Untainted

Chapter 11 (Part 2): Go With the Flow

"A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart." ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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I slowly trail behind Ayanokouji and Horikita as we approach a spot. Horikita seems to be a little out of breath but is still faring better than I am. Unlike us, Ayanokouji appears to be entirely unbothered by neither the heat or the long walk. Which I guess makes sense given his physique. Still, Ayanokouji doesn't seem like the type that'd be into strenuous exercise. But then again, what do I know? 'The boy is more cryptic than the illuminati.'

"This is it," said boy casually announces.

I walk from behind him as we exit the claustrophobic jungle and enter a clearing with a large waterfall. Students wearing our red and white tracksuits were buzzing about completing different tasks. Apparently the spot belongs to B-class. Their overly friendly class leader, Ichinose Honami, came over to greet us. Her hair is a pale orange tone, almost completely blonde. It sort of reminds me of peaches. Her eyes on the other hand are a bright violet. I recall seeing her that day everyone went to the pool, but we didn't speak to each other. She goes on to speaks to Horikita about how this spot works to their advantage. Meanwhile, I continue to look around.

'They have a pretty nice spot but I can't say it's any better than ours. The terrain surrounding the waterfall is rough. It's all gravel so it must be hard to sleep on. Maybe they bought sleeping bags using their S-points.'

As I continue to look around, I notice a boy who looked to be out of place. He had blonde hair that was shaped in a strange bowl-like cut and wore thin rectangular glasses. His arm band didn't match the ones worn by the others either. Theirs are white while his is green. 'Is he from a different class?'

"We haven't been formally introduced, have we?" I turn my attention forward and see Ichinose's purple eyes on mine.

"Uh no, we haven't," I quickly reply.

"Well then it's nice to finally meet you! I'm Ichinose Honami," she says smiling brightly while holding out her hand.

"(L/n) (y/n), I've heard about you from Kushida-chan." I reply shaking her hand in return

"Good things I hope," she laughs lightly.

"Of course, all the first years speak highly of you."

"Oh I don't know about that," she comments shyly rubbing the back of her head.

"Excuse me," a soft voice interjects. It's the boy I saw earlier.

"Yes? Is something wrong?" Ichinose asks him.

"I just wanted to ask if there was anything I could do to help," he replies.

"Hmm," Ichinose looks around before pointing to a few students standing near a table. "Why don't you help out those girls over there."

He glances towards the table before responding, "Thank you very much." Immediately after, he walks away doing as told. His presence disappearing just as quickly as it arrived.

"...He seems rather distant for a classmate," Horikita comments aloud.

"That's Kaneda-kun, apparently he got in a disagreement with C-class and was driven out of their camp." Ichinose informs us.

'The same thing happened with Ibuki... I doubt that's a coincidence. What are the chances that two people from the same class get abandoned? Even if that were the case, wouldn't they seek shelter within a different class together? Why separate?'

"Well, I'd better get back to work! Feel free to stop by again sometime soon, ok~" Ichinose shouts out in song-like voice towards the end. She leaves and heads off to join the rest of her class.