Chapter 22 - Leader

Day 1,  8:45 AM.

"There are multiple spots scattered around the island. Each time you gain possession of one of these spots, you will earn a single bonus point for your class. However, You can't spend any bonus points during the test period. They'll be added to your class total after the test has finished. Each declaration of possession of a spot lasts for eight hours. The class leader has the authority to declare possession." Chabashira continued to explain the rules.

"You said class leader?" Hirata asked, seemingly confused.

"That's right. This keycard is used to take possession of a spot, only the leader gets one. Also, you can't change leaders without 'having a legitimate reason' to do so. In addition to that, on the last day of the test, when we take a role, for each class leader you can correctly identify, your class will be allotted a whopping fifty bonus points right then and there."

"Fifty bonus points?"

"So if we guess all three class' leader, we get a hundred and fifty bonus points?" with this newfound hope, Ike looked at the others with joy on his face. However, his hope was short-lived.

"However, for each incorrect guess you'll lose fifty points, this is a high risk, high return game. It's in your best interests to try to find out who the other class leaders are, but also to make an effort to conceal your leader's identity."

"Whoa! That's...just a bit too much!"

Unfortunately that was more than "just a bit". Fifty class points would mean life and death in the long run.

"Sensei, sorry to interrupt you when you're talking, but that juice from earlier went right through me. Where's the toilet?" Sudou, who seemed uncomfortable suddenly appeared in front of us.

"The toilet, huh? I was about to get to that point. If you want to use the bathroom, use this."

Chabashira grabbed one of the cardboard boxes from the stacked pile. She peeled off the packing tape and took out some collapsed cardboard.

Wow.. That looks like a really comfortable office, nya~

"What the hell is that?" Sudou shouted in disbelief.

"It's a basic toilet. Each class will be supplied with 'one'. Please handle it carefully."

Hold on.

Don't tell me that even if we were to retort to using something like that, we'd only get one 'toilet' per class. It feels... disconcerting just thinking about the fact that forty students would be using the same cardboard box for seven days. What if someone were to crash land while they're dropping bombs?

"Don't tell me we have to use that?!" Shinohara raised her voice in horrified surprise. The others around her also groaned in unison. And I personally doubt the existence of a person who would be comfortable waging a war on top of that box.

"Both the boys and girls will use it. But do not worry, it comes with a single button tent that you can use when you want to change. That way, no one will be able to see you."

"That's not the problem! Th-that's just a cardboard box! This is absolutely impossible!"

She was more concerned about the fact that it was a cardboard box. Apparently forty people waging war over the same battlefield wasn't really a problem to her.

"It might be a cardboard box, but it's an especially well-made one. It can even be used in a disaster. I'll show you how to use it, so please commit this to memory."

While the girls booed her, Chabashira-sensei assembled the toilet. It seemed she was familiar with setting it up. Then she put a blue vinyl bag on it, and placed what looked to be a white sheet inside.

"This sheet is made of water-absorbing polymer. It covers and solidifies waste. It'll make the waste invisible, and also suppress the smell. After you finish using it, stack another sheet on top. By repeating this process, it's possible to get around five uses with one vinyl bag. These vinyl bags and sheets will be supplied to you in unlimited amounts. You can even change them after every use, if you want."

If a disaster did occur, it wouldn't matter whether you were a boy or a girl, or if it was just a cardboard box. But under controlled circumstances such as this, it was kind of hard to imagine.

More importantly, albeit commencing air-strike on top of the cardboard box was a no-go, if those hydrophilic polymers were indeed being supplied to us in unlimited amounts, we could use them for drying our stuff. I'm sure they wouldn't ask what we would be doing with them.

"There's just no way I can do this! Absolutely no way!"

Starting with Shinohara, nearly all of the girls rejected the idea.

Ike, who'd been silent, pouted and said, "Come on, just deal with it. This isn't the time to fight, Shinohara."

"Don't screw around! It probably doesn't matter to you boys. There's no way I can go to the bathroom in a cardboard box."

"The decision is yours. However, you are not permitted to relieve yourselves in the forest, the sea, or rivers. Do not forget that." after giving her cold lecture Chabashira left towards the other teachers who were seemingly done with their briefing.

More importantly, at this rate we're all going to fall behind.

I wanted push the duty upon Horikita, with the intention of raising her leadership skills. But then I changed my mind. She was already pushing herself by staying on this island. That's why I took the duty upon myself.

"Listen, we'll discuss about that later. If we don't make a run for it, we will lose that spot." I reminded them of a very important fact.

My classmates who seemed to be at a disarray looked at my direction. While many of them seemed confused, Ike and the other's who came to my aid earlier understood what I was talking about.

"Yes, Levent-kun is right. If we don't hurry now, we will fall behind." Hirata's words worked like magic. All the students, especially girls, were instantly convinced. All that was left to do now was to navigate towards the location, all while carrying two heavy tents with us.

"Hey! What about me? I really need to release it, badly!"

Oh, I forgor.

"You umm.... Sudou-kun. Can you uh...can you take the box and... be a man?"

The others began their journey inside the forest, led by Ike who was probably the most capable out of all of us. However, I had some other plans. I turned to Ayanokouji who looked at me with a questioning expression.

"You go ahead of me. I have some things I'd like to consult with sensei."

••••••

Day 1,  9:17 AM.

"Guys, hurry up! At this rate the others are gonna reach there before us!" Ike shouted while speeding through the jungle.

"Slow down, Ike-kun. We're going to hurt ourselves if we keep running like that." said Hirata, concerned for his classmates' safety.

After I was done talking with Chabashira, I somehow managed to catch up to my classmates. All forty of us were racing through the jungle. We were headed towards a location that my classmates had spotted while being on the cruise ship.There were multiple spots scattered all over the island. But there was this one location that stood out the most. There was an outpost-like structure, right next to a cave entrance. Basically we were trying to occupy the location class A initially had their eyes on.

It was me who suggested the idea..

The cave walls were much better heat container than air. We only had two tents for forty people. If we wanted to sleep comfortably, we needed to buy an extra tent. If we were to secure that location, we could even sleep without the tent if we wanted to. In that case, wouldn't it be a better solution if we stayed inside a cave?

Eventually, we made our way to the location. I don't know if was by luck or Ike's navigation skills. But somehow we managed to reach there before class A. It was probably a bit of both.

"This is it! Don't you think it's the best spot ever?"

"The cave is so huge here!" Karuizawa's voice echoed throughout the vast empty cave. I had noticed some charcoal marks on the cavewall. That could hint the fact that there were other survival training participants here before us.

"Thank you, guys! You're pretty amazing Ike." Hirata thanked Ike for guiding class C.

"I know." Ike puffed his chest out in pride.

"It's beautiful!" Karuizawa admired the cave with sparkles on her eyes.

"There's an actual outpost right there. I mean how cool is that?"

I was glad that we were able to reach that place before class A. However, I had this intense urge to hurry up. If they kept wasting time like that, class A would've caught up to us.

"So assuming we want to set up our base camp right here, we had better discuss taking possession of it." I pointed out the scanner hanging on the cavewall.

"We should, shouldn't we? If we do it, we get to sleep comfortably inside the cave and else we get points every eight hours." said Ike.

"Mhm. Although it isn't quite as simple as that. The leader's got to renew possession to get those points." Hirata pointed out the thorn on the road.

"That's right. If another class sees them do it..."

"Can't we just, like, surround them while they renew it?" for the first time ever, Yamauchi was actually being smart.

"Good idea! What do you guys think?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan!" Karuizawa exclaimed.

"Last question then, who will be our fearless leader?"

That question wasn't even a matter of contemplating. I already knew about the person who should become the leader.

"Let's see, I think Hirata should be our leader!" Mei Wang gave the 'obvious' answer. Most students seemed to agree with this statement. However, I had a different strategy. I threw a glance at Horikita. Almost immediately we were at an eye contact. It was one of those moments when I needed her help regardless the situation.

"Hirata-kun and uh.. Levent-kun. I have something to discuss with you two. Would you please accompany me?" understanding my intentions, Horikita took the initiative.

"Oh.. Alright. Then let's talk outside." said Hirata.

We followed him as he began walking outside. While my classmates were gossiping in confusion, we left the cave. Outside the cave entrance, there was a huge tree. The three of us gathered behind the tree.

"First of all, let me state the obvious. Even walls have ears. So I'd appreciate it if we keep this short and audacious." Horikita began the conversation.

"More importantly, our time is running out. I'm sure the other classes have also spotted this location. If they come here and see that this place isn't already occupied, then we might as well find another spot." I immediately warned them of our predicament.

"But in order to gain occupancy over this spot, we need a keycard. For that, someone needs to become the leader." Hirata stated the obvious question.

"Although most our classmates would prefer you or Karuizawa-san to be the leader. I don't think that would be a good idea." Horikita replied.

"You two stand out to much. It would be too obvious." I concured.

"I am well-aware of that. Even if I was elected, I would've refused the position in that sense. Which is why I ask, who do you think would be a better choice?"

Being a leader in this exam was an essential and at the same time a detrimental role to be played. Not only did the 'leader' hold control of the points expenditure, their names would play an active part in this clash of classes.

"I think I have the perfect way to tackle this exam. But before that, I think the leader should be-"

I proceeded to tell them some of my plan. While Horikita seemed to hold numerous concern about my tactics, Hirata on the other hand was down to listen to my absurd plan. It was without a doubt a risky move. But if it worked out as planned, things would get somewhat interesting in the ensuing future...

••••••

Day 1,  9:39 AM.

"Ah, they're back. Wait, where's Hirata?" As soon as we went inside the cave, we were immediately greeted with Ike's interrogation.

"That's right. Didn't you two go out with him?"

"Hirata-kun ran towards the shore. He went there to aquire our keycard." I replied.

"Keycard? Wait... so the leader has been decided?"

"Yes."

"Cool.. So, who's the leader?"

"Me."

"...."

At that instant, all eyes fell upon me. All of my classmates were probably confused or underwhelmed by that announcement; which was understandable considering the fact that we had elected the leader without taking their opinions into consideration.

"You? You're the leader?"

"Are you for real now?" the girls couldn't have worded it any better, especially Shinohara. She shot down my leadership skills as soon as my existence as a leader was introduced to her.

"Yes. Hirata-kun and I chose Aozaki Levent-kun to be the leader of class C." Horikita announced.

"But why is it Levent-kun? Shouldn't someone with good leadership skills like Hirata-kun or Karuizawa-san be the leader?" Shinohara asked, unconvinced.

"It's not as simple as that." Horikita came to my defense. "Hirata-kun and Karuizawa-san are both popular students in not only in our class, but the other classes too. So to put it out bluntly, they stand out too much. If they were to become the leader, it would be easily guessable."

"I see. It is true that compared to Hirata-kun, Levent-kun is a bit introverted and kind of low profile. It would be hard for the others to guess him to be our leader." Mei Wang pondered.

"That's right.. In this exam, our target is to secure as many points as possible. Which means that we must hide our leader, Levent-kun's identity at all costs." Kikyou put emphasis on Horikita's point.

"Do you understand now?"

Although my classmates weren't exactly a hundred percent convinced, Hirata had already gone to the shore to make the keycard. There was no point in arguing anymore. What was done was already done. However, to kill the bitterness I had to do something first.

"Everyone, I don't think I'm as capable as Hirata-kun. But I'll definitely try my best to be a good leader." I bowed in front of them.

With that, everyone's viewpoints changed. They didn't see me as someone who stole their leader's position anymore. Rather they saw me as a puppet trying it's best to live up to the puppeteer's expectations. It was almost a given that in scenarios such as this, almost no one would be bold enough to berate my 'sincerity'. A perfect shield against criticism.

"It's okay, Levent-kun! All the best."

"Yeah! We're counting on you. But no pressure dude!"

And it seemed to have worked just like a charm. After things had began to slowly calm down, our struggle to live in the wilderness had reached it's starting point.

[Good luck, Levent-kun!] a voice whispered to themselves.

••••••

Day 1,  10:04 AM.

It was approximately eleven in the morning. Half an hour had passed since the island exam arc had began. All of my classmates were surrounding me. I had gripped onto the thin and hard keycard colored in green. A card scanner about the size of a shoe box was hanging on the wall right in front of me.

Even though I was guarded by my classmates, if a student from another class were to pass by to see us in this position, it wouldn't be that hard for them to aquire the identity. However, that wasn't the problem.

"Here I go..."

I looked at Horikita. Her expression was as stern as ever. However, as I inspected her carefully, she seemed to be more nervous than ever. Hirata patted me on the shoulder, giving me the green signal to do it. I slowly put the card inside the swiper. When it was placed perfectly, I slowly began pulling it down. I wasn't sure if was me, but as soon as I pulled the card, cold air ran all over my body.

*Clink!

The display went green and a text came floating on the screen. "Occupied"  alongside"Class C" written on it. There was a eight hours countdown right below the text. That was probably indicated the time when we needed to re-occupy that spot. I looked at my wristwatch. The time was 10:05 AM. For the next eight hours, thishe next time we would be able to reclaim would be at six in the afternoon. But by then, Ibuki would be within the parameters. There's always a chance that she'd be able to notice me.

It's not like it'll matter anyway...

"It's done."

I hastily put the card back in my pocket without letting any outsider see.

"Wooh~! We're safe for now." Ike let out a cry of relief. Everyone broke the circular formation.

"Hey, remember what the teachers told us?" Yamachi reminded us of Mashima's explanation. "We can still go swimming, have barbeques and all that other fun stuff."

"No, we're not going to do that."

"What do you mean? You aren't going to buy those things?"

"Listen, as we mentioned before. This exam is all about saving as many points as possible. Currently our class has three hundred and ten class points. If we have any points left at the end of the test, then they'll be added to our class total points score." Horikita explained the situation.

We initially had two-hundred and twenty class points. But after the midterms, an additional ninety points were added to our pocket money for surviving. If we were to successfully tackle this exam, we could significantly lessen our gaps between the other classes.

"If we can tough it out for a week, we'll get sixty thousand points every month! That's thirty thousand points more guys!" Ike crowed full of enthusiasm.

"I'd rather not pop your bubbles, Ike-kun. But it'll be impossible for us to survive without spending a single point." although we were given the methods and the option, it would've been quite demonic for the others to survive without spending a single points.

"I know. Then we just have to save as much points as we can, right?"

"What's that?" Karuizawa suddenly points at the survival manual.

"That is a list of things we could lose points for. Illness and serious injuries. Pollution of the surrounding environment. Absence at morning and evening roll calls. Violence against or stealing from other classes." Hirata answered his girlfriend's question.

"Can't we gain more points?"

"Yes. There are certain spots around the island we can claim as our own and get bonus points. As of this moment, we are going towards one."

"Hey, Levent-kun. Don't you think we should be able to spend some of our points? Within reason, of course."

"Freedom to choose is the theme of this test, isn't it?" I replied.

"Hmm..."

"No! We should refrain from using points for as long as we can." Yukimura objected against the idea of spending points.

"Don't you realize how difficult that's going to be? I'd prefer to tough it out, that won't be a problem for me, but I don't think some of the other girls can."

"Yeah." Hasabe nodded to that remark.

"I don't want to!" Shinohara whined.

"I'll, like, die!" Satou complained.

Karuizawa tried to explain why it was difficult for the girls to compromise. All the girls showed the consent with her statement.

A basic toilet. We were using a hyper-absorbent polymer sheet to solidify waste. Each one would've been used multiple times. The thought of using the same warzone proved to be an obstacle in their battles. Even some boys seemed to agree with that notion. It was not visible just yet. However...

"Come on, we can just tough it out and use this toilet."

...that argument could slowly insinuate a crack on the cooperative relationship between my classmates.

"You're not listening! I'm saying that some of the girls might not be willing or able to do that." Karuizawa yelled at Ike.

"We can buy a regular toilet with points. See, it says so right here on the list." not wanting to drag things further, Hirata suggested the idea. But I still had doubts... about the waste management.

"Huh? That's perfect!"

"Yeah, we have to!"

"Let's buy it right now."

The girls were desperate. But the thickheaded boys didn't understand their feelings. They didn't understand the intended goal of this exam.

"We can't just decide that. We shouldn't be able to spend collective points without a majority vote."

"A majority vote? That's a great idea Yukimura! This is our chance to score some major class points. We can do without the fancy toilet." Ike's statement had caused the girls to hate him more than ever.

"What the...?" Karuizawa was startled by the movement of that conversation.

"Women are emotional creatures who become irrational when they-"

*Clap *Clap

I clapped twice to get the attention of my classmates. If I hadn't stopped Yukimura's misogynistic speech, things would've gone in a different direction. My objective was to kill the argument with sound logic, but at the same time making sure that Yukimura did not turn into an enemy of all women.

When all eyes turned towards me, I had voluntarily assumed the role to explain them how we were going towards the wrong direction.

"Hey now, Yukimura-kun. Why don't we avoid talking down on our classmates, okay?"

I don't think talking in a loud voice suits me at all.

"First of all, this exam isn't about saving points. No, it's all about spending points efficiently. Obviously we're not going to be spending points on something like barbecue and cold drinks. But instead, we should spend points on what's necessary."

"That's what I'm trying to say, Levent."

"No, we have different opinions on this matter. You think that buying a toilet for the girl's satisfaction isn't worth consideration; whereas I disagree with that notion."

Yukimura glared at me for the disagreement.

"Why are you against my reason?"

"Look, we're all comrades here. We should always consider what the others have in mind. As you can see, the majority of the girls have problems with using this mobile toilet. Not only the girls, I have also sensed discontent in some of the boys too. It is a problem that cannot be avoided."

"But if we spend money on useless stuff, wouldn't it be a waste? We don't get chances like this all the time."

"You don't understand. Spending money on what's important isn't necessarily useless. If we force something upon the others, they may not show it immediately. But it would inevitably create a crack upon the cooperative relationship that we have between us. What more important? Saving points, or losing comrades?"

"That's..."

"And besides, sharing a primitive toilet is guaranteed to bring problems. Reckless self-deprivation and uncertainty will stress everyone out, which increases conflicts. Not to mention the hygiene issues. The girls need peace of mind. It would make them more likely to succeed in the exam, you know?"

"....." my words seemed to have reached Yukimura. He was contemplating whether or not to give up on his stubbornness.

"Yeah. You're right." He chose the former.

"I'm glad you understand. Alright then, let's buy a toilet." I looked at the others with a thumbs up.

The girls who were looking grumpy up until now, had their faces lit up. They looked at me with grateful eyes. Their expression was saying something along the lines of "At least not all of them are perverts," which... was a plus, I guess?

"Thank you, Levent-kun. You're a lifesaver!" Hasabe expressed her gratitude.

"Yeah! I would've died if I were to use that cardboard junk!" Shinohara who was dismissive from the very beginning, came to thank me.

"No worries. It's understandable."

•••••

Day 1, 10:15 AM.

"Dude, look what I found on the shed!" Yamauchi cried from inside the structure. He came out with three fishing rods alongside a binocular on his hand. "Now that we have these, we can go fishing!"

"That's true. But how are we supposed to fish if there's no water?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I saw a river flowing right behind the cave." Ike replied. I was honestly impressed by Ike's surveying skill. Even I didn't notice the water body until he pointed it out.

"If that's the case then we wouldn't have to worry about the water. Maybe we'll get some fish along the way." I remarked.

But what had caught my attention was binocular on Yamauchi's hand. The outpost was probably intended to act like a lookout for the occupants. With the help of binoculars, we could easily keep an eye out on the neighboring classes.

"Yamachi-kun, can you show me the binocular?"

"Hm? Sure."

I took the binocular and started walking towards the spot where the outpost was. When I went there I immediately saw a spot recognition device standing perpendicular to the outpost. Without a single moment of delay, I registered my keycard.

After securing the spot I began climbing up the ladder. It was a considerably old and a bit shakey structure. When I reached the top, the outpost gave me an eagle eye view of everything. I was able to scout the surrounding area of our campsite. From the cave, to the clif and the spring Ike was talking about. I had also noticed a huge plot of land. From the looks of it, it was probably man made. The cornfield we were supposed to come across on day 2, I could already see that. Overall, that outpost proved to be one of the most useful processions of class C.

"Hm?" suddenly I noticed some movement coming towards our direction. I used the binocular to magnify into that location.

It wasn't an animal; It was human. The first thing I noticed when peered into that direction was a shining bald head. In fact, it was so shiny that my eyes went blind for a moment. The bald man was leading a pack of other humans.

Putting the binocular inside my pocket, I descended down the ladder.

"What did you see?" Ayanokouji inquired.

"Class A is heading towards our direction. I saw them with the tent on the back their ranks. They're probably coming here with the intention of capturing this spot."

"So it was a fact that they had their eyes on this spot, huh?"

"Pft! Too bad! They're gonna have to find some other spot." Yamauchi declared with a menacing laugh.

"We've already captured the spot. So they shouldn't be able to capture it anymore, right?" Ike inquired.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. Considering the fact that we have to renew our ownership of this land every twenty-four hours, there's always a chance when they can snick in and claim the land for themselves."

"Hey! That'd be against the rules!" Ike hollered.

"There are no such rules. If they are successful at swiping their card before us, then we wouldn't have any other choice than to relinquish our occupancy." I calmly explained that possibility.

"You're kidding, right? If that really happens, then it'd be the worst!" Ike cowered in fear.

"Relax. It's just a possibility. I'm sure class A wouldn't risk exposing their leader with such a bold movement." Ayanokouji reassured a frantic Ike. "And besides, there's an eight hour cooldown for when we can swipe the card again. It'll probably be sometime around eleven tomorrow. We'll all be around at that time. So we're safe for now."

"Whatever may be the case, one things for sure, we were extremely lucky to have managed to reach this place before them." I proclaimed.

The four of us were standing in front of the path from where class A was coming through. Eventually, a few figures became visible in the distance. Katsuragi Kouhei was leading the way alongside Yahiko Totsuka. When the distance between us had shortened, they finally noticed us standing in their way. Seeing this Katsuragi's face slightly twitched in disappointment.

"This area has already been claimed by class C. You are not allowed to enter this zone without permission." I announced boldly.

"The hell? How did they get here so fast?" someone from class A hollered in disbelief.

"They beat us to it~" sighed another student from class A.

"Show us the proof of your ownership." Yahiko ordered.

"Huh? Are you dumb? Why do you think we're here, idiot?" before I could respond, Yamauchi sheered boldly, which seemingly angered some of the students from class A.

"Our entire class setting up a camp here should be plenty enough evidence." Ayanokouji sighed.

"That's not enough! We want to see something more definitive." Yahiko persisted our claims.

"We're not obligated to entertain your demands. Just so you know, if you enter the area denying our warnings, we will report you for trespassing." I announced sternly.

"Hey! That's not fair! We have a right to know that!"

I was surprised by the fact that Katsuragi wasn't trying to stop Yahiko. Either he was

"And who are 'you' to inquire such information? Are you the leader?" I blurted.

"Huh?"

Yahiko unintentionally blurted that noise. His eyes grew bigger from my sudden question. Katsuragi on the other hand was starting menacingly at me, not closing his eyes even once. All his other classmates were much more reluctant. They were frozen stiff and had a rather obvious expression glued to their face.

"Hm~?" I taunted them. Seeing their expression, Ayanokouji slightly raised one of his eyebrows.

"Yahiko. There's nothing we can do here. Let's find some other place." Katsuragi ordered, not wanting to make things any more obvious than what already was. They hurriedly withdrew from that place.

"Let's go report it to the others."

We were headed back towards the campsite in order to further complicate this scenario.

Initial allotted special exam points: 300S¶

Current balance: 1644,970 ¶¶