Battle Royale (18 page)

Shuya knit his brows. "What?"

"Not yet."

"Why?"

"I just can't."

"What do you mean, 'not yet'? Then when do you plan on telling us?"

"I suppose when it's just the three of us left. Let me just tell you one thing, though. My plan won't work if anyone tries to intervene. So my plan can't start until we're the only ones left."

Shuya fell silent again. He stared at Shogo, who continued smoking, but then Shuya heard a voice whispering something inside his head. It was faint, but he could hear it.

As if he could hear this voice, Shogo grinned.

"I know what you're thinking, Shuya. There might be something else going on here. I might be joining you just as a means for my own survival. In fact, I might not have a plan at all. Once we're down to three, I might kill you two and win the game. That would work out nicely for me, right?"

Shuya was slightly intimidated. "That's not…"

"No?"

Shuya held his tongue and glanced over at Noriko. Noriko remained silent, staring at Shogo.

Shuya looked back at Shogo.

"That's not it. It's just that—" Shuya stopped all of a sudden.

It was someone's voice. It was very distant, but he could tell it was electronically distorted. A voice calling, "Hey, everyone—"

29 students remaining

22

The voice continued. "Listen up, everyone—" It was a girl's voice.

Noriko said, "It's Yumiko." She was referring to Yumiko Kusaka (Female Student No. 7). She was a tall, energetic girl who batted fourth on the girls' Softball team.

"I'm going to go check this out." Shogo's face stiffened. He took his shotgun and stood up. He began walking east into the thicket towards the voice.

"We'll go with you."

They weren't done talking, but Shuya tucked his Smith & Wesson in front and offered his shoulder to help Noriko up. Shogo glanced back at them, but said nothing and began walking.

Once they reached the end of the thicket, Shogo stood still. Shuya and Noriko too stopped walking.

With his back towards them, Shogo exclaimed, "Why they're…"

Shuya walked up right behind Shogo, and like Shogo he and Noriko poked their heads out of the thicket.

It was a mountain peak. There was a viewing platform between the trees scattered on the peak. It was probably five or six hundred meters away from the foot of the mountain, where they were. But they could still see it clearly. The platform was a crude construction, resembling a shack with a missing wall. There were two figures standing under its roof. Shuya's eyes widened.

The voice reached them. "Everyone. Stop fighting and come here—"

Shuya saw an object held in front of the taller figure's face—it was probably Yumiko's. Was it a megaphone? The one cops use to address criminals cooped up inside buildings under siege? It felt slightly absurd ("Put down your weapons and come out with your hands up"), but he could see how her voice could reach not only them but the rest of the island.

"And the other one?" Shuya whispered.

Noriko replied, "It's Yukiko. Yukiko Kitano. They're really close."

"This is really bad," Shogo said with a grimace. "They'll get themselves killed totally exposed like that."

Shuya bit his lower lip. Basically Yumiko Kusaka and Yukiko Kitano were attempting to convince everyone they should stop fighting. They were doing what Shuya had considered but gave up on after he was attacked by Yoshio Akamatsu. They firmly believed no one really want to play the game. They chose that spot to be as visible as possible. Or maybe they were already near that location.

"I'm sure no one wants to fight like this. So let's get together here—"

Shuya hesitated. He needed more time to process the situation—plus the conversation they were having hadn't been resolved. What if—it was unlikely—but what if Shogo was against them?

In the end Shuya spoke to Shogo, "Can you look after Noriko, Shogo?"

Shogo turned around. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going over there."

Shogo knit his brows and said, "What are you, stupid?"

His putdown angered Shuya, but he simply answered, "What do you mean? They're risking their lives doing this. They have no intention to play the game. They really don't. So they can join us. Besides, you just said they were endangering themselves."

"That's not what I meant." Shogo bared his teeth. It was an odd thing to notice, but they looked remarkably healthy. "I just told you. It's best to stay put in this game. How far do you think that spot is from here? You have no idea who you'll encounter on the way."

"I know that!" Shuya shot back.

"No, you don't get it. Everyone knows about those two now. If anyone attacks them, then the enemy's going to wait for others offering themselves up like you. With more targets—"

What gave Shuya the creeps wasn't so much Shogo's warning but his calm tone of voice.

"Please—everyone come here. We're alone here—we're not fighting!"

Shuya slid his shoulder loose from Noriko's right arm.

"I'm going."

He gripped the Smith & Wesson and walked out of the bushes, but Shogo tugged on Shuya's left arm.

"Stop it!"

"Why!?" Shuya's voice grew louder. "You want me to just sit back and watch them get killed?" He raised his voice uncontrollably and blurted out, "Or is my leaving going to decrease your chances of survival? Is that it? Is that what's going on? Are you our enemy?"

"Shuya, stop it…" Noriko moaned, but Shuya wasn't finished—then he saw how calm Shogo looked even as he still held onto his arm.

Although they hardly resembled each other, Shogo's composure reminded Shuya of the former superintendent of the Charity House, Ms. Anno's elderly father. After his parents died when he was still a kid, this man, who was the only authority figure and guardian he knew, sat down with him. He also wore the same kind of expression.

Shogo said, "It's none of my business if you want to die, but if you go now and don't return, then you'll drastically decrease Noriko's chances of survival. Have you forgotten that?"

Shuya took a deep breath. Once again Shogo was right.

"But—"

Shogo calmly continued, "I'm sure you must know this, Shuya…but loving someone always requires you to not love others. If you care about Noriko, don't go."

"But…" Shuya felt like crying. "So what are you suggesting? We just let them get killed?"

"I didn't say that."

Shogo released Shuya and turned towards the peak where Yumiko continued her shouting. He held his shotgun.

"We'll be decreasing our chances of survival slightly. Only slightly." Shogo pointed the shotgun into the air and pulled the trigger. The gunpowder blast was ear-shattering. Shuya thought his eardrums had been blown out for a moment. The sound reverberated against the side of the mountain. Shogo's left hand pumped the shotgun, ejecting the spent cartridge. He followed with another shot. The sound rippled through the air.

I get it___The gunfire will scare off Yumiko Kusaka and Yukiko Kitano, forcing them to stop and go hide instead.

Yumiko's voice, amplified by the megaphone, stopped. It felt as if Yumiko and Yukiko were looking down where they were. But we're hidden by the bushes, so they probably can't tell who we are.

"Come on! Shoot some more!"

Shuya was riled up, but Shogo refused, "No. Someone might have already figured out our location with those two shots. Any more could be fatal for us."

Shuya considered it. Then he tried to point his Smith & Wesson into the air.

Shogo once again tugged at his arm.

"Stop it! How many times do I have to tell you?"

"But—"

"We can only hope they've hidden themselves now."

Shuya looked over at the peak. Then he heard it again. Once again, Yumiko Kusaka's voice shouted,

"Stop it! I know none of us want to fight—"

Shuya shook off Shogo's grip. He couldn't take it anymore. He wanted them to hide somewhere safe no matter what. He had his fingers on the trigger of the Smith & Wesson when—

All of a sudden they heard a distant, rattling sound like that of rapid typewriter tapping. Then Yumiko's shriek, "Urgh—" reached them. Of course her cry was also amplified by the megaphone. After a moment's pause, "AIEEE—" a scream that sounded like it came from Yukiko Kitano. This too reached them courtesy of the cheap megaphone. Under the platform roof on the mountain peak, a tall figure appeared to collapse and Yukiko's screaming continued, "Yumiko!" followed by a loud thud, the sound of the megaphone hitting the ground. Shuya heard the rattling sound again but this time it was much quieter. Shuya realized the megaphone had also been picking up this sound as well. Once the megaphone was broken, the sound was drastically reduced. And now the figure of Yukiko also collapsed into the shadows of the short trees, disappearing along with Yumiko from their sight.

Shuya and Noriko's faces turned white.

29 students remaining

23

Yukiko Kitano was crawling on the concrete floor of the viewing platform towards Yumiko Kusaka. Her stomach was burning, and she felt paralyzed, but somehow she managed to crawl towards her. Yukiko left a trail of red on the concrete, which was now a canvas of violent brushstrokes.

"Yumiko!" Yukiko let out a shriek that tore through her stomach, but she didn't care. Her best friend had fallen and was now motionless. That was what mattered to her now.

Yumiko had fallen forward, facing Yukiko, but her eyes were closed. A gooey red pond began to ooze out from under her body.

Once Yukiko reached Yumiko, she struggled to lift her forward. Then she shook her by the shoulders.

"Yumiko! Yumiko!"

As she shouted, a red mist sprayed into Yumiko's face, but Yukiko didn't even realize it was coming from her mouth.

Yumiko slowly opened her eyes and gasped, "Yukiko…"

"Yumiko! Wake up!"

Yumiko grimaced. Then she finally managed to utter, "I'm so sorry, Yukiko. I was stupid…you should…hurry…and escape."

"No!" Yukiko cried and shook her head. "We have to go together! Come on!"

Yukiko frantically looked around. There was no trace of the assailant. They were probably shot at from a distance.

"Hurry!"

She tried to raise Yumiko's body, but it was impossible. She immediately realized she could barely support her own body. The pain was much worse now, attacking her stomach as she shrieked and fell forward again. She still managed to face Yumiko.

Yumiko's face was right in front of her eyes. Her glazed eyes stared at Yukiko. She asked in a feeble voice, "You can't move, Yukiko?"

"Nope," Yukiko did her best to form a smile. "I guess not."

"I'm so sorry," Yumiko quietly apologized again.

"That's all right. We…we did what we had to…right? Yumiko?"

Now she could tell Yumiko was about to cry. Although Yukiko thought she wasn't seriously injured, she was now beginning to rapidly fade. Her eyelids grew heavy.

"Yukiko?"

Yukiko was brought back by Yumiko's voice.

"Whaaat?"

"There's something I didn't tell you when we were talking."

Yumiko smiled a little. "I also had a crush on Shuya."

For a moment Yukiko didn't understand what Yumiko was talking about. She couldn't tell whether this was because it was so unexpected or because she was fading.

Finally though Yumiko's words knocked at the door
of
Yukiko's heart and entered. So…that's how it was.

Then as her mind sank into the mist, Yukiko remembered a scene. She and Yumiko had gone shopping together. It was a cheap ¥3,000 bargain-sale item, but they'd found a pair of beautiful earrings, and although they hardly ever shared the same tastes—they ended up fussing over who really deserved these earrings. Finally they agreed to split the cost so that both of them would end up with one earring each.

That was the first time they actually bought jewelry. And now, as always, that earring was tucked away in the drawer of her desk at home located near the border between Shiroiwa and the neighboring town.

For some reason, Yukiko felt incredibly content. It was strange, given how she was dying.

"Really…" Yukiko said. "Really…"

Yumiko again smiled faintly. Yukiko opened her mouth just once more. She could say one last thing.

That's right, she wasn't sure about religion, but if the Halo Church had ever offered her something beautiful it was Yumiko. We met at the church, and we've been together ever since.

"Yumi…ko. I'm so happy that we've been…"

As Yukiko was about to say "friends," Yumiko's head shook with the sound of a bang. A red hole formed in her right temple—and now Yumiko merely gawked at her. The faraway look she had might have been unintentionally appropriate given their location, the viewing platform.

Yukiko opened her mouth in shock and horror when she heard another pop, this time accompanied by a blow to her head. It was the last sensation she ever felt.

Kazuo Kiriyama (Male Student No. 6) remained crouched so no one outside the platform could see him.

He lowered the Walther PPK that had belonged to Mitsuru Numai and picked up the girls' day packs.

27 students remaining

24

After the two shots were fired, Shuya and Noriko remained frozen. Above them, a hawk cried.

After checking the premises, Shogo turned back and said to them, "It's over. Let's go back."

As Shuya held up Noriko by her arm, he looked at Shogo standing above them. His lips trembled uncontrollably.

"What do you mean, 'It's over'? You could be a little more considerate."

Shogo shrugged his shoulders.

"Look, this is the way I talk. I'm not good at expressing myself. In any case, now you see, right? Some of our classmates are really up to the task. And let me just add that this wasn't something Sakamochi and his crew cooked up. They don't want to die either, so they're cooped up in that school."

Shuya still wanted to say something back, but he managed to restrain himself and began walking, holding Noriko's arm.

As they walked, Noriko said in a hoarse voice, "It's so terrible....How awful can it get?"