Chapter 15

It was beautiful. So beautiful. A true work of art.

People might look like angels and princesses while they are alive, but everyone turns beautiful after death. A dead body is the most peaceful, gorgeous and lovely form a human being can have in his entire life.

Rena Kuroda's body was an example of it. Her completely dilated pupils, reflecting all the darkness that she was seeing. Her bloody, broken body, ruptured by six bullet holes. The jelly-like substance that was her brain, garnishing her head like a bloody crown. Her bloodied hair and disfigured face, sliced and cut by several glass shards.

This was the reason why Kumiko Noma spent so much time looking at her classmate's body. She was admiring its beauty, making herself proud of the perfect masterpiece of art that she had created.

It had been a long time since she had stopped looking. It was already 5 pm, and the orange glow of sundown bathed Saitama in light before sinking it into complete darkness. Kumiko was now walking south, heading for the Kagurazaka Manor. It seemed to be the best place available to hide and find shelter. She didn't exactly know which zone she was in, but it seemed to be around line D or E. Kumiko wondered if there was someone already hiding there. Not that it mattered. As soon as she arrived at the place, the class beauty would grab her Walter PPK and Browning Hi-Power (she had discarded the Derringer where she killed Rena. It wasn't as good as the Browning and three pistols were too heavy) and shoot the girl dead on the spot. No hesitations or laments. She would just shoot until her victory came earlier.

Most girls would be tormented after killing in The Program. They would cry, go insane and hit themselves, until they realized that they had been born to do that. Not Kumiko, though. The class beauty was different than the others; better.

Unlike her classmates, Kumiko knew who she was, and knew other people much better than how they thought she did. The girl could see everything that was hidden under their kind facades: Because behind their constant gossip, their false friendships, their plastic smiles, there were selfish monsters that couldn't care less about anyone but themselves.

Before reaching the beauty and the nirvana of being dead, humans still have to suffer and inflict on others the pain of being alive. It is what makes human life completely worthless. For Kumiko, everyone else, including her own classmates, lived to harm others. They lived to pretend their false kindness, to betray their friends, to try to be more popular so that they could bully others. She was the only one who could see their selfishness, their stupidity, their cowardice, their arrogance, their backstabbing, their lies, and their promiscuity.

Tsukiko and Tomoko, for example, would have betrayed and killed her sooner or later, after they became the only ones left. Why not killing them first, then? It saved her from a lot of trouble and helped her "friends" in a way, as two pieces of shit like them wouldn't live much anyway.

As Kumiko kept walking through the passageways and crossroads, paying close attention to the street map so that she wouldn't lose her way, a small but beautiful butterfly approached the girl, flying gracefully towards her. It landed on her hair, causing Kumiko to start playing with it, keeping the butterfly with her as much as possible before it flew away.

The insect was completely black. Kumiko's favorite color, the only one she enjoyed.

The class beauty remembered her days at home, many years ago, when she took her time torturing and killing insects. She smiled after seeing their arms and legs being ripped off, the screams that would never come from their mouths. Especially the butterflies, she loved hurting and killing them. In the only drawer that she had, several of their corpses laid.

Except for the black ones. Kumiko never killed a black butterfly like the one which just landed on her; she did not even hurt them. Every time she tried, her hands got paralyzed, immobile. The small and frail minority was also the most beautiful one. The only type of butterfly that deserved to live.

"I guess I don't look like a princess anymore" – thought Kumiko about her own slashed face, before bursting out laughing on the inside. Of course she did not look like a princess, because they didn't exist. No one is pure and chaste, to the point of eating a poisoned apple while being guided by blind innocence. Fairy tales were made for children, who did not really understand the true nature of the world. They did not know how cruel life is, who people really are.

But in the Battle Royale, something good always happened. Those girls who spent their entire time at school talking about their hair and pretending to like their friends would soon lose their masks. Soon, they would all awake the demon inside their souls, and release their cruel and selfish side. And then, there would be violence. Blood would be shed, people would die, and "innocent" girls would turn to cold-blooded killers, much like Kumiko herself.

After all of them showed who they really were, they would die, turning into beautiful, lovely dolls. Until only Kumiko remained alive, to be the winner of the game. She deserved to win, because she was the only one who did not use any mask. Kumiko was just who she was, accepting her true nature and implanting fear in her classmates so that they would gradually do the same.

A place with no lies, a place that exposes its cruel reality: this was Kumiko's ideal world to live. A world with no magical fairies or princesses, with no fairy tales.

If The Program itself was a fairy tale, Kumiko knew that she would be the wicked witch, the evil queen, the cruel stepmother. She would be the one who always lost in the end, who never had the joy of receiving a happy ending.

All of them were nothing but misjudgments, with no real value.

Kumiko did not feel a single ounce of guilt over those images people created for her.

After all, she knew that it was all her mother's fault.

In The Program, an ideal hiding spot should be a place where it was easy to protect and dangerous to attack. Somewhere with metal doors, hard to break if shot at, and few windows, so that an attacker could not get in easily. It needed to have some sort of escape exit, in case its occupants found it unable to defend themselves and were forced to run away.

By these reasons and many others, the house where Asuka Yamanaka and Kyoko Tachibana were hiding in since the last announcement was not one of these places.

The house was very small, having only one bedroom and a small living room with a kitchen attached to it. It was made entirely of wood, offering little to no protection against bullets or fire. Its furniture was old and fragile. Maybe it had already been abandoned before The Program started.

However, that house was relatively isolated, being localized the backyards of a very peaceful neighborhood. Zone H-7 was a hard place to get to, and this simple fact could only make the girls happier. There were better houses out there, but they were all locked and had two floors, making it harder for them to successfully break the windows with rocks.

Right now, the two best friends were trying to erase the memories not only of the last announcement, but also the knowledge that the next one would come very, very soon. After all, it was already 5:45 pm. They had just eaten their lunch, some chicken with bread and salad, and Asuka was now washing the dishes. Meanwhile, Kyoko watched over the house's small window with Asuka's Glock.

"This one might be the last meal we're going to eat in our lives." – Thought Asuka while hanging the chicken utensils to dry. If she and Kyoko weren't as close as they were, she would have never given her own weapon away. The girl was risking herself by doing that. What if Kyoko decided to shoot her while keeping guard? They were friends but…

But Kyoko was better. Sure, she was more fragile than Asuka and cried easily, but she was better. Asuka would probably not live without her friend, but the other way around… maybe. With so many friends and a handsome boyfriend, Kyoko would have many things to go back to in case she won. On the other hand, Asuka's biggest achievement in life, her friendship with Kyoko, would fall apart in case any of the two died. Everyone needs a reason to live, unless you are a plant or a stone.

Still, Asuka wanted to live. She felt the need to hug and kiss her father once more, and to be in a classroom one more time even though she didn't like school that much. And above it all, to play her violin again. It was a gift from her grandmother when she was six, and from then on the girl and her instrument were closer to each other more than most married couples were. Asuka felt herself relieved from everything while playing it, like if for a moment all eyes were turned on her and only her music mattered. No more ignoring mothers, no more desperate searches for a boyfriend: a simple musical instrument became the center of the universe, dragging all the small planets named worries with its gravity.

"Hey, Asuka." – called Kyoko from the door. "It's your turn to watch over us now." – handing Asuka's pistol back to its original owner, Kyoko went for the dishes while her friend looked after the window.

Deep inside, Asuka wanted to think that it was pointless to guard the window and wait for an attacker. Girls are more sociable by nature, and the constant promises of waiting for your friends inside that forbidden classroom did not fool Asuka. Most girls were in groups by now, and the ones who walked by themselves, like Miki Nakayoshi and Sato Mizunoe, were all dead. Or at least most of them.

However, the four deaths from the first announcement could not be ignored. How did Tomoko Kobi and Tsukiko Amano get killed, for example? Sure, they were both bitches and certainly deserved it; after all they were the cause of Sato's suicide. But for two delinquent girls like them to die at once and so early, it would take an even worse person to do it. Someone like…

"Kumiko Noma."- Asuka's words broke the silence in the room. "I think that she's playing."

"Why? I don't see any evidence." – Kyoko turned around and faced her friend for years. Usually capable of understanding everything easily, the prettier girl in that small house had her eyes filled with doubt.

"When we heard the first announcement, that whore who sent us to our deaths said that Tomoko and Tsukiko were killed by someone they actually trusted on. She said that they shouldn't have done that, because it made them get betrayed and killed. Do you understand what I mean?" – Asuka tried to sound wise and smart, but knew that it made her more like a boring person, someone truly annoying to be around.

"Well, we don't have enough proofs. We didn't see their bodies, and I know that no one in class trusts them. It could have been anyone." – answered Kyoko, sounding much more convincing than her friend.

"Exactly. You've reached my point girl." – answered Asuka. Kyoko's look of confusion was funnier than how she thought it would be. It seemed that Asuka was the one who had the leadership, for once. "We know that no one in class trusts them, so why would we assume that Kumiko does? I mean, she's quiet and mysterious, and never showed any signs of special affection for them in public. They might have trusted her as a friend, but she was afraid of them and decided to attack first. And succeeded.

Kyoko's face morphed itself into a multitude of distinct expressions: from puzzlement to shock, from shock to fear, and finally from fear to a strange type of sorrow. She had understood.

"Kumiko Noma." – Kyoko sighed and took a deep breath. It seemed like several hours had passed while she was saying those two words. "What the hell is wrong with her? Or better, what the hell is wrong with all of us? First Sato, and now, if you are right, Kumiko. I still don't understand." – Kyoko started doing the same thing she did every time she felt her emotions taking over. Instead of repressing herself like Asuka, she let them all out, crying.

Suddenly, Kyoko's tears slowed down, her mouth opened with a grin of rage, and her right hand curled itself into a fist. The next time she spoke, her voice was clear, determined. Like a real leader.

"But if that announcement had said that Sato got killed by someone, and we found out that this someone is Kumiko, I would kill her." – Asuka's eyes opened wide. "I would tear her from limb to limb; rip that pretty face of her into shreds. So that she would know how Sato felt during her entire life."

It seemed that The Program was affecting anyone in a way. No one was safe from its negative influence. Asuka tried to think of several words to calm her friend down, but ended up choosing only a few.

"I don't think that Nobuo would like to hear you saying this."

Instantly, Kyoko's anger disappeared; her emotional roller coaster went on another looping. The looping of Romeo and Juliet-like love, the pure type of love that never ends well but it's still worth trying. Something that you know it's useless to keep believing in, but you still hold on to it.

Asuka decided to ask what she wanted to know since a month before, when during a party she overhead Kyoko talking to her other friends. Somehow, Asuka was left out of that conversation, making her realize that she wasn't as important to Kyoko as Kyoko was to her. It was the best moment for asking that question, there would be no other opportunities. They could die at anytime, so there couldn't be any secrets.

"You guys have been fucking a lot recently, haven't you?" – asked Asuka.

Kyoko was paralyzed in an instant. She was caught by surprise; her throat froze after hearing those words. Asuka could see that she was right about what she had heard only by her friend's facial expression. It's strange how life works in modern times, with internet and cell phones everywhere. No matter how much you try to keep a secret, your friends always find out. And then they spread it around.

"Look, Asuka, it is not what you are thinking. I love him, we have some more intimate things together sometimes, but we don't go that fa-"– Kyoko tried to sound defensive, but was cut short.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" – For some reason, Asuka felt that her entire body seemed to burn.

Kyoko tried to mutter an answer, desperately searching for it, ravaging her own brain in order to search for information. But the words slipped from her mouth, escaped from her tongue, and finally fell on the floor, abandoned and forgotten. Kyoko knew that it wasn't what Asuka wanted to hear, but she did not have anything else in mind.

"I didn't want to hurt you, Asuka."

Asuka had hunted deers with her father before; it would be easy to shoot Kyoko dead right there.

But Asuka couldn't do it; her anger was too strong.

The worst thing was not that Asuka had a long time crush on Kyoko's boyfriend, or that her best friend's body had already been deflowered by him. It was that Kyoko knew it. She knew that Asuka was in love with her man, but still kept being friends with her. She thought that Asuka wouldn't be harmed by all the times she saw them making out, holding each other's hands, or stating how much they loved each other out loud. Kyoko believed that their friendship would come before love, as they knew each other for much longer than they knew Nobuo. She foolishly thought that her friend was blind and all forgiving, like the angel she became while playing the violin.

Well, good for her.

"Too bad. You already have." – Asuka would never look at her friend's eyes the same way. Not again. Instead, the thin and average looking Japanese girl turned her back away from her only partner, and walked towards the wooden door that led to the bedroom while the first tear started to fall. Even though she had not been shot or choked, Asuka only saw red. And after she stepped into the safest place in that fucked-up house, the girl did not simply close the door: she made it crack like a broken bell.

While Asuka cried on one of the beds, she listened to Kyoko's sobs in the kitchen. Music. A song that was so beautiful it needed only one instrument to be played. A broken heart.

"She can cry all she wants. But at least she won't die a virgin like me." – There wasn't much use in seeing her family again. They would all get tearful and suddenly become nice to her, only for her mother to show how much she loved Asuka's sisters more a few days later. The violin? Well, she could still sing in The Program. And maybe she would find a good instrument in another house.

For a moment, Asuka wished that her school also had guys, instead of only girls.

There's a popular belief that girls don't like sex as much as men do, but it's a complete lie. They only do not say it as openly, as their brains are positioned on the upper part of their bodies. Sex is a human necessity, and without it you cannot perpetuate your genes or reproduce. In a biological sense, a life without sex is a worthless one. Therefore, Asuka would never fulfill her real mission on Earth.

Unless she won The Program, of course.

The girl felt happy for something; she managed to make Kyoko cry. Sure, that girl was much weaker than she showed, but at least she only shed her tears after her emotions took over. She never cried after losing a fight. Maybe because she never lost one before.

And yet, Asuka was now on top. The virgin, the not that pretty girl, the one who wasn't perfect. The girl who secretly envied her best friend since fifth grade, an envy that grew more and more for years, hidden by the cloak of admiration. An admiration that never existed.

For the first time, Asuka felt glad that she had gotten selected for The Program: it always reveals the truth, always exposes who you really are, and turns the eyes of the world directly at you, like the sun that dominates the solar system.

The girl sat on the bed and raised her head towards the ceiling, hoping for some form of divine illumination. It did not come. It seemed that she was alone again.

Still, it did not matter. Asuka tried to laugh, but only a small giggle came out.

Sadly, the second announcement echoed from the speakers around Saitama, interrupting her thoughts. But before she heard those cursed words, Asuka could still say a small sentence, as low as possible so that her friend did not hear it.

"It was good while it lasted, Kyoko."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

This is a very dark chapter. Not in a violent way, as it has little gore. I wanted to flesh out more Asuka and Kyoko, and also Kumiko. Asuka's envy wasn't something that was planned at first, she and Kyoko were supposed to be the best friends anyone could wish to have. But no one is perfect in real life, and so I decided that there should be a conflict between them. Especially in The Program, the place where all old grudges come out.

Kumiko's way of viewing the world is, in my opinion, absolutely terrifying. However, there are many people like this, including in the original (Mitsuko Souma and Sho Tsukioka, for example). It's impossible to understand her reasoning while her backstory is not revealed, but I promise that it will be worth the wait.

Recently, I've got myself thinking about what I would do if I had gotten selected for a Battle Royale. After analyzing the original, my own story and many other fanfics, I've reached a conclusion: I would play to win. It would be the way that would offer me the biggest chances of survival.

The more I write this story, the more I lose my own faith in humanity.