Classroom of the Elite: Legacy

V.3-Ch.3.2

Misaki

The Uninhabited Island; Class D's Base Camp

It was now the second day of the exam. By the time the sun came up, both the boys and girls all woke up and came out of their tents, stretching our arms and preparing ourselves for the day.

I was more tired than usual. Being someone who has never camped outside, I found myself uncomfortable inside the tent. It made me restless at night, and I barely managed to sleep. Fortunately, I had more than enough energy to continue this exam.

As I walked around the camp looking at our supplies and tools, I noticed Furukawa sleeping underneath a tree not far from where the bonfire was. It was almost time for morning roll call, and yet he was still sleeping.

"Good morning, Horikita-san." I turned and saw Kasai.

"Good morning," I greeted him back.

Kasai turned to look at Furukawa. "He was keeping watch all night. He didn't get much rest, so please don't be mad at him."

"I see."

"By the way, Furukawa-san and I found something last night. You should take a look at it."

"You found something?" I repeated.

Kasai walked towards the woods and I followed behind him. Reaching a tree, he crouched down and pointed at the ground. I looked down and I was surprised by what I saw.

"Footprints?" I asked.

He nodded. "According to Furukawa-san, he saw someone watching us in our camp from here. When he got closer to them, they ran away into the darkness. He didn't catch who it was though."

"I see." I crouched down and touched the footprints with the tips of my fingers. Looking ahead, I saw a trail of footprints heading in our direction and the opposite direction.

Whoever it was, they know where Class D is now. I thought to myself. Our first line of defense had been breached. Now that they know our location, they would more than likely come back here to figure out the leader's identity, which was me. Our strategy may end up failing.

"What do you plan to do?" Hearing the voice, Kasai and I turned around.

"Furukawa-san!" He was awake. He was expressionless as always, so it was difficult to tell whether or not he was still tired.

"I'm planning on following the trail and seeing where it leads. We can find out who the spy was that way. However, that would have to wait later. We have to do roll call."

Standing alongside everyone else, Matsubara-sensei arrived at our camp and proceeded to take our attendance. Using a tablet, she called out our names one by one and marked them present with a tap of the screen. Once she was done, she smiled at us.

"Congratulations on surviving your first day. There are still six more days left until this special exam ends. I hope you continue to do well." She turned away and left the camp with a smug look on her face.

Now that it was over, everyone returned back to what they were doing. Some were chatting with each other, talking about the exam and their daily lives. Others were checking our supplies and working to keep our camp secured. Our class was doing quite well so far.

"Now then, to take care of our problem," I said. "Furukawa-kun, do you mind coming along with me?"

"Fine."

I nodded, then I went over to Kasai. "Furukawa-kun and I will be going now. Can I trust you to take care of the class?"

"Leave it to me, Horikita-san," he replied. "Be careful out there."

The Uninhibited Island; the Woods

Following the trail, we headed deeper into the woods to find the student who was sent to spy on our class. Upon reaching one point along the way, we found that the trail had mysteriously ended with no other footprints leading anywhere else. It had come to a dead end.

I crouched down and looked around. "Whoever it was must've covered their tracks from here. If we're going to find them, we have to look blind."

"No, we don't," said Furukawa.

"What do you mean?"

"The trail may have ended, but there are other clues that could tell us where they went." Furukawa pointed at his ear. "Listen."

The two of us remained silent and listened to our surroundings. I heard the sound of leaves rustling through the wind and birds chirping as they flew through the air. Further in the distance, I heard faint voices and laughter. Furukawa pointed in the direction and we followed the noise as it got louder and louder.

The Uninhabited Island; Class C's Base Camp

Moving past through the trees, the two of us arrived at the beach where we saw an entire class of students casually enjoying their time. They were cooking barbecue, playing volleyball with each other, and drinking ice cold water from their coolers. As I looked around in the crowd of students to find anyone familiar, there I saw two people that caught my eye. Ryuen Takemi, my childhood friend, and Bushida Tetsu, the Class Representative.

One student happened to notice us and went over to Bushida, who was lying down on a beach chair with an umbrella stuck in the sand and protecting him from the sun. As he whispered into his ear, he turned around and grinned at us. He stood up from his seat and came our way.

"Yo, Horikita. It's nice to see you here." He was wearing his jersey along with swim trunks, and on his face, he had on dark-tinted sunglasses.

"Bushida-kun," I greeted him back with a glare. "It seems like all of you here are having fun."

"Ku ku. Yeah, we are. You want to join us?" I remained silent and continued to glare at him. "Hm. I was expecting that answer."

"You and your class seem to have a lot of things around here. Don't tell me you used all your Points." Bushida stared at me and smiled. "You actually did...?"

"Of course. The school told us that we could use our Points for whatever we want, didn't they? So long as it follows the rules."

I sighed. "Such an irrational decision. You may be living well and all at the moment, but sooner or later, your decision will come back to bite you."

"Ku ku. We don't care about that. This exam means nothing to us. So while you and the other classes are worrying about it, we'll be enjoying our vacation on this island."

I stared at him for a moment, then looked around at his classmates and the entirety of the beach. I took a glance at their supplies and tools, and I noticed they had devices such as hand-held radios by their side.

"Let's go, Furukawa-kun."

The two of us turned and walked away from Bushida and his class. As we were walking, I looked to the side and my eyes met Ryuen's for a brief moment. Alongside her, there were a few classmates, who I assumed were on her side. She and her friends were separate from the rest of the class.

Entering the woods, we headed on our way back to our base camp. Using Furukawa's idea of using the coordinates on our wristwatches, we managed to not get lost.

"Ryuen was back there," he said. "You didn't communicate with her?"

"We may have been close, but we're enemies now. There's no point in talking to her if it wasn't going to give us an advantage."