Uchiha Coconut Mask

"The rain finally stopped! I nearly suffocated!"

Outside a cave, Ying took off his mask, stretched, and gulped down the fresh air after the rain.

"The exam ends tomorrow, and then I can go back to the cruise ship and enjoy a wonderful vacation! I've finally made it through."

Ying walked to the shore and lay down on a huge reef. He listened to the waves breaking against it, felt the cool sea breeze, and looked at a strange man wearing a leaf mask...

"Byakuya, so this is where you are. I've been looking all over for you~" said the man, who wore an abstract mask made of leaves.

"Who the hell are you?"

Ying sprang to his feet, slipped, and fell into the sea.

"Cough, cough! How did you know... You've got the wrong person. I'm Uchiha Coconut..."

"Oh~, now I remember. You're Uchiha Coconut Mask, not Baiye Ying." Ying choked on the seawater and hurriedly climbed back out, trying to deny it, but the man cut him off.

"So, who are you, and what do you want with me?" Ying asked as he plucked seaweed from his hair.

"First, allow me to introduce myself. I'm not Hashimoto Masayoshi. I'm the Justice Leaf Knight!"

As he spoke, Hashimoto struck a pose he'd learned online.

Byakuya really does like this kind of greeting. Hashimoto thought.

"So you're the Justice Leaf Knight, unaffiliated with Hashimoto." Ying thought Hashimoto was being pretty ridiculous. Who made a mask out of leaves for no reason, then told people he wasn't himself but some kind of knight?

"Actually, I came to see Baiye... Coconut Mask because I have important business to discuss." Hashimoto wanted to finish the task Sakayanagi had given him and clock out as soon as possible. He didn't want to act ridiculous, either, but everyone said Ying wouldn't talk to people unless they did.

He'd heard from a classmate that Ying was wearing a coconut mask, and then another student from Class D had said they'd seen someone wearing one heading toward the shore.

Hashimoto had grabbed some leaves, made a simple mask, and searched along the coast until he finally found Ying just now.

"What's it about? Could it be... the island's native inhabitants?" Ying asked.

"Something like that, I guess. Never mind... This is too tiring. Byakuya, I'll get straight to the point." Hashimoto felt he couldn't keep up the act, so he took off his mask and prepared to get down to business with Ying.

"I already told you, I'm Uchiha Coconut..."

"Fine, fine... Uchiha Coconut Mask. I came to talk to you about this exam. Sakayanagi asked me to tell you that Class A's leader is Totsuka Yahiko. If you want proof, I can give it to you."

As he spoke, Hashimoto showed him a camera. It probably contained a photo of Totsuka Yahiko's leader card.

"If it's about Class B, go tell Class B. I'm an outsider. What's the point of telling me?"

Ying crossed his arms as he spoke.

"What happens next is up to Class B. This information is a gift from our princess, so I'm only telling you." After saying that, Hashimoto handed Ying the camera and left.

"So you want me to deliver it to Class B myself?" Ying said, looking at the camera.

But if he gave it to Class B, would they really vote for him? Ying had no idea. Then he remembered that he'd told Amikura and the others to go collect oysters. Maybe he could give them the camera there, and pick up some oysters to eat while he was at it.

"Hey, Asako, that really looks like Byakuya!" Shiroba was collecting oysters. She'd heard they could be eaten raw and had already eaten quite a few.

"It really does look like Byakuya. Go get Honami!" Amikura took another look at the coconut mask. Only Ying would dress like that. She hurried off in Ichinose's direction.

"Class B's leader, someone wants you to know something."

As Ying spoke, he handed the camera to Ichinose.

Ichinose had been about to greet Ying and ask how he'd been these past few days. But seeing how deeply he was in character, she knew there was no point asking. She might as well see what he wanted.

"So it's up to you to decide. Up to all of Class B." After saying that, Ying turned to leave.

"Um, By... Coconut Mask, aren't you coming back to Class B?" Ichinose asked, unable to stop herself from calling after him.

"I'm Uchiha Coconut Mask, a person with no identity, no home, and nothing at all."

Ying left without looking back. Ichinose glanced at the contents of the camera and fell into deep thought...

"Hey, Ryuen, you're back?"

That evening, Ying had changed back into his usual clothes and sat beside a bonfire, waiting for Ryuen to return after checking in.

As usual, Ryuen ignored Ying's greeting and climbed into his sleeping bag.

The exam ends tomorrow. No matter what Byakuya did, Class C will be the one that comes out on top! Ryuen thought.

On the seventh day of the Uninhabited Island Exam, all the students and classes gathered on the beach where they had first come ashore, waiting for the teachers to announce the final results.

The leaders in each class had already submitted their guesses. Every student was tense. This was the end of their first Special Exam.

"Hey, those guys from Class C have really given up, haven't they?"

At Class D's gathering place, Ike looked at the empty area where Class C should have been.

"Looks like it. Great! That means Class D will make the top three!" Sudo clenched his right fist and said nervously.

Class A's area was quiet enough to be eerie. Katsuragi stood at the front with his arms folded, silently waiting for the results. He, too, thought Class A was sure to take first place this time.

At Class B's gathering place, everyone was discussing whether Ying would come back to join them.

"I think the teacher said that all students who stayed on the island until the end had to come here to gather," Hamaguchi recalled.

"So that means Ying will come back!" Beppu said happily.

"Yeah." Shibata answered firmly.

"The Uninhabited Island Exam has ended. We will now announce the results..."

Just as Mashima, the class teacher, was about to announce the results, a sudden voice interrupted him.

"Wait! Sorry, teacher. I'm a little late."

A red-haired man in somewhat tattered clothes emerged from the forest.

"That's... Ryuen from Class C! Didn't his whole class go back to the cruise ship? Why is he still here?" Ike from Class D exclaimed.

"And isn't that Ying behind him? He's from Class B, isn't he? Why is he with Ryuen?" Sudo noticed Ying, who was just as disheveled as Ryuen, and asked in confusion.

"Please return to your class's waiting area." Mashima merely nodded at the two of them as he spoke.

"Ying, why were you with Ryuen? Why didn't you come back to camp?" As soon as Ying reached the camp, Hamaguchi and the other students from Class B began asking him questions.

Ying turned his back to Class B, covered his eyes with his arm, and trembled slightly, as though he were crying.

"I'm sorry, everyone in Class B. I was captured by the island's wild native inhabitants, and it took everything I had to escape. But I didn't come back to camp right away. Then Ryuen from Class C threatened me and forced me to become his underling. For the past few days, I've been at his beck and call, serving him tea and water. I even caused Class B to lose so many points. It's all my fault! Waaaaah!"

Ying dropped to his knees and burst into tears. The people from Class B knew that about ninety percent of what he'd said was false, but they still chose to forgive him and comfort him.

"Byakuya, we all know how much you care about the class. No one blames you! Pull yourself together and join everyone in Class B to witness the end of the exam!"

Ichinose said as she helped Ying to his feet.

"That's right, Ying. We don't blame you." Hamaguchi came over to hold him, too. Ying sniffled, wiped his nose on Hamaguchi's clothes, then clung to him and continued crying.

"Don't push your luck! Stop it already!" Hamaguchi snapped.

Everyone else laughed at the sight. The tense atmosphere finally eased.

"All right, quiet down. We'll now announce the results. In fourth place... Class 1-C, zero points."

The confident smile on Ryuen's face froze, disbelief showing in his eyes.

"Third place, Class 1-A, ninety points."

Katsuragi and the other students from Class A looked shocked, too. When they heard that Class C had scored zero points, they'd already realized that Class A might be done for this time. But now that the results were official, they still couldn't hide their frustration.

"Second place, Class 1-B, 210 points."

"Yeah!"

The students from Class B began cheering. Ying nodded, too. He did the math: 150 points in the original story, plus 100 points, minus 40. That added up perfectly.

"First place, Class 1-D... 225 points!"

The students from Class D froze for a moment, then cheered even louder than Class B had.

"What a shame. We were only fifteen points short. If Shiroba hadn't gotten sick and gone back to the cruise ship, we would've won." Hamaguchi sighed.

Ying: Shiroba got sick? Then these points don't add up...