Chapter 5: Merciless

Cerulean waves of ocean waters crashed against the jagged side of the cliffs on the southern tip of the island. Exploding, the waves turned into mist and drifted into the cool breeze of the wind. On the hill were a small field and a large tree at its peak. Leaning against the bulky tree was Keigo Arashi (Boy #19). His dark brown hair that reached his chin blew along with the wind and covered his brown eyes. He appeared to be wearing a dark blue fleece jacket with a black undershirt and blue jeans. On his feet was a pair of white and blue sneakers. His arms crossed over his chest as he silently leaned against the tree.

"Keigo!" someone yelled.

With a smile on his face, the star player of the basketball team turned to see his princess running towards him with a survival pack in hand. Ai Kanezawa (Girl #1) sprinted up the field and jumped right into Keigo's arms. The two embraced for what seemed like forever then kissed one another's lips. As they held each other, they fell on the soft ground and sat against the tree.

Before Ai left the classroom, Keigo was able to send her a message. He wasn't sure if she could tell what he meant, but now he was certain. Since Ai was the second person out and she sat at the front of the class, she was unable to send anyone a note or receive one. When she made her way out the classroom, she turned to the class with a somber expression. Before leaving, she and Keigo made eye contact. At that time, Keigo found the opportunity to send her a message. Hoping Mr. Yamamoto and the soldiers couldn't see him, Keigo mouthed the words 'meet at southern tip' towards Ai. Fortunately, she did understand the message. It must've taken her a while to reach the southern tip, though, since Keigo had been waiting for an hour now.

"What took so long, baby?" Keigo asked as he held Ai in his arms.

"I couldn't tell which way was south. Those government bastards gave me a broken compass," Ai answered, snuggling up close to Keigo. "I had to use my intuition to find this place."

"Well I'm glad your intuition's good or else I might've just killed myself," Keigo joked. Kissing Ai on the forehead, he smiled and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered back. For a while, everything seemed perfect and peaceful. It felt like neither Ai nor Keigo were a part of this twisted game they were being forced to play. The two lovers sat quietly, comforting one another. The feeling didn't last long, though.

After the brief pause, Ai asked, "What are we gonna do, baby?"

"What do you mean?" Keigo wondered, looking at Ai while holding her.

"About this game," Ai replied. "What do we do?"

"There are only two things to do. And that's kill or be killed," Keigo answered coldly.

"But I don't want to kill anyone."

"I know you don't. I don't either," Keigo said somberly. "I don't want to die though."

Nodding, Ai muttered, "Neither do I."

"Then it's settled, we'll play this game."

Surprised, Ai let go of Keigo's arms and sat up. Staring at him in the eyes, she asked, "What? You're willing to play?"

"For you I am," Keigo replied. It was almost romantic; only if he wasn't talking about killing others for her. "You don't have to play. Just stay by my side and I'll make sure you win."

"No, I can't do that, Keigo. I don't want you to kill anybody," Ai told him.

"Please, Ai, I don't want to kill any of our classmates, but I care about you too much to let you die. If killing everyone is the only way to protect you then I'll do it."

There was a brief pause. Ai and Keigo looked each other in the eyes. Ai's eyes were beginning to swell with tears while Keigo looked on without any emotion. He seemed really ready to kill anyone for Ai's sake. This Keigo was so different from the one Ai had met two years ago.

Though it was so long ago, the memory was so vivid in Ai. She was at cheer practice with her other friends. Cheer practice was usually outside, but it was raining that day so they split up the gymnasium. One half went to the cheerleaders and the other half went to the basketball team. There was going to be a huge game the next day so both teams were practicing hard so they could do well at the game. Regrettably, Ai had been sick for the whole week, but she wasn't one to miss cheer practice for a simple cold. While practicing a new routine, though, Ai's illness got the better of her and she collapsed. Luckily, her body hadn't been thrown up into the air yet or she really would've been dead. Since no one was home to come pick her up, Ai had to wait for cheer practice to end. Unconscious, she laid on the bench.

Meanwhile, Keigo accidentally landed wrong on his ankle and sprained it. He was cursing all the way to the bench as he hobbled on one leg. Sitting on the end of the bench with his left leg up, he cursed himself. Apparently, his angry voice was loud enough for Ai woke up and started looking around.

Keigo apologized for waking her, but she didn't mind it. She was struck by his caring attitude and handsome face. She reluctantly smiled at him and he smiled back. Since both were out for the rest of the practice, they sat at the bench talking and flirting with one another. Practice ended with Keigo's father giving her a ride home. All the way to her house, Keigo's father kept teasing him about having a girlfriend. Ai grinned widely and laughed at everything he said. The memory was a good one. It was one that Ai kept close to her mind and heart.

"Do you love me?" Keigo asked out of nowhere.

"Of course I do! You know that!" Ai reprimanded him.

"Then trust me to do this," Keigo said with tears building up in his eyes. "Please, I don't want you to die."

Leaning forward to kiss Keigo, Ai nodded her head and whispered, "Fine. Okay."

In the middle of the island was the main city. It was of average size and many buildings stood within it. However, everything was abandoned and though there were cars parked all around, all of them were drained of gas. The government obviously didn't want anyone attempting to escape the game. Connected to the main island by a short bridge was the residential area. It looked like a normal suburb with lots of nice-looking houses sitting around. There were also a fair amount of trees and hills in the residential area, but it was mostly composed of buildings. The only part of the residential area that seemed natural was the golf course and even that had been cultivated.

Creeping around in the abandoned city was a slender figure belonging to Rangiku Fujiwara (Girl #14). Unlike most of the girls in Class A who had black hair, Rangiku had dark brown hair. It was slightly curly but not frizzy. She wore it straight down, letting it fall over her soft shoulders. She was wearing a beige top and smooth, black pants under a black jacket. Around her shoulder was her army green survival pack and in her right hand was a wooden baseball bat. Though she was provided with a flashlight that worked, she didn't want to risk being seen by any of her classmates. While walking in the woods, looking for a place to hide, she heard people moving around, rustling in the bushes. After that, she decided to stay as undetectable as possible.

Though Rangiku didn't consider herself vain, she knew others didn't like her. She was quite popular among the socialites in school, but still not many people liked her. It was mainly because of her looks that made people either love her or hate her. Unfortunately for her, most of the kids in Class A hated her. Not that she was a mean or smug person; she just didn't get along with them very much. After all, she did steal most of the girls' boyfriends and broke the hearts of many of Class A's male students. That wasn't her fault though. It was those girls' own fault that their men left them for her. As for the guys, Rangiku never even went out with any of them, she just rejected them. Nonetheless, she was pretty much hated all around by her classmates. That's why she needed to be careful and stay cautious of anyone who crossed her path.

As she sneaked around in the shadows of the abandoned city, Rangiku saw something that intrigued her. A smile crossed her face and she stealthily snuck into the building. She had found a weapons shop. Hopefully some of the weapons were usable and extra ammo was lying around somewhere. A lot of the weapons were still in the display cases while others were hooked up on the back rack. There were also bulletproof vests hooked up on the rack while bullets lied around everywhere. Though there appeared to be many things left in the store, a lot of the stuff had already been pillaged. Quietly, Rangiku moved around the building, looking for weapons that could do real damage. Most of the powerful firearms were encased in display cases. Dust had formed over the cases over the many years the shop was abandoned. Rangiku took an extra shirt from her pack and wiped the display cases clean. She wanted so badly to smash the display cases in and just steal the weapons. However, her rational side told her that her classmates would definitely hear and come attacking her. Finally, she decided to listen to her devilish side and proceeded to smash the display cases in with her baseball at. Anyways, even if her classmates did hear, she could just blast them away with the weapons she'd find.

Raising the wooden bat above her head, Rangiku brought it down with a quick, powerful swing and destroyed the first display case. The items inside bounced up from the impact of the swing as the glass shards fell all around. Rangiku reached in and pulled out a Walther PPK pistol. It was a pretty strong gun considering its size and weight. Rangiku checked if the pistol had a cartridge of bullets and felt relieved when she found out it did. Sticking it in her pants, she found the extra ammo for it and tossed it in her survival pack. There were a few other guns in the display case, such as Colt M1911 and a GLOCK 19. Rangiku reached in to take them, but she stopped, hearing the sound of a gun cocking behind her.

Slowly, the dark brown-haired girl turned to see Kasumi Fukada (Girl #11) standing at the doorway of the shop. In her hand, which was extended and pointing towards Rangiku's face, was a small, compact gun. The gun was called a GLOCK 30 and was pretty reliable. Kasumi had a psychotic air about her. Though her hair was still in the bun she usually wore it in, several strands fell across her face and blocking her dark brown eyes. Kasumi was wearing a rainbow-colored tanktop and blue jeans with a white jacket.

"Throw your weapon to me," Kasumi ordered. She appeared cold and merciless as she motioned for Rangiku to toss the baseball bat to her.

Sighing, Rangiku turned the baseball bat around and threw it at Kasumi's feet.

"The gun too."

"What gun?"

"Don't act stupid, Rangiku! Give me the pistol you stole!" Kasumi demanded.

Rangiku rolled her eyes and pulled the Walther PPK out of her pants. Tossing it over to Kasumi, she asked, "You happy now?"

"Nope."

Suddenly, Kasumi pulled the trigger on her GLOCK pistol, firing a bullet past Rangiku's face. Kasumi was a good fighter, but she didn't know a thing about guns. She couldn't aim very well either for the bullet she fired barely grazed Rangiku's face. Once she pulled the trigger, it was like a signal for Rangiku. The brazen, young woman charged at her classmate and tackled her body to the ground. She then threw a punch at Kasumi's face and managed to hit her several times before Kasumi kicked her off. Kasumi lifted her right leg up and kicked Kasumi to the ground. With her mortal enemy on the ground, Kasumi pointed her gun at her face. Before she could fire, though, Rangiku kicked the gun out of her hand and kicked Kasumi in the face. Rolling backwards, Rangiku got to her feet and reached for her baseball bat. Kasumi saw her, though, and used her legs to grab Rangiku by the head and throw her aside. Rangiku crashed into the broken display case with much force and appeared knocked out. Thinking she had won, Kasumi picked up the Walther PPK Rangiku stole and put her finger on the trigger. With all her strength, though, Rangiku kicked Kasumi in the left ankle. A shattering crunch resonated through the shop coupled with Kasumi's agonizing scream. The Walther PPK dropped from her hand as she collapsed onto her knees. Grabbing the Walther PPK, Rangiku pointed it as Kasumi. She reached over Kasumi's screaming body and picked up her survival pack and baseball bat.

Rangiku slung the pack around her shoulder once more and stuck the baseball bat inside. Aiming the Walther PPK at Kasumi, she cocked it and opened her mouth to say something. Before she could say anything, though, Kasumi looked up at her with a heartbreaking look. Wincing as if she felt sorry for her, Rangiku looked away and pressed the trigger twice. Two vicious, hammering sounds emanated from the barrel of the gun and two bullets crashed into Kasumi's body. Eyes wide and mouth hanging, Kasumi fell backwards with a groan and laid still. Her body wasn't moving anymore. Rangiku stuffed the Walther PPK back in her pants and stepped over Kasumi's motionless body.

Surely someone heard all the commotion she and Kasumi made in the shop and come running. Rangiku decided it'd be best if she left immediately and found somewhere safe to hide.

Back in the weapons shop, Kasumi coughed hard and gasped for air. Her body flung up and she pressed her palm hard against her chest. Embedded in the holes made in her tanktop were the two bullets Rangiku fired into her. With her two fingers Kasumi proceeded to pull the bullets out, but they were still hot. Once they cooled down a bit, she picked them out and tossed them on the ground. Through the holes in the tanktop you could see the black and gray bulletproof vest she was wearing. Laughing, Kasumi picked up her GLOCK 30 and walked over to the display cases full of guns.

Someone's heavy breathing could be heard through the dark grove in the forest. Standing against a tree and holding her chest was Yuriko. In her left hand was a weapon with a flattened end. Yuriko remembered seeing it used on TV once and recalled what it was: a chisel. The chisel was about six inches long. The wooden handle was probably two-and-a-half inches long while the flat blade was three-and-a-half inches long. Yuriko had been running ever since she left the school and was tired out of her mind. She wanted to sleep, but the thought of dying was overwhelming her. She breathed heavily as she tried to calm her nerves.

Nothing could help though, especially since she heard someone following her. It was about ten minutes ago that she heard the person's feet running in the same direction as hers. She tried to outrun whoever it was, but the person was quite agile and followed her every move. Though she didn't want to stop with the person still following her, her body would've collapsed if she didn't.

It proved to be a bad decision, though, as someone plunged through the bushes, roaring. The person had some kind of thin string in his hands and wrapped it around Yuriko's neck. Using all his might, the person pulled the string. The life draining out of her, Yuriko heard the voice of one of the people she hated the most, the person who humiliated and ridiculed her her entire lifetime. It was Ando Akabane.

"Time to die, ugly bitch!" he menacingly whispered into Yuriko's ears as he pulled harder.

Fumbling around for a way to escape his deadly grasp, Yuriko remembered the chisel in her hand. Raising her left arm, she brought it down and thrust the chisel's flat blade into Ando's thigh. Shrieking crazily, Ando hopped up and down as he stared at the chisel stuck in his left thigh. Crawling away, Yuriko pulled the dental floss off her neck and coughed hard.

"You fuckin bitch! You stabbed me! Shit! Shit!" Ando hopelessly screamed. He seized the handle of the chisel with his right hand and pulled it with a groan. Groaning in pain, he threw the chisel at Yuriko and fell on his knees. "Fucking bitch!"

Scared out of her wits, Yuriko picked up the chisel and slapped Ando in the face with her survival pack. Something hard was inside the pack, causing Ando to fall to his side and faint. With her aggravator knocked out, Yuriko turned and sprinted out of the woods.

So people really were playing. Yuriko began to freak out as she thought of Ando once more. Tripping, she lay still on her chest and shook. The thought of her classmates coming to kill her rushed into her mind once more. Tears began to fall down her cheeks like a waterfall, but she wiped them away and forced the rest back in. Grunting, she picked herself up and gripped the chisel. If her classmates were going to try and kill her then she'd kill them too. It was all too simple. Kill or be killed. That's all there was to it. With an enlightened look on the game, Yuriko's appearance changed. Her dry lips contorted into an evil smile while her eyes widened. For Yuriko Kuriyama, the game had finally begun.

39 Students Remaining