Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Solace

Vol. 6: Chapter 4.2 - Ryuuen's Message

November 7th, Sunday.

Ike went to Keyaki Mall's bathroom after he and his friends finished watching a movie. The other three went on to order food for their group at the food court. After he got out, however, three different people were waiting for him.

"Ike," Ishizaki called out to him in a relatively friendly manner.

"Ishizaki... Komiya... and Kaneda? What do you want?" he asked vigilantly.

"C'mon, dude. Don't be like that. We were just hanging out like normal students. Is it wrong to greet an acquaintance?"

"I don't have time for this, Ishizaki. Just get straight to the point," spat Ike.

"You guys from Class A are so uptight. We're not tryna be assholes because we want to, okay? Well, I guess you can hold some grudge against me because I punched you before..." Ishizaki scratched his cheek with a guilty smile. "But orders are orders, and we need to follow them if we want to gain more points."

Ike's rigid expression became less guarded after hearing Ishizaki's reply. After thinking about it for a second, Ryuuen's goons never really bothered them unless they had other motives.

"Fine. But it's not like we're friends, so I'm sure you have some sort of objective for calling out to me."

Ike's hunch was right on the money, and Ishizaki readily admitted it.

"Yeah, actually. Ryuuen-san wanted us to give your group a message."

"Message? My group?"

"You, Hondou, Miyamoto, Yamauchi... and two other guys, right?"

"Ohh, I see... But a message from Ryuuen, huh...?" Ike's skepticism returned. 

"Don't get the wrong idea. It's just some details related to what happened before when we tried to frame you guys."

Ike's eyes narrowed as he started to clench his fists.

"You say that as if you didn't just try to ruin our lives with false accusations." 

"I'm not going to invalidate how you feel, but it was the strategy that Ryuuen-san thought of back then."

Ike grew increasingly irritated the more he heard about the topic.

"Ugh, just tell me already. I wanna get back and eat."

"Alright, alright. But remember, we wanted your whole group to know. Take us to where you guys are seated. We'll tell you everything there."

Ike didn't reply, but instead glanced at Komiya and Kaneda, who stayed quiet the entire time.

"Don't worry, man. We're not bullshitting you. We just really wanted to give you guys the message," Komiya shrugged.

"Mhm," Kaneda nodded with a knowing smile.

Seeing their serious expressions, Ike had no choice but to cast his doubts aside for now. He took them to where his friends were waiting. When they arrived, Yamauchi and the others were surprised to see their buddy accompanied by three students from a rival class.

After Ike explained the situation, they finally chose to listen despite being on guard.

"We were originally planning to tell you at school, but it's better to tell you now while we got the chance. I guess it's fine even if it's just the four of you since the other two weren't really involved during the incident," said Ishizaki. "Alright. Kaneda, I'll leave everything to you since you remember all of the details."

The so-called "incident" was already resolved, but it was still a fact that Ike and Yamauchi were the victims. They couldn't really guess what Ryuuen had to say, but the way they were "saved" was still a mystery to them. After all, Horikita and Ayanokouji miraculously managed to make Class D back off from the case.