"To believe that something so idiotic as this would happen in my institute." fumed Principal Arakawa.

"I knew he was a perverted scum, but to think he would act irrationally like this…" remarked Mr. Manaka.

"Well, the only reason he remained in his position for so long was because dismissing him, without a fair reason, would cost the High School a substantial redundancy compensation. So, it can be seen as a blessing in disguise" reasoned Mrs. Amano.

"Both of you know I've been wanting to dismiss that bastard, ever since I took over as Principal of Kashikoi High School. I've just been waiting for a suitable opportunity to fire him for gross misconduct before termination of his duties. However, I did not intend it to be due to something that could stain the school's image like this." said Principal Arakawa.

"Unfortunately, no school is invulnerable to conflicts."

"Manaka is right, we work in an institute full of useless vermins. No matter how much work we put into these students, a filthy portion will remain unmoldable and drag others with them. The schools are bound to have conflict one way or another, be it through students or teachers, all we can do is try to mitigate it."

"In this case, the conflict was initiated by one of our colleagues who already worked here before we started hiring educators through a more selective candidacy process. Therefore, it is not your fault, Arakawa, I believe you handled the situation splendidly." stated Mr. Manaka.

"Arakawa, tell us the truth, did you really waste the school's advocacy team on that defective lunatic?" asked Mrs. Amano.

"Amano, you know me well, I would never waste resources unreasonably. I dispatched a cheap lawyer and ordered him to settle for the maximum possible sentence. I want to erase that idiot's existence and for this topic to never be brought to light ever again." answered Principal Arakawa.

"You are as ruthless as ever, Mr. Principal" teased Mrs. Amano.

"Now, enough of this topic, we have a more important issue to attend to."

"Since you shot that look at us at the end of the meeting, I figured you might want to discuss the real reason you called us here." reasoned Mrs. Amano.

"What is on your mind, Arakawa?" questioned Mr. Manaka.

"I have reasons to suspect someone, in this High School, framed Mr. Nogi." stated Principal Arakawa.

Both Mr. Manaka and Mrs. Amano looked baffled for a moment after hearing Principal Arakawa's statement, until they quickly collected their thoughts and queried his reasoning.

"What led you to that suspicion, Arakawa?" asked Mr. Manaka.

"Yes, I'm curious about that too, I don't believe that moron is worth any conspiracy theory" added Mrs. Amano.

"I understand it might look peculiar at first sight but we shouldn't overlook the course of events. Do you recall the incident with Mr. Goya that took place three weeks ago?" questioned Principal Arakawa.

"Uh…vaguely…"

"Do you mean that defamatory message on the board of classroom 4A?" reasoned Mr. Manaka.

"Exactly, Manaka. Three weeks ago, Mr. Goya headed to classroom 4A, to lecture the first lesson of the day in that room. When he arrived, he encountered a commotion between the students who were staring at the board in shock. As he stepped into the classroom, the students suddenly went silent and as he tried to make sense of the students behavior, he looked at the board.

He found a message in big red letters that occupied the entire board and it read "Mr. Goya raped me!"

Troubled by what he saw, Mr. Goya immediately tried to erase the writing but to no avail as it was written in permanent ink. He then called for the cleaning ladies who scrubbed the ink off the board and tried to get on with his class. After his lesson, the secretariat flooded with students who had photographed the defamatory message and wanted to report the incident. Due to the seriousness of this accusation, the report was brought to me and I called Mr. Goya, late that afternoon.

I had never seen such crying from a grown man, pleading his innocence and saying the students were only trying to ruin his career and his life. He was sure that they were after vengeance due to their weak grades in his previous test."

"Whoa, I had totally forgotten about that! So what did you do?" asked Mrs. Amano.

"I ruled it as an act of vandalism and defamation, of course. Based on my experience, students are capable of the most mischievous acts for attention. They want to shock, to stir excitement in their lousy and pathetic lives, and they are more than willing to ruin someone's image to achieve that. 

Therefore, with no further proof of any sexual abuse, this act is nothing more than adolescent stupidity."

"I agree with you on that note, but how does that incident relate to Mr. Nogi's?" questioned Mr. Manaka.

"During my years as Principal of this High School, I've managed to establish a near perfect education environment to develop the most elite individuals this society has ever had the privilege of witnessing. There will always be unpredictable factors, a problem here and there, but overall I'm satisfied with what I've achieved so far.

And yet, in the course of a couple of weeks, all of that suffered a major blow out of nowhere, with no precedents. 

Two incidents, relating to sexual abuse, one through a simple message on a board and another one filled with scandal and a overflow of evidences.

It seems too coincidental to me, how both events are related to such a fragile topic, but each tests a different way of approaching it. It feels experimental, as if someone was trying to determine a minimum and maximum course of action.

In which case I'd have no choice but to step in."

"I see…your reasoning is logical and I understand where it is coming from, I also suspect that Nogi might have been framed. He is an idiot, there is no way around it, but the incident does seem schemed in a way.

Even if that is the case, we still can't rule out the possibility that the person responsible just did this out of vengeance." reasoned Mr. Manaka.

"You're as sharp as ever Manaka. You're right that possibility can't be ruled out.

What I've said here today is nothing more than a suspicion of mine, that I felt the need to share with you both. 

However, either possibility means that we can expect more incidents in the coming days." remarked Principal Arakawa.

"More incid…what do you mean?!" asked Mrs. Amano with a baffled look.

"If the person involved targeted more than one teacher, it can only mean that it is aiming to get revenge on the school."

"Meaning we're all possible next targets…" added Mr. Manaka.

"Next targets?! What kind of conspiracy theory is this?! Aren't you both just getting old age paranoia or something?!" mocked Mrs. Amano.

"Even if you're both right, I have all the teachers on check, none in their perfect right mind would get on board with this which means the primary suspect would be a student. Now you tell me, what is a simple student going to do?" questioned Mrs. Amano.

"How can you assume right away a student is capable of such scheming?! How can you be so certain your pawns have nothing to do with it?!" snapped Mr. Manaka.

"She is right…it is most likely a student." countered Principal Arakawa.

"Arakawa, what do yo—"

"Anyone could've performed the defamatory message on the board, but the type of evidence collected in Mr. Nogi's case which involved actual female students' underwear would be more easily achieved by a student…a female student in that regard." reasoned Principal Arakawa.

"In that case, that student, Azumi…would be the primary suspect." remarked Mrs. Amano.

"It is only an hypothesis. I would prefer not to publicly expose her lies, as Mr. Nogi's imprisonment is advantageous.

However, I'll have someone tail her and get to the bottom of the issue."

"Who do you find suitable for the task?" asked Mr. Manaka.

"She should be here any minute now. As for your previous question, Amano, regarding what is a simple student capable of…I should remind you both that this is an elite High School, where only the best of the best are approved through a challenging application process. 

Any student in this High School has the potential to overthrow the most important public figures in our current time. 

I advise you to not underestimate them."

"I see…" muttered Mrs. Amano.

"Don't worry, Arakawa, I'll be on the lookout for something out of the ordinary and report to you, as usual." said Mr. Manaka.

"Same here!"

By the end of their conversation, a sudden knock on the door was heard.

"You may come in." commanded Principal Arakawa.

A female student opened the door, halfway. She had red hair with a ponytail and she was dressed in a formal white shirt and fit trousers.

"Good Evening, Professor Arakawa. My apologies, I arrived one minute prior to our scheduled meeting. If you'd like, I can wait outside until the end of your meeting." 

"There is no need for an apology, thank you for your excellent attendance, Miss Hachiya. We were just finishing our meeting. 

Mr. Manaka and Mrs. Amano, if you excuse me, I would now like to speak with our fellow Student Council Representative, Miss Kaida Hachiya, on the matter at hand. Thank you both for your time." said Principal Arakawa.

On his command, both teachers stood from their seats, said their farewells and left the meeting room.

"Miss Hachiya, please take a seat." offered Principal Arakawa.

"Thank you, Professor." 

"I apologize for asking you to meet me, at this hour, but the issue we need to discuss is indeed urgent."

"I understand, Professor. How may I be of use?"