Classroom of the Elite: The 100 Elites Who Really, Really Love Him

by legalinmybooks

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka has been cursed (blessed) by The God of Love who accidentally linked Ayanokouji and 100 different girls/women. They are to become soulmates bounded by love and fate. If their relationship with Ayanokouji fails, the girls are fated to die in an accident. It's a matter of life or death. Will Ayanokouji survive ANHS with 100 potential soulmates waiting for him? Wil

18. Chapter 17: Trial

*Timeskip (next morning)*

Ayanokouji is walking to school with Ichihashi and Azuma. They were engaging in small talk, but it seemed that the atmosphere was strained due to an upcoming class trial between their class and Class C. The trio were almost to the school building when Ayanokouji heard someone calling him.

"Ayanokouji-kun!" called Tsube. Ayanokouji turned around and saw Tsube with Shiranami, Minamikata, and Ninomiya.

"Hello, everyone." said Ayanokouji, greeting them. Azuma and Ichihashi were a little surprised by the number of girls that Ayanokouji is acquainted with. There are all of the girls that they haven't met yet and we're from different classes. It seems that Tsube and her group are joining Ayanokouji's group. The atmosphere was kind of awkward as the two groups of girls hadn't really talked to each other. They only have Ayanokouji in common.

"Hey, Tsube-san. That's a guitar, isn't it? Do you play?" asked Ichihashi, eyeing the guitar case that Tsube is carrying.

"Yeah! A little though..." said Tsube.

"I would like to see you play."

"Maybe another time."

"Ah! Okay."

The girls fell into silence as they rapidly approached the school building. Azuma cleared her throat and asked another question.

"By the way, how did you meet Ayanokouji-kun anyways?" asked Azuma.

"Well, it's a long story, but he was around Andou and the swimming club." said Minamikata. Azuma and Ichihashi gave Ayanokouji a curious, but suspicious glance. There's nothing suspicious of a guy seeing a bunch of girls swimming, a totally normal thing and there's no motive at all.

"O-okay..."

"You don't have to say it like that. I just happened to be in the area." said Ayanokouji.

"Okay." said Azuma.

It was clear that they didn't believe him, but they decided to ignore it for now. The girls began conversing with each other and clearly Class B's friendliness and happy atmosphere seemed to have spread throughout the group as the Class D girls began chatting along. Ayanokouji noticed that Shiranami was a little quiet during the conversations and didn't join in as much.

Ayanokouji knew that she was a quiet girl, but it was a little strange because she seemed almost distracted like there was something weighing in her mind. Shiranami slowly fell backwards into the group and was walking by herself. Seeing that, Ayanokouji slowed his own pace and joined Shiranami.

"Is there something bothering you?" asked Ayanokouji.

"A-Ayanokouji-kun... what are you talking about?" asked Shiranami.

"You look like you have something on your mind."

"Yeah... I do."

"You don't have to share it if you don't want to?"

"..."

After several moments of silence, Shiranami spoke up.

"I need some advice on something... It's about Ichinose-san..." said Shiranami, hesitatingly. Ayanokouji realized this is going to be a thorny topic, but it's something that Shiranami must eventually address and there's no running away from it.

"Ichinose? Have you talked to her ever since that incident?" asked Ayanokouji.

"N-No. I-I'm scared."

"Scared?"

"T-Things are a little awkward now. I can't just talk or act normal around her. Every time she's near me, I just get nervous and think about that day..."

"Hmm... what would happen if she tried to talk to you?"

"I leave right away. I-I just can't help it. I'm afraid that I will start crying if she sticks too long. God... I-I'm so pathetic."

'It seems that Shiranami is unsure if relationship with Ichinose and herself can be the same as before. Before Shiranami confessed to Ichinose. I have no experience, but all the advice I gave Shiranami was honesty and it got me quite far. So, I suppose that will work in this situation.' thought Ayanokouji.

"I think the best advice I can give you is to give up." said Ayanokouji. Shiranami was surprised by Ayanokouji's advice and stared at him in shock.

"G-Give up?" asked Shiranami.

"Yes. It seems to me that you're too unsure about your relationship with Ichinose and you don't seem to be comfortable around her. If you're putting any work into that relationship, then it's better for you to end your relationship with Ichinose."

Shiranami fell into silence after hearing what Ayanokouji had to say. She balled her fists and there was a minute of silence between the duo before Shiranami spoke.

"N-No." said Shiranami. She paused again before speaking. "No. I can't do that."

Shiranami's voice became louder than usual and she spoke with more clarity, but Ayanokouji could hear a little fear in her tone.

"I won't do that." said Shiranami.

"Congrats. You passed." replied Ayanokouji.

"W-what?"

"I was testing if you valued your relationship with Ichinose."

"W-Why would do something like that?"

"As I said before, if you're not willing to put some work and effort into preserving your relationship, then you should continue it. It would only hurt you further."

There was a silence between the duo as Shiranami was processing Ayanokouji's words. After a few brief moments, Shiranami spoke up.

"I-I see what you mean by this." said Shiranami.

"It depends on your efforts, Shiranami. Do you still value your relationship with Ichinose even after what you did? Do you even want to save it? And how badly do you want this relationship fix? If the answer is yes and you want to fix your relationship with Ichinose, you'll find a way to fix it."

"That doesn't help me figure it out!"

"It's your relationship and I don't know much about Ichinose. If you don't have the courage and resolve to take action, I can help you with it. The rest is up to you."

Ayanokouji locked his eyes with Shiranami, who stared back and her face growing red in embarrassment. But, Ayanokouji noticed that Shiranami had a more determined look in her face and seemed to look and act differently than a few minutes ago.

"O-Okay! I-I'll do my best." said Shiranami, with a look of determination.

"Yes. I wish you luck." said Ayanokouji.

"T-Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun. You're always helping me."

"It's not a problem. I hope I helped you out with your problem."

Shiranami nodded happily and opened her mouth to say something. But, before she could continue on, a voice called out to them.

"Hey, what are you two doing? Hurry up." said Tsube, gesturing to them to catch up. The entire group stopped and noticed that Ayanokouji and Shiranami were slowly walking farther and farther away from the group. Azuma and Ichihashi gave them a suspicious look with a bit of unease as the duo quickly made their way back to the group.

"Sorry. I was asking Shiranami something." said Ayanokouji. Shiranami nodded and the group walked into the school building. Ayanokouji looked over at Shiranami and saw her looking back at him, her eyes silently thanking him, and he gave it a nod in acknowledgement. Ayanokouji and his classmates said goodbye to Tsube, Shiranami, and Minamikata as they headed towards their

respective classrooms. With that, Ayanokouji headed towards Class D with his group.

*Timeskip (after school)*

"It's time." said Horikita. The final bell rang a few moments ago and the anticipated trial is fast approaching. Ayanokouji nodded and the duo got up from their seats. He saw Sudou waiting for them by the door.

"I'm ready." said Sudou.

"Remember what I said, Sudou-kun." said Horikita.

"Yeah. Don't lash out and stay calm."

Sudou didn't look pleased by it, but he reluctantly agreed to Horikita's request.

"By the way, who's the witness?" asked Sudou.

"She should be coming right now." said Horikita. She looked over and saw Sakura approaching them timidly.

"Sakura, over here." said Ayanokouji, gesturing to her to come. Sakura nodded and approached the group.

"Sakura?!" asked Sudou, not expecting her.

"H-Hello. I'm here." said Sakura.

"It seems everyone is here. Let's go now." said Chabashira-sensei, briefly interrupting them. She stood by the hallway and gestured for everyone to follow.

"We don't want to keep our guests waiting."

The group followed Chabashira-sensei and walked up to the fourth floor and into an empty hallway. They approached a room with a placard that read "Student Council Room" affixed to the wall near the doorway.

"Sakura, stay out here until we call for you." instructed Chabashira-sensei. Sakura nodded and stood by the doorway as Chabashira-sensei knocked, and everyone else went inside. Inside, long tables had been arranged in rectangular formation. The three students from Class C had already arrived and were seated. Beside them sat a Sakagami-sensei.

"Sorry we're late." said Chabashira-sensei.

"It's before the scheduled start time. There's no need for apologies." said Sakagami-sensei.

Chabashira-sensei, Ayanokouji, Horikita, and Sudou sat down on one side of the table, facing the Class C students and Sakagami-sensei. Tachibana and Manabu were seated in the back of the room. Tachibana cleared her throat which got everyone's attention.

"Well then, I would now like to discuss the violent incident that occurred last Tuesday with the members of the student council, the involved parties, and their homeroom teachers. You may begin the proceedings, student council secretary Tachibana." said Manabu. "Of course, considering the magnitude of this dispute, there are times when the student council president will take over. There are several unusual things about this incident. Other than that, the bulk of the

proceedings will be handled solely by Tachibana, as usual."

Manabu gestured for Tachibana to continue and Tachibana grabbed some papers off the desk before speaking.

"Based on the aforementioned facts, we would like for you to identify which version of events is true. Komiya-kun and two other members of the basketball club went to the special building after Sudou-kun called them there. There, they claim to have been beaten up in a one-sided brawl. Is this true?" said Tachibana.

"What those guys said was a lie. I was the one that got called over to the special building. That day, after practice, Komiya and Kondo asked me to go to the special building. Honestly, I thought it was kind of annoying, but I also thought it might've been because they were always hostile towards me. So, I went to meet them." said Sudou. Sudou was trying to not speak in his normal way and tried to make it more formal. Sakagami-sensei stared in wide-eyed amazement at Sudou's change in tone.

"That's a lie. Sudou-kun called us over to the special building." said Komiya.

"Don't make stuff up, Komiya. You guys call me out for no reason!"

"Sudou-kun..." said Horikita, giving him a hard look. Sudou's face became one of irritation as he slightly snapped back, but he restrained himself.

"Both parties insist that the other called them over, so the accounts conflict. However, the stories share some commonality. There was a dispute between Sudou-kun, Komiya-kun, and Kondo-kun, correct?" asked Tachibana.

"I wouldn't call it a dispute. Sudou-kun's always picking fights with us." said Komiya.

"'Picking fights'?"

"Sudou's better at basketball than we are, so he's always bragging about it. We practice with everything we've got, but it doesn't exactly feel good when he makes fools out of us. So we often butt heads."

Ayanokouji could see the veins popping on Sudou's forehead. He could tell that he's trying his absolute best to not snap back and explode in anger.

"Not one bit of what Komiya said was true. Those guys are just jealous of my talent. When I practice, they constantly get in my way. That's the truth." said Sudou. Naturally, both sides claimed that the other party was at fault. For now, it seems that we're at a standstill.

"Both sides have given their grievances, but now we have to come to a judgment with the collected evidence." said Tachibana.

"Sudou beat us senseless. It was a one-sided fight." said Kondo.

Class C seemed intent on focusing the discussion on their injuries. The three students did seem to have black-and-blue faces. That was undeniable.

"That's a lie. They attacked first. It was self-defense." countered Sudou.

"If Class D has no further proof to offer, would you mind if we continued the proceedings?" asked Manabu. "It would seem there's no objection, given the arguments we've heard thus far. Regardless which party called the other over, the fact remains that it was a one-sided fight between Sudou and the other students. We can clearly see that from the injuries they sustained. We have no choice but to come up with a conclusion based on that."

"W-wait! I can't accept that! It's just because those guys were a bunch of wimps!" said Sudou, on the verge of panic. The moment that Sudou uttered those words, Sakagami-sensei smiled.

"Then can it really be considered self-defense when fighting against opponents of such unequal strength?" asked Sakagami-sensei.

"B-but, hey. I was fighting against three people! Three people!" protested Sudou.

"But only the Class C students were hurt."

Ayanokouji could tell that the situation is getting worse and he realized that he must do something about it. Horikita seemed to be nervous about speaking up especially around the presence of her brother. Ever since they entered the room, Manabu has not look or spoke to him or Horikita. Ayanokouji reached under the table where nobody could see what's happening. He grabbed Horikita's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Hyah?!" yelped Horikita, in an abnormally girlish voice.

'No matter how upset or dazed a person was, if you stimulated the body enough, they'd come back to her senses. Even if they didn't like it.' thought Ayanokouji.

Horikita had a look of surprise and embarrassment on her face as she realized that Ayanokouji took her hand. Ayanokouji could tell that she's trying to pull her hands away from him, but he tightened his grip and gave another squeeze. He made sure to squeeze gently in an attempt to reassure her. The teachers and other students looked dumbfounded by Horikita's sudden behavior, but Manabu had a small smirk on his face for a brief moment as he stared at Ayanokouji and

Horikita before putting on his stern face.

Tachibana raised her eyebrows and had a brief moment of unease on her face when she was looking at Ayanokouji and Horikita. Horikita stopped pulling away and squeezed back. Ayanokouji gave

her nod and let go. Horikita gave Ayanokouji one last look that said it all: you'll pay for that later, before clearing her throat and speaking up.

"Excuse me. May I ask a question? Do you mind, president?" asked Horikita.

"I'll allow it. However, please answer more quickly next time." said Manabu.

"Earlier, you said that Sudou-kun called you over to the special building. But who exactly did Sudou call, and why?"

Komiya and the other Class C students looked at one another before Komiya responded.

"Kondo and I don't know why he called us over. When we'd just finished up for the day and were changing, he said he wanted to talk to us for a minute. Wasn't the reason just that he didn't like us?" said Komiya.

"So then, why exactly were you in the special building, Ishizaki-kun? You're not on the basketball team, so you have no connection to this case. I'd think your presence there would be rather odd." said Horikita.

"That's... I came as a precaution. There were rumors that Sudou was violent. He's also in better shape than we are, physically. I had to go, didn't I?" said Ishizaki.

"So in other words, you felt the situation might turn violent?" asked Horikita.

"Yeah."

They answered in unison, almost as if they'd expected these questions. It appeared that the Class C students had thoroughly rehearsed for this conference.

"I see. So you brought along Ishizaki-kun as your bodyguard, since he was reputed to be rather good at fighting. Just in case there was an emergency." said Horikita.

"It was to protect ourselves. That was it. Besides, we didn't know that Ishizaki-kun was known for being good in a fight. We just considered him a reliable friend." said Komiya.

"I do have some knowledge of martial arts, if only to a certain extent. I understand that when you're fighting against multiple enemies, victory becomes exponentially more difficult. So I don't understand how you were defeated so handily, how the fight could be so one-sided, when you had a skilled fighter like Ishizaki-kun with you."

"Because we didn't intend to fight."

"The primary factor in triggering a fight is the collision of the 'energy' between opponents. In the event that you don't have any intention of fighting, or that you're nonviolent, the probability that you'll be hurt should be very low. Especially when there are three of you."

"That way of thinking doesn't apply to Sudou. He's exceptionally violent. Even if we were nonviolent, he'd still be mercilessly violent. That's what happened." Komiya peeled off the gauze that covered his cheek, exposing the scrapes underneath. No matter how many reasonable arguments Horikita made, his injury gave powerful evidence.

"Are you finished with your claims now, Class D?" said Manabu after a brief moment of silence.

"It's true that Sudou injured the other students. However, Class C started the fight. There is one student witness who saw the entire incident and can attest to this." said Horikita.

"Well then, Class D—if Class D's witness would please enter?" asked Manabu. Sakura, looking worried and restless, walked into the student council room. She looked down at her feet, as if scared of danger.

"1-D, Sakura Airi-san." said Horikita.

"I thought I'd heard something or other about a witness, but you're a Class D student?" asked Sakagami, the Class C's homeroom instructor, snickered while wiping his glasses.

"Is there a problem, Sakagami-sensei? asked Chabashira-sensei.

"No, no, please. Go ahead."

Sakagami-sensei and Chabashira-sensei exchanged looks and there seemed to be an internal battle between them.

"You may begin your testimony, if you wouldn't mind, Sakura-san." said Horikita.

"Y-yes, okay... Well... I..." stammered Sakura.

Sakura stopped speaking and steadily looked further downward, and her face became increasingly pale. There was about a minute of silence.

"Sakura-san..." said Horikita.

"Apparently she didn't witness anything. More of this would just be a waste of our time." said Sakagami-sensei.

"Why are you in such a hurry, Sakagami-sensei?" asked Chabashira-sensei.

"I want to speed this along. If we waste time, my students will suffer. These students are the joyful heart of their class, so I've no doubt that their many friends are worried about them. Also, they're striving to improve their basketball skills, and we're depriving them of valuable practice time. As a teacher, I can't overlook this."

"I see. You're probably right about that."

"You're certainly right that this is a waste of time, so I suppose we have no choice. You can come down now, Sakura." said Chabashira-sensei, ordering Sakura to leave. Sakura closed her eyes tightly, as if she couldn't bear it anymore, as if she regretted her own weakness. After a brief moment, an unexpected voice reverberated throughout the silent room.

"I definitely saw what happened!" said Sakura, speaking loudly which was something that anyone in the room had ever heard. "The students in Class C threw the first punch. There's no mistake about that!"

"Excuse me, but may I say something?" asked Sakagami-sensei, raising his hand. "Normally, teachers are asked to speak as little as possible, but this situation is just too pitiful. Student council president, do you mind?"

"I'll allow it." said Manabu.

"In regards to what you've said, Sakura-kun, I do not necessarily doubt you. However, I have one thing to ask. You've stepped forward to testify as a witness, but you were rather late in doing so. May I ask why? I would think if you really did see something, you would have come forward much earlier."

"That's... Well, that's... I didn't want to get involved..." said Sakura.

"Why didn't you want to get involved?" asked Sakagami-sensei.

"Because I'm not very good at talking with other people..."

"I see. I understand that. However, I'd like to say something else. You're not good at talking with others, and yet when the week was nearly out you stepped forward as a witness. Doesn't that seem rather odd? To my mind, it seems Class D secretly put a story together and are having you act as a false witness to give phony testimony."

The Class C students nodded to Sakagami-sensei's reasoning.

"That's... I'm just...telling the truth..." said Sakura.

"No matter how poor your communication skills might be, I can see you haven't testified with much confidence. Is that because you're tormented with guilt, because you know what you're saying is actually a lie?" asked Sakagami-sensei.

"N-no, that's not it..."

"I'm not blaming you. You were probably forced to lie for your class's sake, to save Sudou-kun. Weren't you? If you come forward and confess honestly to us now, you won't be punished."

Ayanokouji could see that Sakagami-sensei was relentless using psychological attacks to crush Sakura's confidence and credibility. Horikita raised her hand in objection.

"That is not the case. It is certainly true that Sakura-san is not good at speaking before others. However, it is precisely because she witnessed the incident that she is standing here today. Otherwise, she most likely would not, even if we'd asked her. Don't you think that if we needed someone who could speak boldly, we would have found a replacement?"

"I don't think so. There are excellent students in Class D, students such as yourself, Horikita-san. By setting up a person like Sakura-san as your witness, it would establish a sense of realism that you yourself could not."

"If you want proof... I'll give it to you!" said Sakura. Sakagami-sensei froze in response to Sakura's words.

"Please, let's not force this situation to continue. If there really was evidence, you would have presented it at an earlier stage—" said Sakagami-sensei.

Sakura loudly slammed her hand on the desk, and threw down what looked to be

a few small, rectangular pieces of paper.

"What are those?" asked Sakagami-sensei. Sakagami- sensei's expression stiffened for the first time when he looked at the paper that Sakura placed down.

"This is proof that I was in the special building that day!" said Sakura. Tachibana walked over to Sakura and picked up the paper. which turned out to be photos.

"President." said Tachibana, making her way back towards Manabu.

After looking at the photographs, Secretary Tachibana handed them over to the student council president. After looking at the pictures for some time, Manabu laid them out on the desk so that everyone in the room could see. There were pictures of Sakura in those pictures, but this Sakura wore a lovely expression that looked both similar and dissimilar to the Sakura in the room. It was the idol, Shizuku.

"I'm...I was looking for places where no one was around so I could take pictures of myself. The pictures also show the date and time, which proves that I was there when I said." said Sakura.

The date on the pictures definitely showed that they'd been taken in the evening one week ago. That would've been around the time that Sudou and the others finished their club activities for the day. It means Sakura was there at the scene of the crime. The three Class C students, who up until now had been playing the part of victims, were visibly shaking. It was clear that they were not expecting this.

"What did you use to take these photos?" asked Sakagami-sensei.

"A digital...camera." said Sakura.

"You can alter the date rather easily with a digital camera, though. If you manipulated these photos on a computer, you could effectively set them at the time and date of the incident. This are inadequate evidence."

"But Sakagami-sensei, don't you think this photo is different?" asked Manabu. Manabu slid out one of the photos the room hadn't yet seen, and handed it to the teacher.

"Th-this?!" yelped Sakagami-sensei.

The photo showed the fight itself; clearly there was no need to nitpick the time. The setting sun bathed the hallway in dusky light. The picture seemed to show what had happened immediately after Sudou hit Ishizaki.

"I think that you'll believe I was there after seeing...this." said Sakura.

"Thank you, Sakura-san." said Horikita.

"I see. Well, you do seem to be telling the truth about witnessing the incident. That much I simply must accept. However, I can't ascertain how the situation started from this picture. This doesn't prove that you saw the entire incident." said Manabu.

It was certainly true that this picture made it look like the fight had already ended. We couldn't call this definitive evidence.

"So, what do you think, Chabashira-sensei? Why not look for a compromise here?" asked Sakagami-sensei.

"Compromise?" asked Chabashira-sensei.

"I'm convinced that Sudou lied in his testimony."

"You.." snarled Sudou. He looked like he was ready to get up and start to throw hands, but he forced himself to sit down.

"No matter how long we go back and forth, we'll never reach an agreement. We won't change our testimony, and your side won't give up or admit that you conspired with the witness. In other words, you won't stop. It'll be an endless cycle of saying that the other side is lying. In addition, the picture is too inconclusive to be considered definitive proof. Therefore, I suggest we compromise. I do think that the students from Class C are responsible for some of the blame here. There were three students up against Sudou, and one of them has a history of fighting, which is a problem. So how about two weeks of suspension for Sudou-kun, and one week of suspension for my students? What do you think of that? The weight of the punishment is

different, of course, but I think that matches the difference in sustained injuries." said Sakagami-sensei.

It seemed that Class C was willing to compromise only halfway. If we hadn't had Sakura's testimony or evidence, Sudou-kun probably would have been suspended for over a month. Asking for less than half of that made this a considerable concession.

"Don't screw around! This isn't a joke!" said Sudou.

"Chabashira-sensei. What do you think?" asked Sakagami-sensei, ignoring Sudou.

"We seem to have already reached a logical conclusion. There's no reason to refuse Sakagami-sensei's proposal." said Chabashira-sensei.

"Well, Class D representative Horikita-san. Please give your opinion on the matter." said Sakagami-sensei. If Horikita agreed to Sakagami-sensei's compromise, it would mean a

declaration of defeat. For Class C, victory meant not allowing Sudou to be acquitted. The teacher's expression indicated that he had won this match.

"I understand..." answered Horikita.

"Horikita!" cried Sudou. It was the roar of a man who, more than anyone else, did not want to admit defeat.

"I think that Sudou, who caused the incident, has a problem. He doesn't ever stop to consider his actions, which inconveniences everyone around him. He has a history of getting in fights. He's the type to raise his voice and fists right away whenever something displeases him. In the event of an uproar such as this, well, it should be obvious who caused it." said Sakagami-sensei.

"H-Hey!"

"You need to understand, Sudou. Your attitude caused all of this." said Horikita, glaring intensely over at Sudou, almost as if to outdo Sudou's own ferocity.

"This is why I wasn't motivated at all to help Sudou-kun in the beginning. I knew that even if I forced myself to lend a hand, he would just repeat the same mistakes again and again."

"A very honest answer. The matter seems settled now, wouldn't you say?" asked Sakagami-sensei.

"Thank you very much. Now with that in order,-" said Tachibana.

"Hold it right there. I'm not done." said Horikita, interrupting Tachibana. Tachibana stopped and everyone turned towards Horikita.

"He should reflect on his actions. However, not in this particular case. When I say he should reflect, I mean that he should look back on his past actions. In regards to this particular incident, however, I don't think Sudou-kun did anything wrong. This was not an unfortunate event that occurred merely by chance. I'm convinced that this was a deliberate move made by Class C. I have absolutely no intention of meekly accepting defeat." said Horikita.

"So then...what do you mean?" asked Manabu, looking at his younger sister for the first time. Horikita did not shrink under his gaze, but stared directly at him.

"If you did not understand, I will say it once again. We claim that Sudou-kun is completely innocent. Therefore, we cannot accept his suspension from school, even for just one day." said Horikita.

"Ha ha... What can I even say? We did this intentionally? What a bizarre claim." said Sakagami-sensei, chuckling.

"Sudou-kun is the victim, just as the witness testified. Please do not make any errors in your judgment."

The Class C students began to shout insistently.

"Don't screw around! I'm the victim here!"

"Yeah!"

"Do you see what he did to me!"

"That's enough. Continuing this discussion would just be a waste of time." said Manabu. "What I've learned today is that each side has an exact opposite claim. In that case, one side is propagating an extremely malicious falsehood. I'll ask you, Class C. Have you lied to us today?"

"Of...of course not!" answered Kondo.

"Well, what about you, Class D?" asked Manabu.

"I haven't lied. Everything we've said has been the truth."

"Then we will regroup here for a retrial tomorrow at 4:30 PM. If by then it hasn't been clearly established which party has lied, or in the event no one admits that they were at fault, we will pass judgment based on the evidence we've collected thus far. Of course, in that case we may have to consider the possibility of expulsion from this school. That is all."

After offering that statement, Horikita's older brother ended the proceedings. If the trial was set to reopen at 4:30 tomorrow, that was a very small window of time in which to uncover new evidence. But, I've gathered enough intel on Class C during this trial.

"Would it be possible to have a little more time before we reconvene?" asked Horikita, raising her hand.

"If this matter required some extra time before retrial, then the student council president would have offered a sufficient grace period. In other words, the amount of time granted should be enough for this case. Extensions are only offered under special circumstances." answered Chabashira-sensei, folding her arms. Everyone looked dissatisfied as they exited the student council office. Sakagami- sensei approached Sakura, who seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"I want you to reflect on the fact that many students will be involved in this due to your lies. Also, if you think that we'll go easy on you if you start crying, then I am afraid you are being foolish. You should be ashamed of yourself." said Sakagami-sensei.

His students followed him and left the scene, leaving those words hanging in the air. The Class C students repeatedly complained that the witness's lies were far too much on their way out, almost as if they wanted Sakura to hear them. Silence enveloped the student council room immediately afterward. Sakura, trying to stifle her voice as best she could, burst into tears.

"I tried my absolute hardest to speak up during the discussion, but do we even have a chance? Horikita?" said Sakura.

"I won't give up. I will keep fighting to support your testimony until the end." said Horikita.

"You understand that we won't solve this problem just by being stubborn. Won't that just hurt more people in the process?"

"I have no intention of losing. Well then, I must excuse myself."

With that, Horikita turned and left. Sudou followed. Ayanokouji left the student council room alongside Sakura.

"I'm sorry, Ayanokouji-kun... If I'd only stepped forward in the very beginning, everything would have been fine, but... Everything turned out this way because I didn't have the courage." said Sakura.

"It would've ended the same even if you had stepped forward at the beginning. They would've fought to discredit your testimony simply because the witness came from Class D. The result would be the same." said Ayanokouji.

"But!"

Overcome with emotion, Sakura started crying, large tears rolling down her cheeks. Ayanokouji watched in silence as Sakura wept. Horikita's older brother and Secretary Tachibana came out of the student council room. Secretary Tachibana began locking the door with a key.

"What are you planning to do?" asked Manabu.

"What do you mean?" asked Ayanokouji .

"I thought that when you came here with Suzune, you'd unveil some kind of master plan."

"I don't have one."

"So does that mean when Suzune claimed Sudou was completely innocent, she was merely getting carried away?"

"Hyperbole, you mean? I don't think so."

"I see."

"Then there's what you said, Sakura." said Manabu, turning to Sakura, who'd stifled her crying.

"Eyewitness testimony and pictorial evidence certainly carry weight during deliberation. However, please keep in mind that how much we value the evidence is determined by how much we trust in its believability. No matter what you do, the evidence's legitimacy is reduced because you are a student from Class D. No matter how detailed your account, we cannot accept it as one hundred percent true."

"I-I...I just...told the truth..." said Sakura.

"If you can't prove it, then it's little more than nonsense."

Sakura hung her head low in frustration, crying once again.

"I believe her. I believe Sakura's testimony." said Ayanokouji.

"Since she's a Class D student, it's only natural that you would want to believe her."

"I didn't say that I wanted to believe her. I said I believe her. Those mean different things."

"So can you prove it? Can you prove she's not lying?"

"That's not up to me. Your sister will prove it. If Sakura isn't lying, then she will find a way to convince everyone. Manabu chuckled softly, then smiled, as if to suggest such a thing couldn't be

Done.

"Well, I look forward to it, Ayanokouji..." said Manabu.

Tachibana finished locking the doors and made her way towards Manabu and Ayanokouji . She gave Ayanokouji one last look, silently encouraging him before following Manabu. After Horikita's brother and Tachibana left, Ayanokouji approached Sakura, who still was not able to move.

"Come on, Sakura. There's no use crying forever." said Ayanokouji.

"But...it's all my fault..." said Sakura.

"You didn't do anything wrong. You just told the truth. Right?"

"But... I..."

"I'll say it one more time. You didn't do anything wrong."

Ayanokouji crouched slightly so he could meet Sakura's eyes. She lowered her head once more, like she didn't want anyone to see her tears.

"I believe in you. I'm grateful that you came here today. Thanks to you, we now have a chance to save Sudou and our classmates." said Ayanokouji.

"But... I... Wasn't I completely useless?" asked Sakura.

"I believe you because you're my friend."

"T-Thank you...It's been such a long time since I cried in front of someone. I feel a little relieved, actually."

"I'm glad. When I was a kid, I used to cry in front of people all the time."

"I had no idea that you were like that, Ayanokouji-kun. That's completely unlike the image I have of you."

"Yeah, I cried a lot. Maybe 10 or 20 times in front of other people."

"I was really happy...when you said that you believed me."

"It's not just me. Horikita, Kushida, and Sudou do, too. All of our classmates believe you."

"Yeah... But you came out and told me directly, Ayanokouji-kun. You said it."

Sakura wiped her eyes once again, probably because the tears blurred her vision.

"You gave me courage. I was happy." said Sakura, with a small smile. "A-And I..."

Sakura froze and froze. Her face was bright red and her eyes were widened. It was as if she was thinking about something, but couldn't say it to Ayanokouji.

"Sakura?" asked Ayanokouji.

"I-It's nothing. J-Just something in my mind. I'll try my best from here on out. S-See you later, Ayanokouji -kun." said Sakura. She gave him a wave and fled. Ayanokouji watched her retreating figure as it slowly grew smaller and disappeared.

'It's time to leave. No use in staying here.' thought Ayanokouji.

*Timeskip (4 hours later)*

Ayanokouji was taking a nice walk in the cold and refreshing evening. He figured it didn't hurt to take a nice evening walk to get some fresh air instead of being in his room all night. He visited the park where he first met Nanami. Ayanokouji took a deep breath and studied the dark, night sky. As Ayanokouji was enjoying his peaceful night and night sky, he heard someone call his name. He turned around and saw a familiar person.

"Hi, Ayanokouji-kun!" said Tsukabe.

"Tsukabe... what are you doing here?" asked Ayanokouji.

"I can ask you the same thing. Wait... me and you alone in a dark and isolated place. Don't tell me... You're planning to have your way with me?!"

Tsukabe's face morphed into her usual perverted expression and Ayanokouji could see some heart pupils in her eyes. He could see the lust and desire in her eyes. Her face was slightly red.

"Uhh... No." said Ayanokouji.

"Are you sure? There's no one here and you can throw yourself on me. Yes... and I can't fight back. Do it, Ayanokouji-kun." said Tsukabe.

"I'll pass."

"No... you can't do that, Ayanokouji-kun. Not here! It feels good..."

Tsukabe seemed to be lost in her imagination and her face grew more red. Ayanokouji watched as Tsukabe clutched her body tightly as she began to moan softly.

"Tsukabe?" said Ayanokouji, in a desperate attempt to snap her out of it. He hoped that there's no one nearby, otherwise they might get the wrong idea.

"Ah! Forgive me, God. For my uncontrollable lust. Sorry about that. What are we talking about" said Tsukabe, grabbing her cross pendant.

"I was just taking a walk and some fresh air."

"Oh. Me too."

The duo fell into silence as they walked around the park, with no destination in mind. The fresh air helped clear Ayanokouji's mind and not remind him of his class situation.

"By the way, I heard next week is where we have our cruise ship vacation." said Tsukabe.

"Yeah. It seems fun." replied Ayanokouji.

"I, for one, can't wait for it."

"It's like 2 weeks of vacation, right?"

"Yeah. 2 weeks in the sea."

"Yeah. Maybe we'll go to a beach or something."

"Beach? Don't tell me you want to see me in a swimsuit? Hee... hee... me being wet. Wet from Ayanokouji-kun..."

"..."

Ayanokouji was not sure what to make of this since Tsukabe is reverted back to her perverted state and he fell silent as she was muttering.

"Yes... do it here. What?! You're doing it here? I don't know if you can..." said Tsukabe and she seemed to be moving her hands towards her rear. Ayanokouji fell into silence and tried to distance himself from Tsukabe and hoped that she could snap out of it. After a few more minutes, Tsukabe seemed to have returned to normal self.

"Ahh... that felt good." said Tsukabe.

"I'm glad to hear that." replied Ayanokouji.

'And please don't do this in public when there's actual people around.' thought Ayanokouji.

The duo walked in silence for a few more minutes before arriving back at the dorms together. Ayanokouji called the elevator and the two entered it.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun..." said Tsukabe.

"Yeah?" replied Ayanokouji.

"Thanks for sticking with me. I know I'm a little different from most girls."

"Yeah. I've seen worse to be honest."

'"Really?"

"Who knows?"

Tsukabe giggled before answering, "But, seriously. Thank you."

"It's not a problem." replied Ayanokouji.

The elevator stopped and it was the 4th floor and Ayanokouji got off.

"Bye, Ayanokouji-kun." said Tsukabe.

"Good night, Tsukabe." said Ayanokouji. She gave him a wave before the elevator doors closed and Ayanokouji looked at the elevator doors for a moment before making his way back to the room. When Ayanokouji arrived back in his room, his phone buzzed, and he got a message from Ichinose. He replied to the message before sending a message to Kushida before returning his phone back on the bedside table before plugging his phone to an outlet.

'It looks like our final stand is tomorrow.' thought Ayanokouji.

*Timeskip (next day)*

Ayanokouji walked into the classroom and made his way to his desk. Horikita was already at her desk and she turned towards Ayanokouji.

"Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun." said Horikita.

"Good morning, Horikita." said Ayanokouji. Horikita gave him a light punch in the arm and he rubbed it.

"Ow. What was that for?" asked Ayanokouji.

"For doing what you did yesterday during the trial. At least give me a heads up. I wouldn't mind-" said Horikita. She stopped herself and her face grew red. After a few moments, Horikita spoke.

"You didn't hear anything." said Horikita.

"Okay. What's your plan with this trial?" replied Ayanokouji.

"To be honest, I'm not too sure of myself, but I don't want to admit defeat."

"Everything will be decided today."

"Yes."

"Are you nervous?"

"Nervous? What's there to be nervous about?"

"You know what I mean."

"Maybe a little."

Horikita said that after pausing for a brief moment.

"I was thinking... Maybe I made a mistake. The wrong choice." said Horikita.

"Would you be happy if we'd compromised?" asked Ayanokouji.

"If Sudou-kun is penalized for this, it'll be my responsibility."

"So you do worry about things like this, huh?"

"The truth is that we're gambling. I'm a little anxious about the outcome. Are you okay?"

"Come with me after school, Horikita. I have an idea. Ichinose will be there, too. We'll manage."

"What are you planning?"

"A way out."

Horikita nodded and fell into silence as she studied Ayanokouji. She seemed to be thinking about what Ayanokouji was saying and was trying to predict what he had in store. Then, Horikita looked around the classroom and set her eyes on Sakura.

"Sakura-san got here early. That's very unexpected of her." said Horikita.

"Yeah." replied Ayanokouji.

Sakura, who usually made it to school just in the nick of time, was already sitting at her desk.

'Had she come here early for any specific reason?' thought Ayanokouji.

Sakura noticed that Ayanokouji and Horikita were looking at her and she gave them a hesitant nod of acknowledgement, but she averted her eyes when their eyes met.

"Sakura-san seemed a little different than usual." noted Horikita.

"She changed." said Ayanokouji.

"People don't change so easily. Trying to change yourself is virtually impossible."

"You're one to talk, Horikita."

"It's... because there's a certain person that annoys me."

"Hmm... But, you've changed."

"Okay. I retract that statement, but as long as Sakura-san doesn't overdo it, I think it'll be fine."

"Overdo it?"

"If she tries to do what isn't possible for someone like her yet, she'll just set herself up to fail."

Ayanokouji had a feeling that Horikita was speaking from experience, but he didn't comment on it. Instead, he fell into silence as Horikita returned attention back to her book.

*Timeskip (after school)*

The final bell rang which signaled the end of the school day. Ayanokouji's classmates began leaving the classroom alone or with their friends. Everyone seemed to be acting normal and Sudou gave Horikita a look before leaving the classroom. Horikita told him beforehand to get to the student council room before the trial could begin. It took about 30 minutes for the discussion to start.

Ayanokouji stood and began to leave the classroom with Horikita, heading to meet someone at a certain rendezvous spot. Before the duo left, Ayanokouji decided to have a word with Sakura.

"Sakura. Are you heading back now?" asked Ayanokouji, as she prepared to leave.

"Ayanokouji-kun... We're having the trial today." replied Sakura.

"I'm not participating."

"I see..."

Sakura cast her eyes down, as if she had something on her mind. She looked a little odd, like she was nervous and as if she couldn't settle down.

"What's wrong?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Huh?" said Sakura.

"Sakura, you don't really need to testify today. There's no need for you to be so worked up, right?"

"It's because everyone's doing their best. I thought I'd do my best, too."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Well, if there's something I need to move forward... I'll do it... See you later, Ayanokouji-kun."

Sakura's words were bright and had a hint of determination. She gave a bright smile which seemed so unlike her and then she left the classroom. Even Horikita looked confused by Sakura's sudden and different behavior.

"That was unexpected. She seemed different than her usual self." said Horikita.

"Yeah. Let's go. We don't want to be late." said Ayanokouji.

"Where are we going?"

"Just follow me."

The duo headed towards the special exam building. and stood in the hallways.

"What are we doing here?" asked Horikita.

"Waiting now." said Ayanokouji.

Shortly thereafter, three guys showed up, all grumbling about how unbearably hot it was. They appeared happy, though, wearing optimistic expressions. It was Ishizaki, Kondo, and Komiya. Ayanokouji knew why they were coming here. The three of them had received emails from the class sweetheart, Kushida, which Ayanokouji asked her to do for him last night. Of course, Kushida was complaining and cursing at it, but ultimately agreed to it. When they saw Ayanokouji and Horikita, their fantasies were crushed.

"What's going on? Why are you here?" demanded Ishizaki, recognizing Ayanokouji and Horikita from the student council room yesterday. He stepped forward as if to intimidate Ayanokouji. He was rather forceful when no one was around to see.

"Kushida won't be here. I asked her to send an email to compel you all to come." said Ayanokouji. Ishizaki looked incredibly ill-tempered as he closed the distance between the

Duo.

"This isn't funny. What did you do this for, huh?" demanded Ishizaki.

"If I hadn't used an underhanded method, you would've just ignored me, right? I

wanted to talk to you." said Ayanokouji.

"Talk to us? Why would we want to do that? Has the heat scrambled your brain or something?"

"No matter what you do, you can't hide the truth. Sudou called us over here and beat us up. That's our answer. Now he needs to quietly accept his punishment."

"I have no intention of arguing. That would be a waste of time. I fully understand that neither Class C nor Class D will retract what they claimed yesterday."

"So why do this? Are you going to abduct us so we miss the trial? Or are you going to have a bunch of people surround us and threaten us with violence? It'll be just like that time with Sudou."

There was a brief moment of silence between the two groups before Ishizaki spoke

.

"Just give up. See ya later." said Ishizaki.

Understanding that Kushida would not be coming, the three turned and tried to leave, but Ayanokouji tapped on Horikita's shoulders and got her attention. He pointed further down the hall at a spot on the ceiling. Horikita's eyes widened as she spotted what Ayanokouji pointed at and realized what's happening.

"If you leave here now, you'll regret it for the rest of your lives." said Horikita.

"What the hell is your deal?" asked Ishizaki, turning around.

"Ishizaki, let's leave." said Kondo, stopping as well and gesturing to him. But, Ishizaki glared at Horikita, who stared back coldly.

"I believe it's time for you to withdraw." said Horikita.

"Huh? Withdraw? Don't make me laugh. What, were you half asleep when you came up with that argument? You can't just claim something and make it true. Sudou started the fight. Right?" said Ishizaki. Kondo and Komiya quickly agreed with Ishizaki.

"I really tried to give you a way out, but I suppose I'll have to explain in much simpler terms for you, smooth-brained individuals." said Horikita, sighing.

"Why you!" snarled Ishizaki, grabbing Horikita by the uniform and pulling her closer to him. Horikita maintained her cold and stern face.

"Resorting to violence, aren't you? Go ahead and try it." said Horikita. She looked behind Ishizaki's shoulders.

Ishizaki froze and slowly turned his head around and spotted a camera that was pointing directly at them. Kondo and Komiya gasped and took a step back with surprise and horror. Ishizaki let Horikita go and Horikita took a step back. She pointed at the camera behind her which was hidden in a corner. Those cameras covered the entire hallway and the three Class C students' faces turned pale.

"When you raised the issue with the school, why wasn't Sudou punished immediately? Why give an opportunity to escape by granting a grace period of several days? What do you think was the reason?" asked Horikita.

"Because he lied to the school and cried for mercy. If they hadn't given him the time as a formality, we, the victims, would have won." said Ishizaki, shifting uncomfortably.

"Is that really true? I wonder if you had a different aim, a different purpose. Perhaps framing Sudou as the attacker."

The windows in the hallway were all closed. The sun, still high in the sky, glared down upon the students, increasing the heat and humidity.

"I've got no idea what you're talking about. Ah, damn it. It's so hot!" complained Ishizaki.

'One's ability to think, that is to say, to concentrate, decreases as heat increases. One cannot exhibit sufficient logical, creative thinking outside of a comfortable environment. The more content you cram into your head, the more your brain will overload.' thought Ayanokouji.

"The school knows that you're lying, Class C. They've known from the beginning." said Horikita.

"W-What?! The cameras..." said Ishizaki, looking at the cameras again. Kondo and Komiya looked panicked, but Ishizaki studied the cameras again and snorted.

"You're lying! But, there weren't any cameras in the other hallways, were there?! It's weird that there's only one installed here. You can't trick us like that. You guys installed that camera yourselves!" said Ishizaki. Kondo and Komiya nodded and gave Horikita a glare, but she shrugged it off.

"You're right that, by and large, cameras aren't installed in most of this building's hallways. However, there are exceptions, and several places in which security cameras have been installed, like in front of the faculty room and the science lab. Obviously, there are many valuables stored in the faculty room, you know? Additionally, the science lab has many chemical products. Since the science lab is on this level, it's only natural that a camera would be installed here." said Horikita, pointing at the science lab sign. Ishizaki and the others seemed to be at a loss for words, but Ayanokouji decided to speak up.

"So if we'd installed a camera, like you said, how exactly would we have prepared surveillance cameras when we can't even leave campus in the first place?" said Ayanokouji.

"Th-that's impossible... That... I mean, we...checked back then... We should have..." muttered Kondo.

"This is the third floor, but did you really check? Maybe you only looked at the second or the fourth? Perhaps the cameras were truly set up here as a trap?"

The three students were holding their heads and sweating far more than normal.

"The security cameras couldn't record the sounds of your voices, but they definitely captured the decisive moment you threw the first punch. Now... the school is waiting for us. Let's go." said Horikita.

"Wait! Then, why hasn't the school said anything about this? When will they already have proof?!" said Komiya.

"The school is testing us. They already knew the truth and have proof of this. They want to see if we can resolve the problem ourselves. Why did you think they held a trial when there's already decisive proof? They're testing us to see what conclusion we reach after being granted extra time." said Ayanokouji. He reminded them of the extra time that was granted yesterday. The three of them were probably frantically racking their brains to recall what happened at the

Meeting.

'Of course, the school and student council had not seen through their lies at all. However, the school had their doubts about who was telling the truth. If the Class C students interpreted that question to be focused squarely at them, it lent itself a certain credence.' thought Ayanokouji.

"That's... I didn't hear about anything like that! It's all over!" said Komiya, buckling. Leaning against the wall, he slid down to his knees. Kondo held his head in his hands. They all seemed to recognize what was happening.

"W-wait a minute. I'm still not convinced. Okay, let's say the security cameras did capture some footage. You should've been able to prove Sudou's innocence without having to really do anything, right? You didn't need to call us out here to tell us this. You could have just presented it at the trial. But you guys called us here, right?" said Ishizaki, on the verge of panic, but looked suspicious.

"Innocence? That depends on what you're innocent of. We know that both parties took damage during the incident. No matter the circumstances, Sudou hit the three of you. That's undeniable. Of course, if the security footage can prove that Sudou wasn't the one who called you three over here, he'd probably receive the lightest possible punishment. However, his position as a regular would still be threatened. He might not be allowed to participate in tournaments." said Horikita.

"What the hell? Well then, if it's like you people say, the security footage shouldn't be any trouble at all, right? We'll be fine as long as we can get Sudou suspended for even one day." said Ishizaki.

"If that happens, you might be expelled. Are you fine with that? If someone checked the security camera footage, it would expose your lies. If that were to happen, chances are good you'd be expelled. Anyone could see that."

"Wha—!" yelped Kondo.

"Why would... I-I definitely don't want to get expelled! H-hey, Ishizaki. It's not too late to tell them we lied! If we do, the school might forgive us!" said Ishizaki.

"Damn it. This is ridiculous. Admit that we lied? Well, fine. As long as Sudou's punished, I'll prepare myself for the worst punishment possible, an honorable sacrifice! It'll all be over for Sudou!" said Ishizaki.

"It's rather early to draw a conclusion. We'll give you one last chance. There's only one way to save both Class C and Class D." said Ayanokouji.

"Like hell we'd do that!" snarled Ishizaki.

"There's only one way to resolve this issue. Tell the school that you wish to withdraw your complaint. If you do that, the school will not bring forward the security camera footage. If there's no complaint, no one can be punished. Additionally, if the security footage is never brought up, Class D benefits, too. As we already know, if the security footage were brought produced, Sudou

would still face some degree of punishment. In other words, Class C and Class D can come to a compromise together. The school can't investigate if they can't watch the video and see that you lied, right?" said Ayanokouji.

"W-what?!" stammered Kondo.

"It would be like it never happened. The school won't pursue it any further if both classes agree that nothing happened." said Horikita.

"Ahh, ahh... Just...let me call..." said Ishizaki. A shattered-looking Ishizaki took out his cell phone. However, Horikita snatched the phone away from him.

"Hey! You..." snarled Ishizaki, making an attempt to grab Horikita, but stopped. He looked at the camera and stopped himself.

"It looks like you're not accepting it. We'll have the school confirm the security footage right away, and you'll be expelled." said Horikita. Kondo and Komiya grabbed Ishizaki's arms.

"Come on. Let's just accept their idea, Ishizaki!" said Kondo.

"W-wait. If I don't check with him, it'll be bad." muttered Ishizaki.

"We've already lost! I don't wanna get expelled! Please, Ishizaki!" pleaded Komiya.

"Damn! Fine... We'll withdraw. It'll be fine if we withdraw!" said Ishizaki, falling to his knees. Horikita tossed his phone back at Ishizaki which bounced off his chest and landed on his lap.

"Well, let's head to the student council room right away. We'll go together." said Horikita. The entire group headed towards the student council room, the three C students sandwiched

between Horikita and Ayanokouji. They made sure to keep an eye on them to make sure they didn't contact someone for advice. When we finally reached the student council room, they entered the student council room where Manabu and Tachibana were the only ones in the room. It's about 15 more minutes until the retrial begins.

"W-We would like to withdraw our complaints." said Ishizaki. Manabu raised his eyebrow after hearing this and Tachibana dropped her pencil that she was using.

"That was unexpected. Are you sure?" asked Tachibana.

"Yes. Please withdraw our complaints."

Tachibana looked at Manabu who looked over at Ayanokouji and Horikita before replying.

"Of course. If the three of you agreed to this, then your complaint on Class D would be withdrawn. Of course, the school requires a certain amount of points as payment to cover miscellaneous expenses of the course of deliberations." said Manabu. The three students nodded and verbally agreed to it.

"Okay. The school will send a message to you for your payments. Your complaint has been withdrawn thus today's retrial is cancelled. You may leave." said Manabu.

With that, the three Class C students quickly left and a few moments later, Sudou came into the room. Sudou looked around confused as he saw Ishizaki, Kondo, and Komiya leaving the room as he was coming in.

"Hey... what's happening?" asked Sudou.

"Class C has withdrawn their complaints. Your case has been withdrawn and there will not be a retrial today." said Tachibana.

"Wait?! Does that mean I'm free to go?" asked Sudou.

"Yes."

"Yes!"

Sudou was celebrating loudly but stopped after a few moments. He cleared his throat and thanked Horikita and the student council before leaving. Horikita looked at her brother and realized things were getting a little awkward and decided to leave.

"Let's go, Ayanokouji-kun..." said Horikita. She quickly left the room and Ayanokouji followed, but Manabu called out to him.

"Quite strange, isn't it? Ayanokouji..." said Manabu.

"Indeed. It's a weird world we live in." said Ayanokouji.

"Was this your way of proving that Sakura was not a liar?"

"Who knows? But, I didn't do anything special. Your little sister made it happen. I didn't do anything."

Manabu fell into silence as he stared at Ayanokouji. After a few moments of staring, he said something short and simple.

"I see." said Manabu.

"Can I go?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Yes."

Tachibana gave Ayanokouji a wave and a smile before he left the room. Outside, he found Horikita and Ichinose talking.

"Ayanokouji-kun!" said Ichinose, waving at him.

"Hey, Ichinose. Thanks for meeting with me." said Ayanokouji.

"No problem. You did it?"

"Yeah. The case is over now."

"We just need to remove it now. Don't worry about the points. I owe you one."

"What is it going-?" started Horikita, but stopped when Chabashira-sensei and Sakagami-sensei walked past them and into the student council room. They stopped and looked at the door. After a couple of minutes, the two teachers exited the room. Sakagami-sensei had a sour look on his face, but he gave them a curious glance before leaving. Chabashira-sensei had her usual stoic face, but Ayanokouji could see a thin smile on her face when she approached the group.

"Something interesting happened." said Chabashira-sensei, looking at Ayanokouji. But he looked away.

"Sensei, is that all you have to say to us?" asked Horikita.

"No. There's something I want to talk to you about, Horikita."

"Okay..."

Horikita followed Chabashira-sensei and they headed towards the stairs and seemed to be going to the rooftop. Ayanokouji and Ichinose were left alone.

"Shall we go?" asked Ichinose, tilting her head.

"Yeah." replied Ayanokouji.

The duo left the school building and headed towards the special exam building. On the way, Ayanokouji picked up a stepladder that they preplanted. They headed back into the hallway where Ayanokouji and Horikita confronted the Class C students. Ayanokouji set up the step ladder and removed the 2 cameras that they set up.

"I can't believe you wanted to install security cameras." said Ichinose, while Ayanokouji was working on removing it.

'The school hadn't actually installed those security cameras. I noticed that the school sold such equipment when I was with Kushida and Sakura on Saturday. I messaged Ichinose about it and asked her to buy it. Then, I contacted the Professor and he installed them during lunch break. Ishizaki and the other two students were terrified of leaked footage from the cameras, but those cameras were fakes.' thought Ayanokouji.

'The heat had compromised the Class C students' ability to think. They'd been in crisis mode, without a chance to relax. In addition, they'd felt psychologically threatened during that standoff. There was no way that they would have figured out we were bluffing. Even if they'd doubted it, they had no time to investigate. That time crunch and limited time we have before the retrial caused them to panic further and force them to withdraw.' thought Ayanokouji.

"When the day comes, you guys will probably become formidable rivals for Class C, Ayanokouji-kun." said Ichinose.

"If such a day ever comes, I guess. Horikita came up with the plan, not me. I only acted upon her orders." replied Ayanokouji.

"If Horikita-san were in Class B, we might have gotten to Class A right away."

"Probably."

Ayanokouji got off the stepladder and placed the fake cameras into a tote bag that he brought along. He handed them back to Ichinose, who accepted it. He told Ichinose that she could return those cameras since there is a 2 week return policy in the store and get her points back.

"Thanks." said Ichinose.

"I should be thanking you for spending points." said Ayanokouji.

"I guess we're even now. By the way, this reminds me of something. There's something I wanted to tell you, Ayanokouji-kun."

Suddenly, Ayanokouji's phone rang and Ichinose stopped, gesturing for him to pick it up. Ayanokouji looked at the screen and it was Sakura that was calling him. He answered his phone.

"Hello." said Ayanokouji.

"Ayanokouji-kun... Ayanokouji-kun..." said Sakura.

Ayanokouji could hear the panic in her voice, and it seemed like she was scared out of her mind. Before he could respond and Sakura could continue, the call disconnected. Ayanokouji dial

Sakura's phone and called her. After about a minute of dialing, it went directly to voicemail, and it seemed that Sakura was not answering. Ayanokouji went on his phone and selected a certain feature of the app before turning around and running away from Ichinose.

"Huh?! Wait a minute!" called out Ichinose, running after Ayanokouji.

'I have a bad feeling about this.' thought Ayanokouji,

*Timeskip (a few minutes later)*

Ayanokouji was at the electronics store, the same place that Sakura took Ayanokouji and Kushida. Ayanokouji's phone tracking data had taken him and Ichinose towards the alleyway of the store and Ayanokouji quietly peeked around the corner. He quickly gestured to Ichinose to stay quiet and the two quietly and softly caught their breaths after their sprint to the Keyaki Mall.

"Please don't contact me anymore!" said Sakura.

"Why would you say something like that? You're my treasure... Ever since I first saw you in a magazine, I've loved you. Meeting you again here, I felt like it was destiny. I love you... I can't stop feeling this way about you!" said a man.

Ayanokouji looked over and saw that it was the same employee at the camera counter that they met when Sakura was giving her broken camera over. Ichinose's eyes widened and she grabbed her phone, dialing a number. Ayanokouji pulled out his phone and began recording the scene in front of him.

"Stop... Please, stop it!" shouted Sakura. She took something out of her bag which Ayanokouji could faintly see. They were letters and there were hundreds of them.

"How do you know my room number? Why do you keep sending these?" asked Sakura.

"Why? Of course, I would know your room number and send you letters. It's because our hearts are connected." said the man.

Sakura had probably been suffering ever since she started school here. Her fan knew her identity, and she had to deal with his attention every day. However, Sakura had had enough and, thanks to her newfound courage, was going to break away. She'd decided to free herself from him here and now. Her resolve and strange behavior made sense now.

"Please stop it. It's bothering me!" said Sakura. She tossed the bundle of letters to the floors, rejecting the man's unrequited love.

"Why... Why would you do something like that? Even after I wrote out my feelings to you!" said the man.

"D-don't come any closer!" yelped Sakura.

The man closed the distance between him and Sakura. He walked with an intensity that made it look as though he were about to attack. Latching onto Sakura's arm, he shoved her up against the store's walls.

"I'll show you just how much I love you now... If I do that, then you'll understand, Sakura." said the man.

"No, let me go!" cried Sakura.

The man grabbed Sakura's blazer and unbuttoned it, exposing Sakura's white uniform. One more layer of clothing stopped him from exposing Sakura's bare skin and undergarments. The man had a look of sick perversion as he reached towards the white uniform. His intention was clear: unbutton her uniform and Sakura's face was one of terror and fear. Her eyes began to tear up as the man ripped Sakura's glasses off and placed them on the ground.

Ichinose slipped her phone into her pocket and tugged on Ayanokouji's sleeve. Ichinose's eyes were one of panic and it seemed to be telling him that now is the time to interfere. Ayanokouji nodded and stopped the recording before taking a few photos of the man and Sakura. The bright light and noise from the camera attracted the attention of Sakura and the man. They looked over in their direction. Ayanokouji took Ichinose's arm, and they strutted out like a delinquent

couple. While walking by, we took pictures with their phones, their cameras clicking repeatedly as they approached Sakura and the man.

"Ah, looks like we caught them! That old guy's doing something naughty!" said Ayanokouji.

"Huh?!" yelped Sakura, who was completely dumbfounded after hearing him speak in the unfamiliar tone of a delinquent. Ayanokouji found it incredibly embarrassing but dealt with it.

"Ooh, 'Adult harasses high school girl.' I can just see the headlines tomorrow; it'll be a huge scandal!" said Ichinose.

"N-no! That's wrong. You're wrong!" said the man.

"Hmm, it certainly doesn't sound wrong. Does it? It kind of looks that way, don't you think?" said Ichinose. Ichinose tried to match Ayanokouji's performance, but her tone was cruel. The man, now flustered, hurriedly pulled away from Sakura. But the duo were prepared with our cameras.

"Wrong? I don't think so. Whoa, look at all those letters! Gross. Are you a stalker?" asked Ichinose, pinching her nose as she picked up the letters, as if grabbing someone else's socks. She picked them up by their corners, using only her index finger and thumb.

"You're wrong. It's just...yeah, that. She said she wanted someone to teach her how to use a digital camera, so I said I'd teach her one-on-one. That's all." said the man.

"Hmmm." said Ayanokouji, pressing him up against the wall.

"Me and my girlfriend saw everything. So, we took pictures. If you show your face to that girl again, or send her any more disgusting letters, we'll expose you. Got it?" said Ayanokouji.

"Ha ha ha ha! What are you talking about? I really don't...know what you're talking about." said the man.

"You don't know what I'm talking about? You're not weaseling out of this, old man. If you so much as raise a hand at or even just ogle this idol, that'll be the end for you. I'll beat the shit out of you. Got it?"

"Eek!"

In a state of panic, the man made a run for it and Ayanokouji deliberately gave him some time to escape. But, as he ran, two campus security blocked his escape. They quickly grabbed him and apprehended the man before he could react, forcing him to his knees.

"Hey! Come along quietly!" said one of the security guards.

"Let me go!" yelled the man as he struggled to fight off the two men that were holding him.

"Y-You have no right to interfere! Me and her are connected by destiny! I'm Shizuku-chan's fan! Shizuku-chan knows that and we're in love! Don't you see that?"

"Stop that!" yelled Sakura. Again, Ayanokouji was a little surprised by her sudden change in tone. Ichinose was also surprised.

"Shizuku-chan?" said the man, stopping.

"I do not consider you a fan of mine. Never come near me again!" said Sakura. The man gasped and stopped talking.

"You liar... This ugly bitch tricked me! It can't be... This bitch. I could never love someone as ugly as you!" snarled the man. His attitude towards Sakura changed as it became hostile and hateful towards her, but Sakura looked away. He began cursing as the two guards forced him up to his feet.

"Damn it... Damn it!" yelled the man, as he teared up. With that, the man completely lost the will to fight and allowed the guards to take him away.

"We'll send the evidence to the school." said Ichinose, telling one of the guards. He nodded and told them that the school will contact them shortly after a case is formed after this incident.

With the source of her terror gone, Sakura suddenly looked exhausted. She looked like she was going to topple over and collapse, so Ayanokouji hurriedly grabbed her arms and held her up, but Sakura ended up on the ground with Ayanokouji holding her.

"You did really well." said Ayanokouji.

"Ayanokouji... kun. Why are you here?" asked Sakura.

"I told you before. I'll keep an eye on you."

Ayanokouji took out his phone, which showed Sakura's location.

"I guess I'm no good after all... I couldn't do anything by myself in the end." said Sakura.

"That's not true. It was really cool when you threw those letters to the ground." said Ayanokouji, pointing to the mess of multicolored paper scattered everywhere.

"Hey, hey. Who's this mystery person you mentioned? Some idol?" asked Ichinose.

"That's..." said Ayanokouji, hesitating to speak without Sakura's permission. However, Sakura met his eyes and gave him a slight nod.

"Sakura over here was an idol when she was in junior high. Her name was Shizuku." said Ayanokouji.

"Huh?! Idol?! That's amazing! She's an entertainer!" said Ichinose.

"But I never appeared on TV or anything..." replied Sakura.

"Even so, that's so amazing! I've never thought about becoming an idol or anything."

"When did you realize, Ayanokouji-kun?" asked Sakura.

"A little while ago. Sorry. Several other people in class realized, too." replied Ayanokouji.

"I think I'm actually glad about this, though... It's been hard to lie."

"At any rate, you were way too brave. I was going to have to step in if something happened."

"Ha ha... Yeah, you're probably right. I was so scared."

The girl who had openly cried in front of me yesterday was now laughing in a rather peculiar way. She laughed while seemingly on the verge of tears.

"Ayanokouji-kun... Don't look at me with such strange eyes." said Sakura.

"Strange eyes?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Never mind, it's nothing."

"Whoa... You're so amazingly cute! You make a completely different impression without your glasses!" said Ichinose, looking at Sakura and looking at her phone. It appears that Ichinose had looked up Shizuku on her phone.

"Sorry. For being quiet for so long." said Sakura.

"It's nothing you have to apologize for. We don't have to talk about it. However, I think that now we have the type of relationship where we can talk about things. If you're suffering or if you feel lost, you can talk to me. You should consult Horikita and Kushida, too." said Ayanokouji.

"Okay. I understand."

"Ah! I'm Ichinose, from Class B. It's nice to meet you, Sakura-san." said Ichinose, finally introducing herself. Sakura looked a little hesitant but shook Ichinose's outstretched hand.

"By the way, didn't you want to tell me something in the special building a little while ago?" asked Ayanokouji, thinking back to their conversation with Ichinose.

"Ah yeah, that's right. There was something important I wanted to talk to you about. I probably shouldn't be saying this right now, but...there was someone pulling the strings behind this whole Sudou incident." said Ichinose, with a rare serious expression.

"Pulling the strings?"

"To tell the truth, there was a dispute between Class B and Class C students before. That time, though, the school didn't get involved. Someone named Ryuuen-kun masterminded that one."

"Ryuuen? I don't recognize the name."

"That's because he hasn't seen any reason to reveal himself just yet. There's no reason that you'd know him. I think he set up Sudou-kun to look like a liar, and instigated the dispute with Class B. This was all his handiwork. He doesn't hesitate to hurt other people for the sake of

his own interests. He's a formidable opponent."

"When Class B had trouble, did you manage a peaceful resolution?"

"Somehow, yeah. However, if you look at it like a game, I can't say whether I won or lost... Anyway, I think because what he devised was easier to see through this time, I've started to understand how this school is structured. You should be careful... So, if anything ever happens, you can come to me for help. Talk to me whenever you need it."

"Yeah. I'll keep that in mind."

"Well, how about this? I'll go back and pick up the ladder and clean up the mess. You can walk Sakura-san back, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Are you sure, Ichinose? I don't want to leave you there with all the hard work."

"Don't worry. I'm strong!"

Ichinose flexed her arm in a mocking way of flexing her muscles and Ayanokouji nodded.

"Thanks, Ichinose." said Ayanokouji.

"Don't worry. Just take care of Sakura-san.. See you around Ayanokouji-kun, Sakura-san." said Ichinose.

With that, Ichinose left the alleyway and headed towards the school building. Ayanokouji realized that he was still holding Sakura and Sakura seemed to have realized that as well.

"A-Ayanokouji-kun!" yelped Sakura.

"Oh. I should let you go." said Ayanokouji. He let Sakura go and held up his hand to help her up.

"T-thank you-" said Sakura, reaching for his hand and looking up at Ayanokouji. But, before Sakura could finish what she was saying, Ayanokouji felt an electric shock run through his body as he locked eyes with Sakura. Sakura's eyes widened and her face became red in embarrassment, and she was clearly flustered.

"T-Thank you, A-Ayanokouji-kun. For everything.. giving me advice and saving me. Thank you!" said Sakura.

With that, a tear ran down Sakura's face and more tears slowly came out. Those were not tears of sadness and frustration like before, but tears of happiness and thankfulness. After a few moments of soft crying, Sakura pulled out a handkerchief and wiped other tears away.

"T-that's enough crying." said Sakura. She accepted Ayanokouji's hand, and he helped her up.

"Let's go back to the dorms." suggested Ayanokouji. Sakura nodded and the duo left the alleyway, heading towards the direction of the dorms. The entire walk was silent as Sakura seemed to be lost in thought, but she wore a slightly happy smile on her face.

"Do you think everyone would notice if I came to class without my glasses and changed my hairstyle?" asked Sakura.

"I think there's a possibility that people at school might panic when they notice...but I think it'll be fine." replied Ayanokouji.

"Yeah..."

"What are you thinking?"

"Maybe I should take it off. A show of my true self."

"It's up to you, Sakura. Every choice you make is up to you."

"Y-Yeah... I'll think about it."

"When you're ready."

Sakura smiled and took off her glasses and looked at Ayanokouji. Ayanokouji realized how beautiful and cute she is. There was a clear difference between this Sakura and the one that usually hides with her glasses.

"Cute..." said Ayanokouji.

"E-Eh?!" yelped Sakura.

"Sorry. Just telling you my initial thoughts."

"T-Thanks, I guess."

Sakura placed her glasses back on as the duo entered the dorm building which had a bunch of students inside. They called the elevator and waited for it.

"How's the camera?" asked Ayanokouji, breaking the silence.

"I can't wait to get it back, but I think I should be able to get it before the cruise ship vacation." said Sakura.

"They haven't sent any updates to my number yet, so I'll message you when it's ready."

"Thanks, Ayanokouji-kun."

The elevator arrived and the duo entered the elevator, selecting their respective floors. The elevator began to rise as Ayanokouji looked at the numbers on the elevator panel as it slowly increased. After about a minute, the elevator doors opened to the 4th floor.

"This is my floor. Are you fine to go by yourself?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Y-Yeah. Thanks for walking me back, Ayanokouji-kun." said Sakura.

"See you tomorrow, Sakura."

"Bye, Ayanokouji-kun."

Sakura gave him a timid wave before the elevator doors closed. Ayanokouji walked back to his room and entered his room. He took a look around and saw the state of his room. His room is usually empty with almost no decorations or items around, but ever since he got more and more soulmates, the room feels more alive with more items and belongings from his soulmates being left out in the open.

Ayanokouji could see Shinohara's sandals, Onodera's dumbbells, Mii-chan's cushions, Tachibana's tea leaves, Horikita's cooking utensils, and several pairs of chopsticks and bowls of his other soulmates. Ayanokouji took a sigh as he pondered on how chaotic his life has gotten, but he didn't hate it. He was intrigued by it and wondered how more chaotic it would get.

'So far, the day of reckoning in my previous dream was all girls from other classes. It seemed the number of girls I've met and known had increased significantly. Let's see: Class A: Tamiya, Nishi, Tsukaji, Nishikawa, Tanihara, Nakajima. Class B: Ichinose, Amikura, Minamikata, Tsube, Tsukabe, Ninomiya. Class C: Nishino, Manabe, Morofuji, Yamashita, Isoyama, Suzuki, Yajima.

Class D: Sonoda, Nishimura, Hasebe, Inogashira.' thought Ayanokouji.

'I'm sure that I'm missing a few more girls, but if all of them ended up as my soulmates, it would've been at least nearly half of the 100 soulmates. I have a feeling that this cruise exam is going to be just as chaotic or even more.' thought Ayanokouji.

Ayanokouji's phone buzzed which snapped him out of his thoughts and it was a message from Ichinose, telling him that she's cleaned up the mess in the special exam building. Ayanokouji replied with a thumbs up and thanked her. Ichinose asked about Sakura and Ayanokouji reassured her that she's safe and made it back to her room. After a few more exchanges, Ichinose said her goodbyes and went silent. Ayanokouji placed his phone on the table and began to set up his table in preparation for dinner.

'Ryuuen... Ryuuen... Based on what I heard from Ichinose, you seemed to be quite the leader. Let's see what you got. I'm sure that you're going to be responsible for some of Class D's losses.' thought Ayanokouji.

Soulmates

1) Horikita Suzune

2) Kushida Kikyou

3) Mii-chan

4) Tachibana Akane

5) Azuma Sana

6) Shinohara Satsuki

7) Onodera Kayano

8) Mori Nene

9) Hoshinomiya Chie

10) Ichihashi Ruri

11) Andou Sayo

12) Shiranami Chihiro

13) Yabu Nanami

14) Sakura Airi

Author's Note:

Merry Christmas, everyone! Sorry for the long break that I took, but I think it was time for me to get a little break from writing. I've written a chapter for all 4 of my stories (Harem School President, DI Ayanokouji, COTE 100 Girlfriends, and COTE Reaction 100 Girlfriends), so here's my gift to my readers!

Thanks for over 300 followers and the overwhelming support for my stories. Most of the things in Sudou's trial are kept the same and I just wanted to get past it. But, I have future plans for Airi. I'll do something about her. Maybe make her relevant and other future plans. So, rejoice Airi fans!

The next chapter should be before the cruise ship and maybe a little bit of it. I don't really know. Anyways, Happy Holidays and have a good New Years. Thanks for

supporting me, everyone. It means a lot to me.

Until next time, my dear readers.