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==============
After school, the park grounds echo with the sound of a basketball bouncing. Sudo-kun is in front of me, dribbling the ball low. It's been a while since I've played basketball, but this is the first time I've faced an opponent with this kind of raw power.
"Hah!"
As if sensing my brief moment of inattention, Sudo-kun takes a step to my left at top speed. Then, in one graceful motion, he lifts his right arm with the ball. A textbook layup. The ball is effortlessly sucked into the hoop.
"Strong."
"That makes it 3-2, my win... Damn, I didn't think I'd let a non-basketball player score on me twice."
"You let your guard down~"
"Shut up," he says, throwing the ball to me.
He just tossed it, but it goes straight into the hoop with ease. For a middle school graduate, his talent is amazing.
"When you suddenly said you wanted to play one-on-one, I thought you'd lost your mind."
"Well, there are some things you can only talk about in moments like these, right?"
I shrug my shoulders, and Sudo-kun scratches his head. I sit down on a nearby bench and, watching the setting sun, start to talk to him.
"The hearing is tomorrow. Are you ready?"
"Ready for what? I'm just going to prove I'm innocent. It's as simple as that."
"Do you really think so?"
He stops mid-shot. Sudo-kun tosses the ball anyway, but it misses the hoop. He clicks his tongue, not bothering to hide his frustration.
"...What are you trying to say? I don't need a lecture."
"Just sit down for a minute."
I buy two sports drinks from the vending machine outside the fence surrounding the court and toss one to Sudo-kun.
"Thanks."
We sit side-by-side on the bench.
"That drink I just bought is 150 points. Until May, we could buy them without a thought, but now, buying even one is a luxury."
"?"
Sudo-kun looks confused as I suddenly start talking about this. Ignoring him, I continue.
"And those practice exams for the midterm last week? I bought them from an upperclassman for 20,000 points."
"...That expensive?"
I'm lying, by the way. I actually got them by manipulating an upperclassman. But I heard that's about the going rate if you were to buy them.
"The reason I spent so much money on those exams was all for Horikita-san."
"Horikita?"
"Yeah. She's trying to get into Class A. You know that, right?"
"I guess."
Sudo-kun still doesn't get what I'm getting at. Just wait a little longer. I'll get to the point soon.
"At first, Horikita-san was going to abandon you, Ike-kun, and Yamauchi-kun. In a school where daily behavior and grades affect your class points, she thought the students with low scores were just dead weight."
"That's annoying."
Sudo-kun's face sours as he remembers getting chewed out on the first day of our study session.
"But I convinced her otherwise, and she agreed. I told her that even if you struggle with academics, you must have something else you can shine at. Sudo-kun, why do you think you were able to enter this Advanced Nurturing High School? And why do you think you were assigned to Class D?"
"...I don't know. It pisses me off to be called a 'defective product.'"
His answer isn't what I was looking for, but I understand what he means. I take a deep breath and speak with more conviction than before.
"I can tell from our one-on-one just now. You have an exceptional talent for basketball. You were allowed to enroll because they saw that talent."
"I know that already. I don't need you to tell me."
That's good. It's good that he knows his strengths. But what's not good is that he doesn't understand his flaws, Sudo-kun.
"Then I'll tell you why you were placed in Class D. It's because of your 'naivety,' Sudo-kun."
"Are you lecturing me after all? I didn't come here for this."
Sudo-kun scratches his head and stands up. He's probably going to leave.
"Who do you think you have to thank for not getting expelled? I didn't come here to lecture you. Just listen to what I have to say."
"...Tch. I'll leave if you get annoying."
He must have a soft spot for that. Sudo-kun reluctantly sits back down.
"I said 'naivety,' but that flaw is actually easy to fix. Once you do, you'll go from being a 'defective product' to a 'quality product.' Don't you think it's a bit of a waste to stay like this?"
"Then tell me what to do, specifically."
He asks the obvious question. It would be embarrassing to talk down to him like this and then have no solutions.
"Let's start with the immediate things. For this assault case, you have to admit that you were also at fault."
"Huh? Why am I at fault? It was self-defense!"
His bottled-up frustration explodes. He grabs me by the collar and yells at me loud enough for the whole deserted park to hear.
"Of course, I'm not saying you're completely in the wrong. The students from Class C are undoubtedly the ones most at fault in this incident."
"Then..."
"That's exactly why."
I interrupt him and continue. As I'm helping him resolve this incident, there's one thing I can't overlook.
"Once this incident is resolved, I want you to tell everyone in Class D, 'I'm sorry for causing trouble, and thank you for helping me out.'"
"...That's it?"
"Yeah, that's it."
Sudo-kun loosens his grip on my collar, looking deflated. He says "that's it," but there's a huge difference between doing it and not doing it. I offer my right hand to Sudo-kun and speak with conviction, as if to express my resolve.
"Everyone is acting in your best interest. Once this is resolved, you'll be able to play in tournaments. So, why not be a little nicer to them?"
"...Fine. But only if we get it resolved!"
Don't worry, Sudo-kun. I've already made the necessary moves.
---------
My best friend, Saito Tsugumi, is smart. Of course, he's good at studying, but his mind works faster than anyone I know. I never thought he'd come up with the same idea as me.
Feeling a little giddy about the fact that we had the same idea, I hear Horikita, who's walking next to me, mutter softly.
"Everything will be decided today."
"You're right."
"I'm not happy about having to proceed with your plan, but I guess I have no choice."
"It's Tsugumi's plan, not mine."
"...Whatever. The first stage is clear. Are things okay on your end?"
"Everything is going according to the plan I explained yesterday. With Ichinose there, we'll be fine."
I give Horikita a light tap on the shoulder and start walking. If I'd known Tsugumi would come up with this idea, I wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble.
"Let's get this done so the three of us can go out."
"Quiet."
She hits me on the head. She didn't have to get so angry.
At a little after 3:40 p.m., the special building feels even more humid than usual in the after-school heat. If everything has gone according to plan, our guests should be arriving soon.
And just like that, three boys arrive, complaining about the heat. They look happy and a little bit optimistic.
It makes sense. After all, they received an email from our class's idol, Kushida. They probably dreamed of a date or maybe even a confession. But their fantasies are shattered the moment they see me. ...Or rather, they should have been suspicious the moment they were all called out at once.
"...What is this? Why are you here?"
They remember me from our meeting in the student council office yesterday. Ishizaki, their leader, approaches me menacingly.
"Kushida isn't coming. I had her send you that email so I could have a chat with you."
"A chat? What are we going to talk about? No matter what you say, it doesn't change the fact that we were called here and beaten up by Sudo."
Ishizaki and the others turn to leave, unable to hide their frustration. But they're stopped by an unexpected guest.
"I think you should give up."
"I-Ichinose?! Why are you here?!"
The Class C students are surprised, of course. It's understandable that someone from Class B would show up here.
"Why? Let's just say I'm involved in this, too."
"You're famous, Ichinose."
"Hahaha. I've had a few dealings with Class C."
The unexpected appearance of Ichinose clearly unnerves the Class C students.
"Class B has nothing to do with this. Butt out..."
Unlike their reaction to me, their voices are weak, but they're still trying to push her away.
"You're right, I have nothing to do with this. But don't you think it's wrong to involve so many people with a lie?"
"...We're not lying. We're the victims! Like I said, we were called here and beaten up by Sudo. That's a fact."
"Ugh, villains are so persistent. It's time to pay your dues!"
...I'll leave this to Ichinose.
I remember the plan Tsugumi told me about the day before yesterday.
"First and foremost, to carry out this plan, we need to get Ishizaki and the others to testify first."
"...So if a conclusion is reached at Tuesday's hearing, it's over?"
"Bingo, Ayanokoji-kun. That's why I asked Sudo-kun to testify calmly."
And just as Tsugumi said, Sudo was so calm yesterday that I had to wonder if he was a fake. I'm sure Tsugumi talked to him behind the scenes again.
"Didn't you think the school's response to this incident was strange?"
"Huh?"
"When you appealed to the school, why wasn't Sudo-kun punished immediately...?"
"What? Just spit it out already!"
Ichinose seems to be explaining the gist of it well. She really is the leader of Class B.
Ishizaki and the others look tired from the heat, not bothering to hide their listlessness.
"You know there are surveillance cameras all over the school, right? You've probably seen them in classrooms, the cafeteria, and the convenience store. They're there to make sure no one cheats by monitoring our daily behavior."
After a few exchanges, Ichinose asks Ishizaki and the others.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Then... can't you see it?"
Ichinose points to the ceiling just ahead of them in the hallway.
"Huh?"
I've already made the preparations. A fake camera to deceive Ishizaki and the others. The rest is up to you. I'm sure they'll be surprised. After all, they deliberately called Sudo to a place in the special building with no surveillance cameras, and yet the whole thing was captured on film.
What we see is a camera swiveling from side to side, as if monitoring every corner of the special building's hallway.
"Honestly. Who knows what would've happened if there weren't any surveillance cameras here. Right, Ichinose?"
"I know, right. You were so prepared, but how did you miss the most important thing at the end?"
Ichinose and I let out a fake sigh. Now for the main event.
"W-why is there a camera?! No way! I thought we made sure there wasn't one!"
"Oh? You 'thought' you made sure?"
"That's a strange thing to say. Why would you need to make sure there weren't any cameras to call Sudo here?"
Ishizaki says exactly what we want him to say, as if on cue. The three of them clutch their heads, sweating profusely.
"What?! Ishizaki! What are you doing?!"
"Shut up! ...Damn it! You're not going to trick us. You guys set that up, didn't you?!"
The three Class C students are now fighting among themselves... It's over. They've completely lost their composure. They're not realizing that their pursuit of the truth is actually leading to their own defeat.
"So what? Even if we did set it up, is there a problem?"
"I wonder what that problem would be? For example... footage of the entire fight..."
"Ugh! T-that's..."
Komiya's words are cut off by Ichinose's statement. This is enough for our backup plan. Now all we need is for them to withdraw their complaint...
"H-hold on. This is still weird! If there was a camera, why are you telling us about it now?! You could have just proved Sudo's innocence without us knowing. You guys set this up, didn't you?!"
He's sharper than I thought. I thought he was just a muscle-head, but it's surprising he came to this conclusion in this situation.
"Innocence? That's impossible, Ishizaki. This incident can't be resolved without a cost. No matter what the circumstances were, Sudo beat you three up. As long as you admit that, it's impossible to prove Sudo's innocence. If bad rumors persist, his spot on the team will be in jeopardy, and he won't be able to participate in tournaments."
"Just to be clear, if this footage gets out, you guys will be expelled. That's a given since you filed a false complaint and tried to frame a student. But there is a way for both sides to come out of this happy. I think it's worth listening to."
"...What is it?"
She drops them into despair and then offers a rope of salvation. For someone so gentle, she's ruthless. My respect for Ichinose is growing rapidly.
"There's only one way to resolve this incident peacefully: withdraw your complaint. If it looks like the footage is going to be used, Class D will help you out with all our might. Like I said before, if the footage is the focus of the argument, Sudo will also be punished."
"...Damn it!"
Just as Ishizaki stomps his foot in frustration, an unfamiliar voice echoes through the special building's hallway.
"Hey, hey. I came to see what's going on with you idiots who still haven't shown your faces... and it looks like things are getting interesting."
"Ryuuen-kun?! Why are you here?!"
"It's been a while, hasn't it, Ichinose?"
...Now we have another visitor. It's hot, and I just want to go home.
============
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