Previously:

"Is he dead?" Matsumoto asked.

"He's out cold, but it looks like he's still breathing," Torako said. She thought Saitou deserved it. They had gotten there in time to see enough to know that Saitou was seriously trying to kill him with that rock.

"..." Mami stared at him. 'That Yarai-kun seems like a good guy! But, if that's so, then… Why did I see that kind of vision?' She had seen him fighting Akira. 'Those two guys like that? As if they were trying to kill each other!'

"..." Nishikiori was watching from the crowd that had gathered as well. He had seen the whole thing. 'I'm certain that… Yarai Kouichi… will be very useful!' he thought with a sinister smile.


Chapter 11: Decision


{ December 19th, Day 77 }

"What's that? Yarai Kouichi and Sengoku Akira are good friends?" Nishikiori asked. He was questioning Arisa, Katsuragi, and Shiraishi in his house.

"Y-Yes," Arisa answered. "I heard it from the girls in Yarai's group." Mainly, Shigeno and Matsumoto.

"Hmm, I see," Nishikiori said, resting his chin on his hand. "Thank you, you can go now!"

"Y-Yes," Shiraishi said, bowing.

"Then we'll be off..." Katsuragi said. They were nervous.

"… Arisa paused. "Ah… and..."

"I know, I know," Nishikiori said. "I'll tell Saitou to leave you guys alone. If anything happens, just come to me!"

"Ah! Thank you very much!" all three of them said, relieved.

"Th-This is great," Katsuragi said.

"Amazing! We can ask him for help at anything now!" Arisa said.

"… Heh..." Nishikiori laughed with his face cast in shadow. "Hehehehe!" 'Yarai Kouichi, right? The man who is a monster and Sengoku Akira are close friends!" He grinned deviously. "I can use this! Hahahaha! I have thought up a great play for you two!"

—∞—

The crescent moon shone down on the hut Yarai's group was using. The soft sounds of people sleeping could be heard. Yarai's expression was relaxed. Torako had managed to find a few things she thought they could use for surgery with some modifications. Now she just had to find something to trade for them. They planned to go hunting tomorrow.

"Psst!" three dark figures said as they opened the leaf flaps over their door. They crept into the hut and moved towards Yarai. When they were close enough to touch him, Yarai's hand suddenly shot up and grabbed one of their faces.

"Mumble mumble!" the one he grabbed tried to speak as the others grabbed Yarai.

"He-He's still awake!?" one of them said. "S-Stop! We are allies!!"

"Allies…?" Yarai asked, furrowing his brow.

"Yeah, that's right!!" the other one said. Yarai released the one he was holding.

"Cough, cough! Ow!" the one he released said, coughing.

"That was so wrong!" one of the others said.

"You are even worse than what we heard!" said the third.

"..." Yarai stared at them. Were they really allies? The intruders were three guys wearing glasses. There was something otaku-ish about them. He didn't recognize any of them. "Wh-Who are you?"

"Ah… We aren't anyone suspicious! You can see that, right?" the one he had grabbed said, readjusting his glasses and holding out a hand. "Are… you Yarai Kouichi? We were asked to deliver something to you."

"Deliver something…?" Yarai asked.

"Ah, can we talk about it outside?" the first glasses guy, who had rectangular wire frames asked.

"In here it stinks of women!" said the second with round frames.

"I only like the milky smell of Miina!" said the third with rectangle frames that were thick on top. Yarai didn't get what they were talking about, but he followed them outside.

"..." Segawa opened her eyes. Unlike Torako, who was tired from searching all day, she had heard everything.

"This is from Sengoku?" Yarai asked when they passed him a note, surprised.

"Yeah… I think it's about taking care of some girl called Mami or something like that," rectangular wire-framed Glasses said.

"And it seems that it's just about that," Round Glasses said.

"Well, to be honest, we don't really know what's written on there either," Other Rectangle Glasses admitted.

"Well, we have delivered the goods!" Wire-framed Rectangle Glasses said.

"That means our mission is complete!" Round Glasses said. "And keep it a secret from Nishikiori, will ya?"

"..." Yarai watched them walk away.

"Well, that was fun!" Round Glasses said.

"Now we can be together with Miina-chan!" Other Rectangle Glasses said. Yarai turned his attention to the note.

'Sengoku, huh? So what's this?' he wondered, unfolding the note. "..." He read it and smiled. 'Hmm… that idiot!' Segawa snatched the note from his hand.

"What's this?" she asked. "Well, I'm awake as well, you know! I heard everything those guys said."

"Damn! Stop joking about, give it back!" Yarai said, taking it back. Mr. Lucky crawled past them.

"Huh, whatever, I finished reading it already!" Segawa said with a smile. "It's quite interesting. I thought that you had no friends! After all, you are just a cold-blooded barbarian, and..." She blushed a little, wondering why he wasn't bringing up the kiss. "Hey, hey you! Why aren't you saying anything?"

"..." Yarai watched Mr. Lucky eat some grass.

"..." Segawa was nervous. She wasn't sure what to say.

"..." Yarai continued to remain silent.

"I-I see, so that thing before really made you angry! But that was a surprise for me as well!" Segawa said. "Ah, it's not that I do those kind of things all the time! That was actually my first time! B-But I have no regrets! Because those were my true feelings!" she declared bravely, placing a hand over her heart. Yarai looked back at her. "Hey, Yarai? Do you have… your answer now?"

"… I..." Yarai started to say,

"Hey, Yarai-kun!" Nishikiori said, cutting him off. "So you are here! Oh my! Am I disturbing you two?" he asked with a smile. "Should I leave then…?"

"Th-There's no need!" Segawa said.

"Nishikiori, what do you want?" Yarai asked.

"Yeah… nothing much, just an update about that woman," he said, getting serious.

"!" Yarai said.

"Se-Sensei…?" Segawa asked.

"That expression, it seems like you really care about her," Nishikiori said to Yarai.

"..." A bead of sweat slid down the side of Yarai's face.

"That woman's illness is just like what I said before. If it continues, she'll definitely die!" Nishikiori said. "But… after I looked it up and gave it some thought..."

"Huh?" Segawa said.

"..." Yarai stared at him, waiting anxiously to hear more.

"Maybe, there's a way to save her," Nishikiori said.

"Wh-What!?" Yarai exclaimed.

"In other words, 'there's a cure!'" Nishikiori said. "It's the only way to save that woman!" Yarai stared at him with wide eyes. "..." Nishikiori smirked slightly.

—∞—

Yarai opened the flaps to their hut and stepped inside.

"..." His expression was grim. He lay back down on his bed.

"Yarai…" Segawa said, quietly approaching him. "What happened after that? What did the doctor say…?" For some reason, the doctor had taken Yarai aside to talk without her.

"..." Yarai turned over, putting his back to her.

"Hey… Yarai!" Segawa said. '… He looks really serious… There must have been something that happened between them. What really happened after I left? Yarai… What did he tell you…?'

—∞—

{ December 20th, Day 78 }

"Hey hold the other side!" one man shouted at another as they carried lumber to brace the tunnel.

"This one is useless. Take some thicker ones..." another said after inspecting one of the pieces of lumber.

Shigeno and Segawa were struggling to drag large piles of dirt and rocks across the ground.

"Mami-san, how is the injury on your foot?" Matsumoto asked. She, Mami, and Torako were carrying smaller baskets of dirt. All of them had been drafted to work on the pyramid.

"Yeah, it's completely healed," Mami replied.

'I wonder how Yarai and Sensei are?' Torako thought, wiping some sweat from her brow.

While the girls were at the pyramid, Yarai was watching over their teacher.

"… Yarai-kun. Don't you have to work like the others…?" Kurusu-sensei asked.

"… I finished my part before noon," he replied, wringing out the cloth he had rewetted. "And I'd better stay here in case the pain in your abdomen occurs again..."

"Don't worry about me. I'm feeling good these days..." Kurusu-sensei said.

"You should say that after your fever is gone!" Yarai told her, putting the damp cloth on her forehead.

"..." Kurusu-sensei stared up at him. "Hey, Yarai-kun!"

"Ah?" Yarai said.

"When we go back to Japan, I'll make a meal for you. What do you say?" she asked.

"… Ah? What are you talking about?" Yarai asked.

"You haven't had any homemade food since your mother's death, right? I'm pretty good at cooking. I learnt it from my grandma!" Kurusu-sensei said with a smile. "What should I make? Yarai-kun, I guess you're not picky at all, but..."

"Wait… I didn't say okay," Yarai said.

"What food do you like? Just tell me," she said.

"… Cu… Curry rice..." he said.

"Eh?" she asked.

"Forget about it!" he said.

"Hehe. Um, curry rice," she said. "Okay. Look forward to it!"

"..." Yarai looked away, embarrassed.

"… Yarai-kun, we'll be fine," Kurusu-sensei said, smiling up at him. "Let's go back home together."

"…!!" Yarai furrowed his brow, and a bead of sweat slid down the side of his face. "… Sensei..."

"Hmm?" Kurusu-sensei said. "What's the matter, Yarai-kun?"

"..." Yarai couldn't answer her. "… Erm. Nothing. The towel needs to be replaced."

—∞—

Nishikiori tore the head off a barbecued bird. He raised it to his mouth to eat it, when a man stuck his head through the flaps of fabric in front of his door.

"Nishikiori-san, Yarai wants to talk to you..." he said.

"Yarai-kun?" Nishikiori said.

"We need to talk," Yarai said, forcing his way in.

"I… told you to wait outside..." the man in the doorway said, trying and failing to keep him back.

"It's okay! You can go now," Nishikiori told the man. "Oh~~~ I'm really glad to see you come here..." he said to Yarai. "… So? Have you considered the thing we talked about?"

"… Yeah," Yarai said with his eyes hidden beneath his bangs. He raised his head and looked Nishikiori in the eye. "I'll do as you wish."

—∞—

Yarai finished tying his shoe.

"All right…! I gotta go!!" he said, standing up.

"Take care of yourself, Yarai..." Shigeno said.

"The 'antenna' is quite far from here, isn't it?"

"Don't worry. According to the map, it only takes a few days," Yarai said, holding up the hard drive they found at the lighthouse. "I'll be back as soon as I read this on Mariya's laptop." He looked at Mami. "… Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Mami said, determined to get back to her friends.

"I'll take you back to Sengoku's base," Yarai told her.

"… Is that ok? Yarai," Shigeno asked.

"The doctor might be angry if you just leave without his permission..." Matsumoto said.

"I've already talked to him," Yarai said.

"Eh?" Shigeno said.

"..." Torako didn't like the way he said it. Ever since they came back from working, he had avoided looking at her. She ducked into their hut.

"Then that's it," Yarai said. "Take care of Sensei."

"Uh… Sure!" Shigeno said.

"I promise!" Matsumoto said.

"I'm going with you," Torako said, emerging with her backpack and spear.

"No, you should stay here, and—" Yarai started to say.

"I'm going with you," Torako repeated firmly. Something was wrong, she could tell.

"…" Yarai finally looked at her. He could see from the look in her eyes that she was not going to take 'no' for an answer. She might complicate things, but it was a waste of time to tell her she couldn't come. She could track him and would just follow him on her own. "Fine." He went back to avoiding looking at her. He couldn't look her in the eyes, knowing what he was about to do.

"..." Mami was concerned. She could sense the tension in the air.

"Segawa-san, are you fine without saying goodbye to Yarai-kun…?" Kurusu-sensei asked her in the hut.

"… I'm okay. And he told me not to follow him..." Segawa said, hugging her knees. "… Sensei, don't you think there's something wrong with Yarai?"

"Eh?" Kurusu-sensei said.

"I know he's always unfriendly and heartless… but in these days, whatever I asked, he just had no response. And sometimes he looked grim..." Segawa said.

"… What happened to him?" Kurusu-sensei asked.

"There must be something that happened at that time..."

"At that time?"

"Nishikiori came to Yarai the other day, and they talked in private for a while… after that, Yarai looked different," Segawa explained. "The doctor probably told him something very unusual."

"..." Kurusu-sensei said.

"… But he didn't say a single word about that..." Segawa said, hugging her knees.

"Segawa-san… Fukui-chan followed him, right?" Kurusu-sensei asked.

"… Yes," Segawa replied. "He let her go along, even though he told me not to..."

"Then everything should be all right," Kurusu-sensei said seriously. "Fukui-chan won't let anything happen to Yarai-kun."

"Eh?" Segawa said.

"There must be something bothering him badly… Fukui-chan is good at picking up on things like that," Kurusu-sensei said. "When he's in pain, he just needs someone standing by his side, even without doing anything. She knows that."

"… You make her sound so amazing," Segawa said, hugging her knees more.

"Isn't she?" Kurusu-sensei said with a smile.

"But what if she takes this chance to hook up with Yarai?" Segawa asked.

"… Well… I'm kind of worried, but… If I don't have enough time to make it through, I hope she does what you just said," Kurusu-sensei said.

'!?' Segawa thought, surprised. '… Eh? … Did Sensei… know about her illness!?'

—∞—

"..." Mami followed behind Yarai and Torako. 'It can't be true,' she thought, picturing her vision of Yarai and Akira fighting. 'I can't believe such a terrible thing would ever happen… I've heard that they're friends. Then how could they kill each other… But why am I feeling so uneasy...'

"..." Torako glanced back at Mami to check on her, and she saw how nervous she looked. 'Even Mami-san knows something is wrong...'

"..." Yarai continued to look ahead, remembering his conversation with the doctor the other night.

««« Flashback «««

"What!? It's able to cure Sensei?" Yarai asked.

"Yeah," Nishikiori said. "The minimum necessary tools needed in surgery are scalpels, needles and threads… forceps and electric scalpels. I've thought about doing surgery by using some substitute of these tools. We can make scalpels with broken glasses, and makeup tools are also useful. I heard one of the girls in your group was looking for materials like that."

"She thought that if we could make the tools, we might be able to convince you to operate," Yarai admitted.

"She's very smart. Actually, in war times, people tried many ways to make substitutes because of the shortage in supply materials," Nishikiori said. "There were cases that people successfully performed surgeries without narcotics..."

"..." Yarai stared at him. To hear him say this himself almost sounded too good to be true.

"Certainly, it's a 'not totally impossible' theory, but if we give it a shot, there is a possibility to save her life…!" Nishikiori said.

"Hey! Then let's start on it!" Yarai said.

"Hold on. I have one condition!!" Nishikiori told him.

"One condition…?" Yarai asked.

"Yes. A few days ago, a group of people came to my base and made a scene. And their leader was called Sengoku Akira..." Nishikiori said.

"..." Yarai waited to hear more.

"Could you kill him for me…?" Nishikiori asked casually, scratching his neck.

"… What?" Yarai asked, furrowing his brow as a bead of sweat slid down his face.

"I'm taking my risk. My patient might die in the surgery," Nishikiori said with his eyes cast in shadow. "So I hope you take some risk too. Bring his dead body or head to me! I need evidence!"

"..." Yarai stared at Nishikiori, appalled. He had just said that with the same tone someone else might use to order ice cream.

"You don't have to be in a dilemma, Yarai-kun," Nishikiori said with a smile, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Just choose one… that woman… or Sengoku Akira?" Yarai was torn in two.

»»» End Flashback »»»

"..." Yarai pulled the noted Akira had made for him out of his jacket pocket and looked at it again. It said:

Please protect Mami-san. Although we're separated from each other, the only thing I'm sure of is that you are my precious friend.

There were a couple of bad drawings representing Akira and Yarai at the bottom.

"..." Yarai clenched his fist and crumpled the note in his hand. '… It's not because I don't like you, but… Sorry, Sengoku Akira!!' he thought grimly, prepared to kill him.

—∞—

"Heheheheheheh, only a few words of mine are making them suffer and kill each other… I can't resist it..." Nishikiori said, grinning to himself with an insane look in his eyes. "Heheheh…" 'Nobody can say 'no' to me… No, nobody ever!!' He threw his head back and laughed. "Haaah haa haa haa haa!"

—∞—

{ December 22nd, Day 80 }

Yarai was carrying Mami on his back, while Torako walked behind them.

"I-I-I… I can walk," Mami told him.

"Don't make me repeat it, we will go faster this way," Yarai said.

"Bu-Bu-But, Torako-san?" Mami said, looking back at the other girl. Torako was steadily marching behind him without complaint, though she was starting to sweat a little bit.

"She's the only one who can keep up with me," Yarai said without looking back.

"Eh?" Mami said. She looked from Torako to Yarai. 'He really trusts her, doesn't he?'

'I knew it. Yarai is acting really weird… the closer he gets to the 'antenna' tower, the quieter he becomes. I don't think he's only after the content of the hard drive,' Torako thought, watching him. 'He must be planning something! Segawa-san said the doctor came to visit Yarai, but wouldn't talk in front of her. I bet he said something dangerous to him. If he is planning to do something bad, I… no matter what… I must stop him!' Yarai stopped suddenly. "!" She walked up to stand next to him.

"It seems we've finally reached it," Yarai said. All three of them looked out in front of them and saw the 'antenna' standing tall above the trees. "That's the place were Sengoku's group is at. The 'antenna' tower."

—∞—

They covered the distance quickly and walked right up to their camp. There was a huge ring of large stone panels in the ground surrounding their camp and the 'antenna'. Some of them had large pieces of timber stuck in them, propping them open or perhaps jamming them. Either way, the stone panels appeared to be trapdoors.

'Wow, they did all of this?' Mami thought, surprised. "Um, the trapdoors are for capturing large animals, so as long as we walk across one at a time, it should be okay," she told the others.

'So they are trapdoors,' Torako thought. 'But why build them here?' They walked over one of the trapdoors. A boy who was on watch seemed both relieved and startled to see them. He started running to the main part of the camp, shouting about how Mami was back and Yarai was with her. They followed him. Mami was smiling and waving at everyone, but they kept their distance and formed a circle around them, wary of Yarai.

"Ya-Yarai's here?" Suzuki asked, nervous.

"The number one delinquent in school, right? Why would he be here?" one of the girls asked.

"Here comes a troublesome guy!" said another boy.

"Besides, Fukui is there too!" Suzuki said. "She's quiet and gloomy, but she's not an idiot. Why would she be together with Yarai?"

"..." Torako furrowed her brow, annoyed. She could hear everything they were saying. "There's quite a lot of people here," she remarked to Mami.

"Yes, around thirty people, I guess," Mami said.

"..." Yarai glanced around, sizing them up. 'Thirty people…?'

"Hey! Excuse me!!" Akira said, raising his hand so part of him could be seen above the crowd as he pushed his way to the front.

"Mami-san! Yarai!! Fukui!" Sengoku greeted them brightly, clearly happy to see them.

"Sengoku-kun!!" Mami exclaimed, just as happy to see him.

"That's great, Mami-san's all right!" Akira said, taking a good look at her to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"Yes! I was saved by him!" Mami said, pointing at Yarai.

"Yeah!" Akira said, stepping past her to face Yarai. He grabbed Yarai's hand and shook it. "Long time no see, Yarai!"

"Yeah, long time no see, Sengoku," Yarai said. "..." he stared at his friend. Akira looked so happy to see him.

"Hey, Sengoku! It's a rare chance, why don't you take Yarai and Fukui to have a look at the tower?" Mariya suggested.

"Is that okay?" Akira asked them.

"Yeah," Yarai said.

"We're curious about it as well," Torako agreed.

"I think Mami-san might have mentioned it to you, but this is the tower that we found. I'll take you there," Akira said, pointing at the 'antenna' and leading the way.

"Yeah… please," Yarai said.

'Maybe through their eyes, we can find something that we had missed!' Akira thought. "Eh? Talking about that, what's going on with Kurusu-sensei? I don't see her..."

"… She is staying at the pyramid," Yarai replied. "There are other students she has to take care of."

"Is that so? It's a pity we can't meet!" Akira said.

'Eh…? Yarai-kun? Why did you lie?' Torako wondered, concerned. Was it just because he didn't want to burden the others, or…?

"..." Mami was also concerned. 'Will it be okay? Their relationship seems so close.' Akira had his arm around Yarai's back. 'That scary thing definitely won't happen, right?'

"Miina Isurugi…?" Yarai and Torako said as they read the first line on a plaque that was attached to the base of the 'antenna'. It was written in the English alphabet.

"Yeah. The same name as Isurugi Zaibatsu's daughter. After this, I'll introduce her to you," Akira said. "The surrounding here was buried by sand, so we tried to dig up the foundation of the tower. And this plaque came out… I don't know why the name is here, but I'm sure that this is not just a coincidence."

"What is written down there?" Yarai asked, pointing at the line underneath the name.

"So you noticed that, too. Do you understand what is written?" Akira asked.

"No… But I think I've seen it somewhere," Yarai said, holding his chin.

"I get the feeling I've seen it too, but… I couldn't say where," Torako agreed.

"Oomori-san said the same thing. What is that exactly?" Akira said. He turned away and started leading them to look at another side of the monument. "There're still a lot of other things for you to see. Come with me." He showed them a series of numbers and letters.

"These look like coordinates for latitude and longitude," Torako said.

"Right," Akira agreed. "If we look at this, this place should be very near to Okinawa..."

"!?" Yarai and Torako gasped.

"C-Close to Okinawa!?" Torako asked.

"Hey! Does this mean that we can go back? How far exactly is it?" Yarai asked urgently.

"Eh?" Akira said. "If everything goes well, it'll be just five days by boat… but this won't work if we don't build a ship, so we will probably need a few months..."

'A few months...' Yarai thought. A bead of sweat slid down his face. "It'll be too late like that," he said quietly, but Torako caught it.

"Eh?" Akira said.

"No… Nothing," Yarai said.

'It's not nothing… he's worried about Sensei,' Torako thought, frowning. She was worried too. They were so close to being able to get her help that it hurt. 'If only there was a boat already built!'

"What's going on Yarai? Did something happen?" Akira asked.

"… No, nothing," Yarai lied again. "But well, I was just surprised. I never thought that you would investigate up to this extent. Hm… Good job, you exceeded my expectations!"

"..." Akira smiled proudly. "This wasn't done by me alone," he said, looking at his people. "This is because of everyone here. This is the result of everyone's cooperation."

"..." Yarai looked at them. They all had good expressions on their faces. Akira was clearly a good leader.

"A-Apart from that, how about you?" Akira asked. "Did you find anything?"

—∞—

"Th-This is…!" Akira exclaimed after Yarai produced the map, and they told everyone about the 'lighthouse'. "Other than here and the pyramid, there are two more towers? On top of that, you went to one of these places yourself!?"

"Mummies and a grand hall with a bell?" a guy with scars on his face said.

"And there is a super computer?" Rion asked.

"Yeah. Fukui found that map in that tower, while exploring," Yarai said. "And we also got this." He pulled out the hard drive. "It's a hard drive, taken from the small computer that was connected to the super computer. If everything goes well, we might find something inside."

"Wha… What!?" Akira exclaimed.

"Mariya, can we use your computer to see what's inside?" Yarai asked, handing it to him.

"How… How is it, Mariya?" Akira asked.

"Hmm… It's so old, and there is rust everywhere," Mariya said, examining it. "And it's a model that I've never seen before. Okay, I'll try to retrieve the information! But it might take some time."

"Yeah, all right," Yarai agreed.

"Talking about that, there are actually two more towers. It's really surprising," Akira said.

"Yeah, it seems so. If the map is right," Yarai said. "There are a total of… four towers on this island!"

'It actually has four!' Akira thought. 'But the last tower is one that...'

"Yarai has never been to that last tower," Suzuki said.

"If that's so, then we don't know what it is," the vice president said.

"No, we already know what it might be," Yarai said.

"Eh!?" Akira said.

"After seeing this third tower, I'm certain," Yarai said. "One of them… something that should've been there is missing."

"Something that should've been there…?" Akira asked.

"If people were working on this island, they'd need some place to stay, right?" Torako said.

"You mean…!?" Akira said.

"A human residential area!" Yarai said. "This tower might be it."

"Eh!?" Akira, Mariya, and Rion exclaimed.

"Think about it. The pyramid is thirty-one levels underground, while the lighthouse is six floors above the ground. These are big facilities! These couldn't be made without more than a hundred workers. If we include their families, there should be around one thousand people living on the island. If that's true, it would be natural for us to guess where the residential area is," Yarai explained.

"So… So that's how it is!" Akira said. 'The fourth tower is the human residential area!'

"Eh?" the vice president said. "Wa-Wait, could it be that…?"

"I see… Have you thought of something?" Yarai asked her.

"It's true that the possibility might be very low. But, it isn't zero!" she said. "There might be people in this tower! There might be survivors on this island!"

"…!!" everyone else gasped.

"It… It can't be!" the president said.

"Bu-But it's not impossible either!" the vice president said.

"If there really is someone living on this island..." a monk said.

"Yeah! They must know a lot of things!" a girl with dark skin said.

"If we can meet one of them, we might be able to learn everything!" one of the boys said.

"Th-That's great!" Suzuki said.

'But we've planned to depart from the east coast and head towards Okinawa,' Akira thought, holding his chin. 'If that's so, we can't go to the tower at the northwest. Is that really okay!? Not going to investigate that thing!?'

"Th-That's cool!" one of the girls said.

"Yeah, that's right," Miyauchi said. "If that's true, there will really be humans living here."

"Not about that!" the other girl said.

"Eh?" Miyauchi said.

"I mean that guy, Yarai Kouichi," the other girl said. "Yarai's group has only Kurusu-sensei and four other girls, right?"

"… That's right," Miyauchi agreed.

"Then isn't it the truth that he alone had investigated so many things?" the other girl said. "The things that we needed thirty people to check out, he did alone? If that's true, then he really is awesome!"

"..." the others said, looking at Yarai. They could see her point.

"It might be that we misunderstood him, this man named Yarai Kouichi!"

—∞—

Rion was catching up with Torako while they helped cook some of the food later that evening. Everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves.

"Anyway, you're really awesome!" Akira told Yarai while he ate. "You've actually investigated so many things! Compared to you, I even fainted before this!"

"… You've become the same was what I had expected," Yarai said.

"Eh?" Akira said, pausing with his open mouth near the half-eaten fish with legs.

"Before this we said let's build a country, right?" Yarai said. "An ideal place, where everyone can live peacefully. Just by looking at them, I can understand… that you've managed to build such a place. Sengoku, you have the ability to lead the others. To unite everyone. A wolf like me can never have that kind of power!" He stared at his peaceful surroundings, watching Torako smile a little as she talked to Rion. "..."

"Seriously, although you look as if you know everything, you don't know yourself at all!" Akira said, finishing his fish.

"Ah?" Yarai said.

"Everyone was really surprised," Akira said, pointing at the others. "All of us thought that you were just a scary delinquent! But everyone has already accepted you."

"Please fill this for Yarai-kun," Airi said, holding out a bowl to Miyauchi, who was serving everyone soup.

"Okay, then I'll give him a little extra," Miyauchi said.

"The power to lead people? You have it too!" Akira told Yarai.

"..." Yarai took a bite of his fish.

"Well, this kind of thing, I've understood from the beginning!" Akira said, scratching his cheek. "Oh yeah! What are you planning to do in the future? If possible, together with me..."

"..." Yarai looked up. "That's impossible, Sengoku! It's too late to say anything!"

"Eh? What are you saying?" Akira asked. Yarai stood up. "Yarai?"

"Come here for a while, Sengoku!" Yarai said. "Just the two of us, let's chat!"

Meanwhile, Torako was still talking with Rion, but she happened to look over and notice that Akira and Yarai were gone.

"And then… Are you listening, Fukui-chan?" Rion asked.

"Where is Yarai-kun? He was here with Sengoku-kun just now..." Torako said, standing up. She had a bad feeling. "Hey, do you know where he and Yarai are at?"

"Hm? Just now the two of them headed towards the woods over there," one of the boys near them said.

'Heading towards the woods… with Sengoku-kun, just the two of them?' Torako thought. 'What is this? I have a really bad feeling! I have to go and look for them!' She grabbed her spear and backpack and took off running.

"Ah, Fukui-chan!?" Rion said, surprised. "Hey, wait! Where are you going?" She ran after Torako.

"..." Mami saw them. She became worried. 'Sengoku-kun and Yarai-kun are alone together? Co-Could it be…?'

Akira followed Yarai into the woods.

"What is there to be said between us alone?" Akira asked. "Why bring me into the forest?"

"..." Yarai stopped. He remembered the doctor's ultimatum. He had to choose between Kurusu-sensei or Akira. He clenched his fist. "… Don't blame me, Sengoku! Now I have to kill you!"

"Eh?" Akira said, staring at his back. "He-Hey! What was that? What are you talking about?" What a bad joke. Yarai spun around and charged at him with a grave expression on his face. 'Wha!?' Yarai threw a deadly punch. Akira managed to move his head so it missed by inches. Yarai's fist slammed into the tree behind him instead. "Ugh! H-Hey, Yarai, stop joking!" Yarai swung at him with his other hand. "Damn!" Akira barely ducked in time. "Wai-Wait! Hold on, Yarai! Talk to me!"

"..." Yarai glared at him, forcing himself to see him as an enemy.

'Could this guy be serious!?' Akira wondered, shocked. 'What's going on, Yarai!? Why do you want to do this? Shit! I don't know a thing! But I can't let him kill me!' He dodged another attack. 'Anyway, I'll have to avoid the attacks first! If I only focus on this, even if my opponent is Yarai, I won't be killed that easily, right?'

"Haa haa haa haa," Torako, Rion, and Mami panted as they ran.

"H-Hey, Fukui-chan! What's going on?" Rion asked. "You suddenly started running!"

"It's Yarai!!" Torako replied. "What exactly is that guy trying to do? I kept having a bad feeling! I'm afraid that Sengoku-kun..."

"Eh? Akira-kun!?" Rion said.

"..." Mami felt terrible. She should have said something sooner.

"!" Torako said when she heard a noise. "There are voices over there!"

"Let's go have a look!" Rion said. They ran around a big tree and came upon a disturbing scene.

"!?" the girls gasped as Yarai nailed Akira in the gut with a vicious kick.

"GAH! HA!" Akira groaned in pain.

"A-Akira-kun!!" Rion screamed.

"!?" Akira gasped. "Rion!? Do-Don't come here!" he yelled, holding himself.

"Bu-But…!" Rion argued.

"It doesn't matter, don't come here!!" Akira told her. "Shit!" he coughed. 'I'm thinking too simple. There's a big difference between this guy's stamina and mine! On top of that...' "Why, Yarai? Why do you have to do this?"

"… If this continues, Sensei is going to die!" Yarai told him.

"Eh!? Kurusu-sensei!?" Akira said.

"Yeah! She has internal bleeding from an injury!" Yarai said. "If Nishikiori doesn't operate on her, she can't be saved! That guy fixed the price for the operation as your life!"

"…!" Akira gasped, shocked and appalled.

'So… So that's what the doctor told him!' Torako thought, sweating nervously.

"Nishikiori… that bastard!" Rion said, also sweating nervously.

"Sengoku, killing you might not guarantee that Sensei will be saved, but if I don't kill you, she's definitely going to die," Yarai stated.

'Yarai, you have feelings for Sensei…?' Akira and Torako thought.

"I'm done talking here!" Yarai said, clenching his fist. He jumped at Akira. "Just die, Sengoku!!"

"Akira-kun!!" Rion screamed.

"Sengoku-kun!!" Mami yelled. Yarai swung his fist.

"Stop it!!!" Torako shouted. But Yarai couldn't stop. His eyes widened in shock when she suddenly appeared between him and Akira. She was holding her backpack in front of her. Yarai's punch connected with the pack and pushed it back against her. Her wrist bent in a funny way.

"!!" Yarai was horrified. That punch was meant to kill. Everyone stared in shock. Torako was knocked backwards by the force of the attack.

"Fukui!!" Akira yelled.

"Fukui-chan!!" Rion cried.

"..." Yarai stared at her with wide eyes and a furrowed brow, covered in sweat, horrified. He couldn't believe he had hit her.

"Fukui! Why did you…?" Akira asked, kneeling down next to her.

"Ah! I'm okay… The bag took the brunt of the attack..." Torako said, wincing. She still had the first-aid kit in it. "My right wrist couldn't take it, though." It got caught in the strap and jerked the wrong way. "Yarai-kun, please stop this!"

"Get out of the way!" Yarai told her. If it weren't for that first-aid kit…

"You can't do this!" Torako said, standing up to face him.

"I can!" he said. "So get out of the way!!"

"Then, why do you have that look on your face!?" she asked. Tears were in his eyes, streaming down his face. She couldn't bear to see him like this.

"Huh…?" Yarai said. He realized he was crying, too. "—Wha…?"

"The one who's suffering the most here is you!" Torako said. "You have high hopes, for Sengoku-kun, right? I understand! The punch just now, you didn't put in all your energy, right?" She unzipped her bag and pulled out the first-aid kit. "That punch only left a dent in this thing." Normally, he would have destroyed it. "Just stop all of this! If you go through with this, you'll regret it for the rest of your life! Sensei wouldn't be happy to hear of this! How do you think she's going to react if you do kill Sengoku-kun to save her? You know how she is—how's she supposed to live with that!?"

"..." Yarai bowed his head and gritted his teeth. "If I stop now, what should I do? Nishikiori won't operate unless he sees Sengoku's dead body! The only person on this island who can save Sensei is Nishikiori. I've got no other options. Come, if you understand, then stand up, Sengoku! Let's continue!!"

"Yarai-kun..." Torako said, frowning.

"..." Mami was anxious. 'No! If this goes on… the vision will come true!' She remembered the vision of Yarai and Akira attacking each other with keys and a stone axe. "..." She realized it was different from what she was actually seeing. 'Eh? So-Something isn't right! This situation and that vision… there's something… That's right, it's weapons! In the vision both of them were fighting with weapons! But there are no axes around here! This one isn't it!? Could it be that after this, Something will happen again!?

At that time, back at the camp, Suzuki and his girlfriend were doing something they shouldn't.

"Ahh! Ryouichi-kun," Kashiwagi said as they approached two of the propped open trapdoors. "If we do it here other people might see."

"It's okay, everyone is busy eating," Suzuki said.

"You're really..." she said affectionately. There was a growling sound.

"Hm? What strange sounds are you making now?" Suzuki asked as he took off his pants.

"Eh? I didn't say anything!" Kashiwagi said, taking off her underwear.

"That's odd. I really heard some strange sound!" Suzuki said.