Shun relaxed as Sasuke convulsions started to cease. Letting go of Sasuke, Shun got back up and stretched her arms and legs. "Not even close," She said. One problem had came and one problem had been solved. The energy, the thrill of the situation permeated her body. Asahi had started healing Yuki as well, so that meant he was going to wake up soon. All they needed to do was watch out for monsters and-

"Eh?" Ayana's voice reached Shun's ears. What was she saying? Confusion came in to replace the enthusiasm inside her as she looked at her blank faced friend. "Ayana?" Was all Shun could whisper. The girl's rambling continued and her words intensifying at every syllable. Shun didn't know what to do about this. Everything seemed to slowly click into her as she fully turned to face Ayana.

She kept on going on something a rock and how they were all blind to the things that she saw? Concern started to grow, but as much as Shun wanted to stop Ayana from spilling out those words, she couldn't. What should she do? It was clear even to Shun that this was an abnormal event. Watching as Ayana balled herself, Shun moved up.

She had to do something. Even though she couldn't offer much, Shun would at least try to offer the same comfort Ayana had before. Though she even unsure herself if her words can reach through whatever Ayana was going through. "Ayana," Shun said as she headed towards Ayana. Gulping down the hesitation that she didn't know she had, Shun tried to comfort Ayana.

"I don't know, what's going on with you, but please tell us, Ayana." Shun didn't know if she was doing the right thing. Shun had half considered knocking out Ayana, but would that even be the correct move. Unknowingly even to herself, Shun too grabbed a rock from the ground. Maybe an a subconscious attempt to calm herself down, but it didn't change the fact that Shun was now armed.

______________________________________________________________________

The student council president did not linger around the injured for long. He was neither nurse, doctor, nor supernatural abilities expert. Once Sasuke seemed to be doing better, there wasn't any more that he could do. Stewart and Asahi worked together (sort of), eventually moving on to Endo while Kanamori fretted over the both of them. Todokawa had moved off to the side to give them room at some point, and Masato followed suite - only much farther.

He walked past the onlookers and the cooking station to somewhere between those still constructing shelters and the rest of the class. He took up a post as sentinel while he collected himself, supporting himself against a random tree. Today had been a lot. And it wasn't even over!

For now Masato was glad to have the other students play hero for saving two lives (while unbeknownst to him another played a budding villain). Once that was over with they could all just rest and prepare for the coming night. Now that everyone was gathered, for better or worse, maybe he should go and talk to Sato...? Make sure she was alright. Or maybe it was too soon after the reveal of her childhood friend's death?

Masato rubbed the back of his neck, unsure. Speaking of people he needed to hash things out with, there was also Kogen... who didn't actually seem to be around. Masato narrowed his eyes, scanning the lakeside again.

"Are you kidding me?" he said under his breath, annoyed. Was Kogen that pissed that he decided to leave? Maybe he was just hiding somewhere nearby? Masato pushed himself off of the tree with intent to find the other boy - but if he really didn't want to be found, then... well, they'd deal with that.

Kogen made his way to the edge of the encampment, taking one look back at the rest. He considered for only a moment whether or not he should let someone know what he was about to do before he did it. Of course, Kogen had already reached the conclusion to that train of thought long ago, before he resolved himself to this quest to begin with. If he were to die, he’d be forgotten just as quickly as he was the night before, just as he was those countless times he was bullied and beaten by his tormentors long past.

So instead, he simply tightened the ripped piece of fabric that held his makeshift weapon together, a piece of his sleeve torn off to fasten the rudimentary spearhead onto its shaft. Rather than simply using the fish bones as some sort of easily-destroyed weapon, Kogen instead decided to attempt to test something else out instead. He had did his very best to imbed some of the sharpened bits of the fishbone into the piece of flint he was using to carve his weapon moments prior, believing that perhaps possessing some remnants of the beings of this world would properly pierce the flesh of these creatures.

It wasn’t a hypothesis Kogen was confident in, but it was still something that was worth testing. After all, as he knew from moments prior, if the weapon did not end up working, the boy could just as easily rely on the tried and true method of stabbing whatever he runs into hard enough to pierce their shield anyway. That aside, Kogen’s stomach growled. While he knew that his hunger would make him weaker in some respects, he would only think back to his ancestors: the hunters and gatherers who lived off of kill after kill, their hunger driving them to press forward. Nodding at this, he would step deeper into the wilds to begin his hunt.

The forest greeted him with caustic silence as Kogen slipped into the wilds. His hunger gnawed at his organs, a reminder that though he may have picked up a few hours of sleep last night, he had practically eaten nothing since. The consumption of energy must be higher for Awakened than Unawakened, judging by how quickly they had consumed the monsters’ flesh last night, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He had made his choice, and as a man, he would stick to it.

Around him was the unfamiliar greenery of a deep forest. Thick grass and weeds were tread underfoot, while the canopy provided a deep shade. He could spy a few animal trails crisscrossing through the undergrowth, but there was nothing he could chase immediately. Birds from high above flew from one treetop to the other, their squeals catching his attention from time to time. Could he throw his spear well enough to strike them though? It would be a difficult proposition, and if it broke on the way down…

There were yet other options, less hunter and more gatherer options for Kogen though. Shockingly enough, yellow flowers spotted the base of one tree. Dandelions, strangely enough. He could make tea with them. He could perhaps even eat them, if he truly trusted that they were dandelions. Mushrooms could be found growing on the sides of moss-subsumed logs as well, large white caps promising umami or death. And where fallen logs were, there were insects too, high in protein if he could swallow up his own sick.

Yet all those, from birds to plants to ants, were small game at best. They would not sustain him and they certainly weren’t worth bringing back to the encampment to rub into the faces of those who had abandoned him. The sun was still high up in the sky. He could afford to travel even deeper, even further away.

He would risk getting lost too.

No matter what he chose to do, Kogen knew that he needed some fuel for the road regardless. Because of this, weighing his options, the most “reliable” way of getting those nutrients would regretfully be the bugs under the logs. The idea made his stomach turn, but its low growling was also an indicator that it shouldn’t be a choosing beggar. Still, something to wash those creepy crawlies down would be good to have.

Inspecting the dandelions, Kogen kneeled down and sniffed at them for any funny smells. If he got a good enough vibe out of them from smell alone, he’d go so far as to pick one of them, rubbing the petals on his bottom lip, as well as crushing a bit of it in his hand. He saw this trick on the D*scovery Channel once. Something about any sort of burning, redness, or tingling is an indication that this plant was not to be trusted. Good to get this out of the way now, while he’s relatively close to the lake so he could wash off the residue.

His inspections didn’t seem to yield anything particularly harmful, but on the other hand, his body had changed to be capable of withstanding the claws of a beast. Would toxic plants even be considered toxic to him? There was only one way to find out, really. Kogen placed the petals in his mouth and swished them around, getting a sense of their taste and general mouthfeel. He didn’t swallow yet, however, juuuuust in case.

The taste was like salad without dressing, except if the salad was limp. Despite the dampness of residual dew that clung on the underside of the petals, the flavor was very much non-existent. The pollen tickled the roof of his mouth, a faint floral aroma could be smelled. No immediate reaction laid him low, however. He was still alive.

Well, no need to tempt fate for now. Kogen would spit the petals out and collect some of what he could. Now, for those bugs…

Steeling himself for the ordeal he was going to go through, Kogen lifted up the nearest damp log to see what he could find.

Things were squirming away immediately as he lifted up the first log. Some were brightly colored and exeskeletoned, clambering deeper into the holes of the rotted log, while others were more well-hidden, their camouflaged flesh undulating as they sought refuge away from the titan that tore up their home. Yet there were those wholly unbothered by the intrusion as well, eggs or larvae that were simply embedded in the underside of the log, shaped like kernels of popcorn before they popped.

It was nothing so appetizing as the massive, juicy worms that the Lion King showcased, and they were all very much still alive, liable to move around in his mouth, but, well…they were small enough. He could swallow them whole and not taste it at all.

After the thought of having any sort of meal quickly passed Kogen’s mind, an idea came to his head. Larvae are much smaller and less developed than a human, and Kogen was pretty sure at least some of them ate leaves and flowers. Pests and all that. With this in mind, Kogen grabs a grub as well as the crushed “dandelion” on the ground with the idea of feeding it the flower and seeing its reaction to it all. Surely whatever toxins are held in the flowers would be more quickly determined when going through such a small body!

The reaction was immediate…if one ignored the seven grubs that Kogen had to pluck out of the rotted log before he reached one that actually looked like it was in the mood to eat. The seventh wriggled slightly as it appeared to bite on a minuscule portion of the crushed weed, before it curled up into a ball.

With this new discovery, Kogen would grab his bottle of water, swishing a bit of it in his mouth before spitting it out. After washing his mouth of the petaly residue, Kogen will then seek out a less-inebriated bug to pop in his mouth. He wondered if crushing their little heads will make them going down the pipe a lot easier, but decided to just try and yeet it in their anyway and see what’ll happen. Bottom’s up!

Bitter. That’s what it tasted like. Like a shrimp gone wrong, except so much smaller than it. Rather than any texture of meat, it tasted like paste instead, whatever muscles the larva may have had been too flimsy and ill-formed to offer a proper bite or bounce. The micro-organs that Kogen’s molars had crushed were what caused the flavor, and considering the size of the larva itself? It would be a drop of rain in a bucket. Who knew how many of these he’d have to chomp down before he felt even a slight satisfaction? Well, one way to find out. Kogen drank some more water before holding his breath and scarfing down more of these little things, hoping that bitter taste will just fade with time.

With his stomach full of bugs, Kogen would let out a small burp as he drank a bit more water to wash it down. While it wasn’t a particularly filling meal, it probably was enough for Kogen to press on with his hunt. With that in mind, though, Kogen made the conscious decision of pocketing a couple more grubs. Maybe with their miniscule nutritional value, they could serve as potent enough ways for Kogen to trigger his newfound abilities, namely a bit of minor healing.

Seeing that there was no other direction to go but forward, Kogen would press on into the wilds, to find mightier prey.

The further away he went from the lake, the quieter and more insular his surroundings became. The canopy thickened, thick roots growing out from the dark earth, the soil fed by countless cycles of wither and rebirth. A dampness was collecting upon his skin, the dappled shafts of sunlight that had once given the forest a natural beauty becoming more and more sparse.

The lake had been an oasis, perhaps. A spot of tranquility, compared to the depths of true wilderness just a short hike away. And the first signs of that broken tranquility soon faced him head-on, as Kogen almost stepped into an indent on the ground, one of many that crossed his current path at a diagonal.

Footprints, pawprints.

Just the right size for the pads of those hulk-phants from last night.

Looking at the trail on the ground, Kogen swallowed almost nervously. Even with his armor, he wasn’t quite sure if he could take on even one of those things on his own. Dealing with a whole pack of them was a different story altogether. Stepping back a bit, Kogen shifted course, tracing his steps back to where he was.

The boy still intended to hunt, but taking a detour without knowing where he was would prove more troublesome than it was really worth it to be.

Diverging in the opposite direction that those hulk-phants had gone, Kogen sketched in his notebook as he walked, gradually creating a rudimentary sketch of his understanding of the path he took. Though he had no particular experience in cartography to begin with, that mountain in the distance, the one that he had seen when he first reached the lake with the others, served as enough of a landmark to navigate with.

And worst comes to worst? He could climb a tree and take a look from there.

As he got further away, however, an aroma began to drift in the air. It was a sweet smell, like fruit, drawing him to a patch of the woods where the sunlight broke through to reveal a large, bulbous fruit that sat upon a mound of green leaves. Shaped like peach but with a vividly-red skin that gradated into green the way that dragonfruit may have, it was perhaps the size of a watermelon. A lucky find, certainly, in a forest like this. Or perhaps it was a common fruit, and the students simply haven’t foraged through the woods enough to encounter it until now?

A windfall! Kogen’s keen sense of smell has led him to a place filled with food! Still, though, the boy could not help but feel as if even this was suspicious. They are, after all, in another world where panthers shoot lasers out of their eyes… or something like that. He wasn’t quite paying attention to that. What he did pay attention to, however, was that certain plants use their sweet smell to draw in prey. Perhaps this could also be the case here?

Either way, it was a useful find to begin with, but for a different reason. Being sure to make a few notable landmarks to this place, namely marking some trees or making some rock mounds on the path leading to it, Kogen would make his return to the camp. Perhaps if he could get someone else to step into this glade, to partake in the fruit before he did, he could then see if this truly was something he could call his own find…

… or perhaps a weapon he could use against his traitorous kin.

---

//Day 1 | Location: Nameless Forest - Lakeside
_{@AThousandCurses@baraquiel@Nakushita@Yankee@Vertigo@Cu Chulainn}
There it was. The first to go loopy.

And there was no way Hiroshi was going to leave, no way he was going to miss out on this. Was it a side effect from consuming the golden blood? Was this another manifestation of the stranger powers that the Awakened possessed? Was it literally just owing to the rock that Ayana had picked up, some sort of light-novel-esque curse? Or did that perpetual klutz always have some sort of underlying mental condition? Regardless of what it really was, Yukiko was looking increasingly nervous, Masato had decided to leave the whole situation without even a backwards glance, Duncan was about as wide-eyed and empty-brained as the basketball ace could be expected, and only Shun was willing to step up.

Good girl. He should find an opportunity to chat with her some time. Pick at her brain too. But for now?

“Daisuke, help Yukiko get the three of them to the shelter. They can rest up better there.” Exacting words, the sort of words to inspire action.

Daisuke’s expression was a bit complex though, casting a glance towards his best friend. “You comin’ with?”

A shake of his head. Of course Hiroshi wasn’t going to.

The vibes of this whole situation, of the nonsense that Ayana suddenly spouted off, wasn’t anything that Daisuke really got. He generally just avoided Kogen for the same reason; it was hard for him to parse just how serious people were being about that sort of stuff. And while the klutz’s crazy laughter had set him on edge…he wasn’t going to try anything if all she was doing was laughing. A sigh escaped between his teeth. “Yukiko, go hoist up Asahi, yeah?” A slap upon his broad chest. “I can carry out the other two.”

And so, the group gradually dispersed.

And so, there were soon just three, to witness the continuation of Ayana’s spiral: Shun, Duncan, and Hiroshi.

---

After an admittedly half-hearted effort to locate Kogen (the dude was Awakened; he could take care of himself), Masato headed back to where the others were. Most of them had transitioned to eating the fish that Kumi had cooked up by now, happy to have something hot and tasty to bite upon. The Ito twins were squatted over the fireplace in their gym shorts, both of them soaked to the skin from the fishing they’ve done, while Rin and her crew at the shelter were continuing to make things bigger and better, the inventor-in-making apparently having hit her stride. She looked a bit shaky, perhaps owing to the constant usage of her own Facsimile, but she looked about as energetic as she had been for weeks.

Elsewhere, Ayano was side-eyeing Fujita and Haruko as the two of them had a conversation that seemed uncharacteristically animated, while Tsubaki spoke with Maki over the matters of their own injuries. Neither of them were dead, which meant that once Asahi recovered, he could probably help Maki fix up her own broken bones too. It was good news, better news once Yukiko and Daisuke hauled the three unconscious (but healthy-ish) boys to where Tsubasa and Ayane, the twin talents of the Arts and Crafts Club, were weaving together what looked to be blankets out of the surrounding reeds, plants, and branches.

“Over here, Masato,” Tsubasa called, when their gazes met. “You have to tell us: what happened over there? They look so much healthier now!”

There was no reason for him to refuse her summons, was there?

…

And that, of course, was what Kogen saw when he stomped back through the woods, his own stomach growling. Everyone else getting along, eating fish and warming themselves up by the fire. The injured all healed up, the shelter built to grand heights, and even Ayana and Shun making up with Duncan in the distance, if his eyes didn’t deceive him.

They forgave betrayal easily, didn’t they?

But he?

He saw Masato there with Tsubasa, enjoying a merry fucking time, despite having done absolutely jack shit. Asahi was the one that knocked himself out and Masato had the fucking gall to just sit there, soaking in all the praise for those achievements?

Kogen never forgave. And it was too early to forget.

@AThousandCurses@Yankee@Erode@baraquiel@Vertigo


Sapphire eyes shifting watching as some of the group dispersed, she paid them no mind. Her gaze slowly but surely found hold on Shun as she approached her. A wordless smile on her face as Shun’s words of concern didn’t bring forth any consideration. Ayana came to a sudden stop a short distance away from her approaching classmate.

Having not uttered a word or made a single sound since her last one, when she had just been so free with her words moments before. Her loose hair dangling down in a messy scraggly mess covering portions of her face. Partially hiding bits of her bright blue eyes from view as she stared dead ahead. Her eyes finally moved down and towards the rock that Shun had armed herself with. Her attention focused solely on Shun and none of the others that had decided to stay behind.

"Hey Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!” finally breaking the silence as she let out a small humored laugh. “You have nothing more than a rock in your hands Shun, what do you plan to do with that? Don’t you see the difference between them Shun…?” Lifting up the blackened rock in the palm of her right hand and in view of Shun. “You see…this is far greater than just a rock, don’t you understand? Doesn’t anyone understand or see what I can see? It's all right here in the palm of my hand Shun!” Standing her ground as her smile remained in place. Not having a single doubt in her mind that what she held was what she believed it to be, a tool of great power and destiny. Confidence brimming from her every pore as she showed no signs of relenting.

“As for Ayana…..that name is not fitting any more, it is not the full truth of who I really am, you see Shun, none of you know this, but I’m so much more then just Ayana, none of you can see what I can see, or understand what I can understand, you are all blind to it, you all do not have the gift, I promised myself long ago never to allow my true self to resurface, but that has been broken and I couldn’t feel any better! It's like I have been reborn once again!” Bringing the rock to her chest as she thudded it in pride. Tilting her head aside as she placed her other hand on her hip. Feeling a renewed energy coursing through her entire body. She felt incredible, like everything made sense to her finally, like she had a never-ending wellspring of energy bursting out of her very being.

“It looks like you need a lesson, to become enlightened ... .as to the error of your ways…” slowly shuffling her feet forward as she inched her way ever closer towards Shun. Her right hand shifted into the side waistband of her skirt and past her hip. Her left hand holding the blackened glistening rock by her other side as she got within reach of Shun. Leaning forward as she brought both of her hands behind her back clasping them together as she leaned her head to the other side.

Bright blue eyes locking onto Shun’s rock, “You have already lost, I have what you do not, I have the tool that will overcome any little mere rock Shun…..” without warning bringing her right hand around from behind her back, something white within the palm of her hand as she slapped it against the rock in Shun’s hands. Before taking a step back and away from Shun with a big confident grin across her smug looking face.

When Shun finally realized what she had done, it would be too late, a piece of paper having been slapped atop of her rock. When Shun came to this realization, Ayana began to laugh once more. “You see, I told you that you already lost, paper beats rock Shun, you should have known better!” Laughing hard enough to cause herself to have to rest her hands on her knees when she ran out of breath. Wiping a tear from her cheek as she let herself fall backwards and onto the ground on her bum.

Crossing her legs, before crossing her arms across her chest she looked up at Shun quietly. Her right hand moving to her chin and giving it a rub, the black rock still visible in her left hand. After some consideration and thought she broke her silence again. “Do you truly wish to know what I can see? To take on the burden of the knowledge that I possess? This……” Holding up the rock in front of herself once more and before Shun. “This is a part of something so much bigger than you understand, it is difficult….but if you really want to know…..then you must come closer….” Blue eyes ablaze with passion and energy as she finished her last request, the smile having never left her face. Testing Shun’s resolve, to see if she was worthy of knowing what Ayana had to share.



Shun winced as the rock in her hand was disarmed from her. A piece of paper had covered it up. What was happening? Everything that Not Ayana said went through from one ear and out the other. Any sympathy Shun had for the person in front of her quickly faded away. It was a headache trying to listen to her.

After Not Ayana finished speaking, Shun considered her offer. If she accepted her offer, then she’d be able to understand Ayana on a better level than before. Social queues and rooms were really never her thing, but if she accepted that hand, that’d change. Still something felt wrong about this. Something that Shun needed to address before accepting that hand.

“Only on one condition. You solve a problem for me.” Yes, if Not Ayana knew everything about everything, then she’d be able to solve this certain conundrum. Clearing up her throat, Shun began to speak.

“You see, it started on this one shiny sunny day when I woke up in my bed to the smell of breakfast. I was naturally surprised since it was a Monday and dad was usually drunk off his ass the night before. When I came downstairs I saw my mom instead of dad and I was like so confused, because mom never cooks. You see mom always makes my dad do all the cooking since she’s busy with work and stuff and she knows how to twist my dad around her finger. Anyways it must have been a special occasion since she never cooks. As I was saying so she was saying that we were going to have a new neighbor and I was like ‘wow really?” and she was like, ‘yes, Shun now please eat breakfast before I burn the house down,’ so I decided to eat breakfast. It tasted kind of burnt though. Anyways as I was saying, you see, it was Monday and everybody hates mondays you know? One time Higasa recited a poem to me about Mondays and how they were a doomsday day that for every Monday the world was going to end. May he rest in peace. As I was saying, so I as I was walking to school I saw this foreign looking girl walking across the street. Oh yeah I forgot to mention that the reason why my mom was making breakfast was because we were going to have a new neighbor. Though whenever she cooks it usually means that she wants to murder someone. Anyways just to remind you that there was a new foreign girl walking down this street. It was a new face you know, so I just had to talk to her. Though when I tried to walk up to her, I almost got ran over the car. I was so entranced about her appearance that I completely forgot that she was on the other side of the road. Though it was almost exciting dodging a car at the last second, you know? Well that’s not what the driver said and he was pretty upset. Don’t know why, he should have kept his eyes on the road. Anyways, as I was saying, when I looked back up, she was gone. It shocked me. She was just there and then she wasn’t there. Maybe, she could teleport. Can foreigners teleport? I’d have to ask Duncan later, but anyways I was now late to school. With a piece of toast in my mouth, I accidentally shoved Tsutsumi into a trash bin, woops sorry about that eyepatch-kun, and in my haste to get to school. Though thanks to his sacrifice I got the speed boost I needed to pass through the school gate. I saw the Class President through the window and he didn’t seem impressed. He had his arms crossed like this, you know? Anyways I was making my way to the classroom and then I had a revelation. Maybe Duncan knew who the foreigner was. Maybe she was some sort of distant relative twice removed. I saw that kind of plot in a manga once you know? Anyways, tripping over Rin, who was minding her own business, I needed to find where Duncan was. So I asked Asahi who was trying to talk to Sasuke and my fellow peer seemed frustrated over it. Don’t know why. Anyways he said he didn’t know, so I asked Sasuke. Sasuke said I’d have better luck talking to Endo, so I went to Endo. Turns out Endo was the one who was harassing Satoshi-Chan, so I did a majestic backflip and kicked him in the face. Everybody was impressed, but that didn’t matter right now. I needed to find out where Duncan was. So I asked the hit second place in command Nakagawa and asked where Duncan was. Apparently Duncan was outside smoking and doing some yankee stuff or something like that. With my new destination at hand, I dashed out of the gym. Oh yeah I went to the gym because Sasuke suggested it by the way. I accidentally bumped into Hana along the way and asked what she was doing because she was standing oddly in the hallway. She said that she saw some sort of rodent along the way and was planning to deal with. I don’t know why she would, she could have asked the janitor, and maybe it was fun trying to catch a rat. Maybe I should try that one day, oh wait I have yesterday. Well anyways, I finally managed to find Duncan who was currently squaring up against Akito. It seemed like they were having an argument over something. But whatever they were arguing about wasn’t important. I needed to find out who that foreign girl was. So I tried to grab Duncan’s attention by screaming at him. It worked but it only seemed to make him a lot angrier. Though it grabbed the attention of the adults and we had to disperse. Akito ran off somewhere in between, I don’t know when, but now I finally had Duncan to myself. But he was still mad at me, so I needed to find a way to calm him down. Oh yeah, you were also there. Apparently you were there too. You were like holding a pair of scissors and then sudden you slipped on the floor. The scissors almost clipped my ear off, but thankfully it missed me by a hair. As you were slipping by the floor, it seemed like Duncan was so surprised that he lost his mean face for a bit. Thanks by the way for that. It was time for me to finally ask my question. So I ask, “Hey Duncan did your cousin transfer and over?” and he looked very confused. I told him that about my mom and stuff and that we were getting a neighbor thought that seemed to confuse him. He was like, “What does this have to do with me?” And then I told him that I saw a foreigner and wondered if he could use his telepathic powers to call her so we can meet. Apparently he didn’t really like that and walked off. Now I was left with no leads and nothing else to do. That’s when it hit me. Mom was talking about Cathy! Do you know who Cathy is?”

Shun had an uncharacteristic serious look on her face as she finished her sentence. It had bothered her ever since that day. Who was that foreign girl, why was she there? Shun needed these answers from Not Ayana before accepting her terms.

Remaining silent as her blue eyes did not move from Shun the entire time she spoke. Listening to everything she had to say word for word as Shun after a long winded explanation finally got to her actual question.



Ayana lowered her head for a moment tucking her chin into her chest as she let her hair dangle down. Her face shaded and hidden briefly from view as she hid her expression and reaction. “Cathy?.....Cathy you say?....” slowly lifting her head back up to look Shun in the eyes. A smile still on her smug mug. “I don’t have a clue of what you speak, I’m not telepathic, nor do I know everything about everyone to have ever existed, no no no, you have misunderstood my power…” Glancing down at the blackened source of power within the palm of her hand as she started to laugh.

Bringing it up nice and close to her own face as she turned it over in the palm of her hand. “You see, the great power bestowed upon me is much greater than being able to read someone's mind, or use some magical power to learn what someone’s motive is…staring into this void….I can get glimpses of the future….this item holds great power within it Shun, and it holds it within me as the one that is blessed and bestowed this mighty gift” Nodding her head in confirmation and reassurance in what she believed to be the truth. Her gaze shifting from the rock as she lowered it and made eye contact with Shun once more.

Remaining seated with her legs crossed she tilted her head side bringing her free hand to her chin and holding it in place. “Though you seem quite serious about this Shun, quite serious indeed, so I do not mind lending you a hand in your grand quest, of course if you allow the truth to settle within your heart….” Slowly she started to uncross her legs and rise from the ground. Once standing she dusted herself off and looked down at her ruffled and torn clothing giving a small shrug.

Without warning and without waiting, she darted forward until she was within inches of Shun, coming to a little skid before her. Tucking her hands behind the small of her own back as she leaned her head forward, beside Shun’s ear, a quiet whisper leaving her lips. “Shun Babyyyyyyy, why don’t you let me in……the truth is, I can even glimpse parts of your future if I focus hard enough…now won’t you accept the truth into your heart and soullllllll……” drawing out her last word before slowly pulling her head back. Without warning taking a few hops backwards to get some distance between them once again.

Rocking back and forth on the heels of her feet, her smug face lit up with great interest. “Isn’t this a fun little game? Won’t you agree? You get to know the true me at long last, what a true blessing this has been for me, to finally be able to emerge once again and take the role I was born and destined to hold, you are the first one to finally show signs of shaking off your blindness and your lack of vision, the truth must be accepted by all…..otherwise they will be doomed…..” foreboding within her tone, whatever thought process going through her head seemed jumbled and unclear. She was wild and unpredictable, even though she did not know what this little game of hers would lead to. But she was thoroughly enjoying every little moment of it while it lasted.


Shun was still. The sickly honey words that Not Ayana whispered down into her ears watered down her brain. “So you don’t know why Cathy is…” A defeated tone place of the once serious girl. Not even Not Ayana knew what she was talking about. All of what she was were lies. Understanding? It was a two way road not a one way. It was a shame, because what happened next would shock everyone around.

“CATHYESES FISTS IN YOUR MOUTH!” Fire burned in her body as Shun landed an intense uppercut into Not Ayana’s face. From the very beginning Shun wasn’t believing in what Not Ayana was saying. After all, she wasn’t Ayana. The second was stranger danger, like how you don’t trust strangers who offer you candy. Not Ayana gave off bad vibes and Shun was willing to experience all out.

Sailing up into the air, Shun twisted her body to head straight down at Not Ayana. “YOU’RE WRONG, AYANA! ROCKET BEATS PAPER!” And in the instant her body glowed with the second activation of her facsimile. All it did was increase speed! It didn’t matter if she matter, or not, as long as she was moving, she could activate it.

“Blindness? I want to experience that! Truth? What’s the point of being told when I can find it out myself!” Shun shouted hysterically. What was the point of everything if you knew about it before even trying it? In fact, it seemed like Not Ayana was trying to scam her as if she was a telemarketer.

“It’s okay to make mistakes! After all! They’re always a new experience!” Sailing straight at Ayana, Shun had a ferocious look on her as she descended down at mach speed.



Nodding her head in agreement with what Shun had begun to say. The smugness not leaving her face as she knew she had much work to do. Even though Shun came off as defeated, Ayana knew she had no answers for the questions that she wanted answered. After all, that had nothing to do with the gift she had been blessed with. Her gift was so much more than a tool to find out gossip around town. Shun just needed her eyes opened to the truth, to open her arms wide and take it all in. To let herself experience the world with new eyes for the first time, to break the chains and accept reality in a way never thought possible.

†̵̢̫͎̙̯̎̓̔͂͘ṛ̸̨͖̻̺̀̃̽̂̑µ̸̨̛͖̭̤̮̒̃̅͘§̷͓͚̖̻͕̎̾͋͠͝†̶̛̰̗̬̠̜͌̓͛́ ̸̥̫̦̘̄͊̆̚̚ͅð̷̳̜̫̮̣͊́̀͑̉ņ̶̼̟͔̩̃̽͂͐̆͝l̵̟͓͚͖̰̔̇̔̔̚¥̶̢̬͉̝̱̃̃͋̆̀ ̵̛̯͇̣͇͉̾̾̽͠¥̸̯̫̪̦̬̉͗͊̇̚ð̴̧̗̘̼̩̎̂̃̓͛µ̸̨̛̹̱̟̍̈̿͂͜r̶̨̰̥̳͖̈̌̈́͑̑§̵̧̛̯̜̳͎̇̑̂͆ê̸͖̣̼̜͚̓̉̽̆̚l̷̺͙̳̏̃͗̀̈͜ͅ£̸̛̻̞̙̟̬́͐͐̆ ̷̡̭͉̪̊̓́̔͝ͅą̵̡͕̮̯̊͆̏̑̒̆ĺ̴̟̮͖̻̻̑̾̋͝l̶̙̳̹̭̮͂́̔̏̑ ̵̫͉͎̠̼́̈́̋̐͘ð̴̪̘̞̝͈̿̂̔̽͗†̶̫̪͚̓̅̈̇́ͅͅh̷̡͖͈̖̟͂̔͂͂̈́ê̵͚͓̰̠̭̍̀́̇̚ŕ̵̩̗̺̜̮̃̑̒͌§̷̨̛͍̦̟̊̂̎̎ͅ ̸̨͓̠̺͓́̎̔̍̾å̴͚͖̣̫̹̔́́̾͂r̴̮̲̖͕͆̀͐̋͝ͅê̶̡̖̮͉͙͆͒̌̊̌ ̶̟̤͓̰͚̌͐̒̕̚µ̸̢̜̫̖͍͌̀̓͑̾ñ̸̮̖̘̯̤͒̓̈̃̕w̸̬̩̲̖͖̽͑̅̎̈ð̷̳͎͍͎̲̉̒̅̄͠r̴̮̙͓̰͕̽̌͌̓̏†̴͖͎̹̰̖̈̔̍̒̈́h̸̜͎͎͈͑͊͆͘͘͜¥̴̖̼̙̱͗̃̌͛̕͜

Keeping her arms behind her back as she smiled at Shun, keeping her rock firmly clenched in the palm of her hand. She knew that soon it would be time to spread the word to all those around her. It was her duty, it was her honored privilege, it was part of who she was. If they wouldn’t understand, then she would make them all understand, one at a time, no matter what it took.

“Of course, but that does not mean that I can’t assist you if you are willing to embrace the truth into your heart and soul, into your mind and body ... .after all my true name is……” Shun catches Ayana off guard with a swift move, using her facsimile to her advantage. Moving at a blur to the sapphire eyes of Ayana. Shun’s fist meets her chin and violently snaps Ayana’s head backwards, messy hair being sent all about from the whiplash of the blow. Lifting Ayana off of her feet and sending her tumbling and falling backwards with a thud.

Not even a cry of pain or surprise was able to escape her lips as the blow had been so sudden, leaving her stunned from the impact. Blue eyes dazed as not only had she not had been in position to defend herself, she had also had her rock behind her back, having landed on it in the process of falling. Only making the situation worse as it dug into the middle of her back. Legs and arms sprawled out on either side of her as she stared straight up into the sky. Visions and flashbacks flashing through her mind as her mind had become such a blur, chaotic and wild.

It took her a moment to recompose her thoughts and realize where she was at again, coming out of her stunned stupor, just in time to spot Shun already preparing for her next blow. Ayana did not budge or even try to move a muscle. Blue eyes ablaze with a fiery and intense passion as she started to laugh once again. “Then you can remain blind to the truth, but someday you will come crawling back, wanting to experience it for yourself! Do what you must….but I already knew this would be the end result….I knew this is what you would choose to do!” Her laughter filling the air around them even as Shun came flying down at full speed with her facsimile.

Spreading her arms out wide, a big toothy smile across her face, welcoming the next attack with open arms “Lets see this rocket of yours, to see if it is truly worthy of a title such as myself!” All Shun would see as she landed was Ayana’s intense blue eyes, her demented smile and a happiness that would not be expected. Ayana did nothing to avoid it, or to lessen its blow, Shun’s heels of her feet digging into Ayana’s torso with an immediate and blunt impact that rammed her roughly into the ground. Ayana continued to laugh until the very last moment of impact, which brought silence soon after. Bones cracking underneath the pressure, being pushed past the limits of their flexibility, snapping and giving way to the blow. The klutz had experienced many accidents in the past, but nothing as forceful as this.

Dust having been stirred into the air as Ayana lay motionless underneath Shun, eyes closed and not a sound coming from her. Before she began to cough, blue eyes opened wide as she tried to draw air into her battered lungs. A smile soon returned to her face as a strained laugh escaped her lips. Her hands slowly but surely trailing up towards Shun’s ankles as she grabbed a hold of them with a weak grip.

𓆪Ģ̷̧̺̬͚̄̽̀͒͠i̷̮̣͈͚̻͊́̿̿̓v̴̛̥̳͓͕̳͂̄̄͝ě̶̡̱͚̞̖̄̊̃̈́ ̶̼̲̘̩̯̏̓͒̐̅i̸̖̬͕͖̮͗̈͊̕͘ń̵̨̬͕͇͎̓͒̋́ ̶̧̜̹̝͓̿͐̈́̚͘t̵̻̖̱̝͉́̍̽̅͝ö̴̪̪̣̠̗͛̀̒̏ ̴̱͎̟̟̠̍̈́̀̽́ÿ̷̢̝̗̻́͆̓́̊ͅo̵͍̪͍̝͖̐͗̉̅͝u̵͕̦̗̪͇͑̀́̇͘r̸̗̮̠͉̳̉̓̈̚͠ ̵͓̞̩̦̗̉̋͑͆̎ṭ̷̩̪̠͕̎͊̓̈́̈́r̷̘̳̠̣̫͛̄̂̓͘ṵ̷̜̹̖̝̇̀̈́̄́é̶̡̖̤̺͇̀͊̑̚ ̵͎͉̯̳̮̄̆̾͝͝s̵̪͙̦̥̯̏̄̓̄̆ę̵̱̜͈̩̒͒̇̃͂l̷͈͚̰̭͉̉̿̐͆́f̴̧̩͖̖̥̅͂̄̌̈

“I have taken many…..blows before….but that was by far the most forceful one…..I felt my bones giving away to it…..cracking and breaking....however…you are not worthy of the truth….that is clear to me now…” staggered and difficult words being forced from her lips with as much effort as she could muster.

“You will never be blessed like I have become…..you will not be honored, you will forever remain blind…what a shame…what a shame….” gritting her teeth through the pain, a grimace masking her features even beneath her smile that never ceased. Trying to laugh again, followed by a series of coughs.The intense pain she felt radiating from her chest and torso was immeasurable. It was amazing that she was even still conscious after such a blow, but if anything the klutz was durable.

She was injured, but alive, and that was all that mattered to her. Soon she would spread the truth, soon they would all come to understand. Soon they will have no choice but to accept it into their hearts and souls. Soon they would come to know her true self, her true name and title, even if it killed her.

Lifting her head up slowly from the ground, eyes ablaze with determination, gritting through the pain. Even if Shun had proved to be not worthy, it was time to reveal her true name and title. It had been put off long enough…she had arrived and she was here to stay whether they liked it or not. Her grip increased on Shun’s ankles as she began to speak once again, not yet finished. They must all know, it was destiny for them to know.

“You may not be worthy….but I feel generous…my true name…..” Trailing off at the end as her smile began to grow, the smugness returning as she swelled up with great pride.

“Oros The Clumsy….”

Letting her words hang in the air for a brief moment as she began to laugh once again having finally revealed her true name to someone for the first time in ages. It felt like a large weight had been removed from her shoulders. Finally releasing Shun’s ankles, reaching her right hand behind her back, slowly dragging out the rock that had been digging into her back this entire time….”And this is…..my Endless Eclipse….” Her eyes staring into the blackened void of her prized possession. It remained unclear if she was just insane, or if there was any truth behind her claims, but for her it was the full truth. The full truth that she had come to spread to the unworthy and the blind.

---

//Night 1 | Location: Nameless Forest - Lakeside
_{@AThousandCurses@baraquiel@Nakushita@Yankee@Vertigo@Cu Chulainn}
It smelled of pine and spring.

Asahi’s eyes opened, one at a time. It had been the deepest, most dreamless sleep he had had in years, and yet he still felt tired at the end of it, as if he hadn’t recovered at all. There was perhaps some clarity in his vision, perhaps his head no longer felt so woozy, but that sensation of lightness, as his body responded a touch too slow for his mind, persisted. He was starving. A couple of fish wouldn’t do it. He had given so much, suffered so much, and in the end?

Well, it had been worth it.

Framed by firelight, Sasuke sat beside him, offering a slight nod, a slight smile, as he chewed upon a skewered fish. Whatever injuries he had suffered from, whatever the effects of the blood-purge caused by Duncan’s ichor, the youth was there beside Asahi now, a starlight brilliance in his dark blue eyes. It was a miracle, a miracle that they had all struggled through to obtain. And it was their blueprint too now, the elixir they could use to bring anyone else back.

Almost as much of a miracle, really, as the fact that the shelter they were now in had walls. Not high enough to rise to the top of the poles, but tall enough to block out the wind and the bugs. Mud had been caked against a frame made of wooden poles, a primitive yet effective solution, and the architect of all this free-standing shelter, Rin, was curled up in a corner of the space, alongside one of the Ito twins, snoring with such a ferocity that Asahi wondered how he even stayed asleep for that long.

If he closed his eyes though, he could almost imagine it. That they were at that camping spot up in the mountains, two years ago. That they were back in Japan, just a one-hour bus ride away from home.

“Oh hey, Duncan,” Maki’s voice sounded out, followed by a light kick that alerted the dozing basketball ace. “Looks like Asahi’s up now.”

Yuki, however, wasn’t.

While his complexion had improved the same way that Sasuke had, he remained unconsciousness, nothing more than a limp body resting upon the leaf-woven blankets that Tsubasa and Masato had made together. Haruko and Daisuke were present too, the former flashing a smile towards Asahi when their eyes met, while the latter was constantly peeking over the top of the wall, as if checking on the situation.

And what the situation was?

Well, even if they weren’t that close, there was no way Ayane would see her step-sister get smashed into the dirt and stay silent over it.

…

Shun hadn’t had much time to rest, not when she had borne the brunt of Ayane’s tirade immediately after breaking a good couple dozen bones in Ayana’s body and sending the girl straight to bed. Why had she done it? Why did she resort to such extreme levels of violence? What the fuck did Ayana even do to deserve this? Was being stressed and then snapping from it all that wrong? It wasn’t like everyone was out to break Kogen’s skull in, no matter how many dirty looks or weird words the chuunibyou spat out on the regular, so why do that to Ayana? Over a rock too!

Hiroshi tried to mediate, of course, but Duncan had peaced out long ago and while he knew a lot about everything, emotional situations like this wasn’t something he understood how to handle. Shun’s left cheek remained unmarred by the terrific slap that Ayane delivered; the fashionista’s own hand was still an angry, throbbing red from the impact. Even when the others rushed over to break up this one-sided fight, they too had questions. The rock that Ayana clutched so desperately even in her unconscious state didn’t look all that special at all, outside of being black, and there wasn’t really any way for them all to understand how this whole chain of events had happened.

What triggered Ayana to start bringing up a chuuni moniker? Why did Shun decide extreme, near-lethal violence was the way to resolve the situation?

They all sat by the fire now, except for a select few who had checked out into the shelter or were still handling menial tasks around the campsite. Enough time had passed, at least, that Ayane herself had managed to hold back her anger enough that she wasn’t going to lash out anymore, but, well, it all depended on it, didn’t it?

What Ayana was like when she stirred.

How she would respond, when she realized the Endless Eclipse was missing from her person.

Firewood crackled.

Her eyes opened.

@AThousandCurses@Yankee@Erode@baraquiel@Vertigo

Blue eyes once more fluttering open, Ayana laid there staring directly up into the sky. It took a moment for thoughts to flood back into her head, to get a grasp of her surroundings, the crackling of firewood, the presence of others nearby. It all became clear to her, she remained silent as she slowly and gingerly tried to sit up from her prone position.

A jolt went down her spine, a sharp pain stabbing into her side at the slightest of movement. Wincing and grimacing as her right hand went to her rib cage, propping herself up with her left as she tried to get into a sitting position that was more comfortable. Only a quiet murmur escaping her pained lips. A grimace, blue eyes searching around her, taking in all who sat near the fire and close to her.

How long had she been out? Shun had really done a number on her, it took a fair bit of effort to even make the simplest and smallest of moves. “Damn, it feels like I got my ass kicked really good….but for some strange reason, it's like Shun uppercut me so hard that I now have a sudden urge, a strange urge….. to kiss a little green amphibious friend….I must have hit my head right after the uppercut, or when she drop kicked me….”her voice is a mere mutter. Her jaw is still feeling tender and sore after Shun’s sneak attack uppercut. Despite this, she felt no ill will towards Shun for the ass kicking she had given her. Shun was just trying to help in her own way, to try to make Ayana understand.

But the only thing Ayana understood right now was that she was missing something very important. Her Endless Eclipse is no longer within her grasp, nor in sight anywhere nearby. It was clear someone had taken it, but it was of little consequence, they couldn’t keep it from her forever. She would find it again, it was destiny that it returned to her hand and no one could hope to thwart this destiny. They may keep it hidden for now, but even without it, Ayana knew she would be just fine.

Rubbing her rib cage, she let out a sigh “You know, I can’t explain this feeling, I took the ass beating of a lifetime in a game of rock, paper, uppercut, dropkick, scissors….yet I don’t feel sad, or even discouraged…I feel….blessed in a way, even joyful…..” Her grimace and frown slowly left, replaced with a growing smile. Full of happiness and pride, she had never felt more alive then now, the pain only meant she was alive, and boy was it a joyful experience, a blessed experience.

Turning her head and attention to the others gathered around the fire, Ayana spread her arms apart to either side of her “I have a confession, I have not been truthful with any of you, or myself….I am Ayana, but I am not Ayana…the truth may be difficult to swallow, but it is the whole truth, the only truth….I want to help you all understand, to see what I can see…if only you will accept me…” Keeping her arms spread apart as if she wished to embrace every single one of her fellow classmates nearby. Sapphire eyes searching the faces of her classmates for any reaction. Her joy and happiness radiated from her, she could finally be full and true self. She could guide them, to open their eyes and accept her into their hearts and soul.

No amount of violence could dissuade her, what was done was done. She would heal and recover as she always had done so. There were benefits to being clumsy, her durability had been built up, her resilience slowly nourished with each and every incident. It would not be easy, but it had to be done, if they wished to make it out of this world alive.

The young school girl sat to her formerly-presently-undetermined unconscious friend. After beating her down, Shun had realized that she may had gone a touch overboard. Her fellow students seemed to have the same opinion. At that moment, it seemed reasonable to Shun to try and knock some sense into Ayana. After everything they went through, it wouldn't surprised Shun that Ayana would be possessed by some sort of spirit from this otherworld.

Though Shun jumped when Ayana started to jump. Unfortunately, it seemed that there some screws loose in her head, but Shun didn't opt for violence as an option again. "Hehe, Ayana, are you alright?" The delivery was shaky, but the sincerity behind it was real. Shun stayed silent at the mention of rock paper scissors. Her face went red in embarrassment over that incident.

When Ayana opened her arms for a hug, Shun made sure to only hug with one arm. The reason being that Ayana probably hadn't fully recovered from the beating of a life time. "I'm glad you're back half-Ayana, half-not Ayana." Without delay, Shun took out some food. She had asked Kumi for some food earlier in the case that Ayana woke up. Now that she it was, Shun took it upon herself to be responsible for her recovery. Grabbing a spoonful of the food, she thrusted the utensil inside Ayana's mouth. After all, that's what friends were for right?

At the time, the rock Ayana was carrying around was picked up by Shun. Shun didn't know why Ayana had it, but it must have been important. Stowing it away into some part of her clothes, Shun was going to give it back to Ayana eventually. Since she didn't ask, Shun decided not to give it back. Her friend's health now was more important than an ordinary rock found on a field.

---

Upon waking up, Asahi panicked for a second when the sky was black. When he realized it was just night, he softly groaned and stretched his limbs. "Ugh, I feel so hungry..." He grumbled, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes as he turned to face the other direction. He saw Sasuke smiling and nodding at him while eating skewered fish. Asahi blinked at him, his mind still hazy from overexerting himself earlier and using too much energy.

When he realized it was indeed Sasuke and he wasn't dreaming, Asahi nodded back in greeting. "Hey." He simply replied before closing his eyes. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that he was still exhausted even after a deep sleep, but he was thankful for that because he wouldn't have been able to contain his joy and excitement upon seeing his classmate alive and well.

The memory of what Sasuke was like earlier this morning was burned into Asahi's mind. The purplish lips, the ashen white complexion, the way his heartbeat was getting slower and slower. He vowed to never let that happen to him again. The vow was also for his other classmates of course, it's just that Sasuke will always have first priority.

Asahi spent a couple more minutes resting and getting his bearings before gradually sitting up properly. Yawning, he looked around his surroundings and found that the group had made camp by the lake. He was both surprised and delighted to notice their group had advanced so much that they started building walls. It's definitely an improvement from the last time.

"Please, please. Save the applause for later~" He teased and waved his hand at his classmates when they were noticing he was up and they greeted him. It was only right that they acknowledged him and his Awakened power. Sure, Duncan had the golden blood that could heal anyone but Asahi's connection threads made sure everything was in proper order.

When he noticed Yuki was still sound asleep, Asahi grimaced. "That doesn't seem right. Is Yuki still sleeping this entire time?" He asked Maki while he reached out to place a hand over Yuki's forehead. He did the same to Sasuke and felt his forehead and neck, smirking as the youth looked as handsome and energetic as ever.

Asahi then snapped his fingers multiple times. "Alrighty then. Someone get me food. Lots of 'em. I need to eat to replenish as much of my energy as I could so I can go check out Yuki's situation. Daisuke, go ask around if anyone's feeling funny or something hurts with them and tell them to come here to me. Duncan, be ready in case we're gonna need your blood again. Try to make the hole smaller this time, save up your energy as much as you can."

While everyone gathered by the campfire or otherwise milled about, Kogen had been at work. At the moment, he seemed to be fiddling with some sort of strange... viney appendage, was it? To be honest, Kogen could still not make heads or tails of what sort of animal it was that attacked him, let alone what he was holding. It did remind him of an octopus in many ways, however... maybe seeing it as that would be easier.

The boy recalled his encounter with the beast not too long ago, under a different guise. While originally Kogen had planned to bring one of his classmates to "help" him with those fruits he had found earlier, he had come back pretty pissed off about what he had ran into. That bastard Masato was receiving praise yet again for being so cool and reliable! Too flustered with envy to even go with his initial plan, Kogen had elected to just leave once more and get those fruits, himself! Maybe then everyone would begin to appreciate him for who he is...

It was good that he had left before the jankenpon match from hell had began. Otherwise, a certain klutz would be sued for infringement by now.

Of course, not long after returning to the peaches did Kogen realize that what he was searching for was no plant at all. The peach had suddenly opened a vicious maw, launching something in his face! Luckily, Kogen's reflexes were sharp enough for him to [Armor] up before he had actually lost an eye, though that was more than enough time for the peachbeast to wrap its tentacles around the boy's limbs.

Desperately, Kogen had focused on breaking himself out of the beast's grasp. If he had more in the tank, Kogen would have likely been able to fight this monster head on. However, he was running on fumes at the moment, and it was a sure struggle to break out of the octo-plant's grapple. As soon as he got one of his arms out, however, Kogen would try to use his makeshift spear against the monster plant. Predictably, the flint did little, but Kogen did notice the fishbones were capable of at least grasping onto the monster's tentacles. Alas, however, such a weapon proved to be futile, and Kogen had to rely on his strength to escape.

When all that was said and done, Kogen had returned with about four of the beast's tentacles in tow. He would have had more if not for the monster making its quick escape underground as soon as it found out the boy was no easy prey. Thinking back on it, Kogen had realized that he would have lost his good looks and perhaps even his maidenhood if he didn't have his ability. If he had taken any of the normies, they could have even died! Such a thing was quite a scary thought for the boy. After all, while he hated him, did he truly want to kill them?

Well... maybe one of them can go.

As far as "now" was concerned, Kogen continued to lurk in the shadowy borders of the camp. He had given up three of the four tentacles to the camp's resident chef and foodie, fine to share some of his spoils with the others in exchange for more fishbones. If there's anyone that can turn those things into something appetizing, it'd be Kumi. In the meanwhile, Kogen would focus himself on his own project.

With the one tentacle he had left, Kogen would begin to ponder its uses as a weapon. It was a bit heftier for a whip, but it also seemed to work as a usable bludgeon. Binding it to his arm felt more natural than trying to use it as a whip, and perhaps with practice, he could maybe grapple things from afar to fly into his grasp. If he had something to attach to the end of it, it could be a much scarier armament, but for now it is simply a tool that enables a victory rather than a tool that actualizes one.

For now the only "edge" he could add to it were the fishbones. At the very least, his encounter had proven that these too can serve as tools to help him reach victory. They are only a temporary solution, however, but they could lead to perhaps slaying a greater creature with more parts to work with. Kogen began to work on attaching the bones onto the tentacle as "barbs" of sort. A nasty surprise for his next kill.

The boy's stomach still growled as he worked. A bit curious, Kogen would cut a piece of his weapon and place it in his mouth, wondering what to expect from Kumi's next dish.

"Hmm... chewy, but mushroomy? Shiitako?"

______________________________________________________________________

The crazy day was coming to an end.

Masato had explained everything that had happened with Asashi and Sasuke to Sato and the others. The story was told to the point for the most part, a steady report of the facts. Though with Sato around he might have embellished it just a tiny bit. He spoke while he worked together with the building team, closely following their instructions. He'd never woven anything before, but he would that he picked it up fairly quickly under Sato's guidance. The repetitive task was great to calm down and think, almost like meditation. That had been a while ago now - since the sun had set Masato dutifully took up a post just outside of the shelter, keen eyed and just standing, waiting.

He looked in when he heard Maki announce that Asahi was awake.

"Murakami is making something now," he told the other boy. What exactly that was he had no idea. He'd seen Kogen return to the group late, carrying something over to the cooking station. Masato didn't ask, and he was more than willingly to let that mystery food go to Asahi and Stewart even while his own stomach burned. As for Kogen, though he stayed on the fringes of camp, it was enough.

Masato didn't let Endo's condition concern him. He was curious why the magic that had saved Sasuke hadn't worked on him (maybe it was stuck in a coma, or his soul had already departed), but there were other things to focus on. One, keeping watch. He didn't want to pass out again, but it might not be avoidable when he was running on fumes. On that note, the second thing was considering whether to try and find even more food. They had tons of mouths to feed, some more ravenous than others. Hunting... most of the time it was done at dawn or dusk, right? They could try and find some less aggressive animals before the night got too late.

Three, the feuding girls.

Masato chalked up what had happened to Todokawa as a psychotic break. One day in the Otherside and the students were already falling apart. He couldn't really blame them, and though he felt the same about Todokawa her episode was much more dangerous due to her awakening. He felt some gratitude towards Kanamori for handling it, even if it was in such a violent way that it unnerved the class. And, privately, he felt some justification when the other Todokawa sister lashed out. See? Doing the right thing isn't so easy.

Though it looked like the girls were making up quickly now that Todokawa was awake.

"Todokawa," he said, completely blowing past her speech about not really being herself and how she wanted to let others see like her, "it's best if you just rested for now. Your head got hit pretty hard."

So hard it created another psyche, he thought.

---

//Night 1 | Location: Nameless Forest - Lakeside
_{@AThousandCurses@baraquiel@Nakushita@Yankee@Vertigo@Cu Chulainn}
“Mmm, a touch more salt would be nice, if I had any…”

The broth, at least, looked to be working out. She had to restructure the way the firepit existed to begin with in order to get a flame hot enough for what she wanted, and even then, she was fundamentally cooking with four different small ‘pots’ to begin with. Thank the gods that a couple of the boys still used those old tin bento boxes for their lunches; it would’ve been impossible otherwise. With charred fish bones, cracked wolf-spider bones, some root vegetables that she taste-tested before applying, water from the lake, and now Kogen’s addition of some sort of weird flesh-mushroom-tentacle-thing, Kumi’s dish was coming along well. It would’ve been even better, of course, if she had noodles or something, but that was a dream.

A lot of it was a dream, really. A full seasoning rack, proper burners for easy heat control, long chopsticks, dashi powder, miso, mirin, soy sauce…

“I think it tastes fine,” Masami said, dipping her own chopsticks into one of the soup tins and licking it. She received a rap on the noggin for her trouble.

“Mmm, but this isn’t the best I can do, and…” Kumi quieted down as Sasuke emerged from the shelter. There was still a wooziness to his steps, his pale complexion somehow made even paler in the glow of the night, yet he held on still, sparing a smile towards Masami before turning towards Kumi.

“Asahi needs some food.” A wave towards Daisuke in the distance, the basketball captain asking the other students about their own ails. “Is it ready?”

“Mhmm! The healing thing that he can do, right? How’re you now? Ah, I guess you’d be fine now, if you can walk around…” Kumi chuckled, genuine joy mixed with a bit of self-deprecation. “I’m sure Maki’d be happy to get a check out too. Uh, Masami, could you help him with?”

“Eh…” The taller girl considered her options, then saw Kogen in the distance, playing with his tentacle. “Hey Kogen! Help Sasuke with the food delivery here!”

A small pause, and Kumi joined in. “You can have some of it too! It tastes…ok!”

...

It tasted more than ok, to those who were ravenous or who simply tired of chewing tough meat. The charred bones from both fish and beast imparted an umami flavor to the water, while the root vegetables and the chewy tentacles gave it textures that were actually palatable to the students. More importantly, it was simply warm and filling, in a way that a haunch of fire-roasted fish or meat could not be. Asahi and Kogen, if the chuuni had helped out with bringing the soup over, would feel a warmth seep into their body that was natural, wholesome. Good, even.

A warmth that wasn’t just the forge within the guts, demanding fuel and granting power.

But that didn’t exempt Asahi and Duncan from having to stoke those flames regardless. Pink threads extended, and golden blood poured out, Maki actively holding back tears as her bones broke and mended, as the Duncan’s strange fluid caused a temporary change in her body that made it impossible for even her to remain stone-faced. It was simply weird! It was a wibbly-wobbly sort of pain, like the nausea that accompanied a concussion followed by a sharp uppercut into your liver. You couldn’t just shrug that off!

Her hand and foot were back though. That was certainly cause to celebrate, even though both the boys got the sense that she may end up with broken bones again in the near-future, now that there was a magical healer among the students.

Yuki, however, did not wake.

And Asahi, as he probed the prone boy’s mind with his Facsimile, still could not lift the thick blanket of unconsciousness that had entirely smothered the thoughts and emotions that his ability usually would’ve made him privy to. Was it a mystery at all though? Or would he just reach the same conclusion that Masato had?

Yuki was comatose. You couldn’t heal from that.

“Hey.” Daisuke popped his head back into the room, accompanied by Hiroshi. “We’re having a group meeting. Should probably come along.”

…

There was a flicker of hesitation in Ayane’s eyes.

But she blew past that hesitation in the next breath and hugged Ayana.

“What truth, Ayana? I can hear you out, at least.” She pulled away from the hug, looking her step-sister in the eyes. “Though if it’s just that you’re a masochist now, maybe keep that to yourself?”

It was hard to stay mad, really, when even the victim didn’t seem mad at all about getting slammed into the ground by another classmate. With a deep, hissing sigh, the fashionista decided to put it behind her for now. She wasn’t going to bring this up if Ayana didn’t want to. And that seemed to be the end of that, for the time being.

“Right, since everyone’s mostly gathered here,” Hiroshi spoke up, arriving in the firelight’s gloom with the once-scattered students along with him. “We should talk about the future. To guide this discussion, there are a few things to note.”

“One. The monsters are likely going to continue to be a threat, and we don’t have the ability to make fortifications strong enough to hold them off.” That was true enough. A hut made out of wood and mud could keep out the wind and maybe even deflect some rain, but considering how those hulk-phants had bulldozed through the school bus on a whim? They couldn’t make a wall strong enough to keep the monsters out.

“Two. These monsters seem to be resistant to anything except things made of their own body. We can consider that a magical trait.” The fang-tooth dagger was brought to mind. Kogen would have the most intimate experience with such a thing, with how much effort it took for him to use the claw of Rin’s hammer in order to tear out the throat of one of those beasts.

“Three. Those Awakened need a lot more food than the rest of us.” An easy enough observation to make, considering how starved every one of the Awakened continued to be. Even after what would have been a full meal back in the ‘real’ world, here in the Otherside, they could still go for much more.

“Those are the main concerns to place into consideration. I have my own thoughts, of course, but for the time being, a group discussion will be conducive to getting everyone on the same page.”

Hiroshi clapped his hands together.

“So. About the future. About what can be done tonight, tomorrow, and every day after. Does anyone have anything to suggest?”

______________________________________________________________________

And every day after. Masato knew Maeda didn't mean to make it come off like that, like they were going to be stuck here indefinitely. Still the words churned his stomach - or maybe it was ever present hunger.

He glanced at the Todokawa sisters. He had no desire to start yet another fight, but he was wary of Ayana's psychotic break causing problems. And that was the other thing - they had several near deaths, one actual death, and a comatose student on top of Ayana's episode. Two weeks before rescue, that was what Maeda had told him the day before. Could this group really last that long? Just a group of middle schoolers, awakened powers aside?

...whether they could last for two weeks or not, Masato felt like it was his job to make sure that they did. He knew that he wasn't the most useful member of their group, that was painfully obvious when Asahi and Stewart could bring people back from the brink of death. Even without those two, he wasn't a genius engineer like Inaba and he could hardly cook without a detailed recipe in front of him. Even so, most of the students still looked to Masato for leadership just because of his position. When they'd first crashed he'd thought that he didn't want to take responsibility for everyone, but no one else would. No one else would want to make the hard decisions.

"...allow me to speak first," he announced to the gathered class, taking a few steps forward to command the floor. His voice was rough but loud.

"We need a plan for emergencies. Right now I think that's the most important thing. Since there's no telling when more monsters will come, or... if some other crazy thing will happen, we should decide now how we'll all act when the time comes." That damage from last night was done, but hopefully something like this would prevent further schisms from forming. And help prevent any further deaths like Higasa's. Masato continued, making his suggestion. His expression hardened as he spoke, discouraging any interruptions. "Last night Stewart and I took everyone that was 'unawakened' away while the rest of you stayed to hold back the monsters. It worked out - so for now, unless we can make some weapons for killing those things, let's do it again if we get attacked. We should choose another safe area, so if something happens here we can head there, and anyone that gets lost can regroup in one place."

Masato managed not to look Akito or Okumura's way as he said that last part. Before that he cut a telling look at Kogen that said, this goes for everyone. Then, he turned his gaze to Asahi. "I suggest you go with the unawakened next time if something happens, Asahi-kun."

And even though Stewart had the life-giving blood, he knew the other boy would be pissed if it was suggested that he stay out of the fight, so Masato didn't bother.

"If we can make it through tonight, we can start tomorrow in earnest. Finding a rendezvous spot, sourcing food, getting materials... and, leaving some kind of trail for a rescue squad to follow so they can find us more easily." He had no idea if the portal they went through would bring any newcomers to the bus crash site, but assuming they did then a signal to leave behind would be helpful.

With most of what he wanted to say out of the way, Masato took a step back, giving anyone else that wanted a chance to talk. He was too tired to add "if you want to argue, making sure it's not about something stupid." After a beat though he did pipe in with one last comment. It was hastily added but no less genuine for it. "Oh. And... good job on setting up this camp, everyone."

Shun sat way apart from Ayana. The regret was now settling inside Shun. Dive bombing her classmate wasn't the best idea, and while it was fun, it only caused severe injuries. The only thing she got out of it was the destructive force of the attack and giving Ayana a third personality. Speaking of Ayana, Shun was concerned for her well-being. Perhaps she wasn't qualified, but Shun found relief in seeing Ayane care for Ayana. It was preferable that way.

Aside from that behind, everyone was talking about plans. Shun looked at Masato, and suffice to say, he seemed rather displeased about the implication of Hiroshi's words.

Shun looked away as Masato proposed his idea. Something like a safety plan, rendezvous point, and more. It was nice that Masato took charge, so Shun took slight comfort in that. However, she should still contribute as well. "...What if we try hunting them? The monsters." It was an abrupt idea, but Shun thought it was good to say it out loud. While they didn't know how many monsters were inside this otherworld, hunting the few would make the area around them safer.

"Wouldn't it be a good idea to clear potential threats?" The unawakened would be left back at the base. The only ones who could fight were Rin, Asahi, Masato, Ayana, Duncan, and herself. Ayana was injured, and Asahi's ability wasn't effective in combat. That left them with four awakened. Shun was self-assured that she could at least take down one monster by herself. They needed materials from the monsters to fight more efficiently against them, and monster meat may taste good. Shun was slightly curious about the latter.

"I also think it'd be good to have more than one person on night watch." Having her arm sliced by a razor-sharp tail wasn't the most ideal experience. If someone smarter had been there with her to fight against the monsters, then everybody would have escaped with their lives intact. The brief thought on Endo and Higasa passed her mind, but she remained firm.

@AThousandCurses@Yankee@Erode@baraquiel@Vertigo


A flicker of joy flashed through Ayana’s eyes hearing her sister's response. Her face brimming with a smile from ear to ear as she couldn’t wait to share. “A Mouse a Chest? That is such a silly thing to call someone, but that isn’t the truth, not the truth at all my dear little lost soul….but if you wish to know the truth, then I have no choice but to grant you the wish that you desire” Swelling with pride and joy. Her mood was not affected by the beating that Shun had dished out on her earlier. Her mind on one singular thought, one singular purpose.

“You see…you don’t really know who I am, you do not know my true name, you only know the shell that I created, I can glimpse into the future…with my Endless Eclipse….I can see it all, I can lead us to a brighter future….if only you all would accept the truth into your hearts and souls with open arms….to accept me….as Oros The Clumsy” the joyful tone not leaving her voice as she tried to explain everything to Ayane. Hoping that she would open up her heart and soul to the truth she had shared.

Her blue eyes darted towards the sound of Hiroshi beginning to speak. Her smile never left her face even as he went through the dire situation and threats that still faced them. Even the pain she still felt, the exhaustion and hunger that plagued her body. It did not diminish her mood, or her determination.

Remaining silent when Masato and then Shun put in what they had to say once Hiroshi had finished. Once the final word had left Shun’s mouth, Ayana began to laugh as she tried to slowly force herself to her feet, powering through the exhaustion, pain and hunger as she tried to get a stable footing as she rose up. Her posture unsteady and her legs and body struggling to keep her upright.

Even so, her laughter and her smile persisted “Very interesting words from our president….in most cases I would have to agree with you….same goes for what Pac-A-Punch Shun had to say…..”Pausing briefly as she staggered forward for a brief moment before catching herself. “However….I think it is wise if you all listen to what I have to say….” A burning intensity filling her bright blue eyes as she turned her head, meeting each of her fellow classmates gazes.

“My true self, my power….it will lead us all to safety….but only if you all accept the truth into your hearts and your souls, I can see into the future….with my Endless Eclipse I can guide us! No one else needs to suffer or perish, I can see everything now, I was blind before, but my eyes are open, and if you all open your eyes, we can make it to the very end…..but first you must embrace the truth….now….who will join me in this endeavor?...” Her voice trailing off at the end as she remained standing, still staggered and clearly pushing herself harder and further then she needed to with her current state. Even so she felt now was the time to address the rest of her classmates, she couldn’t hold it all in any longer.

If they wanted to survive, they would have to accept the truth, there was no other choice. She had no time to waste, she had to do what must be done. Whether they accepted the truth would decide all of their fates. She knew as Oros, with Endless Eclipse, she could be the savior that brings everyone home to safety. It was for her classmates to decide, she had said what she had to say. What they did now, it was up to them, the future was in their hands, the fate and lives of so many could be decided now.

---

As the sun gradually set over the horizon, Asahi was growing more and more frustrated and disappointed with himself.

He and Duncan spent the last couple of hours healing Maki and Yuki. For the pink-haired lad, physical injuries were the easiest ailments to heal but also very painful. For the most part, he could already see which parts of the body he could fix which was a good thing. The bad thing was being connected to his patient meant he could feel whatever they felt

During the entire process, it wasn't just Maki holding back tears. Both of them groaned and whimpered at the same time as he fixed her broken bones. He was moreso psyching himself up more than Maki and at the end of the healing, Asahi was much happier than she was when it was all over.

He could never get used to the whole 'literally-feel-what-they-feel' thing he got going on with his Fascimile. He was never the empathetic type and more like the selfish type that got what he wanted from someone and use it as an advantage for himself. While it was nice Asahi had full-on access to his target's hopes, dreams, desires, fantasies, fears, regrets, shames, and secrets, he felt that getting access to their emotions and pains was the drawback despite it being probably helpful to figuratively connect to someone.

However, despite his newfound power, it seemed that Asahi still had a long way to go when it came to Yuki's case. No matter what he did, no matter how long it took him, he couldn't get anything out of his classmate at all. It was like wading through a thick fog. He could see glimpses, faint silhouettes, but he could never see clearly beyond himself. Was it really the end for Yuki?

Asahi almost didn't want to go to the meeting so he could keep on prodding his classmate's mind, but ultimately decided to join in with the rest so he could at least do something more fruitful.

"Yeah. Sure thing, I guess." Asahi shrugged when Masato told him it's better to join in with the rest of the Unawakened. While Duncan had the healing blood, Asahi's pink threads were more vital to ensure the survival of their classmates, Awakened or no. He didn't want to boast to Duncan but there's no need to really. Besides, the farther Asahi was away from all the fighting, the better.

"Hunt the beasts? The same monsters who almost succeeded in killing us?" He raised an eyebrow at Shun. "We still don't know the full extent of their abilities and their intelligence. We don't want to start a fight in the enemy's homebase. Although..." He rubbed his chin and pondered for a bit. "It would be ideal if you guys could capture a beast or two alive for me. Let me see if I can use my threads to connect with them, sift through their memories and knowledge about this place. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't but it's worth a try."

Asahi stretched his arms and legs out. "I do agree with the night watch thingy. Four or five people along with at least one Awakened. I've gotten enough rest so I volunteer to be on the first watch. Helps with watching over Yuki too. I still can't get a hold of him. He's alive physically but his mind is like..." He sighed sadly. He clearly didn't know what the future had in store for their poor classmate.

"As for my idea, and I know this is already like shooting for the moon, I just thought it would be very helpful if some of us managed to get to a high viewpoint. Climb the tallest tree, hike a mountain, I don't know, just to get a general image of the place we're in and where we could possibly go next. Take a picture maybe or draw a rough sketch of a map, stuff like that. Too bad none of us developed the power to fly but who knows? Maybe some of us are just late bloomers."

---

//Night 1 | Location: Nameless Forest - Lakeside
_{@AThousandCurses@baraquiel@Nakushita@Yankee@Vertigo}
As the Awakened students said their own individual pieces, most of the others’ attention was naturally drawn towards the near-manic ramblings that Ayana was spewing out. It must be the general insanity of their situation though, that prevented anyone from simply dismissing what she had to say. After all, there were three people who could attest to Asahi’s healing powers, and almost everyone had seen the projected lines coming out from Rin’s fingertips, slicing through trees as if they were paper. At this point, everyone knew that literal magical powers were becoming a reality, and everyone similarly had different opinions on their usage.

Maki, freshly restored and feeling just a slight bit vengeful towards the monsters, clenched her fist, smacking it against her knee as she sat cross-legged before the smouldering firepit. “Shun’s the only one making sense here,” she said, nodding towards the scooter-girl. “Solves all our problems, right? We get more meat, more weapons, and make the area around us safer too. Reduces the emergencies!”

“It isn’t something we can all do though.” Hana responded, affixing her neutral gaze upon Maki. “These monsters hunt in groups, but we can’t split up like they can.”

“Which is why we need proper weapons! I could get the drop on them, at least the normal-sized ones! And, Kunio, you did that thing, right?” Maki gesticulated, energetically stabbing at an invisible monster. “With more of them, we can all do that!”

Kunio shrugged. Then, in a typically unashamed tone, he said, “No you can’t. That’s just me.”

Which was fair enough, but was the spark that would’ve ignited a wholly pointless argument, if Daisuke didn’t set a heavy hand on Maki’s head. “Alright, moving on here!” His voice carried well enough. “More than one person on night watch sounds good, but I’m going to be honest here: not all of us are gonna be all that good for watching things at night. I’d say doing it in pairs or threes should be enough, yeah? Just need people facing opposite directions. The rest of us can just rest up better and work harder in the morning.”

“I can cover the first watch,” Sohei volunteered. “With Rin.”

“Oh,” Ayano grinned. Boys were so cute when they were obvious with it. “Well, I’m not doing it at all, especially not tonight. Didn’t get a wink of sleep last night, and there’s no way I’m going to do that again!”

Haruko shook her head. She got along well enough with Ayano, but the girl could really be self-centered at the most inappropriate times. “I can help with the second watch with Duncan then.”

Ayano’s grin grew wider. “Ah, the moon hasn’t even risen yet! Make sure yo-”

“Back on track,” Hiroshi drawled, clapping his hands together. “Asahi brought up a good point. We need to get our bearings properly. Obviously, it’s important to get an idea of other resources nearby, and I don’t think it’d be too hard for our stronger classmates to climb up on one of the trees, but we do need a higher vantage point than that. Think about it. This is another world, but whose to say that there aren’t other people in this world?” His teeth flashed, a flicker of mania. “Whose to say there isn’t civilization?”

“The mountain,” Juro pointed, towards the landmark whose jagged peaks scraped the heavens. But his voice was quiet and even, compared to Rin, who was also even-voiced but definitely not quiet, as she said, “I can build a catapult. We can launch Shun up.”

“Uh…” Kumi raised her hand, feeling a bit sheepish. “Sorry about talking about food again, ehehehe…but Kogen went off today and did some hunting himself. I think that if it’s just, uh, the special students here, maybe just one or two or three of them could go out and do that monster fighting thing?”

“Are we even sure that the monsters will come back?” Mayumi spoke up. “There’s an argument for their intelligence, so now that we’ve proven that we could harm them without them…” She paused, catching Tsubasa’s warning glance. “…well, basically, what I’m saying is that if they’re hunters, we’ve proven that we’re more trouble that we’re worth. We, what, killed four of their pack?”

Sasuke, ever so serene, brought up the counterpoint. “Injury inspires retaliation, even when such injury was a consequence of their offence.”

The pale-skinned treasurer raised a brow. “You think they’re that intelligent? That they become stupid again?”

“We’ve been calling them monsters the entire time. Why treat them like animals?”

Hiroshi’s mouth opened, a silent ‘yo damnnnn’ flashing over his perpetually shit-stirring expression.

Gradually the rest of the students began discussing amongst themselves as well, going over the points for and against any of the proposals that were brought up. The hubbub continued for a good while, never reaching the fever-pitch of thrown hands and hysteric voices, but still, there was an elephant remaining that none of them were addressing.

“Fine, fine,” Akito sneered. “I’ll be the asshole.”

His eyes turned towards Ayana.

“Right, dunno what your damage is here, but this cultist shit is real fucking weird. We’re all in the same boat here, so if you know what’s safe and all, Ayana? Just tell us. I’ll ‘embrace the truth’ once its actuall proven to be a real thing. Got it?”

@AThousandCurses@Yankee@Erode@baraquiel@Vertigo


Ayana didn’t acknowledge Akito immediately, her gaze slowly drifting towards him. Her eyes locked on to him, her head tilting slightly aside as her smile grew. Her eyes seemed to have a new brightness and energy to them, like she had never experienced such joy before. It was about time more people started to listen to her, to understand the truth, even if they were reluctant at first. “Nothing is ever truly safe, but the future isn’t always set into stone, the future, fate, it is all fluid….but only if you know what is going to happen before it happens….if you wish to believe A-Ki-To…..then I will accept you with open and joyful arms” shuffling her foot forward towards Akito as she slowly but surely begun to approach him.


Letting her head fall forward as her hair hid her eyes and face as she strained to move each of her legs as she slowly stumbled and shuffled towards Akito, inch by inch. “In fact, with my Endless Eclipse I can even see your own future….A-Ki-To……the question is, do you truly believe enough, to open your heart and soul to the truth, to take the truth into your very being, to open your eyes and embrace it,... only then you will be able to truly understand….and when you do understand it will be such a joyous occasion….” Having made her way to be right before Akito as she laughed, keeping her head lowered and her gaze hidden as she strained to lift her head and neck.


“Besides….A-Ki-To…..I already know I can see one thing in your future, even without my Endless Eclipse…..”Her sapphire eyes came up to meet his gaze, her head leaning forward as her voice became a whisper. “Your future….ends poorly….surrounded and alone….torn to shreds, ripped to pieces, smashed to bits…..I saw a glimpse of it….when I first recovered my true self…..and had my Endless Eclipse within my grasp…..” Pulling her head slightly back as she let out a sigh and gave a shake of her head.



“Of course, you don’t have to believe me, or accept the truth into your heart, body and mind…such a path will only lead to ruin for everyone, only those who believe will see the light at the end of the tunnel, to grasp freedom from this wretched world of beasts and death…to return to where we came from…after all…as Oros, I can only do so much alone…my physical limits can’t be changed or overcome, I will still get tired, worn out, battered and beaten, hungry and cold….I need the help of others to make a brighter future possible….but you must trust in me, to believe in me, to believe in the truth….” Leaning back as she lifted her gaze up towards the sky staring off into the distance at nothing in particular as her mind was within deep reflection.


Spreading her arms out either side of her as her smile returned “those that wish to accept the truth, I will embrace with all of my might, those who do not wish to do so, I have given you all I have to give and I can only do so much to help….the choice is up to each single one of you, I can not make you decide, you either believe, or you don’t….whether you believe in Ayana Todokawa, or Oros The Clumsy, or you hate one or both…the decision is yours, I will not force any of your hands, I hold no such power to do so….” Ayana’s gaze now shifted from Akito to the other students around them as she extended the choice to each and every single one of them.


Whether they joined her and embraced the truth, or rejected her and saw her as a crazed, insane fool. It was in their hands to determine this, she had said what she had to say, her energy was already taxed to its extreme and she didn’t have much left to continue regardless. It was time for her classmates to decide, to make the most important decision in their entire lives as far as Ayana was concerned.

It didn't come to her surprise that some rejected her idea. It was risky as Asahi said, which Shun could not deny. There were others like Maki who seemed on board with the idea, maybe too on board as she seemed rather intent on taking vengeance. Shun would need to keep an eye on Maki before she did something rash. The only reason why she threw the idea out in the first place to see how receptive would people be on the idea. She'd like to half and half, but they didn't stay too long on the subject to give it further thought.

"Well, I'll leave you guys to decide who'll stay up." Shun said casually. "I had last night's watch, so I'm a little tuckered out." The implications left things pretty clear. While there would be more people than just her on watch, Shun still needed to recharge her motivation. The faint guilt was still heavy on her heart.

"Oh that sounds fun," A smile graced her face, the thought of being launched into the air by a crude mechancism sounded entertaining. "If there is a civilization, are you sure it's a good idea to seek them out? They might not even be human, nor would they be friendly." Shun had read enough fantasy manga to tell her about racial tensions between races. If the equivalent of an 'elf' was here, Shun couldn't find her herself imagining that they would find themselves happy to see them.

The minute that Ayana, or rather Oros, spoke up was when Shun clammed up. She was saying some weird stuff again, but it was enough to freak everyone out. Describing a classmate's future death was morbid, but Shun couldn't bring herself to refute Ayana. What if this was a manifestion of her ability? If so, not only did it made her mentally insane, but granted her future sight. The rock in her pocket felt a lot more heavier for some odd reason.

---

"H-How long has she been like this...?" Asahi leaned in and whispered to Juro while Ayana, or as whoever it was that called itself Oros the Clumsy, kept babbling on about Akito's fate, seeing the future, accepting the truth, so on and so forth. Wasn't there like documentaries about cult leaders or something like that? He was pretty sure Japan had some of those too and he was also pretty certain he was looking at one right now.

He looked at the other Awakened to see their reaction and see what they knew about Ayana's case. It couldn't possibly be a manifestation of her Fascimile, a unique ability so powerful it spawned another being inside her that had consciousness and a way with words. Could it really foresaw the future or was it all just bibble-babble to make it seem like it's all knowing?

"You claim you can see someone's future with your... Endless Eclipse or whatever it is you call it." Asahi said to... He'll just call it as Oros because it was clear Ayana was not talking at all. "How about you use that power of yours to find out a way how to fet us out of here? Assuming we do want to accept your 'truth', what assurance can we get that you can protect us with your power when you can't even heal the injured or fight back against monsters? Did you even help setting up the camp? At least cook the fish, forage for anything to eat? What else did you do besides spitting out saliva everywhere?"

He didn't know why but for some odd reason, this Oros was getting on the pink lad's nerves. "I don't know what kind of abomination you are, some sort of parasite or whatever, and I don't care anymore. That is Ayana's body you're staying in. Not yours, hers. Besides, I will not allow you to divide us even more than we already are. We barely survived the mornings and nights with all of us together. So take your righteous crap and shove it up yours. Leave Ayana's body now, or else..." Asahi flexed his fingers and his pink threads waved around like a jellyfish's tentacles in the open sea.

"I'll make you leave."