Bad things always seemed to happen one after another. Teacher Chabashira, who usually did little more than make the bare minimum of announcements, had some news for Class C (Ju Ji) as they gathered for the morning assembly the next day—the last thing they wanted to hear.
"Today, I have something to report. It seems there was a bit of a dispute at school a few days ago. Sudo, who's sitting over there, apparently got into a conflict with some students from Class D. To put it simply, they got into a fight."
The classroom immediately erupted into chatter. Sudo's argument with Class D, the possibility that he might be suspended depending on how serious the incident was, and the impending deduction of Class Points were all laid bare before them.
Teacher Chabashira's calm, emotionless demeanor even had a certain beauty to it. She was almost like a grown-up version of Suzune.
There was no bias in her words; she had maintained a neutral stance throughout. The students present had no grounds to complain.
"Um... why hasn't this matter been resolved?"
Hirata, the class representative, raised an entirely reasonable question.
"The complaint was filed by Class D. They claimed they were attacked without provocation. But when the school investigated the facts, Sudo said that wasn't true. He said the students from Class D had called him out to fight."
"I didn't do anything wrong. It was just self-defense."
"But you don't have any proof, do you?"
"I don't have proof right now, but Shinomiya will help me find some!"
After Teacher Chabashira questioned him, Sudo got so flustered that he blurted out what was going on. That proved Ju Ji had been right not to tell Sudo the whole truth. He really couldn't keep anything to himself. He was only suited to charging into battle, not to being a strategist. Though Ju Ji wasn't suited to that, either.
"Shinomiya, you say? He might actually be able to help. Then let's put this matter aside for now. In short, since we still don't know what really happened, a decision has been postponed. The outcome could change dramatically depending on which side's testimony is believed."
"I won't accept any verdict other than innocent. In fact, I even want compensation."
"You may say that, but your credibility isn't particularly high at this point. If there really is a witness who saw what you experienced, that could change things. So, if any of you saw them fighting, could you please raise your hand?"
Teacher Chabashira continued her questioning in an even tone. Just as she was about to speak again, someone suddenly stood up.
"Um, teacher, I'm the person Sudo noticed at the time. I was taking selfies, and I happened to see Sudo and the others fighting. I can testify that the students from Class D threw the first punch. I still have the pictures from that moment, but they're on my camera, so I'll need to get them developed."
"Sakura, you really saw it? That's great!"
The old Sakura would never have stood up to testify on Sudo's behalf. Her actions now showed how much she had grown.
"I have to say, Sudo, you're pretty lucky to have a witness in your own class. Sakura, may I ask why you stood up to testify for Sudo?"
It was only natural for Chabashira to ask. Most witnesses would simply stand by and do nothing, even if they saw violence like this. They wouldn't come forward to testify for the victim.
"Of course it's because Sakura and I are friends."
"Is that true?"
Teacher Chabashira clearly didn't believe Sudo.
"Everyone's goal is to get promoted to Class A, right? If this incident is ruled to be Sudo's fault, our Class Points will be deducted. That would be a huge obstacle to our promotion. I can help him, so that's why I came forward to testify."
As she said this, Sakura glanced toward Ju Ji. So even Teacher Chabashira immediately understood that the "him" she meant wasn't Sudo.
"That's all I have to say. The final ruling should be made next Tuesday. Whether you can turn things around by then depends on you. The school is looking for witnesses, so the homeroom teachers are probably already explaining the situation in detail to their classes."
Even with a witness, Teacher Chabashira hadn't concluded that they could win the case. It seemed she understood the situation in greater detail than they had expected. After all, a single photograph really couldn't prove everything that had happened. That much was true.
From the school's perspective, this was probably unavoidable. Sudo had insisted he was innocent, so it was reasonable for the school to look for witnesses to uncover the truth. Still, this would affect Sudo's reputation at school.
For Sudo, who had wanted to keep the matter under wraps, it was even worse news. His hope of settling things privately was doomed. He would surely reflect deeply on what he'd done later... probably.
"What? So Sudo was framed?"
"If Sakura's willing to testify for you, we'll believe you this once."
"Good thing Sakura was there taking pictures."
"But can this one photo really prove Sudo's innocence?"
"We need to check it before we can decide. Airi, could you show me the pictures on your digital camera?"
"Of course."
There were quite a few photos saved on Sakura's digital camera. They were private, after all, so Kikyo was the only one who looked through them at first.
"Found it. This should be the one."
She quickly found the photo of three students from Class D holding Sudo down, apparently about to attack him, and showed it to the whole class.
"It's true. Sudo was framed."
"We need to get the school to explain itself."
"Wait, everyone, calm down. Think about it: this photo only proves that the students from Class D hit Sudo. It doesn't prove that the students from Class C (Ju Ji) struck first. So let's look for more clues. Is that okay, Shinomiya?"
Unlike the other boys, who were filled with righteous indignation, Hirata looked at the photo from an outside perspective and pointed out the problem. That was the limitation of a still photograph. A video would have been better.
"Hirata, you don't believe me?"
"Calm down, Sudo. You're making a scene. Hirata's right: we need to find more evidence to prove you're innocent. Otherwise, students from both sides will just get punished."
"Fine. If that's what you say, Shinomiya."
Sudo looked extremely frustrated. They had found a witness, and yet it still wasn't enough to prove he was innocent. His frustration was understandable.
"Everyone, let's help Sudo look for witnesses. If anyone in this class, among our friends, or among the upperclassmen saw what happened, please contact me. I'm counting on you."
She'd said almost exactly the same thing as Teacher Chabashira, but it had a completely different effect on the class. Facing a crowd was a talent Kikyo had been born with. Her shining presence was almost captivating...
Before you continue