Morning of Day 1

"Good morning, students."

Sakuno woke up to what she thought was Kurobe, right beside her. When she sat up from her uncomfortable sleeping position and looked around, though, she realised it was not the man himself but a transmission of his voice. She couldn't place where the voice was coming from, and couldn't see any speakers or anything around, but his voice was loud and clear, presumably all over the island.

"It's now 6 A.M. I hope you're used to early rises."

She looked to Tomoka, who was waking up beside her. It seemed that Tomoka was a deep sleeper, because she hadn't even stirred at the first blast of Kurobe's voice.

Sakuno and Tomoka had been released, coincidentally, right alongside each other. Sakuno had come out of the building first, run about fifty yards, and then broke down beside a tree to cry. How could this have happened to her? She'd known it was weird that she'd been invited to this camp - she was on the girl's tennis team, sure, but the girl's tennis team couldn't even win at prefecturals. Of course she should've known they wouldn't get invited to an elite training camp, especially not one like Ryouma-kun would go to! She felt so stupid!

She remembered how she'd talked about it at the dinner they'd had the night before, her and her grandma. Thinking back on it, grandma had been really quiet as she'd talked away about how excited she was for camp, when usually she'd be just as enthusiastic about the subject of tennis. Had her grandmother known this was going to happen? Or had she just been imagining things?

The announcement continued.

"Well, without further ado, I'll proceed with the morning announcement. First of all, I'll announce the names of your dead classmates."

Sakuno tensed.

"First of all, Itsuki Marehiko, of Rokkaku."

The name didn't mean anything to Sakuno, but even so she felt a pang of sadness at the announcement of the death.

"Next, all at once, Arai Masashi, Horio Satoshi, Katou Kachirou, and Mizuno Katsuo, all from Seigaku."

Tomoka had woken up properly now. Her hair, usually tied up tidily in pigtails, was messy, and she stared blankly ahead. Neither of them said anything. Sakuno couldn't believe it. The announcement affected her more this time, because these were boys she'd known, and who she'd known to be good people. Who could possibly kill them...?

"Next, Aoi Kentarou, Rokkaku's captain."

But the worst news was yet to come-

"And finally, Tezuka Kunimitsu, captain of Seigaku. That concludes the morning announcement."

Sakuno's eyes widened, then watered. Tezuka...?

"No way," Tomoka said, "That has to be a lie. Who could kill Tezuka...?"

Sakuno felt sick. Tezuka was one of the strongest boys she knew, and one of the most respected. If someone could kill him, then they could kill anyone, even a sweet innocent girl like her or Tomoka...

"That is all," Kurobe continued. "Tomorrow there will be another announcement. Make sure to tune in, and if you can't...even better!" Before he was cut off he let out a chuckle. Was that a joke? Sakuno didn't think it was very funny. It made her feel worse actually. Kurobe should never be a comedian with that sick sense of humor. Sakuno looked over at her friend uneasily. Tomoka had a hardened expression as she fidgeted with the hem of her skirt.

"Tomo-chan..." she said, her voice wavering. "T-Tezuka...and the others..."

"Serves them right," Tomoka said, making a face. Sakuno was taken aback. What? Tomoka pushed herself up and stretched her arms above her head. "Do you really think Horio was smart enough to survive that long? Or the others, for that matter." She paused. "Except for Tezuka. I can't believe someone would get him. Maybe he-"

"Tomo-chan!" Sakuno cried, before putting her hand over her mouth, remembering that they were hiding. "How can you be so cruel! They were our friends and now they're- they're-"

"I know that," Tomoka sat down beside Sakuno again and grabbed her wrists. "Sakuno, we just have to fight and do our very best. We can't worry about anyone else for right now, okay? They're dead, but we're not, right?" She tried her hardest to smile. Sakuno felt a little calmer. "We'll try to find Ryouma, because he'll know what to do the best, but we have to look after ourselves first."

Sakuno quickly wiped at her cheeks. She hadn't even realized that she had been crying. She nodded. Tomoka was right - as much as it saddened her, she couldn't mourn her friends' deaths right then. They had to watch out for themselves and then they'd be able to find others and think of a plan. Or hold a funeral for their dead friends. Or something. Sakuno wasn't really sure. Me neither sista. "You're right," she said, smiling slightly at her friend.

Tomoka pulled her into a tight hug, and Sakuno was glad she had her friend there with her.

Kite listened to the announcement with a blank expression.

It wasn't that he didn't care. He barely knew the Seigaku members or Itsuki from Rokkaku, but he certainly knew Tezuka and Aoi, as they were both captains of their teams like he was. He respected them both, but hearing about their deaths didn't faze him. He wasn't too surprised, though.

Kite had only ran into one other player so far, and it was a player he hadn't anticipated seeing at this "camp" - Ginka Chuu's own captain, Fukushi Michiru. The boy was still asleep despite the loud announcement. Kite reached down and shook his shoulder gently.

The boy's eyes fluttered open and he was up in an instant, his eyes wide and wild. He calmed after a few panicky moments, though, and slumped back down. "Don't do that," he murmured.

Kite wasn't even sure why he had approached Fukushi when he had found the boy keeled over in the forest. He could have gotten him square in the back of his head with a bolt from his crossbow, but instead he had walked over and made sure that the boy was okay. Kite felt frustrated that he had done it, too, since the boy seemed like more trouble than he was worth.

"Did you hear the announcement?" Kite asked.

Fukushi rubbed at his eyes. They were settled in a small one-room cabin in the middle of the forest. How they had found it was anyone's guess - it had been pure luck. It didn't look like anyone had been there before, either. Kite watched as Fukushi sat up again and slouched against his knees. "I heard the end of it.." He looked over at Kite. "Tezuka from Seigaku is dead, right? I wonder who did it-"

"It doesn't matter who," Kite said quickly, scowling. A tense silence fell over the two. Fukushi looked away. Kite hadn't meant to snap - he was just telling the truth. It really didn't matter who had killed the Seigaku captain, as long as whoever it was didn't come after them. "Are you feeling better?" He asked, feeling a little embarrassed to be asking a question like that..

When he had first found Fukushi, the boy had been suffering from a stomach ache. He seemed to be better now, but Kite had to fill the silence with something. Even if that something was embarrassing questions.

The Ginka captain looked at him again. "Yeah," he mumbled. He appeared as annoyed as Kite felt that he had relied on the Higa Chuu member to get to safety. Fukushi had the same kind of pride as Kite - he could understand how it must have felt. "Just a little cold, I guess."

Kite made a face. Before the other boy could protest, Kite took off his signature Higa Chuu specially embroidered jacket and threw it in his face. "Put it on," Kite spat, his ears hot. "You don't want to get sicker."

Fukushi stared at him with a surprised expression before hurrying to shrug the jersey on. He turned red as he thanked him quietly.

Kite was lucky that the guy didn't seem to talk much. He let his eyes slip closed - he hadn't slept much or at all last night, as he had been keeping watch as the sick boy had slept soundly. The forest outside sounded calm, and he was thankful. He felt somehow relaxed now that Fukushi was awake and he could take a break.

"So, uh." Kite frowned when Fukushi spoke up again. "Is it just you from your team here?"

"There's only two of us," Kite said. "Myself and Chinen."

"Are you going to try to find him?"

Kite opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. He hadn't thought once about going to find the other Higa Chuu member. Chinen wasn't a baby that couldn't take care of himself. Kite assumed that Seigaku - or what was left of Seigaku after five of their members had fallen - and teams like Fudomine were trying to team up. Maybe Rikkai, too. Kite wasn't terribly worried about them, though - he was more worried about the people who would stray from their teams and actively seek out others to kill. Like Akutsu Jin, he thought. That guy had the balls. Kite assumed that Akutsu was the one to take Tezuka down, if not the others as well.

"Kite?"

"Sorry," Kite said, realizing he hadn't answered the boy's question. "No, I don't think I'll try to find him. I don't see the point."

"Well," Fukushi said after a few seconds. "I'm the only one from my team here, so I'm alone. That guy said we were allowed to pair up, so I'm kind of...uh, left out."

"It's not good to pair up," Kite snapped.

"I know that," Fukushi snapped back. Kite was surprised. Perhaps this kid had the balls as well. "I'm not an idiot. I'd just think that meeting up with your team would at least give you more protection for when you'd have to...you know. Kill someone. Or someones."

Kite snickered. "It's not like my team is Seigaku, Fukushi. We would have killed each other first."

Fukushi was quiet. "Do you know how to shoot a bow? Like, archery stuff."

The question baffled Kite. What the hell kind of leadup was that? It seemed so random. "Why?"

"If I'm going to go on my own, I'll have to know how to use my weapon," Fukushi said sheepishly. Kite realized that he hadn't even asked the boy what his weapon had been, which had been a mistake on his part. He could have had a bomb or something and left it with Kite in the night. Or poison. Or a gun. He had let his guard down. With a shrug, he cast a nonchalant look over to him. "Sure, I know how to shoot a bow. Do you want me to teach you?"

It might have been a foolish move. What if he was lying and the boy clocked him with a shovel or something? That would truly be an embarrassing way for Kite Eishirou to die. The kid wasn't lying though, because he slipped a bow and a pouch of arrows out of his duffel bag and followed Kite as they went outside to find something to target.

The cabin they had stayed the night in was at the top of a small hill looking down a slope of trees. It was secluded, but not secluded enough that they couldn't see a good ways down the hill. Kite adjusted Fukushi's hands on the bow and helped him pull his arm back to prepare to fire the arrow. "See that tree down there, with the moss on it?" He pointed it out to Fukushi, who's hands were trembling from holding the bow in the one position for so long. "Aim there. That's your target."

Fukushi nodded tersely. With almost laughable dramatics, he released the arrow and it landed with a loud "thunk" in the bark of the tree down the hill. It was a nearly perfect hit.

Kite whistled, impressed. "Good job." He lay a hand on Fukushi's shoulder and the boy shrugged it off, looking embarrassed but smiling. "I'll go get the arrow back," Kite said before walking down towards the tree. He slid a little on the slope, but other than that, everything was perfectly fine as he walked down. He reached the tree without any problems and, as he wrapped a hand around the arrow, he was suddenly caught in a headlock by someone he hadn't even noticed was nearby.

Kite grunted and attempted to pull the arm from around his neck away, but it wasn't budging. He could see the yellow jersey in his peripherals, and even as he struggled he was able to tell that a Rikkai member was doing this to him. Why they weren't using their weapon and were instead resorting to this kind of physical violence was Kite's guess, but it wasn't like he had time to ask.

The person holding him tightened their grip. Kite knew a thing or two about deadly moves and knew that while this wasn't as polished as he would have appreciated, the person could easily crush his windpipe with their strength alone. He began to go weak as his brain slowly stopped getting oxygen, and his hands slipped away from his attacker's arms and his feet stopped kicking at their knees.

As soon as Kite began to wonder if that was really how he was going to die, his attacker's grip around him vanished and he slumped to the ground, panting and rubbing at his neck. He heard the grass rustle as Fukushi slid down the hill, bow in hand and with a panicked expression.

"Kite!" He gasped, falling to his knees beside him. "Are you okay?"

Kite turned to look at his attacker, ignoring the boy. It had been one of Rikkai's members like he had suspected - Jackal Kuwahara. He barely knew anything about him, but he hadn't expected to be assaulted by him. He was laid on the ground with an arrow through the side of his head.

Kite looked back at Fukushi, who was still looking at him with a nervous expression. The boy didn't seem concerned with the fact that he had just killed someone. Kite was even more impressed with that than he was that Fukushi had been so accurate with his bow.

Maybe pairing up with Fukushi wouldn't be so bad.

Dan had listened to the morning announcement in silence, and Akutsu had watched him. The younger boy had his knees pulled up against his chest, his arms wrapped round them, a fusty blanket over his shoulders.

He had barely spoken since they'd met, by chance, in the woods last night. That worried Akutsu - he was used to Dan never shutting up, and he never thought he'd want him to go back to being like that, but he did. Now Dan just sat there, silent, almost catatonic, and it freaked Akutsu out.

"Hey," Akutsu said. Dan turned to face him, slowly, but his wide eyes remained blank. "We should eat. What do you want for breakfast?"

The most important thing, in Akutsu's mind, was keeping Dan's strength up. The other couldn't fight, but if he needed it, he had to have the energy to run. Akutsu had found a small house out of sheer luck, since it wasn't marked on the map, and led Dan towards it. He'd tried to get the other to sleep, but he was pretty sure Dan had been awake all night.

There was a chicken coop in the back yard of the house, and Akutsu had found eggs. He was thinking about making something with them, when Dan finally spoke up.

"Five people from Seigaku are dead," Dan said.

"Yeah," Akutsu muttered.

"And two from Rokkaku."

Akutsu just shrugged. What was he meant to say? He wished he knew what to say in situations like this, because Dan's voice was shaky, his bottom lip quivering, and Akutsu had no idea what he'd do if he started the cry. Yell at him, probably, which would only make matters worse.

Luckily, Dan's eyes remained dry.

"Akutsu-senpai," he said, "Have you...?"

He trailed off. Akutsu had an uneasy feeling in his gut as Dan said, "I mean, did you...?"

He didn't finish his question this time, either, but Akutsu knew what he was trying to ask.

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to," Akutsu said. "How do you like your eggs?"

Dan didn't answer, so he had to guess. He fried them, and then placed the plate down in front of Dan, who stared at them, then picked up a fork and poked at them cautiously.

"They're not poisoned," Akutsu said, sharply. Dan winced, and he felt bad. "Hey, I'm sorry, alright?" But now it sounded fake, like he didn't really mean it. That was annoying. He did mean it. "Just eat up, alright?" He couldn't tell if Dan was listening. He was just staring at his food again.

"Please?" Akutsu tried. Finally, Dan broke off a bit of his egg and brought it to his mouth, and Akutsu felt a sense of accomplishment, especially after the first taste of food seemed to kickstart Dan's appetite and he cleared his plate.

When Dan had finished, Akutsu took his plate and moved to the kitchen with it. He placed it on the counter, and then went to the sink to fill their water bottles. With a frown, he noticed that Dan had barely touched his.

"You've gotta keep hydrated," Akutsu said, making his way back to the living room where he'd left Dan. He tossed the water bottle to him, and Dan started when it landed next to him. Dan was a mess - which was understandable, given the situation. Should he be more worried about how Dan seemed completely out of it, or how he felt completely calm?

No, if he was going to worry about anything, he should be concerned about how easily he'd killed the boy from Rokkaku. He'd never fired a gun before, but the small, plain pistol he'd found in his pack hadn't been hard to work out. He just had to point and shoot - and at such a short range, with such a slow target, it had been easy.

Dan hadn't asked if he'd killed anyone, but if he looked in Akutsu's pack, he wouldn't have to - after all, the blunderbus, water bottle and map and compass he'd taken from Itsuki were all in there. Incriminating evidence.

Akutsu wouldn't have lied even if he had asked, though. Was there any point in lying? If it came to it, Akutsu would kill anyone who threatened them. Dan would object, but there was nothing else he could do- there was no other way to survive this.

He thought he had the best odds, out of all of them. There were some other strong guys amongst them, sure, but he was the only one he knew that actually knew how to fight. Or... well, there were those guys from Higa, but he was sure he could take them. He was caught up in his thoughts when Dan said something.

"What?" Akutsu said. He hadn't caught it, and he didn't know if it was because he hadn't been paying attention, or because Dan's voice was so quiet.

"I said I want to trust you, Akutsu-senpai," Dan mumbled. "But I'm not sure if I can."

Akutsu was quiet. It was the most he'd heard Dan say at once since he'd found him.

"Everyone thinks you're a bad person, but I don't- I've always thought you were good, really, but..." Dan had taken off his headband, and was futtering with it as he talked, distracted. His hair fell in his face without it and Akutsu couldn't see his expression as he talked. "But I feel like on this island you'll really hurt someone, and it scares me."

"I won't hurt anyone," Akutsu said. "I promise."

He didn't know why he was making a promise when he knew he wouldn't be able to keep it, but he just wanted Dan to stop looking so afraid, and it seemed to work, at least. Dan finally looked up, and he managed a small smile as he said, "I'm glad."

"Unless," Akutsu said, and Dan's smile faltered, but he continued, firmly, "Unless someone's threatening us. If it looks like they're going to hurt us, then we're going to use self-defense. Does that sound alright to you?"

The look on Dan's face made it clear that even self defence was something he didn't want to consider, but he didn't object. He sat where he was and fidgeted with his headband.

Annoyed, Akutsu stepped forward and pulled it out of his hands, pulling it back onto his head. Dan blinked and looked up, blearily, and Akutsu shouldered both of their packs.

"Keep your hair out of your face, or you're gonna end up falling," Akutsu grumbled. "Come on, let's get moving. We should at least try to find some way of getting off this island."

37 students remaining.