COTE : There is Something Wrong With Hikigaya-Chapter 139: Smoke Screen

Hikigaya sat alone under a large tree. Outside, the scorching midday sun beat down on the sports field. Now that it was July, the weather was getting unbearably hot, but in the shade of the tree, Hikigaya found it tolerable.

Checking the time, he saw that there were still thirty minutes left of lunch break. He sent a message to a certain someone whose contact info he had just gotten from Komiya, then set his phone aside and quietly waited.

It didn't take long before a small figure appeared in the distance, quickly making its way toward him under the blazing sun.

"Hey, Hikigaya! What do you want? If you're here to talk about settling things for Class D, forget it!"

Ishizaki's voice was loud and blunt, just like his personality—straightforward to the point of being dense.

Hikigaya glanced at him, completely unfazed by his aggressive tone.

"What if I told you this is about your possible expulsion?"

"No way I'm falling for— Wait, what? Expulsion?!"

Ishizaki froze, his eyes widening in shock. The word "expulsion" clearly sent a chill down his spine. But he quickly snapped out of it.

"I knew it! You're up to something! Damn it, Hikigaya, you liar! You're just trying to trick—"

Before he could finish, Hikigaya gestured for him to shut up, then pulled out his phone and played a recording.

"Alright, I'm starting the recording now. To ensure fairness and avoid invading anyone's privacy, do you both agree to this voluntarily?"

"We agree!"

Two voices answered in unison.

"I am Komiya Kyogo, a first-year from Class C. Regarding last week's fight in the special teaching building, I was threatened by Ishizaki Daichi into giving false testimony. I was afraid of retaliation, so I had no choice but to go along with his instructions. Everything was orchestrated by Ishizaki Daichi!"

"I am Kondo, a first-year from Class C..."

Other than the names at the beginning, both recordings said the exact same thing. In the Sudou fight incident, Ishizaki had used violence to intimidate Komiya and Kondo, forcing them to lie and give false statements.

"Wh-what is this?!"

Ishizaki's face turned pale. His voice trembled as he pointed at Hikigaya.

"Why do you have this recording? No—wait! Did Komiya and Kondo betray us?!"

Sweat broke out on his forehead and back as the realization hit him.

"T-this has to be fake! Yeah, that's right! There's no way they'd betray Ryuen!"

"Oh? If it's real, though, you're getting expelled, Ishizaki. Not only did you threaten others and make them lie, but you also deceived the school and the student council. As the mastermind behind it all, this evidence is enough to get you suspended until summer break.

"And just so you know—if you miss the final exams, you're out."

"Huh?"

Ishizaki suddenly felt like the sky was falling. How did he go from being a regular student to the "ringleader" out of nowhere? And how did he end up facing expulsion so suddenly?!

"Ishizaki, here's some advice. If you can't think your way out of this, now's the time to ask a certain arrogant idiot for help. I'm guessing he's nearby, right?"

Ishizaki's eyes widened like he'd seen a ghost.

"H-how do you know about Ryuen?!"

"Idiot, Ishizaki."

A female voice filled with irritation came from behind Hikigaya.

A girl with short blue hair stepped out from behind a building—Ibuki.

"Even I could've guessed that Ryuen wouldn't let you come here alone. That'd be like walking straight into a trap."

Behind her stood Albert, wearing his signature black sunglasses, and Ryuen himself, looking as cocky as ever—though his face was noticeably dark with irritation.

"Hey, dead fish eyes," Ryuen sneered. "Tell me, what exactly do you want?"

"It's simple. This ends here."

"Hah? You make it sound like we're the ones clinging onto this mess. Isn't it that girl from Class D—Horikita—who won't let go?"

"I don't like repeating myself. You understand, don't you?"

"You—you think just because you have that recording, you've already won? If Komiya and Kondo deny everything later, then—"

Before Ishizaki could finish, Ryuen kicked him to the ground.

"Shut up, idiot!"

Ryuen turned and stared at Hikigaya, as if trying to find some flaw in his expression. But in the end, he couldn't read anything from those dead-fish eyes. Finally, he gritted his teeth and squeezed out two words:

"Deal."

"Ryuen, looks like you're not completely brainless after all."

Leaving those words behind, Hikigaya stood up and walked away.

Once Hikigaya was out of sight, Ishizaki shakily got to his feet, unwilling to accept the situation.

"Ryuen, those traitors Komiya and Kondo betrayed us! We can't just let this go!"

Ryuen scoffed.

"Ishizaki, no wonder Ibuki calls you an idiot."

"If I hadn't agreed, you'd already be on your way out! That dead-fish-eyed bastard was just waiting to see if I would save you or not!"

Ryuen was furious. Because of Komiya and Kondo's recording, Class C was now caught lying, and on top of that, the blame had been completely pushed onto Ishizaki. They claimed they had only gone along with it because they were forced by violence, meaning their punishment would be lighter. But Ishizaki was different—he was now seen as the mastermind.

And with things escalating to this point, there was a real chance Ishizaki could actually get expelled.

Him getting expelled wasn't the worst part—the real problem was that an expulsion would cost the class 300 points!

No way was Ryuen going to lose 300 points over an idiot like Ishizaki.

"Can't we just make Komiya and Kondo deny the recording later?"

Ibuki suddenly asked.

Given Ryuen's control over Class C, making those two submit shouldn't be hard. They had already followed his orders without question in this whole fight setup—even after getting beaten up, they hadn't dared to resist.

"Heh, if we did that, we'd be walking right into that dead-fish-eyed bastard's trap! If they deny the recording, then none of your words will have any credibility left. And with how strict the school is being right now, there would only be one outcome."

Ryuen gritted his teeth, looking in the direction Hikigaya had left.

"All three of you would be suspended until summer break... and then expelled!"

"So you're saying he's got dirt on us?"

Ibuki looked frustrated. If that was the case, it meant they had completely lost control of the situation. Hikigaya could get Ishizaki expelled whenever he wanted.

Ryuen didn't answer. He just sat there, deep in thought, his face dark.

After a moment, he let out a cold scoff.

"Hikigaya just wants me to back off. If he really wanted Ishizaki expelled, he wouldn't have bothered calling me out here along with him."

"I get it now! Hikigaya doesn't actually have solid proof to get me expelled! Then why should I be scared of that bas—"

"Ishizaki, you absolute moron."

"Idiot!"

Ryuen and Ibuki both cursed at him at the same time.

Ishizaki flinched, looking embarrassed, as if he had no idea what he had said wrong.

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