[color=silver][center][h2][color=0099aa]𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐭[/color][/h2]
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[color=0099aa]"Ready to lose? Alright. On three, rock, paper---[i] the [b]fuck[/b]?!"[/i][/color]

One moment Duncan was about to drop a figurative rock on Maki and saddle her with getting a hold of alcohol this weekend, the next he was stumbling out of a bus wreck with a busted lip and the worst headache in his life. He was only vaguely aware of what was happening around him, of students pouring past and Daisuke shoving bags into his arms. Everything reeked of gasoline, and his ears rung so loud he couldn't hear a word - but he [i]knew [/i]there was shouting. There was always shouting at accident sites, he'd seen enough videos to know.

Various bags flung over his shoulders, stuffed under his arms and even haphazardly balanced on his head, Duncan stepped out into the open summer air, and realized they weren't in Kuroshio anymore. 

[color=0099aa]"Dude,"[/color] he whispered to Daisuke, or hoped he did. Duncan still couldn't hear his own voice, and as he leaned one shoulder into his cheek to wipe away sweat, the fabric came back red. Was his ear bleeding?! Holy shit, that[i] couldn't[/i] be good, right? Man...

By the time they had settled down into a clearing and partook in the collective activity of watching their bus catch on fire (but not explode, too bad) the incessant ringing in Duncan's ears had started to gradually quiet into a buzz. He still felt lightheaded though, and could swear he swerved to the left when he walked, like his dad's old car. That one [i]had [/i]exploded.

As his hearing slowly returned, it turned out Duncan hadn't missed much during his bout of deafness. No one around them had any idea what to do, and coming up with a plan of action had taken second seat to arguing and... poetry? At least the class prez was trying, sort of, but tuning the student council members out had become so second nature to Duncan that he didn't catch half of it. From what he gathered though, his grand plan was basically to... wait. Great. Duncan was more and more convinced the dude would have been better off shooting hoops with the rest of the team. 

Well, whatever. He, for one, was definitely [i]not [/i]gonna just wait around for rescue. Besides, if they'd really gone through a portal, this was basically once in a lifetime experience. The kind of shit you could recount at parties years later and never fail to make an impression. 

[color=0099aa]"Oi, Daisuke, Yuki,"[/color] he called out, louder this time, as he looked over the sea of heads to find the two. [color=0099aa]"We're inside a portal, dude. Inside a [i]portal[/i], can you believe it? Bro. We might get to find out if the monsters are real. My old man's convinced they're fake news. Altered footage, you know? But if they ain't... Maki and I had a bet, she thinks she could take one on. I told her [i]I might[/i], but [i]she's[/i] like half the size of a carrot, how's she gonna-- huh? Wait... speaking of, where is she?"[/color]

Duncan looked around for a tiny brunette dot of a head somewhere among the students. He didn't have to look long; there she was now, dashing into the bushes, launching herself into the air to drop kick a hulking monster.

... Wait, she[i] what.[/i]

Duncan spun around so fast he nearly fell over from another bout of vertigo. Either he hit his head real bad, or there were some kind of wolfbear hybrids with an unacceptable amount of eyes running [i]straight at them.[/i] Holy. Shit. 

Quickly, Duncan took mental inventory of what he had. Shoes, sure, bottle of water, yeah, but that wasn't-- wait. He dropped his bag and squatted down after it, fumbling with the zipper with fingers that were way too big and way too shaky for the job.[color=0099aa] "Come on, come on..."[/color]

Duncan rummaged through the bag and pulled out a basketball with both hands, taking a few steps back as he straightened back up. Good enough, right? He'd gotten hit in the face with these suckers so many times before, and they freaking [i]hurt[/i]. Here's hoping they hurt wolfbears just as much.

[color=0099aa]"Pass!" [/color]Duncan shouted as he twisted his body and pulled backwards, throwing the ball towards the monster's head with a motion that went against everything he'd learned at basketball practice. But then, new world, new rules. 

[color=0099aa]"Come on, guys!"[/color] he shouted at everyone within earshot, so loud he hoped it would drown out his heartbeat. It was beating in his throat so vehemently he was afraid others might hear it too. He picked up his bag, ready to swing if he had to. [color=0099aa]"There's like a shitton of us, stop standing around and do somethin'!"[/color]

Like run. Honestly, running worked. Duncan [i]really [/i]wanted to run, but if he was the first to do it, others might think he was a coward or something, and that'd be worse than getting bitten by a bear. Probably.

[i]Goddamn,[/i] he needed a cig right about now.
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