"That's a good question, Senpai."

The shock from that sudden voice answering his question nearly made Shujinkou jump off his feet. Standing behind was Mali, sporting her usual "innocent" smile.

"That exactly was the question I was asking myself as I was listening in," she continued.

She then started to laugh.

"Then again, I guess I shouldn't really be surprised by how things turned out."

"What do you mean?" Shujinkou asked, perplexed.

"I'm talking about how you were so easily puppeted through that entire conversation," she answered cheerfully.

"Huh?"

Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. Though he felt the entire situation was excruciatingly awkward, he didn't feel like he was manipulated throughout it.

But he couldn't say for sure that he wasn't and Mali's knowing smile made him curious towards what she had to say.

Mali could see that curiosity clear in Shujinkou's eyes. "Want your Kōhai to spell it out for you?"

Shujinkou scratched his right cheek then nodded his head silently.

"Okay. First things first, you were already at a disadvantage considering you didn't have the full context of the situation. No matter how obvious it may seem, Senpai couldn't properly respond because he can't make assumptions."

Shujinkou agreed with that point. He felt like he had no right to call anyone out when he didn't have the full context.

"Then there's the other disadvantage. Senpai was clearly uncomfortable and thus couldn't think his best."

Shujinkou agreed with that second point too. Then again, he knew he doesn't always respond the best under any kind of pressure.

"You got me there, but what does that have to do with me being 'puppeted'?" Shujinkou questioned.

"It was those two things along with your worry over one of your friends that allowed it. Want me to go even further by walking you through the conversation little by little?"

"O-Okay."

Mali giggled at his response.

"Just like how you answered to him."

Those words were like a knife preparing to plunge into his heart. But Shujinkou forced himself to ignore that feeling.

Mali remained silent for a moment. She stared into her fellow student's eyes before staring her explanation.

"Well there isn't really much to say Senpai. The first true red flag was that a teacher would even discuss this with you in the first place. Why actually risk essentially confirming what may have happened by discussing it with you?"

Mali then playfully raised her right hand up to his face and waved two fingers in front of his face.

"Then there's the second red flag, the idea of a 'next time'. Realistically speaking, of course there's going to be a next time, but why would he say it with certainly. Wouldn't someone normally try to assure you that there wouldn't be a next time if they could help it?"

Shujinkou contemplated what he was just told. He did somewhat spot Mali's points and the implications that came with them, but hearing it from her made the entire scenario worse than he thought.

"Oh, but I'm not done yet Senpai. Then there was the request; something that threw you for a loop. That was when your fate was pretty much sealed."

"What do you mean?"

Mali smiled as she burned the image of Shujinkou's curious face into her mind.

"Senpai's so innocent that I'm sure the request relieved him a little. He clearly cares for his friends and wouldn't want them in any upsetting situations. But at the same time, Senpai was suspicious of Teacher's intentions and rightly so.

Why would anyone ask someone to keep doing what they're doing in a situation like this? It's like you're trying to push yourself off the cliff you're on the edge of. Sure it sounds weird, but overall innocent when you think about it from Senpai's point of view, but that's not how I saw it."

"How'd you see it?"

"Oh, Senpai, I can't make it that easy for you," Mali she answered with a giggle. "Plus, you may think that I'm puppeting you along too when I'm trying to teach you something."

Shujinkou solemnly scratched his right cheek. Mali hiding what could be crucial information was worrying to him.

"Not to mention there's also the fact of whether you're going to tell your friend that you talked to and made a deal with the person she's scared of behind her back," she added.

"Ah-!"

"Of course Senpai didn't consider that while he was being puppeted."

A deep sense of horror and regret weighed heavily on Shujinkou's heart. Part of him hoped something good would come from this uncomfortable encounter, but instead he realized he may have just committed a monumental betrayal of trust.

Even when I'm feeling better I still make mistakes like this! What the heck is wrong with me?!

"Aw… Don't get too down Senpai, you're still innocent after all. But still, how are you going to fix this mess? Mali questioned.

Shujinkou hung his head forward in defeat. "I don't know… I think me doing anything at this point will just make things worse…"

"So, you're just going to give up? That doesn't sound like the Senpai who risked his own sanity to get me to stop pulling pranks on everyone."

Shujinkou raised his head. He wasn't sure whether Mali was genuinely cheering him up or she wanted him to continue because she found the situation interesting.

Despite not knowing the true reason, he did feel a little better after hearing it.

"What am I'm supposed to do then though?" he asked. "Like you said, I'm at a disadvantage."

"True, but know you have a really big advantage."

"I do? What?"

A bright, innocent smile stretched across Mali's face. "Me."

…

Shujinkou and Mali peered into a first-year classroom. Not a soul was inside, just as Mali had expected.

"What are we doing here?" Shujinkou asked.

"Senpai really doesn't know about his potential threats, does he?" Mali giggled. "Fortunately, your Kōhai happens to have information on one of them."

"How?"

"Because he's my homeroom teacher."

"What?!"

Shujinkou's eyes widened with shock upon hearing that.

"A good match don't you think, Senpai? Malevolence and Devil in one classroom."

Shujinkou anxiously scratched his right cheek.

That sounds horrifying on paper…

The two walked into the classroom then made their way to the closet.

"But what are we doing here specifically, Mali?" Shujinkou queried.

"Finding the results of your Kōhai's work before she was your Kōhai," Mali replied. "Having a teacher named devil and him coming back to school after an incident the year before made me curious."

Hearing that made Shujinkou wonder just how much knowledge Mali had accumulated over the course of the first semester to satisfy her curiosities.

Mali stepped into the closet and reached towards a nearby box.

"I did a little snooping and eventually found…" She pulled out a manila envelope and presented it to Shujinkou. "This!"

"What is that?" he asked.

"I'm not completely sure anymore; it's a little heavier than last time."

Mali passed the envelope along to Shujinkou. Whatever was inside felt relatively small and plentiful.

It was at that moment, Shujinkou finally fully realized what they were doing.

Shaking his head, he vehemently said, "Wait a minute, we can't do this!"

"Can't do what?" Mali asked.

"This! We can't sneak around and look through teacher's stuff, Mali!"

"So, Senpai is implying that officers and detectives are bad people for going around and gathering evidence for suspicious people?"

A blank expression rested on Shujinkou's face. In moments like these, one would try to guilt someone else into performing the deed. He didn't expect anyone to use those lawful positions as justifications for what she was suggesting.

"But-"

Shujinkou's hands trembled as he weighed the options before him.

"Isn't there another way?"

"Well, we could all wait for a hypothetical 'next time'," Mali replied. "In which case, Senpai would be doing absolutely nothing and ignoring things."

"That's-"

"After all, there's a difference between doing nothing because you can't and doing nothing, giving up and letting things continue on, right Senpai?"

Those words were more personal to Shujinkou then Mali could imagine. Shujinkou recalled the last time he gave up as a child; he had run away and was looking for somewhere to go until he heard the sound of tires streaking across wet pavement. After that, he felt something push him off his feet and had to watch as his took his place.

The image of the collision was still fresh in his mind. Even if he mysteriously felt better in regards to that moment, he still couldn't forget what led to that moment: him giving up.

Soon after that was the second time he gave up. He tried to escape reality and his pain by immersing himself in his world of imagination, but in doing so he ended up pushing those he had left away, taking away part of their lives to worry about him.

Every time he gave up always hurt those he cared about more than it did him.

"Senpai?"

Mali marveled at the pain and guilt Shujinkou displayed as he remembered the past. She had never seen such a familiar look on his face before.

The tremors in Shujinkou's hands increased in intensity as he tightened his grip on the envelope.

"I…"