Shogo pursed his lips in response to Shuya. Then he asked in a slightly irritated tone, “What if we’re attacked before we even manage to get a word in?”
Shuya took a deep breath.
“Unless you’re actively out to kill people, then, relatively speaking that is, the smartest way to survive would be to stay put and hide. That’s the reason why,” Shogo pointed to his collar, “the government is using this to force us to move. That’s one of the basic tenets of this game. Don’t forget that. You move around aimlessly, and you’re a walking target for someone lurking in the shadows. With Noriko injured like this, we’re prime targets.”
He was right.
“Besides, when you insist everyone has to be saved, that only means we might not get killed here. But what if we end up as fugitives? We’ll be chased by the government, and the probability that we’ll get killed in the end is extremely high. I doubt anyone would submit to a plan like that. Don’t forget. You don’t know who your enemies are in this game. Blindly accepting everyone could ruin everything for you.”
“But no one’s—”
“That bad? Can you really say that, Shuya?” Shogo’s eyes grew stern. “It’d be wonderful if everyone in this class were good. But if we’re going to be realistic, we have to be careful. Think about it, you yourself were attacked by Yoshio Akamatsu and Tatsumichi Oki.”
Shuya had told Shogo about Yoshio’s assault when Shogo was stitching Noriko’s leg. Shogo was absolutely right. He had no idea what Yoshio Akamatsu was thinking. He might have been trying to kill Shuya.
Shuya sighed. His shoulders drooped down as he feebly mumbled, “Then… then we’re going to let most of our classmates, the good ones, just die. That’s what this means, right?”
Shogo moved his chin up and down slightly, nodding. “It’s not easy, but yes. I don’t know if it’s going to be most of the class, though.”
They fell silent for a while. Shogo lit another cigarette. He smoked too much. And he was a minor.
Then Noriko said, “Hey wait.” Shuya looked back at Noriko. “You said we might escape if everyone else dies, but we could also run out of time, if no one dies for twenty-four hours—”
“Yeah,” Shogo nodded. “That’s correct.”
“In that case, I guess your plan wouldn’t work.”
“That’s right. But I highly doubt that’ll happen. Besides, if everyone can really get along and agree to my plan then they’re totally welcome. But I doubt that’ll happen. So there’s really no need to worry about it.
Apparently only 0.5% of the national Programs have ended due to time expiration.”
Shuya blurted out,”’Apparently‘? How would you know?”
“Hold on.” Shogo again made a pushing gesture with his hands to stop Shuya. “We have more urgent matters at hand. You haven’t asked me what my plan is.”
Shuya fell silent. Then he asked, “What is it?”
Shogo shrugged. Through the corner of his mouth, which was still holding the cigarette, he curtly replied, “I can’t tell you.”
Shuya knit his brows. “What?”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“I just can’t.”
“What do you mean, ‘not yet’? Then when do you plan on telling us?”
“I suppose when it’s just the three of us left. Let me just tell you one thing, though. My plan won’t work if anyone tries to intervene. So my plan can’t start until we’re the only ones left.”
Shuya fell silent again. He stared at Shogo, who continued smoking, but then Shuya heard a voice whispering something inside his head. It was faint, but he could hear it.
As if he could hear this voice, Shogo grinned.
“I know what you’re thinking, Shuya. There might be something else going on here. I might be joining you just as a means for my own survival. In fact, I might not have a plan at all. Once we’re down to three, I might kill you two and win the game. That would work out nicely for me, right?”
Shuya was slightly intimidated. “That’s not—”
“No?”
Shuya held his tongue and glanced over at Noriko. Noriko remained silent, staring at Shogo.
Shuya looked back at Shogo.
“That’s not it. It’s just that—” Shuya stopped all of a sudden.
It was someone’s voice. It was very distant, but he could tell it was electronically distorted. A voice calling, “Hey, everyone—”
22
The voice continued. “Listen up, everyone—” It was a girl’s voice.
Noriko said, “It’s Yumiko.” She was referring to Yumiko Kusaka (Female Student No. 7). She was a tall, energetic girl who batted fourth on the girls’ Softball team.
“I’m going to go check this out.” Shogo’s face stiffened. He took his shotgun and stood up. He began walking east into the thicket towards the voice.
“We’ll go with you.”
They weren’t done talking, but Shuya tucked his Smith & Wesson in front and offered his shoulder to help Noriko up. Shogo glanced back at them, but said nothing and began walking.
Once they reached the end of the thicket, Shogo stood still. Shuya and Noriko too stopped walking.
With his back towards them, Shogo exclaimed, “Why they’re…”
Shuya walked up right behind Shogo, and like Shogo he and Noriko poked their heads out of the thicket.
It was a mountain peak. There was a viewing platform between the trees scattered on the peak. It was probably five or six hundred meters away from the foot of the mountain, where they were. But they could still see it clearly. The platform was a crude construction, resembling a shack with a missing wall. There were two figures standing under its roof. Shuya’s eyes widened.
The voice reached them. “Everyone. Stop fighting and come here—”
Shuya saw an object held in front of the taller figure’s face—it was probably Yumiko’s. Was it a megaphone? The one cops use to address criminals cooped up inside buildings under siege? It felt slightly absurd (“Put down your weapons and come out with your hands up”), but he could see how her voice could reach not only them but the rest of the island.
“And the other one?” Shuya whispered.
Noriko replied, “It’s Yukiko. Yukiko Kitano. They’re really close.”
“This is really bad,” Shogo said with a grimace. “They’ll get themselves killed totally exposed like that.”
Shuya bit his lower lip. Basically Yumiko Kusaka and Yukiko Kitano were attempting to convince everyone they should stop fighting. They were doing what Shuya had considered but gave up on after he was attacked by Yoshio Akamatsu. They firmly believed no one really want to play the game. They chose that spot to be as visible as possible. Or maybe they were already near that location.
“I’m sure no one wants to fight like this. So let’s get together here—”
Shuya hesitated. He needed more time to process the situation—plus the conversation they were having hadn’t been resolved. What if—it was unlikely—but what if Shogo was against them?
In the end Shuya spoke to Shogo, “Can you look after Noriko, Shogo?”
Shogo turned around. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going over there.”
Shogo knit his brows and said, “What are you, stupid?”
His putdown angered Shuya, but he simply answered, “What do you mean? They’re risking their lives doing this. They have no intention to play the game. They really don’t. So they can join us. Besides, you just said they were endangering themselves.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Shogo bared his teeth. It was an odd thing to notice, but they looked remarkably healthy. “I just told you. It’s best to stay put in this game. How far do you think that spot is from here? You have no idea who you’ll encounter on the way.”