Classroom of the Elite: The 100 Elites Who Really, Really, Really Love Him

Chapter 18: Sweater

**Timeskip (next day)**

Ayanokouji entered the classroom and noticed that there was a happy atmosphere in the classroom. With the midterms over and Sudou's trial concluded, everyone seemed to be in a happier mood. It seemed that the cruise ship vacation was on everyone's mind and the main topic. Some of the boys were excited about it for obvious reason as they eyed the girls. The girls were making plans with their friends and Ayanokouji sat down at his seat. He felt Horikita staring at him and it was obvious that something has happened to her as she was giving Ayanokouji strange looks.

"Good morning, Horikita. Staring at my handsome face again?" asked Ayanokouji.

"N-No. You better not be joking." said Horikita, with a slight visible blush on her face.

"Who knows?"

Horikita fell into silence as she studied Ayanokouji more closely. After a few moments of staring, Horikita cleared her throat and looked away from him.

"It's nothing... Just had something on my mind." said Horikita. Ayanokouji could see that Horikita was lying and something was troubling her. He decided not to push further for details and out of the classroom window.

**********************************************

Horikita POV:

**Flashback (yesterday)**

It happened after the trial where the Class C students withdrew their compliments against Sudou-kun and I was talking with Ichinose-san. Suddenly, Chabashira-sensei called out to the rooftop for a private talk. I was a little skeptical about her since she was the one that didn't give us the modified midterm topic, but nevertheless I followed her.

After a few minutes of walking, Horikita and Chabashira-sensei arrived at the rooftop. Chabashira-sensei stopped in front of the chain-link fence and stared out in the sunset.

So. What methods did you use, Horikita?" asked Chabashira-sensei.

"What do you mean?" asked Horikita.

"Don't try to dodge the question. They wouldn't withdraw their complaint without a reason, would they?"

"I'll leave that to your imagination."

"So it's a secret, hmm? Well, allow me to change the question. Who came up with the strategy that defeated Class C?

"Why do you care about that?"

"You and Ayanokouji came with the Class C students, so I'm a little curious."

It's mostly likely that Chabashira-sensei asked Nii-san about it. But, Chabashira-sensei had been rather preoccupied with Ayanokouji-kun ever since we started school. I could somewhat understand why, now. His abilities and thinking caught me off guard when he showed me the cameras in the special exam building. Our victory would not have been as decisive without him.

"I don't want to admit this, but Ayanokouji-kun...might have something exceptional to him." said Horikita.

"I see. So you recognize that, hmm?" said Chabashira-sensei.

"Is that surprising? You were the one who first put me together with Ayanokouji-kun, Chabashira-sensei. You did it because you couldn't overlook Ayanokouji-kun's potential, right?"

"His potential, hmm?"

"Though he does try to hide his ability by pretending to be an idiot and staying in the shadows, for some mysterious reason."

"There are various things to consider. But if you want to reach Class A, I'll give you one bit of advice."

"That's a first. Advice?"