Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Self-Test

Vol. 2: Chapter 5.2 - Precursor

During the weekend, Ike went on a date with Kinoshita (on Saturday) and Yamauchi went on a date with Manabe (on Sunday). I tried to monitor their movements but as expected, a bunch of guys from Class D was patrolling around them secretly inside Keyaki Mall.

Miyamoto and Hondou were on standby. I was ready to give them the signal to move if I ever felt like either of the girls planned to confess.

At the end of the day, nothing happened, which was fairly expected since Ike and Yamauchi were the ones who asked them out on two separate days.

I was readying some things before a person knocked on my door. I hurriedly hid the items and received the guest.

"Good evening, Kiyotaka-kun," Kikyou greeted me with a smile.

"Come in, I've got tea and coffee."

"I'll have some coffee then."

Kikyou sat on my bed. She shared some of her frustrations with me, but they were much lesser than usual.

"What's with that look?"

"Ah, nothing. You didn't seem to have it as bad as the previous times."

"Oh, that? Hmm... I don't know. I just feel a lot better recently. I'm sure a large part of it is because of you, Kiyotaka-kun. Having someone... whom I can share my deepest thoughts with is much more extricating than I expected," she said.

"Is that so...?"

"Yep!" Kikyou nodded with a smile.

"Then, can I share some of my worries with you?" I asked.

Kikyou perked up and faced me.

So bright...

Well, she didn't really exude any physical form of light, but her smile was so wide that I reflexively winced.

"I've been waiting for this, Kiyotaka-kun! Come, tell me everything and anything!" Woah, she's really enthusiastic about this.

"I'm having second thoughts now. You might use my secrets as weapons, after all..." I joked.

Thud.

I stepped on a landmine. Kikyou punched me in the chest as hard as she could. It hurt a little, but that didn't really matter too much. What caught my attention was her displeased face.

"I won't... do that..." she said with a strained voice. 

It looked like she was about to cry.

"Sorry, Kikyou. I was just kidding..."

It seems like her trust in me has grown extensively for the last couple of months.

"Really?" 

Right now, Kikyou wasn't putting on her angelic act. As she mentioned earlier, she's becoming more and more dependent on me. It doesn't matter whether she's aware of this or not. Our relationship made it so that this was the natural progression of things. I knew this right from the moment Kikyou said she trusted me.

"Yeah, I guess I really shouldn't tell jokes like that when it's so hard to tell if I'm being serious or not."

"I just... I felt like you didn't trust me at all when you said that. And it just made me feel sad." 

I can't tell how genuine Kikyou's words are, but I have to act sincerely.

"Sorry." 

I trust Kikyou. I trust her very much. As long as her way of life doesn't change, as long as she continues to crave other people's praises and worship, the suffering she'd endure will never come to an end. And I'm the only one who can ease that suffering. As long as I can control her, she's the most trustworthy and powerful piece I can have.