Chapter made by HeavenlyDIO
The End is Nigh!
"This planet has begun to reject us!" Shiozaki Ibara cried, standing in the middle of the common room to the 1-B dorms. "A plague, we have become on this planet, and the planet has begun to fight us! Using the very thing that we have evolved to make us unique, the virus that spreads throughout our air has begun to weaponize our very bodies! Now is His time, my friends, now we m-"
"Is she still going on with this?" Honenuki rasped, walking into the room with a bag of chips, "Hasn't it been like… 3 weeks now?"
"Mhmm." Awase hummed, playing solitaire on his phone while he hung out on the couch. Most of the class were in their dorms, but the few who haven't been driven to their breaking point by Ibara's preaching were lazily hanging around, simply trying to pass the time.
"… When did we agree we'd stop her again?"
"Day 4." Komori popped up from behind him, the shorter girl reaching in and stealing a few of his chips, moving past him to sit with Awase. "I tried filling her throat with fungus to keep her quiet, but she somehow kept going despite it?"
"Wait, when did this happen?" Honenuki had taken a seat on the armrest of the sofa, carefully eating his own handful of chips.
Awase scratched his nose, "Uh, I think it was when you and Tokage were trying to get some alone time- Monoma had gotten tired of the whole The End is Near! spiel and had tried to put a stop to it."
"Twasn't very effective." Komori added.
"Did you just use 'Twasn't'?"
"Yeah."
"Why?" Awase had to raise an eyebrow and look away from his phone to properly convey his disappointment in her.
The girl just shrugged, "I'm trying to expand past puns."
"Mmmmmm, stick to puns."
"Okay."
Honenuki leaned his arm on Awase's head, "So, Komori, how's the boyfriend?"
The Class Vice President snorted, putting his phone down and abandoning his game, "I can only assume poorly ." He turned to the now pouting mushroom, "You guys got together like, what, 20 minutes before the quarantine announcement?"
Komori placed her hands on her hips, "I'll have you know that Mezo has been nothing but a total gentleman."
Awase leaned closer to Honenuki to whisper, "I thought that dude's name was Shoji?"
"Yeah, it is, I don- OH, I get it." Honenuki gave her a lipless, teasing smile, "First name basis, huh? That must be a good sign. Has Mezo been treating little Kinoko properly." He teased her, reaching forward to tap her forehead.
"He has, yes." She answered with her arms crossed, "He's very kind, and is sensitive about his mutations. He lives his life very simply, and he wants to be a hero to make the most of himself, and to give back to his community."
"This guy sounds like a bucket of dead fish." Awase stage whispered over to Honenuki, who snickered.
"Why are you gu-"
"The end is nigh!" Ibara called out from her place on top of the coffee table, "We must act, we must confess to our bodily sins, we must cleanse ourselves of our impurities, so that we may take our place among the pearly armoured legions of His will!"
"-ys so mean to him?" Komori asked, "He hasn't done anything to you two. You're just jealous."
Awase scoffed, "Oh yeah, me, I'm jealous of the 7 foot tall, muscular… well liked guy who… who has a girlfriend." He trailed off as he listed some of the mutant student's traits, his head falling as he grew depressed.
"Uhm… You alright, Awase?" Honenuki rasped, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"… This was stupid, I don't want to play anymore." Awase sounded on the verge of tears, and despite his teasing, Komori still placed a comforting hand on his knee.
"Keep your head up, beansprout, you'll get Kendo one day." She said, patting his leg.
"Wha? But- but I'm trying to ask Yaoyarozu out on a date?"
"… Oh." She blanched, before shrugging, "Yeah, your best bet is to give up, find a girl more… believable?"
The bandana boy whined, curling up into the fetal position and leaning against Honenuki. The skeletal boy sent Komori a withering look, which with his face only looked more dreadful than normal.
"What, what did I say?"
"When His chariots stride across the plain, thou will look on in reverence to His will! He will guide us to nirvana, to-"
"Ibara!" Honenuki's call was enough to shock the girl out of her trance, her grassy head turning to look his way as she swayed on top of the table. "You've been at this for 3 weeks, I think this bit has run its course."
"Wha?" Her legs had begun to shake, and it appeared she wasn't looking at him, more just towards him. "But- but I-"
"When was the last time you had anything to eat? You hungry?"
"Uhm, uh, the- the Lo-"
"Here, I have some chips, do you want some?" Honenuki shook the bag of chips, trying to lure her closer like a cat with a bag of catnip. Ibara carefully climbed down from the coffee table, slinking over to the couch and sitting down silently, cupping her hands together and letting Honenuki pour a bit into them.
Komori nudged Awase, "Hey, hey go make Ibara some tea, will ya, who knows when she last drank something?"
"But I'm sad…" He whined.
"Oh, come on, help us out, will ya?"
Awase got off of the couch and trudged over to the kitchen, "Oh yeah, uh, Ibara, what- what kind of tea would you like?"
"Just some jasmine, please." She whispered, and he nodded his head.
"Alright, well, now that the class Saint is back to normal, Ibara, would you like to help us tease Komori over her boyfriend?" Honenuki snickered when Komori punched him in the arm, her much smaller fist proving to do very little damage.
"No no, I am fine, thank you very much." She said idly, nibbling on one of her chips. Honenuki and Komori shared an odd look, before the short girl waved her hands in front of Ibara's face. She didn't react at all, simply staring straight forward, eating her chips like she was on autopilot.
"… Huh." Komori said, tilted her head curiously, "I wonder if that's a bad sign?"
"… Hmm…" Honenuki hummed, cupping his chin for a second before letting his arms fall to his side, "Ah well, questions for later. So, about Mezo , can he extend those fingers too?"
"Why mush you be like this?!" Komori stomped her feet, beginning to throw a tantrum as the skeletal boy devolved into a fit of mocking laughter.
THE END