Chapter Three: Taketo Yeshimoto, Riley Kramer, and Zoe Baxter

And what, pray tell, will you whimper when your number will be called

You'll say "It's not my fault"

Go! Now! The others they'll await you

And every single one among the lot of you will have your turn

Like moths that fly into the flame it always ends up so

You scream: "Not me! Take anybody else!

Because it's not my fault!"

-Would you be impressed, Streetlight Manifesto

Taketo POV

Biding his time.

Taketo was simply biding his time.

He had planned this out so perfectly; made sure every last detail was accurate and secure. He felt almost as if he were walking in a dream as he watched HER move around the classroom that he had dreamed of; as he watched HER blow up one of his classmates. He said a quick prayer for the poor boy, but couldn't bring himself to actually feel sad about his passing. He was too excited to finally be here, to exact his revenge. He glanced at the floor where the boy's blood lay, and wondered briefly if his brother had been shot down in the very same place; if his blood lie under that of his fallen classmates. Taketo almost found himself wishing that it did, that way he could kill HER right on the spot the she had killed Yajima. Now THAT would be justice in its finest form.

He smirked as he watched HER bounce excitedly as two students were shot down, their blood splayed all over the wall. She would never expect this, it would be a complete and total blindside. Taketo was one of her finest students; probably the only one who had never disrespected her. Little did she know that he had been planning for three entire years; planning to be placed in her class; planning to be enrolled in the Battle Royale. He wondered if she would still grin like that when it was her own brains splattered against that wall. He hoped not.

"Boy Twenty: Taketo Yeshimoto"

Taketo stood up, smiling. So, SO long he waited for this moment. Never taking his eyes off of HER, he slid his knife out of his pocket. This is for you, Yajima, he thought as he stood in front HER, the grin on HER face egging him on. He was still before her, his breath hot in her face as he waited. Her smile faltered slightly, and he grinned. Yes, he wanted to savor this; to make it last.

It was over much too fast for his liking; he could have spent hours splitting her open; showing her the pain she had shown his beloved brother. But he knew that the act had to be committed quickly or else the soldiers would be on him before he had a chance to deal any real damage. But the satisfaction, the intense sensation of relief was still there as he gazed at her throat; spread open in a macabre smile. He felt the urge to kneel down and lift her eyelids; to make her REALLY look dead. But he never got the chance, as the soldiers opened fire on him, riddling his body with thousands of holes. He laughed as he went down.

…

Riley POV

Riley walked through the door feeling like a goddess. The way the other students had looked at her when she had left was simply delicious. And the situation she had going on between Marcus and his little slit girl? Pure perfection. Her first Battle Royale hadn't even gotten so juicy until the second or third day. Reaching in to her bag, she pulled out a small hunting knife. She frowned, unhappy. I'll have to pick something off one of the Japanese kids…

So she crouched behind one of the trees, her eyes fixed on the door. First out was a well-built Asian boy, who she decided to leave alone for the moment. Next out was the small brunette that she had seen hanging out with the big British kid and his friends. Riley liked the girl… a lot. She was spirited, Riley could tell, and there was nothing that the statuesque blonde liked more than breaking spirits. She would be fun to kill. Riley grinned at the thought. She hadn't done that in a long time.

She watched as the next kid ran out, the tall, greasy faced one who Riley had seen earlier in the classroom. He was shot down in seconds. Riley whirled around, looking for the shooter. Who the fuck had done that?! But she saw no one… So she turned back to the door. Come on… Give me something I can kill already…

"Bull's eye" She whispered, grinning as a chubby Asian girl staggered out of the building, holding two matching shot guns in her hand. Riley snorted; the girl had probably never even shot one of the things in her life. She crept up behind the shaking child, her heart beating fast with anticipation. Raising her hand, she flung the knife at the soft spot on the back of her knee, a small scream escaping her lips as she collapsed. Riley simply watched as the girl tried desperately to pull the knife out; releasing a thick stream of blood, which trickled down her calf. She walked over to the pathetic thing, yanking the bloodied knife out of her hand. The girl whirled around, hazel eyes instantly wide. Riley smirked, she loved this part. She could almost taste the girl's fear as she wiped the knife off on the leg of her pink sweatpants, her eyes never leaving hers for a second.

"Thought you could survive with those, huh sweetie?" She asked her tone mockingly sing-songy. The girl didn't answer as she struggled to get onto her feet, one hand clutching the back of her leg. Riley smirked, tapping the girl's shoulders lightly, and causing her to lose her balance. The girl was sobbing now, her eyes darting around; searching for help. But no one was coming.

"Thought you could be little-miss-badass, with those silly little guns…" Riley said, glancing over at the firearms that the girl had dropped. "Go pick them up." she ordered, not caring that she probably didn't speak English. The girl didn't respond; so Riley slapped her.

"I said pick them up, bitch. Don't you understand me?"

She had the smarts to try and respond this time, stuttering something in Japanese. It sounded like a plea to Riley, and she rolled her eyes; making the girl cry even harder. She started to squirm again, struggling to get to her feet. Riley smiled, kneeling down and grabbing the soft flesh of the young teen's arm; digging her nails in.

"Where are you going, princess? Don't you know you can't escape? So, so silly…" Riley trailed off, reaching her free arm out to grab the gun. Letting go of the girl, she stroked the barrel almost lovingly, placing a soft kiss on the tip. She grinned as she looked up to see that the girl had started to run off, limping harshly. She glanced back, and screamed when she met Riley's eyes; trying to run faster. "Bye bye, sweetie." She whispered as she unlocked the safety and pulled the trigger; letting a stream of bullets embed themselves in the girl's back. Riley sighed in satisfaction; picking up the second gun and slipping the small knife into her boot. She hadn't felt this good, this… POWERFUL since…

Well, since my LAST battle… I guess.

Riley turned around to see another boy dart out of the building, his eyes locked on what she assumed was a GPS. She recognized him as one of her brunette's friends, and she took after him as he headed into the forest. Something gave her the feeling that he was heading toward the brunette, which was EXACTLY where she wanted to be.

It didn't take long for the boy to catch up with her brunette, although he seemed to scare the shit out of her in the process. Riley crept closer, and listened to their conversation from behind a large tree. Harl, she thought, as in Harley?

Riley put the thought out of her mind as she stepped out; revealing herself to the pair. Both of them automatically took a few steps back, and Riley grinned. Good. They're ALREADY afraid of me.

"Hey, hey, chill. Can't hurt either of you, 'member?"

Neither of them let down their guard, and Harley narrowed her eyes; stepping forward.

"What the hell are you here for?" She asked her tone venomous. Riley had to bite back a laugh; it was like being growled at by a kitten.

"Just want to help, sweetheart, I'm trying to round up the Americans and bring them back to base."

"We KNOW how to get to base" The boy said, grabbing on to her brunette's arm. Riley didn't like that, and frowned.

"Well then tiger, do it yourself." She said, turning. She didn't get three feet before she heard the inevitable 'wait!' from Harley. She smirked, whispering:

"Like moths to a flame."

"What was that?" She asked; panting slightly as she caught up to her.

"Nothing, sugar. Nothing." She looked down at the girl, who was a good four inches shorter than her.

"What's your name?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"My name's Harley." she said, "Your Riley." It wasn't a question.

"Yup, you got me. Riley Kramer."

"I'm Jackson." The boy called out from behind, as he caught up to them. And I don't give a fuck, she thought; but she smiled at him anyway.

"You killed someone." Harley stated, looking her up and down. "Who?"

"I… I…" Riley stuttered, looking away as she tried to work up some fake tears. "She… she… I HAD to. She came at me with this." She said, as she pulled the knife out of her boot.

Her façade must have worked, because as she finished, she felt a small hand come to rest on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." She said. Riley held back a smile.

JUST like moths to a flame.

Zoe POV

Zoe Baxter was running for her life.

Branches and brambles whipped past her, snagging on her clothes and hair. She was being chased by two tall Asian boys with slings. They were frighteningly fast, and Zoe was beginning to panic; they were gaining on her and she was starting to get tired. She screamed as rock flew past her head. She scrambled for her weapon, pulling out a ceramic vase. "Fuck." She hissed, throwing it in vain behind her. It missed her target miserably, and she cringed as she heard it shatter against a tree. She felt the urge to cry as she felt a rock slam into her ankle with a sickening crack. Just keep going, Zoe, you can do this. You can do this; don't stop. But she knew she was slowing down; she could practically feel the breath of her attackers on her neck.

She yelped as her toe caught on a root, sending her flying forward into the dirt. She yanked at her leg; but it stayed wedged under the root. She gritted her teeth, blinked back her tears, and tried again. And again. And again. But it was no use, she was stuck. She began to cry as she heard the footsteps grow closer to her; heard their laughs grow louder as they stood over her. I'm going to die. She thought; her mind racing as she reflexively continued to try and free her toe. I'm going to die… here. In a nasty, dirty forest, in mother fuckin' JAPAN of all places. She had known in her heart of hearts that this so called "Exchange Program" for troubled teens was too good to be true. The 'at risk' group at her school was way too cheap to pay for something like this. But her mother had been SO excited, her brothers so jealous… She couldn't help but to ignore her gut feeling.

She screamed as felt a large body fell onto her; crushing her into the dirt. Oh god, oh god, this is it. I'm gonna die! I'm gonna…

She heard profound cursing as the body was lifted from her back, and she was able to turn over onto her back to see the two boys stumbling away, one of them leaning heavily on the other. They were yelling in Japanese as a fury of arrows rained down on them from somewhere in the trees. She yanked at her toe one last time, and felt an intense throbbing as it came free. She cussed lightly, and brushed off, looking up.

What… What the fuck.

She was looking up at Ada Angelus; otherwise known as Charlie's girlfriend. She didn't hang out with any of the other kids from the at-risk group; mostly because no one but Charlie would hang out with her. She was very pretty, with hair shinier than a copper penny, and eyes like emeralds. All of the boys in her high school had hit on her at school; until they discovered that she was a complete and total bitch. She was bossy, nasty, rude, and completely snarky; traits that didn't usually add up to a sparkly personality. Even Hanna; who was kind to just about everyone couldn't stand Ada.

"So… I think a 'thanks' might be in order. Or maybe an 'Oh Ada, my one and only savior; I will forever be in your debt.' I personally like the second one… but, ya know."

Zoe stood up, her eyes narrowed. "How... H-how did you do that?"

The tall punk girl rolled her eyes, snorting. "Weeell, you see, I puuulled back the arrow… then I-"

"Don't mock me." Zoe snapped, crossing her arms. "I never did a thing to you… And thanks."

Ada smiled sarcastically, crossing her arms back. "You're so welcome. I'm so glad that I saved such a grateful chick."

Zoe rolled her eyes, and picked up her bag. "Yeah, whatever. See you later, Ada." She said as she made her way through the trees, limping slightly.

"You're going the wrong way!"

Zoe spun around, annoyed

"What if I don't want to go to the camp? Ever thought of THAT?"

"It's your decision… But I think that your little boyfriend might be there."

Zoe paused. "You know where he is? Is he okay? Is he hurt? Is he-"

Ada cut her off "Slow down, chickadee, I ran into him on the way to camp. Said he was hoping you'd be there."

Zoe let out a sigh of relief. According to Ada, Vince was okay. He was fine. She looked up at Ada, unsure whether or not to trust her.

"I'm bad with maps. Can you show me the way?"

There was a pause, and for a moment Zoe was nervous that Ada might say no. But in a strange twist of fate, the ginger held out her hand, and Zoe took it.

"If I'm right… It'll be this way."

Italics= dead

*=died during prologue

Boy One: Kevin Finch

Girl One: Heather White

Boy Two: Julian Cole

Girl Two: Zoe Baxter

Boy Three: Tadaharu Ito

Girl Three: Hanna Everett

Boy Four: Vincent Shields

Girl Four: Amayo Akemi

Boy Five: Marcus Blackwell

Girl Five: Yoshiko Akemi

Boy Six: James Calvin

Girl Six: Charlene Further

Boy Seven: David Marcoccia

Girl Seven: Ayano Maruyama

Boy Eight: Kaoru Taminaka

Girl Eight: Tomomi Oono

Boy Nine: Benjirou Daichi

Girl Nine: Maiko Ando

Boy Ten: Fumio Tanada

Girl Ten: Minori Yoshido

Boy Eleven: Akihiro Settae

Girl Eleven:Keiko Nishimura

Boy Twelve: Zion Little

Girl Twelve: Kennedy Lipton

Boy Thirteen: Daichi Kobayashi

Girl Thirteen: Yoshiko Akemi

Boy Fourteen: Jotaro Nozaki

Girl Fourteen: Riley Kramer

Boy Fifteen: Hiraga Nozaki (shot with arrows by Adelaide Angelus)

Girl Fifteen: Harley Alexander

Boy Sixteen: Richie Williams (gunned down by Yoshiko Akemi)

Girl Sixteen: Mana Chikifuji (shot and stabbed by Riley Kramer)

Boy Seventeen: Ito Settae* (exploded by Setsuko Ogawa)

Girl Seventeen: Adelaide Angelus

Boy Eighteen: Zion Little

Girl Eighteen: Zara Mckenzie* (shot down by soldiers)

Boy Eighteen: Jackson Riddleston

Boy Nineteen: Harrison McBride* (Shot down by soldiers)

Girl Nineteen: Ayumi Sato

Boy Twenty: Taketo Yeshimoto (Shot down by soldiers)

Girl Twenty: Jun Ishi

A/N: Seven Down... Thirty-three to go