Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Self-Test

August 8th, 2:45 PM.

"Alright, it's your loss if you really don't want to." Akito shrugged as he walked away with Ken.

"You can always change your mind." Ken turned around with a wave.

"We'll be fine, Miyacchi. You guys can go have some fun," said Haruka.

"Mn... We've had our fill with swimming back on the island, so we'll be alright over here," added Airi.

After getting reassurance from the two of them, I followed the other two and got in the pool.

"Wooh, the water's so damn nice!"

"This weather is perfect!"

A lot of the students frolicked around the pool area with their friends. It was a healthy mix of different classes. Of course, I couldn't really swim like everyone else due to my bandages. I just hovered around the poolside and hung out with some other Class B guys.

"You dating anyone yet, Ayanokouji?" asked Miyamoto.

"Yeah, this is the summer of our dreams. After seeing most of the girls wearing swimsuits, you should at least grow some interest in one of them," commented Hondou.

"I mean, look at Hirata. He's having lots of fun with Karuizawa, ain't he?"

"Though they haven't been that flirty these days."

I tried thinking of a reply while watching Akito and Ken play around with some of our classmates.

"Hmm... Then I'll give you a preface to my answer," I said. "I kinda classified the relationship commitments in high school into two types. One of them is the 'fleeting type'. You date for some months, get to know each other, then break up if it doesn't work out. According to some people; it's a healthy way of expanding your social knowledge."

"And the second type?" asked Kikuchi.

"The other one's the 'all-in' type, I guess. You can say that it's the type with a more traditional or conservation outlook on romantic relationships."

"So, you're saying that you're the latter?" asked Ijuuin.

I nod in response.

"Ohh, so that's why you're taking this long. Ohoho, aren't you the pure type, Ayanokouji?" Hondou nudged me with a smirk.

To be honest, I don't really care too much about the type of commitments whatsoever...

I could always go with my typical "I just don't feel that way about anyone yet" reply, but their concerns make sense. It would've been fine if I was a loner who got along with no one, but I'm Class B's leader and I'm surrounded by a lot of amazing girls. Anyone in my position would have a crush or two, or even a girlfriend.

For now, I'm just trying to bide some time until I can really find a girl whom I want to date.

And besides... even if I find someone that I genuinely like... in the end, I'll...

"Ah, so you want your first girlfriend to be someone that you'd think of marrying in the future?" pondered Professor. "But wouldn't it be hard if your girlfriend was the one who wanted to break up with you?"

"Well, I guess marriage would be nice. But of course, even if I'm the 'all-in type', I'm aware that I won't be able to save my relationship if the other party wants out. It would still be better to break up and move on. No point in clinging to the relationship if you're the only one working for it," I replied.

"You'll be an obsessive stalker in the making if you push further," chuckled Onizuka.

"Sounds a lot like you."

"Hey, I haven't even experienced being in a relationship let alone a break-up!"

"Ayanokouji's the same, right?"

"But he sounds like an expert, though."

"Of course. It's Ayanokouji, after all."

"You must be lying about not having any ex-girlfriends, aren't you?"

"I'm not." I sighed while looking away.

I can confidently say that I have no relationship experience. The only reason why I didn't seem like I was talking out of my ass is due to the power of research and the internet!

To be honest, it's been a pretty interesting experience reading things like light novels and manga. Because I don't have to worry about my academics, I have all the time in the world to binge and consume those types of media. And by doing so, I also gained the ability to keep up with my male friends who talk about this stuff.

"How about upperclassmen?" asked Kikuchi.

"O-Ohh! You're right! There were quite a lot of hotties on the upper grades."

"Kouenji has been playing around with the third years, hasn't he? Maybe we could ask him."

"Nah, dude. I doubt he'd tell us a name."

"There's a really pretty girl from the second year, though!"

"What's her name again...? Asahina-senpai...?" mused Miyamoto.

"I don't know who Asahina-senpai is, but let's talk about Kiryuuin-senpai! She's really beautiful!" exclaimed Hondou.

The guys started their own forum about some upperclassmen as a result. Since this trip was for freshmen only, they didn't have to worry about getting overheard by the subjects of their topics.

I looked around us.

I can recognize every single first-year student by their face. But even if I can do so, it's not like they're making any sort of impression on me.

Of course, one student is an exception. There's no way she wouldn't stand out.

"Honami-chan, catch!"

"Woah, Mako-chan, that's too high!"

"Oh crap, I was about to enter the deep end."

"Just swim! It's easy!"

A group of Class C girls was attracting a lot of attention. It's not because they were too loud since everyone was making the same amount of noise. It's also not about their beach ball activities since other groups were doing the same fun ventures.

The reason why a lot of eyes were on them was due to Ichinose Honami's presence. Clad in a very pretty pink frilled two-piece, Ichinose was absolute eye candy for the people in the area. Of course, that's not downplaying her friends who were also attractive in their own rights.

After some minutes, the guys in my classes decided to swim around, too. Professor and I were left to watch the table. He was tasked to guard the area, fiddling with his laptop while I got drinks for everyone.

I ended up behind a short line of people.

"Ibuki?"

"Ayanokouji...?" Ibuki winced upon seeing my face.

Woah, what revulsion. Does she hate me or something?

"Are you going to get some drinks, too?" I asked.

Ibuki was also on her swimsuit. However, just like Karuizawa on the island, she was wearing a jacket on top of it.

"..."

"How cold. You were the one pressing for a conversation yesterday."

"Then spill it out. How did you know that Ryuuen lured you there? And why didn't you write my name?"

Her directness can really overwhelm people...

"Calm yourself down a bit. The girls in front of you are getting scared."

"Tch..." Ibuki awkwardly averted her glare away from me.

"Fine... There's no harm in telling you since Ryuuen himself already knows. But for now, let's just wait in line," I sighed in resignation. "Are you with anyone?"

"I'm alone."

"Alright, we can talk at our table. My classmates are busy swimming in the pool and my buddy, Sotomura, is busy with his laptop. We can chat in peace there."

Ibuki turned around and stayed silent.

————————————————————————

After making a delayed order for the boys and getting two cold drinks for me and Professor, Ibuki and I sat across from each other with our beverages in hand.

"Ryuuen must've told you already, right? You wanted our leader's name— I knew that right from the start."

"How...? I don't recall letting my guard down at all... Even if you managed to see the camera in my bag, you wouldn't necessarily think that it's used for espionage."

There were two items in the manual that proved vital to Ryuuen's plan. First was the camera and second were the walkie-talkies. Those rental cameras were meant for taking memorable photos while the walkie-talkies were used to prevent anyone from getting lost.

It was their intended purpose. However, because of the test's nature, those two items were used for other things.

"That's why I didn't question you. I know you'd just make an excuse."

"Well, you're right. Ryuuen prepared a story if that ever happens."

"But my suspicion didn't come from your camera. The moment you arrived in our camp, I already knew that something wasn't right." Ibuki stayed silent while lightly drinking from her straw. "Your fingers were dirty due to the soil."

Her eyes widened in realization. Ibuki exhaled with a light scoff, probably towards herself.

"So after you investigated the hole where I hid my walkie-talkie, you manipulated me into taking a photo of your key card..."

"And for the case with Ryuuen, I was just lucky. Even if I knew that he lured me into your base, I couldn't have been sure that he planned to change leaders. After all, no other student could be found," I shrugged. "In the end, I almost wouldn't detect someone's presence if it weren't for my catfight with him. I didn't even know that it was you. My suspicion was only solidified when I noticed the holly berries on his side."

Ibuki sighed in exasperation.

"Both of you are ridiculous, you know that?"

"Should I take that as a compliment?"

"Do whatever you want. Just know that I don't like both of you. I hate Ryuuen's guts and I hate that you acted like a weakling."

"Like a weakling?"

Must've been when I refused to fight back against Ryuuen.

"You know how to fight, don't you?" Ibuki narrowed her eyes.

"Ahh, so you noticed, after all."

"Of course, I would. Even Ryuuen did. I don't like the way you act dumb and hold yourself back."

I can get where she's coming from. For a well-trained fighter, seeing someone hold themselves back in a fight would be insulting. It's blatant disrespect for the opponent.

"Well, I can fight, yes. But that wasn't the time to show off my skills. It's a waste of energy, too. It's not like you advertise your fighting skills in front of others, right?"

"Of course. I'm not an idiot," she replied before asking. "So you'll fight seriously when the conditions are right?"

"Sure, but I'd like to avoid physical conflict as much as possible."

"Do you think you can beat Ryuuen?"

Ah... She really is a competitive one, huh? Well, it's pretty nice to have a conversation with someone from Class D, so I don't mind telling her about myself a bit.

"Probably... But it'd be close. You've seen how sloppy my dodges were, right? Even if I was holding back-"

"Stop lying. I was fooled at first, but that last move... Everything you did prior to that was total bull. As a fighter, Ryuuen is stronger than most of the guys in school, but if you can perfectly fend him away, even if you caught him off-guard that time... there's no way it would be close." Ibuki drew closer as she continued speaking. "I was observing your physique back then, too. It's not that apparent at first glance, but your body is highly toned. Since I had no way of determining how dense your muscles are, I can't estimate the power behind one of your blows."

Ibuki Mio... She's a lot more skilled than I thought...

"Fine, fine. I could beat Ryuuen, but you're overestimating me if you think I'd have it easy. And of course, fighting against professionals is another thing."

"Fight with me." Ibuki placed both of her hands on the table as she said those words.

"Are you a professional?"

"Hah? I didn't say that. I just want you to fight with me without any of us holding back. If you're really as strong as I'm making you out to be, then I might lose... but I still want to fight you."

"You might get disappointed, you know?"

"That's fine with me."

Ibuki's spirited attitude is a pain, but interesting at the same time. It shows how much she cares about her strength in martial arts.

"Tell me about yourself first, then. I can't be the only one who's getting interrogated."

"Fine, what do you want to know?" Ibuki replied in an instant.

She was surprisingly easy to negotiate with... Well, as long as she gets what she wants.

"Do you have any friends?"

"I'm not fond of my classmates. There's no way I can get along with them."

"Surely, some of them are nice enough to be friends with you."

"Friends? I don't know about that. I don't need friends, anyway. But sure, there are some nice people."

"Like Kaneda? He seems like a good dude. When I met him on the island with Ichinose's class, he was being really cooperative. Was he acting?"

"Of course, idiot. Kaneda's probably the smartest student in our class. He's logical and calculating. That's why he's part of Ryuuen's main forces. He's not a douchebag like him, though."

"Are there any other notable students in your class like you and Kaneda?"

"Don't push your luck, Ayanokouji. I told you all of that in the spirit of fairness. If you want more information, then fight me."

"You might be getting the wrong idea here, Ibuki." I leaned back and took a big sip from my drink. "The information that you told me just now was the price for what I told you at the start. If you want to fight with me, then..."

I finished my sentence with a shrug.

"You..." Ibuki glared at me in annoyance.

"So, it'd be great if you could give me more information. I might consider sparring with you by then."

Ibuki's eyes looked bored. She sighed and stood up before taking her drink.

"I'm not uncivilized like Ryuuen or his delinquent lackeys, so I won't jump on you whenever I get the chance. But I'll make sure we can face each other one day."

"I hope that day doesn't come... I don't like trouble, after all."

Ibuki left with her drink in hand. Somehow, she reminds me of Horikita a little bit.

————————————————————————

August 8th, 4:00 PM.

I finally decided to stay out of the pool and hang out with Airi and Haruka.

It was fun talking to them, but the three of us were pretty bored. I laid my forehead on the table and sighed audibly.

"Look at those two idiots play like children." Haruka watched Ken and Akito with a warm smile.

"Akito-kun didn't have any close friends back in the first month, right? I'm glad that he and Ken-kun get along very well with the other boys now," said Airi.

"Yep. Aren't you bummed out, Kiyopon? If you weren't wounded, I'm sure you'll be zooming across the entire pool with your swimming skills!" Haruka gestured with her arms.

Airi, who was beside me, gently caressed my hair. Her soft hand's comforting movements are making me sleepy. Crap... I shouldn't have let myself loose during lunch. (Had lunch at 2:00 PM— a big one, too.)

If it were the old Airi, I'm sure she would be too embarrassed to do something like this. But I guess we're close enough to be this comfortable.

"I'm glad you weren't in grave danger, Kiyotaka-kun. I don't know what I'd do if one of my friends got hurt like that." I wasn't facing Airi's direction, so I couldn't see her face. But judging from her tone, she might've been smiling in relief.

*Yawn*

The perfectly warm breeze is adding more to my dizziness. I fixed my position by laying my crossed arms on the table, using them as a pillow.

"You can sleep if you want, Kiyotaka-kun. We'll be here with you until Ken-kun and Akito-kun finish their swimming, right Haruka-chan?" Airi said as she continued caressing my hair.

"O-Oh, yeah. We've only been here for a little over an hour, anyway. They might keep playing for another hour and a half," replied Haruka.

My eyes were closed so I couldn't see Haruka's face, but it sounded like she was a bit distracted when Airi asked her.

"Yes. We'll wake you up, by then. Of course, if you want to sleep comfortably in your room, that's also an option."

"Nah... I think I'll be fine with taking a nap here. Just... a short nap."

I'm too lazy to get up at this point... I'll let my sleepiness pass by for about thirty minutes or so...

I say that, but I'm still a little bit conscious...

"He's really adorable sometimes... Kiyotaka-kun, I mean," chuckled Airi.

"Ahaha, he is. We're lucky that we get to see him like this, aren't we?" said Haruka.

"Mn..."

"Hey, Airi, why don't you take a picture of him? This is a super rare chance!"

"E-Eh...? Kiyotaka-kun might get angry..."

"Nah, he won't. It's just a simple picture, anyway. It's not like we're showing it to everyone..."

The conversation paused for a bit.

"Yeah... No way we'll show it to anyone else."

"Mn."

A light click could be heard before they continued talking.

"His sleeping face is so cute~! Send this along with everything else when we get back, alright, Airi? We'll complete our friend group's photo album together!"

"Of course! We've taken quite a lot of pictures. Even I can't believe it..."

"I'm the same, and I'm sure those two oafs are, too. We were all loners for the first month, but now we're great friends."

"I'm happy I met you guys."

"You've said a bunch of times already, Airi-chan~. You're so cute."

"Ehehe... It's all thanks to Horikita-san for putting us under Kiyotaka-kun's tutelage."

"Guess so. Who knew that this sleeping guy right here would be our close friend, right?"

"Yeah... Kiyotaka-kun's the smartest student in school. He's really popular with the girls, too. Until now, I still can't believe that I'm actually friends with him."

"Hey, hey, you're blushing, you know?"

"E-Eh-? Stop teasing me, Haruka-chan!"

"Ahaha, I'm not~! If only you can see yourself right now..." chuckled Haruka.

"H-Hmph... If you talk about Kiyotaka-kun, I'm sure you'll start blushing, as well."

"You're right on that~! And it would be quite bad."

"Do you think he's noticed yet?" Airi asked with a gentle tone.

"I don't know. Kiyopon might look, sound, and even act dense... but he's not stupid."

"Oh... You're right."

The conversation reached a stop. However, it was but a brief stop.

"I won't lose, Airi."

"Yep, me too, Haruka-chan."

My consciousness slowly slipped away around that time.

————————————————————————

August 8th, 4:35 PM.

"Mm..."

"Oh? Kiyopon is waking up from his slumber!"

"How was your nap, Kiyotaka-kun?"

"It was alright, I guess..."

"Were you guys talking about me while I was asleep?" was what I wanted to say as a topic opener, but I knew it would be a bad idea.