Battle Royale: New Blood

BR:2

              I was in a cold sweat. what the hell was happening? Was I dreaming? No, more like a Nightmare. The rest of the bus was silent. No one spoke. I turned to Hiroki, and he was just as tense as I was. Just then, he shot up out of his seat. “Nice try Mr.Yamada, you really fooled us!” he said, laughing nervously. But, “Mr.Yamada” wasn’t laughing. “Sit down and shut up, you little prick.” Yamada said, harshly. Hiroki stood there stunned, then, sat down. I turned to Aoi. “Do you guys know him?” I whispered to her. She nodded, “He was our 9th grade english teacher.” She shook lightly, terror in her eyes.

Yamada raised his head and spoke, his english getting better as he did: “Now, you may be thinking, ‘this is crazy’ and ‘this isn’t real’, but, my dear students, it is real. To those who don’t know what is going on here,” He looked at me, dead in the eyes, “This is Battle Royale, a survival program put together by the Japanese government. Our government has taken the worst class of 3 years, and puts them into a survival zone. You all have to fight to the death. There can only be one winner. No excuses. All but one of you must die. The rules are simple: The rings on your neck, are set to detonate if you try to remove it, leave the area, or step into a danger zone. They can also be set off remotely. for example:”

He then pulled out a device that blinked red, like the rings on our necks. He smile grimly, and pointed the device at a random girl. “at the press of a button,” he said, flipping a dail. Suddenly, a high pitch beeping noise came from the back of the bus. I turned to see what the noise was, and saw a girl standing in the back. Her ring was beeping. She started panicking, and started screaming. She ran up to Yamada and grabbed his jacket. “Sensei! Sensei! Watashi wa shinitaku arimasen!” She pleaded, and began to cry. The beeping became faster, and faster. “Sensei! Sensei! Teishi shite kudasai!” She yelled. She ripped and pried at her neck, but it was no good. The beeping getting faster, and faster. “Darekaga watashi o-” However, this was her last plead. The ring, sparked and created a small, yet devastating, explosion on her neck. Blood gushed across the front off the bus and people in the front seats. The bus screamed with terror. blood poured from her mouth as she convulsed on her feet. Her eyes rolled back and she fell onto her back, lifeless and morbid. Aoi buried her face in my shoulder, and cried loudly.

Yamada slid the remote into his pocket and smirked. “And just like that, her life was ended.” He said, taking a step forward over the poor girl’s corpse. I looked over at her. Her mouth was wide open. Blood poured out of her mouth and nose, and eyes. One of her legs stretched forward, and one cocked to her back. I felt myself gag. I didn’t even know her, I thought to myself.

    “Now,” said Yamada, “If you don’t participate, you will die. If you try to escape, you will die. And so on, so forth.” He waved his hand in front of his face. “You will all get a bag,” he continued, “They come with a map, water, food, and a random weapon; some useful, some not so useful.” He continued to walk through the bus, looking at the rest of the students. “The arena you will be fighting in in uninhabited. So feel free to kill people anywhere you want. No need to worry about littering here.” He said, laughing to himself.

Just then, Hiroki shot up and pointed his finger at Yamada. “Fuck you if you think i’ll kill my friends!” Hiroki shouted at him. Yamada sighed, “Oh Hiroki,” he took a step forward, “You were my most successful student to date.” Yamada smirked, and stepped closer. “Why not put all that successful power into this?” As he said that, Hiroki lost it. He pulled up his fist and punched Yamada square in the face. Yamada lost his footing and fell on his back. “I said, Fuck you! I’m not killing my friends!” Yamada sat up, and glared at Hiroki. “Yūsei, kare o shobun shite kudasai.” he said calmly.

Suddenly, a boy from the front seat got up, and reached under his seat. He pulled out a sports javelin. “Hiroki!” I shouted suddenly, before I had time to think. Hiroki turned to me, but it was too late. The boy shoved the spear-like tool through Hiroki’s back, and out his gut. Blood spewed from the wound and javelin. Hiroki looked down at the spear, and touched it, unsure of what to do. The whole bus was silent. Well, at least for me.

Hiroki turned to me, tears in his eyes. “...Ian?” he said, hushly. As he said that, The boy ripped the spear out of him, spraying blood all over the floor. Hiroki’s legs gave out and fell to the floor. I jumped up and sat next to him. “Hiroki! Hiroki! wake up!” I yelled at him. I smacked his face a few times. “Goddamnit wake up!” I yelled again, tears in my eyes. I grabbed him and lifted up. He was too heavy. It was all his dead weight. I turned to Aoi. She shook her head in sadness. I just sat there, and stared at him.

Yamada walked up the the boy with the spear. “Everyone, this is my Son, Yusei,” Yamada patted him on the back, “He will be joining you in the games. Just to shake things up.” Yusei’s face was stern and emotionless. He held the javelin with a ferm grip.

“Now, let’s get everybody inside and ready.” Yamada spoke loudly. He looked down at me, still next to my dead best friend. “Come along boy, let’s get you ready.” He said, calmly. I took one last look at Hiroki and the girl, then got up.

As we stepped outside the bus, We could smell death from the bus. One girl puked as soon as we stepped off the bus. It was night and dark, but I could tell we were on a runway of an airport.

I held Aoi close to me, her tears staining my shirt. We walked slowly and tiredly across the runway to the only lit up building; the hangar.

I could feel Aoi’s silent, yet heavy sobs on my shoulder. Her arms clung to me hard. She didn’t want to let go. I couldn’t blame her. She had just witnessed our best friend murdered right in front of us. “I’m going to kill Yusei.” I said to myself. Aoi grabbed my hand, “Don’t get yourself killed…” I looked down to her, “I won’t try.”   

The rest of the student body, including me and Aoi, entered the hangar. The air was musty and damp. The sheer size of the hangar was baffling. At the far end of the hangar was a row of duffle bags. The class made our way to the other side of the hangar. Yamada stood in front of the bags, waiting patiently. “Alright, time for role call and release,” he started, “When your name is called, grab your bag and head out.” Yamada grabbed his list and looked at it.

“First, Rento Ikeda.” He called out. Out from the back of the group, Rento stepped out. I glared at the back of his head as he walked up and grabbed his bag. He too, there was no emotion on his face, only a stern look. As he walked out, he turned, and looked straight at me. I felt my breath go short. He smirked, and walked out. A few more names were called, and Then: “Ian O’brien, please step forth.” My feet felt weak. I stepped forward, my hand carefully letting go of Aoi’s. “Don’t die on me, okay?” I heard her whisper. I gripped her hand one last time, then let go.

I walked forward with everybody eyeing me. I approached one of the soldiers and he threw a bag at me. I caught it quickly. I turned one last time to Aoi. The worry in her eyes make me sick. I was scared. For me. And for her. “When you get called, come find me.” I said out loud, for everyone to hear. Tears streamed down her face. “We will always be friends. Til the end.” She said, her voice cracking. Then, I looked to the blackened door and ran out, without hesitation and fear. I ran into the darkness, and death.

Battle Royale: New Blood

BR:1

    Studying abroad in Japan was difficult for me. The culture was so different from America’s. I never quite caught onto everything. Luckily, I made some friends. Well, only two. A guy by the name of Hiroki, and a girl. Her name was Aoi. They were some of the very few who actually spoke english very well. They were my guides of the first day of High School. They were the only ones who treated me with respect. They were my closests friends. I always look back and remember them. All the things we went through.

    I walked down the hall of my new school. The day was coming to a close, and I was about to walk home. I peered out the window and squinted slightly. The sky was bleached red from the sunset. Red blood-like streaks broke the sky, and cut through the clouds. The sun pierced through the window and into my eyes like a dagger. All I could hear was the light squeak of my shoes on the shiny floor. Then, to my side, a door opened. A student from my class stepped out. His name was Rento. He was at least a few inches taller than me. Our eyes met, and he grinned. “Anata ga koko ni kuru tame ni orokadesu.” He said, smirking at me.

    I had heard that a lot the time I had been there. Aoi told me it meant “you are stupid for coming here.” She told me not to sweat it though, and he was like that with everybody. I looked at the ground and mumbled the only thing I could; “Baka…” His face changed to anger. “Anata wa ittai nani o iimashita no?!” He half shouted at me. That phrase slipped my mind, but not before he grabbed me by the neck.

    I gasped loudly, then was cut off by his hand. I gasped for air and smacked his wrist. “Gomen'nasai!” I Pleaded. He laughed and let me go. I fell to the ground and heaved in air. Before I could say anything, he was walking away. I sat there and rubbed my neck in pain.

Just as I got up, Aoi and Hiroki, luckily, came around the corner. She smiled and waved, “Good afternoon, Ian-Kun!” She half-shouted. I smiled and waved back to her. She walked over to me and hugged me tightly. I hugged her back, feeling her strangely comforting school uniform. She looked up from my chest and smiled to me. I smiled back. Hiroki walked over to me and gave me a high five. I stepped back and looked at them. Aoi’s black hair hung playfully in front of  her face and her smiled warmed my heart to the core. She was nearly a foot shorter than me. Hiroki was about my height rocked styled back jet black hair.

“How’s it been going, Ian-kun?” Hiroki asked. I thought back to just a few minutes ago, but decided to not tell them. I nodded slowly, “Pretty fine.” I smiled my best. Aoi cocked her head at me and smiled her usual pretty smile. “Are you sure, Ian-kun?” she said, pointing a finger at me. I smirked and patted her head softly. “i’m fine, don’t worry.” I said, and started to walk away. Suddenly, I felt Aoi grab my hand from behind. I turned to her. Her face was in slight distress, but then cut off by her smile. “Y’know we’re your friends, right?” She said, “I know we only met a month ago, but we still got your back.”

I looked to her, then to Hiroki. “Hai, She’s right Ian.” He said, smiling to me, and I smiled back. I gripped Aoi’s hand and felt comfort in them. In Her. “Thanks, guys.” I stepped closer, “You two are great.”

Hiroki stepped forward and placed his hand on both of our’s. “Saigo Goma no yūjin.” Aoi said with a smile. I tilted my head in confusion, “Uhhh,...” She giggled lightly, then spoke; “It means Friends til the End.”

I felt my heart flutter with warmth as she said the translation. I was happy I made friends in this Foreign land. No pun intended. These two, were the only thing I had close to friends. Back then, I knew they had my back. Through thick and thin. Back in the states, everybody was a douchebag and could care less about a person of their same age, let alone a friend. But here, these people cared so much about each other. There was a sense of caring, love, and belonging. You could saw it was a bitter sweet paradise for me. But, as they say: The sun always sets in Paradise.

Aoi hopped along and smiled to me, “c’mon Ian-kun, Hiroki, we’re gonna miss the bus!” I was filled with joy. I turned to Hiroki, and nodded. “Race ya!” He said, then started sprinted off in front of me. Before I could think, my legs took off behind him. So this is what happiness feels like, I thought to myself.

We made it to the buses with time to spare. We trotted onto the bus and took our seats. The bus was rowdy. People shouting happily, passing note, giggling, and laughing loudly. Aoi sat next to me, and Hiroki sat in the seat across the aisle next to me. Only a minutes later, the bus started, and we were off. The rowdiness of the bus slowed, but was still there. Aoi stared out the window and smiled. I leaned over to Hiroki and smiled. “Hey, Hiroki, what are the chances me and Aoi could,...Y’know, get together?” I blushed lightly, and he just smirked to me. “There’s a bigger chance of me getting impaled on a stick than that.” He said, holding back laughter. I smiled back. I knew he was joking of course. “Now,” He yawned, “I’m gonna try and get some sleep.” I  nodded to him and leaned back. I looked ahead and watched as the bus sunk into a dark tunnel.

It was just then, I noticed the rowdiness was gone. No one was awake. I felt my eyes go heavy. Well, might as well rest, I thought to myself. I closed my eyes, and drifted off.  

I woke up, cold as all hell. I looked around. Outside the windows were dark. It was night; Dead of night. I quickly turned my head to Aoi. She was still asleep. Then, I saw something around her neck. A silver band hung around her neck. It looked like an oversized ring. Red lights flashed on it in a sporadic pattern. Just then, I heard shuffling next to me. I turned to see Hiroki, Awake. He too looked around in confusion. The ring was on his neck too. Then, it hit me. I touched my neck. I too had it.

“Ittai nani?” He said, spinning his head around. “What the fuck is going on?” I asked him franticly. He shook his head and grimaced. He went to scratch his neck and touched the Ring. His face turned to confusion, Then, Shock. “Oh god….” He turned to me, quickly, “Ian! It’s-...” He then was suddenly cut off by the opening of the bus door. We both went silent. Two men with big assault rifles stepped on first. The, an older looking man. He looked at us, the only two awake. He smiled the devil’s smile and lifted his arm. In his hand, was an air horn. He quickly blasted the horn. The ear piercing sound rattled the bus. Aoi jumped beside be as the noise shrieked through the iron can. Everybody was awake. Wide awake. They all stared forward at the man. He gave a cheeky smile, then spoke: “Gudo morunin, ereryone.” he said, in very poor english. The bus was silent. He looked to the two armed men, and they pointed their guns at us. “I said, Gudo morunin!” he half shout. A few kids gasped and greeted him in typical Japanese: “Ohayōgozaimasu sensei”

Then, the man cleared his throat and began to speak: “Hello children. I’d like to invite you to play a little game with each other.” He then pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. The paper had an image on it. a deep, blood red graphic of “BR” with a rithe like circle around it. Beside the graphic, some text read: “Battle Royale: Survival Program”

“welcome,” the man said with his devil grin, “To Battle Royale.”

Temporary Hiatus

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