"It's all right," Yukie nodded. "The building is sealed, so we're fine. It'll be brief." Haruka nodded and entered the room leading up to the lantern room. You could hear footsteps clang up the steel stairs.
While Satomi and Chisato asked in succession, "How is he?" and "Can he eat the same stuff we're eating?" Yuko quietly stood up from her chair and walked over to the sink. There was a stack of several deep dishes right beside the steaming stew pot. Chisato and Haruka had taken them out of the dish cabinet.
Yuko dug her hand into her skirt pocket and touched the object inside. The weapon she found in her day pack was a telescoping spring baton, but what she now held was this item labeled "special bonus," the item she had thought was useless. Even after she was welcomed here she didn't think there was much point in mentioning it. But when Shuya Nanahara showed up she came up with this idea, so she kept it a secret.
In the past…her father's violence, his terrorization of the rest of her family, ended unexpectedly. That was how her family finally attained peace.
Now there was another threat. She had to put a stop to it. Once she did…she would be safe again. She wouldn't have to be terrified anymore.
She felt no hesitation. Oddly enough, she was calm.
She removed the cork lid of the tiny bottle inside her pocket with one hand. 14 students remaining
62
"Hey," Yuko called over to Yukie. Yukie, who was speaking to Satomi and Chisato, looked over at her. Yuko continued, "Maybe we should bring Shuya his meal first?"
Yukie beamed a smile at her. "That's a good idea. Let's do that." Yuko then added very casually, "The stew looks ready, so how about I start serving it up?" She held the dish. The dish.
"Sure—oh that's right," Yukie said as if she suddenly remembered. "You know, there's a medicine kit in the desk drawer over there. I think it has some painkillers. I should bring Shuya some painkillers with his meal."
"…sure." Yuko then let go of the dish. It clicked against the sink. "Okay. Hold on." The writing desk, equipped with a computer and phone, was across from the sink, in the corner of the room. Yuko made her way around the table to get there.
Clanging footsteps descended the steel stairs. Haruka and Yuka Nakagawa entered the room. Yuka Nakagawa had a short-barreled gun resembling an expanded automatic gun with an extended stock slung over her shoulder. (It was an Uzi 9mm submachine gun. It was Satomi Noda's supplied weapon, but because it seemed like the most powerful weapon they had, whoever keeping watch held onto it.)
"I heard Shuya's up!" Yuka said in her usual cheerful voice, placing the Uzi on the table. A little chubby and, thanks to her tennis team practice in the outdoor courts, tan, Yuka somehow managed to stay cheerful even in these dire circumstances.
"Yes." Yukie nodded happily.
"Well, you must be relieved, Representative," Yuka teased her. Yukie blushed a little. "What are you saying?"
"Oh, come on. You're beaming."
Yukie frowned and then shook her head. Suddenly realizing something, Yuka looked over at Chisato and fell silent. Chisato had lost Shinji Mimura, the boy she loved, and now she stared down at the floor. Yuko hardly paid attention to this exchange as she took the wooden medical kit she found in the desk drawer. She placed it on the desk and opened it up. It was stuffed with various kinds of medical supplies, gauze, poultices. The only things missing were the bandages, since they were almost entirely used up to treat Shuya Nanahara.
Painkillers… which one were the painkillers? Of course, it didn't matter. It didn't matter because…
"Wow, it smells great," she heard Yuka say, trying to change the mood. But she hardly paid noticed to that either.
Painkillers… ah, here we go. Right here. For headaches, menstrual cramps, toothaches…oh…come to think of it, my stomach's been aching. I'll take some later. After things settle down a little. That's right, once things calm down.
"So what is it?" Satomi asked Yukie in her slightly husky voice.
"That's right. What is it?" Haruka asked.
"Oh, right. Let's see, where do I begin?" Yukie said.
It was only when Yuka said, "Let's have a taste then," that Yuko suddenly looked up. She turned around…and saw Yuka lift the dish and put it against her mouth. She should have used the ladle if she wanted a taste. Instead she had to put her mouth against that dish, the one she'd sprinkled with the half-transparent powder.
Yuko turned pale. She was about to raise her voice…but it happened too fast. Yuka dropped the dish and the stew splashed against the floor with a crashing sound. Everyone looked over at her.
Yuka held onto her throat and coughed out the stew she had just swallowed. Then she coughed more violently onto the white table. Now the substance was bright red. The red splattered out in a circle against the white table and resembled the national flag of the Republic of Greater East Asia. And then she crashed onto the floor covered with stew.
"Yuka!"
Everyone — besides Yuko, who was speechless — cried out and ran to Yuka. Yuka balled up on her side and coughed up blood again. Her tan face became more and more pale. Red foam spilled out the side of her mouth.
"Yuka! Yuka! What happened!?"
Yukie shook her body, but the dark-red foam only continued to spill out the side of her mouth. Her eyes were open as wide as possible, as if on the verge of popping out, but now even the whites of her eyes were turning red. For some reason—inflammation or broken capillaries—dark-red and black spots began appearing all over her blue face, transforming it into the mask of some grotesque monster. But besides this, there was something else that was indisputable. It was obvious. Yuka had stopped breathing.
Everyone fell silent. Yukie's trembling hand touched Yuka's throat. She said, "She's dead…" Behind Yukie, who crouched down beside Yuka and Haruka, Yuko stood still, her face completely pale. She was shaking. (Of course it was very possible the other four were also in the same state.) Oh, how could… how could this… this is all a mistake… mistake… how could… you only had a mouthful…how could it be this strong…I didn't…this is a mistake… I killed her… by mistake… it was a mistake… I didn't mean to…1 wanted to get rid of—
"It couldn't have been from food poisoning…could it?" Yukie continued, her voice trembling. Chisato responded, "I… just tasted it. Nothing happened… this… this… could this be…" Haruka followed up, "…poison?"
That sparked it off. Everyone (to be more accurate, it was everyone besides Yuko, but the other four didn't realize this) looked at each other.
There was a thump. Satomi Noda had grabbed the Uzi and was now aiming it at the others. The other four, including Yuko, reflexively moved to the side or backed away from Yuka's corpse. Satomi screamed. Her eyes behind her glasses were wide open with fear. "Who!? Who did it!? Who poisoned this stew! Who's the one trying to kill us!?"
"Stop it!" Yukie yelled.
Yuko saw her hand reach for the gun (Browning High Power 9mm. This was Yukie's supplied weapon and because she was the team leader she held onto it) tucked in the back of her skirt. Yukie was about to move forward but stopped and stepped back. "Put your gun down. That can't be."
"Oh yes it can," Satomi shook her head. Satomi who always seemed so calm had completely lost control.
"The last announcement said there were only fourteen of us left. It's getting down to the wire. So our enemy's finally rearing its ugly head." Then she looked over at Haruka and said, "You were the one cooking."
Haruka shook her head violently. "I wasn't the only one. Chisato also…"
"That's horrible," Chisato said. "I would never do such a horrible thing! Besides…" She seemed to hesitate, but then she said, "Satomi and Yuko also had plenty of chances to poison the food."
"…that's right," Haruka turned back to Satomi, then hissed at her, "Aren't you getting a little too upset?"
"Haruka!" Yukie stopped her, but it was too late. Satomi was now completely upset.
"What was that?"
"That's right," H
aruka continued, "First of all, you've hardly slept. I know. When I got up in the middle of the night, you were up. Doesn't that mean you don't trust us? That's proof, right there!"
"Please, stop it, Haruka!" Yukie pleaded. She was nearly shrieking now. "Satomi! Put down the gun!"
"Oh, please." Satomi pointed the Uzi at Yukie now. "Stop pretending you're the leader. So this is the act you put on after your plan to poison everyone goes awry? Is that it?"
"Satomi…" Yukie said desperately.
Yuko raised her hand up to her mouth and stepped back in a daze. Her body was numb from the sudden turn of events. But…she had to say it, she had to explain the truth…or else this…something terrible was going to happen.
Suddenly, Chisato moved…to the side table against the wall on the right side of the sink. There was the remaining gun—a Czechoslovakian CZ75. (It was in fact Yuka's weapon.)
The rattling sound echoed through the room. Chisato was shot in the back three times as she crashed against the side table, slid down, clutched onto its edge, and fell face forward onto the floor. There was no need to check___She was dead.
"Satomi! What are you doing!?" Yukie's eyes opened wide as she screamed. Her voice was breaking.
"Oh, please." Satomi held her smoking Uzi and glared at Yukie. "She went for the gun. Because she was guilty."
"So did you though!" Haruka screamed. "Yukie! Shoot Satomi!" With a clicking sound, Satomi pointed the Uzi at Haruka. Her face darkened. She seemed ready to shoot Haruka at any moment.
Yukie looked anguished. At that moment she had her hand on the Browning in the back of her skirt. After hesitating, she must have…intended to shoot Satomi's arm or some other part of her body. Satomi then quickly shifted the Uzi and fired…at Yukie.
Yukie was blown back with the rattling sound. Blood burst out of the holes in her chest and she fell backwards.
Haruka stood still for only a moment and then made a dash for the Browning Yukie had dropped. Satomi's Uzi followed her body and burst out, blowing off Haruka's side along with the fabric of her uniform. Her body slid against the floor.
The table was in between them now. Satomi pointed the Uzi at Yuko. She said, "What about you?…You're different, right?"
Yuko could only tremble. As she trembled, her eyes were fixed on Satomi's face. There was a pop. There was a hole on the left side of Satomi's forehead. She opened her mouth…and looked down at her left hand. Blood burst out of the hole in her forehead, splashing against the inside of her glasses. Then it continued to drip downward.
Yuko's neck moved stiffly like some gadget as she followed Satomi's eyes and found Haruka, her torso raised in pain from her fallen position, somehow still holding the Browning. Satomi's Uzi burst out. It wasn't clear whether she pulled the trigger intentionally or whether it was from her nerves twitching. Rows of bullets tore along the floor and pierced Haruka's body which got tossed over and back. A bloody mist burst upward, nearly tearing off Haruka's neck above her metal collar. Satomi's body fell forward slowly and landed with a thud over Yuka Nakagawa's corpse. She remained absolutely still.
Completely alone in the room, Yuko just kept on trembling. Her body was stiff as a rock. With the look of a child wandering into a freakish museum exhibition, she gazed at the floor covered with the corpses of five of her classmates.
9 students remaining
63
When he heard the shattering sound, Shuya just thought, oh, one of those clumsy girls must have dropped a dish, but when the sound was followed by an argument, he got up from his bed. He felt a sharp pain run through the left side of his stomach and his shoulder blade. Shuya groaned, but using his right arm he managed to get out of the bed and stepped onto the floor with his bare feet. He was only wearing his school uniform pants. The heated argument continued. He thought he heard Yukie shouting.
Shuya walked over to the door and put his hand on the doorknob. The knob turned and as he pushed…the door seemed blocked. Through the one-centimeter gap he could see a wooden plank diagonally set against the door. As Yukie had warned him, they had constructed a makeshift bolt lock. Shuya grabbed the doorknob and shook it vigorously several times, but the door wouldn't budge. He poked his fingers through the gap, but the plank, set against the door, refused to move. On the verge of giving up, he took a deep breath when he heard the all-too-familiar rattling sound through the gap. There were several screams.
Shuya turned pale. Were they being attacked…but if that was…in any case, something was wrong!
Shuya managed to keep his injured body from tottering over. He raised his right foot and kicked the door with the heel of his bare foot, using the front kick technique he'd learned from Hiroki. But the door easily spurned his kick, throwing him off balance. He fell back onto the floor and felt a searing pain go up his side. He also realized he needed to pee, but that would have to wait.
BRRATTA. More rattling. And then more BRRATTA.
Shuya turned back to the bed, stood up, and lifted the edge of the bed that was made of steel pipes with his right hand. The bed landed on its side with a thud and the blanket and sheets slid off. Shuya dragged the bed, pressed one end against the door, and went around to the other end. He then shoved it against the door with all his might. The door made a cracking sound. One more shove. Bang. Gunfire. This time, one shot.
The bed pummeled into the wooden door. The door bent in half with a crack and opened into the hall. Shuya yanked the bed from the front of the door with his right hand and let it fall against the floor. The typewriter-like rattling gunfire was now clearly audible through the open door. Shuya came out into the hall. The shades were drawn on the windows that had been nailed shut with wooden planks so the unlit hall was dim. The entrance was on his left. There were three doors down the hall on his right. The far door was slightly ajar, and light leaked into the hall, forming what looked like a cold puddle of light.
Shuya picked up one of the longer pieces of broken planks in front of the door, approximately one meter long. He dragged his aching body down the hall. It was completely quiet now. What the hell happened?
Did someone attack, or…
Shuya cautiously approached the door. He peeked through the gap and saw the room with kitchen equipment where Yukie Utsumi and Haruka Tanizawa were sprawled out by the center table. Beyond them was Yuka Nakagawa (what's up with that face!). Chisato Matsui was against the wall on the right. Someone was lying face down in the shadow of the table. That someone had to be Satomi Noda, because the relatively thin body standing still with her back towards him and silky, straight, shoulder-length hair belonged to—unless Shuya was mistaken—Yuko Sakaki.
There were several guns scattered around the collapsed bodies of Yukie's group. He was assaulted by the stench of blood splattered across the floor.
Shuya froze in shock. That overwhelming numbness was identical to the way he felt when he saw Mayumi Tendo's body right in front of the school.
What happened? How could this have happened? Yukie who had just said to him, "You might want to listen to the girl who's in love with you," was lying over there. Four others had fallen too. Were they dead? Did they die?
Yuko, her back facing Shuya, didn't have a gun. She was just standing still like a Venusian suddenly dropped onto Pluto.
Shuya was in a daze as he slowly clutched the doorknob, opened the door, and stepped into the room. Yuko turn around. She gazed at Shuya with bloodshot eyes, but then went for the gun lying on the floor between Yukie and Haruka.
Shuya also came out of his daze. He tossed the plank he'd been holding with his uninjured arm the way he'd pitch a perfect fastball in Little League. (He wasn't sure anymore whether such a game existed on earth. It seemed to take place on a distant planet in the remote Andromeda Galaxy where the inhabitants played this game using three arms out of five, although the use of one's tail was permitted in the final inning.)
His body suddenly ached all over, and he grimaced. The plank hit the floor right in front of Yuko and bounced
up. Yuko stopped as she shielded her face with her hand and fell back onto the bloody floor. Shuya dashed for the gun. He knew that in this chaos Yuko holding a gun would only make matters worse.
Yuko shrieked and retreated. She got up, turned around, and ran to the other side of the room. She passed by the table and disappeared through an open door further down. There was a metallic clang. Were they…stairs?
Shuya gazed over there for a moment after she disappeared. But then he dashed over to Yukie and knelt down beside her.
He could tell her chest was ridden with holes. The blood was oozing out under her body already, and her eyes were shut peacefully as if she were sleeping. Her mouth was barely open—
She wasn't breathing anymore.
"Ahh," Shuya cried. He reached out his uninjured right hand to her peaceful face. He felt tears welling up for the first time ever since the game began. Was it because they'd just talked minutes ago? Or was it because of what she'd said:
"I just wouldn't know what to do if you died....Do you understand what I'm saying? Do you?" Her tearful but relieved face. Her melancholic face. And now her oddly peaceful face right beside him. He looked around. There was no need to check. Yuka Nakagawa's face had changed color. A bloody foam dripped from her mouth. Satomi Noda lay face down, a puddle of blood under her head. Chisato Matsui's back was covered with bullet holes, and Haruka Tanizawa…her neck was nearly torn off. How could…how could this be…
Shuya looked back at Yukie. His nearly paralyzed left arm supported his right arm so he could hold her up. It might have been a meaningless gesture. But Shuya had to do it.
As he held her body, he heard the blood dripping onto the floor from the holes in her chest. Her head hung back and her braided hair touched his arm.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Shuya burst into tears as they fell onto her uniform.
"Ungh," Shuya bit his lip and gently let her down onto the floor. He picked up the Browning Yuko had attempted to grab. He walked to the door at the far end of the room where Yuko had gone. His body felt incredibly heavy. It wasn't just because he was injured. He wiped his eyes with his bare right arm, which was also holding the Browning.