Yamauchi Haruki obviously couldn't grasp the deeper implications behind Horikita Manabu's words, but as one of the people involved, he could at least recognize two facts: the X and Y figures Horikita mentioned clearly existed. Someone had definitely knocked them unconscious, and someone else had fabricated their injuries. The only issue was that they had blindly fixated on blaming Kouenji Rokusuke without thinking further.
But now, with Kouenji having a solid alibi, both Yamauchi and Ike were starting to waver in their once-firm belief.
When Horikita Manabu pointed out that the only other possible students near the infirmary at that time were Ayanokouji Kiyotaka from Class 1-A and Yagami Takuya from Class 1-B, Yamauchi suddenly came to a realization. The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. He couldn't help but shout:
"It was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka!"
He pointed at the boy who had remained calm and indifferent the whole time, eyes wide and spittle flying as he spoke with absolute conviction.
Even Ike Kanji was startled by Yamauchi's sudden burst of energy. "Hey, Yamauchi, what does Ayanokouji have to do with this?"
"Haven't you figured it out yet?" Yamauchi turned and pointed at him, then gestured around the room, jabbing a finger at each person in turn.
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka from Class 1-A and Yagami Takuya from Class 1-B might not seem connected, but they both have ties to another person."
Ike recalled a group gathering they had attended a few days ago. "You mean...?"
"Yes—Kushida-chan!"
Yamauchi shouted excitedly, then quickly turned to Kushida Kikyou and flashed an apologetic smile.
"But this has absolutely nothing to do with you, Kushida-chan."
Kushida returned an awkward, forced smile—this time, it was just plain awkward.
Noticing the suspicious stares from teachers and the student council president, Yamauchi puffed out his chest and declared:
"I realized long ago that Ayanokouji has feelings for Kushida-chan. Maybe not as deeply as I do, but his thoughts are definitely darker than mine. I always believed in fair competition."
He sniffled dramatically, trying to add emotional weight to his words, and even dragged Ike closer.
"Ike, you heard it too, right? Back during that gathering, everyone was gossiping about Ayanokouji and Kushida-chan, and it just so happened that the two of us stumbled upon it. That's when Ayanokouji saw me as a threat."
"If you don't have solid evidence, Yamauchi-kun, I can only assume you're speaking nonsense."
Chabashira Sae, Class 1-A's homeroom teacher, rubbed her temples. She had been nervous when Ayanokouji's name was first brought up, fearing it would involve serious trouble. But now, with Yamauchi dragging the conversation into nonsense territory, she was reminded why Class D was always Class D.
"Of course I have evidence!"
Yamauchi snapped back indignantly, his tone so firm that it made the others in the room sit up in attention.
For the first time, a ripple passed across Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's serene expression. He subtly furrowed his brow.
"At the group event, that guy Ayanokouji sneakily came to talk to me. I could tell he was up to something, but I decided to bide my time and let it go."
Ignoring his misuse of idioms, everyone's attention—even Kushida's—turned to Ayanokouji.
"Ayanokouji-kun, is this true?"
Horikita Manabu leaned on his hand and asked seriously.
"I did approach him, but for reasons that are... inconvenient to disclose. If Yamauchi-kun wants to share, I won't object."
Ayanokouji responded calmly, composed as ever. Of course, he had left himself an escape route—in this kind of game where he was personally involved, he ensured he left no loose ends.
"Uhh..."
Faced with the stares of the room, Yamauchi stammered, until Ike spoke with a sneer:
"It was just some guy talk about snacks, that's all."
The adults in the room, seasoned as they were, immediately understood the implication behind Ike's vague words. Discussions between guys could be... particular, and not suitable for mixed company.
"I'd heard Yamauchi and Ike were influential in Class D, so I struck up a conversation."
Ayanokouji didn't mind sullying his own name. He had no interest in such topics, but this excuse served a dual purpose: it was believable and allowed him to plant a Trojan virus on Yamauchi's phone.
If there were ever a time to click strange links without suspicion, it would be during such exchanges—especially for guys like Yamauchi and Ike.
Ayanokouji had undergone a certain amount of computer training in the White Room. He could even write simple plug-ins and Trojan viruses. What he sent to Yamauchi Haruki's phone was one of the simplest kinds.
Its function was straightforward.
Whenever a call came in from a preset number, the phone would automatically connect without ringing—no sound, just a brief vibration, almost imperceptible unless the phone was in hand.
Ayanokouji also installed a location plugin. He didn't opt for a more advanced eavesdropping program because he not only needed information from Yamauchi's surroundings—he also needed to transmit messages.
Just like when he intervened to stop Yagami Takuya's assault, simply listening wouldn't have allowed him to act quickly. He had to reveal himself in order to interfere.
Yagami had mostly figured out Ayanokouji's trick. In fact, he had followed Ayanokouji's instructions to delete the call record and relevant plug-ins before leaving the scene. Only now did he truly understand how cautious his senior was. His earlier confidence about surpassing Ayanokouji had completely deflated.
Yet Yamauchi Haruki still refused to give up. He was the kind of person who, once convinced of something, would stubbornly stick to it, even if everyone told him he was wrong.
"The Student Council President already said it. Other than me, Ike, Katsuragi, and the school nurse, the only ones near the infirmary were you and Yagami. I'm sure you two were working together. One of you knocked us out—X—and the other faked our injuries—Y!"
"You wanted us to extort Katsuragi because he's Class A's leader. I looked into it—you're Katsuragi's underling in Class A. So you wanted to frame him, ruin his reputation, and take his place as leader. That way, you'd impress Kushida-chan."
"And Yagami's close to Kushida-chan too. He's from another class, so it wouldn't raise suspicion. You must've told him it was all to teach us a lesson for her sake, and he went along with it!"
"Plus, I heard Yagami is dating Matsushita from our class. And you know how those girls love making fun of me and Ike. So he had a perfect reason to get revenge."
Yamauchi's accusations were a chaotic storm of conjecture, devoid of credibility. Chabashira Sae's face darkened as she spoke:
"Frankly, I think the likelier scenario is that you and Ike were jealous of Kouenji and tried to set him up."
"At least that theory makes logical sense, unlike your wild fantasies."
The other homeroom teachers frowned. Even Sakagami Kazuma, the ever-vigilant teacher from Class C, found Chabashira's tone excessively biased. Everyone knew how she had treated students back when she was still Class D's homeroom teacher.
To ease the tension in the room, Hoshinomiya Chie stepped in with a smile. She motioned for the students to sit and relax, then casually chatted to lighten the mood.
"Oh, Katsuragi-kun, I didn't see you wearing that wig today. Honestly, when you walked into the infirmary back then, I almost burst out laughing."
Her teasing made Katsuragi Kouhei break into a cold sweat. Hoshinomiya continued, still smiling:
"I'm telling you, he wore this funny golden wig that looked exactly like Kouenji's."
Yamauchi and Ike, who had been sitting stiffly, suddenly seemed to realize something. Ike jumped to his feet.
"I get it now! The person I saw back then was Katsuragi in a wig!"
"They're both tall and broad-shouldered. I only saw the back and the hair, and assumed it was Kouenji because of the voice!"
"And what does that prove? Kouenji wasn't in the infirmary at all. Whether you misremembered or made it up doesn't matter."
Chabashira scowled. She had waited over a decade to finally become Class A's homeroom teacher and was determined to protect it at all costs.
Ayanokouji couldn't help but avert his eyes slightly at her performance. Now he truly understood why she had once been relegated to Class D.
Even Mashima Tomonari, who disliked Yamauchi and Ike, stepped in to make a fair point:
"It's not irrelevant. Yamauchi and Ike's belief that they saw Kouenji conducting a shady deal was the reason they thought he attacked them. If they actually saw Katsuragi instead, then their motive and the context for the alleged extortion both need to be reexamined."
He held back from saying the rest:
This could indicate that the entire scene around the infirmary had been orchestrated by Class A—a trap set against Class D.
Mashima's gaze turned sharp. Chabashira grew flustered, rummaging in her pockets before remembering that smoking was prohibited in the meeting room. She could only pound the table irritably.
"If you have suspicions, say them plainly. Let's discuss this with evidence."
"As it stands, the evidence points to Yamauchi and Ike staging the whole thing to frame Class A. We have audio, witnesses, and even transfer and spending records."
"Honestly... I don't even see why we're still discussing something this clear-cut."
"Apologies. I hadn't worn the wig these past few days, so I didn't remember that I might've been mistaken for Kouenji back then."
Katsuragi Kouhei stood and casually apologized, clearly aligning with Chabashira to close the case.
Just then, Horikita Manabu spoke, as if something had occurred to him:
"If I recall, Tokito from Class C, Ryuuen from Class C, and Yamada from Class D were all near the infirmary as well. Let's call them back in. Maybe they saw or even recorded something."
Since both incidents had occurred near the infirmary, he had told those three not to leave. He was convinced the events were connected.
The three students were soon brought back. Tokito looked dejected, showing little interest in Manabu's questioning.
"If I haven't lost the memory card from my camera, there might be something on it. I took a bunch of random photos around there."
His implication was clear: if the school found the card, maybe it could overturn his expulsion.
But since the expulsion process had already begun, no one responded.
Yagami Takuya tensed up. He and Ayanokouji had tried to retrieve the memory card afterward, fearing it might have captured their actions. But what they found wasn't the original one.
Their guess was that Yamada had secretly swapped it. Now, Yagami didn't dare look at him directly and instead stole a sideways glance.
At that moment, Secretary Tachibana leaned in and whispered something to Manabu.
"The student council email just received an anonymous message. It says there's crucial evidence."
Manabu addressed the room.
They had posted a reward on the school forum the day after the incident, hoping to find more witnesses or clues. But until now, nothing valuable had come in.
This new message, reviewed and forwarded by other council members, seemed genuinely important.
Everyone looked toward the projector.
The email contained a video clip, just over ten seconds long. Manabu hit play.
On screen, a male student chased down two people trying to flee and knocked them out with swift, clean strikes. At the very end, part of his face turned toward the camera.
It was Yagami Takuya from Class 1-B.
The room erupted.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka lowered his eyes, as if he had foreseen this moment all along.
-------------------------------------
"Actually, in this whole plan, I was mainly responsible for matters related to Class C and Class D. As for Class B, it was all arranged by Kei."
Kitagawa Ryo raised a finger and explained to Horikita Suzune:
"The breakthrough point in Class B lies in their homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie, and her unrelenting thirst for revenge against Class A."
"In her eyes, students are divided into only two types."
"Those who can help her crush Class A, and those who are useless."
"That's exactly what Yagami Takuya saw, which is how he won Hoshinomiya's support and laid out his entire plan."
"But what he didn't expect was this—what Yagami could take advantage of, Kei could turn around and use just the same."
"From the beginning, Yagami's plan was doomed to fail."
Thanks to Ryo's explanation, Horikita Suzune finally grasped the key detail.
"So, the one who faked the injuries on Yamauchi and Ike was..."
"Exactly."
Kitagawa Ryo gave a confident smile.
"It was the one person who could freely come and go from the infirmary without raising any suspicion... the school nurse, Hoshinomiya Chie."
Darkness beneath the lamp.
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