Chapter 165 - Classroom of the Elite: Checkmate 25

Chapter 25 - Decoy

The third day began just like the ones prior.

Kanzaki-kun and I left the camp after the morning roll call and our subsequent discussion with Matsushita-san and Hirata-kun. Just like yesterday, we wandered through the jungle for quite a while, until the two of us stepped out of the shrubbery, entering the beautiful yet desolate beach area that had once been Class C's base.

Our union with Class D held strong, at least for the people unaware about the procedures behind the scenes. We agreed to let our classmates know about Matsushita-san's betrayal after the island exam, since we couldn't risk this information spreading at the moment. It would be dangerous if too many people knew about her schemes, because even a subtle change in behavior might alarm her that we possessed knowledge we weren't supposed to.

I felt awful, hiding such important information from my friends, but Kanzaki-kun assured me that we were keeping this under wraps for the good of the class. A stinging, burning pain assaulted my heart every time I kept this secret from Mako-chan and the others, despite my acceptance and approval of Kanzaki-kun's arguments.

"So, here we are. But why exactly are we here?"

My classmate sheltered his eyes from the blazing sun, squeezing them shut. I didn't supply him with an immediate answer and moved towards the grill he had found hidden in the bushes when I noticed something peculiar.

"The footprints are gone..."

His eyes widened as he inspected the area for remnants to pick up the trail.

"Seems like someone noticed that they made a mistake."

We looked at each other and nodded in unison.

""Ryuuen-kun.""

"With this, we can assume that he's still on the island. But where?"

Kanzaki-kun heaved a deep sigh as he surveyed the forest.

It was almost impossible to find a lone student on this island, especially if he didn't want to be found. One person would need little food and water. If he limited his movements over the upcoming days, he would need even fewer nourishments. Ryuuen-kun, or whoever this mystery person was, could have hidden inside any thicket, behind any tree...

I wiped over the grate and glanced at the residue on my finger.

"As I thought... it's not enough."

"Enough what?"

"Grease. Or any other persistent remnants. I don't have that much experience with barbecues, to be honest, but this grill was supposed to be used by around forty people, right? The amount of buns, patties and sausages they would have needed to feed all of their classmates should have been much more than the leftovers on this rack indicate."

I may not have been an expert in cooking related topics, but I knew my way around the kitchen and certain utensils. There was no way that a large amount of meat or other provisions were barbecued on this grill after considering all the different residues that should have been there from a logical standpoint.

"You mean the points don't add up, right?"

He acknowledged my doubts, realizing that something was amiss.

"Yeah. Aside from the grill and the food they must have bought to feed themselves, there is nothing nearby that would indicate any other purchases. Doesn't this strike you as weird? If Ryuuen-kun really threw the exam, like Shiina-san and the others claimed, then he would have emptied their points without a doubt. So what else did he buy, and where are the items? According to my rough calculations, and the assumption that they were really generous with the amount of meat and sausages they had bought, Class C should still have a large sum of points left."

"He probably stockpiled items to survive the remaining days without needing to rely on anything in particular. Food and drinks, maybe even a toilet?" He glanced around before shaking his head. "No... that wouldn't make any sense. It would be difficult to stay low key if someone found a random toilet in the middle of the forest." Kanzaki-kun rubbed his chin as he thought about probable use-cases for the remaining points. "Could he have made a deal with Class A?"

This was a possibility, but we neither knew enough about Ryuuen-kun nor Katsuragi-kun to affirm this theory in any reliable capacity. He was cunning and well informed, so he must have identified that there was a rift in Class A, due to the two opposing factions that had formed back in April.

Could he have used this to his advantage somehow?

"It's a good but difficult to prove theory because of Katsuragi-kun's defensive behavior. Let's take a step back and think this over. What do we know for certain? Someone returned to erase the prints after we found them. It was none of us and we observed Matsushita-san the whole day, so there was no chance that she had done something."

My classmate leaned against a nearby tree, scratching his forehead.

"With this in mind, only Class A and C would remain as suspects. Most of Ryuuen's followers have already left the island, otherwise Ayanokouji would have had a high chance of running into them during his trips. This meant that only Shiina, Ibuki and Yamada could have hidden the prints. Neither of these theories is viable, however, since they were always accompanied by someone from our classes when they left the campsite."

"Class A could have hidden the prints to sow chaos, but that would only work if someone like us had seen them before and would return here. Such a move wasn't worth considering because the chances were simply too low. The only applicable reason would be a potential deal between their classes. From this perspective, they would have cared if someone in Class C missed such a crucial detail as they would have covered their tracks regardless. The same goes for the mystery student who remained on the island, who we expect to be Ryuuen-kun. But would he make such a mistake? What if he observed us yesterday and covered his tracks to cause confusion in our camp?"

Kanzaki-kun and I kept passing an invisible baton to one another while we tried to decipher any potential clues from the information that were available to us. The more we thought about feasible scenarios, the more confident we were in our assumptions.

"That reminds me... where are their tents? Every class had received two at the beginning of the exam, but they aren't here. What if two of the four tents in Class A's camp were gifts from Class C?"

All the evidence we found led us to such a solution.

This giant snowball of clues and conclusions that kept tumbling down the mountain was created by a single change in these surroundings over which we had stumbled by sheer accident. If the prints had still been here, we would have only been concerned about the small amount of residue on the grill.

But what was the correct conclusion to draw from this?

Had the mystery person found these footprints incriminating enough to clean them up?

Or was someone in the forest presenting us with a false lead?

The two of us soon reached our joint camp.

It was a real shame that we had to find the other class leaders ourselves, since we couldn't refute the possibility that Matsushita-san might feed us false intel when it was time to take our guesses. She might have thought ahead and wanted to string us along further after her initial plan had failed, but betting on such a low probability was far too dangerous.

If she suspected that we were aware of her betrayal, she wouldn't hesitate to tell us wrong names because we hadn't written up a clear, irrevocable contract that prevented this, thanks to my naïve outlook. Our current situation was my fault, and I took full responsibility for my actions in case we lost this exam due to my decisions.

I had failed my class during this exam, so I had no right to lead them in the following ones. This was the reason I would leave the leadership position to Kanzaki-kun in case we left this island with an inadequate amount of points. He wanted to talk me out of my resolution, but this was an arrangement I wouldn't budge on.

Kanzaki-kun and I discarded the alibi-fruits we had gathered to explain our absence before we mingled with some other students who took a break around the firepits. The girl side began to gossip about everything that came to mind, while the boys discussed sports, games and other such topics as we shared drinks and berries among each other.

Our two classes had an amicable relationship, and I was glad to form new friendships with some of them. The Class D students weren't bad people, and it was apparent that their leader took these unscrupulous steps against us without their knowledge.

The person in question was nowhere to be found.

A certain classmate of mine would have interpreted her absence as 'planning another ambush', but at this moment, I could only agree with his pessimistic outlook. I would have loved to treat his thoughts as a bad joke, but we couldn't rule out the possibility that she was scheming against us.

My gaze swayed over the camp until I caught sight of the frail boy who had stolen my heart.

His complexion was much worse than yesterday as he leaned against a nearby tree in exhaustion. Deep, dark rings had formed beneath his golden eyes, which were distinct signs of overexertion and lack of sleep. Ayanokouji-kun's chest heaved up and down with each calm, relaxed breath he took during his comfortable slumber in the sun.

Gosh, he's so adorable...

A loving smile spread over my face as I felt the temperature rising. I grew restless and glanced around, hoping that the demon called Mako-chan hadn't seen this affectionate expression. Kanzaki-kun regarded me with a pained grin, aware of the hopes I harbored.

How could his girlfriend just sit by and let him do this?

I clenched my fists, contemplating whether I should speak to him.

My desire didn't stem from any self-centered thoughts, but the wish to tell him that it was fine to take it slow, to assure him that no one would fault him for stopping now. It was only a matter of time until an accident occurred if he kept overworking himself like this, so I opted to let him sleep for as long as possible before I shared my concerns with him.

Matsushita-san's actions led me to doubt the legitimacy of her feelings towards Ayanokouji-kun. If she cared about him even half as much as I did, then she would have never let him deteriorate this far. His health was far more important than any amount of useless points for the class.

So why..?

Ayanokouji-kun's drowsy frame began to move as a yawn slipped his captivating lips. He rubbed his tired eyes, which only barely opened as he peeked around the camp. Our glances converged, whereupon I averted my gaze, surprised by this sudden spectacle.

How could anyone wake up in such a charming manner?!

Feeling bad for breaking eye contact, I turned towards him.

He regarded me with a puzzled expression due to my weird actions before a smile appeared on his delicate face. I raised my hand and waved while my feet carried me towards him on their own.

"Heya, sleepyhead."

I beamed and sat down beside him.

Upon leaning back, I realized that this was one of the most comfortable spots in the entire camp. No roots or other scrub ran along the ground, which made this location enjoyable to rest at. The sun shone in its usual bright luster, but both our faces were covered by the leaves of the tree, as if they had grown just for us.

"Hey Ichinose. How's everyone doing?"

His cumbersome eyelids fell twice as he pronounced these few fleeting words. Anyone could see that he was overexerting himself. When my classmates brought this up with him, he only ever rubbed his chin, saying that he was fine and that he would stop before his health worsened.

So why wasn't he stopping?

"Everyone is doing fine, but you should catch some well-deserved sleep while you still can, so II'll leave now. Please, just promise me that you won't exhaust yourself if you feel too tired, okay? None of us want to see you get hurt. Those points are only temporary. Your health is much more important, so you should take care of yourself."

I couldn't do much, despite letting him rest.

If I had been his girlfriend, I would have told him to stop, and made sure that he listened, even if I had to drag him back to the camp thrice a day. But right now, I was in no position to demand this from him, despite my best intentions. Matsushita-san was the only one who could stop him if she really wanted to, but she did nothing.

His warm, soft hand grasped onto mine as I was halfway up.

My whole body jolted as the enamoured heart in my chest began to drum so much louder, betraying the emotions I was so desperately trying to hide. His fingers were so warm, strong yet frail as they clasped onto mine, startled by my movements. I wanted to embrace him, order him to stop this nonsense and sleep, show him much I cared and wanted him to be happy.

But please don't let him hear!

The quick, powerful heartbeats pounded through my ears as my complexion turned crimson. My hands, which he held in his gentle grip, began to secrete sweat as my nervousness grew. If I could, I would have turned around and kissed him to prove that this subtle action made me one of, if not the happiest, girl on this planet.

"Stay, please."

Ayanokouji-kun's soft, almost pleading voice ripped my heart apart.

Why would you say something like this..?

He must have noticed that his actions could be misinterpreted and pulled back. The warmth around my fingers was replaced by cold, lifeless air, which stripped away the last remnants of his soothing presence as he averted his gaze.

Despite this, I could still feel him close to me.

I sat down, hiding my flushing face, concealing the pain that coursed through my veins whenever I looked at him. Other than scrutinizing the ground to distract myself, nothing came to mind. I watched the blades of grass beneath my legs waving in the soft breeze and kept counting the steps of the small ants that wandered over the ground in order to control my quivering heart.

"W-what is it?"

The comfortable silence broke as those words crossed my lips.

"It's just you looked really pained just now, and I wanted to make sure that everything is alright."

He began to scratch his thumb, fidget around with his fingers. Such a nervous display was unprecedented and showed how much impact this tiring exam had on him and his state of mind.

A dejected laugh almost escaped my mouth as I sat back down.

I was such an idiot.

He was wearing himself down for the sake of his class, which made me worry. Due to my inability to hide these lingering feelings, I put even more pressure on him, since he was concerned about my well-being as well. Instead of troubling him, I should support his decision to follow Matsushita-san to the best of my abilities, even if I didn't like it.

"Everything is fine..." A chuckle hummed through the camp as I shut my eyes. "I was only worried about you, so you better promise me that you don't push yourself too hard when you go on your upcoming trips, Ayanokouji-kun!"

A rare, subtle smile surfaced on his face as he nodded in affirmation.

"Promise. I really don't want to be responsible for any wrinkles on your forehead."

"Eh?"

I don't have wrinkles on my face, right?

Right?!

"Oh, I heard that overly worrying about things causes wrinkles. Is that wrong?"

He tilted his head to the side like a curious cat, whereupon I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Let's make sure neither of us get any wrinkles then."

"Mh. Let's do that."

He bobbed his head, closing his eyes in the process.

Since he was tired, I narrated him some amusing incidents he had missed out on during July because of his rather busy schedule on some days our class had met up. I wanted him to sleep, but yearned for his warm presence, just as much. Due to these conflicting sentiments, I opted for the first thing that came to mind: lighthearted stories.

They might help him fall asleep while I could spend a little more time with him.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

His emotionless facade was as impressive as it was annoying. Unlike everyone else, I wasn't buying his whole 'growing tired' scheme that he had been building up ever since we arrived on the island. He was following a coherent, structured path, but I couldn't tell where it was leading just yet.

I've been observing him with great interest for the past few days, but I didn't know what the objectives behind his performances were. He spent an awful lot of time with Class B, especially their leadership characters like Ichinose and Kanzaki. When he was free, he had multiple short conversations with the Class C girls as well.

Much to my regret, he wasn't as involved in his own class as I had hoped.

Would he betray me for them?

Did he even plan to lead Class D to the top?

What if he left this school before his three years were up?

Our conversation from before the special exam still resonated in my mind, but I had no clue whether he was truthful or just playing another angle. Kushida, despite her advantage over him in anything social, fell victim to the monster he had concealed behind his calm, commendable exterior. Both Sakura and the store clerk she had a run-in with could never return to normalcy because of the actions he had taken in the background.

What if he manipulated me just like everyone else he had put his fangs on?

...

A loud chime rung through the school, whereupon I ended the current history lesson.

The students in Class D stashed their supplies and ran off with their friends while I organized my materials. Both pleasant and uncomfortable memories surfaced as I glanced after them, since I had been in their position in this exact room some years ago.

Only a few students were left as I finished sorting my files. One of them was a brown-haired, jaded looking student near the window. He closed the textbook in front of him before stashing it in his bag. The student in question, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, didn't merely look bored — he was disinterested in anything the teachers taught.

I wasn't aware of the full extent of his abilities, but I perceived that he wasn't paying attention throughout class and only feigned his engrossment into the subjects to keep the class points consistent.

He discerned the meaning behind my unusual behavior and peered over. A subtle twitch was more than enough to signal him that I wished to talk. The strange boy didn't acknowledge my appeal in any capacity before his girlfriend's arrival in front of his desk broke our eye contact.

"Let's grab a bite, shall we?"

Matsushita sparkled brighter with every word that she enticed her own lips.

Her affections for him reminded me of feelings that had long since passed.

A handsome face, his pleasant scent, the sound of his contagious laughter, those charming eyes and the warmth his presence emanated whenever he was with me. All these recollections returned, resurfaced in my mind, before they vanished in an instant, replaced by nothing but animosity and aversion.

"Sure, I'll be right with you."

The boy's monotone voice traveled through the room.

There was no fluctuation in his emphasis, no change in his cadence and not even a hint of emotion in any of the syllables that had floated off his lips as he regarded his girlfriend with a hollow, detached stare.

"Well then. Take care, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Ohh, yeah. See you."

His head turned as he followed Horikita's receding back.

My initial plan to advise her about Ayanokouji's peculiar scores had backfired, but I still wondered how my strategy would have unraveled if she knew that he was masking his capabilities. Her first reaction to this sort of information should have been denial, according to my observations about her behavior, but I couldn't be sure about the subsequent developments this knowledge might have led to.

I grabbed my tablet and left the classroom.

Since the faculty offices were on the way to the roof, I didn't mind discarding the educational materials that shouldn't carry the smell of tobacco during my next lesson. Fifteen minutes were more than enough time for a cigarette or two before I was expected to meet up with Mashima and Chie.

Lunch with her, of all people — let's make it four cigarettes just to be safe.

My heels clacked against the stairs with every step I took towards the rooftop.

The door leading outside was leaning against the frame.

Heaving a sigh, I pushed it open.

A lone boy stood near the railing, watching over the school's enormous campus with a melancholic gaze. His soft brown hair danced in the fresh summer breeze while his uniform fluttered in accordance. He turned around and matched my distant stare before he applied himself to examining the students that wandered below.

I shut the door with the stilt of my heel and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

One of said smokes made its way into my mouth with swift, well-practised motions before the lighter in my other hand clacked. My lungs kept inhaling the warm, comforting smoke with great pleasure, as I made my way over to the most interesting student that this year offered.

Ayanokouji reached for the cigarette between my lips and pulled it out before I could even exhale. His pupils didn't lose focus of the bird he had discovered while gazing over the school grounds as he stubbed the stump on his palm. He flicked my beloved smoke away with his usual aloof expression.

"What do you want, Sae?"

The cigarette sailed over the siding in a high arc and plunged into one of the wastebaskets that were situated all over the school premises. My eyes widened for the fraction of a second, as I had deemed it impossible to execute such a maneuver because of the varying external influences like wind speed, direction and humidity as well as other factors like the mass of the object, its air resistance and the velocity of his finger during the snapping motion.

Was he only this disrespectful towards me?

Or was this a general fault in his upbringing?

"Something came up, and I thought that you'd be interested."

Rather than that, I was sure that this was a thought-provoking piece of information he wanted to receive as it concerned him as well as his future at this school. Despite his apparent indifference during the lessons themselves, he seemed to appreciate the time he could spend with his classmates and other students.

"I'm listening."

"Curt as always, huh? Very well..." I leaned against the fencing beside Ayanokouji and scrutinized his face. "I overheard a conversation between the principal and the chairman. It sounded like someone inquired about you and demanded your expulsion. Chairman Sakayanagi respectfully declined this request and sent the man on his way."

Trying to discern any visible change upon such a shocking revelation was impossible, since he hadn't reacted at all. Instead of apprehension, concern or surprise, a hint of ridicule flashed in his eyes as an unbelievable sequence of words slipped his lips.

"He's getting old."

"Did you know that someone would contact the school?"

"You could say that, I guess. Everything is progressing according to plan, so there is no reason for you to panic. Don't think about doing anything unnecessary or you will learn what it means to be on my bad side."

Despite his meager status as a student, he didn't hesitate to intimidate me. This action, as well as the previous statement, were outrageous coming from a mere child. It was absurd that an adolescent boy acted in such an antagonistic fashion. Regardless of such thoughts, I couldn't help but take this threat as a stern warning not to interfere in his business.

I heaved a sigh and pulled out another cigarette.

He snatched it away and flicked it off the roof before I could slip it between my lips.

Ayanokouji's antics annoyed me to no end, as he wasted two perfectly usable cigarettes that I could have enjoyed. My eyes followed the object of my desire, which once again flew in a soaring arc and sank into the same wastebasket the previous one had vanished into.

This second flick was even more impressive than the first one, since the wind speed and direction had changed as the cigarette passed through the air. Yet, despite such a severe handicap, he had no trouble hitting the mark.

"Smoking stinks and kills you. There are better ways to waste your money." His brown orbs peered into mine, as if he was clawing away at the secrets I kept hidden beneath my facade. "Or end your life, if that's what you wish."

A dry chuckle left my lips.

"Well, I guess that's all I wanted. I thought that this information would prove helpful and might put me into your good graces after I had sought to reveal your entrance exam scores to Horikita, but this is quite disappointing."

"Chiaki is waiting, so I'll be taking my leave now."

I acknowledged his words with nothing but a dry nod and pulled out a third cigarette after I confirmed that he was far enough away. Ayanokouji must have heard the click of the lighter as his footsteps ceased.

"Your regrets... I'll wash them away."

My heart fluttered upon hearing those unexpected words.

Despite my best efforts, I could not suppress my involuntary reflexes due to the surprise I felt at this moment. I spun around with widened eyes, which were colored in disbelief and confusion. The door to the staircase shut, leaving me alone on the rooftop before I could see his expression, let alone ask him about this sudden, unexpected statement.

Few people would know about my regrets.

Where had he obtained this information?

What else had he figured out?

A deep, frustrated sigh slipped my lips as I glanced at the fuming cigarette in my hand.

He'll wash them away, huh?

With a snap, I flung the cigarette off the building before taking a single puff. The object of my supposed salvation flew in a high arc and dropped towards the ground, where it slowly sizzled out next to the students' busy steps.

"Hey, what's up? Chiaki said that you wanted to talk to me."

The black-haired beauty raised her head and stared at my tired eyes with a somewhat annoyed expression. The muscles surrounding her mouth moved, but instead of forming words, she had bitten her tongue in frustration.

"I informed her not to relay any messages."

"Really?" I brushed my chin. "She must've overheard."

"You are a horrible liar, you know that?"

"Mh... doesn't that make me an honest soul, then?"

I reached out towards her forehead to check on the ice queen's temperature. She knew better than to defend herself and just endured my concern for her well-being with an adorable blush. Her bottle was empty as well, which I rectified by filling the container with water and some charcoal.

"Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun..."

"Didn't I already tell you that you don't have to thank me for something like this? You are sick, so it's only natural to take care of you until you feel better. That aside, what did you need from me yesterday? I wanted to check in on you before I left, but you seemed to sleep."

Horikita turned and covered herself with her vinyl-bag blanket.

"It was nothing... just forget about it. You look tired. Rather than talking to me, get some rest."

"Is that a worried undertone I'm picking up on, Ohime-sama?" A light smirk crept up my face as I began to caress her head. The patient retaliated almost instantly and slapped my hand away before I reached out to her again. "I'm going to keep patting your head until you tell me, you know? You'll punish me for this anyway, so I might as well tease you as long as I still can."

"St-stop this at o-once, A-ayanokouji-kun! I'm serious."

She began to struggle and rolled away, past my reach. Even though Horikita should have known that she couldn't escape me like this, she breathed a sigh of relief before my palm once again slid over her smooth, silky hair. The crimson color in her face deepened as she began to flail at me. Each motion was accompanied by a cute squeaking sound which echoed through parts of our camp and made her sound like an unhappy squirrel that had its nuts stolen.

"Wow, our classmates are really loud. I can't hear you at all."

"F-fine, I'll tell you, okay. So please s-stop already."

Pleased with what I had achieved, my hand stopped rubbing over her head and returned into my pocket. Horikita's arms straightened her now ruffled hair as she hid her flushed face from view.

"I'm listening."

"It's just..." She burrowed her head in the makeshift pillow and drew her legs in to make herself smaller and thus, more comfortable in this current sensitive position. "Last night, I've felt a little better, and wanted to ask you if you could take a walk with me. I wanted to go alone, at first, but the girls said that I shouldn't leave. A few of them offered to accompany me, but I wanted nothing to do with them. I realized that if I asked you I would be a bother, since you have a lot on your plate, so just forget about it."

Horikita glanced at me with a somewhat awkward expression.

"You really are troublesome, Ohime-sama." I stood as she bit her lip in frustration. Her eyes widened in surprise just a moment later, as I reached out my hand to take hers. "Let's take a walk then."

"Anywhere in particular you'd like to go?"

The girl to my left jolted in surprise as she glanced around the area with an embarrassed complexion. Aside from trees, bushes and other greenery, there wasn't much to see. I found quite a few nice places during my trips, but I didn't know if she preferred anything specific.

"Not really. I just wanted to get some air and walk around a little. Doing nothing but sleeping for the better part of the last three days was exhausting in its own way. Thank you for listening to my selfish request, Ayanokouji-kun."

"You don't need to thank me."

"I see... could I appeal to your kindness once more, then?"

"Sure, what can I do for you?"

"You could let go of my hand, for one."

Horikita averted her gaze, unable to watch our arms that swung in tandem.

"You are sick and I can't be sure whether you collapse. Since you trusted me with your concerns, and your wish to walk around the island, I have to make sure that we both return to the camp in excellent condition."

"But not like this..."

"Should I carry you then?"

Her steps halted as she peered at me with a peculiar glint in her eyes. She gripped my palm with more force than a sick person should have been able to, as a terrifying grin surfaced on her pale lips.

"You are enjoying this, aren't you, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"I'm just worried about a friend."

My statement was followed up with a deep sigh and a weak kick in the shin.

Her palm was quite sweaty because of the hot and humid climate on the island. This sensation wasn't uncomfortable to me, since it was a normal function of the human body, but Horikita seemed quite unhappy with the current situation.

She tried her best to widen the distance between us, but I followed her steps wherever she went. Aside from walking with outstretched arms for a few seconds, she had accomplished nothing noteworthy before I closed in on her again. The discomfort she felt increased as the minutes passed by.

"Okay, you won. Now please let me go."

"What did I win?"

"Everything you want if it gets you off my back."

"Isn't that really cruel towards someone who cares for you?"

"Fine..." She took a deep breath and faced me with a serious look. "I haven't showered the last couple of days, so I stink. It's uncomfortable having you so close because I feel conscious about my bad body odor."

Her sincere expression didn't waver as we glimpsed in each other's eyes. It took four, maybe five seconds, until her usual fair complexion turned crimson. The shade deepened further until she was unable to face me anymore.

Teasing her like this was quite amusing.

"There's a water source behind those trees over there."

She followed my finger and nodded.

"Let's go then, Ayanokouji-kun."

Horikita began to move, pulling me after her.

"Hey... I'm just kidding. Cold water would worsen your current condition, and I really don't want to carry you all the way back to the camp." She turned around and glared at me with a pair of arctic eyes. "Not because you are heavy or anything, it's just that I'm very weak and exhausted from my trips."

I kept nodding as I let go of Horikita's hand. Instead of the expected joy on her face, I felt her fingers grasping onto mine. The ice queen's nails dug deep into my palms as she forced a kind, yet twisted, smile.

"Ayanokouji-kun, I am once again appealing to your kindness here."

"Sorry, no can do."

"Alright... my throat is very sore and I'm thirsty, Ayanokouji-kun. As luck would have it, I discovered a water spring behind those trees over there, and I'd like you to take me there."

"Your sudden urge for water is quite suspicious, if you ask me." I reached into my pocket with a faint smirk and pulled out Horikita's charcoal water bottle. "I'm glad that I brought this with me if such a situation arose."

A deep frown surfaced on her face as she took the bottle. She opened it up and stashed the cap in her jersey before she threw the flask towards the water source in our vicinity.

"I'm really sorry, Ayanokouji-kun. I seem to have slipped."

Our little back and forth had long since stopped being about anything either of us wanted. Horikita felt frustrated by my teasing behavior and wanted to torment me back. Her worry about her own and even my health had ceased to exist, as she wished to see the look of defeat on my face.

Step by step we kept one-upping each other.

"You are childish, Horikita."

"Right back at you, Ayanokouji-kun."

The two of us ambled towards our destination in silence.

I picked up the bottle in which only a small amount of water remained and removed the dirt as well as the blades of grass that stuck to the rim. Horikita watched this scene and bit her lip, disheartened by her own actions. We proceeded past the trees until a small, circular pond with clear water stretched out before us.

"I'm sorry for just now."

"It's not your fault. I took my teasing too far, so I'm sorry as well."

With those words, I let go of her hand once more.

Horikita sat down just a moment later and rested her head on her knees. She tapped the ground beside her three times before closing her eyes. I made myself comfortable next to my classmate and peered over the water.

"Don't laugh... but I'm feeling dizzy."

"I figured you might."

It wasn't weird that she had circulatory complaints after doing almost nothing for the last couple of days. Her extended sickness only worsened these symptoms, which was one of the reasons why I was opposed to leaving her side the whole trip.

The black-haired beauty reached towards the water and moistened her fingertips before she kept sprinkling water in my direction. I reciprocated her gesture and scattered the refreshing liquid in her face, whereupon she turned away.

"Bathing would be a bad idea, right?"

"I understand your desire, but yes, it's a terrible idea. If you still feel compelled to take a dip, however, I won't stop you. There's no one around here, so you wouldn't need to worry about anyone walking by."

She glanced over with a teasing smirk.

"You just want to see me in underwear again, don't you?"

"Hadn't we put this behind us as an accident? If I remember correctly, you were the one —"

"... who said that we will never talk about this again."

That's not what I wanted to say, but yes.

Horikita slid forward and slipped out of her shoes, ignoring my advice about this bad idea. My capacity to react ceased after this unexpected display. I spread over the ground and shut my eyes to respect her privacy before a deep sigh rippled the water.

"If you peek, I will kill you."

"Hai hai, Ohime-sama."

She must have noticed my lackluster nod as I heard the jersey rubbing along her pale skin. The pants slithered along her smooth legs before I picked up on two almost inaudible 'tap tap' sounds. I felt her gaze on me, despite my nonexistent vision. Her fingers pulled down the hem of her top in order to conceal her panties as she took the first steps inside the water without moving her attention away from me.

My eyes were closed, but the sounds she produced painted a picture in my mind.

The zipper of her jersey traveled downward before the slider left the teeth with a light click as it collided with the bottom stop. Her shoulders and arms brushed against the fabric as the hem of the top dipped into the water. Horikita noticed her mishap and pulled it up in a hurry, causing water to sprinkle onto my covered ankle.

After folding her jersey, she placed the different pieces on her shoes and slipped further into the pond. The refreshing liquid splashed against her skin and pelted along Horikita's enticing frame. She trusted me to a certain degree, as seen by her current actions, but she wasn't brave enough to shed herself from the material that covered her private parts.

I had seen her like this before, albeit by accident.

Could this have been the reason she was so calm around me?

Time passed as Horikita bathed in the water. She noticed a glaring flaw in her previous strategy, whereupon her movements halted. The girl's eyes moved towards me as she covered her bra with her hands and kneeled into the pond to conceal her panties.

"Ayanokouji-kun I —"

Her words hushed as she noticed my sudden movements.

I stood up, eyes still closed, and took off my own jersey. Horikita, who was surprised by my actions, understood my intentions when I stretched my arm, offering her the top as a makeshift towel.

"Thank you."

Her soft voice danced through my ears as she took the jacket and began to dry herself off. My scent must have lingered in her nose as she smoothed her hair and rubbed over her skin before she stepped back onto the firm ground.

"Not for this."

She finished up and clothed herself a few moments later.

"I'm sorry about your jersey..."

"It's just fabric." I opened my eyes and took the jacket. "Your health is more important." She averted her gaze, somewhat uncomfortable about the inconveniences she had burdened me with because of her selfish decision. "Do you want to go back now?"

"Yes..."

I reached out to her forehead and grabbed her arm as she faltered.

"Your companion should have told you that this was a terrible idea."

"I seem to surround myself with the wrong crowd then."

"Sorry to disappoint." I took three steps before peering back. "You don't like it when I hold your hand, so at least stay close. Tell me as soon as you feel uncomfortable and we'll take a short break."

She nodded as the two of us strolled through the forest.

Horikita's hair was still wet, which must have been quite uncomfortable because of the breeze that swept past the trees and shrubs. The feverish girl tucked her hair inside the jersey, hoping that it would lessen the burden her frail body had to endure on our way to the camp. She began to wobble and slow down from time to time, but she voiced no discomfort due to her inherent pride.

A sick individual would revert to a state of comfort as they wished for warmth and relaxation. This wasn't always possible, however, and might lead this person to voice certain thoughts — definite longings that were hidden deep in her heart.

This trance-like fever state was further enhanced because I walked in front of Horikita, without considering her current health. She saw nothing but my broad back, similar to back then. When she faltered and reached out to me, I increased my pace by a subtle, yet distinct, margin to evade her grasp by a hair's breadth.

She tried to reach me, struggled to gain my attention, but failed again and again.

The dazed, unsteady girl remembered identical scenes from her early days whenever she kept following her cherished sibling. Due to her sickness, past and present collided, creating something new — a condition I could exploit. My frame overlapped with her brother's as she sought my concern for her impaired health.

"Nii-san... I'm cold. Can you hug me?"

Her smooth fingers pulled on the back of my jersey, causing me to stop.

If anyone aside from me had walked with her, they would have continued on their way. Horikita's voice was so quiet, so frail, so easily consumed by the surrounding noise, that it was almost impossible to hear her pained whispers.

Almost.

"Did you say something?"

My calm speech weakened the misconception she had found herself in.

"No, nothing."

Dazed, Horikita began walking and bumped into me.

She rubbed her nose due to the discomfort the collision caused as I turned around. Her moist hair framed her charming face, which drew me in, consumed my attention more than I liked to admit. I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards me with a quick, sudden and entirely unexpected tug, which shattered the last remnants of this cruel illusion.

Her small frame quivered as my arms snaked around her, leading to a calming embrace. The pressure of her own grasp increased as she tightened her arms, squeezed as if I had been her long-lost brother, the one she wanted to hold so dearly that she had followed him all this way.

"Sorry, I must have tripped."

"I'll forgive you this once, Ayanokouji-kun."

She leaned into me, closing her eyes, a faint smile on her face.

From my point of view, it was only fair to increase Horikita's dependence on me. It was justified to use her pain, her longing for her beloved sibling and to mingle in your business since you were advancing in my territory.

You would also see it that way, right?

Horikita Manabu.

"Hey boys. Can you all gather around?"

What's this about again?

I had slept rather comfortably in my bed until I was woken up by Shinohara's annoying shouts. The only positive observation I could take from this whole situation was that we had all slept well, which meant that the vinyl bags, moss and grass had shown their intended effect during our third night on this island.

Hirata-kun and the others might have thought that I had forgiven her for hitting Kiyotaka, but they couldn't have been more wrong. My initial aversion towards Shinohara was multiplied by her irritated voice, which meant that I would have work on my hands. Due to my impatience with her, I assumed that she was bothered by something irrelevant and felt compelled to intervene on the boys' behalf, no matter what they did.

Most girls had already left, while the rest woke because of Shinohara's repeated calls. I rubbed my eyes and staggered over to the tent's entrance, dodging the ladies that were leaving their own trance. Sudou's frustrated voice reflected from the cave's walls before I could reach my destination.

"What the hell, Shinohara. Be quiet, we're tired."

I should hurry before he does something stupid again...

Dead tired because of all the organizational matters I had to take care of in the past few days, I heaved myself out of the tent's warm embrace and stumbled into a gathering of around thirteen girls who stood behind Shinohara, glaring at the boys.

"What's wrong?"

Hirata-kun climbed out of his bed the same time I did.

I was glad that he intervened in such a timely manner, otherwise I would have slapped her again as she had nothing better to do than to scream through the whole cave while Kiyotaka needed to rest in order to keep his demanding rotation up.

His worsening complexion was proof enough that he kept pushing himself past his limit. He received more fish than anyone else, since he worked the hardest during the exam and everyone had noticed this. Despite my best efforts to stop him, he kept torturing himself for the good of our class.

Yet she couldn't even let him sleep.

"Good morning Hirata-kun, could you please wake up the boys? It's serious."

It better be, or you'll regret it.

"Of course."

His reaction was a lot calmer than mine as he just nodded and began to wake everyone who had the mental capacity to sleep through her annoying speech. The boys complained about both Hirata-kun and her, but I couldn't really fault them for their reactions after being confronted with this unpleasant reality.

"Matsushita-san, did something happen?"

Ichinose-san ambled towards our gathering, rubbing her eyes.

The cave must have created a rather loud echo which travelled outside and woke our guests. I felt apologetic towards Class B and somewhat ashamed for my own classmates, since they caused such an inconvenience for everyone. A few other students, including Kanzaki-kun, also peeked into the cavern after their leader.

"No idea. But I guess we'll find out soon enough."

The Class D boys stood in front of their tents within a few minutes, each one looking worse than the last. I understood their frustration and resentful expressions, since they had been ripped out of their comfortable dreams by none other than the most annoying individual in the class. Our visitors had arrived with their full assembly of forty people, intrigued by this commotion.

Two boys were missing from this gathering: Kiyotaka and Kouenji-kun.

The latter never slept inside the tent because 'a perfect existence wouldn't surround himself with hairless monkeys'. Usually, he swung down from atop one of the trees that surrounded the clearing once it was time for the eight o'clock roll call, so I figured that he was outside.

But where could Kiyotaka be?

Did Hirata-kun let him sleep?

"What's going on, Shinohara-san?"

The boy in question took the lead, regarding the girl with an amicable smile.

"Sorry Hirata-kun, this has nothing to do with you, but... we wanted to gather everyone to confirm something." This was the first time I had noticed the clear look of contempt in Shinohara's eyes. "This morning, Karuizawa-san's underwear went missing. Do you know what that means?"

"Her underwear?"

My classmates took a step back, visibly shaken.

Hirata-kun clenched his fists before his quivering orbs met with mine. The looming darkness vanished, replaced by light as he drew a deep, calming breath to refocus on the matter at hand. We had been working together for a few times by now, so he knew that I wanted to gather information before I inserted myself into this argument.

"How is she?"

"Karuizawa-san is crying inside the tent right now. Kushida-san and the others are comforting her, but..." She glared at the boys who had gathered behind Hirata-kun. "Wasn't one pervert in our class enough?!"

Since something similar had happened before, she didn't even suspect the Class B or C students. The latter would have had more than enough reasons to act against us, but it was unsurprising that she couldn't look past her anger. I had expected foul play when Yamauchi-kun was expelled, and this sentiment hadn't changed.

The three Class C visitors observed this scene from the sidelines.

"Huh? Why are you glaring at us, then?"

Ike-kun frowned, unable to understand the situation.

"Isn't that obvious? Someone went through her bag in the middle of the night and stole them. Since our luggage is placed outside the tent, it would have been easy for you guys to remove something."

"Then why the hell did you put your shit outside, huh?" Sudou-kun took a step forward and scowled at Shinohara with an aggressive posture. "You could have placed your damn stuff in the tents just like we did. Stop accusing us of things just because you screwed up. We had nothing to do with this."

"Yeah, what Sudou said! Aside from that, why are we the bad guys? It's not like I want to pull them into this mess, but wouldn't it have been possible for the Class B or C guys as well? Why are we the only suspects?"

Discontent with the hostile treatment they received, Ike-kun supported his friend.

Our guests were taken aback.

They didn't seem angry or willing to complain about this sudden accusation, but a look of understanding surfaced in their eyes. Class B knew that my classmates didn't mean to attribute this petty crime to them, and just vented their frustration the only way they could, which showed why they were ranked so high in the class hierarchy.

Kanzaki-kun leaned towards Ichinose-san before his lips began to move.

It was impossible to understand anything due to his hushed voice and my classmates' complaints that reverberated through the cave, but I assumed that they were concerned about this sudden incident and began to suspect that Ryuuen's spies had made their move.

"Come to think of it. Didn't you take quite a while to come back after heading for the toilet, Ike?"

Are you serious?

I pinched the bridge of my nose, unable to believe Sotomura-kun's statement.

"What? N-no. I was just struggling... because it was dark."

"You stole the underwear, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't damn it. What about you, though? Weren't you after me? That's damn suspicious!"

Instead of covering each other like normal boys should, they decided to pin the blame on someone else. The accusations shifted from one boy to another, without a single trace of remorse. The complaints and insults grew in intensity, as neither of them wanted to take the fall for this.

Having had enough of this whole circus, I whistled.

My classmates turned around, eyeing me with expectations.

"First, Shinohara-san. Stop throwing accusations around as if they were free candy. This whole problem can be taken care of a lot sooner if everyone properly discusses what happened instead of pushing the blame on others. You guys as well. What is wrong with you? Take a deep breath and calm down."

Their frustrated reactions alone were enough proof that none of them had stolen the underwear, since they wouldn't have come up with such a stupid idea on their own. Boys like Yukimura-kun wouldn't support such a plan, but Ike-kun, Sotomura-kun, Okitani-kun and their whole group would have agreed to cover for each other if they had removed the panties from our luggage.

"But Matsushita-san, they —"

"What did I just say?"

Thanks to Fumei's support, I was in a rather powerful position in my class. Everyone had caught wind of the three expulsions in June and knew that I wouldn't shy away from ruthless actions if I deemed them necessary. This mixture of respect and fear must have been Horikita Manabu's plan from the very beginning.

"S-sorry..."

Shinohara lowered her head.

As a girl myself, I wouldn't let such a serious crime slide.

If one of the guys stole Karuizawa-san's underwear, he would be punished accordingly. This alone was an enormous 'if', since I suspected that one of our unwelcome visitors had performed this wicked act. Ibuki-san was the most suspicious person in the bunch, since Yamada-kun was too big and clumsy, while Shiina-san was too kind and earnest to indulge in thievery.

"You are sure that the underwear was stolen, right? It wasn't just displaced?"

"Of course." Shinohara huffed, hurt in her pride. "Karuizawa-san checked twice before asking around the tent. And everyone of us went through their luggage as well in case they got mixed up somehow."

"Okay. Let's assume that the underwear had indeed been stolen then." I turned towards my classmate with a concerned expression. "Hirata-kun, do you know where Kiyotaka is?"

"I haven't seen him since yesterday evening. He's not in the tent either."

"So he's not here? That's certainly suspicious."

"Ayanokouji-kun would never do something like that."

"Yeah, what's wrong with you, buddy?"

"Are you serious? Don't you just want to move the suspicion away from you and blame it on the next best person who can't defend himself? What kind of classmate are you?"

"Accusing someone who can't defend himself is a really low blow."

"Disgusting is the word you were looking for. He'd never steal underwear. Maybe it was you, though?"

My boyfriend received assistance from a completely unexpected direction before I could even glare at Ijuin-kun for this remark. Ichinose-san was the first to speak up in his defense, followed by Shibata-kun, Kanzaki-kun, Amikura-san, Himeno-san and most of their other classmates.

"Hey you bastard." Sudou grabbed the boy by his shoulders and glared at him with an angry expression. "Ayanokouji would never do this, Capiche?" He backed up and rubbed his nose with a strange expression of pride. "The only underwear he'd steal would be Matsushita-san's, so maybe he grabbed the wrong bag."

His joke, albeit inappropriate, brightened the mood.

"Sudou-kun..."

A vicious smirk appeared on my lips.

Even though I should have thanked him for improving the strained atmosphere, I couldn't look past the fact that he portrayed Kiyotaka in a bad light with this statement. He wouldn't steal anyone's underwear for such base motives.

Class D's lone delinquent jumped behind Hirata-kun and begged for his protection, as Mori-san, Satou-san and a few other girls in our class spoke out in Kiyotaka's favor. This came as no surprise, since we'd often hang out together in our free time when we weren't on a date or visiting Class B.

The two camps began arguing with each other.

While some were assured that my boyfriend would never have stolen a girl's underwear, others began to accuse him because of his rather suspicious absence and the fact that the Class B students defended him despite them being in different classes. They didn't seem to care that he was renewing the spots three times a day to keep our point game strong and concentrated on his 'questionable' relationship with our guests.

"Guys, I know you feel that it's unfair that you are being suspected of such a crime, but it's in all of our interest to clear this misunderstanding as soon as possible." I glanced at the wristwatch we received on the first day, which displayed the time as seven-forty. "We have around twenty minutes left until roll call, and I want to have this whole mess sorted out by then. That being said, I would like all the girls who haven't checked their luggage yet to make sure that no underwear is missing, and that nothing got mixed up by accident. While I will oversee this procedure for the girls, I'd like the boys to check their stuff as well under Hirata-kun's supervision."

My female classmates were unhappy that I threw them into the mix of potential suspects, but this was the most comfortable solution to pacify the boys to a certain degree. If the underwear was found with the girls, which I doubted, then the boys could rest assured that we would apologize for these unfounded accusations.

The girls trusted Hirata-kun, which was why he was the perfect choice to lead the inspection on the boys' side. Similar to them, I could count on his discretion if he were to find the stolen underwear, because he wouldn't reveal his knowledge to keep the peace in our class.

This would provide me enough time to find the real perpetrator.

Ichinose-san clapped twice, attracting the attention of her classmates.

"Alright everyone, you heard Matsushita-san. Let's get this done quickly. For our class I will take charge of the girls while Kanzaki-kun will check the boys' luggage. I trust that this arrangement is fine with all of you."

""Haaai~ Class Rep.""

"Shibata, you are up first for the boys. As for the rest, please prepare your luggage and line up behind him. We only have about nineteen minutes left before roll call, so let's get this done."

Class B's tight-knit bond was as impressive as always.

The girls agreed and jumped into action without wasting a second, while the boys moved along according to their directions. They lined up without complaints, forming a single file with their bags in hand.

Despite us being part of different classes, Ichinose-san kept supporting me. Her instructions wouldn't only prove their innocence, but also helped me to control my classmates. The quick agreement to this decided procedure pressured the Class D students, who didn't want to feel inferior to their competition.

The boys swallowed their pride, just as expected.

Since our visitors hadn't protested against this 'unfair treatment' even once, they would only embarrass themselves if they decided to oppose the ongoing procedure. They could also leave a better impression on their schoolmates after they had tarnished their reputation by blaming the theft on Kiyotaka.

Hirata-kun led with a positive example on our side and dumped the contents of his bag for everyone to see. Both boys and girls confirmed that he had hidden nothing suspicious, which established him as a reasonable overseer.

Ike-kun and the other boys groaned and cursed under their breath as they grabbed their own luggage. They lined up in front of the tent Hirata-kun had designated and entered one by one. The girls also queued up in front of my tent with little lamentation, despite their obvious discontent.

The wristwatch displayed seven fifty-five when the last person entered.

"I'm surprised that you are fine with this."

Horikita-san glanced at me with her usual weak complexion and sat down. Her whole body shuddered as she massaged her forehead with her thumb. She emptied her luggage in front of me and closed her eyes to relieve the apparent pain.

"I'm not, because I understand why you are doing this. Checking up on the girls is a waste of time. Hirata-kun, our visitors, as well as you and I know that the underwear won't be in our luggage. This is nothing but a charade for the boys, as they are less likely to complain if the girls are treated equally."

A chuckle echoed through the tent.

She was the first girl who had noticed this, or at least mentioned it to me. I knew that she was a smart student, since she helped the so-called idiot-duo study and had a major part in Sudou-kun's success during the exam period, but I was surprised about her candor.

"I wonder if the others also figured it out."

"That's doubtful. At best." A few deep, raspy coughs resonated through the tent before she shook her head in apology. "Sorry about that. I saw a silhouette at the bags last night."

I heaved a sigh of relief as my wish came true.

With her witness statement, I might be able to narrow down the list of suspects. Since she was relaxing the better part of the day, it wasn't weird to assume that she might have woken up during the night. Despite my best efforts to talk her out of staying, she didn't budge and insisted on sleeping outside.

"Could you tell anything?"

"It was hard to see due to the distance and the lit fire behind me, but the culprit was of slime stature. Size... I'd say around 1,60 meters. But that's only a rough estimate since I was lying down, so take it with a grain of salt. I couldn't see their face as the person had their back to me. The hair was medium, neck to shoulder length. I couldn't really make out the haircut, though."

"What happened afterwards?"

"No idea. I turned around and tried to sleep since I thought this was one of our classmates who simply forgot something or wanted to grab a tampon because she was having her period or a myriad of other things. The thought that someone might have been stealing underwear didn't even come to mind, to be honest. If I had known that something like this would happen... well. There's no use in crying over spilt milk."

Even if she would have acted on a sudden hunch, I doubted that she could have stopped the person in her condition. She was similar to Kiyotaka, not really interested in other people's business.

Maybe that's why the two are so close?

As the thief, Horikita would have been my biggest concern, whether I needed to sow discord in Class D and B or just craved to steal it for personal enjoyment. She wasn't in the tent with the others, and could, in theory, witness everything that happened during the night. The culprit might have just been bold and moved ahead with the plan despite her presence, hoping that she would react and let them know that they were caught in the moment.

Someone in Class C wouldn't know what kind of person Horikita-san was.

The three spies only arrived here after everyone had decided to take care of her, which could have led to the wrong conclusion: that she was quite popular and outgoing. If such a person witnessed this situation at night, she'd surely call out to them, even if it was just a kind gesture.

A simple mistake caused by the superficial knowledge they had gained after infiltrating our camp.

"May I ask why you are giving me this information? It's unusual for you to speak up on your own, even if you have knowledge about certain incidents. During Sudou-kun's trial, for example, you hadn't mentioned Sakura-san's involvement either."

She grabbed her clothes and folded them together before placing them in her bag.

"Well, Ayanokouji-kun... no. I feel it's the least I could do after being nothing but a burden throughout this trip. I'm not sick by choice, of course, but I reprimanded Sudou-kun and the others for being useless to the class before. All I'm doing is standing true to my words while trying to be at least somewhat profitable."

"You have a weird sense of responsibility, but I understand why Kiyotaka defended you."

"Defended me?"

Horikita-san stopped and tilted her head as she was about to leave the tent.

"Haven't you heard what took place between him and Shinohara-san?"

"I noticed that something happened because Ike-kun and Shinohara-san apologized during dinner that one time, but I'm not really interested in either of them. Ayanokouji-kun mentioned that it was nothing, so I left it at that. It's not like I'm talking to anyone aside from him, so you shouldn't be that surprised about my unawareness."

Kiyotaka kept this to himself?

He probably didn't want to worry Horikita-san while she was sick. Despite his busy schedule, he took care of her whenever he could, which might lead her to feel indebted to him. This appreciation would only increase if she knew what he did for her, but Kiyotaka wasn't the type of person who would reveal such things. Others might have acted this way to curry favor with her, but he actively tried to hide it so that she wouldn't feel bad.

I peered at my wristwatch.

"It's almost time for roll call. We'll talk later, okay?"

My boyfriend wanted to keep this a secret, so I wouldn't interfere. He must have realized that she would stop asking after he said that nothing happened and hoped that she would never come to know what he did. I could only imagine how uncomfortable this situation would be for him, since he had lost his cool for the first time since we've known him.

Horikita-san was taken aback by my sudden change in attitude, but left the tent without complaints or further questions. I followed her outside where Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun already waited, done with their own investigations. According to their expressions, nothing had been found on either of their sides, which meant that Hirata-kun must have drawn the short straw in this lottery.

The boy in question joined us a few moments later with a relieved expression.

"How did it go?"

"Everyone's bags were clean, same with the tents and pockets."

The girls looked at each other, confused by this outcome.

They had been sure that one of the guys was the culprit, so this situation was surprising, impossible, even. Hirata-kun didn't seem to hide anything either, which worried me, since I was convinced that he should have found Karuizawa-san's underwear during his search.

Did the Class C student keep it?

"Huh? But then where's Karuizawa-san's underwear? It's not like she's been imagining it."

"Yeah, it has to be somewhere, right? Maybe one of the boys hid it in the forest."

Shinohara and Maezono-san had difficulties believing this situation and began accusing the boys in a desperate last-ditch attempt. It wasn't difficult to imagine that the boys would get angry over such an absurd allegation.

"The hell is wrong with you? First you accuse us of hiding her damn underwear in our luggage and now that this was debunked, we suddenly climbed on a tree and used it as a flag or what? Are you fucking crazy?"

"Exactly. How about you apologize first? We had to wake up sooner and had to go through this whole ordeal because of your allegations, yet neither of us was the culprit. Tell them Hirata! We're innocent!"

Shinohara glanced towards me, folding her arms.

"Isn't there still one person's luggage we haven't searched?"

"I showed mine to Kushida-san. You may ask her if you don't believe me."

"That's not what I'm talking about, though. Your boyfriend isn't here, so his bag hasn't been searched yet, right? The same could be said about his pockets. What if he's off burying her panties right now?"

"What did you just say?"

My voice turned cold and this excuse of a woman immediately realized that she had misspoken. Hirata-kun's mouth moved as she stumbled a few steps back, but I couldn't hear a thing over the boiling rage that painted my view red.

The circumstances were indeed weird, so I could have understood her worries if she had presented them in a calm, non-contentious manner. His bag hadn't been searched, and he hadn't turned up even now, barely a minute before roll call. It would have been simple for Kiyotaka to slip in and out during his run while everyone slept.

I would have accepted her concerns.

But not like this.

"That's indeed suspicious! Maybe he — OUCH! Sudou!"

Ike-kun's piercing scream was so discomforting that I had to close my eyes to stop my ears from ringing. Sudou-kun tapped his back as he glanced at me with a worried expression. I took a deep breath and nodded in gratitude.

Huh, what am I doing?

Getting saved by Sudou-kun and Ike-kun of all people.

How embarrassing...

"Hirata-kun, could you go through his bag? He'd understand."

"Sure, I'll —"

A loud whistling sound cut straight through our conversation.

"It's time for roll-call. Everyone line up."

"Everyone, let's line up!"

Chabashira-sensei couldn't have been any more different from Hoshinomiya-sensei. While the former ordered us in a bored, almost antagonistic manner, the latter called out to her class with a bright, sparkling smile on her face.

Both homeroom teachers went through their respective list of students. As always, everyone answered once their name came up. I glanced around, hoping that Kiyotaka was nearby and would still make it in time.

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

The camp was silent as everyone surveyed their surroundings for the missing student.

"Absent."

She made a note on her clipboard and kept going through the rest of our classmates. The entirety of Class B and most of the Class D students began to worry, because it was unlike Kiyotaka to miss roll call, which meant that something must have happened.

Chabashira-sensei dismissed us after she was done with the list.

I called out to my classmates, seizing the initiative.

"Since Kiyotaka is still gone, I assume that he had an accident during his trip at night. Let's form groups of two or three and go look for him. We'll search along the path he should have taken, only in reverse, hoping that he's closer to the end. Is that alright with everyone?"

Ichinose-san and her classmates were done grouping up before I even finished talking. Hirata-kun and the other boys also agreed that Kiyotaka should be on top of their to-do list and began forming groups as the first pairs from Class B vanished into the forest.

"Hey, wait! What about his luggage? We still haven't checked it."

"Shinohara-san, can't this wait a bit? Isn't a missing person more important?"

Kushida-san stumbled back in disbelief, tears forming in her eyes.

The heartless actions of her ruthless classmate were enough to make her want to cry. She shook her head, disappointed and appalled by Shinohara's apparent disregard for a missing friend and walked off with Mii-chan and Satou-san.

"I... but... Karuizawa-san... She..."

This whole time she had tried to redeem her badly damaged image, which she broke apart further with her current actions. She led this crusade, believing that Karuizawa-san would be thankful and lost sight of how people would perceive her during the clash with the boys. She didn't realize how loathsome she behaved in order to restore her crumbling reputation.

Karuizawa-san trudged out of the tent with red swelling beneath her eyes, fuming with anger about her missing underwear. Even back at roll call, she had barely pushed her head out of the tent to confirm her presence.

"Matsushita-san, is it alright if I stay here? I'm not feeling well at the moment." She rubbed her tear-stricken eyes and turned towards Hirata-kun. "There's no need to check Ayanokouji-kun's bag either. He wouldn't do something like this."

Shinohara had shoveled her own grave.

She hadn't realized that Karuizawa-san was one of the girls who knew him the longest, so she, as well as everyone else in our usual group, was pretty confident that he had done nothing that warranted this excessive suspicion.

"I'll check the bag before going. Alright, Shinohara-san?"

Hirata-kun, who always tried to please everyone, offered this compromise in order to pick up the pieces of her shattered respect. He returned to his tent to check on Kiyotaka's luggage as I looked around our camp.

All but two Class B students had long since vanished.

Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun must have assigned them to this position in case the Class C students tried anything during their absence. The Class D camp also emptied as Karuizawa-san returned to her tent. Shinohara stared into my eyes and took a step back in fright.

There was no need to threaten or intimidate her.

This woman was dead to me.

She wouldn't survive this school, even if it cost us points.

"Hirata-kun, could you stay here with Shinohara-san and Karuizawa-san?"

"Good thinking. Yes, I'll take care of everything here. Just bring Ayanokouji-kun back in one piece."

His voice sounded muffled through the tent's fabric, but it wasn't difficult to hear him. Aside from us six, no one was left in the camp, or so I had thought. As I was about to leave for the forest, a shadow leaped over me. The blonde, well-built boy performed a graceful, almost artistic landing and turned around with a sparkling grin on his lips.

"Isn't this quite the coincidence? Princess girl?"

Damn it, what a pathetic display...

Was anyone of us allowed to call Ayanokouji 'friend'?

While Class D was still arguing over Karuizawa's damned missing underwear, Class B begun forming groups and sent their students out to look for someone who wasn't even in their class. During our stay here, it became obvious how close he was with them and after today's behavior from our classmates, I couldn't fault him.

If Class A had walked by or listened to our discussion in the cave, they would have assumed that he was a Class B student. There was not a single doubt in my mind that they would have called us liars if we claimed anything else.

"A-ayanokouji-kun!"

"Ayanokouji-kun!"

Sakura and Hasebe wandered in front of me, glancing left and right in search of our missing classmate. The former wouldn't have screamed in such a loud volume, but her behavior clarified that she was worried about her friend. She had told me that Ayanokouji was one of the biggest reasons that she made her statement during the trial, because he kept encouraging her to do what she thought was right.

He did as much for me as Matsushita-san, and I didn't even know.

What have I ever done for him?

"""Ayanokouji-kun!"""

Multiple groups of Class B students ran around the forest in front of us. They had split up into groups of two to three and spread themselves out in a far more effective way than we did. Instead of walking over the terrain in lumps, they split their smaller groups until they were barely in sight to cover the largest area possible.

Just how fucking embarrassing was our class?

Shinohara, Ijuin and even Ike tried to frame Ayanokouji, while he wasn't present to explain himself. I joked around like a complete idiot, unaware how serious the situation was. He occupied those damn spots for us until he collapsed somewhere on this huge island, and we thanked him with mistrust and a bloody knife in the back.

What a fucking clown show.

I knew I should have had my eye on him when he grew worse.

Damn it!

He had always been there when I was in trouble, but what had I done for him so far..?

What the fuck happened?

This wasn't part of my briefing!

"Kiyotaka!"

My concerned voice traveled past the trees and shrubs without receiving an answer. Small remnants of tears slid down my cheeks before I rubbed my eyes with the sleeve of my jersey. I sniveled, portraying deep concern for my missing friend.

The words he had entrusted me at the beach still rung clear.

None of these expressions were real, since I was assured that he was fine, even though he hadn't informed me of this change in his plan. I believed his statement and followed my usual routine if something like this would have happened, as I had received no special instructions.

Still, why didn't he tell me?

""Ayanokouji-kun!""

Both Mii-chan and Satou stumbled over the rugged terrain, desperate to find him.

I knew that he went out with their group on multiple occasions, but it was still surprising to see how popular he was with everyone he met up regularly. Even the self-centered Karuizawa was more worried about him than her missing underwear, despite the fear that one of the guys had stolen it.

Fuck, why do I feel so uneasy?

It's not like anyone could have hurt him, even if they tried. He was Kiyotaka, after all. Back when he beat up that store clerk, I had seen how brutal and unhinged he could be, yet regardless of this violent display, he was calm, collected and always in control of his body. Proof of this was the knee-feint against me where he had stopped just millimeters before it would have hurt, despite the initial velocity of his attack.

There was no way someone like this would lose a fight.

""Ayanokouji-kun!""

Why didn't he notify me?

Did he leave me in the dark because of Kouenji?

This was the only explanation I could come up with after our talk. Kouenji would misread my reactions and might get a wrong impression of our current relationship. He would have realized that I didn't know about Kiyotaka's supposed accident, because I acted in genuine surprise when he hadn't shown up for roll call.

Just how far ahead had he planned?

"Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Ayanokouji!"

The anxious voices of my classmates drifted past me from everywhere around the forest. The Class D students, who were around fifty meters behind us, kept calling out to him as well.

"Where are you..?"

My concerned tone was distinct, so it wasn't difficult to deduce that I was falling apart as I thought about Ayanokouji-kun who could lie on the ground covered in dirt, all alone and hurt. If this search remained unsuccessful for much longer, I didn't know what would become of me.

"He could be everywhere... Wait!" Kanzaki-kun's sudden statement granted me the hope I had already lost. I peered into his eyes, filled with expectations. "The wristwatches we received during the schools introduction of the exam. How did we miss this?"

This sudden realization struck me like a lightning strike during a thunderstorm.

Hoshinomiya-sensei explained that the watches doubled as our lifeline if something were to happen during the test period. We would need to push a button to call for help, but the device itself should still be locatable because of the built-in GPS.

They also came equipped with sensors that monitored our health during the trip, which meant that his vitals hadn't dropped below the acceptable threshold. The helicopter back on the beach would have already taken flight if his life was in danger, so I felt somewhat relieved by not hearing the rotors above us.

Matsushita-san must have forgotten about the watches as well, otherwise she wouldn't have been this anxious. Someone who could plan this far ahead and around specific actions people might take wouldn't be shaken up by Ayanokouji-kun's absence if she had remembered the trackers.

Or was this part of her plan?

What about the apparent anger towards Shinohara-san?

No, stop it. Ayanokouji-kun is more important right now.

"I found him!" My eyes widened as I turned to the right where Shibata-kun's voice originated from. "Ichinose-san, Kanzaki-kun!" He waved and jumped up repeatedly upon seeing our figures. "Here!"

Mako-chan and a few others came running from his right and gathered around the injured boy, who lay motionless in the dirt. His face and parts of his arms had scratches spanning over multiple centimeters. The jersey was ripped in various places, including his legs, arms and even the chest area.

"Ayanokouji-kun?"

I raced towards him and kneeled down.

His rib cage was moving up and down, proof that he was still alive.

Without thinking too much about anything, I lifted his head and placed it on my lap. The repeated calls of my weak, trembling voice weren't answered, no matter how often my fingers slid over his peaceful face. Teardrops followed and mixed with the dirt and grass in his smooth hair as I kept caressing over him, trying to wipe away the bloody trails that span over his cheek.

"Hamaguchi checked the top and told us there were signs of someone slipping. Add this to the marks along this descent. It's obvious what happened. The initial impact on the ground must have knocked him out cold on his way back."

Shibata trailed his finger along the path Ayanokouji-kun fell.

"Any signs of foul-play?"

Kanzaki-kun narrowed his eyes and walked up the small ravine.

"It doesn't look like there was anyone else beside him."

"Ayanokouji-kun?"

My soft voice must have eventually reached him, as his eyelashes twitched. He groaned and moved his head, seconds before his weak golden orbs peered into my tearing spheres.

"Ichinose? Why are you crying?"

His voice was feeble and raspy, which was a clear sign of his current constitution. If I hadn't been so worried about his health, I might have laughed about the fact that his poker face hadn't changed a bit, despite the pain he should have been suffering.

"Sorry that I broke my promise."

"You idiot..."

I leaned onto his forehead and shed even more tears before my whole body shook in surprise, almost as if I had been seen doing something I shouldn't have done. Almost the same as back in middle school...

"Kiyotaka!"

"Honami-chan."

Mako-chan grabbed my shoulder and gestured me to move away.

Even though I didn't want to give up on him, it was the correct decision under these circumstances. I lifted his head and carefully placed it back on the ground, just in time before Matsushita-san arrived on the scene.

"Kiyotaka! What happened?"

She flung herself around him, tears streaming down her eyes.

This single interaction was more than enough proof that she truly cared about him. It didn't matter how she tried to deceive us, or how she didn't react when Ayanokouji-kun pushed himself towards his breaking point, because her feelings for him were obvious.

Shibata-kun explained everything once again.

Multiple factors had led to Ayanokouji-kun's current condition. It was dark and he must have been exhausted from continuously running the whole course three times a day. Even now, he struggled and fought to renew all the spots and only collapsed on his way back to our camp.

"Sorry that I missed roll call."

"Kiyobaka..."

She rubbed away the tears in the corners of her eyes and bent forward to kiss him.

I coiled away, as this wasn't something I wanted to see if I could help it. The Class D student who was with her seemed bored, as if he was too good to be here. I had heard about Kouenji-kun from the upperclassmen, but this was my first time meeting him outside from the daily roll call before he vanished into the forest.

"Well, princess girl, we found your prince." He glanced at his wristwatch as a smirk appeared on his face. "Unfortunately, it's getting late. Are you prepared to lose the spots from now on?"

"What? Are you kidding me? How is he supposed to occupy the spots in that condition. His health is far more important than a few stupid points. What is wrong with you people? You are horrible!"

Mako-chan raised her voice and regarded the boy with an angry expression.

"I agree with you that those monkeys are quite horrible people, Shark-chan, but please don't lump a perfect existence, such as myself, with those primates. Factoring me into this equation changes everything."

""Huh?!""

None of the present Class B students could fathom what this person said.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll carry him to the spots for the rest of the exam. How's that?"

I couldn't think clearly.

How could I, after finding my boyfriend like this?

Even though I was handicapped, there was no way that Kouenji-kun would offer me such a deal without a considerable price. If it were in my hands, I would retire him on the spot, but he wasn't hurt enough to warrant a withdrawal since he was our designated leader, otherwise the school would have already reacted.

Kouenji-kun had an impeccable timing, offering me such a deal. The class was in danger of splitting up due to the underwear incident. Shinohara aside, the other girls were just as unhappy and worried about their own clothes. The class climate would go down the drain if we lost the reassurance of these points.

Everything played in Kouenji-kun's favor.

Was this just a coincidence?

He was without a doubt a capable man, but could he plan something like this?

Would he be able to pull this off?

No... there was no use in suspecting him. Not because of his abilities, but his stature, that differed from the one Horikita-san had made out. Unless he was working together with Class C, which was a possibility. He didn't care about any of us and would rather save up twenty million private points to assure his position in Class A at the end of the third year.

Was this the reason he stayed on the island?

"What do you want?"

"500.000 private points per trip. Additionally, if there is a special exam where we have to vote out one of our classmates, then you will protect me and make sure that I'm not the one being left behind. I don't care who is expelled as long as this person isn't me. These terms are nonnegotiable. Take it or leave it, princess girl."

A sudden gust of dizziness assaulted me upon hearing this insane number.

If Kiyotaka retired as planned, this deal would still cost me about two to three million private points. The additional term wasn't a problem, since I doubted that the school would force a class to vote out one of their own. Even if they did, I could sacrifice Shinohara and be done with her for good.

Would Fumei help me come up with these points?

I clenched my fists.

"250.000 per run."

Horikita Manabu assured me that he would help Class D ascend to the top, no matter what and he already paid a hefty amount of points to 'introduce' my abilities to my classmates, which meant that he was prepared to fork out points if I needed them. But his asking price was too high.

"Goodbye."

Kouenji-kun turned and ran off.

"Wait!"

He stopped in his tracks, not even turning around.

If I didn't pay him now, my classmates would lose their momentum. Fumei would understand this reasoning if I asked him for points. In the worst case, he could lend them to me, even though I wasn't sure whether I could repay him in less than a year before he left.

"500.000 per run. But you'll take care of something else as well."

A thundering laugh echoed through the forest as a knowing smirk appeared on his face. The bodies of the Class B students as well as the trees shook in accordance to his rhythm.

Due to Class B's presence, I couldn't tell him to find the leaders for me. It was already bad enough that they were aware of such a wildcard in our class, but this couldn't be helped anymore. At least we had a good relationship with them, otherwise they might be able to utilize him to their advantage.

"I'm aware of your conditions and they are not a problem for a perfect existence, such as my humble self. I'll take Ayanokouji-boy for his first trip while you set up a contract for the two of us, yes?"

"That's fine with me."

He lifted the still dazed Kiyotaka and piggybacked him before vanishing into the forest.

Thanks to Class B's quick thinking, we had no trouble gathering our classmates.

When Ichinose-san's companions saw that we found Kiyotaka, they spread out in the different directions to inform everyone that was looking for him that they could head back. The information about the accident spread like a wildfire and everyone knew what happened before we returned to camp.

I opened the manual and ripped out two of the empty pages that were reserved for notes and calculations before setting up a contract between Kouenji-kun and me, as well as the leader of Class D. In the improbable case that the leader were to switch, he would want to be assured of his promised insurance. At the end, I added a final penalty clause that voided the points I needed to pay, in case he failed to deliver the correct leaders.

If Fumei decided not to thrust out the points for me, I would have a big problem.

But I would cross that bridge when it was time.

After signing my name on both copies, I rolled them up and waited for his return as I strolled through the camp. The atmosphere in the class was still on edge because the theft remained unresolved, despite our previous efforts.

"Matsushita-san, could we talk for a moment?"

Hirata-kun walked up to me with a serene yet worried expression. He was confused because of the smile that formed on my lips, but this was the only reaction I could muster after realizing that he must have found the underwear we were looking for.

This thin piece of fabric was one of the most important objects to get our class back on track. I was relieved that my trust in Hirata-kun hadn't been misplaced, and that he sought me out. According to his expression and the timing, he must have discovered it in Kiyotaka's bag.

"Of course."

The two of us strolled out of the camp and into the nearby woods. He turned around after the voices of our classmates fell silent and surveyed our surroundings to make sure that no one had followed us.

"I found this in Ayanokouji-kun's bag." He pulled out a piece of pink underwear, which must have been the one we were looking for. "Karuizawa-san confirmed that her underwear was pink after I asked her. I didn't mention that I'd found it, of course, since I figured we should decide what to do together."

His face was colored in surprise as I heaved a sigh. It took only a few moments until he realized that I already expected his discovery and didn't believe for a second that this was Kiyotaka's doing.

"I'm glad that I trusted you with this information, because I don't know how to proceed from here without starting another civil war. I might be able to convince Karuizawa-san that I stole it, but I'm not sure if this is the correct move."

A laugh escaped my lips as I leaned against a nearby tree.

"This whole exam... it's just too much. I thought I could handle it, you know? But that couldn't have been further from the truth. I'm just so tired, sick of all the lies and the scheming..."

It was strange that I trusted him with these thoughts, but Hirata-kun exuded a calming atmosphere that made it easy to share one's opinions, concerns and miseries with him. I couldn't fault the girls for believing in him.

"You are doing a great job at leading the class, Matsushita-san. You shouldn't sell yourself short. Things don't always work out the way we want them to, but you aren't alone either. You can depend on your classmates."

It was difficult being a leader.

This was the second time during this exam that I seriously contemplated about just quitting. I realized that it would be exhausting to keep a class like this afloat, but this was so much worse than I could have imagined.

Class D was in a difficult position and I still needed to consider our wildcard Kouenji-kun, who might have set all of this up in order to accumulate private points. I could neither trust nor depend on him, since I couldn't know whether I was the highest bidder.

Aside from him, I had to deal with the spies and whatever Class A was doing behind the scenes. Finding Class C's leader was almost impossible since I didn't have a single reference point to start from and Katsuragi-kun wouldn't think himself safe after such a pitiful misdirect.

He had to have prepared something.

I was too arrogant, thinking that I could pull this class on my own.

This was the first time Fumei wasn't available to help me out and everything went wrong. My plan was still on track, but I gambled on every single deal I had made. If a single cog failed, the whole contraption would collapse and bury me alive.

Was this something a suitable leader would do?

"Could you get Kushida-san and bring her here? We'll need her help."

"As expected, you already have something in mind. I'll be right back."

The clock hit nine-thirty as Hirata-kun vanished between the trees.

Kouenji-kun's demands revealed what he was after.

Even though I didn't know how many points he possessed, I was assured of his plans going forward. The problems I faced were the additional deals he might have finalized with the other classes. Even if Horikita-san saw the perpetrator only at night, she shouldn't have been too far off with her observation.

The closest student matching this description was Ibuki-san.

If he made a deal with them, he might have ordered her to frame Kiyotaka while he was throwing him down that ravine. I needed to expand on the initial contract and add a clause that forbade him from damaging Class D for the remainder of this exam, which would lift one more burden off my chest.

I wasn't confident in these assumptions, but every viable scenario should be reviewed.

Aside from him, I still had the three Class C students to worry about.

Ibuki-san must have set this incident in motion, but I wanted to talk to her first to gather more information as she or one of her classmates might have been the reason for Yamauchi-kun's expulsion as well. Shiina-san and Yamada-kun also needed to be questioned, just in case they had been involved in any capacity.

Class A had been a mystery from start to finish.

They weren't doing anything but sitting around, which unsettled me. The remaining classes forged alliances for the future, or made deals and moves behind the scenes, but Class A seemed to do nothing but observe us from the sidelines.

Would they be this pacifistic?

Once Hirata-kun came back with Kushida-san, I would let them deal with the tense situation for now. Socializing was their strong suit, so they would surely come up with solutions that would allow me some time to conclude my investigation into the incident. Kouenji-kun would take care of the spots, while I could spend the rest of my free time to analyze potential targets for upcoming external attacks.

Now what about Kiyotaka?

I felt awful — no, horrible and disgusted by myself because of the plan to poison him. He did everything in his power to aid the class, and I couldn't even protect him from... me. Despite the cheap excuses I had prepared to defend my behavior, I couldn't bear my horrid reflection in the mirror.

What kind of sick girlfriend was I?

Kiyotaka didn't deserve any of this.

From the next exam onwards, I would do anything to keep him out of harm's way. Not only this, but I would make sure to repay him for everything he had done for this class and me. I would spoil him until he could forget all of this.

Definitely.

Hirata-kun returned with Kushida-san in tow, a few moments after my mental vow to my boyfriend. At first she was following him with a questioning gaze but understood the implications as soon as our eyes met.

"Let's get to work."