"I just happened to have seen it."
Looking again at the cute girl named Shiina Hiyori, who was a fellow Student Council member alongside Aoyama Shiki, Horikita Suzune could only wish that she would hurry up and leave.
Especially when she thought Shiina might hold a more important place in Aoyama's heart than she did.
"Sorry. I think I've been bothering you too much. I'll be going now."
Reading Horikita's resistance, Shiina felt that continuing to pester her would only make her more annoying, so she chose to take her leave.
Horikita Suzune didn't even feel like replying.
"Want some fruit, Kamuro?"
After wandering around for most of the day, Aoyama had picked quite a few edible wild fruits. Along the way, he'd also run into plenty of students searching for food.
As soon as he happened to come across the aloof young lady Kamuro, he decisively latched onto her.
Although it was an artificial uninhabited island, there were plenty of paths that had clearly been carved out by people. Even so, it was an unfamiliar place for the students.
So students who left the main group to search for food went out in pairs to avoid getting lost.
And the person paired with Kamuro wasn't Yamamura, as he'd assumed. To his surprise, it was Nishikawa Ryoko, who was often by Sakayanagi's side.
"Yamamura isn't looking after Sakayanagi right now, is he? If he is, I'm going to lose it." After taking the wild fruit from Aoyama and beginning to eat it with curiosity, Kamuro glanced at Nishikawa.
If Yamamura really was looking after that brat Sakayanagi, he wouldn't mind getting Class A to lose some exam points—and kicking Sakayanagi's cane flying on his way back.
No one could talk down to him and get away unscathed.
"Shiraishi is looking after her. Yamamura is paired with Morishita."
As if she'd sensed Aoyama's anger, Nishikawa hurried to answer.
With Hashimoto serving as a cautionary example, none of the Class A students wanted to attract Aoyama's malice.
"That's good." Aoyama looked away from Nishikawa and back at Kamuro.
Having cautiously finished the slightly sweet wild fruit in small bites, she took a big bite out of a jujube that looked sweet but was actually very sour.
After one bite, her pretty face twisted.
"Oops, I forgot to warn you. It's really sour, so you should eat it slowly."
Aoyama picked up his pace and moved away from Kamuro, who was frozen in place by the intense sourness.
I don't care whether you forgot by accident or on purpose.
Seeing Aoyama try to run off, Kamuro raised her hand and hurled a jujube at him.
Unfortunately, she missed.
"Don't run!"
"You attacked me. What else would I do?"
Ignoring Kamuro's shout, Aoyama turned sharply into the dense woods.
Within seconds, he disappeared from Kamuro and Nishikawa's sight.
The Start of Their Cohabitation
It was almost evening.
In a clearing unblocked by the dense woods, Aoyama checked the sky and took the glasses that had once belonged exclusively to Conan out of his System Inventory.
After several hours of wandering and investigating, he now knew where the bases of Classes A, B, and C were.
As expected, Class A had chosen a cave in the island's inner area for its base. All they had to do was hang a curtain at the entrance, and they could enjoy peace and quiet while earning three exam points a day.
For the sake of water and shade, Class B had chosen a small clearing surrounded by trees. There was a well there with exceptionally clear water, and it was a little cooler than other places.
Since the clearing was too small to fit many tents, they'd also hung hammocks in the nearby trees to sleep and rest in.
They'd probably confirmed by now that, aside from fish and birds, there weren't any birds of prey on this uninhabited island.
Class C had chosen a clearing beside a river for its base. It had convenient access to water, along with the advantage of being able to fish for almost ten hours straight.
Let's see where you are, Karuizawa.
The image of a blonde girl with a high ponytail appeared in his mind. Aoyama put on the glasses and activated the tracking function.
Back on the beach, his instructions to Horikita had included selecting some Class D students to drop out individually that afternoon.
Karuizawa, who had received the order, would volunteer to be one of those left behind.
"Has anyone found you?"
Following the tracking dot displayed on the lenses, Aoyama made his way across a long stretch of ground and found Karuizawa in hiding.
She was sitting curled up on the grass, her expression a mixture of fear and exhaustion.
The hot weather, the completely unfamiliar surroundings, having to hide alone, and not being sure he would come—Aoyama didn't think she was pathetic for reacting the way she did.
She'd been hiding for five or six hours and still showed no signs of breaking down. Compared with her peers, she was already handling it remarkably well.
"No. After I hid, I didn't move or make a sound." Her tense expression eased. Karuizawa brushed off her pants and stood up.
He wasn't someone she liked, but it was better than being alone here, scared out of her mind.
She'd accept whoever showed up. She just didn't want to be left by herself.
And perhaps because she'd been on edge for so long, she felt both hungry and thirsty.
"You forgot to bring water. Have some wild fruit for now."
Seeing that Karuizawa's lips looked a little dry, Aoyama took some sweet wild fruit out of his backpack.
It didn't look like much, but it actually tasted pretty good.
"Can I eat this?"
"Just peel it and eat it."
Aoyama took one just like it and ate it in front of Karuizawa.
Only after Karuizawa followed his example and finished eating did he retrieve the tracking device from her and set off for the Wooden Cabin.
It was nearly dusk, and dark was almost upon them. To be safe, the leaders would call back the students from every class, and they'd stop searching the island for supplies.
Now was the perfect time to take Karuizawa to the Wooden Cabin and hide her away.
After circling around the bases of the different classes, they reached the Wooden Cabin at dusk by climbing a ladder.
"So there's a place like this here." Karuizawa watched Aoyama take out a key and unlock the door, sounding impressed.
She'd thought this was a completely natural uninhabited island.
Still, not having to sleep in a tent was a good thing.
"From now on, you'll be staying here. Don't go outside without my permission, and don't speak."
Aoyama opened the door and set his backpack on the table against the wall.
Karuizawa couldn't be discovered. She was the most important part of his plan.
"I'm not allowed to speak, either?!" Karuizawa looked troubled.
On the way here, Aoyama had told her that she was a backup for the Key Card holder. She'd already been prepared for the rule about not going outside.
But not being allowed to speak was too much.
"If someone's listening nearby, my plan will fall apart. When I'm not here, you can't say a word."
"How can you—"
She couldn't accept it right away, but under Aoyama's gaze, Karuizawa could only nod in agreement.
Once she'd been forced to agree, she began walking around the room and looking it over.
It didn't take long for her to discover that the only separate rooms were the bathroom and kitchen.
That meant the two of them would be sharing the same room for six whole days.
"There's still a little light, so hurry up and take a shower. The exam has just started, so we should save the candles whenever we can."
Aoyama took most of the wild fruit out of his backpack and stuffed some snacks inside.
Once Karuizawa finished showering, it would be his turn.
After he showered and took a short rest, he'd head to the Class A base to wait for the eight o'clock roll call.
"Wait, there's no electricity in here?"
"Running water is already pretty good. You want electricity too? You think we're on vacation?"
The portable chargers and batteries available for exchange at school weren't cheap.
So even though Aoyama had fifty exam points to spend, he hadn't exchanged for many. When it came to choosing between a lamp and candles, he'd picked candles.
"Got it."
Understanding that she'd have to shower in the dark if she waited any longer, Karuizawa stopped worrying about the boy in the room and immediately turned her back to Aoyama to take out her change of clothes.
She folded her more embarrassing undergarments into a short-sleeved shirt, took out her towel and other bathing supplies, then hurried into the bathroom.
Before long, the sound of water splashing against the floor filled the room.
Karuizawa had a scar on her waist, didn't she?
Sitting alone in the main room, Aoyama was a perfectly normal man, so he couldn't help letting part of his attention drift toward Karuizawa in the bathroom.
Karuizawa was among the best of the girls, both in looks and figure.
No guy would believe him if he said he didn't have any interest in her.
"I'm done."
Karuizawa didn't emerge from the bathroom until it was almost dark.
Her golden hair hung loose, and her exposed fair skin looked more dewy than usual. A flush dusted her delicate, cute face.
Fresh from her bath in the candlelight, Karuizawa had a dreamlike beauty about her.
For a moment, Aoyama was mesmerized.
So cute.
He wanted to say it, but remembering the domineering CEO persona he was putting on, he swallowed the words.
"Mm, got it." Aoyama lit another candle. "There are canned food and compressed biscuits on the table. That's your dinner tonight. You'll sleep on the bottom bunk. Make yourself a pillow out of your clothes."
The pillow took up a fair amount of space, so he'd only packed one in his backpack.
There was no way he'd let Karuizawa use it.
"Understood." Karuizawa nodded cautiously.
She watched Aoyama uneasily, the darkness making her feel unsafe and on edge.
With no one else around, there'd be nobody to stop Aoyama if he decided to do something criminal.
And he had her biggest weakness in his grasp.
"I'm not that low." Aoyama immediately understood what Karuizawa was worried about and explained calmly.
Even the most flexible moral standards had limits.
A Fist to Take Someone Down
After Class C handed out dinner, Horikita Suzune went straight to confront Ryuen with her food.
Compared with the other Class C students, she'd only been given half as much.
That was even compared with the other female students.
"The agreement only said we'd provide food and lodging. It didn't say you'd get enough to fill you up, did it, Horikita?" Ryuen sat nonchalantly on a chair made of piled-up stones, not feeling the slightest bit embarrassed.
He hadn't given Horikita Suzune less food to save a tiny amount of supplies. He'd done it deliberately to keep her hungry and weaken her ability to act and think.
Giving her work to do served the same purpose: it was all meant to increase the chances of Horikita making a mistake.
Before you continue