Before I begin, I'd like to thank Rockythetigre for another lengthy review. Thanks for evaluating the rest of the characters in your last review, as well. Even though it may not have been as analytical as the original, it was still enjoyable to read.

Here's the answers to your questions:

1. It actually only takes me between 3 and 5 days to write another chapter, but I only update every other week for several reasons. For one, I don't want to overexert myself, and writing one of these chapters takes a LOT of effort. Plus, I've got other things going on, like my 5-week Accounting Class (which ends on July 3rd). Usually, I take about a whole week off after each update to give my mind some time to rest. Then I look at the outline for the next chapter (I always make an outline in advance), and decide where to go from there. It's usually slow starting, but after I get an idea of how to open each section of the chapter, everything gradually comes into place.

2. Thank you again; I try to be extremely thorough. I already knew about most of the information ahead of time (such as Yukio Mishima's Patriotism), but I still had to do a good deal of research for certain other things (such as the firearms and some of the other weapons).

3. Oh, my yes. I'm a hardcore Battle Royale fan. I've seen the movie at least seven times, I bring my own copy of the book everywhere I go, and I have all fifteen volumes of the manga both in electronic form and in physical form. I can't really decide which of the three is best; they're all so good! Between you and me, I hope somebody decides to make an anime out of the manga someday.

4. Do you mean who are my favorite and least favorite from the original class or my own class? Just to be certain, I'll tell you my favorite and least favorite boy and girl from both classes. I'd say my favorites from the original were Shinji Mimura and Yukie Utsumi I admired Shinji for how resourceful and cunning he was, and I liked Yukie for how understanding, responsible, and caring she was to all her friends and classmates. My least favorites were Kaori Minami and definitely Kazushi Niida. Kaori had little qualities outside of being an insecure person who eventually becomes a lunatic. Don't think I really need to explain Kazushi; if there was one person in that class who DESERVED to die, it was that perverted piece of shit, especially the manga version of him.

It's a little more difficult to pick favorites between all of my characters. After all, they're my own creation, and I gave them all of their individual strengths and weaknesses. However, I suppose I can bring myself to choose a select few. I suppose my favorites are Yuuga Suzuki and Yuriye Sakaguchi. I think I had more enjoyment coming up with Yuuga's persona than anyone else's; I liked making him in control of his emotions and somewhat empathic. I know Yuriye was just introduced in the last chapter, but I have a lot of things planned for her. From this point on, she'll be one of the primary characters in the story. Also, like Yuuga, her intentions are good in nature, but she is not afraid to kill to protect her own. My least favorites are probably Tamayo Shintani and Kazuki Chikuda. That's simply because I never gave Tamayo much more personality outside of being a Daddy's Girl or Kauzki much more outside of being a solitary loner.

5. You are correct. The contents of that letter are for me to know and everyone else to EVENTUALLY find out. Don't worry about the letter for now; it'll be a while before the next time Blaine brings it up.

By the way, I apologize if the last part of this chapter seems rushed. But rather than making up a pointless excuse, I'll just say that I'm going to do my best to make certain not to rush anything in the next chapter.

Here we go!

On the subject of survival instinct, it is important to note that this quality is more than something that incites people to stay out of harm's way. In a much broader sense, it can be interpreted as the very thing that gives every sentient being the will to live.

From the moment of birth, everyone relishes in the fact that he or she is alive. This is to be expected; life is innately precious to all. People typically come to appreciate it more and more overtime as they age. Of course, no one has ever lived a perfect life and it is likely no one ever will. We all face our fair share of complications along the way.

There are times when some people face obstacles that are so arduous and challenging that they may make everything seem pointless. In this context, "everything" can include life itself. The majority of the time, these people manage to overcome their hardships and go back to enjoying their lives shortly after. Some even end up laughing over how worried they had been and think of their past anxiety as needless.

However, on occasion, some people encounter a problem so difficult that it leads to them giving up on life altogether. These sorts of thoughts can bring about suicidal tendencies.

A variety of factors can result in suicide, such as destitution, pressure, the loss of what one values the most, and – most often – the belief that one has nothing to live for. Under the right set of circumstances, anyone can end up feeling this way.

Daisuke Araki (Boy #1) had always been one to look on the bright side of life. He came from a middle-class family. His parents had been car salesmen in downtown Fujisawa for over twenty-five years. They had been partners in this business long before they had gotten married. The two of them could hardly be classified as rich, but they always made enough money to support Daisuke and his siblings.

He had been first at many different things, as well. This included things he had no control over. He was the firstborn of four children, the first person in Fujisawa to receive an offer from two universities in both North and South Korea, and – because of his surname – the first person listed in the roll of each of his classes. When at school, that last one also made him the first person in line, the first person to sign up for a project, and the first person to choose his resources for that project.

Daisuke had developed high self-esteem from his background, prerogatives, and accomplishments. He was never one to boast or gloat, but all the same, he was proud of his upbringing. Instead of indulging himself in it, he had used it to improve himself.

This was one of the reasons why Daisuke had made so many friends throughout his life. Many of them viewed him as a dependable and trustworthy character. Others recognized him as a caring and compassionate individual. Overall, he was just an easy person to get along with. No one knew this better than his best friend, Naozumi Matsuno (Boy #20).

Naozumi's upbringing was not as pleasant as Daisuke's. While his parents were decent folks, they were not as close to their son as Daisuke's were to theirs. They still cared for him, but they did so in their own way.

Naozumi's father had made it his own goal to "make a man" out of him. He wanted Naozumi to become a strong, assertive man.

He only half-succeeded in this goal. After years of going through strenuous exercise programs and a strict diet composed mainly of whole and healthy foods, Naozumi had been rewarded with a large, durable, muscle-bound body. He still had to eat right and work out on a regular basis to maintain it, but to him and his father, the efforts were worth it. He had indeed become strong.

However, his father's efforts to make him assertive had been hindered by his mother. Naozumi's mother had warned him about using his strength for harmful means. She frequently lectured him on how no good ever came to someone who gave into violence, and how things never worked out for those types of people. Her speeches were much more meaningful than his father's, and they left a much greater impression on him.

Her husband had tried toughening their son up through several different methods, most notably intimidation. None of them ever worked, as Naozumi refused to take any course of action that would result in him becoming aggressive. His father was a very persistent man, though. He tried for the longest time to make his son more defensive and confident in his physical capabilities. Eventually, he was convinced into giving up in this task by his wife.

When viewed in perspective, some would consider Naozumi to be something of a tragic figure. While he did have a firm and finely-developed body, he did not have the proper motivations to use it. He was often derided by several of his classmates for being so sensitive. But he never fought back.

However, Daisuke did not have that same problem. He was more than willing to stand up to defend Naozumi and himself when the situation called for it. He would even resort to violence if he had no other alternative. While he was nowhere near as strong as Naozumi, people usually backed off whenever he put his food down. After all, Daisuke was known to be one of the most likable and most reasonable people in Class 3-A. Only a few of his classmates would be willing to get on bad terms with him and risk the consequences. In fact, the only two members of the class who had openly and hostilely opposed Daisuke in a confrontation were Tsukasa Yoshizawa and Toshirou Oosaki.

The encounter with Tsukasa had taken place earlier that morning, but the event with Toshirou had taken placed many months beforehand. That matter will be discussed in more detail later.

Aside from an incident every now and then, Daisuke had nothing to complain about in his life. He valued every moment he spent alive, and he rarely ever felt negatively about anything.

When he woke up in the classroom, he still felt the same hopelessness everyone else felt. However, he remained light years away from giving up. He knew from the start that his chances would not be promising, but he would stay alive for as long as he could manage.

When the game began, Daisuke tried his hardest to convince himself that he would have a rational chance of survival. Aside from Blaine Rhodes, he had been the first person to leave the school. That would give him a head start in front of everyone else.

Once he was out on the street, he came up with three main priorities: avoid any huge or unnecessary risks, make some allies, and locate Naozumi. Of course, he knew it would be tough to accomplish the latter two without violating the first one.

He initially felt a little unlucky to have received a fire extinguisher as his weapon. But he still managed to think positively on it. After all, if worse came to worst, he could always use the canister as a club.

Once he was clear of the area, he tried organizing a plan. But even someone as positive as him was not immune to stress. There was plenty of stress to go around for everyone in Class 3-A. Daisuke had enough to prevent him from concentrating properly.

However, about an hour after he left the school, he had come across Kenzou Iwamoto (Boy #3). He had known Kenzou for about two years before they attended Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School, so he managed to bring himself to trust him. Out of mutual self-interest, the two of them agreed to partner up.

Another hour later, they came across Shuuichi Kai and Tsukasa Yoshizawa. They were pleased that Shuuichi was more than eager to join up with them; they felt they could use someone with as much experience with firearms as him. They were not as pleased to see Tsukasa; they had a very low tolerance for his arrogant behavior. However, Shuuichi managed to get them to put up with Tsukasa.

The four of them decided to seek shelter in the western apartment complex. Not long before the morning announcements, Kenzou had spotted Naozumi crossing through the area. Daisuke was delighted to know that his best friend had been found. It was here that he began to believe that things would start looking up.

The next few hours progressed slowly but efficiently. Daisuke became more inclined to think positively after he and the others managed to work out a plan.

But after he got shot and Tsukasa was killed, Daisuke started to form a much different outlook on the Program. Never in his life had he been in more agony than he was when that projectile hit him in the chest cavity. He felt as if someone had slowly gutted him with a pin knife.

However, he still made an effort to remain in good spirits. He did this not just for his sake, but for Naozumi's as well. He could tell that Naozumi was overcome with worry for him. He tried to appear strong for his friend, but it was difficult when he was under such searing pain.

The process of extracting the bullet was far from pleasing as well. While Kenzou's amateur operation may have worked, it had left Daisuke feeling even more pain than he felt when he got shot. In under an hour, he had had an injection in his hand, his stomach partly cut open, a pair of tweezers dig inside of him, the cut stretched in diameter, and the incision sewn up with a needle and thread. To top it off, he had been awake through all of that with nothing but morphine to ease his suffering. Agonizing did not come even close to describing his experience. Losing so much blood was the worst part. It made him feel extremely disoriented and unsettled. He was just grateful that Kenzou had been able to conduct the blood transfusion and that Shuuichi had been there to donate the needed amount for him. As far as they were concerned, they had done right by him.

So when the two of them left the hospital to search the fire department, Daisuke was hopeful that they would manage well enough on their own. He was more worried for them than he was for himself. Certainly, neither of them had been wounded yet, but neither of them had a friend as protective and loyal as Naozumi at his side. Naozumi's presence was one of the things that had gotten Daisuke through the long hours following the removal of the bullet.

After the evening announcements, Daisuke had indeed been thinking clearly when he told Naozumi to leave him behind. He had not lost his will to live, but he was more concerned about his best friend's well-being than his own. He had always been like that, putting others before himself. Fortunately, Naozumi managed to talk Daisuke out of this idea.

As Naozumi rolled him out of the hospital and through the city streets, Daisuke kept his attention focused on their surroundings. He hoped that the two of them would be safe for the present. However, if they did run into trouble, he knew he would not be very useful with a gunshot injury and nothing more than a tomahawk to fight with.

Daisuke's self-esteem took a toll when he actually began to feel downright useless. His injury and surgery had left him feeling amazingly weak. Regardless of the weapon or cover they found, Naozumi would have been on his own to defend them if they encountered another player. This realization left Daisuke feeling like a burden to his best friend. However, he decided to keep these thoughts to himself for the moment.

Soon, they arrived in the western apartment complex. They managed to find an unlocked flat in F-2. They quickly got settled in, but not too settled. They had already taken shelter in two areas that had become danger zones shortly afterwards; they would not have been surprised if that happened a third time.

Naozumi rolled Daisuke's bed in front of a couch and took a seat on that same couch. The two of them had been there for over two hours. They passed the time with Smalltalk and jokes. Daisuke was still in pain, but for the best part, they managed to control his pain with relief and comfort. The morphine from the hospital provided most of the relief, but Naozumi provided most of the comfort.

"Remember that time we watched all twelve episodes of High School of the Dead in a row?" inquired Naozumi.

"Boy, do I ever!" Daisuke responded brightly, "I don't think I'll ever forget when we saw that marathon. Hopefully our parents will, though. After all, it's got everything they wouldn't want use seeing: zombies, graphic violence, and borderline nudity. It's just one slip shy of being a hentai instead of an anime."

"True, but I'm glad you talked me into it," Naozumi remarked, "I recall that I was reluctant to watch it when we started. In the end, I found myself wanting more of that stuff."

"Blaine told me they've got a similar show over in America called The Walking Dead," Daisuke informed him.

"I know, I've seen the first couple episodes," stated Naozumi, "It's really good. Like High School of the Dead, it's based on a bunch of graphic novels. While there isn't much in the way of humor or sexuality, it's very gripping. In fact, based off of what I've seen, I'd say it's even better than High School of the Dead."

"Then how come you only watched the first couple episodes?" asked Daisuke.

"Because I wanted you to see them also so that we could watch the rest of them together," Naozumi answered, "I figured that show could be something we'd be able to enjoy together."

"Well, thanks for that, dude," said Daisuke, smirking, "I'm certain I would have liked it, too. What specifically drew you into it?"

"To be honest, a lot of things did," Naozumi explained, "You see, it's much darker, more dramatic, and more violent. There's also some good subplots that build up psychological development between the characters as they fight for their survival."

"I imagine there'd be a lot of tension in that kind of scenario," Daisuke speculated, "After all, can you imagine such a setting? Frequently being on the move, never being able to let your guard down, facing dangers at every turn… that sounds like a nightmare."

"Actually, I think you pretty much summarized what we're going through right now," noted Naozumi, "We're fighting a desperate battle for our own survival."

"That's a pretty reasonable way of putting it," Daisuke agreed, "But between you and me, I think I'd much prefer a zombie apocalypse over THIS. I mean, at least we'd all be able to work and fight together under those circumstances."

"I understand your position," Naozumi commented, "Both scenarios would inevitably result in bloodshed. However, in the long run, you should give the zombies some credit. They may be mindless, flesh-eating corpses, but at least they don't kill each other. They would only kill us. We, on the other hand, would end up killing them… and each other."

"That's sad, but quite true. Very, very true." Daisuke concurred.

There was a short interval of silence. Daisuke looked off to the side as if he was lost in thought. When Naozumi turned to him, he noticed a tear forming in the corner of Daisuke's eye.

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm fine," Daisuke replied calmly, "But… I just can't stop thinking… about this morning."

Naozumi leaned forward a bit and stated "I understand what you mean. I'm certain that if I got shot, I would be unable to forget it, either."

"I'm not… talking about that," Daisuke clarified, "I'm talking about what happened immediately before, when that song played over the loudspeaker. It was a lovely song, wasn't it?"

Naozumi nodded his head.

"Well, shortly after it, I got into that argument with Tsukasa," Daisuke recalled, "I ridiculed him for thinking that Les Misérables took place during the French Revolution. Then I went on to call him a puppet and a fool. Do you remember that?"

"Of course I do," said Naozumi. He held up the rifle and stated "Tsukasa turned this weapon on you immediately afterwards. I don't think I could forget something like that. I was so worried that he was going to shoot you."

"I wasn't worried," Daisuke stated frankly, "He might have had a huge-ass ego, but I was confident that he would not be willing to kill over such a small matter. In fact, at the time, all I can remember feeling was a strong desire to mock Tsukasa. I have no idea what came over me."

"You were under a lot of anxiety; we all were," Naozumi countered, "People say things they don't fully mean when they're nervous. No one blames you for that."

"Maybe, but I blame myself for what happened after," Daisuke enlightened his friend, "The only reason that sniper spotted us was because we were out in the open. If I had just kept my mouth shut, we would have moved on and gotten out of the shooter's range. Instead, I decided to throw petty insults at Tsukasa. Not only did that hinder us, but it made us easy, stationary targets. Now Tsukasa's dead and… well, look what happened to me!"

Naozumi placed his hand on Daisuke's and asked him "What exactly are you saying, Daisuke?"

Daisuke waited a few moments before responding: "I'm saying that… Tsukasa's death was entirely my fault. Entirely. I'm just as responsible as that sniper for what happened to him. In fact, I may as well have pulled the trigger myself."

Naozumi's eyes widened in shock. "Surely you don't mean that…"

"I do mean it, Naozumi," Daisuke replied grimly, "Isn't it odd? That was probably the only time in my life when I acted upon my contempt for someone. It resulted in a person's death and a fatal injury on my part. Maybe… I deserve this."

Naozumi could not believe what he was hearing. He moved closer to his best friend and insisted "That's bullshit. Pure bullshit. You can't pin the blame for Tsukasa on yourself. Even if you were responsible, you most certainly did not deserve this."

Daisuke just turned away and said "Yes, I did. After all, I'm suffering for what happened. Seems appropriate for the one who suffers the most to be the guilty party."

"Stop thinking that way…" Naozumi began, placing his hand to his best friend's forehead. He withdrew it immediately after; Daisuke's forehead was giving off extreme amounts of head. "Are you… okay?"

"I meant everything I said, if that's what you're asking," Daisuke replied bluntly.

Naozumi carefully placed his hand against Daisuke's forehead again. He told him "Daisuke, you're burning up! You must be running a fever or something."

"No, I'm not; I'm fine," Daisuke insisted, "I just feel a little hot. That's all."

"What feels hot?" asked Naozumi worriedly.

"My head… and my chest," Daisuke slowly answered him, "Specifically the region where I got shot."

"Maybe I should check out your wound," Naozumi suggested. He picked up the first aid kit he had taken from the hospital, opened it up, and turned towards Daisuke. "Hold still; I'm going to remove your bandage."

Daisuke complied and stayed perfectly still as Naozumi went to work removing his bandage. He was very careful and delicate with his best friend. It took almost three minutes, but he got it off without so much as a wince from his best friend.

However, when the bandage was finally off, Naozumi was not at all pleased with what he saw. The veins around Daisuke's wound were pressing up against his skin. They were quite discolored and very visible. Those were surefire indications that they were enflamed.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Naozumi inquired.

"Yeah, but the pain's starting to come back," Daisuke answered him, sounding weak all of a sudden, "How much morphine do we have left?"

Naozumi turned to the bottle of morphine on the coffee table and looked it over. It was almost empty.

When he realized this, he began to sweat nervously. Up until this point, the morphine had been the sole reason Daisuke had been able to withstand the pain. Now their supply was almost gone, and Daisuke was showing signs of an infection. Naozumi had no idea how he could treat something as serious as that.

For over twelve hours, Daisuke had been going through a tremendous amount of pain. Having a morphine injection every couple of hours had helped to numb the pain. However, every time the morphine wore off, Daisuke felt even worse than before. Now that he had an infection, the pain would only get worse.

A person can only withstand so much pain at any one time. When one reaches their threshold for pain, they also reach their physical and mental limits for pressure. These often produce very ugly repercussions. Once Naozumi and Daisuke ran out of morphine, the latter would be close to reaching his own threshold.

In addition to this, Daisuke was still fuming with himself for his role in Tsukasa's death. Despite Naozumi's efforts to convince him otherwise, he believed that he was the only one to blame for that incident. He was experiencing a great deal of self-loathing because of it.

Pain and self-loathing are both very trying concepts. Either one of them can eventually drive a person to suicidal tendencies. When experienced together, these tendencies can come about even sooner.

"You'd think we'd at least be able to spot the mall by now," Reika Fujihara (Girl #19) thought aloud as she studied her map.

"If the sun was out, we probably would," Osamu Sano (Boy #9) theorized, "But due to the current circumstances, that would be difficult. For one thing, it's pitch black outside. As far as I can see, the moon isn't even out. Right now, our only sources of light are the streetlights. But they're placed above, around, behind, and in front of us. Their beams are also shining down towards us. With all that together, it would be hard for us to see anything in the distance."

"Very analytical," Reika remarked in admiration, "Except, of course, distance isn't the only factor. We also need to consider location. I mean, it's hard to make out this map with nothing but the streetlights to help us read it. It would probably be useful if we could use our flashlights."

"I'm tempted to do that, but I don't want to risk drawing attention," Osamu explicated, "Our flashlights are much brighter than the streetlights, and they'd originate from the ground where we are. That would make us easier targets for any potential players. As long as we don't stand directly under the streetlights, we should be invisible to anyone who may be in the area."

"Seems logical to me," said Reika.

Osamu and Reika had been wandering the city streets ever since they left the carpentry shop. They were still trying to get to A-7, which proved to be much easier said than done. To ensure their safety, they had taken a great number of precautions. Most of them had somewhat slowed them down. They had spent much of the time peeking around corners and prowling through alleys. However, most of their intended route required them to be out in the open on the streets. Their cautious approach had hindered them, but they were still hopeful that they would arrive at the mall within the hour.

"This reminds me of that deal we once did with the Yakuza," stated Reika.

"Which one?" said Osamu.

"The one where the guy in charge was Shimazaki," Reika clarified.

"You mean Seiji?" Osamu asked rhetorically.

"You remember him?" commented Reika.

Osamu snickered and remarked "How could I ever forget that asshole? Seiji Shimazaki had to be the most paranoid gangster I ever met in my life. I'm still flabbergasted that a guy like him could have risen so highly in the Yakuza ranks."

"Maybe he had some family ties to the group before he even joined it," Reika hypothesized, "I could have sworn that another member we worked with once mentioned another Shimazaki. Probably an uncle, cousin, or brother. Maybe even his father."

"That could be," Osamu concurred, "But getting back to what you were saying earlier, how does this remind you of that deal with Seiji?"

"All this wandering about made me think about what he put us through before we even arrived at the meeting place," Reika explained, "You remember how it went? All of it took place at that abandoned neighborhood outside of town. He had us arrive there an hour early so that his lackeys could 'interview' us. Then they had us empty our pockets and remove any extra lairs of clothing to ensure that we weren't bugged or packing heat. They probably would have gone so far as to strip-search us if Kazumitsu had not put his foot down."

"I suppose it was fortunate that those guys knew better than to argue with a giant," Osamu commented.

"Fortunate, indeed," Reika agreed. Then she continued "Anyway, after that pointless interrogation, they told us to go to that building on the other side. Rather than letting us go around the neighborhood or straight through it, they gave us a very complex route to follow. It was like a goddamn maze, getting through that area. The houses and streets all looked the same, the streetlights were dim at best, and the instructions they gave us weren't all that thorough, either. That didn't even give us an escort. That made it all but impossible to get to the rendezvous on time."

"Yeah, I don't think any of us were having a ball," Osamu recalled, "I would have loved to deviate from the course, but you know how the Yakuza are. They want us to stay where their sentries could see us at all times. They force us to trust them not to ambush us. They put us through all sorts of bullshit to give us the impression that they are 'superior' or something. Yes, it's annoying and stupid, but I still say it's worth it for the goods."

"Yeah, the merchandise is the one thing about it that went alright for me," Reika concurred, "I still can't help but think about how similar that deal was to what we've been going through."

"Only there's a lot more at stake than the integrity of a trade," Osamu noted, "We were able to trust the Yakuza not to turn violent on us. We can't say the same thing about anyone we'd encounter here. Heh, how do you like that? As of right now, gangsters are more trustworthy than our classmates."

"At least we have weapons this time around," Reika pointed out.

"Yes, but you've got that pistol," Osamu countered. He held up his own weapon and added "All I've got is this lousy Swiss army knife."

"The same lousy Swiss army knife that helped you pick a car lock this morning without triggering the alarm?" Reika commented.

Osamu smirked and stated "Yeah. That's the one."

The two of them had been moving through the streets throughout the duration of their conversation. They had mostly kept their eyes focused on their maps and their path. They had not gazed at each other very much in that time. Of course, that did not mean they were focusing solely on their work.

At one point, Osamu turned to his partner and said "Reika, how do you do it?"

"Do what?" she inquired.

"How are you always able to stay so calm, cool, and collected?" Osamu illuminated, "You were like all throughout the deal with Seiji. I could tell you were opposed to some aspects of the Yakuza's 'protocol,' but you put up with all of them. They outnumbered us and they were armed, but you were indifferent to all of that. You could have expressed your opposition to the plan whenever you wanted. You know full well I would have listened to it and taken it into account. Yet you never voiced your disapproval. In fact, as far as I can remember, you never have. Regardless of how difficult a situation appears to be, you manage to get through it without worry and without complaint. I can't say that about the others; at some point or other, they've all tried persuading me to abandon a deal or to utilize another approach. But not you. Aside from that, you're always looking on the bright side. Nothing ever seems to disturb you or bother you. Not even the Program. You seem to be even more confident than I am that we will make it through this. How do you do it?"

Reika did not respond immediately. She had listened to everything Osamu had just told her, and she understood what precisely he was asking her. She actually had a very specific answer to his question. However, she wanted to present it in such a way that there would be no ambiguity. She also wanted to explain it at a more appropriate time, preferably whenever they were not out in the open. However, whenever Osamu asked her a question, she was compelled to answer it honestly and entirely.

Just as she opened her mouth to begin explaining, everything went dark in front of them.

The two of them stopped walking and looked all over the area. They realized they had come to an intersection. Osamu remarked in a dumbfounded tone "What happened? Are all the streetlights in this part of the city inactive or something?"

"I don't think so…" Reika tentatively answered him as she turned to her front. After a moment's silence, she added in with a note of delight "But then again, I don't think there are any more streetlights on this road. In fact, this isn't a road at all. Take a look at that!"

Osamu turned in the direction she was pointing and saw why Reika sounded so pleased. The two of them were facing a very large four-story building. It went on for hundreds of yards in either direction. In fact, it was much too large to be a mere building; it was a foundation. Osamu and Reika were about three hundred feet away from it. The area between them was composed almost entirely of a vast parking lot.

They had arrived at the mall.

Reika smirked and turned to Osamu. She remarked cockily "How do you like that? Up until now, we were trying our hardest to find the mall, and we had no luck. Yet right when we started focusing on something totally different, we stumble right upon it."

"That seems to happen a lot these days," Osamu cheekily commented. He stepped forward and looked the foundation over. Then he stated "Should we investigate?"

"I'm all for it!" Reika cheerily replied, "Come on, let's run!"

At that, Reika took off running through the parking lot. At first, Osamu thought about stopping her, but then he realized that while the parking lot was out in the open, it was covered in darkness. In fact, he thought it would probably be better if they crossed it as quickly as possible. After a moment, he just scoffed and hurried after her.

It took them about a minute to cross the parking lot. Even though Osamu started running later, he got to the other side before Reika. When she reached him, she smiled and said "Guess you were even more eager than I was to get here."

"Maybe," he admitted, "What's got you so excited all of a sudden?"

"We've been out on the streets for hours," Reika explained, "It's a relief to finally find some shelter after all that."

Osamu scoffed again and said "Makes sense to me. Let's see if we can find the front entrance."

They fumbled in the dark for a few minutes before they came across a set of glass doors. They were locked up tight, but there was no alarm. Getting inside would be simple enough. All they had to do was pick the lock. Osamu managed this easily enough with his Swiss army knife. Once he heard the latch go "click," he pulled the door open. He turned to Reika and told her with a sly smirk "Ladies first."

Reika blushed and stepped inside; Osamu followed her close behind, shutting the door behind him.

The front room was massive. There were shops and kiosks all over the place, all of which were closed down tight. Osamu and Reika briefly looked over the front room, and confirmed that it was deserted. They saw no need to search the entire first floor; they felt doing so would just have been a waste of their time. So after they concluded the front room was empty, they decided to move on.

The two of them got to the faculty staircase near the end of the room and made their way up to the second floor. From there, they headed towards the northern departments. When they got there, they began looking through the stores. They were hoping to find some windows at the very back of the room. To their disappointment, the first three stores did not even have one window.

However, the fourth store they searched through – a clothing department – gave them much more desirable results. They found plenty of windows on the far wall of the store. These windows were very large. They extended all the way from the ceiling to the floor, and virtually the entire wall was covered with them.

Osamu and Reika approached the windows and peered out of them. They could faintly make out a vast space of grassland in front of them. Reika turned to her map and remarked as she looked it over "According to this, the city limits are directly along the northern side of the mall. All that space out there is located outside the city."

"That means that the fence should be directly below us," Osamu reasoned.

To confirm this theory, the two of them stepped up to the windows and gazed straight down. Sure enough, the fence was less than a half dozen feet away from the mall's exterior wall. Osamu and Reika looked both to the right and the left. The nearest watchtower was at least two hundred feet away. That was far enough so that anything that happened around the section where Osamu and Reika were would virtually go unnoticed by the border guards.

"Looks like it's a clear and secluded drop to the other side," Osamu noted, "If we break the windows and jump far enough, we can make it across the fence without tipping off the soldiers."

"Great plan," Reika remarked in a slightly sarcastic tone, "Only one problem. That's at least a forty-foot descent. If we were jumping into water, we might survive that fall. But flat land? I don't think so. No, we'll need something to ease the impact of the fall."

"You're right," Osamu nodded his head. He leaned against the wall and rubbed his chin with his hand. After about a minute of thinking, he told Reika "We passed quite a few stores on the way here. I'm certain we'd be able to find something useful in one of them."

"Like what?" she asked.

He shrugged and replied "No idea. But let's take a look anyway. There's no telling what we may find."

Reika agreed to this suggestion. The two of them left the clothing department and began browsing through the other shops on the second floor. There was nothing particularly useful in the northern section. They came across a video game store, a toy store, a shoe store, a music store, a home improvement store, a food court, at least three sporting goods stores, and several others. Nothing looked the least bit promising.

However, after they crossed the walkway to get to the southern departments, they came across a furniture store.

"Let's take a look in there," Reika proposed.

The two of them went inside the store and took a look around the place. It was by far the largest shop they had come across so far. They found a variety of chairs, couches, lamps, tables, accessories, and other furniture. However, they encountered their most interesting find near the back of the store. There, they found rows and rows of plain white mattresses piled up high. There had to have been over a hundred and fifty of them altogether.

"Looks like they were having a sale on beds before the evacuation," Osamu hypothesized, "That, or this city has more lovers than Paris, France."

Reika sniggered at this little joke. Then she stated "You know, these mattresses give me an idea. Maybe you and I could use them…"

"Oh, Reika, you naughty girl…" Osamu leered.

At this, Reika burst out laughing. Osamu joined her after a few seconds with some polite chuckling. When they finally stopped, Reika commented "Good one, Osamu."

"Thanks," Osamu drily remarked. He returned to his normally serious mode and asked her "But getting back to business, what do you have in mind?"

"Think about it," she advised him, "A forty-foot fall would most likely kill us if we landed on rough ground. But if we were to throw a bunch of mattresses out first and then jump out, don't you think our chances of surviving would be better?"

"I think our chances would be monumentally better," Osamu answered her, "That's a simple yet exceptionally brilliant strategy. I can't believe I didn't think of that first. I probably wouldn't have if you hadn't suggested it. Damn… I'm really glad you're with me, Reika."

Reika stepped up to her Boss, took his free hand in her own, and told him "I'm glad you're with me, too, Osamu."

Then she kissed him on the cheek. He turned to her and grinned widely. Then he pulled Reika close, shut his eyes, and kissed her on the lips. She closed her eyes as well and savored the moment. The two of them had gotten very close in the time since the game began. They had gone from gang associates to nearly paramours in less than one day.

The desire to give into their urges was very tempting. But for their sake, they managed to have some self-restraint. When they came apart, Reika looked Osamu in the eyes and told him "We'll have time for this stuff later. For now, we have more pressing matters to attend to."

"I agree," stated Osamu. He turned to the mattresses, approached the nearest one, and stated as he picked it up on one end, "Let's move some of these mattresses to the clothing department. I think we'd only really need a few, but it never hurts to overestimate in things like this. So I'd say a dozen or so ought to do it. Once we've got enough… we can talk."

"Sounds alright to me," Reika told him as she went to pick up the other end of the mattress, "I can think of plenty of things we can do. Some of them don't even require much talking. A few also involve one of these things."

A devious grin came across Osamu's face when he heard that. It stayed on his face long after he and Reika began moving the first mattress out of the store.

There are many forms of self-abuse. Many of them involve the usage of harmful substances such as alcohol, drugs, and tobacco. Being under the influence of these materials could seriously affect a person's overall well-being in many different ways. However, none of them are as serious as the ultimate form of self-abuse: suicide.

If a person was to fall victim to any other form of self-abuse, they would still have a chance to recover from it afterwards. They could be cured of any dirty habit, addiction, and disorder if they are treated properly and quickly enough.

Suicide, on the other hand, has no treatment. Once it is done, it cannot be undone. That is the primary reason why taking one's own life is such a controversial topic in both ethical and moral regards. This is also why people who often attempt to kill themselves but fail are monitored very carefully afterwards. Their family, friends, and even rulers take steps to ensure they never try such a thing ever again.

The concept of suicide had greatly occurred to Daisuke Araki. He had plenty of reasons for wanting to consider it. For one thing, they had run out of morphine almost an hour earlier. The last injection was already starting to wear off, and the pain was more intense than ever.

Daisuke's fever had only gotten worse in that time. His skin had turned clammy, his eyes were bloodshot, and his face, hair, and chest were very moist with perspiration. He was also much hotter to the touch; so hot that Naozumi Matsuno could not even bring his hand close to Daisuke's forehead without burning it.

Under normal circumstances, his fever would not have gotten so worse in such little time. However, the damage he had acquired earlier had caused his fever to accelerate exponentially. On that subject, he was facing another whole set of problems. The infection around his bullet wound had caused his health to deteriorate even further. It had already started spreading to more of his veins. The pain was so intense that Daisuke could barely even move.

When Naozumi offered to get him a new bandage, Daisuke promptly refused, arguing that it would be a waste of time and available resources. Naozumi agreed that he had a good point. After all, the wound in Daisuke's chest had been sewn up tight; it was in no danger of bursting or reopening. Plus, a bandage would have done nothing to help his fever or infection.

Aside from that, Daisuke did not feel that he deserved any more treatment for his wounds. He did not want any, either. By this point, he had convinced himself that he actually was entirely responsible for Tsukasa's death. Certainly, he and Tsukasa had not been on good terms with each other, but Tsukasa was still a human being. Yet since Daisuke had been so immature and juvenile as to tease him over such a trivial matter, Tsukasa had been gunned down like an animal. Daisuke hated himself for this.

He also thought about Shuuichi and Kenzou. The two of them had gone out to search the fire department ahead of time to confirm it as secure. The only reason they had done that in the first place was because of Daisuke's inability to walk. They would have needed a clear path in order to transport him safely across the city.

Now he had no idea what may have happened to the two of them. They could have run into any one of a number of complications along the way, a player being the most likely of them. Plus, Shuuichi had given Daisuke some of his own blood to stabilize his well-being. With the exception of a little dizziness, Shuuichi had claimed that he was fine. However, the way Daisuke saw it, those two pints of blood may have been the difference between his life… and Shuuichi's. And in a way, Kenzou's, as well. Daisuke now believed that if anything happened to either of them, it would have been his fault, too.

His physical anguish mixed with his guilty conscience had left Daisuke in a very unstable frame of mind. All this pressure made him feel helpless and deplorable. All he wanted to do was end the pain and avoid playing a part in any more of his friends' deaths. From his view, there was only one way he could do this and still emerge from the situation with any honor at all. He would have to take his own life.

However, given the scenario, he was in no position to take any action towards such a goal. Naozumi had taken charge of all their weapons and supplies. Also, Daisuke barely had the strength to move a single muscle without feeling extreme discomfort. Basically, he could not do anything on his own in his current state.

That did not mean he would give up. He was determined to somehow find a way. He thought every possible method over in his head. However, all of them would involve getting up and moving on his own. His options were even more limited than he thought.

Then he turned to his left. Naozumi was busy taking inventory of their medical supplies from the first aid kit. Daisuke gazed at him for a few seconds. A light smirk soon came across his face. He realized that the answer to his problem was sitting directly by his side.

"Naozumi, can I ask you something?" Daisuke asked his best friend.

The larger boy looked up from his work and replied with "Sure. What's up?"

"You remember that article we read about modern controversies?" queried Daisuke.

"As shocking as it was to read, I do remember virtually all of it," Naozumi answered, "Whoever would have thought that there were so many different views of premarital sex, abortion, and other such issues that they would lead to a social uproar?"

"To be honest, I wasn't that surprised," Daisuke admitted, "But there was one subject that I think would be somewhat relevant to us right now."

"What might that be?" asked Naozumi.

"Euthanasia," Daisuke enlightened him, "What do you remember of that one?"

"Not much; only that it's pretty much the civilized term for 'assisted suicide,'" Naozumi recalled, "Oh, and Hina came up with a rather amusing pun about it. I believe it was along the lines of 'If you hate spending your adulthood on another continent, you should have your youth in Asia.'"

Naozumi scoffed and stated "Get it? Youth in Asia, Euthanasia? Pretty clever, right?"

Daisuke lightly snickered and said "That is… really funny."

Naozumi nodded his head. Then he inquired "Why do you ask, anyway? How exactly does euthanasia fit into all this?"

Daisuke did not respond immediately. He knew there would be no easy way to explain his plan to Naozumi. He had to find a way to elucidate his intentions discreetly and cautiously.

"Nao, how far would you go to help me?" Daisuke enquired.

Naozumi raised an eyebrow and stated in confusion "Is that a serious question, Dai? I've been looking out for you all day long. I'll keep doing that for as long as I'm still breathing."

Daisuke smiled at him regretfully and told him "I'm very grateful to hear you say that. But I want to know; what if I stop breathing before you do?"

Naozumi did not answer straight away. After a few seconds, he said "I'd rather not think about that possibility."

"Well, you're going to have to," Daisuke pointed out, "I have a feeling I won't be around much longer."

"Don't say that!" Naozumi urged him, "I know you're in a lot of pain, but you can still pull through. Look at all we've been through so far. We should-"

"Perhaps I should rephrase that," Daisuke interrupted him, "I don't have any plans to be around here much longer. In fact, I don't even want to be in this game anymore."

"None of us do," Naozumi commented, "I think I can speak for all our classmates when I say that none of us want to be here. Except maybe Maki. She's the only one I think could possibly enjoy this thing. Everyone else… definitely not. We can all relate to your desire to go home."

"You misunderstand," Daisuke enlightened his friend, "I wasn't saying I wanted to survive this thing."

Naozumi froze when he heard this. He was almost certain he had just misheard his best friend. There was no way he could have suggested that he actually wanted to give up on his chances. If so, he would be giving up on life altogether.

Daisuke could tell what was on his best friend's mind. He thought aloud "I want to die, Naozumi. That much I am certain of."

"So you want to kill yourself?" Naozumi uttered in shock.

"No, I'm much too weak to do any such thing," Daisuke clarified, "Suicide is not an option for me. At least not the traditional form of it. Euthanasia, on the other hand, is still available. I've got someone who can help me get this done."

Naozumi felt his breath leave him when he heard these words. He whispered "You… have to be joking. Please tell me you're kidding. You… want me to… to… kill you? That has to be the most insane thing you've ever asked me to do."

"I know it is, but that doesn't change the fact that I want you to do it," Daisuke told his best friend.

Before Naozumi had a chance to respond, Daisuke told him "I know how this must sound, Naozumi. You must think I'm delusional, lightheaded, or downright crazy. You have every right to think that way. But I want you to understand my feelings; hear my side of this before you draw any conclusions."

Naozumi was still a little shaken, but he was willing to listen to what his friend had to say. He leaned back into the couch and quietly told him "Go ahead."

"Right now, I'm under so much pain," Daisuke began, "This level of pain is unbearable. It only gets worse if I move. The slightest twitch I make leaves me with a multitude of aches. The only thing it doesn't hurt to move is my mouth. That's how I'm able to talk to you clearly. But I can't even lift my arm to scratch my nose. It's like a test in torture, that's how bad it is. It's only getting worse as time goes by. We don't have anything to ease my sufferings. Aside from that, how could we possibly treat both an infection and a fever at the same time? If I drank enough fluids, I would have a chance of keeping the fever at bay. But this infection in my veins is a far more serious thing. We'd need antibiotics and other drugs to treat it. You and I both know that there's nothing other than some ibuprofen and aspirin in the first aid kit and this apartment. Even if we did have them on hand, he wouldn't know anything about the proper dosage or method of administering them. After all, Kenzou was the only one with medical training, and he didn't leave us any instructions on how to handle this sort of thing. Without him, we're pretty much lost on how to proceed. There's nothing more we can do to stop the pain. I have no reason to believe it will get any better over time. If anything, it will only get worse. If you were feeling what I'm feeling right now, I can guarantee you that you would give anything to make the pain go away. I certainly would."

Daisuke paused here for a moment to let everything he had told Naozumi sink in. Then he continued with: "You should know that there is more to this than just my tolerance for pain. Even if I didn't have all this pain… I couldn't live with myself knowing that I was responsible for another person's death. I know I didn't even like Tsukasa, but his blood is on my hands. I should never have made fun of him for mixing up the revolution in that musical. It was a stupid topic that didn't even deserve arguing over. In addition to this, Kenzou and Shuuichi are out there, risking their lives so that we would have a chance to make it across the city. If anything was to happen to either of them, I'd be to blame for that, too. Sure, I've never harmed anyone, and I certainly haven't killed anyone, but I can't handle that sort of guilt. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I… I suppose say," Naozumi answered, "But Daisuke… you've got to understand that I could never kill you. No matter what, I could never do such a thing."

"Even when I'm virtually begging you to do it?" Daisuke assumed.

"Absolutely," said Naozumi, "You're my best friend in the world. What kind of man kills those closest to him? I'm amazed you could even suggest that."

"I understand your view on this issue," stated Daisuke, "But let me make one more speech. Hear me out first; then decide for yourself if I'm crazy or if I'm legit."

Naozumi hesitated at first. Then he sighed, nodded, and said reluctantly "Alright. Go on."

"In the time since this morning, I've thoroughly analyzed this scenario," Daisuke enlightened him, "When the game started, I was foolish enough to think that we could actually survive this game. It's only now that I realized we were condemned to die from the very beginning. Only one of us will walk out of this thing alive. Actually, maybe two. But I have no reason to believe that either of us will be one of those two. You at least have a reasonable opportunity. Even without weapons, you might be able to get by on your strength. But look at me. I'm under tremendous pain, my conscience is far from clear, and I've lost any particularly compelling reason to stay alive. My only option left is to die by my own hand. The problem with that is that I can hardly even move my hand. So somebody else is going to have to do it. Naturally, that 'somebody' would have to be you. Not only because you're the only person with me, but also because I wouldn't want anyone else to do it."

"You make it sound so easy," Naozumi cut in with a note of apprehension in his voice, "You talk about killing a human begin as if it's something as simple as killing a mosquito."

"It's not my intent to come off like that," Daisuke assured him, "My point is this: there was a time when suicide was not frowned upon in this country. In fact, it was once considered to be an honor to go down that way. Centuries ago, whenever a soldier had been mortally wounded, rendered incapable of continuing to fight, or committed an unforgivable act, he committed seppuku so that he would still die with honor. Often, one of his associates stood by to cut off his head after he stabbed himself in the stomach. This was done to help him ease the suffering. I'm not asking you to decapitate me with a sword or gut me in the abdomen, Naozumi. All I'm asking is for you to let me die in peace. Please… I beg of you… just let me die. Let me die with the little dignity and self-respect I still have."

Naozumi had never had so many mixed feelings in his life as he did at this time. In the past, Daisuke had always been there for him. He had looked out for him and cared for him as if he was his own brother. Now Daisuke wanted him to return the favor by bringing about his death. That felt so wrong to Naozumi in so many different ways.

However, he brought himself to see the matter from Daisuke's point of view. He wondered how he would behave if he had been through all the turmoil Daisuke had been through. When he thought about it, Naozumi realized that death probably was not the worst possible thing that could happen to a person. In actuality, the very worst possible thing was an indefinitely long period of misery and suffering, and then death right after. Truthfully, Naozumi had secretly began doubting that Daisuke would actually pull through, but he had kept these thoughts to himself so that his best friend would not think he had given up on him. Naozumi would have hated it if his friend's last moments were spent in even worse pain than the pain he was already in.

After almost ten minutes of silent contemplation, Naozumi turned to Daisuke and asked him "Are you sure... and I mean, absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt sure that this is what you want?"

With great difficulty, Daisuke nodded his head and softly told him "Please… just do this for me."

The two of them shared over a minute of eye contact with each other. Neither of them spoke a word in that whole minute. Then Naozumi slowly nodded his head. A tear came to his eye as he said "Okay. I'll… I'll do it. Only because you want me to… and because I can't stand to see you suffer."

Daisuke smiled at his friend and told him "You really are the best friend anyone could ever hope for."

"Thank you," Naozumi softly responded. He wiped his eye and asked "So, what… what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to hold me down with one arm," Daisuke instructed him slowly, "Then… I want you to cover my nose and mouth with your other hand. No matter what I try to do or say… do not let go. I'll probably spasm or twitch, but ignore that. Do not let me go until about a minute after I stop moving."

"I understand," Naozumi told him, "When should I do it?"

"Right now," Daisuke answered straightforwardly, "The sooner, the better."

"Alright, just… just give me a moment," Naozumi requested.

"Take as long as you need," Daisuke told him, "Don't tell me whenever you're ready. Just do it. It'll probably go by faster if I don't see it coming."

Naozumi agreed.

The next five minutes were spent in complete silence. Daisuke and Naozumi barely even moved a muscle in all that time. There was a painfully unpleasant atmosphere in the room.

Then, Naozumi moved in. He threw his left arm over Daisuke's arms and chest to pin him down. Then he placed his right hand over his nose and mouth. He plugged them both up and held onto them tight. He took Daisuke quite by surprise, but the wounded boy did nothing to fight what was happening.

More tears started forming underneath Naozumi's eyes. But he held on tight to his friend's body and face, determined to carry out his wish.

After about thirty seconds, Daisuke's hands and feet began twitching. His eyes shot wide open as if they were on the verge of popping out of his head. These were more involuntary reactions than anything else; he had no control over them. He also found his lungs desperately pleading to get a fresh breath of oxygen. But he was not going to give in to this desire. If he put up a struggle, he would only make it even worse on himself. He wanted to put all his grief, all his torment, and all his distress away for good.

About forty-five seconds later, Daisuke stopped twitching. His eyelids gradually slid shut and he eased down onto the bed. His hands and feet were no longer twitching anymore. Naozumi continued holding his nose and mouth for a little while longer.

Finally, he let go of him. He backed up slightly and took a good long moment to study Daisuke. Once he was finished looking him over, Naozumi lowered his head in sadness and respect. Tears were now freely flowing from his eyes. Naozumi covered his face with his hands and wept in sorrow. He had ended his best friend's suffering, but there no doubt in his mind that he had also ended everything else about his best friend.

Daisuke had been first at many different things throughout his life. The most notable was how he was always first in his class's roll call. At that moment, he became the first ever person to be a willing victim of a mercy killing in the Program.

Toshirou Oosaki (Boy #5) and Gakuto Yamashita (Boy #21) had been busy in the past few hours. They were concentrating their best efforts on accomplishing their previously established objectives. While they had been spending their time productively, they had not managed to get very much work done. This was primarily because they had encountered a number of difficulties that impeded their progress.

Fortunately, the two of them had travelled across the city in a much more efficient manner than Osamu Sano and Reika Fujihara. They had been able to move at a quicker pace while being just as cautious and discreet. It had taken them just a half-hour to reach the police station at the northern border of D-5.

However, they were very peeved to discover that Teru was not on the roof. All they found there was his backpack, a laptop, some Java books, a harpoon wrapped in aluminum foil hooked up to a CD burner, a hundred meters' worth of conjoined cables, and a makeshift wooden apparatus. However, there was no sign of Teru, his harpoon rifle, or his supply pack.

Gakuto and Toshirou were not going to give up just yet. They searched the entire building to make certain Teru was not there. They ultimately found no indication that anyone had been inside any part of the station all day except for the lobby and the stairwell. They even looked out of the windows in the back room to see if Teru's body was in the alley. It was not.

"What should we do now?" Toshirou asked in slight annoyance.

"Let's go back up to the roof," Gakuto suggested, "We might find something useful if we search through his supplies."

"Okay," Toshirou agreed.

The two of them went over to the stairwell and took it up to the roof. Then they went straight to investigating. Toshirou looked through the contents of Teru's backpack while Gakuto examined the files on the laptop. The streetlights below did not go as high as the roof, and they were not willing to risk using their flashlights just yet. Therefore, their only source of light was the computer screen. It was a little hard for Toshirou to work with such little light, but he managed all the same.

After about five minutes, Toshirou inquired "Anything on his computer?"

"A lot of Java programs are open," Gakuto responded as he browsed through several different documents, "But it would appear that all of them are just basic syntax and formulas. I'm guessing Teru only had those up to use them as guidelines for modifying his disruption code. There's no sign of the code itself"

"You don't think it's been erased, do you?" Toshirou said in uneasiness.

"I don't think so," stated Gakuto, "When we spoke to Teru this morning, he told us that he had a copy of his code on a flash drive. There's no sign of the flash drive here, so he must have taken it with him."

"That's a good theory," commented Toshirou as he continued searching through the backpack. He had found nothing particularly helpful so far. Then he noticed a notebook at the bottom. It had been opened up to a particular page. He took out the notebook and looked the page over.

"You having any better luck than I am?" Gakuto queried exasperatedly.

"Hard to say," Toshirou acknowledged, "I can't find any flash drives either. I guess he really did take that thing with him."

"Believe me, I'm certain he did," said Gakuto, "Knowing how serious Teru was taking this thing, I've no doubt that he'd want to have something as invaluable as that code with him at all times. Of course, this information would be a lot more useful if we had some idea where he was when he died. But we don't."

"Oh, don't be too sure about that," Toshirou countered, turning towards his friend. He then approached him and held out the notebook, saying "Gakuto, take a look at this."

Gakuto turned away to the computer and looked down at the notebook. The contents of the page where somewhat difficult to make out in the dark, so he had Toshirou hold it closer to the computer screen to get a better look.

On the particular page the notebook had been opened to, the following fourteen phrases were vertically listed in large characters from top to bottom: "Gather Supplies From Computer Store," "Gather Lumber From Carpentry Shop," "Slice Into Loudspeaker Network," "Broadcast Distraction," "Set Up Foundation For Rifle," "Charge Harpoon," "Connect Cables," "Rewrite Disruption Code," "Gather Materials For Back-Up Plan," "Use Code On School," "Get Back Into Loudspeaker Network," "Gather Everyone Together," "Take Over School/Burn School With Back-Up Materials," "Work Out Escape Plan," and "Escape."

The first eight had been crossed out, but not the last seven.

"Looks like he made himself a schedule," Toshirou speculated, "He must have organized his objectives in the order he intended to accomplish them."

"I think you're right," Gakuto agreed, "Notice that the last one he crossed out is 'Rewrite Disruption Code.'"

"At least we know now that he managed to complete his work on the code," Toshirou noted, "It's a shame he didn't just go ahead and use it against the school when he finished. I wonder why he didn't."

"He must have had his reasons," Gakuto theorized, looking the list over, "According to this, he was in the midst of 'Gather Materials For Back-Up Plan' when he died."

"So that must be why he isn't here," Toshirou reasoned, "He must have left the building in order to get more supplies. Damn shame he didn't write where he was going. He could be anywhere in the city."

"I think I may have an idea," stated Gakuto, pointing further down the page, "Look right here at the phrase with the slash in it. It says 'Take Over School/Burn School With Back-Up Materials. He must have gone after some flammable goods."

Toshirou then smirked and thought aloud "Looks like that narrows down 'anywhere' to only a few possible places. In fact, there's only one particular place I have in mind."

Toshirou then put down the notebook, gathered his bags, and stood up straight. He held out his hand to his friend and told him "Come on, Gakuto. We're going to the gas station."

"The gas station?" repeated Gakuto in mild confusion, "Why?"

"From what I can tell, the only two places in the city that have materials capable of burning down a building are chemical storage and the gas station," Toshirou explained, "However, while Teru was a genius at computer programming, acting, and some forms of engineering, his experience in chemistry was not as broad as yours or mine. It would have been a hassle for him to transport anything especially flammable out of that building, even without the proper safety equipment. Plus, he probably would not have even known what chemicals would be the most qualified to commit arson. On the other hand, everyone knows how effective gasoline is at burning things down."

Gakuto realized that Toshirou was making some very valid points. At the very least, he had found a good lead as to where Teru's body may have been. However, it occurred to him that there was no firm evidence that Teru actually went to the gas station, and even if he had, he could have died on the way there. All the same, he was not going to draw any conclusions without investigating.

"Alright, let's go check it out," Gakuto decided. He shut the laptop, gathered up his gear, took Toshirou's hand, and allowed him to pull him to his feet. Once they were both standing up straight, he said "Let's roll."

They had left the police station shortly before nine o'clock. The carpentry shop and the gas station were equally far away from the police station. However, it took Gakuto and Toshirou longer to get to the gas station, as they had to take a detour to avoid one of the most recent danger zones.

At around 9:35, they arrived in F-4. As they got closer to the gas station, Toshirou remarked "It's getting a lot harder to see out here. I'm guessing the streetlights aren't as bright in this part of the city. I think we should go ahead and get out our flashlights. If it gets much darker, we'll be needing a stronger source of light."

He half-expected Gakuto to shoot down this suggestion, but instead, he unzipped his supply pack, dug out his flashlight, and stated "Why not? That's what these things are for, anyway. We may as well use them."

Toshirou smirked and took out his own flashlight. "Glad we agree on this."

Both boys pointed their flashlights forward, flicked them on, and proceeded through the streets.

About ten minutes later, Toshirou looked down at his map and announced "The gas station should be directly in front of us."

Gakuto pointed his flashlight a little higher and shined the beam across a large sign. It had a symbol of a large gasoline can in the center of it. He turned to Gakuto and told him "You're right. There it is."

As they got closer, Toshirou sniffed the air and said in disgust "You smell that? It smells like ash and petroleum. And… something else. But I'm not sure what."

Gakuto took a whiff of the air and gave a sickened cough, "I smell it alright. It's like something's been rotting around here for hours."

"Maybe we should secure the area first," Toshirou recommended.

"Alright," Gakuto accepted, "I'll check the alleys; you see if there's anything around the shop itself."

Toshirou nodded his head. The two of them separated at the middle of the street and went to work searching the vicinity. The first thing Toshirou inspected was a car parked at one of the gas terminals. It looked strangely familiar to him. At the same time, Gakuto checked out the alley across the street. There was a phone booth and a few bags of garbage that appeared to have been heavily damaged. To him, that implied that a struggle may have gone down in the area. He took that as a sign.

"Remember to stay on your guard, Toshirou," Gakuto called over his shoulder, pulling his revolver out of his belt, "This place may be abandoned, but there's no telling when someone else may stumble across it"

"I've been on my guard all damn day," Toshirou assured his friend, looking over the car, "Believe me, Gakuto; I'm prepared for whatever comes our way. I don't think anything could surprise me at this point."

After he looked over the garbage bags and the phone booth, Gakuto noticed a very small light emanating from a ground. He kneeled down to get a closer look, and realized that the light was giving off a bit of heat. He then discovered that the light was actually a very small flame. But that was not the most noteworthy thing about it. There was a huge mass on the ground next to the flame.

As Gakuto went to work examining the mass on the ground, Toshirou had just finished looking over the vehicle. He scoffed in amusement and stated "Then again, I could be wrong."

"About what?" Gakuto asked without looking up.

"About not being surprised," Toshirou clarified, "Take a look at this. It's the Highlander."

Gakuto looked up and saw Toshirou flashing his light over the side of the car. The vehicle was a wreck. It was so badly seared that it appeared as though it had been baking in a furnace for hours.

"That thing looks like it's been through hell," Gakuto drily commented.

"That's not a bad guess," Toshirou remarked, sticking his flashlight in through the broken window in the back, "There's got to be at least eight gas cans in here. There may be more, but they've been blown to pieces. There's soot and debris all over the place. No doubt about it; this thing was set on fire."

"That may have been the source of that explosion we heard this afternoon," Gakuto theorized, "Obviously we won't be able to drive it anymore. Is there anything salvageable in there?"

"Nothing that I can see," Toshirou bluntly replied, "Everything's messed up pretty badly. Just a bunch of useless junk now. This would explain those odors of ash and petroleum. Still can't make out that third one, though. Say, wait a moment… I just thought of something. If the car's parked here… that must mean that our friends are somewhere around here, too."

"They are," Gakuto announced to him, "Take a look at this."

Toshirou turned around and saw that Gakuto was pointing his flashlight directly towards the mass on the ground. The mass turned out to be a body, and Gakuto was shining the beam on the person's face.

"It's Kazumitsu," Gakuto informed his friend, "He's been shot in the head."

"Really?" Toshirou remarked in surprise, "By what?"

"I have no idea," Gakuto admitted, shining his flashlight around the area, "He's got powder burns on his temple, so he must have been shot at pointblank range. But I don't see any bullet casings."

"Whoever killed him may have collected them," Toshirou hypothesized.

"Yeah, but they doesn't explain why they didn't even bother to take the time to deactivate his flamethrower," Gakuto pointed out.

"Maybe they didn't think it was that important," said Toshirou, "At any rate, we've found Kazumitsu, but where do you suppose Kaminari is?"

Gakuto merely shrugged and continued examining Kazumitsu's remains, saying "I think the door to the gas station is open. Maybe her body's in there."

"I'll go check it out," Toshirou announced. He walked around the car, turned to the gas station, and went inside. It took him about three minutes to search the entire store. During those three minutes, Gakuto busied himself by searching Kazumitsu.

One thing that struck him as odd was that Kazumitsu had a pencil behind his ear. That suggested he had been writing on something shortly before he died. When searched Kazumitsu's jacket, he found a folded piece of paper inside it.

Gakuto made a note to check the paper out later at a more convenient time. Just as he slipped it into his own jacket, Toshirou stepped back outside and informed him "Nope, she's not in there."

"Well, she has to be around here somewhere," Gakuto debated, standing up straight again.

As Toshirou walked back around the car, he pointed his flashlight in a different direction every few seconds. He thought aloud "If we look hard enough, we should be able to-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he tripped over something lying next to the car. He staggered in the street for a few seconds, but managed to maintain his balance.

"Woah, you really need to watch your step, Toshirou," Gakuto said in amusement.

"Oh, screw you, Gakuto," Toshirou jokily retorted. He turned to the object he had tripped over. He could barely make it out in the dark, so he shined his flashlight over it. Immediately after, he jumped back against the car and shouted at the top of his voice "HOLY SHIT!"

"Shhhhhhhh!" Gakuto admonished him, an expression of scorn across his countenance, "What are you trying to do? You want to draw every player within a three-mile radius down on us?"

"Of course I wouldn't want that," Toshirou edgily replied, keeping his back to the Highlander. Gakuto got a good look at Toshirou's face and saw that he was horrified by something. Before he could ask, Toshirou pointed towards the object in front of him and stated "At the very least, I definitely don't want to meet whoever did this."

Gakuto raised an eyebrow and walked over to his friend. He looked down at the object on the ground and shined his flashlight down on it. He immediately regretted it after. He quickly pulled away his flashlight and quietly uttered "Is that…?"

Toshirou merely nodded and whispered in terror "It's Kaminari."

How Toshirou managed to recognize Kaminari is something of a mystery. Her body was so badly burnt and blackened that at first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than a huge lump of human-shaped charcoal.

Toshirou and Gakuto both wished they could somehow un-see what they had just seen. But it was far too late for that; the image of Kaminari's singed remnants were imbedded into their heads.

"What kind of sick fuck could have done this?" Toshirou uttered in shock.

"The same kind of sick fuck who's been playing this game to win," a new voice answered him.

This snapped Gakuto and Toshirou back to attention. Gakuto held up his revolver and called out "Who's there?"

"Over here," the voice calmly replied.

Toshirou and Gakuto swerved around towards the source of the voice and saw Yuuga Suzuki (Boy #11) walking out of the alleyway down the street. He had his flashlight in one hand and his handgun in the other. However, he was holding both of his arms up, as if he was trying to display a gesture of goodwill towards his two classmates.

"Yuuga?" stated Gakuto, gripping his revolver in case of trouble "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you and Toshirou the same thing, Gakuto," Yuuga admitted, keeping his hands raised.

"We're looking for… a body," Toshirou candidly answered him.

"I can see that," said the empathic boy, "I'd say you're doing a fine job of that; you've already found two."

"No, a different body," Gakuto clarified, "And put your hands down already. You look goddamn ridiculous like that."

"Thank you for telling me," Yuuga sarcastically remarked. There was a moment of silence. Then Yuuga inquired "The body you're looking for wouldn't happen to be Teru's, would it?"

Toshirou and Gakuto both felt their eyes go wide and their jaws drop open.

"How the hell did you know that?" Toshirou demanded.

"Because we're looking for it, too," Yuuga answered him.

"'We?'" noted Gakuto.

Yuuga looked around and noticed that he was alone. "Oh, right. Hold on a second."

He turned back into the alley and called out "Hey, I think it's safe to come out now!"

"If you say so," stated Chiaki Iwasaki (Girl #4), as she stepped out of the alley and stood next to Yuuga. She looked at her two male classmates. She was a little amused by how stunned they appeared to be. She nonchalantly asked them "What's up, Gakuto? How are you doing, Toshirou?"

"Ummm, we're fine, Chiaki," Toshirou answered in perplexity.

There was a long interval of silence. The past couple minutes had escalated pretty quickly. Toshirou and Gakuto were still somewhat phased by the sight of Kaminari's remains. However, Yuuga and Chiaki did not appear to be posing any serious or immediate threats to them. In fact, based off of how easily they had gotten into a casual conversation, Gakuto and Toshirou began to feel a little more relaxed.

The two of them turned to each other. They were silently debating whether or not to trust Yuuga and Chiaki. While they preferred to take their time whenever they made such critical decisions, they knew very well that time was not something they had an abundance of the Program. All that really mattered to them was the first impressions of their classmates. Chiaki and Yuuga were being relatively friendly to them, as if they had good intentions. So they decided to take advantage of this opportunity to see if they could make another ally or two.

When Gakuto noticed the weapon Chiaki had slung over her shoulders, he became a little suspicious. He questioned her "Chiaki, is that harpoon rifle what you were given as a weapon?"

"No, it was actually Teru's," the bold girl replied. Then she pulled her iron spearhead out and stated "This was my weapon. Not very effectual or contemporary, but still better than nothing."

"How'd you get that rifle?" Toshirou inquired, "We already knew it was Teru's weapon originally, but how could it have ended up so far away from him?"

"We would tell you how we acquired it," Chiaki assured him, "But we don't have time for any explanations right now. We just want to find Teru's body, and we want to find it soon."

"If you're looking for Teru, too, I'd like to know something," stated Gakuto, "What's your interest in him?"

"Same as yours," Yuuga enlightened him, "We want to find his disruption code, too."

"How do you know about the disruption code?" Toshirou demanded.

"Long story," Yuuga answered them, "We'll explain everything we know once we find Teru. But you should probably know, he doesn't have the disruption code with him."

"He doesn't?" Toshirou asked in alarm, "How can you possibly know that?"

"That's part of the long story," was all Yuuga said.

"But if you knew that, why did you come looking for his body anyway?" enquired Gakuto.

"We wanted to see if there was anything his killer left behind that may help us retrieve the disruption code or make our own from scratch," Yuuga honestly replied, "Obviously, the latter of those options is highly unlikely. The former, however, may be possible. We just need to find Teru first."

"Wait, isn't that him over there?" inquired Chiaki, pointing her spearhead down the street.

The three boys turned around and saw that she was pointing at a lamppost about seven meters away. There was a body slouching against the base of the lamppost.

The four of them tentatively approached the body and shined their flashlights at it when they got close enough. They got the answer to Chiaki's question when they did so.

"That's him," Gakuto confirmed, "Looks as though he's been strangled… by a whip."

Boy #1 Daisuke Araki – Dead

24 Students Remaining