The True Elites

Chapter 3-3: Freedom On A Desert Island

"I'm going to go hunt berries, but, other than that, I have nothing to do." I said.

Early in the morning, before Shiina had awoken, we decided to designate 'hunting berries' as code for occupying spots. We would be far too obvious if we didn't disguise it with a code phrase.

"Oh, regarding that, Ayanokōji, do you mind if I join you?" Ryuzaki asked, from his position crouched on the log opposite mine.

"You want to go with boyfriend-kun? What for?" Lelouch asked teasingly.

"I thought it'd be best to join him, because he's going in that direction anyway. I want to set myself up in the tower that we occupy for the day." Ryuzaki explained.

"The tower?" Kururugi looked confused.

"It's an elevated base," Shiro said, drawing in our attention even though her speech was quiet. "It should be a good vantage point. Taking into account the islands layout, you should also be able to scout key areas from it."

Everybody went silent for a second to ponder over the words. Light took out his map and stared at it for a short while, before expressing a sudden realization.

"Ah! I see!" He exclaimed. "You're talking about this area here, right, Shiro and Ryuzaki?"

Light turned the map towards us, and tapped his finger against a place on the map. It appeared that, thanks to the excessive detail he'd put on the map with Shiro's help, he'd been able to notice what the two were talking about.

A majority of the island was covered by a dense forest, with only occasional clearings and beaches scattered around. However, the location that Light was pointing out was one of the few places where the forest thinned out. Whereas most of the view from above was blocked by a blanket of green, courtesy of the countless trees, this area was one of the few that could be observed.

This wouldn't be significant on its own, however this place just happened to be in a crucial location. More specifically, it was the fastest and safest path to travel between two spots – the two spots that Class A currently occupied.

"Hmm, I see." Sora hummed. "You want to spy on Class A as they traverse between their two spots."

"That's right." Ryuzaki said. "Although Katsuragi is cautious, he won't be cautious enough to think deeply about the travel patterns between his spots. Because of this, by calculating the times at which Class A will have to renew their spots and which people move between the two spots around this time frame, we'll be able to narrow down the identity of their leader."

"Won't that be way too difficult?" Kururugi asked skeptically.

"Indeed, it will take very careful observation and commitment. However, I think I have the ability to do it."

"If it's alright with you, Ryuzaki, I'd like to join you." Light requested from beside the black-eyed boy.

"I don't have any objections, but is there any particular reason why?" Ryuzaki asked, staring at Light blankly.

"Just call it a personal interest in you, I suppose. I want to see how you work. You've been quite mysterious so far."

Well, Light definitely wasn't wrong. Out of all my classmates, Ryuzaki was the one who I knew the least about. While I'd love to also sit at the tower with them and observe Ryuzaki's methods, I had other things to do today.

"I see. That's fine, then." Ryuzaki stated with a nod.

"There's just one problem," I interjected, drawing all eyes towards me. "You'd be extremely lucky to narrow the leader down to just one person using that method. It's wishful thinking, in fact."