Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Self-Test

Vol. 3: Chapter 11.1 - Brewing Trouble

"Ayanokouji? Hasebe? Why are you guys sleeping out here?"

My body felt the extreme coldness of the place despite the usual humidity. I slowly opened my eyes and saw Yukimura's curious expression.

"I thought there was enough space inside the tents?" he asked.

I looked at my wristwatch and saw that the time was 5:07 AM.

"Haruka fell asleep while leaning on this tree... and then I kinda did the same," I reasoned.

"Huh? You could've just woken her up when you found her."

"Well, the thing is... We were already in this position before she fell asleep." I glanced at Haruka's adorable sleeping face.

"Oh... I see." Yukimura nodded understandingly. "I don't know if this is an offensive question but, are you two dating?"

Even the dense Yukimura would eventually arrive at that conclusion.

"No... The two of us just decided to talk for a bit. But... we were more exhausted than we thought, so this happened..."

That's the last bit of excuse that I can possibly tell him. I hope Yukimura believes me... It's the truth, anyway.

"I understand," he nodded. "But the two of you need to get up soon. It's already the fifth day. We're almost there." 

Yukimura walked back to his tent, probably to get something. I gently moved Haruka's head off my shoulder. I should wash up and get ready for the next day.

"Mmm... Kiyopon... Miyacchi... Kencchin... get 'em~... Airi... get behind me, I'll protect you~..." she muttered.

Huh...? What in the world is this girl dreaming about?

I stood up and stretched for a bit before scanning our surroundings. It doesn't seem like anyone else was up, which was expected given the time. The earliest ones were always either Yukimura or Hirata, so I wasn't worried even if I slept in for a bit.

"Hm?"

I noticed something strange after looking at the girls' tent.

"Yukimura, is there anyone else who's awake? Like someone who went to the toilet or something?" I asked.

The tent's entrance wasn't the same from what I could remember. If someone went to the toilet around 2-4 in the morning, I doubt they could've noticed me and Haruka since this place was a blindspot from the girls' tent in particular. But that's taking their morning dizziness into account.

If they woke up after that timeframe, then...

"I don't think so..." Yukimura answered in an instant.

That's a relief. It seems like I was overthinking things. At least we avoided some troublesome misunderstandings.

"Ah, but I remember Kushida getting out of their tent right after I went out from ours. She immediately went back inside, though."

Ah.

"She went back inside?"

"Yeah... She stepped out and walked around for a few seconds before going back in a hurry. Since she's still inside, then I'm pretty sure she went back to sleep." Yukimura pondered while narrowing his eyes a bit. "Hmm, but that's strange... Kushida was very energetic when she greeted me. It didn't feel like she was sleepy at all."

Oh...

As the time passed by, our classmates woke up one by one until Haruka finally got up herself. The others didn't really mind seeing her asleep by the tree since a few of our classmates have done the same before.