Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Solace

Vol. 5: Chapter 5.1 - Alteration

Our class started practicing independently during the free periods. This time, we made our way toward the athletic grounds adjacent to the main building. 

"Woah, check it out..." Ike was wearing an unpleasant expression as he stared back at the students who were watching us from their classroom windows. "That's Ichinose-san's class, right? Class B is checking us out, too."

"You can really feel the pressure," added Yamauchi.

"We're training in such a conspicuous place. It's only natural for us to be watched. I'm sure you'd do the same if you were in their position," Hondou shrugged them off with a composed response.

"You're pretty confident, Ryoutarou."

"It's no use being a scaredy-cat. We're Class A now, remember?"

Miyamoto jumped at him with a laugh.

"What's with you, Ryoutarou? You're being really cool, lately!" he said.

"The heck are you talking about?"

"Yeah... I just noticed it, but you've been talking to a lot of girls this week..." said Yamauchi.

"That's not it. Kikyou-chan's close with everyone, right? That's the only reason why I get to talk with Nishimura-san and the others more often."

"You idiot! The fact that you're so close to Kikyou-chan lately... Kuu-! I'm so jealous!" Ike cried in agony.

"Is your popular phase starting to come? You, of all people?!" 

"Shut up, Haruki! I don't wanna hear that from you!" replied Hondou.

The four of them were having fun talking to each other, but I hope they get on with their training. I glanced at another part of the place and saw Professor and Ijuuin having a conclave-like meeting with a lot of the guys. I walked toward them to say hi.

"Ohh, Ayanokouji, hey there!" Kikuchi was the first one who noticed me.

"What are you guys up to?" I asked.

I can see that they were doing some stretches and limb swings.

"The usual. We're just chatting about anime and stuff. Ah, don't get it wrong, though. We're doing our warm-ups while talking," he explained.

"Then just say you're warming up, dude..."

"Ahaha, that's true. But we're more immersed in our talks, so it'd feel like a lie."

Professor and Ijuuin were the experts in terms of general knowledge, but several guys in our class are also into anime, manga, and the like. In fact, I'd say it's most of them. Even the lethargic Ueno knows more than me.

I guess that's the difference between having a delayed start and consuming such media from childhood.

"Hey, you guys! What's up?" Hondou waved his hand as he approached the group.

The other three followed suit.

"Oh, Hondou. Wanna join our warm-up session?" asked Sugawara.

"That's obvious... You think I'd rather join those meatheads over there?" Hondou pointed at another group of boys who were doing their own warm-ups.

Ken, Akito, Minami (Setsuya), Makida, and Hirata... I guess the word "meathead" applies to most of them, though Ken has a different understanding of the word.

"Hirata and Miyake aren't meatheads, though..." said Okitani.

"Hahaha! My point stands, dude. Take Hirata as an example. He won't be there for long," he laughed. "Look. He's getting dragged away by the girls."

The boys looked at the scene with dispirited expressions.

"Hiwata-kyun~! Pwease hewp me warm up~! That's probably what they're swarming him for. Tch," Ike instantly showed his displeasure.

The other guys sympathized with him, too.

"Of course, Miyake will leave instructing the other guys to Sudou so he can hang out with Hasebe-san and Sakura-san. In the end, it's the meatheads of the class that are left."

"Sudou, Setsu and Sumu, huh...? I guess so." Minami (Hakuo) squinted his eyes, trying to look at the group with his sun-irritated eyes. 

"What am I even listening to anymore..." Yukimura muttered from the side.

"So you're here as well, Yukimura."

The two of us put a small distance from the currently noisy cluster of guys. One group was getting jealous of Hirata. The other was continuing their anime talk. All while doing warm-ups.

"Kikuchi and Minami invited me to exercise with them, so I accepted. I didn't expect it to go this way, though."

"Really? Isn't this kind of development common for these guys?"

"Hm, now that you say that, I guess you're right," he nodded before facing me again. "How about you? I noticed that you haven't been able to hang out with the rest of the class lately."

Yukimura was in a similar position as me as a class observer. But he only usually pays attention to each student's academic development. So I never thought he'd notice the subtle change in our class's social biosphere.

"Ahh, I guess so. There hasn't been a lot of opportunities for me to hang out with some of our classmates in school."

Contrary to popular belief, my social interaction actually weakened a bit after the start of the second semester. There are a bunch of reasons for it, but I guess it's starting to become noticeable.

Of course, I'm still hanging out with my group, but my presence inside the class was dimming.

"Well, even if that's the case, I'm sure you're still our most respected classmate." Yukimura was blunt about whatever he says. It didn't matter if it was positive or negative. "Speaking of presence..."

He glanced at Hondou, who was joyfully engaging with the group. It seems like he wasn't only getting along with the girls. A lot of the guys really enjoy hanging out with him in recent days.

"Hondou's been pretty social lately. His change was so drastic that even I took notice of it. He's usually just chatting with Ike and the others. Either that or he's busy fiddling with his phone."

Those words carried a lot of weight considering it was Yukimura who said it.

"That's great, isn't it? He gets along with most of the boys, anyway. It shouldn't be that surprising for him to gain more confidence."

"Confidence, huh? I guess that's the word I was looking for. He's acting a lot like Hirata. He used to boast about his thin presence, but he got rid of that identity in just a couple of weeks. Maybe hanging out with Kushida helped him a lot."

"Ahh, you're right. Kikyou had mentioned that to me some time ago, as well. I guess her radiant personality had an effect on Hondou."

The boys started to scatter as they chose what kind of competition they'll be practicing for.

"That's great and all, but I hope he and his group put more effort into their studies. I'm basically useless in this school festival in contrast to Sudou, but at least the two of us are doing our best to cover our weaknesses," he sighed. "Alright. I'll practice the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash with Kikuchi-kun over there. See you around, Ayanokouji."

"Yeah, do you best." 

More groups started forming from both the boys and the girls. As everything progresses, I'm sure our roster will get more and more optimized.

Author's Notes: 

Thanks to Year 2 Volume 7, I managed to get a clearer picture of the class's relationship with each other.