Battle Royale

She heard the sound of a window opening, then closing, then the sound of careful, quiet footsteps. They seemed to be moving around the house, but then they headed directly towards the kitchen and Megumi. Megumi's heart pounded even louder.

A thin ray of light shot through the kitchen. The ray glided over the kettle and cupboard above the sink.

Someone sighed with relief and said to herself, "Good, there's no one here."

The footsteps entered the kitchen. As soon as Megumi heard the voice, though, Megumi was aghast. Any minuscule hope that she could work something out in case the intruder turned out to be a friend had been completely shattered. Because...it was the voice of her,Mitsuko Souma (Female Student No. 11), the meanest girl in the entire school. Even though she had the cutest, most angelic face, a single glance from her was enough to intimidate any teacher.

Mitsuko Souma was more frightening to Megumi than any of the ill-reputed boys, Kazuo Kiriyama and Shogo Kawada. It might have been because, like Megumi, Mitsuko Souma was a girl, and also, yes of course, because Megumi herself had been harassed by Hirono Shimizu, who was in Mitsuko's gang, when they first became classmates in second-year. If they were in the same hall, Hirono would trip her or slash her skirt with a razor. Lately, maybe because she'd simply lost interest in Megumi, Hirono had stopped harassing her. (She was still disappointed though when she learned that her third-year class was to be the same as her second-year class.) Mitsuko herself didn't pick on Megumi, but Mitsuko was someone even Hirono couldn't defy.

That's right...Mitsuko Souma would relish killing someone like her.

Megumi's body began trembling again. Oh...please no, don't shake...if she hears me...Megumi wrapped her body tightly with her arms to keep her arms from shaking.

From beneath the table Megumi could see Mitsuko's hand holding a flashlight and the belt of her skirt glowing behind it. She heard the sound of Mitsuko rifling through the drawers of the sink.

Please hurry...hurry up and get out of here. If you could at least just get out of this room... that's right, then I could go to the bathroom. I could lock it from inside and escape through the window. Please hurry...

BRRRRIING. The electronic signal rang, and Megumi felt her heart leap out of her mouth.

Mitsuko Souma also seemed to quiver, slightly. The beam from her flashlight suddenly disappeared along with the belt. She seemed to be approaching the corner of the room.

Megumi realized the sound was coming from her pocket. She frantically pulled out the cellular. Her mind went blank and she automatically flipped it open and randomly pressed the buttons.

A voice leaked out, "Hey, it's Sakamochi again. I just wanted to remind you, Megumi, to turn off your cell phone. Otherwise, if I call you like this, everyone will know where you are, right? So..."

Megumi's fingers found the "End" button, cutting off Sakamochi's voice.

The suffocating silence continued for a while. Then she heard Mitsuko's voice, "Megumi?" She asked, "Megumi? Is that you?"

Mitsuko seemed to be in the corner of the dark kitchen. Megumi carefully placed her cell phone on the floor. The only thing in her hands now was her knife. Her hands were shaking even more, and the knife felt like a fish wiggling loose, but she gripped it as tight as she could.

Mitsuko was taller than Megumi, but she couldn't have been much stronger. Mitsuko's weapon—could it possibly be a gun?—no, then Mitsuko would have aimed it over here and fired. If Mitsuko didn't have a gun—then Megumi might have a chance. That's right, she had to kill. If she didn't kill, Mitsuko would surely kill her.

She had to kill.

There was a clicking sound, and once again the flashlight beam appeared. It lit up the bottom of the table, and Megumi squinted for an instant. Now was the time—all she had to do was get up, run toward the source of the light with her knife out.

But Megumi's intentions were about to be abruptly undermined by an unexpected turn of events.

The flashlight beam fell on a lower spot, and Mitsuko Souma sank down on the floor into the light, staring at Megumi. Tears were streaming down Mitsuko's cheeks.

"I'm so glad...," her trembling lips finally parted, and she managed to say in a feeble voice, "I'm...I'm...I'm so scared... "

Mitsuko's voice was half shrieking. She thrust both of her hands forward as if seeking Megumi's protection. Her hands were empty.

Then she continued, "I can trust you, right? I can trust you. You wouldn't think of killing me, would you? You'll stay with me, won't you?"

Megumi was stunned. This was Mitsuko Souma crying. She's asking for my help...

Oh...as the shaking in her body subsided, Megumi felt an indescribable emotion well up inside her.