We, the minors of the group were left out of the room since Miss Harumi said that she would manage this kind of thing. Even though the case was already done and I had dealt with it, she wanted to solve it her own way. Since I decided to trust her, I abandoned the plan I had and let her do it.
Miss Akari, Wakana, Amagami, Hamada and I went out of the room and we were forbidden from eavesdropping.
My tears from before had dried up already and yet, Miss Akari held my hand, as if she was trying to relieve me. I did not know why, but I felt like I did not want to let her hand go away. I felt calmer if I could hold her hand for now.
I glanced at the group of three. Hamada seemed to avoid looking at her friend, Wakana. Probably due to the framing attempt she did to me. I did not know what kind of feelings were running inside her heart now, but it definitely was not something positive.
Amagami on the other hand, was glaring at me with intense contempt. It was as if I was in the wrong when I was the wronged one. Nevertheless, that was why I was not surprised when he suddenly closed in the distance between us.
"You! If only you quietly admit it-"
With his hand grabbing my collar, he shouted at me. However-
"Gahhh!!! Let go!!"
"Don't you dare touch my brother."
Miss Akari grabbed the hand that was holding my collar while talking coldly. Her eyes were not the kindest as she glared at Amagami.
"It hurts! Please let me go!"
"This is the last warning. Touch him one more time, be prepared to live with one hand."
Then, she released his hand while taking mine into her and walked away, leading me somewhere else other than this place. Before we left, I caught a glimpse of Hamada's figure. She was looking like she lost something important to her now.
Miss Akari brought me to the Student Council Room, which I never thought I would be entering in my whole school life. When I entered the room, the scene of a neat and organized space greeted me. There were some guys and girls doing some paperwork I wouldn't understand. When we entered the room, their eyes turned to us. Some were curiously looking while some were confused. If I had to say something, that one guy who was sitting alone at one significant table was looking at me with a smile, which bothered me a little. I was not used to being looked at with such eyes.
I was certain enough that the way he looked at me did not signify that he was hostile to me, so I would be ignoring it for now.
"As usual, you don't even knock."
"Next time, knock first okay?"
"By the way, who's that cute guy? Your boyfriend?"
"Huh, boyfriend? Seriously, is that your boyfriend, Miss Minamoto?"
"Even if he is your boyfriend, this room is not for lovebirds. Students other than Student Council members are forbidden to enter unless given exception."
Those were the questions Miss Akari received as she entered with me while our hands were together. Certainly, I would not say we look similar. Furthermore, I always let almost half of my face get covered with my bangs. Therefore, it was understandable that they mistook us for lovers.
Miss Akari did not answer. Maybe she felt annoyed by such questions, but she did not say anything like an insult, which signified that they were acceptable people in her opinion. Since I could figure out her personality a little, I could at least know that much.
"Now, calm down you all. Give Akari time and space to explain. She has reasons, right Akari?"
The guy who was sitting earlier stood up and smiled while calming them down. From the way he acted, I could guess that he was the Student Council President. However, the thing that surprised me was not that he was the president.
....did I hear him right?
He called Miss Akari by her name without honorific. Was it a surprise? For me, yes. Miss Akari rarely, like very rarely let someone call her by her name, without honorific too. Other than Miss Harumi, I had only known that only Senpai could call her like that. For him to call her name without honorific, was there anything between him and Miss Akari?
"Yes. I'm sorry for bringing my brother here without permission. I hope you will allow him to stay here for a few minutes just for today."
"While I would like to say no, may I hear the reason first?"
"Long story short, he became a victim of false accusation and might be targeted if he returns to the class now. I hope to let things calm down and for him to relax here. I'm sorry."
"Well, that's fine then. Don't say sorry, it's not like you at all."
As expected of the president, he was not someone who would be surprised by this much information. From the way he talked with Miss Akari, they did not seem close enough to a personal level, but maybe he was someone she could trust....not like what I imagined would turn out true.
"You can stay here. Try to relax okay. Here, there will be no one who will hurt you. Let me introduce myself. I am Yoshida Asahi, the Student Council President. Nice to meet you."
Yoshida Asahi, the president held out his hand for a handshake probably. But, I did not do anything and just bowed my head a little while moving behind Miss Akari to gesture that I did not want to have anything to do with him or anyone else.
While Miss Akari did not take it the bad way, it was a little surprising when the person in return did not feel offended when I did not return his gesture. He only smiled without saying anything to me.
The others did not feel the same though. However, none of them said anything too insulting.
"Hahaha, Prez. You're rejected. Okay, you're cool Miss Minamoto's brother."
"Don't you know it's rude not to accept someone's goodwill. Well, next time don't do it. You might hurt someone's feeling."
"Look at you, hiding behind your sister. How cute~"
The girls member might be too much for me. They seemed to be looking at me like I was an adorable animal. The guys were calm and cool about it.
"Don't bother him too much, or I'll be angry. You can ask question but never force an answer out of him, understand?"
Oh, she switched to the normal mode. Miss Akari was back to her strict and firm personality as she spoke to the other members of the Student Council, though it did not seem like they were afraid or uncomfortable about it. In fact, they looked like they were used to this kind of miss Akari.
"Yozora, you can sit with me over there. Just do whatever you want. Play your phone or sleep. Until I finish my part, just stay here."
"...okay."
I followed Miss Akari to her table and sat on the chair beside her. After that, Miss Akari began to look over various papers with many words and numbers on them which I would not want to read while I just watched her do her work.
I did not bring out my phone since I didn't have anything to do with it. No games or novels or anything interesting. I even wanted to sleep since that was my hobby...though I didn't think I would be able to.
There were two girls looking at me curiously as they sat nearby. While I wished I could ignore them, it did not seem like I would be able to.
"Hey, what's your name?"
"Why don't you show your face? Why do you hide it? I'm sure you look good if you fix your hair a little."
"Do you call your sister Big Sis?"
"What class are you?"
They continued to ask me even though I had ignored them for more than a few minutes. They did not seem to stop although I did not answer them. Instead, they seemed more than energetic to ask more. I wanted my serene and peaceful moment. Miss Akari was absorbed in her work, though she seemed like she almost finished them.
"Hey, why don't I fix your hair a little?"
"Don't worry, we're good at this."
One of them reached out her hand for my bangs. While I was sure that their intentions were pure, this was not something I could tolerate.
Nevertheless before I could stop her from touching my hair, another hand grabbed her quickly. It was the same hand who stopped Amagami's hand yet it was softer the way she grabbed it.
"Do not touch his hair."
Miss Akari warned the girls with her hard expression. I was grateful as she spared me from being antagonized by the girls.
"Okay, Akari. Sorry, we're just too curious about your little brother."
"Yeah, we did not mean to make him uncomfortable. Sorry, little bro."
Perhaps feeling bad after realizing that they were getting too close, they apologized sincerely.
"...it's fine."
I assured them since I had let bygones be bygones. I glanced at Miss Akari to gesture that I was all right, to which she let go of the girl's hand.
"Even so, as always. You have already finished your part, Akari."
"It was just simple thing. I just had to read and correct any miscalculation."
The girls and Miss Akari talked like nothing had happened. It seemed that the girls did not take offense of what Miss Akari did before. Since they had began talking and forgetting me, I thought I could finally sleep. Yet, my wish was never granted.
"Hey, Minamoto's little bro. What's your name?"
The guy who seemed to be free spirited and energetic asked me. From the colour of his necktie, he was a third year student, a senior to put it simply.
"... Minamoto Yozora."
"Minamoto Yozora, huh. My name is Takagi Shou. And this guy is Hashimoto Jin."
As Takagi introduced himself, he also told me the name of the guy beside him, Hashimoto. I had no intention to socialize with them after this, but I made sure to remember their names in case I meet them again.
"Minamoto Yozora...your name sounds familiar to me..."
Hashimoto muttered quietly but it was loud enough for me to hear, not sure for others though. Then, as he finally remembered, he spoke out loud, which I did not really appreciate.
"The rumored troublemaker?"
"My brother is not a troublemaker."
Not even a second passed after Hashimoto said it, Miss Akari denied that statement. Instead of continuing to defend himself, he explained.
"No, I'm not saying he's a troublemaker. There are just many rumours surrounding him. Well, since he's your brother, I'm pretty much sure that the rumours are just rumours in the end."
"Those rumours are fake. Yozora did not do anything close to them. People just speak of what they want just to satisfy their dirty mind without learning the truth."
As I saw that Miss Akari was still agitated, her face turned stiffer. Then, once again, President Yoshida, or I would just call him Prez, rose from his seat and pacify the situation.
"Calm down, Akari. We all know the rumours aren't true."
"...fine. Just, Yozora really did not do those things."
"Yes, I know, I understand and I believe in you and him. That's why, calm down."
I wondered from where did Prez learn how to calm down Miss Akari. He seemed very experienced when he dealt with her, as if they had know each other for a long time. The term 'boyfriend' came into my mind but Miss Akari did not show any sign of affection to him. Prez on the other hand seemed to be neutral. He did seem to have positive feeling for her but unlikely to be love.
Well, Miss Akari calmed down in the end. Although I took the stance of not asking anything, I was a little curious of what was their relationship. Therefore, I moved closer to Miss Akari and whispered to her my question.
"...is he your boyfriend?"
"...no. Where did you get that idea?"
Miss Akari looked genuinely perplexed and confused by my question. It was very much unlikely that she lied and hid her feelings because she reacted like the idea of dating Prez never crossed her mind before.
"...I see."
"...?"
"By the way, may I know the whole situation of yours? That was my first time seeing you running in school, Akari. From how you acted, it did not seem like a common misunderstanding or mischief."
Prez asked politely as he looked at me with a soft smile. He looked very kind when he smiled like that.
To be honest, I really did not want to explain. First of all, it was a huge pain. Next, things had already happened. No need to dwell on past. Finally, I did not want to remember it anymore. I was tired of it. I just want to sleep for now. I did not even want to go to class.
For some reasons, I felt like I want to see Senpai. It has been two days since I last met her. I wondered if she was still on the roof, eating her lunch alone. She would not miss me for sure, since I believed that she just saw me as a junior she played around with. However, I was sure that she would be curious of where did I go. Until now, I rarely spent my lunchtime without her.
Miss Akari stared at me as if she was waiting for my response. The others also did the same. I did not want to say that I refuse, but I guessed I had no choice to refuse directly.
*RING*RING*
Call it fortunate or whatever, Miss Akari's smartphone rang and it was Miss Harumi who called her. While Miss Akari answered the call, the previous question disappeared from everyone's thoughts as the attention was turned to Miss Akari and the call.
Miss Akari moved a bit away and came back as she put the smartphone into her pocket after the call ended.
"Maybe I'll talk about it next time. Yozora, let's go. Mom called for us."
"Okay."
"Then, everyone. Please excuse us."
Just like that, Miss Akari took me by my hand and led me out of the Student Council Room. Prez smiled lightly while the girls and the guys waved their hands happily, as if saying that we would meet again.
They were not bad. At least they did not look at me with contempt and disgust like the others. While I did not know if we could get along or not, I figured that at least we could communicate properly. I did not know if they heard stories of me or not. They said they heard that I was the rumoured first year student but they did not say that they know about what was the rumour about.
"Miss Akari?"
"Yes?"
"I can walk just fine. You don't need to hold my hand."
Even now, she still held my hand. I thought that she was just trying to make sure I walk properly and don't run away. I would not run away since I had nowhere to run to anyway.
"You don't like it?"
"No, it's not that I don't like it."
"Then, it's fine."
As if that was the ultimatum, I had no choice but to concede to her way. Well, it was not like it was harmful to me in any way.
With our hands together, Miss Akari led us back to the Principal's Office and opened the door without knocking. Then, a perplexing scene greeted us.
Even I who was hard to be surprised was a little shocked by the situation.
Gondou-sensei was on the floor with her knees, bowing to Miss Harumi. Hamada and his lawyer or secretary looked like they lost a huge amount of their entire fortune. Their eyes were empty as they stared at Miss Harumi. The principal and Miss Masamura seemed to be scared of Miss Harumi. I could see that the principal was trying to inch away from her as much as possible while looking at her cautiously.
The person who received those attentions was showing her back to us. Her presence and pressure were not something to be messed with. I felt like I could see a horned demon around her. I knew that it was just my imagination but, even for me, she looked quite scary. Even Miss Akari flinched when she saw our mother like this.
When she noticed us, the previously suffocating pressure disappeared like it was never there. Instead of a demon, I saw the very image of saint on her.
"You've come. Now, let's go. You're given two days off from school. Of course, it will be counted as attendance. Don't worry."
"....are things already settled?"
Miss Akari asked a question as she looked at Miss Harumi and the other occupants of the room. With a smile, Miss Harumi answered.
"Yes, you don't have to worry about the punishment of those kids. I have discussed it thoroughly with Mister Principal and Miss Gondou."
The smile she gave was bright and refreshed yet somehow it was a little scary when she said that happily. Nevertheless, since this matter had been solved peacefully by the adults, I guessed it was better to let it go.
Even though I was curious about what kind of things happened after we left the office, my intuition notified me not to ask any question.
After that, we just returned to our house. Miss Akari and Miss Harumi seemed a bit bright when they knew that Miss Akari and I were getting two days off from school. Normally, I would feel glad not going to school and receiving all those not too welcoming stares. However, I felt a little down.
Somehow, the idea of not seeing Senpai for a couple of days more did not seem very joyful to me. Well, I was sure that she would not be missing me anyway so, let's just think about it later.
I thought of spending these two days in my room, making a bit money from editing and other things. Nevertheless, it did not seem like I would be having enough free time for that. Especially when my plans had already been decided.
"Let's go to a theme park tomorrow!"
"That's sound like a good idea! Let's go, Yozora! All of us!"
As they looked at me with glittering eyes, I really wished that the hope in their eyes weren't fake. Well, I had decided to give them a chance. Therefore, it was only right to accept their invitation. However, one thing definitely changed from last time's invitation.
"All right. Let's go together."
The words that came out of my mouth were smooth and clear, without any hesitation nor reluctance, as if I was accepting their invitation with pure willingness. I was not sure why, but I knew it, that the first step I had taken, had been on the right path. Guided by Senpai's words, taking the steps while being held by hand with Miss Akari and protected by Miss Harumi along the way, the 'me' who was wandering without a compass, had now been on the path I was supposed to walk from the beginning.
*********************************
In the principal's office, all the adults were having their souls coming back into their body as the culprit had finally gone out of the office. The first one to regained his calm was the principal as he was the one less involved in the case.
As he had managed to think clearly again, he spoke with hope and exhaustion, as if he did not want to feel like before again.
"Gondou-sensei, I hope you learn from your mistake and repent. I'm sure you don't want the same incident to repeat and you know what will happen if it does repeat. Even I will have to use my authority if this happens again."
The person in return took a few seconds to respond and the answer she gave was listless.
"I understand...I'll make sure that this will never happen again...I apologize for the problem..."
"Very well. Mister Hamada, I take it that you will honour your contract with Miss Minamoto. It is definitely your wrong and defeat. If you go against her, I'm afraid that you will lose almost everything you have accumulated over the years."
Hamada and his lawyer plus secretary nodded with pale face. His eyes were looking at the paper which explained the agreement that he and Harumi had signed. On the surface, he would not suffer any loss from it. However, if one truly comprehend the content, they would know that it was a complex trap which could cause him to lose his wealth and reputation in just one day.
Neither him nor his secretary could negotiate with Harumi as she had all the advantages with her, not that they could as they were frightened by the skills and abilities in word battles. Nevertheless, it was a win-win situation. Unless he breaks one of the condition, he would not suffer any loss.
"Officer Masamura, I apologize for showing you a disgraceful scene of my school. Since this had been solves, I hope you will not prolong this case to the police."
The principal asked Masamura sincerely as he knew that it was partly his fault that he did not take care of his responsibility with enough attention. Therefore, he wished for this incident to be pardoned as he woul try his best to avoid this kind of problem from happening again.
"... although I will still have to explain what happened, I will just say that it's just kids going overboard with their pranks. Even I know how serious this can be..."
Fortunately, Masamura understood what was the best decision she could make in this kind of situation. She could still vividly hear the voice of Harumi talking in the room even though the person had already left with her children.
"I don't want to be bothered by all the police stuff and neither my children want that. Therefore, let's just keep this in the shadow, shall we? However, I want all those who hurt my children to sign a contract with me."
She could never imagine how a single mother could be so brave in front of a police officer like her. Even with a smile on her face, Masamura who was trained not to fear most things was taking a step back out of fear. Everyone in the room hesitated to reply to her words.
"I only want one thing. Do not, by any chance hurt my children. Especially Yozora. If I know that even a single hair of him is hurt, all of you, including all the teachers, staffs and students, will be losing your social life. I'm sure you wouldn't believe me, so let me give you an example."
After that, they were exposed to the dark side of Minamoto's family.
"Hmm, Miss Gondou. It seems that you're very loving to guy in a club that you go last year. Oh, you have a sweet tooth too. I see that you like eating some candies that were given by that guy. Mister Hamada, your subordinates in the office seemed tired. Are you sure they are working just fine? Should I go there and ask them whether they want to rest or not? Oh, and you Mister Secretary, it seems that you have a very particular hobby. Those little girls really love you, don't they? I wonder if they know why you always take pictures of them. And Mister Principal, I'm not sure that you're doing a good job in managing the school. Well, since you're pretty new in this, I will pardon it this time. Though, the next time this happened, I'm not sure that the seat over there will be available for you."
Masamura did not want to believe that what she said was true. However, seeing the pale face of all the people she was talking about, she was forced to believe that Harumi was not a normal Japanese woman. She was not sure whether Harumi was in the dark side or not since Harumi was only looking at her phone and said all those words, as if she had the access to all information in the world.
It did not take long for them to sign the contract and swear to honour it.
Frankly speaking, Masamura just wanted to go home right now even if her work hour was still far from ending. She was exposed to too much of another world she did not expect to see. As a fresh and new police officer, she was supposed to have a senior who could guide her this time but the senior unfortunately had health problem and she was forced to go alone since there was nobody to replace him.
"Mom, this is just too hard for me..."
Well, she called her mother after leaving the school to express her difficulties. Her mother made quite an effort to console her. Police officer never had it easy for them, weren't they?
*********************************
At the same time, a girl was sitting on the rooftop while eating her now cold lunch alone. Usually, there was a boy who would always accompany her and shared her lunch with. However, today was just different from any other day. She did not know why. No matter how long she waited, the boy she expected never come.
Even the lunch she made today tasted less delicious and she could not finish it. They promised to exchange their homemade lunch, but today just wasn't the day. The girl understood that he was not obligated to come here everyday or tell her why and what happened. Nevertheless, she strangely felt very lonely and hurt.
In the end, she closed her lunchbox and headed back to her class. Before leaving the rooftop, she glanced back to the spot where they used to sit together and muttered.
"Kouhai.....I wonder when did you become such an important presence in my daily life...."
Then, she left with an empty face and walked to her class. Her figure, although she was beautiful, she seemed very lonely today.