Classroom of the Elite V17: Ch 3 Part 4

 

Monday came around again. Saturday was a big day, with Mii-chan directly consulting me, and Akito indirectly informing me of Haruka’s intention to go to school.

Still, there was no guarantee that she would come to school, and it was up to her to decide whether she wanted to or not. As for Kushida, I haven’t received a single call from Horikita until this morning. Even if she did come to school, there was no telling how she and her classmates would react.            I arrived at school at the same time as usual, and sat down to wait for the three of them to arrive. After about a quarter of the class had arrived at school, I saw the surprised smiles of some of the girls.

Mii-chan walked into the classroom in a reserved manner.   “Oh, good morning...”

Mii-chan, who had come to school prepared to be tormented, looked up fearfully. But her worries vanished into thin air, as the girls immediately welcomed her without mentioning the subject in any way.

“Good morning, Mii-chan.”

“Oh, good morning, Hirata-kun.”

And he also welcomes Mii-chan back with a smile that hasn’t changed one bit. At this point, I don’t know if there is a way forward for Mii-chan’s love life. However, even if it hasn’t started, it certainly hasn’t ended. It is conceivable that there will be a major turning point in their school life in the future.

After that, the girls never left Mii-chan, who was still somewhat tense, and they started laughing about what had happened at school last week. After most of the classmates had arrived at school, Haruka showed up at the door. Akito accompanied her to her seat, following her to prevent her from running away, as if she might do so at any moment.

 

Keisei was a little hesitant, but he made up his mind and walked over to Haruka and called out to her. I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be glad I wasn’t around those three people when we switched seats.

Haruka looked at me for a moment, but then quickly looked away and down at her cell phone.

Mii-chan and Haruka both came to school. They have friends who support them when they are in pain. For Mii-chan, it was many of the girls. For Haruka, it was Akito and Keisei. Even though they aren’t that many, they can be called best friends.

For the moment, it seems that the class has avoided the negative impact we were all fearing.

But what about Kushida?

With less than three minutes to go before morning homeroom, a stifffaced Horikita came to school alone. After a quick glance at Kushida’s seat, she took her own seat and stared straight at the blackboard.

She was not in the lobby this morning, so I was hoping that she would be there, but I guess she was not. Shinohara and some of the other students must have thought the same thing when they saw Horikita. Eventually, the bell rang and it was time for homeroom.

Chabashira-sensei appeared in the classroom, with all the seats filled except Kushida’s.

“I see you two are feeling better. It looks like it was a long cold, but you’ll have to take better care of yourselves in the future.”

She scolded them lightly, but confirmed their attendance without strong censure.

“So today’s absence is Kushida? I don’t think I’ve heard from her, so...”

At that moment, I heard the sound of the classroom door being opened.           And although she was slightly out of breath, she quickly adjusted herself.

“I’m sorry, I’m late.”

With a calm voice, Kushida made her way into the classroom.  “This is your first time being late, Kushida. You’ve been absent for a long time, but is your body okay now?”        

“Yes. I’ll be more careful next time.”

She replied matter-of-factly, without any panic. Kushida sat down in her seat. She didn’t exchange a word with anyone, but kept her gaze fixed forward.

The classroom became tense at once, but since there was no room for private conversation, silence followed.

“I know a lot has happened, but it’s been a week since we’ve all been together.”

Chabashira-sensei nodded in satisfaction, though she could still sense the unstable situation of the class.

“It’s almost time for the sports festival. I expect you to make great strides and perform well.”

After that, homeroom was over and the classroom was suddenly in an uproar. Needless to say, it was due to Kushida’s arrival at school.

The students stared at her as if she were a ghost or something. Will she remain silent, or will she put on her usual smile? Or will she bare her fangs again? I quietly pulled out my chair and walked out of the classroom to head down the hallway.

Then I opened the door to the hallway. I didn’t want to accidentally expose my inner thoughts to the rest of the class.

I thought so, but...

“I’m watching you, don’t worry.”

I received such a message on my cell phone. In the corridor, where I only showed my face, Chabashira-sensei spotted me and answered with a single nod. After confirming this, I decided to close the door without being noticed. As a teacher, she will do everything she can. I’m sure that’s what Chabashira-sensei is following up on.

No one was able to make a move in a situation where anything could have happened.

When Horikita was about to pull out her chair, Kushida stood up to overtake her. With that one action, she seemed to be threatening to do something unnecessary.

The first thing she did was to go in front of Mii-chan, who was also sitting near her. When Mii-chan finally came back to class, she stiffened like a frog being stared at by a snake.

“I heard from Horikita-san that you were absent because of me.”

“Oh, yeah, um...”

“Do you hate me now?”

“No, no, it’s not like that...”

“There’s no need for you to like me, Wang-san. I can’t change the fact that I revealed your secret in front of everyone, and I don’t intend to get along with you either. I guess I don’t have to tell you this.”

I don’t intend to get along with you. The tone of voice was soft, but the strong words made Mii-chan stiffen even more. The eyes of many of the students looking at them showed dissatisfaction, anxiety, and doubt.        Normally that would be painful enough, but it didn’t affect Kushida in the slightest.

“I’m not going to ask you to understand how I felt at that time, but I had to do that. I’ll apologize for making you one of the targets.”        She said and bowed deeply. It seems more clerical than a sincere apology, but at least I don’t sense any malice.

“I’m sorry for causing trouble to Shinohara-san, Matsushita-san, and the others. It looks like you’ve made up for it.”

If you ask me, Shinohara, Matsushita and the rest of the group are very close. Maybe Yōsuke, Sudō and the others had been working during this weekend to make things right.

“Do you think you can just apologize?”

Shinohara’s words were a little harsh, but she was trying to restrain herself.

“I’m sorry, but if I don’t apologize, we can’t move on, can we?”

“What kind of apology is that?”

“I don’t know. But this is the real me.”

This isn’t the false mask that she’s been wearing. That fact alone must have made the whole class nervous.

“In the days to come, I intend to maintain some semblance of appearance as I have in the past, so I can gather information from other classes as the occasion demands. But if anyone in the class wants to interfere with that, that’s fine with me.”

No matter how much Kushida tries to arrange things on the outside, if someone on the inside gets in the way of that, the relationship can’t be built.

“I’ll leave it up to you all to decide if you want to use the weapons I’ve built or not.”

If Kushida was someone who valued her friends and feared being alone, isolating her would be a way to get back at her. But Kushida was not passive, she was on the offensive.

“And I have no mercy for anyone who turns against me. It’s really only a small part of what I exposed in the special exam. I’m sure there are plenty of others who have facts they want to hide, right?” She muttered nonchalantly, as if threatening the entire class rather than someone in particular.

“But I’ll promise you one thing. I won’t reveal any secrets you have unless you’re trying to trick me. This isn’t for the good of the class, this is for my own good, to graduate from class A. It’s my last line of defense so that I don’t lose my value as a person.”

As long as my classmates resent her, complain about her, and distrust her, depending on the situation, she could be the one to be cut down. So, in order to not let that happen, she will not reveal any more secrets. However, if you stab her in the back, you will not be tolerated. She promised to contribute to the class as soon as she learned how to protect herself.

Kikyou Kushida’s abilities are among the top in our class. At least in academic and physical challenges, she would not be a drag.   “Hey, Hasebe-san, are you okay too?”

She directed her words at Haruka, who hadn’t moved from her seat or even looked at her. Haruka didn’t respond and let her gaze drift out the window.