"How's Shuichi, Kushida?"
"Don't worry, Miyake. Kanda is resting right now. The doctor said he may have hit his head when he fell, causing a mild concussion. Sudo just left, too."
Hearing that, Miyake relaxed a little. A mild concussion—thank goodness. With an injury like that, he'd be fine as long as he rested and took it easy.
"I'm glad he's okay. I'm glad he's okay."
Hirata also let out a huge sigh of relief. When he heard that Shuichi Kanda had been knocked unconscious, his hand had slipped and dropped his phone on the ground, startling everyone nearby.
"Kushida, let me stay and look after Kanda."
"No, Hirata. You have important things to take care of, don't you? Please leave looking after him to me."
Kushida gently turned Hirata down.
Seeing that Hirata still wasn't ready to give up, Miyake decided it was time to step in.
"Then I'll leave him in your hands, Kushida. By the way, is there anything you need us to do?"
At Miyake's question, Kushida thought for a moment before making a request.
"Could you collect the book I left in the library? I'd really appreciate it."
"No problem! Let me know as soon as Shuichi wakes up."
Miyake readily agreed, then pulled Hirata along as he left.
Looking at Shuichi Kanda lying in the hospital bed, Kushida smiled again. There's no way I'm letting you have a chance to win over the whole school, Hirata.
The hospital room was so comfortable that Kanda slept straight through until the afternoon. When he woke up, he didn't open his eyes right away. Instead, he first thought back over what had happened. It was a habit he'd always had.
Once he'd sorted out what had happened, Kanda slowly opened his eyes. The familiar smell of disinfectant told him where he was.
Back in the hospital after a month. How strange.
He opened his eyes and looked around, then spotted a beautiful girl with short blonde hair dozing beside his bed.
"Kushida?"
Kanda's quiet call woke Kushida up at once. She looked over at him, visibly excited.
"Kanda, you're awake! Does anything hurt?"
"My head's still a little dizzy."
Kanda played along, raising his right hand to his head and rubbing it as if it hurt.
"Dizzy? Wait here. I'll get the doctor."
With that, Kushida stood up and left the room.
Chapter 51: Thanks, Kushida Kikyo
I didn't expect Kushida to look after me.
Kanda felt a little conflicted.
Going by the way Kushida Kikyo acted at school, there was no way she should have ended up in Class D. The school's class placements might not be absolutely fair, but they were at least relatively fair.
So it was clear that she wasn't as simple as she seemed. Perhaps there was a side to her that no one knew about, and it was probably something serious.
Kanda had concluded that she was no ordinary person.
That was why, up until now, his interactions with her had been superficial. Aside from asking her for information, he never went out of his way to approach her.
And yet, after he'd pretended to be unconscious this time, she was the one watching over him at his bedside.
Great, now I owe her. And I owe her a favor, of all people.
In Kanda's original plan, after Yahiko Totsuka attacked him, news of the incident was supposed to spread through the class group chat, courtesy of Ike or Yamauchi, those two troublemakers who never knew when to leave well enough alone.
Then, once they heard that Kanda had been knocked unconscious, Hirata or Miyake would surely come to check on him. That way, when Kanda woke up, either Miyake or Hirata would be at his bedside.
He didn't mind owing either of them a favor.
So things didn't exactly go according to plan, huh?
What happened while I was asleep?
But before Kanda could think it over, the hospital room door opened. Kushida Kikyo had returned with the doctor.
"How are you feeling? Is anything bothering you?"
"My head's a little dizzy. Other than that, I don't think anything's wrong."
After hearing Kanda's description, the doctor nodded.
"You probably hit your head on the ground when you fell, which caused a mild concussion. You'll be fine after a couple of days of rest. I recommend staying in your dorm and taking it easy for the next two days. Don't go to school."
Now that's a nice bonus. Kanda nodded.
Oh, right. He'd forgotten to mention that medical care at this school was free. After all, the school couldn't just let its students suffer if they got sick while they had no points.
"Yes, thank you, Doctor."
"You're welcome. Get some rest. You can leave once you're feeling a little better."
After giving Kanda a few more instructions, the doctor left the room. Kanda let out a sigh of relief.
"You seem to be afraid of doctors, Kanda."
Hearing that, Kanda paused, then laughed. "I've been hospitalized before."
Kushida didn't ask any more questions, and Kanda didn't explain further.
"By the way, I already told Miyake that you're awake. He should be here soon." Kushida smiled sweetly from the chair beside his bed.
"Thanks, Kushida."
Kanda's expression turned a little serious. Whatever her intentions might be, what she'd done had helped him. He'd find a chance to repay her.
"We're friends, so it's only natural that we help each other."
Kushida's reply left Kanda at a loss for words. What on earth did you do to get sorted into Class D?
To keep things from getting awkward, Kanda started a new topic and told her about some of the things he'd seen while rehabilitating at the hospital.
As Kanda and Kushida Kikyo were chatting, the hospital room door opened, and Miyake appeared.
Seeing Kanda chatting and laughing with Kushida Kikyo, Miyake's tense expression immediately relaxed.
"Hey, you look pretty good, Shuichi."
"You sure know what to say."
Kanda glared at him, then prepared to leave the hospital.
After all, he was a concussion patient now. He couldn't walk by himself, and he couldn't exactly ask Kushida to help him back to the dorm. They weren't that close.
"Give me a hand. I'm ready to leave."
"Don't you want to rest a little longer?"
Miyake looked puzzled, but he came over anyway, bringing Kanda's school blazer from the clothes rack.
Kushida figured Kanda probably didn't like the atmosphere in the hospital.
After putting on his shoes, Kanda took his uniform jacket. Then he draped one arm over Miyake's back, and Miyake put an arm around him to support him.
"I'm a little hungry, so I want to get something to eat. Kushida, why don't you join us? I'll treat you today to thank you for looking after me."
Kushida had been looking after him for so long that she probably hadn't eaten. Since Kanda was already planning to get something to eat, he invited her along.
"Then I'll take you up on that."
Kushida pressed her hands together beneath her chin, smiling with her eyes closed. She even tilted her head and leaned against the back of one hand.
After the meal, the three of them went their separate ways. Miyake took Kanda back to the dorm, while Kushida still had other things to do.
"Get some rest. I'll come get you at dinnertime. If you need anything, call me. I'm skipping club activities this afternoon."
"Yeah, thanks, Akito. I don't think I need anything else."
"Anyway, I'll be in my room all afternoon."
After Miyake left, Kanda let out a long breath. Pretending to be sick was more exhausting than he'd expected.
Come to think of it, he hadn't read a single page of Hyouka, the book he'd brought to the library. Kamuro had caught him as soon as he got there and made him explain the problem. Then he'd put on a whole performance, and after that, he never got the chance to go back to the library and retrieve his book.
Thinking of that, Kanda took out his phone.
[Did you pick up my copy of Hyouka?]
Naturally, he sent the message to Kamuro. Hyouka had been right beside her textbook at the time. There was no way she hadn't seen it.
[You're awake?]
The message felt oddly hostile.
[I'm awake, but my head's still a little dizzy. The doctor said it's a mild concussion. I'm in the dorm now.]
Since he was messaging on his phone, the conversation might leave evidence. So Kanda didn't mention a word about the act he'd put on with Katsuragi and Yahiko.
Seeing the message, Kamuro was speechless. You're being way too careful. She tapped out a reply.
[Do you want me to bring the book to your dorm?]
[No need. Just give it to Miyake tomorrow at school. I'm taking two days off. (??????)??]
There was no way Kanda was going to see Kamuro right now. This time, his move against Katsuragi had greatly benefited Sakayanagi's side, but at the end of the day, it was still a frame-up.
If they weren't careful and evidence came to light, Kanda could end up in a difficult position. He might even lose Kamuro, the piece he'd planted in Class A.
He was confident he wouldn't say anything incriminating, but that would be exhausting.
Still, I've got so much free time. What should I do this afternoon?
Without realizing it, Kanda looked over at the high-spec computer he'd bought and rarely used.
Chapter 52: The Classes' Reactions
After spending two days gaming in his dorm, Kanda finally decided to go back to school. Meanwhile, the school had announced the outcome of the incident.
Yahiko Totsuka of Class 1-A had assaulted another student in the library and rendered him unconscious. His behavior was extremely serious. In view of his sincere attitude in admitting his mistake, he was suspended for one week and ordered to remain in his dorm and reflect on his actions. Class 1-A also lost 200 Class Points.
The notice didn't mention that Kanda had been the one to pick up a pencil case and throw it at someone first.
There was nothing to be done. Anyone with eyes could tell Kanda had deliberately thrown the pencil case, but from the only camera angle, it was still plausible that he'd dropped it by accident.
The most important thing was that Yahiko Totsuka was completely fine, while a doctor had diagnosed Kanda with a concussion. It was obvious who had suffered more.
By the principle that the victim was never at fault, Kanda was innocent.
As for Yahiko Totsuka, the evidence was conclusive. There wasn't even any need for a hearing. The Student Council handed down its verdict directly.
And so Class A's Class Points fell from 940 to 740.
Wait, hadn't Class B had 750 points?
Did that mean the two classes were going to switch places?
Wasn't the leader of Class B called Ichinose Honami?
Wouldn't she owe him a meal now?
As it happened, Kanda was right. If things continued this way, Class A would become Class B next month, while Class B would move up to Class A.
So when Class A heard the news, the entire class erupted. Katsuragi's credibility plummeted, and almost everyone condemned him.
Sakayanagi seized the opportunity to win over the students who had once sided with Katsuragi. In just two days, Katsuragi had lost more than half of his supporters.
Even most of the rest were dissatisfied with him.
If Katsuragi himself weren't so capable, Sakayanagi could have stripped him of all authority and left him with nothing but the title.
Well, no. His foolish underling wouldn't abandon him, at least.
In fact, it was because of that foolish underling that many students in Class A felt Katsuragi had poor judgment when it came to people, and switched over to Sakayanagi's side.
Sakayanagi didn't care at all that the class had lost 200 Class Points. She didn't mind temporarily dropping to Class B, since they could always win the points back.
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