Day 1

Elapsed Time: 0:03:04

From the beginning, it had been clear that Yamamoto Himura (Boy #16) and Hiromi Koyama (Girl #6) had seen Akihide Yoshihara (Boy #21) as expendable. As one may have noticed in the previous chapter, Yamamoto in particular had labeled him as the class idiot. That was the belief generally held in Class 3-B: that Akihide was nothing but an idiot.

In reality, Akihide was at least somewhat smarter and more sensible than people gave him credit for. True, he was on the dimmer side, but not exactly to the point of idiocy. He was well aware that the others didn't take him seriously, which was why he planned to stick with a crowd during the Program.

The first people he stumbled upon were Hiromi and Yamamoto. While Akihide didn't want to put up with Yamamoto's condescending attitude, he knew that travelling in a group would be his best bet. Nobody would see him as a threat; they would just assume that he was the useless tagalong kid and shoot at Yamamoto and Hiromi instead.

It was a good idea in context. Unfortunately for Akihide, he had neglected to consider Yamamoto's full personality. He had not expected for Yamamoto to take control and forcefully trade his weapon for Hiromi's, nor had he foreseen Yamamoto ordering him to confront Kyoichi Itsuka's (Boy #2) gang unarmed. But he didn't want to shatter his "airheaded idiot" image in Yamamoto's eyes, so he somewhat stupidly ran out there and talked to them anyways.

He didn't realize that Matsuri Okami (Girl #4) was so entrancing. The girl had murmured something into his ears as she was digging through his bag, but he barely noticed. She had locked eyes with him, and for a moment all control left his body, replaced with fiery desire.

Then the crossbow bolt whizzed by, shattering the trance. Panicking, he shouted "It wasn't me, I swear!" in Kyoichi's general direction. He was about to explain more, but he didn't get the chance; Matsuri's hands pushed on his shoulders, nudging him towards who-knows-where.

"I've got a proposal to make you," she cooed softly. "Why don't the two of us ditch the rest of them here?"

"But-" This went against everything Akihide had planned for. He opened his mouth in protest, but Matsuri shushed him with a teasing finger.

"The Program is infamous for tearing groups apart. Paranoia, jealousy, imaginary threats… a larger group is plagued by all those things. Once everyone turns on each other, who do you think is going to get killed first?"

The others saw Akihide as expendable. Of course he'd be the first one gone. And Matsuri… compared to Kyoichi, the one in power, and Ryuuta, the one with the gun… she actually had a point.

"But a smaller one might actually have a chance." Matsuri continued to push Akihide back, deftly turning him towards the right so they were concealed from the others' view. "We can just leave them to squabble amongst themselves and win the game on our own."

"But what about-"

"Only one victor?" Matsuri raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry about it now. When the time comes, I can probably negotiate for your freedom as well."

Something about the way she worded it bothered Akihide. Like Yamamoto, she was taking control of him. She probably saw him as the class idiot, just like the others.

From outside, Ryuuta shouted an obscenity. Akihide winced.

"Don't worry about them." Matsuri's voice was soothing and soft. "Let's just leave them behind for now. Consider it an act of revenge. They probably never valued us as real human beings anyways."

Akihide needed no other convincing. He had always wanted to take revenge upon people like Yamamoto who saw him as "lesser", and that desire had been rooted deep in his heart. After hearing this, he swept his suspicions aside and quickly agreed.

Somebody screamed behind them. Akihide visibly stiffened at the sound, thinking about what happened and who was involved. But Matsuri gently wrapped an arm around his body and began to lead him farther into the alleyways, and his thoughts were shattered like glass.

•••

Elapsed Time: 0:03:22

"Stupid jerk."

Hayate Kamiya (Boy #5) stormed down the street, clutching a sheathed katana in one hand. After he stormed out of the apartment building, he had been wandering aimlessly in the dark with no visible goal.

Vengeful thoughts towards Tai rocked his head as he strode. He couldn't stop thinking about the shady boy's accusatory attitude. In his eyes, Tai had been deliberately trying to destroy the group from the inside. He was trying to tear the group apart in that subtle way of his. Frankly, he was probably secretly playing the game.

Hayate had been doing swordplay since he was six years old. He knew the kendo style like the back of his hand, and had moderate understanding of Chinese swordsmanship techniques. Compared to his Class 3-B classmates, he was probably the best suited for close combat.

Still lost in thought, he mindlessly opened up a house door, trudged up the stairs, and plopped himself down onto the second floor balcony. There he sat for a fifteen or so minutes, thinking about what he was going to do when he next saw Tai.

A smirk appeared on Hayate's face as he unsheathed the katana. Unbeknownst to the others, he had actually taken Tobei Yamashita's (Boy #20) katana, leaving the identical fake in the apartment building. He had nothing against Tobei; he actually respected the guy a lot. To him, it was a necessary evil to give Tai the treatment he deserved.

In a way, Hayate also saw it as an act of rebellion. He'd show Kenihara and the government his own skill with the sword, and then they'd regret humiliating him by leaving him the fake. He assumed that the government would put up their Program on television, as they always did; as such, a more entertaining performance would probably make them much more cash.

That way, if he miraculously escaped the Program, he'd at least have some way of negotiating with the government if they caught him again.

Something snapped him out of his thoughts, and he noticed movement on the ground below. It was a girl; he couldn't tell who she was, but she was seemingly unarmed.

Hayate smiled. His instincts told him to leap forwards, to jump out and kill her there and then. But, of course, there was another part of him that was holding back. He probably knew this person's name. She was a classmate, after all… maybe she wasn't playing either.

No, she probably was playing. There were plenty of girls who would probably be playing. Besides, the girls were apparently more likely to survive.

Hayate had heard a theory once that the likelihood of a girl being the winner was higher because the boys were naturally overly aggressive. According to the article, the boys were more likely to backstab their alliances and destroy their own allies, or spontaneously and accidentally kill someone.

Plus, on the bright side, it would just be extra practice. Practice for Tai. Hayate had never tried to kill anyone with his blade, so of course he'd need practice.

Hayate didn't waste another moment. Unsheathing the pristine katana, he darted out of the apartment and gracefully swung the blade at his prey's neck.

At least, that was the intention. Whoever it was twirled away at the last second, and his blade hit nothing but thin air.

Hayate opened his mouth to mutter a confused "Wha?", but was rudely interrupted by a burst of searing pain through his neck. His vision blurred as he blindly felt at his wound, pawing at it as the blood spilled onto the street. He never even had a chance to see his assailant's face.

He was dead before he hit the ground. The katana clattered down lifelessly, now robbed of the graceful passion that had been guiding it before. The gun that had taken his life slid back into its owner's pocket.

"Now that's a pretty picture," murmured Natsumi Mikami (Girl #16) as she looked down at Hayate's corpse. With one hand, she picked up the katana, dipped it in his still-bubbling neck like a paintbrush, and sketched a bloody "1" into the ground next to him.

"That's one masterpiece done." A thin smile slid onto Natsumi's face as she walked away from her classmate's body. "Now for the other forty."

Elapsed Time: 0:04:12

To most of Class 3-B, Kyoichi Itsuka's clique was known as his "gang". The prominent members, however, received a different title: the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Ryuuta Okamura (Boy #4) was "Conquest" thanks to his physical strength and uncanny skills with intimidation. Matsuri Okami (Girl #4) was "War", mainly because she could probably instigate a war just by flirting with both sides. Tai Sugiura (Boy #12) was "Famine"; he was like a plague, skulking in the shadows and setting enemies up to destroy themselves. The fourth Horseman, "Death", was Karin Yukimura (Girl #21). Karin's skills were still an enigma to most of Class 3-B, however, for she had only recently joined the gang.

However, there were a few others who associated with Kyoichi's gang, such as Shunpei Furuya (Boy #18). Shunpei kept his relations with Kyoichi under wraps, so practically no one knew about their connection. He never spoke about it, even with his closest friends.

That said, Shunpei was too much of a cynic to really call anyone his "closest friend". The closest thing you could get to that would be Daisuke Matsushita (Boy #19), but Daisuke was nice to everyone. So he didn't count.

Shunpei had worried a little about his relations with the gang when the Program started, but he pushed those aside after his encounter with Masaharu Akamine (Boy #1). As the Program continued, his worries became more about their group's safety.

Of course, when the masked figure showed up, he immediately began shouting "See? I told you!" at his two comrades. The newcomer was shrouded in a hooded jacket, and his - or her - face was concealed by a mask similar to that of Street Fighter II's Vega. In their hands was a nailgun, loaded and ready to fire.

Whoever it was walked into the convenience store and shot a nail at Masaharu, narrowly missing his head. The boy dropped the playing cards he was holding, grabbed his textbook, and took cover behind the cash register.

"What the-" Toshimi Mitoratsu (Girl #17) leapt backwards as the nail hit the wall. "Shunpei, I thought you were watching the door!"

"If Sonic the Hedgehog rushed into the door, I wouldn't have been able to stop him," retorted Shunpei. "I can't catch everything, you know."

"We've got a bigger problem!" Masaharu held the textbook in a defensive position. The newcomer fired again, sending another nail whizzing through the air. It soared past Toshimi's ear and bounced off the glass window.

"Eat this!" Toshimi picked up her revolver and fired a shot with both hands.

BANG!

The recoil sent a jolt through her arms and shoulders, and the cheerful girl lost her balance and stumbled backwards. The shot went wild, shattering the glass windows near the convenience store's entrance.

The unknown figure didn't waste a moment. In one swift movement, they turned around and returned fire, sending a nail straight towards Toshimi's body.

"Watch out!"

Masaharu grabbed Toshimi and roughly pulled her aside, and the nail bounced harmlessly off the shelf behind her. The two landed in a heap on the ground; Masaharu raised the textbook defensively again as the unknown figure approached them.

For a moment, Shunpei realized that he was actually okay with letting Masaharu and Toshimi get killed. After all, both of them had been annoyingly obnoxious in class.

Then his moral compass re-straightened and he leapt into action. Using both arms, he swung the tomahawk in a horizontal arc towards the newcomer's head.

"Nice try." It was a masculine voice. In the intensity of the moment, nobody could identify who it was.

The newcomer ducked. Shunpei's strike went wild, and the force of his blow sent him stumbling forwards. His opponent darted out of reach towards the door.

"I didn't expect three people to be here already," he murmured. "I've wasted enough time here as is, though, and this place is a dangerous area right now. Might as well give you guys a parting gift before I leave."

"What do you mean by that?" Toshimi stood up and pointed the revolver's tip at the newcomer. Before she could fire, however, their assailant darted off into the morning night.

"Oh jeez, people are actually playing," muttered Masaharu.

Shunpei was about to retort snarkily, but was abruptly interrupted by a sharp sizzling. The back wall was suddenly engulfed in flames, sending shockwaves of heat into the room.

"What the-" began Masaharu.

"Fire!" Toshimi leapt off the ground and grabbed Shunpei by the collar. "We need to leave now!"

"Hey hey hey hey!" protested Shunpei as he was dragged out the door. "I'm not useless like some people! I have legs, you know!"

Panting hard, the two of them bolted out of the convenience store. Masaharu was right behind them, carrying three supply bags in his arms.

"You forgot these," he said helpfully.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Shunpei glanced at the convenience store; the building was emitting plumes of expanding smoke into the air. He coughed once and took his bag from Masaharu.

"Great, everyone knows where we are now," he muttered. "And Toshimi, please learn to use the gun sometime other than in the middle of combat, will you?"

"Is he always like this?" Toshimi ignored the remark and turned to Masaharu.

"He's not that bad once you get used to him, you know." Masaharu tossed the second bag to her. "So, where to?"

"If you ask me, we should find another shelter," said Shunpei. "We should get out of here ASAP. That smoke is making it painfully obvious where we are right now."

"Okay then," said Masaharu. "Lead on, commander."

Boy #5 Hayate Kamiya - Dead

36 Students Remaining