Battle Royale: Yet to End

Ichi

    Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park was still far away ahead of them. Imako Tokonoma (Female Student No. 2) peered on the window beside her as the endless road and flow of vehicles passed by. The speed of the bus was enough for her to capture everything in sight.

   "Imako!" Azami Takahasa (Female Student No. 1), who was her seatmate, whispered to her. Actually, it wasn't a whisper. It sounded in a normal volume, not too high and not too low. Azami was actually her cousin. Azami's father and Imako's mother were siblings so it explained why. Despite having different parents, they had one common trait: a flat nose.

   "Why don't you come talk with us?" Azami asked.

   Imako was the shy type, but not really the kind you would find all alone and sulking all day. She's just... an adjective she couldn't describe.

   "Um..." She said in a high-pitched, but soft and slow voice.

   "What is it? Do you feel sick? I have some bags here."

   "I just... want to enjoy the scenery. That's all. I'm sorry."

   Azami tapped her shoulder. "Its okay." She paused for a few seconds, then continued, "Well, if you need anything, just ask me."

   "Um, thanks, Azami."

   "Don't mention it."

   Imako turned back to the window and pressed her face against the glass. She could feel the vibration of the bus' engine; even more so when she pressed her right hand, with her left at the seat's arm. An endless sea of grassland spread throughout the scenery and mountains loomed at the background. The sky was perfectly clear. There was no cloud in sight, just birds flying in the air on the direction opposite the bus. The sun was at its zenith, indicating it was noontime already. The weather was awfully great and fitting for a field trip like this.

   On the other hand, Azami talked away with Atsushi Mori (Male Student No. 5), the big and food-loving guy in the class; Aoi Torio (Male Student No. 8), the short and puberty-deprived guy; Matsui Yano (Female Student No. 12), the class' expert guitarist; Natsumi Nichiya (Female Student No. 13), the smart, jovial and energetic one; and Ume Kotobuki (Female Student No. 20), a quiet, calm, reserved but friendly girl who keeps pictures of her crush, Ryotaro Kumotake (He's a hearthrob in another school) in her ID card. The seven of them, including Imako, were together since first year in junior high school and they've formed a pretty strong bond together.

   At the front of the bus sat almost all boys in the class. They were either in their seats, sitting on the aisle or trying to fit themselves in the occupied seats. One of them was Shigeo Ishihara (Male Student No. 10), the mature-looking but fun-loving guy who is in a relationship with the class' most beautiful girl, Junka Hitomaro (Female Student No. 8). Their relationship started at the beginning of the school year; only that now, they're experiencing some problems with each other and decided to stay away.

  At the middle part of the bus stood two loner boys: Daisuke Ameyama (Male Student No. 1) and Jiro Shimeji (Male Student No. 9). They were whispering in a serious tone and in some instances they laugh quietly. Daisuke's laugh was the polar opposite of Jiro's. He laugh in a very low voice while Jiro laughed the way a girl would do, but they never minded it. They've kept each other company for a while now, and they're contented with the two of them not joining the bigger crowd.

  Out of nowhere, Daisuke complained, "Ugh, what time is it already? Are we even getting nearer?" Apparently, only Jiro heard this, even though Daisuke directed it to everyone.

 Jiro quickly looks at his watch. It read 12:49 PM. He showed it to him and Daisuke's reaction wasn't anything happy. He was even more annoyed than usual. He always carried a dark expression, which made his reputation even bad. As they say, first impressions are important; and people's impression on him wasn't the way a person's impression on a superstar would.

 Daisuke continued, "Ugh, what a load of losers. If this was just a normal day I'd hop on the computer and surf all day."

  "Let's just play along for now. We can't just get out of this bus and hitch a ride. We're going to look like stupid students in the middle of nowhere." Jiro said.

   Instead of a long reply, Daisuke just huffed from the corner of his mouth. Negative response, Jiro thought.

   The bus continued to move. The scenery began to go a bit on the wild side. The students were all chattering away, as if nothing is going to happen until they reach their destination.

39 Students Remaining