Week End Survivor: An Extermination Game Episode 3 (2015.03.15)

K: Kids, this way!

K: You’ll be safe here. Don’t move. I’ll be right back. I’m going to go check the surrounding area.

Right after I had shut the door…

That is how Miss Arisa and her friends got trapped in that room and were forced to take part in that horrendous game.

K: Greetings, our faithful listeners. It has been quite a while since last you heard of me, the maid of this vacation home, Kirimoto, has it not? I’d like to start this episode by having a little chat with the sacrifices of the game thus far. First up we have the owner of the vacation home, Miss Arisa!
A: To think that I of all people would be the first to die.
K: If we look at the vote data, we can see that only one vote was cast. The rest went unregistered. The survivors of that round were given water in exchange for your life.
A: Unbelievable really, the gall of the person to cast a vote for me. I mean, if it weren’t for me, they wouldn’t have even been able to step foot into such a gorgeous vacation home.
K: Quite true, but there are those who would inversely blame you. Had you not invited them, this whole ordeal would have never transpired, no?
A: Are you saying that’s why I was killed?
K: We’d need more evidence to say that definitively.
T: Oh, quit your bitching. I had two votes cast on me. Two!
K: Time to introduce our next guest, the second sacrifice, Takeshi-san!
T: ’Sup?
K: With two votes cast on him, porridge was presented to the survivors in exchange for his life.
T: I’m pretty sure the ones who voted for me were those two motherfuckers.
K: And was there a pickled plum on the porridge?
T: You bet there was! But there’s something else on my mind.
K: What would that be?
T: Well, if those two fuckers voted for me, and if I voted for Yuuto cuz he was pissing me off, then who voted for Natsu?
K: Now that you mention it, Natsu-san did indeed have a vote cast on her.
A: It was probably just Chiaki.
T: No, she probably voted for me. She was suspicious of me from the start.
A: Then who?
K: Let’s leave the guessing there for the time being and return to all the action in the underground room. We should be able to figure out who vote for whom in the last round!

N: Ahh…
Y: Is something wrong, Natsu?
N: No…
Y: You should eat while you can. There’s no need to worry about it. It’s not poisoned or anything.

Takeshi may have died eating this porridge, but I knew it wasn’t because it was poisoned. After all, the porridge came with a note. It read, “Feel free to eat,” just like with the water.

Y: What I’m about to say might sound ridiculous to you but…

Just having finished eating, Yuuto started a conversation with a strong preface.

Y: I’ve been thinking that maybe the person who set this entire game up was that maid, Kirimoto.
N: But, she died getting us here.
Y: We have no proof that she’s actually dead. For all we know, she alive, watching us from somewhere.
N: For what purpose?
Y: That, I don’t know. She might have had a grudge against one of us. Or maybe she just wanted to see how we would act and behave in such a situation.

It wasn’t as ridiculous as he had prefaced. Somehow, the idea of Kirimoto-san being behind all of this made me feel a bit more at ease. If it were true, it would mean that none of us had come up with this twisted game. It would mean the perpetrator was not one of my friends.

Even though it was spring, it was still rather cold out, not to mention this room. It’s safe to assume that’s why Chiaki caught a cold. When I put my hand on her forehead, I could feel how badly she was burning up. She must have been in a lot of pain.

C: I can’t take this anymore. I feel like I’m going to die.
N: You’re just over thinking it. Nobody dies from a cold.

I tore off a piece of my skirt, soaked it in some water, and put it on her forehead.

C: Why? Why are you doing this for me?
N: What do you mean?
C: I mean, I thought you hated me, Natsu.
N: Why would I?
C: Why wouldn’t you? I said some terrible things to you after all. I blamed you for killing Arisa. I said that playing the nice girl only made you more suspicious.
N: I’d forgot you even said that.
C: You’re lying, lying through your teeth.
N: Do you want some porridge?
C: I’m not hungry.
N: You should eat at least a little. That way, after you get some rest, you’ll probably get over your cold.
C: I’m not tired either.
N: How?
C: Think about it. What if a vote started while I was asleep? I’d probably get killed off.
N: No you wouldn’t.
C: You’re lying again. You’ll just get together while I’m asleep and vote me off.
N: Chiaki…
C: You’re just trying to make me drop my guard so you can kill me. It’d be easier around here without me, wouldn’t it? I hold you all back being alive. I’m just in the way, alive.
N: Ahh…
C: Where are you going?
N: I’m going to soak this cloth for you again.
C: Are you mad? You are, aren’t you?
N: I’m not.
C: I’m sorry. Don’t leave me. Stay here with me.
N: Don’t worry, I won’t take long. I’ll be right back.
C: Natsu!

In the end, I’m no saint myself. It’s only natural Chiaki’s words would make me upset, to the point where I think we’d actually be better off without her. But since she’s my friend, I can’t just ignore her. I do want to help her out, but just… To be honest, I’d had just about enough of her.

Y: Natsu, can I talk with you for a bit?
N: Yuuto…

Yuuto came up to me with the usual kind look in his eyes. I really did love those eyes of his. But, it wasn’t unusual to see him with a cold look in his eyes either. At those times, it’s almost as if he were a completely different person, a merciless person. I had suddenly remembered something Takeshi had said.

T: So you did kill Arisa, didn’t you?
N: Takeshi, you suspected me too?
T: I know you like Yuuto, but Arisa was in your way. Am I wrong?
N: Arisa was in my way?
T: I told you not to play dumb! Afterall, Yuuto and Arisa were…
Y: Hey! What’re you doing!?
N: Huh?

What was Takeshi going to say? What was going on between Yuuto and Arisa?

Y: Did Takeshi say something to you?
N: Huh?
Y: You’ve been acting strangely every since that time you were talking with Takeshi. What did he tell you?
N: Hm…
Y: Natsu!

What was going on between him and Arisa?

I’m sure if I asked him about it he wouldn’t hesitate to answer. I’m sure it would turn out to be something frivolous and I’d get over it in an instant. But I just couldn’t get myself to ask him. Something was stopping me from asking him. It was probably the memory of those cold eyes of his from when he pulled me away from Takeshi. What if the answer he gave me was too much for me to handle?

C: Natsu! Where are you!?
N: Ah, Chiaki is calling me. I should probably go check on her. Sorry.
Y: Natsu! Don’t forget that you can’t tell anyone about how we’re going out, okay?
N: Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.

I didn’t know what to believe in anymore. I didn’t know what to do. With those worries floating around in my mind, I returned to Chiaki.

C: So, what were you two talking about?
N: I don’t know what you mean.
C: Why are you playing dumb? I just saw you talking with Yuuto. You’re not going out, are you?
N: Don’t be crazy.
C: Then you must have been planning to kill me, weren’t you?
N: Of course not…
C: Natsu, are you crying?
N: Hey, Chiaki. Do you remember that one time? That time when I was feeling really bad and took a nap in our classroom during lunch time.
C: Huh?
N: I had my head face-down on the desk. All the guys around me were being loud, making a ton of noise. You yelled at them. You told them to quite down. Then you took me to the nurse’s office. Remember?
C: Anybody would have done the same.
N: You’d made me so happy. I used to think that you were a really selfish person who liked to gossip about people and spread rumors, but at that moment I realized you were actually really kind. I came to like you.
C: Natsu…
N: I don’t hate you, Chiaki. I hate the person who set this whole terrible game up. They might be watching us at this very moment. They want us to turn on each other and fight to the death. But I won’t let them have their way. I won’t turn on you, Chiaki. So, please, you have to trust me too.
C: Okay.
N: You don’t need to worry. I won’t abandon you. I promise!
C: Thank you.
Y: You’re right, Natsu! We can’t let the perpetrator have his way!
N: Yuuto.
Y: If we want more relief items, we need to vote people off. So, as long as we don’t vote, no one will die. Since we already have food and water, we just need to stick together. We can fight through this, together!

Just like I had decided to believe in Chiaki, I also decided to believe in Yuuto. I didn’t want to suspect anyone ever again.

N: Are you okay, Chiaki?
C: Not really. It’s getting harder and harder for me to breathe.
N: You just have to hang in there.

N: Not again. Another vote is starting.
P: At this time, a vote will commence.
Y: Th-this is weird. It’s not just Chiaki. It’s getting harder for me to breathe too.
N: Me too, now that you mention it.

At that moment, Yuuto came to a terrible realization.

Y: I figured it out. The ventilation stopped working. We hadn’t realized it stopped. At this rate we’ll all end up suffocating to death!
C: No way!

We all gripped our phones tightly at the idea.

P: The voting period has ended.
C: Did you hear that?
Y: The ventilation started up again.

“Thank goodness,” I thought to myself at the sound of the ventilation. But the joy was short lived as my eyesight started to warp.

Y: Natsu, what’s wrong?

I slowly started to feel my consciousness fade away.

C: Natsu! Natsu!

What’s going on?

Y: Natsu, are you feeling okay? Natsu!

This can’t be happening!

C: Natsu!

I collapsed to the ground. Worried, the others surrounded me. Or so I thought before I saw someone’s lips slowly turn into a smirk. That smirk was the last thing I would ever see in my life.

P: Now for the results of the vote. With three unregistered votes and one vote for Ibuki Natsu, the sacrifice is Ibuki Natsu and the relief item is oxygen. Number of remaining survivors: 3.