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. "That's right." 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…what 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. That's right, 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…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.

"Don't you… do n'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…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.. Jong 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. Unarmed except for the gun in his hand—maybe he'd thought he was safe now that the game was over—it was the soldier Kondo, now dead.

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 DPS 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, "…1 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. Anyway, 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. "That's right."

"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 IT 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't-to 1-1-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.