(Silence prevails after the principal's words. Everyone stands in their places while tension weighs heavy in the air. Misaki looks at Honoka, seeing her lower her head, trying hard to prevent her tears from falling. As for Yoshika, she is still holding Ahmed's hand tightly, as if afraid the safety she finally found would disappear.)
Misaki takes a deep breath, then steps forward toward Honoka's parents. There was no anger in her eyes... but rather a deep sorrow. She looks at them steadily, then says in a calm voice, yet carrying sincere pain:
Misaki (in Japanese): "I don't know everything you've been through in your lives... nor do I know the circumstances that drove you to this decision."
She pauses for a moment, then gently points to Honoka.
Misaki: "But I know one thing..."
She turns to Honoka, then brings her gaze back to the parents.
Misaki: "I saw this girl losing her will to live... and I saw with my own eyes how she believed she didn't deserve to be loved by anyone."
The mother's eyes widen slightly. As for the father, he remains silent, but his features were no longer as rigid as before. Misaki continues, her voice trembling slightly:
Misaki: "Yoshika too... every night she feared losing her sister, never understanding why life had become so full of fear."
Yoshika looks shyly at the ground while squeezing Ahmed's hand tighter. Misaki lowers her head for a moment, then says in a tone blending plea with pain:
Misaki: "We are not here to take revenge on you... nor to add to anyone's wounds."
She raises her head again.
Misaki: "We are here because Honoka and Yoshika deserve to know the truth... and to feel, even if just once, that someone is listening to their hearts."
Silence hangs over the place.
Tears begin gathering in the mother's eyes without uttering a word. As for the father, he turns his gaze away, as if trying to escape the words that struck his conscience.
The principal observes the scene in silence, while Ahmed notices that the parents' resistance is beginning to weaken little by little. He feels that the moment of truth is drawing near.
At that moment... the mother takes a deep breath and opens her mouth, as if about to say something that had remained trapped in her heart for a long time.