Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Solace

Vol. 7: Chapter 10.3 - Repercussions

I stood up and walked away from Ryuuen's unmoving body. Turning around, I saw Kikyou crouching in pain. The blood on her face was already dry, and she was starting to feel cold.

"Sorry for putting you through this, Kikyou."

"It's okay... You won, and you got revenge for me." In a sense, she was right.

Kikyou's legs trembled as she tried to stand. I held her body, lending my shoulder to support her.

"What happened here today-- it'll never happen again. Ryuuen won't use your past to threaten you anymore."

"It's alright, Kiyotaka-kun... To be honest, I think it's time for me to stop caring about my past. I've come to understand that what matters is what I do now."

"Are you alright with that?"

"I'm a fake, and I would've continued being just a fake if it wasn't for what happened today. Yes, I still love the attention that my fake self receives, but it doesn't have to be my everything. I finally got the resolve to stop being so extreme about my way of life," she said. "I want someone to look at my real self too. I thought that was impossible, but I guess beliefs really can change with time."

"I see... You want to tell your friends, don't you?"

"Yes..."

Kikyou wanted to continue speaking, but her phone suddenly buzzed nonstop. She took it out of her pocket and saw that a lot of messages had been sent to her. I'd also assume that they won't stop coming anytime soon.

"As expected, some people would still get their hands on it," she sighed.

Even Kikyou knew that at least one of the students could be coincidentally browsing the forum the moment Ryuuen posted the link. There was enough delay between Chabashira-sensei and our associates outside for someone to load the page fully before it could be deleted.

An anonymous sender posted a bundle of screenshots on Class 3-B's forum page. Ryuuen and his classmates also just sent the link, so everyone knew these screenshots were related to it. And with the caption saying that the fake incident was talking about Class 1-A's Kushida Kikyou, virality was all but inevitable.

"This is not good. I don't mind if people find out where I'm from, but this fake incident just overcomplicates things. It's one thing if it's the truth, but it's all lies."

"Don't worry. This wasn't beyond our expectations."

"Eh, are you serious?"

"Yeah, you'll know what I mean soon."

After Kikyou and I reached the exit, I slightly opened the shutter and saw two people waiting outside.

"Chabashira-sensei... and Horikita-senpai?" Of course, Kikyou was surprised to see them.

"Ayanokouji, what happened to her?" Chabashira-sensei asked with a worried expression.

I turned to Kikyou, leaving it up to her whether she wanted a teacher to know what happened. She returned my gaze before turning back to Chabashira-sensei.

"Nothing happened."

"What?"

"It's alright, Sensei. Nothing happened... But I'm really tired, so please take me to the infirmary."

Of course, Chabashira-sensei understood what Kikyou wanted to say, so she could do nothing but sigh.

"Alright, come with me."

"Sensei, wait a minute. The message should be posted any second now. Please be ready."

"What message...?" asked Kikyou.