Still holding the gun, she looked for her next source of shelter. Now there were several tall trees bunched together on her right with dense, tall weeds all over.
She ran across the field again. Her face was scratched by a small branch as she slid into the edge of the thicket. She got up slowly and looked around. She couldn’t see completely through the thick green shrubbery, but no one was in sight.
Yoshimi still kept low as she crept forward in the thicket. It was all right, it was all right, no one was in the area.
She reached the edge of the thicket. Now the greenery of the southern mountain was right in front of her. Large and small trees and also a dense grove of what looked like bamboo. It looked like there were plenty of places to hide there. All right, all right, then I just have to get there…
Suddenly, she heard a rustling sound behind her. Her heart leaped.
Yoshimi lowered herself, holding the Colt .45 in her hands, and slowly turned around. The hair on the back of her neck was standing straight up.
She caught a glimpse of a black school coat moving between the trees approximately ten meters away. Her eyes opened wide with fear. Someone was over there. Someone!
Yoshimi clenched her teeth to contain her fear and lowered her head. Her heart was pounding.
She heard another rustling sound.
There wasn’t anyone in the thicket just a moment ago. Someone had come here after her. Why? Was this person after her?
Yoshimi turned pale.
No, not necessarily. The student might just be on the move like her. If she’d been noticed, he or she would have come right after her. She hadn’t been noticed yet. Then it was best to let him pass. Don’t move. Just don’t move.
There was the rustling sound again. The person was moving again. Crouching, Yoshimi could see between the dense leaves the figure moving through the woods. Revealing its profile, it moved from Yoshimi’s right to her left. Oh yes! He’s not headed towards me…
As she sighed though, she suddenly did a double take.
The figure was too far into the trees to see. The rustling sound gradually became distant.
She couldn’t be wrong. Was she just hallucinating out of panic? No, that couldn’t be.
Yoshimi stood up, hunched over, and proceeded to follow the sound. Moving several meters ahead, she looked toward the source of sound in the shade of the dense leaves. In her narrow field of vision she was able to make out the school coat.
Yoshimi put both of her hands on her chest. Had it not been for the gun she held in her hands, she would have looked like she was praying.
But Yoshimi was praying, no doubt. If there were a god who could bring about such a miraculous turn of events, then she was thanking it. She held no particular religious beliefs, but it didn’t matter which god it was. She was grateful. Oh God thank you! I love you!
Yoshimi blurted out as she stood up, “Yoji!”
Yoji Kuramoto (Male Student No. 8) trembled for a moment, but then turned around slowly. His face had a Latin look. His thick-lashed eyes opened wide and then returned to their normal size. For a split second his face seemed to turn blank, but she was convinced it was just her mind playing tricks on her. The face then formed a smile. The smile of the boy who loved her more than anyone else.
“Yoshimi—”
“Yoji!”
Holding her day pack and Colt .45 in her right hand, Yoshimi ran toward Yoji. Her eyes filled with tears.
Yoji held Yoshimi in his arms, gently, but also with reassurance in the tiny space of the thicket.
Then without saying a word Yoji kissed her on the lips. He kissed her eyelids. The tip of her nose too. It was how Yoji always kissed her. It might not have been appropriate, given the circumstances, but she was ecstatic.
After kissing her he looked into her eyes and said, “So you were safe. I was worried about you.”
Remaining in each other’s arms, Yoshimi responded, “Me too, me too.” Tears came rolling out of the corners of her eyes and down her cheeks.
When Yoji left the classroom before her, he took a glance at Yoshimi, who was on the verge of crying as she watched him leave. She had left too, and dawn came. And she had been terrified every single moment until now. But now she was with someone she thought she’d never see alive again.
“I-it’s a miracle,” Yoji said, somewhat belatedly, as if he were in shock. “It really is. I can’t believe it. I thought we’d never see each other again. In this horrible…”
Yoji gently brushed his hands through Yoshimi’s hair while she cried. “It’s going to be all right now. We’ll stay together no matter what happens.”
Yoji’s words sounded reassuring and tears came gushing out from her eyes. The rules only allowed one survivor, but I get to be with the one I love most. There was something about a time limit, but we’ll just stay together until time runs out. If someone attacks us, Yoji will protect us. Oh God tell me I’m not dreaming.
Yoshimi remembered everything that happened between them since she met Yoji in their second year, when they ended up classmates. That special autumn day, when they bumped into each other on the street and decided to go to a movie together, then Christmas, then the strawberry shortcake they ordered and split at the cafe, that night’s kiss, New Year’s, dressing up in a long-sleeved kimono for the first temple visit (the sacred lot she drew was only “fair luck.” while his was “very good luck,” and he gave her his), and the unforgettable Saturday, January 18th, the night she spent at Yoji’s house.
“Where have you been?” Yoshimi asked.
Yoji pointed to the group of houses. “In a house over there. But you know this collar—if I stay there, it’s supposed to explode. So…”
Yoji looked serious, but Yoshimi thought it was funny. They were right near each other! She’d been wondering ever since the game began where could he be, only to find out he was right nearby.
“What’s up?”
“I was hiding in one of those houses too. We were probably right next door to each other.”
They laughed. Yoshimi realized how wonderful it was to share a laugh with someone you loved. It might be considered trivial, but no, it was essential. And now it was hers once again.
Yoji slowly let go of Yoshimi. His eyes suddenly fell on her right hand. Realizing she was still holding the gun, she burst out, “Ha ha ha. I forgot…”
Yoji also smiled. “Nice weapon. Look what I ended up with.”
He showed her what he’d been holding. She hadn’t noticed it at all. On closer look, she saw that it was a dagger, the kind you might see in an antique store. The strip of thread wrapped around the grip was worn out, the oval-shaped guard had turned greenish blue, and as Yoji revealed by pulling the dagger out of its sheath, the blade was spotted with rust. Yoji returned the blade to its sheath and tucked it in his belt.
“Hey, let me check that out,” Yoji said.
She offered the gun to him. “You hold onto it. I doubt I can do much with it.”
Yoji nodded and took the Colt .45. He held the grip and checked the safety. He pulled the slide, revealing the first bullet in the chamber. The hammer was still cocked.
“You have bullets for this?”
The gun’s cartridge was fully loaded. Yoshimi nodded, took the box of bullets out of her day pack, and handed it over to him. Yoji took it with one hand, opening it up with his thumb to check the contents. Then he tucked it into his uniform pocket.
All of a sudden… Yoshimi couldn’t believe her eyes. She was completely clueless as to what was going on—as if she were watching some baffling magic trick—as she looked at Yoji’s hands.