"They're not coming back, are they?" Nishinoya's voice sounded as defeated as he felt. Based on the terrified faces of the others, he guess they felt the same way.
"We can't be pessimistic." Takeda clenched his jaw, his grip on the steering wheel tight.
"But we can be realistic." Oikawa's voice was flat, portraying how hopeless it all felt.
"We're leaving, then. You all have something to defend yourselves with? Good. Let's go." Takeda clicked the car door open, and the others all piled out.
"Do you think they're dead?" Kiyoko questioned in a small voice, her dark blue eyes focused on the ground.
"Probably," Iwaizumi looked away, blinking tears from his eyes.
"I don't want to think that... But honestly, wouldn't they have come back by now? Or maybe they're just holed up somewhere. They have Daichi as their leader, I'm sure they can survive." Noya voiced his feelings, his tone wavering ever so slightly. He had tried so hard to stay strong this whole time, but his will was starting to chip away.
"We can't wait for them. Any moment reds could attack." Tanaka muttered, running a finger down the blade of his knife. Takeda swallowed, glancing around, before they began to press forward in search of Tokyo.
They had calculated that it would take around three days, but as they got attacked by reds more than expected, that number rose and rose, until three weeks later they were finally there, in Tokyo.
It had taken much longer than expected due to some unfortunate circumstances, and an influx of reds. But finally they could stand in the ruins of the once great city, and find their way to the safe zone.
As they made their way through the destroyed city, searching and searching, the group grew more weary by the second.
None of them said it, but they were all thinking it; did the others manage to make it to Tokyo?
"Hey, Noya, want some?" Tanaka mumbled out through a full mouth, holding out a package of pretzels. Noya nodded eagerly, taking a handful of the salty treats. His stomach still grumbled even despite the food.
"Thanks, Tanaka." Noya smiled at him, and Tanaka grinned back.
"No prob." Tanaka swallowed the mass of pretzels in his mouth.
"Do you think the evacuation place is close?" Noya asked quietly as they walked along the cracked concrete of the road.
"Yeah, probably." Tanaka's posture slumped, hands in his pockets. He had a strange air of nonchalance about him, even despite the situation he kept his cool. Noya admired that, knowing that even despite his ability to stay calm, in the back of Noya's mind there was always that insistent voice of terror whenever he stared into those dead eyes of a red.
"Let's–"
"Guys..." Oikawa's voice shook, and the two exchanged a look before running around the corner where he was up ahead.
Nishinoya gulped as he stared at the ashy ruins of a building. "That was supposed to be the safe zone," Takeda's face was pale as he spoke. Noya turned back in horror to the completely ruined building, knowing they would never be safe. Not in this cruel world.
Not ever.