Battle Royale by Koushun Takami Read Free Book Online

pointed his gun downward and pulled the trigger.
    BLAMM. Yoshitoki Kuninobu's head bounced up once, then something from his head splashed onto Noriko's face.
    Dumbstruck, Noriko's mouth hung open. Her face was covered with a dark red substance.
    Shuya realized his mouth was hanging open too.
    Although part of his head had been blown away, Yoshitoki's eyes still remained focused on the same part of the floor. He was no longer twitching, though. He was motionless.
    "See?" Sakamochi said. "He was already dying. Now then, please return to your seats."
    "Oh…" Noriko looked down at Yoshitoki's deformed head, "…my…"
    Shuya was also stunned. His eyes were glued to Yoshitoki's face, lying between the legs of the desk. His thoughts were completely paralyzed, as if his own brains had been blown to bits. Memories of Yoshitoki flashed through his dazed mind. The little adventures they took, camping or walking down the river, a rainy day spent playing an old board game, mimicking "Jake and Elwood," the heroes who, like themselves, were orphans in the American movie The Blues Brothers (amazingly, it was a dubbed version, although the voice actors were horrible), which had become a blackmarket hit, and then just recently, Yoshitoki's face when he said, "Hey Shuya, I got a crush on someone." And then…
    "Are you two deaf?" Sakamochi repeated. Yes, Shuya was deaf to his words. He just stared at Yoshitoki.
    Noriko was no different. If they hadn't moved, they would have followed in Yoshitoki Kuninobu's footsteps. Right beside Sakamochi, Tahara pointed his gun at Noriko, while the other two pointed theirs at Shuya.
    But it was thanks to a calm, in fact light-hearted voice calling out, "M-m-m-mister Sakamochi," that Shuya was brought back to his senses, at least enough to gaze numbly at the caller.
    Beyond Yoshitoki's empty seat, Shinji Mimura had his hand raised. Noriko slowly looked at him too.
    "Hm? Let's see. You must be Shinji Mimura. What is it?"

    Shinji put his hand down and spoke, "Noriko looks injured. I was wondering if I could help her get back to her seat."
    Despite the extremity of their situation, Shinji spoke in the usual voice of The Third Man.
    Sakamochi raised his brow slightly, but then nodded.
    "All right, go ahead. I really want to get things moving."
    Shinji nodded, stood up, and walked towards Noriko. As he approached her, he took out a neatly folded handkerchief out of his pocket and leaned between Yoshitoki's corpse and Noriko. He first wiped Noriko's face, which was covered with Yoshitoki's blood. Noriko hardly reacted. Then he said, "Stand up, Noriko," and put his hand under Noriko's right arm to help her get up.
    Then, with his back facing Sakamochi, Shinji looked at Shuya, who remained half-standing. Under his sharp, well defined brows, his eyes which always had a mildly amused look were now dead serious. He raised his right brow and moved his chin, shaking his head slightly. His left hand pushed down, as if he were making a pressing motion. Shuya didn't understand this signal. Shinji made the same move again.
    Although he was still dazed, Shuya finally understood that Shinji was telling him to calm down. He looked back at Shinji…and slowly eased his way back into his seat.
    Shinji nodded. After returning Noriko to her seat, he turned around and returned to his seat.
    Noriko sat down. Blood poured out of the wound in her right leg dangling from her seat. Her white socks and sneakers were soaked in red, as if she were wearing Santa Claus boots, but only on her right foot.
    Noriko was coming to her senses a little too. She seemed to be making a gesture to thank Shinji. But as if he could see out the back of his head Shinji shrugged his shoulders to stop her. Noriko withdrew and saw once again Yoshitoki's body lying below her right hand. She stared at him without a word but her eyes seemed to be brimming with tears.
    Shuya also looked again at the corpse, his view partly obscured by the desks. Yes, it was a