Battle Royale

For a while Shuya thought the handyman with the duck's tail hairdo was sent to the camps for this, so Shuya thought there was something scary about the tapes and guitar the man had left behind. Apparently he was wrong, though. Once he entered junior high, he found out there were plenty of others who were into rock and owned electric guitars. (Of course Kazumi Shintani was also a huge rock fan!) It was through this group he was able to get dubbed copies of "The Times They Are A-Changin' " and "Stand!"

But that was only within a close knit group. If there had been a survey of the number of students who'd never heard rock, over 90% would have said they hadn't. (Even those who had would say they hadn't, so the actual result would be 100%.) Given how broad Shogo's knowledge seemed to be, it wasn't that strange for him to be exposed to it, but Dylan and Lennon were pretty extreme artists.

"Don't look so freaked out," Shogo said. "I'm a city kid from Kobe. I'm not a bumpkin like you guys from Kagawa. I know something about rock."

Shuya broke into a slight grin. His guardedness lifted. Then he told Shogo, "My favorite's Springsteen. I like Van Morrison too, though."

" 'Born to Run' is great. I like Van Morrison's 'Whenever God Shines His Light.' "

Shuya gawked and then broke into a grin. "You know a lot!"

Shogo grinned back. "I told you. I'm a city kid."

Shuya noticed how Noriko stayed silent. He was worried she might feel excluded.

"Noriko, did you say you've never listened to rock?"

Noriko gave him a smile and shook her head. "I've never really heard it. What's it like?"

Shuya smiled. "The lyrics are really something. I don't know how to describe it well, but it's music that really expresses people's problems. Of course, songs can be about love, but at times they can be about politics or society, or the way we live our lives, and life itself. Along with the words, the melody and beat help get the message across. Like Springsteen singing, 'Born to Run'... " Shuya recited the end of the song, "Together Wendy we can live with the sadness/I'll love you with all the madness in my soul/Someday girl I don't know when we're gonna get to that place where we really want to go/And we'll walk in the sun..."

He continued by singing the last line softly, "...but tramps like us, baby we were born to run."

He said to Noriko, "We'll definitely listen to it some time."

Noriko opened her eyes and nodded. Under normal circumstances her face might have lit up, but she only responded with a weak smile. Shuya was too tired to notice though.

He told Shogo, "If everyone listened more to rock then this country would come crumbling down."

That's right...just like Noriko said, "It's because no one knows about this..." Shuya thought rock music revealed everything that was essential. That was why it was banned by the government.

Shogo rubbed his stubby Wild Seven cigarette into the ground. He lit another. Then he said, "Shuya."

"What?"

"Do you really think rock has that kind of power?"

Shuya nodded enthusiastically. "Of course it does."

Shogo stared at Shuya and looked away. "I don't know. It might just serve as an outlet for our frustrations, a convenient way to let off steam. It might be banned, but if you really want to listen to rock, you can. So it also serves as an outlet. That's what I mean. This country is very clever. Who knows, it might end up promoting rock and roll as a national resource."

Shuya felt as if he'd been dealt a blow. Rock was his religion, music sheets were the pages of his bible, Springsteen, Van Morrison, and his other heroes were the equivalent of the twelve disciples. Of course he was getting used to being shocked, what with his classmates dying around him, so relatively speaking, it wasn't that shocking.

Shuya calmed himself down and slowly replied, "I don't know about that."

Shogo nodded several times. "I do. In any case, it's not about being banned or promoted. That's not what rock's about. Anyone who wants to hear it should be able to when they want to. That's what it comes down to, right?"

Shuya thought about this. Then he said, "I never thought about it like that. But I see where you're coming from." Then he added, "Incredible. I didn't realize how perceptive you are."

Shogo shrugged.

They fell silent for a while.

Then Shuya said, "But...I still do believe rock is powerful. It's a positive force."

Which was what Noriko had said about Shuya.

Shogo unwrapped a new pack of cigarettes while he looked at Shuya. Shogo grinned. He lit the cigarette dangling from his mouth. Then he said, "To be honest, I agree with you."

Shuya smiled back at him.

"It's ironic that we're really in that situation though," Shogo observed.

Shuya was puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"The only thing we can do now is run, " Shogo replied. "We were born to run."

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