Battle Royale

"I bombarded her with questions, but she said she didn't know. And I even told the teacher about it. Our teacher, come to think of it, the teacher must have been biased too. The teacher told her to tell the truth. But she just cried and said she knew nothing about it."

Yumiko looked back at Yukiko.

"When I came home, I found the pen on my desk."

Yukiko remained silent and continued listening.

"I apologized to her. She said it was all right. But it just turned out all awkward and she ended up—I think her mother ended up remarrying—transferring schools and that was it. We were such good friends, as close as you and me. But in the end I wasn't able to trust her."

Yumiko shrugged and then continued.

"So ever since that incident I've been doing my best to trust people. I want to trust people. If I can't then everything falls apart. This is different from what the folks at that stupid Halo Church preach. This is my belief. I hope you understand."

"I do."

"So let's consider this situation now. Well yeah, Mitsuko Souma does seem dangerous. That's her reputation. But I doubt she's so bad she'd actually get off on killing people. She can't be that bad. No one in our class could be that bad. Don't you think?"

Several moments later Yukiko nodded and replied, "Yes."

"So...," Yumiko continued, "...if we could just contact everyone appropriately then the fighting would stop. Then we could figure out together how to deal with the circumstances. No, even if we couldn't do anything, at the very least we could avoid killing each other. Don't you think?"

"Yes..."

Yukiko nodded, but she sounded hesitant. A little worn out from talking, Yumiko took a deep breath and shifted her legs again.

"In any case, that's my opinion. Now let me hear yours. If you're against it, then I won't do it."

Yukiko looked down at the floor in contemplation.

After two full minutes she mumbled, "Remember how you once told me that I'm always too worried about other people's opinions?"

"Hm?...Did I say that?"

Yumiko examined Yukiko's face. Yukiko looked up and their eyes met.

Yukiko smiled gently. "I think you're absolutely right. That's my opinion."

Yumiko smiled back at her and said, "Thanks." She felt grateful towards Yukiko for seriously considering the idea on her own before sharing her thoughts. And now it seemed that her response confirmed the validity of her idea.

That's right. We have to do this. I don't want to die without putting up a fight. If there's a chance then let's go for it. That's right. Just as I said to Yukiko, I want to trust people. Let's try it.

Then Yukiko asked, "But how are we going to do this? How can we contact everyone?"

Yumiko pointed at the megaphone lying in the corner of the room. "We have to figure out how to use that."

Yukiko gave several small nods and looked up at the ceiling. Then she uttered, "If all goes well, I'll be able to see Shuya."

Yumiko nodded. "Yes, I'm sure we will," she said hopefully this time.

29 students remaining

21

"All right."

Shogo tossed the needle and thread onto the day pack beside him and said to Shuya, "I need the whiskey again."

Noriko's bent right leg rested on its side. The wound on her calf was sewn up with coarse cotton thread. Shogo had managed to stitch it up. Of course they had no anesthetic, but Noriko managed not to cry during the ten-minute operation.

Shuya offered the flask to Shogo. Next to them was a small rock pit. The empty can rested on top of the charcoal, and the water inside was boiling. (Shogo had explained how he'd found the charcoal along with the needle and thread at the supply store.) He disinfected the needle and thread with the boiling water, but applying it directly to her wound was out of the question. Shogo had already soaked her wound with whiskey before he began stitching. He was going to disinfect again. Noriko, who'd managed to relax a little, now grimaced again.

Shuya looked at his watch. Because of the time it took to boil the water, it was already past 8 a.m.

"Okay," Shogo said as he pressed the disinfected bandanna on her wound. Then he quickly wrapped another bandanna around Noriko's leg. "We're done."

He added with a note of concern, "I hope the wound hasn't been infected."

Noriko tucked in her leg and showed her gratitude to Shogo, "Thank you. That was impressive."

"Well, I'm good at playing doctor," Shogo said as he took out a Wild Seven cigarette from his pocket, put it between his lips, and lit it with a disposable lighter. Did he get those from the store, or did he bring them along for the trip? Like Buster and hi-night, they were a popular brand.