It had been a day since the special uninhabited island exam concluded, and on the very same day, a peculiar situation unfolded: my thoughts and actions were somehow being broadcast to the entire student body. I woke up to the sound of a 'ping' from my phone resting beside me.
Upon checking my phone, I discovered a strange group chat including myself, Hasabe, and Miyake. Scrolling up for context, I found that Hasabe had initiated the group, naming it "Ayanokouji Group" because, according to her, our meeting and friendship were a result of the screening process involving me. Miyake seemed to agree with her sentiment.
Just when I thought that was it, Hasabe suddenly sent another message.
"Hey, what do you guys think about including another more member in the group? ^^" Hasabe texted.
Personally, I don't have any preferences as long as we all get along. But I'd rather not have someone like Ike or Yamauchi in the group. Miyake feels the same way as I do.
"I don't have any objections," I texted back.
"I'll trust Hasabe's judgment," Miyake replied.
"Oki Doki ^^" she texted.
I then noticed Sakura Airi was added to the group chat.
I found myself curious about whom Hasabe might add to the group, and it turned out to be Sakura. Given our shared inclination towards solitude, I assumed the new member Hasabe would introduced would likely share our reserved nature and not be overly outgoing. Guess I was right on the mark.
However, when did Hasabe and Sakura develop such a close friendship in such a short time? I observed Hasabe's apparent interest in Sakura, but I hadn't anticipated they'd become so close so quickly.
"H-Hello everyone, it's nice to meet you," Sakura finally sent her first message after a brief delay.
I pondered over how someone might stutter while typing a message but quickly dismissed those thoughts, choosing instead to warmly welcome her aboard the group chat, the others followed too. Hasabe set one crucial rule for our group: everyone must address each other using their given names or nicknames. Surprisingly, everyone seems to be on board with this and is getting along just fine.
Is this how friendships naturally begin? I found myself perplexed by the concept of "friendship." Typically, when individuals form friendships, they encounter a spectrum of positive emotions-joy, happiness, trust, a sense of connection, comfort, understanding, and sometimes a feeling of belonging or being valued. However, I don't seem to resonate with these emotions nor do I experience any joy in this process.
Thus, the "Ayanokouji group" - a rather awkward name given it was derived from my own name - was established.
After exchanging morning greetings, I set my phone aside and began preparing my clothes for a trip to the bath.
Once done, I indulged in some leisure time, sipping tea and engrossing myself in Albert Camus book "The Myth of Sisyphus." However, my peaceful reading was interrupted by a knock on my door.
"Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun, did I wake you up?" Yousuke Hirata greeted me with a smile, clearly seeking a conversation.
"Actually, I wanted to discuss something with you. Would you mind joining me for breakfast and hear me out?" he asked apologetically, awaiting my response.
Seeing as I hadn't eaten anything yet for breakfast, I saw no reason to decline his offer. After deliberating on where to dine, we settled on heading to the deck and picking something from the store while enjoying the ocean view.
As we settled in, I couldn't help but ask a question that had been weighting on my mind. "Are you sure about this? Don't you usually have breakfast with Karuizawa and the others?"
He awkwardly smiled and said, "Karuizawa-san and the others would be joining us later, the girls mentioned that they would like to get to know you better" Sensing my discomfort upon hearing about the others joining us soon, he quickly added
"While I do seek advice from you, Ayanokouji-kun, it's also my intention for you to get along with the others." His voice gentle.
"You're a dependable guy, Ayanokouji-kun. Others seem to have formed a positive impression of you after the recent events. I believe you just need the right opportunity."
Feeling resigned to Hirata's intentions, I focused on perusing the menu, realizing there was little I could do. Once our dishes arrived, Hirata finally delved into the main reason for inviting me.
"Firstly, I want to express my gratitude to you for your assistance on the deserted island, Ayanokouji-kun. Without your help, along with Horikita-san's, we wouldn't have won the last special exam and gained any points. I'm also thankful for your support for the class behind the scenes," Hirata conveyed his sincere appreciation to me.
Hirata's astuteness and ability to read people allowed him to connect the dots, recognizing my involvement in carrying the class to victory in the deserted exam. His confident words indicated his resolve. I also ceased hiding my role as the orchestrator behind class D's success, it was only a matter of time before it would be revealed to everyone.
"I don't know your reasons for hiding it, but you must have your own motives, right?" he continued."Of course, I won't pressure you to help the class if you choose not to. Whether you decide to assist the class or not is entirely your decision. I simply wish for our class to forge a stronger bond than ever," he smiled at me.
Unable to find the right words to respond, I remained silent urging him to continue.
"That's why I wanted to hear your advice on it, Ayanokouji-kun," He explained, revealing the reason behind inviting me.
So that was his motive. He sought my opinion on the matter.
I inquired about the class's situation following Kushida's revelation yesterday. With a concerned smile, Hirata shared that it was not going well. Kushida had isolated herself in her dorm, refusing to come out, and those close to her were deeply affected by feelings of betrayal. On the other hand, he also mentioned that Horikita had started to gained influence and began engaging more with other students but remained distant and maintained her boundaries.
Offering my perspective, I expressed that the students needed time to process the recent events before they could come to terms with the situation. I emphasized that their acceptance and subsequent actions would largely depend on their individual decisions.
Hirata seemed to understand and accepted my viewpoint, though it might not have been the answer he wish to sought. We continued our breakfast until Karuizawa - Hirata's girlfriend and her friends finally arrived.
"Mou! What's with you guys, already eating your portion without waiting for the rest of us?" Karuizawa complained, shooting a side glance at Hirata, and then at me.
Hirata awkwardly smiled, explaining that we were hungry and they were taking too long. Karuizawa pouted but eventually took a seat next to Hirata. Among Karuizawa's group were Matsushita and Satou, with Satou seated next to me and Matsushita seated beside Karuizawa.
While they delved into their opinions about the video we watched the day before, particularly emphasizing how I wasn't perceived as they had assumed and Kushida's betrayal, I chose to stay mostly silent, letting them carry on the conversation. I had pondered this beforehand, but I never imagined I'd find myself dining alongside these socially prominent individuals, let alone being the centerpiece of their discussion. The situation itself embarrassed me.
Satou seemed particularly interested in interacting with me, inquiring whether I was currently dating someone and requesting my phone number. Meanwhile, Matsushita and Karuizawa cast intrigued glances at me. Matsushita occasionally posed questions about the school system, but I deliberately responded with vague information that most people are already aware of. Simply being in their company sapped a considerable amount of my energy. I found it baffling how energetic socially popular individuals could be in such social settings.
After we finished eating, around 5 minutes later, all our phones began ringing simultaneously. The loud, incessant ringing indicated a message from the school, typically containing new instructions or event modifications. Even if on silent, our phones would audibly alert us to these high-importance messages.
"Eh? What is this?" Karuizawa asked, voicing everyone's surprise at the unexpected notification.
As our phones chimed with the unexpected message, we all paused, visibly puzzled. Despite the explanation of this system provided at the start of the school year, none of us had received any significant messages during the summer vacation until now. We glanced at our phones to read the content of the message, which turned out to be from the monitor itself. It detailed the imminent continuation of the screening process and instructed every students to gather at the same gymnasium used the previous day.
Knowing that it would take about ten minutes to reach the gymnasium from the deck, and with our designated time approaching, everyone decided to go together as we hurried our way to the gymnasium.
As we entered the gymnasium, we joined the other Class D students who had arrived earlier.
"Kiyopooon! Over here!" Hasabe- No, Haruka, called out to me, patting the seats beside her, where the newly established members of the Ayanokouji group, Akito, and Airi, who seemed a bit nervous. I also noticed Horikita at the back; I would have expected her to be intrigued by the idea of me having new friends, but it appeared she simply didn't care.
I had assumed Kushida might skip attending this event, but since the consequences of doing so weren't specified, she voluntarily entered the theater, choosing a seat in the far right corner. Of course, just as one would expect, everyone tried their best to ignore her.
As I headed towards the seat, the noisy chatter among the students gradually quieted down. The monitor, likely sensing that everyone was now prepared, automatically proceeded to start the video.
While I was sleeping, I could hear girls' voices from outside the tent. They sounded like they were in a bad mood.
"Hey, boys. Can you all gather around?"
The voice sounded rough, like she'd meant to say, "Hurry and wake already!" I'd just gotten to sleep at dawn, so I rose slowly and rubbed my eyes.
"Uh-oh, that sounds trouble"
Some class A student remarked.
We had just arrived on our seats and the scene the monitor was showing was already complete 180°. Everyone in Class D instantly recognized the impending event and collectively facepalmed, anticipating the embarrassment about to be displayed. The guys, in particular, seemed to be developing headaches. I had expected the monitor to showcase scenes like Ryueen's zero-strategy scheme, Ichinose's defensive tactics, or Katsuragi's quick-witted actions, but this... felt inconsequential. It seemed the monitor disregarded minor details and just wanted to gauge our reactions.
"What the hell? God, I'm so goddamn tired..." An irritated Sudou appeared from the tent and looked around.
"What's wrong?" Hirata asked.
"Ah, Hirata-kun. I'm sorry, but can you please wake all of the boys? It's serious," said Shinohara, sounding apologetic.
Naturally, students from other classes sensed that something was amiss with Class D. However, some individuals didn't let Shinohara's actions go unnoticed.
"Look at her change her attitude fast when talking to Hirata," someone remarked, noticing the difference in treatment between Hirata and the other guys in our class.
"Guess it's true that being a pretty boy has its advantages," another bitterly remarked.
"Judging by the background, I assume this happened during the deserted island exam?" inquired Ichinose, although she already seemed aware of the answer. I nodded in confirmation.
Whether she was flustered or angry, the issue didn't seem to be hers alone. A little further away, the girls glared at us.
"I understand. I think if I shout, they'll come."
Students from other classes noticed the disdain directed toward the boys of Class D by the girls. Waking everyone up so early in the morning raised questions about what serious issues class D might be dealing with.
"Eh? What's going on?" asked the curious Shibata.
Within two minutes, the boys came out of the tent rubbing their sleepy eyes. When the half-asleep boys looked around, they inferred that this situation was especially alarming. The girls all looked unusually scared.
"What's this?" a student named Machida from Class A inquired. "Don't tell me one of the guys in your class did something perverted like stealing the girls' underwear or something?" He said it jokingly, observing the expressions of the students in Class D, unknowingly hitting the mark.
Well, to be fair, it wasn't precisely one of the students in Class D who committed the act. It was part of Ibuki's plan to create chaos within Class D, but the concept is pretty much the same.
He stiffened. "You've got to be kidding me."
"What's going on? Why did you wake us up so early?"
"Sorry, Hirata-kun. This doesn't involve you, but...we've gathered everyone to confirm something."
Shinohara gave everyone except Hirata a look of complete contempt.
"Well, this morning...Karuizawa-san's underwear went missing. Do you know what this means?"
"U-underwear?"
Recalling how they'd been treated poorly while Hirata was regarded as a bystander, the boys expressed their disappointment.
"I get their suspicion, thinking one of us might be responsible for Karuizawa-san's missing panties. But just because the girls judged Hirata as incapable of such an act, it doesn't mean he's innocent while the rest of us are guilty," Ike grumbled, the other Class D boys seeming to share his sentiments.
"W-well, that's because Hirata's girlfriend is Karuizawa-san! Why would he go steal his girlfriend's underwear? Besides, we all know he's not that kind of person, unlike you guys," Shinohara defended Hirata, taking the lead on the girls' defense.
The halo effect refers to a cognitive bias where an individual's overall impression of a person influences their feelings or thoughts about that person's character, abilities, or other traits. This bias often leads to assumptions or judgments about someone based on one positive trait or characteristic, creating a generally positive perception of the individual as a whole, regardless of other qualities or aspects.
For instance, in a scenario involving a thief and two suspects - a handsome individual and one less fortunate in appearance - the attractive person, despite being the actual thief, might benefit from the halo effect due to their physical attractiveness. People might unconsciously overlook or downplay the possibility of this person being the thief because of their perception of attractiveness, assuming positive qualities about them like trustworthiness or innocence based solely on their looks. Conversely, the innocent-looking but less attractive person might be unfairly judged or suspected due to the bias against them, despite their lack of connection to the theft.
This demonstrates how the halo effect influences perceptions and assumptions, sometimes leading to unfair judgments based on appearance, prior behavior and demeanor.
Class B seems to didn't take Shinohara's response highly.
"They completely ignored the presumption of the guys' innocence while overlooking the possibility that Hirata might be guilty," Kanzaki expressed in dismay.
Shinohara responded, "Well, it's all over now anyway. We've learned that it was Ibuki from Class C who stole the underwear to throw our class into chaos! So there's no need to dwell on it now!" By redirecting the focus to the perpetrator, she avoided the glares from others, a smart move. However, while the past incident should be left behind, I do believe the boys deserved an apology from the girls...
Even Hirata, usually calm and collected, appeared visibly shaken. Speaking of Karuizawa, she was missing, along with some of her friends.
"Karuizawa-san is crying inside the tent right now. Kushida-san and others are comforting her right now, but..." Shinohara looked over to the girls' tent.
"Huh? Huh? What? Why are you glaring at us over her underwear being missing?"
"Isn't that obvious? Someone went through her bag in the middle of the night and stole them. Our luggage was outside the tent, so if someone wanted to steal something, they easily could have!"
"Well, well, aren't you jumping to stereotypes a bit too much?" Hashimoto interjected. "I understand being suspicious if your friend's underwear goes missing, but what makes you think that the girls are automatically innocent?" He shook his head. "It could be one of the girls responsible for it since..." He glanced at the tense Karuizawa, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. "She looks like she might have made plenty of enemies."
While it had already been established that Ibuki was the one who stole Karuizawa's underwear, and this fact might have also been known by the other classes, Hashimoto's argument held weight. Karuizawa, despite holding influence among the girls in Class D, had a troublesome reputation that might have led to enmity from a few individuals.
The boys, still in a state of drowsiness, all exchanged looks.
"No, no, no, no! Huh?! Huh?!"
Ike, in a complete panic, looked back and forth between the boys and girls. One of the boys who'd been observing all this grumbled calmly.
"Come to think of it, Ike, you were pretty late getting back from the toilet yesterday. You took a really long time."
"No, no, no! That was just, well...I was struggling because it was dark!"
Yamauchi, gesturing towards his chin in a stereotypical detective manner from movies, chimed in, "Pretty suspicious if you ask me. What were you up to in the bathroom that took you so long?"
"That..." Ike paused before responding, "Just as I said, it was too dark to see properly. My eyes didn't adapt to the environment, so I had a hard time finding my way back to the tent. Besides, I was really drowsy!" he reasoned.
As for whether what he said was true or not, it wasn't a concern for me.
"Is that so? You stole Karuizawa's underwear, didn't you?"
"Y-you're wrong! I didn't do it!"
The boys started blaming one another for this particularly nasty crime.
The unfolding scene appeared rather pathetic to witness.
"I thought the soap operas on TV were pretty dull, but this... is on another level," someone jokingly remarked about the situation.
On the other hand, Manabe, a girl from Class C, furiously expressed, "This is boring, just get to the main point already." I had anticipated the girls to be more sensitive about such a delicate topic, but it seemed that wasn't the case for everyone..
"Anyway. This is a huge problem, don't you agree? It's impossible for us to camp alongside a bunch of underwear thieves," said Shinohara, her arms crossed. She looked as though she was going to lose her temper.
"Hirata-kun, can you find the culprit?"
"Well, there's no evidence that the boys stole it. Maybe Karuizawa lost it."
"True, there's no proof indicating the boys were responsible for it. It's understandable to think that way, but Hirata does have a point," a girl from Class B spoke up.
Shinohara's annoyance prompted her response, "That's why I asked Hirata to find the culprit!"
"But your actions already imply that you assumed the boys in your class are the culprits," the Class B girl retorted.
"Yeah, that's right! We have nothing to do with this!" The boys shouted behind Hirata, proclaiming their innocence.
"I don't want to think there's a criminal among us."
Doubting our classmates seemed wrong.
"I know that you're not the culprit, Hirata-kun. But for the time being, let's check the boys' luggage."
Apparently, the girls weren't changing their minds on this. They had decided that the culprit was on the boys' side. Well, I supposed that it was only natural to think that.
"And why is that?" asked Chihiro.
"Well... It's quite complicated." Ichinose started "it's due to societal stereotypes portraying males as more mischievous or likely to engage in inappropriate actions, while females are seen as more passive and innocent, there's a tendency to assume that a male is responsible for the actions. Just like the scene we watched where Ayanokouji-kun's classmates thought that the males were the culprits in the missing underwear case even without evidence," explained Ichinose, sparing me from explaining.
"Huh? Don't give us that crap. We don't need to do that. Hirata, tell them no."
"For now, we'll try gathering the guys together and talking it out. Can you please give us a little time?" Hirata asked.
"Well, if you guys truly are innocent, then wouldn't it be better to come and prove yourselves clean? Rejecting the idea makes it seem like you're hiding something," Amikura voiced out.
"It's not as simple as it sounds, Amikura-san," interrupted Hamaguchi, prompting Amikura to inquire why. Hamaguchi explained, "Surely, you have things you hide or are embarrassed to be seen by others, especially the opposite sex, right?"
"Hmm, while I don't have stuff to be embarrassed about, I do understand your point," Amikura nodded, seemingly satisfied with Hamaguchi's explanation.
"If you say so, Hirata-kun. I understand. I'll try talking to Karuizawa-san. But if the culprit can't be found, we have some ideas."
With that, everyone scattered.
Hirata quickly gathered all the boys in front of the tent.
"Let's just ignore what the girls said. I hate being treated like a suspect. I'll fight it!"
Ike had managed to get some degree of trust from the girls on the first day, but apparently it wasn't meant to last. It was only natural that the boys would be unhappy about being unjustly accused.
It made me wonder how trust is easily broken but hard to build up.
"Great unity," scoffed Ryueen, glancing at Horikita, then towards me. "I expect nothing less from a class full of defects."
"It was your fault to begin with. Ibuki was just acting, following your scheme," is what I think Class D is contemplating right now. However, no one seems brave enough to confront him. Everyone knows how Ryueen controls his class; making him your enemy means your entire school life is over.
"How stupid," muttered Kushida in irony.
"Exactly. It's not like we stole Karuizawa's underwear or anything."
Yamauchi exchanged looks with everyone individually.
"Knowing your personalities, it wouldn't be a surprise if you, along with Ike, are the number one prime suspects," Onodera muttered the truth.
It wasn't as though Karuizawa wasn't cute or anything, but since Karuizawa was Hirata's girlfriend, it would've been a much better idea to go after Kushida and Sakura.
This earned me a glare from the girls' side, particularly Haruka. This was bad; I had just made a new friend, and I couldn't risk ruining it.
"I'm just saying, if the boys were the real culprits, they'd probably aim for Kushida and Sakura since they're cute and Karuizawa-san was already taken," I explained. Hopefully, Haruka seemed to accept it. Good grief, maintaining friendships with people of the opposite sex is tougher than I thought.
'H-he called me cute!'
"I don't doubt you guys, but we won't solve the problem like this."
The girls, who were talking together in their cliques, looked like they were about to jump on us.
"It might be better to just accept the baggage inspection with dignity and prove your innocence." With that, Hirata brought out his own bag.
"See? You guys should follow Hirata's example; that's how men should be," Maezano exclaimed.
Being compared must've hit the boys' pride, yet they did their utmost to conceal any visible reaction on their faces.
"As miserable as this might be, I think you guys'll have to do it. Are you okay with that?"
"B-but..."
"Of course. I'll open up my luggage first," Hirata said.
In order to get us all to move, he had no choice but to take action. Still, there probably wasn't even one person here who thought Hirata was the culprit. Besides, you could say that stealing his own girlfriend's underwear made no sense. However, if one person opened his luggage, then the rest of us couldn't help but follow. Inevitably, the students who wouldn't open their bags would be suspected. Hirata's bag naturally didn't have the underwear.
"Well, everyone probably expected this, but how did everyone deal with this incident?" asked Kobashi with interest.
I exchanged glances with Hirata, who then explained how, at the end of the exam, I had informed him about Ibuki being the actual culprit. I had discovered it along with Horikita, albeit by accident. However, this new information seemed to confuse the students in Class D. As far as they knew, only Horikita was involved. Despite this, they remained silent. If Hirata were to inform them that I wasn't involved and later it was revealed on the screen that I was, it would cause a troublesome situation. Horikita's influence, which I had been trying to build up, would naturally crumble instantly. By gradually revealing how I had helped the class behind the scenes, the students would gradually accept my involvement, as opposed to a sudden revelation causing chaos.
"Guess we don't have any choice..."
All the other boys began pulling bags out, one after another. Ike and Yamauchi hated it, but couldn't resist being pulled in. The three of us were the last to go. I reluctantly headed into the tent, following after Ike and Yamauchi.
"Damn, I'm so pissed. Men are always being suspected of stuff. It's way too unreasonable."
Everyone, including the girls, agreed, acknowledging the prevailing gender stereotypes in our society.
"You seem pretty upset," Horikita observed, stating the obvious. Naturally, everyone in that situation would be, they just woke me up from my deep slumber.
"Well, let's prove our innocence." Ike grabbed his bag, but suddenly froze.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing..."
He turned his back on Hirata and the others, checked the inside of his bag, and frantically closed it back up.
"Kanji?"
Ike's face was pale, his body stiff. He was completely paralyzed.
"Why did he stop?" This naturally sparked suspicion among everyone present. The girls had heard about Ibuki being the culprit behind the underwear incident but were unaware of where the underwear was hidden.
"Hey, come on. Let's hurry and get going."
"What, you're the one that really stole them?" said Yamauchi, half-jokingly.
"Th-that's crazy talk!"
Ike frantically denied it, shaking his head while clutching his bag. What a blatant overreaction. We weren't dumb enough to believe nothing was wrong.
"Wait, don't tell me..." Yamauchi said.
"What? You don't believe me?!"
"No, I'm not saying that. Show me what's in your bag."
"Ah, wait!"
Yamauchi snatched Ike's bag to check inside. When he did, he saw...white underwear, definitely not a man's, balled up and hidden.
"So... It was hidden inside your bag!!" Shinohara responded, her expression resembling someone who had just heard something absurd.
"It wasn't me, I swear!" Ike frantically denied his involvement, looking at Hirata. "Y-you heard Hirata! It was Ibuki's doing; she probably hid it inside my bag to frame me up!"
Although what he said was entirely true, his previous behavior had made the girls believe that he was capable of such an act.
"Th-that's not mine! Someone put it in my bag or something, somehow!"
"Come on, don't give me that excuse..."
Yamauchi looked at Ike with pity.
Observing the conversation between the two students was rather intriguing. Perhaps this was a form of karma for all the inappropriate behavior they had engaged in?
"Kuku, there are plenty of other students in class D to frame. I'm curious why you settled on these idiots, Ibuki?" Ryueen asked. Ibuki, upon hearing her name, let out a distasteful noise.
"Their face just annoy me."Yamauchi and Ike were known as the perverted duo, which naturally caused disdain among the other girls in the class.
"I'm telling you, I don't know how it got there! Why would there be underwear in my bag?!"
"This is shameful. Let's go explain things to Hirata and the others."
"You say that so easily because it wasn't you who will get blamed. I'm pretty sure if it were the other way around, you'd be panicking too," Matsushita remarked.
"Huh?! But if I do that, they'll make me out to be the culprit!"
"I pity this guy," Morishige from Class A blurted out. "If it were me and I was framed, I would do my best to hide it from the others too. No matter how much you reason that it wasn't you, the others will still suspect you as the culprit, not to mention you have a pretty bad reputation."
"There was no culprit...right?"
Why was Yamauchi asking Ike? Ike had Karuizawa's underwear in his bag, making Ike the culprit, right? Putting aside when and how he stole the underwear, the thief likely wouldn't have hidden the stolen goods in his own bag. It was obvious that in the case of an uproar, a search for the criminal would begin. If Ike was really guilty, he should've been panicking when he was told to open his luggage. But I hadn't seen the slightest hint of that.
I concluded that someone other than Ike was the culprit, and that person had planted evidence to frame Ike. Unless Ike really was that stupid and simple...but he couldn't be, right?
"Ayanokoujiii ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ" Ike looked at me, seemingly acknowledging that I was the only one who understood him.Putting aside whether Ike was an idiot or not, it seemed everyone was aligned with my observation.
Andou: "Neh~ If that's the case, Ayanokouji-kun and Yamauchi-kun can just vouch for Ike-kun's innocence."
Beppu replied, "That'll only be useful if their class trusts each other like our class does. In Ayanokouji's class case, though, it's the opposite. It'll just end up with the three of them being blamed by their whole class. Besides, they're usually seen together, so it'll appear like the two of them are just sticking up for their friend."
Even if I vouched for Ike, it wouldn't change anything, and it wouldn't benefit me.
"Ayanokouji, you believe me, right? That I didn't steal them?!"
"Well, if I think calmly, no solid evidence suggests you're the culprit, Ike."
"Ayanokouji!" he cried.
"It's unlikely that Ike is the culprit. If he were, this would be far too stupid of him."
The girls in my class nodded in understanding, just how little trust do they have on this guy?
"Well, that sounds right, but... Wait, what? You mean someone put the underwear in Kanji's bag?"
"We just have to figure out who!" Ike cried.
"Shit, they don't have much time for that."
"They should just confess or something. I'm sure their classmate Hirata would understand," another exclaimed.
"But hold on!" exclaimed Satou, "we never heard anything about the boys having the underwear, though? That means Ike-kun and the others hid it," or more likely, Hirata-kun and I took some part in hiding it.
"Hey, hurry up!" one of the boys by Hirata cried.
"Wh-wh-wh-wh-what am I gonna do? I'm in serious trouble!"
If the stolen item were found here, the girls would probably determine that Ike was the culprit.
"We have no choice but to hide them. Now."
"Hide them? Where?! We can't hide them!"
"Put them inside your underwear or something, or just stuff them in your mouth. I'm sure Hirata wouldn't bother touching those parts," Ishizaki suggested.
The room fell silent as everyone, including the teachers, looked at him with a mix of emotions-disgust, surprise, and perhaps a hint of disbelief. Students in class C, seated next to Ishizaki, discreetly distanced themselves.
"W-what's wrong? I only spoke the truth,"
It was certainly true that we currently lacked storage options. If the girls saw us hurry to the toilet or into the tents, they'd become suspicious and demand to search that area. Most importantly, we were spending too much time in here. It wouldn't be surprising if we were already under suspicion.
"We have no other choice. You have to put it in your pocket."
That was the only advice I could give. There wasn't any time to hide the underwear anyplace else, and we didn't want to draw attention to ourselves.
The male students, especially, reacted with exaggerated disbelief, holding their heads as if witnessing a disaster. "Nooooo. If Hirata checks there too, you're as good as dead!"
"I-I can't do it! I-I'm already panicking!"
Still, hiding the underwear was our only option.
"I'll leave it to you, Ayanokouji!"
Ike removed quickly thrust the balled-up underwear into my hands.
The audience appeared bewildered by Ike's unexpected move.
"How childish, betraying the person who believed in your innocence," Sakayanagi chuckled, finding amusement in the situation.
"Well, they're Class D."
"Poor Kiyopon," remarked Haruka, adding another questionable nickname.
Miyake nodded, "I agree, Kiyotaka, this is certainly some bad luck."
"Huh?"
"If you think it's better to hide them, you can do it. Right?"
"Well, that's..."
"Hey, hurry up!" someone called.
"I'm coming now!"
Ike muttered, "I'm counting on you," and scurried off.
Yamauchi, not wanting to get dragged into it, quickly apologized and hurried away.
"They're such good friends," remarked someone.
"But can you blame them? It's human nature to prioritize oneself first," remarked a class a student philosophically.
"Although that may hold truth, it shouldn't justify leaving things unchanged just because it's in our nature!" Ichinose proudly intervened.
"Hey, are you serious?"
I broke out into a cold sweat. The longer I stayed, the worse this would get. If I'd had a minute, I'd have hidden it someplace difficult to find, but there was no time. Impulsively, I stuffed the underwear into my back pocket, took my bag, and headed back to the others.
"Sorry, sorry. My bag got a little dirty, so I cleaned it off."
With that excuse, Ike tossed over his luggage.
"Search it if you gotta. I'm innocent. Right, Yamauchi?"
"Y-yeah."
Rolling her eyes, Ichihashi remarked, "Obviously you're innocent; you handed it to Ayanokouji."
The two proudly placed their bags down. Hirata, after lightly declining the duty, inspected the inside of the bags. I also set my bag down and moved away. After everyone's luggage had been inspected, Ike called over Shinohara, who was waiting with her arms crossed.
"We searched everyone's bags. None of us did it."
"Really?"
"Yeah. There's no doubt. None of the boys are the culprit."
"Wait a moment."
Shinohara drew nearer and checked the inside of the tent. She seemed suspicious, as though we'd hidden something. Of course, there wasn't anything there. After inspecting the two tents, Shinohara went back to the girls once again and discussed the situation.
"Why do you persist in blaming the boys in your class? Isn't that enough?" remarked Manabe.
"While Shinohara-san's behavior is partially at fault, it's pretty understandable considering the girls' security is at risk here. Are you implying it's acceptable to sleep in a tent, fully aware that one of your classmates is a perpetrator who invades others' belongings, even something as personal as underwear?" Horikita bluntly countered.
"Hey, Hirata-kun. Could they have hidden it in their pockets? Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun, and even Ayanokouji-kun were whispering a little earlier. It's got me curious."
Of course we were being sneaky. The girls had demanded to check every nook and cranny.
"Jeez, enough is enough!"
Ike cried.
The girls began to attack him.
"Wasn't Ike-kun acting all suspicious earlier? Maybe he is hiding something after all?"
"Huh?! I-I'm not hiding anything! Search me if you gotta!"
He spread his arms wide as he proclaimed his innocence. Hey, Ike... If you tell them to do that, then...
"Look at this idiot falling for their cheap provocation," cried Komiya.
"He even risks implicating his friend who saved him from all his trouble," Kondou added.
"Damn, I didn't think that through. My bad, Ayanokouji," Ike admitted, not very apologetically.
"Let's search him. Hirata-kun, can you do it?"
"Okay. If it convinces the girls, fine. However, if I don't find anything, I want you to stop investigating the boys."
This was the worst possible outcome. While the girls watched Ike, Yamauchi, and me, the pat-down commenced. Of course, they wouldn't find the underwear on either Ike or Yamauchi. They kept still throughout Hirata's careful search, and he checked them thoroughly. Finally, it was my turn.
It was already too late to escape. Perhaps it was better that it was me. No, that wasn't true. There wasn't anything I could do now. Hopefully Hirata might overlook it, even if there was only a one percent chance he would. I decided to be perfectly still, like a dead fish.
"I'm sorry. It'll be over soon," Hirata said.
As Hirata inspected me, the girls, along with Yamauchi and Ike, waited for the outcome. It was noted by Hirata during the deserted island exam that despite his thorough check, Karuizawa's underwear was nowhere to be found. Speculation arose among the people-did I manage to hide it so well, or did Hirata miss it? The crowd was divided in their opinions.
Hirata, who didn't doubt me whatsoever, slowly started to search me, starting with my upper body. Then, Hirata put his hand into my back pocket, where I'd stuffed the underwear.
It was all over, wasn't it?
I resigned myself. I felt Hirata's hand touching the underwear. Well, I couldn't be completely sure Hirata was touching was the underwear, but I suspected he was touching that rolled-up piece of cloth in my pocket. Hirata's body stiffened, and he looked me in the eyes. After a brief glance, Hirata examined my jersey without taking the underwear out of my pocket. Finished, he turned back toward the girls.
"Ayanokouji-kun doesn't have them either."
The girls exchanged bewildered glances and began discussing among themselves."Eh? Hirata-kun? He didn't miss it, but rather he lied?"
I observed the confusion among the girls, especially Karuizawa, who looked at Hirata with a mix of sadness and disappointment. However, there was something in her expression that made me believe she might have anticipated this outcome. Though, it was just a gut feeling, I could be mistaken.
The girls persisted in questioning Hirata.
"Hey, hey, why did you do that, Hirata-kun?"
Hirata appeared visibly uncertain about how to respond to their inquiries, but he quickly gathered his thoughts and replied,
"That's because, I believe in Ayanokouji-kun-no, I believed no one in our class, would be the culprit."
He continued by saying,
"As you might have seen on the screen just now, having the underwear doesn't necessarily prove someone as the culprit. It could have been planted to frame them up," offering a reason that convinced a majority of the students.
However, Hirata couldn't have known for certain that they were framed when it hadn't been witnessed at that time. His reasoning was speculative, and the actual culprit could use the same rationale - claiming they were also been framed.
The only explanation that occurred to me was that he was trying to unify Class D. If news spread that a classmate had stolen someone else's underwear, it could lead to significant conflict, straining the newly formed relationships among the students.
Hirata might have been attempting to prevent such a division by deflecting blame and offering an alternative perspective to maintain harmony within the class.
"Those three didn't take them."
"That's weird... I thought for sure it was one of them. But if you say so, Hirata-kun..."
If the overwhelmingly honest Hirata said something, Shinohara had no choice but to believe him.
This shows the power of trust and influence. By playing your cards right, avoiding deceit, and maintaining an appearance of honesty, when a situation demands a strategic lie, it becomes as convincing as the truth.
"It should be fine once I tidy up the luggage. We can discuss it more after."
After the inspection had come to an end, I hurried back inside the tent. Hirata followed me.
"Hirata. Why didn't you tell them?" I asked, straight out.
"That was the underwear in your pocket, right?"
"Yeah."
"Did you...take Karuizawa's underwear, Ayanokouji-kun?"
"No. I didn't."
How would this fine young man respond to my denial?
Beppu commented, "I expected him to react strongly, to be honest. Sometimes people get overly protective, especially in situations involving their girlfriend. But Hirata-kun handled everything calmly and normally."
"I believe you. You're not that kind of person. But why did you have them in your pocket?"
"He protected him but it looks like he's still somewhat suspicious of Ayanokouji," commented a student in class C.
"Naturally, if you found your girlfriend's undergarments in your classmate's pocket and they deny it, suspicion is inevitable, even for someone like Ichinose."
There was no way I couldn't tell him the truth after he said that he believed me. I told him they came from Ike's bag. Hirata looked momentarily lost in thought.
"I see. So it definitely wasn't you. But I don't think Ike-kun or Yamauchi-kun did it, either. If they were the culprits, they probably wouldn't put the underwear in their own bags. They would have hidden it in another place."
Hirata's usual quick-wittedness had saved me. I didn't need to go to the bother of trying to explain.
"If it's all right with you, may I hold onto the underwear?" he asked.
"Sure, but...is that really all right?"
Holding the underwear was exactly like holding the Joker in a deck of cards. They were both trouble to deal with.
"So in the end, both of you decided not to reveal it to your own classmates, correct?" inquired Katsuragi.
"That pretty much sums it up, yes," Hirata affirmed.
"In the worst-case scenario, if I'm made out to be the culprit, I would take the least amount of damage. I am her boyfriend, more or less."
"You're willing to sacrifice yourself for the sake of saving your own classmate?" Karuizawa's clique looked at Hirata with eyes filled with surprise and admiration, as if his actions were straight out of a Shoujo romance manga.
After saying that, he took one of the vinyl toilet bags and put the underwear inside. I wondered if it would be painful for Karuizawa to know people were touching her underwear with their bare hands.
I didn't need to glance at Karuizawa's face at that moment to sense her simmering anger. The mere thought of others handling my own underwear made me uneasy, let alone for Karuizawa, being a girl.
"But we did find out one piece of bad news here. If the underwear came out of Ike-kun's bag, then there's a high chance that the culprit is someone in our class."
"Yeah..."
"We completely overlooked suspecting Ibuki from the other class because we thought for sure she wouldn't do that because she's a girl. Now that I think about it, that's just pretty dumb of us," Miyamoto complained.
Ibuki snorted, "It's your class's naivety and stupidity that welcomed me."
"The moment we invited her into our base, our group's safety was compromised," Sudou added, nodding in agreement with his own analysis.
This thought made students in the classes ponder, "Then how did class D manage to win the deserted island exam if they lack cooperation?" However, the answer to their questions might be revealed a bit later, so for now, all they could do was endure the uncertainty.
No matter how you looked at it, if a student from another class had been loitering around, we would've seen them. After exiting the tent, I scanned my surroundings. Our bags were individually wrapped in vinyl and placed in front of our tent. The girls' tent was a few meters away, where Karuizawa and the others slept. Until this whole incident, the girls' luggage had been piled up out front, unprotected, like ours. If you wanted to steal something, you easily could do so. I was easily able to rifle through Ibuki's bag on the first day.
"What?! You messed with my bag?!"
Ibuki shot me an accusatory glare.
My classmates, as well as the students from the other class, were now curious about why I did that. Suspicion lingered in their eyes, watching my every move and waiting for an explanation.
"Horikita's orders."
As those words left my mouth, everyone's attention, especially Ibuki's, shifted to our leader, Horikita, who in turn directed a glare at me.
Those two words seemed to work like magic. As soon as I mentioned Horikita's orders, suspicion dissolved. They believed that what I did was part of Horikita's strategy to win the deserted island exam. Successfully evading their probing questions, I diverted their focus to Horikita, becoming invisible in the process. It felt like a powerful camouflage tactic, providing a win-win situation. If not for this screening aimed at exposing my actions to entertain the student body, I might have utilized this method more frequently. There was no use regretting it now.
When had the underwear been stolen? Since there were no problems up until it was time to take a shower, the crime had happened sometime between eight o'clock last night and seven o'clock this morning. If that were the case, anyone in our class could have done it. However, I doubted that the crime had been carried out in the middle of the night. If the culprit were rifling through luggage with a flashlight, someone would have noticed.
In that case, it was very likely that the crime had been carried out around sunrise, after five o'clock in the morning. Even if I'd narrowed down the crime's timeframe, it was still difficult to narrow down the list of culprits. What if I tried changing my perspective? Say Karuizawa stole her own underwear and hid it in Ike's bag. But what reason would she have for doing that?
"Ah, Ayanokouji's analyzing things deeply again. It's like he's got a whole investigation going on in his head. How does he even come up with these ideas?"
Complained Ike.
"It's like watching a detective at work you know?"
"So assuming that the time frame on how the crime happened is between late night and early morning, unless you get to know whom among the people are awake at that time, that doesn't seem helpful in deciding who's the culprit at all," said Kanzaki, offering his thoughts.
Katsuragi nodded, "it's interesting to see how he's contemplating over various scenarios, even if they seem unlikely.
"I believe you're not the culprit, Ayanokouji-kun. That's why I saved you."
"O-oh. Thank you."
"But that's not all I want to say. I want you to help me find the real culprit, Ayanokouji-kun."
Hirata took my hand as he made his request.
"You want me to find the culprit?"
The other students in the theater wore expressions of disbelief. It seemed illogical to ask the prime suspect for assistance in uncovering the true perpetrator. Even if they trusted him, doubts lingered. It felt akin to having the suspected person investigate themselves, potentially allowing the culprit to tamper with evidence under the guise of cooperation. Hirata's intentions perplexed everyone, leaving them unsure about his true motives.
"I think people, both guys and girls, will be uneasy until the thief's found.
To be honest, it would probably be best if I found the culprit, but it looks like it'll be difficult to get everyone together..." A class star like Hirata had certain restrictions.
"I don't think it'll be easy to find someone who would hide things in Ike's bag."
Hirata should have known that finding the criminal would be difficult.
"Well, I'll do what I can. Just don't expect too much of me."
"Thank you! Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun!" said Hirata, almost hugging me and bowing his head deeply.
I understood Hirata was thankful, but felt his reaction was a bit excessive. Perhaps the underwear theft was really bothering him, in particular. As a leader, he had to respond seriously to the crisis and try to find a resolution for the class.
Inogashira chimed in, expressing joy: "We're lucky to have Hirata-kun in our class; without him, we'd be in shambles!"
Indeed, apart from Hirata's exceptional conversational and leadership abilities, he's both academically and physically talented, coupled with a strong sense of justice. He seems like the ideal leader one could aspire to be. However, what raises suspicion to me is how someone with such capabilities was assigned as a student in class D. Just like how Horikita, Kushida and I, along with everyone in the class has our own defects, Hirata certainly would have too. It likely ties to his past, but unfortunately, I lack the necessary information to uncover the reasons behind it at this moment.
"If you do happen to find the culprit, I want you to tell me first. I definitely do not want you to tell anyone else."
His ability to widen his eyes while making such a sincere appeal pretty much destroyed my ability to say no. He looked almost too calm. It was a little eerie.
"If that information becomes public knowledge, our class will suffer a huge blow. I want to avoid that. That's why I want to find a peaceful method of settling things with the culprit. If it's coming from me, I think that we'll be able to resolve the issue through talking."
"Why, Hirata-kun? Is there a specific reason? Wouldn't it be better for us to be informed so we can take precautions?"
The girls in the class started questioning Hirata's decision, realizing it was far from ordinary. Despite their admiration for him, they weren't blindly following his orders.
"I did it this way so that if the culprit happens to be one of our classmates, we can peacefully resolve the issue without dividing our class's unity. You might not see it now, but if everyone knows there's a culprit among us, suspicions might arise, making it difficult for us to work together," he clarified.
The girls in our class, reluctantly agreed with Hirata's decision, understanding that it was for the greater good of the class's unity.
"So, in other words, you're going to hide the truth?"
"Hide it? That's a poor choice of words, but there's nothing I can do about it if people take it that way. Even if one of the guys turns out to the be the culprit, I think it's better that the truth be concealed."
He focused on me. It was almost as if he meant to protect the culprit.
"Why go to such lengths to protect a classmate who might be the culprit? It seems wiser to let them face the consequences and get expelled for their actions rather than risking the class further," Kaneda spoke with a logical perspective.
Ike and Yamauchi visibly tensed.
Ichinose responded, "Even if their actions were wrong, giving them a chance might lead to positive change and better contributions in their respective fields. It's not just about logic; unity and effort matter too," she smiled.
It felt like witnessing two contrasting ideals clash: one emphasizing logical reasoning while the other leaned on personal feelings. Which approach is more effective depends on one's perspective and values.
"I understand. I'll report to you first. Is that good?"
"Thank you. Well then, I'll be getting back to work."
Upon exiting the tent, Hirata called out to the other students. I saw multiple silhouettes on the other side of the sheet begin to recede.
"Hirata Yousuke. Are you Class D's hero?"
"Fufu, I understand your confusion," replied the girl with lilac hair, holding a cane. "Most people we encounter every day have different agendas, whether their actions are good or not. Humans usually act based on their self-interest, similar to Kushida-san, for instance. However, there are indeed individuals like Ichinose-san and Hirata-kun who act out of goodwill even when they have nothing personal to gain," she explained.
There was one contradiction in Hirata's story. Right after he said he believed in me, he immediately said the truth ought to be concealed even if the culprit was one of the guys. In other words, even if someone had the underwear, we'd hide it from the girls.
Hirata didn't have complete trust in me. He probably assumed there was a high chance I was the culprit. That was only natural, of course.
From an outsider's perspective, I was the one holding the underwear, and I'd offered up Ike's name as the culprit. Hirata assigned me, a potential suspect, the role of detective to offer me a lifeline. At the same time, he'd issued a warning not to commit the offense a second time.
Thinking this way, I was able to get a grasp on the story. I was certain that he just wanted to cover up the truth. I had also tentatively considered that Hirata might be the culprit, but...well, I supposed we would know soon enough.
The video fades black.
The video ended, still the girls in my class still haven't apologize to the guys in our class, I kind of foresee it anyway.
"You really have read me fully there just like a book Ayanokouji-kun" said Hirata-kun in admiration, his words devoid of any hostility, this is just how he truly feels.
"And no, Ayanokouji-kun, I'm not doing this because I'm acting as class D's hero nor I call myself as a good person..."
His eyes met mine.
"I'm just everyone's ally"
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