By then she was dead. In fact, she may have been dead a while ago. Physically, several seconds ago, mentally, ages ago.

— Koushun Takami

Furthermore--though it was quite irrelevant now--he had no idea his killer, Kazoo Kirinyaga, had, in his mansion that was much larger than Shinobi's home in Shiroiwa-CHO, mastered the violin at a level far superior to Shinobi's a long time ago--and then tossed his violin into the trash.

— Koushun Takami

I didn't realize it until now, but I don't really know anything about them, or what kind of people they are, really. You can't see inside a person's heart.

— Koushun Takami

I just didn't want to be a loser anymore...-Mitsuki Sousa

— Koushun Takami

Listen, everyone, you all have your own circumstances. Some of you come from rich families, and some poor. But your value isn't determined by such things--by things beyond your control. Each one of you must discover your own worth through your own efforts. So... don't make the mistake of thinking you alone are special.

— Koushun Takami

Loving someone always requires you to not love others.

— Koushun Takami

Nice jewelry and a boys' corpse. Oh, you're so pretty.

— Koushun Takami

Shinji slowly fell forward onto his face. Debris bounced up on impact. It took less than thirty seconds for the rest of his body to die. The memento of his beloved uncle--the earring worn by the woman he loved--was now stained with the blood running down Shinji's left ear, reflecting the glow from the red flames of the farm building. And so the boy known as the Third Man, Shinji Mira, was dead.

— Koushun Takami

That was it. Shoo stopped breathing. The dim yellow light falling from the ceiling of the pilothouse shone on his pale face. He seemed at ease." Shogo!" Shula yelled. He still had more to say. "You'll see Karo! You'll be happy with her! You're--"It was too late. Shoo couldn't hear anything anymore. But his face just looked so damned peaceful." Damn it." Shula's lips trembled along with his words. "Damn it." Holding Shoo's hands, Torino was crying. Shuya also put his hand on Shoo's thick hand. A thought occurred to him. He searched through Shoo's pockets and found the red bird call. He pressed it into Shoo's right hand and closed his hands over it so he could hold it. Shula then finally burst into tears.

— Koushun Takami

They tried to believe in their classmates. They must have believed that if we could all get together, then we might end up being saved. We should commend them for that. We couldn't do that.

— Koushun Takami