"Why is Takanashi-kun here? And Yokokawa-kun, too?"
It was only natural for Yuzuki-senpai to be confused.
Voices drifted from behind the rooftop door as we approached. Peeking inside, I saw Takanashi-kun standing there for some reason.
Yokokawa-kun was with him, too.
Satsukawa-senpai was definitely the one holding the letter, so Takanashi-kun shouldn't have known about this meeting.
There were also two boys I didn't recognize, along with the boy who had slipped the letter into the locker.
"This is... unexpected," Satsukawa-senpai murmured, looking genuinely perplexed.
While we stood there, the confrontation on the other side of the door continued. Yuzuki-senpai had already pulled out her smartphone and was recording through the gap.
"Listen, Takanashi, we heard all about you from Yamasaki," one of the boys said. "Word is you were quite the delinquent back in middle school."
"Let’s see, what was it? Stalker... assault... injury... extortion? Man, you’re a real piece of work."
My heart skipped a beat.
That meant... I see. Takanashi-kun was that Takanashi.
He was so completely different from the rumors I’d heard that I’d assumed he was a different person entirely.
"Sara, calm down. It’s okay, we don't believe a word of it," Yuzuki-senpai whispered.
"Neither do I," I added, following her lead to soothe her. "But please, let us listen just a bit longer. I'll explain everything later."
Satsukawa-senpai had looked visibly shaken for a moment, but our words seemed to steady her.
To think that the "Perfect Tutor" could look so flustered and anxious... It was a reminder that when it came to the boy she loved, Satsukawa-senpai was just an ordinary girl. It was actually quite cute.
But right now, the focus was on Takanashi-kun.
Honestly, I needed to hear more.
"Todo-san?"
Ignoring Satsukawa-senpai’s surprised glance at my intensity, I focused all my attention on the voices inside.
"Those are lies spread by my childhood friend," Takanashi-kun’s voice rang out, firm and clear. "I didn't do anything."
His words rang true to me.
Childhood friend... he had to be talking about Yuzuha Sasagawa.
It was common knowledge how that woman had manipulated Yamasaki into the "public execution" of my friend Yoko. If she was that twisted, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if she’d done something similar to Takanashi-kun.
The Takanashi-kun I had seen was the real one. The rumors were nothing but fabrications.
"This is a photo of an indecent assaulter being caught," Takanashi-kun continued. "You can see Yamasaki right there in the background. Apparently, there are more photos. To think he was an accomplice..."
My breath hitched.
What?
If a photo like that existed, I had to have it!
It would make Yoko so happy... and it might finally give us a way to get revenge on Yamasaki.
Once that thought took hold, I couldn't stay hidden any longer.
Sara-san, Natsumi-senpai... and for some reason, Todo-san?
Why were the three of them here?
Hayato, Idiots A and B, and even the guy I didn't recognize—everyone stood there, frozen in shock.
"Sara-san... why are you here?" I asked.
"Kazunari-san, I will explain the circumstances later," she replied, her voice regaining its usual poise. "More importantly, I shall deal with those two who attempted to blackmail you—"
"Takanashi-kun, show me that photo!" Todo-san interrupted, her eyes burning with intensity. "I need to see it!"
"What the—!? Why are Satsukawa-senpai and Yuzuki-senpai here?" one of the classmates barked.
"Princess! You’ve come at just the right time!" the strange boy, Tagami, cried out. "We’re in the middle of stripping away Takanashi’s facade—"
"Yokokawa, what's going on here?"
It was absolute chaos.
I needed to press those two about the photo immediately. Since I was bluffing with a single, ambiguous picture, I had to keep the pressure on before they recovered their wits.
But everyone was talking at once, and the conversation was going nowhere. I felt a surge of irritation.
"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" I roared.
It was the loudest I’d ever shouted in my life. The effect was instantaneous; the entire rooftop fell into a stunned silence.
I’d have to apologize to Sara-san and the others later.
"Sara-san, please leave this to me for now!"
"Y-Yes... I will leave it to you, Kazunari-san," she whispered.
She accepted my lead without a second thought. Her face was flushed a deep crimson, and she was staring at me with a dazed, almost dreamy expression. I didn't have time to wonder why.
"Todo-san, I'll hear what you have to say in a minute. Just wait."
"U-Uh, yeah, okay. I understand. Sorry, Takanashi-kun," Todo-san said, finally settling down.
"Natsumi-senpai... please look after them."
"Don't worry, I'm always the level-headed one." She held up her smartphone; it looked like she was acting as the filming group again.
Finally, I turned to Hayato.
"Kazunari, let me speak first," Hayato said. "I won't do anything to mess this up. Honestly, I’m sick of listening to their garbage, but something you said let me corner them. It might be related to that photo."
If it was related to the photo, I needed to hear it. I didn't know how long I could keep them on the ropes with such flimsy evidence.
"Yokokawa, what’s your deal?" Classmate A snapped. "Aren't you on our side?"
"Hah? I’ve never thought that for a second. More importantly, you’ve been using my name without permission to hit on girls, haven't you?"
The two of them immediately looked away. Pathetic.
"But that’s not the issue right now," Hayato continued, his voice dropping to a dangerous level. "One of the girls you called out to ended up being a victim of a crime. I mentioned Sagawa earlier, didn't I? How did you know the perpetrator’s name?"
My eyes widened.
Wait... was this photo actually a smoking gun?
You really came through for me, Yuji. I’d have to find a way to thank him later.
"We didn't say anything like—"
"Oh, I've been recording everything from the moment I got here," Natsumi-senpai interjected smoothly. "We can just watch the video if you want to double-check."
The two of them went pale. They were trapped.
"So, a girl you guys targeted was victimized by Sagawa, someone you clearly know," Hayato pressed. "Since there's a high probability you two were involved in the setup, I’m going to report this to the police. I’m sure they’ll be very interested in investigating your connection."
I didn't know if Hayato was actually going to call them or if he was just playing his part, but the mention of the "police" broke them.
"We had nothing to do with it! That incident really had nothing to do with us!"
"It’s the truth! We only just found out who the victim was!"
They began shouting over each other, desperate to plead their innocence. They didn't seem to be lying about the assault, but this was the perfect opening to squeeze them for information on Yamasaki.
"Do you have any evidence to prove you weren't involved?" I asked, leaning into the momentum.
As the words left my mouth, I was struck by just how powerful they were. Back in middle school, did the people who said this to me feel this same sense of superiority?
"Evidence... evidence... something... Ah! RAIN! We have a RAIN chat that proves we weren't involved! If you look at that, you'll see!"
In a blind panic, Classmate A pulled out his phone and pulled up the app.
"Let me see that."
Hayato snatched the phone and scrolled through the history, holding it so I could see as well.
I saw a string of instructions telling them to spread rumors about me. They really were just Yamasaki's errand boys.
"Where is the part about the incident?" Hayato demanded.
A took the phone back, his hands shaking as he scrolled further up. "There! Right there!"
Hayato and I leaned in to read the screen. It was a group chat between the three of them.
[Don't tell anyone about the thing with Sagawa-senpai, okay?] [Tell them? Why would we? We have absolutely nothing to do with that.] [She’s the girl Yamasaki introduced! If anything, you're the one involved.] [I only introduced them. Sagawa-senpai just assaulted her on his own. I haven't seen the guy since then.] [Is that true? Then why did you tell us to keep our mouths shut?] [Look, just drop it. Anyway, we aren't involved. It doesn't matter who gets caught, it has nothing to do with us.]
...This was better than I could have hoped for.
Since Natsumi-senpai was filming the whole thing, I stopped my voice recording and used my phone to take a clear photo of the screen, making sure to capture the group members’ names.
I couldn't help but smirk. A vague, bluff of a photo had just led us to a goldmine of information.