J-Rock Battle Royale: Chapter 4

Kyo was helpless, alone in front of a pissed off Yoshiki. Toshiya was panicking and Saga had placed both of his hands on the boy's shoulders to restrain his movements. Couldn't he understand that Toshiya had to go? He had to stand right next to his best friend because no one else would! Kyo had said out loud what everyone thought and he did not deserved to die for that! But what could he expect from that disgusting jerk who pretended to be a teacher?

He was going to fucking kill Kyo and there was nothing that Toshiya could do. The blonde didn't deserve to perish alone like a useless vermin between some madman's hands.

He wasn't. Near Kyo, there was someone; one slim silhouette that Toshiya hadn't even noticed before. He had his arms wrapped around his legs and he was sitting immobile in the growing puddle of Shizuka's blood.

He was so close, so awfully close that he could smell Kyo's fear filling the air around him. No one in the class would be able to notice the blonde's grief. They were too far. They were all gathered at the back of the classroom and he doubted that they could even realise that Kyo was shaking. But he could. He was sitting a few centimetres away from the blonde's sorry figure.

He had been alone since the beginning, the only one next to Shizuka's disgusting corpse. He hadn't moved while all of his classmates had been hysteric and he didn't mind. He knew that he was an easy target anyway; he knew that it was pointless for him to hide. He was the easiest target of them all and since he had realised that, his heart had been pounding mercilessly in his chest.

The collar of his dark blue uniform was now soaked with sweat. He had been the one that always looked cool, that always looked extremely good, no matter what. Each and every girls of the class couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't part of Toshiya's gang.

Those fangirls never bothered about the notion of friendship, they were just obsessed by the opportunity of gathering as much testosterone and prettiness as they could in the same group. The popular boys would hang out with the popular girls and the jealous and lonely ones would then have the opportunity to bet. They would try to predict who were going to sleep together. No love, no feelings... nothing. The two gangs didn't even care about each other. They were just obsessed with profit and fame like miniature replicas of businessmen.

He hated them more than anyone else. He despised their superficiality and their sick games but the worst thing of them all was that they had stolen the only friend he had. His childhood companion he had been unwilling to share. His friend was now part of their faction and since that time, he hadn't bothered with establishing contact with any other human being.

Anyway, at the moment, he didn't look good at all. He looked pathetic in fact, and he knew that he wasn't interesting in that case. His classmates would forget about the insignificant being he was. They would rather be concerned about themselves, about their own lives. He could get shot a hundred times before a single one of them would notice his blood plaguing the floor.

He had to do something to help Kyo nonetheless. He was the only one who could because he already had a dead sentence hanging over his head. He was going to die before any of the students had the opportunity to lay even a single hand on him.

There was something lying over Kyo's body, an uncomfortable weight that made it hard for him to breathe. He was suffocating. He tried to open his eyelids but the scenery around him was spinning. His right leg was soaked with a hot liquid he suspected to be blood; it suited the unbearable pain that was throbbing through his limb. Air... he needed air. He had to get rid of what was keeping him from moving.

It was Yoshiki. He then proceeded to kick what was on top of Kyo. It whined agonizingly. Kyo's eyes snapped open. Another person was lying over the blonde. Someone who might be injured badly. Kyo could feel blood on his torso but it wasn't his.

Toshiya's agitation increased at the moment he heard the teacher's voice and Saga had to literally throw himself on him to keep his friend from running to the front of the classroom. Ayumu and Kana were both to his sides, grabbing his hands and speaking softly.

"Causing trouble will only make it worse, Toshiya-san. Don't do something that you could regret," Kana said slowly, shaking her head as she did so. She tried to ignore the sobs in her voice and to be somehow reassuring.

Near them, Aoi was staring at what could become at any moment a pile of corpses. He had lost what remained of his composure and shock was now written all over his pale face.

"No good... I wasn't even supposed to kill." Yoshiki added with a sigh. He glanced at the two boys and shrugged at last, putting his gun back into his pocket. "Take those two away from me before I lose my temper again.”

Toshiya was still trying to get rid of Saga the moment Aoi began to run as fast as he could to reach the injured boys. He grabbed the first one by the collar and dragged him to the back of the classroom, leaving a long red line behind them. As soon as Toshiya broke free from his friend's grip, he made his way next to Kyo, where Kohta Murata (B-21) already was. The young man had previously lifted the blonde in his arm and he was carefully walking on the blood soaked floor, trying not to slip.

"Uru, you're alright? So you need to eat something?" Aoi whispered to the wounded boy, snapping his fingers before his slightly opened eyes to catch his attention. He was calling him, even if Uruha Takashima (B-11) had practically passed out. However, as soon as Aoi attempted to move one of his blood soaked arms, the young boy snapped his eyes open but did not emit a single sound. He stared at the brunette blankly, following his every moves, his eyebrow frowned.

"I thought that the old human shield trick was only used in movies," Aoi forced himself to laugh, obviously trying to distract Uruha while he was removing the upper part of the boy's uniform with an extreme delicacy to inspect his injuries.

Toshiya helped Kyo to sit. His right leg was torn at a suspicious angle and he was breathing with difficulty, still in a state of shock even if he wouldn't be willing to admit it. Toshiya inspected his dreadfully pale skin, trying to suppress the shivers that were making his hands clumsy. There was nothing: no bullets, no injuries but there had been three detonations.

Kohta poked Kyo's leg with the tip of his finger. "It must have broken when you fell." He stated tranquilly with an eyebrow raised.

Kohta seemed calm no matter what but, at the opposite, Toshiya's state was close to hysteria. Saga took Kyo's coat and tied it tightly around his shin to stop the bleeding, mumbling to himself and shaking his head.

The three boys looked at each other without daring to pronounce a word. They would have to rectify the angle of the bone but none of them knew how to do that. It wasn't the kind of things that they learned in school! What if they made a mistake? Could they cause a haemorrhage or rip his leg into two pieces? That was stupid. Awfully stupid. How was Kyo supposed to survive to this game if he wasn't even able to walk?

Tora caught the bag that had been thrown in his direction with a start. Toshiya realised that he had moved closer to Kyo as well, but he hadn't been as quick as his classmate. Nonetheless, he had been the nearest to the front and had witnessed the entire scene. He had drops of Uruha's blood all over his face and hadn't moved a limb since the event happened.

"There will be a delay of two minutes between the exit of each of you, children."Yoshiki stated, having retrieved his place on the desk as well as his serenity.

Tora nodded and made his way out of the classroom with difficulty. Shizuka's body was blocking the access to the door and he had to literally jump over her. His shoes, soaked with blood, emitted a little squishy sound when they touched the ground again.

"Hum... Kyo?" Kohta said with hesitation, waiting for the young boy to look at him before continuing his sentence. "That Uruha guy was your friend?”

Without answering, Kyo set his gaze on the taller boy, still lying on the floor with an unnerved Aoi by his side. The brunette was obviously trying to look calm, an unnatural smile curving his lips as he placed his hands above Uruha's bleeding wounds. He did not want the injured boy to be frightened and to make his task even more delicate than it already was.

It took a few seconds for Uruha to react but he nodded at last and clenched his fists as Aoi's fingers penetrated his injuries without any further warnings, compressing the ripped flesh in an attempt to stop the bleeding. The wounded boy moaned and his whole body straightened, his breathing growing harsher.

As much as he would have wanted to, Kyo couldn't understand how someone he barely knew would have been willing to sacrifice his life for him. He wasn't special, he wasn't exceptional; he was a regular guy among dozens. What had he done to deserve that?

Kohta wasn't even listening to the blonde anymore. Like the majority of the students, he was staring at Aoi, following his every move and looking mesmerised by all that blood.

What Aoi had feared to most happened at last: with both of his hands compressing the wounds, he couldn't budge and the only thing that was left for him to do, for a brief moment, was to think. He quickly became obsessed with the 37 faces staring at him. They were watching. All the eyes were set on him but no one was willing to help. No one had raised a finger. They didn't even have to decency to get back to their own misery and self-centrism; to leave him alone. No, it would be asking too much. They didn't even care about Uruha; none of them knew a single thing about him. If it hadn't been of Aoi's intervention, they would have let the boy drown in his own blood.

But Aoi would have to leave sooner than Uruha. What would happen then? Especially in a situation like this, he couldn't trust anybody. As far as he was concerned, right now, they were all potential opponents.

One by one, the students were leaving the classroom, and everyone was by themselves. Friends were already becoming enemies.

"Why are you helping me?" Uruha said slowly, so pitifully that Aoi felt a part of his heart break. He put on a fake surprised expression, one he was now used to make, but he understood the reason behind the other boy's surprise.

"Because you're my friend, stupid!" Aoi laughed a little; a nervous, displaced laugh that hurt him to the marrow of his bones. "So stop worrying, alright, Uruha? I'll take care of you. You... you're safe with me.”

Uruha couldn't do anything but keep watching in silence as Aoi dug inside his school bag, found a spare t-shirt and ripped it into make-shift bandages. He awkwardly tied them around the taller boy's injured shoulder, taking great care in not hurting him more than what was necessary.

Aoi cursed as Miku's voice shot trough the television speakers. He raised his head to look at his other friends; Saga was gone, as were Kana and Ayumu. It went by so fast... For all I know, they could already be dead by now. He gritted his teeth, tightening the bandages a bit more, but not moving to leave.

"Go, Aoi." Uruha whispered, eyes wide, as he clumsily sat up with his good arm. "I'm gonna be alright. Just go.”

"I repeat," This time it was Yoshiki, still smiling. "Boy number nine, Shiroyama Aoi. Are you going to leave by yourself, or do we have to make you?”

Aoi growled, but after making sure Uruha was indeed going to be alright by himself, at least for the time being, he got up and ran toward the door, catching the bag the soldiers angrily threw at him.

The class was silent, save for the girl's quiet sobs and hurried footsteps and Uruha and Kyo's ragged breathing.

Toshiya had been occupied with making Kyo as comfortable as possible. He had barely looked up to watch his friends leave, but he couldn't help but be curious of Reita, especially after what had happened in the bus. His memory of that night were somewhat hazy, but he clearly remembered Reita's desperate expression as he hit the window... as if he already knew what was going on.

Still, Reita hadn't said anything and had been sitting quietly in the corner since the beginning. As soon as he heard his name, he stood up slowly and made his way among the group of students, whispering short excuses when someone had to move to let him pass. He got his hands out of his pockets at the moment he came face to face with one of Yoshiki's men to collect his bag with a short nod. Reita didn't seem bothered at all by Shizuka's corpse; he walked on her dead flesh as if it had been a "Welcome" carpet. He left the classroom with a "See you guys," nobody dared to answer to.

Misaki was already standing up and had walked half of the distance that had been separating her from the door. Her twin sister Atsuko was gone and Toshiya thought that she was probably looking forward to be in her company. He wondered if the other girl had waited for her...

Toshiya quickly shook his head. What was he thinking? He didn't have to fear for the twins' safety since nobody would participate to this twisted game! He was sure of it! Nobody was sick and twisted enough to kill their friends, right?

Uruha's pain sharply increased and he winced as he grabbed his personal effects and walked across the classroom. He stumbled and almost fell when the time came for him to catch what the soldier tossed at him, but he exited the school relatively quickly, and with pride, considering his current condition.

More sobs, the name of Hiroko Tanaka (G-11) was announced and she rushed to the door, hiding her tears filled eyes as much as she could. A frightened to death Shinya Terachi followed next, then came the name of the deceased girl, Shizuka Nakamura, and there was a discomfort among the remaining students. Ayumi Hamasaki, the class president, left the classroom with a smile on her brightly painted lips. She even waved goodbye to the frightened kids, a certain bounce in her step, as if she had to remain the fearless and professional leader even in a situation like that one. Still, she could have cut the enthusiasm part, at the very least. What usually was something everyone appreciated in her, right now, was slightly creepy.

"Boy number thirteen, Niikura Kaoru." Miku said through the speakers of the television with the same eagerness he had at the beginning.

Instead of getting up like the others, Kaoru raised his hand. Seemingly interested, Yoshiki nodded in his general direction.

Toshiya was surprised; from what he knew of Kaoru, he was a weird, nerdy student who didn't have many friends. Always lurking in a corner or reading a book with his earphones glued to his ears, most of the class had assumed Kaoru to be a weak person, and that sudden daring attitude was quite unexpected.

"What is it?" Yoshiki replied. Toshiya would have expected him to be irritated by the small boy's audacity but what was standing before him was a rather ecstatic teacher.

"Well, I'm quite sure that Niimura-kun is unable to walk so... Could I take him along with me? I believe he's number fourteen...?"He glanced at the surprised Kyo, who hesitated for a few seconds before nodding. Kaoru smiled faintly in return. "I'm number thirteen, so it doesn't change the order much.”

"It's an interesting proposition that we have here, Niikura-san." He looked at both Kaoru and Kyo for a while and then his smile grew even wider. "Well, I think you're right. Take him along. And make sure that he doesn't catch a repulsive disease like gangrene!" Yoshiki added with a snort.

He then swiftly made his way towards Kyo, paying no attention to Toshiya and Kohta who had tied some more cloth on Kyo's leg, the blood having soaked what was left of his coat. Getting down on one knee, Kaoru inspected the smaller boy's state for a moment before helping him up very carefully.

Toshiya slowly nodded. It was true he didn't know Kaoru very well, but he had no reason not to trust him. He watched nervously and helped Kyo steady himself, trying to search for something, a sort or reassurance in Kaoru's eyes, but the quiet boy looked solemn the whole time.

Kyo didn't seem extremely comfortable. Still he accepted Kaoru's help, as disobeying Yoshiki was out of the question, and it was the best option he had now.

Kaoru, still supporting Kyo, said nothing. Instead, he put a foot in direction of the door, silently urging Kyo on.

Toshiya tried to smile at the affectionate insult, but he could only stand there as his best friend left the classroom. As soon as the pair was out of sight, he sat down on the floor, unwillingly soaking his own pants in Kyo's almost dried blood.

Next to leave was Yuriko Matsumoto (G-14), a nice, intelligent girl Toshiya had always thought was pretty. She left rather quickly despite her trembling legs, and her eyes were completely dry.

As if in a dream, Toshiya got up and walked towards the front of the classroom. He kept his head low, but he could hear a few girls gasp and whisper good luck to him. He caught his bag without any problem and walked down the dark corridor lined by soldiers.

It wasn't until the night's fresh air finally hit his face that Toshiya realised how hard he had been shaking the whole time. But an even colder touch on his forehead made a shiver run all the way down his spine. There he was, face to face with a pistol's barrel as soon as he had made a single step out of the school.

"Don't fucking move! I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!”

[Remaining: 41]

Deaths:
Nakamura Shizuka (G-12)

: Previous Chapter : Next Chapter :
Go back to J-Rock Battle Royale