He reached the hills just as the speakers above him crackled to life. He listened to the report with a sense of detachment.

It’s not that he didn’t think that people would play, it’s the fact that they’ve literally been on this island for six hours and they’re already shedding blood and murdering with gusto.

And damn if the first name isn’t Yoshio.

He’s not making any effort.

The digs have gotten sharper over the last year or so, ever since he moved schools to Shiroiwa. Now, it’s an active hate campaign against the fat kid at school.

And it’s not doing anything.

That’s not much of a surprise. What is is the third name on the list.

Hiroshi? No way, man, that’s fucked up--

He has to mark down the names and the danger zones.

The speakers shut off, and he examined the map with six squares shaded in, planning his next move.

Okay. Go north, to the coast. There’s nothing there. Go east, to the Tourist association, and see what’s cooking, or go back south, and miss the school and see if anyone was there.

He still wasn’t sure if he should be playing.

He knew that anyone he came across would think that he was, because of who he was. He was Ryuhei Sasagawa, for crying out loud. He beat up fat kids for sport.

It all comes to a head one day. He loses it and starts kicking the crap out of Yoshio. In front of everyone. He’s yelling at him, telling him to sort his life out, the fat idiot, get off the games and lose – KICK – some – KICK – WEIGHT!!!

He decides that moving towards the Tourist Association would be the best thing, and he’d see what he could rustle up in the way of food and other supplies that might have been left behind.

He looked at the map. Three zones in a straight diagonal line that, according to the scale, would be just over half a kilometre.

He looked up, grinning. Nothing to it.

They track him down later, Hiroshi and Mitsuru and Shou, the flamer. That surprised the hell out of him.

"Saw you in the hall earlier," said Mitsuru. "That was a hell of a smackdown. What'd he ever do to you?"

Ryuhei's lip curled in an unconscious expression of disgust. "It's not what he's done to me. It's what he's not done," he replies, staring at the ground. He can see himself in the same position, all that's different are the faces and uniforms. He thinks, When the hell did my life get this screwed up?

"Who're you running with at the moment?" asks Mitsuru.

"No-one."

"C'mon. We could use someone like you. Nobody'll fuck with you after that. And nobody fucks with us either."

And just like that, he was in. He felt sick.

Nothing to it.

---

Three hours later, he was forced to concede defeat in his quest for items of nutritional or offensive value. There weren’t even any computers that he could use.

The Government had prepped this place really well, removing everything that could be considered an aid to any student with basic survival knowledge. They hadn’t shut off the electricity, though, which was one thing. Running water was another. As he made to leave the building, a thought struck him. If water and electricity were still being supplied, would gas also still be on?

He made his way quickly back to the small kitchen that he had found on his thorough exploration of the building, and turned one of the knobs on the hob to one side. A hiss filled the room, along with the unmistakeable smell of gas. He shut it off again, filing the information away for future use. Assuming he found a container in which to store it, he now had a steady supply of an explosive, should he need it.

Another three hours passed in foraging around the locality, picking tangerines from the trees and he’d just finished his sixth when the speakers crackled to life above him, and Sakimochi came on air for the second report. He crossed off the four names with a coolness he didn’t feel past his skin, and shaded in the danger zones. His isolation from the class, except the gang, was all his own fault, and this made it a double-edged sword. On the one hand, he didn't care that they were all dying, but on the other, he'd made his fair share of enemies, and truth be told he wasn't feeling comfortable without Kazuo and Mitsuru and Hiro-- Kazuo and Mitsuru, now, he amends to himself. For instance, if he ran into Hardcore Souma, he'd be fucked, and not in the literal sense.

He decided to head south to the clinic. Chances were, it had already been ransacked by others for all the supplies the Government hadn’t taken out, but he may still find something worth picking up.

He might also run into someone.

[[OOC: Hey guys, does anyone wanna meet up with Ryuhei? He’s getting a wee bit bored running around on his own!!]]

He had never felt so alone in his life. By now, he should have probably been

oh, isn't this familiar? look at you
(all alone alone all alone again)

used to it, but it sucked all the same. No matter how you said it, goodbye was goodbye and that shared spotlight dimmed to darkness. The feeling was getting sickeningly familiar now, worming its way into every sentence of his, right down to the punctuation mark. It was pissing him off. Every time he had to go through this bullshit---"Catch you later, Yoshi?"  ... "Yeah, of course," as I watch you walk away---it sucked, okay? It sucked in different ways every. single. fucking. time. And it always felt worse than the last time.

It was 4:17 pm, the day the basketball roster had been posted up in Shiroiwa Junior High. Big surprise as to who was on it, right? Bedside prayers had gone unanswered. Shu, point guard, as usual, and the Third Man, center, no shock there. In a desperate sort of way, he had hoped beyond all hopes that somehow neither of them would make it, but things like that only happen on days when sky turns to ground and ground turns to sky.

And until that day would put in its third appearance, nothing would change. Yoshitoki Kuninobu (Male Student No. 7) would keep on walking down his own part of the hallway.

skrrtchh...
skrrrrrtchhh...

His steps echoed down the stark corridor, his severely worn sneakers (man, I really need a new pair) slapping against the linoleum.  He was doing what he did second best to turning invisible: wandering aimlessly until something better came along.

skkkrrtchhh...!!
skrttch...

The noise made him stop in his clumsy tracks. It definitely wasn't his shoes, as beat up as they were. It sounded more like scratching or tearing, yet not. It was more like a really, really pissed off pencil shredding through heavy duty paper stacks. Whatever it was, it was scary stuff, for sure, the kind of shit that should only happen in freak films. What kind of monster could this be? What kind of monster was hiding in room 3B?

skrrrtchhhh!!!!!!!

Rather than knocking on the slightly ajar door or peering through the door's little window like he should have
not so smart today, are we?
he pushed the door fully open, mustering up his courage to say hey. Brevity never came to his throat. At a loss, he stood there, watching her sitting in her chair with that notebook on the desk in front of her watching him standing there in the doorway with his sweating hands by his sides like a fool.

"Oh, Kuninobu. I didn't see you there." Coming out of anybody else's mouth and those two sentences would've been added to the woe-is-me pile he was amassing. Out of hers, it was more like dammit, Shuuya would have a song for this. "How are you doing?" She closed her notebook, her face holding a kind of divine shine that he couldn't find on anybody else.

It's all you, nobody else, and you just don't know it.

"Gr-great." Nobu's heart was singing words blessed cursed inside of him forever. "I'm great! Yeah! I'm feeling so-o-o great. Isn't everyone feeling great? I mean, aren't you? 'Cause I know I am. You know. Feeling...pretty...greeaaat..."

Noriko giggled into the palm of her hand. "I almost forgot how funny you are, Nobu." She motioned delicately (Yoshi wasn't very good with words - "delicately" was the first thing that came to mind) over to the desk in front of hers. "Would you like to take a seat? You don't have to if you don't want to. I'm not doing anything particularly interesting."

"Don't worry, I want to! Believe me, I want to!" Before the last word was out of his mouth, he was leaping over desks to get to her row. He sat improperly, sitting backwards in the seat to be able to see her work. All over her desktop were littered scraps, lined with cursive prose. "So, what brings you here in Class 3B afterschool? Were you here for the basketball line-up or something?"

"Um...no. Was it posted?"

"Yep! Shuuya and Shinji were on it. The school's gonna be unbeatable through the tournaments all over again, like last year. Wow, did you see that one match against Ryojiki Junior High?" She shook her head. "It was amazing. Wild Seven faked it to the left, crossed off a Ryojiki loser guy, and passed it off to the Third Man. Y'see, it was extra important because Ryojiki and us, yeah, we were tied. A rarity. A horrible fucking fluke! But the Third Man, Mim, you know, made the clutch shot exactly when it counted the most! It was brilliant! Nothing like it. They're like a two man army, I'm telling you."

"That's great," Noriko nodded. "That sounds wonderful. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch another game like that."

"You will. Every game is a spectacle as long as those two are on the court."
No room on the court for you, is there?
Shut up.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry. I get kinda carried away sometimes when I talk about this stuff. I've probably bored you to death." He threw out a nervous laugh for good measure. "So, what did you say you were here for? I don't think I caught you the first time."

"I come here to write. Stupid, I know, but it's quieter than home." She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I was ripping out some pages I didn't like very much. Sorry for being so loud."

"No, no, it's okay. No need to apologize. All you gotta do is tell me what your writing did to deserve all of this?" The dark haired boy gestured down at all the mutilated scraps. "I didn't know you had all that in you. Guess I should be careful with what I say around you, huh?"

Noriko's eyes sparkled, wholly amused. "Yeah, you better or else you're going to be joining all of these guys." She pointed---no, that sounds wrong; Noriko doesn't point---she glanced over at the papers.

Another giggle from her mouth, more music to his ears. Sweet, sweet music, way better than any of that rock & roll stuff Shuuya was addicted to. Yeah, that's right. Her giggle, her sound, her song kicked musical ass. Show me a soul charging riff, and I'll show you her voice speaking a pleasant melody.

Yoshitoki didn't know where all the things he was feeling came from. It's kind of one of those things that just happens. Your whole world clicks into place. It, like, it shifts or something. You feel it move under your feet. Something magical like that. Wham, it hits you like a barreling tiger. When? He didn't know. Wait, wait, yes, he did.

It was like at first sight, definitely. It wasn't love. Love was a fickle thing. A fake thing. A needy, clingy, messy thing. Three simple words carrying a dangerous weight. You couldn't just say it. You had to show it. And you could never, ever call it its real name. It was the only way to make it last, to keep it alive. Once those ill-fated words come out of your mouth, you're screwed. Love loses everytime.

I mean, look at my parents, whomever they are. They must've said it and that ruined everything. Too bad families weren't like those on television, where everything is fan-fucking-tastic. Positively dandy. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"So, what story got owned?" Yoshi smirked.

"Not a story. It was a poem." She shrugged. "Then again, poems are stories too, I suppose."

"Why'd it get the plug?" He hoped that he didn't sound like too much of a pry.

"It wasn't flowing right at all. I'm not exactly good at poems. In fact, I have to admit, I'm horrible." The Nakagawa girl tapped her fingers on the desk. "But it doesn't stop me from trying. There's no point in giving up something you want a lot, is there?" Yoshi didn't have an answer to that, only a lame but, that depends if it's an impossible goal...I mean.... He held his tongue, letting her go on. "It doesn't hurt to go through life happily."

"Nope, doesn't hurt at all."

"It was supposed to be a poem about that. It was supposed to be about never giving up even when things are going downhill fast."

"Look how well that went..."

"Hey!" Noriko faked a pout. Cute. "Who said I was going to throw all of this away? It's not trash, not necessarily, anyway. Look at this." She picked up one of the more squareish pieces and started folding it. The word flashed into his mind. Origami. Wow, this girl was looking more amazing each and every passing day. "Ta da!" The paper part turned into crane art. Duckling to swan in sixteen seconds or less.

"That was awesome!!" You're awesome.

"See? Even if something looks bad, you can still make something beautiful out of it." Noriko smiled widely. "The trick is to never lose hope, no matter how bad things are. There's nothing a little improvising can't fix."

"Heh, that sounds a little too familiar."

"What does?"

"All this optimism." All this bullshit. "Yeah, guess you're right. Think you can make me one of those little birds? Or maybe another animal? They're beautiful."

Noriko gave him a weird look, but obliged. Watching the way her skilled hands moved was mesmerizing, to say the least. "Here you go, sir, two cranes at the ready. What're you gonna name 'em?"

"Dunno. I'll name them when the time's right." He put them carefully in his pocket as Noriko began to clean up, sticking all the scraps back into her notebook. "Hey, do you think you could ever read me one of your stories sometime?"

"They're stupid. You wouldn't like them."

"Try me. I'm sure I'd love anything you make." Yoshitoki walked to the door with her. "How far from the school do you live?"

"You don't have to walk me home," She clutched her notebook tightly to her chest.

He had a counter for that. "Yeah, I know I don't have to but I want to. Besides, what kind of a friend would I be if I didn't?"

She gave in. She had to. "Fiiine, Nobu. And for all your help, I'll read one of my stories to you next time, okay?"

"More than okay."

Unfortunately, her house wasn't too far away. This meant that there wouldn't be any long winded conversations, any time to work up the nerve to grab her hand, or anything else. It felt more like a mediocre jump away, that "walk". As soon as they were out of the school building, they might as well have been there.

His and Noriko Nakagawa's friendship was a weird one. They had met...well...when was it? The first year at Junior High? Second year? They were young. He knew that much 'cause she had had longer hair back then. She'd cut it at the start of the year after, whatever it was, and somehow, had improved an appearance that he had thought couldn't get any better. Like he had thought to himself before - it was like--- a very very strong like ---at first sight; he just hadn't known it back then.

Too young to know better. Too young to realize that she was now his and he was now hers.
You don't know it, yet, that's all.

The way that they started talking belonged to another dream. For now, Yoshitoki Kuninobu lived in this one, at the moment where they were walking side by side on the sidewalk. Now, he was really wishing that his shoes were better. Something newer. The Charity House never gets anything new in his size and if they did, he'd pass it on to a younger kid. Never had a reason to take it until today.

Please, please, please don't look down. Please don't look down...

"I like your shoes, Nobu." She said. There was no hint of sarcasm in her words.

"Thanks! Yours are cool, too. Cooler than mine, even!" He pumped a fist in the air. "Yeah. Everything about you is cooler than me."

"Aww, where did that come from? You shouldn't be so down on yourself." They stopped in front of the walkway up to her house. It was a plain and simple looking house in a plain and simple neighborhood housing a girl that was neither of those two things. "Hm, we're at my house now, so..."

"I guess this is where we part ways." Yoshi scuffed his feet on the pavement. I guess this is where I'm supposed to hug you and say my goodbyes, right?

"Haha, you say that like it's a horrible thing." Noriko smiled. "Don't you know that goodbye is just another word for see you tomorrow, friend? Don't think of it as the end, because it's not."

"Yeah, you're right. You're always right." Say it! Say it now!!

"No, not always, but thank you for thinking of me that way," She glanced over at her door. "It's starting to get kind of dark outside, huh?"

Do it! Do something! Here's your chance. Nobody is in your way today. It's all you, man. "Yeah. And cold, right?" All you, Nobu.

"Mmm, nope." She let loose a low, gentle laugh. "Are you?"

"Umm, nope! Nope! Not cold at all." He crossed his arms over his chest, beating himself up inside of his head. "You sure you aren't?"

"Oh, that's too bad, 'cause if you were, maybe I could give you a hug or something..."

"Whoah, what's that? What a chilly draft. I'm freezing. Brrrr." Yoshitoki opened his arms.

"Kuninobu, you're hilarious." Noriko walked into his embrace.

As soon as she was there, he never wanted to let her go.

When he had to, he was giddy. Giddy and missing something.

Eyes met, faces turned away in slight embarassment. Smiles all around.

Thundering heartbeat as he waved her goodbye. Neither could stop laughing.

That smile never left his face for days afterwards.

And you never left my heart.

((OOC: Wowww. It's been close to a month, haha. I have a lot of catching up to do. So, yeah, flashback! Whooo!! I'll try to write more to make up for all the lost time. Sorry. All my music stuff got a little hectic. D: I'll make it up to you all in lots of text, especially since I have to explain why Yoshi has been sitting in a room in the house for a couple reports now. Haha. Yay!!))

It was suddenly very quiet. Yuko had got what she wanted. There was no more shouting, no more fear, no more anger. Satomi still lay in that strange position, which couldn't have been comfortable, and she'd gone and smashed her glasses - she was always so careful about those glasses of hers, paranoid about them getting scratched, joked that her glasses controlled how much of the world she was able to see, and what kind of person would result from seeing the world with a great scratch across it?

Yuko was glad they had smashed. She didn't want to see those eyes.

There were some sounds. The wind, a bird in the tree. Nothing from Yukie. In the voiceless quiet, every sound was a deafening intrusion.

Yukie still hadn't moved. Unsure of what to do, Yuko held her hands for a while, until her own tears subsided and she was sure that Yukie understood and would forgive her. It was hard to tell what Yukie was thinking, deep in her shocked reverie, but she hadn't demanded Yuko leave, or... no, she hadn't even reclaimed the gun that Yuko stole. And used, on another person.

What if she'd frightened Yukie out of her wits? She knew it could happen. She'd experienced it. True terror could take away your ability to move, to speak, even to flee in panic. But Yukie didn't look like that, she just seemed troubled, as if thinking deeply.

Yuko tiptoed around quietly, tidying up the cave, putting away the half-empty bag of marshmallows, rolling up the blankets that Yukie had put around her when she was cold. She looked in her own bag, took out her bread roll and looked at it, decided the thought of eating with a dead body not ten feet away would make her ill, and put it back.

The backs of her fingers brushed against something small, cool, and glassy in the depths of the bag.

Glancing at Yukie - was she asleep, or just resting with her eyes closed? - Yuko drew it out of the bag and looked at the tiny bottle that, until now, she had never seen.

KCN was the legend on the small label. Below that, in tiny letters, was the full name: Potassium Cyanide. That didn't mean a great deal to Yuko: Satomi had been very patient in tutoring her, but chemical formulae still tended to go straight over her head. In their current situation, though, it could only be one thing.

Yuko stuffed it back in her bag, a shiver creeping up the backs of her legs and over her entire body. Two weapons. And one of them was poison. Someone, somewhere, was especially anxious that Yuko Sakaki should take a life.

And now she had.

Stepping past Satomi's body, Yuko went to the cave mouth and sat for a long time, staring off towards the sea. The desire to go back there was strong. Perhaps she'd just walk into it and let the waves swallow her whole.

She awoke from her trance with Yukie's hand on her shoulder, and only then did she realise she was crying again.

"Don't worry, Yuko. It's not your fault, it's mine. I should have been able to calm Satomi."

Yuko stared. Of all the absurd things! How could it be Yukie's fault? But her words were comforting, seductive, laced with forgiveness. It was so easy to listen to them, and so easy to feel the blame slip away. Yuko had killed Satomi, and nothing could change that. But Yukie understood why, and Yukie knew it wasn't her fault.

A wave of gratitude came over her, but was stayed slightly as she glimpsed Satomi's foot, still bent as if for flight. When Yuko drew the gun on her, she had been about to run away. Even if she had the Uzi and Yuko only had the pistol, she would not have attacked. She was just scared...

"I never gave you the chance to try," Yuko protested. She was barely listening to what Yukie was saying, but noticed that her voice had a particular rhythmn, a comforting, confident swing to it that seemed to lift spirits whenever she spoke. Yukie could read the phone book and it'd motivate people. Now, she was comforting Yuko with certainties and promises. The Program killed Satomi, and all the others. Yukie would fight the Program and Yuko would help her.

"So, we have to leave now."

Only too gladly. They (well, Yukie) did as much as could be done to make Satomi look peaceful in death, her appearance of calm sleep at odds with the violence implied by her wound, and they (Yukie) picked up all their things, erased their footprints in case anyone should come to the cave and guess the identity of Satomi's tiny-footed killer, and began to walk (Yukie leading). Yuko didn't even look at her map. If there was a danger zone in their way, they would stumble into it together. But Yuko was sure, with the certainty only blind faith can provide, that Yukie would not steer them wrong. Wherever Yukie went, she would follow.

OOC: Yay for last-minute slightly-rushed posting. :) Er, let's assume this takes us up to just before we meet with Megumi, in the post below.

 (OOC:Sorry it its crap, this is my worst post I think. I had a big writer block so I tried my best =S I have Yuko's writer permission but I dont have Yuka's writers and Mizuhos writers but  they do only one little thing. If there is something wrong, tell me and I would change it. =D)

Yukie entered the library and spot Satomi and Yuko, concentrated on one of Yuko's schoolbook. She joined them and said happily.

''Hi! How are you two?''

Satomi smile at Yukie while Yuko gave her an anxious look.

''I'm so worried by the chemistry exam of tomorrow.''

While smiling to Yuko, Yukie said:

''Don't worry. I'm sure you will do well. And Satomi and I are there to help you.''

Yuko, not so reassured, said in a sad voice.

''I'm sure I would not be able to do it. This is complicated.''

Satomi said in a confident voice.

''Don't give up yet, Yuko''

And they passed one hour to study their chemistry. Always helpful and patient, Satomi answered with Yukie to Yuko's question. Satomi was just so intelligent. She can answered to all the questions and did not mind at all helping the others one. This is what made her a wonderful friends. Cold, yes, but always there for her friends. When they had finished studying, Satomi ask in her usual calm voice.

''So, I heard you have a crush on Nanahara''

Blushing terribly, Yukie muttered.

''Eum..No...Who said this to you?''

Satomi, with her ironic little smile answered.

''Yuka...And it is not like if it was not obvious. You are at all the basketball matches and when he has the ball, you are shouting and jumping like crazy...Now, I have to go. The litterature club reunion is in 10 minutes. Goodbye Yuko! Goodbye Yukie!''

Satomi exited the library, leaving behind her an embarassed Yukie and a puzzled Yuko.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goodbye Yuko! Goodbye Yukie!

Satomi Noda, the smart and cold honor student, the helpful and caring friend, the dream-filled teen girl, fell slowly on the ground. She would not help people anymore. Her glasses break when hitting a rock and left her face.Yukie's horrified eyes came to Satomi's dead body lying on the ground, a red hole in the forehead, and then to Yuko dropping the gun, shaking and crying. Yukie could not realized what had just happened. Yuko, shy and harmless little Yuko, had just killed Satomi? Things were not supposed to be like this. They were friends, were'nt they? Things were not supposed to be like this. Yukie stared blankly at Yuko who was still shaking, under the shock. She is only a child. An afraid child... Afraid child do bad things sometimes.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A scream pierce the night's silence waking up Yukie. Worried, having recognized her mother's voice, she slowly got up and walked through her bedroom. Hearing another scream, she rushed in the corridor, and then in her mother's bedroom. Her father was already there, trying to calm her afraid mother. She was screaming and crying while try to slap her husband.

''The monsters! You are a monster! I saw them! LEFT ME!''

Mr Utsumi answered in calm but firm voice.

''Calm down, Naomi. It was only a nightmare. I'm not a monster.''

Puzzled and worried, Yukie approached her mother who was still trying to hit her husband, panicked and hysterical Wanting to calm her, Yukie approached her and hug her, saying in a sweet voice.

''Don't worry, Mommy. We are here to protect you''

''DON'T TOUCH ME''

Naomi pushed Yukie and slapped her in the face. Yukie looked at her mother, her eyes full of tears and disbelief. Her mother looked in her eyes and, suddenly, fear disappeared to let place to guilt and sadness. She said in a soft voice.

''Yukie...I'm sorry. There were monsters...Everywhere...I'm sorry...I did not want to hurt you...I love you, you are always there for me.''

Unable to say anything, Yukie looked blankly at her mother. She had never seen her mother so lucid. Her father gaver a teddybear to Naomi who, some minutes later, was sleeping again. Then, Mr Utsumi take Yukie's hand and lead her in the living room. After having giving her her favourite beverage hot chocolate, he told her in a worried voice.

''Don't be angry at your mother, Yukie...You know, because of her disease, she is a a bit like a child. And sometimes afraid child do bad things, out of fear. And it's our duty to calm them and prevent them to do these bad things''

Yukie nodded slowly.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And it's our duty to calm them and prevent them to do these bad things...I was the one who was supposed to protect Yuko, calm her fears. If I had suceed to reassure her, she would not have shoot. Satomi would be alive right now and we would have convince her to lower her gun and join us. But, I failed. I let the fear taking control of Yuko and because of my mistakes, Satomi is now dead and Yuko is devastated...Dad kept calling me ''Little Leader''...He was wrong...I thought he was right...But, in the end, maybe I was only able to organize school trip and things like this...

The hours passed. For the first time of her life, Yukie did not know what to do. She had always been the one who had all the answers, the one to lead her friends, but now, she was clueless. Haruka...Satomi..They were gone and would not come back ever...Ever... Around noon, as the voice of Sakamochi filled the cave, Yukie felt an outburst of anger, hearing what he was saying.

''Good afternoon, children! I'm afraid your status has yet to improve. But it also hasn't worsened. Another four of you are pushing daisies''

How could he be so horrible!? Four teenagers just died and he seems so unaffected , so unhuman...

''Oh, look at that! It's your class representative!
Boy #20, Kyoichi Motobuchi!''

 

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''So, did you have reserved the coach?, asked Yukie in a happy voice. Motobuchi, who was concentrated on pamphlets about Tokyo's touristic activities, raised his head and nodded. Yukie and Motobuchi were planning the school trip. Alone in the classroom, they were surrounded by pamphlets of activities, coaches' schedules, hotel fares and other documents. Yukie looked at Motobuchi who was now on the computer. A fantastic class representative. So dedicated to his duty.. Suddenly, Motobuchi looked at his watch and said in a precipited voice.

''I have to go. I have to study for the history exam of tomorrow.''

Puzzled, Yukie said.

''But it is only 5 P.M. You will have plenty of time to study, won't you?''

''Kiriyama was better than me last time. If I'm second again, my dad would be really mad at me. The end of the year is so near. I have to be the best student of the class. I can't give up now.''

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And now, he was dead. All his long hours passed to study, all his efforts were now vain.

''Joining him are the three lovely ladies:
Girl #6, Yukiko Kitano''

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The fall session in sports class, in Shirowa High School, was always dedicated to volleyball, at Yukie and Haruka's pleasure. By this cloudy day, in the gymnasium, all the girls had to practice their forearm blow individually. Without surprise, Haruka and Yukie impressed all the class, especially Haruka, by their skills in volleyball. Looking around her, Yukie saw Yukiko Kitano, a sweet and shy little girl, unable to hit the ball more than once. Usually, Yumiko would be with her and helping her but, today, Yumiko was absent today. Yukie approached her and said kindly.

''Hey Yukiko! Do you want some help?''

Yukiko nodded and said in sad voice.

''I'm so bad at volleyball.''

''Don't say this, Yukiko. I'm sure you can be good. You just have to uncross your fingers, like this''

She then helped Yukiko to improve her technic. At the end of the class, Yukiko was able to hit the ball at least two times and said, happpily.

''Thank you so much, Yukie. Your tips were so great. I'm still not as good as you or Haruka but I will practice myself, I won't give up!''

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Girl #17, Satomi Noda

Yukie looked at Satomi's dead body still lying on the ground, the Uzi in her hand. All her memories with her dead friend almost overcame her.

''and Girl #20, Kaori Minami!''

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On the stage of the school auditorium, a band named X-Treme was playing. Yukie had invited them to play for a caritative association who help to fight cancer. The auditorium was filled by Shirowa's student, applauding and shouting happily. Trying to find her friends, she came across Kaori Minami, a little enthusiastic and nice girl who liked babbling about pop stars , Mizuho Inada, a somewhat strange girl but who was still really nice and Megumi Eto, their generous and sweet friend. Yukie ask them:

''So how do you find the show?''

Megumi answered in an enthusiastic voice.

''It's so good!''

Kaori added.

''It is good. But I would prefer Flip Side over X-Trem, with the wonderful Junya. He is just so wonderful. There is something about him who is...WOW. I'm sure I will find a way someday to meet him in person. I won't give up!.''

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Yes...Me too. I won't give up. I promised Haruka that I would avenge her death and I would. Never give up, isn't it?

Yukie approached Yuko, who was still under shock. Pain and guilt could be read in her face. Yukie said in a soft voice.

''Don't worry, Yuko. It's not your fault, it's mine. I should have been able to calm Satomi.''

Yuko looked at her, tears rolling down her cheek, and said:

''I never gave you the chance to try''

''Don't say this. Now, I would not do mistakes anymore. I won't give up. We won't give up. Haruka, Satomi and everybody who is dead now would want us to continue, to fight this horrible program that kill them. And, this is what we would do. We will find Chisato, Yuka, Noriko, Fumiyo and Shu...and all the others and we will find away out.''

Yukie's determined and optimistic voice had reappeared. She truly believed what she was saying. There has to be a way out of this Program. Things made by humans had loopholes. With a little smile, Yukie said:

''So, we have to leave now.''

Yuko stood up. They took their bags and when they arrived near Satomi's dead body, Yukie closed her open eyes and put her glasses back. Like this, Satomi seemed so peaceful, like if she was sleeping. Yukie took the Uzi and put it in her bag, knowing it could be some use if they want to protect themselves during an escape attempt.

Haruka, Satomi, Kyochi, Yukiko, Kaori, I won't give up.

The air was tense. Thick. The screams of twenty students bombarded a nine-year-old Mizuho’s ears as she looked down to her feet, a patterned ball resting on the concrete before her toes. Her brows furrowed as she bit her bottom lip, glancing towards the students dotted across the soccer pitch.

“Hurry, Mizuho!” she flinched as Haruka let out a shriek from behind her, “Watch out for Kuramoto! Kick the ball!”

Twisting her head around, Mizuho squealed as her eyes grasped onto the stampeding form of Yoji; the boy was charging towards her from his place in defence. She felt herself shake with every step he took. If she didn’t hurry, he was going to crush her.

… It wouldn’t have been the first time something like that happened on the soccer pitch, either. Mizuho’s eyes squeezed shut in fear as she remembered the blue-and-black detailing Hiroshi added to Yutaka’s face only a month earlier.

Screaming, she pulled her leg back and slammed it forward into the ball. As she opened her eyes, she watched as it soared up into the air before swerving right, just narrowly zooming past a wide-eyed Chisato, who happened to be sitting by the sideline. The freckled girl nearly fell off the bench she was seated on as her water bottle spilt onto the floor.

“Ahh! Inada, you suck!” Tadakatsu, the team’s ‘captain’ for the day, roared, saliva spraying from his mouth.

“I didn’t mean it…” Mizuho frowned, sighing as she looked to the floor. She hated participating in lunchtime soccer. She only did it because she had nothing else to do, no other friends to hang out with. Even if they didn’t like her much, at least she had an excuse to hang out with them, rather than sit on her own. She wished there was something else –something more for her.

Glancing upward, tilting her head away from the plethora of barbaric classmates stationed before her, Mizuho’s brow lifted as something across the playground caught her eye. It was funny how fate worked like that, just when she needed it. Beside the playground’s swing set, sitting on a grassy knoll, was the figure of a chubby girl. Her short hair was rustling gently across her face in the wind, the sun reflecting off her wide-rimmed glasses.

Smiling, Mizuho began to head towards the girl, stepping off the cold cement and onto the soft of the playground’s grass.

“Hi, I’m Mizuho. What’s your name?”

Kaori.

The sight of her best friend’s corpse was even worse the second time around. Blood drizzled over her lips, her skin unnaturally pale… Mizuho felt herself sob as she knelt beside her, clutching Ahura’s pendant for strength. Kaori was such a beautiful person, always kind and loving. Mizuho knew the girl had her issues, but that was only because the rest of the class were so mean to her. Kaori’s classmates had caused her so much pain, and yet…they hadn’t received their comeuppance. Hirono was probably laughing it up from wherever she was. The thought made Mizuho a little sick.

Sighing, she glanced down at Kaori’s chest, noting the lack of Junya’s signature grin. She supposed Megumi must’ve taken the locket; She couldn’t really blame her. If there were a trinket in the entire world that was meant to represent Kaori, it’d be that. The pendant was a symbol of strength for the bespectacled girl, much like Mizuho’s own. To see her without it dangling against her uniform, or clutched tightly in her palm, was quite surreal.

Almost as surreal as seeing her sprawled bloodily against the earth.

Mizuho felt the tears push harder, placing her hand against the dead girl’s own. She had to leave and find Megumi, protect her… but, at the same time, she couldn’t leave Kaori. Not like she was.

She didn’t deserve that.

A few tears falling from her chin, pattering softly against Kaori’s white cheeks, Mizuho slowly picked herself up off the ground. After glancing over her friend’s corpse, she slowly bent over and reached for her arm.

”Oh,” The girl seemed quite sullen, her eyebrows furrowing as she looked down at her toes. “My name’s Minami… Kaori Minami.”

“Ah, Minami is a really cool surname!” Mizuho nodded her head in agreement with herself, brushing her fringe from her eyes as she looked down at the girl. “It means south, right?”

Kaori made a soft nod, continuing to stare at her school shoes (which looked comparatively dull next to the lush green of the grass). If Mizuho were a nastier person, she might have frowned upon the girl’s bashfulness. Instead, however, she let off another smile, kneeling down to Kaori’s level. The girl was obviously new to the school and needed a friend more than even Mizuho herself did.

“Haha, it kinda’ reminds me of the Compass Rangers.” Mizuho giggled as her sentence ended, the pimpled girl looking up at her in confusion.

“Huh?”

“Y’know, that cartoon?” Mizuho giggled again, this time louder as she tapped her nose with her index finger, “Four heroes, each from different parts of Japan, fight dragons and save the world!”

“I’ve never heard of it…”

“I should show you. It’s really cool!” Mizuho nodded in agreement with herself again -she had to make up for the lack of conversation Kaori was giving. “I like to pretend I’m Kitami, the North Ranger. She’s my favourite.”

“Oh, okay…” Kaori smiled a little before trailing off.

The pair sat in silence for a moment, the sound of screaming soccer players behind them, before Mizuho spoke up again, her voice rising in tone. This new girl was sweet and modest. It was…different. It was nice.

“Anyway, Kaori Minami,” she simpered, placing both arms on her knees, “Do you want to be my friend?”

“Oh! Uh…” Kaori gasped as she leant back a little, tilting her head upwards to gain eye contact with Mizuho. “Really…? You want to be friends with…me?”

“Of course!” Mizuho laughed, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder, “I don’t really have many friends at this school… We’d be good together, I think. We can look after each other!”

“In that case…” Kaori bit her bottom lip, her eyes narrowing behind her glasses before she finally let off a smile, tilting her head to the side. “Sure! I’d be happy to be your friend, Mizuho.”

Mizuho exhaled gloomily, taking a step backwards.

Kaori was heavier than her. Much heavier, but the effort was worth it. The girl’s face had been cleaned of the blood-spatter and her broken glasses were off, folded on the table beside her. She looked the very picture of tranquillity, hands rested stoically on her lap.

From where she stood, Mizuho began to cry.

Kaori looked so beautiful, spread out on the bed like she was. She didn’t look like any form of pizza-face, she looked like an angel. A warrior. And…while Mizuho was proud of her effort –carrying the girl’s body to one of the nearby houses to give her a more honourable ‘passing’-, it simply didn’t erase the fact that she was gone.

“K-Kaori…” Mizuho’s lips quivered, the saltiness of a tear trickling onto her tongue. She only had two friends. She’d sworn to protect them, to hide them from the dangers of The Program, and yet already one was dead. The other was lost. “I-I… I don’t know what to do.”

Mizuho sniffed, moving to Kaori’s bedside where she placed her folded arms on the mattress beside the girl’s elbow. “I c-can’t do this. It’s so hard… Megumi… She’s alone now, but need to protect her.”

Her mind grasped onto the images of the poet’s broken face as she fled the scene of Kaori’s death. Mizuho had no doubt the girl would have run far from the residential area, she only hoped she had hidden herself away from everyone. If someone -anyone- found Megumi, the girl would have no hope of surviving, even with a gun. She was simply too frail. Too innocent.

“If I lose her, too, I just… I don’t know what I’ll do…”

FIND HER, THEN.

For a split second, it felt as if Mizuho’s very soul was being shaken. Her eyes widened as the voice boomed over her head, and she let out a yelp. Reaching for her pendant, she glanced around the room frantically, finding nothing but her friend’s corpse.

“Wh…What…”

Biting her bottom lip, Mizuho felt her heart rate begin to calm as she squeezed tighter on the crystal. She must have just been hearing things. There was no one in the room; she was alone. As much as she wanted, Kaori wasn’t coming back.

Frowning, she glanced deep into her friend’s eyes.

The voice was right, though, even if it was her imagination. She wasn’t going to find Megumi if she continued moping like she was. She was so overwhelmed, so upset and so tired, even after her nap earlier…but at the same time, she couldn’t allow herself to lose her mind while her friend was still out there.

She simply had to find her. Find her and protect her. It was Mizuho’s prerogative.

Sparing her friend one last glance –and tear-, Mizuho reached for her bag and began to head for the door.

(PC control not approved, because, uh, all the parts are like one-liners, so yeah. XD If you have any problems tell me~)

“Sayano and Nikowa.  Kuronaga and Inada.  Let me see here...”

Sakura sat at her desk, staring at the front of the room where her teacher was going through the classlist, pairing up the students for a public speaking assignment.  It wasn’t as big of a deal for her as it was for some other students, she got along with everyone in the class fairly well.  There was the good looking guy that sat two rows over from her that she would like to know better.

“...Yamamoto and Minami.”

Well...there went that possibility.

“Who’s left?  Okay...Ogawa and Kotohiki.  I know we don’t have much time left but go ahead and talk to your partner and try and decide on a topic before you leave today.  Remember...these are demonstrative speeches so you’re going to want to decide on a topic you can show us as well as telling us about it.”

Sakura turned around in her seat to look at the quiet girl across the room.  They hadn’t really spoken before, Kayoko was one of the quieter girls in the class, rarely volunteering answers unless called on.  

She was also currently staring out the window at the small garden like she hadn’t even heard the assignment.  

Sakura picked up her tablet and pencil and moved across the room to sit in the seat in front of her.  “Hi.  Ummm...do you have any ideas?”

Kayoko slowly turned her head to look her in the eye.  Sakura shifted in her seat uncomfortably.  “I just mean, I don’t really know if I can do anything that can actually be demonstrated in the class.  I’m not that great at sports or cooking or anything like that.”  Sakura was babbling and she knew it.  

“Could I see the assignment again?”  Kayoko asked, “I forgot to write it down.”

“Oh...sure!”  Sakura handed her notebook over and watched Kayoko copy down the notes.  “So what do you think we should do?  We’ve got to be able to talk about it for at least ten minutes.”

Kayoko paused, “I’m...not good at talking in front of people.”

“I’m okay at it, or at least I don’t mind it.  So I guess we should find something that you can demonstrate while I’m talking.  Do you have any hobbies or things that we could research?”

“I’m not sure,” Kayoko wrinkled her forehead and started down at the page.  “I can cook but I guess I really can’t do that in here.  I’m not good at sports either.”

“Well...what do you do after school?  Are you in any clubs or anything?”

“Just tea ceremony,” Kayoko replied, her cheeks turning red.  

“That’s perfect!”  Sakura exclaimed.  “I’m sure there’s enough history to it that I can keep talking about it for 5 minutes and then spend 5 minutes talking about what you’re doing.”

“It’s just...tea ceremony is more complicated than that.  It’s not something that you can properly do in five minutes.”  

“Is there any way you could do a shortened version...or we could just focus on one main part of the ceremony.”  

“I suppose,” Kayoko replied with a sigh.  

“So do you want to meet at the library tomorrow after school?  We can get most of the research done, put together the information the next day, then match up our information to the presentation and be ready to go on Friday.”

“Sounds good,” Kayoko smiled.  

They met after school for the next few days as planned and during that time, Sakura found herself more and more drawn to the quieter girl.  Although there were times where it seemed like she was daydreaming, Kayoko really seemed to know what she was talking about when it came to tea ceremony.  

“...tea ceremony isn’t just about making and serving tea.  To fully understand the beauty and grace, most people also do flower arranging and calligraphy to add to their experience,” Sakura glanced down at her note cards and then over at Kayoko who was kneeling patiently.  “Kayoko is going to demonstrate a basic ceremony which is commonly referred to as Bon temae or a tray ceremony.”

Sakura had watched Kayoko prepare the tea once before when they practiced their presentation but was still amazed at how graceful and precise her partner was.  Every motion of Kayoko’s hands, every movement of a cup or wisk seemed to have so much more meaning than what it seemed.  The class was quiet, watching her every movement and their teacher was smiling approvingly.  Sakura was certain they had done well.  

She approached Kayoko after school had let out for the day.  “I’m glad you were my partner,” Sakura said.  

Kayoko smiled shyly.  “I’m glad you were mine too.”

“I know you have your tea ceremony circle but would you like to go shopping or see a movie sometime?”

Kayoko’s smile grew even broader.  “I’d like that.  I don’t have many girlfriends.”

“You have one now,” Sakura replied.  

Friends...

She felt herself getting pulled away from her dream, from her memories and back into the harsh light.  Something seemed off, she remembered being on the top of the lighthouse but she was definitely in a bed now.  

Then there was the throbbing in her head, she had never felt that before.  

“Ogawa!”

She opened up her eyes quickly, wincing in pain and confusion.  Shuuya...but that didn’t make any sense.  She glanced around the room and spotted Mimura hanging off to the side.  Ah- Na- Nanahara- Mimura- Oh- oh--"

Where was Shou?  He couldn’t have left, she couldn’t have been out for more than a minute but then how did Shuuya and Shinji get in and how did they move her without her knowing.  It didn’t make any sense.  

"Alright..." Shuuya said gently.  She was sure the confusion on her face was obvious and hoped he would explain. "Hi, Ogawa. You've been out for about half an hour. Well... We found you on the deck.  You were passed out, so we took you down here."

Half an hour?  That was impossible, she had never been out for that long.  It didn’t explain what happened to Shou either.  Had he left her to go find Kaz on his own?  

The two boys were staring at her, waiting for a response but she wasn’t sure what to say.  "You found me like this?"

"Yeah. You're alone in here, right? Is there anybody else with you? I mean...we'd probably have discovered them by now. But you've been all alone?"  

She shook her head, trying to clear some of remaining fuzziness from it.  Everything was coming at her way too quickly.  She knew Shuuya and Shinji well enough to know she had nothing to be afraid of.  Shuuya was one of the kindest boys in the class and Shinji was just on a whole other level.  He was smart, athletic, charming and completely cool.  There was no way he’d kill her if he hadn’t killed Shuuya.  

"...Yes, I came here. And I felt overwhelmed, and I..."  She was thinking out loud and cut herself off quickly, shaking her head.  No, she hadn’t been by herself, she knew Shou had be