The newly united scavenging team of Kageyama and Lev had a difficult time searching for texts that possibly contained the recipe for the antidote. They looked through countless shelves, but there seemed to be a distinct lack of any information regarding antidotes in general, let alone for this specific venom. This possibly meant a few things: either someone had already gotten to the recipe, or, worse, they hadn't provided the info at all and were expecting applicants to make an antidote from scratch.
"I can't find anything." Lev said.
"Same." Kageyama replied. Lev was looking around the room, trying to see if there were any bookshelves they hadn't searched. Shit, Lev thought. He noticed the rack on the far side of the room, seemingly filled with a variety of herbs and plants.
"I think they want us to figure out an antidote from scratch." Lev said, voice trembling slightly.
"What?" Kageyama asked. "How would we-"
"I might be able to do it," Lev said, still staring at the plants in the distance. "It may take some time though." he continued.
Lev walked over to the plants, Kageyama following close behind. Lev spent a moment mentally cataloging the plants that the lab had. There has to be some kind of clue, he thought.
Hinata was starting to develop a fever. Yachi had noticed it before, but it was starting to increase in temperature, and Hinata looked to be having a miserable time.
"Are you ok?" Yachi asked, trying to comfort Hinata. Hinata nodded weakly.
"Lev'll definitely be able to cure me." HInata said.
"I think so too." Yachi said.
Hinata at this point was having full blown hallucinations. He could see, or vaguely sense, dozens of other beings in the room, staring at him, hunting him. He did best to hide his fear, but it was impossible. Every fibre of his being told him to run, get out of the lab as fast as possible and hide, but he knew it was some part of the toxin causing this. Suddenly, something far less hazy began to affect him.
Hinata vaguely saw the mangled figure of Tsukishima in front of him, limbs outstretched. Yachi was trying to talk to him, but all other stimuli were fading away. Hinata cried as one of Tsukishima's bloody, boney fingers pressed against his lips. Tsukishima's smug grin was directly in front of Hinata's face. His breathing accelerated, now hyperventilating as pain seared throughout his body. Spikes of Tsukishima's fingers were piercing his skin, piercing his flesh. He tried to scream, but nothing came out.
In a flash, everything disappeared. He could vaguely hear Yachi mumble something- "attack" -before he passed out.
Lev was still busy analyzing the plants when he heard Hinata's scream. I don't have time to check on him, Lev thought, and he did his best to ignore it and concentrate on the plants. There had to be some kind of clue, he thought. The plants were all standard medicinal herbs and plants, but there was something he was missing, he could feel it.
"What are the plants?" Kageyama asked.
"They're just medicinal herbs. Same that you can find back at home." Lev said.
"This one too?" Kageyama was pointing at a strange looking plant with lots of thorns.
"No, that one's-" Lev was smacked in the side of his face with realization. Excitement lit up his entire face. "That's Sukovian Tangleweed!" he exclaimed.
"Suck of?" Kageyama was visibly confused.
"It's a plant from my home country, it's super poisonous to cats, but we use it to decorate food dishes and stuff!" Lev was beginning to put things together, realizing what the plant signified. "I think I know what the antidote is." he continued.
Lev began carefully snapping off the thorns from the plant, gathering them into a small pile.
"Kageyama, get me a pot and a dish and a funnel and a burner," Lev asked. "And some water!"
Kageyama grabbed the materials from one of the cabinets and handed them to Lev. Lev began pouring the thorns into the pot with the water. After he was finished, he set up the funnel and dish so they would collect vapor. He set the pot on the burner and began heating it up.
"You sure this is gonna work?" Kageyama asked, skeptical.
"I think it should. There's no reason why a regular plant would be among medicinal herbs like this."
The two observed as the liquid containing the thorns began to boil, greenish vapor traveling up and condensing against the glass of the dish before beginning to drip down into the funnel. It was going to be some time before they had enough liquid.
"How much are we going to need for both of us?" Kageyama asked.
"I'm going to need to distill it a few times to get it to optimal potency, so it might take a while." Lev said.
"How long is a while?" Kageyama asked, sounding slightly worried.
"We should have enough time, it may take 5 or 6 hours." Lev said, turning back to the liquid.
Time passed slowly from that point on. Kageyama could see around the room the frantic search of other applicants for resources that could help cure their teammates. He noticed two teams were already gone, probably having passed already. He wondered how they had passed so quickly, before he noticed Hinata in the distance. He looked unconscious. Worry dripped down Kageyama's spine, seemingly out of nowhere. I hope he's okay, he caught himself thinking. He mentally slapped himself. Why do I care? He thought. His gaze turned to where Tsutomi was lying. To Kageyama's surprise, Kanji was nowhere in sight. Or at least, he wasn't, until he felt tapping on his shoulder.
"Who's that giant guy?" Kanji said, startling Kageyama.
"His name is Lev, he's making the antidote." Kageyama replied.
"Okay… why are you watching him?" Kanji said, with a hint of sass.
"He's from the team we helped in the forest. He said he wants to help us back, idiot." Kageyama snapped. "Go tend to Tsutomi and leave me alone." he continued.
Kanji crept away, seemingly surprised at how quickly Kageyama had snapped at him.
It was another few hours until Kageyama had finally heard progress from Lev again.
"The first dose is done," Lev said. "Do you-"
"Give it to Hinata," Kageyama said harshly. "I'll watch the lab. Go."
Lev smiled and nodded before quickly running to where HInata was laid on the cot.
Hinata woke up to the smiling, beaming face of Yachi, who had informed him that Lev had found the antidote and given it to him. Hinata could barely comprehend the words, as his mind was filled with fuzzy confusion, but, as his eyes began to focus, he could see Lev in the distance handing a vial of something to… Kageyama, of all people. Hinata burned with rage. Why is he helping that jerk? He thought.
"Are you okay now?" Yachi asked.
"Yeah I just…" Hinata struggled to form words. "Confuse." he managed to get out.
"Oh I see.: Yachi smiled. Not long after that, the research assistant came by and drew some blood from Hinata before mixing it in a vial with some liquid. Hinata and Yachi watched confusedly as the blood began to turn green, signifying their success. Lev rushed over upon seeing the lady.
"We passed?" Lev asked.
"Applicant 677's blood is free of the toxin. Your team has passed the second phase of the Magnolia Academy Entrance Exam." the assistant said. "Congratulations. Mr. Ittetsu will lead you to the dining hall."
The three looked at each other and smiled. They had passed another hurdle. The three continued celebrating as Lev noticed the assistant heading over to the direction where Kageyama's team was next.
Hinata's mind was still clouded by haze, but one thing was clear in his mind.
Why did that jerk let me have the antidote first?