59

Shuya tried getting up, but the pain all over his body immediately assaulted him, and he fell back. He realized then he was lying on a soft bed with fresh sheets.

Yukie gently touched Shuya's chest again, then lifted the puffy blanket up to his neck. "Don't exert yourself. You're injured pretty badly…You seemed to be having a bad nightmare. Do you feel okay?" Shuya wasn't able to respond coherently. Instead he surveyed the room. It was small. There was cheap fabric wallpaper on the left wall, and on the right behind Yukie was another bed, but besides that there wasn't much else. There was a door near the foot of the bed, but it was closed. The wooden frame gave it an old look. There seemed to be a window above his head letting in a dull light which illuminated the room. Given how dull the light was it seemed cloudy outside. But…where was he?

"I don't get it," Shuya said. He realized he could speak now. "I don't remember checking into a hotel with the student representative."

He was still in a half daze, but Yukie gave a sigh of relief. Then her full lips erupted into a soft chuckle.

"You would say that, wouldn't you? I'm so relieved you're all right though." Looking at Shuya, she added,

"You were out for quite some time. Let see…it's been," she looked down at her watch on her left wrist,

"about thirteen hours."

Thirteen hours? Thirteen hours. Thirteen hours ago I was—

Shuya's eyes opened wide. His memory and the present locked in. He was fully awake now. There was something he needed to find out. Right away.

"What about Noriko, Noriko Nakagawa? And Shogo Kawada?"

Shuya said this and took a deep breath. Were they still alive?

Yukie gave him a funny look and then said, "I think Noriko…and Shogo are still alive. We just heard the afternoon announcement but their names weren't announced."

Shuya let out a deep breath. Noriko and Shogo had managed to escape. Kazuo had chased after him and ended up losing Noriko and Shogo. Kazuo was—

Shuya then looked up at Yukie.

"Kazuo. It's Kazuo!" His voice was half panicking. "Where are we? Are you alone here? We have to be careful!"

Yukie gently touched Shuya's right hand, which was sticking out from under his blanket. "Calm down." Then she asked, "Did Kazuo do this to you?"

Shuya nodded. "He's the one who's been attacking us. He's totally up for this."

"Really…" Yukie nodded and continued, "We're safe here. They're six of us here, not including you. Everyone else is keeping watch, so don't worry. They're all close friends of mine." Shuya raised his brow. Six?

"Who?"

"Yuka Nakagawa," Yukie mentioned the cheery girl who had the same last name as Noriko. Then she continued, "Satomi Noda and Chisato Matsui. Haruka Tanizawa. And Yuko Sakaki." Shuya licked his lips. Yukie saw the expression on his face and asked, "What? You can't trust them?

Which one? Everyone?"

"No…" Shuya shook his head. "If they're your friends I trust them." But how did six girls, all good friends with each other, manage to get together?

Yukie smiled and squeezed his hand. "Good. I'm glad to hear that from you, Shuya." Shuya smiled too. But his smile receded almost instantly. There were other things he had to know. He'd already missed three—the midnight, 6 a.m., and noon announcements.

"Who…died?" he asked. "I-I mean, at midnight, 6 a.m., and noon, there were three announcements, right? Did anyone else…die?"

Yukie's mouth stiffened. She took some paper from the small side table right beside them. It was a map and student list. The folds and mud stains looked familiar. He realized it was the one he'd kept in his school coat pocket.

Yukie looked over the list and said, "Hirono Shimizu. And then Keita Iijima, Toshinori Oda, Yutaka Seto, Yuichiro Takiguchi, Tadakatsu Hatagami, and Shinji Mimura."

Shuya's mouth hung open. Of course the game had proceeded, but he was shocked it now left only little more than a dozen students. Plus he'd been teammates with Tadakatsu Hatagami in Little League, but what really took him by surprise was…

"Shinji's…"

The Third Man, Shinji Mimura, had died. It was hard to believe. He thought if anyone could survive it would have been Shinji.

Yukie nodded silently.

At the same time Shuya was struck by how he wasn't all that shaken up. He'd gotten used to it. That must have been it. Still, he remembered Shinji's special grin. Then he recalled that serious expression Shinji wore as he sent him a signal, warning him to calm down when they were back in the school building.

So we're never going to see the awesome play of The Third Man, Shiroiwa Junior High's star shooting guard, again, he thought, and felt a pang of sorrow.

"When was Shinji's name announced?"

"In the morning," Yukie answered. "Keita Iijima and Yutaka Seto were also in the morning. They might have been together. They were such good friends."

"I see…"

Shinji had still been alive at midnight. And as Yukie said, he might have been with Yutaka Seto and Keita Iijima.

Yukie added, "There was an incredible explosion last night. And a lot of gunfire. That's where it might have come from."

"Explosion?"

Shuya recalled the hand grenade Kazuo threw at them. "That was…Kazuo actually used a hand grenade. Maybe that's what you heard."

Yukie raised her brow. "So…that's what that was. That was a little past eleven, right? No, the one I'm talking about actually happened after we brought you here. It was past midnight. It was much worse than the one we heard around eleven. The one who kept watch said the entire center of the island just lit up." Shuya pursed his lips, but then he realized he still hadn't managed to find out exactly where they were. Before he could ask though, Yukie handed him the map and student list. "This is yours. I marked off the map too."

As he took it, Shuya realized, yes, there were more forbidden zones. He spread the map out.

"The place where we talked about rock."

That place, sector C=3, near the western shore, was crossed out with a pencil along with several other sectors. The small writing, "23rd, 11 a.m." meant that it was forbidden as of this morning at eleven, while Shuya had been asleep.

Shuya pursed his lips. Noriko and Shogo weren't there anymore—his thoughts were finally getting clearer—if they haven't died between noon and now. Of course they were alive…but then he recalled how he'd seen Shogo and Noriko dead along with Yoshitoki and Shinji in his dream. He felt a chill run down his spine.

But in any case they should be alive. All he could do was believe they were all right. But how in the world would he find them?

Shuya put the map down on his chest. He couldn't afford to waste any time deliberating, under these circumstances. The first thing was information.

And since he wasn't alone there might be a way.

He looked up at Yukie. "Where are we anyway? How did I end up in this bed?" Yukie looked up at the window and said, "This is a lighthouse."

"Lighthouse?"

"That's right. On the northeast end of the island. It's marked on the map. We've been staying here ever since the game started."

Shuya looked at his map again. Just as Yukie said, the lighthouse was located in sector C=10, jutting out from the northeast side of the island. The area was practically devoid of forbidden zones.

"So Shuya, about last night. The front of this lighthouse is a cliff, and that's where you fell. The person keeping watch found you…and took you in. You were injured pretty badly. Covered with blood. I thought you were going to die."

Shuya finally realized his torso was naked and that his throbbing left shoulder was bandaged. (Given how it felt, he deduced the bullet shattered his shoulder blade and was now lodged in there.) The right side of his neck—he felt a burning sensation right below his collar where there was another bandage (but this bullet wound must have been a minor scrape). And then on top of his left elbow. (It felt heavy. The bullet had most likely exited, but perhaps because the bone or tendon was torn off, it felt paralyzed.) Also his left side. (The bullet had pierced it, but it seemed to have missed his vital organs.) Shuya awkwardly moved his unscathed right arm and lifted his blanket, confirming he was indeed covered with bandages. He returned the blanket and asked, "So you treated me."

"Yes," Yukie nodded. "We found an emergency first-aid kit in the lighthouse. We stitched your wounds a little. Not a great job, since we didn't know what we were doing and we could only use the string and needle from a sewing set. It looks like the bullet in your shoulder…is lodged in there. We couldn't do much. I thought what you really needed was a blood transfusion. You were bleeding so badly."

"Thanks a lot."

"Oh no," Yukie smiled kindly. "I can't believe I got to touch a guy's body! I even got to take off your clothes."

Shuya chuckled. While she was both very smart and considerate, she could also say bold stuff like that. That's right, she'd been like that ever since he got to know her on a rainy day in the elementary school gym, negotiating the space allocated for Little League practice and girls' volleyball. And that's right, at the time he'd said to Yoshitoki, "Then there's Utsumi, who's on the volleyball team. She's pretty cool. That's my type. You know, real outgoing."

Of course right now he wasn't supposed to be indulging in idle emotions. But when Yukie said, "Oh, yeah, here," and offered him a cup of water, Shuya couldn't resist whistling. He was in fact really thirsty. The cup was already there, on the side table beyond his field of vision. He thought, how impressive, Representative. You'll be a wonderful wife some day, no, a wonderful woman. No, you might in fact be a wonderful woman now. I've actually thought that for a while. He took the cup, raised his head, and drank. His neck wound hurt as he swallowed and grimaced. But he drank it all.

"I might be asking for too much," he said, returning the cup, "but I think I should drink a lot more. And also…do you have any kind of painkiller? Anything. It'll help me."

Yukie nodded. "Sure. I'll go get some."

Shuya wiped his lips and then said, "It's amazing your friends accepted me. I mean, I could be an enemy."

Yukie shook her head. "We couldn't just let someone die. Besides…" She stared into Shuya's eyes and smiled playfully. "It was you, Shuya. I'm leading this group, so I forced everyone to agree." Did that mean that…she also thought there was something special about them ever since that time at the elementary school gym?

Shuya probed further. "Which means…that some of them were reluctant. I knew it."

"Well, come on. Given the circumstances." Yukie looked down. "Don't take it the wrong way. Everyone's very agitated."

"Yeah." Shuya nodded. "I know."

"But I convinced them." She looked up and smiled again. "So you should be thankful." Shuya was nodding when he noticed Yukie, who'd just been smiling, was now for some reason suddenly on the verge of tears.

She stared at him and said, "I was worried sick. I thought you might die, Shuya." Shuya was taken by surprise and looked at her.

Yukie continued, "I just wouldn't know what to do if you died." Her voice was now sobbing.

"…do you understand what I'm saying? Do you see why I had to save you, no matter what?" Shuya stared at Yukie's tearful eyes and slowly nodded. Then he thought, geez, I can't believe how popular I am.

Of course…this might have been a psychological result of their confinement. Under these circumstances, they were probably going to die soon (no, according to the rules, they were definitely going to die. He'd never heard of someone else besides the winner surviving the hellish Program), and now that the survivors were becoming fewer and fewer, maybe a boy that you liked "a little" ever since having an exchange in the corner of an elementary school gym might turn into somebody you'd "die for." No, that probably wasn't the case. She couldn't have opposed her friends unless she really cared for him. Besides, how else could she have trusted him?

"I understand. Thanks," he said.

Yukie wiped her tears with the lower palm of her right hand. Then she said, "Tell me. You asked about Noriko and Shogo. You said, 'we.' Does that mean you were with them?" Shuya nodded.

Yukie knit her brows. "I get Noriko…but don't tell me you were really with Shogo." Shuya knew what she was getting at. "Shogo's not a bad guy," he said. "He saved me. Noriko and me survived thanks to him. I'm sure Shogo's protecting Noriko right now…That's right. There's something more urgent," he continued enthusiastically. "I forgot. We can be saved, Yukie."

"Saved?"

Shuya nodded emphatically. "Shogo's going to save us. He knows a way out of here." Yukie opened her eyes wide. "Really? Really? What is it?"

Shuya stopped suddenly. Shogo had told him, I can't tell you till the end. Come to think of it…Shuya had nothing to support it. He trusted Shogo, but he wasn't so sure his explanation would persuade Yukie, who hadn't been with Shogo. As Shogo himself constantly reminded him, she might suspect Shogo was using Shuya and the others.

Shuya decided though to explain everything from the beginning.

He told her how he'd been attacked by Yoshio Akamatsu from the very beginning, how he'd been with Noriko ever since then, how he'd fought Tatsumichi Oki, and how, while Kyoichi Motobuchi was shooting at him, Shogo had saved him and how the three were together ever since. He told her about the escape plan, how Shogo was a survivot of the Program last year, how Noriko had a fever, and how they went over to the clinic. That's right, and then about Hiroki Sugimura. How Hiroki told them that Mitsuko Souma was dangerous. And then how they were attacked by Kazuo Kiriyama while they were on the move.

"So Tatsumichi…" After he was done she brought up Tatsumichi Old first for some reason, "…that was an accident?"

"That's right. Just as I described it," he replied and knit his brows, looking at her. "What about it?" Yukie shook her head. She said, "It's nothing," and changed the subject, "I'm sorry for being so blunt, but I can't just all of a sudden trust Shogo. I mean, that there's a way out of here." Shuya still didn't understand why Yukie had asked him about Tatsumichi, but he figured it couldn't be all that important so he let it pass and accepted Yukie's skepticism.

"I don't blame you. But I think we can trust Shogo. It's hard to explain, but he's good," he impatiently waved his uninjured right hand by his face. "You'd understand if you were with him." Yukie pressed her right fingers against her lips and said, "All right. It sounds like we should at least hear him out. I mean it's not like we have any other option."

Shuya looked at her. "What were you planning on doing?"

Yukie shrugged. "I thought it was hopeless. We were just discussing whether we were better off trying to escape or staying here a little longer. But we haven't made any decisions." Shuya then realized he'd forgotten to ask something else he'd forgotten. "How did you guys get together?

All six of you?"

"Oh," Yukie nodded. "I went back to the school, and I called on everyone." Shuya was surprised. "When?"

"That would have to be right after you and Noriko ran away. Actually, I saw Kazushi Nüda run…I really wanted to get back in time to contact you, but anyway, that's how I saw…those two dead right in front of the school entrance."

Shuya raised his brow. "Yoshio was only unconscious, right?"

Yukie shook her head. "I wasn't able to get a close look…but he looked dead at that point. There was an arrow…stuck in his neck."

"Then Kazushi—"

Yukie nodded. "I think so."

Shuya then asked, "Weren't you scared there'd be others like Yoshio?"

"Of course the thought occurred to me…but I just couldn't come up with any other option other than forming a group. So I went to the woods in front. I figured if I hid there I wouldn't be seen. And if I was, then that was just too bad."

Shuya was deeply moved. He had to look after Noriko, who was injured, but still, he'd passed on the others and ran away. Hiroki Sugimura said he'd waited for Takako Chigusa, but he was a guy, and he also practiced martial arts.

"Wow. I'm amazed, Representative."

Yukie smiled.

"You call Noriko by her name, but with me it's 'Representative,' huh?" Shuya didn't know what to say. "Oh well—"

"Don't worry, it's all right."

A smile flashed across her face. Then she continued a little sadly, "Then Yuka Nakagawa came out…and I called her."

"Were you able to convince her right away? Don't get me wrong—I think you have a good reputation."

"Oh, well." Yukie nodded. "I didn't come back alone. I was really shaken up at first, but I just had to come back, and on the way back, I totally lucked out, I found Haruka. You know how Haruka and I are best friends.

Shuya nodded. Haruka Tanizawa and Yukie were both on the volleyball team.

"I talked to Haruka. When I told her we should go back she resisted at first, but we had weapons. I had a pistol in my pack. When Yuka heard the two of us call she managed to trust us." After some consideration, Shuya mentioned that "rule": "But…you can't necessarily trust someone who's paired up in this game."

Yukie nodded. "Yes, that turned out to be true."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we decided not to have boys…sorry…we discussed it and decided boys could mean trouble. So we let them go, and then there was Fumiyo—" Yukie stopped. Fumiyo Fujiyoshi (Female Student No. 18) had died before their departure. "After her came Chisato. So there were five of us. We also called on Kaori Minami but…"

Shuya filled in the rest, "She ran away."

"Yes, she did."

Shuya realized he hadn't told her that he'd seen her die. He thought of telling her—but decided not to. Now that Kaori's killer Hirono Shimizu was also dead, it didn't seem relevant and besides, it wasn't a pleasant memory. Also, as awful as it sounded, he couldn't afford to waste any more time talking about the dead.

"So Yoshimi reacted the same way as Kaori?" Shuya uttered the name of the last female student seat number, Yoshimi Yahagi, along with Kaori's and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Names of the dead. Both of them. Both… of…them. Jesus. The smiling face of the man in the black suit made a sudden appearance in Shuya's mind. It'd been a while. Hey there, Shuya. So you're still alive? You're a tough one.

"Well…" Yukie looked away from Shuya and pursed her lips. She squinted. "That was different."

"How so?"

Yukie took a deep breath. "I said we should call on her. But some of the girls protested. You know Yoshimi was friends with Mitsuko. They couldn't trust her."

Shuya fell silent.

Yukie said looking away. "So she's dead. We let her die."

Shuya said, "No, you're wrong."

Yukie looked back at Shuya.

"It was beyond your control. It's no one's fault."

He knew it didn't sound very convincing, but that's all he could say .

Yukie grinned wryly and sighed. "You're kind. You've always been so nice." They nearly fell silent, but then Shuya had to say something, "You should have called on Shinji." Yukie's group could have at least called on Shinji Mimura, who was at the tail end of the student list. "He could have been trusted."

Yukie sighed again. "I thought so too…but Shinji didn't have a very good reputation…among the girls. You know, he was kind of a playboy. And his intelligence was kind of intimidating. You know how he intervened when Noriko was injured? One of the girls said that might have been calculated." It was the same explanation Shogo gave when he mentioned he'd seen Shinji.

"Before we could decide, Shinji was gone." Yukie shrugged. "In any case, we'd decided against boys. So we didn't call on Kazuhiko either."

That's right. Kazuhiko Yamamoto, who went out with Sakura Ogawa, who despite his good looks was kind and unpretentious, and therefore must have been popular with the girls. Yukie's group decided against contacting him too, though. And given this policy, it was only to be expected there'd be some friction over taking in Shuya here.

Shuya realized Yukie only accounted for five of them. She hadn't mentioned Yuko Sakaki (Female Student No. 9).

"What about Yuko? You haven't mentioned her."

Yukie nodded and looked back at Shuya. "That was luck too. We came here yesterday morning…Nice fortress huh? Last night, I think it was around 8 p.m., Yuko just stumbled by here. She was totally terrified."

Yukie stopped as if she had something else to say. Shuya was about to ask her what was wrong, but Yukie continued, "…in any case, everyone knows Yuko. So it wasn't a problem." That summed up her account. Shuya thought of asking more about Yuko Sakaki but decided not to. If she'd been alone until last night then she might have encountered something horrible. Did she survive someone's attack, or did she see students killings each other, or did she come across a corpse torn up from fighting?…

Shuya nodded slightly several times. "I get it now."

"There's one thing I don't get," Yukie said. "It's not a big deal but…Hiroki was saying he needed to see Kayoko Kotohiki, right? And that was why he didn't join your group." Shuya was worried about him ever since he summarized his situation to Yukie. Hiroki was still alive and so was Kayoko Kotohiki. Did he manage to find her?

"He had to see her. I wonder why."

Shuya shook his head. "We didn't ask. He was in a hurry. We were wondering too—" As he spoke Shuya couldn't help but wonder, did Hiroki manage to find Kayoko Kotohiki? If he did then—

Shogo's voice suddenly returned: "This sound is your ticket out of here. If you're up for it, you can come aboard our train."

Shuya opened his eyes wide and exclaimed, "The bird call."

"What?"

Shuya looked over at Yukie. "I know a way we can join Noriko and Shogo."

"Really?"

Shuya nodded. Then he struggled to move his body. He could explain later. "I have to contact him now. I have to get going."

"Hold on," Yukie stopped him. "You need to rest."

"I can't. The more I lie around—"

"I said hold on. You might want to listen to the girl who's in love with you." She managed to say this as she blushed a little with a playful smile. "We took you in here because even if you woke up you wouldn't be able to move. Your sudden burst of energy might terrify some of the girls." Shuya's eyes opened wide. But then again it made sense. That was probably why the other girls let Yukie stay with him alone here.

Yukie continued, "In any case, just stay put for a while. I'll tell them everything you told me. I'll insist you and Shogo can be trusted and convince them. As for contacting him and Noriko, I can't let you do that alone. That's just too dangerous. I'll discuss that with them too. So you just stay here." Then she asked him, "Can you eat?"

"Yeah."

In fact he was famished. He was worried about Noriko and Shogo, but he thought he should eat first. It would help his immune system fight against his gunshot wounds.

"If you have any food to spare I'd really appreciate it. I do feel pretty weak." Yukie smiled. "We're preparing lunch right now. I'll bring you some. I think it's something like stew. Is that all right?"

"Stew?"

"Yeah, this place is loaded with food even though it's all just preserved canned food and retort food. But we found water and solid fuel, so we were able to cook it."

"Awesome. That's great."

Yukie's hand left the edge of the bed. She walked over to the door and said, "I'm really sorry but I'm going to have to lock the door."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry. There's someone who's terrified. So please, just wait," Yukie said. She smiled kindly as she opened the door and went out. Her two braids of hair swung like some mysterious animal's tail, and he caught a glimpse of a gun stuck in the back of her skirt.

There was a clacking sound from beyond the door. It might have been bolted shut. Was that how they locked him up?

Shuya managed to raise his upper body with his right elbow and looked up at the window above his head. The window was sealed with wooden planks and light leaked in through the gaps. This was done to keep intruders out—but right now it also served as an ideal place to lock him up. 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