There was no guarantee that the allies would come to rescue them—but he had to take a shot on Kaname making it to the shore, just in case.
"But what about you guys?"
"No need to worry. Our job is to protect you. And it's better for one person to survive than for all three of us to get captured."
"Not true!"
Sousuke didn't understand why it mattered to Kaname if he already had resigned himself to this fate.
"You have a right to survive," Sousuke said. "Go."
At that moment, "duty" and "mission objectives" didn't factor into his decision. He simply wanted Kaname to live. Even if she feared and hated him, Sousuke wanted her to get back to school.
If she didn't make it home, he knew that he, Sousuke, would feel sad.
"Run. Alone."
There was a long silence.
Looking from Sousuke to Kurz and back, Kaname seemed perplexed.
In actuality, it was quite simple, really. It was reasoning anyone could grasp: If the only chance for her to survive was by abandoning the others, she needed to do so. No one would blame her for saving herself. Of course she would run—at least, that was Sousuke's logic.
After at least a full minute of silence, Kaname finally spoke. "No."
"Excuse me?"
"I said 'no.' I'm not running away by myself," she declared. "We'll have to put our heads together and come up with another plan."
It was a quiet, albeit confident and composed, statement.
Patiently, Sousuke shook his head. "Listen, Chidori. I'm a specialist. There isn't any way for all three of us to escape this situation. It will be difficult for you to escape by yourself even. That's the truth."
"Truth? Only according to you," she replied, slightly angry.
"But—"
"Enough!" Kaname's outburst dumbfounded Sousuke. "I've been doing a lot of thinking while we trudged through these mountains, and I've finally made up my mind."
Kaname paused to take a deep breath.
"Sagara, you really are a total idiot. I mean, I'm glad you want to save me, but aren't you forgetting something? I think you're missing something
"Huh?" Sousuke hardly could believe his eyes and ears. Kaname was morphing from scared girl into domineering class president.
"Listen, you're always thinking stupid things like 'I don't care when I die.' You didn't even consider my feelings! You're just satisfying yourself, assaulting me with your good intentions. Do you think dying for my sake is cool or something? It's not cool, it's
"If you sacrifice yourself for someone, it's only great if you understand your own importance before you do it. You've already devalued yourself. If you cared at all about yourself, you wouldn't give up so easily. You probably don't even feel like trying. Think about it. Forget duty for a minute and tell me: For whose sake are you saving me? And if you say mine, I will beat you to death!"
His head a jumbled mess, Sousuke stared at Kaname, who appeared to have fumed herself out. He was offended, astonished, embarrassed, amazed, and worried, all at once. He didn't totally understand what she meant, but he did grasp that she thought there was something wrong with him—and also that she was probably right.
As Sousuke struggled to find words, Kaname waved him off and said, "Forget it. I'll save us."
"Excuse me?"
"You said there was no other way, but I think that means that you've given up. That's why I have to do it. Do you have a lighter?"
"I do," he confirmed suspiciously. "What are you planning?"
"To set this mountain on fire," she announced. "A forest fire will cause an uproar. In the confusion, we'll steal a fire truck or a Jeep or something and high-tail it to the airport, where we'll steal a plane amid the confusion. Don't worry, I'll fly it."
"Do you have any experience flying an air—"
"Of course not! I've played the simulator at the arcade, though, so maybe I could figure it out. Anyway, once we have the plane, we'll go to South Korea or Japan. All we have to do is go south, right? Simple. You two just keep quiet and stay with me."
The holes in Kaname's logic were enormous, but she sounded deadly serious. An expression of courage in the face of tragedy rippled across her face.
"I'm never going to give up," she proclaimed, thumping her chest. "I'll never admit we can't save everyone. We'll do
"Sometimes, willpower and enthusiasm won't cut it," Sousuke said. "Do as I say."
"How many times do I have to tell you 'no'?"
"Forget that. Go. Make a run for it." For good measure, he gestured at her with his submachine gun.
"Are you going to shoot me if I don't?" Kaname sounded almost sympathetic.
"Yes. You'd be better off dying here than getting caught by the enemy and turned into a vegetable."
