The destruction was real. Everything was so real. All around her Minako saw the remains of her once great city. What had they done to deserve this? Nothing! Nothing at all! They had not taken any resources from the planet, only using already existing or renewable materials. They had only used energy from heat converting it into electricity to be used for all their buildings. The planet was the same as it had been before, inhospitable and unbearable. It was no more polluted and no more civilized. All that had been accomplished was the destruction of what Minako had thought of as the one beautiful thing on this wasteland.
The weight of this began to sink into Minako. What about her family, friends? What had happened to them? The last moments before she had blacked out started coming back to her. Through the window she had seen the silent screaming of people burning. The acid tearing through skin and clothing as if it was nothing but paper. The people…Minako could not bear to remember it anymore. Then someone was there. A pair of hands carefully wrapped around her so as to provide comfort but not further damage her burnt skin. Akihiko.
"What happened…What happened to everyone else?" She asked in a voice so quiet that she was surprised Akihiko heard it. His arms stiffened, and Minako winced as they scratched her still delicate skin.
"They…they all…" Akihiko tried to say. Minako knew. She had known from the minute she saw the drops burn through the buildings.
"The boy…" She asked her voice quivering. She had never even talked to this boy before, and had attempted to sacrifice herself for him. She felt a kinship to this complete stranger. She wanted, no needed him to be alive, for her sacrifice to be worthwhile. Akihiko did not even have time to answer her question. A cloud of dust seemed to leap from the ground, and Minako just barely caught sight of a pair of shoes in front of her.
"You're a real dummy. You know that?" A childish voice said. Minako smiled as she saw a pair of green eyes peering down at her.
"Why should I believe a shrimp like yourself?" Minako asked in return with a smirk on her face.
"Because even I know that the new issue bags come with emergency ammonia in the back compartment." The boy replied smugly.
Minako had been the first and only one to try this bag. The others, all her friends and family, had thought it too expensive or just impractical. But she had fallen in love and bought it the second it came out. The golden color had been too good to resist.
But something still didn't make sense. The bag had only been designed for one person and with a sulfuric acid storm this bad… How did she and the boy both survive? The bag didn't carry enough ammonia to save them both. As she looked up at the boy in confusion, he shook his head.
"I don't know. I don't even remember much…I saw your skin start burning, and…I ripped the bag open. The ammonia gas went everywhere, protecting me but not you. It started getting in my eyes so I had to close them…Then it was all over. You were lying on the ground burned but alive. I don't know what happened…" His eyes started to tear. He tried to contain them but couldn't.
"I'm sorry! This is all my fault…I should have been more careful. I should have helped you." He cried as he continued to sob uncontrollably.