I thought for a moment. One person couldn't have placed that many mines in such a short time—he had to be working with a group. The most aggressive group was Kiriyama's. The masked figure must have made a deal with him.
I remembered the mask. It had been made from leaves and twine. In half an hour, I wove a similar one for myself. I bought Kiriyama's location. I would head right, then curve left—about a thirty-minute route.
Halfway there, I wrote something on a piece of paper and rolled it up. I buried my phone in the dirt and covered it with shrubs. To throw off location tracking.
I approached Kiriyama's camp. I secretly placed a mine on the right side and detonated it by throwing a rock from behind the bushes. The sound drew attention—Kiriyama and his group moved to the right. I slipped into the camp, left the note in the tent of the man who had been beaten, then made my way to the riverbank on the left. I put on my mask and waited at the base of a tree.
The group returned and held a warning briefing. The man entered his tent and found the note. It felt good to have someone acknowledge the injustice done to him. It could be a trap, but he took the risk.
He came to the riverbank and saw me in the mask. "The masked guy—is it you again?"
"I'm not the same person. But he was my comrade. We're the Masked Team."
Our physical builds were clearly different, so I stated it directly.
"Why weren't you there during the offer?"
"I was setting up the center mines. I don't approve of what my comrade did. I want to help you—both for the injustice Kiriyama has done to you and for my own benefit. The other comrade doesn't know about this. He doesn't like help. I have an offer: I'll help you get revenge on Kiriyama. We'll take him down quietly. But you have to follow my directions."
"How do I know this isn't a trap?"
"I'm the one who set off the mine. If it were a trap, it would've been simpler. Kiriyama isn't the type to test his members—he's aggressive. Am I wrong?"
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"No."
"Will you really help?"
"If you help me, I'll help you. Let others who resent Kiriyama know about this too—but only those you're sure about. If someone leaks it, you'll be in trouble."
"Understood."
"I'm forming a secret organization. Are you in to take down Kiriyama?"
He clenched his teeth. "I'm in. I want revenge on that bastard. My name is Tsubasa."
"Tsubasa. Convince the right people. I'll contact you again soon."
He returned to his camp. I dug my phone out of the dirt and put the mask in my bag.
It worked.
The masked man's shoes came to mind. They were black. Haru's shoes were the same. I couldn't tell in the dark before, but now I was certain. Haru was the masked figure.
I need to stop Haru from meeting with Kiriyama again.
I bought Haru's location and set out. As I approached his camp, I pretended to be passing by, scanning the area with my spear.
"Senpai!" He was sitting by the fire.
"Haru. Did you hear the explosions?"
"They were terrible, senpai. How can they do that?"
"I climbed a tree out of fear. You?"
"Me too."
"Who do you think did it?"
"Maybe Kiriyama's side. They're violent."
"Right." We were both playing our roles, and we both knew it.
"Got any food?"
He handed me a fish. I ate it. "I'm scared, senpai."
I sat beside him and stroked his head. "I'll protect my teammate."
If I play dumb, will he think I didn't notice the detail?
Haru hugged me. "Thank you, senpai."
Akari's man's phone is likely protected. They might send people after us tonight. If they do, I can turn it into an opportunity. But for that, we need to stay here.
We talked for half an hour. Then we heard noises—four men with clubs rushed at us. Two against four, we took them all down. Their phones weren't on them.
"Haru, run! They gave their phones to Akari! Kiriyama is in the opposite direction—go right!"
We ran to the right. They didn't chase us. We caught our breath.
Haru asked, "They were talking about giving back a phone. What was that about?"
"I took someone's phone during a raid a while back." I showed him.
"How did you get it?"
"A tactic. That's probably why they attacked. But if they're attacking without caring about their friends' deaths, it's a trap. This phone is probably protected, like yours. Akari sent them to get me to press it. They gave their phones to her so we'd have to kill them instead."
"How do they trust Akari that much?"
"She has a healthy group. You're good at fighting, by the way."
"You too."
"It's getting dark. Let's find a place to sleep. The red zone refreshes in an hour. We'll stay up until then."
We walked through the darkness. The spear was gone now.
Good. We're far from Kiriyama.