Abiding by His words

And from the looks of it, these same thugs have found themselves a new victim. What could she do in the moment? Come out and take them all on? Niko shook her head. On top of being physically exhausted, at this very moment, she did not have the heart to do such a thing. Staying hidden behind a wall while another is in trouble was not the most chivalrous thing to do either and—

Oh. 

Oh, that’s right. Aside from numbers, in this very city, there was another indicator of power that was much, much stronger than numbers.

"GYAAAAA—!!!!" Still hidden in the alleyway, Niko gave her best impression of a maiden in distress and screamed her heart out. "A DEMON!!! HELP ME!"  She wasn’t much of an actress but at this point, a victim terrified of demons was not the most difficult image to visualize yet.

Upon hearing the the sudden yelling, the startled thugs exchanged glances at each other in bewilderment.

'D-Demons?!'

"GYAAAAA—!!!! A DEMON!!! HELP ME!"

Nearly startled out of his skin, Noah blinked in confusion as the band of delinquents suddenly turned pale as a sheet, collectively looking at one another before booking it with their tails between their legs. Huh, that was it? That's all it took to send them running? Demons...? That's what the voice had screamed right? Such strange improvisation...

Not being able to get around on his own made Kazuo antsy, normally. The last time he’d sprained an ankle he hadn’t been able to run for a month. It had left him bouncing off the walls mentally, and though he’d kept up a carefree smile around everyone else, he’d been restless and agitated on his own. He was too used to working out his thoughts and his nervous energy with physical exercise to be able to sit around all day doing nothing.

But right now, he was relieved enough not to care, and busy trying to balance his weight against Kuro without overburdening him. He felt lucky that the walk to their van was so short, even if his slow pace meant it took a while to get there.

And it was lucky that their ride hadn’t been vandalized. He’d expected more looting and damage with conditions like this… or maybe people were just too panicked to bother right now? Stealing cars or electronics or anything else that looters seemed to go after during normal disasters or blackouts didn’t make much sense when things were so… abnormal. He guessed people were going to end up trying it anyway, though. 

At least Noah and Kuro seemed to have escaped it for now. Kazuo just hoped his own home was far enough out of the way to have avoided this mess, too.

He wriggled around in the backseat for half a minute after they helped him up, finding a position that let him keep his leg somewhat elevated but wasn’t completely unsafe.

He gave Noah a quick glance once they were in the car, still keeping his silence. He followed his eyes to their keys, understanding immediately. Of course he couldn’t share the feelings, but Noah still had his parents.

… No, it’d be better to just simply say ‘once had’. For a quick instant he had imagined death by drowning, sleeping and looking at your surroundings quickly filling with water, if not electrocuted by nearby apparels… a terrifying concept. It was obvious his partner didn’t think that far, brooding over the loss rather than visualizing what really happened. He wouldn’t really dare to, it was far too cruel. 

What Kuro could offer was his silence over their deaths. He wasn’t heartless, and Noah’s parents acted as if he was their own son, always happy for taking care of that blonde airhead… but there was nothing that could be done about this now. 

If they took care of their job quickly and without disclosing information, then perhaps this could be averted someh—

…

"Kazuo-kun… there’s something Kuro and I are about to tell you; it may seem unbelievable, or crazy even, but it’s the best explanation you’re going to get right now… Forgive me if it comes across as too much for you to handle…"

Well, god fucking damn it. He knew there was a chance that this would happen, he just wasn’t believing that Noah would be so stupid as to— Kuro practically slapped his own forehead in disbelief and embarrassment. Now he had fucking done it. 

What Noah didn’t realize is that by doing this he was involving Kazuo in all this mess, and from the point that he knew the truth onwards he’d need to be by their side. 

Was it really that problematic just to dump that kid somewhere else and be done with it? Did his friend _really_ see the need to make things more difficult for them? Probably the thought never crossed his mind. Moving a bit on his seat, he chose to keep looking at Kazuo’s eyes as he started to speak. Perhaps it’d be better to make his words sound true this way. 

- "…It’s a hasty decision, but please try to believe it. What he will tell you is a ridiculous and a somewhat impossible history. 

But I’ve known Noah for years, and he never said a lie. Not even once.

… Well, if you come to doubt it that much, you can just look up to the sky. It’ll make sense then."

A short pause. If revealing the truth was the only way, then it’d be better to be as quick and blunt he could, Noah would soften the hit later. He wasn’t involved in the details as much as the other was, anyway.  

- “To put it simply, we’re underwater. Good news is that there is a way to fix this whole mess.

Bad news is that Noah will be the one to explain it to you."

And the fact that they had a time limit, their oxygen supply could simply cease to exist, this could all go wrong, the electricity might never be back up, etc, etc. But he was only there to deliver the initial shock. 

His tone was full of sarcasm, but knowing Noah… he would’ve never noticed it. Unless Kuro told him that he wasn’t being serious. These news weren’t comforting in the slightest, but he’d have to do. The idea of Noah’s blind faith was unnerving when he considered that he was carrying the weight of the whole place in his shoulders… 

… the most unreliable leader they could’ve ever ask for… although he knew his friend would make the right decisions, staying away from him would just end in Noah getting killed somewhere. Not the best idea considering he was the only hope they had for this situation.

- “So if we fail, we will have literally nothing to breathe anymore, asphyxiate to death or probably we will just drown?? Seems like The Guy had everything thought out perfectly, giving you vague directions and just never getting the blame if things do go wrong. Huuuh… amazing.

The fact that we are alive is just complete coincidence then, if things are fated to go as you say."

It was making him get overly suspicious of their situation. Not the people around him, but the fact that… if ‘God’ had the power to protect them, then why he was making them go through such things? More important than that, he could’ve explained things better. 

But then again maybe it was Noah that never asked for this kind of information. That was alright, too. As he said yesterday, if things go wrong they die. There’s nothing special about it. Only people attached to life would mind giving it up to such a calamity. It hangs above their heads, threatening to break anytime soon… 

No matter. Something else got Kuro’s attention — or rather, the lack of? Noah ran to help a random boy on the street, and that wasn’t something unusual, really… 

… except that bringing someone along when they were going to do something about this apocalyptic situation would do nothing but raise suspicion. Good going, Noah. 

- "…"

A sigh. He approached both of them, analyzing Kazuo for an instant. He wouldn’t leave him alone, either… kneeling down after hearing that it was not enough to walk, he gave himself a moment before speaking again.

- “If that’s okay with you, we can take you somewhere safe. I can’t really carry you, but I can support you. Staying here will only make things worse, and that won’t do."

His tone was gentle, and he even offered a smile to the younger male… although no real warmth could be felt. Same could be said for literally all up until now, but it wasn’t something noticeable, nor something that would ever fall on the eyes of anyone, ever. Knowing his friend, even if Kuro said that ‘he’d drop this stranger somewhere safe, he’d insist that he accompanies them until he is healed’. Or something like that. 

- "… If you accept it, then I guess I’ll have to know your name? I am Kazuhiko Kuro, and the blonde there—" he gestured with his head to Noah "— is Noah.

Although it is a really weird circumstance, it is nice to meet you."

"I’m Ueda Kazuo. Nice to meet you, Kuro-san and… Noah-san?" That name was pretty weird, but not as weird as anything else happening right now. “I’d really appreciate the help if it’s not too much trouble, yeah.

I can still put some weight on my other foot, so it’s okay if you can’t carry me. I probably couldn’t carry me right now, either," he said, grinning. “Uh, if you help me stand again, I can probably make it just leaning on you a bit?

… it was a violent start to his day, to say the least. He still felt groggy(he ended up staying late keeping the other company, seeing as Noah practically refused to sleep that day), body mostly unresponsive as his mind refused to wake up. Well… if they were alive, that’s a start. He was always slow at mornings, so to keep up with such a pace was almost overwhelming.

To keep up with such cheerfulness because the world was ending was even more exhausting, but he had to deal with it somehow - although the way Noah kept praising God set him off. It wasn’t as if He did much, right? The ones getting in real trouble and going through this was the two of them, mankind… not whatever deity was up there.

Whatever.

- "…After that, what comes next?"

He was feeling a bit more awake, so it’d be best to ask about what they’d do for the day. As long as it wasn’t something ridiculous, he would follow without any major complaints… 

- "…No, to begin with, how we will start them up?

… How are we still having enough oxygen in the first place?"

Answers that would only be given when they started walking towards one of said generators. It made him feel sick to his stomach, being in such an unknown situation. The fact that Noah still was so hyped about this…

Kuro didn’t understand it. He simply couldn’t. Another detail that he noticed is the violent contrast between the weather today and yesterday. His coat seemed to be killing him yesterday, but today… he was glad he brought it.

- “It’s cold. It doesn’t feel like summer anymore…"

- “You know what… you should be saying these things to your girlfriend. Not to me.”

Not that Noah had one, anyway. But he had to wonder if this guy had any idea on how powerful words could be, especially ones like that… well, he was always like this. Never knowing that what he said could cause trouble for himself and for people around him… typical.

- “Yeah. Let’s get out of here already, this place is starting to creep me out.”

You’d think he’d get used to abandoned places at this rate, the most secure places they could think to plant these boxes… but honestly, it never stopped being unsettling.

—-

“Escaping”-as he’d have worded it- was easier than he thought. Maybe whoever was supposed to look over this place was so bothered by the heat that they thought it was a bad  idea to just walk around without a goal… figures.

Speaking of which…

- “… Is the weather something planned, too? Actually, do you know how it will happen at all? Or are you just in the dark as the rest of us?”

They settled for just traveling doing nothing. As to where, Kuro simply mumbled “wherever you want to go, I don’t really care”, so his destination was something that he didn’t really care to know at all. If they had to be prepared for this upcoming disaster, then… 

He said nothing about it, and assisted the other without complaining. They had been working on this for months, finding safe places that could become good hiding places for the machinery Noah created (and then planting those and being able to escape, which was the most difficult part)… and their spare time seemed to be reaching its end. Ominous, really. 

It was ominous, because things were absolutely the same as they always were. Nothing changed, not the weather… and not people, either. 

- “…We are about done. You actually already filled it a while ago, but I let you keep on working just in case.”

Something he was sure the other would’ve never imagined. A good thing about “Noah” (as he wanted people to call him from now on, not even letting Kuro be an exception to the seemingly silly nickname) was that he was highly predictable. He put people’s safety - others as his priority instead of himself. Annoying, but getting one step ahead of him could prevent such things. Letting a smile surface on his previously blank expression while shoving his hands on his coat pockets (ignoring the sun and the heat, he insisted on wearing it. It was a gift, after all), swift steps taken until he got really close to the blond man—

- “So that means your work is done. Our work, for that matter! If you spent your last peaceful day working on these things, I think I’d go crazy. And you’d get really  gloomy.

Actually, I think you’re about to. 

If it works, it works. If not, we all die. That’s all there is to it, so stop worrying about things too much.”

… Not the best advice ever, but considering his usual approach at things, this could be considered almost cheerful. 

- “Come on, this is my day off and the last day I will get to relax ever. If you think I’m going to sit my ass and just go God’s work all day long you’re waaaaay damn wrong.”

If this was all true and if they could all die and if he could lose the few things that still existed to him and were still precious…

… maybe cherishing them today was better. He wasn’t scared, perhaps apprehensive was the best word for this… clicking his tongue, he added with a hurrying tone.