Chapter 23 - Forfeit
My eyes shot open in surprise as his angered voice echoed through the empty corridor.
I glanced at the president, whose complexion was similar to my own. It had to be known that this was one of the few times his expression had visibly changed from his handsome resting face into a surprised one. He wouldn't usually show such a feedback to unforeseen actions or discussions, but listen and process everything that was going on.
But this... this was a first.
The heated argument inside the faculty office continued, but it was almost impossible to hear anything due to the thick walls and hushed voices inside. It was barely possible to understand a few angered words that escaped Nagumo-kun's mouth, but it was hopeless to piece their meaning together without the proper context.
"How did he do that?"
Horikita-san's trembling voice was colored in astonishment, while the receiver of said question, the insolent second year Kouhai, only smirked in response. I was about to reprimand her for not answering the president's question when a loud slap disrupted my focus.
Nagumo-kun must have hit the table, or a similar wooden object, with a considerable amount of force for such an echo to reach outside the room. His fury of being expelled in such weird circumstances was warranted, however.
What kind of ridiculous situation was this?
"Whoever could you mean, Manabu-senpai~?"
How dare she be this insolent?!
Note to myself: teach her a lesson before graduation.
"Stop with the jokes, Kiryuin. You know as well as I do that such an event is unprecedented. How did he manage to attack Nagumo, the student council's vice president, without even being on the school premises?"
I glanced at Horikita-san with widened eyes, unable to believe my ears.
The face of my handsome classmate was covered in genuine confusion as he posed this question to the girl in front of us. Horikita-san, the person I followed, the one I admired and cherished more than anyone else, was unable to process the current situation.
His stern demeanor was replaced by interest, intrigue and wonder.
Wait, someone expelled Nagumo from outside the school?!
Only after recovering from the shock that Horikita-san's behavior had sent through my spine did I realize what an impossible remark he had uttered. Such an act was inconceivable, even for someone as smart and resourceful as him.
I was about to inquire further when the insolent Kouhai's phone vibrated.
She took it out and glanced at the Caller-ID before a sneer surfaced on her face. Nothing but contempt and ridicule reflected in her eyes while she looked at the vibrating device in her palm until the pulses stopped.
"That damn bitch! Why isn't she picking up? Fuck!"
A loud crash rang through the hallway as something heavy smashed into the ground and broke apart. There weren't many objects like this in the faculty offices, which narrowed the potential victim down to vases, flowerpots or printers.
If my eyes could physically open any wider, they would have done so by now.
Even though Nagumo-kun could be considered Horikita-san's enemy, he was a highly capable and rather calm student. He had never reacted this severely when something important in the student council didn't go his way.
"That was fun. Let's set him on silent again..."
I might not have liked this contemptuous female Kouhai, but Horikita-san had assured me that she was one of the most capable students in the current roster. Nagumo-kun seemed short on points and wanted to borrow some from her. It would only make sense that he tried to nullify his expulsion, but gathering twenty million points wasn't easy. He should have had quite a few saved up, but apparently not enough to protect his position at the school without outside help.
Once again, a phone vibrated.
Horikita-san didn't even glance at his pocket and ignored the oscillations without hesitation. Instead of answering the call for help, he occupied himself with the insolent Kouhai that leaned against the windowsill.
"You don't know either, do you? He informed you that something would happen and you might have even done something for him since he isn't here, but you still don't know how he managed to pull this off."
The dragon's grin grew even wider, as if she was baring her fangs.
"You are awfully calm for someone who might lose his vice president. Don't you feel pressured, or a little worried for your beloved Kouhai? I thought the two of you were besties?"
She supported her stomach as a vicious laugh escaped her lips.
Horikita-san's expression didn't change at all, while I was getting more annoyed by the second. This woman wasn't only making fun of Nagumo-kun, who I couldn't care any less about, but she was also mocking Horikita-san, who couldn't figure out what happened, even though she had no clue either.
But who is 'he'?
The only students who weren't at school at the moment were the first-years who conducted the island exam that Horikita-san had informed me of. Still, they were only that — first-years. This wasn't a battlefield where any of them could just —
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka..?"
My quivering whisper was barely audible. Both Horikita-san and the insolent Kouhai picked up on my mutterings, however. She tilted her head while he glanced at me, unsurprised by my conclusion.
"Kouhai-kun? What does he have to do with all of this?"
This disrespectful woman didn't even try to hide her mockery as she tapped her lips with her index finger and made an expression that conveyed deep thought. Her gestures supported this 'confusion', but even a blind man would have realized that she was messing with us from the tone of her voice alone.
Horikita-san's phone stopped vibrating before mine began.
I pulled it out of my pocket, just to make sure that it wasn't something important that concerned our class. The Caller-ID read [Insolent Kouhai from the second year #1], confirming my initial assumption that he tried to reach Horikita-san through me after being unable to get hold of him.
"Ignore it, Tachibana."
He should have known that there was no need to mention this to me. The moment Horikita-san had decided not to pick up the phone was the moment I resolved myself to do the same.
The woman's face turned even more sinister.
"You two are seriously cold-hearted. Poor Miyabi..."
Her acting worsened with every word that left her mouth, as she was unable to hide her amusement.
Neither of us cared much about Nagumo-kun's looming expulsion.
The president was disappointed in him and knew that he wanted to change this school for the worse, while this woman had cherished nothing ever since I have gotten to know her through the president. Yet, we were all curious how this boy managed to endanger his steadfast position.
Like Horikita-san mentioned, she didn't know what the insolent first-year Kouhai did.
"Kiryuin, you should really tell him that it's not a good personality trait to play with one's food." His thumb caressed over his nose, readjusting his glasses. "It may come to bite him someday."
Was this a threat?
Apart from him, I was the only student at this school who knew that Matsushita Chiaki from Class 1-D received help from Horikita Manabu from Class 3-A. He had felt out Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and Kouenji Rokusuke as well, but neither of them seemed willing to reveal their abilities or work with him to help their class.
He was such a good brother, looking out for his sister like this.
"Come to bite him?" The insolent Kouhai grinned and took a step forward. "And how's that going to go, huh? 'Hey! I know who did this to you. It was a first-year Class D student that wasn't on the school premises.' Who'd even believe such a thing? Rather than that, shouldn't you be just as afraid if you were to tell someone?" Her crimson orbs turned arctic as she leaned forward, ready to pounce on him. "I will put you down like a sick dog if you dare to inconvenience him."
The sentence that stared out with a lighthearted laugh turned serious in a matter of seconds.
"How dare you —"
"Tachibana."
"I'm sorry..."
I gnashed my teeth, holding back my boiling anger.
"You seem to have misunderstood. I have no intentions to reveal Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's abilities to anyone. I merely stated that it is dangerous to play with one's prey, as even a rabbit bares its fangs when cornered. Nagumo won't be any different." A faint smile adorned his charming face. "The weird part, however, is that you hadn't noticed this obvious fact. I couldn't believe the report that you knocked out a student in front of so many witnesses until I found out that Ayanokouji had found himself a girlfriend two days prior. You were cold and rather brusque before you met him, but something changed. You are worried that he is making too many enemies and might not be able to handle them. You are afraid that he might be expelled — that he might desert you. Doesn't that mean you are in trouble, Kiryuin?"
My eyes began to sparkle as a wide smile spread over my face.
This was the Horikita-san I respected more than anyone else in this world.
He always knew what was going on in other people's heads, which allowed him to be one step ahead of them at all times. Even this capable Kouhai wasn't an exception. Now that she had made this blunder, he would point out and exploit her weakness without a shred of hesitation.
Still, one question remained.
Why didn't he understand what was going on inside my head?
Or had he chosen to ignore it?
Even though this was a valid possibility, I denied it.
Thinking about such a hypothetical scenario hurt enough as is. There was no reason to torture myself any further. I would just keep following Horikita-san until the day he hopefully notices the feelings I had developed for him.
"Heh, I almost forgot that you had teeth as well." Kiryuin seemed much calmer than before as a deep sigh escaped her lips. She leaned forward and stared at the maple leaf pendant that dangled around her neck before a complex smile spread over her strangely charming face. "Yeah, you are right... I'm in trouble."
After the commotion about Kouenji's catch settled, we kept whipping our base into shape.
It felt more and more like a comfortable temporary home where we could relax, and less like a stressful exam where we had to give it our all to survive. Chiaki and Hirata were the exception to this rule, as they had to coordinate everything with the different groups we had formed.
I had the most free time since none of my classmates troubled me with any tasks. They were all under the assumption that I was working more than enough for the class during the reoccupation periods and decided to let me rest in between my exhausting trips.
Right now, I was sitting at a creek around 200 meters from our campsite.
A few fish swam around in the clear water, and I wondered if there was a good way to catch them. I didn't want to kill and eat these innocent aquatic animals, but I was curious how their scales felt to the touch. Back in the White Room, I had read that they were slimy, but I didn't know what kind of slimy they were talking about.
I set my shoes and socks aside after taking them off and rolled up my pants to around the knees. I did the same to the sleeves around my arm and slipped into the water. The fish soon noticed the fluctuations in their natural habitat and scattered around, curious but fearful about the foreign body that invaded their territory.
My repeated attempts at catching them with my hands ended in failure.
Disappointed by my inability to touch them, I sat down on the edge and paddled with my feet as I observed the fish with a faint smile. They played around in the cool, comfortable water, which refreshed my entire body through my legs alone. This was a nice change from before, where they felt warm, sweaty and trapped beneath my pants. The splashing sounds weren't loud, but more than enough to let the person behind me think that she would be able to sneak up on me.
The girl stopped in her tracks and halted just as she was about to scare me.
Instead of continuing her previous plan of action, she discarded her own shoes and socks. The crunching of the meadow was much softer when only her bare feet pressed down on the blades of grass as the girl tiptoed towards me. A faint hint of berries drifted into my nostrils as two tanned legs slipped into the water to my right.
"Mhh... that has to be the first time I've seen you smile, Ayanokouji-kun. But no wonder that you feel happy having this cool creek all to yourself. Gosh, this is so comfortable. I wouldn't have minded if it were just a little deeper, though."
She stretched her arms and lay down, which emphasized the curvatures of her well-defined body. The jersey, which was a rather tight fit, slipped upwards, revealing a smooth yet developed stomach as it was expected for an athlete. Onodera's cup size was similar to Horikita's, which she could be thankful for due to the lower resistance she would have to work with.
"Knowing you, you would have swum laps around the island." A gentle laugh escaped her lips as she sprayed me with river water by flapping her feet around. I defended myself from her sneak attack and showered her with a handful of the cold, comfortable liquid in retaliation. "What brings you here? Are you taking a break as well?"
"Ah, no." She shook her head to get rid of the stains on her face before pointing at some gathered berries behind her. "I went out with Kushida-san and Shiina-san when I ran into you. They should be somewhere around here as well. Here's hoping that they are not worried about —"
"There you are, Onodera-san and Kiyotaka too!"
Kikyou and Shiina walked towards us, each holding their own set of berries.
Ike had carved some containers from tree bark and small branches, which made it easy to carry decent amounts of berries or mushrooms. The girls were so impressed by this that they sang his praises yesterday evening before I left, because they had gathered them with their hands or some of the kitchen tools before.
"Hey Kikyou. And you must be Shiina. It's nice to meet you. I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."
She executed a light, yet elegant, bow.
"The pleasure is all mine. I'm Shiina Hiyori."
"Should we all head back together?"
Onodera and I nodded upon receiving Kikyou's offer.
The two of us dried our feet with grass and leaves as thorough as possible, before we slipped back into our socks and shoes. She grabbed her own wooden container and the four of us made our way back to the campsite while talking about trivial things.
During this chat, Kikyou informed me about her current progress with certain keywords we had agreed upon beforehand, which assured me that everything was developing smoothly. I also got to know Onodera better, and we agreed to exchange numbers once we were back on the ship.
"Argh, my back hurts like hell! If I have to sleep like this for the whole week, I'm gonna die."
Sudou's complaints were the first words that attracted our attention as we stepped back into our camp. Some girls, including Sakura, threw a few glances at him before continuing with their tasks.
My favorite delinquent became much calmer, which was due to her good influence.
She got scared easily, and he didn't want to be the cause for any discomfort, which was why he tried to improve himself. The changes in his behavior weren't quick or without fault, but he made steady progress. I had hoped that Sakura could escape her shell with Sudou's help, but it was still too soon to see any major changes in her nature due to what had happened with the clerk.
Horikita was still out of commission, which wasn't strange after how lousy she had been feeling.
Her temperature this morning wasn't much better than yesterday, but she wasn't getting worse either. She must have caught a terrible cold, which was quite unexpected. The Professor had mentioned that Japanese colds were especially disastrous, but I still had everything under control despite these unforeseen circumstances.
I said my goodbyes to Kikyou and the others before walking up to my lovely neighbor.
"How are you feeling?"
She gave me a quick, tired glance as I sat down beside her.
"Awful. Thanks for asking. This tastes disgusting as well."
The sick girl shook her bottle, which contained a mixture of pre-boiled water and small bits of charcoal, while I leaned towards her forehead to check on her temperature again. She glared at me as usual when I confirmed her wellbeing, but didn't complain. Even though I was pretty sure that I would get this back tenfold, I had to have an eye on her health since nobody else was allowed to touch her, apparently.
"It doesn't even taste like anything special. If you weren't so focused on the charcoal and how disgusted it makes you feel, you wouldn't even notice that it was inside. Just close your eyes and take a sip. Maybe tape a few leaves around so you can't see what you are drinking."
"You know that I will take revenge for this once I'm feeling better, right?"
"Duly noted."
I caressed over her head, which annoyed her quite a lot.
She reached out to hit me while hiding her blushing face, but her pitiful attacks had no way to reach me since she was sick. I doubted that she would have put all her strength into smacking me if she hadn't been impaired because Horikita had finally realized that she liked me as a friend.
At the moment, she just didn't know how to deal with these new, unfamiliar feelings.
"Don't do that. Otherwise, people might talk."
She observed the surrounding students — our classmates — with watchful eyes.
I wasn't sure what she meant by her remark, but she seemed to be serious. She must have been worried about being seen as a warm and caring person who enjoyed getting head pats from people. Such a stigma would ruin her whole ice-queen persona, and the faint smile that had formed on her charming lips wouldn't help deny this rumor.
Or was she worried that Chiaki might get jealous?
"Hey guys!"
Thirty-nine other students and a glowing laugh accompanied this beautiful, soft voice that traveled through my eardrums and enlivened our whole camp. I couldn't see Ibuki anywhere, but she was probably trailing after them and kept hissing or tch'ing at some birds and insects who looked at her the wrong way.
That reminded me...
Had Shibata found the rare bird he had been looking for yesterday?
"Oh! Ichinose-san, what brings you all here?"
Kikyou's surprise was warranted but just an act for the rest of our classmates. She was the only one who knew that Class B would visit us this morning since I had informed her about this step of the plan last night.
"Are those tents they are carrying?"
Rino pointed at Shibata, Beppu and Hamaguchi, who were indeed carrying tents after their classmates. The girls and the rest of the boys were hauling berries, mushrooms, and the bottled water they had bought yesterday.
Chiaki and Hirata must have heard the commotion as they strolled out of the cave. Just like everyone else, their faces were colored in curiosity because of Class B's sudden visit. Our leader pair glanced at each other for a moment before regarding our new arrivals with confused but welcoming smiles.
"Hey guys. What are you doing here with all your stuff? Did something happen?"
My left ear eavesdropped on the trivial matters between the class leaders, while my right was drawn to a second, more important, conversation between two teachers that took place to my right.
"Nee, nee Sae-chan~. Let's sleep together, shall we?"
The radiating Hoshinomiya pressed her well-endowed body against Sae's back. She slung her arms around our instructor and winked, as if they would have a great time tonight. Sae didn't seem too convinced about her offer and pushed her colleague aside with an annoyed expression.
"I don't know what you are planning, but stay in your own tent."
"Buuh! Sae-chan you meanie~!" She slapped her back with a sobbing voice before doing a complete one-eighty in a matter of seconds. "I'm going to set up my tent right beside you then! Tehee~."
Thus died my comfortable sleeping place for the rest of our vacation.
"I could invite someone cute over as well... someone like..." She surveyed her surroundings until her two violet orbs stopped on me, a mischievous grin forming on her fascinating face. "Like Kiyotaka-kun!"
Maybe my comfortable sleeping place just got a lot more friendly?
"Stay away from my students, Chie."
Or not.
Sae-chan really was a meanie, huh?
I doubted that Hoshinomiya's mistrust towards me had waned, but she had no difficulties to hide her thoughts and feelings behind a false front, just like Kikyou. She must have concluded that it would be more beneficial to stay close to me as opposed to keeping me away from her class, which had proven to be rather troublesome despite her best efforts to sabotage me by making up restrictions that didn't exist.
"Well, our base camp doesn't belong to us anymore, so we left."
Ichinose let out a light chuckle, which none of my classmates could understand.
If their spot had been stolen during the night, they would have been furious, so they were unable to fathom that she just laughed about the whole ordeal without feeling frustrated or conflicted by that fact.
"Did Class A or C snatch your camp while you guys were asleep?"
"Something like that, but it wasn't them."
Her smile grew livelier as she pointed at me.
"Kiyotaka took your spot? Why?"
Not only Chiaki and Hirata were shocked by this sudden revelation as the whole class turned towards me. They weren't talking in private, so my other classmates had heard them as well. The boys and girls began to whisper amongst each other because this unexpected 'betrayal' could mean the end of our cooperation with Class B.
To my surprise, they weren't as quick to slander me.
I doubted that they had enough brain capacity to stay calm because of Ichinose's smile and her positive attitude, so the only other reason that came to mind was my girlfriends outburst yesterday. Even though most of them hadn't been present, word traveled fast after Shinohara's apology during dinner. My classmates must have chosen the safer wait-and-see approach, to make sure not to anger her by accident.
Chiaki threw me a confused glance and tried her hardest to make sense of this situation.
Why would I jeopardize our partnership?
What would this mean for the remainder of the exam?
Was Class D doomed?
The answer to these questions was simple and promptly delivered by Ichinose.
"Because I asked him to."
"""Eh?"""
These confused sounds originated from most of my classmates, including our hero, Hirata, himself. It seemed as if this discovery had caught them so off-guard that neither of them managed to formulate a proper response. Only a handful of people could keep their surprise in check.
One of them was Chiaki.
"Then you are here because..?"
"Because I wondered if we could all camp together."
Class B's figurehead clapped, wearing a smile that could put Kikyou to shame.
"Wow, this cave really feels like a secret base or something!"
Ichinose-san's awe upon seeing this cavern the first time was similar to my own.
Hirata-kun and I walked her and Kanzaki-kun into the base to provide a bit more privacy for our upcoming discussion. I didn't distrust my classmates, or Class B's, since we were in an alliance, but I was worried about Shiina-san and the other girl that trudged into our camp after them.
One person exiled from Class C that found shelter in another class was already suspicious, but two?
In different classes at that?
It was indisputable that they were on some sort of mission, just as expected. They should have also found it weird that a Class C student happened to stumble upon them during all of this and must have known for sure after Kiyotaka informed them about Shiina-san. Both Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun were kind, but neither of them was stupid or naïve enough to believe that this was just a coincidence.
The four of us sat down near the spot apparatus.
"Ichinose-san, if I get this right, then it was your idea that Ayanokouji-kun reoccupies your spot, yes?"
"That's correct, Hirata-kun."
She flashed him a smirk in confirmation.
"But why? You'll be losing out on almost twenty points because of this."
"No. We would most likely be losing out on much more than just twenty points if we kept our spot." Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun both gazed towards me with a knowing grin. "Right, Matsushita-san?"
"What do you mean, Ichinose-san? Why would you lose more than that?"
Hirata-kun was still blinded by his hope that every student in this school deserved the benefit of a doubt. Even though Ichinose-san seemed quite naïve on the outside, she was much more calculating than my innocent classmate. She was kind and generous, but there was no way that she would let someone trample over her.
I had learned this just yesterday.
"Because of Class C."
I peeked at the confused boy, whereupon our partners in Class B nodded.
"If we had kept renewing our spot, we would have risked Ibuki-san finding out about our leader. A combination of our two classes would be much harder to crack, even if their numbers had doubled due to our alliance. We could keep our leader safe, and you would receive extra points from the spot we had Ayanokouji-kun occupy. Besides that, we would also help with anything that needs to be done over the next couple of days, since we are the ones intruding on your spot."
"What do the two of them have to do with all of this?"
He still couldn't see why we were doubtful about them, even though he was smart enough to realize that there was a high possibility that both of them were spies that had been sent our way by their puppeteer.
This blind faith in people should have been his 'defect'.
According to Fumei, every single student at this school was sorted into the classes according to the severity of their flaws, which Chabashira-sensei had also mentioned when she had called us defects on May 1st.
"Are you really that naïve, Hirata?" Kanzaki-kun raised his head and stared deep into his eyes. "Doesn't it strike you as weird that both of our classes have taken in a stray Class C student that had been kicked out by Ryuuen? It almost feels like they were sent here for a reason, don't you agree?"
My classmate wore a shocked expression, unable to believe in our conclusions.
"You think they are spies? That's not possible. Ryuuen-kun wouldn't..."
He stopped, finding fault in his own reasoning.
"He wouldn't do something like that, huh? I harbor great respect for you, Hirata. I've seen the disaster that was Class D. You kept trying your best and eventually managed to unify everyone with the help of Matsushita and Kushida. But believing that two Class C vagrants wandered into our camps by accident? Your line of thinking is flawed beyond belief."
Hirata-kun searched for the right words in retaliation to Kanzaki-kun's harsh comment, but in the end he only lowered his head. My dejected classmate glanced at each of us before heaving a pained sigh.
"All of you share that sentiment, right?"
The three of us nodded in unison.
It was clear as day what we thought about them, but it was also a fact that neither Ichinose-san, Kanzaki-kun, nor I would abandon them because it was better to keep them close and watch over their movements. If the situation demanded it, we could even feed them with false information to confuse Ryuuen further.
"They might be spies, but we aren't planning to chase them away. We can't leave them out there to fend for themselves on the miniscule, almost non-existent, off-chance that Ryuuen really threw them in front of the wolves. That's why you are here. Am I wrong, Ichinose-san, Kanzaki-kun?"
"It's as Matsushita-san said. We can't just kick them out of our camps. Kanzaki-kun and I didn't tell our classmates about our assumptions, because there is no reason to alienate Ibuki-san from us in case we are wrong. When Ayanokouji-kun was with us yesterday, he mentioned that it would be nice if we could all camp together someday, which is why I came up with this idea. As you know, we are really easy to talk to and he also agreed that our classes might benefit from befriending one another. At first, I wasn't sure if we weren't overstepping our alliance, but Ayanokouji-kun was sure that you'd be fine with it since we are all friends. He was looking forward to it, even."
Ichinose-san smiled, laying out her reasons for visiting us.
Strangely, I felt some sort of malice from them.
It wasn't obvious, but Kanzaki-kun's subtle glances were less friendly than usual. I figured that he was still a little irritated by my threat yesterday, which was more than justified after I challenged their kindness.
Since I couldn't see any apparent disadvantages to deepening our alliance with them, I was inclined to agree. Not only had they once again taken a step towards us despite my previous misjudgement, they also wanted to make Kiyotaka happy.
How could I say no?
He was very close with the students from Class B, so it was only natural that he wanted his friends in Class D to get to know them as well. Hirata-kun and Kushida-san would also be on board with this decision, since both were outgoing and always looking out for the other classes despite our competition.
Just as expected, Hirata-kun bobbed his head after a moment.
"Well then, please make yourselves at home."
I beamed, whereupon Ichinose and I shook hands, confirming our union.
It didn't take long for the four of them to return.
Chiaki and Hirata announced that Class B would camp with us from today onwards. The foreign students pitched their three tents around the clearing, since the cave was already filled with ours, while most of my classmates applauded the decision. Hoshinomiya cheered the loudest, whereupon Sae slapped her with a clipboard.
This scene brought back fond memories, in which I indulged for a moment.
My classmates were also rather happy with the decision. The minority that had doubts about our two classes working together, was silenced by Kikyou and Hirata in their common angel and knight in shining armor fashion.
Most girls were overjoyed that they could get to know some of the more popular boys, like Kanzaki and Shibata, while the guys were fawning over Ichinose, Amikura, Himeno and a few others. Chiaki must have already noticed that they made a killing with this deal, since they didn't have to worry about equipment for their classmates.
Now that we had another spot, she wouldn't mind letting them stay.
If Ichinose managed to protect their leader from Class C, they would leave this island with a comfortable, well-deserved second place while enjoying their time in leisure. They still needed to take care of the chores, but aside from this, they had a lot of free time since we would supply them with the leaders at the end of the exam as per our agreement.
Ichinose and Kanzaki soon vanished into the woods.
The other Class B students began grouping up with some of ours to get familiar with the surrounding area. With this surge in numbers came an increase in form of our food consumption, which we planned to offset by gathering more berries, mushrooms and corncobs.
Hoshinomiya flapped around with her usual cheerful atmosphere and annoyed every student that came her way. Most of them didn't mind because she was cute, but some girls felt irritated by her chummy attitude towards the boys.
Sae, my beloved homeroom teacher, strolled past me with a deep frown on her face.
"If this was part of your plan, I hate you."
Kanzaki-kun and I walked a few hundred meters into the deep forest, where I surveyed our surroundings to make sure that no one else was nearby. He just stared at me as I turned towards him, aware of the thoughts that spiraled through my mind.
I took a deep breath and faced him with a serious expression.
"I'm sorry for failing so miserably yesterday." Together with those words, I bowed to show my sincerity. "And thank you for always having my back, despite your misgivings about this plan."
A warm grin appeared on my classmates face.
"You don't have to be so formal, Ichinose." His hand reached for my head as he executed a light karate-chop. "We are a team, aren't we? If one of our friends messes up, we will have their back. That is Class B's, our, strength."
I shook my head, denying his words.
There was no way I could continue without apologizing properly, without assuring him that I had learned from my mistakes. He needed to hear, to understand that I was sorry and that he could keep putting his faith in me.
"Still... I told you to trust me and you did, but —"
"But everything worked out in the end, didn't it? I knew that you would realize what had happened once you had enough time to clear your head. Your plan about joining up with them still worked, despite your previous doubts. I had come up with my own strategies after recognizing that we had been played with, but your solution is much better since she might not have noticed that we learned about her betrayal." Kanzaki-kun heaved a deep sigh and peered into my eyes. "Rather than you, I should be the one to apologize. I mistrusted Ayanokouji-kun until the very end. I thought that he might have been aware of her plans, that he contacted us in order to help her, but his actions throughout our time at school didn't match up."
I clicked my tongue in frustration.
"That's what I'm talking about. The first thing I did when I realized that Matsushita-san had tricked us was to exonerate Ayanokouji-kun, even though I should have thought of Class B before everyone else. You guys should have been my top priority, no matter what."
Kanzaki-kun leaned against a tree and regarded me with a pleased expression.
"I told you that we will have your back if you mess up. Mistakes, as well as emotions like anger, doubt, and love, are human. They cloud our judgement and make us act in erratic, downright absurd ways. If you fall, we will catch you. Amikura, Shibata, Himeno, Shiranami, and I... every single one of our classmates will support you because you would do the same if one of us screwed up."
A faint smile formed on my lips.
"You are right. Please lend me your support a little longer."
"For the next three years, I presume?"
'Be careful of Ayanokouji-kun, Honami-chan. I'm not sure that he has your best interests in mind.'
Those words once again reappeared in my mind as Kanzaki-kun's loud, cheerful laugh rang through the lush forest. They kept persisting, repeating in my swirling thoughts as we wandered towards the berries and branches we had stashed prior to visiting Class D.
At that point in time, I had ignored her words. I had told myself that Hoshinomiya-sensei must have formed the same wrong conclusion we had come up with and fell into Matsushita-san's wicked trap.
Had I known what was to come, would I have been able to beam at Kanzaki-kun with such an expression?
"Kiyotaka!"
Chiaki waved me over with a faint grin on her face.
I strolled towards her while observing Ichinose and Kanzaki, who came back from their trip a few moments after Kouenji dashed off to wherever he was going. Class B's adorable figurehead had gathered quite a few berries while Kanzaki brought firewood to hide that they've been scheming around Chiaki, who had betrayed them.
"Whats up?"
"I was thinking of visiting Class A and C to run some reconnaissance on their progress. You mentioned that you saw a few students around certain areas, but have you seen something akin to a base where they would sleep?"
This was a great, albeit expected, procedure.
Since neither of them held a single spot, they were unable to camp around the decent places, which would provide them with water, food or even just a place to cool off like the cave. I wasn't sure how stringent the spot misuse clause was, but if they were punished for stealing fruits or water from the occupied locations, they would be doomed even without deceiving each other.
Ichinose and Kanzaki delivered their goods and walked into hearing range.
"Class A set up their camp somewhere around here." I circled an area on the map between two spots I had renewed at night. Despite his careful nature, Katsuragi was quite easy to tail due to the moonlight. "I saw fire and smoke around there after midnight, but I'm not sure about the exact location since it was too far away. As for Class C, apart from my run-in with some students on my second trip, I haven't seen them anywhere."
Our partners picked up on my words and moved towards us.
"Sorry for the intrusion, but we could ask Shiina-san or Ibuki-san, right? Even though they were kicked out, they should know where their camp is. They would only draw suspicion to themselves if they denied us this information."
Chiaki nodded upon hearing Ichinose's proposal and walked off towards Ibuki, who sat beneath a tree and glared at everyone that talked to her. She was rather unfriendly, so it didn't surprise me that he had sent her to Class B, because they would take in anyone, no matter how mean or snarly they were.
My girlfriend returned with the information we needed not long after.
"Class C's base camp is at the beach, quite far from any available spot machines. It's no wonder that you haven't seen them around anywhere. According to Ibuki-san, we wouldn't be able to miss the spot because of the noise. I'm not sure what she meant, though, since she was unwilling to elaborate."
It was impossible for any class to gain points besides the ones they had received from the school, because I was rotating through every spot as soon as the last occupation wore off. I wasn't surprised that they settled down near the beach, as they would at least have a decent view over the ocean.
"May Kanzaki-kun and I join you? We'd also like to see how they are doing."
Chiaki glanced at them with a hint of surprise before she nodded.
"Yeah, sure. We should make our way to Class C first, since they are closer. If we keep our pace at a somewhat reasonable walking speed, we should have enough time to gather intel at their camps before it gets dark." She turned and threw me a charming smile. "What about you, Kiyotaka? Do you want to join us, or would you like to rest a bit before your trip?"
I took a quick peek at the map she was holding onto.
"Class C's camp seems closer to my starting location than the cave, so I'll walk with you. I'll probably be too tired to meet you at Class A's spot, but I wouldn't be helpful with gathering intel anyway."
I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment to underline my useless nature in such scenarios. Both Chiaki and Ichinose seemed to disagree, as they voiced their opinions on this matter without delay.
"That's not at all true, Kiyotaka! You are giving your everything for the class. Don't say something like that again."
"I agree, that's total nonsense, Ayanokouji-kun! You are more than helpful."
Well, at least they agreed on one thing...
After informing our respective classes about the plans for today, we went ahead towards Class C's spot.
The way was pretty far, so we hiked on the rugged, uneven terrain for quite a while and had to make some substantial detours because of the dense foliage and descents that seemed too dangerous to slide down on. This was the first time I was outside of the camp without looking for a specific resource, which led me to observe my surroundings much closer.
To think that Kiyotaka had to run through here every eight hours...
I couldn't stop worrying about what might happen at night when he couldn't see well, especially after realizing how treacherous some slopes were. A flashlight wouldn't help much with the speed he was running to catch all the spots.
These dark thoughts made me grab his hand.
Before I noticed this sudden subconscious action myself, I felt the warmth of his rugged palm travel through my body. He glanced at me, whereupon I looked away in embarrassment. We were dating, so I loved doing lovey-dovey things like this with him, but right now I should concentrate on the exam and not my handsome boyfriend.
As luck would have it, Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun walked beside Kiyotaka and hadn't noticed my movements. Since he was always calm and levelheaded, they wouldn't be able to gleam anything from his never-changing, yet charming, facial expression, so I wasn't worried.
Even I still had trouble reading him from time to time.
He squeezed my hand as if to reassure me after having read my mind.
Chiaki grabbed my hand, which surprised me.
We both enjoyed doing couple stuff, so this wasn't a strange occurrence. She was usually the one who would hold back when we were in close company with other people, since she still felt shy. Back on the ship, she was quite frustrated that people had seen us, and this hadn't changed on the island.
Maybe she had just lost her footing?
Whatever the reason may have been, she clenched my hand in a somewhat awkward position. To fix this, I squeezed her palm in order to reposition mine, without having to let go of her. Due to this action, she blushed and leaned into me.
I should probably keep Kanzaki's watchful gaze a secret from her...
Class D's cold, merciless leader, who had already expelled three students and tried to cheat us with her deal, was nowhere to be found, as she kept blushing like a maiden in love after grabbing Ayanokouji's palm.
I glanced at Ichinose, hoping that she was unaware of the former's acts.
Everyone in Class B realized that she had feelings for him, even before she herself had recognized it. This awareness might have been a blessing in disguise, as she understood Matsushita's weakness better than anyone. Despite her cruel nature, she also felt love towards this brown-haired, expressionless boy.
He was utterly clueless about the schemes that were carried out behind the scenes. I felt sorry for him, apologetic that he had been entangled in this mess, which would eventually turn into a fight.
Somewhere down the line, our classes would separate and clash.
When that inevitable reality hit him, how would he react?
If I were him, I would side with my girlfriend, even without knowing all the facts. Ichinose would be heartbroken if this ever happened, but she wouldn't be the only one. Shibata, Amikura, the others and even I, we would all feel hurt if we had to regard him as an enemy.
He had been with us ever since April and felt like part of our class.
I cared a lot about the person next to me, not in a romantic sense, but as a close friend and important partner. She was amiable and unable to see the dark, insidious sides that some people hid behind their kind facade, which is why I needed to look out for them and protect her from people like Ryuuen and Matsushita.
If she wouldn't finish them when the time came, then I would do it for her.
It took longer than expected due to the detours we had to make, but we reached the supposed camping site of Class C before Kiyotaka had to leave. Even though Ibuki-san had mentioned that we would hear where they were, everything was silent. Nothing aside from the sound of the waves and the fresh sea breeze that carried the sand across the beach entered our ears as we stood at our desolate destination.
"This was definitely the area Ibuki-san mentioned..."
I glanced at the map in my hand with a confused expression.
"Maybe they moved somewhere else?"
Ichinose-san surveyed the empty coast and began to walk around. The four of us split up to find any remnants of a supposed camp that should have been here, or any indication to where the students might have vanished.
"Hey, what's that over there?"
Kanzaki-kun squinted his eyes and pointed into the forest.
It was difficult to make out, but there was a shiny, reflective object that shone through the dense foliage. The three of us joined back up with him and ambled towards the foreign gadget, since we had nothing else to go on.
"Isn't that the barbecue grill from the catalogue?"
Her surprise was warranted, as I was similarly bewildered by our discovery.
"They wouldn't have left it here if they moved camp, right?"
"Well, they hid it, I guess? Maybe they plan on coming back for it?"
"That wouldn't make much sense, though. With thirty-five people, assuming that no one else was cast out, they should be able to bring it along without trouble, no matter where they were headed."
"Um... couldn't they have just... quit?"
The three of us turned towards the uncertain voice behind us, unable to believe the words that left Kiyotaka's mouth. Even though it was far-fetched, this was a viable conclusion to arrive at after seeing this scene, one I never would have considered without him.
I was assured that every class would do their utmost to gain the maximum amount of points out of this exam, since we all needed them to reach Class A. Even they themselves would try their best in order to increase their lead.
But what if that wasn't the case?
Ryuuen was a tyrant who led his class with an iron fist.
Not a single one of his classmates dared to go against his directive, otherwise they would be punished. The only person who might have argued with him was Ibuki-san, who was rather irritating to be around. If she was sent away due to their dispute, then Shiina-san would have surely tried to negotiate with Ryuuen to keep her in their camp.
Could their conflict have been about the points?
There was a high chance of this being correct, due to Ibuki-san's remark from before. Ryuuen had his class under control, but that didn't mean that he still had their full support. Because of his attack in June, Class C had lost three people. Three of his classmates who had trusted him and his plan to the bitter end were expelled.
What if doubts began to spread through their class?
He needed a win, or another way to pacify them for the time being.
Thanks to Fumei's quick thinking, Kiyotaka hoarded all the available locations that would gain their class additional points. This left him unable to win this exam in such a manner that his class would forget about his previous failure. The only thing he could have done was to pacify them with a relaxing week while the other students kept working their butts off.
But that couldn't be everything... there had to be something I was missing.
Ryuuen wouldn't just give up like this, right?
Sakura and I were out on our daily chore: gathering berries.
Usually, Matsushita-san would have joined, but since she was preoccupied with class affairs, Hasebe decided to accompany us today. It was quite surprising that Sakura was fine going out with just me, but our current companion deemed this too dangerous and said that at least three people should be in a group.
I would have done nothing to Sakura, of course, but I could understand Hasebe's doubts about me, as my past behavior was everything but exemplary or even reassuring. Despite being seen as a scary delinquent, I was glad that she had found someone that was looking out for her aside from Ayanokouji, Matsushita-san and me.
"Sudou-kun look! There are nuts. Do you think they are edible?"
My gaze swayed over to the bushes she pointed at and stopped at some tiny brownish objects. Our blue-haired classmate glanced over as well and regarded me with a questioning look.
Why would she ask me a question like that?!
I didn't even know that nuts grew in bushes, damn it!
"We should grab a few and ask Ike before we eat anything. He said that he was camping before and Matsushita-san also asks him about those kinds of things, so I think we can... trust... him on that. Can you two grab a handful while I pick the berries over there?"
It was really strange putting my faith into this idiot, of all people.
""Sure.""
One of the girls beamed while the other just nodded and began to harvest some fruits before putting them into the wooden container Ike had crafted for us. They began to chat as I walked over to the berries, which grew around twenty meters away from their current position.
My heartbeat sped up due to her breathtaking expression before I had time to focus on the task at hand. I could feel my body temperature rising as their soft voices reached my ears while I tried my hardest not to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Sakura was an incredibly cute girl.
She was sweet, kind and shy — the total opposite from a brute like me. We were, by far, the most terrible match there could be if we ever were to become a couple, but I couldn't shake these thoughts of wanting to make her happy. I didn't have a crush on her. I would be fine with just being friends, as long as she could smile more.
My feelings differed from the time I thought that I was in love with Horikita.
Kushida had probably been right in saying that it was a fleeting feeling of thankfulness because she had been, in her way, somewhat warm and kind towards me. In the end, she helped and complimented me for her own reasons. Even the apology she had uttered wasn't for my sake, but to make herself feel better.
Maybe this was also the case for Sakura and me.
Ike, Yamauchi and the others had talked about her giant breasts a lot, even though the latter was only part of our class for around a week. Those were the only impressions I had of her for the longest time: big-breasted but otherwise bland and boring. Yet, I couldn't have been any more wrong.
Both she and Hasebe were —
""Ahhhh!""
"Sakura?!"
I spun around, knocking over the container with berries, which scattered on the ground, before I dashed to where the shrieks originated. Only a tree and two thick thickets separated the three of us, so it didn't take long to reach them.
"What's wrong? Are you —"
"Behind you!"
Hasebe's scream rang through the forest while Sakura's whole body trembled in pure dread. Tears kept pouring out of her eyes as she clawed onto our classmate, scratching her in the process.
I turned, shielding them with my torso, as I caught sight of the giant who stepped towards me. He was both larger and broader than me, but that didn't mean I would back down. Trained from the previous fights I had experienced through my school-life, I shot a quick jab towards his chin as he was about to open his mouth.
Contrary to my expectations, my strike didn't connect.
The giant stopped my attack with his left and grabbed my throat with his right before lifting me up. I couldn't see his expression as his eyes were covered by sunglasses, but he didn't seem to grimace even a little as he held me up.
What the hell?
How strong is this guy?
"S-sudou-kun!"
Sakura's cry woke me up from my stupor.
I angled my legs upward and kicked into his face.
Even though I couldn't put much force behind my attack due to the unstable position I had found myself in, he should have trouble defending against such a swift blow, as he was occupied with lifting my whole weight.
Yet again, my enemy surprised me.
He grabbed my leg with his free hand and threw me onto the ground like a sack of spoiled rice. A stinging shock jolted through my body upon impact, which I ignored to the best of my abilities before standing back up to protect the girls behind me.
I groaned as a dry and painful cough escaped my lips.
This guy was only playing around, and I still couldn't do shit against him. If he had slammed me into the ground with full force, I would have fainted without a doubt. There was no one aside from him, so I might be able to buy some time for Sakura and Hasebe to escape to safety.
"Why did you attack me? I'm sorry if I scared you, little girls."
What the hell did that guy say?!
"Um.. we is sorry? We apologize?"
I turned around to Hasebe with widened eyes.
Were they talking English?!
"Sudou-kun I'm not sure, but I think he didn't want to scare us."
"S-sudou-kun!"
I stumbled backwards and fell due to the pain in my leg before the teary-eyed Sakura embraced me from behind. The stinging, burning sensation in my limb got replaced by embarrassment as my temperature rose yet again.
Her br-br-breasts... Too close!
"Ah... th-thank y-you, Sakura, but I'm o-okay now."
The panicked, scarred girl trembled as she wrapped her arms around me even tighter. This situation must have reminded her of back then, which was why she was unresponsive and terrified more than a normal person in this position would have been. She might not even have realized that her warm grasp had changed from Hasebe to me.
My classmate tried to calm her down, while the giant in front of us observed the situation. She managed to separate her from me, revealing the warm tearstains that had accumulated on my shoulder. Hasebe hid the scratches she had received from Sakura beneath her jersey and embraced the quivering girl.
"Do you people know where Shiina-san is?"
Since I sucked in languages of any kind, I didn't understand what he tried to convey to us. The name he had uttered stood out, however, and was familiar to all three of us. Hasebe glanced at me for a moment before she faced the tall man in front of us with a surprised look.
"Shiina-san?"
"YES!"
Kikyou, do this.
Kikyou, do that.
You should look after them, Kikyou.
I need you to do something, Kikyou.
Every time I heard such a command, I felt relieved — glad that he needed me. I marveled at his quick thinking and enjoyed hearing his voice close to my ears. Even though I should have hated him, I felt safe and comfortable in the devil's soothing embrace. This warm feeling that was slumbering, growing inside of me, was what he had been after the whole time. I knew how to play with people's hearts the same way he did, so I realized which emotions he tried to stir up.
After my near-rape experience and his psychological torture, he was kind, courteous, even. He listened to my problems and took care of everything that needed to be done to make me feel at ease, to show me that he cherished my presence. I wondered why and soon arrived at a conclusion.
From this point onwards, I had tried my hardest to resist.
Until Sakura.
The devil noticed my defiance towards his laid out plan and began to torture me anew. He realized that there was no need to expose me to the whole course he had prepared, since I had already understood his goal. Kiyotaka would have been able to deal with the whole situation differently, but he chose this strategy, knowing that I would relive my own suffering — that I would reunite with my demons.
When I once again broke down in my own vomit, I was assured of this. If I refused to comply, to follow the path he had prepared for me, then I would suffer the most horrible consequences and would still obey in the end.
So I gave up and let him have his way with me.
Because it would hurt so much less.
Contrary to everyone's expectations of sunshine, rainbows and colorful flower fields, these were the thoughts that spun through my mind as I surveyed the Class B and D students that mingled around the camp.
Whenever Kiyotaka wasn't here, I was assigned to observe Shiina, and now Ibuki, while making sure that our two classes didn't implode because of our classmates. Luckily, I wasn't alone in this endeavor and could count on Hirata to take care of every ember that threatened to spark a blazing fire.
After I returned with Shiina and Onodera, I kept playing my part as Class D's lovable angel and observed the two Class C spies in our midst. One of them was smiling, helping wherever she could while the other leaned against a tree and glared at everyone that looked at her.
"Are you feeling unwell by chance, Ibuki-san?"
Shiina's trip with the Class B girls was a perfect opportunity to get a closer look at Ibuki and see how she ticked. I had my own share of run-ins with Class C, but those were rare even for me, since Ryuuen kept a tight leash on his close subordinates, which this sullen tomboy was a part of.
"Kushida, huh? It's nothing."
She turned away, hiding her bruise in the process.
"Does your face still hurt? I'll get you a wet cloth to cool your injury!"
"I don't —"
"I'll be right back then!"
I gifted her a beautiful smile straight out of a fairytale and received a frustrated glare as I dashed off towards the girls. They supplied me with one of the few rags we had found next to the fishing rods and soaked them in water for me. Thanks to their help, it didn't take long until I returned to the tree Ibuki rested at.
"Here you go."
"Th-thanks..."
She averted her gaze and held the cloth against her cheek as I sat down beside her.
This wasn't the time to push for information, but to wait until she opened up herself. I needed nothing specific, but the longer she talked, the better I could understand her. I've had a lot of chats with Shiina before the exam, so a superficial investigation like this wouldn't help me. Ibuki, however, was different because she was shut off from the rest of her class.
Ryuuen's henchman were the only ones she had frequent contact with.
"Let's have a little chat, shall we? Apate?"
Who's Apate?
My face was colored in surprise as I glanced up at the boy before us. He was, as usual, not wearing very much and showed off his well-developed muscles for everyone to gawk at. Quite a few girls couldn't get enough of him, but I only found this guy irritating and revolting.
"Kouenji-kun? Do you want to talk to Ibuki-san?"
This was a fair assumption, since he might not have known her name and decided to call her with one of his weird nicknames, like everyone else. Ibuki was as puzzled at I was, as he shook his head.
"The confusion is understandable. I could have meant either of you, after all. But I'm more interested in talking to little miss Kushida right now. I would ask if I may have a moment with you, but you should be honored that a perfect existence such as myself stoops down to the level of mere mortals. In other words, chop, chop." He clapped twice. "I don't have all day to waste with someone like you."
Gosh, what a fucking piece of shit.
"Urgh. Why is this school full of weirdos?"
Ibuki frowned and walked off with an annoyed expression.
"I apologize, her remark wasn't very nice, but I'm sure that she didn't mean it like that Kouenji-kun! What do you want to talk to me about, though? You never initiate a conversation with either of us..."
Contrary to my kind words, I was livid that he had bothered me as I was working on Ibuki. For now, I had to keep my friendly girl act up, but I would let Kiyotaka know that Kouenji is a disgusting, narcissistic piece of shit that deserved to drown here like a fucking monkey.
Our proud classmate strode through the camp in his bulging speedo, as if he owned the place and led me to a somewhat secluded section past our base. If I screamed and claimed that he tried to touch me in certain places, the others would still hear me. I didn't mind destroying his reputation further, depending on what he had planned.
"What are we doing here, Kouenji-kun?"
He leaned against a tree, which was located just past my zone of influence.
Lucky bastard.
"It's quite the beautiful island, isn't it?"
Ibuki was right...
This school is full of fucking weird people.
"Well, it's certainly quite a sight. Living on an island and spending so much time on a luxury cruiser are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for many, including myself. The nature and good mood of everyone brings so many positive feelings as well. Don't you think, Kouenji-kun?"
"Indeed. It's a shame that you can't enjoy this vacation to your heart's content."
Enjoy?
Wait... he wouldn't mean Kiyotaka, right?
No, that's impossible. No one should know. This was just Kouenji being Kouenji, spouting nonsense, as always. There was nothing to worry about. He knew nothing, otherwise Kiyotaka would have done something about him already.
"Mhh, what do you mean, Kouenji-kun? Of course I'm enjoying my time with everyone to the fullest! Now that my friends from Class B arrived, we can have even more fun together!"
His deafening laugh echoed through the forest.
"Of course you do. I just meant that you had so many things to take care of, you know?"
Fuck.
Did he know?
How?
Why?
Did Kiyo—
"Like gathering food and all those boring chores you have to occupy yourself with. You can't properly enjoy your time like the perfect existence that stands before you. Don't you just want to lean back and relax on the beach from time to time?"
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
Calm down, Kikyou.
Stop jumping to conclusions that make no sense.
"It's true that we have to do quite a lot, but it's also fun since we can all gather food together! But relaxing on the beach sounds like a great idea, Kouenji-kun! Let's make sure to enjoy our time before the exam is over!"
"I knew you would understand what I was hinting at. There is no need to praise me for such an excellent idea, as I am already blessed with good fortune, even without their acknowledgement. I'll be taking my leave now, Apate."
"Wait, who's Apate?"
Kouenji strode off without sparing me another glance.
Fuck this guy, I'll just ask Kiyotaka later.
After heaving a deep sigh, I went back to our camp, wasting no more thoughts on Kouenji and his weird behavior. A large gathering of students drew my attention as I stepped into the clearing, however. The commotion didn't die down and only grew louder as I inched closer towards the source.
"He said that he was sorry for scaring you, Sakura-san, Hasebe-san. Yamada-kun is also miserable that he hurt you, Sudou-kun. Apparently, he was looking for Shiina-san and got lost until he found you guys. He was shocked when the girls screamed and only defended himself from your initial attacks."
"YES!"
A loud affirmation followed Mii-chan's initial explanation.
The giant in their midst, who towered over everyone, nodded at the two girls before he turned to Sudou and Ike. The former glared at him and winced in specific intervals, while the latter kept smearing some crushed herbs on the wounds on his back.
"Hold still, damn it. I know it hurts, but this'll help."
Kiyotaka's Rook grumbled and squirmed in pain as both Sakura and Hasebe peeked towards him with worried and thankful expressions. The two flinched every time Sudou's anguished voice rang through our camp because their excessive reactions were the reason that he was hurt.
"Sudou-kun, what happened to you?"
My surprised gasp separated the sea of people as they made space for me to walk through. Every single student that had gathered here could see the apprehension in my quivering orbs as I stared at my precious classmate.
"Nothing, it was just a misunderstanding."
"Kikyou-chan! He tried to punch Yamada and got his ass whopped."
"Ike! You damn traitorous simp!" Sudou turned, trying to hit him, before he winced in pain. "Please don't tell Matsushita-san. She'll seriously kill me. I thought Sakura and Hasebe were in trouble and didn't think straight. Just... please do me a favor and keep this a secret, Kushida."
Sudou cupped his hands in prayer and bowed.
She really wasn't the one you should be afraid of...
"Well, it's hard to keep this a secret with so many people around, but I will talk to Matsushita-san and explain the situation to help you out, so please work on your behavior, alright? I don't know how she might react if the class gets into trouble because of you, and I don't want to find out."
I clasped his dirty hands in between my palms and observed him with two upturned puppy eyes that would make anyone fall for me. He glanced away in embarrassment while this other disgusting pig ogled me like the fucking pervert he was.
Thank you jersey, and fuck you Ike.
"Albert-san! What are you doing here?"
Shiina, who just came back from gathering firewood with some Class B students, gulped in confusion. Around a third of my idiotic classmates didn't understand what she said, but Mii-chan happily worked as a translator for the ones who were totally lost by this conversation.
"Ryuuen-san and the others retired, so you can come back too!" The giant took a few steps towards the girl before he pulled bug spray and ointments for insect bites out of his jersey. "The ship is more comfortable than here, so let's leave once you have protected yourself from the mosquitos."
"They all retired?"
The silver-haired girl couldn't believe her ears, which led her to answer in Japanese instead of English. Around fifty pairs of eyes widened in unison, since no one could fathom what Class C had apparently done.
"YES!"
"We shouldn't go back, Shiina." Ibuki sat down beneath an adjacent tree with a frustrated frown. "Ryuuen will beat the shit out of us if we dare to retire. I don't like it, but we better listen to him."
"Is this true, Albert-san?"
"YES! But I'll protect you!"
Class C's very own angel heaved a sigh before shaking her head.
"It's not up for debate then. I won't go back. You shouldn't fight Ryuuen-san to help me, because I don't want either of you to get hurt. I stood up to him and got punished for it, which is why I deserve to stay here on this island, Albert-san."
"NO!"
Even the dangerous, daunting titan seemed sad as he peered at the girl through his sunglasses. His facial expression told as little as the devil's, but his distressed tone of voice was enough to convey that he felt horrible about leaving her here.
"Please go back to the ship Albert-san." Shiina beamed and tiptoed to reach upwards, which still wasn't enough. The giant bent down, whereupon she caressed over his head. "I don't want Ryuuen-san to get mad at you. Ibuki-san and I are fine here, so please don't worry about us and follow him back to the ship."
"NO!"
He sat down where he stood and didn't move another muscle.
"Wandering through the forest is more exhausting than I thought. I really hope that Ayanokouji-kun doesn't push himself too hard because of the spots. He should already be worn from all the running, right?"
Ichinose-san's hushed mutterings ripped me out of my turbulent thoughts concerning Ryuuen and his strategy for this special exam. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't believe that he had given up like this.
"The trips should be quite the physical and mental burden on him, since he has to run over the whole island three times a day in a specific amount of time. Everyone would feel worn out after two or three days at most. Every trip afterwards is just a bonus."
This was our first real challenge, but I had to admit that the two of them made a pretty good team. Where Ichinose-san thought about and solved problems using her emotions, Kanzaki-kun approached them with cold, hard logic, which was just as important. Their different approaches complemented each other and formed a strong, united front that would be difficult to breach for any enemy class.
"Well, he said that he is fine, but now that you guys mention it again... Do you think I should be worried about him? I told Kiyotaka to take it easy and leave a rotation out if he can't handle it, but I'm not sure if he would listen."
"Mhh..." Ichinose-san tapped her cheek. "Usually he's pretty calm and collected, no matter what happens. I don't think he would overwork himself, so I wouldn't worry. But that's only my opinion."
"I would have to agree, though. He's not the type to do something he can't accomplish. It took him quite a while to grow close with us, since he was terrible with any social interaction imaginable."
A heartfelt laugh escaped Ichinose's lips.
"Do you remember how Mako-chan and the other girls scared him out of the karaoke room the first time he was with us? If you guys hadn't helped him, he might have never come back to hang out with us afterwards."
"How could I forget? Shibata and I got an earful because we let him go."
Even the stern Kanzaki-kun chuckled while reminiscing about bygone times.
It pained me that I didn't know about their exchanges and meet-ups in which he made his first steps out of his little turtle shell. I was glad that he had fun with his friends in his own time, but I couldn't help but want to learn more about his first interactions with them.
Since the three of us were friends, I decided to inquire about a certain topic I was curious about.
"That reminds me, when we disembarked the ship, you wanted to bring a necklace onto the island. Right, Ichinose-san? Do you have a boyfriend or a secret crush of sorts?"
"Ehhhhhh?!" Ichinose blushed and turned into an ancient teapot as she hid her face. The jersey was a bit too long and covered half of her palms, which looked adorable, even from a woman's perspective. "Wawawawawa..."
Kanzaki-kun forced a dejected smile upon seeing this scene.
"A secret crush fits the bill rather well, but it's complicated."
"Mhm... is this complicated secret crush from Class A or another class?"
Ichinose-san reacted strongly towards the latter half of the question, which narrowed the person of her affection down to only two classes. Since no one from Class A had been on the ship, I chose to check if the mystery person was one of them. If Hoshinomiya-sensei had stopped her to bait out her secret flame, then I should have noticed his reaction on the ship.
But I didn't...
"Another class, hmm... which one could it be?"
I smirked at the pair with a teasing expression.
"K-k-kanzaki-kun! Tasukete!"
A giggle slipped my lips due to her cute reactions.
"It's fine. I won't dig any further... for now."
It wasn't easy, but I stopped Ichinose from letting any more information slip as I observed the woman named Matsushita. On the surface, her banter seemed like innocent teasing to get a few laughs in order to have a fun time together while we wandered through the forest. The current conversation was much more sinister, if one knew about her hidden agenda, however.
She knew that Ichinose liked Ayanokouji.
This was the definitive conclusion I had arrived on after studying her throughout the conversation. She was merely playing with us for her own amusement. Right now, she was in a position of power. Both in a romantic sense and in this current class competition. She had indirectly attacked us once already, so there was no reason to believe that she wouldn't strike again if a chance presented itself.
Meanwhile, she could throw Ichinose off without meaning us harm.
If we were unaware of her moves behind the scenes, then she and I would have evaluated this whole conversation on the surface level. We wouldn't have faulted Matsushita for it, since it would have just been gossip among friends. But this could not have been further from the truth.
Even though I had warned my classmate that she might use cheap tricks to get under her skin, she wasn't prepared to be asked about her crush outright. She didn't have enough time to prepare herself mentally for such vicious attacks, which was why she was easily swayed. If she had been aware of her feelings before this trip, then this whole situation would have played out differently.
Ichinose wouldn't have shown such an opening.
We switched topics after my successful teasing.
Somehow, we began to talk about leading our respective classes, whereupon I could only marvel at Class B for their unity. If I had tried something like this with my classmates, well, then Yamauchi-kun wouldn't have been the only expelled student. Compared to theirs, our class was indeed filled with misfits. Horikita-san's words might have been mean, but they fit perfectly to describe most of them.
I heaved a deep sigh.
My time at this school would have been so much more comfortable if I had been placed in Class B, since I wouldn't have had to spend so much time leading the class and could have still met Kiyotaka. Maybe it had been a mistake to grasp the position as Class D's leader under Fumei's banner.
The three of us soon arrived at the base Kiyotaka had indicated.
Class A's campsite was simple, almost crude, but definitely economic. Just like us, they had bought two additional tents to combat potential conflicts between students. Aside from that, they didn't seem to have bought anything else from the catalogue.
They had placed undergrowth and moss or something similar underneath their tents, which would make the ground more comfortable to sleep on. This was a strategy we could emulate, as we hadn't thought about something like this. These soft materials would help against the back pain most of us experienced after waking up this morning.
The weather also didn't feel as oppressive as in our camp, aside from the cave, which always maintained a comfortable temperature. Their tents were placed in the shadows of the trees, which would ease some of the heat, but it should still have been quite uncomfortable because of the blazing sun.
Similar to us, they had amassed a small mountain of firewood for the night.
I kept looking around, but couldn't find any food or water storage. It didn't seem like they had bought any drinks, so they must have settled for the small river that was flowing through the island and originated a few hundred meters north from our current position.
"Hey! Who are you guys?"
The green-haired Class A student that had pushed my boyfriend on the ship ambled towards us with an annoyed expression. His classmates soon turned around and examined us with curious looks. I hadn't planned to start a conversation with them since I wanted to explore their base on my own, but that wouldn't work out as hoped due to my company.
"Ohh, it's Ichinose-san!"
"Hey Ichinose-san, how are you doing?"
"Ah. Hey, Kanzaki-kun!"
Both of them seemed quite popular, which wasn't a surprise. Ichinose-san was rather famous because of her outgoing and friendly attitude towards everyone she came into contact with. Kanzaki-kun's reputation didn't surprise me either, since he was quite handsome and thus favored by the girls.
"Hey, everyone. How are you guys doing?"
I redacted my previous statement about my plans not working out because of my company, since Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun were doing a perfect job in attracting attention. The Class A students were so captivated by them that no one noticed as I closed in on one of their tents to take a peek.
"Hey! You, stop that! What do you think you are doing?"
The green-haired eyesore must have heard the tent's zipper and pushed me backwards, blocking my view. Fortunately, I saw large amounts of vinyl bags and sheets that were supposed to be used for the cardboard toilets before I stumbled back to keep my balance.
"I'm just looking around. There is no need to get so worked up."
"Did anyone permit you to do as you please? I think not. You shouldn't overstep if you don't want to lose fifty points."
He was quite the squaller, so everyone turned around and observed us.
A multitude of glares gathered on my person as my distractions lost their effectiveness.
It was quite peculiar, but some of his classmates didn't seem as mad as he was about my rather rude actions. Usually I wouldn't have pushed this far since I wasn't a person who confronted people head on, but this cretin pushed Kiyotaka.
"Losing fifty points, you say? I assume that you are referring to the penalty for unauthorized use of another class's spot, right? Well, could you show me the machine that marks this spot, then?" My voice turned a tad colder than anticipated, but this accident only seemed to help me. The guy stepped back and began to stutter, so I pushed further. "As I thought, there is no device. Can you guess how I knew that? Because my class took all of them. This means that you have no right to tell me to stop looking around. This may be your camp, but you have no exclusive possession rights over this location, since this isn't a spot you occupied."
I strolled past him towards another tent in the back.
Despite my best efforts, I got angrier the more I talked to him, but this might have worked to my advantage. This boy was someone who couldn't keep his ego in check, even on the ship. Now that I had humiliated him and his class, he might get physical towards me, which was exactly what I aimed at.
'Violence, theft, or destruction of property against another class will cause immediate failure for the class to whom the offending student belongs and the forfeiture of all that student's private points.'
Since he dared to push Kiyotaka, I wouldn't hesitate to get back at him.
"You! Damn —"
"Stop it, Yahiko!"
Judging by his commanding voice, the new arrival should have been Class A's leader. I turned around to face him, but was surprised to see how close he was. The man's hand grasped onto Yahiko's clenched fist, which was about to reach me.
"We may not have the right of exclusive possession, but it is still our camp. For the sake of mutual respect and social norms, I'd like you to honor this and don't barge into other people's property without permission. We have no qualms about you coming over and saying hello, but opening our tents is overstepping social boundaries which we should all strive to respect. Don't you agree?"
Hidden beneath his words was a rather cunning ploy.
With his statement alone, he couldn't stop me from looking through their camp if I wanted to, but these remarks weren't for me, but Ichinose-san who was righteous and wanted everyone to enjoy their time together, even if that wasn't feasible. As long as Class A didn't attack them first, Ichinose-san wouldn't retaliate.
If I kept pushing, I might create a rift between Class B and us, which might be hard to mend in the future. This bald student had noticed all of this in such a short amount of time and laid out a trap, which left me no choice but to comply.
"I'm Matsushita Chiaki. May I know your name as well?"
I drifted away from the tent, burying my previous plan.
There was no reason to make a scene, since I had done more than I wanted because of my boiling feelings. Getting a glimpse into the first tent was more than enough for me. Everything afterwards was just a bonus in order to upset the student named Yahiko.
Before Kiyotaka, I hadn't known that I could turn into such a pitiful person. I didn't like to employ underhanded tactics like this one to get rid of a competitor, but I couldn't help myself after seeing this guy again due to how angry I got.
"My name is Katsuragi Kohei. It's a pleasure, Matsushita-san, but I would like you people to leave now. Class A has some matters to discuss that are of no concern to either of you."
"That's alright. I was done looking around, anyway."
I turned and made my way over to my companions.
"Sorry for the intrusion, Katsuragi-kun." Ichinose-san bowed, a faint smile on her lips. She was apologetic for my rather insolent actions and tried to smooth the situation over. "We just wanted to see how Class A was doing. If you have matters to attend to, we'll be taking our leave."
"Thank you, Ichinose-san. And congratulations on joining the student council. I had hoped to talk to you sooner, but with so much going on in school, I hadn't found the right time. Maybe we could talk over coffee or tea after this exam?"
He was looking forward to this potential chat, but he didn't seem like someone who wanted to build a friendship with her. The only other conclusion I could come up with was that he had also applied for the student council, but was rejected by Horikita-senpai. It would make sense if he wanted to get some input on what went wrong with all of this in mind.
"Yes, that sounds very good. I'm looking forward to it, Katsuragi-kun."
The three of us withdrew after our farewells. It was already late, so Kiyotaka should be at the camp resting after his trip from before. The day was quite exhausting, so I was looking forward to spending some quality time with my boyfriend once we were back.
A healthy blush appeared on my face as those thoughts entered my mind.