Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Solace

Vol. 6: Chapter 8.2 - Hidden Connection

On a certain cold Saturday night, Ryuuen walked all the way out to a resting area near the dorms.

"Good evening to you, Ryuuen-kun."

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Ryuuen sized up the petite figure of Class B's Sakayanagi Arisu. She was elegantly seated on one of the benches, accompanied by Kamuro Masumi. Ryuuen felt another presence, but he couldn't pinpoint where to look.

"Would it hurt you to return a greeting?" Sakayanagi didn't look offended as she smiled in response. "Anyway, it's fancy seeing you out here. Did you have a great talk?"

It wasn't surprising for her to deduce his current business. They've worked with the same person once, after all.

"Kukuku. You could say that. I find these kinds of guys to be extremely amusing. They're not ignorant but also not as smart as they make themselves out to be." Ryuuen made himself comfortable on the other bench near Sakayanagi.

"Quite the pitiful existences then."

In truth, Sakayanagi wasn't remotely concerned about the people Ryuuen had just interacted with.

"What about you? Is playing with Suzune that interesting?" he asked.

"Oh my. You don't think so?" Sakayanagi tilted her head with a curious smile.

"Quit joking. She's fun to toy around with, but you can't be serious about fighting her when Ayanokouji is around."

After finding out that she's just Ayanokouji's pawn, Ryuuen's enthusiasm for crushing Horikita almost completely disappeared.

"I would be disappointed if you took me seriously," Sakayanagi chuckled. "At her level, I can't really consider Horikita-san to be my opponent."

"Heh, I guess taking back your throne is easy now that you control all of Class B."

"Fufufu... It was only a matter of time."

"Ohh, that's it... I can't wait for that grin of yours to turn upside down. After I'm finished with Ayanokouji, I might just go after you next."

Whether it was true or not, Sakayanagi didn't look afraid. Of course, Ryuuen already expected her reaction.

"Ayanokouji-kun doesn't seem that interested in fighting you, though."

"His feelings are irrelevant. I'll make him regret ever coming to this school."

Despite the darkness of the night, Sakayanagi could clearly distinguish the big, sinister smile that had formed on Ryuuen's face. Knowing how he operates, Sakayanagi easily understood the crux of his master plan.

"I see. So that's your intention. Certainly, I would be especially helpless if I fought on your stage."

Ryuuen smirked as if he heard something that didn't need to be said.

"Everyone who goes against me eventually stumbles into that pitfall. He can't stop the inevitable."

"So you're saying that the defeats you've suffered until now were necessary to entrap Ayanokouji-kun?"

Sakayanagi's questioning tone was designed to provoke him, but Ryuuen saw it as an opportunity. By making use of this opening, Ryuuen believed that he can uncover a hidden treasure among Sakayanagi's words.

"I'm not a sore loser, Sakayanagi. I never intended to get beaten in any of our battles, but Ayanokouji is on a different level from all the enemies I've faced 'til now. You gotta give credit where credit is due."

He won't take the bait. That's what he wants her to think.

"But things will be different this time around, huh? The climax of this plan will finally crown you as the victor. At least, that's what you believe."

"The stage has already been set up, and my pieces are in place. Once the time is right, they will be at my mercy." Ryuuen's words exuded an overwhelming amount of confidence. It was the air of someone who had made sure that everything was going according to their wishes.

"I'm impressed. It seems like your preparations have bore fruit."

Indeed it did. All it would take now was a final push to feign his defeat in order to win.

"Since he thinks like me, it's entirely possible for him to evade his downfall as long as he makes... a sacrifice," he explained. "I'd love to see him scamper around while looking for a way out. If Ayanokouji gives me a surprise, then that's even better! I want to see him give his all in trying to prevent the upcoming destruction."

Ryuuen's pupils shifted in Sakayanagi's direction. It was time to harvest what he'd planted.

"His all, huh?"

Sakayanagi bashfully covered her lips with her hand.

"He's still holding back, you know?"

She knew her words were unnecessary, but her beaming veneer showed that she just couldn't help herself from uttering them.

Ryuuen's calculations paid off, and at last, he got a response that he never expected.

"Heh. How would you know?"

"I just do."

"Bullshit."

After considering the possibilities, it was easy for him to finally conclude that Sakayanagi knew who Ayanokouji really was.

"It's getting chilly, so I might have to call it a night. I'm looking forward to the climax of your battle, Ryuuen-kun."

Her shining lilac-colored hair reflected the moonlight as she stood from where she sat.

"Don't trip and fall, Sakayanagi."

"Thank you for your kind advice," she bowed before turning around.

Ryuuen knew that saying too little would yield him nothing, and saying too much would lose him something. So he said nothing while making it seem like he was saying everything. 

He made Sakayanagi think that her attitude made him lower his guard when in reality, he was lowering hers. The result was evident. He got new information, and a clearer picture of Sakayanagi and Ayanokouji's relationship without giving her anything in return.

It was his win. 

"Kukuku... How troublesome."

But despite it being a seemingly beneficial exchange, Ryuuen's gut feeling told him that Sakayanagi didn't lose as much as he wanted her to. In fact, he even felt like she didn't lose anything at all.

He stayed seated as the sound of Sakyanagi's cane slowly dissipated.

Walking on the paved pathway were two girls in two different moods.

"What were you guys even talking about?" asked the slightly peeved Kamuro.

"It's nothing important, Masumi-san. I was merely given the chance to brag a little bit."

Kamuro rolled her eyes, knowing that she won't get a proper answer.

Ryuuen had engineered their conversation to end up the way it did. But of course, Sakayanagi already knew all of this. She only played along with that little game because Ryuuen was essentially giving her the opportunity to show off her hidden connection with Ayanokouji to the very man trying to take him down. She wasn't afraid of what Ryuuen would find out right then and there because, at the end of the day, only she knows who Ayanokouji Kiyotaka truly is.