Starting in class B: Ayanokouji Kiyone

Arc 2 chapter 11: a larger choice

"Don't you already have a first-year representative for the student council in Ichinose Honami?" I asked.

"Yes, we do. However, I do not believe she is right for the position." Manabu said.

"Then...why did you accept her application?" I asked.

Manabu and Tachibana shared a quick glance. I remember Ichinose saying that she'd been denied the first few times she applied, and got accepted later. Perhaps it wasn't Manabu who had accepted her to the student council.

"That's not for you to know right now." He said.

"..."

I thought, hard.

"Fine. I will accept your offer to become a member of the student council." I said.

A slight smile of relief showed itself on Manabu's face.

"Well then, Ayanokouji Kiyone...welcome to the student council of ANHS." Manabu said, holding out his hand.

I shook it.

"I will expect you at the student council room on Monday at 07:30. Don't be late." He said as he walked off.

That was pretty damn early.

A short time later, Horikita and Chabashira-sensei appeared. Chabashira-sensei just gave me a slight glance, leaving without saying anything in particular.

"Yo." I raised my hand as I greeted Horikita, but was met with an intense glare the likes of which I'd never seen from her before. She quickly returned to her neutral expression, though.

"What were the results?" I asked.

"You already know, right?" She replied.

"I'm glad to hear that. Looks like Ichinose's strategy worked well."

"Hey, Ayanokouji-san. Is Ichinose-san just your puppet?"

"My puppet? What are you talking about?"

"Ayanokouji-san, I don't believe that Ichinose-san would be able to convince those students to drop charges. I therefore believe that she used underhanded methods to force them to drop the case, or at least make them panic enough to drop it. But, from what I know, Ichinose-san is not an underhanded person, and would likely not think of using underhanded methods. I believe you are the one who orchestrated this."

"You're overthinking this."

"Who are you?"

"What do you mean, who am I? I'm just a normal high school girl."

The always-sharp Horikita probably guessed my thoughts, to some extent. She started to speak, but then...

A male student walked towards us. This was not a conversation that we wanted overheard, so both Horikita and I fell silent. We waited for him to pass, but the guy stopped in front of us.

It wasn't on accident. He had magenta hair, styled so it was worn long. He was a few centimetres taller than me. I glanced at his profile and noted that he wore a wide grin. His smile looked ominous.

"Setting up a camera? You did something funny, huh?" The boy didn't even turn to face us entirely as he spoke.

"And you are?" I asked the mystery student.

"Next time, I'll be your opponent. I look forward to it."

The boy walked on without answering my question. We never got a clear look at him. We were only able to watch in silence as he walked away.

"Well. I'll be heading back now." I had the feeling it would be better for us not to be seen together, and turned my back on Horikita.

"Wait. We're not done talking, Ayanokouji-san."

"I'm done talking." I kept going without looking back.

I'd hoped that would satisfy her, but Horikita wouldn't have it.

"If you really hated drawing attention, you wouldn't make all this effort to get involved. Yet you act all evasive and non-communal when you help me. Why?"

I assume that this change in Horikita's behaviour was Chabashira-sensei's doing. She was probably pulling her strings here. I wouldn't be surprised if she knew about my past.

"I just wanted to help."

If I kept talking, I might say something unnecessary. I walked faster.

I'd received a declaration of war from some guy apparently known as Ryuuen. This could be just the start of a cunning, audacious, and brutal attack. He would probably stand in my way as a vigilant enemy in the future.

Then there was Ichinose and the rest of class B. They were people who only took small, indirect steps. I would have to train Ichinose to become better than Ryuuen, and better than all the other class leaders.

I would shape her into the perfect weapon, one that would be useful to me even after I graduate.

Unknown pov

She really reminded me of the old man. I remember when I first met him.

It was a quiet day, and I had been called to the directors office, along with a boy from another class.

I knocked on the door.

"Heh, so you got called here, too?" The boy smirked. He spoke in an odd accent, because he was half English, half Japanese by birth.

"Shut up. I don't want to talk to you."

The door opened, revealing a man wearing a tweed jacket.

"Ah, hello, Sakayanagi-sensei. How are you?" The boy asked.

"Ah, I'm good thank you. I hope you're keeping up with your studies, both of you?" Sakayanagi-sensei greeted us.

"Yes, you don't have to worry about us, sensei." I said.

"Good, good...well, I suppose your teachers had a good reason for sending you both here. I'll be on my way." Sakayanagi-sensei said, leaving.

I opened the door. We weren't the only people who'd been invited, and 2 other students were facing us. Each of the students in the room were from different classes.

"Ah, hello, newcomers." The director said.

"Good morning sir. My name is Samuel Akito, of class 1-A. I apologise sir, but I have never learnt your name."

"It's fine. We've never met, so it's natural. I am Ayanokouji Hotaru, the director and founder of ANHS, and the minister of education for Japan. And...you are?" Ayanokouji-sensei asked, facing me.

"Good morning. I am Sae Chabashira, of class 1-B." I introduced myself, bowing.

Authors notes
978 words
Hi guys, it's been a little while.
I was reading the light novels again, and I noticed that theirs loads of references to Sae's school days, along with Mashima and Hoshinomiya. I thought it would be cool to expand on that a little, and give a little bit of insight into the founding of the school.

The epilogue pov wasn't really related to the rest of this fic. To be honest, I really don't like how this fic is turning out, and I can see it going the same way as starting in class C did.

So I'm going to give you another choice.

Starting in class B: Ayanokouji Kiyone will be put on an indefinite hiatus, and I will begin work on an actually good fic, that will expand Ayanopapa's past (I called him Hotaru just because I thought it sounded cool). The title of this prequel will be called "classroom of the elite: Zero" and will take place during Sae Chabashira's schooldays, when Ayanokouji was the director, and Sakayanagi was a teacher.
(Ayanokouji being the director is not cannon btw, but it actually makes a lot of sense, if you think about it.)
If I ever finish cote: zero, or it sinks and is an utter failure, I'll return to starting in class B.

Alternatively, I will continue writing this fic, and cote: zero will be put aside for now. If I ever think this fic is doomed to complete and utter failure, I will sink it, and write cote: zero. I will finish the current trashy arc I'm on, and quit it before it becomes complete garbage to read.

What do you think?

Hope you're all doing well and I hope you enjoyed