Battle Royale

74

“Now then, with the girls, the body count was pretty high. No. 1, Mizuho Inada, No. 2 Yukie Utsumi, No. 8 Kayoko Kotohiki, No. 9 Yuko Sakaki, No. 11 Mitsuko Souma, No. 12 Haruka Tanizawa, No. 16 Yuka Nakagawa, No. 17 Satomi Noda, and No. 19 Chisato Matsui.”

Shuya’s eyes met Noriko’s. Her eyes were trembling. They had already been prepared to hear about Yukie’s group, but Hiroki and Kayoko too? And Mitsuko Souma and Mizuho Inada.

The only ones left were them and Kazuo?

“That can’t be—” Shuya uttered. Ever since the smoke signal went up, there hadn’t been any gunfire. Or was Hiroki stabbed? Or… did he not hear Sakamochi’s announcement correctly? Were his ears playing tricks on him?

No. Sakamochi continued, “All right then. Now there are four students remaining. Can you hear me, Kiriyama, Kawada, Nanahara, and Nakagawa? Wonderful work. I’m really proud of you all. Now then, I’ll announce the new forbidden zones.”

Before Shuya could mark his map, Shogo said, “Gather your stuff.”

“Huh?” Shuya asked, but Shogo only signaled for him to hurry up. Sakamochi continued, “From 7 p.m.…”

“Get up. It’s Kazuo. It’s likely he somehow found out about Hiroki’s method to contact us. We might have been sending our signal to Kazuo all this time.”

Shuya immediately got up. Noriko was carrying her day pack on her shoulders. Then right before or after Sakamochi finished his announcement saying, “All right then, do your best. Just a little more to go—” Shuya saw Shogo’s eyes glance at that alarm system consisting of notches cut into thin trees wrapped with thin wire.

And then he saw this wire fall off the rain-drenched tree trunk.

“Duck!” Shogo yelled. The rattling burst through. Right above Shuya and Noriko’s heads, the rock wall burst into sparks. Its shards rained down on them.

Crouched, Shogo held the Uzi and shot into the shrubs.

Maybe he was hit or maybe he wasn’t, Kazuo (who else could it be now?) didn’t return fire. Shogo said, “This way! Hurry!” They ran south along the rock wall away from Kazuo.

Once they reached the area beyond the rock wall where Shogo had been using the bird call, they heard a gun rattle off again. It missed them. They entered the bushes ahead.

There was a crevice in the rock waist deep, less than a meter wide. Covered with dirt and leaves, it continued southward. Shuya didn’t know about its existence, but Shogo probably chose their position with this place in mind. It was a naturally formed trench. Shogo urged them on. Shuya and Noriko jumped down. Shogo rattled off his Uzi and followed them. A different rattling followed from behind. A thin tree with roots along the edge of the crevice exploded with a pop right by Shuya’s head.

“Run!” Shogo shouted, and they ran down the crevice. Shuya almost tripped over a dry branch lying on the ground, but he managed to regain his footing and followed after Noriko. Behind them, the two guns exchanged shots.

Suddenly Noriko stopped as if she were hit by something. She moaned and crouched over. Shuya, who was turned towards Shogo, quickly ran to Noriko. Did she trip over something?

No. She looked up at Shuya. A cut ran under her left eye and blood gushed down her cheek. Maybe her right hand was cut too then. It was also bloody. The Browning that had been in her hand was on the ground by her feet.

Shuya put his right hand on her shoulder, looked up, and found… a thin, twisted wire stretched out across the crevice, neck-high. It didn’t matter where Kazuo had found it (he’d probably unfastened the wire used to secure some object). Kazuo had already anticipated their escape by this route. At Shuya’s height the wire would have cut right into his neck. At least this didn’t happen to Noriko—but she could have lost her sight.

Shuya was furious. I don’t know what Kazuo’s about. Shogo had said, “He just chooses as he goes.” I don’t know if he’s abnormal or normal, or a kind of genius or madman, but hurting Noriko, that was just unforgivable. I’m going to kill that motherfucker!

He tucked his CZ75 in front to help Noriko up, picked up the Browning, and then held Noriko’s shoulder with the gun in his hand. Noriko staggered but managed to get up.

Shogo caught up as he fired away. He glanced back at the two of them and then—maybe he caught a glance of the wire—clenched his teeth. As he turned around again, Shuya saw beyond him Kazuo Kiriyama in his school coat jump into the crevice.

Shogo yelled, “Duck!” as he fired away. Holding his machine gun, Kazuo quickly ducked behind a curve in the crevice. Shogo’s shots tore at the rock along the curve. Dust flew up.

“Run!” Shogo repeated. Shuya held Noriko up and proceeded to run under the wire. He slowed down though, in case of any more wire traps.

Shuya was frustrated. If he could only use both of his arms he could pummel Kazuo with bullets while he held Noriko.

Shogo fired away as he stuck close to them from behind. Kazuo also returned gunfire as he approached them.

The crevice that continued for fifty or sixty meters came to an end. Shuya leaped up to the ground before Noriko. He took Noriko’s uninjured left hand and pulled her up. Noriko bravely stiffened her face to conceal her pain, but the left half of her face was now covered with blood.

“Don’t stop!” Shogo yelled over the gunfire. Shuya pulled Noriko’s hand and dashed into the bushes ahead.

Once they came out of the bushes, they found themselves in the front yard of a residential house built against the side of the mountain. It was an old single-story building. There was a white light truck right next to an entrance road in front of the house. For some reason there was a washer and refrigerator, both on their sides, loaded in the light truck. Were they being dumped?

“Get behind the truck!” Shogo’s shouted again. Shuya and Noriko stepped onto the rain-drenched soil. Holding each others hands, they made their way behind the truck.

By the time Shogo followed and slid in, Shuya had Noriko sit down, the Browning in his hand. He caught a glimpse of a figure moving in the shrubs. He shot several times at it. He felt a searing pain through his left shoulder, from the bullet lodged inside it. The pain sizzled, but he had to ignore it.

Shogo reloaded a magazine into his Uzi and handed it over to Shuya. He said, “Shoot away. Hold him back.”

Shuya put his Browning down by his feet, took the Uzi, and fired away at the area where Kazuo appeared again.

Kazuo didn’t shoot back. As Shuya peeked above the pickup truck rack, Noriko planted herself right next to him. In her hands was the Browning he had put down.

“Are you all right, Noriko?” he asked as he checked for Kazuo’s movements in the shrubs.

“I’m okay,” Noriko replied.

Shuya glanced beyond Noriko over at Shogo. Shogo opened the door, dove into the driver’s seat, and started working on something.

With the sudden revving sound, the truck Shuya and Noriko were leaning against began to vibrate. The revving became a low hum as the water drops on the truck body began trickling with the soft vibration.

Shogo poked his head out. “Come on! We’re getting out of here! Noriko, hurry!”

Shogo offered her his hand and helped her into the truck. “Shuya! The front passenger’s seat!”

Shogo shouted as he started backing up the truck. He steered the wheel, backed the truck towards Kazuo, and then turned it around. The passenger’s seat door was there for Shuya. Noriko opened the door.

The rattling exploded as Shuya reached out his right hand to get in. This time though, it was accompanied by a hammering sound. A hole formed in front in the trucks narrow cabin ceiling and the exiting bullet tore through the windshield from inside right in front of Shogo. Shuya leaned against the truck—he knew where Kazuo was now—pointed the Uzi upward and fired away. The shadow slipped away into the bushes surrounding the houses up in the side of the mountain. Kazuo had made his way up there.

Without a second to lose, Shuya leaped into the passenger’s seat. Shogo pulled the car out. The truck slid out onto the unpaved entrance road. The machine gun rattled, shredding the hose of the washer on the rack. It thrashed in the air like a snake, fell off the car, and vanished behind them.

The gunfire ceased.

“Are you all right, Noriko?” Shuya asked.

Noriko tilted her face, covered in red, and nodded. “Yes.” But her body was still tense. She still held onto the Browning. Shuya put the Uzi in his right hand between his thighs, pulled out a bandanna from his pocket, and wiped her face. Blood came pouring out of the wound, and her pink flesh showed underneath. A simple operation wasn’t enough to remove the scar from this wound. To do this to a girl…

“Damn it,” Shuya looked over at Shogo, who steered the wheel. “He already knew where we were a while ago. That’s how he knew about our escape route.”

But Shogo shook his head, saying, “No.” As he quickly shifted gears to weave his way through the winding road, he said, “He couldn’t have known for sure. He only figured it out at the very end. Otherwise, he would have shown up before Sakamochi’s announcement. We would have come out welcoming him, thinking it was Hiroki, and then he would have easily finished us off. He didn’t know where we were, so during the breaks between the bird calls he planted that wire to bide his time. He probably planted that wire in other spots too.”

Shuya then thought, I see. That might have been true. To bide his time. But that was what ended up severely injuring Noriko. He said, “Noriko, show me your right hand.”

Noriko then finally let go of her gun (its grip was also covered in blood) and gave Shuya her hand. It seemed small and frail, but there was a sharp tear running down between her middle and ring finger. The palm of her hand was covered with a web of blood in the pattern of the textured pistol grip. He surmised, the wire must have cut her face first and then as she fell, it must have torn through her hand she put forward as she fell. The wound might have been much more severe if the gun hadn’t been in her hand.

Shuya wanted to wrap his bandanna about Noriko’s palm, but realized he couldn’t use his left hand.

Noriko said, “I’m okay. I’ll do it.” She took the bandanna from Shuya, flapped it, and spread it out, and then wrapped it around her right hand. She folded the edges and tied it up. Then she held the Browning again.

Beyond the bullet-ridden front windshield the view suddenly opened up. The truck was descending the mountain. Under the sunset, the flat field widened between the mountainous woods.

Shuya realized something urgent and said, “Shogo. We’re heading into a forbidden zone—”

“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.” Shogo answered as he looked ahead. “Did you hear? The forbidden zones are B-9 after 7 p.m., E-10 after 9 p.m., and F-4 after 11 p.m. Add those to the map.”

Shuya remembered too. He pulled out the worn out map from his pocket, spread it out on his thighs, and marked off the areas while the truck shook.

The truck descended and passed by houses. It entered a road equally wide, but paved this time. The southern mountain was visible beyond the row of fields. On the right was a low hill. On the left approximately two hundred meters away was a residential house (it seemed to be in a forbidden zone). There were two more ahead slightly to its left. And then beyond were scattered houses leading up to the residential area on the island’s eastern shore. In front of that region there was the field, now hidden in the shade of the low hill, where they first encountered Kazuo . One more hill over was the school, which was also hidden from view.

Shogo slowed the truck down and continued forward. And now the wide longitudinal road crossing the island was right there in front of them.

They passed through the fields and came onto the road. Shogo turned the wheel and turned it again. He stopped the truck in the middle of the road, its engine idling. Shogo then lunged at the cracked front windshield with his fist and knocked the entire window out onto the front of the truck. The glass made a shattering sound.

“Check the map,” Shogo said, his hand back on the steering wheel. Shuya picked up the map again. “According to my memory we should still be able to take this road all the way east. Am I right?”

Shuya checked the map with Noriko. “Yeah, that’s right. But F-4 ahead is going to be shut off at 11 p.m.”

“That won’t matter,” Shogo said, his eyes glaring ahead. The black, rain-drenched asphalt stretched out in a straight line. “So this road should be okay right up to the eastern residential area?”

“Yeah, we’re fine up to the front of the curve.”

Shogo nodded in response.

Shuya poked his head out of the window again and looked back. “What about Kazuo?”

Shogo looked at Shuya. “He’ll be coming. How could he not? Take a close—” he said when an old, worn out, light-olive minivan suddenly appeared after turning the curve of the mountain road they’d just descended. Shuya immediately realized it was the vehicle parked by the house they had just passed by.

Shogo adjusted the rearview mirror, looked at it, and said, “See?”

It quickly closed in on them, and the moment Shuya confirmed Kazuo was sitting in the driver’s seat, a burst of shots came exploding out. Shuya tucked his head back in. The bullets hit the truck with a clanging sound. Shogo shifted gears, and the truck moved out onto the wide road, heading east.

As Shuya leaned out of the window looking back, Kazuo’s minivan also got on the same road. Shuya fired his Uzi. Following Kazuo’s reflexes, the minivan smoothly moved to the right and dodged the shots.

“Aim good, Shuya.”

By then Kazuo’s minivan had sped up and caught up to them.

“Shogo! Can’t you drive faster!?”

“Calm down,” Shogo said and steered the wheel slowly from left to right—probably so Kazuo couldn’t aim at the tires. Kazuo began shooting again, and Shuya tucked his head in. It seemed Kazuo had also smashed his windshield so he could have better control of his gun. Shuya leaned out again and fired away at Kazuo’s torso. Kazuo steered away and dodged the gunfire. He hardly ducked.

The row of shells popping out of the ejection port suddenly stopped, and the Uzi trigger mechanism made a locking sound. Shuya realized he was out of bullets.

Shogo leaned over Noriko and gave him another magazine. Before Shuya could take it, Kazuo’s minivan suddenly came up to them. Shuya pulled out his CZ75 and fired away. Undeterred, Kazuo came at them.

“Damn,” Shogo said. His profile broke into a slight grin. “You’re dead wrong if you think you can beat me driving.”

Shogo suddenly made a sharp turn. He simultaneously pulled on the side brake with his left hand. Shuya was thrust to his side. The truck spun around the entire road like a car in a chase scene.

While the truck spun around, Kazuo’s minivan came racing at them. The familiar rattling sound burst at them from the driver’s seat. The rearview mirror shattered above Noriko’s head.

“Duck!” Shogo yelled. But Shuya was busy firing away at Kazuo with his CZ75.

It was a miracle Kazuo’s machine gun bullets missed Shuya. But Shuya’s shots also ended up missing Kazuo too. As the truck’s front bumper skimmed by the minivan’s left frontside, Shuya got a close up view of the eternally frigid eyes of Kazuo Kiriyama.

The tires screeched against the wet surface. The spinning finally halted. By the time it stopped, the hunter and the hunted were reversed. Shogo had managed to dodge the front of Kazuo’s minivan, completing a full spin. Kazuo’s minivan was in front. Shogo immediately accelerated forward. The engine whirred away with a sudden surge of power, and the pickup lunged forward towards the back of the minivan. Kazuo was turning around.

“Fire away, Shuya! Everything you got!” Shogo yelled.

He didn’t have to be told. Shuya squeezed the trigger of his reloaded Uzi with all his might and fired away with the gun on full auto. He knew the scorching, empty shells were bursting out at Noriko, but he couldn’t be concerned about that. The minivan’s rear windshield burst apart. Along with a popping sound, the rear hatch opened up. Then the right tire was blown out with a popping sound. Shuya was out of bullets, but the minivan was now tottering over to the edge of the road.

Shogo stepped on the gas. He pulled up to the left side of the minivan, swerved the wheel, and smashed the right side of the truck against the minivan.

The blow was hard on them, but it was nothing compared to the damage it did to Kazuo’s minivan. At first, it lost control, then it slid to the right side of the road, and flew over its edge. The next moment it landed into the lower field and nosedived to the ground. Cabbage leaves flew up into the air.

Suddenly, it was still.

Shogo stopped the car parallel to the minivan and stepped on the emergency brake. He looked over its roof.

“Give me the gun, Shuya,” Shogo said. Shuya gave him the Uzi. Shogo changed the magazine, extended his arm out of the window, pointed the gun at the minivan, and pulled the trigger. Shogo’s hand shook vertically. Even from the front passenger’s seat Shuya could tell the minivan was getting pummeled with bullets.

Shogo reloaded another magazine and fired away. He inserted another magazine and emptied that one as well. Meanwhile, Noriko was inserting spare bullets into the emptied out magazine with her wounded hand. After she was done, Shogo took that too and fired away. Noriko loaded more magazines. Slightly bent over, Shuya looked at Noriko’s hands, then at Shogo’s, and finally at the minivan.

They went through this round once, then twice. Because the Uzi was a 9mm weapon, they ended up using the bullets from the same caliber CZ75 and Noriko’s Browning too.

The Uzi trigger device indicated the magazine was empty with a locking sound. It was out of bullets. Blue smoke drifted up from the short muzzled Uzi. The narrow cabin was filled with the odor of gunsmoke. How many bullets had Shogo fired? The Uzi Shuya had taken from Yukie’s group came with five extra magazines and plenty of spare bullets, but if they were to include the bullets from the CZ75 and the Browning wouldn’t the number go up to two hundred and fifty? Or three hundred?

With its left-side front passenger’s seat and roof facing them, the minivan was honeycombed. It looked more like a strange beehive in the shape of a car.

The sky was orange now. Shuya couldn’t bother to look at it, but judging from the light, he assumed there was a nice sunset in the western sky.

“Did you get him?” Shuya asked. Shogo was about to reply when—

The minivan proceeded to move. It was backing up. It cut across the edge of the field and backed up to the shoulder of the road. Once again, towards the back of their truck.

Shuya was speechless. Not only was the van’s engine still functioning, Kazuo was still alive and operating the vehicle. Shogo had wagered everything by emptying their entire bullet supply and yet… Kazuo was still alive!

Beyond the bullet-ridden vehicle, Kazuo’s upper body sprung up like a jack-in-the-box. With a machine gun. With the rattling sound, the small window above Noriko’s head shattered. Two holes were punctured into the steel board next to it. The truck was a domestic model made of flimsy steel, so Shuya was surprised it had actually remained unscathed this long. This also might have been thanks to the washer and refrigerator lying on the rack. Or maybe, Shogo had loaded them, anticipating this situation.

“Damn it!” Shogo shifted gears and moved the car out. “Shoot, Shuya! Back me up!”

Shuya fired his CZ75 at Kazuo’s minivan. Kazuo fired back, the bullets landing right next to Shuya’s face as sparks flew from the steel frame of the truck.

Shuya immediately emptied his gun. He changed the magazine and fired. Then he realized, once I shoot this round, I’m out of bullets. We’ll only have Noriko’s Browning and her extra magazine. That’s it.

While he hesitated, Kazuo fired. He heard the rattle. A zinging sound. More sparks this time from the refrigerator on the rack. The small door on the freezer swung open and fell out.

“Shogo! I’m out of bullets!”

Shogo calmly steered the wheel. “His machine gun will be useless too. He doesn’t have time to reload it.”

Just as Shogo said, single shots came at them now. BLAM, POP. The seat by Noriko’s shoulder exploded.

“Noriko! Get down!” Shuya yelled, stuck his arm out of the window, pointed at Kazuo, who now held a gun in one hand, and fired. He was out of bullets. He took the Browning from Noriko’s hand. He fired again.

To the left of the pickup, between the houses and the field, was a warehouse burnt to the ground. That must have been what Shogo had been referring to, the building that went up in flames in the late night explosion. Now they had less than two hundred meters before hitting the curve that led to the residential area on the eastern side of the island.

“Hey, Shogo, that’s—”

Shogo replied, “I know,” and swerved the wheel to the left. The left side of the truck under Shuya’s body floated up. But once it regained its balance, the truck leaped onto the unpaved road. It was another road twisting through the fields, heading back up to the northern mountain. Kazuo followed after them in the minivan.

Shuya aimed and fired. Kazuo ducked and fired away. This time the steel board right next to Shogo’s head was punctured.

“Shuya! Just keep on shooting until you’re out! Don’t let him shoot!” Shogo yelled, hunched over the wheel. Shuya noticed the left shoulder of his school coat was torn and bleeding. He’d been hit by Kazuo.

Shuya was about to protest, but he leaned out of the window and fired. Shogo might plan on escaping into the mountain again. If so, then the thing was to make sure Kazuo couldn’t shoot. Or by some stroke of luck, maybe I’ll end up hitting him—

He fired.

And now the Browning was emptied out, the breechblock held open. He was out of bullets.

They were approaching the mountain. A familiar sight. Strangely enough, there was a farmhouse surrounded by a concrete wall. And a field. A tractor.

Shuya realized this was where they first fought against Kazuo. But now they were on the opposite side.

“Shogo, I’m out of bullets! Are we escaping into the mountain!?”

Shuya could make out Shogo’s profile breaking into a slight grin. He replied, “Oh, we still got bullets.” Shuya knit his brows, puzzled.

The truck ran off the entrance road that led to the farmhouse and dashed onto the ridge road. He passed by the side of the tractor. The road ahead became too narrow for the truck.

Shogo didn’t seem to care and drove the truck straight ahead. Kazuo came after them, maintaining the same distance behind—only twenty meters. He fired from the driver’s seat.

The truck dove into the farm and stopped. The side of the front passenger’s seat where Shuya sat now faced Kazuo. Shogo kicked open the door and yelled, “Get out, this way!” He jumped out of the car.

Shuya nudged Noriko, crouched down and followed them. He glanced back. Kazuo’s minivan was coming right at them!

There was a blast.

The left front tire of Kazuo’s minivan was blown off. It was only ten meters in front of them.

The minivan tottered, then slid along the ridge of the elevated field on the left, and its front went up in the air like a surfboard taking on a large wave. The next moment it rolled over on its roof into the field.

Right before or after the minivan came to a complete halt, a black shadow leaped out. By the time it somersaulted and came to a kneeling position, Shuya could see it was Kazuo. Sparks flew out from his hands with a continuous popping noise. Then there was another blast.

Shuya was still inside the truck as he saw it through the window of the passenger’s seat: the sight of Kazuo Kiriyama’s body being blown back like an arrow.

Kazuo landed on the field with a thud. He was completely still.

Shuya suddenly recalled the way Kyoichi Motobuchi had died. His sausage-factory trash-bin stomach. Kazuo was too far away to check the condition of his stomach. Still, given how he was pummeled with shotgun pellets, there was no way he could have been alive.

Then Shuya finally emerged from the truck. He saw Shogo holding that shotgun—the one Shuya had tossed into the field when he was running away from Kazuo—as he rose from behind the truck rack.

“Oh, we still got bullets.” Shogo had picked up the shotgun Shuya tossed away yesterday, loaded the shotgun cartridges he still had (he must have only been able to load two shots in that span of time), and fired away… and shot down Kazuo.

“Right at the beginning,” Shogo said slowly, “he missed us with his surprise attack. So he lost. Because then he had to take on all three of us.”

He took a deep breath, put down the shotgun—which thumped against the refrigerator on the truck rack—and took out a pack of Wild Sevens from his pocket. He took one out and lit it.

“You’re bleeding, Shogo,” Noriko said, pointing at his left shoulder.

“Yeah.” Shogo glanced at his wound and then grinned. “It’s nothing.” He exhaled.

Bang. Shogo’s body bent over. The Wild Seven cigarette fell from his mouth, leaving a trace of smoke in the air. The stubbly face contorted. His eyes gazed down at Shuya’s feet.

Shuya saw Kazuo’s raised torso on the lower field, holding a gun in his right hand. He was still alive! But his stomach had been pummeled by the shotgun blast!

Shogo’s body slowly caved in. Kazuo quickly pointed his gun at Shuya. Shuya realized that he was, along with Shogo, no longer behind the truck. He had no gun in his hand. No, he had no bullets. It was too late for him to reload the shotgun on the truck rack. It was way too late.

The small muzzle of Kazuo’s gun a good ten meters away looked like a giant tunnel. A black hole engulfing everything.

Bang. Shuya instantly closed his eyes. He felt a piercing sensation run through his chest and thought, oh, man, I’m dying.

He opened his eyes.

He wasn’t dead.

There was Kazuo in the diagonal orange light of the setting sun, a red dot punctured by his nose. The gun fell from his hand. He immediately fell back and crashed onto the ground.

Shuya slowly turned his head to his left. Noriko was standing, holding the Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver with both of her hands.

Wow. So that’s what it was. While Shogo loaded the shotgun, Noriko had also loaded the revolver Shuya had tossed aside yesterday with her remaining .38 Special bullets.

Noriko’s hands were trembling with the gun.

“Huh.” Shogo stood up before Shuya could even help him up. Shuya nervously asked, “Are you all right?”

Shogo didn’t respond. He picked up the shotgun, and as he loaded it with the cartridges in his pocket, he walked toward Kazuo. Exactly two meters in front of him, he pointed the gun at Kazuo’s head and pulled the trigger. Kazuo’s head flinched only once.

Shogo turned on his heels and came back.

“Are you all right?” Shuya asked him again.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Shogo walked over to Noriko, gently held her hands, still holding the Smith & Wesson, and lowered them. He quietly said, “He’s dead. I’m the one who killed him, not you.” Then he looked over at Kazuo. “So he was wearing a vest,” he said.

Shuya then finally understood. Kazuo Kiriyama had been wearing a bulletproof vest.

“Shogo,” Noriko asked, her voice slightly trembling. “Are you really all right?”

Shogo smiled kindly and nodded. “I’m all right. Thanks, Noriko.” Then he took out his pack of cigarettes again. It seemed empty so he looked around and picked up the lit cigarette which had fallen from his mouth, and slowly raised it to his lips.

Shuya turned around and stared out at the sun setting over the island. It was over. At least this wonderful game was. And now, including Kazuo Kiriyama over there, thirty-nine of their dead classmates were lying sprawled all over the island.

Shuya had that dizzy spell again. Maybe his thoughts were numbed by this hollow feeling. What the hell was this all about?

Faces flashed by one by one. Yoshitoki Kuninobu’s face as he shouted, “I’ll kill you!” Shinji Mimura’s face grinning slightly as Shuya left. Tatsumichi Oki’s face as he swung the axe with bloodshot eyes. Hiroki Sugimura who vanished into the dark outside the medical clinic, saying, “I have to see Kayoko Kotohiki,” Hirono Shimizu as she ran away from Shuya after shooting down Kaori Minami. The tearful Yukie Utsumi saying, “I just wouldn’t know what to do if you died.” Yuko Sakaki, who pried Shuya’s fingers loose. Then the cold eyes of Kazuo Kiriyama, who’d cornered them until now.

They were all gone. Not just everyone’s lives, but so many other things were destroyed.

But it wasn’t over yet.

“Shogo,” Shuya said. Shogo looked up, shortened cigarette in hand. “We should treat you.”

Shogo smiled. “I’m all right. It’s nothing. Take care of Noriko’s wounds.” Then he said, “I’m going to collect Kazuo’s weapons.” He walked over to the overturned minivan.

75

Shogo led the way up the mountain. The weapons he picked out of Kazuo’s assortment were tossed into the day pack on his shoulders. He didn’t offer them to Noriko or Shuya. It wasn’t necessary for the time being.

Shuya followed Shogo as he held Noriko up on his left side. They had cleaned Noriko’s cheek wound with water for now and covered it with a row of four band-aids. Shogo said they were better off not stitching it. Shuya cleaned her hand wound and wrapped it again with the bandanna. Shogo had also quickly taken care of his wounds.

It was already getting dim in the mountains, but there was no need to make their way through bushes, so it was relatively easy to climb. The ground strewn with piles of leaf mold was damp from an entire afternoon of rain.

They had covered quite a distance ever since Shogo announced, “We’re climbing the mountain,” and proceeded forward.

“Shogo,” Shuya called. Shogo turned around. “Where are we going?”

Shogo grinned. “We have just a little more to go. Just follow me.”

Shuya readjusted his arm on Noriko and followed him.

The peak with the viewing platform where Yukiko Kitano and Yumiko Kusaka were killed and its southern side had become a forbidden zone a long time ago. Shogo stopped right before they entered that area, in the upper mid-region of the mountain. Come to think of it, Shuya thought, a little ways below I saw Hirono Shimizu shoot Kaori Minami.

“This should do it,” Shogo said.

The slope and woods ended here, and the area offered a good view. They could see the entire island, now immersed in dim blue after sunset, where the fierce battle between the classmates of Third Year Class B Shiroiwa Junior High School took place. However, the school holding their final enemy, Sakamochi, was hidden by hills.

Shuya took a deep breath. Then he asked, “What’s up here anyway? How are we going to escape?”

Shogo smiled without looking at Shuya. Then he said, “Relax. Take a look over there.”

Shuya and Noriko looked over where Shogo was pointing.

It was over the southern mountain. Although it was growing dim, they could still make out the ocean, several islands, and beyond, the mainland. Shuya could make out a mist of lights scattered over the mainland. If they were closer, they could have discerned which ones were neon lights and which ones were lights along the shore highway.

Now Shuya also knew that this was Okishima Island in the Takamatsu-shi Bay. There were two others islands, Megijima and Ogijima, forming a vertical row of islands, where Okishima was the one at the far northern tip. Which meant that the small island beyond the southern mountain was Megijima, and beyond that was Ogijima, and beyond that was the mainland—Kagawa Prefecture of Shikoku.

Shogo said, “It’s not very familiar to me, but that’s your home over there. Shiroiwa-cho must be over there. You won’t see it again, so have a good look.”

Did he mean they’d never return because they were escaping the country?

Shuya looked back at Shogo. “Don’t tell me we came all the way up here for this.”

Shogo snickered. “Hey, what’s the rush?” Then he said, “Show me your gun. There’s something I need to check.”

Noriko handed over her Smith & Wesson to Shogo. He opened up its cylinder and checked it. Shuya thought Noriko had reloaded it after taking that single shot at Kazuo.

Shogo didn’t return the gun and instead held it in his right hand. He took a deep breath and said, “Do you remember how I kept on saying I might be doing this just to have a group, and that my intention might be to kill you off in the end?”

Shuya raised his brow. “Yes, you said that, but?”

“Yeah, but?…”

“So,” Shogo said, “you both lose.”

Shogo pointed the Smith & Wesson at them.

76

Shuya felt a strange expression forming on his face. As if he were grinning and bewildered at the same time. Noriko probably felt the same way.

“What is this?” Shuya said. “It’s not such a great time to be joking right now.”

“I’m serious,” Shogo said and cocked the hammer.

Shuya’s grin vanished. His right arm felt Noriko stiffen.

“You can enjoy the view a little more. I told you, it’d be the last time.” His stubbly face broke into a slight grin. It was a sinister grin he’d never shown before.

A crow cawed. Was it flying up above in the darkening evening sky?

Shuya finally spoke. His feelings were out of sync with the situation, he could only croak out pathetically, “What? What are you talking about?”

“You are so thick,” Shogo responded with a shrug. “I’m going to kill you both. I’ll be the winner. My second in a row.”

Shuya’s lips were trembling. No. This cant be.

He stuttered, “Come on, stop it. Th-then you were just acting until now? Y-you looked after us. You helped us so many times.”

Shogo replied calmly, “You’re the ones who helped me. I probably couldn’t have killed Kazuo without your help.”

“Then… so that story about Keiko was a lie too!?” His words trembled. The more he tried to keep his voice down the louder it became.

“Yep,” Shogo answered curtly. “It was true I participated in the Hyogo Prefecture Program last year, and it’s true there was a girl named Keiko Onuki. But there was nothing between us. The girl in that photo’s my girlfriend, but her name’s Kyoka Shimazaki, a totally different person. She’s still in Kobe. She’s out of her mind. Well, anyway, she insisted I hold onto this photo. I got to say she was a good lay, though.”

Shuya took a deep breath. A light early summer breeze blew against his skin, but for some reason it felt chilly. Then he cautiously asked, “But what about that bird call?…”

Shogo had another curt response. “I just happened to find that at the general supply store. I figured it’d be useful. And it proved to be, in the end.”

It grew darker and darker.

“You lost the moment you trusted me,” but Shuya still couldn’t believe it. That can’t be. That just can’t be. Then something occurred to Shuya. This must be…

Noriko spoke out before Shuya, “Shogo? Is this some test to see whether you can really trust us? Is it because Keiko couldn’t trust you?”

Shogo shrugged his shoulders and said, “Unbelievable how you still believe in that fairy tale.”

Those were his last words. Shogo held the gun in his hand and slowly pulled the trigger.

Two gunshots rang out as evening descended upon the island.

77

Shogo Kawada (Male Student No. 5) reclined against the soft sofa on the ship. He was swaying slightly from the rough waves.

The room was fairly spacious for a small patrol ship. The ceiling itself was low, but the room must have been a couple square meters. There was a low table in the middle, and two sofas on each side, with Shogo sitting on the one away from the door.

Because the room was below deck it had no windows, so he couldn’t see anything outside, but it must have been past 8:30 p.m. by now. The yellow ceiling lights shined against the glass ashtray. Shogo didn’t have any more cigarettes to smoke, though.

Once the forbidden zones were all deactivated after the game was over, Shogo obeyed Sakamochi’s announcements and made his way to the school. In front of the school were the bodies of Yoshio Akamatsu and Mayumi Tendo, and inside the classroom, the bodies of Yoshitoki Kuninobu and Fumiyo Fujiyoshi, all left untouched.

His silver collar was finally detached, and after the shooting for the news segment, he was taken away by soldiers and escorted to the harbor. There were two ships docked there. One for the winner… and the other a transport ship to return the soldiers packed inside the school. Most of the soldiers boarded this ship. Only the trio who were in the classroom during Sakamochi’s game instructions joined Sakamochi to board Shogo’s ship. And tomorrow the subcontracted clean-up crew would take care of the remaining bodies of the students on the island. The speakers and school computers at the school building would also be dismantled in a matter of days. Of course the software and data for the game had already been removed from the computer. This was the identical procedure taken immediately after the Kobe Second District Junior High School Program came to an end ten months ago.

And now Shogo was waiting here. They were now south of Okishima. The patrol ship was returning directly to Takamatsu Harbor, but the soldiers’ transport ship would probably alter its course and head west towards the military base.

The doorknob rotated with a click. The soldier who stood guard—the uncharismatic one called “Nomura”—by the door looked in, then moved away. Kinpatsu Sakamochi appeared. He came in with a tray with two teacups and asked, “Did I keep you waiting, Shogo?” as he entered the room. Nomura closed the door.

Sakamochi walked up to him with his short legs. He put the tray on the table and said, “Here. It’s tea. Drink all you want.” He took out a flat, letter-sized envelope from under his left armpit and sat on the sofa facing Shogo. He tossed the envelope onto his side of the table, then combed back his shoulder-length hair behind his ear.

Shogo glanced down at the envelope indifferently and began speaking while staring at Sakamochi. “What do you want? I wish you’d leave me alone. I’m tired.”

“There you go.” Sakamochi brought the cup to his mouth with a grimace. “You should be more polite with adults. I had this student Kato once. He used to give me a hard time, but now that he’s grown up, he’s quite respectable.”

“I’m not one of your pigs.”

Sakamochi opened his eyes as if taken aback and then smiled again. “Come, come, Shogo. I wanted to have a nice chat with you.”

Shogo slouched against the sofa and folded his legs. He remained quiet as he rested his cheeks in his hands.

“Where should I begin?” Sakamochi put his cup down and rubbed his open hands together. His eyes glimmered. “Did you know we have a betting pool for the Program, Shogo?”

Shogo squinted his eyes as if looking at filth. Then he said, “I wouldn’t be surprised. You guys are tasteless.”

Sakamochi smiled. “I had my money on Kazuo. Twenty thousand yen. With my salary, that’s a lot. But thanks to you, I lost.”

“Too bad,” Shogo said in a tone devoid of sympathy.

Sakamochi smiled again. Then he said, “I explained how I could tell where everyone was with those collars, right?”

The answer was obvious. Shogo didn’t respond.

Sakamochi stared at Shogo. “You were with Shuya and Noriko throughout the game, right? Then you betrayed them in the end. That’s what it came down to, right?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Shogo replied. “There are no restrictions in this wonderful game. Don’t make me laugh. You can’t criticize me for that.”

A broad grin spread over Sakamochi’s face. He combed back his hair, took a sip of tea, and rubbed his hands. He spoke as if he were sharing a secret, “Hey, Shogo. I’m not really supposed to be sharing this with anyone, but I’ll tell you the truth. These collars have built-in mics, so we could hear everything the students said during the game. I bet you probably didn’t know that.”

Shogo, who seemed so indifferent in his responses, finally seemed interested. He knit his brows and pursed his lips. “How the fuck… would I know about that?” he said. “So then you heard everything, how I tricked them.”

“Uh huh, that’s right.” Sakamochi nodded. “But that wasn’t very nice, Shogo. Was it. ‘Even if we managed to capture Sakamochi, I’m sure as far as the government’s concerned he’s expendable’? You said that. Being a Program Instructor is a pretty respectable occupation. Not everyone can do it.”

Ignoring Sakamochi’s complaint, Shogo asked, “Why are you telling me this?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Sakamochi replied. “With your wonderful performance I couldn’t resist telling you.”

“This is bullshit.”

Shogo looked away, but Sakamochi pressed more insistently, “A wonderful performance, but…” Shogo looked back at him. Sakamochi continued, “There’s something I don’t get.”

“What’s that?”

“Why didn’t you shoot those two right after Kazuo was killed? You could have, right? That’s the one thing I just don’t get.”

“Just as I told them,” Shogo, replied without hesitating, “I just thought I’d let them have one last look at their home. A little gift for them before their descent into hell. You may not believe this, but I can be pretty loyal. I mean, thanks to them, I won.”

Sakamochi continued smiling and uttered, “Hmmm.” Then he raised his cup to his mouth. He sat back on the back of the sofa with the cup in his hand and spoke again, “Hey, Shogo, I got hold of the data on the Kobe Second District Junior High School Program.” Then he stared at Shogo. Shogo stared back at him and remained silent. “And as far as I can tell from the data, nothing indicates you had any special relationship with Keiko Onuki.”

“Onuki? Like I said I made that up,” Shogo interrupted him, but Sakamochi spoke over him and continued, “As—” Shogo shut up.

“As you said, to Shuya Nanahara and Noriko Nakagawa, you saw Onuki twice—the first time only for a moment and then the second time right before you won, when she was already dead. Even according to the taped conversations, you never even once uttered her name. Not once. Do you remember that?”

“How could I? It’s like I said—there was nothing between me and her. You heard me, right?”

“But the thing is, Shogo, the second time around you stopped there for two hours.”

“That was just a coincidence. It was a good spot to hide and rest. That’s how I was able to remember that name so vividly. I tell you, she died a horrible death.”

His grin still glued across his face, Sakamochi nodded, hm hm. “The other thing is… the entire eighteen hours which transpired in this game—which is actually quite fast, maybe the designated area was too small—in any case, you didn’t exchange a single word with anyone. I mean, aside from saying things like, ‘Stop’ or ‘I’m not an enemy.’”

“That was just an act too,” Shogo interrupted him. “It’s so obvious.”

Sakamochi smiled, ignoring Shogo’s statement. “So I have no idea how you approached this game. You moved around a lot but—”

“It was my first time. I didn’t know how to play it smart.”

Sakamochi then nodded, hm hm. He held back a grin as if concealing his amusement. He sipped his tea and returned the cup to the table. Then he looked up and said, “By the way, about that photo? I’d like to look at it, if you don’t mind.”

“Photo?”

“Come on, you showed it to Nanahara and Nakagawa, right? You said it was a photo of Onuki. Let me see it. It was actually a photo of someone named Shimazaki, right?”

Shogo twisted his mouth. “Why should I show it to you?”

“Come on, just show it to me. I’m your instructor. Please. Come on, please,” Sakamochi said and bowed over the table.

Shogo reluctantly reached around and searched his back pocket. He raised his brow and swung his hand back. It was empty.

“It’s gone,” he said. “I must’ve dropped it somewhere when we fought Kazuo.”

“Dropped it?”

“Uh huh. It’s true. I dropped my wallet. Well, I don’t need it anyway.”

Suddenly, Sakamochi burst out laughing. As he laughed he said, “I get it.” He held his stomach, slapped his thighs, and kept on laughing.

Shogo looked perplexed but then he squinted his eyes. He looked up at the ceiling in the windowless room.

Despite the insulation of the patrol ship’s walls, he could hear the faint but definite whirring sound. It was definitely not the sound of the ship’s engine.

The sound became louder and louder and then after a certain point, it receded. Then it was almost entirely gone.

Shogo grimaced.

“Does that trouble you, Shogo?” He stopped laughing. He still had that creepy smile on his face, though. “That was a helicopter.” He reached out for his tea again and emptied his cup. He put the empty cup on the table. “It’s heading toward the island where you all fought.”

Shogo knit his brows, but this time his reaction seemed to have a different connotation. But Sakamochi didn’t care. He arrogantly leaned back on the sofa and changed the subject, “Hey, Shogo. Let’s talk about those collars again. Well, you know, they’re actually called ‘Guadalcanal No. 22.’ That doesn’t matter. Anyway, weren’t you telling Shuya about how they couldn’t be dismantled?”

Seeing how Shogo didn’t respond, Sakamochi continued, “In fact, your theory was right on the mark. Each unit is equipped with three different systems, so even if one of them has a one percent margin of error, with three systems, only one in a million can break down. In reality, the chances are even slimmer. So, it’s just like you said. No one can escape from them. Any attempt to remove it will ignite it, killing its wearer. It’s very rare someone actually tries that, though.”

Shogo still remained silent.

“The thing is,” Sakamochi then leaned over, “I just thought I’d get in touch with the Defense Forces weapons lab this time around. And guess what?” He looked at Shogo. “They said it could be deactivated by anyone with a basic knowledge in electronics, using basic transistor parts, the kind you find in a radio. Of course, that’s assuming you already know the circuitry inside the device.”

Shogo stayed quiet, but as Sakamochi’s continued staring at him, he suddenly said in a strange, blank tone of voice as if the thought suddenly occurred to him, “I don’t get it. Who could possibly have that information?”

Sakamochi grinned and nodded. He continued, “Yes. Well, anyway, if we were to assume the collar was disabled, then obviously it would transmit a signal informing us of the wearer’s death, right? In other words, if there was a student who could remove that collar, then he could survive without a hitch. He’d just have to wait out the game, and once the military leaves the premises he could take his time escaping. That’s right, just like you said to Shuya Nanahara. Say the game were to end in the afternoon, then the subcontracted clean-up crew comes the following day. So there’s plenty of time in between. Also, this time of year the water isn’t too cold to swim in.”

Sakamochi gave Shogo an imploring look, but Shogo only responded with a “Huh.” Sakamochi leaned back on the sofa. “This is absurd. The collar circuits are supposed to be top secret, right? How could a junior high school kid possibly know about it?”

Sakamochi replied, “He could, though.” Shogo looked back at Sakamochi. “See, all of this information, including your records, and the Guadalcanal device, under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have looked up any of this stuff. I would have just sat back, impressed by your intelligence. This time though, I was contacted by Dictator Headquarters and the Special Defense Forces before the game began. I mean, on the twentieth.”

Shogo stared at Sakamochi.

Sakamochi continued, “They said someone hacked into the government’s central operations system in March.” He paused. Then he added, “Of course, the hacker thought he managed to leave without a trace. He was incredibly skilled, and although he encountered the administrator while he was hacking, he managed to erase his log-in access before escaping. But…”

Sakamochi paused again. Shogo kept quiet.

“…the government system has tight security. It has a another secret log-in system that records every operation. Of course, they usually don’t monitor this system, and the administrator didn’t think there was anything abnormal at the time. That’s why they took so long to discover it. But they found it. Yes, they did.”

Shogo sealed his lips and stared at Sakamochi. But his Adam’s apple moved ever so slightly. The movement was hardly discernible.

“Look,” Shogo said. “A subcontractor really did tell me about rounding up the corpses. I was having a few drinks at this bar with him. The topic just came up. And the instructor from our last game told us the Program hardly ever ends from just time running out. You can even ask him.”

Sakamochi rubbed his right hand under his nose and stared at Shogo. “Why are you telling me this? I didn’t even ask you about that.”

Shogo’s Adam’s apple moved again. This time it definitely moved.

Sakamochi then snickered and continued, “So apparently some of the hacked data included information on the Program. In other words, technical specifications on the Guadalcanal collar. Why would someone take such useless information? I mean, what’s the point? Even if the hacker were to publicize it, the government would only design a new collar, and that would be the end of that. There’s no sign of that for now. But maybe we can assume this much: the intruder was driven to access this information at all cost. Don’t you think?”

Shogo didn’t respond. Sakamochi sighed and picked up the envelope he’d tossed out. He flipped it over with one hand and pulled out the contents. He placed them side by side in front of Shogo.

There were two photos. They were both black and white and printed on B5 paper. One of them had no contrast at all, so it was hard to tell what it was, but the other one clearly showed a truck and three black dots scattered around it. Given how it was the top of a truck, the three dots were obviously heads.

“You see, right?” Sakamochi said. “That’s the three of you just a while ago. Right after you killed Kazuo. Those were taken by satellite. We don’t usually do this kind of thing. But I want you to take a closer at this other photo. See? You can’t really make out anything, right? But that’s actually a photo of the mountain. It was taken when you shot those two. There wasn’t enough light, and it’s obscure because you’re all hidden by the woods. You can’t see it.”

He fell silent. The ship swayed a little, but Shogo and Sakamochi stared at each other, completely still.

Then Sakamochi took a deep breath and once again combed back his hair behind his ear. He broke into a smile and spoke in a strangely intimate voice, “Say, Shogo. I’ve been keeping track of this game from the very beginning. Right? After you shot Shuya Nanahara and Noriko Nakagawa, Nanahara took fifty-four seconds to die, while Nakagawa ended up taking one minute and thirty seconds to die. They should have died instantly if you shot them point blank. So what’s this time lag about?”

Shogo was silent, but—whether he was aware of it or not—his cheeks stiffened. He managed to speak out, “It can happen. I’d have thought they died immediately but—”

“Enough.” Sakamochi cut him off. He said in an adamant voice, “Let’s put an end to this.” He looked into Shogo’s eyes and nodded as if admonishing him. Then he said, “Shuya Nanahara and Noriko Nakagawa are still on that island. They’re still alive, right? They’re hiding in the mountain. You’re the one who hacked into the government central system. Or one of your friends. You knew how to dismantle that collar. You knew we could monitor your conversations, so you gave us that radio drama performance of shooting those two. Then you removed their collars. Am I right? I didn’t say it was a wonderful performance. You’re still in the middle of that wonderful performance.”

Shogo gazed at Sakamochi. He grimaced through clenched teeth.

Sakamochi kept on smiling and continued, “Didn’t you give them some messages about meeting spots? And you were supposed to hook up together later, right? Well, you can forget about that. That helicopter that just flew by is going to spray the island with poison gas. It’s a composite poison mustard gas developed recently called Greater East Asia Victory No. 2. The guard ships are still over there. Nanahara and Nakagawa are finished.”

As he stared at Sakamochi, Shogo dug his fingers into the synthetic leather elbow rest. Sakamochi took another deep breath and sank back into the sofa. He combed back his hair. “We have no precedent for this. Strictly speaking, you’re not really the winner. But one of the education committee officials I work for bet a lot of money on you. So I decided to treat this internally. It’ll help my career if I help him out, therefore, you’ll be the official winner. According to the records, you’ll be the killer of those two. Are you satisfied now, Shogo?”

Shogo was utterly stiff, as if he might start shaking any second now. But as Sakamochi raised his brow, Shogo looked away from him and stared down at the floor. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about…” he said. He nervously opened and then clenched his fist several times. He glanced back at Sakamochi and then anxiously said, “Why bother spraying gas? You’re just wasting tax money.”

Sakamochi snickered. “We’ll soon see whether I am.” Then he said, “Oh, that’s right.” He pulled out a small automatic pistol from under his coat and pointed it at Shogo. Shogo opened his eyes wide. “I’ve decided to take care of you as an internal matter too. You have dangerous ideas. I think it’s against this country’s interests if we let someone like you live. Have to toss the rotten apple out of the box. The sooner the better. You arrive DOA due to injuries from the game. How’s that? Oh, don’t you worry. If you happen to have friends too, we’ll hunt them down. We won’t have to interrogate you.”

Shogo slowly tore his eyes away from the gun and looked at Sakamochi. “You…” he said. He was now baring his teeth. Sakamochi broke into a grin. “Bastard!” Shogo howled in a voice full of indignation, despair, probably mixed in with a dose of fear towards everything incomprehensible. What he wanted to do most was grab Sakamochi by the neck. But the gun restrained him. He could only clench his fists over his thighs.

“D-don’t you have any kids? How can you accept this fucked up game?”

“Of course I have kids,” Sakamochi replied casually. “You know, I like to have a good time, so we’re about to have our third.”

Shogo didn’t respond to the joke, yelling instead, “Then how can you accept this? One of your kids might end up in this game in the future! Or is it that kids of high-ranked officials like you are exempted?”

Offended, Sakamochi shook his head. “That’s preposterous. How can you say that, Kawada? You read the Program Requirements, right? There are no exceptions. Of course I’ve done some sneaky things. Using connections to get my kid into a prestigious school. I’m human. But being human also means we have to abide by certain rules… oh, that’s right, you weren’t able to steal that, huh?

“The top secret agenda also had information on the Program. I’ll tell you now, this country needs the Program. The thing is, it’s not an experiment at all. Come on, why do you think we have the local news broadcast the image of the winner? Of course, viewers might feel sorry for him or her, thinking, the poor student probably didn’t even want to play the game, but had no choice but to fight the others. In other words, everyone ends up concluding, you cant trust anyone, right? Which would extinguish any hope of uniting and forming a coup d’etat against the government, hm? And so the Republic of Greater East Asia and its ideals will live on for eternity. Naturally everyone has to die equally for the sake of this noble goal. I’ve passed this wisdom onto my kids. My oldest kid is in the second grade now and she’s always saying how she’ll sacrifice her life for the Republic.”

Shogo’s cheeks began to tremble. “You’re insane,” he said, “You’re out of your mind! How can you be like that?” He was nearly sobbing, “A government is supposed to serve the needs of the people. We shouldn’t be slaves to our own system. If you think this country makes sense, then you’re insane!”

Sakamochi let him finish. Then he said, “Hey, Kawada. You’re still a kid. It looks like you guys had some talks, but I want you to think a little more. This is a marvelous country. It’s the most prosperous country in the world. Well, you might not be able to travel abroad much, but its industrial exports are unsurpassed. The government’s slogan is telling the truth when it claims our per capita production is the best in the world. The thing is though, this prosperity only comes as a result of unifying the population with a powerful government at the center. A certain degree of control is always necessary. Otherwise… we’ll decline into a third-rate country, like the American Empire. You know, right? That country is in turmoil from all kinds of problems like drugs, violence, and homosexuality. They’re living off their past glory, but it’ll only be a matter of time before they fall apart.”

Shogo remained silent. He clenched his teeth. Then he spoke quietly, “Let me say one thing.” Sakamochi raised his brow. “What? Go ahead.”

“You guys might call it prosperity, but…” Shogo’s voice sounded tired, but still dignified, “…it’ll always be phony. That truth won’t change even if you kill me now. You’re doomed to be phony. Don’t forget that.”

Sakamochi shrugged his shoulders. “Are you done with your speech?” He pointed his gun at him. Shogo tightened his mouth and glared at Sakamochi, ignoring the gun. He seemed ready to face the consequences.

“Later, Kawada.” Sakamochi nodded as if to bid him farewell. Then his finger began pulling the trigger when—

BRRRATTA the tapping, typewriter-like sound pierced through the room.

Sakamochi’s finger stopped for a moment. He glanced at the door for a split second—long enough to be distracted. By the time he looked back Shogo was right in front of his face. Even though there was a table in between them, he was only ten centimeters away. He’d moved instantly, like a magician, as if he’d teleported.

The rattling sound continued outside the room.

Shogo’s left hand held down the gun in Sakamochi’s right hand. Sakamochi froze up and looked up at Shogo’s face, now within kissing distance. His long hair wasn’t too messy. He didn’t try to swing his hand loose from Shogo. He merely looked at Shogo with his mouth closed.

The rattling sound again.

The door opened. “An attack—” Nomura stopped once he grasped the situation and attempted to lift his rifle.

Still holding Sakamochi’s right hand down with his left hand, Shogo spun Sakamochi’s body around as if dancing a tango. As he turned, he squeezed Sakamochi’s index finger on the trigger and began firing away. Three shots pierced Nomura right above his heart. He groaned and collapsed. The rattling sounded louder now, with the door open.

Shogo looked into Sakamochi’s eyes again. Their bodies still entwined, he drove his right fist under Sakamochi’s chin.

Sakamochi coughed out blood. His eyes stared up at Shogo. The blood spilled from his lips, dripping down to his chin and onto the floor.

“I told you, it was a waste of tax money.” Shogo twisted his fist further into Sakamochi’s chin. Sakamochi’s eyes rolled away from Shogo. Then they slowly rolled upwards.

Shogo moved away from Sakamochi, and Sakamochi crashed onto the sofa. His throat was now exposed. A brown stick poked out of his windpipe like a strange ornament. Closer up, the gold logo, “HB,” on its butt-end was visible. This was one of those pencils that everyone, including Shogo and Shuya, had written, “We will kill each other,” but Kinpatsu Sakamochi probably had no idea.

After glancing down at Sakamochi he tucked the gun into his belt. He dashed over to Nomura, who was lying face up, and picked up his rifle. He took the extra magazines from his belt and left the room. He opened the two doors down the corridor on the right, but there were only rows of bunk beds. No one was inside.

The rattling was approaching him. A soldier came tumbling down the stairs beyond the narrow corridor. It was the soldier Kondo, now dead. He had a gun in his hand but wasn’t wearing and body armor—maybe he’d thought he was safe now that the game was over.

Shogo stepped around Kondo’s body, entered the staircase, and looked up.

There was Shuya Nanahara (Male Student No. 15) holding an Ingram M10, standing next to Noriko Nakagawa (Female Student No. 15). They both looked down at him. They were soaking wet.

78

“Shogo!”

Seeing that Shogo was safe, Shuya cried in relief. Upon hearing the gunfire besides his shots, he thought they might have been too late.

Shogo ran upstairs’ with a rifle he’d taken from one of the soldiers.

“So you’re all right?”

“Yeah.” Shogo nodded. “Sakamochi’s dead. Did you get rid of everyone?”

“We got everyone on deck. But we couldn’t find that one called Nomura—”

“Then that’s everyone. I got rid of Nomura,” he said. He passed by them and ran to the bridge where the pilothouse was located.

There was one body lying in the corridor leading to the pilothouse, then two more inside and outside the briefing room under the pilothouse. One of them was the soldier Tahara, the others were the ship’s naval crew, but Tahara was the only with a gun, and it was only a pistol. Shuya had blown them away with the Ingram. There were two others lying on deck, the first naval soldiers Shuya killed.

After glancing at Tahara’s body, Shogo grabbed the railing that led up to the pilothouse and said, “You were merciless, Shuya.”

“Yeah.” Shuya nodded. “I was.”

Once he was up in the pilothouse, there were two more of Shuya’s victims, crew members sprawled in the corner. In the dark window were several holes formed either from stray bullets or shots that had torn through the crew members.

The ship passed an island lit up with residential lights, probably Megijima. Shuya wondered whether the gunfire could be heard over there or even further into the sea around them. Well, it wasn’t that uncommon to hear sudden gunfire in this country, so he wasn’t too worried.

Shogo looked straight ahead. Shuya and Noriko looked in the same direction and saw what looked like a gravel carrier approaching them on their right. Shogo held the steering wheel and shifted the bar next to it methodically.

“I hope you didn’t catch a cold,” Shogo asked.

“I’m fine.”

“And you, Noriko?”

“I’m okay too.” Noriko nodded.

Shogo squinted ahead as he said, “I’m sorry. I did the easy work this time.” The gravel carrier was approaching.

“That’s not true,” Shuya responded as his eyes shuttled between Shogo’s hands and the ship ahead of them. “I wasn’t in any condition to take on Sakamochi. He was armed. You were the right man.”

As he kept watch, the carrier loomed larger and larger. But… they managed to skim past each other. The carrier’s lights receded.

“Phew.” Shogo took a deep breath and then let go of the steering wheel. He began pressing the intricate rows of buttons on the nautical instruments. He gazed at the panel for a while, and after seeing one of the diodes go out, he took the radio transmitter. A voice came through the speaker, “This is the Bisan Seto Inland Sea Traffic Advisory Service Center.” That’s what it sounded like.

Shogo responded, “This is Defense Patrol Ship DM 245-3568. We need you to confirm our location.”

“DM 245-3568, we cannot confirm. Are you having trouble?”

“Our GPS navigation device seems to be broken. We will stop the boat for an hour or so to repair the device. Could you notify the other ships?”

“Yes. We need your present location.”

Shogo read off the display on the nautical instrument. Then he ended the transmission.

He was only buying time to move the ship somewhere. Shogo steered the wheel now and made a sharp left turn. Shuya felt the ship rock from the wide turn.

As he cautiously handled the wheel Shogo said, “That bastard Sakamochi realized what was going on. I’m glad I had you guys get on board.”

Shuya nodded. Water dripped down from his bangs.

He was right. After Shogo had shot his gun twice into the air, he pressed his fingers against his mouth, signaling Shuya and Noriko, who were both blinking, to stay quiet. He took his map out of his pocket and scribbled on the backside. The note was obscured in the dim light, but they managed to read it. Then Shogo removed their collars. All he used was a wire attached to a transistor—which he had for some reason—a knife, and small screwdriver. And then Shogo took out a simple ladder made of bamboo and rope from his day pack. He scribbled more on the map, “Sneak into the ship they put me on. It’ll be nighttime, so you’ll be fine. Make your way to the harbor by beach. There’ll be a chain tied to the anchor. Tie the rope ladder to it and hold on. Once the anchor comes up, and the ship starts moving, climb up to the deck and hide behind the life preservers on the ship’s stern. Then attack when the time’s right.”

Of course it was no easy feat holding onto this flimsy rope ladder as the ship sped up, stirred up waves, and dragged them through the sea. It was also hard to reach the deck less than half a meter above the top of the ladder. Without his left arm, Shuya just couldn’t do what should have been an easy task. But Noriko managed to lift herself up there despite her wounded hand, then offered a hand to Shuya. Noriko’s strength took Shuya by surprise. In any case, they managed to do it.

“But…” Shuya said, “I wish you’d told us about this earlier.”

Shogo returned the wheel to the right and coyly shrugged his shoulders.

“It would have made our actions less natural. Sorry, though.”

He let go of the wheel. The black sea spread out in front of them. For the time being, there was no sign of any ship approaching. Shogo then began checking several of the ship’s meters.

“It’s amazing,” Noriko said. “You managed to hack into the government computer system.”

“Yeah, really,” Shuya agreed. “You were lying about being computer illiterate.”

His gaze still fixed ahead, Shogo grinned. “Well, they found out anyway. Luckily, it all ended up working out.”

Shogo seemed satisfied with the meter readings and moved away. He walked up to one of the soldiers on the floor. Wondering what he was doing, Shuya and Noriko looked on as Shogo went through his pockets.

“Damn,” he said, “So even the Defense Forces aren’t smoking now.”

He was looking for cigarettes.

He did manage to extract a crumpled pack of Buster from the other soldier’s breast pocket. The pack was covered in blood, but he casually pulled out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it up. He leaned against the side of the helm, and as he squinted his eyes, he exhaled contentedly.

As she watched him Noriko said, “If our group was too large we wouldn’t have been able to escape like this.”

Shogo nodded. “That’s true. And it had to be at night. But there’s no point in going over that. We’re alive. Isn’t that enough?”

Shuya nodded. “Yes.”

“Why don’t you two go take a shower,” Shogo said, “It’s in front of the stairs. It’s tiny, but it should have hot water. You can just steal the soldiers’ clothes.”

Shuya nodded and put the Ingram down onto the low desk by the wall. He clutched Noriko’s shoulder. “Come on, Noriko. You go first. Wouldn’t want you to get sick again.”

Noriko nodded. They were about to head towards the stairs when Shogo stopped them. “Shuya,” he said, “wait, hold on.” He rubbed out his cigarette against the bottom of the helm. “First I’ll show you how to steer this ship.”

Shuya raised his brow. He figured that Shogo would take care of guiding the ship. Come to think of it, Shogo probably wanted to take a shower too. Shuya and Noriko would have to steer the ship then.

Shuya nodded again and returned to the helm with Noriko.

Shogo took another deep breath and lightly tapped on the wheel. “I’m steering the ship manually right now. It’s less confusing than having it on auto-pilot. Now this,” Shogo indicated the lever by the helm. “It’s like an accelerator and brake. Tilting it forward increases the speed and backwards slows it down. Simple, huh? And over here—” Shogo pointed at the round meter installed right above the wheel. The thin needle was tilted leftward. It was surrounded with numbers and letters indicating directions. “This is a gyro compass. It gives our direction. You see that ocean map?”

Shogo indicated the route they were taking to weave their way through the islands and reach the mainland Honshu from their current position east of Megijima Island. They would be best off, he said, landing on some hidden beach in Okayama Prefecture. Then he provided simple instructions for the radar and depth gauge.

He touched his chin. “That’s about it for your crash course. That’s enough to steer this thing. Now, you always steer right of an oncoming ship. And the other thing is that you can’t stop immediately. As you approach the shore you have to slow down well in advance. Got that?”

Shuya raised his brow again. He wondered, why is he advising me about docking too? He continued to nod, though.

Shogo added, “The notes I gave you guys. Do you still have them? It actually has your contact information.”

“Yeah, we have them. But… you’re coming with us, right? Right?”

Shogo didn’t respond immediately to Shuya’s question. He took out one of the cigarettes he’d stuffed inside his pocket, put it in his mouth, and lit his lighter. It lit up… but right then Shuya noticed something strange. Shogo’s hand holding the lighter was trembling.

Noriko seemed to have noticed too. Her eyes were wide open.

“Shogo—”

“You guys asked me…” Shogo said over Shuya’s words, his cigarette dangling from his mouth. His trembling hand tossed the lighter by the helm. He continued, “…to come with you to the U.S.” He removed the cigarette from his mouth with his shaking hand and exhaled. “I thought it over. But…” He stopped and put his cigarette in his mouth. He removed it, then he blew out smoke. “It looks like I won’t need to answer that anymore.”

Suddenly, Shogo’s body slid down. His head slumped forward as he fell on his knees.

79

“Shogo!”

Shuya ran over to Shogo and grabbed his right arm and held him up. Noriko also ran over to him and held his left arm from the other side.

Emptied of strength, Shogo’s body felt heavy. That was when Shuya finally realized how Shogo’s back was soaked. There was a tiny hole right below his neck. It was Kazuo’s shot. The one Kazuo fired at him. Shogo claimed it was nothing. Why… why didn’t he treat it immediately!? Or did he know it was fatal? Or did he delay it so Shuya and Noriko could get aboard?

In their arms, Shogo’s body slowly gave way, and he slumped down on his butt.

“I’m sleepy. Let me sleep,” he said.

“No, no, no, no!” Shuya screamed. “We’ll take you to the nearest hospital!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Shogo laughed and like the two soldiers sprawled in the corner of the room, he lay down on his side.

“Please.” Shuya knelt down and touched Shogo’s shoulder. “Please get up.”

“Shogo.” Noriko was crying.

“Noriko!” Shuya scolded her. Noriko looked over at Shuya. “Don’t cry! Shogo can’t die!”

“Shuya. Don’t get angry with her over nothing,” Shogo kindly admonished him, “You have to be kind to your girl.” Then he added. “Besides, sorry, but I’m going.”

Shogo’s face became increasingly pale. In contrast, the scar above his left brow was dark red now like a centipede.

“Shogo…”

“I-I-I’m still not sure…” Shogo said. His head began to tremble. But he continued moving his lips, “…whether I’m going to join you. B-b-but I-I w-want to th-thank you guys.”

Shuya shook his head over and over. He stared at Shogo. He couldn’t say anything.

Shogo raised his trembling right hand. “G-g-goodbye.”

Shuya held his hand.

“N-N-Noriko, you too.”

Holding back her tears, Noriko held Shogo’s hand.

Shuya now realized Shogo was dying. No, he had already known, but now he was accepting it. What else could he do? He tried to come up with something to say. He knew what it was.

“Shogo.”

Shogo’s eyes drowsily shifted over from Noriko to Shuya.

“I’ll tear this fucking country down for you! I’ll tear it down, goddamn it!”

Shogo grinned. His hand fell from Noriko’s hand onto his chest. Noriko followed his hand, and squeezed it.

Shogo closed his eyes. He seemed to be grinning again. Then he said, “I-I-I-I-I told you, Sh-Sh-Sh-Shuya. Y-y-you d-don’t h-have to d-d-do th-th-that. F-f-forget about i-i-it. You’t-t-t-two sh-sh-should just try to L-l-live, p-p-please. J-j-just like w-w-we d-did here,‘t-t-trust each other. A-a-all right?”

Shogo said this much and took a long, deep breath. His eyes remained shut.

“That’s what I want,” he declared.

That was it. Shogo stopped breathing. The dim yellow light falling from the ceiling of the pilothouse shined against his pale face. He seemed at ease.

“Shogo!” Shuya yelled. He still had more to say. “You’ll see Keiko! You’ll be happy with her! You’re—”

It was too late. Shogo couldn’t hear anything anymore. But his face just looked so damned peaceful.

“Damn it.” Shuya’s lips trembled along with his words. “Damn it.”

Holding Shogo’s hands, Noriko was crying.

Shuya also put his hand on Shogo’s thick hand. A thought occurred to him. He searched through Shogo’s pockets and found it… the red bird call. He pressed it into Shogo’s right hand and closed his hands over it so he could hold it. Shuya then finally burst into tears.