"Oh, no, I'm really no good at all...."
With his hands tucked inside his sleeves, he still wore his kind smile and glanced up at the camellia. "No, I really do mean it. Yes…just like those flowers. There's something strained…but there's beauty in that. Something like that."
Of course, she was still just a child, and he might have only been complimenting a hobbyist dabbling in the school's tea ceremony. But that didn't stop her from getting excited. Right on! (She snapped her fingers only later in the bathroom.)
From that point on Kayoko began to practice tea ceremony more seriously. She thought, I can do it. Of course, I'm still just a kid, but once I'm eighteen he'll be twenty-four. That would totally work.... And so that was her memory of him.
Kayoko buried her face into her skirt. A warm liquid which wasn't rain oozed into the area covering her kneecaps. Kayoko realized she was crying. Her hand holding the gun trembled. How could all this be happening?
She wanted so badly to see him now. Sure, she was still a kid. But in her own adolescent way, she really did love him. This was the first time she ever had serious feelings for someone. She wanted a single moment with him so she could tell him this much. She wanted to tell this person— kind enough to describe her as "beautiful" even if it was only referring to her tea ceremony skills—"I'm still a kid, so I may not understand what it really means to be in love. But I think I am in love with you. I really love you." Something like that.
Something rustled in the bushes. Kayoko looked up. She wiped her eyes with her left hand and got up. Her feet moved automatically and took a step back from the source of the sound. A boy in a school coat—Hiroki Sugimura (Male Student No. 11). His face and torso emerged from the bushes. The sleeves of his coat and shirt were torn off, revealing his right arm. The white cloth wrapped around his shoulder was stained with blood and—perhaps it was because of the rain—it oozed pink. And his hand was holding…a gun.
Hiroki's jaw dropped, but what really caught her attention when she saw his grimy face were his eyes. They were gleaming.
Kayoko felt a sudden surge of fear. How could she have not noticed sooner before he got this close, how—
"Kotohiki—"
Kayoko let out a shriek and turned on her heels. She entered the bushes. She didn't care about the branches scraping against her face and hair, or getting drenched in the rain. She just wanted to escape. If I don't… I'll get killed!
She made her way through the bushes. There was a twisting path approximately two meters wide. Kayoko instinctively decided to run down there. If she ran uphill, he would catch up, but if she ran down then maybe…
She heard a rustling sound behind her. "Kotohiki!" It was Hiroki's voice. He's coming after me!
Kayoko summoned all her strength from her tired body and ran as fast as she could. I can't believe this, I should have been jogging instead of learning tea ceremony if I'd known this was going to happen.
"Kotohiki! Stop! Kotohiki!"
If she had been calmer—that is, if this were a scene in a movie and she were in the theater watching the actor performing as she munched on some popcorn—then it would have been obvious he was pleading with her. But right now it sounded like he was saying: "Kotohiki! You better stop! I'm gonna kill you!" She wasn't going to stop. The path forked. She took the left one.
The area opened up on her left. Rows of tangerine trees spread out in the dull light coming through the silky rain. Beyond them was a thicket of short trees. If she could enter that area—
It's impossible, she thought. She had at least fifty more meters to get there. It was hopeless. While she struggled through the uneven rows of tangerine trees, Hiroki Sugimura would catch up to her and shoot her from behind with his gun.
Kayoko clenched her teeth. She didn't want to, but she had to. After all, he was trying to kill her. She stopped on her right foot and spun around to her left.
By the time she had turned around the gun was in her hands. That thing called the safety had been released ever since she'd read the manual. The manual said you didn't have to raise the hammer, all you had to do was pull the trigger. The rest was…up to her.
Less than ten meters away, Hiroki Sugimura stood still on the slope, his eyes wide open. It's too late. You think I won't shoot?
Kayoko extended her arms and squeezed the trigger. With a pop, a small flame exploded from the muzzle, and her arms jerked back from the recoil.
Hiroki's large frame spun around as if he were hit. He fell back.
Kayoko ran over to him. She had to finish him off, finish him off! So he wouldn't get back up again!
Kayoko stopped approximately two meters away from him. There was a small hole in the left side of his chest (she'd actually aimed at his stomach), and the fabric around it had turned dark black. But his sprawled right hand still held his gun. He still might raise it. The head. I have to aim for his head. Hiroki turned his head around and looked at Kayoko. Kayoko pointed the gun and pulled the trig—
She stopped…because Hiroki had tossed his gun aside. If he'd had that kind of strength he could have pulled the trigger. What was going on?
The gun spun around once and landed on its side.
Huh?
Kayoko stood still, holding the gun, her short hair drenched in the rain.
"Now listen." He lay on the messy path ridden now with puddles as he said painfully, somehow fixing his eyes on Kayoko, "You have to burn some fresh wood. Build…two fires. I have a lighter in my pocket. Use that…then you'll hear a bird call."
Kayoko heard him, but she had no idea what he was talking about. She had no idea what was going on. Hiroki continued. "Follow that bird call. Then you'll find Shuya Nanahara…Noriko Nakagawa, and Shogo Kawada. They'll help you. You got that?"
"Wh-what?"
Hiroki seemed to be smiling. He repeated patiently,
"Build two fires. Then find the bird call."
He awkwardly moved his right arm, pulled out a small lighter from his school coat pocket, and tossed it over to Kayoko. Then he painfully closed his eyes.
"Okay, now go."
"Whaaaat?"
Hiroki suddenly opened his eyes wide and yelled, "Go now! Someone might have heard the shot. Go!" Then as if fitting the pieces of a complex jigsaw puzzle into place, Kayoko finally managed to get it. This time she got it right.
"Oh…oh…"
She dropped the gun and fell on her knees beside him. She scraped her knees but she didn't care.
"Hiroki! Hiroki! I…I can't believe…I can't believe I did this to you!…" She burst into tears. Sure, there was something intimidating about Hiroki Sugimura. He seemed tough since he studied martial arts, plus he didn't talk much, and when he did he was always gruff. When he spoke to other boys, like Shinji Mimura and Shuya Nanahara, he would smile but otherwise he looked grumpy. She also heard he was going out with Takako Chigusa, and they looked so close. Kayoko only thought, I don't get Takako's taste, I wonder maybe if you're that pretty, you're attracted to someone intimidating. In any case…that was her impression of him. So in this situation where her classmates were being killed off one by one she was absolutely terrified of Hiroki Sugimura. But then…it turned out…
He closed his eyes again and said, "It's all right." He was smiling. He looked content. "I was going to die soon anyway."
Kayoko then finally noticed he had another wound on his side, soaked in liquid that wasn't rain.
"So…go now. Please."
Kayoko sobbed convulsively and touched his neck gently. "Let's go together. Okay? Stand." Hiroki opened his eyes and looked at her. He seemed to be smiling. "Forget about me," he said. "I'm just glad I got to see you."
"What?" Kayoko opened her tear-stained eyes wide. What? What did you just say? "What…what do you mean…" Her voice was trembling.
Hiroki exhaled deeply, as if to bear the pain, or maybe it was a long sigh. "If I tell you, will you go?"
"What? I don't get it. What do you mean?"
Hiroki said wit
hout hesitating, "I love you, Kotohiki. I've loved you for a real long time." Kayoko once again didn't understand Hiroki. What's he talking about?
Hiroki continued. He was looking up at the sky raining down on them. "That's all I wanted to tell you. Now…go."
Kayoko then uttered, "But I thought…you and Takako…"
Hiroki looked into her eyes again. He said, "You're the one."
She finally got it. She was blown away as if struck by a huge wrecking ball swinging from a demolition crane.
Love, me? You wanted to tell me…don't tell me you were trying to find me? Is that true? If so…then what did I just do?
Her breath was raspy. She kept on getting choked up, but finally she managed to cry out,
"Hiroki…Hiroki!"
"Hurry," Hiroki said and coughed out a mist of blood, spraying Kayoko's face. Hiroki opened his eyes again.
"Hiroki…I…I…I…"
Her body was supposedly dehydrated from lack of water, but the tears kept on gushing out.
"It's all right," Hiroki said kindly. He closed his eyes slowly. "Kayoko…" he called her by her first name as if it were a precious treasure. It was probably the first time he had ever called her by her first name. "I don't mind at all.. -dying because of you. So please, please go. Or else…" Kayoko kept on crying, waiting for Hiroki to continue. "Or else"?
Hiroki didn't say anything. Kayoko slowly reached out for him. She held his shoulders and shook them.
"Hiroki! Hiroki!"
In a TV drama when someone died their words would be cut off, like, "Or el—" but Hiroki managed to say in a painful but clear voice, "Or else." So there had to be more. Or else?…
"Hiroki! Hey, Hiroki!"
Kayoko shook his body one more time. Then she finally realized he was dead. Once she realized this, the dam restraining her torrent of emotions suddenly collapsed. A shriek was welling up inside.
"AHHH!" On her knees, Kayoko fell over Hiroki's body and cried. He loved me…he loved me so much he sought me out at the risk of being attacked. Any encounter could have led to an attack on him. In fact, the wound in his side…the wound on his shoulder… came as a result of him trying to find me.
No…there's more. Kayoko stopped sobbing for a moment.
I was the one who attacked Hiroki. At the very end, when Hiroki managed to achieve his goal. Kayoko shut her eyes and cried again.
He loved me…just like I wanted to tell "that guy" how I felt about him, Hiroki was thinking the same thing about me, looking for me. Someone in my class cared for me that much. And yet…and yet___
Suddenly, Kayoko recalled a scene. It was when they were doing their cleaning tasks. Kayoko was wiping the blackboard with a wet rag and when she couldn't reach the top, Hiroki, who had been slacking off, rested his chin against his hands that were holding the upright broom as if it were a cane, and said, "You're too short, Kotohiki." He took the rag from her and wiped the area she couldn't reach. The scene came back to her.
Why…why didn't I see how kind he was? How could I not notice how someone loved me so much? If I'd thought about it, I would have realized if Hiroki wanted to kill me he could have immediately shot me with his gun. But I couldn't tell. I wasn't able to understand. I am so stupid. I—
Another memory came flashing by.
When she was telling some of her classmate friends about "that guy," Hiroki, who was nearby looking out the window, muttered, "You're being foolish, getting so worked up like that." It made her mad at the time, but in fact he was right, she was being foolish. And yet…and yet Hiroki told her he'd cherished this fool.
She simply couldn't stop crying. She pressed her cheek against his warm cheek and continued to sob. Hiroki told her to go, but she couldn't bring herself to do that. I'm going to keep on crying, I'm going to cry over the dedication (it was irreplaceable) of this boy who loved me and my foolishness (I was such a kid thinking I was actually in the running for "that guy"), I'm going to keep on crying. Even if it was suicidal in this game.
You plan on dying with him? A voice whispered to her in her thoughts.
That's right, yes, I'm going to die with him. I'm going to die for the sake of Hiroki's love for me and my foolishness.
"Then why…don't you go ahead?" the voice said.
Kayoko suddenly trembled and turned around. She saw the long, beautiful, rain-drenched hair of Mitsuko Souma (Female Student No. 11), gazing down at her, gun in hand.
BAM BAM, two dry pops formed two holes in Kayoko's right temple. Kayoko's body then landed on Hiroki Sugimura's body.
Blood slowly began flowing out of the holes in her head. The blood continued flowing down her face against the rain washing it away.
Mitsuko lowered the Smith & Wesson M19 .357 Magnum and said, "You really were a fool. You should have understood him."
Then she looked over at Hiroki's face.
"Long time no see, Hiroki. Are you glad you got to die with your beloved?" She shook her head, disgusted, and proceeded to walk forward to pick up the Smith & Wesson M59
Kayoko dropped and the Colt Government .45 (which had been Mitsuko's) Hiroki had tossed aside. She looked down at the intertwined bodies and put her finger against her lips.
"Now what was that about…building a fire?"
Then she shook her head. With her foot she brushed away Kayoko's skirt covering part of the M59 and reached for the blue gun, when she suddenly heard the rattling sound of an old typewriter. 6 students remaining
69
Her back was pummeled, repeatedly. Her chest burst open with blood. She staggered…and she felt something hot expand inside her, like burning embers.
She didn't feel so much the painful shock as she felt dismayed. How could she not have heard someone sneaking up behind her in this mud?
The bullets had done enough damage, but Mitsuko managed to turn around.
There was a boy in a school coat. The unique slicked-back hair, the well-defined face, the gleaming, frigid eyes. It was Kazuo Kiriyama (Male Student No. 6).
Mitsuko squeezed her right hand holding the Ml9. Her muscles were nearly disabled, but she summoned all her remaining strength and attempted to raise the gun.
Suddenly Mitsuko's thoughts—despite the fact that she was in a life-or-death confrontation—slipped into another dimension. It only lasted for a split second.
When I spoke to Hiroki Sugimura I said:
"I just decided to take instead of being taken."
That's what I said.
When did I…become like that? Was it after the time I told Hiroki about, when I was raped by three men? That day I was raped by those men with the video camera in a rundown apartment room in the shabby outskirts of town? Or maybe the moment my drunken mother (I never had a father) left the room when she received the thick envelope (it couldn't have been that thick) after taking me to that room before "it" happened? From then on? Or…was it after my elementary school teacher, the one person I thought I could trust, kindly addressed me, nearly numb from trauma, and I finally told him exactly what happened, when the look on his face changed, and it happened again? From that point on? In that small, dark reading room after school? Or after my best friend saw it (at least part of it) and instead of offering consolation, spread a rumor (which led to the teacher leaving the school)? Or was it three months later when I resisted my mother, who was trying to take me to do "it" again and accidentally ended up killing her? After getting rid of all the evidence and doing everything to make it look like a break-in, I sat on a swing in the park. From that point on? Or after being taken in by distant relatives, I was repeatedly harassed by their kid, and when the kid accidentally fell from the roof, the mother accused me of killing her since I was with her? From that point on? The father intervened and defended me, but then after a while, this father started fooling around with me. From that point on? Or…
Little by little, no, more like in big chunks, everyone took from Mitsuko. No one gave Mitsuko anything. And so Mitsuko ended up an empty shell. But…
<
br /> … that didn't matter.
I am right. I will not lose.
Her arms were suddenly strengthened, and she lifted the gun. The tendons in her wrist rose up, resembling violin strings. Then she pulled the—
The rattling Ingram M10 in Kazuo Kiriyama's hands fired away a row of four holes that ran from her chest up to the middle of her head. Blood sprayed out of Mitsuko's mouth. Her upper lip tore. She bent backwards.
Still Mitsuko managed to smile. She regained her footing and pulled the trigger. Over and over. The four bullets from the chamber struck Kazuo Kiriyama's chest.
But…Kazuo remained calm as he staggered only slightly. Mitsuko didn't understand why. Kazuo's Ingram then fired away again.
Mitsuko's face, once so beautiful, was torn up as if a strawberry pie had been flung into her face. This time her body was blown back—and the next moment she fell back onto the wet ground. By then she was dead. In fact, she may have been dead a while ago. Physically, several seconds ago, mentally, ages ago.
Kazuo Kiriyama walked up to her slowly, and then calmly removed the gun from her hand. He also picked up the Colt Government .45 lying by Hiroki Sugimura's hand and the M59 Kayoko Kotohiki had tossed aside. He didn't even bother glancing at the three rain-drenched bodies. 5 students remaining
70
Mizuho Inada (Female Student No. 1) cautiously looked out from the shade of the bushes. Due to the relentless rain her neatly cropped hair stuck to her forehead.
Beyond the bushes there was a narrow farm field, and through the light sheet of rain she saw the back side of a school coat in the middle of the field. His slicked-back hair was also wet from the rain. It was Kazuo Kiriyama (Male Student No. 6).
Kazuo Kiriyama had formed what appeared to be two piles of branches. Now he sat arranging one of the piles.
Mizuho calmed her breathing. It was cold, and she was tired, but she didn't really mind. After all, she was about to execute her most important mission…
…as a space warrior.
Are you ready, warrior Prexia Dikianne Mizuho?