Aoyama walked awfully fast for someone who wasn't trying to look like he was running away.
Kendo followed him past the last cabin, then out toward where the treeline thickened and the noise from camp faded into just wind and river.
He didn't stop until he reached a fallen log near the edge of the clearing and even then it looked like he only sat down because his legs gave out, not because he wanted to, lazy prick.
"Hey, Aoyama." Kendo said firmly.
He flinched. Which was already somewhat suspicious, shoulders jumping like she'd pretended to hit him.
"Oh, hello… Itsuka." His voice came out too high. "I was just getting some air, I didn't realise anyone was—"
"Cut the shit." She crossed her arms, stood over him intimidatingly. She didn't want to look like she was here to comfort him. "I know."
Silence. The wind picked up a little, rustled through the pines above them.
"Know what?" he asked. Weak. Barely a question.
"Don't." Kendo felt something hot climb up the back of her throat. "Don't do that. Not to me."
His face crumpled all at once, like something holding it together had finally given out. "Huh," he whispered. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I heard from a little birdy..." She hadn't meant to say his name so plainly. It came out anyway. "You've been feeding the League information. About the little birdy. About us."
"I… he… I—It wasn't supposed to hurt anyone." Aoyama's hands were shaking now, pressed flat against his knees like he was trying to keep them still and failing. "They said it was just information. Locations, schedules, that's all, I never thought—"
"His master died." Kendo's voice cracked but she pushed through it. "The man practically raised him after everything that had happened and now… he's dead, and it's all thanks to that information you claim was harmless."
"I didn't know that would happen." He was crying now, not loud, just tears running steady down his face while he stared at the dirt between his shoes. "I swear, Itsuka, I never wanted anyone hurt, I just. They knew things. About me. About my family, they said if I didn't—"
"I don't care." It came out flatter than she meant it. Colder. "I don't care what they had on you. People are dead. His trainer is in a coma."
Aoyama made a small, broken sound and put his face in his hands.
Kendo stood there a second longer, chest tight, half of her wanting to knock him out and half of her wanting to walk away before she said something she couldn't take back. She decided on neither.
"I'm not going to tell the others," she said finally. "Not tonight. But you need to fix this. Talk to Aizawa. Talk to somebody. Because if this camp gets hit and people get hurt and you knew, and you still didn't say anything—"
"I'll tell him," Aoyama said quickly, voice muffled through his hands. "Tomorrow. I promise, I'll tell him tomorrow, I just need—"
"Tonight," Kendo said. "Not tomorrow."
He looked up at her, eyes red and for a second he looked so much younger than seventeen, that nearly made some of her anger slip.
She didn't let it.
"Tonight," she said again and turned and walked back toward camp without waiting for an answer. "Or else."
By the time she got back the sky had gone properly dark, stars scattered thick overhead in a way you never saw in the city'and most of the class was gathered near the mess hall again, restless energy building the way it always did before something fun was about to happen.
"There you are." Kodai fell into step beside her, eyeing her up and down carefully. "You okay? You've got an… angry face."
"I'm fine." Kendo wiped at her eyes quick and hoped it wasn't obvious. "What's going on?"
"Test of courage, apparently." Kodai jerked a thumb toward where Pixie Bob was addressing the crowd, the cat girl was practically vibrating with excitement. "So… Class B scares Class A. Doesn't sound too bad, honestly."
Kendo forced a small laugh, mostly for Kodai's benefit.
"Alright, alright, listen up!" Pixie Bob clapped her hands twice. "Class B, you'll be spread out through the woods along this trail, playing the part of, let's say, mildly terrifying obstacles. Class A walks the course in pairs. Simple as that. Objective's twofold, build some nerve and get comfortable moving through unfamiliar terrain at night."
"Sounds like an excuse to prank Class A," Monoma said, grinning wide enough to show teeth.
"That's also acceptable," Mandalay said dryly, which got a round of laughter from half the group.
Kendo scanned the crowd out of habit, the way she'd been doing all week, cataloguing faces, exits, the tree line beyond the trail. Aoyama wasn't back yet. She wondered, briefly, if he'd actually go find Aizawa like he'd promised, or if he'd just sit out there in the dark until the fear wore off enough to let him lie again.
She hoped it was the first one. She wasn't totally sure it would be.
"You're doing it again," Kodai said, nudging her.
"Sorry." Kendo shook it off, followed the rest of Class B toward the trail markers where Tiger was already assigning positions. "Where do you want me?"
"Wherever's scariest." Kodai smirked. "You've got the face for it tonight."
Kendo managed a real laugh that time, small but real, and let herself get swept along into the group, grateful for something simple to focus on for a while.
Somewhere out past the tree line, Aoyama was still sitting alone in the dark, and somewhere further than that, she hoped, Dante was watching the same stars she was.
She just didn't know yet how close he actually was.