#danganpocalypse

A loud crash sounded, making the ground beneath everyone’s feet tremble.

“This isn’t necessarily ideal.”

“That’s one way to put it!” 

Kaito was almost back to back with the Ultimate Neo Aikido master in retaliation to the feeling of everything falling apart, leaving them defenseless to whatever was going to be coming their way. An indignant yelp sounded from Tenko as a hand grabbed her ankle with ferocity. A zombie pinned by a portion of the second floor tried to pull her closer to it's gnashing mouth. She started trying to rip her leg from its grasp, only for it to remain attached. Tenko grabbed onto Kaito’s jacket for some sort of stability as she screamed for it to release her. Suddenly, there was no tension on her leg. A serrated survival knife had swiftly chopped at the wrist on the marred hand, causing it to stay attached to her but not be a problem. The zombie continued to flail it's rotted appendage at Tenko.

“It’s not that hard, I mean it.” A girl with short black hair picked herself off the ground and walked over to the knife, picking it up from where it laid and rubbing off some of the gross remnants onto her pants.

“That isn’t something most girls would do, y’know,” Kaito stated, grimacing a bit.

“So? This isn’t a circumstance most girls wouldn’t find themselves in. Adapting is the best way to do things.” She put the knife in its holster before looking at the other two in a questioning manner. Kaito was about to raise an objection when Tenko cut him off excitedly.

“That was amazing, Junko! I’m seriously impressed-- the way you took that zombie down so effortlessly had me shook.” Tenko grabbed the other girl’s hands with a bright smile. A pink tint touched her cheeks before she quickly shook her head, smiling a little bit.

“I don’t suppose it was that cool. That was just the most tactful approach I could think of.” Tenko continued to fawn over her while Kaito looked around the new rubble. While it was hard to see at first glance, more and more hands started popping into vision along with other body parts finding their way to the surface. Kaito held back a disgusting feeling in his throat and grabbed Tenko much to her dismay and started running fearfully. It took one glance before Junko realized that she should be running too. She caught up with her group easily, keeping pace and calmly surveying her surroundings for other threats.

The group ran for what seemed like forever, their feet starting to throb in pain. Kaito cursed himself for his sense of fashion, but he couldn't pass up a pair of galaxy slippers, knowing full well that they wouldn’t be able to stay together past the following couple days. 

“How the hell are you not complaining about your feet while you run in your geta? It just doesn’t make sense!” Kaito yelled to Tenko, who was now on her own two feet running towards what looked like a junkyard.

“Training for long hours every day definitely helped, meaning you have no excuse to be whining about your footwear! Isn’t training for anything aeronautical hard, or do they just let any degenerate male in?!” Tenko retorted, causing Kaito to shut up. They made their way to the rusty scenery, piling into a small office building on the side of it to rest. Everyone in the building struggled to catch their breath while barricading the door. When they had finally managed to make it hard to get through, Kaito had fallen to the ground, taking a knee and groaning.

He looked at his leg, which he knew had been infected only an hour before. He looked back up at the two girls in chairs talking to one another, and his heart sank. He wasn’t ready for his hero work to be done, especially when there were still people out there that needed him. He still wanted to recruit sidekicks and live his life for those who were afraid to do things for themselves. He bit his lip, pondering whether or not to break the news while they had a place to breathe.

“You look like you have something on your mind, what’s up?” Junko asked, kneeling in front of the man with curious eyes. He blinked a couple times before backing up on instinct. He paused for a moment before deciding on what to do.

“I was just thinking about some of my previous sidekicks. You remind me of one of them. Maki roll had a hard time tackling her greatest enemy, and I can’t help but think that you’re doing the same thing.” He confronted. While it wasn’t what was actively on his mind, he figured now would be a good time to bring up what had been bothering him before.

“...” The shocked silence filled the building with a tension that was hard to cut through at first, but Kaito was determined to get to the bottom of it. He stood back up, ignoring the dull pain in his leg as he did so.

“Well? What’s your enemy?” He challenged, making Junko close her eyes and sigh. She got back up, dusting off her pants and looking away from him.

“I guess you could say my problem is one that I can’t face. There’s not a way I can get those words out of my mouth that wouldn’t end catastrophically for your hopes.” Kaito growled in frustration, unsatisfied with her answer.

“That’s a cowardly thing to say.”

The room fell quiet once more, and Junko felt like a different person entirely as she stared at the floor away from the two of them intensely. There was a moment where, if Kaito had been in any other situation, would have ran as if his life depended on it. She moved quickly, turning to him and getting close to his face.

“You don’t know what it’s like to be unable to give yourself a decent enough haircut! The idea that I don’t look like runway material because some idiot decided to cause the dead to make a fuss is really pissing me off.” 

“But, didn’t you say you had military traini-” Tenko asked behind the two of them tentatively.

“What, can I not have both careers in my past?” Junko raised an eyebrow and scoffed. Tenko raised up her hands defensively, deciding she’d be better off minding her own business.

“I’m not gonna believe that’s what’s bothering you unless you prove otherwise. You don’t seem like the type to fret over your appearance.” Kaito said dismissively, waving his hand. With that, the three of them sat awkwardly, Tenko looking through the desk to see if she could find anything to fight with.

“Any luck finding food on that desk?” Junko asked as she fiddled with the vest she had found in a military stock store. Tenko threw a pack of ritz crackers to Junko, who caught it in one hand and observed it for herself. She would’ve normally made a remark about how little it was, but she knew better than that with some of the brutal training she had endured before.

As they sat in silence, Junko seemed to ruminate on being confronted so brashly. Her appearance was the furthest from her worries, but she couldn’t come out and say otherwise. Telling the people you’re traveling with that you aren’t who you’ve claimed to be the entire time would cause a commotion, but keeping it from them felt crueler. She wasn’t anything like her sister. The real Junko would be taking in all of this horrifying experience with demented pleasure. While she may have been like that at one point, it was Mukuro who just wanted to get away from the name that caused so much trouble in the past.

Her real name was Mukuro. Even stripped of her sister’s clothing and the wig she had worn to disguise who she was, she still had kept the name and the M.O. of her now missing sister. Truth be told, she had regretted it when she had met all of her classmates for the first time. That being said, she felt incredible relief when Makoto had saved her and continued to do so with all of their other classmates, but she still hadn’t apologized for hiding her identity. Everyone split up after the failed killing game in an attempt to fix the havoc her sister created, leaving her to her own devices. She floundered around for a bit before finding a purpose in supplying those in need with weapons to fight against the looming threats. She learned not to think too much about the people she sold to, as they probably weren’t going to make it incredibly far.

It wasn’t long before Tenko broke the silence accidentally, her stomach growling loud enough for everyone to hear. She refused to acknowledge the two sets of eyes watching her with worry.

“When was the last time you ate?” Kaito asked. Tenko shrugged as she went underneath the desk, trying to break a locked cabinet for whatever slim chance it had of being something useful. Mukuro looked at the crackers she had been tossed before sighing and walking over to Tenko, bending down so she would be closer to whatever compartment she had been working on. She opened the pack and ate a couple of the crackers before handing them to Tenko.

“H-hey, Junko! I thought you wanted these?” She asked, looking down at her.

“It wouldn’t do you any good to go hungry, though. Models have to starve to be magazine-ready, so this is nothing new.” She examined the lock that was barring their progress. With a pistol she’d been carrying, she motioned to Tenko to cover her ears. She obliged, and Mukuro shot the lock, ignoring Kaito’s scream as it disabled the mechanism, putting it beyond repair. She smiled as she got back up, looking over at Tenko and motioning her to open it for herself. She nodded quickly as she pulled at it’s handle. Her eyes lit up at the contents; she had found not only a couple first aid kits, but enough candy to fill a shoebox. She looked around for a bag, rustling around until she found one. She started scooping out the contents and putting it into the bag, reminiscent of a trick or treater.

“You know you could’ve warned me you were about to do that, right?” Kaito mumbled, his ears still ringing from the sound. Mukuro walked over to him, looking him in his eyes.

“You’re right, I could have. But I was mad at you.” She looked up in contemplation before fiddling with another holster near her knife. Kaito closed his eyes in fear only to be smacked with a crinkling wrapper. He watched it fall to the floor for a moment before scrambling to pick it up.

“Where did you get this? Have you been holding onto this the entire time?!” He yelled. She nodded, mumbling something about not always being as selfish as she seems. He glanced at it, wondering whether or not to bother eating. If he was going to die, wasn’t it just wasting resources?

That’s right. Death was around the corner for him.

The realization hadn’t fully set in until he looked at the chocolate chip granola bar for a little too long, realizing there was going to be a final meal he ever ate. There was going to be a final set of words to send the two girls off with. There was going to be so many lasts, and he wished he hadn’t let that sink into his head.

“...lo? Hello?” He blinked a bit as a pale hand waved in front of his face quickly, causing him to blink and snap out of his thoughts. He smiled, and unwrapped the bar. 

“You do know that we should get a move on as soon as possible, right?” He asked as he continued to chew, causing Tenko to make a disdainful face at his actions. Mukuro hesitated, looking down at the ground before nodding. She made one last look around the room for anything important they could take with them. She found a crowbar, and held it in her hands.

“What have you been fighting with?” She asked Kaito. He laughed, and it was only then that Mukuro realized she hadn’t seen him hold a weapon the entire time they were working together. She shoved the crowbar into his hands, and he noticed her disapproving glare. He decided to ignore it, taking it. With a quiet grumble of gratitude, he looked out the window to see it was still light out, and their quiet safe haven was about to become incredibly infested.

He was cursing their luck of having nothing to use in the means of faster travel when he noticed something he hadn’t seen before: a small minivan. He gasped, pulling Mukuro by the shoulder so it would be in her view too.

“Wait, really? Do you think there are any keys around here?” She asked. Tenko resumed looking around the room, and Kaito continued to look out the window until he finally found what he was looking for. On a pile of rubble, in a probably cold and lifeless hand, was a key ring with multiple keys on it. Without telling the others his plan, he dashed out, cursing as he felt rocks get into his slippers. He continued moving in fear of the horde that was on the horizon getting too close for comfort. Tenko hastily grabbed the bag with one hand and Mukuro in the other before making a break for it after him, coming to his side in case he needed any aid. He grabbed the keys and ran to the car, unlocking it.

The group piled into the car, buckling their seat belts as Kaito slammed the keys into the ignition. He felt the car stutter beneath him, not fully starting. He took the key out and put it back in quickly, but to no avail; the car wasn’t turning on all the way.

“Why isn’t it working, damnit?!”

“Turn on the car!!”

“I’m trying!!!”

“Turn the wheel left and right quickly, it’s probably locked, causing the car to not fully turn on,” Mukuro said quickly, making the motions of turning the wheel to him. He obliged, mimicking her motions as she turned the key for him. The car finally turned on, and Kaito hit the gas pedal a bit harder than he should’ve. He winced at the growing pain in his leg as they sped off, leaving the zombies behind. Mukuro watched the way he favored his other leg, choosing not to say anything about it for the time being. Instead, she looked in the glove compartment for anything that could fill whatever silence they were about to be in. an old iPod touch was sitting there with the charger cable still inside. She held the button for a few moments as the screen turned on and a logo brightly shined on the black background.

“Guess we aren’t gonna have to sit in silence, eh? Good find!” Kaito stated.

“Ooh, does it have any Beyoncé? I haven’t gotten to listen to her since this started!” Tenko piped up from behind them, poking her head between the two front seats. They waited with baited breath as the screen turned on. Mukuro unlocked the phone, thanking whatever god was out there for the fact of someone not putting a pin on it. She ran through the apps, amused at how many free to play games were on it along with a Youtube MP3 converter. She looked through, a little baffled at the choices of music. In the end, she went with what looked like a podcast of Dungeons and Dragons. The car was filled with loud music, and it faded into the dungeon master talking of elves on a runway, voguing as one of the members got incredibly excited.

Byt the end of the drive, they had listened to three episodes, wishing that they could have downloaded the previous episodes. Kaito stopped in front of a lone house on a hill, seemingly abandoned. He motioned to it as he turned off the car and got out. The others followed in pursuit, watching his back as he opened the front door with no human response from inside. They looked around the house, astounded at their luck; there was no sign of zombies being in the vicinity of the place. Tenko squealed when she went into a room and found a soft bed, burying her face into it. Mukuro looked in a garage, finding multiple tools for barricading the door. Kaito looked into the kitchen, finding boxes of cereal and cup ramen.

They all came back to the front door, reporting what they found. Mukuro looked at them as she held a hammer and a fistful of nails.

“Can you guys get the table from the dining room? If that’s possible, we should be able to use the tabletop for keeping the door shut.” Tenko and Kaito nodded and went over to it, lifting it up with some ease. Kaito held back the urge to scream as his leg felt more pressure than before. They brought it up to the front and propped it against the doorway. With some time and a bit of labor, they were all pleased with their haphazard blockade. 

For a moment, everyone stood silent, unsure of what to do. Kaito felt the glances of his two companions practically asking for orders, and he moved a hand through his not as spiky hair, trying to find some excuse to be on his own.

“I, uh, think I need to get some rest. Not sure what you two need to do, but you should keep in mind an opportunity like this doesn’t happen everyday. Hopefully not sleeping on the floor will do wonders,” He chuckled a bit as he saw Tenko look away, already eyeing the bedroom she had went to earlier. Mukuro nodded solemnly, already walking off to what Kaito assumed was the living room. He stood there a moment longer before finding a bathroom and locking the door quietly.

Whether he wanted it to be or not, this would probably be the final stop he had before turning. He put his leg up on the toilet seat gently and rolled up his pant leg, seeing if there was anything he could do. He grimaced as the wounds discoloration had taken more of his leg than he realized possible. He put a hand over his mouth to make sure no one heard him as he poked it, recoiling almost immediately at the searing pain that came with the touch. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm himself before looking in a medicine cabinet. There wasn’t much for tending to wounds, but dressing was a different story.

While it wasn’t much, a medical wrap laid untouched next to what he assumed were medical staples. He took the wrap and held it and quickly ripped some toilet paper to act as gauze. After gently putting it on the wound, he began wrapping it. The sting from a foreign substance felt sickening and he had to stop frequently to make sure he didn’t make a sound. When he had finished, he looked at a clock and cursed to himself. He flushed the toilet, making a sigh purposefully loud enough for everyone to hear. He quickly rolled back down his pant leg before walking out, giving a huge thumbs up to Mukuro, who had been pouring a bowl of dry cereal.

“You were in there awhile, you okay?” She asked softly, putting down the box. He gave a thumbs up, walking over to the sink in the kitchen.

“Yep! It’s just that sometimes, nature calls!” He turned the sink on and began washing his hands.

“For an hour?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yep.”

“... Huh. Seems legit,” she said, shrugging as she went to find a spoon in one of the many drawers. He let the tension in his shoulders go for a moment, taking in the moment of relaxation. It wasn’t until just then when he realized the place had a back door into what looked to be a fenced backyard. Curious, he opened it and took it in.

Truth be told, it wasn’t much of a yard to begin with. The grass was growing in patches and weeds were taking over the area, leaving no space for legitimate growth. Dandelions sprinkled the enclosure, the white balancing out the green of the yard nicely. The area was small, but he supposed it would’ve been enough for a small child and maybe a dog to play in.

He let himself sit in the grass, holding one of the many dandelions between his fingers gently. Life had never been so important to him until his was going to be gone in what he could only assume would be hours. His uncharacteristically slow and uncertain actions would’ve made Shuichi or Maki ask how he’d been, but he knew that they were somewhere further along the trip to Canada (or, so he’d hoped.). He took his jacket off and laid it in the grass before sitting down and looking up. The sky was just as blue as it had been before this mess had started. He hated to think it, but he knew it’d most likely be like that long after he was gone too.

“Mind if I join you?”

Kaito looked behind him to see Mukuro still holding her cereal, leaning on the doorway. He patted part of his jacket, and she walked over to sit next to him. The quietness they shared while she crunched on her cereal was more comfortable than it had been before. 

“Has something been bothering you?” Mukuro finally asked, looking over to him. He bit his lip, looking away as he thought about the question.

“Well, of course. Lots of things bother a person when they gotta run through an entire country,” Kaito stated.

“I don’t think that you’re telling me the entire truth.”

“Maybe so, but sometimes it’s just challenging.” He held the dandelion out in front of him for a moment before blowing on it, letting the pappus fall apart. One of the seeds got incredibly close to Mukuro’s nose, causing her to sneeze. He bit back a remark of the sneeze being kind of cute. She glares at him, shaking her head.

“You know, for someone who wants me to tell them what bothers me, you aren’t exactly setting an example.”

“Maybe setting an example could compromise how you look at me.”

“Wow, it’s almost like that’s the exact reason I didn’t tell you what you wanted to know.” Mukuro grabbed at some grass absentmindedly, trying to find something to do with her hands. Kaito looked her up and down, thinking about if he should just bite the bullet and admit to his impending doom.

“I uh.... You really want me to go first, huh?” He said, mumbling. She gave him a look of curiosity before nodding. He took a breath and held it in for a moment.

“What I’m gonna say is gonna be really rough, and I need you to not react horribly or anything,” he said, the silence making him pressured to continue. “Time is… not really on my side, if you know what I’m saying.”

“What are you-” Mukuro started, her eyes squinting.

“I know you haven’t known me long, and I know that this is super sudden, but I’m probably gonna bounce tonight to make sure I don’t infect anyone here when the time comes, I-”

“What?!” She whipped her head around to see his slightly pained face as he looked down at his leg. She scooted over to him and rolled up his pant leg before he could object at all. The putrid smell of the injury made her gag, and the sight definitely matched the scent. She moved away, a hand to her mouth as she backed up. Kaito looked away from her and the discoloration that was crawling up his leg more than he’d seen before. When Mukuro finally regained her composure, she looked at him.

“I’m-” she paused, trying to hold down the gross taste in her mouth, “... I’m gonna chop it off.”

“What?! No!!” Kaito screeched, looking at her in fear.

“Is everything alright down there?” Tenko called, opening the window and looking down at the two of them.

“U-uh, yeah! Yeah, everything’s fine. Just an argument and stuff.” Kaito quickly explained, giving Mukuro a nervous smile. She hesitantly nodded, waving up at Tenko.

“It’s fine, really. Don’t let us stop you from what you’re doing.” Mukuro smiled softly, and Tenko gave her a thumbs up before closing the window. Kaito looked at her again with the same horrified look.

“Are you insane?!” He hissed at her, getting up. “I need both legs to be able to go places; disabling me is practically a death sentence anyway!”

“Sure, but have you considered that you’re with other people? I’d be more worried if I were alone, but you should rely on those around.” She responded with worry as she watched him sort of struggle to get upright. Mukuro decided to prop him up, slinging his arm around her neck.

“Either way, I’ll probably die. Even if it wasn’t going to be the death of me, I’d feel useless not being able to rescue people with the rest of you. When me and Tenko first found you and brought you back to somewhere safer, you have no idea how…“ He fumbled over his words and started waving his hands wildly in an attempt to regather his thoughts. “... How inspiring it was-- that’s probably the closest I’m gonna get to whatever I was trying to say-- to see that we could make a difference. You’ve felt it too, haven’t you?”

Mukuro thought about it, remembering when they first found the girl Tenko had called Himiko in a pile of rubble, muttering about not having the mana to stop the building from toppling after a siege and carrying the small girl on her back made her feel. She remembered bringing her back to the camp and helping her patch up some of her clothes and sharing a meal around the fire with the three of them. The thought of that warmed her up a bit, and she dropped her shoulders slightly.

“I guess I understand what you’re talking about.” She watched his face go through a few emotions, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he was recalling it all too.

“Then maybe you get that I can’t just let that ideal go.” He stared her down with a fire in his eyes she’d never seen. Passion seemed to be what motivated him, but it’d never felt like it was going to physically manifest in front of her. 

“... You’re really just going to let yourself die, huh.” Mukuro mused, choosing to suspend her disbelief.

“If that’s how you view it, then sure.” He finally rolled down his pant leg again, doing his best to drape it in a way that would avoid the sensitive area. His hands planted on the ground as he struggled to get up, groaning when his legs finally cooperated. He offered a hand to Mukuro, who took it and let him bring her up to her feet. She brushed some of the grass sticking to her off and stared at Kaito, who was already walking into the house and waving at her.

“Wait!” She clenched her fists and yelled, her eyes squeezed shut. He stopped, and turned his head a bit to look at her. The expressions on her face were an arrange of things he hadn’t seen her show, and it definitely didn’t seem as if it’d be fair to not hear what else she had to say.

“I…” she bit her lip, trembling as she looked to her left. “Mukuro. Not Junko.” She opened her eyes to see him with a brighter smile than he’d ever given. She regained her composure, letting the air in her lungs go. She hadn’t been aware of how she was holding her breath until her chest started feeling weird.

“It’s been a pleasure, Mukuro.” He walked back inside, leaving her out in the grassy area. She looked up at the sky, knowing she did the right thing. She closed the door as she walked back out.

Night fell faster than normal, marking Kaito’s departure. He had been shaking more, and his frame in the light exposed how frail he’d become in the matter of a day. His hand rested on the doorknob of the backyard once more, stopping when a hand fell on his shoulder. He sighed, turning to see Mukuro with a knife in offering.

“There-there might still be some time, so I thought you could change your mind?” She gripped it loosely, giving him an insistent look. He took it, watching the moon’s reflection in it as he brandished it. He looked at the girl who’s eyes stayed on the knife the entire time.

“You know I’m not gonna do it.” Kaito mumbled, pulling his shirt up to show his skin taking the same coloration of his infected leg. She bit her lip again, not taking the knife back as he held it out to her. He watched as Mukuro picked at loose threads, averting her gaze. He closed his eyes, and Maki took her place, playing with her hair and puffing her cheeks out slightly. He chuckled, knowing that there was something that he’d seen in her, the same something was in Mukuro. Her mannerisms, and her strengths-- they mirrored Maki almost perfectly.

He held his tongue from saying how she was like his friend, but took off his coat, draping it on her shoulders. He took off his slippers and placed them carefully near the hinge of the door.

“The impossible is possible, you know.” Kaito thought about how wild it was that he was able to save anyone, like a real hero and smiled. “The toughest challenges are always gonna look scary from a distance, but that just means you gotta be a bit scary too. You just have to hype yourself up beforehand.”

Mukuro watched the way he spoke, his eyes looking up and his hand movements livening him up.

“Just… don’t let those things scare you for too long. It’s been fun.” With a final thumbs up, he opened the door, and shut it, finding the lock on the gate of the little yard.

The moment he was out of sight, Mukuro let her face fall into her palms, finally crying. The bitter taste of failure to keep someone alive stayed in her mouth as she clutched onto his jacket, the sleeves wrinkling under her grasp. Her shoulder shook as she tried to suppress the volume of her cries. She slumped against the door, hiccuping a bit as she held his jacket tightly.

“... up! God, you sleep like a damn rock.”

“.. Nnnmrrph.”

“If you don’t wake up, you’re gonna get left behind again, you know,” a voice said matter of factly.

Kazuichi lifted his head from the pillow he had been provided, running a finger through his knotted hair. He admittedly should have been putting more effort into taking care of it, but the task had been proven to be a bit difficult without an actual hairbrush. He rubbed his eyes open, slouching over as he attempted to recall everything from the day before.

The thought of the bathroom, and the horde surrounding his stall came flushing back, along with the girl with purple hair and a laugh that would make any man feel a chill crawl up his spine. The obnoxious, grape-haired boy who managed to slip past the field of view of the zombies was sitting in front of him, tying his bandana around his neck. The thwick of a thread somewhere being pulled on his clothing made him grumble in frustration, and Kazuichi watched Kokichi lift his arms and look around intently. Eventually he gave up, and tossed the mechanic his beanie with a brand new patch of two diamonds, one with a face and another an E inside of a larger C. He looked up at Kokichi, who was already fixing to leave the building.

“Anyone who travels with me for more than a day gets that emblem. Consider yourself part of D.I.C.E.” He announced, walking into the bright light.

“H-hold on, I don’t even know what that is!!” Kazuichi called out, gaining no response. He looked back down at the patch, putting his fingers on the threads. It was still warm, and he figured that it was an iron-on. He made a mental note to ask someone to secure it much better. He wasn’t quite sure what D.I.C.E. was, but he felt he owed the leader something for his generosity.

He grabbed a box of ammunition and a pistol that had been left by a previous camper, putting them in one of his many pockets. When he walked outside, he lifted his hand in an attempt to avoid the harsh morning sun. The rest of the camp was waking up with them, along with Toko and the redhead from before, Himiko. Out of curiosity, he looked at Toko and Himiko’s clothes closer. Sure enough, there was a brand new emblem attached to the sailor-style collar of her school uniform, and Himiko’s hat brandished the same thing.

“Re-remind me why you modified my clothes?!” Fukawa questioned, practically foaming at the mouth. Kokichi shrugged, smirking.

“Look, if I’m gonna have more people traveling with me, we’re gonna travel in style. Since I don’t have bandanas… why not the organization patch? I see no problem with it, considering I put it in pretty hard to notice places, anyways.” Kokichi looked to his right, flourishing his hand. Toko looked over to Himiko, enraged.

“Nyeh, this isn’t anything new, honestly. You get used to it, so you should let him have this.” Himiko dismissively replied, straightening her hat out.

“Besides, it’s nice to have a bit of flair…” Kazuichi tried to speak up, coughing out the last syllable. He rubbed his neck as he winced in pain, regretting talking at all. Instead, he pointed to the car and nodded his head towards it.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll be getting in the car soon, but give me a moment, since I have an announcement!” He yelled far louder than he should have. Tired eyes were cast in their direction, still trying to rub the sleep from them. “Starting today, we’re gonna have the cutest witch in the world come with us! I’m a little shocked that you would leave poor, poor Tenko, but what can you do?” Kokichi chirped, wrapping his arms around Himiko. She quickly grabbed her hat so it wouldn’t come off completely, and crouched out of his embrace. He whined in protest, then sighed.

“Yeah, yeah. Can we save the dramatics for when we need them?” Toko asked, hurriedly pacing towards the car. Everyone followed in suite, Kokichi finally unlocking the doors. As the group piled in, he turned around, pausing a beat longer than he should have, making Toko think that he was leaving something here. She decided it wasn’t her business, and grabbed her notebook she had obtained from the camp. Fumbling in the glove compartment, she finally found a cheap pen. Uncapping it, she quickly went into writing.

Himiko took a moment to look at her new team before rubbing her eyes once more, yawning. “If it makes no difference to you, I’m going to take some time to charge my mana.” She laid her head on top of Kazuichi, who had been looking out the window again up until then.

“I-I--why bother?” He said, watching her hat already toppling off of her hair. She was already clocked out before he could have a say, leaving him to sigh. At least she was light, he thought.

With that, Kokichi turned on the car and left with a serious look on his face. He grabbed at the emblem he had sewn on his sleeve long ago, thinking about all of his organization, wondering how they would be faring in the apocalyptic world they were in. Regardless, he couldn’t be as upfront about it as he would’ve preferred, but seeing one of them look so defeated in front of the campfire hurt him more than he could’ve imagined.

He recalled the night before when everyone else turned in, leaving the two of them out by the fire. It flickered on their faces, and their voices remained hushed.

“So, this is where you’ve been.” Kokichi murmured, adding more fodder to the fire. The man looked up, running fingers through his curly hair.

“Yeah, it certainly beats where some of the others ended up. I’d rather be helping people like you out. I can worry about pranks in the future, y’know?” He asked carefully, his eyes never leaving the ashen logs.

“I suppose I get it,” Kokichi admitted. He looked around, tugging at his curled up hair. “You know I’ve never been the type to let other people on to how I do my work.”

The beat of silence minus the crickets and croaking of frogs made Kokichi feel uneasy. He hadn’t rested like this in awhile, since he never could stay as calm as he played himself to be.

“That’s fine and all. Just… remember that talking to the rest of the people you travel with isn’t going to hurt you. Communication is your tool, not your downfall.” The man with the afro got up, wiping off his clothes. Before he could leave, Kokichi grabbed onto his pants leg. He turned around, looking at the leader’s face with confusion. Kokichi fished in his back pocket and eventually placed a DICE emblem in the man’s hands.

“You’re always a part of the team, you know. That’s no lie,” He said. Kokichi proceeded to let go, watching the man walk into one of the small buildings. He couldn’t tell if he had made the right decision showing how much he cared at that moment.

It didn’t matter, considering he had already been driving the car for thirty minutes aimlessly, somehow keeping everyone safe. Looking in the rear view mirror revealed the mechanic gently patting Himiko’s hair unknowingly while he looked out the window, muttering something about not drinking enough Blue Ram. Toko was still vigorously writing something down. He couldn’t look into it much, but deciphered it was some fictitious story.

It isn’t long before they reach a completely barricaded road, and Kokichi is forced to hit the brakes several yards earlier. The halting of movement caused Himiko to stir, reaching aimlessly to grab her witch’s hat. The silhouettes of 8 figures stood atop the wall, holding what looked like guns. They were clad in various clothes, one with a poncho that billowed in the wind. l. Kokichi sighed, looking back and forth in an attempt to find some other road to take. Kazuichi gasped as he looked out the window to see a man with a scar over his left eye approaching from what appeared to be a gate. The bandages on his arm, the all too familiar scarf that hung around him, the coat that fluttered with a slight breeze-- he knew the person all too well. He quickly rolled down the window.

“What gives, man?! Had you waited for me and that white-haired freak, we wouldn’t have gotten separated!” He groaned, earning Kokichi’s attention.

“What, you know this Hot Topic peruser?” Kokichi gasped, shaking Toko’s arm like an excited fangirl. “What, is he the lead singer of one of your angsty bands, Toki?” Toko growled as she ripped her arm out of Kokichi’s grasp, who pouted.

“You should excuse yourself, impudent cur. I have more dignity than your own disastrous dynasty struck you with in your infantile stages,” the man grumbled as he reached the car, a chubby hamster peeking out of his scarf with beady eyes.

“Oooh, those are some fancy words! It’s cute how you think that you’re so above us all, really,” Kokichi said, prodding at the man further. Kazuichi looked between the two of them, worried.

“Look, man, he’s just really annoying. When you travel with him, he’s maybe a little less annoying, you know.” Kazuichi laughed nervously, watching the man squint his eyes.

“That may be so, but what makes you think I would let you traverse our barrier? What if one of you are of the afflicted??” He questioned, his words laced with fierce paranoia. Kazuichi looked at the rest of the passengers giving him expectant eyes, then turned back to the man, and opened the car door. He stepped out and met eyes with the visibly tired man. Kazuichi could see it on his face that this man was a far cry from what he was. His eyes seemed more sunken, and it looked as if he wasn’t eating as much anymore.

“Gundham, I know that you can’t stand being this worried, but you’re gonna have to let Sonia go. She wouldn’t have wanted you to hold people back, you know?” Kazuichi softened his gaze as he watched Gundham visibly tensen. Kokichi looked like he was going to butt in before Himiko covered his mouth with a tiny hand, clearly invested in the miniature soap opera unfolding in front of them.

“I… if only I had reached her side sooner, maybe I could’ve defended her with my dying breath as I had promised,” He sniffled, and Kazuichi quickly shushed him, grabbing a hand that was about to reach up to his face to stop the tears. “My oath, my pact to her, my promise…”

“I… Miss Sonia may not have liked me much, but I can tell you that she wouldn’t wish anyone to be harsh on themselves, especially not you.” Kazuichi grasped something out of his left breast pocket, gently laying it in Gundham’s open hand. There laid a limp, black bow with small gemstones attached to it. The man looked at the mechanic with teary eyes as he held the bow as if it were more fragile than a glass figurine. Before Kazuichi could say more, Gundham turned and walked back to the barricade, motioning Kokichi to pull up with the hand holding the memento of what everyone else assumed was a fallen friend. Kazuichi nodded and sat back into the car, securing the door. As they rolled closer, Kokichi noticed that what he thought were people standing atop the wall were actually dressed up mannequins, pipes and things jammed into their hands to look like weapons.

Before Gundham completely opened the makeshift checkpoint to let them through, he looked through the rear passenger side window at Kazuichi with longing eyes. Kazuichi reciprocated, knowing that if it weren’t for already having a pretty sound group, they would go off on their own to make it for Sonia’s sake. Gundham nodded one last time at Kazuichi, then rounded the front of the car to unlatch the gate.  Stepping out of the way, he looked to Kokichi and stretched his arm to the road ahead, letting them through. On the other side of the barrier a bridge met with the road, handing over a river that had been following the road for miles.

As the barrier seemed to be out of the distance, he could almost make out Gundham’s silhouette looking into the water off of the bridge. His heart stopped at the thought of what could possibly be going through his head before Himiko’s growling stomach ripped his attention away.

Gundham was better than that now, right?

“Nyehhh, where’s the food?” She whined, looking in the pockets of the seats in front of her. She must have moved around the seat behind Toko too much, considering how quickly she slammed her pen down to give an icy glare at the mage.

“May-Maybe someone can give me some peace and quiet so I can write! If I give you this nature bar crap, will that please you?” She leaned over and grabbed a green granola bar off the dashboard that she could tell was going to flake all over the place, waving it in the air condescendingly. Himiko attempted to grab at it, but Kokichi hit an unexpected bump that caused her to fall forward. Unable to catch herself, she fell head first into  the armrest of the front seat. While trying to help her back up onto the seat, Kazuichi saw  little blood trickling down her forehead, making him panic.

“Gah, you should be more careful, you know!!” He reached into his right shirt pocket and retrieved a bandaid with pokémon on it. He caught a look from Himiko as she checked it out in one of the side mirrors. He shrugged, looking away.

“Get what you can get.” Kazuichi mumbled, looking back out to the passing scenery while Himiko rubbed her forehead, making tiny grunts of pain. Toko dropped the granola bar in Himiko’s lap before resting her head on her seat, cursing the car for not being more comfortable.

Before Kokichi could make a stab at either of them, he noticed a completely impossible road ahead, littered with multiple trees that had been deliberately cut down. Thinking quickly, he swerved onto a smaller, bumpier road that made everyone bounce constantly. Kazuichi threw his head out the window, attempting not to be sick in the process while Himiko panicked that the granola bar would fall out of her hands. Kokichi gritted his teeth, just moving forward. Eventually, the road evened out. The group let out a collective sigh just as Kokichi stopped the vehicle in front of a remote cabin. He turned off the car before rolling out, checking the area for zombies. The area didn’t have many from what he could tell, making him motion everyone to get out of the car as he brought out his knitting needle.

“Have you really been surviving the apocalypse with Tsumugi’s needles?” Himiko said as she pulled out an umbrella that had certainly seen better days. Her feet dangled for a moment before she finally touched the ground and stretched. Kokichi shrugged, too focused on finding the quickest entrance to the place that wouldn’t attract much attention from the horde that was bound to notice them. They approached the cabin, ready to bust in and see what awaited them.

Breaking in caused a small group of zombies to turn their heads slowly at the noise of the door swinging and hitting the wall. Kokichi was already weaving between the group quicker than they could comprehend before heading to the fridge. He was already scooping as much food as he could into a bag while the rest of the group made quick work of the undead. He waved as he showed the inside of his bag already packed with food which was met with excitement from Kazuichi and Himiko. Toko was already checking all the drawers in the house, finding more bullets than necessary for what they had, but decided to pocket them anyways.

Breaking into the bedroom showed a little pink purse sitting on the bed along with a little baseball with someone’s signature on it. Toko blinked a few times as she grabbed the ball with tension. She recognized the handwriting and decided to slowly pocket it in the purse and move on, slinging it on her left shoulder. Kokichi was on the ground checking underneath the bed with wide eyes. He could see a big box on the ground, practically begging to be grabbed. He tried his hand at lifting the bed frame with no luck, and sat on the ground panting for a moment.

“A… a little help here?” He asked, attempting to life the bed off the ground. Kazuichi came to his side, picking up the hint and lifting the other piece of the bed frame. Beneath it sat a large medical kit along with some more emergency rations. The mechanic picked up the kit while Himiko grabbed at the food. Before they could exit, a group of zombies swarmed the door, rushing in. Before Himiko could run off, A zombie grabbed her by the arm. She struggled violently to get out of its grasp, shrieking when the arm went limp and pulled away from the zombie. Kazuichi had pulled out his wrench, swinging it down with all his might. The zombie faltered for a moment before moving it’s attention to him.

He swung for the head this time, screaming and instantly regretting it due to the coughing fit it brought with it. Missing his mark proved to have its consequences, as another pair of rotting hands made it onto his waist, drool falling onto him. He found himself unable to get away as he gasped for air desperately. Toko managed to plant a pair of scissors into its partially opened head, grunting as she pushed it further in before kicking it down to the ground. The mechanic was visibly struggling to get air in, his breaths laborious. The rest of the horde went in for an attempt to finish him off. Quickly thinking, Himiko pierced through the abdomens of two of them with her umbrella before opening it up and twisting it around. Kokichi went in front, helping her twirl, and throwing the less lively zombies into the others. The leader went to the mechanic’s side, lifting him up and leaning the poor guy onto him.

“Check the bathroom, Toki! I gotta get him back to the car,” Kokichi called.

“D-do I really have to go alone?” She whined, her fingers curling as though she was about to strangle someone. Kokichi quickly pushed Himiko towards her, knowing she would catch her balance.

“Fine, then take the little witch! That way, we have noooo problems.” Before either could protest, Kokichi had opened the door with his foot and was leading Kazuichi outside. The two girls looked at each other, trying to get a read on each other.

“... No worries, I’m handy with my steel-enforced umbrella,” Himiko reassured, shrugging. Toko couldn’t look at the umbrella for long before grimacing and shutting her eyes tight. They moved towards the bathroom, Himiko staying at the very front of the room in case more zombies trudged in there. Toko went to a cabinet in the back, finding a large rifle filled with ammunition. Her eyes lit up as she slung it around her and grabbed some amenities from it.

“This wasn’t a total waste of our time, let’s get a move on,” Toko demanded. Himiko nodded, moving ahead of her. Toko lost track of her in the ever growing group of moaning zombies. Faking a limp like Kokichi had done before, she traipsed through the horde and found herself outside of the cabin. She whipped her head back and forth until she found Kokichi leading the mechanic into one of the back seats, murmuring something to him to calm him down. Himiko was running over to them and swinging her umbrella to give them some extra time. Toko burrowed into the passenger seat, already turning the key for extra airflow to get Kazuichi more comfortable.

Kokich was about to get into the driver’s seat before being pulled out by a marred hand. He yelped, getting Toko to grab his hand as he was being pulled between the two forces. Himiko found her way into the other back seat and pulled as well, finally releasing him from the grasp. However, he pulled his leg back, wincing.

“Something tells me that’s, uh, gonna-gonna bruise,” He spat out in between breaths to calm himself down. Himiko hummed nervously in the back, trembling a bit. Kazuichi’s breathing stabilized as they drove, leading him to a peaceful slumber.

The drive was peaceful for awhile, and everyone besides Kokichi got to rest. Toko was initially reluctant to close her eyes for long, but eventually got over it. Himiko had curled back up into Kazuichi’s lap, lightly snoring. Kazuichi faded in and out of consciousness, occasionally opening his eyes to catch the blur of landscape passing by. The leader looked at his little ragtag bunch, smiling a bit knowing that they had escaped yet another tough situation.

Kokichi hitting the brakes woke everyone up, filling the car with moans of displeasure.

“It isn’t my fault that I need to rest too, y’know,” Kokichi grinned, opening the car door and planting his feet firmly in an attempt to hide the fact the his leg felt horrible. Everyone else stumbled out of the car doors, looking at where they stopped. It was a mechanics shop, with one garage door open. Kazuichi gasped with excitement, running inside and laughing with excitement. Toko took a moment to think about how fortified this place would be for a night, realizing Kokichi intended for the group to stay there.

“I guess I’ve stayed in odder places,” she admitted to herself. She followed Kazuichi’s lead, dragging herself through the items in the garage. She was more interested in the giant van in another part of it, opening it up. Inside was a mattress that was surprisingly cleaner than she could’ve asked for along with a few blankets.

“Hey, if people want to squeeze in, I think I found a safe place for us to actually sleep,” Toko called out, getting Himiko and Kokichi to come over. Inspecting it, Kokichi leaped onto it with a content sigh.

“Holy crap, good find, Toki!” He exclaimed, curling up. She didn’t have the energy to be frustrated and simply walked away. Himiko found a fridge of sodas and cracked one open, pleased at the fizzle that came with it. She took a sip as she watched Kazuichi file through all different shock absorbers, all while checking out the car they had been driving the entire time. He grabbed the keys from Kokichi with little protest, bringing the car closer to the repair shop. Toko watched him with curious eyes, eventually coming out.

“What are you… doing?” She asked, biting her nails. He looked at her, smiling.

“Oh, am I that interesting? No worries, I’m just testing the shock absorbers on this to decide on if I should add newer ones.” He wiped his hands, about to get up before stopping and pointing at her. “Actually, since I have you here, can I get you to do me a favor? I just need a bit more weight more than my own to check something.” He motioned her closer with a gesture, and she complied.

“Can you push down as hard as you can right here?” He asked, gently grabbing her hand to move it onto the area. She pushed down the urge to take her hands away as he let go and pushed the area next to her small hands.

“Okay, on the count of three, take all your weight off super fast, got it?”

“G-got it.”

When he yelled three, she took her hands off and moved away as if the car was going to explode. The car bounced a bit, returning back to its original resting position. Kazuichi nodded, making a mental note.

“So… why are you wasting my time with this?” Toko asked, trying to feign frustration. Kazuichi whipped around, looking at her with fierce eyes.

“Hey, it isn’t a waste of time to make sure this car doesn’t take a shit out on the road, you know! The roads aren’t always kind to cars, especially when they’re as messed up as they are these days,” He explained, closing his eyes. “All I’m doing is making sure we can take on uneven terrain a bit better.” Toko watched the poor mechanic move to the other side of the car, repeating the same process. She put her hands next to his after some hesitation, looking up at him. She could tell he was trying to force himself not to smile at the help. They repeated the process over again two more times.

“Alright, we’re looking good on all but the front two. The left is what’s really concerning me, but I have to change both at the same time.”

“Okay, but… why, exactly?” She questioned, opening the car door to grab the notepad she had been so invested in along with a pen.

“Well, it isn’t always the case, but adding only one new bad boy can mess with the handling of the car entirely, since they aren’t balanced out. It’s better to be safe than sorry, right?” Kazuichi turned to see her vigorously scribbling something down. He continued explaining to her as he walked back and forth, happy for the attention.

Meanwhile, Himiko climbed into the van with Kokichi, who had been tending to various scratches he’d accumulated from slipping between zombies and other miscellaneous events. She sat propped up against one of the walls and looked over at him. He never took his eyes off his nicks and bloody scratches.

“Hey, even I can get hurt, you know. It’s nothing to gawk at,” He said, suddenly breaking the silence. She looked down at her torn tights, nodding.

“I would be a little surprised if you weren’t. No one’s invincible, and you don’t have Gonta to protect you right now.” She took off her shoes while she spoke and put them up in the passenger seat before returning to where she sat.

“Nishishi, I suppose you’d say something like that,” He laughed, letting his legs unfold again. He looked at the metal ceiling, humming. He finally looked over at Himiko with a smile.

“Say, how do you think Tenko’s doing? You didn’t leave her completely alone, right?” He asked. Himiko shook her head as she thought about the last time she saw Tenko with her determined smile.

“No, I left her in good company- Kaito and a girl with short black hair who refused to give us her name were traveling with us.”

“Then why’d you leave them behind?” Kokichi’s face sterned, making Himiko feel like she should feel more guilty.

“Since Tenko and Kaito were more determined to get people up to the trader camp safe, they didn’t want to progress much. Not only that, but they were running low on food. I just decided to leave so they could ration it all a little easier.” Her shoulders relaxed as she explained, glad that someone would listen to her. She wasn’t ready for Kokichi to be mere inches away from her face, his eyes still serious.

“Do me a favor and… don’t leave, okay?” He asked of her, grabbing her hands. Kokichi had been known for his lies in the past, but he couldn’t lie about the shakiness of his palms as he took her hands in his. “I… someone at the trading camp that I have a bit of respect for told me I should be a little more open about how I feel, so I figured I’d give it a try.”

Himiko gulped as he didn’t move away. She knew that it wasn’t like Kokichi to be so completely open, making her wonder if his intentions were as pure as he had started making them out to be. “... Nyeh?”

He slowly backed off of her, an empty smile finding its way onto his face as he looked into his lap. “I don’t blame you for not believing me immediately, you know. I’m a liar, I know. But maybe you can suspend your disbelief for a moment.” His eyes glistened in the light coming from the windshield in the front. Before he could get another word in, he could hear Toko and Kazuichi coming inside, pulling the car into a different garage lane and closing the large doors. Kokichi peeked out the back of the van to see the mechanic put his hand out for a high five. Toko looked at him for a moment before sighing and gently meeting his hand with hers.

“Wooooow, you actually touched another human being! I’m impressed, really.” Kokichi snickered, making Toko point at him and scream.

“Hey, you’re one to talk! Remind me of a time you’ve gone out of your way to tou-touch anyone!” Her anger dissipated as she realized her own words, her eyes widening. “Touching… anyone…” Her eyes closed as she salivated and wrapped her arms around herself and moved back and forth. Kazuichi watched her for a moment before slowly backing away. He could hear her muttering something about her master, making him feel absurdly uncomfortable. He joined the two in the van, throwing off his beanie and his shoes. He stretched out, and Toko followed in suite with some food rations a different group must have left behind. Tossing the beef jerky bag between everyone along with an almost full thing of pringles and some instant ramen she was luckily able to microwave in a room she could only assume was for breaks.