"Sakura?"
Hearing Hikigaya's words, Horikita also noticed that the girl in the picture did resemble Sakura a bit. However, her style, outfit, and overall vibe were completely different from the Sakura they knew.
"That's right! The girl in the picture is probably Sakura. Her stage na is [Shizuku]."
Kushida added.
Kushida ntioned that she had seen her in a magazine before. After being asked by Horikita and the others today, she vaguely recalled the connection and followed this lead to uncover Sakura's "other side."
She then started flipping through the photos. One of them, uploaded around the beginning of the school year, had a background that faintly showed a dormitory door. This confird Kushida's theory—Sakura was indeed [Shizuku], a hidden gravure idol!
"Kushida, you're amazing."
Horikita sincerely praised her.
It had only been a few hours since she asked Kushida for help, yet she had already gathered such important information. Even Horikita had to admit she couldn't match that level of skill.
Hearing this, Kushida smiled. She disliked Horikita, but precisely because of that, seeing Horikita genuinely admit her own shortcomings and complint her made Kushida feel an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
"I looked up so info on [Shizuku], but there's not much available. It seems like she suddenly got really popular for a while and then just disappeared. You know how this industry works—most people are like shooting stars, shining for a mont before fading away. Only a few actually make it big. Without exposure, [Shizuku] was quickly forgotten, and now she only occasionally posts pictures."
"I see. Thank you, Kushida. But let's end this matter here. Also, please don't tell anyone else about this. I want only the three of us to know."
Horikita suddenly said.
Kushida was montarily stunned, not understanding why. Horikita sighed and then explained the situation to her.
"So even if we find a witness, it won't change the fact that Sudou is getting punished?"
Kushida suddenly understood, then put on a perfectly tid look of concern—though whether she actually felt that way was unclear.
She instinctively glanced at Hikigaya, who had been silent the whole ti, staring at his computer screen. Tch... n really are all the sa!
"But even if the punishnt can't be overturned, having a witness statent is still better than nothing, right? Maybe it could at least reduce the punishnt?"
Kushida kept up her usual friendly persona while also noticing a flaw in Horikita's reasoning. She decided to probe further.
Horikita glanced at Hikigaya. Sensing her gaze, Kushida also turned to look at him.
"If Sakura doesn't want to testify, we should respect her choice."
"But..."
Kushida wanted to press further but stopped when she noticed the cold look in Hikigaya's eyes.
"In that case, I won't take up any more of your ti. I'll try to think of other ways to resolve this."
Horikita stood up, ready to leave. But as she reached the doorway, she suddenly paused and looked back at Kushida, as if to say, "Aren't you leaving too?"
Noticing Horikita's gaze, Kushida cursed her in her mind but still obediently got up.
"You're right, it's getting late. We shouldn't disturb Hikigaya-kun any longer."
"Horikita."
Just as Horikita was putting on her shoes, Hikigaya suddenly called out to her and said aningfully,
"As compensation, if nothing else works, I have one last thod."
Horikita's expression hardened. She knew this was Hikigaya's way of bargaining for Sakura's sake. She gave a slight nod.
Kushida, not understanding the hidden aning behind their exchange, looked back and forth between them, as if trying to figure out what secret they were keeping from her.
But neither of them paid her any attention. Horikita and Kushida left one after the other.
Hikigaya let out a long sigh as he sat in his chair. He was still surprised that Sakura was actually a gravure idol—after all, the difference between her two personas was too extre.
But because of that, he also realized there was sothing deeper hidden in Sakura's heart. That was what made him feel conflicted.
At that mont, his phone vibrated on the desk.
The first ssage was from Kushida—a string of "Damn you, bastard!" followed by dozens of bloody knife emojis.
Hikigaya ignored it without hesitation and checked the new ssage.
[Sakura: Hikigaya-kun, are you free right now? I have sothing I'd like to talk to you about. If you can, please co to...]
Sakura?
Hikigaya thought for a mont before replying, "I'm on my way," then headed out.
The first-year dorms were in the sa building, but the girls' rooms were on the upper floors. Hikigaya took the elevator to the 11th floor, where Sakura's room was. Fortunately, he didn't run into any other girls on the way.
He stopped in front of Room 1106. The mont he pressed the doorbell, the door swung open as if soone had been waiting behind it. Sakura, dressed in casual clothes, stood there with her head slightly lowered, looking nervous.
"G-Good evening."
"Good evening, Sakura."
Sakura quickly ushered Hikigaya inside. Once the door was closed, she finally seed to relax a little, standing up straighter. It seed that being in an enclosed space made her feel safer.
Her room had a typical feminine touch, leaning towards pink tones. But Hikigaya soon noticed sothing strange. The room felt *too* closed off. Even though they were on the 11th floor, the balcony curtains were tightly shut. The way the furniture and objects were arranged almost seed to create a barrier around her.
"H-Hikigaya-kun, do you want sothing to drink?"
Sakura seed extra nervous, completely different from how she usually spoke in private.
"Just water is fine."
Hikigaya took in everything happening around him.
"S-Sorry, I only have bottled water."
She handed him a bottle, and he accepted it. Then silence fell over the room. It was an awkward, heavy silence.
Seeing this, Hikigaya spoke first. "Sakura, you said you had sothing important to talk about?"
Sakura nodded, looking up at him. Hikigaya didn't rush her and simply waited.
After taking a deep breath, she finally spoke. "It's about that day..."
She hesitantly explained how she had witnessed Sudou fighting with the Class C students at the special teaching building. When she finished, Hikigaya handed her another bottle of water.
Sakura mumbled a quiet "thank you" before taking a few sips, clearly trying to calm herself down.
"I see."
Hikigaya nodded, his expression unchanged. "Can I ask you a question?"
Sakura nodded.
"I'm not blaming you or anything like that. I understand why you didn't step forward right away. But... why are you telling this now?"
—
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