Classroom of the Elite: The Eroge

"She's been bullied for that long? She does a good job of hiding it, so I'll commend her for that. I wouldn't have known if it wasn't for the system, but I'm sure I could put it together if I saw the slightest hint of it," he thought. "She's looking for a fake boyfriend, but wasn't able to put her plan into motion because of the chairman's announcement. And from the things that she experienced in her old school, I don't blame her for being wary of guys... she must be thinking that someone with the same intentions might be lurking around the corner."

Kiyotaka wondered who she was going to ask if she had the chance. His first thought was Hirata, and it makes sense why. According to Yamauchi, there were rumors about Karuizawa and Hirata being a couple and even if he was wrong, he must have gotten the idea from someone. It could be that Karuizawa was planning on asking Hirata to be her pretend-boyfriend, but didn't get the chance to because of the change in living arrangements, which took over her state of mind. To add to that, she didn't seem like she disliked Hirata at all and even defended him from Ike's accusations earlier.

"How would she fall in love with me, then? If she doesn't want to talk to any guy right now, then we wouldn't even be able to have a conservation. Although, the system can just make it happen if it wanted to..."

"Is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me?" asked the girl whom he was thinking about, as she sent a scowl at him.

Kiyotaka snapped out of his thoughts and quickly realized that Kei was right in front of him. Fortunately, he already had a reasonable answer in his mind. "No, there isn't. And I wasn't staring at you," he lied.

"Yes, you are. And don't even try denying it, Ayanokouji. I saw you staring! Are you some kind of pervert?!" she accused, pointing her finger towards him.

Before he could continue on with his lie, Kei froze in place as the world lost its color. Kiyotaka already knew where this was heading, so he quickly read through the available choices as soon as they showed up. The correct answer will most likely be Option C, anyway, since it had a guaranteed rise in Affection Points most of the time...

A. [We have a very different perception of what is staring, Karuizawa-san. I only merely looked at you.]

B. [Sorry. I just thought you were cute, is all...]

C. [Do you want to hang out at that cafe while we're waiting for the others? I'll treat you to some coffee if you want.]

*WARNING: Choosing the Wrong Choice will forever block this Heroine's Route.

"That's the same warning that showed up when I first met Horikita at the bus," the young man muttered, realizing that this wasn't the usual set of choices that he had gotten used to by now.

Okay, it was time to make a decision. And it looks like he would have to think about this deeply, because this was different from Tsubasa, Kikyo, and Chiaki's 'routes'.

For the first time, the first option wasn't an aggressive one and he was tempted to pick it at first, but the warning below the choices kept him from pushing through with it. While it wouldn't be offensive in any way, it would most likely close off her 'heroine route' because it's a simple and logical response. The second was a response that would make him act embarrassed because of her appearance, which could potentially be the right choice. The last option was a clear attempt to ask Karuizawa out on an impromptu date, which would more than likely earn him a flat-out 'no' from the girl or worse, cause her to slap him across the face for flirting with her out of nowhere.

Kiyotaka shrugged and picked the option that he felt comfortable with. "Option B it is, then."

As the world returned to normal, Kiyotaka began scratching the back of his head as his cheeks started to turn red in embarrassment. This reaction caused Kei, who was still scowling at him, to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Sorry. I just thought you were cute, is all..." he mumbled softly to himself, but it was still enough for Kei to hear.

Upon realizing what he said, her eyes slowly widened.

[Kei Route has been Unlocked! You can now see 'Heroine Status' with Karuizawa Kei!]

[Your current status with Kei has changed to 'Out of Darkness'!]

[You have gained 15 Affection Points with Karuizawa Kei!]

The girl couldn't say anything for the next seconds that followed, completely silenced by what he heard. It was something that she didn't expect, and it caused her face to turn red like him, even though she was internally trying to prevent herself from doing so.

"I..." Kei withdrew her finger and stood beside him so they could wait for their classmates to be done shopping. If she continued to point at him any longer, then it would have been awkward. "Sorry for... assuming..."

"It's alright. I'm aware that staring is rude, so I'm at fault as well," he apologized, before turning his attention to the bag that she held in her free hand. He was honestly curious about why she only had one. As far as his knowledge goes regarding girls, they are normally dedicated to fashion, and Karuizawa fitted that description perfectly. He expected her to take longer shopping for clothes. "How much did you pay for those?"

"Uh, just... 10,000 points, I think? It's just a couple of shirts and some pants," she said, still affected by his earlier response that the girl couldn't help but answer his question. It was nothing serious, anyway.

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow in genuine interest. "I mean no offense with this, but I had thought that girls normally spend a lot more time picking out clothes, so I expected you'd be in there for a lot longer."

Kei sighed, before shrugging. "I could have, but I didn't want to carry too much stuff."

"Then why not let someone else carry what you bought? You could have asked Hirata, either one of the perverts, or even me."

"Please," she groaned, rolling her eyes in annoyance. Some of the earlier fire in her eyes was already back at the mention of the two idiots. "I don't trust any of the guys in the classroom. Ever since this stupid co-ed dorm arrangements began, I was scared. Sure, there's several girls in our class who live on the 4th floor like me, even Chabashira-sensei... but what if there's a guy who lives there?"

"I live there..." he deadpanned in his mind.

Kiyotaka could only imagine how this girl would react when she eventually finds out that he also lived on the same floor as her. Kei's reaction obviously wouldn't be anything scary, but he could tell that she would be very vocal about it.

"Chabashira-sensei and the chairman himself already mentioned that there'd be harsh punishment for boys who even think of barging into a girls' room," he told her in response to her question, even though it was rhetorical.

Kei crossed her arms and looked away stubbornly. "That's not enough to calm my nerves. It just isn't..."

"I guess it's because of her history of being bullied. She doesn't feel safe around other guys whom she doesn't know," he concluded in his thoughts. "Fair enough. But don't you think that you're being harsh to our class? Some of the boys won't even think of disrespecting the girls, like Hirata."

"Like I said, Hirata-kun's a nice guy, but I can't really trust any of the boys-" she immediately cut herself off upon realizing what she had been doing this whole time. She looked at the young man in shock as her face quickly turned red. "Hang on, why am I saying these things to you again? Stop talking to me already, you pervert!"

"Okay, okay..." he raised his arms in surrender, as Kiyotaka felt a bit amused at the sudden realization that the girl went through. All this time, she had no idea she was talking to a boy in a civil manner, despite her claims of not trusting any of her male classmates at the moment.

Sure, it was likely because of the system doing its thing, but it was still quite amusing to see the quick change in Karuizawa's expression.

"We're back!" a familiar voice said from the clothing store, gaining the two teens' attention. "Sorry to keep you two waiting."

Kikyo stood at the entrance while waving her arm at them. Her two shopping bags that contained the clothes she purchased were being carried by Ike and Yamauchi, who were pretty content with being used as bag holders. Mori was with Hirata, who was carrying her shopping bag, while Matsushita was on her own.

"Oh? Did something happen between you two? You're standing pretty close to each other there..." Chiaki pointed out, noticing the closeness between Kiyotaka and Kei. Curiously, she felt a twinge of jealousy as well but ignored the feeling.

"H-Hell no! We were just waiting for all of you, that's all!" The blonde girl instantly denied the claim, but her face only grew hotter as a result. "What the hell took you all so long, anyway?!"

"What the hell..."

"Are you kidding me?! First, Horikita, then Kushida-chan, and now, Karuizawa too?! You're just as bad as Hirata, Ayanokouji!"

Yamauchi and Ike were the next to speak, immediately expressing their frustration towards Ayanokouji. They even wanted to cry at this unfairness. While they were stuck with Kushida and the other two girls in the clothing store, Kiyotaka was out here making moves on yet another one of their classmates! And to make matters worse, it was also the one who was saying that she didn't like any of the boys!

It should have been them, damn it! It wasn't fair!

"I told you, nothing happened! Stop assuming things already!" Kei continued to deny the accusations by everyone else, while Kiyotaka remained quiet and stayed out of it, not wanting to anger the girl any further. The fact that they were able to have a normal conversation earlier (before Kei realized it) was already enough proof that she'll lose her current distrust for boys eventually.

Although, it seems that he would have to take another detour before going home, because there's no way he can let Karuizawa know that he lives on the same floor as her... at least not now.

"A detour to an ice cream shop should be good, then."