49

The moon was high in the center of the sky. There wasn't a single cloud. The white light from the nearly full moon cast a thin film over the rest of the sky, obscuring the stars. Shogo, who was leading, stopped. Shuya, who was supporting Noriko with his shoulder, stopped too.

"Are you all right?" Shuya asked Noriko.

She nodded. "I'm fine." But Shuya could tell she was still unsteady. Shuya looked at his watch. It was past 11 p.m. now, but they'd already left G=9, which was now a forbidden zone. They had to find another place to settle down.

They were tracing their way back along the foot of the northern mountain. The area was scattered with trees. A little further down and they'd be near where Kaori Minami was killed. Immediately to their left, Shuya saw a flat, narrow area that extended from the island's residential area on the eastern shore. The flat land spotted with houses then became increasingly narrow, like a triangle. The road traversing the island supposedly passed through this pivot and headed to the western shore. Shogo turned around. "Now what do we do?" Noriko's blanket was tied to the top of the day pack on his shoulder.

"Can we stop at a house, like we did just now?"

"A house, huh." Shogo looked away from Shuya and squinted. "It's really not a good idea. As the number of zones decrease so do the number of houses. The moment someone needs something, they'll want to enter a house. Whether it's to eat or whatever."

"Hey, if you're worried about me, I'm fine now. Even outside," Noriko said. Shogo flashed a smile and then silently looked over the flat land. He looked as if he was taking Hiroki's marks on his map into consideration as he took in the view.

Along with the bodies he'd seen, Hiroki had given detailed explanations of how they had died. The body of Kazushi Nüda was right near where Takako Chigusa had died. Along with his eyes being gouged out (!), his throat had been stabbed. In the residential area that was now forbidden was Megumi Eto. Her throat had been slashed by a blade. (Shuya felt a pang in his chest over this one, since Noriko had told him how Megumi had a crush on him.) To the east, Yoji Kuramoto and Yoshimi Yahagi were killed where the eastern shore's residential area met the southern mountain. Yoji was stabbed in the head, and Yoshimi had been shot. At the southern tip, Izumi Kanai, Hiroshi Kuronaga, Ryuhei Sasagawa, and Mitsuru Numai were all found dead together. Mitsuru Numai was shot several times, while the others'

throats were slashed. Three of Kiriyama's group had died together, the only exception being Sho Tsukioka, who got caught in a forbidden zone.

"Shogo," Shuya said. Shogo looked back. "Do you think Mitsuko Souma killed Yukiko and Yumiko?" Even now, as he asked this, it all felt so unreal. He didn't believe a girl could do such horrible things. Of course he had no doubt, since it was Hiroki who'd informed them, but he still couldn't restrain the urge to dismiss it all as a delusion.

"No," Shogo shook his head. "I don't think so. After Yukiko and Yumiko got killed by that machine gun, you know how we heard pistols going off? That was to finish them off. But Hiroki said Takako was alive after being shot when he found her. Which means her killer wasn't as thorough. Of course she might have let Takako go, knowing she was going to die anyway. But given the times and locations, I just don't think Mitsuko Souma's the one with the machine gun."

Shuya recalled the machine gun fire he heard before 9 a.m. The killer was still roaming around the island. And the distant gunfire they heard a little afterwards…was that Mitsuko Souma?

"Eventually we'll…" Shogo forced a grin and shook his head, "…meet him or her. Then we'll know for sure."

Shuya recalled something else that had been bugging him. "When Hiroki showed us his radar, I was thinking how Sakamochi must know we're together and our positions as well." Shogo answered as he surveyed the flat land, "That's right."

Shuya moved his shoulder to give Noriko better support. "Won't that hinder our escape?" Shogo chuckled with his back to Shuya. "Nope. Not at all. Don't worry." Shogo looked over the flat land again and said, "Let's go back to where we were."

He continued, "A common strategy players in this game take is to show up anywhere they hear some action. That's because of the 24-hour deadline. Because of that limitation, they kill when they can. And the fact that they're on a killing spree means they're on their own, so they can't afford to sleep much. So the match has to be kept short. If something happens near them, they go there, and if there's a fight already going on, they sit back and then they finish off any survivors. That's why we should stay somewhere we can avoid confrontations. If we get mixed up with someone who's panicking then one of the top players is bound to show up. If we go back where we were it's unlikely we'll meet anyone. Since Tatsumichi Old and Kyoichi Motobuchi, who'd been hiding there, are no longer around, that area is pretty much uninhabited."

"But Hirono ran in that direction."

"No, I doubt she's gone that far. It wouldn't be necessary." Shogo pointed to the flat land with his thumb.

"But we'll avoid this mountain where she might be hiding. We'll take a different route." Shuya lifted his brow. "Is it safe for us to move through the flat land?" Shogo smiled and shook his head. "The moon may be shining, but this isn't daylight. I think we're safer there than in the mountain, where there's too much cover."

Shuya nodded. Shogo took the lead and began descending the slope. Shuya held the SIG-Sauer tightly in his right hand and followed Shogo as he supported Noriko.

The trees turned into a field of short grass. The first farm they came across had a field full of squashes. Beyond this field there was a wheat field. This island was so small these probably weren't for domestic consumption. Of course the Republic of Greater East Asia was incessantly issuing orders to promote national self-reliance, so even a small farm like this might contribute a little to the effort. As they moved along the edge of the farm, the soil under their sneakers felt dry. Maybe it was because several days had passed since the area had been evacuated. Still, Shuya was struck by the pleasant, rich odor of wheat drifting through the evening air, anticipating the summer.

It was a nice smell. Especially after having smelled so much blood.

There was a tractor to their left. Beyond the vehicle there was a house. It was an ordinary, two-story house and appeared relatively new. It was probably one of those cheap, mass produced buildings resembling Banana Homes or Vertebrae Houses. Even though it was in the middle of the farm, it was enclosed by a concrete wall.

Shuya looked at Shogo's back as he moved forward.

Something irked him.

He looked back. Noriko was leaning on his left shoulder as she walked, but he noticed something high above her head in the middle of the sky. Something flashing in the moonlight, tracing an arc. This object came flying at them.

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