Author's Note:

So I have yet to see a bad review, so I'm hoping no one hates the story yet. I hope you all have taken a liking to it. If you guys have any ideas you want to share, any criticism, or good comments, please do not hesitate to review! If you like the story, too, please do follow, favorite, or both!

- Parahdoks

Chapter IV : Crimson-Dyed Road

Turbulance begins rocking the entire terrain vehicle. Hinata keeps moving forward, trying to watch for any movement ahead. Yui stares down at her radar intently. The stress causing sweat to fall past the side of her head, watching the three, green dots come closer and as fast as ever. Behind Yuri and Hinata, Yuri, and Yusa have already put their filtration masks on. Yuri presses down on the slide release lever on her M92, 9 millimeter, Beretta handgun. Otonashi watches her and Yusa both ready their weapons in fear for his own life for the potential danger. The plexi-glass in front of Hinata's and Yui's face are suddenly pelted with bullets, stressing it with plentiful loud cracks. Otonashi flinches, dropping to the ground and covering his head. Small, harmless cracks are formed on the thick, glass pane.

Hinata: "They're firing at us!"

Otonashi: (Exclaiming) "No shit! Ya think?!"

Yui: "They're coming close!"

Hinata suddenly begins turning the steering wheel sharply to the right, causing the vehicle to completely rotate the windshield away from the gunfire, braking quickly to a screeching halt. Loud 'pings' and 'pops' begin raining loudly at the side of the vehicle, echoing in the passgengers' ears. As the terrain vehicle came to a halt vertically turned away from the enemy, Yuri quickly turns around in her seat, facing Yusa, who was just unbuckling her safety belt.

Yuri: "Yusa! See if you can spot them!"

Yusa: (Nodding) "Right"

Yusa quickly stands up from her seat, stepping up on the seat cushion she was just sitting on. She pokes her head carefully out the top of the small opening in the ceiling, exposing herself to the battlefield. She quickly pulls her weapon through the roof and turns her rifle's barrel towards the direction where they were being fired from. Otonashi stares in horror, now fearing for Yusa's well-being.

Otonashi: (Yelling) "Are you guys serious?! She's going to get killed!"

Yusa looks down the hole in the ceiling at Otonashi with a nonchalant and monotonous look on her face.

Yusa: "I'll be fine"

Yusa suddenly looks through the thermal imaging scope that was mounted on the rifle. Pelting noises are still heard smashing on the side of the vehicle. Few rounds whizzing past Yusa's face, almost hitting her. Yusa takes careful aim ahead, seeing a small figure come up ahead in her sights. She pulls the trigger; a single shot rings out from her rifle. The brass casing ejects from the right side of her weapon, falling through the hole and into the vehicle's cabin. She pulls the trigger multiple times, firing a small barrage of semi-automatic shots. Suddenly, coming towards the vehicle, a loud motorcycle engine is speeding towards them. Yusa aims carefully at the enemy's helmet, then slowly pulls the trigger. The round blasts out of the barrel of the weapon, whizzing through the air. The spinning bullet quickly impales the motorcycle rider's helmet. No loud yell is heard. The rider immediately leans to the side, his hands loosened from the handle bars. He falls off, and the bike loses control, immediately spinning out and landing on its side; it's momentum causing it to slide further on the ground until it came to a screeching halt, the engine still running in it. The individual who rode the bike laid motionless on the ground. The pelting of bullets finally stop.

Yusa: "One target neutralized"

Yuri: "What about the others?!"

Yui looks down at her radar screen. Her eyes widen, and she flinches in surprise.

Yui: "What?" (Pausing) "Wait, what?!"

The radar screen has completely emptied out. The first green dot that Yusa supposedly shot has stayed in the same spot as where she had neutralized it on the radar. The other two disappear into thin air.

Yui: "The other two are gone!"

Yuri: "What?! How? This radar detects any activity for up to five kilometers. There's no way they could have travelled away that fast!"

Hinata: "Either they got scared... Or maybe they just disappeared"

Otonashi, still on the ground covering his head, looks up. Dead silence.

Otonashi: "Is it over?"

Yuri: "Not sure..."

Yusa scans the entire field with her thermal imaging scope. There is nothing. Otonashi and Yuri both watch her turn her body slowly in a full 360 degree motion. Just like slow motion, suddenly, Yusa's weapon drops, followed by her tripping over and her rear-end slamming in the chair as she fell. Her body falls over, and she flails in sudden pain, grasping her own throat, bleeding from it harshly. Her white school uniform top is drenched in red, and her eyes are widened. Respiration is heard through a wide gash made across her windpipe.

Otonashi: (Yelling) "Holy shit! No way!"

Otonashi crawls back towards the wall away from Yusa, frightened at the site of her near-mortal wound. Yusa attempts to talk, but comes out as small gargles, with blood rushing through the neck-wound. Yuri quickly tends to her, placing her own hands together and putting them over Yusa's hands, which were also over the wound. She applies some pressure to attempt to stop the bleeding.

Yuri: (Glancing at Otonashi) "Don't just stand there, you idiot! Do something! You're the one who wanted to be a doctor before dying!"

Yuri turns back at Yusa, trying to tend the wound. Otonashi looks in horror at them. Hinata turns around and quickly slides to the ground towards Yusa.

Hinata: "Yusa! You need to stop moving around so much!"

Yusa still flails in pain, as if she was unknown as to what happened. Otonashi stops shivering, watching Hinata and Yuri tend to her.

Yuri: "Yusa, do not pass out! You need to stay alive, you hear me?!"

Yusa suddenly begins coughing up blood through her filtration mask. The small holes over her mouth suddenly erupt crimson liquid, accidentally spitting some upward, some drops landing on Yuri's and Hinata's clothing and face. Hinata tries wiping it off with his sleeve.

Hinata: "I have an adrenaline needle!"

Yuri: "Where is it?!"

Hinata quickly stands up and heads over to the control unit towards the front of the vehicle and opens a small compartment. He grabs out a pen-sized hypodermic needle.

Otonashi: "Wait, stop! Don't!"

Yuri and Hinata both look over at Otonashi.

Otonashi: "Don't give any adrenaline! If you do, her heart rate will rise! She's already bleeding too much. That will just make her lose blood faster!"

Hinata: "We can't let her die of shock!"

Otonashi: "She needs medical attention now!"

Yuri: "You idiot! There is no med-ward anywhere near us!"

Otonashi suddenly rushes over to them. He takes off his black school uniform coat, revealing a short-sleeved, white-collared dress shirt that was tucked into his pants. He tosses his coat to the side for the moment.

Otonashi: "First of all, she needs more air!"

He quickly gets a firm grip on her mask and forces it off of her face; the elastic bands snapping in half. Otonashi quickly grabs a hold of his own mask and takes it off, tossing it also on his coat.

Otonashi: "I need a kife or something!"

Yuri stands up quickly, then hikes up right side of her skirt, revealing a sheathe with a three inch knife in it, strapped to the high part of her right thigh. Hinata and Otonashi try keeping their bearing, trying not to look at Yuri's revealed side of her undergarments. She quickly unsheathes the knife.

Yuri: "Oh come on! It's not like I'm naked!"

Ignoring her comment, Otonashi forgets about Yuri's 'moment of indecency and snatches the knife from her hands. He quickly grabs his black coat and stabs the sleeve at the shoulder, cutting it off of the piece of garment.

Yui: "The radar! They're back, guys!"

Yuri and Hinata both look at each other in surprise. Otonashi also looks up at them.

Otonashi: "I can take care of her, guys"

Yuri: "Thanks, Otonashi! We'll take care of the enemy!"

Yuri grabs her M92 pistol. Hinata goes over to his desk and opens the small compartment he grabbed the adrenaline from. He reaches inside and grabs out a pistol, a silver-colored pistol with the slide locked in the rearward position ( .45 caliber S&W 645 pistol). He reaches into his pocket and grabs out a pistol magazine, sliding it into the underside of the pistol-grip, then depresses the slide lever down. The pistol's slide smacks forward, a round locking into the chamber of the handgun.

Otonashi: "Am I the only one without a weapon here?"

Yui: "I don't technically have a weapon"

Otonashi: "Technically?!"

Yui: "I hold the controls to the self-destruct sequence of Taurus Victory"

Otonashi's eyes widen.

Yui: "Oh please! Don't give me that look! It's not like I'm gonna use it!"

Yuri: "Otonashi, focus! You need to take care of Yusa, not bicker with Yui!"

Otonashi puts his full attention towards Yusa, who's eyes were glazed over, tearing up in pain. Otonashi carefully wraps the sleeve of his coat around her neck to stop the bleeding. He keeps his hand carefully placed over it, careful not to completely cut circulation to her brain.

Otonashi: (Murmuring to Yusa) "I know it hurts, but you need to stay with me, got it?"

As Yusa tries nodding, Otonashi presses his index and middle finger on her forehead to keep her from moving.

Otonashi: "Don't move! You need to stay still"

Yusa's hands were shaking from the pain. Yuri and Hinata both make sure their masks are completely secure. Yuri looks over at Yui.

Yuri: "Yui, I need you to open the rear hatch"

Yui presses a large button on the control panel. A hatch suddenly snaps open, and the rear doors are suddenly free-moving. Yuri and Hinata quickly jump down the edge of the interior about four feet. They quickly take cover on the side opposite of where the firing was coming from. Both of them look around, trying to see past the thick fog.

Inside of the cabin, Otonashi looks outside at the fog, beginning to feel nervous.

Yui: "Don't worry, it won't seep in. We'll be fine"

Yuri looks at Hinata, they both nod at each other. Yuri's eyes look past Hinata, noticing a moving object in the distance, almost completely hidden in the fog. She quickly grabs a hold of his shoulder and forces him down to the ground. She follows down and falls with him. A loud gunshot rings out, and a round whizzes right past them. As they laid prone, Yuri quickly rolls into position and aims in the general direction, holding the pistol with both hands and her eyes going down the pistol's sights. She pulls the trigger; bullets exploding out the end of the barrel. She quickly stands to her feet and runs down the field, watching for any movements. Hinata stays down, also aiming down his sights, confused as to why Yuri was running. As she ran, she pointed her weapon in the direction she fired last, seeing a figure also move almost parallel to her own movement. She fires her weapon a multitude of times before tripping over. Hinata watches from a distance, seeing her figure within the fog trip over. Hinata sees another figure approach her, holding a long, rifle-looking object with both hands.

Hinata quickly stands and aims his weapon at the strange sillouhette. Before he could fire, his arm is hit upward by a swift kick. He loses grip of his pistol, then gripping his wrist with his other hand, in pain, then is just as quickly met with the muzzle of a rifle to his right temple. Hinata sneers, realizing there wasn't much to do. He raises his arms. The individual he was met with was indeed another human, but was covered with a motorcycle helmet and black, armor-looking clothing.

Hinata: (Nonchalant; slightly frustrated) "So I take it you all aren't here to say hi"

Suddenly, a loud, slicing sound is heard to Hinata's right, followed by a soft grunt made by a male voice. Before he could look, a body collapses over. Behind where the strange individual, Otonashi stands, holding a blood-drenched knife. The same knife Yuri lent him.

Hinata: (Surprised) "Otonashi!"

The figure approaches closely to Yuri. As she raises her weapon, lying on the ground, quickly it is kicked from her own hand. She quickly stands to her feet. The stange individual fires one round, missing Yuri by just a few inches as she ducks. She makes a grab for the barrel of the rifle. A painful, searing-burning sensation shocks through her, as her hand is burning from the hot barrel that had just fired rounds through it. She lets out a painful grunt, but only grabs onto the weapon harder. As she quickly directs the weapon away from her body, the individual fires the weapon unintentionally, causing Yuri to yell painfully from gripping the burning-hot metal. Quickly she lifts a leg up to kick at the pistol grip. A destinct snap is heard, and the individual lets out a masculine yell, letting go of the weapon and gripping his limping right hand. Yuri drops the weapon she held by the barrel and tries ignoring the painful burn. While the man was distracted by his painful, broken wrist, Yuri quickly jumps forward, the inside of her elbow meeting with the chin of the helmet the man wore. With her other hand, she quickly grabs the upper-back side of the helmet from the rear. As she landed, and in one sudden, jerking movement, as she landed on the ground, she snapped the man's neck. His body fell motionless in that very instant.

As the ordeal ended, she knelt to the ground, gripping her palm, holding it into her abdomen, in severe pain.

Yuri: "Dammit this hurts!"

Hinata: "Yuri!"

She looks to her right, seeing Hinata running towards her. He quickly kneels down to see if she was fine. He grabs her wrist to see what was hurting her so much. Her palms were blistered and dark red, and some coagulated blood covered parts of the burn.

Hinata: "Holy shit, Yuri!"

Yuri quickly retracts her hand with slight attitude.

Yuri: "I'm fine!" (Trying to hold back the pain) "Let's just go"

She quickly stands up, keeping grip on her wound.

Yuri: "Where's the third guy?"

Hinata points back at the terrain vehicle, on the right side of it, where Hinata stood before. There, a body laid, bleeding from the neck on the ground.

Hinata: "You won't believe this, but Otonashi actually killed him with that knife you lent him"

Yuri raised an eyebrow, a smirk forming at the side of her lip.

~Some Time Later...

Taurus Victory continues moving forward, and all of its passengers are back in their places, aside from Yusa and Otonashi, who both sat in the rear of the vehicle cabin, still tending to Yusa, who still laid on the ground, a makeshift 'medical scarf' that Otonashi made still tied lightly around her neck. He sat criss-crossed, his upper body almost hovering over Yusa's head to keep close observation over her actions, making sure she isn't stressing herself. Yusa's mouth still dyed a light red from blood that Otonashi managed to wipe away, but still leaving red. The floor of the cabin still partially covered in blood, near Yusa's seat. Below her lazy eyes, dark-looking marks were made from her tiredness. Yusa's eyelids were closing slightly from exhaustion. Otonashi lightly tapped her forehead with his index and middle finger. Her eyes snapped back open.

Otonashi: (Murmuring to Yusa) "You need to stay awake"

Yusa makes a valiant attempt to speak, only managing a very quiet, but barely comprehensible whisper.

Yusa: (Whispering) "Thank... You... Oto... nashi"

Otonashi: "You're welcome, Yusa. Just stay awake with us, okay? We'll be there soon"

Yuri looks back at Otonashi.

Yuri: "Hey, Otonashi..."

Otonashi: "Yes, Yuri?"

Yuri: "Thanks for helping take care of my burn"

Otonashi: "It's nothing..." (Correcting himself) "Erm, I mean... The burn is obviously something, I mean..." (Stuttering) "Me bandaging the wound isn't much of a big deal"

Yuri: (Smiling) "Geeze...

Yuri sits in the seat directly behind Hinata still, looking down at her hand, which was bandaged in a dark cloth that Otonashi cut from his school uniform coat.

The speakers inside of the cabin suddenly begin making a static noise, followed by the voice of Taurus Victory, "Passengers, we will be arriving at our destination in about ten minutes"

Otonashi: "Oh wow, that didn't seem too long at all..."

Hinata: "I wonder of the others are done with their operation"

Yuri: "I called Shiina before we left. She told me that her group should be finished by the time we arrive at Shian City"

Otonashi: "Yuri, I have a question for you..."

Yuri: (Looking back at Otonashi) "What is it?"

Otonashi: "I know this world and the world of the living vastly differ from each other, but..." (Pausing) "What happens when you die here?"

Yuri: "Oh yeah, I guess we never told you what happens when you die in this place, did we?" (Pausing) "When you die here, as soon as your body shuts down from something that could potentially cause death, your body regenerates back to its original state. It's not a fast process though. In the mortal world, it would take about six weeks for a broken arm or leg to heal almost completely. In this world, the laws are similar in that aspect. You heal faster, and you technically can't die. Your body will just regenerate itself. However, if you become dismembered, and the different parts of your body aren't in the correct places, near the separated area, your body will not heal, and you will stay dead"

Otonashi: "So how long would it take to heal from a bullet wound to the head?"

Yuri: "In this world? It depends really... Usually though, it takes less than a week" (Recalling the past) "Back in that other afterlife school place we all used to be in, I remember it took maybe two hours for someone to heal from a bullet to the head"

Otonashi: "A week? That doesn't seem so bad..."

Yuri: "Yeah, until you've been absent from all operations for that long. That entire time, you have no consciousness, no knowledge of anything, until you wake up"

Otonashi: "I see... So I take it that you've experienced death?"

Yuri: "I've only died once in my known existence, and that was when I actually died in life"

Otonashi: "Geeze, you must be good at what you do"

Yuri: "I don't fear death, but I fight with everything I have, to survive"

Hinata: "Yuri, Kanade, Ren, and Arisu are the only ones who have never died that we know. I don't think you know who Ren or Arisu is though"

Yuri: (Smiling) "So speaking of death, Otonashi... How was your first ever kill?"

Otonashi recalls a moment a few hours ago where he saved Hinata by stabbing one of the enemies in the neck with the knife Yuri lent him.

Otonashi: "My first kill? I was just trying to help Hinata"

Yuri: "True, but since I've known you, I've never ever seen or even heard of you killing anyone"

Otonashi: (Sighing) "Honestly? ... It was the creepiest feeling I've ever felt"

Yuri: "Oh you! You'll get used to it"

Otonashi: "I don't think I like killing very much"

Yuri: "You'll get over that! Before you know it, you'll be a mean, killing machine!"

Otonashi: (Glaring at Yuri) "I'm not sure if I like that very much, Yuri..."

Yui: "You seem to like helping people more than anything! Why don't you be our medical specialist!"

Otonashi: "I've never been one for violence, at least I don't think I can even see myself being violent... I like helping others more than anything, ESPECIALLY killing others"

Yuri chuckles at Otonashi.

Yuri: "Once you get your memories back, you'll see"

Otonashi: "One more question... When I get my memories back, will I still be the same person?"

Yuri: "Honestly?"

Otonashi: (Sarcastic) "Naw, I want you to lie to my face"

Yuri: (Kicking back his sarcasm) "Oh, cool... Then you can go ahead and eat a di-..."

Otonashi: (Interrupting Yuri; Smiling innocently) "Hey! Geeze! I was only kidding..."

Yuri: (Regaining her composure) "Well... You seriously haven't changed much from before. You're the same person we knew before. Nice, forgiving, helpful, and modest"

Otonashi smiles at Yuri.

Otonashi: "Thanks... I know it was a silly question, but I needed that little bit of reassurance"