18 Lending a hand

The next day in the morning, Chabashira informed the class of Sudo's brawl. She said that a complaint has been raised by students from Class C, claiming it to be a one-sided fight while Sudo claimed they were the ones who started the fight.

Obviously, Sudo who was hot-headed once again claimed he was innocent by slamming his desk.

"You have no evidence, right?"

[Quest: Help contribute to the investigation. You may ignore this quest if you don't wish to help. The rewards will correspond to the contribution, including direct or indirect involvement.]

The moment I read the blue text in front of me, I decided to message Inogashira. The quest reward would most likely be relatively low even if I solved it on my own which wasn't beneficial considering I would garner Ryuen's attention, however, helping a little bit by pointing them in the right direction could earn me a decent contribution.

After several seconds passed...

"Um, sensei?" Inogashira raised her hand timidly garnering Chabashira's attention.

"Yes, Inogashira?"

"How is the school's standing neutral when Sudo-kun is the only one who needs to prove anything? Is it just because those three guys are injured?" I noticed her shoulders shiver a bit when everyone's gazes landed on her.

"Considering they are the only ones with injuries, yes. If both sides sustained injuries, it would be a different story" Chabashira explained.

"However, doesn't that mean even if we prove Sudo-kun didn't start the fight, he or possibly all of us would still face some sort of consequences?" Inogashira questioned again and this time more strongly as if she got used to everyone's attention.

Even Chabashira raised her eyebrow seeing Inogashira being so active during this incident.

"That's the obvious response, however, nothing is set in stone. But there is a high chance that both involved sides will face consequences in such a case, after all, Sudo didn't sustain any injuries and severely beat up 3 students that can't be called self-defense anymore."

*slam* "That's bullshit! How am I supposed to react if they initiate a fight?!"

I felt someone's stare so I looked to my left and noticed from the corner of my eye that Horikita was staring right at me. She was most likely the only one who knew I had a closer relationship with Inogashira than what was publicly known.

With that in mind, I once again sent several messages to Inogashira.

"The term self-defense in itself is a walk on thin ice." I muttered

.

.

After the school hours ended...

Kushida tried to rally people to help look for witnesses even if it wouldn't completely clear Sudo's name, at least it would lessen his punishment.

[Ino Koko: Are you happy?] I received a message from Inogashira who seemed a bit upset with my sudden request form before.

[Sorry to make you do this, so how about I treat you to that strawberry cheesecake, you can have all you can eat since I previously promised to treat you after the midterms]

---Kokoro Inogashira's POV---

'Seriously, that guy is going to be the end of me one day. But at least I managed to get over my shyness and stop stuttering when talking in front of the entire class.' I put my phone away, trying to convince myself I wasn't feeling happy just because of Ike's last message.

However, the messages Ike sent me before the homeroom ended lingered in my mind.

'There is no way she would suddenly approach me, rig-'

"Inogashira-san, may I have a word with you?" My thoughts were interrupted when somebody called out to me right behind me, making me jump from fright.

"H-Horikita-san? W-What do you need?" I once again started stuttering but this time it wasn't because I was nervous to interact with her, it was because Ike's warning was spot on and I still had a hard time collecting myself!

"No need to be so nervous, I just wanted to consult you about Sudo's incident. You have raised several good points during the homeroom so I wanted to ask you for your cooperation." Horikita reassured her but her face was stone cold which was considered her default face.

'?! Is this what Ike meant by her testing me? Why do I have to go through all this?! I will make sure to eat as many strawberry cheesecakes as I can later!'

"I-I see, *ehm* what exactly would you expect from my cooperation?" I cleared my throat and tried to assert confidence even if it was hard for me.

"I would like to ask you whether you have any ideas we could use to clear Sudo's name"

"Horikita-san intends to help Sudo-kun?!" My eyes widened to show my shock.

"It's not just him being punished, the entire class will be punished if he can't prove his innocence. With that in mind, everybody from our class should help out. So...do you have any ideas?" Horikita crossed her arms and asked me while staring right into my eyes with her cold eyes.

I was genuinely losing my confidence but I decided to put my trust in Ike's messages.

"Well for once, it would be better if we stop running around like headless chickens, looking for witnesses." I had no idea where the confidence in my voice appeared from, however, it surprised both Horikita and myself.

"...What do you mean?" Horikita's face relaxed a bit.

"I am sure Horikita-san thinks that this entire incident is fishy. Almost nobody trusts Sudo-kun's claim of innocence, however, I believe Sudo-kun isn't lying. If he was the one who started the fight, he would look more guilty or sorry, not angrier."

"So you think it has been a set-up to force Sudo-kun to fight those students? If that's so, what is your reason behind your previous words?" Horikita frowned, however, she also looked a bit...confused? I had no idea why she seemed confused but I knew I had to continue.

"If this has been truly planned, by running around looking for witnesses, we will appear desperate which will boost the confidence of those who planned this. We can let a few people secretly ask around but even if we will find a witness, they won't be of much help unless they have a recording of that incident. The best way to solve this is to force the accusers to withdraw the complaint which would resolve in both sides escaping the punishment."

"...Force them to withdraw the complaint" Horikita narrowed her eyes and muttered with a thoughtful expression. This was my cue to take my leave.

"I-I hope this conversation has been helpful. I am sorry but I have no idea how to force them to withdraw. I should get going now, I promised my friends to meet them as soon as possible after school."

"Wait, Inogashira-san!"

I quickly turned around and hurriedly walked away even though I heard Horikita calling me out.

'It went...well!' My face brightened however I could still see my hands shaking, forcing me to hold each other to calm them down.

---Back to Ike's POV---

This brawl incident with Sudo reminds me how much violence can be used in this school without many consequences if any at all. I am quite confident in fighting regular people, however, fighting someone like Ryuen with this body would most likely earn me a beating at best.

Back at my high school when I was acting super edgy just for the sake of it, I took a liking to Krav Maga due to its usefulness in street fights and its philosophy emphasizing aggression. Being a rebellious teenager, a NO RULES thing might have prompted me to pick it up, I also liked the way it focuses on weak points, be it groin, eyes, or neck.

'Though I doubt they would teach something like Krav Maga here...'

As I was walking around, thinking about whether I should resume my training in martial arts, I saw somebody from the corner of my eye. At first, I ignored the possibility, however, a moment later I glanced back just to make sure.

The moment I saw a female student wearing what I would describe as an audacious smile, my heart skipped a beat. Not because I was charmed by her but because she was someone I mentioned just recently, making me feel this couldn't be a coincidence.

'Fuka Kiryuin...Don't they have some sort of special exam right now or something?! Calm down, it's not like it's impossible to see her in this school just because she was never mentioned in the first year.' I decided to just move on however maybe I was too conscious of her that made her look my way.

'Honestly, I barely remember anything relating to the second year and as for this girl, I just remembered her name due to being female Koenji. She shouldn't care about someone staring at her, she might even take it as compliment.'

With that in mind, I didn't avert my gaze even after being caught and just stared at her with a blank expression. And just as I hoped for, she just smiled and lost interest.

'Getting involved with those students who weren't even mentioned the first year is a bad idea. I hope Inogashira is fine, maybe I should text her and ask if Horikita really approached her or if I was worrying needlessly.'