It was a long night. Despite everybody else going to the tents to sleep, I left the campgrounds. I kept watch of our surrounding area to make sure nobody from another class tried to come and do something slick. I slept, but not as much as a normal person regularly should.

**It doesn't matter. I need to keep an eye on my base of operations. Besides, I'm used to not sleeping much anyway.**

I returned to the campgrounds early so I could make it seem like I'd never left once everybody woke up. Nobody was up yet, so I took a look around. I spotted Ibuki's bag fairly easily because it was a different color than the rest of Class D's. After what I found last night, I was curious as to what Ibuki might be hiding. Despite nobody being up, I slowly crept over and began to go through her bag.

**A towel, clothes, underwear... The basic things. But what's this..?**

I found the same bag that I saw last night. I couldn't see what was inside before, but now I could. It was a camera.

**Did she go back and dig it up last night? When did she find the time to do that? Maybe she was the noise I heard. But a camera? How and why does she have a camera?**

My suspicions were rising, but I left it at that so as to not be labeled a pervert in case anybody caught me going through her bag. I went away and walked over to look into the river. Somebody called out to me as I was looking down at the fish swimming by.

Hirata: Good morning, Y/N.

Y/N: Oh, Hirata, hey. Mornin'.

He came over and looked into the water as well.

Hirata: You're up early. Did you have trouble sleeping?

Y/N: It's been a while since I've slept like this. It took a little readjusting.

Hirata: I didn't see you go to bed. You know the guys wouldn't care if you slept in the tent, right? Or did you go and sleep with the girls?

Y/N: No, no.

He chuckled.

Hirata: You didn't hear it from me, but some of the girls are really starting to warm up to you.

**Perfect. Then everything's going alright.**

Y/N: That's good to know. But nah, I slept outside.

Hirata: Oh.

Y/N: How are you holding up, captain? Koenji leaving dealt us a heavy blow. I bet this is stressful for you, huh?

He took out the manual and did the math in his head again just to confirm that he wasn't imagining things.

Hirata: I'm doing this for the satisfaction of the class. It's true that Koenji leaving makes things harder in that regard. It's difficult... but I'll keep doing what I can to assure the comfort of the class.

**People pleasing isn't going to be easy, Hirata. At some point you'll have to either put your foot down or pass the torch...**

Y/N: I respect that. Just don't forget why you're even trying so hard. It's to reach Class A, right?

Hirata: Even passing Class C that is right in front of us is currently a pipe dream, but...

Y/N: Just exercise patience. We have time.

Hirata: You're right...

I looked over as he stared at his manual. He was thinking of what to do next, but he clearly needed some assistance.

Y/N: Could I see that manual, Hirata?

Hirata: Hm? Sure.

He handed me the manual and pen and I flipped to some empty pages. I began to trace whatever I could remember about the layout of this island.

**I'll have to add more detail some other time, but I feel like this is pretty accurate.**

Hirata: Is that the island's design?

Y/N: Roughly, yeah.

Hirata: I'm glad to have somebody attentive like you around. We could use that map you drew to mark different spots on the island.

Y/N: Mhm.

Hirata: Could I ask you to handle doing that since you're technically the one who came up with the idea?

Y/N: I can do that later. Just lend me the manual.

Hirata: Sure, let me know when. But for now, I'm going to wash my face. Care to accompany me?

Y/N: Sure.

We went back to the tents so he could return the manual. I couldn't help but notice the heart-shaped accessories attached to his bag.

Y/N: Are those a gift from Karuizawa-san?

Hirata: You figured it out well. How'd you know?

**I'd be a little confused if you took heart accessories from anybody else.**

We started walking along the riverside.

Y/N: Just a hunch. How's she doing?

Hirata: You should ask her.

He was trying to do the same thing I did to him when he asked me about Suzune.

Y/N: I don't know, I just have this gut feeling that she doesn't like me...

Hirata: That's not true. Why do you think that?

Y/N: She just always has this mean look on her face. I also knocked her over one time by accident, and I don't think she accepted my apology.

Hirata: You're overthinking things right now. I assure you that she doesn't hate you.

Y/N: Maybe you're right. I should try talking to her sometime.

He nodded in agreement.

Y/N: But-

I looked ahead. We had been walking along the river into the woods, and ahead of us was a familiar-looking face.

Y/N: It's you.

It was Ryuji Kanzaki, the purple-haired boy from Ichinose's Class that helped to clear Sudo's name before.

Y/N: What're you doing here?

He was seemingly looking down the river to spy on Class D's campsite. There were some other boys behind him trailing from a distance.

**What's he trying to check out our campgrounds for? I mean, there's technically no rule against doing that, but it's a little suspicious that he's lurking like this... I guess I didn't do a good enough job scanning the area.**

Kanzaki: A day has passed and I was just wondering what had happened. You've seized a good place here.

Hirata: Indeed. You are... B Class, Kanzaki, right?

Kanzaki: I didn't mean to startle you all. I apologize, it wasn't in I'll intentions.

He seemed genuine, but I learned my lesson from Kushida about being too quick to believe anything. He apologized and then turned around to leave.

Y/N: Hey, Kanzaki. Where's Class B's base camp set up?

**If he truly came in good faith, he'd be willing to share this type of information, right?**

Kanzaki: There are crooked trees on the road back down to the beach. Branch off there, and you'll find our class. Tell her I won't mind if she comes in need.

With that, he headed off with the other boys that followed him.

Hirata: "Her"?

Y/N: Hm...

**He and Ichinose did work with Suzune once upon a time. Maybe he thinks they're still on good terms? He clearly doesn't know Suzune...**

Hirata started to wash his face.

Hirata: Whatever.

Y/N: You know, I think I'll go visit Class B when I survey the island later.

Hirata: That's a good idea. Not to push you or anything, but maybe checking out the other classes as well wouldn't be a bad idea.

**It'd be good to learn about Class A, but I truly want to know more about this Ryuen and Class C... What'd they do to Ibuki..?**

Y/N: Sounds like a plan.

Hirata began to wash his face, so I decided to as well. The water was somehow both cold and warm. It was refreshing and helped me shake off any morning jitters. I didn't pick Hirata's brain anymore for the time being. I was sure that the level of trust between us was growing at a much quicker rate than I thought.

Hirata: Everybody should be waking up soon. And if not, we'd better get them all up.

Y/N: The morning roll call is soon, isn't it? I wonder how it'll work for counting students who aren't a part of the class like Ibuki.

**Will Class C lose points for Ibuki not being there for the roll call? Or will it not matter because she's at least being accounted for?**

Hirata: You really care about Ibuki-san, aren't you?

Y/N: In one way or another... I'd say I'm more cautious. You're not?

Hirata: I am, but... I don't want to worry the rest of the class by making a big deal of it.

He smiled.

Hirata: That's why I'm glad I can trust her to you.

Y/N: I'll watch her with a hawk eye. We should start heading back, though.

Hirata: Right.

We got up and headed back. The nail was in the coffin and I was sure now that Hirata trusted me. No matter what I did now, he would likely have my back.

**I'll see if that comes in handy later on.**

{Later}

After roll call, students either got to work or just went off to do their own thing. Before I could even figure out what I wanted to do, trouble had arisen.

Ike: Who the f*ck are you guys?!

In the distance, an angry-sounding Ike yelled at two students who had appeared just outside of our campgrounds. It was Komiya and Kondo. Two of the three students who fought with Sudo.

**What're they doing here? Those are Class C students... Are they looking for-**

I looked around for Ibuki and saw her hiding near the tents. I went over in her direction.

Kondo: Well well, it seems that Class D is living a rather frugal life. As expected, this is a class of defective.

I didn't care what they were saying, but I couldn't help but notice they were enjoying chips and sodas as they stood around.

**Did they really waste class points on that junk food? Maybe they didn't get a good spot. Who cares... Where'd Ibuki go?**

My focus was on Ibuki for two reasons. One, she might've been working with her class still. In that case, I needed to make sure that she never got the chance to come into contact with Komiya or Kondo. The second reason is that she was attacked and abandoned by her class. If it turned out that either of those two was the one who put their hands on Ibuki, then I wasn't letting them get near her. Regardless, those 3 would not come into contact with each other while I was around.

Ibuki: Komiya and Kondo...

She had a distasteful look on her face as I headed over to her.

Y/N: Class C goons I'm assuming..?

Ibuki: You know Ryuen, right?

Y/N: I know of Ryuen.

Ibuki: Those are two of Ryuen's gang mates. You can call them his underlings...

Y/N: I see...

I sat down by where Ibuki was hiding so I could keep an eye on her and watch the situation from a distance.

Komiya: What did you all have for breakfast? Grass? Or insects? Here, you can have snacks, too.

They mocking offered their chips up, but nobody took the bait. Despite their attempts to harass the class, everybody just seemed more confused than annoyed. But their persistence would soon take effect as students became irritated.

Komiya: I have a message from Ryuen-san. "If you want to fully enjoy summer vacation, come to the beach right now. Don't be reserved. You better come. If you're sick of living like fools, let's spend a dream time together."

I looked at Ibuki.

Y/N: Does that sound accurate of something he'd say?

Ibuki: I don't know... He's sometimes unpredictable, so I wouldn't put it past him to throw a beach party...

Y/N: Hmm...

Afterward, Komiya and Kondo stuck around to harass everybody for a while, but eventually, they had enough and left.

Ibuki: It seems like they didn't come in search of me.

**They'd have no idea she was with our class. That's probably why she was so quick to hide.**

Y/N: Good. It's better that they didn't.

I got up.

Y/N: And what're your plans for the day? If nothing, maybe you could find some way to help out.

Ibuki: I don't think so.

She headed off and isolated herself just at the border of our campgrounds. The same thing she did last night. Since I had nothing else to do, I decided to do what Hirata and I talked about earlier.

**This is the perfect time to visit Class C also. I mean, it's an open-invite party, right?**

I went over to find Hirata.

Y/N: Hey, Hirata. Could you lend me the manual now? I think I'll go scan the island.

Hirata: Right now? Are you sure?

Y/N: Yeah.

Hirata: Okay, I won't stop you, but I am asking you to bring somebody with you. After what those Class C students just tried, I wouldn't feel good about sending you out alone.

Y/N: I'll be fine alone, but I'll grab somebody to ease your mind.

Hirata: Thank you.

He handed me the manual and pen and I headed off. I wondered who I should bring with me.

**Sudo would be great to bring along because he's strong, but fighting with other classes isn't allowed. His hothead will probably do more harm than good. Haruka or Sakura would be nice, but if things get active, I don't want to put them in the way of any trouble. Maybe Kei? She's...**

For whatever reason, I couldn't justify any good reason to ask Kei to come with me. On the surface level, I wanted to, but I could only see negatives to bringing her with me

**No Karuizawa... No Ibuki or Kushida either. I just don't know if I can currently trust either of them. What about Suzune?**

I looked over just as I saw Suzune going into a tent. I went over and called to her from outside.

Y/N: Hey, Horikita!

She didn't respond.

Y/N: Suzune? Horikita? Hey, hey!

There was shuffling inside the tent before she poked her head out.

Suzune: What is it?

Y/N: Did you see what went down just a little while ago?

Suzune: No. I heard it was a cheap provocation from Class C.

Y/N: Pretty much... Well, I'm a little worried about what's really going on, so I'm going to survey the island and check out the other classes. Want to come with me?

Suzune: This is rare... Seeing you act on your own and take the initiative... Are you feeling okay?

**I do not want to hear that from you of all people!**

Y/N: I'm feeling great. Come on, join me, will you?

Her head popped back into the tent and I waited for a moment. She slowly came out.

Suzune: Fine. I will join you.

Y/N: Let's go.

We left the camp and headed down to the beach. I could've picked anybody to come with me to do this. Picking our Leader was probably a misplay on my end. Maybe I was just looking for an excuse to spend some alone time with Suzune. Or perhaps I was trying to physically wear her down and push the limits of her sickness. Regardless, Suzune wouldn't do anything she didn't want to. In one way or another, she wanted to come.

Suzune: I don't want to waste stamina by wandering around with no goal in mind.

I showed her the manual.

Y/N: I mapped the island, now we just have to mark it. Aren't you interested in the other classes?

I was sure that she remembered the short encounter with Ryuen on the boat.

Y/N: Correct me if you think I'm wrong, but it's pretty obvious that you have a target on your back.

Suzune: I guess so.

Y/N: Hey, I ran into Kanzaki from Class B, by the way. He said we're free to visit their camp when we want to.

Suzune: I take it that's where you've been leading me this entire time..?

Y/N: Heh, just didn't want you to freak out when we got there.

We continued downhill and I followed the directions Kanzaki gave us earlier. I didn't know if they were really trustworthy, but we'd end up finding something regardless. After some time, we came across a wide-open area by the beach. The area was bustling with students. They had a waterfall just next to their camp.

Y/N: This is Class B, huh? What a unique feeling I'm getting from them...

???: Huh? Y/N? Horikita-san?

A voice called out to us. We looked over to see Ichinose waving us down with a smile as she began to come over.

**She picked up on our presence quickly. That was honestly a little creepy...**

Y/N: This is a nice spot you all secured here.

Ichinose: Isn't it? There were some hardships at first, but it's coming along well.

Suzune: I take it that it's rude for us to be in your way, then.

Ichinose: Oh, not at all! I assume you've come to ask me something?

Suzune: Not quite.

Y/N: We're really just looking around to get a feel for the island. Kanzaki gave us Class B's location, so we thought it might be a good idea to come to say hi.

**Of course that wasn't the full truth, but it wasn't exactly a lie either. Class B was a roadblock on our way to reaching Class A, but I couldn't bring myself to take down Ichinose. She's competition, but she definitely isn't exactly an enemy. I'll have to overtake her while keeping her in good standings.**

Suzune: Ichinose-san, can I take it that our relationship is one of cooperation?

Ichinose: I like to think so.

There wasn't a microaggression or single bad thought behind her eyes. Suzune probably still wasn't convinced, though.

Y/N: That's good to hear. We feel the same way.

Ichinose: Then don't mind if I show you around a little bit.

She gestured for us to follow and I went along without seeing how Suzune felt first. She would look for some way to find the negatives in following Ichinose, but I just wanted to get going. As far as I was concerned, Ichinose didn't have a single sour strand in her DNA. As she showed us around, a boy approached.

Boy: Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt...

Ichinose: What is it?

Boy: I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help.

Ichinose: Well... Why don't you help Chihiro-chan and the others over there?

She pointed off to where Chihiro and some other students were tying up hammocks.

Boy: Understood. Thank you very much.

He headed off.

Suzune: For a classmate, he seemed rather distant...

Suzune was as skeptical as always and had to say something. I agreed, though. Something was off about that guy.

Ichinose: His name's Kaneda-kun. Apparently, he had a falling out with Class C and was driven out of camp.

Y/N: Huh...

Ichinose: What does "Huh..." mean? What?

**Another Class C student driven out? Just like Ibuki... I find it a little bit strange they wouldn't stick together if they were both kicked out, but Ibuki doesn't really seem like the type to enjoy others' company.**

Y/N: Nothing. It's nice of you all to take in a student from another class.

Ichinose: We couldn't just leave him out in the wilderness alone. And it's nice that he's trying to help out, too.

**Lucky you... Our Class C reject refuses to help with anything other than eating...**

Some students began to call out to Ichinose.

Ichinose: Ah, sorry... I'd better get back to work. Come back to visit whenever, okay?

She waved as she ran off to go work on some other things. I looked over at Suzune who seemed to be in deep thought.

Y/N: Let's go.

We turned and left their campgrounds.

Y/N: So, what do you think about them?

Suzune: It's an upgrade from Class D in every way.

Y/N: Even down to the Class C transfer student. Speaking of, don't you think that's a little weird?

Suzune: I did, but for the sake of security, I didn't mention it immediately. You held your thoughts back, too.

Y/N: I'm just interested in what's going on with Class C. Shall we head there next?

Suzune: So be it. Lead the way.

Y/N: If I'm not mistaken, it shouldn't be too far from here. Class C invited everybody to a beach party, so they shouldn't be surprised if we show up.

We walked along the beach for a bit until the sound of laughing, yelling, and partying could be heard.

Y/N: Sounds like they were serious...

We made our way over and found a lively beach party. There were chairs, grills running, jet skis in the water, and people swimming. This is exactly what summer vacation would've looked like if not for the test. Class C clearly had no concern for their points.

Suzune: What is Class C thinking?

After a while of watching from a distance, a boy noticed we arrived and