I'll Take Nanase-san, Who Is Small And Adorable, Away From Her Cheating And Clueless Ex And Make Her Happy. - Chapter 303: Regarding the Basketball Club’s Suspension.

Regarding the Basketball Club’s Suspension.

“Gakuto.”

“Oh, Yuusuke?”

During lunch break, I called out to Gakuto, who was eating bread alone on the rooftop, and sat down beside him.

After a short, quiet pause, I opened my mouth.

“I heard about the basketball club. They got suspended, right?”

“Yeah… pretty much.”

Gakuto nodded with a smile that was somewhere between bitter and self-deprecating.

He emptied the half-filled bottle of tea he was holding in one go, and as if gathering momentum from that, he went on.

“Just so you know—you and Nanase don’t need to feel responsible, alright? It’s not like the culture festival incident was the main cause.”

“…Did something happen afterward?”

“Well, more like… it had been happening even before that…”

With a long, exaggerated sigh, Gakuto started explaining, sounding like he could only laugh at this point.

“That whole commotion that Shibamura and the captain caused during the cultural festival—it got seen by a ton of people, obviously. And because of that, a bunch of complaints started flowing in from outside the school. Then after that, all the crap the members had done started coming out one after another…”

“Crap meaning… stuff bad enough to get the whole club suspended?”

“Pretty much. According to Tanuma-sensei—Numa-sen—apparently one member stole someone’s belongings at a nearby ramen place, or they caused a big scene downtown and got reported. If it had been only one thing, maybe they would’ve gotten a stern warning… but there were so many, you wouldn’t have enough fingers on both hands to count them.”

“But none of that was something you did, right? The majority was because of Shibamura and the upperclassmen hanging around him.”

“That’s what they call collective responsibility. And besides, the captain was neck deep in the very first mess, so it’s not even a matter of what the other members did afterward.”

He lifted his shoulders with a powerless smile.

He’d told me not to worry, but even so… I understood clearly now how much the cultural festival incident had influenced the suspension.

He spoke again.

“I’ll say it again—you and Nanase don’t need to worry. We were completely the victims, and what we did was right. It was the normal reaction anyone would’ve taken… and the ones who were in the wrong simply ended up paying the price.”

“Gakuto…”

His attempt to care for us, despite being the ones hurt most, made my heart ache.

Shibamura picked that fight because Hiyori and I were there.

Even if her motives were petty revenge, the root of her actions were aimed at us.

We had nothing to be ashamed of—yet my friend was suffering from the consequences.

Gakuto let out a small sigh.

“Sorry. I know this might drag your mood down, but… could you listen to me complain a little?”

“If I can help, then as long as you want.”

“Thanks.”

Maybe he could only show weakness like this because I was a guy, and had basketball experience.

I was glad I’d come alone.

Gakuto smiled faintly and began.

“I really should’ve been more cautious around Shibamura. Kouma getting screwed up was her fault too… This is what you call a circle-crusher, huh?”

“Probably. But even if you alone kept your guard up, it wouldn’t have changed anything. She attached herself to the captain and the upperclassmen too.”

“Yeah… From someone who knew her true nature, it was like, can’t you idiots see through her? But if you’re not careful… man, she really does just look like a cute girl. Anyone would fall for it.”

Just like he said, Shibamura was cute, and she knew exactly how to weaponize that.

She’d stolen Kouma from Hiyori, and she knew how to gather allies.

Her methods were practiced and merciless. If you let your guard down, you’d be caught instantly.

By the time Gakuto realized it—everything was already too late.

The captain and the core members were already entranced, reduced to her pawns.

Hearing Gakuto casually use the word “circle-crusher,” I felt only dismay at how well it fit her.

Gakuto crumpled the empty bread bag in his hand.

“What happens from here, I wonder…? We should probably be working toward repairing our reputation, but the captain and the upperclassmen who caused this are totally crushed and won’t move. And the rest of us who got dragged into it have zero motivation… so no one is taking initiative. And I get how they feel, so I can’t blame them…”

I had anticipated this.

Ever since Kouma left, the basketball club must’ve been drowning in awful tension. The suspension just blew the lid off everything piled up.

If the ones responsible didn’t step up, nothing would change.

Seeing the pain in my friend’s expression, I took a breath and spoke.

“Gakuto, I have a suggestion. Will you hear me out?”