Battle Royale

Yuko forced a smile (indeed, it was impeccable) and shook her head. "I'm not worried," she continued, "I'm sorry. I was all screwed up yesterday. I won't hold anything against Shuya anymore."

This seemed to relieve Yukie. She took a deep breath.

"Well then, I guess I didn't need to lock the door." She smiled at Yuko and added, "What happened with Tatsumichi Oki was an accident. That's what Shuya said."

Hearing Tatsumichi's name, Yuko had a flashback of that scene which sent another chill down her spine, but she managed to keep her smile and nodded. An accident. Well, I suppose it was quite an accident for Tatsumichi Oki.

Yukie then said to Haruka, "Hey, Haruka, can you go get Yuka? There's something I need to discuss."

Haruka asked back, "Shouldn't she be keeping watch?"

"It's all right," Yukie nodded. "The building is sealed, so we're fine. It'll be brief."

Haruka nodded and entered the room leading up to the lantern room. You could hear footsteps clang up the steel stairs.

While Satomi and Chisato asked in succession, "How is he?" and "Can he eat the same stuff we're eating?" Yuko quietly stood up from her chair and walked over to the sink.

There was a stack of several deep dishes right beside the steaming stew pot. Chisato and Haruka had taken them out of the dish cabinet.

Yuko dug her hand into her skirt pocket and touched the object inside. The weapon she found in her day pack was a telescoping spring baton, but what she now held was this item labeled "special bonus," the item she had thought was useless. Even after she was welcomed here she didn't think there was much point in mentioning it. But when Shuya Nanahara showed up she came up with this idea, so she kept it a secret.

In the past...her father's violence, his terrorization of the rest of her family, ended unexpectedly. That was how her family finally attained peace.

Now there was another threat. She had to put a stop to it. Once she did...she would be safe again. She wouldn't have to be terrified anymore.

She felt no hesitation. Oddly enough, she was calm.

She removed the cork lid of the tiny bottle inside her pocket with one hand.

14 students remaining

62

"Hey," Yuko called over to Yukie. Yukie, who was speaking to Satomi and Chisato, looked over at her.

Yuko continued, "Maybe we should bring Shuya his meal first?"

Yukie beamed a smile at her. "That's a good idea. Let's do that."

Yuko then added very casually, "The stew looks ready, so how about I start serving it up?"

She held the dish. The dish.

"Sure—oh that's right," Yukie said as if she suddenly remembered. "You know, there's a medicine kit in the desk drawer over there. I think it has some painkillers. I should bring Shuya some painkillers with his meal."

"...sure." Yuko then let go of the dish. It clicked against the sink. "Okay. Hold on."

The writing desk, equipped with a computer and phone, was across from the sink, in the corner of the room. Yuko made her way around the table to get there.

Clanging footsteps descended the steel stairs. Haruka and Yuka Nakagawa entered the room. Yuka Nakagawa had a short-barreled gun resembling an expanded automatic gun with an extended stock slung over her shoulder. (It was an Uzi 9mm submachine gun. It was Satomi Noda's supplied weapon, but because it seemed like the most powerful weapon they had, whoever keeping watch held onto it.)

"I heard Shuya's up!" Yuka said in her usual cheerful voice, placing the Uzi on the table. A little chubby and, thanks to her tennis team practice in the outdoor courts, tan, Yuka somehow managed to stay cheerful even in these dire circumstances.

"Yes." Yukie nodded happily.

"Well, you must be relieved, Representative," Yuka teased her.

Yukie blushed a little. "What are you saying?"

"Oh, come on. You're beaming."

Yukie frowned and then shook her head. Suddenly realizing something, Yuka looked over at Chisato and fell silent. Chisato had lost Shinji Mimura, the boy she loved, and now she stared down at the floor.

Yuko hardly paid attention to this exchange as she took the wooden medical kit she found in the desk drawer. She placed it on the desk and opened it up. It was stuffed with various kinds of medical supplies, gauze, poultices. The only things missing were the bandages, since they were almost entirely used up to treat Shuya Nanahara.

Painkillers...which one were the painkillers? Of course, it didn't matter. It didn't matter because...

"Wow, it smells great," she heard Yuka say, trying to change the mood. But she hardly paid noticed to that either.

Painkillers... ah, here we go. Right here. For headaches, menstrual cramps, toothaches...oh...come to think of it, my stomach's been aching. I'll take some later. After things settle down a little. That's right, once things calm down.

"So what is it?" Satomi asked Yukie in her slightly husky voice.

"That's right. What is it?" Haruka asked.

"Oh, right. Let's see, where do I begin?" Yukie said.

It was only when Yuka said, "Let's have a taste then," that Yuko suddenly looked up.