Ayanokouji

Ibuki looked down at Horikita, who had completely lost consciousness. After taking a deep breath, she muttered to herself:

"It's been a long time since I ran into such a tough opponent. If she'd been in good condition, I might not have won. Honestly, she's pretty good."

Then Ibuki resumed digging. Before long, she uncovered a flashlight and a walkie-talkie wrapped in a plastic bag.

"What's going on?"

She picked up the two objects buried in the ground. The instant her fingertips touched their metal casings, an unusual tremor spread through her palm. Frowning at the mud smudged across her hand, she couldn't shake the feeling that the devices seemed subtly different from how they'd been when buried. A faint blue electrical glow appeared to flicker along the seams of their casings, like some strange reaction caused by being soaked in the rain.

"Maybe it's because of the rain..."

She shook off the stray thought, gripped the walkie-talkie, and pressed the call button. Amid the electrical static, she gave her current coordinates to the contact at a hidden base, then leaned against a damp tree trunk and slowly slid down to sit on the ground.

About thirty minutes later, a flashlight beam appeared ahead of Ibuki. It flashed twice, then three times, in a steady rhythm, like precise Morse code. She picked up the flashlight by her feet and returned the signal in the same rhythm.

Then the sight that made her grind her teeth appeared—Ryuen.

"Thanks for your hard work, Ibuki. Nice job."

"Obviously." Ibuki shook out her wet hair, her fingers unconsciously brushing the edge of her pocket. "If the digital camera hadn't malfunctioned..."

"Save the excuses." Ryuen cut her off with a raised eyebrow. "Now's not the time to complain about equipment. Where's the card?"

Ibuki silently handed it over. Ryuen swept the flashlight's bright beam across the card. The gold-embossed name "Horikita Suzune" gleamed coldly in the rain. Suddenly, he looked toward the depths of the shadows, the corner of his mouth twisting into a sneer. "Your turn, Katsuragi. This was your condition, after all—worried I'd tamper with it?"

Footsteps sounded among the trees. Katsuragi Kouhei of Class A walked slowly into the pool of light, the hem of his clothes stained with half-dried mud. His fingers trembled slightly as he took the card. His eyes narrowed to slits in the harsh light, as if he were examining prey he'd been waiting a long time to catch.

Ibuki kept her composure on the surface, but her fingers trembled faintly beneath her sleeve. Ryuen Kakeru's terrifying nature was now creeping up the back of her neck in an even more chilling way. When he'd told her to "bring Class A over to our side" after the exam began, she'd thought it was just the rambling of a madman. Now it had become a very real deal before her eyes.

As Katsuragi Kouhei took the card from Ryuen, he repeatedly ran his fingertip over the gold lettering. His eyes glinted coldly in the flashlight's beam. Of course, it was impossible to forge identification on an uninhabited island, but this level of caution had long since exceeded all reason.

"Looks genuine," he finally said, his tone betraying nothing.

"So, do we have a deal?"

Watching the other man's tightly pressed lips, Ibuki suddenly recalled rumors about the Class A leader's "obsessive caution." Supposedly, he even checked the angle of a breakfast roll's cut three times. Now he held the card level with his eyes, as if inspecting a dangerous object that could explode at any moment.

"How did you infiltrate Class D..." Katsuragi suddenly looked up. "What method did you use?"

"An ordinary method would've been exposed, of course." Ibuki instinctively touched her cheek, where a bruise from Ryuen's punch three days earlier still lingered. "But the method is a trade secret. After all, if you want a lie to seem true, you need a little blood to make it convincing."

She remembered Ryuen's cold sneer and the whoosh of his fist as it struck. That very real pain and the blood she'd been forced to swallow had become thorns embedded in the lie. When she'd played the role of "the victim Ryuen betrayed" in front of Class D, the hatred in her eyes had never wavered for a moment.

The students in Class D naturally believed she'd been beaten and driven out. Without those genuine injuries, it would've been much harder for her to blend into Class D so smoothly.

"Don't look so lost in thought." Ryuen chuckled before continuing. "You can tell what's real and what isn't, can't you? Besides, you've already got one foot on our boat. Don't tell me you're going to back out now?"

"...I understand." Katsuragi frowned at the muddy puddle by his feet and turned the card over in his hand. Ryuen watched Katsuragi's conflicted expression, a hunter's smile tugging at his lips. His lowered voice carried a sharp edge. "If you don't make a contribution now, how are you going to turn things around? I've heard that ever since word spread that you lost the Student Council election, the Sakayanagi Faction has been walking all over you in Class A."

Katsuragi jerked his head up, his pupils contracting. "How would you know...?" he asked in shock.

"Work with us and help Class A maintain its position." Ryuen stepped half a pace closer, rainwater dripping from the edge of his umbrella onto the back of Katsuragi's hand. "Once that happens, the ones who defected will naturally return to your side. Or do you want to make an enemy of me? You know what the consequences would be."

Watching the tension roil between them, Ibuki suddenly recalled the rumors about Katsuragi's "obsessive caution"—how he always thought every conflict could be resolved through rational calculation. But the fire flickering in Ryuen's eyes was clearly a blade held to the other man's throat. There was nothing negotiable about it.

"You don't get many chances when Sakayanagi's away." Ryuen chuckled before continuing. "If you can't even make this decision, how are you supposed to lead Class A?"

"...As agreed, we accept the cooperation." Katsuragi finally held out his hand. "I accept your proposal."

Ryuen made no move to shake it. He only sneered. "That's more like it. You'd better pray you made the right choice."

"Wait—" Ibuki suddenly spoke, her fingers tightening around the edge of the card. "What are the terms of this cooperation? What do I get out of it? I have a right to know."

"It's just a deal with Class A." Ryuen glanced at her. "As for the details, all you need to know is that sticking with me will bring you closer to your goal."

Katsuragi returned the Representative Card to Ibuki, then disappeared into the darkness without looking back. In the rain, Ryuen said quietly, "Don't worry. Once this is over, you'll get the answers you want. For now, just do what a pawn like you is supposed to do."

"Are you sure Katsuragi will keep his promise? He could break it someday."

"I've already considered that." Ryuen glanced at Ibuki indifferently, then continued, "That guy will do exactly as he's told."

Ibuki walked over to Horikita, quickly wiped her fingerprints off the Representative Card, then forced it into Horikita's palm. Mud oozed between their fingers where their hands touched. Looking at Horikita's beautiful face, Ibuki suddenly laughed softly—this woman couldn't do anything now. Even if she knew Class C had seen through her identity as the representative, she could only keep quiet and endure it until the exam was over. After all, a whole week of observation had taught Ibuki that Horikita Suzune never trusted anyone. When her Representative Card had been stolen, she hadn't immediately come clean to her classmates. The only person she was willing to open up to was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, a loner and "good-for-nothing" who posed no threat at all. Besides, as long as the card stayed in Horikita's hands, she might be able to hide the fact that her own mistake had exposed her identity from the rest of Class D.

"You know what she's like." Ryuen glanced at Horikita, unconscious on the ground, and ground a dried leaf beneath his boot.

"She's got stamina, she's stubborn, and she never listens to advice. No matter how bad she feels, she'll grit her teeth and keep going to the end—isn't that right?"

Ibuki stood up. Looking at the card in Horikita's palm, she suddenly leaned down and whispered, "Use that clever head of yours to protect yourself, Horikita."

After Ryuen and Ibuki left, Ayanokouji stepped out from behind a tree, briefly checked on Horikita, slipped the Representative Card into his pocket, picked her up, and carried her away.

In another corner, Takahashi sat on the ground, watching everything unfold before him. He thought, Ayanokouji, huh? He soaked Ibuki's camera, and Horikita getting sick was probably part of your plan, too. The genius from the White Room that the little cripple mentioned must be you. All right, all right. This is going well. Now I've got a pretty good idea of what my classmates are like. Next, it's time to clear out some dead weight...