"Tough, huh…? Oh, sorry, but could you please close the entranceway door
for me? I had it open to ventilate the room a bit, but now it's gotten a bit cold…
Oh, and please make sure you wash your hands thoroughly after you get back,"
she replied.
"Okay."
She had been running the humidifier inside the room to prevent it from
getting too dry. The flu virus thrives best in dry, low-temperature environments,
and warming the air around you is, therefore, an excellent way to eliminate that
virus. If you scoffed at the idea of taking such precautions, then you
dramatically increased your chances of prolonging your cold or passing it to
someone who came to visit. The dryness of the air was the main reason why
colds tended to last longer in the winter.
That said, it was a little odd that I'd been visiting girls' rooms and having girls
come to my room so often of late, and yet absolutely none of those visits had
had anything to do with romance.
"Is something wrong…?" asked Ichinose, giving me a puzzled look as I
examined her humidifier.
"I'm sorry that I came by and bothered you while you're resting," I replied.
"Oh, no, it's okay, really. It's true that it would be safer if I didn't meet with
anyone right now, but it's probably a better idea for me to actually let people
know I caught a cold, I suppose."
It seemed she was well aware of the widespread speculation that she was
faking being sick. As if to prove it, Ichinose showed me her phone. It looked like
she'd had several exchanges with Horikita. I guessed that Horikita was still
worried about Ichinose and was showing it in her own way.
We didn't talk for long after that. I decided to leave as soon as possible and
did so at the next good opportunity that presented itself.
7.3
THE DAY OF THE PRACTICE test had come—a day on which each class would
have to focus on their own exam. However, the classroom was full of students
engaged in chattering, rather than studying. And they weren't talking about
things like vocabulary and test preparation either. The topics of conversation I
overheard were all completely unrelated to the exams.
"It's pretty lively in here, huh," I said aloud.
"Well, of course it is," said Horikita. "Isn't it obvious? It's because of the crazy
rumors we've been hearing this morning."
"Crazy rumors? More news about Ichinose?"
"No. New rumors, and they're causing chaos within Class C."
"New rumors…huh." Just a glance at the total chaos that was our classroom
made it clear this was no small thing.
"By the way, it seems they mention you, Ayanokouji-kun," said Horikita,
showing me her phone. There were four rumors described on her notes app.
"This is—"
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka has a crush on Karuizawa Kei.
Hondou Ryoutarou is only interested in chubby girls.
Shinohara Satsuki engaged in prostitution when she was in junior high.
Satou Maya hates Onodera Kayano.
The contents of the rumors were s
imilar in nature. Four people, including me,
were singled out and named directly as objects of ridicule.
"Where did this information come from?" I asked.
"Do you know about the bulletin boards that the school provides for each of
the classes?"
"Yeah, if I recall, they're in the app, right?"
When students wanted to check the balance remaining on their account, or
something of the sort, they had to log in through the official school app. This
app included forums and bulletin boards for student use, but because we had
plenty of easy-to-use chat apps on our phones, the bulletin boards went
ignored 99 percent of the time.
"That was a good catch, noticing those posts. Who was the first person to
discover them?"
"By the time I got to the classroom, the rumors were already doing the
rounds. I wonder if someone just happened to stumble upon the messages on
the bulletin board when they were using the app? Also, you can tell when the
board was last updated, apparently."
The bulletin boards weren't just used for classwork—there were several
dedicated just to casual chatter. Since anyone could access them, there was a
good chance these rumors had been seen by the other classes too.
"Aren't you curious about why the modus operandi this time around is
different from the last time?"
"Regardless of whether this was committed by the same person or by
someone else, there are countless ways to spread rumors. Sure, the modus
operandi's different, but there's nothing we can really do about that, right?
Additionally, since these rumors were put in explicit words and posted online,
they're impossible to conceal or dismiss."
Horikita pivoted, prefacing her next comment with a disclaimer. "By the way.
I'm asking you this just in case, but is it true?"
"No, it's not." I denied it right away. "Besides, not many people even know
Karuizawa and I are on speaking terms to begin with."
"Can you think of anyone who might have posted those rumors?"
"Well, I suppose I have some guesses."
I gave Horikita a brief summary of what happened yesterday when I met up
with Hashimoto.
"If Hashimoto-kun started the rumors about Ichinose-san, then it wouldn't be
surprising at all for him to do the same with rumors about you and Karuizawa-
san."
"But what about the other victims? We don't have a lot of avenues to
ascertain the truth."
"That's true…"
I mean, it wasn't like there were any students who could just directly confirm
the truth of these rum—
"Hey, Shinohara! You used to be a prostitute or something?!" shouted
Yamauchi with a laugh, completely oblivious to other people's feelings, as usual.
"I-I was not!" replied Shinohara, fervently denying it. She stood from her seat
in a panic, embarrassment and anger writ large on her face.
"Well, show me some proof then," said Yamauchi.
"Proof…? How am I supposed to prove it to you?!" shouted Shinohara.
Captivated by the drama, the students already in the classroom started
sharing the rumors with the ones who were just showing up. Well, they'd hear
them sooner or later, anyway.
"So you're saying it's all a lie?" Yamauchi demanded. "Then what, everything
else posted online was a lie too, huh? And that we're just running our mouths
without even thinking?"
As I watched Yamauchi and Shinohara get into it, I confirmed what I was
thinking with Horikita.
"I wonder… Well, I suppose all we can do is confirm the truth of the rumors
with each student in turn, like what Yamauchi is doing."
Of course, it was easier said than done for a normal person to go around
prying into people's private business, reopening wounds they wanted to keep
hidden for all to see.
"How stupid can you be?! I can't believe you're getting carried away by these
rumors when you don't even know who wrote them!"
Shinohara was clearly furious with Yamauchi, but it wasn't surprising she was
denying it so vehemently. If anything, it was surprising that she could be this
calm after someone had posted such things about her.
"But you know…don't you think all the stuff said online is pretty believable?"
"Knock it off already, Haruki!"
In response to Yamauchi's merciless teasing, Ike, who had been standing next
to him, aggressively grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to get him to stop.
"Wh-what, dude?! This is just my chance to pay Shinohara back for always
acting so high and mighty all the time!"
"Payback for what…? Dude, those rumors are nothing but lies!"
"And how do you know that, huh? I mean, they do say ugly chicks like her can
get up to some surprisingly nasty shit, y'know." Yamauchi laughed, continuing
to run his mouth like a fool in complete dismissal of Ike's feelings. "Oh, ho, I get
it. Ike, you kinda have a thing for Shinohara. That's why you can't admi—"
"Haruki!" Ike grabbed Yamauchi's collar.
"Knock it off, you two!"
Unable to stand by and watch
things play out, Sudou stepped in and pulled
the two of them apart by force.
Hirata arrived at the classroom soon after and immediately sensed what was
going on. He began asking some of the girls about the situation, confirming the
specifics of these rumors.
Since Shinohara was denying everything, Yamauchi temporarily switched
targets. "So, hey, Hondou! You seriously have a fat fetish?" he said, directing his
attention toward Hondou.
"N-no way, dude! No way! Those rumors are all just straight-up BS! Right,
Ayanokouji? I mean, there's no way that you have a thing for Karuizawa!"
Naturally, Hondou denied the accusation. He also turned to me for help,
seeking to avoid persecution. All at once, everyone's eyes were on me.
Fortunately, most of Kei's group of friends still hadn't gotten to class yet.
I answered Hondou with a nod, confirming that he was right. He shouted
"See?" loudly, turning back to Yamauchi.
"Tch, come on. What the hell, man? Are they all lies?"
Now that three of us had denied the rumors, the classroom began to settle
down a little.
"But…it's true that Satou-san doesn't really like Onodera-san very much, isn't
it?" Maezono blurted out without thinking, probably because Onodera wasn't
here yet.
"H-hey, wait a second, Maezono-san!" Satou frantically tried to stop her, but
it was already too late.
"Actually yeah, come to think of it, has anyone ever seen Satou hang out with
Onodera before?"
"Th-that's…"
The situation had changed. All of a sudden, people no longer seemed inclined
to dismiss the rumors as outright lies. Sudou, confirming that he had separated
Ike and Yamauchi, walked up to Horikita and me.
"Ayanokouji. You really don't have a thing for Karuizawa?" Apparently, even
he felt like he needed to ask.
"Nope, I don't."
"Hm. Well, hey, even if it was true, it doesn't really matter to me, I guess. Hey,
Suzune."
"What is it, Sudou-kun?"
"Well, it's just that I happened to hear a little bit of your conversation earlier.
If you're okay with me helping out, I'd like to lend a hand," said Sudou.
"Meaning?"
"Well, I'm an insensitive guy. So I can just go around and ask people straight
out, like Haruki did. How about it?" offered Sudou.
It was true that Sudou could be a useful tool in determining the origin of
these rumors…though if he had heard our conversation, he should have heard
the part where I denied the fact that I was interested in Kei.
"Don't do anything to lower yourself in people's estimation," Horikita said.
"People already don't think too highly of you. You should be striving to improve
how they see you, even if just a little. Yamauchi-kun's careless comments seem
to have drastically lowered his standing in our class…"
It felt like Yamauchi had overtaken Sudou as the most hated person in class in
one fell swoop. Even Ike, his closest friend, was now furious at him.
"You might be right about that… But I want to be useful somehow."
Sudou glanced at me for a moment before immediately averting his gaze. I
was sure it was because he was vaguely aware of the fact that Horikita
consulted me on a lot of things. Of course, he probably also understood that it
was partly because it was easy for us to talk to one another, being desk
neighbors.
"In that case, please keep an eye on Yamauchi-kun and keep him under
control. If even one of the rumors had been positive, this would be a different
story. Instead, they're so troubling as to become deeply personal, whether or
not they're true. I'm sure Hondou-kun must be shaken by all this, so I'd like you
to check in on him. You can do that, right?"
"…Yeah, okay."
Sudou seemed a little bit disappointed, but he still obediently followed
Horikita's instructions. Horikita waited to confirm that he'd left, then returned
to the topic at hand.
"This is likely part of Sakayanagi-san's plan. She wasn't satisfied with going
after Ichinose-san, so she's trying the same scheme on Class C too. Hitting
multiple people at the same time, no less. I think it's just an attempt to throw
us off before the year-end exams, but… What should we do?"
"What do you mean? Do you think there's any way we can really fight these
rumors? The more we try to deny them, the more everyone's imaginations will
run wild, convincing them they're true. The rumor about me isn't really a big
deal, but if the ones about the other students are recognized as fact, it'll do
them some real damage."
"…That's true. You might be right." Horikita nodded in understanding as she
looked over at Hondou and Shinohara. I wonder if she was imagining herself in
their shoes. "That said, this is a really dirty move. How do we push back against
something like this?"
"I wonder."
"Even though you can see the sparks starting to fly, you're planning to just sit
back and watch?" asked Horikita.
"It's not that bad. Well, I guess it will be from Karuizawa's point of view,
though."
"Meaning you're fine?"
"Yep, totally fine."
For whatever reason, it seemed like Horikita might have been hoping to see
me panic. As a result, I got to see a rare look of mild disappointment on her
face.
"It's fortunate that it's not the other way around, at least," she said.
In other words, if the rumor had claimed Kei had a crush on me. That
would've inspired more rumors about Kei—that she was chasing after a new
guy right after breaking up with Hirata, for instance. Speculation would run
rampant. It didn't matter if something was completely untrue; if enough people
recognized a lie as fact, that lie would become reality.
"But…I can't just sit back in silence and observe forever, like you."
"I see."
The commotion in the classroom made it obvious these fires were going to
keep spreading even if no one took action. Yamauchi was about to turn the
conversation back toward Shinohara and Satou, but Hirata stopped him.
"Yamauchi-kun. Just because something is written on the bulletin board
doesn't make it true. Besides, at the very least, you can agree that it's wrong to
hurt a fellow classmate like this, right?" said Hirata.
"But if it's like with the rumors about Ichinose, then everyone's gotta have
heard them already, right? Even if we don't say anything, it'll all be the same in
the end, won't it?"
"I don't think we can say that for sure. At least not yet. That's why I think the
best thing for us to do right now is to carry on without letting what was posted
on the bulletin board throw us into chaos," said Hirata.
His words were met with a strong chorus of agreement from both the guys
and girls. This wasn't going to solve all of our problems, of course, but he'd at
least managed to put a lid on things for now.
Then Horikita got a message on her phone.
"It's from Kanzaki-kun." Horikita took a look at the message. "Apparently, it
seems like Ichinose has taken today off as well."
The day of the practice test. Even if you were feeling a little under the
weather, you would still want to take the test to check where your abilities
were at. Not to mention the fact that Ichinose was the class leader, the one
responsible for guiding her classmates along. Well, based on how she looked
yesterday, it was no wonder she hadn't completely recovered yet.
"And one more thing… It seems like similar rumors were posted on the Class B
bulletin board."
"Meaning they must've noticed what was written about us too."
"Seems that way."
Horikita hurriedly logged into the app and checked the Class B bulletin board.
Much like with Class C, there were four rumors posted on the boards, each
naming a different student. There were similar messages on Class D's bulletin
board, too.
"Conveniently enough, it looks like the students of Class A were the only ones
who had no rumors posted about them. Can I have a moment of your time after
class today? I'd like to check in with Ichinose, get some more information, and
discuss how to respond to these posts."
"Sure," I agreed.
"For the time being, let's focus on the practice test. It's a valuable opportunity
to gauge the difficulty level of the year-end exam, and to get an idea of where
our class is at."
But Horikita wasn't one of the people targeted by the rumors. Unlike her, the
victims weren't going to be able to concentrate on the test quite so easily.
When Kei and her friends arrived at the classroom, they huddled together and
started whispering among themselves. Then, they looked over at me. They
looked at me as if I were human trash. I could tell what was going on even if I
couldn't hear what they were saying.
"Does it really look like Ayanokouji-kun has a crush on Karuizawa-san?"
"Hey, what do you think about him anyway? Huh, Karuizawa-san?"
I was sure the conversation they were having right now went something like
that. And, without a doubt, I bet that Kei was responding to them with things
like "He's disgusting" or "He's the worst."
"Didn't you say that you were fine?"
"…It kinda bothers me a little."
I would've kept watching them talking, but I didn't want to actually overhear
what they were saying, so I decided to stop. The real issue was the students
other than me who'd been singled out by name and were currently being
discussed.
7.4
THE PRACTICE TEST had begun, despite the chilly traces of awkwardness and ill
will still lingering in the air. This was an important phase of the end of the
school year. The content of the practice test was, even comparatively speaking,
much more difficult than what we'd seen on tests so far. Extremely so.
However, it was also true that students who'd gotten through the exams
we've had so far should be able to handle what was on this one without
needing to panic. On the other hand, the students who'd barely managed to
squeak by probably needed to really put their noses to the grindstone after this
practice test.
I'd been invited to join the Ayanokouji Group for a study session, but I
decided to let them know they could start without me, since I was going to be
accompanying Horikita today. Kanzaki didn't want to draw any attention to
himself, so we decided to meet up at the Keyaki Mall after school, after the
practice tests were over.
Following Horikita's lead, we went over to where Kanzaki was waiting for us.
He was by the southern entrance to the mall. This was the farthest point from
the school building, so students didn't usually come by here.
I wasn't particularly invested in the whole class conflict thing, but that didn't
mean that I wasn't worried about Ichinose, as a friend. Besides, more
information wasn't a bad thing. Not to mention the fact that Hashimoto had
been tailing me lately, and for some time now. If I made contact with Class B,
the shadow of Class A would inevitably loom closer…but that was exactly what I
was hoping for.
In fact, Hashimoto had followed me all the way here, keeping an appropriate
level of distance all the while.
"Two days off in a row. And on top of that, you still haven't been able to get in
touch with Ichinose-san yourself?"
"It's not that she isn't responding at all; it's that her responses are slow. All
I've gotten from her was a notification that she's sick with a cold."
Kanzaki seemed on edge. I imagined he'd been under a lot of stress lately.
Ichinose must have told him not to worry, but I supposed he could hardly sit
there and take it.
Ichinose's health issues were probably one reason why she was reluctant to
meet with any of her classmates right now. I was willing to bet another was that
she really didn't want to hear about or discuss the rumors any further.
"What did your homeroom teacher say about it?"
"The same as always. She only said that Ichinose was taking the day off
because she was out sick with a cold."
Their homeroom teacher had probably gotten the same message from
Ichinose that everyone else had. Kanzaki looked depressed because he doubted
whether Ichinose was really absent from class because she had a cold. After all,
she'd been the subject of an ongoing scandal lately. Of course, he suspected
that was the real reason for her absence.
"How about we go to visit her? I think we could clear this all up if we just
went to see her in person," said Horikita.
"Apparently, some girls from our class went to visit her. It doesn't sound like
they were able to see her face-to-face," replied Kanzaki.
Horikita, realizing that the situation wasn't looking good, pondered the
matter deeply. "Well, on the bright side, Ichinose is academically gifted. Even if
she doesn't take the practice test, she'll probably do just fine," she reasoned.
It was possible for students who were sick, like Ichinose, to get the test
questions at a later date, or they could ask other students about what problems
were on the test.
"We're not worried about that either. We're only concerned about Ichinose's
mental well-being," said Kanzaki.
As Horikita and Kanzaki continued to try to come up with a plan, several
shadows approached us. It seemed like Hashimoto had already reported on this
secret meeting.
"Oh, it sounds like Ichinose-san is absent from class again today, huh? Next
week is the year-end exam. If she were absent for an extended period of time…
why, perhaps all the way to the day of the exam… Well, she might be in a lot of
trouble, hm?"
"…Sakayanagi."
Sakayanagi and her underlings had appeared before us. Well, before Kanzaki,
rather. We saw Kamuro and Hashimoto with her, and also a boy named Kitou.
So these were the key members of Sakayanagi's faction, huh?
"Now then, what in the world could you be discussing with these Class-C
fellows?" asked Sakayanagi.
"It has nothing to do with you."
"Oh, my, it doesn't seem like we're very welcome here."
"If you want to be welcomed, then you should stop spreading weird rumors.
Before you do something that you can't take back."
Sakayanagi and her classmates looked at one another and chuckled.
"What in the world are you talking about?" she asked.
"Class B's unity won't be shaken, no matter how many rumors you spread."
"I'm afraid I don't know what kind of situation your class is in. But I look
forward to finding out what comes next."
I was guessing she'd only come here to see for herself how things were
proceeding. She seemed to conclude that her plans were showing immediate
results, for she departed right after that exchange with Kanzaki.
"Don't worry about her, Kanzaki-kun," said Horikita. "This is all part of
Sakayanagi-san's strategy."
"I know."
Unfortunately, Kanzaki's concern for his companions, and his humble,
reserved nature meant his suffering wouldn't be ending anytime soon.
7.5
CLASS WAS OVER, but it wasn't like the rumors were going to stop spreading. I
made it back to the dorm and was relaxing when I got a call from Kei.
"Hey, w-w-w-wait a minute! What's going on, Kiyotaka?!"
"What do you mean, 'What's going on?'" I already knew, but I figured I'd
anyway.
"No, come on, you know what! Kiyotaka, there's…well, um, there's a-a rumor
going around that you have a c-crush on me! Did you not know?!"
"Don't worry about the rumors."
"N-no, no way, no way, no way! It's not like I can just not worry about it just
because it's a rumor! How did this even happen?!"
She was shouting so loudly that there was a shrill ringing in my ears. I moved
my phone away for a moment and hit the button to lower the volume.
"I suppose it might be Hashimoto who started the rumor," I said. "Or maybe
some other students saw us together."
"Aahhh!" Kei let out a quiet scream.
"Well, I mean, this is fine though, isn't it? It would've been really bad for you
if things were reversed."
"R-reversed?"
"If the rumor went 'Kei has a crush on Kiyotaka,' then that'd be bad news for
you, wouldn't it? I think if that were the case, then people would be even more
suspicious of you than they are of me, since you just broke up with Hirata," I
told her.
"…I-I suppose so, but…"
"Don't worry. Things like rumors always fade quickly."
"Really?"
"Still, I suppose it might be easier for us to make contact moving forward,
thanks to this rumor. If I try to talk to you, people will just assume it's because
of what the rumor says, and that'll be that."
It all came down to perspective. I had no plans to start having conversations
in conspicuous locations, but it could be something of an insurance policy,
circumstances depending.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Kei repeated the word many more times than
before. "If the two of us are together, people will look at us weird! They
absolutely, definitely will look at us weird!"
Was repeating yourself like that becoming some kind of trend? What a bizarre
speech affectation. Anyway, this meant that Hashimoto, who'd been following
me, would also have this information planted in his head.
"Don't worry about it."
"Even if you tell me not to worry about it…"
A long period of silence followed, after which she apparently decided it was
just too difficult after all. "It's just impossible. I can't do it!"
Kei continued to grumble at me about a variety of topics for a while but then
eventually seemed to give up, and she ended the call.
7.6
THINGS WERE BEGINNING to move at a dizzying pace. Even though there was no
special exam, and we should be concentrating only on the written exam that
was going to be held in late February, these were tumultuous days.
On Friday, February 18th—three days after the practice test—students from
each class except for B had gathered at a spot some distance from the school
building. Hirata had done his best to keep the new rumors from spreading at
this critical juncture, but his efforts had been in vain. Class A, the only class with
no rumors about them posted on the bulletin boards, had already gotten wind
of the information.
"Yo, Ishizaki. So what the heck did you wanna talk about with me, anyway?"
asked Hashimoto, seeming the same as always.
"What do I want to talk about? You already know what this is about,
Hashimoto! And what are you thinkin', bringin' Kitou along with you? I told ya
to come alone, didn't I?" said Ishizaki.
"Well, you brought Albert with you, didn't you? Just taking precautions."
The air was tense, like everyone was on tenterhooks. Looking at the current
situation, it was hard to imagine the two of them had been rooming together
just a little while ago at the school camp, but the reasons why things had gotten
to be like this were plain to see.
"We just came to talk today. Isn't that right, Ishizaki-kun?"
Ishizaki and Albert weren't the only Class-D students present. Hiyori and Ibuki
were there too.
"Well, as long as they don't make a scene, then I suppose everything will be
fine."
"But…"
Hiyori's worries were understandable. Given the people who were present, it
was hard to imagine nothing happening.
"But what about those other people? I didn't know you invited other people
out here aside from us," said Ishizaki.
Hashimoto looked over at us and let out an exasperated sigh. "Dunno about
them. Aren't you the ones who called them?"
Apparently, both Class D and Class A were uncomfortable about having us
Class-C students present.
"It's just like you said, Ayanokouji," said Akito, who stood beside me, along
with the rest of the Ayanokouji Group. We'd all met up at the café for a study
session a little while ago.
"I just remembered that time when Kanzaki and Hashimoto were going at it.
And then I just 'happened' to see you guys heading away from campus, so I
thought that maybe… Well."
As soon as I'd told Akito that I had sensed something was wrong, he
immediately followed me here. The only thing I hadn't planned on was Haruka,
Airi, and Keisei coming along too.
"There's way more people here than there was last time. Things might get
pretty rough…"
"Ah, come on, why do we keep getting into these kinds of dangerous
situations all the time?" said Haruka, apparently exasperated.
"Well, whatever. It doesn't matter who called them here. So let's hear what
you have to say, Shiina-chan."
"It's about the rumors. You Class-A people are the ones who've been starting
them, aren't you?" said Hiyori, perhaps deciding this would result in a fistfight if
she left it to Ishizaki to handle the conversation.
"Hey, hey, why are you asking us something like that?"
"That's friggin'—"
"Please leave this to me, Ishizaki-kun," said Hiyori, gently stopping Ishizaki
from angrily shouting back. "I happened to overhear Kanzaki-kun saying that he
saw you spreading rumors about Ichinose-san."
"Wow, he's a blabbermouth, huh? Or maybe you happened to hear that from
those two over there?" replied Hashimoto. He was referring to me and Akito,
since we'd heard Hashimoto's conversation with Kanzaki the other day.
"Please answer the question, Hashimoto-kun." Hiyori continued to press
Hashimoto without even looking in our direction.
"…Well, Ayanokouji and Miyake know, so I'll just come out and say it, I
suppose. I heard these rumors about Ichinose somewhere, and I just decided to
repeat them a bunch, just 'cause I thought it'd be amusing."
Hashimoto didn't admit the truth, of course.
"That's a rather convenient excuse. Do you really think something like that is
still going to fly?"
"Excuse? It's the truth. I guess if it's wrong to repeat rumors 'cause it amuses
you, then I'm the bad guy. Still, it's strange, isn't it? That Class D, who should
have nothing to do with this, would just swoop into this whole situation?" said
Hashimoto. He continued talking, jovial as ever, but with a sharp glint in his eye.
"Is it possible that…it's actually you Class-D folks who are the ones spreading
those rumors?"
"You've got to be friggin' kidding me. We already know that Sakayanagi is the
one spreading these rumors!"
"Don't be so quick to assume that. Sure, it's true that our leader is the
aggressive type. There are times when she, against her better judgment, says
things that'll provoke people. Says things against Ichinose too. I mean, I guess I
understand how you feel. I understand why you wanna read way too much into
things and selfishly decide that she was the source of the rumors. But we've got
nothing to do with it. Besides, you don't actually have any proof, do you?"
Ishizaki was clearly frustrated by Hashimoto's words, but Hashimoto wasn't
wrong. As of now, there was no conclusive evidence suggesting that it was
Sakayanagi who had put the letters in the mailboxes or posted the rumors on
the online bulletin boards…even though we knew that in all probability, it was
her.
"So that's what today's about. You guys wanted to press me about this whole
thing, huh? Gotta say, I had no idea that you Class-D folks had Ichinose's back,"
said Hashimoto.
Ishizaki and his group glared in response. Hashimoto let out a sigh, as if to
show he understood the situation he was in.
"There's no point in trying to fool us. You haven't just been spreadin' crap
about Ichinose. You've been makin' up stuff about us too."
"I see. So that's the reason, huh? You don't really care about Ichinose—you
just don't like that Class D got caught up in these rumors. Oh, yeah, they said
something about you getting put in juvenile detention for a prank you played
on an elementary school student. Isn't that right, Ishizaki?"
The moment those words passed Hashimoto's lips, Ishizaki snapped. Hiyori
hurriedly grabbed Ishizaki's arm, holding him back before he could pounce on
Hashimoto.
The rumor Hashimoto just mentioned was one of the supposed lies posted on
the bulletin board. Ishizaki's fury was inevitable, the result of being in a
situation like this. Hashimoto, showing no signs of backing down, continued
speaking.
"But seriously, I'm amazed that you came up with all of these rumors. Come
on, tell me how you managed to sniff out all this stuff about other people, not
just Ichinose?"
"Stop screwing with us, Hashimoto!"
"Wait, Ishizaki!"
Akito, thinking that Hiyori wouldn't be able to hold Ishizaki back on her own,
hurriedly tried to stop him.
"Don't try to stop me, Miyake! Like hell I'm just gonna sit here and let Class A
just keep doing whatever they feel like! I'm gonna punch his lights out!"
"Knock it off, Ishizaki. You're the one who'll get hurt, understand? You're
probably confident in your fighting skills, but I can throw down pretty well
myself, you know?" said Kitou, quietly taking one step forward and putting his
fists up in a fighting stance, readying himself against Ishizaki and Albert. It
looked like he was ready to accept their challenge, should the situation call for
it.
"Cut it out, you guys. You all know how mad the school gets when it comes to
fights," said Akito, trying to calm things down, while standing at a distance.
"Until now, that is."
"Until now?"
"I've heard that the current student council president is actually willing to
tolerate a little bad behavior here and there. Get it?"
Hashimoto closed the distance between himself and Ishizaki, launching his
right leg into a kick. Akito blocked it with his left arm.
"Tch… S-seriously? Jeez, seems like anything's possible with this president."
Hashimoto's word alone wasn't enough to convince us the ban on fighting
had been lifted. Which was precisely why he'd gone on to prove it by taking the
initiative himself.
"Not bad, Miyake. Man, it's no wonder you were so confident when you said
you could stop us from fighting," said Hashimoto, taking his distance once
again.
The atmosphere became even more tense than it was before. That feeling of
pins and needles washed over everyone.
"Fighting is not okay," said Hiyori.
"I know. I didn't come here to fight with you guys. That there was just my way
of proving to you that we have the power to defend ourselves," replied
Hashimoto.
"…Can we trust you?"
Hashimoto nodded, looking Hiyori in the eyes. And yet, no one believed him.
"Come on, enough already, Hiyori. This guy lies without even batting an
eyelash. No matter how you think about it, it was Class A who spread these
rumors. The proof is that Class A was the only one not targeted by the rumors."
"But… isn't that also precisely why it's possible that they're not the ones
responsible?" said Hiyori.
"It's just like Shiina-chan says," said Hashimoto. "If we were the ones who
spread the rumors, wouldn't we have made sure to post something on the Class
A bulletin board too, to deflect suspicion?"
"I'm not so sure about that. I can't imagine every student in Class A knows
Sakayanagi was the person behind those rumors about Ichinose. If rumors
targeting Class A surfaced, it would naturally cause confusion within the class."
After Akito pointed that out, Hashimoto let out a sigh. "Well, I can't really say
that your reasoning is off there, to be sure. But it's probatio diabolica, isn't it?"
Despite the fact that their actions were extremely suspicious, we had no
evidence to prove their guilt. Meanwhile, it was equally difficult for them to
prove their innocence.
"The only way we're going to get the truth out of them is if we let our fists do
the talking."
"Whoa, hey now. Knock it off, Ibuki-chan. Even if we fight, you're not going to
get anything out of it, you know?"
"Telling us to stop after you were just trying to pick a fight with us yourself,
huh? You've got a lot of nerve."
"We've got nothing to do with this. Believe me," said Hashimoto, letting out a
laugh.
Ibuki, though, wasn't smiling. On the contrary, she seemed to be trying her
absolute hardest to hold back her anger. One of the rumors had targeted her,
just like Ishizaki.
"You…think you can make fun of us just because Ryuuen quit being our
leader, huh?" said Ishizaki.
He must have reached the limits of his patience, because he pushed past
Akito. Then, as if moving in lockstep with Ishizaki, Ibuki went to stand in front of
Hashimoto and Kitou.
"Wait, wait a second! Seriously!"
"Make Sakayanagi apologize both for the rumors about Ichinose and the
rumors about us."
"You've got it wrong. We didn't spread the rumors."
"Stop laughing!"
Ishizaki kicked the railing as hard as he could. Hashimoto was beginning to
understand that he couldn't control the situation anymore.
"…Okay, so what're you going to do about it?"
"Ain't that obvious? I'll shut you up by force."
"You seriously think you can do that?"
"Yep. And if you don't want that, then you better go make her take those
rumors back, right now."
"I keep telling you, we didn't start those rumors."
Though he kept saying that, Hashimoto understood no one believed him.
What Sakayanagi had done was as good as declaring war on Ichinose; it was
difficult for him to prove his innocence after such that. His mouth curved back
into a smile.
"This ain't something to laugh about."
"Sorry, sorry. It's just that this is just too absurd for me to even comprehend."
Since Hashimoto couldn't admit that Sakayanagi was the source of the
rumors, he had no choice but to reject Ishizaki's request.
"In that case, you'll just have to let us talk to Sakayanagi herself."
"You? Yeah, no way," said Hashimoto with a wave of his hand, as if dismissing
the very idea that Sakayanagi would meet with them. Ishizaki had to have
known it was impossible too, which was why he'd approached Hashimoto.
"Kitou. We might not have any other choice."
It seemed Hashimoto, sensing the mood, had decided words were no longer
going to work. Kitou, who'd been preparing himself for this, assumed a fighting
stance right after.
"Hah!" shouted Ishizaki, rushing at Kitou, attempting to tackle him. Right
beside him, Ibuki delivered a flying kick at Hashimoto, which he rushed to avoid
in a panic.
"Christ!" shouted Hashimoto.
Because of her powerful jump, Ibuki's cell phone and student ID card fell out
of her pocket and hit the ground. Realizing she was faster and stronger than
he'd imagined, Hashimoto's expression showed that he sensed the danger he
was in.
"Wow, you're much more used to fighting than I remember, Ibuki-chan…" he
said, expressing his respect. "Guess I forgot about that."
"Stop it, everyone!" shouted Akito, picking up the cell phone that lay on the
ground nearby.
However, the Class-D students showed no signs of stopping. Ibuki didn't seem
at all fazed that her phone might be damaged. I reached out and grabbed her
student ID, which had fallen near my feet, lowered my eyes without thinking to
read it. Naturally, she wasn't smiling in the picture. She had her usual brusque,
stiff expression on her face.
However…one particular detail caught my eye.
"What does this mean…?" I muttered aloud.
"What?" asked Keisei, apparently having heard what I had mumbled from
beside him. I quickly shook my head to dismiss the question and put Ibuki's
student ID card in my pocket for the time being, for safe-keeping.
"Oh, it's nothing. More importantly, our biggest priority is stopping this fight."
"Stopping it…? How?"
The fight had already turned into a two-versus-two situation, and it looked
like round two was about to begin.
"He's right, we should stay out of it."
"It looks dangerous, Kiyotaka-kun…"
Haruka and Airi spoke up, saying that we should stay out of it.
"…I suppose you're right. Leaving it to Akito is probably the wise choice," I
replied.
Akito intervened to try to stop the next assault.
"Don't get in the way, Miyake!"
Ishizaki attempted to shove him out of the way with brute force, but Akito
grabbed his hand and forcefully pushed Ishizaki down.
"Hey, you jerk, let go!"
"Sorry, Ishizaki. I don't hate guys like you or anything, but I gotta stop you."
"Back off!" shouted Ibuki, aiming a kick at Akito's head.
Akito hurriedly moved away from Ishizaki, just barely dodging Ibuki's foot by
the skin of his teeth, but he lost his balance in the process. Albert then grabbed
Akito with his large arms.
"Hold him, Albert."
"Gr…"
There was no way for Akito to break free of Albert's monstrously strong grip.
Class D had determined that they wouldn't lose as long as they managed to
keep this fight two-on-two.
"Ibuki!" shouted Ishizaki. At the same time, Kitou thrust his hand forward,
aiming at Ibuki's neck.
"Don't underestimate me!" shouted Ibuki, reacting to Kitou's attack by kicking
his hand away.
"They're going at it for real… What do we do?"
The four of us watched, unable to stop them.
"Well, nothing we can really do about it now, since the fight's started, but you
Class-C guys are really in the way here…" Hashimoto looked over at us, still
keeping an eye on Ishizaki, who had just gotten back up.
"We happened to come here by coincidence, but there is something that
we'd like to say. One of our friends… Ayanokouji has been targeted and affected
by these rumors, just like Ishizaki and the others," said Keisei. When he
appealed to Hashimoto, Airi, who was standing next to him, nodded
enthusiastically.
"Oh? Oh, yeah, there was something about him, wasn't there? A lovely little
rumor about him having a crush on Karuizawa or something, right?"
"I-It's absolutely not lovely at all!" said the usually soft-spoken Airi, raising her
voice to object, which was a rare sight.
Going along with them, I addressed Hashimoto as well. "I hate to say this, but
I suspect you too, Hashimoto."
"…Guess that makes sense. I mean, I was the only one who saw you and
Karuizawa meeting in secret the other day, after all."
"M-meeting in secret?"
Not just Airi, but Haruka quickly turned around to look at me too.
"There's nothing strange going on between us at all," I said.
"Really? B-but, Kiyotaka-kun, I have gotten the impression that you and
Karuizawa-san have been getting along pretty well lately…" said Airi.
Well, Airi did watch me very carefully, so it wasn't surprising she'd seen that
much. But the important thing was that Hashimoto heard her say that. I needed
him to know that there were other people who were aware of the kind of
relationship I had with Kei. There needed to be the appearance of a certain
degree of intimacy between me and Kei if the excuse we'd used the other day—
that I was the middleman, delivering chocolates on Kei's behalf to her real crush
—was to appear legitimate.
Hashimoto was doing this to ascertain how my classmates saw my
relationship with Kei. But it was precisely his own cleverness that would cause
him to end up closing himself off to several possibilities. Even though he'd been
keeping his eyes on me, he was going to draw out testimony that suggested I
posed no threat to him. As a result, his suspicions of me would fade.
"I'm your opponent right now, Hashimoto!"
"Come on, dude… This is getting to be really annoying."
"Please Ishizaki-kun, stop! Don't do this anymore! At the very least, I cannot
allow this," said Hiyori, speaking in a firm tone.
Ishizaki, unable to ignore her, looked back at her with a troubled expression.
"B-but!"
"Even if you do manage to beat Hashimoto-kun and Kitou-kun in a fight and
force them to confess, that won't amount to real evidence. The person at the
heart of the matter, Sakayanagi-san, still won't admit to anything. Isn't it
enough that we couldn't get them to confess?" said Hiyori.
"So you're telling Ibuki and me to just shut up and take it?"
"I know that is going to sound harsh, but yes. Please bear with it for now."
"You're the one who asked us to come with you, aren't you? And yet you're
telling us to bear with it? That doesn't make any sense!"
"I promise that I'll make it up to you," said Hiyori.
Hashimoto let out a whistle, seemingly deeply interested in what he just
heard. "Oh, ho, so it wasn't Ishizaki who set up this meeting, but you, Shiinachan?"
"Albert-kun. Please let him go."
Albert slowly released Akito, as instructed.
"We've really caused you guys from Class C a lot of trouble," said Hiyori,
bowing deeply.
"Wow, okay, you think this is all over, just like that? Talk about one-sided. So
what, you accuse us, try to beat us up, and we're just supposed to accept it?"
"Could you please forgive us?"
Hashimoto accepted what Hiyori had to say. He must have known that there
was nothing to be gained by pushing the issue. "Well, it's not like we're injured
or anything. Let's call it a day then, Kitou. But please, stop single-mindedly
blaming us. If you must accuse us, find some ironclad proof first, okay?"
Somehow, Hiyori had successfully managed to bring the situation under
control before it devolved into an all-out brawl. However, the relationship
between Class A and the other classes had now deteriorated to the point where
it was impossible to repair.
7.7
THAT NIGHT, I called Horikita Manabu.
"It's rather unusual for me to get a call from you," said Horikita.
"There's one thing I want to ask you."
"What is it?"
I reported what I'd noticed after looking at two students' ID cards.
"I hope that this isn't just a misunderstanding on your part," answered
Horikita, sounding surprised, as if this was the first he'd heard of this.
"Based on your reaction, I'm guessing the student council… no, I mean that
this has never happened before?" I asked.
"That's correct. That is, as long as it's not just some simple mistake."
I couldn't exclude the possibility that it was a mistake, of course. But if it was,
it was a very rare one.
"The school changes and evolves every year. This phenomenon, too, should
have some meaning. As I'm quite possibly the first person to have noticed it, a
day may come when it will prove useful to you."
Even if that day came, I hoped I could wrap things up without having to make
use of it, if at all possible.
"You first-year students will likely have one more special exam to complete
this year," Horikita said.
I made note of the fact that he referenced the first-years specifically. Did that
mean the situation was different for us?
"Well, that's the way it's been in previous years, at least. I can't be absolutely
certain it'll be that way this year. But if things proceed as they have in the past,
even the third-year students should be facing two or more special exams,"
added Horikita.
"So it's going to be quite the rough time for you, huh?" If all the second-year
students led by Nagumo put their weight behind the students of third-year
Class B, then Horikita's position was by no means safe.
"It's a highly unpredictable situation, that's for sure. But it's nothing that you
need to be concerned about."
As I'd expect of the former student council president. He didn't seem to
consider his current situation hopeless, and I felt confident he had the strength
to fight his way through.
However, my confidence was in Horikita Manabu, and Horikita Manabu alone.
Just like he'd targeted Tachibana Akane, I was sure that Nagumo would take
aim at other victims whom he could break down.
"What you should be worried about now is the first-year class as a whole,"
said Horikita.
"If the student council is backing him, then Nagumo should be able to sweep
whatever he wants under the rug," I reasoned.
"Yes, that's possible. Of course, the student council might lose the school's
trust and be forcibly disbanded if they go too far…but we're dealing with
Nagumo here. He'll probably handle things quite cleverly. Did you have any
trouble with that matter regarding Kushida?"
"Oh, that's been taken care of."
"It seems there's been a lot happening behind the scenes where this whole
ordeal with Ichinose is concerned."
"I'll contact you again."
Having ascertained what I wanted to know, I ended the call.
7.8
THE NEXT FEW DAYS passed by in a flash. Ichinose, the center of this whirlwind
of controversy, continued to be absent until February 24th, one day before the
year-end final exam, when she finally returned to class. I didn't see her myself,
but there were a lot of people tracking her every move with watchful eyes
because she hadn't been to class in over a week's time. News about her return
reached me almost immediately.
That being said, this was only really important to Class B. Class C was far more
occupied with the year-end final exam awaiting us tomorrow.
"All right. Ayanokouji, Akito, Haruka, and Airi, you all did great."
During our lunch break, we gathered around Keisei's desk. We'd taken a mock
test that Keisei had prepared for us to take independently, at night, in order to
test our abilities. And he'd just got done grading our answers.
"Whoa, Kiyopon, you got 90 points? That's awesome!" said Haruka, sounding
surprised, as she ate her sandwich.
"Well, that's because the tests that Keisei made for us are perfect. You got a
good score too, didn't you?" Though their scores varied a little, the three of
them had all scored in the neighborhood of 80 points.
"Well, if you managed to get through both the practice test and the mock test
that I made, then I'm sure you should do fine in the test tomorrow," said Keisei.
"If you're giving us the seal of approval, Keisei, then I'm sure it'll be a piece of
cake," said Akito, rolling his stiff shoulders, as if squaring up to fight.
"Really, thank you so much, Keisei-kun. I always get so anxious every time I
take a test…" said Airi.
"Oh, no need to thank me. This is the least I can do," said Keisei. He lightly
scratched the bridge of his nose, looking a little embarrassed.
"Is it really okay if we take the rest of the day off?"
"You've spent a lot of time studying this week. Honestly, I think it's a good
idea to take it easy on this last day. It's not like everything you've studied so
carefully will just slip away so soon. Besides, you don't want to overdo it now
and get sick, or end up falling asleep on the day of the exam. It would be a real
shame if you lose points over such a trivial mistake."
"Roger! I'll follow your orders, Yukimuu!" replied Haruka, offering Keisei a
bizarre salute. The others nodded along, sharing her same sentiment.
Bam!
Suddenly, a loud sound echoed throughout the classroom. It was the sound of
the door being violently flung open.
"Whoa! You guys! This is huge!"
Just as we were about to casually enjoy the rest of our lunch too. Talk about
bad timing.
"Ugh, seriously?" Haruka, startled, had accidentally dropped her sandwich on
the floor. She glared at Ike, clearly mad and not trying to hide it. "Hey! What's
your deal?!"
"Dude, it's like a mob! Like pitchforks and everything! A bunch of Class A
people are marching into Class B right now!" shouted Ike excitedly.
"So Sakayanagi-san is making her move now that Ichinose-san has returned,
huh…" said Horikita, who'd also been eating lunch in the classroom. She stood
up quickly, looking disturbed, and left the classroom without saying anything to
me.
Seeing her leave, Sudou, Hirata, and a few others followed. Tomorrow was
the year-end exam. If Sakayanagi was going to end this, today was the last
chance she'd have. She intended to launch a direct assault on Ichinose right
after she'd returned and finish her off.
"What should we do, Akito…?"
"We have no choice but to head over there. If it turns out like what happened
the other day, then someone has to be there to stop it."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
"But Haruka, Airi, you two stay here. There's no point in getting more people
involved."
"Yeah, yeah, we get it. We'll take our time eating."
"What are you going to do, Kiyotaka-kun?"
"I—"
Keisei had risen to his feet, along with Akito. It would be hard for me to say I
was staying behind, in a situation like this.
"I'll go too, just in case. Though I don't think I'll be much help."
The three of us left the classroom and headed toward Class B. The commotion
seemed to have already spilled out into the hallway, and there was an obvious
crowd forming.
"What did you come here for, Sakayanagi?!" As we entered Class B, we heard
Shibata shout.
"What did I come here for? I've come to rescue all of you in Class B. Don't you
see?"
Sakayanagi was accompanied by Kamuro and Hashimoto, though I saw no
sign of Kitou or anyone else. They'd probably have gotten more pushback if
they showed up in greater numbers, which was why they'd chosen to take
action with a small group.
"What do you mean by that, Sakayanagi?" asked Ichinose, speaking up from
the back of the classroom where she stood surrounded by several students.
"Wait, Ichinose. There's no need for you to get involved."
"Yeah, that's right, Honami-chan. Don't go!"
One of the students hugged Ichinose tightly, trying to prevent her from going
to see Sakayanagi.
"First of all, I must say I'm quite glad to see that you've made a full recovery.
To be honest, I wanted to speak to you much earlier, but I've been ever so busy
studying for the exam. Ah, but yes, I'm glad to see you're back. Just in time for
the year-end exam, too."
"Yes. Thank you."
They spoke to each other across the classroom. It was clear to see that every
student in Class B considered Sakayanagi a foe. Even though it was lunch break,
there wasn't a single student missing from the class. They'd all decided to stick
together to protect Ichinose.
However, Sakayanagi didn't appear shaken at all. If anything, she seemed to
be enjoying the feeling of being deep in enemy territory. She must have
anticipated that Ichinose, who was still caught at the center of a whirlwind of
controversy, wouldn't have gone somewhere like the school cafeteria during
her lunch break.
"You say you came here to save us, Sakayanagi?" asked Kanzaki.
"Yes," replied Sakayanagi with a smile and a nod.
"Does that mean you're admitting that you started those rumors? I suppose I
can understand how you'd be 'saving us' if you came here to apologize."
"I am not the one who started the rumors," she replied.
"…Then what are you saving us from, exactly?"
"Do you recall a rumor that went around earlier? The one about how
Ichinose-san had accumulated a massive number of points? At the time, the
school had declared that no wrongdoing had taken place, and the matter was
quickly put to rest."
"What about it?" replied Kanzaki without a second's delay, moving fast to
keep Ichinose from saying anything.
"Now, this might just be my imagination, but… Well, there are only a few
ways that someone could collect that many points without resorting to illegal
means. One of those ways would be to collect private points from your
classmates on a regular basis and hold onto them. In short, I've determined that
Ichinose is acting as something of a banker for your class."
"I can't really say anything about that," said Kanzaki.
If true, it was part of Class B's strategy. It was only natural he'd deny knowing
anything.
"I suppose so. Well, it's not like I really came here seeking an answer on that
matter. It's just… Well, it's just that if Ichinose-san is playing the role of a
banker, as I have surmised, then…I think that's extremely dangerous for all of
you," said Sakayanagi, looking over at Ichinose, who returned her gaze from
afar.
"…"
Ichinose didn't answer. Instead, she simply continued to look straight back at
Sakayanagi.
"Is what I've said incorrect? Ichinose Honami-san?"
A cruel situation, Sakayanagi. You've certainly cornered Ichinose.
Ichinose, who'd had no weapon but silence at her disposal so far, had been
driven to the edge of a cliff. One final push would send her plummeting to the
bottom. It was precisely the situation Sakayanagi had worked to create.
However, her plan wasn't going to work.
"Sorry, but Chihiro-chan, Mako-chan, could you give me a little space?" asked
Ichinose.
"B-but!"
"It's okay. I'll be just fine. You don't have to worry anymore," said Ichinose
with a gentle smile, as she slowly closed the distance between herself and
Sakayanagi.
In the end, however, she didn't move to face Sakayanagi directly. Instead, she
took up a position at the teacher's podium, facing all of her classmates.
"…I'm sorry!" said Ichinose, bowing her head before all of the students of
Class B.
"Wh-what are you apologizing to us for, Ichinose? There's no reason for you
to apologize to us. Right?" said Shibata, clearly upset, trying to stop Ichinose
from speaking.
"Please don't try to stop her, Shibata-kun. She's just trying to repent," said
Sakayanagi, smiling merrily.
"The whole year I've been here… There's a secret that I've been keeping
hidden from you. I've been keeping it for a long, long time."
"Wait, Ichinose. You don't need to say anything here," said Kanzaki, clearly
sensing that something was amiss. But Ichinose wasn't stopping.
"There have been quite a few strange rumors circulating about me these past
few weeks. However, one of those rumors is actually the truth. Just as that
letter said… I am a criminal."
As Ichinose spoke those words, Sakayanagi wore a satisfied smile on her face.
"Is that really true?"
The noisy classroom once again fell silent.
"It would seem this group of good-natured souls have absolutely no idea
what's going on here, so please do give them all the details, Ichinose-san.
Exactly what kind of crime did you commit?"
"I—"
Ichinose was about to continue speaking, but she stopped and gulped
nervously.
"I've been keeping secrets from all of you…but I'm going to confess
everything, starting now," she finally said, revealing the past she'd kept buried.
"The crime that I've been silent about… Well, it's that I was a shoplifter."
The shoplifting honor student, Ichinose Honami. It was a revelation that didn't
only surprise Class B, but also the spectators on the sidelines, like Akito and
Keisei. Ichinose just didn't seem like the kind of person who'd do such a thing.
"Honami-chan is… a shoplifter…? I-Is that true?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, Mako-chan."
As she apologized to everyone, Ichinose started to tell us the story of how it
started.
"I came from a single-parent family. My father wasn't in the picture, so I lived
with my mom and my two younger sisters. We weren't wealthy, but we were
never unhappy. My mother always seemed like she had it so hard, raising my
two younger sisters while working. That was why, when I was in elementary
school, I got the idea to start working myself once I graduated from junior high.
It did cost a lot of money to go to high school, after all. I thought I'd get a job,
help my mom out, help support my two younger sisters. But my mom was
strongly against the idea. Just as I wanted my younger sisters to be happy, my
mom, too, wished for her daughters' happiness," said Ichinose, telling us about
everything that happened in her past.
"I learned that even if you were poor, you could benefit from a scholarship if
you studied really hard for it. So I studied as hard as I possibly could. I studied so
much that I got to the level where I was told that I was number one in my whole
school. But…in the summer of my third year of junior high…my mother worked
herself too hard and collapsed."
Ichinose's mother must have been working hard to support her family. She'd
worked herself to the bone to raise her children.
"My little sister's birthday was coming up. She'd never once asked me or our
mother for a gift before. She was still only in her first year of junior high. She
deserved to have us spoil her a little, but she never asked us for anything. Not
for clothes that she wanted, or to go hang out with friends or go shopping…all
she did was endure, never asking for anything. She always, always, always held
back.
"But then, for the first time…my little sister said that there was something she
wanted. It was this kind of hair clip that used to be really popular, something
that my sister's favorite celebrity wore. I'm sure my mom pushed herself
harder, picking up extra shifts, just so she could buy it."
And instead, she'd been hospitalized. From the sound of it, she hadn't been
able to get her daughter the birthday present she wanted.
"Even now, I still remember the sight of my little sister's face, as she shouted
and screamed all kinds of things at our mother, who was crying and apologizing
to her from her hospital bed. I remember watching her shout and cry about
how she'd been looking forward to getting that hair clip. I couldn't even really
blame her for acting like that. It was the only gift she had ever asked for…" said
Ichinose.
The smile never faded from Sakayanagi's face as she continued to listen to
Ichinose's confession.
"As her older sister… I thought I had to bring back my little sister's smile,
whatever it took. So, on the day of my sister's birthday, after class, I went to the
department store."
I was sure that Ichinose's heart was racing nervously right now, just like it had
back then.
"I'm sure I was burying my real feelings, back then. I told myself it was okay.
That it wasn't a big deal to do something bad like this, just this one time, for my
sister's sake. After all, there were plenty of people who did bad things in the
world. Why should my family, who'd put up with so much for so long, be
blamed? I told myself what I was doing could be forgiven. That was the selfish,
self-centered justification I gave myself."
Ichinose's words came forth as if she were releasing something heavy she'd
been holding onto.
"That hair clip cost ten thousand yen or more. So…I stole it. I stole the hair clip
that my little sister wanted. It was an act that made everyone unhappy. But at
that time, all I wanted was to make my sister happy, somehow."
And that act triggered what followed.
"…But it doesn't matter, does it?" muttered Ichinose quietly. She kept going,
stringing together disconnected phrases in an attempt to express her jumbled
thoughts. "Ultimately, a crime is a crime. No matter how much you repent, your
sins will never disappear."
"So you're saying that you got caught?" asked Hashimoto. Ichinose simply
shook her head.
"I just left the department store with the hair clip. It was the first time I'd ever
shoplifted. The first time I ever committed a crime, at all. No one saw me. I
went back home and gave it to my little sister, who was still moping around. I'd
just stolen it, so it wasn't wrapped or anything. It was such a sloppy gift. But she
was so incredibly happy to see it. When I saw her smile, I felt my guilt fade away
for a moment. But it didn't fade entirely. It came back and continued to grow
and grow inside me."