"Yeah, Sensei! I think Nogami Izumi and the others are being framed!"
"Nogami Izumi and the others are usually really nice, how could they possibly do something like this?"
"I feel like Hikari is slandering Nogami Izumi and the others. If not, then show some evidence."
As the follower girls of the gyaru clique stirred things up, the number of people supporting Nogami Izumi and the other two suddenly seemed to increase again.
Listening to both sides sticking to their own claims, Matsuura Anju felt a headache coming on.
"Hikari-kun…"
Matsuura Anju looked at Hikari with a wry smile.
Actually, she personally believed Hikari's words quite a bit.
Whether it was her own judgment, or the fact that Hikari seemed to have a good relationship with that serious and responsible teacher Tsukishima Kyoko, all of it naturally made her feel more favorable toward Hikari.
But right now, Nogami Izumi and the other two were also speaking with confidence, and they had quite a few supporters.
Although their momentum wasn't as overwhelming as before, it was still enough to keep anyone from daring to stand up and support Hikari.
If someone had stepped forward to support him and provided more evidence, Matsuura Anju would have been willing to identify Nogami Izumi and the others as the culprits.
But right now, more than half the class remained silent, and among those speaking, aside from Hikari, all were supporting Nogami Izumi.
That really put Matsuura Anju in a difficult position.
Just as she was feeling troubled, suddenly, someone spoke up in support of Hikari.
"Matsuura-sensei! I support Hikari-kun! Everything he said is true!"
"Yeah! Matsuura-sensei! It was Nogami Izumi and the others who scribbled all over Yoshida Saki's desk. We actually saw it too!"
"That's right! We all saw it! Every word Hikari-kun said is true. The ones who did it are those three girls."
"Hikari-kun is innocent. He's just speaking up for what's right. It's Nogami Izumi and the others who wanted to bully Yoshida Saki!"
"Yeah! If you don't believe it, teacher, you can ask the other students. Quite a few people know about this."
In what had originally been a situation overwhelmingly in favor of Nogami Izumi, voices supporting Hikari suddenly appeared, and there was more than one
Even Hikari was a bit surprised as he turned his head to look.
He saw Ruri, Sasaki Yukina, and Hamazaki Reina, the trio of gyaru girls who often went to his place for parties, speaking up while constantly smiling and winking at him.
Clearly, the ones who had just spoken in his support were none other than them.
This was probably what you'd call party-bond camaraderie.
And as the three girls took a stand and joined in, many students who had known the truth but had kept quiet under the "better to avoid trouble" mindset began to open their mouths as they noticed the shift in momentum.
"Hikari-kun is telling the truth! I actually saw Nogami Izumi and the others messing with Yoshida Saki's desk this morning!"
"Yeah, I also heard before that Nogami Izumi and the others said they were going to dirty Yoshida Saki's desk."
"I saw it too…"
These girls were very good at reading the room.
Now that more and more people were pointing fingers at Nogami Izumi and the others, even more began to step forward.
After all, with Nogami Izumi's arrogant personality and the clique's usual behavior, they had offended quite a few people.
Once the trend of accusing them formed, Nogami Izumi and the others were immediately surrounded by criticism.
Their struggling denials were instantly drowned out by the crowd.
And those follower girls who bullied the weak and feared the strong also shut their mouths one after another.
At a time like this, they didn't dare to speak.
Moreover, unlike the innocent Yoshida Saki, Nogami Izumi, Hinata Sae, and Sanada Minako had actually done the despicable act of deliberately dirtying Yoshida Saki's desk.
So the clues people were bringing up weren't fabricated, they were all true.
With the evidence piling up, there was no way for Nogami Izumi and the others to argue their way out.
Seeing them being accused by everyone, Matsuura Anju could now make a decision easily.
"Nogami Izumi, Hinata Sae, Sanada Minako, you deliberately scribbled all over Yoshida Saki's desk. Do you have anything else to say?", Matsuura Anju questioned.
"We didn't…", Nogami Izumi and the others still tried to argue.
But the excuses they spoke were quickly refuted by others.
In the end, they couldn't even argue anymore and could only cross their arms and fall silent in anger.
Seeing their tacit admission, Matsuura Anju felt her anger rise.
"Nogami Izumi, Hinata Sae, Sanada Minako, the three of you, stand up!"
"For this class, go stand at the back of the classroom and listen from there!"
"After class, you must apologize to Yoshida Saki and clean her desk properly!"
"And I will report this matter to the disciplinary office. At the very least, you'll receive a demerit!"
"Finally, each of you will submit a 5,000-word self-reflection!"
Matsuura Anju's tone was extremely serious. Now that the real culprits had finally been identified, she was determined to handle it strictly without backing down.
Hearing the severity in her voice, and with nearly the entire class now staring at them with indescribable looks, Nogami Izumi and the others didn't dare continue arguing, nor did they dare oppose the teacher in public.
So although they grumbled and looked unwilling, they still obediently went to the back of the classroom to stand as punishment.
But even after accepting that their bullying scheme had been exposed and punished, Nogami Izumi and the other two still looked at Yoshida Saki and at the one sitting beside her, the one who had dared to go against them, Hikari, with hostile expressions.
Staring at Hikari's back, Nogami Izumi, Hinata Sae, and Sanada Minako clenched their teeth, furious.
At this moment, their hatred toward Hikari had even surpassed their resentment toward Yoshida Saki.
Because Hikari had not only stood up and accused them, becoming the direct cause of their current situation, but what angered them the most was this, he had done it for Yoshida Saki.
He actually dared to offend them, the top of the school's social food chain, just to stand up for someone like Yoshida Saki, who was practically invisible and at the very bottom of the class hierarchy.
That was what made them feel the most humiliated, the most unreasonable, and the most furious.
"That damn guy! Damn Hikari! Bastard! So what if he's good-looking? I'm definitely going to teach him a lesson!", Nogami Izumi clenched her fists, her face full of anger as she spoke.
"Yeah! We have to teach him a proper lesson. He actually dared to offend us just to stand up for someone like Yoshida Saki. He clearly doesn't take the three of us seriously at all. What a jerk!", the dark-skinned gyaru Hinata Sae echoed.
"I really don't get it. That Yoshida Saki isn't even prettier than me. Why does Hikari care about her? Why would he help her and accuse us? This is way too much!"
Sanada Minako couldn't understand at all what Hikari saw in an unremarkable girl like Yoshida Saki. Her jealousy flared, and she could barely maintain her usual gentle and innocent expression.
As for the truth behind Yoshida Saki's desk being scribbled on, it was now completely settled.
Seeing Nogami Izumi and the others punished with demerits made quite a few people feel satisfied.
Watching them stand as punishment, many students secretly glanced over.
But more than that, even more people were thinking about what would happen after class.
Because the incident had already taken up most of the lesson time, Matsuura Anju didn't teach much before class ended.
After warning Nogami Izumi and the others a few more times not to bully Yoshida Saki again, she left the classroom.
But not long after the bell rang and Matsuura Anju left, many students crowded toward the area where Hikari and Yoshida Saki were.
Because based on their understanding of Nogami Izumi, after being humiliated like that in class today, the three of them would definitely retaliate.
Sure enough.
While Matsuura Anju was still there, Nogami Izumi and the others had said they would turn over a new leaf.
But the moment she left, Nogami Izumi, Hinata Sae, and Sanada Minako immediately returned to their clique, gathered dozens of people, and headed straight toward Hikari.
"Come watch! Come watch! Someone offended Nogami Izumi and those gyaru girls!"
"Who's got the guts for that? Are they tired of living?"
"I heard he stood up for another girl. That's pretty brave!"
"Brave? More like reckless. He's asking for trouble!"
"Why care so much? Just watch the show!"
Many people who loved a spectacle gathered around, ready to enjoy the drama.
At this moment, Hikari, who had just gotten up to go to the restroom after class, found himself surrounded.
Blocking his path at the front were none other than Nogami Izumi and the other two.
"What do you want?", Looking at the three girls blocking his way, along with the imposing-looking clique behind them, Hikari's expression didn't change at all.
"What do we want? Hikari, we want to settle the score with you!", Nogami Izumi stepped forward, blocking him directly, her voice cold as she sneered.
"Hikari, don't you have any awareness? You just offended the three of us not long ago, and you already forgot?", Hinata Sae, the short-haired dark-skinned gyaru, actually had a rather small frame, but she still clenched her fists, looking furious.
"Hikari-kun, do you like someone like Yoshida Saki? Otherwise, why would you stand up for someone like her and even offend us because of it?", Sanada Minako frowned, looking at him in confusion. Even now, she couldn't understand why he would stand up for Yoshida Saki.
"Right is right, wrong is wrong. You actually think I need to like Yoshida Saki to point out the real culprits? You gyaru girls are way too stupid," Hikari had heard enough of girls like Nogami Izumi and Hinata Sae to feel nothing.
But Sanada Minako's words still left him a bit speechless.
Not wanting to waste time on what he saw as childish behavior, Hikari stepped forward directly.
"Move. Don't block my way to the restroom."
But as he moved, Nogami Izumi and the others immediately blocked the path again.
"You're not going anywhere today!"
"You think you can leave after offending Izumi-chan?"
Nogami Izumi and the other two looked aggressive, and with the large number of followers behind them, it did look somewhat intimidating.
But Hikari had seen far worse. To him, this was nothing more than a clown show.
"This is your last warning. Move. Don't block the way."
"Don't think I won't hit a woman."
Hearing Hikari's words, Nogami Izumi instead looked even more arrogant.
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