Chapter 1:
The Curtain Rises on a Fun Summer Vacation
WITH THEIR CELL PHONES back in their hands after a long two-week absence,
many students were overjoyed. Their faces all relaxed into broad, joyful grins.
Mobile devices had become invaluable tools for people living in the modern
world. Smartphone adoption rates among teens and twenty-somethings were
expected to exceed 99 percent sometime around 2020. When you considered
the kind of world we lived in, there could be no doubts about the truthfulness
of that statement. As for me, since I've only had a mobile device since becoming
a high school student, I still didn't think of it as something so important that it
was a daily necessity or anything, but I supposed it was probably only a matter
of time before that became true for me too.
The cruise ship sailed gracefully through the ocean waters, offering the
students their first summer vacation experience in a long while. Looking back, I
couldn't honestly say that I enjoyed summer vacation before. I wasn't going to
sing its praises or anything. But when I considered the number of people I could
call a friend, the fact that I had a girlfriend, and all the people I could call by
name, even if we were only just acquaintances, that indicated to me that I had
made a significant leap forward since last year. In almost every regard, this year
and last year were practically incomparable.
I expected that the time we spent on this cruise ship would be yet another
unforgettable memory for both me and the rest of the students here—one
more page in the journals of our lives. Whether we were having fun in the pool,
indulging in delicious food, or just chatting with loved ones on the deck
overlooking the ocean, I was sure of it. But that didn't necessarily mean that we
could do whatever we wanted. We still had to enjoy ourselves within the
confines of the rules that had been established.
For instance, we were forbidden to leave our rooms after ten o'clock at night,
except in special circumstances. The rules this year seemed to be much stricter
than they were aboard the cruise ship last year. Those "special circumstances" I
mentioned included things like if you suddenly fell ill during the night. In such
cases, students were to go to the infirmary, which was open twenty-four hours
a day.
Of course, it was unlikely any student was going to break the established rules
for no good reason, though. The school had established that we would face
severe punishments even for simple accidental blunders. Some could even
result in immediate expulsion. Considering all of that, there probably wouldn't
be any problems. In addition, the school had decided in advance that students
would not be permitted access to certain areas of the ship, regardless of the
time of day, so it wasn't like we were allowed to go anywhere we wanted. Even
within the areas that we were permitted to go, there were places that were offlimits.
Well then, let's enjoy a week of cruising, while making sure to take things in
moderation, and sticking to moral standards.
Chapter 2:
Ike and Komiya and…
IT WAS NOW the morning of August 4, the day after the uninhabited island
special exam had come to an end. Starting today, students would spend their
vacation aboard this luxurious cruise ship for a total of seven days, until August
10. We were explicitly promised that there would be no special exams of any
kind on board, like how that zodiac special exam was held last year. There were
all sorts of amenities on the ship, including a swimming pool, a fitness center, a
movie theater, a concert call, a large bathhouse with a viewing platform area, a
shopping area with various eateries, a café with open-air seating, and other
various recreational facilities.
In other words, we'd earned the right to enjoy ourselves to the absolute
fullest starting today. So, where was I on this long-awaited day of rest and
relaxation, you ask? I was kicking back and unwinding in the four-person room
I'd been assigned, phone in hand. There wasn't any need to rush out to play just
because it was a holiday. If anything, it wasn't a bad idea to just ignore all the
entertainment options and use this time to rest. This ship was equipped with
first-class beds that cradled your body gently, unlike the hard beds in the school
dormitories. The feeling of comfort was even more pronounced now,
considering we had immediately come here after sleeping in tents on an
uninhabited island.
At any rate, let's leave discussion of the situation of the first day there for the
time being. With the results of the uninhabited island special exam factored in,
the August Class Points had been finalized and announced. Normally, our Class
Point standings were announced on the first day of each month, but since were
still in the middle of the uninhabited island exam at that time, and because the
results of the special exam were going to be reflected in the announcement,
this particular instance was somewhat irregular, and the results came later than
usual.
For students enrolled in this school, we began every month by checking our
Class Points. There was our individual ranking too, of course, but Class Points
were directly related to how many Private Points we got, or in other words, our
monthly allowances. Without pocket money on hand that we could spend
freely, a holiday spent on this luxury cruise ship would be a total waste, after all.
Second-Year Students / August Class Points
A Class, led by Sakayanagi: 1206 Points
B Class, led by Ichinose: 578 Points
C Class, led by Horikita: 571 Points
D Class, led by Ryuuen: 551 Points
As a result, our class had risen to Class C, though only by a narrow margin.
We'd had the chance to move up to Class B in one fell swoop, but regrettably,
we had just barely missed it. However, there was nothing for us to feel
discouraged about, and honestly, these were fantastic results. Thanks to
Kouenji earning first place all by himself, we had earned 300 Class Points. I was
once again reminded of the awesome power of this point bonus we'd been
given.
Until now, many in our class held the firm opinion that Kouenji was a
nuisance, but he essentially forced everyone around him to change their
perspective. However, I was skeptical about whether this change in viewpoint
would last forever. After all, in exchange for earning these Class Points, he
basically had been given blanket permission not to cooperate with the rest of
the class from this point onward until graduation day. If that fact were ever
made public knowledge, there would probably be even fewer people jumping
for joy over this turn of events.
However, I still thought that everything that happened was ultimately
positive. If not for the 300 points Kouenji had given us, we would have to
continue fighting for a while longer, dealing with the anxiety of wondering
whether we could honestly catch up to the upper-level classes. Having three
classes all lined up side by side like this in the rankings would likely be a
tremendous help to the students emotionally as well. Now, we could move
onto the next steps, which were to shoot up in the rankings, standing proud and
tall above the competition once we were unmistakably in Class B, and then,
challenge Sakayanagi's class directly so that we could close the gap. Similarly,
that plan to reach the top also applied to Ryuuen's class as well, which had
fallen to Class D.
Since Ryuuen didn't finish in the top three in the uninhabited island exam,
there was no getting around the fact that his class was going to drop in the
rankings. In fact, they had gone down by two rankings. Still, his class had no
shortage of talent. The addition of Katsuragi would raise the overall academic
ability level of his class as well as give the class a sense of stability. Also, Ryuuen
had made some kind of transaction with Sakayanagi as well. At this point, it was
difficult to guess whether their deal involved Private Points, Class Points, or
something else completely outside of my expectations. Regardless, it might be
something that would bring about change in the battles to come.
Despite some concerns, that class was far from faltering. In fact, they were
only increasing in strength. They were undoubtedly the scariest group in the
school right now. The fact that they had fallen to Class D for the time being was
really only on paper. They probably didn't even care one bit about their drop in
the rankings.
In contrast, Ichinose's class, which had once again taken their position back as
Class B, didn't look to be in bad shape either if you were only looking at these
results. With Sakayanagi at the lead, Ichinose had managed to gain some Class
Points by cooperating with her. However, she couldn't rest easy. The gap
between Classes B and D was only a mere twenty-seven points. Thanks to this
special exam, we had gotten ourselves into a situation where it wouldn't be
surprising at all to see further shake-ups in the rankings by September 1, due to
simple fluctuations in points from things like trivial behavioral issues in class.
The anxiety that Ichinose was feeling must have been intense. Depending on
the results of the uninhabited island special exam, she could well have fallen
down to Class D. No, she had to have been quite worried.
At last, this is where your real moment of truth comes, Ichinose. I sent her that
message in my mind, not speaking it aloud. I couldn't imagine that there were
going to be additional exams where all classes and grades participated together
one after another, not like this last uninhabited island exam. If that was the
case, the next special exam we were going to have would most likely be one
divided by grade level. And, if Ichinose's class lagged behind C and D, the future
of her class looked bleak.
In other words, the situation we were in, where all three lower classes were
lined up side by side, could be summed up rather simply: the next battle could
very well determine the future of our classes…
But lastly, there was Class A, led by Sakayanagi. As always, it was no easy task
to close the gap to catch up to them, and they were keeping it that way. They
had a firm sense of stability and security, and thanks to Sakayanagi's group
coming in third place in the uninhabited island exam, they had accumulated a
fair number of Class Points. There were many talented individuals in Class A,
and Sakayanagi's ability to control them was impeccable. Furthermore, their
leader's strategies weren't limited simply to those that were orthodox or
unorthodox, or the right way or the wrong way. She thought cleverly, using
multiple angles. She had outstanding performance as a leader, one that was
worthy of the unshakeable Class A.
At a glance, there didn't appear to be any gaps in her armor. But if Horikita's
class gained momentum, it wouldn't be impossible for her to catch up to
Sakayanagi. Which meant that, yes, Horikita's class could very well find an
opening to exploit. Of course, Class A was still far and away in the lead, so for
that to happen, they would have to be thrown off balance in some way. The
quickest way to achieve that would be to get rid of Sakayanagi, but that would
be extremely difficult. Even if she didn't have a Protect Point, she still wouldn't
be an easy opponent to face.
It would probably be wiser to crush her pawns instead, those who functioned
as her arms and legs, rather than going for the head, so to speak. Doing so,
though, would require us to eliminate more than just one or two people. Still,
supposing if Kamuro, Hashimoto, and Kitou were gone or rendered unusable
somehow, that would limit how much Sakayanagi could do. On one hand, much
about Kitou remained unknown. But as for the other two, they were people
with their own fair share of problems.
Well then, that was that. Leaving the analysis of the other classes there for
the time being…
Now that we had officially entered summer break, each grade temporarily
stopped fighting. It was a ceasefire of sorts. Right now, it was our turn to enjoy
ourselves as much as we wanted, just like normal students. Until recently, our
wallets had been completely empty. But, with the recent Class Points
announcement, they were going to be fattened up considerably all at once with
the points we were awarded in August. We had 571 Class Points, which meant
that each person in our class was going to receive the equivalent of 57,100 yen
in Private Points.
Since we didn't get into the top three in the special exam and thus didn't get
any of the additional rewards, we weren't going to be receiving any bonuses.
Even so, it was enough. Having Private Points was vital for enjoying quality time
on this luxury cruise ship. There was a system in place that required you to
spend Private Points to do anything, whether it was enjoying a movie or having
a favorite meal. Last year, all facilities on board were available to us free of
charge, but this year's rules were much stricter in terms of finances as well. Of
course, you could spend an entire week holed up inside your room without
spending a penny, and then you wouldn't have any expenses. But really, that
wouldn't be any different from being holed up in your dormitory on a holiday.
Ping. I heard the quick, pleasant sound of a notification, indicating that I had
received an email. Looking down at the phone I had recently gotten back, I saw
a message informing me that the detailed results from the uninhabited island
exam would be posted publicly for two days, starting today, in the rest area
located next to the fitness center. Since we only knew the final rankings of the
few groups at the very top and very bottom of the rankings, I was sure that
many students would be interested. As for me, personally, I wanted to make
sure I checked it out so that I could keep an eye on things for the future.
Still, it would have been easier if they had just sent the rankings out to all of
us via our phones. Since they didn't send it out to us electronically, did that
mean that the school didn't want the students to be able to look at the results
in private and spend a long time analyzing them? I supposed it could have also
been a contingency plan to avoid leaving any unnecessary evidence behind as
well, since Tsukishiro had been moving about behind the scenes in this exam. I
was somewhat tempted to go and check the results right away, but I thought it
was probably safer to give it some time. It was possible that students might be
flooding the area in droves.
With that in mind, I decided to forget about checking out the exam results for
the moment and instead focused on taking care of other matters. I used my
phone to send Ichinose a brief message, asking her if she had some time to
meet in the evening, three days from now. Of course, it was probably easy for
her to imagine that this was so that I could give her a formal response after she
spontaneously confessed her romantic feelings for me on the island.
I had thought about going to see her right away to give her an answer, but the
grueling exam had only just ended. I figured that we should recover our
strength, first, and then it would be nice to spend some time relaxing with good
friends. Since it didn't seem like my message was read straight away, I turned
my phone's screen off. Then, I decided to pay attention to what my roommates,
Miyamoto Soushi, Hondou Ryoutarou, and Miyake Akito, were going to do now.
"Hey, Ryoutarou. Sounds like the exam results have been posted. Why don't
we go check them out?" asked Miyamoto.
"Hm… Yeah, I'm gonna pass," Hondou replied. "I'm completely wrecked,
dude, I can't even walk. Right now, all I wanna do is just lie in bed…"
That was completely understandable. Not only was he exhausted, but the
beds were so comfortable that they robbed you of any desire to move.
Everyone, me included, was drawn in by the captivating allure of the mattress.
Hondou was particularly worn out. He weakly turned to the left, with his back
toward me.
"You've been like that since yesterday," said Miyamoto.
"Well, I was working myself half to death on the last day, man," Hondou said.
"I really, really wanted to eat something, and I was so wiped I couldn't even get
a bite down my throat."
He curled up under the covers of his futon, still turned away from me. His
blanket was pulled up to his face. For the time being, it seemed like all he
wanted to do was lie down and sleep. This luxury cruise ship trip was going to
last a whole week, after all. It was a wise decision to wait until our strength
returned instead of rushing anything.
"What about you, Miyake, Ayanokouji?" said Miyamoto. "Aren't you a little
curious about the rankings?"
Akito directed his gaze at Miyamoto without moving his body further, still
fiddling with his phone. "Nah, I'm good," he said. "I think I have some idea of
where my group is in the rankings anyway. To be honest, right now, I'm just
happy that I avoided getting expelled, and that's enough for me. I think I just
wanna take it easy for today at least, like Hondou."
Akito had been paired up with Haruka and Airi during the exam. Being the
only guy in his group, it wasn't hard to imagine he must have gone through
quite a lot helping his teammates. I figured he was likely more worn out
mentally than physically.
"But I mean, dude, you were in the same group as Sakura and Hasebe, right?"
asked Miyamoto, still sitting on his bed.
"What are you askin' me that for all of a sudden?" said Akito.
"I mean, I was in a group of three dudes," Miyamoto went on. "My entire time
there was a sweaty, stinky hell, but it must've been, like, heaven for you, man!
Bein' surrounded by girls like that, yeah?"
"Whaddaya mean, heaven? If you ask me, I was in hell! I had to take care of
'em all the dang time. I would've definitely been way more comfortable being
around a bunch of guys," replied Akito.
Both groups had different experiences, each one claiming their own version of
hell. As I listened to the conversation, I honestly felt glad that I hadn't been in
either of their groups. I thought it was better to be alone for that kind of exam,
unless you were working together with exceptionally close friends.
Anyway, since both Hondou and Akito had refused to go, Miyamoto then
turned to look at me. Unlike Hondou and Akito, I had been able to regain much
of the energy that I had lost on the uninhabited island by getting a good rest in
my bed. For the most part. I couldn't say that I was back in top form or
anything, but my physical state wasn't going to be an issue when it came to just
moving about the ship.
Still, there was no need to rush. I could always look at the exam results later.
Even if Akito didn't go to check them out, it was possible that some of the other
Ayanokouji Group members could go instead.
"I think I'm going to take it easy today myself. I'm sure that everyone is
concerned about what their placement is, but I'm not really fond of crowded—"
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Just as I tried to say that I was going to pass on going like Akito and Hondou,
someone pounded on our door several times. The force behind those knocks
was so intense that it seemed like there was some kind of emergency or
something. Akito jumped out of bed and hurriedly opened the door, revealing
Ishizaki standing there. There was a tension in the air, and it felt like something
was going to happen, but then…
"Ayanokouji! Let's go check out the exam results together!" shouted Ishizaki.
Ishizaki's big smile and the words that came out of his mouth were kind of
anticlimactic, and everyone was somewhat stunned. Akito turned back and
looked over at me, at a loss for words.
"Well, I was…" I began.
"Come on, dude, you're free right now, ain't ya? So come on, let's go. 'Kay?"
Ishizaki rudely barged into the room without asking for permission and
forcefully grabbed hold of my arm as I was sitting on the bed.
"When did you two guys become such good pals?" asked Akito.
Akito was the one most surprised by this turn of events as he was someone
who spent a lot of time with me on a daily basis. Ishizaki was from a rival class
and was a troublemaker, so it wasn't surprising that Akito was visibly wary of
him. In fact, my other two roommates remained somewhat stiff, like they were
taken aback by Ishizaki's sudden appearance.
"Well, I guess it just kinda happened over time," I replied. I didn't have any
more of an answer than that, but I figured that probably wouldn't be enough to
satisfy Akito.
The pressure of Ishizaki's smile was so strong that it pulled me in a little, but
despite that, I had decided to decline his offer. "I'm a little worn out today," I
told him.
"Whaddaya mean, you're worn out? Like, how? Come on, you? You're fine,
dude! So, let's go, yeah?" repeated Ishizaki.
He showed no signs of giving up, as he seemed intent to drag me out by force,
without any consideration of how I felt on the matter.
"…All right," I conceded. "At least let me get changed first though."
"Sure, dude! All right, I'll wait for ya in the hall!" answered Ishizaki.
He must have been happy that I told him I'd go because he stepped back out
of the room and into the hallway.
"Seems like you've attracted the attention of a real troublemaker," said Akito.
"If you need any help, let me know, okay?"
"Thanks, Akito. Ishizaki's not a bad guy though, so it should be okay," I
replied.
"Not a bad guy, huh? I don't really have a good impression of him though…
Ryuuen might be pulling his strings from behind the scenes. You'd better be
careful."
We had clashed several times with delinquents led by Ryuuen up until this
point, so it was only natural for people who didn't know the inner workings of
Ryuuen's class to think the way Akito did. However, Ishizaki wasn't the sort of
person who could hide things or be shrewd. If he was being controlled from
behind the scenes without him even knowing it, then he could be troublesome
to deal with, but considering that we weren't in the midst of a special exam
right now, it was probably safe to conclude that wasn't the case here.
After changing into my uniform, I gave a little wave to Akito and left the room.
Ishizaki seemed to be the only one in the hall as I didn't see any other students.
"Awright, dude, let's go!" shouted Ishizaki.
"There's no need to be in that much of a rush, is there?" I answered.
"Huh? Whaddaya talkin' 'bout?"
"Even if we don't hurry over there, it'll be fine. The exam results are going to
be available for two days, so we can always look at them later, right?" I
explained.
"I wanna look at 'em right away, though," Ishizaki replied. "I'm the kinda
person who can't wait to go check stuff out. You know, like when there's a new
movie out."
Even if you explain to me that's the type of person you are, there's no way I'm
going to understand you. It was a little difficult for me to imagine Ishizaki
visiting a movie theater with such a great degree of enthusiasm on release day
for a new movie.
"Yeah, man! Actually, I went to see World Domination 16 on opening day,
back when it came out," said Ishizaki.
That was the first time I had ever heard of the film, but just from the title, it
sounded like the kind of movie with guns shooting off and fists being thrown
constantly. And on top of that, it was apparently an exceptionally long series,
considering that it was the sixteenth installment. Still, I couldn't help but
wonder why the title didn't captivate me in the slightest.
"Still, though, I'm really curious… I wonder what place Ryuuen-san's group
got?" said Ishizaki.
At any rate, Ishizaki didn't seem like the kind of person who wouldn't have
many friends in his own class. He probably didn't need to have deliberately
gone out of his way to invite someone from another class like me.
"Shouldn't you have invited Ryuuen to come with you, or another classmate
was curious about their ranking?" I asked, trying to find out what his true
intentions were.
"He's the kind of person who'll call when he needs ya. If he's not callin', then
that means he probably doesn't need ya."
"That's easy to understand."
"I know, right? As for the others, a lot of 'em just said they were too worn out
from the island or that they wanted to pass."
That meant that many of the students in his class were like Akito and the
other guys. They just wanted to take a break for now.
"You're sure full of energy, Ishizaki. Aren't you exhausted?" I asked.
"Me? Nah, dude, I just slept some so I'm up and runnin' again."
"I see."
It was a surprisingly simple response, but it was easy to understand. Maybe
Ishizaki wasn't particularly athletic or coordinated but more resilient than most.
Still, saying that he chose to go out with me because of a process of elimination
didn't really make sense to me.
"You're easy to talk to, Ayanokouji," said Ishizaki.
"…Is that so?" I asked.
I found that a bit surprising since I wasn't exactly a social butterfly, not by any
means.
"You're way, way easier to talk to than that weirdo, Kaneda," he added.
I didn't know much about Kaneda at all, but I felt conflicted about being
compared to him. Just then, Ishizaki and I passed by a shop while we were on
our way.
"Whoa! Dude, they're sellin' flags!" Ishizaki exclaimed.
The store was selling flags of places from all over the world. With a twinkle in
his eye, he excitedly picked up several. As I looked over at Ishizaki curiously,
wondering what was happening, he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his index
finger.
"Y'know how when we went to Albert's room before? He's got a collection of
national flags. I guess maybe that's kinda what inspired me to start collectin'
'em myself," explained Ishizaki.
So, one person's hobby had influenced someone else, and that person
became interested in it too. At any rate, it seemed like Ishizaki and Albert now
had something in common in the sense that they both had the hobby of
collecting flags. A hobby like that seemed to be something of a rarity these
days.
"I don't know Albert very well, but he seems like a good guy," I told Ishizaki.
"Yeah. He definitely is. I mean, we butted heads now and then when we first
started at school and all, but now we're best buds."
It certainly was true that I saw Ishizaki and Albert together relatively often.
"I guess it's smooth sailing for you, in terms of friendship," I replied, with
honest admiration, but Ishizaki's face stiffened as he walked beside me.
"Nah, not really… I'm not exactly the most popular dude in my class or
nothin'," he replied.
"It that because you're working for Ryuuen?"
"I dunno if that's really, like, the whole reason or not, since that kinda
happened right after I started school here," Ishizaki said. "But anyway, after
that fight we had with you back on the rooftop, Ayanokouji, the story was that
it was supposed to be me who defeated Ryuuen-san, and that I won the class
back from him, y'know? And then I started to hang out with more people that I
never would have before and all."
He started to fumble his words after telling me that much, stopping there. It
was true that Ishizaki might be in a complicated position right now. There were
more than a few students who wanted Ryuuen to be defeated, so they were
grateful to Ishizaki for that. It was inevitable that those students would be angry
with him if he were to fall back into line, serving Ryuuen once again.
"Guess I'm one of the causes of that then," I mused.
"Ah, sorry, that was probably a weird way of puttin' it. You're not responsible
for any of it, Ayanokouji. Besides, we were the ones who originally started that
fight. It's true that more than a few friends walked away, but I guess I got to be
friends with you in exchange, so I don't mind," said Ishizaki, turning to me with
a huge smile on his face.
However, it looked to me like that smile was somewhat fragile and fraught.
"You shouldn't think that you're going to solve all of your class's problems all
by yourself," I told him.
"I know, I know. Our class's problems are going to be solved by the whole
class. Even Ryuuen-san's got the determination to make a comeback."
Ishizaki believed that, and he was going to do his absolute best to follow
Ryuuen.
2.1
"WHOA, DUDE, there's a TON of people!" exclaimed Ishizaki.
As expected, the break area located near the fitness center where the exam
results were posted was packed with students. Two adults who must have been
connected to Tsukishiro were watching the students closely. There was also a
large sign that told us that photography was strictly forbidden posted near the
monitor that had been set up in the area. Displayed on the screen were
everyone's ranking and scores. The lists scrolled by automatically. Right now,
we could see listings of group members and scores for groups in fiftieth through
sixtieth place.
"Hm…?"
A bizarre feeling of discomfort suddenly shot through my body. I felt like
there was something off, but what
was it? I didn't immediately understand the cause, but I felt an indescribable
feeling of unease. Something unpleasant.
"I figured I was gonna to take my time to look at the scores, but it doesn't
seem like I'm gonna be able to concentrate at all," muttered Ishizaki irritably,
looking at the monitor.
It didn't seem like Ishizaki had that same feeling of discomfort that I did.
"Nothing we can do about it," I answered. "I figured that a lot of people
wanted to know more about the exam results."
Ishizaki clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. We didn't have any other choice
though, so we had to watch the results scroll by from where we were standing.
Ishizaki had a bold personality, but there was no way that he could push ahead
of the upperclassmen and move closer. The trouble was that although the
monitor was set to auto-scroll, it seemed like you could stop it in place by
touching the screen with your fingers to view specific rankings. One of the thirdyear students had reached out and was fiddling with the screen. Because of
that, it didn't seem likely we were going to see the top scores, which Ishizaki
was most curious about, anytime soon.
"What now?" I asked.
Even if we stuck around and waited for a while, it would probably be some
time before our turn came.
"Well, I'm still curious and all, but let's not stress about it," replied Ishizaki.
"We can check it out later."
That was exactly what I had just said only a few minutes ago, but… Well, if he
understood that now himself, I supposed it was fine.
"By the way, did you notice anything off?" I asked.
"Huh? Notice what?" he replied.
Ishizaki turned to look around. It seemed like he hadn't picked up on anything
after all—namely, this bizarre feeling in the air. There were a number of gazes
directed at me, and they couldn't be dismissed as simple curiosity. And it wasn't
like Ishizaki standing next to me was too dim to notice things—he hadn't
noticed them because those glances weren't directed at him or any other
student. They were all focused solely on me.
These people were watching my every move, and they were being obvious
about it, not even trying to hide it. The people watching me all had one thing in
common: they were all third-years. I didn't understand what exactly was going
on yet, but I had zero doubt that Nagumo was involved. He must have been
setting one of his schemes in motion today. A scheme that he had put on hold
until after the uninhabited island exam was over.
"What's up?" asked Ishizaki.
Apparently, I had been so deep in thought that Ishizaki had started to get
worried about me.
"Never mind, it's nothing. Anyway, it seems like even more students are
coming, so let's turn back."
"Sure, dude. Okay."
I had imagined that Nagumo would try something eventually, but this was
certainly a little troubling. It would have been much easier if Nagumo tried to
confront me directly, but his first move was to hit me with something I really
didn't like to deal with right.
"Hey, you haven't eaten yet, right? Let's grab a bite together," suggested
Ishizaki.
"Huh? No, I haven't eaten yet, but…"
As I started to walk away, there was no sign that the third-years were
following. All they were doing was looking at me, nothing more. It certainly
wasn't a pleasant feeling to be stared at so intently.
"Hey, what the hell, man?" Ishizaki huffed. "What's with you, bein' so vague
and junk? You don't wanna eat with me? That's rude."
"It's not like that," I replied. "I was just thinking about something else,
something kind of unrelated."
I was thinking that I couldn't carelessly let Ishizaki get involved in this
situation, but I figured that if he didn't follow me, then it should be okay.
"Well, thinkin' 'bout other stuff is rude too, y'know."
He certainly had a point. I decided to just forget about the matter of the thirdyear students for the time being.
"You sure you're okay with having me along?" I asked.
"Whaddaya mean? We're just havin' something to eat together, that's all."
I couldn't deny that I was feeling a persistent, overwhelming pressure from
him, but it wasn't a bad feeling at all. I was still just trying to wrap my head
around the fact that Ishizaki was treating me as one of his friends.
"Anyway, I mighta said this before, but it ain't like I'm askin' you to come
along just because I'm tryin' to swipe you for our class or anythin'," he said. "It's
just 'cause I like you, as a friend, okay?"
Without hesitation, Ishizaki said something that kind of set me on edge. But
just after he said it, Ishizaki turned around with a start, as if he had just realized
something.
"Am I…botherin' you, maybe?" he asked.
"No, it's not like that," I replied.
"Sweet! Awesome," he exclaimed cheerfully.
For a moment, Ishizaki looked as though he had some doubts about what he
was doing, suspecting that his actions were selfish. But then he immediately
broke into a nonchalant grin, like nothing had happened. Well, I already knew
that he had that kind of personality. I didn't have any ill feelings toward him
whatsoever, so I decided to go with him. As we left the area and began to walk
elsewhere, I heard footsteps coming from behind. It sounded like someone
jogging up toward me.
"Ayanokouji-senpai~!"
It turned out to be none other than Nanase, the person who had
accompanied me throughout the entire first half of the uninhabited island
exam.
"You came to see the exam results too, senpai?" she asked.
"Yeah. But that being said, we couldn't take our time and look, so I gave up on
trying," I answered.
"Is that so? I suppose it'll be a little while before we younger students can
freely view the results on the monitor since the third-years are using it now,"
said Nanase.
Apparently, Nanase also wanted to know detailed results of the exam, but she
opted to refrain for now. Ishizaki watched our conversation with a glimmer of
curiosity in his eyes. Now that I thought of it, Ishizaki had never met Nanase
directly before, had he…
"H-hey, Ayanokouji. When the heck did ya get to know such a cute girl?" he
asked.
"Long story," I answered.
Explaining the whole situation from the top would've been an extraordinary
hassle, so I left it at that.
"Whoa, dude, don't tell me, are you like…you ain't, like, datin' this girl, are
ya?" he asked.
"Don't jump to conclusions," I told him. "We have a simple relationship, as
she is my junior."
It was unusual for him to prod me about this sort of thing. I had thought
Ishizaki wasn't too interested in matters of the opposite sex, but apparently
not.
"Did you need something from me?" I asked Nanase.
"No, nothing. I just felt like talking to you once I saw you." Her eyes sparkling,
Nanase looked me straight in the eyes as she said something that might've been
somewhat embarrassing without hesitation. "Sorry to have bothered you. I'll be
going now!" she added.
I had been thinking that she ran up to me kind of quickly before, and now off
she went, trotting wherever she was going in a similar fashion. I had thought
that the inside of the ship would be like the halls at school, so therefore not a
place for running. But I supposed she was going at a speed that was just barely
within acceptable limits.
"Dang, man, she sure was a cutie," said Ishizaki. "And her, y'know, were
kinda, y'know."
Sorry, but let's just ignore the "y'know" part.
"You really ain't datin' her or nothin'?"
"No, we are not dating," I repeated, firmly denying it once again.
It'd be annoying for him to get the wrong impression due to carelessness on
my part. I didn't want to have people spread any rumors around. That was
precisely why I had to respond to Ishizaki that way, firmly denying it once again.
2.2
AFTER I FINISHED MY MEAL with Ishizaki and returned to my room, I found Ike
standing right outside my door. He was looking down at his phone restlessly,
but when he raised his head to look around him, he spotted me, and our eyes
met.
"Oh, Ayanokouji! Oh man, am I glad to see you! I've been waiting for you!"
Ike was waiting for me? That was yet another unexpected occurrence today.
"To tell you the truth, I was thinkin' of going to pay Komiya a visit, but I was
wonderin' if you'd come too," Ike explained.
"Me?" I asked.
Ike approached me and urged me to lean in close and give him my ear. I tilted
my head toward him to listen.
"Well, uh, it's like, y'know…? I just feel a little awkward about goin' to see him
by myself," he mumbled quietly.
"Why?"
"Why…? Well, y'know. It's, uh… I'm going out with Shinohara. After the exam,
when we were on our way back to the ship, there was a moment when we were
all alone, just the two of us. And that's when, uh…"
Apparently, he had told Shinohara how he felt about her, and she accepted
his feelings. I'd been thinking there might have been some progress on that
front, but apparently, things had exceeded my expectations.
"That so? Congrats," I replied, sincerely happy for him.
Ike averted his eyes bashfully. "Th-thanks man. But, um… I was thinkin',
maybe from Komiya's point of view, I did somethin' unfair," said Ike.
"I don't think so," I told him.
"Well, I guess maybe I shouldn't say, like, 'unfair,' but… It's kinda like I
swooped in before he could."
It was true that Komiya had been eliminated early from the uninhabited
island exam due to his injuries. I suppose you could describe what Ike did as
"swooping in," but that would've been true of anyone. Apparently, Komiya had
been planning to tell Shinohara how he felt about her during the exam.
"I was actually thinkin' I'd wait until Komiya fully recovered, y'know? But,
well, I was so relieved when the exam was over, and then Shinohara was right
there next to me, and… Then, I just felt this intense, irresistible urge to not just
hand her over to Komiya, and…"
From the sounds of things, Ike then proceeded to tell her how he felt about
her, without even thinking about it. Of course, there was the risk of being
rejected, and if that had happened, I could see how it could've made things
even more awkward in the future if Komiya and Shinohara got together.
"So, that's why I figured I had to go tell Komiya about it and give him a proper
report. If he was still planning to tell Shinohara that he had feelings for her, it'd
be pretty complicated, right?" said Ike.
"If you didn't make the first move and take care of that, it'd be really tough
for you if Shinohara decided to go with Komiya in the end."
"Urp…! Wh-why'd…?!" he stammered, flailing in exaggerated fashion, clearly
shaken.
I guessed that half of the reason Ike had wanted to talk to him was that he
wanted to report on what he did, but the other half was that he wanted to stop
Komiya from telling Shinohara how he felt about her.
"You're prepared to at least take one punch, right?" I asked.
"Huh?! I'm gonna get punched?!" he wailed.
"If someone snatched away the person you loved right out from under you,
wouldn't you do at least that much?" I asked.
"…Gulp."
Ike was shaking. He must have been terrified just from imagining it. Komiya
wasn't exactly a big guy or anything, but it wasn't like he was only playing
basketball for show. Ike, on the other hand, was small. There was a pretty
significant difference in size between them.
"Well, he's got an injured leg now, so he won't be able to put much weight on
it," I added. "He shouldn't hurt you too much."
"Th-that's not really the issue here, but, uh… I'm prepared."
Ike seemed like he was determined, at least to some extent, so there was no
reason for me to object. I was curious about Komiya's condition anyway, and
this would be a good opportunity to see it for myself.
"I heard that Komiya's still resting in in the infirmary," said Ike.
"I'm sure it would've been tough for him if he were staying in a regular
room."
It wouldn't be a surprise even if Komiya ended up spending most of the
vacation in the infirmary.
Ike and I arrived at the infirmary. Ike took a deep breath, trying to calm
himself down. There was no point in rushing him, so I just waited patiently. But
as we stood there, we heard loud laughter coming from inside.
"Wh-what was that? Let's head in."
Ike, surprised by the unexpected sound, opened the door to the infirmary and
stepped inside without even fully taking the time to prepare himself mentally.
We found Komiya sitting up in his bed surrounded by several of his classmates,
including Ryuuen. Aside from Ryuuen, there were four other people: Albert,
Kaneda, Kondou, and Yamawaki. Now that people from outside their class
appeared, Ryuuen stood up, not even sparing us a glance.
"See ya later, Komiya," said Ryuuen.
Then, as though he was finished talking, Ryuuen left the infirmary with his
companions in tow. I shot a quick glance over at him, but he made no attempt
to look in my direction. Ike, on the other hand, seemed like he couldn't look
directly at Ryuuen at all.
"Ryuuen's as scary as ever, man… Anyway, what did he want?" asked Ike,
turning his head down, speaking in a quiet mutter.
When Komiya overheard what Ike said, he gave a nod of understanding.
"Yeah, he's certainly intense," he agreed. "Anyway, though, despite how it
looks, it seemed like he just came to pay me a visit."
There were some items placed on the small table beside Komiya's bed,
including some orange juice. They most likely had been brought for him.
"C-came to pay you a visit, huh… He doesn't really seem the type to do that
though," said Ike, telling Komiya his honest feelings.
Komiya agreed with him on that. "Yeah, if it had been the old Ryuuen-san
from around this time last year, I couldn't imagine him doing somethin' like
this."
Komiya smiled somewhat nostalgically as he thought back to a year ago.
"But, y'know, Ryuuen-san's changed a bit. He's softened up… Well, maybe not
exactly, but still," he added, sounding both somewhat bewildered and happy.
Ryuuen had taken complete control of his class as soon as he started school
here. He treated everyone as a tool to be used without mercy. It wasn't
surprising that many of his classmates would honestly reject him in their heart
of hearts.
"But, well, with how he is now, I honestly feel like I can follow him," said
Komiya.
"Follow Ryuuen…? Can't say I get it," replied Ike.
Ike seemed like he was completely unable to understand what he was
hearing. His whole body shivered, in an exaggerated fashion.
"Anyway, Ike, Ayanokouji, don't jus' stand there. Sit on down," said Komiya,
kindly welcoming us in without reservation, even though we were from
different classes.
Deciding to take him up on his offer, Ike and I proceeded to sit down on chairs
nearby.
"You seem well," I observed, checking Komiya's condition as I looked at his
leg, which was fixed in place.
"As you can see, I'm in pretty good shape everywhere else except for my leg,"
he said. "But I gotta say, I can't help but feel frustrated, seeing everyone on the
other side of that door having fun. I hope I heal up soon."
"When do you think you'll be able to walk out of here?" asked Ike.
"I'm in the process of askin' for permission to start using crutches."
Even though they were rivals in love, these two were able to carry on a
conversation alone. My presence here might have been a bit superfluous after
all.
"It's just… I'm a little worried," said Komiya.
"Worried? About what?" asked Ike. He straddled the chair backward, his arms
laid over the backrest.
"Well, it's just… Ryuuen-san's been tryin' to figure out who pushed me, from
the sounds of things. He asked me a bunch of questions to see if I remembered
anythin'. Like I told Ayanokouji before, though, I don't remember anythin' at all
about being attacked."
There didn't seem to be any difference between his memory right now and
his memory at the time of the incident. Right now, Ryuuen's class was gaining
momentum day by day. This was the time when they should be focused on the
battle of the second-years and reaching for Class A. The same went for my class
as well, of course, but in any case, it wouldn't do them much good to delve too
deeply into this incident. If Amasawa or another White Room student were
involved—or anyone else associated with Tsukishiro, for that matter—there
was no guarantee that even Ryuuen would be safe.
"I hope that Ryuuen-san doesn't overdo it," said Komiya.
"It almost sounds like he wants to beat the culprit half to death," remarked
Ike.
I supposed that from Ike and Komiya's point of view, it was impossible to
imagine Ryuuen getting beaten. If anything, it was more natural for them to be
more worried for the culprit than Ryuuen.
"So? It's not like you just came here to pay me a get-well-soon visit, right?"
said Komiya, sensing that there was some other reason for Ike's arrival.
In that instant, Ike stiffened in surprise.
"Oh, uh, well… I, uh…" he stammered.
He must not have been mentally prepared yet because he started choking on
his words. Seeing this, Komiya simply waited for Ike to be ready. There was a
serious look on his face, but he didn't pressure Ike to keep talking. The
atmosphere in the room had changed in the blink of an eye. There was no
longer any trace of the relaxed mood that we were enjoying until now.
"…I… Man, I dunno how to say this… It's like…" sputtered Ike.
Ike's talkative demeanor quieted, and he became unable to express himself
eloquently.
"Ike," said Komiya. "I don't know what you're tryin' to tell me, but if you've
got something important to say, look me in the eye and say it."
It seemed like Komiya had guessed what Ike was going to tell him. Still, he
simply urged Ike to come out and say it clearly while pretending that he didn't
know what this was all about. I couldn't imagine that Ike noticed that Komiya
sensed what was happening here, but I think that these two must have felt
something toward each other. It was like they both knew that this was news
that shouldn't be reported in a leisurely, casual manner. Ike, using both hands,
slapped his cheeks, and then forced his eyes open wide.
"I told Shinohara how I feel about her!" he exclaimed, sounding determined.
His declaration was brief, but he communicated it in a loud voice. A silence
fell over the room immediately after he said it. With him standing right next to
me, I could hear Ike gulp loudly.
"So? What did Satsuki say?" asked Komiya.
"She said okay. We're going out," replied Ike.
"I see…"
Komiya only gave a brief response, but Ike kept looking directly at his face,
not averting his gaze. Like Ike said before, wouldn't have been any surprise if
Komiya decided to complain about the situation, thinking that Ike had swooped
in ahead of him. My threatening warning seemed to have been effective, but
Ike looked like he was ready for a sudden smack.
"Did you think I was gonna punch you?" asked Komiya.
"Huh?" sputtered Ike.
"It's totally written all over your face," Komiya teased. "It's like, 'Oh no, I
might get smacked around.'"
"W-well, I mean, uh… I guess a little," said Ike.
"All right, guess that means you're prepared. I can't move right now, so come
over here," said Komiya.
Komiya demanded that Ike come over beside him. Ike couldn't read his true
intentions from his face, but Ike seemed to have made up his mind on the
matter, perhaps because of the persuasive power of Komiya's demand. Despite
his trepidation, Ike went to stand right beside him. As soon as Ike was in place,
Komiya reached out with his right arm, and grabbed his shoulder.
"Ngh!"
Komiya pulled himself up, pushing his aching body to its limit, and peered into
Ike's eyes with an angry, evil expression.
"If you make Satsuki cry, I'll really let you have it," he said, and gently pushed
his left fist against Ike's chest with a light pomf.
"K-Komiya…?"
Komiya's expression relaxed, changing into a smile. "Come on, dude, don't be
so gullible!" he said. "Satsuki chose you, that's all there is to it. Right?"
"But… If you hadn't gotten hurt, it might've turned out the other way…" said
Ike.
"Sorry dude, but I don't think so. Satsuki's had a crush on you for a long time
now. That's why she accepted it right away when you told her how you felt. I
really don't think it was the kinda situation where whoever got there first won
or something. It's just…" Komiya trailed off.
"Just what?"
"It's just, if you hadn't started paying attention to Satsuki and just kept
running away, then I might've had a chance."
It was exactly as Komiya said. I also thought that it wasn't that important
whether Ike told Shinohara how he felt about her first or if he told her later.
There was a terrible accident where people were seriously injured, and Ike just
so happened to be nearby. That created an opportunity for him, giving Ike a big
push that enabled him to face Shinohara. That was most definitely the most
crucial factor in how they had come to start dating. If fate had different ideas in
store, like if Komiya hadn't been injured, or if Ike hadn't been by Shinohara's
side at the time, then it might have been Komiya who was standing beside
Shinohara right now.
"I guess in that sense, this injury was really unlucky," mused Komiya.
Although Komiya's romantic wishes hadn't been realized, he still seemed to
be sunny and cheerful.
"Thanks, Komiya," said Ike.
"You better study and all, okay?" Komiya told him. "Satsuki… I mean,
Shinohara worries about you, in that area."
"…Yeah. There's no way I can let myself get expelled," said Ike.
This tumultuous love affair might become an extremely important turning
point for Ike. Like Sudou, Ike had been given the opportunity to fight hard, both
for his own sake and for the sake of someone he loved. At any rate, Ike had now
given Komiya his full report, and things seemed to have calmed back down.
"Sorry Ike, but can I talk to Ayanokouji alone for a minute?" said Komiya.
"There's something I wanna confirm with him about my injury."
"Sure, dude. See you, Komiya. Later, Ayanokouji," said Ike. After his goodbyes,
Ike immediately left the room.
Now that the two of us were alone, Komiya spoke up once more.
"Sorry. I'm sure Ike brought you along because he asked you for help, right?"
asked Komiya.
"Nah. I was curious about how you were doing anyway, Komiya," I said. "If
anything, I was a bother."
"No way man, not at all," he said. "Actually, it's like… I just don't know."
"Hm?"
"Even though you guys and me are in different classes and we're supposed to
be fighting each other, we've started talking normally. It's kinda like
something's been taken away from us, that feelin' of wanting to fight. Last year,
things were so bloodthirsty."
Normally, if someone was in a different class, that meant they were an
opponent for you to defeat. Someone that you had to take down. There
weren't many advantages in getting along with other classes except in the cases
of certain strategies.
"The uninhabited island exam was a competition between grade levels, and
besides, we've all been in this school for a long time now. So, like, maybe that's
why?" Komiya mused.
"Hm, maybe so," I answered.
"So? You wanted to talk about my injury, right?" asked Komiya.
It was obvious that what Komiya had been saying before was just an
icebreaker, something to start the conversation. Now, we needed to get to the
topic at hand.
"I mentioned it before, about what Ryuuen-san is doing," he added.
"From what you've said, it sounds like he's searching for the culprit."
"I'm against it, just for the record," Komiya said. "To be honest, it's like, I just
want to say this accident was just the result of my own slipup and be done with
it."
"But Shinohara honestly saw someone attack you," I pointed out.
"I know. But it's just… I got this bad feeling. Or like, I feel like it's not going to
end well."
Perhaps it was precisely because he had been attacked that he strongly felt
like there was something dangerous going on.
"Would you mind keeping an eye on the situation?" he asked. "Even if it's
only a little bit?"
"I don't think I can really do anything about it though," I answered.
"To be honest, I'm not expecting you to take care of it directly or anything.
Just, if you feel like there's something off, let me know," said Komiya, appealing
to me with a powerful look in his eyes.
We did have each other's contact information so we could contact each other
at any time.
"All right," I agreed. "For the time being, it'd be best if you just focus on
getting better as soon as possible, Komiya."
Rest was the only shortcut to making a full recovery, after all.
"Thanks. Oh, yeah, and if you don't mind, I'd like to show my thanks to you
properly next time," said Komiya. "And I wanted to talk to the other guys who
helped too."
"I'm sure they'd be glad to hear that. Maybe Ike will bring Shinohara along
too," I answered.
"I hope not. I feel like if I see those two getting all flirty, I might cry."
He had a smirk on his face, but Komiya was more heartbroken than he looked.
Carelessly making that teasing comment had been a mistake on my part. At any
rate, while I wouldn't say that his injury had been a fortunate error or anything,
I felt like the distance between Komiya and I had shortened a little.
"See ya, Ayanokouji," said Komiya.
"Yeah," I answered.
After I said goodbye and left the infirmary, a strange feeling suddenly washed
over me. My classmates Sudou and Ike, and now people from other classes, like
Ishizaki and Komiya… Little by little, the number of people whom I could call my
friends was gradually beginning to increase. It wasn't that I had been actively
trying to make friends or anything, but in the end, that was exactly what was
happening.
"The way to make friends isn't something you find in a textbook, I suppose," I
muttered aloud.
It was a little stupid, but that's what I seriously thought to myself