Classroom of the Elite - Manipulation at its Finest

Containing my exasperation with a groan, I followed Horikita closely through the hallways. We soon found ourselves going down some stairs.

I reasonably presumed that Horikita memorized the way she used before meeting me, so that she could go back if she needed to, like now.

It was actually quite helpful, as we did not waste much time thanks to that.

Of course, there was no way I would actually thank her. I had not grasped enough information about her personality to know for sure she would not break my ego more than she already had.

Having no reason to break the silence, we continued to walk until we reached the door that brought us outside.

Once out, I was confronted to the dazzling sunshine yet another time. In all honesty, this felt... refreshing, contradictory so.

"Let's go." The cold-headed Horikita instructed me clearly this time. "The gymnasium must be on the other side, so don't make us lose more time."

"Fine, fine..." I sighed.

In front of us, beyond the pitch, could be seen a few buildings. It was not unreasonable to assume one of them was the one we were looking for.

While we resumed our silent walk, I expressed my worries.

"What do we do if nobody is there ?"

Horikita glanced at me, before turning her head away.

"Then, it'll definitely be a problem... I suppose that if it is the case, we should wait some time to see if anyone joins us. And if it doesn't happen, we'll just have to explore the school in hope to find anything that may help us."

It made sense. There was necessarily a reason as for why we were here. If we could not find an answer in the gymnasium, then it lied somewhere else in the school.

However, it would for sure be easier if all our questions could be answered in the place we were heading.

Since this school was an unknown place for us, we couldn't know how it would turn out if we just began to explore it. It was easy to imagine there could be traps as well...

Well, it was of no use to think about that for now.

Soon enough, we reached the door of the gymnasium.

Seeing that Horikita did not seem to take the initiative, simply staring at it, I inhaled a deep breath and pushed the door.

What could be behind this door ?!

I was determined to find the answer.

And one could understand my surprise as I met the sight of no less than fourteen persons of my age scattered around the room, some looking stressed, some looking calm, but all staring at us.

I, however, had not the time to analyze their features, as they spoke up as soon as we entered.

"Kuku, looks like there are two more. That makes us sixteen. I hope that nobody will suggest to wait for the one hundred forty-four missing, right ?" the voice of a male student arose sarcastically, attracting the eyes of everyone on him.

Possessing magenta hair and eyes, he was exposing a dominant attitude, as the smirk planted on his face indicated.

"You still want us to introduce ourselves before being sure that everyone is here ?" Another student, taller by a few centimeters than the precedent and having a bald head, interfered. "We must be assured that-"

"No, I think he's right." This time, it was a petite girl with lilac colored hair who was holding a cane who spoke up. "In fact, I believe we should have done that the soonest we could have in order to talk about our current predicament." she sighed helplessly.

She took a quick glance at Horikita and me. However, this did not last long, as she quickly turned away.

Despite her frail appearance, she seemed to know how to be respected, and her words had weight.

Maybe she was what could be called a natural leader.

"Yeah, I agree. Besides, waiting more than we already have won't bring us anywhere, right ?"

"Hmpf, that's true, less waiting, more action !"

"E-Eh, I also think we should begin..."

Thanks to the fact that we were only sixteen, giving opinions was easier to do. And it was also easier to determine which side possessed the majority.

The bald man closed his eyelids in resignation.

"I see. I guess that I can't go against the majority."

"Perfect." the petite girl made a small smile, satisfied of her victory. "Then, I shall star-"

"Excuse me for interrupting, but can I ask what is all of that about ?"

The voice of Horikita stopped the lilac haired teenager in her tracks.

Everyone once again turned towards Horikita, who was looking at them with squinted eyes.

"You all are talking like we are here from the beginning, yet we just arrived." Horikita uttered bluntly, crossing her arms, an air of superiority around her. "Do you know anything about the situation we are in ? I won't tolerate you keeping us in the dark any longer, unfortunately."

It looked like Horikita did not trust them one bit. She wanted clearer explanations before continuing.

"Seems like we found another arrogant princess. A different kind, perhaps." the one with magenta hair said with a dangerous smirk. I assumed he referred to the petite girl, who seemed quite smug, too.

Before anything else could be said, the sound of someone clearing her throat resonated in the room. This was the work of another girl, who this time possessed long pinkish hair which went until her waist, who then turned towards Horikita with a gentle smile.

"Now, let's calm down a bit, okay ? I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but I think we all are in the same situation, so we better not jump at each other."

"... Please elaborate."

"Hmm." she put a finger on her lips. "Well, am I right to assume you remember nothing after entering the bus that was supposed to bring you here ? And that, somehow, your phone disappeared ?"

Horikita's eyes briefly widened, before she resumed staring at the pinkish-haired girl.

"What I'm basically saying is, that everyone here has the same problem. Curious, isn't it ? But I believe we students should work together to resolve this mystery."

As if to emphasize her words, she put her hand to her heart, showing that she really thought her words.

"We previously agreed on waiting for everyone to introduce ourselves, but it seems we might have done it prematurely." she continued, scratching the back of her hair. "It's all there is to it, sorry if we looked like we didn't care about you..."

"No, it's okay. I understand." Horikita turned her head away, seemingly bothered by the kindness the other girl showed to her.

"Thank you !" she beamed, reassured that she did not upset Horikita. "I guess I'll start by introducing myself then. I'm Ichinose Honami, the Ultimate Representative ! Nice to meet you all !"

A simple introduction, yes, but that was sublimed by her stunning smile which made you stuck your eyes on it.

How can someone look like an angel so much... ?

Her talent also seemed to suit her, seeing how smoothly she could ease things up.

"Ichinose-san." the slightly cold voice of the lilac haired girl called out. "I believe it's my turn now, am I wrong ?"

I could get why she would be annoyed at being interrupted, but why did her words sound like a threat ?

"A-Ah ? Yes, of course !" Ichinose precipitately agreed.

"Thank you very much. I'm known as the Ultimate Genius, Sakayanagi Arisu." she introduced herself, turning back a smug smile, obviously proud of her title.

Hold on. The Ultimate Genius ? By what means could someone obtain this title ?

One could suppose it came from... intelligence ? Talent, perhaps ? In any case, that was a given that she was not undeserving of it, judging by her confidence.

"And while I'm still confused about the situation, like you, I'm looking forward to whatever... activities we'll do together." Sakayanagi finished with an impassible smile.

"Excuse me, could I go next ?" a bluish haired student politely asked while raising his hand.

When he received a small nod from both Sakayanagi and Ichinose, he proceeded.

"My name is Kanzaki Ryūji, and I'm the Ultimate Assistant. Pleasure to meet you. As my title suggests, I assist people the best I possibly can."

These words were spoken in a soft voice, followed by a slight bow. This made him look like the guy we could rely on, no matter what.

Honestly, this made me grow nervous. How could I do an introduction half as good as him ?

Think, Kiyotaka ... !

"For the next introductions, I suggest we do them in order. Like that, the most introverted here won't feel pressured into speaking up." Kanzaki added, considerate.

I thanked him from the bottom of my heart. Just the thought of trying to impose myself in front of all these guys made me want to throw up.

Yup. I could never.

"Good idea, Kanzaki-kun !" Ichinose clasped her hands with a warm smile. "Then, how about we start by the student on your left ?" she pointed to another guy.

"No problem !" The one concerned replied, raising a hand to signify he was okay with it. "I'm Shibata Sō, the future greatest soccer player of all time ! As you may have understood, I entered this school as the Ultimate Soccer Player. I can't wait to learn more about you all !"

Shibata introduced himself, as excited as one could be. His eyes practically screamed the conviction he put into these words.

"I'm looking forwards to it too, Shibata-kun !" Ichinose said enthusiastically.

It seemed that, little by little, she was becoming the center of attention of everyone.

No, to be more precise, she took introduction matters into her own hands, making the whole thing easier and more fluid for everyone.

However, it did not mean she would end up for sure as the leader of the group.

For the moment, due to the social abilities she was showing, she was directing the discussion. But, even at one glance, it was evident that her personality could not allow her to link everyone together.

I glanced for a brief second at Horikita, Sakayanagi and the magenta-haired guy, who previously displayed an aggressive attitude.

I could hardly imagine a world where the four of them would collaborate. And I was not even counting the ones that barely talked since the beginning, since I did not have yet a grasp of their thoughts.

"Next is..." Ichinose then turned to a blonde haired individual, who was running his right hand through his hair, with his eyes closed and a content smile on his face.

Opening his eyes, he looked straight at Ichinose.

"My, my, Ichinose-Girl. I do not need any of your insignificant help to present myself just fine."

Spoken in a haughty, these words destabilized Ichinose for sure.

"H-Hum..."

"But if you insist so much, I guess I could at the very least introduce you my perfect existence. I'm Kōenji Rokusuke, the Ultimate Human."

Silence suddenly invaded the room as he carelessly announced this. Some widened their eyes, others narrowed them.

What was sure was that nobody was left indifferent to his words.

"Th-The Ultimate Hu-"

"Well, it's what I should have officially been, if I had been evaluated correctly at the times..." Kōenji sighed. "Truly a shame."

"W-What ? Who do you think you are to spit such lies ?!" A girl with long blonde hair shouted, outraged.

It was normal to be angry after what he said. After all, the title he claimed to possess was just... too abstract to exist. One could make any suppositions about it.

What would this entail ? Would this mean the person possessing it was simply the best in every field you could think of ? More talented ? A quicker thinker ?

The implications behind a title of this kind were just ungraspable, making it all the more scary.

"Me ? Didn't I say it already ? I'm the Ultimate Human, of course !" Kōenji smiled, carefree, showing his white teeth.

"Stop playing around already." the magenta haired guy from earlier interrupted with an annoyed expression. "You just said that this was not the case."

"I specified «officially», right ? Because in my mind, there are no doubts that, both in this room and outside, nobody can beat me." Kōenji arrogantly his head through the side. "Am I wrong ?"

This came out as a challenge directed at the other.

"Guys..." Ichinose tried to intervene and calm things down.

Needless to mention that it was ineffective.

"Kuku. You want to play it like that, huh ?" Despite his apparent confident attitude, I saw his eyebrows twist for a second. "If you think you're so much better than us, then how about telling us your official title ? I'm sure it must be something above the rest, right ?"

Instead of taking the provocation head on, which he surely considered, the delinquent looking guy responded with another challenge.

Saying that I was not interested in the current situation would be a lie.

"Ah, ah ! It's not a problem at all, Delinquent-Boy." the other narrowed his eyes at the nickname. "After all, I have nothing to prove to you. Time will make it apparent that you can't keep up with me in anything."

With a confident smile, Kōenji revealed his title.

"I'm the Ultimate Businessman. However, be assured that I'm worth much more than all the money I've earned until now."

From this point on, Kōenji and his opponent kept glaring at each other, putting an intense pressure on the entire room.

The only one who seemed completely unbothered by it was Sakayanagi, smiling amusingly.

"Eh, eh..." the nervous voice of Ichinose resonated. "Nice to meet you, Kōenji, I hope we'll be able to get along well..."

"Hmpf, normally, I would put the one who would say that in their place, but if it's with a beauty like you, then I might as well give you a chance." Kōenji stopped the glaring-contest and turned away, crossing his arms and raising his chin.

"T-Thanks ?" Ichinose's reply came out as a question.

Not that I could blame her, Kōenji certainly was unpredictable.

It was very hard to determine how to react to his sentences, as he obviously was *very* self-centered.

"I believe we should continue without waiting any further." Kanzaki merged in. "Wasting more time would be problematic."

"I think so, too." Sakayanagi approved. "Even though this altercation was rather... amusing, in a way, let's forget about it and move forward."

"R-Right !" Ichinose came back to her senses. "Next in line is..."

"Me, I guess." the girl next to Kōenji said with a shrug, visibly irritated by his antics. "I'm Yuki Himeno... And I'm the Ultimate Puzzle Solver. I don't know in what kind of situation we are right now... But I have pretty good hopes for all of you."

"Yep ! I'm sure everyone will do their best if the time ever calls for it." Ichinose immediately replied, "Thank you for your introduction, Yuki-san !"

It was at this moment that a sudden realization hit me. The person who was going to introduce themselves next was Horikita.

...Which also meant my turn was not far away !

Crap. I still had not a single idea about how to introduce myself to a large audience.

"Hum... Could you please introduce yourself ?"

Ichinose's question to Horikita sounded like a revelation to me.

I just had to inspire myself of her introduction ! Yes, that was it.

I was sure she was going to find a great way to present herself without losing her dignity. And with her closed face, I was sure she was an introvert, just like me. I just had to copy he- find inspiration from her, I mean !

An absolutely flawless plan, I congratulated myself internally.

"...Horikita Suzune, Ultimate Competitor. That's all."

...

Of course, I forgot the most important thing. She was Horikita Suzune, the girl who attacked me without hesitation because she thought I was her kidnapper, not just any introvert.

Why did I even think to copy her to begin with ?!

There was no way I, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, the loneliest person in this world, could do an introduction like Horikita's one without sounding ridicule !

The thing was, and I didn't like to admit it, that she had a certain presence that I didn't possess, so she ended up not sounding weird at all !

No, maybe I was going too far. She sure sounded unapproachable.

... But it did not change the fact that I still had no idea about how to introduce myself.

"O-Oh, okay, nice to meet you, Horikita-san." Ichinose managed to nod, looking a bit unsure about how to respond. "And next to you, we have ?"

Now was the deciding moment. An introduction in front of strangers, hungrily waiting to see what kind of person you are.

I had to show no weaknesses at all !

"Um... My name is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and... Ah, um... I was titled the Ultimate Calligrapher... This may not be a good talent, but please still take care of me..."

I failed.

Not good. Not good. With an introduction of this caliber, I was going for sure to have no friends at all, and maybe even end up being the bullied kid !

"Don't worry, Ayanokouji-kun ! It doesn't matter what your talent is, right ? We're all humans in the same situation, after all !"

I don't know whether my heartbeat increased or decreased at Ichinose's comforting voice.

"Thank you, Ichinose." I miserably only uttered.

Thankfully, nobody really seemed to mind, or they already were too disinterested in me to even think about staring at me.

Yes, I know, this wasn't exactly a superb way to consider things.

Either way, the introductions continued.

"Hashimoto Masayoshi, the Ultimate Opportunist. Hey, before you think anything bad about me, let me tell you I never wished for this title ! It was forced upon me !"

"... Kamuro Masumi. Ultimate Painter. To be clear from the start, I don't care at all about what you think about me."

Until there was a disturbance.

"Although I previously suggested waiting to see if more people came, I can't deny that introducing ourselves now was for the best." The bald student acknowledged, inclining his head towards Sakayanagi. "That said, my name is Katsuragi Kōhei, and I'm the Ultimate Vice-Director."

"Pfff..."

The sound of someone refraining themselves from laughing could be heard.

Without much surprise, it turned to be the magenta haired student.

"What is it ?" Katsuragi turned towards him with a frown.

"Oh, don't worry, it's nothing. It's just that these introductions are so boring that I have to find entertainment in your titles. Ultimate Vice-Director ? Seriously ? Doesn't it mean that we deemed you'll never be qualified enough to be more than that ?" he said with a provocative tone.

"That ? Being the Ultimate Vice-Director is a perfectly honorable talent."

"Oh, I don't doubt this. But in the end, don't you want to be more than just that ?"

Katsuragi's eyes began to glow with anger at those words.

It looked like the other hit the nail.

It was not hard to imagine that Katsuragi wanted to aim for an even higher title, as he seemed quite ambitious - that might be a stretch, but he exuded the aura of someone having high expectations for himself.

However, I was sure that he had pride in his actual title as well. Being a Vice-Director meant that you had many responsibilities and tasks to do, and it would be a euphemism to say it was not easy to be one.

It was for sure one of the most impressive talent in this room, yet this guy dared to make fun of it because Katsuragi could not be at the top.

It was actually quite easy to see that he was just trying to judge Katsuragi's nerves, even if his reasons were unknown.

"Hey ! Don't say such insensitive words !" Ichinose scolded him, but her words did not have the effect expected, as Katsuragi and the troublemaker kept glaring at each other.

"You..." Katsuragi started, before closing his eyes for a few seconds. "It doesn't matter what you think about mine, but I thought that in this school, it would be normal for students to be smart enough to not belittle one's talent."

It seemed Katsuragi saw through the other's scheme, and calmed down before doing anything drastic.

However, his detractor looked like he enjoyed it very much, as he was harboring a smirk.

"Kuku, what a shame. Unfortunately, I'm not one of these students. Most talents nowadays serve no purpose, and I'm sure the majority of yours aren't exceptions. Do you guys relish in having talents that give you recognition, no matter where you go, even if you can't accomplish anything with it, except funny little tricks ?"

"If you ask something like that," Sakayanagi irrupted in the conversation, "then it means you have an interesting talent yourself, right ?"

"What ? Want to know ?" he tilted his head, with an amused grin.

"Never mind. We'll know when it'll be your turn in any case." Sakayanagi did not let herself be part of the other's game.

"As you say, as you say, princess." he said with a sarcastic tone.

I eyed him attentively.

At first glance, I could say he was just acting cocky and chaotic for the fun of it, but the more the conversation went on, the more I understood there was something else.

While I did not think he was devoid of a character like that, it seemed to me he also used his provocations as a way to test waters, to understand better the personalities of the persons surrounding us.

"I guess we can continue, now ?" Ichinose spoke up when the commotion caused by the guy ended.

"Looks like it." Kanzaki agreed.

"Then..."

This time, in a way more peaceful manner, we learned the names and talents of the last students in the room.

"Ishizaki Daichi ! U-Ultimate Follower ! I think the only good thing I'm good at is applying orders... and some other things. Ahah."

"N-Nice to meet you, everyone. My name is Shiina Hiyori, the Ultimate Reader. Please feel free to call me Hiyori, and if you need any book recommendation, don't hesitate to ask me !"

"I'm Karuizawa Kei, the Ultimate Violinist. Let's get along well for the time being and see what's for us in the future !"

"... Ibuki Mio, the Ultimate Capoeirista."

I tried my best to memorize all the information about them, not that it was hard. After all, one of my surname was the «Ultimate Memorizer»...

...Yeah, I should really stop fantasizing. I assure you, I'm working on it.

Anyway, this was now the turn of the last person to introduce himself.

The person who caused the most trouble since we came here.

"Oh ? It's my turn, apparently." the magenta haired student said, as if it was not obvious. "I don't particularly care about getting along with you all, nor what you think of me. In fact, I would prefer to erase all your faces from my memory, but well, not that we're at it... I'm Ryūen Kakeru."

And this was all he said.

A few seconds passed, everyone waiting for him to elaborate. But as you can guess, this did not happen.

"And ?" The girl named Karuizawa said with an irritated expression.

"What ? Did I forget something ? Come on, you can stop staring at me like that. It's embarrassing, y'know ?" Ryūen innocently replied.

"Your talent, dumbass ! We're waiting for you to tell us your talent." Karuizawa yelled in response.

While this reaction could seem quite exaggerated, it would not be too far-stretched to say she perfectly represented the sentiment almost everyone in the room was feeling.

In fact, even Kanzaki, who previously handled the situation with politeness and calm, was irritated at Ryūen's display.

"Oh, that. Looks like I really forgot something, then." Ryūen hummed. "Kuku. That's right." he did his largest smirk since I entered the room, revealed his white teeth. "I have no idea what my talent is."

A moment passed without anyone comprehending the words pronounced by Ryūen.

"W-What ?!"

Before it exploded.

"You're lying, aren't you ?! There's no way you could ever forget about your talent !" Karuizawa accused.

"I-I must agree with Karuizawa-san here, Ryūen-kun. Nobody in history ever forgot what their talent is..." Even Ichinose took sides.

Murmurs began to spread in the room, even if we only were sixteen.

One thing was sure, this sounded unbelievable.

However, there still was a possibility that he was saying the truth.

Everyone's memory was fuzzy for the moment. Even if the simple conclusion was to think that we all were drugged, it remained hard to believe everyone's here memories stopped at the exact same time.

It leaded to the impossibility of affirming for sure that some of our memories did not get affected.

But of course, it was all pure speculation and the chances of this being true were low.

Still, no matter what, a chance was a chance.

"Don't believe me ? I don't care. Didn't I say it before ? I don't care about what you extras think." Ryūen proclaimed with a hint of arrogance.

"But even you can't deny that what you're saying is highly unlikely." Katsuragi made his way through the conversation. "What you're saying imply that you've forgotten tons of memories, which is-"

"If I were you, baldie, I wouldn't assume things this quickly." Ryūen mischievously cut him, pointing at his own head with his index. "You see, it looks like I've forgotten most of the memories related to my talent. However, with the ones that are left, I easily can cross many talents."

An explanation that could somehow make sense.

Ryūen always talked in a manner where no one could determine whether he was lying or not. Despite his haughty attitude, he seemed to know how to cover his tracks.

While Katsuragi looked unconvinced, Sakayanagi decided to put an end to this argument.

"I hate to interrupt the fun, but don't we have more important matters to care about ? Besides, who cares if Ryūen lied or not ? His talent won't change his horrible behavior, anyway." she serenely said, with an unconcerned smile.

Unsure whispers of approbation responded to her.

"I see." Sakayanagi closed her eyes, before reopening them with a sharper glow in them. "Looks like we all eventually came to an agreement. So let's begin to talk about how we found ourselves here, shall we ?"