The next morning, I arrived at the school.
As I was walking to the bike rack, almost every student in the area was giving me weird looks. I looked at them and maintained eye contact to assert dominance. My face pretty much said, "What the hell do you bastards want?" Seconds later, they looked away, but only to talk amongst themselves. Just what is everyone's problem?
After I finished that thought, I locked away my bike and began walking to the entrance, but I was immediately stopped by someone.
"You, we need to talk right now. Quickly!"
It was my kouhai, and she seemed to be bothered by something that apparently needs my attention.
"Uh, okay. We have less than 10 minutes before the bell rings just so you know, so don't take too long."
"I won't just hurry up."
She led me in the direction of my lunch spot, which only leads me to believe that whatever happened is a private or sensitive matter. We then quickly arrived at my lunch spot and opened the door only to get smacked in the face with a strong gust of wind that disappeared moments later.
"You haven't heard the rumors, right?"
"Probably not, I don't have social media."
"Of course you don't. So, what happened is Sudo-senpai posted pictures of himself online to make it seem like we jumped and injured him in the alley. No wonder he wasn't here yesterday..."
So, that's what's going on. Well, it is not the best situation to be in but it's also not the worst. I ended up recording everything that happened, so no matter what we're going to be safe, but now I have to figure out how to move on from here.
"You knew he was absent yesterday?"
"One of my clubmates has him in her class, so she would tell me whether he would be here or not for my safety. He acted on this quick, he must have a plan…"
As she said those unconfident words, she began to think which prompted me to do the same thing.
I guess the biggest question is when should I present the evidence? I can either go to the student council directly, or I can confront Sudo. Both options should result in Isshiki's freedom from his extortion, but confronting Sudo could be interesting, and I may be able to gather some information about him.
"We'll be fine."
"So confident…"
"Well, there's nothing to worry about after all."
"What the, really? You know he's been suspended once already, right?"
"Wait, he's been suspended before? For what?"
"Last year he injured another student on school grounds and received a seven days suspension. I think it was a rugby player, but someone recorded it and posted it all over social media."
For someone his size to take out a rugby player... he must be a fighter or something. Damn it, right when I decided to be a good person and help someone from getting assaulted, I find myself dealing with a very problematic person.
"If that's the case, then we might get pulled by the Student Council after school. If they call you down there, don't show up, I'll just tell them you had work."
"Ah, okay."
After the new Student Council was officially admitted, one of their first orders was to give students the ability to work part-time jobs. Seeing how many parents are probably swamped will bills and other stuff like that, it was probably easy to sway the higher ups to let students work a part-time job to help relieve their families of their debts.
"Don't worry, the two of us are going to be fine. Let's go to our classes already before the hallways get filled with people."
She agreed with me and the two of us went our separate ways.
As lunch time rolled around, Isshiki and I decided to start eating lunch together at my usual spot. Normally I would be opposed to sharing my lunch spot with anyone, but I'm putting up with it right now because of the predicament that we're in. In the morning, the looks and the whispers coming from the other students had me as the center of attention which was troublesome. The good deed that I did end up backfiring tenfold and now my high school life is a chaotic mess. Not only mine, but hers too.
I had already brought my lunch, so I went straight to my usual spot. As soon as I walked in the hallway, the looks and whispers began almost immediately. Usually rumors like these tend to die off after a while, but of course, you have the occasional exception that completely fucks you over. Just how in the world did this even happen?
After we made our way to my usual lunch spot, I opened the door and got ourselves situated for the afternoon. While I was enjoying my lunch, I heard an exasperated sigh come from Isshiki.
"My life is ruined... everyone I know turned their backs on me and now I only have my club supporting me. And well, you too, I guess..."
If Isshiki cares so much about her reputation, then she is definitely one of the so called, popular girls.
"You're popular, aren't you?"
"Ah, well... I guess not anymore. People really think we injured Sudo-senpai with those rocks, so they're labeling us as delinquents."
"Well, technically you hit him across the head with one."
"I-I did it to help you! Whatever, it still sucks that I lost my friends because of this."
"You value your superficial friendships too much, Isshiki. Just forget about them, you'll make better ones soon."
"I guess. It's hard trying to get used to being a loner after so many years of being liked by everyone. How do you deal with being alone, Senpai?"
Indeed, someone like Isshiki is not used to being alone, so she's still getting used to the transition. I think once you're able to accept and enjoy your solitude, being alone naturally starts to become easier. But then again, there's always something gnawing at you asking for more, asking if things will finally change in your life or not. You accepted that you are alone, but now you want to change that, you want something deeper than that, but you don't know what.
"By accepting it."
"Really, that's it?"
It's simple, but it's not easy. It took me years to finally accept the inevitability of my fate, and even so, I still want things to change for me, just not negative change like this.
"You're used to being around people all the time, so you're not going to get comfortable being alone overnight. So just relax, you have your club to fall back to anyway."
"You're right... I do..."
It sounded like she wanted to continue talking, but for some reason she cut herself short. Oh well, I guess.
"You know... you're kind of easy to talk to, senpai."
As I was enjoying my food, Isshiki finally found what she wanted to say. "Thanks, I guess."
"Yep. You're also a bit more interesting than most people here, even though you are kind of creepy at times."
"You didn't need to say that last part..."
She giggled. "It's funny how normally I totally wouldn't talk to you at all, but these circumstances changed that completely. Now it's fun talking to you."
"Yeah. Normally, I wouldn't have bothered with you at all, or anyone else for that matter, so things just happen."
"Maybe things happen for a reason, perhaps we were meant to meet each other. It might be fate."
Her words throbbed in this softness that she probably uses to manipulate boys. Even though I have enough experience to deal with Isshiki, it's nearly impossible to avoid her cuteness.
"Who knows. If this is fate, then it must be favoring you because I've gained nothing and lost everything from meeting you."
"A cute girl like me entered your life and you're not even the least bit happy. Most guys would love to be in your position, you know?"
"Well, I'm not like most guys. And to be frank, you being here all the time is a bit of a nuisance. But I guess it's nice to have some company every now and then."
She flinched a bit. "Y-You're really honest, you know that?"
"Take it or leave it."
With that, she didn't say anything and continued to eat the rest of her food in silence.
After some time passed, the two of us went back to our classrooms with a few minutes until the next period starts. I walked through the hall to my classroom, brushing aside the multiple looks coming from the students. As soon as I made my way to my classroom, I took my seat by the window and got myself situated.
As I was staring out the window, I heard someone call out to me.
"Hey dude, did you and Iroha-chan really hurt that Sudo guy?"
Iroha-chan? I didn't know Isshiki was familiar with the senior boys. Just how popular is this girl?
"Of course not. He injured that rugby player, didn't he? There's no way we could've beat him up."
"Oh yeah, I believe you. But a lot of people totally think that you guys did it. And the pictures look so real, just look at them."
He handed me his phone and I checked out the pictures. Not only was his head bleeding, but he had several deep cuts on his arm and face, along with the rock Isshiki used in the background.
"Well, we didn't do it."
"Yeah, I'm on your side. Just back off from Iroha-chan, alright?"
"What, do you like her or something?"
This caused his face to completely turn red in a matter of seconds. Heh, sorry Ibuki-san.
"W-We text each other all the time, alright? I'm gonna confess to her soon."
Poor bastard.
"Good luck, then."
He bawled his fist and pumped himself up before he went back to his seat, which was behind me.
As soon as the final class ended, everyone began to pack up their things and head to their clubs. While I was packing, I noticed the loudspeaker turn on, which caught everyone's attention.
"Isshiki Iroha of class 2-B and Hikigaya Hachiman of 3-C please report to the Student Council Office immediately. I repeat…"
Suddenly, I felt everyone's eyes hit my person at once. I mentally shook my head and didn't give them any attention as left the classroom, punching my way through the swarms of people. As I was walking through everyone, I could feel the stares, and I can hear the whispers going on. I'm used to this kind of thing already, but it still leaves a source taste in my mouth after all these years.
When I arrived at the Student Council Office, I noticed a few teachers were awaiting my arrival. When we took our seats, I noticed there were two powerful people sitting next to each other. Yukinoshita Yukino, the Student Council President. And Hayama Hayato, the Student Council Vice-President.
"Where is Isshiki-san?"
"Couldn't make it,"
"So just you then? Well, that makes things easier on us."
The stone-cold Yukinoshita Yukino spewed those words at us with authority while the teachers behind her observed carefully.
"Sudo Takashi-san accused the two of you of injuring him on a social media post. And the post said that your fingerprints, Hikigaya-kun, are on his blazer which could be more than enough evidence for this case. Even if your fingerprints are present on his jacket, it's hard to believe that he would sustain those injuries fighting you two seeing how he injured a 6'2" 230lb Rugby player during his second year of high school. What would you like to say, about that?"
"…"
I stayed silent, which clearly bugged the teachers, while Yukinoshita and Hayama seemed to be as patient as they could be in this situation.
"I am being serious, Hikigaya-kun. This matter is disturbing the learning environment of the entire school, so cooperate."
"In truth, I don't really give a damn about any of this. If you guys were smart in any way at all, then you would know that me and Isshiki are innocent."
"Hey, watc—"
Hayama was about to finish those words before Yukinoshita stopped him.
"If you do not wish to speak, then so be it. But you have two days to come back and present your claim and any evidence you may have supporting it. After those two days, we will close this case and the authorities will get involved if necessary. Committing a crime even as a minor is taken very seriously, but I'm sure you know that. But not just that, we also do not tolerate anyone messing with the Student Council in any way at all."
I guess there'll be no point for them to press me any further than this. If Sudo went to the Student Council and accused us directly, then this situation would be different. The Student Council is only involved with this because it's disrupting the learning environment of the school, otherwise they wouldn't give two shits about this case.
"I guess that's convenient. Can I go home now?"
"You might as well."
With that, I left the Student Council room along with the two teachers who were observing the short conversation I had with the president. Since Isshiki is probably on her way home right now, then I'm free to do whatever I want.
I went to purchase a can of maxx coffee then leaned against the wall outside the main entrance.
Sudo decided to take this situation to the extreme, but he's obviously lying so he only put the accusation out there rather than trying to press it further. This would usually be considered a stalemate, but all I have to do is confront him directly and present the evidence to him rather to the Student Council. My thing is, why in the world would he do something like this? Nobody can be this stupid, but you'll be surprised honestly. Sudo is either a complete fool who doesn't think things through, or he's a genius. Well, I guess the only thing to do is let time do its thing, and in the meantime, I should probably figure out a way to contact him and get things settled.
As I was entertaining my stream of thoughts, I heard two familiar voices exit the building.
"Hey,"
"Hikigaya-kun. Can I help you?"
I see, so she doesn't want to bring up what happened. I'm fine with that, but it feels strange that we're ignoring that... disagreement.
"Do you guys really believe we hurt Sudo?"
"Well, the evidence is there. But I admit, I'm skeptical about this situation. What do you think?"
"I think he's a pest that does nothing other than cause trouble for us and the other students."
"I understand that you don't like him, but you still never told me why. It's not like I care who you dislike, but if it interferes with our work then there will be consequences. But you understand that, right?"
"Yes..."
She turned all of her attention to me. "Hopefully, I get to see you in a few days' time, Hikigaya-kun. Let's go."
"Right."
The two of them left me alone as they turned the corner.
Not only am I thinking about this situation, but those two also caught my attention. It's still crazy how those two are on the student council with each other, but that means Hayama left the soccer club to join the Student Council. Huh, who would've thought, I guess rich people need to stick together, eh?