Public Trial: The First Violent Qualification Under the Rules

The student council hearing was held in the conference room attached to the gymnasium. Representatives from each first-year class took their seats in turn, the air so still that the sound of pen tips tapping against tabletops could be heard. This was no simple disciplinary hearing for a brawl; it was the first time a violent incident had been formally classified since the opening of Advanced Nurturing High School. Everyone understood that this ruling would be etched directly into the power dynamics of the first-year cohort.

When the Class D group entered, the atmosphere remained oppressively heavy. Ken Sudo kept his head bowed, his shoulders and back tense; despite being the one who had been cornered and provoked, he looked like a man waiting for his own sentencing.

Suzune Horikita walked beside him, her spine straight.

The memory of her brother's cold reprimand last night, the hand he had raised, and the image of Yoshikage Kira suddenly stepping in to intercept it flashed through her mind repeatedly.

She had once believed that excellence was enough to stand tall, that arrogance was enough to remain undefeated, until she truly understood last night—

This school would not pay the price for her self-righteousness.

She had to win, not to prove a point, but to avoid being "protected" out of the school by her own brother's hand.

Aside from the student council members, the homeroom teachers of the involved classes, the students involved, and their accompanying classmates, there were no other spectators.

Yoshikage Kira had no intention of intervening in the final hearing.

He had already done what he needed to do: point out the witness and identify the breaking point.

The rest of the stage had nothing to do with him.

When Class C entered, their momentum remained arrogant.

Kakeru Ryuen walked at the front, a smile of certain victory hanging on his lips. Daichi Ishizaki, Komiya, and Kondo followed closely behind, feigning composure while hiding a trace of panic in their eyes.

The last to enter was the student council.

Horikita Manabu wore his uniform, his expression cold and rigid. His gaze swept across the room, paused for a fleeting moment on Suzune, and finally landed on Ryuen, devoid of any emotion.

"The hearing begins."

As the words fell, the room plunged into dead silence.

Class C presented their statement first.

Following the script they had rehearsed, the three—Ishizaki, Komiya, and Kondo—insisted:

Ken Sudo had initiated the provocation and committed unprovoked violence, and the three of them had only fought back in self-defense.

Their story was fluid, and their accounts were perfectly consistent.

Coupled with the "medical reports" they had prepared in advance, they had created a nearly perfect closed loop in a location without surveillance.

Kakeru Ryuen's smile remained steady.

It was Class D's turn.

Ken Sudo gritted his teeth as he explained the truth, but without evidence, his words appeared pale against the unified accusations of the three.

Suzune Horikita stepped forward.

She used her opening statement to present her logic, dismantling Class C's facade layer by layer.

"First, there are no signs of a struggle at the scene, and the fact that you three were present and yet were left uninjured by one person completely contradicts your claims of being beaten."

"Second, regarding the location of the incident: did Sudo call you there, and after you three arrived, did he still decide to commit violence against all of you?"

"Third, Ken Sudo had just finished basketball practice; physically, it would be impossible for him to carry out the actions you described."

With every sentence she spoke, the faces of the three Class C students grew paler.

Finally, her cold, clear voice rang through the room:

"This was not a brawl."

"This was a premeditated frame-up."

"Faking injuries, coordinating false testimony, and exploiting loopholes in the rules—all in an attempt to force a classmate into expulsion."

The room erupted in an uproar.

For the first time, Kakeru Ryuen's smile vanished completely.

Horikita Manabu remained expressionless: "Does Class D have any eyewitnesses?"

Suzune Horikita raised her hand: "Yes. The witness—Airi Sakura."

Airi Sakura trembled all over. Under countless gazes, she took off her hat and stepped forward, one step at a time.

Her fingertips were still shaking, but she did not lower her head.

"I saw it... It was the people from Class C who stopped Sudo-kun first, kept insulting him, and provoking him. Sudo-kun didn't lay a hand on them; they fell down on their own and started shouting that they were being beaten."

Her voice was not loud.

Class C's homeroom teacher, Kazuma Sakagami, sensing the situation turning, raised an objection: "You're lying! As a student of Class D, it's hard not to suspect that Class D made you give false testimony!"

"I didn't." Airi Sakura met his gaze, not backing down for the first time. "Everything I said is what I saw with my own eyes, and I have photos as evidence."

Horikita Manabu tapped the table, and the photos were quickly handed over by Akane Tachibana. The main subject of the photo was a selfie of Airi Sakura with her glasses off, with the backlit scene of Sudo and the three Class C students confronting each other in the background. Although it could not definitively prove Sudo's innocence, it undoubtedly shifted the direction of the hearing from one-sided assault to a case of questionable mutual combat.

Although Class D had no further evidence, the school preferred to minimize the impact of campus violence incidents. As long as the event remained unclear, there was room to smooth things over.

He swept his gaze between the two sides and, with the absolute authority of the student council president, delivered the ruling:

"The hearing is concluded."

"This incident is classified as—the first violent dispute of the first-year cohort. Since both sides hold conflicting accounts and neither can provide definitive evidence to form a chain of proof..."

The ruling is as follows:

1. Class C, Daichi Ishizaki, Komiya, and Kondo:

Suspended for one week.

2. Class D, Ken Sudo:

Emotional escalation resulting in injury; conduct was clearly inappropriate.

Suspended for two weeks.

3. Both parties are at fault; the matter ends here.

Effective immediately.

The three from Class C looked ashen.

Ken Sudo shuddered.

The students of Class D let out a long sigh of relief.

Kakeru Ryuen clenched his fists so tightly that his malice seemed to overflow.

He had lost.

The hearing concluded, and the crowd dispersed.

In the Class D classroom, a sense of relief from surviving a disaster permeated the air.

Ken Sudo walked up to Airi Sakura, scratching his head awkwardly: "Thanks... seriously, thanks."

Airi Sakura blushed: "I only told the truth."

Airi Sakura sighed with emotion: "We really owe this to Suzune Horikita... and Yoshikage Kira."

Kikyo Kushida smiled gently: "Yoshikage Kira is truly both clever and low-key."

Suzune Horikita took out her terminal and sent a message to Kira:

[Thank you. The ruling was exactly as you predicted.]

A moment later, a reply came:

[Keep Class D in check. Don't cause any more trouble.]

Suzune Horikita looked at the screen and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

The news soon reached Class B, and Honami Ichinose walked softly to Yoshikage Kira's desk, her voice very light: "Yoshikage Kira... it was you who helped Class D, wasn't it?"

It was not a question, but a gentle confirmation.

Yoshikage Kira spoke calmly: "I simply did not want the chaos from Class C to spill over into Class B."

Honami Ichinose smiled softly: "I know. But Yoshikage Kira, you could have easily ignored it. You claim you don't want to be disturbed, yet you quietly reached out a hand when others were in their greatest moment of need."

Yoshikage Kira frowned slightly, seemingly wanting to refute, but ultimately only said indifferently: "I was merely maintaining my own peace."

Honami Ichinose smiled and gave a light nod: "Mm. I understand. Regardless, thank you, Yoshikage Kira. Because of you, this turmoil will be over very soon."