Chapter 35 : Past Mistakes

On the day of the provisional test, a morning that should have been focused on preparing for the upcoming tests for all classes, the classroom was overflowing with chattering students.

"Oh, you're so energetic this morning! Did something happen between you and Kushida to make you so lively?"

"Hey, ease up on the jokes... But of course, it's natural to be energetic, especially since I heard some outrageous rumors this morning."

"What's that about? Is it that guy, Ichinose, again?"

"No, it's a new lie meant to stir up chaos within our C class."

"A new rumor, huh?"

"By the way, that guy sitting over there is not unrelated."

Glancing around, they spotted Kiyotaka sitting in his chair, looking absent-minded. Wondering what had happened, they noticed Horikita holding her phone screen towards them.

There were four rumors written in her memo pad:

- Ayanokoji Kiyotaka has feelings for Karuizawa Kei.

- Honjou Ryotaro is only interested in overweight girls.

- Shinohara Satsuki was involved in prostitution during middle school.

- Sato Maya dislikes Onodera Kayano.

The rumors were widespread, seemingly collected from bulletin boards in each class. Man, Honjou, your rumor is the funniest. But seriously, Horikita, showing me your phone and then pressing your chest against my arm? Just a coincidence, right...

"Is there something you want to say?"

"Well... um..."

"Why are you acting so fidgety? If you have something to say, say it clearly--"

"You're pressing your chest against me..."

Locking eyes with Horikita as I said that, a brief silence ensued. Then, after a few seconds, Horikita's face turned bright red, and she raised her hand as if to slap me. I quickly ducked to avoid getting hit, thinking it would hurt if it landed.

"That's terrible! I can't believe you were thinking such ridiculous things. I'm disappointed."

"How shameless! To press your chest against a man's arm like that. You're such a pervert."

Saying this in a similar tone, I received a sharp glare from Horikita. Yikes... scary.

"I'm sorry... I went too far."

"Huh? Uh, yeah. Well, I guess I'm at fault too."

Apparently not expecting me to apologize sincerely, Horikita's expression softened. Phew, she seemed to forgive me with a hint of regret.

"But you surprisingly have big breasts..."

"Hmph!"

Crack!

"Ouch!"

Horikita's backhand hit me squarely in the face. Oh, man... that hurts.

With a shameful nosebleed, I continued to contemplate the rumor. Whether it's true or not, only the parties involved would know. There's no way to directly confirm it unless you're one of the students involved.

"Hey, Shinohara, did you really do prostitution!?"

There it is, Yamauchi, the number one in KY level at school, laughing as he shouts that. Man, he's too much.

"I-I didn't do anything like that!"

Shinohara hastily stood up and vehemently denied it, her face showing a mix of embarrassment and anger.

"Then show us some evidence."

"How am I supposed to prove that!?"

Yamauchi, you're the worst. Too creepy. It's strong of him to find that amusing.

"Horikita, isn't he just too much?"

"Yeah, he is. Even I would be put off by that, more so than what you did earlier."

While she added an unnecessary comment, I muttered to Horikita, who nodded in agreement. That's good, it seems I wasn't the only one who found it disgusting.

"I guess these rumors are just nonsense."

"I'm not so sure. We could confirm with each student mentioned, just like Yamauchi said."

Kiyotaka suggested the final resort, but such a thing is not feasible for ordinary people. Humans are scary, after all.

"Are you an idiot!? Getting swayed by rumors when we don't even know who wrote them!"

"But hey, doesn't this seem kinda true?"

"Come on, Haruki, cut it out!"

Yamauchi's relentless questioning was forcefully stopped as Ike grabbed his shoulder.

"What's up... it's a chance to get back at Shinohara, who's always so high and mighty."

"Get back at me... this is obviously a lie!"

"I dunno, maybe? Those kinda plain-looking girls often do sneaky stuff."

He probably wouldn't want to hear that from a super plain guy like Ike. Yamauchi laughed carelessly without considering Ike's feelings.

"Oh, I see. Ike, you kinda like Shinohara, don't you? You don't wanna admit it~"

"Haruki!"

Ike grabbed Yamauchi's collar.

"Cut it out, you guys."

Sudo, seeing the situation, forcibly pulled the two apart. Then, Hirata, who arrived late, sensed the tension and asked the girls for the situation. Changing his target from Shinohara, who kept denying everything, to Hirata in one swift move, Yamauchi questioned him.

"So, Hondo, is it true you're into chubby girls?"

The focus shifted to Hirata.

"H-Hell no! That's absurd! This rumor is completely baseless! And Ayanokoji, there's no way you like Karuizawa, right?"

Of course, Honjo sought help from Kiyotaka. Kiyotaka nodded and asked Yamauchi, "See?" It's good you're safe, Kiyotaka. You'd be in trouble if Karuizawa were here.

"Ugh, so they're all just rumors."

Just as it seemed to settle down after all three denied the rumors, a voice leaked from the girls.

"But hey, Sato-san doesn't seem to like Onodera-san that much, right?"

While Onodera wasn't present yet, it was already too late.

"Oh yeah, Sato never hangs out with Onodera, right?"

"W-Well, that's..."

The situation couldn't be resolved by simply dismissing the rumors as lies. In the midst of this, Sudo noticed Ike and Yamauchi separating and approached Horikita, me, and Kiyotaka.

"Ayanokoji, do you really not like her?"

"No, it's not like that."

"Hmm, it doesn't matter to me, but if you want, I can help out."

"And... what would that entail?"

"I overheard your conversation earlier. I'm kinda insensitive, so I can just ask around bluntly if you want?"

Sudo-san, that's counterproductive. Even though you're already getting hate within the class, and Yamauchi's the worst, there's no need for Sudo to do that too.

"In that case, could you keep an eye on Yamauchi-kun? And could you please take care of Honjo-kun? I think he's emotionally wounded. Can you do that?"

".....Yeah, sure."

With a movement reminiscent of taming a pet, Horikita ordered Sudo. Impressive, Horikita. Sudo is now completely a guard dog. Yamauchi tried to start talking to Shinohara and Sato again, but was stopped by Hirata. Well, for now, let's just focus on preparing for the end-of-term exams.

Three days passed since the mock test, and despite Hirata's efforts to stop the spread of new rumors, his attempts were in vain, and the rumors spread rapidly.

In Class A,

"Kamuro-san, where did you get that scarf? It looks so stylish!"

"Yeah, seriously, it looks super expensive. Like, around 20 or 30 thousand yen, right?"

A scarf knitted by Jin, unexpectedly receiving praise from classmates too.

"It's handmade by Horagasakai... He gave it to me for my birthday."

As I said that, the classmates who had approached me cheered.

"Wow! Horagasaki-kun is amazing, isn't he? Is this hand-knitted!? That's next level."

"He's good-looking, athletic, academically talented, and domestic? He's too perfect... I might just have to aim for him~"

"Oh! Me too, me too! There's something kind of sexy about him, isn't there? Maybe I should confess~"

"Wait... no!"

I couldn't help but raise my voice loudly. That's not like me. My classmates, grinning, looked at me as I unexpectedly got heated.

"I guess you really like him, huh~ Just kidding, Kamuro-san. We just wanted to see how you'd react."

"I'm so jealous~ Horagasaki-kun and Kamuro-san are such a good-looking couple, aren't they? You guys are living your youth~!"

"Ugh... you guys are so noisy ///"

"Haha, Kamuro-san, you're blushing~"

I felt embarrassed being put on display like that. But, deep down, I do like Horagasaki. Wearing the scarf right now, it feels like I'm being wrapped up by him. This is what it feels like to have feelings for someone.

...

"Yo, Ishizaki, what's up? You wanted to talk?"

Hashimoto asked Ishizaki as usual.

"Why did you bring Kito along? I said to come alone, didn't I?"

"Well, you brought Albert along too, didn't you? Just as a precaution."

"D Class came to have a discussion. Isn't that right, Ishizaki-kun?"

Apart from Ishizaki and Albert, D Class also included Ibuki and Shiina. Well, it's understandable to be worried; with such a militant lineup, something seems likely to happen.

"You were right, Kiyotaka."

Akito said so. They were gathered to hold a study session, but they happened to see Class A moving away from the premises and decided to follow.

Surprisingly, Hasebe, Keisei, and Sakura were also present.

"Well, let's hear what you have to say, Shiina-chan."

"It's about those rumors. It's the information spread by you guys in Class A, isn't it?"

Shiina, perhaps thinking Ishizaki would get confrontational if left to handle it, addressed them.

"Hey, why are you asking us?"

"Exactly!"

"Please let me handle this, Ishizaki-kun. I heard from Kanzaki-kun that you've been spreading rumors about Ichinose-san."

"He's quite the talker, huh? Or did you ask those three over there?"

Hashimoto glanced at me, Kiyotaka, and Akito, who had heard the exchange.

"Please answer, Hashimoto-kun."

Shiina asked Hashimoto.

"Well, those three over there probably know, so I'll be honest. I just casually spread the rumors out of curiosity."

Of course, Hashimoto didn't intend to admit.

"That's a convenient excuse."

"Excuse? It's the truth. But it's strange, isn't it? D Class, who should have nothing to do with it, suddenly showing up."

"Don't mess with us! You guys have been blabbering not just about Ichinose but also about our rumors!"

"I see. So you're upset about rumors too, huh, Ishizaki?"

What a sense of rumor, huh? It's amazing, but I never thought I'd laugh at this. Sakayanagi is a genius for spreading such a ridiculous rumor about me.

But the moment Ishizaki was provoked, Shiina tried to restrain him as he seemed like he was about to attack.

"Cut it out, Hashimoto!"

"Hold on, Ishizaki!"

Thinking that Shiina couldn't hold him back, Akito hurried to stop Ishizaki.

Shiina looked cute with a troubled expression.

"Don't stop me, Miyake! I'm not going to stand for these guys doing whatever they want! I'll knock them out!"

"Stop it, Ishizaki. You're the one who'll get hurt, you know? You seem confident in fighting, but we're not too shabby either."

Onitou stepped forward and clenched his fists at Ishizaki and Albert, indicating he's ready to fight depending on the situation.

"You guys should stop this; you know the school doesn't tolerate fights."

From a distance, Akito tried to calm them down.

"It wasn't like this before. Seems like the current student council president is a bit more lenient."

"Seriously? That president is pretty lenient."

Shiina tried to stop the fight and persuade Hashimoto to trust them, but no one except Shiina believed it.

"That's enough, Hiyori. These guys will lie without hesitation. As evidence, rumors from Class A haven't been spread."

"That's... So, maybe that means they're not the culprits?"

"For people like this, we have no choice but to force the truth out of them with our fists."

Hashimoto grinned while saying he's innocent, but Ishizaki and Ibuki were barely containing their anger. However, it seemed like Akito couldn't take it anymore and pushed past Akito to step forward.

In unison, Ibuki also stepped forward, and Akito seemed a little perplexed. 

"Make Sakayanagi apologize for both the rumors about Ichinose and what happened to us."

"Got it wrong. I don't know anything."

"Don't make me laugh!"

Ishizaki kicked the railing with all his might.

Hashimoto began to understand that the situation was getting out of hand, and he asked Ishizaki and the others, 

"What are you planning to do?"

"Obviously, we're going to talk to Sakayanagi."

"You? Give it up."

Hashimoto looked down on Ishizaki with a mocking tone, knowing he wouldn't be taken seriously.

"Kito, we might have to do this."

Hashimoto read the atmosphere and sensed that this wouldn't end with just words. Kito seemed prepared for this and slowly took a stance. Then suddenly,

"Uraa!"

Ishizaki tackled Kito with force, while Ibuki launched a kick towards Hashimoto. Hashimoto hastily dodged it.

"Close one!"

As Ibuki leaped out forcefully, her phone and student ID flew out of her pocket, scattering around. Recognizing the strength and power to be more than expected, Hashimoto expressed concern before showing respect.

"Ibuki-chan is used to fighting too... I forgot about that."

"You guys, stop it!"

Akito shouted while picking up the phone that had rolled nearby. However, D Class showed no signs of stopping the fight. Sensing the next clash, Akito intervened to prevent it.

"Don't interfere, Miyake!"

Akito forcefully grabbed Ishizaki's wrist and pushed him down.

"Wow, Akito, you're strong."

I couldn't help but be impressed.

"Let go of me!"

"Sorry, Ishizaki. I don't dislike your type, you know."

"Don't get in my way!"

As Ibuki aimed a kick at Akito's head, Akito avoided it just in time, but his balance was disrupted, and Albert firmly restrained him.

"Hold him, Albert!"

"Ugh..."

Even Akito couldn't resist Albert's strength, and the fight was still on.

"Ibuki!"

As Ishizaki shouted, Kito's hand aimed for Ibuki's neck.

"Don't underestimate me!"

Ibuki quickly reacted to that hand and shook off Kito's hand, but I thought it was too much, and since Akihito can't move, I'm the only one who can move, so I decided to stop him. Like Akihito, I also went to arbitration.

Ibuki tries to kick Kito, but if she gets any more violent, she'll be in trouble, so I immediately grab the ankle where Ibuki kicked him.

"...!?"

"Enough..."

"Don't bother me either!"

Eh, why, some hate came to me.

Ibuki threw a number of quick kicks at me, but I kept dodging and catching them one after another.

Ishizaki saw this and raised his voice to stop Ibuki.

"Don't do that to Ibuki!"

Ibuki, perhaps surprised by Ishizaki's strength, stopped attacking me, and then Shiina stopped Ishizaki and the others with a strong tone.

"Ishizaki-kun, please don't do this anymore! Even if you were to win against Hashimoto-kun and the others and get him to confess, the important Sakayanagi-san probably wouldn't admit it."

"You want me and Ibuki to cry ourselves to sleep!"

"It may seem harsh, but please bear with me for now."

"You brought us here, isn't it weird that you have to endure it?"

"I will make sure you receive your reward."

Seeing this exchange, Hashimoto whistled with interest.

"It wasn't Ishizaki who set this up, but Shiina-chan."

"Please let him go, Albert-kun ."

When Shiina instructed, Alberto, who was holding Akihito, nodded sharply and released the restraints.

"I've caused a disturbance to everyone in Class C as well."

With that said, Shiina bowed deeply.

Somehow, we were able to avoid turning into a Super Smash Bros., but the rift between Class A and other classes has progressed to the point where it cannot be repaired.

...

On the way back, as I walked without much thought, my phone made a notification sound. Curious, I checked the message, and it was from Ichinose, who hadn't been to school for the past few days. I was surprised by the sudden action but decided to read the contents.

Ichinose Honami: Sorry for the sudden request, can you come over now, Horagasaki-kun?

Me: Sure.

I sent the reply and headed to Ichinose's dorm. When I arrived and rang the intercom, Ichinose came out, looking unusually lifeless.

"Hehe, sorry... Please come in."

"Thanks for having me."

"I'll make some tea right away...!"

I felt a bit hesitant entering a girl's room. Despite trying to put on a smile, Ichinose was clearly sending out a distress signal. I deliberately waited for Ichinose to seek help herself because if I visited her without her asking, she might become even more dependent on me. But today, it seemed like she had finally made up her mind.

"Ichinose, you're trying too hard."

As I suddenly spoke, she reacted excessively.

"W-What's wrong, Horagasaki-kun?"

It was clear that her mental state was deteriorating. Right now, she must be under tremendous pressure.

"We made a promise, right? That I'd be by your side when things got tough."

"T...!"

"Don't push yourself... You're struggling right now, aren't you? Ichinose, you're human too. It's okay to rely on someone."

I gently hugged Ichinose, and tears streamed down her cheeks. She must have been in a lot of pain. Ichinose Honami was a leader, someone trusted by everyone. That's why she couldn't afford to show weakness to anyone. Burdened with stress, I'd never be able to endure what she had. I couldn't help but respect Ichinose for maintaining her sense of self until now.

"Ichinose... It's okay, I'm here. You'll be fine."

"I'm sorry for being so pathetic..."

"You've kept it all inside for too long. No one's blaming you."

All I could do was that. Now, I'll wait for Ichinose to open up her heart. And with a sigh, she finally began to speak about what had been tormenting her.

"I... I shoplifted. That's why, in my third year of middle school, I struggled so much that I took half a year off from school. I couldn't talk to anyone, kept blaming myself, and ended up like this, shutting myself away from the world."

She began to reveal the hidden wounds in her heart. What she did wrong and her vulnerability. The wound in Ichinose's heart that continued to unravel no matter how much she tried to sew it back together. Afterward, I continued to listen to her story. But surely, Ichinose herself didn't need words of comfort, and they would be meaningless once spoken. All I could do was to be by her side, and that's all.

As she finished speaking, she seemed somewhat relieved, and a sense of peace replaced the troubled look on her face.

"Ichinose, all that's left is for you to fight. Everyone will understand, I promise."

"Yeah, thank you, Horagasaki-kun!"

With that, she let out a sigh of relief, smacked her cheeks twice to gather her spirits. This was the true leader of Class B.

That was the conversation between me and Ichinose.

Now, all I have to do is wait for that day to come.

=================================

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