Classroom of the Elite: Ichinose of Class-D

Chapter XIX - To Enforce, Then One Must Have Force

Though without Hirata, I'm sure the rest of Class-D will be fine as Ichinose and Horikita is spearheading but, Hirata is an above average athlete and without his talents in any upcoming tasks, then Class-D's chances of winning event points will be low. Sure there are plenty of other people that could fill in for Hirata's physical talents, one of which could be Sudou, but to maximize your chances of winning is, of course, the most obvious choice.

Getting up from the tree I was leaning against, I walked towards Hirata.

"Hey," I said.

No response.

"Hirata," I called out again.

Like last time, he didn't respond to me. A strong physical stimulus can bring someone back to reality if they are spacing out but, I wouldn't want to make a scene so instead, I placed my hand on his shoulder and made an effort to communicate for the third time.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked.

"What do you want, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Hirata, who was still looking at the greenery around him, spoke up after my persistence, albeit in a rather cold tone.

"Let's talk, but not here."

"Huh?"

"Follow me, you're not doing anything now, are you?"

"I'm not, just make it quick," he said.

With that, I nodded and went farther out from the rest of the group, away from prying eyes at a nice spot where no one could eavesdrop on our conversation.

"You know, Ayanokouji-kun, I thought that at least someone like you would understand," Hirata said.

"Understand?"

"I mean, I don't get the impression that Ayanokouji-kun is someone especially talented at first, but when I look at you again, there's a different feeling I get ever since when Yamauchi-kun was expelled."

"Maybe it's just your imagination," I responded.

"Maybe."

I won't deny the fact that I wasn't involved in Yamauchi's expulsion though it was indirect but, to not be over that at this point in time will only continue to dig your own grave even further.. As it is, Hirata is someone who held a strong grip on their ideals and unlike Ichinose, his will can be shaken differently because of these ideals. To put it simply, I'm not saying I dislike idealistic people in the slightest, but, a person's naïve outlook and high optimistic views will inevitably be their downfall when it comes to things like this. Therefore, Hirata is someone that I couldn't possibly relate to.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Hirata asked.

"I wanted to ask, will you come back to the class and contribute?"

"If that's all you wanted to ask me, Ayanokouji-kun, then I'm afraid you're wasting your time."

"I see, then how about I change the topic?"

"About?"

"I don't know, maybe about school life?" I replied.

"What..?"

"That's what you're so hung up on, isn't it? But the fact remains, Yamauchi was expelled and you're still standing."

"I-I still couldn't protect my classmates.." Hirata said, looking down at the floor.

"It wasn't a favorable decision, that much is true. At the beginning, we were hoping to avoid penalties such as that."

Before the first special exam took place, Sakayanagi had messaged me anonymously for reasons still unknown to me. She made her knowledge of the White Room clear which, in turn, made me wary of her. During one of the prompts when we were asked to direct our votes to Ryuuen to have their private points penalized but instead, I had changed my vote to Sakayanagi on purpose and she ended up getting penalized a sum of private points by just one vote. My vote. Never mind that, before all that took place, she had made it clear that Class-A's vote for the extended prompt would be Class-D. That turn of events brings us here.