My fever was getting worse. I had thought I could hold out, but six days into the island exam and I was barely able to function.
I had a job to do. That thought was the only thing that kept me going at this point. I had been entrusted with the role of class leader, the only person who could use the keycard to secure our spot.
It was a shame that we hadn't been able to claim any others, since the other classes probably had two or three extra spots each at least, but with my health so deteriorated there was nothing we could do.
There also wasn't anyone I trusted to claim a spot with me.
Out of the entire class, only Ayanokouji was someone I respected, and even that only went so far. He was an enigma, someone I couldn't understand in the slightest. I accepted his immense talents, but even so...
He told me not to trust him. He told me himself, and that was something I couldn't ignore.
No, in this class I truly am alone.
And that was fine. I had always been alone. I had no need for friends or allies, and now wasn't any different. Except it was.
I couldn't do this alone, at least not in my current condition. For the last two days, the only time I had moved was to secure the spot every eight hours, an action that hampered my ability to sleep properly and recover from my illness as effectively, or when I went to the toilet or rinsed my face in the river.
It doesn't matter, though. I can't retire. That was the only way out from my illness, and the cost of 30 points was too high.
I made my way back from the spot controller, after reclaiming the spot for another eight hours, and returned to the tent where I spent most of my time. Luckily I had established on the first few days that I wasn't interested in getting involved with any games or activities, and my responsibility to claim the spot got me out of every other job on the campsite. All of this meant that I was left alone almost all the time, to rest and take the seven-hour window I had to try and recover somewhat from my fever.
Once I reached the tent, I was left to ponder once again how the girls had obtained such luxuries. I wasn't one to complain about it, since due to my illness, the fans and mats made it much easier to rest than a sleeping bag on the ground, but it seemed incredibly irresponsible to be wasting points on such pointless luxuries.
It was made that much more confusing to learn that it was Kushida who suggested the idea.
Kushida, who since day one, had been organising and running the class, controlling and limiting what we spent points on as much as was reasonable, had been the one to suggest spending points on such trivial luxuries. It was a suspicious choice, and I suspected one of the two consistencies wasn't her idea.
Once again, it all came back to Ayanokouji. I'd been watching him over the past few days, as he lazed around the campsite in his hammock, and the only person I'd seen him interact with was Kushida. Clearly, they were working together, or more likely, he was running the show from the shadows.
Kushida was a smart student. I'd seen her scores in class, and while they weren't close to me, they were well above average, nothing to scoff at. Despite that, I didn't think she was the one in charge of our camp. Sure, she was capable of organising the points, and delegating tasks since most of the class blindly trusted and followed her, but was she capable of winning the exam?
No, but Ayanokouji was.
He was the one who made me the leader. Even now, after thinking about it, I couldn't understand his reasoning. Yes, out of everyone, I certainly was a good candidate to be leader, something that I'm sure he recognised when he made me leader. It wasn't an impulse decision, but a rational one, that even Kouenji had recognised as the best choice.
It didn't explain why he didn't make himself leader, however. I'm sure Ayanokouji must have noticed my illness. I wasn't trying to hide it, and as I'd learnt the hard way, he was an incredibly perceptive person. He must have known I was sick, so picking me made no sense. He could have been the leader himself and claimed the extra spots that I can't in my current condition, yet he placed the burden of leadership on me.
Was he trying to win the exam? He was controlling the class, that much I was certain of, but his actions made no sense, at least under the assumption he was working towards victory. I couldn't imagine him putting in this much effort if he wasn't though, especially since he helped Sudou, simply because he wanted to win. What else could he be doing on his island?
I had seen him a few times at night, when everyone else was asleep and I was securing the spot, returning from who knows where in the forest. His dissapearances, along with his warning to me were very suspect.
'Don't trust me, Horikita. I don't have the best intentions towards our class. The only person I work for is me.'
Those were the words he said, and I couldn't get them out of my head. No one in their right mind would tell you not to trust them. Trust was the foundation of good relations, of a functioning society, yet he was going out of his way to make sure I didn't. But the way he said it was the strangest part of all.
It was like he was warning me. It wasn't a threat, or a promise of betrayal, but a warning that something was coming. I couldn't shake the feeling that he was trying to tell me something, but whatever it was, was beyond me.
Then there was his comment from just before he said that.
'Good work securing the spot. You'll make a great leader yet.'
It was as if he was testing me, and giving me the role of leader was a way for him to see whether I had the necessary qualifications to take the role. Perhaps he wanted to see if I had potential, if I was worth backing to become class leader, because clearly he had no intention of taking up the role, ruling from the shadows through Kushida as he currently was.
What a distasteful notion. As if I needed his approval, or his recognition as a good leader. I was far and beyond almost anyone in the grade, expect perhaps Ayanokouji and Kouenji, and academically maybe Sakayanagi, but that was it. There was no one else who could match me in any manner that held any value, and for him to be testing me now, was an insult to my capabilities.
I didn't need Ayanokouji's support. I didn't need his help to become a leader. If I wanted to, I could have become one. I could have run this Class and won the island exam on my own. I wasn't Kushida, who needed Ayanokouji to give instructions. I was capable all on my own.
I had also attributed the other incidents to him. The utensils and such going missing occurred on the same night I had seen him sneaking around. If he was trying to cause discourse, then it was working. If he was giving them to an enemy class as part of the betrayal he warned me about, then that was stupid. He didn't take enough for them to be of any value, so clearly his objective was to cause problems. The reason for that I didn't know.
The underwear was an interesting incident. That, I suspected, had nothing to do with him. Yes, perhaps causing conflict had been his intention, but it had been successful enough without resorting to such disgusting methods. I didn't think that was something that interested Ayanokouji, I begrudgingly admitted, since he seemed to show no interest in the other sex. No, even if he had done it, there would have been a far larger divide if they had been found with a boy. Missing that opportunity was also not like him.
Then there was the matter of his retirement. If there was a grand plan or scheme behind it, I couldn't figure it out. Maybe he had betrayed the class. He had given my name up, stolen some items and caused problems, convinced Kushida to waste points and then left once his job was done. If someone had paid him off with the promise of private points, then there was nothing to be done. Our class had probably lost.
But Ayanokouji wasn't interested in point either, as far as I could tell.
It was useless, trying to speculate what went on in his head, as convoluted and disturbing as it probably was. Ayanokouji was fundamentally different from me, that much I had accepted, and to think that I could understand his reasoning was laughable. It was much like a mentally deranged person, to them their ideas made perfect sense, but to everyone else they were impossible to grasp.
I suspected his mind was much like that.
I didn't know the outcome of the trial, but I had heard enough rumours, and Sudou had spoken non-stop to me about it, apologising for his actions surprisingly, it seemed he had learned his lesson, and from that I had picked up what Ayanokouji had done.
Everything had fallen into place for him, in a completely brutal and decisive way. Whether he had any part in what happened to Sakura was not relevant; the way he had manipulated the situation was awesome.
It was useless trying to speculate what he was planning. Ayanokouji was gone now, and there was nothing I could do to stop whatever happened. The situation was out of my hands now, and all I could do was try and sleep, to get a little bit better from my fever before I had to claim the spot again.
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I was woken to someone shaking my shoulder late at night. My mind wasn't quite on yet, but I could hear someone whispering in my ear as the shook me, harder and harder each time. It seemed whatever they needed was rather urgent. Unfortunately, they should have gone to anyone else.
"Horikita-san. Wake up!"
Oh. It was Kushida. She was speaking as loudly as she could without waking anyone else in the tent, but I still couldn't tell why she wanted me.
"It's Kiyotaka-kun, you need to come talk to him."
That sent my eyes opening wide. My brain kicked into gear and I saw Kushida kneeling next to me, a hand on my shoulder where she'd been shaking me, and a walkie-talkie in her other hand.
"Ayanokouji-kun?"
"He told me to wake you up. He needs to see you and the key card. He's got a plan to win the exam."
So, this was his strategy. It was very suspicious of him to have retired, but it seemed he'd been hiding out on the island alone all this time. It made more sense now why he'd been stealing cooking utensils, and why he'd kept the hammock with him. Everything fit into place. And now he'd come to me for help, to win the exam. I knew he wouldn't give up.
"Get off me. I'll be up in a moment."
"Hurry, Horikita-san. Kiyotaka-kun said we don't have long."
What could be time sensitive? Perhaps he was intending to claim a lot of spots. If he was, he would be in for a rude awakening upon seeing how ill I was. Having just rested, I was probably well enough to run for a bit, but if he was expecting hours of movement, he would be sorely disappointed.
I climbed out of the tent and found Kushida waiting for me.
"Where'd you get the walkie-talkie?"
I'd had a look at the expenditure sheet, and a pair of them, as I assumed that Ayanokouji had the other, wasn't on it. Then again, neither were the fans and mats in the tents, so I expect anything was possible.
"Kiyotaka-kun bought them when he pretended to retire."
She started to leave the campsite, moving quickly and quietly along a path into the jungle. I followed quickly, easily keeping up with her despite her illness. We weren't moving too fast, but fast enough that anyone who didn't know where Kushida was going would have a hard time following us in the darkness.
"So you're working with him then?"
"Yep! We're going to win the exam, Horikita-san. This is all part of his plan."
There was a strange feeling inside of me at that. He hadn't betrayed us, he hadn't betrayed me. Everything had been done as part of his meticulous unknowable plan in order to win the exam. If that was the case, then maybe he was wrong. Maybe I could trust him.
And there he was, leaning against a tree in a clearing we had reached. His hammock was strung up nearby, along with the missing cooking utensils. It wasn't much, just a pan and a spatula, but it was enough to make a meal from what I assumed was a fish he had caught.
"Horikita."
"Ayanokouji-kun."
"Thanks for your help, Kikyou. You can go back to camp now." He gave her a look, with something else hidden in his eyes, but in this darkness, I couldn't tell what it was. She gave him a smile, before turning around and heading back to camp. Clearly she trusted him enough, and believed that whatever he needed with me would go well. The fact that she didn't ask questions was a testament to her faith.
I waited until I couldn't hear her anymore, before asking what was on my mind.
"You didn't retire clearly. So, you're planning on winning the exam then?"
"You really are naïve, aren't you Horikita."
I took a step back at that, unsure as to why he would say that.
"What do you mean?"
"I told you, didn't I? I told you not to trust me. You can come out now."
He said the last part louder than anything else, as if speaking to someone else. And it seemed he was indeed. From the darkness behind him came the leaders of Class A and C, Katsuragi and Ryuuen. It was a trap.
"Do we really need to be so theatrical about this?"
"Kukuku what's the problem, baldy? Ayanokouji's the one getting the key card, we're the ones making the scene fuckign epic."
I went cold at their words. He had betrayed me, just like he warned. Damn. It was a stupid mistake to trust him, to believe Kushida when she called for me. To think I trusted him just because he was smart, just because he was on the same level as me, I believed we'd be working for the same things. That was my shortcoming, in not understanding him.
The fact was Ayanokouji and Kushida had betrayed me.
No, probably not Kushida. While she was working under his orders, he had sent her away, meaning he didn't want her around for this. They probably had an agreement, and Ayanokouji had betrayed her too. That was something, at least. There was one person who didn't know the full extent of his betrayal that I could use.
If only I could figure a way out of this situation.
"You betrayed us."
"Obviously. Between a class split in two, or an offer of private points, which seems like the better deal."
"Hurry up, Ayanokouji. I don't know what you're doing, but you promised us the leader key card, and this teasing is just cruel."
"Speak for yourself, Katsuragi. I'm rather enjoying Suzune leaning just how fucked her class is."
Ryuuen directed a carnivorous grin my way, enjoying the precarious situation I was in. I only had once chance to fake them out, but even so it wasn't likely. Ryuuen and Katsuragi clearly needed the leader's key card to be sure Ayanokouji wouldn't betray them as well, so if I could keep it hidden, then perhaps the situation wouldn't go as badly.
"It's a shame Ayanokouji-kun has betrayed you too as well. I'm not the leader."
"Horikita, don't bother. There's two ways this can go. Either you give me the card, or I take it from you."
He really meant it. He was going to beat me down and take the card from my hands, or at least try to. I'd seen him fight nii-san, but I doubted nii-san was really trying. No, I could at least hold my own against Ayanokouji, even in the state I was in right now.
"You know I'm not the leader, so I have nothing to give you. You're welcome to try and take it."
Katsuragi shifed uncomfortably, probably not happy with how the situation had turned out, but Ryuuen had a wolfish look in his eyes, eyeing down a fight about to happen. There was an intense glare, as if he was enjoying the anticipation on a whole new level. It was scary, but not as scary as Ayanokouji.
His eyes were empty, dark voids full of nothingness. They seemed to eat up my very being, looking into my soul and finding it pathetically dull. Along with his apathetic face, showing nothing like usual, his relaxed stance and his casual threats of violence, I had never seen anything as terrifying in my life.
But that wouldn't stop me from beating him. Often in a fight, it came to whoever had the most willpower, and I was sure that I could hold out against someone willing to be bought that easily.
"Fine."
He answered my challenge in a nonchalant manner, as if he didn't even consider me a danger in any way whatsoever. I raised my hands and got into a fighting stance, ready to take on whatever he threw at me.
Pain.
Stars flashed before my eyes, and everything hurt. In an instant I was knocked backwards with incredible force, barely able to keep myself upright, desperately wiping the tears out of my eyes in order to regain any vision.
Ayanokouji moved towards me, slowly without any cause to hurry. The most terrifying thing was his face hadn't changed. I hadn't heard any exertion of effort, I hadn't even seen him move, and such a powerful strike seemed common to him.
What the hell was he?
Pain.
Once again, I was hit. Once again, I hadn't even seen him move. I felt blood in my mouth, choaked up through my throat, and an unbearable pain in my chest from where he'd hit me gain. Two hits, and I could already barely stand.
"You're pathetic Horikita. I gave you everything and this is what it comes to."
Pain.
"A cowering girl trying to run away."
Pain.
I could feel my ankle had given out. Running was no longer an option.
"I gave you respect in the class by saving Sudou."
Pain.
"I gave you a loyal follower to help your actions."
Pain.
"I gave you a chance to be leader of the class. And you ignored all of these."
Pain.
"It's pathetic. You believe yourself superior, and yet you fail so easily. It's good that you aren't the leader. If we had to rely on you, there'd be no hope of victory."
Pain.
I curled up on the ground, trying my best to get through his blows, physical and verbal. Everything hurt, my entire body was on fire. Each of his sledgehammer blows had been driven into me, and while none of them had hit any vital parts, or broken any bones, I would be hobbling around for days or weeks.
The psychological blows would take a while to recover from.
I waited a moment, but no more blows were forthcoming. In my dazed state, I could feel someone feeling around in my pockets. I tried to brush them off, but there was no strength left in my arms. I felt the keycard being taken from my body, failing the one and only job I had been given in this exam.
It was difficult, but I managed to turn my body and open one of my eyes enough to see what was happening.
Ayanokouji had made his way over to to Ryuuen and Katsuragi, holding the key card in his hand. Ignoring the ringing in my ears, I strained them and just managed to catch the conversation.
"Was that necessary, Ayanokouji? It seemed cruelly brutal." At least Katsuragi had some sense of justice, not that I cared for his opinion.
"Who cares, it was incredible. I never expected you to be such a brutal fighter, monster. Maybe one day we can go a few rounds."
"Don't get ahead of yourself Ryuuen. You'd be better off challenging everyone else first, before you have a chance against me."
"Kukuku you cocky bastard, don't count me out just yet. Now hand over the key card."
"After you two sign this contract." He pulled a folded piece of paper and a pen out of his pocket, the final proof that he was betraying the class.
"You don't trust me huh?"
"Would you?"
Ryuuen laughed, before signing the paper, with Katsuragi also doing so as witness to their deal. I had no idea what it was, but Ayanokouji and Ryuuen had made good on their agreement.
"Now, the key card?"
I watched, helpless, as Ayanokouji passed over the key card with my name to Ryuuen, who after looking for a moment passed it to Katsuragi. He, however, took a long look at it, before handing it back to Ayanokouji.
"So, who's the leader for Class B?" Ayanokouji's question surprised me. If he really had sold out the class, why would he care who Class B's leader was? I couldn't follow his logic at all.
"Chihiro Shirinami. Here, Kaneda got a photo of her leader's card. A much more boring method than yours, Ayanokouji."
"Alright then. It seems our business is concluded. If this is the way the two of you handle things, then I hope I never have to make a deal with you again."
Katsuragi left the clearing, moving back in the direction of Class A's campsite.
"Kukuku he doesn't even realise how fucked he is."
"I've got some of his classmates who're going to vote incorrectly. Class A is going to get nothing."
"You really did plan for everything didn't you. Well, I guess this is your victory. Next time, I'll crush you."
Ryuuen followed Katsuragi, leaving the clearing behind. Only Ayanokouji and I now remained, and as he turned to face me I felt the cold fear return to my body, as well as acceptance of my defeat.
"Ayanokouji... why?"
He knelt down in front of me, resting a hand almost tenderly on my face. Even if I wanted to, there was nothing I could do to brush it off. My arms weren't working properly, and given a few minutes they'd probably be better, right now I was helpless, completely defeated.
"There are two things you should know about me, Horikita. I already told you one of them. Do you remember?"
"Not... to trust... you."
It was painful to get the words out, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of breaking me completely.
"Yes. And the other is the most important." He lent forward, looking directly into my eyes with his dark empty voids. "I will always win, no matter the cost. I will win this exam; I promise you that. So, thank you, for being the sacrifice needed to do so."
And then the hand that had been tenderly holding my head up, slammed it down onto the ground, and I saw nothing more.
Authors Notes:
Aight, so late chapter again because I was watching something. Just finished Dr Strangelove. Actually an epic movie, can't believe it took me so long to get around to this.
Chapter from Horikita PoV. It was interesting to write, and I spent a bit of time trying to figure out what Horikita would be thinking. I feel like I got it pretty accurate.
To any Horikita lovers, I'm sorry, but this was just too satisfying. Later on in the novels she gets to be a pretty good character, but from about 2-7 she's pretty obnoxious. I dunno, not taking my hate out on her like with Sakura, but this was the natural progression of the story, even if it was kinda fun to write.
Not much to say, but along with Ayanokouji selling the exams, this was one of the original concepts. It's changed quite a lot since I first thought of it, but the idea's remained the same.
Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!