Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Resurgent

Vol. 7.5: Chapter 7 - New Accomplices

December 27, Monday.

"Ah, Ayanokouji-kun, come in." Hirata politely greeted me after he opened the door to his room.

"Oh, he's here."

"The man of the hour."

Inside, Karuizawa and Matsushita were already waiting for me. The two of them greeted me with their usual grins. 

"Sorry for using your room as a meeting place, Hirata."

"It's no problem. I'm glad I could help."

"So, why did you call us here, Ayanokouji-kun?" asked Matsushita.

"I'm sure you already know by now, but I got rejected by Kushida."

"You seem to be taking it well if you're just laying it out like that. But I guess I shouldn't be too surprised given your personality," said Karuizawa.

"Thanks for telling us, Ayanokouji-kun. As your friends, we would've preferred to hear this from you directly instead of just believing the rumors," Hirata nodded.

"I appreciate the sentiment. But while I did plan on telling you guys about it, the aftermath is what I'm a bit concerned about. If Kushida and I go back to being normal classmates, I doubt I could cooperate with her as effectively as before."

Hearing the word "cooperation" made them realize I wasn't just here to talk as friends.

"In other words, you want our cooperation now that you've lost Kikyou-chan's? I mean, that's okay and all... but what difference would we make?" Matsushita looked confused. She's quite the actress, isn't she?

"I'm just trying to make some insurance. Once the next semester starts, things will get even messier."

To them, my words held a lot of weight. What I just said was bound to shake them up. 

"What... do you mean? I get that we're just first-years, but like, how messy are we talking about...?" asked Karuizawa.

"You getting rejected by Kikyou-chan might've been the biggest news as of late, but there's another rumor going around that Class D had a falling out... After asking some of my friends outside the class yesterday, I learned that Ryuuen-kun was beaten up by his classmates and that he's no longer their leader... Of course, I knew this wasn't the entire truth. I was sure that you were involved with it, Ayanokouji-kun..."

"Your hunch is right, Matsushita. I dealt with Ryuuen myself. Kushida was also involved, and I confessed to her after all that fiasco."

"Ah, so you were the one who beat that Ryuuen up. He looked so much worse than the camera store pervert too..." muttered Karuizawa.

"I see... Then, isn't it a good thing? If Ryuuen is out of the picture, you wouldn't have anything to think about..." Matsushita nervously asked. "Are you going up against Sakayanagi-san's class this time?"

Hirata and Karuizawa quickly turned to me with anxious faces.

"Not quite," I answered. "While Sakayanagi wants to fight our class, she's out to get Horikita instead of me. It's been that way since the sports festival. I'm not worried about her and the upcoming Class A."

"Then why...?"

I glanced at Hirata.

"The first-years will probably start to feel the presence of the Student Council President, Nagumo Miyabi. He'll likely set his sights on the most high-profile students in our year. I've done as much as I can to dilute my presence after the Zodiac Exam, but my involvement with Horikita and her brother won't be able to exempt me from being scrutinized by Nagumo."