Turning Point

Watching Sakura Airi's hurriedly retreating figure, Kushida Kikyo's face was filled with helplessness.

"I still couldn't persuade her."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stood where he was, his gaze calmly resting on the end of the corridor where the girl had disappeared, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.

"This was the expected outcome. For Sakura, stepping forward to testify in public was tantamount to exposing herself to everyone's gaze. That fear couldn't be dispelled with just a few words of reason."

Kushida frowned slightly beside him. "But without a witness, Sudo will be judged guilty of violence and face expulsion. Class D will also suffer a massive loss of class points because of this."

"There is less than a day left before the hearing arranged by the school," Ayanokoji said calmly.

"We don't have time to keep persuading her slowly. We can only push the situation to this point and force her to make a choice."

After saying that, the two of them did not linger and went together to Ayanokoji's room.

The atmosphere in the room was relaxed, though not entirely so.

Sudo lay sprawled on Ayanokoji's bed with his hands behind his head, one leg crossed over the other.

His weight had pressed a shallow dent into the mattress.

He stared blankly at the ceiling, occasionally chiming in as he made idle conversation with Ike and Yamauchi, who were sitting on the floor, trying to use it to drive away the unease in his heart.

But his deliberately carefree manner could not conceal his inner anxiety. The worry in his eyes never faded, and his chest rose and fell constantly with his hurried breathing.

Hearing the door open, he abruptly looked over, his eyes filled with anxiety.

"How did it go? Did you find any evidence that can turn this around?"

Ayanokoji and Kushida entered the room one after another, and their silent expressions had already given him the answer.

Sudo's face immediately darkened, and the carefree facade he had forced on himself vanished completely.

He suddenly sat upright, his fists clenched tight, his chest heaving violently with a mixture of anger and despair.

"Still no good..."

He muttered under his breath, his voice full of unwillingness and barely concealed indignation.

He knew that he had indeed hit someone, but because there was no witness, he had to bear the charge of one-sided bullying and face expulsion.

Ike and Yamauchi sat on the floor beside him in silence as well, the atmosphere so heavy it was hard to breathe.

Everyone in the room was waiting for that answer.

If Sakura refused to come forward and testify, expulsion would be waiting for Sudo Ken.

After their discussion revealed not the slightest sign of a turning point, Sudo, Ike, and Yamauchi left the room, full of disappointment.

"Ayanokoji, I'll go try to persuade Sakura again."

"Yeah. Sorry for the trouble, Kushida."

Kushida nodded lightly and said nothing more before turning and leaving the room as well.

Only Ayanokoji Kiyotaka remained inside.

Not long afterward, there was a gentle knock at the door.

Horikita Suzune pushed the door open and entered, her gaze falling on the boy left alone in the room, her expression grave.

"How are things? Sakura still isn't willing to testify?"

Ayanokoji nodded faintly.

"Yes."

Horikita's brows drew tightly together, and the air in the room grew heavy.

With her fingertips against her chin, she calmly analyzed the situation. "The hearing will be held tomorrow. If there is still no witness by then, the school will accept Class C's testimony. Sudo's expulsion will be almost certain."

"I'll find Sakura. But I won't try to persuade her again."

Ayanokoji spoke slowly, his face retaining that same unruffled calm, without the slightest hint of panic.

Horikita was slightly taken aback, apparently not expecting him to say such a thing.

"Not persuade her? Then what are you planning to do?"

"Persuasion is meaningless. Sakura's fear comes from the bottom of her heart. It can't be removed by someone else's words."

Ayanokoji's tone was flat.

"I won't force her, nor will I use reason to convince her. Whether she steps forward or not is something only Sakura herself can decide."

Horikita fell silent for a moment, her brow furrowing even more deeply.

"But if she continues to avoid it, Sudo will be expelled."

"Then that will be her choice." Ayanokoji's voice did not ripple in the slightest.

"All we can do is lay the current situation before her. As for the final decision, it can only be left to her."

Horikita did not argue further. She had no other solution either.

The next day, the hearing was held as scheduled.

Inside the meeting room, Student Council President Horikita Manabu sat at the head of the table, with Secretary Tachibana Akane standing behind him.

Class D's homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, sat at the foremost seat on the left, while Class C's homeroom teacher, Sakaue Kazuma, sat at the foremost seat on the right.

The three Class C students sitting there righteously recounted the events of Sudo's assault.

Sudo Ken sat opposite them, desperately defending himself but unable to produce any evidence that could overturn their claims.

Horikita Suzune argued on solid grounds, pointing out the flaws in their testimony one by one, but without physical evidence or witnesses, all her rebuttals seemed pale and powerless, like a final struggle.

The meeting room's heavy wooden doors were shut tight, and students from unrelated classes were not permitted inside.

In a quiet corner of the corridor, Hoshinomiya Rinyu leaned against the wall.

Sakayanagi Arisu stood beside him, holding a cane.

The voices from inside the meeting room drifted faintly through the door in intermittent fragments. They could not be heard clearly, but the heated atmosphere of the argument was unmistakable.

Sakayanagi Arisu lightly stroked her chin with her fingertips, her glass-colored eyes fixed on the tightly shut meeting room doors. Her voice was lowered so much that only the boy beside her could hear it.

"Ryuuen's plan is already in motion. Class D has been forced into a dead end. If no key witness appears, Sudo Ken's expulsion is practically set in stone."

Hoshinomiya Rinyu's gaze rested on the door, his expression calm. "Ryuuen wants to use this incident to weaken Class D's fighting strength, but he may not get his wish."

"Horikita Suzune won't readily accept such an outcome. Ayanokoji... won't either."

"Oh? You've already predicted that there will be a variable?" Sakayanagi turned her head slightly, a faint, amused smile curling at her lips.

She seemed somewhat surprised by the mention of that name, but it looked feigned.

"I can't be certain. But I don't think he would stand by and watch a companion be expelled," Hoshinomiya Rinyu replied quietly.

Sakayanagi gave a soft laugh and said no more, quietly listening to the sounds coming from beyond the door.

Just as Horikita Manabu was about to make the final ruling on the incident, a figure pushed open the meeting room doors.

Sakura Airi stood timidly in the doorway. Behind her thick lenses, her eyes were tense and uneasy.

She tightly clutched a memory card in her palm, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Everyone's eyes instantly focused on the girl.

"I... I can testify."

Her small yet clear voice rang through the meeting room.

Sakura Airi walked in step by step, forcibly suppressing the fear in her heart as she placed the memory card in her hand onto the table.

"I saw everything that happened that day."

"Oh? You saw everything? What evidence do you have, young lady?" Class C's homeroom teacher, Sakaue Kazuma, wore a half-smiling expression as he questioned her teasingly.

"Since you witnessed the entire incident, why are you only stepping forward now? Or were you encouraged by someone to give false testimony?"

He did not threaten her loudly, but his light tone carried an immense pressure as his gaze fell directly upon the trembling Sakura Airi.

"Th-there are photos taken at the time... in here."

PS: The special exam is finally coming soon. Probably another one or two chapters. I really want to write the deserted island arc, haha. Thank you all for your support.