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Volume 2, Chapter 1: The abrupt beginning of turbulent times Part 4

After I finished my dinner, I returned to the dorms. Taking out my phone, I checked my balance. I had 8320 pr remaining. It hasn’t changed since the morning.

Considering that we got 100,000 points at the beginning at the year, it’s a really small amount.

I spent a lot of points to buy Sudou’s point.

“It would be huge if we got our 87 points.”

In yen, that’s 8700 yen. Although it’s not enough, it’s still relatively big money.

“Save me, Ayanokouji!”

While I was playing with my phone on the bed, the door suddenly opened. It was a flushed Sudou.

“…Why are you in such a rush? Or should I say, how’d you even get in?”

I remember locking the door when I returned to my room. I don’t think I forgot to do it because I do it out of habit now. Did he kick his way through the door or something?

Just to make sure, I checked the door, but it wasn’t broken.

“This is the room where our room meets, so we held a discussion and decided to make a duplicate key. Didn’t you know? It’s not just me, everyone else has a key too.”

He was spinning the key in his hand.

“I learned this important fact just now…”

Somehow, it looks like my room is no longer safe against invaders.

“Anyway, that stuff doesn’t matter. I’m in a really dangerous spot right now! Help me out.”

“It definitely matters. Give me the key.”

“Hah? Why should I? I bought this with my own points. It’s mine.”

What kind of faulty reasoning is that? If you’ve committed a crime, it’s still a crime, no matter what you say.

Even if we’re friends, it doesn’t mean that I’ll allow anything.

“If you’re worried about something, how about asking Ike or Yamauchi?”

“Those two are no good. They’re stupid.”

As he was talking, Sudou sat down on the floor.

“Buy some carpet. My butt hurts.”

I don’t have enough to spend money on the interior.

In the first place, even though my room was designated the meeting place, we’ve never met in here ever since the party. Even if I bought carpet, only I would be sitting on it. The very thought of it feels surreal.

When I got up to get some tea, the doorbell rang.

The person who poked her head through the entrance was Kushida, the Madonna of class D. She’s cute whenever I see her. She saw Sudou, who was still sitting on the floor.

“Oh, Sudou-kun’s here.”

“I’m just asking, but do you also have a duplicate key?”

“Uh, yea? Isn’t it so that we could meet up… by any chance, did you not know, Ayanokouji-kun?”

She took out a key from her bag and showed it to me. It looks exactly the same as my key. Apparently, Kushida thought it was done with my permission.

“Um, this… should I return it?”

She apologetically gave me the key.

“It’s fine. There’s no point if you’re the only one that returns it. It doesn’t seem like Sudou wants to return the key.”

Is it really alright for Kushida to have the key? No, well, in my delusions, you could say that it feels like I have a girlfriend if she keeps the key. Men are calculating creatures.

“Since Kushida has also come, can we move to the real topic?”

“It can’t be helped… well then, what’s the issue?”

After they came to my room, it’s not like I can bluntly refuse them.

With a meek look on his face, he slowly started talking.

“You know how I was called out by the teacher today? Then, uh… actually… I might be suspended from school. And for a while, too.”

“Sus… suspended?”

That’s unexpected. Compared to the beginning of the year, Sudou has been pretty well-behaved. He hasn’t been talking or dozing off during class, and is doing well in his club activities.

“By any chance, did you insult or slander Sensei?”

When Chiyabashira-sensei stopped Sudou from going to his club today, he looked unhappy.

He probably got mad and said some reckless remarks once again.

“I won’t say.”

“Then did you grab her by her collar and threaten to kill her or something?”

“I’m not saying anything.”

Without any hesitation, Sudou refused to speak. Is that really not it?”

“It’s probably worse than what you’re thinking…”

I thought that my first two guesses were pretty bad, but to say that it’s even worse…

“Oh, this is how things happened, Ayanokouji-kun. I beat up and assaulted Sensei and then spit on her!”

“That’s cruel. …or should I say, your wild ideas are way too cruel…!”

“Ahaha, it’s a joke. Of course, I wouldn’t go that far. Sudou-kun as well.”

Even though I thought Sudou would immediately deny it, he jolted in surprise from Kushida’s joke.

I guess it shows how rattled he is.

“What’s wrong?”

“Actually, I beat up some kids from class C yesterday. And earlier, Sensei said that I would be suspended… This is probably punishment for that.”

Surprised from Sudou’s words, Kushida unintentionally looked towards me. I couldn’t swallow the situation at first. That Sudou had been involved in trouble again. Were my worries spot on?

“Beat them up… that, uh, why’d you do it?”

“For your information, I wasn’t at fault, ok? Those class C brats were in the wrong. I just responded when they tried to provoke me. And then they went and told on me. They were being untruthful, too.”

Somehow, it seems like Sudou also hasn’t been able to gather his thoughts. I understood what he was trying to say, but I still didn’t know why the fight started nor the details of the fight.

“Wait a second, Sudou-kun. Can you say it once more, but slower?”

Kushida encouraged him to calm down and tried to get him to tell us how the fight started.

“Sorry, I must’ve left out too many parts…”

Taking a few deep breaths, Sudou started from the beginning once again.

“The club advisor and I were talking about being able to be a regular for the summer tournaments.”

I heard that he was good, but I didn’t expect talks about becoming a regular so soon.

“Isn’t that super good, Sudou-kun!? Congratulations!”

“Nothing’s decided yet. It’s just that the possibility exists.”

“Even that’s great. We just entered high school, after all.”

“Well, yea. Actually, I was the only first year to be nominated for becoming a regular. And even then, it’s not like I’m definitely becoming a regular. On the way home, those guys… Komiya and Kondo, who are also in the basketball club, called me out to a special building. They said they had something to talk about or something. I could’ve ignored them, but I’ve argued with them quite a few times during club activities, so I thought I would settle this. Of course, I went to meet them, you know? And then this Ishizaki guy was there, waiting for me. Komiya and Kondo were this guy’s friends, and said how they couldn’t stand that a class D student like me was being considered as a regular. He then told me to either quit or face a painful experience. I refused and beat them up, but then all of this happened.”

It was a hurried explanation, but I got the general gist of things. It looks like Sudou’s satisfied with his explanation.

“And then you were portrayed as the bad guy, huh.”

With an exasperated look, he nodded. Those class C students started the whole thing, and when Sudou refused to quit, they resorted to the use of force… that is, violence. However, Sudou, who was experienced in fighting, turned the tables and beat them up. Naturally, they were injured. But, there was no evidence, so they lied to the school that Sudou beat them up for no reason.

“Sudou-kun’s not the problem if the situation was started by class C.”

“Right? I seriously don’t get it. I don’t believe that teacher either.”

“We should tell Chiyabashira-sensei tomorrow about what happened. How Sudou-kun isn’t at fault.”

Things aren’t that simple. Sudou must’ve told the school what he just told us now. But since there’s no evidence to back up his claim, the school decided to punish him.”

“When you told the school, what did they say?”

“They said they would give me time until next Tuesday to prove it. If I’m not able to, I’m suspended until the summer. On top of that, the whole class will be deducted points as well.”

It seems like the school has decided to wait. But, it seems like Sudou is more worried about not being able to become a regular, rather than getting our points deducted or being suspended. I guess he couldn’t stand the thought of his chances being ruined.

“What should I do?”

“Sudou-kun, you tried to tell the teachers truthfully, right? It’s strange, since they didn’t believe your story, even if you did nothing wrong. Right?”

Kushida was looking for a positive response from me, but sadly, I couldn’t give an affirmative reply.

“Well, I wonder… I don’t think this is that simple.”

“What do you mean by ‘I wonder’? Are you doubting me?”

“At the very least, the school doesn’t trust you, right? For example, it wouldn’t be strange if Kushida was agreeing with you just so that our points wouldn’t decrease.”

“That… that may be true.”

This time, the trouble won’t be solved by proving who started the fight.

The three of them might be suspended for a week, for example.

There are three people that say that they were beaten. Without sound proof, Sudou will most definitely be punished. And that means only one thing.

“Even if the other party is the one at fault, Sudou might still take some of the blame.”

“Hah? Why? It was legitimate self-defence. Right!?”

Sudou, unable to understand, hit the table with his fist. Kushida jumped in surprise.

“My bad, I got slightly upset.”

Seeing Kushida’s frightened face, Sudou apologized.

“Hey… Why will Sudou-kun still take some of the blame?”

“Sudou hit them, but they didn’t hit Sudou. That’s a big reason why, I think. It’s a more difficult problem than just saying ‘self-defence’. If they came at you with a knife and a metal bat, things would be different. Normally, if they were going to pick a fight, they would probably prepare for it. ‘Self-defence’ is when you have to defend yourself against sudden, dangerous attacks. In other words, I don’t think this is exactly ‘self-defence’.”

This is the best I can think of, given the circumstances.

“I-I don’t understand. There were three people, three. I think it’s sufficiently dangerous.”

I think the number of people has to be taken into account, but this case is a delicate one. If the school thinks that the number of people than I think, then Sudou might be declared innocent.

But it’s dangerous to think optimistically.

“I think the school gave a few days because they also found it difficult to come to a decision.”

The proof we have right now… the only possible key we have is the injuries of the other three.

“Then… they’re planning on heavily punishing Sudou-kun, huh.”

“Whoever brought it up first has the upper hand. The victim’s testimony works as evidence.”

“I still don’t get it. I’m the victim! This isn’t a joke. If I get punished, I won’t be able to become a regular for this tournament!”

Those class C boys purposely lost to Sudou to crush his chances. They’re trying to stop him from becoming a regular, while bringing down the rest of class D as well. That kind of plan seems likely.

“Let’s ask the three class C students to speak honestly. If they feel like what they did is wrong, they’ll definitely have feelings of guilt, right?”

“Those guys aren’t idiots. They won’t speak honestly. Dammit… I won’t ever forgive them, those bastards…!”

Picking up the ballpoint pen that was on the table, he snapped it into two. It’s not like I don’t understand where he’s coming from, but that’s my ballpoint pen…

“If trying to explain it didn’t work, then we’ll have to find some actual proof.”

“Yea… It would be great if there was evidence that proved that Sudou-kun wasn’t at fault…”

If things were that simple, this wouldn’t be so difficult. Even then, Sudou couldn’t deny it, and started thinking about the situation.

“There might be something. It might just be my misunderstanding, but… When I was fighting with those guys, I felt a strange presence around the area, as if someone was watching.”

Even though he wasn’t too confident about it, Sudou threw the idea out there.

“So you’re saying that there might be an eyewitness?”

“Well, that’s what I thought. There’s no definite proof.”

An eyewitness, huh. If they saw the whole thing, it would be good. But in some cases, it might drive Sudou further into the corner. For example, if they only saw the situation after Sudou started fighting, it might be the final blow for Sudou.

“…What should I do…”

Sudou held his head in his hands. Kushida talked, breaking the heavy silence.

“There are two ways to prove your innocence. The first is to go get the class C boys to admit their lies. Since Sudou-kun wasn’t in the wrong, it is probably best to get them to acknowledge it.”

That’s definitely idealistic.

“Like I said earlier, that’s impossible. They won’t admit that they lied.”

Like he said, they probably won’t admit it. If they confessed to the school that they liked about someone else to get them into trouble, they would definitely get suspended.

“And then the other method is find that eyewitness. If someone saw you guys fight, we might be able to look for more evidence for the truth.”

Well, this is about the only realistic plan we have.

“How do you plan to look for that eyewitness?”

“Asking people one by one? Or asking each class works too.”

“It would be great if someone came forward, but…”

I thought that our discussion had been going for pretty long, so I went to the cupboard. I took out the instant coffee and tea packs that I bought at the convenience store right after school started. Well, Sudou’s not very good with coffee, though. After preparing a pot of hot water, I put everything on the table.

“This might be a shameless request, but… can you keep this a secret?”

Taking the cup from the table and blowing on it, Sudou asked us apologetically.

“Eh… a secret…?”

“If rumor of this spreads, it’ll make its way to the basketball club. I don’t want that to happen. You understand, right?”

“Sudou, even then—”

“Please understand, Ayanokouji. If I can’t play basketball, I have nothing left.”

He grabbed both of my shoulders and pleaded. Things won’t blow over even if the rumors don’t spread. If word spreads that he used violence, the basketball club might not let him stay anymore.

“Won’t the class C students spread the rumors themselves? It would be convenient for them.”

That was what I was thinking about. It wouldn’t be strange for them to spread the rumors themselves. As if he was saying “Seriously!?”, Sudou held his head in his hands once again.

“What if rumor got out already…?”

“No, for today, the news of the incident probably hasn’t spread.”

“Why do you think that?”

“If those class C kids spread the rumor already, it would’ve probably reached us long ago.”

The school called in Sudou after school.

Also, there wasn’t any word about it during the day.

At least, it hasn’t spread widely yet.

“So we’re safe for now?”

But how long will that last? Even if you put a gag order on it, it’ll become a rumor sooner or later. Before long, it’ll be known to the public. Right now, the only thing that’s certain is—

“Sudou-kun, you should probably try to stay away from this case.”

Kushida, also understanding this, advised Sudou.

“Yea, it’ll be bad if the related party tries to do anything.”

I replied, agreeing with Kushida’s words.

“But, pushing the whole thing onto you guys is—”

“I don’t feel like this is being pushed onto us. We just want to help Sudou-kun. I don’t know how far we can get, but we’ll do our best. Ok?”

“…Alright. I know this is a bother, but I will leave it to you guys.”

It seems like he understood that things would get more complicated if he tried to get involved himself.

“Well then, we’ll return to our rooms. Sorry for intruding so suddenly.”

“Don’t worry about it, other than the fact that you made duplicate keys.”

Saying “I won’t return it”, Sudou put his key in his pocket. I should lock the door with a chain from now on…

“Kushida, see you tomorrow.”

“Bye-bye, Sudou-kun.”

She saw Sudou off, who looked kind of sad. It’s only a few rooms over, though.

“Well then. Kushida, are you not going back?”

“I just wanted to ask a few more things about what happened today. You don’t seem like you’re very enthusiastic to help Sudou-kun.”

Kushida looked at me with wavering eyes. I got the sudden urge to hold her hand. I stretched my back and shook off my bad thoughts.

“It’s not like that, but there’s not much I can do. I can only respond to Sudou’s story. If it was Horikita or hirata, they might be able to give some better advice.”

“That’s probably true, but Sudou-kun came to rely on you. Even more than Horikita-san, Hirata-kun, or even Ike-kun, he entrusted his story to you.”

“I don’t know if I should be happy or not.”

“Fu~n.”

I was confused Kushida’s eyes turned cold for a split second.

Speaking of which, Kushida once told me that she hated me directly to my face. She always has a gentle smile, so I forget from time to time, but I might get burned once again if it happens one too many times.

“It might better if Ayanokouji-kun makes a bigger effort to blend in with the class.”

“Well, I’m more or less trying. It’s just that not much has come out of it. This time, I don’t have the courage to say that I will help Sudou.”

I guess she doesn’t think that I worry about not being able to eat lunch with anyone.

I may think that way, but Kushida probably knows that I have trouble.

“Kushida, you’re going to help Sudou, right?”

“Of course. We’re friends. Ayanokouji-kun, you’ll—what are you doing?”

“As I said earlier, talking to either Horikita or Hirata is better, right? Well, Sudou hates Hirata, so Horikita is the obvious choice.”

But I don’t think that Horikita would have a good idea to solve this problem.

“Will Horikita-san even help?”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to ask. But she won’t idly watch as class D collapses… probably.”

I was feeling a bit hesitant. After all, it’s Horikita.

“I know you’re trying to avoid the question, but Ayanokouji-kun, you’ll help too, right?”

She steered the conversation back even though I was trying to change the subject.

“…Is it fine if I’m no help? I’ll probably be useless, you know?”

“It won’t be like that. You’ll be useful somehow.”

She didn’t say how I would be useful, though.

“What should we starting tomorrow? Sudou-kun said that it would be useless, but I still think that it’s a good idea to go talk to the three people he fought. Actually, I’m friends with Komiya-kun and his group. So, we might be able to persuade them. Hmm, is it dangerous…?”

It seemed like Kushida couldn’t throw away the option of talking to them.

“The risk is high. Not considering who started the fight, it’s the three of them that first brought it up to the school. They have the upper hand in this situation. Also, it wouldn’t work. Since it was them, not Sudou, that picked a fight.”

There’s no easy way to prove to the school that they lied. But if the school knows that they fabricated a lie and told them, class C would get a massive penalty.”

“Then, I guess looking for the witness is the way to go.”

Even that’s pretty difficult. Without any details, it’ll be impossible to find an eyewitness. Asking “Did you see something?” is an extraordinary waste of time and effort.

I won’t reach a conclusion now, no matter how much I think about this right now.

If any change occurs in the situation, the flow of events might change a bit.