Noa stared intently at her phone for a few seconds before looking up at Reiji with quivering eyes.
".....How?" she asked.
But Reiji just smiled, showing no indication that he'd give her a response.
So Noa could only swallow her confusion and continue reading the post instead.
***
BREAKING: THE PRESIDENT WAS FRAMED?? THE REAL MASTERMIND BEHIND THE CONSPIRACY IS REVEALED!!
------------
To cut to the chase, my first post was a straight-up lie.
Why did I do that?
Well, you'll find out soon enough.
Because before that, I need to clarify a few things.
I wasn't the one who had the idea for that post attacking the President and Yagami Reiji. I was merely following the orders of Kahawara Sensei, and for those lucky enough to not know who he is, he's the homeroom supervisor for some first-year students and an English teacher at the school.
You must be wondering why the hell he would do such a thing, right?
To know that, you must first understand who Kahawara Sensei is at his core.
A petty, vindictive, and rageful old man who doesn't care about his students even one bit.
Which means he constantly demeans his students, picks on the ones he doesn't like, and cares more about the respect he gets instead of the joy of teaching.
So what would happen when a man like this meets someone like Yagami Reiji?
You guessed it.
Sensei felt that his status was being undermined by Yagami, leading to him singling out the guy ever since school started.
And things finally took a turn when Yagami aced the midterm exams and secured the first rank, which obviously infuriated the balding old man.
I don't know if it was delusion, some twisted sense of feeling disrespected, or straight-up wanting to cause a little trouble, but that was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Kahawara Sensei reported Yagami to the Student Council for cheating, even though there was zero evidence of it. And that's not even mentioning the fact that he personally hovered around his table during the midterms to try to catch him in the act, but found nothing amiss.
The Principal already clarified this in the assembly, but I'll state it again.
The Student Council made Yagami take a brand new test on the spot with different questions, and guess what?
HE ACED THAT FUCKER TOO!
But he didn't like the fact that this was even an issue in the first place, so Yagami filed a complaint with the lovely President about Kahawara Sensei and his 'antics' to date.
Some of you are pretty smart and see where this is going.
When the complaint was sent up the pipeline to the higher-ups, the old man started to panic.
I mean, I would too if I were about to lose a cushy job with great benefits at the most prestigious High School in the country.
It would practically be a career-ender.
So the best plan he could come up with was to frame the innocent President with stupid shit like bribery and blackmail so that he could sway the opinions of the higher-ups by making them think the complaint held no basis.
Genius!
Unfortunately, he chose someone with a righteous heart to do his dirty work.
I cannot deny that I fell for the devil's whispers after I saw how much he was offering me, but the guilt was eating me from the inside, causing me to toss and turn in my bed, yearning for a sleep that would probably never come if I continued to fall into the abyss...
Okay, I'll stop with the poetry.
The point is, I felt horrible about what I'd done, no other excuses around it.
So that's why I'm making this post.
To correct the errors of my choices and seek salvation from those I've wronged.
Forgive me, Yagami-san and President, consider this my apology and my confession.
As for those who may think that I'm lying again and don't quite believe me, fear not.
This time, I come with evidence instead of baseless claims.
For the doubters and haters: Watch the video below and seek forgiveness alongside me:
-----
[video]
-----
You see?
I wasn't lying.
To Kahawara Sens-
.....No, I should say Kahawara-san now, because I doubt you can keep your position after this.
To Kahawara-san: a very sincere fuck you ( •̀ ω •́ )y
~ Kato Minato
[AUTHOR: anonymous_153267]
***
The post was long
Much longer than the first.
But the contents were so explosive that Noa didn't even realize how long it took to read and watch the video.
And once she did, she set the phone down and leaned back in her seat, the exhausted look on her face receding only a little bit.
"...I can't believe this," she muttered.
"You don't believe it? There's proof right there, you know?"
"That's not what I meant. I can't believe that a teacher would do something like this. Something so...ridiculous."
"You'd be surprised at how far people can go when their interests are in danger," Reiji shrugged.
He'd seen far too much of selfishness.
Even if the people he saw through the Syndicate's tasks were excluded, his past life alone had bombarded him with too much selfishness.
So he wasn't struck so hard by this.
Of course, knowing beforehand that Kahawara Sensei was an asshole helped as well.
Maybe Noa noticed his indifference, because she raised an eyebrow filled with curiosity.
But she rubbed her tired eyes as she straightened up and sighed.
"Well.....Let's get going."
"Where?"
"To the Principal. She's definitely going to call us, so might as well go there in advance."
***
*DING-A-LING-RIIIIING*
As soon as the bell rang to signal the start of lunch, Kahawara Sensei immediately grabbed his books and exited the class he was just teaching.
He raced to the staff office as fast as he could without running, making his way past the excited students already gathering in the hallways.
He closed the door behind him once he made it in, ignoring the greetings of his colleagues as he made a beeline to his desk while taking his phone out of his pocket.
He plopped down on his chair and navigated to the forum, refreshing it every few seconds continuously for the next minute.
Kahawara Sensei scratched his scruffy beard as he gripped his phone with trembling fingers.
".....Come on, how much longer?" he whispered under his breath. "What is that idiot doing?"
He needed this.
Badly.
Especially after he'd heard that the school's committee was having its monthly meeting today to discuss the occurrences within the school.
And there was zero chance they would gloss over the complaint filed against him.
After his fifteenth refresh, his eyes lit up when he saw a new post that had just gone live, clicking it open before he even had the chance to read the title.
But once he did, he froze.
His jaw dropped with disbelief, confusion taking hold instead of the anger he should be feeling.
".....What?"
The bewilderment only grew instead of dissipating as he scrolled down and read the contents of the post, the light in his eyes dimming almost instantaneously when his brain finally started to work again and he realized what was going on.
And when he saw the accusation thrown his way along with the exact reasoning, his body started to shiver.
Out of rage, and out of fear.
The video, however, was what sent him over the edge.
He didn't even need to watch the full thing.
Just the first few seconds were enough to let him know that he'd been played like a fiddle.
And it was enough to let him know that he was well and truly fucked.
The phone slipped out of his hands and landed with a thud on the floor, a second crack forming on the screen and joining the other one that had been made just earlier today.
".....Why? Why did he do this?" he groaned with frustration.
He didn't believe the excuse of guilt Minato had given.
That little shit didn't even know the definition of guilt, though that may also be because of how stupid he was.
"KAHAWARA SENSEI!"
He snapped out of his daze when he heard the loud shout, looking up to see Higashino Sensei glaring at him with her phone in her hand.
"Is this real?" she snapped. "Were you really behind this?"
Kahawara Sensei couldn't respond.
Because he was still trying to figure out why he was stabbed in the back.
But seeing the disgusted look on the faces of all the teachers around him, especially Higashino Sensei, whom he had some 'thoughts' about, his eyes finally gained a semblance of clarity.
"Answer me! Did you do it?" she repeated, the anger in her voice growing.
"I.....N-No, I don't.....I-I was framed! Yes, I was framed! Don't believe this nonsense!" he stammered.
"Then how do you explain the video?"
"Um.....AI! It's definitely AI! I never said any of that!"
"Do you think I'm stupid? AI isn't this good yet, and the angle suggests it was a hidden recording!"
Kahawara Sensei started to breathe heavily, gasping for more air when he noticed his heart was trying to set a world record for pumping speed.
"Why would you resort to something like this?" Higashino Sensei asked with an expression usually reserved for when she took out the trash at home.
"Shut up!" he hissed, finally realizing that there was no way out. "Who are you to try to lecture me! Don't forget, I'm your senior here! Show me some respect!"
"...You probably won't be my Senior for long. And respect is earned, not given. You clearly don't deserve it."
"You! How dare you! I'm goin-"
*BEEEEEP*
His words were cut short as the intercom in the office came to life.
The whole office turned to it with expectation, already figuring out what the announcement would be.
"Kahawara Yuuma, Yagami Reiji, and Fujikawa Noa. Please make your way to the Principal's Office. I repeat. Kahawara Yuuma, Yagami Reiji, and Fujikawa Noa. Please make your way to the Principal's Office immediately. Thank you."
The broadcast ended, and everyone turned to Kahawara with pity.
"See?" Higashino Sensei snorted. "You're not my Senior anymore."