PDV Hishida

As I had predicted, the next day, much to Sudo's misfortune, the affair was revealed by our very own Professor Sae Chabashira. Everyone expected the affair to break, but what struck me was the way things took an unexpected turn. Hirata and Kushida, true to their reputation as good group managers, managed to convince the entire class that the situation deserved a thorough investigation. Everyone started looking for a witness, a piece of evidence, something that could bring clarity to the story. But I, observing the scene closely, believe I guessed the identity of the key witness.

When the professor revealed the affair, everyone immediately turned their gaze to her, looking for answers in her words. But there was one exception: Sakura Airi. Unlike everyone else, she didn't stare at the teacher, she lowered her eyes, as if this affair was somehow familiar to her. Her behavior caught my attention, and I had the intuition that she knew something, that she was indirectly linked to what had happened between Sudo and the three senior students.

Sakura, as everyone knows, is a discreet, shy student, often self-effacing in group discussions. Putting her forward in front of the class would have been a real challenge for her, especially as she prefers to avoid any conflict. If she is indeed the witness to this incident, her silence makes perfect sense. She didn't want to be noticed, especially as such a situation must have been embarrassing for her. The image she projects among her classmates and her reserved nature make it understandable that she wouldn't want this affair to disturb her peace and quiet.

All in all, I'm 100% convinced that she has crucial information. A normal person in the same situation would not have reacted in this way. It's no coincidence that she was avoiding the professor's gaze. Besides, there are only two possible explanations: either she saw the fight between Sudo and the senior students, or she's involved in some other way, although such a hypothesis seems less likely to me.

The problem, however, lies not just in the fact that she is the witness, but in the fact that she is a pupil in class D.In this context, her very position in this class poses a problem.The image of class D, already weakened by internal conflicts and a reputation for difficult students, risks being further tarnished if the truth comes out.What's more, as a witness, Sakura runs the risk of being perceived as "manipulated" or as someone who is trying to save Sudo for personal reasons.From a strategic point of view, this could damage the credibility of her testimony, further complicating matters. Other students, especially those in the higher grades, might quickly conclude that this witness was "planted" for the sole purpose of protecting Sudo, which could discredit the whole case.

So, how should we approach the situation?If Sakura really is our witness, we'll have to find a way to get her to talk without her feeling cornered or forced to play a role.Giving her discreet support, encouraging her to speak out while preserving her image and place in the class, that's what it would take.

But then again, in a class as volatile as Class D, every gesture, every word, can be misinterpreted. The slightest misstep could tip the situation into a new clan war, and it would then be impossible to recover anything.

It's a delicate situation.

It all depends on how we manage Sakura's place and how we integrate her into this investigation without her feeling persecuted.If she's our witness, we have to protect her first and foremost.

But at the same time .....

Sakura is a shy, discreet student who seems to protect herself from the outside world.She keeps to herself and doesn't seek out her classmates. Her school results are mediocre, and she seems completely disinterested in sports, which reinforces the idea that she doesn't fit in with her classmates.We could call her a "ball and chain", but this reductive term doesn't do justice to Sakura's complex situation.Expelling a student like her would solve nothing.On the contrary, it would deprive the class of a chance to evolve and help her grow.

In this situation, the key lies in guidance and support. The aim is not simply to improve her grades or sporting performance, but above all to provide her with an environment in which she can gain self-confidence. Social issues are her main obstacle, and that's where we need to focus our efforts. Helping Sakura to interact with her peers, to understand that she has a place among them, is essential to her development.

I'm committed to working on this social dimension first and foremost.

Every student has his or her own challenges, and Sakura's lies in building her self-esteem.

Through calm, patient guidance, I hope to help her open the door to a brighter future. Everyone needs to change, and that starts with including everyone, without exception.

(Yes, you can see: 10 paragraphs of analysis, 891 words, I'm doing pretty well).

So I found myself in this strange situation, surrounded by people who, each in their own way, seemed to be playing their part in a play whose stakes were beyond me.

Kushida, with her usually impeccable smile, was doing her best to appear genuinely concerned about Sudo's case, but I knew there was something fishy going on.

Her too-perfect attitude put me on the alert.She wasn't there out of pure friendship, but to manipulate, as always.

On the other side of the room, Ike and Yamauchi were there less for Sudo than to get closer to Kushida. Their attention seemed fixed on her, like spectators eager for the slightest reaction. Help Sudo? It seemed secondary, as if the affair was just an excuse to interact with Kushida.

As for Ayanokoji, he remained silent, looking detached.

His calmness worried me.

He was the kind of person who would stay in the background, but intervene decisively when it became unavoidable. He didn't want to meddle in other people's affairs, but I knew that sooner or later he'd be forced to act. And here I was, in the middle of it all, making tea, watching every move and waiting for the right moment to intervene. Because something told me there was more to this story than we had been led to believe.

Kushida-You're going to help us, aren't you? Hishida ....

Hishida-Yeah, I guess so ....

Sudo-Dude, you told me you were going to help me.

Hishida- Yes, I did, but I wouldn't be much help in the end.

Sudo- Don't take me for a fool, you gave me a hell of an argument yesterday!

Hishida- An argument that focused solely on the fact that everything is going against us.

In response to what I said, without even asking for details, Ike complained

Ike- What? So we've been looking for a witness for nothing all day???

Ike couldn't care less about the case, since Kushida had followed through to help Sudo, so he did the same to make himself look good in front of her. Even if he didn't know how many insults he was receiving from her behind the scenes. It was the same thing for Yamauchi. Same objective, same indifference towards Sudo.

I'd like to say that it's promising. 

Hishida- Chances are we won't be able to totally exonerate Sudo, whether he was telling the truth or lying.

Yamauchi- Then who cares? There's no point in helping him.

Hishida- Unless you want to end up with zero points for the month.

Yamauchi keeps quiet

Hishida- Tomorrow you'd better go and see the other classes, and I'll ask Horikita to collaborate. His help will be invaluable if we have to fight a battle of arguments.

Kushida-You're no good at debating, Hishida.

Hishida- Horikita is just better at this than I am, so we can't afford not to use her. If we want Sudo to be exonerated, in order to increase our chances, we'll all have to get to work. The whole class!

It was all lies, but since they weren't interested in the case, I could rest easy on that. The aim was just to keep them away from me and my plans. Kushida knew that and she helped me on that point. Coming up with logical arguments to justify something that wasn't true was my specialty.

Anyway...

After chatting, I got a call from Horikita, who told me she'd found a witness. It wouldn't have been of much interest to me to say I knew, so I just listened and asked if she'd take part in the case. Since Sudo risked penalizing the whole class, as well as losing another considerable advantage, she decided to help him.

If she hadn't been aware, thanks to me, of the benefits of Sudo's tenure in her basketball club, she would surely have been more skeptical, because she also considered that this story was partly Sudo's fault. But she couldn't use this affair as a lesson for Sudo, so she was forced to take part in it.

As for me ....

I think I have an idea of what to do.

Hishida-Bon Kushida, I have a mission for you.

She looked at me curiously

Later, Kushida tried to approach Sakura, but the conversation quickly turned sour. Sakura categorically denied any involvement in the affair, as expected, and pretended not to know anything about it. It was a classic strategy to avoid finding herself in too compromising a situation. However, her lies were obvious, and Sudo, Ike and the others soon began to put increasing pressure on her. They were trying to push her into a corner, hoping to force her to crack.

That's when I stepped in, playing the role of mediator. I pretended to calm things down, arguing that Sakura could be a potential witness and that it was better to let her answer in her own way. This allowed me to regain some control over the situation. But the pressure was still enormous.

I knew that to move things forward, we had to go further. That's when I asked Horikita to join us, a strategic choice. She, with her cool demeanor and sharp mind, knew exactly how to manipulate others to get what she wanted. By adding a layer of pressure, she helped Sakura's stress level to rise even higher.

I soon saw signs of mental exhaustion in her. She tensed up, her hands trembled, and her gaze became wild. She felt cornered, trapped in this situation where attention was focused on her like a blinding beacon. She felt like collapsing, I could feel it. She wanted to run away, but she couldn't.

Exactly as I'd planned.

Sakura was fed up with everyone harassing her.

She hid behind the school, crying.

Hishida-Sakura???

Sakura stood up silently and ignored me to go somewhere else. She had dried her tears and even her shirt was soaked with them.

Hishida-I know this is hard for you, but you don't have to testify.

She paused slightly

Hishida-If it hurts you too much, then don't testify. It's no big deal anyway, there's little chance of success in the end.

She didn't move

Hishida-If the others try to impose their will again, call me. Know that in this world you're free to do what you want. If you testify, it's not for others ..... It's for yourself.

The pressure I indirectly exerted had the effect of making Sakura vulnerable. Being a shy person, she wasn't used to being under such scrutiny. She hates being in the spotlight, as it makes her deeply uncomfortable. But by emphasizing her discomfort, without her knowing it was me behind it, I accentuated her unease. Without fully realizing it, I wanted to push her to reveal more of herself, but in so doing, I undermined her self-confidence.

This dynamic created an environment where she felt increasingly isolated and uncomfortable. My behavior amplified her fears and uncertainties, making her an easy target for me. Through this vulnerability, I sought to position myself as the one who could understand her, the one in the class who knew how to perceive her fears and difficulties. In doing so, I created an image of myself as a "savior", one who showed sympathy and empathy.

Gradually, thanks to this apparent benevolence, I became the person Sakura confided in. She began to open up to me, thinking I understood her emotions and anxieties. Yet it was partly my own pressure that had created this space where she felt vulnerable enough to open up.

However, it took me just one look to fully understand her personality. She's very beautiful, but her beauty is hidden by things like her hair and glasses. There's something peculiar about her, something that makes her hard to grasp at first glance. Her hair is carefully disciplined, but in a way that's almost too rigid, as if she's trying to conceal a part of herself. As for her glasses, they seem to be an accessory, not a necessary object to correct her eyesight. On closer inspection, I noticed that her lenses were perfectly flat. Corrective glasses are usually more curved, and the mere detail of this difference caught my eye. These glasses didn't seem to be chosen for their function, but rather for the image they projected of her.

Behind this appearance of distance, I also sensed a fragility. There's a reason why she avoids socializing with other people. Her shy, reserved demeanor is obvious, but it's also clear that she can't really live in solitude. She unconsciously seeks the attention of others, even if she seems to shun deeper bonds. She seems to want to be seen, but not touched.

When I finally thought of her camera again, I immediately understood.

I'd seen a magazine of Ike's with a similar photo

She's a girl who's shy because she's afraid of other people's gaze, but given her personality, she needs it.

Her reaction when Kushida unintentionally broke her camera and refused to let us see her picture gallery.

Hishida-Hmmmmmmm I see, internet isn't it?

I think I have a good theory

PDV Kushida

Hishida is a very special person. At first, you get the impression that he's just a loner, preferring to isolate himself and interact with only a few people. He had tried to get closer to Horikita and Ayanokoji, which in itself could be seen as a good gesture, as an attempt to integrate. But I met him first, and right from the start, he put up a barrier between us, which was frankly frustrating.

I tried several times to approach him, without much success, until one day I managed to fit in thanks to the revision group with Sudo, Ike and Yamauchi. I wanted to offer him my help, especially as his grades were a little above average, but he remained as distant and closed as ever.

However, there was this moment when he needed me, and it was the first time I felt a little closer to him. He'd asked me to find him some seniors, someone intelligent and, preferably, in class D. At the time, I didn't quite understand why, but I thought it would be a good opportunity to strike up a conversation, create a bond. The next day, it turned out that this famous "negotiation" had enabled him to recover all the information he'd been missing since the beginning of the year.

When I asked him how he'd known all this and when he'd started to doubt the rules, he simply replied that Horikita had given him the idea, that she'd ordered him to do it. The next day, Horikita took on more and more responsibility, reinforcing her role as leader thanks to the information Hishida had passed on to her.

Hishida... There's something about him I can't quite put my finger on. I know he's smarter than he lets on, but every time I try to prove it, I fall into a void. He seems to erase all traces of his involvement, as if he's complicating things on purpose. It's so frustrating. Through his actions, I feel like he's trying to make me understand something about him, without ever allowing me to prove it. It's almost like a game, but one that leaves me with no answers.

Kushida-Hishida .....you're so frustrating to understand

But at the same time, I'm lost. When he tricked me, it was as if he understood things about me that even I didn't dare admit. He never judged me, he just accepted this side of me that I'd always tried to hide. He was the only one who didn't run away, who didn't show fear or disappointment. No, on the contrary, he looked at me with a kind of understanding, as if it were all normal. And this normality, this non-judgmental look, overwhelmed me.

He told me he needed me, and it was the first time anyone had said those words with such sincerity. I don't know how to interpret it. Hishida let me loose at his place, without question, taking care of me as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As for the other boys, they only gave me attention to get it back. But he didn't ask for anything in return. It was strange.

On the one hand, I hate him, because he drives me crazy and makes me question myself all the time. On the other hand, I feel useful to him. And this feeling of being accepted, of being needed by someone, brings me a kind of happiness I hadn't even considered.

What's next?

Why am I thinking about him?

Wang -Kushida??? It's okay, you look like you're dreaming.

Kushida-Oh sorry

I was chatting with the girls, who were talking about the most handsome boys and had mentioned Hishida. He'd be between the top 2 or top 3. The girls said he'd be an ideal boyfriend, discreet, with a slightly atypical personality and surely more interesting than the rest of the boys. However, the conversation was quickly forgotten, and they quickly moved on to other things.

In fact, they called him the perfect boyfriend because he's handsome, mature and at the same time discreet and invisible. That's because they didn't really know much about Hishida and she wanted to get to know him. But he was so discreet that no one succeeded.

The girls said he looked mature, but from the little interaction I've had with him, I wouldn't even know his mental age.

Shinohara said he'd probably be on the same level as all the other boys, and that if he's so discreet but can carry on a conversation without a problem, he must be weird.

I won't go into his level of intelligence again.

On the boys' side, a lot was said about Tokito, but I'd like to dwell on that subject.

In the end, the girls prefer Hirata to Hishida, considering Hishida as a back-up option like the others in the top 5.

But I wonder

Can Hishida really fall in love?

The more I see of him, the less I really think so.