Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Self-Test

Vol. 4: Chapter 11.1 - The Two of Us

Around half an hour before the final discussion...

I decided to come to the meeting room early after hanging out with Nishimura-- or rather, Ryuuko. A bunch of things happened and now, we're on a first-name basis.

I spoke softly, on the phone while walking down the 2nd deck's hallway.

"It's fortunate that our group was structured the way it is. To Horikita-san, I must've been the only viable option."

"Did she give you guys a specific time?"

"No... She must've taken my connection with you into account. You can't really negotiate with the rest of us. It'd only raise more questions regarding your motives."

"You're right. Once Horikita sends the names, everyone would be eager to submit their answers. This calls for Plan B then."

"Yes, I'll try to stall our classmates for as long as I can by raising doubts about Horikita-san's answer. Besides, I think everyone would still prefer to know her explanations. You can contact the others while I'm at it."

And once Horikita's explanation convinces them, it'll only strengthen their trust for her in the future since she'll surely get the pattern right.

"Alright. I'll leave it to you, Matsushita."

"Of course. I'll be in contact with Kei-chan as well."

I've assigned Matsushita for recon but Karuizawa had a much bigger role. That said, I was good friends with both of them so I also know how close they were with each other. The sudden "Kei-chan" caught me off-guard.

"Kei-chan? When did you guys get so buddy-buddy with each other?"

"Ah, it was a recent thing-- like, yesterday, to be exact. During the Rest Day, Kei-chan and I had the opportunity to hang out a lot, along with Chiyo-chan and Kayoko-chan."

Sonoda and Ishikura, huh? That's interesting. After all, they were both on the shy end of the spectrum.

Well, Sonoda was already in Matsushita's extended clique along with Ichihashi, Azuma, and Yokoyama, so it made sense for her to be there. However, Ishikura was in Kikyou's group. She was often intimidated by the presence of girls like Karuizawa, so this sudden development was quite strange.

"What's with that silence? It's nothing weird, you know? Kayoko-chan may not be as strong-willed as Maya or Satsuki, but she idolizes Kei-chan quite a bit."

Matsushita called me out. She knew exactly what I was thinking.

"Idolizes?"

"Kushida-san haven't told you anything yet? Apparently, when her group encountered Kei-chan's group yesterday, something amazing happened."

"And that is...?"

"Kei-chan apologized."

"Oh..."

"I was shocked as well. Anyway, Rino and the others didn't seem too surprised. It seems like Kei-chan had done the same with some girls in Class D."

"So it happened after Karuizawa apologized to the girls in Kikyou's group?"

"I've asked Kei-chan about what exactly happened. She said something about admitting her rude and passive-aggressive behavior for the past months."

"And by idolize, you mean Ishikura admired her straightforward and mature apology...?"

"Yeah, basically. After their groups made up-- Well I don't know if you can call it making up since there wasn't any real conflict, to begin with. And it's not like their initial impression of Kei-chan would change that easily..."