Unveiling the Mastermind - Classroom of the Elite Reaction

Chapter Seven - Kushida's Accusation

"You seem adept at following people," Horikita observed with a twinge of annoyance in her voice,"

"People tend not to notice me,"

Horikita shook her head in exasperation.

"This is a little creepy though," Amikura said.

Someone was up there.

I gently leaned against the handrail and peeked through a crack in the rooftop door. Through the opening, I glimpsed Kushida. No one else was with her. Was she waiting for someone?

A rendezvous at such a secluded place... Could she possibly be waiting for her boyfriend? If that were the case, I could end up cornered on all sides. While I agonized over how to sneak away, Kushida slowly set her bag down on the ground.

"I don't think Kushida-san had a boyfriend?" Sato pondered.

"No, I don't remember her saying anything like that," Mori agreed.

"Perhaps she was in a secret relationship that nobody knew about?" Inogashira suggested.

"No she couldn't have been," Okitani shook his head.

"Why not?" Shinohara asked with a frown.

"Well...because it's Kushida-san, she would have said something," Okitani seemed to struggle to find a reason.

"Why would she say anything to you?" Shinohara wasn't convinced.

"She...well..."

Okitani couldn't find an excuse.

"It's up to Kushida-san whether she tells us about her personal life," Yosuke intervened, "Let's keep watching,"

For some reason, I felt an increased intensity from certain sections of the audience.

And then...

"Ahhh, so annoying!"

Her voice was so low that it didn't sound at all like Kushida.

"That's...Kushida-san?" Mori frowned.

"It doesn't sound like her at all," Sato added.

"Kuku, no wonder she ran away. What's going to happen to the little angel Kikyo's reputation now, I wonder," Ryuen grinned.

"Why on earth does she sound like that?" Keisei was also taken-aback.

"She's seriously annoying! God, how irritating. It'd be better if she just died..."

"That...can't be Kushida-san..."

"Who is she talking about?"

Kushida was extremely well-known around the entire school. First-year, second-year, third-year - no matter which student you asked, they would probably say Kushida was the nicest person they had met at the school. She listened well and never judged. She included everyone no matter their social status, looks or personality. She was the person everyone thought they knew. How would they react? Most would feel betrayal or disillusionment. Some would flip their feelings of love to feelings of hate. Kushida would lose her foothold, there was no stopping that now. The love and respect she had built up would disappear, leaving her with nothing to grip onto as she fell.

I was keenly interested in how this would play out.

"I don't understand, what's going on?" Ike was completely lost.

She grumbled to herself as if chanting the words to some kind of spell or curse.

"Ugh, I hate stuck-up, snobby girls who think they're so cute. Why is she such a harpy? A rotten girl like her couldn't possibly tutor me."