Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Ayanokōji's POV

On the third day, I got myself up early and headed out to occupy the hut and tower spots, as always. Last night, Ryuzaki and Light had returned, and then Ryuzaki had stated that he intended to go back to the tower for the night. Light objected, but was eventually forced to accompany him because it'd be dangerous to traverse the forest alone.

"It has to be one of these two people."

Ryuzaki picked up two of the paper slips in front of him and placed them next to each other at the edge of the desk. Totsuka Yahiko and Hayato Kitō.

"Nobody else can be the leader, because they wouldn't have been present at the spots at the right time otherwise." He elaborated.

I looked down at the notebook laid to his side on the desk. I could see the quality of his handwriting degrade over time – it already wasn't great, so by the end it was barely legible. By now, there were a multitude of pairs of numbers that spanned across multiple pages.

"Can we narrow it down further?" Light asked, clearly tired.

"No. If you look at your notes, you'll notice that Yahiko and Kitō always cross together. In other words, we'll never be able to catch either of them at the wrong place to be the leader."

"Which means we'll have to leave it to Sora to confirm the leader's identity, huh."

When I got back from the tower yesterday, Sora had mentioned to me that he knew how we could confirm Class A's leader. He didn't elaborate, but somehow I had faith that he would be able to do it. Ryuzaki and Light weren't present at that time, but they were informed later that night.

"I wonder what he plans to do. He refused to give us the details of his idea." Ryuzaki shifted, an inquisitive look on his face.

I nodded. "He didn't say what it is, but he seemed pretty confident it'll work."

"Well, in that case, our work here is done." Ryuzaki snapped his manual closed as he said that.

Light rolled down his sleeve and checked his watch. "13:20. That means we spent around fourteen hours total monitoring them."

"I told you, didn't I?" Ryuzaki said, stretching has back. "I was confident I had the dedication. I'm quite surprised that you were able to stay committed the whole time too, though, Light."

"I was only here because I had to look after you. If I wasn't here to take turns keeping watch with you while you slept, you would've ended up staying up all night, wouldn't you?"

So, in order to get some sleep while still being able to accurately document any movements, Ryuzaki and Light had taken turns sleeping while the other continues the observation during the night. I couldn't imagine they'd had a good sleep doing that.

"I can't deny that," Ryuzaki said sheepishly.

"Well, while we're out here, do you two want to accompany me? I'm going to go and look around some of the other classes' camps." I offered.

I'd much rather have some company than roam around the island alone. Light would be especially nice to have around, since he was popular and sociable unlike me.

"Well, I suppose we have nothing better to do today." Light sighed, agreeing to join me.

We climbed out of the tower, pocketing the manuals and slips of paper so that no trace of the investigation is left behind. It wouldn't be good if someone stumbled upon the tower and saw the notes while we were away.

"Where should we go first?" Ryuzaki asked as we began walking.

"I don't know but, calculating the approximate time this'll take us, I think we should go to Class A last." I replied.

"Oh, that will line up with the time Sora plans to carry out his plan, doesn't it?" Light commented.

"Yes. I'm quite interested to see what he's up to."

"Let's go all the way around to the other side of the island and make our way back, then, so that we end up at Class A last." Ryuzaki decided.

Following that path, that meant that we'd go to Class E first, then Class B, then Class C and finally Class A. I hadn't yet seen Class E or Class C's camps, so I was quite interested to see those.

Ryuzaki, Light and I chatted idly as we walked around the perimeter of the island. Of course, Light was the one leading the conversation, as Ryuzaki and I didn't have the greatest conversational skills. Before long, we reached the spot tucked away in the thicket of leaves and bushes, which was situated next to the river. Class E's spot.

"Hey, Light, Ayanokōji!" Sudō waved to us as we stepped out of the shrubbery.

Back during the midterms, Light, Lelouch and I had become acquainted with Sudō and his two friends after Kushida asked us to help them study. That all turned out to be pointless, though, since their class decided to use a zero-point strategy.

Well, I suppose it wasn't entirely pointless. Class E probably won't be able to use that same strategy every time an academic test comes up, so those guys getting some tutoring from us will help them in the future by solidifying their foundations early on.

"Hello, Sudō." Light smiled at him warmly, capturing the girls' hearts in an instant.

"Look, it's Yagami-kun!"

"Yagami-kun is here?"

"Yagami-kun!"

Just like that, the entourage of girls that usually followed Hirata everywhere set their eyes on Light instead. Light scratched his cheek sheepishly as the girls rushed over to him, while Ryuzaki and I sent each other a look.

"Ah hello Mori, Inogashira, Ishikura, Satō, Maezono..."

Light took his time greeting each of the girls one by one. Ryuzaki and I simply stood off to the side in silence, watching this slightly depressing scene unfold. After he was done, Light gestured for us to join him, and walked over to the main camp.

"Yagami-kun, it's nice to see you." Hirata greeted Light as we approached.

"You too, Hirata."

Then, Hirata turned to Ryuzaki and I. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Hirata Yōsuke," he introduced himself warmly.

"Ayanokōji Kiyotaka. It's nice to meet you too."

"Likewise. I'm Ryuzaki Rue."

My eyes drifted over to a girl sitting alone against a tree. The only defining feature I could make out was her short, blue hair. I was pretty certain that she wasn't a Class E student, which meant that she was probably from another class. If I had to guess, I'd say that she was a spy from Class C, similarly to Shiina.

"You are both Yagami-kun's classmates, I assume?" Hirata asked as we arrived at the centre of the Class E camp.

"That's right." I replied, looking around.

There were three tents in total in the camp – two of them adjacent to each other, and the other one situated a bit of a distance away. It looked like they'd also bought a toilet, which they'd placed on the outskirts of their camp. The camp itself was in a nice spot with quick access to the river running nearby. One thing stuck out to me, though...

"How do you manage to fit forty students into three tents? They only have a supposed capacity of eight students each." Ryuzaki inquired, puzzlement clear on his face.

"Oh, we don't!" A girl chimed in, walking up to us and joining Hirata's side. "Oh, I'm Karuizawa Kei by the way. I heard your introductions, so no need to repeat them."

Karuizawa Kei, huh. This girl was the one who was dating Hirata. I hadn't seen her before but, seeing as she held such an influential position in the social hierarchy, it was lucky that I'd become acquainted with her here.

"Sorry, Karuizawa, but did you just say that you don't fit everybody into the tents?" Light asked nervously.

"Well, the girls sleep in both of our supplied tents. The boys started crying about it though, so we generously let them buy one of their own." She responded with a smile.

"But, even then, that tent can only accommodate eight people..." Light's voice trailed off.

"Ah, right! The rest of them sleep outside, on the floor!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

A horrified expression slowly made its way onto Light's face as he learned of the treatment the Class E boys were receiving. As for Ryuzaki, he seemed bothered by something else. His features wore a baffled look.

"Even then, though, you shouldn't be able to fit all the girls in your class into just two tents." Ryuzaki pointed out in confusion.

"Oh, we just squeeze up really close together to make it work."

"I-I see..."

Somehow, I felt that Ryuzaki was lying. In fact, he probably didn't see at all, but decided to drop the subject. Light, seemingly recovered from his state of shock, decided to change the topic.

"So, how is it going in Class E? Trudging along okay?" He asked amicably.

"Well, I certainly can't say it's been easy, but we've managed so far." Hirata replied with a gentle smile.

"I see. And who's your leader?"

"It's H— wait, what in the world are you trying to make me say?!" Hirata exclaimed in alarm.

"Ah, it's just a conversational trick, sorry. In a casual atmosphere such as this, where the conversation is nicely flowing, sometimes people will answer an outrageous question like that without thinking properly. It was worth a shot." Light explained, suppressing a giggle.

I also glimpsed Ryuzaki stifle a laugh out of the corner of my eye, but he was unable to prevent a grin from forming. I too found it pretty amusing, but my face didn't change. It never does.

"Oh, Class D students are here?" An angelic voice rang out from one of the tents.

I looked over and saw Kushida Kikyō, smiling brightly as always as she bounded towards our group. "Hello Ayanokōji-kun, Yagami-kun, Ryuzaki-kun!"

It's suspicious if you greet me first, Kushida, considering that Light is much more popular than I am. Not that anyone in this class will pick up on it, but...

I took a quick glance at Ryuzaki, who was eyeing me suspiciously. Of course, this ever-observant person would pick up on even the subtlest of things like that. I didn't think he'd mention it to anyone, but it was disconcerting nevertheless.

"Ah, Kushida, nice to see you." Light greeted her.

Out of everyone, I felt that Light was probably one of the few people that Kushida didn't utterly despise. Light was all around respectful, polite, and sociable – he was pretty much a model student. He was also a good person, who hated to see injustice and evil.

That was a double-edged sword, however. Someone such as him also had the potential to easily become twisted and evil if he deviated from the path. Strong principles are prone to becoming the most dangerous if flipped around.

"What is Class D doing here, hmm?" Kushida inquired as she joined us.

"We're just taking a little look around to pass the time." Ryuzaki replied disinterestedly.

Kushida made an incredulous expression. "Do you not have things you need to do?"