Classroom of the elite: The four elites

Someone's challenge

Lelouch pov:

With the midterms just a week away, Ichinose had coerced me into assisting her with tutoring the rest of the class. As we strolled towards the library, we engaged in casual conversation before she casually dropped a bombshell.

"Did you know you've been catching the eye of quite a few ladies lately? You've been voted as one of the most attractive guys among the first-years," she mentioned nonchalantly.

"Voted? When did this vote happen?" I inquired, intrigued, as we walked side by side, approaching the library where we planned on meeting the rest of the group.

She chuckled softly before responding, "Well, various girls have been casting votes on the guys in our year. They have rankings like hottest, ugliest, and even creepiest. You know, the usual."

"Is that so? And where do I stand in these rankings, especially in the attractiveness one?" I queried.

"Hmm, if I recall correctly, you're ranked 4th overall among the first-years. It is quite impressive to be considered highly attractive by your peers. That then would also happen to make you the highest-ranked in class B," she revealed, showing me her phone.

Perusing through the rankings, I found myself surprisingly popular among them, though something else did pique my curiosity.

"So, Ichinose, who did you vote for as the most attractive?" I probed further.

Shaking her head, she replied, "I don't participate in such things, so I abstained from voting."

"So, Lulu," she continued, using the nickname she had bestowed upon me one day, "have you ever had a girlfriend before coming to this school?"

"Nah, I never really had the chance to focus on one, and I never felt it necessary to have one," I confessed.

"That's a shame," she remarked as we approached the library.

I paused for a moment before asking, "Let's flip the scenario for a second. How would you feel about these rankings if they were about girls versus men?"

"I mean, I guess I'd take it as a compliment, I suppose, but most girls would view any guy involved in it negatively and would see them as disgusting," she explained.

There was indeed a double standard at play, but I chose not to dwell on it as we finally reached the library and made our way inside.

Inside the library, we joined our classmates who were already there for the study session, which proved to be dreadfully dull. I found myself on the verge of nodding off before a sudden commotion disrupted the monotony.

"That's enough out of you!" A muscular guy with fiery red hair, visibly on the brink of losing his temper, seized someone by the collar.

"Hey, hey! You're really going to resort to violence even though it'll cost you points? Are you okay with that?" The other guy said, his voice clearly pissing the other guy off more.

"We don't have any points to lose!" The red-haired guy retorted, his grip tightening.

Realising the situation was escalating, I debated whether to intervene when a female student stepped in and shouted at them to stop. Surprisingly, the red-haired guy halted his aggression at her command.

I looked to my right as I noticed Ichinose disappeared randomly, as she was all the way over there. As I looked at the confrontation, I noticed the two boys were Sudo from class D and Yamawaki from class C.

"What? This doesn't involve you. Stay out of it," he said to Ichinose.

"Doesn't it involve me? I'm trying to use the library, so it does involve me. If you want to get violent, might I suggest that you do so outside?"

In response to the blonde beauty's disinterested yet logical argument, Sudou let go of Yamawaki.

"Besides, don't you think you're provoking him? If things continue like this, I'd have to report it to the school. Do you want that?"

"S-sorry. We don't want that, Ichinose," Yamawaki said.

"Come on, let's go. If we try studying here, we'll catch the stupid going around." Yamawaki said once more to his fellow class C members.

"Yeah."

With those last words, Yamawaki and his group left.

"If you're going to study here, please act like adults. Thank you," Ichinose said.

Watching her gallant departure, she came back over, taking a seat and speaking as if nothing had happened.

The remainder of the study session passed uneventfully, and soon enough, midterms had arrived. Hoshinomiya briefed us on the test format, mentioning a potential reward for passing both this and the final exam, which would take place in July.

"A vacation!" one of the boys blurted out excitedly.

"Yes, indeed. A vacation on a picturesque island surrounded by azure seas," Hoshinomiya confirmed in her usual cheerful and playful tone as she began the test papers.

As the exams proceeded, it became apparent that my predictions about the test content were accurate. Convincing Ichinose to collaborate, we assisted the struggling students in finding the answers.

The final period, mathematics, presented some challenging questions reminiscent of the previous test. Luckily, my preparation paid off, allowing me to navigate through them confidently, but I decided I'd have to bomb this test.

After the exhausting day concluded, relief washed over the students, evident in their expressions. I couldn't help but rest my head on the desk, observing the camaraderie among my classmates, largely attributed to Ichinose's influence.

In the days following the midterms, a visibly drunken Hoshinomiya announced the results. To my relief, no one had failed, a testament to our collective efforts.

Glancing at the score sheet, I noticed my name at the top, with deliberately adjusted scores to ensure everyone passed. For three of my subjects, I had scored 70+ points, but on two, I only had 52 points. Ichinose purposely bombed three of her tests, getting low 50's and scoring 60's in the ones I purposely did poorly in. Exactly how I'd imagine it playing out as the Avengers tanked because of this.

Reflecting on the outcome, I pondered if other classes had fared as well. After all, they had all studied diligently, so I presumed they would all be fine, but I wouldn't mind if they weren't, and a few students were expelled from other classes.

Time continued its steady march as the first day of July dawned upon us. Amidst the casual banter from Hoshinomiya and the chatter among students, she unfurled a white piece of rolled-up paper, affixing it firmly to the board.

Class A: 1004 points
Class B: 872 points
Class C: 750 points
Class D: 87 points

As I perused the list several times, it became apparent that we had garnered the most significant increase in points since last month. Class D's relatively high score did pique my interest momentarily, but I dismissed it as inconsequential for the time being.

Raising my hand, I addressed our teacher, "May I inquire why our private points haven't been credited to our accounts yet?"

"Well, this time there was a minor hiccup. The distribution of first-year students' points has been delayed. I apologise, but you'll have to exercise patience a while longer," she explained.

"Huh? Seriously? If this is the school's fault, shouldn't we receive some form of compensation as recompense?" voiced one of the male students, his displeasure evident.

Murmurs of discontent rippled through the classroom, but once the assurance of receiving their points was given, their attitudes underwent a dramatic shift.

"Don't blame me. This was the school's decision, and there's little I can do about it. Once the issue is resolved, you'll receive your points. If there are any left to distribute, that is."

Her words carried a weighty implication. One speculation was that perhaps, with each class starting with 1000 points and only four classes in total, the available pool of points was limited to 4000. Yet, even combining our class scores wouldn't surpass 3000, rendering such a theory moot.

Later in the week, after a brief chess game with Hamaguchi, where victory came effortlessly and an additional 5,000 private points were added to my account, I made my way towards the dormitories, only to be intercepted.

It was Ichinose, accompanied by a familiar face. At first glance, I thought it might have been her boyfriend before shaking off the notion. It was Kiyotaka Ayanokoji from Class D.

"Do you want to help us, Lulu?" Ichinose blurted out, her smile inviting.

"I'm listening," I responded, curious.

She proceeded to elucidate the ongoing conflict between Class D and Class C, detailing Sudo's alleged assault on three students. As she spoke, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of disinterest; it all seemed like a futile distraction.

"And what exactly would Class B gain from assisting Class D?" I inquired.

She paused briefly before answering, "It would only serve to strengthen our bond."

I regarded her with a sigh. "Consider me uninterested. I fail to see the benefits we would reap from this endeavor. Class D poses little threat, given their position, and with Ryuen leading Class C, they seem destined for internal collapse."

After brief contemplation, I shook my head, unpersuaded. They were capable individuals; if they failed, it wouldn't affect me in the slightest. In fact, it might even be preferable if they did.

As they departed, I glanced down at my phone, making a mental note of the encounter. Perhaps I could have offered assistance, but alas, I had other more important matters to attend to.


Arisu pov:

It had been around a week since the confrontation between Class C and Class D had concluded. The spectacle involving Sudo had provided some entertainment, and it wasn't particularly challenging to gain the underlying information displayed.

As I made my way to the classroom, my thoughts momentarily drifted to the possibility of the other classes posing a more substantial challenge. However, I quickly pushed aside such musings upon my arrival.

Inside the classroom, an air of curiosity hung palpably as students gathered around the wall, where an array of ABC blocks had been arranged, forming an incoherent sentence across the wall.

"What do you make of this, Sakayanagi?" Katsuragi queried as he appeared beside me.

"I would surmise that this was sent by another class, possibly as a warning, but I'm not sure just yet," I responded, beginning to scrutinise the blocks for any clues and see if there was a way to form anything meaningful from it.

There were a total of thirty-six different blocks, with lettering for each block.

d-w-o-t-f-r-A-n-a-e-s-u-o-v-o-i-e-s-m-y-s-i-r-o-a-r-e-C-d-l-t-n-h-s-k-n

As I studied them more, it became apparent that each of them, adorned with the letters, also had numeric placements in the bottom corners, denoting the birthdates of Class A students. One had 8 on the bottom left of a block, and one on the bottom right had 29. Katsuragi was born on August 29th. Another one had 4 and 24, and Masayoshi Hashimoto was born on the 24th of April.

"Class A
Did you know
Monsters thrive on fear," Ryuzaki announced, calmly deciphering the message from the blocks as he also appeared in between us.

"Huh!" Katsuragi exclaimed in surprise.

"That's what the blocks say on the wall," Ryuzaki affirmed, his thumb pressed thoughtfully against his lips as I noticed he arrived a little after myself.

"How did you figure that out, and you did it so quickly?" Katsuragi inquired, very perplexed.

"If you align the text by the dates on them from youngest to oldest, it doesn't make sense as it doesn't form a coherent sentence. However, by arranging them according to the length of the month names, the message becomes clear," Ryuzaki explained.

His reasoning was sound, and I silently confirmed its validity. While I could have deduced the solution myself, given enough time, his quick deduction was impressive.

Observing the arrangement, I noted from what he said that deciphering the message required arranging the blocks by the longest name month name to the shortest name month and using the birthdates from the 1st to the 31st to formulate a coherent sentence. It was a meticulous task, but one that ultimately revealed the hidden message, as I couldn't help but let out a little smirk by this.

"It appears to be a challenge," I remarked, joining the conversation once more.

Katsuragi, though not lacking in intelligence, remained somewhat baffled. "But the text seems meaningless. How does this pose a challenge?"

Ryuzaki interjected, "Well, it's evident that they wouldn't have set this up themselves. This suggests they've coerced someone from our class to do their bidding. I'm almost certain that every other class has received something similar, as I'm sure it's a challenge to all the smartest minds. Sakayanagi was correct; this is undoubtedly a challenge posed by someone. While it's possible the school orchestrated it, it seems highly improbable. This is a test of each class's reasoning ability. Furthermore, the seemingly nonsensical text may be an indication that we should fear the sender, although I doubt that's the case. My suspicion is that the individual behind this perceives themselves as superior to us and is taunting us with these childish blocks, insinuating that we are mere children compared to them."

As he paused momentarily, I seized the opportunity to contribute: "By incorporating our birthdates, they're asserting their knowledge of our personal information, as if they're toying with us. It's likely that the person behind this used a proxy to acquire the blocks, making it difficult to trace back to them."

Katsuragi absorbed the information before speculating, "Could this be Ryuen's doing?"

"Unlikely," I interjected.

Ryuzaki continued, "Ryuen tends to be more direct. This challenge is tailored to test the intellect and openly challenges the brightest minds to decipher its meaning. Furthermore, with only thirty-six blocks, it's possible he's implying that out of the forty Class A members, four are already under his influence, or he plans to expel four of us. I'm also sure we won't all have the same message, so the number of blocks may differ."

He muttered the last part, pressing his thumb deeper against his lips in contemplation.

"So, in conclusion, we're dealing with a mastermind who is openly challenging the brightest students in the school and testing them," I concluded, finding the situation increasingly intriguing.

Both Katsuragi and Ryuzaki nodded in agreement as the latter spoke once more: "I believe there's no hidden agenda besides the challenge itself. The birthdates serve to demonstrate their knowledge of us, while the childish blocks serve to belittle us in comparison to the sender, who likely sees themselves as a messiah figure, superior to the rest of us. It's a straightforward challenge from someone who views themselves above the ordinary students who attend this school."

With that, Ryuzaki summarised his analysis once more briefly before walking off to take his seat, leaving Katsuragi and me to ponder his words.



That's the end of this chapter—just over 2,500 words. The whole sudo vs. class-C arc was something that I wouldn't see Lelouch or Light taking apart, so I didn't want to force them into it. Plus the island exam should be happening very soon.

Either way, the real question is:
who is the one that set up the challenge?