Classroom of the Elite: The Eroge

"I should have bought something from the convenience store before going home earlier."

With a tired look on his face, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka walked through the grounds in search of the nearest store, as he felt his stomach grumbling in hunger.

After the little encounter he had with Kikyo earlier this afternoon, the two headed to the dorms together. Surprisingly, nothing else happened on the way there and like what he had wished for, Kiyotaka was able to get an early rest despite the slight detour he had to take, and ended up sleeping for several hours undisturbed.

However, it also caused him to wake up at about 8:42 in the evening with a hungry stomach, causing him to search for something to eat for his dinner.

The poor guy only groaned to himself when he saw that he didn't have any ingredients left, and his stock of instant ramen and microwavable bentos had all been consumed already. In other words, he would have to go out and buy something to eat.

Luckily for him, he didn't wake up in the middle of the night, so the convenience stores should still be open. It didn't make his situation less of a hassle, though. It was still annoying to have to leave the dorms when the sun was already gone.

Heh, if only the system could somehow bend reality to his favor again by teleporting him to the nearest store and letting him buy what he wanted for free. Unfortunately, it only activates whenever one of his heroines needs it, and nobody was with him right now.

"I should buy some more ingredients in a few days. Just enough until the end of the month when the school distributes our points. Also have to remember to keep track of the food that I have everyday... before going to sleep, preferably," the young man thought.

As much as possible, he didn't want to do this again.

Kiyotaka reached the convenience store a few minutes later. After buying a couple of ready-to-eat meals, a few packets of instant ramen that would be enough for the next few days, and a can of soda, he immediately headed back to the dorms.

However, before he could reach the entrance to the building, he saw two people who were standing there. He couldn't recognize the tall one because he was facing the lights from the building, but he got a good look at the other person, and he was surprised to see that it was none other than his black-haired classmate who also happened to be his neighbor.

"Horikita? What is she doing here?" he thought, raising an eyebrow in confusion at what he was seeing. "And who is she talking to?"

Deciding to take a closer look but not wanting to attract attention, Kiyotaka quickly slipped through the nearest trees and hid himself from sight. Before he could fully pay attention to Suzune and the person whom she was speaking to, a pink screen appeared before him.

[A Special Event has been Triggered!]

As soon as he saw the notification, Kiyotaka crushed the can in his hand before punching the tree next to him. His punch was strong enough to the point that the impact caused a little crater afterwards. He was just lucky that it wasn't heard by the two people not far from him.

Just when he had thought that his suffering was done for the day, this happened.

"This day just keeps on getting better..." he said in his mind sarcastically, as he threw his soda can to the nearest trash can before turning back to the scene with a sigh. "I wonder what's the 'special event' now... probably has something to do with Horikita since she's here."

"Suzune. I didn't think you'd follow me this far," the mysterious person said.

"I'm far different from the useless girl you once knew, Nii-sama. I came here to catch up to you."

Horikita Manabu stared at his sister coldly. "Catch up to me, hmm?"

Kiyotaka shifted his attention to the other person, now that he knew who it was. "So that's her brother... I couldn't recognize him at first because it's too bright from here, but now it makes sense why Horikita would be here... however, what about him? Why is Horikita-senpai here exactly?"

"I heard you were placed in Class D. How can you possibly 'catch up' to me, when nothing has changed in the last three years. You've always been fixated on following me, and as a result you don't notice your own flaws. Choosing to come to this school was a mistake."

Those words had a clear effect on Suzune by breaking down her outer defenses, but she tried to stay composed. "Y-You're wrong about that. I'll show you. I swear that I'll reach Class A, then—"

"It's pointless. You will never reach Class A. As a matter of fact, your class will fall apart soon enough. Things at this school aren't as simple as you think."

"No. I will definitely, definitely reach—"

"And I told you, it's pointless. You really are a disobedient little sister."

Manabu stepped closer to her with no hint of emotion on his face. It's like he was staring at something that he treated as nothing more than an inconvenience. He grabbed his younger sister by the wrist, the girl offering no resistance whatsoever, before pushing her against the wall.

['To Protect Her Smile' has been Activated!]

The young man didn't pay attention to the new notification that just appeared, because his sole attention was directed towards Horikita Manabu and the fact that he cornered his younger sister as if she was an animal to be put in a cage.

Kiyotaka was ready to come out of his hiding place and save Suzune from whatever was about to happen, but he resisted the urge for now just to see where this would lead.

"No matter how I try to avoid you, you always follow me around like a sick pup. However, the fact remains that you're my little sister. If people around here learned the truth about you, I would be humiliated. Leave this school immediately."

"I-I can't do that... I'll definitely reach Class A. I'll show you!" the girl stubbornly replied.

"How incredibly stupid. Do you want to relive the pain of the past?"

"Nii-san..." was all that the girl could say at the moment.

"You possess neither the abilities nor the qualities needed to reach Class A. Get that through your head. But I suppose I'll just have to beat it into you."

Manabu moved forward, as if about to act. The situation had changed so fast that Kiyotaka knew he had to be quick. He dropped the bag of food in his hand, leapt out of his hiding space, and immediately went after her brother.

Within seconds he was already there, grabbing the older student's arm, which he was about to use to hit his own sister.

"What the...?" He stared at his arm and slowly turned to the brown-haired teen with a sharp gleam in his eye.

"A-Ayanokouji-kun?!" Suzune cried out in surprise, as she wasn't expecting to see her classmate here.

"You were about to throw your sister to the ground, weren't you? You do realize the floor here is concrete, right? It may not be my business to pry, but I can't stand around and watch you abuse my classmate," he said coldly. Even Kiyotaka himself was surprised at the tone he used while talking to the older student.

"Eavesdropping is not a quality that a student of this school should possess," Manabu retorted.

"Fine. Then let go."

"That's my line."

The two glared at each other in complete silence.

"Stop it, Ayanokouji-kun..." said Suzune, her voice strained. The girl had never sounded so defeated before, and it was something that Kiyotaka wasn't used to.

The young man stared at her for a moment, before releasing her brother just like what she wanted. In an instant, Manabu tried to backhand him in the face, which he barely managed to avoid. Manabu followed it up with a sharp kick, which he quickly evaded as well.

"So close."

Manabu looked slightly confused, before he extended his right arm, and opened his hand. Kiyotaka slapped it away and went for a punch of his own, which Manabu blocked. He then retaliated with another punch, which Kiyotaka blocked as well and from there, they traded move after move which resulted in a stalemate every time.

Slap was met with slap, punch with punch, knee with knee, and kick with kick. Manabu was surprised to the point that he thought he was fighting a complete copy of himself, but didn't lower his defenses one bit.

Suzune only looked on with wide eyes as Kiyotaka and her brother matched each other blow for blow, with neither one gaining an edge. It was the first time that she had seen someone who was on the level of her older brother, and who would have thought that it would be her own neighbor?

After catching a punch from the other at the same time, the two men stared at each other dangerously for a few moments, before finally separating.

"You are immensely skilled. I did not expect you to fight well. Have you been taught?" asked Manabu.

"Who knows?" replied Kiyotaka.

"You're in Class D too, if I'm not mistaken. What a unique boy, Suzune." Manabu turned to his sister with a look of interest. "Is he your friend? I'm honestly surprised."

"He is..." Suzune turned away, a clear blush on her face. She was embarrassed about admitting such a thing in front of her brother.

If the older boy was surprised, then he certainly didn't show it on his face. "Hoh... this is truly surprising. Perhaps you might have some hope after all. However, the road to Class A is a difficult one. You must rely on everything that you have in order to succeed."

"I know that..."

"And you, Ayanokouji-kun..." Manabu shifted his attention towards the younger student and walked towards him. Kiyotaka braced himself for a possible attack from him but all Manabu did was place a hand on his shoulder and gave a small nod. "I approve."

Kiyotaka tilted his head. "...huh?"

Without saying anything more, the student council president walked past him and disappeared into the night, leaving Kiyotaka utterly confused on what he meant by those last words he told him.

"What did he say to you?" asked Suzune.

"I have no idea," he replied, deciding not to tell her about it. Besides, he wasn't lying about having no idea what the older Horikita just said to him.

With Horikita Manabu gone, the night was silent once more. The black-haired girl leaned against the wall, her head hanging low. Kiyotaka was about to invite her to walk back with him to their dorms, but Suzune spoke first.

"Did you hear everything? Or was it just a coincidence that you were here?"

"Uh, it was half coincidence, I'd say. I saw you when I bought some food from the convenience store. I just happened to walk into what was happening between you two. I really didn't mean to meddle in your business, but I couldn't let him hurt you."

Suzune lowered her head again, as if she was thinking deeply about something. If one would look at her up close, they would see a small blush that dusted her cheeks out of embarrassment.

After getting his bag of food from his hiding spot earlier, Kiyotaka approached the girl again. "Your older brother is really strong. He doesn't lack ferocity."

"He's ranked fifth dan in karate and fourth dan in aikido," she told him.

Kiyotaka was impressed by those two feats. "He was really strong, then. No wonder he was able to fight with such high intensity and a fast pace."

"You also practice martial arts, don't you, Ayanokouji-kun? You must hold the same rank as Nii-sama."

Remembering that Suzune was there to watch him fight an experienced martial artist like Manabu, Kiyotaka realized that he would have to explain himself to her. Unfortunately, he was tired and not in the mood for such a thing.

"Maybe I do," he shrugged.

The girl narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you keeping something hidden from me again? Just like the truth about your test scores?"

"Hey, if anything, your brother's hiding something from you," he said, shifting the topic of the conversation to her brother.

She narrowed her eyes even more. "What are you saying?"

"Remember the club fair? Nagumo-senpai said that he knew you because you're Horikita-senpai's little sister. However, he also said that he knew me even though we have never met before. How can that be possible? It's because your brother mentioned who I am to the student council."

"What are you getting at?"

"Your brother was aware of me from the start. He knew who I was, yet he acted like this was the first time he had seen me," he revealed.

Suzune's eyes widened slightly. "But why would he do that?

"That's not what's important. If you also remember, Nagumo-senpai also mentioned that your brother wanted to talk to you someday in the future. But I'm suppose you were too distracted by actually seeing him tonight that you forgot,"

"Get to the point already," she snapped. Suzune was getting more impatient by the moment.

"From what Nagumo-senpai said, I believe it's quite obvious that this is what your brother meant when he said that he wanted to speak with you. However, it just wasn't in the way that you may be hoping for. It's about something else."

"Something else? He said that I wasn't capable of making it into Class A, and I will prove him wrong. It was quite clear what Nii-sama wanted to do," she argued.

"It's not just that. I believe this whole thing was a test."

"A test? What do you mean?"

"That's not something for me to figure out," he shook his head. This whole issue was for Suzune to deal with, and he was just here to lend her a hand... just like what the system would want. "And I'm not even sure if I'm right. For now, you should simply focus on what your brother wanted.

"O-Of course..." she replied, putting on a more determined look. Despite her brother's attempt in talking down to her, she wasn't going to let it hinder her. "I will reach Class A, one way or another."

"I don't know if you caught on to what he said, but his demeanor changed after he saw me. Before I showed up, he didn't believe that you have what it takes to be in Class A. After I did, he changed his mind," he explained. "Your brother believes in you now, and you cannot let him down."

"But I cannot do it alone," she shook her head slowly, before looking up at her classmate. The girl had learned from her mistake and she won't do it again. "You will help me... right, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Of course." A small smile appeared on his face as he offered her his hand. "We're like partners at this point."

Suzune returned his smile with one of her own and accepted the handshake. "That doesn't sound bad."

As the two shook hands, two new notifications appeared in front of Kiyotaka, two of which that he was expecting to appear ever since earlier.

[Special Event 'Finding Her Resolve' has been cleared! You gained 41 Affection Points with Horikita Suzune!]

[Relationship Status 'Strange Friends' has been maxed! Relationship Status with Horikita Suzune has been upgraded to 'Partners-in-Crime'!]

The young man sighed to himself.

On one hand, this 'special event' only succeeded in making him even more tired than before, so much that he could feel his eyes about to drop. He might not have had to tutor Karuizawa and Sakura today, but his two encounters with Kushida and Horikita made him more tired than a study session at the library.

On the other hand, Kiyotaka wondered how his relationship with this girl will change from now on. He could already tell that Kikyo won't be the same around him now that he had seen what she's like under her mask, but Suzune was different. She had no mask to put up and her usual personality was cold and composed, even though she treats him differently than other people.

As tiring as it would be, it's interesting how she would act around him now that their relationship had changed and they had grown even closer than before.

In the not-so-far distance, Horikita Manabu watched the interaction between Kiyotaka and his sister while holding a camera in his hand, secretly recording the whole scene with a proud look on his face.

Ever since he had seen the two walking together during the first day of classes, he had kept a close eye on them and witnessed how his sister slowly became a more competent student and person while she was with Kiyotaka.

Manabu had never been more proud of his sister before, and it was all thanks to a certain classmate of hers. And now, after meeting Ayanokouji Kiyotaka in person, he had never been more sure of a suitable lover for his little sister in the future.

"Well done, Suzune. I'm proud of you for choosing the most appropriate boy to be your future husband.," he thought, thinking of how his sister looks at Kiyotaka as if he was some kind of savior in her life. "You better not let go of him, especially when you have a lot of rivals, even if you may not know it yet."

Let it be known that Horikita Manabu is the captain of the 'Suzune Route'.