Third-person point of view:
There was a simple reason why Ayanokōji was not impressed in the least by the information Karuizawa had shared with him. Minutes before reaching the dormitories, he had run into Kushida on the path. She was wearing a red athletic outfit, topped with a windbreaker that accentuated her figure all too well. Even to the brunet, it gave the impression that the girl's breasts had grown.
Noticing his gaze, Kushida began treating him with contempt. Unfortunately for Ayanokōji, they were alone at that moment on the way to the dorms. At first, it was just a few insults directed at him. He didn't mind; he never mentioned it, but he actually preferred Kushida's real side. After all, it was normal for people to have two faces in daily life—only Kushida stood out for the abyssal gap between her mask and her authentic self.
Just steps from entering the main lobby, Kushida decided to speak:
"Yamauchi asked me for help in gathering as many votes as possible against you..." Kushida smiled, but there wasn't a trace of happiness in that expression.
"Is he being manipulated by Sakayanagi?" Ayanokōji spoke to himself, though he had no doubt about it whatsoever. He was one hundred percent certain that was the case.
In Ayanokōji's eyes, Yamauchi was the human being with the least potential for growth he had encountered since arriving at the high school. It surprised him that someone as useless as Yamauchi Haruki was in the same category as him. Even Ike had shown he still had some room for improvement, changing many bad attitudes over the course of the year, but Yamauchi remained stagnant, using his dick instead of his brain to think.
Kushida's expression gave her away. Even as a first-rate actress, she couldn't help being so expressive in the face of the brunet's precision.
"I suppose that perverted bastard is too useless to even think he could organize something like this on his own, right?" Kushida switched to her usual expression. They had crossed the lobby entrance, and though there was no one else but a receptionist focused on a magazine, she didn't want to let her guard down completely.
"Interpret my view of him however you like," Ayanokōji replied. He regretted not having hurried his pace from the start.
Inside the elevator, Kushida decided to get a little more violent and discreetly kicked his ankle. From the camera's angle, there was no way the movement could be seen. To the short-haired blonde's surprise, Ayanokōji didn't react at all.
"Have a good day."
"Go to hell."
With that brief exchange, the doors closed behind Ayanokōji. He didn't feel like turning around to check what gesture Kushida was making with her hands. If he looked back, he'd probably find her flipping him the middle finger.
...
"Did something serious happen? What was it that Hirata sent Karuizawa to tell you?" Haruka was clinging to Ayanokōji's arm as the group walked toward a rather large supermarket.
The blue-haired girl had noticed that the brunet was more detached than usual. With that observation, Ayanokōji made a mental note of how sharp women could be.
"It's nothing serious. In fact, it was about being careful in this exam we're going through right now."
"Tch, anyway... Horikita has something planned, doesn't she?" Keisei interjected, rubbing the back of his hand against his nape. "If you ask me, I highly doubt any of us will be the one expelled. It's likely to come down to Ike or Yamauchi. Though with Ike's change, it'll probably be Yamauchi as the dead meat."
The words were harsh, but none of them were truly surprised by how direct Keisei usually was. Akito started whistling upon hearing his friend and then added:
"It's true. None of us has caused any problems. There's no way they'd get rid of us—at least not in this exam." He said the last part quietly, as if to himself, but everyone heard it clearly.
It was obvious to Ayanokōji: this wouldn't be the last special exam where expulsion was mandatory as punishment. It was even likely that future exams would include events with two expulsions, or ones where a reward was offered for expelling a chosen student. However, Ayanokōji believed he kept a low enough profile not to have the bad luck of his head being worth a certain amount of class or private points.
Who could possibly have such bad luck? Right?
"Kiyopon, you weren't listening at all, were you?" Haruka got a little annoyed upon noticing that Ayanokōji was more lost in thought than usual.
"I'm sorry, I was worried about the exam."
"To clear our heads a bit, we decided to have a picnic today," Haruka explained. "But we'll get the supplies at that supermarket."
She pointed to a large shopping establishment. Ayanokōji didn't know it at all, but he had heard it was part of an international chain well-known in many countries that had never reached Japan before. Apparently, the company had decided to open its first branch precisely at the nation's top high school.
Some claimed that the supermarket workers and those in nearby stores would be English speakers. That could be motivating for those with a good level of English—inviting them to practice the language—or demotivating for those who didn't master it.
Ayanokōji was certain it would be impossible to spot someone like Sudō near those places.
It wasn't just the supermarket: there was also a pharmacy and a hardware store from the same chain. One could see the large parking lot, filled with trucks and regular cars.
In the Ayanokōji group, Sakura was the least proficient in English—something everyone had noticed during the weekly study sessions. But given Sakura's shy personality, it wasn't necessary for her to have a high level. For now, Yukimura would be in charge of paying at the checkout and communicating with the employees.
They were about to enter the parking lot when Ayanokōji stopped dead in his tracks.
Haruka couldn't move forward due to the brunet's sudden halt.
"Huh? Is something wrong?" She looked at him and asked.
The rest of the group stopped as well. Everyone turned to look where Ayanokōji was staring.
Out on the sea surrounding the island, a dense fog had begun to form. Its proportions were considerable, and it was highly concentrated over the water. They were surprised, as it was the first time they'd seen fog forming. Usually, on cloudy days, they didn't even notice how or where it appeared.
For Ayanokōji, it was different. It was highly unlikely for fog to form over the open sea. Moreover, its density was excessively thick: anyone inside it wouldn't see a thing, equivalent to walking blind.
Advection fog typically forms over rivers or lakes. The island could be considered surrounded by a large body of water, but it was connected to ocean currents, so it wasn't a lake proper. It commonly forms in valleys or coastal areas, but only after rainfall. Another point that concerned him: it hadn't rained in quite some time.
Ayanokōji said nothing and resumed walking. The group did the same.
But as the Ayanokōji group approached the entrance to the large supermarket, the dense fog had begun to spread at a speed never before documented for this natural phenomenon.