Rikou glanced at his partner, Tenkai, as they continued walking deep into the forest. The moonlight was already taking over the dimming rays of sunshine. The grass seemed to change colors from elegant jade green to a darker verdant green while the amount of light slowly decreased over time.
Even though the moonlight was taking over, it could not get through the thick trees that were obscuring the little light that remained. A cold breeze blew over their heads as they saw a small light in the distance.
They slowly moved towards the light, their sight becoming clearer. The following moment, they looked at each other. Great radiance could be seen in their faces; they had found a hut!
They quickly approached this hut, hastily went inside and felt a sense of warmth and belonging within them. This hut kept them warm and had plenty of resources, enough to last them both for a full week.
Though they only needed to remain here for three nights, this sense of comfort quickly wore down after remembering their goal. How in the world would they be able to find coconuts on this vast island?
Tenkai spoke up, “Honestly, I think that it’d be best to sleep for the night and search during the day. Otherwise, we’d get worn out far too quickly, not to mention that it’s also way too dark right now. What do you say?” Rikou didn’t object, so they went through the hut’s resources and quickly ate a meal, then decided to rest for the night.
Birds could be heard chirping outside, the fragrant smell of flowers blooming could enchant most people, as rays of yellow sunlight filled the room. Rikou woke up first, Tenkai soon after.
They both made plans for the day, memorized the location of the hut on their GPS, which was south from the center, and decided to head out to hunt for coconuts.
They split up, with Rikou going southeast and Tenkai going southwest, that way their earnings could be doubled. Half an hour later, Rikou had already ventured far into the forest, yet he couldn’t find a single coconut on the way. Just as he was blaming his luck, things suddenly took a turn for the better.
He saw a brown spherical object on the ground and quickly approached it. A wide grin could be seen on his face as he picked it up. Though he was happy, he still had to think about what hints he could attain from finding this coconut.
It was located southeast from the center, rather close to the shore. ‘Logically, the coconuts would be evenly distributed on the island. This means that if I find another one, then I’d be able to figure out most of their locations.’ he thought.
He stuck the coconut in a backpack that he had found in the hut and continued venturing around the island. Noticing that he was already close to the edge of the island, he decided to move towards the shore, since he had only been wandering around without ever getting to see the sea.
Once he stepped on the sand, sunlight rushed upon him as he left the forest. The sea was as beautiful as a diamond, the oceanic blue mixed with a cloudy white as the waves hit the shore.
This sight was bewitching. Rikou calmly enjoyed the view, but nothing could last forever. A soft voice could be heard, calling out to him from behind. “Hey, you’re.. Rikou, right?”
Rikou turned around, seeing a tall blonde woman who was staring at him and swaying her hips to the side, awaiting his answer. “Huh, it’s you.” He didn’t bother answering the rhetorical question and continued, “Where’s Kenzou? He should be your partner, no?”
“Ah, we went in opposite directions. I decided to wander southeast, while he went northeast. I’m thinking of making an alliance, and your group is definitely the most fitting. That reserved girl, who has yet to tell us her name, definitely wouldn’t agree. I have a bad feeling about Karasu, so his team doesn’t work either.
How glad I am to have met you! How about it, we can share all the resources that we find on the island, and we’ll definitely get more coconuts than everyone else if all four of us search together and split them!” Hana replied, looking at him with intent.
Rikou could tell that she had ulterior motives. Her confident posture sent a clear message, as if she were saying, “If you don’t join in, I’ll make your life hell.”
If they joined in and their team ended up in last place due to splitting the coconuts, she would, of course, take them all for herself. Even so, Rikou could not bring himself to feel any hatred; for this was nothing more than simple human nature.
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Rikou smiled softly at her. “Of course, I’d be glad to join in on this alliance.” After all, this was a fair deal. He extended his hand, and Hana smiled confidently after he accepted. He seemed very earnest. Thus, they shook hands, and the deal was sealed.
“Our hut is located right here, what about yours?” Hana asked, pointing to a spot east of the center on the GPS function of her wristband.
This was the most important moment. Would he lie, or risk their hideout by telling the truth? After all, she might be lying as well.
“Ours is right here.” He pointed to a spot in the south on her wristband.
“I see. Well then, see you around, Rikku!” She winked at him, turning around and leaving, her hips swinging along each step she took.
“..Rikku, huh?” Rikou watched her leave, struck by the unusual nickname.
Meanwhile, in the southwestern region of the island, it was noon. The sun illuminated everything in its way as Tenkai kept wandering around the forest. He still hadn’t found a single coconut thus far, but this was only natural. This trial was mostly based on luck, so he couldn’t do anything about that.
Though, as he kept on venturing, he noticed some footsteps. They were clearly smaller than his, yet still a human’s. Of course, as any curious person would do, he decided to follow those footsteps, which led him to a small hill on the island.
That was where he saw a petite girl’s figure, whose hair was colored an extravagant lavender, her posture emitting a sense of mystery.
She heard footsteps approaching and turned around to lock eyes with him. Her gaze completely unreadable, leaving Tenkai uncertain about her train of thoughts. Thus, he hesitated for a while, until he finally said, “Hey, Hakaku. How about we team up?”
Hakaku accepted, seemingly void of all emotion as they showed each other the location of their huts on their GPS.
They split up, with Tenkai sighing out in relief. He decided to continue with the coconut hunt. The sun was already slightly past its peak, it was around 1 p.m. right now. He still hadn’t found any coconuts. This made him feel happy about the deal, as it was advantageous for him.
Just then, he realized that the deal went far too smoothly. She accepted the deal way too quickly, almost as if she had planned for this to happen. He almost completely fell into a trap, making him believe that all would go well. Feeling happiness during such a situation, of course something would be amiss.
He turned around, staring at her back as she had already walked off in the far distance. “This girl.. I have no idea what she’s thinking.” He already assumed that there would be betrayals, but how would she execute her plan, if he could anticipate it?
He shook his head and decided that thinking too much without any clues wouldn’t bring him anywhere, this reminded him of Rikou’s way of thinking. He was glad to be matched up with a nice person, and not with someone like that girl with peach colored hair.
Thus, he wandered off in the distance, continuing his search in the western part of the island.
Back in the eastern part of the island, Rikou had already wandered all the way to the supposed location of Hana’s hut. It was in fact there, exactly as she had described. He had expected her not to lie about it, else it would lead him to be especially wary of her group, and he probably would have found it sooner or later.
Rikou smiled softly at this sight and entered the hut, seeing that everything was still in place. In such situations, people often tend to neglect their primary needs. Thus, he enjoyed a small meal, as his stomach was already hungry.
He thought that it was about time Hana got to the location of his hut. He decided to take a look at the remaining time left, 19 hours had already passed and 53 were left. ‘If I keep this tempo up, I’ll be able to get three more coconuts. Though, they may grow scarcer over time, so I might be wrong.’ he thought.
He finished his meal and put a few bottles of water as well as some food in his backpack. He did not plan on going back to his or their hut for the night. Why would he want to sleep in a wolf’s den? After all, two teams already knew the location of his hut. He had told Tenkai to team up with Hakaku’s team prior to leaving.
He left Hana’s hut and began walking towards the center of the island. He wanted to avoid meeting Kenzou, as it would seem off if he was wandering close to their area instead of going back to his own hut. Kenzou set off towards the northeast direction, thus Rikou took a detour and went for the middle of the island.
It took him two hours to get to the center of the island, which was longer than the first time. That was because he was searching for coconuts along the way, although in vain.
Just before reaching the center, he was taken aback by surprise, though it was not completely unexpected. Karasu came out of the western forest. He had wanted to team up with the silent boy but realized that he was in a pair with the girl who outright humiliated him. Thus, he changed his mind and went for the eastern part of the island.
Rikou calmly smiled and offered him an alliance. Tenkai had already done this, but he did not know if Tenkai succeeded. Karasu gladly accepted the alliance, after all, he did not know where the others were located, except for the arrogant girl.
Thus, he did not suspect Rikou for coming from the eastern part of the island. Karasu then spoke “Ah. Let’s exchange our hut locations. I think mine was.. around here.” He pointed to a place west from the center of the island.
“I see. Mine’s here.” Rikou pointed to Hana’s hut location, smiling softly at him.
Karasu scoffed, glancing away. “Thanks, I’m glad I won’t have to deal with that quiet girl.” Rikou noticed the bitterness in his voice, which further solidified his sense of security. Strong emotions were convincing, especially when their motives were easily discernible.
