Inspection

"Anyway, stealing underwear is disgusting and despicable. Hirata, I think this is a very serious problem. We can't possibly live in the same place as a group of people who might include an underwear thief. It would make us feel disgusted, both psychologically and physically." Shinohara crossed her arms and spoke fiercely, looking ready to blow up at any moment.

"That really is a serious problem." Hirata nodded, rubbing his chin as he listened to Shinohara.

"So, Hirata, could you come up with a way to find the culprit? Karuizawa is your girlfriend, after all, isn't she? You must be angry too, right?"

"Well... there isn't any evidence proving that one of the boys in our class stole them. It's possible Karuizawa lost them by accident or forgot where she put them, isn't it?"

"Yeah, exactly! You need evidence, right? Don't just accuse us without any!"

The boys behind Hirata all shouted their objections at Shinohara.

"I really don't want to suspect that anyone in our class would steal something, especially underwear."

It wasn't so much that Hirata was protecting the boys as that he didn't want to suspect his classmates and wanted to preserve the unity of the class.

"I know Hirata isn't the culprit... but the other boys might be. If they all think they're innocent, then let us check their luggage first."

It seemed the girls hadn't changed their minds. They were convinced that one of the boys had done something so disgusting. Of course, it was only natural for them to think that way. A girl probably wouldn't steal another girl's underwear, would she?

"What? You've got to be kidding! Why should you check our luggage? We don't have to put up with that. Refuse, Hirata!" Ike shouted.

"Could we boys gather and discuss this first? Would you give us a little time?" The situation was giving Hirata a headache, so he had no choice but to ask Shinohara.

"Since you put it that way, Hirata... All right. I'll also ask Karuizawa if she might have forgotten them somewhere. But if you can't come to an agreement, we'll report it to Teacher Chabashira and have her check the boys' luggage."

After Shinohara left them with those words, everyone temporarily dispersed.

"Everyone, gather around."

Hirata immediately gathered all the boys and decided to discuss the matter in front of the tent.

"Let's just ignore what those girls said. Being suspected of stealing underwear feels awful. I don't want to be branded with an accusation that's completely unfounded."

"None of us would steal Karuizawa's underwear."

"Right?" Yamauchi and the other boys chimed in, looking at one another.

It wasn't because Karuizawa wasn't pretty or cute. Everyone knew she was Hirata's girlfriend, and if they were going to target someone, they'd be more likely to go after Kushida or Horikita than Karuizawa, who already had a boyfriend.

"I'm not planning to suspect any of you either, but I don't think ignoring the problem will solve it..." Hirata said, looking a little embarrassed. "So the best way to prove you're innocent is to take out your luggage and let them check it openly."

As he spoke, Hirata took out his own luggage.

"I'll let the girls check my luggage first. Then you can reluctantly follow my lead and let them check yours... Would that work?"

"B-but..." Ike started to say something, but he stammered and ultimately fell silent.

"If this matter doesn't get resolved, you don't want the girls in the class suspecting you of being an underwear-stealing pervert forever, do you?"

Hirata hoped to lead by example and then get the boys to finish the checks with him. But no one—not even the boys—thought Hirata could be the one stealing underwear. After all, Karuizawa, whose underwear had gone missing, was his girlfriend. Stealing your own girlfriend's underwear could be called rather contradictory, in a way.

Still, if Hirata didn't open his luggage for the girls to inspect, the classmates who didn't want to be checked might start wondering whether Karuizawa's underwear was in Hirata's luggage.

In the end, with Hirata leading the way, the boys all got their luggage in order and went to have the girls check it.

"Hey, we'll let you check our luggage, but we have a condition," Yukimura told the girls. "We'd like Hirata to check our things. Of course, you can watch from the side. We have personal items in our luggage, and you girls probably don't want to handle those, either, right?"

The girls exchanged glances, then agreed to Yukimura's request.

After that, the boys lined up to have Hirata check their luggage.

At the back of the line...

"What's wrong?" Yamauchi asked, seeing Ike staring at his luggage with a look of disbelief.

"Ah, n-no..."

Ike turned his back to Hirata and the others, checked the contents of his bag again, then hurriedly zipped it up.

"Kanji?"

Ike's face had gone pale, and his body was stiff. He stood motionless like an ice sculpture that had been kept in cold storage for ages.

Seeing Ike's suspicious behavior, Yamauchi joked:

"Don't tell me... you're the one who stole them, Ike?"

"I-I didn't!"

Ike denied it in a panic, clutching his bag and shaking his head.

But Ike's behavior and reaction were far too strange.

"You wouldn't..."

"What? Are you suspecting me?"

"No, we're not suspecting you... Just let us see your bag."

"Hey!"

Yamauchi quickly snatched Ike's luggage, unzipped it, and found... a pair of underwear that definitely wasn't a men's style.

"I-I didn't steal it! Someone must have planted it in my bag to frame me!"

"The girls aren't going to believe that excuse..."

Yamauchi looked at Ike's helplessness with a mixture of pity and amusement.

"But I really didn't steal any underwear! Believe me, it's true! Why would there be u-underwear in my luggage? Someone must have set me up!"

"Well, there's nothing you can do. You'd better go confess to Hirata on your own."

"No! If I do that, the girls will think I'm a pervert!"

"Then I don't know what to tell you." Yamauchi gave Ike a mischievous glance, then joined the line to have Hirata check his luggage.

"Takahashi, Ayanokouji, you believe I didn't steal the underwear, right?"

"I believe you. After all, if you were going to steal underwear, you'd probably only think of stealing Kushida's." Takahashi patted Ike on the shoulder, yawned, and joined the line too.

"Ayanokouji..." Ike turned to Ayanokouji as his last hope.