"You're already down sixteen students in only twelve hours. That means more than a student per hour. And for those of you who are bad at math…Shiro…there are ten new casualties. You see sixteen minus the six from before…is ten. I hope that clicks better than the other math I tried teaching you. Anyway, let me begin with the list of the dead. First up is male student number 7, Iwazaru Katakama."

Bustaka had already checked his name off of her class list as having been a kill she'd made, but she added a line through it, his death now official.

"Male student number 15, Tanju Kusai."

Now hiding in a rundown fast food place, Aria cried for the loss of her boyfriend, his head having been abandoned with a drop in an alley south of the place where he died. And only a few blocks away, in the very grocery store where Akari and Sabin had started off, Yo showed no emotion, no remorse or sorrow, not unhappy with what he had done to Tanju, although Mokorama still weighed heavily on his mind.

"Male student number 5, Jou Hariken. Be careful students, Jou was caught in a danger zone, and his collar was detonated. I don't want any of the rest of you going out like that…the easy way. Continuing, male student number 16, Magoichi Tadakatsu, and female student number 1, Lasi Lasura. NOT caught in a danger zone."

Shiro heard these words and thought for a moment, thankful for not having caused the deaths of those two, but also saddened by the thought that he was the last of his trio alive.

"Female student number 7, Yuri Sakazaki, female student number 19, Kezika Itora, and female student number 11, Ino Hazakai."

Hara started crying from the small bakery in the southeast corner of the map where she and Yuji had taken refuge, images of Ino and Yuri, and Sefi chasing her. Yuji let her cry against him, wishing he'd taken the time to care a long time ago, with it now far too late to bring Ekati back. If he and Hara lasted long enough together…he'd tell her everything…he needed to get it off his chest…the burden too big for one man to bare by himself. But for the time being, he was there for her, as the uncaring and heartlessvoice of their teacher called the names of her friends as though they were soldiers who'd died for a great cause.

"Female student number 6, Ariana Temuchen."

Aria cried again, now all alone, while in the museum, Gorasa sipping a lukewarm Coke, a piece of Ariana's torn blouse tied tightly around her leg wound, smiled, crossing a name off of her list.

"And last, female student number 15, Mokorama Riofuji. Again, right before the buzzer. You kids sure like cutting it close. I only wish you kids weren't like this with your schoolwork…maybe I wouldn't have so many failures. I'm sure you've all kept track of the dead, and since you must be done crossing off names, we're at 26 now, and the danger zones are coming in another threesome."

All across the island, despite their emotional states over the names of their now dead classmates, students pulled out their maps, not wanting to have a danger zone called over them and blowing them up like Jou.

"First at 1 PM we have zone D-3, a road right in the middle chunk of the map. At 3 PM we have E-9, right here near the school. And at 5 PM we have C-1, the hospital. But I don't think many of you will be going back there anytime soon, right?"

Hara nearly swore at her teacher, the first sign she'd ever shown of disobedience towards authority in her entire life. Yuji of course covered her mouth, knowing the kind of girl she was, and knowing that to give in to temptation like that would do nothing more than make her feel worse about everything.

"Almost halfway done kids…keep up the great work and one of you may be going home in less than a day. Good luck, good fighting."

"You hear that? Your name wasn't called…you're still alive."

As the speaker turned off, Shiro propped Yuseki up in his arms, pouring a slight bit of water into her mouth as he waited for her to regain consciousness. She'd passed out, her heart had stopped by the time he broke into the bathroom with her and saw all the sickening bile that filled the toilet. He hadn't thought for a second…he just knew she was in trouble, and he'd taken one of those courses in how to save lives…during his work as a lifeguard in training back during his sophomore year. Chest compressions didn't work, but that wouldn't stop him. He wiped her mouth clean of the gooey former contents of her stomach, and began mouth to mouth resuscitation.

He felt her slipping away…but he wouldn't let death take Yuseki. He'd already left Magoichi and Lasi to die like a coward…he couldn't live with himself knowing another had died on his watch. He just kept pushing and breathing until her chest began rising and falling on its own, a pulse running through her jugular vein. He sat there now, reminiscing and not even noticing the stirring of the girl resting against his chest.

Yuseki's eyes opened slowly, everything blurry, and she felt somewhat sick, yet nothing would dare come up from her stomach now. She remembered blacking out, and that was it. She had no idea where she was, or how she'd gotten there, or what exactly the hard blockage she was resting against was. She turned her head, her short hair brushing Shiro, and she looked up to see his face. Shiro felt the soft hair and looked down, his face lighting up to see her awake. Yuseki was a bit confused…still having thought Shiro as an enemy…but here he was…she'd been vulnerable…an easy target…and he hadn't killed her. For what she knew…he could've saved her life, the feeling of constriction still heavy on her throat.

"I'm glad you're okay 'Seki."

"Shiro…what…why are you…what happened?"

"You…you were really sick…you choked…and I brought you back."

"Brought me back? I died?"

"Yeah…I guess so…"

"But why didn't you leave me…I'm just another person in your way."

"I already left someone to die 'Seki…and I'm alone now. Magoichi and Yan are dead…and I'm not going through this alone. I'm not gonna let you die on me…you're just as scared as I am…"

"You're scared?"

"Yeah…if I die…I'm…I'm not going where you'd go…I need to stay alive…I'm just…I can't die 'Seki…but I don't wanna play."

"I don't want to play either…"

"I know…that's why I wasn't going to let another person…an innocent person…die…we need to stick together…there're 24 people besides us…they can't all be playing…we should find them…safety in numbers you know…"

"I don't want to leave this house…"

"Oh…well…we don't have to…people will find us…good people…we'll just stay hidden."

"Yeah…"

"Just…promise me one thing…"

"What?"

"Don't ever do that again…you know how scared I was…you went cold…no pulse…I…it was going to be my fault…"

"No…it's mine…I'm sick…"

"Sick?"

"I'm…I'm…bul…bulimic…"

"You are?"

"Well…it's true. I puke my meals because I'm fat."

"Fat? Are you fucking kidding me? I could fucking use you to bench press Yuseki. Look at you! Your uniform barely fits…it's hanging of your bones! Do you even realize that you're flat as a pancake and a fucking stick figure?! Why the hell would you do that to your body Yuseki?!"

"Don't yell at me! It's hard trying to keep up with the other girls!"

"Keeping up?! I can assure you that even some of the girls with a few pints of blood missing weigh more than you now! You almost died because you're fucking self-conscious about your weight?!"

"Stop yelling!"

"No! I'm not gonna be alone because you have some problem with how you look! I'm not gonna inhale your puke breath to save your ass again Yuseki! I mean, all these people with guns and you're TRYING to kill yourself?!"

"I'm not! Shut up!"

"Who the hell gave you the idea that you were fat? I'll punch their fucking lights out for treating you like that. I'm so fucking sick of girls giving each other shit to the point where they start puking their guts out to feel pretty!"

Yuseki started crying and Shiro turned his back on her, trying to get the image out of his mind of what he'd seen. He didn't want to tell her, but he'd had to open her blouse to revive her…and it was so disgusting…how he could count each and every one of her ribs. And now he found this out…that she'd done it all just because she thought she was fat…it made HIM want to throw up. As her sobs reached his ears, he wondered if a girl like her wasn't better off dead…if he'd really helped her out by saving her. He wondered if he'd been too rough…thinking about how difficult it was to switch between his macho persona for hanging with his boys, and his normal, and rarely used persona for everyone else.

He put his arm around her should…finding it weird that he could probably wrap it around a few times if he could bend that way. She stopped crying immediately, as if figuring out for the first time that he really was there…he wasn't another person lying to her, like she'd always thought her friends were doing, just to make her feel better. He was brutal…but he was right. He was the first person to ever tell her how hideous her disorder was…up until now, she'd simply believed it was for the best. She wiped her eyes and did her best to put on a happy face, Shiro seemingly unable to smile or even look at her. She'd been given a second chance at life…thanks to her savior, the rowdy and rude boy from the soccer team. She wasn't going to waste it on petty vanity again. Grabbing the supplied bread from Shiro's open bag, she opened wide and took a bite, swallowing it whole.

Shiro looked as she ate, wondering if this was her attempt to change, or simply a show she was putting on for him. He'd gotten too angry before, but if she was patronizing him, she'd certainly have hell to pay. Only ten minutes after the announcement, he could only hope they'd last another 6 hours, her especially, without incident.