Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or situations involved in this fanfic, and am not making any profit whatsoever off of it.
Story Title: Hunger Pangs
Characters: Momoe, Junko
Romance: Momoe x Junko
Story Word Count: 2,240
LJ Challenge: This was written for the 15pairings Livejournal challenge, using the prompt of 'misery loves company'.
Timeline: During the second night the students spend in the world of sand, during the duel zombie arc.
Notes: Yes, Momoe and Junko were there.
Summary: Hungry. Thirsty. Cold. Scared. Lost. Momoe and Junko just want to go home.
"Tonkatsu," Junko all but breathed the word out, her voice full of memory and awe. "My mother makes the best tonkatsu ever. I like it best with the curry rice, but with the cabbage, it's not that bad." It had been too long since she'd had it, in her opinion. Of course, it had been too long since any of them had had anything that was actually real food. Two days, that seemed so much longer than that.
Momoe leaned her head against the wall and stared out through the window high over head. The moon was full up there. Had it been full when they were on Earth? She wasn't certain. Her stomach rumbled, distracting her from her thoughts. What had they been talking about again? Oh. Right. "I'd die for some sukiyaki right now." Die or almost kill. Well, almost. They were going to get home, right? There was no need to be doing something like that.
Junko ran a hand through her hair. She would have probably killed not just for some of those deep fried pork cutlets, but for her hairbrush, shampoo, conditioner, and about three hours with a bathtub. She hadn't ever gone this long without washing her hair, much less a shower, and she wasn't enjoying it now.
"They're going to find a way for us to get back, right?" she asked, her voice just a bit lower than usual. There was no need to say who she meant by 'they'. There was only one group that could deal with this.
Juudai. Asuka. Shou. Kenzan. Manjoume. Misawa, now that he'd turned up again. And now those new people who had joined them. Jim, Johan, O'Brien, Amon. They had already helped some, by getting that medicine for Rei.
You can't count Shou and Manjoume anymore, she reminded herself. They were being all weird now. Duel zombies, that was the word she'd heard Asuka-sama using to describe them. She'd seen them earlier, walking around moaning and groaning and searching for anyone who might duel them.
But everyone else was still around, and Juudai had proven more than once that he could pull off miracles at the last second, even all by himself. How could he do anything less now, when he had everyone else all around him?
"I could go for some tempura, too," Momoe murmured, lifting her eyes back to the moon. It gave her something to keep her mind on and away from her aching stomach. Most of the time. She wanted to eat. She wanted to eat damn near anything that would present itself and was edible, and if it wasn't edible, she was willing to risk it anyway.
Junko nodded slightly. Perhaps talking about food when they couldn't have anything until the next day wasn't the best idea, but what else were they going to do?
Well, there was a little something. She pulled her deck from her duel disk and started to fan through it. Her mermaids looked back up at her, and she wondered if they were anywhere in this world. A world of endless sand didn't seem like the best place for Mermaid Knight or Enchanting Mermaid or any of the others.
Of course, it hadn't quite looked like the best place to find a Harpie Lady either, but she'd clearly seen one. That had been more than a bit unnerving as well. She'd once thought about building a deck around the lovely harpie series, but she'd went with her mermaids instead.
Thinking about dueling was a lot more interesting than thinking about where they were and what was going on. Even if every time she dueled, she ended up wanting to eat. Which, now, was a really, really bad idea. Since there was nothing to eat.
This was turning into a vicious circle. She sighed; this was just not fair. They'd only wanted to go to school! School shouldn't involve things like being magically dropped into a world where cards were real! At least not in the middle of a desert without enough food or water or anything else.
"Junko?" Momoe touched her hand and the redhead looked up at the brief contact. "You probably shouldn't mess with those right now." There was a hint or two of concern in those warm eyes of hers. It had been a long time since she'd seen anyone looking at her like that. All things considered, she couldn't remember anyone else ever having looked at her like that. Someone was actually worried about her.
But, she was also right. "Not until we have to," she agreed, putting the deck away. There was no telling what they'd have to do to find their way home, and with those dis-belts still on them, who knew what could happen if they started to actually play?
No, she did know what would happen. They both did. It would attract a duel zombie, or an entire horde of them, and if they couldn't get away, they'd be made into them as well. Junko shuddered; she hated the very thought of being like that. It was kind of like that whole Society of Light thing all over again! Not thinking for yourself, just trailing along with everyone else.
Only this was a lot creepier. At least the Society members had been able to talk about something more than 'duel'. Sure, some of the zombies had specific people they wanted (she'd seen Manjoume wanting Juudai and Asuka-sama, for one thing) but they still only wanted one thing.
"It's cold," she murmured, adjusting herself to lean a bit more against Momoe and her body-heat. She'd never thought about how warm Momoe actually was before now. Now the thought was starting to slide into various parts of her mind, and finding it very comfortable there.
"I think I can get another blanket?" Momoe's voice was slurring a bit with sleep. Junko shook her head briefly, then decided to say something, in case the other hadn't quite noticed.
"It's not that bad. I'll be all right." Truthfully, she didn't think she wanted Momoe to get up. Or to get up herself.
This sort of situation was about as miserable as she could have ever imagined life being. Being kept by a weird monkey for ten minutes hadn't been that great. Being just about the only two girls left in Obelisk Blue had been boring and scary all at the same time. Finding out that they had to duel every day to see if they would even be allowed in the school had been a nightmare.
This made all of those situations seem like a complete walk in the park. At least all of those others had ended. Even if that last one had ended with them being here.
As tired as she was, and as hungry, Junko realized that she didn't want to go to sleep. Sleep meant not knowing if a Duel Monster or a zombie was about to sneak up on you. Sleep meant not knowing if you were going to wake up anymore.
She rubbed at her eyes and glanced over her shoulder. Momoe was asleep. Despite the fact their rooms were so close to each other in Obelisk Blue, to the point they tended to refer to themselves as roommates, she had never actually seen Momoe sleep before. Though she had had chances. Last year, when Asuka-sama had been being so scary and so into the Society of Light, they'd shared a room just to avoid being so alone.
But she'd almost always fallen asleep first back then. Or the couple of times she hadn't, she'd never actually watched Momoe sleep. Now, she looked.
Momoe had been watching the moon earlier and it still shone down on the two of them. The pale silver light frosted Momoe's black hair and framed her form nicely. Junko wondered if the other girl had lost weight. She couldn't have; as hungry as they were, two days wasn't enough to show a weight loss. Maybe it was just having to sleep and live in the same uniform all of this time?
She shifted a bit more, wanting to get comfortable and yet not disturb Momoe as she did. That wasn't too hard. She also wanted to remain able to watch what was going on around the two of them. That was a little more difficult.
The remaining students, the ones who hadn't become zombies, were now curled up all around the main lecture room. It was the most secure place, at least according to O'Brien. Junko figured it anyone would know he would. He certainly seemed to know a lot about military things anyway. She glanced around a little and saw that he was awake, standing on guard near one of the doors. For all that he moved, he could have been a statue of ebony.
He wasn't the only one on guard, either. Juudai stood near another, close enough to her so she could see that his eyes were dark and distant, as if he were thinking about something else. Hane Kuriboh hovered near him, and she just had to smile at the sight of the furball. She'd always thought it was adorable, and to be able to see it now was one of the few perks of being where they were.
She glanced back at Momoe, who had shifted around some. Her eyes fluttered a bit, but didn't actually open. Junko stifled a bit of a yawn, then looked up at the sound of footsteps coming closer. It was Asuka-sama, a concerned look in her large eyes.
"You should get some sleep," she murmured softly, leaning over her. Junko nodded a little; she knew that the other girl was right.
"I'm just not that tired," she lied, tossing another look at Momoe. "I'll be fine."
Asuka stood there quietly for a moment or two, watching them. Then she smiled a bit and nodded. "It's up to you. But be careful." She hesitated for a moment or two. "Did you want something to eat? I've got a bit of bread left."
Junko blinked a little, then shook her head. Asuka wouldn't have enough for two, if she even had enough for one, and the thought of having some without Momoe to share it just wasn't that appealing. "No, thanks. That was very kind of you, though."
"If you're sure." Asuka had always seemed a little wise to Junko, as if she knew something that other people didn't. When Junko nodded in reassurance, she nodded back, then went back over to where Jim Cook was sleeping, his crocodile cuddled up next to him. Junko watched just long enough to see her settling down next to him, before she tried her best to get comfortable once again.
Her stomach rumbled as she did, and she glared down at it. She didn't want Asuka to hear it and try to press the bread on her again. She closed her eyes; even if she didn't sleep, perhaps she could rest some. With the guards there, maybe it was all right enough to sleep anyway. She doubted that anyone would get past O'Brien or Juudai. Or whoever it was that took their places.
She could hear Momoe breathing now. It was as if closing her eyes made it more audible. In and out, in and out, as restful as if they were in their rooms in Obelisk Blue. Junko ached to be there now, to only have to worry about passing their tests and performing well in duels. This world was wrong for them. Maybe it was right for people like Juudai, who had such a connection to his deck, but for people like them, it was all, all wrong.
Her hand dropped down a little, suddenly so very heavy, but she didn't bother to move it. That was partially because it was heavy and partially because it had landed next to Momoe's. She cracked her eyes just a bit, just enough to see the two hands touching just a little. Just enough so she could feel that warm skin. She simply lay there, shifting now and then to get more comfortable, and watched their hands. Relaxing. So very relaxing, even with the gnawing ache in her gut and the chill in the air.
Momoe's hand shifted a little as well, and now was a little closer to hers. She didn't move, not wanting to look up and just see that it was only a random movement. Nor did she really want to look up and see that it wasn't. She wanted to dream, suddenly, to be in a world of her mind's imagination, where everything was peaceful and they were somewhere that didn't have such things as the expectations of others and certain rules that just had to be followed…
Perhaps it was something in the quality of Momoe's breathing as it changed a bit. But Junko tilted her head up no matter how much she was not wanting to, and there was Momoe, looking back at her. Her lips curved into a slight smile, and then her hand moved again, with clear and certain purpose.
It was only for a moment, a moment that Junko remembered for ages, but for that single moment, their hands were closed about one another, and in a realm of fear and hunger, sadness and pain, cold and loss, two lay together, and that was all that mattered.
The End