Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Self-Test

Last Day, 1:23 AM.

In the dead of night, Horikita and I trekked the muddy ground of the island. We talked about a lot of things along the way. I told her about some of the finer details involving the events around me and Kikyou.

"Sure, why not? Expel me if I do. It's not like I'm interested in her past, anyway."

"It's better if you don't ruin the painstaking effort I put in towards deflecting her hate away from you," I shrugged.

Of course, I only elaborated on the details that involved her.

"It seems like we made it," I said, checking the clock on my wristwatch.

"I think I'm more or less familiar with the way even if I were to go on my own."

"Yeah, and it doesn't really matter even if you arrive late. We'll only have one chance to reinvoke our rights after the morning roll call, anyway."

When the timer ran out, I immediately registered my key card onto the device.

"That should do it."

And that was the last time I used the key card.

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Last Day, 2:17 AM.

Treading down the mountain, Horikita Suzune walked with staggering steps. She wasn't hurt, but the student supported by her shoulders was. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Class B's leader, leaned unconsciously on her body. Their clothes were covered in mud and blood. The blood came from the wound on Ayanokouji's head which was still bleeding.

There were three desirable locations where she could bring her injured classmate.

First was the rest area, which was all the way to the southern beach. Since the pier and ship were located here, they had everything they needed to give an injured person the aid they needed.

The second was Class B's base camp. Located near the rock tunnel on the northeastern side of the island, the two of them had to walk a long way on top of waking up their classmates to take action and help.

The third and final location that she was currently heading to was their class adviser, Chabashira Sae's special tent. It was the nearest place available to them, and with their limited stamina and precarious situation, it didn't seem like much of a hard choice.

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"Chabashira-sensei, we need help, please!" I was prepared to wake her up in case she was asleep, but Ayanokouji-kun's prediction was on point. Chabashira-sensei was currently writing up some reports, possibly because the special test was nearing its end.

"Horikita...? Ayanokouji-?" Chabashira-sensei's eyes widened upon seeing our pitiful state.

She stopped whatever she was doing and supported Ayanokouji-kun with me. After arriving inside the inner parts of her tent, we gently placed his unconscious body on a neatly prepared one-person bed that was probably meant for her own use.

"I'll call in some medical personnel to come here ASAP. For now, I want you to tell me what happened," she said.

I proceeded to narrate what happened. 

We were traveling in the middle of the night to reinvoke our rights to some spots. However, as we walked towards a tall ridge, the edge suddenly collapsed and the two of us fell. The softened ground beneath us sunk and destroyed our balance. Ayanokouji-kun tried to protect me and his head hit a rock. He managed to stay awake for a short period of time before fainting.

After noting everything down, Chabashira-sensei formally briefed me before asking a question.

"What do you want to do now?"

Of course, I had to go along with the plan.

"Please allow us to change leaders," I replied.

"I see... Ayanokouji's injury certainly permits that request. I assume he gave you his consent before passing out?"

"Yes."

Chabashira-sensei wrote something down before asking another question.

"Will he retire?"

"It depends on his medical diagnosis. If Ayanokouji-kun's injury isn't too serious, we agreed that he'll rest back at camp."

"Hmm... I recommend having him retire, but that's also perfectly reasonable. As long as Ayanokouji isn't in danger, saving up those 30 points would be the better decision." Chabashira-sensei calmly listened with a nod. "You'll have to stay here and wait. If you want to call in one or two students from your class, we can assign a person to do the work."

The decision was entirely up to me. Is it even necessary? Should I call in someone? Kushida-san? Hirata-kun? Or maybe...

"If it's alright with them, please ask Hasebe-san and Miyake-kun to come."

"I understand."

Chabashira-sensei got out of the inner section and proceeded to work on everything.

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Last Day, 2:41 AM.

I waited outside while drinking the hot chocolate that Sensei gave me. I somehow managed to wash myself using her shower room. A new set of jerseys was even prepared for me.

Ayanokouji-kun also got the treatment he needed. After a brisk bath and a clean change of clothes, he was questioned by Chabashira-sensei, along with the first-years' coordinator and Class A's adviser, Mashima-sensei.

Twenty or so minutes had passed before I finally saw some flashlights illuminating the woods. A school staff arrived with the two students that I called in.

"Horikita-san!" yelled Hasebe-san.

"Horikita-san, is everything alright?" asked Miyake-kun.

"Yes... I assume that you already know about the situation?"

"Yeah... Is Kiyotaka inside?"

Both of them had grim expressions. Their concern for him was very evident.

"Yes. Thankfully, Ayanokouji-kun didn't sustain any life-threatening injuries. His condition was mild enough for the medical personnel to allow questioning, as long as he's lying on the bed."

Miyake-kun and Hasebe-san heaved a sigh of relief.

Lights and seats were set up around Chabashira-sensei's tent. The three of us had to wait until we were allowed inside. The two of them asked me about the details of this incident. But for now, I can only tell them a brief version of the story.

"We were suddenly woken up by the school staff that brought us here. Hirata wanted to ask why Haruka and I were the ones that were specifically called out, but he was refused."

"The two of us were kept in the dark until enough distance was covered away from the base camp. We were really shocked after finding out that Kiyopon was involved in an accident, so I understand why the school wants to hide it from the others as of now."

"Yeah, the entire class might flip out and come forcefully."

With the amount of respect that Class B has for Ayanokouji-kun, I wouldn't be surprised if that were to be the case.

"I see..." I didn't want to say anything unnecessary, so I'll leave the rest of the talking to Ayanokouji-kun.

At that moment, Mashima-sensei and Chabashira-sensei walked out of the tent. The school staff and medical personnel were all gone at this point, so it was just the six of us left in this place. We were finally allowed to visit Ayanokouji-kun so we went inside and saw him lying on the bed.

"Kiyopon!" Hasebe-san ran up the moment she saw him.

"Kiyotaka, you... What the hell happened...?" Miyake-kun let out a big sigh of relief upon seeing Ayanokouji-kun.

The person in question was very surprised by their appearance. But after sighing in resignation, he calmly explained everything to them.

"I see... That's damn unlucky," said Miyake-kun.

"I'm surprised you didn't call Hirata," Ayanokouji-kun faced me with a curious expression.

Hirata-kun was also considered a leader of Class B. Apart from Ayanokouji-kun, he's probably the person that I've talked to the most. It would make sense for him to assume that.

"I wasn't really sure of it myself. I thought it'd be better for your closest friends to visit you instead."

"Well... At least you didn't call Airi and Ken," joked Miyake-kun.

"Y-Yeah... Those two would freak out for sure. Not in the same way, but they'd freak out, nonetheless..." Hasebe-san added with a bitter smile.

Ayanokouji-kun was permitted to stay, under the condition that he can't move out from the base camp until the end of the exam.

As things stand, his plan could already be considered a success. All I had to do was get the last 4 points and let history take its course.

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Last Day, 8:29 AM.

Earlier in the morning, the four of us explained everything to the class as soon as we came back. After seeing me alive and well, my worried classmates calmed down eventually.

After the roll call, Horikita went on to take the spots with Makida, Onodera, Okitani, and Matsushita. Meanwhile, the rest of the class got ready to pack everything up.

Chabashira-sensei approached me for the final part of the exam— the leader guessing. Of course, I finally settled down after writing the names of the ones I knew about.

I felt like a retired old man, sitting around doing nothing. Whenever I tried to do something, either Kikyou, Satou, or Airi would call me out and ask if I needed assistance. Well, it was only the three of them at first, but as time went on, other girls started to do the same...

They didn't have to, though. It's just a wound in the head.

The boys were a lost cause, too. They started muttering scary things like "I want to smash my head in, as well." or something along those lines.

Despite those, however, free time felt nice and relaxing.

It didn't take long until 11:30 AM arrived. It was the exact time when every class was expected to assemble on the southern beach.

Because I had a medical gauze attached to my wound, I stayed inconspicuous so as to not gather unnecessary attention from other classes.

As expected, only Class A, B, and C had students occupying their area.

Well, their area stayed barren until a student walked out from the forest. Their appearance genuinely shocked each and every other student on the beach, my class included.

"Are you serious..."

"Huh...? But..."

"How...?"

A girl with a stern expression stood above Class D's designated area and joined us while waiting for the announcements. Even I didn't expect to see her face in this place.

"So it was you who stayed hidden until the end, Ibuki," I muttered before letting out a sigh.