Hirano pov:-
The atmosphere became even more tense and rigid than it was before.
Hiyori spoke up.
“Fighting still isn’t allowed.”
“I know. I didn’t come here to fight with you. That was just my way of proving to all of you that we’re more than capable of defending ourselves.”
“…Can I trust you?”
Looking Hiyori in the eyes, Hashimoto nodded, but none of us truly believed him.
“Give it up, Hiyori. This guy lies as easily as he breathes. No matter how you look at it, the rumors were spread by Class B. It’s obvious because Class B was the only Class that wasn’t included in the
rumors.”
“That’s… Then isn’t there a chance that they aren’t at fault?”
“It’s just as Shiina-chan says. If we were the ones that posted the rumors, wouldn’t we have also posted some lies about Class B on the forums in order to avoid suspicion?”
“It’s hard to say. I don’t think that everyone in Class B would know
that Sakayanagi is the main perpetrator for the rumors about Ichinose. If the class wasn’t informed ahead of time, when the rumors are spread, there would definitely be confusion.”
As Takeda pointed this out, Hashimoto let out another sigh.
“Well, your deduction isn’t unreasonable, but in the end, it’s still
probatio diabolica.”
His excuse was extremely suspicious, but ultimately, we had no evidence to disprove it. At the same time, it was also hard for him to prove his innocence.
“If we want to get information out of these guys, it looks like we have no choice but to talk with our fists.”
“Woah Woah, cool it Ibuki-chan. Picking a fight with us like that won’t accomplish anything, you know?”
“Telling me to stop after picking the fight yourself, well aren’t you full of it?”
“Class B doesn’t have anything to do with it. Believe me.”
With that, Hashimoto let out a laugh, but Ibuki was not smiling. On the contrary, she seemed to be trying her hardest to hold back her rage.
Ibuki had fallen victim to the rumors posted on the school’s forums, just as Ishizaki and I had.
“You… Do you really think that you can look down on us just because Ryūen is no longer our leader!?”
Ishizaki finally reached the limit of his patience and pushed Soga aside.
Ibuki stepped forward to confront Hashimoto and Kitō right alongside him.
“Wait wait wait. Take it easy.”
“The rumors about Ichinose and the rumors about us. Get Sakayanagi to apologize for both of them.”
“You’re still misunderstanding something. We didn’t spread the rumors.”
“What a joke!”
Ishizaki forcefully kicked the nearby handrail.
Hashimoto began to understand that the situation was getting a bit out of control.
“…Then, what are you gonna do about it?”
“Isn’t it obvious? We’ll shut you up by force.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yep. If that sounds unpleasant, then you better go and get her to take back the rumors right now.”
“I’ve already told you countless times. We didn’t spread the rumors.”
Even though he continued to deny it, Hashimoto also understood that it wasn’t an excuse that the others would easily accept.
After all, the current state of affairs was essentially the same thing as Sakayanagi having declared war on Ichinose. It would be difficult for him to prove his innocence.
Hashimoto’s expression softened for a moment.
“Oh? What’s so funny?”
“Sorry, sorry. This is all just too absurd. I don’t understand what you want from me.”
Because Hashimoto wouldn’t acknowledge that Sakayanagi was
the source of the rumors, he didn’t have any other option but to turn Ishizaki down.
“Then, I guess we’ll just have to go ask Sakayanagi herself.”
“You? Fat chance.”
Hashimoto dismissively waved his hand, as if to say ‘There’s no way
that she’d bother with the likes of you.’
“Kitō. Ando. We might not have any other choice.” Hashimoto spoke to the two boys beside him.
Reading the atmosphere, Hashimoto concluded that they wouldn’t get anywhere with peaceful conversation.
Kitō seemed to have already prepared himself for this outcome, as he smoothly transitioned into a fighting stance.
Immediately, Ishizaki yelled out a war cry and charged in, attempting to tackle Kitō.
At the same time, Ibuki attacked Hashimoto with a high-flying kick,
but he ended up getting out of the way at the very last moment.
“Close!”
Due to her sudden, jumpy movements, Ibuki’s cellphone and student ID card fell out of her pocket.
Hashimoto realized that Ibuki was faster and stronger than he expected. His expression showed concern for the danger he was in, but was followed up by a look of genuine admiration.
“I seem to have forgotten… Ibuki-chan is more experienced at fighting than I remembered.”
“Stop it! All of you!”
Miyake shouted out while picking her phone up off the ground.
“Don’t get in my way, Miyake!”
Ishizaki attempted to push him aside with brute force, but Miyake seized him by the hand and forced him down to the ground.
“You bastard! Let go of me!”
“I’m sorry Ishizaki. It’s nothing personal.”
“Stop interfering!”
Ibuki kicked out once again, aiming for Miyake’s head.
Miyake quickly got off of Ishizaki,
narrowly dodging Ibuki’s kick at the
same time, but the whole affair caused him to lose his balance.
Making use of the opening, Albert grabbed ahold of Miyake from
behind him.
“Hold him down Albert.”
“Dammit…”
Miyake couldn’t resist Albert’s otherworldly strength, pinning him
down from above.
The two from Class C had concluded that they would win if the two-on-two played out without any obstructions.
“Ibuki!”
Ishizaki called out to her as Kitō lunged forward, aiming for her neck.
“Don’t look down on me!”
She reacted quickly, kicking Kitō’s hand away.
“These guys are seriously fighting, aren’t they… What do we do?” Soga spoke out.
Soga, Takeda and Hiyori were watching from the sidelines and weren’t in any position to stop them.
Normally Soga would be able to stop such fights. But this time even he wasn't making a move.
However, no one noticed that I was missing from the stand-by group.
While the fight was going on, I had taken the opportunity to slip behind the two Class B students.
(Class B has officially given me too much trouble. I have had it with them!) I thought as I remember how I was almost framed by Sakayanagi and now she had even posted a rumor about my past. I had reached my limit and peace was no longer an option.
(If it's a war they want... it's a war they get!)
After I made sure that Kitō was too distracted by Ibuki to help Hashimoto, I aimed a kick at Hashimoto's head from behind him.
"?!" Hashimoto looked behind at me with a frightened expression but was too late to dodge my kick. However my kick was blocked by someone I didn't expect.
The white haired student pushed me back and I almost fell. Luckily, I maintained my balance.
"Thanks for the save Ando." Hashimoto called out to the white-haired boy with a smile. It seems we had completely forgotten about his existence.
I took a step forward and attempted to kick the boy's face which he blocked with his left arm.
However, I immediately spinned around and attempted a kick through my left leg.
(Damn it!) He blocked my second kick aswell.
He then attempted to strike my stomach with his right fist which I managed to avoid.
I delivered a sharp kick to his torso.
"!" Making an expression of pain, he took a step back.
Without a second to spare I delivered a punch to his face which he was able to block.
However, it seems he took that punch on purpose to leave me open and delivered a kick to my side.
"Argh!"
It hurt but his attack wasn't over yet as he stabbed my stomach with his right hand.
The pain I felt almost made me roll over. However, I immediately delivered a headbutt to his face. And hit his nose.
"Argh!" His voice came out as he took a step back.
Although I was partially paralyzed by the pain from his previous attack, I pushed me legs off the ground and pushed my body against his. Making him fall over.
I didn't have much time to think. As he was about to get up, I delivered a kick to his face making his roll over.
However it didn't take him even more than a two or three seconds before he got back up again.
"Hm. The name is Ando Yuji. Your Hirano Aki correct? You fight well. Is that taekwondo? But mixed in with your own style of fighting? Huh... perhaps the rumor about you sending 15 students to the hospital really was true!" He provoked me with a smirk on his face.
"You bastard!" I charged straight at him but he punched me in the face. However, as I bent my back I also delivered a kick to his jaw. Ofcourse the force of my attack wasn't enough to inflict any real damage. But it was still going to hurt like hell.
It seems that all that training and excersizes are finally paying off.
"Ah! Why you!" Saying that he pushed me to the ground and attempted a kick to my head.
Fortunately, I rolled out of the way just in time.
Getting back up, I took some distance before I prepared myself to charge again. However-
"Stop that Hirano!" Saying that Soga and Takeda both held me from the side.
"You... You guys!"
“Please don’t keep going on like this Ishizaki-kun. I won’t allow you
to continue any further.”
Hiyori firmly declared her stance to us.
Unable to completely disregard what she said, Ishizaki looked over to her with a troubled look on his face.
“B-but!”
“Let’s suppose that you manage to beat Hashimoto-kun, Ando-kun and Kitō-kun in a fight here and force them to confess to everything. That still wouldn’t be real evidence. I’m also fairly certain that the person that matters, Sakayanagi-san, won’t admit to anything at all. Isn’t the fact that we weren’t able to get him to admit to it more than enough?”
“So you expect us to just swallow our anger?” Ishizaki complained.
“I know it seems unfair, but it is what it is. Please just bear with it for now.”
“Aren’t you the one that wanted us to come along with you in the first place? But then you ask us to stand down? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I promise that I will make it up to all of you later.”
Amused by what he was hearing as he listened in on their conversation, Hashimoto let out a whistle.
“Hoooh? So you’re saying that Soga, Hirano and Ishizaki aren’t the one who set up this meeting? It was all done by Shiina-chan instead?”
“Albert-kun. Please let Miyake-kun go as well.”
Following her directions, Albert slowly released Miyake.
“We’ve gone and made all of you from Class D worry as well.”
As she spoke, Hiyori turned to them and deeply bowed her head.
“How selfish, wrapping up our conversation like this. Do we just have to accept the beating along with your baseless suspicions?”
“Could you please forgive us?”
Hiyori took Hashimoto’s complaints head-on. Hashimoto should understand that there was no benefit in dragging this confrontation out any longer.
“Well, it’s not like we were injured. Let’s call it a day this time, Kitō. Ando, you step down too. But, please stop pointlessly doubting us. If you want to doubt us again, before you come to talk with us, please make sure you have
undeniable proof first.”
Hiyori had managed to successfully get the situation under control before things got too out of hand, but now, Class B had gotten to the point where they wouldn’t be able to repair their relationship with the other classes.
After that, a few days passed in the blink of an eye.
During that period, the ever-controversial Ichinose continued her string of absences, failing to show up to school even a single time.
However, that changed on February 24th, one day before the end-of-year exam. Ichinose had finally come to school again.
I knew immediately since she worked under me in the student council.
That being said, her presence was only truly important for Class A.
For Class C, the upcoming end-of-year exam on the 25th was far more important.
"It seems our preparation are going well." Takeda said as he was revising the material for tomorrow.
"Yeah..."
"Hm? What's up Hirano?"
"It's just that... many students have been talking about me behind my back for the pass few days."
"Because of the rumors?" Soga asked.
"Yeah..."
"Speaking of which, I have been meaning to ask. Are the rumors really tru-"
Suddenly, a loud noise resounded throughout the classroom as the door was violently flung open from the other side.
“Oh my god! Everyone!”
Just as we were about to enjoy the rest of our lunch…
“Ugh. This is the worst…”
Soga had dropped his sandwich onto the floor, startled by the sudden noise. He spoke up.
“Hey! What’s wrong with you!?”
Without attempting to hide his displeasure, Soga glared at Kondo.
“Something’s going down! A bunch of students from Class B marched into Class A just now!”
Kondo spoke, full of momentum.
“With Ichinose-san returning to class, Sakayanagi-san is making her move…”
Mumbling that, Soga stood up in a hurry. He motioned us to follow him.
Tomorrow was the end-of-year exam.
If Sakayanagi wanted to make a move, she would have no choice but to make that move today.
To make a direct attack in order to bring down Ichinose after she’s come back to school.
“What are you going to do, Hirano…?” Takeda asked.
"What does it look like? Follow Soga to class A!" Saying that, I rushed out of the classroom with Takeda behind me.
The commotion had already spread into the hallway, as people were gathering together.
“What are you doing here, Sakayanagi!?”
As we entered Class A’s classroom, we witnessed Shibata approach Sakayanagi.
“What am I doing here, you ask? Why, I’ve come to rescue everybody in Class A, you know?”
Sakayanagi was accompanied by Kamuro and Hashimoto. There was no sign of Kitō, Ando or anyone else from Class B. It wouldn’t have been surprising to run into problems if they had come with a larger group, so they probably decided to make their move with a smaller one.
“I wonder what you mean by that, Sakayanagi-san.”
Ichinose spoke up from deeper within the classroom, surrounded by several of her classmates.
“Wait, Ichinose. You don’t need to get involved with this.”
“Yeah! Don’t do this Honami-chan!”
They surrounded her tightly, trying their best to prevent Ichinose from getting in contact with Sakayanagi.
“To start things out, congratulations on your recovery. In fact, I wanted to reach out to you earlier, but I’ve been quite busy studying for the exam. Nevertheless, I’m quite happy for you. You’re just in time for the end-of-year exam tomorrow.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
The two of them spoke to each other from a distance.
It was perfectly clear that every single student from Class A was looking at Sakayanagi with hostility.
After all, even though it was lunch break, every student from Class A was present.
It was highly likely that the entire class had banded together with the goal of protecting Ichinose.
However, Sakayanagi didn’t seem shaken by their unity at all.
Rather, she seemed to be enjoying the feeling of being in enemy territory.
She had anticipated Ichinose’s movements. Given that Ichinose
was currently in the middle of a maelstrom of rumors, she had
foreseen that Ichinose wouldn’t make use of the cafeteria or other facilities on campus during the lunch break.
“You said you were here to ‘rescue’ us, Sakayanagi?”
“Correct.”
Responding to Kanzaki’s question, Sakayanagi nodded and let show
a bright smile.
“Does that mean… you admit to spreading the rumors?”
‘If you came here to apologize, I guess I kind of get what you mean by ‘rescue’.’ Kanzaki mumbled.
“I’m not the one who spread the rumors.”
“…If that’s the case, then what are you getting at?”
“In the past, there were rumors saying that Ichinose-san was maintaining a large sum of points, remember? At the time, the school announced that there was no foul play going on, so those
rumors subsided almost immediately.”
“What about it?”
In order to prevent Ichinose from saying anything, Kanzaki responded without missing a beat.
“This may be nothing but my own imagination, but… there are very
few methods available for someone to get their hands on such a large sum of points without breaking any rules. For example, one could periodically collect private points from all of their classmates, gathering them together under a single person. In short, they would be playing the role of a bank, and I’ve determined that Ichinose-san
is carrying this very responsibility for Class A.”
“That’s not something I can say.”
Kanzaki’s response was only natural. After all, it was directly related to Class A’s internal affairs.
“Indeed. I didn’t come here looking for a response to that in the first place. It’s just that… If, for instance, Ichinose-san truly does play the role of a bank like I’ve surmised… I think that may be a very dangerous situation for all of you.”
As she spoke, Sakayanagi directed her gaze toward Ichinose, who was intently staring back at her.
“…………”
Ichinose did not respond. Instead, she simply continued to return Sakayanagi’s gaze.
“Am I mistaken? Ichinose Honami-san?”
Sakayanagi’s question was truly cruel. It had certainly managed to force Ichinose into desperation.
Unable to do anything but respond with silence, Ichinose had finally been cornered, driven to the very brink of a sheer cliff.
With a single push, she’d be sent plummeting to the bottom. That was the sort of situation that Sakayanagi had created for her.
“Could you give me a little space? Chihiro-chan. Mako-chan.”
Unexpectedly, Ichinose told her protectors to move aside.
“B-but!”
“It’s okay. You don’t need to be worried about me. I’ll be alright.”
With a gentle smile, Ichinose calmly moved forward and closed the
distance with Sakayanagi.
Ultimately, Ichinose faced not toward Sakayanagi, but to all of her classmates throughout the classroom.
“…Everyone, I’m sorry!”
Standing before the teacher’s podium, Ichinose bowed her head in apology to the students of Class A.
“W-what are you apologizing for Ichinose? There’s no reason for you to be apologizing, right?”
Shaken from her words, Shibata attempted to interrupt Ichinose’s
apology.
“Please don’t try to stop her, Shibata-kun. She was just about to
confess.”
Sakayanagi smiled happily.
“This past year… The secret I’ve been hiding all along…”
“Hold on Ichinose. You don’t have to say anything else right now.”
Feeling unsettled, Kanzaki attempted to stop Ichinose from continuing any further once again, but she didn’t back down.
“There have been many strange rumors going around about me these past few weeks, and one of them isn’t just a baseless rumor. Just as it was written in that letter… I am a criminal.”
As Ichinose spoke these words, Sakayanagi showed a satisfied
smile.
“Is that true?”
The noisy classroom fell into silence as her words sunk in.
“It seems like these foolishly good-natured classmates of yours
have been caught completely unaware, so please, do give them all the details, Ichinose-san. What kind of crime did you commit?”
“I-”
Ichinose stopped and gulped nervously.
“I’ve kept this from all of you… but I’ll confess it all right now.”
Declaring such, Ichinose finally began to speak about the past that she had kept buried within.
“I… was a shoplifter…”
The shoplifting honor student, Ichinose Honami.
In light of her unexpected revelation, the surprise was great enough that it managed to impact spectators outside of Class A, me included.
I was beyond shocked. Takeda and Soga had a similar expression as me.
After all, Ichinose really didn’t come across as the type of student who would do such a thing.
“Honami-chan… a shoplifter? R-really?”
“Yes. I’m sorry Mako-chan.”
While apologizing, Ichinose began to recount her experience with shoplifting.
“I came from a fatherless family, living with my mother and my sister two years younger than me. While we weren’t very well-off, we were never unhappy. My mother had it hard, working full-time as she raised two children all by herself. That’s why, ever since
elementary school, I planned to get a job after finishing middle school. After all, it would cost a lot of money to go to high school, so I wanted to find a job to help my mother support my younger sister
instead. But, my mother was against it. I think that, just as I, an older sister, sincerely wished for my younger sister’s happiness, my mother wished for the happiness of both of her daughters.”
Ichinose opened up about her past.
“I understood that, even without money, if I studied as hard as possible, I’d be able to make use of the student scholarship system. So, I studied hard. I developed my skills as I managed to reach the top of the school. But… just like that, during the summer of my third year of middle school… my mother pushed herself too hard and collapsed.”
It seemed that, in order to support her family’s livelihood, Ichinose’s mother had overworked herself.
She had given up her own body, all for the sake of raising her children.
“It was almost my younger sister’s birthday. For as long as I could remember, she had never asked for anything from either of us. She
was still in her first year of middle school, so it would’ve been acceptable for her to act a little spoiled sometimes, yet she always managed to hold herself back. Instead of getting the clothes she
wanted, or accompanying her friends as they played or went shopping together, she just put up with all of it and held herself back from asking for anything. And then, that selfless little sister of mine… expressed that she wanted something for the very first time. A
fashionable hair clip that her favorite celebrity wore back then. My mother undoubtedly overloaded her schedule in order to buy my sister that hair clip.”
However- Due to her sudden hospitalization, she was no longer
able to get her daughter that birthday present.
“I can still remember everything. My mother, sobbing as she apologized from her bed in the hospital. The face of my sister as she showered our mother with all the ridicule and blame she could
produce. The face of my sister as she cried and screamed about the hair clip she was looking forward to getting. Even then, I still wasn’t able to blame her. The only gift she had ever asked for…”
Sakayanagi listened to Ichinose’s confession with an unwavering
smile on her face.
“As the elder sister… I thought that I had to find a way to return my sister’s smile. So, after school on the day of her birthday, I went to the department store.”
By now, you could tell that she was just as anxious as she was back
then.
“My feelings back then were surely shrouded in darkness. I told myself that it was okay… That it wasn’t a big deal to do something sinful, just once, for the sake of my younger sister. After all, there were so many people in the world constantly doing bad things. The
feelings I was holding inside… That there was no reason for my family, who had always held back, to be blamed for my actions. I told myself that it would be acceptable, that it would be forgiven… Back then, that was my selfish, egotistical interpretation of reality. The hair clip that would normally cost over 10,000 yen… The hair clip that my sister wanted so desperately… I stole it for her.”
Ichinose spoke as though she was revealing something heavy.
“Even though it was a decision that I knew would make everyone unhappy, I still wanted to do something for my sister.”
That desire of hers was the cause for all of this.
“…But, that’s still no excuse, is it?”
Ichinose mumbled quietly.
“In the end, a crime is a crime. No matter what you do to repent, your sin will never go away.”
She expressed her thoughts in a disconnected manner.
“Are you saying you got caught?”
In response to Hashimoto’s question, Ichinose simply shook her head.
“I just left the department store with the hair clip. It was the first time I ever shoplifted, the first time I ever committed a crime. Nobody found out. Immediately afterward, I went home and presented the hair clip to my sulking little sister. But, because it had
just been stolen, it hadn’t been wrapped yet, so it was a really sloppy present. Still, she was so happy. When I saw her smiling face, for an instant, the guilt of what I had just done faded a bit. But, that didn’t last very long. The pounding guilt in my heart just continued to
grow.”
Ichinose’s smile was full of self-ridicule.
“After all, doesn’t it seem impossible for a mother to fail to notice when her daughter’s done something sinful? Even though I had told my sister to keep the present a secret, she wore it the next time we went to visit our mother in the hospital. And why wouldn’t she?
There was no way my sister would’ve thought that I had stolen it for her. That time… That time was the first time in my life where I had ever seen my mother seriously angry. She slapped me and took the hair clip from my sister. I don’t even think my sobbing little sister
understood why. Despite the fact that she had to stay hospitalized, my mother forcibly dragged me back to the store. I prostrated myself, begging for forgiveness. That was the first time I truly understood just what I had done. How heavy of a crime I had committed. No matter how many excuses I make, nothing would ever be able to make up for it.”
This was Ichinose’s past. The past that she had been hiding.
“In the end, the store didn’t hand me over to the police. But, in the blink of an eye, the commotion still spread, so I closed myself off. For almost half of my third year of middle school, I just shut myself up in my room and stayed there… Eventually, I started to think about moving forward once again. It was all because my homeroom
teacher told me about this school. The cost of admission and tuition are waived for you, and if you graduate, you can find a job anywhere you want. I wanted to start over. To start over with a blank slate.”
Finished, Ichinose once again bowed her head to her classmates.
“I’m sorry everyone. I’m such a pathetic, useless leader…”
Listening to her story, almost brought afew drops of tears to my eyes. Thankfully, I wiped them off before anyone could see.
Although what she did was wrong. That doesn't make her a bad person. And it seems I wasn't the only one who thought that.
“That’s not true Ichinose.”
Listening from nearby, Shibata spoke up.
“After listening to everything you’ve had to say, I’m sure of it. You’re still a good person.”
“Yeah! Sure, Honami-chan may have done something bad, but-”
The loud, distinct sound of a cane striking the floor echoed throughout the room.
“I will have to interject. Could you all stop being so ridiculous?”
Ichinose’s support was casually brushed aside.
“Really, what a trivial, boorish farce. Are you trying to gain sympathy by bringing up all these needless details about your past? No matter the circumstances, shoplifting is still shoplifting. There’s
no place for sympathy. Your theft came from a place of self-interest.”
As Sakayanagi spoke, Kamuro, standing right beside her, momentarily showed a stiff expression.
“Yes, I agree with that. The circumstances of my past have nothing to do with it.”
“The fact remains: you’ve committed a crime. So, when it comes to the large amount of private points you’ve been entrusted with, isn’t it possible that you’ll steal those as well when graduation comes along?”
“……I’d never do something like that, Sakayanagi-san. If we get demoted In the future, disregarding my classmate’s intentions in order to get into Class A would be an act of betrayal. I don’t think the school would ever allow it.”
“I agree. You’re a clever one, after all. You’d never use an obvious tactic like that. On the other hand, what if you do this little sympathy-seeking performance again in order to get everyone’s permission to go to Class A if your class ever dropped down?”
Sakayanagi was relentless.
“You’re right… Maybe… Maybe all my hard work will seem hypocritical, no matter how hard I try. The sin I committed will never disappear.”
Her criminal past would always follow her. And I know that feeling personally.
After all, the suspicion that she may betray the class someday would always be there.
“Does everyone understand now? This, is the real Ichinose Honami-san. As long as you have this sort of person leading you, Class A doesn’t stand a chance. You won't remain at the top forever.”
Sakayanagi thoroughly exposed the reality of the situation.
“Take this opportunity to return the private points to your classmates and step down as the leader of Class A. You should at least do that much. If you don’t, the slander about you will not
disappear, will it?”
Ichinose calmly closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“What are you going to do, Ichinose?”
Kanzaki spoke as the representative for the rest of Class A, posing the question to her.
The question of whether or not she would continue to lead the class.
A decision that Ichinose would have to make herself.
“I’ll wrap up my confession with this…”
As she spoke, she turned to face Sakayanagi with a smile.
“I am certainly a shoplifter, and as Sakayanagi-san said, I don’t think there’s any room for sympathy. After all, a crime is a crime, and I have no intention of running away. However, I’ve never been persecuted for it. In other words, there’s effectively no reason for me to atone for my sin now.”
“You have a lot of nerve to say that despite being so shameless just a moment ago. This defiant attitude of yours is quite a big change from what one would expect from a corrupt thief who honestly regrets their mistakes.”
“Maybe so, but I refuse to keep looking back. I won’t let my past control me anymore.”
Turning her smiling face toward her classmates, Ichinose continued.
“Despite being so shameless… everyone, will you follow me until the very end?”
She asked this, and it was followed by a moment of silence. By no means had her request come from a place of optimism.
She was ashamed of her past and on the verge of bursting into tears. She simply wanted to run away from all of it.
But despite that, she continued to push forward.
She had gone through thick and thin with her classmates for the past year. It was impossible for them to not understand what she was going through.
“You already have our support, right!?”
Shibata shouted with a smile. At the same time, every single one of his classmates cheered, showcasing the unity of Class A.
This was the extent of the admiration they had for her. I could feel the weight behind it.
Takeda and Soga also seemed to be taken in by this display of unity,
as both of them had delighted expressions.
With the exception of one class in particular, the students from the
other classes were also voicing their support.
“Sakayanagi… What now?”
Sakayanagi’s attack had been negated.
Kamuro appeared to understand this as well, which was why she had spoken up. Her question could be interpreted as a request to withdraw.
“Fufufu.”
Sakayanagi laughed.
“Fufufufufufu.”
Then she laughed again, a little bit longer this time.
“I see. It seems you’ve managed to successfully trick your classmates. However, as you said earlier, a criminal’s past doesn’t just disappear. I’m sure that the rumors about you will continue to spread far into the future.”
“Yeah, but I’m not going to run away.”
“Is that so? Then, let’s thoroughly-”
"That's enough. Leave Sakayanagi. You already said enough for one day."
Unexpectedly a voice came from among the crowd. Everyone turned their attention to one particular student, me.
"Fufufu! So the leader of Class C has anything to say?"
"As the student council vice-president I am taking charge of this situation. You have said what you wanted to say, now leave. Your presence is no longer necessary anymore." Saying all that, I stood infront of her.
"Hm? So class C has decided to take Ichinose's side? Is it because your classes are in an alliance? Or is it because she is your vice-secretary? Or are your personal feelings involved?"
"None of the above. I may be her friend but that's not why I am defending her today. My personal feelings have nothing to do with this matter."
"Oh~ is that so? Then please answer me this. What do you think of now when you look at Ichinose?"
I looked over at Ichinose and then replied.
"That Ichinose Honami had committed a crime."