On the first day the incident occurred, all the classmates criticized Takamine Rinji.
On the second day, the criticisms continued.
But on the third day, the direction of public opinion began to shift.
It went from Takamine Rinji injuring classmate Ogino with violence to rumors about Ogino's own unfaithful behavior.
Rumors spread that Ogino had been dating girls since middle school, switching to new ones every so often. Even while dating Kyoko Ootomo in high school, he had maintained relationships with at least three other girls.
Yes—only the cheating part was exposed. The disgusting crimes Ogino committed were not made public.
Because Takamine Rinji knew—if those things were revealed, Kyoko Ootomo, even as a victim, could end up socially ruined. But if it was just about cheating, the damage to her would be minimal.
At first, no one believed it. But considering how Takamine Rinji had always produced proof of cheating before taking action, people gradually found it credible.
"N-No... Why would Ko do something like this..." Kyoko Ootomo was devastated. The boy she'd been dating all this time turned out to be that kind of person.
"Well... it kind of makes sense," a nearby girl said, eyes a bit evasive. "You know how Takamine is a jerk, but you also know his methods—he always finds proof of cheating first."
"Then why won't he show it to me!?"
"I don't know about that..."
Public opinion takes time to change. This was only the third day.
On the fourth day, for unknown reasons, photos of Ogino dating girls from other schools began circulating among the students—some were even recent.
How did they know it was recent? Because Ogino was still using crutches in the pictures—he was clearly still injured from Takamine Rinji's beating.
With that, the evidence became undeniable.
---
On the fifth day, Ogino came to school on crutches.
The moment he entered the classroom, he felt the cold, suspicious stares from his classmates.
Kyoko Ootomo stood before him, teary-eyed, staring directly at Ogino.
"Ko... are those things true?"
Ogino looked around. The eyes of his classmates were cold and distrustful. Everyone was waiting to see how he'd respond.
Ogino knew the game was already lost.
The photos of him dating girls while on crutches had been taken under Takamine Rinji's coercion. He still remembered what Rinji said with a twisted smile:
"This is your only chance to survive. Do exactly what I say, or no one can save you."
"...It's true."
"What..."
"I've been tired of you for a while. I just hadn't had a chance to break up yet." Ogino replied.
"And what about Takamine Rinji?"
"Oh, him?" Ogino sneered. "He came at me with a memory card, trying to make me stop. I broke it, threatened him a little, and the kid couldn't take it. Beat the crap out of me and got himself suspended. Serves him right."
Slap!
A loud smack echoed in the classroom.
Kyoko Ootomo shouted through her tears, "Scumbag! Don't ever show your face to me again!"
"Good. I don't want to see you either."
Watching Kyoko run off in tears and feeling the disgusted gazes of the others, Ogino, once admired, felt a bit uncomfortable—but also relieved that he had survived.
And from that day, the tides of public opinion reversed completely.
---
"Truth doesn't really matter. What matters is someone making people believe something is the truth."
Takamine Rinji was in his room, rapidly pressing buttons on a game controller, eyes fixed on the TV.
"Controlling public opinion is all about controlling the narrative. A primary schooler's truth weighs less than a professor's lie. I suppressed the spread of negative rumors in school, reshaped Ogino's image through the student council and the news club... and it all worked."
"Hmm..."
"I told you I'd handle it. Kyoko Ootomo might be sad for a while, but she won't be hurt. And you'll be fine too."
Rinji turned his head to look at Ishigami, who was playing alongside him.
"So why skip class?"
"I couldn't stand hearing them badmouth you."
"They weren't even wrong. I'm actually worse than they think," Rinji chuckled. "Also, how did you even find my place? I never told you my address."
On the third day, Rinji had answered the door to find Ishigami outside. After that, they played games together every day until school ended.
"Mrs. Sagara told me you lived in this building. It didn't take long to find your nameplate."
"What did the nameplate say?"
"Just Rinji.'"
"It clearly said '麟児' though. Anyway, skipping school like this okay? You might fail the midterms next month."
"I'd fail them even if I studied."
"Well said. I hate studying too."
"Let's fail together then," Ishigami laughed.
At school, every day was torture. But at Takamine Rinji's place, he finally felt at peace.
"Doesn't your family care that you're skipping?"
"They're planning for my brother to inherit the company. I'm basically left to my own devices."
"What does your family do?"
"Toys."
"Oh! Like Bandai? Kamen Rider and all that? I love that stuff. My dad too—"
"No, no, small company. Not Bandai," Ishigami clarified.
"Speaking of toys, I bought a few when I first came to Japan."
Takamine Rinji got up and opened a cabinet full of his collection.
He showed them off proudly. "Look, this sword is Frostmourne from Warcraft. Forged replica. And that plastic axe? That's the legendary Shingou-Ax."
Ishigami: "...Do you have something against your own father?"