Battle Royale

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?"

Once they reached their location Shogo said, "We have to get ready, just in case. We're going to move about a hundred meters."

"I thought you said it was best to stay put—"

Shogo puckered his lips and shook his head. "You saw what happened. Whoever it was, that bastard is merciless. On top of that, he has a machine gun. He probably figured out where we are. If he does, then we're better off moving away from here." He added, "Just a little. We'll move over just a little."

27 students remaining

25