Kenzou Iwamoto (Boy #3) was very pleased with his work. In the span of one hour, he had extracted a bullet from a fellow classmate's chest cavity without any prior experience on how to perform an operation. He had also managed to sew up the injury in under two hours. Daisuke Araki (Boy #1) looked almost as good as new.
While the operation was successful, it was still far from perfect. Kenzou had made his fair share of mistakes along the way. On the bright side, most of them were minute; none of them were extremely life-threatening. But they were still noteworthy.
One thing that had slipped his mind during the operation was just how much blood Daisuke had lost due to the bullet and the surgery itself. Kenzou had not realized this until he saw that Daisuke was turning a little pale. He needed to have a transfusion to stabilize his red blood cell count.
Fortunately, Kenzou had noticed this before he had sewn up the injury. Because of that, they would still be able to make the transfusion. But it needed to be made quickly, otherwise Daisuke would pass out or worse.
"Perhaps we should check the hospital's blood banks," suggested Naozumi Matsuno (Boy #20), "Aren't they supposed to have a large quantity of blood in reserve in preparation for things like this?"
"Under normal conditions, they do," Kenzou confirmed, "But hospitals have certain regulations for emergency situations. Whenever there's a city-wide evacuation, the blood banks are either drained or disposed of."
"Then I guess that leaves us with only one option," Shuuichi Kai (Boy #7) thought aloud, leaning back against the counter, "One of us will have to make a donation."
"I guess Shuuichi's right," Naozumi agreed, sitting up in his chair, "I'll be happy to give some of my blood."
"That's very noble of you, Naozumi," commented Kenzou, "But first, we need to know if your blood is compatible with Daisuke's."
He then turned to Daisuke and asked him "Do you know your blood type?"
"Yeah, it's type B-," Daisuke answered softly. He was still lying down on the bed with an open injury. This injury was covered only by a towel pressed against his chest.
"Damn, that may limit our options," said Kenzou, "Other than B-, there is only one blood type from donors that is compatible with B- for the recipient: Type O-."
"My blood is type O-," Shuuichi interjected, standing up straight.
"That's good to know," Kenzou stated in a bit of relief. He turned to the largest boy in the group and asked him "What about you, Naozumi?"
"My blood type is AB+," Naozumi admitted glumly.
"That's unfortunate," Kenzou remarked, "Type AB+ can receive any other blood type, but the only people it can service in a donation are people who also have Type AB+."
"What about you, Kenzou?" inquired Daisuke, "What's your blood type?"
"Type A+, I'm afraid," replied the athlete, "My blood isn't compatible with yours, regardless of who the donor would be. Looks like we'll have to rely solely on Shuuichi for the transfusion."
At that, Kenzou turned to the gun enthusiast and asked him "Do you think you're up to it?"
Shuuichi lightly shrugged and said "I don't see why not. How much blood do you think you'll need?"
"Based on the hue of Daisuke's skin and on what we saw, I'd say about two pints," Kenzou thought aloud, "However, you should know that the human body has about ten pints of blood total at any time. In typical blood drives, donors give a pint of it at most. But even giving just a pint of blood can make one feel extremely lightheaded and queasy. The side effects would be more severe if a donor was to give an additional pint."
"That I can understand," Shuuichi remarked calmly, "As long as I regain my coordination in time, I'll be alright with that. There is just one thing I want to know: do you know what you're doing?"
"I've actually asked myself that quite a few times," Kenzou enlightened his friends, "But as long as I focus, I've convinced that I do know. Coach Urabe trained me how to use needles and everything else in the basics of medicine. You could almost say I was the rugby team's stand-in paramedic. So in answer to your question, yes, Shuuichi; I know what I'm doing. "
Shuuichi looked off to the side and thought about this. In all his life, he had never been afraid of needles or anything else that was used in a hospital. He did not like the side effects of donating blood, particularly the feelings of lightheadedness. However, if it meant helping Daisuke, he'd be willing to put up with that sensation for a while.
While Kenzou was not a professional, Shuuichi was certain that he was definitely competent. After all, he had just removed a bullet from Daisuke's chest without doing any additional damage to his body. If he could do that, Kenzou could easily handle a blood transfusion. He had also proven to Shuuichi that he cared for the well-being of his classmates, even under the extremes of the Program. Shuuichi was confident that he could put his trust in Kenzou.
Over the course of the next forty minutes, Kenzou got quite a lot accomplished. First, he got two pints' worth of blood from Shuuichi to stabilize Daisuke's red blood cell count. He ended up needing to prick both of Shuuichi's arms, but all that mattered was that he had enough. After getting the blood, he used another IV to slowly integrate Shuuichi's blood into Daisuke's veins. It was a long and somewhat tedious process, but Kenzou made certain he got it done properly.
After this, he found the proper equipment to stitch up Daisuke's wound. All he needed was a few thin needles, some thin wire, and a few other things. He asked Naozumi to hold Daisuke down again while he did this to ensure that his "patient" would not move, as one single twitch could have easily thrown off the whole process.
It would have been a little simpler if Shuuichi had helped Naozumi hold down Daisuke, but as Kenzou had predicted, Shuuichi was feeling very groggy from his blood donation. At that moment, he was in no condition to overexert himself in any manner. Kenzou insisted that Shuuichi just sit down and recover while he and Naozumi worked.
Ultimately, Kenzou managed to stitch up every part of the bullet hole in Daisuke's chest, including the incisions he had made to extract the bullet. It was an even longer and much more complicated process than the blood transfusion, but Kenzou's efforts pulled through.
When Kenzou was finally done, he took off his Latex gloves and tossed them off to the side. All that was left was to bandage Daisuke's chest. For this, he retrieved a roll of gauze and medical tape from another cabinet. While Naozumi helped Daisuke sit up, Kenzou wrapped the gauze several times around the wounded boy's torso. Then he fastened it in place with the medical tape.
"That should do it," Kenzou told the others as he started putting everything away.
The room was left in silence for a while as he worked. It was Naozumi who ultimately broke it. He asked to no one in particular "What happens now?"
"Now, we just hope that I did everything right," Kenzou answered straightforwardly, "Keep in mind, this was my first time handling something as fatal as a bullet wound."
"There's just one thing I want to know," Daisuke stated as he weakly turned to Kenzou, "How long until I can walk again?"
"Well, you definitely won't be able to walk without keeling over for at least the next few hours," Kenzou informed him, "While I'm no expert on injuries inflicted by bullets, there's no way you'd be able to walk without hurting yourself for a good long time. Even with proper and professional treatment, that prognosis would be the same."
"So basically, you're saying I'm not going anywhere?" Daisuke enquried.
"You could get around in a wheelchair or that bed, seeing as it's movable" Kenzou responded, "But at the moment, that's out of the question. So you should probably think of yourself confined to that bed until further notice."
Daisuke sighed in frustration and commented "I was afraid of that."
Naozumi reentered the conversation by saying "There's one exception to that rule, Kenzou: the danger zones. What if this place is scheduled to become forbidden after the evening announcements? Or any other announcement? What then? We sure as hell can't stay here."
"The danger zones are randomly selected," Kenzou reminded the large boy, "The odds that F-5 would be picked out are very unlikely."
"But it can still happen," Shuuichi pointed out, trying hard to sit up straight, "Don't forget we were already in a future danger zone this morning. If it happened once, it could certainly happen again."
"And if it does happen, I'm not leaving my best friend behind," Naozumi firmly declared, placing his hand on Daisuke's shoulder, "We'd have to move him to safety somehow."
"I guess you're right," Kenzou concurred, "Perhaps we should contemplate another hideout in the event that the hospital may get selected."
"Any ideas?" asked Daisuke.
"I'll check the map," Kenzou told his companions. He walked over to his supply pack and dug out his map. After studying it for a while, he announced "We could always go back to the apartment complex."
"That's a little too far," Shuuichi concluded. He was still a little dizzy from the blood donation, so he had to struggle to think straight, "There's three miles between us and the western complex. The eastern complex is even further away at four miles. So for the moment, I'd recommend someplace closer."
"Alright," said Kenzou, as he went back to studying his map. A few moments later, he said "We could always try the fire department in E-6. I'll bet no one's thought of going there just yet."
"Sounds fine to me," remarked Naozumi.
"Then it's settled," Kenzou decided, "If F-5 goes forbidden, we'll move to the fire department in E-6."
"Okay," stated Shuuichi, "But there's just one problem: What if it turns out someone is there? Someone with less than favorable intentions?"
"Shuuichi's right," said Daisuke, struggling to sit up a little, "The four of us were lucky enough to survive that ordeal with the sniper. Tsukasa wasn't as lucky. If I hadn't gotten shot, we wouldn't have even had to come here. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to risk another encounter."
After thinking about this for a bit, Kenzou suggested "Maybe one of us should scout ahead. You know, just to make certain the fire department's deserted."
"That sounds like a reasonable plan," said Naozumi, "Who should go?"
"If no one's got any objections, I'll do it," Kenzou offered, "I can get around the city easily enough on my own."
"Kenzou, under the circumstances, I don't think any of us should be travelling solo," Shuuichi interposed. With a little difficulty, he sat up straight and announced "I'm coming with you."
"Are you certain of that, Shuuichi?" inquired Kenzou, "You've just donated two pints of blood. You wouldn't be much better off out there than Daisuke."
"Don't forget, I'm still the best with guns," Shuuichi reminded the jock, pulling his handgun out of his belt, "I may be a little dizzy, but I can still watch your back. Besides, we can't ask Naozumi to leave Daisuke. He spent the better part of this morning looked for him by himself."
"Thank you, Shuuichi" said Naozumi, giving a slight grin.
"No problem," was the other boy's response.
Kenzou quickly became convinced that he could trust Shuuichi to watch his back for him. He agreed to let him accompany him.
Before they left, Kenzou gave Naozumi two things. The first was a set of directions on what to do should Daisuke's pain resurface. He told Naozumi that the best thing to do would be to give Daisuke another shot of morphine to ease the pain. He made certain to demonstrate on how to properly administer a morphine injection into both the IV and Daisuke's arm.
The second thing Kenzou gave Naozumi was Tsukasa's Winchester rifle. Naozumi was a little hesitant to accept the gun, arguing that Kenzou would need it more than him. Kenzou assured him that he would be fine without it. After all, he still had his Taser, and Shuuichi had his handgun. Kenzou also pointed out that the only other weapon Daisuke and Naozumi had was the latter's tomahawk. They would certainly need more than that if they had to defend themselves from another player.
In the end, Naozumi agreed to take the rifle. Kenzou also left him Tsukasa's supply pack, which contained extra magazines, ammunition cases, and the instructions on how to operate the Winchester.
Once everything was in order, Kenzou and Shuuichi left the hospital, leaving Daisuke in the care of his best friend.
As Kenzou and Shuuichi headed off to the east, they made certain to carefully examine the path ahead, as well as the paths to the side. However, they did not check the path behind them. If they had, they would have seen a hooded figure step out of the administration building with a submachine gun in tow.
…
Back at the bar in D-7, Osamu Sano (Boy #9) and his friends were focused on accomplishing their objectives. However, some of them had different objectives in mind, and the only two who were actually working on theirs were Gakuto Yamashita (Boy #21) and Toshirou Oosaki (Boy #5).
Toshirou and Gakuto were primarily concerned with creating the nitroglycerin. In the past few hours, they had managed to come a long way in developing it.
Making nitroglycerin was a multi-stage process that required careful attention to detail. The first stage involved extracting the glycerin from the soap. This process was fairly complicated, but Gakuto's knowledge of chemistry proved to be very useful.
He started this process by opening one of the crates of soap, removing a dozen bars, and breaking them up into very small pieces. He used his hands to manage this, as soap was difficult to cut through with a knife. After he did this, he placed the soap chunks in a bowl containing several bottles' worth of alcohol from the bar and let the soap soak. While he did this, he had Toshirou put together equal proportions of salt and clean water in a large pot. Then he placed the pot on a hotplate and put it over high heat.
By the time Gakuto finished breaking up the twelve bars, the salt water was at a boil. Gakuto carefully added the chunks of alcohol-soaked soap to the mixture one at a time. The soap remained floating on the surface on the water. After a few minutes, the soap began to curdle. Gaktuo knew this was a sign that the glycerin was starting to dissolve in the water.
After about twenty minutes, the soap curds had turned soft and easily breakable. This indicated that the soap had given up as much glycerin as it possibly could. Once this occurred, Gakuto used a ladle to remove the curds from the surface of the liquid. All that remained in the pot was a solution of glycerin, soap, and water.
Gakuto explained that they needed to boil off the water next. They could have done this in the pot they had been using at the time, but that would have taken an extremely long amount of time. In order to save some time, they got some more hotplates and a bunch of smaller pots. They distributed the mixture evenly amongst the pots and put them all over high heat.
While Toshirou kept an eye on the pots, Gakuto went to work preparing for the next phase of creating nitroglycerin. For this, he needed to heat a certain amount of both nitric acid and sulfuric acid. For these, he did not use pots or hotplates. He knew very well that the only safe way to heat acids was over an open flame. So he kept the acids in their flasks and heated them over a pair of Bunsen burners.
Because Bunsen burners were gas-operated, finding a power source for them proved to be a little difficult. He asked the other members of his group to look around the room for anything that might have been a natural gas switch. A few minutes later, Reika Fujihara (Girl #19) found two gas valves underneath the counter of the bar. After she told Gakuto about them, he hooked up the Bunsen burners to these valves with a pair of rubber tubes. After getting a flame on both burners, he hooked up the flasks of sulfuric acid and nitric acid to the stands above the flames.
Gakuto kept his attention on the acids as they heated. He asked Kaminari Ishida (Girl #2) to keep an eye on them whenever Toshirou announced that all the water had boiled out of one of the pots. She agreed, albeit somewhat reluctantly.
Once all the water boiled out of one of the pots, Gakuto would help Toshirou separate the salt from the glycerin in that pot. For this, Toshirou would hold a strainer above a large glass bowl while Gakuto would slowly pour the remaining mixture into the strainer. The glycerin would easily flow through the strainer while the salt remained behind. After all the glycerin had been strained out, Toshirou would throw the salt away, as they did not need it anymore.
After all the pots had been emptied, Gakuto had Toshirou turn off all the hotplates and set them aside. They had plenty of glycerin for the present. Now they were entering the next and most critical phase: making the nitroglycerin itself.
The glycerin extraction was the easy part, as glycerin by itself is not dangerous. Creating nitroglycerin was much more difficult and much more dangerous. Any number of things could go wrong. But Gakuto and Toshirou were willing to take the risks. However, before going on any further, they both donned protective goggles as a precaution.
Gakuto kept a close eye on the acids as they heated over the Bunsen burners. As soon as he saw a tint of red smoke rising from the nitric acid, he used a pair of tongs to remove the flask from heat. He carefully moved the flask to another table and transferred a small percentage of the contents into a beaker.
As Gakuto returned the flask to the Bunsen burner, Toshirou took a stainless steel bowl and filled it with water and ice. Gakuto then used the tongs to pick up the beaker and slowly lower it into the ice bath. Then he allowed it to cool below room temperature.
Once the nitric acid was cooled, Gakuto used his tongs to remove the flask of sulfuric acid from its Bunsen burner. He carried the flask of sulfuric acid across the room to the bowl of ice water. The beaker of nitric acid was still resting in the center of the bowl. Gakuto carefully added the fuming sulfuric acid to the nitric acid until they had a 3:1 ratio. He poured very slowly and carefully to avoid splattering.
Once the two acids were mixed, Gakuto explained that they needed to lower the mixture's temperature further. He had Toshirou use a mercury-operated thermometer to measure the acid's current temperature. To speed up the process a little, Gakuto began adding more ice to the bowl. As he did this, Toshirou notified him every time the temperature went down one degree. After the temperature dropped five degrees, Gakuto stopped adding ice, as the bowl was close to overflowing. They still needed for the mixture to drop another ten degrees before moving on to the next step.
By two o'clock, this was how far they had gotten. Now they were waiting for the acid solution to cool to the desired temperature. They could not speed this up any more than they already had.
Osamu and Kazumitsu Hayashi (Boy #16) had been watching them for quite a while. After a few minutes of apparent inactivity, Osamu asked them "Anything wrong?"
"Nope, we're just waiting for the acid mixture to cool below 30 degrees centigrade," Gakuto responded, "Then comes the really hard part: incorporating the glycerin into the acids. It'll need to be added drop by drop using a medicine dropper. This is the most important step of the entire procedure; it is where the nitration process begins."
"Why does the glycerin need to be added drop by drop?" inquired Osamu.
"Because any number of things can go wrong if it is added too quickly," explained Gakuto, "Our biggest concern would be that the temperature might rise too quickly in under a few seconds. If that was to happen, the solution would literally blow up in my face."
Kaminari and Reika both winced in disgust when he said this. Osamu leaned back against his chair and said "So, there's no speeding this up?"
"Correct," Gakuto confirmed, "This is one part of the procedure that cannot be rushed. It has to be handled with even more care than the previous steps."
Osamu sighed and leaned back against the wall. While he was glad that Toshirou and Gakuto were making great progress with the nitroglycerin, he was starting to become a little stressed. However, he did a good job of masking his nervousness. His first objective was to find a way to keep his friends safe and – if possible – get them all out of the Program alive.
In order to do this, the group would need more and better weapons. This was why he was so eager for the nitroglycerin to be finished. While he did not know when or how they would use it, he still wanted to have it on hand in case they encountered any threats.
He looked across the room at Reika. He had caught her staring at him several times. Every time he did, she quickly looked away. He could tell that she was trying to avoid his gaze. However, she was doing this for a good reason: she did not want the others to know about her new relationship with Osamu just yet. Truthfully, he did not want them to know either. But the others would have to be told eventually.
Reika's first objective was a little different from Osamu's, but much more similar to his than Gakuto or Toshirou's. Her first objective was to find some way to keep both herself and Osamu safe from the entire class. This included the other members of their group. She was hopeful that Teru Machida's plan would work. But if it did not, only two people would still be allowed to survive the Program. If it came down to that and Reika had to choose among her five friends, she would easily pick Osamu. All the same, she hoped it would not come down to that.
However, she was just as eager as Osamu for the nitroglycerin to be finished. She turned to Gakuto and Toshirou and asked them "How many more steps will there be after this?"
"Including the glycerin-adding one, six," answered Toshirou, gazing at the instruction sheet.
"How much time do you think you'll need?" inquired Osamu.
"Hard to say for certain," answered Gakuto, "It'll all depend on the chemicals themselves. We'll need at least another hour. Maybe two. At the very least, it should be done by the evening announcements."
"I'm glad to know that," remarked Osamu, "Because something just occurred to me."
"What's that?" asked Toshirou.
"Well, suppose D-7 was selected as a danger zone," Osamu theorized, "If that was to happen, we'd need to get out of this area as soon as possible. How would we transport the nitroglycerin? Would we even be able to move it around the city?"
"Of course we would, Osamu," answered Gakuto, "You think I'd waste time developing weapons that could not be shipped? No, sir; that would be a waste of valuable time and resources."
"How would you suggest we move it?" queried Osamu.
"The trolley might be the best way," said Gakuto, "It can stay level with the pavement and we would not have to worry about hitting any potholes, bumps, or rough terrain too hard."
"At the very least, it would be a much better option than the car," Toshirou added.
Gakuto scoffed and commented "True."
Osamu abruptly stood up straight and proclaimed "Shit, I forgot all about the car! Is it still parked right outside the bar?"
"Unless someone else decided to 'borrow' it, I'm certain it is," replied Toshirou, "I parked it there myself."
"Do you think you could take a moment to move the car a couple blocks away?" Osamu requested.
"I would advise against that," stated Gakuto, "As soon as the acid solution drops to the right temperature, we'll need to move on to the next step. I'll need Toshirou here to help me at the exact time that happens. If it happens and he's not here to assist me, the entire procedure could be thrown off."
"Alright," Osamu nodded in understanding. He stood up from his chair and announced as he approached the door "In that case, I'll move the car on my own. After all, I was the one who found it in the first place"
"Just a moment, Osamu," Toshirou interposed, "There's something you should know. I meant to tell you this a little earlier, but it slipped my mind. So I'll tell you now. We've been driving that thing around the city all morning long. Because of that, the gas tank is dangerously low. It's not going to be of use much longer unless we find it some more gas."
Osamu did not respond right away. He just stared down at Toshirou for a few moments, as if contemplating his response. Then he stated "While I would have preferred to have known that a little sooner, I'm still glad you told me all the same, Toshirou. Now that I do know, we should probably focus on getting some gas as soon as possible. If we need to make a quick getaway, we'll need the tank to be full."
"I think I saw a gas station somewhere when I looked over my map a little earlier," Kaminari thought aloud. She picked up her supply pack, opened it up, took out her map, and looked it over. After examining the map, she announced "Looks like I was right; there's a gas station in F-4. If we're lucky, there might be some gas there."
"You're certain there isn't any place closer?" enquired Osamu.
"Yes, I would have spotted t by now," Kaminari replied, "I'm guessing this city's inhabitants weren't big on motorized transportation."
"That would certainly explain why there's only one gas station and why the only car we've seen this morning is the one we've been using," commented Toshirou.
"For an urban area, this city's pretty green," Reika joked.
"If the only gas station is in F-4, someone will have to take the car and get it some gas," Osamu decided. He looked around the room at his friends and told them "We don't have to do it now, but we probably should do it soon. Anyone want to volunteer?"
Immediately, Kazumitsu's eyes lit up. All this talk about the gas station began forming an idea in his mind. He stepped forward and placed his hand on Osamu. He told him "Got your volunteers right here, Osamu."
"'Volunteers?'" said Osamu, uncertain he had heard his friend correctly.
"Yes, volunteers plural," Kazumitsu confirmed. After this, he looked over at Kaminari and gave her a signal through his eyes. After a moment of confusion, she quickly caught on to what he was trying to tell her. She stepped forward and casually told Osamu "Yes, Kazumitsu and I will be glad to make a run by the gas station."
"Both of you want to go out?" asked Osamu.
"I think it would make more sense if we went out in pairs," Kazumitsu reasoned out, "After all that's happened so far, we'd be better off that way."
"That is certainly true," agreed Osamu, rubbing his chin and thinking about this proposal. He was a little uncertain about sending two of his friends out into the city on such short notice, even though both of them were more than capable of defending themselves and each other. However, he could tell that they both knew what they were getting themselves into. After all, they had volunteered for the assignment out of their own freewill. They would not have done so unless they were fully certain they could do it successfully.
After careful consideration, Osamu agreed to let them get the gas together. He asked them when they planned on getting it; Kazumitsu answered with "Right now. Better sooner than later."
Seeing the logic in these words, Osamu let them leave. Kazumitsu picked up his flamethrower off the ground, along with his backpack and supply pack. He slung them over his shoulders and carried them towards the door. Kaminari was already waiting there for him, as she had also gathered up her supply pack and backpack.
"I wish you two the best of luck," Osamu honestly told them, "If you run into any trouble, do not pursue. Try your hardest to lose the tracker. Once you have, come back here as soon as possible, with or without the gas."
"You got it, Osamu," Kazumitsu agreed with a nod of his head. After that, he turned to the door and held it open for Kaminari. She smiled in thanks and stepped outside; he followed her close behind. Once they were both outside, Osamu closed and locked the door again.
Kaminari and Kazumitsu slowly approached the car and stepped up to the passenger's seat and driver's seat respectively. Once they got in, they tossed their bags into the backseat. Kaminari still had her map in her lap.
Kazumitsu quickly went to work hotwiring the car. Once he got the engine to start, he switched off the parking brake and activated the driving gear. He gripped the steering wheel with both hands and told Kaminari "You give the directions to the gas station; I'll follow them."
"Fair enough," Kaminari replied, "But before we do that, would you care to enlighten me on what we're really doing there? I assume you have some sort of plan in mind?"
"Of course I do," Kazumitsu assured her, "However, I want to wait until we're a safe distance away from here to explain it. But in time, I will tell you everything."
Normally, Kaminari would not agree to these types of terms, but she reminded herself that Kazumitsu was the only one she could trust as an actual ally. She managed to bring herself to go along with it. "Alright. You got yourself a deal."
Kazumitsu turned the car around and began driving to the south. All the while, Kaminari gave him directions to F-4.
…
Back in F-6, Blaine Rhodes and Yuuga Suzuki had finally finished removing all the boxes from the bomb shelter. They were in the midst of sorting them out. Some contained rations, some contained weapons, some contained water. There was not much in the way of weapons. In fact, the deadliest items were perhaps the crates themselves, as they were made of very thick and sturdy wood.
Blaine and Yuuga were just glad they had plenty supplies on hand. It would come in handy if they needed to stake out for a prolonged period of time.
However, the main reason Blaine and Yuuga had moved and sorted out the boxes was that they wanted to keep their minds occupied. Now that the crates were organized, they found they had nothing much to do. They just stood against the wall, thinking about what else they could do.
Blaine sighed and remarked "Oh, boy, am I bored."
"I know the feeling," Yuuga told him, "But of course, I'd rather be here, bored and calm, than out there, excited and in danger."
Blaine scoffed and said "You seem to be using the most interesting terms to describe the Program, Yuuga. I'm not certain I would call playing it 'exciting.'"
"I suppose I need to work on simplifying my terminology," Yuuga clarified, "I mean 'exciting' as in heart-pounding, not as in entertaining."
"Still, I'm impressed," Blaine admitted, "I wasn't even aware that you can get excited, Yuuga. In all the time I've known you, nothing's ever seemed to excite you."
"I understand how you'd come to that conclusion," Yuuga commented, "I can assure you that I can be as excitable as the next person. But my emotions are in check."
"Do you have like… I dunno, complete control over them or something?" asked Blaine.
"In a way, you could say that," Yuuga confirmed, "I never let my emotions get the better of me."
"I suspected it had something to do with that," Blaine thought aloud, "If that's the case, Yuuga, I would like to know something. How are you able to hide and control your emotions so well? Especially under these circumstances?"
Yuuga did not know how to answer that question straight away. How he handled his emotions was something of a private matter. The only people who knew about it were his therapist and Yuriye Sakaguchi (Girl #9). The only reason he had told them was because he knew he could trust both of them to keep his secrets confidential.
However, he saw no harm in telling Blaine his secrets, given the occasion. In the nine months he had known Blaine, he had come to think of him as an honest and trustworthy person. So Yuuga turned to him and began explaining with just one sentence: "It's something of an acquired skill, Blaine."
"Does it have anything to do with your ability to 'read faces?'" asked Blaine.
"Actually, it has everything to do with it," Yuuga enlightened him, "I've been able to interpret people's feelings through their facial expressions all my life. While I've mostly viewed it as a gift, it can sometimes be a burden as well. This is what it's like for me: every time I look at someone's face, I can pick up whatever emotions they are feeling. A lot of the time, I can even share in their emotions. That's why people say I'm empathic. With one or two people, that is just fine. Now imagine what it would be like to study a multitude of different faces at once, pick up so many different emotions from them at the same time, and try to experience them all simultaneously."
"That sounds quite overwhelming," was all Blaine said.
"It is," stated Yuuga, "But I went through that almost every day for the first ten years of my life. I probably would have gone mad, had I not decided to do something about it."
Blaine leaned forward in interest and asked "What did you do?"
"In the fifth grade, I started teaching myself how to regulate my feelings," Yuuga explained, "I figured that if I could control my own emotions, I could easily control my empathy. It was mostly a bunch of meditating and breathing exercises at first. Then I took on some yoga and temperance exercises. Overtime, I gradually felt myself become more and more in control of my empathic ability. It took years to perfect, but in the end it was worth it. These days, I have as much control over my emotions as a monk. I only feel any emotions – both mine and others' – when I choose to feel them."
Blaine whistled in amazement. "You went through years of solitary exercises to control your emotions? Damn, that's some personal commitment. You'd make a Vulcan proud with that kind of determination."
Yuuga scoffed in amusement, saying "I like that idea. In the world of Star Trek, I suppose I would make a good Vulcan."
"I guess you would," Blaine agreed.
The two of them were left in silence for about a minute. Blaine began wondering. He thought about all Yuuga just told him. Yuuga had spent almost half of his life learning to master his own emotions. They did not dictate his actions; he dictated them. Then Blaine wondered; if such skills could be acquired, could they be taught as well?
He turned to his friend and said "Yuuga, I have a favor to ask."
"I'm listening," stated the empathic boy, looking over at Blaine.
"Do you suppose… maybe, just maybe… you could teach me how to control my emotions, too?" Blaine asked, "I mean, I did say earlier that it would be wiser if I handled myself more like you. I figure if I can learn to manipulate my own emotions as you have, we'd have a better chance of survival."
"I don't know about that, Blaine," Yuuga responded, "It took me years of continual practice and discipline to get it right."
"But you ultimately did get it right," Blaine pointed out, "A wise man once said 'Anything that can be learned can be instilled.'"
Yuuga raised an eyebrow in perplexity and enquired "What wise man said that?"
"Well… I don't really know," Blaine answered, "In fact, I'm not even sure a wise man said those words. Wouldn't surprise me if one had, though. Look, if you don't think I'm up to it, I understand. It was just an idea anyway."
"Wait just a moment, Blaine," Yuuga countered, holding up a hand, "I never said I wouldn't do it. It's just… I've never revealed my secrets to anyone. How I control my emotions is a very deep and personal matter. I can teach you, and if you really wish it, I will. But you must promise me one thing."
"Anything," said Blaine.
"You must never reveal my teachings to anyone else," Yuuga requested, "You see, my methods of self-control are very different from those of a typical meditator. While I'm willing to bet you've seen most of my techniques elsewhere, I'm certain you've never seen a combination of them such as the one I have."
"Alright you got yourself a deal," Blaine agreed, "But I wouldn't worry about me giving away your secrets, Yuuga. After all, have you forgotten we're surrounded by cameras which are broadcasting live?"
"There aren't any cameras in the bomb shelter," Yuuga corrected him, "If we go down there, we'd be away from the public's eyes."
"That seems equitable," said Blaine. He thought about the letter in his pocket and told Yuuga "Don't worry about me giving away your secrets. I've recently become a master at withholding secretive information."
"What do you mean by that?" Yuuga asked a little suspiciously.
"Nothing," Blaine quickly replied, "It's not important, anyway. So, when do we begin?"
"Right now, if you're ready," Yuuga offered.
Blaine was eager to start as soon as possible. However, before he could say a word, a heavy clicking sound filled the air all around them. Blaine and Yuuga looked around the lobby of City Hall, looking for the source of the sound. After a moment, they realized it was coming from outside the building.
"What the hell is that?" Blaine asked nervously.
"It sounds like… firecrackers," Yuuga speculated, trying to stay calm.
"No, that's definitely not firecrackers," Blaine retorted, pulling his Remington shotgun off his shoulders and arming himself with it, "Firecrackers go off at an erratic interval. That clicking sound is much too rhythmic to be them."
A moment later, the door to the mayor's office opened and Tatsuo Inoue stepped out. He was armed with his Luger pistol.
"Guys, I think you should see this," he uneasily told Yuuga and Blaine. He held the door open to allow the two of them entrance into the office. Once they were inside, he shut the door behind them.
Kiyomi Takayama had been standing at the window. She was gazing out of it with a frantic look in her eyes. Blaine rushed over to her and asked "What is it? What's wrong?"
She just used her finger to point outside the window and towards the ground. Blaine followed her finger and looked. Yuuga and Tatsuo approached the window and looked in the same direction. There, they saw the source of the noise.
A hooded figure was standing in the center of the road, armed with a submachine gun. The figure was firing an entire clip's worth of bullets at two male students. Both of the boys had taken cover in an alley on the opposite side of the street, but from what Blaine could tell, they were pinned down.
…
A few minutes earlier, Shuuichi Kai and Kenzou Iwamoto had crossed over from F-5 into F-6. They were still in the midst of making their way to the fire department in E-6.
Kenzou had his map out in his left hand. He was examining it closely as they walked, as he wanted to single out the safest possible route between the hospital and the fire department. In this context, "safe" was determined by a variety of factors. For one thing, he wanted to make certain they were surrounded by tall buildings everywhere. This would give them some cover from the area around. If they were out in the open, they could easily be spotted.
At one point, Kenzou looked up from his map and turned to Shuuichi. He noticed that his friend looked a little glum. Concerned, Kenzou asked him "Are you feeling alright?"
"Hmmm?" said Shuuichi, looking at Kenzou out of the corner of his eye, "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I'm still a little disoriented from the blood donation."
"I can tell that well enough on my own," Kenzou remarked, "You look as though something else is bothering you."
Shuuichi looked away and said "Truthfully… something is."
"Care to enlighten me?" asked Kenzou.
Shuuichi did not answer straight away. But after a few minutes, he sighed and told Kenzou "Actually, yes. I was just thinking about what happened before we got Daisuke to the hospital. I was thinking about the incident with the sniper."
"What about it?" enquired Kenzou.
"Well, when the noon announcements came on, six of our classmates were listed amongst the dead," Shuuichi reminded him, "Keep in mind it was in the order they died. Tsukasa was fourth on the list. The two following him were Goro and Tamayo."
"What's your point?" said Kenzou.
"I know for certain that whoever the sniper was, they would have died shortly after I shot them," Shuuichi reasoned, "I recall that Furutani said something about how Tamayo was doing something other than playing the game, so the sniper couldn't have been her."
"Then it must have been Goro," Kenzou finished.
"I came to that conclusion, too," stated Shuuichi, "Now that I know who it was I shot… I feel a little disconcerted."
"In what way?" asked Kenzou.
"While I can't say I really knew Goro well, I do know for a fact that he never would have done such a thing back home" Shuuichi expounded, "After all, he's never struck me as the type willing to commit murder."
"That's just the way it is here in the Program," Kenzou pointed out, "People change in the worst ways imaginable. The ones that lose hope are among the first to change. Those people either take the easy way out, or decide to participate in the game."
"So you think Goro lost hope?" asked Shuuichi.
"He must have," Kenzou concluded, "Otherwise, he would not have shot at us."
"And I wouldn't have had to shoot him," Shuuichi realized, looking off to the side.
Kenzou placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and told him "It's best not to dwell on it. What's done is done. Goro's gone and nothing will bring him back."
"That doesn't exactly make me feel better," Shuuichi mumbled as he gazed at one of the buildings surrounding them.
"You did what you had to do so that we could survive," Kenzou argued, "After all, you're the only one that's been trained to handle a rifle. No one else could have made that shot."
"I know, I know," stated Shuuichi.
It was obvious to Kenzou that nothing he had told Shuuichi so far was making him feel better. He thought about using a different approach.
Kenzou actually had another goal in mind other than surviving the Program. He had formed this objective several hours earlier, just after he left the school. For his own reasons, he had not told anyone else about it. However, he did not plan to keep it a secret from everyone. He actually wanted to tell one of his classmates – only one – about it. He was merely waiting until he was sure he had found the right person.
Shortly after Kenzou left the school, he had come across Daisuke. It had been Kenzou's idea for the two of them to pair up and work together. Daisuke agreed to this on one condition: he wanted Kenzou's help in finding Naozumi. Kenzou agreed to this arrangement. Kenzou quickly came to the conclusion that Daisuke was not the one he needed.
Less than an hour after this, Daisuke and Kenzou had encountered Shuuichi and Tsukasa near the western apartment complex. The four boys teamed up together, even though Tsukasa's behavior quickly started to annoy both Daisuke and Kenzou.
Kenzou quickly concluded that Tsukasa was not the one he needed, either. However, he had begun to suspect that Shuuichi might be the one. He was definitely the easiest to get along with, as well as the one with the most useful skills.
Half a day had passed since then, and Kenzou was certain that Shuuichi was the one he needed; the one he could reveal his plan to. Now he just needed a discreet way of presenting his plan. So he began by changing the subject while retaining the conversation's original focus.
"Shuuichi, everyone is skilled at something," he remarked, "In the Program, some of our skills can be extremely useful. I know for absolute certain that your chief skill with firearms is invaluable. You shouldn't kick yourself for using your skill against Goro."
Shuuichi turned to Kenzou and looked him in the eye. He could tell that Kenzou meant everything he told him. He also realized Kenzou was correct. Goro had fired the first shot and he had spilt the first blood. Shuuichi recalled that before he had picked up Tsukasa's rifle, he had looked for another option other than fighting back. But they had been trapped in an alley with no way out. Thus, their only alternative was to eliminate Goro.
In the end, Shuuichi smiled and said "You're right, Kenzou. I should just be glad we're alive. It could have been much, much worse. Just look at what happened to Tsukasa."
"True," Kenzou nodded in agreement, "There's also what happened to Daisuke."
"Yeah, but at least we had you around to handle that problem," Shuuichi remarked, "By the way, on the subject of chief skills, would you say that yours is your medical knowledge?"
"I would say that," Kenzou concurred.
"Just out of curiosity, how much do you know about our anatomy?" queried Shuuichi, "You seem to have an extensive familiarity with it… for an athlete."
"I'm just fascinated by what makes the human body tick," Kenzou enlightened him, "I've studied it broadly over the years, and I've come to learn some very interesting facts."
"Like what?" queried Shuuichi.
Kenzou thought about how to answer him, and then he told him the following: "You know how many neural connections there are in your brain? Neither do I. There's so many that it's actually easier to count the number of atoms in the universe. There are also twelve bones in the human body that can never be broken whenever a person falls to his or her death, regardless of how far they fall. I think the most relevant fact I know is perhaps how the heart functions. You see, the arteries, the vessels, and the ventricles are primarily responsible for the flow of blood to the brain and veins. The aorta is debatably the most critical part of the heart, as the life-expectancy of a ruptured one is about a minute. It's very hard for an aorta to rupture on its own without some type of external intervention. But it's still possible for something to go wrong internally. Let's say for example that one of blood vessels just above the heart was to become severed. If that was to happen, it would ultimately lead to massive internal bleeding. After losing enough blood, the aorta would virtually split open and the victim would be done for."
Shuuichi was both impressed and disturbed by what Kenzou was telling him. "Really? All that can happen because of one severed blood vessel?"
"It can indeed," Kenzou confirmed, "With one damaged blood vessel, the heart could shut down in about week. But in Daisuke's case, it can happen even faster."
This entire time, Shuuichi and Kenzou had been walking through F-6. At this point, they had reached the street that ran along the west side of City Hall. When Kenzou said that last line, Shuuichi halted in his tracks.
He slowly turned to Kenzou, who was now grinning deviously. Shuuichi asked him quietly "What do you mean by that?"
"You may recall that Daisuke was shot three inches above the heart," Kenzou elucidated, "When I performed that operation to extract the bullet, I noticed he had not one, but two damaged blood vessels above his heart. The bullet must have been responsible for that."
"Well, were you able to reattach them?" Shuuichi asked hopefully.
"Of course I wasn't," Kenzou answered bluntly, "It would have been a waste of time. Plus, I don't have enough experience to perform heart surgery."
"Well, why the hell didn't you say anything?" Shuuichi demanded.
"Because there would have been no point," Kenzou explained, "Daisuke is pretty much a goner anyway. With two severed blood vessels, I'd say he's got about three days left at most. If he actually lasts that long, he'll spend most of that time in excruciating pain. Then his aorta will give out."
"And this can't be avoided?" Shuuichi muttered in shock.
"Not without professional help," said Kenzou, "If he somehow got a licensed physician to treat his bullet wound, he might survive. But that would be an impossibility here. Besides, there's a chance it won't be his aorta that kills him."
"What?" Shuuichi shouted in surprise, "How do you know?"
"When we first entered the hospital, you may recall I took a long time to search the ER," Kenzou recounted, "The truth is I never set foot in that room. I just lingered around to give you and the others the idea I was there. You see, there was blood on the door that led to the ER. It was fresh blood, meaning someone else had been there recently. For all I know, that person could still be there."
"Is that why you were so quick to suggest we take Daisuke up to the second floor?" Shuuichi asked through gritted teeth.
"Correct," Kenzou replied simply, "I'm just glad Naozumi came up with the idea of finding another hideout. Otherwise I would not have had an excuse to leave the hospital."
"Why did you want to leave it?" Shuuichi asked suspiciously.
"Isn't it obvious?" stated Kenzou, "Our little 'group' had two weak links in it: Daisuke and Naozumi. Daisuke is of little use with a bullet wound and Naozumi is too soft. With them out of the picture, you and I have a much better chance of survival."
"If you were so eager to leave, then why did you do everything you did?" Shuuichi countered in disbelief, "Why did you remove the bullet from Daisuke's chest? Why'd you make that blood transfusion? Why'd you leave the Winchester rifle with Naozumi?"
"To forestall suspicion," Kenzou told him simply, "I needed to draw Naozumi and Daisuke into a false sense of security before I left. I need them to be convinced that they were out of harm's way. What better way to do that than give them the impression that all their troubles had already been fixed? That was the real reason I willingly performed that operation. All I can say now is that I'm glad I know so much about human anatomy. That was one scenario where my knowledge proved to be a real asset."
"I find it hard to believe you did all that as an act," Shuuichi retorted.
"Well, I did," Kenzou guaranteed him.
"Why the hell are you even telling me this?" Shuuichi demanded angrily.
Kenzou did not answer him straight away. But he kept that same uncomfortable smile on his face. He looked Shuuichi in the eye and stated "I have a proposition for you, Shuuichi. Let's work together from this point on. We can take advantage of the Program's new rule. We might even end up winning the game."
Shuuichi's jaw almost dropped when he heard those words come out of Kenzou's mouth. "You can't be serious."
"Oh, I'm quite serious," Kenzou assured the other boy, "The only way out of this game is to play it. You and I would make a great pair. Think about it: if we combine your marksman skills with my expansive knowledge of human anatomy, we would be virtually unstoppable. No one would stand a chance against us."
Shuuichi scowled in disgust at this suggestion. "No I know you're kidding. All this morning, you made it clear that you were against playing the Program entirely."
"That was just an act, too," Kenzou admitted, "I wasn't about to suggest playing the game in a group of more than two people."
"But what about this morning, when Tsukasa threatened Daisuke with his rifle?" Shuuichi recounted, "You stepped in and defended Daisuke. You even said something along the lines of 'anyone willing to play this game is a puppet of the government.'"
"Again, that was part of the act," Kenzou confessed, "Well, at least some of it was. I can assure you that my contempt for Tsukasa was genuine. After all, he was a stubborn fool. His type isn't meant to survive this sort of environment."
Kenzou paused for a brief interval here. Then he stated "So, what do you say? This partnership between us might actually work out, Shuuichi. You should take up my offer."
"What if my response to your offer is 'fuck you?'" stated Shuuichi, "What if I decide to just walk away and leave you on your own?"
"You could do that," Kenzou theorized, "But I doubt you'd get very far in your current state. I mean, you gave two pints of blood less than an hour ago. I can tell you're still quite delirious. If you were to collapse and I wasn't around, who would be there to help you up?"
"I'd be willing to take my chances," Shuuichi answered, "I mean, you honestly expect me to trust you with my life? I barely even know you, Kenzou. You and I never hanged out at school. The only thing we had in common was that we were in the same class."
"That may be, but I'm willing to bet we both want to get out of this hellhole alive," Kenzou countered, "That's something we have in common. You should just be glad I'm willing to work with you, Shuuichi. I'm willing to bet most of the rest of the class wouldn't trust someone who's been training with guns almost all his life. I, however, am willing to trust such a person. That being said, you and I'd have a much better chance of surviving if we play together."
Shuuichi decided he had had enough. He drew his handgun out of his belt and pulled back the hammer. He heatedly said to Kenzou "How do you know I won't turn my weapon on you the first time your back is turned? Tell me how you can be certain of that."
"Because of the aforementioned reasons," stated Kenzou, "Now you've proven to me that you're willing to play. If you still weren't, you would not have threatened me with a handgun."
"I haven't threatened you in any way yet," Shuuichi sharply remarked, "Then again, I don't see any moral dilemma in killing someone as dishonest as you."
Kenzou shrugged and held his arms out on either side. He told Shuuichi "Go ahead. If you really want to eliminate the one person who could function as your partner in this game, go ahead and do it."
So far, everything Kenzou had told Shuuichi was absolutely serious. He had not made a single joke or lie in any way. Even this sentence was true. He was actually presenting Shuuichi with a chance to take him down.
Shuuichi stood there, contemplating his options. The way he saw it, there were three possible things he could do.
His first option was that he could take up Kenzou on his offer, work with him to win the game, and probably walk out of the city alive. While he did not want to die in the Program, he was still unwilling to shed any more blood. He had already gotten over killing Goro, but he did not want more deaths on his conscience.
His second option was even simpler. He could shoot Kenzou. This did not necessarily mean he would shoot to kill; he could just shoot Kenzou in the foot and leave him behind. Then again, leaving him for dead was no better than killing him directly.
His third option was the one his parents encouraged him to take whenever he was in trouble. This was to just walk away and leave Kenzou. That seemed to be the most sensible option. Even if Shuuichi still felt dizzy from the blood transfusion, he was willing to risk survival on his own without Kenzou around.
He looked up at Kenzou and was about to give him his response. But he did not even open his mouth before he saw the expression on the other boy's face. In the few seconds Shuuichi had turned away, Kenzou's smirk had left his face. Now he appeared to be downright terrified. Shuuichi looked down at his hand and noticed that he had somehow pointed it at Kenzou's chest. He quickly turned it away and told him frantically "Kenzou, I wasn't going to do it! I swear I wasn't! I-!"
He abruptly stopped talking when he realized something else. Kenzou wasn't staring at Shuuichi. He was staring… at something behind him. Shuuichi abruptly turned around and saw the real source of Kenzou's terror.
A hooded figure was standing forty feet away from them. It was slowly advancing towards them without making a sound. The worst part was that the figure was armed with a submachine gun which was pointed directly at them.
Kenzou turned to the left and saw an open alleyway. Thinking fast, he placed his hand on Shuuichi's shoulder and told him "Come on! Run!"
The two of them sprinted over to the alley as fast as they could. Just before they reached it, the figure raised its submachine gun and let loose a few rounds. By pure luck, none of the bullets hit either Kenzou or Shuuichi.
Kenzou ducked into the alleyway first, Shuuichi followed close behind. They hid behind the wall as the figure kept firing at them.
Had either of them looked up and across the street at that time, they would have seen four of their classmates staring down upon them from the mayor's office in City Hall.
…
It had been about a half-hour since Kazumitsu Hayashi and Kaminari Ishida had left the bar in D-7. In order to get to the gas station in F-4, they would have to drive two miles south and three miles west. The most direct route from the two foundations was not a straight path. In fact, they ended up having to zigzag all over the city.
Eventually, they stopped outside a hotel in E-5. They were a little surprised to find a hotel in the city, seeing as how almost forty percent of it was composed of the apartment complexes. But then again, it was not the most surprising thing they had seen all day.
Kazumitsu decided to park the car there and wait a few moments before going on.
"Why are we stopping?" asked Kaminari, "We've still got a little way to go."
"The car's close to running on fumes," Kazumitsu explained, "If I turn off the engine and let it sit for a bit, we might get a little more fuel out of it. Believe me; we don't want to run out before we reach the gas station."
"Alright then," Kaminari agreed. The two of them sat in quietness for a short while as they waited for the engine to cool down. After about ten minutes had passed, Kaminari turned to Kazumitsu and said "Now that there's a good deal of space between us and the others, would you care to explain why you were so quick to volunteer the both of us for getting the gas?"
Kazumitsu just smirked and said "I have a simple plan in mind, Kaminari. Simple, but certainly effective. It'll be a way for us to get rid of our 'friends' without them even knowing of it."
He quickly caught Kaminari's attention. She leaned closer and told him in interest "Go on."
"Just a moment," said Kazumitsu. He turned around and reached for his backpack in the backseat. He unzipped it and pulled out a clipboard, a blank sheet of printer paper, and a pencil. Once he had these three items, he sat back down in the driver's seat and turned back to Kaminari. He clipped the sheet of printer paper onto the clipboard and placed it between himself and Kaminari. Then he picked up the pencil and began drawing.
First, he drew a large rectangle in the center of the paper. As he did this, he told Kaminari "Let's say for a moment that this rectangle represents the bar."
"Okay," she agreed, keeping her attention both on the paper and on what Kazumitsu was saying. A moment later, he used the pencil to blacken a part of one of the smaller ends of the rectangle. He also blackened a small section of one of the larger sides. Once this was accomplished, he looked up at Kaminari and remarked "You may recall that Gakuto asked me to search the entire building when we first arrived at it."
"Yes, I do remember that," she replied, "All you said was that no one else was there."
"Well, that was all Gakuto wanted to know," Kazumitsu pointed out. He turned back to the map and went on "During my search, I found that the only way in or out of the bar – other than the front entrance – is the back door. That's what the darkened spot on the larger side of this rectangle represents. The front door is represented by the darkened spot on the shorter side. You getting all this?"
"Yes, there are two entrances," Kaminari repeated, "Continue."
Kazumitsu then began drawing a bunch of small squares along the two darkened spots. He made certain to draw all of them outside the boundaries of the rectangle. When he was finished, he wrote the word "Gas" near the two clusters of squares. Kaminari's eyes widened considerably when she saw this.
Kazumitsu just remained smirking and he resumed his explanation: "Let's pretend someone was to align the two entrances to the bar with several canisters of gasoline. Then that 'someone' just happened to drop a match or other source of fire outside both doors simultaneously. In a matter of seconds, the entire bar would be up in flames. It would be impossible for anyone inside to get out safely."
At that, Kazumitsu drew four stick figures inside the rectangle. Then he drew a bunch of squiggly lines all over the rectangle. Once he was done, he gave the squiggly lines an unpleasant label: "Hellfire."
After this, he looked up at Kaminari. She still appeared to be a little shocked. That did not stop Kazumitsu from asking her "Well, what do you think of it?"
She slowly looked up at him and said in a very quiet voice "Kazumitsu… this has to be the most sick… demented… berserk idea you've ever come up with."
Kazumitsu's smirk faded away. He was so certain that Kaminari would like his plan. Perhaps he had gone a little too far?
However, a moment later, Kaminari grinned wickedly and finished her statement with "And I absolutely love it! It's a brilliant plan!"
Kazumitsu's smirk quickly returned. Kaminari was not disgusted by his plan; she was giving him the wrong idea and bringing out her true thoughts immediately after. In other words, she was just being herself.
"Then it's settled," Kazumitsu thought aloud as he put his pencil into his pants pocket. He removed the piece of paper from his clipboard, folded it up twice, and slipped it inside his jacket. Then he returned his clipboard to his backpack and zipped it back up.
After he was finished with all this, Kaminari remarked "There are still a few details about the plan I'm not entirely certain about."
"I'll tell you the rest of it when we get to the gas station," he assured her, "I think it would be best if we gather everything we need before getting into the specifics."
"Very well," she agreed.
Kazumitsu turned back to the steering wheel and stated "I do believe the engine has cooled down enough. Let's go get that gasoline."
"Yes, let's," Kaminari concurred, nodding her head.
Kazumitsu soon had the car back into gear. He resumed driving the car as Kaminari continued giving him directions to the gas station.
31 Students Remaining