The True Elites

Chapter 4-4: Snake Group

3rd Person POV

"Oh? Now what do we have here? An unexpected face, most certainly."

Ryūen Kakeru spoke in an aloof tone as the other boy emerged and stepped out onto the deck. That boy was Kanzaki Ryūji.

The pair were currently rendezvousing at the bow of the ship, an area which is desolate during even the prime hours of the day.

It was currently very shortly after there first one-hour discussion period had ended, which meant that many students had met with their friends in recreational areas, intending to forget about their mental exhaustion.

What this meant is that there was no chance of anybody coincidentally stumbling upon their meeting here.

"Whatever could you be referring to?"

The boy with an odd shade of grey-violet gradient hair spoke back to Ryūen without a hint of cowardice. A feat that wasn't commonplace amongst the first years at the school, especially those that call Class C home.

"Kuku. Obviously, I'm talking about the fact that I called Honami here, not you."

"I see. Well, if you put it like that, I can see that my face would be unexpected to see at such a place."

Ryūen narrowed his eyes at the Class B student who stood at equal height to him.

"Honami isn't with you?"

"I expected that a call from Ryūen would probably involve class affairs, which is why I came here in Ichinose's stead." Kanzaki answered calmly.

"Meaning?" Ryūen interrogated back.

"As of now, Ichinose is no longer acting as the leader of Class B."

Hearing this, Ryūen burst out into haughty laughter. He took a moment to compose himself, before talking in a mocking tone.

"What, did Honami get cold feet after her little fall in the last exam? How disappointing. I thought she'd at least have the gall to put up a decent challenge."

"You're free to interpret it however you wish. However, I'd like to request that you refrain from speaking wrongly about Ichinose."

Ryūen seemed to ponder those words for a moment, and ultimately decided that it wasn't worth the provocations at the current moment.

"I see. In that case, forget that I said anything,"

To Kanzaki's visible surprise, Ryūen backed down.

"Thank you," Kanzaki said.

A lull of silence enveloped the duo, which Kanzaki broke shortly after with an inquiring question.

"So, why did you call Ichinose and, by extension, Class B's leader all the way out here, Ryūen?"

"Just wait. I'll explain it once the other one gets here." Ryūen answered vaguely.

"There's another person coming? Who?"

"One of my personal favourite people to play with," Ryūen told him, flashing his white teeth.

A gust blew over the deck, causing the two boys' relatively long hair to flutter up as the air rushed past. They silently waited, until a faint sound began reverberating to the floor.

Approaching footsteps. Not twenty seconds later, the source of the rhythmic steps made its presence known as it joined Ryūen and Kanzaki.

A lone girl with long, black hair and scrutinising, red eyes. This girl was the current de facto leader of Class E, a position she'd acquired due to the boost in admiration and respect she'd received due to the island exam.