Note: I'd like to thank ba35 for giving this fanfic its first review. I understand your position that the characters' dialogue may seem a little too formal at times. This is simply my writing style; I like give the dialogue in my fanfics a Shakespearean-type drama tone, sort of like the 2005 movie "Brick." However, if you prefer, I can ease down on that and have some of that characters talk in a more contemporary manner if you feel it would make them seem more realistic.

If you're thinking about reviewing, go ahead and do it! I'd appreciate the feedback!

Now, on to the next chapter!

Yuuga Suzuki (Boy #11) was a very practical person. While he was outgoing and friendly, he always preferred having some solitude every day. This was one thing he would not be permitted while in the Program. He knew full well that the city he and his classmates were in encompassed a total area of one hundred square miles, but there were cameras installed on every single block. Given how the Program was Japan's most popular game show, Yuuga had a feeling that at least a quarter of the country was watching his every move.

Then again, he was not entirely certain how the soldiers decided which camera's footage would be broadcasted live. Maybe each camera was all random, or carefully selected. Regardless of that, Yuuga did not really care if people were watching him at home. All he cared about was staying away from his classmates.

At this moment, Yuuga was walking down a long street that intersected the main street a few blocks back. The street lights along the sidewalks were very dimly lit for whatever reason, so seeing clearly proved to be a bit of a problem. Yuuga squinted his eyes as hard as he could, and with some difficulty, he eventually managed to make out a large building about five blocks down the road. His night vision had come through for him.

Yuuga knew full well he could just pull out his flashlight and use it to light up his path, but such a bright light would easily be spotted by an ambitious player. So Yuuga decided against using his flashlight, lest he draw unwanted attention to himself.

And even if Yuuga did end up drawing attention to himself, he was not certain how he would respond to it. It would depend on who he encountered and what their intentions were.

He looked down at the Beretta 98 in his hand. He had loaded it shortly after he left the school. He was ready and willing to use it if he needed to. So far, he had not encountered anyone. However, he knew an encounter with at least one of his classmates would be inevitable.

Fortunately for him, Yuuga had one advantage over the rest of his class: he could predict a person's behavior. Regardless of who he encountered, all Yuuga literally had to do was look at someone and he could tell what emotions that person was feeling, as well as what was on his or her mind.

Yuuga's peers distinguished him from everyone else by his empathy. He was born with this ability to judge someone based solely on their facial expressions. Some of Yuuga's doctors referred to it as "foresight" or "the gift of prophecy."

He much preferred the name his grandmother gave it: "reading faces."

Yuuga could always tell when his friends were upset or anxious, even if they tried to disguise their faces. Nothing fooled him or got past him; not even a card champion's poker face.

In fact, whenever his parents watched a poker tournament on television, Yuuga could always tell who was really holding the best hand. He would announce to his parents things like "He's bluffing" or "He should fold." And, of course, Yuuga was always right.

In a similar manner, when he had woken up in that high school a few hours earlier, he was the first to believe that Shigenori Furutani was not lying to them when he announced that Class 3-A was in the Program. Because of that, Yuuga was able to come to terms with the scenario much more quickly than anyone else.

He never thought for a moment that the class trip would lead to the Program. But now he was there, and now his ability to "read faces" would prove to be an invaluable asset. He could sort out who meant him harm and who genuinely wanted him as an ally.

Whenever he did find someone who was playing, he only had one option. Fight back. With all the strength he could muster.

Yuuga decided he would have to play, but he would only fight other people who were playing. If anyone threatened him or his friends, he would eliminate them without hesitation. Anyone he could reason with, however, would be treated as a friend and ally.

Yuuga did not know how many of his classmates would willingly ally themselves with him. He had seen segments from some of the previous Programs over the past few years. He never watched an entire Program, but he watched enough to know that regardless of how close the students in the game were to each other beforehand, only one of them made it out alive. That was always the case; no exceptions. Yuuga knew that even the best of friends could turn on each other in the Program; the individual's will to survive could prove to be quite strong when one was placed in a potentially life-threatening situation.

Yuuga was certain that some of his classmates were already on the verge of losing themselves in the game. Back in the classroom, he had gotten a glimpse of everyone. Most of them were overcome with fear or paranoia; the rest were in the midst of contemplating the idea of playing the game in order to live.

Yuuga ultimately decided he would simply have to wait and see how things turned out. For the present, he wanted to enjoy his solitude. The streets were peaceful and quiet, but it was only a matter of time before they became be noisy and destructive.

Yuuga walked on, unafraid of encountering any hostiles. Had he been looking at his map, he would have known that he was heading towards the town square, located near City Hall. He was currently walking to the east in F-5 near the center of the city. He had passed through this square twice already, as he wanted to look over each of its blocks before moving on.

One would wonder where exactly Yuuga was going. Truthfully, even he did not know that. Right now he did not know where to go or what to do. But he wanted to get somewhere and he wanted to do something. So he marched on.

There was one person in Class 3-A who enjoyed solitude even more than Yuuga. In this context, "enjoyed" would be an understatement. This person relished in it, craved it, even depended on it. This person was currently on the other side of town.

In I-2, Kazuki Chikuda (Boy #13) sat under a tree on a sidewalk. Like Yuuga, he was alone. But unlike Yuuga, he was not empathic. Nor was he calm or relaxed in the slightest. He was actually close to losing himself completely.

While he did savor his solitude, Kazuki could not stand the idea that he was fighting for his life. Against his entire class, no less! He had known several of the members of his class from before junior high, and all but one of them he had known since day one of seventh grade. But he only knew them from class. Never once did he ever participate in an extracurricular activity or sign up for any sort of club.

His parents had tried on numerous occasions to convince their son to be more outgoing, but he always refused.

He never wanted anything to do with his classmates, nor did they bother to affiliate themselves with him.

The only person who ever tried to befriend him was not even Japanese. It was Blaine Rhodes… and Kazuki had tried to kill Blaine just a couple hours earlier!

A loose branch had fallen from the tree Kazuki was sitting under. He picked it up and took out a large dagger. That had been his designated weapon. With the dagger, he cut off all of the leaves. Then he used the flat edge of the blade to shave the thin layer of bark off of the tree branch. His hand moved at a quick but careful pace. It was a trivial thing, but it kept his mind occupied.

For the first time in his life, Kazuki was starting to regret being so antisocial. If he had known his ninth-grade class would end up on the Program, he would have at least attempted to become acquainted with some of his classmates. That way, he could have allied himself with them during the Program.

After all, the only thing Kazuki liked about company was the concept of "safety in numbers." He knew that in situations where death was on the line, people in groups often had a tendency to survive longer than people who operated solo.

However, he had skipped over all of his opportunities to make friends. No one knew him well enough to befriend him, and they certainly would not trust him. Not after what happened in the classroom. Not after what he tried to do to Blaine.

Kazuki was already freaking out when he woke up in that classroom. He was teetering near madness when the "new rule" was announced. What really set him off was when Furutani pointed that Walther PPK in his face; having that gun directly in front of him had convinced him that he would soon be dead.

Kazuki looked down at the branch. He had carved it into what could pass as a crude imitation of the head of a wooden spear.

Seeing his work with the dagger brought Kazuki a little comfort. In fact, it seemed to set his mind at ease.

Kazuki realized that he did not have to accept death in the Program. No one suggested that he give up on life or call his existence forfeit.

It was then that Kazuki got an idea. What if he was to play along in the Program? After all, he was ready to kill Blaine back in the classroom; there was no reason he could not kill him or the other members of his class out in the city.

He might even get lucky and end up winning the game. All he had to do was outlast the rest of his class or take out Blaine. Either option was fine with him; he was more than willing to kill in order to save his own life.

Kazuki picked up his dagger and got a look at it. It was about nine inches long, made of stainless steel, and came with a special handle. In fact, the handle was the most interest part of the dagger; it was just as long and just as wide as the blade. Kazuki found this to be a rather peculiar feature for such a weapon. But he did not complain; it was better than being issued some sort of toy for a weapon. Plus, the longer handle allowed him to grip the dagger with both hands without touching the blade.

Kazuki slid the dagger into his belt and picked up the hand-carved wooden branch. He decided to bring that along and to keep it as a personal souvenir. He told himself that he would frame this branch on his wall after he won the Program.

Kazuki stood up and walked down the road. After walking for a few blocks, he turned around the corner. Then he stopped right in his tracks. He spotted a figure over a hundred yards away. Initially, Kazuki thought he had been spotted. This theory was disproven when he saw the other person move in the opposite direction.

Kazuki drew his dagger out of his belt and muttered to himself "Let's follow along."

The figure was walking at a steady pace and did not appear to be in any rush. Kazuki ran as quickly and quietly as he could. He did not sprint, as he knew that the sound of his shoes striking the ground would echo all over the block.

He did not plod along either, as he did not want to risk losing the figure. He simply moved stealthily through the streets as he chased after his target.

After three more blocks, the figure stopped running and stood absolutely still. Kazuki was only about fifty feet away. From that distance, he managed to get a good look at the person he was following.

The figure was in a sailor suit, so it must have been a girl. She was fairly tall, too; almost as tall as Kazuki.

Kazuki stood thinking about who the tallest girls in his class were. There was Rumi Hakugi for one, as well as Kaminari Ishida and Maki Nakamura. However, the three of them did not strike Kazuki as the type to be wondering the streets at night on their own. They would most likely wait until morning. And Maki would have certainly noticed him by this point; she was very observant.

Kazuki saw the girl arch her neck slightly, as if she was about to turn around. Kazuki quickly jumped into the alley and put his back against the wall. Acting with as much caution as possible, he looked around the corner and saw the girl had turned around. But she was not directly facing him; she was looking off to the side as if she was looking for something.

That was when Kazuki could identify the person he was following. It was the richest member of the class, Eiko Hirakawa (Girl #17).

Kazuki had a disdain for most of his classmates. One person he particularly disliked was Eiko Hirakawa. She had everything he did not have, like money, influence, and charm.

Kazuki hated Eiko because he believed that all she had to do to make friends was pay people in order to like her. He once believed that making friends was actually as simple as that. He thought Eiko could make as many friends as she wanted. As long as she paid them, that is.

Naturally, Kazuki had looked over the important details, such as how Eiko had formed a charity group at school for underprivileged children across the country. She and her best friend Ichiko Murakami had put a considerable amount of effort into it

"They formed that group, yet they didn't do squat to make me feel better," Kazuki remarked under his breath, "I once read somewhere that on average, very rich people die at earlier ages than people with modest income. I think I'll back up that claim."

After another minute, Eiko stopped gazing around the area and walked on. Kazuki kept his distance, lest he risk Eiko discovering his presence. For every three steps Eiko took, Kazuki took four steps. He was eager to catch up to her, but he was keen enough to move at a calm pace. He was determined to mask his footsteps until the right time. He followed her all the way into H-2

When he got within twenty feet of Eiko, he spotted something else. Eiko was armed. In her right hand, she was carrying a Colt Peacemaker. Kazuki could only assume that she had already loaded it earlier. That being said, he had to proceed with caution. But the sooner he got his hands on a gun, the quicker luck would turn in his favor.

Kazuki continued pressing after Eiko. He was approaching her rather quickly. He drew his dagger from his belt and crept up behind his rich classmate. Soon, he was within ten feet of her. A wicked smile rose across Kazuki's grim face as he approached the unsuspecting girl with his dagger faintly gleaming in the moonlight.

Just before he could move in to attack, he heard a sharp "CRACK" sound, like plastic being crumpled up. The sound originated from his foot. Kazuki looked down and realized he had stepped on a discarded candy bar wrapper. A single piece of litter had given him up.

Upon hearing the sound, Eiko whipped around, raised her right arm, and pointed her Colt Peacemaker directly at the face of the person in front of her. After a moment of silence, she demanded "Kazuki? What the hell are you doing?"

Kazuki's evil grin quickly returned to his face. He glared at Eiko with that same insane look in his eye and remarked "What does it look like I'm doing, Eiko?"

"Based on your posture and your stealthy approach… I'd say you were trying to ask me out for coffee," Eiko replied in a very sarcastic voice.

"Not quite…" Kazuki answered, standing up straight and raising his dagger slightly. In an equally sarcastic voice, he told her "I was actually hoping to ask you out to a Hibachi place instead. I can do some amazing tricks with knives. How about you let me show you them?"

Eiko took a step back and said in a completely serious tone "You come any closer and I'll shoot you."

Kazuki merely scoffed and commented "That doesn't mean much when the hammer is still in place."

Eiko's attention was momentarily diverted towards her revolver. Kazuki was correct; the gun's hammer was still against the chamber. Eiko quickly used her thumb to pull back the hammer. The time between Eiko's realization of her error and her correction of it was no more than two seconds. However, a lot can happen in two seconds, and in those two seconds, Kazuki charged towards Eiko with his dagger raised high over his head.

Across town, an assembly was taking place. It was not a very large assembly. In fact, there were only five people present at it. All the same, this was the largest group formed by any of the students since the game had begun.

In a bar located in square D-7, Gakuto Yamashita (Boy #21) was standing guard near the front door. He was rubbing his forehead, contemplating the scenario. Normally, he could find a solution to just about any problem he set his mind to. But he was not certain how he would get his friends and himself out of this mess.

Around the room were his fellow gang members. Kaminari Ishida (Girl #2) was sitting on a bar stool by the counter, absently playing with her fingernails. Toshirou Oosaki (Boy #5) was sitting at a table in the center of the room, his attention focused on an opened bottle of vodka. Reika Fujihara (Girl #19) was sitting in a chair at another table by the wall, checking her complexion in a hand-mirror.

Kazumitsu Hayashi (Boy #16) entered the room through the back a moment later. He had already armed himself with his weapon, a military-approved flamethrower. The propane canisters were heavy, but Kazumitsu was one of the strongest people in Class 3-A; the backpack felt as light as a bag full of cotton balls to him. He held onto the gun in his right hand, leaving his left hand free.

The others turned to him as he stepped into the room.

"I checked the whole building," he reported to them, "No one's here."

"Good," commented Gakuto as he stepped away from the front door, "This will make a sufficient headquarters for the time being. We should be alright here until D-7 goes danger zone."

"Let's hope so," remarked Kaminari, "If not, I'm not afraid to get a little rough."

Gakuto looked around the room at his friends. Their entire group was accounted for, with the exception of their leader, Osamu Sano (Boy #9).

At this time, Toshirou was busy downing shot after shot of vodka from the bottle in front of him. He really needed to calm his mind after all that happened, and alcohol was as good a solution to his problem as any other remedy.

"Don't drink too much of that stuff, Toshirou," Gakuto cautioned his friend, "I'm sure I don't have to tell you that alcohol can be very fatal when consumed in large quantities."

Toshirou just scoffed and responded with "Really, Gakuto? Our classmates are killing each other out there and you're worried that I'm going to succumb to alcohol poisoning of all things?"

"He's got a point," remarked Kazumitsu, "I can't really blame him for wanting to have a drink. I think intoxication is the only way to put aside all the tension. Even if it's only temporary."

"Besides, don't forget that between all of us, I'm the one who's best at stomaching his liquor," Toshirou pointed out.

"That's certainly true," Gakuto agreed. He recalled one time back in Fujisawa where he and the other members of his group had all gone to a bar. They managed to get in because Gakuto knew the owner. Toshirou had had a lot to drink, but of the six of them, he was the only one that left the building sober. Gakuto and Osamu had not touched alcohol ever since that day, as they did not like the feeling of intoxication. Kazumitsu, Kaminari, and Reika still preferred a little nip of it every once in a while. Toshirou was the only member of the group that was regarded as something of a social drinker.

"So, what's the plan, Gakuto?" inquired Reika.

"I'm working on one as we speak," Gakuto announced to his friends, "However, before we get to discussing it, I think we should find Osamu first."

"What do you suggest we do?" asked Kaminari "He could be anywhere in the city."

"She's right," agreed Reika, "Trying to find Osamu would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack without knowing which haystack or even which field the right haystack is in."

"I have a simple plan to remedy that problem," Gakuto explained, "It will be 3:15 soon. Every hour starting at 3:15, one of us will go out into the city and search a certain part of it for Osamu. We'll rotate every hour until we've found him."

"That sounds like a good idea," Toshirou remarked, "I'll volunteer for the first search. Right now I'm wide awake and I don't think I can stay in this room for too long. Plus, I want to take my turn while I'm still sober."

"Maybe," stated Gakuto, shrugging, "First things first, though. How are we for weapons right now?"

"I have this," Kazumitsu replied, holding up the gun that went to his flamethrower, "I haven't tested it out yet, but I studied the manual and examined the entire contraption beforehand. It should work just fine."

"Alright then," said Gakuto, "What about the rest of you?"

Kaminari, Toshirou, and Reika picked up their supply packs and dug through them. Within the next minute, Reika pulled out a pistol with an abnormally long handle, Toshirou pulled out a pair of metal skewers, and Kaminari pulled out a large Mason jar that was filled with a colorless liquid.

Gakuto walked over to Reika and studied her gun for a moment. He told her "What you have there is a Steyr M1912 Service Pistol. Those are very popular in Europe, particularly in Austria-Hungary. All you really have to do is point and shoot and your target should go down."

"What use would we have for these?" Toshirou asked, holding up his skewers. They were both around eighteen inches long, had a flat smooth surface, and contained a jagged edge on the sharpened ends.

"Those might be more useful for situations involving hand-to-hand combat," Gakuto decided. He looked over at Kaminari and asked her "What did you get?"

"I'm not entirely sure," she replied, studying the Mason jar and its transparent contents, "All I'm certain about is that it's not water. There's a label on the side of that jar that says 'HSbF6.' What do you suppose that means?"

Gakuto stood thinking about this for a few moments. Just as Kaminari was about to open the jar, Gakuto realized that it was in fact a chemical formula. He also knew what this particular formula stood for.

He rushed over to Kaminari, almost shouting "Don't open it!"

Kaminari was alarmed by Gakuto's abrupt reaction, but quickly moved her hand away from the jar's lid. She asked her friend "What's wrong, Gakuto?"

"HSbF6 is the chemical formula for Fluoroantimonic Acid," he enlightened her, "Arguably the most lethal and corrosive type of acid ever. If you got as much as a drop on your hand, Kaminari, it would be enough to eat away your skin until a huge hole was left in your palm."

Kaminari shuddered and placed the jar on the counter, edging away from it slightly. Then she remarked in disgust "How could we possibly use that?"

"I can think of a few ways," said Gakuto, "But for now, let's just put it to the side. I checked my bag earlier and was given this."

At that, he pulled out a small revolver from his belt. He explained to the others "This is an IOF .32 Revolver. It's originally from India, and it's mostly only good for short-range targets. However, between this, Reika's pistol, and Kazumitsu's flamethrower, we should be able to defend ourselves from any single attacker."

"Alright then," commented Kazumitsu, "I suggest we try to find Osamu now."

Everyone agreed with this idea.

"Toshirou, I know you wanted to conduct the first search, but Reika has the best weapon in terms of survival in the city," Gakuto stated, "So she will go first."

"Alright, if you say so," Toshirou agreed, pushing away his bottle of vodka.

Gakuto turned to Reika and instructed her "I want you to conduct the first search. Be very thorough; if you don't look close enough, you might walk right by him. If you have not found Osamu by 4:00, come right back here. At 4:15, you can trade weapons with Toshirou and he'll search next. If we still have not found Osamu by 5:15, I'll search next. Then Kaminari, then Kazumitsu. We'll go in this order until we've found him."

"You got it, Gakuto," Reika smiled and saluted the class intellectual. She proceeded to remove a box of bullets from her supply pack and she loaded up the magazine that went to her machine pistol. Once the magazine was full, she slid it up through the handle and pulled back the hammer so that the chamber was loaded. She turned to the others and announced "I'm off."

Gakuto opened the door for her and she ran out into the city, alone but unafraid.

As Gakuto shut the door, he sighed and turned to the others. He remarked "I hope she'll be alright."

"She'll be fine," said Kazumitsu, "It's Osamu I'm concerned about. We have no idea what he got as a weapon or where he could be."

"You shouldn't worry too much," Kaminari stated, "After all, this is Osamu we're talking about. He's slyer than the average fox."

Toshirou smirked and thought aloud "That reasoning's good enough for me. I'm certain Reika can find him. If not, I'll look even harder. Whenever we do find him, we can all have a drink. It'll be on the house!"

By the time Eiko Hirakawa looked back up from her revolver, Kazuki Chikuda was less than two feet in front of her. She raised her gun, only to be knocked back by Kazuki. Eiko tripped over herself and landed flat on the back. Her gun slipped out of her hand and rolled across the ground. It ended up about twenty feet away from her. The force of the impact caused the hammer to latch back forward.

Eiko struggled with Kazuki for a moment. For someone who spent all his time alone, he was certainly strong.

Eiko did manage to push him off of her for the whole of ten seconds. In that time, she looked around for her gun. By the time she managed to spot it, Kazuki was coming back at her with his knife. He waved it wildly at her, slashing her just above her right knee. Eiko shouted out in pain and clutched her leg with her free hand.

At the same time, Kazuki lined up another blow with his dagger. He aimed for Eiko's throat this time. But just before he could strike, Eiko put her left foot to good use. She lifted it up and kicked Kazuki directly in his manhood. Kazuki was left stunned for a moment, as if he had the wind knocked out of him. He dropped to his knees and held his groin, moaning in pain.

Eiko just smiled and began making her way towards her revolver. The injury Kazuki had inflicted on her right leg had rendered her temporarily unable to move that leg. So she was forced to resort to crawling.

She managed to cover fifteen feet in less than a minute. She was about three feet away from it when Kazuki finally recovered from that kick. He angrily picked up his dagger and ran towards Eiko.

Just as Eiko closed her fingers around the handle of her revolver, Kazuki was upon her. Eiko swiftly turned around and pointed her gun up at him. He just slapped her across the face, making her temporarily lose her focus. Eiko struggled to retain her coordination, but the force of that blow was too much for her.

Right then, Kazuki was practically sitting directly on top of Eiko. His knees were rested on the ground by her sides, and he glared down at her with a look of complete insanity in his eyes.

Kazuki held his dagger upside down in both of his hands. After making certain he had a firm grip on it, he slowly raised it high above his head. All the while, a berserk smile appeared across his face. He was slipping away very quickly. But he was certain he would enjoy this.

Eiko was terrified. She was so alarmed by the sight of Kazuki directly in front of her with that madman smile and that raised knife that she was frozen in place.

Before long, Kazuki stopped raising his hands back and lined up his aim with the knife. Then he chuckled madly and told her "Don't look so down, Eiko. You win some, you lose some."

Eiko just closed her eyes and looked away. After a few seconds of complete silence, Kazuki brought the dagger slamming down into her chest.

Eiko gasped in shock from the impact of the knife. She felt as if she was already dying. Kazuki simply remained smiling that same insane grin just as before. Now he was certain he could win the Program. Spill a little blood in order to preserve his own? No problem.

However, just a few seconds later, their roles were reversed.

Kazuki pulled out his dagger and looked down at the spot where he stabbed Eiko. She weakly looked at the same spot.

To the vast surprise of both of them, there was no blood. Not one single drop. In fact, Eiko's shirt was still intact.

"What… the fuck?" Kazuki muttered. He looked down at his dagger. It had changed its appearance.

The blade was missing completely. All Kazuki was holding was the handle. However, he noticed something different about the handle, too. It had inexplicably grown an inch longer on the end opposite the end where the blade had been. Kazuki pressed his hand against that part of the hilt. When he applied enough pressure, the blade shot up through the other end!

"What… the… fuck… is this?" Kazuki repeated, shocked by what he had just observed. He found himself unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Eiko was far ahead of him. She realized that she actually did not feel weak at all from the stabbing; she only thought she had been stabbed. Miraculously, the dagger had not penetrated her skin. The dagger's hilt must have been hallow, like one of those gag gifts.

It was at that moment that Eiko realized she had the upper hand now. Kazuki was so busy mulling over his knife that she did not have to worry about him attacking her again. A wide grin slowly crept across Eiko's face as she looked up at Kazuki from the ground. She gradually pointed her Colt Peacemaker up at his head and pulled back the hammer.

Kazuki looked straight down when he heard the noise of the hammer being pulled back. He saw two things: the remarkably smug look on Eiko's face, and the barrel of her revolver.

A moment later, two things went through Kazuki's head; one only a split second before the other. The first was a bullet which entered through the underside of his chin, sailed through his skull and brain, and exited through the back of his head.

The second thing that went through his head – which was also the last thing that ever went through his mind – was a single thought. This was what he thought word-for-word: How the hell could I have been so stupid not to realize I was given a dagger with a retractable blade?

Immediately after this thought went through his head, Kazuki's mind went completely blank. A significant percentage of his brain had been blown through the back of his head, primarily the area surrounded by the cerebral cortex.

Kazuki sat in place for a moment. Then he fell flat onto his back. He remained lying on the ground without moving a single muscle.

Eiko just smiled and crawled out from under Kazuki. She examined herself for injuries. Fortunately, the only one she found was the one above her knee where Kazuki had slashed her. As it turned out, that cut was not nearly deep enough to cause any long-term damage.

Eiko's satisfaction over her victory was short-lived, however. She realized there was a possibility that someone might have heard the gunshot and head her way after hearing it. So she had to get her belongings together and move on before anyone else arrived.

She slowly rose to her feet, being gentle with her right leg. She put a little weight on it and then gradually put some more on it until she was supported equally by both of her legs. She was careful not to be too hasty to use her right leg, as she did not want to risk opening the wound up any more.

The palms of her hands were a little sweaty from her fight with Kazuki. She just wiped them off against her skirt and straightened herself out. A bit of Kazuki's blood had splattered onto Eiko's face just as she shot him; she could feel it starting to dry. While she did not like the sensation of having another person's blood on her face, she decided to wait until later to wash up.

She could only imagine what she looked like at that time. Thanks to her family's wealth and prosperity, Eiko always had someone around to help her keep her hair groomed and her body cleaned. Of course, she was on her own in the Program. But she was not afraid to get a little dirty. In fact, it excited her.

She scoffed and said to herself "If my mother saw me right now, I'd bet she would be more likely to throw a fit over my appearance rather than what I just did to Kazuki."

She had tossed aside her supply pack and backpack when Kazuki jumped her. She went to get them back together. While she was at it, she decided to take Kazuki's supply pack with her. This way she would have some extra bread and water, as well as some spare equipment.

She left Kazuki's knife behind, though. Even though the knife had a real blade, it was only useful for slashing and cutting. Any attempts at stabbing with it would be impossible, given how the hilt would simply retract it. Eiko was just happy she had been given a revolver. Albeit old and antiquated, it was still in just as fine condition as the original model had been from decades earlier.

Once Eiko had gathered up everything she needed, she looked down at Kazuki's body. His eyes were staring into nothingness; his mouth was agape, as if he had been interrupted in the middle of a scream. Eiko just shook her head and remarked "I'm afraid your knife tricks were not that amazing, Kazuki. But at least you devoted your life to them. That's all that really matters."

Eiko turned around and exited the scene as she laughed at her own joke.

Boy #13 Kazuki Chikuda – Dead

43 Students Remaining