Battle Royale

Noriko was still sitting in a daze on the edge of the bed. Shuya signaled her to duck down. She must have immediately understood because she got off the bed, holding her breath. Shuya offered her his hand for support as they moved to the kitchen. He looked over to the entrance on the way there, but there was no one beyond the glass door.

Shogo had already gathered their day packs which he'd packed with refilled water bottles and other items, and now he was on his knees by the back door, holding his shotgun.

"What is it?" Shuya asked in a hushed voice. Shogo lifted his left hand to silence him. Shuya didn't say another word.

"Someone's outside," Shogo whispered. "We'll exit through whichever door they don't enter."

The only thing visible in the dark was the bright charcoal flame under the pot. Given the location of the sink, it couldn't be seen from outside.

Shuya heard a tapping sound. It came from the entrance. The door wouldn't open because of the stick jamming it. The glass was broken, so the person outside must have realized that someone had entered the building and that it was probably still occupied.

There was a clacking sound, but then it stopped. It sounded like the person had given up.

Shogo groaned. "Damn, we'll be in trouble if this one tries to set this place on fire."

They remained quiet, but there was still no sound. Then Shogo signaled for them to move towards the entrance. He might have heard a slight sound.

They were nearly crawling down the hall.

As they made their way, Shogo, behind the other two, reached out to Shuya who was leading. They stopped. Shuya turned around and looked over his shoulder at Shogo.

"He's circling back to the front." He waved his hand to the back. "Let's go out the back."

So they went towards the kitchen down the hall.

Shogo stopped again before they entered the kitchen.

"Damn, why?" he muttered.

...the person outside was now coming round to the back door again.

The silence continued. Shogo held onto his shotgun. With Noriko between him and Shogo, Shuya also gripped the SIG-Sauer that had once belonged to Kaori Minami. (He'd given the Smith & Wesson to Shogo. Shuya decided to hold onto the gun that had more bullets.)

But the silence was suddenly broken. A voice called from outside the kitchen window. "It's Hiroki," he said. "I'm not fighting. Respond, you three. Who are you?"

It was undoubtedly the voice of Hiroki Sugimura (Male Student No. 11), who along with Shinji Mimura was one of the few classmates Shuya could trust.

"What the?.. " Shuya moaned. "That's incredible ".

It was a stroke of luck. He never thought they'd see Hiroki. Shuya and Noriko looked at each other. Noriko looked relieved.

Shogo stopped Shuya as he tried to get up.

"What?"

"Shh. Don't raise your voice."

Shuya stared at Shogo's serious expression and then responded with an exaggerated shrug and smiled. "Don't worry. I'll vouch for him. We can totally trust him."

Shogo shook his head and said, "How did he know there were three of us?"

That thought hadn't occurred to Shuya. He thought it over while looking at Shogo. But he had no idea. That didn't matter though. The important thing was that Hiroki was here. He just wanted to see Hiroki's face now.

"Maybe he saw us go in here, from far away. That's why he didn't know who we were."

"What took him so long to get here then?" Shuya thought again. "He probably deliberated over whether he should find out who was here or not... In any case, we can trust Hiroki. I'll vouch for him."

Shuya ignored Shogo, who looked like he wasn't satisfied. He raised his voice and directed it beyond the window. "It's Shuya, Hiroki. I'm with Shogo Kawada and Noriko Nakagawa."

"Shuya!.." a relieved voice replied. "Let me in. Where should I come in?"

Before Shuya could answer, Shogo raised his voice, "This is Shogo. Go to the front entrance. Keep your hands behind your head and do not move. Got that?"

"Shogo..." Shuya was about to protest, but Hiroki immediately responded, "Got it." What looked like the upper body of Hiroki crossed the frosted glass window.

Shogo bent down to look out of the cracks in the glass. Holding onto his shotgun, he yanked out the obstructing stick and opened the door.

Hiroki Sugimura was standing with his hands behind his neck. He was slightly taller than Shogo, but more slender. His hair, wavy like Shuya's, went down the middle of his forehead. His day pack was by his feet and for some reason there was a 1.5-meter stick on the ground.

It was true. Shuya shifted his eyes, as if it were a miracle. Shuya's face made Hiroki grin.

"I have to do a body check."

"Shogo, come on..."

Shogo paid no attention to Shuya's protest and moved forward, holding onto his shotgun. He went behind Hiroki and first checked his hands behind his neck. Then he rubbed his left hand over Hiroki's school coat.

His hand stopped at a pocket.

"What the hell's this?"

"Go ahead and pull it out," Hiroki said with his hands held together. "But give it back to me."