Just a pre-word before I start getting into the story.

Hi everyone, River here. Some of you might be familiar with this story as it was originally posted in the place known as W*ttp*d.

The contents are still the same, so don't fret. I just decided to upload it here to reach out to more people and because someone on Discord requested it.

I'll continue uploading here and the other place at around the same time, give or take.

Anyways, I encourage you to read the Author's Notes (A/Ns) at the end of each chapter for more info and where I share both my thoughts on writing the story, as well as give a commentary on the contents of the chapter. Although there are a lot of similarities to the LNs, this is a reimagining of Classroom of the Elite, so down the line, there will be changes... a lot of them. The A/Ns will help in clarifying each change I make to give context.

Anyways, two final things before I start the story.

1) It is recommended to at least finish Volume 11.5 of the LNs before starting on this story as it will give you some context later on. Preferably even to the latest volume.

2) This will be the only time I make a disclaimer so that I don't keep repeating it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Classroom of the Elite/YouZitsu or any of the characters. All rights to the work belong to Kinugasa Shōgo.

With that, enjoy the story.

Prologue: The Monologue of Ayanokōji Kiyotaka - The White Room

A pure, unblemished white.

This is the scenery that awaits the children of the White Room each day. From the walls of the facility to the floor and ceiling, the facility that we lived in for as long as we could remember was unchanging, no matter how much time had passed.

If it weren't for the fact that the tests we had to undergo differed each day and the various tools and equipment that went in and out changed often, you could almost feel like the same day repeats itself over and over again.

However, for the children of White Room, this white scenery had become something we had become accustomed to... or rather, we were forced to become accustomed to it.

After all, once you enter the White Room, you couldn't leave until you've become an 'exceptional person'. Of course, no matter how many tests and measurements they underwent, not one person aside from me was ever labeled as having become 'exceptional'.

Even in the case you passed all the tests given to your 'generation', you would just undergo more tests to see how much further they could push the boundaries of growth. And the moment you fail to pass the test, you were discarded, just like a toy that a child lost interest in.

Actually, maybe being treated as a toy would be considered generous to the children in the White Room. After all, even toys are treated with care for some time.

It would be better to say that the children are considered guinea pigs... no, tools. Something to be tested on, to be used until you lost your purpose.

This is the true nature of the White Room. Human rights and human dignity could not even be put in the same sentence as the White Room, unless it's to note the lack of it. If the public ever found out about its existence, I'm sure there will be riots.

However, in a way, I'm thankful that they treated us as tools. The same lack of human dignity that the White Room was known for led me to where I am now.

Despite how cold and unfeeling the children of the White Room were, and no matter how deep the indoctrination was that everyone was a tool, there was one inescapable fact: that the White Room children were in the end still human.

From a young age, we were told and taught not to show emotion, to not let others get even a glimpse of what we were feeling. Smiling was forbidden; so was showing sadness or anger.

To show emotions is to let others see your thoughts; and to show your thoughts meant showing possible weaknesses. For people who were meant to be 'exceptional', weakness was not allowed.

However, because we grew up with the expectations of being 'exceptional', the moment you are told that you failed and are thrown away, that's where everything changes.

Just because we are taught not to show emotions does not mean we lack them; rather, they are just locked deep down. There's a well-known saying that applies very well here: "The brighter the light, the darker the shadows it casts." If the White Room represents light, then the emotions we locked away are our darkness.

There are some kids who have a lower capacity for feeling emotions, myself included; but that does not mean we don't feel at all. Emotions lie in every person; and the White Room children are no exception.

Now, here's a question: what happens if you take children who have been bottling up their emotions for a long time, and who have been told that they were to become 'exceptional', that they failed and were about to be tossed aside?

The answer is simple. Those sharp words would puncture a hole in the bottle of their feelings, and all those deep, dark feelings would come pouring out.

The usual reaction would be that the child would start shouting and begging to be given another chance to prove themselves and start crying.

Other kids would just become listless and empty.

Others still would start hyperventilating and entering a panic attack.

It was understandable that they would act like that. After all, the only purpose they had ever known was about to be taken from them.

And when their only purpose was taken away from them, that is when despair comes in.

Like a child doing anything to get their parent's affection, the children of the White Room too seek recognition for their efforts; and when they are thrown away, all the emotions hidden away come tumbling out.

To be completely honest, despite how horrible the sight of them breaking down looks, I couldn't help but feel a little excited when those times do come by.

Of course, I didn't outwardly show any emotion myself, but inside, a curiosity was born.

What kind of face would they make? What kind of emotions do they feel in that moment?

During those times, I would not just observe the desperate kids, I would subtly glance at the other kids and their reactions.

Despite them not seeming to show anything, if you were observant, you could feel the anxiety and fear take root inside them.

What if the next one is me?

What if I fail?

I'll be thrown away too.

Those thoughts would rise to the surface in some shape or form, whether it be through their eyes, the tensing of their facial muscles, the slight change in their breathing pattern; they could be seen somehow.

It was inevitable that humans can't perfectly conceal their emotions, no matter how hard they try.

It was really curious how people could make those kinds of faces and express those kinds of emotions. It made me wonder if those kinds of reactions were normal for people.

Of course, I have considered the possibility that I would one day also fail, but that didn't matter. I just had to pass the tests, no matter the cost.

Well... although I say that, surviving the tests given to me wasn't especially difficult. Of course, there were times the tests were difficult enough that I had to make some considerable effort to pass, but it was well within my capability to pass, so I was never worried.

In fact, some tests were so easy that it took almost no effort to complete. During those times, due to not having to concentrate too much on the tests, I would sometimes feel the presence of people from behind the glass in the testing room, which made me almost 100% that it was a two-way mirror.

I was curious. What was behind the glass? I know that the people behind them are usually researchers, but sometimes, I would feel more presences than usual.

There are many possibilities on why there were more presences. It could mean that some of the higher-ups of the facility were observing or even that there were more researchers than usual checking over the tests. However, I was almost certain that at some points, the increases in presences were guests from outside the facility.

The reason I was certain that there were guests was because I could feel a different type of gaze being directed at me before the presence of the person directing that gaze would move to a different part of the facility.

The gaze was unlike the usual type of gaze I could feel from the researchers who only viewed us as tools and test subjects. I didn't know what kind of gaze they were giving me, but... it made me start to think about the outside.

By outside, I meant outside the facility. Of course, I had a theoretical grasp of knowledge of the outside from all the studies we've been given inside the facility, but it was different to actually experiencing it.

What kind of people were out there? What kind of faces do they make? Is society really equal? What kind of life do people live? Why do people often do such inefficient actions?

These sorts of questions about the outside filled my head often. Of course, during tests, I would concentrate on making sure I passed. But during the periods where there were no tests, when I was alone, my thoughts would wander to the outside.

Over a period of time, my thoughts eventually became desires.

I want to be free. I want to experience a normal life on the outside. I want to figure out the answers to all the questions that I can't figure out while I'm here in this facility.

These desires, carefully hidden away from the researchers, made me slowly lose my attachment to the White Room. And one day, when the White Room temporarily shut down, these desires led me to take my chance and run away.

Of course, I didn't know at the time how much my life would change because of that one action.

Author's Note:

Hello readers. Thank you for taking the time to read this prologue to the fanfic. Even though it's short, I hope it piqued your interest. Since this is my first fanfic in a long time, I wasn't very confident in posting this since there are quite a lot of great COTE fanfics out there. If you liked the chapter and want to give constructive feedback, I'd really appreciate that.

Although I could have started off the chapter at the ANHS, since Kiyo has a minor personality change which is the premise of the story, I thought it best to give him a bit of background on how he ended up that way. Just to clarify, he doesn't hate the White Room, but he does not feel attachment to it either. This difference might be important later on so I thought it best to make it clear.

Also, although majority (if not all) the characters are the same as the light novels and the setting is the same, do remember this is a reimagining of the story. While many story plots and exams will be similar to the light novels, the results may not always be the same (especially the relationship between characters). I also do intend on changing the rules of some exams or introducing new special exams later on as a result of the characters actions. I hope you can look forward to it.

As a side note, my upload schedule might be inconsistent but my goal is hopefully around 1 chapter every 2-3 weeks, preferably 2. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter and do leave a comment below!

P.S. There're tons of wall of text in this chapter, but I do intend to dial it down once conversations start to pop up.

Chapter Word Count: 1492

Published: December 8, 2020 (February 18, 2021 on FF)