Previously:

"Akira! Akira-kun isn't here!" Rion said, making a fuss when she realized someone important to her was missing.

"Now that you mention it… I don't see Mariya-kun either!" Kurusu-sensei said, looking around at the rest of her class. It wasn't just them. Others turned out to be missing, too after the remaining flight attendants did a head count of all the passengers. The whole plane was buzzing with talk of the mysterious disappearances. It was dark outside now.

[This is your captain speaking,] the captain announced over the intercom. [We have landed safely, but there appears to be a number of people missing. As it would be unsafe to search an unfamiliar place like this in the dark, we will search for the missing tomorrow, if necessary. Also, the radio has been slightly damaged, but we should have it fixed in no time. We'll be able to call for help tomorrow at the latest. As I said, it is unsafe to be stumbling around in the dark out there, so we will remain on the plane for tonight. That is all.]

'Tomorrow...' Tora thought, looking out at the window at the dark jungle. 'Everything is going to happen tomorrow.'


Chapter 2: Law of the Jungle


{ October 5th, Day 2 }

When they were ready to start evacuating the plane, the pilot made an announcement that the copilot and cabin crew would be in charge, and he would remain on the plane for the time being so he could keep working the radio and signal for help, while the stewardesses opened one of the emergency doors and deployed the evacuation slide. They sent down a few of the homeroom teachers first so they could do a headcount and take roll as the students came down. Kokonoe-sensei was one of the teachers who stayed back to keep an eye on the students still on the plane. With the way many of the girls squealed and fussed while trying to keep their short skirts from flying up as they slid down, Torako was grateful that she wore hers a bit longer and had shorts on underneath, because it allowed her to slide down without worry and focus more on her landing at the bottom. But she was so light, that she bounced up extra high at the end, and ended up bumping into the large, solid back of one of the people in front of her. As she took a step back and held a hand over her sore nose while looking up to see who it was, she heard a collective gasp. And she soon understood why when her darker orbs met a pair of sharp, light brown eyes. It was none other than Yarai Kouichi. She could feel everyone around them tense as he stared down at her and she stared up at him.

"… Sorry," Torako apologized calmly, still holding her nose. Personally, she didn't see what the big deal was. It was just an accident, and she didn't feel particularly threatened. Yarai might look a little scary since his narrow eyes and neutral facial expression happened to make it look like he was constantly scowling, but she had figured out a while ago that that was just his normal face.

"…" Yarai just stared at her for a couple more seconds before walking off as if nothing had happened.

"That… That was amazing!" the other boy standing near her said, clapping a hand on her shoulder. They had never spoken before, but Torako recognized him as Suzuki from class 3-5, and she had observed his behavior from afar, so she knew he was a manipulative pervert with a narcissistic complex. True to form, he was getting way too close for comfort. "I can't believe you were able to get away with making eye contact with him like that. I thought he was gonna do something for sure after you bumped into him…"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said coolly, brushing his hand aside. She took a step back before continuing on her way to where the classes were supposed to be gathering in front of their teachers. "Anyway, you might wanna move. Your girlfriend's about to come down, and you're in the way."

"Tch." Suzuki clicked his tongue in annoyance and scowled as he watched her walk away. Even though she was short and flat-chested, she had a cute face, so he thought it might be worth a shot talking to her, but if she thought she was too good for him, then in his mind she was obviously a stuck up bitch.

Torako just shook her head as she joined the line for her class in front of Kurusu-sensei. Honestly, she didn't know what Kashiwagi-san saw in him. Maybe it was because they both had dark personalities?

—∞—

Torako and everyone who wasn't injured searched for the missing people as far into the jungle as they dared, but they didn't find them. The rest of the day was spent tending to the wounded and setting up camp before it got too dark to see. They had flashlights, but not enough for everyone. It seemed to be getting dark fast.

"Ugh…! This stupid fire won't light!" one of the guys in another class said as Torako passed. She recognized him as class 3's 'Zaji'. He appeared to be a carefree, perverted delinquent. She looked around. No one else was coming, so she stopped to help anyway.

"Your tinder needs to be dry," she said.

"Eh?" he said, looking surprised that she was talking to him.

"You need three things: tinder, kindling, and fuel. You light the tinder, and it burns the kindling, which increases the fire's temperature so that it will ignite the less combustible material. Fuel is less combustible and burns slowly and steadily once ignited," Torako explained, setting down her notebook for a moment so she could rearrange the materials he had collected to form something more suitable for a fire. "Once you've got the fire going strong, you can carefully add more fuel to keep it going and build it up. Got it?"

"Got it..." Zaji said, still looking surprised. Torako brushed her hands off, picked up her notebook, and kept walking. Yarai watched the whole exchange from where he was leaning up against a tree, flipping his coin. Torako passed Rion.

"Ah, Fukui-san," Rion said, stopping her. "Are you not in a group yet? Why don't you come sit with us?"

"… Okay. Thanks," Torako said.

"I was just about to get food for everyone. Could you help me carry it?" Rion asked with a hopeful smile.

'Was that her motive?' Torako wondered. "Sure." They got in line and received enough canned food from the flight attendants to feed everyone in the group, and carried it over to them. Torako saw that Rion's group consisted of Akira's friend (whose name she still couldn't remember), Rion's friend (whose name she also couldn't remember at the moment), and Katsuragi. Katsuragi had his arm in a sling. They were just about to start handing out food, when Katsuragi said something that immediately put Rion on guard.

"Oh… Isn't that Eiken?"

"Eiken-kun?" Rion asked. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Morita was filming her from a low angle. "Ah!" she gasped indignantly, quickly dropping the cans she had to hold her skirt down to cover herself better, while her friend made an expression of deep disapproval. "Taking videos again!?"

"N-No… I'm just recording the incident..." Morita said nervously.

'Somehow, I don't believe him...' Torako thought.

"What recording, huh!?" Rion said.

"If you sit with us, you can't shoot the girls from low angles," Torako told him firmly. "Otherwise, I'll erase everything you have."

"!?" Morita gasped, shielding his camera, horrified.

"Nice one, Fukui-chan!" Rion's friend said. As Morita seemed to be taking the threat seriously, he was allowed to join them. He filmed them as they ate and talked.

"Man, we're lucky..." Akira's friend said, eating some spam.

"No joke… I thought we were gonna die from that crash," Katsuragi said.

"Seems like a number of people are missing though," Akira's friend said. "Like Akira..."

"Idiot!" Rion's friend said, hitting him. "Cheer up, Rion..."

"I-It's nothing… Why am I so down, anyway?" Rion said, putting on a smile. "Anyway… he'll turn up eventually. I want to see him pop up. He's really stubborn after all."

"Heeeeey!" Arita Kouhei called, running up to their group. "I said 'big news'!"

"Arita-kun," Rion said.

"Radio's restored!" he said. "We can go home!"

"I repeat!" the captain said into a megaphone. "There is no need for everyone to worry! We are making contact through the radio! Before long, we will be able to return to Japan!" A great clamor of cheers went up all around them. Arita and Katsuragi grinned at each other. Rion's friend hugged her. "And so, please remain calm..."

After that, they built the fires up. Everyone was celebrating, except Rion, Torako, and Morita, who were still sitting by the fire. Their fire crackled loudly and heated the air.

"A big bonfire, so the rescue party can find us… huh..." Rion said, staring into the fire.

"It'll be fine, Akagami!" Akira's friend said, rejoining them. "We even made contact, too. Everyone will be able to go home… Everyone..." he trailed off when he saw Rion's tears.

"Akira-kun… where did you go…?" she asked, furrowing her brow. She realized Morita was still filming her. "Ugh..." She wiped her tears away with her hand. "Eiken-kun… why the hell are you videotaping?" She slapped him.

"Oww," Morita said, holding a hand to his sore cheek.

"That's really a horrible hobby…" Rion told him.

"N-No… this is a recording…" Morita said.

"Recording, recording… What in the world for?" Rion asked. "Huh?" She peered into the camera.

"N-Not for here!" Eiken said. "For the use of anyone!" Rion looked at him, surprised.

"… I see. That makes sense..." Rion said, standing by the fire. Hot air blew through her hair and ruffled her shirt. "Taking videos and pictures so anyone can see… I see, I see..." She looked down with a soft smile on her face, quietly blushing a little bit. "… In that case… so it can reach everyone..."

'She's thinking of Sengoku-kun...' Torako thought.

"Hey! I want to videotape, too!" Rion said, reaching for the camera. "Give it to me for a sec!"

"I-I can't… This is expensive..." Morita told her, trying to hold onto his camera.

"It's okay, isn't it? Cheapskate!" Rion said.

"KYAAAAAAAAA!"

A scream pierced the night. They all looked over to see what was wrong. Rion let go of the camera as they stared in shock at the ferocious beasts before them, one of which already had a boy from their school in its giant mouth.

"Haa! Haa!" The boy cried, still alive. But not for long. The creature bit down and he went completely still and limp. Torako's eyes widened. The four-legged creatures were enormous, covered with fur, with small ears, and an alligator-like mouth. It's claws were out, like a canine's rather than a feline's. She had never seen anything like it before.

"Run," she said, pushing Rion toward the plane. "Run!" That seemed to snap everyone out else in their group out of it, too. They ran to the slide and scrambled up it as fast as they could. Torako bit her notebook and carried it up between her teeth as she climbed. People were screaming all around her.

"Uwaaahhh!"

"Uwaaahhh!"

"Run!"

"Get into the plane!"

Everyone in Torako's group made it into the plane, aside from Katsuragi, who was struggling with his injured arm. Torako helped pull him inside the plane. They looked back and saw that a desperate mob had formed behind them on the slide. People were clawing and kicking their way up. One boy was sent rolling back down the slide right into one of the beast's mouths. Torako looked around for Kokonoe-sensei, but didn't see him.

"We should move away from the door," Torako said, guiding a shocked Rion away. Katsuragi and Morita followed. Rion and Akira's friends also moved away from the door, but there was something manic about them, unstable. Torako and Rion looked back when everyone screamed and saw that one of the beasts had managed to get its large head inside the plane and had a boy's leg in its oversized jaws. Torako let go of Rion to grab a nearby fire extinguisher. 'If that thing gets in the plane, we're finished!' She ran forward and slammed the fire extinguisher down on its nose with all her might. "Ungh!"

"Grrraahh!" it growled in pain. She immediately hit it again before it could recover. And again. It lost its footing and slid back down the slide. The people near her let out a sort of hysterical cheer, especially the boy who had almost become its meal. His leg was a bloody, mangled mess. More people took the chance to run past the beast and climb the slide. It scrambled up after them again.

"I'm falling down the slide!" a girl yelled. "I'm falling!"

"Hurry up, hurry up!" a boy shouted.

"Aaaah!" another boy screamed.

"Help me!!" a girl cried.

"Hold on! There are still people!" a boy shouted when they started trying to close the door. Torako moved away from the door. People were getting hysterical and panicking. It was dangerous to stand too close to the door. She almost bumped into Rion, who was kneeling on the floor, crying. Morita was still filming. Torako realized she had lost her notebook in her hurry to grab the fire extinguisher.

'Why… Why did this happen?' Torako wondered. 'The fire should have… The fire…! That's right, when we were in Africa for the show, we were guided by a tribe that never raised a flame, because they said it would draw lions. Is that what this is? Mammals are curious about things they haven't seen before... Could it be…?' She took a moment to look around her. The only thing scarier than the beasts outside were the people inside. If they panicked all at once…

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Someone was beating on the cockpit's door.

BAM! BAM!

A group of people had gathered around the cockpit door. They were trying to get in. A flight attendant was kneeling next to the copilot, who was unconscious on the floor.

"What kind of things is this guy say—!?"

"Give me a fucking break!"

"W-What…?" Rion said, getting up.

"They're forming a small mob..." Torako said.

"H-Hey… They're trying to go through..." Arita said, moving to stand with them. The mob managed get through to the pilot.

"Explain, pilot!" a man said, grabbing him by his shirt.

"Ah!" The pilot gasped. "Hey! What makes you think you can come in here!?" Rion, Arita, Morita, and Katsuragi all moved closer to see what was happening. Torako kept her distance. She didn't think it was safe to get too close to the mob. A wave of outrage swept through the mob like a ripple in a pond.

"Wha… What the hell!?" a man yelled. "You're not communicating through the radio, are you!?"

'Is something wrong with the radio?' Torako wondered, furrowing her brow, as they grabbed the pilot.

"G-Get out! Get out all of you!" the pilot yelled, looking terrified.

"You were lying to us!?" another man said. "Saying the radio was restored… and that help is coming! You're a liar!"

"Wrong! Listen to me! At that time, I didn't have any choice!" the pilot said.

"Shut the hell up!" a man in a suit told him.

'So there is something wrong,' Torako thought, narrowing her eyes. She could get why the pilot lied. Just look at how they were acting now.

"Be quiet!" someone yelled.

"Uwahh!" Rion cried.

"Wha!? Y-You stabbed him!?" someone else said.

"W-Who!?" the man who had been holding the pilot said.

"We can't go home!" another man said. "You… You get that!?"

"Shit! We're done for!" the man who had been holding the pilot said.

"Uwaaah!"

"Nooo!"

The mob began to disperse from the cockpit.

"Sir! … Sir!" Rion said anxiously, kneeling down next to the pilot. "Eiken-kun! Go and call the teacher here!"

"I-I'm fine..." the pilot told her, putting on a brave face. "It's dangerous… you should run, too..."

"Hurry, Eiken-kun..." Rion said.

"Move!" one of the adults fleeing the cockpit said, shoving the two middle-schoolers aside. The camera hit the floor.

"The radio's broken! We're all going to die here!" a member of the mob shouted loud enough to be heard over the sounds of people crying and freaking out. Again, it was like watching water ripple across a pond. Those closest started losing it first, then the people next to them, and the people next to them, until the whole plane was panicking. People started punching each other and pulling each other's hair. Girls climbed up to sit on top of the seats to try to get away from the violent chaos. People laughed uncontrollably.

"You bastard! Don't fuck with me, you!"

"Raaa!"

"Run!"

"Stop it!"

"It's useless inside, but outside… there's the monster…!"

"Nooo!"

"Help…!"

"It's mine!" Akira's friend said, clutching a lot of money in his hands.

'It's too late… It's a mass panic!' Torako thought, gritting her teeth. A boy tried to grab her and hit her. She hit him with the fire extinguisher.

"Kouhei-kun!" a girl yelled as she was being stepped on by another girl, who was also pulling her hair. "Help me, Kouhei-kun!" Arita just stood there, staring at the ceiling. "H-Hey… Nooo!"

"Kyaaaa!"

Torako recognized that last scream.

"Kururu-sensei?" she asked, looking around for her. Her eyes widened when she found her and saw what was happening. One boy was restraining her, while another was pulling down his pants. They had opened her shirt and pushed her skirt up. The boy restraining their teacher put his hand over her mouth to prevent more cries for help.

"Me! I'm first!" the boy pulling his pants down said eagerly. Torako saw red. Still clutching the fire extinguisher, she ran through the plane to get to her teacher, jumping over the people on the floor and ducking past grasping hands. She raised the fire extinguisher, prepared to bash their heads in if that's what it took, when someone pushed past her. She was startled, but caught herself. She looked up. It was Yarai.

"Wha… What's that bastard..." the boy with his pants down said nervously, looking over his shoulder. A loud crunching sound was heard as Yarai's foot connected with the boy's head. Torako had to duck as he came bouncing down the aisle.

"Ya… Yarai..." the boy restraining their teacher said, looking terrified. Yarai kicked him so hard that he slammed into the wall with a loud crash and bounced off of it.

"Kyaaa!" Kurusu-sensei said, holding her head. She calmed herself down enough to show gratitude. "Thank you, Yarai-kun..." Yarai said something that she and Torako didn't quite catch. "Eh?"

"… This is how I am, Sensei," Yarai told her.

"What? What are you saying?" Kurusu-sensei asked. Yarai glanced back over his shoulder at the rest of the plane.

"… Seems this tedious thing is taken care of," he said with a wry expression. He looked at Torako, then turned and walked past Kurusu-sensei. "Seeya, Sensei. Fukui Torako."

"Y-Yarai-kun!?" Kurusu-sensei said, scrambling to her feet. "Wait just a second! Wait for me, Yarai-kun!" Torako took one last look at the rest of the plane and decided to follow them. Anywhere was better than there.

"Us too!" three other boys shouted, running up from behind her. They headed further into the plane. Torako recognized the boys. They were Mikoshiba from class 1, Itou from class 2, and Ono from class 3. She wasn't sure about Mikoshiba, but Itou and Ono were definitely delinquents. It seemed like a recipe for trouble.

"Where are we going?" Ono asked.

"Cargo hold?" Mikoshiba suggested.

"You can only access the cargo hold from the inside through the cockpit on this plane," Torako said.

"How do you know that?" Itou asked her.

"I've been on a lot of planes," Torako replied.

"Hey, who are you anyway?" Ono asked her.

"Fukui Torako," she replied.

"I'm—" Ono said.

"I know who you are," Torako said, to save time.

"Oh, well, I guess you would," he said arrogantly. He didn't see Torako roll her eyes.

"What are we going to do?" Kururu-sensei asked. "Shouldn't we try to help the others?"

"We could, but no one back there would listen to reason," Torako said. "It's safer to keep our distance for now." They followed Yarai to the very back of the plane, where he plopped himself down onto the last row of seats and lay back. The other three boys imitated him.

"Sensei, you should go to the bathroom back here and fix yourself up," Torako advised her. Her shirt was still open, so they could all see her bra.

"Ah!" Kurusu-sensei gasped in alarm when she realized this. "Y-Yes!" she dashed into the bathroom.

"Geez, Tora-chan! You didn't have to say anything," Ono told her.

"Yes, I did," Torako retorted bluntly, taking a seat across from them. She scooted over to the window seat and slid the window shade up so she could see out.

"What are you doing?" Mikoshiba asked.

"I want to know when those things leave. I want to get out of this plane as soon as possible," Torako replied, frowning as she watched the beasts tear through the camp. It appeared everyone had either made it onto the plane, fled into the jungle, or were already eaten, because she couldn't see any people. One of the beasts burned itself when it got too close to a fire and ran off. Kurusu-sensei came back out of the bathroom with her shirt buttoned up.

"What are you looking at Fukui-chan?" she asked.

"There's no obvious prey left for them," Torako said, pointing to the creatures outside. "They should lose interest soon."

"I-Is that so?" Kurusu-sensei said, looking a little uncomfortable.

"I'm sure they didn't actually eat that many people," Torako added, correctly guessing why she looked queasy. "The attack was unexpected, but everyone reacted quickly once they realized what was going on. Most of the people who aren't on the plane are probably hiding in the jungle."

"Oh, that's good..." Kurusu-sensei said, relieved.

"Kurusu-chan, why are you just believing everything she's saying?" Itou asked. "It's not like she knows what she's talking about."

"It's 'Kurusu-sensei'," she corrected him. "And I think she does."

"Why?" Mikoshiba asked.

"Well..." Kurusu-sensei said, glancing at Torako.

"Do you know the show 'Wild Kingdoms'?" Torako asked them.

"Oh, yeah! The one with that half foreigner Ken Arden?" Mikoshiba said.

"Right. My father was a cameraman on his show, so I learned a lot traveling around with them," Torako explained.

'Was…?' Yarai thought, glancing at her.

—∞—

True to Torako's prediction, the big-mouthed beasts left soon. But it took longer than that for everyone in the plane to calm down. By the time they had, a few people had begun to cautiously creep back out of the jungle to return to camp. Then, they appeared. Suddenly, Torako was staring out into a huge eye. Her eyes widened as she realized what she was seeing. The airplane started to shake. Torako was thrown from her seat into the aisle. Kurusu-sensei landed on top of her.

"Oww!" Torako said, but there was no time for more complaints or apologies, because then the plane shook in the opposite direction. She looked at the windows on the other side of the plane and saw another eye staring back at her. Torako curled up into a ball and covered her head. The boys were thrown from their seats, too. The fire extinguisher bounced around, threatening to bash someone's head in.

"What is this!?" Kurusu-sensei cried. "What do we do!?"

"Is this an earthquake!?" Mikoshiba asked. Obviously he hadn't noticed the eyes.

"Buckle up, if you can!" Torako said, grabbing the seat she slammed into. "Then put your head between your legs!" There were some collisions and the wall and floors saw more impacts, but eventually, they were all able to buckle up and put their heads between their legs. It still hurt being wrenched around in the seatbelt, but at least they weren't hitting each other and everything else in their section of the plane anymore. It felt like forever, but the shaking eventually did stop. Torako risked raising her head to look out the windows. The eyes weren't there anymore.

"They're gone," Yarai announced, also picking his head up to look.

"We need to get off this plane before they come back," Torako said.

"Yeah! Those other things with the teeth are gone, and I don't want to go through that again!" Ono agreed.

"Let's get out of here!" Itou said.

"We'll have to go back to go out, though..." Torako said.

"..." They all stared down the aisle. Yarai stepped forward first. Kurusu-sensei followed him, and she was followed by the other three. Torako quickly went into the galley at the back of the plane and grabbed a knife, a water bottle, and a first-aid kit. She hurried to catch up to the others. The inside of the plane seemed quieter. When they reached the part where everyone had been freaking out, they found that a lot of them had been knocked unconscious, and the ones who weren't were either crying or leaving. There was no fighting anymore. A lot of people seemed to be in shock.

"B-But… Those things are out there!" Kurusu-sensei said. "And who knows what else!" Torako's carry-on bag happened to be lying in a chair next to the aisle. She grabbed it. It was still closed and still full. She shoved the water bottle, small first-aid kit, and knife in her backpack, putting the knife in a pocket that would be easy to reach. When she looked up again, Yarai was holding a headband with cat ears on them.

'Huh…?' Torako thought, surprised.

"Sensei, if you wear this, you won't be attacked by any wild beasts," Yarai said with a perfectly straight face.

"R-Really!?" Kurusu-sensei asked hopefully, accepting them. Torako had to stop herself from laughing. Were they serious? But she thought it that if it helped their nervous teacher keep calm, it might not be a bad thing.

Without wasting time collecting any other supplies, Yarai slid down the slide, and the others followed. Torako hugged her backpack on the way down and pulled it on at the bottom. Fortunately, dawn was upon them. As they walked into the brightening jungle, Torako kept her eye out for a long, sturdy stick. She was thinking of turning the knife she had into a spear. Torako paused for one last glance at the plane and the area surrounding it. There were no signs of life aside from the sounds of the jungle. She turned and kept walking. "Are you all right, Fukui-chan?" Kurusu-sensei asked. "You must be worried about Kokonoe-sensei..."

"Huh? Why would she worry about him?" Mikoshiba asked.

"… He's my uncle," Torako replied. She could see the boys were shocked.

"What? No way!" Ono said.

"Your face is too cute to be related to him!" Mikoshiba said.

"I don't believe it!" Itou said.

"Thanks?" Torako said. "But it really is true. Although, I've been traveling abroad most of my life, so I barely know him." She was concerned, but he was smart enough to save himself. She knew that much.

"Weren't you keeping that a secret?" Kurusu-sensei asked.

"He was. I don't really care," Torako replied with a shrug. "He seemed to think I'd be the target of retribution from the kids he busted if they knew we were related."

"Well, he probably isn't wrong," Itou said.

"Yeah, you're so small and gloomy, I totally would have picked on you if I knew that," Ono said. He smirked. "In fact, I still might..." He put his hand on Torako's shoulder. The next thing he knew, Torako had twisted his arm, knocked his feet out from under him, and pinned him to the ground with her knee in his back.

"I would make you regret that," she stated coolly.

"Ah! I give! Give!" Ono said when he couldn't wiggle free. Torako released him. "That really hurt, Tora-chan!" he complained, massaging his arm.

"Heh. You're tougher than you look," Itou told her.

"My mom works in private security. She taught me a few things," Torako said.

"That was like a professional wrestler!" Kurusu-sensei said, lighting up, but then her expression became serious. "But you shouldn't hurt your classmates like that just to prove a point."

"..." Torako made no promises not to do it again. Kurusu-sensei sighed.

"Huh?" Where's Yarai-kun?" she asked, realizing he was out of sight.

"This way," Torako said, taking the lead.

"Eh? How can you be sure?" Kurusu-sensei asked, following her.

"Because of the way those leaves have been trampled," Torako replied.

"What are you, some kind of American Indian tracker?" Itou asked.

"I learned how to track animals from Ken Arden and my dad," Torako replied. "Tracking people isn't that different." Yarai wasn't that far ahead. They caught up easily.

—∞—

They spent the rest of the day walking. They encountered some minor wildlife, some of which was cute, like the little critters that looked a bit like chipmunks with prehensile tails up in the trees. But no major incidents happened. They passed the water bottle around when they were thirsty and drank it all. They slept under the jungle roof that night with leaves for bedding.