#16 Trial

I was sitting at my seat and listening to Hirata and Kushida exchanging all the information they could find about Sudo's incident.

"So you are saying that the entire incident is class C's scheme?" Hirata said with a slightly angry expression.

"That's right, Walker-kun was the one who was able to deduce it" Kushida tried to praise me before one of the leaders of the class.

Hopefully, Kushida's praising won't cause me any troubles but right after I thought that, Hirata came to my seat.

"Walker-kun, thank you for helping out with investigating" Hirata said with a grateful expression

"Well, we are classmates so it is only expected that I help out a little" I answered him briefly without trying to continue the conversation, after all, this conversation between us could attract a bit of attention, especially from girls.

Hirata sensed that I didn't want to continue the conversation so he said thank you for the last time and went away.

.

.

.

After the last bell rang indicating the end of the last class for today, everyone went their way, however, I stayed behind since Sakura was absentmindedly looking from the window.

"Sakura-san" I came to her and tried to wake her up from her thoughts.

"Eh? Y-yes Walker-kun?" She answered in a very low and weak voice. She is really shy and doesn't like to be around the people she doesn't know.

"Can we talk for a bit?" I asked her

"I-I should-" I already anticipated that she will try to refuse so I interrupted her.

"It's about Sudo-kun. I think it's in your own interest to talk to me" I told her with a light threat.

"I-I am sorry-" She tried to run away from the classroom. Since no one was in the classroom anymore I caught her wrist and pinned her against the wall.

"Ah!" She was shaking in fear but she didn't scream. She couldn't even look at me.

"Look me in the eyes!" I said aloud with strong voice. She was still shaking but she still did as I said unconsciously.

"Do you see any ill intent in my eyes towards you?" I asked her and she focused on looking right into my eyes. After a few seconds, she shook her head and started to calm down so I released her.

"I know you witnessed the Sudo-kun's fight but I have no intention of telling anyone."

"W-why?" She seemed surprised by the fact that I won't tell anyone about her.

"You must have your own reason for doing so... I won't force you to say anything, you have no obligation to help your classmates but if you will remain the way you are now you will never evolve as a person. There is nothing wrong with not wanting to get involved in trouble or with other people but you won't be able to always run away once you step into the world of adults. I just wanted to help you with your weakness and not to force trouble onto you."

"...But why would you want to help me?" Sakura asked me.

"Good question. I won't be like Kushida-san and say that I want to be your friend or that I pity you. I will be completely honest with you. We don't talk to each other much, I couldn't care any less about your personal life or how you want to live, however, we are now classmates and we will be for the next 3 years so we should at least try to help each other if we want to move forward"

This was probably the best answer for a person like Sakura. People like her tend to not trust overly friendly people like Kushida so the best way is to tell her your honest thoughts.

"...So what should I do?" She asked me with moist eyes

"Why are you asking me that? You should do whatever you want to do... I tried to help you just because I felt like it, you don't have to do the same thing for Sudo-kun. This is your life and you should live it the way you want to so you won't have any regrets. Call me if you ever need anything, I won't say that I will help you with everything but I might at least consider it." I threw a paper with my phone number at her and walked out of the classroom, leaving confused Sakura behind.

----2 days later----

It was already after school when my phone started nonstop vibrating which indicated that someone was calling me. I took out my phone and saw an unknown number. I wanted to ignore it but then I remembered I gave Sakura my phone number a few days ago so I accepted the call.

"Yes? Who is it?"

"Umm... I- It's me Sakura" Weak voice came from the other side.

"Ah, Sakura-san. Is there something you need from me?"

"You see... I- I have a little problem. Could you please meet me at the mall?"

"Hmm, I can go, I will be there right away" I hung up and changed my destination.

.

.

.

When I came to our meeting place I saw Sakura looking with a sad expression at her camera in her hands. I guess she broke it yesterday when she accidentally stumbled over when she tried to run away from Kushida.

"Did your camera broke yesterday when Kushida-san tried to talk to you?" I frankly asked.

"Ah! Walker-kun, you actually saw that?" She jumped up, surprised by my sudden appearance.

You should pay more attention to your surroundings...

"Yes, so is it actually broken or for what reason did you call me?"

"I tried to talk to her but in the end, I just couldn't do it. As for the reason why I called for your help... I- I would like you to come with me to an electronics store if you don't mind..." She couldn't even look at me while saying that. I guess she is too uncomfortable being here with only me.

"Well, I don't mind going with you but don't you want me to call one more person? You seem to feel rather uncomfortable being here all alone with me"

"Wha- No! no! no! Th- that's not it, please this is just misunderstanding"

It seems like I made her even more uncomfortable...

"Don't worry but are you sure you don't want 1 more person to come?"

"Well...there might be 1 more person who I wouldn't mind being here but I wouldn't want you to wait for them since I am already taking your free time by coming here to help me" Sakura said while firmly clutching her skirt with her hands.

"Alright, but if you want me to help you, at least look me in the eyes when you speak with me. Do you think you can do that?" I asked her with a small smile.

"I- I think I can..." She said this while trying her best to look in my eyes.

"Ok, let's not waste time standing here" I said and started to walk towards the electronics store.

.

.

.

"Hmm, it's no good. Do you have a warranty?" An employee asked Sakura for her warranty and she shivered a bit when she saw him look at her but she still gave it to him.

...Now I understand why she wanted someone to come with her. This piece of shit was checking her boobs out while trying to make it look like he was checking the warranty period. I don't like the look in his eyes. Perverts like Ike are fine since they are just idiots who are actually harmless, however, this guy is probably the type to do something illegal and harmful. These kinds of perverts should just die. I am not trying to play a hero but I fucking despise people like that. For me, rape is a much worse crime than murder.

"It's still within the warranty period. You are really lucky, the damaged parts will be replaced by new ones for free. Could you please fill out this form? We will need your personal information including contact information..."

He gave Sakura the form about repairs and she started to tremble.

Could you at least wipe off that drool when you are looking at her? Should I help her?

*sigh* What am I even thinking about, this can't be used as a test for her. That guy is really dangerous, this is no time to boost her confidence.

I took the pen Sakura was holding and filled out the form with my personal information.

"Since you are planning to lend me that camera, they can directly send it to me after it is repaired, no?" I told Sakura with an encouraging smile.

"Huh? Ah, y- yes" She was able to play along.

"But sir, isn't this camera hers?" The employee clearly didn't like what I did but I couldn't care any less.

"Indeed, the camera belongs to her but since she also agreed with this there shouldn't be any problem with it or is there some kind of problem?" I narrowed my eyes and asked him.

"Eh, no there isn't any problem" He flinched when he saw the look in my eyes and let the matter go.

"Ok, Airi-chan you can go ahead I want to ask more about repairs details, I will quickly catch up to you" I said with a helpless smile hoping that she will play along.

"Eeeh?! O- ok..." She immediately blushed when she heard me call her by her first name but after seeing my expression she decided to play along and after that, she left me and the employee alone"

"Could you lend me your ear for a bit?" I said to him with a friendly smile. He seemed confused but he still leaned forward.

"*Look pal, I saw how you were checking out her boobs. If you will try to make a move on my girlfriend...I WILL KILL YOU*" I whispered into his ear with a frosty cold voice. He wanted to laugh it off but when he saw my emotionless expression he stopped himself from laughing.

"I hope you will stay out of trouble, thank you for the trouble" I told him and followed after Sakura.

.

.

.

"Sorry about calling you by your first name like that without your permission" I apologized after catching up to Sakura.

"N- no it's ok. I know that you had your reasons..."

"Anyway, today's matter got resolved so I should head back to dorms. You should be careful and pay attention to your surroundings if something happens don't hesitate to call me" I told her and went my way.

I don't know if that threat was enough to scare him but I should pay more attention to Sakura for now. I am not a hero, however, I definitely am not a scum who would let his classmate get raped. I got myself involved in this so I will protect her with everything I got.

.

.

.

-----Student council room-----

"We will now hold the trial regarding the violent incident involving class D and class C..." The girl beside Horikita Manabu continued talking and explaining the rules of the trial. I was almost put to sleep after hearing all that formal bullshit, at least I got to know that she is student council secretary, Akane Tachibana.

The ones who were participating in this trial from class D were Ayanokoji, Horikita, Sakura and me, of course, there was also our homeroom teacher.

"Now I will read aloud the stories from both sides" Tachibana said and started to read aloud from her papers.

Not long after that Sudo started to cause a commotion, telling how their story is fake. On the other side, the only one who was defending their story was class C's homeroom teacher which was quite strange for others. The 3 injured students didn't even try to defend themselves, however, it was still a fact that Sudo injured them and he sustained no injuries.

On our side, Horikita had problems speaking out because of her brother's presence and Sudo had no way to defend himself. I didn't bother to say anything aloud because I already knew how this trial will end.

Ayanokoji also noticed Horikita's silence and he tried to tickle her to force her out of her uncomfortable zone. He succeeded and Horikita finally started to defend Sudo's actions. She started explaining how Sudo wouldn't be able to beat all of them without even sustaining injuries and the next round of barking began.

"It is still a word against word. Without any evidence, your class is most likely to take the blame. It would be good for this matter to be resolved before it will drag out too long and I will be forced to issue an expulsion for the loser of the trial." The student council president told us while adjusting his glasses, it was apparent that he didn't want to waste any more time with this matter.

"I- I would-" Sakura tried to say something, perhaps she wanted to say that she has evidence but she was interrupted by one of the guys from class C.

"We are at fault here..."

I grinned right after hearing his words and it seemed that Chabashira-sensei looked at me.

Everyone looked at him with a surprised expression, even their own homeroom teacher wasn't an exception.

After the matter got resolved, the 3 students from class C got a suspension for 1 week and all of us were ordered to leave the room. However, when I was about to leave, Horikita Manabu requested me to remain.

"What have you done?" He asked me with narrowed eyes right after the only 3 of us remained in the room.

"What do you mean?" I asked him in a playful manner.

"I saw you grinning when they confessed, the rest of the people became surprised yet you were calm from the start to the end of the trial. I also noticed that those 3 students couldn't even look at you" He explained

"Wow! As expected of student council president, always so aware of his surroundings" I said with hands in my pockets.

"So are you going to tell me?" Horikita Manabu asked me with narrowed eyes.

...

-----(Start of Flashback)-----

I am currently waiting in some random storage room.

I was getting bored by waiting but door suddenly opened and 3 students came in.

"Huh? What are you doing here and where is Kushida-san?" They were exactly the 3 injured students from class C.

"Sorry boys for destroying your fantasies with Kushida-san. She won't be coming here today"

"Tch, there is nothing for us to do, let's go back" One guy said to others and tried to open the door but I stopped him before he could touch the handle.

"I recommend you not to run away before you will hear me out. You might get expelled and even worse"

"Huh? What do you mean" (class C)

"It's about Sudo-kun. I already know that it's just your stupid scheme. I also sent your picture to Sudo-kun and he said that he didn't beat you up so much."

"I don't know what you are talking about..." (class C)

"Haha, don't worry I am not recording this conversation" I said with a light laugh and showed them my phone that was turned off.

"...And? Even if you know all these things, you have no evidence." (class C)

"Wrong, we have evidence but I don't feel like using it. I want you to taste the defeat by your own tactic" I said aloud and started to equip the gloves I borrowed from someone.

I also took out scissors from my pocket and started playing with them.

"What are you trying to do?!" (class C)

"Don't worry these aren't for you. What do you think the school would do if they got a complaint from a stabbed student? Would they just expelled attackers or would even police got involved?"

"If you think that your threats will work, you are extremely wrong" One of the guys said and tried to leave once again.

"Security camera already saw you walking in here. Do you think I would need any more evidence that you stabbed me? This would be more than enough"

"haha, don't make me laugh, who would believe you that you are willing to stab yourself for this kind of matter" He said with a little uncertainty.

What is the worst enemy to face? Strong one? Clever one? All of them have some kind of weakness. However, no one wants to fight with a crazy person.

I grabbed the scissors and stabbed my leg, of course, not too deep I am not someone who enjoys physical pain. This much would be enough to actually scare them.

"?! Y-you?!" They were too scared to even talk after seeing how I stabbed myself without any hesitation with a smiling expression.

"So? Should I make a complaint that students from class C tried to take revenge on class D by attacking and stabbing a student from class D? I don't think this will end with just expulsion... hehe" I started to laugh to make them even more scared.

"Y-you, there is no way you can just throw the blame at us, it will be our word against yours" They were still trying to fight back but it was apparent that they were scared.

"Like I already said...security camera saw you coming in and even if I didn't wear gloves and left fingerprints on scissors, do you think anyone would believe that someone would deliberately stab themselves to frame someone? They would believe someone with serious injuries rather than to believe students who could even have the motive to take revenge. It's exactly the same situation how you are trying to frame Sudo-kun"

"...What do you want?"

"Isn't it clear? I want you to confess that it's all your fault before the student council president during the trial and don't talk about what happened in this room to anyone if I will find out that you betrayed me...I will make sure that you and your whole family will suffer" I said with an emotionless expression.

"W-we will do it and we won't talk about this..." He said while looking downwards.

"I will bandage my leg and then you will clean the blood on the floor" I bandaged my leg and also changed the trousers since there was a hole in them and blood.

"I hope you will make a plausible excuse for your failure to Ryuen" I said before walking out of the room.

-----(End of Flashback)-----

"And what do I get from telling you, student council president?" I shoved my hands into my pockets.

He remained quiet for a while but then he started talking again.

"I owe you one, however, I never said that I will do everything in my power to help you"

"Huh?!" His statement surprised his secretary, Tachibana.

"Heh, so you are saying that if I tell you, you will help me no matter what as long as it is within your power?" I asked him and he just nodded in response.

Hmm, I guess there is no demerit in telling him.

I rolled up my trousers and showed him my bandaged leg.

"?! You..." This was probably for the first time I saw him with a shocked expression. He is really something else, he was able to deduce what I did just by seeing my injury, however, Tachibana probably didn't get it, seeing her confused expression.

"Don't forget about our deal. Now if you will excuse me I have to go back" I said with a smile and left.

-----(Horikita Manabu's POV)-----

"What was that injury?" Tachibana asked me after Walker closed the door behind him.

"...You don't need to know, however, I will give you small advice. Don't provoke that guy without any reason"

"Huh? President, are you saying I have to be careful around the 1st-year student from class D?"

"That's right and it would be better for you not to regard him as normal student from class D"

There is no way he is just 15 years old, a teenager wouldn't be able to do such a thing. There is also no information about his background... I will have to observe him until my graduation, hopefully, he isn't dangerous to this school.

-----(Horikita Manabu's POV end)-----