Enemies of one's self
Episode 0; Akasuki Masaki
In order to make use of all the time we have, we took our time walking towards the location where class-A should be. On the way though, I hadn't anticipated how close class-B really was to our location so we ended changing trajectory.
The mark on the map doesn't exactly point towards the location, I've stated that before. It makes a small section of the area you want to mark into a yellow circle, the problem with that is if a certain location is also marked while the other marker is close to it, then they'd overlay on top of eachother and you could barely tell which is which.
In a sense the map system for this watch is more like a crappy GPS than anything. What's more irritatibg than anything is...
"And then I heard these noises from inside his room! They were like 'Mm, mmm.... Sugi, I love you....' and he goes 'Ria.... you're so cute....mmm.' whoever this Ria person was, he was having sex with her!"
Masaki of all people. Speaking my so called 'childhood' out loud like it was second nature, I don't even remember myself having sex with Ria either. Ah I've forgotten to mention, Ria was another one of my childhood friends, she's my favourite though I never knew her true name even till today. We gave eachother nicknames and loved one another so much, that's all I remember though, still it's better than having false memories since Masaki is talking about it.
"Oi, stop tainting Kane like that! Class-B's camp is just in front of us so stop talking a sex session I never had! As much as I wanted it...."
"Hah.....you guys are such dumbasses..." I take a glance at Kane who has a gigantic blush on her face. Her face is shyer than normal, guess sex talk isn't something she's used to despite her foul mouth?
I'm talking back and forth with Masaki while Kane backs up my claims with blushes of shyness. All the Ayanokouji leads the charge since he's the only one with a straight mind right now.
It's nice to have someone who is focused on a singular goal while I'm being the dumb one, I like changing pace every now and then. Just from a bit of talking while walking here I've discovered a few things bout Kane.
Mainly, she's can't see the colour yellow or anything close to yellow such as gold much. According to her anything that is yellow in colouration would turn more reddish, it doesn't help that her vision is good either. She doesn't have to wear glasses but she can barely see anything from far away, could this be the reason she's a delinquent?
We go deeper into the forest, past the roots of a big, broken tree. The tree seems like it was broken intentionally and was just recent, it was likely done by the school itself to use as a landmark. This indicates a spot up ahead, exactly where class-B should be.
"Wow, how come I didn't expect something like this especially from a class like class-B?" Soon we reach the campsite of class-B.
Their way of living is much different from ours of D-class, that's to be expected judging by their unity but their approach is something I hadn't known about since the only class-B member I ever I interacted with was Ray-chan who doesn't seem to be around.
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'm curious if the atmosphere though, despite this island experience class-B is in high spirits and living as though we're back in the cruise ship.
"Hmm? Ayanokouji-kun?"
Someone calls out to Ayanokouji, as if she was immediately informed of our sudden visit. Remember when I mentioned th hammocks? Well the person who called out, Honami Ichinose, is sitting on one of the many hammocks tied with a string around a tree.
She's wearing your typical jersey which sets me as the only person wearing only a shirt, a new one since I'm going to visit class-A later so it's be best to hide my previous one for awhile. A guy named Kanzaki sitting just a ways away from her.
"Your class seems to be operating well Ichinose, despite the many 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, anyway you brought your friends with you to visit us right?"
"Yeah. This is Sugihara Daisuke, Kaneko Masako and Akasuki Masaki. We're all pretty close I guess you could say."
Ichinose welcomed us without any hint of protest. I take shelter in the shade and begin to fan myself off, Kane stands next to me and does the exact same as Masaki and Ayanokouji walks into the shade as well so they don't get burns while talking with Ichinose.
With each coming day it feels like my body is getting closer and closer to an explosion, yet my forehead isn't hot in any way. My blood boils at a certain time at night too, is this some allergy to living in the wilderness I never knew I had?
I feel a sharp glare from Kanzaki's direction, he must find me extremely suspicious which is something I naturally radiate. No wonder I'm bad at infiltration missions, I can barely ever hold a secret even if my life depended on it.
This also reminds me how much of a celebraty I am outside of class, even certain senpais try to have a bit of my time but surprisingly a girl like Ichinose has never spoken to me even once. At least she doesn't seem to be two-faced, that's a good sign of someone I can trust.
"......"
"Sugihara-sama? Shouldn't you speak?"
"I'm in no place to, haven't talked with Ichinose at all so I'm leaving it to Ayanokouji to solve everything for us. I'll speak up once I know I'm obligated to, I can tell I'm not very welcomed outside of my own class and besides, I'm thinking."
"Well if that's the case then allow me to start. How many points have you spent buying everything?"
We discussed a game plan before coming here, I always come prepared when it comes to stuff like this so I'll let those two talk it out while I cool myself off. Fuck, feels like I'm about to get a heat stroke even after drinking that drink Ryuuen have me.
"Hammocks. Cookware. Small tent, lantern, and temporary toilet. Fishing rod, a water shower… If we combine those items with the food we purchased, the total comes to exactly 70 points."
"That's all? Well we only spent our points on temporary toilets so about 40 points for us."
Exactly 70 points, I thought the toilets were cheap but if you look at it this way they were rather expensive. If everything class-B bought all added up to 70 then we may have bought one of the most expensive things the manual had to offer twice.
Despite buying more class-B is only 10 points behind us, I shouldn't have rushed things after all....
"Everything's thought out well. Ain't no way we're taking class-B's spot by ourselves anymore." I seemed to have surrendered so Kane growls at my pathetic-ness.
"Thanks Ichinose, that was some useful ass information." I stop leaning against the tree to search around for Ray-chan.
Huh, she really... isn't around. That's a bummer, I was hoping to have a chat with her. Whatever, I don't have much to do after class-A since they might push us away later so might as well stay here with B for now.
"Sugihara-sama? Are you ok? You seem...tired."
"Huh? Must be the heat, I'll be just fine Masaki. I only look tired, I still have tons of energy left." I take another glance at Ayanokouji as an indication for him to ask more questions.
"By the way, what precautions have you taken against the heat? For some reason, it feels cooler around here…" I click my tongue at this statement.
So this scorching heat is just me being crazy? Ugh, this is getting better and better by the day. Maybe I shouldn't have eaten a full sized jalapeno burger, there weren't any side effects before but perhaps they're kicking now....shit I feel like I need a freezer or something to stick my hand into. Luckily it's barrable, all I need is cold water later from the lake and I'll be just fine.
"I wonder if it’s because we sprinkle water around. We’ve sprinkled water near our beds, because they’re close to the well. We put some water in the plastic bottles that people drank from, and then everyone carries them around so they can sprinkle water efficiently. The water soaks into the soil quite easily, and since it takes some time for it to evaporate, the effect lingers and removes the heat."
Sprinkling water around....although cooling the air isn't intentional it sure is effective. I should take this as a piece of advice but what should I use to sprinkle water around like they do? Obviously sprinkles aren't a thing, eh I'll find a way eventually.
It's amazing really, Ichinose and her class aren't just relying on tools; they're seriously putting their brains together to improve their campsite far beyond what we of class-C and D could ever do. That's the perk of unity, you won't have any conflict on the inside since everyone trusts one another.
"Let's keep this cooperative relationship. As long as we don't snitch the identity of our leaders we'll be completely fine. In the manual it doesn't state we're not allowed to trade items, it only says we can't steal so trading is definitely on the table. If that's not the case then I'll be sure to take responsibility." I speak up after thinking for awhile.
"Oh, I'm fine with that! Kanzaki-kun might not trust you but I do, you are a friend of Rayla-chan after all!"
"She talked about me? Actually don't answer that, she must have told you all some embarrassing stories."
"Of course she did, you two are incredible friends." Ichinose giggles at my comment.
"Pardon me, Ichinose-san? I’m sorry to interrupt. Do you know where Nakanishi-kun is?" A random male student suddenly approaches us and asked that in a rather reserved voice.
"I think Nakanishi-kun headed down to the shore. Why do you ask?"
"I thought I’d offer to help. Is that unnecessary?"
"Oh no, not at all. I’m really happy you feel that way, Kaneda-kun. Can you head over and follow Chihiro-chan’s group? If you tell them I told you to do so, it’ll be okay."
"Okay. Thank you very much!"
Everyone who I brought over from my class stares at the male student with perplexed expressions as I manage to slip another sticker into his pocket unbeknownst to him.
"He sounded a bit formal for a classmate."
"Ah he's-"
"A class-C student."
I speak with an unchanging tone similar to the one from before while waving over to some of the girls who were freaking out because of my arrival since a few minutes ago.
"Do you know him? It looks like he had some kind of dispute with Class C. He said he’d get by on his own, but I couldn’t just leave him. I haven’t asked him about his situation yet."
"Sucks huh...." I can hear Kane let out an exasperated sigh as she spoke.
"How did you know, Sugihara-sama?"
"He's just suspiciously formal I guess. From what my twin sister told me class-A is formal towards other classes but he was so formal it was almost suspicious. Don't take my word for it though, not like I have an idea what class-C's thinking."
"Hmmm.... Hah! What a pushover!" Kane is suspicious of me already? I thought she was smart but this is something.
For some reason her voice sounded...different. It's not the same lazy tone she usually has, it sounds slightly psychotic in a way and I could feel her eyes staring at me while they're opened wide for once. It was such a chill I had to turn to look but the moment I did she was just there nearly falling asleep. No way she could have shifted back that quickly judging by my fast reaction time.
Well one thing has changed...her right eye is being covered by her golden hair for some reason. It could just be that she was messing with her hair though.
"Welp time to move on. Thanks for everything Ichinose, Kane is about to fall asleep anyway. Come on!" I shout into Kane's ear as she jolts awake and attempts to punt my in the shin. Luckily I dodge this time since I saw it coming.
"Oi, shitbag.....if you shout into my ear again I'll be sure to snap your fucking neck in less than a second ya'ere?"
"Okay! Also please don't joke about that, with your strength you might be able to wrestle an bear....."
She's talking in her usual voice like usual, lazy and almost nearly asleep but also like she has vocal cords that came straight from heaven. The one from earlier was more lively and aggressive, irritated almost. That couldn't have been here, so I'll play it off as a prank.