----- G5
Noriko was sitting in a comfortable armchair in a pleasantly furnished house that she had found while walking around. She did feel bad for breaking into someone else's house, but she figured there wasn't much else she could do, considering the situation.
And there she had spent her time hiding. She'd had some sleep, and then found some tinned food. Unfortunately, the stove wouldn't work, but there was tinned fruit, so she was able to have a nice meal. Probably a lot nicer than anyone else was having.
Then there had been the first report. Noriko had felt horrible for everyone who had died, but Haruka and Yukie especially. Her friends. Dead. Just like that.
And so she had cried by herself in that cosy little house.
Around an hour had passed since the first report, and Noriko was feeling better. Only a little. Everyone who had died was still of course dead, but there was nothing she could do to change that. There wasn't even anything she could do to stop more people being killed. At least... if there was, she hadn't thought of it yet.
Sighing, she looked up.
And nearly screamed.
There was a face at the window.
----- H5
Yukiko and Yoji left the shrine in silence. They both knew that conversation would probably only make things harder. They continued walking east, a direction that seemed as good as any.
Yukiko walked behind Yoji, treading in his shadow as they moved across the dry earth. Always walking in someone's shadow. Was that what Yoji was becoming? Her replacement for Yumiko?
No... Yoji's a friend... but no one could ever replace Yumiko.
Yukiko and Yumiko, the two of us, always the two of us!
But she's not here anymore...
Yukiko gazed up at the back of Yoji's neck. He seemed to be keeping his eyes ahead to make sure they didn't run blindly into anyone. How typical of me... letting someone else do the important stuff... I was always holding Yumiko up and now I'm holding Yoji up...
"I... there's so much!"
"Maybe I should order for you."
Yumiko grinned cheerfully, and Yukiko tried her hardest to stop herself blushing from embarrassment. It was always like this...
"Oh, they do noodles with vegetables! You like that!" she said, gazing down the menu. "And mushroom soup!"
"Erm... OK" Yukiko replied unsurely. "I'll have... erm... that then."
Yumiko nodded and raised her hand in the air to attract the attention of the waiter.
He sidled over with a pen and small clipboard in hand. "Yes?" he asked politely.
"Let's see... a 14, 2 35s and an 11" Yumiko said.
"And to drink?"
"2 78s please"
Yukiko stared in bewilderment. She knew each order had a number, but it was still all so confusing. She didn't know what she'd do if she didn't have Yumiko. Probably starve to death...
"Yoji, I'm thirsty." Yukiko said. Yoji's own bad was long lost, but they'd found Yukiko's at the shrine.
He turned. "Sure."
A moment later, he'd taken out one of the bottles of water and handed it to her. She drunk it thirstily, not minding the lukewarm taste.
After she'd finished drinking what she wanted, she handed the bottle back and looked up at her new friend. "Yoji?"
"Hmm?" he grunted as he put the bottle back in Yukiko's bag and zipped it up.
"Do you know how to order things in a restaurant? Like... those ones where everything on the menu has a number?"
Yoji gazed at her in confusion. "Erm... yeah. I don't get it... is this a metaphor or something?"
"I don't know..." Yukiko sighed, "I was never any good with stuff like that. I was just thinking about this time when Yumiko had to order for me because I got so confused."
Yoji reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder. "She'll be fine." he said reassuringly.
"That's now what I mean"
"Oh..."
Yukiko took a deep breath. "It reminded me of the class list, that's all. The horrible list on the back of the map with everyone's name next to a number like we're just items instead of people. Normally, I'd ask Yumiko to tell me which things were good and which were bad, but I don't know without her... I don't know who we can trust. Sure, lots of people at school are nice, and I can't imagine any of them killing! But that's just it... they are killing, and I don't know why!"
For a moment, Yoji just stared at her. "... that's a pretty obscure connection..."
Suddenly, without any warning, Yukiko burst into tears. "I know! I know!" she cried. "I'm trying to be sensible, I really am, but I'm no good without Yumiko! I can't do anything by myself! I'm trying!"
Yoji quickly put his arms around her comfortingly, as he had no other ideas of what to do.
"I'm useless!" Yukiko continued to sob into Yoji's chest. "I'd have given up hope at the beginning if Yumiko hadn't been there... and if you hadn't been there... Mitsuko would have... she'd..."
"Yukiko, it's OK..." Yoji said soothingly. "I'll look after you, I promise."
"I'll only be holding you up!" Yukiko replied sadly.
Yoji pulled away from the embrace to look Yukiko in the eyes. "I'm glad you're here." he said. "If you hadn't been, I'd have fallen apart by now. I can't do this by myself either. So let's do it together, OK?"
Yukiko smiled weakly. Maybe it wasn't so bad to need people... especially if they needed you back. "OK" she murmured. "... thank you Yoji."
Yoji grinned. "Come on then. Let's keep going."
----- G5
Finally! He'd found someone!
"Hey Noriko! Let me in!" Keita cried happily.
Noriko raised a hand to her beating heart. It had been such a shock. She hadn't heard him come up to the window at all... but at least it was Keita! He was friends with Shinji and Yutaka, so he couldn't be all that bad. He played on the team with Shuuya. She'd heard about him and Shinji falling out, but she didn't really know what it was all about, and besides, boys were like that. They fell out with each other all the time.
She quickly walked towards the front door, and Keita ran around the side of the house to greet her.
Noriko picked the keys up from the table in the hall near the door that she'd found earlier. The door was unlocked and swung open, and there was Keita, smiling with wide eyes. Something about his expression made Noriko feel a little nervous.
"Noriko! I'm so glad I found you!" Keita exclaimed. "I've been all alone..."
"Me too!" Noriko replied, "but now neither of us are alone!"
Keita nodded enthusiastically. "So, you'll let me stay with you?"
"Sure!" Noriko answered. "I couldn't turn you away, could I? We all need company at a time like this..."
Keita gazed at her suspiciously. She was just like the rest of course. Shinji had told them, hadn't he? Lies! Lies about Keita! And everyone believed them... no friends for Keita since then, oh no... was she up to something? Was she telling the truth? Wait and see... wait and see...
The two continued to stand awkwardly in the doorway, till Noriko said: "There's tinned fruit in the kitchen. Would you like some?"
Keita nodded. "Yeah, thanks Noriko!"
She smiled and walked into the kitchen. Keita cast a quick glance around his shoulder before he stepped into the house and closed the door. No one was following him... good...
Inside, the house was friendly enough, though Keita was wise enough to know that things that looked friendly could often be something else.
But they still couldn't come for him. He was with someone... couldn't hurt him now, Noriko would see.. oh yes. No more hurting.
Noriko could see him out of the corner of her eyes... he was lingering in the doorway to the kitchen. There was something quite uneasy about him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. He'd seemed so happy to find her, and while Noriko had been happy too... he had seemed just a little too happy.
Keita smiled. Noriko looked a little worried... but no matter. He was with her now. She wouldn't go away... oh no...
I won't let her go away!
-----
Yoji and Yukiko could see a house not far off. They had been walking for a while now, and combined with their exhaustion from the night before, they decided it would be best to stop. Yumiko might have had the same idea, and while they really didn't have any way of knowing where she was, anything was worth a shot.
They approached the small gate in the little white fence that bordered the garden at the front of the house. The garden itself was overgrown, and looked as if it had been that way since before the evacuation.
The two of them walked cautiously towards the front door. The house was looking larger now, and more foreboding. Yukiko held back a little, letting Yoji take the lead. He was nervous himself, every step closer making him want to turn back. What if there was someone else inside? Someone who would attack them like Mitsuko?
But it might be Kazushi... it might be Yoshimi...
Yoji raised his hand, and pushed the door.
Noriko gasped loudly as she heard the door open. Keita... he hadn't locked it as he came in! She looked up, but Keita wasn't there anymore. The doorway to the kitchen was empty. So... maybe he had opened the door. That in itself lead to more questions. Why did he go outside?
Slowly, Noriko moved forward to the door of the kitchen. The front door was just to the left and...
Something caught her eye to the right. Keita was crouching behind an old grandfather clock, shaking, his eyes alive with fear.
Noriko knew what that meant.
Slowly, she turned her head to look down the corridor the other way.
The door was wide open, and there stood two figures.
Yoji and Yukiko...
Noriko wasn't sure what to make of Yoji. She didn't know him well, but he was friends with Kazushi, and going out with Yoshimi, which didn't seem like a good combination to her. But Yukiko... her and Yumiko were both really nice. Friends with Shuuya and Yoshitoki too... so...
Why were they together?
"Hi..." Noriko said, still unsure of what to make of the situation.
Yukiko smiled. "Noriko! Hi! And... Keita right?"
Keita was still crouching behind the clock, and at the sound of his name, he simply nodded. It seemed he had calmed down, though the look of terror on his face was still evident.
"Are you two... together?" Noriko asked.
Yukiko nodded. "I'm looking for Yumiko, and Yoji's looking for Kazushi and Yoshimi, so we're looking together!"
Noriko relaxed. They were just as scared and worried as she was. Noriko was beginning to think that everyone was going through exactly the same thing... and that the past really didn't matter anymore. Everyone was the same in the end.
"There's some tinned fruit, me and Keita were about to have some... do you want some too?"
BOYS
#1 Yoshio Akamatsu
#2 Keita Iijima
#3 Tatsumichi Ooki
#4 Toshinori Oda
#5 Shogo Kawada
#6 Kazuo Kiriyama
#7 Yoshitoki Kuninobu
#8 Yoji Kuramoto
#9 Hiroshi Kuronaga
#10 Ryuhei Sasagawa
#11 Hiroki Sugimura
#12 Yutaka Seto
#13 Yuichiro Takiguchi
#14 Shou Tsukioka
#15 Shuuya Nanahara
#16 Kazushi Niida
#17 Mitsuru Numai
#18 Tadakatsu Hatagami
#19 Shinji Mimura
#20 Kyouichi Motobuchi
#21 Kazuhiko Yamamoto
GIRLS
#1 Mizuho Inada
#2 Yukie Utsumi
#3 Megumi Etou
#4 Sakura Ogawa
#5 Izumi Kanai
#6 Yukiko Kitano
#7 Yumiko Kusaka
#8 Kayoko Kotohiki
#9 Yuko Sakaki
#10 Hirono Shimizu
#11 Mitsuko Souma
#12 Haruka Tanizawa
#13 Takako Chigusa
#14 Mayumi Tendou
#15 Noriko Nakagawa
#16 Yuka Nakagawa
#17 Satomi Noda
#18 Fumiyo Fujiyoshi
#19 Chisato Matsui
#20 Kaori Minami
#21 Yoshimi Yahagi
31 to go