The Mysterious Masked Man

"Boys, come over here! We need to search your bags!" Shinohara called.

Ike and Sudo grumbled as they dragged Ayanokoji over. Up in the tree, Ying let out a sigh of relief. Good thing they didn't find me. Seizing the opportunity, Ying slipped away.

"Seriously, playing hide-and-seek all the time is exhausting! Is there some way I can avoid being found without having to hide all the time?"

On the beach, Ying vented his frustration at the sea. He was worn out from spending the day sneaking around. The only time he'd spoken to anyone was when Ryuen had come to eat.

He wanted to go back to Class B and take the exams, but he was even more afraid that Class C would retaliate against him later.

Ying lowered his head and walked slowly along the shore. Suddenly, his foot kicked something. He looked down and saw a coconut he'd finished drinking earlier, still bearing the hole he'd made in it.

"I... think I've got an idea... Heh heh hahahaha!"

Ying excitedly picked up the coconut and returned to the secret base he shared with Ryuen. Then he grabbed some tools from the supply crate and set to work, making sweeping modifications.

"This mask reminds me of an old friend."

Next, Ying threaded vines through the mask to use as straps. He also tied together all sorts of leaves to make a leafy hat that would hide his hair.

Ying also altered his straw mat, turning it into a cloak.

Fully equipped, Ying put on the coconut-shell mask, which had a hole only for the right eye and some patterns around it. He held a wooden stick in his hand and declared,

"From the moment I put on this mask, the man once known as Baiye Ying has died. The one here now is named Uchiha Coconut Mask!"

At the Class B camp, Amikura and the other girls were fretting about what they'd been eating these past few days.

"Chihiro, we've been eating corn at every meal for days. I'm sick of the sight of it," Amikura complained.

"Yeah. I really miss the food on the cruise ship," Shiroba replied.

"Come on, you should be grateful. Byakuya and the others worked so hard to find that cornfield. Besides, we're almost out of corn, and we don't even know what we'll eat after that." Kobashi Yume shrugged.

"Speaking of which, they still haven't found Byakuya, have they? Honestly, he does some pretty confusing things sometimes, and his thought process is strange, but he's actually... a pretty decent guy, isn't he?"

Amikura remembered that the "Baiye Ying Search Team" had come up empty again today.

"Yeah. I know Byakuya has a lot of points, but I don't know if he just doesn't understand the value of money or what... He seems to spend it pretty freely," Shiroba said.

"Right? Once, I was shopping at the mall and realized I'd forgotten my terminal. Byakuya happened to be nearby, so he paid for me. He even kept trying to sell me on some 'advanced products' and gave me a bunch of weird stuff," Kobashi Yume recalled.

"Enough, enough. It's our turn to explore the area," Amikura said, standing up.

"Yeah. I hope we can find some new food," Shiroba said hopefully.

"Heh heh heh heh... I heard your wish!"

"Who—who's there?" Kobashi Yume jumped. A strangely dressed figure had appeared in front of them without warning, wearing a creepy mask.

"Don't worry, I'm not a bad person. I'm here to help you. You can call me Uchiha Coconut Mask." Ying pressed his left hand against the mask and lifted his leafy cloak with his right as he continued,

"If you want to eat something new, head to the beach on the west side. You'll find what you're looking for there. Kano! (Goodbye!)"

Without waiting for Amikura and the others to respond, Ying climbed a tree and darted through the branches. He misjudged a jump from one tree to another and fell, but he just did ten push-ups on the ground before climbing back up and leaving.

Amikura and the others: ...Could that have been Byakuya just now?

Up in the tree, Ying felt refreshed.

"Hahahahaha! As expected of me! I actually came up with this idea. Judging by the way Amikura and the others reacted, nobody will ever see through my disguise!"

Ying strolled through the Uninhabited Island's jungle. Suddenly, the sky darkened, and rain began to fall. He quickly wrapped his cloak more tightly around himself and looked for somewhere to shelter.

"Pitter-patter..."

Ying thought he heard a hurried series of footsteps. He turned to look.

"Who... are you?"

Ibuki was puzzled. She'd stolen Horikita Suzune's leader card and was on her way to hand it over to Ryuen. She'd expected Horikita Suzune to chase after her, but she couldn't understand why there was a strangely dressed person near the Class D camp.

"My... name is... Uchiha Coconut Mask," Ying said in a deep voice, instantly getting into character.

"Were you the one who started the fire?" Ibuki asked.

Ying merely tilted his head in confusion.

"Well, whether you're the one who started the fire or not, you're blocking my way. You'd better move!" Ibuki said, charging at Ying.

She pushed off the ground with her toes and shot forward like an arrow, her right leg sweeping across like a steel whip toward Ying's side.

Beneath the mask, Ying's expression grew complicated. What do you mean, I'm blocking your way? I can move aside, you know.

Ying angled his wooden stick upward. With a light clang, he precisely caught her ankle with the shaft and used her momentum to dissipate most of the force of her attack.

Ibuki gritted her teeth, adjusted her stance, and immediately followed up with a back kick.

Ying lowered his wrist and swept the stick close to the ground, forcing Ibuki to pull back her leg and hop away.

Before Ibuki could regain her footing, Ying changed his grip. The tip of the stick darted out like a striking snake and thrust toward her neck, stopping abruptly just before it touched her.

Ibuki's pupils contracted. She stomped hard against the ground, sending muddy rainwater flying, and used the recoil to leap backward. At the same time, she launched a series of kicks at the stick with her left leg, trying to disrupt Ying's rhythm.

Ying simply held the stick horizontally in front of himself, responding to each attack as it came.

Ibuki clicked her tongue and launched a high roundhouse kick straight at Ying's face. Ying finally stepped backward, sweeping the stick upward from below to strike Ibuki's shin with precision and give it a light push. Ibuki could only use the momentum to flip backward.

"What the hell is with you? Why are you dressed so strangely? Who are you? Why have I never seen you at school?"

Ibuki was furious. She'd trained in martial arts at the dojo for so long, yet fighting Ying felt like hitting cotton.

"I'm nobody, and I don't want to live as anyone else. Right now, I'm simply Uchiha Coconut Mask."

Ying pressed a hand to his mask as rainwater ran down his cloak.

"Uchiha..."

Ibuki stared coldly at the man, thinking about what to do next.

"If you want to get past... go ahead." Ying stepped aside to clear the way.

Ibuki hesitated. Her first thought was that Ying was up to something, but then she remembered that Ryuen's mission was more important and hurried off without another thought.

"Pitter-patter..."

As soon as Ibuki left, Horikita Suzune came running after her.

"Who are you? Did you steal the card? Where did Ibuki go?"

Ying: ...How am I supposed to answer all three of those questions?

"If you're sick, don't push yourself. Sometimes, giving up is the sensible thing to do."

As he spoke, Ying pointed behind himself, toward the cruise ship.

"Did Ibuki run that way?"

Horikita Suzune said as she ran off in that direction.

"Uh... did Ibuki really go that way?" Ying thought she'd gone the other way.

"Baiye, what are you trying to do?"

After Horikita Suzune left, Ayanokoji emerged from behind a tree.

Ying: Seriously, are you all never going to leave me alone? I just want to find somewhere to shelter from the rain.

"I'm Uchiha Coconut Mask. I'm just looking for somewhere to shelter from the rain."

"Somewhere to shelter from the rain...? So that's your purpose," Ayanokoji said thoughtfully.

Ying had to get moving to find shelter from the rain, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Ayanokoji was imagining something else.

Ying: Whatever. I'll find shelter first!