---

//Day 1 | Location: Nameless Forest - Lakeside
_{@AThousandCurses@baraquiel@Nakushita@Yankee@Vertigo}

Tsubasa didn’t say anything else in return, only responding with a hug.

It was brief, but not at all spontaneous, and for a moment, Shun was enveloped in a warmth so much different compared to the heat of the fire or the Sun. What was a funeral for? What were tears for? To show that someone was loved. To show the grieving that others shared in their pain.

And as she separated from Shun, as they walked back to the others, she managed a smile towards Ayana too. The klutz was as clumsy with her words as she was with her feet, but the essence of it was all that Tsubasa wanted to say as well.

None of it was their fault. No one could blame anyone for being crushed by everything that happened. And so, if they were able to keep living, keep acting, past all this?

They were enough.

Breaking past the clearing, the three of them could see just how organized things had become. While Masato, Duncan, and Asahi struggled still to figure out a solution to healing the two most injured people amongst them, Daisuke and Ayano formed an unlikely pair as they organized the remaining students. Most of them looked glad for the distraction, in truth.

Kumi and Masami worked the fire, after having chased Kogen and Akito away from it. Both the boys stormed off in their own direction, the eyepatch-wearing Awakened muttering something about patrolling the perimeter before he strode off down the same path that Shun had moments ago. The Ito twins, after Sohei managed to work out whatever his whole deal with Rin was, busied themselves with trying to catch fish. Naturally athletic as they were, they managed to corner a couple, before Kunio’s cat-like reflexes ended with him practically slapping the fish out of the water, into the sharpened blade of Hana. Rin, on the other hand, utilized her newfound abilities as best as she could, drawing lines of cutting force that turned trees into firewood with such ease that it almost looked as if she was cheating. Even Ayano had been coaxed into helping out by her boyfriend, despite her professed exhaustion. Alongside Mayumi, whose pale face was already sunburnt and ashen (from the actual ash, not from trauma and despair), they gathered large rocks to line the growing fire with.

The lake was truly a bountiful place.

It almost made one think, for a moment, that they were back at the camping trip they had two years ago, where their teachers forced survival skills on them, only to then give up partway through and just have them make curry at the outdoors stove instead.

The fish crinkled, fats sizzling. They had no salt, and there was no clear idea whether or not it was even ‘tasty’, but Kumi didn’t look all too disgusted when she bit the tender meat. Then, she turned, spying the way the three new arrivals looked at her.

“No work, no food,” she said, in a way almost matronly. “If you’re rested up, then go help out, please.”

...

No matter what Maki wanted to shoot back in response, Asahi’s sheer helplessness gave her pause. It wasn’t really the right time to muck it up with an old friend of hers, after all. She grunted something indistinct and sat down instead, as if to say that if there was anything she could offer, she would.

Broken bones, after all, didn’t exhaust someone the same way that internal bleeding did. Outside of being a bit hungry and a lot thirsty, she had plenty in the tank to give.

Haruko raised her own hands up, stepping up onto the tips of her toes to smooth out the furrowed brow of her boyfriend. “It’s understandable,” she said. There wasn’t any sense of forgiveness in her tone, but she wasn’t the one to give it either. “But you’re not the sorta guy to just avoid talking about this after, right? Make Sasuke and Yuki better, Duncan. Then work things out with Shun, alright?” Her arms, so much thinner than his, wrapped around it, and then she was off, looking for anything she could help with.

Her body was still able, after all. And the atmosphere was too heavy for her to withstand, in the end.

All that was left now was Duncan, Asahi, and Masato, to do what they could.

On the brink of exhaustion, Asahi’s Cable emerged from the tips of his fingers once more, the pink-hued spidersilk so fragile that it looked as if it would be shredded by a light breeze. But, it held, a testament to his desperation, and it connected, slipping beneath the skin of his fellow Awakened, and…

They felt it.

It was a vice that seized their hearts, a panic that rushed into them unabated. Terror and grief. A crystal-cold understanding that Sasuke could be the next friend, the next classmate, the next loved one they had to bury. In an instant, the root of Asahi’s fears was crystallized, and that root turned into a jagged edge that tore right into Duncan and Masato’s skulls. This was what he felt. This was what he was feeling. This was what he will feel.

Agony and torment, reaching out even through layers upon layers upon layers of exhaustion and numbness. Flickers of memories, memories not their own, relayed like a broken projector through their half-blind vision, but alongside those memories, came a kernel of knowledge.

Facsimiles.

An important memory, a personal oath, a code or creed, made manifest with one’s soul. It was something that had been formed by instinct, by the Awakened in times of crisis. But…now? With their unformed Spirit, with intention and clarity…

Couldn’t they force their Minds to formulate the perfect solution here?

The threads snapped.

Their vision returned in full.

And though the bitterness and intimacy of the experience must have shaken them…they were no longer just groping in the dark now.

It was a little awkward, even for Shun, when they returned. Shun acted as if she hadn't blown up on Duncan, though it was clear that she was now actively avoiding Masato and Duncan. Two peas in a pod they were and she didn't like peas. It seemed they were in a middle of something important seeing the two and Asahi crouched around a very much comatose Sasuke. Well, near death would be more accurate but Shun hoped her classmate could recover.

Regardless, she decided to help making a makeshift shelter. They had water, food, but not shelter as of right now. Somewhere to rest would be greatly appreciated by the group, judging by their tired looks and battered bodies. She too was tired, but work had to be done. With fewers hand than before, Shun tried helping with constructing a basic shelter.

The only experience Shun had with building an object was with repairing Satoshi-Chan, her moped. Though even that was a bit of stretch. Still, she had a lot more stamina and strength than her unawakened classmates. "Does this go here?" Shun asked outloud as she picked up a heavy building material. With a grunt, Shun helped stablized the construction while her classmates built it.

---

The last time Asahi felt this much exhaustion and hunger was when he was a kid, on his first time waking up at the crack of dawn to join his father and grandfather to catch fish. They were only out in the waters for fifteen minutes.

This was just one of the many embarrassing secrets the pink-haired lad had kept to himself. Only his family and a few of his closest friends knew about some of these secrets and he made sure nobody else knew about them. It took him years to build his reputation as this cool, calm, and calculated individual, and it only took a couple minutes of him crying and being a mess to destroy all his hard work. It didn't seem like the others noticed nor cared about him showing weakness at all but for Asahi, it's all that mattered to him.

He did however learn the hard way that reputation meant nothing when one was stuck in a world where everything's set on killing him. Every minute they all spent on his god-forsaken version of their Earth was hell, and Asahi even thought that this world was actually it.

It didn't matter, none of that mattered anymore now that they have two people who were dying right before them, especially when one of the people dying was the boy he admired from the sidelines for years. Gods, his throat was parched from dehydration and crying his heart out. Despite not having any more strength left in him, he kept gripping Sasuke's shirt as his way of stopping him from going to the other side. He could hear the others talk and felt the presence of Duncan and Masato sitting at his sides. His hands gradually relaxed as he reached out to both the boys, pink threads now more fragile than before reaching out to connect to both of them. Once the threads made contact, all three of them were fully connected.

Asahi had all this pent-up emotions of anger, exhaustion, desperation, sadness, grief, and terror that he didn't know how to release. Upon connecting, all those emotions came crashing down like water from a broken dam. Masato and Duncan might feel extreme pain from the onslaught of all these very strong emotions but for Asahi, for that brief moment, he felt a bit of clarity like someone helped take the load of his shoulders. Just like with Tsubaki, Asahi could also see glimpses of memories that didn't belong to him. Thoughts and feelings, basic knowledge about stuff he didn't know, they all crashed down on him as well especially since he was mentally connected with two people now.

In the midst of all this, despite the hurricane of all their different memories, emotions, and experiences all mixing together, it's the fact that they're Awakened that helped anchor them to their own consciousness and sanity. Each of them had their own unique abilities while they all had the superhuman aspects about them as well. Their Facsimiles, joining together like pieces of the same puzzle, reminded them that they could make the impossible possible, do feats no ordinary human could do, and hopefully, achieve miracles.

Asahi couldn't contain the connection that much longer anymore. Soon enough, they snapped back to reality as his pink threads dissipated into nothingness. Still, that connection that they had might be the key to solving their crisis and save their two classmates. Hopefully.

"Well?" Asahi said, his sassiness coming back even for just a tiny bit now that he had a newfound sense of clarity thanks to their connection. Perhaps after all, not all hope was lost. "You boys better think of something to save these two because I don't want to lose them, and you both know just how much I hate losing."

______________________________________________________________________

@AThousandCurses@Yankee@Erode@baraquiel@Vertigo

As Ayana was on the return trip back to the makeshift camp by the lake, she exchanged smiles with Tsubasa. It wasn't long until the aroma of whatever was being cooked began to fill her nose as hunger finally had time to settle in the pit of her stomach. It gave her the urge and desire to hurry back as fast as she could. Picking up her pace until she was nearly at a run as she finally came into sight of the others. Only for her efforts to be all in vain as she came into view of Kumi who was already munching away on the tender meat that had just been prepared.

Her hopes dashed the moment Kumi informed her of the current stipulations to get some of the food. “Awwww mannnn! That looks really good too, can’t I have just a little nibble? I promise I won’t eat it all…just a small little morsel….” giving Kumi the best puppy dog eyes that she could muster up. Nearly dropping to her knees to beg as each bite Kumi took, it nearly drove her insane. Acting like a child when their mother told them to clean up their room if they wanted dinner.

“I promise I’ll work all day and night if I have too, but it looks so good that I can’t resist….I’ll gather all the wood, build all the shelters….collect all of the water……” Ayana tried to bargain and reason with her. To show that she was serious she quickly ran off to the side to begin trying to pull branches and limbs off the nearest tree she could find. The limb she was tugging on breaking free as it sent her tumbling backwards, but she somehow managed to land back upright on her feet. Without missing a beat, she quickly ran over to begin helping with the building of the shelter, dragging the limb she had yanked off along with her figuring they might be able to use it. Shaking off the incident as if it had never happened in the first place.

“Alright let's get this thing built! I’m hungry and there is food with my name on it!” Starting to pitch in as best she could alongside Shun, exuding a load of confidence. Until a thought dawned on her suddenly “You know, I don’t actually know how to build anything, so I’ll just follow the rest of you and pretend like I do if that is all good” Openly admitting to her inexperience, but she was going to help out as much as she could. That food fully took hold of her mind as she couldn’t shake it from her focus. Doing whatever her classmates needed her to do while they set up the best shelter that they could manage for such a large group of students.

---

//Day 1 | Location: Nameless Forest - Lakeside
_{@AThousandCurses@baraquiel@Nakushita@Yankee@Vertigo}

“Ehhhhh…”

Kumi leaned back from the embarrassment of actually having someone beg for food before her. Certainly, it spoiled the taste of her own fish more than the lack of salt and seasoning ever would. Before the glistening puppy dog eyes that Ayana shot at her, eyes that gradually gained the cursed light of madness. Honestly, it was a bad look for herself if she folded so easily, but on the other hand, Ayana was literally out there fighting monsters, so…

“Hmph! Well, if you insist, I guess I can g-”

“Ah, Kumi.” Masami tilted the smaller girl’s face back towards the direction that Ayana had been. “She’s already gone.”

Gone snapping branches off at lightspeed, without even waiting for the charred fish that Kumi had been wholly willing to give her. The curly-haired girl scratched the side of her ear, then let out another sigh, before resolving to set aside a particularly big fish for Ayana afterwards.

As for the Awakened klutz, she found herself working in the company of Shun, Haruko, and Fujita. While the quartet was certainly an unlikely selection, they were nevertheless doing good work with regards to constructing a wooden frame for the group. The supernatural strength of both Shun and Ayana had helped immensely in that regard; Rin tossed them trees that had been turned into long poles, while Fujita taught them how to twine and lash with long grass or plant roots.

Well, not without much trouble. Somehow, once again, the blue-tinged youth, who maintained his good looks even when his makeup was faded at this point (thank Ayano for the skin and haircare routine she forced on him), was surrounded by girls. Granted, one of the girls had a boyfriend who would fold him like a pretzel, the other girl was absolutely fucked up by the fact that her crush was dead, and the third girl was so empty-headed that Fujita was a bit considered for her, but still.

It was a lotta girls.

“Uh, y-yeah, could you hold onto that, Shun?” He cleared his throat, pointing towards the intersection of two wooden poles. “And Haruko, tie them up there, tight as you can. Ah, and, let me think…oh, Ayana! We’ll need two more of that length. Could you, uh, ask Rin again?”

With three Awakened pitching in for the construction of the shelter, they were definitely making faster progress now. It would still take an obscene amount of effort for them to construct a shelter that could comfortably fit 20 students at a time, especially when the process of creating string was a process that couldn’t be sped up with pure brute force, but if nothing else…hardly an hour had passed, but the frame of the shelter was already taking shape.

“Hmmm, you’re the outdoorsy type, Fujita?” Haruko tilted her head, her own hands smelling of dirt and grass.

He shook his head. “Amemiya-sensei. From the Gardening Club?”

“Ah…hmm.” Her blue eyes swiveled towards Ayana and Shun. “You two go get something to eat, alright? And grab some for the boys too, while you’re at it.” Her head swung in the direction that Asahi, Masato, and Duncan were.

She slapped Fujita on the shoulder.

“Me and this guy here’s gotta have a one-on-one interview sorta thing, y’know?”

...

So many answers, and yet he could not understand it.

It was a different sort of rule that governed his body now, removed from his understanding of it just two days ago. Duncan knew things. He understood them like one understood what happened in a TV show or a movie. But the memory remained insufficient for allowing a solution. Asahi looked at him, a fiery desperation that sparked only anxiety.

He knew too, that Asahi’s threads could not transfer ‘light’. The functions of Cable were imprinted upon his own memories now, after all.

Helplessness, still. The basketball star had the will to do what had to be done, but that was his limitation too, for a directionless desire would not save any of the two boys before him. What was he to do, in truth? He hardly understood how donating blood worked, after all. He was an athlete, not a doctor. They didn’t even have Biology classes in Kuroshio Ogata!

And no one had answers, had reassurances to what he asked, what he suggested.

All that answered him, in that moment, was a muted silence.

Something burned. Something itched. Anxiety and confusion turned into a curious embarrassment. His body flushed, his core’s heat, that forge within him, turning molten without reason. Duncan looked down at Yuki’s face, the youth so lifelessly still when he had only seen the lad in constant, energetic motion before. Hitting up cheerleaders from other schools. Clowning around for Ayano’s attention, back when she was single. Fielding incredibly personal questions towards Kunio, only so he could feed those answers back to Yukiko.

What the fuck was he supposed to do?

What the hell was more blood going to do?

Recent failures flickered through his mind. Shun’s scars, where his body had been perfect.

Something burned.

Something itched.

It was a malformed desire, an indistinct need. He had blood. Plenty of blood.

And his stomach opened once more, spilling out a golden blood, upon his lap, his hands, the earth itself. Soil drank greedily, roots absorbed something, and the grass around him grew, snaking towards the open wound in Duncan’s body, desiring more of that sunlight ichor.

Yet, his wound didn't hurt.

"What the fuck."

Only one person said it, but in that moment, they were all thinking it.

______________________________________________________________________

While he hovered over Bansen, Masato was slowly started to become overwhelmed. Hoshino was in his ear, his voice ragged from shouting and crying. His panic was not helping him explain how he healed people, and because Masato couldn't understand his own frustration was growing. He was about to grab the other boy and shake him to calm down when Stewart came over and knelt beside them. Then threads snaked their way out of Hoshino's skin, thin pink things that stretched over to them. Masato held his breath, unsure what the hell was happening - until they connected.

Suddenly Masato was very aware of a lot of things. He understood Hoshino's warbling because he was feeling what caused it; fear so intense that it spread icy cold tendrils through his heart. He was absolutely dreading the possibility that he could lose someone he loved. Masato practically reeled form the emotions coming through the cable connecting them, making it harder to process the other information filtering over. Information about Hosino Asahi, before and after the crash. A vague memory from the pink haired boy's primary school days, and how he calculated his way through every conversation. How that social manipulation informed the power he displayed now, the facsimile.

Masato jerked his hand away from the threads even as they began to dissolve. He didn't want to pry into Asahi's life, and he definitely didn't want Asahi to pry into his. But now, at least, he understood his classmate's desperation. And his abilities.

Masato took a deep, shaky breath after the strange experience. He glanced at Asahi when he urged the other two to think of something. It was good that he'd calmed down enough to start getting back to his usual self, but now Stewart seemed to be panicking more in his stead.

While the basketball star spoke all his thoughts aloud, Masato fought off a headache on top of the vice around his heart. He willed something like Asahi's Cable to manifest itself from his own hands a few times, but nothing appeared. Dismayed, he looked between his fingers and Sasuke's face.

He wished he had this information hours ago, then he could have... helped more. It was something he thought about from time to time, on the days where he stayed away from home and wandered the night around Kuroshio either with a book in hand or just sitting in silence, alone or rarely with Ichibangase. "If only I could go back and make a different decisions. If only I'd done this differently." He always tried to banish those thoughts when they wormed their way into his head because they did no good. It was impossible to return to a prior point in time. His life was like a really shitty novel, and no matter how many times you reread a book the story, and the ending, didn't change.

Unless.

This was the Otherside, where his classmates were developing literal fucking magic powers. He, too, had that potential. So maybe it was possible to rewrite the events of this story after all? If he could grasp at that fire in his chest and shape it... but could he, given the circumstances? With his own thoughts a mess and two panicking boys on either side of him, his head was pounding.

"Do you have to talk so fucking much while you think?" he said to Stewart, cutting a glance at him. There was a hint of exasperation showing in Masato's tone even through the worry. He could hardly think himself over the other boy's rambling. He probably used up the last of whatever good will Stewart had for him with that comment, but it had to be said. "Just- stop! Stop freaking out, we can... we can figure this out."

The words were for himself as much as they were for Stewart and Asahi. If they thought about everything and worked together, they could probably do it. They could save Sasuke and Endo. Masato wasn't one for working together, preferring to take care of everything himself, but he could at least pretend. He'd borrow some of Asahi's talent at that and draw on his position as council president, focus on rewinding this awful situation... Masato held his hands out again, willing something to happen.

And then the boy next to him, the foreigner, the troublemaker, burst open and spilled his insides all over the place again. What the fuck indeed.

______________________________________________________________________

@AThousandCurses@Yankee@Erode@baraquiel@Vertigo

Wiping sweat from her brow after the effort with a big sigh of relief. The energy exerted thus far on the construction of the shelter having been more then she had been anticipating. Ayana was pleased and relieved to have finally been given permission to go eat. After her encounter with Kumi earlier, she had been craving even the tiniest morsel of fish that she could get her paws on. Totally unaware that she could have had a bite earlier if she hadn’t so frantically ran off before Kumi could answer her.

A lot of work still had to be done to truly finish the shelter, but it was a start at the very least. Ayana wasn’t about to question Haruko, not with food being the prize as her stomach was growling. “An interview? I see, what kind of job is he interviewing for? well ….I hope you get the job Fujita, best of luck!” turning to run off as fast as she could towards the nearest source of food. “I’ll grab some for the others, but no promises that I can resist taking a few nibbles while I bring it to them!” she called out as she swiftly reached Kumi and the fish.

Being quite satisfied that Kumi had been thoughtful enough to set aside Ayana, one of the bigger fish. Her big blue eyes filled with joy as she brought it up to her lips and began to gnaw away. Like a cat with a fresh catch, she held the fish in place with her mouth chomping down on it as she gathered up a few other fish to bring to the boys. Voice muffled by her prized fish, she tried to thank Kumi before she headed off to bring Asashi, Masato and Duncan some fish to enjoy.

Right as she reached them, she came to an abrupt halt as her eyes came upon Duncan. Her sapphire gaze locked right onto the alarming but confusing events unfolding right before her eyes. Eyes widening in shock, it nearly made her drop her fish right out of her mouth. Shock settling in as she brought up a fish filled hand pointing in alarm at Duncan’s stomach. “I dun’t thunk itz s’pose to bee guld!!!!!” Was her first exclamation muffled by a mouth full of fish. Her initial concern about his blood being gold, and not the fact that his stomach had burst open.

Tossing the fish she had gathered up for the trio of boys towards Asashi and Masato as she rushed over to Duncan."Fizzh fur yu twooo!"Not waiting for either of them to act, as she went straight in to help Duncan without hesitation. Coming to a sliding stop by his side as she kneeled down beside him. Only to realize that something was not quite right beyond the fact that he was bleeding golden blood. The grass around him was growing up and into his open wound, his golden blood absorbed by its roots as if the grass had obtained a mind of its own.

Ayana wasn’t quite sure what to do initially, as she took her hands and tried to grab at the tendrils of grass as they snaked into his wound. Trying to pull them away from his body, finally letting the half eaten fish fall from her lips as her concentration shifted to helping Duncan. “I’m no doctor, but I don’t think that's supposed to happen….I’ll try to stop the bleeding…..but this grass, its like its trying to consume you at the same time” a serious concentration being evident in her sapphire eyes. Which replaced the usual aloofness which was her primary state.

Taking both of her hands as she tried to press them against the open wound to staunch the blood. She knew she needed something more to try to stem the flow, reaching down and she ripped free a piece of cloth from her skirt as she balled it up and tried to jam it in his wound. Though she had zero medical experience, she had seen enough television and action movies to know that cloth could help soak up some of the blood. Her hands now being covered in his golden essence, its warmth feeling surprisingly pleasant against her skin. Like their was life emitting from its very existence. "Try to hold on, I'll do as much as I can to make it stop, but these plants are not making it easy...." concern and determination in her voice as she tried her best.

"Phew, what a work out." And not in a good way. Shun had discovered many things about herself during their time in the otherworld. She had apparently had latent superpowers, she hated Duncan, she disliked Masato, and now she discovered that she hated doing menial work. Shaking her wrists around, Shun wiped some sweat off her brow as she looked at their makeshift shelter. To be honest, it didn't look too bad. With Fujita guiding her and Ayana, with Rin providing some support, they were able to construct shelter relatively fast. If they could make a shelter, maybe they could put up some defenses in case they get attacked by the laser wolves again.

Speaking of her classmates, Shun glanced over to Ayana. Contrary to her behavior before, she had become a lot more serious as of late. Did her breakdown cause Ayana to change herself? A frown graced Shun's face before dissipating completely. No... it was her choice. Ayana didn't have to follow her back into the dangerous woods just to comfort her, yet she did. Shun still felt grateful at the gesture. While things may get tough, they still had each other to lean back on.

"Hmmm~ Okay! We'll be right back." Shun nodded as she took a plate of food along with Ayana to the boys. While she didn't particularly like fish being tired and wreary often caused things to taste tastier. She'd agreed with Ayana that the fish was delicious... If only it wasn't fish. Still she couldn't be picky with what they had now.

"Bon appetite!" Shun cheerily followed up with what Ayana said until she saw what was going on. For one, Yuki was very much still incapacitated. The only thing that told Shun that he was alive was the fact he was breathing shallowly. The first thing she noticed, however, was the big gapping wound that appeared in Duncan's stomach. No, a wound would be incorrect to be what she would be describing. It was a hole and it was leaking.

A goldish liquid left Duncan's stomach and grace the grass with its presence. As if drinking some sort of nectar of the gods, the grass started to grow rapidly after intaking it into its roots. Shun looked over towards the others. Masato seemed shocked at the events and Ayano was trying to staunch the bleeding. How would Shun react? Well, one hand she was still furious at Duncan for earlier. On the other hand, that wound reminded her all the injuries they had sustained from being in this hell hole.

Walking up to Duncan, she kneeled down right next him. Taking her finger, she dipped it into Duncan's new chest cavity and withdrew some of the golden liquid. Then she tasted it.

---

Asahi really couldn't stand it anymore.

"Ughhhh..." It seemed like the world was spinning and flipping over at the same time. His eyesight dimmed and he could barely keep his eyes open. His stomach must be growling like one of those morbid beasts they faced yesterday. On top of that, he could barely move a muscle.

All in all, it was a tough day for the pink-haired lad.

Despite that though, Asahi did gain something else from their connection which related to Masato and his past. That was certainly an interesting tidbit about their supposedly calm and cool class president but it's not something Asahi could make use of at the moment. Besides, there were other pressing matters to attend to.

Asahi tried to squeeze the sleepiness out of his eyes as he reached out to put a hand on Sasuke's forehead. He's getting colder and paler by the minute, and Asahi's heart would be beating like a jackhammer in panic when he wasn't smacked on the face by a fish.

It slipped off down to his hands and he took a minute to process what happened. Fish... Fried fish... Food? He nibbled a bit and it was like an explosion of flavors went into his mouth. For a guy who was starving to death and had used all his energy throughout the day, this simple fried fish was probably the best food Asahi had in his lifetime.

He devoured the fish ravenously, taking out big chunks of its soft meat and savoring the crunch its fried scales made against his teeth. He was so engrossed in his eating he didn't notice the commotion happening right next to him.

"What the fuck?" Golden blood spilled out of the hole on Duncan's chest. Grass and plants grew and creeped more towards the source of all the gold blood like it was nourishing them. Ayana did her best to contain the wound as much as she could while Shun, being Shun, dipped her finger into Duncan's wound like he was a chocolate fountain to taste the blood.

Too exhausted to even be disgusted, Asahi did the same thing. He reached out, letting a few droplets of that rich golden ichor into his palm. He then put the half-eaten fish down to rest Sasuke's head on his lap. Asahi opened his lips and poured the blood into his mouth. He didn't know if it worked but at this point, everything was on the table.

Chip, chip, chip, chip.

Kogen sat himself at the outer edge of the camp, leaning on a rather sizable tree and distancing himself from the concerns of the others. Ever since the others have returned, he had silently avoided the rest. If anyone had tried to approach him, Kogen would have just ignored them at best, or snapped at them to leave him alone at worst. The boy carried a deep-seated resentment for his classmates, one that had fully been realized when they had returned and played their running off as if it was okay when it really wasn't...

No matter what had happened, no matter who was dying, and no matter who had been lost, Kogen could not help but resent every single one of them. He didn't care to voice his concerns out because he knew that if he did, the mob would turn on him like they always do; treating him like a fool with nothing valuable to say. They can preach all they want about "safety and numbers" and "running from a dangerous situation," but won't care about the shit they drag you through so they could live in the first place. Kogen's stomach growled because apparently, his sacrifice was not enough for everyone's survival... Not that it would matter, anyway.

Chip, chip, chip.

Kogen still had one of those spears that Inaba had fashioned, though he was making his own modifications to it, namely chopping off the spearhead with a sharpened piece of flint he found in the lake and kept for himself. At the moment, he was currently chipping away at a piece of fish bones he had taken from the group's trash, doing his best to fashion some sort of sharpened edge with it. Kogen had already made a wedge on the shaft for something to fit in, he just needed to make the spearhead itself. If he could nab that bearwolf fang, he'd be in business, but he had to work with what he could.

Of course, Kogen was no craftsman, artist, sculptor, survivalist, or even a secret Home-Ec freak, so this wasn't something he had an easy time doing... not that he needed anything particularly profound in the first place. All he needed to do was make a "good enough" weapon, something he could actually hurt one of those monsters with. As far as his strength goes, Kogen could keep up with one of those bearwolves... probably. He didn't even have to worry about the dangers of fighting a thing on his own, for he was unbreakable already. If anything, if he tried to get swallowed again, it would create a good enough opening for Kogen to tear through its mouth and go straight for its throat.

If he could kill a monster on his own, Kogen would be able to prove to himself that his way of life is correct. He wouldn't need the approval of anyone else. He wouldn't need to meet their exceedingly unreasonable expections. Perhaps he could even earn their respect... not that the boy cared about their respect anymore. It does seem nice, though.

Chip, chip, chip, snap!

"Damn it, another gaffe!"

Of course, this all relied on if Kogen could make a spearhead at all. Man, are these fish bones hard to work with.

---

//Day 1 | Location: Nameless Forest - Lakeside
_{@AThousandCurses@baraquiel@Nakushita@Yankee@Vertigo}
Whatever Masato had hoped to gather in that moment scattered when Duncan’s guts spilled open, floodgates parting to the sheer madness that seized everyone else. Ayana’s hands reached immediately to pull the grass out from his organs, finding much success in pulling the plantlife away. And yet, that same success wasn’t mirrored when she tried to use a part of her skirt to clot up the wound. The fabric didn’t absorb any of the blood at all as the liquid substance seemed to be squeezed around it instead, coating Ayana’s fingers. Viscous, that’s what it was. It was a substance that flowed like a liquid, and yet was not so easily soaked up like one.

And though its taste may have stayed a perpetual unknown, Shun was drawn to that golden blood like a bear to a pot of honey. Shifting away Ayana’s pitiful attempts to clot up the wound, she poked a finger inside Duncan’s open wound, eliciting a sensation through his body that felt…less like someone stabbing into him and more like someone pushing something into his belly button. Mad as it was, the basketball star could only recognize it as ‘touch’ not ‘pain’. And before much else could be done, Shun took a taste.

It didn’t taste like blood.

It didn’t taste like honey either.

It had no taste at all, but left a numbing, near-electric sting upon her tongue, one that spread around her mouth, down her throat, and finally into her stomach, her core. And then, though it was nothing more than a slight jolt, she could indeed recognize that jolt. Like the feeling of a sugar rush, the feeling of a cleaned-out engine. It was meager, but Shun was just a little bit more energetic than before.

Perhaps then, that was what they needed. Asahi came to the conclusion, and Duncan acted upon that conclusion. His own blood pooled so freely in his hands, and yet none of the effects of blood loss seemed to actually affect him. There was no dizziness of his head, no pain in his abdomen, no weakness of his limbs as he allowed himself to bleed, the plantlife around him still crawling over his lap as he poured the weighty, viscous fluid into the half-parted lips of Sasuke.

“Ah, that might be…” Only one person said it this time. Hiroshi. But whatever he said, he didn’t finish, because it was already too late. And who knows. Maybe it wasn’t even possible to choke on this fluid.

And maybe, it was because whatever was happening to Sasuke was immediate.

His complexion recovered its color, deathly pale skin gaining a warmth once more. His breathing, thankfully unobstructed, became stronger. Stronger still was his heartbeat, thrumming with more strength every moment that passed. The warmth that emerged upon his skin, upon his cheeks, turned red. His breathing became deeper, more rapid, chest heaving up and down and up and down! Asahi could hear his heart audibly now, and everyone else could hear it too, the jackhammer roar that blended into a singular sound! His skin, from reds to purple, scant sweatdrops beading over skin that was feverish yet dehydrated! Lips parting in a scathing gasp, sucking in more and more and yet never getting enough! His heart, his heart!

Blood burst out from his orifices. Black blood, rotten blood, from his nose and his eyes and his ears, staining Asahi’s clothes, steaming upon the long-grass. The putrid purging caused Daisuke to gag and then stumble away, even as Sasuke’s own body continued to convulse, joints cracking and bones grinding in wretched restraint.

Because hey, it wasn’t like it could make things any worse at this point, right?

______________________________________________________________________

@AThousandCurses@Yankee@Erode@baraquiel@Vertigo

Ayana kept up her efforts even if it felt like it was hopeless. The golden liquid seemed to flow right around the cloth like it wasn’t even there. Sapphire eyes wide in surprise as she turned her gaze towards Shun as she was caught off guard by what she had just witnessed. Having watched in utter silence, as she couldn’t believe what she had seen. Not only had Shun stuck her finger into his wound, but she had tasted it. “Shun….?” was all that Ayana could muster up in her stupor, not knowing why Shun had done so.

Stunned when Duncan pushed her aside in his current condition seconds later. Ayana was left to look at the cloth she had just been using to try to clot his golden blood. Much to her surprise there wasn’t a drop of it anywhere on it. Only her hands remained covered in the golden liquid as she turned them over. Stretching out her fingers as she turned them over in slight confusion. Not being able to comprehend it all at once.

What came next confused her even more, Duncan had knelled over Sasuke and was dumping his golden blood into his mouth. It was surreal, there was no way Duncan should even be able to move, his pain should be immeasurable. But her mind couldn’t just focus on that fact alone, not only did Shun seem to have lost her mind, but Duncan as well.

Remaining on her sprawled out legs on the ground, she watched in a stunned silence as Duncan fed his blood to Sasuke. What words could she say, what actions could she take. It was like she found herself in some dream. There was no way to explain any of it.

At first it looked like it might be having some positive effect. Shortly replaced by the horrible consequences of their actions. Sapphire eyes widened in horror as she could do nothing more than watch Sasuke’s twisting and writhing form. The color of his skin, the convulsing, bones and joints cracking and grinding. Thick putrid black blood flowing from every orifice. It wasn’t a sight that would ever leave her mind.

She was left speechless, everything had happened so quickly, before she had time to even understand it all. To even say anything, or react, it had all happened and she had been frozen in place. She couldn’t take her eyes off of Sasuke’s form, wide eyes unwavering. She instinctively reached up one of her golden soaked hands to her cheek. Only to look down at it, realizing she had tears streaming down her face.

Were they tears of fear? Of sadness? She did not know, she felt empty, she felt like she was in a daze, one that didn’t seem to shake free from her mind. It was then and only then did it feel like something snapped in her mind. Something she had forgotten slowly trickled in as if a clarity had suddenly come over her. She understood something now, something about herself she had put away in her mind long ago. She went by a different name once, a different title, one she had intentionally thrown aside.

But why was she remembering this now of all times? What good would it do her at this moment? Before she could realize what she was doing, her hand had slowly reached over and grabbed a nearby rock. She stared at it as didn’t understand her actions, it was like her body had instinctively reached for it. She clasped it tightly in her hand with gritted teeth before tucking it away within her clothing. She felt like it was important, like she needed to have it and keep it. Not understanding why a random rock held such importance.

It was then and only then did she slowly rise to her feet as she pulled her left hand up towards her face. Staring at the remnants of the golden blood, why had it done such horrible things to Sasuke but not Shun? Why was Duncan still alive and able to move so freely? There was more to this, closing her eyes she began to bring the palm of her hand towards her mouth.

Without hesitation she gave it a small lick, a slight jolt trickling through her body, she understood. But why could she understand, why should she understand. Her mind felt so clear, her body so light, the activities around her no longer within her realm of notice.

---

"W-Wait, not too much..." Asahi worryingly said, his hand on Duncan's arm as the latter poured his golden blood into Sasuke's parted lips. Asahi was way past the disbelief of the thought of ingesting someone else's blood, yet he was still concerned about Duncan especially with the way he moved around as normally as he could despite the very obvious open wound he had. Not only was Duncan practically immortal but, if their theory was proven right, his blood could probably heal too.

Asahi would definitely tease Duncan of being like a religious figure under any normal circumstances, but not right now. Not when Asahi's breath stuck in his neck as he and the rest of the group watched how Sasuke's body was affected by the golden blood.

As soon as the first drop went down the hatch, Asahi let out almost a laughter of relief when Sasuke was being healed almost instantly thanks to Duncan's power. He didn't look like the undead anymore and with each passing minute, he looked more and more like that of his original self with the colors returning to his skin. Asahi felt even more relieved when he could hear Sasuke's heart beating so strongly. Perhaps a little too strongly, in fact, but again Asahi didn't care about that at first. Finally, they had something they could use to heal and save their classmates!

However, that joy was short lived when black rotten blooded gushed out of every orifice of Sasuke's body. It was straight out of a horror movie, with the way his body was twisting, his bones grinding, and his joints cracking as he was also drowning in poisoned blood.

"NO! I TOLD YOU IT WAS TOO MUCH!" Asahi screamed in anger and terror as he pushed Duncan away. He put his hands on Sasuke's shoulders to try and pin him down but his body was just convulsing violently, darkened blood splattering all over Asahi's clothes and the grass around them. Asahi couldn't help but cry again and, in perhaps one last effort to save the only man he admired, he connected again to Sasuke's temples using his pink threads.

"Sasuke..." On top of the fish he ate, Asahi could also feel the effects of Duncan's ichor-like blood coursing through his system, giving him like a short burst of energy that he could use to help refuel that forge within. No matter how weak that fire would be, no matter what he will experience upon his reconnection with Sasuke in his current state, and no matter how much of a toll his own body would take from all these factors, Asahi will still try his best.

Shun sat there in stunned silence as her tongue processed the unique golden fluid in her mouth. There wasn't even an attempt of resistance from her as Duncan roughly tugged her for her eccentric act. This taste it was.. it was... "Wow, Duncan. You taste bland." There was no trace of taste whatsoever. The only thing that even registered was a sudden spike of energy in her body, but it wasn't an exciting feeling at all. Shun could only give a disappointed look at Duncan, but that changed as Duncan dropped his golden fluid into Sasuke.

Quickly, things changed. What was once a blessing in disguise soon became that Morpheus movie with the red and blue pill. To be, or not to be. It didn't make sense to her, but what didn't alarm her was the amount of black goob that was emerging out of Sasuke's body. It was disgusting to look at, but Sasuke was still her classmate. "That doesn't look good!" Immediately, Shun rushed over to Sasuke's side.

Asashi was doing his cable magic, but Shun was there to make sure Sasuke wasn't going to choke on whatever he was throwing up. Just like she did with her dad, Shun held him up and tilted him off to the side. That way at least the substance wouldn't clog up his throat. "Asahi, can you do something?" Shun said unhelpfully as she tried to keep Sasuke still. The rancid smell was terrible, but she had to keep her convulsing classmate still.

______________________________________________________________________

If there was one good thing about the situation currently unfolding, it was that it proved Masato was not actually going crazy from being stuck in the Otherside after only two nights. The same could not be said for the rest of the students. He'd have to ask Maeda later what the statistics were on how many people succumbed to insanity and cannibalism in scenarios like this, and how quickly. It couldn't be this quickly.

The council president extracted himself from the group huddled around Sasuke the moment Kanamori and Todokawa crowded in. The cooked fish the latter had thrown his way was completely forgotten on the ground as the Awakened all started tasting whatever it was that was coming out of Stewart's stomach.

"What the hell are you all doing?!" he said, nearly shouting in disbelief. Worse yet the source of the golden blood decided that whatever it was he was secreting, it would help Sasuke. He and Asahi poured it down the martial artist's throat.

Were they just so panic stricken that they would try anything? To Masato's shock it actually looked like the blood-like substance was helping, for a few seconds. Then it was too much. Panic began anew.

Masato didn't get any closer, just watching the events with wide eyes. At this point he felt that there might not be anything they could do for Sasuke. Maybe they could learn from this and save Endo yet, but Sasuke... the discoloration of his skin, the vomit, the blood, the heat... it almost looks like he's overdosing and running a fever too. What a horrible combination, Masato thought.

"Don't hold him down, Asahi," he told the other boy, following up once Kanamori attempted to step in with, "or hold him up. Best to lay him on his side.

"Is he breathing?" It was hard to tell from there, he could see Sasuke gasping but wasn't sure if it was from lack of oxygen or just something crazy about the shit they made him swallow. He rattled off a couple of suggestions while Asahi worked, like rubbing over the boy's heart. He brought up CPR, unsure, but if no one else knew how then Masato could at least try that.

He kept speaking, failing to keep his tone neutral and probably coming off more demanding than intended. He focused his attention on Sasuke, willing whatever bad they'd done to him, to be undone.

---

//Day 1 | Location: Nameless Forest - Lakeside
_{@AThousandCurses@baraquiel@Nakushita@Yankee@Vertigo}
If nothing else, it was a good thing that Shun and Asahi were both superhumanly strong. Even as Sasuke struggled, struggled against whatever reaction he had to the golden blood, his wrists and ankles were held firmly down, enough so that all he could do was tear his own muscles in a subconscious attempt to be free. Ayana was lost in thought, the others were similarly paralyzed by how off-the-rails everything had become in that moment. Duncan backed away, realizing his mistake but having no ability to undo it, convinced that if he tried to help again, something else would go horribly wrong.

And Asahi, threads connected?

He could see it.

There was no forge, only flame. What had been fuel for Awakened had become conflagration for the mundane, demanding more from the body than what it could handle. All processes had exceeded human limitations in that moment, the flesh unable to contend with the overflow, the brain unable to comprehend all that it had suddenly obtained.

But Asahi did. That flame was what Sasuke had been missing on the first go. That flame was what needed to be directed in this second go. An ability was transferred, routes established to guide the foreign energy, and immediately, a difference could be seen. Shun could feel the struggling cease. Masato could see the fever break. Ayana could hear flesh mend, bones knit.

The combination had born fruit and, rotten blood purged from his body by the previous expulsion and convulsions, Sasuke healed right before their eyes, at the same pace that Duncan had almost miraculously recovered from his own injury.

“So that’s it.”

Hiroshi broke the silence. He had not turned away from this either, the glint of a scholar’s obsession in his eyes. As it all stabilized, as Sasuke’s ragged breathing gradually turned into the soft sighs of an exhausted sleep, he turned his gaze towards Ayana.

“You can drop the rock now.”

@AThousandCurses@Yankee@Erode@baraquiel@Vertigo

As the process began to revert itself, and Sasuke started to heal. Ayana was unusually quiet, her gaze empty and her expression neutral. Flesh mended, bones returning back to how they once were, life returning to Sasuke as if it had never left. She remained motionless, still like a statue. Her mind empty and free of emotion and thought as her head leaned backward lifelessly.

Hiroshi’s voice reached her ears, bringing her out of her daze, she could feel his gaze upon her. She remained silent at first as she lowered her head, hair shading her eyes from view. She began to tremble, looking like she was about to break down into tears. Hands clasped tightly into fists pressed deeply into her thighs as they begun to shake.

Suddenly raising her head, her sapphire eyes having a glimmer behind them without a hint of tears to be found. Her gaze met Sasukes, as if she was looking upon him for the very first time. Her whole body trembling in excitement and anticipation. A slow crooked smile spread across her face as she reached down and slowly pulled out the rock from its safe spot tucked inside of her shirt. “So….you saw it did you? You saw it Hiroshi?” Her voice was cool and calm as she broke her silence. Bringing the black rock up into the palm of her head as she held it before herself and in view of Hiroshi. Something wasn't right, what he had said didn't make sense, drop the rock? Why the hell would she ever do that, it wasn't just a rock, couldn't he see?

Shaking her head as a look of disappointment appeared across her features, furrowing her brow as she let out a sigh. “No, that isn’t right, that isn’t right at all, you only saw what you think you saw, but you truly do not see what I have, no, no no, that just won’t do, that just won’t do at all…I can not drop it and I will not drop it….” Admonishing him and herself. Her gaze locked onto the rock within her palms as she frowned. Staring into its black void-like texture. Taking it all in for a brief moment, until something inside of her clicked, like a jolt that traveled from her memory to the rest of her body. She had to show them, she had to show them all the truth.

“What you see is not just a rock, this is so much more than that…..but it is understandable you see, no one but I can see it for what it really is, no one but I was given the blessing to understand what this is and what it does….you see nothing more than a rock, it has become clear that you do not have the vision….” Her frown melted away into a smile as her blue eyes widened ablaze with a bright intense energy. “Soon, soon you will all see, see what I mean!” beginning to laugh as if she couldn’t stop herself. Having a moment of realization and acceptance that no one but her could see the truth that was before her. No one else had the same gift, not a single one of her classmates would understand any of it.

Her laughing continued as she reached down, tucking the rock away within her shirt as she held her sides hunching over into ball as she dropped to her knees. It was like she had just heard the most hilarious joke she had ever heard in her life. Her laughter increased in intensity and volume the longer it went. Continuing on for far longer then what would be comfortable, she laughed so hard that tears had begun to well up within her eyes. Her left hand slowly snaked its way up to her face as she covered her left eye, lifting her head up as her laughter started to fade away. One visible blue eye filled with intensity that had never graced it before.

“I can see it all now, what was hidden from my mind and view before…it is all here again once more….I know who I am….I can feel it within the deepest part of my soul….” a serious and cold tone unusual for Ayana filling the air. She could feel the truth inside of her mind unlocking once again. She knew what must be done, and now was the time to do it. Reaching up she undid her side pony tail, giving a flick of her hand to release her hair as it fell down around her shoulders. Her brow furrowed as her eyes shifted side to side as if she was debating something within her very own mind.

𓆪Ģ̷̧̺̬͚̄̽̀͒͠i̷̮̣͈͚̻͊́̿̿̓v̴̛̥̳͓͕̳͂̄̄͝ě̶̡̱͚̞̖̄̊̃̈́ ̶̼̲̘̩̯̏̓͒̐̅i̸̖̬͕͖̮͗̈͊̕͘ń̵̨̬͕͇͎̓͒̋́ ̶̧̜̹̝͓̿͐̈́̚͘t̵̻̖̱̝͉́̍̽̅͝ö̴̪̪̣̠̗͛̀̒̏ ̴̱͎̟̟̠̍̈́̀̽́ÿ̷̢̝̗̻́͆̓́̊ͅo̵͍̪͍̝͖̐͗̉̅͝u̵͕̦̗̪͇͑̀́̇͘r̸̗̮̠͉̳̉̓̈̚͠ ̵͓̞̩̦̗̉̋͑͆̎ṭ̷̩̪̠͕̎͊̓̈́̈́r̷̘̳̠̣̫͛̄̂̓͘ṵ̷̜̹̖̝̇̀̈́̄́é̶̡̖̤̺͇̀͊̑̚ ̵͎͉̯̳̮̄̆̾͝͝s̵̪͙̦̥̯̏̄̓̄̆ę̵̱̜͈̩̒͒̇̃͂l̷͈͚̰̭͉̉̿̐͆́f̴̧̩͖̖̥̅͂̄̌̈

Slowly she took one step forward, swaying as she did so, removing the rock once more, holding it aloft in her right hand. Gaze locked onto Hiroshi and the others gathered around him. "Now.....how about we play a little game...."

𓆩Ř̷̢̦̟̳̅͆̒̽͜ê̴̢̙̱̠̟̂̇̕̚c̴̢͓͇̖̦̀̄̅̋͝l̶̢̝͇̟͇͑͒͒͊͘a̴̢̡̮̯̮͊͌̈́͋͝ḯ̵̩̹̯̗͚̽̾͘͠m̵̩̼̙̣̎͆̔͛̒ͅ ̴̧̝̪̯̟̂̂͑͌́ţ̸͖̖̼̫̓͋̈́̿̈́h̶̢͖̖͖̙̄̉̋̚͘ė̴̝̺̹̲͒̐͊͝ͅ ̷̦͓͔͖͉͐͌̔͑͘t̶͍̱͉̪̊̀̌͗̓͜ī̴̺̺̦̝̳͐̔͂͆t̶͖̙͕̮̱̄̊̂́̕l̶͕͚̬̺̙̈̂̈͝͠ē̶͔̳̰̼̰̿̉̑̈ ̸̛̥̳̺̻̤̌͑̓͊ỵ̴̝̲͙͙͐̄̚͝͠o̸̘̦͎͓̍̏̄̾̈́͜u̷̺͎͕͔̓͐̔́͗͜ ̷̨̯̗̹̰́̑̇͗͠ǫ̸̗̗͕̱̀̆͑͊͝n̶͚̩̮̮͖̋̈́̿̆͋c̴̦͓̙̪̔̊̓͆͑ͅë̸̜͖̘̬̬̀͋͗͘ ̴̡̗͉͉̭̍̾͑͘̕t̵̡̖̬͎̖̑̈́̏͛̏h̶̙̠͍̲̃̓̄̕͜͝r̷̗͓͈̖̆̇̊̎͠ͅȅ̶̛̝̭͕̌̓̈́͜͜ẉ̶̧̛̪̦͔̉̅̿͊ ̷̗͚̹̠̝̄̋̐̚͝a̷̢̢͈̜̐̐̒̈́́͜ŝ̸̢͇̩̻͂̿̊̄ͅi̶̘͈͕̮̰̇̈́̔̕͘d̶̨̗̖͙͒̍́͛͌ͅȇ̴͙̹͍̩̮̈́͒̃̚,̴̨̥͚̰̥̑͂͋͊͗ ̴͚̘̬͈̃̒̽͐̚͜g̸̝̗̼̮̪̊̈́̎͝͝ĭ̷̡̧̩̙̻̌̿̈́̚ṿ̷͉͙̼̩͛͗͐͝͝e̵̜̠̗̩͇͂̌͐́͘ ̷̖̙̙̻̺̒͗̀̑̾i̷̢̨͓̼͖͋̍̈́́͠n̵̤̫̣̫͍̉̋͌͛̋,̵̡̘̘͕̅͆̈́̈́̄͜ ̸̤̫̯̝̳́͋̈́̈̈́g̵͈̘̠̬̪̑̋̑̄̕i̶̢̡͖̖̘̒͂̾͂́v̶̰̤͙̙͓͐̋͗̎͋e̶͙͈̬̮͈̒͂̌̐̎ ̶̧̣̳̼̪́͋̍́͝i̵̪͖̬͙̝͑̅̇̚͝n̷̢̗̬̳͔̈́̐̃̈́͘,̵̹̟͉̙̥̈́͒̾͒̍ ̸̪̫͓̲̦̀̏̀͂͠g̴̫͙͉̻̑͆͊̃͘͜i̴̡̮̳̙͈͛̓̇̋̃v̷͙̩̯̲͓̀̃̎̍̓è̴̛̥̥̪̬͚̀̓̾ ̴̢̛̻̞̗̞͒͐́̊i̸̫̼̫̤̥̐̈́͂͂͂n̷̖̺̼̝͊̈́͛͐͜͝

Her mind moving so fast it all felt like a blur as her thoughts started to tangle within her head. There was only one option, there was only one route. Embrace it, give in, show them all. Taking another step closer, her body swaying to the right, she couldn't hide the grin on her face. Blue eyes filled with red hot intensity and fire. Determination to do what must be done filling her to the brim. "I'm back, I'm back and better then ever.....I can feel it coursing through my veins, what a wonderful feeling...." her laughter soon following her claim. Whatever was happening now, brought on by the by everything she had witnessed, the tasting of Duncan's blood, the pent up emotions within Ayana. She wasn't going to hold it in any longer, her memories had flooded back into her mind, it was time.

---

"Oh... My gods..." Asahi shakily said, exhaling and laughing in exhaustion and relief when they all managed to save Sasuke's life. To see him breathing peacefully and to hear his heart beating steadily, Asahi felt so elated that he could jump for joy-

Except his vision dimmed even more now and his mind was getting numb from so much exhaustion. He doubled over and almost vomitted over Sasuke, his eyes watering as he tried to squeeze them shut and will the overwhelming sleepiness away. Words could never describe what Asahi felt while he's connected to Sasuke a while ago. It's like every nerve on his body was on fire and he had never felt so weak in his life.

The aftermath of that connection was still felt by Asahi's body. He pointed a shaky finger at Yuki, motioning for his classmates to bring their other unconscious classmate over. With the help of Duncan's golden blood/healing potion and Asahi's connection, they managed to save h8m from the brink of death. While Asahi did manage to get a peek at the lad's memories, he wouldn't think of them as much now.

As soon as Asahi felt Yuki was safe and he broke the connection, he fell sideways on the grassy ground. He's too exhausted to even lift a finger, his body now falling victim to the consequences of experiencing all the pain and suffering of the classmates he connected to. As he finally succumbed to slumber, the last thing he saw before he shut his eyes and drifted into dreamland was Sasuke sleeping peacefully.

Unfortunately, he fell asleep just as things got more interesting.