The Sakura Incident

"Are you not going to keep Sudo?" Only after Ryuuen had left the Class D Counseling Room, with the agreement signed, did Chabashira-sensei ask hesitantly.

"Keep him? Why?" Hoshino asked, puzzled.

"His athletic ability could definitely come in handy..." Chabashira-sensei seemed about to say more.

"...I think I've already helped him once." Hoshino cut her off and turned his gaze toward the window.

Last time, that had cost him 300,000 points!

"..."

"...I'm not saying we have to make him leave. Let's leave this one to Ayanokoji and the others." Hoshino was still very "grudge-holding" about what had happened on the morning of the hearing!

With that, Hoshino no longer had much reason to care about the matter. Whether Sudo stayed or not had nothing to do with him.

Hoshino could sense Chabashira-sensei's displeasure, but so what?

At least Hoshino felt that, for now, his value far outweighed Sudo's. Chabashira-sensei should have enough sense to recognize that. Besides, Hoshino still had a condition he could leverage, so there was no need to be afraid of her!

"Haah—" The next day, Hoshino got up unusually early and left the dormitory.

The matter with Sudo had basically become none of his business.

Ryuuen had gotten quite the deal out of this! Eight hundred thousand private points a month, and a precaution against Ryuuen "settling the score later" to boot. Hoshino wanted to give himself a pat on the back for being so clever! Let's see Ryuuen try anything now. He could finally relax.

On the way to the classroom, Hoshino was so excited he felt like letting loose, if not for the few people scattered here and there.

"G-good morning!" A timid, faint voice sounded as he opened the door and entered the classroom.

Hoshino paused, glancing at the pink-haired girl sitting not far away before reflexively looking around.

"G-good morning, Hoshino!"

"...Oh, good morning, Sakura." Only when he heard the girl say his name did Hoshino come to his senses.

He was a little surprised that Sakura had greeted him.

"...Thank you for what you did last time!"

What had happened last time? It was probably about her camera.

"Uh, it was nothing. I was glad to help!"

"...Um... Hoshino... you're a member of the Student Council, right? There's something I..."

The girl's voice grew quieter and quieter, until Hoshino could barely hear her.

"Yes. Is there something you need?"

"Um... um..." Her eyes seemed full of uncertainty.

Hoshino didn't know if Sakura had approached him to thank him for last time or because of something troubling her, but her hesitation had caught his attention.

Hoshino knew a little about social anxiety. If Sakura was forcing herself to approach a Student Council member despite her fear of talking to people, it probably wasn't anything trivial.

"Okay! What is it? Take your time." Hoshino lowered his voice, hoping to sound as gentle as possible.

"Lately... I keep receiving... all kinds of photos... of me being followed! And... some... letters from unknown senders..."

"Um, would you mind letting me take a look?"

"...Okay..."

After a long hesitation, the girl slowly pulled a stack of photos from her schoolbag and handed them over with trembling hands.

Wow! These photos... were pretty bold! Hoshino was surprised that Sakura was so beautiful without her glasses.

"Ahem... There are so many photos. If you don't want to expose your privacy, just pick out the ones you don't mind showing me. Also, about the photo you used as evidence last time—you can remove the earlier ones and just keep the last one!" Hoshino cleared his throat awkwardly and reminded her.

"O-okay!" Sakura's face turned bright red too. She lowered her head shyly and answered haltingly.

Was this girl a little too trusting? How could she just hand over anything like that?

"Are you free right now?"

"I-I am!" Hoshino let out a sigh of relief.

As he spoke, Hoshino returned to his seat, put his schoolbag down, and took out the books he needed.

"D-done!" A minute or two later, Hoshino heard that faint voice and went over to Sakura's desk again.

He took the photos and looked through them one by one. Sure enough, many had been taken from a hidden angle, and a few even showed Kushida talking to her. This was a very serious matter!

"Would it be okay if I took pictures of these?"

"Ah... yes!"

After getting her permission, Hoshino took some photos and sent them to President Horikita.

"Keep these photos safe for now. Could you come by the Student Council Room after school? We should begin investigating this afternoon, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can!"

"O-okay!"

One thing after another?

Hoshino suddenly felt like there really had been a lot going on lately!

During class, Hoshino's thoughts had already drifted far away.

This was pretty bold! How could someone dare to take secret photos at this school?

Wait, wasn't this exactly the sort of thing this school liked to do...

"Hoshino, what happened?" President Horikita hurried into the Student Council Room.

"It's that girl from our class who testified a few days ago. She may have been followed and photographed."

"That girl... is she all right?" Secretary Tachibana, who had followed President Horikita in, looked worried.

"So far, it doesn't seem like she's been physically harmed. That's the one bit of good news."

Given Sakura's personality, she would probably endure any harm without saying a word. At least they'd caught this early!

"She'll come here later to submit the evidence. Secretary Tachibana, could I leave it to you then?"

"...All right." She'd been a little confused at first, but after glancing at President Horikita beside her, Secretary Tachibana seemed to understand what Hoshino meant.

"Hoshino, do you have time? If you're free, I'll leave this matter to you and Secretary Tachibana for now." President Horikita hurried back to her seat.

"Sure!"

"Okay!"