My father has always been very demanding. I don't know if it's related to the shortcomings of his own upbringing, or if there is some other reason behind this attitude of his, but that's the way he has always been. His high expectations towards me and my brother have quickly escalated to impossible heights. At one point, I simply accepted the fact that no matter what I did, I would never be that perfect child for him, so I simply stopped trying. And he noticed that. I'm not sure if he was genuinely disappointed in me, or just considered me another failure, like my brother. In any case, his attitude towards me never really changed.

I don't even know why I'm thinking about my father at a time like this. I suppose I'm simply trying to grasp onto something, anything, that will get me out of the situation I'm in, if only for a few seconds. I do not like being here. It's... restricting. I have always been restricted. Restricted by my father, by my disability, by my friends, by my attitude... I wonder, will I ever be truly free?

I shake my head. Probably not. Even if I win this game, what is left for me to return to? A boring life filled with people I dislike. If I don't die today, then I will go back to being just an ordinary high school student. No, I will be even less than that... Even though my grades are good and I'll get plenty of recommendations from all of my teachers, I'll probably never live a life that I'll find fulfilling. I'll never get the job I want. I'll never meet people that will care about me. My disability puts a barrier between me and everyone else, and even if it wasn't there, I realize that I am not the easiest person to get along with. Throughout my entire life, I've only had two people that were close to me. One of them is already dead, and if I'm going to win this game, the other one will have to die as well. So why should I even bother playing?

No matter what I do, I will never be truly happy, at least not in the way a lot of people seem to feel this emotion. I'm guessing nobody else would be either, not after this. Anyone would break after being forced to kill their only friends, no matter how strong that person is. Most people would probably never even approach another human being again. Even the students with the strongest wills would be scarred beyond repair by an experience like this. From a certain point of view, no matter who wins, everyone loses. I try not to think about it like that. It depresses me. Aren't games all about having a winner? Isn't competition all about crushing your opponents and coming out on top?

That is what I believe in, at least. All my life has been a game not unlike this one. And so far, I have won almost every game I've played. Whether it's paper soccer, Risk or the student council president elections, I have always overcome all the obstacles placed in front of me. I like to think of everything I do as a challenge. My best friend once told me I was addicted to games, but that's not entirely true. I'm addicted to victory. Crushing the competition me feel good, if only for a short while.

As soon as I learned the rules, I knew that this would be something interesting and unique. To win, you need to be the last survivor, and everyone else has to die. The man calling himself Raiden already demonstrated that he was serious by taking the life of Hisao, a close friend of mine. He made it very clear that no one will be coming to save us, and no one will be escaping this island. If you want to live, you have to play. And I'm okay with that.

About twenty minutes ago, while the rest of the contestants were still in the classroom listening to Raiden's rules, a winning strategy appeared within my mind. I did not waste any time developing it. While everyone was too busy being shocked to even notice, I took out my small-sized notepad and a pen and began writing notes. I suppose most people would find carrying such items around in your pocket unnecessary, especially on a vacation, but I am not like most people. Communication has always been a big problem for me. My deafness often necessitates Misha, my best friend, to act as an interpreter. She's usually around me no matter what I do, but I still carry the notepad with me just in case we split up.

The notes weren't too long. I didn't have time for that, since I had to write one for everyone. "Go East, escape!" was all it said. I also had to be very, very careful not to be seen. I wasn't sure if passing notes beforehand was against the rules or not, so I chose to be safe rather than sorry. Fortunately, Raiden was way too busy dealing with Hisao and Setou to even notice me, but even then, I still couldn't write too many notes. In the end, I had only handed four notes to the people around me before the man with the eyepatch announced it was time for us to go. The first note went to Misha, of course. The second I gave to Emi Ibarazaki, who was sitting nearby, but that's not the only reason I chose her. Ibarazaki, aside from being one of the biggest troublemakers at school, is also quite popular. I was sure that she'd bring many people with her. The third note I gave to the queen of the blind bitches herself, Lilly Satou, my cousin. I didn't care that she was blind, or that she wasn't sitting too close to me. She just had to be there for this. Finally, I handed the fourth piece of paper to Leo Harway, that new Western kid. Honestly, there were two reasons why I picked him instead of anyone else. First of all, I wasn't really sure exactly what to expect from him. I didn't know him, and he seemed pretty unnerved throughout the briefing. It was better to include him in my plan early on. And second – he was the perfect target for me to pin this whole thing on.

What is the best strategy to win absolutely any competitive game ever made? It's simple – give the other players the illusion that they're ahead, and you're not. Get them to lower their guard, and use the opportunity to strike. This strategy also applied here. Now that I think about it, I'm glad I didn't give everyone a note. Now, all the people who actually received one consider themselves special enough to take part in the smart chick's escape plan, which would lower their defenses even further. If my plan works, very soon we should have at least half of the contestants right here in one place, all scared and confused, but also optimistic about their chances. It would be the perfect time for me to strike.

I grip the handle of the machine gun tightly. It's the weapon Misha found in the bag she was given before we left the classroom. She didn't really know how to use it, so she gave it to me. The weapon I got was a blunt kitchen knife, which I quickly threw away due to its uselessness. It's a good thing the two of us managed to meet up first, as that knife would have been completely ineffective for my plan. On the other hand, the machine gun is absolutely perfect. Once everyone gathers and turns their back on me, I will open fire. When I'm done, almost half of the contestants (possibly more, depending on how many people everyone brings) would be dead. The rest would be relatively easy to dispose of as well, especially considering the fact that I can use Misha's death to gain sympathy and trust. Unfortunately, the machine gun fire will be heard all over the island, so I'll have to leave it here in order to properly blame Leo for the attack, and make do with whatever weapon I could pick up from the bodies, but that's a small price to pay for making it almost halfway through the game before it's even really started.

I close my eyes for a bit as the cool ocean breeze passes by me, then continue to keep watch. This is the most eastern point of the village when you walk directly from the school. Incidentally, it's located right on the edge of the island we're on. It seems pretty steep – perfect for disposing of some of the corpses after death. If no one but me knows who's alive and who's dead, I'll have another clear tactical advantage.

I can feel Misha approaching me from behind. I can tell she's scared, and I don't blame her. She's usually the loud, obnoxiously cheerful girl with so much energy that she makes everyone else feel tired just by looking at her. Now is one of the rare times when she's actually miserable and quiet. I know that she probably wants to talk, but it's a little hard to do while both of my hands are occupied by the machine gun. True, the weapon comes with a strap that allows me to wear it around my neck, but I still prefer to hold it in my hands just in case. I also need to keep a lookout for anyone else who might be approaching (you never know if they'll be hostile or not – again, better safe than sorry), and besides... It's not like I really feel like talking to someone I know I'll personally kill soon.

Poor Misha... She's the only one who actually approached me and wanted to be my friend all this time ago. Following that, the two of us quickly became inseparable. She was always so happy to be with me, but the truth is... she never even realized how much she meant to me as well. Up until our meeting, I was used to being all alone in the world. Her friendship and loyalty is what saved me from my own pit of despair and loneliness. We got really close... maybe a bit closer than friends are supposed to be. She confessed to me once. I rejected her. Misha was a good friend to me, but unfortunately I didn't really feel anything more. After breaking her heart, I felt like the most horrible monster in the world. Our friendship would've ended right then and there, but I wasn't ready to go back into the abyss of loneliness just like that. I refused to let her go. I asked her... no, begged her to come back to me. Thankfully, she forgave me, and we continued being best friends like nothing had ever happened between us. And now, I will have to kill her.

I close my eyes once more, wondering if I will ever find someone like her again. Probably not. I shake my head, then refocus on attention on the woods in front of me. I can't allow myself to think about her like that. Misha is already dead, just like everyone else on this island. The person next to me is simply an enemy pawn that I'll take after a few good moves. Nothing more. …. Who am I kidding? As much as I want to, I can't bring myself to think about her like that.

My friend taps me on the shoulder. I'm a little bit startled, even if it's not uncommon for her to sneak up on people. I turn my head and glance at her. She points at something, or someone, in the distance. I squint my eyes to try and make out who it is, but all I can see is that someone short is slowly approaching us. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's Ibarazaki. That's weird, I thought she'd be sprinting towards us. Is the bag hanging around her neck slowing her down? Or is there another reason? She doesn't really appear to be wounded... or armed, for that matter. I suppose she's just being safe, which is completely understandable considering I'm holding a machine gun.

Once she's close enough, I grab the weapon tightly with my right hand to support its weight, then wave at her to come closer. She nods and starts walking a little faster than before.

'Are you guys the only ones here?' she asks and glances at both of us. Even though I'm deaf, I don't really need Misha to translate everything other people say to me. I'm surprisingly good at reading lips, even if I like to keep quiet about this ability of mine. After all, doing it puts a great strain on my eyes (which is why I need to wear glasses), and just reading what Misha is signing back to me is so much easier. Still, in a situation like this, I don't think I can be picky like that.

I let the machine gun hang on its strap around my neck, then raise my hands and begin signing. "There aren't many hiding spots around here" Yes, I understand that she's just trying to be cautious, but it really wasn't a very smart question. Besides, the fact that she came alone is pretty disappointing, so you can call this my unnecessary hostility an act of revenge. I turn to Misha and see her translating what I just said. Emi just nods. I expected her to be annoyed or something, but I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't even realize I was being snarky.

'I see' she finally speaks up. 'I hope you don't mind, but I passed the note onto Rin too. I was going to come with her, but we got separated after leaving the school'

Hmm, so that armless girl will show up as well? Honestly, she's never been a concern of mine – I sincerely doubt she'd be able to hold any kind of weapon with her feet. But still, I can't exactly complain that I'll get to eliminate one more person here. And who knows, maybe she'll bring even more people with her. It's improbable, but not impossible.

I turn away from Misha and Ibarazaki and look at the woods to the west again. There's still no sign of Satou or Harway, or anyone else, for that matter. Hmm, maybe the blind bitch "saw" through my trap? Damn, and I was hoping the fact that we're related would make her trust me. Getting to personally kill her after barely tolerating her for years was the one thing I was looking forward to the most in this game. Not to mention, if she had come, chances are Ikezawa would have been right behind her too, which would have increased my kill count after I finally sprung the trap. Well, even if she doesn't come here, we'll most likely bump into each other later on, and even if I can't personally snuff the life out of her, seeing her cold, dead body lying on the road would be just as good.

'Your note said something about an escape' Emi begins talking again. 'What do you mean? Do you have some sort of plan?'

I nod and raise my hands in front of me again. "I do, but we need more people. As many as we can possibly get"

Emi scratches her head, deep in thought. She probably doesn't even realize that this is a trap. Good. Now that she's here, I'm sure more people will pop up before long. Who knows, maybe someone else might have found one of the notes I left behind, and they'll bring even more victims. In order to make this plan successful, I need to have at least 8 contestants here, including me. So far, I have myself, Misha and Ibarazaki. Assuming the armless Tezuka doesn't bring anyone, that makes four. The blind bitch and her friend would make another two, and... Oh, yeah, I did give one note to Harway as well, didn't I? If he brings at least one person with him, this whole plan should work out without a hitch. Once everyone's here, I'll tell them to go and locate everyone else, and will open fire as soon as their back is turned. Even if some of them realize what's going on as I pull the trigger, there's little they can do to survive – after all, no one can really dodge bullets in real life. And even if one does live through the initial burst, killing them is only a matter of pointing the gun at them and shooting once more.

Damn, I really hope Misha dies in the initial onslaught... I'm not sure if I'd be able to specifically go up to her and execute her. Hmm... No, I would probably do it, but I'd like to avoid it if that's possible. I shift my eyes away from Ibarazaki and take the gun back in my hands. Its clip does seem pretty long... I wonder how many bullets it holds? Will they be enough for everyone here? What if I run out halfway through? Then I'd die for sure. I consider just firing the magazine away and counting how many bullets there are, but that would scare people away from this place, not to mention, it'd be a pointless waste of ammo. Of course, I could always just sit down, open the magazine and count them, but I really don't want to let my guard down, especially not when Ibarazaki is around too. I mean, she's not exactly the kind of girl who would consider stabbing me in the back, but you know – better safe than sorry.

Actually... CAN she stab me in the back, even if she wanted to? I let the machine gun down again and begin signing. "What weapon were you given?" I ask, and Misha promptly translates for me.

'Oh, my weapon? I dunno!' Ibarazaki laughs. 'Never had a chance to open the bag and actually see what's inside! Let's find out!'

She sits down right there on the ground and begins unzipping her bag. That idiot... She's being so careless! If I shot her right now, she'd be dead before she even realized what was happening. No, I must resist the temptation to do so, at least until we manage to get more people.

Ibarazaki exclaims something that I don't quite get, then lifts up a small bottle. If I had to guess, I'd say it's pepper spray or something similar. Good, if that's the case, she won't be a problem. In order to spray me, she'll need to get close, and I won't let her do that. Then again, even if she did manage to approach me, all she'd do is fog up my glasses a little. And, at that range, I really won't need the ability to see in order to kill her.

'Is that pepper spray?' Misha asks. I sigh quietly. 'Oooh, can I see it?'

Ibarazaki nods and quickly hands the bottle to my friend. Wow, she's even dumber than I thought! Giving your weapon away just like that because somebody asked you for it is suicide! I wonder if everyone else on this island is so stupid, or if she's just some kind of special case. Anyway, my chances of winning this seem to be even higher than I thought.

"Shicchan, I think someone else is coming!" Misha quickly signs to me while also speaking the words out. I quickly grab my machine gun again just to be safe and look towards the woods. At first I don't really see anything unusual, but after a few seconds, a silhouette begins to gradually take shape in front of me. I wonder, could this be Tezuka? No, I'm pretty sure this person has arms. I smile faintly at the thought that this could be the blind bitch, but the chance of that being the case is slim at this point. After they approach even more, the blond hair and big, green eyes quickly make it obvious that it's Harway.

He doesn't appear to be armed, at least as far as I can see. He's not even carrying his bag! He's walking slowly towards me... No, it's not particularly slowly, he's just not running. He's not being as cautious as Emi was. His expression is calm, and, as always, there is a faint, gentle smile on his face. It's like he has this entire game under control, even though it just started.

'So I take it I've come to the right place?' Leo asks and looks around, his eyes analyzing us one by one. 'I expected that there would be more people'

I want to respond to him and tell him that so did I, but to do so, I'll have to let the gun go, and I don't trust him enough to do that just yet. I glance at Misha, hoping that she would be able to explain it to him. My friend quickly translates what he just told me, then starts speaking.

'Well, this game has just started! I'm sure more people will come along soon!'

'Ah, I see' Harway nods, then approaches me. I take a step back out of instinct. That's odd... My mind feels completely calm with him around, yet my body still tenses up. This can't be good. I grab a hold of the weapon even more tightly and place my finger near the trigger. Leo smiles.

'You're not holding it right. Your hand needs to be lower, like this' he says and reaches forward. I move the gun away. I don't want him to touch me, especially not while I'm armed. Misha starts laughing next to me. Well, at least something good came out of this – I hadn't seen her laugh since we were on the bus.

"Shicchan, your face is sooo red!" she signs to me and laughs once more. It... is? I don't really think so, but if Misha wants to mistake my cautiousness as a sign of shyness because a boy was about to touch my hand, then so be it. Considering what I'm about to do to her, she deserves at least one last moment of happiness before the end. My friend quickly translates what Leo said, and I pretend that I understood it just now.

'Put your right hand just a bit lower' he instructs me and leans forward. 'You might also want to turn the safety off if you actually intend to shoot someone'

...Eh? Is he seriously claiming the safety was off all along? Damn it, of course, I completely forgot that guns were supposed to have a safety lock! Then again, I've never even seen a gun in my life. The only reason I know how to hold it is because I saw a few foreign films some time ago. Using my left hand, I carefully shift the small switch on the side of the machine gun, pointing it towards the letters "AUTO" inscribed into the metal. Now, it should work.

'Whoah, you sure know a lot about guns, uhm... Leo, right?' Ibarazaki smiles.

Harway shakes his head.

'Not a lot. Just some basic things I was taught back home. For example, I know that the model Miss President is holding is an Ingram MAC-10. An American gun, in all probability imported. Its recoil makes it very inaccurate and practically useless at long range, and its short barrel doesn't produce nearly enough stopping power for it to be very effective against anyone wearing body armor. I assume it was given to you because there's little to no chance you could actually hurt any of the soldiers if you tried. Not to mention, since I think this is the 9mm version, it only has 32 bullets in its magazine, which, in the hands of an inexperienced shooter, will be emptied within a second and won't really be enough to kill everyone'

I flinch when he mentions "killing everyone". Could he have possibly seen through my plan? No, if he did, why is he here? He's probably talking about the game in general.

'Oh, it's okay!' Misha grins. 'We're not gonna kill anyone, remember? Shicchan knows a way off the island! And besides, even if we did have to shoot, I also has two whole boxes of ammo in my bag!'

I glare at her. Nice, going, Misha, why don't you go ahead and reveal all our secrets to him so that he has a tactical advantage over us if he decides to attack? True, the fact that he told me about the safety means that he's probably on our side, but still... Better safe than sorry.

'Wow, you really are as smart as they say you are, Leo!' Ibarazaki gasps. 'Have you actually... you know, fired a gun before?'

He nods

'Not this model, but I have experience with other weapons, primarily pistols and submachine guns. Still, handling it would not be too difficult once I get used to the recoil'

Misha grins and turns to me.

"Hey, Shicchan, why don't you give him the gun? He appears to know what he's doing!" she quickly signs to me without saying it out loud. I suppose that even she knows she has to be discreet in this situation. I just shake my head and grip the gun tightly. If we were actually going to try and survive as a group, giving Leo the gun would have been the best idea, but that's not exactly my plan. "Are you sure about this? I think it's okay for us to trust him. He wasn't going to tell you about the safety if he was intending to kill you!" she signs to me again.

'How long have you waited here?' Leo asks. I try to pay attention to both his lips and Misha's signing at the same time, which isn't very easy. I feel like I've missed a few of his words, but overall, that should be the meaning behind what he said.

'Huh? Uhm...' Misha turns to him and rolls her eyes. 'About... An hour? No, more like, half an hour. No, it was more than that, uhm... About 45 minutes?'

'I see. So no one else will be coming after all. That's disappointing, but I suppose it can't be helped'

What is he talking about? No one else is coming? He can't possibly know that! I mean, it hasn't been that long! True, our spot on the edge of the island isn't THAT far away from where everyone started, but maybe people got lost! There will be more students coming, I know it! I let the gun hang around my neck again and begin signing.

"Hey, listen, you-"

The sharp pain in my side suddenly makes me freeze in place. I slowly move my head down to examine its source. W-wait... What is this knife doing sticking out of me?! It wasn't there before! Ow... Shit, it hurts so much! The pain is quickly spreading across my entire body, paralyzing me. I don't even understand what happened! I shift my eyes up again. Leo is holding the rather military-looking knife by its handle. He pulls it to the side, which shifts the blade inside of me and sends another wave of crippling pain within. Shit, it hurts so damn much... I didn't think being stabbed would be this painful... Where did he get that from, anyway?!

Before either Misha or Ibarazaki realize what has happened, Leo takes the machine gun hanging around my neck and points it at my best friend. His permanent smile is still spread across his face as he pulls the trigger, sending a storm of bullets towards her. The metal penetrates her body, tearing up her chest and abdomen. Her white shirt turns red in a matter of seconds. She keels over and vomits some blood, then collapses on the ground.

Finally, that bastard pulls the knife out of me, which puts me on my knees as well. Leo uses the opportunity to quickly remove the strap of the machine gun from my neck. He raises it up and points it at Ibarazaki. His stance is perfect. So he wasn't lying when he said he could handle the gun... Unfortunately for him, the girl is faster than us, and she's already far away. Harway hesitates for a moment, then lowers his weapon. I guess he figured out that he couldn't hit her at that range, and decided to save his bullets.

Shit... I'm bleeding really badly. I can't move my body at all, and the pain just won't go away! Leo approaches Misha and kicks her body with his foot, turning her over. Her eyes are blank and still. Damn it, DAMN IT! This wasn't how it was supposed to happen! He kneels down next to her and opens her bag, then checks inside. Once he's satisfied by its content, he pulls it over and throws the strap around his neck while standing up.

Ow... The knife wound in my side won't stop hurting. I finally manage to move my hand down and press against it to try and stop the bleeding. Harway notices that. He smiles and begins walking next to me, still holding the bloody army knife in his hand. Shit, I don't want him to stab me again! It hurts so damn much! I try to get away, but my legs won't move at all. My vision's getting blurry. I can't even tell if my glasses are still on my face or have fallen off. I suppose they must be there, since I can see his face clearly. He starts to talk.

'You should have assumed that more people would see through your trap' he says and smiles once more. I suppose he noticed that I was reading his lips earlier. 'Your arrogance killed you. If you had begun shooting when I was close to you, you would have killed me'

I shake my head. That damn bastard! So he knew all along?! Then why did he come here in the first place? If everyone else who figured out my plan stayed away, then why did he approach me? Suddenly, it becomes very clear to me. I gasp. Of course... It's so obvious now. He is just like me. He's not running for his life, or trying to find some way to escape.

Leo Harway is playing to win.

Damn... How could I be so stupid? He managed to use my own plan against me! The boy kneels down next to me and raises his knife, then quickly brings it down, striking my heart. This time, it doesn't really hurt all that much.

So he really is as brilliant as everyone claimed he is... Now that he's armed with a weapon as powerful as a machine gun, no one will be able to stop him from winning. And nobody should. For the first time in my life, I am willing to admit defeat.

STUDENT #9: SHIINA MIKADO – DEAD

STUDENT #13: SHIZUNE HAKAMICHI – DEAD

12 REMAIN