Chapter Five
"Hello everyone! I assume that you're all awake?" the voice of Yemon Sotō was broadcasted to the entire island. Of course, no one was sleeping. How could they?
Erisa sat up. Kiyoshi was next to her and the sun was out. It was a beautiful island, a peaceful island.
"So, I'm here to give you the list of your dead friends and the upcoming danger zones. Sound fun?" Erisa quickly took out her map and the picture. She glanced at everyone's name written below it. "Girl #21 Utayo Gotō, Boy #4 Haru Ishikawa," he gave a slight chuckle. Erisa scowled. Yemon proceeded to tell them all of the names. Erisa crossed each name off the list at the bottom. She couldn't cross off their faces. She wanted to remember them. "A total of eight dead this morning! How many more will there be today? I'm very curious. The danger zone is E-6. You guys know what will happen if you stay there. I'll be seeing you later! Well, maybe not." He laughed and nothing more was said.
"E-6?" Kiyoshi asked.
"That's where we are," Erisa said. "Shit. I was planning on staying here for a while." She stood up. "We've got to move again. The zone's going to be activated soon and I don't really want to be here for that."
She grabbed her bag and Kiyoshi stood up and grabbed his. "Are you playing?" he asked seemingly out of nowhere as they walked.
"Playing? Not really. I just want to survive, you know?" Kiyoshi nodded. "Are you?"
Kiyoshi laughed. "Of course not, Erisa! You should know that."
"No one knows you, Kiyoshi."
. ~ .
Yuka Matsuda was crying. It was too much for her. Utayo Gotō was her best friend. She kept hearing her friend's last word playing over and over again in her mind. "Y-Yuka? Y-Yuka? Y-Yuka?"
They had always been friends. She wished she could remember the first time they spoke to one another, but she couldn't. They had literally grown up together. They went to the candy shop together, they gushed over boys together, they laughed together, they died together. No, but Yuka wished that they had. She knew that she should have stood up for her friend. It should have been her, not Haru.
She wanted to play and then kill Yemon Sotō. She couldn't, though. She knew that. Utayo wouldn't let her. Utayo would never forgive her if she tried to take vengeance.
Yuka smiled through the tears as she thought of the confession day.
"Yuka? You like someone, right? Someone in our class?" Utayo had asked one day.
"Maybe," was Yuka's response, but her blush gave the true answer away.
"Ooh, who is it?!"
"Not telling!"
"I'll tell you mine!" Utayo offered.
"Oh, please. Everyone knows that you have a crush on Ishikawa, isn't that right?"
Instead of blushing and saying "Can't prove it!" she took the more adult-like approach. "Yep. Haru is my crush. I think he likes me back. Do you think he likes me?"
Yuka laughed. "Of course he does! He's completely in love with you!"
Utayo was smiling silently for a few minutes. "Who do you like, Yuka?"
Yuka sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you but you have to promise not to tell!"
"We've known each other our whole lives! Do you really think I'd tell anyone?"
"I like. . . Yamazaki."
Utayo laughed. "No offense Yuka, but you're hopeless." Yuka was not offended. It was true.
What a strange memory to recall at that very moment. Yuka could have thought of anything else. She could have thought of her parents. Maybe her little sister could have passed through her mind. No, instead it was her dead best friend and her never-would-be boyfriend.
"Yuka? Is that you?" someone whispered.
Yuka panicked. She quickly took out her weapon and aimed it towards where the voice had come from. The small pistol seemed a whole lot heavier than Yuka ever thought it would be. "Who's there?!"
Someone came out of the shadows. He had a happy, relaxed smile on his face. He held up his hands in mock surrender. "It's only me. Daisuke."
"D-Daisuke?" Yuka thought that it was too good to be true.
"Yeah," he said in a friendly tone. "You haven't seen anyone else, have you?"
"N-no. I haven't seen anyone yet. What about you?"
He gave a small laugh. "Well, I killed Yamada and Ōta. I'll be taking that gun of yours."
"Huh?"
Daisuke pushed her backwards. The gun flew out of her hand and he quickly grabbed it. He aimed it right at her heart.
"But Daisuke. . .I thought. . ."
He laughed again. "You thought what? That I was going to protect you?! You really are stupid. There are only two things you can do for me. The first is to give me information, which you have none of. The second is to give me a weapon, which you've done. Now you'll die." He shot the pistol and she did.
"Looks like our roles were reversed, Utayo. . . You had someone who loved you. . . You were lucky. . . I must admit, I wish I had got to have that. . . Just once. . . "
Girl #20, Yuka Matsuda – Dead
33 Students Remaining
. ~ .
It was right around two o'clock in the afternoon. Erisa Sakamoto and Kiyoshi Okamoto had long since moved away from zone E-6 and were surrounded by the illusion of temporary safety.
The two of them had stumbled into a circular field. All around the field was the dense jungle.
"Kiyoshi, I think it would be in our best interests if we left each other alone now," Erisa said with a sad tone in her voice.
"What?! Erisa, why –"
"Kiyoshi, what would you do if we were the last two?" she asked. Kiyoshi hesitated in giving her an answer. "Exactly. You don't know what you would do and I don't know what I would do. If it came down to that, to be honest, I might kill you. I've got a family I want to get back to. I want to buy Botan a bike." She gave a faint smile. It vanished. "I don't want to kill anyone. I'm going to find a place to hide all alone. That's why you can't come with me. Understand?"
Kiyoshi nodded. "You be safe, Erisa. You'd better win!"
"If I die, I want you to kill the one who killed me," she said. The words which would have been held back on any other occasion simply rolled off her tongue. She said it so easily.
Kiyoshi said, "Alright. Will you do the same for me?"
Erisa nodded without hesitation. "Sure."
"Goodbye, my friend," Kiyoshi was crying. That surprised Erisa.
She smiled. "Don't cry. Stay strong. We're friends and we always will be."
Kiyoshi turned and began to walk away. "Goodbye," he whispered again.
"Goodbye," Erisa answered. About a minute passed and Kiyoshi was nearing the edge of the field. He was obviously walking slowly. There was so much more he had to say. He was secretly waiting for her to call him back.
Erisa ran towards him. He didn't see her coming. He felt a sharp, intense pain right in the center of his back. "Surprise!" she slowly pulled the machete out of his back. Blood poured out of the wound, all over the ground and on the attacker. Kiyoshi fell. "I guess I should say I'm sorry, huh?"
She sat down next to him. He was laying face down, but he could still pierce her eyes with his own. He was crying. His friend, the one he trusted, had stabbed him in the back, literally. They had been near each other for so long, he didn't understand.
"I'll still win, you know. I really will. I have to, don't I?!" she laughed to herself, the slowly dying boy beside her wanted nothing more than to go home. He could hear her, but he didn't want to. "It's a bit of a shame that you won't be there to see me do it. I wish I could have kept you around, but let's face it; you would have been dead soon anyway. You're too loud when you walk, you trust anyone and everyone, and you're hopeless!"
Kiyoshi didn't think that anyone would actually kill. He had known them for so long, the idea of them killing one another was unimaginable.
"Plus, you were the most innocent of us all. You thought we wouldn't hurt anyone. You actually believed that we could all be saved." She laughed. "You're so stupid. You have to face this, you have to face life. Well, you don't have to anymore, but it's the idea of the whole thing."
Kiyoshi wondered if his siblings were watching this. He knew that the Program was going to be broadcasted on television. He knew that his mother wouldn't stop them from watching. He knew that his family could see.
His two brothers and younger sister idolized him. He was perfect to the. He was their role model in the most innocent, sweet way. They worked together in perfect harmony. They loved their big brother. That's why they hated this. They hated this so much. No one deserved to take Kiyoshi away from them.
Erisa sighed. "I guess this really is goodbye. I didn't think I'd be able to do it. Ever since you found me, I've been asking myself "Should I? Could I?" and I guess I finally got the nerve to kill you. You deserved painless, but I don't think I hit the right spot. You're still alive, right?" She leaned over and saw the light in his eyes. The light of pain.
"Yes, you are. I hope we can still be friends, Kiyoshi. I really meant what I said back there. Then again, all friends are just pawns, right? That doesn't matter now. I don't have time to explain that to you; you're dying. I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to stay with you. You're the type that needs someone."
She leaned closer to him and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. She smiled at him. Kiyoshi thought that she still looked innocent. She lightly kissed his forehead. "Goodbye, Kiyoshi Okamoto, my friend," she said. She stayed with him for about three more minutes before feeling his pulse. Kiyoshi, the boy who had been betrayed by everyone he had ever known, was dead. Erisa smiled.
"Still friends?"
Boy #9, Kiyoshi Okamoto – Dead
32 Students Remaining
Erisa walked away. "I lied," she said to no one. She grabbed Kiyoshi's bags and emptied them. She began to put the items in her own bag until she felt something swoop by her head. She turned in the direction where it came from.
Ane Fukuda stood with darts in her hand. "Did you kill him, Erisa?" Erisa did not answer. "Did you kill him?!"
Erisa gave a laugh. "Don't tell me you loved him?!"
"Shut up," Ane hissed. "I could kill you with one of these. I crushed berries with them. Now, they're even more deadly than before. It's natural poison."
"Well, I could kill you," Erisa showed the girl the machete, "with this."
"Now, now. We don't have to take this so quickly. I was just saying that I could kill you. I won't. I can't kill anyone, Erisa. You should know. You and me, we could form a strategy! You and me, we could win!" Erisa laughed again. "Is my offer amusing to you, Sakamoto?"
"Yes, it is. I don't need anyone. That includes you," she said.
She ran towards the smaller girl and pushed her down. She held Ane's shoulders against the ground. No matter how Ane struggled, she knew she would not get away. "Please, Erisa. I have siblings just like you."
Ane had seven siblings. Out of everyone in the class, she had the most. She also happened to be the oldest. The Fukuoka family had had two sets of twins. Earlier that year, Ane's mother had passed away. The teenager swore to take care of all her younger siblings. She did that job well. She would have been a great mother.
"Oh, I know you do. Do you think that they're watching? Do you think that we should give them a show?" Ane shook her head. "We wouldn't want to make it boring, would we?"
"Erisa, I beg you. Please don't kill me! We were never the best of friends, but you're alright. We're the same! You've got a little brother. What's his name? Botan?"
"You don't deserve to say his name. You are nothing like me. You've lost. You're a loser. I hope you've enjoyed your time in the game." With that, Erisa dug the blade into Ane's chest. Ane screamed. "Shut up!" Erisa said. She put her hand over the girl's mouth. Ane bit her. Erisa quickly withdrew her hand. "Oh, fuck! That hurt, Ane."
Ane smirked just like Erisa. It was the last thing that she would do.
"Oh, God. . . someone take care of them. . . "
Girl #3, Ane Fukuda – Dead
31 Students Remaining
Erisa took Ane's items and quickly fled the scene. Not only had people heard the scream, but they recognized it. Ane was liked by almost everyone. She would be missed and there would be someone to blame, Erisa didn't want to be that person.
After all, a grudge held in the Program is the most deadly grudge of all.
AN: Well, there's the answer to the question asked last chapter. Thank you for reading. Make a writer happy and leave a review?