Battle Royale

As he moved, he felt the urge to vomit once again. By now he was getting used to people dying, but the thought of these birds, these sky rats, feeding on them...I'll never sit on the beach and gaze peacefully at seagulls again. Even if I write my own songs, I'll never ever sing about birds. I might not even be able to eat chicken for a while. Man, birds...suck.

But then he heard that chirping sound again. He looked up. Large raindrops hit his face.

Ah—birds suck but...I guess a little bird's all right, huh?

Another full fifteen seconds passed and the chirping ceased. This time it sounded really close.

Shuya looked around. The bushes continued along the gentle slope. It must be...around here. They had to be somewhere near here. But...where?

Before he could think, the nausea he'd held back surged up. The two corpses, their faces messed up. And their soft flesh would be the birds' afternoon snack. Yummy.

I can't puke. I'm weak enough as it is...but...

Shuya knelt down on the ground and vomited. Because he hadn't had anything to eat, it was all gastric juices. There was a sharp, acidic stench.

Shuya threw up more. A pinkish substance was mixed into the yellow liquid like a drop of paint. For all he knew, his stomach might be screwed up by now.

"Shuya."

He looked up. Reflexively, he pointed the Uzi over there. But the muzzle fell again.

Between the shrubs he saw that thuggish face. It was Shogo. In his left hand, Shogo held a bow which seemed to be carved out of wood, and in his right hand he was about to put down the arrow fixed to the bow. That was when Shuya realized, oh, I get it, I must have gotten caught on Shogo's tripwire.

"Hangover, huh?" Shogo said. His humorous remark was tinged with kindness.

There was a rustling sound. Noriko appeared behind Shogo. She gazed at Shuya through her rain-drenched hair, her eyes and mouth trembling.

Pushing Shogo aside, Noriko dragged her leg as she ran to him.

Shuya wiped his mouth and staggered up. He released the Uzi and extended only his right hand, hugging Noriko. On impact Noriko's body sent a jolt of pain through his side, but he didn't care. They were having their reunion right above some fresh puke, but that didn't matter either. Her body against him felt warm in the cold rain.

Noriko looked up. "Shuya...Shuya...I'm so glad...I'm so glad..." She was crying. Tears came streaming out of the corners of her eyes along with the raindrops falling against her face.

Shuya gently smiled. Then he realized he was on the verge of crying too. Too many people have died...too many people have died in this game, but how wonderful, how incredibly wonderful these two were still alive.

Shogo came up to him and offered his right hand. For a moment Shuya was puzzled by the gesture...but then he understood. He reached out his hand over Noriko's shoulder and held it. It was, as always, a large, solid hand.

"Welcome back," Shogo said warmly.

8 students remaining

67

Exposed rocks appeared where the woods headed toward the sea. Now a low wall formation of those rocks faced the sea. Shogo seemed to have worked on it with his knife. Two large branches had been stuck into the rock wall, and on top of them were leafy branches serving as a roof to block the rain. Raindrops came flowing off the branch tips.

After he was given strong painkillers that Shogo had brought from the medical clinic, Shuya told him about the lighthouse. Shogo boiled water in a can with charcoal, and its gurgling sound overlapped with the sound of pouring rain.

When Shuya was done, Shogo said, "I see." He took a deep breath, and put another Wild Seven into his mouth. He held the Uzi in his lap. They decided it was best Shogo hold onto it. Shuya held the CZ75, and Noriko had the Browning.

Shuya shook his head feebly. "It was awful."

Shogo blew out some smoke and removed the cigarette from his mouth. "Yukie forming such a large group ended up backfiring."

Shuya nodded bitterly. "It's so hard to...trust someone."

"Yes, it is." Shogo looked down. "It's very hard." He continued smoking and appeared pensive. Then he said, "In any case, I'm glad you made it."

Shuya recalled Yukie's face. He was alive. He was alive thanks to Yukie's group, but they were gone now.

Shuya looked at Noriko, on his left. Hearing about the deaths of her friends Yukie Utsumi and Haruka Tanizawa must have been hard on her. Once she saw the water was boiling, she took out some dried bouillon Shogo must have found and tossed two cubes into the can. The smell of broth came drifting up.

"Can you eat, Shuya?" Noriko asked.

Shuya looked at Noriko and raised his brow. He knew he had to eat, but he had just thrown up—and besides the images of the stiff gray lumps around Tadakatsu Hatagami and Yuichiro Takiguchi still flashed through his mind. (He hadn't told them about that. The "lumps" were at work only a hundred meters or so away from them....He only said that he threw up from the pain of his wounds.) He couldn't work up an appetite.