#57 Gathering clues

"W-what if I had some kind of evidence?" Sakura asked in low voice while looking downward.

"Hm? I don't know...If you want to help our classmate, you can reveal it." Yuichi replied with a confused expression and this time it was Sakura's time to be confused.

"Eh? Iwamura-kun wouldn't want me to help out?"

"Don't get me wrong, Sudo is my friend indeed however I am also aware that this entire situation is also his fault for having such a short temper. It's not like I don't want you to come up with super clear evidence to help Sudo but I wouldn't force you to do that in exchange for Sudo's innocence. It's partly his fault, there is no need for you to go out of your way and help him." Yuichi replied and shrugged his shoulders before focusing on his drawing once again.

'I don't think it's about her not wanting to get involved but her lack of self-confidence despite being "Shizuku".' Yuichi thought and he kinda understood why would Sakura try to hide the fact that she is Shizuku but on the other hand, he couldn't understand why would she be so shy and lacking in terms of self-confidence.

"...I-I see" Sakura stared at Yuichi with a surprised expression before she muttered and nodded her head.

They talked for a while before Sakura decided to go back to the classroom, maybe she already depleted her energy for social interaction.

"Sakura-san..." Yuichi called out before she could leave which prompted her to stop, she turned around with a confused expression and saw that Yuichi wanted to say something but he was hesitating.

"...If you ever need help, don't hesitate to ask" Yuichi said before closing his eyes and opening them only after a few seconds.

Sakura nodded her head timidly before leaving the roof.

Yuichi kept checking her blog and saw that the stalker or troll has kept going in every comment section of each new picture, always writing very disturbing stuff, Yuichi found it very hard to believe that someone like that would be on this school's campus despite this being an extremely large school, almost like a small city. Still, he wanted to assure her that she is free to ask him for help and hopefully, she won't hesitate after today's talk.

One of the main reasons he did this was to discover who exactly Sakura Airi is...Now that he knows some basics, he really wants her to gain some confidence because it would be troublesome if she was so timid all years of their High school life.

'I am gambling right here...I have no idea what's her true personality like even though I saw her guilty expression, there is no guarantee that she will step out as eyewitness. I choose the soft way which now all depends on her whether she decides to help or not. I could have gone a much safer way and try to force information out of her through sheer pressure and simply force her to become more confident, something similar I am doing with Horikita, however, it could also cause some trauma to her, I have no idea what had happened to her that she is so timid.' Yuichi thought while looking up at the clear blue sky.

Yuichi decided to go back to the classroom around after 5 minutes Sakura left.

When the classes were over for the day, Yuichi attended his club, unfortunately, Sudo couldn't go with him since the entire case was still under investigation and if he would be found guilty, he wouldn't be able to attend any club.

...After the club activities.

"...Horikita doesn't want to help me, even though I asked nicely" Sudo grumbled with a dissatisfied expression as he was walking together with Yuichi towards the dorms. Although he wasn't allowed to play, he was still free to come and watch them practice which is also a form of practice in its own way.

"Why? What did she tell you?" Yuichi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well..." Sudo retold of what happened during the lunch break with Horikita and others.

'Hmm...looks like she doesn't care for the loss of points that much...Still, inconspicuously telling him to notice his flaws while she ignores her own flaws...She is being a bit of a hypocrite right here. But I understand what she wants from Sudo...she doesn't mean anything bad but she is a bit careless.' Yuichi thought after he heard the entire story.

"Sudo...I can talk to her and try to change her mind-"

"Really?! Thanks-"

"However! What she said isn't wrong...you are also in fault here even if they were the ones who started it." Yuichi said with narrowed eyes.

"What do you mean? How am I still at fault here?" Sudo asked, a bit upset from Yuichi's words.

"If I tell you, it will lose its entire meaning of why she refused to help you in the first place. I will give you a little hint so you can think about it before you go to bed. If they tried to frame someone like me or Hirata...do you truly think they would succeed?" Yuichi asked with a smirk.

"Eh..." Sudo looked like he couldn't even come up with the reason why would anyone even target two of them, not to mention, trying to frame them.

"Is it because you two have no fighting experience and reputation?" Sudo asked really a stupid question and Yuichi had trouble holding in his laugher.

"Pfff" Yuichi pressed the back of his palm over his lips.

"Hah?! What's funny?!"

"If you truly had good fighting experience, you would have known that you should always aim for the areas like the abdomen or legs where the bruises aren't visible to other people in plain sight. Hitting someone into the face is plain stupidity since everyone can confirm that the person you hit never had that bruise on their face a day before...And- maybe that reputation is the problem here, think about it properly later." Yuichi's eyes went a bit cold as he explained with a slightly cold smile.

"...Does that mean you have already done something like that?" Sudo asked with a curious expression.

"I have never said that." Yuichi replied with a smile before picking up the pace with his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner.

"Oi, wait for me!" Sudo shouted and started catching up to Yuichi.

.

.

The next morning, Yuichi called for the elevator and when it arrived and the doors slowly got open, he noticed Horikita standing there with her super-serious expression.

"Not a morning person, are we?" Yuichi asked as he boarded the elevator.

"Quite the opposite, I have absolutely no problem waking up early due to my balanced schedule." She closed her eyes and replied calmly before opening her eyes, suspiciously glancing at Yuichi standing next to her.

"Do you already have a planned schedule for the next 3 years? Or do you even have a prepared schedule for life after you graduate from here?" Yuichi asked with a sarcastic tone.

"...Do you know anything about Sudo's case?" Horikita chose to ignore his remarks and she asked with narrowed eyes.

"Why do you think so? By the way, I am to ask you if you don't want to reconsider helping Sudo solve this entire situation." Yuichi asked with a confused expression before saying with an oblivious smile.

"Sakura-san was the only one who acted weird when sensei asked for the eyewitnesses and she also glanced at you...What was that? I have never seen you talk with her, why would she look at you?"

"Really? Maybe she has a crush on me, who knows..." Yuichi replied while holding his chin with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"..." All he received from Horikita was her cold unamused glare.

Both exited the elevator once it arrived at the reception, walking towards the school together.

"*sigh* You want me to help Sudo yet you know something for sure...You have promised me that you will help me but if you keep hiding things from me, I can hardly follow your whims." Horikita released a tired sigh before replying with a serious expression.

"Why are you always so suspicious of me? It makes me think that you hold me in high regard in your mind. Anyway, I think that Sudo will turn better, I have directed him a bit after you turned him away by refusing to help him." Yuichi asked with a confused expression as if he was wronged by her.

"...So he told you" Horikita muttered but it was visible that she froze for a moment when she heard Yuichi speak about holding him in high regard as if she was thinking about it herself.