In a court of law, anything you say can and will be used against you.

And in a court of lawlessness, anything you don't say can and will be used against you.

----

'I should remain silent... and see how things play out.'

Right now, a total of six people sat at that conference table, the screen of the projector having been lowered.

The principal, who sat at the head of the table, pointed the remote control towards the screen as he pressed the play button, and a scene was shown to the group.

The scene of a fight.

"This is our first and only piece of evidence. This video was recorded after school last Monday, and I believe the contents speak for themselves."

Stopping and playing the video as it was shown to all who were present, each person became silent as they took in the scene which was shown to them.

Even the woman who seemed to be obnoxiously unable to shut her mouth seemed to understand that the contents of this video were something that she needed to pay attention to.

Stop and play, fast forward and rewind, the principal hit the controller as if he were a skilled gamer with a single hand as each scene and detail was placed into the open before the group.

Then finally, the video came to an end.

Turning off the video, with the click of a button the lights came on and the projector rose up once more, and now the group was left sitting at that conference table in silence.

"That wasn't my son."

Closing her eyes as she crossed her arms, the bob haired woman denied reality before all - making a claim which was completely ludicrous without a hint of shame.

"I've never seen that child in my life. What does this video have to do with anything?"

"What!? How can you say-"

Mrs. Hina shouted out in rebuttal, however this objection was met with the hand of the principal, motioning for the woman to cease her objection.

"Mr. Principal! Are you telling me that I should just let her deny something so obvious!?"

"I'm saying that you should keep your mouth shut, given that you clearly don't have the right words."

Folding his hands as he leaned forward, the man focused his attention on the woman.

"Mrs. Carter. You claim that the boy in the video is not your son? Is that correct?"

"Of course! Look at my son. He would never do such a vile thing!"

"Yet you accuse the boy present of physically injuring your son, and thus wish for him to be expelled from this school?"

"That's correct."

"And yet the boy right here appears to have injuries as well. What do you say about this?"

"He must have been injured by another student. As we can clearly see in the video, there was ANOTHER student, not my son, who fought with this one - and that is where this student must have received his injuries. My son, on the other hand, would never do any harm to even the smallest living thing. Without question, this student right here is on some sort of fighting rampage, and he must have approached my son and one-sidedly assaulted him!"

"And yet this video happened to take place on the exact same date that your son came home injured, no?"

"It must have happened before or after."

With the shrug of her shoulders, the woman denied a premise which was beyond obvious to all present in this room, making her case by simply denying a simple fact.

"Wait just a minute."

Speaking up now, Mrs. Hina stood up in her seat with a bold tone - one bold enough to make the Principal himself stop questioning the woman.

Pointing to the woman with confidence, the woman spoke with clarity.

"Both of those boys were present in my classroom until school let out at 3:00. I am a witness to this FACT. Therefore it could NOT have happened before."

As the woman stated this, a devious grin overcame the expression of the principal.

'She is learning. Excellent.'

"Indeed. How do you respond to this, Mrs. Carter?", the man pressed.

However without missing a beat, the woman laughed it off.

"Well if it wasn't before then it must have been after. How foolish can you be?"

"Now wait just a minute.", Mrs. Hina responded - continuing to speak with confidence in her own reasoning. "That video spanned the time period between 3:00 and 4:00 - during which we know for certain that the boys within the video did not leave the bathroom. That was an entire hour! Are you telling me that your student stayed after school long enough for that boy to meet up with him again?"

Feeling as if she had won, the teacher passed the ball to the woman.

However, there is no arguing with stupidity.

"I don't get home until 7:00 PM. It's entirely possible that my son stayed behind-"

"And for what reason would he have done so?"

"Well... he could have been studying or-"

"The libraries close to the students after school ends, and I was in my classroom at that time. Your son was not present within my classroom. Therefore where would he have been?"

"He could have been in another classroom studying with some other students."

"If that was the case, then another teacher would be able to testify as such. Well, boy? Where were you at that time? Which teacher can prove your innocence?"

Turning to the child as she inched closer to cornering the woman in her lies, a bomb was set off in that room.

"How dare you speak directly to my son like that!? I am the one speaking to you right now, Mrs. Hina. Don't you dare ever address my son directly like that. And you! Don't answer a word of her questions. I am the one speaking."

Exploding upon the teacher as she used threats and a loud voice to silence those around her, the woman then spoke in an aggravated tone - one which suggested that those around her had best listen.

"Is that understood?"

These words were not addressed to just Mrs. Hina or the boy, but to everyone present.

'I am the one who will do the speaking for my child, and you will not address him.'

This was the statement which the woman made.

"Then if you are going to speak for him, can YOU tell me?"

"Why would I be able to? After all, I wasn't there."

Unreasonable.

This woman was unreasonable.

Closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, Mrs. Hina realized this now.

'If she's going to be unreasonable in her tactics... then I will merely have to become unreasonable in my own.'

Opening her eyes, Mrs. Hina glared into the soul of the woman with a newfound determination.

'I will crack her.... and trap her in a lie. I'll use everything she says and wrap her words around until I get to the point where she can no longer escape with these ridiculous statements.'

Thus... began a battle.

One of words.

----

"If you can't prove that your son was studying at the time the video was taken, then it still leaves the possibility that the child in the video is him, right?"

"It is not him. Anyone with a brain can see that very clearly."

Taking a deep breath, Mrs. Hina racked her mind.

How could she possibly trap this woman, who denied even the most obvious of facts?

It was an impossible battle - one which she could never hope to win.

"Very well then. Let's assume you're correct. Let's assume that it isn't him in the video. Let's assume that for whatever reason, your son decided to stay after school. Maybe he was wandering through the hallways after classes, or maybe he was waiting for someone. Maybe he was studying with some teacher, or maybe he had even gone somewhere outside of the school - after which he was beaten up by Randov. But even in that case, do you have any proof that Randov was the one who beat him up?"

She would just make something up.

She would accuse and accuse, denying truth and only accepting that which benefited her.

If things were elevated to a legal level, such blatant denial of the truth would not be allowed.

Yet the fact that this woman was able to so blatantly deny reality instilled one single thought into the mind of Mrs. Hina.

'Perhaps she has some way to eliminate this evidence.'

If that was how it was, then it all made sense.

The reason why the woman was able to get away with such statements, the reason why the principal hadn't merely adjourned this meeting or swept things aside after hearing the ludicrous claims - it was all connected.

'If she has the power to stop this video from surfacing... then of course she would deny anything it shows as truth.'

The woman came to realize the situation.

'But why is that? Well... there must be only one reason.'

"Well that much is obvious! My boy would never lie about something like this. And he said that this boy is the one who beat him up, therefore this is the boy. It's that simple."

With a haughty tone, the woman spoke as if the answer was beyond obvious.

'She has the power to manipulate whatever legal entities will be in charge of the case.'

As the woman thought this, a grin overcame the face of the Principal, who merely watched as her mind ran itself with thought.

'She is growing... she is beginning to understand. How excellent... to think that she would be able to progress this far after dealing with a single parent... yes... perhaps she will be the one... who can assist me in turning this school on its head.'

With a devious smile, the man continued to watch as the teacher put a finger on the table.

"So everything your child says must be taken as true?"

"Of course. Do you not understand? No... after asking me so many questions, you must not understand. Therefore let me make it very clear."

With confidence, the woman thinned her eyes with a smile.

"Everything I say is the truth."

"I see."

Hanging her head in defeat, the woman racked her brain.

'If she has the ability to deny the truth... if she has the ability to bribe people... or to make sure that everything is in her favor... then I have to find some way... some way to turn that against her.'

But how would she do that?

Mrs. Hina was at a loss.

'I don't want this to escalate to court... especially because she is so confident... I feel that if that were to happen, I would just be stepping into her domain...'

She was trapped.

'The Principal hasn't made a move... and that is almost certainly because he is unable to. For whatever reason, this woman holds power over him... but why would he have been so confident when he spoke to her earlier? Was it a bluff? Or perhaps he was pushing the limits of what he could get away with? Or maybe... he's testing me?'

"Then... do you have anything to say, Mr. Krovak?"

In order to buy some time, Mrs. Hina passed the ball over to the red haired man who sat next to her, who had been casually watching the entire conversation.

"Oh... me, huh? Well, if the brat did something wrong then he should pay for it, shouldn't he?"

A one two punch.

The words of the mother who wanted to protect her child were followed up by the words of a man who could care less about what happened to his own.

Stumbling back from the attack, Mrs. Hina reeled as she desperately held herself up in order to avoid a finishing blow.

"You... you would throw your kid away like that? Even if you're not his father... don't you care if he gets expelled!? Aren't you going to-"

"Ah, did I say which brat? I don't remember doing so."

Placing his hand on the bald head of the kid, the man smiled as he looked at the boy.

"Listen up, boy. This isn't my problem. This is your problem. And if you can't solve something like this yourself... then you're going to be in for a whole lot worse later on."

Standing up, the man headed towards the exit as he walked off.

"I have no intention to help someone who can't help themself. Come to me when you've got a plan. Until then... you can lose all you want for all I care."

With this statement, the door closed shut, and the man disappeared from the room.

Silence filled the entire room, and even Mrs. Carter was shocked for just a moment.

Not a single person present understood what had just happened - except for one.

And at that moment, turning to comfort the boy, Mrs. Hina was about to say something as she held out her arm - yet she stopped.

For when she did so, she saw that the boy was smiling.

It was a grin filled with complete determination.

Determination to be victorious.

"It looks like I'll have to speak for myself then."

"You don't have to-"

"Enough of this, brat. You don't understand anything. It would be best for you if you were to merely sit there quietly and wait for this discussion to finish."

Rebuking the boy with her words, the woman glanced upon him with an immense glare - as if telling him with just her expression that making a move would mean his death.

However, ignoring this glare, the boy stood up.

And the grin on his face deepened.

'What... is he doing?'

Mrs. Hina could do nothing more than watch as the boy walked around the table.

He approached the woman, that horrible smile drawing itself across his face as he now stood before her.

'Is he going to... is he going to use violence!? Here!? Now!? If he does something like that-'

Mrs. Hina had these thoughts as she herself stood up in a rush to stop him, however the actions of the boy betrayed everything she believed about him.

For in that instant, he fell to the ground, placing his forehead to the floor in a repentant position.

"What... are you doing?"

All four people whispered these words, for the reaction was so unexpected - so out of the blue, that not anyone could possibly have predicted this.

Yet even as everyone asked this question, the boy remained bowing on the ground.

"Are you trying to ask for my forgiveness? For injuring my son!? Hah!?!? Aren’t you admitting then that you’re the one who hurt him!?!?!"

Standing up in a rage, the woman looked down on the boy with immense hatred.

"WELL!?! What do you have to say for yourself!?"

"Allow me to stay in this school. This is... the only place I have to go."

His words were pathetic.

Those of a peasant who bowed before a King, begging for mercy after having offended their ruler.

Yet even as he placed his forehead to the ground, the boy smiled.

He grinned and he grinned, stopping himself from laughing as he begged.

"Please... do not expel me."

"WHY YOU LITTLE-"

"Mrs. Carter."

As she was about to fly into a rage, the cold words of the principal brought the woman back to reality.

She could not perform any act of violence here.

No matter how many connections she had, there were two witnesses present.

But the most important piece was not the principal, but rather Mrs. Hina.

'That woman... if she was not here, then perhaps I could have gotten away with hitting this boy... but not now. While the principal is under ties... the only thing she has to lose is her job.... for now.'

Restaining herself, the mother realized that doing such a thing was not something which she could afford to do right now.

Even if Mrs. Hina could be taken care of later, if she were to spread rumors then they would become an annoyance.

"The boy has not said once that he was the one who harmed your son. The only words he stated were... not to expel him."

Standing up as he walked over to the window behind him, the man peeked out of the closed blinds as he gazed upon the courtyards below.

"As of right now, the boy is bowing before you and asking you not to expel him. What will you do now? Will you reject such a notion, pressing for him to be expelled regardless, or will you have mercy on the boy and allow him to stay within this school? The decision is yours."

The Principal took great care in each and every word he spoke, ensuring only to state what was necessary.

Yet the woman knew and understood exactly what was meant by this.

"You... what are you trying to say? Spit it out clearly so that I know what your intentions are, Principal?"

"Spit out my intentions? What are you talking about, Mrs. Carter? Hahaha... surely you must be jesting. I have no intention aside from witnessing whatever decision is come to, and standing by it. Of course, I would most certainly keep everything confidential... and I would ensure that my employees do the same."

With this statement, the man spoke with a deadly tone, as if a snake had entered his throat.

"Yet... do not forget that I am not all powerful. And there is no possible way that I could control rumors... which arise from someone who is NOT my employee."

Turning around, the man once more made his way to his seat, folding his arms as he gazed at Mrs. Hina with a smile.

Catching on, the teacher sat down as well.

"You know... I've been considering a new line of work recently. Perhaps teaching isn't for me. Maybe I'll leave for the countryside and start up a farm... haha... well, if I were to get fired for whatever reason, then I suppose that would be an easy choice! Wouldn't it, Mrs. Carter?"

At that moment, the woman was trapped.

Gritting her teeth, she found herself locked into a situation which even she could not escape from.

Rumors... can mean the death of a person.

They are uncontrollable, unfathomable, and one cannot pinpoint the source of them.

They can come from anywhere, and destroy a person without warning.

No amount of lawyers or contacts could save someone from mere rumors ruining their reputation and credibility.

So what if someone were to spread a rumor that a child had bowed down before this woman and her son, begging him for mercy as she mercilessly forced his expulsion?

Regardless of evidence or what had happened previously, it would be apparent that she had heartlessly ruined a student who had a change of heart.

If Mrs. Hina disobeyed the orders of the Principal in order to spread these rumors, then she would lose her job - and the Principal could not be held at fault for the spreading of such rumors, given that he had done everything within his power to stop them from spreading.

And it was made clear at that moment that she had no concern over such a thing.

It was a threat.

A silent one, yet one that stung with a vengeance unlike any direct threat.

"Very well."

Grabbing the hand of her son, the woman headed off.

"I will forget this entire scene for now. But please remember, Mrs. Hina."

Glancing back with the eyes of a hawk, the teacher met eyes with the mother as the two faced off with one another - yet even so, Mrs. Hina did not flinch for even a moment, even in the face of such ferocity.

"You should not have made an enemy of me. And you will find yourself regretting your words. Both you... and that BRAT."

With this statement, the woman left with the slam of the door.

Now, the three were left inside that conference room to look at one another.

The boy stood up, and Mrs. Hina rushed over to him.

"Randov... are you alright? Do you want to talk about what happened?"

However, even as he faced the woman, the boy merely chuckled.

"What happened? Ah... well, it doesn't matter anymore. I won. But... that's only for now."

Shaking off the woman, the boy made his way to exit the conference room.

"I'm good to go, aren't I?"

"Ah... I suppose..."

With a halfhearted response, Mrs. Hina found herself unable to say much else to the boy, however the child’s confident words stirred her heart.

"The fight has only just begun. I apologize for bringing things to violence, and I won't do so anymore. Such methods... clearly don't work. Therefore... I will find another way to win."

"Why do you need to win?"

With a stern scolding tone, Mrs. Hina stopped the boy in his tracks.

However without turning around, he proceeded forward after a moment of thought.

"The real question is... why would anyone consider anything but winning?"

With this statement, the boy left the room.

----

"Are you sure you should have let him go like that? After all, you are his instructor. If you wish to punish him for fighting, that is your duty. Of course, a violent punishment will not be acceptable. Do you plan to reform him and the other one?"

"I... will consider that in the future, Mr. Principal."

The teacher and the principal were left alone.

"I see. You did quite well. You see... as the Principal, I am constantly fighting a battle. Parents are the cornerstone of the school. I cannot take their words lightly, as going directly against their wishes will harm the school greatly. And that especially goes for... that woman."

"She has some sort of political power?"

"You could say that. Yes, of course she has her influence in places all over... but that isn't all. She has an ace... one which she cannot use so freely... yet one which she WILL use if she is determined to destroy a person. Mrs. Hina."

Glancing at the woman with a serious expression, the principal placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Do tread lightly. You are on her radar now... and I would hate to lose such a valuable teacher as yourself."

"I.... thank you, Mr. Principal. But... why is it alright for such people to have so much power?"

As the woman asked this question, the man went silent.

He looked out the window, gazing at the sun, which was currently setting.

"Whether it is alright for the sun to set or not... it will occur. Regardless of whether that setting will kill off the plants which require its sustenance, or whether the vanishing of light will allow the demons of darkness to prowl about in this world... even so, it will set."

Speaking in metaphors, Mrs. Hina understood what the man was trying to say.

Regardless of whether it was alright for such people to hold such power, they had it.

That was reality.

"Can anything be done?"

"I would say that you did something today, did you not?"

With a chuckle, the man folded his arms behind his back.

"Well done, Mrs. Hina. I had no expectations for you... and yet you've gone and blown even the ones that I didn't have out of the water."

Turning around, the man grabbed the chin of the woman as he glared into her eyes.

"That is not something I say lightly. Therefore... I will repeat myself."

Her entire face turning red as she felt the firm yet gentle grip of the man, the woman could only avert her eyes as she felt the man glare into her soul.

"Do not allow yourself to be swallowed up by the demons of this world."

----