Shiina Hiyori was never someone who considered herself to be in constant odds against time and other things that normal people have no means of fighting against, because she was the type of person to accept whatever it is that comes her way and she simply adapts to it.
Through this, she was able to cultivate a relatively normal educational journey from her childhood up until now, with her only flaw being that she's someone who likes to keep other people at arm's length.
Well, it could hardly be called a 'flaw'. Hiyori didn't think of it as one, at least. She didn't really see anything wrong with keeping a friendly face and at the same time, refraining from being close to just anyone. It helped in creating a quiet school life for herself, free from trouble and conflict because she's not involved with anything on a personal basis.
...up until now, that is.
"So... Class D found a witness after all this time. And whoever that is took a video of the whole thing when it happened," Ryuuen Kakeru smirked victoriously after playing the recording sent to him by one of his classmates. He had told the whole class to shut their mouths and listen beforehand, while his phone played the recording at full volume so that everyone could hear it. "I have to commend them for not giving up, but now it's pointless."
"We're sorry, Ryuuen-san! We should have checked the whole area before we made our move!" Ishizaki Daichi bowed his head along with his two friends, all of whom were the ones who attacked Miyake the previous week.
Ryuuen folded his arms"Don't worry about it. In the end, it won't matter. All they have is one piece of evidence from one person, nothing more. I wonder what the idiots in that class would do if their evidence got destroyed, but before that... Hiyori."
The silver-haired girl was snapped out of trance when she heard her name being called. Until now, she was only listening to what was going on while using her phone and almost immediately, she was completely surprised when she heard Kiyotaka's voice in the recording that Kakeru played. She didn't think that her friend from Class D would be caught like this.
But now, all pairs of eyes had turned towards her after Kakeru singled her out. She blinked a few times in surprise, wondering why he would announce her name all of a sudden, only to be hit with realization.
The magenta-haired leader of Class C sent her a frown. "Who were you talking to last Thursday?"
Despite the serious accusation by her classmate, Hiyori managed to remain calm and simply tilted her head curiously. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you are trying to ask me, Ryuuen-kun."
"You thought I wouldn't notice you taking a picture of Ishizaki, Komiya, and Kondo on the same day last week?" Ryuuen smirked. "At first, I thought it was nothing harmless, but then I see you're sending a message to someone else who's not in our class and wishing them good luck."
Her eyes widened slightly, before she quickly snapped out of it.
Upon hearing that statement, Shiina's hands started to shake but she willed herself to keep them still. All she could do right now was alter the text message that she was typing just before Ryuuen called her out, and she didn't even have any time left when he began to slowly advance towards her desk.
"Who was it, Hiyori? A member of Class D that you leaked information to last week? Someone that you'll betray your own class for. Don't you know how much it hurts to be betrayed by someone you considered an ally?" he asked with sarcasm dripping from his voice.
Ryuuen stood in front of her, his whole figure towering over her small frame which was effective as an intimidation method. Shiina had a bad feeling about what was to come and she hesitated to say anything... for the moment, at least. A part of her wanted to stay silent and keep herself from saying anything about Class D, but there's also a part of her that was afraid of Ryuuen and what he's capable of doing. She didn't know what to do exactly.
