Chapter Sixteen
Kama sat in the dirt with her knees pulled to her chest. She just sat there, she did nothing. She wanted to speak to someone, just have one normal conversation. Just one more. "It' pointless," she whispered to herself.
She knew she didn't have a home to really return to. She technically had no reason to go back, aside from proving that she could survive. She knew that her entire neighborhood believed in her, but that was nothing, they didn't matter to her. She wanted to speak to Mrs. Fujiwada again, just one last time. She wondered if the old woman was watching this violence.
Part of her hoped that Mrs. Fujiwada would never find out about this. She had seen enough, all of this was something she didn't need to know about. The other part wanted Mrs. Fujiwada to be sitting alone in her kitchen, close to the small television, silently cheering her on.
Kama got worried. No, no, no, Mrs. Fujiwada can't see me weak, get up, foolish girl, do something! Who will take care of her if you don't get back? She'll be completely alone, she'll wither away. You're like her daughter and you're the only one who can take care of her. So get up. Move. And so she did.
. ~ .
The sun began to rise, very slowly. Ruriko stood anxiously, waiting for the announcement. Her nails were bitten short. They hurt. She ran her hands through her hair and tried not to panic. She was shaking. She didn't know it, but she had dark bags under her eyes. She felt like crying.
"Good morning, boys and girls! It's six in the morning on the second day, and let me tell you, you guys are going much faster than I thought. Let me tell you what, because I'm so proud of all of you, I'll buy whoever wins a cheeseburger. There you go, that's even more motivation. Yum!"
Ruriko scowled. She'd consider punching him in the face, if he was in front of her. She wouldn't do it, though. That was Erisa's job. Erisa. Get on with it.
"So, here's a list of people who won't get to experience fine dining anymore! Boy #7, Joji Kimura, boy #6, Isamu Tanaka, girl #7, Hideka Hayashi, boy #10, Koji Yoshida, girl #8, Hikaru Yamasaki, and lastly, boy #21, Hiroshi Aoki."
Ruriko jumped and fist-pumped the air. Erisa wasn't dead! Of course, it was foolish to doubt her own best friend, but she was one who would worry. Erisa wasn't dead, but where was she?
. ~ .
The announcement was over. "Right," Erisa said. There are eight people left. She took out her map and the class picture. She gave a small smile when she saw Ruriko's face on there, and the name not crossed off. She felt bad for leaving her friend alone for the night, who knows what kind of stupid shit she could get into without you?
"So who's left?" Daisuke asked. He had thrown out his photograph. He was halfway through a cigarette, he laid down next to her and looked at the picture.
"Not many people of concern," Erisa said honestly. "We could always team up with Ruriko and Kama. I honestly have no idea who the others really are, but we could take them out. There's only one person I'm really concerned with, and that's Yukio."
Daisuke frowned. He didn't want her to worry about anything, and he said so. "I promise, I can take care of it. I can get him."
"That's what I was thinking when I told you about that plan I had last night," Erisa said. She waited for him to ask what it was, but he had another question.
"Why are you even concerned with him?" Daisuke asked as he put out the cigarette.
"He's strong, we've seen him in gym class. Plus, I'm pretty sure he's been killing people, especially considering how fast people are going down," she lied. She knew who had the highest kill rate. "But, I know you and I know you're way stronger. You could take him down."
Daisuke nodded. "I could do that." He could do anything for her.
"So, here's what I was thinking. I can go find Ruriko and get her to join us. You can go and kill Yukio. Then we can find Kama. As for the others, I don't really care about them. We are my priority, you and me especially."
"And what will we do?"
She shrugged. "We can try to find a way out together, I'll plan it on the map once you're fighting Yukio. It comes down to succeeding or dying in an attempt to, but I have confidence in us."
"So do I," Daisuke said. "But how do we find Yukio?"
Erisa smirked. "Easy."
Daisuke chuckled. "Oh?"
"Yep," said Erisa with a smile.
Daisuke moved closer to her. "Tell me," he said.
Erisa gave a smirk again. "Make me."
Daisuke leaned towards her and kissed her. It was only the second kiss of his lifetime, the first being with Kama in an attempt to get the first one out of the way, and he knew that this was the right one, this was how it was meant to be.
"He's two zones away from here, heading west," Erisa said afterwards. "And before you ask, I know because that's where I walked here from. I was checking out the area and I saw him there. I hid, I can't handle him. It will take you awhile to get there, you'll have to walk to save energy."
"Right," he said. He stood up and brushed grass off of his pants. "And where will we meet up?"
"Here," Erisa said. "And I'll have Ruriko."
"Right," Daisuke said again. Erisa stood up. She was slightly shorter than him. "I love you."
"Not as much as I love you," Erisa said back. They held each other close.
"Here," Daisuke said. He handed Erisa a cigarette. "It's my last one, but I don't want it." Erisa took it. "I have to go now," Daisuke said. "I'll kill him. Everything will be alright, I promise."
Erisa nodded, the two separated, and Daisuke walked to the west.
. ~ .
Kama stood across from the girl. She had managed to get the gun out of the smaller child's grip. Now she stood, shaking in fear. "Give me a reason not to kill you," Kama said.
"What?" the girl asked. She was Akasuki Nishimura. She was amazed to have survived this long, she had just slept in an abandoned warehouse. But that was going to be a danger zone in less than an hour, so she had to move. She figured that, if it came down to it, she could kill the other person. They'd be hurt from surviving so long, they'd probably be a fighter. Now Kama came along and ruined it all.
"Please," Kama said. "Give me one good reason."
Akasuki stuttered. "I'm sorry," Kama said. "It's too late." And with that, she pulled the trigger.
"I got so . . . close. But she'll go further."
Girl #2, Akasuki Nishimura - Dead
7 Students Remaining
Kama began to cry. She held the gun up to her head. She thought about it for a minute, a brief minute in reality, but it seemed like an eternity to her. She pulled the trigger.
Click. She pulled it again. Click. It was empty. Akasuki's weapon had been a gun with only one bullet, and Kama had wasted it.
She shrugged, threw the gun to the side, and wandered on.
. ~ .
Erisa climbed up to the pieces of wood in the tree. "Erisa!" Ruriko said, while embracing the girl in an immediate hug. "Where the fuck were you?!"
"I'm so sorry," Erisa said. She meant it, too. She could tell that Ruriko had been crying. Feelings of guilt hit her like a truck. "I got a little lost and didn't want to wander around in the dark."
"It's okay, I'm glad you're back," Ruriko said. "We're okay, and that's what matters."
. ~ .
It was still early by the time Daisuke found him. He was sitting in the sun, alone, looking as if he didn't have a fear or care in the world.
Daisuke increased his speed and planned on hitting him. Yukio heard him, though, and he punched Daisuke in the head before Daisuke could even touch him. The boy stumbled backwards, but lept forward again, aiming for Yukio's face. He scratched around Yukio's eyes. Yukio now moved back, rubbing his left eye, which was now heavily bleeding.
"Finally," Daisuke said. "A worthwhile fight."
And the two boys went at it again.
AN: Ugh, for some reason I found this chapter frustrating to write. Maybe that's because it's 12:40am right now and I don't usually write so late. I can write late, it's not a problem so I don't really know why this chapter was so weird. I accidentally added an extra scene, basically a repeat of something small that happened earlier in the story, and I was mad at myself because I had to go back and delete it, even though I thought it was pretty good. Anyway, thank you all for reading!
Untricked: I understand what you mean on the Hiroshi aspect, I admit I wanted to have that part included earlier, but I was a little afraid to write it, I didn't want to completely write it the wrong way, if that makes sense. Thank you for reviewing!
Sami: Thank you so much for writing out the dates, that seems perfect. Some may be written a little bit ahead of time (I'll try not making them later), especially the one which should be out on the 12th, I'll be busy around then, but I'll try to get it out around the ninth. Also, I had another idea for a separate story, kind of a sequel (more of an alternate ending) to this, I was thinking of posting it as a different story, but I think I may just post it here in this one. When would that have to be out? (I'm not yet sure if it's one chapter or a few). As for the Hunger Games, yes, I believe it was a bit of a rip-off of Battle Royale. This can even be seen in the characters, Shuya is Katniss (both important characters who become leaders in a revolution (referencing the second BR movie, which still came out before THG)), Noriko is Peeta (both characters who are dependent upon the leaders in the game and also take part in the revolution), Mitsuko is Clove (both female killers), Kazuo is Cato (both male killers), 42 students against 24 tributes, both tales of a terrible dystopian society sometime in the near-ish future, I could go on. There's way too much for it to all be a big coincidence, especially if you count the romance aspect (THG pounds on it more, but BR has it too, especially the movies). And both were insanely popular, BR more so in Japan, that's why THG can kind of get away with it, so to speak, BR wasn't too popular in America. Still, both are great in their own ways (aside from the fact that I can't stand Katniss) and I wouldn't have discovered BR without THG. And wow, that was long, haha. In short, yes, I think so and I do prefer BR in the long run.
So thanks to everyone for reading, please leave a review. If you celebrate it, have a happy fourth of July, if not, I hope everyone still has a great day. Until next time!