Fallen from the Top Group Due to Cheating and False Accusations. The Only One Who Stood by Me Was My Little Sister’s Best Friend, Who Had Always Adored Me.

Chapter 31: The Ex-Girlfriend’s Regret, The Meeting of Despair.

The Ex-Girlfriend (Matsunami Karen’s POV)

“There’s a meeting tomorrow. Be on your guard.” — That phone call from Kayama-kun last night had left my head filled with anxiety all through the night.

It seemed the words of that first-year girl who stormed into our classroom yesterday weren’t just a bluff. The teachers were actually starting to move to uncover the truth.

If it was going to come to this, I really should have properly apologized to Arata yesterday. But it’s too late for that now. At this point, my only remaining choice is to cling to Kayama-kun. Yet, Kayama-kun himself just told me, “As long as that video of him grabbing your arm exists, there’s no way we can lose. Just keep playing the victim at the meeting and don’t say anything unnecessary,” before hanging up on me. He hasn’t even bothered to reply to my texts since. Will everything really be okay?

To make matters worse, Arata has been nowhere to be seen since this morning, and Yumi has been depressed ever since that incident yesterday. My unease keeps piling up, to the point where I can’t process a single thing in this fourth-period math class. I haven’t felt well since this morning anyway; maybe I’ll just go home early this afternoon. Just as I made that decision—

“…san, Matsunami-san!”

“…Yes!?”

My body stiffened at the sudden, sharp call. I looked up in a panic to see our math teacher, Murakami Ai-sensei—a woman with a fine figure standing before the podium—looking at me with an exasperated expression. She pointed at a problem on the board with the hand holding her chalk.

“Tell me the answer to this problem.”

“…I’m sorry. I don’t know.”

“I see. That’s rare for you. The exams are coming up soon, so stay focused, alright?”

“…Yes.”

Her eyes wide with mild surprise, the teacher moved on to call another student. I let out a sigh of relief as the storm passed. This is no good. I’m so worried about Arata and the meeting that I can’t concentrate at all.

Really, what am I doing? There’s no point in brooding over the past like this; what’s done is done. Thinking about it won’t change anything, so I might as well stare out the window. Just looking at the blue sky made me feel a little better.

As I lowered my gaze, I noticed a physical education class playing soccer on the school grounds. Since the boys and girls were all relatively small, they were likely first-years. One boy with the ball dribbled past two, three, then four defenders before scoring a goal with effortless ease.

He was good. Even from a distance, it was clear his movements weren’t those of an amateur. But I didn’t recall a boy like that being among the first-year soccer club members this year. Maybe he had prior experience?

The next moment, my eyes caught a group of girls gathered at the edge of the field, waving at him. Seeing them gave me a strange sense of nostalgia. Yes, I used to be just like that—standing outside the lines, cheering for Arata more than anyone else. Whenever other girls got excited seeing him play, I’d shout even louder to drown them out. I always wanted to be the one by his side, and I never wanted to give up my place as his “number one” to anyone. I worked so hard to make myself look cute for him.

Eventually, all my rivals gave up, and before I knew it, they were even congratulating us, saying “Karen is the best match for him.” I was so happy when I finally had him all to myself. We were supposed to be happy together forever—we made that vow that day.

Seriously, what have I done? I’ve become such a loathsome woman that I hate myself. If only I could go back to that day Kayama-kun attacked me. Even if my body was violated, if my heart hadn’t yielded and I had sought help from Arata, would my reality be different now? What is going to happen to me?

A slightly cold breeze brushed against my cheek, and I realized it was time. The sound of the classroom door opening behind me was followed by a familiar male voice. It was my homeroom teacher, just as I expected.

“Matsunami. There’s something personal I’d like to discuss. Would you come with me?”

***

Conference Room

“I’m sorry for pulling you out so suddenly in the middle of class; I know it draws attention,” Inagaki-sensei said with a soft smile the moment we sat down. However, his eyes weren’t smiling at all, which was a bit frightening.

If he truly felt sorry, he could have called me after school. The fact that he purposefully brought me here during class to make it conspicuous meant his goal was likely to tarnish my image. Between the incident with the girl who stormed the room yesterday and the whispers growing throughout the school this morning—“Did Rindou Arata really commit domestic violence?”—I knew the tide was turning. Soon, more students would start looking at me with suspicion. This man was using this timing to further damage my reputation by calling me out during a lesson. Normally, an honors student wouldn’t be summoned mid-class.

“No, it’s fine.”

“I see. I’ll try to finish this as quickly as possible then. Now then, Matsunami, do you have any idea why you’ve been called here?”

“…It’s about Arata, isn’t it? Because of that video.”

“That saves us some time. Let me ask first, Matsunami—do you currently have any injuries or marks on your body? Or any places that hurt?”

“Eh…?”

“Watching that video, I thought the most important thing was to make sure you weren’t hurt. If I listen closely, many students are saying you were subjected to violence, so I was worried you might have a significant injury.”

This was a different development than I had anticipated. I expected to be interrogated relentlessly, not approached with concern. I couldn’t read what this man was thinking.

“Right now… I don’t have any marks on my body. If I had to say, I still feel a bit of pain where my arm was grabbed.”

It was a lie, of course. It’s impossible for pain from a simple grip to last three days. The pain had vanished within an hour or two at most, but I felt it was better to claim it still hurt, even if just a little.

“I see. Even if there are no visible marks, if the pain hasn’t subsided after three days, we should probably have you examined by a proper orthopedic surgeon.”

“…Pardon?”

“Well, it still hurts, right? There might be damage to the muscle fibers that isn’t visible on the surface. In that case, we would naturally have to report this to your parents, as well as to Rindou’s parents. Once your parents are informed, they might report it to the police. If that happens, we teachers will essentially be out of the picture, and we’ll leave everything to the professionals in the investigation. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”

“No, Sensei… it’s not painful enough to go to a hospital. I’d rather wait and see for a bit—”

“Besides, if an injury is officially confirmed and a doctor provides a medical certificate, that would be a powerful piece of evidence. There’s a high probability Rindou would be punished. He would definitely be expelled. Wouldn’t that be for the best?”

“That’s true, but… I don’t particularly want him to be expelled right now, so it’s okay.”

“Even though you were a victim of DV? Are you confident you can stay in the same class as such a violent person for more than another half-year? Well, whether you forgive him or not is entirely up to you, Matsunami. However, as your homeroom teacher, I want to make things clear now that such a situation has occurred in my class. To ensure you never have to experience that fear again, you should take proper action now—”

“I said, stop it already! Going to the hospital, telling the police, telling my parents… I was the one who was hurt, so I should be the one to decide…! Please don’t decide things for me, Sensei! I… I haven’t sorted out my feelings yet!”

“I see. I understand. For now, we’ll wait until your heart is at peace.”

“Sensei…”

“—Or so I’d like to say, but unfortunately, I can’t do that, Matsunami.”

“…Eh?”

The air seemed to change. Inagaki-sensei’s soft expression transformed into something harsher than I had ever seen. The brief silence felt like an eternity.

“To think such a big liar was mixed into the classroom I manage… I’m disappointed.”

“Wait, Sensei, what do you mean…? You just said you were worried about me.”

“Oh, I am. Provided that you actually suffered violence, that is. But Matsunami, your words and actions have been unbearable for a while now. Or rather, your words and actions are fundamentally contradictory.”

“Contradictory…? Me?”

“Yes. Think about it calmly. That video that was spread three days ago—wasn’t it uploaded so you could seek help? You must have known that posting such a thing would direct a massive amount of hate toward Rindou. And yet, you and Kayama-kun uploaded that video solely to trap Rindou Arata, without a single word of consultation with a teacher beforehand.”

“No, that’s…”

“With that in mind, what about your statement just now? Reporting to a hospital or your parents is one thing, but saying that reporting to the police is something ‘you’ decide? Heh… it’s truly a farce. You’ve been bashing Rindou on social media and at school, yet when I suggest expulsion, you shake your head. Your statements are so contradictory that I can’t understand what you’re trying to achieve at all. To me, it looks like you’re just trying to avoid involving your parents or the police. Tell me, is what I’m saying strange? If I’m wrong, please tell me.”

“…………!”

“Well, with that much contradiction, there’s no room for an objection, is there? And just so you know, Rindou said that if you and Kayama-kun don’t admit your faults on your own, he’ll report it to the police sooner or later. From his perspective, he’s being framed for a dishonorable crime, so it’s only natural. Yes, the side that wants to resolve an incident as quickly as possible always shows a willingness to do whatever it takes. The other side tries to avoid clearing up the matter to keep their guilt hidden. In other words, the truth becomes visible through the choices you make, Matsunami. Well? Do you have any intention of confessing here and now?”

Having said that, the teacher softened his expression slightly and reached out his hand toward me. Because my original personality is pointlessly “good,” I almost reflexively reached out to grab it, but I forced myself to endure. If I take this hand, expulsion will be inevitable. I don’t want that. I don’t want to disappoint my father and mother, who have supported me this far. Even if I can’t talk my way out of this, there’s no definitive evidence yet. I have no choice but to keep running as far as I can.

When I conveyed that with my eyes, the teacher looked at me with a gaze that was terribly cold, as if he had given up on something.

“I see. You have no intention of admitting it either. If that is the choice you’ve made, then I have nothing more to say.”

You can go back to class now.

I realized, whether I liked it or not, that was likely the last smile this man would ever direct toward me.