Classroom of the Elite (Ayanokoji Kiyone)

Volume 2 : Additional Hands

Ayanokoji Kiyone POV

After homeroom ended, Kushida-san got up from her seat and walked over to Sakura-san, who was quietly preparing to go back home. Kushida-san seemed strangely nervous.

Ike-kun, Yamauchi-kun, and Sudou-kun noticed and looked towards Kushida-san.

Kushida : "Sakura-san."

Sakura : "...W-What...?"

She looked up listlessly. It looked like she didn't expect someone to call out to her, since she was panicking.

Kushida : "Do you have time, Sakura-san? I want to ask you something about Sudou-kun's case..."

Sakura : "S-Sorry, I... have plans, so..."

She averted her eyes, it was obvious that she was feeling uncomfortable. Talking to other people does not seem to be her strong point. Or rather, it felt like she didn't like talking to other people.

Kushida : "Can you make some time? I really want to talk because this is important. During Sudou-kun's incident, were you nearby by any chance-"

Sakura : "I-I don't know. I already said this to Hirata-kun, but I don't know anything!"

Her words were frail, but she denied it strongly. Kushida-san, also seeing how unwilling she was, probably didn't want to push it too far. Although she looked confused at first, she immediately went back to smiling.

But even then, she wasn't willing to withdraw so easily. After all, this person will greatly affect Sudou-kun's case.

Sakura : "Is.... it fine if I go back now?"

She's not simply bad at talking to people, but rather, it looks like she's trying to hide something. That much is obvious from the way she's acting. She was hiding her dominant hand and wasn't making eye contact with her. Even if she may be uncomfortable with looking at her eyes, Sakura-san refused to look at Kushida-san's face.

If it was either Hirata-kun or Ike-kun talking to her instead of Kushida-san, it would make more sense. After all, Kushida-san was able to get her to exchange contact addresses. Interacting with Kushida-san is a completely different experience.

Kushida : "Can't you just give me a few minutes?"

Sakura : "W-Why? I don't know anything!"

If Kushida failed here, their conversation would amount to nothing. The awkward conversation naturally gathered more attention as it dragged on and on.

But this situation seems like a complete miscalculation from Kushida-san. Since they were acquaintances that had exchanged contact addresses, she expected this conversation to go much smoother.

If she wasn't expecting to be rejected, then this situation would make sense. My neighbor looked over the situation attentively, then looked at me with a slightly smug expression. It seemed like she was saying, 'I know that your powers of perception are exceptional'. Does she wanted me to take some action?

Sakura : "...I'm bad at talking to people... s-sorry."

She was speaking in a strained voice, trying to keep Kushida away from her.

When we were talking about Sakura-san earlier, Kushida-san said that she was an ordinary girl, despite being shy.

Looking at her current behavior, she's clearly not normal. Kushida-san probably thought the same thing, because she looked completely confused. Even though she's good at getting people to open up, she couldn't do it this time.

Horikita-san, also watching the situation, came to a conclusion.

Horikita : "Too bad. Looks like she couldn't persuade her. Isn't it about time you do something?"