AUTHOR'S NOTE –

Before this story begins, I wish to stress that in no way does this material reflect any manner of personal opinion I may have towards the educational systems of the United States and Japan, nor the ethnic minorities and spiritual callings that some of the characters in this story represent. Further, I do not and will never actively encourage violent, unwarranted reprisals of any kind against students and/or educators.

This is not meant to inspire incitements. IT IS ONLY A STORY, AND A THANKFULLY FICTIONAL ONE AT THAT.

This story…which, unlike my previous stories, does NOT have any transformation-related content…is, by design, similar to the feature film adaptation of the controversial japanese novel written by author Koushun Takami. If certain elements of the depicted BR program bears similarities to the first film, that was a conscious decision.

Characters created by Takami, and those created in the film sequel written by Kenta Fukasaku and Norio Kida, remain the rightful properties of those writers.

2000

Japan's economy has plummeted.

Unemployment is at 15%, and over
800,000 students boycott their
educational system.

The government responds with the passing
of an Educational Reform initiative dubbed
"the BR Act".

Once every school year, a Middle School
class is randomly selected to spend three
days on an abandoned island, and
participate in the "Battle Royale".

Only one student out of the entire class
can emerge as the winner of this
annual Survival Program.

The alternative is that no one survives at all.

In the year 2000, the two surviving students
of the Shiroiwa Middle School BR Program
become wanted fugitives.

Their names are Shuya Nanahara,
and Noriko Nakagawa.

2003

Government buildings in Japan are destroyed in
a coordinated bombing, to which a terrorist
organization called the "Wild Seven" claims
responsibility.

That same year, the BR II Act becomes the means
by which the government responds. A Middle
School class is selected to serve as an armed task
force, and are charged with eliminating
the Wild Seven's leader, Shuya Nanahara.

Upon discovering that the terrorists are
mostly made up of Battle Royale
survivors, the students switch sides.

Following a joint US-Japan bombing of
the group's island stronghold, Shuya
Nanahara and his wife, Noriko
Nakagawa, remains at large.

2007

The Great Recession in the United States has a
crippling effect on the educational system.

Incidents of school violence rise, and a protest
by students of all grade levels outside
the Tweed Courthouse in NYC
turns deadly as riot police attempt
to quell the lingering disorder
by force.

56 students are killed.

In response, Japanese diplomats offer
their educational reform to the United
States Congress.

Hoping to avoid media backlash,
the BR Act is secretly ordained.

One month following the act's
secret implementation, Wild Seven
terrorist Shuya Nanahara is found
and captured alive following a violent
shootout with american soldiers
in Zaranj, Afghanistan.

Noriko Nakagawa remains at large.

PROLOGUE: The Last Stand

"We've only just begun to fight, right? Don't stop. Keep on fighting!"

- Mitsugu Sakai, "Battle Royale II: Requiem"

- ZARANJ, AFGHANISTAN, 7:00 A.M.

Boy #1, Takuma Aoi. Girl #1, Nao Asakura. Girl #3, Kyoko Kakei. Girl #13, Mayu Hasuda. Girl #8, Risa Shindo. Boy #5, Haruya Sakurai.

Formerly students of Shikanotoride Junior High School in Japan, and members of a class conscripted to serve as soldiers for the Japanese government's Millenium Anti-Terrorism Act, in response to acts of terror perpetrated by the "Wild Seven" terrorist group.

Kakei was the first to go. The young child she had been entrusted to protect was taken alive by the masked, armored soldiers that slipped in under cover of darkness, concealed through their all-black trappings.

News of her death rattled Takuma to the core. It was a reaction the soldiers in black had counted on, having read up on the files of these dangerous youths.

Although they had gone their separate ways following the destruction of the island fortress of the Wild Seven, the task force traced Aoi to the current location of the terrorist leader who had made the Most Wanted list in the wake of the bombings in Tokyo and Shinjuku.

Shuya Nanahara.

The task force was to take him alive. The rest were expendable.

When they picked their time to strike, half the task force were cut down in the violent firefight that drove Shuya and his allies into a bunker.

Risa noticed that, despite the buzz of the bullets and the loud bangs and explosions, Haruya was smiling as he cradled his AK-47, securing himself behind a hardpoint.

"Haru?" a look of puzzlement was on Girl #8's face. "What is it?"

The bearded Haruya angled his eyes to the class president, still grinning. "Mordechai." He thoughtfully began. "The same thing happened to Mordechai."

Risa frowned. "Mordechai?"

Another loud explosion. Nao briefly exposed herself to squeeze off a spray of bullets from her own Kalashnikov. She was able to press herself back behind her hardpoint without getting hit.

"Mordechai Anielewicz." Haruya responded. "He led a group just like ours in Poland when the Nazis oppressed them. They fought those fuckers right to the end!"

Mayu took a round to her shoulder, and a bullet grazed her forehead. She screamed in agony as she dropped to the ground. Despite the pain, she began scrambling to another hardpoint.

Another barrage of bullets, however, finished her off. A gargle of her own blood spewed forth from her mouth before she stopped moving.

"Mayu!" Risa partially exposed herself to squeeze off a vengeful barrage of her own. The bullets from the black-clad soldiers forced her back against the wall beside her hardpoint.

Haruya kept talking to himself, quietly, continuing the memories from his history class. One of the few times he actually paid attention to his history teacher as he explained the events of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

"They got cornered in a bunker. Just like ours." His eyes boggled. His grin was unsettling as he gazed to Risa. "They fought to the last."

The muttering went unheeded by the soldiers in black. They could not make out a word of what they were saying, anyway.

Because none of them were Japanese.

"He fought to the last." Haruya tightened his grip on the AK. "Mordechai. Mira." He knew there was no surviving this. "Saki."

His last thoughts were of his sister, who died fighting in the last stand at the Wild Seven's island fortress.

He had already made up his mind. It was his turn now.

"TO THE FUCKING LAST!" He suddenly screamed.

Exposing himself, his full-clip burn stitched up a soldier who had unwisely chosen to advance. The black-clad soldier went down in a bloody heap as his comrades exposed to fire back.

Risa chose to come out and fire wildly as well as Nao watched in horror, and then hurried away, running towards where she knew Takuma had gone.

The bullet of a sniper that had positioned himself a few yards away took the shot that crunched through Haruya's skull, ending his life. Risa's bullet-riddled body dropped right next to him.

The tunnels in the bunker were long, and dimly lit as Nao continued her progress, going as fast as she could as she heard the soldiers advance through the tunnels far behind her.

One last time. Nao thought to herself as she ran. Just one last time, let me be with him. Let me fight with him.

The tunnels continued curving to the right and to the left. Eventually, she saw a pair of human-shaped shadows heading towards a bright light at the end of the tunnel.

As she got closer, she recognized one of the figures as Takuma. The man next to her had to be Shuya.

"TAKU!" She screamed, quickening her pace as the two men stopped and turned. "They're…"

Shots cut through her body like warm knives through butter. Takuma gazed in horror as Nao went down screaming, both in pain and in rage, as she burned through the rest of her clip at the soldiers closing in behind her.

Human figures, armed with weapons and clad in black trappings, suddenly blocked out much of the light at the end of the tunnel.

A three-shot burst aimed at Nao's head eliminated her once her AK-47's clip emptied. No one fell to her vengeful barrage.

Shuya turned his head to Nao with an expression of horror as Takuma screamed…and right at that moment, the Wild Seven's leader felt the sting of a dart, and his senses quickly began to weaken.

The faceless soldiers then surged from both sides upon Takuma and Shuya as the latter dropped to the ground. One grabbed Boy #1's weapon as a second slammed the butt end of his rifle hard against the back of Takuma's neck, sending him to the ground. Despite the pain, Takuma felt his wrists being brought together behind him, and a strong plastic cord wrap tightly around them, binding them together.

The soldiers spoke a language Takuma could not understand when they were both brought out out of the tunnels and into the bright sunlight. He heard a chopper nearby. When his vision stabilized, he saw that it was a UH-60 Blackhawk.

This particular Blackhawk, however, had american markings.

As Takuma was brought down to his knees, he watched the faceless soldiers carry Shuya's unconscious body to the chopper. He couldn't help but wonder why they wanted him alive.

Once the soldiers in black had the Wild Seven's leader secure inside the Blackhawk, its rotors picked up speed, eventually lifting the helicopter into the skies.

Takuma's thoughts were of summoning up an effort to rescue Shuya as the chopper disappeared into the skies. Somehow get enough help and support to be able to do something.

One of the soldiers stepped behind Boy #1, and a loud bang behind Takuma's head interrupted his thinking. Everything suddenly went black.