I have returned.

1. The bird shocks the Dragon.

Third Person PoV

It was the day of judgement.

All the classes have gathered on the beach.

" We are now tallying the test results. Please wait a moment. Feel free to use the rest area if you would like, or have a drink." Mashima announced.

Class A seemed very sure that this exam was for their taking.

Class B was neutral, after all, they only played the defensive.

And unbeknownst to them,  that was part of their soon to be downfall.

But Class D in particular....

Were currently discussing after Hirata had submitted the guesses.

" Man....I'm so scared...." Ike nervously said.

" Yeah.....we'll lose a lot of points if we're wrong, right??" Sudo said.

" But Ayanokoji-kun looked so....sure about his guesses. Did anyone else feel some sort of determination from him?" Shinohara asked.

The students looked at each other.

" Hey. Wait. Where is Ayanokoji?" Yamauchi asked.

Everyone quickly looked behind and in the small distance....

Was Ayanokoji petting a white bird.

" Eh? When did he get a bird?!" Hondou asked in shock.

' It seems like even animals like him....' Mori thought and giggled quietly .

" Still....it's a pity that Horikita-san had to retire..." Hirata said.

" But don't you guys think it's strange? I don't know if I'm oblivious but.....I can't possible be the only one thinking that Horikita-san didn't look ' sick ' at all in this exam, right?" Matsushita shared her thoughts.

A few hours ago, Kiyopon arrived to the camp and told them that Horikita had to retire because she was extremely sick.

They accepted that answer because she ran into the rain for a long time....

But....

Still, it was quite strange how severe her condition went.

" Maybe she has a weak immunity system?" Keisei said.

Everyone thought about it for a while until they heard the bushes move.

" Huh? Wait! WHAT?!" A Class A student yelled in shock as they witnessed who came out from the bush.

Kiyopon stopped petting the bird and glanced at the bush as well.

" Kuku, suprised?" The magenta-haired boy said.

' Ryuuen? What is he doing here.....this wasn't part of the plan...' Katsuragi thought.

" D-Didn't Class C retire...??" Amikura asked her classmates.

Ichinose nodded slowly because she too was shocked.

Ryuuen looked disheveled and covered with dirt.

Class D was suprised.....

Suprised that Kiyopon was right.

" It was just like what Ayanokoji said would happen...." Ike whispered.

" Holy crap...." Sudo said.

Yhey all glanced to look at Kiyopon who was busy feeding the bird some berries.

" Damn....he looks so nonchalant..." Miyamoto said with a chuckle.

" T-Then....could it be that his other guesses were right?" Sato said excitedly.

" Ayanokoji-kun is so smart!" Kushida cheered in a low voice.

' Fuck him' She thought with bitterness.

And with that, Class D's confidence sky rocketed.

' Kuku....look all their faces...' Ryuuen thought as his eyes scanned each class.

Class A and Class B seemed shocked.

But his eyes widened a bit when he saw Class D's faces.

' What? What is that look for? Why are they not suprised....' Ryuuen thought deeply.

His interest was peaked and also a certain unease began to settle in.

' Could it be that they......no....no there's no way' Ryuuen tried to assure himself.

Ryuuen walked towards Class D with a grin.

" Hoh? Where's Suzune?" He asked Hirata.

" Horikita-san retired. I thought you'd do the same, Ryuuen-kun." Hirata responded.

Ryuuen chuckles.

" What a shame, I've always dreamed about squeezing her ass." He said.

" You motherfuck-" Sudo was about to go aggro on this mofo.

But Ike place held him back.

" Hey. Relax! Don't let him get to you, bro!" Ike tried to say.

" Huh? No way! He has no right to-" But he was suddenly interrupted.

" Relax, Sudo. It's not worth it." A monotone voice interjected.

Class D was suprised at how quick Ayanokoji got here.

But they were much more suprised when he ran through the rain to chase Horikita....

Ryuuen looked at Kiyopon.

" Well well, it seems like the mute has finally spoken, huh?" He said.

Kiyopon didn't respond.

But....

~~~staareeeeeee~~~~ 😶😶😶

' Fucking weirdo...' Ryuuen thought.

" Students, we are now announcing the results of the exam. Please gather around!" Mashima said.

The classes immediately obeyed and gathered around.

' Heh. It's over. I can't wait to see the look on all their faces...' Ryuuen thought.

" We will now begin to announce the rankings, starting with the lowest." Mashima said.

Ryuuen's smile widened in anticipation.

Katsuragi felt a bit nervous after seeing Ryuuen coming out of nowhere.

Ichinose felt nervously confident.

Kiyopon felt tired and yawned.

" The lowest with 0 points, is Class C . " He announced.

And Ryuuen's entire career took a major hit.

" What...?" He said to himself in shock with his eyes widened.

Class B and Class A were suprised since they expected some sort of secret trick after seeing Ryuuen appearing out of nowhere and looking confident.

Class D only laughed amongst themselves.

" HAHAAH! TAKE THAT, RYUUEN!" Sudo said.

The bird on Kiyopon's head also began taunting the dragon in his own little way.

It chirped as loud as it can in Ryuuen's direction.

' Impossible....' Ryuuen thought.

" 3rd place is Class B with 90 points." Mashima announced.

" N-Ninety?! " Shibata said in shock.

" What? Did they..." Kanzaki trailed off since he was in shock.

' But.....how?' Ichinose thought.

Class B didn't believe they would get 3rd place with just 90 points.

" H-How did the other classes find out?" Chihiro asked.

Meanwhile, Mashima announced second place.

" Coming in second, Is Class A with 120 points." He said.

" H-Huh?!" Yahiko said in shock.

Class A couldn't believe it.

They all looked towards their leader and  he too was shocked.

" But....how...." Katsuragi uttered.

" W-Wait...doesn't that mean that Class D is...." A random student trailed off.

Everyone on the beach heard that and every student looked at Class D.

And finally....

" In first place, is Class D  with 275 points. This concludes the announcement. " Mashima said.

Everybody gasped in shock and disbelief.

And as for Class D.....

" YESSSSSSS!!!!" Ike screeched in joy.

" LET'S GOOOOOOOOOO" Sudo and Yamauchi cheered.

All the boys and girls happily joined in the cheer and raised their hands in victory.

" C'mere, join us Ayanokoji!" Ike said with tears of joy.

Kiyopon was suprised to be pulled in the group with Ike.

But he also began to raise his hand in the air in victory.

The Class watched with bewildered looks at Class D's victory....

But Ryuuen felt the most shock.

' How.....? Did Ibuki mess up? Had I messed up?' Ryuuen thought.

And then he began chuckling to himself.

' Despite this loss, now it's getting interesting....' he thought.

( Meanwhile in Horikita's room. )

Horikita looked at the screen in shock.

" C-Class D took first place? But....ho-" And then the realization kicked in.

She grabbed the note that Kiyopon had left her and read it again.

' Class D is going to win.

Rest well, 

- Ayanokoji ' it said.

" Ayanokoji-kun....." Horikita said to herself.

( Back at ship )

" Hahaha! Nicely done, Classmates! You've impressed me just a bit!" Koenji said with a laugh.

Class D sighed and Sudo looked pissed.

" We lost points because of you, Koenji!" He roared.

Koenji slicked back his wet hair and gave a smile.

" Haha! You see, I was quite sick and unable to go forward with the exam!" He said.

" Stop lying! And get out of the pool! You are contaminating it with your narcissism!" Ike yelled.

And the banter between the 3 idiots and Koenji soon began.

The rest of Class D simply watched and were content with how the exam ended.

Kiyopon walked away from his classmates and went up the stairs until a voice called him.

" Wait!" Horikita said.

Kiyopon turned his head to look at her.

" I....I want you to explain this....if you will...." she asked.

Kiyopon silently nodded in agreement and jerked his head, signaling for Horikita to follow him to the upper deck.

Horikita and Kiyopon now stood at the empty upper deck of the ship.

Kiyopon leaned on the rails as Horikita got ready to ask her question.

" I want to know...how you did it. What exactly did you do?" She asked carefully.

Kiyopon took out his trusty notebook ( which he was quite happy to be reunited with at long last...) and wrote on it.

He showed Horikita his notebook.

' I didn't really plan to do anything this exam....at least, until a certain moment occured.

I already knew the leaders of each class after a few days.

When Mori and I first found the spot at the cave, we saw Katsuragi nearby it.

He was holding a card. And then soon, Yahiko went out of the cave.

Most would probably assume that Katsuragi was the leader. But his card was simply a decoy in case others found them at the cave.

So I concluded that Yahiko was Class A's leader. Since Katsuragi probably improvised on the decoy as soon Yahiko's greed took over and immediately tried to secure that spot.

Therefore, doing anything else....

Would've been a waste of time. ' it said.

Horikita's eyes widened as she processed that quickly.

" Go on..." she said.

Kiyopon nodded and turned the page.

' Class B was....a gamble.

While You and Ichinose were having a conversation.

I was busy observing how Class B worked together in this exam...and then I noticed something peculiar.

I noticed that Shiranami was being grouped with different students of Class B. She wasn't grouped with Amikura like usual and I found that a bit strange.

I thought that maybe Ichinose planned this so Shiranami can blend in and to not get spotted by anyone.

But at the same time, there was also the possibility that Shiranami wanted to make new friends too.

And thus, I took a gamble and told Hirata to guess Shiranami as Class B's leader.

And it paid off in our favor. ' it said.

Horikita was shocked.

" Y-You took a gamble? If it was wrong...then...." Horikita tried to say but decided to regain her composure again.

" Please...continue." she asked.

Kiyopon nodded and turned the next page.

' I was sure that Ryuuen was still on the island,  but it was immediately confirmed once I spotted him camping, myself.

He planted spies into Class B and Class D.

And as you know, Ibuki had stolen the card. ' it said.

" W-Wait....then how did we not lose points? Ryuuen had still guessed us because of my mistake, right?" She asked.

She still felt bitter about it but put it aside for now.

Kiyopon placed his hand in his pocket and took out a card and handed it over to Horikita.

Horikita's eyes widened as she read the name.

' Ayanokoji Kiyotaka'

" H-Huh? But how did you..."

Kiyopon turned to the next page and showed it to her.

' It is impossible to change the leader without suitable justification.

Chabashira-sensei judged you as sick once I took you back and then you were forcefully retired.

While I nominated myself as leader.

Therefore, Ryuuen was automatically wrong. ' it said.

" So....you....." Horikita began to realize something.

She frowned and glared at Kiyopon.

Kiyopon was suprised by the look in her eyes.

" That reminds me...." she growled as she stepped closer to Kiyopon.

Kiyopon was confused....and quite scared.

Horikita immediately placed her hands on each of his cheeks and began squeezing.

" YOU KNOCKED ME OUT!" she yelled as she tried to tear his face off.

"?!?!?!?"

Kiyopon quickly tried to tap on her arm in surrender.

After a whole minute of his face cheeks getting absolutely violated.....

Kiyopon held his cheeks as he narrowed his eyes at Horikita.

Horikita crossed her arms.

" Don't look at me like that. You deserved it." She said.

Kiyopon wrote on his notebook.

' Sorry....' it said.

Horikita sighed.

" It's fine....but I have one more question to ask...." she said.

Kiyopon nodded, signifying that he was listening.

" Why?  I thought you didn't plan to do anything like you just said? What was the moment that made you do this...?" She asked.

Horikita was confused.

She wanted to know why he decided to lend his hand even though he clearly stated in his first sentence that he really didn't plan to do anything.

She was curious about the moment that led it to this.

Kiyopon began to write on his notebook and then showed it to her.

' You were crying.

When you cried because of the frustration and when you thought that everything was your fault, despite doing your best.

It did something to me.

I realized...that I didn't like to see you cry like that.

That I didn't want to hear you talk so low of yourself like that.

I realized that because of my selfish desire to not help Class D and only do the bare-minimum....

I hurt you.

I indirectly caused those tears.

And it made me feel like the most horrible human being.

That's why....I wanted to win.

So I wouldn't have to see you cry like that again. ' it said.

Horikita didn't know what to say.

Kiyopon simply stayed silent.

" I..." she began, " Thank you......Thank you so much...." she said.

And then she quickly pulled him for a hug.

Kiyopon was suprised but then he listened to Horikita's gratitude.

" Thank you.....Thank you....." she muttered over and over again.

Kiyopon hugged her back.

" What are friends for, right...?" He softly said.

She then pulled away from the hug and smiled.

" I....honestly would've felt broken if we lost. But you.....you won it....for me. Thank you..." she said once again.

Kiyopon nodded.

" If....you want my help often....just ask. We are friends, after all." Kiyopon said.

Horikita chuckled.

" I'll keep that in mind...."

" Yo! Ayanokoji- oh! Horikita is up! " A voice yelled.

Both Kiyopon and Horikita turned to look at Class D coming towards them.

" We won it, Horikita-san! Ayanokoji-kun helped us out a lot!" Karuizawa said with happiness.

" Yeah! He saved our asses!" Ike said.

" Ayanokoji-kun really gave us that win..." Mori also said.

" Yes. I'm glad he did." Horikita said.

Everyone began singing praises to Kiyopon...

But Kiyopon put his hand up as if signalling them to stop.

" Eh? What is it?" They asked.

Kiyopon began writing in his notebook and showed it to all of them.

' It's Horikita that you should be thanking. She was the one who did her absolute best into maintaining the class before she got sick.

If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have guessed anything if she hadn't told me about her findings when she was out scouting.

So please thank her. ' it said.

It wasn't a lie.

Without Horikita's information,  the guesses would've taken a whole lot more thinking.

And possibly might have been wrong.

And she also led the Class well until the fire happened and Ibuki stealing the card.

Class D's eyes widened as they turned to Horikita and began apologizing.

" W-We're sorry, Horikita! You did great, too! Thanks for not giving up on us!" They said.

" You were the only one who stood up for us at the underwear incident!" Ike said with gratitude.

" Yeah! You also stayed up all night and made sure that nothing went wrong while we were all asleep!" Mori said.

" You're awesome, Horikita-san!" Kushida cheered.

" The best leader we could've asked for!" Karuizawa complimented.

Horikita was stunned and she glanced to look at Kiyopon.

Kiyopon shrugs and gave her a look that meant ' Just go along with it. '

Horikita looked back at them.

" Thank you.....I hope I can improve as your leader in the future and reach