Shogo was utterly stiff, as if he might start shaking any second now. But as Sakamochi raised his brow, Shogo looked away from him and stared down at the floor. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about…” he said. He nervously opened and then clenched his fist several times. He glanced back at Sakamochi and then anxiously said, “Why bother spraying gas? You’re just wasting tax money.”
Sakamochi snickered. “We’ll soon see whether I am.” Then he said, “Oh, that’s right.” He pulled out a small automatic pistol from under his coat and pointed it at Shogo. Shogo opened his eyes wide. “I’ve decided to take care of you as an internal matter too. You have dangerous ideas. I think it’s against this country’s interests if we let someone like you live. Have to toss the rotten apple out of the box. The sooner the better. You arrive DOA due to injuries from the game. How’s that? Oh, don’t you worry. If you happen to have friends too, we’ll hunt them down. We won’t have to interrogate you.”
Shogo slowly tore his eyes away from the gun and looked at Sakamochi. “You…” he said. He was now baring his teeth. Sakamochi broke into a grin. “Bastard!” Shogo howled in a voice full of indignation, despair, probably mixed in with a dose of fear towards everything incomprehensible. What he wanted to do most was grab Sakamochi by the neck. But the gun restrained him. He could only clench his fists over his thighs.
“D-don’t you have any kids? How can you accept this fucked up game?”
“Of course I have kids,” Sakamochi replied casually. “You know, I like to have a good time, so we’re about to have our third.”
Shogo didn’t respond to the joke, yelling instead, “Then how can you accept this? One of your kids might end up in this game in the future! Or is it that kids of high-ranked officials like you are exempted?”
Offended, Sakamochi shook his head. “That’s preposterous. How can you say that, Kawada? You read the Program Requirements, right? There are no exceptions. Of course I’ve done some sneaky things. Using connections to get my kid into a prestigious school. I’m human. But being human also means we have to abide by certain rules… oh, that’s right, you weren’t able to steal that, huh?
“The top secret agenda also had information on the Program. I’ll tell you now, this country needs the Program. The thing is, it’s not an experiment at all. Come on, why do you think we have the local news broadcast the image of the winner? Of course, viewers might feel sorry for him or her, thinking, the poor student probably didn’t even want to play the game, but had no choice but to fight the others. In other words, everyone ends up concluding, you cant trust anyone, right? Which would extinguish any hope of uniting and forming a coup d’etat against the government, hm? And so the Republic of Greater East Asia and its ideals will live on for eternity. Naturally everyone has to die equally for the sake of this noble goal. I’ve passed this wisdom onto my kids. My oldest kid is in the second grade now and she’s always saying how she’ll sacrifice her life for the Republic.”
Shogo’s cheeks began to tremble. “You’re insane,” he said, “You’re out of your mind! How can you be like that?” He was nearly sobbing, “A government is supposed to serve the needs of the people. We shouldn’t be slaves to our own system. If you think this country makes sense, then you’re insane!”
Sakamochi let him finish. Then he said, “Hey, Kawada. You’re still a kid. It looks like you guys had some talks, but I want you to think a little more. This is a marvelous country. It’s the most prosperous country in the world. Well, you might not be able to travel abroad much, but its industrial exports are unsurpassed. The government’s slogan is telling the truth when it claims our per capita production is the best in the world. The thing is though, this prosperity only comes as a result of unifying the population with a powerful government at the center. A certain degree of control is always necessary. Otherwise… we’ll decline into a third-rate country, like the American Empire. You know, right? That country is in turmoil from all kinds of problems like drugs, violence, and homosexuality. They’re living off their past glory, but it’ll only be a matter of time before they fall apart.”
Shogo remained silent. He clenched his teeth. Then he spoke quietly, “Let me say one thing.” Sakamochi raised his brow. “What? Go ahead.”
“You guys might call it prosperity, but…” Shogo’s voice sounded tired, but still dignified, “…it’ll always be phony. That truth won’t change even if you kill me now. You’re doomed to be phony. Don’t forget that.”
Sakamochi shrugged his shoulders. “Are you done with your speech?” He pointed his gun at him. Shogo tightened his mouth and glared at Sakamochi, ignoring the gun. He seemed ready to face the consequences.
“Later, Kawada.” Sakamochi nodded as if to bid him farewell. Then his finger began pulling the trigger when—
BRRRATTA the tapping, typewriter-like sound pierced through the room.
Sakamochi’s finger stopped for a moment. He glanced at the door for a split second—long enough to be distracted. By the time he looked back Shogo was right in front of his face. Even though there was a table in between them, he was only ten centimeters away. He’d moved instantly, like a magician, as if he’d teleported.
The rattling sound continued outside the room.
Shogo’s left hand held down the gun in Sakamochi’s right hand. Sakamochi froze up and looked up at Shogo’s face, now within kissing distance. His long hair wasn’t too messy. He didn’t try to swing his hand loose from Shogo. He merely looked at Shogo with his mouth closed.
The rattling sound again.
The door opened. “An attack—” Nomura stopped once he grasped the situation and attempted to lift his rifle.
Still holding Sakamochi’s right hand down with his left hand, Shogo spun Sakamochi’s body around as if dancing a tango. As he turned, he squeezed Sakamochi’s index finger on the trigger and began firing away. Three shots pierced Nomura right above his heart. He groaned and collapsed. The rattling sounded louder now, with the door open.
Shogo looked into Sakamochi’s eyes again. Their bodies still entwined, he drove his right fist under Sakamochi’s chin.
Sakamochi coughed out blood. His eyes stared up at Shogo. The blood spilled from his lips, dripping down to his chin and onto the floor.
“I told you, it was a waste of tax money.” Shogo twisted his fist further into Sakamochi’s chin. Sakamochi’s eyes rolled away from Shogo. Then they slowly rolled upwards.
Shogo moved away from Sakamochi, and Sakamochi crashed onto the sofa. His throat was now exposed. A brown stick poked out of his windpipe like a strange ornament. Closer up, the gold logo, “HB,” on its butt-end was visible. This was one of those pencils that everyone, including Shogo and Shuya, had written, “We will kill each other,” but Kinpatsu Sakamochi probably had no idea.
After glancing down at Sakamochi he tucked the gun into his belt. He dashed over to Nomura, who was lying face up, and picked up his rifle. He took the extra magazines from his belt and left the room. He opened the two doors down the corridor on the right, but there were only rows of bunk beds. No one was inside.
The rattling was approaching him. A soldier came tumbling down the stairs beyond the narrow corridor. It was the soldier Kondo, now dead. He had a gun in his hand but wasn’t wearing and body armor—maybe he’d thought he was safe now that the game was over.