Next morning.
As soon as Ichinose Honami arrived in the classroom, she noticed Amikura Mako. Amikura was sitting at her desk, surrounded by a group of girls who seemed to be trying to comfort her. But the more those girls spoke, the more worried they looked.
Instead, it was Amikura who was reassuring them. It was hard to believe that Amikura Mako could actually smile at people right now.
"Got any ideas?" Suddenly, Kanzaki Ryuji voice came from beside her. Ichinose Honami kept her eyes fixed on Amikura in the crowd. She was silent for a moment before finally speaking slowly,
"Not yet, but I'm starting to get a sense of what to do."
"Want to try fighting back?" Kanzaki Ryuji frowned.
"A lot of people in Class C used to be delinquents. Compared to the rumors and theft surrounding Amikura, their reputations are even more questionable."
One's a well-behaved girl, the other's a delinquent. Obviously, the former is more trustworthy.
"But that's still not enough to prove Mako-chan's innocence." Honami Ichinose shook her head.
Back then, Shiho Manabe was way too high-profile in the library and drew a lot of attention from the other students. If Kaorui hadn't moved them away in time, even more people would've been watching the drama.
Once you get caught up in something like this, even the most well-behaved student ends up with a suspicious label. After all, the bracelet really was taken out of Amikura Mako bag. Even though the forum post has already been locked and hidden by the admins, the stuff in there wasn't just made up—it was just a little "tweaked" from the so-called facts.
And most of the comments were from anonymous accounts just trying to stir the pot.
"Didn't expect such an honest kid to have a dark side too,"
"Guys, stop it, she just thought nobody wanted it, she just picked it up,"
"It's just a bracelet, it's not like she did it on purpose, why won't they let it go, C Class is so annoying"
....
Yeah, it looks like they're defending Amikura Mako, but really, they're just putting her in the spotlight.
Seeing Ichinose say this, Ryuji Kanzaki didn't push the issue any further. He never saw himself as a leader anyway, just a good advisor.
Because of all this drama, Class B seemed totally distracted today. Only Ichinose was actually paying attention in class.
.....
Before long, it was finally lunchtime.
"Honami-chan, want to eat together again today?"
Ichinose Honami looked up to see Amikura Mako and Shiranami Chihiro standing in front of her.
"I heard about what happened yesterday. It's a shame, but it's not the end of the world,"
Amikura Mako gave her a small smile.
"Let's try to figure something out together again today, okay?"
Actually, Amikura was feeling even worse, but after hanging out with Kaoru Mitoma for a bit yesterday, she somehow felt a lot more relaxed.
Compared to all that messy stuff, what was really bothering her now was what a certain someone was thinking. Yeah, Kaoru Mitoma words were still echoing in her ears, making her overthink everything.
"You've been looking so serious all day. Are you in a bad mood?"
Shiranami Chihiro was also watching Ichinose Honami expression, a hint of worry in her eyes. As close friends, just like Ichinose Honami worried about Amikura Mako, they were also uneasy about Honami state.
"I'm fine, I just thought of someone unpleasant, so I'm a little down."
Ichinose Honami felt a bit ridiculous—she hadn't even managed to act like the responsible older sister, and now they were the ones worrying about her.
"Someone unpleasant?" Shiranami Chihiro tilted her head, not really understanding it.
"Yeah, I have to go meet this person in a bit. Sorry, I can't hang out with you guys today." Ichinose Honami put her hands together, apologizing to them.
"Is it someone from Class C?" Amikura Mako asked.
Ichinose Honami shook her head, denying it, and gave them a reassuring smile.
"I'll be back soon."
So, Shiranami Chihiro and Amikura Mako watched as she hurried out of the classroom.
"Honami-chan's been acting weird lately," Shiranami Chihiro whispered.
"Maybe it's because of me?" Amikura felt complicated, but she didn't notice the flash of sadness in Shiranami Chihiro eyes.
"I... I kind of want to follow her and see," Shiranami Chihiro said hesitantly to Amikura Mako
"Isn't that kind of bad?" Amikura Mako was surprised. Since Ichinose Honami hadn't told them, it probably meant she didn't want them to know
"But I'm really worried about Honami-chan. Not just now, I've always had this strange feeling."
Shiranami Chihiro seemed to have made up her mind. Amikura Mako couldn't really understand what she was talking about, but she didn't try to stop her anymore. Because Ichinose Honami had definitely been acting weird lately.
.....
As soon as lunchtime started, you could see students everywhere, most of them eating lunch with their friends. Normally, it was almost impossible to find a quiet spot at this time. But if you managed to claim a key spot early, everyone else would just give up.
Ichinose Honami walked up the stairs, and before long, she reached the rooftop, where she immediately saw Kaoru Mitoma leaning lazily against the railing.
"Have you made up your mind?"
Just like last time in the library, it was Ichinose Honami who had asked Kaoru to meet her.
"I want to know who posted those threads on the school forum?"
Ichinose eyes were serious.
Most people would immediately suspect Class C, but she knew there was someone else worth doubting.
"They were just fanning the flames." Kaoru paused.
"Spend a few personal points, and you can get plenty of people to help boost the hype."
"Now the whole school knows about Mako-chan. So many people think she did something wrong. This kind of move... do you really have to push us to the edge?"
Ichinose expression was clouded, her voice tinged with pain.
"She doesn't seem to be taking it that badly, does she?"
Kaoru thought Mako Amikura was pretty tough. But those words hit Ichinose differently, a faint sting in her chest.
"I've made up my mind. Starting today, I'm your girlfriend." The girl spoke with unwavering determination.
"But only if you stop seeing Mako-chan, and you can't go after anyone else either. No matter what twisted things you want to do, I'll accept it."
"Ichinose, this really isn't the time to joke around."
"I know exactly how awful you are. Compared to you, even Nagumo-senpai seems gentle."
Ichinose took a deep breath.
"I hate people like you, I really, truly hate you from the bottom of my heart. It's the first time I've ever felt this way. I don't want to see you, and I don't want you anywhere near my friends. Just thinking about being your girlfriend makes me sick."
Kaoru didn't interrupt her, just listened as she went on.
"But I won't give up. The more I hate people like you, the more I want to fix your mistakes, your nastiness, everything about you."
Ichinose Honami gaze was sharp as a blade. Even if this school only worshipped strength above all, she couldn't just hand it over to someone she despised.
"As your girlfriend, I'm definitely going to set you straight!"
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