3:30 P.M.

Aoi Asahina stopped by the stream to wash off her face and see if the water was any good to drink. She tied her hair in a bun on the back of her head to get it out of the way and, before she could reach down into the water, noticed a piece of fabric on the shore.

She picked it up. It was white – there was a button-hole on it, and it was dirty and bloody and, overall, a mess. Someone had been here. She didn't know who it could be; the white shirt was part of the uniform. Somehow, though, she felt attached to the shirt and the nameless classmate it belonged to. Maybe it was Sakura's!

Still, whoever it was… they might be close by. And if this was a dangerous or unstable classmate… the joy of seeing someone wouldn't be worth it. Or if it was Togami. She wouldn't want to see anyone.

Asahina hadn't seen anyone since her name had been called. She'd meant to wait for Sakura, but after her had come Kiyotaka Ishimaru, and then she'd gotten to thinking about other, less moral muscular classmates, and she'd hidden. She hadn't even seen Sakura leave. And now… she was alone.

She should have gone with Ishimaru when she had the chance.

"Asahina."

Sakura!

She jumped and turned around, beaming. The piece of fabric went in her pocket. "Sakura-chan!" she said. She ran to her friend and hugged her, freezing when she felt something wet on her back. "Are you hurt?"

Sakura turned. The back of her shirt had been torn up to make bandages, which were soaked through by now.

"Oh, no… we've got to get to the clinic!" Asahina said, glancing up to meet Sakura's eyes. She was in pain; Asahina could tell. She hadn't said barely anything, though they'd only been together for about a minute and she didn't usually say anything at all. "It's in this zone. I passed it on the way in."

"Are you hurt?" Sakura asked. She put her hands on either side of Asahina's face, brushing the last few strands of hair away from her eyes.

"No," Asahina said. "I haven't seen anyone. Who… who…"

"Fukawa," Sakura said. "Although I suppose we should refer to her as Genocider Syo, now."

"F-fukawa-chan is…" Asahina trailed off, trying to see it. It was all too easily imaginable. She shuddered. "We need to go to the clinic."

"Very well," Sakura said. She let go of Asahina. Asahina wiped a few tears away, trying not to think about how hard it would be for Sakura with that injury, especially if it had gotten injured. Sakura was strong, but if she got infected…

Asahina tried to push those thoughts out of her head and led the way to the clinic, grasping Sakura's hand and pulling her behind her. Her stomach growled, but she didn't want to start in on her rations yet – she'd had some doughnuts in her bag, but those had disappeared as soon as she'd gotten out of the school. They'd been for emergencies, and… well, it had seemed like a pretty big emergency at the time. But now… now she wished that she would have waited, so that she could share them with Sakura.

She thought she still had some candy in her bag, though. She could share that.

When they got to the clinic, the gate was kicked in. Asahina's free hand tightened around the telescoping spring baton in her bag, just in case.

Sakura pulled out a hatchet. Asahina, secure with Sakura at her back, took a cautious step forward. She glanced around. She didn't see anyone… maybe someone had come by earlier, to get some medicine? Either way, she hoped that all of the bandages weren't gone. She swallowed, and took another step.

"Asahina," Sakura said. "Let me go first. I don't want you getting hurt."

"S-Sakura-chan…"

Sakura headed forward, edging open the door, which was open half-way to begin with. Then she stiffened.

"Is there anyone in there?"

"Nobody alive."

Asahina peered around Sakura's body and froze. The dead body of Mondo Oowada laid on a cot, eyes half-open. His legs were absolutely obliterated. There were some bandages on his side in a weak attempt to save him. His pack and weapon were gone.

"W-what…" Asahina managed before she whirled away from the door and threw up in the grass. Sakura broke herself out of the trance and rubbed her back. "W-who would… how…"

"He's died fairly recently," Sakura said, frowning. "His name wasn't on the twelve o'clock list…"

"Who would d-do that?" Asahina asked. She wiped at her face angrily. She hadn't been close to Oowada, and she hadn't reacted this way to the lists read over loudspeaker… but it was somehow different when the body was right in front of her. "Who- who would-"

Sakura disappeared and Asahina couldn't make herself follow her into the clinic. Within a few moments, Sakura was back.

"Somebody with a gun," she reported. "It looks… I'm not sure. I heard an Uzi while getting farther away from the school. Maybe whoever had that…"

"I- can you- I feel so bad, but can you… can you get some bandages and then I'll patch you up, I promise, I just-"

"Don't worry. I can," Sakura said. She disappeared, and then was back with a bagful of bandages and probably expired medicine. "Let's go back to the stream."

23 STUDENTS REMAINING

And they found each other! I honestly don't know how long this is going to take for it to end… I know how it's going to end, I know who's going to win and what's going to happen afterward, but… I don't know how much longer. There are still 23 students left, so it will be a while, I guess…