Classroom Of The Elite 2nd Year - Full Volume
Chapter 3

Hirata has the ability to distinguish the actions and behaviors of those around him and never neglects them. How else would it be if he noticed the difference within me.

"I've said it honestly, this is only thanks to the advice of Horikita, I told Horikita about my group and I obeyed the order she gave me, that's all. The situation on the island is the same. Horikita made the right decision and guided Class D to victory so that the class gained a lot of points as a result. In other words there is an advantage in doing this for me as well. He was very bad at communication as you know, so I just relayed what you said to him and received orders from him”

I spent a lot of time with Horikita and Hirata who knew me well would definitely not doubt the words I said.

"If it was Horikita-san, he would have judged that saving Karuizasan would bring the class an advantage,"

"That's right"

"But I think you're still amazing, Ayanokouji-kun. You're different from Ike-kun or Yamauchi-kun"

"I'm inferior to both of them"

"Even if you just follow Horikita-san's orders, it's still you who's talking to me right now. Unlike talks that only include details of his order. To adjust to the flow of speech requires clear logic. Not something you can think of overnight, just”

"......" Hirata looks better than I thought. Despite also his desire to save him, he was still able to maintain his normal high ability.

"That's what you said but, the reason why I accepted Karuizawa-san's request to be her boyfriend was to help her 'protect herself' That's what she wanted. He wants me to save him. It may be hard for you to believe, but throughout the SD and Junior High years, for 9 whole years, she received a terrible amount of bullying”

"I don't doubt you, but this is the real story, right?" It seemed like Karuizawa's hyperventilation back then was triggered by her past. Since I saw it myself, I couldn't help but believe in the traumas of his past.

"Of course I just met Karuizawa-san after she entered this school, but I understand, I know the look, smell and presence of someone who is a victim of bullying. That's why I agreed to go out with him. His position as my girlfriend, Karuizawa-san will be able to escape his bullied youth. I think right now, the attitude he has is not the real Karuizawa-san. He's trying really hard, isn't he? "

I don't think normally he can control his feelings well. Victims of bullying usually have personalities such as cherry blossoms. Obedient and weak. Also on the other hand, someone with a strong personality like Karuizawa also tends to be bullied. In short, Karuizawa's current personality is fake. That's why he needs someone like Hirata or Machida on his back. Someone who can rule the environment for him. By acting like that, he could regain his influence.

"More or less I can understand now. But wait, what's in it if you do this?" I asked Hirata.

This can be a common phrase, but love is part of adolescence for students. Hirata is very popular among girls. Then by pretending to be dating Karuizawa, she will give up on true love.

"his luck? Karuizawa-san will live her High School life without being bullied. That's all" he just said it. It is not hypocrisy or love nor is it for itself.

"Didn't you trust me? If that's my only reason?"

"Bukam means I don't trust you, but there's a deeper meaning behind it, right?" I asked him in return.

Hirata would not hesitate if it was to save a friend, but he also knew Manabe and the others as friends. The way he cared about others could almost be described as a disease.

Since he told me so many things about this, there was no doubt that Hirata also felt the need to tell me about this. He bought some canned drinks from a vending machine and threw them at me. I accept it with gratitude.

"Until my second year in Junior High, if I had to honestly say that I was an ordinary person who didn't stand out much"

"Hirata .. I really can't imagine it" The personality is too much different from the man who always shows excellent leadership.

"I don't stand out too much and I don't look either, my friend is like that too, I'm completely normal, I have a friend that I've been with very well since I was a child named Sugimura-kun. During our six years in Elementary we were together in the same class and because we were neighbors we also always went to and from school" hirata said in a voice full of nostalgia and Hirata recalled his past.

"When we entered Junior High, for the first time, we were separated into different classes, but even so, at first we still went to school and returned home together. However, the days we did started out a little slowly and I started playing with the boys from my new class, it's a normal story you can hear from anywhere" he continued. It is normal that in a new environment, someone will make new friends. There's nothing strange about it itself.

"But, you see, even though I was busy playing with my friends. In the back, Sugimura-kun was really bullied” Hirata continued to say as he gripped a can of his juice. Even outsiders know what's going on.

"Sugimura-kun often sent me requests for help many times, many times he also appeared with an injured face and scars all over his body, but I instead prioritized playing with my new friend and never took it seriously. Sugimura-kun who originally had a stubborn personality, was always quick to fight so I never thought about the situation deeply. But when we both became 2nd graders, we were reunited. And from then on, Sugimura-kun had already become heartbroken. The cheerful image was no longer there and the marks left by the punches and kicks were all that remained. She was not even allowed to go to the toilet and was forced to wet her bed in the middle of class. That sort of thing has become routine... "

"So you saw him and..."

"Yes, I think you understand too, but I didn't do anything, I couldn't do anything. I was too scared that I would become a new target. I was afraid that my pleasant life would then be ruined. And for Sugimura-kun who was always with me, I kept pretending not to see him. I believe one day the bullies will get bored of him. One day Sugimura-kun will stop coming to school and the bullying will stop or someone else will come and save him. I keep thinking of things that believe in myself like that”

"And that Sugimura... What finally happened to him?"

"Even now the memory of that day is already burning in my head. After practicing football in the morning, I returned to my class and there, I saw Sugimura-kun and decided to wait while following. Honestly, at that moment, I felt uncomfortable. Even though he was a friend who had played with me since childhood, at a time when he almost felt like a stranger to me, I could not stop thinking as cruel as I would be bullied with him. Maybe Sugimura-kun also saw my rotten heart, yet he did not say anything. But like asking for help that day in the middle of class, he jumped out the window "Hirata told me.

"Jump out? Is he dead?"

"It looks like he was brain-dead, but even now, his parents are still waiting for Sugimura-kun's recovery and believe him. But whether he's alive or dead now, I don't know. The events of that day are still real. So, I was still wondering if it was just a dream or a hallucination, it was amazing, because the moment Sugimura-kun jumped up, I became conscious. With self-respect, I pushed my precious friend to his death" And that's how a man named Hirata Yousuke was born.

"I don't think this will provide safety for Sugimura-kun, but, at the very least, I want to change and to do so, I think the only way is to save others like him" Hirata continued.

"It doesn't mean I don't understand how you feel, but the world isn't that simple. Even today, someone somewhere is getting bullied and like Sugimura you are talking about, they are trying to save their own lives. You can't stop those people, can you? " I said to Hirata.

"Of course I understand that, I'm not a hero of justice. But I want to save the people in front of me. I have to save them. That is my responsibility to take away sins"

"Then how will you decide this matter? you want to save Karuizawa and Manabe, but that's an impossible task,"

"I never thought there would be a time when I would tell this story to someone else. Nobody knows about this, that's part of why I chose this school" he continued. Then after finishing his juice, he threw it in the trash.

"Can I entrust this to Horikita-san?"

"If you can promise not to divulge it, I'm sure Horikita will do something about it"

"Then I will choose to believe in the two of you, because that is also my hope" Hirata told me.

It seems that right now Hirata will not get into Karuizawa's troubles and most likely from now on, whenever Hirata is in trouble, he will probably depend on me. But it also meant that I had already managed to secure cooperation with Hirata. That would be the great power I got from my side. It was only natural that he would get his own wages as well.

"Hirata, since you have a large social network, I want to ask for your help, will you listen to me?" And with that sentence, I handed Hirata a piece of paper. And after reading it, Hirata accepted my request without making an uncomfortable face.

"And also Ayanokouji-kun, since the exam started, there is still one thing I have hidden from you. I know who the last ‘target’ was among Class D students .." he said.

***

On the day of the exam interval, I chose to perform a certain action, but I was suddenly summoned by Sakura and therefore I instead decided to listen to her.

"It looks like the Cow group exam is over" I said.

"Yeah..." I checked the messages on my phone that were sent to Sakura as well as to all the other students by the school. It's written, it's written,

"The test for the group (Cow) has ended. Members of the group (Cow) are no longer required to take the exam. Be sure not to disturb the other students" That was the same kind of message sent after the group exam (Monkey) ended. Sakura looked at me with a worried fixation.

"Did I.. make a mistake?"

"No, not that, it means that someone from the group (Cow) has already reported ‘target’ to the school" Regardless of the case that occurred thanks to the arrest of Kouenji, the police said, perhaps betrayal is becoming increasingly common in this test. Whether it's 'a sure betrayal' or 'a betrayal in a hurry'.

"By the way, Sakura. Are you ‘target’ in your group or is that someone else?" When I asked her, Sakura shook her head to the right and to the left to deny it.

"T-no, I'm not ‘target’ but I'm not sure about Sudo-kun and the others..." For Sakura who was already part of the group (Cow) in just two days, it seemed like she did not know what to do in this kind of situation.

"Don't think too much, I still don't even know ‘target' from my group”

"Alright .. thanks Ayanokouji-kun, I'm glad you told me that"

"What about Class A? From the rumors circulating it seems like they did not participate in the discussion"

"That's .. yeah, just like everyone else says, they don't talk at all"

It seems like Katsuragi is really executing his strategy to all the groups. That means the group that caused this incident was probably Class C. But in this matter, a question would arise; Ryuuen had already ignored the rules set by the school, but because the school did not actively announce the details of the exam, it said, it is impossible to be sure whether I am right or not at this moment. That's why it's hard to know the rules behind this exam.

If I guess wrongly, I will end up with self-destruction and accept such a huge loss. Other than the group (Cow), the fact that the other group had yet to complete their test meant that; even Ryuuen still did not know the answer. After such a mysterious exam was completed, it was no wonder that many disciples felt lost.

"If there's anything else, don't hesitate to ask my advice at any time"

"Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun, see you later"

After saying goodbye to Sakura who left while swinging her small hand quickly from one side to the other, I now headed towards the very bottom room. Then I descended to a lower level of the ship where one generally wouldn't go there.

Although the area was forbidden to pupils, it remained unlocked for the crew to access. The area where the control room was located, although easily accessible, was by no means a popular place for people to come to.

If one were to shout out in a loud voice, an echo would form, as this place would actually automatically have no people coming to such a place. There are only two entrances and exits to this place including the common ones. The other was a door that led to an emergency staircase that even the crew did not use.

From the dust that gathered at the door, I said they were very numerous. It meant that I could monitor the situation just by keeping an eye on one frequently used path. Furthermore, it's easier for me because it doesn't seem like the phone is getting its net here. Sometimes there are networks appearing here, but most will be very difficult to send a message or chat from here let alone make a call.

"All parts are already in this place" I murmured.

All that was left was to execute the plan step by step so I decided not to make a mistake. First, I had to contact Hirata, then ask him to call Karuizawa to this place. To make sure there was enough time for everything, I had to contact Karuizawa at least an hour sooner. For that, I climbed back upstairs to make a call.

I'm sure he'll be careful after the conversation last night, but if Hirata calls him again to talk alone with Karuizawa, he will definitely respond. He said he would break up with Hirata, but if he really broke up with her, he was the only one who would suffer there. As long as Manabe and his group are after him, for Karuizawa, Hirata's existence is very important for him to continue his life at school.

"I've asked Karuizawa-san to be there at 4. I will send Manabe-san's address to you now" I received a message from Hirata.

As expected, he listened to my request very well and had already managed to call him here. As a bonus, Hirata even knows Manabe's contact address from another class. Otherwise, I would have to take the risk by asking Kushida for help so that this would save my troubles.

"But I can't help you more than this. Please don't make Karuizawa-san sad” Hirata added that as a note under the message.

Splice...