NOVEL WEB Chapter 22: Island: Chaos
Yuto's plan was straightforward.
Sabotage Class A while Ayanokoji handles Class C.
Yuto approached Class A's cave, skeptical that they were all asleep. 'I doubt all of them are sleeping,' he thought as he approached the curtains covering the cave. He stealthily made his way inside, distracting Shinji Matoba by rustling the bushes.
'Too easy..'
His upbringing had given him ample experience with stealth, having had to sneak to steal food for survival as a child. Inside the cave, lamps hung from the ceiling, but to his surprise, there were also fire-lit torches hanging from the sides.
'Isn't that just a hazard waiting to happen..' Yuto smriked
As he explored further, he noticed something peculiar. 'Another curtain inside the cave.. I wonder why..' He proceeded to make his way to the curtains separating the cave when he stepped on something, causing a creaking sound. 'What the heck is this!' he exclaimed as he looked down to see a metal object, blending in with the cave floor. When he picked it up, he felt some resistance, immediately realizing what it was.
'A magnet...'
He glanced at a torch hanging on a metal stand near the curtain inside the cave, deviously grinning. That's when he heard voices from the tents.
"What was that sound?"
"I don't know. It's probably Shinji, but I'll check it out anyway."
Shigeru Takemoto emerged from the tent and fruitlessly inspected the area before returning to the tent.
'As expected from Class A... They are vigilant...' Yuto sighed as he remained hidden behind the inside curtains, eyeing the food stash. Instantly, he knew why this part was secluded. It was a food stash! A substantial one at that! Yuto grinned as he knew what he was going to do.
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It was the third day of the Island exam.
Yahiko Totsuka had just woken up, only to be scolded by Katsuragi for waking up 10 minutes before roll call. The scolding session came to an abrupt end when one of his classmates shouted, "Katsuragi-san! Our food stash is on fire!" Katsuragi was visibly shocked as he rushed to the scene with a fire extinguisher he had bought with Ryuen's funding. Yahiko followed him closely.
As the fire was extinguished, Katsuragi scanned the area for the source of the fire. He found a torch that had been left too close to the curtains. "The curtains caught fire due to the torch, which then spread to the crates behind," he remarked, his expression serious.
"So, it's all just an accident?" Yahiko questioned.
"No. The torch was placed too close to the curtain intentionally. Someone did this," Katsuragi replied, immediately casting a suspicious glance toward Hashimoto, who was wearing a sly smile.
"The Sakayanagi faction..." Yahiko muttered under his breath.
Katsuragi nodded in agreement, "Most probably..."
However, despite Katsuragi's deduction, the true culprit was perched atop a tall tree, one leg dangling as he casually ate an apple and observed the Class D roll call below. 'Talk about hitting three birds with one stone! By ruining their food supply, they'll be forced to buy more with S-points, or Katsuragi will have to watch his classmates resign. The Sakayanagi faction will also resign in a day or two, using what I've done as an excuse. That's -90 S-points. Additionally, due to the fire, 14 students from Class A couldn't attend roll call, resulting in another -70 S-points. And finally, I've deduced that Yahiko Totsuka is, in fact, the leader of Class A. Katsuragi must be in quite a pinch right now.' He grinned at the thought
Yuto carefully angled a small mirror fragment, redirecting the sunlight toward Sae, who smirked knowingly in response. "Now that's roll call taken care of. I suppose I shall go take a bath at that shark-hunting beach," Yuto muttered to himself, while Sae silently acknowledged, 'That brat really is something else....'
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The next few days were sheer agony for Class A. Every time they gathered for roll call, Yuto would sneak into their cave, pilfering various items and scattering trash around the area, resulting in a deduction of 20 points for misuse of the spot.
Katsuragi remained outwardly composed, though inwardly he felt a growing sense of desperation. Despite his deal with Ryuen, he was now doubtful that he could secure enough points to claim even second place. Suspicion gnawed at him, and he began to entertain the idea that Ryuen himself might be sabotaging them.
DAY 6
It was raining. Yuto blankly stared at the sky. He was tried. Having no human interactions for 4 days, eeriely reminded him of 'that place' but today was different. Today he was done. Class A's points have hit near zero. Yuto finally came back to his senses as he remembered, "Kiyo-chan
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"I'll help you." Ayanokoji stated.
"You're not... the kind of person... who says things... like that," Horikita murmured weakly, on the verge of passing out. Just before she lost consciousness, she caught sight of a shadow looming over her. "Yuto...?" she whispered faintly.
Yuto's eyes scanned through Horikita's disheaveld apperance. his gaze icy as he turned to Ayanokoji. "I told you not to let her get hurt," he said coldly, hands in his pockets. Ayanokoji met his gaze evenly. "I couldn't intervene in a fight between Horikita and Ibuki without jeopardizing the plan-" He didn't continue.
He couldn't.
Yuto threw a lightining fast kick aimed at Ayanokoji's head, who barely blocked it with his forearm. The force of the blow sent Ayanokoji sliding several meters sideways, across the wet mud. "I don't want to hear bullshit." Yuto grimaced Ayanokoji.
"Impressive. You managed to strain my pronator teres, there might even be a muscle tear at my flexor pollicies." Ayanokoji stated matter-of-factly, observing the change in Yuto's pupils, which had taken on a violet hue.
"I won't forgive you next time the you hurt Suzune." Yuto scoffed coldly.
"It will be more advantages if you be the class leader." Ayanokoji explained, trying to change the topic. "You just want to reduce the attention you recieve. You should be aware you can't minupulate me." Yuto shrugged
Ayanokoji sighed with the same deadpan look, "It was worth a try. Well, what are you going to do now?"
Yuto hoisted Horikita onto his shoulders. "First we should bring her to the faculty and then I will stay with you, hidden of course, till tomorrow's roll call. I already paid Chabashira-sensei 20,000 private points for her not to call my name during roll calls after Day 2. As long as I prove I am present, she shouldn't deduct 5 S-points." he explained
Ayanokoji nodded, "Figures."
[A/N: This is the first special exam I altered. I NEED FEEDBACK. Please point out anything that felt missing. Feedback will help alot when I write the other special exams.]