The classroom had fallen dead silent, as if the uproar from moments ago had never happened.
The atmosphere pressuring Amanatsu to confess was completely gone.
Shinonome, slumped on the floor, wore an expression painted in pure despair.
Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, letting out nothing but faint groans.
Someone murmured under their breath.
"If what Hatsukade's saying is true, isn't Shinonome total scum?"
"I always thought she was cute and cheerful, but now I'm completely disillusioned."
Once one person spoke up, voices began chiming in from all around.
"She's so two-faced it's hilarious."
"I always wondered about her. The way she acts around Masanori-kun is so blatant—like, who does she think she is?"
Shinonome slowly got to her feet.
As her panic accelerated, tears welled in her eyes.
I felt surprisingly detached from the whole thing.
No anger, no sympathy, nothing at all.
A beast had bared its fangs and charged at me, so I had no choice but to pull the trigger. That was all there was to it.
"...It's all made up! I didn't do anything like that! You're just indulging your own wild delusions!"
"Then why did you set Amanatsu up to do a fake confession?"
"...I just thought it'd be fun."
"Even just now, you were desperate to force things into a confession."
"...!"
"Looking back, I felt like you were unusually harsh toward me. I wondered why being slightly annoyed would make someone go that far. But the truth is, you couldn't stand the fact that I praised Amanatsu as cuter than you right in front of Masanori, could you?"
It was just the kind of petty logic a girl blinded by infatuation would come up with.
From her everyday words and actions, it was obvious she looked down on Amanatsu.
Being compared to someone like that and losing, only to have the heart of the guy she liked stolen away—her cheap pride must have taken a beating.
When Shinonome fell silent, Hiiragi stepped in.
"Wait a second! Why do you even know who Masanori-kun likes, Hatsukade?"
"I heard it by chance. Yesterday, right after you were talking to Shinonome by the vending machines. A certain guy leaked who Masanori likes to Shinonome."
Saying that, I shifted only my gaze.
Katsurama's large frame flinched, and he hastily cast his eyes downward.
Don't worry, I have no intention of naming you.
As long as I'm not directly harmed, what this guy does is none of my business.
More importantly, the real issue was Masanori.
He hadn't done anything wrong, yet I had dragged him into this mess.
When Masanori met my eyes, he pulled his lips into a wry smirk and gave a casual shrug.
Judging by his demeanor, he didn't seem to care at all.
In that case, I wouldn't hold back either.
"You're her friend, Hiiragi, so you must know too, right? That Shinonome likes Masanori."
"...I can't say."
"That's the same as admitting it."
"Ugh."
"Besides, Shinonome's whole attitude gives it away. Hey, Shinonome. To borrow your own words, you should read the room. Everyone's waiting for your confession."
"...Damn you, drop dead!"
"Whoa, scary. What's that supposed to mean?"
"I will never forgive you!"
"You're the perpetrator here, not the victim. Don't get it twisted."
"Shut up! Shut up!"
Clutching her head, Shinonome shook it violently and screamed hysterically.
"Everyone does stuff like this for fun! So why do I have to be the only one who gets dragged through this?! You're just a gloomy loner waving around some garbage sense of justice to bask in your own self-satisfaction, you chuunibyou freak! If that's how it is, go lecture someone worse than me instead! Just disappear!"
Going into a defensive rage the moment she got cornered—this girl was completely unhinged.
On top of that, she was deflecting the issue and speaking purely from emotion.
Placing a hand on Shinonome's shoulder, Hiiragi stepped in to back her up.
"Come on, Hatsukade, just forgive her already. Shii-chan might have done something bad, but isn't this taking it too far? If you do this in front of the whole class, a girl won't be able to bounce back from it."
"Even though you guys were the ones who started it?"
"But she's been punished enough. I really don't think she meant any harm. When you want to date someone you like, you can understand the feeling of sneaking around a little, right?"
"Why should I have to take the perpetrator's circumstances into account? And does having no bad intentions make it okay to do whatever you want? Just because there was no malice, does that heal the victim's wounds?"
"...Well, that's..."
"Also, you're acting all high and mighty, but you're just as guilty as Shinonome."
"Huh? Me?!"
"Obviously. Why on earth did you think you were innocent?"
"No... uh... what...?"
Hiiragi froze with her mouth agape, wearing a look of complete bewilderment.
Wait, had she really done all of this without any ill intent?
That was almost more shocking.
"Well, whatever. So, are you doing a public confession or not? If you're not, you don't have the right to tell Amanatsu to confess. Which is it?"
Shinonome offered no answer.
Instead, Masanori raised his hand and took a step forward.
"Can I have a second? Dragging this out any longer isn't going to do anyone any good. Settle the rest among yourselves."
Even so, the hellish atmosphere showed no sign of dissipating on its own.
Masanori seemed to understand that, stepping directly in front of Shinonome.
"Shii-chan."
"...Masanori-kun."
"I'm sorry, but I can't return your feelings."
"...!"
"It's not because of what happened just now. I'm just not in love with you. Right now I'm busy with basketball, and I don't have time for romance."
"...Ngh, sniff..."
Wiping her tears, Shinonome kept her head down and bolted.
"Shii-chan?!"
Hiiragi called after her, but Shinonome rushed straight out of the classroom.
That entire scene was captured clearly by the cameras several people were still rolling.
If there was someone malicious among them, it would probably end up circulating on social media before long.
Knowing how full of pride Shinonome was, being rejected in front of all her classmates with video proof left behind meant she likely wouldn't be able to act so cocky anymore.
Masanori turned back to face me.
"Are you satisfied now?"
"...Yeah."
"I see."
Then, he called out to Amanatsu, who stood frozen in place.
"Sorry, Nakina. Looks like things got misunderstood."
"Huh?"
"I don't actually have anyone I like. During a conversation with the guys, I felt pressured to name someone. So I said I thought Nakina was cute, and apparently that spread in a weird way."
"...Ah, I'm honored."
Despite being praised by the most popular guy in our grade, Amanatsu kept her back slouched, letting out a dazed response while scratching her cheek.
Hey, your mask is slipping, Amanatsu.
"So that's how it is, don't worry about me. Ah, lunch break is almost over. Wonder if I can finish my bento in time. This is bad... My mom always looks so disappointed when I leave leftovers."
"Worrying about your mom at a time like this? You're way too much of a mama's boy!"
A guy tossed a quip at Masanori's silly comment, sparking light laughter.
Taking that as a cue, voices like "I'm starving too" and "Hope the cafeteria bread isn't sold out" brought the classroom's usual chatter back to life.
Is this wrapped up now...?
No, Hiiragi was still left.
After giving Hiiragi and Amanatsu a glance telling them to follow me, I left the classroom.
◇
"Now then, how are you going to take responsibility?"
The familiar stair landing in front of the rooftop door.
The three of us—me, Hiiragi, and Amanatsu—stood facing one another.
Hiiragi gave a bright smile, but she was sweating as if she had just sprinted a lap around the track.
"...Sakura," Amanatsu murmured anxiously.
At that moment, Hiiragi placed her hands flat against the front of her thighs and bowed deeply.
Her blonde hair swayed softly.
"I-I-I-I'm so sorry!"
Somehow, I had a feeling this would happen, but it still felt completely unsatisfying.
"...Hey, did you seriously not have any bad intentions this whole time?"
"...Yes, it is exactly as you say."
"I can't believe this. Then why did you egg Amanatsu on to do a fake confession?"
Glancing at Amanatsu's expression, Hiiragi mumbled.
"I-I thought it'd be fun..."
"And what about my feelings, being on the receiving end of a fake confession?"
Clutching her head, Hiiragi forced a strained smile as if trying to gloss over her guilt.
"I thought nobody would mind getting confessed to by the cute Nakina, eheh."
"Are you serious?"
It was almost hard to fathom.
She was an absolute idiot.
Look, even Amanatsu's cheek was twitching.
No, wait, there was still the possibility that she was lying.
After all, she was an influencer who amassed popularity on social media despite her rotten personality.
In other words, a fraud who acted like a good person to deceive tens of thousands of fools.
She was bound to lie as naturally as she breathed.
"To my eyes, it was obvious Amanatsu hated it, but you kept stirring the pot even after the fake confession. You can't explain that without malice."
"That was because it was after the fake confession, or how should I put it... I felt like the nuance was a bit different from Nakina actually hating it."
"Are your senses completely fried? Come on, Amanatsu, say something to her too."
"Huh? I don't really..."
"It's for your own good to speak up clearly at times like this."
"Ugh... Sakura, that's not okay, you know?"
Amanatsu lightly rested a loose fist atop Hiiragi's head.
Dropping her head as if in deep remorse, Hiiragi slowly raised her hand.
"...Um, there's actually one more thing I was hiding."
"There's more?"
"I'm the one who spread the rumor on social media that you two were dating."
I was struck speechless.
I had assumed without a doubt that Shinonome was the culprit.
"W-Why would you do that?" Amanatsu muttered, utterly repulsed.
Hiiragi pouted.
"Because... I thought Nakina would be happy."
"..."
"And Hatsukade said he liked Nakina, too."
I couldn't understand her at all.
None of this connected logically, and my head was starting to ache.
"Wait, wait, what does that have to do with anything?"
"Huh? I mean, you like Nakina enough that you would've said yes if it wasn't a fake confession, right? You denied it at first, but then you said so afterward. So I figured you might as well just start dating."
...That was a lie too, though. Well, I couldn't blame her for taking it at face value, but still.
"Even so, spreading rumors and trying to force a relationship while ignoring Amanatsu's feelings makes no sense. Are you an idiot?"
"Wh-What do you mean idiot?! You don't have to go that far!"
"No, you're near the top of the list of idiots I've met in my life. You definitely don't see Amanatsu as a friend."
"Haaah?! Don't mess with me! Of course I love Nakina to death!"
"I'm saying this because your words and actions don't match."
"They totally match! Because Nakina likes you, Hatsukade!"
"...Huh?"
"After the fake confession, she fell for you for real!"
"H-Hey."
"But after doing a fake confession, it's totally awkward, right?! I felt bad for her, so I thought I'd help out... Gah?!"
Clapping both hands over her mouth, Hiiragi turned her face toward Amanatsu with jerky, robotic movements. Following her lead, I looked over at her as well.
Amanatsu's face had flushed a burning crimson.
Her knees were trembling so violently that she looked ready to collapse with a mere poke of a finger.
She caught her breath, her eyes welling with tears.
Hiiragi waved her hands around in a panic.
"S-Sorry, Nakina! Everything I just said was a total lie! Just a cute little joke! I'm actually a bundle of malice, so I tried to set you up with someone you don't even like to mess with you... Ohoho."
What was this? The more excuses she piled on, the more authentic it seemed.
And Amanatsu remaining completely tight-lipped didn't help either.
If it wasn't true, she needed to deny it, or else it would look like it was.
"Amanatsu?"
When I called her name, our eyes met.
As if all color was draining from her eyes, they grew increasingly cloudy.
Anything was fine—just say something.
Don't look at me with those tearful eyes.
If you don't do something soon, there'll be no taking this back.
A single tear rolled down Amanatsu's cheek.
Letting out a small hiccup, she finally parted her heavy lips.
"...Why did you have to say that, Sakura...?"
It felt as though a ball had come flying straight from the court into the stands, slamming directly into my head.
The one who made the pass was a completely unrelated blonde gyaru.
Let me just say one thing.
—Sakura Hiiragi, you are far too delusionally optimistic.