Chapter 3: Taking Responsibility
Isshiki Iroha ran through hell.
It was the only way to describe the sheer number of people stuck in buildings, burning in flames.
Death, destruction, devastation - it was unimaginable that she had just passed the same path half an hour ago, watching the traffic whiz by, pedestrians milling towards wherever they were going, sights and sounds of a warm weekday afternoon that she would neither think twice to care about nor bother to remember.
And yet, it would be her last memories of a normal world, where frantic motorists did not scream in the middle of the street, scurrying around in circles with nowhere to hide.
Even with a wet handkerchief tied over her nose and mouth, she could still smell the smoke. She could feel the heat, the torment and suffering of those who sprinted with her, and those who could not. She could hear the wails of lost children wandering in the opposite direction, crying for their parents trapped in faraway offices. She could even see desperate souls jumping from a height, choosing the ground over the fires blistering their skin.
She stopped and vomited. There were just too many to save.
Picking herself up, she gritted her teeth and hobbled forward, re-joining the fleeing crowd. She had made up her mind to prioritise herself and her friends, the pain in her legs providing just enough distraction from the nagging guilt and shame. The tears in her eyes blurred the chaos, allowing her to focus on the familiarity ahead, dashing towards the place that she truly wanted to be, the comfort she needed in a cold, cruel reality.
Where else could she go, when all she could find were broken windows and locked doors? Looters were already congregating at the stores, fighting over the last batch of resources with and for their lives - civility, law, and order be damned in a world with no salvation for the innocent nor retribution for the evil. Even if kind strangers were to offer her shelter, would she trust them not to kick her out, or worse - take advantage of her, especially when she had to escape the clutches of delinquents chasing her around as if she were prey?
No. Sobu was her only hope.
It began to drizzle as she paused to throw up once more, her knees weak and trembling from the exhaustion and the trauma of two close calls. Pulling on a raincoat, she huddled under the roof of a nearby bus stop, sobbing uncontrollably, nearly giving in to the fatigue and agony before pinching her wounds to keep herself awake. In the heavy sky, the sun was setting, casting an ominous shadow over the rubble-strewn city, and while she was inclined to wait, she shuddered at the thought of having to spend the night at the deserted stand, exposed to the hostile elements and the howling winds.
Scared, tired and out of options, she slapped herself, clenching her fists to gather her strength and muster her resolve. She gave the heavens thirty more minutes to clear itself, counting down the seconds with her watch before departing in the final light of dusk.
Progress was slow as the cloth around her cheeks made it hard to breathe, and she found herself retching at the bitter moisture seeping through the fabric. Gasping for air, she let go of the handkerchief, only to realise that she had taken a wrong turn somewhere, the quiet lanes of stalled vehicles and pitch-black houses virtually indistinguishable from the rest. Drenched, shivering, and hurting, she could only swallow her frustration and double back, not ready to roll over and die - not until she could make sure that her friends were safe and let them know that she was fine.
Wait for me, senpai, and don't do anything stupid like trying to find me in the rain, she cried, even as she laughed at herself for having covered a dozen kilometres on foot. Beyond the tricks she used to pull in table tennis, and her administrative role as the manager of the soccer club, she had never been particularly athletic, and was always happy to let him do the heavy lifting and carry her bags. Perhaps that was why she had decided to pay him back for once, to give her all at the end of the world, to be there for him and with him, not knowing if there would be any more chances to return his kindness in a universe without tomorrow.
Even if it could just be a selfish wish of hers. Even if she may just be a lonely coward who needed someone to rely on in the absence of family.
Dizzy and unable to think straight, she staggered and fell, landing in a puddle, cursing as she struggled to continue the journey with stains on her uniform and injuries on her arms. Nearing her destination, she grinded to a halt before the silhouette of the school, wondering if she was in a state to do anything except burden him with another mouth to feed and bleeding wounds to tend to.
The rain poured, soaking through her torn poncho as she saw him waiting at the gate. She called out to him, intending to let him choose if she deserved to see him again, but her feet betrayed her, bringing her towards his approaching form, hugging him as he embraced her, never wanting to let go.
It's not fair, senpai, to take responsibility for me when you already have her.
You're just making me want to say yes to your confession when we get out of here alive.
"Welcome back, baka," he whispered as she heaved in his chest. His little sister joined in, weeping at the reunion, and he had to pull them back under the shade, locking up behind them as Komachi yelled for the others. Within minutes, the entire group had rushed to the scene, and the President of the Student Council could only gape at them in the speechless quiet before bowing in sincere gratitude and appreciation.
"Never mind that, we must decontaminate her immediately," the white-haired otaku declared, not mincing his words even as he flinched at the term. "Ladies, take her to the bathroom and use as much water as you need from the basins. Make sure to clean yourselves after dressing her injuries and discarding her clothes. You too, Master Hikigaya, you'll need to wash your face and hands."
With that, the girls of the Service Club scrambled to work, leaving Miura, Ebina, Sagami and her clique behind. The dead-fish eyed loner went to cleanse himself as the others shuffled back to the library, and in the unsettling quiet, the queen bee asked the question buzzing around in everyone's minds.
"Should we like, prepare a separate room for her?"
"Yeah, I don't think I'd be comfortable sharing the same enclosed space," Sagami was quick to agree. "If she was out there without a mask for so long, even her breath may be polluted."
"I wouldn't go that far if I were you," Hayama cut her short, glaring at her even as he kept up his fake grin. "But to be safe, we'll let her recover at the infirmary nearby, where her friends can care for her with whatever medical supplies they need. In fact, after tonight, we should all spread ourselves across a few neighbouring classrooms. That way, we can still patrol and watch over each other without cramming sixteen people in a poorly ventilated place."
Everyone was satisfied with the proposal, with his buddies slapping him on the back and calling him a genius, even if it was not that different from what the other two had suggested, just packaged in a manner that would avoid singling her out. The natural-born leader had never failed to impress, gaining a quick consensus and popular support from the masses on the potentially divisive issue, taking a leaf from seasoned politicians such as the patriarch of the Yukinoshita family, whom his parents used to serve under as legal advisors.
Either way, with proper setups at the nurse's room, there was not much to do, and as Sagami and the others returned to sleep, he waited patiently for the Service Club to come back, to inform them of the unequivocal decision that the majority had voted for on their behalf.
"Disgusting," the ice queen spat, even as Iroha herself relented, not in any position to protest. The dead-fish eyed loner gnashed his teeth as his little sister bit her lip, but when the airhead played her role in getting them to calm down, they got to work to move to their new base - which was all that really mattered.
With five less people to hog the oxygen, and more than thirty percent reduction in sources of body heat, it was certainly easier to breathe. Miura was thankful, he could tell, and as she snored away in the cooler air, snuggling ever closer to him, his smile just got a little wider.
Day 1
"Wake up, senpai," a familiar voice cooed, and the loner found himself back in his room. The fan above spun in the summer heat, rotating like the blades on a helicopter, a noise which he had remembered hearing more often in the days leading up to the apocalypse.
Confused, he turned to gaze at the flaxen-haired girl beside the bed, a green hairband over her head in the shape of rabbit ears, which frankly looked cute on her - not that he would admit it to her face. She brightened as he yawned and crawled to his feet, stepping aside to let him fumble to the bathroom while she sat in his chair, twirling as if she were at the playground.
"What time is it?" he muttered groggily, staring at the clock, "4:28 a.m.? You're unusually early today, Iroha."
"Shishishishi, I have track practice later, for the upcoming quarter marathon. That's about a dozen kilometers, but I'll do my best to win and make you proud."
"And I'm supposed to help you train?" he scratched his cheek sheepishly, "As much as I hate it, I'm sure the captain of the soccer team would make a better coach."
"You're here to tutor me in Japanese, silly. It's your best subject and my worst."
"Well, Hayama is up there too. He's probably just as good."
"Stop talking about him," she pouted, "I don't care about him, I want you–"
"Onii-chan."
Huh?
"Hikigaya-kun, it's morning already."
"Iroha," was the first thing he uttered as he woke up - for real this time. "How's she doing?"
"Not great, I'm afraid. She's nauseous and seems to have developed a fever. It's my shift, so I didn't want to disturb you, but since you asked–"
"Is she going to be fine?"
"I'm not a doctor," she snapped before sighing, "I gave her some pills and got it under control for now. I just hope it's because of the exertion and not the rad–"
"Thanks, Yukino," he exhaled, glancing at the figure on the bunk. "And sorry for troubling you."
"I'm your girlfriend, in case you forgot," she reminded, making sure to emphasise her point. "I'm here to support you, so don't mention it."
He nodded, thankful for her assistance. Outside, the rain had stopped, but the sky remained overcast, the thick clouds blotting out the sun, giving the firmament the appearance of dawn when it was already past nine o'clock.
"By the way," the airhead piped in, blushing shyly, "Iroha-chan was mumbling something about being on a date with you while I was watching her. I-Is that true?"
"We had a mock one before she tried and failed to confess to Mr Popular," he nearly choked at the ice queen's frosty glare, "I thought you knew?"
"Mou, onii-chan, stick to Yukino-senpai or Yuigahama-senpai," chided his little sister, earning her puzzled stares from her audience. "Wait, I mean–"
"Breakfast is ready!" the part-time warrior announced before she could continue. Jumping at the interruption, she grabbed his hand and bounded for the library, where the others were already digging in. Hayama waved at him as they arrived, and he responded with a grunt, having seen through his machinations, but not wanting to stir more beef than he had in his sad gyudon bowl. Quietly, he ate, munching away for the sake of nourishment and not taste, having to finish the stale leftovers before moving on to not-so-fresh produce for dinner - not that there was much of the latter as it was the last day before summer, when inventory levels were supposed to be at their lowest in the year.
"Limited as they are, I'll do what I can," Kawasaki assured as they wiped their plates and left them to dry instead of washing the utensils with precious water. "Taishi and I will salt the fruits, pickle the vegetables and smoke the meat so we won't need to survive on just plain rice, potatoes and ramen. We have flour, though the ovens don't run on stored gas, so we'll have to make noodles and fried bread instead of biscuits. These will probably last us two weeks, three if we stretch ourselves to include ready-to-eat provisions such as beans, spam, cookies, and chocolate, though I'd reserve them as emergency rations. The silver lining is that we have more than enough fluids to sustain for a month, with bottled water from the sports meet and various packaged drinks from the vending machines."
"And what happens after that?" the Fire Queen questioned.
"By then, atmospheric radiation should've reduced to safer levels," the white-haired otaku replied. "We could collect rainwater and fix a plastic sheet over the containers at an inclined angle to let the vapour condense and drip into buckets. We could also distil the reserves we have using the equipment in the science labs."
"What about food? We can't like, survive on sky juice."
"The soil may be contaminated but we could use the hydroponic–"
"How long do you even plan to stay here? We can't harvest in half a month, dummy. And we can't just live on greens."
"We could try eating less?"
"Says the one who consumes the biggest portions."
"Yumiko," Hayama interjected before the situation could get out of hand. "If we're lucky, and the government is still functional, they may set up shelters for aid. Otherwise, we'll just have to get more from elsewhere."
Way to go, blondie, for putting it so subtly. But we'll all have to wake up and smell the coffee.
Seems like I'll have to be the bad guy again. Sweet words and ignorance won't save anyone.
"What he means is that we'll need to scavenge from other places, like thieves and robbers," the dead-fish eyed loner smirked at his glare. "Hell, without proper enforcement, there may even be riots at those distribution centres. Understand that this isn't the aftermath of a natural disaster where people will help each other to live another day. Without hope for a normal life at the end of this nightmare, there'd only be self-interest and desperation for scraps."
"Think about it, everything from clean water to modern agriculture are the product of machines, which are themselves created by other machines, which may be complex or imported, and can't be manufactured without electricity or specialised technology," he continued, even as Miura and the others fidgeted uncomfortably. "Sure, we could subsist on hand tools and manual labour, but without mass production and mechanised transport, we'd be back to the pre-industrial era when peasants lived or died with the weather. And unlike us - most of whom are urbane Liberal Arts students who have little experience in farming, our ancestors never needed to contend with radioactive fallout or global nuclear winter."
"Point is, like it or not, once the dust settles, there'd be a rush for resources like we'd never seen before. We'll need to replenish our own supplies while we still can. Starving ourselves won't get us past the next month. And if we're to seek greener pastures in the villages - not that we'd know if paradise even exists anymore, or if arable lands would be any less contested than the remnants of the city - we'll still need to amass a stockpile for the long and arduous journey."
"We must be ready, and it's not a matter of sooner or later, or the quicker the better - it's now or never. How far we'd be willing to go is up for discussion, you may not agree, but might makes right in this reality, and while we're talking about taking from others, they'd be planning the same of us. Unfortunately, not everyone would be as polite or courteous or averse to violence when the ends justify the means."
"Onii-chan," his little sister breathed. She was concerned, worried even, but some things had to be said while he could.
"Now that it's daylight, we'll need to start searching the compound for more materiel, such as goggles and respirators from the art club, gloves and other protective wear in case we need to make an early exit. I know I'm a hypocrite for saying this, but communication is important, and walkie-talkies from the guardhouse will be crucial for coordination. We should also give the Kawasaki siblings a loudhailer so they could alert us of danger from the cafeteria and the kitchen, which would be the prime targets in an ambush. And while I won't be expecting any assistance, we should tune in to the radio across different frequencies to listen to the emergency broadcast and stay abreast of the situation."
"Master Hikigaya," the white-haired otaku adjusted his glasses, a serious expression on his face. "You have graced us with your wisdom, and you are truly right. Battery-operated devices aside, linking up the rooftop solar panels and backup generators could provide us with valuable power for ventilation and illumination, though we should be cautious when turning on the lights to avoid attracting unnecessary attention. I'll also prepare a van for evacuation, filled with diesel siphoned from idle vehicles and packed with rations for the road trip."
"In fact, if we have time, we can put together alarms, booby traps and other deterrent mechanisms around the perimeter. But in my humble opinion, nothing beats the simplicity of bats, knives, axes, bows and arrows, training ourselves in how to use them, and memorising the ins-and-outs of campus, including hidden corners and escape routes to maximise our home advantage."
"Woah, chuuni-chan, Hikki," Yuigahama beamed. "My head is spinning but whatever you said sounds really impressive!"
"Now we'll need to establish the team structure," the golden-haired boy commented. "If nobody has any objections, we'll elect a leader - preferably someone who can unite everyone - and organise ourselves accordingly to execute the plan."
Oh, so that's how it's going to be.
"I won't be voting for you," the ice queen snickered.
"You don't have to tell me," Hayama shrugged as his partner stared her down. "We can do this anonymously."
"That's fine," the dead-fish eyed loner countered, "I don't care about this charade. We can all sing kumbaya for peace and harmony, but when push comes to shove, people will fight for themselves and for those they truly love and believe in. It's clear where the fault lines are, and I won't hide my affiliations - I choose Yukinoshita Yukino as our leader."
"Well, since we're blowing this in the open, I'd be interested to see who the traitors are," the Fire Queen turned to address the room. "Rise if you stand with Hayama Hayato!"
Eight were in favour - nine of the 17 present including himself. Unsurprisingly, she, Tobe, Ebina, Yamato and Ooka expressed themselves strongly, while Sagami and her clique would not have wanted to associate themselves with the Service Club after the fiasco at the Cultural Festival.
"Yuigahama," she hissed as the airhead averted her gaze, "I'm disappointed. You picked wrongly, so don't expect me to treat you the same as I've always done. Either way, Hayato, you've already won."
"Thanks everybody–"
"I choose Yukinoshita Yukino," a voice croaked, cutting him short before he could begin his victory speech. Moments later, eight hands shot up in agreement, resulting in a tie with the blond captain.
"Why?" the ice queen exclaimed as the Hikigaya siblings ran over to catch the flaxen-haired girl. "You didn't need to come, I told you to rest and wait–"
"Because I'm part of the team," came the soft reply. "And you should've been the President of the Student Council, not me - if it wasn't for senpai. He pledged his support for you, so I will too, even though it does hurt having to choose a side."
"Isshiki," the dead-fish eyed loner exhaled. "You really didn't have to–"
"But I did, I rejected him," she bit her lip. Will you take responsibility, senpai?
"Looks like we're evenly split," Hayama chuckled, "I was hoping that we'd be one, but you have your friends and I have mine. That said, in political terms, we could still be allies, equal in strength and numbers and sovereign in our own right but with a close bilateral relationship, a common market, and a mutual defence treaty between us. To be specific, we'd share Kawasaki's cooking and Zaimokuza's expertise, conduct joint training and operations, and respond to external threats as a group. How does that sound?"
"Like the words of a two-bit wannabe diplomat," the ice queen remarked with a grin, though she graciously accepted the olive branch. After all, as much as she would never be able to forgive him for the pain that he had caused in middle school, for pushing her aside and leaving her to the envious sharks to save his own skin, she had, once upon a time, crushed on her childhood friend like so many others, and knew that he was, while not reliable, generally benevolent in nature.
Not that she could say the same of his green-eyed partner, or the maroon-haired diva - but so long as he was in charge, they would be his to keep in check.
As for herself, she had her own to manage. The Kawasakis were largely independent, and so were Totsuka and the white-haired otaku, but when she saw her kouhai leaning on her boyfriend's shoulders on the way back to the sick bay, she could not help but look away.
"Congratulations, Yukinon," the airhead cheered beside her, and she forced a thin smile.
Thanks, Yuigahama, for staying with us even though we've hurt you so much.
I guess this must be how it feels to watch us from behind.
A/N: Chapter title inspired by Iroha's catchphrase. The dream scene (green hairband, track practice, 4:28 a.m., tutoring) is a reference to Nakano Yotsuba from Quintessential Quintuplets (same VA as Iroha). Minor reference to the opening scene of Apocalypse Now (heh) with the ceiling fan reminding Hachiman of rotor blades.
I'm glad to read your very insightful comments last week (please keep them coming!), and I'd like to respond to a few points discussed:
1. Chiba surviving the nuclear strike: Modern anti-missile systems would provide some protection, though in dense urban areas such as Tokyo, these would likely be overwhelmed by the sheer number of warheads. Also, due to the age of nukes in general (most of them originating from the Cold War), a few would inevitably miss their targets.
2. Exposure to radioactive rain: Fallout would depend on various factors but there would be a corresponding difference between the dosage received by Iroha (few hours) vs. Hachiman and Komachi (few minutes). Now she's nauseous and has developed a fever.
3. Intra-group conflict: Hopefully this chapter has shed some light. As with canon, Hachiman and Yukino would have a love/hate relationship with Hayama, Miura, and Sagami. They'd be mature and rational enough to work together, but trust is a deep and instinctual thing, and given a desperate situation, cracks would start to appear, especially when faced with tough choices, with fundamental differences in principles and approach.
4. Hachiman's relationships: By default, Hachiman and Yukino are a stable pair, but how he'll handle multiple best girls would be one of his challenges in the apocalypse. In any case, I'll try my best to do justice to all of them.
5. Mountain vs city: My earlier (completed) work Reality Offline features the SAO and Oregairu cast starting their journey from a plane crash on a mountain due to the EMP (and global thermonuclear war). They'll be travelling from remote areas back to civilisation, which is the opposite of this fic (escaping the city for the villages).
P/S: I'll be updating the ongoing Five is a Couple (Quintessential Quintuplets, rated M for lemons) and Blessings on This Floating Castle (Konosuba x SAO), so feel free to check them out. As always, favs/follows/reviews highly appreciated!