Several days had passed since their promotion to Class A, and the students were gradually becoming accustomed to their new position. Thanks to Ichinose Honami's efforts, the academic atmosphere in the classroom remained strong. No one had become complacent; everyone maintained a unified attitude to move forward together.
Witnessing this scene, Hashima Hikaru felt satisfied. He believed that thoroughly unifying the class before the special exam began was a perfect decision. Regardless of what future competitions might bring, he now had confidence in managing everyone in the class without any uncooperative individuals or troublemakers.
Although they had achieved class promotion in the first month, they hadn't opened up a significant gap in class evaluation points with Class B, which included Sakuragi and Katsuragi. Therefore, they couldn't relax and needed to remain vigilant.
Just as Hashima was contemplating matters related to the other classes, a familiar sweet scent wafted toward him.
"Hashima-kun, something's happened!"
"?"
The boy looked up to see the pink-haired girl who had rushed to his side, and asked, "What happened? Is it related to someone in our class?"
"No, it's about Class C, where Kushida-san is. Someone in their class has been accused of extremely inappropriate violent behavior. The accuser is even demanding that the student be expelled."
Ichinose's pretty face showed concern as she explained to Hashima, "Kushida-san just messaged me. Their class is in chaos now."
Violent behavior?
After hearing these words, the boy asked, "Which class's students are accusing someone from their class?"
"Kushida-san said it's Ishizaki Daichi and Komiya Yogo from Class D. They suffered serious injuries in this violent incident and still have bandages on their hands."
"That serious?"
Hashima frowned upon hearing this. After hearing these two names, he immediately associated them with one person: Ryuen Kakeru.
Those two were the ones who were supposedly positioned on the other side by Ryuen, ready to attack Ibuki during that photo-taking plan.
The boy stroked his chin, calculating the timing. Ryuen's suspension punishment should have expired, and he was likely back in class now. The two accusers were his followers, so how could this be a coincidence?
Therefore, this matter must be connected to him.
"But why is Ichinose-san so concerned about this?" The boy glanced at the pink-haired girl beside him and said gently, "It's not someone from our class who's being accused."
After hearing Hashima's question, Ichinose immediately showed him her phone screen, displaying a message from Kushida Kikyo.
Kushida Kikyo: Ichinose-san, we're looking for witnesses related to this violent incident. Could you mobilize your classmates to help? I don't want Sudo-kun to be expelled.
"I see."
After seeing this request for help, Hashima immediately understood. He looked at Ichinose's face, and indeed, the girl had such a helpful personality, so her reaction wasn't surprising.
If they could find witnesses, it would be very useful in an accusation of a violent incident.
Of course, witness testimony isn't as effective as physical evidence, since people can lie and might not necessarily convince those with judicial authority.
The previous incident that led to Ryuen's suspension had already demonstrated this point well. But is this violent incident serious enough to require bandages?
No wonder they're filing a petition to expel the offender.
"Should we help?"
After showing the message to Hashima, Ichinose looked at the boy with expectant eyes. Although she knew her class and Class C were competitors, the girl had a good personal relationship with Kushida Kikyo, and she always paid special attention to the terrifying word "expulsion."
"Hmm... could Ichinose-san give me some time? I need to weigh the risks and benefits of getting involved in this matter."
"Alright, I'll wait for your answer."
Although Ichinose wanted to help immediately, she wanted the boy's support even more. If he didn't agree, the classmates in Class A might not necessarily approve of this decision.
After the girl shifted her attention, Hashima began to seriously consider the various possibilities of this matter.
In any case, there's a high probability that this incident was directed by Ryuen. After his suspension ended, he immediately targeted Class C, which had surpassed them in ranking. This might be his first move to regain control of the class.
If he successfully gets a student from another class expelled, even if the other students in Class D don't immediately defect to his side, they might develop new thoughts about him.
After all, his actions were indeed for the benefit of the class. Even if his methods were a bit dirty, as long as he could get someone from Class C expelled, and given that the class evaluation points between their class and Class C weren't too far apart, they might regain their ranking next month.
Is he putting pressure on Ibuki?
Compared to Ryuen, Hashima still preferred Ibuki as the class leader of Class D. After all, he had collaborated with her twice. Although the girl's attitude toward him was somewhat hostile, at least he didn't have to worry about her doing anything particularly outrageous.
Ryuen was completely different. From the previous incident of secretly ambushing classmates and preparing to attack Ibuki Mio, it was clear that he was someone who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
Can't let this guy climb back up; it's best to continue suppressing his signs of resurgence.
After the mental review, Hashima determined the benefits of this matter.
He looked at Ichinose Honami, nodded, and said, "I think we can help. Ichinose-san, please reply to Kushida-san directly and tell her that our Class A will help search for witnesses. Ask her to send over the location of the incident and the situation that day, and I'll inform everyone later."
"Okay."
Ichinose nodded and immediately began messaging Kushida Kikyo, who was sitting in the classroom.
Meanwhile, that short-haired little angel was sitting in her seat, carefully observing the atmosphere in the classroom.
Since this matter was revealed by their homeroom teacher, Ms. Chabashira, the students in Class C immediately divided into two attitudes. One group, led by Hirata, was the helper faction, believing they should find a way to resolve this serious accusation and not let Sudo be expelled.
Another group of classmates held the opposite opinion. They believed that Sudo had always been a violent person, with a bad temper, and never participated in the study sessions organized by everyone. Now that he had caused another violent incident, expelling him might eliminate a hidden danger from the class.
Even the usually aloof Kouenji-kun explicitly stated that he thought it would be better for Sudo to be expelled.
Ms. Chabashira's supplementary explanation was that one week later, the Student Council would oversee the deliberation process for this accusation. If the accusation was upheld, not only would class evaluation points be deducted, but the punishment for Sudo would also be handed down simultaneously.
The opponent's petition demanded his expulsion, and if it was approved, he would have to leave.
The plan to search for witnesses was proposed by Kushida Kikyo. After all, it was a fight, and if witnesses could be found, there might be a new turn of events.
While the classmates were discussing, the short-haired girl thought of another person who could be utilized: Ichinose Honami. She was the leader of Class A and very helpful.
If she could be persuaded to help, they might find witnesses more quickly.
So when she saw Ichinose's message agreeing to help, Kushida's face immediately brightened. She stood up and announced to everyone, "Everyone, I just told Ichinose-san from Class A about searching for witnesses, and she agreed to mobilize her classmates to help us."
"Really?"
Hirata beside her seemed very pleased. If more people could be mobilized, it would definitely increase the chances of finding someone. After all, the wider the range of information collection, the greater the probability of obtaining intelligence.
"That Hashima-kun will also help us. Let's go into action together later."
Kushida Kikyo's gaze swept over the few people who had spoken in favor of this plan, including Hirata Yosuke, and those who joined after she proposed this plan: Yamauchi Haruki, Ike Kanji, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was sitting in his seat.
He was invited by Yamauchi, as these few people usually acted together.
Meanwhile, the classmates who disliked Sudo simply kept silent on this matter.
"If we can mobilize classmates from other classes to search together, our chances of success will increase," Hirata's expression was very serious as he urged everyone, "But we need to act quickly, as we only have one week."
"If we can't find witnesses in time, the deliberation will become very troublesome."
"That's right, this matter is very important, I don't want any of our classmates to be expelled," Kushida stood up and righteously looked at everyone, saying, "After Hashima-kun from Class A comes, we'll split up and act. We must quickly find witnesses or clues related to witnesses."
"Yes, let's start our action after school!"
After school, these more active Class C students remained in the classroom. After waiting for a few minutes, they finally saw those two familiar figures at the door who had previously come to sell rules.
Hashima Hikaru and Ichinose Honami.
"Hashima-kun, Ichinose-san, you're here." Kushida Kikyo immediately went forward to greet them.
"Good afternoon, everyone from Class C."
Ichinose Honami waved to the students remaining in the classroom, while Hashima Hikaru scanned the classroom and noticed many empty seats. It seemed that many people had left directly, unwilling to participate in the search for witnesses.
Really, they still can't unite even in this situation?
"Hashima-kun, Ichinose-san, thank you for lending a hand," Hirata immediately fulfilled his duty as a class leader, stepping forward to ask, "Have you already informed your classmates about this matter? Have you found any clues?"
"The information has been compiled."
Hashima nodded, and after exchanging glances with the smiling Ichinose Honami beside him, he slowly explained to Hirata.
"I just surveyed all the movements of our class yesterday. Three students went to the Special Building, but didn't go to the second floor, so they don't know about the violent incident that occurred up there."
"Another classmate bought a drink from a vending machine near the Special Building, but didn't linger, so there were no findings."
"That's all the information our Class A can provide."
After he finished speaking, the Class C students who remained in their seats collectively fell silent.
Hirata couldn't help but be stunned. He stared at the boy's calm expression and the pink-haired girl standing beside him, increasingly understanding a fact.
That this Hashima Hikaru had extremely strong control over his class. To be able to collect information about what everyone did yesterday so quickly, and judging from his appearance, he didn't seem to have encountered any resistance.
Thinking about how he usually proposed something, and the class would always digress, Hirata Yosuke, as the class leader, suddenly felt a strong sense of frustration.
Really, how can we compete like this...