After the graduation ceremony ended, the students left the auditorium in an orderly manner under the guidance of their teachers.
The sun was shining brightly outside, and quite a few parents and students were already taking photos in the open space in front of the auditorium.
Some were holding bouquets, others were clutching their graduation certificates, and some were looking for the spot to take their class group photo.
Class 3-A was also scheduled to take their graduation photo.
Ayako, holding her graduation certificate, was just about to head over with Satsuki and Reiko, but Reiko suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"Saionji-san."
Satsuki turned around.
Ayako also stopped.
Reiko stood where she was, her fingers gripping the edge of her graduation certificate, but the expression on her face was no longer as distant as it had been in the auditorium just moments ago.
Ayako looked at Reiko, then at Satsuki, and quickly realized that she should probably leave.
"I will go check where the line for the photo is."
She said this naturally, gesturing towards Sugiura Sawako, who was busy ushering students nearby.
"Saionji-san, Reiko, I will wait for you over there."
Satsuki nodded at her.
"Thank you for your hard work, Yoshino-san."
Ayako whispered that it was no problem, then left, clutching her graduation certificate.
Satsuki looked at Reiko.
"Is something wrong?"
Reiko glanced around.
The flow of people was still moving towards the photo location, and the corridor on the side of the auditorium had become relatively quiet.
Satsuki did not let her continue standing there; she turned and walked a few steps towards the corridor.
Reiko followed, and the two stopped in a corner away from the crowd.
From here, they could see the lively scene of students taking photos in the distance and hear the sounds of parents greeting each other, but by the time these sounds reached them, they had faded quite a bit.
Satsuki leaned against the side of the corridor, watching Reiko.
"Go ahead."
"It is just that..."
Reiko lowered her eyes, somewhat afraid to look at her.
"Although Saionji-san might already know, I still feel I need to tell you personally."
She paused, as if trying to find the best way to start.
"Regarding the Seiwa faction..."
"The Seiwa faction sent the Takashina family, is that it?"
Satsuki interrupted her.
Reiko slowly lifted her head.
"As expected, you already knew."
"Yes."
Satsuki acknowledged, but her brows furrowed slightly, as if she were hesitating about something.
Reiko's heart tightened.
She had originally thought that Satsuki would directly ask about the sequence of events or what Isokawa Seiichiro had said.
But Satsuki did not ask about those things.
She suddenly looked at Reiko and asked:
"What about you? What do you think?"
Reiko could not answer for a moment.
A hint of a smile still lingered on Satsuki's lips, and her tone was much the same as usual.
"Will you betray me?"
Reiko froze completely.
That sentence was said very ordinarily, without even raising her voice.
Yet Reiko felt a chill run through her entire body, as if she had been dragged out of the lively atmosphere of the graduation ceremony and placed directly onto some sort of dividing line.
She spoke almost immediately.
"No!"
When the sound left her lips, she felt a bit rushed herself.
She looked at Satsuki, her eyes much firmer than before.
"The Isokawa family, including myself, will not betray Saionji-san."
Satsuki looked at her.
"Then why did you only come to me now? Is it because you do not trust me?"
Reiko's face turned a little pale.
Satsuki's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Or is it because you and Naoto Takashina are old acquaintances, and you could not bear to do it?"
Reiko's voice dropped.
She wanted to explain, but when the words reached her lips, she realized there was nothing to explain.
What Satsuki had hit upon was exactly the place she had been unwilling to touch for the past few days.
Satsuki's tone sank bit by bit.
"I found out this time, but what about next time?"
"If we miss an opportunity next time because of your hesitation, what should we do then?"
This was the first time Reiko had heard Satsuki speak in such a tone; it was as if she were a completely different person from the gentle and considerate girl she usually was.
And this also showed that Satsuki was truly angry this time.
But this actually made Reiko slowly calm down.
Satsuki was right.
She knew that Naoto Takashina had already stood with the Seiwa faction, and she knew she should have told Satsuki about this as soon as possible.
But when it actually came time to speak, she was still held back by memories of the past.
She was just making excuses for herself, hiding the hesitation she did not want to admit behind reasons like "Wait a bit longer," "Ask Grandfather first," and "Talk about it after the graduation ceremony."
This was the mistake she had committed.
She had not separated her emotions from what truly needed to be done.
Reiko bowed her head deeply.
"I am terribly sorry, Satsuki-sama."
She was silent for a moment before continuing:
"Naoto Takashina and I have known each other since we were children. I cannot lie to you and say we were just casual acquaintances; in reality, we have been very close since elementary school."
"It was not until after middle school, when our families' paths began to diverge, that our interactions became less frequent."
Satsuki did not interrupt her.
Reiko looked up, meeting Satsuki's gaze.
"However, when he stood on the opposite side from us, the feelings of the past had to end."
"This is not about right or wrong; it is simply a matter of stance."
When she reached this point, she bowed her head once more.
"My hesitation over these past few days has affected my judgment. Thank you for reminding me today."
"Please punish me."
The corridor became quiet.
In the distance came the voice of a photographer telling students to move closer, along with Ayako's response when someone called out to her.
Those sounds were not far from here, yet Reiko felt as if she were separated in another place.
The March air still carried the chill of early spring.
But her palms were already sweating.
Satsuki had not spoken the whole time.
Reiko kept her head down, waiting for her answer.
She did not know how Satsuki would deal with her, nor did she know how much of Satsuki's trust she would lose this time.
But regardless, she no longer had the right to find any more excuses for this matter.
After a long time, Satsuki finally spoke.
"Raise your head."
Reiko slowly looked up.
What appeared before her eyes was a white envelope.
The envelope was very thin, and the flap was not even completely sealed, as if Satsuki had prepared it long ago and was just waiting for her to finish saying what she needed to say.
Reiko was stunned.
Satsuki handed the envelope to her.
"Happy graduation, Reiko."
Reiko instinctively reached out with both hands to take it.
Before she had time to ask what it was, Satsuki had already turned and walked towards the direction of the photo session.
Reiko looked down and opened the envelope.
Inside were only a few pages of photocopies.
The title on the top page was very striking.
Notice of Acceptance of Complaint
Reiko's gaze moved down.
Accused: Takashina Masaomi.
Associated Entity: Takashina Industry Co., Ltd.
Accusation Items: Violation of the Political Funds Control Act, false reporting, circuitous political donations, and suspicion of aggravated breach of trust.
Accepting Agency: Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office.
Reiko's fingers stopped.
She understood in an instant what this document meant.
The Takashina family was finished.
Since the Saionji family had submitted the document to the Special Investigation Department, it meant they must have been certain before doing so; and every single charge on this document was enough to doom the Takashina family completely.
There was a second page to the document; logically, there was no need to look at the rest, but Reiko still flipped to the second page.
The text on the second page was long, and the various terms used were quite complex.
But in summary, it was just one sentence—the Seiwa faction had cut ties with the Takashina family.
The Takashina family had reached out on behalf of the Seiwa faction to probe the Isokawa family, only to be ultimately cut out of the faction by the Seiwa faction itself.
The matter that had troubled the Isokawa family for so long had been placed in her hands by Satsuki just like that.
When Reiko looked up, Satsuki had already walked far away.
She could only see Satsuki's back.
Satsuki did not look back, but simply waved at her.
"Come quickly and take the graduation photo."
Her voice was as calm as it had been on the podium just moments ago, yet it carried a bit more of the lightness that a graduation ceremony should have.
"Although I have not been at school for long, I am very happy."
Reiko stood where she was, unable to describe the feeling in her heart for a moment.
She gripped the document in her hand tightly, looked up at the sky, and let out a deep breath.
She did not want the moisture in her eyes to fall.
"Thank you, Satsuki-sama."
She whispered this, closed the envelope again, and tucked it inside her graduation certificate.
In the distance, Satsuki had already walked to Ayako's side.
Ayako did not know what had happened, but upon seeing Reiko still standing there, she hurriedly waved at her.
"Reiko, hurry up!"
Satsuki also turned to the side, smiling at her.
Reiko raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye, smiled too, and then trotted over to catch up.
"Yes, Satsuki-sama."