Classroom of the Elite Volume 7.5

Chapter 1.1: The Arrow of Love

Karuizawa Kei POV

Part 1

The 23rd of December. Clear skies. Waking up in the morning was extremely pleasant. It was almost unbelievably refreshing, and even though I had just gotten up. I was wrapped up in comfort and it felt as though I were still in a dream.

It was the first change that occurred to me. So, what changed? If people ask me that, I would resolutely answer 'No'. But, it's not like nothing's changed. The truth is, there had been a change. A dramatic change. I, Karuizawa Kei, no longer have a horrible past chaining me down.

To be more precise, it's not quite that. I have gained a power that won't lose to the past chaining me down. That is, yesterday, the events of the closing ceremony that ended the second semester. I was called out by Ryuuen and the others, and received acts of bullying. It sounds lame when I put it to words like this but it is a fact that it happened. I hit rock bottom.

At this school I ran away to seeking salvation, I thought I would once again be dropped down into hell. And then, I heard various things. And amongst those, the shocking one was, that Manabe and the others who bullied me were in fact guided by Kiyotaka. At first I despaired, and even anger came out.
But.....in the end I was saved.

By the hands of Kiyotaka. The ones waiting for me as I safely descended from the rooftop were the former student council president and Chabashira-sensei. It wasn't like they had anything to say to me, it was just their concern so that the eyes of unrelated people would not fall on me. Honesty, without their care, I doubt I would have safely made it back to the dormitory.

The only thing they told me was that those two were acting based on Kiyotaka's instructions. I think it's because they realized it was the only way to calm me down. Those events on the rooftop. The seeds that the me who was bullied by Manabe and the others had planted. If I had the power to shake off my past, I would have been more resolute then. It would have ended without what happened back in middle school being found out.......no, that's not it. Basically, I was in the wrong. To act tough, I continued to take on an arrogant attitude.

Towards that, even if Manabe and the others feel displeasure it couldn't be helped. It was a method I chose to avoid bullying. And the demerits of that.

"Fuu.......".

A sigh like that came out. But it's not a bad sigh at all. How should I put it? It was a sigh filled with emotion, no. I can't really put it into words well.

There's only one thing I'm certain about. That is, even when I'm asleep, even when I'm awake. Inside my thoughts, Kiyotaka is always there.

Ever since yesterday, it was burned into my mind and I couldn't part from it.

"...more like, mou, how should I put it, this is foul play.......".

Even though my body temperature should be normal, for some reason, my body became hot. To suppress the amount of heat in my body, I closed my eyes. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. 1st year Class D. At first I didn't even think anything of him. Just a classmate without a shadow. Sometimes the topic of him being cool did arise, but I was never interested. And besides, those classmates soon forgot about Kiyotaka.

In our modern world, communication skills are a large factor in one's popularity. That is something that is fundamentally lacking in Kiyotaka. No matter how good he is at sports, if it's not accompanied by other elements, the degree of his popularity will not extend any further. That's why with Yousuke-kun in the lead too, Class A's Tsukasaki-kun and Class B's Shibata-kun are more popular by an order of magnitude.