TL: Graze

We saw no sign of Akito as we headed toward the archery club.

"Huh? Where's Miyachi?"

There's no doubt that Akito had been headed toward the cafe, so along the way, he must have come across a dispute and diverted from the path.

The three of us collectively agreed to search for Akito.

A few minutes after we started searching, we got some reliable information from some of the students who were heading home from their club activities.

Thus, we somehow managed to arrive at the gymnasium located a short distance away from the school building.

There, two first-year students were facing off with one another.

They didn't appear to be the people Haruka and the others had been expecting either.

The first student was Cla.s.s A's Has.h.i.+moto.

The other was Cla.s.s B's Kanzaki.

Meanwhile, Akito appeared to be in the difficult position of standing watch between the two.

"You guys aren't really going to fight, are you?"

"You're quite persistent, Miyake. I wasn't the one who instigated this in the first place, Kanzaki was."

While Has.h.i.+moto spoke as though he was being pestered by someone, our eyes met.

"It seems like your friends have arrived?"

After Has.h.i.+moto pointed this out, Akito and Kanzaki looked our way at almost the same time.

"…You guys came."

It seems like he didn't want us to interfere.

Well, nothing good comes from getting the girls tangled up in something like this.

Despite this, Haruka spoke up and inserted herself into the conversation.

"That's because you've gone and gotten yourself involved in something strange. That's why we came to help out."

"Came to help… right…"

Realizing that he shouldn't have said anything in the first place, Akito regretfully looked up into the empty air for a moment.

"So what is it? It doesn't seem like they're fighting."

Realizing that it couldn't be helped now that we were already here, Akito changed tracks.

"It seems like I misunderstood something. Although the situation does seem to have a bit of a dangerous feel to it."

"Kanzaki is the dangerous one here."

If I remember correctly, Has.h.i.+moto didn't seem to be any different than usual.

However, Akito didn't seem to be buying it.

"I would hope so."

Akito didn't show any intention of leaving any time soon.

It seemed like he wasn't certain about whether or not things would take a turn for the worse.

At the same time, Kanzaki looked at us with a somewhat troubled expression.

That is to say, he had been hoping that n.o.body else would show up here.

However, he should also understand that such a dream was no longer possible.

For that reason, he chose to keep silent.

Ultimately, Kanzaki doesn't say a word to any of us and once again turned his attention back toward Has.h.i.+moto.

"Continuing from where we left off, Has.h.i.+moto. What have you been doing after school? You don't belong to any clubs, so why are you here so late?"

"So if I don't have any club activities, I have to head home early? I'm free to go and do whatever I want after school. Moreover, out of everyone here, I think Miyake is the only one involved with a club. Right?"

Taking the initiative, Has.h.i.+moto poked a hole in Kanzaki's argument by dragging us into the conversation.

Compared to Kanzaki, our sudden appearance seemed to play right into Has.h.i.+moto's hands.

The members of the Ayanokouji Group briefly exchanged glances.

It wouldn't be possible to say that we're allies of Cla.s.s A or Cla.s.s B.

Though, if we had to choose between the two, we would definitely choose Cla.s.s B.

That would be because of the armistice between Horikita and Ichinose.

"Ha! Not going to answer?"

Noticing that his question was being responded to with silence, Has.h.i.+moto let out a laugh.

"You're not waiting here in order to meet anyone in particular. You're just trying to spread rumors to as many people as you can, aren't you?"

Kanzaki wore his usual calm expression, but his spirit was very imposing.

From what it looks like, Kanzaki had been questioning Has.h.i.+moto about the recent rumors surrounding Ichinose.

Akito was worried that they would get into a fight with one another, which leads us to where the situation is at now.

Has.h.i.+moto probably felt that his actions were exposed to a certain extent after listening to Kanzaki's claim, as he nodded a couple of times in response.

"Rumors? Ah, you mean the ones about Ichinose doing various malicious things? What connection do I have with those rumors?"

"Playing dumb is just a waste of everyone's time. I want to make one thing crystal clear with you. What you and the rest of your cla.s.s are doing is simply too malicious. It's no different than the type of thing Ryuuen would do."

"Even when you say something like that, I don't have an answer for you."

Has.h.i.+moto, whose intentions are usually hard to completely understand, spoke evasively in response to Kanzaki's questioning.

Akito seemed to grasp that the two of them wouldn't immediately break into a fistfight, he distanced himself from the two of them and came over to us.

"Hey, what should we do?"

Haruka asked Akito in a low voice.

"Nothing, let's just watch for the time being. If they split up without anything happening, it'll end with that."

"But… Is it okay for us to be listening in?"

I could somewhat understand Airi's uneasiness.

Our Cla.s.s C has nothing to do with their discussion.

At the very least, Kanzaki won't be pleased about having us be present here. That was the vibe I got from the air around him.

"What do you think, Kiyotaka?"

Akito asked for my input.

"Isn't it fine until they tell us to leave? If at some point, this turns into a fight, the presence of a third party can help keep things civil. Kanzaki should see the benefit in that too."

It seems as though Akito immediately agreed with me, as he nodded a few times.

Has.h.i.+moto then took the topic of the rumors one step deeper.

"Hey, Kanzaki. This thing going on with Ichinose… are you sure they're really just rumors?"

"What?"

"You can't have smoke without a fire. That's probably what most students are thinking."

"Rumors can create smoke without a fire as long as there's malicious intent."

Has.h.i.+moto leaned against the nearby wall.

"Indeed. It's true that rumors and fire are entirely separate things."

Proverbs can't be applied to every situation in the world.

"However, can you confidently tell me that Ichinose doesn't have a dark past, Kanzaki?"

"Approximately one year. That's how long I've been going through thick and thin together with Cla.s.s B. That's why I'm absolutely certain."

"Oh give it up Kanzaki. Responses like that stink so much that I can't even look you in the eyes."

After saying so, Has.h.i.+moto dropped eye contact.

"Of course, I've also asked Ichinose directly."

"Hoh? And what did she say?"

"She said something like: 'I hope you aren't entranced by any of those rumors. Don't take them to heart.'"

"That is to say, she neither affirmed nor denied them?"

"That's right. That's why I decided to believe in her."

"Oi oi, are you being serious? How much of a softie can you be?"

Has.h.i.+moto let out a laugh of contempt before immediately continuing.

"Not wanting to talk about your own dark past is just a part of human nature. Just because you're friends, it doesn't guarantee that she told the truth. That's also why she didn't tell the truth to her cla.s.smates. Or, are you saying that just because Ichinose is a good person now, that she has to have been a good person in the past as well?"

Has.h.i.+moto attempted to shake Kanzaki's confidence.

However, Kanzaki didn't appear to be distraught at all.

The look in his eyes told me that he has complete trust in Ichinose.

"You actually think that she's going to tell you the truth just because you're her right-hand man? How sweet of you."

Has.h.i.+moto doesn't mask his surprise at Kanzaki's blind faith.

Or it could be that he came to the realization that there was no longer any need to prolong the conversation any further.

"I didn't confront you to listen to something like this in the first place. I want the details of what you've been doing today."

"Then I'll tell you. I've been spreading around rumors about Ichinose."

Has.h.i.+moto admitted to it.

"Hey, Kanzaki. You're a smart, caring guy. However, that's precisely why I suggest that you avoid getting too involved in things like this. All that you'll be able to do is blindly believe in the other person."

"In other words, you have no intention of retracting those rumors."

"Aren't you misunderstanding something here? There's no way to 'take back' rumors. Rumors flow from one way to the next, spreading out however they please. I just caught wind of them and helped pa.s.sed them along."

While he admitted to helping spread the rumor along, Has.h.i.+moto clearly denied that he was the original source.

However, that didn't make Kanzaki back down.

It seems that from the beginning, Kanzaki was aware that Has.h.i.+moto wasn't the origin for the rumors.

"These last few days, I've been doing a thorough investigation on you guys in Cla.s.s A."

"And?"

"I determined that the source of the rumors all come from various students from the first-year Cla.s.s A. Then, when we asked those people where they heard it from, they would give vague responses like 'I don't remember' or 'I heard it from someone else.' Mighty similar to the response that you gave me just now. The true meaning behind this? You should already understand, Has.h.i.+moto."

It means that someone had given instructions to everyone from Cla.s.s A.

"I'm sorry, Kanzaki, but I have no idea what you're talking about. If you don't mind, would you please explain it to me?"

"The rumors about Ichinose were almost certainly propagated by your Cla.s.s A."

"Eh-"

"I don't intend on listening to your excuses. I didn't just ask first-years. I also consulted second-year and third-year students who claimed to have heard the rumors from you guys. If necessary, I can ask them to come out and confirm the facts in person."

From the looks of it, Kanzaki and his cla.s.smates have been excessively thorough with finding the origin of the rumors.

He's been convinced that the whole operation was spearheaded by Cla.s.s A.

And with that, he's now gone and approached Has.h.i.+moto.

Based on the fact that Kanzaki is here on his own, without a group, Cla.s.s B is doing this out of consideration for Ichinose.

If a large number of students were to make a scene, it would end up attracting even more attention from students. Even those who aren't interested in rumors in the first place.

No, there's also the possibility that in this case, Kanzaki is acting entirely alone.

"I see. So that's why you've been stalking me all day today as well."

Because Has.h.i.+moto included the words 'as well', it meant that he had noticed when Kanzaki started tailing him.

Yet, he didn't seem like he cared about it at all.

That's because he understood that it obviously wasn't any sort of hindrance to what he was doing.

Has.h.i.+moto shrugged and let out a sigh as Kanzaki spoke up.

"Was it Sakayanagi who gave you instructions to spread the rumors?"

"Uh, no?"

"Then who did? She's the only one who can give instructions to you guys in Cla.s.s A other than Katsuragi."

"Who knows? I'm just the same as any other student. I heard these rumors from someone else. Even if you're so confident that the rumors were started by Cla.s.s A, I still don't even have the slightest clue what you're talking about. Maybe it's the handiwork of Ryuuen and actually is just pretending to have retired?"

At that, Kanzaki changes tactics a bit.

"So you've all blindly accepted a rumor which may or may not be the truth and spread it around?"

"The world is overflowing with people doing that exact thing. It doesn't matter if it's true or not. If it's interesting people will want to share it with others. Don't you think that, due to their experience, girls partic.i.p.ate in things like that much more than guys do?"

While saying so, Has.h.i.+moto turned his gaze towards Haruka and Airi.

"Well… I do like rumors, but…"

"The sad thing is, the juicier a piece of gossip is, the more enthusiastic people are to talk about it. Think about it a little bit more objectively, Kanzaki. When you asked Ichinose, she didn't confirm or deny anything, and she also isn't asking for any help. Don't you think that's strange? If it's all just a lie, she would be seeking cooperation to catch the perpetrator instead."

"Ichinose hates extreme conflicts. I'm sure that she has a big enough heart to even forgive the people who are defaming her."

Since Ichinose won't say anything on the matter, Kanzaki has no other choice than to believe in her.

"Good grief. You people from Cla.s.s B…"

In any case, I've managed to confirm one thing based on the way Has.h.i.+moto has been speaking and acting so far.

The rumors that have been circulating about Ichinose recently… Sure enough, they aren't all lies.

I temporarily put aside my position as a student and looked at the situation from society's point of view.

Naturally, on the grounds of defamation and libel, Ichinose would be able to sue the party responsible for circulating the rumors. Regardless of whether they were true or not, the damage to her public reputation would give her the grounds to do so.

Well, provided that it's limited to situations where the truth isn't at odds with the public interest.

If this entire thing has been orchestrated by Sakayanagi, then, of course, everything should be going according to her plan.

The fact that Ichinose has chosen to stay silent proves that her strategy is working just as intended.

Giving Kanzaki a solid pat on the shoulder as he pa.s.ses by, Has.h.i.+moto put his hands in his pockets and begins to leave the room.

"Our conversation isn't over yet."

"Haven't we said enough? Even if we continue the conversation, we won't end up being able to agree on anything anyway."

Lightly gesturing a farewell to Haruka and Airi, Has.h.i.+moto left the room, heading toward the school building.

I felt a strange sense of incongruity after watching Has.h.i.+moto leave.

It was obvious that he didn't treat me the same way as he did back at the training camp.

In the end, it was nothing more than mere intuition.

What's changed between then and now… What's different… It's impossible to pinpoint the exact details.

"Excuse me."

Kanzaki gave us a slight bow and left, leaving toward the dormitories instead of the school building.

"Somehow, I feel like we just witnessed something totally awesome!"

"Why do I feel like you've been enjoying all of this?"

Haruka stuck out the tip of her tongue in response to Akito's retort.

"Well, that's because this 'so-called' violence is kinda exciting! Plus, if by some chance, we were attacked, Miyachi would have a plan ready to protect us right?"

While saying that, Haruka made a show of doing a few boxing jabs in the air.

"I heard that you used to be quite the delinquent?"

I asked, going along with the flow of the conversation. Akito let out a heavy sigh.

"I don't really wanna talk about it, Haruka. I don't want it to spread around."

"It doesn't matter, does it? You're different now anyway. Were you really strong back then?"

"Let me just say this, I wasn't some famous delinquent. Honestly, someone else was the top delinquent at the school I went to, and he was much stronger than me."

"Huh. Was it a rough school?”

"Where I come from, adults would live a disordered life, and when they have kids, raise them that way as well. By the way, Cla.s.s D's Ryuuen went to the middle school right next to mine."

"Ehhh? Seriously!?"

"Aah. Throughout the several times when conflicts started between our schools, we came in contact with each other. Well, that guy probably never took me very seriously."

Ah, so Akito is skilled at handling those kinds of situations because he's grown accustomed to fighting.

"This conversation ends here. Don't share this with anyone outside of the group, okay?"

"I getcha. Let's go back to the cafe ok? Yukimuu is waiting."

"Sounds good."

In the end, this is just somebody else's problem.

The best option is to avoid digging any deeper. I'm certain of it.

[]-