June 7th, 8:00 AM – Class D
Kairon was standing, arranging his books, when Aria—already seated—spoke up.
"I heard you and Ivy, together with Akira, went out yesterday," she said.
"Yeah," Kairon replied. "Akira wanted to fix her camera, so she asked us to accompany her."
"I see," Aria nodded, then after a pause added, "Why the question, though?"
"Nothing. Just curious."
At that moment, Mrs. Elira walked in. Riven called out, "Stand!" and everyone stood up to greet her before taking their seats.
Mrs. Elira spoke with a serious tone. "Regarding Kei's case, the hearing date has been released."
All the students turned their attention to her.
"It's today. After school."
Gasps and shocked expressions spread through the classroom.
"Prepare yourselves. Class representative, we head out now."
---
3:00 PM – At the Council Hearing
A giant U-shaped table dominated the center of the room, lined with chairs. At the center sat Kael, calm and composed. Behind him stood a girl holding a book.
To the right were the three injured students from Class C and their homeroom teacher. To the left sat Kairon, Aria, Kei, and Miss Elira.
The girl beside Kael stepped forward.
"I am Juna Bellmere, the Student Council Secretary," she announced. "Today, we are gathered here concerning the troubling matters between Class C and Class D."
Miss Elira glanced at Kael. "It's unusual for the Student Council President to be seen here. Looks like you had time to spare."
Kael replied calmly, "I've been quite busy, so I made time to attend to this case."
Kairon, watching him, thought to himself, Did you really have time—or did you just come to see your sister in action?
Beside him, Aria lowered her head, quiet.
Kael looked at Juna. "You may proceed."
Juna opened the book. "According to the report brought by Class C, Darian from Class C called Kei from Class D out after basketball practice at the Alumna Complex to discuss the next game. Suddenly, Kei got violent. Luckily, two classmates from Class C were there and came to his rescue. However, Kei also acted aggressively toward them. During the altercation, they found exam questions in Kei's bag."
She looked up. "What does the defendant have to say?"
Silence fell.
Kairon noticed Aria's trembling hands, her head still lowered. It's normal... your brother is in front of you, after all, he thought.
Juna continued, "The defendant may proceed."
Kairon sighed, then reached over and tickled Aria at the waist.
Startled, she jumped up. "Wait—what are you—stop it!"
Everyone stared in shock.
Even during a trance, if you stimulate the body, their consciousness will reawaken, Kairon thought as he stopped and looked into her eyes.
"This is our only chance," he said softly. "You may never get the opportunity again."
Aria exhaled, steadied herself, then stepped forward.
"Excuse me," she began. "I want to ask the students who were supposedly assaulted by Kei some questions."
Juna looked at Kael. He nodded. "You may proceed."
"Thank you," Aria said, turning to Class C. "Why was Daiki at the Special Annex Complex? He's not on the basketball team, is he?"
The room stilled.
"Even Draven—what was he doing there? Basketball practice was over. He should've gone home. Was it coincidence, or was it orchestrated?"
Darian snapped, "That's absurd. I told Draven to come with me!"
"Why?" Aria asked.
"As a precaution. Kei is violent. He's strong—has a big build," Darian replied.
Kei clenched his teeth.
"So you were frightened by his size and thought he might attack?" Aria pressed.
"Yes."
Kairon observed quietly. He prepared that answer.
Aria continued. "You asked Draven—who fought a lot in middle school—to come as protection?"
"Yes."
"I see." She paused. "I know a little about fighting too."
Draven scoffed. "What do you know?"
"Enough to know that the more opponents, the harder the fight. It was three versus one—Kei was at a disadvantage. Yet the three of you still got injured? I find that hard to believe."
Darian hesitated. "That's because… we never wanted to hit him."
"If your opponent didn't resist at all, how did the three of you get hurt?" Aria challenged.
Miss Elira smiled. "That's what people usually think."
Darian burst out, "You can't apply that to Kei! He's a very violent person!"
"One student witnessed what happened," Aria said.
Gasps echoed in the room.
"Please come in."
The doors opened, and a figure stepped in. A chair was already placed at the center.
"Witness, state your name," Juna asked.
The figure, head bowed, spoke.
"Class 1-D… Akira."
"Please have a seat," Juna said.
"Okay."
Kael studied her quietly.
Aria called out, "Akira!"
Startled, Akira opened her eyes.
"I saw it all," she said. "The students from 1-C started hitting Kei first." Her hand trembled. "I'm sure of it."
Mr. Nathaniel, the Class C teacher, adjusted his glasses and pointed.
"Akira, is it? If you truly witnessed it, you should've come forward sooner."
"Well… that's because…"
Mr. Nathaniel exhaled. "What can you expect from a Class D student? The loser class."
"I'm just telling the truth," Akira said quietly.
"That won't make it true," he countered. "You were coerced to lie for Class D and Kei, weren't you?"
Akira flinched. Kairon frowned. This is bad.
Aria spoke. "Akira did witness it. That's why she's here. If we wanted a fake witness, we could've brought anyone."
Mr. Nathaniel smiled, twirling his pen. "It seems more real with someone like her."
Aria snapped, "More real? Stop nitpicking! Akira is doing this because—"
"Please," Mr. Nathaniel interrupted, "don't manipulate a kind, weak classmate."
"We didn't do anything like that!" Aria shouted.
Kairon thought, He knows Akira is telling the truth. He's trying to make Aria lose her cool.
He leaned forward. "Haven't you noticed yet? Mr. Nathaniel, Akira is trembling. Stop stressing her out."
"If you want evidence…" Akira shouted. "I'll give it to you!"
"You don't have to keep this act up," he replied.
Akira pulled out a small card. "It's right here!"
Kael spoke. "Play it."
Juna took the card and inserted it into the projector.
The windows were closed, and an image appeared: Akira in a swimsuit.
"I went to the mall to buy some clothes," Akira said softly. "As girls, we sometimes take photos. I found a secluded place to take mine…"
The image changed—Akira, in school uniform, without glasses, stood behind Kei, Draven, Daiki, and Darian. They were holding Kei.
"That's the proof. You can check the date."
Mr. Nathaniel scoffed. "You can easily change a camera's date these days."
Kael leaned forward. "The date is accurate. It wasn't changed."
The windows opened again.
Mr. Nathaniel said, "Fine. You were there. But that image doesn't prove who started the fight. And let's not forget—exam questions were in his bag."
Akira whispered, "Well…"
"This isn't getting us anywhere," Mr. Nathaniel said, turning to Miss Elira. "Let's compromise. Suspend Kei for two weeks, and the Class C students for one week—until we resolve the matter. They hurt people, after all."
Kei clenched his fists.
Kairon thought, I get it. Without Akira's testimony and proof, Kei would've been expelled. Mr. Nathaniel knows that. But his students were also in the wrong. They, too, could be expelled. This is a good compromise—it gives us time to solve the exam case.
Mr. Nathaniel smiled. "Miss Elira, what do you think?"
Arms folded, she answered, "I guess that's our conclusion."
Kairon glanced at Akira, who looked down sadly.
"You did a great job," he whispered.
Mr. Nathaniel turned. "Representative of 1-D, Aria, tell us what you think."
Aria stood.
"All right. The student Kei, who started this, has serious problems. He never thought his actions could cause so much trouble for others…"
"This was bound to happen!" he suddenly shouted, voice laced with frustration. "Why you—!"
"That attitude of yours," Aria snapped, cutting him off sharply. "That's exactly what I'm talking about."
Kei froze.
"Your complete lack of self-awareness," she continued. "That's what got us into this mess in the first place."
Gasps came from the crowd. Even the students of Class 1C looked confused.
"I think Kei needs to reflect," Aria said firmly. "But I'm not talking about this incident."
Kei looked at her, stunned. "Aria…"
"I'm talking about his past. The things he's done before all this."
She paused, then added, "But as for this incident—"
She looked straight at the judges.
"—I don't believe Kei did anything wrong."
Murmurs spread again.
"Because this wasn't a coincidence at all. Kei didn't just happen to run into those three. He didn't just happen to fight them. And those question papers showing up in his bag?" She narrowed her eyes. "Too perfect. Too clean."
"You're saying we planned it?" Mr. Nathaniel laughed, shaking his head. "That's hilarious. The president's sister is clearly—"
"I'm speaking based on the witness testimony," Aria cut in coldly. "Kei is the victim here. Please… make the right judgment."
"President!" Darian stood up and slammed the table. "We're the victims!"
Kei stood up just as fast. "Are you kidding me?! Don't we have proof?!"
The room exploded into a storm of bickering.
"Enough." Kael's voice cut through the noise like a blade. Calm. Sharp. Absolute.
Silence followed.
"…This is a waste of time," he said, eyes narrowed. "Every time, it's the same thing. Two sides, two stories. One of you is lying."
Juan nodded. "Agreed."
He turned to Class 1C. "Can you guarantee what you said today is the full truth?"
"Of course," Darian replied without hesitation.
Kael shifted his gaze to Class 1D.
"And you?"
"We can," Aria said firmly.
Kael adjusted his glasses. "Then it's settled."
He turned, addressing both classes.
"Tomorrow, 4 PM. One more hearing. By then, if no one can prove which side is lying… we'll expel the problem students. End of discussion."
He walked off.
Outside the Room – A Few Minutes Later
The hallway was quiet.
"…Can you win?" Kairon asked.
"I don't think I'll lose," Aria said, her eyes burning with resolve. "I won't give up."
She turned and walked off without another word.
Akira stood frozen, wringing her hands. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "If only I had said something sooner… but I—I didn't have the courage."
She lowered her head.
"Akira," Kairon said gently. "Hold your head high."
"But…"
The door creaked open behind them. Kael stepped out, Juan close behind. He stopped in front of them, eyes scanning Kairon, then Akira.
"You're still here?" Kael asked. "When you showed up with Aria, I thought maybe you had some kind of plan."
"I don't," Kairon replied calmly. "No ulterior motive."
Kael scoffed. "So saying Kei did nothing wrong… that was her ridiculous idea?"
"It was pretty ridiculous," Kairon smirked.
Kael chuckled. "I thought so."
Then he turned to Akira.
"You're Akira, right?"
She nodded nervously. "Y-Yes."
"If you can't prove what you said, none of it matters," Kael said flatly. "Your mask of truth will only become your chains."
"I…" Akira hesitated, her voice trembling. "I'm just telling the truth…"
Kairon leaned against the wall. "I believe you."
Akira looked at him, surprised.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Oh really?"
Suddenly, he slammed his hand against the wall, right next to Kairon's head. The sound echoed.
But Kairon didn't flinch.
Kael leaned in closer. "Then tell me—can you prove it?"
Kairon met his gaze calmly.
"…Hard to say."