Author's note: Thanks for waiting! Now, let's get to the gist of it all!

Battle Royale II: The Game

Chapter 7: The School Trip Begins

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14:00 PM, The Day of the School Trip

The 42 students of the new class 3-B had already packed all of their stuff into the cabinets above them, and were able to select their seats. While most were able to quickly get to their seats without any fuss, like Tomoko, for instance, others were fighting to see who sat near the window, like Tooru.

"Goddammit! I wanted that seat!" he yelled.

"Sorry, but it's mine, so go find yourself another." Itsuki said with a playful wink; also sitting next to him was Tomoya.

"I'm so excited!" Sachiko exclaimed.

"Relax, girl. Besides, once the bus starts moving, we'll start talking about what we're gonna do at the lodge." Hana, who was sitting next to her, replied.

As Keiji and Daiki got their seats, the latter sat back, letting out a content sigh. "Man, this is gonna be the best Christmas ever, right, Keiji?" he asked.

"Yeah...I guess." the brown-haired boy replied.

"Aw, come on, don't be so glum...we're gonna have a lot of fun when we get to the lodge. Maybe we can go skiing; even better we can spy on the girls in the baths." the freckle-faced brunette said with a reassuring grin.

Keiji sighed, and as a small smile crept onto his lips, he said, "Yeah, you're right. We're here to have a great time...although I'm not interested in peeking on naked girls. I am a gentleman, you know."

"Heh, your loss." Daiki said as he rolled his eyes.

Once all the students were seated, as well as Miyuki, their teacher, who was in the very back, reading Little Women, the bus took off.

While the bus was heading to its destination, Keiji heard a feminine voice call out to him. "Um...Mi-Miyazaki?"

He took notice and saw that the voice belonged to Kanami. "Hey, Kanami. What's up?" he asked.

"Well...this may sound strange, but...I...I was wondering if you can have some of these sugar cookies I baked for the trip." the brunette replied.

A surprised Keiji raised an eyebrow, and let out a chuckle as he said, "Sure, why not? I am kind of getting a little hungry." before proceeding to take one out of the bag in her hand.

Suddenly, Daiki noticed and asked, "Hey! May I have some?"

"Only if you say please." Nobuko said; she had her seat next to Kanami's.

The freckle-faced boy could only whistle before he said, "You know, you're cute!"

This prompted the black-haired girl to blush, and giggled before she replied, "Um...th-thanks..."

"Allright, can I PLEASE have one of Kanami's cookies?" Daiki asked, his eyes resembling that of a puppy.

"Sure." Nobuko replied.

Much to Keiji's displeasure, his friend was able to take two cookies out, but Kanami managed to tell him, "Uh...Uehara, you can only have one."

Daiki sighed, and as he put one of the cookies back in the bag, he sat back into his seat once again. "Laaaaame..." he said before he ate the cookie.

As most of the students enjoyed gossiping and talking with each other, there were some students that preferred to be in their own little world. Takagi was looking out the window while Yuu, who was sitting next to him, tried to stop Emi from talking about an incident during the summer when she dressed him up in one of her outfits.

On the other hand, Akihito was listening to some foreign alternative music on a CD player, avoiding the urge to interact with Tooru, who sat next to him, whereas Ibuki was taking a much needed nap while Kazue and her so-called friends went on about the possibility of sneaking into some of the boys's rooms for a little 'action'.

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16:45 PM

Two hours later, the bus arrived at the lodge. All the students, as well as their teacher, were able to get their luggage out and exit the bus.

"Wooooow! Hiromi, this lodge is HUGE!" Keiko exclaimed.

"I know, right?" Hiromi said with a grin.

The 42 students were then split into pairs, be it two boys, two girls, or one boy and one girl, as they began to shack up in the numerous guest rooms after checking in. When Keiji and Daiki were finally able to get their room, the latter fell onto the futon, and sighed happily.

"Man, this is awesome!" he exclaimed as he looked at his friend, "Say, Keiji, what do you wanna do?" he asked.

"I don't know, really. I was probably thinking we can do a snowball fight outdoors." Keiji replied.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. By the way, tomorrow night, we're gonna be singing Christmas carols! Isn't that great?!" Daiki asked as he pounced onto his friend, giving him a playful grin.

"I guess so..." the taller boy replied.

As he closed his eyes, he felt as though he could hear sounds of guns blazing, and soldiers marching, as well as his father commanding his troops to storm the government's headquarters.

"Hey, whatcha thinking about?" Daiki asked.

Keiji opened his eyes, and let out a deep breath, before he replied, "It's...It's nothing. So, you wanna go find Kanami and Nobuko and hang out with them?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" the curly-haired boy said with a laugh.

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17:00 PM

After they were able to find Kanami and Nobuko in their guest room, Keiji and Daiki were able to head outside the lodge with them. As they finished up making their snowballs from the snow beneath them, they were ready to play.

"BANZAI!" the freckle-faced boy screamed as he threw a snowball at the brunette girl.

Kanami squealed as she dodged the snowball, and was able to throw one straight at Daiki, hitting his jacket. His friend, on the other hand, was able to throw a snowball of his own at Nobuko, who took the hit, with the snowball hitting her skirt.

To Keiji's surprise, the black-haired girl had thrown one at him, while he was able to throw another at her friend. The quartet were laughing and enjoying themselves; however...

A distance away from the lodge, were a group of soldiers, led by Ayatsuji. They had been camping out and laying out their plans on infiltrating the lodge tomorrow night.

Regardless, the four teenagers were having their fun, until Seiichiro and Tomoko walked up to them. "Hey, we were wondering if you guys wanna make some s'mores with us tonight? The entire class will be there." he said.

The brunette chairwoman giggled as she focused her gaze at Keiji, prompting him to say, "Hey, Tomoko. You look great today."

"Oh, stop it you..." she replied, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.

Kanami noticed their interaction, and bit her lower lip. She had been unaware of the fact that Tomoko had a crush on the brown-haired boy, until now.

"By the way, we'd love to help out with roasting marshmallows and making s'mores. So when will it happen?" Keiji asked.

"In two hours." Seiichiro replied.

"Great! See you guys later!" the brown-haired youth said with a wink.

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Coming soon: more of the school trip, as well as Ayatsuji's team's infiltration the next day.

With love for my fans,

Chrissy