Unprepared

"I don't mind helping you get up to Class A. However, I have one condition. Do not investigate me. If you promise me not to touch on this subject ever again, I will help you.you."Horikita took my hand without hesitation."If you don't want to talk, there's nothing I can really do about that. If you'll help, I have no reason to refuse. I'm not interested in digging things up that are better left buried. After all, you dislike trouble."Horikita's handshake was firm. I work for me. You do things for yourself. The battle to raise our class from the very bottom was about to begin.I then went straight to my room, where both Hirata and Yukimura were still asleep, and I'm confident it was with me when I went to sleep, so the only logical conclusion I can come to is that it either fell somewhere I couldn't reach or someone stole it. The former is unlikely because I put it in a safe place before going to sleep, while the latter is unlikely because of the security cameras being placed around the room.'So why can't I find my student ID card'Our points were loaded into our student ID cards; they acted as credit cards that gave us access to any facility on campus and the ability to the ability to purchase goods.Hirata displayed how much he trusts his classmates and values class unity with his peaceful resolution to the underwear fiasco, eliminating him as a suspect. He didn't give me the impression of being two-faced at all, making Yukimura the next suspect, as Kouenji wasn't even worth suspecting, but Yukimura seemed pragmatic enough with the whole toilet debacle on the island, so he wouldn't do this out of his own volition.Meaning that someone must have hired him. The number of people who have something against me in this school extends to the class C guys from Sudo's trial or even the class C leader, who may be trying to weaken Horikita, who supposedly outsmarted him, through the people she interacts with.'Ishizaki', 'Komiya', and 'kondo' were minor suspects given their status as lackeys, with Ryuuen being the major suspect.Even if there was very little for me to lose, seeing as I can just get another one when we're back at school and I wasn't really planning on spending points anyway, the presence of a traitor in the room was likely to be troublesome for me and painful for Hirata, who hated the very idea of suspecting a classmate.So the best thing I can do is grit my teeth and bare them until I get back to school.Deciding to relax I take out my phone, only to notice an app that was clearly not there before. before. (Insert pic in replies)In summary, it seemed to be a digitalized student ID with our points and data recorded similar to the app we previously used to check our points but combined with our student ID cards. You would think the school would announce such a drastic change when we were back in a classroom, but I guess this explains my lack of physical cards; the school must have had workers take them when we were asleep.Which still doesn't make sense...Before the island exam, we were forced to hand in personal possessions, so having workers search us when we were asleep would be illogical and cause multiple student complaints in regards to privacy.Nothing is adding up; the likelihood of this being a part of a new exam implies that it would be an exam heavily reliant on technology. I'd have to gather a lot more information from my classmates before coming to any definite conclusions.Deciding to go through my mail, I noticed several odd messages from a while back.Ike: I'm sorry, Ayonokouji, but the battle is lost.There were also some from Sotomura, Yamauchi, and Sudou, alluding to failure to obtain something at the pool. It was most likely something perverted, given the last time Ike sent me a picture alluding to something I didn't understand. They couldn't have mentioned the pool on the yacht since the mail dates back too long, but that would imply it was the school pool, a place I have never been to since it was always reserved for the swim club.My ability to memorise hasn't failed me so far, so why is it failing me now? Right when I need it the most. What else did I forget? Deciding to scroll through my sent mail, I stumble upon even more inconsistencies in a photo I sent to Horikita.(Insert pic in replies)I don't remember even owning the clothes I'm wearing, let alone the sight of Horikita being caught in a group photo. Such a momentous occasion was sure to ingrain itself within my mind given my attempts to make her work with others more.First, my ID card, and now an event that hasn't occurred—just what was happening? This entire trip has turned out to be a big mess of things I never expected. Chabashira made me promise to help class A by telling me that man has made a move. I still have doubts, but they could be confirmed much later given the present situation. At the very least, Chabashira sensei's increasing desperation to reach class A could be better predicted if I had paid more attention to her, but these recent surprises came completely out of nowhere."Oh, you're awake, Ayonokouji," said Hirata, apparently wanting to talk to me. "Are you okay? You seem a little confused. It's really weird.""weird?" I'm sure I've appeared confused in front of Hirata before when giving my class introduction and not knowing what to say, as well as during the underwear incident when Horikita unexpectedly elected me to help with the tents."Yeah, your face usually never displays a hint of emotion; you've never even given a weak change in that facial expression.""It's certainly true that I've never seen Horikita smile before. But I've smiled, haven't I?""I've seen you with a bitter, sure, but never a genuine grin, something from the bottom of your heart."That's absolutely wrong. While I freely admit to never genuinely smiling in front of anyone, I know for certain that I've at least changed my expression to resemble a smile. If Kushida can point that out during the island exam, then Hirata should as well, given that he has a similar level of social perception to her.Hirata seemed more sheepish the more confused I got and decided to extend an arm to me. "I'm planning to hang out with Karuizawa and some friends; I'm sure you can sort out whatever problem you're having if you come back to it after a while."Despite only being able to talk to Horikita, the three idiots, Sakura, and Kushida, I was honestly satisfied with my school life not being all that bad. But Hirata wouldn't leave a person if he saw they were alone; add that to my seemingly perplexing state of confusion, and there is no way he wouldn't make the offer."I'll pass. I don't think I'm on especially good terms with Karuizawa's group."I honestly did want to interact with Karuizawa for a while now, but I had more important things to worry about. Besides, I could hardly initiate the conversation with her if all the other girls were around. Who was I to go around building friendships at this point where the relationships in class have been firmly established among the popular people? I could already imagine the disgust of the girls.Even though he didn't fully understand my fear of other people, he sat next to me optimistically. "I can understand that you're feeling hesitant. That's exactly why I want you to rely on me."It was a welcome offer under ordinary circumstances, but this was far from ordinary."Give me a day or two; the exam just finished, so we could all use some time to ourselves given we were made to camp together for a long time." This would give me time to get my bearings as well as some much-desired rest."I'll look forward to it.With that bright, optimistic smile, our class figurehead made his way out. excited to help another classmate; it was honestly amazing how much he prioritised his class.Deciding to do my own research, I make my way to leave my room while considering my options for research. Horikita was out of the question given her high temperature the last time I saw her; it would at least require 2 days to completely cool down. Making Sakura and the idiot trio the next people I can ask, Sakura would be less likely to tell anyone I'm acting strangely for not remembering whatever the pool incident was, but if it was something perverted, then Ike and the others wouldn't have let her know about it, therefore making the idiot trio the best source of information for what the pool incident was.Some food in my stomach would probably do me some good. This ship had all sorts of cuisine. Eastern or western, ancient or modern, all cuisines could be found on this ship. With that much variety, the chances of running into somebody I know would be very low."Yo! Ayonokouji over here!!"not low enough, it seems. Sighing for the hundredth time this trip, I walk towards an animatedly waving Sudo, Ike, and Yamauchi."Man, that Island test was exhausting!" exclaimed Ike with his arms extended. The guy sure didn't seem exhausted. Ike showed considerable growth during the island exam after his conflict with Shinohara and the rest of the girls. He has the Horikita beat when it comes to social interaction."We got to see how amazing Suzune was!" I blinked, not expecting Sudou to use Horikita's first name after she told him not to use it without permission at the end of the last island exam. Is my memory acting up again, or is he just being disobedient? I decided to add my own two cents."Yeah, following her orders is tiring but worth it.""Damn it! Ayonokouji, are you sure the both of you are just friends?" Growled Sudo*sigh* "WWe're just seatmates, honestly.""Really? You two were pretty chummy at the pool, and you guys even scouted the other classes together," Yamauchi proclaims.What? How does that indicate anything? No. More importantly, I should be paying attention to the useful half of the sentence."Speaking of the pool, what exactly happened at the end anyway?"*SLAM* The table shook as the idiot trio smashed their heads onto it."A TRAGEDY! A TRAGEDY I TELL YOU""THE SD CARDS WERE MISSING! How could we be so careless?" Am I imagining it, or is a dark cloud forming above their heads?From what they're saying, I can deduce they were attempting to peek at the girls changing only to find the SD cards missing. That explains Horikita's presence; she was most likely asked by me to remove them.NOnot mebut someone extremely similar to meNothing adds up; despite travelling across the ship, not a single student has complained about the sudden change in the payment method. Was this some kind of personality disorder with an alternative personality retaining the memories that I apparently lacked? No, whilst I may have suffered trauma in the past, I'm certain it didn't result in something like that. Everything was monitored in the white room, and I wouldn't have been branded a success if I was deemed a mental case.Speaking of mental cases...There is one theory—one stupidly insane theory—that goes against every cusp of logic I've relied on until now. It's definitely not Ironclad, but I can't fully dismiss it as inconceivable as I previously have. I'll have to research into a realm I never imagined I'd give an ounce of serious thought to the supernatural.