"Listen up everyone. As you can see, Mr. Hayashida vehemently opposed your class' assignment to the Program," Sakamochi said, scratching his hair. "Well, it was all so sudden, we do feel bad about it, but..." The room grew silent again. Everyone now knew. This was real. It was no mistake, nor was it a prank. They were going to be forced to kill each other.
Shuya desperately tried to think clearly. The unreal situation had put him in a daze. His mind was spinning from the horrible corpse of Hayashida and the role it played in this horror show. They had to escape. But how?…That's right…first he'd meet with Yoshitoki…Shinji and Hiroki…but how was the Program actually conducted? The details were never publicized. Students were given weapons to kill each other. That much was known. But could they talk to each other? How did the government monitor the game?
"I…I…" Shuya's thoughts were interrupted. He looked up and opened his eyes. Yoshitoki Kuninobu half rose and gazed at Sakamochi, unsure, it seemed, whether he should continue. He looked as if his words were beyond his control. Shuya's body tensed up. Don't provoke them, Yoshitoki!
"Yeeees? What is it? You can ask me anything."
Sakamochi offered a friendly smile, and like a puppet Yoshitoki continued, "I…don't have parents. So who did you contact?"
"Ah ha," Sakamochi nodded. "I remember there was someone from one of the welfare institutions. So you must be Shuya Nanahara? Let's see, according to the school report you were the one with dangerous ideas. So…"
"I'm Shuya," Shuya interrupted, raising his voice. Sakamochi glanced at Shuya and then back at Yoshitoki. Still in a daze, Yoshitoki glanced back at Shuya.
"Oh, that's right. I'm so sorry. There was one more. So you must be Yoshitoki Kuninobu. Well, I contacted the superintendent of the institution where you were both raised. That's right…she was very pretty," Sakamochi said and grinned. While his smile appeared to be cheerful, there was something disturbing about it.
Shuya's face tensed up. "What the hell did you do to Ms. Anno?"
"Well, like Mr. Hayashida, she was very uncooperative. They both didn't accept your assignment, so in order to silence her, well, I had to…" Sakamochi continued calmly, "…rape her. Oh, don't worry. It's not like she's dead."
Shuya flushed red with anger and leaped up, but before he could say anything, Yoshitoki said, "I'll kill you!"
Yoshitoki was standing up. His expression had changed, though. He'd always been so friendly to everyone. No matter what happened, it was impossible to imagine him getting angry. His expression now was something he saved for those rare times he was truly enraged. No one else in class might have ever seen him like this, but Shuya had seen him this upset twice. The first time was when they were fourth graders and a car ran over the Charity House's pet dog, Eddie, right in front of the gate. Frantically, Yoshitoki chased after the fleeing car. The second time was only a year ago, when a man had been using the school's debt as leverage to come on to Ms. Anno. After she managed to pay back the money, and thereby rejected his advances, the man cursed her out right in front of them, as if he wanted all the Charity House's residents to hear him. If Shuya hadn't stopped Yoshitoki, the man would have lost his front teeth, though Yoshitoki would have also been severely injured. Yoshitoki was extremely kind, and even when he was insulted or picked on he usually laughed it off. But when someone he truly loved was hurt, his response was extreme. This was something Shuya admired about Yoshitoki.
"I'll kill you, you bastard!" Yoshitoki continued, screaming, "I'll kill you and dump you into a pile of shit!"
"Hmm." Sakamochi looked amused. "Are you serious, Yoshitoki? You know one must be responsible for the things one says."
"Give me a break! I'm going to kill you! Don't you forget it!"
"Stop it, Yoshitoki! Stop it!"
Yoshitoki paid no attention to Shuya's screaming.
Sakamochi spoke in a strange, kind voice, as if to appease Yoshitoki.
"Look, Yoshitoki. What you're doing right now is voicing your opposition to the government."
"I'll kill you!" Yoshitoki didn't stop. "I'll kill you I'll kill you I'll kill you!" Shuya could no longer contain himself and right when he was about to scream again, Sakamochi shook his head and waved his hand at the three Special Defense Forces soldiers standing by the lectern. They resembled a chorus group, like the Four Freshmen. The men in fatigues, Tahara, Kondo, and Nomura, all lifted their right hands in a dramatic, emotionally charged pose. But their hands were holding guns. Now the chorus would have been something like, "Baby please, baby please, spend this night with me—"
Shuya saw Yoshitoki's bulging eyes open even wider.
The three automatic pistols exploded all at once. Just as he was stepping out into the aisle, Yoshitoki's body shook as if dancing the boogaloo.
It happened so quickly that Noriko Nakagawa, who sat right behind Yoshitoki, along with the rest of the class, didn't even have time to duck.
The gunshot sounds hadn't even died down before Yoshitoki slowly tipped over to the right and crashed in between his desk and Izumi Kanai's on the right. Izumi shrieked.
The threesome stood with their right hands extended. Thin smoke from each of their barrels simultaneously trailed upward. Shuya then saw in between the legs of the desk the familiar face turned towards him. The bulging eyes remained open, fixed on a point on the floor. A bright puddle of blood began oozing out onto the floor. Yoshitoki's right shoulder began twitching down to his fingers. Yoshitoki!
Shuya stood up to run to him, but Noriko Nakagawa, who was sitting closer, was quicker. "Yoshitoki!" she screamed and crouched down beside him.
Now Tahara, the frivolous one, aimed his gun at Noriko and pulled the trigger. Noriko tumbled forward as if she were swept off her feet and collapsed on top of Yoshitoki, who continued to twitch. Tahara immediately pointed his gun at Shuya. Shuya's mind was racing now but his body was frozen. Only his eyes moved. He saw the blood spurting out of Noriko's calf.
Sakamochi said to Noriko, "You will not leave your desk without my permission." Then he looked over at Shuya, saying, "The same applies to you, Shuya. Now sit down." Shuya did his best to take his eyes away from Noriko's bloody leg and Yoshitoki underneath her. He looked Sakamochi directly in the eye. His neck muscles had tensed up from the shock of the scene.
"What the hell is going on here!?" Tahara still pointed his gun at his forehead. Shuya remained still, bursting out, "What the hell are you doing!? We have to get some help for Yoshitoki…and Noriko..." Sakamochi grimaced and shook his head. Then he repeated, "Forget about it and sit down. You too, Noriko."
Noriko, completely pale from looking at Yoshitoki lying underneath her, slowly looked up at Sakamochi. She seemed overwhelmed with anger more than she was with the pain she must have been suffering from. She raised her eyes and glared back at Sakamochi. "Please get some help." She spoke each word deliberately. "For Yoshitoki."
Yoshitoki's right arm continued to twitch. But while they watched over him the twitching subsided. It was evident his injury would be fatal unless he was treated immediately.
Sakamochi sighed deeply, then addressed the frivolous one, "Then Mr. Tahara, will you please take care of this."
Before they could figure out what he meant, Tahara pointed his gun downward and pulled the trigger. BLAMM. Yoshitoki Kuninobu's head bounced up once, then something from his head splashed onto Noriko's face.
Dumbstruck, Noriko's mouth hung open. Her face was covered with a dark red substance. Shuya realized his mouth was hanging open too.
Although part of his head had been blown away, Yoshitoki's eyes still remained focused on the same part of the floor. He was no longer twitching, though. He was motionless.
"See?" Sakamochi said. "He was already dying. Now then, please return to your seats."
"Oh…" Noriko looked down at Yoshitoki's deformed head, "…my…" Shuya was also stunned. His eyes were glued to Yoshitoki's face, lying between the legs of the desk. His thoughts were completely paralyzed, as if his own brains had
been blown to bits. Memories of Yoshitoki flashed through his dazed mind. The little adventures they took, camping or walking down the river, a rainy day spent playing an old board game, mimicking "Jake and Elwood," the heroes who, like themselves, were orphans in the American movie The Blues Brothers (amazingly, it was a dubbed version, although the voice actors were horrible), which had become a blackmarket hit, and then just recently, Yoshitoki's face when he said, "Hey Shuya, I got a crush on someone." And then…
"Are you two deaf?" Sakamochi repeated. Yes, Shuya was deaf to his words. He just stared at Yoshitoki.
Noriko was no different. If they hadn't moved, they would have followed in Yoshitoki Kuninobu's footsteps. Right beside Sakamochi, Tahara pointed his gun at Noriko, while the other two pointed theirs at Shuya.
But it was thanks to a calm, in fact light-hearted voice calling out, "M-m-m-mister Sakamochi," that Shuya was brought back to his senses, at least enough to gaze numbly at the caller. Beyond Yoshitoki's empty seat, Shinji Mimura had his hand raised. Noriko slowly looked at him too.
"Hm? Let's see. You must be Shinji Mimura. What is it?"
Shinji put his hand down and spoke, "Noriko looks injured. I was wondering if I could help her get back to her seat."
Despite the extremity of their situation, Shinji spoke in the usual voice of The Third Man. Sakamochi raised his brow slightly, but then nodded.
"All right, go ahead. I really want to get things moving."
Shinji nodded, stood up, and walked towards Noriko. As he approached her, he took out a neatly folded handkerchief out of his pocket and leaned between Yoshitoki's corpse and Noriko. He first wiped Noriko's face, which was covered with Yoshitoki's blood. Noriko hardly reacted. Then he said, "Stand up, Noriko," and put his hand under Noriko's right arm to help her get up. Then, with his back facing Sakamochi, Shinji looked at Shuya, who remained half-standing. Under his sharp, well defined brows, his eyes which always had a mildly amused look were now dead serious. He raised his right brow and moved his chin, shaking his head slightly. His left hand pushed down, as if he were making a pressing motion. Shuya didn't understand this signal. Shinji made the same move again. Although he was still dazed, Shuya finally understood that Shinji was telling him to calm down. He looked back at Shinji…and slowly eased his way back into his seat.
Shinji nodded. After returning Noriko to her seat, he turned around and returned to his seat. Noriko sat down. Blood poured out of the wound in her right leg dangling from her seat. Her white socks and sneakers were soaked in red, as if she were wearing Santa Claus boots, but only on her right foot. Noriko was coming to her senses a little too. She seemed to be making a gesture to thank Shinji. But as if he could see out the back of his head Shinji shrugged his shoulders to stop her. Noriko withdrew and saw once again Yoshitoki's body lying below her right hand. She stared at him without a word but her eyes seemed to be brimming with tears.
Shuya also looked again at the corpse, his view partly obscured by the desks. Yes, it was a corpse. There was no doubt about it. It was hard to comprehend, but Yoshitoki had become a corpse, the corpse of someone with whom he had shared ten years of his life.
As he looked at Yoshitoki's gaping eyes, Shuya's anger became more pronounced and clear, like a throbbing pulse. The anger rushed through his entire body so powerfully that it almost made him shake. His feelings, which had been muted by the initial shock, were beginning to surface. Shuya turned and bared his teeth towards Sakamochi.
Sakamochi looked amused by Shuya. Shuya would never forgive him for this. He was going to kill the bastard.
Shuya had been on the verge of blowing up the way Yoshitoki did. But then…
Shinji Mimura had intervened at the crucial moment, telling him to calm down__Shuya immediately recalled how he got the signal from him only moments ago. That's right…of course if he blew up now he would end up like Yoshitoki. And more importantly…now the girl whom Yoshitoki adored so much was severely injured. If he were to die now…what would happen to Noriko Nakagawa?
Shuya tried his best to tear his eyes away from Sakamochi. He looked down at his desktop. He felt wretched, as if his heart were being crushed from anger and sadness that had no outlet. Sakamochi quietly laughed. He looked away from Shuya.
Shuya clenched both of his fists tightly under the desk in order to calm down his body which was shaking uncontrollably. He clenched them tighter and tighter. It was no easy feat to control his emotions though, with Yoshitoki's corpse lying right in front of him.
This was incomprehensible. How could it be? How could you lose someone…someone so close?
Yoshitoki has always been with me. It doesn't matter how trivial our experiences were. What about the time we played in the river, and I saved him from drowning? Or when we got our kicks collecting tons of grasshoppers, stuffing them into a small box, and how they died as a result? We both felt really bad about that. Or when we fought for that dog Eddie's attention? Or when we pulled a prank in school and ended up hiding in the faculty room attic? We almost got caught, but after we managed to escape, we had a good laugh___Yoshitoki and I were always together. It was a fact.
He was with me.
So how could he be…gone now?
Shinji raised his hand again, "I have another question, Mr. Sakamochi."
"You again? What is it?"
"Noriko is injured. I understand we will be participating in the Program, but doesn't this make the game unfair?"
Sakamochi looked amused.
"Well, perhaps, yes. So what is it?"
"Which means she should be treated, which means the Program should be postponed until her recovery, no?"
Shuya had barely managed to hold back his anger, so he was amazed by the contrast in Shinji Mimura's calm conduct. It was a bit strange that Shuya could actually afford to be impressed. Yes, Shinji Mimura was a lot calmer than Shuya. Shinji was right. If Shinji's request was granted, that might buy them some extra time. Then they might be able to escape.
Sakamochi's face contorted into laughter.
"That's a very interesting suggestion, Shinji."
Sakamochi instead offered an alternative solution, "Then shall we kill Noriko Nakagawa now, and make the game equal?"
Noriko herself along with the rest of class suddenly froze up again. Shuya could see Shinji's back underneath his school uniform stiffen as he immediately responded, "I take it back, I take it back. Come on, I was just kidding."
Sakamochi burst out laughing again at Shinji's humorous tone. Tahara, whose right hand had been on his holster, quickly returned it to the strap of his rifle hanging off his shoulder. Sakamochi clapped his hands again.
"All right then, listen up. First of all, each and every one of you differ according to your intelligence, physical dexterity, etc., etc. We're born unequal. So we will not treat Noriko Nakagawa—over there!!
No whispering!" Sakamochi suddenly yelled. He threw a white object where Fumiyo Fujiyoshi (Female Student No. 18) was in the process of whispering something to the female class representative Yukie Utsumi, who was sitting next to her. Shuya wondered whether it was chalk for a moment, but of course that was absurd, given the circumstances.
The object made the thumping sound of a nail being pounded into a coffin. A thin knife was planted in the middle of Fumiyo Fujiyoshi's wide, fair-skinned forehead.
Yukie stared at the sight, her eyes open wide. A stranger sight though was Fumiyo herself raising her eyes, struggling to locate the knife planted in her forehead. Her head arched back in this attempt. Then she collapsed to the side. As she fell, her left temple hit the corner of Yukie's desk and nudged it. Now there was no room for doubt. Who could survive a knife planted in one's forehead?
No one moved. No one spoke a word. Yukie took a deep breath and stared down at Fumiyo. Noriko was also gazing at her. Shinji Mimura kept his lips pursed as he looked at Fumiyo collapsed between the desks just like Yoshitoki.
His throat dry, Shuya held his breath and thought, "He did that on a whim
! A whim! Damn it! Our lives are totally at the mercy of this asshole Sakamochi!"
"Oops, I did it. I'm so sorry. The instructor killing someone, that's against the rules, huh?" Sakamochi closed his eyes and scratched his head. But his face became serious again and he said, "I need your undivided attention. Impulsive actions are strictly prohibited. That means whispering will not be permitted. It's hard on me but if you whisper, I'll toss another knife at you!" Shuya clenched his teeth. He told himself to be patient and repeated this over and over to himself while two classmates were sprawled dead on the floor.
Still, he was drawn to Yoshitoki's face and couldn't help but look at him. He felt he was about to cry. 40 students remaining
5
"Allow me to explain the rules."
Sakamochi returned to his cheerful voice. The classroom began to reek of Yoshitoki Kuninobu's fresh blood, an odor entirely different than that of the dried blood of their instructor, "Dragonfly" Hayashida. Shuya couldn't see Fumiyo Fujiyoshi's face from his seat, but it seemed like there was very little blood coming out of her.
"I think you all know how this works. The rules are simple. All you have to do is kill each other. There are no violations. And," Sakamochi wore a wide grin, "the last remaining survivor can go home. You even get a nice card autographed by the Dictator. Isn't that wonderful?" In his mind, Shuya spat to his side.
"Now you may think this is a horrible game. But in life the unexpected is bound to happen. You must at all times maintain self-control in order to respond properly to accidents. Consider this an exercise then. Also, men and women will be treated equally. There will be no handicaps for either side. I do have good news for the girls, though. According to Program statistics, 49% of past winning survivors have been girls. The motto here is, 'I'm just like the others and the others are like me.' There is nothing to be afraid of."
Sakamochi made a signal. The camouflaged trio went into the hall and began to haul in the large, black, nylon day packs. The packs formed a pile right beside the body bag of Mr. Hayashida. Some of them were lopsided, as if they might contain a pole-shaped object inside trying to poke out.