94 Act 16: Scene 3

After morning classes ended, it was time for the students' lunch break.

Before he could leave for the cafeteria, Kiyotaka was invited by Ken to join him, Kayano, and Akito for lunch. The young man agreed and went with their little group, since he was completely free this time and none of his heroines were dragging him around in an attempt to make him spend lunch with them.

After settling at an empty table with their respective food trays, Kiyotaka observed his companions for a moment as they all began to eat. There's definitely a reason why they wanted him to join them for lunch and since Akito was here, it's obvious what that reason was.

"So, I assume the reason why you wanted me to join you three for lunch is because of Miyake's case, correct?" he asked while eating a bowl of soba.

"Mostly," Sudo shrugged while sipping on a can of juice.

Kiyotaka raised an eyebrow slightly. "Why only me? Shouldn't we include more from our classmates in this discussion?"

Kayano waved her hands as if to say no. "Uh, bad idea. If Kushida-san, Karuizawa-san and Horikita-san were here with us, then we wouldn't be able to have a sensible discussion because they would be too busy either hugging you or arguing over you."

The young man stared at her for a moment as he thought of that scenario in his mind, before he found himself agreeing with her.

Yeah, she's probably right... and considering how clingy Kushida and Karuizawa had become ever since they kissed him in front of everyone, they'd likely spend the entirety of their lunch break staking their claim on him.

Honestly, he didn't even want to think about it.

"Good point. I can definitely see that happening," he agreed while shaking his head.

"Plus, you were the only one with us yesterday aside from them."

Kiyotaka nodded in agreement, before noticing that a certain someone wasn't by Akito's side right now. "Where's Hasebe, by the way?" he asked, wondering why the bluenette wasn't around.

Akito scratched his cheek. "Oh, uh... she told me that she'll keep on searching for that person who might have seen the whole incident."

"She's very dedicated, huh?" the 'Masterpiece' remarked. "Even willing to skip her lunch break if it meant helping you."

"She bought a sandwich and a bottle of grape juice before leaving," Akito added before letting out a sigh. "I actually tried to stop her, but she didn't want to."

"So Hasebe's willing to go that far for her friend... I wonder where it will take her," Kiyotaka stared at his classmate as he said those words.

He could definitely respect the girl's dedication to prove her friend's innocence right off the bat but deep down, he had a feeling that all she would find is disappointment. During the meeting earlier, none of them had valuable information on the identity of their supposed eyewitness and going around the campus asking people on her own wouldn't really do anything.

It would have been easier if she had someone to accompany her too.

"I wonder why she didn't ask me to go with her then. Yesterday, we were searching for our eyewitness together."

Akito shrugged. "Probably because she didn't want to bother you during lunch."

"In any case, what do you three want to talk about that has something to do with Miyake?" asked Kiyotaka, wanting to get things going while they still have time for lunch.

"How did your search go yesterday, Ayanokouji-kun? Anything else that you'd like to share with us?" asked Kayano.

The young man raised an eyebrow curiously. "Hasebe already said it earlier, didn't she? We were by the mall yesterday when we tried to ask the people around, but ended up with nothing."

Kayano sighed. "Looks like none of us really had any luck yesterday, huh?"

"Why were you asking the same question from earlier?"

"Well, I don't think we really talked about everything that happened yesterday, did we? We figured we could talk about this now when we have all the time we need."

"I see. But since I have nothing to add to Hasebe's explanation, do you two have anything to share, then?"

The girl opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't get anything out. Like Hasebe, she already said everything she needed to say earlier about their current situation regarding their possible eyewitness and couldn't think of anything right now. However, Sudo seemed to have other plans when he opened his mouth to speak.

"Like what Onodera said, we tried asking around our clubs if they saw something. I didn't ask the Class C students who were at the basketball club with me, though."

Kayano looked at him in confusion. It seemed like she didn't know about that part. "Wait, why didn't you? It could have been them who attacked Miyake-kun but if not, then maybe they saw what happened to him?"

"Maybe, but I couldn't risk it. If Kondo and Komiya were the ones who did it, then they could do the same against me. I'm pretty sure I can take on them both, but I'd rather not give our class another problem by starting another fight. If they're not the ones who attacked him, then it's still risky because they could warn their classmates that someone's on to their tails."

Both Akito and Kayano turned to him in complete surprise after he said those words.

"Well, that's a surprise. Two days ago, you were preaching about wanting to get your hands on them for beating Miyake-kun up," Kayano remarked.

Sudo scoffed. "Trust me, I still want to beat those guys up if they were the ones responsible for this whole thing. But I'd just be accused of starting a fight and assaulting those two."

Kiyotaka gave a nod of acknowledgement at Ken's decision. So far, so good. The man was learning how to be more mature and composed with his decisions, even though he can still get annoyed pretty easily. A big change from how he was on the first day that they met, and it's all because of the person beside him.

Who knows what would have happened to Sudo if Onodera wasn't around?

"Good choice, Sudo. Even if they're the ones who were responsible for the attack on Miyake, it would have been a worse move to go after them. But why didn't you tell everyone about this earlier?" Kiyotaka asked, causing their two other companions to turn towards the red-haired athlete.

To be fair, it was a good question and if he has mentioned it earlier, it could have helped in the discussion and encouraged their classmates to put even more effort in finding their person of interest.

Ken rubbed the back of his head and looked to the side, feeling embarrassed.

"I... forgot about it, sorry."

Kiyotaka, Kayano, and Akito all sweat-dropped upon hearing that answer.

...okay, he still needs work, but the guy is getting there. Maybe a little more time?

"What are their names, Sudo?" asked Akito right after, turning towards his red-haired classmate.

"It's, uh... Komiya and Kondo, I think. I just hear their names when roll calls happen."

"Can you take a picture of them the next time you see them? If they're the ones who went after me, then I can tell it's them if I see a picture."

"Sure," Sudo nodded in agreement, only to facepalm so hard upon having a moment of realization. "Damn it, I should have done that when I had the chance earlier! I'm such an idiot..."

As Sudo sulked in despair and frustration towards himself, Onodera began patting his shoulder to comfort him. It was honestly cute to watch.

"What about you, Onodera?" Kiyotaka spoke, returning the question she asked him earlier.

The girl turned to face him with a look of disappointment. "Like I said earlier, nothing. Unlike me though, there are a couple of Class C students in the basketball club like Sudo-kun so he has a lead. Can't say the same for the swimming club, there are no Class C students who are part of it... from the first year students, that is."

"Yeah, no Class C students in the swimming club," Sudo confirmed.

"So, Sudo's the only one out of everyone with a possible lead on our person of interest. If nothing else, we'll have to rely on those Class C students in the same club as him for information... or Shiina, if she's willing to tell us something about her classmates," Kiyotaka thought as he looked down at his food.

Hiyori's 'heroine summary' showed that the girl didn't like violence, so she could be a valuable source of information if she chooses to help them. However, there's also a chance of her not knowing anything because of that very reason.

For now, though, he'd leave that up to Horikita. She was the one who suggested that they ask for Shiina, so it's up to his classmate to figure out if she could help them.

"Miyake, are you sure there was a witness?" asked Sudo, looking at their other companion. "We're busting our asses looking for whoever that is but what if there was no one who saw what happened that day?"

"That's kind of rude, Sudo-kun. We only just started searching for a day, at least give it a few more days before complaining," Onodera frowned at him.

Sudo immediately looked like he was regretting what he said and only rubbed the back of his head afterwards. "I guess..."

However, it didn't seem like Akito was offended. If anything, he looked doubtful as well, as though he was starting to think the same.

"I could definitely be wrong about someone being there because technically, I didn't see anyone. It just felt like someone was."

"Hm. Is that so?" muttered Kiyotaka.

"We're never gonna find that witness if we can't even get results with all the people who are searching with us," Onodera wanted to groan, but she knew that getting frustrated won't get them anywhere.

"You're right, Onodera. Why don't we change our methods a little, then? For example, let's look for someone who might have found a witness."

Kiyotaka's suggestion quickly got his classmates' attention but they were completely confused by what he meant.

"Look for someone who found a witness? I don't get it," Sudo remarked while raising an eyebrow.

"Are you going to look for people who went to the bathhouse when it happened?" asked Onodera.

"That would be an easier question than asking people if they've witnessed a fight between students, wouldn't it? Plus, I'm sure that there weren't a lot of people around the bathhouse last Sunday," Kiyotaka explained before turning towards Akito. "You said that you were going for a jog around the area when you were attacked, right? I'm certain that there weren't many people around that time, but there could still be someone who saw either you or those Class C students at the bathhouse."

"...which means that all we need to do is ask people if they've been to the bathhouse or not," Akito continued as he now understood the whole picture.

Kiyotaka nodded. "That's right. For Sudo, since there's a chance that his clubmates were the ones who went after Miyake, all he needs to do is ask around if someone saw those Class C students go to the bathhouse that day, or if they were anywhere near that place."

It was far from being a completely foolproof idea. On one side, it would lessen the number of people that they would have to question, perhaps not even more than twenty. However, at the same time, it would give them a more reliable answer because not many people would go to the bathhouse very early in the morning. Plus, it would also prevent the chances of the actual culprits knowing about their plan to prove Akito's innocence because if they did, they could cover up their tracks even more and make it harder for the students of Class D to find out who they are.

In other words, if someone testified to seeing another person near the bathhouse, Class D would be much closer to finding the witness and the culprits all at once.

Sudo and Onodera's eyes widened in realization, as they too realized the point that their classmate was trying to make.

"That sounds great, Ayanokouji-kun! I'm gonna start asking when today's classes are over," Kayano exclaimed, completely reinvigorated in her desire to search for the witness.

Ken was on the same boat, a huge grin breaking out on his face in excitement. "Yeah, I'll do that right after classes today. You're a genius, Ayanokouji!"

Kiyotaka shook his head and sighed. He just gave a small suggestion, and his classmates praise him for it as if he was a genius of some sort.

"I'm not, the idea just hit me right now."

"Well, whatever you call it, that's a pretty solid move, Ayanokouji. You should tell everyone about it. They're gonna be glad that their jobs will be much easier," Akito commented.

"I'm sure they will."

There's no doubt that a lot of his classmates will be pleased when they hear his suggestion, especially Yamauchi and Ike. However, it doesn't mean that their goal becomes a cakewalk simply because he found an easier way to search for their person of interest.

If they were to find that person who witnessed, the issue of whether he/she would be willing to testify against those Class C students remains to be seen, because that will determine the outcome of this case.