Read Online Battle Royale by Koushun Takami - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Koushun Takami
Ads: Link
Yoshitoki's blood-stained short hair. He realized it was bone. Thanks to the bullets wedged inside his head, Yoshitoki's big eyes bulged out even further. He looked stupefied with the upturned eyes of a starving refugee waiting to be fed. Pink, slimy liquid consisting of blood and saliva dripped out of his mouth, which opened slightly. Dark blood poured out of his nostrils. It flowed down his chin and into the pool of blood pouring out of his chest. It was horrible.
Shuya placed his bag near him and leaned over. He lifted Yoshitoki's body, which was lying down face first. As Shuya lifted him, blood came pouring out of the chest of his blackened school uniform, which was torn in three places, and splashed onto the floor. His lanky body felt incredibly light. Was it because all that blood had been drained out of him?
Holding Yoshitoki's light body, Shuya's head cooled down. More than sadness or fear, it was anger that overwhelmed him.
Yoshitoki…I'm going to avenge your death. I swear to you that I will.
There wasn't much time. He wiped the blood off Yoshitoki's face with the palm of his hand, then gently closed his eyes. He laid his body down and clasped his hands on his chest.
Then as he pretended to fumble over picking up his bag, he leaned over to Noriko as close as he could and quickly whispered, "Can you walk?"
That was enough to provoke the camouflaged trio to reach for their rifles, but Shuya managed to get a nod from Noriko. Shuya turned to Sakamochi and the trio, clenched his fist for Noriko to see, and pointed his thumb to the exit to indicate: I'll be waiting. I'll be waiting outside.
Shuya didn't look back at Noriko, but out of the corner of his eye he looked beyond Yoshitoki's desk, where Shinji Mimura stared ahead, faintly smiling with his arms folded. He might have seen Shuya's signal. Shuya felt all the more relieved. It was Shinji. If Shinji's on our side, we can escape, no prob.
But… Shinji Mimura may have been more aware of their situation than Shuya was. He might have been saying with that grin, "Well, this may be adios amigos, Shuya." The thought didn't occur to Shuya at the time though.
He continued to walk. He took a moment to think before he received his black day pack, and he did the same as he approached Fumiyo Fujiyoshi's corpse, shutting his eyes. He wanted to remove the knife from her forehead, but decided against it.
When he stepped out of the classroom, he felt a pang of regret, wishing he had removed it for her.
40 students remaining
7
The hall was unlit. Only the light from the classroom shone on the floor planks. The windows on the side of the hall were also sealed with sheets of black steel. They provided protection against attacks from rebellious students like Shuya who might decide to escape the game. Of course, as soon as they were off, this area would already be forbidden.
He looked to his right. There was another room, then another, both identical to the room he'd just exited.
And then at the end of the dark hall there was what looked like a double-door exit. At the end of the hall there was another room on the left.
Was it the school's faculty room? The door was open and the lights were on. Shuya looked beyond the door, where a legion of Special Defense Forces soldiers were sitting on steel folding chairs behind a wide desk. Twenty or thirty? No, there were as many soldiers as there were students.
In fact, Shuya was hoping that if his day pack came equipped with a gun (it was possible—along with
"knife wound" and "choking," "gunshot wound" was listed as a cause of death in the Program reports), or if some of the others waiting for him were equipped with guns, then they could use them against Sakamochi and his men before everyone departed, in other words, before the school became a forbidden zone. But this hope was immediately extinguished. The three men with Sakamochi weren't the only soldiers accompanying him. Of course, that wasn't at all surprising.
One of the
Shuya placed his bag near him and leaned over. He lifted Yoshitoki's body, which was lying down face first. As Shuya lifted him, blood came pouring out of the chest of his blackened school uniform, which was torn in three places, and splashed onto the floor. His lanky body felt incredibly light. Was it because all that blood had been drained out of him?
Holding Yoshitoki's light body, Shuya's head cooled down. More than sadness or fear, it was anger that overwhelmed him.
Yoshitoki…I'm going to avenge your death. I swear to you that I will.
There wasn't much time. He wiped the blood off Yoshitoki's face with the palm of his hand, then gently closed his eyes. He laid his body down and clasped his hands on his chest.
Then as he pretended to fumble over picking up his bag, he leaned over to Noriko as close as he could and quickly whispered, "Can you walk?"
That was enough to provoke the camouflaged trio to reach for their rifles, but Shuya managed to get a nod from Noriko. Shuya turned to Sakamochi and the trio, clenched his fist for Noriko to see, and pointed his thumb to the exit to indicate: I'll be waiting. I'll be waiting outside.
Shuya didn't look back at Noriko, but out of the corner of his eye he looked beyond Yoshitoki's desk, where Shinji Mimura stared ahead, faintly smiling with his arms folded. He might have seen Shuya's signal. Shuya felt all the more relieved. It was Shinji. If Shinji's on our side, we can escape, no prob.
But… Shinji Mimura may have been more aware of their situation than Shuya was. He might have been saying with that grin, "Well, this may be adios amigos, Shuya." The thought didn't occur to Shuya at the time though.
He continued to walk. He took a moment to think before he received his black day pack, and he did the same as he approached Fumiyo Fujiyoshi's corpse, shutting his eyes. He wanted to remove the knife from her forehead, but decided against it.
When he stepped out of the classroom, he felt a pang of regret, wishing he had removed it for her.
40 students remaining
7
The hall was unlit. Only the light from the classroom shone on the floor planks. The windows on the side of the hall were also sealed with sheets of black steel. They provided protection against attacks from rebellious students like Shuya who might decide to escape the game. Of course, as soon as they were off, this area would already be forbidden.
He looked to his right. There was another room, then another, both identical to the room he'd just exited.
And then at the end of the dark hall there was what looked like a double-door exit. At the end of the hall there was another room on the left.
Was it the school's faculty room? The door was open and the lights were on. Shuya looked beyond the door, where a legion of Special Defense Forces soldiers were sitting on steel folding chairs behind a wide desk. Twenty or thirty? No, there were as many soldiers as there were students.
In fact, Shuya was hoping that if his day pack came equipped with a gun (it was possible—along with
"knife wound" and "choking," "gunshot wound" was listed as a cause of death in the Program reports), or if some of the others waiting for him were equipped with guns, then they could use them against Sakamochi and his men before everyone departed, in other words, before the school became a forbidden zone. But this hope was immediately extinguished. The three men with Sakamochi weren't the only soldiers accompanying him. Of course, that wasn't at all surprising.
One of the
Similar Books
