"Yeah, sure."
Chiaki and I walked towards a nearby tree, away from the other students. I had already marked all the important areas on the map, so this must have been about something else. Or maybe she just wanted another kiss. I wasn't sure anymore.
It could have been both.
"We have to talk about which spots we are going to renew from now on. The cave is an obvious choice, similar to the hut with the fishing rods. Maybe we should go for the ones along the path. So you would need to make a trip with a few others twice a day."
Disappointing, but expected.
I wonder if I'll still receive that kiss, though.
"The message said that I should keep reoccupying all the spots once the eight hours are up. He mentioned that it didn't matter whether I was seen and that I should concentrate on making sure that none of the other classes take our spots."
"What...?"
She tilted her head and began to flip through the manual, which also contained a short breakdown of the rules, with a contemplating gaze. Her clouded eyes regained some clarity as revelation struck her.
"Wow, I'm such an idiot." A charming chuckle escaped her lips as she closed the book. "But what would a legitimate reason be? Something like a sickness? But that's not reliable at all."
It seemed like she had figured it out with that hint.
"Chiaki? What are you talking about?"
She looked up into my golden orbs with a conflicted expression.
"Don't tell anyone, but there is an additional rule that states that the leader cannot be changed without a legitimate reason, meaning it is possible to change leaders. For example, if you get sick by ingesting poisonous berries or mushrooms. But don't worry, there has to be another way as well."
My beautiful girlfriend threw me a carefree grin and tip-toed to reward me with an affectionate kiss.
I wondered if she would go through with poisoning me in case she didn't find another way to let me leave the island. She was focused on the rule, which meant that I would keep occupying the spots for now. This decision might lead her down a twisted path, one that was difficult to return from.
Once I had been seen by another class, there was no going back on her decision.
Time passed and some of the Class B students brought us our promised items.
The most anticipated product hadn't been delivered to us yet, since the toilet was supposed to be rather heavy. According to the boys and girls who visited us, multiple staff members would take care of it in the coming hour.
I talked with them for a bit before they left our camp because they had their own chores to do.
None of my classmates complained that I rested in the chilly cave due to my marathon over the whole island. Chiaki, Sudou and Sakura made a trip towards the cornfield to gather a few corncobs for our dinner while Ike took the Professor, Okitani, Satou and Mori to catch some fish.
Satou apparently joined on her own volition, since she always wanted to try fishing and Mori kept her company because the girls had a distrustful attitude towards the boys.
Karuizawa and her group began to set up the tents and cooking utensils, while Kikyou and her followers scoured through the forest to gather more wood for the campfire. Ike even instructed them on what branches and leaves they were looking for, before he left for the fishing spot with the others.
I spent my time in leisure until a certain neighbor of mine caught my attention.
She leaned against a neighboring tree with closed eyes as beads of sweat gathered on her forehead. Her smooth skin shined in an ashen luster due to the few rays that reached her through the dense foliage of the crowns above.
The crunching of fresh grass seemed to have alerted her, as she forced her tired orbs to look at me. Her expression changed from annoyance to a peaceful, barely visible smile in the fleeting moments before I sat down beside her.
"Are you feeling better or worse than on the ship?"
"Is neither an available option?"
Her voice was weak, almost to a worrisome degree.
Horikita clenched her stomach as her pale face contorted in pain. The noises which originated from her gut painted a similar picture, which was a clear indication that 'neither' was a boldfaced lie.
She visited the toilet, which was just a cardboard box at the moment, rather often. I didn't know what exactly transpired behind those closed curtains, but I had a pretty good idea if the sounds she made were any indication.
I glanced over to the campfire near the cave, which was burning fiercely.
One could call Ike useless and disgusting on most occasions, but this time, he really outdid himself. With Chiaki's gentle guidance, he showed a reliable, almost cool side of himself, which improved his bad track-record. The girls didn't fawn over him or anything, but his reputation received a small, for him considerable, bump.
Horikita's strained coughs rang through the whole camp as I stood up and walked over to the cave. Her hand twitched, as if she wanted me to stay, before noticing that I reached towards the fire. She wanted to say something, but only raspy noises escaped her colorless lips.
I returned a few seconds later and held my hand out towards her.
"Eat this."
The girl glanced at the charcoal piece in my palm and grimaced.
"If you want to torture me, then do it another time. I'm really not in the mood."
"I'm not trying to torture you, but it helps with diarrhea."
A deathly glare soon found its way towards my direction.
If she hadn't been this sick, she would have tackled me into the ground and beaten me up.
A topic like this was quite uncomfortable to talk about, especially for a proud, haughty girl like her. If looks could kill, I would have dropped dead right about now, which is why I provided her an alternative method of digestion, one which may have been better suited for her current condition.
"You can also grind it into powder and mix it with some water to drink. But this is the only medicine available in this environment. It's not as efficient as pills, but still better than nothing."
Horikita's quivering spheres stared into mine.
"You are serious, aren't you?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
"You always look the same, so I can't tell."
She propped herself up against the tree and took hold of the charcoal before observing it with a sceptic stare. Her fingers and palm turned black from the carbon dust as she twirled it around.
"It's your choice. But it's worth a try. You can ask Ike if you don't believe me."
My lovely neighbor glared at me before an adorable pout appeared on her face. Her weak hand struck my shoulder before it slumped back to the ground. She heaved a deep sigh and put the charcoal in her mouth.
"I trust you, Ayanokouji-kun."
I was relieved that she took my recommendation into consideration and even acted on it, since charcoal was the next best medicine if she didn't want to quit, which she wouldn't do even if she was dying. The words that left her lips surprised me quite a lot, but she seemed to be dull because of her sickness.
Horikita's eyes closed in disgust as she bit down on the unfamiliar substance in her mouth. The scowl on her face grew deeper with every bite as the char cracked apart and spread its dry, black dust through her oral cavity.
Charcoal itself didn't have any real taste. The only uncomfortable matter about the whole situation was that it was dusty. The brain would keep sending negative signals, because it knew that she was chewing on charred wood, which was supposed to be disgusting.
I had proposed water for this case, but it was her decision.
"You should ingest one in this size around half an hour before and after a meal. It's not as effective as proper medicine, of course, but it does its job reasonably well. I know that you want to stay since you would feel like a hindrance otherwise. I would have tried talking you out of it, but we both know that you wouldn't listen and get angry, which would worsen your situation further."
Multiple sharp, strenuous coughs echoed through the area before she turned towards me with teardrops in her eyes. Her head had already turned crimson due to the difficulties she had with even breathing and swallowing, which worsened due to the barren substance in her throat.
"Honestly, I'm already feeling like a hindrance. I still remember complaining about Sudou-kun and Ike-kun, but even without this sickness dragging me through the mud, I would have been less helpful than them this time around."
I almost couldn't believe my ears after this genuine self-reflection.
Horikita was a proud, confident, and somewhat condescending woman, which was why I had expected her to be troubled about acknowledging her own shortcomings. Spending her time with vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pains and headaches seemed to have made her soft, almost comfortable to deal with.
Someone as ambitious and competitive as she would feel even worse.
If another classmate had been in her position, they would have already given up and retreated onto the boat to rest, but Horikita would never even think about abandoning these thirty points we would be losing. She wasn't hanging on for the sake of our class, but for herself, because she knew that she would never we able to forgive herself if she retired now.
"Ayanokouji-kun. I think that I have miscalculated."
"What do you mean?"
"I told you that I would reach Class A. Even on my own, if I had to." She choked, about to vomit to her left, before she leaned back against the tree. Labored breaths left her salivating mouth as she forced the remainder of her sentence over her pale lips. "But as things stand now, what have I really done?"
Was this her sickness talking? Or were these the self-doubts and insecurities about her own abilities after she hadn't been accepted by her beloved brother even after all the effort she had put into improving herself in order to reach him?
I was glad that she opened up to me.
Just a few weeks ago, she had surprised me with calling me 'friend'. Horikita had denied this ever since, but her behavior towards me had changed and became warmer and more gentle in the process. Instead of stabbing me with her compass, she relied on physical contact to discipline me if my teasing went too far.
This was the change I had been waiting for ever since I told her that I wanted to keep our relationship the way it was, that we wouldn't need a label like 'friends' to describe what we had. I created cracks in her almost unbreakable graphene shell with slow, methodical steps, withering her defenses down one at a time.
"You helped Sudou and the others pass. You even lowered your own score for them. If more than only a handful of people knew about this secret of yours, they would surely be grateful for what you did. You know as much as I that Chiaki wouldn't have been able to save Sudou if you hadn't botched your score in English on purpose."
She had difficulties to keep her eyes open as she peeked at me.
"I..."
"'... did this for myself.' I know."
A weak smile found its way onto my lips as I placed my palm on her forehead to check on her temperature, which was about to cross into dangerous territory. She had a terrible infection, yet still held on in order to prove her worth.
Not to anyone in this class, but to herself.
"You should go to sleep."
"But..."
Her poorly voiced retaliation fell on deaf ears as I caressed her burning cheek with my, in comparison, chilly touch. I swept her somewhat disheveled hair off her ghastly yet still charming face and leaned towards her.
"No buts. You are sick. If you force yourself, it will only get worse. You said you trusted me, since I'm such a great, valuable friend to you, so please listen and go to sleep." I rubbed over the soft helix of her ear. "I'm worried."
"You're the worst..."
Loud, dreadful coughs that even terrified some of my other classmates reverberated through the camp. Neither of them walked over, but I couldn't tell if this was a decision made of spite, or if they deemed it unnecessary to involve themselves with Horikita, since I already took care of her.
"I'm taking that as a compliment from an important friend."
"Once I'm better... I'm going to pinch you, so prepare yourself..."
Horikita's emerging laugh was drowned by another coughing fit that shook her whole body before she slumped to the side and leaned into my shoulder. Her weak fingers clawed at mine as she closed her eyes and entrusted me with her body.
"Just rest... I'll always be here for you."
I doubted that I would ever see her in such a state again, but I was touched that she had shared her inner turmoils and the toxic thoughts she usually hid from everyone. Her health was deteriorating, but I had to keep her on this island. Since it was her wish, I would make sure that Class D wouldn't lose thirty points for anyone quitting in this exam.
Her soft breath informed me that she had blacked out, so I slid away from the tree and caught her powerless body in my arms. The position she found herself in was a so-called princess-carry, which she would have never accepted if she was still conscious.
The girls, who had previously turned around due to the noise, observed us with anxious looks as I brought her over to the blazing fire. I placed her on the warmed up rocky ground and turned her face towards the gentle heat source while making sure that she wouldn't be uncomfortable due to her rising fever.
"Ayanokouji-kun? What happened to Horikita-san?"
"She's not feeling well and closed her eyes to rest. I told her to quit if her condition worsened, but she insisted on staying on the island to not burden the class. Her attitude is irresponsible, but she even shed tears because she wanted to stay."
"Horikita-san did...? Can we do anything?"
Nishimura and Inogashira glanced at the other girls around Karuizawa, who nodded as well.
"If it's not too much trouble, could you take care of her when I'm occupying spots? You just need to keep her warm by the fire and make sure that she eats and drinks a lot when she wakes up, even if she doesn't want to. I know that she can be really prickly and isn't an easy person to soften up, but she has a good heart, so please."
I bowed, showing my sincerity in the matter.
The girls, except one person who didn't look too kindly upon Horikita, agreed without a second delay. Shinohara seemed to have gotten quite the confidence boost after she 'managed' to secure the toilet for the girls, since she had kept pushing her agenda the whole time.
"Doesn't she kind of deserve this, though? Horikita is always sitting on her high horse, giving us attitude whenever she gets the chance. She calls us names and incompetent baggage, but isn't she the one who's useless right now?"
Just how worthless could one person get?
"Aren't you just jealous of her?"
"Huh?!"
Shinohara stomped forward with a throbbing vein while the others kept observing the situation without interfering. Ichihashi, Sonoda and the others didn't know me well enough to speak up, while Karuizawa and Inogashira were shocked by my unprecedented behavior.
"Seen from the school's perspective, she's worth a lot more than you. Her only problem is that she has trouble expressing herself because she is too honest and sharp-tongued for most people. She helped Sudou when he failed the midterms, but what did you do, Shinohara? Your academic competence is on par with Ike's and Sudou's. Your physical capabilities aren't even worth mentioning and both of them are useful in this special exam. Ike's knowledge about nature and his expertise in camping saved us at least a hundred points while Sudou went out with Chiaki and Sakura to gather corn and other usable things for the camp because he can lift heavy loads without trouble. Karuizawa and the other girls are preparing the cooking utensils and taking care of the fire. Kikyou, Okitani, the Professor and even the frightened Sakura are doing everything in their power to be helpful to the class. But what did you do? Aside from complaining about the toilets and now raining down insults on a sick classmate who is trying her best to stay in the game for us?"
The eyes of all the spectators turned wide in surprise, since I had never been someone to talk that much. Initiating an argument like this was even more unthinkable for a calm and reserved person like me.
"Shinohara-san, I also think you were kinda too harsh, you know? Even though she's clearly feeling bad, she wants to stay because of the point penalty. I don't like her that much either, but we should like, look past that for now. We're all in this together and blaming each other is like, super stupid. Ayanokouji-kun too, let's all calm down first, alright?"
I doubted that Karuizawa would have inserted herself into the conversation if I hadn't defended Horikita. Even though she must have known how cruel people can be, she would have ignored Shinohara's antics to protect herself. As Hirata's girlfriend, she had more power than most of the other girls, even if it was undeserved from an objective standpoint.
A school hierarchy wasn't built on facts and skills, but popularity among class- and schoolmates. Karuizawa could be considered a queen in her own right, but she still couldn't hold a candle to Kikyou's social influence, which is why I considered her and Hirata as valuable bishops.
The others distanced themselves from Shinohara's claims after their group leader had spoken up in my favor. Most of them should have felt that her words were too harsh as well, but they would have kept quiet if not for Karuizawa.
"You...! Who do you think you are just because you are Matsushita-san's boyfriend, huh? What are you even rambling on about? Horikita didn't help Sudou at all. He should have been expelled for all the trouble he put us through."
Shinohara took another step forward as her agitation reached its peak. She clenched her fists with grit teeth, eyes burning with bitterness and denial as she was forced to realize that my words were correct.
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
A loud, dull noise reverberated through the wide clearing after those words had left my lips. Karuizawa's indigo orbs widened in shock, while a throbbing pain traveled through my reddening cheek as I returned Shinohara's agitated gaze with my usual calm demeanor.
She hadn't held back at all, which was why my head had snapped to the side momentarily. This was where I had caught sight of three pairs of shoes that had just stepped through the shrubbery surrounding our base-camp.
Multiple muffled crashes followed as the corncobs in Chiaki's arms smashed into the ground like dominoes that had been triggered by an initial impact. Sakura gasped and covered her mouth in shock as footsteps rang through the otherwise silent area. Both Chiaki and Sudou made their way over while the latter tried to grab onto my girlfriend.
After a surprising twist, he stopped his hands before reaching her.
This single action was proof that he had learned from his mistakes. He realized that violence would benefit neither him nor Chiaki in any scenario he could think of. The only reason that he hadn't stopped her was a simple, yet fascinating human emotion.
Fear.
"Matsushita-san calm —"
Chiaki's searing rage exploded straight into Shinohara's face.
The volume alone wasn't comparable to the blow I had received as even the birds flew off the treetops in fright. Shinohara's whole body jerked backwards as she fell over with tears in her eyes due to the immense amount of force my girlfriend had put into her slap.
Her beautiful blue orbs turned dark and vicious as her face contorted with pure rage and contempt towards the pitiful figure in front of her. She clenched her fist, hiding the reddened palm and bent down before grabbing onto Shinohara's hair. As she was about to deliver her second shot at the defenseless girl on the ground, I caught her arm before the punch could connect.
"Thank you for standing up for me, Chiaki, but it's okay. I lost my cool and said something I shouldn't have, which caused her extreme reaction. It was my fault, so please calm down."
The always level-headed and calm Chiaki blew a fuse after Shinohara raised her hand against me. This wasn't at all planned, but an opportunity I could capitalize on. For most people, losing ones cool would be a valid reason, but what about someone who had never lost his cool before? The other individuals around said person would immediately find this line of reasoning suspicious.
I rubbed her arm, which was suspended mid-air, in order to soothe her burning anger.
Shinohara lay in the dirt and touched her pulsating red cheek with wide, fear-stricken eyes. Her quivering mouth opened and closed, but not a single word made it out as she began to tear up.
"Leave."
Chiaki's tone was beyond arctic, causing every single observer to tremble in fright.
This wasn't the nice older sister type Chiaki that everyone loved, but the one who stood in Sudou's trial and would annihilate someone without hesitation if they dared to attack someone important to her. Everyone knew why the three Class C students had left the school and they realized back then that Chiaki wouldn't hesitate to get rid of people in her way.
I didn't expect her to get this emotional, and I couldn't tell whether such extreme reactions were normal due to my limited knowledge pertaining relationships. My girlfriend wasn't even remotely violent, but she hadn't hesitated to avenge me, without even knowing whether Shinohara's action had been justified.
The weak and pitiful girl that received this command turned tail and stumbled away. She sobbed and sniveled on her way into the forest until she eventually crossed the boundary and began to bawl her eyes out, where no one could see.
Yet everyone could hear her pitiful wails.
My girlfriend turned around with a worried expression and caressed over my cheek with her own reddened hand. She put gentle pressure onto the minimally swollen spot as small tear-traces gathered in the corners of her eyes.
"Are you okay? What happened Kiyotaka?"
"I'm okay..." I leaned into her warm, delicate touch and glanced at the watch fastened to her arm. "The spots are about to run out, though. If I don't leave now, I can't guarantee getting them again. Karuizawa and the others saw everything, so they can tell you. We'll talk when I'm back, okay?"
"Okay..." She tip-toed to kiss me and revealed a loving smile. "Be careful."
"Well, well, Ayanokouji-boy. That was quite the spectacle. I would have awarded you with applause, a standing ovation even, but it seemed inappropriate at the moment. Please excuse my rudeness."
Kouenji followed me as I dashed through the lush vegetation.
It didn't look like he was struggling at all, so I was quite interested in his physical abilities if he decided to loosen the breaks. His body was almost as optimized as mine, which showed how incredibly gifted he was and how far he had pushed himself to reach this standard.
"I overstepped, that was all."
I began to pant, showing him that keeping up this speed was fairly taxing for me, but he didn't seem to have bought this cheap trick. He smirked in his usual arrogant Kouenji-esque way before his signature laugh rang through the forest.
"You don't need to be hiding from me, Ayanokouji-boy. We made a deal, so I will naturally oblige to the conditions we have set before. I am a perfect existence of my word, after all."
Calling this arrangement 'deal' was a rather interesting take, but it wasn't entirely wrong.
"So you decided to follow me around because you already felt bored? I thought you would just be lazing around in the camp or go swimming with the sharks. Maybe you can get us one?"
His loud holler resonated through the greenery.
"A perfect existence, such as myself, does whatever he pleases. At this current point in time, that is talking to you. You may feel honored to be in the presence of greatness, Ayanokouji-boy. I don't see any reason to help these hairless monkeys with their food, since it wasn't part of our agreement."
I stopped at the first spot on my route and occupied it before sprinting towards the next.
Previously, I left myself some small windows between the spot occupations to get familiar with the terrain, since no one would have been able to steal a spot on my first round. I also had to find all the machines first, since some of them were rather hidden.
"I'm not really. I'd much rather spend time with my friends."
"Those poor souls. With a friend like you, who would need enemies?"
"That's a harsh thing to say."
I'd like to think that I'm a pretty good friend, but what did I know?
It's not like I had much experience in those things, which is why I tried to act according to some role models I had found for myself. There was no doubt in my mind that I would improve in time, however.
Still, for Kouenji, of all people, to say something like that to me was quite bizarre. I doubted that he had a lot of friends himself. Female company and useful contacts, yes, but friends? I didn't see him being the type for such relations. He'd get bored rather soon and would run off doing whatever on his own again.
"You are interesting, Ayanokouji-boy. I'll give you that."
After Kiyotaka ran off to reoccupy the spots, I asked Karuizawa-san about what had happened for the situation to escalate to such a degree while we kept building our temporary housing for the next few days.
I was still furious, very much so, but I had to keep calm. Hitting her, even though she had deserved it, was a mistake, and I never expected to lose my composure like this.
Hirata-kun and the others soon came back with a ton of berries for us to enjoy later. Shinohara, who trotted after him, glanced around the camp with a worried expression, scared to make eye-contact.
I dropped everything I was doing and strode over.
My classmate, who had a rather obvious bruise on her cheek, hid behind Hirata-kun in fear of further retaliation.
It seemed my slap had left quite a mark on her.
Good.
That's what you get for hurting Kiyotaka.
"Matsushita-san we should —"
I glanced at Hirata-kun, ignoring his attempt at defusing the situation, and turned towards Shinohara.
"I overreacted before and shouldn't have hit you, Shinohara-san. Sorry."
Hirata-kun seemed both surprised and relieved as my apology reached both of their ears.
In truth, I wanted to slap her over and over, but now wasn't the time for infighting. If she apologized to both Kiyotaka and Horikita-san, then I would refrain from further action against her for the foreseeable future. But she shouldn't believe that I would ever forget what she had done.
"I... I'm sorry as well, for hitting Ayanokouji-kun."
She spoke in a quiet, pitiful voice, not daring to meet my eyes as she entrenched herself behind Hirata-kun's back. Her arrogant, impertinent behavior she showed the boys and Kiyotaka before was nowhere to be seen.
"Why are you apologizing to me? I'm not the one you slandered or hit. You have no clue what Horikita-san did for the class, yet you look down on her like that? Kiyotaka may not have chosen the best words, but I agree with everything he said."
Damn it...
Once again, my emotions boiled over, causing me to lose my usual cool. My boyfriend must have had similar thoughts on his mind when he protected Horikita-san. It was a human error, which showed how much he cared about her. Of course, he hated how Shinohara belittled her efforts in trying to stay on the island for us.
The girl looked downwards in shame, while Hirata-kun eyed me in frustration.
She seemed to have realized that she had been on the wrong side of the argument that ensued. Hirata-kun must have talked to her and would have reached the same conclusion. He may not have agreed that Kiyotaka called her useless, but she made a mistake by trashing on Horikita-san like this.
"W-where are they? Ayanokouji-kun and Horikita-san, I mean. I would like to apologize properly."
"Kiyotaka is out renewing spots and Horikita-san struggles with a flu or something similar. She is holed up in the cave near the fire, which helps keep her cool and warm at the same time. Despite my best efforts, she repeatedly insisted on staying, so I think we should honor her wish as long as she doesn't deteriorate any further."
The last part of my explanation was directed at Hirata-kun, who seemed worried that we would keep her on the island against her will in order to save points.
If I had been in Horikita-san's shoes, I would have left already.
Suffering through such a serious illness wasn't the smartest move, but it showed how devoted she was to the class, even though she didn't show it. This was what Kiyotaka must have seen in her as well. Horikita-san was difficult to handle, but once Kiyotaka got through to her, she must have turned out to be a really nice person.
"Umm, M-Matsushita-san? You also mentioned that I didn't know what Horikita-san did for us, so may I ask what the two of you meant? Hirata-kun and I kept wondering about it."
It came as no surprise that Hirata-kun hadn't realized what she had done, otherwise there would have been no way that he would have kept quiet about her contribution, even if she asked him to.
"I only realized it after the final exams, but I guess Kiyotaka knew it from the beginning. Horikita-san lowered her English score in the midterms so that Sudou-kun would have an easier time passing. She had kept this a secret from everyone, so it's no surprise that only a handful of individuals were aware." I stopped for a moment before breaching another important topic. "As for Sudou-kun, who you also badmouthed, I strongly disagree. Before I slapped you, he tried to hold me back. Would someone who didn't learn from their mistakes act like this? Additionally, he saved Sakura-san from the employee who tried to molest her. Are you still saying that he is useless and should have been expelled?"
She hugged her arm and heaved a deep, frustrated sigh.
The class was informed about the molestation attempt, but few people knew that Sudou-kun had saved Sakura-san. He didn't want people to talk about this for her sake, and asked everyone to stay quiet.
This alone was confirmation of his improvement.
"I know that all of this happened because of me. It's clear that I was out of line. Ayanokouji-kun was only standing up for his friend while you were defending your boyfriend. I know... that I was w-wrong, but..." Tears dropped to the ground and vanished into the soil. "But it hurt. Being called jealous and useless. Even though... even though it's true..."
She slumped down on her knees and leaned onto a nearby tree as the floodgates opened.
Only Hirata-kun and I understood what she said, since the others were occupied with the camp. They saw and heard her bitter wails, but none of them knew why. None of them recognized that Kiyotaka had pointed out the truth, which was one of the reasons she had been so hurt by his words.
Shinohara felt herself inferior to Horikita-san in every way imaginable. She was superior during lessons; she was athletic, and she was much more appealing from an objective point of view. The only disadvantage was her behavior towards her classmates since she didn't have any friends or close relations with anyone aside from Kiyotaka.
When he pointed this cruel truth out, something must have snapped.
Yet, I wasn't sure that these tears were genuine ones.
She had messed up big time, and she knew this as well. Without Hirata-kun's and Karuizawa-san's support going forward, she would end up at the bottom of the barrel. I couldn't tell if she was trying to gain our sympathy with those tears or if she truly regretted her actions.
"Then you should work hard to overcome this feeling. I don't think that Horikita-san was born and capable of solving difficult mathematical equations or could write essays in English. She did her best to improve her grades and lost the ability to empathize and socialize with other people in the process. You can learn from her mistakes and improve yourself without worsening your other qualities." I forced a smile as I gazed into the teary eyes of the girl that hit my boyfriend. "I'm sure that Kiyotaka didn't mean what he said. He was simply frustrated because you insulted his friend while she was sick and couldn't defend herself. The same goes for me when I saw you slapping my boyfriend."
She nodded and assured me that she would properly atone to both of them before walking off towards the other girls who were figuring out how to prepare our dinner. Hirata-kun and I took care of a few organizational issues that popped up before I made my way over to Ike-kun to ask him about the berries they had brought.
Kouenji left my side soon and ran off to somewhere else.
I was glad that he did, since talking to him was taking a toll on my sanity. It wasn't as uncomfortable or dangerous as the decay that Ike caused, but it was exhausting to deal with his attitude and overall behavior.
The forest was quiet, as usual, and the weather was still hot and humid. Due to this, a lot of sweat built up, which would give me a great excuse for later when I was once again wheezing in exhaustion.
A few minutes passed until I reached the next spot, around one minute before it expired. Some Class C students had settled around the machine and conversed with each other as I walked in on them.
"Uhm, excuse me... may I reoccupy the spot?"
"Huh?!"
"Isn't that a Class D student?"
"Yeah. What do you want here? Piss off."
The three stood up, flaunting their superior numbers.
According to their primitive language, there wasn't anyone worth mentioning in that group. The other ones hidden behind the trees to my right, however, should be quite interesting to meet with.
"Right... what did Chiaki say again...? Ah, yes. Am I correct with the assumption that you are blocking me from renewing the spot? I would like to extend our time on the clock, so if neither of you is the leader, please let me through."
They began to walk over and kept shoving me backwards while their loud, ear-ringing howls echoed through the forest. I stumbled back a few steps to prevent myself from falling as they began to surround me.
"What kind of moron are you?"
"That's right, we're blocking that spot."
I tilted my head to simulate confusion.
"Oh, I see. So you are fine with losing points?"
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"
"It was in the rules. Chiaki said that spot-misuse will cause a fifty-point penalty, or something like that. Since you are blocking the spot, you are essentially using it without our permission, or am I wrong?"
They glanced at each other, unsure about the rules, and stepped back.
The threat of losing points would make them retreat and grant me some space to move. I wouldn't even need to mention Ryuuen, who might beat them up for being morons, since this current situation was a scripted event created by the mastermind in Class C.
"Shouldn't we talk with Ryuuen-san about this?"
"Isn't he the reason that the others got expelled?"
"Still, I think we should..."
Their current act wasn't even that bad, as it could certainly be used for comedic purposes. I wasn't sure if their behavior right now was part of Ryuuen's plan or if they were genuinely clueless that they shouldn't have taken their eyes off me.
Ding!
"Eh? HEY!"
One of guys grabbed me by the shoulder and shoved me to the side. I once again stumbled backwards and hit the ground, barely managing to break the fall with my palm while they showered me with incredulous looks.
"That crazy guy seriously renewed the spot right in front of us."
"What are you fucking idiots doing?"
A deep, furious voice rang through the shrubbery as a man with shoulder length, magenta-colored hair walked out between the trees. Behind him was an African American giant with sunglasses named Yamada Albert, as well as another delinquent with green hair called Ishizaki Daichi.
Why couldn't Ichinose keep her necklace if he can keep his sunglasses?
"Ryuuen-san!"
The Class C students wobbled back in fear as I propped myself up. All four of them were pretty good actors, since these guys seemed terrified of their leader, despite acting on his behalf. He turned towards me with a sly smirk.
"I apologize for these imbeciles. They didn't mean to block your spot."
"Ah, sure, no worries, but that's already out of my hands."
The man who just arrived on the scene, Ryuuen Kakeru, glanced towards the spot machine.
His eyes narrowed as he noticed one of the cameras inside the apparatus, which would control if any spot-misuse had taken place. They would also make sure that only the leader used the leader's card to occupy the spots. Otherwise, I could have made a random person in our class the leader and just ran through the forest with no worries.
Oh, wait...
That's a problem, isn't it?
"You, idiots! Fuck off." He glanced at his classmates with the ferocious glare of a young dragon before he turned towards me with a strangely gentle sneer on his face. "What's your name?"
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. I'm from Class 1-D. It's nice to meet you."
"That so? Why don't you give me your leader card and we separate here in peace?"
"Sorry, Chiaki said that I'm supposed to keep the card with me at all times. If I give it away, you might break it or throw it away and I wouldn't be able to renew the remaining spots on my route."
Ryuuen's maniacal laugh reverberated through the treetops.
"Kukukuku..."
There was no way that he would believe that this was all Class D amounted to after he lost three of his classmates in June. He anticipated a trap, which was why he must have checked the rules and realized what Chiaki would have planned.
From all the class leaders, he was the only one who would consider the loophole.
"Well, I'll have to take my leave now. It was nice meeting you."
I ran off into the forest and vanished behind the trees, since I had wasted precious time talking to them.
"What do you think, Shiina?"
Ryuuen-san peeked in my direction with his never-changing grin plastered on his face.
"I think he fits into Class D. Similar to the one with red hair, he should have average intelligence. Since he was chosen for the spot occupation and did a good job so far, he seems to have high stamina and an equally decent pace. I know little about the sport clubs, but I've never seen him in either of them when I was on my way to and from the library. He has to be Class D's designated leader, otherwise he couldn't have renewed the spot. I assume Matsushita-san has something up her sleeve, but I don't know what."
"She isn't stupid, that much is for certain. There is no way that she would make a mistake like this during such an important exam. I admit that I underestimated Class D before, but that won't happen again."
But what could the plan be?
I've read through the rules a few times, but there was nothing that could give her an edge over someone who had knowledge about their leader. Did she perhaps plan to buy something with private points, or was this forbidden during special exams?
"Do you have an idea what she's plotting, Ryuuen-san?"
Ishizaki-san and Albert-san also looked at him with questioning gazes, so at least I wasn't confused on my lonesome. From the way he talked, it sounded as if he had a theory, which was more than I had managed to deduce.
"I think so, yes. There was a certain, rather interesting clause in the rulebook." He nodded and walked around the spot machine with narrowed eyes. "The designated leader cannot be changed without legitimate reason."
Ryuuen-san had emphasized 'legitimate' to point my thoughts in the right direction, since I hadn't realized the meaning behind this sentence during my read-through. I had read and understood the rules, of course, but I hadn't recognized that such a loophole was hidden between the lines.
This was the big difference between Ryuuen-san and me.
His plans had always been cunning and shrewd, while I couldn't work like this.
"So her plan is to change their leader at the end? A legitimate reason could be something like a sickness, but I can't see how she would go about that. Not to mention that we are talking about her boyfriend. If she is as twisted as you, she might try to poison him, but I don't think she would do something like this. Then again, she expelled three of our classmates, so there is a possibility." I scratched the reddened mosquito bite on my arm through the jersey before I resumed my investigation. "With this information, we could renegotiate with Class A. Katsuragi-san seemed convinced that he knew Class D's leader, so he must have managed to see him from a distance and remains unaware about the trap."
"Exactly what I was thinking." He revealed a crooked smirk as I shook my feet around, since they felt sore from all the walking. "On how many individuals did you narrow Class A's leader down to? We should compare names. Maybe we'll be able to scratch some."
"Eleven. Katsuragi-san himself is very cautious, so he wouldn't take the leader position himself, unlike a certain someone. Similarly, he wouldn't entrust such an important position to anyone who's not part of his faction. The boy with green hair seemed to be his most trusted follower, but I'm not sure if Katsuragi-san wouldn't deem this selection too dangerous as well. There is a high possibility that the cardholder is this person, though."
Class A's leader was still under the impression that Class D wasn't a threat. He underestimated them, just like Ryuuen-san did. I could only hope for his sake that he wouldn't need to pay such a hefty price as we had to. Even though I should consider him an enemy, I cared little about their class.
"I'm disappointed Shiina. I've already narrowed it down to ten, even though I'm also pretty confident in my guess that it is indeed Totsuka Yahiko. There are still too many variables to say for certain, so I'll keep having fun with them."
I heaved a sigh and shook my head as a quiet giggle escaped my lips.
"This is not a competition, Ryuuen-san."
"Huh? For me it is, so you lost. Albert, bring Shiina back to our camp and make sure she stays there. I don't need the help of a nosy brat that can't even properly narrow down on potential suspects."
"YES!"
I regarded him with a sigh as Albert-san and I turned around and began to leave.
His words were harsh, as usual, but I wasn't concerned. Ryuuen-san could take care of Class A's leader, so I didn't need to worry about him. He might have a twisted way of showing it, but I believed that he liked and even respected me to a certain degree.
"Albert..."
"Eh?"
Ryuuen-san's annoyed voiced echoed through the vicinity, which was followed up by a surprised squeal that escaped my own lips because Albert-san lifted me up. He shifted me in his muscular arms a few times to make sure that I was comfortable and kept carrying me towards our camp.
"A-albert-san. Please put me down."
"NO!"
He kept walking, disregarding my futile struggles. I glanced past his broad frame, in order to glare at Ryuuen-san menacingly, but he was hidden behind the dense foliage of the forest. Despite my eyes not being able to catch sight of him, my ears managed to pick up on his soft voice.
"Ishizaki. Get your lazy ass back to the camp before them and purchase some bug spray and ointments for bites. If anyone asks, a mosquito bit your dick, and you kept crying about it the whole time until I couldn't hear it anymore. Tell Shiina she can have some as well if she ever gets bitten or annoyed. Got it?"
"Y-yes, Ryuuen-san!"
"And send Mio to Class..."
His voice vanished as Albert-san carried me out of hearing distance.
Even though I was being sent back to the camp rather ungraciously, I was thankful for Ryuuen-san's consideration. He might have been able to word his worries a little better, but this was just the way he showed his concerns, I guess.
Didn't he realize that his voice carried quite far?
Ryuuen-san always behaved like a tough, scary delinquent, but he was all fluffy inside. Like a bear, or something similarly adorable. I should try my best to hide the fact that I had heard his directions, because it would make things easier for him in the long run.
I just hoped that he could someday be honest with his feelings.
I got back to our shelter a little after five o'clock.
Just as before, I slumped down near the cave, panting and gasping for air. After observing my busy classmates for a few moments, I closed my eyes to rest for a bit. This brief respite was short-lived, however, as a shadow soon cast over me.
"Yo."
The boy was quite surprised by my sudden greeting and sat down beside me. I peered at his conflicted expression, which betrayed his thoughts before he even voiced them.
"I should have guessed that you must have been quite athletic from your physique. I mean, we all saw you in the pool back in April, right? How did I never notice a fellow sportsman?"
"Well, it's not like I'm actively pursuing any sport. Additionally, I'm not someone who shouts everything from the rooftops. I'd like to spend my time in leisure, if possible, but since everyone in class is pushing themselves for this exam, I felt obligated to do the same."
Sudou leaned back against the rock wall and interlaced his arms behind his head.
"Yeah. I never thought I'd say something like this, but I get it. Don't change the topic, though. You could have told me that you are secretly an athlete as well, you know? I want to compete against you once we're back in school."
"I don't think I ever tried to hide it. It's just that no one ever asked. Aside from my rather high stamina and quick feet, there isn't much I'm good at, though. I can't play soccer like Hirata and I have no clue about basketball either. You would have no problems beating me."
He nodded with a prideful expression before he turned and observed Sakura, who was ambling around the camp. She didn't mingle with the other students, but she tried her best to be helpful despite being hard to notice due to her timid nature.
"How is she?"
"No idea. She seems to be fine and all, but I think that's impossible. Even though I'm an idiot, I know that it can't be easy to leave something like this behind. She's not doing too good, if you ask me."
Unlike Horikita, he was aware of his own shortcomings and accepted them. He would never try to lead the class, or insist that one of his ideas was better than someone else's, solely because he was aware of his faults. He would learn and overcome these restrictions in time and morph into a complete person who was suitable for society.
My beloved neighbor still had a long way to go, since she was insistent on being better than she was. Hers was a difficult quirk to get rid of, but it was possible with enough effort.
That's also one of the reasons that Chiaki had proven to be a much better leader for our class.
If Horikita had been calling the shots throughout this exam, it would have been utter pandemonium. She wouldn't communicate properly, and even if she lowered herself to such a level, she would step on someone's toes. Her misplaced pride wouldn't have allowed her to ask for Ike's advice, even though he knew the outdoors much better than she did.
The list of faults could be supplemented at will, proving that she wasn't fit to be a leader.
"Um, A-ayanokouji-kun, can I talk to you for a moment?"
Shinohara walked up to me before peeking at Sudou for a second. She didn't even need to indicate that she wanted him gone, since he had seen what happened before. He threw me a glance, excused himself, and strode off towards Sakura, who seemed lost on what to do.
"I'm —"
"Please don't."
Shinohara stopped me before I could voice my apology.
I had a good idea how Chiaki handled the situation after I was gone, so it was obvious what my pitiful classmate wanted to do. If I pre-empted her admission of guilt, she would feel even worse than before.
"You don't have to apologize to me. I was way out of line with what I said about Horikita-san and I should never have hit you. I'm truly sorry for everything, and I hope we can leave this behind us."
The girl bowed, proving that she felt sorry about her behavior.
Shinohara was a parasite, but not the useful kind, like Karuizawa. She was nothing but baggage and trouble for everyone she involved herself with. After listening to the whole situation, even Hirata would have told her that she was wrong. He would say the same thing to me, but that didn't change the fact that everyone would see her in a worse light.
If she apologized properly, she could remedy some of that, but I doubted that she would change. The only reason she had backed off was because that I was supported by both class leaders and everyone who stood nearby during the incident. If I had been one of the unpopular boys like Ike, Okitani or the Professor, she wouldn't have apologized at all.
"We both said things we shouldn't have. Even though you don't want to hear it, I'm also sorry for what I said. I lost my cool when you insulted Horikita and this should have never happened."
"Let's get along from now on."
"Yeah."
I took her hand, which she had offered me with a smile.
For everyone around, it would seem as if we had made up.
But I wasn't dependent on her friendship or goodwill.
Shinohara Satsuki was so meaningless that she wasn't even worth being a pawn in my game. I didn't know what the future would bring, but if there came a time when the class had to get rid of one person, I would make sure that she'd go home and never return.
I rested for a few more minutes before I strolled over to Horikita.
She was awake and rolled around on the cold rocks, unable to sleep as she took a sip from the charcoal water she had prepared for herself. A faint smile appeared on my face as I realized that she actually took my advice and rested properly.
"How are you?"
"Horrible, honestly. I just hope that I'll get better soon."
"This is your own private bottle, I hope? Since we don't know what kind of illness you contracted, you should really keep everything you drink out of far away from the healthy students."
She glared at me before multiple coughs escaped her dry, cracked lips.
"Even though I'm sick, I am aware how diseases spread. I told everyone to leave me alone."
"You didn't happen to mention that they should leave you alone for their safety, right?"
Noticing her mistake, she bit her lip in frustration.
If she kept behaving like this, it would be hard to convince my classmates that Horikita wasn't a bad person. Despite my better judgement, I found her to be quite charming if she wanted to.
"Well..." I sat down beside her and leaned against the tree trunk. "I won't go anywhere, no matter how much you torture me. Even if you go back to stabbing me with your compass after this, I'll take care of you as long as you need me."
"Why are you so nice to me?"
Horikita had a lot of time to reflect due to her current situation.
She must have gone over every single interaction we had ever since we met and noticed that she was an incredible pain to deal with. Not only was she violent, she wasn't very kind either.
Then why was I so considerate towards her?
She couldn't understand it.
My behavior was not brought by love or affection, since I already had a girlfriend and seemed happy with her. In her narrow view, it was impossible to fathom why else I would be nice to her, despite her best efforts. In the end, it boiled down to something simple.
"We're friends, aren't we?"
I tilted my head to the side and regarded her with a confused look.
Even though she despised this word and its meaning, she was the first to say it. I've been taking great care to tease her with it, but the fact remained. Horikita and I were friends, and friends would look out for each other.
She frowned, took a deep breath and averted her gaze in embarrassment.
Horikita's pale cheeks turned into a rosy color as she covered her beautiful face with her arms.
"Kiyobaka..."
Had she heard Chiaki call me that?
"What?"
"N-nothing. I'm tired. Please leave."
"Hai, hai. Ohime-sama."
I put my hands up in resignation and walked off.
It was better when she thought that I hadn't heard her. I mean, what's with that weird trope, anyway?
The mind was advanced enough to complete the sentence or the word, even if an individual only heard parts of what was being said. Around sixty percent of people wouldn't notice a removed or scrambled word in a sentence, for example, and the likelihood shrunk even more the shorter and more common the word in question was.
Even if a person noticed the missing or mixed-up word, they would still have been able to read the sentence without problems, because their brain would have automatically processed the contextual clues and only transmitted the words one would have expected.
On my way through the camp, I saw Kouenji, who relaxed on the ground and enjoyed the last sunrays of the setting sun without moving a single muscle. He looked like he owned the place while his other classmates only existed to take care of the chores for him.
They had tried to reprimand him for his frustrating behavior, but Kouenji was such a pain to deal with that they eventually buried their grudges and chose to ignore him to keep their sanity.
Sakura looked like a cute squirrel as she was stuffing a few berries into her mouth, while Hirata and Chiaki discussed their ongoing plans. Our white knight didn't glance at me with concern or broke out into a panic, which led me to believe that operation 'we might have to poison Kiyotaka' was only known to two people.
"Kiyotaka."
Chiaki's expression brightened up as soon as she caught sight of me. She waved me over to them with a beaming smile while Hirata observed our exchange with a gentle demeanor.
"What's up?"
"Hirata-kun and I have been wondering if you know where the base camps of the other classes are. Since you are touring over the island, you might have seen something, after all."
"Mh, I didn't run into their camps, but I met three Class C students here and some of Class A over there."
I pointed at two locations on the map which Chiaki had shown me.
If she didn't ask, I wouldn't tell her that both classes had already lost fifty points for unauthorized usage of our spots. This might have been a calculated act for Ryuuen's class, but the same couldn't be said about Katsuragi's.
The individuals I ran into weren't following him, but Sakayanagi, who was prepared to sabotage her own class if she could take full control in the process. I had to admit that I liked that girl's style, and I had no reason to inform Katsuragi about his impending doom.
Sakayanagi seemed like an opponent that could be reasonably entertaining, depending on the schemes she could come up with. The same could be said for the Ryuuen and Shiina combo, who had observed me when I passed by the Class C students.
The only disheartening part about this exam was that it was already over before it even begun.
Neither of the class leaders could do anything about the outcome I had already decided on. They could struggle and try to outmaneuver me with pitiful tricks and last-ditch efforts, but nothing would change the results.
Katsuragi had been doomed to fail from the start.
There was no way to win with his own class working against him. He wasn't stupid and would soon doubt the conclusion he had drawn about us being pushovers after he had seen me on the lookout. Even more so after one of his followers had tailed me when I reoccupied a spot near their encampment.
Ryuuen was in a similar state, albeit not as bad.
He knew that this whole charade was a trap, but there was nothing he could do against it. He was an oppressor that was losing the trust of his followers, due to the previous incident. Not everyone would be happy, but they would grit their teeth and listen for the moment, since they couldn't replace him with someone else.
Shiina was also helpful in keeping the class calm, since she exudes a tranquil aura, but Ryuuen needed a win to stay in control, even if it didn't look like one from the outside. He should have realized that they couldn't stop Class D's reign over the island and would soon begin to harass Class A or B.
If he tried to cut a deal with another class, Katsuragi was his only option.
He might even be able to exploit their internal dispute to sow distrust, enabling him to propose a better deal for himself. This would show his class that he was still in control, even if things didn't go his way.
As for Class B, they were struggling in my palm either way.
I wouldn't be surprised if Ryuuen managed to identify their leader in the remaining days. He might even sell his information to Class A and betray them afterwards, since he's got nothing to lose.
All I had to do was to renew the spots and feign exhaustion while I enjoyed my time.
The special exam had begun around ten hours ago, and every enemy class had been forced into checkmate.