Belated Hope

"So, this is the method Ichinose was talking about..."

Chiba Yu stood before a notice board with his school bag slung over his shoulder. It detailed a request for anyone who witnessed the incident at the special building that day to contact Kanzaki of Class B.

Although they were well-intentioned in trying to help, he didn't think a mere notice would be enough to find a witness; it was no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.

"Chiba-kun!"

Hearing the voice, Chiba Yu turned his head to see Ichinose and Kanzaki. He greeted them with a nod.

"This notice was Kanzaki's idea."

Before Chiba Yu could even ask, Ichinose spoke up to explain.

Kanzaki waved a hand dismissively. "The current situation is quite difficult for you all, so I thought I'd try my luck. As it happens, someone has already provided some information."

As he spoke, Kanzaki shared the contents of an email he had received after meeting Ayanokoji that morning. Upon hearing it, Chiba Yu's expression remained calm, for he knew that this information wouldn't ultimately be of much help.

The only real solution now wasn't to hunt for witnesses or post pleas for help online, but to find a way to get the three students from Class C to drop their accusations.

Even if they looked at the worst-case scenario, would finding a witness really solve the problem?

Based on his understanding of Ryuen from Class C and the rumors he'd heard, he didn't believe such a method would bring this matter to an end.

"Do you have any new leads on your end?" Kanzaki asked, glancing at Chiba Yu, who was still staring at the notice board.

"Our class? Unfortunately, we still don't have any leads. We haven't even found a single witness," Chiba Yu replied, shaking his head.

"Or rather, there might be some new information, but I haven't looked into it. You might want to ask Kushida-san or Hirata-kun from our class about that."

"After all this time, you're still the same. I thought you might have changed a little, but it seems you haven't changed at all."

Kanzaki's sentimental remark drew a sideways glance from Ichinose, who curiously asked, "What, what? What does Kanzaki mean by that? Does Chiba-kun have some sort of past story?"

Facing Ichinose's inquiry, Chiba Yu adjusted his cuffs. "This guy..."

"Kanzaki, if there's nothing else, I'll be going."

Chiba Yu cut Kanzaki off. He had no intention of hiding his past, but he found it rather awkward to have it discussed in front of others, so he prepared to leave.

Kanzaki paused, then said, "Right. If you need anything, come find me. I'll try to help if I can."

Chiba Yu, however, wore an indifferent expression. "Do you really think someone with my personality would run into any problems?"

Seeing this, Kanzaki sighed with resignation. "Fair enough. We won't keep you, then. See you next time."

"Yeah."

Regardless of what had happened in the past, Chiba Yu only wanted to manage his own life in the present.

With that conviction, Chiba Yu walked away without looking back.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the day of the hearing arrived.

Since then, Chiba Yu hadn't paid much attention to the fallout of Sudo's incident, to the point where he probably knew less about the situation than the blonde girl with the ponytail who sat in front of him.

It was that same night, while Chiba Yu was out buying a drink, that he 'happened' to run into Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was also heading out. It was from him that he finally learned the details of the situation.

Because there was no way to determine which side was lying, even with Sakura's testimony and evidence, Sudo still couldn't escape punishment for the fight. In essence, Class D had already lost.

For this reason, the Student Council had given everyone one more day. If no one admitted to any wrongdoing or provided evidence of the other side's lies by the deadline, the Student Council would proceed with the most severe penalty: expulsion, based on their current deductions.

"So, according to you, Horikita plans to lure Ishizaki and the others to the special building tomorrow, then use the pretext of security cameras to trick them into admitting their mistake while simultaneously dropping the charges?"

"Yes, that's what Horikita said."

After hearing the plan, Chiba Yu could only marvel at the boldness of Horikita Suzune and Ayanokoji.

To execute such a plan in reality required not only a strong heart but also the ability to exploit the weaknesses of human nature.

At the high school age, most boys were no different from rutting monkeys. If one utilized that fact, they could use the most popular girl in the grade—Kushida Kikyo—to lure the three of them out.

Then, with overwhelming momentum, they would have to crush the opposition's psychological defenses while they had no way out, forcing them to drop the accusations under pressure.

One could say Horikita's plan was like dancing on the edge of a blade; one wrong move and everything would fall apart.

Moreover, the plan had a fatal flaw: the leader of Class C, Ryuen.

The fact that Ishizaki could come up with such a way to frame Sudo meant there was someone pulling the strings behind the scenes. There was no need to guess; that person could be none other than the tyrant of Class C, Ryuen.

If Ishizaki and his group told Ryuen about this, Horikita's plan would likely face immense risk, and failure would be a distinct possibility.

"Can you guarantee that the plan will be executed smoothly and succeed?" Chiba Yu asked as he opened the drink he'd just bought from the vending machine, sitting on the same bench as Ayanokoji.

"Horikita is very confident about it."

It was a skillful answer, deflecting the question back to Horikita without offering his own opinion.

Seeing that the other boy didn't intend to say more, Chiba Yu didn't press the issue, instead shifting to a different topic.

"Ayanokoji, why did you choose to come to this school in the first place?" It was an abrupt change of subject, but Chiba Yu didn't feel particularly self-conscious about it.

Hearing the question, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka replied calmly, as if he had prepared the answer long ago: "I just heard that this school had no tuition fees and even boasted a 100% employment rate after graduation, so I came."

"I won't lie to you, my family situation is pretty average."

It was a very bureaucratic answer. If it had been anyone else, they would have assumed Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's motivations were the same as everyone else's.

But clearly, Chiba Yu didn't believe a word of it, though he didn't bother to call him out.

"Me and you... forget it. It feels like too much trouble to talk about, so I'll just skip it."

"I say, since I've already shared mine, according to common sense, it should be your turn to share your own experiences, right?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka remarked with a hint of sarcasm.

Chiba Yu slowly stood up from his chair and stretched his back. "You said it yourself, that's common sense. But I think that's too much trouble. Or are you just like those rigid adults?"

"No, that's not quite it."

"See? You said it yourself." Chiba Yu shrugged nonchalantly. "Alright, it's getting late. It's about time to head back."

Chiba Yu stood up, patted Ayanokoji Kiyotaka on the shoulder, and immediately started walking ahead.

Looking at the drink in his hand, Ayanokoji didn't seem to know what he was thinking. After closing his eyes and letting out a sigh, he also stood up and followed after him.