"Hoshinomiya-sensei doesn't seem to like me anymore. Did I do something stupid without realizing it? I mean, I'm glad that she leaves me alone for once, but receiving this sudden cold-shoulder hurts..."
His golden orbs dimmed as he turned towards me with a dejected expression.
It was a given that he had noticed the changes in her behavior, even if he hadn't been as observant as I believed him to be. Previously, she doted on him every time the two of them met, but now she treated him with indifference, or a slight aversion.
"I'm not sure. Maybe she is just anxious because this is our first ever special exam. Hoshinomiya-sensei might have just now realized that you aren't part of our class and is hesitant to stay close to you during this time."
A forced laugh escaped my lips, drowning my guilty conscience.
This little half truth was all I could muster. I felt horrible, but I couldn't tell him what she had said to me. I trusted him, maybe more than some of my own classmates, but I didn't want to throw a wedge in their relationship.
All of this might have just been a silly misunderstanding.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Whatever Ayanokouji-kun wanted to convey, it was bound to be important.
"Ibuki Mio. Chiaki thinks she is spying for Ryuuen."
"Matsushita-san does?"
I wasn't surprised that he knew about her thoughts since they were a couple. The two naturally talked about such things since they trusted each other. What amazed me, however, was the idea itself.
Was it perhaps his?
"Kikyou also brought over a Class C girl who seemed to have been beaten by Ryuuen. After I told Chiaki about Ibuki, she figured that they might be spies planted by him. To what end, she didn't know for certain, but she assumed that Ibuki was supposed to narrow down your leader and Shiina was with us to gather information on how she operated."
This was also the first idea that popped into my mind now that he spelled it out for me.
Kanzaki-kun and I had presumed that Matsushita-san wanted to pocket the first few spots to gain free bonus points before she focused on a few important places around the cave, but this theory fell through the water when Ayanokouji-kun openly stated that he wanted to sleep here because of his route.
Ibuki-san, the supposed Class C spy, had also heard this.
His girlfriend didn't seem to mind that they were broadcasting their intentions to everybody, even though it revealed Ayanokouji-kun as Class D's leader for certain. Due to some organizational matters that had come up after he had left, I didn't have enough time to think about this thoroughly, but the whole situation was more than just confusing.
Had Kanzaki-kun figured this out already?
He must have since he took a step back from managing the class for about an hour.
The puzzle began to take form as my mind began to assemble these pieces with the help of everything that had happened so far. An uncomfortable feeling began to develop in my stomach as I realized that Class D had a plan we didn't know about, which was why neither of them cared that Ayanokouji-kun was revealing himself as the leader.
Calm down, Honami... take a step back.
Without relying on guesswork or reading more into any specific situation, I began to rework through everything I knew so far and narrowed down the facts I possessed for certain, starting with the most confusing one:
Matsushita-san was surprised when I revealed Ayanokouji-kun as their cardholder.
Her mimic, gestures and reaction betrayed this. There was also the note we had received from the person who took the spots, which had to have been Ayanokouji-kun, because he left before everyone else as Class D's designated leader.
But this made no sense.
If this was true, his girlfriend should have been aware that the other classes could narrow down their leader eventually, since they didn't even try to hide his position. The Class C students, who had been planted as spies in our midst, were proof of this.
Yet, she didn't care if they found out.
This meant that our initial thoughts must have been wrong, or at least faulty, to a certain degree. Matsushita-san must have been the one who had sent Ayanokouji-kun to Class B's spot, knowing full well that it didn't matter whether his status was revealed to us.
With this, I could conclude that her surprise about our observation must have been fake.
She knew from the beginning that all classes would figure out that Ayanokouji-kun was the cardholder, because she never planned to hide this detail from us. With this in mind, my initial assumption about the note might have been wrong as well.
Could he have done all of this on his own accord, without her knowledge?
No — he wouldn't deceive us like this.
Stop it, Honami. Try to think objectively.
I like him more than I want to admit, but my classmates are also important to me.
Without listening to my feelings about him, would he have been able to pull this off?
No — there was no way that he occupied the leader position with no one noticing. If he had walked up to their teacher and asked for the card, everyone in his class should have heard him, since they were discussing their game plan with their classmates, just like every other class.
Even if he had somehow managed to accomplish such an improbable feat, it was impossible that they hadn't realized his position immediately after figuring out that someone took the leader card.
If this had been his plan, he would have sat with us during our discussion about the deal in order to make sure that everything worked out as planned because it wouldn't have made any sense to hide himself from his girlfriend, since she would have known about his plans at this point in time.
I made a terrible mistake...
'The message I had received before the midterms could have only been sent by Ayanokouji-kun.'
This was the solution I had come up with after careful consideration of the facts I knew for certain. He was the only one that had been close enough with Class B to help us. It was indisputable that he knew how the anonymous tokens worked, because he explained them to me during the incident with Sudou-kun.
Thus, the theory that he had hidden his capabilities had taken shape.
Now, with more information, a different solution revealed itself.
What if Matsushita-san used the fact that Ayanokouji-kun was friends with us to her advantage?
She must have known that the two of us were close, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to interrupt us when she believed that I wanted to confess to him. With this in mind, she could have sent us the old test papers, making us think that he had relayed this information to us.
Had he tipped us off by accident?
When I tried to pay for the information we purchased to support Class D during their troubles with Class C, he had mentioned that his girlfriend showed him how the tokens worked, which she couldn't have known about.
I glanced at the boy, who leaned against the tree with a relaxed expression.
He seemed to enjoy the silence that had ensued between us, which came as no surprise. Ayanokouji-kun wasn't an overly social person and enjoyed it much more to be alone or with a few close friends.
Shaking my head, I banished these thoughts and focused on the matter at hand.
Could Matsushita-san have planned that I would threaten her with information that had no value? Was she aware that I would feel bad about intimidating them and add some extra points to sweeten the deal further?
Had she calculated all of this beforehand?
Seventy-five points were the exact amount that allowed them to keep all of theirs untouched.
Was this just a coincidence?
No, it was too convenient.
Was she aware of my thought processes and used this to her advantage?
Did she use our relationship with Ayanokouji-kun to play me?
Right now, I had no options but to ask him and figure out if he was telling the truth. After my internal recess, I was positive that she had feigned her surprise about my threat.
If she did this once, then why not twice?
She seemed confused about the deal I had proposed, but what if she hadn't been?
What if I had danced in her palm the whole time?
"Ah, that reminds me, Ayanokouji-kun!" I buried the doubts in my heart and feigned the usual, happy Ichinose Honami that everyone knew. "I never thanked you for leaving the note for us. Due to the arrangement we made with Matsushita-san, we will gain more points than we had hoped for, all thanks to you. For the midterm papers as well, we never conveyed our gratitude."
Time seemed to have stopped, as I was never so scared to hear his voice before.
I had been so blinded by my belief that he was the person behind the token that I disregarded Matsushita-san, who joined us after she and Ayanokouji-kun became a couple, which is why she never made it on the list of suspects.
What if she had only asked him out because of his connection with us?
"Huh? I haven't sent you any midterm papers. I wanted to, but Chiaki said that it was better to keep this information to ourselves so that we could make up for our deficit after the first month. I figured that she had reconsidered after you told me that you guys had received the papers and extended your thanks to her. The note was also Chiaki's idea, so you shouldn't thank me for this opportunity."
Those cruel words kept echoing in my mind.
Just how far ahead had she planned all of this?
Matsushita-san used my connection with Ayanokouji-kun to her advantage before the two of us even knew each other. She must have seen him with us and devised this scheme to plant a false seed of trust between him and us, which she could exploit whenever she needed to.
She had used his kindness and our relationship to gain an advantage for the future.
How... was this even possible?
I took another step backwards and reevaluated everything I knew for a third time. Then a fourth... and a fifth. With every new calculation, I crossed off a potential scenario until only one was left:
Matsushita-san had orchestrated all of this from the beginning.
Her plan must have been to make us think that Ayanokouji-kun betrayed us, which would explain why Hoshinomiya-sensei mistrusted him. She noticed that something was wrong, but was unaware that he wasn't pulling the strings. Our teacher couldn't know that his girlfriend exploited him to get to us.
Class D's leader had set up this elaborate scheme in which Ayanokouji-kun would have been painted as the bad guy if he hadn't shared certain trivial information with us, which prevented her plan from succeeding.
Sadness and fear welled up inside of me.
Not only had I messed up this special exam, with which we could have made a huge step towards Class A, I also failed to realize that we had been used from the beginning. The only hope I had left was that Kanzaki-kun wouldn't step into such a trap due to his cautious nature.
He would surely lead our class better than I could.
The small tears I tried to hold back squeezed through my eyes.
My class had trusted me unconditionally, and I had miscalculated during such an important time.
"Ayanokouji-kun..."
His soothing name left my mouth, as I was unable to hold back the yearning of my deepest desires. I was ashamed of showing him such an unsightly, disgraceful part of myself. Embarrassed that he saw the weak, fragile version of Ichinose Honami that I had trusted no one with.
It was painful to see everything I had built up, all the trust, companionship and expectations I had fostered, crumble into dust right in front of me because of a single mistake.
My classmates wouldn't fault me for this, which made me even more frustrated.
This single misjudgment resulted in a plethora of wrong decisions.
The time-bomb she had placed in our midst would have kept ticking and she would have played her card eventually. If it hadn't been now, she would have done so at a later date, once an opportunity presented itself.
Was this her way of punishing me for falling in love with her boyfriend?
If she could think and plan this far ahead, then she must have noticed my feelings for him. She could be quite possessive, seen by her actions behind the gymnasium. This, however, would require her to care about Ayanokouji-kun, but I wasn't sure if this was the case or if she had only used him.
Something warm and comfortable embraced me.
My shoulders, chest and back were cradled by a gentle warmth which mitigated the whole situation. Like the scummy thief I was, I leaned further into him and burrowed my head in his gentle shoulder.
Never in my life had I felt so saved, so comfortable.
I barely managed to hold back my tears due to his reassuring presence alone.
Kanzaki-kun must have realized that we had been played, since he had taken the time to think things through a few hours ago. He should have understood everything after Ayanokouji-kun had asked if he could sleep in our camp, because he must have already assumed that Ibuki-san was a spy, while I believed her lies due to my inherent nature to see the best in people.
Was this the reason he behaved as usual in front of him?
He must have given me this extra time to figure things out for myself, since he had faith in my abilities to recognize my faults and learn from the mistakes I made before it was too late. If I hadn't realized it today, he would have informed me of his conclusions tomorrow and we would have followed his countermeasures from this point onwards.
Ayanokouji-kun's warm embrace didn't loosen, even after some time had passed. He held me in his strong, sturdy arms and caressed my back until I managed to pull myself away from his irresistible scent and the compelling warmth he exuded.
"Did something happen? With your question from before... did Chiaki go back on her word or something?"
"No..." I shook my head, forcing a smile. "I was just being silly, that's all. This whole exam is quite overwhelming, and I felt so lost and alone for a moment. Not because of something anyone had done, just because I miss school, you know?"
Matsushita-san might have messed with us, but I wouldn't use this to drive a wedge between them. This wasn't the sort of person I wanted to be. Ayanokouji-kun was happy in his relationship, but if I found out that she was playing with his feelings, then I would rain hell down upon her.
"I miss school as well. Let's go visit the karaoke with everyone once we are back."
"Mh..." My lips parted after a brief respite to collect my jumbled thoughts. "Matsushita-san, she doesn't know that you told me about Ibuki-san, does she?"
"She doesn't... We talked about it, but she wanted me to keep the information under wraps for now because she worried that they might notice changes in your behavior." He clenched his fists and peered at me. "But we are in an alliance, right? We should work together, so it would be weird to keep such important updates from you. I also know that I can trust you, and only you, which is why I wanted to talk to you in private."
I couldn't stop the beaming smile that formed on my face, even if I wanted to.
"Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun. I'll make sure that you don't regret putting your trust in me."
This piece of information was enough to put me back on my feet, because not all was lost just yet. The reason he could tell me all of this was because she really liked him. This meant that the plan I had spun up would still work.
I just needed to change my reasons for our proposal to form an incentive to agree, which wasn't difficult.
She was the same as me, after all.
Ayanokouji-kun was her blind spot.
Ichinose and I ambled back to Class B's bonfire after our short, yet fruitful talk.
She must have been busy throughout the day, or she would have realized what I had prepared for them sooner. Kanzaki had already figured it out but hadn't informed her, which was an interesting decision.
Did he believe that she could figure it out herself or was there another motive?
The beauty beside me nodded towards her classmate, who returned her gesture in kind. They had found an understanding through this wordless conversation, which assured me of their continued support for each other.
Even though Class B was still in the midst of the game, they thought that they had secured an advantage, now that both of them realized that they were being attacked by 'Chiaki'.
Would her pacifistic approach change after this revelation?
The atmosphere inside their camp was as pleasant as usual. A myriad of things could be said about Class B, but their trust and solidarity was on another level, which was both a blessing and a curse.
I sat down beside Ichinose and glanced over their current setup.
They still had most of their points left, just as planned.
To my surprise, she had bought less than anticipated, which meant that she must have come up with a similar solution to their point troubles. I was quite surprised that they hadn't purchased a toilet, but she must have shared her ideas with the class and they agreed that it would have been a needless expense.
Nothing but the campfire illuminated our surroundings, since the last remaining rays of the sun had long since vanished. The Class B students were rather lively as we kept talking and laughing for a while longer before the first students went to sleep.
One after another, they found their own cozy spot inside their tents or around the camping spot. Kanzaki, Shibata and a few other boys were fine with sleeping outside and tucked themselves in with leaves and scrub, which explained why they had only bought one tent for the boys.
We continued our idle chatter until only Ichinose and I were left at the blazing campfire.
Despite having all the space in the world, neither of us had moved to increase the distance between our bodies that rubbed against each other when we moved. Most of her classmates weren't asleep just yet, and I could feel the gazes of the boys sleeping outside hovering over us, as if watching out for their precious leader.
"This calming silence is really nice as well, isn't it?"
Ichinose's alluring voice was a lot softer than usual, as she took care not to bother her companions.
The dancing flames supported her delicate features and kept reflecting my appearance in her mesmerizing oceanic orbs. A captivating smile appeared on her face and I was unable to move my gaze off her enticing figure that shone through the darkness like a guiding light.
"Yeah, it's pretty cozy here."
I pushed one of the prepared branches into the fire and listened to the calming crackles.
Even though the girls had invited Ibuki into the tent multiple times, she kept refusing and was now leaning against a far away tree with closed eyes. I doubted that she was asleep, but that wasn't my problem to deal with.
"There's really nothing that beats the smell of nature, the cool breeze after a hot day and the warmth of a bright bonfire at night." She snickered and reached forward to warm her hands. "What do you think, Ayanokouji-kun?"
I tilted my head and began to think about the answer to her question.
This was my first day camping outside.
Due to the books I have read, I knew how trips like this one worked in theory, but to experience such a scenario had some different elements to it that couldn't be gleamed from black ink on a white page.
Back in April, when I began to attend this school, almost everything was new to me.
Since then, I had made memories and experienced an endless amount of new things that mere books were unable to teach me. I tasted ice cream, chocolate, cake and other confectionaries. Some were too sweet or bitter, while others were perfectly balanced, as all things should be.
To understand all the different aspects behind the concept of 'love' was another one of my goals.
For this, I had hoped to get a smart and beautiful girlfriend with whom I could share these sentiments. If someone had told me that I would find such a person this soon into my adventure, I wouldn't have believed them.
This school was also the first place that allowed me to utilize some things I had only learned in theory.
It wasn't easy, maybe even impossible, to break all those new experiences down into a single event I would consider 'the best' or 'unbeatable'. Sitting here with Ichinose by my side was heartwarming, but most of the interactions I had in this school were special to me in certain ways.
I was glad that I had taken Matsuo's help.
Without him, I would have never learned about the things that I now considered dear to me. I would have never gotten to know people I looked forward to seeing again day after day.
"This is difficult to answer. I can't really narrow it down to a single best moment. Hanging out with you guys, playing with my classmates and just visiting this school are already experiences I cherish. I'm just happy and thankful that I get to experience so many new things after being homeschooled for such a long time, I think."
Ichinose's beaming laugh echoed through the silent night before she covered her charming mouth in fear of waking her classmates. She kept chortling into her palm before she wiped a tear off her glistening spheres.
"That's such an Ayanokouji-kun answer."
Hey...
What's that supposed to mean?
We kept goofing around for a few more minutes until a cute yawn escaped her pursed lips. She rubbed her tired eyes and regarded me with a gentle, yet worried expression.
"I'm sorry, Ayanokouji-kun, but I think I'm going to head to bed as well."
"Don't worry about it. Sleep well and have a good night, Ichinose."
Her whole body wobbled, which meant that she had reached her limit for today. She must have attempted to stay awake as long as possible so that we could chat just a little more. Besides being worried for my health, she loved spending time with her friends, so I wasn't confused or surprised by her behavior.
"Mh, you too. Please be careful out there, alright? If you need anything, you can always wake me. Do you want to have one of our flashlights? I don't want you hurting yourself because it's dark."
"Thanks for the offer, but I have everything I need."
I tapped the flashlight that I had stashed in the pocket of my jersey.
"Alright then, if you say so." She stood before stretching her arms out. "Have a good night once you are back. Sleep tight."
Ichinose walked off into the tent and zipped it back up.
I pushed a few more branches into the pit and lay down. Since I had some time to sleep, it would be a waste not to use it. Staying up wouldn't be a problem either, but there was no need to do so right now.
My biological clock soon informed me that it was time to begin.
I stood, dusted myself off and glanced at Ibuki, who feigned a deep slumber. After a profound yawn, I stretched my arms, similar to Ichinose, to make the spy believe that the current situation was putting a strain on me, before I dashed off towards the first spot on my rotation.
There were around four minutes left when I reached the first metallic device that waited for me in a small clearing. Bored, I grabbed a stick and played a few rounds of tic-tac-toe against myself, losing twice.
Once the timer ran out, I renewed the occupational status, which was confirmed by a pleasant audio cue. The display began to count down from eight hours once more, showing that Class D held the rights to this spot.
Similar scenes repeated throughout the night as I kept renewing one apparatus after another. Soon a small detour into our camp was in order, since I had to occupy the base out of route, to make sure that no one else took it before me.
Everyone except Kikyou was asleep when I strolled into the dim cave.
She stood at the back of the cavern next to the spot machine and raised her head when she picked up on my footsteps. Her complexion seemed rather moody, as she was probably tired from this exhausting day.
Walking through the forest and attending to chores was different to hanging out with friends or learning, so it came as no surprise that most of my classmates were especially tired today.
"What's wrong?"
"Why the fuck couldn't we have done this early in the morning?"
Kikyou's irritated voice was quiet, almost impossible to understand if I didn't stand right in front of her. The tents were rather far away from our position and Horikita slept near the entrance, which made it impossible for anyone but the insects to listen to our conversation.
"Aren't you happy that you got out of that stuffed tent?"
I glanced at her half opened tracksuit and parts of her dark-blue underwear that had been revealed because of this. Beads of sweat kept trickling down her enticing cleavage and stained her bra, coloring it in an even deeper shade. The pants she wore had been pulled down on one side, exposing her smooth skin and the side wings of her turquoise panties.
My queen seemed unaware of this, so I assumed that her slacks had lowered when she was asleep. The friction of the girls' bodies rubbing against each other due to the limited space was more than enough to accomplish this.
After realizing where on her body my gaze lingered, she glanced downwards into her own cleavage. A small sigh escaped her frowning lips as she faced me with an unreadable expression.
She didn't seem angry, but not surprised, either.
"You really are a pervert, aren't you?" Kikyou rolled her eyes and leaned back against the wall without zipping up her jersey." It's fucking hot inside. Without airing out my clothes, I'd probably die."
"There was a slight change of plans, just giving you a heads-up."
"No surprises here. You probably came up with something to fuck over whoever is helping Matsushita, right?" She stopped and heaved yet another sigh. "My eyes are up here, you know?"
"I do. Let's talk about tomorrow, though..."
The fresh nightly breeze brushed past me as I reached the next spot.
A branch cracked in the darkness somewhere to my right and something shuffled through the treetops to my left before flying off. The winds howled through the thicket behind me, which sounded as if someone had walked through the undergrowth.
Ryuuen hid in one of the bushes in front of me, without making a single sound.
His eyes were fixated on the machine like a predator that stalked his unsuspecting prey. A loud, thought-provoking tingle echoed through the eerie night as the spot accepted my card without complaints, proving once again that I was indeed the cardholder in this exam.
The boy, hidden in the dense thicket, kept watch as I vanished into the darkness.
This was his way of checking whether I would keep occupying the spots throughout the night. He could also verify that I had done nothing suspicious, since he hadn't been close enough to be sure of this when he observed me at noon. The night vision cameras would have also picked up on my person and double checked if I was the designated leader before reserving the spot for Class D.
Would he play with me and lay a trap on one of the upcoming days?
I couldn't help but anticipate such a move, as it would allow me to annihilate the person known as Ryuuen Kakeru until not a single speck of him was left. The possibility that Chiaki had also foreseen that he might attack me during the night was the precise reason that he wouldn't go this far during this exam.
Katsuragi Kohei was the next person I ran into during my trip.
The bald man stood behind a lush tree and observed me as I occupied yet another spot on my list. Little did he know that the shimmering moon reflected off the small pond to his right, as well as his smooth hairless head. This entanglement of circumstances made him stark visible, even through the darkness that consumed the island.
Should I call out to him?
I decided against such a drastic action, since he was already bald and about to lose his position in Class A. There was no reason to kick people while they were down if I couldn't gain any advantages by doing so.
After completing my round, I arrived back at our camp.
The bonfires that Ike and the others lit up had long since sizzled out or barely smoldered. It would have been a hassle to start them all up again, so I took care of the one next to Horikita before slipping into the cold cave where we had deployed our tents.
A mixture of sweat and other uncomfortable odors that should not be named drifted into my nostrils as I opened the tent I was assigned to. It might have been fine going in with all of them, as this would have given my body enough time to acclimate, but this was disgusting.
I backed off, zipped the tent up and walked away.
The night wasn't freezing or even cold, but I didn't want to sleep outside if I didn't have to.
Horikita had repeatedly stated that she wanted to sleep alone in front of the cave, so not even Hirata could complain about her decision. She was fast asleep, which I had confirmed when I relit her fire, so I had no qualms about walking towards another tent in the distance.
My body and mind were cleansed as I stepped into the rather comfortable anteroom.
The structure was well ventilated through some openings that were covered by nets to keep bugs and other potential visitors outside. I glanced over our camp one last time and closed the entrance before taking off my shoes, which I placed next to the other pair of sneakers.
The zipper to the sleeping compartment was rather noisy, however.
"What are you doing, Ayanokouji?"
The pleasant voice of the tent's owner was as freezing and stimulating as always.
Her head was the only part of her body that stuck out of the comfortable sleeping bag she called her own. Beside her lay a thick book with a white cover, titled 'How to deal with your rebellious teenager'.
She wouldn't mean me, right?
"Do you seriously have a sleeping bag as well? The world really is unfair."
"Stop with your games and get out."
Did she take lessons to sound this intimidating when she was younger?
This dismissive behavior must have been something deeply ingrained into her being, since she adopted her usual derogatory aura as soon as she woke up from her slumber.
"I didn't mean to wake you, sorry."
The brown-haired beauty kicked my leg and tried to shoo me away like an annoying insect.
"That's not the problem. Leave and go to sleep already."
It was kind of amusing seeing her flustered again.
Was her clipboard around here somewhere?
"Why do you think I'm here? You are occupying perfectly usable space for almost three people in a four person tent. What's up with that? Be a good sensei and let your beloved, hard-working student sleep here for a night."
Her tired eyes widened when she realized that I wasn't kidding.
"Get out. This is the teachers' tent. Students aren't allowed here."
"I won't tell if you won't tell."
I sat down and moved some of the stuff she had stored on my 'bed' away from her while she kept kicking my shin. One of those items was a blue gym bag with her clothes inside. I couldn't help myself despite my best efforts and took a peek.
"Ayanokouji!"
Sae raised her body and rolled over, pushing the bag with her black underwear aside. In the same motion, she pressed down on my shoulder, towering over me as the sleeping bag around her slipped off, revealing her black see-through balconette bra and fitting non-see-through underpants.
"Be serious for once. If anyone sees us like this, we are both in trouble. Now. Get. Out."
"You mean if someone sees how you pushed down a poor, defenseless student wearing nothing but see-through underwear to ensnare him in your seductive grasp? Hee~... Sae-chan-sensei you perv~."
I injected some rare Amikura-essence into my acting to bring this rewarding scene to life. If I was being honest, I was trying to distract myself from her two bouncy peaks that hovered in front of my eyes.
This was my first time seeing breasts, areolae, nipples and everything else that was exciting about a woman's secondary sex characteristic in the flesh. The exposed children I had observed during physical checkups in the White Room couldn't be compared to the wonders I had just caught sight of.
Back then, I felt no sexual stimulation as I examined every nook and cranny of boys and girls alike to evaluate their physical prowess. I thought about how to subdue and injure them if I was ever ordered to. It didn't matter which gender you had in the White Room, everyone was a subject and thus treated the same.
Sae reached out to a thin white crop top that she had draped over a cord and put it on to hide her assets before she karate-chopped my head again and again. She soon noticed that I deflected most of her hits and stood up with a sigh.
"Do what you want, but don't get me into trouble." She pivoted around in one swift motion, aiming her ruthless kick straight at my head, which I barely managed to stop. "And stop looking at my butt while I'm talking to you."
The deep purr of her voice was intoxicating.
"Get you into trouble? Never would I ever inconvenience my beloved Sae-chan-sensei."
She shook her head and heaved an exasperated sigh before she turned around and slipped back into her sleeping bag.
"If you touch me, I will murder you."
"What if I touch myself?" Her movements halted momentarily before she turned around with a sinister grin. She took a few steps towards me before raising her hand with the most artic glare I had seen to date. "Wait, Sae —"
I rubbed my tired eyes and crawled out of the stuffy tent.
The clock displayed 7:12AM, which meant that I woke up sooner than expected, likely due to the warm and smelly situation inside. Even though the fresh breeze blew into the cave, it wasn't helpful against the sweat of twenty girls who were crammed into such a small space.
"Good morning, Matsushita-san."
Hirata-kun strolled towards me from the cave's inner part where the spot machine was located. He reached into the boys' tent and grabbed the toothbrush we had been supplied with from his bag.
"Good morning, Hirata-kun. Is Kiyotaka inside?"
"No, he seems to be around here somewhere. I checked the spot machine, and he occupied the cave at night as planned, but he wasn't in the tent when I woke up. He's probably outside gathering berries or brushing his teeth as well."
My tiredness was replaced by worry.
Could something have happened yesterday?
Hirata-kun might not know this, but the cave wasn't Kiyotaka's final destination. It was one of the earlier spots in his rotation, which meant that he could still be outside. If he ran into a problem somewhere on his route, we would need some time to find him, even if we knew that he occupied the cave.
I gazed around in a frenzy.
Calling out to him was another option, but I didn't want to alarm and wake the whole class if he had just slept outside or really went to gather berries early in the morning.
My eyes stopped on our instructor, who was already awake.
"Good morning, Chabashira-sensei. Have you seen Kiyotaka by chance?"
Her intimidating brown orbs stopped on my person. She glared at me, as if she had stepped on a bee or something. Even in a school-issued jersey, she was professional and scary as always.
"He's fine. I saw him this morning."
Her voice was freezing and much more sinister than usual.
Maybe that was to be expected, though. She also had to stay here on this island with us, even though she could have had a great time at school. This exam is almost as bothersome for our teachers as for us students.
"Thank you."
I took a deep breath and cleansed my face with some pre-boiled water. After brushing my teeth and taking care of some other sanitary measures, I caught sight of Kiyotaka, who ambled back into our encampment with a handful of fresh fruits.
"Good morning Chiaki, Hirata."
A sigh of relief escaped my lips.
There were no injuries, scratches, or other signs that he wasn't doing well. This knowledge alone relieved me to no end, since I had been worried about his health due to the sudden pressure that weighed on him.
Kiyotaka's trips rewarded us with a good amount of points.
Knowing him, he would begin to push himself past his limit if it meant helping me and the class. I told him that he shouldn't wear himself out, but which boy would tell his girlfriend that he was exhausted and couldn't continue?
The three of us spent our time with small chores until roll call drew closer.
Hirata-kun and Kushida-san, who had joined us some time ago, began to wake our remaining classmates. Kiyotaka sat beside Horikita-san and felt her temperature to make sure that she wasn't getting worse.
I remembered something that Mori-san had told us once as I saw how close she was to him.
'Did you know that Horikita-san can fight? Ike-kun tried to put his hand on her shoulder and she did some karate-like moves and locked him up. He kept wailing that it hurt the whole time while she ate without batting an eye.'
She was sick and Kiyotaka went out of his way to take care of her, so I hoped that she wouldn't beat him up for such a petty reason. Despite her low popularity in class, she seemed to be a kind girl. Otherwise, Kiyotaka and she wouldn't have been such close friends.
"Good morning everyone."
Shiina-san gave an elegant bow before she brushed her teeth and helped with the assignments. Kushida-san jumped over to her as soon as she awoke and began to chat with the poor girl to make her feel welcome with in our group.
"Does anyone know where Kouenji-kun is?"
He was still the most dangerous wildcard that might throw the whole class into chaos if he retired. I didn't doubt that he would leave as soon as he felt bored or bothered by something, because that was how he had always behaved.
My classmates shook their heads, which caused my stomach to churn.
Kiyotaka tapped my shoulder as I was about to assume the worst-case scenario.
"He said he wanted to sleep on the beach. And something like, 'the stars should be thankful to bask in the glory of a perfect existence such as myself, Ayanokouji-boy'."
"So he's still at the beach?"
"I'm not sure. Why?"
His inquiry was acknowledged by none other than our homeroom teacher, Chabashira-sensei, who strolled towards her tent with a clipboard in hand. The woman cleared her throat and gazed over us.
"Well, it's eight. You guys know what that means. Roll call begins now."
She kept calling us one by one, ticking off our names each time one of us confirmed our presence. This went on for a few moments until she eventually reached the missing boy.
"Kouenji Rokusuke."
An unnerving silence enveloped the base camp as everyone glanced around. It took a small load off my mind that she had even called him, since this meant that he hadn't retired just yet.
"Kouenji Rokusuke?"
Once again, her stoic voice rang through the area.
My classmates became agitated, some downright frustrated due to his continued shenanigans. Chabashira-sensei ignored these laments and was about to scratch off his name when his annoying manner of speech cut through all of their complaints.
"I'm here sensei-girl."
His body was dripping wet, staining the soil in what smelled like salt water. He caressed over his wild mane, wearing nothing but a speedo, which caused some girls to salivate due to his well-toned body.
Kouenji-kun was narcissistic and annoying, but no one could state that he didn't possess a well-trained form. He wasn't necessarily my type, both behavior and appearance wise, but I could understand that girls would hover around him due to his looks and martial status.
"I'll let you off the hook this time, but if I have to repeat myself more than once, there will be consequences for the class." She ticked off his name and glanced at him. "Is that understood, Kouenji?"
"Please, do not worry, sensei-girl. I properly educated the cheeky bottlenose dolphin that stole the fish I have procured for these naked apes. He won't dare to trouble me again. You may continue with roll call now, even though I would understand that you might feel smitten by my perfect appearance."
Chabashira-sensei rolled her eyes at him.
"You caught a fish, huh? How? We stored all the rods in the cave."
Ike-kun grimaced in ridicule, as if he had caught Kouenji-kun in a lie.
"Fishing rods?" His cordial laughter shook the treetops around the clearing. "A perfect existence has no need for such crude hunting tools. I'm not a cave dweller like you poor chaps."
His conceited smirk grew wide.
Should I stop them?
It was undeniable that he was joking, but did Ike-kun really have to challenge him?
"How'd you do it then? Caught them with your hands?"
Ichihashi-san's sarcasm was difficult to overhear. The others soon followed up with a round of applause and stifling shrieks. The boys chimed in as well, increasing the volume further.
Our instructor only pinched her nose in desperation.
"I did indeed. That rather insolent little sea creature tried to steal my prey, however, so I had to wrestle with it. A perfect existence won't bow to anyone, much less an arrogant aquatic mammal. Due to my quarrel with this defiant animal, I almost arrived late to roll call. Be thankful, children."
"Of course you wrestled with a dolphin, Kouenji. Did it also swim out into the ocean? Did you have to paddle away from sharks, or did you fight them off as well? Maybe you brought one with you?"
I couldn't understand why he kept amusing our classmates with his nonsensical comments just to infuriate them. No sane person would have believed his words anyway, so why were they trying to start a fight?
"It swam a few miles, yes. I stopped chasing the dolphin as it realized that it offended a perfect existence and apologized by returning the fish it had stolen. There was no need to hold a grudge since it had learned its lesson."
"So it left the fish for you and swam off, huh?"
Ike-kun and the other boys almost rolled around in the dirt due to their contagious laughter. Most of my classmates had long since joined them while Hirata-kun, Kushida-san and I observed the situation with complex expressions.
"It did, which is why I dumped the fish right there."
Kouenji-kun raised his thumb and pointed backwards.
My eyes, just like the ones of my classmates, moved towards the spot he indicated.
The jaws of every Class D student dropped because of the unbelievable sight that awaited us.
Near the end of the clearing, under one of the many trees, lay a salmon with a length of almost one meter. It had to be said that the fish Ike-kun, Satou-san, and the others had caught yesterday had only been a pitiful fraction of this one.
Silence descended onto our base while Kouenji kept blowing onto his nails, cleansing them from the dirt that had amassed due to his struggle with the dolphin. Chabashira-sensei gave up calling out names and just ticked off every student she could see, as none of my classmates were responsive.
This guy…
"Nagumo-kun from second-year Class A. Please come see Fujikawa-sensei in the faculty office."
This announcement repeated twice before the speakers turned off with a frizzling, static sound.
My gaze swung over to Nagumo, who was occupied with student council work. His busy hands stopped as he put down the ballpoint pen before he glanced at me with a questioning look. After a slight nod from my side, he excused himself and left the room with quick, purposeful strides.
The door shut, and my phone began to vibrate.
Another second oscillation rang through the room, originating from Tachibana's phone.
[03:47:12 PM][Kiryuin Fuka] You don't want to miss this.
Tachibana peeked at me for a moment before showing me the message she had received.
[03:47:14 PM][Insolent Kouhai from the second year #2] Tell Manabu that he doesn't want to miss this.
A deep sigh escaped my pursed lips as I pinched my nose. My classmate, the student council secretary, dodged my following stare with an embarrassed blush during the time it took me to readjust my glasses for proper seating.
"Tachibana, your naming sense is... how should I put it? It needs getting used to. Please don't show your phone to anyone from now on or rename your contacts to reflect the position you hold at this school, would you?"
"I-I'm r-really sorry, President."
She should have understood her mistake, which is why I left it at that.
"Let's humor her then, shall we?"
The two of us stood and strolled towards the faculty offices where we found Kiryuin leaning against the adjacent wall. She surveyed the surroundings with her usual twisted smirk and regarded the two of us with a slight nod.
"Well, here I am. So what is this about?" I peered at the shut door in front of us before turning back towards her. "Not even I have the power to walk into the faculty offices as I please."
The sneer on her face grew wider and morphed into a terrifying laugh.
"You don't need to. Just perk up your ears and listen to the music."
The current situation amused her to no end, so I decided that the business she had with me was worth the wait, even if it took a minute or two off my busy schedule. With not much to do aside from talking to her, I leaned against the windowsill beside one of the most interesting Kouhai's at this school.
Tachibana glared at Kiryuin for her usual disrespectful attitude towards me, whereupon the latter stuck her tongue out with a playful demeanor. My classmate flushed in rage and tapped the ground with her heels, ready to pounce at her Kouhai.
As I was about to reprimand her once again, Nagumo's despairing voice resounded through the eerie hallway.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M EXPELLED?"