Chapter Ten

She wasn't dead yet. Daisuke knew that she could handle herself anyway, everyone knew. He wasn't even sure why he wanted to find her so badly, she didn't need the protection. Maybe he just wanted reassurance. Maybe he just wanted to be loved. Maybe he just wanted to see her one last time.

"I told you we should have followed them!" a voice said.

"And what?" another chuckled bitterly. "What would we do? Kill her in her sleep? We both know that we wouldn't be able to actually do anything."

Girls. They were both girls, but Daisuke knew that neither of them were his girl, for they didn't have her voice.

He walked over to them. He realized that it was Suzume Ikeda and Imako Suzuki, the girls that followed Ruriko around and treated her like a god.

"Go away, Daisuke!" Imako said. "We don't want to talk to you!"

"Sorry," he smiled a smile that would have gotten any girl to fall for him, except for the one which he truly desired. "But I'm looking for someone. Have you seen anybody?"

The girls glanced at each other uneasily. Daisuke could, in all fairness, be quite charming if he decided to. Plus, he did have the looks. This led to Suzume and Imako making a rather foolish mistake.

"We've seen some people," Imako said, remaining vague.

"Who are you looking for?" asked Suzume.

"That doesn't concern you," Daisuke said. "Who have you seen, how recently was it, and most importantly - where did they go?"

"Well, we saw Ruriko and Erisa until just a little while ago," said Suzume.

Daisuke couldn't believe his luck. But, he should have guessed it anyway, what with them being such close friends and all.

"Where did they go?" he asked calmly. Suzume pointed. Daisuke smirked. He had already won one of the major steps in this game, there was only a little bit more to do.

But what would he do once they were the last two? That thought which had always loomed over him was now even more prominent. Yet now, now he was close, so damn close. He wanted her to live, so therefore he would ensure it.

"Thank you," Daisuke said. Suzume barely noticed it, just barely, but she saw enough. As soon as his hand reached his pocket, she had turned and ran.

Imako realized too late. She spun around, but Daisuke shot her in the back. She screamed as she fell.

"This was. . . a stupid game anyway."

Girl #10, Imako Suzuki - Dead

17 Students Remaining

. ~ .

She was scared for one of the first times in her life. She never had a reason to truly feel fear, but now death was following right behind her. She was fast, yes, she had years of practice running to thank for that, but he wasn't slow either.

She needed help. She hated to admit it, since she counted herself as independent, but she did. She needed someone to save her, but her mother and father couldn't help her this time. So instead, she screamed, calling out for the one person she absolutely knew could help her.

"Erisa!" she called as she ran through the jungle, Daisuke following behind. "Erisa! Erisa! Help me, Erisa!"

She turned and turned, trying to make it so Daisuke couldn't see her ahead. Still, he wasn't one who was easy to lose. She paused, listening to see where he was.

A hand grabbed her shoulder and prevented her from moving. "Oh, God," she thought. "This is it, this is the end." Then she saw. Daisuke hadn't yet gotten a hold of her.

In his place stood Erisa Sakamoto, with her pointer finger held over her lips, gesturing for Suzume to be silent.

The two girls sat under the shadows of a large tree, hearing the frustrated Daisuke running around nearby.

"Damn it!" he growled. Then he thought. She did him a favor, he didn't need to kill her. "I will find you, do you hear me?!" But he wasn't talking about Suzume.

The two girls heard him storm away. Suzume breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Erisa. I was worried."

"Don't thank me, Suzume,"replied Erisa. "I didn't actually do anything. Just please don't. It'll only ruin what I'm about to do."

"What?" Suzume asked cluelessly, innocently.

"It will ruin it completely," Erisa said as she stood up. Susume mimicked her. "Suzume, stop it. Haven't you realized it yet?"

"What?" Suzume asked again, hating how child-like she sounded.

"No one can save you," Erisa said slowly.

Suzume knew, then, she was going to die by Erisa's hand. She had only one question : How? Erisa answered that, with a machete through the stomach.

"Erisa. . . I depended on you. . . "

Girl #17, Suzume Ikeda - Dead

16 Students Remaining

Erisa pushed Suzume's body to the ground. Instead of returning to Ruriko right away, she ran in the opposite direction, almost leaving the zone. She knew what it was she'd find.

. ~ .

The man burst through the door. It was either very late at night or very early in the morning. It was dark outside, there were no stars shining.

"Where is he?!" the man yelled, his words slurred, smelling of alcohol.

A young Yukio tensed up. His mother was beside him. She put her hand on his shoulder and whispered, "Shh, it's alright, baby. It's alright." The woman stood up and walked out of the room.

"Mommy?" Yukio called.

"Just stay in there, baby. Mommy loves you," she said in a soft voice as she shut the door behind her.

"Where is he?!" the man yelled. "Where is the little bastard?!"

"You leave him alone, do you hear me?"

"What did you say, bitch?!" Yukio flinched as he heard a familiar sound, the sound of a fist hitting his mother.

"He's my son and I love him. Don't you touch him."

Yukio wanted to scream. He wanted to run out there and yell "Leave my mother alone!". He wanted to kill him, that pathetic excuse of a man wasn't worthy of her. But at the same time, Yukio knew that he, her own son, wasn't worthy of her either. He was a coward. A weak coward.

. ~ .

He screamed. He had to do it. He had to! He had to kill them all so he could get back to her. He had to prove himself, he had to take care of her; she was his mother. Besides. they couldn't compete. Not one of them was as caring or as loving or as beautiful or as innocent. This is why he would do it. He had to kill to get back to her. He had to kill to get back. He had to kill. He had to kill.

He stomped through the woods, gun in hand. He came upon a cave, small but able to be used. He went inside and saw a sleeping girl. He recognized her as Chimako Saitō. He knew she was extremely smart, so he wondered why she'd be stupid enough to fall asleep and leave herself vulnerable. Then he realized, fear takes a lot out of people.

He hated to do this, really, he did. He felt bad, she was just a girl and all. She was beautiful, too. Still, Yukio knew that he couldn't keep her around, he'd just get attached and the end would just be a mess. No, he would dispose of her easily. Carefully and quietly, he picked her up and carried her out of the cave. He thought about just leaving her there, but that would just be more of a hassle.

She would have fought, too. She would have fought valiantly with the meat cleaver she had received as her weapon. But she wouldn't get the chance to. Yukio would make it painless and ensure that she would sleep forever.

"I wonder. . . if I'll ever get off this island. . . ?"

Girl #5, Chimako Saitō - Dead

15 Students Remaining

. ~ .

As she approached the end of the zone, she found him. She knew she could kill him easily. His name was Yasahiro Hasegawa and he had always been a sickly child.

He spent his time going in and out of hospitals. He had cheated death a number of times, but now he couldn't escape. The most ironic part of Yasahiro's short story is that he wasn't even supposed to be there. This is based on two facts.

First off, he was held back a year due to the large amounts of school he had missed. He was smart, though, don't be confused. Overall, he didn't mind it. He liked his classmates.

Secondly, his parents, especially his mother, were very protective. She didn't want him to go on this "class trip", especially when she recalled all he had been through. He had to beg and plead for permission from his parents. Finally, they had agreed.

He was sitting on a log, completely still. Erisa walked out and sat across from him. She nodded to him, "Hasegawa."

"Sakamoto, Erisa," he said plainly. His mind was elsewhere.

"What is it that you think you're doing here?" she asked.

He shrugged, a motion which caused Erisa to tense up. "Observing the game."

When she looked more closely at him, she realized he sat with a chessboard in front of him. He had been on the chess team, she remembered. She had wondered how a boy who had such strange qualities had what others called "popularity".

"Who's winning?" she asked curiously.

"Nobody," he answered. Her facial expression fell. "That's not the answer you wanted to hear, I see."

"It isn't," answered the girl.

"Well, maybe you'll emerge victoriously in the end."

"I have the pawns," she said. "I have the power.

"The pawn you're thinking of isn't a pawn at all. It's a disadvantage," Yasahiro said while still staring at his game.

"It's not just that one," Erisa said stubbornly. "There are others."

"I don't doubt that," said Yasahiro. They sat in silence for a moment before he said, "It's back, you know. The cancer. I had an appointment with a doctor a few weeks ago and he told me. I didn't tell my parents, and I asked the doctor not to either. It wasn't the right time. I was going on the class trip to say goodbye. This time, it's inoperable. In any other case, someone would figure that the government would be able to save them if they won, but I'm smarter than that."

Erisa felt like she should apologize, then she realized she had no need to.

Yasahiro said, "I had a disadvantage in this game before it even began."

"I'll be seeing you, Hasegawa," said Erisa.

"Good luck, Sakamoto. I sincerely wish you the best," he said, not taking his eyes off the game.

Erisa lunged towards him and embedded her machete in his back. "You lose," she said.

"You'll lose too."

Boy #14, Yasahiro Hasegawa - Dead

14 Students Remaining

Erisa turned and casually walked away. She had to get back to Ruriko. As she waked, she proudly said, "This game is mine."

AN: Yes, I got it out on time! Let me know any predictions you guys have. Who do you think is going to win? I love it when people try to guess the plot! And Sami - No, you're a great reviewer! I feel like I'm actually talking to all my reviewers, it's going to be so hard when I actually finish this story. Anyway, two announcements. 1. This story has a total of 20 chapters, we're halfway there! 2. I will be publishing two stories that go along with this. One will be an alternative ending and will be published at the same time as the last chapter, you guys will find out more about that later! The other is called "React" and should be out sometime this week. Please look at those too, if you have the time! Until next time!