The Gender Divide in Class D

"Hmm... Is there a reward if I guess right?"

"Sorry, no." Hasebe reached out to pinch Takahashi's cheek as she spoke. "Besides, weren't you the one who told me to keep an eye on Ibuki? I barely slept last night. I'm exhausted."

"Tell me about it. What exactly happened?"

"Oh, first she rummaged through Horikita's, Kushida's, and Karuizawa's bags. She was probably looking for the Representative Card, but she didn't find it."

"So she was trying to cause a panic in our class. Do you know where Horikita keeps the Representative Card?"

"Hmm... I think she always keeps it on her. I've only ever seen her take it out to check in."

"Good. You can go back now. Remember, don't tell anyone else."

"Got it!"

Watching Hasebe walk away, Takahashi thought, After the Special Exam ends and we're back at school, I should take Hasebe out for a good time. Ryuuen's provided the points, after all.

When Takahashi returned to camp, the class had already gathered.

Hirata stood beside Karuizawa, who was being supported by Kushida. Her eyes were swollen and red, and she was trembling with anger. She must have been crying for quite a while.

Takahashi thought, ←_← Tsk, tsk, it's just a pair of panties. Just you wait. Your big brother Takahashi will steal Ayanokouji's panties tonight and put them in your bag.

Of course, he was only joking.

"Even though we didn't find anything, that doesn't clear you guys of suspicion. If we keep living in the same place, what if another girl's underwear gets stolen?" Shinohara shouted at the boys.

"But we're all classmates. It'd be a hassle if we split into two camps and the boys and girls lived separately, wouldn't it? And the exam will be over soon. We're all on the same team. Shouldn't we trust and help each other?" Hirata urged.

"I know that, but I really can't stand living in the same place as a panties thief. What if the panties thief steals again? No one can guarantee he won't, right?"

"I absolutely can't stand it either," Karuizawa said, shaking her head. Since the victim herself felt that way, Hirata couldn't be too forceful. Meanwhile, Shinohara picked up a branch and drew a line on the ground.

"We still think the panties thief is one of the boys, so we're marking off an area here to separate the boys' and girls' activity zones. Boys aren't allowed into the girls' area without permission."

"What the hell? You're just slapping the title of Panties Thief on us! We let you search our bags and check our bodies, didn't we? Do you still need to divide up the activity zones?"

"He could've hidden them somewhere other than a bag or a pocket. Anyway, you boys are all perverts. Until we find the Panties Thief, none of you are allowed in the girls' area except Hirata. Come on, move over there!"

After she finished speaking, Shinohara began ordering the boys to move their tents.

The boys obviously weren't going to accept being told to move their tents, so one of them started arguing back at Shinohara.

"If you suspect us, then move the tents yourselves. We're the ones who set up your tents, and you don't know how much trouble it is to put up a big one. We're not moving them over some ridiculous excuse."

"Yeah. If you girls don't want to be near us, move your own tents. But if you mess up our luggage while moving them, we won't put up with it."

"If you suspect us, then move your own tents. We're not helping you."

"So what? We suspect you. And from now on, you're not using the showers either. It's hard enough to share one with a group of boys that might include a pervert."

The boys immediately responded with a furious barrage of angry curses.

Shinohara realized things were getting out of hand and hurriedly appealed to Hirata. "Hirata, this is for Karuizawa's sake, too. She's your girlfriend, isn't she? You have to help!"

"I understand. I'll help. But please, girls, think it over carefully before you decide."

"Thank you, Hirata. That's wonderful, isn't it, Karuizawa?"

"Yeah. Hirata's the only one we can trust."

Karuizawa was delighted by Shinohara's words and those of the girls around her. Blushing a little, she lowered her head.

"Heh. Hirata's the only one you can trust? Maybe Hirata's the Panties Thief you're all talking about." Perhaps stung by the girls' words, one of the boys said this.

"What? There's no way Hirata could be the Panties Thief. Are you an idiot?"

"Why not? Just because Hirata's the victim's boyfriend doesn't mean he can't be the culprit. That proves nothing."

The boys voiced their complaints, but in the circumstances, their words were all treated as if they'd fallen on deaf ears. Everyone except Hirata was under suspicion, so it couldn't be helped. The situation rapidly reached its climax. Karuizawa and Shinohara had taken control.

"Wait. I have an objection to your plan, especially you two, Shinohara and Karuizawa."

Amid the tense, icy atmosphere, Horikita calmly expressed her strong displeasure with Karuizawa.

"What's the matter, Horikita? Are you unhappy with what just happened?" Since they were both girls, Shinohara spoke to Horikita in a fairly mild tone.

"I don't mind dividing up the living areas by gender. Since the culprit hasn't been found, it's only natural to keep our distance from boys who might well be the culprit. However, I don't trust Hirata. In other words, I can't rule out the possibility that he's the Panties Thief, so I can't accept a rule that lets only him enter the girls' area."

"There's no way Hirata would do something like that! He's Karuizawa's boyfriend. Don't you get that?"

"That's just your personal opinion. Don't force me to share it."

Karuizawa couldn't accept Horikita's attitude and stepped closer to her.

"Hirata absolutely couldn't be the culprit. You don't even have a decent friend, let alone a boyfriend. How would you know?"

"Don't make me repeat myself. If you can't accept the boys coming over, then I'm saying I can't accept him being the only one allowed over. Is there a problem with that?" Horikita wasn't swayed by the provocation and answered calmly.

"Then let me ask you this. Is there any boy other than Hirata that we can trust? Is there?"

"I won't make a thoughtless remark without considering it first. There's an easy solution: just add one more boy. Then there'll be two boys to handle things that we girls can't, and the boys can keep an eye on each other, too."

"Don't joke around! My panties were stolen! I was violated by a boy! Do you understand? If we let the culprit in, who knows what he might do to us!"

"You're partly to blame, too. Maybe your panties were stolen because you let your guard down."

"We all left our bags together! What makes you say I let my guard down?"

"So you must live as if you think, 'It doesn't matter if my panties get stolen,' or 'If they get stolen, there's nothing I can do about it.' Besides, it seems like quite a few people dislike you."

In other words, Horikita was considering the possibility that the thief hadn't stolen the panties for some simple reason. Perhaps someone had taken the opportunity to vent their usual resentment toward Karuizawa and deliberately humiliate her. She might have been following that line of thought as she tried to figure out who the culprit was.

Horikita was free to reason however she liked, but pushing that theory onto Karuizawa in public was obviously inappropriate.

The fact that Horikita had thought of this proved how sharp her mind was, but she was lacking in her ability to deal with people. This behavior had exposed her weakness.