Day 11

The final chapter of the two-weeks uninhabited island exam is already near. Just three more long days and the final top three groups as well as the bottom five will be announced to everyone. Those that are in a dire situation on points should add more effort to avoid the penalty that is being part of the bottom, it's either paying through private points then goes broke afterwards or worst every student's nightmare, expulsion. Even those that are close to the red line are not considered safe. Aside from the hidden strategy every group has, luck is one of the factors in this exam. The island is a place of hidden gold, different types of Tasks are popping up everywhere and it's not that hard to stumble upon something that will change the group's fate. Miscellaneous category tasks may have the least probability of the three, but it got the highest points rewards, considering how casual yet wide range it is. So now's the time to go full throttle and gain as many points as possible.

As for me I neither joined the top 10 nor the bottom 10 in the past weeks. I can even confidently say that my points currently are enough to at least put me in the safe area as long as I won't injure myself and retire.

But I still can't lower my guard. The certain rule in the special exam textbooks, which is that; we can't access the rankings chart in the last two days, gives me a different vibe that it will be the turning point of the exam. Since no one will know about the rankings in those days, the groups will implement their plan and might change the rankings without the knowledge of the third party. It may even be possible for a group that hasn't joined the top 10 since day 1 to become part of the top three or luckily, win first place.

Speaking of suddenly rising to the top, my previous neighbour, it may be awkward to call him my first friend on a whim, well in fact he really is, is now in the top 8 rankings with 175 points.

Ayanokouji-kun's rankings suddenly skyrocket on the tenth day outranking the tenth place during that time which is a third year and then the ninth and eight afterwards.

I personally thought that he would lay-low and avoid the spotlight but his moves this time tells me that he's aiming for the top-spot or even first place.

He still remains a mystery until now, his overall capabilities are still unknown and if he really is going all out, as I think it is, then this exam will be the right place to measure it.

The person who lives in the shadow must remain in the shadow, if they'll get in touch with the light who knows what phenomenon will happen.

Just only by acing the university level math exam, gives him negative attention to the people around him, well considering how difficult it is, it's likely expected. But what about now? It's an all-out battle between years and he faces it head-on all by himself.

But whatever happens, if the odds are on our side, it's possible that Class 2 D will snatched two of the top spots and give us enough class points to ascend in Class C or possibly Class B.

"Then it will give us an opportunity to get closer to our dreams."

Which is to graduate as Class A!

I didn't say it out loud and just kept it to myself.

Turning back to the previous area I stepped in. Three shadows emerge that have been following me behind for quite some time now.

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

It may sound rude since I'm talking to my senpai's, but I cannot let it pass that they have been bothering me, making me feel uncomfortable just by their presence.

"Nagumo wanted to ask you something, Horikita-san?"

Tonokawa-senpai, the acting leader of the group, revealed the group's intention for following me.

Using the OAA app as the source to assess the group's strength. I can say that this small group is balanced in terms of academics and physical aspects. Two of the members, the other female and the sole male, the former is a bright student and the latter is an athlete, while Tonokawa-senpai is good at both.

For the president to order one of his small group for the purpose of getting in touch with me, it may be something important.

"What does the president want to know?"

Since I became part of the student council. I have been calling Nagumo-senpai president, and the other members based on their rank in the council.

"He wants to know if it's true that Ichinose-san spent the night with you on the eight day of the special exam?"

Huh?

I almost showed my surprised reaction, good thing that I somehow controlled it.

That's all he wants to know? He risked the certain small group from going to the trouble in tailing me, instead of gathering points.

It seems that the president has overused his authority a bit this time.

But it doesn't matter to me, if he's gonna self-destruct which I highly doubt then so be it. He might have some big strategy ahead to at least save the third years from becoming part of the bottom five.

"Yeah, why?" I replied.

Well the truth is, it's not. I haven't even met Ichinose once in this special exam, so the answer is clear.

The reason that I lied to them is because a student in Class 2 A suddenly approached me on the tenth day and said that "If there's someone that will ask you about something, just say yes."

I was baffled at first, confused on the peculiar task I'm being charged with.

I didn't get the chance to ask her about that because she quickly left after telling me.

I also keep in mind the chance of her not knowing about the details and just following the order of their leader Sakayanagi-san.

So it's about Ichinose-san huh? I got wind that something had happened to her but I didn't think of it since it didn't concern me.

The three of them looked at one another after hearing my straight response.

I'm confident that they didn't find any gestures and reactions that will give a signal of me not telling the truth.

"That's all we wanna know, sayonara."

The three of them turned their back and started walking in the opposite direction, leaving me behind completely done with their business.

Sakayanagi-san? No, it's more likely that Ayanokouji-kun has done something behind the scenes again and as always, he used my name without my consent.

'I'm gonna make him pay twice if this unknown plan will backfire on me and will turn into a troublesome situation.'

So for now, I'm gonna spend all my time acquiring points to raise my security in the rankings.

When the special exam is over then I will quickly head over to him and ask about the things behind the scenes.

'His bounty hasn't taken off yet, I also can't help him since I will only turn it into luggage on his side.'

Hope you'll survive this time as well, Ayanokouji-kun.

In the other part of the island

After being done in the recent task they participated in. Shimazaki-kun and Fukumuya-san started walking towards me, who's leaning behind the tree, shading from the sun's raging heat.

Since I didn't stand out and is average on both academics and physical activity. The other two members of our group, mostly handled the task we come across aside if one of them is already exhausted.

'I know I'm a dead weight so I should not complain about anything and just go with the flow.'

I don't even understand why I'm being asked to join this group before considering that both of them are from Class A and I'm from Class D.

Of course I didn't answer it on the spot and quickly contacted Kiyotaka for some advice. In which he insists that I should take the offer and follow their lead for my own safety.

So that's sum it up.

I wonder how he is right now? I kinda miss him.

Before I got swayed away from the sadness, I lightly slapped my cheeks and turned back to my bright expression.

"What's wrong Karuizawa-san?"

Seeing me slapping myself out on a whim, Fukumuya-san asked about it.

"Ah-no it's nothing. I just almost dozed off cuz ya know."

I then stood up from the ground and stretched my arms.

"O-okay, I thought that you got bored since you haven't met anyone from your class for a few days."

She was concerned about my mental health because having no one to talk to about something casual and the stress that has built up might affect me, resulting in the decline of the group's performance, or worse, me ending up in retirement.

"Well you can open up to me, Karuizawa-san. Don't mind Shimazaki-kun, he won't share anything, right?"

Fukumuya-san turned her head to the male member of the group Shimazaki-kun, who quickly nodded without a second thought.

"Hmm, maybe on our way to the next designated area."

The three of us then looked into our tablet and found the new given spot for us to go through.

"Woah we can get through there by walking in the open path. Let's go."

Even though this island is mainly covered with thick forest and large mountains. It still has some areas where the bush is dense and has some man-made roads.

We then pulled ourselves up and headed there quickly.

On our way there, I decided to open up a bit of the things that have been weighing on me lately.

"Hm there's a guy that I liked."

My voice is meek and is only enough for both of them to hear.

The two quickly turned their heads to me, I was embarrassed by it. Fukumuya-san's eyes are shining while Shimazaki-kun has the looks of being curious.

Afterwards, he started moving forward giving us girls the time and space to talk about it. Shimazaki-kun also remembers that he promised earlier to not share a soul about this and is aware that it's a topic strictly for girls only.

"It's about a guy huh? Who is it? No, the name is the least important. Hm oh! here it is, what's with him?"

Aside from Shimazaki-kun's understanding personality, Fukumuya-san also respects my personal privacy and only asked about the problem.

"A-h you see, we're been close for quite a long time now, but after all of that, he hasn't noticed my feelings."

I then shared my personal problem that I haven't opened up to my close friends and has been carrying it for quite a few months now.

"Really? Is he that dense? Well it might be possible that he thinks he's not worthy for you Karuizawa-san, considering that your previous boyfriend is Hirata-kun."

As usual, Yōsuke's shadow always looms by. Even though Yōsuke's relationship with me is fake, to the eyes of others it is true. I was even considered lucky for dating a handsome and smart guy, which most girls in the school dream of. Making my popularity rose over a night and giving me the girls leader role in the class hierarchy.

I already thought about this before and have proven for a long time now that Kiyotaka is far more superior to Yōsuke by a large margin. He's still holding back till now but it's clear that Kiyotaka is capable of anything no matter what aspects it is and might shake the school if he gets serious.

For a super smart person to be that naive when it comes to romance, what irony. Maybe I'll confess to him to make him aware that I already sees him as a member of the opposite sex unlike before.

No Kei baka.... A gyuro such as myself should let the guy chase me, not the other way around.

But if that's the case, then our relationship won't change.

He's been attracting more attention lately and more girls will be aware of how amazing he truly is.

Which means more future rivals.

I was conflicted on such thoughts and chose to focus on the present then decide on what to do when such time comes.

"Maybe you're right Fukumuya-san, it's likely possible that Kiy- I mean he noticed my feelings but believes that he's not worthy for me."

Woah! I almost slipped out at that time...

Maybe she doesn't have any idea on the person I'm talking about because only a few people know about his first name.

Looking at Fukumuya-san, she didn't even have a bit of interest to know his identity.

She just lightly tapped my shoulder and gave me a warm smile.

"Everything's gonna be fine Karuizawa-san, learn to wait and give him time to muster his courage."

"Thank you."

With that we then try to catch up with Shimazaki-kun, who's been walking hurriedly to arrive in the next designated area.

Afternoon

In D9

A small group from the Class 2 D students are taking a rest in the shade of green protecting the group from the blazing sunlight.

Sakura, the frail student of the group leaned behind the trunk of a large tree while fanning herself using her hand.

"Sorry for holding you guys back since this morning."

She apologized to the group for having weak stamina.

It was already the three time the group has stopped and taken a rest because Sakura can no longer keep up with them due to being exhausted from all the moving the group has done in the past week.

"What are you talking about Airi-chan, we're on this together right, Miyachi?"

Haruka glanced at Akito who's checking something on the tablet.

"Yeah, we can't just leave you alone. Besides, our group is at least far in the red line for now." he paused.

"Also we should keep in mind our body and avoid too much stress, the exam has still three more days to go, we can't afford to injure ourselves due to recklessness."

Akito's fingers then stopped in certain pages of the tablet's screen.

Haruka clapped at Akito for his wonderful speech and returned to Sakura.

"You heard that Airi-chan? We need to look for each other as Miyachi said."

Sakura almost shed a tear which she quickly wipes before it falls.

"I'm really happy that you guys are my friends."

Before the two girls will stand up and embrace each other.

Akito almost shouted suddenly because of being shocked.

"What!!"

Both quickly turned their head on him, confused by his weird reaction.

"What's wrong Miyachi?" asked Haruka.

Sakura was a bit scared because it's the first time she saw him acting like this.

"Sorry about that, I'm just truly shocked when I found out about Kiyotaka."

Hearing that it's about one of their friends in the Ayanokouji group. The two girls were concerned and quickly pulled out their tablets.

"Did something happen to Kiyopon?"

"I hope Kiyotaka is okay..."

The two quickly went into the bottom ten but couldn't see their friend's names on the list.

"But Kiyopon is not here!?"

Haruka refreshed her tablet all over again but saw the same result over and over again.

"Not there in the top ranks."

8. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka 189 points

The two girls are dumbfounded. They couldn't process quickly that Ayanokouji has ascended to such a height without anyone's expectations since his name hasn't been heard in the first week.

To explain the reason why the mentioned group haven't noticed Ayanokouji's fast rankings ascending from one spot to another is because they couldn't care less on such a list and put their focus to not fall on the bottom ten again.

'So Kiyopon is hiding too much from us. I got the feeling that he's someone amazing the first time we talked, but I didn't expect him to be this much.'

"Kiyotaka is really amazing.."

Sakura smiles brightly when saying those. She's genuinely happy that the person she likes is safe and doing a great job in the times that they haven't seen each other.

"Yes he is. But I'm concerned about Keisei's reaction to this."

They then remembered the conflict not too long ago. The time that Ayanokouji nonchalantly aces the university level exam that no one in their year has understood the foundation of it, Yukimura has a violent reaction to it like being betrayed by Ayanokouji for hiding his academic prowess. Good thing that somehow Horikita has managed to handle that situation, lessening the students' doubt on Ayanokouji for holding back, by saying that he's the Class D's hidden card.

"Maybe Keisie will accept it now. We already have an idea that Kiyopon is more capable than he looks like."

Haruka assured Akito that everything will turn out to be alright. The group has already dealt with such a situation before and she's positive that if it will happen again, she's sure that they can handle it.

"Yeah, let's hope that it's the case."

The group then looks on the bright side and moves forward to the future.

In another spot

Having stepped foot in the sandy beach of the southern side of the island. I scanned the surroundings and found a beige short haired girl talking with my classmates Matsushita-san and Satou-san near the shore.

My instinct quickly tells me that this person is the one who we've been looking for the past few days, Kikyo-chan.

"Kikyo-chan!"

I didn't hesitate in calling her out.

The three of them looked towards our direction and had the expression of being surprised and were glad.

"Ohayoo Mii-chan?"

Waving their hands in the air, they called us out.

"Let's go."

Me and Minami-kun then started walking towards them.

'Maybe it's Matsushita-san's group that Ayanokouji-kun's talking about when he said that Kikyo-chan is in safe hands.'

But still, it's quite impossible for Kikyo-chan to not even be concerned about us a bit and spend the whole three days in the other group. Matsushita's group didn't even need help in the first place and was doing better in this exam than our group. Maybe she's up to something? No! No! I needed to shake those negative thoughts. Even though I felt that no, even anyone that saw her going out in the forest all by herself and coming back dead in the night brings suspicion. Kikyo-chan must have her reason for that.

When I'm already close to her, I then quickly spread my arms, giving Kikyo-chan a tight hug. I personally thought that she would also return the hug as usual, but instead, she pushed me strongly and held her right shoulder after with a pained expression written on her face.

"Ah gomenn..."

Even Matsushita-san's group were shocked by what they saw. Based on Kikyo-chan's reaction, it seems that she got some injury hidden beneath her PE jacket and the other group is not even aware of it.

"Gomen also Mii-chan. I'm just shocked hehe."

Her recent expression has already changed into her usual bright one that everyone is familiar with. I wonder if it's the right choice to ask about the exact date they meet each other.

I think it's not.

"So Kikyo-chan-"

I was gonna ask about what she's been doing in the past day but she quickly interrupted me by telling some fabricated lies but realistic if the other party doesn't know the truth.

"What took you guys so long?"

Me and Minami-kun turned stiff. We don't exactly know how to respond to her out-of-the-blue question, whether to go along or tell the truth.

The moment Matsushita-san and Satou-san turned their heads when hearing a loud noise on the other side of the shore. Kikyo-chan gives us a wink, no it's likely that it's for Minami-kun.

"My bad, Kikyo-chan. Me and Mii-chan participated in a task along the way, and kinda spent the rest of the time there."

Minami-kun quickly followed-up Kikyo-chan's lie, making it believable to the others.

'What is happening?'

Hearing the response, Satou-san and Matsushita-san nodded, thinking that we're planning to meet here and it's no coincidence for them to meet Kikyo-chan here alone.

A male student from Class 2 C then approached us.