Once we heard revolver go off, all classes immediately started to huddle around each other and move in separate directions. Class-C went to the western side, both Class-A and Class-B went to the Northern half, and our class moved to the eastern side of the island and thus, the Island Special Exam has begun.
We had no destination in mind but we kept moving east ward, just as we were walking though, there was a certain noise up ahead of me.
"Ahhh~" said Ichinose while stretching her arms, "Alright, first order of business, where should we set up our base?"
Upon hearing that, people started to talk amongst themselves, discussing the places where we could set up but in the end, we haven't been able to decide on a clear location. To my knowledge, there's no one among us that have expertise in this field so it'll be especially difficult if we don't sort out one of the three necessities, that necessity being shelter anyways.
"Somewhere along the beach could be fun!" said a few of the boys.
"The beach, huh," Ichinose muttered to herself.
Though the beach isn't necessarily a bad place, it's not great either. We're out in the open without any privacy and should we settle there, then it wont be long before any one of the other classes discover our hiding spot. Furthermore, somewhere with a solid ground is more ideal, the sand will get in our shoes, the tents, it'll be all over the place if not everyone is careful.
"Hold on a minute, Ichinose-san," said Shinohara.
"Yes, Shinohara-san?"
"There's no way we can settle on the beach."
"H-Huh? What? Why not?!" exclaimed someone in the audience.
"I think I speak for all the girls when I say the boys have a different motive for wanting to go to the beach."
"Wh-What?! What are you talking about?" said Ike.
"Oh, you know exactly what I mean!"
There was some back and forth but fortunately, Ichinose had had enough of it and broke into the argument between the both of them.
"Well, it's clear to me that the beach is a no go. I would prefer it be a place that everyone is comfortable with, yeah?"
Horikita, looking towards the crowd, also chimed in and joined Ichinose.
"As Ichinose-san says, a place everyone can agree on is best. After all, team work is essential in this special exam."
"Then in that case.. where do we go, Horikita-san? Ichinose-san?"
After giving it some more thought, both and Ichinose and Horikita talked to each and turn back to face the audience.
"We'll have another group split from us temporarily and scout out a spot. For now, we'll have to settle here in the meantime," Horikita said.
"Yes, now, who would like to volunteer?" Ichinose asked.
Same as before, people started to look towards one another again, hoping that either one of them would participate but no one raised their hands. There was silence for a little but that subsided as Ike, Sudou, and surprisingly, Miyake who was often seen with Hasebe most of the time, has chosen to participate. Once they got their orders from Horikita, the three of them ventured out into the woods.
So with that out of the way, I sat down near a tree under the shade and thought to myself a little.
Right now, our class hasn't seen significant growth. As it stands, the only we have going for us is the fact Class-D is inspired by both Ichinose and Horikita. But just how long will that inspiration last? Who knows, by the time Class-D starts to go downhill again, Class-D will be at the very bottom of the hierarchy once more and we'll have to start from scratch. Never mind that, there's also the matter of the people who haven't recovered from the last special exam, one person in specific is Hirata Yousuke, who I found looking out at the trees above him, away from everyone else.
Though without Hirata, I'm sure the rest of Class-D will be fine as Ichinose and Horikita is spearheading but, Hirata is an above average athlete and without his talents in any upcoming tasks, then Class-D's chances of winning event points will be low. Sure there are plenty of other people that could fill in for Hirata's physical talents, one of which could be Sudou, but to maximize your chances of winning is, of course, the most obvious choice.
Getting up from the tree I was leaning against, I walked towards Hirata.
"Hey," I said.
No response.
"Hirata," I called out again.
Like last time, he didn't respond to me. A strong physical stimulus can bring someone back to reality if they are spacing out but, I wouldn't want to make a scene so instead, I placed my hand on his shoulder and made an effort to communicate for the third time.
"Can I talk to you?" I asked.
"What do you want, Ayanokouji-kun?"
Hirata, who was still looking at the greenery around him, spoke up after my persistence, albeit in a rather cold tone.
"Let's talk, but not here."
"Huh?"
"Follow me, you're not doing anything now, are you?"
"I'm not, just make it quick," he said.
With that, I nodded and went farther out from the rest of the group, away from prying eyes at a nice spot where no one could eavesdrop on our conversation.
"You know, Ayanokouji-kun, I thought that at least someone like you would understand," Hirata said.
"Understand?"
"I mean, I don't get the impression that Ayanokouji-kun is someone especially talented at first, but when I look at you again, there's a different feeling I get ever since when Yamauchi-kun was expelled."
"Maybe it's just your imagination," I responded.
"Maybe."
I won't deny the fact that I wasn't involved in Yamauchi's expulsion though it was indirect but, to not be over that at this point in time will only continue to dig your own grave even further.. As it is, Hirata is someone who held a strong grip on their ideals and unlike Ichinose, his will can be shaken differently because of these ideals. To put it simply, I'm not saying I dislike idealistic people in the slightest, but, a person's naïve outlook and high optimistic views will inevitably be their downfall when it comes to things like this. Therefore, Hirata is someone that I couldn't possibly relate to.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Hirata asked.
"I wanted to ask, will you come back to the class and contribute?"
"If that's all you wanted to ask me, Ayanokouji-kun, then I'm afraid you're wasting your time."
"I see, then how about I change the topic?"
"About?"
"I don't know, maybe about school life?" I replied.
"What..?"
"That's what you're so hung up on, isn't it? But the fact remains, Yamauchi was expelled and you're still standing."
"I-I still couldn't protect my classmates.." Hirata said, looking down at the floor.
"It wasn't a favorable decision, that much is true. At the beginning, we were hoping to avoid penalties such as that."
Before the first special exam took place, Sakayanagi had messaged me anonymously for reasons still unknown to me. She made her knowledge of the White Room clear which, in turn, made me wary of her. During one of the prompts when we were asked to direct our votes to Ryuuen to have their private points penalized but instead, I had changed my vote to Sakayanagi on purpose and she ended up getting penalized a sum of private points by just one vote. My vote. Never mind that, before all that took place, she had made it clear that Class-A's vote for the extended prompt would be Class-D. That turn of events brings us here.
"Yeah but there's no changing the fact, I couldn't do anything. I let him get expelled. At the very least, I didn't do much to protect him."
Both Ichinose and Hirata, at their core, are quite similar people. One difference between them though, is that they need different handling as compared to the other. Ichinose, is someone who is both kind and compassionate; a pacifist at the heart as well as a benevolent leader, then there's people like Hirata who is both mature and friendly to people but is even more naïve. The difference is almost miniscule but it's there. At most, they're fit to be a support for Ichinose and Horikita. It's because now I've acknowledged the type of person he is and the fact that he can so easily crack under pressure leads to my next statement.
"Perhaps, you are right. Maybe you'll be useless in the end after all."
"..!"
"I mean, how could I not think so? If someone can't get over a lost with all the time they had to do so, they might as well be considered dead weight."
"That's..."
"I'll ask again, will you come back or not?" I asked him.
"But I just can't, Ayanokouji-kun. Can't you see?"
"So what? Are you planning on dropping out because of this?"
"I.. I've considered that, it's something that I might do.."
"If you do plan on leaving, then so be it but, that would mean Yamauchi's expulsion would be meaningless."
"Wh-What do you mean?" he asked me.
"The point of that one prompt wasn't to eliminate the dead weight, but rather, make a necessary sacrifice for the rest of the class to move on. As painful as it may be, if you drop out now, then that sacrifice would be pointless."
No. That's wrong. The entire point of the final prompt can be interpreted however you wish. But if I tell Hirata something that makes sense in his moral views, then he'll interpret it that way specifically. By just planting that idea in his head, he'll be able to work out everything else. Call it autosuggestion, if you will.
"So do you get it now?" I asked him.
Hirata was hesitating and was sounding unaccepting of what I've told him but in the end, he started to get over it and raised his head to me.
"Y-yes, I understand, Ayanokouji-kun.."
"Then I don't think I need to say anything more," I spoke aloud.
"I'll.. see you later, Ayanokouji-kun."
"Yeah," I said to him.
To say Hirata is still onboard with the rest of the class is yet to be seen. But I'm sure he'll be back on his feet soon enough. Now that that's over with, I returned with the rest of the group along with Hirata, who wandered over to the direction to where Wang was. After I had returned, I waited around, sitting down at the spot I was earlier and continued waiting as time ticked by slowly, people rested in the shade and once an hour or so had passed, the group that was sent out to look for a base location returned to us.
"Hey, everyone! We found a spot!" said Ike.
"Really? Where?" Shinohara responded instantly.
"It's somewhere along the river," Miyake answered.
Along the river.. I haven't seen a river while we were wandering but as so it would seem, they found one. A spot near a river should be nice and tranquil, as along as it's hidden from anyone looking to spy on us, that would make it a decent spot to hold up in. That aside, everyone started to pack up their things and followed the three to the location of interest.
While we were walking, I stayed slightly behind the rest of the group. I wouldn't exactly call what we're doing silent as our class's distant chatter can be heard reverberating throughout the jungle, I wouldn't be surprised if there was someone from another class watching us from a distance but hopefully, those worries are for nothing.
In any case, we began to move a considerable distance away from where we were originally, the area where we started must already be miles away by now.
"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun."
Just suddenly, as I was in the middle of thinking, Ichinose had interrupted.
"Is there something you need?" I asked her.
"Ah, I just wanted to talk with you a little bit," Ichinose said, happily smiling.
"Talk to me about what?"
"I can't help but notice Hirata-kun's mood has changed now."
"Really, huh? Wonder why."
Whether Ichinose knew what I was doing earlier is unknown to me. I had picked a spot that was safe for just two people to talk with each other secretly so there's a low possibility that she doesn't know, but, then again, there's also the chance that she saw me approach Hirata earlier. Putting that out of the way, Ichinose grew closer to me and it was just the two of us, walking side by side, at the very back of the others.
XIX.I
Before the scouting party returned from their mission, I noticed something rather peculiar play out. While I was in the middle of talking with Kikyou-chan and Karuizawa-san, I saw Ayanokouji-kun, who was sitting down against a tree in the shade, get up from his seated position and approach Hirata-kun, I was curious about what they we're talking about and I would've joined in their little conversation if given the opportunity but I have a role to fulfill.
After half an hour passed, both Hirata-kun and Ayanokouji-kun returned but there was something different, Hirata-kun, who was depressed earlier, had a new passion and began talking to Wang-san who was ecstatic. Whatever had happened to Hirata-kun, it was thanks to Ayanokouji-kun. This brings us to the present now.
"Really, huh? Wonder why," Ayanokouji-kun said as indifferent as ever.
"You know, Ayanokouji-kun, there's no reason for you have to lie about something like this to me.."
"Does that mean you were watching me the whole time?"
"Would it be weird if I said I was?"
I'm sure anyone would have said yes. I mean.. watching someone constantly isn't normal behavior is it? At least I don't think it is but I still can't help but look in Ayanokouji's direction every now and then.
"Never mind, anyways, what will you do?"
"Aha, if Ayanokouji-kun doesn't want to say anything about it then I wont force him to. But you helped Hirata-kun get back on his feet, so for that I thank you."
"There's no need, I guess he just needed someone to set him straight is all."
The best lie is a carefully edited truth. That's a quote that would best describe Ayanokouji-kun because it's something he's excellent at. There's already no doubt in my mind that Ayanokouji-kun was the one who helped Hirata-kun but he's been saying how he shouldn't be credited for those things. I can never get him to be straight with me and for some reason, I think he's kind of a jerk for that. But whatever, I should be thankful that he even managed to get Hirata-kun back. That was something that our classmates have tried constantly but failed to do so every time. Even Wang-san who tried every day failed but Ayanokouji-kun succeeded.
"Hey.." I said sheepishly.
"What is it?"
"Is Ayanokouji-kun maybe someone amazing?"
"Amazing? That's an overestimation, don't you think?"
"I don't think so in the slightest, Ayanokouji-kun," I began, "In fact, it's something I had my mind on for a while now."
"Whatever thoughts you have about me is probably your own misconception, Ichinose."
"Haha, maybe, but, the more I think about it, the more it makes more sense. I mean, Ayanokouji-kun came up with the strategy to help out our class during the exams, then you helped me get back on my feet after I almost broke down after the special exam. I guess it's embarrassing for me to keep on listing the impressive things Ayanokouji-kun has done so I'll stop here," I said.
For the lack of a better word, I'll call this some sort of paradox. After all the time I had spent with him, I'm still unable to understand what type of person Ayanokouji-kun is. Like, the more I learn about him, the more that becomes more confusing to me. One thing leads to another and I can't wrap my head around it all. Furthermore, maybe after this special exam, I'll be able to confess my feelings. Or maybe not, I guess that's being too hopeful, huh? I don't really know how Ayanokouji-kun views me either so it's hard for me, I suppose I'm afraid of getting rejected.
"And we're here!" said Ike-kun, directing his attention to the entire class.
"Huh?" I muttered to myself.
I was so invested in my talk with Ayanokouji-kun I wasn't able to get a grasp of the time around me but it would appear that we arrived at the spot that they picked out.
"It's a nice place," Ayanokouji-kun said.
"Y-yeah, the breeze is nice and cool. There's also a river nearby too."
Placing my bag down on the ground, I got to work immediately and took my position up near a stump nearby, catching the eyes of everyone in our class.
"Alright, now that we have a base of operations. Let's move onto the next thing, a leader and our first representative group to join in the tasks," I said.
"As for the matter of the leader role, someone who is not as noticeable is preferable," said Horikita-san.
"I'm of the same opinion," said Chiaki-san.
If someone that doesn't stand out too much is given the leader role, then I would recommend Ayanokouji-kun, but I'm not sure if he will be on board with that.
"Maybe the other classes are expecting us to do something like that so could also do the opposite," recommended Hirata-kun.
Since no one is stepping up, I'll have to take action myself.
"I'll be the leader," I said.
"Huh? Are you sure, Honami-san?" Chiaki-san asked.
"Yeah, don't worry. It's as Hirata-kun said, it'll be hard to determine the leader no matter who we pick."
"I guess so."
There was no objections nor was there anything complaints of any kind but everyone looked at me in unanimous agreement. Chabashira-sensei, who was quiet up to this point, also announced something to us.
"If you have picked a leader, come to me and I'll get it sorted out," she said.
Turning my head back to the rest of my classmates, they all centered around me as Chabashira-sensei typed some on her tablet and unhooked a small green card. Handing it to me, I closely looked at it it showed my name on it, 'Ichinose Honami' it read.
"Now that a leader has been picked, you'll be given the tablet I have on me now. This tablet will allow anyone in this class to access the roster of everyone who was and currently is in the representative group. I'll also be returning to the ship, if you have any other concerns, there is a station set up for students, that'll be all."
Saying so, Chabashira-sensei left, leaving me with the tablet she was holding originally and went towards the direction of the cruise. Looking at it, there was three apps that was open. The first one is locked, I presume is must be used to change the leader roles. The second app is a labeled 'Participation Table' and the third is 'GPS'. The last app is obvious, it'll probably tell me about my surroundings as well as the tasks that are open so opening the participation table, I saw two sides that was in different categories. The first side said 'Reserves' which listed everyone in our class, the second side said 'Active', this must be the way we decide who's eligible for tasks. But that out of the way, the matter of who is going to be the leader is settled and the next thing we need to do is settle on who will be joining the first representative group.
"So who will be participating in the tasks first, Ichinose-san?" Shinohara-san asked me.
"Let's see.. Is there anyone who wants to join?"
Looking around the room, I didn't see anyone volunteer. Unlike the last times we did something like this, there was at least one person who would step up but no one did.
"If no one wants to join, then I guess I'll have to be the first person to," I said.
After saying that, I dragged my profile in the 'participant' side of the app.
"Does no one really want to join in?"
Looking at the rest of the class once again, I sighed to myself.
"Hmm.. If no one else is participating, I'll also join," said Kikyou-chan.
"Ah, why the hell not, I'll join," said Sudou-kun.
"Consider me in too," said Hirata-kun, "After all, I need help the class."
Kikyou-chan, Sudou-kun, and Hirata-kun and I will make up a group of four, we need two more people.
"I'll join."
Much to my surprise, someone unexpected and spoke up and declared his enrollment. It was Ayanokouji-kun.
"W-Wait, really?" I asked.
"Is there a problem with that?"
"Oh, um, no, no problem whatsoever, haha," I laughed.
Now our group is up to five people, we just need one more person as per one of the special implementations of the special exam.
"I'll join too, Honami-san" said Chiaki-san.
"Okay, now we have our first group."
People are clearly not motivated enough for this, it's clear. No one even tried to volunteer themselves and I don't blame them for it but if it keeps going like this, we're not going to get anywhere. Even if we assign them forcefully, I don't think anyone they'll give it their all. I'm hoping once they start to see results, people will start to get motivated a little more.
"Everything should be covered now, let's all begin setting up our tents for the day. Tomorrow will be when the actual challenge starts," I announced.
XIX.II
After the somewhat long first day on the island, I decided to join the representative group. The reason being is for two things, the first reason is that I'm given unrestricted freedom of observing other class's strengths during exams. The second is to get a feel of what exactly the school is planning for the tasks system of the special exam.
But anyways, when I woke up, I thought back to a certain dream that I had last night. A dream that was very strange. It was my homeroom teacher in a bunny girl costume. Not saying I didn't enjoy it but what possibly could've caused me to have dreamt of such a thing?
(A/N: you know i had to)
"Can everyone from the representative group please gather around me?"
Just as I was in debating my last night dreams, a voice from outside the tents spoke up, it was Ichinose's voices and since I volunteered to partake in the events, I can't just ignore it. Emerging from my tents, I rubbed my eyes a little and saw Ichinose's ever so bright smile greeting me.
"Goodmorning, Ayanokouji-kun," she said.
"Morning," I replied.
As I answered Ichinose, both Sudou and Hirata arrived and saw the both of us. Soon after, Matsushita and Kushida left the girl's tent and walked up to us.
"So what's going on, Honami-chan?" Kushida said, yawning.
"Ah, there's a task up already, come here and check it out."
"What the hell? We just woke up!" Sudou complained.
"I know, I know but if we want a early head start then we have to do this."
Ichinose handed me the tablet and looking at it, there's a marker just a bit south of us. With no particular information, the marker was just simply called 'Event' when I tapped on it.
"I see, then we should get going then," I said.
"Yes, don't worry. I already informed Horikita-san about it and she will be able to handle the rest of the class while we're gone.
Nodding to Ichinose's statement, we six ventured off to the location of the event.
Now then, let's think about things differently. Our class has been given two advantages since a classmate has been expelled. The first advantage is the fact that we have one extra spot in our group. The other advantage is the forty extra event points we have to start off with, that gives us some breathing room in case we lose this event.
When we arrived at the location of the event, I saw that the other three classes got here before us. No one stood out to me in particular but there was a few people that I did know. One person in specific is among the Class-B group, Kanzaki was there and he was starring at a certain blonde haired boy in the Class-A group.
One of the staff noticing that we had got here, beckoned over to us and spoke into a megaphone, changing his attention to everyone else.
"Since all classes are here, we will now begin the first ever event of the special exam," he started.
Looking at the whiteboard behind him, there was certain details that were displayed.
EVENT
Group Mathematics Tests. Twenty-Five (25) questions will be displayed on your tablet. All teams will be expected to answer all questions as fast as they can. First class to answer all questions correctly wins.
Placements are determined based off however many questions a class has gotten correct.
REWARDS
First, 40 Event Points
Second, 20 Event Points
Third Place, -10 Event Points
Fourth Place, -30 Event points
This event is rather simple. I can't say that Sudou will be all that useful for this one though since this is more of an event that relates to one's academic ability and he isn't exactly someone we can count on when it comes to those sort of things. I'm sure I wont have to do anything since our team is mainly consisting of the more intellectual students such as Ichinose and Kushida.
But anyways, Ichinose took out her tablet and a UI appeared on top of it asking the first question. As such, we as a team did our best and answer them. Well, not exactly team, both me and Sudou decided to sit this one out while Hirata, Ichinose, Kushida, and Matsushita tackled the rest of the questions.
Everything looked to be going smoothly, or so that's what I wish I could say; the last question that appeared on the tablet was a challenging one. Now that I think about it, a high schooler couldn't have solved it. Perhaps it's on the collegiate level? Although I can't say what question the other class are on, I assume they too are on the last question. There's even Class-A, a class that's known for their high academic capability, finds themselves in a bind. As much as I didn't want to, I didn't want to waste the chance and I made my first move.
"Ichinose, give me the tablet," I said.
"Can you answer it, Ayanokouji-kun?"
"I might be able to."
Placing my answer in the small answer box underneath the equation, I pressed submit.
"Excuse me, sensei! But we're finished," Ichinose said, taking the tablet from my hands and raising it in the air.
We didn't get a response but instead, they simply looked our way and nodded. I looked around me a little more once again and saw that people we're still struggling with it but eventually, they looked more confident with their answer and submitted it and it wasn't long before the results showed up on our tablets.
RESULTS
First Place - Class-D, 25/25
Second Place - Class-A, 24/25
Third Place - Class-B, 21/25
Fourth Place - Class-C, 20/25
We had passed with flying colors. A solid 25/25, it would seem that Class-A got it wrong on the other hand. Once people read over the results though, the other classes started to look at the direction of our group. I saw a few of them murmuring with each other but ultimately, we brushed it off. I'm sure this revelation will change some people's opinions of Class-D but the first win is a must for us.
"Alright, this event is over. All rewards and penalties have already been distributed. You may now leave," said one of the faculty members.
Hearing that, all the other classes started parting ways. As for Class-D, we went back into the direction of our base. Not before making random turns in different directions though to disorientate anyone that might've been following us. It was a small precaution but a necessary one.
XIX.III
Walking back towards our Home Base, there was a few things that I was thinking of mainly. The first though is Ayanokouji-kun and his mathematics ability. I knew he was academically capable ever since he answered the equations I gave him a while ago back when we were still in study groups but I wonder how he knew the answer to a question of that caliber. The question wasn't one that either Hirata-kun or Kikyou-chan knew the answer to and they are among few of the most academically skilled students we have.
"Wow, that was impressive, Ayanokouji-kun," I said.
"What do you mean?"
"The last question in the event, you got it right yeah?"
"It was a lucky guess I suppose."
I can't say for certain whether or not he's trying to be modest at the moment, but Ayanokouji-kun just can't seem to take compliments and instead, tries to come up with excuses as for how he's been doing all the remarkable things he's capable of and to ask him about it will simply lead to the same old responses. Without anything else to say, I moved over to talk with Chiaki-san.
"Something wrong, Honami-san?"
"No, why would you ask that?"
"Nothing, I would've thought that Honami-san would want to talk to her crush some more," she said while smiling jokingly.
"W-What? I-I think you're mistaken, Chiaki-san."
"Oh, I don't think so Honami-san. There hasn't been any sort of progress, you have to do something soon before Ayanokouji-kun finds a girlfriend."
"Stop saying these things, Chiaki-san! It's not funny!"
As irritating as it is to me, Chiaki-san is somewhat right. If I'm holding myself back at this point in time, then I'm sure more people will start to become more cognitive of the boy named Ayanokouji Kiyotaka-kun. Just like earlier, they'll start to recognize his talents and maybe even soon, there will be other people interested in Ayanokouji-kun. Leaving my feelings of love aside, there's also the matter of how exactly should I approach Ayanokouji-kun. I mean... It's not as if desperate but.. I just don't get it. Why am I even feeling something like this in the first place? We don't know each all that well either. It's just too confusing to me.
While I was pondering such things, I look towards Ayanokouji-kun who was slightly ahead of me now. As I did, something overcame me and I felt my heart sink a little. I saw him eyeing Kikyou-chan, could he maybe be interested in her..?
As I continued to steal glances at Ayanokouji-kun, I couldn't help but feel a mix of hope and uncertainty. Would he ever reciprocate my feelings? I wished I had the courage to approach him directly, to express what was in my heart. But fear held me back, and I relied on watching from a distance, lost in my thoughts.
-
aosjdhaosudhouasfoliqsafs so i got this idea for honami overcoming her past but the thing is... it kinda involves her almost suiciding... yeah ill put it on hold
i was sick so i couldnt write anything
furthermore, the spoilers (unconfirmed ig) for 9.5 has disappointed me and im even more disappointed in myself for taking the bait again like i did in the past
i mean, dont get me wrong, i dont hate kei in particular but i support a different ship (obvious which one i support)
y2v10 better not try to bait me