24 Chapter: 2.75

Further away, two tents were set up next to each other. Shinohara and the girls had decided that they would occupy both tents. In other words, that meant that the boys would have to completely rough it by sleeping out in the open. The majority of our classmates had likely never slept outdoors before in their lives. Fortunately, because it was summer, I didn't think we'd catch a cold, but we were definitely going to have a hard time.

Getting mosquito bites on our arms and legs was bound to become annoying, and once night fell our visibility would get worse. The grass was crawling with all kinds of unfamiliar insects, which was just creepy. Being a city kid myself, I was pretty disgusted, and spending an entire week sleeping rough seemed impossible. That said, people like Ike, who absolutely opposed spending points as much as possible, were moving to take action.

Several boys tried using pulled grass as a substitute for bedsheets, and talked about whether or not they could cut down some trees. It was nice that they were trying to figure things out; I just prayed that they wouldn't do anything unreasonable. Hirata came over to us after setting up the girls' tents, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Excuse me, Ayanokouji-kun? Can I talk to you for a minute? I have something I wanted to ask."

He appeared sheepish and apologetic.

"It's going to get scary tonight with just a flashlight. Whether we use points or not, securing some light is necessary. However, I can't force you to agree, Ayanokouji-kun."

It was certainly true that I'd rather not go through the night without any source of illumination. It'd make going to the toilet a nightmare. When I asked what we should do, Hirata thought about it, and then answered.

"We could make a bonfire. I was hoping you'd collect branches." Apparently I'd been singled out as the most qualified guy for this task,

somehow.

"Well. I'll pick up ones that look good."

"Thank you! Ah, but, it's dangerous to do it alone. I think you should invite someone else to come along."

Fair point. I set out to look for a partner. Horikita was standing completely still, gazing up at the sky. She must have noticed that I was looking at her, because she came over.

"You're normally incredibly uncooperative, but you're being rather generous by going along with his favor," she said.

"Didn't you just ask me for a favor, too? Besides, this is just something to help Hirata. The work isn't really a big deal or anything. Just picking up branches."

Some of the students voluntarily acted to help the class. One's position within the caste system changed depending on whether or not you took initiative.

"For someone like Hirata, who's positioned as the center of the class, to rely upon you is kind of pathetic."

"Class D's real leaders are Hirata and Karuizawa, for better or worse.

No one else has their ability to rally others. No one else is as qualified."

Horikita appeared quite serious. She certainly had the competence and skills to rally the class. However, her charisma and leadership were sorely lacking, to the extent that I didn't even think those two qualities existed within her. Kushida probably couldn't stand all the harsh words that erupted when the class got into an argument, but she said she'd do her best. Even now, she was probably off somewhere putting forth all her effort into whatever she was doing.

"So how about working as Hirata's assistant? For yourself, rather than for the class."

"Me, his assistant? Don't joke around. I'd rather dance with a mongoose."

"Dance with a mongoose?"

Whatever that expression meant, it was probably an insult to Hirata.

No, not probably. It was definitely an insult.

"I'm joking. Well, his differences from a mongoose aside, there's nothing I can do to help. If there were a clear enemy and a goal, I might be of

use. Besides, I'm still unsure whether or not we should use points, or even to what extent we should use them."

With that, we quietly split up. Horikita went into the tent. For the time being, I needed a congenial partner who would go with me. Hunting through the available guys, I saw Sudou just staring up at the sky while standing by the river's edge. He helped Ike earlier. Maybe he'd become a reliable guy.

He'd probably help a friend in need.

"Hey, Sudou. I'm going to collect branches for a bonfire. Want to come?"

"Huh? If it's a hassle, I think I'll pass."

He looked as if he had no intention of helping. But since I wasn't going to find anyone else, I persisted.

"Probably won't be a hassle. I'm just going to collect them from nearby."

"That sounds exactly like a hassle. Sorry. I'm gonna go swimming." Sudou stood, grabbed the bag next to him, and headed for the water.

"Well. Guess that's that."

I saw Yamauchi chatting up some girls near the tents, and decided to try again.

"Hey, I'm going to get some branches for a bonfire. Could you help

me?"

"Eh, sounds like work. Look, I found a good spot with Kanji, right?

We're pretty beat. Sorry, but I gotta pass." "I see. Got it."

There was nothing I could say to that. Well, I was in trouble. All of my possibilities had been shot down. Horikita wasn't exactly in any state to help right now, and Kushida was off somewhere with the girls' team.

"Guess I'm alone in the end, huh?"

Yamauchi continued happily chatting with the girls, and didn't show any support. Just as I resolved to head into the forest by myself, Sakura stepped forward, like she'd been waiting for her chance.

"Um… I-Is it okay if I…go with you?"

Apparently she'd been listening to my conversation.

"Huh? Oh, I'm really grateful, but are you sure? I mean, you look pretty tired. Maybe it would be better for you to rest."

Sakura had already searched the woods with me. I didn't want to force

her.

"I'm okay. Besides, if I stay here, well…it'll be…a little

uncomfortable."

She glanced at the other girls. If Sakura was anything like me, she probably had a really hard time engaging with others.

"Okay, let's go."

Because Kouenji wasn't with us, I could match Sakura's pace. "Hey!"

Just as we were heading into the forest, Yamauchi called out and

rushed toward us.

"I'll help you after all!" Apparently he'd changed his mind. "Uh. Are you sure?"

"Hey, come on now. I mean, you gotta help a friend in need. Right, Sakura?"

"Uh… Y-yeah."

Sakura shied away behind my back and nodded. She hadn't really ever talked with Yamauchi before. Maybe this'd be a good friend-making opportunity for her.

2.6

We decided to collect branches from nearby so we didn't stray too far from base camp. After a short walk, the three of us spread out to pick up branches.

"H-hey, Ayanokouji. I got something that I want you to keep just between us," Yamauchi whispered. He was standing close to me, a few branches in hand.

"I think…I'm gonna go for Sakura." "Huh?"

"I mean, don't you think Kushida-chan's out of my league? Her

communication skills are top-notch. I'm thinking of giving up on her as my main target. Compared to Kushida, it's like, Sakura's just not good with people, or like, she doesn't know how to deal with guys, you know? To be perfectly honest, I was thinking about seeing how far I could go on this trip. I think she might fall for a guy who's gentle and attentive. I mean, until I at least get a kiss or something. Yeah, seriously. I think Sakura's fine. No, Sakura's great."

"Great? You haven't hung around Sakura before now. Isn't this really sudden?"

"Nah, man. Like, I actually regret not seeing it before, you know?

She's plain, so she didn't catch my eye at first, but she's actually super cute. And an idol? Plus, her boobs are incredible. Even when she changes into jerseys, you can still see 'em. I can't help noticing."

He started rubbing his hands together and chuckling.

Apparently this explained his sudden interest in helping. Sakura was being treated as a backup plan after he gave up on his favorite, Kushida. I couldn't imagine Sakura would be pleased to hear that. I'd hoped that maybe Yamauchi had come to like Sakura for real.

"So please, help me out. For example, leave me alone with Sakura for a while."

"I wouldn't say that counts as helping you…"

"What? Wait, you're not after Sakura too, are you? Those boobies!"

Why did so many guys look at things in such simplistic, nasty way? It's not that I didn't understand his desires. I mean, woman's breasts were attractive, and there was a biological explanation for why guys liked them.

Normally, I wouldn't mind helping him out. But Sakura wasn't like Kushida. She was unused to dealing with guys. It would've been a different story if he'd wanted to become her friend, but I couldn't leave her alone with some guy who only wanted to get into her pants. Besides, if Yamauchi got carried away, Sakura wouldn't know how to resist.

"Give it up for now. I'll help you when you get to know Sakura better.

Besides, I'd like to go back and start the bonfire while it's still early. All right?"

Yamauchi slumped his shoulders in disappointment, but his spirits recovered immediately.

"Jeez, you're stiff. Well, fine. You have Horikita anyway, Ayanokouji.

You don't have to worry, right?" Since when did I have Horikita?

"Come on, just start picking up branches. I'll head over here."

With that, he shoved his branches at me. I dropped a few, and they rolled across the ground. Honestly, I still felt a little bad for Sakura. Between our hike today and this foraging expedition, she was probably sick of spending so much time with me, but she wasn't the type to voice such a thing. In the end, Sakura seemed wary of both Yamauchi and me, working in almost total silence.

"Isn't this enough? This is probably good," Yamauchi said.

It was certainly true that we had enough for a full day. We finished up and headed back to the camp site.

"Hey, hey, Sakura. Do you want me to help you carry that? It's gotta be tough for a girl. You might hurt yourself."

Yamauchi must've planned to ask her that from the very beginning, even though she was carrying only about half the amount I was. I supposed he wanted to play the role of a caring and attentive guy. I wondered if Yamauchi's kindness would stand out, especially in comparison to me.

"I-I'm fine… Ayanokouji-kun is carrying a lot, though. I'd like you to help him."

"Oooh! Sakura, you're so kind! Jeez, aren't you being greedy, Ayanokouji, carrying that much by yourself? Here, I'll take half, hand 'em over."

With that, he grabbed about half of the amount he'd thrust toward me earlier. Despite Sakura's refusal, it looked like this was part of his strategy to win her with kindness. Yamauchi, looking satisfied, walked off in high spirits. As we walked, something appeared on the path ahead.

A lone girl sat with her back up against a large tree. She wasn't a Class D student. When she noticed us, she looked up and then quickly averted her eyes. Since she was from another class, it'd be fine for us to leave her alone, but the state she was in suggested that this was no trivial matter.

There was a red, swollen mark on her cheek. Someone had hit her pretty hard. When Yamauchi started to pass the girl, I grabbed him by the shoulder.

"What?"

"Oh, uh…sorry. It's nothing."

I was going to say something, but he finally noticed the girl. "Hey. What's the matter? Are you okay?" Yamauchi called. "Just leave me alone. It's nothing."

"Doesn't look that way. Who did this to you? Should I call a teacher?"

Considering the swelling, it was easy to see that she was in a fair amount of pain.

"Just a class dispute. Don't worry about it," answered the girl, laughing in self-deprecation. Her voice was low and even, but it was clear she wasn't feeling well. She seemed rather shaken.

"So, what are you going to do? We just can't leave you here."

This was not our school campus. We were surrounded by jungle on all sides. In a couple hours, the sun would begin to set. If she were out here alone in the dark, it could be disastrous.

"We're Class D students. Why not come to our base camp?"

Yamauchi turned to Sakura and me for approval. We nodded in agreement.

"Huh? What are you saying? There's no way I could do something like

that."

"Well, I mean, wouldn't you say it's only natural to help someone in

trouble?"

She seemed to not want to listen to us. She turned away and fell silent. In most situations it would've been easy to leave her, but we couldn't leave an injured girl in a place like this.

"I'm from Class C. In other words, I'm your enemy. You understand that, right?"

That wasn't any reason not to help. "But we just can't leave you. Right?"

Both Sakura and I nodded. Still, the girl didn't seem to want to move.

Since we were students at the same school, it seemed natural and right for us to help each other. Whether or not it was the right thing to do in this special test was another question entirely.

"We can't leave you, so we're going to stay here until you move."

Yamauchi was resolved. In that case, we had to wait on standby. The girl didn't want to speak to us; she probably thought we wanted to trick her.

"Besides, the forest is all humid and muggy. The heat's really intense.

Sakura, you're hot, aren't you?"

"Well, I'm actually… I'm okay."

Though standing here could be quite boring, this was a dream come true from Yamauchi's point of view. He could spend time together with Sakura until this other girl gave in. Yamauchi spent his time meaningfully, peppering both the girl and Sakura with a ton of questions. After about ten minutes, the girl lost her patience.

"You guys are really stupid. You're not acting logically. You aren't thinking about your own class."

"Well, it's just that we can't leave a girl alone when she's in trouble."

Yamauchi gave a thumbs-up. Sakura's impression of him was probably improving, though she didn't seem to pay attention to Yamauchi's great efforts. She just gazed at the forest and the sky. For a shy girl like Sakura, this unexpected situation was likely uncomfortable.

"But is that really okay? To tell me where your base camp is, and moreover, to guide me there?"

"Huh? Is that wrong?"

Yamauchi didn't understand what the girl was saying.

"I can't believe what an incredible idiot you are! Seriously, I can't believe it," said the girl, looking shocked.

Yamauchi was taken aback. If you knew the location of someone's campsite, you could start to get a read on how they planned to conduct themselves throughout the test. You could get into their heads and anticipate their strategies. In Class D's case, announcing our spot was a reason to be concerned. But I spoke up.

"Don't worry. I don't think it'll be a problem," I said.

"Right? Yeah, there shouldn't be a problem. My name's Yamauchi Haruki. Nice to meet you!"

"Well, you seem like you're a good guy. But you're an idiot." The girl appeared shocked by Yamauchi's self-introduction. "I'm…Ibuki," she said in a clear voice.

She lightly caressed her red, swollen cheek. It must've been painful.

She didn't look us in the eyes as she spoke. Maybe she wasn't good at social contact or something. I noticed a small amount of dirt under Ibuki's nails. If you looked to where she'd been sitting, you could see disturbances in the soil.

"Whoa, so do girls, like, slap each other across the cheek when they fight or something?"

"That's not your concern. Leave me alone."

Despite her words, it wasn't like we could do that, considering her obvious pain. She seemed to be dealing with it, but her agony occasionally registered on her face as she stroked her cheek. Ibuki slung a bag over her shoulder, wincing at her burden. Upon seeing that, Yamauchi's eyes lit up.

"Well, at least let me take your bag for you. Huh? Huh?"

Yamauchi wanted to display his manliness in front of Sakura by any means necessary, so he once again thrust his branches over to me to hold. How gentlemanly.

"It's fine. H-hey, it's fine. Knock it off!"

She flatly refused to let Yamauchi carry her bag, perhaps because she didn't want to rely on us. She let go of the bag, which fell and struck a tree, making a dull thud sound. The awkwardness increased as Yamauchi frantically apologized.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do anything bad. I apologize."

"It's fine. It's just that I still don't trust you guys. You understand?"

Ibuki, with nothing further to say, fell silent. Yamauchi gave up and started walking. If he wasn't going to carry the bag, then he could've carried those branches. They poked me thoroughly on the way back to base camp.

2.7

We gathered up the branches and returned to camp. Being from a different class, Ibuki didn't want to cause any trouble, so she sat further away. It would've been impossible for her to blend in, so we appreciated her honesty. If she stayed within our sight, she probably wouldn't cause trouble. Hirata was gone, unfortunately. That meant Yamauchi, Sakura, and I had to get the bonfire going. We wouldn't be able to get a fire going in the dark, so we had to hurry.

"Leave it to me. I'll show you an easy way."

Yamauchi produced a matchbox he'd received from Hirata, and crouched before the stacked branches. He took one match, and quickly scratched the tip against the rough strip. We heard repeated scratching sounds, like "tch", but the match didn't light.

"Damn, this is pretty hard…"

Sakura stood next to him and watched. Yamauchi tried to look cool, but for someone unused to matches, it probably wasn't easy. Still, he struck the match over and over, until suddenly it lit.

"Oh, oh, there! Got it!"

Finally. In a panic, Yamauchi brought the match down to the bundle of sticks. But only light smoke came out, and after waiting a really long time it didn't seem that the fire was going to start.

"Huh?"

"Maybe we need to carefully get the fire onto the branches themselves?

Right now it seems impossible."

"Okay, I'll try that next time. Ah, jeez, that one failed too. Are these matches defective or something?"

We were having such a hard time lighting a fire with one match, we wondered whether we'd be able to light a bonfire at all. Yamauchi was getting increasingly frustrated, and began striking the matches more forcefully against the strip. As a result, he broke several.

"If I keep messing up, we're gonna be in trouble."

Three broken matchsticks lay at Yamauchi's feet. He tried to regain his composure.

"Don't worry, don't worry. It's going to be all right. We still have more."

He opened the matchbox and showed it to me. It looked light, but there were about twenty or more in there. However, at this rate we might run out before the week was through.

"All right! This time I got it for sure!"

He carefully lit the match and slowly brought it toward the branch.

Though it seemed like the fire was desperately trying its best, it didn't develop as desired. It ended up only smoldering a little, causing more smoke.

"What the hell?! What am I doing wrong? I'm going to go ask the teacher."

Yamauchi had wanted to look cool in front of Sakura, but that was over with now. He started frantically searching for Chabashira-sensei. He should have thought this through before trying it, obviously. I crouched down and jostled the branches.

"Why won't the fire start?"

Sakura crouched next to me, looking at the burned branches with a puzzled expression.

"I thought since they're wood they'd burn easily, but I guess fire is weaker than I initially imagined," I said.

She didn't seem to understand what I meant by that, so she tilted her head slightly quizzically.

"Well, when you see bonfires in movies, you typically see these large branches, right? That's why we picked these up. But maybe you can't start a fire with large branches?"

I separated the branches, snapped off a thin one, and showed it to her. "I feel like next time, we should line up branches of this size. Also, a

lot of the branches are damp."

Trying to set a fire with damp wood was the mark of an amateur. Even

if Yamauchi had used dozens of matches, the fire likely wouldn't have spread.

"It's going to require a little work on our end, but I think we should head back into the forest to get dry, thin branches, and leaves that'll burn easy."

"Huh? What are you guys doing over there?"

Ike, who'd gone for a swim, had returned just as we ran through our trial and error.

"We're in the middle of trying to start the bonfire. It's not going so well, though. We're having a tough time."

"A bonfire? Wait, these thick branches aren't going to catch on fire. You need to start with smaller branches, you know? The branches you got here are way too big. Also, a bunch of 'em are damp, too. This is no good at all!"

"Ah, but, Ayanokouji-kun…"

I interrupted Sakura as she attempted to speak up for me. "I see. If you don't mind, could you tell us what to do?"

"Jeez, guess I don't got a choice, huh? Okay, time for a brief lecture.

Wait a second, I'll go collect some good things from around here."

Ike set down his swimsuit bag and went into the forest. He returned soon after. He'd picked up a bunch of branches of different sizes, from thin to medium thickness. Also, he'd collected a bundle of dead leaves.

"I got some good branches. I think we'll be able to manage with these." With that, he picked up the matchbook that Yamauchi had set down,

and quickly set fire to the dead leaves. As the leaves kindled, he started

adding some small twigs. Then, watching the fire carefully, he gradually added in thicker branches. In the blink of an eye, the flame turned into a typical bonfire.

"And that should do it."

"That's amazing. I'm really impressed. Someone with real camping experience is on another level."

"It's just the basics. Starting a bonfire, I mean. Once you know how,

anyone can do it."

Since so few students in Class D had that kind of experience, Ike was becoming crucial to our success.

"Ah, damn it! The teacher didn't tell me a damn thing. Whoa! Hey, how'd the bonfire get going?!"

Yamauchi had returned, and was astonished to see such a splendid bonfire. Perhaps he felt frustrated that he hadn't been able to show off, because he started complaining. I decided to leave the bonfire issues to Ike and Yamauchi, and left.

"H-hey, Ayanokouji-kun… Even though you'd figured it out, was that okay? To not tell them?" Sakura asked.

"I didn't know whether I was correct or not, so it wouldn't have mattered. Besides, building up Ike and displaying his usefulness will be more helpful to the class."

Maybe I was rambling, but I just said what I was thinking. Sakura gave me a certain look, like she was moved by my words. For some reason, I felt stupidly embarrassed.

"Sorry. I'm a little tired, so I'm going to rest. Thank you, Sakura."

I went a short distance from the campsite. Chabashira-sensei, who was preparing a personal tent for herself nearby, stared in my direction. I pretended not to notice.

2.8

Once five o'clock arrived, Kushida and her group returned. Hirata had apparently joined up with Kushida's group. Since this was the return of our class' central figures, nearly half the class began to gather together.

Apparently, they'd gone out searching for food. We could see they'd been successful. From a distance, I saw little red fruits, like strawberries, and maybe tomatoes. They also seemed to have grapes and kiwis.

"Is this… Can we eat these, I wonder? I mean, that looks like fruit, but…"

The students didn't seem too confident.

"Even so, I'm really thirsty… I'm hungry, too." "I'm getting thirsty, too…"

When evening came, it was understandable that the students would start saying those kinds of things. I was one of them. As dinnertime drew near, our food and water problems were highlighted.

"Oh hey, this is bog bilberry! Did you find these, Kikyou-chan? That's amazing, y'know!"

Ike came over, checking out the fruit and telling us what was what. "Kanji-kun, do you know what this is?"

"Yeah. It's a fruit, a bog bilberry. I've eaten 'em before when I went camping in the mountains. As you can tell, they look and taste like blueberries. It's the akebia quinata. It's sweet and tasty. Oh wow, this really takes me back, man."

He was being genuine, not trying to appear cool. Everyone watched Ike with interest as he smiled, enjoying the nostalgic fruit. Shinohara bombarded Ike with questions, and he answered her directly.

"Ah. Let's see. Ah, that feels better than I thought."

Despite countless disturbances, at least we were organized with this one small thing. Even though it was only a small amount, the fact that we'd found food was a relief.

"Looks like you were able to get the bonfire going. Thanks, Ayanokouji-kun."

"You should be thanking Ike, not me."

The smoke billowed, large enough to make a good smoke signal. Ike explained, "If you can see the smoke, you'll be able to find the campsite even if you get lost, right?"

"Yeah, that's how we returned to the camp so quickly. It's all thanks to you, Kanji-kun!"

This also meant we ran the risk of other classes finding us, though. Kushida and several others realized this, and nodded in understanding. I would've thought that so much attention and respect would've given Ike a big head, but he wasn't looking for praise from Kushida. Instead, he looked at Shinohara.

"Hey, Shinohara. I spent some time thinking about how I acted today, about the toilet and stuff and how stubborn I was. I was pushy because I wanted to save points. I'm sorry."

"Wh-why are you apologizing to me all of the sudden?"

"I just remembered the first time I went camping. The toilet was awful, and of course there were bugs crawling around everywhere. Just about everything was dirty. I remember going to my parents, complaining how much I hated going to the bathroom and telling them I wanted to go home.

I'm sure it's even worse for a girl…"

Ike was amazing. He'd grasped the situation himself and handled things calmly. He had the potential to go far, unlike an ordinary person like me. It definitely took courage to say what he'd said. The courage and the apology came slowly, but Shinohara responded apologetically as well.

"I'm…sorry for earlier, too. For saying that I couldn't drink from the river. I think I got way too emotional. We won't be able to keep any of our points if we don't learn to adjust."

Even though neither of them looked the other straight in the eyes, it seemed they'd made up. Perhaps Class D might end up with points after all. The other students probably took this as a good sign. Hirata, determined not to let this opportunity pass, raised his hand and gathered everyone's attention.

"Everyone, I have an announcement. This special test is a first for all of us. I understand you're confused. Also, everyone sees things their own way, so it's only natural that there'll be some disputes. However, I want us all to push forward and trust in each other until the very end, without panicking."

Hirata spoke those words clearly. After composing himself, he continued.

"After all, everyone here wants to end up with at least one point, right? Therefore, I tried to come up with a number that we can realistically aim for. By the end of the test, we could have 120 points or more left over. That's what Class D is fighting for."

"In other words, you plan on using 180 points? I'm not sure I agree, Hirata."

Yukimura glared as if using more than half of our points were an unforgivable crime. Hirata, sensing the potential danger ahead, placed the manual on the ground and explained.

"I'd like you to listen to everything I have to say. First, let's suppose that we're going to use points for all our meals. If we try to spend the least amount possible, that means purchasing the nutritious meal and mineral water sets."

The food and drinking water normally cost six points per individual unit, but as a set it only cost ten points. Ten points per meal eaten twice a day came to a daily loss of twenty points. If we ordered one meal tonight and one on the final day of the test, that came to a total of twelve meals. That would be 120 points altogether. If we managed to put up with it on the last day and skip a meal, then the deduction would equal 110 points. If we added the twenty points we spent on a temporary toilet to that, as well as the cost for two tents for the guys, which was also twenty points, then we'd have 150 points. The remaining thirty points had probably been factored in to cover any miscellaneous things we might need, bringing the estimated total to 180 points.

Everyone silently listened to Hirata's explanation.

"I understand that when you hear we'll have 120 points remaining, you probably feel that's not enough. However, we're dwelling on these 300 points too much. If you look at the results of the midterm and the final exam, then

the reason will be easy to understand, I think."

We'd received an increase in class points before vacation. Even Class A, regarded as our superior, didn't see an addition of more than 100 points. You certainly couldn't call 120 points a small number. In addition, because we could gain points depending on the number of times we were able to occupy a space, we might end up with more than 120.

"Besides, I'm talking about our lower limit for points. If we can find food and water to make it through the day, we adjust our calculations and save as many as twenty points. If we can find drinking water for the week, we'll save fifty points or more."

Hirata looked at the river as he spoke. Its value instantly increased in our eyes.

"I see… So if we can endure it, that alone would change things a great deal…"

Anyone else could have come up with this, but Hirata's tone and presentation sold it. He'd performed flawlessly. First he told us about the lower limit, and then explained that we could end up with nearly 200 points. In that way, he succeeded in motivating everyone to reach a high goal. If we did our best, we could end up with lots of points. More than that, we could greatly increase the number of points we had by making an effort.

"That's good, right, Hirata? We can earn at least 120 points. If we work hard, we can even earn additional points, right? Then we should definitely try!"

Ike, who'd thus far been the most confrontational, shouted in agreement. Sudou and Yamauchi both looked as though they agreed because they didn't really have another choice. Yukimura still appeared reluctant, but seeing Ike join with Hirata made him fold.

"Ah, that reminds me, Hirata. I wanted to check something," I said.

Because Yamauchi had forgotten to report on Ibuki, I didn't have any choice. However, our classmates continued their excited discussion, and I didn't have any chance to butt in.

"That's the fate of a popular person, I guess. Well, I'll try giving it a little time."

you."

I approached Ibuki, who'd been watching from further away. "Sorry. Can you wait a little longer? I'm going to talk to him about

"You don't need to force yourself. I'd probably end up just getting in

the way."

Ibuki pulled up a handful of grass, looking pissed. "After all, they'll chase me out anyway. Am I wrong?" "I don't know. Hirata is an exceptionally good guy."

I couldn't imagine that Hirata would kick her out if he knew about her situation.

"Oh, I never introduced myself before. My name's Ayanokouji." "So, should I introduce myself once more then?"

"Nah. You're Ibuki, from Class C. I remember."

We faced each other through the introductions, but Ibuki wouldn't look me in the eyes.

"For future reference, can everyone here who's okay with drinking river water please raise your hand?" Ike asked.

The discussion moved on to the next topic, leaving Ibuki and Class C behind. Ike wasn't forcing anyone to drink the water, but he did want to see what everyone's opinions were. Of course, he took the initiative and raised his hand in support of the river. Nearly half of the guys raised their hands in apparent agreement. Shinohara looked a little perplexed, but Ike gently told her that she didn't have to force herself.

"I-I want to do my best, but…I'm a little scared, I think."

"If it's about what Sudou said about boiling water, it's really not that bad. If you're scared of drinking it directly, how about we try it out first?"

A few more students agreed. Gradually, a matter that had once been strongly rejected was now edging toward acceptance. Shinohara still appeared fearful, but raised her hand.

"I don't know if I can drink it, but…I'm up for the challenge."

"I agree. If the first person who tries can drink it, then it should be

fine."

Other students looked amenable to that, and then Kushida followed suit

and raised her own hand. Perhaps she was trying to influence the group? Soon everyone had their hands raised except for Horikita and me. Everyone stared at us, and we slowly raised our hands as well. However, it was still difficult for people to start drinking from the river. In order to have some emergency supplies, we had decided to buy some water, just in case.

"I have a request, Ike-kun. I want you to lend me your talents from here on out. It looks like you're the only one with camping experience here. Can you help me out?" Hirata asked.

"W-well, I guess if you ask, I gotta cooperate." "Thank you!"

Hirata practically jumped for joy at Ike's curt reply. Shinohara, who'd

complained the most before, didn't object. Hirata started gathering opinions about food.

"Well, it'll be dark soon, so for now all we can do is order food.

However, I ask you to think a little about tomorrow onward. There might be various foodstuffs nearby, so I wanted to explore."

"What do you mean, nearby? Do you mean other than where Kushida- san and the others found the fruit?"

"Yeah. The river. It'd be great if we can catch and eat fish. It looks like there are quite a few freshwater fish in there. We'd be able to limit our point spending to some extent. Also, catching fish and cooking them over the bonfire sounds really tasty."

"Well, putting aside whether or not they'd be tasty, how do you plan on catching fish?"

"I'll dive in the water. I haven't done it before, though."

Ike made a swimming motion, but it probably wouldn't be easy to catch fish by skin diving.

"Even though it might sound impossible to catch a fish with your bare hands, there are lots of tools," said Hirata, pointing to an entry in the manual. "Fishing rods." They had a variety, too.

"It's one point for fishing rods with bait, and two points for fishing rods with lures."

It wouldn't be difficult to recover the cost. It might even be a big win for us, if we could earn food for one or two days by spending just one point. And even if we didn't happen to catch anything, the cost was so minimal that it couldn't really hurt us. There were no objections.

"Well, I guess it's decided. Let's get ourselves a fishing rod and catch some fish! Of course, we'll go with the cheaper one."

And so we settled on our goal of catching fish from the river and foraging for berries in the forest. If we were successful, we'd decide whether or not to purchase a set of cooking utensils for an additional five points. Also, we decided to spend another twenty points to install one shower. We expected opposition, but our health might worsen if we only used cold water. The guys were only allowed to use the shower in the middle of the night, though. All of the girls seemed to agree that they'd drink water from the river. So, with the opposition convinced, the motion passed.

"By the way… That girl, Ibuki-san from Class C? I've seen her before."

A girl named Satou, who had finally noticed the interloper, eyed Ibuki with suspicion. Ibuki continued to quietly sit far away. Apparently there was no need for me to break the ice.

"Well, it sounds like there's been some kind of trouble in her class…" Yamauchi, a little flustered, explained why Ibuki seemed to have been isolated from her classmates.

"I see. Your judgment was correct. We can't just leave her."

"But, Hirata-kun… Couldn't she be a spy? I mean, if she can spot the leader…" Yamauchi asked, hands over his head for attention.

"Ah, that's right. I suppose it's possible. I'll check on it. Is that okay, Yamauchi-kun? Ayanokouji-kun?"

Hirata headed over to Ibuki. Had he excluded Sakura because of his pretty-boy thoughtfulness? Sakura seemed relieved to not be noticed.

"Do you have a moment, Ibuki-san? I wanted to talk to you," Hirata

said.

"I'm probably just getting in the way. You've already taken good care of me."

She quickly stood, as if she wanted to run.

"Wait a minute. I wanted to ask what happened. I want to help."

She stopped at Hirata's words. After seeing her swollen face, Hirata had likely surmised that the issue wasn't trivial.

"Nothing will change if I stay. I don't want to waste time just sitting around."

"This is a test, so of course some students will doubt you. However, you're hurt. I don't want to chase you away if you can't go back to your own class. I think that's why Yamauchi-kun brought you here. So, tell me about your situation."

"This isn't something I can just talk about. Besides, I've heard all your plans. You'd hate it if more of your strategies were leaked, right?"

Ibuki started walking away. Hirata stopped her in her tracks.

"If you really were a spy, you wouldn't want to be chased out, would you? Am I wrong?"

"Enough. I'm just looking for a place to sleep."

As I expected, she wasn't going to return to Class C. The sun was setting, and it'd be night soon.

"It's crazy for a girl to sleep alone in the woods."

"Even if it's crazy, I don't have a choice. Helping me won't gain you anything."

"This has nothing to do with losses or gains. We can't just leave someone in trouble. We all think so."

Her expression cleared, and she turned toward us without hesitation. Something like that was designed to melt even the toughest exterior. Ibuki seemed to believe Hirata, and it gave her confidence.

"I had a fight with a boy in my class. He hit me and chased me away.

That's all."

"That's horrible. Raising a hand against a girl, I mean."

I hadn't expected it, either. I'd thought for sure she'd been in a fight with another girl.

"I won't say anything more on the subject. I didn't think you'd take me in and give me shelter, anyway. See you."

"Wait. I understand that you're really in trouble. Please give me a little time. If you can do that, I'll tell the other students about your situation and see if we can find a place for you. Ayanokouji-kun, can you watch Ibuki-san? I'm going to go talk to everyone."

Hirata left us and returned to the group. I wondered if Hirata had left me with her because he trusted me, or at least trusted me more than Yamauchi. I was a little curious.

"He's seriously a good-natured guy, isn't he?" Ibuki asked.

"I think everyone here is, more or less. Are there not people like that in your class?"

"Not at all… There isn't really anyone in Class C like that."

Ibuki sat down, bunched her knees against her chest, and lowered her head. Thanks to Hirata's persuasiveness, Class D agreed to look after Ibuki. Though some students were strongly opposed, every time Class C held roll call, they'd hemorrhage points. Once everyone saw it as an opportunity, they were finally convinced. Hirata's intentions had been pure, but the same wasn't true for others. The incentive of potential profit motivated them to take the chance.

However, maintaining exclusive possession of this place was an extremely delicate issue. We explained to Ibuki, and she promised not to wander near the device. If anyone realized that Horikita was the leader, the damage we'd suffer would be great. After that, we decided to purchase the necessary food and water sets for tonight, along with the guys' tents. Thanks to Hirata and Ike, the tents were set up smoothly. Just before the sun set, we finished all of our preparations, and the students began eating their meals.

"Hey, Ibuki-san. Eat this."

Kushida approached Ibuki, who'd been quietly sitting some distance away by herself. Kushida offered her one of the nutritious meal seats and a bottle of water.

"What? Why are you giving me this?" "Well, you're probably hungry, right?"

"Food is provided based on class numbers. There shouldn't be any spare sets left."

"Yeah. But don't worry, we decided to share everything with our group."

Further away, the four other people from Kushida's group waved and smiled at Ibuki. In other words, four people had shared three portions of food and water, and the leftover portion went to Ibuki.

"Are you guys stupid? You're all being way too nice."

"Don't be shy. Eat up. Let's talk later, okay? I'll be waiting in the

tent."

With that, Kushida returned to her group. It had seemed easy to help a

girl from another class until we had to reduce our own food portions. Then it wasn't so simple. But Kushida, who wished for everyone's happiness, had charity to spare.

"Wow, when you look at them like this, the girls' groups are kind of remarkable."

Yamauchi, in the middle of eating, pointed to each group individually. "There's the Empress Team, led by Karuizawa. Then there's Kushida-

chan's Friendship Team and Shinohara's Arrogant Team. Then you have Horikita and Sakura, who are by themselves."

All of the guys huddled relatively close together as they ate, but the girls sat in their individual teams. There was a clear wall between them, like they were groups from other classes. Maybe Kushida's team was the most neutral of all of them, or just held a lot of influence?

"Poor Sakura, all alone. I wonder if I should eat with her," Yamauchi

said.

"You're probably better off giving up, don't you think? You'd just

scare her."

"Damn. I want to get to know her better, but she's way too introverted…"

In addition to being shy, Sakura probably found it difficult to deal with pushy types like Yamauchi. Despite being warned, Yamauchi seemed impatient to go over to her.

"What the hell, Haruki? That's no fair, stalking a lone beautiful woman like that. Come on, let me join in!"

Ike, seeing Yamauchi's glances, misunderstood and approached him. "I have to say, Sakura's breasts are really something else. You don't

often see breasts that big on a first-year high school student. Her clothes are just bulging. She's way too sexy. Her boobs alone make her even more attractive than Kikyou-chan."

Ike stared intently at Sakura's breasts, like he wanted to devour them.

Yamauchi blocked Ike's line of sight. "Hey, what the hell, dude?"

"Don't just look at Sakura like a pervert. Besides, you're aiming for Kushida-san, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah. But it's all right, isn't it? I mean, an idol belongs to everyone, right? Haruki, could you be… Ooh, are you Sakura's—"

"I-It's not like that. Come on, let's eat."

Apparently Yamauchi wanted to hide the fact that he was changing targets and going after Sakura. Besides, it was night, with nothing left to do. It was only natural that the flow of the conversation would lead to the opposite sex. I noticed Hirata nearby, distributing food.

"Come to think of it, where's Kouenji-kun?"

Everyone had gathered, but it looked like Kouenji was absent.

"Oh, Kouenji complained about being in poor physical condition and returned to the ship. Of course, that means that you've had thirty points deducted. Those are the rules, so there's nothing to be done. Kouenji has retired, and he's obligated to stay onboard the ship for one week for medical treatment," said Chabashira-sensei.

"Whaaaaat?!"

Screams sounded throughout the night.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me! Kouenji, you jerk! What the hell

were you thinking?!" The normally silent Yukimura shouted and kicked the ground. I knew Kouenji was a free spirit, but I never imagined he would just up and retire. Maybe he didn't care about reaching Class A. If it made his life easier, losing thirty points didn't matter at all.

"Goddamn it! We lost thirty points! This sucks!"

Both the boys and girls were furious over Kouenji's actions, but could do nothing about it. Kouenji's loud, haughty laughter reverberated in our minds.