C45

Episode 45: The Guidance Office — Tatsuya Sugisawa Side

During class, the door at the back of the classroom opened quietly.

Returning alongside Mr. Yamaoka, Kitayama walked back to her seat, keeping her head down to avoid surrounding gazes.

Mr. Yamaoka scanned the classroom once before heading straight for Sugisawa's desk. Noticing the teacher approaching, Sugisawa raised his head and, upon receiving a small signal, stood up from his chair.

Several gazes turned toward him at the movement. However, it lasted only a moment, and the students quickly turned back to the front.

Leaving the ongoing class behind, Sugisawa walked out through the back door of the classroom, accompanied by Mr. Yamaoka.

◇

Tatsuya Sugisawa

As they stepped out into the hallway, Mr. Yamaoka walked ahead, and Sugisawa followed behind him.

(The time has come...)

He had written his questionnaire quite well.

He had stated that he was involved in the fake confession and that he tried to stop Kujo. At the end, he even wrote down his intention to apologize to Tachibana.

(If it's like this, even from a teacher's perspective, I should look like I'm properly reflecting.)

Sugisawa thought about the upcoming interview as he walked.

(For now... impatience is forbidden. Impatience dulls judgment, and flawed judgment leads to slips of the tongue. Answer honestly to what is asked. Add a little flair and stage presence to it. That's all. It's my specialty. No problem.)

When they reached the front of the guidance office, Mr. Yamaoka placed his hand on the door.

Sugisawa took a deep breath.

The door slowly opened.

A stifled heat welled up from deep within his chest.

A tension rushed through his entire body, just like right before stepping into a battle ring.

(The essence of social survival that I've cultivated up until now... if I'm going to use it, it's now.)

Sugisawa quietly regulated his breathing and cast his gaze toward the other side of the opened door.

On the other side stood Grade Head Nishikawa and Guidance Teacher Hirano side-by-side.

The moment he laid eyes on the two of them, he straightened his posture.

(The grade head and the guidance director... they're taking this seriously.)

Mr. Yamaoka entered the room first and took a seat beside them.

The gazes of all three naturally gathered on him.

(...I'll take you on.)

Sugisawa quietly exhaled, took a single step inside—and the moment he did, his battle began.

Teacher Hirano gestured toward a prepared chair.

"Please sit down."

Prompted, Sugisawa lowered himself into the chair.

"It seems you've been absent since Thursday, is your physical condition alright now?"

(Here it comes... a light jab.)

Sugisawa dropped his gaze for a moment, paused slightly, and then raised his head.

"Yes... I'm fine."

Teacher Hirano didn't reply immediately, staring intently at Sugisawa's face.

(...He's watching me.)

Keeping up a calm facade, Sugisawa absorbed that gaze.

After a while, Teacher Hirano gave a small nod.

"I see. I'm glad to hear that."

"Today, I'd like to hear about the fake confession made to Tachibana-kun last Monday after school."

With that opening, Teacher Hirano turned his eyes to the questionnaire on the desk.

"Now, let's confirm first. Is there any mistake in the fact that Sugisawa-kun was involved in this fake confession?"

Sugisawa swallowed hard, as if making up his mind, and replied.

"Yes, there's no mistake."

Hearing Sugisawa's response, Teacher Hirano dropped his eyes to the questionnaire in his hand.

After checking the filled-out contents once more, he looked back at Sugisawa.

"Then, please tell me the circumstances of how it came to be a fake confession."

(Just as expected... I simulated this over and over during class.)

Sugisawa opened his mouth with a composed demeanor.

"During recess, we were playing cards in an empty classroom... the rule was that the 1st place person decides a punishment game for the last place person... and that's how it turned into a fake confession."

As Teacher Hirano listened to Sugisawa's story, he dropped his eyes to the materials in his hand, took a few notes, and then raised his head.

"At that time, who was playing cards with you?"

Sugisawa lowered his head and paused for a moment, as if hesitating to speak his companions' names, before opening his mouth.

"Me... Kujo-kun, Suzumura-san, Kitayama-san, Takamiya-san, and Kano-san... the six of us."

Teacher Hirano nodded once before speaking his next question.

"Then, who decided that the fake confession would be the punishment game?"

(That idiot Takamiya... if that guy hadn't blurted out a fake confession, things wouldn't have come to this. In the first place, why of all things a fake confession? There were plenty of other things. He was talking about youth or memories or whatever... Don't mix a fake confession into a page of youth. That kind of stuff is just a dark history.)

"Takamiya."

(Ah... I forgot to add '-san'.)

Teacher Hirano looked into Sugisawa's eyes for a moment before asking the next question.

"Now, please tell me the detailed content regarding that fake confession."

(Detailed content... it was already risky enough for Suzumura-san and Tachibana to date for a short while, but that bastard Kujo went and did something that absurd. Besides, that guy—no, wait. Calm down. Not now.)

Sugisawa caught his breath.

"What was decided at first was that Suzumura-san would be the one to do the fake confession, confess to Tachibana-kun, and after dating for a few days, Suzumura-san would reveal the truth when she was alone with Tachibana-kun."

Teacher Hirano asked a follow-up question.

"Who chose Tachibana-kun?"

Sugisawa looked away for a moment.

"...Kujo-kun."

Teacher Hirano dropped his eyes to the materials in his hand just once, jotted down a brief note, and then returned his gaze to Sugisawa.

"Do you know the reason why Tachibana-kun was chosen?"

(The reason he was chosen... That's obviously because he's a loner. To begin with, because that guy is such an extreme loner, do you have any idea how much trouble I went through just to look up his contact info? No matter who I asked, all they ever replied was 'he's good at studying'.)

"Because he's a quiet guy, so everyone shouldn't worry about it—I think Kujo-kun said something like that."

Teacher Hirano jotted something down in the materials at hand and directed his gaze toward Sugisawa.

"Now then, there is a difference between what was originally decided and what actually happened. Were you aware of that change beforehand?"

(As if I would've known! That guy went and made things complicated on his own. In the first place, we were already walking a tightrope. And yet, whether out of jealousy or whatever, he let his romance-addled brain twist things and pulled unnecessary stunts... While I was crossing carefully so I wouldn't fall, why is only that guy diving full-speed ahead?!)

"I wasn't told. Completely, nothing at all..."

Hearing Sugisawa's words, the three of them fixed their gazes straight at him.

(Bad... Calm down. Control your emotions. Quell the anger. The only thing to show here is sadness. Seal away the anger toward Kujo. What's needed right now is 'the pitiful me who knew nothing and just got dragged into it'. Don't put too much strength into your eyebrows. It'll make you look angry. Conversely, don't relax them too much. You'll look like a clueless idiot. Right—just lower your gaze slightly, mixing bewilderment and sorrow. Perfect. I can do this.)

Sugisawa lowered his gaze and bit his lip slightly. Then, he let out a small breath, as if enduring something.

Teacher Hirano quietly asked.

"Do you understand why it turned out that way?"

(Because your brain got fried by romance.)

Sugisawa swallowed back the urge to say that and stayed silent with his head bowed.

(Answering with the reason is easy. But casually exposing a friend's secrets leaves a bad impression. If I blabber on here, I'll look like a guy who effortlessly sells out his friends' secrets. I want to avoid that.)

"Well... I think maybe they had some sort of complicated feelings between the two of them..."

Teacher Hirano dropped his eyes to the documents, then changed his question.

"The questionnaire mentions that Sugisawa-kun called out to try and stop Kujo-kun at that scene... what kind of things did you say at that time?"

(I stopped Kujo back then... Well, to be precise, I just called out Kujo's name.)

"When Kujo-kun was hurling harsh words at Tachibana-kun... I called out with the feeling of 'Kujo, stop it'... But my voice didn't reach Kujo-kun..."

Sugisawa paused his words for a moment.

"Kujo-kun and I are close normally... and we're in the same club... so I thought I had to stop something like this..."

"But... someone like me isn't the type of person who can say things strongly to Kujo-kun... Even so... as Kujo-kun's friend! And above all, thinking of Tachibana-kun, who was hurt and suffering!"

(Here it is...! Put emotion into it here! Bring out the sorrow to the max! Make your voice tremble, raise your gaze, choke up your breath! Come on... tears! Come out from my eyes! Now's your time to shine, isn't it?!!)

"I think I should have stopped him!"

The three of them stared intently at Sugisawa's face.

.........

(Dammit...!! No tears came out! Tear ducts, do your job! With acting like this, normally at least a single drop should come out! What are you holding back for?!!)

After staring at Sugisawa's face for a while, Teacher Hirano opened his mouth.

"...Understood... Then, next question. Kano-san was recording a video at that scene, was that part of the original plan?"

(Kano...? I can't quite figure out what that girl is thinking. Honestly, she's someone I'd rather not get involved with. The way she looks at Kujo is also somehow abnormal. Would someone record a video in a scene like that? She's broken somewhere.)

"Recording wasn't included in the plan... so it was Kano-san's own arbitrary decision."

Teacher Hirano wrote down the answer in the materials at hand and moved on to the next question.

"After the fake confession ended, did the six of you discuss anything?"

"After the fake confession, the six of us didn't talk about it, and while I was absent, there was no contact whatsoever."

Teacher Hirano jotted down notes in the documents at hand and gazed fixedly into Sugisawa's eyes.

"Now, for the last question. Is there anything you want to convey to Tachibana-kun?"

(Now's the time...! Make use of that reflection just now. Don't rush, keep it natural. Tear ducts, I'm counting on you...! I asked for too much earlier, my bad. This time for sure, you and I are going to create the ultimate tears...!!)

"To Tachibana-kun... I've truly done something irreparable."

Sugisawa kept his head down, creating a pause as if he couldn't continue speaking for a while.

"How I should apologize... to Tachibana-kun... I've been thinking about it the whole time..."

"Because we did a stupid thing... and hurt Tachibana-kun... how am I supposed to apologize...!"

(Ah, this looks doable...! It's coming, it's coming, it's coming...! Good, this feeling! This is it... the ultimate climax!)

"Even so...! I'll bow my head with all my heart and apologize to Tachibana—"

Riiiiiing, dong, dang, dong.

Sugisawa's words were cut off by the merciless chime.

Teacher Hirano nodded slightly.

"Understood. Regarding the contents confirmed today, we will organize them at school and consider future responses."

"Yes."

After a brief pause, Teacher Hirano continued.

"On top of that, regarding this matter, the school will also contact Sugisawa-kun's parents."

"Yes."

Observing Sugisawa's condition, Teacher Hirano added one more thing.

"And please make sure not to talk about or share the contents confirmed here today with other students."

"Yes."

Sugisawa nodded, stood up from the chair, and left the room together with Mr. Yamaoka.

Confirmation Regarding Events of Last Monday After School

Name: Tatsuya Sugisawa

① Were you inside the classroom last Monday after school?

□ Yes □ No

A. Yes

(If you answered "No", please end here.)

② Please fill in what happened inside the classroom at that time, to the extent that you remember.

A. I am one of the members who knew about this fake confession from the beginning. In front of my classmates, I conveyed that the relationship between Tachibana-kun and Suzumura-san was a lie. As a result, I deeply hurt Tachibana-kun.

③ If there is anything you saw or heard at the time that left a strong impression on you, please fill it in.

A. Tachibana-kun's expression. Watching it felt like my heart was being torn apart. I truly think I've done something irreparable.

④ If there was anything you yourself did or said at the scene, please fill it in.

A. I called out to try and stop Kujo-kun. But my voice couldn't reach him, someone like me.

⑤ How do you feel personally about this incident?

A. I was in a position where I couldn't speak too strongly to Kujo-kun. But even so, considering Tachibana-kun's feelings, I should have stood up to Kujo-kun and stopped him. Now, I am filled with regret.

⑥ Did you ever think about consulting or reporting the events of last Monday after school to the school or teachers?

□ Yes □ No

A. Yes

Please write the reason why you thought so.

A. I was really torn. But I couldn't betray Kujo-kun either. He is my best friend. That's why I really worried and worried over what I should do. Before I knew it, only time had passed.

⑦ If there is anything else you would like to convey to the school, please fill it in.

A. I want to apologize to Tachibana-kun.

Writing novels on late-night impulses is scary.