A single man moved limply through the mountain while being obstructed by the rough rocks and exposed to the foul and poisoned air. Blood from various cuts and bruises still fresh all over his body, he moved unaffected by all the intense pain that tormented him. His sword was firmly gripped in his right hand, dripping blood as he progressed on a path that didn’t guarantee his safe return.

The sliding door was flung open from the outside, leaving a strong sound in its wake. Three people with varying ages came in while adopting a rather serious expression. All the students stood up in respect and had a certain fear in their eyes.

The person who entered first was a man who appeared to be in his late forties. His hair was almost completely black with a hint of white peeking from certain places, although he seemed to be unaffected by it, it gave him a more scary look that a person of faint-heart could take. His height crossed one-eighty-centimeters, and his body was quite firm and muscular for his age. Sharp eagle-like eyes, and a black suit with an odd-looking tie. He is a renowned educationist and the Principal of Mekangham Academy, Miyamura Kazami. After the establishment of Mekhangham Academy, Kazami went on to become one of the leading figures in Japan's education system.

Following the renowned Principal himself was the victim and the person who filed the complaint against Aki, Shinohara Miya. Inheriting the Shinohara name and being an only child of the prestigious and renowned Shinohara family, Miya was the heir to one of the most popular underwear manufacturing companies in North-east Asia. On top of having the prestige of being a Shinohara, she had quite the erotic body. If viewed objectively, it wouldn’t be strange for a man to grope Miya’s ample assets during the heat of the moment. Her height was just over one-fifty-five centimeters, and her face was just like a child's, but that gap between her child-like face and erotic body made for a wonderful spectacle of maturity and cuteness.

Closely behind them was the bald and short headmaster, Gouda Masaru. He has been the person handling such cases all this time. These ‘cases’ that Masaru has to handle are most often based around Aki and his various (imaginary) exploits. And because of his experience, there is one thing that Masaru is sure about, and that is the fact that Aki is innocent. There have been many instances when Aki’s innocence was obvious and he could’ve been saved, but just because his parents were uninvolved, he accepted the punishment without saying even a single word in his defense, and of course, when any of the four girls or Vinayak voiced their objections, they were gently told off by Aki.

Kazami waved his hands, indicating that the students were allowed to be seated. Most of the students placed themselves on their chairs, except the group of two who were having fun chatting away while the whole class was enveloped in a tense atmosphere.

“Oo~ Look at that Aki, the hitman himself came to kill you.”

Unlike many of the people present in the room, Vinayak seemed quite amused with the attendance of Kazami in this particular hearing.

“He is our Principal and a celebrity in the academic world, Vinayak. At least assign a better nickname to him.”

Aki wasn't exactly amused with the unexpected arrival of Kazami, but neither was he exactly scared. Aki had seen too much in his life to be afraid of a single person who held some influence in his direct surroundings.

“That’s not the point, is it? If he intends to involve himself in this situation, then that would be the second time he’s been involved in any form of student dispute. The first time was when he banned all forms of physical violence among the students because a certain someone refused to take action against his assaulters.”

Vinayak turned his neck in Aki's direction to observe the change in his expression, however, his effort was to no avail as Aki's expression was as calm and composed as ever.

“Our school gives way too much student autonomy. It’s somewhat disgusting.”

In Mekangham Academy, just by keeping your grades high and paying the fees that could cause rich people to go bankrupt, a student is allowed to do anything that their teenager's mind desires. Classes aren’t compulsory, students aren’t rebuked even if they drink, smoke or have sex on campus, the numerous school facilities are open for students to exploit. Until a few months ago, even fighting, bullying and damaging school property were permitted as new furniture could be bought with the money that their parents were paying. The school has the knowledge that only the rich and spoilt attend their prestigious academy, give them a little freedom, and they would make sure to maintain their grades themselves to stay in this heaven of a school.

Aki had a blank look on his face. During the last year of his middle school, when the bullying that he was subjected to was at its peak, his sole desire was to get into a school where he could start anew and leave his painful and dark past behind. He didn’t expect one of the top schools in the country to be this horrible. The pain didn’t stop; rather, it grew further because there were some unfortunate factors mixed in this time. This time around... The existence of the one special person who always supported him no matter the situation was unfound inside the school grounds.

“Yeah. It's true, but it’s amazing at the same time. You, as the student who has skipped the most classes out of everyone in our class, should not be saying something like that.”

“Just shut up. Look, they’re talking to C-... Shishidou-sensei.”

Nobody approached and greeted Kazami or Masaru when they arrived, this would normally be considered disrespectful and punishable, but Kazami’s expression was such that no student wanted to grab his attention. The three people, without even sparing a glance at the students present, approached the homeroom teacher Chisa and initiated a serious conversation with her that caught the attention of everyone present. And in time, their voices were loud enough to be audible to the other students.

"Shishidou-sensei, this particular situation can't be ignored. I am aware of Muranaka-kun's abilities, but even so, his family doesn't match up to the might of the Shinohara family."

“S-Sir, please calm down and listen to me. There must be some mistake, this doesn’t make sense.”

“Shishidou-sensei, I am sorry to say, but it does. I am an educationist and the principal of this school, I wouldn’t just believe empty words of a student, more so when it comes to Muranaka-kun. However, Shinohara-kun’s story doesn’t seem to have any loopholes to exploit, and considering the circumstances, is comparatively believable than all the previous ones. Also, she is the sole heir to the Shinohara family, if this gets out, it can turn out to be a national issue. We can’t just brush off her words.”

Kazami was as calm as ever, he didn’t leave any openings. His words were firm, and the sharp look in his eyes was intimidating. Chisa being the young woman that she was, couldn’t handle the pressure and decided to throw the ball to Miya.

“W-Why don’t we listen to what Shinohara-san has to say?”

Chisa was feigning calmness. She could usually take care of most of the things that came in Aki’s way. She was too biased toward Aki, that much was obvious to an observant person, but nobody noticed nor cared as the person in question was the renowned and infamous Aki. However, this time, the stakes were too high and the involved parties were too much for Chisa to handle by herself.

“Fine. Shinohara-kun, it must be tough, but I hope you can take it from here.”

“U-Umm… Yes…”

Miya was acting nervous, her body was trembling and her face was dyed red. She had the eyes of a victim, on her beautiful and well-proportioned face was the look of anguish. One look at her and it was obvious that she was subjected to the unspoken and unforgivable.

“Is she in the drama club? No, her acting is of a much higher caliber. She must be learning acting from a very prestigious institute for her to be this good. Do you know anything?”

Aki asked Vinayak with conviction in his voice. Aki was an individual who had confidence in himself and his intellect, his intuition was sharp and his deduction didn't leave much to be criticized.

“I don’t even want to comment on your godly deduction skills. However, you’re right as always. She attends the Yoshie Institute of Art. She’s been learning to act since she was four-years-old. I heard this from a friend so this could just be a false rumor, but, before inheriting her father’s company, she wants to debut as an actress.”

Aki believed that Vinayak's information gathering skills were much more amazing than any of the abilities that he possessed.

“Is that so…? Let’s hear her story for now. Maybe I can find some inconsistencies or something.”

Aki calmly proceeded to fold his hands and look in the direction of the victim and the narrator of the story.

“I-It h-happened during the break between the fifth and sixth periods. The sixth period in 2-C was English, which I wanted to skip, so I headed over to the space a few feet away from the Chemistry lab on the first floor. It is a quiet corridor where normally nobody comes. And as we all know, it is also the only location on the first floor where no surveillance cameras are present, except for the restrooms of course. And that’s when… And that’s when Muranaka-kun arrived out of nowhere and pushed me on to the wall… He restricted my movements with his arms and forcibly… he forcibly… uwaaa~”

Miya’s legs seemed to have gone numb as she fell on the ground. Her tears wouldn’t stop, she was using both of her hands to cover her teary face. Several girls ran over to Miya to calm her down. The girls that went over to Miya's side were all a part of the net that focused on bullying Aki. Each of the six girls who went over to Miya’s side were accomplices of the people behind all of the suffering that Aki has been enduring since the summer of his first year of high school.

“What do you think?”

Vinayak presented a question to Aki without any context whatsoever.

“Seven.”

However, since these two have been through the same routine many times over, they don't require context to know what the other person is saying.

“Woah~! Seven!? Wasn’t it like two during the previous attempt? They’ve been slacking off.”

“No. It’s not that they are slacking off, on the contrary, they seem to have invested quite a serious effort into it this time. Their planning was good, and execution seems even better. They waited for me to leave for the restroom, and then moved. They must’ve asked Shinohara-san to go to the blindspot and wait until it was time. The place that they mentioned, the chemistry lab, there is a way to reach it and return to class in the provided time frame while simultaneously avoiding the cameras, but for that, you’d have to utilize the emergency staircase from the second floor to the first floor.”

“I don’t get it? Isn’t that pretty believable?”

“Are you stupid? The emergency staircase is on the East side of our floor, while the men’s bathroom is on the West. There are cameras on the way from our class to men’s washroom that can prove that I went into men’s washroom and returned to class.”

“Um-hm, that’s true. However, they could also bring up the fact that you can reach the chemistry lab by using the north stairs to descend and going around the campus. I don't believe that there are any cameras on that route either.”

“That can be countered by mentioning the existence of the only constant in this situation, time. I was out for about nine minutes during the break. Theoretically, the situation that Shinohara-san just mentioned could occur if I were to use the emergency staircase, which as I mentioned before, I didn’t, as proven by the cameras. However, even if I was a professional athlete, it would take at least eight minutes for me to reach the chemistry lab while using the northern staircase, that would mean the time-frame has to be about twenty minutes for me to reach chemistry lab, grope Shinohara-san, and return.”

“They didn’t plan this out, huh?”

“No… They did. You remember how their last attempt failed?”

“Yeah.”

“I believe that they focused all their energy on making the crime scene as believable as possible. They didn’t want someone proving my innocence like she did last week. And because of that, they forgot about everything else, making my defense quite simple.”

“Hmm… Tell me… Are you even planning on defending?”

“Unless they involve my parents, no. I don’t want to provoke the perpetrators any further. Hypothetically speaking, if I don't counter this and am proven guilty, I can be expelled, they are pretty angry over what happened last week.”

Saying so, Aki's eyes narrowed on a particular location in the classroom. He focused all his attention on his target and began his analysis.

“Is that so…?”

Vinayak had a complicated expression on his face. He cared for his best friend. Vinayak respected Aki and believed that he knew Aki better than most. He had come to adore Aki, he knew how mentally strong he was and was aware of his intellectual superiority. Vinayak turned his neck in the direction of the one that he loved, one look at her and all his worries vanished.

Vinayak was crazy over this particular girl, and not just because she was a beauty and a sports-freak, but because she was a genuine person. She never held anything back. She said what she meant and meant what she said. Vinayak was attracted by this quality of hers and has been pursuing her ever since he first realized his feelings.

“Hey, stop staring at her. She’s going to notice.”

Aki pinched Vinayak’s cheeks and proceeded to continue looking at the situation which was unfolding right in front of him. He had already come to a solution to get himself out of this predicament. While keeping his eyes on the situation, his mouth moved ever so slightly, hidden from the sights of all the observers.

A few feet away, a certain girl nudged her friend to grab her attention.

“Umi, did you notice, he was staring at you quite intently. But it seems like Muranaka-kun brought him back to reality."

“Yeah, Misaki, I did. I just didn't want to meet his eyes in this kind of situation.”

“Khavare-kun likes you a lot, huh?”

“Well, Misaki. I know that… But I just can’t reciprocate, you know? I mean… he’s friends with Muranaka, so I respect him, but he hasn’t done anything to show his affection. I may be more interested in Muranaka, to be honest.”

Umi said so and stole a glance at Akio. However, Akio’s full attention was on the events happening in the front of the classroom, turning her neck a little further, Nikki was the same as Akio, no, Nikki’s gaze was more passionate than Akio's, she even had drops of tears accumulating in her eyes, but Umi was aware of the reason, so she silently and sneakily wiped Nikki’s tears so no one would notice and proceeded to continued her conversation with Misaki.

“Well… It’s not like you have anyone else you like. You even rejected the fiance that your father chose for you. What I mean to say is, just keep an eye on Khavare-kun.”

“Mm-hmm, leaving that aside, how’s the situation looking?”

Umi asked Misaki in a serious tone. It wasn't in Umi's nature to be too serious about something, however, Aki was someone whom she considered a very special person. It was love, but not the romantic kind, both Aki and Umi desired to be friends with each other. For a normal boy, it would be difficult to maintain a friendship with a beauty such as Umi and not fall in love with her, but she believed that Aki wasn't one of them. Because of a certain incident in the past, Umi had complete trust in Aki and was always ready to back him up.

“It’s a lot dire than the previous one, however, it’s comparatively much easier to get out of. It seems that Akio helping Muranaka-kun out of his previous predicament has stimulated those idiots further. This time, they are aiming for expulsion, they don't care how they look, they just want separate Muranaka-kun from us.”

“How many ways?”

“If I factor in all the elements, I can see four. I believe Muranaka-kun can see many more though. He was the one that taught me deduction after all.”

“Yeah, I know he is smart. He can easily get out of this if he wanted to, but it just so happens that he is a super-big idiot as well.”

Saying so, Umi grabbed another tissue and gently wiped the silent tears off of Nikki’s face.

Nikki’s got it hard, huh? Stupid Muranaka, making Nikki feel like this. I know that four of us proactively conversing with him was the reason that he initially got targeted by the bullies, but even so, he could at least let us lend a hand. We can't help him out of our own volition because that would just end up making the situation even worse.

“He’s gonna get expelled, huh?”

A certain boy sitting on a chair said so in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Don’t say that, Asahi. Maybe he can prove his innocence somehow?”

And as always, his best friend subtly spoke in favor of Aki.

“There is no way. Hayashida has him by the tail. Unlike last time, he planned this well.”

“He should just leave the school of his own volition. At least he’d have his pride.”

The third man in their group spoke with a slight chuckle in his voice.

“Yo-kun, they can’t simply ‘expel’ him, you know? He’s a national topper and has one of the best consistency in academics. He’s an asset to our school, more so than Misaki. They won’t just kick him out like that.”

“Hey, Misaki, didya hear? This guy just said that Muranaka is smarter than you.”

Yo-kun raised his voice so that his friend sitting a little further away could hear him.

“Can you shut up for a second, Yo-kun? And what Tsun-chan said isn’t wrong, I agree with him.”

The three boys were taken aback by the seriousness in Misaki’s voice. Just then, the argument in front of the class got intense.

“B-But Sir! It doesn’t make sense! Just look at the records! It’s obvious that someone is trying to frame him!”

“Shishidou-sensei, I believe you’re prioritizing one student over another, you must have a calm and composed outlook. All the facts and evidence point at Muranaka-kun being the-”

“Are you sure it was me, Shinohara-san?”

A single student walked in between the heated discussion of two teachers and said so in a loud voice. All the people involved were startled, except the person who was behind this unexpected development.

“You… You... Muranaka Aki!!??”

“Yes?”

The boy who had invaded the personal space of the highest-ranking individual in the school nervously smiled toward the girl who was weeping on the ground.

“T-Then y-you w-were the one… waaah~!”

Miya started crying and grabbed onto one of the girls who was holding her, but this time, the girl didn’t respond. Confused, she stopped her fake crying to take a glance at Kazami, and his expression sure was one that expressed his discomfort. Looking around, she could see the faces of her accomplices and the people who had planned all of this turn stiff. Chisa had an expression of shock while Masaru was left bewildered.

The reason being the person that Miya was accusing wasn’t Aki, it was his best friend, Vinayak.

That man sure is amazing. He observed her eye movements and breathing patterns to discern that she wasn’t sure what ‘Muranaka Aki’ looked like. He said that she was looking at every guy in the class to discern who exactly to accuse, and maybe she has only seen a pixelated photo or something. He said that the chances of this working were fifty-fifty, but I guess it worked, and he didn’t even have to get involved.

Chisa’s eyes wandered in the confusion and met with Aki’s. Chisa was so used to receiving instructions from Aki that she immediately figured out what she was expected to do.

“Sir, it seems like Shinohara-san has only a vague image of the criminal. Muranaka-kun’s name has been spread wildly in the school. It could be that Shinohara-san was mistaken and the actual criminal is still on the loose?”

Chisa had gained a lot of confidence, Aki had set up the whole stage for her, her job was just to simply perform, and even as a woman who was almost eight years older than Aki, she wasn’t bothered about getting used by him.

“N-No!! He said he was Muranaka Aki! He was the one who groped me! Take him and expel him! If you don’t… If you don’t! I will no-”

Miya bit her lip so that she could stop herself from saying anything further.

“Shinohara-san… We should leave…”

Kazami's tone was grim and low. He had already realized what had occurred. Not even five minutes had passed since he entered this class and accused one of his pupils of assault. He was aware of Aki's abilities, and he was also somewhat aware of the circumstances surrounding him, he was sure that he would find a way to defend himself, but he didn't expect it to be this brutal.

“N-No but-”

Miya pointed her scornful and hateful gaze at the boy who was standing before her. Vinayak seemed to have grasped the intent behind Miya's gaze and said in a friendly tone.

“Khavare Vinayak. Nice to meet you, Shinohara-san.”

Vinayak said so and waved his hand in a cute manner that didn’t suit him at all. Miya seemed to realize what had occurred and had a crestfallen look on her face. Kazami grabbed Miya’s arm and pulled her together and proceeded to exit the classroom. Masaru followed them closely, and before closing the door, he waved his hand in Aki’s direction.

Everybody held their breaths, nobody had the nerve to speak after what had happened in the last minute. The first one to move was the most popular boy in school, Asahi. He simply grabbed his bag and proceeded to fling open the door that was just closed.

He wasn't pleased, but neither was he upset. He was indifferent. To him, this situation was boring, this world that threw everything at his feet was boring. He just wanted to leave, he wanted to escape, he wanted to vanish from this cruel reality and wished to find something that could truly entertain him and bring him joy.

His sole desire was to disappear.

However, before he could leave, the ground beneath him vanished. No, the ground on which the twenty-six people belonging to class 2-A were standing, vanished.

“Eh?”

Asahi was confused… The door was open, he could see the broad corridor in front of him, but there was no ground beneath his feet to apply force on. His hand slipped, he could see himself falling into pure blackness and the door above him which kept getting distant. After a certain amount of time, the door which was the sole link of class 2-A to the outside world finally vanished from their sights and all they could see was pure darkness.

There wasn’t a single sound for twenty seconds. But when reality did hit, it became chaos. Each person screaming and flailing, stretching their bodies in all directions in an attempt to find a wall to latch on to.

Twenty-six people falling in a pit of darkness with no visible end, and no visible start.