simultaneously (unless she was chosen first, which meant he would be the last one to leave).
But…could Noriko walk?
Sakamochi took out an envelope from his inner coat pocket.
"The first student is selected by lottery. Hold on a second…"
From his pocket Sakamochi produced a pink-ribboned pair of scissors and ceremoniously cut open the end of the envelope.
That was when Kazuo Kiriyama spoke up. Like Shinji Mimura, he also sounded calm. But his voice sounded cold with a harsh ring. "I was wondering when the game begins."
Everyone looked back to the last row, where Kiriyama was sitting. (Shogo Kawada was the only who didn't turn. He just continued to chew his gum.)
Sakamochi gestured with his hand, "As soon as you leave here. So you all might want to hide out to cook up your own strategies…since it's night right now."
Kazuo Kiriyama didn't respond. Shuya finally confirmed it was midnight, or 1 a.m.—no, it was already near 1:30 a.m.
After cutting open the envelope Sakamochi pulled out from it a white sheet of paper, and he unfolded it.
His mouth formed an "O" and he remarked, "What a coincidence! It's student No. 1. Yoshio Akamatsu."
Hearing the announcement, Yoshio Akamatsu, who sat at the front row of the column near the windows (steel plates), looked shaken. He was 180 centimeters tall, weighing 90 kilograms, so he was large, but he couldn't even catch a fly ball, nor could he run a full lap around the track. Yoshio was always bumbling through gym class. Now his lips were pale blue.
"Hurry up, Yoshio Akamatsu," Sakamochi said. Yoshio held the bag he'd packed for the study trip and staggered to his feet. He made his way forward and received his day pack from the camouflaged trio, who now held their rifles at their waists. He stood at the open door and faced the darkness. He looked back at everyone with a terrified face, but then a moment later he vanished beyond the door. Two or three footsteps turned into the pounding sound of his running, which then faded away. It sounded like he fell once but then it sounded like he dashed off again.
In the quiet room several students took a deep, restrained breath.
"Now we will wait two minutes. Then the next one will be Female Student No. 1, Mizuho Inada—"
This routine continued ruthlessly on and on like this.
But there was something Shuya noticed when Female Student No. 4 Sakura Ogawa got up to leave.
Sakura sat two seats behind Shuya, in the very last row. As she made her way to the exit, she touched the desk of her boyfriend Kazuhiko Yamamoto and left a piece of paper behind for him. She might have dashed off a message on that sheet of paper on which they'd been instructed to write, "We will kill each other."
Shuya might have been the only one who saw this. At the very least Sakamochi didn't seem to notice.
Kazuhiko snatched the scrap of paper and clenched it tightly under his desk. Shuya felt a wave of relief.
They weren't all consumed by this insanity yet. The bonds of love had yet to be severed.
But…what was her message? Shuya wondered as she left the classroom. Maybe—he glanced at the map Sakamochi had scrawled on the blackboard—she'd designated one of the areas for a meeting? But that map on the blackboard was too crude, and there was no guarantee at all it'd correspond to the maps they were given. Maybe she indicated a general direction or distance. Besides, the fact that they wanted to secretly meet only meant they didn't trust anyone else and they were certain others would try to kill them. Which in the end meant they were falling into Sakamochi's trap.
Shuya thought, I have no idea what lies beyond this room but I should at the very least be able to wait outside and talk to the students after me. None of Sakamochi's rules prohibit me from doing this.
Everyone might be panicking from suspicion, but if we can just get together and discuss the situation then I'm sure we can come up with a plan. Plus, Noriko was the one who came immediately
But…could Noriko walk?
Sakamochi took out an envelope from his inner coat pocket.
"The first student is selected by lottery. Hold on a second…"
From his pocket Sakamochi produced a pink-ribboned pair of scissors and ceremoniously cut open the end of the envelope.
That was when Kazuo Kiriyama spoke up. Like Shinji Mimura, he also sounded calm. But his voice sounded cold with a harsh ring. "I was wondering when the game begins."
Everyone looked back to the last row, where Kiriyama was sitting. (Shogo Kawada was the only who didn't turn. He just continued to chew his gum.)
Sakamochi gestured with his hand, "As soon as you leave here. So you all might want to hide out to cook up your own strategies…since it's night right now."
Kazuo Kiriyama didn't respond. Shuya finally confirmed it was midnight, or 1 a.m.—no, it was already near 1:30 a.m.
After cutting open the envelope Sakamochi pulled out from it a white sheet of paper, and he unfolded it.
His mouth formed an "O" and he remarked, "What a coincidence! It's student No. 1. Yoshio Akamatsu."
Hearing the announcement, Yoshio Akamatsu, who sat at the front row of the column near the windows (steel plates), looked shaken. He was 180 centimeters tall, weighing 90 kilograms, so he was large, but he couldn't even catch a fly ball, nor could he run a full lap around the track. Yoshio was always bumbling through gym class. Now his lips were pale blue.
"Hurry up, Yoshio Akamatsu," Sakamochi said. Yoshio held the bag he'd packed for the study trip and staggered to his feet. He made his way forward and received his day pack from the camouflaged trio, who now held their rifles at their waists. He stood at the open door and faced the darkness. He looked back at everyone with a terrified face, but then a moment later he vanished beyond the door. Two or three footsteps turned into the pounding sound of his running, which then faded away. It sounded like he fell once but then it sounded like he dashed off again.
In the quiet room several students took a deep, restrained breath.
"Now we will wait two minutes. Then the next one will be Female Student No. 1, Mizuho Inada—"
This routine continued ruthlessly on and on like this.
But there was something Shuya noticed when Female Student No. 4 Sakura Ogawa got up to leave.
Sakura sat two seats behind Shuya, in the very last row. As she made her way to the exit, she touched the desk of her boyfriend Kazuhiko Yamamoto and left a piece of paper behind for him. She might have dashed off a message on that sheet of paper on which they'd been instructed to write, "We will kill each other."
Shuya might have been the only one who saw this. At the very least Sakamochi didn't seem to notice.
Kazuhiko snatched the scrap of paper and clenched it tightly under his desk. Shuya felt a wave of relief.
They weren't all consumed by this insanity yet. The bonds of love had yet to be severed.
But…what was her message? Shuya wondered as she left the classroom. Maybe—he glanced at the map Sakamochi had scrawled on the blackboard—she'd designated one of the areas for a meeting? But that map on the blackboard was too crude, and there was no guarantee at all it'd correspond to the maps they were given. Maybe she indicated a general direction or distance. Besides, the fact that they wanted to secretly meet only meant they didn't trust anyone else and they were certain others would try to kill them. Which in the end meant they were falling into Sakamochi's trap.
Shuya thought, I have no idea what lies beyond this room but I should at the very least be able to wait outside and talk to the students after me. None of Sakamochi's rules prohibit me from doing this.
Everyone might be panicking from suspicion, but if we can just get together and discuss the situation then I'm sure we can come up with a plan. Plus, Noriko was the one who came immediately
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