Battle Royale

by Косюн Таками

  The fingers of his near paralyzed left arm reflexively formed guitar chords under the blanket. The chords from that hit tune sung by the rock star the middle-aged man, the one who gave him his guitar, worshipped, "Jailhouse Rock."

  Shuya took a deep breath and lay down on his bed. The slight movement was enough to send sharp pain through the wound in his side.

  14 students remaining

  60

  The Okishima Island lighthouse was old but durable. It faced north with a tower seventeen meters high, and the living quarters, a single-story brick building, had been built as an annex to the tower on its south side. The dining-kitchen-living room was immediately south of the tower, and further south was the storage room and bathroom. Further down were two bedrooms, one large, the other small, along with another storage room right near the front entrance. The hall running on the west side of the building connected these rooms. (Shuya was resting in the small bedroom by the entrance.)

  In the corner of the kitchen-living room, which was at least as large as a classroom, was a small table that looked out of place. Yuko Sakaki (Female Student No. 9) was sitting on one of the stools around the table, slumped over the white tabletop as if she were dozing off. Unlike the other five girls, she had wandered around the island for hours on end, so a single night here had hardly alleviated her fatigue. No wonder. She had a reason for not sleeping at all last night.

  Yukie Utsumi's team used this room as their living quarters and slept here too. Someone had to keep watch at the top of the tower, but otherwise Yukie decided that everyone should stick together.

  Right behind Yuko, Haruka Tanizawa (Female Student No. 12) and Chisato Matsui (Female Student No. 19) were busily preparing the preserved food in front of the stove, where solid fuel was lit up in place of the shut-off gas. At 172 centimeters tall, Haruka was an attacker on the volleyball team. She and Yukie, who was a setter, formed a great duo. She had short hair, so next to the long-haired, petit Chisato they almost looked like a couple. The meal was a retort stew mixed with canned vegetables. Above them were planks of wood they found in the storage room and hastily hammered into the frosted glass window, which let in the dull light of the cloudy sky. The planks were there to keep intruders out. As soon as they had arrived Yukie and the girls immediately sealed off every entrance and exit from the inside of the building. (The front entrance was designated as their primary entrance-exit, which was where they took Yuko in, but now it was barricaded with desks and lockers.)

  Yuko had a clear view of the other side of the room where there was a writing desk with a fax machine and computer. To the left of it, Satomi Noda (Female Student No. 17) was sitting on a sofa placed against the wall, while the table that had been in front of it was now used to barricade the front entrance. Along with Yukie, Satomi was a model student, and although she always seemed a little frigid, now she looked pretty exhausted as she raised her wire-rimmed glasses and drowsily rubbed her eyes.

  To the left of the sofa, the kitchen's side door connected to the hall that led to the front entrance. On Yuko's right, the far door on the other side led to the bottom of the tower, and the first several steel stairs leading up to the lantern room were visible. Yuka Nakagawa (Female Student No. 16) was up there, supposedly keeping watch. Yuko hadn't kept watch yet, but Yukie had told her that since the lighthouse faced the ocean, and since there was only one narrow path from the harbor behind the building, the rest of the area surrounded by mountains, it wasn't very difficult to keep watch. Yukie was now in the room right by the entrance where they'd kept Shuya Nanahara.

  Shuya Nanahara.

  Yuko felt the tremor of fear returning. Along with it the image that was burnt into her memory. The cracked head. The bloody axe removed from it. And the boy who held this axe.

  It was a chilling memory. And this boy—Shuya Nanahara—was now in the lighthouse, the same building she was in. That was—

  No, it's all right. It's all right.

  Trying to keep herself from trembling, she stared at the white tabletop and reminded herself, that's right, he's dying, he can't possibly wake up after so many injuries and so much bleeding.

  Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she looked up.

  As Haruka Tanizawa sat down next to her, she stared at Yuko and asked, "Did you get any sleep?" She was taking a break from cooking. Chisato Matsui seemed to be checking the cooking instructions, examining the package of preserved food. (Chisato had in fact been quietly weeping this morning. Haruka Tanizawa had whispered to her it was because of the 6 a.m. announcement of Shinji Mimuras death. Until then Yuko hardly knew Chisato had a crush on Shinji Mimura. Her eyes were still red.)

  Yuko forced a smile and answered, "Yeah, a little." It was all right. As long as she was with these other five friends she was all right. She was safe here. Even if that safety would expire when their time ran out. Still—

  Haruka brought up the matter. "What you said about yesterday."

  "Oh..." Yuko smiled. "It's all right now."

  That's right. It was fine now. She didn't even want to think about it. Just the memory sent chills down her spine. But...in any case...

  Shuya Nanahara wasn't going to wake up again. Then it was all right. Just fine.

  Haruka smiled ambivalently. "Well then, okay."

  That's right...When Shuya Nanahara was discovered unconscious in front of the lighthouse yesterday, Yuko had vehemently opposed taking him in. She had explained (she was shouting rather than explaining) what she'd seen, Tatsumichi Oki's split-open skull, how Shuya Nanahara had removed the axe, how dangerous he was, and how he would try to kill them if they let him live.

  Yuko and Yukie were on the verge of fighting, but then Haruka and the others insisted they couldn't just let someone die, so they brought Shuya in. Yuko looked on, face ashen, keeping her distance, while the others carried the blood-drenched Shuya. It was as if they were welcoming a strange, scary monster that haunted you in your childhood dreams into your house. No, that's exactly what it was like.

  But...as time passed Yuko convinced herself Shuya was dying. After all, he couldn't possibly survive those wounds. Knowing he would die of course was unappealing, but in any case she managed to hold herself back. The one condition she insisted on, though, was that his room be locked.

  Haruka continued. It was the same question they had asked several times yesterday. "You say you saw Shuya kill Tatsumichi, but it might have been in self-defense, right?"

  That was true. She'd been hiding in the bushes when she heard the thudding sound. By the time she looked, the only part she really witnessed was Shuya removing the axe from Tatsumichi Oki's head. Then she immediately ran away.

  In other words, as Haruka said (which was based on Yuko's own description), Yuko had only seen the aftermath. It was possible he had done it in self-defense. However...

  ...no matter how many times Haruka and Yukie said this to her, Yuko just couldn't see it that way. No, she simply rejected the idea.

  What do you mean, "possible"? I saw that cracked skull. I saw Shuya Nanahara holding that axe. The bloody axe. The dripping blood.

  Her thoughts revolved around this scene now. Yuko couldn't be rational about Shuya Nanahara anymore. It was like a natural disaster, like a flood or tornado. The moment Yuko began thinking about Shuya, that scene and her fear would just wash it all away. The only thing left was an axiom that was nearly visceral— that Shuya Nanahara was dangerous.

  Yuko had her reasons. She abhorred violence. She couldn't stand it. Hearing a friend talk about a splatter film in Class B (was it Yuka Nakagawa? "Of course, it was funny, but, it wasn't a big deal, it should have more gory, ha ha ha") she felt sick enough to be taken to the school nurse.

  It was probably related to her memory of her father. Even though he wasn't a stepfather—he was her real father—he drank heavily and abused her mother, her older brother, and Yuko herself. She was too young back then...so Yuko didn't understand why. She was never able to ask her mother why he was like that
. She didn't even want to remember it. Well, maybe there were no reasons at all. She didn't know. In any case, when her father was stabbed to death by a yakuza over some gambling dispute—Yuko was still in first grade—she felt more relieved than bereaved. Ever since then she, her mother, and brother led a peaceful life. They could invite friends over. They finally felt safe with the disappearance of their father.

  But she still sometimes had dreams about him. Her bleeding mother being beaten with a golf club (even though they were poor, this was the one expensive item in their home). Her brother being beaten with an ashtray, nearly losing his sight. And...herself, suffering cigarette burns, paralyzed with fear (her mother who tried to intervene would then be beaten again).

  Maybe all of that was related, maybe not. In any case, Yuko was absolutely convinced Shuya Nanahara was dangerous.

  "Right?" She heard Haruka say that emphatically, but her words didn't register. A chill ran through her body, accompanied by a vision. Everyone including herself, the six of them lying on the floor, their skulls cracked open, and Shuya Nanahara grinning with an axe in his hand...

  No, no. It's going to be over. Shuya Nanahara won't be around for long.

  "Yes." She looked up and nodded. In fact, she had no idea what Haruka was talking about. But in any case as long as Shuya couldn't recover there was no reason to throw the team off balance. Haruka seemed to be seeking some indication she was convinced.

  "Y-yes. It was just me. I was so tired too."

  This seemed to put Haruka at ease. She said, "Shuya's a good guy. They're aren't too many around like him."

  Yuko looked at Haruka as if she were a mummy exhibited in a museum. She had thought so too, until recently. Shuya seemed strange, but all in all there was something very likable about him. In fact, she'd even thought he was kind of cool.

  But any memory of this feeling had completely fallen by the wayside now. Maybe it was more accurate to say the cracked-skull scene had smothered out all her other memories.

  What? What are you saying, Haruka? That he's good? What are you talking about?

  Haruka looked into Yuko's eyes dubiously, but added, "So even if he gets up, don't provoke him, okay?"

  Yuko was horrified. There was no way he was going to wake up. If...if that ever happened...

  But a portion of her rational faculties were still intact enough for her to nod and say, "I'm fine. No problem."

  "Good. I feel much better."

  Haruka nodded back, turned towards Chisato without getting up, and said, "Smells good."

  Along with the steam, the smell of the stew came drifting from the stove pot.

  Chisato turned her head around and said in her quiet, thin voice, "Yes, it looks pretty good. It might be better than yesterday's soup."

  She had been crying over Shinji Mimura for a long time, but she seemed all right for the time being. Even Yuko could see that.

  Right then, the door to the hall opened up. It was Yukie Utsumi. As usual she maintained her perfect posture and walked forward confidently. After Yuko's arrival, Yukie still did a good job leading the group, but she seemed a little tired. Ever since they took in Shuya she looked even more distressed. (It was in fact because she was on the one hand happy to see Shuya, but on the other worried his wounds might prove to be fatal, but this was beyond the scope of Yuko's perception.) Yuko felt like it'd been a while since she last saw Yukie so energetic, but now her face was beaming.

  Yuko felt as if a caterpillar was crawling up her spine. She had a bad feeling about this.

  Yukie stopped, put her hands on her waists, and looked around at everyone. Then she comically cupped her hands against her mouth in the shape of a megaphone.

  Then she said, "Shuya Nanahara has arisen."

  Haruka and Chisato cried out with joy while Satomi got up from her sofa, but next to her...

  ...Yuko turned pale.

  14 students remaining

  61

  "Really? Can he speak?" Haruka asked.

  "Uh huh. He says he's hungry too." Yukie nodded and then looked over at Yuko and said, "It's all right. I locked the door to his room so you wouldn't have to worry."

  She wasn't being sarcastic. It sounded more like she was doing what she should do as the leader.

  But that wasn't the point, Yuko thought. No, actually she had considered it over and over last night. While she was certain he would never recover, what if he did? Then how would she deal with it? And...then the odor drifted by.

  What timing. They were about to eat. Besides...it wouldn't be that odd for a guy in critical condition to die suddenly, would it?

  Yuko forced a smile (indeed, it was impeccable) and shook her head. "I'm not worried," she continued, "I'm sorry. I was all screwed up yesterday. I won't hold anything against Shuya anymore."

  This seemed to relieve Yukie. She took a deep breath.

  "Well then, I guess I didn't need to lock the door." She smiled at Yuko and added, "What happened with Tatsumichi Oki was an accident. That's what Shuya said."

  Hearing Tatsumichi's name, Yuko had a flashback of that scene which sent another chill down her spine, but she managed to keep her smile and nodded. An accident. Well, I suppose it was quite an accident for Tatsumichi Oki.

  Yukie then said to Haruka, "Hey, Haruka, can you go get Yuka? There's something I need to discuss."

  Haruka asked back, "Shouldn't she be keeping watch?"

  "It's all right," Yukie nodded. "The building is sealed, so we're fine. It'll be brief."

  Haruka nodded and entered the room leading up to the lantern room. You could hear footsteps clang up the steel stairs.

  While Satomi and Chisato asked in succession, "How is he?" and "Can he eat the same stuff we're eating?" Yuko quietly stood up from her chair and walked over to the sink.

  There was a stack of several deep dishes right beside the steaming stew pot. Chisato and Haruka had taken them out of the dish cabinet.

  Yuko dug her hand into her skirt pocket and touched the object inside. The weapon she found in her day pack was a telescoping spring baton, but what she now held was this item labeled "special bonus," the item she had thought was useless. Even after she was welcomed here she didn't think there was much point in mentioning it. But when Shuya Nanahara showed up she came up with this idea, so she kept it a secret.

  In the past...her father's violence, his terrorization of the rest of her family, ended unexpectedly. That was how her family finally attained peace.

  Now there was another threat. She had to put a stop to it. Once she did...she would be safe again. She wouldn't have to be terrified anymore.

  She felt no hesitation. Oddly enough, she was calm.

  She removed the cork lid of the tiny bottle inside her pocket with one hand.

  14 students remaining

  62

  "Hey," Yuko called over to Yukie. Yukie, who was speaking to Satomi and Chisato, looked over at her.

  Yuko continued, "Maybe we should bring Shuya his meal first?"

  Yukie beamed a smile at her. "That's a good idea. Let's do that."

  Yuko then added very casually, "The stew looks ready, so how about I start serving it up?"

  She held the dish. The dish.

  "Sure—oh that's right," Yukie said as if she suddenly remembered. "You know, there's a medicine kit in the desk drawer over there. I think it has some painkillers. I should bring Shuya some painkillers with his meal."

  "...sure." Yuko then let go of the dish. It clicked against the sink. "Okay. Hold on."

  The writing desk, equipped with a computer and phone, was across from the sink, in the corner of the room. Yuko made her way around the table to get there.

  Clanging footsteps descended the steel stairs. Haruka and Yuka Nakagawa entered the room. Yuka Nakagawa had a short-barreled gun resembling an expanded automatic gun with an extended stock slung over her shoulder. (It was an Uzi 9mm submachine gun. It was Satomi Noda's supplied weapon, but because it seemed like the most powerful weapon they had, whoe
ver keeping watch held onto it.)

  "I heard Shuya's up!" Yuka said in her usual cheerful voice, placing the Uzi on the table. A little chubby and, thanks to her tennis team practice in the outdoor courts, tan, Yuka somehow managed to stay cheerful even in these dire circumstances.

  "Yes." Yukie nodded happily.

  "Well, you must be relieved, Representative," Yuka teased her.

  Yukie blushed a little. "What are you saying?"

  "Oh, come on. You're beaming."

  Yukie frowned and then shook her head. Suddenly realizing something, Yuka looked over at Chisato and fell silent. Chisato had lost Shinji Mimura, the boy she loved, and now she stared down at the floor.

  Yuko hardly paid attention to this exchange as she took the wooden medical kit she found in the desk drawer. She placed it on the desk and opened it up. It was stuffed with various kinds of medical supplies, gauze, poultices. The only things missing were the bandages, since they were almost entirely used up to treat Shuya Nanahara.

  Painkillers...which one were the painkillers? Of course, it didn't matter. It didn't matter because...

  "Wow, it smells great," she heard Yuka say, trying to change the mood. But she hardly paid noticed to that either.

  Painkillers... ah, here we go. Right here. For headaches, menstrual cramps, toothaches...oh...come to think of it, my stomach's been aching. I'll take some later. After things settle down a little. That's right, once things calm down.

  "So what is it?" Satomi asked Yukie in her slightly husky voice.

  "That's right. What is it?" Haruka asked.

  "Oh, right. Let's see, where do I begin?" Yukie said.

  It was only when Yuka said, "Let's have a taste then," that Yuko suddenly looked up.