Classroom of the Elite - Talent Special Exam

Hosen

Ayanokoji lingered around the gym for a while while waiting for the remaining matches to conclude. He witnessed Horikita's battle with Hosen which was over in a matter of seconds, as was to be expected considering what a powerhouse he was. She didn't stand a chance from the beginning and everyone recognized that including Horikita herself. He had noticed that for the match that Hosen was fighting, almost every single member of Class 1-C had entered back into the gym to watch. Whether this was some sort of order or just curiosity was unknown.

With the matches concluding and the break period beginning, he was approached by someone he judged he would meet with soon.

Nanase had also entered in the competition, but only made it to the second round before being eliminated by Amasawa. It was simply unfortunate luck, but she was incredibly skilled on her own. She approached where he was sitting in a relatively isolated part of the bleachers, eating a protein bar before his next match.

"Seems you're going to have to fight Hosen." He nodded. "I believe that you have the skill to beat him in combat. I've seen enough of him at this point to be able to make that call, but you're still of unknown strength for me."

"You saw me fight today and on the island though. I'd say compared to most here you have a much better sense of my abilities than others."

She sighed, "I'm supposed to be rooting for Hosen, especially since he forced us all to come to every one of his battles and also because it would be beneficial for our class, but I'm definitely supporting your victory in my mind."

"So you were forced to be here. I kind of assumed since the people in your class look like they would rather be anywhere else."

"I think he wanted to threaten us with his power. He expects to win every battle, even against you and Amasawa who are unknown factors to him. Though on the island, Amasawa was just messing around the entire time."

"Pride will be his downfall." He noticed her expression contort to one of concern. "Save your worries, Hosen doesn't have technical training. He can probably land a few hits just from his size, but it's not going to hurt me much."

"I believe in you, I wouldn't doubt you for one moment." She gazed back into his eyes with confidence. An unwavering loyalty, but that still didn't address the issue of what her actual motives underneath the surface were. She wasn't just there to avenge a dead friend. Nevertheless, she departed without any visible suspicion from Ayanokoji.

Ayanokoji sighed as he walked away and threw away the wrapper of the protein bar on his way down from the bleachers. He glanced at Horikita out of the corner of his eye who had her own attention focused on him. She had been there for every single one of his battles so far, trying to judge his strength and power in relation to the class and others. Although she acknowledged his strength, she personally could not believe that he was capable of actually defeating Hosen who had thrown Nanase, Sudo, and herself to the side all in a matter of seconds. No matter how skilled you were, if you didn't have the strength to compete with someone of his caliber, you would not stand a chance. However, now that the truth about Ryuuen's momentary departure from being a dictator had been revealed, she was starting to doubt things once again. Even if that had happened at the beginning of winter break, Ryuuen hadn't healed from his injuries before coming back to school, and Ayanokoji hadn't shown any signs of bearing any injuries. Then again, there was also the case with Amasawa who was heavily bruised and still fighting with expert precision on the island from what she had observed with Ibuki. And the event with Yagami and Amasawa...she could barely even comprehend what happened there. One thing was for sure, she had no clue what the extent of his power was or where it came from. Her only hope to understand him now was to observe as much as she could.