In a dimly lit storage room, I was sitting across from Hiden-sensei at a table. From a kettle, he was pouring hot water into two bamboo cups.

"Here."

Hiden-sensei handed me a cup. Expecting it to have green tea inside, I took it, but when I checked, there was only plain hot water.

"...thanks."

I put my cup down while Hiden-sensei happily drank from his. The water was still boiling hot, how was he not burning his tongue?

"Ah, that hits the spot."

Hiden-sensei, speaking in English for some reason, put his cup down and smiled at me.

"...so, what's all this about?"

I replied back in Japanese, signalling I wanted to speak normally. However, Hiden-sensei ignored me and continued speaking in English.

"It's very simple, Mister Yuu. The school is currently investigating a report of foul play from Mr Paradox, who I'm sure you know is currently getting treatment for his broken leg in hospital."

"Yeah. I also heard he retired."

"That he did. However, in his explanation of events, Mr Paradox alleges that his fall and subsequent grave injuries were orchestrated by you, Mister Yuu."

I raised an eyebrow. So this is the game Shigeru was trying to play now, huh?

Instead of blaming Yamaguchi for his injuries, he was going to use me as a scapegoat to try and punish me. Since the matter is very serious, it would be escalated to higher authorities in school, and the case would most likely be picked up by the student council.

If that would happen, me and him would basically go to court. Shigeru to prove I was the one who injured him, and me to prove I was innocent and that Yamaguchi was the culprit.

Due to the severity of the crime, depending on the judge's final verdict on the matter, there was a chance I could be expelled over this. It was a very roundabout way of defeating me, and of course, one that entirely hinged on luck.

Depending on what I say here, I could prevent this whole scenario from occurring in the first place. All I have to do is immediately prove I wasn't the one who pushed Shigeru off the cliff. And there was one surefire way of doing it.

"In order to verify the truth, I'm currently interviewing all parties involved. Since you're the one being accused, I'd like to hear your side of the story and ask a couple of questions. Is that okay?"

"Sure."

It's not like I have much of a choice in the matter anyways.

"Great. Let's get started then."

Hiden-sensei took out a laptop from his bag and opened it. He was setting up some equipment, mainly a microphone and camera. It looks like he was going to be recording this entire ordeal.

"Sorry for being late."

Just before we were about to begin, a slim young man with short black hair wearing a formal suit entered. Clipped around his blazer's right arm was a dark green band, signifying that he was part of GEN's police agency.

"No, no, you're just in time... Superintendent Juumonji-kun."

So this was the guy who was at the head of all police operations on the island, huh...? I thought he would be an old gruff man with a beard and burly body. Turns out Juumonji was handsomely hard eyed.

"Or should I say, Daichoukeiji-kun?"

Now that someone else was here, Hiden-sensei switched back to speaking Japanese.

"Please stop with the weird nicknames. I'm just here to listen in on the conversation."

Juumonji took a seat in between me and Hiden-sensei. He briefly glanced at me before looking back towards Hiden-sensei.

"Sure thing. You might even learn a thing or two about Yuu-kun over here."

"I know plenty about him already."

I narrowed my eyes at him. Juumonji crossed his arms.

"After all, the case I was working on the other week also involved him. Though, during that time, he was the victim. It seems he's somehow wound up being the aggressor this time."

"If I had a penny every time Yuu-kun got involved with the police, I'd have two pennies, which isn't a lot, but it's strange that it's happened twice."

"...let's just get on with the interview. I'm tired." I said.

Hiden-sensei smiled thinly and nodded. He switched the camera on.

"Alright, Yuu-kun. Let's start things off by asking about your testimony of the situation."

I nodded, looking straight at Hiden-sensei.

"On Thursday morning, at 11:35am, I was participating in the Free Will challenge when I received a text from Yamaguchi-san saying he was going to "do something crazy". After that message, he sent me a time and location, 7:30pm at the cliffside located northeast of the outdoors school."

Hearing this new piece of information being revealed, Hiden-sensei slyly raised his eyebrows. Juumonji nodded, taking notes on his personal notebook. I guess he was old fashioned and preferred pen and paper.

"On that same evening, I went to the place where Yamaguchi-san told me to go. There, I witnessed him push Shigeru-san off the cliff. He declared himself as the true leader of his group, and made an offer for me to join him. At the same time, he was approaching me with the same hostile intent to injure. I left the site immediately and reported to Chabashira-sensei that Shigeru-san had fallen."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"I see, I see."

Hiden-sensei nodded, typing down a few notes of his own.

"So you're saying that the one behind this is actually Yamaguchi-san, correct?" Juumonji said.

"Yeah. You can even check my phone's message log for evidence. In the case Yamaguchi-san deleted them, I've got screenshots of the message just in case."

"Hmm, does this mean you were anticipating something bad happening?" Hiden-sensei said.

"I guess you could call it a gut feeling. After all, it was a very strange message to receive in the middle of a challenge. At that point, I was still in the minibus with Chabashira-sensei. Considering that me and Yamaguchi-san aren't friends, nor are we on good terms, there something suspicious... almost ominous, about him sending me that vague message and those coordinates."

"Was there anyone else present at the scene aside from you and Yamaguchi-san?"

"No. It was just us three... or I guess us two, with Shigeru-san in the bushes below us."

Hiden-sensei chuckled slightly. Juumonji gave him a disapproving look.

"I'll go ahead and collect his phone for evidence."

"Sure thing. Just ask Benson-sensei for permission to access the student's belongings."

"Where can I find him?"

"Probably arguing with Mordecai-sensei about why his class is better in the staff room."

Juumonji nodded and headed out, leaving just me and Hiden-sensei alone in the room. He reached out to the camera and paused recording.

"Ah, now it's just the two of us again."

Now that we were alone, Hiden-sensei seamlessly switched back to English.

"...why did you pause the recording?"

"Because I wanted to have a nice personal little chat with you. You know, get to know one of my students better."

"Sorry, but I'm not in A Class."

"But I still teach you for Japanese. Have you been enjoying the texts so far?"

"Yeah."

"I'm glad to hear. I heard from Miss Chacha you're a very avid reader."

"...she knows that about me?"

"She watches you surprisingly closely. I think you're a real contender for being her favourite student."

...probably because I've helped her take a step towards her dream of being in A Class.

"I see. That's nice to hear."

"You seem to rely a lot on her. I've noticed she's always the first teacher you turn to when you're in trouble."

"Isn't that natural? She's my homeroom teacher."

"Ha ha, I suppose. Miss Chacha is also a very reliable person too. Yes, very reliable..."

Hiden-sensei grinned. I raised an eyebrow.

"But you know, it wouldn't be bad to expand your reach. Especially in a situation where she's not around, like now."

"...what are you saying?"

"All I'm saying is, if you're ever in trouble, feel free to come to me. I'd be more than happy to help you out."

I couldn't get a read on Hiden-sensei at all. One moment, it feels like he's threatening me, and the next he's acting friendly towards me. Was he trying to be intimidating or approachable? I genuinely couldn't tell.

"...thanks. If it comes down to it, I'll refer to you."

This was definitely a last resort option though. I'd sooner talk to Mikazuchi-sensei or Hiryuu-sensei before him.

"I can't wait for when that day comes then, ha ha ha."

Hiden-sensei laughed before seemingly remembering something.

"Oh, yes. I wanted to tell you something too."

"What is it?"

"It's about Mr Torisu. You're very familiar with him, yes?"

More than I'd like to admit.

"Yeah."

"Before the special exam began, he told me something which surprised me. It had to do with you of all people!"

"...what is it?"

Cautiously, I asked about what Ryouta said about me.

I knew I was playing into Hiden-sensei's hands by pressing for an answer, but I also wanted to know more about what Ryouta had been planning from the start. That way, I could read into how his mind worked better.

Hiden-sensei smiled, opening one of his eyes.

"Mr Torisu said he wanted to make a group full of class representatives so he could be on the same group as you."

"Huh. Now why would he do that?"

"I said the same thing! Apparently, he wanted to monitor you closely and gauge your true abilities for himself."

"Is that so?"

I closed my eyes.

Ah. So that's why he didn't take any action against me.

I finally understood what Ryouta's game plan was now. It all makes sense.

Everything he's done so far has been for the sole purpose of figuring me out.

From the very beginning, we were fed a false pretence. Ryouta didn't make this group because he believed we were the best people in our class, nor did he make this group because he wanted to improve everyone else's relationships with each other.

In fact, he probably knew that there was going to be arguments and drama between everyone, especially since Machida would be part of the group as well. He played that to his advantage in order to obscure his true intentions of scoping me out.

After all, no one would suspect him to have ulterior motives if he was more preoccupied with leading the group and trying to promote friendliness between the class representatives. It was the perfect excuse to what he really wanted.

And unfortunately, I had fallen right into his trap.

No wonder I was able to run around freely and do as I pleased. Ryouta had no intentions of stopping me or obstructing me from my goals, since he wanted to see the outcome of what I was doing.

That's why he didn't say or do anything when the group broke down into an arguing mess after my reveal as the traitor. He first wanted to judge the effectiveness of my scheme, before moving to prevent anymore damage from happening.

And because he positioned himself as the leader of the group, I had no choice but to turn for him to assistance when executing the transfer to Shimada's group. I was unwittingly revealing parts of my plans to him, giving him exactly what he wanted.

Looking back, all this was practically hidden in plain sight. He'd already explained to us how this special exam's punishments were basically negligible, making this the perfect opportunity for him to go hands free and observe me.

What a multi-layered concealment... this entire time, I thought there was something odd about the way Ryouta was behaving, but I could never pinpoint what it was exactly.

Now that everything was laid bare, I couldn't believe it actually worked. To think he did all this to goad me into revealing my abilities in front of him...

I clenched my fists under the table. Ryouta was playing the long game, even longer than I was.

Even so, I can't let this get me down. Where there's a loss, there's also a win to be found. I too had gained valuable information about Ryouta, from his homeroom teacher no less.

"Are you angry with him?"

"Why would I be? That just means I'm a threat in his eyes."

Hiden-sensei chuckled, nodding his head back and forth.

"Oh, I agree, I agree... I agree, yes."

The door rattled open as Juumonji returned, wearing gloves and holding my phone in a plastic bag.

"We'll be conducting a search through your phone. Is that okay?"

"I already said you had my consent earlier. Go for it."

Juumonji took out my phone and placed it in front of me, expecting the face ID to unlock it. However, nothing happened.

"This is your phone, right?"

"Oh, sorry. I use a regular PIN number."

I quickly punched in my number to unlock the phone. Juumonji sighed.

"You're somehow more behind the times than I am."

"How old are you?"

"45."

I would've never imagined that with how young he looks... Asian genes are scary.

Juumonji didn't waste any time and went straight to the messages app. However, since I haven't turned on my phone since the Free Will challenge, a flood of notifications hit it all at once, including some more... questionable ones.

"...I'm slightly concerned by the amount of mom related content you're subscribed too."

Was it really necessary to point that out in specific?

"Please stop embarrassing me and find Yamaguchi-san's messages."

"Sorry, it was like trying to look away from a car crash. Do you perhaps have a mother complex?"

As Juumonji deadpanned, Hiden-sensei was covering his mouth, trying his best not to burst into unrestrained laughter.

"I should've called you Oedipus-kun..."

"You're not helping, sensei."

Juumonji quickly went back to business and found the message Yamaguchi sent me.

"...looks like he wasn't lying. It's exactly as Takanori-san said."

"What a peculiar, peculiar case indeed..."

"Let's make preparations to interview Yamaguchi Teruhiko next."

"Sure thing. Looks like our time together is up, Yuu-kun."

Hiden-sensei closed his laptop, smiling slightly.

"Yeah. I'll be taking my leave then."

"Of course, feel free. You must be exhausted."

I nodded, getting up to leave. As I did, Juumonji turned to me.

"Thank you for your time today. And sorry about the public humiliation."

"...it's fine, I'm used to it."

"That's also concerning."

Hiden-sensei chuckled while I sighed.

I couldn't tell if Juumonji was too straight laced or had a sick sense of humour. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'd rather take that womanising bastard Hyoudou over him any day of the week.

As I went to take my leave, I could hear Hiden-sensei speak in English one last time in the distance.

"Goodnight, Mister Yuu. I sincerely hope you sleep well tonight. Otherwise, it might be your last chance of getting any good sleep ever again."

I shut the door behind me.

I've already long lost that ever since I was put in the same group as Nakajima.