Unveiling the Mastermind - Classroom of the Elite Reaction

Sudo's Trial - Investigation/Meeting Ichinose

(A/N - You can probably tell I had no idea what to name this chapter. )

For context, Class D's investigation led them to Sakura Airi being the witness.

"Sakura? I have no idea who that is,"

"She's a Class C student, right?" Hashimoto remembered.

"Yes, Sakura-san is in our class," Horikita confirmed.

It wasn't surprising to see just how few people knew of Airi's existence.

"That seems like a problem," Utomiya commented.

"Huh, why is that a problem? They found the witness they were looking for," Kobashi looked confused.

"Well just think about it. If the witness is a student from the same class as the defendant, what does that mean for the trial?"

"They have someone backing him up-oh!" It looked like the truth had dawned on Kobashi, "The teachers will think she's lying to help her class,"

"Correct. It would have been better if the witness had been from either Class A or B, then their testimony would have had a higher chance of being perceived as the truth," Utomiya explained.

"Wow, I don't know how I feel about being educated by a first-year," Kobashi sighed.

Kushida is going to try and convince Sakura to help them as the witness.

Let's begin.

Class was over. Kushida stood up right as homeroom ended and walked over towards Sakura, who was quietly preparing to leave. Kushida seemed oddly nervous. Ike, Yamauchi, and even Sudou appeared interested in what was going on, and directed their attention over to the girls.

"Why would she be nervous?" Haruka asked me in a whisper.

"Probably because she hadn't had a lot of contact with Airi," I said, "Even if Kushida has excellent social skills, convincing someone that you know nothing about to do something is extremely difficult,"

Persuasion is a topic on which many books have been written. Understanding both your goal and your opponent are both necessary components in successfully persuading someone else. Kushida, no matter how well she could read another person, had almost no information on Airi. So when she entered a negotiation with her, she failed to understand what her opponent wanted.

"Sakura-san?"

"Wh-what?"

The bespectacled girl with the hunched back peered up with a timid expression. Apparently, she hadn't expected someone to talk to her and was flustered.

"I wanted to ask you something, Sakura-san. Do you have a moment? It's about Sudou's case."

"S-sorry. I...I have plans, so..."

Sakura was obviously uncomfortable. She averted her eyes. She probably wasn't good at talking with others. Or rather, she gave off the impression that she didn't like talking to them.

"I guess you were slightly off, Kiyopon," Haruka grinned, "Airi just didn't know us yet,"

"A-actually, he was right," Airi said.

"Huh? You don't like talking to people?"

"Um, no, that's not what I meant!" Airi waved her hands, flustered, "I mean I didn't really like talking to people back then,"

That dislike originated from her fear of others. Most people, even those that lacked social skills, would try to end the conversation quickly and amicably so they could be on their way. Airi instead tried to skip the conversation altogether and run as soon as she was approached.