Battle Royale

For an instant Yuko gazed at Shuya's face, but then the next moment she screamed, "No—!"

Of course if she let go she would die, but it was Shuya Nanahara holding her hand!

"No! No!"

Her eyes wide open, her hair tossed around, Yuko continued screaming as she wondered, why? Why are you trying to save me? Is it because you want to use me to survive? Or, oh, I get it. You want to kill me with your very own hands!

"No! Let me go!" Yuko screamed. Any trace of rational thought had all but disappeared. "No! I'd rather die here than let you kill me! Let me go! Let me go!"

Whatever he thought in reaction, or maybe he wasn't thinking at all, in any case, his expression stayed the same, and he yelled, "Don't move!"

Yuko gazed up at Shuya again...and realized the bandage under the silver collar covering his neck wound oozed with blood now dripping down his bare shoulder.

The blood dripped down his arm and reached her left hand.

"Ugh," Shuya moaned. He gripped Yuko's hand tighter. His face was breaking into a sweat. That's right, it wasn't just his neck, his entire body was covered with severe wounds. Given how he was not only holding her entire weight with his right arm but attempting to pull her up, he had to be in incredible pain.

Yuko's jaw dropped. Why? Why would you try to save me when you're in so much pain? That's—

Strangely enough, it suddenly all came to her. The black mist clouding her thoughts suddenly cleared as if blown away by the sea breeze blowing against her body. The image of Shuya holding the blood-soaked axe, looking down at Tatsumichi Oki's corpse, suddenly vanished as if shredded by the wind, and all her previous (although it was only two days ago) memories of the Third Year Class B classroom along with the cheerful expressions of Shuya Nanahara came back to her. How he joked around with his friends Yoshitoki Kuninobu and Shinji Mimura, how he looked so serious repeating a difficult guitar line while practicing in the music room, how he posed triumphantly at second base after making a perfect hit down the third base line during gym class, which she managed to see from the gym where she was playing volleyball. And then when she was pale from menstrual cramps, how he'd gently said to her, "What's wrong, Yuko? You look pale," interrupted their English teacher Mr. Yamamoto, and called on the nurse's assistant, Fumiyo Fujiyoshi. How he looked so concerned then.

Oh no. Yuko finally understood the situation. This is Shuya. Shuya is trying to save me. I...why? Why did I have to think I had to kill Shuya? Why did I believe that? It's Shuya. And I always thought he was kind of cool... that he was really nice but no—

Then a different thought occurred to her. The action she took and its results. Yuko once again turned pale.

I...my mind was all screwed up...and...and that's how I ended up—

Yuko burst into tears. Shuya saw this and looked puzzled.

"Shuya!" she screamed. "I-it was me! I tried to kill you!"

Shuya looked surprised as Yuko looked up with despondent tears in her eyes.

Yuko continued. "I-I-I thought you'd killed Tatsumichi...I saw you two...and I was scared. I was so scared. So I tried poisoning your food...but Yuka ended up eating it...and then everyone...everyone..."

Shuya then understood everything. Hiding in a nearby bush, Yuko had seen him extract the axe from Tatsumichi Oki's head after fighting him. She didn't see how Kyoichi Motobuchi and Shogo appeared afterwards. She'd only witnessed that one moment. She could have interpreted it as an act of self defense on Shuya's part or as an accident, but Yuko was too frightened to trust Shuya. And so she poisoned the food to kill him, but Yuka ate this by mistake...and everyone panicked with suspicion. The culprit, Yuko, ended up being the only survivor....

"It's all right!" Shuya shouted. "It's all right, just don't move! I'll pull you up!"

Shuya was nearly lying flat on the balcony, his body jutting out between the bars, but because his left arm was useless, he couldn't grab onto the railing. Still, he twisted his body, and finally managed to tuck his right knee up to his body so he could rely on his back. He did his best to hold onto Yuko's wrist. The pain from the wounds all over his body, his side, his left shoulder, and the right side of his neck was mounting. But...

Her face soaked with tears, Yuko shook her head. "No. No. It was my fault everyone...everyone...," she said, and suddenly her hand began to pry his fingers loose. The tight grip he'd finally managed to get on her came loose. Shuya gripped tighter in response, but...the blood dripping down from his neck suddenly made his hand slip.

Yuko's hand left Shuya's. The weight on Shuya's arm suddenly vanished.

Yuko's face looking up at Shuya receded—

With a thud, Yuko fell on her back onto the roof of the single-story building below. Instead of slipping from his hand, she seemed to have appeared there suddenly via time-lapse photography.