Battle Royale

He decided to maintain a basic distance of twenty meters behind Kazuo. He'd move forward when Kazuo did and stop when Kazuo stopped. There was also the issue of the forbidden zones. Kazuo must have also been considering it, so he'd probably keep a good distance away from the zones. As long as Sho maintained his distance, he should be safe from entering the zones. When Kazuo stopped, he'd check the map to make sure he wasn't in a forbidden zone. Everything had proceeded according to plan. Kazuo left the southern tip of the island and after entering several houses in the residential area (probably finding what he was looking for), he decided to head to the northern mountain for some reason and then sat down. In the morning, when he heard the distant gunfire, he looked over there, but decided not to move, perhaps because of the distance. But then a little while later when Yumiko Kusaka and Yukiko Kitano began calling from the peak of the mountain with their megaphone he moved quickly and after making sure no one was responding to their call (now wasn't there another gunshot? Sho believed there was, urging Yumiko and Yukiko to hide. Wow, how wonderful, so there's a real humanitarian out there. He was moved, but not enough to alter his plans) he shot them dead. Then he descended the northern slope. There was another distant gunshot, but he stayed put on this one too. Then, this just happened, just before 3 p.m. he began moving after hearing gunfire on this side of the mountain. But what he (and Sho) found at the source was the dead body of Kaori Minami, lying inside a farm equipment storage shack. Kazuo went down to check the body, probably to go through her belongings, but it looked like someone else had gotten there before them. Then he proceeded to move on— And now he's in the woods right under me. Kazuo's plan seemed simple, at least for now. Once he knew where someone was, he'd go there and shoot away. Sho was exasperated by the merciless way he'd killed Yumiko Kusaka and Yukiko Kitano (Kazuo, you have such a plain name but your actions are out of control. And yet my name sounds like a celebrity's, Sho Tsukioka, but I'm just a Plain Jane), but it was pointless to fret over these details. For now he should be happy that Kazuo was completely clueless about his presence.

Kazuo appeared to be resting quietly. He might have been sleeping.

On the other hand Sho couldn't sleep at all, but he felt he was strong in that department as well. Naturally. Girls had more stamina than guys. That's what I read in one of those popular books.

What turned out to be a real drag instead was that he was a heavy smoker. The smell of cigarette smoke, depending on the wind direction, would give him away to Kazuo. No, the sound of his electronic lighter flicking open could be even more fatal.

Sho pulled out his pack of imported Virginia Slims Menthol cigarettes (he liked the name, though of course it was hard to get them in this country, but there were places that carried them, and all he had to do was steal them. He had piles of boxes in his room) and carefully placed the thin cigarette between his lips. He caught a whiff of the faint smell of tobacco leaves and that unique menthol odor and felt mild relief from his withdrawal. He wanted to fill his lungs with smoke—but somehow managed to suppress the urge.

I simply cannot die. There's too much fun waiting for me in my prime.

To distract himself, he lifted the mirror in his left hand and caught a view of his face with the cigarette in his mouth. He tilted his head slightly and examined his sidelong glance.

I am so pretty. On top of that, I'm so smart. It's inevitable I should be the winner of this game. Only the beautiful survive. That's God's—

Out of the corner of his eye, the bushes rustled slightly.

Sho quickly removed the cigarette from his mouth and put it into his pocket, along with his mirror. Then he gripped the Derringer and grabbed his day pack with his left hand.

Kazuo Kiriyama's slicked-back head appeared on the edge of the bushes. He looked to his left and right and then northward—directly to the left of Sho—up the slope.

In the shade of the azalea tree covered in pink leaves, Sho raised his brow slightly.

What's he doing?

He heard no gunfire. No strange noise at all. Was there something over there?

Sho looked over there, but saw no movement.

Kazuo emerged from shrubs. He had his day pack on his left shoulder and the machine gun slung over his right shoulder with his hand on its grip. He began climbing the slope, weaving his way in between the trees. He quickly reached Sho's higher position and moved on up. Sho then stood up and began following him.

Not at all in keeping with his large frame, 177 centimeters tall, Sho moved gracefully, like a cat. He carefully maintained the twenty meters behind Kazuo's black school coat that intermittently flashed between the trees. Sho's confidence was justified when it came to this sort of thing.