IT WAS FIRST THING in the morning. I was returning to my tent after going
outside to use the bathroom, a trash bag in hand, when I saw Ibuki moving
suspiciously near my tent.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Ah!"
She seemed to have been completely absorbed in rifling through my
backpack, because she couldn't hide her surprise when I called out to her.
"Were you trying to look at my tablet without my permission? Or was there
something else you wanted?"
Unfortunately for her, our tablets were set up with a lock screen that made it
impossible for a third party to access their contents.
"I wasn't doing anything like that! I was just… I was just checking to see if it
was really a fair trade, that's all," replied Ibuki, slinking away from my backpack.
"There was only one bottle of drinking water in your backpack. How exactly is
that supposed to be a 'surplus' or whatever you said?"
I had only been away from my backpack for less than a minute, but I
supposed I had been a little careless. That had been enough time for her to
check its contents. That being said, I had no right to criticize her. After all, I had
gone and rifled through her backpack without permission yesterday. Even if I
tried to fool her into thinking that I had just drank my extra water last night, she
would simply have asked me where the empty plastic bottles were. It was
against the rules to just toss our garbage around on the island.
"So, what? Were you thinking that you'd help me so that I'd owe you a debt?"
she demanded.
"How exactly? You wouldn't have even found out unless you looked in my
backpack," I said. "I don't think that would mean I was trying to make you owe
me."
"Ugh." After I shot her down, Ibuki puffed out her cheeks angrily.
"Whatever the truth is, the point is that it was still a fair trade," I told her.
"I'm not entirely convinced, but… Fine, whatever, I get it. In that case though,
I'm not giving you anything back," said Ibuki.
"Would you have given the water back to me if I had been trying to make you
owe me?" I asked.
"No," she replied flatly.
"I see…"
So, she checked out my backpack because she simply wasn't convinced that it
was a fair trade. Since our conversation stopped there, I briefly went back inside
my tent. It was only just after six-thirty in the morning, but I could already hear
Ibuki moving about. I opened the entrance to my tent again and peered out. It
seemed like she was already starting to put her tent away.
If this were the second or third day of the special exam, I probably would have
thought, Wow, she's really motivated. I once again had the feeling that she
wouldn't speak to me anymore, so I went back into my tent. Eventually, seven
o'clock rolled around and the first designated area of the day was announced.
Mine was in E4. I didn't hesitate to spend a point to use the GPS search to see
the locations of all students.
The search was well worth the one point spent.
The gap between me and tenth place was slight, so it was possible I could
unexpectedly overtake them. By using that one point on a search, the gap
between me and Kuronaga's group increased to twelve points. Even if I arrived
first at the designated area and won the eleven-point first place Early Bird
Bonus, I still wouldn't overtake them in the rankings.
There were about three rival groups on the map right now who could be
competing with me for this Early Bird Bonus. Among those three groups, one of
them included a certain someone who was quite a formidable enemy. And that
group was in a perfect position too.
Depending on how the situation developed, I was considering ignoring the
Basic Movement system for now and making replenishing my supplies my top
priority instead. It was a good thing I had done this search before making a
decision. It allowed me to check how many students were in the vicinity of the
Task that I was after as well, which made it possible for me to predict the
degree of competitiveness there would be from an early stage.
When I got back out of my tent after I had finished getting ready, Ibuki was
already nowhere to be found. There wasn't much benefit in heading out before
the day's exam period started, but I figured she might have simply wanted to
get as far away from me as quickly as she possibly could.
4.2
MY DESIGNATED AREA was located close to the starting point, but it took me
nearly an hour and a half to get there. I looked down to check my watch just as I
got a notification and saw that I had not gotten any Early Bird Bonus points. I
had only received one point for the Arrival Bonus. I wasn't dissatisfied with that,
of course, because I had picked up a Task along the way. From where I was
standing, a point at a high elevation, I could practically survey the entire
uninhabited island, if just barely.
"You were quite late getting here, Ayanokouji," said Kiryuuin, standing just
barely within sight. She was looking down the cliff face, not turning to look at
me as she spoke.
"From the looks of it, apparently so," I replied.
When I had done the search earlier today, I considered her to be the most
troublesome person out of the students in my same Table.
"I thought that there was a formidable opponent racing me for the Early Bird
Bonus," she said. "So, it was you, huh?"
"I'm not so sure about that," I replied. "Besides, it's not uncommon for people
in different Tables to be in the same area. More importantly, I didn't think that
you were interested in breaking into the top ten, Kiryuuin-senpai."
Kiryuuin had been sitting somewhere around eleventh place or lower, but this
morning, she had suddenly shot right up to ninth place.
"This uninhabited island exam has been surprisingly interesting," she
admitted. "I guess I just got a little too excited. Rather unbecoming for someone
as old as I am."
Someone as old as you are? But you're only a year older than me, I thought in
response.
"I'm only planning on keeping up my current pace for a little bit longer," said
Kiryuuin.
"You're not aiming for first place?"
"Everyone competing for the top spots will be gunning for one another," she
said. "I'm not interested in getting involved in that mess. Although, if Nagumo
or Kouenji happened to crash and burn, then I suppose that might be a different
story."
"Crash?" I repeated. "It doesn't really look like things will go that way now,
though."
"Do you really think that Nagumo is just going to let Kouenji run around
freely?" Kiryuuin asked.
It sounded as though Kiryuuin had some idea of what was to come as well.
"With both sides so evenly matched, it's hard to say that Nagumo will win this
thing," she added. "So far, he's probably just been sitting back and watching
how things go. But this is about the time for him to start making his move, so
it's quite likely that we'll see a showdown between him and Kouenji. Depending
on how the situation plays out, they could each make it difficult for the other to
rack up more points."
Alternatively, it was possible that one of them would make a misstep and fall
in the rankings instead.
"Defeating your opponent head-on is another crucial element of battle," said
Kiryuuin.
I couldn't make any guesses about when exactly Nagumo was going to declare
war, but if things continued as they'd been going so far, Nagumo and Kouenji
would surely clash. I had no doubt that at the very least, Nagumo's side would
stop Kouenji.
"Are you not going for the top ranks yourself?" she asked me.
"Unfortunately, I can't really envision myself making it into the top ten," I
replied.
"I see. I thought for sure you'd get a score close to mine."
She seemed to be extremely interested in me. Well, to be precise, I didn't
think that I was the only one she was interested in though. Kiryuuin was, in her
own way, looking at and analyzing the strategies being used by students
throughout our entire school across every grade level.
"This is probably when most groups will start seeing a drop in their
efficiency," she said. "Don't give up and keep giving it your best."
Kiryuuin was someone I hadn't known at all until just recently, but I gathered
that she was an exceptionally capable person. She was a third-year student with
excellent intuition and perception, which you wouldn't glean just from looking
at OAA alone.
"That being said… From what we can see on our tablets so far, how do you
feel about the fact that no groups have been completely eliminated yet?" she
asked.
"All I can say is that in this situation, we can't let our guards down. Not even
for a moment," I answered.
"I stopped by the starting point yesterday and picked up a little information,"
she said. "Apparently, some groups suffering from a lack of food and water are
trying to avoid collapsing altogether by having individual members spread out in
an effort to endure the situation."
"That's a wise decision on their part," I remarked.
No matter how many points a group collected, if every member of the group
was eliminated, they'd be disqualified and expelled immediately. In that case, it
was much safer to send one or two people back to the starting area even if it
meant a drop in efficiency. Water was readily available there, and you could
more easily avoid getting sick if you could maintain proper hygiene.
"I'm sure that the groups in the bottom ten are wishing to themselves, 'I don't
care what group it is, I just hope some other group gets eliminated,'" I said.
"People who have no regard for appearances will use any means necessary,"
said Kiryuuin. "Just be careful, okay?"
"Shouldn't you be worrying about yourself in that regard, Kiryuuin-senpai? As
a girl?"
"Hmm. Well, I suppose that, yes, as a fair maiden, I should be aware of the
dangers," she replied.
Though I had asked her that only as a joke, she was surprisingly serious about
it. "If it comes to that, then… I suppose I'll just push through by force." Kiryuuin
then tightly clenched her hand into a fist.
Her answer was completely unlike what you'd expect from a "fair maiden."
"I can't tell how serious you're being about this," I told her.
"Fu fu," she laughed. "Sorry for taking up so much of your time. After all, you
and I both need every moment we can get. We can't spare a single second of a
single minute."
With that, she gently waved goodbye and started to walk away. Judging from
the direction she was headed in, I guessed she must have been aiming for a
Task.
Before she was out of sight, though, she paused. "You're not coming? There
might still be room for you to register for the Task too, if you leave right now."
"Thanks, but I'll pass," I replied. "I don't think that I can compete with you,
Kiryuuin-senpai."
At this point in time, it looked like there were only enough openings for up to
two groups to register for this Task. In addition to the fact that there were three
or more rival groups headed that way, Kiryuuin was also headed to that Task, so
my chances of being able to register weren't very high at all.
As I watched her go, even though she should have been in a hurry, she
stopped again and looked back at me.
"Hm, so that's how it is… Well, I guess I'll just go and see for myself in
person," she said, speaking as though she had deduced my strategy. Kiryuuin
finally left and headed toward the Task.
4.3
THE SUN HAD SET on the tenth day of the exam, and it was now after nine
o'clock at night. It was time for me to check the GPS information for the top and
bottom ten groups. Suddenly, a bright light flickered from outside my tent.
"Is someone out and about at this hour…?" I muttered.
It was risky, but I supposed it was conceivable that someone could have been
trying to reach their final designated area for the day if they hadn't been able to
until now. I couldn't help but follow the light with my eyes as I sat inside my
tent. It wasn't as though the light was being shined in my direction though.
Rather, whoever it was seemed to be sweeping the light to and fro as they
walked.
The movements of their flashlight seemed unstable, as if they were
desperately searching for something. I got curious, so I decided to pop out of
my tent. Actually, it looked as though they were desperately searching for
someone. Was Amasawa looking for me because she wanted to get close and
try something? No, I couldn't imagine that she would have been using her
flashlight so haphazardly if that was the case. After closing the distance
between our positions by using GPS, she should have been able to take
advantage of the darkness and gotten closer to me.
"Yume-chaaaan!"
I heard a faint voice, and it sounded like it was coming from the same
direction as the the flashlight. I didn't know who the owner of the voice was,
but nicknames aside, I knew that there was only one person in our school
named Yume. I was certain that they were calling for Kobashi Yume from Class
2-C. In that case, it was probably correct for me to assume that whoever was
speaking was either someone from that class, or who had a connection to it. If I
remembered correctly, there was a girl named Shiranami Chihiro in Kobashi's
same group.
At any rate, it sounded like whoever was calling was about to burst into tears
at any moment. I could have ignored her and let things be, but since this was a
student from Class 2-C, she should be able to get in touch with Sakayanagi from
Class 2-A since those classes were cooperating on some level. Our tablets had a
flashlight function, so I took mine out and turned the flashlight on. It wasn't as
dependable a light source as a regular flashlight, but it was more than enough
for someone to see in the dark. Shortly thereafter, the girl noticed me and
pointed her flashlight in my direction.
"Yume-chan?!" the girl said, sounding panicked, her voice getting more
audible as she drew closer.
After getting flashed by the dazzling beam from her flashlight, I could slowly
start to see the flashlight's owner come into view.
"Yume-chan!" she shouted once again.
"Hey, sorry, but I'm not Yume," I replied.
"Oh…"
The person that had emerged from amidst the trees was none other than
Shiranami, after all.
"Oh, um, Ayanokouji-kun… G-good evening," she stammered.
Although we were hardly close, she seemed somewhat relieved. Had her
situation really been so upsetting that she was happy to see even me?
"It's pretty dangerous to be out at night all alone," I said. "Where are Kobashi
and Takemoto?"
"Oh, um, well… I actually don't know where they are… I was walking along in a
hurry, and I lost track of where I was going, and…"
I wasn't going to ask her such an uncouth question like, "Why are you all
alone in the woods in the middle of the night?" This was an expansive forest;
everywhere you looked, it was an ocean of trees. If you pressed on into the
woods without being totally prepared, thinking to yourself, "Oh, they probably
went this way," you'd end up losing your sense of direction in the blink of an
eye. As a result of her getting lost, Shiranami had probably wandered far, far
from the rest of her group.
"About how long has it been since you lost track of them?" I asked.
"I'm not sure… I think maybe fifteen…or, like, twenty minutes, maybe?"
Even if she had traveled in the opposite direction from her teammates, they
shouldn't have wandered so far apart that it was worth getting depressed over.
But, at the very least, she had gotten far enough away from her teammates that
they were no longer able to hear each other.
"At any rate, walking around aimlessly is just going to make this situation
even worse," I told her.
"O-okay," she replied.
I figured that for the time being, I'd take the lead and give her instructions to
follow me while using my tablet to light the way ahead. It'd be a hassle if I
ended up getting lost too, after all. Still, I couldn't just leave my tent and stuff
here while I went out to look for Shiranami's group with her. I was sure that
some students must have had similar troubles and got lost in the same way.
Some might have managed to find their way back through pure chance, but
for others, it might have taken a long time. If students couldn't find their way
back, though… Well, making it through the woods in the middle of the night
wasn't exactly an easy thing to do. Even if they didn't have any major physical
problems in doing so, it was still difficult emotionally. Shortly after, we reached
my campsite, and I talked to the anxious Shiranami there.
"There are lots of bugs out," I told her. "For the time being, you can stay in my
tent."
"Huh?!" Her shout sounded more afraid than surprised.
"I'm not going to go inside, so you can relax," I added.
I had some problems trying to explain the situation to her, but in the end, I
basically forced Shiranami into the tent as she was still unable to wrap her head
around what was happening. After that, I closed the entrance behind her.
"I-I'm sorry… I was just resting, and…" she wailed.
"It's all right," I assured her. "More importantly, were Kobashi and Takemoto
both looking healthy? Normal?"
"Yeah," she replied.
In that case, they must have been panicking as well since Shiranami hadn't
returned. I assumed that they must have been discussing whether to go out and
search or to stay where they were.
"Did your group make a plan for what to do if you got split up?" I asked.
I thought I'd ask and see, but Shiranami simply shook her head.
"It's possible that Takemoto, the guy from your group, might go out to look
for you by himself, Shiranami," I said. "But if he did, there'd be a risk of
someone else getting lost and being in distress. They'd be taking quite a big risk
if both your teammates left their tents and stuff behind to go out looking for
you."
Additionally, packing up their tents and backpacks before setting out to
search for Shiranami wouldn't exactly be an effective option either, since
Shiranami could very well return all by herself in that time and find herself all
alone at a deserted campsite. For them to do things as safely as possible, it was
preferable to not walk far enough away as to lose sight of their own tents, but
to stay in the nearby vicinity and rely on using lights and loud shouts to find
Shiranami, hoping that she would notice them.
But if Shiranami's group hadn't made any detailed plans ahead of time, and
since one of the girls had gotten separated from the group, I wasn't sure if her
teammates would be able to keep level heads. It was entirely possible that they
might panic and go out searching for her.
"What do I do…?" wailed Shiranami.
She was talking to herself, not asking me for my opinion on anything. I
supposed you could say that this was trivial, but on the other hand, you could
consider what she was doing to be a major mistake. It was understandable why
she was doing it, since she was overwhelmed with anxiety. The problem was
the other two people in her group. Well, actually, it was possible that there
were even more people.
"Do you still just have the same small group of three people? Or have you
increased your group to four or more people?" I asked her.
"That's…" she started, but then trailed off.
So far, Shiranami had openly explained everything that had happened in
detail, but now she suddenly stopped talking. Since she should've known the
size of her own group well enough, she must've hesitated to tell me for a
different reason.
Right now, Ichinose's class was working together with Sakayanagi's class in a
cooperative partnership. I was sure that there were also friend groups that
further transcended those boundaries, of course, but the majority of the groups
were originally created via that arrangement. Obviously, to tell me the details
about the inner workings of these groups would be considered an information
leak. In that sense, it was appropriate on Shiranami's part not to casually
mention whether there had been any additions to her group since the start of
the exam. There was value in that.
"I understand, and you don't have to tell me the exact details of your
situation. But, for the time being, just hear me out," I told her.
With that out of the way, I went on to elaborate.
"If I were a member of your group, Shiranami, then I would first look at the
situation at hand. I would determine that a girl was wandering alone in the dark
forest, having lost her way back."
Shiranami nodded meekly.
"I wouldn't just leave things be then, of course. First, I would raise my voice
and shout her name loudly, to see if she answered back. But, like I said before,
if I didn't get a response by doing that, then I'd have to try something else.
Now, let's assume for example that it was Kobashi who had gotten separated
from the group. What would you and Takemoto do in that case?"
"I think that we would probably…go out looking for Yume-chan, together…"
"Even if you ran the risk of running into trouble yourselves? You could end up
getting hurt and eliminated from the exam," I replied.
"She's my friend. I couldn't just leave her," said Shiranami, resolutely.
That was definitely an answer I'd expect from someone from Ichinose's class.
Whether that was an advantage or disadvantage was a separate issue entirely.
Takemoto, being from Class A, might initially try and stop Shiranami from going,
but he would probably end up going along to help her. The best approach for
me to take here would probably be to let her use my tent to wait things out
while her teammates came to meet up with her.
Besides, I was sure that if the situation called for it, her teammates would use
the GPS search and come looking for her. Still, with this thick cover of darkness,
I didn't know how well a search would help, even if you came into our vicinity
once or twice.
"Do you have points to spare? Would you worry about your spot in the
rankings if you used the search two or three times?" I asked.
"Well, I…I don't know, actually," she replied. "I don't think it would be a
particularly good idea for us to use it."
From the sound of it, her group certainly wasn't maintaining an outstanding
position in the rankings. Before the exam concluded, there would be no way of
knowing if using the search would have any impact on their position, or if the
points used to search spelled the difference between victory or defeat. As for
Shiranami, I was sure that she'd feel guilty and upset at herself if her
teammates used points to come searching for her in the same way.
In that case, I supposed the best course of action would be to just wait and
see. But we couldn't necessarily rule out the possibility that her teammates
would be coming to look for her, or that they simply wouldn't be able to find
her. Besides, in this case, since I couldn't use the tent myself, that meant I'd be
spending the night outside. That would certainly disrupt my pace, which I had
been able to keep at a steady rhythm up until now. If I was going to take action,
then…I supposed now was the time to do it.
"Got any energy?" I asked.
"Huh?" she stammered.
"I mean, do you have enough energy left to walk?" I clarified.
"Y-yes. I think I should be okay to do that…"
I urged her to come out of the tent.
"Let's get moving now, so that you can join up with your group," I told her.
"But…how?" she asked.
"This isn't a problem that we'll be able to solve by just stumbling around in
the dark. We're going to use this," I explained, showing her the tablet in my
hand. "If we use the GPS search, then we'll know which direction they're in, and
we can find out approximately how far away they are."
Still, it wasn't going to be easy for Shiranami to meet up with her teammates.
Making our way through the woods under the cover of darkness like this was
going to be an extremely arduous task. And for average students like Shiranami,
it was going to be impossible without repeatedly using the GPS search.
"Why are you helping me…?" she asked meekly.
"Why? Well, I guess that one reason for it is that this exam is a battle between
grade levels, more or less," I replied.
"But still, going so far as using your GPS search for me is…" she protested.
Using one or two points wasn't that big of a burden, at least from my
perspective. I could always collect more points again and catch up, as long as it
wasn't going to put me any higher than eleventh place. Since there was no
point in talking about this any further, I figured I'd just try and say something
that sounded reasonable.
"Well, I guess if I had to say why… It might be because it's Ichinose's class," I
replied.
The instant I said those words, I turned to look back at her and saw
Shiranami's face stiffen.
"Wait, could you…?" she said quietly.
Did I say something awkward?
"Hm?" I replied.
"Wait, Ayanokouji-kun, could you and Honami-chan…?" She trailed off again.
Even though Shiranami had gotten far enough to mention both my and
Ichinose's names, she suddenly stopped, closing her mouth. I was able to more
or less understand what she was trying to say, though it took me a minute. I
thought back to what Ichinose's other classmates said to me the other day,
when I ran into them.
"There's nothing," I said, trying to answer her preemptively.
But Shiranami's expression remained visibly stiffened with surprise. At any
rate, for the time being, I put the subject on hold and went ahead with using
the search. Kobashi and Takemoto's GPS signals were displayed on top of one
another, which meant that they were most definitely still together.
We walked on ahead in search of Shiranami's group. For about ten minutes,
we headed in the direction of their GPS signals.
"Chihiro-chan!"
As we weaved through the trees in the dark forest, Kobashi, wearing her
backpack, spotted us. Her teammate Takemoto was with her too, with a
backpack over his shoulders as well. They seemed to have come looking for
Shiranami while carrying all their group's belongings, since he was also carrying
another backpack in his hands.
Since they were heading straight for us, I guessed they had probably used the
GPS search too. In the end, after meeting up, we all headed back over to the
location where I had set up my tent.
"Thank you so much for helping Chihiro-chan, Ayanokouji-kun," said Kobashi.
"Nah. I'm sure that you guys would have found each other eventually," I
replied. "I just hope I wasn't overstepping or anything."
"Overstepping? Come on, no way," said Takemoto. "If we had kept going, we
would've risked getting injured. And more importantly, we would've had a
harder time finding her."
Even though Takemoto was in a different class than his teammates, he was
sincerely relieved that he and Kobashi had been able to find Shiranami so
quickly. If Takemoto and Kobashi had to go chasing after Shiranami themselves,
it was possible that it would've taken them more than one or two GPS searches
before they found her.
I figured that I'd go ahead and broach a certain subject with Takemoto now,
while I had the chance. "Hey, I wanted to ask you something. Do you have a
walkie-talkie?" I asked.
"Huh? A walkie-talkie? Yeah, I do, but…" he replied, but he didn't finish his
thought.
I figured that if he was somewhat grateful to me, then I might be able to
borrow it from him rather easily.
"If you don't mind, I was hoping to see if I could talk to Sakayanagi for a
minute," I told him. "I wanted to ask her if a Class D student that I've been
worried about has gotten back to the starting point."
"Oh yeah, if that's all, then I'd be happy to. Hold on just a minute," he said.
Takemoto wasn't hesitant at all about sharing. Figuring it was a way he could
show his thanks, he quickly took out the device. The walkie-talkies provided to
us by the school were digital, of course, and they came equipped with a
function called secret conversation mode. It was, essentially, a function that
allowed you to talk only with specific people one-on-one without allowing your
communication to be intercepted by others. The groups that had gotten walkietalkies for this exam had probably prepared codes so they could prevent
information leaks from happening.
Takemoto used the walkie-talkie to call Sakayanagi to see if she was available.
Shortly after he reached out to her, he got a response, and then he handed me
the walkie-talkie.
"I'd like to talk with Sakayanagi in private for a few minutes," I said.
Kobashi, Shiranami, and Takemoto all nodded happily, agreeing to my
request. They graciously gave me some space. I still made sure that they could
see the walkie-talkie, of course, to show them that I wasn't trying to pull any
cheap tricks. I talked with Sakayanagi for a while, and then I handed the device
back to Takemoto.
"That's all then, Sakayanagi. Sorry for bothering you this late at night," said
Takemoto, saying a few words to her himself.
My communication with Sakayanagi had ended with that exchange between
Takemoto and her, which served as proof that the conversation had been
concluded without any problems.
"You really helped me out," I told Takemoto. "I was able to get the
information I needed from Sakayanagi, thank goodness."
"That's great! Oh, also, Sakayanagi asked me to give this to you, Ayanokouji,"
he replied, handing me a walkie-talkie.
"Okay, thanks," I replied.
"We really need to say thank you too. Isn't that right?" said Kobashi, gesturing
to Shiranami.
"Thank you so much for all of your help, Ayanokouji-kun," said Shiranami.
The three of them thanked me once again, and it was decided that the four of
us would spend the night here together. I fell asleep listening to stories of Class
A and Class C, which I normally didn't get a chance to hear about.
Chapter 5:
Under Siege: Kouenji VS The Free Groups
KOUENJI'S RAPID ADVANCE continued unabated even as the second half of the
battle began. Until today, the tenth day of the exam, he had been continuously
racking up enough points to stay neck and neck with Nagumo's group. Just after
five o'clock in the evening when the day's exam tasks were done, Class 3-B's
Kiriyama finished a conversation on his walkie-talkie and quietly closed his eyes
for a time.
He was somewhat surprised to see Kouenji's name near the top of the
rankings on the fourth day when that information was first disclosed. But at
that point in time, neither Kiriyama nor Nagumo showed any signs of anything
remotely resembling panic. That was because everyone thought that if a
student was going it alone, they would reach their limit sooner or later.
"Kiriyama, doesn't it seem like Nagumo's bein' slow to respond? Being too
reactive?" said Mikitani, a Class 3-B student. "He should have been miles in the
lead by the time the second half of this battle started. But he delayed dealin'
with this so we're ten days in and he still hasn't been able to settle things. And
now it's looking like they're evenly matched!" Mikitani showed Kiriyama his
tablet as he spoke.
Displayed on the tablet was Nagumo's group's overall score of 236 points.
Also shown was Kouenji's score of 230 points. There was only a six-point
difference between them. They were so close that simply getting to an area first
and receiving the first place Early Bird Bonus would swap the two. Nagumo's
group had now become a large group by merging with another. They also
greatly outnumbered other groups due to the fact that they held the One More
card, allowing them to have seven members. They would be able to gain seven
points for every Arrival Bonus if they managed to reach their designated areas
on time.
On the other hand, while Kouenji could only get a single point for the Arrival
Bonus, he could obtain Early Bird Bonuses quite easily since he was working
alone. He boasted the highest number of first place Early Bird Bonuses of any
group.
"At the rate things are going, even if Nagumo does manage to pull ahead a bit
and win this thing, you'll end up in third place if you're not careful," said
Mikitani. "And if you end up losing to a lone second-year, then our reputations
will go straight down the drain too, since we supported you."
Kiriyama and his teammates currently had a cumulative total of 188 points.
The gap between them and Kouenji was gradually beginning to widen.
"Come to think of it, there was a rumor that went around a little bit after
Kouenji first came to our school last year," said Kiriyama. "He was getting all
chummy with the second-and third-years at the time, asking about purchasing
Private Points. What were your thoughts back then?"
"I thought he shouldn't get all carried away just 'cause he's rich," said
Mikitani.
"Most students throughout the school thought he seemed like someone with
a prominent level of academic and physical ability," Kiriyama recalled. "But
even though he didn't stand out as a high achiever in terms of grades, he really
does come from a wealthy family. Kouenji's simply strange. That's the
impression most students had of him."
Mikitani simply nodded at that.
"The biggest reason Kouenji hasn't been recognized is that he hasn't taken
anything seriously," Kiriyama went on. "He has a strong tendency to go against
whatever students are supposed to be doing, and even on things like exams, he
typically just gives up right at the very beginning."
That was a fact that had spread not only amongst the second-years, but
among the third-years as well. If Kouenji had been a more serious and sincere
person, Nagumo would have recognized him as an enemy to watch out for
much earlier. Kiriyama was sure that they would have seen Nagumo take notice
of Kouenji and he would've taken steps to put him in his place.
"Well, I don't know what happened, but Kouenji's sure taking this exam
seriously," said Mikitani. "And 'cause of that, he's the toughest enemy here on
this island. His stamina is especially terrifying. He just never seems to get tired. I
think he might even keep pushing ahead like he has been all the way until the
very end."
Kouenji was making the most of the advantages of being able to move
independently, while also pushing on ahead with his inexhaustible energy. And
even though they were third-year students, now that things had gotten this far,
they had to think of something. If left unchecked, Kouenji would most definitely
finish the exam in the top three. He could even end up completely eclipsing
Nagumo, depending on how things played out. Losing to a junior would be a
problem in and of itself, but, on top of that, losing to a student going it alone
would bring shame for generations to come.
Kouenji was an opponent that needed to be defeated, and that needed to
happen as soon as possible. Of course, violent means were to be avoided as
much as possible. If a third-year student were to ambush Kouenji and injure him
in a fight, thus eliminating him from the exam, that would naturally be a
problem. If the third-year students used violence to prevent Kouenji from
getting into the top ranks, it was inevitable that the school would look into the
matter. Therefore, Kouenji needed to be subdued as quietly as possible.
"So, you decide on a plan of action, Kiriyama?" asked Mikitani.
"Yes. We're going to be using the Free Groups, after all," Kiriyama replied.
The "Free Groups" were groups of students hand-picked by Nagumo, five
from each of the three classes below him, meaning 3-B, 3-C, and 3-D. There
were fifteen groups in total with three students in each. They essentially
functioned as Nagumo's foot soldiers. Two of the people in each Free Group
were meant to follow direct orders, while the third member was given the
responsibility of hitting the designated areas so the group could avoid penalties.
In other words, two students per group could move about freely.
"I figured as much," said Mikitani. "All right, so how many?"
"I have custody of six groups, and we're going to mobilize them all," Kiriyama
said.
"Six? Are you serious? Kouenji is just one guy! And besides, even if Kouenji did
have a bunch of people with him, sendin' four groups after him, my group
included, would be plenty. Just in case, the other two groups should—"
"The only threat here is Kouenji," said Kiriyama, cutting Mikitani off. "We'll
have plenty of time to deal with anything or anyone else after we crush him.
We're able to view the leaderboards until the end of the twelfth day. We're
going to keep Kouenji thoroughly contained for two days, starting tomorrow.
Kouenji's working alone, so once he loses his momentum, he'll never be able to
get ahead again."
Even if, hypothetically, Kouenji did merge with another group along the way,
the end result would be the same.
"Come to think of it," said Mikitani, "didn't Nagumo say there was another
group he was interested in? If we send in all the available groups we've got
after Kouenji, we're not going to have enough manpower to handle the other
one."
Mikitani hadn't heard which group it was exactly, but if it was one in the top
ten, then that meant it would likely be Ryuuen or Sakayanagi's group from the
second-years, or Utomiya's group among the first-years.
"There's no need to worry about that anymore. Nagumo's fears were
unfounded," said Kiriyama.
Kiriyama knew which group Nagumo was wary of, of course, but that group
had not appeared in the top ten even once over the past ten days. Even if that
group began scoring points at a faster pace from now on, they couldn't possibly
finish on top.
"Nagumo made an error in judgment on that part," Kiriyama added.
"…That sure is unusual, isn't it? Nagumo misjudging something like that, I
mean," said Mikitani.
"Well, it's no wonder," said Kiriyama. "It's like there's a ghost holding him by
the shoulders, after all."
The only person that Kiriyama could possibly be referring to was the only man
Nagumo recognized as being worthy: Horikita Manabu. It was understandable
why even Nagumo's eyes had become clouded, even though he was someone
who could typically look out over the battlefield in a comprehensive, holistic
way.
"Okay, so, we'll have six groups handle Kouenji, and you'll just keep collecting
points like normal then, I'm guessing?" said Mikitani.
"No," replied Kiriyama. "I'll take command to contain him."
"You will? Wait, wouldn't that be kinda inefficient? Let me do it," said
Mikitani.
Kiriyama's group currently sat in third place. If they went to try and stop
Kouenji's rapid progress, it would affect their score.
"You want me to leave you in command?" asked Kiriyama.
"This is a do-or-die moment. However, you want to win—I need to earn
Nagumo's acknowledgement. Let me handle this," Mikitani insisted, though
Kiriyama didn't seem to be listening.
"Unacceptable. If you use six Free Groups and fail, that's going to be a tough
pill for us to swallow," said Kiriyama.
"But you need to come in second place, don't you?" argued Mikitani, anxious
to get a meritorious deed under his belt. "Don't waste your time on
unnecessary things."
"No one other than me or Nagumo can stop Kouenji. End of story," snapped
Kiriyama.
Mikitani furrowed his brow slightly and made a disgruntled face. However,
Kiriyama wasn't looking at him, so he didn't notice it. A faction of six groups, led
by Kiriyama, was frantically moving out in order to stop one single student. If
Kiriyama were up against a normal opponent, that would be one thing, but
Kouenji's unfathomable abilities unsettled him.
The issue was where the first designated area for the eleventh day would be
once it was announced at seven in the morning. Depending on which direction
Kouenji was moving in, meaning east, west, south, or north, the encirclement
around him would have to change. Therefore, the ideal scenario would be to
fully set up the siege around Kouenji during the evening, between the time that
he settled on a campsite and 7 a.m. the next morning, when he would not be
moving around.
Fortunately, Kouenji's current location in area B3 was relatively close to E3,
where Kiriyama and his crew were located.
Students could only view the top-ten leaderboards until the end of the
twelfth day. That meant it was only possible to check scores for two more days:
tomorrow and the day after. They wanted to create at least a thirty-point gap
between Nagumo and Kouenji by the end of that twelfth day.
"How far are you plannin' on marching today?" asked Mikitani right at the
start of their long journey, throwing the question out there simply to stave off
boredom.
"As far as possible. I understand that it's risky to move at night, but I want to
end up at a spot somewhere within one space of Kouenji's location at the very
least," replied Kiriyama. "We have to catch up with him by seven in the
morning."
Once Kouenji was on the move, it would become much more difficult to catch
him.
"I think knocking him down a peg in two days is going to be a piece of cake,
honestly," said Mikitani. He turned back to look at the sixteen other third-year
students. "We have seven groups, including yours, Kiriyama. And since your
group has six, we have a total of eighteen people we can use."
"Don't get careless. These woods are vast. There's a good chance that he
could slip away," said Kiriyama.
"Look, I get that he's this crazy tough bastard of a second-year," said Mikitani.
"Doesn't change the fact that he's still a year below us."
Since neither Kiriyama nor Mikitani had actually seen Kouenji's astounding
physical abilities firsthand, it was difficult for them to make an accurate
assessment. Even so, data about Kouenji's physical abilities was pouring in from
third-year students who competed with him in several different Tasks.
"Use caution. Think of him as the greatest adversary you've ever faced," said
Kiriyama.
"Greatest, huh," replied Mikitani.
There really was no way I could've let someone like Mikitani handle this after
all, thought Kiriyama, in his heart of hearts.
If you were facing an enemy that had to be defeated no matter what, then
you needed to be willing to go all the way, even if it meant going as far as
choking the life out of them. If you were dealing with a situation like that
without being serious, then you could find yourself being eaten alive instead.
5.1
IT WAS JUST AFTER six-thirty in the morning the next day, the eleventh day of
the exam. Kiriyama's group and the six Free Groups, including Mikitani, had
successfully surrounded Kouenji.
"What's the situation?" asked Kiriyama.
"Still no signs of movement in his tent, from the looks of things," said
Mikitani. "Guess he's still sleepin'. It'd be a lot easier for us if he got sick and
stayed in bed all day, though."
Mikitani then began addressing the members of the Free Groups.
"All right," he said. "In that case, why don't we surround his tent so we can
block him before he comes out? If we make it impossible for him to pack up his
stuff, Kouenji's not gonna be able to move."
The Free Group members all agreed with this plan, thinking it would make
things easy.
"Keep in mind that, yes, if you get in his way while he's trying to pack up his
things, we can most certainly delay him in getting to his designated area. But
what excuse are you going to come up with if a third party happens to see what
you're doing?" said Kiriyama. "Even if you really are planning to get in Kouenji's
way while he's trying to clean up his campsite, you should avoid being so
careless as to make what you're doing obvious to anyone watching. You need to
be discreet."
Even if they were going to go ahead and violate the rules anyway, they still
needed to eliminate as many risks as possible.
"Well, why don't we jus' use a GPS search?" suggested Mikitani. "We got
plenty of points to throw around."
"Our tablets can't track the locations of teaching staff. Don't forget that the
search function is not an infallible tool. We will spring our trap immediately
when Kouenji starts putting his tent away, just as we originally planned. If you
do happen to bump into any first-or second-year students, or any adults who
are on their way to set up a Task, then immediately put a distance of at least
two meters between yourselves and Kouenji," cautioned Kiriyama sternly. He
then told them not to get so close that they could touch one another.
As seven o'clock in the morning approached, the situation finally started to
change.
"Kouenji's on the move," said Mikitani.
Kouenji got out of his tent and proceeded to break it down, humming a little
tune to himself as he did. He moved swiftly and efficiently, acting as though he
couldn't even imagine that he was being watched at that moment. He finished
getting ready to leave right on schedule, just before seven o'clock had officially
struck. Then, tablet in hand, Kouenji stood ready to begin the exam for the day.
"Let's go," said Kiriyama, deciding that this was the best time to make their
approach.
He started to walk over to Kouenji, with Mikitani and the other Free Group
members following at a short distance. Whether Kouenji was even aware of
their presence as they quietly approached him or not, he didn't stop fiddling
with his tablet. In fact, he didn't look up once. Even after being surrounded by a
total of eighteen people, he continued on with his day like normal, as if he were
totally blind to everything around him. Mikitani, having decided that Kouenji
must have noticed them while simply pretending not to, tried to close in. But
Kiriyama stopped him in his tracks with nothing more than a quick glare.
"Could I have a minute of your time, Kouenji?" asked Kiriyama.
Even though his name had been called, Kouenji's gaze remained directed at
his tablet. He didn't even bother to look up.
"What business do you have with me?" he asked in return.
Even though that that was hardly the attitude that someone should have
been taking with a senpai, Kiriyama simply continued the conversation without
rebuke. He understood that the person known as Kouenji Rokusuke was
someone who had no common sense whatsoever.
"None of us expected you to do so well in this special exam," said Kiriyama. "If
you're so exceptionally talented, then why didn't you take anything else
seriously before?"
"Is this something that we should be talking about right now?" replied
Kouenji. "It's going to be seven o'clock shortly. Shouldn't you be hurrying along
and getting ready to head to your designated area?"
"You have to understand what I'm getting at, Kouenji. You've scored too
many points," said Kiriyama.
Kouenji spoke as though he was oblivious to the situation, but Kiriyama knew
that couldn't be true.
"I want you to stay where you are for the rest of the day," Kiriyama went on.
"So, does that mean…you're telling me not to score any more points?" said
Kouenji.
"That's right," replied Kiriyama.
Naturally, there was absolutely no way that Kouenji would have simply
nodded and agreed to such a request.
"I don't know who you are," the second-year said. "But, if you simply think
this through for a minute, you'll understand that what you're asking is
impossible. Even so, the fact that you have brought so many people with you
here must mean…you're prepared to try and get in my way if I don't entertain
your request. Isn't that right?"
"Even if you continue with this special exam, you will not get the first-place
reward," Kiriyama told him. "Nagumo, who is currently in first, has seven
people in his group. My group, which is currently in third, has six people. You, in
second place, are alone. I will admit that you have made excellent progress thus
far, but during the second half of the exam, you're going to start to tire out. And
we can all expect to see a drop in the number of points you're able to get."
"In that case, you don't need to worry about me then, do you?" replied
Kouenji.
"This is just to make doubly sure. Besides, as a third-year student, it is
unacceptable for us to compete with you, someone working alone, for the top
spot. We won't make things worse for you if you obey, of course. If you make
an ally in Nagumo, the student council president, it will make your life at school
much more stable."
There were two options made available to Kouenji here: either he could be
kept in check by strong-arm tactics, or he could obey and get into Nagumo's
good graces. It was now exactly seven o'clock in the morning. The first
designated area for the eleventh day had been announced and made available
on the students' tablets. After confirming that those were his choices, Kouenji
slowly put his tablet away into his backpack. For a brief moment, Kiriyama and
the others watched and waited to see if he would move or not.
"I'm going to be hurrying on ahead now, so please excuse me," said Kouenji,
refusing Kiriyama's request.
As soon as those words left his mouth, he instantly accelerated, dashing
through a gap between several Free Group members.
"H-hey!"
Even though Kouenji had been surrounded, there was still enough room
between the third-years for a person to slip through—and he took advantage of
those gaps. It would've been a lie to say that Kiriyama and the others hadn't
been caught at least somewhat off guard by that. They had underestimated the
possibility that Kouenji would just ignore an order from a third-year student and
make a break for it.
"After him!" shouted Mikitani.
But by the time those words passed Mikitani's lips, Kouenji had already
disappeared into the woods.
"Don't panic. Trying to keep pace with Kouenji is just going to be an exercise
in pain," warned Kiriyama.
"This is no time to relax and take it easy!" shouted Mikitani. "He just got
away!"
"He may be able to get the Early Bird Bonus, but that's all," Kiriyama said. "If
Kouenji chose to run, then that means he's not going to be able to participate in
any Tasks at his leisure. On the other hand, if he does have the audacity to sign
up for a Task, we'll catch up with him right then and there."
Kiriyama understood that it was dangerous for them to just decide that the
direction Kouenji ran in was the same as his designated area. It would be foolish
to chase after him based solely on that. But he also understood that it was
impossible for Kouenji to hide from a GPS search.
Even so, perhaps because he was panicking, Mikitani started running after
Kouenji, taking off at a full sprint.
5.2
WITH MIKITANI IN THE LEAD, Kiriyama and the Free Groups began tracking
Kouenji.
"What's his location?" asked Kiriyama.
"Well, get a load of this," said Mikitani. "He hasn't been moving at all for a
while now. We searched three times and it's been the same every time."
The fact that he hadn't moved at all was entirely unnatural, considering that it
wasn't a break period at the moment. Kiriyama took a peek at his tablet to see
if there was some reason for Kouenji's inexplicable behavior.
"It doesn't look like there are any Tasks near him," Kiriyama observed.
"Right. We'll catch up with him in another 200 meters or so," said Mikitani.
"Let's not let our guard down this time," warned Kiriyama. "We're going to
catch him for sure. Got it?"
"You don't need to tell me twice," said Mikitani.
Kouenji had pulled away from his pursuers earlier, but roughly six hours after
they started chasing him, they met again, albeit in a rather unexpected way.
The reason Kouenji wasn't moving was because he was sleeping, even though it
was the middle of the afternoon. The third-year students exchanged
exasperated looks with each other. Mikitani approached Kouenji, acting as the
representative of the group. While looking down at Kouenji's face from above,
he started speaking to him in a firm tone.
"Wake up, Kouenji. Seriously, taking a nap after running from us like that?
You sure don't have a care in the world. Or maybe you've been running as fast
as you can for these past ten days, and you got so exhausted that you couldn't
help but want a little shut eye?"
Yeah, he had to sleep, even if he didn't want to, thought Mikitani. He couldn't
think of any other reason why Kouenji would be taking a nap in this situation,
especially after his escape. Kouenji slowly opened his eyes and smiled at
Mikitani.
"Well, that's only natural, no?" he said. "After all, I am a human being, just
like the rest of you."
"In that case, just be a good little boy and keep sleeping peacefully then," said
Mikitani. "Take the rest of the day off. I'm sure you must be exhausted after all
you've done. Go on, take your senpai's kind advice."
"Take the day off? What a strange thing to say," said Kouenji.
Kouenji, not panicking at all over having been surrounded again, stood up.
Mikitani had been looking down on him before, but he had to crane his neck
now that Kouenji was standing up straight. The second-year student measured
over 180 centimeters tall. Kouenji's eyes seemed to be brimming with vitality;
somehow, he appeared even larger than he did before.
"…Don't ignore me," said Mikitani, drawing closer to Kouenji aggressively,
despite feeling intimidated by him. "If you just rest for a little while to get rid of
your fatigue, then no one's going to have any trouble."
"There is no need for concern," said Kouenji. "My physical strength has
already been restored. I am now back to being in perfect shape. Do not talk to
me as if I were some ordinary person."
While what Kouenji said could have been interpreted as simple pretense,
Kiriyama seemed willing to consider it as a possible truth and stepped in to
address Kouenji himself.
"You certainly look well," he said. "But like Mikitani said, you've been going all
out over these last ten plus days. You've been going at this harder than anyone
else. You may have repeatedly gotten the first place Early Bird Bonuses, but
surely you've already reached your limit by now."
"I wouldn't consider myself above the common masses if I had reached my
limit," said Kouenji.
"Meaning that you haven't?" asked Kiriyama.
He was becoming increasingly doubtful of Kouenji in their conversation, but
Kouenji just continued on.
"I am what you call a 'super short sleeper,' you see. As in, I'm someone who
doesn't need much sleep. I experience extremely short REM cycles," said
Kouenji, matter-of-factly.
"Huh? Short REM cycles? What?" balked Mikitani, jumping on what Kouenji
had just said.
For the first time that day, Kiriyama's expression stiffened.
"A short sleeper… If that's true, then we have quite a serious problem on our
hands," said Kiriyama.
"What do you mean, Kiriyama?" asked Mikitani.
"For the average person, somewhere around seven to eight hours of sleep a
day is considered ideal," Kiriyama explained. "That length of time is important
for maintaining your health. You wouldn't be able to say that you had gotten a
good night's sleep if you had any less than that. However, a short sleeper is
someone whose constitution allows them to stay healthy while getting under
six hours of sleep."
When people sleep, they alternate between states of REM and non-REM
sleep cycles. REM sleep is the stage in which the brain is still active and awake,
so to speak. Non-REM sleep, on the other hand, is a state in which the brain is
asleep. Short sleepers spend less time in REM sleep, which allows their body
and brain to be well rested even with only a short period of sleep.
"I was thinking it was weird for him to just sleep out in the open like that. So
that's how it is, huh…" said Mikitani.
Kouenji certainly had extraordinary physical abilities. But even so, after
prolonged periods of intense travel and repeated tasks, fatigue should've
started to set in more and more. By getting in a good rest right here, Kouenji
was successfully able to keep a high level of physical readiness.
If what Kouenji said was true, that he was really a "super short sleeper," that
meant that not only did he have physical abilities far beyond the average
person, but also that his resilience was similarly out of the ordinary. For the first
time during this endeavor, Kiriyama felt a slight feeling of urgency arising within
him. Everyone was feeling tired and fatigued, trying to find the right pace. Their
legs screamed out for rest just from walking around. Their spirits were just
about at the breaking point, wailing that they didn't want to do this exam
anymore. These were the commonly held feelings that most students had deep
down, in their heart of hearts.
It was precisely because Kiriyama had been working under that premise that
he had assumed it would not be difficult to contain Kouenji. However, if that
entire premise were to fall apart, then…
"By the way, do you still have business with me?" asked Kouenji.
"Look, it doesn't matter if you've got energy to spare or not. Just be a good
kid and—"
An irritated Mikitani was just about to finish giving Kouenji that order when
Kiriyama suddenly stepped in and interrupted him.
"No, we don't have any business with you. Don't pay us any mind," said
Kiriyama.
Kiriyama decided they should avoid direct demands as much as possible, and
instead proceed in a calm, collected manner. Mikitani was frustrated, but
ultimately complied with Kiriyama's rather lenient approach.
"Fu fu. You say that, yet he still seems quite belligerent," said Kouenji.
Kouenji didn't seem to pay any mind whatsoever to the "advice" or threats
coming from the third-year students. While they were talking, the third
designated area for the day had been announced. Kouenji looked at his tablet
and immediately started walking in the direction of his next area.
"He's not the sort of guy who'll listen to advice, Kiriyama," Mikitani huffed.
"You might be right about that," said Kiriyama.
"Besides, all that junk about being a super short sleeper or whatever? I'm
sure that was all just a bluff."
However, it was true that while many students were already experiencing a
significant drop in efficiency, Kouenji had kept a good pace. His condition was
almost completely unchanged from how it was at the start of the exam. It was
obvious that he had been working out incessantly every day, and that he saw
this special exam on an uninhabited island as nothing more than part of his
normal training. At least that was how Kiriyama analyzed the situation, anyway.
Kiriyama came to a decision on the matter. "We don't have any other choice,"
he announced. "We're going to switch up our strategy. Suppress his ability to
register for Tasks." He gave everyone present orders to hunt down Kouenji.
However, Mikitani must have felt frustrated with the order because his lips
curled defiantly.
"I'm the one in command here. Do not break formation, Mikitani," said
Kiriyama, sternly.
"Tch…"
The third-year students, though feeling bewildered at how Kouenji constantly
did things in his own bizarre way, started to expand the scope of their coverage.
The eighteen of them moved into a triangular formation, keeping Kouenji
positioned at the center. In addition, Kiriyama kept in contact with his allies,
communicating with them via walkie-talkie. Kouenji, meanwhile, continued
walking along without a thought as to what would happen from here on out. He
kept right on moving, never coming to a complete stop.
Kiriyama had come up with a total of three plans. The first was to simply
persuade Kouenji to give up on first place through persuasion. Of course, that
method also involved having Kouenji surrounded by a number of people and
applying pressure to him. The second was to stay on the move and surround
Kouenji, keeping him in check. The third plan was to get ahead of any Tasks that
Kouenji was going for. With a total of seven groups involved—meaning
Kiriyama's group plus the six Free Groups—if they blocked Kouenji's way, it
would inevitably make it that much more difficult for him to register for any
Tasks. Furthermore, if everyone turned up and did whatever they could just for
the sake of crushing the underclassman, then the chances of Kouenji winning
those Tasks would be lowered, even if he managed to register successfully.
Still, Tasks had different conditions for participation, but certain criteria were
fixed. To be precise, there were two distinct models of participation for Tasks.
In one case, a certain number of total people could participate, each from their
own respective groups. In the other, a whole group would take part collectively.
In the latter case, since not all members of each Free Group were present, that
meant they wouldn't be able to fulfill the participation requirements. However,
most of those Tasks still required two or more people from a single group to
sign up. Therefore, since Kouenji was working alone, he could only sign up for
Tasks in which a person was allowed to register alone. And even in those cases,
the third-year students following him would be eligible to take part in those
Tasks as well.
The third-year students managed to follow Kouenji around for a while without
losing their cool, but little by little, they started to become impatient. Kouenji's
walking speed was so fast that an outsider observer might have mistaken it for
racewalking. Just keeping up with him used a great deal of stamina. Walking at
Kouenji's pace was beginning to feel intensely tiring.
They had to adjust to a completely unfamiliar walking speed, and the
exhaustion was starting to overwhelm them. They felt like it would have been
easier if they had just started running instead.
"Kouenji! Quit tryin' to look like such a tough guy!" shouted Mikitani. He was
flustered, having concluded that Kouenji was just pushing ahead as a false show
of bravado.
"Oh dear, what a fuss you're making. Well then, let's pick up the pace a little
bit, shall we?" said Kouenji as he started to walk again.
"You're not gettin' away this time! Box him in!" shouted Mikitani.
The third-year students, who had been keeping themselves at a distance as
they chased after him, started to surround the underclassman again. However,
just before they could fully enclose him, Kouenji managed to slip through in an
instant.
"You're kidding?!" wailed one of the third-year students, though his words
were drowned out by the wind.
Kouenji's legs were practically a blur as he broke into a run. It was a brilliant
dash, like he was running on a well-maintained track. Then, he proceeded to
quickly weave through the trees at a speed that would make even a seasoned
sprinter lose face. Out of the twelve students present that made up the socalled Free Groups, many were quite confident in their physical abilities. Even if
you just looked at OAA, they all had rankings of B or better in physical ability.
They were essentially soldiers, so to speak, that Nagumo and Kiriyama had
assembled to monopolize Tasks.
"After him! Do not let him get away!" shouted Mikitani.
"Wait, Mikitani! Don't make a move on your own!" warned Kiriyama.
"Shut up! Like hell I'm lettin' him get away a second time!" roared Mikitani.
"Catch him and hold him down by force!"
Mikitani and several of the other students ignored the orders they were given
and ran after Kouenji.
"Unbelievable…" huffed Kiriyama.
He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should have also given chase. But
then Kiriyama calmly looked down at his tablet and re-thought his strategy. It
was hard to imagine that Kouenji had just run off for no reason at all. He tried
to reason whether Kouenji was headed toward a designated area or a Task.
"There is one Task nearby, in E3, that Kouenji could sign up for," he muttered,
"and it looks like the reward for first place in that Task is eight points…
However, it wouldn't be surprising if he prioritized taking the first place Early
Bird Bonus of ten points… Where is his designated area?"
D4 was the most likely candidate, but it could have been some other random
area as well.
"…He's not the kind of opponent you can break down and analyze," Kiriyama
concluded.
The third-year had become acutely aware of the fact that he was dealing with
someone for whom logic was not a valid option; simply put, Kouenji's thoughts
and actions were crazy.
5.3
IN THE END, Kouenji went for the Task in E3. He arrived at his destination in
the blink of an eye and successfully registered for the Task. A few minutes later,
Mikitani and the rest who had been giving chase caught up with him. However,
they were forced to wait until the Task was over; one other person had
registered after Kouenji did and took the last spot so the Task was fully booked.
The Task in question was an English test. Though there were participants
representing all three grade levels, the level of the content was standardized.
In the end, a third-year student named Doumichi who was considered brilliant
even amongst the third-year students took first place, but only by a narrow
margin above Kouenji, who came in second. As a result, Kouenji was awarded
four points. Since they were still under the watchful eyes of the teaching staff,
Mikitani and the others decided to rush in only once Kouenji moved away from
the Task site. Unfortunately for them, Kouenji dashed away before that could
happen.
Reacting too late to the situation, Mikitani and the others were forced to
wait. They could only run after Kouenji, whose speed made it impossible for
anyone to catch up with him. They didn't manage to surround him again until
just before three in the afternoon, when he arrived at his third designated area
for the day. There, Mikitani and the others successfully managed to corner him
for the third time.
"Hm. You lot are really giving it your all," said Kouenji.
"We can't just sit around and let you do whatever you want!" shouted
Mikitani.
They tried to get ahead of Kouenji to whatever Tasks he was headed to on the
eleventh day, but in the end, they hadn't managed to stop him, not even once.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that their pride as third-year students had been
torn to shreds. Nagumo would be deeply disappointed when he learned about
these results. The word "amicable" no longer had any meaning in this situation.
"This is your last warning, Kouenji," declared Kiriyama, giving the Free Groups
the order to circle around him. "It's just for tomorrow. Just one day. Just listen
to what we're ordering you to do and do nothing. That's all."
If they could hold him for one day, that alone would be enough to ensure that
Nagumo would end up in first place. The important part was to prevent Kouenji
from taking the top spot once more.
"H-hey, Nagumo said to keep him down for two days…!" said Mikitani. "Don't
you mean tomorrow and the day after?"
"We won't be able to confirm which groups are in the top ten the day after
tomorrow," Kiriyama replied. "I don't think any groups are going to be coming
after us that strongly. We should focus on boosting our own scores rather than
trying to keep someone else down."
That was Kiriyama's own decision that he had made after watching the
situation with Kouenji unfold from up close.
"It wouldn't be a good idea for us to devote three whole days to Kouenji," he
added.
"In that case, we should just leave the bare minimum number of guards with
him so we can keep him tied down for the next two days!" shouted Mikitani.
"Do you honestly think Kouenji will let that happen?" asked Kiriyama.
If they kept Kouenji down for just one day, he still had a good chance of being
able to hang in there at either second or third in the rankings. However, if
Kouenji had to forego getting points for two whole days, it was possible that
he'd never make it to the winner's circle at all.
"There is no way he'd accept a situation where he would lose," said Kiriyama.
"Well, that depends on how we do things," argued Mikitani. He had been
feeling dissatisfied with Kiriyama all this time but had followed him up until now
in spite of that. Now, however, he was staging a revolt.
"…You think that you can do it?" Kiriyama asked him.
"Yeah, I can. And when I show you that I can pull it off, I'll have myself a ticket
into Class A." With that, Mikitani stepped forward, pushing Kiriyama out of his
way.
He then turned his attention back to Kouenji. "You heard what I said earlier,"
Mikitani growled. "You're going to sit tight tomorrow and the day after."
"Is that a request?" asked Kouenji.
"No, that's an order."
"I imagine that this is a question I won't get an answer to, but what happens if
I refuse?"
"Worst case, you'll get expelled," said Mikitani, as several of his allies moved
in closer to Kouenji.
Even without saying it outright, it was clear as day that they were willing to
hold Kouenji down through violence. Despite being threatened, Kouenji's
fearless grin never faded. He simply waited to see what the third-year students
would do.
"Since you're not giving me an answer, can I take it to mean you're not gonna
comply with my order?" demanded Mikitani.
"I don't obey anyone," said Kouenji.
"In that case, I've got no choice but to make you obey. That all right,
Kiriyama?" said Mikitani, turning his way partway through.
"As long as Kouenji complies, I'll leave it to your judgment," said Kiriyama.
Mikitani laughed scornfully, acting confident and assured. But, at the same
time the final designated area for the eleventh day of the exam was announced,
Kouenji stood up. Upon seeing this, Mikitani hurriedly issued the order for the
others to circle around Kouenji.
"Didn't I just tell you? You're going to stay put," he told the second-year.
Since they were so close that they could easily reach out and touch one
another, the only way Kouenji could move forward would be to forcefully push
the third-year students out of the way.
"I can't say that this is a beautiful situation for me to be in," said Kouenji. "I do
not have a preference for men."
"What are you gonna do then, huh?" said Mikitani. "If you try and push us out
of your way, we'll take that as a declaration of war."
"Fu fu, yes, I suppose you might," Kouenji chuckled, taking a step forward.
That one large step was enough for Kouenji to come into contact with
Mikitani, who was standing right in front of him. However, he made no attempt
to push Mikitani out of the way with his arm, not even as a pretense. He simply
started walking forward normally, and they just so happened to bump into one
another, shoulder to shoulder.
In short, it was an attempt on Kouenji's part to push his way through by force
without actually raising a hand against anyone. It could have been interpreted
as a shove, but Mikitani was confident that he'd be able to stand his ground
thanks to his physique. This was an opportunity for him to prove that being fast
and being powerful were two different things.
"Tch!"
But Mikitani felt like a large rock had just slowly crashed into him, and before
he knew it, he found himself forced to the side as Kouenji opened up a path for
himself. Kouenji, on the other hand, moved like he hadn't even hit an obstacle
at all. He just quietly walked on ahead, as if nothing had been in his way.
"Hey, wait! You jerk!" shouted a flustered Mikitani, grabbing onto Kouenji's
shoulder.
But he was unable to stop Kouenji from moving with such superhuman
strength. Mikitani told himself that if he simply allowed Kouenji to walk away
right before his very eyes, then the situation would only repeat itself. He tried
to put up resistance, but Kouenji's legs kept moving. When Mikitani saw that
Kiriyama was watching this happen, Mikitani clicked his tongue and turned to
look at his allies.
He called one of them over and the two tried once more to stop Kouenji.
Morooka joined in to try and stop the underclassman, but it looked like he was
getting pushed away and he lost his balance. He fell over in an exaggerated
fashion and made a show of being in pain. Once Mikitani saw this, he put
himself directly in front of Kouenji and stopped him from walking any further.
"Ow! You might've broke my arm!" wailed Morooka, ranting and raving,
making a spectacle like a soccer athlete trying to show how badly they were
hurt.
"Looks like you did something pretty terrible, Kouenji," Mikitani said. "I think
you really hurt Morooka."
"It looks to me like he's faking it," said Kouenji.
"No matter what you say, it doesn't change the fact that you pushed Morooka
out of your way," said Mikitani.
With their positions suddenly reversed, all of the third-year students were
now trying to surround Kouenji to keep him from escaping completely. They
had tossed the more conservative strategy that they had been sticking with
completely out the window.
"Hm, I'm afraid this is a turn of events that even someone such as myself
cannot overlook. What to do, what to do," mused Kouenji.
"Whoa there, Kouenji, you've got a look on your face like you want to punch
all your senpais' lights out. But you do understand that even if you did manage
to beat us up somehow, you'd be in big trouble, right?" warned Mikitani. He felt
sure that there was no way Kouenji would start throwing punches.
Kouenji didn't deny what Mikitani said. He just calmly went along with it.
"I do not intend to show any mercy to anyone who tries to stop my advance,"
he said. "Much less anyone who dares to bare their fangs at me."
So Kouenji was willing to resort to violence.
Mikitani's expression stiffened for a moment. "And what do you think's gonna
happen if we report it to the school?" he demanded.
"What's going to happen?" repeated Kouenji. "Well, your names as third-year
students would be sullied, branded as those who'd lower themselves to gang up
on a student from a lower grade level. That's all that would happen, no?"
There was no need for Kouenji to bother confirming whether Mikitani's and
the other third-year students' watches were working properly. After all, if they
were broken, it would've been completely pointless to try and reach Tasks
ahead of him in order to enter before he could sign up.
"Well, I think it's about time I take my leave now, don't you agree?" Kouenji
said. "You hanging around me has been putting a damper on my chances of
getting the next Early Bird Bonus."
More than ten minutes had passed since the designated area had been
announced. Kouenji knew that his rivals would already be headed there and
that he ought to have been moving toward it too. It was certainly still possible
for him to come back from this delay and get to the designated area first, but it
was unclear how things would play out.
"Sorry… But we're not lettin' you go," said Mikitani, with firm determination,
telling Kouenji in no uncertain terms that he was willing to throw down.
"You realize that I can't keep being nice to you forever, you know," replied
Kouenji.
"So, what, you're gonna bare your fangs at us, then?" asked Mikitani.
The third-year students had been utterly bewildered by the way Kouenji had
been acting, but now they remembered what their role was here. Even though
they understood the shamefulness of this scenario, with a bunch of them
ganging up on a younger student, they also figured that if this was the only way
that they'd survive this situation, they couldn't afford to worry about
appearances.
Normally, the person being cornered in a situation like this would have
realized by now that there was no way out, but Kouenji was different. He was a
man who wasn't interested in anything but himself. He was thinking only of
how to take this turn of events and transform it into something beautiful.
Even on an uninhabited island, Kouenji had kept his blond hair impeccable; it
was so beautifully lustrous that it put any girls' locks to shame. He lightly
stroked his disheveled bangs for a moment and smiled broadly.
Mikitani, momentarily awe-struck, backed away.
"Time is money," said Kouenji. He slowly reached out his arms in a gesture
that signaled he was ready and willing to accept whatever the third-year
students could throw at him. "Come at me quickly."
"Are you sure about this, Mikitani?" asked one of the third-year students.
"Are we seriously going to do this?"
"…Yeah. If push comes to shove, we'll just pin him down. Let's do this!"
shouted Mikitani.
As soon as those words left his mouth, three people rushed at Kouenji. One of
the students approached him from behind to try and get him in a Nelson hold,
while the other two rushed him from the front and the left, respectively.
At first glance, it might have seemed like it would be difficult to deal with
three people all at once. However, the third-years weren't particularly
experienced when it came to fighting, nor were they very well-coordinated.
They had simply came at Kouenji at the same time. No one had been seriously
trying to land a punch or anything. If anything, all three of them were expecting
that one of the others would handle it.
Kouenji avoided all of them with a brilliant side-step, forcing the shocked
third-year students into a three-way head-on collision.
"Ow! Hey, watch where yer goin'!"
"You're one to talk!"
It was far from beautiful teamwork. The third-year students bickered as if
their fight was with each other.
Mikitani, the only one accustomed to fighting, shouted at his allies, "Hey,
don't forget about who we're really after here! Kouenji's the one we want!"
Unfortunately, his allies were on the verge of self-destruction.