I peered around the corner of the street to see what awaited us on the road ahead. To my surprise, the scene before me was a complete ghost-town. Sure we had been travelling for a good twenty minutes now without seeing anything out of the ordinary, but this was the first main road we'd come across so if we were going to find trouble this would be the place. After giving the street one final sweep, I stepped away from the corner and strode back down the street I came from. At the end of said street was the group; some sitting down and taking the chance to relax, while some were discussing the plans. Upon seeing me, Mukuro broke away from the group.
"See anything?"
"Nothing, just some abandoned cars and wrecked houses" I replied
"That's strange…" Mukuro murmured as she walked by my side.
I hummed in agreement as everyone prepared themselves to continue on.
"So, Naegi, where are we headed exactly?" Leon asked as he stretched his arms out.
"Tokyo tower" I said while pointing to the building which peaked behind rows of buildings on the horizon.
"Why there?"
"It's the closest landmark and where's there's landmarks, there's tourist areas" Mukuro explained.
"And that's where you hope to find a map, correct?" Togami questioned with his usual apathetic tone and cocked eyebrow.
Mukuro simply nodded in response.
Togami huffed in response but did not say a word before setting off.
"Let's get going then…." I muttered under my breath while trying to catch up with the Heirs long strides.
XxX
Our group meandered down the desolate street with Togami and Mukuro on point while the rest of us lagged behind by a few paces. Out of the periphery of my eye, I saw a certain detective make a beeline for an alleyway to my left.
"Kirigiri? You see something?" I called out.
"Come see for yourself"
I would be lying if this didn't immediately pique my curiosity. If Kirigiri had deemed it interesting enough to investigate further, then it was probably something important. While turning the corner of the alley, I saw what had gotten the detectives attention. Slumped against the wall, three bodies with hoods over their heads and wrists bound lay dead. Utterly repulsed by the scene, I quickly dropped my gaze to the floor and shot out an arm to support myself.
"A rather grizzly scene…" Kirigiri muttered quietly.
"Y-Yeah…" I stammered, trying my best not to throw up from the awful smell.
Kirigiri repositioned one of the bodies to get a better look. The cause of death was easy to solve. The face of the straw hood had a large hole punched through it with dried blood splattered around it and on the floor below the body. Bullet cases lay dormant next to the cadavers, one for each body.
"J-Jeez…" I breathed, trying to settle rattled nerves.
Unperturbed by my reaction, the girl scrutinised the body of what appeared to be a woman.
"Textbook execution…" The detective mused "Whomever did this is one vile human being, that's for sure"
Kirigiri then proceeded to frisk the body up and down.
"Oh…"
"Huh? S-Something wrong?" I asked, trying desperately not to let worry perforate my voice.
Kirigiri's hand dove down to the pocket of the cadaver and returned with a black rectangular shaped object with silver trimmings. The item wasn't too large or too small, in fact it was the perfect size to fit into Kirigiri's gloved palm. With further investigation, the girl noticed a switch on the side of box and pushed it inquisitively. A wicked sharp blade sprung out in a flash, much to my surprise.
"A switchblade…In the confusion, they must not have been able to get it out and release themselves" The girl deduced before handing the knife to me. "You will probably have more use for it then me"
"Urmm… Y-You sure about that?" I wondered as I held the object awkwardly.
"No, but I don't want it"
"A-Ah, I see. Well then, can we go?" I muttered awkwardly, still keeping my eyes averted from the ghastly scene.
"Yes, I don't believe we gain anything from staying. While I have you here, how are you doing with the walking?"
"Urm fine I think…" I answered.
"Don't push your limits, if you need a break then just tell us. If you overextend your boundaries, you're only going to make your injury worse" she said as she stood back up and straightened herself out.
"Okay…I promise I won't"
"Good" She affirmed
Just as she said this, Ishimaru popped his head around the corner.
"Are you two rea- "
Ishimaru's voice stopped abruptly when he saw the carnage in the alley. The short pause was followed by a short scream that bubbled from the mouth of the moral compass.
"Yes, I believe we are" Kirigiri said as she walked on past the petrified Ishimaru.
"H-Hu-Huh?" Ishimaru wheezed as she passed by.
I patted his shoulder soothingly in an effort to get him to stop gawking at the awful scene.
"C'mon Ishimaru…"
XxX
After perhaps another hour of making our way through barren streets, we made it to the tower. It didn't take us long to find a map of Tokyo and the surrounding areas in one of the hotels which sat in the shadow of the grand tower.
"Alright, let's find our way out of this shithole" Mondo grunted as he spread the map across the bonnet of a nearby car.
"So, we're here"
Mukuro pointed to the tower on the map
"And we are going to want to take the quickest route outta this clusterfuck of a city, right?" Leon asserted.
"That may be so, but if we still plan to find refuge at the Togami HQ in Kyoto then it may be wise to find a route that heads west as opposed to north or east" Togami suggested.
"Right… Oh! This road through Hachioji looks like the best bet" Maizono chimed in while tracing the route highlighted in blue with her finger.
"We may get a good view of Mt. Fuji too! Oooh, can we climb it?" Hina grabbed Oogami's arm and gave it a slight tug as she pointed to the mountain on the map. "Pretty please?"
Oogami looked down at her companion with a small but warm smile before.
"One day we will, however now is not the time"
Hina pouted ever so slightly and muttered. "I'm going to hold you too that…"
Togami quickly snapped his fingers at the two, to get their attention. "Attention front and centre please"
Asahina didn't take to kindly to the Heir's behaviour. She opened her mouth to respond and she would've if it wasn't for the calm hand of Oogami that pulled her back ever so slightly.
"Anyways, to walk all the way to Kyoto…That would be a massive undertaking" Celes observed while holding her chin with her talon and scanning the route to our destination.
"Yes, truly, a journey that most hero's would shy away from!" Hifumi concurred.
"Who said we'd have to walk it?" Mukuro commented. "By foot it could take weeks but by car it would be a matter of days, if that"
Togami snorted in amusement, as if laughing at the Soldier's idea.
"While travelling by car would be ideal, we would need at least three cars to fit us all and we would need them to be in adequate condition"
"W-Which is going to be impossible in this place…" Fukawa pointed to the cracked pavement and trashed house to make her point. "It's completely wrecked"
"Furthermore, we want to get out of here as soon as possible rather than stick around any longer" Kirigiri affirmed.
"Yeah, I don't wanna be anywhere near here when Junko sends out those bastard bears to kill us…" Leon sighed.
"Speaking of which" Hagakure looked around as he spoke. "We haven't come across any trouble yet…"
"Your point being?" Ishimaru asked.
"Well… That's weird right… Like its giving me the creeps you know…"
"Junko probably wants to give us a head start, make the chase more enjoyable" Celes theorized. "A proverbial game of cat and mouse"
"That's horrible!" Fujisaki whimpered. "Who can think like that!?"
"There's no point in trying to comprehend Junko, she only exists to spread despair..." I said with a heavy tone.
"Back to the topic at hand, I reckon we could find some cars in a town on the way to Kyoto and we can just siphon petrol as we go along" Mukuro said as she folded up the map. "We can get Oowada to hotwire if needed"
"Oh of course the gang leader knows how to hotwire because he's just a criminal, right?" Oowada growled.
"So you're saying you can't hotwire?" The soldier rebutted.
"Tha-…That's not the point!"
Oowada grumbled and huffed more as he walked off in the wrong direction.
"This way you fucking jackass!" Leon shouted after him.
He immediately regretted this when the Biker spun around to face the All-star. Mondo looked so enraged that I thought his eyes were going to start shooting lasers and setting fire to the surroundings. A forehead vein started poking out aggressively as he cracked his knuckles and approached Leon. Leon started backing up very quickly with hands stretched out.
"L-L-Look i-I'm sorry dude!" The All-star screeched.
This did not stop the rapid advance of the Biker. I could practically feel an aura of death and anger surround him as he strode past me. While trying to escape, Leon tripped and landed arse first on the ground.
"P-Puh-Please! Not the face!" Leon screamed as he closed his eyes, preparing for pain.
The aggressor reeled up a leg to kick Leon at full strength and pace… Only to put his foot down and walk on past him.
"You shat yourself you absolute pussy!" Oowada guffawed as he marched in the opposite, and correct, direction.
"They're both…complete idiots…" Maizono said with a completely puzzled expression.
Kirigiri appeared next to me and gave me a slight nudge.
"You have definitely got your work cut out for you…" She quipped with a slight smile.
"That I do Kirigiri. That I do"
XxX
"So, when are you going to break the news to Togami" Mukuro inquired.
Myself, Kirigiri and the Soldier had separated ourselves slightly from the rest of the group, letting Oowada and Ishimaru lead and follow the marked our route.
After a momentary pause, I turned my gaze away to the floor and to the soldier,
"I don't think I'm going too. The way I see it is that we might as well go in that direction anyways, perhaps find a boat and go to one of the islands. Perhaps cross into Shikoku or Kyushu. Besides, I think it would be best if he sees for himself rather than me telling him"
"Fair enough, let's hope he doesn't find out before then"
"Naegi, we should find some supplies before we find a place to stop for the night" Kirigiri uttered.
"Way ahead of you, I saw a sign for a shopping complex that should only be a couple of blocks away"
Just as the sign had said, there was a sprawling mass of shops all lined up in rows in the style of a plaza. We gathered around the entrance and looked upon the scene in front of us. As with a lot of the scenery we had seen recently, the complex looked like it had seen better days. Smashed glass, cracked pavement, destroyed property and a couple of sprawled corpses that we were all giving a wide berth. I made my way to the front of the pack and stood up unto one of the steps to the mall.
"Okay people. Look everywhere you can for food, water, medical supplies, equipment and anything else you're going to need like a toothbrush or toilet paper. Get a backpack and fill it up with what you can get but make sure that everyone gets a fair share, we may have to ration if we can't find much. Lastly, get a change of clothes. Make sure what you're wearing comfortable so you can walk in it and get a waterproof jacket just in case it rains. No high heels, looking at you Celes. Alright, nobody go off alone and we'll regroup here in about half an hour"
With that, everyone spread out to sort themselves out, some in groups and some by themselves. Satisfied that everyone was going to be fine, I headed upstairs to one of the many clothes stores. Like a lot of the other stores, it was in pretty bad condition. However, they weren't as bad as some of the others. After settling on some clothes, I dashed into a changing room. A simple V-necked white t-shirt with a blue and white chequered shirt over it, a pair of ordinary but rugged jeans with a black belt wrapped around it and of course a new pair of boxers. I also replaced my sneakers with a comfortable pair of sand coloured boots with a tough sole. Before leaving I grabbed a watch that was still ticking, a deep brown strap and a black face, and forest green backpack with golden buckles that I could stuff a coat inside.
I made my back down to the ground floor and noticed a couple of the group surrounded around one shop in particular. It was a small convenience store that was completely stripped clean of anything and everything. However, that wasn't what everyone was looking at. At the back was a door that Mondo was profusely kicking and pushing at with Hagakure and Hifumi acting as spectators.
"What's happening?" I called out the group.
"Tryin to get into the store room. Obviously" Oowada grunted as he kicked the door again.
"Which has thus far proved to be a fruitless endeavour" Hifumi declared in a rather grandiose tone.
"Perhaps looking for a key would be better idea"
Kirigiri stepped into the store and approached the door.
"And you think we haven't looked for that?" Hagakure whined.
"Probably not hard enough" The Detective chided
Kirigiri approached one of the cash machines and traced the edges. She then knelt down and started trailing a hand over one of the shelves under the cash machines.
"Just as I thought" Kirigiri concluded as she produced a key that had apparently been taped to the bottom of a shelf.
The girl slipped the key into the lock and opened the door up.
"Well done Kirigiri!" I congratulated as I joined her in the store room.
"Yeah nice find!" Hagakure agreed with a thumbs up.
Unfortunately, the store room held a lot less food and water then we hoped. Between fifteen people, the amount we had amounted would only keep us fed for a couple of days provided we rationed correctly, if that. The owner or manager must have grabbed what he could before bailing on this place. That being said, finding some food was better than finding no food at all. After we divvyed up all the food and water, we gathered back at the entrance.
"We should find a place to stay the night soon, it's getting late" Mukuro nudged.
"Yeah let's get some rest…" I looked at the gorgeous orange skies that hung over us. Then, I looked unto the horizon where the glowing sun was slowly sinking away. "And tomorrow we get out of Tokyo…"
A/N Okay people i have returned from death to give you the next instalment of FTCOD. Tests have kind of been killing me. I got really bad marks in my mocks but then i revised my arse off and got A's in my re-dos so thats here ive been this entire time.
Unfortunately, i may have to put myself on semi hiatus because i have the real thing coming up in may so i need to concentrate. Im really sorry about this but it must be done. Hopefully ill be able to upload alot more in the summer and you may get a new chapter if find sometime between school, work, gym and football but dont be surprised if i dont update anytime soon. I have no plans to completely end this either and your continued support gives me the motivation so please dont bail on me or any of my two stories (only one on )
P.s This chapter is really rough- i know but it's this or nothing Arrivederci my loyal readers! You're all amazing, review, kudos, follow all that shit and ill see you next time