Minako and Saori stood in the faculty office , feeling as if they were robbed of their senses of the world around them . Especially Saori , who was clutching a newspaper article in her hand , her eyes were intensely focused on it , but she wasn't reading it , and even if she had been , she weren't comprehending it . She felt that she was living through the biggest paradox of her life .
" how the future of our students is lost in the alleyways without proper education " Mr. Ekoda was fuming as he referred to the title , and a picture which was clearly of Saori , despite the eyes being blocked off " that's you in the picture , isn't it ?!! "
" I ... I don't... I don't understand ... " Saori was shocked beyond words " this interview ... these questions ... I never answered any of them !!! "
" no ?! Is this article a lie then ?! " Mr. Ekoda slammed his hand on the table " we've already lost a student to thugs before . First that troublemaker Shinjiro and now you ! Do you have any idea how much you all sullied the name of Geggokan ?! "
" now hold on just a minute ! " Minako interrupted " neither Saori nor Shin-cha—I mean ... Aragaki senpai ... had done anything of the sort ! "
" oh , and the public is going to take your word for it , of course ! Do you know how many witnesses we have who claim that Saori seduced and even slept with boys from this school , other schools and even TEACHERS to satisfy her needs ?!! " Mr. Ekoda angrily hushed her , before turning to Saori and continuing his enraged momentum " an example should be made of such delinquents like you , Hasagawa ! You'd better start saying goodbye to your friends , if you had any , because I will personally ensure that you ARE EXPELLED !!! "
" No ! " Minako exclaimed " I'm not gonna let you do that ! "
" well , you'd better give me a good reason for that , unless you're also involved in this controversy ! "
" how ... how did you reach that conclu—?! "
" you'd better believe you're getting expelled with her of we found out you're doing the same heinous actions ! In fact , don't think your reputation is that clean yourself ! "
" I ... what ... ?! " Minako wasn't sure where to begin with that statement , but she decided to focus on the more pressing issue , deciding to boldly exclaim " I don't trust the investigation that the faculty has conducted , which is why I the student council will investigate this further ! "
While Minako was granted permission to investigate , much to Mr. Ekoda's dismay , the situation wasn't exactly favorable to her or Saori . The public was demanding a response from the school regarding the newspaper article that depicted Saori , and so Minako was only given two days to investigate. The evidence against Saori was damning , and there were piles of rumors to add on top of it . In fact , Saori's reputation had sunken so deep before she or Minako could have realized , that when they left the faculty office , they could feel the other students glaring daggers at them . They could only try to leave the school as quickly as possible, so they made their way for the station.
" Minako ... it might be for the best that we don't hang out together anymore " Saori started " I don't want them to start rumors about you , too"
" rumors are just rumors , they're nothing but smoke ! The only thing I'm worried about is this newspaper article "
" that article is a lie , that reporter said he was conducting a research about the straightedge lifestyle in today's high school students ... "
" didn't you suspect anything ? "
" well ... no ... "
" what about the rumors that you've been ... you know ... " Minako started " I mean they're a load of bull , but I want to hear your opinion about them so I could help you "
" They're lies ... all of them ... " Saori smiled , as tears began filling and overflowing from her eyes " I just wanted a friend ... but everything was ... a lie ... every ... thing ... now ... I can't stand on my own ... I can't trust anyone ... I'm too ..... scared ...... "
" okay ... let's stop this despairing session " Minako couldn't stand to see Saori crumble before her , and she held her cheeks as if she was trying to keep her smiling " you can trust me ! I'll work to solve your problems ! All of them ! "
" Minako ... thank you ... " Saori smiled " I'm glad that you're here with me ... because I don't think ... I could've endured this myself ... "
" I'll even drag my sarcastic raging edgy brother to help me out , you'll see ! Together , we ... ! "
" Well I'm not sure I feel like helping someone who calls me a ' sarcastic raging edgy brother ' behind my back " Minato interrupted Minako's prep talk
" Ack ! Mi... Minato ?! "
" Okay ... " Minato stared at the two girls , with his eyes focusing on the crying Saori " so I take it you're Hasegawa-san , the submissive and weak-willed girl Minako has been hanging around with ? "
" What ?! " Minako collapsed on the ground as she heard what her brother said , and when she stood she yelled at him " you were NOT supposed to say that !!! ... at least ... at least not with such phrasing ! "
" Is that so ? " Minato turned to his sister , for a second , before facing Saori again
" Oh no ! Not this grin again ! Don't ... ! "
" you have no spine , you stupidly let people take advantage of you , and you try to be Miss goodie-two-shoes , but in reality you have no personality or character whatsoever ! "
" I ... I have never said that !!! " Minako nervously exclaimed as saw the confused expression on Saori's tear-filled eyes
" I never said you did , and who told you I was talking about her ? " Minato shrugged " that was my impression of you back in middle school , and you said she reminds you of those days , so I went with my past experiences "
" You were looking at her while talking ! "
" Um ... What ? " Saori was rendered speechless as she saw the clash of character between the twins
" Enough screwing around , I'm Minato , the brother of this ... this Clown "
" What did I tell you about the sarcastic part , Saori ? " Minako sighed " sometimes he's too much to handle "
" oh , nice to meet you " Saori replied " I'm Saori Hasegawa "
" Well , I heard the rumors and all , but now that I look at you , I can see where they've been coming from " Minato sighed , and before Minako could object he continued " see , when you continue to agree on everything people around you say , they start taking advantage of you , in more ways then just throwing their chores at you . They also pin the blame of their mistakes on you , too . At first , you think you're being nice by helping them out , then when they betray and abandon you , you feel devastated and destroyed , am I right ? "
" I ... what ? " Saori was surprised that Minato managed to assess the situation after just a few minutes of conversation with her
" well , at least Minako was by your side , if anyone can understand you , it's her . Believe it or not , she was almost more submissive than you "
" yeah ... that's true ... " Minako answered Saori's questioning stare " I even got my brother in various problems because of that"
" so what exactly happened ? " Minato looked at his sister
" Mr. Ekoda wants to ... "
" not that ape again ! " Minato clutched his forehead " what is it this time ?! "
" he thinks Saori's been out nightclubbing and mingling with bad groups at night , and he's relying on a newspaper article written by a swindler to prove it "
" he also thinks that I've been sleeping with other students " Saori sighed
" and what's his basis on such a ridiculous claim ? "
" rumors from talkative students , can you believe that ?! " Minako exclaimed
" okay , we'll investigate the situation " Minato decided " the rumors should be easy to debunk , even Junpei can help with that . What I'm worried about is the newspaper article . Do you have a copy of it ? "
" I .... no ... "
" we'll have to buy one from the bookstore by Iwatodai mall "
" why ... why are you helping me ? " Saori trembled
" there's one thing I can't stand , and that's false allegations " Minato sighed " there was one famous player who's still speedrunning many games , most of which are RPGs . You can say they were among the best players , if they weren't the best "
" you don't mean Casper , do you ? "
" yes ... a rumor spread about them cheating on their girlfriend with another girl , as well as more serious accusations . I was actually among those who bought into it and harassed the poor player . They didn't want to reveal much of themselves , but when the accusations and the bullying piled on and on , Casper revealed that they were only nine years old , before deciding to quit playing video games "
" what ?! "
" I don't know why they thought it was necessary to hide this much information about themself , but if their age was this shocking , then I imagine they had a good reason " Minako remarked
" the reasons don't matter , there was no proof of cheating , not even photos , just text messages . Because of text messages , Casper was scarred from participating in any online game or competition for two years , they only began streaming again a few months ago . That's why I don't want to see a person being accused of something they didn't do "
" right ... thank you so much ... "
————————————
The next day came and ended faster than the twins could hope for , and they had to answer to the allegations against Saori by tomorrow . While the rumors were easily traced and debunked , with Mitsuru deciding to announce the results of the investigation in the rumors during a morning school assembly tomorrow , they still had to worry about the newspaper article . They couldn't prove that the reporter was a liar , and the photo was what made their situation even worse .
" this isn't happening " Minako sighed as she watched the students leave the school " time is running out , Minato , what should we do ?! "
" ... here's the plan " Minato decided " I want you to go to the dancing club in Paulownia mall and ask them to check the security footage , I'll go to the programming club and look for someone experienced in photo doctoring "
" you think the photo was ... "
" I'm just grasping right now , actually , but it could be the lead we're looking for ... "
" well , we're backed into a corner right now , so let's just hope this works " Minako sighed , then she quickly ran toward the station .
Minato immediately made his way to the programming club , he was hoping he would find one of his upperclassmen who were around when the club was for photographers , so they might help him out . However , not that many of them remained in the club after it was changed , and those who remained would probably have left at that point . Minato could only hope that he would catch up to one of them before it's too late . Unfortunately , when he opened the door to the club , it was already empty .
" No ! Dammit !!! " Minato raged
" Minato ? What're you doing here ? " Minato's eyes darted to his back , and there Keisuke was standing behind him
" Keisuke senpai ! I thought you had left ! "
" oh ... I did , but I remembered that I forgot my memory flash card plugged in the ... "
" actually , there's something I need you to investigate " Minato hurriedly gave him the newspaper" do you think this photograph is real , or was it tampered with using photoshop or something ? "
" I ... well ... I needed to leave quickly ... "
" then ... then can you take it with you and investigate it later ? We need the results by tomorrow "
" oh ... if that's the case , I'm fine with that " Keisuke took the newspaper from Minato " I'll tell you the answer by tomorrow "
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Since this part is focusing on the subject of false accusations and how they can ruin someone's life , I want to use this chance to say this , and I can't stress this enough , don't accuse or follow an accusation on someone unless there's a decisive evidence against them. Better yet , don't buy into that at all . I once saw a video on YouTube about the 4th wall , and how having an incognito mask makes us feel safe , and this feeling of safety makes more daring , or even more rash and insensitive , because we don't fear the consequences .
Especially during these times , with the quarantine limiting our interactions to only through the internet mostly , it's becoming much easier to say things that could hurt other people , because what we see is just Cosmos_Null , and not the person typing this in their name . And that way we may forget the effect of our word on the human behind the account picture , and even on their lives
I'm thankful that my readers are supportive in their comments , and how I was never offended or hurt by anyone's words yet , but as I saw the main theme of this part ( and the next part) being false accusations , rumors and insults to one's image , I wanted to talk with you all about this .
The world is already cruel enough for some of us , let's not make this horrible , confined life of this quarantine any worse for our fellow human beings.
With that being said , I hope your lives have been going well , and if you have been going through difficult times I can only hope this book helped easing it on you a little , if only mentally or emotionally , and stay safe and happy .