Battle Royale

"Shogo's father was a senior of my dad's in medical school. I owe a lot to that man too, though," the doctor said. He seemed to be well-connected, and the following day, that is, yesterday, he arranged their escape from the country. "Shogo had me hold onto some money just in case of an emergency. We'll use that." They would first take a fishing boat from a small fishing village in Wakayama Prefecture into the Pacific Ocean, and then transfer to another boat in the Democratic Nation of the Korean Peninsula. "You won't have any problems getting from Korea to America. It'll be the transfer from that first boat that's going to be hard." The doctor voiced his concern, but Shuya and Noriko really had no other choice.

Noriko called home before they left the doctor's house today. She first called a close friend from another class, having her relay a message to her family to call the doctor's house from a payphone. It was a precaution against wiretapping. Shuya left Noriko alone for a while, but he could hear Noriko's sobbing from the hall where the phone was. Shuya himself didn't contact the Charity House. He thanked Ms. Anno and bade her goodbye in his heart. He did the same with Kazumi Shintani.

The reporter continued, "Due to the Defense Forces helicopter's dispersal of poison gas over Kagawa Prefecture's Okishima Island, where this Program was held, the inspection of the site was delayed. However two days after the incident, the inspection was finally held this afternoon. We now know two students are missing."

The image changed. A zoom-lens camera from sea captured police officials and soldiers inspecting the island where Shuya and the others had fought for their lives. There were piles of corpses. For a split second, Shuya managed to make out two bodies. There were Yukie Utsumi and Yoshitoki Kuninobu, on the edge of a black pile of school coats and sailor suits, facing the camera. Despite the dispersal of poison gas, their faces managed to stay unharmed because they had died indoors. Shuya clenched his right fist.

"The missing students are Shuya Nanahara and Noriko Nakagawa, third-year students of Shiroiwa Junior High School in Kagawa Prefecture." The screen now displayed large closeup photos side by side. They were the same photos used for their student I.D. cards. Shuya shifted his eyes, but no one in the crowd staring at the screen seemed to notice them.

An image of an empty coast right beside a mountain appeared. As the camera zoomed in, a small military-colored patrol ship which had run ashore appeared, and was now being examined by police officials and soldiers on the beach. This segment was shot immediately after the incident became known, so it was less recent.

"On the early morning of the twenty-fourth, the Kagawa Prefecture Program Instructor Sakamochi's patrol ship was found on the shores of Ushimado-cho in Okayama Prefecture. Instructor Sakamochi and nine Special Defense Forces soldiers, including Private Tokihiko Tahara were discovered along with the Program's winner, Shogo Kawada." Sakamochi's closeup photo appeared. He had long hair. "Suspecting there was a conflict, the police and Defense Forces officials proceeded to investigate. Authorities now believe the two missing students from today's report may provide the crucial link to the incident. They are currently searching..."

The reporter continued, but Shuya was too preoccupied with the following to listen.

It was a short clip subtitled, "Winner Shogo Kawada—Found Dead." Under normal circumstances, they would have only shown a generic subtitle, "Male Student Winner," and the short segment would have only been broadcast on the Kagawa Prefecture local news. Shuya and Noriko watched the news at the Kobe doctor's house several times, but they only showed Shogo's photo. This was the first time they saw this clip.

Held between the soldiers, Shogo stared into the camera. Then—

At the end of the clip, which lasted approximately ten seconds, he grinned and raised his right fist with his thumb pointing up.

The crowd staring at the screen sounded dismayed. They probably thought Shogo was proud about his victory.

But of course that wasn't it at all, Shuya thought as he watched the screen return to the image of the reporter.

Was it a message to him and Noriko? Did he already know he was going to die when he stood in front of the government camera? Or was it just a display of his unique sense of irony?

I'll never know. Just as Shogo once said.

Then Shuya and Noriko's closeup photos were displayed again.

"Any sightings should be reported to..."

"Let's go Noriko. We have to hurry," Shuya whispered. He took her left hand with his right hand. They turned away from the screen and began walking.

"Shogo told me...," Noriko said as they walked, holding hands, "before you came back...when you were with Yukie's group, he told me something."

Shuya tilted his head and looked at Noriko.