Battle Royale

Seeing how adamant Shinji was, Keita looked like he was about to burst into tears. He threw the kitchen knife onto the ground. "See? I don't want to fight. Do you see now?"

Shinji shook his head. "No. Scram."

Keita's face flushed with anger. "Why? Why won't you trust me?"

"Shinji—"

"Shut up, Yutaka."

Keita's face froze. He turned quiet...and then said, his voice trembling, "Is it because of what I did that time, Shinji? When I ran off? Is that why you don't trust me, Shinji?"

Shinji aimed the gun at him without a word.

"Shinji..." Keita's voice once again turned pathetic. He was practically sobbing, "I'm sorry about that Shinji. I'm so sorry, Shinji—"

Shinji's lips tightened. He wondered whether Keita was being sincere or whether he putting on an act. But then he dismissed the thought. I'm not alone. I can't risk Yutaka's life too. There was an aphorism he'd heard claimed by a Defense Minister of some nation, "We must defend ourselves according to our opponents' ability, not their intentions." They were approaching 1 a.m.

"Shinji, what is going on—"

Shinji held Yutaka back with his right hand.

Keita proceeded forward. "Please. I'm so scared. Please let me join."

"Don't come any closer!" Shinji shouted.

Keita Iijima shook his sad face left and right and stepped out. He was approaching Shinji and Yutaka.

Shinji pointed the gun downward and pulled the trigger for the first time. The shell popping out of the Beretta traced a pale white arc in the moonlight and a cloud of dust rose in front Keita's feet. Keita stared at it as if it were some rare chemistry experiment.

But then he started walking again.

"Stop! Just stop!"

"Please let me join. Please."

Like a wind-up doll Keita stepped forward. Right, left, right.

Shinji clenched his teeth. If Keita was going to pull out something besides his knife, it would have to come from his right arm.

Can you aim well? This time it won't be a threat. Accurately? Of course.

There was no time left. Shinji pulled the trigger again. He felt his finger slip.

A split second before the popping sound, Shinji suddenly realized that he was sweating. He was sweating from the tension.

It happened so suddenly. Keita Iijima bent over as if his upper body had been punched in. He spread out his arms like a shotputter does right before throwing a shot, then bent his knees and fell on his back. Even in the dark Shinji could clearly see the blood spurting out of the hole in the right side of his chest like a small fountain. This was also instantaneous.

"Shinji! What'd you do!" Yutaka screamed and ran to Keita. He knelt beside him and put his hands on Keita's body, his mouth agape. Then after hesitating for a moment he touched his neck. His face went pale. "He's dead... "

Shinji remained frozen, still holding onto his gun. He felt like he wasn't thinking, but he was. How lame, the voice echoed in his head. Although it was irrelevant, the voice echoed the way it does when you talk to yourself in the shower.

How lame. I thought you were supposed to be The Third Man, Shinji Mimura, who never missed a shot. The star shooting guard of Shiroiwa Junior High, Shinji Mimura, right?

Shinji stood up and began to walk forward. As if he'd suddenly turned into a cyborg, his body felt heavy. One day Shinji Mimura woke up to find out that he had become the Terminator. Great.

He slowly walked over to Keita Iijima's body.

Yutaka glared back at Shinji.

"Why, Shinji! Why'd you kill him!?

Standing motionless, Shinji answered, "I thought we'd be in trouble if Keita had another weapon besides the knife. I aimed for his arm. I didn't mean to kill him."

Hearing this, Yutaka checked Keita Iijima's body. As if to make a point, he looked through Keita's day pack too. Then he said, "He had nothing! How could you, Shinji!? Why didn't you trust him!?"

Shinji suddenly felt hollow. But...it was necessary. Hey, Uncle, I didn't do anything wrong, did I? Right?

Shinji looked down at Yutaka without saying a word. But—that's right—they had to hurry. They couldn't let their mistakes drag them down.

Right before he was about to say this, something changed in Yutaka's face.

His lips trembled. He said, "Oh no, Shinji, don't tell me you—"

Shinji had no idea what he was referring to. He asked, "What?"

Yutaka quickly stepped back. He distanced himself from Shinji.

Yutaka spoke through his trembling lips, "Shinji, you didn't do that on purpose—"

Shinji's lips tightened. He gripped the Beretta in his left hand.

"You're saying I shot Keita to buy us time? That's..."

Yutaka frantically shook his head. Then he slowly retreated. "No...no...this whole plan—"

Shinji knit his brows and stared at Yutaka. Yutaka, what is it you're getting at?

"This whole thing about our escape, that was just, that was—"

Yutaka still didn't make any sense, but Shinji whose brains CPU was amazingly fast finally had understood what Yutaka was thinking.

No, it can't be—

But what else could it be?