"You know a girl named Ibuki, don't you?"
Horikita confronted Ryuen, who answered casually, "She's in my class. So what?"
Remembering the injuries on Ibuki's face when they'd first seen her, Horikita continued, a hint of anger in her voice. "What happened to her face?"
"Oh, I see. So you took her in. How amusing. Kaneda was the same way. They actually questioned my orders, so I taught them a little lesson."
"After all, I don't need underlings who disobey their ruler."
"Poor you. You're a leader, yet this is the only way you can 'lead' your class." Horikita fired back without hesitation.
So Ibuki wasn't the only one. Someone named Kaneda had suffered the same treatment.
And from what Ryuen had just said, Ibuki had been taken in by Class D, which meant the other one was from... Class B.
Karuizawa hadn't said a word the entire time. She simply stood quietly behind Chiba Yu, nothing like her usual self.
Class conflict, classmates walking out, and... Chiba Yu's gaze drifted down to the walkie-talkie on the table beside Ryuen's beach chair.
He glanced at it, then immediately looked away.
"You spent all your points on the first day, didn't you?"
"That's right. I spent them all, so no matter what happens to Ibuki, I don't have to worry about losing any points."
After their heated exchange, Ryuen gave a faint smile and teased Horikita. "Enough about that. Want to stay and have some fun with me? I'll prepare a tent just for you."
Horikita didn't care about a remark that wasn't even particularly hostile. She turned away and said as she walked, "Let's go. Staying here will only ruin our mood."
Seeing Horikita leave, Chiba Yu had no reason to stay either. He turned and followed the two of them.
Suddenly, Ryuen's voice came from behind them. "Hey, you over there. First that Hirata, and now this hanger-on beside Suzune. You've got pretty terrible taste in who you pick. If you want, I wouldn't mind accepting you."
At those words, Chiba Yu could clearly feel Karuizawa's already tense body stiffen even more. She clenched her fist furtively, lowered her head, and followed quietly behind Chiba Yu, her expression hidden from view.
The four of them walked silently through the forest. No one spoke.
"He said all that to you just now. Don't you have anything to say? This isn't like you."
Horikita broke the strange silence. Anyone could tell she was asking Karuizawa.
After a long silence, Karuizawa replied quietly, "What he says is his business. It'd be ridiculous to fall for his provocation over something so trivial."
But Karuizawa's current state made her words hard to believe.
Horikita fell silent for a moment after hearing her answer. "I see. If that's how you feel, then forget I said anything."
With that, Horikita and Ayanokoji prepared to head back.
They'd accomplished what they came for, and there was no point in continuing on.
"Are you two coming back with us?" Ayanokoji asked Chiba.
Looking at Karuizawa beside him, Chiba Yu seemed to think of something and didn't agree.
"You go ahead. We're going to look around a little more. Even getting a rough idea of the island's paths and layout would help."
"...All right. Do whatever you like." With that, Horikita led Ayanokoji away.
As they left, Chiba Yu clearly felt that, for just a moment, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced furtively his way.
It was only for an instant, but Chiba Yu noticed.
He watched their backs until they disappeared into the distance, then came to his senses and continued toward the next destination.
All the while, Karuizawa followed quietly behind Chiba Yu, not saying a word or making a sound.
"Creak... creak..."
In the tranquil forest, only their footsteps could be heard.
After walking for about ten minutes, Karuizawa finally broke the silence.
"Aren't you going to ask me anything?"
Chiba Yu stopped and turned quietly to look at the girl before him, Karuizawa Kei. She still had her head lowered, and her subdued voice showed that she wasn't as calm as she seemed.
"What do you want me to ask?"
"..." Karuizawa didn't answer. She waited quietly for Chiba Yu to continue.
"Are you asking why I didn't question you just now, the way Horikita did?"
"...Yeah."
"Don't you think it's strange? The way I acted... I wasn't like myself..." Karuizawa's voice grew quieter with every word, until Chiba Yu could barely hear the last of them.
"Was there anything wrong with what you said or did just now?"
!!!
Karuizawa slowly raised her head and stared at the boy before her in disbelief. He seemed to be talking nonsense.
"What's with that look?" Chiba Yu asked, puzzled. Then he continued as if it were only natural. "That guy Ryuen was obviously trying to rile you up so he could disrupt our class's unity."
"Just ignore what Ryuen said. Don't take it seriously. Like you heard just now, he didn't just target you—he also launched a scattershot attack at me. By your logic, shouldn't I go jump off a building?"
"...I... I actually thought the same thing just now. I was just afraid you'd misunderstand..." Karuizawa's face flushed slightly. She turned her face aside and mumbled something under her breath.
Looks like she'd gotten over it. Was this the famous thing where emotions came and went in a flash?
Before long, Karuizawa had finally composed herself, and the two set off again. But their walk was hardly peaceful. Karuizawa kept finding excuses to chat with Chiba Yu, making his hopes for some quiet utterly futile.
If Karuizawa just now had been a pitiful kitten drenched by a rainstorm, then now she was charging headlong toward becoming a tigress!
He was starting to think that pitiful-looking Karuizawa from earlier hadn't been so bad after all...