Next Tadakatsu said, "Search her, Yuichiro."
Mitsuko returned her gaze to Tadakatsu and widened her eyes as if she didn't understand.
Then she looked at Yuichiro, who was standing stiffly, somewhat surprised. Tadakatsu repeated himself. He aimed the gun straight at her, then said, "Hurry up. Don't be bashful. Our lives are at stake. You understand that, don't you?"
"Yeah," Yuichiro said. "Okay."
Yuichiro set down his bat and timidly came forward. He stopped at her side.
"Hurry it up," Tadakatsu insisted.
"Y-yeah." Gone was his bravery. He was back to his normal self, a spineless otaku child. "But—"
"Now!"
With that, Yuichiro said, "U-um, Souma, I'm sorry. I don't want to do this, but..."
He lightly ran his hands down her body. Even in the dim early morning light, she could tell his face had turned bright red. Aw, how cute, she thought. But she remembered to affect her own embarrassment.
Once he had finished his cursory pat-down and had taken back his hands, Tadakatsu said, "Look under her skirt too."
Yuichiro gave him a critical look and said, "Tadakatsu—"
But Tadakatsu shook his head. "I'm not getting off on this. I just don't want to die."
So Yuichiro, blushing even more, said to her, "Um ... I was wondering if you could maybe lift up your skirt a little?"
Oh my, don't give yourself a heart attack now, little boy.
But softly she said, "O-okay," and acting ever-so-shy, she lifted her skirt until just a hint of her underwear showed. Now this was just like one of those porno videos that would have on the cover, Fetish Gold: Starring Real Junior High School Girls.
I've actually been in them.
When Yuichiro was sure she wasn't hiding anything, he said, "Th-that's enough."
Tadakatsu nodded. "Good. Yuichiro, tie her hands together with your belt."
Yuichiro sent him another critical look, but Tadakatsu remained firm and kept the gun aimed at her.
"That's my condition, Yuichiro. If you can't accept it, I'll shoot her right now."
Yuichiro looked at both, then wetted his lips.
Mitsuko said to him, "Yuichiro . . . it's all right. Go ahead."
Yuichiro looked into her face, then gave her a small nod and removed his belt and took her hands. "Sorry, Souma," he said.
Tadakatsu's gun hadn't left her. He said, "You don't have to be so polite with her," but Yuichiro pretended not to have heard. He gently wrapped the belt around her wrists without another word.
As she obediently held out her arms, Mitsuko thought, Despite everything, I'm lucky he saw me before I raised the sickle. (And that I had wiped the blood off it earlier. Now that's luck.)
Okay. What's my next move?
16 STUDENTS REMAIN.
"And that's why I think we really need to find the others," Yuichiro said, and then glanced at Mitsuko. Now that dawn had broken, she could see the dirt on his face.
They were sitting next to each other in the bushes. Mitsuko's hands were still tied with that belt, and her sickle had been stuffed down the back of Yuichiro's slacks. Tadakatsu Hatagami was deep asleep nearby. Even asleep, he still clutched his gun—he'd even tied it to his hands with a handkerchief.
With Mitsuko in the mix now, Tadakatsu had suggested that he and Yuichiro take turns sleeping. "It'd be good for us to round up some allies," he'd said. "But let's get some sleep first. We've stayed awake this whole time now. We won't be able to think straight."
When Yuichiro agreed, Tadakatsu added, "Either me or you will sleep first, Yuichiro. Souma will be third."
Yuichiro said, "I can sleep second," and with that the order was decided.
Holding onto his gun (which he really should have given to Yuichiro, who was keeping watch, but Tadakatsu didn't mention it, nor did Yuichiro object), Tadakatsu lay down and fell asleep in a matter of seconds.
Mitsuko guessed that Tadakatsu hadn't slept from when the game began until he joined with Yuichiro, and he definitely hadn't slept after that either. He was probably afraid Yuichiro might strangle him in his sleep.
But now with a third person, even if she was a girl he trusted far less, Tadakatsu could sleep, and Yuichiro and Mitsuko would watch each other. As long as he kept his gun and remained cautious, he would be fine sleeping. (Mitsuko hadn't slept at all either, but she was just fine. She was raised to be tougher than your typical junior high weakling.)
Apparently Yuichiro hadn't moved around much during the day but had thought he could get away with it at night. [It's a matter of personal taste, Mitsuko thought. Sure, at night it's harder for your enemies to detect you, but you can't see them either. Well, I suppose if you think you're in trouble and you need to escape, night is better for that.)
When the sun set, he had begun to cautiously move about—and just two hours before Mitsuko found them, the two boys ran into each other. They had talked about escape but weren't able to come up with any decent plan. Then Tadakatsu stepped away to pee, and because he was taking so long, Yuichiro came to check on him. That's when he found Mitsuko. At least that's what she had been able to put together.
"I was scared at first," Yuichiro said. "I didn't believe I could trust anyone. But then I thought about it and realized that most all of us probably just want to escape."
After he said this, he glanced at her again. Ninth Grade Class B's resident otaku avoided direct eye contact when he spoke. Right away, he dropped his eyes again.
And yet from the way he was talking to her, he didn't seem to be wary of her—for whatever reason.
Making as if she'd relaxed a little herself, Mitsuko asked, "Tadakatsu had that gun, didn't he?"
Yuichiro nodded and said, "Yeah."
"Weren't you scared of him?" Okay, now act a little more relieved, get a little more talkative. "And aren't you now? He doesn't ever let go of that thing."
Yuichiro smiled a little. "Well, you see, he didn't shoot me right away, at least—though he did point it at me. But we've been classmates before, in elementary school. So I know him pretty well."
"But. . ." Mitsuko tried to look like her face had turned pale. "You saw Yumiko—Yumiko Kusaka and Yukiko Kitano die, didn't you? Some of them are playing. You can't be sure that Tadakatsu isn't one of them." She lowered her head. "And that's why he suspects me."
Yuichiro pressed his lips together and made several short nods. "That's true. But if we just sit still, we'll end up dying anyway. I'd rather try something. I won't try Kusaka and Kitano's plan, but I was thinking it would be good to gradually build our numbers somehow."
He looked into her eyes for the briefest moment, then dropped his head again. This seemed to be more than just his typical shyness—it was almost like he wasn't used to looking at a girl's face this close up. (That's probably because he isn't. And they don't get more beautiful than me.}
Yuichiro said, "And you shouldn't blame Tadakatsu for holding on to that gun. He's probably so scared that he can't help it."
Mitsuko tilted her head and gave him a little smile. "You're a good person."
"Really?" Yuichiro said, looking at her from the corner of his eye.
Still smiling for him, she continued, "You're brave like that, and even in this situation, you still think about how other people feel."
This made him bashfully drop his eyes again. He nervously ran his hand through his unkempt hair and said, "That's not true."
Then, still averting his eyes, he added, "That's why . . . that's why you should cut Tadakatsu some slack for doubting you. I think he's scared. He has some trust issues."
Trust issues? Tickled by his phrasing, she smiled a little.
With a hint of a sigh, she said, "I suppose. With all the things I've done, people are bound to distrust me. You're suspicious of me too, aren't you?"
After a moment, he turned his head to look at her. This time, he kept his eyes on her a little while longer. Then he said, "No."
He faced the ground again. "When you
get down to it, even Tadakatsu is suspect. And I'm suspect too. I mean . . ." He plucked a dew-slicked leaf of grass at his feet and started to tear it into thinner strands. "I mean, yeah, I haven't heard many good things about you. But. . . that doesn't matter out here. You wouldn't think it, but it's the ones who always act decent who'll do anything to save their own skin when it comes down to it."
He tossed the shredded-up grass near his feet. He looked over at her again and said, "I don't think you're such a bad girl."
Mitsuko tilted her head. "Why's that?"
When she met his gaze, he panicked and looked away. Then he said, "Well. .. it's, you see, your eyes."
"My eyes?"
He kept his head down and began pulling apart another blade of grass. "You always have this vaguely scary look in your eyes."
Mitsuko displayed a little smile. She tried to shrug, but with her hands tied, the gesture didn't quite come off. "Maybe so."
"But..." One leaf had become four, which became eight. "Sometimes your eyes are really sad, and sometimes really kind."
She stared into his profile, letting him talk.
"That's why . . ." He tossed the leaf. His voice sounded embarrassed and nervous, as if he were confessing his feelings to a girl he loved, and though he stumbled a few times along the way, he managed to say, "I always thought you weren't as bad as they all say. I'm sure that even if you've done bad things, it was only because you had some reason that you had to. It doesn't make you a bad person."
Then he added, "At the very least, I didn't want to be one of those guys who couldn't understand that."
Mitsuko sighed inside herself. You're too naive, Yuichiro, she thought. But then she smiled and said, "Thank you."
The sweetness in her voice surprised her. She had of course meant to sound sweet, but if there was a part of her who thought she might have overacted it, it might be—just maybe—because mixed in with those words was the tiniest bit of real emotion.
But that was all it was.
After a little while, Yuichiro asked, "What were you doing, Souma—before you met us?"
Mitsuko said, "Well..." She dragged the word out. She shifted and felt the morning dew soaking into the cloth of her skirt. "I've been running away from everything—like when there were gunshots nearby. So when I saw Tadakatsu, I was scared . . . but I was also scared to be alone any longer. I wasn't sure if I should call out to him. Since it was Tadakatsu, I thought he'd understand. But I just wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do . . ."
Yuichiro nodded again. He glanced into her eyes, then looked down and said, "It looks like you did the right thing."
She smiled and said, "Yeah. It looks like it."
Their eyes met, and they exchanged smiles.
Then Yuichiro said, "Oh, sorry, I should have asked you earlier— are you thirsty? You lost your things, right? You must not have had anything to drink for a while now."
She'd left her daypack behind after her fight with Hiroki Sugimura. He was right—she was thirsty.
She nodded. "Can I—can I have a little?"
Without looking at her, he returned her nod, then reached for his nearby daypack and picked it up. He took out two water bottles, and after comparing them, he kept the unopened one and returned the other to the bag. He opened the sealed bottle.
Mitsuko held out her bound arms. Yuichiro started to hand her the bottle, but then abruptly stopped. He glanced at the slumbering Tadakatsu, and then back at the plastic bottle in his hand.
He then set the bottle down beside his leg.
Hey now, aren't you going to let me have a drink? Change your mind because if you spoil the prisoner, big Sergeant Hatagami will get mad?
But without a word, Yuichiro took her hands, lifted them a little, and grasped the belt. He started to remove it.
"Yuichiro," Mitsuko said, as if she were surprised (actually, she was, a little). "Are you sure about this? Tadakatsu will be mad."
His eyes intent on her wrists, Yuichiro said, "It's all right. I have your weapon after all. Besides, how can you enjoy your water when you have to drink it with your hands tied up?"
Yuichiro looked up at her face. When she said, "Thank you," his cheeks flushed again, and he dropped his eyes.
The belt came free. Mitsuko rubbed one wrist and then the other. Since the belt had been tied fairly loose, her wrists hadn't suffered any harm worth mentioning.
Yuichiro offered her the water bottle. She accepted it, took two demure drinks, and held it out to him.
He had been looping the belt back through his slacks, but he stopped and asked, "That's all? You can have more if you like. If we run out, we can always get more from a house with a well."
Mitsuko shook her head. "No, that was plenty."
"Okay."
Yuichiro took the bottle, put it back into the daypack, then returned his hands to his waist and fastened his belt buckle.
As he did, Mitsuko said to him, "Yuichiro."
Yuichiro looked up.
She reached to him with her newly liberated hands and gently took his right hand. Yuichiro seemed to tense up—likely not because he worried she was going to try some scheme, but because a girl was holding his hand.
"W-what?"
Mitsuko smiled warmly. She opened her shapely lips and cooed, "I'm so glad I met someone like you. I've been shaking scared this whole time—but I'm safe now."
Self-conscious and embarrassed, he opened his mouth timidly and closed it several times before he finally said, "You're safe."
Yuichiro seemed to want to take back his hand, but Mitsuko held firm. Again he had trouble making himself speak, and when he did, his voice was tense, but he said, "I'll protect you, Souma."
He went on, "And we have Tadakatsu too. He's a little jumpy right now, but once he settles down, he'll see you're not our enemy. Then the three of us together will look for the rest of the class. And we'll come up with a way to escape."
Mitsuko gave him a warm smile. "Thank you. I feel better now."
She squeezed his hand tightly between hers. His face turned even redder, and his eyes looked everywhere that wasn't her.
Then he spoke, this time not looking at her at all. "U-uh, you're . . . really p-pretty."
She raised her eyebrows. "Do you really think so?"
He nodded repeatedly—though it seemed less like nodding than shaking from extreme nervousness. She smiled again at this. And then she realized her smile held no malice.
Well, almost none.
16 STUDENTS REMAIN.
Sakamochi's six a.m. announcement woke up Tadakatsu. He'd had less than two hours of sleep but insisted it was enough, and untied the handkerchief from his wrist, took a proper hold of the gun, and sat down next to Mitsuko and Yuichiro. Yuichiro offered to let Mitsuko sleep, but she declined, and he ended up lying down. (Incidentally, the broadcast informed them of four new deaths: Keita Iijima, Toshinori Oda, Yutaka Seto, and Shinji Mimura. None of the forbidden zones pertained to Mitsuko's group.)
Seeing the belt unfastened from her wrists, Tadakatsu had complained, but Yuichiro persuaded him to let it go—though if Tadakatsu hadn't allowed her to remain untied, she had plans to get herself freed again—by Tadakatsu.
All right, what now?
She couldn't afford to take time choosing a course of action. If Hiroki Sugimura showed up, she'd be done for. (What is he doing wandering around like that anyway? Is he trying to find someone to join with, like Yuichiro and Tadakatsu are doing?/ And that machinegunner also came to mind.
With a grin, Yuichiro had said, "I might not be able to sleep," but he was deep asleep within five minutes. Given that he was an otaku, he probably didn't have much physical stamina. He must have been tired. While Tadakatsu had snored a little, Yuichiro slept with the quiet breaths of a baby.
Tadakatsu sat with his back against a tree a good three meters to Mitsuko's left. He had short-cropped hair and light acne over his cheekbones. And his eyes watched her warily. The barrel of the revolver in his r
ight hand wasn't pointed at her, but he kept his finger on the trigger. He seemed to be telling her, I could shoot you at any moment.
Mitsuko waited another half hour, and then, after making sure Yuichiro, who was lying down with his back to her, was still asleep, she looked at Tadakatsu and softly said, "You don't have to look at me like that. I won't do anything."
Tadakatsu snarled, "You never know."
Yuichiro stirred. She watched his back like Tadakatsu was staring at her. Quickly, Yuichiro's breathing steadied.
Without looking at Tadakatsu, she sighed, pretending to have gotten uncomfortable in the way she was sitting, and she moved her legs. She rested her right leg on the ground and brought in her left, standing it up a little.
Her pleated skirt glided down her thigh, revealing most of her pale legs, but she kept looking around as if she hadn't noticed.
Tadakatsu stiffened. Ha. Can you see the edge of my panties? They're a nice sexy pink, and silk too.
Mitsuko remained in that position for a while. Then slowly, she turned her head to Tadakatsu.
He was looking up. He seemed a little panicked. Without a doubt, his eyes had been glued to her legs.
But Mitsuko continued to act as if she hadn't noticed. "Hey, uh, Tadakatsu," she said.
"What?"
He seemed to be doing his best to preserve an intimidating attitude, but there had been a slight tremor in his voice.
"I'm . . . really scared," she said.
She expected him to say something nasty to her again, but instead, he just stared at her.
“Aren't you scared too, Tadakatsu?"
Tadakatsu's eyebrows twitched, but then after a short pause he said, "I am. That's why I'm watching you."
Mitsuko made her eyes look sad and glanced away from him. "You still don't trust me, do you?"
"Don't hold it against me," he said, but his voice had lost half its edge. "I know I'm repeating myself, but I don't want to die, that's all."
She quickly looked back at him. With a little more force now, she said, "It's the same for me. I don't want to die. But if you don't trust me, we'll never be able to work together and find a way to save ourselves."
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