baraquiel

Expedition to Isekai

---

Asahi pursed his lips while listening to the mad ramblings of the person before him and Duncan. He's also a little irritated on how people have been treating him since last night when he revealed he felt something in the mountain. He won't even commit to this stupid 'side quest' if he wasn't so sure about this feeling he experienced yesterday, and he certainly won't leave the comfort and safety of being with his classmates.

"Ugh, what a hassle..." He grumbled after Oros made a big show of being dramatic and turning their own words against them, as if they weren't one big giant walking hypocrisy themselves. He did consider the pros and cons of letting Oros join them though. On one hand, having three Awakened together on this little expedition could improve their chances of survival. On the other, Oros was too much of a wildcard. There's never any telling of what they'll do in a life-and-death situation especially when they're alone with Asahi.

"Hold your horses, crazy woman. Man. Abomination. Whatever the fuck you are." Asahi called out to Oros and sighed before turning to Duncan. "Okay, Duncan. One last pitch. I'll take Oros with me instead. They don't have any unique skill sets they can offer to the class anyway, and they won't be much of a liability since both of us have heightened strength and stuff. I suggest you go back to the group so you can be one additional muscle slash tank for them and they'll feel safe knowing they won't run out of your healing blood."

Asahi paused for a bit before continuing. "Also, not to think negatively but this is just me thinking about the hypotheticals. If things do go sideways and I can't make it... They'll always have a strong healer they can rely on. Also, your GF will be worried sick about you. So, what do you think?"

Expedition to Isekai

---

"Hm." Asahi nodded in reply at Kumi while feeling another heavy weight being put on his shoulders. He swore, if his little side quest to the mountain turned out to be an epic failure, he will gladly throw himself over the tower by the lake over and over again. Probably best he didn't say anything to her back then but on the other hand, it did feel nice to have some sort of reassurance.

Once everything was settled, he set off with Duncan on their journey to the mountain. The sun had begun settling on its rightful throne up in the cloudy blue skies, giving the duo a nice amount of light and warmth on the cool morning.

Asahi could also hear Nature gradually awaken all around them. Birds sung their beautiful songs as the chirpings of insects joined in, playing an orchestra of life and vigor. Different kinds of animals would have awaken as well, readying to start their day hunting for food and other stuff animals hunt.

He just wished none of those beasts would hunt the duo. Of course, nothing will ever be easy in this god-forsaken place.

"Oh fuck my ass... Asahi angrily complained upon seeing Oros who's seemingly waiting for them.

"What the fuck are you doing here? You should be back at the camp helping the others. We can't have three Awakened all together! We need to help defend the base!" He added, putting his hands on his waist. "What got into your fucked-up mind that made you think you can come with me- us? I thought you were so adamant about winning that stupid election?"

Expedition to Isekai

---

Asahi weakly groaned a bit when he woke up. He was not the early riser growing up and he never aspired to be one but as the saying goes, one needed to go out of their comfort zones to get out of hell. He also used a bit of his power last night to connect with Kumi and Hiroshi, knowing their culinary expertise and knowledge about what they learned on this island so far respectively might help him out on his side-quest. He also gave them his years of aikido experience though it was too bad all he could give and take were just their knowledge and not their muscle memory.

He rubbed his eyes open just in time to see Sasuke doing his morning stretches per usual. It brought him back to those times in the past when they were just students at the dojo. He remembered watching the protege for a few minutes before acting like he just woke up and started to join him. Did Sasuke knew it by then? Asahi didn't know but back then, he'll give anything just to go back to those simpler times.

Looking at him now made Asahi feel elated that Sasuke's getting a lot better since his near-death injury. He won't say it to anyone but he had nightmares seeing someone's skin color turn to that sickly grey, especially when that someone was Sasuke.

He also realized the black-haired teen didn't give Asahi the same butterflies in his stomach anymore. Being stuck in a place where they could be killed any second could really change someone's perspective in life. Asahi began to think about why he even admired Sasuke in the first place. Did he wanted to be like him or be with him?

He saw the look he gave Tsubasa yesterday, and remembered the way he looked at pretty girls walking by the steet or models on TV. Asahi knew nothing would come out of this yet stubborn as he was, he kept on with it for years. At the end of the day, all that he's left with were mere fantasies. Was that going to be Asahi's future when he got out of here?

At the end, Asahi gave Sasuke a nod back. He wished he could say anything to him, have a little talk, but like always, Asahi grasped for scraps as he was left with just wishful thinking.

He got out of the little shed he was sleeping at and accepted Kumi's bento box, seeing her eyebags darkened. "Oh... Thank you for this." Asahi said, in awe of her determination when it came to food. "We'll get out of this hellhole sooner than later. It's not a promise because it's a fact." He further said to reassure her, and most likely to reassure himself too.

He set it aside for a bit and went to the edge of the lake to do some stretching of his own, hearing some of his early bird classmates wake up and go on to do their thing. The sun rose over the horizon, gradually painting the sky in vibrant hues of gold, orange, and violet. The mountain was making its presence known as well. Asahi still couldn't forget that feeling he experienced yesterday. He had so many doubts running through his head but it's too late to back down now. One way or another, they will find a way to get back home. Asahi will make sure of that.

Expedition to Isekai

---

"But..." Asahi tried to interject but yet again, the entire conversation got derailed before he even tried to support his point. This Oros person really just liked to cause chaos for everyone, always proclaiming about this and that. If it were up to Asahi, Oros would've been kicked out a long time ago if it wasn't inhabiting the body of their classmate. He still didn't know whether if Ayana's psyche was still deep down their subconsciousness or if she was completely replaced by whatever the heck Oros was claiming themselves to be.

There was then the small debate on whether they should stay in this camp until rescue came or they should seek out a way to go home themselves. From Asahi's point of view, there's definitely no assurance that the spot they chose to set up their new camp was the safest just because no monster had attacked them yet. It's only been the second day and he's already tired by the threat of danger from every angle. If there was a chance, a way to make all this come to an end and they can go home, he'll definitely take it.

He sighed exasperatedly and chewed some more of his food before speaking at Duncan. "I still want to go to that mountain. I've never felt anything like it from the monsters that we faced. I can't feel anything like it coming from the lake, the forest, or the skies. Just that specific place. Maybe... Maybe it could be another Awakened? Like us? Someone who got trapped in the Otherworld and is sending out some sort of signal for help? It could even be a portal, the portal that can take us home."

Asahi looked at the mountain looming over at the distance. "We're still not even sure how much time had passed over our Earth. We could be missing for like what, Earth minutes, Earth weeks, Earth years? Point is, I don't want to sit around and wait, I wanna do something. Anything! I wanna get out of this hellhole sooner than later!" Again, he ate a bit more before continuing. "Besides, I'm not like Shun where I'll just go anywhere blindly. At least I know where I have to go, I know my destination and y'all can easily find me anyway since everyone of you can see that." He pointed at the mountain.

"And I don't want anyone else dragging me down either." Asahi turned to Masato this time. "My powers are mental-based unlike Shun's. I can't waste my energy healing another one when I'm travelling and I need to conserve my strength against whatever's out there. With those big freaky beasts with muscles for brains, I can incapacitate them with just a simple connection of my thread to their head. I don't want another Awakened with me either, y'all need to protect our other classmates who didn't win the power giveaway roulette. Also, I am not crazy and I'm certainly not losing it. I know what I felt up that tower from that mountain and I could still feel it now even when I'm not up there so get off my soft perky ass and do something more useful than throwing your classmates over the tower." Asahi said as he crossed his arms.

"Another also, I also don't give a fuck about who wins your election. Not anymore. Do whatever helps you all sleep at night. I'll leave first thing tomorrow, cuz the sooner this is all done, the better. If I find something there, great. If I don't, also great. At least I'm not sitting around all day anxious about the next monster attacks or food poisoning or an allergic reaction from the food we just ate..." A look of horror washed on Asahi's face before he glared at them. "If any one of y'all had food poisoning, allergies, or god forbid even dysentery, I will not heal you and I will not be sorry."

Expedition to Isekai

---

Asahi muttered out an unimpressed grunt after what Mayumi said about Sasuke probably wanting to join in on the fun with him. Honestly, he won't admit it out loud but she was right. This was all just a silly, little childhood crush or some shit that the pink haired lad had to get over. Besides, this wasn't the proper place for that kind of drama anyway.

A couple moments after that, Asahi could hear it before he could see it."Hm. Well, waddya know..." Masato hauling in a huge beast on his own wasn't the craziest thing he saw at the moment, but it was kind of impressive to say the least. More and more of their classmates returned from their hunt and foraging and Asahi felt so relieved they had a considerable amount of food right now.

He didn't approach his Awakened classmates since they were stronger than the ordinary human and they could handle themselves well, so he got close to Hiroshi's group. He stood by while they tried out every plant, fruit, or whatever they found to see if they were safe to eat or not. Aside from the mild stomachache and Ayane looking like an influencer, everything went smoothly as he healed them.

Asahi then slowly tried to back away into the huts to avoid doing manual labor but Kumi managed to catch his ratty ass and instructed him to carve the turtle-monster's shell with rin. "Ugh, and I thought fish insides smell disgusting enough..." Asahi complained as he naturally did while doing his chore.

The sun gradually lowered onto the horizon and soon enough, the group was surviving on their second night in this god-forsaken place. Asahi dried up since swimming from the lake moments ago and was now eating with the rest of his class. Never in a million years would Asahi think he was going to eat turtle but here he was, eating turtle and liking it too.

After finishing chewing a handful of the tender meat, Asahi stood up and cleared his throat. "I got something to say. He said before pointing a finger where the mountain was. The light from the millions of stars in the sky made out its silhouette, making it look more ominous in Asahi's eyes. "I could feel... something coming from that mountain. I dunno if it's just because of the height from the tower from when a gorilla thought it was a good idea to throw me into the lake or maybe some lunatic's craziness was rubbing off of me." He raised an eyebrow at Oros before continuing. "But I'm certain there's something there, calling out to me and..."

He tried to think more about it before groaning in annoyance. "Look, I don't know how to explain it either okay? I just know that I have to go there and see it for myself. And also, it's not a very welcoming presence either. I could feel that whatever's out there, it's far deadlier than whatever we faced so far. So I propose that I go with this alone. I'm Awakened, I can protect myself. Duncan's here to heal you with his gold blood. I don't think I want to bring an Unawakened with me because again, I'm not sure what we'll see when we get there and you might be a liability to me. I don't wanna bring another Awakened either because y'all need strength in numbers to protect the camp. I'll leave first thing in the morning, see what I could see, and come back here immediately as soon as I can. So... Does anyone want souvenirs?"

Expedition to Isekai

---

"Oh get off my fat ass, Mayumi." Asahi said with an irritated tone. "Every passing minute we spend in this god-forsaken place is one step closer to death's door, so let me a bitch however I want." He added, putting his foot on the space on the log besides her while feeling the warmth emanating from the bonfire.

Their classmates' cheers and loud splashes filled the air. Not all of them were at the lake, as Asahi just noticed. They seemed to be off doing their own thing. Even Duncan left too. Asahi could hear his heart somewhere nearby beating irregulary, but that must be someone else's.

"It only seemed like yesterday we were scared out of our wits when we first got here, and now..." A couple of his classmates cheered when a few made a huge splash on jumping on the lake from the tower.

"We just lost two of our classmates too, or was it three? Ugh, everything happened so fucking fast, it's hard to keep track of what's what. And we got these too." Asahi showed his pink threads to Mayumi, swaying them around before willing them back.

He stretched his arms up to the sky before crossing them in front of his chest. "I don't want to get ahold of ourselves but these camp seemed to be safe for us for now. As long as y'all don't do anything stupid to attract the wrong attention, that is." He irritatingly said, this time making sure Sasuke could feel Asahi's laser eyes boring into the back of his neck whenever he's not looking.

"Ugh, I can't wait to get out of this hellhole." He added as his eyes naturally glossed over the mountain looming a tthe horizon, a look of worrying flashing in his eyes.

Expedition to Isekai

---

"Ugh, these kids I swear..." Asahi mumbled to himself as he watched more and more of his classmates climb up the tower and dive down to the lake. They could've just found something more worthwhile to do like go look for food or make traps in case those nightmarish beasts attack their camp. With each loud holler and massive splash they make, they're certainly just attracting more and more attention to their current safe haven.

It's only a matter a time before they attracted the wrong kind of attention.

So Asahi kept himself busy, piercing any fishes he could find while rolling his eyes whenever he saw one of his classmates get submerged into the water from tower-jumping. They'd often wave enthusiastically at him while they're swimming under the waters and he would give back a sarcastic smile and wave of his own.

At least from what Asahi had seen under the lake, it did seem just like any ordinary body of fresh water with just normal fishes swimming about. No water monsters or anything of the sort. He could kinda see the bottom too but he hasn't gone to the center of the lake yet, just a few feet away from the shore and far enough to get some fishes.

He emerged to take a breather just in time to see Sasuke joining in on the tower-diving fiasco, and that was the moment Asahi was reminded he had great taste in men. Part of him didn't want the attention Sasuke was suddenly getting as Asahi wanted it all to himself, but another part of him was liking it, like a lot.

Asahi did see that look Sasuke shared with Tsubasa before he dove down like an angel descending from the sky. Suddenly, the pink-haired lad's mouth soured, like a lot.

Looking as irritated as he had ever been, he swam towards the shore, doing a full semi-circle to get as far away from his boisterous classmates and Sasuke as possible. He and Tsubaka could drown in that yucky nature's toilet for all he cared. Asahi then brought the fishes he kept pierced with his pink strings to Mayumi.

"It's all I got. I'm exhausted from swimming almost all day." He said as he sat by the fire.

Expedition to Isekai

---

"Let go of me, you motherfu-"

Asahi's screams of defiance fell on deaf ears as he was still getting carried by Duncan. Thrash around as he would, the pink-haired lad couldn't get himself free from the basketball star's hold. Even when they're both Awakened and supposedly have improved human capabilities, it did seem that Duncan was more improved on the physical side than Asahi was.

"H-Hey! Take these before this monkey makes me lose them!" Asahi yelled at his classmates and flung the fishes he skewered with his pink threads at them. He didn't do that in a mean way but Duncan was moving too fast and Asahi panicked. He didn't want to accidentally pierce anyone with his powers still active, not for now at least.

"Oh shit! Ohshitohshitohshitohshit!" Asahi's eyes widened when Duncan climbed up the tower way too fast for his liking, the distance between them and the ground getting longer by the second.

"BRING ME DOWN YOU STUPID APE! WE'RE TOO HIGH UP YOU FUCKER!" He yelled angrily at the top of his lungs, now desperately clinging to Duncan while shutting his eyes in fear. He slowly opened one of his eyes to look at the view and he yelled more colorful words at his classmate. The higher they went, the air became colder and made him shiver through his wet body.

"DUNCAN I WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE MISERABLE YOU DUMB APE! I SAID BRING ME DOW-" He shouted again right when they're at the top, and that's when Asahi felt it. This was the first time he got a perfect view of the mountain that's been a prominent figure in their eyes since their first arrival at the Otherworld. His heart skipped a beat and that's not just because Duncan threw him casually from the tower.

Asahi didn't yell, his eyes just fixated at the mountain at the distance. There's something weird about that place, something that pulls him over there and yet he knew whatever laid there in that mountain was far more dangerous than any monster they faced.

The mountain went upside down in his view as Asahi spun mid-air, his eyes still glued at the tall landmark. Should he even go? What if something bad would happen to his classmates during his absence? Could he even risk bringing them to the mountain with him? The mountain loomed over him more and more, making him feel despair over the choices Asahi had to make until he fell splat on the lake.

The cool waters and the impact of the fall snapped him back to reality. Asahi will, or even must find out whatever's in that mountain that gave off his powerful aura that's making him almost sick. It could be the key to helping them return to their world or it could kill all of them. If one would ask Asahi, anywhere's better than this god-forsaken place.

For now, Asahi remained underwater, thinking of ways to unalive Duncan.

Expedition to Isekai

---

The water felt cool and refreshing. Asahi really felt at home when he's underwater, being in his main element. The motions of his arms and legs, the familiar hue of blue surrounding him, and the shifting of sunlight on the waters from above. They all helped remind him of home.

Schools of fishes swam by him while there were a few fishes here and there that swam in threes or solo. He could recognize some of the fishes he caught before and he deemed those as safe to eat, seeing that none of his Non-Awakened classmates complained of food poisoning yet.

Asahi extended his arms in front of him as his pink threads re-appeared, wading through the waters and piercing the heads of the fishes from under their mouth up to their head like hooks. He hoped what he was doing was giving them a quick and painless death as he caught them.

He impaled more fishes with his power, some threads having two fishes pierced on them. Majority of them were the ones his classmates were familiar with while he took some that were new to his eyes for variety.

He swam up to the surface a few feet away from their camp. He was about to swim back when he noticed a shadow blocking him from the sunlight. He looked up and saw someone falling and possibly screaming. Asahi's brain was too slow to process a sight like this. How the hell could a person like that drop from that high? Should he be moving? Why wasn't he moving? He should be moving. Wait, was that Duncan? Why is Rin- Oh.

"Tsk." Asahi imagined himself in a reality TV show looking at the camera with an irritated yet defeated look on his face as a huge wave came crashing down on him. He still had that same look on his face as he went spiraling under the lake. Of all the things in this world that could inconvenience Asahi, it was really his classmates that were experts at it.

When he emerged, Asahi blew a lot of water from his nostrils and spurted out also a lot of water in an arc from his mouth. It even formed a small rainbow as Duncan called out for him to go do that free-fall thingy like they were on a ride at a resort. "Pweh! Ya good-for-nothing, sons of-" But he was quite far from Duncan and the rest so his classmates could faintly hear him yelling like a grumpy old man. Simply put, Duncan could take that answer for his question as a 'no'.

Expedition to Isekai

---

Asahi sighed and kept slowly massaging his temples. His headache wasn't as prominent as before but he found the massaging calming enough. He was inside one of the shelters his dear classmates made, using one of the pillows as a makeshift pillow.

With his heightened senses, he could hear practically everything. Shoes and feet crunching at the little stones, dried leaves, and twigs on the ground. Ripples on the lake's surface made by the fishes. Tree branches dancing in the wind. Calls of the animals and beasts in the forest. His classmates' breaths and heartbeats. When he found himself exhausted from overusing his powers, Asahi found these sounds as soothing white noises that help him sleep.

He looked to the side, at the place where Yuki was while he was in a coma. He looked so peaceful lying there, and Asahi almost wished he could feel as serene and calm as the expression on his classmate's face. Asahi also found it unfair that Yuki got a proper funeral and burial unlike the others, but there was nothing they could all do for them except to keep moving forward with the memory of them in their hearts.

Asahi grimaced, feeling weirded out at himself at thinking about something so cringy. He turned on his other side and closed his eyes, letting the inevitable feeling of sleep claim him. His dreams were just as confusing. Faces that his classmates he connected with before kept popping up like a movie at a faster playing speed. Most of the times their faces would even merge together like a scene in a horror movie. Asahi's fear and confusion will be shortlived thankfully as he'll forget about his dreams the moment he woke up.

The sun would be fully shining down on them by the time Asahi fully woke up. Each of his classmates, hopefully all of them and not just some, were doing their part and contributing to their survival. He and Duncan were already the medics and lifesavers of the group but Asahi felt it was a waste to not just do anything. He wasn't on vacation after all.

While the others went back to the forest to forage and hunt for food and other resources, he turned his attention back at the crystal clear lake. The fishes he caught the last time were delicious when cooked, and none of them were poisonous lucky enough, so he oughtta give it another try. Asahi took his top off and carefully folded it on a pile in the shelter. He couldn't remember where his fang dagger was anymore but he still did have his trusty wires he could use to catch fishes. He then went over and dove back into the lake.