Author's note: Thanks for waiting! And happy 2014!

Battle Royale II: The Game

Chapter 4: Origin Part 4

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11:00 AM, Five Days Before the School Trip

Ayumu Shiroi (Shiroiwa Junior High, Class 3-B, Ninth Grade, Girl #14) simply stared at the wall in her bedroom, which were decorated of pictures of all the students in her class. A loner, she was often shunned from the other classmates, and was often seen at the arcade after school, playing the latest in beat-em-ups.

Sporting dark purple hair, long and ending at her hips, and deep brown eyes, she also sported black lipstick and dark eyeshadow. This also added to the mystique of her cold, almost sociopathic behavior.

With the Christmas trip in a few days, she knew that she was going to be surrounded by the rest of the students, and she simply hated having company. Ayumu would rather preferred to read classic literature and have alone time for herself, instead of gossiping about the latest news.

Of course, Ibuki's gang had always caught her eye, and it seemed she was willing to communicate with them. "I wonder if I can interact with Ibuki and her friends during this boring trip..." she said to herself as she ran her fingers across the photographs on the wall.

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12:00 PM, Five Days Before The School Trip

As Tomoko Ichinose (Shiroiwa Junior High, Class 3-B, Ninth Grade, Girl #12) occupied herself a table for six at the local family resturaunt, she began to muse on the possibilities of newfound romance for herself, her friends, and / or everyone else in her class. Although she was very single-minded, she often had a bit of a romantic side in her, sometimes fawning over certain people of the opposite sex, including one Keiji Miyazaki.

She was described as having long, dark brown hair and chestnut brown eyes, and was the female class representative for her class, alongside fellow classmate and male class representative Seiji Katagiri (Shiroiwa Junior High, Class 3-B, Ninth Grade, Boy #18). She also had four classmates that were also in her group: Sachiko Oikawa ((Shiroiwa Junior High, Class 3-B, Ninth Grade, Girl #11), Hana Michisaki (Shiroiwa Junior High, Class 3-B, Ninth Grade, Girl #8), Shizuka Tachibana (Shiroiwa Junior High, Class 3-B, Ninth Grade, Girl #19) and Yumi Nakazawa (Shiroiwa Junior High, Class 3-B, Ninth Grade, Girl #6).

Tomoko had gathered all four girls to join her for lunch, and discuss the Christmas trip. Just as the waitress was about to come around the corner, a cute girl with light brown hair in pigtails and blue eyes ran through the front doors and waved for her to take notice.

"Tomoko! Over here, it's me!" Sachiko yelled out while waving her hands.

The brunette chairman suddenly stood up and approached her and asked, "You're really excited about this class trip, are you?"

"Of course! I can hardly contain myself!" Sachiko exclaimed with a broad grin.

The pigtailed brunette was a very cheerful, happy go lucky, and often enthusiastic young girl who was also the captain of the basketball team's pep squad. However, she often annoyed others with her constant chatting as well as her personality.

Tomoko took Sachiko to the table she reserved for her, and the waitress was already there, awaiting their presence. "Welcome to Molly's; can I help you?" the woman asked.

"A grilled cheese sandwich, please!" the pigtailed girl said with a grin.

"I'd like myself a salad with ranch dressing, please." Tomoko replied.

"Very well, then." the waitress said before leaving.

This gave Sachiko the opportunity to ask, "Are you still pining for Miyazaki?"

"Excuse me?" Tomoko asked, raising an eyebrow.

"C'mon, you still have a crush on Miyazaki, do you? Maybe you can tell him for feelings when we get to the lodge?" Sachiko replied with a broad grin.

Tomoko sighed before nodding as she responded with, "I...I guess. Maybe..."

The doors opened once again, this time with a pair of girls; one with short black hair and green eyes, and the other with neck-length brown hair kept into a short ponytail and hazel eyes. The black-haired girl was Shizuka, and she was the captain of her school's gymnastics team.

Shizuka was often known as the mother-figure of the group, due to her good-natured and kind personality. Although she was athletic, she also had a domestic side to her, and often enjoying making lunch for her friends.

The other girl with the brown hair was Hana, the captain of the cooking club. Although she behaved as a bullish, cocky young girl, she also had a bit of femininity in her, and loved cooking as much as her dark-haired friend.

"That's bullshit! Just because you brought your home cooking here doesn't mean I can bring mine, too!" the brunette yelled.

"Relax, Hana. And no need to swear in front of the customers and staff." Shizuka replied with a calm tone of voice.

The two girls then found Tomoko and Sachiko at the their table and sat down. The dark-haired girl then unveiled her home cooking: a fruit salad!

"You made this yourself, Shizuka?" the female chairman asked.

"Yes, I did." Shizuka replied with a broad smile.

"And it's pretty tasty, too." Hana added.

"Say...where's Yumi?" Sachiko asked.

Yumi was rather mentally ill, and was often spoken to by an unknown voice in her head. She also took meds in order to calm herself in case she was about to get out of control.

Described as having shoulder-length light brown hair and grey eyes, she was rather pretty. However, her looks did nothing to conceal her mental illness and psychopathic behavior.

"I don't know...maybe she didn't want to join us?" Tomoko said with a frown.

Some time later, the door opened just as the waitress brought the girls their food. Yumi entered the resturaunt, wearing a black hooded jacket in order to conceal herself from everyone else.

"There she is! Over here, Yumi!" Sachiko exclaimed as she waved her hands.

Yumi heard her voice, and slowly made her way to the table. "Why am I here? Why did you bring me here?" she asked Tomoko.

"We're all here to talk about the upcoming class trip. Hana and I are planning to volunteer to make dinner with the kitchen staff." Shizuka replied.

"What about you? Do you have any plans?" Hana asked.

Yumi almost flinched, but sighed before she replied with, "I don't know...Being far away from home...is so boring."

It isn't boring, said the mysterious voice in her head. Christmas is a fun holiday, don't you think? I even hear class trips have a golden opportunity to someone to get laid tonight!

Rubbing the back of her neck, Yumi sighed before taking the last seat. Since the waitress was already at their table, she said, "Just two croissants, please."

The waitress then went to fetch the brunette her food. Tomoko examined the seemingly paranoid girl with concerned eyes. Although she was a part of her group, she couldn't help but take notice of her behavior.

Truly, there was something about Yumi that drew concern from the other girls.

"You don't seem excited about the class trip." Tomoko said.

"I am...but, as I've said before, it's boring when you're miles and miles away from home. I just get so homesick every once in a while, and when I think of my parents, I get tears in my eyes. Yet...this strange voice...it keeps encouraging me to smile, and I end up obeying it." Yumi replied.

This prompted Shizuka to raise an eyebrow, and Hana whispered to her, "I think something's really fishy about this girl."

"Don't tread on the subject of home much, Yumi. We're going to celebrate Christmas and our last year in junior high." Tomoko reassured her with a smile.

Yumi sighed before pulling down the hood of her jacket; Sachiko was taken by surprise at how raccoon-like her eyes were. As the brunette removed her jacket and placed it onto the chair, Hana and Shizuka were in shock at the sight of what appeared to be cuts on her arms.

"Can you...put your jacket back on? I think we've seen enough of your arms." Tomoko asked with a rather concerned expression.

Yumi's eyes widened slightly before she took her jacket and wore it once again. "That's better. Now let's eat and talk about our futures!" the female chairman said.

The five girls then enjoyed the rest of their lunch, anticipating the holidays with the rest of the class. Yet it would be the last time that they ever hung out before the trip...

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Same as before: new students in the next chapter of the Origin arc, so be patient! Hopefully, I'll finish the arc and get to the main story (yeah, making backstories for all 42 students may not be easy, but it's worth it!). And as always, reviews are welcome!

With love for my fans,

Chrissy