Battle Royale

After she ended up with this duo, Tadakatsu was the one who insisted on taking turns sleeping.

"I agree we have to find others, but let's get some sleep. We've been up all this time. We'll lose our ability to make sound judgments." Once Yuichiro agreed Tadakatsu said,-"First, it's going to be Yuichiro or me. Then Mitsuko can sleep after us," and Yuichiro responded, "I can sleep later," so the order was decided. Holding his gun (which should have been handed over to Yuichiro who was keeping watch, but Tadakatsu didn't even mention it, nor did Yuichiro protest), Tadakatsu lay down and fell asleep within a matter of seconds.

Mitsuko had an idea how they hooked up. Tadakatsu hadn't slept at all until he met Yuichiro, and he probably couldn't sleep after joining him. Why? Because he was probably afraid Yuichiro might attack him by surprise. And even though Mitsuko might be much more threatening than Yuichiro, now that she was with them, even if Tadakatsu slept, Mitsuko and Yuichiro would have to keep an eye on each other so long as he held onto his gun and remained cautious. He could still get some sleep. (Of course, Mitsuko hadn't slept at all either, but it was nothing to her. She was much tougher than your average wimpy junior high school kid.)

Yuichiro and Mitsuko remained silent for a while, but then Yuichiro told her how he'd ended up joining Tadakatsu.

It turned out that Yuichiro also didn't move at all during the day, but then assuming he was safer at night (of course, Mitsuko thought, it could go either way. You could escape detection at night, but that also meant it was hard to detect your opponent too. But of course, if you were in a tight spot and had to run away, night was better), he cautiously began to move and encountered Tadakatsu only two hours before Mitsuko encountered them. The two tried to concoct an escape plan but came up with nothing...and so Tadakatsu stepped out to pee, but because he was taking so long Yuichiro got worried and checked on him. And that was how he found Mitsuko.

"I was so scared at first, I thought I couldn't trust anybody. But then I realized most of us probably just want to escape."

Yuichiro stopped and glanced at Mitsuko. The otaku of Class B, Yuichiro Takiguchi avoided direct eye contact in his conversations. He always looked down. Still, from the way he talked to her, Yuichiro didn't seem to be all that cautious towards her. For some reason.

And so Mitsuko pretended to look somewhat relieved and asked him, "So Tadakatsu had that gun."

Yuichiro nodded. "That's right."

"Weren't you scared of Tadakatsu?" Okay, now act even more relaxed and a little more intimate. "No, I mean even now. He won't let go of it."

Yuichiro grinned. "Well, first of all, Tadakatsu didn't shoot at me or anything. He did point his gun at me. I was classmates with him in elementary school. So I know him pretty well."

"But..." Mitsuko made her face look slightly pale. "You saw how Yumiko...Yumiko Kusaka and Yukiko Kitano died. Some of us are playing this game. How can you be sure Tadakatsu isn't one of them?" She nodded and then said, "...he even suspects me."

Yuichiro tightened his lips and nodded several times. "That's true. But if we just sit still we'll end up dying. It's best to try. I can't be like Yumiko and Yukiko, but I was thinking how we could get others to join us gradually."

He glanced into Mitsuko's eyes for a moment and then looked down. He seemed even more withdrawn than usual, maybe because he wasn't used to looking at a girl's face so close up. (She was probably right on the mark, and on top of that, he was dealing with the most beautiful girl in the class.)

"You can't blame Tadakatsu for holding onto that gun. He's scared out of his wits."

Mitsuko tilted her head and forced a smile. "You're so good."

Yuichiro glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

Still wearing her smile, Mitsuko continued, "You have to be brave to be like that, to be able to empathize with others like that."

Yuichiro looked down bashfully again and nervously ran his right hand through his messy hair and said, "I don't think so." Then without looking at her, he said, "So...could you cut him some slack for suspecting you? I think he's really scared. He trusts no one."

Trust no one. The phrase really tickled her and she grinned.

Then she said as if sighing, "I guess he can't help it. I have a reputation. You probably don't trust me either."