“Come on in. We’ll have to get going soon, but we have a little time. We’ll throw you a welcoming party.”
But Hiroki stood still there. Shuya realized how he’d forgotten to share an important detail. Hiroki might have been appalled Shuya was using the word “party” in this situation.
“Hiroki, we can get out of here. Shogo is going to help us.”
Hiroki’s eyes widened a little. “Really?”
Shuya nodded. But then Hiroki looked down. Then he looked up again.
“Thing is…” he said and shook his head, “there’s something I have to take care of.”
“Something?” Shuya knit his brows. “Why don’t you first come on in—”
Instead of taking Shuya up on his invitation, he asked, “Have you three been together all this time?”
Shuya thought it over and then shook his head. “No. Well, me and Noriko were. And then…”
Then he remembered what happened this morning. It’d been a while since the image of Tatsumichi Oki’s skull split open assaulted him, and once again he felt a chill run down his spine.
“…yeah. A lot of stuff happened, and we ended up joining Shogo.”
“I see.” Hiroki nodded and then said. “Hey, have you guys seen Kotohiki?”
“Kotohiki?” Shuya repeated. Kayoko Kotohiki (Female Student No. 8)? The one who, in spite of being into tea ceremony, seemed more playful than elegant?
“No.” Shuya shook his head. “We haven’t but…” He thought of Shogo and looked over at him, but he also shook his head, saying, “I haven’t seen her either.”
Of course Kayoko Kotohiki had to be on this island. As long as her name wasn’t announced yet in Sakamochi’s announcements, she had to be alive. Unless she was killed after 6 p.m.
Once again he realized how he was letting most of his classmates die and felt awful.
“What about Kotohiki?” Noriko asked.
“Oh.” Hiroki shook his head. “It’s no big deal. Thanks. Sorry, but I have to get going.” He gave Shuya a parting glance and turned to go.
“Hold on, Hiroki!” Shuya stopped him. “Where are you going? I told you we’re safe with us, didn’t I?”
Hiroki looked back at Shuya. There was a sad look in his eyes, but they still gave away that humorous trace of irony. It might have been a look all his close friends shared. Yoshitoki Kuninobu (deceased, damn), and of course Shinji Mimura, and—now it seemed—Shogo Kawada.
“I have to see Kayoko Kotohiki about something. So I have to go.”
Something. What could that possibly be in this situation where moving around would only increase your chances of dying? Finally Shuya said, “Hold on. You can’t go… not with any real weapons. It’s too risky. And how are you going to find her?”
Hiroki bit his lower lip. Then he pulled out that object resembling a mobile data terminal from his pocket and showed it to Shuya. “This is the ‘weapon’ I got in my day pack. Professor Kawada over there could explain.” He pointed at his neck while his hand held the device. The silver collars around the necks of Shuya, Noriko, and Shogo were all shining. “Looks like this device detects anyone wearing these collars. Once someone’s in the vicinity, they show up on the screen. But you can’t tell whose collar it is.”
Shuya finally figured out the answer to Shogo’s questions. It was thanks to this device Hiroki had been able to announce there were three of them and detect their movements. Like the computer at the school monitoring their positions, it could detect the position of anyone wearing a collar, even if, as Hiroki said, you couldn’t tell who it was.
Hiroki put the device back into the pocket. “See you—” He was ready to go when he suddenly stopped, “Oh, one more thing. Beware of Mitsuko Souma,” he added. He gave Shuya and then Shogo a stern look. “She’s playing the game. I don’t know about the others, but I know for sure she is.”
“Did you fight her?” Shogo asked.
Hiroki shook his head. “No. I didn’t, but Taka-Takako Chigusa said so before she died. Mitsuko killed Takako.”
Shuya suddenly recalled how Takako was already dead. After hearing Sakamochi announce her death, he’d been concerned about its effect on Hiroki, but he was so happy to see him he’d forgotten this dreadful fact.
Hiroki and Takako Chigusa were close. For a while, Shuya actually thought they were going out. But when he’d casually asked him about it, Hiroki chuckled and said, “She’s in a different class. We’ve known each other since we were kids. You know hide-and-seek, that kind of thing. When we used to fight, I’d be the one crying.” Of course Takako Chigusa was an amazing athlete, and pretty aggressive, but her taking on Hiroki, who was now over 180 centimeters tall and ranked in martial arts—a while back, the only time he visited his house, Hiroki reluctantly showed him how he could split a piece of pine wood with the palm of his hand—just preposterously funny.
But now Takako Chigusa was dead. And given the way Hiroki had just described it, he was there when she died.
“So you were with her?” Noriko asked quietly.
Hiroki shook his head. “Just the very end. I… when we left, I hid in front of the school, waiting for her. But then Yoshio came back, and I got too distracted, so I lost Takako. Then as I looked for Takako, I ended up losing my chance to join you, Shuya, and Shinji.”
Shuya nodded several times. So Hiroki was in front of the school until Yoshio Akamatsu returned. He probably hid in the woods. It was dangerous, of course. But that only showed how important Takako was to Hiroki.
“But,” Hiroki continued, “I found Takako. I was… too late though.” Saying this much, Hiroki looked down. He shook his head several times. Without being told, Shuya understood that by the time Hiroki had found Takako she was dying from being attacked by Mitsuko.
Shuya thought of telling him how Yoshio Akamatsu had killed Mayumi Tendo, and how he had almost killed Shuya as well, but it was irrelevant now. Yoshio Akamatsu was dead now too.
“I don’t know what to say, but I’m so sorry,” Noriko said.
Hiroki smiled a little and nodded. “Thanks.”
“In any case,” Shuya said, “Come on in. Let’s talk it over, what’s the—”
He meant to say “rush” but refrained. If Hiroki wanted to see Kayoko Kotohiki while they were both still alive, what else could he do but rush? While Hiroki’s connection to Takako Chigusa was clear, Shuya had no idea why it was so important for him to find Kayoko Kotohiki. But in any case, as they sat here talking, she could be fighting someone, or she might even be dying.
Hiroki grinned. It seemed he knew what Shuya was thinking.
Shuya licked his lips. He glanced over at Shogo and then said, “If you insist.” He looked at Hiroki and continued, “We’ll find her with you.”
But Hiroki flatly refused. He pointed his chin at Noriko. “Noriko’s injured. It’s too dangerous. No.”
Shuya found the situation unbearable. “But you could be saved with us. How are we going to meet again if you leave?” Once they separated it would be nearly impossible for them to meet again.
“Hiroki.” It was Shogo. He still held the shotgun, but his finger wasn’t on the trigger anymore. Hiroki looked over at him, and Shogo pulled out something small from his pocket with his open hand. He lifted it to his mouth and bit on its metal end, twisting it. It made the chirping sound of a bird. It was a loud, brilliant, and playful sound. Like a robin or chickadee.
Shogo released his hand from his mouth, and Shuya realized that it was Shogo’s device—a bird call? Forget why he would have one in the first place—it was one of those things that mimicked the sound of birds chirping.
“Whether you meet Kayoko Kotohiki or not,” Shogo said, “if you want to see us, make a fire somewhere and burn raw wood to get some smoke going. Make two fires. Of course, leave as soon as you make them because you’ll only attract attention. And make sure you don’t cause a fire. Once we see that we’ll make this call every fifteen minutes, say, for fifteen seconds. Try to find us by following this sound.”