills are trash!..."

"Hey, if you didn't pull some stunt, could you have beaten us?"

"Disgusting. How could an idiot like you even become a regular player?..."

"You bastard..."

"..."

Hoshino didn't quite know what to say; was it really over such a trivial matter? Having never been interested in anything, Hoshino didn't know what to make of it.

Perhaps basketball was important to Sudo, but such a small thing... Hoshino truly couldn't empathize.

One could only say that Sudo's temper was still too poor, and he was far too impulsive!

However, the other party had indeed provoked him first, and they had indeed struck first; looking at it this way, Sudo had actually grown a little! Hoshino suddenly felt a sense of relief.

At the end of the video, a girl with long pink hair appeared in the corner of the screen, though she didn't seem to be wearing her glasses as she usually did...

"Hm? How did Class B get involved in this?"

The next morning, as Hoshino was passing by the sports field, he suddenly discovered an unexpected notice on a nearby electronic bulletin board:

Witnesses to the incident at the club building, or anyone with relevant information, please contact Kanzaki of Class 1-B.

How did this end up having something to do with Class B again? Hoshino was a bit dumbfounded.

How could a fight between Class C and Class D involve Class B?

Rumor had it that Ichinose had a great personality and loved helping others.

Could it be that because of this reason, Class B had gotten involved?

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Hoshino shook his head and extinguished the idea; there had to be a limit to how foolish one could be!

But if that were the case, then things were truly complicated, as it actually involved Class B as well!

Yet, the video he watched yesterday didn't seem to have anything to do with Class B at all? Hoshino was suddenly a bit confused.