Pathogen (Classroom of the Elite)

Chapter 4: His Strength

Kanzaki Ryuji

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

To be honest, I never thought much of that name. Just like everyone else, he was a normal student in Class D. When I first encountered him early on during our first year at Advanced Nurturing High School, he seemed like someone who typically went out of his way to avoid trouble.

In a way, I felt like I was similar to him, because I abided by a similar philosophy.

"Discretion is the better part of valor," by definition means caution is preferable to rash bravery. In other words, it was always good to stay out of trouble.

As time went on, though, I found myself revisiting my initial impression of Ayanokouji, only because he shared the same surname as someone whom I deeply respected. I supposed the only reason why I never made a conviction was due to my foolish stubbornness—I refused to believe that someone related to him was so unassuming.

Anyway, looking back, it wasn't one single event but rather a collection of strange inconsistencies that led me to start questioning who he really was.

The first real instance that made me start suspecting him was the island exam in our first year. Class D—of all classes—managed to pull off a first-place finish. If that seemed improbable enough, Horikita took all the credit. She wasn't exactly a weak student, but she lacked the qualities of a leader at the time. Anyone could tell that at first glance.

Then, there was the sports festival. Ayanokouji, a supposedly unremarkable student, managed to keep up with Horikita Manabu, the student council president and one of the strongest athletes in the school. Athleticism on that level didn't come from just casual training. And yet, he kept his head down as if nothing had happened.

The final straw, though, came during our second year's written exam. When I saw that Ayanokouji had scored full points on math, it became awfully obvious.

Let me put it into perspective. Although I wasn't the smartest nor brightest student, I still considered myself to be a decent academic performer in my class. During the test, there was a noticeable spike in difficulty—the material required to solve the questions near the end was never reviewed in class lectures. It seemed more like content you might learn in university, so I had to make educated guesses. My point was that acing this test was an extraordinary achievement, only something an extraordinary highschooler could pull off.

And now, fast forward to what happened an hour or two ago. The time when our lives had turned hellish.

The sound of breaking glass, the shrieks of the undead—all of it created a kind of panic I'd never felt before. I tried my best to stay calm and rational, but what could have I done in the first place?

Nothing. I couldn't do anything. We couldn't do anything.

We'd always been in a controlled environment with professionals watching over us, ready to intervene if anything went wrong. But a safety net like that didn't exist anymore.

As the outbreak continued to grow more dire, all of us started to think less about cooperating, and more about surviving. I would go on a rant about how irrational our classmates were, but I was included in the bunch as well. I, too, didn't think twice about throwing someone under the bus.

But, there was Ayanokouji.

My first encounter with him during the outbreak was unexpected. I watched him, metal pipe in hand, swing at a zombie without hesitation. The blunt part smashed into the skull, causing it to cave in. He barely reacted as dark-red blood splattered all over his white t-shirt.