Disclaimer: I don't own Battle Royale, Kinji Fukusaku-san does. And I decided to play around with the order of death a bit, so what you see here is my take on the film! Have fun, guys!


Running From Fate


"Sometimes life is a mystery. You don't know what's going to happen to you, you don't know what fate will throw at you. All that's in your head now is to survive until the end. I really hate that. It's shit!"

Mimura Shinji, Boy #19-Battle Royale


Evening, Day 2

E-4

Warehouse Hideout

"Let's get this shit over with!"

Shinji Mimura hastily picked up his laptop, stuffed it into his backpack, and ran like hell from their hideout where the explosives were hidden, Hiroki Sugimura and Keita Iijima at his heels.

"Come on, you two! Let's get out of here before Kiriyama finds us!" he yelled.

They all ran as fast as they could for the warehouse dor, but as they got outside, they saw a horribly familiar head of pale-orange hair. It was their worst nightmare come to life, with his guns ablaze: Kazuo Kiriyama.

The three stared at each other helplessly, then Keia ran back inside, panic overtaking his sanity.

At this, Kiriyama immediately opened fire at the retreating figure, and he fell dead in his tracks.

Keita Iijima (36) . Six students left.

"D...did he have the lighter...?" Hiroki asked him.

"Not that I know of... I think..."

Shinji whispered conspiratorially, "I have it with me. Lucky I had the foresight to ask for it from him..."

"Good thinking, Shinji..."

Kiriyama seemed to hesitate for a second, then switched his weapons.

Hiroki and Shinji nodded at each other, then ran in opposite directions while he was distracted.

Both were hidden in the surrounding forest when Kiriyama looked up. Seeing that his prey had vanished, his face became a twisted mask of fury.

Without hesitation, he opened fire with the machine gun he had in his hands, spraying bullets into the forest.

Hiroki was making his way to where Shinji was crouched down, his laptop open when the bullet rain attacked the surrounding foilage.

"Who would've known that this place would become a danger zone!" he whispered as he reached him, who had managed to hack his way yet again into the Act's main computer grid.

"I'm checking the list now..."

His fingers flew over the keyboard, and the screen lit up a second later.

"Shit," Hiroki cursed silently. "Only six people left..."

"Well, it's better than none," Shinji answered quite crossly.

"Who's still on the grid?"

"Asides from us and that homicidal maniac, Nanahara, Noriko, and Kawada are still alive. But, they've gone off the island grid... and their collars haven't gone off yet..."

"So they're safe..."

"Yeah, for now..."

Another round of bullets whizzed overhead, and they both ducked. Then total, complete silence.

"He's trying to draw us out..."

"I know, Hiroki..."

Kiriyama saw an unnatural light in the darkness of the foilage, and made his way towards it. At that exact same time, Shinji crawled away from his position, unaware that his laptop was giving him away.

"He can see your laptop, Shinji!"

"What...?"

"Close it, Shinji, close it!" Hiroki hissed at him, who was a bit further away from where he was hidden.

He didn't understand at first, but Hiroki started motioning with his hands rapidly. A confused expression crossed Shinji's face, then he understood. He banged it shut, which was a big mistake.

Kiriyama heard this sound, and his head snapped around. He then made his way to where Shinji was hidden, gun blazing. He then fired another round blindly into the forest foilage.

"Holy...shit!" one of them exclaimed.

Hiroki crawled as fast as he could to where Shinji was sprawled flat on his stomach, clutching his laptop, and berating himself at the same time. But when he got close enough, a stray bullet from Kiriyama's gun hit his shoulder, and he winced out loud.

Shinji slapped his forehead in frustration. Kiriyama left his gun on automatic, letting his hand control the weapon's firing direction, and he let fly another round of bullets into the forest.

"Come on, Hiroki!" Shinji hissed.

He crawled blindly, unable to see where Shinji really was, and avoiding the bullet spray at the same time it whizzed overhead.

"Don't give your position away!" Shinji hissed again. "Don't give your position away!"

But the warning came too late, for Hiroki raised his head an inch, and a bullet caught him in the head.

"Oh, shit," he snarled, watching Hiroki fall.

He was still alive, but barely. He managed to reach Shinji, but he was dying fast.

"Shinji... run!" he moaned.

"Hiroki... what were you thinking, doing that! Are you crazy!"

"I did it for a reason," he continued softly. "You have to survive..."

"What are you saying...?"

"Get to Nanahara... and the other two... and get off this island!"

"But what about you?"

"Leave me here... I'll draw Kiriyama away from you... you must find the three... and kill him... before he kills you all!"

Hiroki took one final look at Shinji Mimura, and died with a smile on his face.

Hiroki Sugimura (37) . Five students left.

"Oh, shit..."

Crawling as fast as he could, he managed to put some distance between him and Kiriyama. He then rolled over onto his back, and slid his backpack out from underneath him. Opening it silently, he slid his laptop in and closed it as silently as he could. Then he ran for it.


Kiriyama had found Hiroki's body, and took the tracker as his own. But he had this feeling that there was another person hiding in the forest. He opened the tracker, and took a look at the remaining dots running around.

Of the four he saw, three were clumped together, headed back towards sector D6. The fourth one was headed back to the warehouse, and it was here he confirmed his earlier suspicion: Shinji Mimura was still alive.

Snarling furiously, he, too, made his way back to the warehouse. But he didn't know what Shinji was planning...

Even if he knew that the place he was running back to was a danger zone, Shinji had an insane plan in mind. And he was hoping that it would work.


Running back into the warehouse, he saw the batches of hurriedly-made explosives scattered haphazardly around the place, abandoned in extreme haste.

He then looked out at the open door of the warehouse, and saw Keita's lifeless form lying a few feet from the entrance, and a plan clicked into his mind.He hastily made his way to where his friend lay, and dragged him closer to the pile of explosives, cursing silently as a bloody trail formed, caused by the still-bleeding wounds.

"Shit, shit, shit..." he said to himself over and over, seeing the obvious evidence form around him. Then a brainstorm hit him.

Leaving Keita where he lay, he made his way to where he knew that there were stocks of petroleum hidden in the place. He pulled out a bottle of water from his backpack, opened it, and drained it in one go. After finishing all the water, he reached for a crowbar and pried the first can open, then submerged it into the liquid.

Wrinkling his nose at the strong smell, he scooped up the bottle that was now full of the pungent-smelling liquid, and ran back to the bloody trail, and drained the contents all over it. Risking a second round, he ran back and this time, poured it all over Keita's body and the pile of explosives behind him.

No sooner he had finished this, Kiriyama appeared at the doorway, guns out and ready. Shinji froze in his tracks, the lighter in his hands. He immmediateky opened fire at Shinji, then snarled as he saw that he was firing blanks.

"Nice try, Kiriyama," he said, a smirk forming on his lips. In answer, he gave him the finger, fury etched all over his face. Then he reached behind his back. A few seconds later, he had a short sword in his hands, then made his way to where Shinji was standing, petrified.

His brain was in panic mode, and he forced himself to run backwards, clicking the lighter all the while. Kiriyama, who was still preoccupied with killing Shinji, didn't notice the pile of explosives which now reeked with the petroleum Shinji had poured all over it. Then Shinji threw the lighter, and ran out of the warehouse like hell, never looking back.

It took the better part of five minutes that Kiriyama noticed that his prey was gone. Then he saw the flying lighter that landed on the petroleum trail.

Oh, fuck, he thought angrily. I'm caught in a trap! A trap laid down by the Third Man himself! He's going to blow up the whole fuckin' warehouse with me in it!

As the lighter landed on the puddle, he didn't do anything at all. He just stood there, like a preacher with his arms spread wide out.

Blow me to kingdom come, Shinji Mimura. But I swear that you'll follow me to where I'm headed...

Goodbye, cruel world! were his final living thoughts before the rapidly spreading flames scorched his skin into oblivion.

Kazuo Kiriyama (38) . Four students left.

After running what seemed like forever to him, Shinji decided to stop and finally collapsed beaide a tree. Taking out his laptop, he swiped a download of the island, complete with the list. Only four names were still lit in green, and the third and final day was fast approaching. Looking around him, he decided to take a nap.