Act 11: Scene 2

"Oi, Ayanokouji. Did you do something to piss her off or something?" asked Sudo while raising an eyebrow at his friend.

"I have no idea," he shrugged, ignoring everyone's stares around him. In his mind, though, he already had an idea why their homeroom teacher wants to meet with him. "This must be regarding my exam scores. That was the reason why she wanted to talk to me last time."

The last time that he had a talk with Sae was after the revelation of their class being the deadlast among the four classes in their year. It was when she pointed out how he intentionally scored 50 in his entrance exams in front of Suzune and while he tried to deny it at first, he eventually admitted the truth to his classmate. Their teacher must have noticed the improvement in his grades now and wished to confront him about it.

"Well, guess I better head up now and get this over with right away," he mentally sighed before turning to look at Kei and Airi. "Guess I'll see you two later."

Both girls nodded, and Kiyotaka turned around to spare a little glance at Suzune, who also gave him a little nod. She was probably aware of why Chabashira-sensei wanted to talk to him, since she was there the last time their teacher did so... and she also noticed the scores that Kiyotaka got in all of his exams.

As the brown-haired teen left the classroom, various conversations immediately sparked among the students regarding the reason why Chabashira wished to talk to Ayanokouji. Most of them involved typical reasons that concerned a student's performance, but there was one particular 'reason' that came from someone who was jealous of the attention that Ayanokouji received from those of the opposite sex.

"Lucky bastard... why the hell does he get some private time with Sae-chan-sensei?!" complained Yamauchi, banging his head against his own desk over and over.

"I wouldn't call that being lucky, Yamauchi..." Ike muttered, having doubts about the so-called 'private time with Sae-chan-sensei' being a good one.

Meanwhile, Kikyo quickly made her way over towards Suzune with the intention of asking about Kiyotaka. She had no idea why their homeroom teacher wished to talk to him, but Suzune might. As much as she hated to admit it, he was close to her and if there's anyone who has an idea about what's the deal between the young man and Chabashira, it would be her.

"Horikita-san, do you have any idea why Chabashira-sensei wants to talk to Ayanokouji-kun?" she asked curiously.

Suzune thought for a moment if she should tell Kikyo what she knew, but decided against it.

It had been clear that Kiyotaka didn't want to tell anyone that he held back in the entrance examination and denied every accusation thrown towards, but he told her for some reason. Suzune was still learning when it came to things like this, but she was completely sure that this was something that she shouldn't tell anyone else, because it would break his trust in her.

She shook her head. "I apologize, Kushida-san. I don't have any idea, either."

Kushida didn't even need a lie detector to tell that Horikita was lying. However, as much as she wanted to call her out for it, she couldn't do it while they were here in the classroom with everyone else.

"I see... thank you for answering anyway, Horikita-san," she struggled to get the words out instead of outright cursing the girl.

Suzune thought of retracting her words because Kikyo was her friend and she was only curious, but shook the urge off. If Kikyo wanted to know about Kiyotaka and Chabashira-sensei, then she could ask him herself.

~XoX~

It didn't even take more than five minutes for Kiyotaka to reach the rooftop and upon getting there, Sae was standing near the fences while smoking a cigarette. Even though she couldn't see him, the woman knew that the person who had arrived was her student.

"So, why did you call me up here, sensei?" Kiyotaka asked as he approached her, wanting to get this over with right away.

"You're not half-bad as a tutor for your own classmates, Ayanokouji-kun," she chuckled, choosing not to turn around as she spoke.

Kiyotaka tilted his head slightly in confusion. Out of all the possible reasons why his teacher wanted to talk to him here, it's the fact that he was a tutor to two of his classmates? No, there's definitely more to this. Perhaps Chabashira-sensei was simply lightening up the atmosphere between them for now, before moving to the serious part.

"I've heard it from Hirata, and I've seen you in the library as well a few times. Before this day, Sakura was one of the people who failed the last exam. Her grades, as you must have known by now, are unsatisfactory. In Karuizawa's case, her grades are barely average and aren't impressive compared to some of your other classmates..."

The young man had no idea where this conversation was heading, but he had a feeling that it would end up being about his grades somehow. Chabashira-sensei mentioned both Karuizawa and Sakura, particularly their performance in academics... truly interesting...

"...and yet, both of them have pulled off stellar results in their midterm examinations. And the reason for that is standing right behind me," Sae finally turned around after those words. The woman had a proud smirk on her face, which was something that Kiyotaka wasn't used to seeing. "Why don't you consider working as a teacher here after graduation, Ayanokouji-kun? Whatever teaching methods you used worked very well."

"I appreciate the kind words, sensei... but I'm pretty certain that my role as a tutor isn't the reason why you wanted me to meet you here," he retorted.

Honestly, Kiyotaka neither had the time nor patience to play around. He wanted to be done with this as soon as possible so he could return to his class and take a nap until their next teacher arrives. The more time he wastes up here, the shorter of a nap he'll have when he comes back.

See folded her arms across her chest. "As expected, you're right. However, I wanted to commend you because it truly is an amazing feat. It's not everyday that you can teach two students and have them improve massively in terms of academics."

"Something tells me that you don't compliment your students like this very often," he commented. Truth be told, he expected this woman to either talk about his grades or get angry with him for holding back. Praising him for something just seems... out of character for her, but it may be related to what she had in mind right now.

"Consider yourself lucky then," she shrugged, not even denying his claim. "When I was checking your exam... I had thought that you were still holding back despite that conversation we had at the teacher's lounge weeks ago. Now imagine my surprise when I realized that you scored an 85 in all subjects instead."

Kiyotaka didn't say anything and only listened. He was right then. This whole meeting was going to be about his grades and it will probably end in another attempt by his teacher to convince him not to hold back anymore. He was completely sure that this is what's going to happen and it made him want to turn around and head back to the classroom, but he remained where he was. He'll give Sae the benefit of the doubt and listen for now, despite being sure of what her intentions were.

"That's 35 points higher than the scores on your entrance exam, and 15 more than the mock exam. It's not too much of an improvement, but it's something. Have you finally decided to stop placing limits on yourself?"

Instead of denying her claim like last time, he simply shrugged. He saw no need to hide it any longer, especially since doing so would only result in yet another argument between them and he had no time for that.

Kiyotaka wasn't going to give her a concrete answer, though. "Who knows?"

"I see," Sae smirked, taking a drag of her cigarette. "Then I suppose you were convinced by someone to not hold back. Horikita, most likely. I did see the two of you continuing your conversation outside of the lounge after I told you to leave."

"Did you call me here just to talk about this?" he asked, looking bored and unamused with this whole conversation so far that he wanted to end it now.

"That is correct."

"Then what is it that you want from me, Chabashira-sensei?"

[A Special Event has been Triggered!]

His growing impatience was quickly replaced with surprise and wonder as he stared at the newest notification that he just received. He had just finished the most recent 'special event' earlier that was related to Airi and Kei, and now there's another? What a way to start his day indeed.

"Now? Of all times?" he rolled his eyes internally. "Wonder what's it about this time?"

Actually, you know what? He didn't even need to think about it. It was clear as day that this new 'special event' involved his homeroom teacher, which would most likely end up in him 'unlocking' her route and officially making her one of his heroines.

Oh, joy...

"Ayanokouji. Are you really not interested in reaching Class A?" asked Chabashira, frowning for the first time ever since their conversation began.

Kiyotaka remained as uninterested as ever. "Is there a reason that I should be?"

"Is that something that you should be asking at this point?" The woman shook her head in disappointment. This definitely wasn't how she wanted things to go. "I already told your class before, didn't I? Graduating from Class A guarantees your future. The same can't be said for graduating as one of the other classes, especially Class D."

"And I already said that I'll deal with that matter when it arrives, sensei."

"Don't tell me that you really do plan on staying as Class D for the rest of your time here... I thought you were supposed to be helping Horikita in bringing your class to the top."

Kiyotaka raised an eyebrow at that. The only way she could have known about that was if she had been spying on him and Horikita, which likely happened after she summoned them to the teacher's lounge, which means that Sae was still there despite her words about a faculty meeting...

He sighed. Seriously, how far was this woman willing to go just to convince him to stop holding back? And why the hell did she even care if he held himself back?

"I am helping her. However, that doesn't mean that I'm interested in reaching Class A myself, sensei."

"And why is that?"

"I prefer having a peaceful life for my three years in this place."

The young man knew that statement couldn't be any more wrong, as his high school life wasn't even remotely close to being 'peaceful' at the moment. However, it was the only excuse he had. He can't exactly say that he doesn't want to be Class A because it would bring him attention, since it's not like he'd be the only one gaining popularity if it happened.

"That is rather naive of you, Ayanokouji. What makes you think that you can even achieve such a thing after what I told you and your classmates?" she argued. "Whether you like it or not, you are now competing with other classes. Your so-called 'peaceful life' is nothing but a mere fantasy at this point."

Kiyotaka knew that she was right, but he wasn't going to admit defeat, especially not to her. Fortunately, he still had something up his sleeve and he had a feeling that this would be an effective counterattack.

"I see that you're like Horikita, sensei. Both of you are strangely fixated on reaching Class A. I can completely understand Horikita's case, since she indeed wants to secure her future. What about you, sensei? You're not a student like us, are you? Your future looks like it's already guaranteed since you teach at a school like this, so what's with this strange obsession?"

The frown on her face deepened. "That is none of your business, Ayanokouji. I am speaking as your instructor and as your homeroom teacher. And as your homeroom teacher, I am showing you that graduating from Class A has guaranteed merits. Merits that you wouldn't find if you finish high school as one of the lower classes."

"Let me guess. You were in Class D when you were a student here like us," he guessed, which managed to crack Chabashira's stone-cold facade and caused her eyes to widen for a moment. "You wanted to graduate as a Class A student, but you never did. That's why you're talking to me about this."

Sae couldn't maintain her frown for very long afterwards, and that was when Kiyotaka knew that he was right. All of a sudden, things started to make sense in his mind regarding his teacher and her behavior.

"And now you want me to aim for Class A because you believe that I can help our class immensely and so that you could finally achieve what you've set out to do for years. In your eyes, if the class that you're teaching manages to be the new Class A, it would give you the closure that you've wanted for so long."

When they first met her, she was all-business and kept a serious look on most of the time. It became worse after the first month had passed, when she expressed her disappointment and anger at the whole class for being failures. However, now that they've proven themselves as capable students to her, she lessened her hostility towards them and even looked proud after showing them their results earlier.

One thing was consistent, though.

After their first month here, Sae tried to show that he was holding himself back all this time and wanted him to stop by pointing out the strange results of his entrance exams. She even tried to prove it in front of Suzune to try and force him into a corner. Right now, she just tried to do the same and insisted that the reason for it was to 'guarantee his future'.

It all made sense.