My actions were swift after being shown that photo.
I analyzed the data saved in the photo, pinpointed the time it was taken, and using the background, the angle of the light, and the school grounds map that Kamuro had sent me, I determined the location.
It was a construction site on the outskirts of the grounds, a building that was still under construction.
"Hah, hah... Damn it."
Even though it was a small school campus, I was out of breath from running at full speed. The anxiety and impatience that had taken over my mind were likely a big reason for it. I finally arrived at the location I had targeted. A sign next to the building indicated that no construction was scheduled for today. As it was still under construction, there were, of course, no security cameras. This was definitely a planned crime.
—Who would do this?
With that question on my mind, I ran up the stairs.
Reaching the third floor, I arrived at a room partitioned by a metal barricade.
"Arisu-chan!"
There, lying limp on the concrete floor with her hands tied, was Arisu.
"Mmm... T-Tsugumi-kun..."
I rushed over and held her shoulders. After wincing once, Arisu slowly opened her eyes.
"Arisu-chan. You're safe now."
"Why... am I here?"
It was December, and she had been left in a place with no insulation for a long time. It was understandable that her memory of what happened was a bit hazy.
"Who did this to you? Weren't Kamuro-san and Kitou-kun with you?!"
"...Please don't shout so loud. It's making my head ring."
"S-Sorry."
After I untied her hands, Arisu leaned against the wall and sat with her knees up. She put her right hand to her head, looking deep in thought.
"Let's go back for now. It's cold here."
I couldn't leave her in a place like this. The frail Arisu-chan would catch a cold.
As I offered my hand to her, she looked up at me with a panicked expression.
"Tsugumi-kun! Watch out!?"
"Wha—!?"
At that moment, an immense impact struck the back of my head. I felt a sensation like being hit with a blunt instrument, like a metal pipe.
—Damn it, I let my guard down...!
I had been completely relieved. In this situation, I hadn't been cautious of my surroundings at all. At the very least, I wanted to see the face of the culprit. With my consciousness fading, I turned my head to look behind me.
"Huh?"
I couldn't help but let out a sound. I had only expected a troublemaker like the second-year Nagumo-senpai or Ryuuen-kun to do something like this.
---However, the person I saw was neither Nagumo-senpai nor Ryuuen-kun.
"---Kiyo...taka?"
"...Sorry, Tsugumi."
I thought I heard a voice, but I couldn't make it out clearly.
---------
"...Don't you think that was a bit much? What if he's left with lasting damage?"
Watching Tsugumi lie completely motionless in front of me, Sakayanagi looked at me with a worried expression.
"I took proper precautions. He should wake up soon."
"If you say so."
I clanged the iron pipe in my right hand onto the ground. Then, I took a rope from a cardboard box that had been placed in the corner of the room beforehand and tied Tsugumi's right hand to an exposed metal pipe. I also wrapped a cloth around his eyes to blindfold him.
Like this, he looked exactly like a prisoner. You'd believe it if someone said he was about to be interrogated.
"Is this it, then? It feels like it's been both a long and a short time. It's a strange feeling."
"Let's stay on our toes. This is the crucial moment."
---------
How did it come to this? It all started about a month ago.
After Horikita-nii told me and Horikita that Tsugumi wanted to drop out, we immediately went to consult a certain person.
"...I see. Tsugumi-kun wants to drop out... Did he really say that?"
"...Yes. He did."
That person was Sakayanagi, someone who had known Tsugumi deeply since childhood. Horikita replied to Sakayanagi's question with a tense look. To be honest, Sakayanagi's reaction was unexpected. I thought she would be more distraught.
"I see. I see... Heh heh, dropping out, you say?"
"...Sakayanagi?"
Perhaps she was more shaken than I realized. But Sakayanagi only laughed eerily and didn't continue.
"So, what do you two want me to do?"
"What do you mean? You're okay with Tsugumi-kun dropping out!?"
"Of course I'm not. Don't ask such obvious questions."
"Then... we're talking about stopping him, right?"
"How?"
"...Well..."
Against the emotional Horikita, Sakayanagi remained calm. She continued her explanation, ignoring the dumbfounded Horikita.
"Tsugumi-kun himself is the one who wants to drop out, isn't he? Even if you ignore his will and stop him, will he continue to live in a state of constant tension for the next two years?"
"That's why... we came to ask you for the reason. We thought you might know something."
After Horikita said that, Sakayanagi sighed after a brief pause.
"I see... I understand. However, to cooperate with you, there is one condition."
"A condition?"
"For this matter, you two must follow my instructions. If you can't agree to this, I will act alone."
"...Fine."
Horikita reluctantly accepted Sakayanagi's proposal. I had heard things from Tsugumi, but trusting her so easily was another matter. Even if she was the student who knew Tsugumi best, entrusting everything to her would leave me uneasy.
But Horikita gave in. She must have felt frustrated that she couldn't solve this on her own, but she conceded in order to do what was best. In that case, I couldn't just stand by and watch.
"What exactly do you plan to do?"
"Let's see... First, please bring someone you can trust."
"Someone I can trust?"
When I asked, Sakayanagi smiled playfully and continued.
"Yes. Specifically, someone who is in love with Tsugumi-kun. Someone like the girl right there."
Sakayanagi pointed at Horikita. Horikita awkwardly averted her gaze but didn't deny her words.
"...Got it. Let's meet again tomorrow."
"Understood."
---------
The next day, Horikita and I brought Karuizawa, a person in love with Tsugumi and someone we could trust, to Sakayanagi's room.
"Hey, what kind of meeting is this? I think you could at least tell me why."
Karuizawa, who had been brought here without an explanation, seemed dissatisfied.
"I am about to explain that now."
Sakayanagi was the one to reply. She seemed somewhat displeased with the carefree Karuizawa.
"...Oh, right."
As we waited in a somewhat tense atmosphere, the room door opened.
"...What's with this group?"
Sakayanagi gave a concise instruction to the student who had just entered.
"You're late, Masumi-san. Time is precious, so please sit down quickly."
"...Okay."
Perhaps sensing something from Sakayanagi's no-nonsense attitude, Kamuro sat in an empty seat.
Four girls and one boy. It was a bit awkward with five of us gathered in one room, but it was strange to think that all the girls here were in love with Tsugumi.
"So, why am I here? And with a girl from Class A, no less?"
"Ayanokouji-kun. I'll leave the explanation to you."
She just dumped it on me... Well, it must be part of Sakayanagi's plan.
But...
"?"
Karuizawa looked at me, confused. It was going to be difficult to tell her that Tsugumi was thinking of dropping out. ...I had no choice. I had to brace myself.
---------
As I had expected, Karuizawa's reaction to the explanation was a complete mess.
"W-What do you mean!? Why is Saitou-kun dropping out!?"
"Karuizawa. Calm down."
"How can I calm down!? If Saitou-kun leaves, I'll..."
"...Karuizawa."
Her eyes filled with tears, and her voice trembled. ...Judging from her recent behavior in class, I thought she had overcome her past trauma thanks to Tsugumi... but it seems that was only on the surface.
"...Hmph. I trusted Ayanokouji-kun's judgment, but you're like this just from hearing the news."
"Huh?"
Sakayanagi said, looking disappointed. Karuizawa wasn't the type to take that lying down, and in the next moment, she had grabbed Sakayanagi's shirt collar with both hands.
"You... You of all people don't get to say that!"
"Karuizawa-san, please..."
"Shut up!"
Sakayanagi said nothing as Karuizawa glared at her with her collar still clutched. Horikita tried to intervene, but Karuizawa wouldn't listen.
...What was going on? Even though Karuizawa was known for being emotional, this action was a bit unnatural. I could even sense that she held a personal grudge against Sakayanagi. That question was answered by what Karuizawa said next.
"---How dare you say that, when you did nothing for Saitou-kun while he was being abused and suffering!"
"...What? Abuse?"
"That's right. You mean you just found out? That Saitou-kun was abused as a child?"
The story Karuizawa told was as follows:
Tsugumi's parents divorced when he was young, and he lived with his mother, who abused him. He was hit with objects, deprived of food, and left outside in the middle of winter. Finally, his mother stabbed him with a knife, and that's when he was sent to live with his current adoptive parents.
None of this was something Horikita or I had ever heard before.
"What... is that? I don't believe you."
And surprisingly, Sakayanagi didn't seem to know either. I had never seen her look so shocked. It must have been a shocking story for her.
"Ha. You boast about how much you know and yet you don't know anything, do you?"
"That's not true. I know Tsugumi-kun's parents. They are not people who would abuse him, and they didn't get a divorce. Besides, there are no knife scars on Tsugumi-kun's body. The story you just told is a complete lie."
Sakayanagi replied, but as I compared what she was saying to what I had heard from Tsugumi, I noticed a discrepancy.
"...Isn't it too soon to assume that the whole story is a lie?"
"What do you mean?"
"I asked Tsugumi about his past a while ago, and he said he was very thin in elementary school. So much so that his girlfriend's parents were worried about him. And he said he dated and broke up with over a dozen people after that... Looking back, that's a strange thing to say."
I had heard this story in April, but it didn't seem like Tsugumi was lying. If the abuse happened when he was in elementary school, the story would fit... but in that case, Sakayanagi's story is inexplicable.
"No, that's impossible. I met Tsugumi-kun when we were in the first grade of elementary school, but he wasn't thin at all. And he wasn't dating anyone either."
"So... you're saying Saitou-kun lied to me...?"
"What else could it be?"
As Karuizawa became flustered, Sakayanagi coldly dismissed her. Kamuro, who had been quietly watching the exchange, stopped the discussion from getting sidetracked.
"...Isn't that what we should be thinking about right now? And you're overdoing it, Sakayanagi. You didn't call Karuizawa here to scold her, did you?"
Kamuro had just heard the story, like Karuizawa, but she was strangely calm.
"I don't know how to explain it, but he always had a feeling of being able to just disappear suddenly... So I was just less shocked."
"But," Kamuro added, "Even if the shock is less, I don't want him to drop out. Isn't this meeting to make him reconsider? ...If so, Sakayanagi, you, who know Saitou the best, should be the one to keep it together."
Surprisingly, Kamuro spoke her mind to Sakayanagi. There was a bond between them that couldn't be described as just a class leader and her follower. It must have been due to Sakayanagi's generosity in accepting Kamuro, who was in love with the same person as her, but this was a moment where Kamuro was the more mature one.
"...You're right. I apologize. Karuizawa-san, Masumi-san."
"...Me too. I'm sorry for just..."
And with that, the first strategy meeting began.
============
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