This one is more interesting and passionate than the previous chapter was; I wish I could just translate it without so many grammar mistakes. I gave the title "8b" because I wrote this chapter later than the 9th - I think this is necessary here, it helps understand the relationship between Fuyumi and Shoda.
Chapter 8b
"He still loved me. I know it... I feel it..."
Fuyumi Morimoto's (girls #7) face was covered in tears again and again as the emptiness in her soul and the puzzledness in her mind made the girl to think through the "sensational escape" of theirs, which became hell in no time. She remembered everything as she would have been there again, in that adventure from earlier... as she took notice to the wolf pens on the base floor... the cold fear, which shook her body fully...
She could start running at first because of her boy partner - she didn't like him very much anyway... then that fresh, may-fragrance came from the direction of a forest as they stepped into the nature.
... Everything set in great darkness, the trees and bushes were moveless, only the wind echoed with screaming of the other 3/e members. The forest seemed quiet and homelike, then suddenly filled with tigerly howl came from the wolves and distress crying came from many boys and girls. All these cries sounded hysteric and rusty, nobody could say, which voice belong whom, is it a boy or a girl. Fuyumi followed her partner with set lips, as fast as she could - well, she was a good athlete once, but many years passed since then, so the absence of the everyday training was sensible now. Because of the running she felt the beating of her heart, like never before, she could barely breathe and the dry air burned the eyes extremely.
It was a good question however, why the stumpy, but fatless boy was the only hitch in front of her, who took some looks back sometimes to make certain, Fuyumi is okay. Otherwise, he was very persist in saving his life namely, making a way for himself in the high undergrown. Yeah, that was the thing, Fuyumi was angry about - she have to share a life with this... kid - so if he dies, Fuyumi will follow him most likely. She didn't have any other option - it's not a request show, ya know - since accepting the facts.
She followed her mate relatively well, even if she felt, her legs have already given up the flight. Not as their hunters', the students couldn't been able to get shot of them, many teeth clapped hungrily for flesh, not only in their backtrail - a whole pack of wolves were running after the crying class.
Fuyumi thought, she and her partner are not alone, more truly, she felt some of the student's gasping in the near mixed with some bush-rustle. For a proof, after the rustle, there was a noise, what people could only hear when somebody fell off. Fuyumi turned the head right, so she saw, that another pair was there, about 10 metres far from her. And a girl was lying on the ground.
Fuyumi slowed down without her will, meanwhile she tried to figure out, who was the unlucky victim.
"Come, on! We have no time for this!" her mate, Michio Otomo (boys #13) finally sounded in his urgent voice "I want to live, damn it!"
The last sentence was drown out by the beasts, they howled loudly as rarely, that made Fuyumi realise, how narrow the distance is between the wolves and themselves.
'His right, we can't help anyone at the moment... everyone should take care for themselves, they have to watch their own back. Oh, God... Kirika... Erina...'
The terror in her heart almost made her freeze, it seemed as the duo from 10 metres heard her thought. An agonising yell thrilled the leaves on the trees; Fuyumi couldn't see another direction, only into that. It was Kirika Kido girls #5), the girl, who screamed before. Another person answered in a grum deep voice right away, and that person was... well... closer to the Morimoto girl, as she thought by that time.
"Come, I'll help! Hurry!" Baku Shoda (boys #11) helped Kirika up from the ground and they started to run with great speed.
"What's wrong with you, Fuyumi?! I don't wanna get smeared here!" Otomo didn't try to hide his angry feelings anymore, he snapped at the girl.
Who didn't listened to him, she rather went after the others.
"Baku" she shouted uncertainly, then decisively again, while started running with all the powers "Baku!"
Baku and Kirika had the advantage in the course of fleeing, but hearing Fuyumi's voice...
"Fuyumi!" Shoda recognised the girl, he sounded a bit hysteric and some branches crackled as a sound of the boy's turning-back.
The wolves also approached, that's why Fuyumi had to hurry. She got a glimpse back only once, it was enough to see the pack as a dozen grey shadows. Finally she and Shoda crossed each other's path.
"Fuyumi, are you alright? Let's go, they have at our heels!" he took a deep breath to gather some strength and without any word, they all continued running. Kirika didn't have a long wind, her round face was pale and covered in sweat - she couldn't even say a single word loudly, just groaning. They just run and run only with the survival (or maybe with the laughing face of the Death) on their mind. The trio had some hope - not much, just a little - maybe the animals (the combined wolves of Fuyumi and Otomo's and the ones of Kirika-Shoda's) going to give up the hunt or let's come to an end already!
Soon Michio Otomo joined them as a wolf behind him from the shrubs on the left, too. The animal needed only the best moment to reach its prey and wanted to jump, but for Otomo's luck, the wolf twisted its ankle, so it needed time to close up. In the meantime, two more of them arrived, helped the pack by the hunt. They left the injured one behind, they wanted fresh meat at any cost, with all their attention and energy. Kirika screamed from her final strength and Fuyumi also opened the mouth to shout - they could just think about one thing: they will die soon.
Fuyumi felt Shoda's hand on hers, it was tense, but not as heavy as the fierce physical press in every soul.
"Look!" suddenly Otomo shouted, louder than any noise came from the wolves.
The others looked around carefully, until they found out something sturdy with silver glance. There, in the middle of the forest. They had to force their eyes to examine the thing more extensively: it was a silhouette of a massive wall, which was climbable. Hearing the relief coming from the classmates, Fuyumi herself started to gain hope again. Maybe they could escape... or can they?
As they approach to that wall, its surface started to seem in every detail - a huge metal "fence" glanced in the pale moonlight. Then the kids faced the other problem: two fresh blocks after defeating the previous one. First of all, they arrived to a glade, no more thicket, only pale ground with roots standing out of it and lot of small rocks. And of course some tall unclimbable trees, ones with flat skin. Well, if someone wants to do it so badly, they can climb up, but not in time - the wolves would get there. And for sure... the smaller students, like Anri Souma, Sonoko Kuroki or Nichie Shiomi wouldn't have the slightest chance. So it was not a terrain (like before), what causes difficulties for an animal, mainly for a wolf. So Fuyumi and the others had to run as fast as they could, in this non-lower vegetation ground the beasts made up lost ground. Now Kirika cried without a break, Michio sworn more and more as time went by, and Fuyumi bit her lips so strongly, that it almost bled. She revolted against the clearly end.
Shoda was the only one, who fought more intent, he run with the girls by holding their wrists and didn't accept the case of fail. As the distance decreased between human and animal, so lesser was the distance between the wall and the stampeders. Soon it crested them as a big rampart, the only chance for the survival. It was made of iron and sort of metal scales, so the kids had some way to climb up to the top.
The moment they've reached the wall - they almost bumped against it from the dispatch, they wanted to get up from. Fuyumi stopped herself with her hands that was how she prevented the crash. She barely touched the metal surface, immediately felt, that someone lifted her up by the arm. She saw Shoda standing in a metal handhold somewhere above her, the boy was by the half of the ca 3 metres high wall. Thus he helped the girl up, by that time Kirika sit already on top as Michio Otomo, too. Kirika gave a slight but also anaemic smile to her saviour, because Otomo was, who helped her up.
Well, the wall was high, but still narrow in diameter, all those four had to hold themselves tight if they didn't wanted to fall down.
"Oh my gosh, what's that over there?" Shoda almost dropped Fuyumi, he was so shocked by hearing Kirika's nervous voice.
Or rather because of the answer, she had got next from Otomo.
"Oh, crap! There's a gate next to us, Shoda! It's open, and out of its hinge! We're stuck here if those beats surround us!"
That was unbelievable! Not now! They did it, almost as wolf-food, but did it. And now... From one hole into another. It is like for example, a mouse manages to cross the road but on the other side the cat hunt it down. Bullshit! They won't croak there so easily!
It was enough him to envision Moskvin's malevolent grin, vengeance awakened in him to strike back to the soviet in some way. First, he had to stay alive and he won't let his friends in danger either.
"What are you waiting for goddammit?! Go and put that door back!" the other boy sit passively in place, so Shoda ordered him to do something already, as himself lifted Fuyumi up to the top with a single movement.
And he wasn't unactive after that, when Fuyumi was safe and held herself shivering on that huge "fence", Baku landed on the other side. Scratch!
Both the knees hurt from stabbing pain because of the metal clinch he had in there by reason of a prior motor-bike incident. And as in similar situations, when he exerts himself, the knees hurt extremely as hell - until a big rest.
Well, the doctors said those knees won't be the same again. But now, they don't have the luxury of time for a break, so Shoda found his feet again - heard another "scratch" coming from the knees with a ton of pain extra. He didn't give a damn about it, only made a wry face as sign and ended it with a short moan. He was not a man of this stamp to hit the roof for thing like that!
Otherwise, how fast he reacted even with the knees had been operated, others would have failed in his place for sure! "I'm curious, how far they would have made. It's a pity, nobody has seen my action here..."
Shoda thought of the other boys from the 3/e, since in every normal class have rivalry between sexes - he only missed Otomo out of calculations, he had low opinion about the boy. Little fag, who could thank to be popular because of his handsomeness. He had only big mouth in addition...
But that was enough for bringing back Baku's lost egoism he left in the airport; that was the last time he had told about his goal in the football-championship between local high schools - and he was also sure about how a coward dickhead Michio Otomo was. That classmate of his was in the scene when he got wind of success. Like his movements shoved that way, Otomo landed near Shoda only when he saw the other in one piece (by the gate).
"Look out! They're here!" suddenly the two girls shouted.
By this time the growling and howling wolves smashed into the metal wall. They were standing to the two hindlegs, they couldn't reach the students. Although Kirika and Fuyumi were screaming, while they were clinging together.
Now or never! - thought Shoda - if those bitches notice the gate, we're over!
He saw the gate lying on its side, out of the hinges, and it was massive but over the doorhandle, the wolves could pull their face through. First, he focused on putting the gate back to its place; he got on the knees again (another crack) and made it done. Well... he would have made if the hinges weren't so rusty and malformed. And in the top of all, one of the three hinges was missing, the one from the middle. And only the third on the bottom was in its place, which held the gate against coming down.
Shoda was extremely furious, why things weren't going as he planned (only once in a life, goddammit!) and he was about to call Otomo for help, but he noticed the girls waving arms while they were sitting on the top. Kirika and Fuyumi unmistakably wanted to attract his attention. More truly, only Fuyumi tried that, and Shoda figured out the reason not too later: the animals have found the gate and were going to attack them. The boy had no choice, he gave his full and last strength for putting the gate back to the place (among the walls), then held it with his back. Thus he held the field against the wildly attacking pack. He was sitting in a position, in which the beasts couldn't scratch him with the claws and teeth among the gate-grids, but he had a hard task to hold their whole weight only with himself.
He just held and held on and tried to figure out something, to find a way out... somehow... maybe... it couldn't be like this forever, and the wolves were way too hungry for leave their prey so easily.
Suddenly, the pressure on his back lightened, and Shoda also felt some pleasant flower-fragrance with the coming wind. A soft, smooth skin grazed his arm dressed in the black student uniform.
"Fuyumi..." Shoda didn't need to look that direction, he knew who was coming. He wet his thirsty lips afterwards.
"I thought you need a hand. You helped a lot to me tonight. And not only now..." she answered without looking at him. She passed the boys glance, even some desire could be heard out in her voice next to the gloom and distress.
Shoda finally started to give the girl a searching look, and as she didn't return this staring, he sounded:
"Go! Run away from here! Immediately!"
Fuyumi stayed tuneless for a second, until she had a sigh.
"No, Baku." she said expressively, still looking for another direction.
Only those called him like this, in his first name, who had a good relationship with him, he was only "Shoda" for the others - and that way they could make a difference between him and the other Baku of the class, Baisotei (boys #1).
Even so, it felt good hearing that, oddly from Fuyumi. At this holy moment.
"Why are you saying that?" he only had that answer.
Another time, he tended to make himself see red, rampage, vent on other people around him when they didn't obey his words, but not today. Now, he felt nothing, but calm to the bitter end. The wolves haven't succeeded yet by breaking in, so it seemed, that those sounds came from another dimension.
"Otomo streaked off." she reported promiscuous-like, just to break silence. She looked directly with the light blue eyes, to the point, when Otomo disappeared moments ago.
"And your life depends from such a son of a bitch!" unexpectedly, Baku Shoda pealed, both of the arms palpitate with anger.
The classmate on his right quivered, but continued.
"Kirika is with him. I said her to go..." then quickly added.
She still passed the boy's look, but she felt his parching gaze.
"I stayed, 'cause I am not been able to make all this through. I have no strength or mood left... Otomo deserves to croak with me, but with any luck, he will survive. Everything..."
"Don't be foolish, you won't die!" Shoda pealed for twice "not until I protect you!"
All unawares, they felt a huge shake on the gate. One of the wolves made this. The conversation went on though, as it wouldn't have happened.
"But only one of us could remain!" Fuyumi forced a smile on the face and turned Shoda's direction, so their look happened to meet. However, the girl drew hers aside.
"Can you protect me from yourself?"
Shoda was truly embarrassed by hearing Fuyumi talking like that.
"From myself? Why should I...? You know me, I have never hurt you! When did I do such..."
Fuyumi's speechless and painful gaze put him to silence. That was enough for Shoda to dig up some old things from the past, and as he red from the girl's sad eyes, those things broke surface one after the other. Yeah, there was something... something; it causes them to break with each other. And the reason is... because... I treat her so hard.
I feel like a dish mop - Fuyumi used to say before.
Shoda shook his head, he didn't want to think about it more deeply, but the painful memories were coming, whether he liked or not. According to Fuyumi, he changed... he wanted an answer and then they argued... he drive Fuyumi against the student hostel-wall... she cried, and just looked into his face with eyes that swim with tears, asked the boy to let her go... but Shoda pressed her more and more stronger... he squalled like a monster... he was jealous... to that dude, who is now Fuyumi's boyfriend. Life sucks.
"Do you love him?" his voice echoed so strangely at the moment, in the background of the wolves' noises. Those attacked not so zealous by now, anyway.
"What?"
"Do you still love him?" he didn't care the embarrassed "what" question and the same-like gaze Fuyumi gave him, what he certainly couldn't see. This time Shoda was ashamed to look to that direction.
"Do you love Wataru?" he added. No answer came.
That was an awkward silence; they both felt the change in the atmosphere. Like the attack of the beasts couldn't be heard at all.
"I asked something!"
Fuyumi didn't want to open her mouth. A paw and sharp claws almost reached her, but the wolf touched only her mop of hair. That was close, although neither of the students cared. At the moment Fuyumi stood on the edge of crying.
She broke in her voice, prefer to swallow in order to mask that. She gave anything, just Shoda let her not to answer. Mainly because of that "yes", somehow... she didn't understand the reason, but saying that out aloud, that would hurt her so much. It was clear by now, that all of them will die soon - needless to fight about the thought, it was a fact now and she could only accept it deep in her breast.
She was skeptic about that so called "winner". Sure, the lucky one can go home to tell the world about the soviets' bloody game, eh? Right, and Emperor Yoshiro wants to disclaim his title. There is no escape from here, nor a way out. Fuyumi finally understood, what she only had smiled upon earlier with her naive pleasure-bent lifestyle; everyone is one in a million, she is just another person for others, as they are another people in Fuyumi's perspective. And nobody came to help her, the whole 3/e are just "others" for people, who will just thrill when hearing their death rumor. Maybe some of them will be shocked, but deep in their hearts, they still relieve - how fortunate, that such things only happen to others!
Fuyumi smiled bitterly and a slight teardrop ran down in her beautiful face at the same time.
"The life's not always about us. You have to accept that."
Shoda nodded with numbed mind, while he was staring at his expensive sport shoes from a big brand.
Finally he sounded.
"I listened to that, too after we weren't together anymore."
"Really?" that was pleasant news for the other student, it was surprising to hear, that sometimes her ex-boyfriend listened other than electro, drum 'n' bass or progressive house.
"Yeah, I just realised truly, how true these verse are." Shoda took a big breath then begin the song (a bit automatically).
"Everything had gone, you've dreamed about
It fell down slowly like a house of cards
I don't need nice words, nobody gets here any..."
"I think we're late and you'd just rebel." now Fuyumi took the word from him.
As they said their common song aloud together, they could hear more and more the voice of the vocalist of that band - Hooligans - instead of theirs. They got to know this band accidentally however from an illegal abroad music channel on TV, which happened to appear on the screens in the Empire of the Rising Sun because of bad encoding or something. Some badasses caught the fancy, so that song of the band from a far away country became a school hit. The numbers of the illegal downloadings suddenly increased - yeah, people could use Internet with restricted access, the Shogunate set a watch on Internet traffic in the name of "defending the nation".
"Tomorrow... No fear, no talk, don't say, it's okay. Life isn't always about us..."
These verses called up distant memories Fuyumi and Shoda shared together, memories, which will never return. Those pleasant moments...
"Dawn spring upon me, that day won't be the same again, when your voice woke me up. Only in the deep of my dreams I keep that flame, everything's gone with the wind."
Shoda looked at his love, who sit in silence and was listening his voice. That was the ending of the refrain.
"If you turn your back on me, 'cause you think, that's the way,
what else can or should I say?"
This could be even an implication. Now, that Fuyumi rethought this conversation better, the conclusion she made started to bother her.
"So that is all about!" the outcry of hers broke the nostalgic glamour, the song created. "So, you think I betrayed you, because I have another boyfriend?"
No answer came, Shoda just continued:
"You don't have to hide what comes from your soul,
And don't have to shame it, 'cause it was for us, two.
I didn't think I had a choice at the end,
I think I'm wiser now, it won't hurt anymore:
say: good-bye...
No fear, no talk, don't say, it's okay. Life isn't always about us..."
"'You hear me, Baku?" like she had been awaken from sleeping that took years, she slap the forehead "I can't believe, we're doing this! It's not the time to talk about that! They want to kill us, does it matter who is together with who?"
It was hard to read his feelings from the face, mainly thanks to the current time of the day.
"Some moments ago, you said that you can't make it through. And now you wanna go?" Shoda said shortly.
"Yes, but..." she stood also surprised by the changing in the motivations, she felt like her mind swirled, those memories made it.
She wanted to run, until she doesn't have any legs anymore, without stopping in the rest of her life. She felt like she started to lose sanity, or else they won't just sitting around here wondering on the past - first of all they had to figure out how to stay alive. How ridiculous, that love topic is always superior against someone's physical health... or how people say it, the point stays the same. Well, Ms. Kusonoki was right after all! She talked about something once in history lesson, that it is scientifically proved, population during the two world war didn't decreased considering the birth rate - but we don't have to go that far beyond, there are extreme situations in these days, too. So, the scientist have proven, war has such mental pressure on people, that it strengthen the reproductive instinct in them.
Fuyumi remembered clearly on that certain history lesson, how the boys made jokes about that. Hopefully, none of them would go so far, she only found strange, why she has found some truth in this theory.
She wanted to say something sensible, but Shoda (who actually was waiting her to speak) did that before the girl.
"Don't you understand, Fu? Do you know how it feels, if you see your true love with another person? As he takes your hand, kisses you... if I... if I protect you in this game, I do it in favor of Him. So..."
They were staring at each other for long, Fuyumi's heart started to beat swiftly. She saw in the other's eye exactly the same wild rage she saw when they broke up. So this is the end. She will die for that reason. If I can't be his, I won't be anyone's. Instead of that, she didn't move, stood Shoda's black look. If it is written that way, so be it.
Suddenly something happened. Shoda made a motion; the gate behind him gave a creaking noise. That made them realise the great silence around them. Only the breeze rustled, the trees soughed mildly and the moonlight gave the students some light. No wolves in the near.
"Shit, they've left!" after a short look-round, Shoda gave a short laughter forth.
"Man, you're right." his partner acted as she was surprised. For some reason, she wasn't interested in this side information. Was she that much confused?
"Looks like, they don't dig sloppy things. Anyway..." Shoda stood up, in the meantime he took a look around by the gate to make sure the wolves had really left (or it is just a hunting technique, throwing the prey off its guard); he continued as a side-talk.
"As much as I am thinking on all of this, you know, this between us... I don't give a fuck, who's your boyfriend, I'll get you out of here if I can. So don't feel bothered because of my feelings." by the last sentence he acted as he made a victim of himself, maybe to awake guilt in Fuyumi. "I might looked at you a bit stupid now, I just wanted to end this part of our past."
Fuyumi was unable to say something. She believed, things couldn't go more confusing, but she was wrong. As she looked at Baku Shoda, she saw the old Baku in front of her, the boy she met in the first year school camp.
He was cool, charismatic but also attentive. Then Fuyumi shook her head. Memories make these... she... she loves Wataru.
"You say that alone!" some inner voice said in her mind. "It is so, or you just fooling yourself?"
Before she could answer, Shoda caught her arm and stepped closer. He almost put his arms to the girl's bust.
"I want only one more. A last one." he asked silently.
Fuyumi knew what he was talking about of course.
"Okay." groaned and felt all her strength disappear. That would be good to press close to Shoda once again, so closed her eyes and waited for the kiss. The sooner they finish this, the better. But...
A single flash was enough to let each other away. Somebody put the lights on their face, some time needed until they used to the brightness in the deep night.
"Who are you?" an energetic warning sounded, free from any emotions.
Right after that, a girl started speaking, who was probably standing next to him.
"These are Baku and Fuyumi!"
Those last two recognised Nana Bunya (girls, #2) as the other boy from 3/e, Fuyuki Shinji Egami (boys #3).
"Ew, you're still thinking about 'that' in such circumstances?"
"At least, there is someone who sticks together." Nana turned toward Fuyuki, she sounded reproachful.
But they interrupted Fuyumi and Shoda, so they stood puzzled from the other "couple" - about 10 metres could be the distance between them - Fuyuki and Nana were in the covering of vegetation, some bushes hid them down the waist. Fuyuki's black uniform faded into the surroundings, but Nana's white shirt looked garish in the blackness.
"Honestly, what are you two doing here exactly?" the boy #3 was curious.
"None of your business, got it?" Shoda grumbled "but you can put that damn reflector outta our face!"
So Fuyuki lowered the lamp which was integrated into the watch (it had quite a strong light) and added huffily:
"Okay, it's all one to me. But if only you cared about your lives a bit more instead of something else, you would see the warehouse from here. It's almost in your face!"
Fuyumi couldn't believe her ears, she wanted to check the location on the map.
"The watch has a stopwatch, I counted the time until we got here." Fuyuki continued (man, why do they need a stopwatch in a survivor game? You can follow how quick you cut throats or something? To gain personal records? This is absurd!) "So the distances we've run compared to the elapsed time, with more than 65 percent sureness, my duo have to reach the warehouse first. Just, as I wanted."
Who knows for sure, how much they had run to achieve that, by the way, Fuyuki didn't seem to be very tired, not like Nana. Not only Moskvin's wolves, Fuyuki crowded her into a hard chase.
Shoda was immediately ready to go, he gave a searching look into the distant, hoped to find the silhouette of the small building.
"There it is!" and finally found it, not too far from their location, the grey walls in the arms of trees and bushes. Sometimes the moon set its shine on that area.
"What did that sadistic say? The faster you are the better gun you get?" Fuyuki added, while Shoda was pondering all this.
Then they gaze met, and an unsaid agreement was born between them: race will decide, who's worth to have better equipment - in the other minute, ready, set, go! People could hear tramps in the nearby, the battle has begun.
The two girls stayed in their place, and were just standing, when Nana turned her light on and decided to go after the boys.
During that, she looked up to the sky and shook the head disapprovingly.
"Come, on!" then said to Fuyumi "let's check them, I don't want to watch as they tear each other apart! Not that we don't have any problems for today, for example being kidnapped and forced into this shit!"
That was the last picture Fuyumi saw in her imagination, everything run into one another and became a blurry mass of colors and shapes. Then the worst of all reappeared again: the cold body of Baku Shoda, full in blood.
"And he still loves me. He wants to protect me for somebody else's sake. I'm such a whore!"
Fuyumi was startled out of her sleep.
It was just a dream. She relived the events in her dreams from the beginning up to this moment. Her limbs were heavy, at least she felt in that way, but she had enough power to look up to the sky.
The edges of the clouds were red from the first sunlight, it was about to dawn. Some breeze blew, the trees rustled because of its movement, but Fuyumi had more important things in mind, than the beautiful vista (well, if they had been in a normal trip, she might had entertain herself with the sky) - for example, that she and Nana are in the edge of the game field they can walk through: according to the soviet readings, exactly in zone G10.
Nana set in silence; she was busy with her own thoughts. Not only she, even Fuyumi took poorly an another death.
At first Ferry... then Ben... and Shoda in that warehouse-like building. Who knows who died during the flight against the wolves?
Nana was later rather angry, because they could do nothing to prevent these meaningless killings; all they could do just sitting and witness if a classmate's life come to an end. When they aren't in a hurry to save their own first.
"Are you OK?" Nana asked suddenly, when noticed, that Fuyumi began to collapse, like a doll.
"I've heard you whimpering while you were asleep." she helped Fuyumi to sit back to her place.
The other answered slowly, it was quite graspless.
"I saw the wolves again, and Him, too..."
Baku, of course. Nana knew this, saying out the name loud wasn't necessary. Instead of continuing the topic she said the following.
"I couldn't sleep all night long, but you're still the one who's looking worse. Are you really all right?"
"No. I'm not."
Fuyumi sighed, then she leaned against that high-pitched cliff, they were sitting by. It was their cover against the rain as also against the others from 3/e. It was difficult to see the two girls from here, they were hidden by frondous vegetation from all sides. The vegetation was also a good natural alarm, the bushes rustled, so the Nana-Fuyumi duo will probably hear if somebody was in the near.
"Besides, we've got a message in our watches." Nana raised her arm, the one, in which she was wearing the boyish wristwatch.
Fuyumi looked at hers with smooth interest, a small envelope jumped from corner to corner on the display and waiting for open. But Fuyumi didn't open it. She didn't care about that damn commander or what he even wanted.
Nana thought, the Morimoto girl still needs to know the changing.
"There is some important information there, though. It's SOLO from now on, which means, we aren't depend on our mate, now." she just got an indolent shrug, but continued.
"We've got the death list and the list of the danger zones. Zones are the parts which form the big game field and one of them will become danger zone in every two hours. That means, you can't go in there, because your chip will explode..."
Fuyumi didn't gave an answer.
"You don't even give a crap who's dead by now?" Nana became suddenly angry "they were your friends! Midori and Iyona! Anri, the Kimura as Isato, too! You can't be so careless like this!"
Like she was speaking for herself, Fuyumi was not listening.
"Look, I'm sorry for Baku, alright? But he is not the only dead!"
"Shut up. I'm done speaking."
Fuyumi said under her breath, so they sat in silence by the rest of the time. Nana calmed down soon and started to plan their chances. They stopped here, because the cliff and the bushes were a good place to hide, while tiding over the night - it's not a really smart thing to roam in the dark, when others, like Fuyuki were prey upon them. Fuyumi was still shocked by seeing Baku Shoda's body in his own blood, she couldn't think of something else, only that.
Only thinking of the boy who promised to protect her. And for the sake of Wataru.
She was the one lately, who became angry; she got up with great speed and said.
"Let's speak about, what comes next!" her voice sounded harsh.
Nana looked wondering at her, what was that sudden changing in the mood?
"I don't have big hopes, but I won't take part in this!" Fuyumi continued " Only Fuyuki should know if he wanna bear to face me or not."
She felt a little lame, that she can't avenge Shoda, but she didn't want to give a chance to anyone for taking more lives away with the weapons she and Nana captured - namely the hunting knife, the Revolver, the UZI and some hand grenades.
Fuyumi wanted to threw them down to the deep (remember, they were by a small cliff), but Nana noticed the intention in time, and was faster. She grabbed Fuyumi's arm and stopped her.
"Are you out of your mind? What are you doing?" asked unbelievably, almost thought, that Fuyumi went crazy.
"I said, I won't take part in this!" the other girl just repeated that sentence, then set her arm free "do you disapprove maybe?""
"Well, no, but if you just throw these things away, anybody can find them! You really think, a small 'hole' "- Nana pointed to the abyss – "would stop someone, like Fuyuki to climb down and get them for himself?"
Fuyumi stand there and let Nana to take over the weapons.
"I can't believe, you thought, I will let that happen!" the second one added. Meanwhile, she swung the knife (it was in its sling-case) under her mate's nose.
The Morimoto girl acted like a fractious child, who was ticked off by her mother.
"Listen!" answered her pat and stopped immediately to swing the knife any longer "we have to show the others, that we can do it in another way! The Russian crowd us into this, they are the real enemy, not our own friends! If we have at least one of these in our side" - she pointed to the weapons in Nana's hands - "we admit their rules!"
Nana didn't felt like she had patience to argue, but she waited Fuyumi until she ends her opinion. A tired sigh was the answer.
"So if you wanna stay with me, you have to get rid of those!" i.e. the weapons.
She didn't wait Nana to decide, she left the place immediately.
"You're unarmed! Where do you want to go? We're clear targets, do you believe they...? The others will gladly hunt us down, when they see us as an easy prey! Don't be foolish!"
Nana shouted after her.
"I don't want to see someone in such way as we saw Baku, clear?" Fuyumi stopped for a second and then continued her way in the mizzling rain to the uphill ahead.
"Oh, Jesus!"
Nana had a sigh again. She could move more difficult than Fuyumi, but their argument, to stop Fuyumi gave her great strength she never experienced before.
She could but catch up! She felt kind of a duty to set Fuyumi right, because Fuyumi was not a bad girl at all, that was only the society and the wordlings, like Kirika's gang who lead her in the wrong way. She didn't want her to die that way. She pitied Fuyumi very much.
But what should Nana do? Leave the weapons (too much to carry and hurry at the same time) or leave Fuyumi to herself?
[Number of students: 33]
The song quote is an existing song, as also the band (Hoolingans - Emlékül). It is a raw translation and of course I do not own it nor the original.
