Battle Royale

by Koushun Takami

Tadakatsu raised his head reflexively and glanced over in that direction. It was only the sound of a bird crying. What really made Tadakatsu's eyes open wide was of course…

  …the razor blade in Mitsuko's hand right in front of his face.

  Damn it!

  How bad can my timing be, the thought sort of crossed her mind, but Mitsuko didn't care as she automatically swung the blade.

  He groaned and pulled away from Mitsuko. The blade skimmed his neck, but the cut was way too shallow to be fatal. My oh my, good reflexes. That's right, you're a baseball jock. Tadakatsu stood up, his eyes open wide, staring down at Mitsuko, her body half raised. He appeared to be on the verge of saying something but seemed at a loss for words.

  She could care less about Tadakatsu's state. She leaped up and made a dash for the revolver immediately to her right.

  But Tadakatsu's body flew in front of her in a head-first slide. He scooped the gun from the ground, rolled over, and got up on his knees. Ever since elementary school Tadakatsu played the shortstop position formerly occupied by Shuya Nanahara (even though she and Shuya went to different schools Shuya's reputation as a star player in Little League was so widespread even Mitsuko had heard of him), so the Shiroiwa Junior High School baseball team is in good hands, huh? Well, at least you didn't take off your pants. You would have looked pretty pathetic naked.

  That was besides the point, though. Once Mitsuko realized Tadakatsu would get the gun before she did, she changed course. She heard gunshots behind her, but they missed as she ran into the thicket. She could hear Tadakatsu chasing her. He would catch up. That was for sure. She got out of the thicket. There was Yuichiro Takiguchi. He looked like he'd heard the gunfire, got up, and then realizing Mitsuko and Tadakatsu were gone, was looking around, but the moment his eyes found her, they opened wide. (Of course. She was half naked. What a bonus! Mitsuko Souma's One Night Show. Oh wait, but it's morning.)

  "Yuichiro!" Mitsuko raised her voice and ran towards Yuichiro. She didn't forget to crumple up her face.

  "Wh-what happened, Mitsuko?"

  By the time Tadakatsu Hatagami made his way through the bushes, Mitsuko was behind Yuichiro's back. Because Yuichiro was only four or five centimeters taller than her, she couldn't really hide behind him, but oh well.

  "Yuichiro!" Tadakatsu stopped and held his gun, groaning. "Get out of my way!"

  "H-hold on." His face still drowsy, Yuichiro spoke quickly perhaps because he didn't fully grasp the situation. Mitsuko grabbed his shoulders from behind and pressed her half naked body against his back. Yuichiro said, "What is wrong with you?"

  "Mitsuko tried to kill me! I told you, man!"

  Still hiding behind Yuichiro, Mitsuko said in a feeble voice, "Th-that's not true. Tadakatsu tried to force me to…he threatened me with that gun. Please, help me, Yuichiro!"

  Tadakatsu's face contorted in dismay. "I-it's not true, Yuichiro! Th-that's right. Look!" Tadakatsu pointed at his neck with the fingers of his empty left hand. The narrow cut had a slight blood stain. "She went at me with a razor blade!"

  Yuichiro turned around and looked at Mitsuko out of the corner of his eye. Mitsuko shook her head (as cutely as possible, as if terrified, now she was playing the virgin).

  "I was so desperate…I had to use my nails on him. Then…Tadakatsu got mad…and tried to shoot me…"

  She had already gotten rid of the razor blade in the shrubs. Even if she were forced to take off all her clothes (she was nearly naked anyway now) for a body search, they'd find no evidence. Now Tadakatsu's face flushed red with anger.

  "Move, Yuichiro!" he shouted. "I'm shooting her!"

  "Hold on," Yuichiro said, trying his best to sound calm, "I…that's right…I can't tell who's telling the truth."

  "What!?" Tadakatsu raised his voice, but Yuichiro wasn't intimidated. He reached out his right hand to Tadakatsu.

  "Give me your gun. Then we'll see who's telling the truth."

  Tadakatsu's face contorted as if he were on the verge of crying out of misery. And wearing this face he screamed at Yuichiro, "We can't afford to take our time here! You're going to get killed too if we don't get rid of her now!"

  Mitsuko cried out, "That's awful. I would never do that. Help me, Yuichiro." She squeezed his shoulders tightly.

  Yuichiro patiently extended his hand. "Give it to me, Tadakatsu if you're telling the truth." Tadakatsu grimaced again.

  But eventually, after taking a long, deep breath, letting his shoulders down, he exhaled and lowered his gun. He put his finger on the trigger guard, flipped the gun grip forward, and offered it to Yuichiro as if he had no choice.

  Of course she still wore her weepy face… but there was a faint glimmer in her eyes. The key moment would be when the gun was in Yuichiro's hands. It should be easy to take away from him. The question was how.

  Yuichiro nodded and came forward.

  But then…

  It was a move that was almost identical to the one Hiroki Sugimura had made with the Colt Government against her. Like a magic trick, the gun flipped over in his hand. Simultaneously, Tadakatsu got down on his right knee and leaned sideways. The gun was pointed directly at Mitsuko, its line of fire passing right by Yuichiro's left shoulder. Now that she wasn't clinging to Yuichiro's back Mitsuko was completely exposed.

  Yuichiro followed the gun's target and quickly looked back at Mitsuko.

  Mitsuko's eyes opened wide.

  I'm dead now—

  Without hesitating, Tadakatsu pulled the trigger.

  Gunfire. Two shots.

  Yuichiro's body fell down slowly as if in slow motion right in front of her. Beyond it was the frightened face of Tadakatsu.

  By then Mitsuko had picked up the sickle Yuichiro had beside him when he went to sleep. She threw it. It spun through the air. Its banana-shaped blade lodged into Tadakatsu's right shoulder. He groaned and dropped his gun.

  Mitsuko didn't waste a single moment. She picked up the bat and dashed forward. She leapt over Yuichiro, who was lying face down, ran towards Tadakatsu, and with this forward momentum took a full swing at his head as he staggered, clutching his right shoulder.

  Hey there. Here's something familiar, a bat. Hope you like it.

  Thud. The end of the bat landed in the center of his face. She'd crushed in his nose cartilage and cheekbones, tearing out several of his teeth.

  Tadakatsu fainted. Mitsuko swung at his forehead. KRAK! His forehead caved in. His eyes bulged out and his hands balled up into fists. One more swing, this time she aimed at the bridge of his nose. Mitsuko Souma's Special Training for One Thousand Catches. Come on, come on, this next one's going into center field.

  Blood burst out of Tadakatsu's nostrils with this blow.

  Mitsuko put the bat down. Tadakatsu's entire face was immersed in blood. He was dead by now. Thick streams of blood came dripping out of his ears and his deformed nose.

  Mitsuko tossed the bat and picked up the pistol lying to her left.

  Then she walked over to Yuichiro who was lying down on his face.

  The blood stain spread all over the grass underneath.

  He had shielded Mitsuko. That one instant.

  Mitsuko slowly knelt down by Yuichiro. She could tell he was still breathing as she bent over. After some consideration, Mitsuko moved over to block Yuichiro's view of Tadakatsu's corpse. Then she grabbed his shoulder to turn him over.

  Yuichiro moaned, "Urgh," and opened his eyes in a daze. His school coat had two holes, one in the left chest and the other in his side. Blood came pouring out, absorbed by the black fabric. Mitsuko held Yuichiro up.

  His eyes wandered around for a while. Then he looked at Mitsuko. His short breaths came intermittently, matching his heartbeat. "M-Mitsuko…" he said, "wh-what about Tadakatsu?" Mitsuko shook her head. "He panicked after he shot you and just ran away." Tadakatsu had tried to kill Mitsuko so this explanation didn't make much sense. But…maybe he couldn't think much anymore. Yuichiro seemed to nod slightly.

  "R-really…" His e
yes seemed out of focus. He might only have a partial image of Mitsuko now. "Y-you didn't get hurt, I hope?"

  "I'm fine." She nodded. And then said, "You saved me." Yuichiro seemed to form a slight grin. "I-I'm so sorry. I-I don't think I can protect you anymore. I-I can't m-m-move…"

  Foams of blood came bursting out the sides of his mouth. His lungs must have been punctured.

  "I know." She leaned over and gently hugged his body.

  Mitsuko's long black hair fell onto his chest, its ends stained by the blood pouring out of his wounds. Before she pressed her lips against his, Yuichiro's eyes moved slightly but then they shut. This kiss was different from the whore's kiss she gave to Tadakatsu moments ago. It was soft, warm, and kind even though it might have been mixed with the taste of blood.

  Their lips parted. Yuichiro opened his eyes again in a semi-daze.

  "I-I'm sorry…" he said, "it looks like…"

  Mitsuko smiled. "I know."

  BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! With these dull gunshots Yuichiro's eyes opened wide.

  Staring up at Mitsuko's face, and probably having no idea what had just happened, Yuichiro Takiguchi was now dead.

  Mitsuko slowly removed the smoking revolver from Yuichiro's stomach and held Yuichiro's body again. She looked into his now vacant eyes.

  "You were pretty cool. You even made me a little happy. I won't forget you." She closed her eyes. Almost remorsefully, she once again gently pressed her lips against Yuichiro's. His lips were still warm.

  The sunlight was finally shining on the western slope of the northern mountain. Under Mitsuko's head, blocking this light, Yuichiro's pupils dilated rapidly.

  14 students remaining

  58

  Shuya Nanahara (Male Student No. 15) suddenly woke up. He saw the blue sky framed by brilliant green grass.

  He got up. Beyond the grass surrounding him, there was the familiar sight of Shiroiwa Junior High School in the pleasant sunlight.

  Several students were on the school field in their gym gear. Maybe they were playing Softball for gym class. He could hear their cheering.

  He was in the garden at the edge of the courtyard. He saw the large leaves of the phoenix tree looming above him. This was where he took a nap sometimes, either during lunch or when he cut class. He stood up and checked his body.

  He had no wounds at all. Flakes of grass were stuck to his coat. He brushed them off. A dream…

  Shuya shook his head, still in a daze. Then he knew for certain.

  It was all a dream. All of it.

  He wiped his neck with his hand. It was moist with sweat. He was drenched in sweat as if he'd had a nightmare.

  What…what a horrible dream! Killing game? We were selected for that "Program"!

  Then he realized. The ones in the field…gym class?

  He checked his watch. Afternoon classes had started. He'd overslept!

  He quickly left the garden and trotted over to the school building. Today…today was…he checked his watch while running and saw it was Thursday.

  The first Thursday afternoon period was literature. He felt relieved. He liked literature, and he did pretty well in that class. Plus his teacher, Kazuko Okazaki, liked him. So all he'd have to do is bow apologetically.

  Literature. Favorite subject. Grades. Ms. Okazaki.

  These words passing through his mind triggered a nostalgic feeling.

  Shuya really did like literature. Even if the stories and essays in the textbooks were inundated with slogans in praise of the Republic or some silly "ideology," Shuya managed to discover words he liked. Words were just as important to him as music. Because rock couldn't do without lyrics. Speaking of words… the top student in literature, Noriko Nakagawa, wrote beautiful poetry. Compared to the song lyrics he struggled to come up with, her words were so much more concise and brilliant…they could be open and gentle on the one hand and harsh and strong on the other…he thought they represented the nature of girls in general. Sure, Yoshitoki Kuninobu had a crush on Noriko, but what really struck Shuya was this part of her.

  Which made Shuya realize, oh, that means Yoshitoki is alive. Realizing how silly the whole ordeal was, he was about to cry from relief as he trotted over. How silly. I can't believe I could dream of Yoshitoki dying.

  And how did I end up with Noriko?…Hey wait, since when did I stop calling her "Noriko-san"? How presumptuous…in that stupid dream, he thought. They were linked together in the dream…so does that mean I have some feelings for her beyond admiring her poetry? Uh oh, that means I'll end up fighting with Yoshitoki. That's trouble.

  Still, this idle thought made him grin.

  Shuya entered the school building, now hushed because classes were in session. He ran up the stairs. Third Year Class B was on the third floor. He skipped every other step.

  He reached the third floor and turned right into the hall. The second classroom was Class B. Shuya stopped by the door for a moment, trying to come up with an excuse for Ms. Okazaki. He was feeling sick…no, he had a dizzy spell. So he had to lie down and rest. Would she believe him, given how he was always in perfect health? Yoshitoki would give an exaggerated shrug, and someone like Yutaka Seto would say something like, "I bet you were sleeping," Shinji Mimura would snicker, and Hiroki Sugimura, his arms folded, would look mildly amused. Noriko would smile at Shuya as he scratched his head. All right, that's what I'll go with. So what if it's embarrassing. Shuya put his hand on the door, made himself look as apologetic as possible, and gently slid it open. Right before he looked up from the formal posture he assumed, a stench assaulted him. He looked up. He slid the door open with all his might.

  The first thing he saw was someone lying by the lectern.

  Ms. Okazaki…

  It wasn't Ms. Okazaki. It was their head instructor, Masao Hayashida. And…

  His head was missing. There was a puddle where it was supposed to be. Only half of his eyeglass frames were lying beside him.

  Shuya tore his eyes off of Mr. Hayashida's corpse and examined the rest of the class. There were desks and chairs lined up as usual.

  The strange thing was that his familiar classmates were all sprawled over their desks. And…

  The floor was covered with blood. An intense stench wafted up.

  After standing still for a moment, he quickly reached out for Mayumi Tendo—and realized that an antenna-like silver arrow was planted in her back. Its tip was poking out of her stomach while blood dripped down and off her skirt onto the floor.

  Shuya moved forward. He shook Kazushi Nüda's body. Kazushi's body tilted with a jerk, revealing its face.

  Shuya felt a chill run up his spine. Kazushi's eyes were now two dark-red holes. Blood and a slimy egg-white-like substance oozed out of them. Then… there was a gimlet-like object with a thick handle stabbed into his mouth.

  Shuya screamed and ran to Yoshitoki Kuninobu's seat. There were three holes in his back, each one blooming with flowers of blood. As he held him up, Yoshitoki's head slumped over onto his shoulder. His bulging eyes gazed up at the ceiling.

  Yoshitoki!…

  Shuya raised his voice. Then he looked around frantically.

  Everyone was either slouched back in their chairs or lying on the floor. Megumi Eto's throat was slashed like sliced watermelon. A sickle was planted in Yoji Kuramoto's head. Sakura Ogawa's head was split open like an overripe fruit. Only half of Yoshimi Yahagi's head existed. An axe was planted in Tatsumichi Oki's head, his face cracked down the middle, left and right out of alignment like a split peanut. Kyoichi Motobuchi's stomach looked like a sausage-factory trash bin. Tadakatsu Hatagami's face was completely crushed and covered in blood. Hirono Shimizu's face was swollen black, and her sea-slug-sized tongue dangled out from the side of her wide open mouth. The body of The Third Man, Shinji Mimura, was covered with bullets.

  Basically, everyone…was dead.

  Something caught Shuya's eye. Shogo Kawada—that standoffish transfer student with the bad reputation—had deep stab wounds all over his ches
t. His eyes were half-open and looking down at the floor…they were out of focus.

  Shuya took a deep breath and looked over at Noriko Nakagawa's seat. It was right behind Yoshitoki's, so he could have noticed earlier. For some reason though, it felt as if his classmates' seats were swirling around with the corpses. He finally managed to locate Noriko.

  She was still sprawled on top of her desk.

  Shuya ran to her and held her up.

  THUD. Her head fell off. Leaving behind her body, it landed with a thud on the floor and rolled around in a pool of blood…and then looked up at Shuya. With eyes full of resentment. I thought you said you would save me, Shuya. But I ended up dying. I really loved you, too. I really did. His eyes glued to Noriko's face, Shuya held his head and opened his mouth. He felt he was going crazy. He could tell a scream was welling up inside.

  Suddenly, he saw something white.

  As he became physically aware that his body was in fact horizontal, his vision came into focus, and Shuya finally realized it was the ceiling. On the left side he saw a fluorescent light. Someone gently touched his chest.

  He realized how heavy he was breathing. His eyes followed the hand up to the arm, the arm up to the shoulder, and finally discerned a sailor-suit figure with braided hair— female class representative Yukie Utsumi (Female Student No. 2), smiling warmly.

  "Looks like you're up. What a relief," she said.

  14 students remaining

  59

  Shuya tried getting up, but the pain all over his body immediately assaulted him, and he fell back. He realized then he was lying on a soft bed with fresh sheets.

  Yukie gently touched Shuya's chest again, then lifted the puffy blanket up to his neck. "Don't exert yourself. You're injured pretty badly…You seemed to be having a bad nightmare. Do you feel okay?" Shuya wasn't able to respond coherently. Instead he surveyed the room. It was small. There was cheap fabric wallpaper on the left wall, and on the right behind Yukie was another bed, but besides that there wasn't much else. There was a door near the foot of the bed, but it was closed. The wooden frame gave it an old look. There seemed to be a window above his head letting in a dull light which illuminated the room. Given how dull the light was it seemed cloudy outside. But…where was he?