62
“Hey,” Yuko called over to Yukie. Yukie, who was speaking to Satomi and Chisato, looked over at her. Yuko continued, “Maybe we should bring Shuya his meal first?”
Yukie beamed a smile at her. “That’s a good idea. Let’s do that.” Yuko then added very casually, “The stew looks ready, so how about I start serving it up?”
She held the dish. The dish.
“Sure—oh that’s right,” Yukie said as if she suddenly remembered. “You know, there’s a medicine kit in the desk drawer over there. I think it has some painkillers. I should bring Shuya some painkillers with his meal.”
“Sure.” Yuko then let go of the dish. It clicked against the sink. “Okay. Hold on.”
The writing desk, equipped with a computer and phone, was across from the sink, in the corner of the room. Yuko made her way around the table to get there.
Clanging footsteps descended the steel stairs. Haruka and Yuka Nakagawa entered the room. Yuka Nakagawa had a short-barreled gun resembling an expanded automatic gun with an extended stock slung over her shoulder. (It was an Uzi 9mm submachine gun. It was Satomi Noda’s supplied weapon, but because it seemed like the most powerful weapon they had, whoever keeping watch held onto it.)
“I heard Shuya’s up!” Yuka said in her usual cheerful voice, placing the Uzi on the table. A little chubby and, thanks to her tennis team practice in the outdoor courts, tan, Yuka somehow managed to stay cheerful even in these dire circumstances.
“Yes.” Yukie nodded happily.
“Well, you must be relieved, Representative,” Yuka teased her.
Yukie blushed a little. “What are you saying?”
“Oh, come on. You’re beaming.”
Yukie frowned and then shook her head. Suddenly realizing something, Yuka looked over at Chisato and fell silent. Chisato had lost Shinji Mimura, the boy she loved, and now she stared down at the floor.
Yuko hardly paid attention to this exchange as she took the wooden medical kit she found in the desk drawer. She placed it on the desk and opened it up. It was stuffed with various kinds of medical supplies, gauze, poultices. The only things missing were the bandages, since they were almost entirely used up to treat Shuya Nanahara.
Painkillers. Which one were the painkillers? Of course, it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because—
“Wow, it smells great,” she heard Yuka say, trying to change the mood. But she hardly paid noticed to that either.
Painkillers… ah, here we go. Right here. For headaches, menstrual cramps, toothaches… Oh, come to think of it, my stomach’s been aching. I’ll take some later. After things settle down a little.
“So what is it?” Satomi asked Yukie in her slightly husky voice.
“What is it?” Haruka asked.
“Oh, right. Let’s see, where do I begin?” Yukie said.
It was only when Yuka said, “Let’s have a taste then,” that Yuko suddenly looked up.
She turned around and saw Yuka lift the dish and put it against her mouth. She should have used the ladle if she wanted a taste. Instead she had to put her mouth against that dish, the one she’d sprinkled with the half-transparent powder.
Yuko turned pale. She was about to raise her voice, but it happened too fast.
Yuka dropped the dish and the stew splashed against the floor with a crashing sound. Everyone looked over at her.
Yuka held onto her throat and coughed out the stew she had just swallowed. Then she coughed more violently onto the white table. Now the substance was bright red. The red splattered out in a circle against the white table and resembled the national flag of the Republic of Greater East Asia. And then she crashed onto the floor covered with stew.
“Yuka!”
Everyone—besides Yuko, who was speechless—cried out and ran to Yuka.
Yuka balled up on her side and coughed up blood again. Her tan face became more and more pale. Red foam spilled out the side of her mouth.
“Yuka! Yuka! What happened!?”
Yukie shook her body, but the dark-red foam only continued to spill out the side of her mouth. Her eyes were open as wide as possible, as if on the verge of popping out, but now even the whites of her eyes were turning red. For some reason—inflammation or broken capillaries—dark-red and black spots began appearing all over her blue face, transforming it into the mask of some grotesque monster.
But besides this, there was something else that was indisputable. It was obvious. Yuka had stopped breathing. Everyone fell silent. Yukie’s trembling hand touched Yuka’s throat. She said, “She’s dead.”
Behind Yukie, who crouched down beside Yuka and Haruka, Yuko stood still, her face completely pale.
She was shaking. (Of course it was very possible the other four were also in the same state.)
Oh, how could… how could this… this is all a mistake… mistake… how could… you only had a mouthful… how could it be this strong… I didn’t… this is a mistake… I killed her… by mistake… it was a mistake… I didn’t mean to… I wanted to get rid of—
“It couldn’t have been from food poisoning… could it?” Yukie continued, her voice trembling.
Chisato responded, “I… just tasted it. Nothing happened… this… this… could this be…”
Haruka followed up, “Poison?”
That sparked it off. Everyone (to be more accurate, it was everyone besides Yuko, but the other four didn’t realize this) looked at each other.
There was a thump. Satomi Noda had grabbed the Uzi and was now aiming it at the others. The other four, including Yuko, reflexively moved to the side or backed away from Yuka’s corpse.
Satomi screamed. Her eyes behind her glasses were wide open with fear. “Who!? Who did it!? Who poisoned this stew! Who’s the one trying to kill us!?”
“Stop it!” Yukie yelled.
Yuko saw her hand reach for the gun (Browning High Power 9mm. This was Yukie’s supplied weapon and because she was the team leader she held onto it) tucked in the back of her skirt. Yukie was about to move forward but stopped and stepped back. “Put your gun down. That can’t be.”
“Oh yes it can,” Satomi shook her head. Satomi who always seemed so calm had completely lost control. “The last announcement said there were only fourteen of us left. It’s getting down to the wire. So our enemy’s finally rearing its ugly head.” Then she looked over at Haruka and said, “You were the one cooking.”
Haruka shook her head violently. “I wasn’t the only one. Chisato also—”
“That’s horrible,” Chisato said. “I would never do such a horrible thing! Besides…” She seemed to hesitate, but then she said, “Satomi and Yuko also had plenty of chances to poison the food.”
“That’s right,” Haruka turned back to Satomi, then hissed at her, “Aren’t you getting a little too upset?”
“Haruka!” Yukie stopped her, but it was too late. Satomi was now completely upset.
“What was that?”
“That’s right,” Haruka continued, “First of all, you’ve hardly slept. I know. When I got up in the middle of the night, you were up. Doesn’t that mean you don’t trust us? That’s proof, right there!”
“Please, stop it, Haruka!” Yukie pleaded. She was nearly shrieking now. “Satomi! Put down the gun!”
“Oh, please.” Satomi pointed the Uzi at Yukie now. “Stop pretending you’re the leader. So this is the act you put on after your plan to poison everyone goes awry? Is that it?”
“Satomi,” Yukie said desperately.
Yuko raised her hand up to her mouth and stepped back in a daze. Her body was numb from the sudden turn of events. But she had to say it, she had to explain the truth, or else this… something terrible was going to happen.