Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Self-Test

Vol. 4: Chapter 9.3 - The Devil's Warning

"The Monkey Group and the Rabbit Group-- I'm sure you're familiar with those two, right?"

"They're the first two groups to finish the exam," answered Horikita.

"But what about the Cow Group?" Ryuuen turned towards Ichinose.

"What about the Cow Group, Ryuuen-kun?" she returned his question with a perfectly straight face.

"Oh...? Then what about the Horse Group?" he continued, locking eyes with the seemingly unperturbed Ichinose.

"Like I asked you before; what about them?" she replied.

"Kukuku, oh man... This is so amusing! Ahahaha!" Ryuuen's small chuckle evolved into a laugh. "Now now. There's no need to panic. I know your minds are in turmoil at the moment, but you guys will have to wait for tomorrow. I know I kinda spoiled it a bit, I'm sure you'll still love my surprise."

Ryuuen seemed to be done with his piece. It was so short that from an outsider's perspective, the meeting was nothing but a waste of time. Of course, the leaders of Class B and C didn't think that at all. What he said gave them nothing but ominous feelings.

It should've been time for the others to talk, but they were interrupted by a sudden commotion.

"W-Wait, Ibuki-san..."

"You can't be here..."

A familiar voice could be heard by the corner of the walkway. Ibuki restrained a lone female student who seemed to have stumbled upon the place. Some of the Class D guys who were on standby surrounded them as well.

"Kushida-san...?"

"Kikyou-chan?"

Horikita, Ichinose, and Kanzaki were confused. The five of them stood up from their seats, including Ryuuen himself.

"Oh? What do we have here?"

Horikita cast a glare towards Ayanokouji, who stood beside her.

"What? I just happened to tell her about this meeting when we were hanging out earlier," he pre-emptively spoke out.

"Why did you tell her the time and location?"

"Well, she was curious enough to ask."

"Telling her that much shouldn't be such a big deal, you know?" he thought with a sigh.

Ibuki restrained her movements with a conflicted expression. Kushida's kind actions during the island exam still remained in her mind, but she needed to follow Ryuuen's orders.

"U-Ugh..." Kushida received the treatment with a slightly pained look.

"Now, now. I don't think you need to hold her down like that anymore, Ibuki-san," said Ichinose.

Ibuki turned to Ryuuen for confirmation. Ryuuen snuck a glance towards Ayanokouji before responding.

"It's alright, Ibuki. Eavesdropping is a bad practice, but Kikyou doesn't deserve such rough treatment," he smiled.

After Ibuki let go, Kushida held her left elbow with a bitter smile.

"I'm sorry, I didn't really mean to eavesdrop. As you can probably tell, I just got here when Ibuki-san and the rest spotted me. I knew the meeting would be held in secret, so I tried to sneak around while walking through the hallways. However, I planned to show myself to everyone once I reached the place," she bowed. "That's the truth, I promise."

Kushida apologized instead of acting upset. Such actions amplified the little guilt that Ibuki felt.

"Normally, barging in without an invitation would result in punishment." Ryuuen approached Kushida with a sinister smile. "However, I can make an exception just for you."