[IC] Expedition to Isekai

[OwO]

---

If only Rin had slammed into the ground and left a comedic outline. At least that would make her rise and descent comedic. Instead, she landed with an wheeze. She couldn't even spend a millisecond to relax. A howl came followed by the onrush of a stampede. Rin had to flounder out of the way, lest she be crushed.

At the very least, she took out a tail before it left. Maybe it was an achievement. Difficult to tell when the barometer was "made to leave in a huff" and Shun's newfound career path of food processor.

She still had energy. At least, enough gas in her tank to move around. With Shun's pleas, Rin came over to help the red-lined girl up.

Though, how effective she was at doing so was questionable. It took a half-dozen attempts to give Shun a hand. Not because of a specific difficulty. Rin was just cycling through different methods of holding Shun before finally settling on that piggy-back ride.

Even with her body being more durable, she wasn't able to perform a bridal-carry. At least, not seconds after being flung into the air.

"Let's go see if the others are fine."

Though, Rin had an inkling that most of them were.

One of the figures in the distance looked suspiciously like he'd break copyright, after all.

[Yankee]

______________________________________________________________________

Masato kept his eyes fixed ahead of him. He stubbornly focused on this sense, trying to forget about the prickly, uncomfortable feeling of blood and dirt on his skin. The noise of the monsters they left behind wouldn't so easily be forgotten, and it caused his mind to start racing again. There in the middle of the group of students, he tried and failed to be optimistic about what the howl behind them all meant. It could be a signal to regroup and change tactics. Masato assumed that the creatures were intelligent enough for that kind of thing. Maybe the lasers weren't working, and a stampede would be better. It could also be a sign of retreat, but...

It just as easily could be a cry of victory.

The people they'd left back there were scattered and scared. Their teamwork was in shambles compared to the monsters, and of this Masato was no exception. Based on what Kunio told them as he brought up the rear, a victory howl was the most likely scenario wasn't it?

There were five Changed students back there, and six monsters. If the monsters won... he could imagine that they'd come looking for at least one more human to make a meal of. They'd come after the rest of them.

Fuck. He dragged a hand down his face. Fuck. Fuck. No, god...

He couldn't protect everyone from an entire group of monsters. Stewart was with them, but he was still a little out of it. There was no way they could fight. They had to keep running, since as far as he could see there was no place to hide. What else could they even do? Masato clenched and unclenched his fists, his breath becoming harsher.

"Masato!"

Akito. The other boy calling his name pulled Masato from what would have quickly become a spiral of thoughts. It had always been a bad habit of Masato's, to keep everything bottled up until he exploded. He was getting very close to his tipping point. He was just so overwhelmed with - everything. Fear, duty, anger, and trying to keep everyone alive.

You'll fail, said a voice in his head. You know you can't do it. They're already dying.

Masato slowed to a stop, coming to realize that his unbidden thoughts were true. None of them were doctors, they didn't have any life saving equipment, and help wouldn't be here in time. Not everyone was going to make it home. Endo hadn't woken up since yesterday. Bansen was in bad shape. And...

Masato's eyes slipped over to Akito and Okumura. She was barely conscious and still badly bleeding. If... if the monsters, whether the ones they left behind or new ones lurking within the forest were to come for them, they would be able to track them wherever they fled if they carried Okumura with them. He swallowed a lump in his throat, stamping down the part of him that was filled with growing horror at what he was about to do.

"Keep going," he told the whole group. "Straight ahead. We aren't turning around, the others will catch up to us. There's no danger ahead so just keep on. Ohta, let Stewart help you."

His voice was stronger than he thought it would be, especially since he wasn't optimistic about the others' chances. If they managed to drive the monsters off then they would definitely reunite, but he... he just couldn't rely on that chance. So with his tone as authoritative as he could make it, he ordered the others to move. They actually listened to him for once. He felt sick.

Then, he took Okumura's other side to help Akito carry her. The boy cut him a suspicious look, especially when Masato started to steer them away from the others. In the dark, no one would notice if they were gone for a couple of minutes. All of their heads were sure to be filled with worry, and blood rushing through their ears would stop them from hearing anything.

It was always the blood. Whether his own or someone else's, in his veins or outside of them, it was always the fucking blood.

"What the hell are you doing?" Akito asked him, and Masato just shook his head. When they got a little too far from the rest of the students, Akito and Masato started to struggle against each other - until Masato relented, shoving Okumura toward the other boy so that he had to scramble to catch her and keep his own footing.

"Seriously, what the fuck, Masato?"

"She's bleeding," was the reply. Masato's stare was hard, difficult to see in the dark with how dark his eyes were at the moment. "It's not stopping and she's not - changing. Not healing."

Ah, so even Akito could look remorseful. He also looked perplexed. He was really going to make Masato spell it out for him. Masato curled his fingers into fists.

"We can't take her with us."

"Wha... what? You want to just leave her to die?"

Do you really think I want to? Okumura Tsubaki was a good person. She had siblings, he knew, and she had been the one taking care of the sick and hurting after they crashed through that accursed portal. He would have definitely traded Akito for her. But she was already past the point of saving. Even now her head lolled and she couldn't stand on her own. She didn't resist any of the man handling. She was already half-gone. And still she bled, leaving a trail behind them. The smell of her blood made him feel even sicker now.

"We can't do anything for her. She's already... just take her a little further away and set her down before coming back. You're used to leaving people behind, aren't you?"

"Like you're one to fucking talk!"

Masato snapped forward and seized the other boy by his collar, dragging him in close. To Akito's credit he didn't drop Okumura, even with Masato snarling in his face. Like this, he resembled his brother. Akito didn't dare voice that thought aloud.

"Do it," he commanded. Up close, Masato's gaze was unfocused. He was straining to take control of this situation, listen for the rest of the group, or for any pursuers from the clearing. Straining to come to terms with what he was asking. He released Akito roughly. "...be quick. Unless you can pull a way to save her out of your ass, you know this is what we have to do too."

"...goddamn it," Akito breathed. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned away, complying with Masato's order. Neither boy felt good about it. They parted, Masato going back to the group first. He took up a position toward the rear like he'd hardly been gone at all.

Okumura's blood was on his hands, literally. Spilled onto his arm when he half-carried her. It felt hot, turned his stomach. He used his already ruined jacket to rub it off. Leaving her was awful, but this was what they had to do. He couldn't let anything lead the beasts right to them, couldn't use up manpower to protect those beyond help, couldn't... make it back from the Otherside without sacrifices.

[Nakushita]

______________________________________________________________________

Just as it felt like the darkness had been closing in on her and her mind had started to grow fuzzy. The impact of Kogens kick rippled through the flesh of the creature. Reaching her beneath it and stirring up her mind just enough to help her last the last few minutes and seconds she needed to live. To endure the lack of oxygen and the weight of the beast just a little bit longer. Someone was fighting the beast, whoever it was had come to her rescue. Giving her that little bit of hope that drove her on.

The sudden removal of the hulk-phants weight from her prone and pressed into the earth body. The cold embrace of the nights air once again against her skin. It took her a moment to even consider what had just happened. Her oxygen depraved mind finally got the air that it needed.

Letting out a loud and large gasp as she sucked in the fresh night air into her burning lungs. A sense of relief finally washed over her. As if a weight had been removed from her shoulders, quite literally. Starting to push the palms of her hands against the ground as she peeled herself from the Ayana shaped dent in the ground. “I need to remind myself not to try that again…..” she muttered underneath her own breath. The outfit she had changed into already filthy, but at least this time it wasn’t charred or torn.

Lifting her head, her face covered in dirt as she surveyed the immediate area around her. In the dark there wasn’t much she could see. But she could hear the beasts as they got further from her position. Whatever or whoever had scared them off or drawn their attention away had surely saved her life. She didn’t know how much longer she could have held on beneath the beast. It had felt like she had been stuck under there for an eternity.

She couldn’t immediately see anyone nearby her current position through the dark night air. She quickly attempted to get back to her feet on unsteady feet. Being nearly as blind as a bat in the dark, she didn’t even know if there was someone only a few feet away. What she did know was that impact she felt earlier, there had to be others nearby somewhere.

“Hey! Thank you whoever helped me! I know we are quite PRESSED for time and a lot of other people are in danger so I’m super thankful!” Ayana shouted out into the dark to whoever was nearby. Knowing that the best course of action was to try to regroup with whoever she could. As they would be a lot safer in numbers, but that may be easier said then done with everyone having scattered during the attack.

[Cu Chulainn]

Proving Ground, ???

---

_{Mentions: @Nakushita}

The Demon bounced back from his kick to behold the damage he had done to his target, landing on his feet as he prepared his second attack. It didn't seem wounded at first glance... perhaps Kogen needed to strike it somewhere else in order to deal some damage. The muscles in his legs tensed as he prepared another leaping strike, this time for its head...

... or at least, he would have if the bearlephant didn't flee like a coward.

Kogen was confused for a second. Why were they just running away? He didn't quite hear the howl, so he was pretty much clueless as to what actually happened. Instead, Kogen chalked it up to his ferocity! Triumphantly, he raised a fist in the air, turning back to the camp to relish in his victory.

"Hold your applause, your hero has arri-..."

Silence. There was nary a soul in sight, aside from the other, more "gifted" students.

"... Where is everyone?"

Walking away from his compressed compatriot, Kogen would begin to survey the wreck. Discarding his demonic skin, Kogen's eyes would dart around the darkness, taking into account everyone that was still here. A concerned look washed over the boy's face as he realized who among them was still here, and who had left. He looked near, and far, from the wreckage to the trees in which he was thrown. And alas, from what Kogen could see, there was no sign of him.

"Thank me not, my flattened friend, for we have been forsaken." Kogen had spoken back to Ayana, still faced away from her as he kneeled to the ground. Scooping some dirt into his hand, vicious thoughts began to fill his head. This was it, then? This was how thankful the others were of his strength? Kogen and the rest were simply tools of convenience. He understood why everyone would leave, but that still did not stop a grudge from forming deep within him.

That same grudge Kogen had for his bullies. For those who took part in his torment. For those who betrayed him. For those who watched from the sidelines, not doing a thing. And especially, for those who were spared the same fate he would have had if not for his own inaction.

"... You will pay. You will all pay." Kogen made a whispered promise to himself, letting the dirt fall out of his hands. It was the last vestiges of a star that shone bright, but whose light had been continuously snuffed out by those jealous of its brilliance. They had taken its light for granted, they had always done so, even as its light faded, as its brilliance shrunk.

Soon, they will see the wrathful catastrophe that is a dying star.

Uuuuuuuurrrrrrrrgh~!

Kogen's thoughts were interrupted by the growl of his stomach. Right, time to see what was left of their camp. He could use some bearwolf steak right about now...

[ERode]

---

//Night 0 | Location: Nameless Forest - Clearing

_{@OwO@AThousandCurses@baraquiel@Vertigo@Cu Chulainn@Nakushita}
Around them, there was only ruination. Their shelter was in pieces, what remnants of their school life crushed underfoot by the monstrosities that they couldn't slay. Food and water, containers and clothing, so much of it was turned into paste beneath charred metal and splintered wood. Kogen searched for something to sate his hunger, but there were only scraps left.

They had been forsaken. Left behind. Perhaps it was for the best. Masato must have made the decision to prioritize the lives that could be saved. But now...there was no sign that Masato was returning, was there?

And, as Rin and Shun returned to the ruination that had visited their little shelter, they found out quickly enough that even Masato's quick decision wasn't enough to save all lives. In the chaos of the night, as everyone prioritized only those in their immediate proximity, it had been easy enough for an individual to slip through the gaps of everyone's concerns. Only Yukiko had gone to retrieve the injured, and she had only the strength to retrieve one.

As for the other?

Yuudai was but a bloody smear and a charred hand now. He too, had been forsaken.

...

The night was long. The darkness remained, perpetual.

It was a small mercy for Shun.

_@Yankee

It wasn't safe.

But it would have to do.

In the darkness, none of the students noticed when Masato and Akito broke off from the group. Or, if they did notice, they didn't make any comment when Masato returned without Akito. When Akito returned without Tsubaki. The terror had gradated into wariness. The wariness had fallen away to fatigue. And, with each step through the brush, each yelp at an uneven step, each grunt of an old ache, it was becoming clear. They could not continue any further. Within a copse of soft-enough bushes, they huddled together, their clothes grimy and their countenances grim. Some snatched what sleep they could. Others whispered false comforts into their lovers' ears. A sister wondered where her half-kin was. A twin wished to leave, but couldn't abandon his other half. A girl rocked back and forth, bottling up resentment and frustration. A boy chewed on his fingernails, mouth split into a shark-toothed grin.

There was warmth in human company. With his senses sharpened to superhuman extremes, Masato should have felt it the most.

But instead, all he could feel was the lingering warmth of Tsubaki's blood.

Was it a burden he had freed himself of? Or a burden that he would forever carry?

...

The night was long. The darkness remained, perpetual.

It was another monster, for the runaways to combat.

---

//Day 1 | Location: Nameless Forest - Clearing

Day broke slowly, and people woke slowly.

The night had drained them, and hunger clawed at their stomachs. The thirst was worse, though.

They had gained power, and yet had lost their people. Their place in the world. The tears wouldn't dry up any time soon.

Still. It was another day.

They had to keep going, even if they did not know where.

It was the Otherside, after all. If they remained rooted, then what happened last night would simply repeat itself.

[Nakushita]

______________________________________________________________________

@OwO@AThousandCurses@Vertigo@Cu Chulainn@Erode

Hearing Kogen’s statement, she took a moment to look around the immediate area. It was true that there wasn’t nearly as many people left here at the camp. Well, what was left of the camp after the beasts had all but decimated their last vestiges of survival and shelter. A frown slowly spreading across her usually cheerful face. As the sense of loneliness started to settle in once again, which she tried to quickly shake off.

“That may very well be so, but that doesn’t mean we are hopeless or helpless, if the others have truly left us, we still have everyone else who remains here to rely on.” Ayana tried to reassure him. It being clear to her that he was struggling with coming to terms with it. It didn’t feel great to acknowledge that fact herself. Though she knew that they couldn’t dwell on it for long or feel sorry for themselves. They still had a lot of things to do and accomplish even if the others had left them behind.

“We need to get a head count of who still remains here, and try to establish some kind plan on what we should do with who remains, it doesn’t look like we can just remain here and survive, we will need to find somewhere with the sustainability to support our group with both shelter and food, it doesn’t feel good that the others just ditched us like that, but maybe they didn’t have a choice in the matter….regardless we need to focus on our own survival….we should move out first thing in the morning once it gets light again” Still having some hope left in her that the others had just gotten separated temporarily. That they had gotten lost on their way back or had to take shelter elsewhere because of the danger presented by the beasts.

While also trying to reassure Kogen and the others around her. Knowing that they needed to regroup and recompose themselves. Time was off the essence and the sooner they found a place to establish a shelter and start gathering resources the better in her mind. The last thing in her mind right now was getting revenge on those that had abandoned them. She still didn’t know the full story for the reasons yet, as she tried to give them the benefit of the doubt.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning soon came, this day being a very important one. What they could accomplish today would be crucial to their chances down the road. Still feeling exhausted and rather tired after the previous nights experience. She didn’t let this slow her down, her determination driving her forward. “Lets leave this camp behind, it is bad luck, and I bet you anything, those beasts will keep returning here night after night until we are all wiped out, they know we are here and they seem determined to eliminate every last one of us….if we can find some running water, like a river, we can follow it and see if we can locate a suitable area of cover, preferably somewhere that has the high ground that gives us a nice protected sheltered area that lets us see any dangers that may approach if possible” Expressing her thoughts to Kogen, Shun, and Rin and anyone else who remained at the camp. Her face still covered in dirt from the night before as was her single tail of hair. Dark circles under her determination filled eyes which burned like a fire amongst the sapphire blue.

[AThousandCurses]

"To think you'd go out like this, huh..." Shun mumbled to the makeshift grave in front of her. After the fight with the monsters, there was a feeling of elation. The adrenalin and strange power in her body gave her a nostalgic feeling. Her body was a plane, and the sky couldn't limit her where she wanted to go. It made her so giddy that she swung her arms around while Rin was carrying her around. As precious as that feeling was, the situation was soon setting inside her head. Rin seemed level-headed as usual, but there was a sense of dread that Shun felt as they checked on the others.

The first thing they noticed were Kogen, and Ayana in the aftermath of a battleground. It would explain where the monster elephants came from. Thankfully, they didn't look too hurt and only had creases and dirt on their clothing. However, that was the least of their concerns at that moment. There were only three of them, while Masato and the rest were unaccounted for. Did they run away while they fought against the monsters? Thinking like that made Shun bitter a little, but at least Yuudai and the others were safe. Masato was a reliable guy from the little that Shun knew. She was sure that Masato would have made sure everyone made it out.

Yuudai's dismembered corpse was found in the destroyed bus.

The monster elephants that ran by must have crushed while they ran through the bus. It didn't seem painless either, judging what was left of the corpse. At first, Shun was shocked, but sadness didn't come. She felt confused, and then nothing. It was then she confirmed the feeling. She was disappointed that he died. Yuudai was gone, and what was left was a blood stain and a hand. Something that couldn't recite poems nor talk to her. It wouldn't jump recklessly in to protect her, nor would it try to comfort her. In other words, it was worthless.

She took it upon herself to bury the hand along with her other classmates. It was the least they could do for Yuudai.

Shun took her eyes off the grave and dug into her pocket. Producing a piece of parchment, she read out what was on the parchment.

"On a rainy day,"

"The Earth is filled with sorrow."

"Yet, the sun returns."

There was a moment of silence before Shun stored it back in her pocket. This piece of paper was clenched in the deceased Yuudai's hand and miraculously survived. Even though Shun didn't understand what the poem was talking about, it stilled the disappointment in her heart. Wiping the moisture out of her eyes, she spoke up to add her input.

"Yesterday, Kunio, Masami, Masato, and I discovered a small stream of water when we went out to look for water. There's a possibility that there's a stream if we follow the water." If they were lucky enough, it wouldn't solve their food problem, but they'd be at least able to satiate their thirst. Shun winced as she stood up; her legs hadn't recovered from the burning that she went through and pointed towards the direction where they would find it. "If we're lucky enough, we might find Masato and the others there as well. I'd imagine their situation would be similar to ours."

[baraquiel]

In collaboration with @ERode

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Asahi felt numbing pain throughout his entire body from overexerting himself, most especially his arms and legs. Being beaten by those bullies in his past was a piece of cake compared to what he was experiencing right now. The adrenaline coursing through his veins gradually disappeared from his system, and he could only groan in pain as the hulk-phant turned what’s left of its rage-filled eyes towards the lad.

At that moment, all he could think of was his family that he left behind in Japan, along with the ‘could-haves’ and ‘what-ifs’ of every turning point in his life that lead him to this moment. As the monster was about to crush him under its bloodied feet, Asahi also couldn't help but think back on all those foreign emotions he felt while he repeatedly struck the beast’s nape and also the pink threads that formed from his hands that were now gone. He guessed there’s no use thinking about those now that he’s going to meet his maker any minute now.

…Except he wasn’t going to do that, actually. A loud howl echoed throughout the night, and it was unlike any wolf or canine-based animal back from his world that he knew was capable of doing. Asahi was filled with more dread when he thought the monsters called for more back-up but was surprised when he found out that it was a call to retreat. All the monsters he and his classmates were fighting immediately went to the source of the howl without question, making a beeline straight towards the bus and their makeshift camp, destroying what was left of them, and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

He didn’t know what to feel or think about it at first, but the next few moments of piece hit him like a truck. All the emotions he kept bottled inside him gushed out of him like water from a destroyed dam. Tears streamed down his face before he even knew it and he was on all fours as he couldn’t let his classmates see him in such a pathetic state. He could see glimpses of Kogen in the darkness wearing some sort of armor, what the heck was that? He could also hear Ayana, lively as ever despite the situation she was in. Asahi’s own moment of piece didn’t last long as he remembered one crucial person.

”Sasuke? Sasuke!” He called out with a hoarse voice. ”Where’s Kunio and the others? Sasuke!” He used the bloodied dagger to support himself in standing up, though it was proven hard by his wobbly and weak knees. He opted to crawl towards the direction where he remembered Kunio brought Sasuke and led the others to safety during the fight, using the last of his remaining strength to go into the forest as he would use a long sturdy stick he could find to aid him in his walking.

Exhaustion dogged his efforts, but emotion saw him power through. As Kogen and Ayana gathered themselves, possessed as they were by their own concerns, Asahi stumbled off into the forest, disappearing from view. His heart was pounding. His head was pounding. His lungs were pounding. But his senses were intact, guiding him through a world of darkness that was nevertheless bright, leading him half-instinctually to the trail of blood he could smell.

Right. Sasuke was bleeding. Even if it was internally, he was still bleeding. All he had to do was follow that trail, follow that scent, and…

The pink-haired youth stumbled out from the brush. Moonlight filtered out from the canopy, natural lighting that chased away the strange filter that had passed over his vision, allowing him to see what laid at the end of the trail. It wasn’t Sasuke. It was Tsubaki. Laid out upon soft grass, her breath rasping out from slightly-parted lips. Her dark complexion now ashen, blood oozing out from the bandages around the stump of her arm. Beside her, Akito sat, holding onto her remaining hand, his own countenance inscrutable as his thumb pressed against her wrist. Feeling for her pulse, perhaps. Waiting for her death, perhaps.

At Asahi’s arrival, he turned his gaze upward.

“Can you do anything?”

Could he?

Asahi gulped looking at the sorry state of Tsubaki. She probably got trampled by the stampede of those bastard hell-spawns or perhaps got hurt by other creatures in the area while they were fighting. Regardless, it looked like she was about to die anytime now. He looked at his hand and flexed his fingers, remembering how these weird pink threads appeared from his fingertips. It's probably worth nothing, but it would probably mean something if he tried.

”Hold on… He grunted with effort as he shakenly got down onto the ground, sitting near Tsubaki's head. He hovered his hands at the sides of her head and concentrated, fighting through the tiredness to will himself to manifest those threads again. They slowly wriggled out, slowly swaying in the breeze like tentacles finding something to catch. Through Asahi's will, the threads latched onto Tsubaki's head and he concentrated even further to do anything that might save his classmate.

One by one, the threads slipped in between strands of hair before connecting to the scalp. It was like spidersilk, gossamer and yet durable, the pink-hued lines pulsating as the bond between the two strengthened. One bead of light shot through the link. Then another. Another. Another!

It was reminiscent of cars down a highway at night. It recalled pearl beads sliding from one end to another. It reminded of fiber optic cables, shooting data downstream at light speed.

It hit Asahi at light speed. Unfiltered by consciousness, sensation flooded his brain a second time, a deluge of recent memories, emotions, and pain. He relived the crashing of the bus, felt the crushing terror of being forever separated from family, the sudden awakening forced upon a human being as light seared through their flesh and rendered them without an arm. That was it. The opening salvo from those Ten-Eyed creatures had taken Tsubaki’s arm. And now, he felt it too. The searing, throbbing, draining sensation of a fresh wound that oozed out blood.

Asahi felt sick.

The torrent was unending. He could hear Akito distantly, calling out to him, but the words were blurred between the storm of discordant half-thoughts and feverish half-dreams. His mind was being drawn into Tsubaki’s nightmare reality. He was melting away, swept in the flood.

He had to anchor himself, before he lost himself.

Asahi groaned in pain from the barrage of all these familiar yet alien emotions, memories, and even flashes of ideas all at once. So many voices, a hundred people talking and shouting at the same time coupled with noises of different kinds. Worst of it all was he could also feel the extreme pain Tsubaki was experiencing, and he cried out in so much pain with tears streaming down his face. It was all so much, too much for him, as he even felt he was going to throw up.

"No… N-No… He groaned with effort, keeling over Tsubaki with his entire body tensing and the veins on his temples forming. Despite all that, there was no way he was going to let himself be defeated by this. He didn't endure years of bullying, side-eyes, backstabbing, beating, and heartbreaks just to lose over something like this.

Asahi focused as hard as he could. He imagined himself walking through a storm. The heavy rains poured down on him and the strong winds kept pushing him back but as long as he steeled himself, he knew he'll eventually make it to its center, the eye of the storm. All he needed was to just keep moving forward.

With his own sense of ego as his anchor, Asahi powered through, rooting himself in traumas that were unique to him, experiences and feelings that could only come from him. Gradually, drop by drop, the deluge gave way, until blessed serenity reigned.

They were separate individuals. Connected, yes, but separate. He could terminate this connection whenever he wished. And through this same connection, he could take and he could give. What were bonds to him?

Transactional.

It was all too surreal for him, to be able to experience something like this in such a foreign world. He could feel Tsubaki in a way that was incapable to be described by words. Even so, he strangely knew what to do at the same time. He was connected to her and vice versa though it seemed he had the upper hand here. He felt no fight back from her, he could peak into the deepest parts of her mind, discover her secrets, her shame, her regrets. Asahi smiled to himself. Forget super strength, this was true power to him.

Alas, he felt Tsubaki's connection starting to fade even more as she neared death. It looked like his experimentations will have to wait for the future. For now, he concentrated on that forge within him, that weird concentrated mass of energy that gave him and a select few of his classmates superhuman abilities and powers. He took a portion of that power and shared it to her through their connection, wondering if it would help her.

Gradually, Asahi could see that Tsubaki was stabilizing. Her wounds closed up, scabbing over. Her blood seemed to be ‘refilling’, in the same impossible way that Duncan hadn’t died of blood loss just 12 hours ago. Her breathing itself calmed, while her heart began to regain its strength. It was working. It was working!

And yet, it was so slow as well. Whatever he had chosen to give, it hadn’t been anything that resembled a portion of his own regenerative or physical capabilities. As if a program running on a machine with lower specs, the functions themselves were still being executed properly, but at speeds that did not match anything else.

It would be a long time still, until she was out of the woods. For now though?

Akito’s voice finally registered for the pink-haired youth. “Is she going to make it?”

As he shared a portion of his power to Tsubaki, Asahi could feel himself getting weaker. He panicked at first but then remembered that this power was the one giving him superhuman levels of stamina and healing, the only thing allowing him to still be able to walk and talk despite his situation. Now that the power itself wasn't 100%, the pain and exhaustion he's feeling seem to gradually increase. Without the power, he'd have been passed out a long time ago.

Thankfully, he could feel Tsubaki's wounds start to heal and her internal bleeding start to stabilize, albeit it was too slow for his taste. Perhaps it was due to her body not suitable enough for whatever kind of power Asahi and a handful of others had.

"I… I think she will." Asahi managed to grunt through the exhaustion creeping in. "She's still far from being fully recovered, b-but I think she's out of the woods for now…" He steadied his own breathing and took lots of deep breaths. "I-I can't stay here for too long. The others might need my help too. W-Where are they? Where is Sasuke?"

“They’re gone.” A pause, a furrowed brow. “We fell behind and got lost.”

Asahi grimaced and groaned a bit from sharing his power with Tsubaki. He could feel her recovering gradually but it was not enough. If he broke their connection now, she won't be able to survive through the night. Hours of being at the brink of total exhaustion just to give her a fighting chance at surviving…

"Okay… Okay, okay. He took a deep breath and looked at Tsubaki, beads of sweat dripping down Asahi's face. "Akito, stand guard and protect us. It looks like I'll have to spend the entire night making sure Tsubaki is fully recovered. Can you do that?"

The youth nodded.

---

The next morning came. Those who were at the camp will see the trio of Asahi, Tsubaki, and Akito walking out of the edges of the forest into view as the sun started to show itself. Tsubaki, despite missing a hand, looked like she was far from the doors of death. She will need a couple more hours of rest to totally recover, but the worst of her injuries were healed thanks to Asahi's powers.

She and Akito were supporting a weakened, sleep-deprived, and exhausted Asahi between them who could barely walk on his own. While he had all his powers to himself again as it allowed him to start his own self-recovery, his limbs were still sore and he could really use some shut-eye after spending the entire night saving Tsubaki.

"F-Find the others…" Asahi managed to croak in his weakened state as the others were discussing plans on what to do next. "Strength in… Numbers… Find them… Must, find him…" He said before slumping forward and finally passing out.

[Yankee]

______________________________________________________________________

Last night had been rough, but the morning was rougher. After a fitful night's sleep, the adrenaline and paranoia of yesterday had melted away and left Masato to sit with the knowledge of what he'd done. That, and a pounding headache. He sat with his back pressed to a tree, his head tipped back against the bark and his eyes squeezed closed.

Leaving their camp in the middle of the attack was the right choice, of that he was certain. If they didn't move everyone away from the fight there was no telling what might have happened to them - slashed, eaten, trampled, shot full of holes... escaping into the forest was the correct move to protect the most amount of people. But what did that mean for the ones left behind? They weren't that far away, but none of the changed students had come to reunite with them. Did they stay in the area?

Or maybe they really did all die.

Masato let out a long, slow breath. There was the other thing too - Akito and Okumura. When day broke and the full knowledge of what he'd asked Akito to do actually registered in his brain, his stomach had turned several times over. If he'd had anything left in it he might have thrown up again. Was that the right choice too? No beasts had followed them or attacked them throughout the rest of the night. But could he chalk that up to ditching Okumura and not just coincidence? He had to if he didn't want the guilt to eat away at him. It was easier than he thought it would be... in regards to Okumura. But Akito was missing, he hadn't returned. What had become of him? He and Masato had never really been friends, but they'd known each other for a long time. They used to run in the same circles. Even if they had been strangers, if his choice meant that Akito had gotten into trouble and died too then...

He blinked his eyes open, glaring at the sky for a while before looking over his class as they roused from sleep. Everyone was hungry, thirsty. Exhausted physically and mentally. His eyes naturally found Sato as they usually did. There were still students with really bad injuries, and he had no idea if they could recover. That and... wait. Something was off. Was there was another missing?

Masato startled, standing quickly as he raked his eyes over the group again. Including himself, there were twenty. Accounting for Akito and Okumura, plus those they'd left behind (Kogen, Hoshino, Inaba, Todokawa, and Kanamori) there should be twenty one still with them.

...Higasa, he realized. Sato's friend. They were together a lot, so of course he'd notice if the boy was suddenly gone from his vision when he looked at Sato. When did he...? Was he with us before?

The student council president pressed a hand to his forehead. Just how was he supposed to keep everyone safe...?!

"Masato!"

Ah, someone needed him again. He joined the group once everyone was awake, taking in their haggard expressions up close. It had been less than 24 hours since they arrived here.

"Okay, so... plans," he began slowly, massaging one temple as he spoke. "We're back at square one. Worse than that even, since... uh, well. But for now, we're alive.

"Food, water, shelter." Forced to leave most if not all of their meager supplies behind, they had none of those. Though separated by trees and inadvertently echoed Kanamori at the same time, saying, "Even if it was small, we did find a stream yesterday. It might be the best option right now. And I don't think it's a good idea to stay in that clearing anymore. But... we should... see what happened. See if we can find any of the missing people."

He knew that a majority of the students would want to see for themselves what befell their friends and family. But Masato didn't want to see, he was too scared to find a pile of carrion that had once been his classmates. He glanced at Stewart, the only other changed person with them at the moment with his lips pursed. Maybe they could each take a group, one to water and the other the check on the state of the clearing? Though he would hate to separate everyone even further.

With his thoughts laid out Masato spread his hands, offering the floor to anyone else to voice their opinions. His palms were smudged in red and black and this heart thumped dully against his chest. He was certain he could lead them back to the stream, but if the will of the group decided on another option then he'd go along with it for now, provided it wasn't something completely stupid. And if they all wanted to move as one to check on status of the others, then he'd just bury his feelings about it like he always tried to do.

"...we should get moving as soon as we can."

[Vertigo]

𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐭

__________________________________________________

Come morning, Duncan didn't wake up so much as he just pushed himself to sit, waiting for the others around him to stir. To wake up would, after all, have implied he actually slept.

He did pretend to, whenever Haruko woke and checked up on him, but his heart beat a million times a minute and his mind was too busy coming up with increasingly innovative and gory ways for the abandoned students to meet their ends to leave much room for counting sheep. To make matters worse, Duncan's body didn't exactly feel exhausted. He felt fine; better than he had in a while, and way better than he should have, considering the circumstances. There wasn't even a scar left behind to remind him of what had happened, and Duncan was sure he could have taken whatever the monsters from tonight could have dished out, too. Hell, if anyone could, it was him. He should have been out there fighting!

So what the fuck was he doing here?

"Protecting the others" was the answer he came to, time and time again. But no matter how genuine the sentiment was, with no actual threat in sight, it felt hollow. Maybe that was why, in the darkness of the night, every sound around him transformed into a potential threat; every time someone snored, every time a stomach growled, every time someone thrashed in the grip of a nightmare, Duncan's body tensed as if preparing for a fight.

A fight that never came.

With dawn came the realization that his vigilance hadn't been worth shit. The group had needed no protection, had ran into no threat. It didn't matter whether he was here or not - but him staying behind could have made a difference.

But it could've also meant his friends stayed behind with him, and then they could have died instead, Duncan tried to tell himself. Better some classmates he hardly knew than-- no, fuck, that was messed up. Who said anyone had died, anyway? Maybe it didn't matter where he was. Maybe they were fine either way.

... He needed a smoke. Again. He was running out of cigs just as fast as he was running out of excuses not to turn back and check up on the others.

So when Masato voiced that option as a possibility, Duncan raised his gaze almost too quickly, his tired face scrunching into a scowl. "I'll go."

He stood up, and though his body wasn't bothered by the sudden motion, his head was a different story. His mind felt foggy and heavy from lack of sleep, and he could feel a headache blooming in his temple. He was hungry again - starved, and withdrawal was making him both anxious and irritable. He wanted to run, or maybe punch something. Both. He wanted to do both.

"Alone, I mean," he stressed, glancing at Daisuke and Haruko in particular. Mostly because Maki wouldn't listen to him anyway, but he could outrun her if she tried to come with. "No point dragging everyone into danger, in case something's still lurking back there. Got better chances getting out alone, anyway."

Duncan wasn't sure that was true, but he sure as hell wanted the others to believe it. This time, he did glance at Maki, grinning. "I got a cheat ability, remember? You guys stay together, don't stray too far if you go for food and water. Stick with the prez, sure he'll keep you safe."

He gestured at Masato, an unintentional sneer lingering in his tone. He knew the guy was now one of the strongest ones among them, and the only other one like him among the people present, but he was also still a total nerd, and that fact was difficult to forget. Dude was really good at organization and giving speeches, but he didn't exactly strike Duncan as someone he'd rely on in a fight. Hopefully, there'd be no need to while he was gone. If nothing else, he could definitely rely on the guy to try and keep things in order. Whether people like Duncan and Daisuke would listen was another story.

[ERode]

---

//Day 1 | Location: Nameless Forest - Clearing
_{@OwO@AThousandCurses@baraquiel@Cu Chulainn@Nakushita}
Exhaustion dogged them all, doubly so as food had been a rarity. The stampede had not just destroyed their home, after all. It had destroyed their source of fire as well, crushed the firepit into the dirt and left not even the tiniest embers to stoke into flame. They couldn’t eat what remained of the wolfbears from yesterday, and the efforts of the night before had left all of them entirely drained.

It was as if the Awakened had become human once more, the core in their stomachs receding into a cold, hard lump. Without fuel for the flames, what hope was there for power? Asahi slumped, unconscious, and Akito was on his last legs too as he supported the pink-haired boy. He cast a glance towards Kogen, mouth twisting into the beginning of a sneer or insult, but it had been a long night. He didn’t care about that now.

But despite the exhaustion, despite the fact that all the superhuman efforts they’ve made just the night before appeared like a fantastical dream, they had to go on. Ayana, inexhaustive even when exhaustive, gave the command, and Shun, holding onto a farewell that was forever too soon, resolved herself and lead the way. She remembered the way to the trickling stream. If they followed that, they could reach something bigger, perhaps. A river. A pond. A lake.

One step at a time, they left the clearing behind.

…

Even though she knew the way, it was still slow going. Stomachs gurgled and breath came short as the small group pushed on through the woods. The sun beat down harder today, and the difference between the shade and the sunshafts within the canopy was palpably searing. Akito, turned out to have the most energy out of all of them in the end, clutching onto the fang dagger that Asahi had dropped. Kogen, the only other male student present, was tasked with carrying Tsubaki on his back. Though she could put on a tough act, though Asahi had brought her back from the brink, she was still exhausted and just as starved as everyone else. The rest formed a vanguard best they could, Shun taking the lead as they followed the half-remembered path that the water-seeking team had done the day before.

Overhead, they could see glimpses of black silhouettes shoot beyond the reach of trees, but whether those were monsters or just animals, there was nothing that could be done with them. Occasionally, they could hear something shift beneath the brush, but the sound lead to no emergence of beasts. And over time, the sound of a trickling stream sounded. There. There! The stream, and from there?

Down they went, following its flow. The stream grew larger, wider. It became a river, gurgling over rounded pebbles, and the more steps the group of students took, the more the vegetation around them opened up. Opened up, to a glistening lake, one that spanned perhaps a kilometer in diameter. The water was a beautiful thing, clear enough to see the bottom, to reveal the strange, unrecognizable fish that swam in its depths. Willow trees framed the natural wonder, their roots drinking deep from the lake. Green grass, long and soft, made each step so much more comfortable than the jumbled terrain of the forest they had just made it out of. It was not a sanctuary, but it was beautiful.

And, further beyond, they could all see it.

A singular, craggy mountain, breaking out in the distance like the horn of a beast.

---

//Day 1 | Location: Nameless Forest - Depths
_{@Yankee@Vertigo}
"Don't be stupid."

Of all those who could have protested Duncan's desire to go off on his own, Hiroshi was the one that acted first. As he picked a twig out of his now dirty-blonde hair, the shark-toothed boy pointed out an obvious fact. "You have no idea where the stream is, Duncan. You can go first, but the rest of us are following from behind anyways."

It was a waste to halve their combat potential just like that. And regardless of how much of that decision laid only in cold calculation and self-preservation, Daisuke was quick to add the other obvious thing. "And it's daytime. Not like we're stumbling around blind now, yeah?"

Ayane's eyes were narrowed too. Even if they couldn't have done anything about it before, she had still left her half-sister behind. And if nothing else, Ayana was stupidly lucky at the worst possible times. Maybe she made it out. She had to have made it out.

But the rest were hesitant. Maki caught Duncan's gaze for a moment and, as if disappointed that she couldn't meet his expectations, motioned with her broken arm. Yukiko was dozing off against Masami, who had a dark expression on her face as she kept her gaze upon Sasuke and Yuki. Both of the boys were still unconscious, but the bruising that had appeared over their body, signs of internal bleeding, was bad news.

They knew that too though. Would Masato leave them to die too?

Not in daylight, at least.

They would return to the clearing. Duncan took the lead, Masato brought up the rear.

...

A deep, dark stain laid in the brush within the forest. Masato knew it was Tsubaki, but Akito was gone too. No trail of blood, but more disturbance within the grass than to be expected from two stationary individuals. Had he remained where he was, with Tsubaki, only for the two of them to be attacked? Dragged off or eaten whole?

"Well shit." Mayumi pinched the bridge of her nose. The lack of any trail of blood leading out in any direction was bad news. But no one wanted to say it yet. It would be real if they said it.

So they kept going.

...

Cresting into the brush surrounding the clearing, what greeted Duncan was nothing more than a sight of devastation.

He could see it, see everything that Kunio described last night. The craters left by the frenzied stomping that would have ended Asahi. The indent in the ground where Ayana had been suffocated to death. The bus itself, that bastion that had served as a reminder of the place they had once come from, was utterly destroyed now, nothing more than a heap of scraps. Further along in the distance, strange, four-winged birds descended, picking at two gory stains splattered upon the earth. Behind him, Duncan could hear Ayano retching as Fujita tried to come up with something to comfort her.

It had been total annihilation after all. The lack of corpses indicated only that they had all be eaten entirely. Considering the size of those hulk-phants, that was fairly likely. And...

Hana clapped her hands together. "We've still one of the spider-wolves from last night. Looks like they don't eat their own, so we could eat that today. Go pick through what remains of the bus too. Could be something useful there."

Action was better than inaction, but it was clear that some of the students were wholly unnerved by how detached Hana was. Some. Not Juro, who patted Duncan on the back, before busying himself with maneuvering the bent and blackened frame of the bus, searching for anything to salvage.

"Masato. Do we start a fire here, or proceed to the stream first?"

[Nakushita]

______________________________________________________________________

@OwO@AThousandCurses@Cu Chulainn@Erode@baraquiel

Despite her exhaustion, despite her feelings about Tsubaki’s wellbeing, despite her body telling her it needed food and rest. Ayana had to resist all the urges within her to just lay down. She knew she might not get up again if she gave in to these urges. They needed to make it to the stream that Shun had discovered. Surely there would both be food and clean water to drink once they reached it. It was sure to be full of fish and the stream was sure to draw in other hopefully more peaceful type of wildlife.

The black silhouettes that shot above them from time to time did give her some comfort that not everything was out to immediately kill them. The heat beating down upon the group as she could feel the sweat trickle down her forehead and cheek. Her clothing that she had just borrowed the night before already dirty from the encounter with the Hulkphants and now her sweat. The only relief being the shade spots that came across here and there amongst the canopy as she tried to avoid any of the sun spots if possible.

It was only the sound of trickling water that perked her ears up as there was no doubt that it was running water. Their relief was finally within reach and as they broke from the vegetation of the forest, a crystal-clear lake came into full view. “This is even better than just a river…I wonder if there is a lot of fish we can try to fish for in it…I’m starving….” before without a single ounce of hesitation or thought about if there were any threats within the lake. Ayana used what strength she had left to sprint full speed towards it. As she reached the lakes edge, her foot slipped on a wet pebble as it shifted her weight forward. “Uh Oh……!” Causing her to dive into the water face first as she submerged herself in the lakes cool water.

Now floating face down in the lake as she took in some of the lakes water into her parched throat. She searched the water for any sign of fish while she had the chance. Letting her overheated body soak in the relieving feeling of the cool lake water. It had been like a dream come true, she had never wanted water so much before in her life. Deciding to try to relax and enjoy it, continuing to float like a dead man face down in the water as she blew the occasion water bubble, being the only sign that she was still alive. It was at this exact moment that Ayana remembered something very important.

She didn’t know how to swim; she never had the chance to learn as no one wanted to teach her. In fear of her drowning them in some bizarre accident. Her thought process because of the heat, exhaustion and hunger being even slower then usual. It was this with this realization that she begun to flail around in the lake in a startled panic. Having just been floating in the lake so carefree moments before “I can’t swim! I knew I was forgetting something important!” Ayana cried out as she tried to keep her head above the surface of the water. Fighting for her life like never before as she tried to keep afloat. However, if anyone came to rescue her, they would soon find out she was only in about 3 to 4 feet of water. That if she just stood up, she would be completely fine and wasn’t in any real danger.

[Yankee]

______________________________________________________________________

So it was decided: as one group they would go back the way they came and head to the clearing. From there, the stream. And from there, hopefully, a source of cleaner water. Masato didn't say anything else while the students prepared to leave, biting back the urge to snap at their tallest classmate. He'd never gotten along with Duncan Stewart; the boy was brash and a rule breaker. The comment he'd just made - what the fuck was that supposed to mean? Was it just a dig at Masato out of frustration, or was he implying he knew about...? No, someone like Stewart wouldn't keep that to himself. Masato took a deep breath, let the passive aggressive remark slide off his skin, and took up his post at the back of the group as they got a move on.

It was slow. Masato knew it would be, even though they didn't have that far to go in order to reach the bus and the clearing. People were tired and hurt. On the way they passed a pool of dark, mostly dried blood. No sign of a struggle, or a survivor. The student council president narrowed his eyes as they continued away from it, his gaze lingering there for a long time. It was the right choice. It was the right choice, was repeated in his head like a mantra. There was nothing else to do now but move on.

When they arrived at stop one, he was... relieved? Yeah, that was the best word. There weren't any bodies to be found, so for the optimistic there was still a chance the other kids were out there. But there was a mashed up smear of meat on the grass that vultures were picking at. Was it the remains of a monster or a friend?

Masato shoved his hands into his pockets. The tattered remains of his jacket were tied around his waist again, and he glanced between the scrap piles and the birds wondering if he could bean one hard enough to kill it for some extra food. Probably could, right? It would have to be just as edible as wolf-bear meat... Ah, wait, what if what they're eating is... would the be like, second hand cannibalism? The random thought brought a tinge of green to his face. As long as we don't eat the stomach just in case it'd be fine...

Ryuugasaki spoke up again, drawing Masato's attention. He blinked at her while a few of the other students moved to scavenge the area.

"...If possible I don't want to spend anymore time here than we have to," he said. "The monsters attacked us here twice, if we start a fire we could be giving them another signal that we're here again. They might come back."

He looked at his flock, and his hard expression softened just a little. "If you all think we can walk a little longer, then let's keep going as soon as we're through here."

As the group got to work, or else huddled together, Masato decided to try his hand at hunting... or whatever. He got closer to the vultures, scooping up one of Inaba's discarded by still intact spears. Throwing a spear couldn't be that much different from throwing a baseball. He aimed, drew his arm back, and chucked the makeshift weapon at the nearest bird. He felt the force of the throw as the wood left his hand, but when it struck its target it clattered to the ground instead of piercing through. Plain surprise swept over Masato's face as the birds took flight.

What the fuck? Now I can't even kill a bird? Still ignorant as to the strange protective aura that surrounded the creatures of the Otherside, he was left to stew.

[AThousandCurses]

It was a long treck towards the stream. The journey and exhaustion had taken its toll on Shun, but she managed to keep an upbeat smile on her face. Unfortunately, Yuudai was dead, but that couldn't be helped. Fortunately, not all of their classmates had abandoned them. Akito, Tsubaki, and Asahi came back. Not in exactly one piece judging by how they arrived, but it was nice to see familiar faces come back to them. Though it seemed like the same scenario was playing itself again. They would have to take care of the injured while being cautious against the wild. How frustrating.

Shun took it upon herself to check their surroundings every time a bush bristled. It would be annoying to deal with monsters and even more annoying to deal with her classmates dying. It'd be nice if they could have a normal, exciting day without any troubles. Shun missed the days where she would chase after a car with her bicycle. How she would peddle her heart out to try and catch up. Though she often got reprimanded for performing a dangerous stunt, it was most certainly safer than walking around on this strange Earth.

A wave of relief washed over Shun as they came across the water stream. Looks like yesterday's efforts weren't for naught after all. Though her companions, Ayana espescially, seemed more enthusastic as ever. As much as Shun wanted to join in, water and herself didn't get along to well. That's why she had an another idea. "I'll go check the perimeter of the lake to see if it's safe. I'll be right back in a second," Shun cheerfully said as she walked off.

Aside from genuinely checking if they were being tracked by the previous monster group, Shun wanted to see if Masato and the others were nearby. She had a few things to say to him. Why did he leave? How could he have left Yuudai behind like that? What does my fist taste like? Needless to say, she was a little annoyed by him.

"...At least there's no smoke," Shun said to herself. For once it was a refreshing breeze in comparison to the smoking bus that was going to break down in under a second.

[baraquiel]

---

"Mmmmrh..." Asahi groaned in his sleep. He didn't know who was carrying him nor could he care about it since he's passed out from sheer exhaustion on top of not having any sleep at all last night. His only form of regaining as much rest as he could was on top of someone's back or whatever it was their classmates used to carry him as they made their way to their destination. He could distinctly remember them talking about a water source.

During the trip, his sleep was plagued by a mishmash of dreams, especially faces. These faces would even change before him, shifting from those he knew to those he thought he could recognize as people that were a part of Tsubaki's memories. He would walk along an environment he had never seen before, experiencing feelings that were foreign to him, plus so much more. With the heat from the sun overhead and the constant bumps from being carried during their traveling, Asahi had less of a relaxing sleep.

Eventually, their group seemed to have made their way to their destination. He awoke to someone screaming and he abruptly got up, finding himself propped against a tree to give him shade. Asahi would see the expansive lake before them and the expressions of relief on his classmates' faces. They all knew they were not totally safe wherever they went, but this was still a step in the right direction.

He still had a bit of a migraine but thanks to his few hours of sleep, he wasn't on the brink of passing out like last time. It seemed that his powers had done their thing and he was just about almost at full strength again.

"Ayana?" Asahi said in confusion as he saw his classmate thrashing on the water and screaming about unable to swim. He was just a few feet away from the lake's edge so he only had to crawl to see that the water looked so pristine and clear that it was see-through. Tons of unrecognizable fishes swam about under the depths with freshwater plant-life swaying in the currents. He could also see Ayana was crying for dear life on 3-4 feet of water, and he rolled his eyes at that.

"Gurl, You're on a shallow part of the lake. Just stand up." He said as he grunted softly while standing up. Still a bit weak but there's nothing a good lunch and a few more hours of rest couldn't handle.

"Akito, give me back the dagger. I'll go try and catch some fish myself first while you lot rest. If you want to help me, carve spears or any long and pointy thing. The rest of you make a fire and maybe go have a look around. Maybe we can find other things that we can eat here like fruits and berries. If an animal eats it, it's probably also safe for us to eat, I guess." Asahi was just a secretary at the student council, but throughout their stay in the Otherworld, he did prove he was capable of a lot of things. Helping to defeat a wolfbear, handling a hulk-phant on his own (save for the part he was this close to dying), and saving Tsubaki's life. Those had to count for something, right?

[Cu Chulainn]

Big Lake, ???

---

_{Mentions: @baraquiel}

Kogen stayed silent as he trudged along with the rest, seemingly focused on keeping balance as he carried Tsubaki to the lake. Even with his enhanced physique, Kogen needed to divert a good deal of his energy carrying his classmate. After all, he was operating on an empty stomach, and their strange new powers seem to be powered by their caloric intake… or something like that. Kogen didn’t really know the specifics. It also didn’t help that the boy was also carrying a heavy feeling of resentment on his shoulders as well.

Yes, he was still angry. Angry at his classmates abandoning them. Angry at their callousness for being okay with letting their own die. It was too much for an adolescent to bear, even to Kogen, who was used to being thrown to the wolves. Well, in his defense, the wolves he was used to didn’t have six eyes and four sets of teeth.

Still, the sting of betrayal was still fresh once again, a familiar sting that Kogen thought he’d never meet again. Like a deep and forgotten wound, reopening once more and bringing the same pain it did when it was first afflicted. Kogen’s heart roared in pain (though not nearly as loud as his stomach,) and he had spent much of the night and the day thereafter sulking about the circumstances that be.

Seeing Akechi the day after and having an idea of his involvement almost caused Kogen to pounce on the rat and deliver onto him overdue retribution. Indeed, out of everyone who could’ve shown their face from the woods, he was the one Kogen would relish in caving in the most. Despite that, the one-eyed demon chose not to bare his fangs for the time being. After all, despite his cowardly ways, Akechi still chose to remain with Tsubaki before she died.

And after all, both of them would know that Akechi would only serve as a scapegoat for the target of Kogen’s true ire.

“You’re right Asahi. A normie like him shouldn’t be carrying such a valuable thing anyway...” Kogen mentioned as he butted a shoulder into Akechi, picking up pace towards the lake. “We all saw those dreaded things looming in the forest. Things that could almost definitely shred through a normal human being like a piece of paper. Things he won’t see coming.” Kogen hissed in the same tone that he had delivered his immature tirades, his eye making contact with Akechi’s. It’s almost as if he wanted him to talk back to have a reason to do what he wanted to do.

Rather than focus on starting another fight, however, Kogen would march towards the waters, taking a knee and supporting Tsubaki onto her back. With everyone on the lookout (or falling in the water,) this would be a good place for a moment of respite. He’d scoop some water into his hands, offering Tsubaki some before he’d even bother to drink for himself.

It was a weird feeling. A day earlier, Tsubaki was caring for him and treating his eye. Now he's the one caring for her, serving as an arm for her to rest on, to make up for the one she had lost.

Before she could drink, however, Kogen would realize that his own hands were stained with dirt, grime, and blood, and he’d just wash them in the water instead.

“Right… Does anyone have a bottle? Or a big leaf?”

[ERode]

---

//Day 1 | Location: Nameless Forest - Lakeside
_{@OwO@AThousandCurses@baraquiel@Cu Chulainn@Nakushita}
The crystal-clear lake certainly didn’t stay crystal-clear for long, once Ayana divebombed it with her face. The shock of the cold was at once surprising and at once refreshing, an icy bath to really rouse her senses. Dirt clung to her clothes regardless, but the very possibility of being able to scrub clean one’s attire was a promising one. And the water itself! It tasted delicious! Dehydration truly imparted the most wonderful of flavours upon otherwise tasteless water.

It also accelerated Ayana’s asphyxiation as she drank it down. Thankfully, Asahi was around to remind the walking disaster that she could just stand up. The pink-haired youth did feel a bit better, even if Ayana’s screaming wasn’t doing wonders for his migraine. They were safe enough at the moment, and he had proof that his power could be used to heal others. To heal Sasuke. So as long as Sasuke was still alive…

Akito rolled his eyes at Kogen as he rolled his shoulder with the impact. He wasn’t willing to start a fight with Kogen, sure, but if the dumbass was going to start a fight? “Guess you didn’t see it coming either, Kogen,” the brunette shot back, even as he flipped the fang dagger and held it handle-first to Asahi. “Real lucky your ass was too rancid for even a monster to eat.”

The short spat between the two nemeses caused only a tired groan from Tsubaki. After all this, they were still acting like children, weren’t they? She raised her stump of an arm up, narrowing her eye slightly, before turning towards Kogen. “I can drink it myself, at least.” A twitch of her lips. She raised her other hand, waving it back and forth in the water. “Still got one left. And don’t bother Akito, could you? Don’t need a fight between us.” Not when there were so few of them, enough that there wasn’t even enough people to cover everything that Asahi was talking about.

Before such orders were even declared, Shun had already headed off to the perimeter of the lake, taking a quick jaunt to be alone with her thoughts. There were neither signs of Masato and the others, nor signs of any more monsters. Perhaps the group from last night had been nocturnal? Certainly, the forsaken classmates, regardless of the number of Awakened amongst them, didn’t have the strength to handle the trio of hulk-phants once more. Something else, however, was spotted as she crested to the far-end of the lake. Movement in the brush. A head peeking out of it.

At a distance of twenty meters, Shun spotted a four-legged beast in light green fur, its form similar to a fox and yet entirely lacking in facial features, except for two pairs of long, fluffy ears, and a pointed nose. There wasn’t even a mouth, as far as she could tell. And as she spotted it, it turned its ears too in her direction. Perhaps the size of a big dog. Perhaps the size of a small deer. Perhaps she could kill it and bring back fresh meat. But without weapons, or energy, or allies nearby, perhaps pursuit would be risky.

What came with less risk was Asahi’s attempts at catching fish. There was some trial and error, of course, and the lack of bait meant that he needed to wade after the fish rather than let them draw close. Water resistance made movement itself a chore, and it certainly wasn’t an enjoyable sensation, having his clothes get wet and stick to his skin. Still, the unidentifiable fish didn’t try to kill him and he developed his own method after a bit longer. Four fish, the largest the length of two handspans and the smallest the length of an index finger, were caught soon enough, just in time for Asahi to see Akito and Kogen partaking in a snippy little cold war as the two tried to accomplish the same task of ‘making a fire’ when neither of them were actually willing to help each other out.

And, of course, when neither of them really knew how.

They had the benefit of the burning bus before, after all. Hana hadn’t found a need to show anyone how to build a fire because of it. Maybe sashimi then? But who knew what weird parasites existed in the Otherside?

---

//Day 1 | Location: Nameless Forest - Clearing
_{@Yankee@Vertigo}
His ignorance didn’t last long.

“Curious?” Hiroshi sidled on by, patting Masato on the shoulder. “Hana found out about it during the skinning, and Daisuke witnessed it a bunch too. Was this whole deal, ya see, ‘bout how the creatures here seem to be extremely resistant to anything that doesn’t come from a specific source.” The grin grew wider. “A monstrous source. Kunio was able to stab one of those giants with a tooth from one of those fanged deer real easy. Figure the same would apply to the rest. Pretty interesting, eh? Makes me wonder about what the hell all those military folks were doing with their military gear. Think it’s the t-”

“We’re good to go,” Daisuke interjected, delivering a light chop on his friend’s head. While Masato had tried out a bit of spear-hunting, the basketball team captain had done his best to get the others motivated enough to keep going. It was the rational choice, after all. Even if they were tired here, they didn’t have enough water to recover, and their energy would drain even as time went on. It was simply a matter of continuing to march on while everyone had the strength to continue on. Not that some of their classmates were all that convinced here. Sohei, in particular, was working up a sweat as he dug through the ruins of the bus, his expression as if he was biting back a scream.

And of course, Ayano, the little princess of their class, was adamant that she couldn’t move a step any further. Fujita was troubled enough by it, but it looked as if Masami was willing to lend a hand. Kumi, alongside Hana and Tsubasa, looked like she wanted to take a bit longer to slice off what chunks of meat they could off the remaining wolfbear corpse. With only a metal knife blunted by fat and overuse, however, it would be slow going. Better to just have Duncan and Daisuke carry the whole corpse.

But then who would carry Yuki and Sasuke? Yukiko could still put up a tough face, but she was fundamentally invalid. Someone would have to help her along. And the way that Sasuke was beginning to hack up bloody spittle in his unconscious state wasn’t doing anyone any favours. It had been Tsubaki last night. She had been bleeding profusely, and the timer on her life was obvious, but the entirety of Masato’s sharpened senses couldn’t help with seeing what Sasuke’s innards were like. And that wasn't even taking into account Yuki's current situation. That guy could have suffered a crippling brain injury, enough so that even if he woke up again, he'd be unable to do anything but be a burden!

But it was broad daylight too. Whatever choice Masato made…it would be public.

[Vertigo]

𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐭

__________________________________________________

Duncan had tried to argue, and if it'd been just that creep Hiroshi that disagreed with him, he felt like he would've had a chance, too. He knew the general direction of where they'd come from last night, and that should have been enough to at least find the clearing. He'd done some orienteering bullshit when he was a kid. Granted, it was with a map, but---

But then Daisuke had to open his mouth too, and eventually the decision was made for him. Duncan figured he could have just run off ahead once everyone settled behind him, but that would have made it seem like he was running away, like he was doing something wrong. So fine. The others could follow, but he would not slow down before he reached the clearing. True to his word, he didn't. Not even when he slowest members lagged behind (they'd catch up eventually, they were all headed for the same damn place anyway), or when he heard mumbling from behind and saw some of the others looking sullenly into the bushes a little off their path. Judging by their faces, Duncan didn't want to know what they saw.

He did quicken his pace, though.

Once they arrived to the clearing, he went from speed walking to stopping dead in his tracks in a second. Dead as... no, fuck.

Everything had happened so fast and in such complete darkness that Duncan hadn't gotten a proper look at whatever was attacking them last night, and Kunio's descriptions could only do so much. He'd told them there'd been giant monsters, but judging by the destruction, they'd been bigger than Duncan had imagined. Still were; there was no way to move a corpse that size, so the fact that none were in sight meant the damn things had lived. Had the others? There weren't any human bodies around. Unless... whatever those weird birds were eating was...

A pat on his back snapped Duncan back to reality - and into action. He was just about to take a step towards the vultures, when a spear flew towards them, only to practically bounce off their feathers. Wait, what?! Duncan's gaze trailed to Masato, who looked just as shocked as he was.

Hiroshi - goddamn, why couldn't they have left him behind? - strode up to explain. Resistant to anything that didn't come from a monstrous source? Shit, they should have harvested more from the beasts when they had the chance. They did have that one corpse, though, Hana was right. She was right in more ways than one, her attitude something Duncan appreciated. Yeah, no point mulling over shit they couldn't do anything about now, right? They had to focus on the future. Come on, Dunk. Just like always.

Daisuke declared they were ready to go, but looking around, Duncan wasn't so sure. "Right, yeah, nothing to see here," he gestured around at the destruction, "But once we find that stream, we should stop. Or at least the ones who can't keep up should. Let them chill and leave someone to look after them, and have a smaller group go ahead and scout for... well, shit, I don't know actually." He shrugged. "Anything? A direction. A place. Somewhere we can drag everyone to. There's no point just walking around randomly and dragging everyone and everything along. That just slows the fastest of us down."

Duncan was too impatient to just sit and wait, but he was also too impatient to have to slow down for people who could barely - or not at all - walk. His gaze fell on Yuki, and dread threatened to churn his insides, but he quickly chased it away. Yuki'd be fine. Hell, he'd been fine, and he'd seen the colour of his innards. But even he'd needed some rest to do it, so... long as Yuki could take a little breather, he'd be up and about soon. The others too, probably. Shouldn't be that hard.

"I can carry that," he gestured at the wolfbear corpse. He'd spent most of his time resting, so he hadn't even had a chance to try out whether he was actually stronger now, somehow, or whether he just felt like. Despite the circumstances he cracked a grin, looking almost excited; the way he did before an important game, except this time it wasn't fake. "Hell, maybe something else too. One way to find out."

With a roll of his neck, he bent down to try and heave the corpse on one shoulder.

[AThousandCurses]

Shun froze when she made eye contact with the adolescent beast, well if it had eyes anyways. Regardless, they recognized each other's presence at the lake. A frown appeared on her face. Should she kill it? It seemed quite defenseless and small in comparison to the other beasts she's faced. Though it reminded her of the laser wolves that she and Rin fought against. Granted, this fox-like creature had neither eyes nor was shooting any lasers at her.

After a moment of deliberation, Shun decided not to jump at the beast. If it was hostile, she would have attack but it only looked at her with passive curiosity. She wasn't going to start a war with every beast out there. The remainder of her classmates hadn't finished recovering and the last thing she wanted was to start another war. That was what happened last time. Shun stared at the beast, turned to lake to get a gulp of water, before turning around to return back to the group.

She'd have to convince them to find shelter after they were done gaining resources from the lake. It was clear to her that this spot was a potential hotspot for monsters considering it was a source of water. Where there was water, there was life after all. Additionally, she did check the perimeter and did find that there were other lifeforms in vicinity of the lake. She needed to inform them abotu it.

[baraquiel]

---

"Okay... I'll just be over there by the water..." Asahi said to no one in particular, going to the lake once he got his fang/dagger back.

He was the son of a fisherman so this should be a walk in the park for him, but there were a lot of odds stacked against him. Mostly, he wasn't back to his complete strength yet despite his powers healing him up and sustaining his stamina. He still needed lots and lots of rest to be back to full health. On top of that, he was exposing himself to uncharted waters. He wasn't even sure if he should apply what they knew from their world unto this world. Those fishes could even be potentially dangerous and there's no way of knowing until he approached them. Heck, they weren't even sure if they were edible.

Still, doing something was better than doing nothing at all. Having a spear would be far easier to catch them since he only had a dagger, which also meant she had to approach them and go to deeper waters. It was a drag but he couldn't think of anything else better to do anyway. Besides, he was already wet with sweat and grime so he thought, why not go all the way?

Taking a deep breath, Asahi fully submerged himself and swam forwards. The water resistance made him slower with the fact he's still wearing his clothes, but the cool, refreshing water instantly gave him a burst of energy. However, it was still particularly hard to catch even a single fish with just his dagger.

He swam upwards and took a moment to breath again and rethink his strategy. If only he had some sort of net but he only had his pink mental threads or whatever they were. He initially thought they could only be used psychologically, but there's no harm in trying it out himself. He willed the threads to appear and let them grow longer and longer until they reached their limit, wading through the waters below. Asahi looked like a human jellyfish and he reckoned this might be worth a shot.

He got back deep into the waters and extended his arms and fingers out, the threads fanning and billowing forward. It took a bit of practice and he would've gotten the hang of it too if it didn't tire him out so quickly. Still, he thought four fishes was enough for them to cook and test out which ones were safe to eat and which ones were not. He swam back into the shore, carrying the fishes he caught by his pink threads as he saw Akito and Kogen acting like children.

"Oy! Knock it off, will you?" Asahi angrily said at the two. "Do something that could actually help us instead of fighting like a bunch of brats!"