A loud clacking sound was heard as the gavel continuously hit the small wooden block. Faint whispers and suspicious looks filled the air as replacement.

Misaki sat on a bench behind a raised table that was situated in the center, on their left was Nanase who was sitting on a wooden chair and on the right side, Momoe recorded the whole thing using her laptop.

“We will now start the trial for Nanase Ogata.” Homura stated, her voice was loud enough to be heard throughout the room.

_

A few hours earlier

Nanase arrived in front of a large wooden gate. Beside it was a rectangular wooden block with the words “Ueno” written in traditional fashion. The wooden sign was bolted onto the wall and it was also large enough to be seen from a distance.

The brunette haired girl was not sure why she was invited by an upperclasswoman named Sei Ueno out of the blue.

Nanase heard that Sei was undeniably smart and could be on par with the president, Misaki. However, she is rarely seen attending class as she always hung out with the delinquents at the back of the school. Why would such an individual like her hang around a bunch of misfits and outcasts? Is she out of her mind?

Whatever Sei’s reason was, is behind Nanase as she didn’t want to know why.

She started to knock on the door, a few times and after a seconds, the door swung open. A tall bearded white haired man appeared in front of her. He was clad in a grey three piece business suit and had an eyepatch over his right eye.

“You must be Ogata-sama. The young mistress is expecting you.”

Once, she got inside, a loud creaking noise was heard after the white haired man closed the door behind her.

Nanase looked around the area as they walked along the path. Tall and thick stone walls surrounded the area and beside them were neatly trimmed bushes and in the center was a large cherry blossom tree.

Its magnificent leaves displayed the lush and vibrant colors which can be seen from a far but upon further inspection, multiple traces of cuts that were most likely from a sword was visible, hinting that this tree might have been caught in between a bloody battle.

A bamboo water fountain at the side, broke the silence as with its base made a loud clacking sound whenever it would hit the bottom.

Both of them arrived in what seemed to be a small hut and the white haired man gently knocked on the straw door.

“Ogata-sama is here, young mistress.”

He gestured for Nanase to get inside as he opened the door for her.

The brunette stepped foot inside the small hut and in front of her was a tall blonde girl with porcelain white skin and a voluptuous figure to boot. She was clad in a black kimono with a red broad sash and an orange obi strap.

She sat in a kneeling position and beside her was a small kettle along with two cups on top of a tray.

The straw door closed behind Nanase and she sat on one of the cushions.

“I’m glad that you accepted my invitation on such a short notice, Nanase Ogata-san.” The blonde said in a polite tone and continued. “I’m sure you already know who I am but allow me to introduce myself to you once again, I am Sei Ueno.”

“A pleasure to meet you, senpai.” Nanase greeted.

“The reason I invited you here is for this.” 

Sei snapped her fingers and the white haired man from before came inside with a brown paper bag in hand. He handed it over to her and left shortly after that.

Nanase raised an eyebrow and hovered her head anxiously at what was given to the blonde. She wanted to know what’s inside of it.

“I’m sure you know this very well.” Sei remarked and took out a couple of magazines, placing it on the ground.

Nanase’s eyes widened in shock, it was her own magazines which were the previous issues. How can she get a hold of something like this when she hasn’t met Sei even once.

“Surprised?” The blonde planted a mischievous smile on her face as she looked at the distressed brunette. “You made these right? With the help of the photography club.”

“N-n-no, you must be mistaken.” Nanase meekly said. “I know nothing about that.”

“There is no need for you to deny it.” Sei said. “I had planted a hidden camera inside the old gynasium and I’ve been watching you ever since.”

She then continued with an even smug tone. “I saw how you slowly creep inside and change your clothes. It wasn’t also that hard to know where you’ve been hiding your goods inside the building. Didn’t you think that you would never be caught?”

A trickle of cold sweat dripped down Nanase’s forehead and her expression became terrified at what she heard from her senior. She had hidden cameras inside the old gynasium building but how is that even possible? That place is deserted, she thought.

“How did you know that? Do you have proof?” Nanase asked, curious. She wanted to know if Sei was bluffing or if she was actually serious.

“Do you know Koji Shimada from the photography club, Ogata-san?” Sei asked as she picked up the kettle and poured herself a cup of tea. She then looked at the brunette. “Do you want some?”

Nanase nodded in response and received a share from Sei after the blonde finished pouring them.

The aroma and taste of the tea seemed to have calmed her nerves a bit and made her more relaxed. 

How does she know Koji? Did that weak bastard spill the beans on me?

“You see, Shimada-kun is one of my own personal lackeys. Such a sweet boy, he likes to give his allowance to Kazuya-sama’s group back then but ever since, Kazuya-sama got into a relationship with that woman. He seemed to have mellowed out.” Sei took a sip of her tea.  “He told me that you gave him a blowjob and after that, his club began printing these erotic magazines along with their official ones a few days after that.”

“I-I-I don’t r-r-really know what you are talking about, senpai.” Nanase stammered. “I think I’ll be leaving now.”

Sei chuckled to herself as she stood up and took a hold of Nanase’s arm before she could leave.

“You’re not going anywhere, Ogata-san.”

She slapped the brunette’s cheeks and pushed her down on the ground. “Still not going to confess your crimes, huh? Very well, I have an offer for you.”

Nanase rubbed her cheek to alleviate the soreness that she received. She didn’t expect that her senpai’s slap would be that hard.

“What is it?”

“I want you to join me.”

Nanase was taken aback at what she heard from Sei. Join her? What is this girl saying?, She thought.

“Join you? What would I get from that?”

“I heard that you arrested Toshiie Shinozaki in one of your operations but if someone like you got their reputation smothered in the mud because they were dealing in illegal paraphernalia wouldn’t that be disastrous to someone like you whose a top student?”

“He was the real culprit behind all of this!”

“You’ve been already caught, Ogata-san and if you’re going to confess your crimes to the student council, you’ll be suspended or worse be expelled.” Sei brushed her long blonde hair aside, crossing her arms below her chest. “If you accept my offer, you wont have to worry about any of that. So what will it be?”

Nanase was going to confess her crimes to the student council president, if she wasn’t invited by Sei and what her senpai said was right, she will be suspended or expelled, depending on the severity of her actions.

If she was expelled, she wouldn’t be able to show herself to Midoru anymore and that frightened her so.

Left with no other choice, Nanase agreed to take up Sei’s offer.

“That’s a good girl.” Sei said and leaned down, patting the brunette’s head.

_

The present day

The door opened and Sei came inside with a paper in hand. She walked towards to where Misaki was and handed it to her.

More and more whispers began to circulate and the spectator’s eyes were locked onto the blonde.

Homura approached Sei and told her that she was interfering with an internal committee trial.

“This trial is over.” Misaki monotonously said and handed it back to Sei who had a satisfied smile on her face.

“What happened, Kaichou? How is it over when the verdict for Nanase’s crimes hasn’t been given yet?” Homura protested.

“I received a letter of school withdrawal as Nanase wont be attending this school anymore.” Misaki replied and used her gavel to solidify the verdict.

Sei then walked towards Nanase and held out her hand, to which the brunette grabbed onto as she expected this to happen. Both of them left the room after that much to Misaki and Homura’s shock.

“Looks like they got the better of us in this one.” The silver haired girl said, crossing her arms below her chest.

Homura nodded in response. “Yeah, we cant pass a verdict on someone like that. I imagine this would take quite the paperwork to do so, right Kaichou?”

“Don’t remind me of that.” Misaki said as she shook her head.