DAY ONE ; 10:30 A.M.

During their allegiance that had begun an hour and a half earlier, Kiyotaka Ishimaru had learned that he actually had quite a lot in common with Mondo Oowada.

There wasn't much else to do but talk, really, as they sat in the zone next to the one with the house – the house would become a danger zone at 11:00, and Mondo had wanted to wait a little bit to see if someone would come out. He was still looking for his friends. Ishimaru had wondered for a bit if Naegi was doing alright, or if he had been killed by anyone… there hadn't been an announcement since six o'clock that morning, of course, and the only death by that time had been Gundam Tanaka.

But now…

That had been four and a half hours ago, and while Ishimaru really did want to think better of his classmates than that, he wasn't so sure.

Mondo sighed. "I don't think anyone's comin' out," he muttered. He stood up and stretched, almost panther-like. "We should go check it out. See if there's anything worth taking. There's nobody in there."

"Maybe they slept through the announcement," Ishimaru said.

"Then they'll need us to wake 'em up anyway, right?" Mondo asked. Ishimaru nodded and stood up, grabbing the katana. Just in case.

He was fairly certain that he wouldn't have to use it.

Fairly hopeful was perhaps a better word.

"I'll catch up," Ishimaru said, packing up their things.

Mondo nodded and slung his bag over his shoulder. He swaggered off to the house. It wasn't too far off from where they were sitting – they were at the edge of the zone next to the one that would be dangerous, soon, so close that it made Ishimaru a bit nervous – but soon Ishimaru couldn't see him, and that made Ishimaru a bit nervous. So he packed faster, and gripped the katana tightly as he followed.

He saw Mondo just in time to see a hailstorm of bullets spin him around and to the ground.

His eyes widened and he ran down to him, just in time to run straight into Kazuichi Souda, holding an Uzi and bawling: "Shit… shit… I didn't… Didn't mean to… Kuwata's goin' to be mad… Shit…"

Ishimaru moved almost on autopilot and grabbed the Uzi from Souda, wrenching it out of his hands and tossing it to the ground. He was barely aware of what he was doing until the katana was at Souda's throat and one of his hands was on the back of his head.

Souda cried harder and tried to twist away. Ishimaru was shaking; with rage, with fear, he didn't know. "P-please- please, I-I-Ishim-m-maru."

"Please what," Ishimaru said, voice flat. Everything had sort of faded to a dull roar – how had his first real friend died immediately after he'd become friends with him? It wasn't fair, it just wasn't fair.

"I-ishimaru."

That was Mondo. Mondo was somehow, impossibly alive. Ishimaru turned to face him.

He was lying on the ground, holding his side with his arm that hadn't been shredded to pieces. It looked like both of his legs were done for, though the only bullet that appeared to have gone toward a really vital place had been in his side. If Ishimaru could help him… if he could…

Mondo's face twisted into a grimace and he struggled to spit out the next few words. "Kill," he said. "This fucker."

Souda bawled and twisted, twisted somehow into the sword, and Ishimaru, moving more on instinct than anything else, slashed Kazuichi Souda's throat.

He let go of the body immediate. It convulsed, blood gurgled, and then Souda was dead. In the next instant something hard punched into his ribs, against the Kevlar Vest, and he fell backwards, tripping over Oowada's body.

Leon Kuwata stood at the doorway to the house with a pistol in his hands.

"Fuck," he said. "Fuck, is that Oowada? Fuck. And Souda. Fuck. You do this, Hall Monitor?"

Ishimaru didn't answer him. He picked up the Uzi and pointed it at Kuwata. The most important thing now was to save Oowada. He would do anything to save his friend. Oowada was still breathing, though it sounded labored. He needed to… to staunch the bleeding, to sew it up, to bandage it, to do whatever it took.

"What do you have in there?" he asked evenly. "This was one of your weapons?"

"N-no, it was Tanaka's-" Kuwata cut off. "Why the hell ain't you dead?"

Ishimaru ignored him. "What were your two weapons then?"

Kuwata swallowed and answered – it wasn't like he could really refuse, Ishimaru was holding the Uzi on him. "Mine was this, and Souda- Souda- he had a tracker."

"Give me the tracker," Ishimaru said. When Kuwata hesitated, he snapped. "Now!"

Kuwata tossed it over. It hit the grass a few feet in front of him, and Ishimaru barely had time to marvel at it before another shot hit him in the belly. Again he stumbled, and he steadied his grip on the Uzi. He was, apart from the bruises or abrasions that those bullets were going to leave, unharmed.

He would carry Oowada to the clinic he'd seen on the map. With a tracker, he wouldn't need to have his map out all the time – it was unwieldy, and wouldn't work too well when he was transporting Mondo Oowada. But a tracker…

"I'm taking O-Oowada-kun to the clinic," Ishimaru said, his voice faltering for the first time since the incident had started. "I'm taking this gun. I'm taking the tracker. I will leave you your pistol."

Kuwata swallowed. He was looking between Souda's body and Mondo, who was still holding on. He would have to hold on for a bit longer. The clinic was quite a long ways away, but Ishimaru could handle it.

He picked up the tracker, powered it on, and packed everything in Oowada's pack into his. He stuck the katana through his belt loop and set down the tracker and the Uzi – keeping the Uzi within reaching distance, of course – and crouched down to maneuver Oowada onto his back.

"Kuwata-kun," he said. "I believe I require one more bit of assistance."

"W-what is it, man?" Kuwata asked. There was a distinct panic in his voice when he spoke.

"Lift Oowada-kun onto my back."

"Wait a second-"

"I am going to save you, Oowada-kun!" Ishimaru snapped. "I- I am not going to make a friend just for him to die! So, Kuwata-kun, lift him onto my back! I will carry him to the clinic alone! I will save him alone! All I ask is that you lift him onto my back!"

He thought Kuwata wasn't going to do it. That he was going to load the rest of the bullets in his gun into Ishimaru's head, something his vest wouldn't protect. But Kuwata gave in. He nodded and, stepping carefully over Souda's body, lifted Mondo's body onto Ishimaru's back. Mondo groaned as he was moved, and Ishimaru squeezed his eyes shut against the tears. Mondo wasn't going to die. He wasn't. But Ishimaru didn't want him to hurt, either.

"He's my friend, too," Kuwata said after he'd helped Mondo onto Ishimaru's body. Ishimaru now stood unbalanced and weighed down, arms curling under Oowada's legs and around far enough so that he could use the Uzi and read the tracker. "But if I see you without him, you better bet I'll be killing you. Alright, Hall Monitor?"

Ishimaru didn't answer. He turned and staggered away, following his tracker.

26 STUDENTS REMAINING

I meant for this interaction to take place later, but I. Needed it to take place at the 'house with a well', and I accidentally made that a danger zone at 11:00? So, that obviously complicated things.

But we've still got some fun stuff in store for Mondo and Ishimaru, he's not dead quite yet.