Shuya answered, his teeth still chattering, “I’m scared.”
Shuya twisted his neck to the left and looked at Noriko. She glanced back at him with a look of concern.
“I’m scared. I’m scared shitless. I just killed someone.”
Noriko looked into Shuya’s eyes for a while, then she cautiously moved her injured right leg and sat diagonally in front of Shuya with her knees bent. Then she gently opened her arms and wrapped them around Shuya’s shoulders. Her cheek touched his trembling cheeks. He felt her warmth, and his nostrils which had been overwhelmed with the smell of blood could detect a slight whiff of something like cologne or shampoo.
Shuya was surprised, but he was grateful for the comforting warmth and smell and sat still, hugging his knees. It reminded him of the time his mother hugged him as a child before she died. As he looked at the collar of Noriko’s sailor suit, he had a fleeting image of his mother. She spoke clearly, always so full of energy. Even as a child he thought she was a stylish mother. Her face, oh man, looked a lot like Kazumi Shintani’s. She was always exchanging smiles with his father who, with his mustache, didn’t seem like your typical salaryman. (Wrapped in her arms, he would hear her say, “Your father works in law and helps people in trouble. It’s a very important job in this country.”)
Some day I’m going to marry someone like my mom and then I’ll be smiling all the time the way Mom and Dad are. Their smiles made him feel that way.
The trembling gradually subsided and disappeared.
“Are you all right?” Noriko asked.
“I think so. Thanks.”
Noriko slowly let him go.
After a while, Shuya said, “You smell nice.”
Noriko smiled bashfully. “Oh God, I didn’t take a bath yesterday.”
“No, you really do smell nice.”
A smile flashed across Noriko’s face again, when the bushes rustled. Shuya shielded her with his left arm and held the Smith & Wesson.
“Don’t shoot. It’s me.” Parting the thick bushes, Shogo entered. Shuya lowered the gun.
Shogo carried two day packs along with the shotgun slung over his shoulder on a sling. He took out a small cardboard box and tossed it over to Shuya.
He caught it in mid-air and opened it. The golden bottoms of bullets in neat rows. Five bullets were
missing like cavities.
“Bullets for your gun. Load it,” Shogo said, then put his shotgun by his side and pulled at some worn out fishing wire. He pulled at one end tightly and Shuya saw how the wire went straight into the deep end of the bushes. Shogo then took out a small knife from his pocket and snapped the blade out of its handle. Shogo’s supplied weapon was a shotgun, so, Shuya figured, the knife he must have brought on his own.
Shogo made a notch with the knife into a nearby tree trunk no thicker than a can of Coke. Then he fit the taught wire snugly into the notch and cut off the excess. He tied the remaining wire around the tree trunk in the same manner.
“What are you doing?” Shuya asked.
“This?” Shogo put away his knife and answered, “You might call it a primitive alarm system. We’re at the center. The wire runs around us in a circle with a twenty meter radius. The wire’s doubled. The moment it catches someone, this will be pulled and fall from the tree. Don’t worry, the intruder won’t even notice. It’ll provide us with a warning.”
“Where did you find that wire?”
Shogo tilted his head slightly.
“There was a little general supply store. I wanted to get my hands on some things, so that was my first destination. That’s where I found it.”
Shuya looked astonished. Of course. No matter how small this island was there had to be at least one supply store. But the thought never even crossed his mind. Of course it wouldn’t have been possible for him to wander around given how he had to look after Noriko.
Shogo sat down where he could face both Shuya and Noriko. He began sorting through a day pack that belonged either to Tatsumichi or Kyoichi. Taking out a bottle of water and some bread rolls, he said, “How about some breakfast?”
Still hugging his knees, Shuya shook his head. He had no appetite whatsoever.
“What’s wrong? You feel nauseous from killing Tatsumichi?” Shogo examined Shuya’s face and said casually, “Don’t let it get to you. Let’s say each person kills one person. The game’s like a tournament. It’s forty-two, no, forty students, so if you kill five or six, then you’ll be the winner. Four or five more, that’s all you’ll need.”
Shuya knew he was joking, but no, it was all the more offensive because he was joking. He glared at Shogo.
Sensing Shuya’s anger, Shogo drew back. “Sorry man, I was just kidding.”
Shuya asked in a hostile tone, “So you don’t feel nauseous? Or did you already kill someone before Kyoichi?”
Shogo merely shrugged. “Well, this time, it was my first.”
It was a strange way to put it, Shuya thought, but he had no idea what was so odd about it. He felt confused. If Shogo was the rumored delinquent he was said to be then he might be bold in a way Shuya could never be.
Shuya shook his head and changed the subject. “You know, there’s something I don’t get.”
Shogo raised his brow. The ugly scar above his left brow moved with it. “What’s that?”
“The representative… Kyoichi…”
“Hey.” Shogo pointed his chin up at him to cut him off. “I thought you understood. I didn’t have any choice. Are you saying I should have let him kill me? I’m not Jesus Christ, okay? Besides, I can’t be resurrected, although I’ve never tried it out….”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
As Shuya continued, he wondered whether Shogo was kidding again. Was Shogo Kawada the joking type? “I think the reason Kyoichi tried to shoot me was that he saw me kill… Tatsumichi up close. I killed Tatsumichi. And that was because he attacked me—”
Shogo gave a light nod.
“So it was only natural that Kyoichi would try to kill me.”
“That’s true. Maybe. But even so I—”
“No,” Shuya interrupted Shogo. “Forget about that. What I mean is that Tatsumichi… Tatsumichi came after me even though I didn’t do a thing. And besides, I was with Noriko. Why did he have to attack us?”
Shogo shrugged and put his water bottle and bread by his feet.
“Tatsumichi was up for it. That’s all. What’s to understand?”
“No, well… theoretically, yes, but… I just don’t get it. How Tatsumichi could—”
Shogo cut off Shuya’s hesitant words, “There’s no need to understand.”
“Huh?”
Shogo’s lips twisted slightly as if grinning, then he went on, “I’m only a transfer student, so I don’t know much about you and your classmates. But what do you know about Tatsumichi? Maybe there’s someone really ill in his family, so he felt he had to survive. Or maybe he was just being selfish. Or maybe he went insane from fear and lost his capacity for reason. Or there’s even this possibility: you were with her. He might have thought you teamed up with her. How can he tell whether he’s invited? You and her might have decided he’s a threat. Or if you were actually playing the game, then you could use this same excuse to kill him. Hey, did you provoke him at all?”
“No…” Shuya stopped, recalling how he’d reflexively touched his knife when he faced Tatsumichi. Shuya himself had also been afraid. He’d been afraid of Tatsumichi.
“Was there something?”
“I touched my knife.” He looked at Shogo. “But that’s not enough to—”
Shogo shook his head. “Oh yeah it is, Shuya. Tatsumichi might have thought, I have to beat you, since you’re holding a weapon. Everyone’s fuse in this game is pretty short.” He said, as if to conclude the topic, “But in the end Tatsumichi was up for it. That’s the best way to understand it. Look, there’s no need to understand. What it comes down to is this. Once your opponent attacks you with a weapon, you don’t hesitate. Otherwise you’ll die. You can’t afford to think about it. The first thing you do is anticipate your opponent. You shouldn’t trust people too much in this game.”