Classroom of the Elite: Free Will

V7: Chapter 10 - Left All Alone

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka POV

Later, after the night had fallen, I left my room and made my way towards the park next to the dorm. The manager didn't told me anything since there was still some time left before curfew.

Today had been the last day of our second semester; Nao and Karma put their plans in motion but thanks to Yousuke and Chikujoin there were no important consequences. That said, I would still have to take care of a few things. And for that, I needed to lay the groundwork.

I was thankful to Horikita-senpai for going to the rooftop, if he had refused, I would have had to turn towards someone like Koenji which would have implied promises and favours. It was unlikely that Horikita-senpai would ask for anything since I was part of the student council and Nao, and Karma were already barring Nagumo. I still would need to meet him personally one of these days, though.

The night was dark, few stars on the sky and a last quarter moon covered by clouds that would surely leave snow during the morning. So, the only light came from the lamps. The weather was quite cold in opposition to what it had been during the day. Therefore, I had taken the coat Sakayanagi had given me on my birthday as well as my school blazer for the person I was going to meet.

I finally heard the relaxing sound of the waves softly going back and forth. Meaning I arrived at the other end of the park where there was a walkway next to the bay. Leaning over the railing, I found Nao, her sight set on the darkness before us. As expected, she was wearing a white shirt along with the skirt from the school uniform. I gave a sigh, approached her, and placed my blazer around her shoulders before leaning over the railing to her right.

"We're not there anymore," I stated. "There's no need to punish yourself.'

To our right and our left, we could see the light of the city, but it looked distant and feeble. In front of us, in the direction of the ocean, it was just darkness.

"... I really thought Yousuke would break," she mumbled. "That he wouldn't have the strength to step up. That he would attack Manabe and Yamashita... But he just remained calm and followed your plan. I mean, what did you tell him? How did you do it?"

None of us knew Yousuke's entire story, but thanks to the school files, we knew enough to have an idea of what his reaction to that situation would have been under normal circumstances. To prevent that reaction, I couldn't just expose him what the plan was. Yousuke also needed to see this as an opportunity. Not just to redeem himself. It was necessary for him to perceive parallels between what was happening and what had happened in his past, whatever that was. If he tried to preserve order by force, there had to be a reason for it. If he wanted to save everyone and play the saviour, there had to be a reason for it. I couldn't know what that origin was without interrogating him; that wouldn't have worked, at least not in the same way. The connection had to be made by Yousuke himself while I exposed the plan. Exposing the plan and reminding him why Kei, as his girlfriend, was important to him were my only tasks.

"You know how it works, I guess."

"Yeah..." she blew. "A few well-placed words and wait for the magic to happen."

"You did well, though," I mentioned. "Hadn't it been for Yousuke, Kei would've broken and dropped out immediately."

"Except that it didn't work... I was really stupid for believing Yousuke couldn't do it. I should have prepared something. I could have given information to Manabe. I could have blackmailed Yousuke more directly. Use another of your classmates as a bait, there are a few girls that are head over heels for him. Or used Hoshinomiya-sensei to get to him. Or the football club, an unfortunate injury. Or—"