Night gradually fell over the Uninhabited Island. A cool breeze carrying the damp, salty smell swept through the woods, rustling the leaves. The bonfire at Class D's campsite was dying down, leaving only a few scattered embers to illuminate the weary yet watchful faces of the students on guard. After a busy day, most of the students were exhausted and had returned to their tents to rest. Only a handful remained on watch in rotation, as Hirata had arranged, protecting the campsite.
Mio Ibuki lay in the makeshift resting area, wide awake, her gaze fixed on the girls' tents, her eyes glinting. While the students on guard were changing shifts, she quietly got up, used the shadows cast by the tents for cover, and crept over to the girls' tent area. Kei Karuizawa's tent was at the very edge. It was the target Ibuki had chosen.
She carefully unzipped Karuizawa's tent, moving so quietly she made almost no sound. While Karuizawa slept, she quickly reached for the space beside her pillow, snatched up a light-colored pair of girls' underwear, and slipped it into her pocket. Then she silently zipped the tent shut and returned to her resting area the way she had come. The whole thing went off without a hitch, and she didn't wake anyone.
Back at the resting area, Ibuki didn't lie down right away. Instead, under cover of darkness, she quietly circled around to the boys' tent area. She had spent a long time observing earlier and had found Haruki Yamauchi's tent. Yamauchi was timid and weak-willed, and easily flustered when things went wrong. Hiding something in his tent meant it was likely to be found—and made it all the easier to frame him. So, while Yamauchi was asleep, she quietly opened a gap in his tent and stuffed the underwear into the pocket of his jacket. Then she returned to her resting area as if nothing had happened, lay down, and waited for the chaos of the next day.
Meanwhile, Suzune Horikita and Kiyotaka Ayanokoji had finished their shift and were heading back to Class D's campsite. As they passed the boys' tent area, Ayanokoji caught sight of a blurry figure darting away. He frowned slightly and said quietly to Horikita, "There was some movement just now. It looked like someone was hanging around the boys' tents."
Horikita immediately grew wary and looked around, but saw only swaying tree shadows and the dying bonfire. Nothing seemed out of place. "Could it have been one of the students on watch? Or a boy getting up in the night?"
"Doesn't seem like it." Ayanokoji shook his head. His tone was calm, but certain. "The figure moved lightly, and its movements were furtive. It didn't look like one of the students on watch. It was probably Mio Ibuki. Keep an eye on her tomorrow—and on the boys' tents. Something unexpected might happen."
Horikita nodded and kept his words in mind. They returned to their respective tents to rest, and the campsite fell silent once more. Beneath that quiet, however, a commotion waiting to erupt was already brewing.
At first light, a piercing scream shattered the Uninhabited Island's stillness. It came from the girls' tent area—and it was Kei Karuizawa. "My change of underwear is gone!" Her voice was full of panic and anger, followed by the girls' flustered chatter.
At the sound of the scream, the Class D students hurried out of their tents and gathered in front of the girls' tents. Yosuke Hirata was the first to arrive. Seeing Karuizawa's red-rimmed eyes and panicked expression, he hurried over to steady her, his voice gentle and urgent. "Kei, what's wrong? Don't panic. Tell me slowly."
Karuizawa clutched Hirata's hand tightly, her voice breaking. "Hirata, my underwear's gone! I left it beside my pillow, and when I woke up, it was gone! It has to be... It has to be one of the boys in our class! No one else would do something like that!"
Her words set off an uproar. The girls looked furious and wary, all turning their eyes on the boys and chiming in heatedly. "That's right! It had to be one of the boys! That's disgusting!" "We kept a close watch on our tents. Only a boy could have snuck over!" "We have to search them! Their tents too. We need to find whoever stole it!"
The boys immediately erupted in protest. "What are you talking about? We'd never do something so disgusting!" "Maybe you put it somewhere else, or the wind blew it away. Why blame us?" "Search us? No way! That's an invasion of our privacy!"
Both sides stood their ground, and the argument grew more heated by the second. The class's usually harmonious atmosphere turned hostile in an instant. Ken Sudō had a short temper, and he couldn't help shouting, "You girls can't just make baseless accusations! We boys are upstanding, and we'd never do something like that! If you want to search us, then you girls have to be searched too. Otherwise, we won't agree!"
"Don't be ridiculous! Why would any of us do that?" The girls turned pale with anger, and the argument grew even more heated. It looked as if a physical fight might break out at any moment.
Hirata quickly raised a hand to signal for everyone to quiet down. He was Karuizawa's boyfriend as well as a central leader in Class D. His cheerful, sunny demeanor and reputation for fairness and reliability had earned him the class's trust. At the sight of his gesture, the students gradually stopped arguing and turned their attention to him.
"Everyone, calm down." Hirata's voice was steady and firm, though his face held a hint of helplessness. "Kei's things are missing, and everyone's worried, but arguing won't solve anything. I know you're all feeling wronged—the boys feel they're being accused, and the girls feel they've been violated. But to find out what happened and clear everyone's name, I suggest I handle the search. I'll search only the boys and their tents. The girls can stay here and wait. That way, we won't invade the girls' privacy, and we can find what's missing as quickly as possible. Does that sound fair?"
The girls nodded. They trusted Hirata to be fair, and since he was Karuizawa's boyfriend, they were sure he'd do everything he could to find the culprit and get justice for her. The boys were still somewhat unhappy, but Hirata's proposal took both sides' concerns into account. Given his usual conduct, they had no good reason to refuse, so they nodded reluctantly.
Hirata took a deep breath, said a few words to reassure Karuizawa, and began the search. He started with the boys' tents closest to the girls' tents and checked each one in turn, moving gently and doing his best to respect everyone's privacy. Whenever he finished searching a person or a tent, he announced loudly, "Nothing unusual," to put everyone at ease.
Haruki Yamauchi stood among the crowd, his face pale and his body trembling slightly. He had slept deeply the night before and had no idea someone had put something in his jacket pocket. Now, as Hirata searched each person in turn, Yamauchi felt inexplicably nervous, certain something bad was about to happen. He stealthily felt his jacket pocket. The moment his fingers touched a soft, foreign object, he froze in terror, his face turning as white as paper.
It's over... It's over... Yamauchi repeated to himself. His legs went weak, and he could barely stand. He knew that if Hirata found it, he wouldn't be able to explain himself no matter what he said. Everyone would take him for a perverted thief and ostracize him. Panicking, he instinctively tried to shift the blame. He looked around and soon spotted Kiyotaka Ayanokoji standing at the edge of the crowd, his expression calm.
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