Appeal (Seeking Everything)

Yosuke Hirata held his right hand three centimeters above his desk, his knuckles slightly curled as if cradling an invisible question. "However, Chabashira Sae, why haven't the points been distributed? By all accounts, they should be issued on the first of every month."

Chabashira Sae tapped her heels twice against the edge of the podium, the folds of her black skirt shifting with the movement. Her fingers tightened around the attendance book until her knuckles turned white. "A dispute has arisen, so the distribution for the first-year students will be delayed." Her gaze slid like a serpent toward the back right of the classroom, pausing briefly as it swept over a certain seat. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but you will have to wait a little longer." The sunlight cut diagonally across her profile, sharpening the unspoken meaning lingering at the corner of her mouth.

"What is the nature of this dispute?" Hirata stepped forward, his shadow falling across his straight back. "Chabashira Sae, I believe resolving this issue early would be beneficial for all of us." His voice maintained its gentle quality, as natural as if he were mediating a neighborhood disagreement.

The woman behind the podium suddenly laughed, a sound like clashing shards of ice. "Akito Miyake, why don't you explain the reason to everyone?" As she turned, the hem of her blazer traced an arc, her eyes locking precisely onto the boy in the back row who was staring blankly at his textbook. The curve of her lips held a clear, mocking playfulness, like a cat that had finally cornered a mouse beneath the sofa.

Akito Miyake jerked his head up. He sprang to his feet as if electrocuted, the legs of his chair dragging across the floor with a harsh, grating sound. His right index finger trembled as he pointed at his own chest. "I... what did I do?" The fringe of his hair fell forward, obscuring eyes filled with shock, and his Adam's apple bobbed rapidly against his pale throat. "Teacher, are you mistaken?"

"Akito Miyake, you seem genuinely unaware." Chabashira Sae slowly opened the attendance book and tapped a page with her fingernail. "It concerns the matter of you seriously injuring a fellow student." She drew out the final words, letting them evaporate like water droplets on a searing iron plate, yet leaving a scorching heat in the air.

A collective gasp echoed from the back of the room. Akito Miyake froze, his finger still pointing at himself, his glasses reflecting the drifting clouds outside. "Seriously injuring... a student?" His voice rose involuntarily, like a stone suddenly tossed into the air.

"You seriously injured Daichi Ishizaki and two other students from Class C." Chabashira Sae's voice turned abruptly flat, like a scalpel slicing through calm skin.

"Seriously injured... me?" Akito Miyake let out a sudden laugh, one laced with an unbelievable sense of brokenness. "That's going too far!" He slammed his right hand onto the desk, making his textbook jump. "I did have a conflict with them, but it was purely self-defense! When the three of them surrounded me, I only fought back slightly!" He gestured wildly to recreate the scene, his knuckles reddening from the effort. "They didn't even have a scratch on them; how could they be seriously injured?"

"Akito Miyake, your statement differs from that of the Class C students." Chabashira Sae closed the attendance book with a sharp click of its metal clasp. "That is the heart of the dispute."

"They're clearly extorting me! It's fraud!" Akito Miyake's roar exploded through the classroom, his spittle flying with his heated words. As he sat down abruptly, the chair groaned under the strain, and his back slammed against the frame with a dull thud. The veins on his temples throbbed, and his clenched fists pressed into the desk, knuckles white as bone, sweat seeping from between his fingers to soak his uniform cuffs. In the sunlight, his flushed face revealed bulging neck veins that seemed ready to burst through his skin.

The entire class turned to look, their eyes a mix of shock and curiosity. The whispers in the room rose like a tide, only to recede quickly under Chabashira Sae's icy gaze.

Chabashira Sae's eyes swept across the silent classroom, her fingertips tapping rhythmically against the edge of the podium, providing a beat for the unfolding storm. "Class C has filed a formal complaint," she said, her voice low yet piercing the stagnant air. "They claim that Akito Miyake of our class unilaterally assaulted three Class C students, resulting in serious injuries."

As soon as she finished, a faint commotion stirred in the room. The students instinctively turned their eyes toward Akito Miyake in the back row, their gazes filled with inquiry and doubt.

"However, Akito Miyake currently denies the incident," Chabashira Sae continued, turning her gaze toward him with a hint of scrutiny. "As he claims, he did not assault the Class C students but acted in self-defense—meaning the Class C students were the ones who attacked him first." She paused, her tone shifting. "But according to the school infirmary's examination, the three students who filed the complaint do indeed have numerous bruises and injuries."

"That is a blatant lie!!!" Akito Miyake sprang up from his seat again, hands balled into fists, knuckles white from the pressure. His face was flushed crimson, veins bulging on his forehead, and his angry roar echoed through the room, making eardrums ache. His chest heaved violently, like a cornered lion, his eyes filled with resentment and fury as he glared at Chabashira Sae, as if wanting to pour out all his frustration.

Chabashira Sae merely glanced at him, her tone calm and emotionless. "But you have no evidence, do you?"

The words hit Akito Miyake like a bucket of cold water, leaving him momentarily stunned. He opened his mouth to retort, but finding nothing to say, he slumped back down, muttering under his breath, "What evidence... how could I possibly have something like that?" His voice was thick with grievance and rage.

"In other words, the truth remains unclear at this stage, which is why the conclusion has been temporarily shelved." Chabashira Sae scanned the class. "Depending on who is at fault, the treatment and countermeasures will change significantly." Her gaze was sharp, as if she could see through everyone's thoughts.

She sighed softly, a hint of helplessness in her tone. "Unfortunately, there are no eyewitnesses within the class. To find witnesses, the homeroom teachers of each class are currently providing detailed explanations."

The classroom fell back into silence, the students wearing complex expressions. Everyone understood that this matter concerned not just Akito Miyake, but the points and future of the entire class.

"In any case, that is all I have to say." Chabashira Sae clapped her hands, breaking the stillness. "The final verdict, including the presence of witnesses and evidence, should be delivered next Tuesday. That concludes the morning assembly."

With that, she turned to write the lesson topic on the blackboard and began the class as usual. The chalk scratched against the board, a sound that seemed to mask the lingering tension in the room.

During the lesson, the students were unusually quiet. No one whispered or fidgeted. Everyone sat upright, eyes fixed on the blackboard, as if bound by an invisible force. After all, having experienced what they had before, they were terrified that their meager class points would be wiped out again—a matter that directly affected their quality of life at this school.

With Sudo and Haruki Yamauchi, the two troublemakers, gone, the atmosphere in the class had improved significantly, with much less noise and chaos. Yet, this silence was also tinged with a sense of oppression.

Sitting in the corner of the classroom, Ike Kanji looked particularly lonely. He kept his head down, his fingers tracing patterns on his textbook, his eyes vacant. Sudo and Haruki Yamauchi had been his closest friends in the class, but their expulsion was something he found difficult to accept. He habitually wanted to speak to the person beside him to share his thoughts or complain about the boredom of the lesson, but as the words reached his lips, he realized the seat next to him was empty. No one would ever respond to him with the same enthusiasm as before. He opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed his words, leaving only a barely audible sigh that dissipated into the quiet classroom.