The Odd One Out

Chapter 4.3 - The Puzzle Pieces

I was exploring the island when I spot a cave near the mountains.  It looked like a potential spot. I moved around near the entrance of the cave, trying to make as much noise as possible. If this was another class' base, then someone would probably hear this noise and come out of the cave to check out the source. I then saw Katsuragi come out, with a key card in his hands.

"Katsuragi, what are you doing out here?"

Another student come out of the cave. Yahiko Totsuka. He's one of Katsuragi's most loyal followers.

"Just looking to see if anyone's spying on us. I don't think there is anyone though."

"Everyone is probably is setting up their base."

"You're right."

They then head back into their base.

Although Katsuragi had a card in his hand, I doubt he's the leader. Katsuragi is not a careless man.

Arisu told me about Katsuragi and his followers. He definitely isn't the type to perform such careless acts. He is a serious man who adheres to the rules of manners and good conduct. He is also calm and intelligent. Taking into account that information, he wouldn't so obviously show his key card, meaning that it is likely that he is not the leader.

Since Arisu isn't taking part in this special exam, I assume Katsuragi took charge of his class. The decisions Class A take will probably be based on him. Therefore, I would guess that Class A's leader is his most trusted follower, Totsuka. However, that's not really what I was here for. I just wanted to explore the island to have a good idea of where each base camp was located.

I left Class A's base and roamed around, until I came across Class C's base, which was on a beach.

A zero-point strategy?

Class C had already spent visibly all of their points on luxuries. Some students were playing volleyball on the sand, others swam in the ocean, and others were laying down on beach chairs.

I quickly left before they spotted me.

With that, I left Class C's base camp. All I needed was to find Class B and their base camp to complete my mission for this scouting session. Class A's base was the closest to ours, on the East side. Class C's was situated towards the Nord part of the island. Therefore, Class B's was probably towards either the center or the West side, as the South was where we started.

I quickly sprinted through the forest while looking at my map which I had marked with the other classes' base camps. Before I knew it, I came across Class B's camp, which was indeed on the very West side of the island.

"Oh hey, Ayanokouji-kun!" Ichinose called out.

"Hey, Ichinose. I came by to visit your base camp, is that fine with you?"

"Of course!"

"Hello Ayanokouji," Kanzaki greeted me with a suspicious tone.

He doesn't trust me at all.

"Come on, Kanzaki. Can't you be a little more friendly towards Ayanokouji-kun?" Ichinose smiled. Luckily, my relationship with Ichinose more or less came back to normal after Nagumo's expulsion. After all, I had promised to help her, and she had done the same. Class D had also established an alliance with Class B a little while after the midterms, but Kanzaki seemingly isn't a fan of the alliance. No, he isn't a fan of me.

"I can't. He gives me bad vibes. I'll be going now."

"Sorry, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Don't worry, Ichinose. Seems like you guys have quite a solid spot."