Deserted Island, Hachiman's Home Planet…
"After meeting Kushida-san at the lighthouse, I gave her the camera and explained the plan," Kanzaki explained.
"Originally, I was supposed to go to Class D's camp under the guise of returning the camera to Sakura-san. Then I would ask Kushida-san to submit the recording I took to the teachers as evidence against Ryuen. But… who would have thought she would already be there?"
"Huh? Why ask Kushida-san to do it? Why not just report it to the teachers directly?" Mako frowned, and several others nodded in agreement.
"Because it would be far more believable if someone outside our class reported it," Kanzaki answered. "That way, it wouldn't look like we deliberately provoked the fight. Instead, it would make us appear as the victims rather than the ones setting the trap."
"AHAHAHAHAHA!!! PERFECT! JUST HOW PERFECT! HAHAHAHAHA!!" Hoshimiya-sensei suddenly burst into laughter, startling everyone inside the cabin. "So Hikigaya-kun reused the same scheme Class C tried against Class D, and this time he demonstrated how to execute it flawlessly—without leaving any loopholes for denial—by making another class the witness! Hahaha! Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"
Honami and the others looked visibly pulled out by Hoshimiya-sensei's outburst. Without a word, they moved a little farther away from her, pretending they didn't know their own teacher.
Then Kanzaki coughed lightly and shook his head, a wry smile appearing on his face. "Still… who would have thought Hikigaya's luck with women was this outrageous?"
Honami's expression instantly went dark. The light in her eyes disappeared as she slowly turned to stare at Kanzaki.
Those sitting beside her—Chihiro, Mako, and Yume—silently scooted a little farther away as they felt the dangerous aura coming from her.
"Hmm… and pray tell, Kanzaki-kun, what made you say something like that?"
'Crap… I stepped on a landmine.'
A bead of sweat rolled down Kanzaki's temple as he felt the full weight of Honami's dark aura.
"W-well… how should I put it?" He looked around the cabin, searching for someone—anyone—who might rescue him.
But everyone deliberately looked away.
'You guys…!'
"S-so as I was saying… before leaving to meet Kushida-san, I went to check on Hikigaya's condition. But when I arrived… Kamuro-san and several girls from Class A had already found him. I saw them help him and carry him back to the teachers' camp."
Ignoring the pressure coming from Honami, Kanzaki continued.
"That's when I left to meet up with Kushida-san."
—---
Kikyo sat at the base of the lighthouse that night, anxiously waiting for Hachiman to arrive. When she heard rustling from the bushes nearby, her expression brightened.
"Hachi—!!!"
But the person who stepped out was not Hachiman.
It was Kanzaki Ryuji.
"Good evening, Kushida-san," Kanzaki greeted her. "Apologies. It's me who came… not Hikigaya."
"...Kanzaki-kun," Kikyo muttered. "Why are you here? What about Hachiman? Where is he?!"
Kanzaki's expression softened when he saw the genuine worry in her eyes. "I'm here under Hikigaya's instructions."
"Hachiman's? What do you mean?" Kikyo frowned.
Without answering immediately, Kanzaki handed her Sakura's pink camera.
"I need you to stay calm… and watch the recording in this camera."
Kikyo suddenly felt cold.
Her heart began pounding loudly in her chest. Something was wrong. Something bad had happened to Hachiman. She was sure of it.
She bit her lip and forced herself to calm down as she took the camera and began watching the recording.
"...eh?"
Her expression slowly went blank.
Her body turned cold as she watched Hachiman take blow after blow from Ryuen. Every impact made her flinch.
And when she saw blood spill from Hachiman's mouth… it felt as if her consciousness flew away for a moment.
But she endured it. She kept watching, not even caring about the tears streaming down her face. She wanted to see how Hachiman would fare in the fight. Deep in her heart, she believed that he would win… but when she saw him collapse on the slope, she couldn't hold it in anymore.
Her legs gave out, and she nearly fell to the ground. Luckily, Kanzaki stepped forward just in time to catch both her and the camera.
"...Is he okay?"
Kanzaki heard her small, trembling voice between her sobs.
"Yes. He's safe now. Before I came here, I saw Kamuro-san take him to the teachers' camp for medical attention," he replied, trying to reassure her.
Kikyo wiped her tears and took several deep breaths. After a moment, she looked up at Kanzaki again. Her face was painfully blank, but her eyes carried a firm resolve.
"Tell me what you need me to do to deal with Ryuen."
"...We need you to go to the teachers' camp and report how Ryuen beat up Hikigaya," Kanzaki said. "I'll leave it to you how you want to present it… But the important thing we have to show is that Ryuen is the aggressor and Hikigaya is the victim. We can't give him any way to escape responsibility."
"Understood. Leave it to me."
Her voice sounded flat, but Kanzaki could clearly hear the anger and hatred directed toward Ryuen within it.
"...Thank you."
He watched as Kikyo stood up and left the lighthouse, heading toward the teachers' camp.
"Phase Two, part one… complete." Kanzaki clenched his jaw. "Time to proceed with part two."
He stepped forward to follow after Kikyo.
"...Good luck, Shibata."
—--
The entire cabin fell silent. Even Hoshimiya‑sensei, who had been laughing earlier, let out a sigh. Honami clenched her hands tightly until her knuckles turned white. Chihiro, Yume, and several of the girls lowered their heads as tears slipped from their eyes, while the others bit their lips, wiping their faces and hugging one another.
The boys, on the other hand, all looked away toward the sea and the sky outside the window. Their jaws were tight, anger growing in their chests. They had expected Hachiman to be injured badly enough to withdraw from the exam… but from what they had heard, Ryuen had beaten him far worse than they imagined.
"...Tell us, Kanzaki," Hamaguchi Tetsuya finally spoke. "Did Hikigaya land even a single hit on Ryuen?"
The question caught Kanzaki slightly off guard. Before he realized it, a smirk appeared on his face.
"He did," Kanzaki replied. "More than once. And not just physically… he hit Ryuen's pride and ego too."
Hamaguchi slowly smirked.
"Good."
Several of the boys shared the same expression and straightened proudly, as if that alone was enough to settle their anger.
The girls, unable to understand their reaction, could only glance at each other in confusion.
Hoshimiya‑sensei rolled her eyes at the childish display of her students, though the small smirk on her lips betrayed that she was secretly pleased as well.
"Damn right he did!" Shibata laughed. "I clearly saw Ryuen limping when he showed up at the meeting spot with Katsuragi!"
—------
As Shibata had said, he was hiding not far from the location where Ryuen was supposed to meet Katsuragi. Unsurprisingly, Totsuka Yahiko was with Katsuragi, accompanying him for the meeting.
"Katsuragi‑san, do you think the information Ryuen will give us is actually true?" Totsuka asked.
"That is precisely why I demanded he bring definite proof of who the leaders of Classes B and D are," Katsuragi replied calmly.
"Hmph! I really hope he at least found the leader of Class B! I want to show that guy Hikigaya how badly he messed with us!" Totsuka snapped angrily. "How dare those Class B fools steal our spots!"
Shibata rolled his eyes when he heard that.
Katsuragi didn't react much, but Shibata noticed he also didn't deny Totsuka's words. It seemed he also intended to corner Hachiman and Class B over the claim that they had stolen their spot.
'Hah. Just like Hikigaya said… Katsuragi Kohei really is nothing but a self‑righteous man,' Shibata scoffs.
After a while, Ryuen finally appeared.
Shibata almost laughed out loud when he saw him, but quickly stopped himself. He couldn't afford to make any noise now. He mustn't allow himself to jeopardize Hachiman's plan.
Still… seeing the usually intimidating Ryuen looking battered and limping was a rather satisfying sight.
Ryuen's lips were split, his cheeks lightly bruised. Although he tried to act the same as usual, Shibata noticed his heavy, pained breathing and the way his stance and steps were just a little off.
"Ryuen? What happened to you?!" Katsuragi asked in surprise.
"Hmph. None of your concern," Ryuen replied coldly. "I just met some idiot who thought he could take me down. In the end, he was the one who fell."
He grinned evilly.
Hearing that, Shibata clenched his fist.
Katsuragi let out a sigh and turned to Totsuka. "Yahiko, go get the medical kit."
Hearing that, Shibata perked up.
"Haa? Why?" Totsuka frowned in confusion.
"...Just go get it," Katsuragi repeated.
"...Fine."
Still grumbling, Yahiko turned and headed back toward Class A's camp to retrieve the medical kit.
"Tsk. What a meddlesome guy," Ryuen scoffed, though he didn't try to stop him.
"Say whatever you want," Katsuragi replied calmly. "But I don't want you dropping dead in our territory."
Ryuen rolled his eyes before reaching into his pocket and pulling out two leader cards.
"As promised," he said, tossing them over. "Proof of the leaders of Class B and Class D."
Katsuragi caught the cards and examined the names written on them.
"Hikigaya Hachiman… and Horikita Suzune, huh."
"With that, our side of the deal is done," Ryuen said arrogantly. "You'd better fulfill your end."
"You don't need to remind me," Katsuragi answered coolly.
A few minutes later, Yahiko returned with the medical kit in hand.
After confirming the exchange was complete, Shibata slipped away from his hiding spot, leaving the three of them alone.
And just as he left, Masumi, Morishita Ai, Yamamura Miki, Shiraishi Asuka, and Nishikawa Ryōko arrived at the teachers' camp.
"Mashima‑sensei! Help!" Masumi shouted as they rushed in.
"Kamuro? What—?!" Mashima Tomonari turned toward the commotion, but the moment he saw the unconscious Hachiman being carried by the girls, his expression froze.
"Move aside!"
He immediately took Hachiman from them and carried him inside the camp.
"Hoshimiya! Come check on your student!"
"Why are you shouting for Mashima‑sensei—" Hoshimiya Chie said in her usual bubbly tone, but the words died in her throat the moment she saw Hachiman's battered condition. "Put him here. Quickly."
As the school's qualified nurse, Hoshimiya immediately began examining him.
"…Split lip… bruised ribs… multiple blunt impacts," she muttered while carefully checking his breathing and pulse. "Honestly, Hikigaya‑kun… what kind of situation did you get yourself into this time…?"
Seeing the commotion, Class C's homeroom teacher, Sakagami, and Class D's Chabashira also hurried over to see what was happening.
"Kamuro, can you please tell us what happened?" Mashima‑sensei asked.
"We… don't really know exactly what happened," Masumi answered. "We just found him collapsed on the ground near the waterfall close to our camp."
Mashima narrowed his eyes and exchanged a look with Chabashira and Sakagami. Both teachers silently nodded.
They stepped aside and opened the tablet on the table that monitored the students' positions across the island.
They pulled up Hachiman's location history to determine what might have happened. And when they saw the records… Sakagami's expression darkened.
According to the log, aside from several Class A students earlier, the last people who had been near Hachiman were Kushida Kikyo… and Ryuen Kakeru.
Given Ryuen's reputation for violence, suspicion would naturally fall on him.
Sakagami knew that very well. As Class C's teacher, he wanted to protect his star student. Just as he was about to speak in Ryuen's defense—
Kushida Kikyo and Kanzaki Ryuji arrived at the teachers' camp.
"Excuse me… is Chabashira‑sensei here?" Kikyo asked.
"Kushida? And Class B's Kanzaki?" Chabashira frowned slightly. "What are the two of you doing here?"
"I—I'm…?!"
Kikyo's words died in her throat.
Her eyes fell on the unconscious and badly beaten Hachiman lying nearby.
Her body trembled violently as tears formed in her eyes.
"Hey, careful!" Morishita reacted instantly when she saw Kikyo's legs buckle. She quickly stepped forward to catch her.
But Kanzaki, who had been standing right beside Kikyo, was faster and managed to support her just in time.
"Easy there, Kushida‑san," Kanzaki said.
Morishita, Kanzaki, the other students, and even the teachers could hear Kikyo's trembling whispers.
"…This is my fault… because of me… Hachiman was…"
Mashima‑sensei quickly brought a chair for Kikyo and gently guided her to sit down, subtly positioning himself so her view of Hachiman was blocked.
"Kushida‑kun, take a deep breath," he said calmly. "Slowly now. Hikigaya‑kun is fine."
"Kushida‑san, Mashima‑sensei is right," Hoshimiya‑sensei added as she stepped closer. She handed Kikyo a bottle of water. "Yes, Hikigaya-kun is injured and beaten up, but his life isn't in danger. He's safe now."
Kikyo's trembling hands accepted the water. She drank quickly, then forced herself to breathe slowly.
One breath.
Two.
Three.
Little by little, the shaking in her shoulders eased.
After hearing that Hachiman was safe, she gradually managed to pull herself together. When the teachers saw that she had calmed down enough to speak, they questioned her again.
"Kushida," Chabashira‑sensei said sternly, "can you explain why you're here? And what did you mean when you said this was your fault that Hikigaya got beaten up?"
Kikyo lowered her gaze.
"A‑actually… Ryuen‑kun called me out tonight," she said slowly. "He wanted to use my relationship with Hachiman against him… and threaten me with it. He wanted me to become a tool—to lure Hachiman out and betray our class."
Everyone in the camp narrowed their eyes at her words.
The students reacted more strongly than the teachers. Masumi's eyes sharpened immediately when she heard Kikyo mention her relationship with Hachiman. Morishita, Yamamura, Shiraishi, and Nishikawa also exchanged surprised glances.
Of course, the teachers didn't care about students' personal relationships. But for Masumi and the others, that detail was… rather shocking.
Still, they all understood that this wasn't the time to ask questions about it.
Kikyo then reached her side and pulled out the pink camera.
She handed it to Chabashira‑sensei.
"I borrowed this camera from Sakura‑san," Kikyo explained. "I planned to use it to gather evidence against Ryuen and make him stop. But… I didn't expect that Hachiman would actually come to my rescue and confront Ryuen‑kun himself."
Chabashira opened the camera and began playing the recordings. Together with the other teachers, they watched the footage of Ryuen and Kikyo facing each other.
The audio was faint, but Ryuen's threatening tone toward Kikyo could still be clearly heard.
The recording then showed the next sequence of events—Hachiman arriving, Kikyo leaving the two of them behind, and the fight that followed. It clearly captured how Ryuen relentlessly beat Hachiman down.
With that evidence in hand, Sakagami lost any remaining ground to defend Ryuen.
"Then how about you, Kanzaki‑kun?" Hoshimiya asked, her tone turning serious. "Why are you here with Kushida‑san?"
Kanzaki briefly glanced at Masumi and the other Class A students. Although he was grateful that they rescued Hachiman, he couldn't risk any information leaking back to Katsuragi.
"Don't worry about them," Mashima‑sensei said, sensing Kanzaki's hesitation. "This has now become an official disciplinary matter. Any information revealed here must not leave this camp. Anyone who discloses it will face serious consequences."
Reassured by that statement, Kanzaki nodded and began explaining his side of the story.
"Actually, I was originally looking for Hikigaya," Kanzaki said. "He didn't return to our camp after his rounds of renewing our class spots."
"As Hoshimiya‑sensei knows, Class B has a safety protocol during the evening renewal of spots. If Hikigaya doesn't return by the designated time, we will go out to search for him. And if we still can't find him… we report the situation to the teachers."
Hoshimiya‑sensei nodded. She and the teachers were indeed aware of Class B's precautionary system. Every night, two students from Class B would stand watch at the edge of their camp, waiting for Hikigaya to return from his run.
"Following that procedure, I left the camp to report it, but…"
Kanzaki lowered his head, taking a slow breath as he tried to calm himself.
Mashima patted Kanzaki's shoulder before turning toward the students.
"Kamuro, Morishita, Yamamura, Shiraishi, Nishikawa—go back to your camp. And don't tell anyone about what happened here," he said firmly.
"As I said, this is now an official case. If anything said here leaks out, the consequences will be serious. Are we clear?"
The five girls exchanged glances before nodding.
"Yes, sensei."
Mashima watched them leave the camp before turning his eyes to the remaining teacher.
"Sakagami. Do you have anything to say?"
"...Nothing," Sakagami replied.
Just as the teachers were about to dismiss Kanzaki and Kikyo as well—
"Excuse me… is Hoshimiya‑sensei available?"
A familiar voice called from outside.
"Ara? Shibata‑kun? You came too?" Hoshimiya asked in surprise.
"Ehh? Also?" Shibata blinked before noticing Kanzaki already standing there. "...Kanzaki."
"...Hikigaya has already been found," Kanzaki said.
"What?! Already?!" Shibata's eyes widened. His surprise was genuine. According to the plan, they were supposed to request the teachers' help to search for Hachiman.
He looked around, and he finally saw Hachiman's battered body lying inside the camp.
"Hikigaya?!"
Shibata let out a startled gasp and rushed forward.
"Relax, Shibata‑kun," Hoshimiya‑sensei said quickly. "Hikigaya is safe. His life isn't in danger."
But the moment Shibata realized Hachiman still hadn't received proper treatment, he completely forgot himself.
"I'll go back to our camp and get the medical kit!"
"Eh?! Wait, Shibata‑kun?!"
But just as he was about to run, Shibata suddenly stopped. The mention of the medical kit reminded him of his 'role.'
"...Ah. I forgot. Our medical kit is missing."
The line came out far more naturally than he and Kanzaki had expected.
'No wonder Hikigaya gave Shibata this role. With his honest and serious personality… the words come out naturally.' Kanzaki mused, once again appreciating Hachiman's foresight.
"Missing? You mean the medical kit you brought with the S-points?" Hoshimiya‑sensei asked, clearly puzzled.
Shibata rubbed the back of his head while Kanzaki let out a sigh.
"Actually, sensei… we lost it on the first day of the exam," Kanzaki explained.
"...And you didn't even bother reporting it?" Hoshimiya‑sensei asked dryly.
"Well… there's a small medical kit in the seaside cabin," Shibata said while looking away. "So we thought we could just use that instead."
Hoshimiya stared at her student with a flat expression before standing up and picking up the tablet from the table.
"The items purchased with S‑points for this exam actually have built‑in trackers," she explained. "It's a precaution so the important and expensive items don't simply disappear."
"O‑ohh..." Shibata replied nervously.
Thankfully, no one seemed to notice how oddly stiff his reaction sounded.
"Hmm? This is…" Hoshimiya‑sensei frowned at the tablet. "Why is it like this…? Mashima‑sensei, could you come take a look at this?"
Mashima raised an eyebrow and stepped closer. The moment he saw the data on the screen, his expression tightened.
"…Excuse me for a moment."
Without explaining further, he turned and quickly left the camp.
Everyone watched him hurry out, puzzled by his sudden reaction.
"…By the way, sensei," Kanzaki spoke up, breaking the silence. "What will happen to Hikigaya now?"
"R‑right!" Shibata added anxiously. "What are we supposed to do now, sensei?! At this rate, he'll be left untreated!"
Kanzaki's words pulled everyone back to the immediate problem.
"Sensei, please let us buy another medical kit!" Shibata pleaded.
Hoshimiya‑sensei shook her head.
"Unfortunately, the medical kit is only sufficient for basic first aid. With Hikigaya‑kun's condition, it would be safer if we sent him back to the ship."
"Ehh?!" Shibata's eyes widened.
'Huh? They're letting him go back that easily?! Weren't we supposed to insist on sending Hikigaya back to the ship first?!'
"We don't really have a choice," Hoshimiya‑sensei continued with a sigh. "Hikigaya‑kun will have to withdraw from the exam."
"B‑but that's—"
Shibata was about to protest, but Kanzaki placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.
'It's fine. This completes Phase two.'
That was the message Kanzaki conveyed.
Shibata understood immediately and simply nodded.
"Since Hikigaya‑kun is the leader and had to exit the exam, you'll need to assign a new leader," Hoshimiya‑sensei said, looking at the two Class B students.
"…I'll do it, sensei," Kanzaki volunteered.
Hoshimiya nodded and stepped inside the camp for a moment. Shortly after, she returned with a newly printed leader card and handed it to Kanzaki.
"Although the exam will end tomorrow, please take good care of this card, alright? And just like Mashima‑sensei said, no word about what happened here leaves this place. Understood?" she warned.
"Understood."
"O‑ohh… understood," Shibata added.
"Alright, you two should head back to your camp and rest for the night," Hoshimiya‑sensei said.
Just as they were about to leave, Chabashira‑sensei spoke up.
"Sorry, but could you two also escort Kushida back to Class D's camp?"
"Of course, sensei," Kanzaki replied.
With that, Kanzaki, Shibata, and Kikyo left the teachers' camp together.
—---—-
"As I was saying… after Hikigaya 'lost' the fight against Ryuen, he deliberately dropped his leader card as he fell," Kanzaki continued. "That made Ryuen even more confident in his victory—and it also set another trap for Class A."
"By letting Ryuen obtain the card, he could present it to Class A as proof of who our class leader was. Naturally, they would write that name down. That step was essential for Phase Three."
"...Judging from the fact that both Class C and Class A ended up with zero points—even though they had our class card and Horikita‑san's card—and considering our overwhelming lead…" Honami said sharply, her eyes narrowing. "That means they guessed wrong. That's Phase Three, isn't it?"
Kanzaki nodded. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the leader card with his name written on it.
"...But that still doesn't add up?" Honami tilted her head. "Even if Class A and Class C wrote the wrong guess for our leader, and we wrote the correct one… they should still have some points left, shouldn't they?"
Kanzaki and Shibata glanced at each other. That was the one part they hadn't fully understood either.
"We wondered about that as well," Kanzaki admitted. "While we did tell Kushida‑san who the leaders of Class A and Class C were. With only one person left in Class C, the leader had to be Ryuen. And in Class A, according to Hikigaya's guess, it was Totsuka Yahiko."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"We also tried to warn Hikigaya about the possibility that Class D's leader might be exposed to those two classes, but…"
"Hikigaya said, with complete confidence, that Class D would be fine," Shibata continued, frowning as he crossed his arms. "Because 'he' was there."
"...He?" Honami frowned.
"We don't know exactly who Hikigaya meant," Kanzaki replied with a shake of his head. "But when he mentioned thatperson… he suddenly became very cautious. Almost defensive."
Honami narrowed her eyes as she thought about the kind of people who could make Hachiman act cautiously.
'...Someone Hachiman would treat carefully… someone he wouldn't dare underestimate.'
Then her eyes widened as she suddenly remembered that person.
The only person that Hachiman treated differently. Someone who could make him change his attitude in an instant.
She turned towards the boats carrying the other students and eventually stopped at the one carrying the former Class D. Thinking about it now… it had felt strange that they managed to score 225 points.
But now it finally made sense to her.
There was someone there.
Someone capable of manipulating the situation and crafting a plan just as thorough as Hachiman's.
'Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.'
She spoke the name silently in her mind.
'Just what are you…?'
======