I clenched my fists tightly as I walked behind Ayanokouji on our way back to camp.
I chose to walk behind him because he might try to snipe me from behind again, so I stayed two steps behind to keep an eye on him.
I won't deny that the thought of smashing a rock against his head crossed my mind.
But I didn't want the trouble of hiding the body afterward.
"Hikigaya, can I ask you something...?" Ayanokouji said after we had been walking in silence for a while.
The only sound around us was our footsteps brushing against the short grass.
"Mm... go ahead," I replied.
I had no idea what he wanted to ask exactly, but maybe this was one of the reasons he followed me to the beach.
"Who's the leader? You or Kouenji?" Ayanokouji asked without turning around.
It was as if my tone alone would be enough for him to tell whether I was lying or not.
"I-I am..." I answered, keeping my eyes fixed on him.
"You? Horikita already told me who the leader was," Ayanokouji said.
"If you already know, then there's no point asking."
No one said the leader had to stay hidden from Class D students.
In short, they didn't ask Ayanokouji. He asked Horikita and got the answer from her.
"Besides, you're putting in a lot of effort for someone trying to hide his abilities," I said as I sped up and walked past him.
"It's just curiosity."
Curiosity?
Or maybe he wanted to monitor the situation to ensure victory.
Well, Class D hadn't even entered the real game yet. Everything we'd done so far was basically just camping.
This exam wasn't only about daily tasks.
I think Ryuuen understood that, which was why he made his move.
Ayanokouji probably understood it too, which was why he kept observing the class.
"Hey, it skipped once!"
As we got close to Class D's campsite, loud voices from the boys reached us.
"You idiot, that counts as two! Don't you get it?!" Sudou shouted angrily through gritted teeth.
"Hey Hirata, what do you think?" Ike asked as he turned toward Hirata to settle the argument.
"Sorry, Sudou-kun, but it only skipped once," Hirata replied with his usual friendly smile.
"Well, it's hard to reach my level, you know," Yamauchi said arrogantly.
Ayanokouji and I stopped to watch after arriving.
Sudou, Yamauchi, and Ike were playing near the river.
"Ah, Hikigaya-kun, Ayanokouji-kun, welcome," Hirata greeted us after noticing our presence.
"Yo..."
I returned the greeting while Ayanokouji stayed silent, observing the boys.
"Ayanokouji, do you want to play too?" Hirata asked after noticing his interest.
"Uh... what are you playing?" Ayanokouji replied.
"We're seeing who can throw a stone into the river and make it skip across the water the most times before sinking," Hirata explained simply.
I knew exactly what he meant.
Skipping stones across a river was one of the fundamentals of being alone.
"Want to try?" Hirata asked as the others gathered around too.
"I don't know how to play," Ayanokouji said like an idiot who couldn't socialize with his peers.
"Ah, it's easy. Like this..." Hirata picked up a small stone, pulled his arm back, and tossed it low across the water.
It skipped twice before sinking.
Even though his technique was good, the result wasn't impressive.
So even the handsome guy loved by girls couldn't do everything perfectly.
"Something like that," Hirata said with an awkward smile.
"Alright, I'll try too."
Ayanokouji picked up a small stone and threw it using the exact same motion Hirata had used, like he copied it perfectly.
The stone skipped three times before sinking.
"Whoa! Amazing! He tied my score!" Ike shouted in disbelief.
"That's incredible, Ayanokouji-kun. Are you sure this is your first time?" Hirata asked, shocked.
"Yeah," Ayanokouji answered with a blank expression.
Looks like he had sharp eyes.
He focused on the tiniest details of Hirata's movement and reproduced the throw precisely.
"Man, why am I the only one bad at this?" Sudou kicked the ground angrily.
"Hahaha, that's because your hands are too huge," Yamauchi laughed.
"Shut up!"
Sudou turned away and noticed me sitting nearby watching them.
"Hey, Hikigaya, you try too!" Sudou said, probably hoping I'd be worse than him.
"No, I don't want to," I replied, ending the discussion immediately.
"What, are you scared of losing?" Sudou challenged me.
What a terrible way to provoke me.
That doesn't work on me.
"Yeah, I'm scared," I answered with a shrug.
"Huh...?"
Sudou stared at me in confusion, clearly not expecting that answer.
"Hikigaya-kun, why not give it a shot too?" Hirata asked as he walked toward me.
Didn't he hear my clear refusal just now?
"Hikigaya is good at aiming," Ayanokouji said.
You bastard. Just because I almost hit your forehead earlier doesn't make me a sniper.
"Is that true?" Sudou asked skeptically.
"Come on, Hikigaya-kun. It's just a game," Hirata said as he handed me a stone.
"Uh... f-fine."
I took it and stood up.
I glanced at Ayanokouji, who was staring at the riverbed, and suddenly felt the urge to smash the stone against the back of his head.
I'd just say it was an accident.
We were playing, after all.
Ayanokouji turned toward me and looked at me with his cold eyes.
"Hikigaya, stop targeting me."
"Uh... sorry."
Looks like I stared at him too intensely and he sensed my murderous intent.
I took a slow breath and stepped forward, suddenly feeling like I was in some official competition.
Everyone watched as I stood before the river, preparing myself.
The secret to throwing wasn't just technique.
You needed something more than that.
Suppressed emotions.
People who throw stones into rivers are usually carrying some kind of frustration or stress.
They vent it all onto the poor river.
I squeezed the stone tightly as memories of the past few days ran through my mind.
The exhausting work.
The terrible food.
Getting dragged into problems this morning.
I pulled my arm back and launched the stone with all my strength.
It flew across the river's surface, skipping again and again.
For a moment, I thought it would never sink and would continue forever.
"Five," Hirata announced my result.
"Whoa, what the heck?!"
"Amazing!"
"That's close to the record!" Sudou shouted while staring at the river.
"Record...?"
Were we secretly participating in some championship?
"Yeah, Yamauchi-kun also got five," Hirata explained.
I looked toward Yamauchi, who puffed out his chest proudly like a crowned champion.
Everyone has their own unique talents, I guess.
"Record...?"
A cold voice came from behind us, one so icy it nearly froze both us and the river itself.
It felt like your boss catching you slacking off at work.
The boys turned toward Yukinoshita, who was staring at us with her blue eyes.
She caught us playing during work hours.
What could possibly be worse than that?
Maybe disappearing into the trees again...
No, she'd still find me.
"Ah, Yukinoshita-san... sorry, we were just playing around a little," Hirata said, trying to calm her down before she scolded us.
"How many?" Yukinoshita asked as she walked toward the river.
"H-Huh?" Hirata blinked in confusion.
"How many is the record?"
"The stone skipping five times," Hirata answered, still not understanding what she meant.
Everyone stared at her in confusion, expecting a lecture before returning to work.
Yukinoshita gracefully knelt down and picked up a small stone from the ground.
Then she stood up calmly before everyone, pulled her arm back gently, and exhaled softly.
The stone danced rapidly across the river's surface as if it feared angering the Ice Queen.
"S-Six..." Hirata muttered while staring at the river.
"N-No way! That's impossible!" Yamauchi cried out, unable to accept the loss of his record.
Yukinoshita quietly turned around to leave.
Even though she looked calm, I was certain she was celebrating her tiny victory inside.
She stopped beside Horikita, who had also been watching.
The other girl stepped forward toward the river to take her turn as well.
Using the same agreed-upon technique, Horikita threw her stone.
But hers was far too forceful.
"Three."
The result clearly dissatisfied Horikita, who furrowed her brows deeply.
"I want to play too, guys!"
Kushida's cheerful voice came from behind after she noticed what had suddenly become a strange competition.
She picked up a stone and tried throwing it.
But instead of landing in the river, it flew toward the opposite side.
"Oops..." She lowered her head sadly at the terrible result.
"Kikyou-chan is so cute she can't even play boys' games," Ike praised her like an idiot.
"What's going on? I wanna play too!"
"Me too! Me too!"
Soon the loud voices of the other idiots joined in as well.
Most of Class D began picking up stones and throwing them into the river.
What even was this?
Was the exam actually about transferring rocks from the island into the riverbed?
Even Sakura, who normally never participated, picked up a stone and tossed it into the river.
But instead of skipping, it sank immediately.
Well... I guess that's a pretty accurate summary of life.
No matter how much a stone jumps across the surface, it sinks in the end.