Chapter 20

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen."

During her short life, Aya Tsunaba had spoken The Lord's Prayer so many times that it became her routine. For the girl, it was the most beautiful and delightful arrangement of words ever invented in mankind, a song of peace she wished everyone was able to hear.

More than just showing devotion to God, that prayer also helped Aya to survive in The Program. Being religious wasn't really an advantage, but on figurative grounds, it worked. People who have faith tend to be more hopeful and confident about their actions, and although the girl did not know about it, she definitely did fit the profile.

"Killing that girl was easy. The hard part comes now."

And this brought Aya to the next point. Survival. Alone in The Program by option and without a firearm, her first kill had a good chance of also being her last. Maybe it would have been better to keep Natsumi Moriguchi around longer, so that she could receive some help in case of attack before dishing her off. Right now, Aya was certain that no one could trust her. Her uniform and sword were both very bloodied, and only a hot shower would be able to clean them If she decided to ally again, it wouldn't work for a second time.

Aya sighed.

None of them deserved her trust, anyway.

However, Aya did not stop to hide in one place, where she could get something to help her in the game. For her, hiding was for cowards who reject The Lord. If she wanted to win, and she would win if there was any good in the world, she would have to keep moving. And this is how Aya came back to the same place where she found Natsumi and her friend, Rena Kuroda.

The playground.

Even though Aya had been there before only once, and on that same day, the place made her feel heavy and melancholic, like if she was made of bricks. It wasn't built to be that way, but that abandoned playground could only bring sadness. Once in an ancient time, the playground was bright and beautiful, filled with joyful children. Now, though, it was abandoned. It had become old and rusty, with spider webs on every single toy. It had probably been abandoned much before The Program started, although Aya did not think about that.

Although it was already night time, the Catholic could easily make out the shapes. A small swing, a red merry-go-round, a purple slope. Toys scattered around the area. To top it off, there was a pool filled with sand, and a small toy-horse only a few feet away from it. It would be every child's under 8 years old dream land, before the competition of the adult world kicked in and took away all of the happiness and playfulness from their lives.

For Aya, that place was, for the lack of better worlds, nostalgic.

The Christian girl with bloodied clothes sat on the swing, so gently that it remained still. She dropped the katana on the floor, ignoring the fact that the powerful sword was her only real weapon. The GPS would warn her of other players, though, and then she would have time to do something to counterattack. Slowly but surely, Aya allowed the hot wind of the night to drift her thoughts to another direction, temporarily forgetting about the game.

Aya began to move up her legs and to push her butt to the front. The swinging began. The girl's thin, slender body began to move, rocking the swing faster and faster until she could feel like flying in a departing plane.

Aya closed her eyes. She would win, and it was her duty to do so, but The Program could wait. What she wanted the most, at that moment, was to enjoy the playground she had never been allowed to go to for so many years, before continuing the killing spree that would lead her to Heaven one day. Aya's ears only heard the same sounds, and her legs always stood in the same position. But it did not matter. As long as the Christian was able to throw back her head in the air and feel the calm breeze in her body, she was happy.

Aya was as happy as she had been in the orphanage, so many years ago. There, while kind people taught her about God and His law, she could also enjoy the simple fact of being a child. The orphanage also had its own playground, and a small lake where the children could bathe their tiny bodies in. Aya did not remember of making any really close friends there, and she knew much less of the names her peers had. However, she would never forget their giggling faces and happy smiles, while inviting her to play with them. Those were the best years of her life, and it was saying a lot. Aya would probably not have more than a day remaining to live.

The murderess did not know how she came to the orphanage. She was too young to know. Sometimes, if she thought about it for a while, Aya could remember the faces of her real parents, a man and a woman. Her mother's small eyes and big nose, even when other kids made fun of them, were traits Aya was proud to have inherited. The girl could also remember the cold winter of Hokkaido, the coldest island in Japan. Her oldest memory was an image of herself looking at a window, and watching the trees becoming more beautiful than ever, glowing in the snow.

Winter had always been her favorite season.

It was also during the winter when Aya left the orphanage. Mr. and Mrs. Tsuanaba were strict, feverous Christians who were looking for a girl to adopt. Since the moment they stepped into the orphanage, they asked many of the female children about religion. As it seemed, they weren't going to adopt anyone, they were looking for a child who actually knew a lot about God and devoted her time to Him. And Aya was the chosen one.

Although many memories of the orphanage made Aya's days and night a little bit better, none of them remained in her brain more than the church. Since she was four, Aya was told to believe in God, and in his son Jesus Christ. The orphanage was a catholic institution, and a very good one at what it did. The children had to pray every day before eating and sleeping, and on Sundays, obviously, they had to go to church and worship the Lord there. Many of the children got bored about it, and some even fell asleep during prayer. But Aya wasn't one of them. She enjoyed it more than anything, and whenever she had free time, the girl went back to The Lord's house to pray a little bit more. The cause? Jesus. Even though Aya had never seen or known him, she admired that man. He was the father she wanted to have had; kind, compassionate, loving, powerful and beautiful. And most of all, he never abandoned anyone, like her biological parents did. Besides, Aya was sure that He would lead her to eternal salvation one day, and receiving a better life had always been her main goal in life.

This was why Aya was so reluctant to leave the orphanage, when the Tsunaba family gave her some candy and told her that, from that day on, they would be her parents. It couldn't be! Aya's father was Jesus, then and forever! On the other hand, the little Christian girl felt very lonely in that orphanage, without a family or friends of her age. During cold nights, she would sometimes cry and wonder what having a mother to hug during sleep or to read a bedtime story with would feel like.

Aya accepted the offer. She didn't have much of a choice, anyway.

On her way home, the young girl stared at the snowy trees through the car window, for a very long time. Unlike her first memory, on that day they looked decayed and grey, and on the verge of death.

While the wind around the swing gently moved up her hair, Aya opened her eyes.

The full moon was brighter and more beautiful than ever. It was the queen of the dark sky, being the only illuminated spot there. Seeing so much beauty, Aya could only lament at what was happening to the world. Pollution, violence, sex… It all contributed to destroy the natural beauty nature had. And people were to blame. Not because they had been born evil, but because they got away from the path The Lord had given to them. And it was Aya's duty, as His daughter, to make them know of His will before dying, and also to feel His wrath.

If The Program did not involve killing, Aya wouldn't have murdered Natsumi. But only one could remain, and Aya wouldn't die for others to live. Jesus had sacrificed himself for the future of mankind, in a complete act of love. But although she loved Him with all of her heart, Aya had to admit that He was wrong at one point.

Some people cannot be saved.

When Aya began her life as a student in Tsuchihara, in seventh grade, she thought that her classmates would be like her foster parents had told her good people were. That they would respect God's law, love each other like He had loved them, and turn the other cheek every time they were attacked. She was wrong, deadly wrong.

Already in her first week of school, Aya had seem some of the worst types of human beings she could never imagine meeting. At best, she was shocked. At worst, she was horrified. The Bible said that people should turn the other cheek, but many girls got angry at others over extremely silly grudges, and pleasurably enjoyed the pain and suffering of others. Bullying and physical abuse were a constant in the school's halls.

Also, it was written in Holy Book that sex could only happen after marriage and for procreation. And yet, girls who had not even reached their thirteenth birthday talked openly about their sexual experiences. Instead of saving their bodies for men who truly loved them, many of Aya's classmates shamefully dressed like sluts and behaved as such. And why? To impress dirty and greedy boys who wanted nothing more than sex. After she heard, in the school's cafeteria, about how Tsukiko Amano came to lose her virginity, Aya couldn't control herself and went to the bathroom to vomit.

It was wrong. Everything was so wrong with those people. Where had the smiling and cheerful church goers gone, the ones who donated money to charity and helped others in the way to Salvation? Had those girls no morals, no shame, no sense of love for themselves? Didn't they realize the consequences of what they did, how much they destroyed themselves and the others around them? How did they come to forget what Moses told their ancestors so many years ago, in the Ten Commandments?

Although the fifth commandment said "thou shalt not kill", Aya was more than glad to break this rule when she destroyed Natsumi.

The girl knew that some of her classmates were trapped so deeply in the dark pit that led to Hell that there was absolutely no chance for them to be saved. They would never learn, and eternal damnation would eventually come to them, sooner or later. Sometimes, Aya tried to convince them that what they were doing was wrong, only to get insulted and even slapped as a result. People stopped talking to her, and soon the girl's chances of having a friend at school were below zero. As a consequence, Aya also stopped interacting with her fellow classmates. They were fated to a horrible suffering after death anyways. It was none of her business to prevent it.

Then The Program came, and all of a sudden, Aya knew that she could still do something.

Out of all of her 21 classmates, several names came to the girl's mind. Most of them, though, were already dead. Only two people remained, two sinners who could not stay alive any longer. The first one was Kumiko Noma, whose destructive attitude and sexuality would only cause pain to more people if she survived The Program. The next one was Shizuko Honda. She had committed the sin of the flesh before marriage, and had even gotten herself pregnant! At least she had not aborted her child, cowardly murdering a human life in the process. If so, Aya would make her suffer a lot before her bloody, painful death.

Natsumi came more like an occasion. She wasn't as bad as Kumiko, Tsukiko or Shizuko, but she also could not stay alive and survive The Program. She would die sooner or later, so that Aya could win. Besides, Aya had seen with her own eyes how much Natsumi hated school, being loud and obnoxious in class and a terrible student. And much like the majority of the class, she rarely showed any respect to her teacher. Initially, Aya would give her a quick death, decapitating the girl and ending her suffering quickly. But after the first cut on the other girl's back, a simple attempt to keep her from escaping, Aya couldn't stop. Her body longed for more violence and pain, and Aya easily gave in to it. Everytime she closed her eyes, Aya could still see Natsumi's bloodied, mutilated face, begging for her to stop.

Aya wouldn't give in to the temptation again. At least, she would try not to.

Aya was, overall, a real pacifist before The Program. However, she could get extremely aggressive and cruel if someone mocked her religion or physically hit her first. Once, while she was going back home from school, Aya saw an old beggar, freezing in the cold and asking for money. She went there to help him, but as soon as he saw the Bible under her left arm, he rejected the money, saying that it was "dirty". Afterwards, the poor man yelled at Aya, saying that her religion was wrong and garbage, and that all Christian girls are nothing but whores who pretend to be prudes.

Aya got so irritated by his narrow-minded view of Christianity that anger coursed through her body like a hurricane. She began to curse back at him, and when he insisted, Aya used the heavy Bible as a bludgeon to bash his head and face. She hit him mercilessly, smiling more and more upon hearing each of his cries of pain. When she finally stopped, he had already passed out. Aya ran from that place and cried over what she did. At home, she prayed several times, and even confessed her sin to the local priest. It made her feel better, after a while.

But the more Aya tried to control the beast lying inside of her, the more she had to admit that it would eventually come out and take over her mind. That evil, impure, demonic force would be the only way for her to kill the strongest contestants in The Program, such as Kumiko, who was clearly excited while leaving the school. Aya was the type of girl who could see a lot behind people's faces, but it did not mean that she always enjoyed what she saw there. If anything, her analyzing skills only added to her idea: that some people are inherently evil and death is the only thing that can be done for them.

The girl had been thinking for so long, and so intensively, that she had forgotten about the fun of the moment. There had never been a more peaceful sensation than just chilling out on a swing. Aya used to play in one a lot back in the orphanage, in a time when there was nothing for her to worry about. It was fun, beautiful… and she could still replay that feeling, even in The Program.

Aya closed her eyes, and began to empty her mind of everything. She managed to stop thinking only a few seconds later, and suddenly the world became darkness and sound.

The breeze in her hair, the rocking noise of the swing, her feet touching the earth for movement, the icy touch of the chains on the palm of her hands. Aya could only feel this, and it was absolutely delightful. She was flying higher than any bird could dream of. The moonlight was the only witness to her moment of redemption, after all of the blood she had already spilled.

The girl kept playing with the swing for a very long time, more than five minutes at least. She felt like going back to childhood, but sadly, she couldn't stay there forever. Her legs were beginning to tire, and worst, the sound of the swing could attract someone. Distracted and with her eyes closed, Aya would be an easy target for anyone who had a gun.

Shrugging sadly, Aya tried to stop the swing in one abrupt movement. She failed but kept trying, and gradually the most fun place in the world began to stop. By the third stop, it remained still. Aya rose up quickly, feeling tired and a bit dizzy. Her legs did hurt a bit, but it did not matter. The pleasure of the moment overcame all of the rest.

Soon after she grabbed her bloody katana once more, Aya began to leave the playground. After walking only ten feet, the girl looked back one last time. Even if she died in that game, she would never forget that place. Unconsciously, Aya's right arm came to her face and whipped away a tear.

She wished that, while she was young enough, the Tsunabas had allowed her to play with other children. At least a little bit.

Should she draw many hearts on the back of the paper? No. It was too girly. It would detract from the seriousness of the situation.

Should she begin by writing how much she loved him? No. What came afterwards would have little impact then. It would also seem like a cheap soap opera letter.

Should she go out and try to find a mail post? Of course not. That was ridiculous. He would never receive it. And if she went outside, she would be risking herself.

Like most people from her generation, Kyoko Tachibana had never written a letter before. With internet all around and little time to spend in front of a paper, she and pretty much everyone else at Tsuchihara talked to each other after getting home by e-mail or social networks. Although Kyoko was a good student in literature class, dialoging to someone via a piece of paper seemed, at least, foreign. With no active computers in The Program, due to the constant monitoring from the government, writing a letter was the only option.

But for one of the most beautiful girls in 3A, which media to use wasn't the most important thing.

What really mattered was him. Nobuo Tsuruta, Kyoko's boyfriend for a year. Kyoko's parents often told the girl that she was too young to fall in love, and should focus more on her studying instead. She couldn't disagree more. To begin with, Kyoko's grades remained as high as ever after they started to date. And more importantly, the girl's life was so intertwined with Nobuo's that she couldn't even think about breaking up with him.

Kyoko's devotion to Nobuo was the only thing still keeping her awake. It wasn't even 10 pm yet, but Kyoko's body was as tired as if she had spent the entire night at a party. The girl's brain told her to fall asleep, much like Asuka Yamanaka, her best friend for life, already had done. Asuka seemed to be having a peaceful slumber, which was very odd considering all of the danger and violence that surrounded her. Her back was turned away from Kyoko, but it was clear that she had gotten luckier than her friend, and managed to sleep quietly.

"She must be dreaming of him by now…"

Kyoko's eyebrows went down, along with her emotional state. Although she always knew how lonely Asuka felt without a boyfriend, Kyoko never once thought of the possibility of Asuka being jealous of her, much falling in love with Nobuo. Kyoko could see why: Asuka did not have many other options. Being in an all-girls school only made dating more difficult, and Asuka wasn't the type of girl who spends the night with the first boy she looks at. Kyoko always told her friend to be patient when it came to boys, to be nice and kind with them and show sincerity. However, Asuka didn't get a boyfriend in the end. And Kyoko knew why.

The beautiful student had grown up believing that nice, polite girls always get lucky in love. It was a belief created by the fairy tales she read as a child, the typical "Prince Charming" fantasy every girl had. The perfect boy is the one who sees the personality and the inner beauty, and not the physical appearance. For the young Kyoko, when she eventually reached the age to date, a man like this would come to her, and then they would live happily ever after.

The reality, as she would unfortunately learn halfway through middle school, was very different. Boys would always take a slutty, bitchy girl rather than a nice one, at any time. Why? Because they are easy, and give them what they want faster. And what all boys want is sex. It's all they care about. In parties that happened outside of school, Kyoko had been approached by several drunken boys, all of them making rude gestures and some even showing condoms to her, or openly asking for sex. Kyoko always refused their initial advances, but most boys did not stop trying. For them, she was playing hard to get. But in reality, Kyoko was disgusted. Sometimes, she did hook up with a few guys, with the condition of not going all the way through, only to stop their insistence and make them go away. They wouldn't accept "no" for an answer, so a false "yes" made everything work.

"But he's different, isn't he?"

Kyoko smiled. Nobuo was the only one who did not see her as a pretty face with nice breasts. He did not try to kiss her on the first day they met. He just talked to her, asked how she was, bought her gifts in her birthday, and actually cared. He was from a classmate from the piano class both attended, and some of Kyoko's faourite songs were actually taught by him. It soon became obvious that they would end up dating, and the day when it finally happened would always remain in Kyoko's memory. He kissed her at a small beach by her house, during sundown. On that day, he called her to go to the beach with him, were she would eventually learn volayball as well. They went there together, in swimsuits, and that magical kiss finally came to existence while they were playing with the waves. It did not have a reason; it just happened. From them on, they were inseparable.

Sometimes, Kyoko thought about how lucky she was. She could have never met Nobuo, and it all could have been much worse. Kyoko could have become like Shizuko Honda instead, dating a boy who did not really love her and only wanted sex. And much like almost all of the boys, Shizuko's boyfriend left her soon after he got her pregnant, because he was a coward who did not want to take responsibility for his actions. Kyoko knew of Shizuko's story. Everyone in class did. However, Shizuko did not want to talk to anyone except for her two friends, and so all of Kyoko's tries to help the pregnant girl were futile.

Staring at the paper in a desperate effort to get some inspiration, Kyoko sighed. She was very lucky indeed.

But did she love Nobuo as much as he loved her?

"He deserves better than this. He deserves a girl who can write him a perfect, beautiful letter. And he needs to know how I'm doing here, and to hear my last thoughts before my inevitable…death."

A burst of horrible images suddenly appeared in Kyoko's brain. Nobuo opening the front door of his house only to see his girlfriend in a body bag, beaten and bloodied. Asuka dying in her friend's arms, her pupils dilating in front of Kyoko. An inversed situation, with Kyoko herself dying in Asuka's arms. Her own corpse, bloodied and bullet-riddled, being eaten by crows, bugs and every other slimy creature that existed. Her parents and boyfriend crying and putting flowers in her grave, with a huge "Kyoko Tachiabana, 1995-2011" written on it.

Kyoko shook her head violently, but the images did not go away. The girl let out a small scream,and even pulled her own hair a little. It worked. Up to a point.

"Damn it, focus! If you want to finish writing this, you will need to focus!"

Erasing those barbarities from her thoughts, Kyoko stared at both of her hands. She had been pressuring the edges of the table with her fingernails while absent from the world, making two deep cuts on both sides. The girl didn't break her nails after all of the nervousness, not that she would mind if she did. Kyoko wasn't exactly vain; with her natural beauty, she did not need to be. Besides, worrying about getting a manicure while in The Program is a clear sign of stupidity.

If Kyoko wasn't immersed in a state of constant worries, then she wouldn't deserve to be called a friend by Asuka and the others. In her own philosophy, not worrying about a friend was the same as continuing to play a broken guitar, instead of fixing. A proof of uninterest, negletfulness and falsehood. Kyoko wasn't like this. She knew that out there, people were dying, and nothing in the world said that Yoriko Shibasaki and Chitose Higurashi weren't among the mass of bodies. Even though Kyoko knew that they probably wouldn't survive unless they were given very good weapons, she prayed for them to be alive and meet her and Asuka during the game. It was the least she could do.

More than anything, though, Kyoko was worried about Asuka. If Asuka came to die, then nothing would alleviate Kyoko's pain. Asuka and Nobuo were the most important people in her world, and the only two that she would give her own life for them to live. Asuka was an angel, always bringing the good in people and playing her violin in absolute perfection. If it wasn't for Asuka, Kyoko wouldn't have come to know many songs, and would not even be able to swim properly. Without Asuka, her time playing the piano after school and even her exams would never be the same. When they were children and played with their dolls at each other's houses, the moment when Asuka's mother told her to leave always brought Kyoko to tears. They were best friends from the start, and would be such until the end.

"But you know that it's not like that, DON'T YOU?" yelled Kyoko's subconscious, warning her about the argument earlier.

It was true. Kyoko wanted to believe that Asuka still viewed her as an irreplaceable friend, but upon looking at Asuka's face five hours before, Kyoko could see how wounded she was. When she had lost her virginity to Nobuo, she didn't say it to Asuka, due to fear of ruining their friendship. Asuka had demonstrated some subtle signs that she liked Nobuo, but Kyoko preferred to ignore the problem instead of facing it. During their sleepovers, Asuka always talked about how having sex would feel like to her. And everytime she asked Kyoko if she and Nobuo had already "gone all the way through", out of pure curiosity and some hints of low self0esteem, Kyoko answered that she was saving it for marriage. A silly answer, since she was not a Christian. Asuka, though, seemed to believe in it.

Since they had fought, Asuka had stopped talking to her friend. Sometimes, she still did, but only to order something or in case of extreme necessity. Asuka watched over the window like a silent ghost, not even looking at Kyoko in the eyes. A few hours before, Kyoko had tried to watch over the window before her turn, and was brutally reprimanded by Asuka, who shot her a blood-curling glare. She didn't behave like a friend anymore. And only because she was still a virgin while Kyoko was not. Only because she was also in love with Nobuo.

All of the girls in class who had already lost their virginities, like the deceased Kageri Shouzaku or Tsukiko Amano, constantly talked about how sex was the best thing in life and could make everyone special, superior and better. Kyoko had to disagree. Despite the initial pain, her first time was very good, romantic and passionate at the same time. But after it was over, the pleasure was over as well, because after all, it was temporary. The girl didn't feel like she had gotten "better" than her classmates, or that she had finally "become a woman". If anything, Kyoko still saw herself as a teenager. A slightly experienced one, but still not a woman yet. There was still a long way to go. Perhaps sex was exaggerated, and used as a scapegoat for power and respect in high school. Being a virgin, on the other hand, is a crime and a sign of shame.

"Girls, boys, people are all the same. They want power, a higher spot on the food chain, and so they humiliate those who are lower than them. They are just animals, who live as such and are unable to care about others. Except for him."

Time was flying. It was already 15 to 10 pm, but Kyoko had not even started to write the letter. Asuka would have to wait. She was sleeping peacefully, and would probably forgive Kyoko as soon as she woke up. She was just tired, that was it. They were still friends and would need to work together until the end, as Asuka would have to understand. As Kyoko had heard from her father many years before, "time heals everything".

Or wasn't it "time destroys everything"?

Brushing her doubts aside, Kyoko began to focus on the letter once more. And this time, an illumination occurred, and several new ideas flowed into the girl's brain. She could still write a very good letter, and tell Nobuo of everything she was feeling. In order to do so, she would only need to be honest. To write about how The Program was, instead of how she wanted it to be. Sure, she would sound pessimistic, but at the situation she was into, Kyoko could not care less.

"Besides" Thought Kyoko, hopeful. "He loves me, I know he does. He will understand what I have to say."

Bringing her porcelain-skinned right arm forwards, Kyoko went for the blue pen and grabbed it. Her long fingernails produced a croaking sound upon contacting the object. As she begun to write, Kyoko remembered all of the good moments they had spent together, all the kisses and smiles they had experienced, and it wasn't long before the girl's eyes began to tear up. The emotion was too much for her to handle, growing and growing by each line, each small sentence written in blue ink. Still, Kyoko kept writing, talking about hope and despair, love and death, loneliness and company. Her tears began to fall on the table in a hush, before she could stop them. After she was done putting out all of her feelings, Kyoko read the letter again. And again. And again. When she was finally done, there were still ten minutes until the clock reached 10 pm. She had written a beautiful letter in only five minutes.

"Perfect. It's perfect."

With a smile beginning to shine through her lips, Kyoko closed the letter to her love. Then she put it in an envelope that she had found inside of the small drawer.

The beautiful girl wiped away her tears, and then put the letter in the pocket of her skirt. Everything would be alright, and she knew it.

Asuka wasn't asleep.

Initially, she had tried to, but the cauldron of emotions that consumed her body forced her to stay awake. Kyoko was the center of her attention, the cause and consequence of what consumed her, and she couldn't lose the battle against a simple instinctual urge like sleeping. Asuka had to stay awake for Kyoko, the best friend she once loved but now hated so much.

While listening to Kyoko's tears while lying on the bed, Asuka almost made a cheap, small smile. It seemed that Kyoko was suffering. Maybe she was thinking about asking for Asuka's forgiveness after what she did. But considering that Kyoko was a bitch, she would probably not. She would stay with Nobuo until the end, even though she knew that her best friend dreamt about him every night. She didn't really care about Asuka either, since before Asuka came to know of her loss of virginity, already in The Program, all of Kyoko's other friends could say the details of it out loud. Why was it so hard to say the truth? It would be easy, she would just have to say "yes, we are fucking, and so I would get laid as soon as possible if I were you", and then she wouldn't be asked about it anymore.

Perhaps, Kyoko was too much of a coward to be true to Asuka at all times, without fearing the consequences. Or maybe Kyoko was just using her, and they had never been real friends. Deep inside, Asuka didn't want to believe that her oldest and biggest friend didn't view her as such. But just like love, friendship is also unrequited sometimes.

"She's more popular than me. Popular girls always do that; they use someone who's socially below them as their scapegoats in case they get into trouble. They use them to increase their already large number of friends, and nothing more. Just like my sisters, just like my mother."

Asuka didn't want to believe in that. Kyoko always seemed so beautiful and pure, but since they had argued earlier, their friendship was falling apart at the speed of light. How could Kyoko tell her such a cheap excuse, like "I didn't want to hurt you"? Was she stupid or something? Asuka did not understand.

After a while, Asuka began to take quick glances at Kyoko, who was clearly writing something. In a moment of growing curiosity, Asuka turned around and saw that it was a letter. Probably for him. Clearly, their conversation earlier meant nothing to Kyoko. She could at least be loyal enough so as not to talk about Asuka's crush, much less to write it to someone else. But not even this was considered by Kyoko.

"She's mocking me right now..." Thought the lonely, single girl. Asuka did not see any reason for Kyoko to write a letter. It would never reach its destination, unless she won The Program. And since Kyoko was just not the type of person who kills, she would most likely not survive to give her letter to Nobuo. Well, Asuka didn't have many chances as well, but it was another story, right?

Asuka wanted to cry at the unfairness of it all, but her tears would warn Kyoko that she was awake. And so the girl remained in silence, with both of her hands slowly turning into closed fists and her heart breaking with each of Kyoko's sobs. Kyoko did not deserve him. She wasn't a real friend, and had lied to THE PERSON WHO LOVED HER THE MOST for several weeks. Of course, Asuka could read Kyoko's face everytime she said no, and her lies were as clear as polished silver. This was why she asked Kyoko again earlier on that same day, as soon as she had the opportunity.

In her heart, Asuka knew that it was all her fault, since she had never professed her love for Nobuo before Kyoko could do it. She was shy and stupid, and was now paying the price.

However, she was in The Program. Some blood would be spilled, and her hands would get dirty, but she could still solve the problem.

With her bond with Kyoko deteriorating on every passing hour, Asuka had previously grabbed her pistol several times and threatened to shoot Kyoko in the back, while she wasn't looking. She never pulled the trigger, though. Something was always holding her back, paralyzing her hands before she could do it. It was weakness, a moment of hesitation that she would have to elimina—

The Glock was hidden between the bed and the wall the whole time, only a few inches away of Asuka's left hand. Kyoko had left it there.

Asuka lunged for the gun. As she did it, her thoughts came back to her family. They were probably rooting for Kyoko to win, especially her mother. She had favored Asuka's sisters over her for years, so it wasn't a surprise that she would be on her best friend's side. Asuka's hand got closer to the weapon. By killing Kyoko, blasting her head into and brain tiny pieces, she would take revenge not only on the girl she loved as a sister, but on her mother as well. And then Nobuo would be hers, as soon as she got out of there.

Asuka's hand got hold of the pistol. It was a cold object, lifeless. It's shiny barrel projected a shadow on the wall, large and terrfying, almost like a ghost. It's power was destructive, inhumane. However, it could lead Asuka to victory rather easily, unless there were better weapons out there. The girl twisted her hand around the gun's handle slowly, so as not to call Kyoko's attention. After a while, she could feel it's surface entirely. Power ran through her veins, pushing her forward, forcing her to do what she should have done a year before, when Kyoko told her that she was dating Nobuo.

The hesitation came back. The arm went backwards. The gun remained there, unmovable. Asuka's eyes turned wet.

She wasn't ready yet.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

In the beginning of this story, all of my attention was focused on Asuka and Kyoko. They were the most important pair, would certainly last a very long time, and were an enviously close group of friends for life.

But life separates people, sets them apart, and creates conflicts. And The Program intensifies them. I don't believe that the kids who kill each other in Battle Royale do so only because they want to win. They already had a reason to do so, unless they were born complete psychopaths. The two characters who seem to be more affected by the game, clearly descending into the depths of madness, are Asuka and Kagura. Why? Because they already had deep grudges, scars and fears before the game.

Aya is also a very interesting character. I regret picturing her as a "pure evil" Christian fanatic. I wanted to soften her in this chapter, and also give her a specific reason to play the game. I loved describing her scene in the swing, especially.

I'm deeply sorry for taking so long to post another chapter. I suffered from severe writer's block, and a general lack of attention that I promise will not repeat itself. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, writing it was a tough job but it's the final project that counts.

Yoriko and Chitose will come back next chapter, so to all of their fans, rejoice!

With that, I am out.

Bye!