Oneshot: I Was Falsely Accused of Assault

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Translator: Soafp

Full title: I was falsely accused of assault, but I quickly turned the situation around and exposed the real culprit to reassure the female classmate who was the victim.

---

“Oh no, I forgot to collect the homework! Sorry, class rep, could you gather it and bring it to the staff room?”

“Huh!?”

“Thanks!”

“Sensei! Wait a minu—!”

It was just before lunch break on a certain day at Renka High School.

The female class rep, caught in the middle of a math teacher's blunder, stood frozen with a look of despair on her face.

It wasn't that she found collecting the homework notebooks annoying. Normally, she was the type who would take on the teacher's mistakes with a smile.

What troubled her this time was that the other class rep, a male student, was absent today—leaving her to do the duty alone. That meant she also had to collect the boys' notebooks herself.

(“Which means… she has to collect mine too.”)

Watching the panicked class rep, male student Shinya Karigane calmly analyzed the situation.

(“Seriously, poor girl. Having a teacher tell her to ‘go near me’… that’s just cruel.”)

That's because Karigane was disliked by most of the girls.

“Eek!”

The class rep worked up her courage and glanced briefly in Karigane's direction, but immediately turned away with a look of disgust, as if trying to protect her own body.

It was an incredibly rude action, but Karigane didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, he even felt sorry for her.

(“She finds my face physically repulsive—can't blame her. Instinctive reactions aren't something you can control.”)

Karigane apparently had a face that was biologically intolerable to women.

His gaze always seemed lewd, giving girls the feeling he could see through their clothes and was looking at them naked.

His smiling mouth looked pervy, to the point it practically made people hear a slimy “nichaa” sound in their heads.

His breathing seemed lewd too, giving off the impression he was constantly sexually aroused—just looking at him made girls nauseous.

Among all that, the “lewd eyes” were the most intense feature, and the rest of his face only seemed pervy because people were so fixated on those eyes.

But looking at his personality, Karigane was an entirely ordinary male student.

No, in fact, he went out of his way to avoid frightening girls.

He always looked directly at people's faces when talking.

He took extreme care with his appearance and hygiene to stay clean and tidy.

He even practiced his smile every day so he could show a calm and friendly expression.

And yet, because of the way his face was structured, he still came across as creepy.

He wasn't deformed or anything—but for some reason, women instinctively felt revulsion just looking at him.

No matter how much effort he put in, nothing changed. Karigane had mostly given up and figured he'd have no choice but to get plastic surgery once he was an adult.

(“Alright… time to go help her out.”)

There were a few people in the class who were on his side.

If he asked one of them to deliver his notebook for him, the girl would probably feel relieved.

Just as he was about to stand up with that thought in mind, someone spoke to him.

“Hey, going somewhere?”

“I was thinking of turning in this notebook, Hanasaki-san.”

“Got it! Then I'll take it for you!”

With a smile as charming as a blooming flower—just like her name—she spoke to Karigane without a trace of disgust. A rare kind of girl.

Her name was Botan Hanasaki.

Whether her name had shaped her personality or she had worked hard to live up to it, she was always cheerful and smiling, and she naturally enchanted everyone she interacted with. Smiles never left her surroundings, and she had a knack for making others happy without even realizing it.

At the same time, she had an outstanding figure. In contrast to her youthful, cute face, her womanly curves often captivated the eyes of male students.

This wasn't the first time she had talked to Karigane, so he wasn't flustered, but he was unsure whether to accept her offer.

(“Hmm… if I ask Hanasaki-san, the rest of the class probably won’t like it.”)

Karigane was like a taboo in the class—there were even rumors that just being seen by him could make a girl pregnant. There were definitely classmates who would hate to see a beautiful girl like Hanasaki talking to him. Not just out of jealousy, but from a widespread, subconscious aversion to seeing something beautiful alongside something considered ugly.

Turning in a notebook on someone else's behalf shouldn't be a big deal. But the fact that she'd be touching Karigane's belongings, or doing a task for him, would feel even more repulsive to some classmates than just talking to him.

Still, no one was going to bully her over it. The reason Karigane couldn't simply accept her help was because he didn't want to make his classmates any more uncomfortable than they already were.

“I'll just accept the thought.”

“Aww, you're being polite again! You really don't need to worry about it!”

“I can't just ignore it.”

Karigane looked her straight in the eyes and firmly declined. But if he turned in the notebook himself, the class rep girl would be forced to interact with him and feel disgusted.

Karigane had a plan to resolve this. It was passive, yes—but he was sure it would work, and it did.

“Looks like you’re in a bit of trouble.”

A classmate with a voice so smooth it sounded like a voice actor’s chimed into the conversation.

“Rukawa-kun, perfect timing.”

Ibuki Rukawa.

Karigane's classmate, and the embodiment of the clean-cut, refreshing handsome type.

Voice, looks, manners—he was the total package, and of course, hugely popular with the girls. Even the guys said he was so good-looking that it was pointless to feel jealous.

Karigane's appearance was so off-putting that even some of the boys found it uncomfortable. And even those who didn't found their own image with the girls worsened by simply being around him, so hardly anyone befriended him. But Rukawa, like Hanasaki, spoke to Karigane without hesitation.

The person Karigane had initially intended to ask for help was Rukawa. When Hanasaki had spoken up first, he figured he wouldn't even need to go over—Rukawa would likely show up on his own. Whether by coincidence or fate, Rukawa often approached when Hanasaki was talking to someone.

“I heard what's going on. You want me to deliver that notebook for you, right?”

“Yeah. Would you mind?”

“Of course not.”

“Thanks.”

Karigane handed his homework notebook to Rukawa—and sure enough, a protest came from beside him.

“Why couldn't I do it!?”

“Well, wouldn't the class rep girl be happier getting it from Rukawa-kun?”

“Ugh… I can't accept that… why…”

(“Wait… did she just mumble ‘from someone like him’ at the end? No way…”)

Karigane figured it must've been his imagination. Hanasaki didn't seem like the kind of person who would insult someone.

In the meantime, Rukawa fulfilled the request, and the class rep girl—asked by the teacher to collect notebooks—was both relieved and overjoyed.

“I'm back. Got it turned in.”

“You really helped me out.”

“Don't mention it. We're classmates, right? We help each other out when we can.”

“Yeah, you're right.”

Rukawa flashed a dazzling white smile so bright it could reflect sunlight. Any girl who saw it might just faint.

Of course, there are always exceptions.

“Okay then, Karigane-kun, let's chat!”

Ignoring the handsome guy next to her completely, Hanasaki cheerfully turned to Karigane.

“Mind if I join too?”

“…………”

But when Rukawa tried to join in, Hanasaki made a clearly troubled face.

She wasn't swayed at all by Rukawa's charm, and showed no hesitation in talking to the “repulsive” Karigane. It was possible that Hanasaki was simply the type whose emotions weren't affected by appearances.

“Hmm. Am I really that disliked? I don't remember doing anything to upset Hanasaki-san…”

“Um, I wouldn't say I dislike you… it's more like… well, if I made you feel bad, I'm sorry!”

Hanasaki slowly edged away from Rukawa as she spoke, and then turned to Karigane one more time.

“I'll head out for now, but let's talk again sometime, okay, Karigane-kun?”

In the end, Hanasaki left as if escaping.

Rukawa watched her retreating figure and then asked Karigane:

“Hey, Karigane-kun. Why do you think she avoids just me?”

“…Who knows. You're a good-looking guy, after all.”

“Ahaha, I don't know about that, but I do try to keep myself presentable enough not to creep girls out.”

It was a question not only Rukawa had—everyone in the class wondered the same thing.

Why would someone avoid the top-tier guy? No one could figure it out.

Except for one person.

“(I can kind of guess who it is, though.)”

But he had no intention of telling that to Nagaregawa.

“(Saying something unnecessary could just make things worse. And if I get involved, most people will just find me creepy, so I need to stay unnoticed.)”

To avoid making others uncomfortable, Karigane prioritized making himself as invisible as possible. Drawing attention to himself by getting involved in boys-versus-girls drama was absolutely out of the question.

Unaware of Karigane's inner thoughts, Nagaregawa kept talking, still looking at Hanasaki.

“Hey Karigane, want to hang out after school today?”

“Thanks for always inviting me. But I think I'll pass again. I'm sure people wouldn't be too happy about it.”

Even though there were probably tons of people who wanted to hang out with someone like Nagaregawa, the idea of someone as disliked and lonely as Karigane being prioritized would undoubtedly upset a lot of others. That's why Karigane always turned him down.

“I always tell you not to worry about that, don't I?”

“Yeah, but I've got some things I want to do at home too.”

“So you're going straight home today again?”

“Yeah, that's right.”

As a member of the “go-home club,” Karigane usually returned home right after school to avoid unnecessary interactions with others. Of course, the “things to do at home” were just an excuse to turn down the invitation.

“Alright. Then let's hang out some other time.”

“…Sure.”

With that, Nagaregawa walked away.

“Huh? I've got a notification on my phone.”

Left alone, Karigane thought he might as well play with his phone a bit—when he noticed a LINE message notification.

“What is it… ugh… well, guess I don't have much choice.”

The content wasn't something he was eager about, but he resigned himself to it.

Right after that, the warning bell signaling the end of lunch break rang. Karigane's attention shifted to his afternoon classes, and the earlier conversation completely faded from his mind.

---

The next day, early morning.

There was a visitor at Karigane's house.

“Is this the Karigane residence? I'd like to speak with Shinya-san.”

“What!?”

Karigane's mother, surprised by the visitor's face on the intercom, shouted:

“Sh-Shinya!? What did you do!? The police are here!!”

---

The day after that.

“…This feels so heavy…”

Wearing his school uniform, Karigane trudged to school with a heavy heart.

The reason was that he had been summoned by the police the day before and had to miss school.

“Most likely, everyone knows I got called in by the police. This is definitely going to be a pain.”

If he had just been absent, there would be no reason for suspicion.

In fact, given how disliked he was, his absence might have even brought peace to the class. Some might've even been grateful for it.

Even so, Karigane was convinced he was now under suspicion.

Still, he didn't try to skip school again just because of that.

“But I have to be the one to do this.”

No matter how he was treated or suspected, there was something he had to take care of.

His heart was heavy, but with strong resolve, he headed for school.

“A police car…”

A patrol car was parked near the school gate, attracting stares from students on their way to class.

“Huh? What's going on? Did something happen at our school?”

“A murder!”

“Idiot. If that were the case, we wouldn't be allowed into school. And just one car? That's weird.”

“Oh yeah, didn't they say a girl was attacked nearby the day before yesterday?”

“Don't tell me the culprit's one of our students.”

“That's scary…”

As the other students speculated, some with concern, others almost amused, Karigane quietly slipped past, erasing his presence as usual. Still, he couldn't help but glance at the police car and saw someone sitting inside.

“(From here on out, I have to be even more careful about staying invisible.)”

If his guess was right, being noticed by classmates would cause an immediate uproar.

He wanted to avoid that for as long as possible—at least until he could reach his seat in the classroom.

Using the stealthy steps he'd unconsciously mastered through years of trying not to make others uncomfortable, Karigane made it to class without anyone noticing him.

“(The door's open. Everyone's looking in the same direction, so they probably won't notice me slipping in.)”

It was the perfect setup for a quiet entrance. Karigane quietly stepped inside.

The atmosphere in the classroom was heavy.

On the way to his seat in the very front by the window, he overheard the conversation that was clearly the cause of the tension.

“Hanasaki, are you okay?”

“You don't look good. Maybe you should go home and rest?”

Nearly everyone in class was watching Hanasaki, who sat slumped in her seat, looking worried. One of her closest friends had wrapped an arm around her protectively, speaking gently. Meanwhile, the boys kept their distance, whispering among themselves.

“I can't believe it. Who the hell would attack Hanasaki?”

“Idiot, she'll hear you and remember. Cut it out.”

“Ah—sorry. But still, aren't you angry too?”

“Of course I am. It's messed up.”

It seemed that Hanasaki had been attacked, and now the entire class was talking about it.

“(As I thought… this is what it's all about.)”

Karigane arrived at his seat and carefully sat down without making a sound.

He glanced out the window and then closed his eyes to better focus on listening to the classroom conversations.

But just then—

“Karigane-kun.”

The moment that word was spoken, all sound vanished from the classroom.

When he slowly opened his eyes to see who had called him, Rukawa was standing nearby.

And the classmates who had been staring at Hanasaki now turned their gazes toward Karigane.

With a loathing heavier than ever before—almost as if they hated him.

Even in a situation where most would understandably want to run away in fear, Karigane remained unfazed.

“Good morning, Rukawa-kun.”

“…………”

Rukawa, who usually greeted back with his usual cheer, now wore a grave expression and said nothing.

“There’s something I want to ask you, Karigane-kun.”

“What is it?”

“Why were you absent yesterday?”

“…………”

The lightness was gone from Rukawa’s voice—replaced by a serious, heavy tone.

“I had something to do. Why do you ask?”

Karigane avoided giving a straightforward answer and decided to deflect casually, observing how the others would react.

“I still can’t believe it myself, but… there’s a rumor that the day before yesterday, you assaulted Hanasaki-san.”

“Me? Assaulted Hanasaki-san? Why would I do that?”

To Karigane, it was a natural question. But to his classmates, it sounded like he was playing dumb.

“You b*****d! Don't act like you don't know!”

One of the boys in class, seemingly unable to hold back any longer, exploded with rage and hurled his emotions at Karigane.

“Hold on. I'm still talking.”

“Gh… s-sorry.”

But Rukawa stopped him.

No matter how furious he was, he couldn't go against the top of the social hierarchy.

“And you're not surprised, Karigane-kun. It's like… you already knew.”

“Yeah, I knew. A male student in our school uniform, wearing a mask, attacked Hanasaki-san, right? But the part about it being me is news to me, so I am surprised, actually.”

That was a lie.

Karigane had predicted things would unfold this way. He had come to school prepared—hence, no panic.

“Why would anyone think I'm the culprit?”

That was the most critical point.

Sure, to the girls, Karigane was a guy who always seemed to stare at them in a creepy way.

But that alone wasn't enough to accuse him of assault—it was far too extreme a leap.

There had to be a specific reason they were convinced he was the culprit.

“They say your student ID was found at the scene where she was attacked.”

Too blatant—suspicious, even.

But as evidence, nothing could be more damning.

People already judged Karigane based on his appearance—“he looks like the kind of guy who'd do that.” That's why this evidence sealed it in their minds.

“Let me ask again. What were you doing yesterday?”

Not “the day before yesterday,” but yesterday.

That specific choice meant Rukawa had a good idea.

If Karigane answered truthfully, the suspicion would only deepen.

Even so, he didn't lie. He answered plainly.

“I was at the police station.”

Rustle. A quiet but unmistakable stir swept through the classroom.

“So it really was him.”

“What a disgusting guy.”

“I'll kill him…”

No one had said it out loud—yet—but Karigane could practically hear the hateful voices rising around him.

“So it's true… but why… why would you do that? Even if she talked to you and gave you the wrong idea, falling in love is one thing. But this—this is not the way!”

Rukawa laid out what he imagined was the motive—misinterpreting Hanasaki's friendliness, falling for her, and then losing control.

And he condemned it.

(So it's come to this after all.)

But Rukawa's words meant nothing to Karigane.

Because Karigane hadn't done anything.

He was being wrongly accused. The whole class condemned him. Hanasaki sat silently, head down. Rukawa, once neutral or even friendly, now stood as an enemy.

There was no one left on his side.

But that wasn't necessarily a disadvantage.

(I've barely had anyone on my side my whole life. This isn't anything new.)

Having endured so much negativity since he was a child, being scorned or yelled at didn't hurt much anymore.

But that calm only applied to himself being rejected.

Karigane slowly stood up and faced Rukawa.

“W-what is it?”

The movement was entirely natural.

But somehow, Rukawa instinctively stepped back a bit.

So did the others.

Just a moment ago, they looked ready to verbally tear Karigane apart, but now they all felt an inexplicable pressure the moment he looked around the classroom—and stepped back.

And then, Karigane spoke.

“I don't care what people think of me.”

In the silent classroom, his voice rang out.

“With a face like this, it can't be helped. No matter how much I try to stay clean or make my expressions softer, people still find me creepy. I've come to think plastic surgery is my only option.”

He never gave up.

He sought advice, made efforts, tried to change how he came across.

But nothing helped. No matter what he did, as long as he had this face, nothing changed.

“If people find me disgusting, then it’s natural for them to think that. I'm just sorry for making anyone uncomfortable.”

Karigane never blamed anyone for his situation.

He accepted being disliked, believing it couldn't be helped, and never pointed fingers.

That's just who he was.

“So it really doesn't matter to me what people think. If you want to believe I'm the kind of person who'd attack a girl, go ahead. If blaming me makes you feel better, then do it. Don't hold back.”

This situation wasn't painful to him.

But that wasn't why he was speaking now.

He wasn't making a speech just to say that.

“But.”

Now came what Karigane truly wanted to say.

Something that even he, who had always accepted everything quietly, could not stay silent about.

“There's no way I can stay quiet when Hanasaki-san is scared out of her mind, damn it!!!”

I don't care what happens to me.

But I can't stand seeing others suffer.

If people kept suspecting me, there was a chance Hanasaki-san might get attacked again.

Thinking about that, there was no way I could just stay quiet and play the role of the culprit.

A sharp tension pierced the classroom as Karasugane's anger electrified the air.

The eyes that had always been looked upon with disgust now gleamed sharply, overflowing with fierce emotion.

His classmates involuntarily stepped back once more.

But even as he retreated, one person still responded to Karasugane's fury.

“G-Getting angry like that doesn't help. It's wrong to lash out just to cover up the fact that you're the culprit.”

It was Rukawa.

He declared that Karigane's anger was fake—just a way to hide his guilt.

The classmates, encouraged by his words, seemed ready to rally behind him. But Karigane threw out a question to shut that down.

“You really want me to be the culprit, don't you, Rukawa-kun?”

“It's not like I want to think that. But you were questioned by the police, and your student ID was found at the scene. How else can we see it?”

“Then why am I here at school today?”

“Huh?”

Exactly.

If Karigane really were the culprit, he'd either still be at the police station or under house arrest. There's no way he'd just be allowed to show up at school like normal.

“Do you think the police would let someone like me—someone as suspicious as it gets—attend class with the victim, Hanasaki-san?”

“…………”

In other words, the police had already pretty much concluded that Karigane wasn't the culprit.

“You look like you've got no idea what's going on. Can't blame you. After all, you assumed I went straight home that day, didn't you, Rukawa-kun?”

“…………”

“Actually, I got a message from my mom asking me to pick something up on the way back.”

And Karigane did exactly as asked—he went shopping.

“The store's security cameras caught me. So there's no way I could've attacked Hanasaki-san at that time. I had a perfect alibi.”

His mother, knowing how Karigane avoided going out in public, usually never asked for such favors. But that day, she urgently needed something and had no choice but to ask him. That rare coincidence ended up saving him.

“No… way…”

There had to be some trick.

Some were still clinging to that hope, but the atmosphere in the classroom was clearly shifting—toward shame for what they'd done.

What would happen next?

That decision was left to Rukawa, who had been the one to stop the angry classmate earlier—making him the de facto representative in this confrontation.

After thinking for a moment, Rukawa bowed his head to Karigane.

“I'm sorry for suspecting you. Even if your student ID was found, I should have trusted my classmate. This is all my fault.”

And just like that, Karigane would be cleared of suspicion, and the class would end the ordeal with some awkwardness for having wrongly accused him—

—of course not.

“Exactly. That's the key point.”

“Huh?”

Karigane had never cared about being accused or blamed.

What mattered was the thing that was still terrifying Hanasaki.

Who the real culprit was.

He had stood up to free her from that fear, so apologies meant nothing.

“I have an alibi. But my student ID was still found at the scene. Why is that?”

“Karigane-kun, I know it's not my place to say this, but… maybe we should stop trying to find the culprit. You of all people know how awful it feels to be falsely accused, right?”

“Yeah, being falsely accused is the absolute worst. And mob justice? Completely unacceptable. But if the real culprit is still out there—even though they're almost certainly in this classroom—don't you think Hanasaki-san's going to stay scared?”

“What!?”

Rukawa tried to stop Karigane from pushing forward, but once he declared the culprit was in the class, there was no turning back.

“Karigane-kun, it's not fair to doubt all of us just because you were suspected…”

“Who else would've had the chance to steal my student ID? Only someone in this class, right? Like during gym class or something.”

“…………”

Once again, murmurs swept through the classroom—but this time for a different reason.

The boys all shook their heads vigorously to deny any involvement, while the girls began backing away from the boys.

At this point, no one could stop the hunt for the real culprit.

No matter how much Rukawa tried to calm things down, unless they found the real perpetrator, the tension wouldn't go away.

“I really didn't want to stir up this kind of anxiety. I wish you hadn't said anything, Karigane-kun.”

“Sorry, sorry. In that case, let me put your fears to rest right now.”

“Huh?”

Karigane posed a single, critical question to the class:

“Everyone—how did you even know my student ID was found at the crime scene?”

That was the single most crucial clue that would lead them to the real culprit.

“I only learned about it when the police told me. And when I asked them, they said only people inside the police and Hanasaki-san knew. Hanasaki-san confirmed no one picked it up before the police arrived. Sure, a passerby might have noticed something on the ground, but how would they know it was mine without picking it up?”

In other words, no one in the class should have known Karigane's student ID had been at the scene.

Unless the real culprit told them.

A heavy, unprecedented silence fell over the classroom. The boys started throwing wary glances at one another, each trying to gauge the others.

Then, Karigane turned to one of them and asked:

“Tamaki-kun. Who told you about the student ID?”

“W-What!? I-I dunno! I just overheard the girls talking!”

He'd been the one who got furious earlier, but now, under pressure, he claimed to have heard it from the girls.

“Then what about you, Namekawa-san?”

“Eh? M-Me!? Uh… I think… I heard it from Mina…”

When he asked one of the girls, she said she'd heard it from another girl.

One by one, he traced the rumor back through the class. And eventually, it led to one person.

“I-I…”

She couldn't bring herself to say the name. But her eyes clearly pointed it out.

The entire class followed her gaze—

“Rukawa-kun. Who told you about the student ID?”

Silence.

His face turned red. He clenched his fists. His handsome expression twisted with frustration.

He didn't answer. He couldn't.

The rest of the class stared in disbelief, as if they were seeing something impossible.

Only Karigane, one of the few not surprised, let out a long sigh.

“Haaah… So it really was you, Rukawa-kun.”

Even before the student ID rumor, when Karigane had been summoned to the police, he had suspected Rukawa.

“You were always pretending to be nice to me, but only to get close to Hanasaki-san, right? She picked up on your intentions and started keeping her distance.”

Rukawa had hidden it well—but Karigane, sensitive to unpleasant gazes, had noticed.

“And you hated that she was talking to someone ugly like me, didn't you? So you framed me, ruined my reputation, and then planned to ‘comfort' her and win her over? I bet you planned this all out. You even tracked how I always went straight home without stopping anywhere, so you could ensure I had no alibi. Pretty damn nasty.”

And yet, he'd made the mistake of planting the student ID—too obviously. He must've assumed the police would immediately assume it was Karigane, just based on his looks.

“…………”

Rukawa trembled under Karigane's deduction but said nothing.

Karigane figured he wouldn't speak, so he pulled out his phone from his pocket.

“There was a police car at the gate this morning, right? They told me to call if I found out who the culprit was.”

If Karigane hadn't discovered anything, the police would've begun the usual investigation—questioning each classmate one by one.

But now that the culprit had been identified—

what would happen next was already decided.

Karigane tried to call the police officers waiting in the patrol car.

“Stop!”

“Ah!”

Suddenly, Rukawa, who had been standing silently, sprang into action and forcefully knocked the smartphone out of Karigane's hand. The phone bounced and slid far away on the ground, and Karigane started to go pick it up.

“Wait!”

Rukawa stopped him with a harsh tone, and Karigane froze in place. He slowly turned his body back toward Rukawa and raised both hands, as if to show he wasn't resisting.

“Ah, no, that wasn't what it looked like. I didn't mean to threaten you or anything. I just panicked at the thought of you calling the cops…”

Rukawa, realizing his behavior was uncharacteristic of his usual cool demeanor, returned to a more composed tone, but the panic in his expression hadn't faded at all.

“Don't get the wrong idea. It's not that I don't want the police called because I'm guilty. I just knew that if the police were called right now, I'd be treated like the culprit even if I wasn't. About that student ID—I only heard about it from someone in passing on my way to school.”

If he had said this from the beginning, maybe people's impressions would've been different. But the act of aggressively swatting away the phone and letting his dark emotions show had already cast suspicion in his classmates' eyes.

Moreover, the fact that Rukawa had always played the part of the cool, refreshing guy worked against him. For someone who always stayed composed to suddenly panic this much—it only made the class feel more certain that he was the culprit.

“I swear, it wasn't me! Please, believe me! Do you all really think I'd do something like that!? Is that the kind of person you saw me as!?”

His desperate plea stirred some hesitation in the class. Could someone as clean-cut and attractive as Rukawa really be the perpetrator?

Rukawa's passionate denial.

But it was already too late.

“H-Hey, the cops are coming in!”

One classmate noticed something outside the window. Two officers had stepped out of the patrol car parked at the school gate and were heading toward the building.

“What the hell!?”

Rukawa hurriedly picked up Karigane's phone—but the call hadn't even gone through. So why were the police coming in?

It couldn't be a coincidence.

“I told the officers beforehand: if I couldn't contact them because of trouble, I'd raise both hands so they could see from the window.”

Upon seeing that signal, the officers had come to protect Karigane.

Rukawa's plan to win over the class and avoid being reported had completely fallen apart.

Realizing he was cornered, Rukawa finally revealed his true nature.

“Kariganeeeee!”

He slammed Karigane's phone into the floor in a rage.

Any classmates who were wavering, starting to think maybe Rukawa wasn't guilty, were now certain he was the culprit.

What would Rukawa do before the police arrived?

Would he attack Karigane?

Just as the situation reached a boiling point, someone took a bold step forward.

“So it really was you.”

It was Hanazaki—the victim of the incident.

“When I heard that Karigane's student ID had been found, I knew right away it had to be you.”

“W-Why!? What did I ever do to you!?”

“You're always looking at me with those disgusting eyes! How can you even say that with a straight face!?”

She, too, was now far from her usual bright and cheerful self, burning with fury. Considering she was the victim, this reaction made perfect sense. What surprised the class, however, was what she said.

To them, Rukawa never came across as someone who would leer at girls.

“Don't be ridiculous! I always look people in the eyes when I talk! I don't have gross eyes like Karigane!”

“Karigane-kun has kind eyes! Not filthy, lecherous eyes like yours!”

“Whaaaaa!?”

Hanazaki had also long been subject to strange looks—though in a different way from Karigane.

Because of her sensual figure, she was constantly stared at by boys with perverted eyes. Over time, she became able to sense even those who tried to hide their lust and maintain eye contact.

No matter how much Rukawa tried to act natural, the deep-rooted lust in his eyes was impossible to hide.

“Your perversion was especially strong. It made me sick. I was so scared you'd eventually do something that I didn't even want to go near you. I knew my instincts were right.”

That's why Hanazaki had always kept her distance from him.

Only she and Karigane, who was also highly sensitive to how others looked at him, had been able to see through Rukawa.

“Don't be stupid! You're saying I'm worse than him!? That's insane!”

Rukawa was furious at being compared unfavorably to Karigane—someone he secretly looked down on.

Feeling the pressure of imminent arrest and reeling from Hanazaki's condemnation, his self-control finally broke.

“Fine! Even if that's true, you should've picked me over him! That sexy body of yours belongs to me! DAMMIT!”

“Kyaa!”

Rukawa reached toward Hanazaki.

But someone blocked his hand.

“I won't let you!”

“Get out of my way, Kariganeeeeee!!”

When Rukawa's focus shifted to Hanazaki, Karigane had quickly moved into a position to step in between them.

Rukawa clenched his outstretched hand into a fist and launched it at Karigane.

“Ugh!”

“Karigane-kun!?”

“I-I'm okay. Just stay back, Hanazaki-san!”

Karigane tried to block it with his hand, but the punch slipped through and struck his right shoulder. It must have hurt Rukawa's fist too, but he was so blinded by rage he didn't feel a thing.

“This is all your fault! You b*****d! Damn it, damn it, damn it!!”

“……”

Rukawa snapped and kept hitting Karigane over and over.

Karigane didn't fight back. He simply endured it.

“Stop it alreeeeeaaaaaady!!”

Hanazaki's desperate scream rang out—just as the people they'd all been waiting for finally arrived.

“Stop right there!”

A male and female officer.

The male officer immediately restrained the out-of-control Rukawa.

“Damn it! Let go of me! Let gooooooo!!”

With dozens of students from other classes watching, Rukawa was forcibly taken away.

As everyone's eyes followed his disgraceful exit, Hanazaki was focused on something else.

“Karigane-kun! Are you okay!?”

“Y-Yeah. It hurts, but I don't think anything's broken.”

“You dummy! Dummy, dummy, dummy! That was way too reckless! Why didn't you fight back!?”

In that situation, hitting back would've been self-defense.

So why didn't Karigane respond?

“Because I knew what Rukawa was really like, and I didn't do anything about it. If I'd properly faced him and kept trying to talk sense into him, maybe it wouldn't have come to this. Thinking that made it impossible for me to hit him.”

“You idiot! You're too kind!”

How many people in the world could truly think that way—blame themselves even in a situation like this?

With tears streaming down her face, Hanazaki tended to Karigane's injuries.

And then the female officer who had stayed behind approached them.

“Karigane-san. Hanazaki-san.”

““Sakakibara-san.””

She was the officer assigned to their case—the one who had spoken to both of them earlier.

“I'll need to hear more details from you both later, but for now, thank you.”

Of course, this time Karigane wasn't being brought in as a suspect.

He was a person involved in the case, and now a new victim—having been punched.

“And Karigane-san. I told you not to do anything reckless, didn't I?”

After being proven innocent during police questioning, Karigane had told the female officer that he suspected the culprit might be in his class and that he wanted to find out who it was. Naturally, she had tried to stop him, saying it was too dangerous, but Karigane had replied that he'd just eavesdrop on conversations and let her know if he found anything out.

At first, that really had been his plan—if the whole class turned on him, he would just run away.

“When I saw how scared Hanazaki-san looked, I just couldn't take it anymore…”

“You mean all of that was just an act to lure him into revealing himself!?”

“I knew that, but… I still got pissed off…”

“Ugh, that's so unfair. I mean, wait—you knew?”

“You figured that if Hanazaki acted really scared, Rukawa would come over trying to console her and slip up, right?”

“Whoa, perfect deduction.”

But even Karigane hadn't understood everything.

“Still, why'd you do something so dangerous? You're still scared, right? And even so, you forced yourself to come to school and tried to set a trap for him…”

“Isn't it obvious?”

She answered with her usual bright smile, showing no trace of the fear that must still be burned into her body.

“Because I wanted to save you, Karigane-kun, as soon as possible.”

At the police station, she'd been told that Karigane's student ID had been found at the crime scene. Panicked that he might be falsely accused, she had decided to find out the truth herself and save him by exposing Rukawa as the real culprit.

“Why would you go that far… for me?”

“You're really asking that now, of all times?”

“Well, I mean…”

Because of his creepy eyes, he'd always thought no girl would ever like him. That's why he just couldn't bring himself to believe in her feelings.

“Ahem.”

“Ah.”

They had completely slipped into their own world and forgotten they were in the middle of talking with the policewoman.

“I'll allow the youthfulness, but both of you will be getting a stern warning later.”

“Yes ma'am…”

“Really now. You should have more faith in the police.”

With that, she turned to leave them.

Karigane called out to her back.

“Um, why did you believe in me? I mean, with eyes like mine, anyone would think I was suspicious… but you never doubted me from the beginning, did you?”

Early that morning, he had been brought in with his mother, fully expecting a harsh interrogation—but instead, he was met with gentle words. She had spoken to him like she truly believed he wasn't the type to do such a thing. That had brought him some peace, but he'd always wondered why.

She stopped and turned back.

“Hmm… if I had to say, it was those eyes.”

“My… eyes?”

That was the very thing that caused others to avoid him—so he was confused by what she meant.

“Karigane-san, you have very kind eyes. Maybe that's why I couldn't suspect you.”

He was about to protest—That's ridiculous—but a voice beside him cut him off.

“Exactly!”

Hanazaki agreed with all her heart.

Both of them were looking at Karigane with warm, gentle eyes.

They were really looking at him.

And not with disgust, but with genuine affection. He could feel it.

“H-Huh? Why… am I…?”

A tear rolled down his cheek.

Eyes that had always been met with scorn were now being called “kind.”

They didn't look at him with disgust—they found his gaze likeable.

That simple fact made him incredibly happy.

So happy, in fact, that he didn't know how to process it. His emotions overflowed, and tears were the only way they could come out.

Once it started, it didn't stop.

“Th… thank… you…”

Karigane stood still, barely able to get the words out.

Hanazaki gently, softly wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

“I'm the one who should be thanking you. For saving me, protecting me, getting angry for me… thank you so much. I was really happy.”

Sakakibara gave a small nod to the two tearful students, then quietly left the room.

“I still can't believe it.”

The day Rukawa was taken away by the police, Karigane and Hanazaki didn't return to class.

It wasn't because they couldn't face their classmates—it was simply because, as people involved in the case, the teachers needed to speak with them.

Now they were in a reception room, on break between interviews, alone together.

Karigane tilted his head in confusion.

“I mean, I thought I made it pretty clear I liked you.”

“Well, yeah, when you smiled and talked to me, I did wonder if maybe… but I still don't think it's possible for someone like me—pessimistic, gloomy, with these creepy eyes—to be liked by a girl.”

What he couldn't wrap his head around was Hanazaki's affection for him.

His self-esteem was so low that, no matter how clearly she showed it, he couldn't understand why she liked him.

Or rather—he did believe her, but he couldn't grasp it.

“Karigane-kun, you're not pessimistic. You're someone who sees how others evaluate you and tries so hard not to make them uncomfortable. That makes you kind.”

“Ugh… I'm not used to being complimented, so this feels weird.”

“Then I'll just keep complimenting you every day until your self-esteem gets better!”

Karigane thought to himself: What a painful, wonderful fate…

“And your eyes are off-limits. People who really see you can tell how kind they are. Sakakibara-san did, too.”

(I still can't believe that either… but if I don't try to, it would be disrespectful to both of them, he thought.)

To think there were people out there who didn't hate his eyes—but liked them.

He couldn't accept that so easily. But because they saw him kindly, he wanted to accept it—for their sake.

Maybe that's exactly why she had fallen for him.

“I know it's not easy to believe… so how about this?”

“Huh?”

Even though they were alone, Hanazaki leaned her curvy body toward Karigane, bringing her lips to his ear.

“When a girl falls for real, every boy starts to look handsome to her.”

As Karigane froze, unable to fully understand what she'd just said, she used the opportunity to softly kiss the corner of his eye.

“From now on, I'm going to keep telling you how much I love you—through words and actions—and I will make you fall for me. So be ready!”

Because she was sensitive to the way others looked at her, Hanazaki had seen through to the real Karigane and fallen for him.

And Karigane, whose self-image was so low he couldn't fully accept her feelings, was slowly being enveloped by her strength and warmth.

A future where he could finally feel “happy” might not be so far off.