A/N : Written in answer to a post-Apocalyptic prompt on badbadbathhouse. WORST ENDING SPOILERS. Any and all constructive criticism is welcomed, appreciated, and turned into spiffy wall ornaments, especially anything on grammar and the English language in general.
Kanji sat in a corner of the crowded room, his head against the wall and his eyes closed. He was so tired, and he'd been tired for so long... he couldn't remember what not being tired felt like. He didn't open his eyes when he felt someone sit next to him, not until the person spoke with a fatigued, trying-to-be-cheerful voice.
"Here, Kanji. Your meal of the day. I made it myself."
He opened his eyes to meet Rise's, devoid of their usual good humour. In her hands were two plates filled with scraps of food, too little to sustain someone of his size for a day. Hell, it was probably too little to sustain someone of Naoto's size for a day, but food was rationed. He'd have to make do with it.
"Thanks." he muttered as he took the plate she was holding out to him, and watched as she started to eat her meager meal. Her face was gaunt and thinner than it was when he met her, dark shadows under her eyes. He'd never understood, before, when Yosuke-senpai said that she had a shine about her, something specific to idols that made her stand out from a crowd. He thought he got it, now. Whatever it was that made her special before, he mused as he took his first bite out of his plate, it was gone now. Even he could see the difference. Now, she just looked as tired and helpless as everyone else.
He scanned the room they were in as he ate. They had rounded up most of the survivors – too few, chimed in a little voice at the back of his head, you should have saved more, you should have been better, stronger, faster – in the biggest of the abandoned shop in the central shopping district. For some reason, the Shadows couldn't open doors, so they were relatively safe in there. Some Shadows still tried, though, every night, crashing against the walls and rattling the door, making the children cry and the adults tense up in fear.
He quickly went over the small groups of Inaba residents huddled together, carefully avoiding the hungry eyes of children staring at his food – he hadn't eaten anything yesterday, he needed this food, he couldn't give them his share, hecouldn'thecouldn'thecouldn't (and he knew from Rise's carefully blank face and avoiding eyes that she thought the same, which made him feel slightly less guilty, if only a little) – and looked for his other friends. Yukiko-senpai and Chie-senpai were sitting together next to the door leading to the next room, which had been turned into a crude infirmary, with the little medical supplies they had been able to gather stashed in a corner.
Yukiko-senpai had completely given up fighting to concentrate on taking care of the wounded. It was becoming an increasingly demanding job, as the tense atmosphere had shortened tempers and people tended to get into fights over nothing. Scrapes and bruises, sprained ankles and lost teeth were being added to the Shadows-related injuries, and it was taking its toll on Yukiko-senpai. She was leaning into Chie-senpai, face ghostly pale and features drawn, while the other girl stroked her hair and murmured reassurances in her ear.
Chie-senpai, for her part, hadn't stopped fighting (she believed it was all she knew how to do, and everyone wanted to do something, anything) but had opted to stay at the shop all the time. She had said that someone should always be there in case something went wrong, in case Shadows found a way in, and everyone had agreed. It was better not to take unnecessary risks, as Naoto had pointed out. The safer the better. Kanji suspected that Chie-senpai's main reason to stay, though, was that she didn't want to leave Yukiko-senpai alone. Kanji understood that.
He knew that Yosuke-senpai, Teddie and Nanako-chan were in the infirmary. They had been suspecting that there were some survivors hiding at Marukyu Tofu, because shadows seemed to swarm around it, so two days ago everyone on the Investigation Team except Yukiko-senpai and Chie-senpai had gone to try and get them out of there. It turned out to be a mistake, because when they got inside the shop, they found out that the reason there were so many shadows was that they'd been using it as a sort of nest. They'd been badly outnumbered, and even their quick retreat hadn't been quick enough to prevent Yosuke-senpai being severely injured. Yukiko-senpai had done her best to heal him, but he was still recovering. Teddie and Nanako-chan had been keeping watch over him since then.
He knew he wouldn't find Dojima-san anywhere in that room, though, or even in the building. No one had seen him since the other world and their world merged and Shadows took over (when you failed, that small voice piped up again). No one really knew what had happened to Dojima-san, but Kanji suspected he had tried some foolish, heroic move. He knew by now what that lead up to. He was pretty sure they wouldn't see him again.
He also knew he wouldn't find Senpai and Naoto anywhere in the building, but this time he knew why. They had gone out to try and reach the Amagi Inn. If there weren't any survivors at Marukyu Tofu, or Tatsumi Textiles, or Konishi Liquors, maybe there were some at the Amagi Inn. Maybe... maybe their families were there. Maybe. If they found anything, they'd come back alone and would wait until Yosuke-senpai was better before organizing a rescue mission. They all knew better than to rush in half-cocked by now.
Kanji lowered his eyes to his empty plate and wondered when he'd finished his food. He was still hungry, but he'd gotten used to it by now. At least he had food. He heard a small sigh next to him, and looked at Rise, who looked on the verge of tears. Then again, almost everyone looked on the verge of tears nowadays.
"I wish we could turn back time." she whispered, barely loud enough for Kanji to hear. It was his turn to sigh. He put his arm around her shoulders and she burrowed into his side (his awkwardness with girls seemed to have disappeared along with everything else that he was familiar with).
"I know." Kanji answered gruffly. What else could he say?