#80 Survival Test 4

Yuichi and 2 girls continued their search for the spots in a slow manner since Yuichi had to occasionally stop and draw a few details on the map.

"Hm?" After more than 5 minutes of walking without any destination in mind, Yuichi stopped walking once again with a focused expression on his face.

'He had such face during the competition in basketball...Is this how he looks when he is really serious? The girls were right that both him and Hirata have different charms yet they are on par with each other.' Karuizawa thought with a curious expression as she also stopped and started observing Yuichi's expression.

"What is it this time?" Horikita asked with a confused expression while looking around for any signs of why they stopped.

"What's the matter, Horikita-san? Is the pace we are currently exploring too slow for you? I can try to draw much faster so we can explore like any other group." Yuichi "offered" a suggestion with a smile on his face but Horikita only frowned down since she sensed illness in his words as if he was daring her to agree.

She was sure that he would definitely pick up the pace which was something she couldn't afford to...In the first place, she chose his group because he had to draw the map on the way so his whole exploring would be overly slow, making it easy for her to keep up without worsening her condition.

"...Well, try to listen closely...Do you hear that flowing water?" Yuichi asked and both girls seemed a bit confused but tried to listen closely.

"...I can only hear the rustling of leaves, no water." Horikita replied after a short while.

'...I wonder if I made a good choice. Iwamura looks much more stern and serious when it is required while Hirata on the other hand-' Karuizawa dropped her sight on the ground with a slightly sad expression before she shook her head.

"Are you alright, Karuizawa-san?" Yuichi noticed her weird behavior so he decided to ask which startled her a bit.

"Eh?! No, I mean- yeah, I am totally fine. Why?"

"If you say so, I guess there is no need for me to worry. Let's move forward, I might be imagining it since you don't hear it but I think there is a river in front of us." Yuichi said and started making his way through the thick forest.

Karuizawa picked up a pace a little bit and got a few meters in front of Yuichi and Horikita while looking around the forest.

"...What do you think the other classes will do?" Horikita suddenly asked in a low voice.

"You mean what kind of strategy will they use?" Yuichi asked while making sure that Karuizawa isn't paying attention to them.

Horikita nodded her head while also looking in front of her at Karuizawa's back.

"Hmm...Based on the information we know about each class...I would say that Class B will refrain from sabotaging other classes in one way or another. Class A...that's a difficult topic, I have overheard some students in the cafeteria say that there are 2 leaders in that class. Unfortunately, I have no idea who are those people, well, I have a good guess about 1 guy but I have no idea about the other person. That person could be the one who couldn't participate in this test which would be a pretty big coincidence but on the other hand...it would create a pretty good opportunity." Yuichi said all his thoughts aloud and in the midst of explaining things, his thoughtful expression changed to a smiling, excited one. He was excited by the number of options available for Class A.

"Huh? Good opportunity to do what?" Horikita frowned and asked.

'I observed Class A after getting off the ship and I can say that there was a pretty tense atmosphere as if there were 2 main groups in one class, however, despite the tense atmosphere, everything revolved mostly around that bald student named Katsuragi. I couldn't detect anyone with the same presence and authority as him, I highly doubt that the other leader would just let him do whatever he wants.'

"Good opportunity to attempt a coup" Yuichi said with a wide smile.

"?" Horikita only had a confused expression after hearing his words.

"Just imagine if the other leader is the one who is missing...in a case their class gain too little points, the only leader that is currently leading Class A on this island would lose most of his supporters because the gap between them and Class B would shrink by a lot." Yuichi explained further while holding his chin.

"Those are all your speculations and who would be crazy enough to personally lose points just to gain power over the entire class? This isn't some sort of game." Horikita understood that his words did make sense but she couldn't believe that someone would give up their own points.

"Pfff, do you know how many lives and money are sacrificed in politics? Just to gain a bit of power? As one would say, you can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it. Anyway, as you said, it's just speculation but either way, we can ignore Class A. One mountain cannot contain two tigers, they will have their internal problems in case both leaders are present." Yuichi released a muffled amused laugh before replying to her.

"Hmm sounds reasonable, then what is your opinion on Class C?" Horikita asked curiously.

"Class C, huh? *sigh* They are the only ones we should be wary of. Their leader proved to be quite ruthless who doesn't hesitate to sacrifice his pawns, after all, aren't pawns mostly good just for baiting and sacrifices?" Yuichi looked up before he sighed and replied.

"You think he will attempt to do something similar to Sudo's case?" Horikita recalled the student named Ryuen and asked.

"Quite possibly, he has shown that he has no problem beating up his own classmates, therefore I believe he will choose once again some kind f ruthless strategy." Yuichi nodded his head.

"Oh?! There really is something that looks like what we are looking for!" Karuizawa in front of them suddenly stopped and turned at them to notify them. Fortunately, she didn't catch them talking to each other.

Yuichi's group approached the thing and saw on its monitor that no class is occupying this spot yet.

"What should we do now? Go back and inform everyone or should we just send one person to do that job while the other 2 will make sure no one steals this spot?" Karuizawa asked while observing the so-called spot.

"I also finally hear water flowing so the river really should be just ahead." Horikita added before looking towards Yuichi with a slightly surprised expression.

"There is no reason for us to remain here, we can't protect the spot that isn't occupied. The other class can just occupy it as long as it's free so by remaining near it we will just gather the unwanted attention." Yuichi suggested that all of them go back together and both girls just nodded their heads before setting out to go back to the meeting point.

When they arrived at the meeting point, they were the last group to arrive.

"Finally, guys, where have you been?! We have already found a good spot location so we need to choose the leader quickly." Ike said, frustrated from all the waiting.

"We were exploring as you wanted and we also found one spot so stop using that tone! Anyway, you had a chance to talk about choosing the leader even without our presence." Karuizawa immediately barked back at Ike.

"I suggested that we start the discussion but Hirata insisted on waiting for you three..." Ike folded his arms and answered Karuizawa before looking away.

"Wait, you also found a spot? That's great! Now, all that's remaining is to choose the leader, right, sensei?" Hirata seemed pleasantly surprised by the news.

"That's right" Chabashira who tagged with them nodded her head with a faint smile. Most likely wondering who are they going to choose.

"Alright, so who should we choose? Obviously, it has to be someone with a sense of responsibility" Hirata said in low voice.

"I thought a lot of things over and I think we should refrain from choosing Hirata-kun and Karuizawa-san because they stand out too much. The same case with me, I guess." Kushida said while holding her chin.

"What about Iwamura-kun? He is pretty responsible and I believe most people from our class trust him, right?" Hirata asked while looking at Ike.

"Uh, I guess that's fair enough..." Ike agreed and even Yukimura nodded his head since he saw early that Yuichi can be thoughtful but he isn't someone who could be persuaded like Hirata. Yukimura thought that Yuichi acts on logic instead of emotions.

"Not good" Yuichi shook his head and everyone looked at him for an explanation.

"I might not stand out too much in our class but I had some dealing in the past with the students from Class B and also some from Class C. Before choosing me, we should think of all possibilities." Yuichi folded his arms and explained.

"Then what about Horikita-san? She is responsible and serious about moving up the classes. She also doesn't stand out in terms of popularity. She is the perfect person to take on the leader's position." Kushida suggested.

Hearing her words, Hirata's eyes gleamed.

"That's a good suggestion! Horikita-san, would you be willing to become the leader?"

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Horikita, generating unnoticeable pressure.

Yuichi just watched this unfold without a single emotion present on his face.