Chapter 2
When Sonoko came to her senses, she thought she was still lying in the airport, inside the cordoned-up area. In any way soever, the floor, the ground - or what do we call it - was still as cold as she first woke up. It seemed that the others were lying on the same place with same position, spread legs and arms.
Sonoko recovered herself in a minute and was no longer tired. She didn't have a headache neither, she could also move her limbs easily. Only there was something in her thigh, a red fleck, showed like a mosquito-bite. She couldn't imagine how the heck she could have it. It was the streak of the syringe projectile, but it had been removed already, so the 36 student hadn't got the foggiest idea, how they were kidnapped. Sonoko sat up, stretched her legs and put the palms on them. In the end she looked around.
It wasn't so simple. She didn't saw well in the cold, dark room, even if she strained her eyes. The solid concrete-walls gave the impressions like some abandoned warehouse and the wicket-doors showed also nothing promising. On the left side, there was a tight window covered with aluminum plate, so Sonoko couldn't set out the current time of day. Is it daytime? Or nighttime? For that matter beyond the window, there was another room, slim trail of light filtered through from there. It lightened mainly the dirty floor but Sonoko saw the two Ryusaki's face in the shadows.
They also were awake. The others were still sleeping, they had not got the remotest conception, that they were kidnapped at the airport. Kinji got so bored, that he started to play with a fly. He let it go from his hand, but after a little while caught it again as quick as lightning. He repeated this game time and time again, but in the end, had a hold over the fly again. Kinji had astonishing reflexes.
Sonoko has forgotten everything for a few seconds, she found herself staring at the "production". Then she shook her head in embarrassment to compose her thoughts, after that she swept Riki. The boy sat calmly in his place, recrossed his arms and eyed somebody without any shame all the time.
Hey, what time is it, anyway?
Sonoko touched the pocket of her skirt immediately, where usually kept her moby (a Nokia one, Finnish product i.e. a phone manufactured by the Allies. When she got it for Christmas years ago, there haven't been too heavy conflicts among the superpowers and cross nations could deal in goods in limited quantity. Unfortunately, nowadays it is forbidden. And those people, who had such "technologically degenerate" things (the governance of the Empire called thus all the non-home products) from the pre-war years, had to transmit them compulsively by local dumps. Sonoko hadn't done this, but no one minds the failure since the real war broke out.)
At the moment it was useless to hunt for that Nokia phone in her pocket, because it has gone. She and all her classmates were went through their pockets... and who knows what else they did while they were unconscious. Those sh*theads!
'If the have done something nasty, I'll kill them all and hang their bodies to the upraised arm of the Premier's statue! I swear it, I'm going to do! I don't care how! I will kill them!'
Okay, she prefers to relinquish the idea and get these minds out of her head. Yes, since Persil or Vanish - these Allied-made "wonder substances" – had been banned, her imagination would have a bit dirty from the cheap but poor quality (but the opposite stated) inland washing powders...
The current time is... wait a sec... can I remind you, that this watch is losing? It is daylight-saving time now, you should retool it. It ought to have been done for two months...
Gee! Sonoko realized that she had a modern, nice looking but a bit boyish watch in her right wrist. Oh, sure, there is another zonal time in England and the variance of time is not only one or two hours. So, it is really 10:24, P.M Ten in the evening.
Not really pondered on that, why did she have that watch along, only made it true on her wrist. Nothing else. It's getting late, but after an all-day travelling, sleeping and being in captivity, she felt relatively rested. Now, the time has come to do something. Sonoko didn't know herself as a kind of slacker, so she stood up to have a look around in this scary place. Or we can say it more soldierish: "to see how the land lies."
„What do you think you are doing?" suddenly a strong, male voice clanged somewhere from a corner of the room. It didn't sound like any other voice she bunkered in her tone-memory. She turned round in a haste and caught sight of the mysterious stranger. She has never seen him before.
The man in grey service-uniform stepped out from the cover of darkness, still glared by Riki as it was out later on. This geezer has been standing here all along and waiting for the class to awaken - Riki knew that exactly, that's why he listened to something so far. That "something" was the outsider.
The man opened his mouth to speak again, but he rather didn't say a single word. Instead of that he took a deep breath and continued waiting, because the students began to wake up. More and more sleepy faces popped up from the ground and everyone looked round uncomprehendingly with distracted look. The class was mainly in silence, but some of them whispered together. No one could understand, what happened.
The stranger finally put an end to the darkness in the warehouse looking room. He went up to the wall, then snicked on the lights, whereof dozens of plat shades lighted up on the ceiling.
„Great, everyone is up." said as he strolled about and clasped his hands on the back.
Sonoko realized, that he was speaking in English when Asuya Fukuda (boys, #12) asked her:
„You, Sonoko. Translate, please, I don't understand too much."
This wasn't so only in Asuya's case, more of the kids asked for those person's help, who already have been English language exam (for example: Goushi (boys, #5), Yaeka (girls, #13), Dan (boys, #8) or Ben (boys, #10)). They tried to do their best by the translation.
„I am Nikolai Moskvin" everyone understood that.
The guy called himself Moskvin, finally introduced himself. He continued strolling around the room at an easy pace, sometimes looked on somebody and smiled from ear to ear. That's why he turned away numbers of times.
Who knows what did he have on the brain? Maybe: "It was a pleasure to rape you." or he may smiled at the ominous events which were the class waiting for. Because he could fiddle with the 3/e at his own pleasure - he is the native and they are hostages, at the mercy of that Moskvin-dude.
He has a very familiar name otherwise. No sooner than Sonoko bethought herself on that, found out why. Of course! This man in his thirties, who has short brown and gray hair, this was in the TV! The Empire of the Rising Sun provided that all its folk would know the enemy vice versa, if it has to. How many times were good action films interrupted to telecast short guides about any leader of the Allies or Soviets.
The "Social Purpose Notice" about Nikolai Moskvin said so:
'Nikolai Moskvin, Soviet Commander. However, regardless of his mood, his strategies are bound to be aggressive. This unstable Commander regards the Allies and the Japanese as fools and crazy people but holds special valors for all of his loyal brothers.'
It was about that... or something similar... So the root of the matter is, that it was no student or resident in the Empire, who has never heard about that Moskvin. This man is a nut, a madman, it wouldn't be good idea to pick up a quarrel with him.
The others recognized him as fast as Sonoko, almost every face blenched with terror in no time. This catching effect and the presence of this admitted, dangerous soviet leader made Sonoko also scared. She felt frightened better and better. She looked for Rumiko (girls, #9) with her look and found out, that Rumiko was also searching for her. When they both caught sight of each other and their eyes met, they could only see perplexity in each other's face. Rumiko shrugged the shoulders a bit as a sign of that.
„Everybody is awaken?" asked Moskvin with fulsome voice. This kind of tone mainly doesn't bode well by anyone. A chill came over many students because of the over-complaisance. Sure, it was over-complaisance in this situation! It was that on the surface. But no one gave answer to Moskvin.
„Brilliant! Silence gives consent, so let's start!" he spread his arms wide in a friendly way (in this case it was dreadfully to the class), turned his back on the kids and while he were setting out for the other end of the room, dove into his pocket.
„Once again, my name is Nikolai Moskvin! I'd better chalk up my name, maybe if you can't speak English but I think you are okay with reading. I hope no one has reading-problems in high school." he laughed loudly at his own joke, like one of the history teachers in the 4. No. Zentsuji Junior High School. But nobody laughed together with Moskvin this time (not that somebody would laugh at that teacher's joke otherwise). This blue joke was out of place. Totally.
Sonoko understood only a half of it, but got the point and translated to Asuya as good as she could. Anyway, Asuya had the problem with reading and writing up to this day (he had an alexia, or what is it called).
The commander chalked up his name onto the wall not only in European writing, he did it with Cyrillic and Japanese script as well. Help yourself, class! You can take your choice!
Moskvin stopped laughing, the sudden coming silence was embarrassing. Soon after he cleared his throat, put his medals straight in his coat and finally looked around with a sly smile . He stood alone, as a priest ahead of his blessed followings. He enjoyed conspicuously looking at the distressed students.
„We should be on a school trip, shouldn't we? What the fu ... hell we are doing here?" Dan broke the silence. His voice sounded as determined and smart as always.
He was sitting bestridden as usual, with recrossed arms just like Riki, as calm as possible and stared at Moskvin without a wink of the eyelid. The way Dan spoke was equally phlegmatic, like Amika's, he told in any situation what was in his mind and has never minced matters. But even more roughly way than Amika, he did not ignore the dirty speech in the presence of teachers either. Therefore, Dan earned all the teachers dislike in the Junior High School, even though, that sometimes he was right sometimes.
A few other of his mates immediately acclaimed his pretentious question. The next surprise seemed weird for the kids. Although Moskvin didn't respond to them in Japanese, but seemed to understand the language.
Suddenly everyone started to speak at the same time, all of them were talking excitedly. Most of the people rose a ton of questions, but there were boys and girls who kept quiet. For example, the twins. Riki and Kinji were staring at the commander with poker-face all along, in a bland way, what makes people easily nervous. It seemed they had no interest in this whole mystery at all.
Sonoko took back her eyes, and saw that Rumiko was looking at her again, as if she might could give her a good answer.
Moskvin suddenly said:
„ In reply to your friend's question, I am going to tell you, why are you here and not in your class trip." then had a short pause to increase the excitement „so we brought you here because you are our hostages."
The 3/e answered him with stunned silence. Did they hear it clearly? The atmosphere has been frozen, but it was already cold there. A fly was hurtling continuously buzzing into the glossy globes, that told only of the continuity of time. So Kinji let it escape...
Thumbs up! Medusa-Moskvin turned everybody into stone. No, he smiled from ear to ear at the sight of all the scared to death faces.
He is just kidding, isn't he? It's just a horrible dream, yes?
Some students began to pluck at their arms, they still couldn't believe this sh*t. Sonoko also wanted to take it for a dream and wake up from this nightmare, but after her dream about Battle Royale, she expected this as the stubborn facts.
Yeah, BR! She touched immediately her neck and was relieved by knowing the thing, that she didn't have such silver collars like the children in the story. How on earth do these idiots want to keep tabs on the battle then? If this really is a Battle Royale Project?
'Wait a sec, girl, what are you thinking! Who said that we are going to play such a "game"? It was just a dream on the bus. A warning onto this completely different kind of danger.'
Nikolai Moskvin started to dwell on something, but was more strained and impatient as before:
„I'm sure you ask yourselves, wasn't there any ceasefire between our nations? True it was, but there is a little TROUBLE!" he raised his voice by the last word and snapped loudly at Kirika (girls, #5) and Fuyumi (girls, #7), who were chatting parallel with him. The two girls were so scared then, that they screamed like a soprano choir.
"NO! SPEECH! UNTIL I ALLOW IT!" he shouted forcefully. From the mimicry, the accent and other movements he took, the weak-minded ones (who can't speak English well) also understood the main point: shut up!
Moskvin held:
„Alas, but there will be no peace negotiation" said with the talent of an actor „Emperor Yoshiro was very kind and take us for an idiot! What did he think? Won't we notice, that there was a large-effective ranged bomb integrated into your bus? You tried to blow up our dock, exactly where the vehicle was transported." he hissed more like a snake, his eyes filled with sparks of anger.
„But the bomb failed and exploded earlier. The explosion managed to set the entire fleet to fire in the port! Your journey was only an excuse, you don't want any peace, you just wanted to weaken our forces!" in the end he totally bent out of shape to himself.
„Yes, they played with you." thereafter he spoke in his smarmy voice again, and scanned his audience with thinly narrowed eyes „your own state considered you like a toy! Then we will do not treat you differently."
He laughed loudly in hysterical tamber, within this time the language exam-havers translated his words for their mates. Of course, many of the students haven't heard a bloody word from that, because of the shock. It was like a listening exercise... Did you understand? Fine, you have passed the intermediate English language exam then!
Whatever people can say, this is not a matter of patriotism: but who would do such a dishonour thing with minor students? Sonoko didn't esteem herself someone who is loyal to the Emperor or wouldn't die for emperor and country (as it is in the text of the rewritten anthem), but still she was far from believing all that Moskvin said.
The soviets may wanted to trade them down the river. The enemy is right out to foul them up, so they will take one other's life light-heartedly.
'Oh, no, not again that damn BR! Why did it come back to me again? Why do I have a thinking that my dream on the bus was about this on purpose?'
Okay, they had been kidnapped - it's a thing. But it doesn't mean that they have to take part in a killing game. This whole mess stinks. Why is it occurs exactly with her class if in the Empire of the Rising Sun lives another 130 million people? And this number doesn't include the population number of the peripheries and the conquest archipelago-territories. The horror novel she came by didn't chivy her about. You asked for it, girl! You wished for it! To hell with this whole situation... with this whole war-thing... and also with Emperor Yoshiro...
„And how do you want to play with us anyway? Let us kill one another sounded Dan's sarcastic question.
„Don't give him ideas, okay?" Rena put her hand frightened up his mouth.
Sonoko knew the answer.
„Seriously ..." someone said behind her.
„No kid." came the reply with the speed of an E-Mail.
How did she guess? Do you know Sonoko Kuroki fortune-teller? She will tell in advance, what is going to happen with you. See? Now you are looking puzzled, she knew that. By the way, she discovered her vision skills by predicting the battle of the 3/e on their journey in England. Haven't you know?
Baku Shoda's question returned her back to reality:
„What the heck is that?"
Sonoko was flabbergasted as she realized the book in Moskvin hands called Battle Royale (by Koushun Takami). One and the same, which she got through her uncle.
'He's got mine. Its rim is also torn. How could he have it?'
The soviet leader waved the black and white coloured book once or twice (the title showed up with garish red letters) then began to read aloud its backboard:
"Battle Royale, there's something even worse than school... in a dictatorial Far Eastern country the state leaders devise a cruel experiment: 42 high school students were forcing to fight a battle against one other on a deserted island ... they can use all kind of weapons without limits... it will be only one survivor: THE WINNER ... "
„Sounds exciting, huh?" he changed his voice to jovial tone „I have found it by luck on the checking of your belongings and kept myself, because you don't need to have your stuffs anymore. I had read the back cover, and liked the idea. Why not? You could also fight one other! Splendid idea, yes? So you won't be bored, and we'll have great fun as well! But I can tell you something funnier: your own fellow will cause your downfall with his egregious ideas. He imagined, we are going to carry it into execution, haha!"
Sonoko turned red. That chastening was not only the one artificer of her shame. The other one is... Come on, she had broken the rules only once, but that cost them their life. This guy can't be serious. Sonoko wished the slitting on the book couldn't be but on it. She could say then, it is not hers. No doubt, it is there and if she checked it a bit more carefully, she could see, that Moskvin kept on tearing the book cover.
She looked round in embarrassment. She was afraid of looking into the other's eye, as if there would be written something on her face in large, flashy letters: IT IS MY BOOK!
She felt herself almost so terrible, when Norito Royama (boys, #6) didn't leave her alone once and then she said to him something dirty about his mother. His mother died about a year ago, so it was very rude from Sonoko, but she didn't want to say that, she said from huffiness. Then she immediately apologized, because she didn't want him to be hurt. Norito said, he wasn't angry, but what is done cannot be undone. Even worse, on the same day Chisato said similar things for the boy, but it didn't come to her mind, that Norito's mother doesn't live anymore. Sonoko didn't want to resemble Chisato.
Here, thing went even worse, the blame will fall on her if they all will die here. She was sized with great compunction, put her face out of sight behind her long hair. She began to hate herself. She probably didn't heard the outraged questions of the 3/e - they clamoured for the answer: whose is the book - because she only picked up on Moskvin's voice.
And her classmate's further fulmination, grumbling and more puzzled questions. Baku Baisotei (boys, #1) was the loudest in the group, it called to the mind the PE lessons in school. She always played football with the guys, but she was out of training on these days, and Baku Baisotei was the boy who usually cried her down.
„That's it, just hate them! It will be easier to finish them off! "said a voice in her thoughts.
That self of her, which has always feared from the excommunication. She was not having any of that! Others looked upon her as a child slow, weak, weepy and a crying baby. Her sister and the cousins had played on her and later two of her friends, too, who had been thought the best by Sonoko...
Meanwhile, Moskvin talked on, perhaps to blow the coals:
„I've read most of the story. Not bad, except the philosophical parts, those are totally quibbling. And the rules are simpler in the book. I've rewritten the script to be the fight faster and more will enjoy it, just wait and see! You can consider it as a kind of contest...
One half of the class still talked about, what Sonoko did by bringing the BR book onto the class trip. The others were angry with the kidnappers and Moskvin.
Yamato Chiba (boys, #2) stood up and shouted:
„What a sh*t! You mustn't hurt us, our leaders made an agreement!" there was a light quaver in his voice.
„Who has guaranteed your safety? The Allies, not the Soviet Republic! But we can move in our free will among the territories of the Allies and ours because of the alliance, so they have no voice in what we are doing with you in their land."
„So, that was the trick..."
„Trick? Hm... if you call that so... we term it bilateral trust fair field and no favour... so let's talk turkey!" the commander turned his back on the "audience" and headed toward an enchained door. He suddenly stopped like a streak of lightning.
„Ah, it can wait awhile said rather to himself while he was patted with his right hand „they will be needed later..."
It didn't turn out, to whom and when he was speaking about and even the bravest students daren't to ask (or they hadn't got enough English education) him about that. This dude is all right only when he keeps quiet and do nothing. There can be nothing wrong then.
Moskvin was totally surprised for the sounds coming from behind. He turned round quickly and saw Dan (boys, #8) on foot.
„Aren't you afraid of our class? Maybe you think, we are turd high school students, but according to my moderate math-knowledge, 36 is still more than one. We are in preponderance." Dan stand in recrossed arms.
Moskvin knitted the eyebrows, but didn't say anything. Dan was right, how did Moskvin want to defend himself by any chance the class attacks him? He pored over this subject or was just surprised on Dan's easy behaviour, but it could be also possible, that his chin itched, that's why he stroke it. Well, it is about time for shaving. Or is it no time for such things in the front line? The ambient noise level rose a bit again to cease right away, when they all realized the events of the next few seconds.
The commander took out a gun from one of his pockets - the kind of guns the security guards bear (who has a smattering of weapons, might have recognized a Röhm RG-725 type in Moskvin's hand) - and immediately fired into the mass of people. They had no time for intimidation, the events came all of a sudden.
Everyone sat in the deepest quiet in their place and stared with round eyes, when someone fell out of line and dropped down dead on the floor. By this time girls squalled in the highest frequency of their voice (maybe even the boys, too), there were only a few of them, who kept silence. Same as Sonoko, who didn't join the choir. She shielded the ears with her hands and waited for the scream to stop.
But the reaction of the band perked Moskvin up the more. One of their classmate is already dead. Sonoko had to stretch herself a bit more to find out who caught a pocket. Among the silently weeping and puling girls and scared to death boys, laid Fukashi Tenzai's (boys, #16) dead body. On his skull, more truly in the midst of the forehead, there was a red bleeding bullet-hole.
F*ck me! Fukashi is... truly killed, it's not a joke, they mean business! They take it seriously!
Sonoko actually didn't know him well, because the boy (everyone in school called him "Ferry" after a popular singer from the early 1970s) was always well-behaved and a bit shrinker - a true loner - but Sonoko got to know only just much, that at heart he was not bad and liked Sonia, as it was true vice versa... what's with Sonia after all he is gone for good and all? Sonoko rather didn't want to know.
She saw how the others tremblingly drew apart from the goner and kept staring him end to end. Someone aftermost dumped his or her load, therefore the straight smell of blood mixed with the smell of vomit. The putrid stink made the students heave, Sonoko also had her gorge.
Moskvin came up to the corpse, stepped upon its stomach, while he were looking around in full mirth.
„Calm down class, I let you alone, I've done this because this guy is a Tenzai." seeing the uncomprehending and scary looks, proceeded to explain „yeah, a Tenzai. I'm sure I don't have to introduce Kenji Tenzai to you, the famous commander of your land. I thought he's maybe a cousin or something... it would be even greater loss for the Empire. The great Kenji Tenzai's cousin or whoever died in disgraceful!"
Moskvin said the last sentence with play-off, as if he had given a reading for general public. The kids were less interested in Moskvin as he was having a good time, the main problem was, that this polecat can play with them on his liking and as Rumiko Ozawa and Chisato Ozawa had the same name, there was another Tenzai attended into the class 3/e. She was Sonia Tenzai, Rumiko's perhaps dearest friend.
All the student's blood run cold, everyone was waiting frightened for the sequel. Each one his own way. Because if Moskvin knows everyone's name, he probably had read the list of names and seen, that two people have the same surname (or wherever he red from). Of course, it didn't mean that these two is near of kin, but it makes no difference to such a literal-minded man.
The "such literal-minded man" sensed the change of the mood, because he shopped around in the room deep in thought. He left (maybe willfully) Sonia last and gazed at her especially long. The girl stood it without a word. After all, nothing happened, the commander returned to the middle of the room, so he came into prominence again.
„And now I'm going to tell you why I haven't begun to tremble with fear and piss my bed hearing Mr. Nomura's threatening words." he continued as if this little murder hadn't been an accomplished fact, his voice sounded like a friendly chat again:
„Here is the answer..."
He hardly said out, the globes on the ceiling started glowing and sparkling, then each fell down to the floor with big crash. This unexplained effect didn't vary from seeing UFOs, the youths got out of the way of the falling shades, jostled with one other to a safer place. Their fear was even greater when the smoke settled down and the unharmed globes reared up to their feet.
The number of students: 35 persons
Fukashi Tenzai eliminated
