Chaoskouji

Arc 3 Chapter 6 - Setting the Stage

I was incredibly impressed with Ryuuen in this exam. Coming up with such a plan in the first few hours was no mean feat. Despite the difference in their raw intelligence, I would have to put Ryuuen on the same pedestal as Sakayanagi. Both would be fearsome opponents to face, and I couldn't wait to challenge them both at once.

"Is that why you asked for 50,000 points a month? To attack Ryuuen a little?"

It was an astute observation. I was surprised Kikyou had noticed that little exchange in the midst of our bartering earlier with Ryuuen.

"Partially, but really I just wanted some security. 50,000 won't hurt Class C at all, it's about 1300 per student, and if Ryuuen is collecting all their points every month it won't harm him at all. No, I just wanted some points for us to have."

"Wait, us?" Kikyou seemed surprised that I included her in this.

"Of course, you get half of them. You don't think I'd leave my partner out, would I? We're in this together."

This was just one more thing tying her to me. If she ever tried to betray me, she'd also be losing a steady supply of points. The cons of any betrayal, if she was even still entertaining such thoughts, were far beyond any benefits.

"Oh... well, thanks, I guess. Partners, huh..." She whispered something under her breath, but I couldn't tell what it was due to her posture. Her head was downcast, and her whole body was acting reserved, shy even. It was an unexpected side I'd never seen from her before. I didn't know what to make of it, or if calling her my partner really had such an impact on her.

"Let's get going. I want to see how Class B is doing. It's no fun if they're left out of the know."

"Hmm, I suppose they're probably gonna lose now, right? Since every other class has teamed up against them. Sucks to be them, fucking united-in-kindness bastards."

We turned at the roots of a big broken tree and ended up on a path with a lot of tracks on it. Clearly a large number of students had come this way, and it made it much easier to walk along. So far, of all the ordeals on this island, the blood-sucking mosquitoes that went for our arms and legs were the most irritating. Soon, we arrived at Class B's base camp.

"It's exactly as I expected. Class B is doing fabulously well with the wrong part of the exam."

Their way of living was entirely different from ours. Their class had made practical use of their spot, with many trees surrounding a well. They didn't have enough space to spread out three or four tents, so they'd made good use of the space by putting up hammocks. Despite starting in much the same way, our class had chosen completely different items. I was rather curious about some unfamiliar equipment near the well, but what surprised me the most was the atmosphere.

"Huh? Kushida-san? And Ayanokouji-kun?"

Someone called to us, almost as if she'd sensed the arrival of sudden visitors. Ichinose was trying to tie a string around a tree to put up a hammock. She wore a jersey, which really suited her, and appeared lively. Kanzaki sat a little further away from her.

"Your class seems to be functioning well, despite obstacles."

"Ha ha, yeah. It was really difficult at first! But we tried a bunch of different things, and it worked out. Though the list of chores just keeps on increasing. There's still a ton of work left," said Ichinose with a big smile.

Unfortunately, we'd been spotted as soon as we had arrived, with no real chance to identify the leader. That didn't mean we couldn't tease them a bit.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun, is that a—"

"Please, Ichinose-san, don't mention the hammock. Just let him wear it."