56 #56 Discussion

"But...how do we really know that he isn't lying though?" Karuizawa questioned with a bit softened expression when she noticed Kushida's puppy eyes.

"We can never be completely confident that he is saying the truth" Yuichi said and everyone turned at him with a bit surprised expression since they heard him previously say how he trusts Sudo.

"Iwamura?!" Sudo exclaimed with a confused expression upon this betrayal.

"However, the same applies to your best friends, doesn't it? You are never sure when people tell the truth or make their stories a bit different. I believe in Sudo because he has no reason to lie here..." Yuichi knew that most people were aware that Sudo was his friend so he said that he believes him because of a different reason other than friendship.

"What do you mean, Iwamura-kun?" Karuizawa asked with a confused expression.

"He doesn't have to lie because we have to help him regardless unless you want to lose class points that are already hard to gain. To be honest, if he truly was the one who started the fight it would be better to apologize and promise that he would never do that ever again because if he is lying, we will eventually discover it." Yuichi explained.

"But wouldn't it be impossible to clear his name if he was the one who first started it?" Kushida asked.

"Not necessarily if this is all just set-up then how do you think they managed to frame Sudo? We could do the completely same thing as them and make it look like they were the ones who started it." Horikita joined in with folded arms and cold expression.

"Oh?!" Most people exclaimed at this idea as if they just understood the entire matter.

"But that's..." Kushida appeared conflicted about this approach and so did Hirata however he hadn't spoken out as Kushida did.

"Let's calm down...There is no need to frame anyone because I am sure that Sudo isn't lying." Yuichi stopped the situation from escalating and assured Kushida and Hirata that there is no need to frame anyone.

After that, Hirata also expressed his trust in Sudo, and gradually everyone decided to help out, if it's for Sudo's sake or for their points' sake doesn't matter.

However, Yuichi knew that no one will really help to solve this matter by looking for eyewitnesses so he told Sudo to ask Horikita for help and perhaps try to convince Ayanokoji to help him too, be it in persuading Horikita or whatever. Sudo didn't really want to agree since he didn't really like Horikita but after being reminded how she changed Ike and Yamauchi's opinion of her, he promised to ask her for help as sincerely as he can.

During the lunch break, Yuichi noticed Sakura leaving the classroom with her digital camera in her hands so he decided to take out his own sketchbook from his bag before following Sakura with it in his hand.

'Now...it would be best if we could meet while making it look like a coincidence. The way she goes...she is probably headed to the roof. She could take a few good photos there and almost no one goes there during the lunch break.' Yuichi now felt like a true stalker but he knew that approaching Sakura out of nowhere is an almost impossible task unless he tries to hold her there physically, she will find an excuse to run off somewhere. He must find her under coincidence and while she would be in her best mental state which is during her photo taking. Yuichi still can't believe how confident she can look on those selfies when she isn't herself but Shizuku instead.

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*Creek* "Hm?" Yuichi opened the roof's door and immediately noticed Sakura taking a few photos of the surroundings instead of selfies which brought a smile on his face.

"Eh?!" Sakura quickly turned around and her eyes widened in horror when she noticed it was Yuichi of all people. However, her horrified expression slowly disappeared as she saw Yuichi's smile. She calmed down a bit before directing her eyes towards the sketchbook Yuichi was holding.

"Hello, Sakura-san...I never expected to meet anyone here." Yuichi said softly with a slightly surprised expression but inwardly, he felt very conflicted.

"I-It's alright, I was just about to leave..." Sakura said, going to grab her bag propped against the railing.

"No need to, I am not going to disturb you. You seem to like taking photos and this time it's clear blue sky, making it perfect for a few photos." Yuichi said while sitting down in a cross-legged position, he opened his sketchbook and planned to draw a view from the roof since it indeed was a very beautiful day.

Sakura who already grabbed her bag wanted to walk away but as she was passing behind Yuichi, she couldn't help but take a peek into his sketchbook and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Whoa, your drawings look of almost the same quality as my photos!" Sakura exclaimed as she leaned above Yuichi to get an even better look at his drawings of the different sceneries.

"Thank you, it's my hobby to draw whenever I am bored or when I feel uneasy." Yuichi genuinely thanked her with a smile while looking up at her face.

She looked down at his face and was a bit spooked by how close their faces were to each other. She quickly took a few steps back before slowly approaching him from his side instead of behind.

"Still, they look more...- I don't know how to describe this feeling." Sakura muttered while inspecting his drawings.

"Alive? Emotional?" Yuichi asked with a knowing smirk. He also found it hard to describe when one compares his drawings with the photos.

"Emotional! That's the word!" She said with a bright smile before she quickly recovered and her shy expression appeared once again.

"So...your hobby is taking photos?" Yuichi asked her while glancing at the digital camera in her hands he previously saved from crashing into the ground.

"Y-yeah, if you want to take a look, I can show you a few photos of a few sceneries I have been able to take during those few months here..." She said shyly while holding out her camera with a slightly blushing face.

"Hm? Sure, have you already take a photo of the sunset from up here? I have already been here a few times during the sunset but I wasn't really confident in drawing it." Yuichi replied and asked her with a curious expression.

The entire "coincidence" that Yuichi wanted to happen really happened and right now, he wasn't even pretending to be interested in her photos since both found each other's hobby very interesting. Yuichi even forgot about the entire matter with her being a witness and was just fully focused on their hobbies.

"Eh? No, unfortunately, I have yet to take a picture of the sunset from here but I think you should at least try to draw it. Your drawings are excellent, I would like to compare your drawing of sunset with my own picture of sunset." Sakura sat down next to Yuichi on the bench and said with a slightly sad expression.

"Hm? Maybe I will try it but I still think that night's sky is where my talent lies." Yuichi was slightly surprised by Sakura's words and how she is talking to him so casually before he replied with his honest thoughts before flipping a few pages, showing her a few of his best drawings of the night sky.

Sakura just stared at it with her sparkling eyes wide open.

They continued talking for a few minutes before a brief silence filled the roof.

"...Iwamura-kun? I- Did you-" She was trying to ask him something but she kept on stuttering.

"Is this about eyewitnesses?" Yuichi asked softly with a faint smile while focusing on his drawing.

"Eh?" Sakura exclaimed in confusion with a slightly nervous expression.

"No need to be nervous. I won't tell anyone." Yuichi replied, reassuring her.

"I-I don't know-" She distanced herself a little bit, trying to excuse herself most likely but Yuichi interrupted her once again.

"We both witnessed the brawl. There is no need to be nervous about getting involved, we are in this together." Yuichi said with a comforting smile which prompted Sakura to open her eyes wide in surprise.

"S-so the reason why we bumped into each other back then wasn't just coincidence?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yes, we both witnesses it..." Yuichi replied which confused Sakura.

"T-then why would I-Iwamura-kun not come forward when sensei asked for eyewitnesses?" Sakura asked with a completely confused expression since she was aware that Sudo was his friend.

"Because I have no evidence...Anyone can just come forward and claim that he witnessed it but without any evidence, it is completely useless, therefore, there is no reason for you to worry." Yuichi said with a soft smile, watching for changes in her expression.

As Yuichi expected, when Sakura heard his words, she calmed down a bit but then it was replaced by a guilty expression.

'She has some kind of evidence...' Yuichi thought but he decided not to force any further.