The True Elites

Chapter 42: Joining Class C

Suzaku's POV

I stepped out of the shower, and was met with the same thing as every other morning.

The mirror. Despite the blurriness that had accumulated as a result of the steam condensing on the cold glass, I could still make out my body, which had been carefully moulded to perfection over years of specialised training.

I looked down at my hands. No matter what kind of combat it was – armed or unarmed – I could not lose. Britannia's specialised training regime, that was tested on Japanese honorary Britannians like me, was capable of turning an ordinary teenager into a killing machine.

The face of my father flashed through my mind, and I had to grab onto the sink to steady myself. I looked up, and my reflection glared back at me, as if to say, 'No, you were always a monster,'.

Banishing these kind of morbidly oppressive thoughts, I brushed my teeth and got dressed. It was time for yet another school day, though this one would be a bit different.

That was because, as of right now, I was a member of Class C for the next month.

I locked my dorm behind me, and stepped into the nearby elevator to get down to the ground floor. There, familiar figure stood, examining himself in a handheld mirror.

"Kōenji," I said.

"Ah, Spotter-boy. Could you press the button for the ground floor?"

H-He was seriously too busy admiring his reflection to press it himself.

I let out a sigh, and pushed the button to take us down.

We got to the bottom, and Kōenji left without even a goodbye. I followed behind him at a leisurely pace – I had plenty of time to get to school, after all.

I wondered what kind of role would be required of me in Class C. Would they treat me differently because I was from a different class? Or would I be just another student?

Whatever the case was, I was sure of one thing: that it'd be very different from my usual position in Class B.

"Hey! Kururugi-kun!"

A feminine voice called out to me. I turned my head, and was met by a beautiful student with flowing, pink hair. This was the representative of Class C, Ichinose Honami.

"Oh, Ichinose, what a coincidence," I greeted.

I was surprised to see Ichinose walking to school by herself. You'd come to expect a number of students to surround her wherever she went by this stage.

"Eto, well, maybe it wasn't exactly a coincidence," Ichinose said sheepishly.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, I figured that Kururugi-kun might be nervous, so I kind of went out of my way to meet him before school on purpose," Ichinose looked slightly withdrawn, and twirled a strand of hair around her finger as she spoke.

"I see," I said.

"Oh god, it's weird, isn't it?! I'm sorry, please forget about it!"

Huh? Did I give that impression?

I waved my hands, unsure of quite how to react. "C-Calm down, Ichinose, I don't think it's weird. It's very thoughtful of you. Thanks," I gave her a reassuring smile.

A deep sigh of relief escaped from her lips.

"Is that right?"

Ichinose and I naturally fell into step with each other, and began making our way towards the school building.