Defense Meeting

The final defense for the cross-class group project was scheduled for Friday afternoon in the Multipurpose Hall on the third floor of the Academic Building.

The Multipurpose Hall, usually reserved for grade-level assemblies, had been rearranged for the occasion. To the left of the podium sat the judging panel, occupied by Chabashira, the Disciplinary Committee Chairman for the second year, and two staff members from the Academic Affairs Office. To the right was a projector screen, cycling through the cover pages of the reports submitted by each group. About sixty students sat below, naturally divided into four sections by class. Class D occupied the area near the windows, with Class C beside them, while Classes B and A sat in the center and near the door, respectively. The homeroom teachers for each class were also present, seated in the observation area behind the judges.

Kanzaki Toru sat at the far left of his group, followed in order by Shiina Hiyori, Sakura Airi, Yukimura Teruhiko, and Hamaguchi Tetsuya. Sakura was not wearing a hat today, and her camera was tucked into the bag at her feet. She kept her head down, flipping through the hard copy of their report, her fingertips tracing the appendix page numbers line by line, her breathing steady. Shiina Hiyori placed a backup index of citations for the Old System on the armrest between them, her fingers grazing the index tabs as if leafing through a book she knew by heart.

Horikita Suzune sat in the aisle seat of the first row for Class D, the defense schedule spread out before her. Her back was perfectly straight; she lifted her gaze from the paper and locked eyes with Kanzaki Toru for a brief second. Karuizawa Kei sat toward the back among the Class D girls, twirling a pen in her hand, her red bean soup left unopened at her feet. Sudo and Ike Kanji were squeezed into the row near the door, unusually quiet.

Ryuen Kakeru sat in the back row of Class C, his feet propped up on the chair in front of him. He occupied two seats, eyes closed as if resting. Ishizaki sat two rows diagonally in front of him, with Kondo beside him. Kondo was whispering something into Ishizaki's ear, but Ishizaki remained expressionless, his fingers tapping a rhythmic beat against his knee.

"Class 1-D, Group 2, Kanzaki Toru's group." The Student Council officer moderating the defense called their names.

As Kanzaki Toru stood up, the scattered gazes in the Multipurpose Hall converged upon him. The door behind the judging panel creaked open a crack, and a latecomer slipped in sideways. Her skirt brushed silently against the doorframe as she navigated from the side aisle to a corner in the back of the observation area. He didn't need to turn his head; the flash of light-colored hair and the rigid posture in his peripheral vision already provided the answer.

He didn't look back, walking straight to the podium to activate the projector. The screen lit up, displaying the title of their report. Before beginning his presentation, he gave a slight nod to the judges and said in a steady tone, "Before the formal report, please allow me to declare to the judges and all students present a chain of evidence directly related to our group's core conclusion. This chain has already been submitted to the Disciplinary Committee for review along with the appendix and is currently undergoing evaluation."

The statement was like a stone cast into a calm lake. The murmurs in the audience swelled instantly. Kondo whipped his head around to look at Ishizaki, who stared straight ahead, expressionless, though the fingers on his knee had stopped moving. Ryuen opened his eyes, took his feet off the chair, and stared at the projection screen. In the corner of the hall, the latecomer remained as still as water, only the hands folded on her lap shifting slightly in their arrangement.

Kanzaki Toru ignored the commotion, turning to the second chapter of the report to begin his presentation on the evolution of the Old System. Yukimura Teruhiko followed, using three charts to concisely untangle the logical contradictions in that evolution. Hamaguchi supplemented this with the restoration process of the original records regarding cooperation models from the old Student Council archives of Class B. Sakura Airi demonstrated the visual layout logic, clear and articulate. Shiina Hiyori briefly summarized the sources of the Old System citations and thanked the library's inter-departmental cooperation channel for their support.

During the Q&A session, the Disciplinary Committee Chairman raised two routine formatting concerns, and Chabashira asked no questions. Just as the group prepared to return to their seats, Ryuen raised his hand—not toward the defense group, but toward the judging panel.

"I have a procedural objection." He stood up, leaning casually against the chair back, his expression cold and restrained. "This final defense is an academic proceeding hosted by the school. Yet, this group has included a chain of evidence currently under Disciplinary Committee review in their appendix. Is this compliant? Disciplinary matters should be handled in the appropriate forum, not brought into an academic defense to exert influence. I ask the judges for a ruling."

The hall fell silent for a moment, then whispers surged from all directions like a broken dam. Several Class C boys glanced at Ryuen, but Ishizaki did not move.

"I will answer the procedural question."

Horikita Suzune stood up, walked to the podium's procedural microphone, and unfolded a prepared document. "Article 6, Chapter 3 of the Disciplinary Committee's procedural rules states: 'Any student may cite evidence materials that have entered the review process and are directly related to the subject in a formal academic setting, without waiting for a final verdict.' I am the handler who applied to review the historical files for this case."

She placed a copy of the document on the judges' table. The Disciplinary Committee Chairman adjusted his glasses, turned to exchange a few low words with Chabashira, and then tapped his gavel. "The application is compliant. The defense will continue."

Ryuen did not sit down, but his gaze shifted from the projector screen to Horikita, slowly, as if seeing her for the first time. As Horikita turned to leave the stage, her ponytail swept across her shoulder line. Simultaneously, she sent a brief message through the wireless earpiece to Kanzaki Toru: "Dual-line synchronization complete." She wasn't just referring to the handling of this confrontation, but to the new material regarding the perjury—already officially submitted to third-party experts for verification at the Disciplinary Committee.

After the report concluded, the judges began their scoring. Kanzaki Toru walked down from the podium; there was hushed conversation in the Class C section, but no more shouting. Sakura's voice came through his earpiece, extremely faint: "Rooftop lights are normal, no one is approaching the perimeter of the Old School Building." Shiina's voice followed: "While we were presenting, Chabashira checked something on her terminal. The Disciplinary Committee window shows she accessed the sealed path of the Old System report attachment."

The two exchanged a string of real-time observations in the back seats, completely unaware that he had slowed his pace. He stopped in the middle of the aisle; the latecomer in the corner of the observation area was partially obscured by a pillar, with only the corner of her skirt visible. Just as he was about to continue forward, there was a soft rustle of fabric from the back row, and Kushida Kikyo stood up and quietly exited through a side door.

Ryuen also stood up. He didn't chase her, merely watching from where he stood as Kushida Kikyo exited the side door of the hall. Then, he glanced at Kanzaki Toru, pocketed his phone, and strode out the main entrance.

Ishizaki did not follow. Kondo stood up, intending to pursue Ryuen, but looked back at Ishizaki, who remained in his seat. Ishizaki sat in the back row of Class C, shoulders slumped, the button on his uniform collar that Ryuen had loosened still unsewn. He hadn't applauded Ryuen's objection, and he didn't follow him out now. He simply folded the supplementary materials in his hand and tucked them into his own defense folder.

Kanzaki Toru withdrew his gaze and returned to his seat. The ice had cracked; Ryuen realized there was another hand on the chessboard, but he didn't yet know how many pieces that hand had already placed. The results would be announced at next week's comprehensive evaluation meeting. The defense was over, but all eyes remained fixed in the air, refusing to disperse.