"When you're over there, be careful, okay?"
"Okay".
Kazuichi watched as Hajime walked away with his vomit covered clothes, he wondered if the rest of them will be okay without Hajime. "As long as we stay together, I think we'll be okay".
He made his way to the marina where the others were, hoping they don't react that much. Wishful thinking, he almost forgot who he was dealing with. All he could do was endure it.
"What do you mean he's not coming!?"
"He needs to go get cleaned up AND keep an eye on Nagito so nothing bad happens". Of course, Akane would be mad, the others looked worried but at least they're not panicking. "It'll be okay, we can do this without him, we just need to collect anything useful and put them in the back of the barge".
"Okay, shouldn't be that hard". It seems that Mahiru has already named herself leader, everyone was paying attention to her instead of Kazuichi. "Let's go".
Everyone hopped on board the barge as Kazuichi made his way to where the wheel was located, he was very worried about getting motion sickness again. Unless he isn't going, he has to go through it. "Okay… here we go".
The engine started working, no problem so far. The barge is moving perfectly, he really thought something bad would happen at this point. He stopped thinking about possible mistakes that could ruin everything and switched his focus to steering.
"By the way, I need to know something". Mahiru approached Sonia with something to ask. Sonia was very happy to be able to talk to Mahiru again but was a little concerned.
"What's the matter?"
"He gave his body to shield the one he loves" The moment she said those words, Akane quickly turned her attention to Sonia and Mahiru, she knew what was coming next. "What did you mean by that?"
"Oh!" Sonia seemed very excited; her eyes sprinkled like before. Akane turned her back to them and covered her face because she was embarrassed. "AKANE AND HAJIME ARE IN LOVE!"
"WHAT!" Her reaction was understandable for the most part, but she looked like she was about to pass out.
"I know, right? Isn't it amazing?" Mahiru couldn't believe what she just heard, Akane looked worse, her whole face was red. Again, understandable.
"Really. Congratulations". Peko was surprised, but not that much. Fuyuhiko facepalmed after hearing all that.
"For fuck's sake, is it going to be like this with everyone else?"
"We're here!" Fuyuhiko's question would have to go unanswered because they have officially arrived at the second island, now the hard part begins.
Kazuichi was the first to get off the barge as he had to tie it down to something, like a tree. Something that won't move or break. The moment he tied it down, he could feel the motion sickness hitting him. "Oh…no".
The others saw Kazuichi ran off into the woods, they were surprised he even lasted this long. "He'll be fine, let's get this over with". Fuyuhiko reassured everyone, that's a first.
Kazuichi was completely surrounded by trees, at least he won't puke on anyone this time. After he relieved himself he took a minute to take in the scenery, he was extremely shocked when he realised that there were corpse everywhere. Not recent, thankfully. They're mostly skeletons and they smelt terrible.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Kazuichi turned to see Fuyuhiko and the girls, same shocked expression as him, not surprising that Mahiru and Sonia couldn't help but scream, Peko and Akane were just speechless.
They never imagined that they would see something like this since they escaped the killing game, but most of the world looks just like this. Some countries look like war zones, others are like Chernobyl, completely abandoned. Seeing a dead body wasn't new to the group but the ones they saw were all fresh or a day old at least. These ones could have been here since the tragedy started.
"Jabberwock island used to have people here, didn't they?" Akane was making sense, this definitely peaked Sonia's interest since she read about this in the library of the virtual world. "Maybe these guys are former residents".
"Well, what do we do? Should we do something about this?" Peko voiced her concern.
"I wouldn't feel right if we didn't do anything, let's give them a proper burial". Sonia felt guilty, people died because of them being influenced by Junko Enoshima and her Despair.
"Fine. Sonia, Peko and I will stay here and bury these bodies. Mahiru, Akane and Kazuichi go look around for equipment that could be useful". This time, Fuyuhiko took charge. Peko seemed surprised to see Fuyuhiko being a team player, he's definitely changing for the better.
"Alright, let's go. We've got work to do". Mahiru says as she leads the way.
"Geez. These building don't look anything like the ones from the simulation. What happened?" Mahiru was the first to speak, catching the attention of Akane and Kazuichi.
"Those people must have gone crazy and killed each other… like us, I mean we've killed a lot of people". Kazuichi felt depressed saying that.
"Are you sure? I mean maybe Junko lied to us". Akane brought up a good point, maybe it's a possibility.
"Junko was insane, but I don't think she lied. There were a few things she didn't make clear, but she seemed very serious". Not what Mahiru and Akane wanted to hear but it's not like they could deny it. they didn't know what to think. "I'll check over there, you two search around this area. If you find anything useful, take it back to the barge".
They watched Kazuichi walk off into the distance, something useful must be here somewhere. Mahiru took this opportunity to talk to Akane alone. "Hey, are you really in love with Hajime?"
She nearly had a heart attack after being asked that, unfortunately it's not like she could avoid answering the question. Her face was bright red like before, she then covered her face with her hands, Mahiru couldn't believe what she was witnessing.
"Oh my god, you DO love him!"
"… yeah". It took a bit to get that out of her, but at least Mahiru finally understood what was going on. "Can we just focus on finding stuff already?" She's trying to change the subject, poorly I might add.
"Okay… but when we get back, I'm talking to Hajime about this".
"Dammit".
"To those who lost their lives in the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history, we are so sorry. We don't know how you died, but if it's because of us and people like Junko Enoshima, then once again we apologise. Hopefully, you'll be able to rest in peace". Sonia was saying a few words of respect to the dead, hoping it makes the group feel better.
"Come on, we should help the others with finding useful equipment". Peko suggested they go find the others.
"Right". Fuyuhiko responded.
"Hey guys, you mind helping me out?" Kazuichi returned to let the others know that he found something, something heavy perhaps. "I found a few useful things, not much though".
"Then let's get a move on already!" Fuyuhiko is at his limit. He just wants to go back to his cottage to rest.
An hour has passed since Kazuichi, Peko, Sonia and Fuyuhiko set off to bring the useful equipment back to the barge, Akane and Mahiru were already waiting there. Sadly, they didn't have the same luck with finding anything useful, all they could do was help with the other's equipment. They didn't seem to care that much.
"This is it? I expected to fill the barge to the top. You think Hajime will be disappointed?" Again, Peko was the first the speak up.
"A little bit, perhaps". Sonia responded with uncertainty.
"I feel like he might kill me". Kazuichi said that based on what happened back on the airfield, the others didn't reply. "He can be pretty scary".
"He is very intimidating, but he is a good person". Sonia voiced her opinion next, trying not to disrespect her friend behind his back.
"What's up with his eye? It wasn't red before". Of course, someone was bound to ask that question sooner or later and it had to be Mahiru.
"I think it's best if he explains that himself". She defended him; Sonia was happy to see Akane defend the one she loves.
"So, we're done right? Then let get back on the barge and fucking go home!" He finally snapped; Peko was surprised of how much he's changed. The old Fuyuhiko wouldn't have helped at all.
"Yeah, let's go home".
"Here we are, the marina". Hajime, Nagito, Mikan and TeruTeru were at the marina, waiting for the others to return, hopefully with enough equipment to keep them going.
"Hey Hajime, should we check out this warehouse? It could have something interesting inside". Nagito said as he was about to open the front door, was it a good idea? Only one way to find out.
"Alright, Mikan and TeruTeru, come with us. If there's something in there, we might need your help".
"O-Okay".
"I'll do my best".
Nagito opened the door to a dark room, they couldn't see anything. Maybe there was a light switch somewhere. Nagito started to feel the wall trying to find the light switch. Thankfully, he found it, the moment he felt it, he flicked it and the lights went on. It was bright at first, but when their visions cleared, they saw it was filled with A LOT of supplies. Medkits, food crates, different kinds of tools, almost everything they could imagine.
"WOW! Look at all the ingredients!" TeruTeru was practically drooling when he saw all the food. Mikan did the same when she saw all the medical supplies.
"Wait a minute, was this here the whole time?" Nagito couldn't help but ask. Hajime facepalmed realizing that Kazuichi's little trip might have been a waste of time.
"Apparently, would have been nice if Makoto and the others informed as about this warehouse. Kazuichi's not going to be pleased".
"Hey, look who's back!" Nagito pointed to the water where the barge was spotted heading it's way back to the marina. "From the looks of it, they brought back very little. But I'm sure they tried their best".
"I'm sure they did. Come on, let's go greet them". He and Nagito went to the dock without Mikan and TeruTeru, he wanted to keep their awakening a surprise, for now.
After tying the barge down, Kazuichi once again ran off to go relieve himself, Hajime couldn't help but chuckle a little. The others saw Hajime and Nagito waiting for them and ran up to them. "What have you guys been doing?" Mahiru was the first to approach them.
They said nothing, all they did was point at the warehouse. Everyone made their way inside; they couldn't believe what they saw. "That's a lot of food, I'll never go hungry again". Akane was obviously happy to see the contents of the warehouse.
"I know, right?" TeruTeru popped his head around the corner, startling most of them.
"TeruTeru!? You're awake!?"
"It's not just me".
At that moment they all heard a sound, something fell over. They all rushed over to where the noise was coming from. They were surprised to see Mikan in a sticky situation, on the floor and soaked in milk and other drinks.
"Mikan too!?"
"I'm sorry… please… forgive me".
"Let's focus on getting everything off the barge first. Mikan, go clean yourself up".
"O-Okay".
"TeruTeru, Akane, Peko, Fuyuhiko and Sonia. You guys handle the barge. Kazuichi, Mahiru, Mikan, Nagito and I will take crates from the warehouse to the restaurant. It's getting dark so we better hurry.