IGTL Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Depending on Degree and Circumstances, Extortion Becomes Robbery Resulting in Injury. Life Imprisonment Is Possible, You Know (1)

The day after we shook down that plain-looking old guy for his scratch ticket, all five of us got summoned by Serizawa from Student Guidance during lunch break. It happened the moment we reached school to line up with lunchtime.

“Do you even understand what you’ve done!?”

Serizawa from Student Guidance, our fifty-something P.E. teacher with a fifth-dan in judo.

“Yeah, yeah, we get it. Sorry about that. We’re reflecting.”

“Same here, sorry.”

“““We’re reflecting.”””

In judo elective, that hard-faced bastard used to dish out “free sparring” that was basically corporal punishment. Even so, he was still a teacher. Which meant there was a one-hundred-percent chance he wouldn’t lay a hand on us, no matter how mad he got.

That was why we gave him the bare-minimum attitude, venting our annoyance at being dragged out the second lunch started.

I just wanted to leave already. We had to hit Mizuho Bank to cash the scratch ticket. Yell your lungs out and get it over with. Just standing here listening to you is exhausting.

“What’s with that attitude of yours!?”

“Quit shouting…”

Persistent today, aren’t we, Serizawa. Usually he let us go after ten minutes of scolding, but today there was no sign of release. On top of that, the Vice Principal Endo, sat there wearing a grave expression.

Class would start in five more minutes… not that we attended class anyway.

“Thanks to you lot… thanks to you, we’ve had protest calls ringing nonstop since morning!”

So what?

You’re angry about that?

“Hah? And why would that be happening? We’re the victims here. We’ll apologize for making people worry, but we don’t know anything about those calls. Dealing with all that is your job as teachers, right? Do your job, Serizawa.”

“Yeah, did you even listen? We just fended off some geezer who suddenly attacked us yesterday. Self-defense. Self-defense. Or what, kids aren’t allowed to defend themselves against adults?”

A vein throbbed at Serizawa’s temple. He sighed, then mirrored his laptop onto the electronic board.

“Can you say the same thing after watching this…?”

“Hah? What are you—”

He opened a news site.

There we were on video, beating up the old guy, snatching his scratch ticket and wallet, smiling while we did it.

With our names and our school’s name attached.

“W-What the hell! What is this!?”

“H-Hey, that’s not us! We didn’t do anything! Serizawa, you’re really going to suspect your own students? Some teacher you are!”

Damn it, who? Who filmed us? You’ve got to be kidding me!

No, this wasn’t the time. First we had to ride this out.

“I-It’s Deepfake. This has got to be a Deepfake!”

“R-Right! We didn’t do anything like that! Hey, you guys, back me up!”

“Y-Yeah! There’s no way we’d do that!”

We protested, but Serizawa and the vice principal stayed silent. Serizawa’s body trembled, veins popping.

Hey, hey, hey, Serizawa! You’re not thinking of using violence on us, are you? Do that and we plaster it all over social media in seconds. Don’t underestimate the internet.

We kicked our chairs back and stood, raising our voices. The two of them only sighed.

“…It seems you’re misunderstood. We simply want to ascertain exactly what you did. This news site shows your school’s name and each of your names. You insist this video is a Deepfake. Is that your position?”

“D-Damn right! It’s a Deepfake! Has to be! We’d never do something like that!”

Admit it here and our lives are over. All for roughing up one old guy? Don’t make me laugh.

I wasn’t going to throw away my life over that.

Serizawa’s lips curled into a nasty smile.

“Hey, hey, hey, Serizawa! What’s that grin supposed to be? That’s not a face a teacher should be making at students, is it?”

We tried to intimidate him, but neither he nor the vice principal budged.

“You keep calling this video a Deepfake, but the school has also received reports from witnesses: people who saw students from this school assaulting an adult. Even so, you intend to persist in claiming this is a Deepfake!?”

Of course we do. Admit it and it’s over.

“Y-Yeah! We’re not lying!”

The vice principal exhaled.

“…You say you aren’t lying, but right now there isn’t a single adult who believes you. Because there’s conclusive evidence. You call it Deepfake, but can you say the same thing in front of the police?”

“U—th-that…”

His words made my breath catch.

“…You can’t, can you? There’s your answer. What’s done is done. The question is how you deal with it now. I’ll ask once more. It is you in that video, isn’t it?”

“I… I said it’s not!”

“Enough! This is beyond shameless!”

I had never seen the vice principal angry before. I stared, dumbfounded.

So what? We weren’t in the wrong. We only beat that geezer because he wouldn’t listen. If he’d just handed over the thirty-million-yen scratch ticket, we wouldn’t have gone that far.

It was all his fault.

“Shut up! I don’t need to hear that from you! If you’re going to go that far, then call the cops—call the cops and let’s settle this!”

‘H-Hey! You sure about that? If the police really come…’

‘Hah? Don’t be stupid. Like they’re really going to call the police. It’s a bluff. A bluff. Civil servants care about covering their own backs, they won’t do it.’

The vice principal stood up.

“Oh? Bathroom break, Vice Principal?”

I chuckled as he put his hand on the classroom door.

“I appreciate your directness. As it happens, the officers are already here to take your statements. The victim filed a victim’s report this morning as well. I’ll bring the officers in now—wait here. And just to be clear, I wouldn’t run if I were you. If you worsen their impression by bolting… well, that’s not my concern.”

“W-Wait! What do you mean, the police!?”

I jumped to my feet, calling after him, but he only looked exasperated and walked out.

“Uh… guys, the police—that’s bad, right?”

“N-No way. He’s joking, right?”

“What do we do! This is your fault for mouthing off!”

“H-How was I supposed to know it’d come to this!?”

As we bickered, the door opened. The vice principal returned with police officers.

“Over here.”

“Thank you. Pleased to meet you. I’m Yamazaki from the Nishikasai Police Station.”

He flashed his badge, tucked it away, and addressed us.

“Ordinarily we’d have asked you to come down to the station. But the media’s swarming… so we had you gathered here. I hope that’s not too much trouble.”

Too much trouble? Of course it was.

I hadn’t expected the police to get involved at all.

Still, I knew how to read a room. I could tell who not to cross.

“No trouble at all!”

My buddies shot me daggers.

‘Hey, you bastard! What are you playing at?’

‘Don’t you dare sell us out.’

‘Quit saying yes on your own, idiot!’

‘What else are we supposed to do? The victim filed a report. It is what it is!’

That shut them up.

‘We’re fine. The thirty-million-yen ticket is hidden. They won’t find it. We just keep it concealed. And roughing up a geezer? Big deal. They won’t arrest minors for that. We act remorseful and insist we know nothing about a lottery ticket. Got it?’

They nodded.

‘R-Right, that’s what I thought too.’

‘If you say so, it must be fine.’

“Alright then, let’s hear your story.”

The officer sat down.

“Now then…”

He looked us over.

“…Whether a victim’s report has been filed is normally confidential. But this time the victim posted on social media that he’d filed one, at a police box, in fact. Lately, people keep broadcasting confidential details online, causing us real headaches. Anyway, I think you know why we’re here. I’d like you to tell me exactly what happened.”

“C-Could you be more specific about what you want to ask?”

He scratched his head.

“Oh? You haven’t watched the news? It’s all over social media. Fine, I’ll be direct. Tell me about the robbery resulting in injury that took place in front of the lottery kiosk near the Aeon.”

Robbery resulting in injury.

The words alone made sweat trickle down my forehead.