Sakura Ogawa: D8 Torn
It honestly felt like she was sitting next to her executioner. Mizuho Inada wasn’t one of the people left on the island that she would have chosen to run into, especially with less than a day remaining. Her attempts at making small talk, trying to set the other girl at ease, seemed to have fallen flat. Mizuho seemed content enough to sit in the uncomfortable silence, staring off into space.
Of course it was an uncomfortable silence. How in the world could someone be comfortable sitting next to someone who refused to loosen their grip on a handgun?
On the plus side, and it was a very slim side, Mizuho hadn’t made any movement or any comment indicating that she was going to shoot Sakura. She hadn’t really said that she wasn’t going to shoot Sakura but at that point in time, Sakura wasn’t going to be picky.
She did consider making a run for it but more than likely, Mizuho would just shoot her in the back while she was on the move. No one could outrun a speeding bullet, not even the athletes like Tadakatsu and Takako.
Well, that much was obvious, they were both dead now.
There weren’t that many of them left now. Sakura didn’t even need to look at her class list anymore, she knew the names by heart.
Shogo and Kazuo were both out there somewhere. She didn’t want to go looking for them, didn’t want to run into them. She had a feeling that those two boys were responsible for more than a few deaths on the island. Kayoko was gone but there were still two of Yukie’s group out there somewhere. Yuka was one of the class clowns, just like Yutaka had been. She was always the first to try and make a person laugh when she saw they were down. She was a huge fan of horror movies but probably never expected to end up in the middle of one. Still, she was probably one of the most trustworthy people left.
Yuko was out there too. Sakura really didn’t have much to do with here, even when she was hanging around Yukie’s group. Yuko was just a bit too religious and constantly worrying about something. Sakura was never unkind to the girl, she was rarely unkind to anyone, but she didn’t go out of her way to seek out a friendship with her. She had to wonder if the stress of the game would have been enough to push Yuko to a breaking point but hoped that the girl’s sweet disposition would be enough to keep her from harming anyone else.
Megumi was still out there, she was Mizuho’s best friend and Sakura was sure Mizuho had been trying to find her, just like Sakura should have been trying to find Kayoko. Megumi was never quite as outlandish as Mizuho but for some reason, was an easy target for bullies like Hirono. Sakura couldn’t imagine her playing. She was probably trying to find Mizuho.
The only other girls left were Mizuho and herself. Out of all the girls left on the island, Mizuho really was the only one she would have preferred to avoid, there was no denying that. Mizuho was just so…strange with her games and role playing. Aside from Megumi and Kaori, she didn’t really connect with anyone else in the class.
Yoshitoki was still out there somewhere. He was the only boy left that Shuuya was close to, he was the one Shuuya had wanted to find from the start. Sakura didn’t know him that well. She knew him for being really easy-going and friendly to almost everyone in the class but his personality didn’t shine nearly as brightly as his friends. Still, it was hard to picture any of Shuuya’s friends killing.
Well, it was hard to picture Shuuya killing but according to Mizuho, he had. Not only had he already killed, he had killed the only person left on the island that was important to her. He took something away from her that she could never get back.
Even though she knew this for a fact, knew that he was a murderer, she couldn’t hate him for it. It could be because he had been so kind to her when they were together, or that she knew it was the game and the government that caused everything. It could be because he still reminded her of Kaz when he smiled or it could just be that she was tired of deal with the fear and frustration of the game.
She glanced over at Mizuho again and let out a quiet sigh. Mizuho either didn’t notice the sound or didn’t care because she didn’t even glance in Sakura’s direction. It was strange, being with one of the only people in her class she would never have sought out, and just wanting to spill out all of the emotions she was feeling but it looked like she was still on her own, even though she was sitting right next to someone.
Kaz….Kayoko…I don’t know how much longer I can do this.
She allowed herself the luxury of basking in her memories of them, something she had been trying to push away for most of the game. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to remember them, she wanted to carry them with her as long as her life lasted. If she didn’t remember them, who else would? Who else could carry around the whispered secrets she and Kayoko shared at their sleepovers? Who else could remember how wonderful it had felt the first time Kaz had kissed her? If she didn’t remember the weight of the pain and frustration of Kaz’s relationship with Shou, it would be lost forever.
It was at that moment that Sakura realized she had been running ever since Kaz’s death had been announced. She didn’t want the responsibility of being the one to carry the memories of her friends and classmates. The winner of the game would be the sole connection that the forty-one dead students had to this plane of reality. No one else could even begin to understand their final days. Sure their families would cry, imagining the brutality of betrayals and the misery of their deaths but they would never be able to truly understand it, not without being stuck in the middle of it all. That survivor would be going to sleep every night with the faces of their victims running through dreams. There would be the nagging guilt when the memories of the classmates started to fade away and left dark spots in the winner’s mind.
That weight, that pain…no one should have to carry a burden that heavy. Sakura couldn’t even manage to carry the memory of the two people who had meant the most to her. How could she find the strength to carry the memory of the other thirty-nine as well? That’s why the strongest person had to survive in the end, they had a responsibility that would break anyone else. That’s why she couldn’t win. That’s why she was going to die.
It was strange, she didn’t feel any tears coasting down her face with that revelation. She didn’t feel the need to cut off her air supply and sleep. There was only a sense of quiet relief. She was going to die, she would be reunited with Kaz and Kayoko and the pain she felt over their loss would be gone.
It was only a matter of time.
It was only a matter of time. Shinbo sat quietly in the boat, the motor whirring quietly and taking them out to sea. Somewhere out there they were going to find a guard ship full of soldiers. Somewhere beyond that there was an island where high schoolers were slaughtering each other and his sister was caught in the middle of it. H6S had quickly conferred with the W.A.L.T.Z members at the dock and informed Shinbo that Sakura was still alive but there were only a few reports left to go. If they were going to move, it had to be fast and even then there wasn’t any guarantee.
Still, a chance was better than sitting in his apartment monitoring his sister’s status on his laptop. He knew perfectly well that if he did manage to liberate her from that island, her life would never be completely safe. He would have to get her out of the country with their mother and Mirai. If he could find them a safe spot in the United States or Canada, he’d be able to sleep easier at night. The Japanese government would probably still try to find them, the Program was too important to the government to risk the rest of the world getting involved and trying to shut it down. A loose string in an enemy country would just be too risky.
That’s the reason why Shinbo would return to Japan and continue his fight there. He had to, he couldn’t just run away. His mother never understood why his father and then Shinbo chose to get involved in a dangerous revolutionary group.
It was his firm belief that government existed to serve and protect the people. When the government start to hurt the people and keeps them in a constant state of fear, that’s when it becomes the responsibility of the people to overthrow the government and start over. Shinbo loved his country, he loved his fellow countrymen and he was willing to put his life on the line in order to defend them and his ideals. It would only be when the government was overthrown and the country restored to peace that Shinbo could be with his family again. He had known that for years.
“Won’t be long now,” H6S said quietly.
“How can you tell?” Shinbo asked.
“We just passed the island with the wide bay on the east side. The island that the Program is being held on is only about twenty kilometers from there.”
“Once we’re on that ship, we really control what happens anymore, can we?”
H6S considered the statement. “We can control ourselves but we can’t control them, their thoughts, and their reactions. We can only use the tools we have to attempt to manipulate those thoughts and actions into a form we can work with. You knew this wasn’t going to be a straight shot when you volunteered for this.”
“I know. But how can we turn away when we’re the only hope those kids have left?”
“So no regrets?”
“No regrets.”
The two men fell silent as their small boat bounced through the waves. Occasionally they would catch a flicker of light from the islands they were passing by but for the most part, they were just grateful for the light from the full moon. It would be too risky to turn on the lanterns they had on board. If anyone on the main army ship saw them, it would be over before it began.
The looming ship slowly became illuminated in front of them. It didn’t seem to be moving at all, just hovering in sight of a darkened island. “The intelligence was right on,” H6S sounded relieved.
“You still weren’t sure?” Shinbo asked.
“I was sure enough to bring you out here but you should know as well as everyone that nothing is certain until you see it with your own two eyes,” H6S turned off the engine and handed Shinbo a paddle.
They made their way up to the side of the ship. With each stroke, Shinbo was sure someone was going to spot them on deck and shoot them down. They reached the side of the ship and paused at the bottom. Shinbo stared up and could make out the soldiers on deck, all of them heavily armed. H6S tapped his arm and made a motion to stay silent. There was a ladder on the side of the ship, leading up to a small emergency window on the side. It wasn’t meant to be opened from the outside but H6S made his way up the ladder and began to work on it while Shinbo kept a careful eye on the soldiers above them. The timing would have to be prefect. Their information mentioned the strict government schedules that they kept their soldiers on. The one thing the Japanese government got right was that the soldiers were swapped out at eight hour intervals. They believed that as long as their soldiers were well fed and well rested, they would do a better job.
It was the correct idea but it left a five minute period while soldiers were briefing their relief and swapping positions. Shinbo watched the soldiers disappear from site and tapped the side of the ship three times. H6S returned to their boat with the window in hand. Shinbo pulled a hand drill out from the bag and started making holes in the bottom of the boat. The noise was more than they had hoped for but no one seemed to notice. The bottom of the boat started to fill up with water when Shinbo got another nod from H6S. They opened the bag, attaching knives and hand guns to their belts and slinging the heavier government issued rifles over their shoulders before climbing the ladder up to the open window.
“Forty-seven seconds to spare,” H6S muttered when they were safely in the boat. “We cut it really close.”
Shinbo stared around him. He couldn’t believe they had made it inside the ship. Suddenly, rescuing Sakura and the rest of the students didn’t seem to be such a far off dream.
“Get back,” H6S hissed as they heard footsteps coming towards the door.
Shinbo ducked behind a wooden crate, his heart pounding in his ear. “Hiku said it looked like there was a boat floating away from the ship without anyone in it, double check the window in here.”
Shinbo heard H6S curse under his breath. They weren’t supposed to be found out so quickly.
The door opened and closed again, two sets of footsteps walking around the room. Shinbo’s breath caught in his throat when the soldiers pulled the crate away from his hidding spot. “Who are you? What are-” The first soldier’s sentence was cut short when H6S grabbed him and slit his throat. The second soldier rushed towards the door before Shinbo regained his senses and pulled him back, covering the man’s mouth with his hand as he sank his knife into the man’s chest. “They’re going to be looking for these two. We need to move and we need to do it now.” H6S stripped the first soldier of his uniform and put it on. “You need to put that one on and do something about the blood stain on the front. It’s not going to last for cover for too long but hopefully it can get us to the engine room.”
Shinbo’s stomach churned as he quickly followed the orders H6S gave him. The blood had soaked through most of the uniform, he wasn’t sure how he was going to hide it. H6S moved the bodies into the corner of the room.
“Why not put them into a crate?” Shinbo asked.
“We want them to panic. Now stop asking questions and move!” The two of them left the room and made their way down the hallway, H6S staring ahead and Shinbo trying to keep his head down. There were soldiers rushing in and out of the doors, shouting to each other.
Shinbo’s heart sank. He never expected there to be so many of them.
The rustling in the bushes made Sakura jump. Mizuho tensed up as well, her finger rubbing over the trigger of the gun she was holding. It looked like Kayoko but no...that was impossible now. Sakura had to blink and squint for Kayoko’s face to transform back into Yuko Sakaki’s.
“Hello,” Yuko called out to them. Sakura was relieved to see she didn’t seem to have the intention of immediately trying to kill them. Even so, Yuko’s face was tense which was to be expected at that point.
“Yuko,” Sakura tried to make her voice as soothing as possible. Yuko needed to calm down, when people were as tense as she seemed to be, things could get out of hand very quickly. “It’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you.”
“I know…” Yuko nodded, “I-I was watching you, before.”
“Oh, okay,” Sakura responded, “Come on over, then. It’s nice knowing that not everyone left is playing.”
“Yeah.” Mizuho spoke up for the first time.
“Thanks,” Yuko said,“This game has been so hard…”
“I know…” Sakura looked down at her feet. “What… What have you been up to? I don’t think I saw any of your friends…”
“Neither.” Mizuho agreed.
“It’s been hard.” Yuko’s voice trailed off, her eyes not really focusing on anything else anymore. “I… I met up with some of the girls. Satomi let the game get to her, she... She died.”
“Oh,” Sakura’s eyes glistened fearfully. “That’s terrible.”
Satomi was the top female academic in their class, third behind Kazuo and Kyoichi. Sakura had always found her to be a bit standoffish but whenever you needed help on an assignment, she was willing to lend a hand.
Yuko nodded. “We all banded together. Yukie, Mayumi, Megumi, and I. We thought we could esc-“
“You were with Megumi?” Mizuho cut her off. Sakura glanced over at Mizuho, a little shocked at the light that had just gone into the girl’s eye. As of the last report, Megumi was still alive but things could have changed.
“I was, yes. We thought we could escape, but…” Yuko hesitated. “The suspicion, it… It grew strong. We got into a fight. Mayumi and Yukie, they… They died.”
Sakura placed her hands over her mouth. It was so hard to listen to her talk, people were dead, their friends were dead, and it sounded like she was reciting the plot to a book they had to read for class.
“And what of Megumi?” Mizuho demanded.
“She survived,” Yuko whispered. “I only wounded her. We didn’t see each other after that.”
“O-only… Only wounded her?” Mizuho’s voice was shaky. Sakura shifted her gaze from girl to girl. The tension was escalating and she didn’t know how to bring it back down. “You shot her! You nearly killed her!” Mizuho’s voice rose even louder.
"Not true - it-it wasn't like that. You didn't see. Sh-she was a... a... she..." Yuko started to sob, turning to Sakura in a panic, "Tell her! Tell her I didn't!"
Sakura wanted to run away but she couldn’t leave them. They were girls in the same class, they knew each other, how could they even be thinking about hurting each other...hurting their friends?
She saw Mizuho lift up the gun, aiming it straight at Yuko. Yuko grabbed for the barrel, sending the first shot wild.
It seemed like it was all happening in slow motion. Sakura heard another shot and then another before she saw Yuko falling to the ground. Her mouth was moving, her eyes staring up at the sky in shock. There were two holes, one in her stomach and one at the base of her throat. Her uniform slowly became soaked in blood.
Sakura stared at her body in disbelief as Yuko seemed to be gasping for breath. She stood there and stared and watched her go limp.
She watched her die.
Sakura couldn’t stop the tears from coming. Was that how it was for Kaz? For Kayoko? There was no peace in dying like that, there was only suffering. Just as Mizuho had killed Yuko in cold blood, someone had done the same thing to all the people that mattered the most to Sakura. Someone had let them suffer because they felt their own lives were more important.
Sakura stared down at Yuko’s body and only saw the bloody tears staining her cheeks, saw them staining Kayoko’s cheek. She wasn’t seeing Yuko, she was seeing Kayoko, she was seeing herself.
“Why did you have to do that?” Sakura finally turned back to Mizuho who was examining her gun carefully.
“She tried to kill Megumi,” Mizuho whispered, “Demons...a demon...”
“She didn’t kill Megumi though!” Sakura wailed, “Megumi is still out there somewhere and now...Yuko isn’t...you killed her!”
“I had to...demons...” Mizuho’s eyes were strangely unfocused.
“How is Megumi’s life more important than Yuko’s? Yuko had people who cared about her, just like you care about Megumi and now...they’re going to cry...because of you.” Sakura couldn’t stop the tears any longer.
“She was a demon...” Mizuho repeated, her eyes growing cold.
Sakura let out a scream and felt her hands wrapping around flesh again. Only this time...it wasn’t her neck she was gripping.
Kaz...Kayoko...I’m so sorry.
OOC: This is part one of a FTD. Daviid will have his up...soon...ish? PC control given from Gabby and Daviid. Jenn, if Yuko's death doesn't work for you, let me know. I tried to keep everything else with her to what you've already writen.
Of course it was an uncomfortable silence. How in the world could someone be comfortable sitting next to someone who refused to loosen their grip on a handgun?
On the plus side, and it was a very slim side, Mizuho hadn’t made any movement or any comment indicating that she was going to shoot Sakura. She hadn’t really said that she wasn’t going to shoot Sakura but at that point in time, Sakura wasn’t going to be picky.
She did consider making a run for it but more than likely, Mizuho would just shoot her in the back while she was on the move. No one could outrun a speeding bullet, not even the athletes like Tadakatsu and Takako.
Well, that much was obvious, they were both dead now.
There weren’t that many of them left now. Sakura didn’t even need to look at her class list anymore, she knew the names by heart.
Shogo and Kazuo were both out there somewhere. She didn’t want to go looking for them, didn’t want to run into them. She had a feeling that those two boys were responsible for more than a few deaths on the island. Kayoko was gone but there were still two of Yukie’s group out there somewhere. Yuka was one of the class clowns, just like Yutaka had been. She was always the first to try and make a person laugh when she saw they were down. She was a huge fan of horror movies but probably never expected to end up in the middle of one. Still, she was probably one of the most trustworthy people left.
Yuko was out there too. Sakura really didn’t have much to do with here, even when she was hanging around Yukie’s group. Yuko was just a bit too religious and constantly worrying about something. Sakura was never unkind to the girl, she was rarely unkind to anyone, but she didn’t go out of her way to seek out a friendship with her. She had to wonder if the stress of the game would have been enough to push Yuko to a breaking point but hoped that the girl’s sweet disposition would be enough to keep her from harming anyone else.
Megumi was still out there, she was Mizuho’s best friend and Sakura was sure Mizuho had been trying to find her, just like Sakura should have been trying to find Kayoko. Megumi was never quite as outlandish as Mizuho but for some reason, was an easy target for bullies like Hirono. Sakura couldn’t imagine her playing. She was probably trying to find Mizuho.
The only other girls left were Mizuho and herself. Out of all the girls left on the island, Mizuho really was the only one she would have preferred to avoid, there was no denying that. Mizuho was just so…strange with her games and role playing. Aside from Megumi and Kaori, she didn’t really connect with anyone else in the class.
Yoshitoki was still out there somewhere. He was the only boy left that Shuuya was close to, he was the one Shuuya had wanted to find from the start. Sakura didn’t know him that well. She knew him for being really easy-going and friendly to almost everyone in the class but his personality didn’t shine nearly as brightly as his friends. Still, it was hard to picture any of Shuuya’s friends killing.
Well, it was hard to picture Shuuya killing but according to Mizuho, he had. Not only had he already killed, he had killed the only person left on the island that was important to her. He took something away from her that she could never get back.
Even though she knew this for a fact, knew that he was a murderer, she couldn’t hate him for it. It could be because he had been so kind to her when they were together, or that she knew it was the game and the government that caused everything. It could be because he still reminded her of Kaz when he smiled or it could just be that she was tired of deal with the fear and frustration of the game.
She glanced over at Mizuho again and let out a quiet sigh. Mizuho either didn’t notice the sound or didn’t care because she didn’t even glance in Sakura’s direction. It was strange, being with one of the only people in her class she would never have sought out, and just wanting to spill out all of the emotions she was feeling but it looked like she was still on her own, even though she was sitting right next to someone.
Kaz….Kayoko…I don’t know how much longer I can do this.
She allowed herself the luxury of basking in her memories of them, something she had been trying to push away for most of the game. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to remember them, she wanted to carry them with her as long as her life lasted. If she didn’t remember them, who else would? Who else could carry around the whispered secrets she and Kayoko shared at their sleepovers? Who else could remember how wonderful it had felt the first time Kaz had kissed her? If she didn’t remember the weight of the pain and frustration of Kaz’s relationship with Shou, it would be lost forever.
It was at that moment that Sakura realized she had been running ever since Kaz’s death had been announced. She didn’t want the responsibility of being the one to carry the memories of her friends and classmates. The winner of the game would be the sole connection that the forty-one dead students had to this plane of reality. No one else could even begin to understand their final days. Sure their families would cry, imagining the brutality of betrayals and the misery of their deaths but they would never be able to truly understand it, not without being stuck in the middle of it all. That survivor would be going to sleep every night with the faces of their victims running through dreams. There would be the nagging guilt when the memories of the classmates started to fade away and left dark spots in the winner’s mind.
That weight, that pain…no one should have to carry a burden that heavy. Sakura couldn’t even manage to carry the memory of the two people who had meant the most to her. How could she find the strength to carry the memory of the other thirty-nine as well? That’s why the strongest person had to survive in the end, they had a responsibility that would break anyone else. That’s why she couldn’t win. That’s why she was going to die.
It was strange, she didn’t feel any tears coasting down her face with that revelation. She didn’t feel the need to cut off her air supply and sleep. There was only a sense of quiet relief. She was going to die, she would be reunited with Kaz and Kayoko and the pain she felt over their loss would be gone.
It was only a matter of time.
It was only a matter of time. Shinbo sat quietly in the boat, the motor whirring quietly and taking them out to sea. Somewhere out there they were going to find a guard ship full of soldiers. Somewhere beyond that there was an island where high schoolers were slaughtering each other and his sister was caught in the middle of it. H6S had quickly conferred with the W.A.L.T.Z members at the dock and informed Shinbo that Sakura was still alive but there were only a few reports left to go. If they were going to move, it had to be fast and even then there wasn’t any guarantee.
Still, a chance was better than sitting in his apartment monitoring his sister’s status on his laptop. He knew perfectly well that if he did manage to liberate her from that island, her life would never be completely safe. He would have to get her out of the country with their mother and Mirai. If he could find them a safe spot in the United States or Canada, he’d be able to sleep easier at night. The Japanese government would probably still try to find them, the Program was too important to the government to risk the rest of the world getting involved and trying to shut it down. A loose string in an enemy country would just be too risky.
That’s the reason why Shinbo would return to Japan and continue his fight there. He had to, he couldn’t just run away. His mother never understood why his father and then Shinbo chose to get involved in a dangerous revolutionary group.
It was his firm belief that government existed to serve and protect the people. When the government start to hurt the people and keeps them in a constant state of fear, that’s when it becomes the responsibility of the people to overthrow the government and start over. Shinbo loved his country, he loved his fellow countrymen and he was willing to put his life on the line in order to defend them and his ideals. It would only be when the government was overthrown and the country restored to peace that Shinbo could be with his family again. He had known that for years.
“Won’t be long now,” H6S said quietly.
“How can you tell?” Shinbo asked.
“We just passed the island with the wide bay on the east side. The island that the Program is being held on is only about twenty kilometers from there.”
“Once we’re on that ship, we really control what happens anymore, can we?”
H6S considered the statement. “We can control ourselves but we can’t control them, their thoughts, and their reactions. We can only use the tools we have to attempt to manipulate those thoughts and actions into a form we can work with. You knew this wasn’t going to be a straight shot when you volunteered for this.”
“I know. But how can we turn away when we’re the only hope those kids have left?”
“So no regrets?”
“No regrets.”
The two men fell silent as their small boat bounced through the waves. Occasionally they would catch a flicker of light from the islands they were passing by but for the most part, they were just grateful for the light from the full moon. It would be too risky to turn on the lanterns they had on board. If anyone on the main army ship saw them, it would be over before it began.
The looming ship slowly became illuminated in front of them. It didn’t seem to be moving at all, just hovering in sight of a darkened island. “The intelligence was right on,” H6S sounded relieved.
“You still weren’t sure?” Shinbo asked.
“I was sure enough to bring you out here but you should know as well as everyone that nothing is certain until you see it with your own two eyes,” H6S turned off the engine and handed Shinbo a paddle.
They made their way up to the side of the ship. With each stroke, Shinbo was sure someone was going to spot them on deck and shoot them down. They reached the side of the ship and paused at the bottom. Shinbo stared up and could make out the soldiers on deck, all of them heavily armed. H6S tapped his arm and made a motion to stay silent. There was a ladder on the side of the ship, leading up to a small emergency window on the side. It wasn’t meant to be opened from the outside but H6S made his way up the ladder and began to work on it while Shinbo kept a careful eye on the soldiers above them. The timing would have to be prefect. Their information mentioned the strict government schedules that they kept their soldiers on. The one thing the Japanese government got right was that the soldiers were swapped out at eight hour intervals. They believed that as long as their soldiers were well fed and well rested, they would do a better job.
It was the correct idea but it left a five minute period while soldiers were briefing their relief and swapping positions. Shinbo watched the soldiers disappear from site and tapped the side of the ship three times. H6S returned to their boat with the window in hand. Shinbo pulled a hand drill out from the bag and started making holes in the bottom of the boat. The noise was more than they had hoped for but no one seemed to notice. The bottom of the boat started to fill up with water when Shinbo got another nod from H6S. They opened the bag, attaching knives and hand guns to their belts and slinging the heavier government issued rifles over their shoulders before climbing the ladder up to the open window.
“Forty-seven seconds to spare,” H6S muttered when they were safely in the boat. “We cut it really close.”
Shinbo stared around him. He couldn’t believe they had made it inside the ship. Suddenly, rescuing Sakura and the rest of the students didn’t seem to be such a far off dream.
“Get back,” H6S hissed as they heard footsteps coming towards the door.
Shinbo ducked behind a wooden crate, his heart pounding in his ear. “Hiku said it looked like there was a boat floating away from the ship without anyone in it, double check the window in here.”
Shinbo heard H6S curse under his breath. They weren’t supposed to be found out so quickly.
The door opened and closed again, two sets of footsteps walking around the room. Shinbo’s breath caught in his throat when the soldiers pulled the crate away from his hidding spot. “Who are you? What are-” The first soldier’s sentence was cut short when H6S grabbed him and slit his throat. The second soldier rushed towards the door before Shinbo regained his senses and pulled him back, covering the man’s mouth with his hand as he sank his knife into the man’s chest. “They’re going to be looking for these two. We need to move and we need to do it now.” H6S stripped the first soldier of his uniform and put it on. “You need to put that one on and do something about the blood stain on the front. It’s not going to last for cover for too long but hopefully it can get us to the engine room.”
Shinbo’s stomach churned as he quickly followed the orders H6S gave him. The blood had soaked through most of the uniform, he wasn’t sure how he was going to hide it. H6S moved the bodies into the corner of the room.
“Why not put them into a crate?” Shinbo asked.
“We want them to panic. Now stop asking questions and move!” The two of them left the room and made their way down the hallway, H6S staring ahead and Shinbo trying to keep his head down. There were soldiers rushing in and out of the doors, shouting to each other.
Shinbo’s heart sank. He never expected there to be so many of them.
The rustling in the bushes made Sakura jump. Mizuho tensed up as well, her finger rubbing over the trigger of the gun she was holding. It looked like Kayoko but no...that was impossible now. Sakura had to blink and squint for Kayoko’s face to transform back into Yuko Sakaki’s.
“Hello,” Yuko called out to them. Sakura was relieved to see she didn’t seem to have the intention of immediately trying to kill them. Even so, Yuko’s face was tense which was to be expected at that point.
“Yuko,” Sakura tried to make her voice as soothing as possible. Yuko needed to calm down, when people were as tense as she seemed to be, things could get out of hand very quickly. “It’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you.”
“I know…” Yuko nodded, “I-I was watching you, before.”
“Oh, okay,” Sakura responded, “Come on over, then. It’s nice knowing that not everyone left is playing.”
“Yeah.” Mizuho spoke up for the first time.
“Thanks,” Yuko said,“This game has been so hard…”
“I know…” Sakura looked down at her feet. “What… What have you been up to? I don’t think I saw any of your friends…”
“Neither.” Mizuho agreed.
“It’s been hard.” Yuko’s voice trailed off, her eyes not really focusing on anything else anymore. “I… I met up with some of the girls. Satomi let the game get to her, she... She died.”
“Oh,” Sakura’s eyes glistened fearfully. “That’s terrible.”
Satomi was the top female academic in their class, third behind Kazuo and Kyoichi. Sakura had always found her to be a bit standoffish but whenever you needed help on an assignment, she was willing to lend a hand.
Yuko nodded. “We all banded together. Yukie, Mayumi, Megumi, and I. We thought we could esc-“
“You were with Megumi?” Mizuho cut her off. Sakura glanced over at Mizuho, a little shocked at the light that had just gone into the girl’s eye. As of the last report, Megumi was still alive but things could have changed.
“I was, yes. We thought we could escape, but…” Yuko hesitated. “The suspicion, it… It grew strong. We got into a fight. Mayumi and Yukie, they… They died.”
Sakura placed her hands over her mouth. It was so hard to listen to her talk, people were dead, their friends were dead, and it sounded like she was reciting the plot to a book they had to read for class.
“And what of Megumi?” Mizuho demanded.
“She survived,” Yuko whispered. “I only wounded her. We didn’t see each other after that.”
“O-only… Only wounded her?” Mizuho’s voice was shaky. Sakura shifted her gaze from girl to girl. The tension was escalating and she didn’t know how to bring it back down. “You shot her! You nearly killed her!” Mizuho’s voice rose even louder.
"Not true - it-it wasn't like that. You didn't see. Sh-she was a... a... she..." Yuko started to sob, turning to Sakura in a panic, "Tell her! Tell her I didn't!"
Sakura wanted to run away but she couldn’t leave them. They were girls in the same class, they knew each other, how could they even be thinking about hurting each other...hurting their friends?
She saw Mizuho lift up the gun, aiming it straight at Yuko. Yuko grabbed for the barrel, sending the first shot wild.
It seemed like it was all happening in slow motion. Sakura heard another shot and then another before she saw Yuko falling to the ground. Her mouth was moving, her eyes staring up at the sky in shock. There were two holes, one in her stomach and one at the base of her throat. Her uniform slowly became soaked in blood.
Sakura stared at her body in disbelief as Yuko seemed to be gasping for breath. She stood there and stared and watched her go limp.
She watched her die.
Sakura couldn’t stop the tears from coming. Was that how it was for Kaz? For Kayoko? There was no peace in dying like that, there was only suffering. Just as Mizuho had killed Yuko in cold blood, someone had done the same thing to all the people that mattered the most to Sakura. Someone had let them suffer because they felt their own lives were more important.
Sakura stared down at Yuko’s body and only saw the bloody tears staining her cheeks, saw them staining Kayoko’s cheek. She wasn’t seeing Yuko, she was seeing Kayoko, she was seeing herself.
“Why did you have to do that?” Sakura finally turned back to Mizuho who was examining her gun carefully.
“She tried to kill Megumi,” Mizuho whispered, “Demons...a demon...”
“She didn’t kill Megumi though!” Sakura wailed, “Megumi is still out there somewhere and now...Yuko isn’t...you killed her!”
“I had to...demons...” Mizuho’s eyes were strangely unfocused.
“How is Megumi’s life more important than Yuko’s? Yuko had people who cared about her, just like you care about Megumi and now...they’re going to cry...because of you.” Sakura couldn’t stop the tears any longer.
“She was a demon...” Mizuho repeated, her eyes growing cold.
Sakura let out a scream and felt her hands wrapping around flesh again. Only this time...it wasn’t her neck she was gripping.
Kaz...Kayoko...I’m so sorry.
OOC: This is part one of a FTD. Daviid will have his up...soon...ish? PC control given from Gabby and Daviid. Jenn, if Yuko's death doesn't work for you, let me know. I tried to keep everything else with her to what you've already writen.