Chapter 158 - Classroom of the Elite: Checkmate 20

Chapter 20 - Armageddon Game

I glanced at the three chess boards one last time before my departure.

Due to the aftermath of the Sudou incident, quite a lot had changed. The red queen moved up two squares diagonally towards the center of the board, showing off her reach. One of the red rook's had also moved up two squares, followed by a lone red pawn which was positioned directly behind it.

The green pawns that had been standing on the board were nowhere to be found due to their expulsion.

After making sure that everything else was tidied up, I left a set of coded instructions on the bed and took a deep breath.

This familiar room, the wooden boards, and the aroma of fresh tea which still lingered in the air... I would miss them for the next few weeks because I've long since grown accustomed to these positive changes in my life.

Yet, I was looking forward to our upcoming 'vacation'.

While Fuka tackled her special exam here, I would take care of my first one on an island far away from Tokyo or the school grounds. That much was all I had worked out so far. It was impossible to know what exactly we needed to do on said island, but I was optimistic that I could form new bonds during our stay there.

Fuka had seen me off yesterday, aware that we couldn't meet up before we boarded the buses in the morning. I hoped that she wouldn't do anything weird, like sleep in my room while I was gone, but it wasn't like I could stop her if she wanted to.

Two knocks reverberated through the room, originating from the front door. I let my gaze roam around my apartment one final time before grabbing the previously prepared bag and marched towards the knocking sounds.

Chiaki's bright smile, Sakura's shy bow and Sudou's excited exclamations were the first things that came to my attention as I opened the passage to the boundary between heaven and hell.

The endless summer sea, the infinite blue skies and the perfectly clear air.

Here, in the midst of the Pacific Ocean, we, the students of the Advanced Nurturing Highschool, were spared by the intense midsummer heat that should have sapped on our energy. Instead of sweating due to the sun's merciless, searing rays, a gentle sea breeze kissed our bodies and comfortably embraced every fiber of our beings.

"This is amazing!"

My classmate, Ike Kanji, also hailed as the lone idiot in our class, raised his arms into the air as he leaned against the railing. His earsplitting voice was as annoying as usual, even outside the classroom.

After Yamauchi's expulsion and Sudou's vow of self improvement due to what had happened in June, he was the only student in our class that still behaved the same as back in April, at least most of the time.

Everyone else had grown, some more, others less.

Sakura hadn't attended school for a short while after her incident with the store clerk, but Sudou kept visiting and talked to her every day. Aside from his training in the basketball club and making sure that Sakura was feeling okay, he behaved well during classes and tried his utmost to keep his temperament in check.

He didn't do a complete 180 in a matter of days or one simple month, of course, but he was earnest in his attempt to be more helpful to Chiaki, and in extension, to the class, after what she had done for him.

There were some hiccups along the way, but his progress was clear as day.

"The view is incredible! I'm honestly super moved right now!"

The parasite, Karuizawa Kei, led a group of girls out of the ship's cabin with a wide, beaming smile on her face. She wore her usual school uniform apart from the blazer, which differed to the other girls in her circle of friends who had decided to show much more of their skin due to the heat.

Even though their relationship was fabricated, both Hirata and she kept pretending to be a loving couple in front of everyone. After the progress Chiaki and I had made in ours, Karuizawa had found herself in quite a bind and announced that the two of them were kissing all the time. According to her, it was too embarrassing doing it in front of people, so they only made out in private.

"Seriously, the scenery here is just amazing!"

Kushida Kikyou, the class angel and my personal queen, supported her head with her arms as she leaned onto the handrail next to me with a breathtaking smile on her face. Her somewhat short, hazel hair was blown around by the fresh sea breeze, which only emphasized her beauty as her glimmering eyes gazed towards the horizon.

Fuka and she had found neutral ground on which both of them could despise each other without being obvious or hindering my movements due to their quarrels after they had spent some alone time in the bathroom.

My interesting senpai didn't hate Kikyou. She found her quite amusing, in fact, but Class D's radiating goddess loathed her to death and wished the worst possible calamities onto her. As long as their bickering didn't hinder or otherwise compromise my plans, I didn't mind them.

They were quite revealing about their internal thoughts, in fact.

From an outsider's perspective, Kikyou and I were close friends.

My gorgeous classmate was comfortable around me and always laughed or smiled whenever the two of us talked. This behavior stood in stark contrast to her inner workings, as she still tended to the cruel scars I had inflicted on her mind, body and soul.

There was no shortcut to heal such grievances, but she improved and recovered at a steady pace. Her rate of development increased after we had taken care of the store clerk together and advanced even more once the two of us began calling each other by our first names, much to Ike's resentment.

"This is insane! I never dreamed that high schoolers could take a trip on such a luxurious cruise. For two whole weeks at that! Two damn weeks of this five-star service! I can't believe how lucky I am to still be here."

Even though he had bettered himself, Sudou still had somewhat of a foul mouth if it didn't drag him into too much trouble. Rome wasn't built in a day and every individual would need some time to adapt to their new routine, so I wasn't worried about the progress he had shown.

"Look over there, S-sudou-kun! T-there are dolphins!"

Sakura raised her finger in excitement as her quiet, timid voice rang through the area. She was quite enthusiastic about the new arrivals and more than delighted by the discovery as she repeatedly tapped her camera's shutter with a carefree, relaxed expression on her face.

After the sales clerk was arrested and removed from the school's premises, another technician soon took his place. He was a kind, elderly man who was skilled with electronics despite his advanced age. Sakura's camera, for example, was repaired a few hours after the missing parts had arrived at the store, even though the previous owner had accumulated quite the backlog.

My pawn began to leave her shell, at least in front of some chosen people.

The Bottlenose Dolphins she had photographed swam closer towards our vessel, interested in the foreign object that had intruded into their territory. They splashed and jumped around while squealing and whistling to their heart's content as they played with each other like young, energetic children.

Sakura beamed upon witnessing such a wholesome scene, which caught the eyes and hearts of some boys in our class. Instead of the timid, boring girl from before, stood a shy and humble top-class beauty after she had shed her fake glasses.

Aside from Kikyou, Ichinose, Sudou, Chiaki and me, none of the first-years knew that she had been a gravure idol before. Just as planned, Sudou had kept this information to himself, which led Sakura to trust him somewhat, even before he had saved her from the vicious employee.

"Uwaaah!"

Chiaki lowered her head and yelped as some water droplets poured over her strawhat.

The beauty beside me wore a swimsuit made of two parts, a bikini and some kind of short skirt. Both had a light-blue color, which emphasized her alluring eyes. The thin, white see-through jacket did nothing to hide her natural charm, which shone even brighter in the sun.

Even less now since she was wet...

I moved behind my girlfriend and embraced her enchanting figure.

"What are you doing? Didn't we agree to only do stuff like this when no one is looking to make things easier for Karuizawa-san and Hirata-kun? Kiyotaka..."

Her ears flushed at the beginning of the sentence and it didn't take long until her whole head followed.

"I think they are occupied with the scenery."

Unable to hold myself back any longer, I planted an affectionate kiss on her smooth, cotton-candy lips. She still tasted like pineapple due to the drinks we had before, so I really couldn't stop savoring her delicious flavor, even if I wanted to.

"Kiyotaka, stop it..."

A charming, innocent giggle escaped her supple lips as she leaned further into me.

"Aren't you the one who's not stopping?"

"Shush!" She kept me locked in her embrace, with an adorable, almost captivating smile. "We really need to stop, though." Chiaki tapped my leg with her free hand and let out a dazzling chuckle as she gazed at the vast, sparkling blue ocean. "For now..."

Those last two words vanished into the fresh sea breeze as sudden as they had left her lips.

The two of us became a lot more comfortable with, and around each other during our repeated dates, as well as the kissing and the cuddling when the two of us were alone, which was an unexpected yet nice feeling. She visited me almost every day with the pretext of taking care of our cactus, so we've gotten used to kissing when we felt like it. There was no longer any uncomfortable silence or finger fumbling, as we were much more in sync than before.

According to the death-glares that kept piercing the back of my head, our classmates and the other, unrelated students on the deck were not occupied with the scenery, at least not all of them.

"Sorry to barge in like that, but do you know where Horikita-san is, Kiyotaka? I haven't seen her around all day and I'm kind of worried that something might have happened."

Kikyou intruded into our togetherness, which was for the best since she had put a stop to our antics before one of the guys threw me off the ship out of jealousy. Even though I had assured her that Horikita didn't know the specifics about the middle-school incident, she was still after her and kept tabs on my irritable neighbor.

"She wasn't feeling well the last time she messaged me and said that she would try to take a short nap. That was about two hours ago, so I guess she's still resting in her room."

"What? Oh, no... Horikita-san missing out on all of this because of a sickness is just terrible..."

She glanced towards the ground with a saddened, almost devastated expression.

The surrounding students deemed her behavior as adorable and heavenly, but it wasn't difficult to imagine what she really thought behind that wonderful facade of hers. She couldn't have been any happier that Horikita suffered while everyone else enjoyed their time without her.

"We can go to the island's private beach around noon and swim around as much as we want. I can't wait!"

Ike's loud voice once again rang over the luxurious cruise ship, whereupon all the other Class D students responded with unanimous, jubilant shouts of pure joy.

At least he had kept the swimsuit part to himself this time.

Maybe he had improved after all?

Sudou, who stood beside us, furrowed his brows.

"Oi, Sakura! That's YEAH! Not y-yeah... Come on, let's do it again!"

"Eto..."

She fiddled around with her fingers and lowered her head since she felt uncomfortable about everyone hearing her voice. Not only would she need to shout in a loud volume, she would also have to deal with all the gazes that would surely focus on her after the fact.

"Do it after me." He turned away from her and raised his arms. "YOSHAAAAAA!" Sudou's violent scream rang through the whole ship before he turned towards Sakura with a smile on his face. "Now's your turn."

My favorite delinquent had a kind heart, but he was still an idiot. He meant well and wanted to encourage her future development, but he didn't consider how Sakura would feel at this moment and why she was uncomfortable with yelling like he and the other students were.

Sakura's fingers stopped trembling as she clenched them into fists. She bobbed around, as if she was gathering energy, before she raised her adorable hands towards her shoulders and opened her mouth.

"Y-y-y-yoshaa."

Her voice wasn't as loud or powerful as either of them had wished, but she managed to embarrass herself to such a degree that her whole head turned into a dangerous crimson-color even though only five people had heard her.

Sudou kept encouraging her determination and bravery while my gaze wandered towards a different girl that seemed curious about their new, blossoming friendship. Her expression was difficult to read, since she was both supportive and conflicted at the same time.

After we had a few moments for ourselves, more and more students gathered on the deck.

I hadn't seen most of them in the flesh until today and only knew them from the pictures or descriptions Kikyou had supplied me with as she was gathering information on her schoolmates.

The Class A students assembled in our general area and pushed some of my classmates out of the way to get a better position for themselves. They didn't seem to mind if they shoved us or the other students, since we were only lower-class trash in their eyes.

"You're in the way. Move it, defect."

The boy named Totsuka Yahiko elbowed my shoulder in order to intimidate me as I shielded Chiaki from their antics. Sudou, who protected Sakura, was shoved as well and turned around with an enraged expression.

"Hey, what the hell? Look where you're going, dammit."

His hands flashed forward, reaching after the Class A student that kept walking as if nothing had happened, before they stopped a few centimeters short of grabbing him. He clicked his tongue with a complicated expression and turned back towards us.

""Are you okay?""

Two voices overlapped into one as Sudou and I made sure that Chiaki and Sakura were alright.

"Yeah, thanks Kiyotaka."

"Y-yes. Thank you, S-sudou-kun."

Ike and some of our other classmates also protested, whereupon the Class A students flaunted with their superiority over us defects. The boy who had shoved me told us that we had no right to be here, as Class A kept widening their zone of influence over the deck.

What a poor excuse for a 'top' student.

"Let's go..."

Chiaki took my hand and pulled me after her. Sudou followed us with Sakura in tow while he clenched his fists, trying to calm himself down. The rest of our class trudged off the deck as well to make space for the Class A students after they felt upset and offended by their hurtful declarations.

"Arrogant jerks."

Sudou's outburst was especially tame compared to his previous ones.

He did well to realize that a physical altercation would have been bad for us and suppressed his burning anger before it was too late. Two people were liable for this change in him: one was my girlfriend and the other one was Sakura, due to her timid nature, which he grew accustomed to throughout June and July.

"Let it go, Sudou-kun. Wait until we reach Class A, then you can pay them back in kind."

Wow, my girlfriend was devious...

My favorite delinquent laughed and nodded his head with a fired-up expression. I didn't doubt for a second that he would remember that boy's words in great detail, only to return them once we had blown past their class in points.

Today was Thursday, August 1st.

Even though our classmates were bothered and felt dissatisfied with Class A's attitude, we all enjoyed the calm, idle days after working hard to pass the final exams. Unfortunately, we had gained no additional class points for our performance this time around, which was to be expected.

"Oh hey, you're all here. Huh? What's the matter?"

Upon his arrival, Hirata immediately perceived that something was off, despite his unawareness of what had happened just now. The lowered heads and dampened mood during such a beautiful summer day were enough indication that someone had ruined, or at least tarnished, the once lively atmosphere.

"Hey, Hirata! How far have you gone with Karuizawa, anyway? Matsushita-san and Ayanokouji couldn't keep their hands off each other just now. Isn't this, you know, a bad look for you since you guys have been together much longer?"

I retract my previous statement.

He hadn't improved at all...

Instead of answering Hirata's inquiry, he much rather gossiped about the state of our relationships. Karuizawa was far enough away that she didn't hear his disrespectful question, but Chiaki flushed and turned towards me.

"Kiyobaka! You said no one was looking!"

"Technically, I did not say that. I merely stated that I thought that they were occupied with the scenery. Apparently, my assumption was wrong. Sorry about that..."

"Isn't it kind of hilarious how scary she usually is if you compare it to the times when she's with Ayanokouji?"

Sudou's thoughtless comment garnered the attention and approval of the surrounding students. Boys and girls alike deemed her behavior around me 'cute' while they would describe it as 'scary' whenever I wasn't around.

"Sudou-kun..."

Chiaki's voice was indeed eerie and intimidating. The charming smile that had formed on her face didn't reach her eyes as she turned to my red-haired classmate, who jumped behind a certain someone to protect himself.

"Uwah, protect me Sakura!"

"Ehhhhhh?"

A light chuckle escaped Hirata's lips as he covered his mouth with his hand. He turned towards Ike and threw him a pleasant smile, not hiding his thoughts or opinions about his rather contemptuous statement from before.

"Karuizawa-san and I take things at our own pace. Building a genuine relationship is not a competition, after all. As long as everyone is happy with the status quo, there is no reason to rush things." Hirata's cell phone rang, which stopped the ongoing conversation. "Oh, sorry. Miyake-kun seems to have trouble. I'll be going now. Have fun!"

I'm never that lucky when I'm receiving calls...

Popular guys sure have it easy, huh?

"Guys, I have decided something."

Ike put his arms to his hips and stood in front of us like some sort of heroic instructor or a five-star general in a desperate war scenario as he made such a serious proclamation.

"I have a bad feeling about this..."

Chiaki shook her head, voicing the exact thought that had formed in my mind.

"I will confess my feelings to Kushida-chan on this trip!"

"This is hopeless..."

My girlfriend's remarks were only audible to me, since I was standing right beside her, so no one reacted to the truthful words she had spoken. Sudou's and Sakura's eyes both widened in surprise as they glanced at each other with a sense of foreboding.

Someone... please... have mercy on his poor soul.

"Hey, Kushida-chan! Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Wait now?

Chiaki must have thought the same as she glanced at me with widened eyes.

"Hmm? Of course! What is it, Ike-kun?"

Kikyou broke away from her all-girls group and ambled towards us with a beaming smile on her face. She made a few small hops on her way over, which showed that she had taken no offense from Class A's mean-spirited attitudes.

I could count myself lucky that we didn't have rooms for ourselves on this ship, or I would have had to listen to her ramblings for today, which would have turned out quite distressing.

"So it's like this... It's been about four months since we met, right? So... I was wondering if it might be okay for me to call you by your first name now. I mean, if you don't mind, of course..."

My queen beamed in response to Ike's request.

"Of course you can call me Kikyou. Should I call you Kanji-kun then?"

Ike's eyes began to sparkle like the night sky lit by fireworks during the Sumida River Fireworks Festival. His previously timid and insecure complexion did a complete 180 as his whole body began to radiate in bliss.

"Whoaaa! Kikyou-chaaaaaan!"

Our love-struck classmate prayed to the heavens above as he kneeled in front of her.

The goddess before him let out a cute chuckle in response as she covered her beautiful smile with her palm. Her divine hand reached down into the mortal realm, pulling the boy off his knees with an expression of pure divinity.

My girlfriend leaned closer towards me as we watched this unbelievable scene unfold in front of us.

"I'm confused... Didn't he want to confess?"

"I'm as perplexed as you are. Let's just leave him be for now. As long as he's happy with that much, we can be satisfied." I shrugged and peeked at her for a moment. "If you really want to push the confession, though, I could meet her at some abandoned place. Maybe behind —"

Chiaki tapped my foot, displeased with my teasing.

The others didn't understand my joke, since we had told no one how the two of us became a couple. I wasn't even sure if they knew that Chiaki had confessed to me and not the other way around. The only ones who knew were the four Class B students we had lunch with the day after.

I understood that my girlfriend felt uncomfortable about how the confession had played out, since it could have been a lot more romantic, or whatever girls were looking for. But in the end, it was just a single sentence spoken in fear of being too late.

If one thought about it properly, her confession was romantic in its own way.

"You're so bad! I was honestly worried."

I stuck out my tongue and hugged her from behind. She leaned back into my loving embrace while savouring the sun's comfortable rays and fresh sea breeze. Her smooth, peony scented hair tickled my shoulder as I felt a pleasant feeling spread through my entire being.

While Ike was floating on cloud nine, Sudou wrestled with something himself. After factoring in the current circumstances, I concluded that he was curious about Sakura's first name as well. Not because he liked her this much already, but because he began to care about her as a genuine friend and wanted to know more about her.

"It seems like we're almost there."

Chiaki nodded towards the island as the ship sailed closer.

The vessel steered away from the pier and circled our destination. My girlfriend noticed this weird behavior and felt that something was off. She pulled out her phone and started a recording as I began to scan the island like a hawk.

There were multiple landmarks that stood out from the rest. The surface area of the island was about 0,5 square kilometers, which was barely larger than Vatican City. There was a tower on the island which should be the highest point at about 230 meters above sea level.

The ship slowed down as it kept circling around the island, which revealed even more landmarks of potential importance.

"Such a mysterious sight! It's beautiful! What do you think, Kiyotaka?"

Kikyou's amazement was obvious, but her heightened mood vanished as she realized that my mannerism had changed once the ship began to circle the island.

"Yeah, you're right."

She gazed at me, then back at our destination.

This sequence of actions repeated a few times before it clicked.

Previously, her beautiful eyes had sparkled as she watched the island in anticipation of our long-desired vacation. Now, however, only distrust towards this unfamiliar place was left.

"We will disembark in thirty minutes. Please assemble on the deck. All students should have changed into their jerseys. Make sure to check your designated bag and your luggage, and do not forget your cellphone. Please keep all other personal items in your room. There is a possibility that you cannot use the bathroom for some time, so please do so now."

This announcement was broadcasted through the PA speakers and repeated another two times.

Our class split up as we made our way towards our respective rooms. There, I put on a jersey that I used for gym classes and messaged Kikyou with preliminary instructions. Afterwards, I returned to the ship's deck and waited until we reached the island.

As we drew closer, the first-year's enthusiasm reached its peak, but Chiaki was still nowhere to be found.

"I still have a bad feeling about this. It's just too good to be true." I turned towards my classmate and glanced back at the ocean. "And that we circled the island was far too suspicious..."

"It'll be fine, Ichinose. Even if something happens, I believe that Class B can handle it."

"You're right..."

Kanzaki-kun's reassurance calmed me somewhat because he was correct. We, as in Class B, could handle everything that came our way. Even if we weren't able to overcome difficulties on our own, we could get through them together. That was our strength.

The two of us separated to change into our jerseys.

Since our groups stood rather far away from the living quarters, it took a few minutes until I reached our temporary rooms. I opened the door and made my way inside our accommodation. The interior of the cabin was rather luxurious, just like the whole ship. Even though we had enjoyed this extravagant and comfortable cruise for some time already, I still couldn't believe that all of this was prepared for us to enjoy.

My gaze wandered through the room before it stopped on my bed, whereupon I couldn't help but blush.

Stop it, Honami.

You're overthinking this.

We are just friends, and he has a girlfriend as well.

He was just being nice and considerate.

I nodded again and again as I chanted those words in my mind. With not much time on the clock, I undressed and began to change into my jersey. With two light thumps, my top and skirt dropped onto the soft bed.

Did they get bigger again?

Either that, or my bra shrunk...

I shook my head as our eyes met once more. Specifically, mine and the panda plush toys', the one I had received from Ayanokouji-kun on my birthday. Since we had celebrated quite far away from the dorms that day, I didn't completely unwrap his present in fear of it getting dirty. It was only after the fact that I realized that the panda was holding onto a stuffed heart which read 'Happy Birthday'.

And then there was the necklace as well...

The engraving on the wave pendant read 'Honami'. Knowing Ayanokouji-kun, this was most likely a pun on the second Kanji in Honami (波), meaning 'wave' and the fact that most of the Kanji in my name have something to do with the ocean.

It was quite unexpected to be receiving presents from everyone in my class, as well as Ayanokouji-kun. The necklace had already been a beautiful, well-thought about present from the heart but the soft toy surprised me even more. Not only had he bought me the necklace to my birthday, he even purchased one of the panda's off someone because I was heartbroken about not getting one on the day of the sale.

Apparently, he had messaged Kanzaki-kun two days after I had talked to him and informed my classmate that he had managed to buy one of the pandas, which is when everyone in my class must have stopped trying to get one.

As far as they had told me, none of them knew which design he had purchased. Due to this I had hidden the panda under my blanket at all times, because I would die from embarrassment if anyone saw the full plush toy. I already felt weird when I decided to bring it with me, but it just pained me to leave it back at school.

Those two gifts had been undoubtedly the best ones I had ever received.

From anyone.

My heart had jumped straight out of my body when I had seen the panda with the heart for the first time. I had rubbed my eyes — to no avail. After the strange flutters in my chest had calmed down, I had realized something. I had felt strange as I thought about Ayanokouji-kun, our friendship and him as a person, but I didn't know what these feelings meant.

Upon changing, I sat down on my bed and pulled out the cuddly toy.

The other girls in my room were already gone and wouldn't return because their jerseys were already missing, so it would be fine to pull him out of his hiding place. Looking at him was still embarrassing, but at least no one else had seen him.

Leaning back against the wall, I embraced the fluffy panda one last time.

It was ridiculous, and completely impossible, but I had the feeling that the cuddly toy smelled like him as I buried myself inside its soft head and breathed in. His present soothed me, even more so now that I was assured that this 'vacation' wouldn't be that straightforward for us students.

I leaned further into the panda and closed my eyes.

Just what was wrong with me?

Surprised by my own actions, I placed the soft toy back under the blanket and stood up. I clenched my chest at this weird throbbing which once again surfaced. Confused about what this unknown feeling that was blooming inside of me was, I hid the necklace beneath my jersey and walked out of the room, ready for whatever might happen on this island.

I sat on the bed and typed out a message, hoping Fumei would see it before we had to leave the ship. A moment later, I sent him the video I had recorded and began to change into the specified jersey.

Fortunately, it didn't take long until my phone vibrated.

[07:12:53 AM][Fumei] You have seen all the suspicious locations, I presume?

[07:13:34 AM] Yes. Since we circled the island at such slow speed, it is safe to assume that those spots are important somehow. The school must have wanted the students to take note.

[07:13:51 AM][Fumei] Which one is the most important then?

I thought about his question for a moment and compared the landmarks under specific circumstances that might come to pass once we disembarked. Since we didn't know what we had to accomplish on the island, I tried to narrow it down to the most useful location in consideration to the likeliest scenarios.

[07:15:59 AM] According to the layout and the points I have identified, the best spot should be the cave. There are multiple other landmarks nearby if they are important and we would be safe from the sun, rain and winds if we need to stay on that island for a prolonged amount of time, which seems possible due to an announcement that was made before.

[07:16:32 AM][Fumei] Then you don't need my help anymore. It's not like I could do much in this scenario anyway, but you already seem to have a firm grasp on the special exam and what might happen. One last advice, however, keep your class in check. The teachers won't interfere at all and it's up to the students to overcome this challenge on their own.

Special exam? Challenge?

'Summer vacation', she said... It had been strange from the beginning, so I had doubted her words the moment they left her lips, but this was even worse than expected. Chabashira-sensei sure enjoyed tormenting us with disinformation...

Could the other classes already have an advantage over us because of this?

With little time left, I began to create a temporary game plan with important things to keep in mind during certain scenarios we might be up against. After what felt like seconds, my alarm went off, informing me that I had around five minutes left to make it back to the others.

I sighed and strolled towards our meeting point to look for my classmates. It didn't take long until I ran into the other first-year students on the deck. Another announcement left the speakers all over the ship just as I was about to reach them.

"We will disembark now, beginning with students from Class A. Cell phones are prohibited on the island. Please hand your phone to your homeroom teacher as you leave."

The students walked down the stairs in an orderly fashion.

"Hot..."

I wiped the sweat off my forehead while ventilating the jersey that was even worse than the school uniform because of the blazing sun that shone down on us. My eyes caught sight of Kiyotaka's lean figure near the back of our class, which led to an affectionate smile on my face.

As I was about to make my way over, Horikita-san stopped beside my boyfriend with a pale complexion.

According to him and what I've seen so far, she wasn't very well versed with people, so I left the two of them alone. I shouldn't interfere as long as she was opening up to Kiyotaka, at least. He had also managed to help me with Sakura-san, so I had faith in his social abilities in front of certain people.

Horikita-san would be a great asset to our class if she decided to participate in discussions properly. The only one who was close to her was Kiyotaka, and I didn't mind sacrificing a bit of our time to gain her cooperation in the future. If our class was doing better, then my boyfriend would be happy as well.

It was only a few minutes anyway...

And we would have more time for us if he managed to persuade her...

"Are you feeling better?"

He glanced at her face with his usual blank expression as I remembered that Kushida-san had asked Kiyotaka about Horikita-san. I hoped that her sickness wouldn't lead to a problem during this so-called special exam, but a queasy feeling made itself home in my stomach.

"I'm not perfectly healthy, to be honest. But I'll be alright. I've taken some medicine and I believe that I should improve over the remainder of the day, so you don't need to worry about me, Ayanokouji-kun."

Disembarking took quite a long time, so the two kept chatting with each other as usual. I never listened to their conversations before, but they had a rather interesting dynamic of taunting each other.

The responsible homeroom teacher for each class guarded the only way off the ship and scrutinized every student's belongings with an austere look. Class A's inspection went without a hitch, but there seemed to have been a problem with one of Ichinose-san's items.

"Honami-chan, I'm sorry, but you have to keep this here."

Class B's troublesome homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya-sensei, put out her left hand with a sorrowful look. Ichinose-san glanced up at her with a lowered-head and a somewhat pleading expression.

"Sensei... it's just a necklace..."

I didn't understand why she seemed so attached to the necklace that she wanted to keep it with her. She wouldn't need it on the island, and it was much safer back on the ship where it couldn't get lost. Depending on what we might have to do, it was possible that she could lose it in the water or somewhere else during a challenge or similar physical activities.

"I'm sorry. Rules are rules."

"I understand."

Ichinose-san heaved a deep sigh and handed Hoshinomiya-sensei the necklace she had hidden beneath her jersey. The latter inspected the pendant for a few seconds before throwing her a knowing, teasing smirk.

"Oya, oya Honami-chan ~ who's the lucky guy?"

Her voice was rather potent as it rang through the whole deck for everyone to hear. This must have been her plan to prompt a reaction by the person who had gifted her this necklace, but no one aside from the Class B students reacted.

The instructors at this school are really quite something...

Their homeroom teacher stored the necklace in some kind of collection box for illegal items while the color on Ichinose-san's face turned into a deep shade of crimson. She began to stutter, in order to defend herself from this unexpected attack, but she didn't manage to form any coherent words.

Her classmates looked at her with complex, yet cheerful expressions. They all seemed to have been aware of what all of this was about and tried to encourage their leader with delighted smiles and low shouts.

"Wha — hahaha... Please stop with your jokes, Hoshinomiya-sensei. It's just a... l-lucky charm."

Her teacher, who had seen the hidden jewelry in the first place, was far too observant to believe this obvious lie. Ichinose-san felt rather uncomfortable right now, which should mean that this necklace was, in fact, a present from someone she cared about quite a lot.

After this small incident, the searches continued with the rest of Class B, followed by the Class C students until it was our turn. Kiyotaka still talked with Horikita-san, while I waited for my turn to leave my phone with Chabashira-sensei.

I was once again surprised by my boyfriends ability to soften people up, since she carried herself differently around him compared to other people. Rather than being jealous, I was glad that Horikita-san could build a friendship with someone in our class, because she might have ended up as a complete outcast otherwise.

My inspection finished rather quick, whereupon I left the ship and glanced back to Kiyotaka and the other boys who were still on deck. Horikita-san was one of the last girls that left the cruiser as she ambled past me. Just before it was Kiyotaka's turn to be inspected, he pulled out his phone with a surprised expression and backed up from the line.

His blank complexion hadn't really changed that much, but I could read him rather well now that I became more familiar with him. He retreated behind Sudou-kun and glanced around before locking eyes with me for a second. My boyfriend wanted to ask me something, but must have deemed it a bad idea due to everyone listening and turned away.

A few minutes later, everyone got off the boat.

While most of my classmates were excited and found nothing weird about our current circumstances, I looked around, wary about anything that seemed out of place. Tents, computers, tables and other provisional pieces of furniture were positioned and constructed on the beach.

Anyone with a brain should have realized that something was amiss, but my classmates were so occupied with having fun and spending their time in leisure that they only talked about what they wanted to do all day.

Chabashira-sensei's loud voice rang through the vicinity a few moments later.

"I will now start roll call for Class D. When you hear your name, please reply loud and clear."

Our stern and serious homeroom teacher began to take attendance with her usual clipboard in hand as my classmates formed a line as per her previous instructions.

She wore the same jersey as us students, which meant that she would likely spend time on the island with us. According to the temporary beds that were built inside the tents on the beach, the instructors and support staff would stay here with us without returning to the ship at night.

"Oh, come on. I want my free time already. The sea is right there. I can almost touch it!"

The background noises from the other instructors and students were rather loud, so I could barely perceive Ike's voice since he was standing somewhere behind me. This, however, didn't change the fact that he was as annoying as usual.

A tall teacher stepped onto a previously prepared platform after Chabashira-sensei was done taking our attendance. The man was Class A's homeroom teacher, Mashima-sensei. He taught English and was known for being strict, as well as his somewhat stubborn disposition.

Even though he didn't look like it, he was quite intelligent.

It was always a mistake to judge a book by its cover, and he was one of the best examples for this sentiment.

"First, I would like to say that I am happy that you've all arrived safely. However, it is unfortunate that one of you was unable to take part in this excursion due to illness."

Looking around, I could confirm that the missing student was a girl from Class A.

All the other classes had the number of students per gender they should have had. Class B was the only class with a full line-up of forty people. Class C took part with thirty-seven while we and Class A attended with thirty-nine each. There were only nineteen females on their side, which meant that one of them should have been the sick girl.

It took quite a while, but even my classmates began to realize that something was amiss as more and more students noticed the equipment that was being set up around and behind us. They kept whispering to each other, whereupon multiple hushed questions reached my ears.

Mashima-sensei's dominating voice echoed over the whole beach not long after.

"Well then. We shall commence the current academic year's first special exam."

"Huh? Special exam? What do you mean?"

"Wasn't this a vacation?"

I almost died from shame after complaints and questions such as this were tossed around by my classmates while every other class listened in silence. They either knew what was going on or they could read the mood and perked their ears instead of making fools of themselves.

Class B's Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun, as well as the man I assumed to be Ryuuen due to the other students gazes, seemed to have expected something like this. A wide sneer appeared on the man's face while the Class B students seemed troubled by the news.

Not a single student in Class A stood out as leader, but every single one of them seemed to have noticed that this whole vacation was a scam before their teacher had announced it. Either someone had already informed them about this special exam beforehand, or they were just that outstanding.

"The exam commences now and lasts for one week, concluding on August 7th at the year's end. This exam will determine if you can live on a deserted island together as a group. In addition, I should warn you that this special exam is both practical and realistic, designed on real-world corporate training."

"Wait, 'living on a deserted island'? Does that mean we are not staying on the boat?"

Some Class C students voiced their obvious concerns.

According to their reactions, not all of them knew the truth behind this so-called vacation, which revealed that their class wasn't cooperating as commendable as Class B did.

"You are correct. During the test, you may not board the ship without a suitably justifiable reason. It will be necessary for you to fend for yourselves on this island while you are here, from creating a place to sleep to preparing food to eat. Once the test starts, each class will receive two tents and two flashlights. You will also be provided with one box of matches and there is no limit to the amount of sunscreen you can have. Besides that, each student will be provided with one toothbrush. As a special case, the girls may have as many feminine sanitary products as they'd like, with no restrictions. Please ask your respective homeroom teachers for those. That is all."

With that lengthy rundown behind us, the teachers began distributing the items.

This was much worse than I had anticipated.

Living on a deserted island for a week wasn't easy, even if we were supplied with certain items to help us. Two tents, for example, were a stretch for twenty people and not even close to enough for thirty-nine of mixed gender.

If we gave both tents to the girls, the boys would be furious. But if we divided them equally, then both the girls and the boys who couldn't sleep in a tent would be displeased. If we split up into two groups and changed the students who could sleep inside the tents each night, then everyone would be irritated to a certain degree.

The girls, in particular, would be the biggest pain during this exam, since some of them would demand the tents and other 'luxury goods' on their stay, which would provoke the boys. Their arguments could easily spiral out of control not only due to our situation, but also because we would need to be living with each other for a whole week.

Living in dorms during a school setting was alright, since every student had their own room to retreat to in case they got into an argument. There was no way we could withdraw from a dispute somewhere on an island, however.

The queasy feeling in my stomach turned into a full-blown headache before the exam had started.

This was a problem only our class might face.

Every student in Class B was taking care of the next person and they had a much better class climate than we had. They wouldn't fight amongst themselves, even if someone tried to make them turn against each other. Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun were more than capable of keeping their class afloat for a week.

Similarly, Class C was led by a supposed tyrant called Ryuuen, which is why nobody would demand anything stupid or ridiculous during their stay on the island. If someone acted out, they would be beaten back in line.

This is the conclusion I arrived at after Sudou's trial.

Compared to them, our class wasn't a tight-knit group. We didn't have someone to keep us in line, no matter what happened. This didn't mean that I was supporting Ryuuen's dictatorship, of course, but I couldn't deny that it was effective to keep his classmates on course during such occasions.

Hirata-kun was trying too hard to please everyone, which meant that I would have to make the hard decision and stand by them for the next seven days and the rest of our time at this school. Since I wasn't a bully like Ryuuen, I would struggle much more with the choices that may have to be made for the good of our class.

I really should have just ignored Fumei's initial message...

"Huh?! So we have to live like survivors on a deserted island? That's insanity! Are you nuts? We are not in some kind of anime or manga. How are we supposed to sleep together in two tents? And what are we supposed to eat? This is unbelievable!"

Rather than concerned, Mashima-sensei seemed surprised and somewhat amused by Ike-kun's complaints.

"You may say that this is unbelievable, but that's because you lived a short, superficial life. There is an actual, prominent company that holds training sessions on uninhabited islands."

"Huh? But this—"

"Stop talking, Ike, you are lowering the IQ of anyone in the vicinity. It hurts. What Mashima-sensei said is only a small part of it. There are, in fact, many companies that go through different training activities. This is just one of them. There are workplaces without chairs in the office and others who decide the salary with dice rolls. Stop living in your naïve bubble."

Chabashira-sensei was undoubtedly sick of Ike's blabbering.

She didn't hold back, which proved her clear disregard for his feelings. Some of the Class C students kept laughing at him. They were probably not the only ones, but since we were positioned according to our class rank, they were right beside Class D, which made it hard for us not to hear them.

"In other words, you are ill-equipped to distinguish between what is reality and what isn't."

"I assume you're all thinking something like, 'What does this test mean?' Or perhaps some of you doubt the existence of such training programs. However, students who remain at such a base level of thought are unlikely to become anyone promising in the future. What is your basis for determining this to be 'unbelievable' or 'ridiculous'? You're just students. You're all equally worthless. What kind of insignificant person determines that they can criticize a leading company? That's bizarre. Were you a president in charge of one such notable business, then you might have some right to deny our claims. However, there shouldn't be any grounds for someone of your station to do that."

Without missing a beat, Mashima-sensei backed up our homeroom teacher.

"But isn't this supposed to be a summer vacation? We were brought here under the pretext of a relaxing trip. Don't you think this is unfair, considering our position?"

Yukimura-kun was at least trying to reason with the teachers instead of just complaining, but this approach wouldn't help us either. The school had already decided that this special test would take place now, and all we could do was adapt to the current circumstances.

"Please do not worry. It would make sense for you to have complaints if you were being forced into a harsh situation. However, even though we're calling it a special exam, there's no need to think about it in such unhappy terms. In the coming week, you can go swimming or hold a barbecue. It wouldn't be a bad time for you to have a campfire and chat with friends, either. The theme of this special exam is 'freedom', after all."

"Now I'm confused..."

Yukimura-kun's soft voice vanished as he fell into a trancelike state in order to process the information he had just received, since they opposed Mashima-sensei's previous claims about this trial.

"As a major part of this test, we've decided to distribute 300 points to each class. By using these points well, you might enjoy this week's special test just as you would a normal trip. We've also prepared a manual for said purposes." Another teacher handed Mashima-sensei a book. "This manual lists all the ways you can get points. It also explains where to get drinking water and food, as well as essential necessities. If you decided to hold a barbecue with your class, it explains how to prepare the equipment and ingredients. We also have many tools for you to enjoy playing in the ocean to the fullest."

Most students calmed down after listening to his explanation.

With these goodies, they thought it wouldn't be that bad to spend their time in leisure. Since this was a test, however, things wouldn't be that simple. If I had to guess, then the points we had at the end of the vacation would be added to our class points.

This would also explain the theme called freedom, since we were free to choose whether we wanted to tackle this trip as a vacation or confront it like an exam and be awarded based on that.

"So we can do whatever we want with the 300 points?"

"Yes. It's possible to arrange for anything using your points. Of course, it's necessary for you to use them systematically. With a solid plan, you can spend your week without difficulties." Mashima-sensei stopped his explanation for a moment, to draw emphasis on the next words that left his mouth. "When this special test period is over, the remaining points of each class will be added to their total class points. Your points total will reflect the change once summer vacation is over."

A gust of wind blew across the beach and kicked up a cloud of sand.

I checked whether there was a wind machine somewhere, because this had been too convenient, but couldn't find anything that explained this fortunate accident, which made this statement seem surprising and more impactful.

The shock in the first-years' faces was apparent.

I glanced over my classmates and breathed a shallow sigh of relief after the last one, as most of them seemed to think that harboring the points made more sense than having fun this week. With this unspoken decision, one of the hardest hurdles had been overcome.

Now I 'only' needed to make sure that the boys and girls wouldn't start a war.

"So if we endure this for a week spending no points, we would have 300 additional class points next month?"

Ike-kun's question was ignored as Mashima-sensei turned to all the students gathered on the beach.

"Each class will receive one copy of the manual. If the manual is lost, you may have another copy. However, it will consume points, so please be careful. Also, the student who was marked absent from the class was from Class A. According to the rules of this special test, any student that leaves due to an illness will incur a thirty-point penalty for their class. Therefore, Class A will start with 270 points."

This rule was a disadvantage for Class A, and presumably just as bad, if not worse, for us.

Horikita-san had been feeling unwell already. If this worsened during this exam, she would cost our class thirty points. She was already disliked by most of our classmates, but this would be the final nail in the coffin for her.

But she wasn't the only problematic student...

My gaze fell onto a blonde, well-built boy who expressed himself as arrogant as ever, unfazed by everything that had happened or was discussed around him. Since he was known for his uncaring attitude, I didn't doubt that he might decide that this test was a hassle and retired halfway through due to a sudden 'illness'.

The other classes were similarly shocked by this harsh punishment.

After finishing his explanation, Mashima-sensei told us to disperse. Another faculty member took the stage and informed us via loudspeaker that we would receive supplementary instructions from our homeroom teacher.

The whole first-year assembly split up and walked into four different directions to keep some secrecy from the competing classes. We gathered where Chabashira-sensei stood and began our discussion.

"It's obvious what we are doing, right?" Ike looked at each of our classmates with glistening eyes. "We are going to save every single point possible! Thirty-thousand points next month! Let's go!"

"I can finally buy that jacket I had my eyes on for the last two months."

"We can eat all the new sweets Palate is offering!"

Conversations like this started up all around me.

"I will now hand out wristwatches to every one of you. You are not to take them off until the end of the test. If you remove your wristwatch without permission, you will be punished. This watch doesn't just tell time, but its sensors also check your body temperature, your pulse, and even your movements. On the off chance that something bad does happen, this watch comes equipped with the means to notify the school. If you find yourself in an emergency, please push that button."

The watches were stacked in boxes next to Chabashira-sensei. She instructed each student to put them on while watching over us to make sure that everyone followed the school's procedure.

"When you say emergency, do you mean, like, if a bear shows up?"

This question alone was so nonsensical that it could have only originated from Ike-kun. This is what I would have thought if the voice hadn't been a female one, at least.

Chabashira-sensei stared at Shinohara-san with her usual deadpan expression.

"Even if that was a joke, the test has already begun. I cannot answer questions that might influence your results."

"That's a kinda scary answer..."

"I don't think there are any wild animals here. If one of the students were injured, that would be a big problem. They probably gave us the watches solely to manage our well-being. Don't you agree? The school has to ensure our safety somehow."

I had to concur with Hirata-kun on this.

The watches were useful in emergencies when someone stumbled or slipped and received a serious injury that way. There was simply no other viable option to monitor all students in the first-year with only four teachers and a few technicians. It would have been difficult to set up cameras throughout the forest, so these watches were the optimal solution.

While we were all placing them on our preferred arm, a multitude of questions followed.

"Is it okay for us to get in the water with these?"

"There shouldn't be any problem, since they are waterproof. Should they malfunction, however, immediately report to a test administrator and exchange it for a replacement."

"Chabashira-sensei, is it possible to get by without spending points?"

This must have been everyone's dream scenario, but that was all it would ever be. There was no way that we could survive an entire week without spending a single point, not with our non-existent cohesion.

"Hmm. Well, the school isn't involved in the test process at all. That means that you must prepare your own food and water. Thinking of solutions to resolve the issue is part of the test. I don't know any way of doing so without points."

I could understand the perplexed gazes from the girl's side, since none of us looked like we had been camping before. We just didn't know how uncomfortable the nights would be, or if we could get enough to eat and drink. It would be especially troublesome for someone who might have her period during this week.

"Don't worry. If we catch fish and pick some fruits in the forest, we'll be totally fine. We can also use leaves and trees to make tents and stuff. And if you start to feel sick, continue to do your best and don't cost us points!"

The last sentence hadn't been necessary, but all the things he said before sounded like he had experienced a few days of camping before. Back at school, Kiyotaka had also mentioned that Ike-kun knew his way around the outdoors as we stumbled into the topic on one of our dates due to a movie he wanted to watch.

Even with his help, we wouldn't be able to make it through this week without using points, but if we could save just a little, we might be able to overtake Class C in overall points after this week.

Chabashira-sensei told us to open the manuals and went with us over the rules of this special exam. The whole conversation took a while due to some questions from the surrounding students but the rules essentially boiled down to this:

Each class will be granted 300 points to purchase items listed in the manual.

Bonus points can be gained by fulfilling certain conditions. They will only be added after the test, however, so we cannot spend over 300 points in the test.

In case our points reach zero and someone retires, there won't be a negative penalty to our points.

...

Students will receive set penalties under the following conditions:

1. Those unable to continue the test due to poor health or injury will cause a 30-point penalty and their retirement.

2. Pollution of the environment will cause a 20-point penalty.

3. Each absence at 8 AM and 8 PM daily roll call will cause a 5-point penalty.

4. 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.

...

Each class has to choose one student as the leader. This leader cannot be changed without a legitimate reason.

There will be spots on the island, which can be occupied using a special card only the designated leader can use.

Each occupation of a spot grants one bonus point to the class.

Said occupation rights, expire every 8 hours, and each renewal grants the previously specified bonus points.

Use of another class's occupied spot without permission will cause a 50-point penalty.

...

At the end of the exam, each class may guess the leader of the three other classes.

For each leader guessed correctly, that class receives 50 bonus points.

If the leader is guessed incorrectly, the class loses 50 points as a penalty.

In addition, a class whose leader is guessed correctly loses 50 points as well as all bonus points gained during the test as penalty.

After we went through the rules together, she explained how we won't be having toilets other than a cardboard box, which shocked most of the girls in our class.

As much as I would love to save up points, we needed a proper toilet.

Not only for the other girls' peace of mind, but also my own. If the others were fine with the box, I would survive for a week, but I couldn't see someone like Karuizawa-san or Shinohara-san making concessions.

For now, I had been quiet and listened to my classmates' thoughts on the different topics that arose during our discussion. This was necessary preparation to create a proper plan for the upcoming days.

There will undoubtedly be conflicts about the hygiene aspects, especially between the boys and the girls, which I would need to take care of. Chabashira-sensei informed us that we had some time to designate a leader and left us alone to discuss our plans for the upcoming days.

Hirata-kun was the one to take charge in our precarious situation.

"We'll have time later to think about who the leader should be. First, where will our base-camp be? Do we camp somewhere around here, on the beach? Or do we go into the forest? We need to weigh our options. What do you think, Matsushita-san? You have been awfully quiet all this while."

The manual included a simple map of the island, with only its size and shape drawn. Things like the total area of the forest and the topography were unknown to us.

I received both the manual and a ballpoint pen from Kushida-san, who had held onto the materials we had received from Chabashira-sensei during her detailed explanation on the exam.

"Yes, I've been listening to all your opinions first, since I want everyone to know that you were heard. With this out of the way, I've concluded that —"

"Who cares about that? I need to take a leak! I've been holding it the whole time."

Seriously?!

Sudou-kun grabbed the cardboard box and began to set it up before carrying out his business while the girls observed the situation with startled and somewhat disgusted expressions.

I cleared my throat, attracting the attention of my classmates and circled some spots on the map.

"These were all the landmarks I've spotted from the ship as it kept circling the island. Since they were standing out, it is safe to assume that each of these circles is one spot we could occupy. With this in mind, the best place to set up camp would be around here." I pointed near the center of the island. "This spot is a cave which is quite close to two other spots, with one of them being a lookout. If we play this right, we could gain at least three points every eight hours and we would have a roof in case it rains. I'm not sure how deep the cavern itself is, but if we could at least sleep in there, it would already bring everyone peace of mind."

My classmates complied with my suggestion, since it was the most plausible solution to the problems they had come up with during Chabashira-sensei's descriptions. Yet, not everything went according to plan.

"Matsushita-san, Hirata-kun! What about the toilet? We need something different! Definitely! We can't use this thing."

"Huh? Just bear with it. It's just a week."

"Shut up, Ike! Just because you can use this thing doesn't mean we can."

Hirata-kun skimmed through the manual I had handed him and seemed to have found a solution to the problem while Shinohara-san and Ike-kun kept hissing at each other like two territorial animals.

"There is a temporary toilet which can be purchased for points. According to this manual, the functions are quite reasonable, and so is the price. I think this is worth considering for everyone's peace of mind."

The flushable toilet he had found in the reference book wasn't perfect, but the girls would be content with such a solution. The boys would get mad for wasting points for such a 'luxury item', but I had some ideas to calm them.

"We absolutely need this! I don't like to spend points either, but this thing is impossible."

Shinohara-san pointed at the cardboard box with a disgusted complexion.

"Hold up a minute! Those are twenty points for a damn toilet. Are you insane?"

Ike-kun and some of the other boys reacted in horror and it didn't take long for a small fight to break out between the two fronts. Shinohara-san tried to pull the influential Karuizawa-san to her side, but she seemed unexpectedly fine with using the box for a week if it meant more points in the long run.

"Could you all shut up for a second?"

I hated raising my voice, especially when my boyfriend was around, but these petty fights wouldn't help us, so I needed to nip them in the bud. My classmates' frightened faces turned towards me.

"We are 39 people and we need to come to a satisfying agreement for everyone. Ike-kun?"

"Y-yes?!"

He stood attention and saluted, as if I was some kind of commanding officer in the army.

Was I that scary?

I should ask Kiyotaka about this later...

"You said something about fruits and fish before, correct? Do you have experience in outdoor activities?"

"Y-yeah. I've been camping with my family a lot when I was younger, so all of this isn't really a problem for me."

It was important for my classmates to know this as well because Shinohara-san and everyone else would have a higher hurdle to climb if they wanted to refute him now. Even if he was only in the woods behind his home, it was still much more experience than any other person in our class had.

"Good." I handed him the manual, the pen and an empty piece of paper from the back, which was reserved for notes. "I know you want to save up points, but we won't be able to hold out with nothing. For example, the girls wouldn't want to drink river water, even if you boys might be fine with it. Since we can't be sure if it's clean, a water purifier is the most obvious choice for this problem. Not only for the girls' peace of mind, but also to make sure no one gets sick during our stay here. Since you have experience, could you write up some items from the manual we might need? It doesn't mean we have to buy them, but we might be able to replace them with natural things from the island by combining our knowledge. I just want an estimate of what items would be necessary. Can I trust you with that?"

"Ah... y-yes. Of course."

Ike-kun nodded and began to flip through the book. When I saw him take the first note near the beginning, I was assured of his earnestness and turned around to review our next steps.

"Now, about the class leader. We should decide soon so we can start occupying spots. The other classes seem to make more headway than us, which is why I propose Kouenji-kun as the leader."

"""What?!"""

Everyone beside the boy in question was taken aback by my suggestion.

"Quite a shrewd plan, Princess-girl. I'm sorry, but I won't be accepting the leader's position, no matter how much you want me to. Discuss this between yourselves and leave me out of this, children."

The most narcissistic person I had the displeasure of meeting flashed me a toothy smile, left our gathering and relaxed on the beach nearby, while I could only click my tongue in annoyance.

Even though I had expected such a reply, it was still worth the try.

Binding Kouenji-kun to the leader position would have stopped him from retiring, which might have saved us thirty points. But maybe his blatant refusal was for the best. If he didn't care if anyone noticed that he was the leader, the other classes might have found out about him too easily and we wouldn't have won anything, either.

It was rather difficult to find someone who was fast, trustworthy and inconspicuous.

Since each occupation would net us points, the leader needed to be on the run rather often to renew them. Depending for how many spots we aimed, this would be quite taxing. Sudou-kun would have been a good choice in this situation, but he wasn't trustworthy enough to handle this role with care. If he slipped up, everything would have been for naught.

Hirata-kun faced a similar problem.

As a soccer player, his stamina should be top-notch. He is also one of the most trustworthy individuals in our class, but due to this, not at all inconspicuous. If just one class guessed Hirata-kun because of his popularity and standing in Class D, then everything would be over.

Yukimura-kun seemed both trustworthy and unobtrusive, but his stamina and speed weren't up to par.

Ahhh, dammit!

"What was your plan, Matsushita-san?"

Some of my classmates wondered about my intentions after Kouenji-kun's answer, but I had no time to deal with this right now. I needed someone else who fit my criteria or came as close as possible.

I bit my thumb when I realized something.

Wait! What about Kiyotaka?

He was trustworthy and low-key, that much was certain. His physique, which I've seen back in the pool, was also fantastic. Even if he said that he didn't train and only had good genes, he should be more capable than most of our classmates, which made him the best candidate out of the limited options.

The only problem might be to convince them that he was the right person for the job. If they thought that I was pulling favorites because he's my boyfriend, then I might lose their trust, which would make it more difficult to act.

"Okay. Our leader —"

"Huh?! What do you mean our leader was already designated Chabashira-sensei?"

Kushida-san's dumbfounded voice rippled through our class like a wildfire.

What?

"Exactly what I said. The leader is already designated, so talking about this topic any further is nothing but a giant waste of time. There are more pressing issues you should worry about. Like the dangerous 'bears', for example."

"What? Who's the leader?"

Multiple students looked around for anyone who might have taken the position. Even I was surprised by this sudden revelation and glanced over my classmates until I realized something.

Kiyotaka was gone.

Ding!

The metallic device in the cave produced a satisfying sound that echoed through the cavern. I had heard a similar sound three times today when I was on my way here. The first spot on the list was timed in such a way that we wouldn't lose any points during our daily roll call if we made the cave our base of operation.

It would have been rather disheartening to lose points every time I went out to retake the spots, after all.

I ran outside and glanced around for a suitable hiding spot for later.

The cave was relatively easy to see from the ship and should be on at least one class's top list. If my calculations were correct, I should be able to make it back before any other class could get here, even if it was just a small group that could cover more ground.

I didn't need to take all spots I had seen before they arrived at the cave, as long as I took the important ones that were close-by, since I was faster than everyone either way.

Sprinting through the forest wasn't as easy as it sounded.

Due to the uneven terrain and the high chance of stumbling or hurting oneself because of roots or loose branches, one needed to be extra careful were to step. I doubted that anyone aside from Kouenji could follow the timings I had set for the first few spots.

The third time I'll have to renew the spots will be around 12:22 AM and onwards, meaning that it'll be dark. Fortunately, I had two whole runs before that case occurred, which gave me enough time to get familiar with the terrain on the island.

The lush, dense foliage of the forest zoomed past my eyes as I kept running.

I didn't really take note of the surroundings, as I was wholly devoted in gaining all the spots on the island before anyone else could. After reaching the lookout, I claimed the spot, climbed up to check if I had overlooked some spots on the ship, and ran for the next one. Similar situations reoccurred until I had occupied all the nearby spots I had noticed from the boat and outlook. There could still be some hidden ones, but it wasn't worth going out of my way for such a low yield.

After taking the final spot in this rotation, I turned tail towards the cave.

Since I was sure that someone would want to take it due to the two adjacent spots and the otherwise perfect location, it was an almost surefire way to narrow down the leader of at least one class.

It didn't take too long for two people to show up on the clearing in front of the cave.

Two Class A students, Totsuka Yahiko and Katsuragi Kouhei, looked around warily. Neither of them were carrying a card, but they went inside the cave and came out a few moments later in a somewhat sour mood.

Or at least one of them did.

"What are we going to do now, Katsuragi-san?"

The boy was frustrated upon finding out that the spot had already been occupied by someone. Katsuragi should have been just as disappointed as his classmate, but he managed to hide his emotions well.

"Stay calm, Yahiko. We'll go to the tower next. If we can catch a glimpse of the Class D student there, we can invalidate all of their points on the first day."

Katsuragi nodded towards the lookout as he held the leader's card in his left hand.

"Wouldn't it be better to get another spot?"

"Not in this case. The Class D student should act alone or in a small group at most. If we lie in hiding near the watchtower, we can catch him red-handed. There are enough spots to occupy, and one person simply isn't fast enough in unknown terrain to occupy all of them in such a short amount of time. Just like us, he should prioritize the most important ones, meaning the cave, watchtower, and the hut near the water. The cave is the obvious first choice, and due to the tower's elevation, it is a close second to take before the other classes catch wind of it."

"Then let's hurry, Katsuragi-san."

The two of them ran off, not knowing that all of their efforts were doomed from the start as I made my way over to the remaining spots on my to-do list.

"Class Rep, I found the spot!"

Yui-chan's excited voice reached my ears while Kanzaki-kun and I were browsing through the manual on our way through the forest. I glanced up and caught sight of a metallic apparatus on which she tapped with a smile.

We figured that occupying spots was more important than figuring out what to buy, so our first course of action after designating a leader was to find a good base camp with our whole class.

Our initial strategy held up, thanks to the cruise ships suspicious circling of the island before we had to disembark. At first, we wanted to get to the cave, but Class A managed to move faster than we did, which is why we settled for a suspicious location in the nearby forest.

"Great! Let's occupy it immediately."

I handed Kanzaki-kun the manual and walked over to the machine to take a peek at it. Chihiro-chan, our designated leader, walked over with a suspicious gaze as she glanced at Yui-chan.

"Honami-chan! There's a note pinned on it with a stone."

"A note? Did someone already claim the spot?"

Kanzaki-kun's surprised voice rang out from behind as he hurried to our position.

"No... Strangely, it's not claimed."

"Let's form a circle when claiming the spot, just to be sure. Maybe it's some kind of trap and someone is observing us from inside the forest. Can we all gather around for a moment?"

I nodded towards Kanzaki's proposal, even though it would have been weird to leave a note to make us aware of the potential trap. We couldn't rule out that it was some kind of reverse-psychology, however, which is why it was better to be safe than sorry.

While Chihiro-chan claimed the spot, I received the sheet from Yui-chan.

The note was a torn page from the manual or somewhere similar. There wasn't much text, but the message conveyed everything that was important in a short and concise manner.

Kanzaki-kun also read through the text as he peeked over my shoulder.

We should form an alliance.

Two class leaders for fifty points.

This is nonnegotiable.

The spot is a gift.

If you agree, find us at the cave near the center of the island.

There's not much time.

We should form an alliance. Two class leaders for fifty points. This is nonnegotiable. The spot is a gift. If you agree, find us at the cave near the center of the island. There's not much time.

The bottom of the torn page was signed with a temporary token, one a student would see when they had been sent an anonymous message from another student's phone. I remembered the specified token, because it was the same as on the message that had informed us about the old mid-term papers.

And I believed that I knew who this mystery person was.

The Class D student I had been looking for scaled up the watchtower.

As expected, the device was on top, which made it much easier to spot the person who climbed the ladder. It was quite naïve to take the spot under such circumstances, but the Class D student must have thought that taking the chance at least once should have been fine.

Yahiko should be close to the hut right about now.

If everything worked out as planned, he should be able to take the spot with no one noticing. Since I came prepared for every eventuality, I've sent a few trusted people to each of the important spots in case we didn't get the cave. This way, Yahiko would have two distractions with him, which would make it difficult to guess the leader, even if someone managed to narrow them down this far.

After what had happened between Class C and D in June, they must have become arrogant. They tried too hard to get the spots without thinking about the consequences of their actions. It didn't matter if they managed to hold the spots for the whole exam, since we could invalidate all their points on the last day.

Still, just to be sure, I should check the claimed spot.

Since Sakayanagi-san and I didn't see eye to eye, I had to use this one chance. If I could capitalize on this exam, her followers would defect and turn to me instead. She wasn't a bad leader per se, but her approach was misguided.

I intended to lead this class towards glory without fault.

"Hey, Chabashira-sensei! Who's the leader?"

"Yeah! Tell us, sensei."

The confused students kept repeating their questions while Chabashira-sensei leaned against one of the tents and observed the headless chickens in my class with an amused expression.

Why would he run off as the leader without talking to me first? Did he have a plan? If he did, why didn't he tell me? Was this going to be okay? What should I be doing now?

"Well... there's also a positive connotation to your current predicament." She let out a ridiculing laugh as my classmates eyed her in surprise. "If even you guys don't know who the leader is, then the chances of the other classes finding out is next to null, right?"

She did nothing to help her class and only made fun of us in the process. I really couldn't understand why she treated us like garbage since she also wanted this class to ascend to A before our graduation.

I took a deep breath and faced my classmates.

"Calm down, please. Everything is going according to plan."

Even though I didn't know the plan, or if there even was one, I had to cover for Kiyotaka. I trusted him, not only because he was my boyfriend, but also because I had faith in him. He wouldn't do anything that would harm me or the class. As his girlfriend, it was my duty to have his back, no matter what.

"What kind of plan?"

"Matsushita-san? Do you know who the leader is?"

"Why didn't you discuss with us?"

"Tell us who the leader is!"

My classmates' repeated complaints focused on me after I assured them that all of this was prearranged.

He ran off, which meant that he had an idea where to start with the spots.

Had he noticed them as well, or did Horikita-senpai contact him?

Was this why he pulled out his phone as he was about to disembark?

Since he knew that I was hiding my abilities, he should know that Kiyotaka is athletic.

"Guys, please... if you keep screaming around like that, the other classes will realize that something is off. What do you guys think who the leader is? It should be plenty obvious by now."

While they looked around in confusion, I checked the attendance of the other three classes. One after another, they were all moving into the forest. Some Class A students had already vanished into the forest some time ago, while the rest split up in smaller groups similar to Class C. Class B pursued a different strategy, as they left the beach together without splitting up.

As I checked back on the progress of my class, Hirata-kun's eyes opened in realization.

"Ayanokouji-kun is missing."

"Uhm... R-ryuuen-san. This spot is already taken by Class D..."

This Matsushita girl was really pissing me off. So she sent her boyfriend ahead to grab all the spots before the other classes could make their moves, huh? This wasn't a bad maneuver, if she could back it up before the exam ended. It was the correct decision to have them followed throughout July, since I could confirm some things that would prove useful.

But getting rid of her own boyfriend by using the twisted rules of this exam?

That chick was colder than ice.

A woman after my fancy...

"Kukuku..."

"Ryuuen-san."

The condescending grin that had formed on my face vanished because of the annoyingly feminine voice that addressed me from my right. I turned around and observed Mio as she walked closer towards my position with Ishizaki and a few others in tow.

"What?"

"I don't know what your initial plan for this exam was, but it doesn't seem to go well according to the face you were making just now. Thanks to Ibuki-san, I am mindful of your opinion towards this topic, but please use me properly from now on. We already lost three students, but I trust your abilities as Class C's leader. You are just as aware as I am that some of our classmates don't look too favorably upon you after everything that happened. I also know that you don't care in the slightest, but I want to be included in your plans from now on. I can handle it, so please."

Those stupid morons didn't know that they'd get slaughtered without little old me taking care of them. Argh, I'm just too goddamn nice for this class of nitwits.

"Shiina..."

Matsushita led us to the cave she had mentioned before after those fucking idiots finally figured out that Kiyotaka was the leader. It was pretty ballsy to tell us that she instructed him to occupy the cave as fast as possible, since she didn't know what he was doing.

Was she just that naïve and stupid, or was this how people in love acted?

I doubted that Kiyotaka loved her anyway.

What a bunch of fucking morons.

Like the idiots they were, everyone believed the lies Matsushita fed them.

Honestly, I couldn't stand that girl from the beginning and I didn't know why he chose her, of all people. I mean, she wasn't even that good looking. Compared to someone like me, she was average, at best. It's not like I wanted to be with him or anything, but fuck, I didn't get this guy at all.

If she knew what kind of monster he was, she wouldn't stay by his side.

Not like I did...

Matsushita trusted him, but love was blinding, as they say. She even lied to the whole class without knowing what he was doing behind the scenes. I had no difficulties to see through her bullshit, of course, since I knew who held the reins.

I was the one being instructed by him while she was only being used until he didn't need her anymore.

Yes, I differed from her.

I was important.

Precious.

I was a queen.

His queen.

Even though he lied whenever he opened his mouth, I believed him. Because he would protect and cherish me as long as I served him well. His actions and words were proof enough that I was more important than her, which is why I could trust him.

No one else in this school knew more about him than I did, and he depended on me enough to spy on this second-year bitch for him. Yes, we had a bad start, but that was my fault. If I hadn't acted against him, he wouldn't have tortured me. He almost raped me, yes, but this had been because of my misdemeanor.

I pulled the dragon's tail and got punished for my transgression.

"There it is!"

That perverted piece of shit Ike was delighted upon reaching the clearing in front of the cave. He jumped around with the energy of a fucking preschooler and examined the different plants that grew around our sleeping place for the next week.

I knew little about camping or the outdoor scene, but this spot did indeed seem like a perfect place to settle down. Well, at least she isn't completely useless since she had discovered this spot as well. That sick bastard that dared to ask to call me by my first name also seemed to know what he was doing, which surprised me somewhat.

Fuck those disgusting eyes when he looked at me. I should have thrown this disgusting piece of garbage off the ship for daring to even ask such a stupid question. Who the fuck would ever want to be close to someone like him?

Urgh, at least we reached our destination, because my feet hurt like hell.

Our group strolled inside the cave in order to check its size and the spot's status, but Kiyotaka was nowhere to be found. The place itself was huge and could house all thirty-nine of us without problems.

We wouldn't even need to leave the cave if we didn't want to.

A large contraption stood a few feet inside, near the end of the cave. The panel on it displayed a ticking-down timer and the information that this spot had been occupied by Class D. Upon realizing this, everyone cheered and congratulated Matsushita for formulating such an exceptional plan.

My ass.

That bitch kept nodding amicably, as if she was the one who deserved this much praise before we walked back outside and discussed our future expenses while working through the list Ike had created. He noted some things we would need to survive for a week and even added the toilet since Kiyotaka's girlfriend told him to write it up as well.

And fucking bless her for that.

If I had to piss in that shitty cardboard box, I would have killed someone for real.

Kiyotaka would have taken care of the body, right?

"I'm done Chiaki. Can I rest now?"

The devil's weak, exhausted voice reached my ears as I turned around to see him leaning against the wall near the cave entrance. His whole hair, face and the jersey he wore were drenched in sweat from running over the island. Even though he was wearing his ever-calm, indifferent expression, he seemed exhausted.

His labored breaths and weak complexion underlined this even more.

Yet only I knew that this was nothing but a hoax, a scheme set up by the devil himself without everyone's knowledge. It didn't matter how much they struggled or tried to wriggle themselves out of his vicious grasp, because the students on this island were nothing but rats, pitiful test subjects that tried to escape the wicked labyrinth he had set up.

Neither of those clowns in Class D were his friends. They were nothing but trained monkeys on stools that danced to the devil's wicked tune, unable to comprehend that their insignificant lives lay in the malevolent hands of none other than the prince of darkness himself.

They hadn't yet fathomed that escape was impossible.