Class C's Offensive

"Calm down, Sudo." Ayanokouji looked at the coffee on the table. Sudo had just spilled it by slamming his hand down.

"How am I supposed to stay calm? I'm going to lose my spot as a regular on the basketball team! Ayanokouji, Kushida, you have to help me."

"The school has given you until next Tuesday to come up with evidence. That means Class C doesn't have any evidence either. The only evidence they can point to is the injuries on those three students, but since all three of them were injured by you in a three-on-one fight, the school can't make a clear judgment. So they've given you a week to find evidence." Ayanokouji calmly analyzed the situation. "If you can't find any, that means you'll end up taking the blame for something you didn't do."

It seemed that Class C had been keeping tabs on Class D since the start of the school year. They knew Sudo had a bad temper and wasn't very bright, so they'd picked him as their target.

"This is outrageous! I'll never forgive those three cowards from Class C!" Sudo snapped the ballpoint pen on the table in half.

"Uh..." Ayanokouji watched without changing his expression. He wanted to say, I understand why you're angry, but that's my pen.

"Sudo, were there any witnesses when you got into the fight?" Kushida asked.

"Witnesses? I did sense something going on while we were fighting, but I didn't pay attention to it."

"You mean there might have been a witness?"

"Yeah... I just had a feeling someone was watching us."

"Then tomorrow, we can talk to Horikita and the others and look for witnesses together. It's the best option we have right now."

"N-no... We can't tell Horikita," Sudo said in a panic.

"Why?" Kushida asked, confused.

"N-nothing."

"You're saying you're going to look for a witness who Sudo only thinks might have been there?" Takahashi said, handing Kushida a cup of hot milk.

"What else can we do? Is there a better option?" After leaving Ayanokouji's dorm, Kushida hadn't gone back to her own room. Instead, she'd come to Takahashi's and told him everything that had happened there.

Takahashi couldn't help shaking his head. It was one possible approach, but putting aside whether the witness even existed, finding them would take a long time. Of course, Takahashi could find them quickly.

"You're all letting Sudo's words lead you astray. You're all focusing on the fight."

The real focus should have been what the three students from Class C had said. If they could get the three of them to admit they'd lied, that would be the most effective approach. Takahashi didn't say the rest aloud. He only repeated it to himself. He was a man of principle and integrity.

Glancing at his phone, Takahashi said to Kushida, "It's late. You should go back and get some rest." He still had to reply to Hasebe, Ichinose, and Hoshinomiya.

"No. I'm sleeping here tonight."

Takahashi: "..."

"That bitch Horikita deserves to die. Why doesn't she just go die already?"

She's turned my place into her new outlet for venting, Takahashi thought.

He patted the back of the darkened beauty in his arms. "Uh... Vent all you want, but don't bite me!"

"There's something I need to tell you today. A dispute took place at school a few days ago. Our classmate Sudo seems to have gotten into a conflict with students from Class C. To put it simply, they got into a fight."

As soon as Teacher Chabashira finished speaking, the classroom erupted. She calmly explained the ins and outs of the dispute between Sudo and Class C, including the possible suspension Sudo faced under school rules and the resulting deduction of Class Points.

Takahashi sat quietly at the back of the classroom, watching Teacher Chabashira at the front. Her expression was composed and completely devoid of emotion. She spoke impartially, always maintaining the school's neutral stance. There was even something uniquely beautiful about her demeanor, Takahashi thought.

"Teacher... May I ask why no conclusion has been reached yet?" Hirata was the first to ask.

"Class C filed the complaint. They claim they were attacked without provocation, but when the school investigated, Sudo gave a different account. He insists he didn't start it; rather, the students from Class C called him out to fight."

"I didn't do anything wrong! It was self-defense, self-defense!" Sudo protested heatedly.

The other students shot him cold looks, while those in the front row whispered among themselves.

"But you don't have any evidence, do you?" someone questioned.

"Evidence? Where am I supposed to get something like that?" Sudo looked utterly helpless.

"In other words, the truth remains unclear, so we can't reach a conclusion for now. The punishment could be very different depending on who was at fault," Teacher Chabashira explained.

"I won't accept anything except being found innocent! I'm still waiting for my compensation!" Sudo said, puffing out his cheeks.

"You may say that, but based on what we know right now, your account isn't very credible. Things might be different if there were witnesses. Did anyone see them fighting? If so, please raise your hand."

Teacher Chabashira's gaze swept across the classroom, but no one responded. Takahashi furrowed his brow slightly, quietly considering what seemed suspicious about the situation.

"Sudo, unfortunately, it looks like our class doesn't have any witnesses," Teacher Chabashira said, looking at him.

Sudo dropped his head dejectedly and mumbled, "Seems like it."

Under Teacher Chabashira's doubtful gaze, Sudo seemed to lose heart.

"To help find witnesses, all the homeroom teachers are now informing their classes about this," Teacher Chabashira added.

"What? The news has already spread?" Sudo asked in surprise.

Sudo's plan to settle the dispute in private had completely fallen through.

"Depending on whether witnesses and evidence are found, the final decision will be announced next Tuesday. That's all for today's homeroom." With that, Teacher Chabashira turned and left the classroom.

Once Teacher Chabashira was gone, Ike couldn't help speaking up. "This whole mess with Sudo is such a pain! If our Class Points get deducted because of him, we'll be back to zero this month!"

The classroom erupted all over again. Everyone started talking at once, worried about losing Class Points. "How are we supposed to get by this month if we have no points?" "We barely had any to begin with, and now things are even more hopeless." Complaint after complaint was directed at Sudo.

Takahashi, who had no intention of getting involved, packed up his schoolbag.

"Hey, aren't you going to do something?" Horikita asked.

"What can I do?" Without paying Horikita any further attention, Takahashi stood up, grabbed Sakura by the back of her collar, and lifted her to her feet. "Let's go."

At Takahashi's words, Sakura hurriedly picked up her schoolbag and followed him out of the classroom.