So I'm actually quite surprised that I can update so soon xD Thank you all for commenting and reading. It really encouraged me to write more :DD so enjoy~~
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With Endou, Kidou, Hiroto, Gouenji and Yuuka
They had waited on and on ever since they met each other, Kidou wanting to rush into woods in search for his sister a few times but being stopped by Endou and the others. They were starting to get worried. After hours, no one had shown up yet. Was there something wrong?
"Haruna..." Kidou muttered in worry as he balled his fist. Seriously! Where is she?! Why if she got into trouble or got lost?? Did she even hear what Fubuki had said?? About meeting at where Endou is??? She could be out there in the forest crying and waiting for rescue! What kind of elder brother is he being?! Leaving her all alone! Why is he such a failure?! No, he shouldn't be thinking about negative things.
'Chill Kidou, she's probably fine. She isn't that weak. She can handle herself. She a big girl now. That's right. Calm down and be your usual self, Kidou. She is probably making her way here right now but stopped to rest, that's all. Or maybe she is with someone. Maybe she's with Fuyuka? Or- or Kazemaru and Fubuki? Hopefully she's fine... Who knows, she may be with the idols or one of the adults. Oh gosh. She better not be with the idols or the adults. What if they tried to take advantage of her?! Or make her their slaves and order to carry all their stuff or anything?! Dammit!! Calm down, Kidou! She's probably fine! You have to stay optimistic!' Kidou's thoughts were driving him insane.
Endou and the others seemed to notice this as well. He must be going wild...! They knew how protective he was over Haruna. If anything happens to her, he is bound to blame it on himself for not being with her. Heck, they weren't even sure if he'd still have to will to live without Haruna...!
Gouenji put a reassuring hand on Kidou's shoulder. Kidou looked to him and gave a worried smile.
"Thanks, Gouenji," Kidou said. "I'm alright,"
"Don't stress yourself over things. You're probably over thinking," Hiroto said.
"Yeah. Hiroto no yuutori (Hiroto's right)," Endou said. Endou then tried to change the topic, hoping it would lessen Kidou's worry for Haruna. "So.... Now that we're in the jungle now, we wouldn't need to worry about anymore infecteds now, right?"
"Yeah. Chances are we wouldn't fine infecteds strolling in the jungle. Even if there are some, it shouldn't be a lot like in the city," Kidou said, finally thinking about something else other than Haruna. He knew Endou was trying to make him feel better. He was grateful for having such great friends.
"Then that's good. If we can handle the city, the jungle wouldn't be too hard," Hiroto said. "But we still have to be on the look out. Maybe there aren't any infecteds but we are in the jungle. There are so many dangerous things in the jungle,"
"Like snakes and tigers!" Yuuka added. Gouenji smiled and patted Yuuka's head.
"That's right,"
Endou then looked up to the sky. "It's getting dark..."
"Yeah. I think we should try sleeping on the trees. It would be much safer than sleeping on the ground where ground predators can get to us..." Gouenji said. Kidou took a look at the trees around them and shook his head.
"No. The branches are too thin to sleep on. But we can exactly leave here either," Kidou stated. Gouenji then looked up and noticed what Kidou said was true. He didn't exactly look at the trees when he said that.
"Then we have no choice. I guess we have to sleep on the ground. We should take turns to keep watch. I'll take the first shift so you guys can go to sleep first. Who wants to be next?" Endou asked.
"I'll got next," Gouenji volunteered.
"Then me," Hiroto said.
"Then I'll take the last shift until morning. Keep watch for 2 hours and wake the next person up. We should keep out bags and weapons close. We might have to run or defend ourselves anytime..." Kidou said. Endou, Gouenji and Yuuka nodded.
"Matte (Wait)! We can't run, remember?" Yuuka said. Everyone then realized that Yuuka was right. If they ran, who would be the landmark? Everyone would be separated and lost in the jungle...!
"I have an idea," Kidou said. "If we do have to run, let's leave a mark on the ground. Like we draw an arrow or something to show those who come here where to go next to meet up with us. We'll leave clues on the way too,"
"Good idea! I never thought of that!" Hiroto exclaimed.
"As expected of the talented genius Kidou," Gouenji teased, a smirk creeping onto his face.
"Shut up, Gouenji," Kidou said, rolling his eyes. He felt much better now. Guess talking to your friends really does help calm you down than just sitting down silently thinking about what will happen to your family member whose whereabouts is unknown. Gouenji chuckled at his response before turning to his little sister.
"Arigatou (Thank you), Yuuka, for reminding us about that. Good job on noticing," Gouenji praised. Yuuka beamed with pride. Of course! Her onii-chan (big brother) just praised her! She had helped everyone!
"Now that's settled! Let's have dinner!!" Endou exclaimed with enthusiasm. Everyone laughed at this. "Oi! What's so funny?" Everyone laughed harder.
They then decided to build a fire. They were lucky that Endou had swiped (A/N: Swiper no swiping! xD Dora, anyone?) a box of matched from one of the stores. It made the job much much easier. Soon, they calmed down and ate dinner. After a while, it was time to go to sleep.
"Jaa, we'll go to sleep now. Don't hesitate to wake us up if you suspect anything," Hiroto said. Endou nodded.
"Go ahead," Endou urged. "Make sure you guys get enough rest. We'll be needing all the energy we can get,"
"You too," Gouenji said and laid down. The others did the same and closer their eyes. Endou rested his back against the tree.
Endou's POV (Point of View)
The others are starting to fall asleep. Watching them sleep makes me want to close my eyes too haha. But no, I mustn't sleep. If I sleep, I'll be putting everyone in danger. I have to stay alert. I kept my spanner in my hand and yawned. I looked around. Nothing unusual yet, I guess.
I looked up to see the moon, full and bright. It was giving out this eerie glow. Now to think of it, it is pretty creepy being in the middle of the jungle at night. Plus there's the fact that I'm the only one awake at this moment... Stop! Endou! Don't start thinking about scary things! You're just going to make these few hours agonizingly scary to go through.
Actually, how many hour do I have to keep watch? Hmm... I should try to take as long as I can so that the others can sleep more. But I won't tire myself too much either. I glance at my watch to see that it is now 11:37pm at night. Yosh! I'll try to stay awake until 1:30am then. If I can, I'll stay till 2:00am...
Gouenji's POV (Point of View)
I knew I was sleeping soundly when suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder. I slowly open my eyes to see a slightly tired-looking Endou looking down at me. Oh, it must be my turn to keep watch now. I sat up slowly, trying not to wake up Yuuka who was hugging my waist.
"What time is it?" I asked Endou in a hushed tone.
"2:03am," Endou replied. I nodded.
"Go ahead and rest. I'll keep watch," I said. Endou nodded and laid down for a nap. He must be tired. I recall that we slept at about 11:30am give or take. So that means... He kept watch for about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Wow. Kidou said we only needed to keep watch for about 2 hours. But knowing Endou, he probably stayed up longer so we could sleep more.
I slowly got up and reached for my weapon. Before I walked away from where the others were sleeping so that I can get a look at the place, I felt a hand tug my sleeve. I looked to see that Yuuka has awaken.
"Onii-chan (Big brother)? Where are you going?" Yuuka asked running one eye. I smiled and patted her head.
"It's onii-chan (big brother)'s turn to keep watch. Yuuka should just go back to sleep. Onii-chan (Big brother) will keep you safe," I said to her.
"No! Yuuka wants to help out!" Yuuka exclaimed.
"Shhh...!" I said with a finger to my lips, hoping that she didn't wake up the others. To my luck, all of theme ere still fast asleep. But hearing what she said made a smile creep up to my face. She's such a good kid. "It's okay, Yuuka. Onii-chan (Big brother) will take care of this, you should just go to sleep,"
"Demo (But)-!"
"Alright, alright. How about this. You can stay awake with me for 1 hour. Then, you have to go back to sleep, no complaints," I offered. She nodded beaming. She seemed to be happy that she can at least stay awake for a while.
We then got up and looked around together. Nothing weird. Alright. We sat down together with out weapons near us, ready to spring up at any moment's notice. I felt glad to have such a good little sister. It made my shift pass by like a breeze.
Hiroto's POV (Point of View)
Once again, I'm found myself haunted by that very same dream of us being trapped in a store with no way out. This made me wonder how many more times am I going to get terrified by these dreams? This time, I saw Endou shouting at a group of men. But I didn't know what he was saying. The man laughed in response. Endou seemed to get angry at this. Endou said something again and this time it was the man's turn to get angry. Then the scene changed again.
I saw Fubuki for a moment before it quickly shifted to a wooden katana on the ground. Then, I felt something sticky around me. I looked down to see blood. Blood was everywhere....! Where was it coming from?! I looked around to see that everything disappeared. I was alone in an unknown place. All I saw was blood. Blood! The walls, the floor.... Everything was covered in blood! I was standing in it to! That warm, crimson liquid... Then something seemed to come out from the blood. It was.... The body of Endou and the others! No! What happened to them?! I rushed to body nearest to me, which was Kidou.
"K-Kidou!" I called out. He slowly looked up and could tell he was looking at me.
"Do it... Why didn't you do it...?"
I was puzzled. I then see infecteds closing in from every direction. One grabbed onto me. Then another. And another. I was being pushed and pulled around. Before I knew it.... I jolted awake again.
This time, I found a concerned looking Gouenji looking down at me. I sat up and took in my surroundings. I was back in the Amazons with my friends... I let out a sigh of relief.
"What's wrong? You looked like you were having a bad dream," Gouenji said.
"Yeah. But I'm fine now," I said weakly.
"You..." Gouenji hesitated at first but continued. "Wanna talk about it?" I think he was afraid that retelling it will make me relieve some bad memories.
I wanted oh-so-badly to just let it all out right there and then but I held my ground. I knew I shouldn't tell anyone else but Fubuki as it might cause panic in the group. I shook his head and gave a smile.
"It's alright, I'm fine,"
"Alright then," Gouenji said. "Sorry for having to wake you up as it's your turn to keep watch.
"Sure, no prob. I'm actually more grateful that you did wake me up," I said and let out a chuckle. Gouenji looked worried but he gave me a smile.
"You're welcome then," Gouenji then went back to sleep. I got his weapon and surveyed the area. Nothing strange yet. I then sat down and thought about the dream and sighed. I really needed to let it out but the only person who knows about this isn't here... Where are you Fubuki? I really need to talk with you now...
I let out a sigh once again, feeling slightly helpless. But I decided to shrug it off and relax. I don't plan on letting one dream destroy my mood. I then focused my attention on something else. The jungle can actually be a mystical place to be at night, huh. The view, the feeling, the sounds... I hear lots of insects chirping about. It can be scary being in the jungle but it can also be relaxing. It all depends on what your mind is thinking at that time.
I was quite enjoying the "Symphony of the Bugs and Insects" when suddenly, it came to a halt. This made my alert senses go up drastically. Something wasn't right. Under the pressure of the sudden eerie silence, I decided to awaken my friends.
"Guys!" I called out to them while shaking them. They groggily sat up rubbing their eyes.
"What's wrong, Hiroto?" Endou asked yawning. But soon became serious when he saw my alerted look.
"Something's wrong," I said and all of them tensed up.
"What's wrong?" Gouenji asked picking up his weapon. All of them followed suit.
"The bugs, they stopped making noises," I blurted out.
"So?" Endou asked. "You woke us up because of some-"
"No, he's right. It shouldn't be this quiet. There should at least be the sounds of bugs..." Kidou said. He was silent for a moment before he continued. "I think... We should leave,"
No one disagreed. They were sure whenever the mastermind Kidou says something, there is a reason behind it. They started packing up. Suddenly, the bushes rustled. All of them tensed and grouped together, weapons ready. Kidou drew an arrow on the ground, pointing towards North.
"On the count of three... All of you follow me and run. Stay together and no one gets left behind, hear me?" Kidou whispered. Everyone nodded.
"One,"
Two eyes seemed to shine through the bushes, looking at them bloodthirstily.
"Two,"
A few more pair of eyes appeared. A growl was heard coming from the bushes. Beads of sweat went down their faces as they got ready.
"Three!"
All of them broke out into a sprint, following Kidou was running while cutting the trees with his axe. How he did that and not drop his speed, no one knows. Maybe soccer helped with training their stamina and strength. Yuuka was also doing her best running as fast as she could, not wanting to be a burden to everyone. Even Gouenji himself was shocked by how Yuuka was keeping up with them. He was worried, yes but she seemed to be okay so he let her run by herself.
They didn't stop running. Their hearts raced as they heard a howl of a wolf coming from behind them. Then, it's struck them. Whatever that was chasing them must be a wolf! They didn't know until now as they couldn't make up what the animal was by just looking at the eyes which were shining in the dark through the bushes. Beads of sweat continues to roll down the side of their cheeks.
Just then, Yuuka tripped. Of all the times, she tripped. She tried to get up but ended up falling again. Gouenji rushed back and quickly picked her up bridal-style and continued running. The wolves were getting closer and closer to them. Endou and the others were slightly faster than them.
Gouenji picked up the pace and ran as if his life depended on it (which in fact, it does). The good news is, he managed to catch up to Endou and the others. The bad news, however, the wolves were gaining on them! Just then, he heard Kidou shout.
"Stop!"
Gouenji was in such a rush that he didn't hear the sounds of the river ahead of them. He had reached where the others were, which is near the creek.
"We should jump into the creek-"
"Dame da (Don't)!" Kidou exclaimed. "Wolves are very comfortable in water! They would be very willing to jump into water to follow their prey!"
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Endou asked.
"Keep eye contact with it and stay calm! Do not turn your back towards it!" Kidou exclaimed. "It will cause predatory instincts to kick in!"
"Then why did we run in the first place?" Yuuka asked.
Kidou bit his lip but decided to deal with that later. Right now, the wolves are right in front of them, growling. There were a total of 6 wolves altogether. Everyone got their weapons ready. Just then, one of the wolves decided to pounce. Their target: Yuuka. Even wolves were smart enough to attack the weakest one among them. Yuuka screamed but Gouenji quickly protected her by turning around so that he would be the one who got injured.
Everyone gasped. The wolf sank its teeth into Gouenji's shoulder. Blood started staining Gouenji's shirt. The other wolves took this as a signal to start attacking. Endou and the others didn't exactly sit still either. The crossfire between the group and the pack of wolves started. Most being the humans trying to fend off the wolves. But in the end, one managed to knock Endou's weapon out of his hand.
The wolf then charged at him again. Endou's eyes widened as he watch the wolves coming closer and closer slowly. Suddenly, he didn't see wolves anymore. He saw something else. Something he was very familiar with. He gulped. He was weapon less anyways, so why not give it a try?
He then kicked his feet up in the air. Everyone was shocked when they saw him do that. They knew exactly what it was.
"SEIGI NO TEKKEN!"
"Nani?!"
Everyone was in shock as Endou's hissatsu technique sent the wolf which was charging right at him him flying. The wolf slowly got up and it whimpered. It started to retreat. The other wolves followed suit as well.
"Endou..." everyone was in shock and amazement. "YOU DID IT!"
They leaped and hugged Endou. He did it! He brought them out of their dangerous predicament. Just then, Gouenji fell to his knees panting with a pained expression on his face. All of them ran to him.
"Gouenji..!"
It his them. Even if they did survive that dangerous moment, they definately did not come out unscathed. Gouenji's shoulder was bleeding badly. Yuuka, who was in his arms, had scraped her knee too when she fell down. But being the strong girl she is, she held onto the pain until now.
"We need to get you both cleaned up," Hiroto said and began searching his bag for first-aid items. He knew some basic things about first-aid. The others also knew some basic things. But none of them were good at it like the girls were. But they are going to try anyways. Luckily, they were next to the creek.
Kidou checked the water and made sure the water is safe to use. One, because the water was clear, two, it had some healthy aquatic animals swimming in it (which is good, meaning it isn't contaminated by viruses) and three, it's running and not stagnant. Everyone then did their best to try and help with Gouenji's injured shoulder. Meanwhile, Endou tended to Yuuka's knee. It may just be a scrape but it would be enough to cause serious infection if not tended.
After a while, they were finished. They decided that it was better if they crossed the creek to the other side. It might be safer. The creek wasn't too deep anyways. There were even some rocks they could step on to the other side. Carefully, they crossed the creek and found a spot to camp. They settled their things down. It was about 5:30am now. They decided to rest first and continue on later when the sun comes up. They would be much safer as wolves are nocturnal.
Gouenji laid against a tree and rested. His shoulder was still aching but he should be fine now. Hiroto was rearranging the things in his bag. Yuuka was sitting down beside her brother. Endou looked and to make sure they were still safe. Kidou was deep in thought.
"Minna (Everyone)," Kidou said. Everyone then put their attention him. "Sumanai (Sorry). It's my fault. We shouldn't have ran at that time. I wasn't thinking clearly. Running only triggered their predatory instinct. I only led us into more trouble,"
Kidou bowed a 90 degree bow to his friends. He felt like an utter failure... He had a feeling that this is the feeling Fubuki felt when Aunt Mika passed away... Like a complete failure of a leader. Kidou waited for his friends to reprimand him or blame him for his mistakes. Just then, everyone laughed. He slowly looked up.
"It's okay, Kidou! Really! Everyone makes mistakes sometimes!"
"Yeah! Don't take it too hard on yourself!"
"We would've ran anyway! You stopped us at the creek to avoid us from becoming dinner!"
"It's okay! Kidou-san!"
A smile crept onto Kidou's face he really is grateful for having such great friends. They are understanding and nice to him.
"Arigatou, minna(Thanks, everyone)!" Kidou exclaimed. Everyone laughed again.
"But I really have to ask, Endou-kun, why did you suddenly thought of using your hissatsu technique against the wolves?" Hiroto asked. Everyone quiet down to hear Endou's answer.
"Eh... Actually... I didn't know why. I just suddenly... Suddenly I didn't see the wolves anymore. I saw a soccer ball coming towards me. I just had this natural instinct to use my hissatsu on it," Endou said laughing nervously, a hand rubbing the back of his head.
"Well, it saved us all and we couldn't be more than thankful for it. It managed to scare away all the wolves," Gouenji stated.
"Yeah. Thanks to Endou's love for soccer," Kidou teased. Everyone laughed. They were glad they survived.
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So I hope you guys enjoyed this chappie :33 do leave comments and vote thx :DD