The island had changed by the seventh day.
The air carried a heavier weight, as if the jungle itself was pressing down on us. The chatter and laughter that once filled the riverside camp had thinned into silence. Students sat slumped around the dim glow of the fire, swatting lazily at mosquitoes, their arms and legs marked with red bites. Shirts clung with sweat, and the mats of leaves we had been using as bedding offered little more comfort than sleeping on stone.
For most of Class D, survival had become a blur of exhaustion, hunger, and irritability. The fire burned low, the river water tasted of earth, and even Hirata's charisma was faltering.
"Just a little longer, everyone," he said, trying to inject encouragement into his tired voice. "Tomorrow, it's over. One more night, one more day. If we work together, we'll make it back to the ship in one piece."
No one responded. Even Ike, normally loud, lay sprawled on the ground with a hand over his eyes.
Horikita sharpened a stick into a spear nearby, her movements brisk and sharp. "Hirata. Empty words won't keep us safe. Other classes will act before the end. If we relax now, we'll lose everything."
Her tone was cutting, but she wasn't wrong.
What the others didn't see—what they never saw—was that Class D hadn't survived this long because of Hirata's encouragement, or even Horikita's vigilance. It was because I had secured what no one else thought to: rations, tents, even a portable toilet. All quietly arranged, hidden behind a mask of normalcy.
They thought our survival was luck. That Hirata's leadership or Horikita's sharp orders had carried us.
Let them think it. Their ignorance was my shield.
Still, the tension was unmistakable now. By the seventh day, the rules had forced each class into corners, and predators were beginning to circle. I could feel it in the air.
And at the center of it all was Ryuen.
As the sun sank toward the horizon, painting the treeline with orange fire, I sat apart with my group.
Airi fiddled nervously with her camera, glancing up at me now and then, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. Haruka lay on her back, groaning dramatically. "Ugh, if I see one more mosquito, I'm retiring myself. Screw the points."
Yukimura rolled his eyes. "You've been saying that since Day Three."
Their banter was light, but the fatigue underneath was real. These three had become my quiet circle during the exam. We'd scouted together, secured bonuses together, and played our parts in the deception I had been weaving all week.
Because Ryuen's spies had been watching. Twice I'd let them "overhear" exactly what I wanted—that Horikita was the one giving orders, that she was the one they should fear. Both times, they swallowed it whole.
Now the rumor had spread, and Ryuen believed it.
Beside the campfire, Hirata tried to coax Ike into drinking more water. Horikita sat apart, eyes closed but body rigid, never truly at rest. And Ayanokoji… he sat cross-legged near the river, expression unreadable, like he was observing pieces on a chessboard.
I had noticed him watching me a few times. He didn't interfere, didn't ask questions. Just watched.
The fire sputtered as night deepened, shadows stretching long across the ground. And in those shadows, I knew confrontation was approaching.
It came as expected.
First, when Horikita and Ayanokoji went to patrol the riverside. I followed quietly at a distance, unseen.
The brush rustled violently, and Ryuen emerged with Ishizaki and Albert at his side, grin wide and wolfish.
"Well, well. Out for a romantic stroll, Horikita?" he drawled.
Horikita froze, glaring. "What do you want, Ryuen?"
"What do I want? Don't play dumb. This test isn't about surviving bugs and mud. It's about leaders. And I'm here to find out who's pulling Class D's strings."
His men spread out, cutting off escape.
"I don't care about your food," Ryuen continued, his tone sharp. "I want the leader. And my boys tell me it's you, Horikita Suzune. Cold, bossy, taking charge. Fits the bill, doesn't it?"
Silence.
Ayanokoji tilted his head, feigning indifference. "And if it were? Even if she admitted it, the teachers wouldn't confirm."
Ryuen laughed. "True. But confidence means you've got something to hide."
Horikita's glare didn't waver. "Believe what you want. You'll fail either way."
For a moment, the air tightened. Then Ryuen barked a laugh and turned away. "Fine. Keep your secrets. It won't matter when I strip them away tomorrow."
He disappeared back into the forest.
But he wasn't finished.
Later that night, he came again—this time right into our camp. The glow of the fire flickered against his grin as he stepped into the clearing.
"Well, well. Class D's holding together better than I thought."
The camp erupted in alarm. Sudō jumped to his feet. "What the hell do you want, bastard?!"
Ryuen ignored him, locking eyes with Horikita. "I'm here for your leader. And I think I've already found her."
Gasps rippled through the camp. Students whispered, panic rising.
"If it's you, Horikita," Ryuen said, "then Class C wins. Tomorrow I'll name you, and you'll lose fifty points. All your effort down the drain."
Chaos spread like fire. Hirata tried to calm everyone. Ike shouted denials. Sudō raged.
But while the others trembled, I sat in silence, calm. This was the bluff I had crafted, and Ryuen had swallowed it whole.
Ayanokoji, still cross-legged, finally spoke. "Bold of you to announce your guess out loud. What if you're wrong?"
Ryuen smirked. "I don't make mistakes."
With that, he left, leaving our camp in turmoil.
The trap was closing.
Day 8 dawned under heavy clouds, as if the sky itself knew judgment was near.
One by one, the classes gathered at the central clearing near the shoreline. Teachers waited with clipboards, a small platform raised in the center.
Class A marched in neat lines, their uniforms crisp despite the week. Katsuragi's stern face betrayed only a hint of exhaustion.
Class B clustered around Ichika Ichinose, who kept smiling brightly, though her classmates looked worn.
Class C looked like ghosts—barely a dozen left, Ryuen at their head, grinning like a wolf ready to pounce.
And Class D… we stumbled in ragged, disorganized. Compared to the rest, we looked like strays. But beneath the surface, we were sharper than anyone realized.
Sae Chabashira raised her clipboard. "The special exam is now concluded. Each class will reveal its leader. Then, in turn, each class will guess the leaders of the other three. A correct guess deducts fifty points. Incorrect guesses have no effect."
The clearing grew silent.
Class A's turn.Katsuragi's voice was steady. "Our leader is Yahiko Totsuka."
Gasps spread—no one expected Katsuragi to shield himself with a pawn.
Their guesses:
Class B: Honami Ichinose (Wrong).
Class C: Ishizaki Daichi (Wrong).
Class D: Hirata Yosuke (Wrong).
Class B's turn.Ichinose beamed. "Our leader is Chihiro Shiranami!"
Their guesses:
Class A: Katsuragi Kohei (Wrong).
Class C: Ryuen Kakeru (Correct).
Class D: Horikita Suzune. (Wrong).
Class C's turn.Ryuen stepped forward, grin wide. "Our leader? That'd be me, Ryuen Kakeru."
Their guesses:
Class A: Yahiko Totsuka (Correct).
Class B: Chihiro Shiranami (Correct).
Class D: Horikita Suzune (Wrong).
All eyes turned to Horikita. She stood cold and still.
Chabashira shook her head. "Incorrect. Class D's leader is not Horikita Suzune."
A ripple of shock tore through the clearing. Ryuen froze. "What?!"
Gasps, murmurs, disbelief.
Class D's turn.Horikita stepped forward, her voice sharp. "Our leader is… Soshi Miyamoto."
The clearing erupted.
My classmates whipped toward me in shock. Hirata's jaw dropped, Horikita's eyes narrowed, Airi gasped, and Sudō shouted, "Since when the hell were you leader?!"
I met their stares calmly. "Since the start."
For our guesses:
Class A: Yahiko Totsuka (Correct).
Class B: Chihiro Shiranami (Correct).
Class C: Ryuen Kakeru. (Correct).
Three for three. Perfect accuracy.
Ryuen's grin collapsed into fury. "You… you tricked me."
I only smiled faintly.
Chabashira read the final tallies.
Class A: 120 points.
Class B: 140 points.
Class C: 0 points.
Class D: 250 points.
Silence. Then uproar.
The weakest class, the misfits of the school, had tied for the highest score.
Sudō roared in triumph. Ike shouted in disbelief. Hirata slumped in relief. Even Horikita's eyes widened, unable to hide her shock.
Airi clutched her camera, whispering, "You really carried us, didn't you?"
I didn't answer.
Across the clearing, Ryuen glared, his face twisted with fury. As he passed me on the way out, he hissed, "You'll regret this."
I met his eyes evenly. "No. You played yourself."
Back at camp, Class D buzzed with confusion and celebration. Some credited Hirata, others Horikita. Only a few understood the truth.
Horikita cornered me once, voice low. "You lied. You deceived even me."
"Yes," I said.
She narrowed her eyes. "You're dangerous."
Later, as the sun sank and the ship prepared to retrieve us, my group gathered around. Haruka joked weakly, Yukimura actually smiled, and Airi whispered a quiet thank you.
Their laughter rose faintly against the backdrop of the jungle.
I looked out at the fading island, shadows stretching across the water.
Class D had stepped out of the darkness.
Result
Class A: 1004 -->1124
Class B: 663 -->803
Class C: 492 -->492
Class D:87 -->337