45

With a brief stir Noriko opened her eyes. It was past 7 p.m. She gazed at the ceiling of the room, now turned dark. Then she looked at Shuya beside her.

Shuya got up a from his seat and removed the damp towel on her forehead. He touched it. Just as it was when he checked last time, her fever was almost gone. Shuya felt a wave of relief. Great. Really.

"Shuya." Noriko's voice was still dazed, "…what time is it?"

"It's past seven. You slept well."

"I…"

Shuya nodded. "Your fever's gone down. Shogo said it probably wasn't from septicemia. It was just a really bad cold. Probably from fatigue."

"I see..." Noriko nodded slowly as if she were also relieved. Then she turned to Shuya. "I'm sorry for all this trouble."

"What are you talking about?" Shuya shook his head. "It's not your fault at all." Then he asked, "Can you eat? We have rice."

Noriko's eyes opened wide. "Rice?"

"Yeah, just hold on. Shogo cooked some." Shuya left the room.

Shogo was sitting on the chair by the window by the kitchen door. The last traces of light, more like particles of blue, closer to indigo, entered the window, but where Shogo was sitting it was almost completely pitch black.

"Noriko's up?"

Shuya nodded.

"How about her fever?"

"She's fine. It seems to be gone."

Shogo gave him a slight nod, then stood up, holding the shotgun as usual. He opened the lid of the pot on the gas stove. Shuya and Shogo had already had their share of cooked rice and miso soup. The miso soup base came from some strange leaves growing in the back of the building.

"Is the food cold?" Shuya asked.

Shogo gave him a brief reply, "Wait five or ten minutes. I'll bring it over."

"Thanks." Shuya returned to the examination room. He sat down by the bed and gave Noriko a small nod. "Wait a little. Shogo's going to bring some real rice."

Noriko nodded. Then she asked, "Is there a bathroom here?"

"Uh…yeah. Over here."

Shuya helped Noriko out of the bed. Supporting her with his arm, he showed her to the bathroom beyond the waiting room. She was still staggering, but she'd definitely recovered from the terrible condition she was in before.

Shuya helped Noriko return to her bed. As Noriko sat down on the edge of the bed, Shuya wrapped her shoulders with the blanket the way Ms. Anno had done for him at the Charity House when he was a kid.

"Once you've eaten," Shuya said as he pulled at the edges of the blanket, "I think you should get some more sleep. We're going to have to leave this place by 11 p.m."

Noriko stared at Shuya. Her eyes still looked slightly unfocused. "You mean—" Shuya nodded. "Yeah, this zone's going to be forbidden at eleven." It was part of the announcement Sakamochi gave at 6 p.m. Other zones included G=l at 7 p.m. and I=3

at 9 p.m. That meant the southwest border and the southern slope of the southern mountain. Since it was hard to tell exactly where the border of the forbidden zone was, the southwest shore area was all off limits now.

Noriko looked down at her kneecaps and touched her forehead under her bangs. "I was sleeping like an idiot."

Shuya reached out and touched Noriko on the shoulder. "Don't be ridiculous. You were better off sleeping. You need to rest more. Take it easy."

But Noriko glanced up and asked, "Did anyone else— besides Kaori—die?" Shuya tightened his lips. Then he nodded. "Takako…and Sho and Kazushi." According to Sakamochi's announcement, these four had died during the six hours after twelve o'clock. Now there were only twenty-one students left. Only eighteen hours had passed since the game began, yet Third Year Class B of Shiroiwa Junior High had been reduced to half its size.

"And one more thing," Sakamochi had said enthusiastically. "Sho Tsukioka was caught in a forbidden zone. So I want you all to be careful."

Sakamochi didn't say where Sho had died, and Shuya couldn't remember hearing a big explosion in the afternoon. At the same time he couldn't see any reason Sakamochi would lie. That big, boorish-looking guy who oddly enough acted really feminine, "Zuki" of the Kiriyama family, had gotten himself caught in a zone. As a result, his head was blown off. Besides their boss then, the entire Kiriyama family was decimated.

Shuya thought of telling Noriko about this, but after seeing how troubled she looked, he decided not to. He doubted that sharing any news about a guy's head getting blown off would have a good effect on Noriko's recovery.

"I see..." Noriko said quietly and then added, "Thanks for this," and began taking off the coat she'd been wearing.

"Keep it."

"No, I'm all right now."

Shuya took the coat and draped the blanket over her shoulder again.

Shogo came in after a while. Like a waiter, he carried a round tray full of bowls on one hand. Steam rose from the bowls. As he lowered the tray he said, "Here you are, madame." Shuya chuckled. "So she gets room service?"

"Well, the food isn't exactly first class. I hope it tastes all right though." Shogo put the entire tray on the bed and placed the bowls next to her.

Noriko looked down and asked, "Soup?"

"Yes ma'am," Shogo replied in English, which sounded pretty fluent to Shuya's ears.

"Thanks," Noriko said and took the spoon. She brought the bowl to her lips and swallowed a mouthful.

"It's delicious." She raised her voice. "There's egg in it." Shuya then looked at Shogo.

"It's our special, ma'am."

"Where'd you find that?" Shuya asked. All the fresh food in the refrigerator was rotten, probably because the government had moved the civilians out a while ago. All the other houses were probably in the same condition.

Shogo looked at Shuya out of the corner of his eye and grinned. "I found a house that kept a hen. It looked like it hadn't been fed in a while and looked pretty weak."

Shuya exaggeratedly shook his head. "When we ate I didn't notice any eggs." Shogo lifted his brows. "I only found one. Sorry. I'm nicer to girls. That's just how I am." Shuya laughed, sniggering.

Shogo returned to the kitchen and brought over some tea. Shuya and Shogo drank tea while Noriko ate her meal. The tea had a mild sweetness and a pleasant, nostalgic odor.

"Damn," Shuya groaned. "I feel like everything's fine, the three of us sitting around like this." Shogo smiled and said, "I'll make some coffee later. Would you prefer tea, Noriko?" Her spoon still in her mouth, Noriko smiled and nodded.

"Hey, Shogo." Shuya had more to say. Of course the fact was that they were still in this killing game, but now that Noriko seemed to be recovering, he was feeling a little gushy. "Some day the three of us, let's all get together for some tea. We'll sit on the veranda and enjoy the cherry blossoms." It was highly unlikely. Nonetheless Shogo shrugged his shoulders and said, "I thought you were a rocker. You sound like an old man."

"I know. You're not the first one to tell me that."

Shogo chuckled. Shuya laughed, and so did Noriko.

Noriko finished her meal and said, "Thank you." Shogo gathered her bowls. He signaled with his other hand for Shuya's cup, which Shuya handed over.

"Shogo," Noriko said, "I feel totally fine now. Thank you so much. And I'm so sorry for all the trouble I've caused."

Shogo smiled and replied, " You're welcome," in English. "But it looks like the antibiotic wasn't necessary."

"No. I know this sounds weird, but I think it made me feel secure enough to fall asleep." Shogo smiled again and added, "Well, you could still be suffering from septicemia. In any case, you should rest a little more. Take it easy." Shogo then said to Shuya, "Do you mind if I catch some sleep?" Shuya nodded. "You tired?"

"No, not really, but it's best to sleep when you can. Once we leave here, I'll stay up through the night. Is that all right?"

"Yeah sure, that's fine."

Shogo nodded, took the tray, and headed towards the hall.

"Shogo, you should sleep here," Noriko said, signaling towards the bed next to hers. Shogo glanced back at her from the door and smiled as if saying, no thank you. "I don't want to intrude on you two. I'll sleep on the sofa in this room." He tilted his head in that direction and added, "Please be considerate to your neighbors though if you get intimate."

In the dim room Shuya could see Noriko's face flush.

Shogo then left the room. Beyond the half opened door, Shuya heard him walk out of the kitchen and into the waiting room. It became quiet.

Noriko broke into a smile and said, "Shogo's so funny."

Perhaps it was because of the meal, her face seemed more animated.

"Yeah, he is," Shuya smiled too. "I'd never talked to him until now, but he kind of reminds me of Shinji." They didn't resemble each other at all physically, but Shogo's crude and blunt speech and his ability to still be humorous through it all resembled The Third Man. Not to mention the way he was the anti-model student and yet managed to be incredibly smart and reliable.

Noriko nodded. "You know you're right. Totally." Then Noriko uttered, "I wonder where Shinji is." Shuya took a deep breath. He'd been wondering whether there was any way to contact him, but given Noriko's condition he couldn't afford to do anything.

"Yeah, if he were only with us…"

With Shinji along and with Shogo on their side, Shuya thought they couldn't be defeated. And if Hiroki Sugimura were with them they would be fearless and invincible.

"I still remember the class match," Noriko said as she glanced up at the ceiling. "Not this year's, but last year's…the finals. Shinji was on his own against Class D, who had four students on the basketball team. We were thirty points behind, but then you rushed over after your softball game, and together you two guys started an incredible comeback."

"Yeah." Shuya nodded. He noticed how Noriko was becoming talkative. That was a good sign. "I guess that's what happened."

"I was cheering you guys on. When we won Yukie was on her feet shrieking."

"Yeah."

Shuya remembered too. Because Noriko, who was always reserved, was cheering the loudest. And although he wasn't as uncoordinated as Yoshio Akamatsu, the unathletic Yoshitoki Kuninobu was standing apart from Noriko and the others. Shuya saw Yoshitoki, his hands waving and making devil signs. It was a humble gesture, but Yoshitoki's display of support moved Shuya more than Noriko and the other girls' screaming rally.

Yoshitoki…

Shuya gazed back at Noriko, and then realized that Noriko was crying. He reached over to Noriko, touching her shoulder, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Uh…" Noriko hiccuped slightly. "I was telling myself not to cry, but…then I was thinking how wonderful our class was..."

Shuya nodded. It might have been from the still lingering fever, or it might have been from the drugs, but Noriko seemed to be in an emotional state. He kept his hand on her shoulder until she stopped crying. Eventually Noriko said, "I'm sorry," and wiped her eyes. Then she said, "I didn't tell you because it might end up disturbing you."

"What do you mean?"

Noriko looked into Shuya's eyes. "Did you know a lot of girls have a crush on you?" The topic of conversation was so unexpected Shuya couldn't help grimacing. "What are you talking about?"

But Noriko continued, her face dead serious. "Megumi…and Yukiko too, I think." Shuya tilted his head as if puzzled. Megumi Eto and Yukiko Kitano. Two of the players no longer in the running in this game.

"Those…" Was it proper to call them "those"? "What about those two?" Noriko looked up at Shuya and said quietly, "They both had a crush on you." Shuya's face stiffened. He hesitated and then mumbled, "…really?"

"Uh huh." Noriko looked away from Shuya and nodded. "It's easy to tell with girls. I just…wanted you to have fond thoughts for them." She added, "I am in no position to be telling you this now, given the situation I'm in."

Shuya had a dim image of the faces of Megumi Eto and Yukiko Kitano. Just a little though. Like, two teaspoons each. "Wow…" He exhaled. Then he said, "I wish you'd told me after we escaped."

"I'm sorry. Did it shock you?"

"Yeah, a little."

Noriko tilted her head again, "But…I thought you should know in case I die." Shuya looked up. His right hand squeezed her left wrist. "Look, please don't assume that. We're in this together till the end. We're going to survive together."

Noriko was taken aback by Shuya's sudden intensity. "I'm sorry."

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"I actually know someone who's got a crush on you."

Now it was Noriko's turn to open her eyes wide. "Really? Why me?" She said this innocently, but the expression on her face vanished quickly. Shuya saw the fading light from the window reflected as an obscure rectangle in her pupils. She asked, "Is he a classmate?" Shuya slowly shook his head. As he recalled those warm, bulging eyes, he thought, damn, how nice and peaceful it would have been just to be able to get worried over a romantic triangle involving a longtime friend. But that would never happen. No siree. It just won't.

"No."

Noriko looked somewhat relieved as she looked down at the knees of her skirt and only mumbled, "I see." Then she looked up and said, "So who could it be? I wasn't in any clubs or teams. And I don't have friends in any of the other classes."

Shuya shook his head. "I'm not telling. I'll tell you once we're out of here." Noriko looked slightly skeptical, but didn't pursue the matter.

After they fell silent for a while Shuya looked up at the ceiling. Even though tidiness was mandatory in a clinic, the fluorescent light hanging here had dusty covers. The lights didn't work. They couldn't turn them on anyway even if they did.

"Megumi-san…" he said. He added the polite "san" to her name. Boys can be so fickle, "…and Yukiko-san. If it's true…what could they have possibly liked about me?" It was becoming pitch black, but Noriko appeared to be smiling a little. "You mind if I share my opinion?"

"Sure."

Noriko tilted her head. "Everything about you."

Shuya chuckled and shook his head, "What do you mean?"

"That's what it means to love someone." Noriko's suddenly sounded serious. "Isn't that how you feel about that girl?"

Shuya thought of Kazumi Shintani's face. He thought about it. He hesitated, but thought he should be honest. "Yeah. Something like that."

"If it's not, then it's not real," Noriko said as if she were amused and then let out a quiet laugh.

"What?"

"I'm jealous. Even in this situation, it's still hard."

Shuya looked at her face that was no longer discernible in the dark and hesitated whether he should tell her, but then decided he should be honest with her.

"I can relate to the guy who had a crush on you though."

Noriko looked up at Shuya. Her well-defined brows seemed to quiver slightly. Her lips seemed to be forming a slightly melancholic smile.

"You're so wonderful," Shuya said.

"That's nice to hear even if it's not true."

"But it is."

"Can I ask you a favor?"

Shuya opened his eyes wide as if asking, "What is it?" but he wasn't sure whether Noriko could see his reaction. Noriko then leaned over slightly and gently put both of her hands on Shuya's upper arms, putting her head against his shoulder. Her shoulder-length short hair brushed up against Shuya's cheeks and ears.

They remained like this for quite some time until the dimness outside the window turned into moonlight. 

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