KONOHANA JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, CLASS A-2

Boys

1. Hiroshi Fujiwaka

2. Keito Higuchi

3. Akane Etsuko

4. Tetsuko Najima

5. Hikaru Godo

6. Asake Hishikawa

7. Souzou Yoshizaki

8. Ushio Tsukahara

9. Mihoshi Okabe

10. Suetsu Nanahara

11. Nakami Koguchi

12. Tayo Arakida

13. Akito Tanayama

14. Fuki Fuchida

15. Kiyo Monobuki

16. Sakiyo Isobe

17. Keino Akiyara

18. Nichiro Suseki

19. Ian Richfield

20. Yoshitoku Nobuyaku

21. Hikaru Nakagawa

Girls

1. Yasuka Etsuko

2. Yuuko Teishi

3. Aoi Yukimo

4. Shizuru Mekane

5. Wakana Nukiko

6. Kameko Ichigawa

7. Chiba Sato

8. Megumi Umari

9. Elizabeth Richfield

10. Rei Tachibana

11. Teruko Shidehara

12. Umeko Nogushi

13. Sakura Bando

14. Kasumi Daishi

15. Mai Jippensha

16. Suzuka Watabe

17. Hanako Yamada

18. Sachiko Kaminaga

19. Sumiyo Hirose

20. Akiyo Tekabe

21. Umi Toyoshima

Chapter 1

Keito Higuchi (Boy #2) stifled a yawn as he laid back in his seat and closed his eyes. He almost would have fallen asleep if Tayo Arakida (Boy #12) hadn’t tapped him on the shoulder. With a mouth full of dull jagged teeth, Tayo smirked and asked, “Hey, Keito, how much would you bet if I could get Sakura Bando to sleep with me? Eh? Eh?” With his long dangly body, wacky blonde hair and an eyepatch over the left side of his face (He didn’t like talking about it), Tayo didn’t seem to have much chance with ANYBODY. But he was still a good kid.

“Do you really want me to answer that question?” Keito replied sarcastically as he stretched out his legs and looked up at the ceiling. Letting out a deep sigh, Tayo sat back in his seat behind Keito and mumbled something that sounded like, “Dumb fuck…probably has as least of a chance as I do, anyway…” Keito really felt like laughing at that little statement. With his well-combed black hair, clear blue eyes and fair build, he was quite a catch. However, he was nowhere near as out-spoken or open-minded as Tayo. They had been best friends since elementary, and they didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but anyway…

Earlier that same day, the entire Class A-2 of Konohana Junior High was loaded up onto a bus. Their teacher, Mr. Yuuji Nogami (He didn’t mind being called his first name by his classmates, as long as they added ‘–sensei’ at the end), claimed it was a quick little field trip, but Keito wasn’t completely convinced. Wouldn’t he have mentioned something like this earlier in the week? Still, as soon as Keito sat down in his bus seat, he shrugged and thought, ‘Meh…it’s better than school work.’ It had currently been two hours since their departure.

Deciding to see what the others were doing, Keito lifted himself a bit out of his seat and looked around. Aoi Yukimo (Girl #3), Megumi Umari (Girl #8) and Sumiyo Hirose (Girl #19) were busy chatting up a storm. Hikaru Godo (Boy #5) was showing the other Hikaru, a boy named Hikaru Nakagawa (Boy #21), his new videogame he bought. Nakagawa, however, barely seemed interested in it at all. Suzuka Watabe (Girl #16) and Shizuru Mekane (Girl #4) were busy ‘secretly making out’ in the back of the bus. They were the known as the school’s local lesbian couple. Akito Tanayama (Boy #13) was also rumored to be gay, but it was never confirmed as of late.

Keito also saw Ian and Elizabeth Richfield (Boy #19/Girl #9), siblings who had moved from America to learn more about ‘Nihongo’ and all that. Due to tensions between the Republic of Greater East Asia and the American Empire, their arrival was met with much hostility. However, things seemed to be going much better for them now, despite having to face some people who were anti-American beyond all compare. They were busy talking about stocks or something; Keito tried to read their lips, but utterly failed. Kasumi Daichi (Girl #14) was also watching them for a few moments, before turning her head away.

“Hey, Keito…”

Keito looked down over his seat and saw Tayo grinning sheepishly up at him. “Hey, I just want to say thanks for everything…” Tayo explained, “You know, for being my friend and all…yet I take advantage of you a lot…so…uh…” Keito knew then that Tayo just realized how stupid he sounded right now. Cursing at his own stupidity, Tayo ran his fingers through his greasy hair and replied, “I…I dunno. I just wanted to say I’m sorry…” Keito wasn’t upset in the first place, but he graciously accepted Tayo’s apology. Staring down at the eyepatch covering his friend’s left eye, Keito recalled on how it became this way. Although Tayo didn’t like to talk about it, Keito was one of the only few people he ever told about it:

Basically, Tayo’s father, a salary man, became a violent drunk after having his job taken over by a foreigner from Africa who could only speak about three words in Japanese. One day, claiming that everyone in the world is a “fuckin’ useless pile of shit”, he accidentally bashed Tayo’s eye open with a broken beer bottle. This ended up sending Tayo to the ER, his father ended up being put in jail and his mother took the dad’s wallet and ran off, never to be heard from again. After a painstaking ten days, Tayo was finally able to leave the hospital. Unfortunately, his left eye had to be completely removed.

What happened to Tayo after that, Keito never found out. He could easily remember the shock and fear that swelled up inside him when he first saw Tayo wearing that eyepatch. It almost made Keito feel like crying, watching his friend hurt inside while he did nothing but stand around. ‘I just can never let this happen to him again…not anymore…’ Keito thought in a rather motherly way before taking his seat again. Suddenly, Keito noticed how dark it had gotten outside. They must have been driving for 5 hours…maybe even 7 hours at most. That was when people started to get worried.

“Hey…it’s getting really dark out…”

“What’s going on?”

“I’m scared!”

“Where the hell are we going, anyway?”

“HEY, TEACH! WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING HERE?”

Everyone glanced over at Mr. Yuuji Nogami, who was sitting near the back of the bus. Every single student on the bus wanted answers, and they wanted them NOW. Instead of giving a rational explanation, Mr. Nogami slowly stood up. Stepping out into the middle bus lane, he began walking towards the front. The only sound anyone could hear at that point was the tapping of Mr. Nogami’s shoes as they hit the ground. Once he was at the front of the bus, Mr. Nogami spun around to face the class, but something was definitely wrong. A huge, maniacal grin had spread out on their teacher’s face. It was a face on him they had never seen before.

“So…none of you understand what’s going on? By now, someone should have…god, are you all this pathetic without me having to hold your hand everywhere? Christ…stupid faggin’ losers…” As Mr. Nogami continued his rant, the classmates couldn’t help but gape in horror and utter confusion. They had never once heard Mr. Nogami insult them like this. He was the kindest teacher in the whole school. What was going on? Eventually, though, Mr. Nogami finally stopped ranting and looked up at the entire class.

Mr. Nogami just stood there for a few seconds, glancing up at every single person on the bus. Then, he took off his glasses, blew on them and wiped them with a tissue, and then placed them back on his face. The air in the bus grew tense as the students waited for their teacher’s response. Finally, he said…

“You have all been chosen for this year’s Program.”

Keito heard someone in the back let out a shrill cry of terror.

Chapter 2

Mr. Nogami and the rest of the class turned their heads to the back of the bus, to see who had screamed. It was Shizuru Mekane, who, considering how disheveled she looked, must have just finished her love session with Suzuka Watabe. Tears were streaming down the sides of her face as she stared at her teacher in disbelief. “It…it can’t be…oh god, please…not the Program…oh god…” Suddenly, as Shizuru broke out into loud sobs, Suzuka pulled her into her arms and comforted the poor girl. Keito almost felt like wanting to cry out too, but he knew better.

Mr. Nogami just sighed and shook his head in disappointment. “You all really should have guessed this was happening,” he said in an almost mocking tone, “We all climb onto a bus, I don’t tell you where we’re going, and it’s already dark out…god, the hints are so OBVIOUS!” The entire time Mr. Nogami spoke, Shizuru continued crying. “SHUT UP, YOU STUPID DYKE!” Mr. Nogami screamed furiously as he quickly pulled a pistol out of his pocket and fired three times into Shizuru’s head. The entire event almost seemed like a horrible dream.

Blood and brains exploded out of the side of Shizuru’s head as she slowly fell to the ground, her eyes still wide open in terror. A little bit of blood spewed out of her mouth, as well. One of her eyeballs then suddenly popped out of its socket and rolled across the floor, leaving a red trail in its wake. Suzuka Watabe, face smeared in blood, just sat there for a few moments staring at the body of her now-deceased lover before letting out a loud, horrible scream. Nearby, Sakiyo Isobe (Boy #16) bent over and vomited all over his shoes, a horrible stench filling the air. Mr. Nogami, however, just scoffed and put his pistol away as if nothing had just happened. He just killed a student, for crying out loud!

With the smell of blood and vomit lingering over them, the students began to feel more than a little uncomfortable. Mr. Nogami smiled again and explained, “Did you see what I did there? I always wanted to do something like that. Especially to one of you little fuckers. But…that’s beside the point…” Keito was about to protest when someone beat him to it: Hikaru Nakagawa. “Oh…yes, Mr. Nakagawa? Do you have something to share with us?” Mr. Nogami asked in a polite tone. Glancing out the window, Keito could see they were driving by some sort of military base. As Hikaru spoke, his face and tone of voice remained completely calm.

“Sir…I believe you’re going about this all wrong. Aren’t you supposed to knock us out with sleeping gas first?” Hikaru’s words sent the entire class into a state of shock. What the hell was he doing? Is he actually complaining on HOW they are dragged into this sick game? ‘Is this guy fucked up or something? We’re going to be forced to kill each other!’ Keito thought furiously as he glared up at Hikaru. However, Hikaru just ignored the cries of protest that surrounded him and continued to speak. “Besides, why does someone always get killed by the Program Instructor before the game even begins? You’re just making things easier for us and harder on yourself…plus, I’m sure someone as heartless and cruel as yourself doesn’t want to spare someone from having to go through this horrible game by killing them first, am I right?”

The entire bus was once again silent. Everyone, including Mr. Nogami, stared at Hikaru with a look of both surprise and disbelief. Suddenly, Mr. Nogami began laughing. It was a high, cackling laugh that was completely different from the kind, warm laugh he always used back at school. Wiping away a tear from his eye, Mr. Nogami exclaimed, “Ha ha ha! That’s a good one, Nakagawa! A good one, indeed! You are quite the comedian, I dare say! You think you can tell me how to do my job? HA HA HA HA HA!” Hikaru wasn’t done yet, though.

“Well…you were a little late, my friend, because I won’t let you get away-” As he said this, he quickly reached into one of his coat pockets and pulled out (BIG SURPRISE!) a pistol. From further inspection, one could see it was a Browning 9mm High-Power. It had what looked like a flame design drawn on the handle. Aiming the gun barrel at Mr. Nogami’s forehead, a sadistic smirk formed on Hikaru’s lips. That was when, without even flinching, that Mr. Nogami unsheathed his own pistol again and fired.

Keito expected Hikaru to have been shot directly in the face for his “insubordination”. Instead, a single shot from Mr. Nogami’s pistol knocked Hikaru’s Browning out of his hands and sent it flying over into the back of the bus. Suzuka Watabe could have grabbed it and tried to avenge her lover, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Shizuru’s corpse. Hikaru had a look of pure horror in his eyes as he quietly sits down and bowed his head. Mr. Nogami smirked and put the pistol away. “Be glad I didn’t shoot your fuckin’ head off, you damn fool…” he hissed sinisterly. For the rest of the bus ride, no one said a single word.

Eventually, the bus finally came to a stop somewhere in the middle of a military complex. Outside their windows, the students could see hundreds of men in army uniforms surround them. Giving the class a slight nod, Mr. Nogami exclaimed, “Well, I’ll see you all inside!” And with that, he exited the bus. That was when the sleeping gas Hikaru Nakagawa seemed so insistent on finally came into play. Soon, much to their dismay, everyone on the bus had fallen into a deep sleep. “Fuck…this…” Keito whispered as he took one last look at Tayo and lost consciousness…

Chapter 3

Keito Higuchi (Boy #2) woke to the sound of someone screaming. As he slowly came out of his deep slumber, Keito realized that he was sitting at a small metal desk, similar to the ones back at school. Looking around, he saw that everyone was sitting at a metal desk. Furthermore, everyone, including Keito himself, had a small metal necklace wrapped firmly around his or her neck. ‘Oh crap…this is bad…this is really, really bad…’ Keito remembered hearing about these necklaces once; they’ll blow your head up if you make a wrong move. The room they were in was covered in metal outlining and the only way out was a single door, which must have been guarded. This sucks. This fuckin’ sucks.

Keito continued to look around the classroom and watched as everyone awoke. As he thought, the only person absent was Shizuru Mekane, who had met an unfortunate end on the bus. “A-Ahh…no…this…this isn’t a dream…” Keito immediately recognized this voice as Tayo Arakida’s. The poor boy was sitting straight up in his seat, tears swelling in his eyes and his hands shaking with fear. Keito watched Tayo for a few seconds, wishing he could somehow offer a comforting word or two, when Mr. Nogami walked into the room with two soldiers following close behind. They both were carrying the army’s standard weapon: a Browning A-5 semi-automatic shotgun. Mr. Nogami was also carrying a gun, but it was a Winchester M1887 lever-action shotgun this time. Keito swallowed his spit with a loud GULP.

Turning to the class, Mr. Nogami smiled and asked, “So, did you all have a nice nap? I hope you don’t mind us putting those collars on your necks while you slept. Please forgive us…” The way he spoke, though, seemed to indicate that he didn’t give a damn whether we forgave him or not. All he wanted now was to watch us die. The kind, caring and funny Mr. Nogami that Class A-2 had known for all those years had been nothing more than an illusion; this was the real Mr. Yuuji Nogami. He just seemed to smile even wider as he watched the students realize the necklaces that had been placed tightly around their necks. Noticing that Suzuka Watabe had begun to cry again (Over Shizuru’s death, of course), Mr. Nogami aimed his gun at her face.

“You know, I’m sure the government will be happy to hear that I cleansed this nation of TWO disgusting dykes…” Mr. Nogami said in an almost taunting voice. Suzuka let out a small shriek and quickly calmed herself down. Sighing, Mr. Nogami lowered the gun away from her direction. Still, Keito could see that Suzuka was crying. She just did it silently. Chuckling to himself, Mr. Nogami looked over the entire class and exclaimed, “WELCOME TO THIS YEAR’S PROGRAM, A.K.A. THE ‘BR ACT’!” His cheerful tone was unnerving. Keito looked over at Tayo again, who know seemed to have stopped shaking. Instead, Keito saw something he never expected to see:

Tayo was grinning. Not a silly, happy kind of smile, either. It was the same kind of smile Mr. Nogami had spread across his face only moments ago. Only a minute ago Tayo was on the verge of crying, his body shaking violently. Now…he was smiling? ‘What…what the hell is going on? Tayo?’ Keito wondered nervously. He could feel sweat forming all over his body. Something bad was happening within Tayo…the kid was already a little mentally-handicapped after that eye incident, anyway…Keito could do nothing at this point but turn his eyes back to the front of the room.

Mr. Nogami placed his shotgun down on a table nearby and clapped his hands together. “Okay, before we begin, I’m going to need to kill off another one of you…to even the odds, of course…” And with that, one of the soldiers lifted their shotgun and shot Yoshitoku Nobuyaku (Boy #20) four times in the face, ripping it to shreds and sending blood, brains and pieces of flesh flying everywhere. Several girls (and a few boys) let out shrieks of horror as they watched Yoshitoku collapse face-forward onto his bloodstained desk. The blood pouring from his face formed a clear crimson puddle on the ground. If Yoshitoku could lift his head, all of the skin of his face would have probably been gone.

Keito couldn’t take it anymore. His classmates were being killed right before his very eyes. ‘We’ve already lost two…and on a whim! This fuckin’ bastard…why are you doing this, Yuuji Nogami?’ Keito thought furiously as he glared at the man he once respected enough to call ‘teacher’. Once everyone calmed down (Was that even possible?), Mr. Nogami said, “Alright, now let’s get down to business! First, just to make sure you all heard me the first time, this is the Program, and your mission is to be the last one standing, so make sure to kill as much as possible!”

As Mr. Nogami continued to speak, he went into detail about the necklaces they wore and of their designated ‘war zone’ of sorts. The necklaces were made so that if anyone walked into one of the assigned Danger Zones or tried to escape the battle, they would instantly be killed. Also, the students, while unconsciousness, had been placed onto a boat and they were currently inside a bunker on a deserted island called Okishima. This island had been used for an earlier Program, but they wanted to use it again for a change of pace. “This place is where my friend Mr. Sakamochi died with a pencil stabbed in his throat, so show some respect!” It was all really hard to believe, but the students had no choice but to accept it. As Mr. Nogami began talking about how large the island was, Keito glanced over at Hikaru Nakagawa, who was glaring decisively at their teacher.

Finally, Mr. Nogami was done speaking. Turning to the doorway, he nodded his head and several soldiers walked in. A large cart was wheeled into the room, filled to the brim with large green army packs. “These have been provided by the government,” Mr. Nogami explained, “Every pack holds a random weapon, water, food, a island map, a student list, a compass and a flashlight. Also, one of you will be lucky enough to receive two weapons! YAY! You can also take personal items with you too, like tampons…or sex toys…” Mr. Nogami glanced over at the girls and smiled wickedly as he said that last part. How could this man really be the Mr. Nogami they once loved and trusted so dearly? Was it nothing more than an illusion?

“Anyway,” Mr. Nogami said after regaining his cool, “Each student I call up will receive their assigned kit. Then, you get about 5 minutes to head down the hall and out into the jungle to prepare. So, why don’t we get this show underway, eh? I shall now call up the students, going from boy-girl-boy-girl, starting with Hiroshi Fujiwaka (Boy #1)!”

As each student was called and went up to receive their weapon and supplies, they all had different reactions:

Boy #1 Hiroshi Fujiwaka: A tall nervous boy, Hiroshi snatched up his pack, let out a small whimper, and was on his way.

Girl #1 Yasuka Etsuko: As the small white-haired girl grabbed her pack, she looked up at Mr. Nogami and mouthed ‘Why?’, only to be chased away by one of the soldiers.

Boy #2 Keito Higuchi: Keito immediately swiped his pack and flipped Mr. Nogami the finger as he stormed out.

Girl #2 Yuuko Teishi: She grabbed her pack and ran out without a word. Mr. Nogami could see the tears in her eyes, though.

Boy #3 Akane Etsuko: Like his sister, Yasuka, he had white hair. However, as he grabbed his pack, he gave Mr. Nogami a death glare, who just shrugged it off with a roll of the eyes.

Girl #3 Aoi Yukimo: As she was handed her pack, she just shook her head in disappoint and ran out the door.

Boy #4 Tetsuko Najima: His entire jock-sized body shook violently as he slowly picked up his pack and ran down the hall at light speed.

Girl #4 Shizuru Mekane: ELIMINATED

Boy #5 Hikaru Godo: Small, frail and blonde, he lifted his pack up with some difficulty and headed outside.

Girl #5 Wakana Nukiko: Tears were rolling down her face as she grabbed her pack. Mr. Nogami also noticed what looked like a trail of blood sliding down her chin, as well. It was the blood of her boyfriend Yoshitoku, who was now rotting away on the metal desk.

Boy #6 Asake Hishikawa: With a Mohawk and a face covered in piercings, he swung his pack over his shoulder and gave Mr. Nogami the finger as he left.

Girl #6 Kameko Ichigawa: A goth and an open bisexual, Kameko just glanced once at Mr. Nogami as she snatched up her pack and headed for the door.

Boy #7 Souzou Yoshizaki: As Souzou grabbed his pack, he made a V sign with his fingers, as if he thought he would actually come out the victor in these games.

Girl #7 Chiba Sato: The most overweight girl in class, Chiba just whimpered slightly as she was handed her pack. Her chubby potbelly poked out from underneath the bottom of her uniform as she ran. Despite her fatness, Chiba was one of the cutest girls in class (Not pretty, but cute.)

Boy #8 Ushio Tsukahara: Ushio didn’t even bother saying a word as he quickly grabbed his pack and ran out the door.

Girl #8 Megumi Umari: The normally sweet and kind Megumi Umari had a look of inspiration in her eyes as she stared up at Mr. Nogami before being handed her pack and sent off into the jungle.

Boy #9 Mihoshi Okabe: The only CONFIRMED gay guy in Class A-2, Mihoshi grabbed his pack and did a Moonwalk as he exited the room.

Girl #9 Elizabeth Richfield: The foreign American girl grabbed her pack and, as she headed out the door, one of the soldiers tripped her, revealing her panties for all the world to see. Tears pouring out of her eyes, she picked herself up off the floor and ran out.

Boy #10 Suetsu Nanahara: As he grabbed his pack and headed out the door, Mr. Nogami thought about how that boy’s last name was the same as a man who escaped the Program long, long ago…

Girl #10 Rei Tachibana: With her green hair, red eyes and wire-framed glasses, Rei was one of the toughest girls in school, but she wasn’t a bully. Snatching up her pack, she glanced in one of the soldier’s directions and winked seductively before walking out.

Boy #11 Nakami Koguchi: With his pimply face and bad personality, Nakami seemed like a shoe-in for these games. However, as he grabbed his pack, his entire body trembled horribly and he ran out the door.

Girl #11 Teruko Shidehara: Another one of the few lesbians in Class A-2, she mouthed the words ‘Fuckin’ bastard’ at Mr. Nogami as she grabbed her pack and left.

Boy #12 Tayo Asakida: As the boy with the eyepatch snatched up his pack, he turned to Mr. Nogami and whispered, “Arigato, sensei…” And then, he was off.

Girl #12 Umeko Nogushi: Umeko, female class representative and the only girl with died-blue hair, just grabbed her pack and exited the room without a single word.

Boy #13 Akito Tanayama: Probably the only bishounen in class, Akito had a look of pure resentment in his eyes as he grabbed his pack and sped out the door.

Girl #13 Sakura Bando: She didn’t even bother saying anything as she grabbed her pack and ran down the hall in a huff.

Boy #14 Fuki Fuchida: Known sometimes as ‘Fuckin’ Fuki’, playboy Fuki Fuchida grabbed his pack, gave a slight smile over at Hanako Yamada, and left the room.

Girl #14 Kasumi Daichi: Kasumi snatched up her pack, stuck her tongue out at Mr. Nogami and headed out the door with tears in her eyes.

Boy #15 Kiyo Monobuki: His entire body shook from head to toe as he grabbed his pack and left.

Girl #15 Mai Jippensha: As she grabbed her pack, she looked up at Mr. Nogami and blushed. However, a soldier soon chased her off and she ran down the hall, hoping to get to the exit in time.

Boy #16 Sakiyo Isobe: A rather large, but kind, kid, Sakiyo grabbed his pack and ran out the room, but not before Mr. Nogami whispered, “Hope you don’t throw up again, you disgusting little puker…”

Girl #16 Suzuka Watabe: Her eyes still wet with tears, she grabbed her pack and exclaimed, “I’m gonna fuckin’ murder you, Nogami! I’m gonna fuckin’ murder you for what you did to my Shizuru-chan!” Mr. Nogami just chuckled in response and sent her on her way.

Boy #17 Keino Akiyara: Keino had no expression whatsoever on his face as he was handed his pack and booted out the door.

Girl #17 Hanako Yamada: The current girlfriend of playboy Fuckin’ Fuki, Hanako grabbed her pack and ran out into the jungle, hoping to meet up with her boyfriend as soon as possible.

Boy #18 Nichiro Suseki: A nerd and an otaku, Nichiro somehow seemed quite unfazed as he snatched his pack out of the bin and exited the room.

Girl #18 Sachiko Kaminaga: Like her last name, Sachiko was known as ‘Dragon God’ for her powerful right hook and commanding attitude. As she grabbed her pack, she flipped her skirt up a bit to show she was wearing frilly panties as she ran out the door.

Boy #19 Ian Richfield: Ian seemed to be having a hard time controlling himself as he grabbed his pack and walked through the door. He was probably still mad about what the soldiers did to his sister earlier.

Girl #19 Sumiyo Hirose: Her clothes and face were covered in Yoshitoku’s blood as she was handed her pack and kicked out.

Boy #20 Yoshitoku Nobuyaku: ELIMINATED

Girl #20 Akiyo Tekabe: Oddly enough, Akiyo still had her famous big smile on her face when she grabbed her pack and ran out the door, as if she was hoping for this day to come.

Boy #21 Hikaru Nakagawa: As Hikaru Nakagawa grabbed his pack, he turned to Mr. Nogami and said, “You’re going to regret about not killing me back on the bus, you bastard. You’ll all regret it!” And, with that, he left.

Girl #21 Umi Toyoshima: The last student in the room, she just grabbed her pack and left without a word.

After about an hour, everyone had left. Picking up his shotgun, Mr. Nogami headed down the hall and walked into a separate room, filled with various monitors and computers. Taking a seat on a chair facing a machine labeled ‘Head Monitor’, he clapped his hands together once again and exclaimed, “OKAY, IT’S SHOW TIME, EVERYBODY!” And with that, the Program has officially commenced.

40 students remaining

Chapter 4

Keito’s feet felt like they were on fire. As soon as he left the military bunker, he had dashed into the jungle, not even bothering to watch out for possible attacks. After traveling for what seemed like miles, Keito took a break. Hiding behind a large oak tree, Keito opened up his pack to check the contents. First, he pulled out what looked like a small army knife. ‘So…this is my weapon? WTF?’ Sighing, Keito slipped the knife into his pocket for safekeeping. After digging around a bit more, he finally found his map and compass.

Placing the map gently on the forest floor, Keito began to try and figure out his current position. ‘Let’s see,’ he thought, ‘I went west after exiting the bunker…probably ran at least a mile or two…hmm…’ Still unsure, Keito rolled the map up and placed it back in the pack. ‘Well, until the Danger Zones are revealed, I can’t do much…’ Suddenly, Keito recalled how Tayo had a disturbing smile on his lips last he saw him.

“AW CRAP, TAYO! YOU BETTER NOT BE DEAD WHEN I FIND YOU!” Keito quickly pushed himself off the ground and, swinging his pack over his shoulder, dashed through the forest once again, hoping to find his friend before it was too late. However, he didn’t get far when he felt a bullet whiz by his ear, barely grazing his cheek. Glancing up, he saw Tayo Arakida holding an AK-47 Assault Rifle. Keito was about to call out when he noticed something strange: Tayo was aiming the gun straight at HIM. Even worse, that same psychotic smile from before was still plastered on Tayo’s dirty face.

Keito couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Only about 30 or so minutes into the game, and he was already being forced to kill someone. And against the one person he thought of as his best friend. This…this was all just too much. “Hello, Keito…” Tayo said as he fired another shot, which bounced harmlessly off the ground to Keito’s right. Standing on top of a large array of oversized vines and fallen trees, Tayo leaped off and landed right in front of Keito with the reflexes of a cat. Tayo lifted up his gun again and placed the barrell right against Keito’s forehead. This was just too much…too much to stand.

“Aren’t you gonna say anything, Keito? I can see you’re upset, but-” Tayo never got to finish his sentence. When he opened his mouth to continue speaking, instead of words, blood spewed out. As more and more blood exploded from his mouth and stained his clothes, Tayo glanced down and saw that Keito had stabbed him deep in the stomach with a small army knife. Gently, he watched as Keito twisted the knife, sending extreme pain searing through his body. Using all the strength he had left, Tayo curled his lips into a smile and said, “You know, Keito, I’m impressed. I knew you would finally do it. Finally help set me free and join the angels in heaven. I knew it…Now, I just need you to…to stay-”

Closing his eyes, Tayo’s words fell as his heart came to a slow stop. Finally, it was all over. Keito removed his knife from Tayo’s stomach and watched as his friend crumbled to the ground onto a puddle of his own blood. A smile was still evident on Tayo’s face. Tossing his army knife to the side, Keito picked up Tayo’s gun and began walking away. Although Keito didn’t say anything, tears were flowing out of his eyes and down his chin. The smell of Tayo’s blood was still lingering in his nostrils.

‘Oh god…Tayo…I’m…I’m so sorry…Oh god oh god oh god…’ Keito would forever hate himself for what he did. He wanted to live so badly…that he had to kill his best friend…

39 students remaining

Chapter 5

Hikaru Godo (Boy #5) kept hoping he would wake up and it would have been all just a sick, twisted dream. But it wasn’t. He had really, seriously watched two of his classmates be killed before his very eyes. Thinking about Yoshitoku’s face being completely blown to pieces or Shizuru’s bleeding corpse made him weak in the stomach. Even if his weapon had been an Uzi Machine Gun, Hikaru couldn’t bring himself to shoot anyone or anything. Sure, he shot things when playing games like Halo, Final Fantasy: Dirge of Cerberus and Metal Gear Solid, but those were different. This was real life, and it was sick.

Known back at school as the ‘Video Game Guru’, Hikaru Godo was an expert from arcade games to some of the newest Wii games (Including ‘No More Heroes’, which he had to trick his mother into buying for him). Despite being rather weak and fragile for his age, Hikaru was never picked on. Mainly because one of his best friends was Asake Hishikawa (Boy #6), a general punk and leader of his own gang. How these two completely opposite people formed a friendship is unknown, but Hikaru is glad for it. He could never find as good of an opponent in 2-player games as good old Asake. His other close friend had been Yoshitoku Nobuyaku, but…he was gone now.

As soon as he had left the bunker with his pack, Hikaru pulled out the map to confirm his location. The bunker itself was in area E06, while he himself, after checking his surroundings, was currently in area D05. Taking out one of the government-supplied water bottles, Hikaru took a few quick sips before continuing on his way. The last thing he wanted to do was be forced to kill one of his classmates. However, before he could even continue walking, a tall figure stepped out of the foliage, a katana in hand.

“Hikaru…is…is that you?”

Stepping into the light, the figure turned out to be the very person Hikaru Godo had hoped to find: Asake Hishikawa. “Asake!” Tossing his gun to the side, Hikaru run up and wrapped his arms around him in a powerful bear hug. Their relationship was purely platonic, to be sure, but the two boys thought of each other as more of brothers than just friends. Smiling, Asake exclaimed, “Dammit, Hikaru…you may not be good at sports, but you sure know how to crush someone’s lungs like that!”

Chuckling, Hikaru let go and stared up at Asake with awe. “I’m so glad I found you, Asake. I was so scared someone might have…might have…” Before he could finish, Hikaru burst into tears and fell to his knees on the dirty jungle floor. “Oh god, Asake! I just can’t do this! I can’t kill anyone! This is insane! I’m going crazy just thinking about it! Help me, Asake!” As Hikaru continued to cry, Asake grimaced. He hated seeing his best little buddy like this. Tossing his katana next to Hikaru’s Uzi, Asake bent down and placed a reassuring hand on Hikaru’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, little man,” he said in a calm voice, “We’re not gonna kill each other, got it? We’ll find a way off this godforsaken island, and maybe leave a nice little parting gift for that bastard Mr. Nogami, too! We gotta avenge Shizuru and Yoshitoku, got it?” His eyes still brimming with tears, Hikaru forced a smile and exclaimed, “Yeah…yeah…I hear you, Asake…let’s do it…” Hikaru wiped away his tears and got up off the ground, his eyes now full of determination. Both boys quickly grabbed their weapons and headed off into the wilderness, ready to face anything hat comes their way…

39 students remaining

Chapter 6

Keito guessed this must have been the sixth time he had vomited for the last 30 minutes. The very fact that he had just killed his own best friend was enough to make him spill his lunch all over the floor. His throat was burning and his eyes watered, but he didn’t care. No matter what, he couldn’t forgive himself for killing Tayo so…so mercilessly like that. ‘And when he died…he had been smiling…smiling! Oh god, Tayo…why…?’ Keito fell to his knees in a puddle of his own vomit and broke down crying.

‘Tayo…you said I finally helped you join the angels in heaven…did you…did you really want to find someway to die and be free? Is that it, Tayo? You were never going to shoot me in the first place, right? You were trying to get me to forget our friendship and prove I can do anything to survive, right? Is that it? You were trying to make me kill you! You wanted me to survive this sick, sick game! You knew you were going to die in this game, but you didn’t want to see me suffer this fate! Is that…it, Tayo?’

KRAK! Keito’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming from behind. Spinning around, Keito picked up the rifle he had taken from Tayo’s corpse and aimed it directly at the source of the noise, only to see it was Suzuka Watabe (Girl #16). She was holding a can opener. A FRICKIN’ CAN OPENER! Lowering his gun, Keito sighed and said, “Suzuka…sorry about that…” Suzuka, however, didn’t move at all. She just stood there, staring at him with a shocked look on her face. Suddenly, as if almost in slow motion, Suzuka fell faceforward and collapsed to the ground.

“S-SUZUKA!”

Scrambling off the ground, Keito ran over and checked Suzuka’s pulse. She was unconscious, but she was still breathing. However, a long, bloody needle seemed to have lodged itself in the back of her right shoulder. “Shit! Who did this to you, Suzuka?” Keito cursed as he ripped the needle out of the poor girl’s arm and used some wipes from his kit to stop the bleeding. As he did this, Keito thought about how he first met Suzuka Watabe.

In actuality, Tayo had not been Keito’s first true friend: it had been Suzuka. When they were kids, they had been neighbors. Their mothers, who had been friends since college, had introduced Keito and Suzuka to one another. With this and the fact that they were in almost all the same classes, the two kids were able to easily form a lasting friendship. Keito was even the first person Suzuka told about her budding sexuality and sudden interest in women. Of course, being the good friend he is, Keito totally supported her.

However, when Suzuka’s mother suddenly passed away in a car accident, Suzuka and her father moved away only a few days later. It wasn’t until Junior High that Keito finally saw Suzuka again, and she had not only cut her hair to short-length, but had obtained a long-lasting girlfriend by the name of Shizuru Mekane (Girl #4). Unfortunately, their relationship has now been cut short…and all because of this goddamn stupid Program. Wrapping the unconscious girl into a tight hug, Keito tried to keep himself from crying as he whispered, “Don’t worry, Suzuka…I…I promise we’ll avenge Shizuru…we won’t let her death go in vain…I promise…”

“You want to avenge Shizuru’s death, eh? Well, the best you two can do right now for her is to keep on surviving…”

A chill went down Keito’s spine. ‘Oh god, no…is that…’ Keito looked up and his mouth fell open in horror. Standing over him with a small smirk on his lips was Hikaru Nakagawa (Boy #21), the boy who had almost gotten a chance to blow Mr. Nogami’s head off. He had a Webley Mk Revolver in his left hand. And he was aiming it right at Keito’s face.

“So…you want to help your little lesbian friend, huh? That’s sweet…” Nakagawa said with a hint of sarcasm. Keito snarled at him and exclaimed, “WHAT DO YOU WANT, YOU ASSHOLE? YOU MADE THINGS BAD ENOUGH FOR US ALREADY, COMPLAINING ABOUT HOW WE SHOULD BE FORCED INTO THIS GODDAMN FUCKIN’ GAME! JUST GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!” Instead of leaving, Nakagawa just stood there for a few seconds before he lowered his gun and put it in his back pocket. Then, he reached into his own pack and pulled out a small medical kit.

“I brought this with me on the trip just in case…” Nakagawa commented before opening the kit and pulling out what looked like antibiotics and wrappings for the injury. Keito couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Hikaru Nakagawa, the biggest badass in school, was actually being helpful for once? Suddenly, Keito began to feel suspicious. He didn’t want to ask, but he had to make sure: “Uh…are you really helping us? This…this isn’t a trick, is it? Because if it is, I’ll-” Nakagawa growled and gave Keito his famous ‘death glare’, which immediately shut him up.

As Nakagawa got to work on cleansing Suzuka’s wound, he said, “I can understand why you don’t trust me, Keito Higuchi-san. It’s only been about an hour into this fucking game, and already people are going insane. The pressure…the reality of it all…it’s just too much for most people to handle…their mental psyche will just completely fall apart…” Keito nodded like he understood and watched as Nakagawa poured a strange clear liquid all over Suzuka’s bloody shoulder. “So…it’s hard to trust, huh?” Keito muttered, his head hanging.

Nakagawa nodded in response and continued to speak. “You see, we just suddenly ran into each other, and you’re suddenly trusting me with your friend. For all you know, I could be pouring poison into her wound right now, which will soon kill her. Then, I’d grab my gun and blow your head off. But…I’m not going to do that, and you seem to think that, too. You suddenly go and trust me…I’m not sure whether to be impressed or disappointed with your naïve stupidity…” He let out a slight chuckle and started wrapping up Suzuka’s shoulder nice and tight. A small smile was about to form on Keito’s lips when he suddenly remembered how happy Tayo had looked when he died. He felt lkie he was going to puke again. After a while, though, the sick feeling wore off, so Keito asked, “How…how did you find me so easily, though? This island’s pretty big, and you came out a lot later after me…” Nakagawa suddenly had a twinkle in his eyes, as if he was waiting for a chance to explain this occurrence.

"Well, I saw you kill Tayo Asakida and take his weapon without so much as a word. However, once you left, I went over and checked the corpse and realized it was smiling. You had killed him not out of fear or hate, but out of love. You wanted your friend to be free from the horror that will soon befall us all. But, anyway…I followed you for the rest of the way up until Suzuka Watabe here appeared all beat up…” Although Nakagawa wasn’t completely correct on Keito’s reasons for killing Tayo, Keito decided not to say anything. After wiping Suzuka’s face with a wet towel and checking her temperature, Nakagawa lifted her small body onto his back.

“Huh? What’re you doing?” Keito asked as he got up carrying both his and Suzuka’s battle packs. Nakagawa glanced over his shoulder at Keito and replied, “We can’t just stay here. We gotta hid out somewhere safe until Suzuka wakes up. We’re in area D04 at the moment, but there’s a small shrine in area C04, which is only a little ways from here. We’ll stay there for a bit before continuing onward…” Keito was quite impressed with Nakagawa’s planning. How did he know exactly what area they were in at the moment?

Suddenly, Keito realized something very odd about Nakagawa’s plans. “What…what exactly are we supposed to do after Suzuka wakes up? I can’t go around and kill off the rest of our classmates! Do you have a plan to escape, or-” Once again, Nakagawa cut him off. “I’ll tell you later. For now, just trust me, okay? …I know what I’m doing…”

With nothing else left to say, Keito followed after Nakagawa, Tayo’s rifle still held tightly in his hand…

39 students remaining

Chapter 7

Hanako Yamada (Girl #16) let out a shriek as she suddenly tripped over a large root and fell faceforward in the mud. “Ahh! Damn it!” Hanako pulled herself out of the mud and continued to run, not even bothering to wipe herself off. She didn’t even care if she was shot at; she had to see her darling Fuki at least once before she dies. ‘Fuki…Fuki…where are you?’ Holding a battery-powered Electric Screwdriver tightly in both her hands, she continued to run, even thought her legs were in terrible pain.

Ever since Fuki Fuchida (Boy #14) had proclaimed his love for her, Hanako had felt like she was walking on airs. Although Fuki was rumored to be a notorious playboy, sweet naïve Hanako ignored all of it, even when one of her friends admitted to have being a past victim of his love games. Hanako even joined the Tea Ceremony Club so she could learn to be more like a lady, just for him. She loved Fuki Fuchida with all her heart, no matter what other people thought. She even claimed to still care for him even if he does cheat. That kind of dedication impressed Fuki, who eventually gave up being a playboy for good. He could never think of hurting and using a girl who loved him as much as Hanako did.

‘Oh, Fuki…Fuki…where are you?’ Hanako wondered worryingly as she leapt over a small ravine. She had considered several times calling out to him, but that could attract enemies, so Hanako had to rely on her own senses to find her beloved. She knew that although everything had changed…the Program, the true personality of Mr. Nogami…Hanako knew that no matter what, Fuki would always love her. It was a proven fact.

Suddenly, as she ran, she heard something crack loudly beneath her feet. Glancing down, Hanako’s eyes grew as wide as dinner plates when she realized that she had just stepped on the dismembered head of her beloved Fuki Fuchida. Blood began spurting out of Fuki’s head as it was slowly crushed under Hanako’s weight. Hanako herself, however, was too paralyzed in horror and shock to do anything but watch as blood spurted out onto her legs and shoes.

Hanako wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to wake up from this horrid, horrid nightmare. But she couldn’t. Because it was real. It was all so real. Too real. Hanako could slowly feel her consciousness fading. As her eyesight began to become muddled, she thought back to her first time in her beloved Fuki’s house. That was where she lost her virginity AND realized how much she truly loved her dear, dear Fuki. But that was nothing but beautiful memories now.

Hanako opened her mouth to say something, maybe to scream out her lover’s name; however, she was interrupted by the sound of someone laughing. For a moment, Hanako thought that she was just hearing things, but she looked ahead and saw Rei Tachibana (Girl #10) walking out of the bushes with a smirk. Her school uniform and glasses were stained red, and her left hand was tightly grasping a bowgun that was dripping with blood. And hanging lifelessly out of the side of the shrubbery…was Fuki’s limp, pale arm…

Slowly, Hanako’s eyes began to widen. Her fingers gripping tightly around the Screwdriver in her hand, her entire body began to shake furiously. “R-Rei…” Hanako whispered in an attempt to control her fury, “H…How…how could you…could you do this to…to…Fuki…” Rei scoffed and brushed a few stray hairs out of her eyes. “You should thank me for killing him,” snapped the green-haired girl, “When I found him, he tried to feel me up, claiming I was the only girl he ever truly loved. He told me he only liked you for your pussy, which wasn’t all that good anyhow. Then, he started feeling up my breasts, kissing them, sucking on them-”

“SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU FUCKIN’ LYING WHORE! I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL KILL YOU!” Hanako screamed with such hatred and anger that it surprised not only Rei, but also herself. Hanako was normally a very sweet girl, and she barely ever got angry. The only times she ever really showed her ‘evil side’ was when people were bad-mouthing Fuki, which was exactly what was happening between her and Rei. Flipping the ‘On’ switch on her Electric Screwdriver, Hanako ran straight at Rei, fully prepared to kill her. Unfortunately, in her fit of fury, Hanako had failed to notice Rei’s weapon was long-range, and she was in its crosshairs.

Rei couldn’t help but smile as she pulled the trigger and sent a long metal needle flying right into the middle of Hanako’s forehead, ripping through her skull and puncturing her brain. As blood began to pour out of her head, Hanako dropped her Screwdriver and collapsed to the ground in a bloody heap. Seeing as how an Electric Screwdriver would be pretty damn useless to her, Rei just quickly raided Hanako’s battle kit and headed off to find her next victim…

However, the worst thing about this whole experience was that Rei was actually telling the truth…

37 students remaining

Chapter 8

The small shrine Nakagawa had pointed out did not seem to be in the best of shape. The old, oddly shaped roof was falling apart, the front door had been ripped off its hinges, and there was a large hole on the side of the small building. It looked like someone had smashed it apart with a hammer. “Are you…sure this place is safe?” Keito asked nervously. He was still having some trouble putting his full trust in Nakagawa. Looking over the shrine once more, Nakagawa nodded and replied, “Yeah, it’s good. Let’s hide out here for now, okay?” Keito just nodded and followed Nakagawa inside, who then propped Suzuka up against the wall and checked over her injuries.

Keito took a seat as well and watched in silence as Nakagawa started to clean over Suzuka’s wound again. After a while, Keito finally decided to speak up. “So…I’ve seen you have some kind of grudge against the Program (like most people), but I just want to know…why?” Running his fingers through his hair and letting out a sigh, Nakagawa reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo. On the photo was a picture of a very pretty girl, with shoulder-length black hair and a nice smile. Keito smirked and thought, ‘Hmm…I wonder if this is his girlfriend? Lucky bastard…’

“So…is that your girlfriend or something?” Keito asked Nakagawa inquisitively. He had heard many stories of people losing their partners in the Program, and would commit suicide soon after. However, Nakagawa shook his head and replied, “She’s my older sister, Noriko Nakagawa. I haven’t seen her since long ago…she’s a wanted criminal at the moment…” Keito winced and nervously thought, ‘Oh crap, his whole family’s full of gun-trotting psychos!’ Nakagawa pulled a water bottle out of his pocket (he had brought it with him no the bus earlier) and took a long drink.

“She and a close friend of hers escaped the Program a long time ago…they might be in America right now for all I know…I really miss her. I want to take revenge for them ruining my sister’s life…” The way Nakagawa spoke, Keito could really sense the sadness in this poor boy’s words. “The last time I saw her, she was making cookies for some friends of hers. I had stolen a few and she got pretty pissed with me. Ah…good times…” Keito couldn’t help but smile as he tried to picture a little Nakagawa stealing cookies from his sister.

“That’s nice…I have an older sister, too. She’s in college at the moment…” Keito replied, his smile growing even wider. Nakagawa returned the smile and turned his attention back to Suzuka. “You now, Keito,” Nakagawa said so softly that it almost seemed unnatural of him, “I’m glad you responded so kindly to my words. It shows that we can trust each other now, even in this horrible situation. I don’t know if you’re just naturally trusting or you have no choice but to trust someone…but I like you.” These were probably the nicest compliment Keito ever got in his whole life (his parents weren’t so big on compliments; they had even forgotten Keito’s birthday on occasion) and it made him feel happy.

Suddenly, this happiness was broken by the sound of gunshots ripping through the air. Keito got up on his feet, ready to fight, but Nakagawa waved his hands and said, “It’s nothing to worry about for now. Those shots are nowhere near us, so just rest for now. I’ll keep lookout. It’ll only be a few hours until the first announcement, so be ready to move…” Nodding, Keito laid back and closed his eyes for a quick nap. ‘Don’t worry, Tayo…I’ll avenge you…I’ll avenge all of them! Shizuru and Yoshitoku, I will not let your deaths be in vain!’

Suzuka let out a small groan and then…everything was silent…

37 students remaining

Chapter 9

As Keito slept, various ideas to escape began to formulate in his mind. ‘Maybe…maybe we could join up with Akane Etsuko (Boy #3)? Not only is he on the basketball team, which makes him athletic, but he’s pretty damn smart, too! He could figure out a way off this island and take revenge on our fallen classmates! Yeah! Or maybe we could get help from Hikaru Godo (Boy #5) and Asake Hishikawa (Boy #6). Asake’s kind of scary, but they’re both good people! I know they’ll help us! Maybe we can even get Umeko Nogushi (Girl #12) to help us! She’s the best class rep we’ve ever had! All I know is that we can’t let this fuckin’ government get the best of us! If we break down and start killing each other, than we’d just be giving them the satisfaction of winning, and that is NOT something I want to happen!’

‘Hmm…still, what Nakagawa said earlier makes me wonder: can we REALLY trust Akane, Asake and Hikaru? Can we even trust class rep Nogushi-san? God, why am I suddenly getting so nervous? If these were normal situations, I could definitely trust them! But…but now…god, I don’t know what to think! I want to trust them all with my life, but…but I just can’t! My life is too precious to me! I…I…I…I don’t want to be killed, but I don’t want to be paranoid towards people, either! God! This game…this game’s sole purpose is to cause mistrust between people, and I think it’s doing a pretty good job on me! AGGH!’

‘Akane…how could I not trust him? He’s kind, giving and a loyal brother; he never lets his sister, Yasuka Etsuko (Girl #1), out of his sight. He is definitely trustworthy! I just know he is! And Asake and Hikaru…Well, Godo-san’s a no-brainer; he’s one of the nicest kids in class! I can totally trust him! And…and if Hikaru can trust someone like Asake, than so can I! It’s all about trust! I trust all of these people with my life! I trust Umeko Nogushi, too! I do! I really do! I…I…do…but…would they trust me?’

Keito could not help but continue to ponder on these questions as he slept, his nostrils still filled with the stench of Tayo’s blood. Nakagawa was sitting outside the shrine keeping watch when he heard the sound of footsteps leaving the shrine and heading out into the jungle surrounding them. Nakagawa ran over and looked inside the shrine to see that Suzuka Watabe was gone.

Cursing under his breath, Nakagawa thought, ‘Shit…she took Keito’s weapon, too…this isn’t good…not good at all…’ Still, Keito continued to sleep as if nothing was wrong…

37 students remaining

Chapter 10

Aoi Yukimo (Girl #3), Megumi Umari (Girl #8) and Sumiyo Hirose (Girl #19) were huddled so closely together that they barely had any room to move. The three girls had met up with one another soon after all of their classmates exited the bunker and began making their way through the jungle. Aoi Yukimo, who was holding a MP5 Submachine gun, looked over her shoulder at Megumi, their little group’s leader, and asked, “Hey, Megumi, when are we gonna get there, huh? C’mon, tell me!” Megumi, who was holding a Paintball Gun under her armpit, pulled out her map and read it over for the tenth time. “We should be there in about 30 minutes or so…” she replied quickly.

Sumiyo Hirose, whose weapon was a useless headband, sighed and looked down at the floor as she and her friends continued walking. “I really wish I had a weapon to help protect you guys…” the meek girl said in a tiny voice. Aoi, who was the most cheerfully optimistic of the three, smiled at Sumiyo and exclaimed, “Don’t worry, Sumi-chan! We’ll make sure you’re protected! We’re all friends here!” Sumiyo smiled weakly and nodded, feeling completely reassured.

Eventually, the three girls had finally reached the edge of the forest. All that was left was a huge cliffside that overlooked the raging waves below. This is what they have been waiting for. Since the three girls could not bring themselves to kill their classmates or each other, they chose to commit suicide than deal with the pressure anymore. It was the only choice they had left. “We made it! We finally made it!” Megumi cried with a twinkle in her eyes. Tossing her Paintball gun to the forest floor, she ran out and stared up at the warm, clear sky. The knee-high grass that covered the small cliffside was wet and soft to the touch.

Sumiyo Hirose just watched silently as Aoi followed Megumi and did the same, laughing all the way. This was when a little voice in the back of Sumiyo’s head whispered, ‘Just what the hell are these bitches thinking? They’d rather die than even bother thinking of a possible way to escape! You can’t trust morons like them! Let them die on their own! You’re not worth it!’ Unbeknownst to herself, Sumiyo began to agree with her inner thoughts. Not once did Megumi nor Aoi even bother trying to figure out some other way to escape the island. It was absurd, at best!

Suddenly, another idea popped into Sumiyo’s head. ‘Maybe…maybe they plan on tricking me! They’re going to pretend to jump off, but the moment I make the leap, they’ll let go and watch me plummet to my death! Then they’ll go off and shoot as many people as they can before turning on one another and…and…’ It was all too much for weak little Sumiyo. Her growing paranoia and suspicion towards the very two people she considered ‘best friends’ was causing her to go completely crazy. She just couldn’t take it anymore.

While Megumi and Aoi continued to smile and laugh in the morning sun, as if they weren’t about to jump to their deaths, Sumiyo made her move. With speed she didn’t even know she had, Sumiyo tumbled across the grass, grabbed Aoi’s Submachine gun and fired once…twice…three times…four times in all. Every single barrage of shots ripped through Megumi and Aoi’s uniforms, blood flying everywhere. Eventually, the two girls collapsed into a puddle of their own blood, neither of them knowing that they had just been betrayed by a girl they considered their ‘best friend’.

Sumiyo stared at the two dead bodies for a few minutes before letting out a shrill scream and running off the side of the cliff, as if in some attempt to escape the horrible crime she had committed…she even took the Submachine Gun with her as she jumped…And she was still screaming as she fell, horrified that she let her own paranoia get the best of her…

And then she hit the waves below, and it was all over…her neck, her entire body instantly snapped in half like a twig…

As the waves continued to crash against the cliffside and disperse into mist, a small spot of blood formed in the rippling tides…

34 students remaining

Chapter 11

“GOOD MORNING, STUDENTS!”

The booming voice of their ‘teacher’, Mr. Nogami, woke Keito from his deep slumber. ‘God…I must have slept for a few hours…’ Keito thought groggily as he rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn. Nakagawa was standing outside of the shrine, pistol in hand. He was focusing all of his attention to Mr. Nogami’s first announcement of the game. That was when Keito noticed Suzuka was gone, but he couldn’t say anything at the moment.

“Well, it looks like quite a few of you are still left,” Mr. Nogami exclaimed, his voice booming out of various loudspeakers installed all around the island, “But we do have a few causalities, and you know how happy that makes me! Anyway, here is the list of the classmates you won’t be seeing again, in order of when they died:

Boy #12 Tayo Arakida

Boy #14 Fuki Fuchida

Girl #16 Hanako Yamada

Girl #3 Aoi Yukimo

Girl #8 Megumi Umari

Girl #19 Sumiyo Hirose

And that’s all! Mainly it’s girls, which I must say is quite rude of you filthy young men to go around and kill these lovely young ladies! You should at least rape them first! But do not fret or feel remorse! In the end, only one of you will survive! Anyway, here’s the newest Danger Zones for the next six hours. The Danger Zones will change every six hours with every announcement I make, got it? Anyway, the Danger Zones are: I08, E03, and B06. Whoever’s in these areas, you got 10 minutes to get out of there before the collar blows up! Alright, now have fun and good luck!” Finally, the announcement was over.

Keito couldn’t believe it. Only six people…but that’s so many dead bodies…and Fuki…good old ‘Fuckin’ Fuki’…he was gone…Keito just couldn’t accept it. Covering his eyes with his left hand, he tried his best not to cry. Suddenly, Nakagawa crawled back into the shrine and glanced at Keito with a look of pure regret in his eyes. He was upset about the list of deaths, too. “Are you ready to go yet…?” Nakagawa questioned as he grabbed his battle pack and began walking down the forest trail.

Keito scrambled to grab his battle pack and quickly chased after Nakagawa. As the two boys traveled through the forest to god-knows-where, (Nakagawa seems to have an idea, but Keito hasn’t been informed of it yet) Keito turned to the taller boy and asked, “Hey, Nakagawa…you know where Suzuka Watabe went, right? Did she…did she wake up?” Nakagawa just nodded his head roughly in response. Keito let out a sigh of relief; glad to hear that this quiet yet tough student he was trusting his life in didn’t go and kill his friend or anything.

“So…she ran off on her own, huh? That’s typical of her,” Keito commented, “Suzuka was always the kind of girl who liked to do things on her own…” Nakagawa brushed away some tree branches with his big strong arms and kept his gun at firing elevation. Keito, however, also knew the reason he himself didn’t have a weapon already. If anything, he was glad that Suzuka of all people was hopefully going to put Tayo’s rifle to good use. Yes, Keito was sarcastic and maybe even a little mean at times, but he was really just a naïve and good-natured kid.

Nakagawa lifted his gun up a bit higher and checked how much ammo he had left. ‘Hmm…I used three bullets up already having to scare off Kiyo Motobuchi (Boy #15)…’ Although he never mentioned it yet, while Keito had been sleeping, Nakagawa was fending off the shrine from those who accidentally stumbled upon it. Kiyo Motobuchi had been one of those people. After nearly getting shot in the arm and leg three times, Kiyo had finally given up and ran off without even putting up a fight. Nakagawa had never felt so lucky in his life right then.

“Nakagawa, what are we going to do next, though? I know I’m being stupid and overly optimistic, but-” Suddenly, Nakagawa stopped and turned to Keito, his large, muscular body glistening with sweat. “Listen, Keito,” he said in a stern tone, “You are stupid and overly optimistic, but that’s something that we need to break this system down, got it? You can’t let all these deaths get to you, or you’ll lose it! Okay?” Keito blinked a few times in confusion before nodding. Nakagawa was really looking out for him today.

Suddenly, a figure stepped out of the shrubbery holding what looked like a bloody chainsaw in his hands. It was Kiyo Motobuchi. Nakagawa cursed out loud and thought, ‘Aw, shit! I thought I chased this asshole off! Where the hell did he get a chainsaw?’ Laughing insanely, Kiyo ran straight at them, screaming something that sounded like, “NO FAGGOTS FOR THE BIG MAN!” Keito’s eyes grew wide as he watched the chainsaw spurt to life and spin its jagged edges at about 50 miles an hour.

“Hold it!” Nakagawa’s voice was so powerful and commanding that it froze Kiyo in his tracks. The chainsaw continued to spin wildly as a silence fell over the three boys. Keito took this time to finally get a better look at Kiyo Motobuchi. A young bespectacled man, Kiyo was one of Class A-2’s greatest sources of intellect. He was always seen reading some American book he bought off the black market; claimed they were ‘True masterpieces of literature; not that crappy shit that the Republic of Greater East Asia offers us’. He was always challenging himself.

Slowly, Nakagawa placed his pistol down on the forest floor. Kiyo just continued to stand still with a blank look on his face. Putting his hands up and showing both palms, Nakagawa smiled warmly and said, “Look…I’m not going to hurt you…I promise. If you want, you can come with us…I have an idea on how to get out of this hellhole…trust me…” However, Kiyo continued to stand in one position, as if he was frozen to that spot. Slowly, though, Keito noticed that a smile was forming on Kiyo’s face. It wasn’t a smile of insanity, though; it was a smile of relief. Finally, Kiyo opened his dry pale lips and whispered, “You know…I…I can’t believe I’d ever find…find someone I could…possibly trust here…” And then, his chainsaw still blazing with life, Kiyo began to walk towards them, tears glistening in his eyes.

That was when something so unbelievably ironic, so unbelievably horrible happened. Before Nakagawa could even do anything, Kiyo tripped over a tree branch and fell faceforward…into his own chainsaw. Keito watched, silently, in horror as Kiyo’s entire face and chest was ripped to shreds. Blood, bones and guts flew everywhere as his body was sliced in two. Even Nakagawa had not expected to see something as horrible at this. It was all just too much. Keito, however, almost felt his lips quiver into a small smile. Was he…actually enjoying watching his teammates die in such horrible fashions?

Sighing, Nakagawa closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. Clenching his teeth, he whispered, “Shit…that wasn’t supposed to happen…he was supposed to come with us…how could this happen…” Keito continued to stare at Kiyo’s horribly disemboweled body (it reminded him of a baked potato, only filled with blood and guts) before snapping back to reality. “L-L-Let’s continue onward…there’s nothing we can do…” Keito said quietly before walking on ahead. Nakagawa stood there for a minute, shrugged his shoulders, and continued onward as well. As he carefully stepped over Kiyo’s corpse, Nakagawa made his sure his weapon’s safety lock was off…

33 students remaining

Chapter 12

Hikaru Godo (Boy #5) was currently weeping over the list of the first few deaths in the last six hours. It wasn’t many people, but still…how could they all have died? ‘Everyone’s life is meaningful in some way…who would be so sick as to take that away?’ Hikaru wondered furiously as hot burning tears rolled down his cheeks. He had clenched his fists so hard that they began to drip blood. “Hey, be careful there!” Asake called as he walked into the room after taking a quick shower.

After traveling for about two hours, the boys had come across a small village of sorts, complete with houses and everything. Once they had stocked up on food at the local mart (which was empty, so they just took the stuff and left), Hikaru and Asake took refuge in one of the houses. They were planning on staying there until later on in the game if the place becomes a Danger Zone. It was all they could do for now…

Checking over his map, Asake realized that the other half of the village (the side were the market was in) had become a Danger Zone, so they had been fortunate to arrive and scavenge from there before things got bad. Looking up from the pot of coffee in front of him, Hikaru forced a smile and said, “You know, I’m glad we’re together, Asake…unless I had a girlfriend, you would be my first choice as the person to spend the rest of my now short life with…thanks for being my friend…” Asake returned the smile and took a sip of coffee. Its hot, burning taste helped fuel his spirits.

Suddenly, just as Hikaru started to drink his coffee (He liked it black), someone began banging heavily on the front door. “GET DOWN, HIKARU!” Asake ordered as he grabbed Hikaru’s Uzi (it was much more useful than the katana) and slowly tiptoed towards the front door. Pressing his back up against the door, Asake shouted, “OKAY! WHO’S OUT THERE! TELL ME YOUR NAME AND YOUR WEAPON! IF YOU DON’T, I’LL SHOOT!”

After a few seconds, a familiar voice said, “It’s me, Akane Etsuko (Boy #3)! I have a broom as my weapon!” There was no mistaking it; that was Akane’s voice! A member of the basketball team, Akane Etsuko was one of the most popular guys in school. With his snowy-white hair, cool coal-black eyes and elusive attitude, he was one sexy hunk of meat. However, he had never shown any interest in girls, only being truly kind to his younger sister, Yasuka Etsuko (Girl #1). Once, Hikaru pointed out Akane resembled Akihiko Sanada from Persona 3 (he actually kind of did, really), but Akane himself had quickly dismissed it.

Still unsure, Asake ran over to one of the grimy windows nearby and peeked through. Although it was hard to see, he could make out a figure about the same height and shape as Akane standing in front of the doorway. Asake breathed out a sigh of relief as he went over and opened the door, allowing Akane to step inside. “I am so glad to see you guys!” Akane exclaimed happily as he tossed his battle kit and weapon (Which actually was just a normal house broom) and gave both Asake and Hikaru friendly pats on the back. Taking their seats at the kitchen table, Akane and Hikaru waited as Asake heated up another cup of coffee (Hikaru had no experience whatsoever in making coffee). “So…Akane…” Hikaru began, but he had no idea what to say. He was happy to see his friend was safe and alive, but the others…they could be getting killed at this very moment…

Akane, noticing his little friend’s discomfort, smiled warmly and said, “Don’t look so upset, Hikaru. I know things are bad…people are dying…our classmates are dying…but we can’t let that put us down! We’re going to find a way off this island, and then we’ll get revenge for everyone who’s died! Yoshitoku, Shizuru, Fuki and all the others, got it? So cheer up!” Letting Akane’s words sink in, a small confident smile appeared on Hikaru’s round face. He wanted to make sure that this goddamn government knew how they sent all these honorable, good people to their deaths without a second thought…like Shizuru…

Although Hikaru barely ever talked about it, he once had a crush on Shizuru Mekane. He had even once mustered up enough courage to ask her out, only to be turned down (not in a mean way, of course; Shizuru just explained she was a lesbian to him). Sure, Hikaru had been upset when he found out Suzuka and Shizuru were going out, but he soon got over it. After all, he just wanted Shizuru to be happy, and that was with Suzuka, her one true lover.

But now…Shizuru…she was…she was dead…and Hikaru had just sat there, watching…too afraid to do anything…

Cursing himself again, Hikaru got up from his seat and ran into the house’s tiny bathroom without a word. “Don’t worry about Hikaru,” Asake remarked as he took his seat and placed a steaming hot cup of coffee in front of Akane, “He’s still upset about what happened to Shizuru…we both are…”Akane sullenly nodded his head and took a sip of his coffee. It felt good as it warmed his lips and throat. After completely emptying his cup, Akane decided it was time to get down to business.

“Listen, Asake…I can’t stay with you two. I only came here to check up on you guys and maybe catch up on a little bit of rest. I have to go back out there…I need to find my sister…I need to find Yasuka…” Asake had expected this, actually. He didn’t even bother questioning Akane’s reasons, but he did have one thing to say, though, even if it was a little inappropriate considering the situation:

“You…love Yasuka, don’t you? And…I don’t mean in a sibling kind of way…I mean, in the way where you want to get in bed with that person and fuck all the way till dawn! You know what I mean!”

Seeing how red Akane’s face became from that sudden question, Asake couldn’t help but grin. “I…I…I…” Akane seemed to be having trouble putting his words into sentences, “I…how could you…I-I don’t…she’s my sister, for Christ’s sake…I don’t like her like that! I…I don’t!” Still, Akane’s face flushed even redder, now resembling that of a ripe tomato. Asake really wished he had a camera right now. He really did. Akane was still having trouble coming up with a good reply when Hikaru walked out of the bathroom and quietly wondered what the hell he just missed. Eventually, though, things finally calmed down and Akane announced his departure.

As Akane gathered his things and headed out the front door, Hikaru ran after him and nervously asked, “Do you…really have to go?” Smiling, Akane nodded and replied, “Don’t’ worry, Hikaru…as soon as I find Yasuka, we’ll come back and join up with you guys, okay? And even if this area becomes a Danger Zone and you two leave, we’ll find you…I promise…”

And, after giving one final nod towards Asake, Akane ran off into the forest, completely set on finding his sister…or die trying…

33 students remaining

Chapter 13

Keino Akiyara (Boy #17) held his axe tightly in both hands as he calmly traversed through the wide, open field. After running for hours through the forest, Keino had finally found himself in the outskirts of the island, which were just miles and miles of grass, grass and more grass. Although it was obviously very dangerous to be walking around out in the open like this, Keino really didn’t give a fuck anymore. Ever since he was a child, Keino had never been afraid of death. In fact, he was forced to see it as a way of freedom from the pains and troubles of life.

When he was young, Keino was in a very religious family. His parents and relatives would constantly chant various spells and curses under their breaths as they offered blood and food to the ‘Greater Being’. Even Keino’s older brother, Ryoishi, was dragged into this inane tradition. They all believed that this ‘Greater Being’ would help them obtain death sooner, so they could join him in the wonderful, joyous afterlife.

‘If that’s what we want,’ Keino had once considered, ‘why don’t we just all kill ourselves right now and get it over with already?’ Unfortunately, one day two years ago, when Keino returned home after having sex with a prostitute he hired over the internet, he found his parents and older brother dead on the kitchen floor, all of the blood completely drained from their bodies. This was the final pact needed to join the ‘Greater Being’. So just like that, Keino became an orphan.

Anyway, back to the story. Running his long tan fingers through his slick black hair, Keino glanced up at the sky and began wishing he was with his parents and brother right now instead of being stuck on this hellish island. Suddenly, a horrendous damp smell filled his nostrils. It was a smell Keino had recognized since childhood: it was blood. Following the scent, Keino came across a horrid sight.

Umi Toyoshima (Girl #21), Nakami Koguchi (Boy #11), Sakura Bando (Girl #13) and Nichiro Suseki (Boy #18) were all sprawled out on the grass. Numerous bullet holes were present on all their bodies. Keino didn’t even need to check that they were obviously dead. He could tell just from the smell. ‘What…what the hell happened here?’ Keino wondered nervously. He looked around for weapons, but everyone seemed to be empty-handed. How the hell did they all get killed? Who did this to them?

Suddenly, the right side of Keino’s face exploded into a bloody mess of brains and flesh as a barrage of bullets ripped through his skin without any resistance. Keino opened his mouth to speak, but only bile poured out as he fell to the ground and felt his body go cold. Then…he was dead. From about fifteen feet away stood Suetsu Nanahara (Boy #10). He was holding a M240 machine gun in his large hands, the barrels on it still smoking from its latest assault. Suetsu’s face was devoid of emotion as he walked over, snatched up Keino’s axe, and headed back into the forest…

28 students remaining

Chapter 14

Keito glanced up as the sound of rapid gunfire broke the silence surrounding them. Nakagawa seemed to have heard it too as he then said, “C’mon, Keito…we gotta keep moving…it sounds like it’s close…” Since Keito was completely out of ideas at the moment, he had no choice but to continue following Nakagawa. On their map, it said they were currently in area E02, which meant they were nearby a Danger Zone. ‘I wonder what Nakagawa’s planning…’ Keito asked himself as he stared up at the back of the taller boy’s head.

“Hey, Nakagawa…do you have any idea were Suzuka went?”

Nakagawa glanced over his shoulder at Keito and replied, “Not too sure, really…maybe she went off to kill some classmates…or to avenge Shizuru…personally, I’m guessing the latter. Whatever it is, I’m sure she’s still alive…” Keito nodded and thought about how upset Suzuka had been when Shizuru was killed. He had never seen Suzuka cry so hard in his entire life. It was…horrible. Just thinking about it made Keito even more determined to make Mr. Nogami pay for his evil deeds.

Clenching his fists tightly, Keito exclaimed, “Nakagawa…together, you and I will end this game and make Nogami pay for everything he’s done! For Shizuru…for Yoshitoku…and for everyone else! Let’s do it!” Nakagawa seemed to have almost smiled as he said, “Good! That’s the attitude, Keito!” And with that, they picked up the pace of their running, all the more determined to end this once and for all. Little did they know that one Sakiyo Isobe (Boy #16) was watching them from afar, a bag full of grenades clenched in his sweaty fingers…

28 students remaining

Chapter 15

Suzuka Watabe (Girl #16) wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. But most of all she wanted to kill that fucker Nogami for what he did to her beloved Shizuru-chan! ‘I won’t let him get away with this! I won’t! I won’t!’ Suzuka seemed to have completely snapped now. She lifted the AK-47 Assault Rifle in her hands (which she stole from Keito, who stole it from Tayo) and fired several shots into the sky. Then, she quickly climbed up a nearby tree (she was a good climber) and waited. The first person that possibly came searching for the sound was going down. The sooner she ended this game, the better!

Suddenly, Suzuka caught sight of a figure crawling out of the bushes. It was Hiroshi Fujiwaka (Boy #2). A member of the male track team, Hiroshi was tall (almost 7 feet total!) and skinny. He barely had any muscle strength, but he seemed to carry the Desert Eagle (A semi-automatic pistol) in his sweaty hands with relative ease. Also, Hiroshi was kind, but he had average looks, so he wasn’t that popular with the girls. At the moment, though, Suzuka didn’t care about any of that useless information. Focusing her rifle, Suzuka aimed directly for Hiroshi’s head. She was just about to pull the trigger when…

An axe flew out of nowhere and lodged itself right into the back of Hiroshi’s head, killing him instantly. Suzuka was careful not to make a sound as she watched a pool of blood form under Hiroshi’s lifeless body. That was when Suetsu Nanahara stepped out of the shadows. Suzuka watched in awe as Suetsu effortlessly kicked Hiroshi’s body over, took the dead track boy’s gun, and continued onward to search for his next victim. ‘I…I can’t believe how he just killed him with no remorse…’

Suzuka slowly climbed down her hiding spot and, once she made sure Suetsu was long gone, ran over to check on Hiroshi. The axe was embedded deep into the back of his skull, and blood was pouring everywhere. Unable to do anything more for him, Suzuka ripped the axe out of his head and closed Hiroshi’s eyes, as is accustomed when showing your respect to the dead.

….Respect to the dead…

That thought sent a chill up Suzuka’s spine. “How…how could this be happening? We’re…we’re all dying out here…” She whispered quietly to herself as her body began to shake violently, trying to hold back tears…

27 students remaining

Chapter 16

Rei Tachibana (Girl #10) wasn’t like most girls her age. By the time she was 13, she had known all the hideous, ugly truths behind the aspects of ‘love’ and ‘friendship’. In essence, they were only ways for people to obtain and fulfill their desires through another person. It was all about giving off a fake sense of trust. In her mind, Rei saw this ‘game’ as being the same as forming a relationship: you can never truly trust anyone. It was just too obvious.

At the moment, though, Rei wasn’t thinking about any of that. She was busy lying up against a large willow tree and flipping through the scrapbook of porn she had made over the years. It was filled with all sorts of vile things: normal sex, yaoi, yuri, incest, rape, bondage, old man on little girl and vice versa, bestiality, futanari, etc. There was something in there for anyone who had a specific sexual fetish. Rei, however, didn’t have any. She was not interested in things like sex (She was asexual)…so why did she have this perverted scrapbook?

Actually, it brought back memories of her long departed mother, who had been shot and killed after being put under conviction for raping ten young girls and three boys, all of them underage. And one of those young girls had been Rei Tachibana herself. She didn’t have a father; at least, she had never seen her father, anyway. For all Rei knew, her father could have actually been one of the young boys her mother had raped long ago. And that…was a scary thought. So, basically, Rei Tachibana was one messed-up bitch.

Closing the scrapbook, Rei glanced up and smiled. Lying in a bloody heap only a few feet away from her was the body of Wakana Nukiko (Girl #5), self-proclaimed girlfriend of the deceased Yoshitoku Nobuyaku (Boy #20). She seemed to have been ‘accidentally’ killed with her own weapon: a claymore sword of all things. Rei calmly stuck the scrapbook back into her bag and walked over to Wakana’s body. Then, she bent down and lightly kissed the dead girl on the lips. Rei’s lips were smeared with blood as she stood back up straight and headed onward with her battle kit and array of dangerous weapons.

Suddenly, before she had barely even taken a few steps, she felt immense pain in her left leg. Looking down, she saw that a small hole had appeared on her thigh, and it was dripping with blood. Rei spun around and saw Akiyo Takabe (Girl #20) aiming a small pistol right at her chest. Like always, a huge smile was present on Akiyo’s face, as if she was laughing. Rei, however, didn’t find this situation the least bit funny. ‘How dare she do this to me! How dare she…how dare she scar my beautiful body?!’

Akiyo continued to smile, even as Rei unsheathed her bowgun. Why did this girl always smile? Even when she fell and broke her arm once in gym class back at school, she would keep smiling and smiling. It was said that a person who seems to be always smiling had gone insane from a traumatic event for his or her past. However…Akiyo was not like that. She had loving parents, a sweet little brother, and many friends…so, why did she smile?

Truthfully, it was because she just loved to smile. It’s as simple as that.

“FUCK YOU, BITCH!” Rei screamed as she lifted her bowgun and fired three times; one needle stabbed into Akiyo’s forehead, a second one pierced her heart, and the final needle flew directly into the barrel of her gun, causing it to explode, taking Akiyo’s hand with it. Unable to take any more pain, Akiyo collapsed to the floor and died with a smile on her face, just like she had planned so many years ago.

Putting the bowgun away, Rei cursed under her breath and, after wrapping up her bleeding thigh in bandages, she dragged her foot along the ground as she tried to find the nearest place to hide, preferably a house. “Stupid bitch…shooting me like that…” Taking one last look at Akiyo’s corpse, Rei had to admit she thought Akiyo really did have a nice smile…

25 students remaining

Chapter 17

Souzou Yoshizaki (Boy #7) was a rather bulky young man. He had shortcut black hair, a rather long arm reach, good looks and a body as tough as bricks. Like Akane, he was member of the basketball team. Souzou was nicknamed ‘Shooting Star’ for his superb skills as the team’s Shooting Guard. However, Souzou was very cocky, and he believed he could win over any girl (even Hanako and Wakana, who already had boyfriends). Little did he know that overconfidence could be a very bad thing…

According to Souzou’s calculations, the next announcement of Danger Zones would be in about 30 minutes. “That’s more than enough time to prepare!” Souzou said aloud as he set up the several sets of thin wire around the perimeter of area B05. The wire was so sharp that anyone who walked into it would instantly be cut apart, no doubt about it. Souzou had originally thought this was a completely useless weapon; it turned out to be pretty good if used correctly. Although he didn’t like the idea of killing his classmates, he wasn’t about to let himself get killed.

Slipping a lone cigarette in between his lips, Souzou sucked on it for a bit (If he lit it, the smell of the smoke would give away his hiding spot) and waited within some bushes for his first victim. ‘Heh heh! I’m so smart, planning something like this!’ Souzou thought confidently, ‘While all the others are busy slaughtering each other, I’ll just hide out here and wait for someone to walk by and get sliced up by my little trap! And if they happen to get past it, I’ll just climb up a tree and hide up there until they leave! Plus, an out-of-way place like this will never become a Danger Zone! I’m so smart and cunning, I amaze myself!’

Suddenly, realizing how bored he would be waiting for a victim, Souzou had an idea. Reaching into his backpack (he had taken it along with his battle kit), he pulled out a ‘Slam Dunk’ graphic novel and began to read. ‘Slam Dunk’ had been one of his favorite titles since he was young, and it was what mainly inspired him to become a basketball player. His favorite character was Ryota Miyagi, but that’s not important at all right now. Souzou was chuckling at one of the humorous little scenes in the book when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps.

Tossing his graphic novel to the side, Souzou peeked over the bushes to look. It was Teruko Shidehara (Girl #11), one of the school’s few open lesbians (along with Suzuka and Shizuru, who was now dead). She had short red hair and big green eyes that could woo any woman with an interest in the same sex. Teruko was a member of the soccer team and an extreme tomboy. She acted more like a guy than some of the men in Class A-2. Souzou thought she was pretty cool, but not enough to spare her from a sharp, mutilating death. She was holding an Epiphone Casino VT guitar. Souzou almost laughed out loud when he immediately realized that that must be Teruko’s weapon.

‘I…I can’t believe she got such a stupid weapon! Bwa ha ha ha!’ Souzou thought with an amused look on his face. Without even knowing it, Teruko came closer and closer towards wire trap. She was looking around nervously, clenching the guitar with both scrawny hands. Souzou’s eyes widened as she came closer to his villainous trap…closer…and closer…and closer…just one more step, you stupid dyke…c’mon…c’mon…

Suddenly, a sound that resembled that of a gunshot rung through the air, piercing the silence. Turning around, Teruko stared in the direction of the gunshot for a few seconds, her eyes wide with terror. Then, she ran to the side and kept running, with no idea that she had just narrowly escaped death. When he couldn’t see Teruko anymore, Souzou swore loudly and jumped out of the bushes. He walked over to the wire trap and fingered it lightly as he thought, ‘How could this have happened? She was supposed to step into the-’ Souzou lost consciousness the moment Teruko’s guitar slammed hard against the back of his head.

A wild grin was evident on Teruko’s lips as she continued to smash Souzou’s face in. In actuality, she had only seen a glimpse of the wires from the sun’s reflection, and she only pretended to have walked away. In fact, she had just hid behind a tree until Souzou revealed himself, and then she went in for the kill. “YOU NEVER HAD A CHANCE OF KILLING ME, YOU HEAR THAT, YOU BASTARD?!” Teruko screamed as she crushed Souzou’s nose and forehead, cracking his skull and sending blood everywhere.

When she was finally done, Souzou’s face had been forced into a bowl shape filled with a heavy crimson liquid. His leg twitched for a few seconds, and then stopped. His skull, eyes, nose, teeth, neck and brain had all been smashed to pieces. Blood was even pouring out of his ears. Still, the guitar used to kill him was in perfect condition, only stained with blood now. Teruko smiled and exclaimed, “See? This is what you get for thinking with your manhood, not your brain!” Flipping Souzou’s body over with a powerful kick, Teruko stepped on top of him as she headed over to his battle kit, raided it (she took some of his Slam Dunk graphic novels, too), and then left without a second look…

Teruko Shidehara truly was a malicious girl…

24 students remaining

Chapter 18

“GOOD DAY, OKISHIMA! AT ABOUT 60 DEGREES, IT’S A PRETTY FINE DAY! THIS IS YUUJI NOGAMI, YOUR HOST FOR THE EVENING! YAY! …heh heh, I always wanted to say that…”

“Shut the fuck up, you ass!” That was what Keito Higuchi (Boy #2) wanted to say, but he just stood quiet as he and Hikaru Nakagawa (Boy #21) listened for the newest list of deaths. ‘I hate doing this! I hate listening to this cheerful bastard talk about who’s been killed and how he loves it so much! Damn him! Damn him to hell!’ Keito clenched and unclenched his fists several times to try and control his anger, but it wasn’t working.

“Anyway, let’s get down to the good stuff: the death list! Here’s, in order of when they died, the next list of your classmates that have hopefully found a good place in Heaven:

Boy #14 Kiyo Motobuki

Girl #21 Umi Toyoshima

Boy #11 Nakami Koguchi

Boy #18 Nichiro Suseki

Girl #13 Sakura Bando

Boy #17 Keino Akiyara

Boy #1 Hiroshi Fujiwaka

Girl #5 Wakana Nukiko

Girl #20 Akiyo Tekabe

Boy #7 Souzou Yoshizaki

Well, that’s a lot of deaths, isn’t it? About 10! I’m glad some of you are getting into the spirit of this game! Keep up the good work! I’ll have an erection for each one you kill off! Keep that in mind, Mai! Okay, now for the Danger Zones: A07, D09, and I03. You got ten minutes to move out of there before it’s ‘bye-bye head’! That’s all, my friends!” The speakers crackled for a few moments before an eerie silence befell the island once again.

Keito felt his entire body go numb as the face of each person just named off flashed through his mind before disappearing into the darkness.

‘So many are being killed…so many more than the last update…Souzou…Keino…Hiroshi…Akiyo, always smiling…and Kiyo, who we saw die ourselves…it’s all so horrible…why…why must this happen to us? Why? And…why did he mention Mai? Did he mean…Mai Jippensha (Girl #15)? What does she have to do with Nogami?’ Keito’s head was beginning to ache with all these questions.

Nakagawa, however, seemed as solid and unnerved as ever. He just took a flask out of his pocket and took a long drink from it as he stared up at the sky. He seemed to be thinking about something, too. For a moment, Keito thought he saw Nakagawa shed a tear, but it might have just been the light playing tricks.

“…Let’s keep moving.” Nakagawa finally said, his voice trembling slightly. Keito nodded and quickly snatched up his battle kit as he followed after Nakagawa, who seemed to be walking faster than usual. Keito really began wishing he had some weapon of sorts. What if he got separated from Nakagawa and had to fight? Or what if Nakagawa got hurt and it was all up to him? Or…could he use a weapon and win this game himself? Keito just wasn’t sure anymore…

Sighing, Keito had nothing else to do but keep following Nakagawa, hoping for some way out of this hell. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Nakagawa caught sight of something falling to the ground in front of them seconds before it exploded, sending debris and mud flying everywhere. Keito was so shocked by the sudden attack that he fell on his knees by accident. “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?” He screamed, his face contorted in fear.

Before either of the two boys could react, another small patch of ground next to them exploded. Keito’s face felt like it was melting off with the flames so close to his face. Cursing under his breath, Nakagawa grabbed Keito by the hand and ran through the forest, several more explosions following close behind them.

Stepping out of the bushes, Sakiyo Isobe (Boy #16) let out a string of curses. “HOW COULD MY GRENADES HAVE MISSED THEM? GODDAMIT!” Cursing again, Sakiyo jumped back into the bushes and quietly pursued his targets…

24 students remaining

Chapter 19

“Okay, let’s go over what we now!” Asake Hishikawa (Boy #6) exclaimed as he and Hikaru Godo (Boy #5) sat across from another at the kitchen table. At this point, the boys’ little hideout had not yet become a Danger Zone, so they were still safe. However, they knew that the sooner they figure out a way off this damn island, the more people they’ll be able to save. It pained Asake to listen to all those names of the dead and not even give them a second thought, but they had no choice.

Pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil, Asake began writing as he listed off everything they knew about this game so far. “Okay…so we’re on the island Okishima, which is about 6 kilometers across. There are ships encircling the island that will kill anyone who tries to escape by sea, which is technically quite useless since you could just kill that person with the collar, as well…” Hikaru winced at Asake’s explanations, but he just nodded and let his friend continue.

“Every six hours, three randomly chosen areas become Danger Zones. We have ten minutes to leave that Danger Zone before the collars become active and explode. The Danger Zones chosen in one announcement will no longer be dangerous after the next announcement. Now, the island takes up areas A-J02 across to areas A-J10. So, any areas before that (along with some others, including J07 and B03) are just completely water, no landmass whatsoever. That bastard Nogami and a hoard of government soldiers are all watching us inside the reinforced steel bunker located in area E06. They have a security system set up that will most likely kill anyone who tries to even open the front door. So, there’s no way to get close…”

Hikaru was really impressed. He knew Asake was smart, but he didn’t know he was THIS smart. Somehow, Asake knew things that Mr. Nogami never even MENTIONED back when this game began. Hikaru couldn’t keep a grin from forming on his lips. They might actually make it out of here alive. They really might have a chance. Then, Asake put his pencil down and glanced up at Hikaru. Instead of showing off his good old confident smirk, Asake seemed to be completely devastated. Quietly, he whispered, “…I can’t. I can’t find a way out…Maybe I’m just not thinking hard enough, but…I just don’t know what to do…these collars…how to remove them…I just can’t…”

Hikaru couldn’t believe it. He had just been so excited a moment ago, too! Slamming his fists down on the table, Hikaru exclaimed, “C’MON, ASAKE! YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS! I KNOW YOU CAN THINK OF SOMETHING! I JUST KNOW YOU CAN! DON’T GIVE UP ON ME NOW!” Asake just shook his head in disappoint and stared down at the floor, too shamed to look up. “Fuck…” Hikaru hissed under his breath before collapsing back into his chair in completely hopelessness. Suddenly, a figure crashed through the door and fell to the ground. Grabbing Hikaru’s Uzi, Asake jumped up and cautiously stepped over to the figure. It was Rei Tachibana, and her leg was bleeding. She seemed to have used the last of her strength to knock the door over in some hope to get inside and rest.

“Hey…it’s Tachibana! She’s unconscious and bleeding pretty badly! What happened to her?” Hikaru exclaimed with wide eyes. Asake, however, continued to eye Rei’s bloodstained bowgun nervously. He wasn’t sure what to do. ‘Her weapon is stained in blood…could it be that she had killed someone? Or is that blood from her own injuries? Should I…should I kill her? She might try to kill us later, so should I…should I?’ Asake’s head was really beginning to pound from all this heavy thinking. Still aiming the Uzi at Rei’s face, Asake pondered on what to do. Hikaru, though, had run over and was now try to lift Rei’s limp body up off the ground.

“C’mon, Asake!” He shouted, “Aren’t you going to help me? She needs this wound treated right now!” Sighing, Asake put the Uzi aside and went over to help Hikaru. Little did they know, Rei was just pretending to be unconscious. Inside her mind, she smiled evilly to herself and thought, ‘Perfect…these idiots have no idea they just let their future killer into their hideout! These fools…’

Soon, the sun began to fall behind the mountains, covering the island with growing darkness…

24 students remaining

Chapter 20

Mai Jippensha (Girl #15) couldn’t believe it. Her darling Yuuji Nogami actually said her name in the announcements! It was enough to make her head spin with excitement. As she clutched her Walter P99 pistol loosely in her hands, she sat behind a tree and daydreamed about Mr. Nogami, the only man she could truly ever love. In fact, they just had sex (It was actually rape) a few days ago in school (Mr. Nogami once mentioned raping a young girl named Mitsuko once, and he was fired for it; but Mai didn’t care at the time, since she was too busy moaning in pleasure).

Sure, it’s hard to believe that this girl is still in love with Mr. Nogami despite everything he had done in the last day or two, but she didn’t care. ‘So what if he sends us all to kill each other? So what if he shot some people on purpose? As long as he loves me, nothing else matters!’ This poor deluded girl was too caught up in her “love” to really see what’s important in life. So, as Mai picked herself up off the ground and continued to run, the only thing that formed in her mind was the warm smile Mr. Nogami will give her when she comes out as the winner of this game.

‘Oh, Nogami-sensei…’ Mai thought happily as she leapt over a tree branch. Pulling out her map from her battle pack, Mai deduced that she was currently in area B06, which wasn’t too far from the Danger Zone A07. ‘Okay, so all I gotta do is avoid that area and I’ll be safe here for now!’ Mai thought confidently. There was no way she was going to fail; LOVE CONQUERS ALL! At least, that’s what she told herself. Suddenly, Mai stopped as she heard rustling in the bushes next to her.

Aiming her pistol right at the shuddering foliage, Mai’s face tensed as she barked, “WHOEVER’S IN THERE, COME OUT AND SHOW YOUR FACE OR I’LL BLOW YOUR FUCKIN’ HEAD OFF! I SWEAR IT!” It took only a few minutes, but a small cat soon stepped out and let out a small “mew!”. “Aww…aren’t you adorable? You’re so cute!” Mai exclaimed as she bent down and pet the little kitty on the head. Back at school, Mai was pretty well known for having information on anything concerning cats…and Mr. Nogami. Lifting the cat onto her lap, Mai smiled and asked, “What are you doing here all alone, little baby? Did you lose your mommy?”

Suddenly, Mai heard a small pop and the cat’s head exploded, spraying gray brains and blood everywhere. Still staring down at the now headless kitty lying on her lap, Mai didn’t bother lifting her blood-soaked face to see Tetsuko Najima (Boy #4), holding a gun in his trembling fingers. Although tears were rolling down the sides of his face, Tetsuko didn’t say a word as he aimed the smoking barrel at Mai’s head and pulled the trigg-

It all happened in an instant. With amazing speed, Mai lifted her own pistol and fired five shots, every single one of them ripping through Tetsuko’s chest and face. Tetsuko let out a small groan as he toppled over the bush and sank to the ground, dead. Still completely silent, Mai pushed the cat’s bleeding body off her leg and, after snatching up Tetsuko’s gun, turned around and ran. She didn’t know where she was running. She didn’t care where she was running. All she wanted to do was cry and scream, but she couldn’t. If she did…she might attract attention. She felt like she was going insane. Her clothes and face were still covered in the cat’s blood, but she didn’t give a fuck. She just wanted to go home and see her family…and be with Mr. Nogami forever…

Unfortunately, due to her growing insanity and fear, Mai never noticed that she was running directly into area A07, a Danger Zone. The moment she heard the collar begin to beep, she knew what was going to happen. Instead of stopping, she continued to run, even as the beeping grew louder, drowning out all the noises that surrounded her. It was at that same moment that she came to a horrifying conclusion: Yuuji Nogami didn’t love her. He never did and he never will. Why this sudden thought came to her at this point, Mai couldn’t really explain. She didn’t have to bother explaining, though, because her head exploded soon after, ripping the muscles and tissue that held her jaw together and sending the top half of her head flying across the ground, spraying the forest floor with a shower of blood. Blood continued to spill even long after her body collapsed to the ground and stopped moving…

22 students remaining

Chapter 21

Akane Etsuko (Boy #3) let out a sigh of relief. This was terribly disrespectful, but he was glad that those people on the recent announcement had died instead of his sister. No, I worded it wrong: He was just glad to hear that his sister was still alive. ‘I need to find her as soon as possible…then we can meet up with Asake and Hikaru…maybe find Keito while we’re at it…’ Akane took a long drink from one of his government-supplied water bottles before continuing his search. He was hiding in a large thicket of bamboo, which suspiciously had some bloodstains on the ground in a little clearing nearby. Had there been a battle here earlier?

Shaking that thought out of his mind, Akane got up off the ground and began running through the bamboo, making sure not to make a lot of noise. If anything, Akane wished he could just call out Yasuka’s name loud enough to hopefully catch her attention, but that obviously catch the attention of the two people he really didn’t want to run into: Suetsu Nanahara (Boy #10) and Rei Tachibana (Girl #10). They were known, together, as the ‘Evil 10s’. Akane gripped his broom (He had cut off the fibers at the end and sharpened it into more of a spear-like pole) as he thought about the two worst enemies in this whole game.

First, about Rei Tachibana: A total psycho bitch. She didn’t have a family and she was not only smart, but also sadistic. There was a rumor once that she raped a girl and forced her to commit suicide. From what Akane knew, Rei would probably be ecstatic to join in on a fucked-up game like this; she hated everybody. Akane hated to admit it, but Rei had everything she needed to be a slutty whore with the ability to kill: A well-shaped body with a big bust, a willingness to have sex, and she showed no emotions. Wait…that’s wrong; Rei does show emotions. She just tries and hides them. The real one to be worried about is…Suetsu.

Akane remembered Suetsu the best. The truth was, until high school, they had actually been pretty good friends. When they had first met one day during lunch at Elementary school, Suetsu had told him about how the government keeps thinking he’s related to someone named ‘Shuya Nanahara’ due to them having the same name. However, Suetsu said it was really nothing to worry about, so Akane just forgot about it. But now…he was really beginning to wonder. From what he had heard over the news, Shuya Nanahara was a survivor of a Program experiment that happened a while ago, along with a girl named Noriko Nakagawa. They were currently on the run; as far as Akane knew, they were probably hiding out in one of the foreign countries.

Anyway, it wasn’t until the first day of high school that Akane and Suetsu’s friendship grew shaky. When Akane tried to get Suetsu’s attention, he just shrugged him off and walked inside the school building. For the rest of the year, Suetsu completely ignored him. Not only that, but Suetsu had grown out his hair and slicked it back with hair gel. He even sometimes wore a cape with his school uniform. It was so weird! Of course, as long as Suetsu wasn’t really hurting himself or others, it wasn’t his business to mess with his friends’ personal lives, so Akane just accepted the fact that their friendship was over…

Akane let out a sigh as he finally got out of the bamboo thicket and found himself in the overwhelming forest once again. Closing his eyes, he thought about all the dead corpses he had seen on his way here. There was Keino and the others…Souzou…Hiroshi…so many dead people. Akane wiped his hands over his eyes and thought, ‘God…please…show us some mercy…why must you let us die?’ Although Akane didn’t believe in any particular religion, he knew there was a God up there somewhere, and all he could do now was pray and hope to find Yasuka. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of gunshots coming from nearby.

‘I really shouldn’t check it out, but…’ Unsure of what else to do, Akane quietly walked towards the location of the gunshots. However, he soon came upon such a gruesome sight, he wished he had just stayed back. Sprawled out on the ground in a small clearing in the woods were the bodies of Yuuko Teishi (Girl #2), Ushio Tsukahara (Boy #8) and Akito Tanayama (Boy #13). The killer was nowhere to be seen, as far as Akane could tell. Upon further inspection, Akane saw that all of them were covered in various bullet holes all over their bodies. Clutching his mouth with his gloved hands, Akane tried his best not to throw up. He couldn’t believe it. Once again more people had died…more of his classmates had died.

Wiping some threads of acidy saliva off his dry lips, Akane turned his back to the bodies of his classmates and continued to run, hating himself every moment of it…

19 students remaining

Chapter 22

Ian Richfield (Boy #19) took a quick sip of his water bottle and then handed it over to his sister, Elizabeth Richfield (Girl #9). Then, once she took a small drink of her own, she passed it to Kasumi Daichi (Girl #14), who finished off whatever little water was left. Back in the beginning of the game, Elizabeth had waited outside the bunker to meet up with Kasumi Daichi (who was a friend of her’s) and then her brother, who had planned this out from the beginning.

Both the children of a major Congress executive, Ian and Elizabeth were sent to Japan to live with their mother’s parents (Their mom was Japanese) for five years so they could learn about other countries and possibly provide the American Government some information on the Republic of Greater East Asia and its weaknesses. So, basically, Ian and Elizabeth were spies. With slicked-back brown hair, slanted blue eyes and a rather widened nose, Ian had the look of a conceited pansy who always bragged about having so much money. However, Ian was the complete opposite of that. He would always say how his father told him to judge people not on their appearances or life style, but on their personality and soul.

Elizabeth, unlike her brother, was very popular in Konohana High with the boys, the girls and the teachers. She had long light-blonde hair, big blue eyes and a beautiful smile. Elizabeth was also a member of the Tea Ceremony Club and the Art Club, where she showed amazing skills in the ways of painting. So, in essence, while Ian was an expert in business and politics, Elizabeth excelled in the ways of socializing. Even the birds and small animals loved her; they would always hang around her whenever she walked home or sat outside for lunch. She was truly a pure little angel.

Now, let’s explain about Kasumi Daichi: She was a member of the School Paper. It was her job to find a scoop, take pictures, write up articles, print out the newspaper, and sell it. Really, she was the only actual member of the club. She never complained about it, though. Kasumi had short red hair, a bit of a round face, freckles and a never dying interest in the paranormal; a lot of the boys thought she was kind of cute. Kasumi was also well known in school for being best friends with Elizabeth Richfield, who had once proclaimed that Kasumi was “a beautiful angel in her own way”. Not only did this help her become more noticeable in school, but also it allowed Kasumi to have a way to get closer to Ian, who she harbored a crush on.

Anyway, the three friends were currently hiding out in a ditch Ian had found in area G04. Elizabeth’s sweet flawless face was still stained with tears after hearing the latest batch of deaths. Ian couldn’t blame her for being upset. If he weren’t so busy feeling scared for his sister’s life, he probably would have broken down crying too. All of those people…even his friends Nakami and Kiyo…had been killed. It was just…it was just too horrible. It was just too horrible. Kasumi, though, looked more tired than afraid. She didn’t even seem fazed when the death of Sakura Bando (Girl #13), who was one of her good friends, was announced.

Glancing over the edge of the ditch once again, Ian’s sweaty fingers gripped tightly on the handle of his stun gun (Sure, it was pretty useless, but with the right timing, it could be really helpful in a fight). Elizabeth had originally obtained a small container of liquid Drāno, but she gave it to Ian for safekeeping. Kasumi was holding her Heckler & Koch MP5 Submachine gun against her chest as she slept lightly, just in case something happens. Sighing, Ian slid back down and sat next to Elizabeth, saying, “I didn’t see anyone. We’re still safe…for now…”

Wiping her face with a handerkief, Elizabeth smiled weakly at Ian and said, “Ian...dearest brother…you really are such a good man…thank you…” Ian’s cheeks flushed as he grinned sheepishly and tried to think of something to say, but he couldn’t come up with anything. He barely ever got compliments, so this made him feel pretty good. In fact, besides Mr. Nogami (Who Ian’s lost all respect for), Elizabeth had been the only person in Ian’s life to compliment him. It showed how strong their bond as siblings was.

“You know,” Ian said in a sad voice, “I really don’t want to die…but I can’t kill anyone either…I would just chicken out and let myself massacred. I don’t want to die that way…I want to die with you…” Elizabeth was a little shocked by Ian’s words. She had never heard him speak so passionately before in her life. What was he getting at…? Suddenly, Elizabeth felt something warm and soft press down on her fingers, and she realized it was Ian’s hand. He was smiling at her, all of his white teeth shining in the dimming sunlight. In just a few minutes it would be night, but Elizabeth wasn’t thinking about that right now. All she could think about…was her brother…

Suddenly, a high-pitched feminine voice above them cackled and exclaimed, “Aww…I didn’t know you two were so into the wonderful taboo world of incest…” Looking up, Ian swore when he saw it was Mihoshi Okabe (Boy #9) and he was aiming his Remington 870 shotgun…right at Elizabeth’s head. Known back at school as ‘Okama’, Mihoshi was famous in the neighborhood for being openly gay. He dyed his hair pink and fashioned it into looking like a pompadour that he combs constantly, making sure it never gets out of place. Mihoshi was also suspended from school a lot for showing ‘Physical attraction to someone in public’ and ‘Wearing indecent clothing against school regulations’. He also had a thing for yaoi manga, but it was never confirmed as of late.

Mihoshi smirked at Ian and Elizabeth’s frightened faces (It seemed Kasumi had fallen into a deep sleep, and did not hear Mihoshi approach) and cackled, “You know, despite you two being siblings and all, you make a cute couple…but I like Akane and Yasuko more…” No sure what the hell Mihoshi was even talking about, Ian didn’t even bother asking. He just reached down, grabbed Kasumi’s gun (Dumb bitch was still asleep), and-

A splattering sound filled the air as several bullets flew through Ian’s right arm from Mihoshi’s gun, ripping all the muscle tissue and completely tearing it off his body. Elizabeth’s eyes widened in horror as her brother’s arm spun around in the air a few times before crashing to the ground. Ian, however, ignored the searing pain flowing through his body and began fired the gun several times into Mihoshi’s chest, knocking the gay fag to the ground. Kasumi finally woke up (ABOUT TIME!) and cried, “HOLY CRAP! OH MY GOD, IAN, YOUR-” Suddenly, she let out a gasp as a bullet ripped through her throat, knocking her onto her back and spewing blood everywhere. The one who had shot her…was Ian.

“Ian…you…you…” Elizabeth didn’t know what to say. One moment, they were emerged in their own happy little world. The next, her dear brother loses an arm and kills two of their classmates, one of them being her best friend! Ian’s eyes and face were twisted with anger as he clutched his stump of an arm and breathed loudly. He couldn’t stop the bleeding, no matter how badly he wanted to. Ian cursed under his breath and said weakly, “Kasumi…that stupid bitch…she just slept like a log while we got attacked…what the hell was wrong with her…” Elizabeth just sat there, staring at Ian like he was a monster. He had just killed both Mihoshi and Kasumi…and he didn’t show any remorse for it.

Elizabeth placed a nervous, pale palm on Ian’s shoulder and quietly asked, “Ian…do you…do you…do you really want to play this game? Did you say you were scared…to make me feel better? Tell me, Ian! Why did you kill Kasumi because she was sleeping? WHY?” As she spoke, her voice grew louder and she started shaking her brother back and forth, demanding an answer. Unfortunately, Ian would never answer. He was dead. The loss of his arm and so much blood took too heavy a toll on his body. Elizabeth was alone now.

“Ahh…ahh…ahh…”

Letting go of Ian’s shoulder, Elizabeth curled up into a little ball and began crying. She was crying so hard, she never noticed that Mihoshi was slowly getting up off the ground, his shotgun still in his big hands. She was crying so hard, she never noticed Mihoshi smirk and brag about how he was lucky enough to have gotten two weapons: A shotgun and a Bullet-proof vest. She was crying so hard, she never noticed Mihoshi aim his gun at her head. She was crying so hard, she never noticed-

Mihoshi smirked when his gun fired two shots into Elizabeth’s head. She bounced up a bit while blood spewed from her forehead before crashing back down onto the ground, dead. Jumping down into the ditch, Mihoshi raided the three dead students’ kits before getting ready to run off. However, he removed all of Elizabeth’s clothes first, since he might want to use them later…

17 students remaining

Chapter 23

Keito Higuchi (Boy #2) couldn’t help but feel he was being watched. Well, that was easily understandable, as they were on a large forest island filled with people trying to kill you. Still…Keito had this feeling…someone was close by…someone wanted to kill them…someone wanted to-

“Hey.”

Looking up, Keito saw that Hikaru Nakagawa (Boy #21) was glaring down at him. “I know what you’re thinking,” Nakagawa said, “And you’re right. Someone’s following us. Where do you think those explosions from earlier came from? For now, though, try and make it look like we’re oblivious to all of it, okay? Just so you know, though, I knew someone was following us for a while…I think it’s Sakiyo Isobe (Boy #16)…” Keito’s eyes widened in astonishment. Nakagawa really knew his stuff when it counted!

Still…why would Sakiyo Isobe be against them? ‘Sakiyo represents that “Gentle Giant” stereotype…he’s kinda bulky, but he’s a good guy.’ Keito thought as he and Nakagawa continued walking, ‘I don’t see why he didn’t just offer to join us? I mean, he must have heard all the things we said earlier about getting revenge for our dead classmates and escaping, right? Or maybe…or maybe he thinks we knew he was following us right from the beginning, and that we just said that stuff to try and trick him to come out! But…but that’s not true! God, why won’t Sakiyo trust us? Jesus…’

Unable to take it anymore, Keito stopped walking and turned around. Before Nakagawa could stop him, Keito cupped his hands around his mouth and exclaimed, “SAKIYO ISOBE! WE KNOW YOU’RE FOLLOWING US! WE’RE NOT GOING TO HURT YOU! PLEASE COME OUT AND REVEAL YOURSELF! I PROMISE YOU’RE NOT GOING TO DIE! YOU CAN TRUST ME! I MEAN IT!” Nakagawa smacked Keito hard in the head with the butt of his gun and shouted, “What the hell are you doing? You’re making yourself open to attack, you idiot!”

Suddenly, a large figure stepped out of the bushes and slowly began walking towards them reluctantly: it was Sakiyo Isobe. His entire frame was shaking violently as he came closer, his hands up in the air as if he was going to be arrested or something. A large smile of relief formed on Keito’s lips. “Sakiyo!” This happiness was short lived…as a bullet flew out of nowhere and pierced the side of Sakiyo’s head, ripping into his brain and killing him. Stepping out of the shadows was Chiba Sato (Girl #7), Sachiko Kaminaga (Girl #18) and Kameko Ichigawa (Girl #6). They were all holding pistols in their hands. ‘The fat girl and the evil dragon lady…never thought I’d see them working together…’

Chiba Sato was probably the fattest girl Keito had ever met. She weighed about 200 pounds and had to get her school uniform custom-made just so she can hide her enormous belly, which is still pretty much visible anyways. Some guys at school with more broad tastes are actually interested in her, including Keito himself for a little while. Her chubbiness made her kind of cute and sweet. She was also really pretty in a way. She also had an FA boyfriend, so she gained for not only his pleasure, but for her own as well.

Sachiko Kaminaga was one serious bitch (Not as bad as Rei Tachibana, though). She was a delinquent, lived in an apartment with her 20-year old boyfriend, and ran her own all-female gang. She had long black hair and a tattoo resembling a Chinese dragon that ran up her left leg. She also had pretty big breasts, but she didn’t like showing them off much. Sachiko, even now, was pretty much always seen with something in her mouth, whether it be a cigarette, gum, a lollipop, or a guy’s cock. Still, she was a wimp when it came to dealing with girls like Rei.

The last one of the three girls was Kameko Ichigawa, a goth and a member of Sachiko’s gang. A raging bisexual, Kameko was always interested in getting in Sachiko’s pants, describing her as “A beautiful, unsoiled flower”. She would even write poems about her love for Sachiko in Literature Class. Last year, though, Kameko had gotten a boyfriend, so she didn’t hit on Sachiko as much as she used to. She had an average face along with the usual goth stuff on (black hair, black clothes, piercing, etc.). However, Keito wasn’t very happy to see them at the moment.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? WHY DID YOU KILL-” Keito screamed, but he immediately shut up when Sachiko aimed her pistol directly at his face. “Shut up, asswipe. You should be thanking us…you too, Mr. Nakagawa. If we hadn’t stepped in, you guys would have been killed!” Keito was about to ask what she meant when Chiba walked over to Sakiyo’s unmoving body and pulled a small Colt King Cobra Revolver out of his back pocket. “See? He was planning on killing you!” Sachiko snapped. Keito blushed and quickly muttered an apology.

Suddenly, Keito remembered something from long ago. Once, in the locker room, he had heard Sakiyo talk about how he ‘couldn’t stand getting messed around with’ and that he was ‘gonna kill himself’. Maybe…he had taken that gun with him on the trip…so…he could commit suicide? After all, if Sakiyo was the one following them, then those grenades from before, must have been his weapon! Keito just shook his head in confusion and shock. ‘Sakiyo…did you really want to die? Well…you got your wish…’

Nakagawa, however, had different plans. Lifting up his pistol, Nakagawa fired once into each girl’s chest, knocking all of them to the floor. The moment Keito saw blood begin to pour out of their wounds, he knew they were dead. Nakagawa just let out a sigh of relief as he put his pistol away and said, “Good thing I shot them when I did. We would have been dead if I hadn’t interfered…” Keito just stood there, shaking furiously. His mind was reeling…his vision was going…what…what the fuck just happened here?

‘Nakagawa…Nakagawa…how could he just shoot them…I thought he wanted to help me save everyone…I thought he wanted to avenge our dead classmates, not help enlarge the pile of dead bodies…why…why…why would he do this? Does he…does he plan on just using me as a shield, to convince others that we’re not a threat, then he can go and kill them? Then…when we’re the last two left, he’ll kill me? What…what have we been doing, walking around everywhere? Where the hell are we going? What is his plans? Why? What? Where? When? How? I…I…I CANNOT STAND THIS ANY LONGER!’

His mind finally snapping, Keito dashed over to Sachiko’s body and grabbed her pistol. As Nakagawa spun around, several bullets ripped through his heart, stomach and liver. He let out a pained cry and fell on his knees as blood spurted out of his mouth. ‘Not yet…not yet…’ Keito thought furiously as he used up every single bullet in Sachiko’s gun, practically blowing away Nakagawa’s head in the process. Tossing the now-empty gun to the floor, Keito grabbed Chiba’s gun, used up all the bullets, and then did the same with Kameko’s gun and Sakiyo’s suicide gun. By then, Nakagawa’s body resembled that of cheddar cheese.

Holes riddled his body; All of the blood had poured out of him by then, forming a huge dark-crimson puddle underneath him. Nakagawa’s various guts, bones and flesh were sprawled all over the forest floor. Walking over to him, Keito realized that Nakagawa’s single dislodged eyeball (the other one had been blown to bits). Clenching his fists in fury, Keito grabbed a nearby branch and pierced the eyeball, popping it and spewing a white opaque liquid all over his shoes. Smiling, Keito threw the branch away and, grabbing Nakagawa’s gun, headed off to find his next victim…

12 students remaining

Chapter 24

Asake Hishikawa (Boy #6) took a long sip of coffee as he watched Hikaru Godo (Boy #5) help Rei Tachibana (Girl #10) wrap up the wound on her thigh. After taking her in by Hikaru’s request, Asake kept a watchful eye on Rei from the moment she was found unconscious in the doorway to this point, where she had awoken and seemed to be completely frightened by everything that was happening. However, Asake didn’t trust this little act for a moment. He had even gone and placed Rei’s battle kit and bowgun inside a cabinet drawer and locked it. Asake just couldn’t find any reason why to trust someone like HER.

This deep mistrust Asake had for Rei began in his first year of high school. She had actually coaxed him into having sex with her, only for her to get pregnant. And then, without of even bothering to ask him, she went and had an abortion. This disturbed Asake; how could Rei be so cruel as to get rid of a human life? Then, the day they broke up, Rei told him that he was bad in bed and she’d fucked hundreds of guys way better than him, including old men. This was why Asake Hishikawa hated Rei Tachibana. She killed what could have been his son.

“Are you…feeling better, Tachibana-san?” Hikaru asked in a cheery tone. Smiling (Asake scoffed and thought about how fake she was being), Rei patted Hikaru on the head and replied, “Yes, I’m doing better. Thank you so much, Godo-san. You’re really sweet…” Hikaru chuckled a bit, his cheeks flushing bright red. For a moment, Asake was sure he saw a flash of evil intentions in Rei’s eyes, but there was nothing he could do with Hikaru in the room. If he had the chance, Asake would kill Rei the moment Hikaru left. He just needed…the right time…

“You know…when Akiyo Takabe (Girl #20) started shooting at me, I got so scared…I didn’t know what to do…I didn’t mean to kill anyone…I just accidentally pulled the trigger of my bowgun, and…and…oh god…oh lord…I killed her…I killed her!” Rei bent forward and broke out into heavy sobs. Hikaru, who was rather inexperienced with girls, was having trouble calming her down. Asake, however, had never felt more pissed off in his whole life. ‘That fucking bitch! That goddamn no good ass-fucking bitch!’ he thought furiously, ‘She obviously killed Akiyo on purpose! And I bet she wasn’t the only one that this bitch killed! I’m so not gonna let her win this game…’ Out of the corner of her eye, Rei saw Asake’s hands grip tightly on the Uzi. She knew she was gonna have to do something…soon.

Rei threw her head back and let out a shrill scream of anguish. “I KILLED HER! I KILLED AKIYO! I’M A MURDERER! I’M A MURDERER! OH GOD! OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD! SOMEONE…DESTROY ME! KILL ME NOW!” “Gladly…” Hikaru’s eyes widened as he saw Asake lift the Uzi and aim it directly at Rei’s tear-stained face. The katana was lying on the dinner table, only a few feet away from Rei’s position. With the proper distraction, she could reach the katana and-

“NO! ASAKE! PLEASE STOP! JUST CALM DOWN AND PUT THE GUN-”

“THIS IS FOR OUR UNBORN CHILD, YOU FUCKING DEVIL BITCH!”

Asake pulled the trigger. The rattling sound of an old typewriter filled the small cottage as hundreds of bullets fly out of the Uzi’s barrels. When the smoke finally cleared, Asake’s eyes widened in horror. Hikaru was standing right where Rei once sat, who was now (unbeknownst to Asake) making her way over to the katana. Hikaru stood still for a few seconds before spitting up blood and collapsing onto his side. Asake was so horrified by what he’d done that he tossed the Uzi to the side and ran over to Hikaru, bending down next to him. A puddle of blood was forming under Hikaru’s pale body. His chest was riddled with bullet holes, blood spewing out of them. It was a horrible sight.

Asake cupped Hikaru’s small head in his palms and tried not to cry as he choked out, “H-H-Hikaru…why did you…why did you push her out of the way like that? She…she killed Akiyo on purpose! Why…why did you do that for her?” Suddenly, a small smile appeared on Hikaru’s bloody lips. It was the same kind of smile he always had whenever he hung out with Asake after school or when they played games together. It was the smile…he only shown for his best friend. “Sorry, Asake…” Hikaru said weakly, “I guess…it was just my instincts. We…we were all gonna die…die…anyway…Asake…I love you…” And with that, Hikaru fell still. Finally, the tears broke out, spilling all over poor Asake’s face like multiple waterfalls.

Rei smirked at the pathetic scene as she grabbed the katana and slowly made her way over to Asake. “H-H-H-H…Hikaru! Hikaru…please don’t leave me! You…you’re my only real friend! I need you here with me!” Asake screamed, pressing his face against Hikaru’s blood-soaked chest; his heart wasn’t beating, “I need you! You gave me a purpose! Without you, I would be selling drugs or working as a pimp or…or…I…oh god! Hikaru, please don’t die!”

“Too late, ass.”

Asake didn’t even have a chance to look up as Rei stabbed the katana right through his throat. Spurting out a large clump of blood on Hikaru’s still face, Asake fell forward and died. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and his whole body grew cold. Rei brushed some stray hairs out of her face and began busting the cabinet open to reach her bowgun. Unfortunately it wouldn’t open. Sighing, Rei sliced off Asake’s head and used it to bash the handle in. Finally, after about an hour, the cabinet opened. Tossing Asake’s mangled head to the floor, Rei grabbed her bowgun and ran out of the shack.

Suddenly, she heard the familiar sound of a rattling tape writer, and then her chest burst open with bullets flying out. “OH, FUCK!” Falling to the ground, Rei rolled back up into standing position and saw Suetsu Nanahara (Boy #10) walking out from behind the shack, holding a smoking machine gun in between his hands. ‘You…you gotta be kidding me…’ Rei thought as her senses began to fade. Her body was bleeding badly and her thigh still hurt, but Rei kept her balance and fired her bowgun, only for Suetsu to easily dodge it.

Lifting his gun again, Suetsu pulled the trigger and another barrage of bullets piled into Rei’s body, knocking her to the floor and splashing it with crimson-red blood. “AAHH!!” Rei let out a strangled scream as she flipped over onto her stomach and tried hopelessly to get away. She dug her fingers into the dirt and pulled herself along, leaving a trail of blood behind. She couldn’t let herself die like this…she had to live…she had to survive…

For the first time in her life, Rei could feel fear and dread swelling up inside her. She had always figured, ‘Hey, as far as I’m concerned, I’ll just die from old age, right?’…but now…but now she was afraid. She was afraid to face the one thing she had been trying to avoid her entire life: death. She had sex with thousands of powerful yakuza men and women just so she could continue to live. She would destroy and ruin the lives of others just to improve her own life. She wanted to continue to survive in this dark world…but now…she knew it was never to be…she knew she was just a horrible, evil person…she had to die…she had to…it was God’s will…

Suetsu shook his head in disappoint and pulled the trigger a final time. A few more shots, and Rei Tachibana was dead. Several bullet holes were even noticeable in her butt cheeks. All her years of planning, waiting…all of this to prepare herself for the new revolution she had dreamed of so long ago…it was all gone now. She was nothing more than the dead mangled body of a deranged whore. A sinful creature. After raiding Rei’s battle kit, Suetsu tossed the ‘useless’ bowgun to the side and continued to search…to search for that desired victim…

9 students remaining

Chapter 25

“Well, hello there, students of mine! It’s time for our next announcement! I must say, though, that I am very proud with how well you’ve all been doing so far! Hell, this game is almost over! Yes, you heard it right: this game of horror and evil is almost over! Of course, I enjoyed watching all of you be slaughtered and massacred, but alas, it must come to an end. Hopefully, you survivors can make the last deaths memorable, right? Show a bit of skin, ya know? Anyway, here’s the list of deaths, in order of when they died:

Boy #4 Tetsuko Najima

Girl #15 Mai Jippensha; Rather unfortunate about her. She had a nice pussy. Heh heh heh…

Girl #2 Yuuko Teishi

Boy #8 Ushio Tsukahara

Boy #13 Akito Tanayama

Girl #14 Kasumi Daichi

Boy #19 Ian Richfield

Girl #9 Elizabeth Richfield

Boy #16 Sakiyo Isobe

Girl #18 Sachiko Kaminaga

Girl #7 Chiba Sato

Girl #6 Kameko Ichigawa

Boy #21 Hikaru Nakagawa

Boy #5 Hikaru Godo

Boy #6 Asake Hishikawa

Girl #10 Rei Tachibana

Damn it all! That’s a lot of people you little demons killed off! Whoa! I better be careful around you little bastards! Yikes! Anyway, there are only nine people left, and I’m sure you all know who you are. However, just for fun…I’m going to do this!” (Mr. Nogami presses a button, and several seconds later Mihoshi’s name is crossed off the list) “Oh my! Did I just activate Mihoshi Okabe’s collar on purpose? Silly me! We didn’t need a gay fag like him anyway. You should all be thanking me right now! Alright, here are the new Danger Zones: H05, D03, A08. That’s all for now! Happy killings, everyone!”

8 students remaining

Chapter 26

Suzuka Watabe (Girl #16) let out a small groan as Teruko Shidehara (Girl #11) nibbled gently on her neck. ‘Oh god…so good…’ Although Suzuka was terribly faithful to Shizuru Mekane (Girl #4), there wasn’t much she could do with a dead girl, so she chose Teruko instead. This whole experience has permanently messed with Suzuka’s mind; she doesn’t even remember about her crazy desires for revenge only hours ago. The two girls were lying down in a bed of grass, completely naked except for a bra and panties. They were so busy making out, neither of them noticed a set of hands reach out and snatch up their battle packs (along with their clothes).

“You know, Suzuka, I’ve always loved you…” Teruko purred as she squeezed one of Suzuka’s soft breasts. Sliding her free hand into Suzuka’s panties, Teruko smiled as she felt Suzuka’s nice hairy pussy in her fingers. Suzuka winced and said, “Y-You know…you’re still nowhere as good as Shizuru-chan…but I’ll take you anyway. I just need sex so, so badly…” Although Teruko would rather be Suzuka’s lover, she was glad enough to be able to just fuck her. Suddenly, Suzuka remembered meeting up with Keito, but it was too late by then, because Keito himself was standing over them…a pistol pressed right against Suzuka’s forehead.

“Keito…”

“BYE BYE.”

Keito pulled the trigger twice on both Suzuka and Teruko’s bodies. He chuckled to himself as he watched them struggle to live, flapping around like fish. When they were both dead, Keito kicked Teruko and Suzuka around a bit before heading off. Suzuka and Teruko were both lying face first in puddles of their own blood. As he ran, Keito smiled as he thought about how cute Umeko Nogushi (Girl #12) looked with a noose wrapped around her neck. There was another body lying next to her with a knife in the chest, but Keito didn’t bother checking who it was…

4 students remaining

Chapter 27

“YASUKA! YASUKA! WHERE ARE YOU, YASUKO?”

Akane didn’t bother worrying about yelling anymore; there weren’t many people left. Akane felt like he was going insane. If he didn’t find Yasuko…or if he came across her dead carcass…he would…he would kill himself. That was the original plan. If Akane found Yasuka dead before he could even express his feelings, he would go and kill himself. It was as simple as that. He could never picture living without her.

Akane couldn’t believe how horrible of a brother he was. He couldn’t even find his own little sister! “Yasuka, where the hell are you?” Akane screamed with all his might. Several birds flew out of their trees from his sudden outburst. Breathing heavily, Akane listened for some kind of response, but there was none. “FUCK! Fuck this! Fuck this game! Fuck everything in my life! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!” cried the white-haired teen. If that didn’t catch Yasuko’s attention, then there was just no hope for him to find her alive. Akane could feel his eyes start to burn with tears.

Suddenly, a voice came to him. It was the purest, most beautiful voice he had ever heard…

“Onii-chan…is…is that you?”

Akane couldn’t believe it. Standing right in front of him, a small Cobalt pistol in her tiny hands, was Yasuka Etsuko (Girl #1), his little sister. Standing at “5’3 and 116 pounds, Yasuka was kind of a small girl. She had long white hair, big light-brown eyes, and a beautiful young face. She was a grade below Akane, but her appearance either made her look much older or much more younger than him. She was the sweetest girl Akane ever knew (besides Elizabeth Richfield, but she dead now unfortunately).

Wrapping his arms around her, Akane pulled Yasuka into a tight hug and exclaimed, “Oh god! Oh god oh god oh god! I am so glad I found you! Oh god…” Yasuka didn’t say anything but wrap her arms around him and let Akane cry into her shoulder (He didn’t like admitting it, but he was a bit of a crybaby).

“So…how’ve you been?”

Akane knew this was a stupid question considering the situation, but he asked anyway. Smiling gently, Yasuka brushed some stray hairs out of her eyes and replied, “…I’m fine. I saw a lot of things on the way here…terrible things…” Although she tried to hide it, Akane could see that tears were swelling up in her eyes. He put his hand on his sister’s shoulder and flashed her a smile of comfort.

After having met up with one another, Akane and Yasuka sat down on a large overturned tree in area C05 and begun to converse. It had been only a few hours, but Akane felt like he hadn’t seen Yasuka in years. Her beautiful pale face and school uniform were completely devoid of blood; Akane was glad to see that she had not participated in any of these malicious killings. She was the only person Akane truly cared for at this moment; he had even forgotten about hearing of Asake and Hikaru’s deaths.

Yasuka gripped Akane’s hands tightly and placed her head on his shoulder. Akane’s face flushed bright red, but he quickly regained his composure. “You know, Onii-chan…I’m really afraid...I don’t want to die…I don’t want to die without first seeing you and telling you…” Yasuka’s grip tightened and Akane felt like his hands were going numb. Yasuka lifted her head and stared directly into her onii-chan’s eyes. Slowly, she released one of her hands from Akane’s fingers and gently touched his cheek. Leaning closer, Yasuka perked her lips and whispered, “Onii-chan…I…I think I love you…” Akane didn’t have anything to complain to that. “I…love you too, Yasuka…I really do…”

The moment they finally kissed, Akane felt an amazing explosion of emotions within. So many thoughts of his beautiful little sister swirled around in his mind as Yasuka pushed her tongue through Akane’s lips, making the kiss much more passionate. Akane knew this was wrong…she was his sister, for the love of God…yet…he liked it. He had never wanted anything more than this. He was in love with his own sister, Yasuka Etsuko, and he couldn’t have pictured it any other way.

Yasuka pushed up against Akane’s body and began rubbing his neck with her hands as they continued kissing. Suddenly, Akane heard the sound of twigs snapping under the pressure of moving feet. ‘SHIT!’ Akane pushed Yasuka off and quickly grabbed his pole, his eyes surveying the area wildly. “W-What’s wrong, Onii-chan?” Yasuka asked, her face still red from their kissing. Akane turned to her to speak, but instead of words, a rattling sound filled the air and blood exploded out of Akane’s lips.

Akane fell to his side, but he wasn’t dead; just badly injured. Slowly stepping out from behind a large oak tree was Suetsu Nanahara (Boy #10), aiming his machine gun right for Yasuka. “Y-Yasuka…get down! Give me your pistol and get down!” Akane ordered as he forced himself off the ground. His back was hit with about five bullets, and blood was pouring out like crazy, but Akane couldn’t die here. At least…he had to save Yasuka first. He had to kill Suetsu! He couldn’t let Yasuka die in the hands of that crazed maniac!

Nervously, Yasuka fondled with her gun as she quickly tossed it into Akane’s quivering hands and jumped behind the tree. “RRAAAHHHHH!!! I WON’T LET YOU KILL ANYONE ANYMORE!” With all the power he had left, Akane jumped up and aimed the pistol directly for Suetsu’s chest. Suetsu, however, seemed to have expected this. In fact, he may have even WANTED this to happen. He wasn’t even firing his weapon and ending the battle right now…why? Akane didn’t bothering questioning such trivial facts right now.

More blood spewed down Akane’s chin and onto his shirt as he pulled the trigger. The bullet seemed to have flown through the air in slow motion. ‘What’s going on…?’ Akane wondered as he watched the bullet slowly come closer towards Suetsu’s body, ‘Why is…everything going…so slow…?’ It actually wasn’t going slow at all; Akane was starting to die, and his vision was becoming disoriented. Then, just as it was about to hit…Suetsu pulled the trigger on his machine gun.

Akane couldn’t believe it. Suetsu used the own bullets from his gun to not only stop Akane’s attack, but to kill him as well. Akane opened his mouth and screamed as burning hot bullets tear through his skin, sending blood and flesh flying everywhere. The moment one of the bullets cut into his chest, Akane felt it pierce his heart, and he knew it was over. He had failed to stop Suetsu. Feeling his body was turning cold, Akane glanced over at Yasuka and whispered, “Don’t worry, I’ll always love you…” Then, Suetsu fired again, completely blowing Akane’s head to pieces, finishing him off for good.

“ONII-CHAN!” Yasuka shrieked as she got up and ran towards her brother’s body. Before she could reach him, Suetsu fired the machine gun once again (where the fuck does he get all these bullets?), and Yasuka felt her side rip open. Letting out a small cry, she fell and slid across the ground, leaving a long trail of wet blood. Yasuka still couldn’t give up. Using all of her will power, she crawled across the dirty forest floor and grabbed Akane’s gun. Luckily, it still had some ammo left.

Suetsu calmly walked up to Yasuka and, as he shot her face off with a barrage of bullets, the white-haired girl instinctively pulled her gun’s trigger, shooting Suetsu right in the leg. As Yasuka’s body collapsed and finally died, Suetsu screamed out in pain, blood gushing out of his leg all over the ground. Even worse, he had run out of bullets. Cursing, Suetsu snatched up Yasuka’s gun and was just about to leave when his throat burst open and he fell to the ground, dead.

Standing only a few feet away was Keito Higuchi (Boy #2), who was smiling insanely as he held the smoking pistol in his hands. It was now truly over.

1 student remaining – GAME OVER – Report from Third Year Class A-2 Konohana Junior High School Program Headquarters Tracking System

Chapter 28

“I must say…I’m quite impressed, Keito!”

The small army transport ship swayed gently back and forth in the waves as it headed back to the mainland. After finally winning the game, Keito was called back down to the secret bunker in area E06, where he had his collar removed and any wounds covered up. Once Keito had some pictures taken for publicity, he was loaded up onto one of the Republic of Greater East Asia’s transport ships and put into a small room. There were two couches and a table in between them. Eventually, Mr. Nogami had entered carrying a tray with tea and candy and took a seat on the couch across the table. Underneath his thick glasses, Keito could see Mr. Nogami’s eyes light up with excitement.

“You did really well!” he exclaimed as he took a sip of tea and popped a small candy mint into his mouth, “Considering how attached you were with Nakagawa, I wasn’t sure…but you made me rather happy with that little betrayal of yours!” Keito just sat on the couch and eyed Mr. Nogami with a look that combined hatred, disgust and jealousy. He didn’t bother saying a word, much less move from his position. Mr. Nogami noticed this and his disturbing smile grew even wider.

“Let me show you something, Keito…I want to explain how glad I am that you of all people won…” Mr. Nogami said before reaching into a small briefcase he had brought into the room with him. Pulling out a large stack of papers, he placed it on the table and began spreading each sheet onto the table. Looking closer, Keito realized that these ‘papers’ where actually profile headshots of all his former classmates, from Hiroshi Fujiwaka (Boy #1) to Umi Toyoshima (Girl #21). Once all the pictures were spread out in numerical order on the table, Mr. Nogami began turning some of them over.

Keito watched in silence as Mr. Nogami turned over the pictures of nearly half of the entire class; some of them were Tayo Arakida, Suzuka Watabe, Shizuru Mekane, Akane Etsuko and Hikaru Nakagawa. Keito cocked one of his eyebrows, looked in at Mr. Nogami’s ever-grinning face, and asked, “…What are you trying to tell me? Why did you only flip over the pictures of certain students?” Suddenly, Mr. Nogami burst into laughter. “Ah ha ha hah! Keito, don’t…don’t you get it yet? C’mon, Keito! It’s obvious! Wa ha ha! Just…just think about what they all have in common…”

Keito sighed and began to think, but slowly the truth started to turn its ugly head. Before he could speak, though, Mr. Nogami answered it for him: “Every single one of them…is an imperfect being. Or, you could just say that they’ll be the death of this country…if they hadn’t been eliminated…” However, from the look Keito was giving him, Mr. Nogami realized that he still didn’t get it. Sighing, Mr. Nogami sat back against the couch and started to explain. His face became serious and tense all of the sudden.

“Keito…our country is not perfect. We deal with many of the same things that the American Imperialists and many other enemy nations face: starvation, anti-religious cults, people against government, homosexuality, the physically or mentally-handicapped, etc. But…unlike other countries, we plan to do something about it. We cannot let ourselves act ignorant like countless others and pretend it isn’t there, because it is. If we give homosexuals, retards, or those who disagree with the government the same rights as us normal Japanese citizens, it would be the same as losing a war. So…we must eliminate them. It is as simple as that. If a bug won’t leave you alone while you catch fish at the river, you kill it. This is the same thing. Basically, not only does the Program help install fear into the populace, stopping any chances of a organized rebellion, it is also useful to rid our country of…parasites…”

When Mr. Nogami finally finished speaking, Keito just sat there with a blank look on his face. He tried to make it look like he didn’t care, but inside he was screaming. He had lost his mind near the end of that game…he feared Nakagawa would betray him…and he killed him. He killed Suzuka…Teruko…Suetsu…he killed so many. Keito’s breathing grew heavy as he clenched his fists so tightly that they started to bleed. ‘How…’ he asked himself, ‘How could this have happened? If what he says is true, then…Suzuka…Nakagawa (he was a rebel)…and Tayo were meant to die in this game. And so were so many others…we were supposed to die…’

Finally, Keito couldn’t take it anymore. He broke down and started sobbing into his knees.

Chapter 29

“You cry a lot, Keito…be a man for once…” Mr. Nogami snarled as he took another sip of coffee and glared at Keito’s trembling form. Eventually, Keito calmed down and he just sat there, curled up like a ball on the couch. Mr. Nogami smiled and placed the now-empty teacup down on the table. “Hey, cheer up! At least you’re not dead like the others, right? You’re a perfectly normal ideal Japanese student…right? Answer me…Keito…” Keito, however, didn’t even bother moving an inch. Mr. Nogami sighed in disappointment.

As he begun to put the student pictures back into his briefcase, Mr. Nogami said, “You know, once we reach the city, we’ll have some of our soldiers take you back home, where you can live the rest of your life any way you choose. You can even kill yourself if you want. Most winners do, anyway. Just like my son…” This caught Keito’s interest. Lifting his head out of his knees, Keito uncurled as he asked, “You…had a son?” Mr. Nogami snapped his briefcase shut and nodded.

“He was about your age, actually. Came from the same school, too. I remember how I felt when I saw him again for the first time since they took him away…I never felt more relieved in my entire life. I was so afraid he was going to die…but he didn’t. He came back to me. And then…he jumped off the top of our apartment complex. When he hit the ground, his head and chest split open, and blood and guts flew everywhere. Worse yet though…was that he was smiling when he jumped…” Mr. Nogami let out a tired sigh and wiped his eyeglasses.

Keito didn’t believe a single word of it. It was no surprise; especially after everything Mr. Nogami had put him and the rest of Class A-2 through. Even if it was true…Keito smirked at the thought of seeing this horrible bastard cry in despair. Slowly, Keito began to feel that same old hatred from when he killed Nakagawa swell up inside him again. Almost subconsciously, Keito began clenching and unclenching his bleeding fists. Sweat started to drip down his face and onto the clear tiled floor.

In the awkward silence, Mr. Nogami suddenly spoke up: “You know…my wife’s a lesbian. Ran off with some fuckin’ ugly dyke about three years ago. A year after my son who, since I didn’t mention this before, was mentally retarded. He wasn’t very bright, and I was surprised when I heard he had won the Program…but before he died, he left me a note. He said about how his Instructor and the other soldiers did terrible things to him…said terrible things to him…coaxing him to commit suicide. They didn’t want a retarded kid to win, but they couldn’t just kill him, so they forced him to take his own life…it made me so angry…”

Oddly, Keito began to feel his hatred start to vanish. Why…why was he feeling sympathetic towards the very man who sent 41 of his classmates to their deaths? WHY?

“I hated them…I hated them all…I hated my own wife and son for being what they are: impure beings. My wife loved other women and my son…my son was born with permanent brain damage! It was their own faults for becoming what they were! It was their own faults that the government persecuted and killed them! It was all their faults…not mine, or the government’s. The government was justice…they were sinners. That was why I became a Program Instructor…to punish those who would dare to go against the government and all of Japan!”

Mr. Nogami’s voice rose as he continued to scream and rant. His anger…his fury…it was undeniable. He hated homosexuals. He hated retards. He hated anti-government rebels. He hated everyone…but the very inane political system that killed his family. He hated his own family just so he could stay ‘pure’ with the government. It was bullshit. It was fuckin’ bullshit. Keito couldn’t take it anymore. Standing up, Keito opened his mouth to speak…but then a horrible realization came to him…

Mr. Nogami was right in his claims: the government only did what it had to do to protect the economy and well being of its people. The anti-government rebels, the homosexuals, and the handicapped…they deserved to die. Suddenly, Keito bent over and vomited all over the floor, making Mr. Nogami gasp in mock surprise. ‘Oh god…I feel like I’m going insane…’ Keito wasn’t sure what he was doing anymore. His head ached…his throat burned…his eyes watered…and his hands…his hands were covered in blood…

Pressing his hands to his face, Keito closed his eyes and wished he would just die now and suffer in hell for everything he’s done to the people he once called his friends. Mr. Nogami, however, just continued to sit there and smile…

Chapter 30

Once the transport ship reached Kyoto, Mr. Nogami and a few government soldiers escorted Keito into a small truck and drove him back home, where they dropped him off. Before they left, Mr. Nogami told Keito about his new life-long pension and handed him a piece of paper signed by the Great Dictator. The moment Keito got it, though, he ripped it into pieces. “Ha ha! You’re a funny kid, Keito. See ya!” Mr. Nogami exclaimed before driving off. Sighing, Keito spun around and walked back inside his house.

The moment he entered, a disturbing smell filled his nostrils. It was a smell that had become all too familiar to him during the Program…it was blood. Running into the kitchen, Keito found his mother, father and little sister were rotting away in pools of their own blood. Keito, his eyes wide, collapsed to his knees and just stared at the three dead bodies. Suddenly, he began to feel tired…more tired than he’d ever felt in his whole life. Before he knew it, Keito collapsed onto the ground and fell asleep, right in front of his dead family.

When he awoke, the bodies were gone. Unsure if it was a horrible dream or not, Keito went insane and became a hikikomori for the rest of his life. He cut the faces of his dead classmates into his arms and drank his own urine from time to time. But…Keito would not kill himself. He had to live on for all the good people who died for the government…

All hail the Republic of Greater East Asia. Fuckers.