Classroom Of The Elite 2nd Year - Full Volume
End Chapter 2: a line of thought

"It's still too early to give up, let's work together to achieve in a positive direction!" Ichinose. It seemed like Ichinose was determined to fight hard now.

"Even if we continue the conversation, I doubt that ‘target’ will easily let them know their identity just like that. The advantages of hiding their identities outweighed the pronounced disadvantages. In any case, there is a possibility that the worst-case scenario committed by someone materializes ", Ichinose said. Despite uttering such negative comments, Ichinose eyes did not lose their confidence. Among the various thoughts I had about him, I had no idea how he could maintain this attitude through adversity.

"By the way, this is the end of today's discussion. Good work, you two”

"There's no such thing. We didn't do anything" Ichinose turned to his classmates immediately. I've been observing it today, but I can't be sure of Ichinose's true purpose. But at least our group still produced a result like this.

From all I know, he's probably devising a strategy that doesn't let everyone realize it. When Manabe from Class C and his friends stood up to leave the room, I chased after them. As soon as I got to the elevator, I immediately called Manabe.

"Do you have time?" As soon as he saw me, he quickly returned to his guard because he most likely did not expect me to call him.

"I heard your conversation with Karuizawa, something about pushing someone in a cafe or something."

"And what's up with that?" Usually they would not show any interest in me, but when bringing up the topic, the three girls focused their attention on me.

"I'm not 100% sure, but I think I saw Karuizawa pushing your friend in the cafe" I told them.

"really?" I'm nodding.

"Yeah, I didn't like how he acted back then, so I thought I'd give my approval"

I lit the fire of the argument between Karuizawa and the girls from Class C on purpose. To be honest, I didn't see Karuizawa do that, but I lied to create this situation. Now, Manabe and the others will definitely take action against Karuizawa. I'm very happy to see how Karuizawa will respond to that, and how she will change ...

***

As soon as I returned to my room it was late at night and I slept in bed without talking to anyone. After close to 00:00, I thought I was going to go to sleep, but then I heard a noise. Hirata looked at me anxiously. Yukimura too, was sitting on the sofa attached to our room.

"Good work, Ayanokouji-kun, you're quite late" he told me.

"Yes, by the way, I want to ask Hirata something"

"You must be tired, but if you don't mind for a moment, I want to ask you something" Hirata asked the same thing at the same time as me.

"Hmm? you want to ask me too?" Hirata asked me.

"No, I'll listen first, Hirata. My question is just something trivial" Yukimura seemed to also want to ask something, maybe something related to the exam. If I refuse to listen now, the atmosphere in the room will become awkward.

Replacing with the jersey, I approached the two of them. Hirata moved a little to make room for me to sit on the sofa as well. I wanted to ask Hirata if he had any information about someone known as Sakayanagi, but it didn't matter if he listened to it first.

"I was asked to give exam advice from Yukimura-kun, so I thought I would tell it to you too" Hirata told me

"I won't interfere so as not to bother you" I guess Kouenji in the same room as us wouldn't be interested in this kind of talk.

"Sorry Hirata, I am currently refining my physical beauty"

Like what Kouenji said. Kouenji, with her bare upper body, repeatedly did push-ups in the room. It seemed like he was sweating a little, but it did not affect him at all. This was not something an ordinary High School student could do. But did Kouenji really take this exam? my thinking. Hirata answered as if he knew exactly what my mind was.

"Kouenji-kun actually participated in the group. After all, his points would be deducted if he did not attend”

"You know, actually I received word from my friends that two of our classmates were assigned as ‘target’"

"What does that mean--"

"But I can't tell you yet, they only tell me because they trust me"

“Do you say that you don't trust us, Hirata? you know, I also have a right to know. After all, if we know who ‘target’ is, we might be able to get clues to better complete the exam. Moreover, it is only natural that since we are fellow classmates, we share information with each other" Yukimura said that to Hirata.

"Yeah ... that's why I also thought about asking you for advice about.the fact is" That's why he wanted to talk to us like this, he already knows who the "target" is.

"Hei Hirata, it might be better that you tell us via cell phone just in case. No one knows who will listen" I told him.

"You're right, give me a minute" Hirata told us. Hirata then turned on his phone and turned it towards us. Two names were written there. Kushida of the group (Naga) and Minami of the group (Kuda). This is the identity of both "targets".

"I understand" Yukimura said without giving anything away. Since Kushida is a "target", we may be in the advantage in a highly contested group (Dragon). But the fact that "targets" come from our class is also a scary thing. It would be better if the "target" is in another class.

"Don't worry, things are going well" Hirata assured me with a confident face. The three members of the group (Dragon) from Class D were smart people who would not betray their identity no matter how, it seemed like he wanted to say that.

"Even in groups (rabbits), each class must have the same probability of getting ‘target’ between them. But I think Class D could have three ‘target’, one in a group (rabbit) that should have kept their identity hidden by now”

"Yes, Yukimura-kun's idea is right, maybe they have already asked others for advice, not me. In any case, asking someone for advice with their identity could increase the risk of being found" Hirata said. As we discussed seriously, Kouenji started singing from across the room. After being patient for a while, it seems like Yukimura has finally lost her temper with Kouenji after hearing her singing that seems like it will last forever.

"Kouenji, can you stop singing that shitty song? And I'm not asking you to take it seriously but at least watch this exam until it's over. Don't be suddenly absent like you did on the island" Yukimura admonished Kouenji.

"How else, when my body was in an unhealthy state, I couldn't do anything impossible" replied Kouenji.

"Geh .. It's just a fake disease"

"But, thinking that the exam will continue for two more days, it sounds troublesome indeed" Kouenji who continued his push up said that before getting back up and putting his towel on the bed.

"Bother? You didn't even think about the exam in earnest" Yukimura accused Kouenji.

"There's no point in continuing the uninteresting test, in the end it's just a simple quiz to find a liar" Kouenji then pulled out his phone and played it for a while. Then all of a sudden, all of our phones went off and we received messages from the school.

"Kouenji, what are you doing?" Yukimura yells at Kouenji. Then Hirata and I immediately checked the messages on our phones. Said

"The group's (Monkey) test is over. The students of the group (Monkey) are no longer required to participate, please be careful not to disturb the other students"

"The (Monkey) group is yours, Kouenji!"

"Just right, now my freedom is back. See you later" Kouenji said before releasing his phone and disappearing into the bathroom, leaving us all shocked.

"J-don't mess around! We all do our best and that guy -- !"

"We still don't know, maybe he did something ..."

"That's impossible, he just did it for free as soon as possible"

We all reacted to this news. I myself don't think Kouenji ever took the exam seriously. However, he was very perceptive and his observation ability was outstanding. If what he said about the "find the liar" exam was true, he could excel at it. Kouenji's actions begin to become known to all students as Hirata's cell phone begins to chirp endlessly with incoming messages.

The chat was filled with students who were shocked to hear the news. I'm sure Katsuragi, Ryuuen and Ichinose will also be surprised by this. No one expected 'traitors' to show up on the first day of the exam. Horikita has also sent a message to my phone.

“Sorry, some things look confusing, I'll call you now" she wrote.

"Damn, thanks to Kouenji, things improved beyond a simple discussion"

"I'll be out for a while" It seems like Yukimura won't be able to sleep after being upset like that with Kouenji's actions. After confirming that the flow of the discussion had subsided, I quietly left the room.

Even though Kouenji's actions have ended the one group exam, I can't keep thinking about this forever. Honestly, my actions will be limited in this exam. Even if I plan on it, it will be difficult to guide all the remaining groups towards victory for Class D. You could even call it an impossible task. If all the disciples worked together in turn, it might happen, but it didn't happen and I couldn't interfere with the other group's answer by using my own phone.

There are other ways but there is no time and the stakes are very high. If I had information that could completely reverse the situation, it would be another matter. The key to this is Class D, Hirata and Kushida.

"It's not possible" There are three more days including holidays. In the end it is impossible to remain impossible.

Even if I get both absolute cooperation from them, I still don't have enough eyes and ears by my side. I don't know what's going on in every group discussion. Of course, including Horikita and Sakura, there might still be possibilities left. As expected, I need more eyes and ears by my side in this exam. A sky full of stars lay in front of me. I go to the deck at night trying to get some fresh air.

"It's amazing..."

But among the disciples who looked up at the night sky was one girl who stood alone like a shadow. "No-no". Even if I call him now, I can't say 'why don't we see the stars together' and try to pick him up like that. I don't want to be there when his girlfriend comes. But I was interested to see who the girl was so I approached her. The girl looked at me and turned to look at me.

"A .. a ... Ayanokouji-kun is?"

"That voice ... What is Kushida?" So the girl, Kushida, emerged from the shadows with a surprised face looking at me.

"Are you alone?" Maybe Kushida is here to meet his girlfriend. Thinking about it made my chest tight and hurt.

"Yeah, I can't sleep right now" she told me.

"Oh so"

So she's not here for a date night with her boyfriend. I feel relieved to know that. It seemed like Kushida had just come out of the bathroom, there was a very pleasant scent coming from Kushida wearing a jersey. It seemed like the scent was the same as the shampoo that was given to us in our room.

"Are you not

cold?" I asked him

"I'm fine, more importantly, are you alone here, Ayanokouji-kun?" She asked me As I nodded, Kushida laughed happily.

"So we're both alone right now? I'm a little happy" he said.

"......." I should have said nice words at this point, but of course I can't say it. Instead, my heart rate increased just by being alone with Kushida in a place full of couples. Kushida must have hated this kind of situation, deep down.

"Anyway, I'll go" I told him.

"You're going?"

"Yes, I'm already sleepy" Of course I don't want to sleep at all but how else.

"Once, until

see you tomorrow, Ayanokouji-kun!”

"Good night, Kushida". After exchanging farewell greetings with him, I sadly turned my back on him and left. But then...

"Wait!!!" Kushida shouted and jumped into my chest. I could feel his warmth even through his jersay in this cold weather.

"W-k-k-kushida? Wh-what are you doing?" Of course, in this unexpected situation, I became panicked. That's beyond my understanding.

"....." But Kushida did not answer me. Then, with a small voice coming out. He said;

"Sorry ... Suddenly I .. feel a little lonely"

He whispered this to me while he was in my chest. Those words were like a punch to me and my brain went silent for a moment. And for a few more seconds, Kushida continued to bury her face in my chest. Then tibatiba, as if there was a broken spell, he freed me and moved away.

"m-sorry, I suddenly hugged you Ayanokouji-kun .. good night!" I couldn't see Kushida's face very well in the dark, but I felt her face flushed red. And without saying anything, Kushida fled, leaving me standing there holding my chest to feel the warmth she left behind.

Thanks to this, I won't be able to sleep again tonight. I can't go back to my room like this. So I decided to go around the ship for a while.

"Aahhh .. that surprised me, after all, I feel thirsty now," I said inwardly.

There were supposed to be some vending machines on the first floor so I decided to go there before returning to my room. But then near the vending machine, I found three strange people. There is Chabashira-sensei, and Hoshinomiya-sensei from Class B and Mashima-sensei from Class A. They sat on the sofa and quietly took their time. This space is technically not off limits to students, though,

but since there was a bar here that no disciple could enter, disciples usually avoided coming to this place. I came here for a change, but it seems like I've stumbled upon a chance to get some information. I removed my presence. Slowly and quietly approached them.

"You know, it's been a long time. Since the three of us got together like this"

"This is fate, we all choose the path of the teacher at last"

"Stop that. There's no point in talking about it"

"Oh right, by the way, did I see you dating, new boyfriend? Mashima-kun, you are very motivated to progress".

"Chie, what about you? What happened to your ex?"

"Haha, I broke up with him after two weeks. You know, I'm the kind of woman who does it with men and breaks it off before it gets serious" Hoshinomiya-sensei replied.

"that's the limit of men, you know"

"Ahh, but I didn't do it with Mashima-kun, you are my best friend, I don't like to ruin our friendship" he told Mashima-sensei.

"Calm down, it's not about that"

"Uwaaa. I guessed it myself"

Hoshinomiya-sensei poured whiskey into an empty glass and drank it all in one big gulp. Compared to that, Chabashira-sensei slowly drank sake as if it was a cocktail.

"More importantly, what are you going to do, Chie?"

"What are you suddenly talking about?"

"Basically, the policy here is to put all representatives of each class into groups (Dragon)"

"I don't mean to play around here, it's true that his attitude and quality are adequate, Ichinose-san is the top in my class, but the possibility of success in society cannot be measured only by a benchmark according to a number. I decided that there were obstacles that must be overcome before that, besides putting it into the group (rabbit) was appropriate, was not it

is that rabbit cute? pyongpyon, pyon,

like Ichinose-san "said Hoshinomiya-sensei.

"I hope you're right"

"Hoshinomiya's words do make sense, are there some hidden meanings behind them?”

"I just don't want you to make a decision based on a personal vendetta"

"Are you still talking about what happened 10 years ago? I think we can handle that ..."

"I wonder, you're the kind of person who would talk a lot if I wasn't in front of you anymore. You're the unsatisfied type unless you're one step ahead. That's why you put Ichinose into the group (Rabbit), right?"

"Whatchu mean? Explain, Hoshinomiya"

"I really think that Ichinose-san needs to learn so I kept him away from the group (Dragon). By the way, Sae-chan also focused a bit of her attention on Ayanokouji-kun. Is this just a coincidence? When the exam on the island was over, it seemed like you were very happy because Ayanokouji-kun turned out to be the leader" Hoshinomiya-sensei said

"That's nothing to do" But Mashima-sensei nodded as if he was sure. But then he spoke to Hoshinomiya-sensei in a firm tone.

"There's no specific rule for that but I want to protect our morale, I want to avoid reporting coworker failures" he said.

"Hey, you might not believe me, but don't just blame me, Sakagami-sensei is also the problem, right? Class C already has a bad reputation because of others who should have been in the dragon group but Ryuuen-kun was sent instead.” he replied.

"That's right, this year's students seem to be very special" I've gotten a bit of information about the exam, so I decided to go back. If I stay, I'll just be wrapped up in the next problem. I've understood by now that Ichinose was sent to spy on me. It seems like my movements have been noticed and restricted.

End chapter 2 series of thoughts..