Author's note: I'm back! By the way, this wraps up this particular arc, as we were able to take a glimpse into all of the students' lives before everything goes to hell in a hand basket. Enjoy!

Battle Royale II: The Game

Chapter 6: Origin Conclusion

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13:00 PM, Three Days Before the School Trip

Keiko Hirasaka (Shiroiwa Junior High, Class 3-B, Ninth Grade, Girl #16) had already put the finishing touches on the Christmas cake that she had been working hard on, and the same cake she would bring to the school trip. A member of the cooking club, she had long, curly light brown hair and hazel eyes, and was often a very kindly, if somewhat ditzy young girl.

Suddenly, the phone rang, and she was able to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Keiko! What's up?" Hiromi Murase (Shiroiwa Junior High, Class 3-B, Ninth Grade, Girl #17)'s voice spoke from the other line.

The tennis club captain, who had short, dark blue hair in a bob style, and eyes the color of aqua blue, was a tall and athletic girl who often took pride in her abilities, and also happened to be Keiko's close friend aside from being a classmate of hers. Although she was cocky at times, she was very friendly to those around her.

"Oh, nothing new. I just finished baking a cake that I'm going to bring to the lodge for the class trip." the brunette replied.

"A cake? Really?! That's awesome! I want a piece when we get on the bus, 'cause I'm dying to see what it tastes like!" Hiromi exclaimed.

"It's mainly strawberry." Keiko said.

"What a coincidence! My favorite cake flavor is strawberry!" the tennis captain added.

"I'm glad to hear. Um, is there a good chance anyone else would like a slice? I've made sure that it's tasty as well as filling." the cooking club member asked.

"Of course! I even hear some of us are bringing gifts, too!" Hiromi replied.

"I hope Miyazaki gets a gift for me..." Keiko said, before she let out a dreamy sigh. Both girls were then able to converse more about the Christmas season, before they decided to hang up.

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15:45 PM, Three Days Before the School Trip

"Just...just where are we going?" Yuu Sekihara (Shiroiwa Junior High, Class 3-B, Ninth Grade, Boy #13) asked.

"We're going to get myself a dress that I wanna wear at the lodge. I want it to be festive, yet sophisticated." Emi Kurimoto (Shiroiwa Junior High, Class 3-B, Ninth Grade, Girl #9) replied.

The two lovers had been dating since their second year in junior high, but their relationship was often rocky, due to the girl's controlling nature, and the fact that he always obeyed her every command. However, he continued to care an awful lot about her, regardless of her attitude.

Emi had long, medium brown hair that she kept in a slightly messy updo, and also had grey eyes. Yuu, on the other hand, had short black hair and brown eyes.

When both of them arrived at the boutique, she was able to try out a few dresses. The first one was a glitzy blue dress, another was a stylish red and green number, and the last one was a pure white strapless dress.

"What do you think? Does it look gorgeous on me?" Emi asked, after trying the blue dress.

"Um...not bad. A bit flashy, but not too...elegant." Yuu replied.

The brunette scowled, before she went to try on the white dress. When she came back, she noticed that it was ridiculously tight-fitting.

"It's pretty. I like it." he told her.

"Are you kidding? It's too snug on me; maybe I should lose a kilogram or two." she said, increasingly furious.

Eventually, Emi tried on the red and green dress after ditching the white one, and when she returned, she smiled as she admired herself in the mirror. "Now, this...this, I like!" she exclaimed.

"But I liked the white one out of all of them." Yuu said.

"But I wanna buy this one! Whether you like it or not, I'm paying for it!" she told him, her grin turning into a small frown.

"O-Okay, if...if you say so." he stammered, lowering his head in shame.

"Aw, don't be so disappointed. When we leave the boutique, we can go get ice cream; my treat." Emi said as she cupped his chin.

Yuu looked up at her and smiled, nodding his approval.

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19:00 PM, One Day Before the School Trip

Two days later, as the class was excitedly getting ready for tomorrow, Renge Ayatsuji was briefly paying a visit to Shouichi Miyazaki and Kamikaze, giving them their dinner for the day. The daughter of an associate of Yonemi Kamon*'s before his demise, she got off watching helpless students die on television, which added to her sadistic nature. Tall, slender, with long black hair and grey eyes, she was beautiful as she was ruthless.

She grinned as she brought the two captives their food (aside from wanting food to avoid starvation, Miyazaki also demanded that they borrow shaving cream and razors in case they started growing beards), and was about to leave when the older man spoke up.

"You seem awfully nice to us when it came to giving us food." he said.

"Didn't want you both to starve, really." she said with a wink.

Miyazaki could only watch as she exited the cells, and as Ayatsuji returned to her study, she was able to summon several soldiers.

"Tomorrow is the class trip for the new 3-B class in Shiroiwa Junior High. Our plan to get them to be in the Program is simple: you will sneak into the lodge once they've arrived, and make sure to change the schedule on the first day at the lodge after arrival. At 7:00 PM, they are supposed to be singing Christmas Carols, but I want you to change it so that instead, they can enter the hot springs. Once all 42 students are in the hot springs, activate the sleeping gas packets, and once they're all asleep, dress them in the clothes they were wearing on that day. Casual clothes is quite a change from the usual school uniform, don't you think? Now, don't let me down."

"Understood, Ayatsuji." the captain replied, and the task force were ready to carry out their plan.

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*Or Sakamachi, if you will.

The next arc focuses on the class trip, before Ayatsuji's task force steps in and lures them into a trap. With that said, catch you on the flip!

With love for my fans,

Chrissy