The Eve of the Meeting

"Sakura."

Qiuyue called out to Sakura and held out the camera in his hand.

"Here you go. It's completely fixed now. You can try it out."

Sakura took the camera and started pressing its buttons, a happy smile spreading across her face. Since she wasn't looking down this time, Qiuyue got a good look at her smile.

Qiuyue: If she took off her glasses and adjusted her bangs a little so they didn't cover half her face, she'd probably be the prettiest girl in Class D.

"Ah... um... well... Qiuyue... thank you."

"No problem. If you need anything else, just come find me."

Qiuyue left her with those words and was about to go when Sakura quickly called after him.

"Wait... um, what do you think I should do, Qiuyue?"

Qiuyue blinked. "Is this about the Sudo Incident?"

"Yeah... I guess you know about it too, Qiuyue..."

Qiuyue looked at Sakura, who had started lowering her head again, and sighed inwardly before saying:

"Just do whatever you want. No one will blame you, so don't keep looking down."

Qiuyue: Almost the whole class is indifferent to what happened with Sudo. If anything, hardly anyone likes him. Who would blame you, other than Sudo himself?

Besides, whether you help or not, the outcome will be the same. The evidence and testimony are too weak.

It'll just end with Sudo being suspended or the meeting getting postponed again, and then they'll resolve it the old way from the original story or come up with something else. Either way, that's the only way I can see things going.

"Yeah..."

Sakura still didn't raise her head, but the hesitant, worried expression she'd worn while looking down was gone. In its place was a smile, and a faint blush on her cheeks.

There was one day left until the meeting about the Sudo Incident.

Thanks to Qiuyue's limited involvement and the efforts of the others, they had found the eyewitness, Sakura, and were trying to get her to testify on Sudo's behalf.

To confirm the details as well, six people—Ayanokoji, Horikita, Sudo, Yamauchi, Ike, and Kushida—gathered in Ayanokoji's room to discuss the matter.

They had also invited Qiuyue, but he declined, saying he had other things to do.

At that moment, though, Qiuyue was in his own room, quietly listening through a pair of headphones.

As expected, Sudo was the type to carry his phone everywhere.

"Hey... Sakura still hasn't..., so what do we do? About Sudo..."

"Tch—does that glasses girl even intend to help me or not? She should give me a straight answer already. Seriously."

"She isn't obligated to help you in the first place. In the end, this is all because you can't control yourself."

"They were the ones who provoked me!"

"That's only your side of the story."

"Come on, fighting is bad. Sudo, calm down. Horikita, you too."

"Exactly. Kushida's right. There's no point in arguing."

"Yeah, yeah."

After Yamauchi and Ike chimed in with Kushida, the headphones fell silent for a while. Then the voices slowly resumed.

"...Hey, Horikita. You've got a way to handle this, right?... Just like last time..."

"I don't know. I'm not obligated to help you. I just don't want the class to lose points over this. Also, stop leaning toward me. You're gross."

"What!? I'm not gross! I took a shower before I came here!"

Qiuyue: ...I think I can picture it.

"You'd better think about how to get Sakura to testify at tomorrow's noon meeting. You still have the whole morning."

"Yeah. Sudo, let's ask Sakura again tomorrow. And don't scare her this time, okay?"

"...Yeah... I got it. Once that glasses girl testifies for me, those jerks won't have anything to say."

"That's a pretty naive way of thinking. Why do you think Sakura testifying will settle everything?"

"Isn't it obvious? You can tell at a glance they're jerks."

"..."

Everyone was at a loss for words at Sudo's certainty, including Qiuyue, listening through his headphones.

"Hey...? Look at this."

"Isn't that a gravure idol? Kushida, aren't we talking about getting the glasses girl to testify for me?"

"Don't interrupt, Kushida. This gravure idol really is cute. No wonder it's Kushida."

"No, look. Doesn't she look a lot like Sakura?"

"Huh?"

"Ah?"

"What?"

"No, no, that can't be right, can it?"

"No, Sudo, look closely. She really does look a little like her."

"No way. Look at the photo. See how brightly she's smiling? How could she have anything to do with the glasses girl?"

"...It's true that she doesn't wear glasses, and her hairstyle's completely different."

"She could wear contacts, right? And she could change her hairstyle."

"But..."

"It's true. Look at this photo. You can see a door here, and it's exactly like the doors in the dorm."

"So she really is Sakura?"

"...She really is."

"...I had no idea Sakura was this cute."

"This is bad, Yamauchi. I'm getting excited. Our class actually has a gravure idol this cute."

The discussion continued until nearly nine. They decided to approach Sakura the next day and ask her to testify. If she still refused, their backup plan was to tell her they knew she was a gravure idol and ask her to testify in exchange for keeping it secret. After that, they all left Ayanokoji's room.

Qiuyue: Tomorrow's the day. Sakura will be followed by a stalker. I wonder if Ayanokoji will step in. I didn't want to take part in their discussion simply because it would be a hassle.

Whether I stepped in myself or got the Student Council involved, it would make me easier to identify.

If I stepped in myself, Ayanokoji and Chabashira might notice me. If I used that identity to help her, the Student Council President would probably immediately suspect Class D. Besides, that would practically amount to exposing myself.

But... what if Ayanokoji doesn't save Sakura? The butterfly effect I've caused so far hasn't exactly been small.

God, I really am... Heh. Even I can't figure myself out. I'm not sincere enough to be a good person, but I'm not completely committed to being a bad one, either. I'm just a hypocrite, aren't I?

If Sudo only gets suspended—or, at worst, expelled—it's not that big a deal. In Sakura Country, he can still go on to study at another school, so I can remain indifferent.

Sakura... Saving a girl who's being stalked? Heroics like that just aren't me.

This is easy for me now. I've already prepared for it. Doesn't that mean I wanted to help her? So what's there to hesitate about?

Qiuyue opened a drawer and took out his other phone.

[Horikita President, isn't it the Student Council's responsibility to protect the students at this school?]

[What are you getting at?]

[Please have the photo shop shut down first thing tomorrow. One of its employees has criminal intentions toward a girl at our school. You could also act tonight.]

[Where's your evidence? I have no reason to believe your side of the story.]

[Sakura from Class 1-D is a gravure idol online. One of her obsessed fans infiltrated the school as an employee. You should be able to find information about Sakura and check which employees recently joined the school. Then search the belongings of the most recent hire. If all goes as expected, you'll find a pile of secretly taken photos. That'll be evidence too.]

Qiuyue forwarded the results of Sotomura's investigation to the Student Council President.

Image.

[I understand. I'll look into it now. If it checks out, the Student Council will act first thing tomorrow.]

You might think Qiuyue is being too wishy-washy, but please don't drop the story. I'll explain everything properly later.