A Tyrant's Will

Volume 3: Chapter 5.2 - Against One's Will

In the dark depths of the forest, two figures pushed their way through the misty undergrowth. One ran ahead, while the other struggled to keep up. Horikita Suzune, her body heavy and sluggish, forced herself to chase after Shiina while the hard rain fell.

Even though Horikita could not see Shiina, the muddy ground preserved her trail. Each footprint pointed the way forward. Shiina wasn't a fast runner. If Horikita could maintain her pace, if she could endure just a little longer, she could close the distance.

Shiina had traveled roughly a hundred meters from base camp, sometimes veering left, sometimes right. Then, quite unexpectedly, she was standing still, as if she were waiting for someone. Horikita instinctively drew back into the shadows, though she knew there was probably no point.

"Horikita-san, what are you doing?"

Shiina spoke without turning around. Her voice was soft, nearly lost beneath the sound of the falling rain.

"I noticed you following me. Why don't you come on out?"

"When did you notice me?" Horikita asked.

"From the very beginning. To be precise, your following me was already within his predictions."

Her answer left a faint chill in Horikita's chest. Shiina was still the same as always, yet something about her presence now felt subtly wrong.

"You know why I'm following you, right?"

"I truly have no idea what you're talking about."

Shiina turned to face her. Horikita met her eyes and found no trace of deception. Instead, there was something else there. Pity and sadness. It was as though Shiina regretted what she was about to do, and the realization almost made Horikita hesitate.

"Why would I lie?" Shiina pressed, as if sensing Horikita's inner turmoil. "I would like to hear your reason for following me, in your own words."

"The underwear theft. The fire. Misfortune keeps befalling Class D."

Horikita did not want to admit it, but she had suspected from the start that Hirata was not the true culprit. He would not have volunteered to empty his bag first if he were guilty. Her suspicions had slowly turned toward Shiina, whom she now believed might have planted the underwear to fracture Class D from within.

"I understand Class D has gone through a lot. But what does that have to do with me?"

"Do you realize some people suspect you?"

"Ah. I suppose since I'm an outsider, there's not much I can do about that. Are you saying I'm the culprit? Do you have any proof?"

"Unfortunately, I do not have evidence for either incident. However, the timing is too suspicious. You left immediately after the fire was discovered. That makes it highly likely you set it to draw attention and use the confusion to escape."

"Those are only assumptions, Horikita-san. You have no evidence, yet you suspect me."

Horikita couldn't help but be impressed by how Shiina had handled everything. She had kept her head down until now and maintained her distance from Class D. Only today had suspicion finally begun to fall on her.

"I suspect you because of what happened today. You don't need me to explain that, do you?"

Horikita wanted to hear the truth from Shiina herself. Explaining her full reasoning would be tantamount to revealing her identity as the leader. She was 99% certain Shiina already knew, but as long as there remained even a 1% chance of her innocence, Horikita had to avoid being direct.

"Let me cut to the chase. I want you to return something you took from me," Horikita said, fixing Shiina with a steady gaze.

"I really don't know what you're talking about."