Volu 9, Chapter 6: “Sothing Vague” Part 9
Haruka excitedly greeted us as we returned to our own classroom.
“Hey, how’s Class B? It looks like a lot went down.”
“It went in an unexpected direction. Ichinose managed to repel Sakayanagi.”
Akito gave a straightforward account of what had happened.
The truth behind the rumors about Ichinose and the details about the ban the school had placed on spreading rumors moving forward.
“There should be an official warning during class this afternoon.”
“Shoplifting huh? It’s surprising to say the least, but I guess I can accept that. If there’s a past mistake floating around that you don’t want to face, it’s only natural that you would take so ti off school like she did.”
Haruka, now fully inford on the specifics of the situation, spoke words of support for Ichinose.
“In any case, the whole ordeal is over with this. We can put all these rumors aside and concentrate on the exam.”
“Isn’t that great Kiyopon?”
“Well… I guess.”
And then, my cellphone rang.
“Who’s calling?”
“A number that I don’t have registered.”
I showed my screen to Haruka and the others. It was a different number from the one that had called in the dead of night a little while ago.
I got up from my seat, took so distance from everyone else, and answered the call.
“Hello?”
“Is this Ayanokōji-kun?”
I recognized the owner of the voice imdiately. It was Sakayanagi.
“How do you know my number…? Well, it’s not too hard to figure out.”
“Yeah. As there are still about ten minutes left before lunch ends, would you mind coming out to et for a mont?”
It would’ve been easy to decline, but it also would’ve been troubleso to make ti to et up with her later.
“Where do you want to go?”
I walked out into the hallway.
“Well, how about in front of the first-floor entryway?”
“Okay.”
I ended the call and headed to the entryway.
I thought that Hashimoto and Kamuro might have co along with her, but Sakayanagi was alone when I arrived there.
“Do rest assured, there’s no one else with right now. I must say, you’ve really outdone yourself this ti, Ayanokōji-kun.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It seems as though, without noticing, you’ve gone and made your move behind the scenes. There are still a few unsolved mysteries left, but I’m not interested in talking about what happened back there. That said, there’s one thing that I’ve been curious about. Why did you decide to protect Ichinose-san?”
With that, Sakayanagi stared at , waiting for my answer.
“Wait. I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“Simply because you saved Ichinose-san, she beca defiant… no, she was able to stand back up on her own two feet again. I can’t imagine any other reason for what happened. Perhaps it’s possible that this wasn’t the first ti she’s confessed to everything. Perhaps she already told everything to soone beforehand?”
“And you think that soone is ?”
“Precisely.”
It was a completely natural conclusion for her to arrive at.
“Didn’t you use Kamuro to force to take action?”
“Use Kamuro-san?”
“Before Ichinose’s past as a shoplifter was revealed, she told everything.”
“That was sothing she did of her own accord.”
“No, that’s not true.”
“What makes you so sure?”
It seed like, for so reason, she wanted to see what information I already had.
“She presented with a can of alcohol as proof of her shoplifting. But, she hadn’t stolen it that day. Kamuro had stolen it when she first enrolled here.”
“And what’s the basis for that?”
“The sell-by date. After I saw the sell-by date on the beer that Kamuro showed , I went to the convenience store and compared it with the beer there. The sell-by date of the cans on sale in the convenience store and the can she gave differed by more than four months. It’s difficult to imagine that the can of beer she grabbed just so happened to be four months older than the rest of them. Kamuro said that you had received the can of beer she had stolen in the past, telling her that you would dispose of it. If that’s true, she either gave a can that the two of you had prepared for ahead of ti, or she got in touch with you after she left my room and got the can from you directly.”
Back then, Kamuro getting in touch with and speaking about Ichinose’s past was all within my assumptions.
“Why would I go about things in such an indirect manner?”
“To lure out, right?”
“Fufufu. Perhaps an ‘as expected of Ayanokōji-kun’ is in order here.”
“In this case, it would’ve been easy for to sit back and do nothing. Rather, that’s what I had wanted to do in the beginning.”
The one that prevented from doing so was none other than Sakayanagi herself.
She had brought Ichinose down with her own hands, and then went and offered her a hand of support imdiately after.
Of course, she had utilized a very roundabout ans of doing so.
“It was all for the sake of getting you involved, Ayanokōji-kun.”
Cane in hand, Sakayanagi slowly walked forward, shortening the distance between the two of us.
“It didn’t matter to if Ichinose-san broke down along the way, but if there was even a slight chance that you may decide to intervene, I was hoping that you would seize the opportunity to do so. The odds were only about fifty-fifty, but… I got the outco that I was hoping for in the end.”
In other words, for Sakayanagi, Ichinose’s existence didn’t matter at all.
“Let’s have a competition, Ayanokōji-kun.”
“What if I say no?”
“While you may claim that it wouldn’t cause much damage, I’d expose you as the mastermind leading Class C from the shadows. You should be able to understand that if I did sothing like that, you wouldn’t be able to resolve everything with a couple of rumors.”
Even though the school had officially placed a restriction on spreading rumors, Sakayanagi would probably still spread that information without hesitation.
“So how about it? Not willing to accept?”
“What would we compete over? You’re in Class A, I’m in Class C. The difference between us is obvious.”
“I don’t know anything about what the next exam may entail, but how about we compete over the rankings? Should you win, I’ll promise not to divulge your past to anyone moving forward.”
While that condition wasn’t too bad, there was no guarantee that she would keep to her word. I didn’t have any intention of signing an agreent or vocally recording my consent on the matter either.
“You don’t believe , do you? But it doesn’t seem like you have any other choice but to trust what I’m saying. If you don’t, your past will be exposed under broad daylight. It would beco difficult for you to live an ordinary life.”
“Do whatever you want. Just know that if that happens, you’ll never be able to have your face off against .”
“…Fufu. That’s right, isn’t it? That’s exactly what I’d expect you to say.”
Sakayanagi herself should know that I wouldn’t easily agree to face off against her.
Which was why, so far, Sakayanagi had yet to talk to anybody about my past.
“So what if I wager that I would drop out of school myself? Furthermore, you can have my father, the chairman of the school, act as a guarantor for our contest.”
Sakayanagi gave off an air of absolute confidence.
“Of course, even if you should lose to , I wouldn’t require for you to drop out as well. I don’t intend to ask for anything special either. I would, however, announce to the school that you’re the mastermind behind Class C. If I don’t have you risk at least that much, you might just withdraw from the contest altogether.”
She looked at with an expecting expression.
“If you’re really alright with those conditions, I’ll agree to it.”
“Thank you very much, Ayanokōji-kun. With this, at last, my boring school life will co to an end.”
With a content smile, Sakayanagi took her leave.
I decided to make a call to the central figure behind this entire incident.
Not Kei, not Horikita, and not her older brother either.
“I was just thinking it was about ti for you to get in contact with . Good evening, Ayanokōji-kun.”
(Chapter 6 End)
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