After homeroom ended, Kushida got up from her seat and walked over to Sakura, who was quietly preparing to go back home. Kushida seemed strangely nervous.

Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudou noticed and looked towards Kushida.

Sakura-san.

W-What?

The girl with the glasses and the hunched back looked up listlessly.

It looked like she didnt expect someone to call out to her, since she was panicking.

Do you have time, Sakura-san? I want to ask you something about Sudou-kuns case

S-Sorry, I have plans, so

She averted her eyes; it was obvious that she was feeling uncomfortable. Talking to other people does not seem to be her strong point. Or rather, it felt like she didnt like talking to other people.

Can you make some time? I really want to talk because this is important. During Sudou-kuns incident, were you nearby by any chance

I-I dont know. I already said this to Horikita-san, but I dont know anything

Her words were frail, but she denied it strongly.

Kushida, also seeing how unwilling she was, probably didnt want to push it too far.

Although she looked confused at first, she immediately went back to smiling.

But even then, she wasnt willing to withdraw so easily.

After all, this person will greatly affect Sudous case.

Is it fine if I go back now

But something feels strange. Shes not simply bad at talking to people, but rather, it looks like shes trying to hide something. That much is obvious from the way shes acting.

She was hiding her dominant hand and wasnt making eye contact with her. Even if she may be uncomfortable with looking at her eyes, Sakura refused to look at Kushidas face.

If it was either me or Ike talking to her instead of Kushida, it would make more sense. After all, Kushida was able to get her to exchange contact addresses. Interacting with Kushida is a completely different experience. I dont think Horikita was wrong in sensing that something was off. I also felt the same way.

Cant you just give me a few minutes?

W-Why? I dont know anything

If Kushida failed here, their conversation would amount to nothing.

The awkward conversation naturally gathered more attention as it dragged on and on.

But this situation seems like a complete miscalculation from Kushida. Since they were acquaintances that had exchanged contact addresses, she expected this conversation to go much smoother.

If she wasnt expecting to be rejected, then this situation would make sense.

My neighbor looked over the situation attentively, then looked at me with a slightly smug expression.

It seemed like she was saying, I know that your powers of perception are exceptional

Im bad at talking to people sorry.

She was speaking in a strained voice, trying to keep Kushida away from her.

When we were talking about Sakura earlier, Kushida said that she was an ordinary girl, despite being shy.

Looking at her current behavior, shes clearly not normal. Kushida probably thought the same thing, because she looked completely confused. Even though shes good at getting people to open up, she couldnt do it this time.

Horikita, also watching the situation, came to a conclusion.

Too bad. Looks like she couldnt persuade her.

It was as Horikita said. If Kushida wasnt able to do it, I dont think anyone in the class would be able to start and maintain a conversation with Sakura.

Kushida is good at creating an atmosphere where unsocial people can easily socialize.

However, everyone has a personal space.

The anthropologist and cultural researcher Edward Hall further categorized this idea of personal space into four parts. One such part is the idea of an intimate zone. The close phase is about hugging distanceif an outsider tries to enter this area, they will be strongly rejected. However, if it was a significant other or a close friend, the person wouldnt feel uncomfortable. If an acquaintance entered Kushidas close phase, she normally wouldnt mind it. That is to say, she doesnt use this idea of personal space.[2]

However, Sakura clearly rejected her.

No rather, it looked like she was running away.

The first time around, she said that she had plans, but she didnt say it the second time. If she really had somewhere to go to, she wouldve said it again.

Sakura stood up and took a few steps away from Kushida.

G-Goodbye.

Seeing that she couldnt end the conversation, Sakura decided to run away.

She grasped the digital camera that was on her desk and walked away.

However, she bumped shoulders with Hondou, who wasnt paying attention to his surroundings as he texted his friend on his phone.

Ah!

The digital camera fell out of her grip and clanged onto the floor. Still focused on his phone, Hondou waved it off, saying My bad, my bad, and walked out of the classroom.

Sakura picked up her camera in a panic.

No it wont turn on

Sakura put her hand over her mouth in shock. Somehow, it looks like the camera broke from the impact. She kept pressing the power button and tried taking out the batteries and putting them back in, but it didnt turn on.

S-Sorry. I was being too pushy

No I was being careless, so it was my fault goodbye.

Unable to stop the despondent Sakura, Kushida looked frustrated and couldnt do anything but watch her leave.

Why is a gloomy girl like her the witness? How unlucky. She doesnt even want to help.

Sudou leaned against the chair and crossed his legs as he let out a sigh in resignation.

Im sure theres a reason. Also, Sakura-san didnt say that she was the witness herself.

I know. If she was going to say something she wouldve said it. Its because shes an adult that she stopped herself.

Sudou-kun, its actually better that shes the witness.

Whats that supposed to mean?

Shes not going to give testimony as your witness. This case will be treated as your fault. As a result, class D wont be able to completely escape the consequences, but we can think of it as fortunate. In an incident like this, its unlikely that theyll be able to penalize us by 100 or 200 points. Were lucky since we can only lose 87 points. Also, since you said that you were innocent, the school cant ignore it and expel you. Well be affected more than class C, though.

Horikita relentlessly said all that she wanted to say at once.

Dont joke around. Im innocent, innocent. The violence was legitimate self-defence.

Self-defence isnt as helpful as you think it is.

Oops, I accidentally spoke out loud.

Hey, Ayanokouji-kun.

When I turned around, acting aloof, Kushidas face was super close. Even when I look at her this closely, shes cute. Rather than feeling uncomfortable about the invasion of my personal space, I wanted her to come even closer.

Youre Sudou-kuns ally, right?

Well yeah, but why are you asking again?

Its looking a bit iffy right now, since everyones willingness to help Sudou-kun is diminishing.

I looked around the classroom.

Seems like it. They probably think that whatever we do will be useless.

If the key witness Sakura denies it, there wont be any progress made.

It doesnt seem like a perfect solution will appear. Lets give up, Sudou.

Ike mumbled halfheartedly.

Whats wrong with you guys? Didnt you say that youd help me?

Thats huh?

Looking for approval, he appealed to the remaining classmates.

Even your friends dont want to help you. Thats too bad.

The other classmates didnt say anything to deny what Ike and Horikita were saying.

Why is no one on my side? Man, all of you are useless bastards.

How interesting, Sudou-kun. Have you noticed that everyones turning on you?

What are you trying to say?

The class becomes tense often, but today was even worse.

Since Sudou was talking to Horikita, it looked like he was trying his hardest to hold back.

However, the blade came from an unexpected direction.

Dont you think its better for us that youre expelled? Your existence isnt a beautiful one. Rather, its quite ugly, Red hair-kun.

The one who spoke was fixing his hair with the hand-mirror he carried around everyday.

It was the particularly conspicuous boy, Koenji Rousuke.

What did you say? Try saying that again.

Its useless to keep saying it. Its nonsense. Since I already know that youre dumb, it doesnt matter if I say it one more time or not, does it?

Koenji didnt even look at Sudou and replied as if he was performing an a aside

The desk flew into the air and crashed onto the floor. The students still felt hopeful, but the whole room froze. Sudou stood up and walked over to Koenji in silence.

Alright, stop right there. Calm down, you two.

The only boy to move in this difficult situation was Hirata. My heart pounded.

Sudou-kun. Youre part of the problem, but Koenji-kun, youre also in the wrong.

Fu. I dont think Ive ever been wrong since I was born. Youre mistaken.

Hah, thats just fine. You better kneel down right now or Ill beat you up and smash your face in.

Stop it.

Hirata tried to hold Sudou back by grabbing his arm, but he wasnt showing any signs of stopping.

It seems like his intention is to vent all of his frustration by hitting Koenji.

Please stop already. I dont want to watch my friends fight each other

Its as Kushida-san says. I dont know about Koenji-kun, but I am your ally, Sudou-kun.

Youre too good, Hirata. I think you should change your name to Hero.

Ill end this here. Sudou-kun, you should act more like an adult. If you made another big uproar here, the schools impression of you would only turn worse. Right?

Tch.

Sudou glared at Koenji and left the room. After the door slammed shut, a loud voice rang out from the hallway.

Koenji-kun. Im not going to force you to help, but you were wrong to blame him.

Im sorry, but I have never been wrong in my life. Oh, look at the timeits about time for my date. Please excuse me.

While watching their strange interaction, I realized that there was no class unity.

Sudou-kun isnt mature, I see.

Couldnt you also have been friendlier, Horikita-san?

I wont have mercy on anyone that doesnt listen. Hes done great damage and doesnt have a single advantage.

Its not like you have mercy on people that do listen.

Yes?

Uu

While shrinking back like a sharp knife (gaze) just stabbed me, I made a small rebuttal.

Theres a saying that great talents mature late. I think Sudou has the possibility of becoming a future NBA player. He might have a chance of making a big contribution to society. The power of youth is infinite.

I used a catchphrase that felt like it came straight out of a commercial.

Im not saying that he wont become good in 10 years, but I need the strength to get to class A right now. If he doesnt have the talent now, he has no use to me.

Yeah, thats true

Horikita had a consistent opinion, but the rest of the classmates were wavering.

The situation doesnt look very good.

You get along with Sudou, right? It seems like you guys eat together often.

I dont think our relationship is bad. But it feels like a burden. Hes the person who skips class and fights the most. I have to draw the line there.

I see. It looks like Ike has his own opinions.

Ill try my best to persuade Sakura-san. Afterwards, things will surely take a turn for the better.

Hmm, I wonder. Under these circumstances, I dont think that Sakura-sans testimony will have a big effect. Also, I think the school will be suspicious that the witness suddenly appeared from class D.

Suspicious you mean that the school will think that this is a fake witness?

Naturally. Theyll probably consider the testimony along with the circumstances. It wont become absolute proof.

Thats what kind of evidence would be soundproof?

If you believe in miracles, the best evidence would be a witness that the schools trusts from a different class or a different grade that watched the event from the very beginning. There definitely isnt someone like that though.

Horikita said with confidence. I also thought the same thing.

Then no matter how hard we try to prove that Sudou-kun is innocent

However, if the fight happened in a classroom, things would be different.

What do you mean?

Well, those cameras record the classroom, right? So if anything happened, those recordings would serve as evidence, and crush the lies of those class C students in a single blow.

I pointed at the two cameras in the corners of the classroom.

The cameras were small and blended into the walls, but it was unmistakable that they were there.

The school uses those cameras to check if were whispering or nodding off during class. Or else they wouldnt be able to do those monthly class assessments.

Seriously? I never knew!

Ike looked at the cameras in shock.

I also just learned of this that there were cameras in the room.

Its hard to spot. I also didnt notice until they started talking about the points.

Well, ordinary people dont really care about where cameras are located. They probably wouldnt know where the cameras are in a convenience store, even if they always visit that store.

If someone did know, it would be someone who was either overly paranoid or felt guilty about something. Or they mightve accidentally seen it and noticed.

Alright, shall I head home since we dont have to look for a witness anymore?

Kushida and the others might talk about looking for another witness. Itll be a bother to get involved in that.

Ayanokouji-kun, want to go home together?

Hearing Horikitas invitation, I reflexively put my hand on her forehead. Her forehead felt cool, but her skin was still warm and soft.

I dont have a cold, you know? I just wanted to ask you about something.

O-Oh. Well, I guess its fine.

It was strange for Horikita to invite me. I wonder if itll rain tomorrow.

As I thought, havent you two gotten closer? Yesterday, you looked like you would kill me when I only touched your shoulder

Ike looked a bit dissatisfied as he gazed at my hand on her forehead.

Horikitas facial expression didnt particularly change.

Can you take it off? Your hand.

Oh, my bad, my bad.

I was relieved that Horikita didnt counterattack, and drew back my hand. I didnt notice at all.

The two of us walked out into the hallway. I think I know the general gist, but I wonder what she wants to talk about.

Oh, right. I want to go somewhere before we go back; is that fine?

Well, as long as it doesnt take too much time.

Yeah, itll take about ten minutes.