Exposed

Yuki's speech went a lot better than she expected. Of course that didn't mean it wasn't free of errors, and she certainly flubbed up some words here and there from the anxiety. Arata was proud of her for standing up on her own two feet. Even if it did require a little bit of push from him.

"I know that perhaps I might not seem like a leader… Um, but…" Yuki came to the conclusion of her speech. "I know that I do care about the students of the school here, even though I've only been here a few months... And I want to help support everyone as best I can." The audience gave her a solid round of applause as she stepped away from the podium.

"Nice job Yuki." Yogi gave her a glowing review to her speech. "You really killed it out there."

"Yeah…" She replied, sounding nearly out of breath for someone who didn't do anything physical. "It was… So exhilarating and I… Someone catch me." Her body couldn't take anymore of the stress that she was feeling with all those eyes on her. Now it had failed and she fainted. Fortunately, Arata was there to catch her in his arms.

"Sheesh, we might've pushed her a little too far." He said as he princess carried the girl. Yuki had a real cute sleeping face as he felt the warmth of her body on his. "Do you mind keeping an eye on her?" Arata dropped her off to Ichiri, this being an attempt to talk with the withdrawn girl.

"She'll be fine with me." She responded with a dejected tone. Her eyes didn't even move to meet his gaze as he placed the unconscious girl down against the wall. The boy felt bad about the way she was. Mainly because it was his fault, but right now he couldn't focus on it. There was still one more person left to give their speech The one wildcard that left everyone unsure of her true motives.

Syari walked up to the stand with a proper and strong stride. She set down her papers down and cleared her throat to begin talking.

"Students, I'm sure that most of you haven't heard of me." She began. "And perhaps you would be wondering why someone like me would want to run." Syari gave off the standard list of items to sell her case. Everything seemed so basic, that he didn't think much of it. After all, if that was all she had to offer, then the students would most certainly just vote for Misei.

What was he so worried for then? At this current rate, she just seemed to be as arrogant as Ichiri. The only difference between them was the level of maturity that was displayed. However, what she would say next sent chills down his spine. "However the true reason I ran for our prestigious student council president position is simple. It's because of Arata Kashimura." She pointed right at the boy.

"Huh?" Everyone around him turned their heads to look at him. The crowd had audible confusion as they murmured among themselves. What could she possibly mean by that?

"Do you… Know who that girl is?" Misei asked.

"No." He answered. "I only just met her for the first time with you." Arata was really concerned at this revelation. She already seemed suspicious of him when they talked the other day, but this move by her was completely unexpected.

"Think about it." She explained her case. "Doesn't anyone think it odd how everyone running in our student council is related to him one way or another?" There was a point there. It was one thing that he knew all the candidate outside of Syari, but another thing considering he was good friends with all of them. To the point that, though not to the awareness of most, a fair bit of the girls had romantic feelings for him.

That was a hefty thing to bring up to the crowd. It certainly got them thinking, which now made him worry his presence could hurt all the girls around him. "At first, I thought he was a lecherous soul playing all those girls in some type of harem." When she said that out loud to everyone, it got him hot under the collar. To be viewed as a playboy would certainly bring about some issues in his school life. "But that made no sense to me, since he was only a loner until shortly after this school year ended."

That was another fair point to bring up that everyone knew about, but didn't want to speak up about. "That was when I learned the truth. He only appeared to make a major change because… He was blackmailed." The moment she was finished, the audience fell into an uproar in the shock from the news. Things just went from bad to worse for the boy and his friends. "So Kashimura." Syari turned to address him. "Perhaps you would like to explain yourself?" This was her challenge to him.

"What should we do?" Yurime asked with worry. After all, this was the one thing she feared most. Her past actions coming back to haunt not just her, but also those around her.

"This seems to be going a bit too far." Said Misei.

"Yes, perhaps we should ask one of the teachers to step in and put an end to this charade." Misao followed up. The pair of them understandably wanted to protect Arata, but he disagreed with the plan.

"No, I'm going up there by myself." He told them, doing his best to stand tall. "If a teacher stops this now, everyone in school's going to have questions about me." A dark cloud hanging over his head with his position, and especially his relationships to whoever could win this was going to hurt all of them. This was one time he couldn't run away.

"Don't worry." Yogi grabbed him by the shoulder, providing a momentary pause in the moment. "I'm sure that you'll do the right thing."

"Thanks Yogi." He hoped that boy would be right.

"H-hello everyone." Arata greeted the crowd as all eyes fell on him. This was nothing like a proper presentation. With those, he already knew what to say, but now the boy was required to think of his feet. "So, about that whole blackmail business…"

"Is it true?" Someone asked out loud the question everyone had on their mind.

"It is." He quietly admitted into the mic.

"Why would he tell them that?" Yurime asked. "They might've believed him if he lied."

"That Gun girl would mostly accuse him of lying." Misei answered. "Then we'd just end up in a he said, she said situation."

"I think it's because he's trying to be a more honest person." Misao had a different take. This boy found himself entangled in more than just this moment. All his friends around him had their own secrets, and he became more a part of them the longer he was around. That couldn't be healthy for any one person.

"And I'm sure you all know what the details of that blackmail was, considering what else I've revealed of myself." Now that people were aware of his otaku status, it no longer mattered to him about discussing it. However, that wouldn't soften the blow that someone at this school threatened him.

"Not only that, but it was covered up wasn't it?" Syari continued on her assault, taking the mic away from him. "You're supposedly friends with both our president and vice president. Yet no punishment was dealt. Was it because… Those two considered themselves close to your blackmailer?" The rumblings of discussion of the students started up. It was a worthwhile question, for who would want that as their leader?

"No, it was because I didn't want any punishment for them." He answered. Arata did his best not to turn his gaze towards Yurime or Erina. His pure focus had to be with the person on stage besides him. "It was because of me. Our student council had nothing to do with it."

"That can't be allowed to pass." She countered. "It's a serious crime you know. Choosing to allow yourself to be abused is not a wise idea. Especially if it lets people do such bad things."

"Not that it matters now. No one knows who they are outside of myself and certain others. So you can't go about punishing people just because their connected to me."

"That's just the thing. I already know the two girls who did such a heinous thing to you." His heart sank at her revelation. Was that just a bluff? No, she was specific in saying that it was two girls. At this point, everyone assumed that it was only one person. Twice was a bit wild. "But perhaps you should be the one to tell us who they are." She handed him back the microphone.

"…" The people in the crowd really wanted to know this, and now Arata was stuck in a tight spot. Obviously he wasn't about to expose two of his friends. Yet if he denied them the knowledge, then they'd view it as someone covering it up for the sake of the student council. This must've been Syari's plan all along. Then she'd have a good chance of winning thanks to her getting credit for bringing this out to the light.

At this point, this circus should've gotten some teachers to put a stop to this on their own accord. Were they also wondering who was responsible for the blackmail? So that they could properly punish the students breaking the rules. Unless… That philosophy that they used during the culture festival. The one for the second year play. Did they want them to sort out their own problems? Just as long as no one's life or health was in danger? If that was the case, then it was time for him to overcome this.

If he was going to get out of this on the winning side, then he'd have to make an appeal of a lifetime. Those come from the heart. At least, he hoped that his dad's advice would work here. "I won't." He answered her question.

"Oh? So you'll continue to cover for your abusers?" She asked.

"No, they aren't my abuser." Arata stood firm against her. "Everyone, she's right when she says that what they did was horrible, and I'd never say that anyone should do it regardless of reason." But… But could he truly say that it was a negative experience. "A long time ago, I made the decision to avoid people. Because I got hurt real bad." It wasn't easy to tell everyone what happened to him as a child, but it was the only way.

Perhaps one might not agree with him. He would argue any disagreement was fueled by the negativity of his specific situation. But there was an important lesson that he needed to learn thanks to it.

"An old lady told me that I should try and make friends. She always tried to push me to move past my doubt. I didn't listen then, but when I felt my private life was at stake, it pushed me to do things I never considered doing." As terrible as the overhanging cloud was, he honestly had the time of his life. The school dance, field trip and play. It was all because of that.

"And then, the second time I got blackmailed." He continued the story. "I learned just how much I cared about the friends I made alone the way." Arata out to his friends sitting in the front row, and those watching him from backstage. "And I realized how much they all cared about me."

"Are you honestly telling us all that this was a good thing?" She asked him, getting miffed at how he stood firm.

"Blackmail might not be good." He responded. "But, I don't regret a single second of what happened because of it."

"…" The entire room was silent after he finished his speech. Syari was speechless at his unwavering spirit, as she scanned the crowd to see what would be the reaction. Slowly, students began to start clapping. Soon, the entire room was filled with a roar of applause. Arata breathed one big sigh of relief. His message was heard, and it resonated with the students of his age.

"Woo! We should vote you to be the student president." Someone cried out. A fair bit of the audience agreed audible, but Arata put a stop to it.

"Eh… If you really like me, just vote for Misei." As much as he wanted to avoid doing an endorsement, it was probably best if they stuck with the status quo. Silently, he apologized to Ichiri and Yuki about that.

But right now, things were rosy for everyone.