Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Shiro's POV

I laid down in Nii's bed, and snuggled up to him warmly. For some reason, his bed felt more comfortable than mine.

"Can I ask you something, Shiina?" Nii spoke as he wrapped his arm around me.

"Feel free." Shiina replied with a bright smile.

"Okay then. For what reason did you allow Ryūen to hit you? Surely even he didn't just assault you one-sidedly. You could've refused."

"Oh, I didn't allow him to. I asked him to."

"Huh?" While I couldn't see his face, I knew he looked confused right now.

"Shiina asked Ryūen to hit her..." I mumbled.

Even with my brain, that surpassed even supercomputers, I found myself unable to comprehend that.

"I did. Ryūen-san mentioned that it was unlikely that your class would accept just anybody into your camp. After seeing Kururugi-kun's altruistic display on the cruise ship, Ryūen-san decided he'd have to send someone who would appear vulnerable. That was the best way he thought to appeal to Kururugi-kun, as well as some others like Yagami-kun."

Although his methods were complicit, Ryūen was pretty good. I had to acknowledge his ability, even if I hated him as an individual.

"So, Shiina is someone who fits that bill, huh." Nii mused.

"That's right. I volunteered, but even then Ryūen refused."

"Ryūen refused?" I asked quizzically.

"Yes. In the end, the only reason he did end up hitting me was because I threatened him."

"You? Threatened him?" Nii laughed. "How did you manage that?"

"I didn't threaten him directly. I knew there was no way he'd take me seriously if I did. Therefore, I decided to threaten to wound myself in some other way instead." Shiina explained, still smiling happily.

"Oh, I get it now. Ryūen was worried that you'd do something stupid, so he decided to do the lesser of two evils and give you an injury that he could personally guarantee the severity of." Nii said, a look of understanding on his handsome features.

Ryūen was someone who would easily resort to 'evil' methods, but even he wouldn't resort to striking someone like Shiina unless forced to by a situation like this. My hatred of him lessened slightly.

"I don't understand. Why would you go so far as to sustain an injury like that? What's the point of it all?"

"I just want to be useful to my classmates," Shiina said, her dazzling smile dampening a fraction. "Even though everyone dislikes him, I can tell that Ryūen-san works harder than anyone. That's why, even if he is violent and complicit, I want to be able to help him."

Shiina's tone burned with passion towards the end. She was determined to be useful to Ryūen. In a way, she was quite similar to me.

"I see... in that case, I'll respect your resolve, and I won't hold a grudge against Ryūen for hitting such a cute angel."

I felt jealousy well up inside of me when Nii said that. I felt it every time he complimented a girl. Realistically, I'm his sister, so it's only natural that he'll start looking at girls other than me eventually, but...

"Thank you," Shiina said, her smile brightening once more.

"I'm back!" A monotone voice called out from the mouth of the cave.

There, stood a boy. Brown hair and golden eyes, an ever-expressionless face. A boy who definitely had much more layers to him than he let on.

He was shirtless, and using his shirt to carry an assortment of various berries picked from the forestry around the island. I didn't pay any attention to the fact that he was shirtless - he wasn't Nii, so it didn't bother me.

"Ryuzaki and Light still at the tower, then?" Nii waved at him.

"Yeah. Discovering Class A's leader will be a long and arduous task, not something that can be done in a mere hour."

The method that Ryuzaki chose to employ probably wasn't the most effective possible way, however it was definitely the most reliable and safest tactic.

Ayanokōji set his shirt down carefully on the floor, taking care not to spill any berries as it unravelled into more of a blanket.

"They look tasty!" Shiina exclaimed.

"Right." Ayanokōji nodded.

"Lelouch and Kururugi will be back before long, but what about Ryuzaki and Light?" Nii pondered.

"They won't be back until roll-call. We can eat without them, though. They should be able to find some berries to keep them going, and they're close to the hut which has fishing rods in it as well."

In other words, we won't be seeing much of them until they have Class A's leader. Well, until they've sufficiently narrowed it down, anyway.

"Once they have narrowed it down to a few individuals, I have a way to find out who it is. It might not work, but I think there's a higher chance that it will." Nii declared.

After knowing Nii for so long, I'd grown to understand how he thinks. Although I never could match him in deduction or scheming, I could see what kinds of ideas he'd come up with. I felt that I had a pretty good guess of what he was planning to do.

"I see... In that case, the matter of Class A is solved. We should turn our attention to one of the other classes, then." Ayanokōji didn't bother asking what Nii's plan was. Perhaps, he trusted that it would work?

"Class C's leader will most likely be the next easiest to discover. In fact, I have a pretty good idea of who it is already."

"The Class C boys that came to invite us to their camp said that we were spending our vacation idiotically. The implication is that they've committed to spending all the points they've been given on luxuries." Nii continued the train of thought.

"The penalty for dropping out of the exam is a thirty point deduction. By spending all of his points now, that penalty can be completely mitigated."

"He'll have the whole class drop out after he runs out of points. He's already bleeding thirty points per day based on missed roll-calls, which means he's probably already spent every point he had and is just waiting until he runs out of items."

"Once he runs out, he'll have all but the spies drop out. Shiina had a radio transceiver in her possession, which means that Ryūen probably has one too. He won't be able to connect to his spies using it from the ship, which means that he will likely stay on the island as well."

"That gives us a pretty solid indication that Ryūen himself is the Class C leader. Of course, we can't guess for him purely off that - but once Lelouch comes back, he will likely have noticed whether Ryūen has a walkie-talkie or not, and will be able to verify how many points he's spent." Nii finished the deductions.

"So, we're just waiting for Lelouch and Kururugi to return then." I said, grinning as I noticed Shiina's amazed expression.

Suzaku's POV

We neared the edge of the trees, and my gaze landed on a baffling sight - I never could have imagined this.

"Impossible..." I muttered, scanning my eyes over the landscape. They had installed temporary toilets and shower rooms. But they also had a tarp to protect against sunlight, a barbecue, chairs, and a parasol. They had snacks and drinks. Everything required for a good, relaxing time was here. We smelled the smoke of cooking meat, and heard laughter. Jet skis whizzed past the shoreline. Students were enjoying themselves in the ocean, screaming with joy. Based on a rough calculation, they'd likely spent 150 points or more.

"What is Ryūen planning? Does he not intend to save any points?" I asked rhetorically.

That was the sole explanation to his spectacle. If they planned to save points, then we wouldn't be seeing this right now.

"Well, no point sitting around here doing nothing." Lelouch stated, stepping out of the bushes onto the sandy beach.

We came out from the bushes and walked to the beach. One of the male students noticed us, and called out to another male student nearby. We couldn't see his face too well, since he was leaning over in his chair. One of the boys rushed over to us.

"Um, Ryuuen-san has requested your presence," he said. Judging from the timidity of his voice, he was either frightened or naturally listless.

"He's playing god here." I murmured.

"Take us there, then, servant-kun." Lelouch demanded arrogantly.

I felt some pity for the boy as we accompanied him. Treated like a slave by his own classmate, and then spoken down to by my childhood friend. As we approached the ocean, the delicious smell of cooked meat wafted by our noses.

"Looks like you weren't the only one to accept my generous invitation, Suzune."

Ryūen, tanned and clad in his swimwear, laid back in his chair. He flashed his white teeth at us. Beside him was a girl with long black hair and a scowl on her elegant features.

"This is quite the extravagant party. You mentioned that we're free to share your luxuries in your 'generous invitation,' right?" Lelouch said as we neared his chair.

"Don't tell me that you're just going to ignore this... this?!" Horikita shot at Lelouch as we stood next to her around Ryūen's chair.

"There's no need to be so feisty, Horikita-chan."

"Don't call me that." Horikita gave him an icy glare that sent shivers down my spine.

I was glad that I wasn't in Lelouch's shoes, even if I knew I was in no real danger.

"Suzune doesn't seem to understand that this is a summer vacation, Lelouch. Isn't it pitiable?" Ryūen asked, sincerity in his tone.

"Yeah, it must be quite depressing to be incapable of understanding that much." Lelouch replied, his voice filled with sympathy.

"This is a test. You two idiots are the ones that don't get it. Do you not understand the rules?" She said angrily, raising her voice.

Ryuuen didn't seem happy being told about his apparent ineptitude.

Actually, he looked disappointed. "I'm shocked. Does that mean you're offering help even to an enemy like me?"

"If the person on top is incompetent, those below him will suffer. This is pitiful," Horikita said.

"I can't imagine what your class is like, then." Lelouch mocked smugly.

"What was that?" Horikita turned to him coldly as Ryūen grabbed the bottle of water placed next to the radio.

"I was implying that nobody in your class is competent." Lelouch repeated, unfazed by her glare.

"Kuku, I'd have to agree with Lelouch on that one." Ryūen said provocatively as he opened the cap of his water bottle. "Tch. Already getting warm. Hey Ishizaki, fetch me some cold water right away."

Ryuuen poured out his remaining water on the sand, almost in provocation. Ishizaki, who'd been playing volleyball nearly, panicked and rushed to get Ryuuen another water. A mountain of cardboard boxes were piled up inside the tent, likely filled with food and water. Ishizaki peered into a cooler beside the boxes.