Chapter 5: Each and Every Prediction

It was just one day until the meeting between Sudou and Class C. With Horikita's cooperation and Sakura's testimony, as well as Kushida and Hirata's actions, our entire class felt spirited and courageous. You could say that we were united. However, it was obvious that we lacked firm, irrefutable evidence, and it would still be difficult to prove Sudou's innocence. Our deliberation would decide the outcome.

"Man, it really is hot today…"

I never thought about global warming more than when I exited a building with working air conditioning. Considering I'd likely suffer every day until August, my spirits remained low. The moment I left my dorm's lobby, hot and humid air assaulted me. While I endured the pain of my burning skin, I walked the path to school lined with green, leafy trees.

Something was different today, though. There was something on the bulletin board by the stairway's landing, a little in front of the shoe cubbies. A paper on the board said that they were looking for students with information related to Sudou and Class C.

"This—"

Clearly, somebody was trying to help. It was sincerely appreciated, because we hadn't even considered taking such measures ourselves. This mystery person was action-oriented. Furthermore, while the sign itself might have appeared a weak effort, the author also wrote that they'd be willing to give points to helpful informants. In that case, even apathetic students would pay attention.

As I scanned the message, I was quite impressed…

"Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun!" Ichinose called out from behind me.

She must have just arrived.

"I saw the paper on the bulletin board. Did you post it, Ichinose?"

Ichinose joined me in looking at the board. She appeared deeply interested.

"Hmm. I see, I see. So there's this method, too."

"Huh? This wasn't you?"

I'd thought that surely this was her strategy.

"This was probably— Ah, he's here! Good morning, Kanzaki-kun."

Ichinose raised her hand up and signaled to a lone male student. The boy noticed Ichinose, and approached us with quiet steps.

"Did you put this up, Kanzaki-kun?"

"Yeah. I made and posted it on Friday. Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, no. Not at all. My friend here just wanted to know who did it. Ah, I'll introduce you two. Kanzaki-kun from Class B, this is Ayanokouji-kun from Class D."

"Nice to meet you, Kanzaki."

His demeanor was stiff, but he appeared to be a serious student. He was tall and slender. A pretty boy, but in a different way from Hirata. I took his outstretched hand.

"How's it going, Kanzaki-kun? Did you get anything reliable?"

"Unfortunately, I haven't received any useful information."

"I see. Well, how about we look at the bulletin board."

"At the bulletin board? Did you put up another poster?"

Ichinose wore a thin smile, indicating it was something else.

"Have you ever checked out the school homepage? There's a message board. I requested that people come forward with information there. I said that if there anyone witnessed a violent incident at our school, I'd like to hear about it."

After she said that, Ichinose showed us her phone's screen. It showed a message seeking out witnesses, as well as a count for the number of people who'd viewed it. The displayed number was still only in the dozens, but it was much more efficient than asking people directly. Also, the message posted to the homepage offered compensation to witnesses and people with helpful information.

"Ah, regarding the stuff about points, don't worry. We just decided to do that on our own. Besides, it will probably be difficult for us to get new information now. Ah!"

"What's the matter?"

"It looks like I just got two messages regarding the post. There might be a little information."

Ichinose checked her phone for confirmation. After she'd read the messages, a slight smile crept onto her face.

<Illustration >

"Just like this."

She showed me her phone so I could read the message for myself.

"It looks like one of the boys from Class C, Ishizaki-kun, was a bad seed in junior high. He was good at fighting, and terrorized the locals. A kid from his hometown probably leaked this."

"Interesting," Kanzaki muttered, also reading the message.

Like Kanzaki, I found the information quite interesting. Everyone had assumed that the three students Sudou fought were normal kids. However, if they were troublemakers too, then that was a different story. As for the other two, being basketball players meant they probably had good motor skills. Yet Sudou had turned the tables, and beat them all without once being hit himself. I couldn't help but feel there was something unnatural about that.

"Kanzaki-kun, what do you think?"

"Perhaps they let Sudou beat them up on purpose. If the three of them had wanted to set a trap for Sudou, the story would make perfect sense. The connection seems natural."

"Yeah, I think so too. I knew you'd figure it out, Kanzaki-kun. Great work. If we can verify this information, then we could be one step closer to proving Sudou-kun's innocence. But what we have is still pretty weak, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Even if we managed to convince people with this new evidence, we're really only halfway there. The fact that it was such a one-sided fight definitely puts a lot of pressure on us."

Sudou probably wouldn't want to shoulder some of the guilt alongside the others. Neither party wanted to be liable for this situation. If we got testimony from Class D, though, our chances would probably be 6 to 4, or maybe 7 to 3.

"No, we can't say anything yet." I concealed Sakura's name since we were still negotiating.

"I see. Is there some reason why?"

Since the whole Sakura situation was rather delicate, I avoided explaining in detail. After all, she might decide to quit after all, even on the day of the decision. I wanted to have an escape route.

"There've been no reports of another witness, just as I thought. It would've been interesting if one had stepped forward, but I suppose it was tough. We're out of time. Our only choice now is to wait for more information from either the Internet or the bulletin board, right?"

"Is it okay to wait that long, though? I mean, those Class C guys might zero in on us."

"It'll be okay. Besides, both Class C and Class A originally targeted us, anyway."

"Ichinose is right. Besides, even if you wanted to stick by the rules, everyone is acting out of bounds. I think it's okay to ask for forgiveness this time."

Ichinose and Kanzaki made it pretty clear that they wanted to be fair and square when competing against the school and the other students.

"Anyway, we'll have to transfer points over to anyone who provides us with information. Ah, but what if someone does so anonymously? In that case, how would we transfer over the points?"

"We can tell you, if you'd like. Do you want me to?" I said.

"Do you know something, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"I just remembered something when I was messing around on my phone. Do you know the person's number?"

"It's a toll-free number, but I remember it."

Ichinose drew close and pointed at her phone. Being this near to somebody usually made people feel defenseless. I'd thought that a girl wouldn't want a man to be in her intimate space…and I didn't know exactly what it was, but Ichinose had a pleasant scent about her.

"Here, open up the points remittance screen. You should see your ID number in the upper left corner."

As I instructed her, my heart rate began to skyrocket.

"Umm…"

Ichinose's fingers were nimble. She pressed the button to open up her own points page. After the page loaded, it was displayed on the screen.

"Yep, yep. There it is. So what should I do now that I can see the ID number?"

"From your ID number, you can issue a temporary token key. If you open that, and send the key, you should get a request for payment."

"I see. Thank you!"

"Okay. Let's go, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Sure."

Ichinose started walking.

"..."

Just then, for a split second, I had seen something on Ichinose's phone. The fragment of screen I'd noticed had burned itself into my mind and wouldn't go away. What should I do? Was what I'd seen even possible? Ichinose might prove a huge obstacle for Horikita in her quest to reach Class A.