71 Chapter 71

Chapter 71

I returned to the base camp some time after noon, with nothing to show for my scavenging efforts. When I arrived, I was met by a peculiar sight.

Everybody, including Shiina, was sitting in a cyclic formation on the logs outside the cave, saying words one after another.

"Rock."

"King."

"Gallows."

"Sieve."

I moved closer, and sat down in the empty space on a log next to Shiina.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked as I sat.

"Playing Shiritori," answered Sora, as he took a pause to think of a word. "Examination."

"Shiritori? What's that?"

Being a loner, I'd never heard of that game before.

"It's a game where you have to say a word that starts with the same letter the previous word ended with," Shiro responded, as she was next in turn. "Night."

"And you can't say a word that's already been said," Lelouch added, going next in the order. "Television."

"If you can't answer within 30 seconds, you lose, and are eliminated from the game." Continued Kururugi. "Newspaper."

"Last one standing wins. It sounds easy at first but, once you've been going for a while, it gets tough to think of new words as well as keeping track of all the ones that have already been said." Light explained. "Rodent."

"Thermoluminescence," said Ryuzaki.

Everybody stared at him silently.

"What?" he asked.

"You're just trying to show off," Sora scoffed.

"Perhaps,"

"What does that even mean?" Kururugi asked in bafflement.

"It's when a crystalline material such as a mineral exhibits luminescence by re-emitting energy it previously absorbed from radiation as light." Shiro replied in monotone.

"It's used to date crystalline minerals," Sora added.

"Whoa! I didn't know people could go out with rocks!" Lelouch exclaimed jokingly, which earned some laughs.

"Well, Rule 34 of the internet states—"

Shiro began talking, but her mouth was swiftly covered by Sora's hand.

"Shh! Think of Shiina and Ayanokōji's innocence!" He scolded as Light and Lelouch giggled.

Rule 34, huh? I didn't know what that was. I'll have to look it up on the internet when I get back off the island.

"Ahem. Anyway, moving on from that," Ryuzaki said with a small chuckle. "Did you do it, Ayanokōji?"

"Yeah. Lelouch's new plan is ready to be set in motion."

"Good. All the tasks at hand have been cleared. We'll make our move when it's darker." Lelouch said with a smirk.

We continued the game of Shiritori, and played other games and made idle talk until it was time.

Horikita's POV

I sniffled as I sat near a fire, trying to use the heat to warm my shivering body. I had to press on – there wasn't much longer left now. If I dropped out, then we would lose 30 points. I couldn't be a burden, not after all the claims I've made.

I rested my gaze on the rest of the students here. The skies were beginning to get dark, the clouds black, a harbinger of the impending downpour.

Contrary to what you'd expect, though, after the underwear incident occurred and all our spots were taken, the atmosphere wasn't that bad. It seemed that joining up with Class B had improved everybody's mood.

Students were intermingling, laughing and having fun with each other. Class B had purchased a barbecue, which was now being shared, and many fires burned, lighting up the faces of the students across the coarse expanse of golden sand.

I was sitting alone, feeling the blazing heat of the fire on my features as I observed the scene. Despite this, my body was still cold due to my illness. My body had began to feel heavy and weak, and my mind was starting to falter.

But I must press on if I want to reach Class A.

After some time passed, an unexpected event happened, which caused everybody on the beach to fall silent and stare up into the sky.

A whistle could be heard. I was feeling hazy, so I didn't pay it any attention at first.

Boom!

An explosion followed. I raised my head and stared upwards, becoming baffled by what I saw.

A bright colour dyed the black skies a vibrant red. The splashes of light burst outwards, and fell across the sky like falling stars. Before long, another one followed, this one a green colour.

Fireworks?

Someone had actually purchased fireworks. For what reason? Who would be idiotic enough to waste valuable points on something pointless like fireworks?

"Hey, look, look!"

"Fireworks! Where are they coming from?"

"Whoa! So pretty!"

Excitement spread across the beach as all of Class B and E gazed up in wonder at the luminescent explosions that contrasted the darkness in the sky.

Well, I suppose everybody enjoyed watching fireworks. It was a pretty universal phenomenon in Japan. Festivals are a prime example.

Whoever was setting the fireworks off must've been quite skilled, because they created some rather spectacular combinations.

Multiple flying into the sky at once, merging together in brilliant flashes of colour. It was rather captivating, I had to admit.

While I was half engrossed in the spectacle before us, I felt an odd sensation on my clothes. It took me a moment, but I realized that a hand had reached into my pocket.

I looked over, and horror immediately filled my core. Ibuki-san had reached into my pocket and swiftly swiped the leader key card.

Alarms rang in my mind as I reflexively glanced over to where I knew the other key card was – Class B's. As I'd dreaded, it seemed that Kaneda-kun was in the process of pickpocketing their card from Ichinose-san.

She was too invested in the fireworks to notice.

Was this just a set up the whole time? A distraction? Or did these two spies see an opportunity and take it? But how the hell did Kaneda-kun know that Ichinose-san and I were the ones in possession of the key cards right now?

Ichinose-san had been given Class B's card as safe keeping, since we no longer needed to occupy spots. Me, on the other hand, kept it safely hidden the whole time. There should've be no way for anyone to know that I had it, yet Ibuki-san did.

To make things worse, I began to feel plops of water hit and run down my cheek. It was raining.

I forced my heavy, sluggish body to chase after Ibuki-san while the hard rain fell. The sky was covered with rain clouds that blocked out the sun, so visibility was poor. Even though I couldn't see Ibuki-san, she'd left footprints in the muddy ground. If I just followed them, they'd lead me right to her.

She'd ran about a hundred meters from the beach, sometimes veering off to the right or left. Rather unexpectedly, I found her waiting, as if expecting me. She was joined by Kaneda-kun. I instinctively hid myself, though there probably wasn't any point.

"Go back, Horikita. You've already lost."

Ibuki spoke without even bothering to turn and look at me. Her calm voice cut right through the sounds of the falling rain.

"We know you're there." Kaneda-kun said.

"When did you notice?" I asked.

"Right from the start."

Her short answer felt ominous. My impression of her as being quiet and taciturn didn't change, but something was different.

"I'll make this simple to understand. Give me back the key cards you two stole." I demanded.

"I refuse."

With that, the two of them walked away. I followed behind, matching their speed. Ibuki-san and Kaneda-kun changed course and headed toward the centre of the forest.

"Where are you going?"

"None of your business." Kaneda-kun replied coldly.

It was difficult to walk straight. I'd realized this over the past several days. That was even truer in this weather, which impaired visibility.

I couldn't give up, however. I was the one who'd let my guard down and allowed the key card to be stolen. I had to take responsibility and solve the problem.

Boom!

Another explosion rang out as another firework burst above us, briefly lighting up the dark wilderness. They were like assaults on my mind. They sounded deafening to me, and made it hard to think.

I have to make up for my mistake. I have to make up for my mistake. I repeated those same words over and over again in my head. I couldn't fail here. My heart beat fast. I was breathless. Little by little, I closed the distance between Ibuki-san and myself. Depending on the situation, I might need to retrieve the key card by force. Considering my considerable skills, I could handle it well. I can handle it well. I can do it. I can do it.

I understood all too well that I wasn't calm, but I had to do something. I didn't have anyone else to rely on. I'd handled things on my own up until this point, and I could continue just the same. The rain and winds were a bit easier to deal with in the middle of the forest than on an open road. But the visibility had become that much worse, and the footing even more terrible. Also, as I went right and then left, I lost my sense of direction.

But my biggest problem was my physical condition. With every second that passed, I grew worse. Up until now I'd only had a slight fever, but as the rain came down I reached my limits. My sickness grew steadily worse.

Ibuki-san stopped, and then unexpectedly looked up at a tree. She gazed at a single handkerchief, wet from the rain and tied to the tree.

"How long are you going to follow us? Don't you think enough is enough?"

"Once you return the two things you stole."

"Sorry, no can do," Kaneda-kun denied. "There's nothing a pathetic girl for you to do here. Go run back to your class."

"Shut up!" I shouted hoarsely.